Seth stood next to Coulson as they watched news footage of helicarriers raining down on Washington D.C. Seth was back in his regular kit, his Chimaera gear stowed in his room on the Bus.
"Today, world leaders are scrambling for answers after the world's most advanced spy agency was crippled after a series of attacks. The president contends that this is the biggest intelligence leak..."
"Sir," An agent reported to Coulson.
"Find agent Martin," Coulson directed, "We need a backchannel to the U.N., someone we trust."
She nodded before walking away, Skye walking in not a second later.
"I made a list of S.H.I.E.L.D. bases we believe are secure," She tapped on her tablet."
"How many so far," Coulson asked, "Seven?"
"Three."
"Plus the Hub," Coulson said.
"Including the Hub," Skye cautiously responded, "It's a preliminary list. I'm sure more will turn up."
"The Iliad," Seth asked.
She looked back down at her tablet, "Uh...No."
Seth nodded before pulling out a satphone and stepping out into the hallway.
"Come on, Bobbi," Seth muttered into his satphone, his only response was the dial tone.
"Seth," May asked, stopping on her way to talk to Coulson.
"Damn it," He hung the phone up, making a decision then and there.
May cocked her head in curiosity, "What's going on in there?"
"I need on the Iliad," Seth answered immediately, his hands instinctively reaching for his fiancée's weapon.
"Think this out," May cautioned.
"You remember what I told you about my mother," He asked out of nowhere.
She nodded, face turning concerned. Seth never mentioned his parents around her unless it was serious.
"The thing she was so afraid of...That's on the Iliad, and if HYDRA gets ahold of it, we're gonna have problems."
He held out his hand, placing a memory drive in May's and closing her fingers around it, "If you don't hear from me--"
"Come back," She ordered.
"No promises in combat," He nodded before heading to the Bus to pick up some more supplies before talking to Coulson about it.
Seth walked up on Fitz trying to fix the cargo bay door, it having been blown open by HYDRA.
"You need to replace the grounding wires," Seth and Simmons said simultaneously, the latter surprised when Seth's voice joined hers.
"There's no time," Fitz countered, "Ramp needs to be repaired by the end of the day. Coulson's orders."
"What," Simmons asked, "Are they even proper orders? S.H.I.E.LD.'s been destroyed, Fury's dead. Aren't they just requests?"
"Well, either way, I'm in the middle of it," Fitz grumbled, "Stator, please."
Seth put the component in his hand.
"Well, he's certainly not taking his orders from anyone," Simmons continued, "We have no jurisdiction now that S.H.I.E.L.D. has been labeled a terrorist organization."
"Powers that be will sort that out," Fitz responded.
Seth grunted in agreement, knowing that he would most certainly be one of those 'powers.'
"All we can do is fix one thing at a time," Fitz assured, "Starting with this servo drive."
"Yeah, you're right," Simmons relented, "However--"
"You will have to replace those grounding wires," Seth and Simmons said together again, sharing a look before the biochemist tucked a hair behind her ear.
"It's fine," Fitz turned to Tripp, "Okay, turn it on."
Tripp hit a button on the wall, Fitz's 'repairs' spitting sparks at everyone.
Seth quickly pulled Simmons back by her waist, the biochemist flushing red and letting out a little yelp as the two backpedaled a couple of steps.
Fitz screamed, "Turn it off!"
Tripp hit the same button, stopping the shower of sparks before walking over, "You need to replace the grounding wires."
"You need to shush," Fitz pointed his flashlight at Tripp before turning it to Seth and Simmons, the former's hands still on Simmons' hips from where he pulled her away from the sparks.
Fitz swiveled his flashlight to the pair, "Shush, all of you. Ganging up on me, sheesh, think you're so smart? Well, why don't you try to fix it?"
He muttered the rest as he retreated into the bowels of the plane, Tripp following nearly immediately.
Simmons wiggled out of Seth's grasp, turning to face the specialist, trying to extinguish the heat in her cheeks.
"Wh--What are you doing here," She stuttered out.
"I'm after my gear," He answered simply, knowing full well that Simmons would find out what he was sooner or later.
"You're leaving again," She didn't bother to hide her sadness or concern.
"There's something I have to do."
She pulled Seth into his room before continuing their conversation.
"Something you have to do, or the Chimaera has to," She crossed her arms.
"One and the same."
"You'll be back soon, right?"
Silence.
He looked down. Seth had hoped she wouldn't ask that, he didn't want to hurt her more by making her worry.
"Seth."
"What do you want to hear, Jemma?"
A flurry of emotions passed through her mind before she realized something.
Her voice just above a whisper, "You don't think you'll be coming back."
"Probably not," He admitted, his voice somber, a switch from its quiet monotony.
"Then why," Simmons demanded, pushing Seth against the wall just like when he was hunting Lorelei, "Why do you always do this?! You always push me away! You did after the Staff, after Lorelei, and now... now..."
"Now I don't want you getting hurt," Seth cut in, Simmons letting him go, "So I'm going to take care of something."
During their little talk, Seth had pulled on his Chimaera plate carrier and had been arranging magazines, all the while keeping an eye on Simmons' face.
Tears glistened in her eyes as the look of utter betrayal was written all over her face.
"I know you don't like it," Seth continued quietly, pulling a strap on his chest rig, "But that's why us specialists act like we do. May, Ward, me, we're wired differently."
"Wired differently?! That's what you call it," She pushed him back against the wall again, "What I saw in the desert when we rescued Coulson, what happened after you touched the Staff...Seth...You're trying to be something you're not."
"And what is that?"
"You're not a machine," She leaned against his plate carrier, her head just underneath his chin, "You're a person. You have feelings, you can be happy, you can hurt, you can love. You're not a machine, not a monster. You are human."
Seth just stood there, stunned, Simmons said nearly the same thing Alyssa had all those years ago.
She pulled herself closer to Seth, nuzzling at him with her head, "Please, please, don't do this."
Seth slowly hugged her back, whispering onto the top of her head, "I'm sorry."
Simmons squeezed Seth harder, tears leaking down her cheeks, "Why?"
"I gave something to May," Seth explained out of nowhere, "If I'm not back in seventy-two hours, go and get it."
"Don't talk like that."
"I'm sorry, Jemma," Seth placed a kiss on top of her head before pulling away, "I'm sorry."
Seth managed to wriggle out of her grasp, pulling the final supplies from his room, until his eyes landed on something.
A thought crossed his mind, sending his mind careening back to the first time he'd detached from the Bus' team.
He looked at the teary-eyed Simmons, "Hold this for me?"
Her eyes tracked the mask in his hands before meeting his brown eyes with hers.
"Sorry," Seth apologized, having to suppress the sad smile from his face, "Hold this for me...Hermione?"
Simmons' tears fell freely as she took the mask from his hand, not suppressing her sad smile, "I've still got to get a name for you, don't I?"
"I'll be waiting," Seth pulled on Emily's old mask, a scratched skull adorning the armored face covering, before walking out.
Timeskip:
Seth walked back into the command room with Skye, the girl jittery as the two walked side by side.
Skye broke the silence when she got to Coulson, "Good news. The Cube has been retaken. All HYDRA agents have been flushed out and are on the run."
"So that makes four," Coulson deduced.
"See, I told you more would turn up," Skye responded.
"The hull's almost completely repaired," May walked up to the trio, "Flight systems are back online."
"And the cargo ramp," Coulson asked.
"Fitz assures me that it will be operational," She turned to Seth, taking in his mask, "Haven't seen that in a while, she'd be proud."
"Wha--"
"Sir, incoming transmission," Another agent cut Skye off.
A man appeared on the screen, "This is Colonel Glenn Talbot, U.S. Air Force, I need to speak with whoever's in charge over there."
"Colonel Talbot," Coulson stepped up, Seth by his side, "I'm agent Phil Coulson, I'm happy we could--"
"Mr. Coulson, it's a real mess your boys have gotten us into," Talbot cut him off.
"HYDRA caught us by surprise," Coulson admitted.
"Well, that's an understatement. It's troubling how deeply embedded HYDRA was within your ranks."
"Especially troubling for us, Sir," Coulson tried to remain polite, "But, I assure you, we're going on the offensive. The Hub is secure. All remaining agents stand ready to assist you in whatever--"
"I think we've had about all the assistance we can handle from S.H.I.E.L.D.," Talbot cut him off again, "I'm sending in a peacekeeping force. They're gonna take control."
"Understood," Coulson conceded, "What should I tell my men to expect?"
"We just want to ask a few questions, get the lay of the land. Everything checks out, you and your boys can be on your merry," Talbot answered, eyes narrowing when he noticed the Chimaera, "Perhaps a word with your...Specialist, there."
"Sounds good," Coulson said, the Colonel vanishing from the screen.
May glanced at Seth.
"This doesn't sound good," Coulson sighed, turning around.
"He's lying, definitely," Skye added, "For sure."
"If Talbot's leading the op, there's nothing peacekeeping about it," Coulson continued.
"Base defenses are operational," May offered, "We could hold out."
"The last thing S.H.I.E.L.D. needs is to start a war with the U.S. government," Coulson rejected.
"What happens when Talbot gets here," Skye asked as the four of them walked out of the command center.
"Best case scenario--We all get subpoenas, spend the next six months tied up in court hearing," Coulson explained.
"Worst case scenario," Skye hesitantly asked.
"He skips the courts, goes straight for bunker busters," Seth answered.
"Bombs," Skye translated, "Big bombs."
"All the while, HYDRA's still out there," May added.
"Get on the comms, we're enacting Odyssey Protocol," Coulson directed Skye.
"Odyssey Protocol," Skye echoed, "What does that mean?"
"It means Fitz needs to finish his repairs," Coulson explained, "We're getting the Hell out of here."
"Sir," Seth stopped the senior agent, Skye and May stopped as well.
Coulson turned to meet the masked agent's eyes.
"I've got a different mission," Seth said simply.
"As much as I respect that, we need you here," Coulson tried to shoot him down.
"Respectfully, Sir," Seth's patience was already worn thin from his emotionally draining interaction with Simmons earlier, "It would be in your best interest to let me do my job."
The air suddenly charged with tension, Skye and May trading a nervous glance as they realized the veiled threat Seth had just given
"I hope you'll explain, Chimaera," Coulson's face was impassive as he stressed Seth's codename.
"I need on the Iliad," Seth said simply, "There's cargo on that carrier that HYDRA can't get their hands on."
"The Iliad...," Coulson mused.
"I'll be taking two-one-four," Seth continued, "May'll be able to get ahold of me afterward."
Skye looked back and forth between Seth and Coulson.
"They'll kill you on sight," Coulson warned, "You're dead."
"They won't get the chance," Seth fired back, "You know about what happened to STRIKE?"
Coulson shook his head.
"STRIKE," Skye asked.
"Think of it like S.H.I.E.L.D.'s SWAT team," Seth answered.
"The point," Coulson demanded.
"They were HYDRA," Seth delivered the bombshell.
"Were," May voiced, "Past tense?"
"All eighty-four field agents and specialists," Seth's answer made Skye's eyes widen, Coulson's reaction more subdued than hers, but shocked nonetheless.
"You should go," May said, shooting Coulson a look.
"We need you, Chimaera," Coulson finally relented, "Come back safe."
Seth nodded before heading to his Quinnjet, settling in the cockpit before getting airborne. He let autopilot carry him high above the clouds to his destination, taking the time to run a whetstone over Knight's kukri. He knew that this was possibly the last time he'd put the blade to work.
And she'd certainly be working overtime.
Author's Note: A bit shorter of a chapter, but I couldn't resist a bit of time between Seth and Simmons.
I've got a question, though: Would y'all want this next chapter to be more Seth oriented, or more third-person revolving around the others? The first way would skip the team's travels to Providence, focus solely on Seth's infiltration of the Iliad. But the latter would show the team getting to Providence, and a chapter about Seth's Iliad adventures would be shown in a later chapter.
Additionally, I need a name for Simmons to call Seth, seeing as he calls her Hermione.
Thank you all so much for reading, leave a comment or suggestion wherever you see fit, and as always, stay safe!