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Before we start, there is another video in the chapter to help get some comedic presense in one of these scenes. You'll know it when you see it.

Key 12 as always at the bottom.

Months have passed from the Chituari helmet incident, and the agents have been as active as ever.

The team had made a visit to the Hub, where Agent Victoria Hand had assigned agents Ward, Fitz, and Sawyer on a mission to South Ossetia to disable an device known as the "Overkill Device", which would turn enemy weapons against their users. However, they had no extraction, leaving the team to rescue the three.

After which, the team found a plot where a pagan hate group assembles an Asgardian Berserker Staff, a relic that grants the user super-strength and insurmountable rage. With the help of Dr. Elliot Randolph, who had been revealed to be the Asgardian who brought the staff to Earth, living on the planet for several centuries.

However, the team gained a new recruit, that being Mike Peterson, who had better control of himself due to the dendrotoxin formula made by Fitz-Simmons. However, Centipede soldiers risked his son, Ace's life, in exchange for his.

Raina, a scientist for Centipede and the one to find Scorch, revealed she was working for someone only known as "The Clairvoyant", and wanted Coulson rather than Mike, to learn how exactly Coulson was resurrected. Mike risked his life to save Coulson, only to have perished in the incident.

After Coulson's rescue, and stopping Donnie Gill from destroying Shield Academy with a giant blizzard, the team continued their search to find the Clairvoyant & his associate, Ian Quinn. Luckily, they seemed to have a lead on the wannabe Tony Stark.

Thanks to Skye's hacking, she was able to track an invoice from one of Quinn's shell companies for a big purchase, amounting to around 10 million dollars.

Whatever Quinn bought was made by CyberTek, a firm that deals in advanced tech & research, and the cargo was guarded by a private security firm, consisting of former military and ex-mercenaries, on a train through the Italian countryside.

And with Coulson's negotiating, Shield was given access to make their own "investigation" on the train from Italian authorities.

"So we're going in undercover," Ward established, to May's dismay. "I hate undercover," she lamented.

May, Ward & Eddie were undercover as a wealthy woman and her bodyguards boarding the train, and were tasked to find the package and place a tracker.

Nick, Skye, Zach, & Fitz were set to pose as a group of friends, the former two were posing as a couple on a trip, to help their cover of running communications. But since Zach would be fairly recognizable to the public, he put on a Shield-issued cyber mask to hide himself.

Lastly, Coulson, Ella, and Jemma were set up to pose as a father and his two daughters, grieving the loss of his wife, and the girls' mother. The teams were in place on the train, and began the op.

—------------------------------------

"Here, let me get that," Coulson said to Jemma as he took her's and Ella's "luggage". Jemma smirked, and replied, "Oh, thanks, Dad." She had emphasized the last word loudly, shocking both Coulson and Ella.

"Coulson, you look far too young to have daughters our age," Ella whispered to clarify.

The other two teams crossed each other, making subtle eye contact with each other, as Eddie spoke up to the attendant in front of him. "Prima classe?" He asked in Italian, covering him as a bodyguard.

"Da qui, singore," The attendant responded diligently. "Vuoi che ti mostri la tua stanza? Sarebbe un piacere per me.*

*"First class?"  — "Through here, sir. Would you like me to show you to your room? It would be my pleasure."*

May had stared daggers in the attendant's eyes, and stayed quiet, walking past him. "Grazie." Ward spoke up. "Troveremo la nostra strada.*"

*"Thank you. We'll find our own way."*

The first team made it to the first class cabin, where May dropped the lavish coat she used to conceal herself, revealing a slim jumpsuit, while Eddie and Ward got ready.

"Operations are so much different now," Eddie remarked. "Coulson's been through hell, Mike's gone, and Skye's been more focused than ever."

"She's been tracking Quinn for days," Ward said, as he loosened his tie. "Seems personal."

"It is personal." May clarified for the boys. "The Clairvoyant had him tortured. Quinn's the only person we know who's connected to all this." May slipped on a pair of goggles, opened the windows and crawled out of the train.

—------------------------------------

Back in the train compartment, Skye, Fitz, Zach (with his cybermask) and Nick were seated, rifling through a map. "You all nervous?" Fitz asked the group.

"Just ready for this all to be over," Skye answered. "Ready to get Quinn."

"After what he did, I just want to see him in a SHIELD cell or prison," Nick admitted. "I'm ready to see that punk try anything there."

"And I'm ready for Quinn to stop acting like how my dad used to," Zach agreed as he poked around his face to ensure the cybermask is secure. "Quinn seems like the guy to grab any power he can."

"Me too," Fitz affirmed. "He deserves to rot." He turned back, watching for the attendants, and turning back to them. "So, are we British or American?"

"Fitz, I love ya, man, but why does that matter?" Nick asked him.

"We're supposedly a group of friends traveling together," Fitz explained. "We should at least be from the same country — How are your Scottish accents?"

Skye took a moment to think, and looked at the Scotsman. "I dun'no..." She mused in a terrible Scottish accent. "You tell m'eh how gr-ate it is, lads!"

The three boys weren't pleased with how her rendition of the accent came out, and she regretted it the minute she finished speaking. It was truly awful.

"American then," Fitz mimicked in an American accent. "That's a better idea."

Skye, Zach & Nick were pleasantly surprised that Fitz's accent was very impressive. "That was really good!" Nick exclaimed, as Zach and Skye agreed with him.

"I used to watch a lot of American TV growing up," Fitz explained quickly as he changed back to his normal accent. "Some of it's quite good — lots of nice teeth."

Another attendant came walking down the aisle checking on everyone, as Nick quickly checked him out. "There we are," Nick exclaimed silently. "Follow my lead," Skye acknowledged as the group stood up to grab his attention.

"Excuse me?" Skye asked the attendant politely, as the man turned to the four. "Do you speak English?" The attendant smiled. "Of course," he responded. "How may I be of service?"

"Can you recommend a restaurant in downtown Zagreb?" Nick asked ahead. "Someplace affordable, with big portions."

"Are you looking for something romantic?" The attendant asked curiously. "All four of you?"

"Oh, they are," Fitz responded in his American accent as he nudged Zach. "My cousin and I are waiting for our ladies in Zagreb."

"But us, yes please!" Skye gushed as she quickly improvised and pecked Nick's cheek, which made him turn red. "We are celebrating our six-month anniversary with a whirlwind trip all over Europe."

The attendant chuckled at the young love in front of him. "Well, technically, we met six months ago," Skye rambled. "But he didn't ask me out till last month. So our official one-month until next Saturday!"

"Sunday," Nick tried to get on track, but corrected himself. "Saturday! That's right!"

Skye leaned in to the attendant, in an uncomfortable manner.  "I think he found me intimidating..." She whispered as she quietly swiped the keys to other compartments off him. The attendant smiled again and laughed slightly. "Young love!" He exclaimed. "So confusing."

"Is it?" Skye asked in an innocent voice.

Moments after the attendant left the compartment, the four snuck into the spare luggage compartment. "You uh..." Skye smirked to Nick. "You got a little flustered back there!"

"I wasn't expecting anything out of that," Nick answered honestly. "Much less a kiss on the cheek. Really sold the relationship there."

"She pecked you like a grandmother," Fitz laughed as he set down their bags, opening up for the communications equipment. "You all know, I have a device that could've done those things — broken the lock and all that."

"Dude, why wouldn't you tell us that!" Zach chuckled as he removed the cybermask. "God, this works wonders, holy shit."

"I'm always the gadget guy," Fitz answered. "Maybe sometimes I wanna do something with my bare hands." Skye had her laptop open and clicked away.

"Fitz, you make the gadgets with your hands," Nick answered back to him.

"Allow me these rare moments of self-pity," Fitz lamented. "Alright? You all are the least supportive pretend couple I have ever met."

A small "beep" emitted from Skye's laptop. "Comms are live." She announced through the channels. "Coulson, Simmons, Ella? Are you in position?"

"Yes." Coulson's voice came through their comm sets. "Just waiting on May's signal."

—------------------------------------

In another compartment...

"So, remember," Coulson told the girls after he established their link. "Our target is Carlo—"

"Mancini. Head of Security," Jemma interrupted as Coulson showed them his picture. "I know. I memorized his face."

"We memorized everything." Ella responded as Jemma reached into her bag and pulled out an urn of all things, making Coulson confused. "What are you doing?" Coulson asked the younger agent.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

"Oh, I'm getting into character," Jemma responded as she settled the urn into her lap. "My undercover persona harbors resentment towards her absent American father. Blames him for not being there when her mum died, so I apologize in advance if I come off a little cold."

"You think all that backstory is necessary?" Coulson asked in all honesty.

"Past events, like that unfortunate incident at the Hub," Jemma acknowledged her encounter with Agent Sitwell, whom she accidentally shot with an appropriately-named ICER gun. "Have shown me I'm not good at improvisation. However, I excel at preparation."

"I guess to fit with that narrative, I'm your American half-sister." Ella suggested. "Joining our father to put the ashes into the ocean."

"He's headed your way." Fitz's voice broke through their comms.

"You're on." Coulson told the girls, preparing for how cold Jemma would get. Frankly, he was both curious and slightly afraid for what a bubbly person like herself would say that would be so cold.

"All Mum ever wanted was your love, to be with you." Jemma announced loudly into the compartment in character. "On our two-story Victorian home in the Cotswolds!"

Her loud cries were very audible to the other guests, wondering what the commotion was about.

"But could you even give her a moment?" Jemma drawled, as Ella was quite surprised. "What, with your banking job requiring you to travel to the states from Tuesday to Saturday every other week! No!"

"I'm terribly sorry about your loss, dear," A somewhat familiar voice said to Jemma as she looked up to find an elderly man escorted by two much younger women.

"Wait, why does that voice sound so familiar?" Zach asked through the comms.

"As for you," The man turned to Coulson, thinking he was a terrible, absentee father. "Now is your chance to do better. Why don't you see that you take it!"

"Thank you, sir," Jemma answered in character. The elderly man was clearly ashamed of this character, and turned to the women behind him. "Let's go."

"He's right," Jemma stayed in character and stood up, as Ella was shocked at how prepared Jemma was. "You never had any time for her. But you made time for your work... and your prostitutes! And my half of a sister!"

At the same time, Ella noticed Mancini had entered the compartment, but turned at the comment and mouthed, "Half of a sister? Prostitutes?"

Multiple women gasped as Jemma cried and left her seat, only to "bump" into Mancini, dropping the urn and the ashes out onto the floor. "Oh, no!" Jemma remained in character. "Mum!"

Mancini was confused as to what he was supposed to do, and turned to his personnel, speaking Italian to them. "Terribly sorry," Coulson apologized to him and the entire cabin as the three leaned down to collect the ashes.

"Prostitutes?" Coulson broke character and whispered to her. "Plural?"

"Half of a sister?" Ella asked in confusion as well. "That sounds like something some girl would say when she remembers she has a sister!"

"May," Coulson announced into his comm covertly. "Coming your way."

—------------------------------------

Top of the Train

May had stayed on top of the train, tracking Mancini through the compartments as she traversed the train.

"Copy that," She acknowledged as she turned in the direction Mancini was walking in. "Following the target to the package."

She looked below her, tracking in thermal infrared vision from her goggles, which had broadcast to Skye's computer.

"Great, we can see what you see," Skye's voice told May, with Fitz following after her.

"All right, May. CyberTek cases are usually lined with Tungsten polymers to prevent scanning." Fitz's voice told her. "It should appear black on your infrared."

May continued walking down the train, until her goggles picked up a pitch black object, outlining it in white as she waited on Comms team to confirm. "Bingo. Eyes on the package, fourth seat from the back."

—------------------------------------

"As we round the bend, the passengers on the north side of the train can take in the views of the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Isn't it a wonder?"

The automated voices played in the cabin that Ella, Coulson and Jemma remained in, after cleaning up the ashes of a pretend mother.

"Look at that," Jemma said, still in her character as they gazed out into the marvelous sight outside the train. "I haven't seen anything so beautiful since our family's scuba diving trip to the island of Koh Tao in southeastern Thailand."

"Jemma, it's remarkable about all this, but we really need to—" Ella tried to get her out, but Jemma stayed in character, unbroken.

"Don't you both want to know which marine life we encountered?" Jemma asked, going way too deep into this.

"Ward, Eddie," Coulson said through comms. "Are you in position?" But all of a sudden, the three heard inference in the comms — static noise, garbled up nonsense ringing — through them.

"My comms are down," Coulson said as he took his finger to the device in his ear. "Are either of yours working?"

"Fitz? Skye? Nick?" Jemma did the same, as she took her hand over her ear. "Zach? Eds? Mom?" Ella asked in her comms.

"Something's wrong," Coulson deduced as he stood out of his seat. "Sit tight. I'm gonna make sure we don't lose that package."

He promptly walked across the cabins to find Ward & Eddie, as he removed his fake glasses, stashing them away in his coat pocket, coming into a seeming empty caboose.

On a nearby table, a cup of tea was still there, making Coulson believe someone was in there. He checked the cup, finding it was still warm, must mean someone was there very recently.

He looked frantically around the caboose, as he heard noises of scrambling near where he came from, as Ward and Eddie ran out.

"Ward!" Coulson shouted. "Eddie!"

"We've been made!" They both shouted back as Eddie noticed a grenade thrown in front of him. "Grenade!" Eddie shouted. "We gotta jump!"

The three quickly ran out of the caboose, and catapulted themselves to their right, into a not-so-grassy area, rolling onto stable ground. As they turned back, Mancini had taken the grenade, and chuckled it at them.

But as the grenade exploded, a purple gas flooded out, and the train disappeared before their very eyes.

As if it were magic.

—------------------------------------

"The train... it just..." Ward said as the three got to their feet. "Disappeared," Coulson continued. "Which, I might add... not easy."

"Cybertek knew we were there," Eddie said as he whipped off his coat. "Had the drop on me and Ward."

"We told Simmons we'd come back for them," Ward told Coulson, who nodded. "May's there. They'll be okay."

"No, she's not." Eddie shook his head, as he walked towards a tumbleweed, digging May's goggles out of it, meaning May escaped the train as well.

"Are your phones working?" Coulson asked as he dug out his phone, as the others went ahead and did the same. Again, another no.

"CyberTek must've taken out all the electronics," Eddie said. Coulson noted the contents of the grenade that Mancini had thrown at them, and inspected it's insides for any details. "Not a grenade exactly," Coulson guessed. "Might be some kind of cloaking mechanism,"

"Maybe it created some kind of portal?" Ward asked. "Jumped the train there?"

"Let's hope not," Coulson answered, and turned to the boys. "I can't deal with Asgard today."

"They knew we were coming," Eddie exclaimed. "How?!"

"Could've been The Clairvoyant." Coulson answered, alluding to the mysterious person behind Raina & Project Centipede, who had access to anything Shield related, and could even predict what they're gonna do or what they will do.

The three heard engines reeving as they turned behind them, finding ATVs driving up behind them. "We've got to get back to the plane," Coulson hurried. "Come on!"

The three bolted off from the railroad into the fields, evading the Italian authorities, until they arrived to find a seemingly abandoned truck. "Keys might be in it."

Ward and Eddie gave him an incredulous look. "It's the country," Coulson responded as they walked to the car. "People are very trusting in the country."

Ward took a look inside the car, which made a whirring sound. "It's running," Ward confirmed, and looked inside, finding two wires which had been cut with one end burnt and the other still copper orange. "Yeah, it's been hotwired."

"This is..." Coulson drawled, as Eddie continued. "Suspicious? Very."

"I was going to say fortuitous." Coulson clarified. "Let's get out of here." The older agent took the driver's seat, as Ward and Eddie hopped in after him.

The Bus.

In the briefing room of the Bus, the holotable rang with the Shield insignia glowing red in passing intervals, like a telephone.

Coulson tapped on the table, answering the call, which led to the call appearing on the screen in front of them, as an Italian authority he kept in contact with answered.

"Signore Russo!" Coulson answered. "What happened?"

"Agent Coulson — Thank god!" Russo answered, as he had a nasty gash on his face, right above his left eye. "I've been trying to reach you — CyberTek knew! They knew we were at the station."

"They knew we were on the train too," Coulson told the other agent. "Most of my team is unaccounted for."

"Most of my men are dead!" Russo exclaimed. "Where are you now?"

"On our plane, we'll send you the coordinates." Coulson finished. "And Russo... Do you have any idea what happened to the train?"

"What do you mean?"

"It vanished," Coulson answered. "With our team still on it."

"Okay..." Russo nodded. "We'll look into that. I'm on my way to you now, and maybe together, we can find some answers, yes?"

Coulson tapped to end the call, as he took out the cloth holding the components of the grenade. "What now?" Eddie asked him.

"I'll call H.Q.," Coulson ordered. "Ward, you take this." He said, handing him the grenade. "We need to figure out what the hell happened to that train."

Ward took the grenade end to the lab, and placed it onto a device that would scan physical objects, and render them as holographic 3-D models. He shrugged, waiting for the table to turn on, and looked around.

"Holotable..." Ward said, as he swept his right arm over the surface. "On!" Nothing happened.

"Holotable... activate!" Ward commanded, waving his arms over the table again. Nothing again.

Ward reached down, and found an on switch, which he flicked open, turning it on, and as he rose back up, he lifted his arms up, revealing what the holotable had been used for previously.

And on it, were specs of microorganisms, planets, engines, weapons, and landscapes. It was used for a plethora of things, as Ward shook his head.

Ward swiped all the unnecessary things off, and found the holographic version of the grenade and picked up it, and placed it at the forefront.

"Shield pulled satellite images," Coulson explained as he and Eddie made their way to the lab. "And?" Ward asked.

"Train's gone." Eddie answered. "They're checking alternate routes."

"If it's somewhere on Earth, we'll find it," Coulson reassured them, as he looked to the holotable. "It's pretty tricky, right? I couldn't even find the 'on' button."

"Can ya... zoom in?" Coulson asked either of them, as Ward stretched his arm out to pinch it open, hoping it would zoom in. Still nothing. He tried again, and even went to stretch the image, as Coulson tried to take a stab at it.

"I think Fitz-Simmons do something more like..." Coulson said as he opened the palm of his hand and pushed it. 

STILL NOTHING.

Eddie waved his hands over it. Wrong again. Coulson decided on one final attempt, and wiggled his fingers over it, and the 3-D model went all out of sorts, as the three looked at each other.

"Let's just..." Eddie spoke up. "Upload this to H.Q."

"Good idea." Ward and Coulson said.

(a/n: hello again — yeah, that whole plotline about Ward sleeping with May... not happening. That was just weird.)

Before they could do anything, Russo's car pulled up to the Bus, as he exited his vehicle. "Agent Coulson!" The authority exclaimed. "It's gonna be all right. We found your people..."

"The train, it's — AGH!" Russo gasped in pain as his body jerked forward, and blood trickled from his mouth as he dropped to the floor, and May stood behind him, bleeding and bruised.

Ward, Coulson and Eddie were shocked at her state of being, as she simply muttered in a vengeful tone.

"Wheels up in five..."

—------------------------------------

May explained that when the comms went out, CyberTek had left the dining car, and they'd known that she was above them. She was shot however, and was forced to abandon the train. But to her, the train never disappeared.

She had actually found the three frozen in place, with purple veins on their faces, but with steady heart rates.

She dropped her goggles there to find her place, and she was the one to hotwire the car they used. But unfortunately, Russo was working with CyberTek and was on their payroll, and he planned to kill the three agents, causing her to kill him.

"You're hurt," Eddie called out to his adoptive mother. "You need stitches!"

"I said, get the plane ready!" May yelled. After she'd cleaned up and set the plane to autopilot, she went down to the lab, preparing to stitch herself up.

After applying the burning sensation that is rubbing alcohol, she took a pair of surgical tweezers with a stitch, and prepared to sew herself.

"Let me help," Coulson's voice offered, as he found a medical cabinet and pulled out anesthetic and cotton swabs. "You know, we have this stuff for a reason." May sat atop the counter, and prepared for the numbness.

"Shield found the train," Coulson told her as he took a swab and opened the anesthetic. "Turns out it switched tracks shortly after we got off."

He rolled the swab over her injuries as she hissed in pain, but tolerated it. "The grenade must've released some kind of toxin, made us believe no time had passed."

"Yeah, I saw you three frozen on the field," May chuckled. "You looked ridiculous."

"It wasn't supposed to be a combat op," Coulson said gently. "They'll be fine," May reassured. "My daughter's with them too, they can handle themselves, so can she."

Coulson applied gauze to the cut on her chest as she held onto it, and he gently pulled the one of the straps of her tank top back on her shoulder. "Did he get you anywhere else?"

May scoffed lightly, and smirked, as Eddie waited by the door of the lab, waiting for them to finish up. "We need to re-route the plane," Eddie said as a silence swept over them. "Just got word from Shield that the train stopped suddenly in the Italian countryside."

"What?" Coulson asked curiously. "Why?"

"We'll find out soon," Eddie responded. "Ward's set the coordinates, touchdown in 10."

—------------------------------------

Hours ago...

"As we round the bend, the passengers on the north side of the train can take in the views of the famous Tre Cime di Lavaredo. Isn't it a wonder?"

Skye, Fitz, Nick & Zach stayed stashed away in the luggage compartment, maintaining their communications with the others. "Wish we had more time to take in the scenery..." Fitz said, as he looked through the windows of what little they could see.

"Three peaks of Lavaredo." He stated as they continued monitoring May's feed. "They're supposed to be stunning."

"Any chance what's in there could be an 0-8-4?" Skye asked the team, as she was still with little experience.

"Probably not," Zach said as they continued watching. "It's from CyberTek, as far as we and Shield knows, they never came into contact with anything like it."

"Also, it's not unknown origin," Nick explained. "0-8-4's are like Thor's hammer—"

"Mjolnir." Zach reiterated. "Mjolnir, that thing in Peru," Nick clarified. "They're of unknown origin. This could be man-made."

"But the 0-8-4 in Peru was a machine too," Skye remembered. "But they don't always have to be, right?"

"Nah, I've read about all kinds of them," Fitz explained. "Weapons, spacecrafts, energy sources."

"Technically, the intergalactic translator in my neck could be an 0-8-4," Zach pointed to the side of his neck. "Never knew how I got it. Except what differentiates them and that machine is that the latter is dangerous."

"Exactly," Nick spoke up, and looked back at Zach. "Wait, You have a what?"

"Whatever this package turns out to be," Fitz said to the other three, but to Skye in general. "We'll deal with it. Like we always do."

"We've faced worse and made it through," Nick said, as Skye looked down, and back. "Hey, have you ever heard of an 0-8-4 being a per–"

"Guys — guys!" Zach exclaimed as he pointed to the computers, as a static sound emitted from their devices. May's visuals weren't projected anymore.

"May's goggles are offline – when did that happen?" Nick asked. "May, do you copy!"

The team of four quickly tried anything to reestablish contact, trying their phones, reconnecting comms, and even turning off their devices and turning them back on.

"All comms and phones are dead," Zach said as he tried his phone. "Fuck! Could it be an EMP?"

"It could be, but it's some sort of electronic scrambler," Skye answered. "CyberTek knows we're here," Fitz warned.

"We have to warn our team," Skye accepted and rushed to the door, only for it to be broken through by another man, firing a gun at them. "Get down!" Skye yelled, as everyone ducked below.

A bullet grazed Zach, but barely did anything as he was bulletproof. However, many more went through their computers as sparks flew off the damaged devices.

Nick hid behind a series of shelves and drew his ICER pistol out, pointing it from a safe range, and fired two bullets, hoping they would knock their opponent down.

Skye grabbed a rolling drawer, and pushed it towards the man, missing him, as she swung a punch towards him, knocking some luggage down. He made his way into the middle as Fitz pushed him towards the wall and gripped his arms.

Zach quickly dug into his pockets, taking out a slim bracelet resembling Natasha's Widow's Bite, and adjusted it around his wrist, powering it up with a purple hue, the same color of the dendrotoxin used in the ICERs.

(a/n: imagine it suits up like this, but it looks more like Black Widow's "Widow's Bite")

He then stood up, and fired his own bolt of the ICER bullets towards the guy, and powered up his other fist, as Skye & Nick both held their ICERs at him. "You wanna try to blow up this train, do you?" Nick asked sarcastically.

He then dove his hand into his suit pocket, and pulled out a grenade. As he pressed to activate it, it glowed blue and hummed, raising it above his head.

"We've been made!" Jemma cried as she entered the compartment with Ella, and saw the grenade glowing behind the guy. "Oh, bloody hell!" She cursed.

Ella lunged towards the man and held him in a chokehold, putting the grenade to his chest as Jemma covered the others. The grenade didn't explode, but it emitted a shock that made the three of them fall unconscious on the ground.

"Oh my god!" Skye exclaimed as the four rushed to their friends' aid. The two had purple veins rushing on their face, being frozen. She checked for Jemma's pulse, while Zach checked for Ella's.

"Come on, please don't be dead..." Zach prayed as he felt for her pulse, and his prayers were answered when he found her pulse, she was alive. At the same time, Skye had found Jemma's, and Fitz and Nick both sighed in relief.

"Okay, hold them up," Fitz instructed as they raised their heads up to prop them on pillows. "There we go," Fitz said as he adjusted Jemma's and Zach adjusted for Ella.

However, he noticed the veins were vanishing, yet the two women and the guard were still unconscious. "I think this is some form of dendrotoxin." Fitz deduced.

"The same stuff that's in our ICERs?" Nick asked.

"Yeah, but CyberTek's made modifications." Zach said as he observed them. "It's airborne now. Something's different, since their eyes are open."

Fitz gently closed their eyes, while Skye looked through the door. "We gotta get out of here." She directed. "Find the others, and figure out what to do next."

"Well, we have to move the girls first," Nick said. "We can't leave them here, next to whoever-the-fuck-that-prick-is."

"Look at her little face," Fitz remarked, looking at Jemma. "She'd be so embarrassed." His comment sounded like some form of admiration.

"We should leave them with something to protect themselves," Skye exclaimed. "Just in case."

"I have a spare," Nick appealed and drew his second ICER, re-arming it, and placing it in Ella's hand. "Speaking of..." He said as he turned to Zach. "What was that thing you put on?" He asked him. "I thought you didn't need an ICER?"

"Best to be prepared," Zach shrugged as he showed the device, as Fitz took another ICER, and placed it in Jemma's. "I had an idea to make a Widow's Bite thing — Black Widow's stingers, if you will — but they have dendrotoxin in them. Small, but powerful." He addressed them. "If I used my powers out in public, it wouldn't be very covert."

"Ah... nice," Fitz remarked, while the four looked at the prick who tried to kill them. "What about him?" Skye asked the four, wondering what to do with him.

—------------------------------------

Minutes later, they stuffed the man inside a wooden crate, while Fitz took his remaining ICER and shot him with two bullets, ensuring he was very unconscious. "That's for the girls." He said as he shut the crate.

However, the brakes of the train came to a screeching halt, as the agents felt the train come to a stop. "Train stopped." Zach proclaimed.

"Yeah, and I looked everywhere," Skye replied. "May, Ward, Eddie, & Coulson are gone."

"Well, what about CyberTek?" Nick asked, but the four heard voices outside the train window, covered in fog. After they wiped the window, they found a group of people with the package, heading towards an armored transport vehicle.

"They have the package." Skye exclaimed, as they all peered away from the window.

"What do we do?" Fitz asked the group. "We're the only ones left." Nick thought to himself, and turned to Fitz. "Do you have more trackers?"

"Yes," Fitz replied. "Of course."

"Then we're gonna follow them."

—------------------------------------

Ian Quinn's Italian Villa.

Minutes later, the agents arrived where the transport had led them to, a large villa owned by Ian Quinn himself. As they peered from the surrounding foliage, they found the rip-off playboy, arriving right outside it.

"Coulson was right," Fitz announced to the team as they laid eyes on Quinn. "CyberTek led us to Quinn."

"God, he's trying so hard," Zach cringed at Quinn. "He's really trying to be Dad."

"Activate the tracker," Skye ordered. "Let them know we're here." Fitz held a small device in his palm, and turned it on, with a little "hmmm" sound. "You want to go in?" Nick asked the hacker. "That's suicide."

"We can't let Quinn get away," The determined agent responded. "If Coulson were here, he wouldn't let that happen." She turned to the boys. "He wouldn't want us to let that happen."

"You're right," Fitz nodded, as he dug into his backpack and pulled out another smaller device. "Let's do it."

"Can you disable the cars?" Skye asked the engineer. Fitz rolled the small object in his right hand.

"With my bare hands." He coyly responded, as he pulled out another ICER. "Take this."

"But won't you need it?" Skye asked again, as Fitz looked to Nick and Zach. "I'm with an expert sharpshooter that rivals Ward, and an Avenger." He responded. "Besides, you'll need it more."

"Just be careful, Skye," Nick told her. "We nearly lost Jemma & Coulson. We can't lose you."

Skye nodded. "You too." She spoke up. "All three of you." Fitz grabbed his bag, and ran off to disable the cars. Nick reloaded his ICER with a fresh magazine of dendrotoxin, ready to knock anyone out, and Zach went around to join him.

Skye ran around the back of the villa, armed with her ICER. Two of Quinn's guards was walking around the bend, and nearly called out for reinforcements, but Skye quickly shot him, putting them both unconscious.

—------------------------------------

Near the front of the villa, a guard was distracted by some distant noise, and proceeded to check it out. Fitz was hiding underneath one of their vehicles, avoiding their gaze.

A "PHEW" sound rang out as the guard was knocked out, just as Nick and Zach pulled their unconscious body aside, as Fitz activated a device to disable their cars. Once all the guards were unconscious, they hid behind the cars, waiting for Skye to emerge with Quinn.

Skye ventured further within the villa, and proceeded down to the basement of the villa, unlocking the door, and walking in. What she saw was something not expected at all.

The room had a console with two wine bottles and two wine glasses, as if Quinn was expecting some in that room to join him in drinking.

But what stood out was a giant capsule in the far right corner of the room with windows, a control panel and blue light coming from inside it. The package they were tracking was on that console table, next to the wine. Skye placed her hand upon the box, and looked to the capsule and was in horror of who she saw inside it.

A badly burned, but alive, Mike Peterson.

"Mike?" Skye questioned as she saw the former Centipede-enhanced human inside.

"Hello!" A cheerful voice screeched from behind her, making her jolt and turn to point the ICER at none other than the fugly bastard, Ian Quinn.

Carlo Mancini was right beside him, taking the ICER from her grip, and pointed it at her. "Skye..." Quinn began to indulge them in his monologue. "The Clairvoyant told me to expect you."

"Signore Quinn," Mancini spoke up in English. "This is the same gun as the specs you gave us."

"You guys have been looking for us," Quinn whispered menacingly. "Well, we've been looking at you. And we found a handful of some particularly interesting things."

Quinn walked towards the top of the capsule, nearby Mike's head. He flicked a couple of switches, turned the hatch, and opened Mike's capsule, pulling him out as if he were in an MRI.

Mike looked worse than he did inside. His right leg from the knee down was completely missing, covered in stitches, yet still burned up. But upon feeling the air outside the capsule, Mike instantly woke up, and sat up.

"Mike..." Skye uttered as Mike completely sat up, groaning as he did, and saw the damage he endured from the explosion, yet relieved he was alive. "Oh, god... you're alive."

"That's right!" Quinn commented. "You two know each other." He aggressively tapped the edge of Mike's bed, turning his attention to him.

"Do you know who I am?" he commanded Mike, who nodded. "And you have your orders?" Mike nodded once again.

"Good," Quinn answered. "Because I purchased something that's gonna help you complete them." he chuckled as he took the ICER from Mancini, pointing at Skye.

"Orders?" Skye repeated. "Mike! What is happening here?" Mike remained silent to her pleas, as Mancini opened the case, revealing a cylindrical object glowing blue from the inside.

He took the object, and slid it onto Mike's stump on his right leg, being a perfect fit. Mike glared at Skye, as the device hummed and locked onto his leg. "Stand, please." Mancini ordered Mike, who complied.

Mike stood up, and braced himself against his bed, while Mancini plugged in some commands, and started up the device. Mike hollered in pain, and the device began to assemble itself, expanding below the stump and into a fully prosthetic leg.

"Mancini... thank you," Quinn appreciated his partner, and handed over the gun to him. "You will be receiving your payment shortly."

Mike tried to walk around with his new leg, as Quinn took attention to him. "THAT... is the best money can buy, my friend," He grinned. "Every piece of technology is top of the line. I'm just wonder if I'm getting my money's worth."

"I know you get your orders from the Clairvoyant," Quinn responded. "So that means you're not allowed to hurt me, right?"

Mike remained silent, as Quinn whispered. "No."

"What if I tried to hurt you?" Quinn asked as he pulled out a pistol from his coat pocket, pulling the hammer back as if he was ready to shoot him. "Would you stop me?"

"No." Mike finally broke his silence, speaking in a robotic tone. "I would not."

"Mike, listen," Skye finally spoke up as well, as Mike turned to his former friend. "I don't know what they're doing to you, but we have to get out of here, now." Mike simply looked down. Even if he could, he couldn't. The Clairvoyant wouldn't allow him to do anything out of free will.

Not even see his own son, Ace.

"And if I wanted you to..." Quinn whispered as he placed his pistol in Mike's hand, aiming it towards Skye. "hurt her? You know, to kill her."

Skye took a deep breath, full of fear as the gun was aimed at her chest. "Will you?" Quinn loved the feeling of manipulating Mike, her former friend, to strike fear within her.

"I mean..." Quinn psychotically laughed. "What would hurt Agent Coulson more than to lose his pet project?"

"Those aren't my orders." Mike droned, as the cyborg showed he still held humanity in him. "She's not who I'm supposed to kill." With that, Mike handed back the pistol to him, and marched out of the room.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Skye yelled as she ran after him, but Mike didn't listen to her pleas. Enraged, Skye turned back to Quinn. "What the hell did you do to him?" She growled.

BANG.

The sound of a gunshot echoed in the room, as Skye, terrified for her life, looked down and clutched her stomach, as the shell dropped to the ground. Skye looked down and felt the wet sensation of blood leaking out of her.

She'd been shot.

Quinn shot her.

Skye looked back at Quinn, who slowly walked towards her and grabbed her before she could fall to the ground, and shushed her.

BANG.

Skye lurched again, as she felt another bullet enter her. She gasped for breath, as Quinn put her on the ground. Blood stained her teeth, and she shuttered, thinking that was going to be how she'd die.

"I'm sorry," Quinn seemed to show some kind of genuine apology, but it didn't seem so as he took a handkerchief, and rubbed off his fingerprints from the gun. "I have my orders, too."

Quinn exited the room, and left Skye for dead, as she held her chest, still gasping for what little air she could still breathe.

"Help..."

—------------------------------------

Mike entered the living room of the villa, where the CyberTek guards awaited for Quinn to pay them handsomely for the job they've done for him. "Where's Quinn?" One of the employees greedily asked the cyborg.

"Where's our money?" Mancini ordered him.

"There is no money," Mike switched back to a robotic tone. "You failed."

"It looks like it's working to me," Mancini rebuttaled to him, but the employee shushed him, and spoke to Mike.

"Apparently, there's been a misunderstanding." She tried to convince him. "We delivered the package as promised. If we can just speak to Mr. Quinn—"

Mike looked at Mancini, and quickly jabbed at the woman's throat to choke her, causing the guards to quickly take out their guns, and point them at him.

"The Clairvoyant isn't happy." Mike interrupted her. "You led Shield right to us."

—------------------------

Outside the Villa.

Fitz snuck underneath another car, about to disable it when suddenly, he heard glass break from his left, and the car felt a slight thud on it. The object dropped down to the ground next to Fitz.

It was Carlo Mancini's dead corpse.

Fitz snuck out from under the vehicle, while Zach & Nick came from around the corner, making sure the perimeter was clear when they heard the commotion from inside.

Bullets came raining from inside, and the yells of multiple people were silenced as Fitz stumbled back in fear, only to bump into Jemma, who quickly hugged him, relieved he was safe.

Eddie shook hands with Nick, while Ella quickly hugged Zach, just as Coulson immediately asked the team, "Where's Skye?"

"S-She didn't want Quinn to get away." Fitz stuttered. Coulson nodded to Ward & Eddie, who called for Ella, Zach and Nick to join them inside to see what went wrong.

Ward and Eddie kicked down the door, and stormed in, with ICERs blazing, as Ella, Zach and Nick followed behind. Multiple of Quinn's personnel were taken down.

Quinn tried to walk away, only for Nick to dash behind Quinn and jab an ICER into his back, while Coulson pressed an actual gun onto his forehead.

In the other room, Mike had finished up slaughtering all of the CyberTek guards, and proceeded to watch the massacre he ensued on them. In his now robotic eye, a new message arrived from the Clairvoyant.

DO NOT ENGAGE S.H.I.E.L.D.

Nick violently threw Quinn into the table, as Coulson inspected his hands. Quinn may have gotten his prints of the weapon, but he literally had blood on his hands.

Coulson grew just as violent and pulled him back up, pulling the ends of what was likely hair transplants.

I mean, come on. He's a wannabe. He's GOT to have hair transplants, right?

"Where's Skye?" Coulson growled at Quinn, who smirked, even though he had a gun aimed beneath his chin. "You know, Agent Coulson..." Quinn chuckled. "It's dangerous to keep sending her in like that... all alone."

Coulson angrily took the end of his gun, and whipped him right across the cheek, as Eddie & Ward slammed Quinn's head back onto the table. "Search the house," he ordered the rest of the agents. "Find her! NOW!"

The Agents split up across the villa, while May stayed back with Quinn to handcuff him. Fitz & Simmons bolted upstairs, Ward, Ella and Zach checked on the main floor, & Coulson and Eddie ran downstairs.

"Second story is clear, sir," Jemma's voice answered on comms, as the two rushed down.

"Main floor is clear, Coulson." Zach's emitted, just a little audible from where they were.

"But we have several casualties, I count up to 7 members of CyberTek here." Ella repeated after him.

The basement was their only hope. Eddie kicked down the door, as the two ran in, and Coulson found Skye, pale and bloody, yet still clinging on to life. "Oh, no..." Coulson panicked as he saw the state of her body. "Oh, god."

Eddie was in disbelief, and yelled back upstairs. "SIMMONS!" He yelled. "JEMMA, GET DOWN HERE!"

Skye was still breathing, but just barely. "Oh, god," Coulson pleaded. "Hang on, just hang on, okay?" Jemma had quickly rushed down with Fitz and the others, and gasped when they saw the sight of their friend on the ground.

"She's been shot," Eddie reported. "Keep her upright!" Jemma ordered, as Coulson checked for her pulse.

There was no pulse.

"She's lost too much blood!" Jemma cried, whilst she looked to everyone, looking for something that could help, until she laid her eyes on the capsule in the room.

"Put her in there," She ordered.

"Do you even know what this thing is?" Ward doubted the doctor. "It's a hyperbaric chamber!" Jemma responded. "And I said, put her in there, now!"

Coulson, Zach, Nick, and Fitz lifted her up and carefully put her on the bed of the hyperbaric chamber. "I need to get her temperature down — Fitz!" Jemma commanded.

"Okay, I got it!" Fitz responded urgently and adjusted the parameters of the chamber as Skye was fully inside. The temperature lowered, and the pressure built up in a matter of seconds.

"Temperature's dropping," Fitz exclaimed. "Pressure's stabilizing." Jemma noted.

"Is it working?" May asked, with more emotion in her voice than she's ever shown to them. "Is it working?!" Coulson repeated her question, but much louder.

The agents waited anxiously, waiting for anything to happen, especially a miracle.

And finally, Skye exhaled and began breathing normally. "For now," Jemma confirmed as she looked to her superiors.

Aboard the BUS.

"Her core temperature's hovering around 44 degrees Fahrenheit." Jemma stated as the hyperbaric chamber took up space inside the lab.

However, it came with a warning. "If we don't bring her back up to temp in the next few hours," Jemma continued. "She could sustain permanent brain damage."

"We need to get her to a medical facility, and fast," Jemma finished. "Until then, I'll do everything I can to keep her alive. Excuse me..." She left the room to further venture into the lab.

The young doctor scourged for anything she can use to help Skye, finding a set of wipes. She quickly ripped it open, and pulled out a few to clean Skye's blood from her hands.

Jemma started to sob as she cleaned her hands, but it wasn't until Fitz put his hand on her shoulder, as she turned to him and allowed her to bury herself into him, crying about the possibility that Skye's death would be on her.

Fitz embraced Jemma, who cried into his shoulder, while Eddie exited the lab, as May walked after him. Eddie punched the wall of the Bus, not caring that he hurt himself, but he blamed himself for Skye being alone with Quinn.

"It's not your fault, son," May told her son, who breathed harder with rage, and she put her hand on his shoulder.

"She never should've gone in there alone," Eddie seethed to himself.

"Blaming yourself won't help her," May addressed, while Eddie composed himself.

"I'm not blaming myself." Eddie said. Nick stayed with Coulson in the lab, watching with him to see Skye make a positive development.

Ella was in her cot, sobbing that she could possibly lose another friend. She had already lost her sister-in-law, and she was building back a friendship with her ex-boyfriend, but she couldn't believe that she'd watch one of her friends die.

Zach was just as worried as well, and he knocked on the door of her cot, and Ella didn't have to look to let him in. He sat down next to her, as her head dropped onto his shoulder and she hugged him from the side.

Zach felt her tears drip on his shirt, and he was praying that Skye would make a recovery. He really hoped she would.

In a nearby park, Mike Peterson watched parents and children enjoy their time together engaging in activities. It was a luxury he could no longer enjoy.

He quickly took a notepad from his pocket along with a pen, and scribbled a quick note only the Clairvoyant could see. Once finished, he pocketed the pen, and raised the note to his robotic eye.

Can I please see my son?

Mike held it up for a few more seconds, then lifted it down, looking back to the happy families, where his sister-in-law was taking care of Ace.

Not yet.

The Clairvoyant wrote back instantly. In anger of what he was forced to do, Mike ripped out the page, and crumbled it up in his burnt hand. The gears in his leg continued to rotate, and Mike was no longer any normal human.

He lived to serve the Clairvoyant, and his allies, but no longer by his human name, but by something completely different.

No longer was he Mike Peterson, an trainee of Shield and a father to his son. He now had a new name. It was something completely different, but not inhuman.

Deathlok.

FMTUFU IME M XUQ.

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