Chapter 1
Couldn’t Whisper When You Needed it Shouted:
Chapter 1:
One moment, there was everything. The ground underneath her feet, the wheels of the bicycle, a childish glee, being scared of the dark, hearing stories of the hero Captain America. One moment, there was everything. The swings at the park, being chased across the stretch of the back garden, learning tai-chi. One moment, there was everything. Being tucked into bed with bedtime stories, no monsters in the closet, climbing into their bed when nightmares happened. One moment, there was everything. Love, joy, happiness, childhood, parents. One moment later, there was nothing. The moments of childhood felt stretched, a distorted panorama photo that someone had taken wrong, submerging into the water, being held down underneath the cold, dark surface. One moment, there had been everything, and now, there was nothing. One moment, there had been childhood, sitting on the lap of a parent, books being read to them by a fireplace, warmth, happiness and content. One moment, there had been a life where there had been floating, flying, no stresses, no worries, no pain. One moment, there had been everything. One moment there had been years of memories to hold on to, the best memories. And one moment later, there was nothing.
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“And, go!”
Daisy let out a startled gasp of air, running forward off of the quinjet, quickly aware of the frozen ground beneath her, the cold hitting her body so suddenly, she almost had little time to adapt. The once warm, baked streets of Florida were now covered in ice, spreading across the floor, up the sides of buildings, stretching, reaching. Daisy almost thought it looked beautiful, the ice trapped underneath the sun that was beating down on the normally typically hot summer day in Florida, but she wasn’t fooled. Despite the sun breathing rays of light and heat onto the earth, the ice did not run, or melt, it simply remained making the ice feel unnaturally colder than usual. The ice wasn’t flat like it was meant to be, instead, it looked and felt broken, like bark from a tree she had destroyed so many years ago in the beginning days, when she turned Inhuman. She was stronger now. It wasn’t a pleasant coldness in the air either, she wanted nothing more than to retreat into the heat of the quinjet that was stationed just a little behind her, agents running off around her, but she knew she couldn’t, this was her mission from the Director, their mission to save lives.
She took another step, her footing steady despite the fact that there was a flight tremble in her hands. She was well aware of the agents running about behind her, stationing themselves about in case she needed them, she was well aware of the eyes of Elena watching her in case she needed a quick escape, and she was well aware of the frozen pedestrians around her, the ones that had been running, screaming, escaping in terror. She saw the frozen building in front of her, a government one, frozen from the outside, the entry only free. And she was aware of the person storming out, the only unfrozen one that didn’t belong to SHIELD in the area. Said person glanced to her, made eye contact, her hazel eyes meeting calculating yet scared eyes.
“Hey” she called out, the person staring at her, eyes widening more. She clenched her fist, then unclenched it slightly “Not cool. No pun intended” she was sure Coulson would have smiled at that “Wha-”
“You need to get out of here” the man in front of her spoke, but the way he spoke, made him seem younger than what she thought. He was probably verging on the age of 18, maybe older, with messy brown hair, sporting a single baggy t shirt with baggy bottoms- a simple teenager attire, as if he had been at home watching some sort of TV or playing some sort of game. The most striking feature though, that Daisy picked up, was the bright, brown eyes, similar to hers, his full of worry, full of fear “Please” he begged.
“Are you Inhuman?” Daisy took a steady step further, the boy scuttled back slightly, raising his hand. Daisy could see the tears in his eyes “We can help you, I promise I-”
“Help me?” his voice cracked, “I didn’t do this, this- this wasn’t me” he breathed out, looking around at the mess before him, the ice palace that surrounded him “Don’t you get it? I’m not in control”
Daisy took another step forward, this time, ice shot out of the boys hand and she narrowly dodged it. She raised her hands in a surrender motion “I know” she spoke gently “It doesn’t feel like you in the beginning-”
“Beginning?” he laughed, though it sounded more like a choked sob “You don’t get it do you? They- They have my family” he took a sharp breath “They have me, if I don’t get it, they-”
Daisy’s eyes widened in horror, and shock as the boy suddenly shook, screaming, as if he was being electrocuted alive, before falling flat onto the ice. As his head hit the ice, the ice at his head cracked, sending a crack across the ice. Before she had a chance to shout for a medic, they were on it, they hurried to him and she watched as they rolled him over. There was blood running from his nose, eyes rolled back into his head.
“He’s dead”
A body beside her shattered into ice and nothing more.
And her loneliness almost swallowed her up.
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There was a deep sigh, followed by an almost disgusting squelching sound, which was followed by several more, almost forming a pattern. Jemma Simmons shook her head, a dazed look in her eyes as she nodded in some sort of agreement, though not really understanding what the person- rather alien before her was saying. It was a tall, blue alien which was looking down on her, around 6ft, with pure, black eyes, sporting a startlingly, bright hawiann t-shirt with hawiann like shorts.
“I have no idea what he’s saying” Piper mumbled next to her, holding her hands up as the squelching continued “Do you…?”
There was a slight nod of no to Jemma’s head. The squelching continued, before coming to a sudden stop, turning and walking away. The outstretched hand of Jemma fell to the side of her, and she let out another sigh, this time lighter. Disappointment was written across her features. The market was lively, loud, Jemma observed as she turned her attention from the previous stall to the corridor of stalls before her- a lost, rather round pink child wailed for its mother at the far end of the marketed stretch, a human looking alien with a set of bright green horns on its head walked a very feathered two legged dog which had two little arms, surprisingly looking like a raptor, not that Jemma was going to mention it. And around her, people shouted prices, hagglers shouting lower and lower prices all in a variety of languages, not that Jemma could understand many.
It had been Jemma’s idea to venture to the space market, backed by Davis. Piper and Deke had both been keen not to, Deke had been nervous about space in the first place, but Deke had been the only one with really any real knowledge at all about space, having lived in it, in his own really separate timeline. That had been something Jemma had become bored of explaining, and she knew Deke was her grandson, but sometimes, she just found herself, ever so slightly, losing her patience with the whole explanation of time travel. They’d said off a total of 4 months ago, and they hadn’t gotten very far in their hunt for Fitz, and she felt apart of her longing for him the more they went on. They would find him, she promised it to herself, but Enoch seemed to be nowhere, and therefore, so did Fitz.
“He was saying he has no idea where Fitz is” Deke stated beside her. He was shifting uncomfortably, lacking ease with this place. It was very similar place to what he was raised on, narrow halls, walls of metal, shouting from people. He was preferring to be on Earth and Simmons felt bad slightly for taking him away from there, but Fitz was her priority “But, he did recommend the green Gazzilons instead of the red” Deke chuckled slightly “Red is better”
“There has to be- He has to be somewhere” she twisted the ring on her finger, though she knew she should take it off. She was never really married after all- Well she was, but- She hated time travel “Come on Fitz…”
She found herself wondering to the observation deck, a short walk from the market whilst Deke asked around. Space was infinite, she had always known, but seeing, seeing was really believing. It was funny, she thought, staring off into the vastness, longing for Fitz by her side, how different perspectives were. People had always wanted to explore the galaxy, Earth knew of aliens, of life out there beyond, but they never leapt for it, some did, but only to the moon, and for people who couldn’t get to the moon, their desire was replaced with movies and TV.
And she remembered being one of those people, a little girl in Sheffield looking at the sky, a head full of knowledge. She had loved watching Doctor Who, Star Wars and Star Trek, but not for the wonders of the galaxy, but to show her what could be. And she had been on another planet, she had been out into space and was currently wondering the halls of an alien market looking for her love.
Years ago, Jemma Simmons would have been one of those people whose eyes grew wider with excitement and awe at the view she was seeing right now, but now, it was her heart which took her attention, her longing for Fitz.
“Hi”
She jumped from her daze, turning to look beside her at the woman who had joined her. Very similarly aged, Jemma noticed, and very much human- or so she assumed. She had shoulder length black hair, with piercing blue eyes, and had Asian like features on the face. She sported a simple green dress, rustic looking, that fell to her knees, then a set of leggings covering the rest of her legs. Over the dress, she sported a golden chest plate, covering between the neck and mid stomach, golden armoured pieces on her wrists and on her shoulders too. Around her neck, she sported a blue, simple scarf, and underneath that, Jemma saw a small glimmer of a necklace, though what the necklace was, she couldn’t make out.
“Your friend over there is upsetting a few” the woman nodded in the direction of Deke, who seemed to be getting into a heated conversation with a few other aliens. The woman had an American accent, ever so slightly, it seemed to be fading.
Jemma went to move, to stop Deke doing whatever mistake he was making, but as she did, the other woman’s hand reached out and snatched her wrist.
“He’ll be fine. Really” she gave her a reassuring smile “Stay. I wanted to talk”
“I’m sorry, but who are you?”
“Anitsa” She extended her hand, Simmons warily eyed it. There was something familiar to the woman before her, she just couldn’t work it out. She retracted her hand “I heard you’re looking for someone, I maybe able to help”
Her heart pounded in her chest, adrenaline rushed through her. Though she refused to get her hopes up yet, there was still something in her, something positive, telling her today would be the day - if it was day.
“But I want something in return. I heard you guys are from Earth, is that true?”
“We are”
“Apart of a group called SHIELD? I’ve done my research. I know who you are. I know where your friend, Fitz is, and I can take you to him, if SHIELD helps me”
“What do you need?”
“I need a lift, to Earth” the woman fell quiet for a moment “I think I was from there, you see. That my parents are there. I’m missing 16 years of memories, and I’m hoping Earth can bring them back”
Jemma’s thoughts were racing, here was a woman offering to give her her everything, in return for help and that’s what SHIELD did best, they helped.
“Do you have anything to go off?”
The woman reached into her golden cuffs, producing a piece of paper out from there and handing it to Simmons. Simmons quickly unravelled it, before staring at the photo with slight wide eyes.
Before her, was a childs drawing of two adults, holding what seemed to be a little girl between them. What seemed to be a generic childs drawing, however was not, due to the two labels pointing to the adults.
“We” Simmons breathed out, staring at the picture “Have a deal”