When my eyes finally fluttered open, it was like waking up from a bad dream. You are suddenly conscious of the control you have over your body and are ripped from the separate reality your mind has created.
The first thing I could see was a white ceiling. I inhaled slowly and groaned at the massive pounding in my skull. I go through a blackout and that headache still stays. I lifted my chin slightly to look around. I was lying in a hospital bed in the medical cubicle inside the bus. Beside me were the normal monitors with a steady heart rate beeping loudly. I felt a pinch at my arm as I shifted it. An IV needle was taped into my skin and a pulse monitor was clamped on my finger. I has never had one of those before. Ow. They hurt. I imagine they'd hurt worse for Peter since he's had so many...
I leaned back in the bed, my face one of despair. Oh god. He's gone. He's really gone. What have I done? Where did they take him? Better question, how did they sneak him out?
A million questions raced through my mind as to how all of this happened. And what was going to happen. I had told him what they would probably have done to him if he was captured. For once in my life I hoped to God I was wrong.
A soft knock sounded at the door way. I looked up to see Simmons in her lab coat.
"Rise and shine?" She said quietly.
I propped myself up on my elbows and sat up, grimacing.
"Unfortunately," I said quietly.
She came to sit at the chair beside the monitors. "Feeling better?" She asked.
I rubbed my forehead. "Still have a headache."
"Well that's nothing we can't fix," she replied.
I stared at her for a few moments in silence. She seemed uncomfortable.
"Is this the part where I ask you what happened?" I finally said.
Simmons diverted her gaze and sighed. "Lucy.... I don't exactly know where to start."
"Well...how long have I been asleep?"
"About half a day. We were thinking of first bringing you to the medical station in the facility, but the systems on the Bus were better equipped to care for you," she said. She looked at me. I could tell she was hiding something.
"And...?"
"We ran some...tests...while you were asleep, like a CT, and a frontal cortex, a internal masses and hemorrhages, things of that sort." She paused.
I raised my eyebrows. "And? Simmons, what aren't you telling me."
"The CT scan we did on you showed that your approximate brain capacity was 20%. The average is 15%. However, the current one we ran showed some...surprising results," she said hesitantly.
"Simmons!," I protested.
"Alright, alright," she raised her hands in defense. She looked me straight in the eyes. "Your approximate brain capacity is 38%. It's almost doubled since you've been here. That's not surprising...it's frightening. We're in uncharted waters to your condition here; we don't know what we're dealing with. No person your age in recorded history has ever showed this much brain activity. We think it might even have detrimental effects over time."
"And?," I replied. "We can deal with effects over time when they show up! What we need to focus on now is why I felt every detail of Dr. Snow's consciousness right as she died."
Simmons nodded. "Fitz hypothesized that's what had happened. We believe that just as your brain capacity is increasing, your abilities may be as well. Since you have been experiencing mood swings..."
I cut her off. "Mood swings?"
"We've all noticed."
I frowned.
"Anyways," she continued. I huffed. "Since this has been happening, we've come to the conclusion that now you cannot only read emotions, but you are beginning to feel them as well."
"Like a vibe," I mumbled.
"What?"
I shook my head. "Nothing."
"Also, it may become extremely difficult to determine which emotions are yours and which are other people's. Until you get accustomed to it, if may be quite frustrating."
"I can handle it," I said a bit harshly.
Simmons sighed. "I'm guessing this is the part where you ask me about Richards."
He has a first name. "Yeah."
"Coulson figured you'd be asking, so he briefed me. But you may not -"
"He's gone, isn't he?," I said. I knew I had to accept it. But I couldn't. Not now.
Simmons nodded slowly. I faced the ceiling to try to hide my obvious upsetness.
Simmons put her hand on mine. I looked back at her. "Lucy, I'm sorry. You tried hard. You really did. But know one knew Dr. Snow would go Rogue. No one did. She was loved by her coworkers. The same as Fields. However, some people's loyalty can be bought, and I guess they were one of the few."
She pressed her lips together thoughtfully.
"When they surveyed the footage, the cameras were all down in that area. Wherever...however...they took him is still to be determined."
I bit my lip. I was gone for 1 hour. I had everything at the tips of my fingers, everything I needed to close this case. And then just like that, it's gone.
Simmons continued to try to comfort me. "Lucy, Dr. Snow died trying to fulfill her mission. Whatever is going to happen to him, I'm sure it has a special kind of importance...if you know what I mean."
Yeah, they're going to use him and manipulate him and bend him to their will, not just imprison him. I nodded.
"I want to talk to Coulson," I said.
Simmons glanced at the monitors. "We'll give you a few drops of Edno to get rid of the after effects of your blackout, including the headache, and then we'll see if you can't talk to Coulson. "
I nodded. "Thanks Simmons."
She smiled at me sweetly and walked out the door, leaving me alone in the cubicle.
What have I gotten myself into?
~•~
It wasn't long before I was sliding out of the bed, slipping my shoes on, and walking out the door. As I entered the Bus's garage, I peeked out the window. We were still on the landing pad, but it looked different. I shook my head and climbed up the stairs, across the hallway and to the door of Coulson's office. I knocked softly.
"Come in."
I opened to door to see Coulson resting his head on his hand propped up on his desk. I knowingly sat down in front of him and he straightened.
"How are you feeling?" he asked.
"Could be worse," I said. "I could ask the same about you."
"Could be better."
"Where are we, Coulson?," I asked.
He folded his hands. "We're at the Triskelion, a SHIELD base in Washington, D.C."
"May I ask why?"
"After the incident with Dr. Snow, we decided it wasn't wise to keep anyone associated with the case of interest at the Sandbox. So, the team loaded up the Bus and came here. Fields was transported as well," he said.
I cut to the chase. "What about Peter?"
Coulson sighed. "Assuming Simmons already briefed you, we don't know his location. We don't know who moved him, how they did so, or where they transported him to. We are still attempting to trace flight and vehicle reports, but since the cameras were down, we have an entire hour window they could have exited."
I shook my head. "How can this happen? I mean you're SHIELD! Top-secret-government organization with a bunch of people with first name Agent running around, and an Index Subject can just disappear, just like that."
"It's not everyday of one your fellow agents tries to shoot you," Coulson said frustratingly.
We sat in silence for a few moments.
"Well, what can we do about it?," I asked.
"You? Nothing."
"Why?"
"Because you're going home," he said.
My jaw dropped. "What?"
Coulson sighed. "We're in too deep. It was a mistake to bring you here. Granted, you have helped us get farther in this case than we ever could have alone. And we're grateful. But, given what Simmons said about your condition, we can't risk you getting hurt even more than you already have. And even if it wasn't putting you at risk, there's not much you can do anyways.
I scoffed. "Coulson, I'm fine. What about that lead I gave you? The one about Peter's supervisor?"
"Did you not just hear what I said? The decision's been made," he replied.
"I recognize that you have made a decision, but given that it is a stupid decision, I've elected to ignore it," I replied.
"Lucy, there's nothing else you can do to help us," he protested.
"Yes, there is," I tapped my forehead. "I can read people better now. I can feel, not just tell. Peter's supervisor -"
"We know about him," Coulson cut me off. "He's been taken into custody, but not arrested until our intelligence officers can compile real evidence."
I lifted my hands. "See? Perfect. Now just let me talk to him."
Coulson shook his head. "No. That's not going to happen."
I opened my mouth to protest, but then I realized it wouldn't make a difference. "Coulson," I said quietly. "I have to find him." I paused. "I am the only one qualified enough to figure out where and why they took him. If I don't, they're going to kill him, Coulson."
He didn't answer. I pleaded with my eyes.
"You have to let me try."
He hesitated, then sighed and took a folder off his desk. "You're still not talking to him." He handed me the folder and I took it. "But here's the file of Field's nephew you asked for. You can look into it until we can figure out a way to get you home."
I opened the folder, revealing the face of a sweet, smiling 8-year old. "This isn't over, Coulson. Whoever these people are, they're not done yet."
He nodded solemnly. "I know, Lucy, I know."
•~•
A/N:
So sorry for not updating sooner, y'all. I'm still trying to work out the kinks on the closing of this story, since it already reached the climax. Yes, this is a fluff chapter, I know, but I needed to tie up some loose ends before heading into phase 3 of this story. Thank you all for all the reads/votes/comments and I hope by the time I'm finished you aren't disappointed. :) (by the way did anyone get the Nick Fury Reference?)