The Watchdogs
Coulson peeled the plastic off and unscrewed the bottle of haig, pouring himself and May a glass. With everything with Joseph Bauer taken care of, Coulson had broken out the bottle so he and May could have that drink.
“So what exactly are we doing with Lucy Bauer?” May asked as she took a drink from her glass.
“We’re not sure.” Coulson answered. “Ward’s saying we should lock her up but everything she did she did out of desperation.”
“I’m with Ward on this one.” May stated. “She’s read the Darkhold so who knows what she’s capable of.”
“You’re right.” Coulson nodded. “But all the same I think we should give her a second chance. Radcliffe thinks she’s actually read it that she can give us insight into the book. Personally I think it’s far too dangerous and should be destroyed but Mace thinks having a book of answers to all questions and a robot who can read it and have the contents erased would be useful.”
“I agree.” May replied. “After all if it weren’t for Aida reading the Darkhold you, Ward, and Lincoln would be dead.”
“I understand the benefits.” Coulson sighed. “I just worry that the risks might outweigh them.”
---
“Sure that's the right move, Alfie?” Mack looked up from his brother Ruben’s bike to see the man himself standing in the doorway.
“Ah, you know what's not the right move?” Mack chuckled. “Calling me Alfie. Mom gets to. You don't.” Mack handed Ruben the new intake valve he’d brought and mused over Ruben’s motorcycle. “If you're gonna ride this thing like a damn maniac, I wouldn't have to come home and repair it for you.”
“You wish you rode like me.” Ruben scoffed.
“Yeah, you got nothing to ride without that intake valve I brought you.” Mack reminded him. “I could always take it back.”
“Okay.” Ruben shrugged. “Well, your Ironhead's in great shape, and you're never home to ride it anyway. Maybe I ought to-”
“Never ride my bike ever?” Mack said. “Yeah I love that idea.”
“I mean, I thought you were gonna finally ride it when we drove to Baja.” Ruben said.
“Baja oh, this again.” Mack sighed. He hated having to keep what he did a secret from his brother but he knew it was for his own safety. “Look, I told you, I got buried in work. All right, I'm sorry, but, uh... we'll find a time.”
“Oh, I understand.” Ruben nodded. “Being an insurance-company drone is super interesting. Why not bury yourself in that work?”
“Funny.” Mack chuckled. “I was wishing I was back at work right now.”
“Seems like a pretty sweet gig if it gets you a hook-up on an impossible-to-find intake valve.” Ruben shrugged.
“Yeah.” Mack sighed. “Honestly... job hasn't been great lately. Was a change in management recently, new people keep coming in every day... no experience. Recently had a really nasty client that made my life a nightmare.”
“Damn that sucks.” Ruben said sympathetically. “I'm sorry about your work.”
“I'm sorry about your layoff.” Mack returned. “But it's just a temporary setback.” They left the garage and made their way to the kitchen. On the way, Mack noticed the tacky dog their mom had always said was super valuable sitting on the desk. “Why is this still here?” He asked Ruben. “When Mom and Dad left you the house, they had to leave this, too?”
“Dad wouldn't let Mom take it.” Ruben replied. “I put it up on eBay. Turns out, not as valuable as Mom thinks.”
“Okay, uh, so here's the plan.” Mack said as they arrived in the kitchen. “Lunch, beers, finish up the bike. Good?”
“Good.” Ruben agreed. “I picked up a couple steaks.”
“No, you didn't.” Mack’s eyes widened. Ruben was a fantastic cook. “You gonna do your...?”
“Mm-hmm.” Ruben grinned.
“You could take a run at that.” Mack suggested as Ruben got the food from the refrigerator. “You know, cooking. You're good. Not as good as I am with engines, but…”
“Oh, that was almost a compliment.” Ruben laughed as Mack flipped through the channels on the TV. “I've thought about it, but…
“Breaking news.” The reporter on the TV said. “We have a shocking video that was sent to our station minutes ago.” An image of a man in a silver dog mask came up on the screen. Mack recognized who they were immediately. The Watchdogs.
“This facility s controlled by the ATCU.” The Watchdog stated. “The government is keeping secrets. Things we don't know until cities fall out of the sky. The Avengers? More like them every day. Protected. Hidden. Not anymore! We want this information released. A list of who they are, where they are. Or you will have war on your hands. We are the Watchdogs. You will obey.” The man turned around and fired off an orange gel substance that stuck to the wall. As he and his men evacuated, the gel began to glow until it combusted, creating a large energy field that caused the building and everything around it to implode, leaving nothing but a giant ball of debris.
---
Mace called a team meeting to discuss the attack on the ATCU. They watched the video of the building imploding.
“I thought these guys were just a small scale gang like the Aryan Brotherhood.” Mace said.
“They were.” Kara nodded. “Seems they’ve stepped up their game. Any idea what caused this… whatever this is?”
“The SHIELD scientists on site say it contains Nitramene.” Fitz stated. “Howard Stark developed it after World War II but back then it wasn’t stable enough to be used as a gel based explosive like this. Means whoever’s running the Watchdogs they’ve been making improvements to the formula.”
“I knew someone once who was very interested in making improvements to the original formula.” Coulson said. “Agent Felix Blake. A good man. He believed this could be something we could add to our arsenal. But he went off grid after he got outta the hospital. Which means he’s at large with a lot of our secrets.”
“Why was this guy in the hospital?” Mace asked.
“Blake participated on the hunt for the Clairvoyant.” Ward explained. “He and Agent May encountered Mike Peterson while looking for Thomas Nash and Deathlok broke his spine.”
“So Mr. Blake has reason to dislike enhanced individuals.” Mace nodded. “Phil, he was your friend. I don’t suppose you know how to get in touch with him?”
“I’ve tried to track him down before.” Coulson sighed. “I wanted him on my team but I haven’t been able to locate him.”
“They’ll have to be somewhere in the area.” Mace stated. “Luckily Agent Mackenzie has a house nearby. Use that as a staging area. Ward, Fitz, Palamas, and Johnson head down and run point. The rest of you focus on finding Blake.”
---
Lucy paced around the containment cell she was being held in when Radcliffe strolled into the room.
“Doctor Radcliffe.” Lucy greeted. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Well I was hoping to talk to you about the Darkhold.” Radcliffe answered sheepishly. “I know it’s a dangerous thing but I can’t help but be curious. Aida read it but she can’t convey how it would feel for a human mind to take in the contents of that book.”
“It’s a feeling unlike anything I could describe.” Lucy admitted. “All the secrets of the universe pouring into your mind. It’s like nothing you could ever imagine. The knowledge could be used to great benefit. But considering what it did to my husband, I’d say letting the robot read it was the right call. Eli warned me that it was dangerous. It turned my husband into something I couldn’t recognize.”
“So what would you suggest we do with it?” Radcliffe asked.
“I think it’s far too valuable a resource to pass up but nobody should read it.” Lucy answered. “Have your android read it when necessary and wipe her memory after the information has served it’s purpose.” Radcliffe nodded and left the cell. Mace was standing outside the door waiting for him.
“So what’s your verdict?” Mace asked.
“I think she could be of assistance given her knowledge of the book.” Radcliffe answered. “And I think the Darkhold could be of use so long as it’s usage is highly monitored and only Aida reads it.”
“Fair enough.” Mace nodded. “And you’re sure having Aida read this thing is safe? I mean we don’t want another Ultron running around dropping cities outta the sky.”
“I’m positive.” Radcliffe assured. “Aida’s just programming. Worst case scenario I could preform a factory reset on her. Then any corruption by the Darkhold would be wiped away.”
“And Lucy Bauer you think she could help us?” Mace asked.
“She’s a brilliant scientist who knows far more about the Darkhold than I do.” Radcliffe stated. “If she’s been studying it as long as she says then she could give us untold insight into the book. And I think she’s a good person. Someone who wants to help people after all that’s what the project at Momentum Labs was intended to do. I mean SHIELD is all about second chances. Ward, Donnie, even me. SHIELD gave all of us a second chance. It’s only right we extend the same opportunity to others.”
“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Coulson.” Mace chuckled.
---
“When and how’d these Watchdogs start up?” Ward asked as he, Kara, Daisy, and Fitz sat on the Quinjet en route to Mack’s house.
“From what I can tell they’ve been around since aliens invaded New York.” Kara answered. “It was only after the terrigen outbreak that they really started arming themselves but like Mace said they were kinda small potatoes until now. We encountered them once when looking for Lash but we hadn’t heard much from them after that.”
“Okay.” Ward nodded. ““So what makes them go from anonymous trash-talking online to…”
“Domestic terrorism?” Daisy finished. “Maybe someone stepped in and radicalized them. Maybe Blake.”
“I understand feeling lost.” Fitz said. “You want to hate something. Hate gives you direction. That could be dangerous.”
“You’re not wrong there.” Ward muttered. “I’d say every bad decision I ever made was dictated by hate.”
“They're not... they're not that anonymous.” Daisy said, looking up from her laptop. “I've been tracking them, the ones that are spewing hate online. You know, IP addresses, residences, license-plate numbers.” Ward nodded as Daisy explained. “Some of them are local. They could've been involved in the ATCU attack. We should go pick one up and see what he knows.”
“And what? Shake him down?” Kara frowned. “Without even knowing if the guy we picked was actually involved?”
“Well, either way, he'll know something.” Daisy replied.
“Yeah, but it's... kind of Gestapo, don't you think?” Kara said. “Is that who we are?”
“We're SHIELD.” Daisy retorted. “I'm trying to save lives. I'll use whatever advantage I have to do it.”
“Yeah, the advantage of superpowers.” Kara stated. “I'm not so sure you should be using yours to sidestep civil liberties.”
“They gave up their right to civil liberties when they started imploding buildings.” Daisy insisted.
“We don’t know which of them took part in the attack.” Ward chimed in. “If they didn’t then they haven’t forfeited their right to civil liberties. We don’t know if whoever we grab is just some loudmouthed hate spewing asshole online or not. See if there’s anything you can do to track down someone who was really there. Afterwards we’ll go after them and see what we find out.”
---
Coulson walked into Mace’s office where he saw him going over a file in his hands.
“Jeffrey.” Coulson greeted. “You have a minute?”
“I always have time for you Phil.” Mace chuckled as he dropped the file on his desk. “How’s the hunt for Blake going?”
“It’s going well.” Coulson answered. “There’s a few safehouses of his that he doesn’t know I know about.”
“Check it out and see what you find.” Mace said. “What did you wanna ask me about?”
“Have you decided what you’re gonna do with the Darkhold?” Coulson asked.
“I have.” Mace answered. “I think it’s too valuable a resource to pass up. If we take precautions and only allow Aida to read it we could use it to our advantage.”
“As the Director this is your call but I still think it’s a bad idea to use the book.” Coulson said. “We don’t know where it came from or anything about it. All we know is that it turned a good man into a megalomaniac with a God complex and that even Nick Fury way afraid of this thing.”
“Which is why we’re taking every precaution we can.” Mace assured. “Joseph Bauer didn’t know the risks and he didn’t have an android that could safely read it. We do. We know what we’re doing. And if this book helps us save lives, I’m all for using it.”
---
To say Mack was surprised to have SHIELD in his parents’ old house was an understatement. Luckily his brother had been at the store getting more stuff for their dinner and he’d been able to get them situated in the shed before Ruben got back. Fitz set up his equipment while Mack pulled Ward aside to find out what was going on.
“We think the Watchdogs that attacked the ATCU are in the area.” Ward stated. “We’ll do what we can to keep out of sight.”
“You guys need backup?” Mack asked.
“No no just spend time with your brother.” Ward assured. “We got this.”
“You sure?” Mack said.
“Mack I’m giving you a direct order to take your vacation.” Ward chuckled. “We got this.” Mack laughed and went back to his house while Ward turned back to the rest of the team.
“God news.” Daisy said. “I was able to track down one of the Watchdogs. I sifted through the data and he’s not just some asshole online. He’s in the mask.”
“Alright.” Ward nodded. “Let’s go pick him up.”
---
Mace carried a silver briefcase down to the lab where Radcliffe and Aida were waiting, along with a now free Lucy Bauer.
“I’ve decided to let you use the Darkhold, provided it is done under supervision.” Mace stated.
“That’s fantastic!” Radcliffe beamed. “Do you have anything you need us to research or can we just use it for our scientific research?”
“For now we want to find a way to neutralize Nitramene.” Mace stated. “Once that’s finished I’ll leave some agents to keep an eye on you and you can use it to do your own research.”
“Fantastic.” Radcliffe grinned. “I think Dr. Bauer would agree that the possibilities are endless.”
“I would.” Lucy nodded. Mace opened the case and handed the Darkhold to Aida. She opened the book for a few moments before closing it up again.
“Cold.” Aida answered. “Freeze the Nitramene and it becomes inert.”
“Okay.” Mace smiled. “I’ll have someone inform the team. Carry on.” As Mace made his way out of the lab he was stopped by Burrows who was carrying a tablet with an article on it.
“Sir you should see this.” Burrows said as he handed Mace the tablet. Mace took it and saw an article with the title “Doubts Cast on the Heroics of Jeffrey Mace” written in bold letters at the top. The article cited interviews by Donold Rupert and Russell Bertrum, two political opponents of Mace’s who were present at the Vienna Conference where they claimed Mace was not the hero he pretended to be.
---
Daisy stood in the center of the street as the member of the Watchdogs, a man named Dallas, drove down the road and stopped in front of her. Ward watched from the shadows as Daisy climbed into the truck.
“Hi, Dallas.” Daisy greeted.
“How do you know who I am?” Dallas demanded.
“You think I can't find out who you are when you're online talking about rounding up freaks just because we're not face-to-face?” Daisy glowered. She used her seismic blast to shatter the window of the drivers side door, causing Dallas to startle. “Now we're face-to-face, and I'm one of the freaks. But I guess that part was clear.”
“You’re Quake.” Dallas realized. “The inhuman terrorist.”
“Ding ding ding.” Daisy smirked. “I know you’re one of them. I figured out they contacted you, wanting you to take action, and you've accepted their invite, which means you know where their little clubhouse is. I need you to tell me where they meet.”
“I'm not telling you anything.” Dallas sneered. “Freak.”
“Trust me.” Daisy assured. “You gonna wanna talk to me. My partner’s a lot less friendly.” Dallas turned his head to see Ward leaning on the window with a sly smirk on his face.
“I’m gonna tell you what I told your bitch.” Dallas snarled. I’m not saying shi-” He was cut off by Ward grabbing his wrist. Dallas cried out in pain as Ward burned his arm.
“I’d appreciate it if you spoke to her with some respect.” Ward said casually. “And while you’re at it, tell her what she wants to know.”
“Easterling Farms!” Dallas shouted in pain.
“And maybe apologize for how disrespectful you were.” Ward suggested, increasing the burn to his wrist.
“I’m sorry!” Dallas cried out in agony. Ward let go, revealing a deep red burn on Dallas’ wrist.
“Now that wasn’t so hard was it.” Daisy smiled sweetly. Then she knocked him out and hauled him out of the car. She and Ward made their way back to their SUV and dumped Dallas in the trunk. Once inside, Daisy pounced on Ward, sealing their mouths with a searing kiss.
“Watching me torture someone turns you on?” Ward raised an eyebrow.
“No watching you make him apologize to me for being disrespectful turns me on.” Daisy corrected with a grin. “How soon do we need to be back at Mack’s?”
“We can probably spare ten minutes.” Ward shrugged before pulling Daisy to kiss him again.
---
Ruben reentered the garage with a bag of stuff to make dinner with and saw Mack working on his bike.
“Hey I got the stuff to make dinner with.” Ruben said.
“Oh fantastic.” Mack grinned. “I’m starving.”
“You want me to bring some for those guys out in the shed?” Ruben asked. Mack stopped in his tracks. “Come on man I’m not stupid. I saw an SUV pull up around back. I also saw the SHIELD logo on it. Som’ you wanna tell me Alfie?” Mack sighed and rubbed his forehead. He decided it would be easier if he just came clean.
“I don’t work for an insurance company.” Mack admitted. “I work for SHIELD. The guys out back in the shed are agents. Right now they’re working on a mission and using the shed as a staging location. But I swear I’m not working on the op. My buddy who’s running it actually ordered me to not help.”
“So all those times you had to cancel on me, those were missions?” Ruben said.
“Yes.” Mack nodded.
“Were you just never gonna tell me is that it?” Ruben asked.
“I didn’t tell you because I wanted to keep you out of it.” Mack said. “My job is dangerous. I wanted to protect you. It’s why I joined SHIELD. To protect people.”
“Right.” Ruben scowled. “Nice to know I didn’t even know my own brother.” Before Mack could say anything else Ruben stormed off into the house. He heard the back door swing open and saw Kara in the doorway.
“Mack I’m really sorry to interrupt but we need your help.” Kara stated.
---
“According to satellite imaging, Easterling Farms is crawling with Watchdogs.” Fitz stated. “The plan is to infiltrate and access whatever data they’ve got.”
“Ordinarily we’d never be able to get in there undetected.” Kara said. “But with our new friend here…” she gestured to Dallas tied up to a post. “We can infiltrate the compound and get some intel we can use.”
“What do you need me for?” Mack asked.
“We don’t know if Agent Blake is there.” Ward explained. “If he is, hopefully we can cut off the head of this Watchdog threat.”
“The problem is Ward, Fitz, and I all met and worked with Blake.” Daisy said. “If we go in, we’re gonna get made in a second. You never met the guy so you can go in with Kara as a new recruit.”
“Alright.” Mack nodded. “What kind of intel are we looking for?”
“Organizational structure, bases, that kind of thing.” Ward answered. “If Blake isn’t there we wanna know where he’s holed up.”
“Got it.” Mack said. “Let’s get this done.”
---
Coulson and May arrived at Blake’s safehouse and looked around.
“You know there’s been something I’ve been meaning to ask you.” Coulson said. “Just wanted to give you some time to recover before I asked about your near death experience.”
“It was a death experience.” May corrected. “I'm over it.”
“Well, I'm really not over mine.” Coulson replied. “I thought you'd want to talk about it. You know, what it felt like.”
“Didn't feel like a trip to Tahiti.” May shrugged.
“Which means it was something else.” Coulson suggested. “See, I died, but anything I would've seen or felt was wiped away. I don't remember anything, but you do.”
“What do you want to know, Phil?” May sighed.
“What did you see?” Coulson asked.
“Seriously?” May frowned.
“Yeah.” Coulson nodded. May let out a long sigh, considering her answer.
“I saw you.” she said finally. Before Coulson could respond she kicked down the door to Blake’s safehouse.
---
Mack and Kara strolled into the farmhouse where the Watchdogs were set up. They made conversation with the other members and got an idea of what the command structure was like. Blake was standing in the center of the room giving a speech to his troops.
“Blake’s here.” Kara said to Ward on comms. “I got eyes on him.”
“Okay.” Ward nodded. “Skye, Fitz, on my mark.” They raced towards the entrance, killing the guards outside before bursting through the doors. Ward, Daisy, Kara, and Mack tore through the Watchdogs with ease while Fitz started accessing the computers. As he did, one of the Watchdogs fired the Nitramene weapon at Fitz, causing the orange substance to stick to his neck.
“Fitz!” Mack shouted. He rushed to Fitz’s side and grabbed the needle full of the stuff that was meant to render the Nitramene inert.
“I’m afraid that won’t do him much good.” Blake said as the team finished off the Watchdogs. Ward stalked up to Blake and shoved his gun in his face.
“Tell me how to save him or I’ll shoot you.” Ward snarled.
“You really are as ruthless as they come Agent Ward.” Blake chuckled. “I was unaware you’d joined the ranks of the freaks. I’m guessing you tortured the location of this place from one of my men. I’m surprised Coulson would condone such tactics. But then again, a loyal attack dog has it’s uses.”
“I’m not interested in your amateur psych evaluation.” Ward said coldly. “How do we neutralize the Nitramene?!”
“I’m gonna call Simmons and see if she can help.” Kara said.
“Hello?” Simmons said when she picked up.
“Fitz is about to implode.” Kara stated.
“He got hit with the Nitramene?” Simmons’ face went white as she heard this. Luckily Radcliffe had told her what they’d learned from the Darkhold. “Freeze it. Radcliffe had Aida read the Darkhold to find out how to neutralize it. There’s liquid nitrogen in the containment module to cool the thrusters.”
“Got it.” Kara said. She hung up. “Where’s Donnie when you need him. Mack we need to get him to the containment module!”
“Right!” Mack nodded. They hauled Fitz outside while Ward and Daisy kept watch on Blake.
“Go on Agent Ward.” Blake chuckled. “Shoot me. We’re spreading an idea that’s bigger than just me.”
“You’re spreading fear!” Daisy snarled.
“People are already afraid.” Blake stated. “They want the truth. I remember you. You’re Coulson’s pet project.”
“Truth? Please.” Daisy scoffed. “This is about hate. Hunting people for what they are.”
“And you’re above that?” Blake scoffed back. “I know for a fact Agent Ward here killed his entire family because he hated them and I’m sure there’s plenty more on that list. Hate’s a good motivator wouldn’t you agree?”
“Yeah. I would.” Ward nodded. “And I’d bet Skye here’s pretty motivated to kill you. Only problem there is…” Ward fired three times. Rather than dropping dead, bullets simply passed through him. He was a hologram. “...you’re not here for her to kill.”
---
The team arrived back at Mack’s house and parked the SUV in the driveway. Mack informed them on the drive back that Ruben had figured it all out. They’d been able to neutralize the Nitramene using the cold and were able to save Fitz’s life. As Ward, Kara, and Fitz went into the shed to gather up their equipment, Daisy noticed a somber look on Mack’s face.
“I take it your brother didn’t take it too well?” Daisy said.
“No.” Mack shook his head. “Doesn’t like how I lied to him and kept secrets.”
“He’ll come around.” Daisy assured. “Just give him time.” Mack gave a half hearted nod and went into the shed. Daisy climbed out as well but instead of following Mack she went up to the house and knocked on the door.
“Who are you?” Ruben asked as he opened the door.
“A friend of your brother’s.” Daisy answered. “I just wanted to say I get hating the secrets. I understand being angry at him. But he is still your brother and he cares about you. He only lied because he didn’t want you getting hurt. I mean we just went on a mission risking our lives tonight. We do dangerous things all the time. He just didn’t want you involved in any of that. Just think about it. Maybe give him another chance? Trust me you’ll regret it if you don’t.”
“I know.” Ruben nodded. “I was actually gonna talk to him when he got back. I was just kinda pissed about the secrets. After I calmed down I understood why he didn’t tell me. But thanks for sticking up for my brother. Alfie’s lucky to have a friend like you.”
“Trust me, I’m the lucky one.” Daisy chuckled. “Wait did you just call him Alfie? Wow. I am so telling everyone about this.”
“What do you call him?” Ruben asked.
“Mack.” Daisy answered.
“Huh.” Ruben chuckled. “That’s what my buddies call me. So he’s good at this? Saving people?”
“He’s one of the best.” Daisy answered. “Mack has stuck by me through some tough times. Second only to my boyfriend he’s the guy I want watching my back.”
“Good.” Ruben smiled.
“I’ll see you around Mini Mack.” Daisy smirked.
---
The team minus Mack returned to the base the next morning. Mace, Coulson and May were waiting for them as their Quinjet landed and they disembarked.
“Were we able to get anything from the Watchdogs base in Indiana?” Mace asked.
“We were.” Ward answered as he slung his bag over his shoulder.
“We managed to get locations for some of their bases and plans for upcoming operations.” Fitz stated
“Good.” Mace nodded. “We’ll get people on them right away. Unfortunately the safehouse was a bust and we couldn’t locate Blake.”
“I might have an idea about that.” Daisy said. “Blake had a hologram transmitting to the base. If I can find out where it was transmitted from, maybe we’ll get a location on him.”
“Do it.” Mace nodded.
“Where’s Mack?” Coulson asked.
“His brother found out he works for SHIELD.” Kara explained. “He’s decided to take some more time off to work on patching things up.”
“I cannot wait for him to return from leave so we can torture him with that nickname.” Daisy grinned.
---
As Fitz was unpacking his stuff in his room he heard a knock on the door. He looked up to see Simmons standing in the doorway.
“You don’t have to knock Jemma it’s your room too.” Fitz said.
“I know.” Simmons nodded. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Afterall Kara did call me up saying you were hit with Nitramene.”
“Well luckily the Darkhold had the answer.” Fitz replied.
“And luckily we’re using that responsibly.” Simmons added.
“I’m not sure how responsibly you can use something like that.” Fitz sighed. “I feel like that book is just a ticking time bomb and we’re tempting fate using it.
---
Lucy, Radcliffe, and Aida were in the process of using the Darkhold to improve The Framework. Radcliffe said he’d envisioned it as a perfect virtual world where any of your wildest fantasies could come true. They had Aida read the book to determine how best to create a reality that feels real, to replicate human emotion inside a digital world, to make the user feel what the simulation wanted it to feel. Needing to use the restroom, Radcliffe made sure the SHIELD agents would keep an eye on the book and he ordered Aida not to read it again until he got back. Once Radcliffe left, Aida turned to Lucy and asked, “What is it like to be alive?”