Theta Protocol

No one spoke for a long moment after Cal’s eyes closed. They had saved Coulson, but lost Skye. Again.

“Phil…” May started to speak but her voice began to shake and she stopped. She didn’t know what she would say anyway. Coulson stood up and turned around to look May in the eyes, not even acknowledging the others on the roof. May stepped closer to him so there were barely a few inches between them. She saw the tears in his eyes.

“We have to get her back May.” He barely got the words out, he was struggling not to completely fall apart.

“We will.” May said, briefly reaching out and squeezing his hand. Coulson met her eyes and gave her a tight smile before he straightened up and turned to face the Avengers and agents watching them silently from a few feet away.

“Thank you all for coming. I’m sure you want answers but there isn’t time, we need to track that plane.” Coulson said looking mainly at Clint and Natasha. A part of him believed he would never see them again, never get to explain himself to them. Now that they were here he couldn’t begin to start that conversation. All he could think about was getting Skye back from the bastard that was hurting her.

“Tony get up to the roof, now.” Steve spoke into his comms. Suddenly there was a blast several yards away from them and Tony flew out of a hole in the roof. He hovered over and landed near the group.

“The building is clear, all Hydra agents are either dead or unconscious.” Tony said, he barely glanced over at Coulson, purposefully trying not to show how he relieved he was that the man was ok.

“Forgot about that, Whitehall just took off, with Skye, in a cloaked plane. Is there any way you can track it?” Natasha asked him.

“Not likely. The cloaking will be hiding it from radar and satellite surveillance. That’s probably why we couldn’t track them leaving San Juan either.” Tony replied.

“Fitz, anything?” Bobbi asked into her comms.

“Nothing on radar or sat surveillance. They are gone.” Fitz replied.

“Fitz can’t track them either.” May said to Phil since he couldn’t hear Fitz reply since he didn’t have comms in.

“Damn it! We need to go back inside and go through any intel we can find to figure out where he would take her. She’s not safe with him. Especially not after what happened.” Coulson yelled. He seemed rather frantic, Tony and Steve had never seen him like this, neither had Bobbi or Hunter. It made them all uneasy to see the usually calm and collected man so upset.

“Calm down Phil, what do you mean what happened?” May asked. Coulson’s breathing was fast and shallow and he had started to pace. Suddenly he stopped and stared at Cal’s unmoving body on the ground.

“You need to see it.” Coulson replied without looking away from Cal’s prone body.

Line Break

30 minutes later everyone was gathered in the security room looking at the monitors. FitzSimmons, Mack, and Banner had come from the bus to join them. All the unconscious Hydra scientists and agents had been cuffed and moved to a nearby room that they could lock from the outside until Talbot and his men could come and collect them. An unconscious Agent 33 had been locked in the cage with an equally unconscious Bakshi until they could decide what to do with them.

Simmons was dabbing at the dried blood on Coulson’s face while applying bandages to hold his wounds closed. She had determined that he likely had several cracked or broken ribs that would need wrapping but Coulson was adamant that he wasn’t in much pain and it could wait until later. In the meantime, Fitz was rewinding through the security footage from the lab.

“He wanted to know what made Skye special. It didn’t matter what we said, how much we tried to convince him she wasn’t, he didn’t believe us. He killed her mother. Experimented on her, dissected her. He knew she didn’t age. He was convinced that Skye had some kind of power too, he just had to find it. He kept saying, ‘Discovery requires experimentation.’” Coulson spoke to the table in front of him. He wouldn’t look anyone in the eye. His voice was completely flat, devoid of any emotion.

“Play it.” Coulson said to Fitz. Fitz leaned forward and tapped the play button then leaned back in his chair. Simmons set down the supplies she had been using to fix Coulson up and reached forward and held Fitz’s hand.

There was silence as the video began. They all watched as Coulson and Cal woke up chained to the wall and Skye woke up strapped to a table. Skye was clearly trying to put on a brave face but May saw through it. She could tell how terrified her girl was.

Whitehall seemed to take pleasure in recounting the torment he had inflicted on Skye’s mother, watching as the fear seeped into Skye as she realized he intended to do the same to her. May’s heart clenched as she heard Coulson reassuring Skye that she was coming for them. She would never understand how people as good as Skye and Coulson could have so much faith in her. She had let Skye down. She hadn’t saved her.

When the nurses took the sheet down off of Skye’s body Steve turned his head. He didn’t even know this girl but he felt connected to her already. Seeing her objectified like this was making him angrier than he had been in a long time. Skye’s screams as they performed the lumbar puncture caused a collective gasp to run through the group. Simmons had tears running down her cheeks as Fitz turned white. Tripp was clenching his hands behind his back to stop from punching something. Mack was staring at the floor in silent prayer that they would find Skye before things could get worse for her. Bobbi had tears of anger threatening to slip out of her eyes as Hunter slipped his hand into hers, giving it a firm squeeze. Tony didn’t seem to know what to do, fidgeting in the chair beside Fitz. Bruce was taking deep, cleansing breaths, a greenish tinge to his complexion. Clint and Nat were intensely focused on the screen, as if trying to glean as much information from it as possible in order to destroy the man responsible. May was frozen. She stared helplessly as her girl was tortured.

They watched as Whitehall performed the bone marrow biopsy. When Dr. Whitehall gleefully told Skye that there would be more “experimentation” May felt nauseous. They watched as he brought the scalpel to Skye’s neck, her screams piercing the silence as the knife Whitehall was wielding pierced her skin. Just when it looked like it might be over and Skye seemed to be mercifully slipping into unconsciousness Dr. Whitehall produced the smelling salts to force her to stay awake. The reaction from the group was intense. There were growls and muttered curses throughout the room.

“That sadistic fuck.” Tony whispered, “why can’t he just let her pass out and sleep through this?” Tony exclaimed.

“He said he had operated on her mother for a week, keeping her awake the entire time. He intended to do the same thing to Skye.” Coulson said quietly. He wasn’t looking at the footage, seeing it once was enough for him. Her screams would be ingrained in his mind for the rest of his life.

Eventually Skye, Coulson, and Cal were left in the room and the group hoped that meant this torturous experience was over. All too soon Whitehall came back in and they realized something much worse was coming when he held up the crystal. While Whitehall was talking about how the crystal might affect Skye, Jemma realized that he might have a point. The crystal may have been the cause of the changes in Raina so if Skye is like her, the crystal could change her too.

Whitehall had the nurses remove Skye from the room and put her in an isolated chamber at the end of the hallway. Whitehall taunting Skye with the possibility that the mist might kill her instead of change her was almost too much for May to bear. The thought that Skye might be dead already was overwhelming. Suddenly May felt a hand in hers and she looked down to see Coulson, grasping onto her hand. She returned his grip just as tight and gulped down the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.

The crystal was broken and the crowd watched in horrified fascination as the mist reached Skye. Rock started crawling over her body. Skye was screaming and thrashing against her bonds as the rock consumed her. No one spoke, no one made a sound as they all waited, praying for Skye to survive this. Soon the rock began to crack and fall away from Skye’s body. She looked the same as she had before and there was a collective breath of relief as they all realized she hadn’t been changed like Raina.

Whitehall was giddy that Skye had survived. The group noticed at the same time as Whitehall that Skye’s injuries seemed to have healed themselves. When he advanced on Skye’s bed the room began to shake. The shaking grew so intense that Whitehall stumbled backwards into the wall. The shaking seemed to grow as Whitehall approached Skye’s trembling form and everyone realized at the same time, the quakes were coming from Skye. Whitehall’s horrifying praises of Skye’s newfound abilities did nothing to quell the fear growing in May’s gut. When Whitehall caressed Skye’s face May squeezed Coulson’s hand so hard she thought it might break. Whitehall injected Skye with a syringe and the shaking stopped as Skye went limp. As it stopped an explosion could be heard in the distance and the group knew it was Tony blowing the doors.

“The base has been compromised. Bring her to the plane, take the stairs to the roof.” Whitehall commanded and the guards and nurses from before entered, releasing Skye from her bonds. One of the guards lifted her limp body from the bed while a nurse wrapped the sheet around her body. The guard carried her from the room as the feed cut out.

“I don’t know what that was, how Skye has this power now, but Whitehall is going to want it. I don’t know if he will want to get it out of her or try to brainwash her to use her powers for Hydra. Either way, she’s in danger as long as he has her. We have to get her back. Fast.”

Line Break

The group dispersed after watching the footage of Skye’s torture. Most of them went to either the lab or the upstairs offices to go through computers, paperwork, anything that might give them a lead on where Whitehall could have taken Skye. No one spoke much.

May found herself standing in the room where Skye had been changed, staring at the restraints and the bloodstains on the bed in front of her. Dr. Banner was silently collecting all the pieces of rock that had fallen off of Skye’s body and the broken pieces of the crystal to run samples. Every once in a while, he would look over at May but he didn’t know what to say to her. From what he had seen she and Director Coulson cared very deeply for this girl, everyone on the S.H.I.E.L.D. team did. He couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for her, to have come so close to saving the girl and watch her fly away in the clutches of the man who had hurt her so much.

Bruce looked up as he heard footsteps approaching the room. Natasha entered and gave him a questioning look. He nodded at her to indicate he had gotten what he needed. She gestured to the door and he took the hint, gathered his samples, and left the room.

“She’s alive Melinda. We will get her back.” Natasha said.

“You can’t know that. We don’t know what happened to her. How she has this power now. What toll it might be taking on her. Not to mention what Whitehall might be doing to her now that he knows what her power is.” May replied, not taking her eyes off the bloody sheets.

“Her entire life Hydra has been after her, even when she was just a baby. They destroyed her mother to get her power from her, who’s to say they won’t do that to Skye too? We know what Whitehall is capable of, we read all the files of the terrible things he did during the war. He is going to do it all to Skye. She won’t be able to survive that.” As she spoke tears began to flow down May’s face.

“We will get her back before that happens.” Coulson spoke from the doorway behind Natasha. He nodded at Natasha and she left the room knowing that the only person who could comfort Melinda right now is Phil.

“How can you possibly be saying that after what just happened. We couldn’t stop him from hurting her the first time, now he knows that she has powers, he will stop at nothing to get what he wants from her.” Melinda never looked away from the bed as she spoke.

“You may be right. Maybe we won’t be able to stop him from hurting her, but he won’t kill her. He said that once her power was revealed she would be of more use to him alive. I think he wants to use her as a weapon for Hydra.” Coulson spoke with much more confidence than he was feeling. He was just as scared as May but he knew that if he gave into those hopeless feelings now then they were done for. He has to keep himself together, at least long enough to put May back together.

“Is that supposed to be better Phil? He won’t kill her, he’ll probably just brainwash her!” Coulson knew the anger in her voice wasn’t directed at him but it still made him shiver to hear it.

“It is better May, because brainwashing someone takes time, time we can use to find her and save her.” May let those words hang in the air for a moment. She knew he was right, if Whitehall wanted to make Skye a weapon of Hydra then at least he would keep her alive, but she didn’t want to imagine the horror Skye would endure in the process. Finally, May looked Phil in the eyes.

“I know you’re right. I just can’t lose her again.” The emotion in May’s voice and the tears rolling down her cheeks made Coulson’s breath catch in his throat. He felt tears welling up in his own eyes that he tried to force down.

“Neither of us can.” As he spoke he stepped closer to her and took her hands in his. They stood in silence for several moments, both of them more relieved then they could say to be together again. Both of them terrified they would never see the girl who they see as a daughter again.

Eventually May pulled her hands out of Coulson’s grip and wiped the tears from her eyes. She straightened her spine and firmly pulled her stoic mask back into place. Coulson watched in awe, he never ceased to be amazed at how well she could mask what she was feeling inside. Only a select few people who Melinda truly allowed to know her could ever see through her steely mask. Finally, May spoke:

“Then we can’t waste anymore time.”

Line Break
Skye woke up slowly. She blinked several times, squinting at the bright lights overhead. She groggily tried to sit up when she was once again flooded with the sensation of bees buzzing under her skin. Suddenly all the memories of the past however many days came flooding back to her. She bolted upright.

She gripped the edge of the bed frame she was on and tried to calm her breathing. She felt the shaking again and squeezed her eyes tight shut trying to calm down. Only when the buzzing had stopped and she no longer felt on the verge of a panic attack did she open her eyes again. She looked down at herself and noticed to her great relief that she was clothed. She was wearing dull greyish sweatpants and a matching long sleeved shirt. She suddenly realized how cold it was and wished that she also had some socks on her bare feet.

There was a mechanical door to her right, with no way for Skye to open it from the inside. To her left there was a horrible metal toilet like you would see in a prison which made Skye shudder. Next to the toilet was a massive window running the length of the wall. Skye startled when she realized there was a small crowd gathered outside her cell staring in at her as if she was an intriguing animal in a zoo. They all wore lab coats of varying colors except for the men at the front who wore suits. She pushed herself as far into the corner of the bed as she could and pulled her knees to her chest. She hadn’t cowered like this since her last foster home.

She recognized the face of Daniel Whitehall smiling at the front of the group standing shoulder to shoulder with another man with an equally spine-chilling grin and a ridiculous monocle on his face.

“I’m so glad you’re awake Skye. Now we get to continue the fun we were having before!” Whitehall was grinning like a kid on Christmas as he stepped toward the wall of Skye’s cell.

“While you were taking your nap I took some new blood samples from you and ran some tests. To my delight you now have the same anomalies in your blood that your mother had. You truly are as special as her! I knew you had it in you my dear.” Skye could feel herself shaking as Whitehall spoke, she had never felt more fear in her life.

“Now that your powers have revealed themselves we can start our work from the beginning. Discovery requires experimentation as you know and I have so much to discover from you Skye.” Whitehall finished his speech by laying a hand affectionately on the wall separating him from Skye.

“I can see zat you are frightened my dear but not to worry, ze good doctor here will not kill you.” The man beside Whitehall stepped forward and began speaking. Skye’s eyes were glued to him now as he spoke, trying to ascertain how much of a threat he was to her. His words made it seem like he was trying to reassure her but Skye found his smile no more comforting than Whitehall’s.

“Dr. Whitehall will take whatever he needs to take from you in order to understand how you have zis power so zat we may replicate it and put it in another, but you will not be killed. Once he has taken as much as he can from you without killing you I will begin turning you into ze perfect weapon for Hydra.” Skye felt her body go cold at his words.

“I would rather die than fight for Hydra.” Skye impressed herself by how strong those words sounded, even when she had never felt more powerless.

“Haven’t you heard what Dr. Strucker has been saying Skye, death will not be an option. You will comply, one way or another.” Whitehall smirked while he spoke, he enjoyed seeing the way Skye flinched at the word comply. He knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. was aware of his work with the Faustus method of brainwashing, he knew Skye would fear it.

“We don’t need to worry about zat now. First, Dr. Whitehall, you should begin your experiment. My staff are yours to command, take as many men as you need to control ze subject. I know Dr. List is eager to assist you in any way you need” Strucker was no longer looking at Skye, having turned to address Dr. Whitehall.

As the men spoke Skye felt herself slipping into panic. She was all alone. This time she doesn’t have Cal to scream at the Doctor on her behalf, she doesn’t have Coulson’s reassuring presence to help her fight through the pain and stay calm. She is by herself. The panic attack is coming and this time she can do nothing to stop it. The shaking starts small at first, just the bed beginning to rock beneath her. Then suddenly her entire cell is shaking, only a little at first but it is quickly getting more and more violent. She can hear shouting and people running about but she can’t focus on anything but the shaking. Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth to try and get a handle on what she is feeling.

Suddenly there is a blinding series of flashes in the room and Skye is knocked unconscious, collapsing in a heap on the bed. The device that had emitted the light retracts back into the ceiling.

“Well Doctor, it seems you were not exaggerating her powers. She truly is as remarkable as you said.” Dr. List spoke from just behind Strucker and Whitehall. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the girl and figure out what made her tick. The rest of the scientists had returned to the stations after the girl had fallen unconscious, the demonstration of her powers making them all eager to finish their preparations and begin the experiment.

“Herr Dr. Reinhard I know zat you prefer to keep you patients awake during ze procedures but since we want ze girl to survive and not bring ze building down on all of us you will need to give her some kind of anesthetic.” Whitehall said as he stared pensively at their newest test subject.

“Not to worry Dr. Strucker, I will be administering a high thoracic epidural to numb and immobilize her from the neck down so that she will not go into shock from the pain and if my theory is correct she should not be able to access her powers. She will still remain awake for the procedure.” Whitehall responded to Strucker. He was excited to learn if Skye could still use her powers without the use of her body or if she would be rendered impotent by the epidural.

“Excellent Doctor. I believe zat ze trauma of ze procedures will make it even easier to break her and get her to comply once she has healed.” Strucker said with a sadistic smile on his face. He was already imagining all of the ways he could break the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent down. He couldn’t wait for her to recover from the surgeries to get started with the real fun.

“I am anxious to see what you do with her Dr. Strucker, from what I have seen the girl is rather resilient to physical pain.” Whitehall responded.

Strucker was pensive for a moment. Skye would not be his first subject with a high pain tolerance. It was always fun to find new ways to hurt people who thought they were above pain but it was a more time consuming process. Then again, maybe he didn’t have to be the one to hurt her.

“Well if ze girl won’t respond to physical pain, zen we will have to hurt her another way.” As Strucker spoke he walked over to look into the cell next to Skye’s and List and Whitehall moved with him. They all stared at the two inhabitants of the next cell who looked back at them with wide eyes.

“Wanda can get into her head and make her relive her worst fears and nightmares until we have broken her down into nothing.” Strucker smiled at Wanda who looked back at him sadly, then turned to look at her brother Pietro. Pietro squeezed her hand and they both bowed their heads in silent solidarity with the new subject next door and the horror that awaited her when she woke up.