Mack's last day at SHIELD was not going the way he expected it to. He'd planned to go to the ship, grab his belongings and say goodbye to a couple of agents before leaving the floating vehicle and never affiliating with the organisation again.
The last thing he expected to have done was break Skye out of the prison her enhanced mother had locked her in and fight an eyeless man who could teleport while trying to stop him from opening a case full of Terrigen crystals.
"You're different than the others," Gordon said, watching as Mack held his axe close to the floor, "I sense you've encountered something Kree."
"Wasn't pleasant," Mack spat out, he resisted the urge to touch the parts of his body Nina had shoved a knife through. His encounter with Kree technology was the reason for the dark marks on his skin and he'd appreciate not getting any more.
"I can imagine" Gordon grinned, "so why don't you put that thing down, avoid any further unpleasantness?"
"I don't think so," Mack lifted his axe, holding it to his shoulder like a baseball player did a bat, "I've seen what these crystals can do. So, if you want them, you're gonna have to come get-"
The agent's words were cut off as the eyeless man disappeared, reappearing in front of him and sending his fist into his face. Mack didn't so much as stagger before he swung his axe. Gordon anticipated the attack and managed to block the blow and the axe went flying out of his hand.
The large mechanic scrambled after the weapon while Gordon made a beeline towards the case. He tried to open it but Mack stopped his attempt by grabbing the fallen axe and launching it in Gordon's direction. The inhuman responded by once again disappearing as Mack scrambled to his feet.
"What the hell took you so long?" Mack breathed out heavily, sparing a glance at the open door while he stood protectively over the case.
"It's a big boat with poor signage!" Coulson said in defence as he walked into the room, Fitz following behind him. The engineer walked straight to the case and set down his equipment.
"That no-eyed guy keeps popping in here trying to get at these crystals. If he breaks them-"
"Everybody's a statue. We heard," Coulson cut in, "Fitz?"
"On it," Fitz responded immediately, getting to work. He took out a couple of things from his bag and moved towards the walls, installing them. As he did so, Coulson handed Mack a gun.
"Here, take this."
"Thanks, but I'll stick with the axe," Mack took the gun and tucked it into the waist of his jeans, "ricochets in here will be bad. And trust me, you will miss."
"Right," Coulson nodded in agreement, putting his own gun away while Mack pointed to Fitz.
"What are those things?" he asked the scientist.
"Quantum field disrupters, they should contain him here if he comes back," he answered. He spared the mechanic a look before focusing back on his work, quietly wondering why Nina had absentmindedly joked about being wary of Mack.
"Of course, why didn't I think of that?" Mack playfully rolled his eyes.
"That's okay, you've been busy and you're not a quantum physicist. It's completely understandable," Fitz smiled, moving back to his case and grabbing another part of his device.
"That's his polite way of saying, not everyone can be as smart as him," Nina said as she walked into the room, sending Fitz a subtle wink, "he's a cocky little bastard, but you can't help but love him."
"Love you too, Nina," Fitz said with a soft laugh before getting back to work.
"What took you so long?" Coulson asked playfully as she walked further in, his smile fading slightly as he watched the white-haired girl follow in behind her.
"Seriously? Do you know how big this ship is?"
"He's just joking, baby," Fitz called out, the only one to realise she hadn't noticed the director's playful tone, "you were actually really fast."
"Well I studied the map before we left base, and Dawn knew where the crystals were kept so we came straight here," Nina pointed to the inhuman nonchalantly, almost like she'd forgotten the last time they'd seen her, Dawn was threatening to kill her.
"So, she's..." Fitz trailed off, nervously looking at her.
"Oh, right. She's on our side now," Nina waved off the concern, "no need to worry."
"She tried to kill you not even 20 minutes ago and now you're friends?" Fitz asked confused and Nina nodded.
"You're always telling me to be more social," she shrugged and Fitz sighed. He couldn't even be annoyed because she was right.
"Okay," Coulson nodded. Unlike Fitz, he didn't need a further explanation and just turned to speak directly to Dawn, "nice to have you aboard."
"I'll do my best to help," Dawn said softly, "us Inhumans, we are not evil just... misled."
Coulson nodded in response, seemingly sympathising with the telepath. Mack looked to the newcomer and then to the team very confused, and when Nina caught his eye, she suddenly remembered the two hadn't been introduced yet.
"Oh right. Mack this is Dawn, she helped me get my memories back and gave me control over my powers," Nina told him and he nodded in understanding, "Dawn this is Mack, he betrayed the team not too long ago. The person he betrayed us for was the one who ordered those bracelets on me, remember, the ones that I arrived at Afterlife with that left me half dead. Mack actually made them."
"Jesus, Nina," Mack grimaced while Dawn took a noticeable step away from him, "did that have to be my introduction?"
"Why not? It's the truth," Nina shrugged before turning around to face Dawn, "he's all forgiven though and knows he was wrong, isn't that right Mack?"
"Yes," Mack answered immediately, he truly was but the response came more as a response to the tone she'd used. It was very casual and she'd said his name like it was the most fragile thing in the world, as if the moment he stepped out of line she'd shatter it.
Part of him knew that was exactly what she'd do.
"Forgiveness aside, Fitz are you done?" Coulson asked and when the man nodded, the director grabbed a large wrench lying on the ground, "Jiaying's not the only one who can set a trap, you know, I batted over .400 in little league."
"Impressive," Nina grinned as she watched him adjust his grip, "I could never get over .350."
"You did little league?" Mack questioned surprised and Nina nodded.
"I liked hitting things and Tony wanted to find a less destructive outlet."
"Less destructive?" Dawn asked confused, "what were you hitting before?"
"People," Nina and Fitz said at the same time.
The couple pointed at each other and smiled while the other occupants of the room froze. Dawn, not used to such stories, blinked rapidly while Mack just stood with his mouth agape. Coulson recovered quickly, and with a soft laugh and a shake of his head, he spoke.
"That is surprisingly not surprising," Coulson smiled at her, "now go, you've got to go find Skye."
"I thought May was on that," Nina said.
"Can't hurt having some help."
"Okay," she nodded, "but are you sure you can handle Gordon on your own?"
"We'll be fine," Coulson said, gesturing to Dawn, "we've got a telepath."
"I'm not sure how much help I'll be," Dawn said softly, rubbing the base of her throat, "Nina hit me in the throat and bruised my trachea. My powers rely heavily on my voice and she's altered it."
"Really?" Nina said shocked, "one punch and you're out of commission."
"You sent a massive fist of dense ass shadows into my neck," Dawn stated, "it felt like getting hit by a truck."
"That... is understandable," Nina nodded, abandoning her defence as she remembered she'd purposely made her shadows heavier before hitting Dawn with them.
"Most I can do is get in his head, make him feel insane," Dawn told them, "all the physical stuff is up to you."
"That'll work," Coulson nodded and Nina shook out her legs slightly.
"Alright since that's settled, I'll be off," she smiled at the quartet, "try not to die without me."
"Shouldn't we be saying that to you?" Fitz asked and Nina pouted.
"Wow, you die once and you're branded for life," Nina rolled her eyes playfully.
"Haven't you had two funerals?" Mack asked and Nina paused, before turning on her heel and walking out of the room, not before throwing a 'shut up' over her shoulder.
*
Finding Skye was proving to be more difficult than Nina anticipated.
The ship was massive and where Nina was really fast, there was only so much of the vehicle she could run down before it took a toll on her body. It didn't help that she had a broken rib, one that seemed to restrict her breathing immensely when she ran for longer than a couple of minutes.
"Mierda (fuck)," she muttered under her breath, palm pressed against her skin above her injured rib. It hadn't hurt nearly as much when Dawn broke it but now every inhale felt like a hammer was being brought to her bone, "this is gonna be a problem."
Her sprinting came to a stop as she turned the corner, sliding to a halt when she came face to face with May. The agent was kneeling beside an unconscious inhuman and from the way she pushed her dark hair out of her face, Nina deduced that taking them down hadn't been easy.
"Hey May, you got a little..." Nina pointed to her lip and the older agent reached up and wiped the blood off the corner of her mouth.
"What took you so long?" May asked as Nina offered a hand, pulling May up and off her knees.
"It's a big ship," Nina shrugged, "I get that I could've been a track star but you and Coulson severely overestimate how fast I am."
May just dusted herself down, not giving her comment a direct response before asking, "Dawn?"
"Officially on our side," Nina grinned in pride, "she's helping the boys deal with Gordon."
"Thought she wanted to kill you, how'd you manage the change?"
"Nothing a quick conversation couldn't fix," she stated, "and a broken rib."
"Yours or hers?"
"Mine."
"She broke your rib," May stated looking Nina up and down. The agent had straightened her stance once encountering May and any sign that she was injured would be almost impossible to find.
"Yeah but don't worry, it only hurts an excruciating amount," she waved away the concern with a tight smile and May wasn't able to say anything before they heard footsteps moving towards them at speed.
The two women spun around defensively, May's hand going for her gun while Nina's eyes flashed black. Neither relaxed until the figure appeared around the corner, though while Nina calmed down at the sight of the newcomer, May did not.
"Nina," Lincoln said in slight surprise, he wasn't expecting to see her.
"Hey sparky," she said with a smile, watching as the man flushed at the nickname, "now before May here shoots you I gotta ask, are you with Jiaying or SHIELD in this fight?"
"I'm with you," he said without hesitation.
"Didn't know there was a third option but good enough," Nina shrugged, turning to look at May. She seemed to think the same as her hand moved away from beside her gun, "great. Now, does anyone know where Skye is?"
Nina's words were followed by a large crash to the trio's left and they all turned to face the closed door. May didn't bother sparing them another look before moving towards it while Lincoln focused back on Nina.
"My wild guess, behind that door," he answered her question and Nina rolled her eyes.
"Alright, smartass," she responded, clapping Lincoln on the back before following May.
When they entered the room, they were immediately met with the sight of Skye surrounded by multiple copies of the redhead Nina had fought back at Afterlife. The agent was in the process of knocking one down, only to immediately duck when another came at her. Nina paused as she watched Skye, an eyebrow raised impressed as she observed the woman fight.
Nina was more than okay with letting Skye finish off the three remaining redheads on her own, the agent was more than capable, but when the trio surrounded the hacker and knocked her off her feet, Lincoln yelled.
"Hey!" he screamed, catching everyone's attention.
His vocalisation caused the others in the room to act, while he struck a copy in the chest with a bolt of electricity, May charged at another while Nina dealt with the one left. She rose her hand and the shadows in the ground surged upwards before rushing towards the redhead, pushing her back roughly until her body made contact with the wall. Her head hitting it hard and knocking her out.
With the hostile inhuman taken care of, Skye looked at her saviours in surprise while May walked towards her. The seasoned agent offered her a hand, which she took.
"My head still hurts," May said, once Skye was standing.
"I'm sorry," she said softly, "I didn't know."
"You didn't know," May repeated, "but now we have to stop Jiaying."
"Might help if we lose these," Lincoln said and only then did Nina notice the cuffs on Skye's wrists, they didn't seem anything like the bracelets that almost killed her but she was sure they operated in the same way.
"Hurry. They will be more Redheads coming, the original left just before you got here," Skye said as Lincoln clasped his hands over the cuffs. His hands lit up for a second before a loud click was heard and the cuffs fell to the floor, "I'll go after Jiaying."
"Like hell you will!" Nina immediately exclaimed.
"Skye, I'll do it," May said, agreeing with Nina's disagreement, "I've done it before."
"No."
"This isn't a training session Skye," Nina stated, "you have nothing to prove here. You don't have to go after her."
"You have to be willing to-"
"I won't hesitate! Whatever it takes," Skye cut May off, "she's my mom, she's my responsibility."
"No, she's not!" Nina yelled, more pissed off than worried, "you are not responsible for anything she's done. You are not responsible for the person she is!"
Skye seemed more than prepared to yell back but the door slid open once more and the original Alisha walking in stopped such an attempt. Nina's eyes locked on her and she felt the familiar call of her shadows, they were itching for a real fight.
"Go!" May yelled as the redhead began producing more of herself. Skye spared Nina a look, one somewhere between conviction and apology, before taking off in the opposite direction.
Nina watched her leave tensed. She knew that despite how convinced Skye was that she had to do this, doing it would destroy her. Killing your mother would not be an easy thing for anyone, especially not when Skye had only recently met her after a lifetime of wondering who she was.
"May?" Nina called out as she watched May about to launch into a fight with the redheads. Lincoln was holding her and the copies off, blasting them with bolts of electricity whenever they made a move, "I can't let Skye kill her mom."
"You heard her, whatever it takes."
"It's not worth her sanity," Nina stated, "I promised her, the moment we realised something changed in us. I promised that we were in this together, I can't let her kill her."
"You said it yourself," May turned to look at her, "Jiaying needs to die."
"She does, but Skye doesn't have to be the one to do it. I can't let her be the one to do it," Nina's voice was small as she spoke, "please don't make me let her do it."
May paused as she looked at her, properly looked at her. Nina didn't wear her emotions on her sleeve, and sometimes it was impossible to know how she was feeling but she was good at using her words to express them.
Nina was scared. Not scared that Skye would fail but scared that she would succeed, scared that she too would experience watching the life drain out of a parent's eyes.
It was times like this that reminded May that despite all that Nina was, she was still that little girl who watched her father and sister die.
"Go."
"Thank you," Nina nodded, moving in the direction Skye had left in.
"And Nina," May called out just before Nina left, "you are not responsible for the actions or the person your mother became. She chose to walk out, it was never your fault."
May watched Nina freeze at her words but the younger woman didn't turn around. May had never spoke on the relationship between Nina and her mom, she felt that it wasn't her place but she needed Nina to listen to her own words for once.
"She blamed me," Nina said softly, almost reliving the moment she'd hugged her mother and heard the subtle blame leave her lips.
"And she was wrong to do so. It wasn't your job to make her stay and you didn't make her leave," May said sternly.
"I... I know, I'm just working on believing," Nina whispered out, because she did. She knew it wasn't her fault, she knew it was never her fault but blaming herself gave her an explanation as to why Angelica left.
"We'll talk more later," May said, realising that despite this being the best time to throw Nina's words back at her, it wasn't the greatest time to have an in-depth conversation about her parental pain, "find Skye."
Nina didn't stick around after that and May didn't expect her to. The Executioner ran out of the room, sending out a few shadows to track Skye as she moved while the Cavalry threw herself back into the fight with the hostile inhuman.
Knowing that the women's eagerness to protect the world and their people showed that they were both broken and in the process of being fixed.
*
Nina found Skye fairly quickly, though not painlessly. She'd run after the trail her shadows had made for her trying, and failing, to ignore the stabbing pain caused by her ribs as she did so. The pain her injured rib produced would have been bearable, had Nina not slammed her side into the corner of a wall as she slid to an abrupt stop in response to seeing the hacker on the deck through an open door.
"Motherfu-" she censored herself with a grimace. Her hand clamped over her injury and she inhaled deeply, trying to push the pain out of her mind before going to help Skye.
A broken rib had never bothered her so much but she chalked the pain up to the fact that she was exhausted. She'd been exhausted since visiting her mother in the hospital and no amount of sleep or coffee had been able to change how tired she felt.
She needed a break, the thought entered and left her mind as she pushed off the wall and towards the open door to the deck. A real break, not just a week away, she needed at least a month absent from SHIELD to just breathe.
The thought made her laugh slightly, never did Nina think she'd want a break from SHIELD.
"Mom! Stop! You can't do this!" Nina heard Skye yell as she walked onto the deck. Jiaying was there, with two other Inhumans. Her minions were holding a case of crystals each and Nina really hoped neither of them was the case she'd left the boys and Dawn with.
The specialist stepped further onto the deck before pausing as she looked around, noticing the vast sea around her. She tensed slightly as she watched waves and heard them crashing against each other.
She hated large bodies of water... she was terrified of large bodies of water but she couldn't focus on that right now.
So with a deep sigh, Nina shoved her fear down.
No one seemed to notice Nina's presence but the minions set down their cases, turning to face Skye prepared to fight before backing off when Jiaying held up her hand.
"No, put them on the jet and prepare for takeoff," she said and the pair listened, taking hold of the cases once more and continuing on to the jet.
"I can't let you leave with those crystals."
"You can, and you should," Jiaying told her daughter, "it's the only way to protect our people."
"It's not," Skye shook her head, "there are other ways."
"Whose ways? SHIELD?" the question was patronising and Nina was surprised Jiaying didn't scoff in laughter, "no. Their way is what got us here."
"You started this war."
"This war started decades ago, when SHIELD was founded to guard the world against people like us and it will never end. But you and I together... think of how powerful we could be," Jiaying moved towards Skye and Nina tensed up. She was aware of what she was doing and where Nina knows Skye would never switch sides, she doesn't like how close the woman is to her, "we could launch a revolution... side by side."
"I don't want your revolution," Skye spat back and Nina smirked, proud that she didn't even hesitate, "this isn't about protecting me or your people. This is about hate."
"You're wrong."
"It's consumed you! You can't even tell right from wrong, I can't let you destroy any more lives."
As Skye reprimanded her mother, Nina found herself reflecting once more. Nina had experienced being consumed by anger, 113 names had stained her hands in red during that period of her life and she suddenly wondered if she had the right to judge what Jiaying was doing.
The woman was trying to destroy the organisation that was, and still could, be a threat to her people while Nina had destroyed a faction of the organisation that had been a threat to her people.
Jiaying wasn't doing anything Nina hadn't already done.
"Mom, what are you..." Skye's pained voice broke Nina out of her thoughts and she focused on the mother and daughter. Jiaying her hand pressed on Skye's cheek, from where she was standing Nina couldn't tell what she was doing but she could still hear everything.
Skye's gasps for air filled her ears.
"I always believed the reason I endured all that torture and pain was for you, that you were my true gift but you're not... this is."
That's when Nina noticed it, Skye's skin turning grey and her posture becoming increasingly less upright. Nina had no idea what Jiaying's powers were but it was very clear that she was using them on Skye.
"Don't...do this," Skye pleaded.
"You made your choice," Jiaying said as Nina reached for a knife in her boot, "I'm sorry."
Skye gasped in pain, breaking eye contact with her mother and looking towards the jet currently holding Jiaying's minions and the cases of crystals. She clenched her fist and the ground began to shake at the same time Nina threw the knife.
A scream of annoyance and pain left Jiaying's lips as the knife buried itself in her wrist, she let go of Skye and the hacker hit the ground at the same time the jet was knocked down and fell into the water around them.
"No!" she yelled, ripping the knife out of her body as Skye spluttered. Her face began to regain its colour while Jiaying turned in Nina's direction with a glare, "you?"
"Hi," Nina grinned, waving slightly as she moved towards the pair, "Skye, you good?"
The hacker responded with a thumbs up and Nina sighed in relief, very happy that whatever had been done to her was reversible.
"You can't stop what needs to be done," Jiaying hissed.
"I don't have to, Skye's already done that and taken care of the jet. What I'm here to stop is you," Nina said, she was still moving forward but as she did her shadows rose out of the ground. They moved towards her body, climbing up her legs and twisting themselves around her arms, "Hey Skye, I'm gonna kill your mom. Apologies in advance."
"I'd like to see you try," Jiaying hissed and Nina grinned.
"Don't worry," she smiled, the whites of her eyes turning pitch black as she fell in total command of the darkness around her, "I'll do more than just try."
Nina threw her hands up and the shadows surged towards Jiaying, they dispersed into a thick dark cloud hiding Nina's location as she advanced on the woman. Nina was able to see perfectly fine in the darkness but Jiaying's sight was hindered, which was why she didn't see the agent until she was right in front of her and sent a fist into her jaw.
As she staggered back, Nina was quick to hide back in her shadows, she didn't know exactly what Jiaying's power was but she was pretty sure that the woman needed to touch her to activate them and she wasn't going to let that happen.
So she moved under the protection of her shadows.
Emerging out for a few seconds at a time to hit Jiaying in various places. Nina was, by no means, a clean fighter. She'd been trained in multiple martial art forms and where she did use a lot of the techniques in her fighting, she also forwent etiquette when in a real fight. She attacked soft tissue, hitting people in the throat and aiming for the eyes in a pinch.
She had a great ability to piss people off when she did so, not because they found such disrespectful, but because she would fight dirty before they got the chance to do the same.
"Enough!" Jiaying yelled when Nina's knee came in contact with her stomach. The woman swung blindly causing Nina to lean back as she dodged, flipping into the motion and landing a few feet away.
Nina called back her shadows, and they rush back towards her arms as she glared at the inhuman.
"You don't get to say when it's enough," Nina hissed, "not when you're planning on killing so many people."
"What right do you have to judge the number of people I kill?" Jiaying spat back, rubbing a bit of blood off her lip, "you're the People's Assassin, you're the Executioner."
"I am... but never once did I think I was doing the right thing. You do, and that makes you way more dangerous than I ever was," Nina held up her left hand, "you brought this upon yourself."
A long strand of shadow shot out of Nina's hand. It rushed towards Jiaying, and as it did it twisted and turned into the shape of a blade. The colour seemed to grow darker as it travelled through the air, an attribute that happened as Nina increased the density.
She'd planned to cut her, send the sharpened shadows straight through her eye then up through her brain.
It was meant to be a quick death, one that would stop Skye from having to hear her mother choking on her own blood, but Jiaying was stronger than Nina expected... reckless too.
The woman reached out and grabbed the sharpened shadow before it hit her, the force cutting through her palm as she did so but Jiaying ignored the blood dripping from her body and glared at Nina, who suddenly felt weak.
She gasped in pain as Jiaying activated her powers, drawing life from Nina through the life her shadows had.
"I remember Dawn saying your shadows were an extension of you," Jiaying grinned as she watched Nina's pale skin go grey, "but I can't say I expected this to work."
Nina didn't say anything, she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of hearing her breathless as her body grew weaker and weaker. She tried to call her shadows back to her but she could feel them growing as weak as she was, she could feel their fear and anger.
"No, Mom stop!" Skye yelled, she pressed her hands to the ground and it began shaking. She knocked Jiaying off balance and the shadows were released. They surged back to Nina, catching her before she fell to the ground, "Nina?"
The agent rose a hand, quietly thanking and telling Skye she was okay as she sunk to her knees. Her breathing was laboured but she was happy to see that her hands were no longer grey. She called off her shadows, silently ordering them to rest as they sunk back into the floor.
As Nina was down, Skye was up, prepared to take out her mother. Luckily, she didn't have to because before the mother and daughter could face-off, Cal stepped out onto the deck.
"Please. Stop," he said quietly but sternly, walking towards the pair, "you don't have to do this. You don't have to live with that pain. I will."
Skye gave him a confused look as he put himself between the two people he loved most in the world, his arm reached up to Jiaying's neck. The woman, believing Cal would never do her any harm, didn't find the action hostile... not until he snapped her neck and she fell, heavily into his arms.
"Oh...Cal," Jiaying whispered, looking at him as he held her close, "what are you doing?"
"Keeping my promise," Cal whispered back and he pulled her close, and the loud sound of bones cracking filled the eerily quiet deck.
Jiaying gasped in pain and once Nina realised what was going on she moved in front of Skye, putting her body in her line of sight.
"Hey, Skye. Look at me," Nina told her as the sound grew louder, Skye's eyes widening and her body tensing with every crack.
"She's my mom," the hacker cried out.
"I- I know, but you don't need to see it. Just look at me, focus on me," Nina reached out and covered Skye's ears because where she didn't need to see it, she needed to hear it even less.
Skye's cries grew louder as Nina pressed her hands firmly against her ears before she slumped over into the specialist's chest... at the same time Jiaying went limp in Cal's arms.
With Skye crying into her shirt, Nina looked over her shoulders and met Cal's eyes. He was crying too, stroking his dead wife's face as his shoulders shook in agony. The two just stared into each other's eyes for a moment, before nodding in respect and quickly focusing on their respective families.
Cal finally understanding and accepting that though he was Skye's father, he was a few years too late to be her family.