Meeting People
About an hour later, two quinjets were landing in the bay. One carried Daisy and Mack and had only just turned around, the other carried Coulson, May, Fitz and Simmons.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you all” Scott told them as they gathered in his office.
“You know you’re always welcome back at the lighthouse” Jemma said “You really didn’t need to go through all this to get us to come visit.”
“Yeah thanks… this is kinda serious” he said, pointing to the security monitor.
“So she just appeared out of nowhere, in a locked room?” Mack asked, half amazed and half confused.
“Yep…” Scott said in a drawn out fashion.
“How much detail did you get out of her to come to the conclusion she’s from a parallel Earth?” Fitz asked.
“Well, between the screaming and the sobbing she did mention some personal facts that quite obviously didn’t sync up. Such as still calling herself Skye and not knowing her name is actually Daisy”
“Well, step one is to examine the machine.” Fitz said. “Might provide some clues”
“Right downstairs, I left the door unlocked.” Scott said. Fitz, Jemma, Mack and Daisy went down to examin the device.
“What other sort of information did she give you?” coulson asked.
“Well, for starters, she’s a lesbian. I know our Daisy says she’s bi-sexual…”
“wait” coulson stopped him “That doesn’t fit…”
“She mentioned it to me after…. Well… you know…”
“Nevermind… go on.”
Scott took a deep breath…
“Daisy is bi but to the best of my knowledge has only dated guys. Simmons, on the other has never shown any known attraction to other women short of how she reacted around Agent Morse after that little Great Escape the two pulled off from that Hydra lab” Coulson gave the younger agent another look “How do you know all this?”
“Hey, I worked at the Playground for more than three years before the May-1000 blew it up. I saw how she was acting just like everyone else did… Anyway, our guest said her name was Skye Simmons and that Jemma Simmons is her wife. I’m guessing this version never met her father, so she doesn’t know her real name and took Jemma’s last name when they got married. She didn’t try to quake me into the wall to escape, which would be Daisy’s first move, so ether she’s not an Inhuman, has not undergone Terrigenesis or has different powers. She’s also in the military, a US Army second lieutenant judging by the rank pins on her collar. And the fact she claimed to work for an agency that hasn’t existed since the 1940s, run by a guy who’s been dead for several years and was not winning any popularity contests…”
“There was one other thing. She mentioned my computer as being ‘contraband technology’ and ‘Unauthorized research work.’ I’ve got a hunch that something is seriously wrong on the other side of the mirror. I think it best if I talk to her first, introduce her to you. May, when the others come back up, send them down to follow us. I’m gonna motion for each of the others slowly aftwards. If we can get her to tell us more, we might be able to figure out how that machine works and send her back. ”
Scott knocked on the door before opening it. Skye was seated at a desk, having pulled out a pencil and paper and started writing.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Sick” she muttered. “My head is killing me.”
“Whatcha writing?” Scott asked, pulling out another chain and turning it around to sit on backwards.
“A letter to Jemma, apologizing for disappearing, telling her how much I love her and all the sappy nonsense you say in times like this. I don’t know if she’ll ever see it, but it makes me feel better.”
He noticed something else, a photo on the desk. It looked old fashioned and yet still new. He could also see what it was.
“This the two of you?” He asked, picking it up. It was of Skye and her version of Jemma, in matching white dresses.
“Yeah, on our wedding day.” She replied with a sniffle. “I keep it in my wallet”
“You two look lovely together.”
“Thanks” she said, sounding defeated.
“There are some folks here who would like to talk to you… You up for that?”
“Are they here to interrogate me?”
“No, they just want to talk. They’re fellow S.H.I.L.E.D. agents, the friends of mine I mentioned. Just like me, they want nothing more to than to get you back home to your family.” He placed the photo back in front of Skye as he finished, taping on it for emphasis. “Because that’s what S.H.I.E.L.D. does.”
“Remember when I said these are people who take the impossible in stride? They’ve saved the world so many times, just being in the same room as them blows my mind sometimes, nevermind they’re my co-workers, let alone my friends, people I get to say I know. So, do you trust me enough to trust them to help you?”
Skye nodded.
“One last thing” Scott finished with “I need you to remain calm. Some of them you might recognize but you have to remember these are not the people you think they are. Different lives, different paths.”
“Different lives, different paths.” Skye responded like a mantra.
Coulson came in first.
“Hello Skye.” Her reaction didn’t show familiarity as he sat down across from her.
“My name’s Phillip J. Coulson, I’m Scott’s boss. He’s told me a lot of what you told him. We’re going try our hardest to get you back home, but first we need to know what happened to you on your end. Did you see anything or touch any…”
Skye leapt to her feet and ran towards the door…
“Jemma!!” she screamed. Skye ran out into the hall and grabbed the other woman in a bear hug. Simmons had leaned around the door frame and Skye had caught a glimpse of her.
“Dai…Skye…” Jemma tried to protest between kisses. “Skye… Please let go of me, you’re hurting me…”
“Oh God…” Skye said in a panic.
“Wait….” Skye said, panicking again showing in her voice as she looked the other woman over “You’re thinne… Back to normal…. What happened? Where’s the baby?”
“Baby?” Jemma asked.
“Skye, this isn’t your Jemma.” Scott explained again, putting his hand on her shoulder again “Here, she’s not your wife and has never been pregnant. Remember what I said, different lives, different paths.”
It was at this point she noticed there were others in the hall.
Her eyes landed on Fitz first “Leopold..?” she asked, with a slight twinge of panic and fear.
“I guess…” The Scotsman muttered. He’d always preferred to be called Leo if anyone had to use his first name.
“Where’s your eye patch? Wait… sorry…”
She didn’t recognize Mack, but when her eyes landed on Melinda May, they went blood red with anger.
“YOU! You CHIMERA BITCH! I’m GONNA KILL YOU!”
Scott grabbed one of her arms, Fitz the other while Mack moved between the two.
“Why is she here? Why’d you let this murdering piece of shit in?”
“Different path…” Scott repeated… “Different path… Our May is one of the good guys. She’s SHIELD through and through.”
“Different lives, different paths… Different lives, different paths…” Skye panted “I’m really sorry. I can’t help it. That face, all I can see is the glee she had when she tortured me… The fire…” At that, May stepped back a few feet and Skye winced in pain again.
Coulson brought out the glass of water Skye had been drinking from. She gulped it down and took some slow and deep breaths. It was at this point some footsteps started to echo behind her.
Skye Simmons turned around, smack into Daisy Johnson.
“No fucking way….” The two doppelgangers said to each other.