Chapter 2
“Stark told me some of his probes have been behaving erratically.” Scott explained in the hanger’s office space. “They’re not responding to commands and suddenly they all jump to the same world and cease all communications. All told, he’s lost about two dozen.”
“Mysiri?” Mack asked.
“It’s a possibility. She does know how to control them, and we have no idea where she went…”
“Sorry I’m late.” Daisy said, strolling in.
“Daisy?” Scott asked, “What are you doing here?”
“I brought lunch.” She said, holding up a brown paper bag.
“Kinda in the middle of something, honey...”
“Oh… Right… I forgot.” She said, looking around the room.
“Agent Johnson” Elis said, standing and walking towards her “Pleasure to finally met you.”
“Mr. President, likewise,…” she said nervously before sitting down.
Elis turned back to Scott “Why doesn’t Stark send his machines?” He asked, looking at 827.
“My brothers and I are limited…” the robot explained “While I can physically act, it is only in defense of Dr. Stark.”
“Skye and I are less conspicuous than the Tin Man here” Scott added.
“I have the dimensional coordinates” 827 said “We will need to leave immediately. If this is the work of Mysiri, time will be of the essence.”
“The robot’s right” Elis said “If this Mysiri is as much trouble as you say she is, getting to her before she gets to us… I’ve got enough problem with Sherman’s nonsense and finding out the Avengers might have re-written reality…”
He stood
“The tour group can wait. I’m sure President Mace will understand. Go get her, kid.”
The plane exited it’s jump, now flying high over empty fields and forests.
“looks quiet…” Scott said “Can you dig anything up?”
“sure thing” A voice answered, with food in their mouth. Scott looked over his shoulder to find Daisy sitting next to Skye.
“Daisy… what are you doing?”
“Having a sandwich… I’m starving.”
“What are you doing here?” He asked, getting up and standing in the door.
“Hey, you need my help.”
“If I need your help, I’d have come back and gotten you.”
“Stop babying me.”
“I’m not…Ok… fine, I’ll find a spot to set us down then recon, but I’m not putting you in harms way if I can get away with it.” He said. “Daisy, I know this might come across the wrong way, but I’m worried about you, you can’t just run into battle. You’re fifteen weeks pregnant and if you keep throwing up like this, they’re going to have to hospitalize you, know that, right? Dr. Millworth says you’re borderline on HG, that thing that keep cropping up with the Duchess of Cambridge.”
“I’m… OH GOD!” She said as she got up and ran back to the bathroom.
“I’ll go check on her” Skye said as Scott turned and went back into the cockpit.
“Gonna be one of those days…”
Suddenly, something flying extremely quickly rocketed past the Zephyr.
“What the fuck was that?” Skye asked from the main cabin.
“I don’t know.” Scott replied “It looked like Aunt Carol… 827? Hey! You ok?”
The robot was having what appeared to be something akin to a seizure.
“Agent Riley… I appear to be….be…be… something is infecting me…my…me…I….I”
It’s head dropped. For a second, 827 just sat there, not moving. At the same time, the plane’s radar began detecting more objects flying outside.
Scott looked out the window and was greeted by a swarm of what looked like Iron Man suits.
“Well... this is gonna suck.”
“You have no idea.” 827 suddenly said. It reached out and grabbed Scott by the throat and threw him into the main cabin.
“Why does everyone go for the throat?” He said as he got back on his feet
The robot entered from the cockpit and made straight for Scott.
“Daisy! Skye! Little help here!” Scott said as the robot tried to choke him again. It tossed him into the forward bulkhead and then threw the couch against the door to the bedroom, traping the two inside. It then dragged Scott over the main door and ripped it open.
“Goodbye Agent Riley” it said as it threw him out of the plane.
“Well… this day can only get better…” Scott said as he fell.
He reached for his belt and pressed a button on a small box. He felt a pin prick his side and a slight surge of energy as his body duplicated Daisy’s vibration powers.
“Ok, practiced this… Just keep calm and this should work.
As he neared the ground, his fired off controlled bursts to try and slow himself.
He mistimed the last burst and slammed into a tree.
“Up!” Scott heard someone say as he regained consciousness. While he had practiced landing using Daisy’s and Skye’s powers; he was never very good. This was actually one of the better ones.
“Come on solider, get up!” he heard again.
“Daisy?” He asked, semi lucid.
He heard a familiar click and noticed something in his field of vision. Silouettes of people, standing in front of him. Guns drawn.
“Oh crap, not again…” Scott said. “It’s not choking…
“Grab him” one of the voices said.
By this point Scott’s vision began to clear. He looked around and saw several people in heavy combat gear. One of them was holding a gun in his face.
“Do you know this guy, Agent Johnson?” One of the asked.
“No.” She said, lowering her gun, revealing her face to Scott. It was Daisy, but this one had short hair, almost a buzz cut, with a scar on her cheek, running up past her eye.
“Woah… Hold on there.” Scott said with his hands up.
“Who are you?” the new Daisy demanded.
“My name’s Scott, Scott Riley. I’m a SHIELD agent from another reality. I’m not a threat. My presence here is a complete accident.”
“How do you know me?” She asked.
“Well, I know the you of my earth… quite well…” he said “and in my dazed state I recognized your voice. That’s it. I’m not playing games. I don’t want any trouble.”
“If you know me, then what’s…”
“I don’t know YOU” Scott interrupted “I’ve barely been here ten minutes. No more doing Stark any last minute favors.”
At this point, the assembled agents all raised the guns.
“Was it something I said?”
“You’re working for the Iron King?” One of them yelled.
“The wha…?” Scott said “Is this like a ‘Game of Thrones’ joke?”
The agents surrounding him looked at him like he had two heads.
“You know… ‘Winter is coming?” he looked around at the agents “Christ, I am the only person who watches TV anymore…”
“Anthony Stark, the so called ‘Master of the Cosmic Cube.” Butch looking Daisy answered.
“No…” Scott said “I was sent here by Howard Stark, a version from another Earth. Long story short, I’ve got a machine that lets me jump dimensions like Doctor Who jumps through time and I...”
“Who?” She asked
“Doctor… Look, I’m not doing ‘who’s on first’ lying in a fucking muddy creek!” Scott yelled.
“Fine” She said before turning to the others “Get him up”
The pulled him free of the mud.
“You’re coming back to base with us.” She told him.
As the agents led him away, Scott looked over his shoulder in the direction 827 had flown off in the Zephyr. He saw a structure that cut across the horizon. And there was something familiar about it.