No. I think for all our talk of not making assumptions, we trapped ourselves in one early on, myself included. We're not just experiments or sleeper agents of chaos or even some Machiavellian nonsense. People use human beings, when they think they're doing the right thing. We fought the monster. We cured the outbreak. Those are defensive manoeuvres. And we were only equipped to do the latter because of how we've been altered.
[ We, he says, meaning the first groups of displaced. She's barely been here a month and while the experiment angle was one worth exploring, there was another layer she saw, coloured by her own experiences in the war. Or rather, the experience of one other man and the hand she had in it.
There's a delicate pause, and then: ]
Perhaps I'm grasping at straws, but I haven't been able to shake the parallel between us and Project Rebirth since our little chat a few weeks ago.
It's as we said — humanity can't have changed very much in five centuries. Yes, the pervasiveness of greed and corruption is staggeringly unsurprising, but there's another matter that's remained consistent: someone seeing a threat and creating a solution. Who's to say that isn't what we are? That's what Captain Rogers was.
Gaby called this a period of environmental unrest. Things are happening to this planet, changing, and we're part of it.
[ She gets it. Of course she does. And then she takes it a step further.
Project Rebirth, Project Looking Glass — they stem from the same source. If you want to save the world and the ones you love from extraordinary forces, you need extraordinary operatives. ]
As you know, on June 27 2511, shortly after the first wave of us were retrieved by Morningstar, earthquakes preceded the arrival of a large creature. So, I looked into the seismic activity on this planet, and the incident with the creatures marks the second unpredicted quake in the last year despite all others being identified in advance by the technology of this world. In September 2510, the seismic event in question hit a number of large megacities, including New Amsterdam, New Oslo, and New Venice. Moreover, there were power outages across all the cities, despite their divergent locations. That sounds more like an EMP than separate, latent infrastructure and electrical issues.
I think you and Gaby are right. This earth was changing before we awoke. And someone noticed. Whether or not they altered us, they equipped us with implants so we could survive out here.
Which could point towards private, not government. But who's to say a covert branch of the UN couldn't be involved in some way? They're too good at covering their tracks,, appear to have too much pull and access where they need it. I'm certain we've both been privy to operations that were on a need-to-know basis. Whatever we are likely falls under that.
Very few people were aware of Project Rebirth. We couldn't risk the enemy finding out (though they damn near came close) and losing our advantage, especially if we had succeeded in creating the army of supersoldiers as planned. Rogers made up for that discrepancy but even so, he was part of an elite squad whose movements remained confidential in order to remain effective. There's a possibility the people involved don't all know they're involved.
And regarding those earthquakes: have we heard of any reports about people like us in Oslo and Venice?
This might be biased from my own experiences with HYDRA, but I doubt the operation is strictly private or government as well. The MO better fits a conglomerate with extremities in every field. And with varying levels of self-awareness, as you said.
[ teeth everywhere. and some don't know even why they're locking their jaws (like ward, always like ward). ]
No, but we wouldn't. I've scoured online. Boards of all kinds. Anything substantial would be censored before it reaches us.
[ he looked into it after the monster, actually. the media can't stand against the government or third-party hackers. ]
[ She has a theory about the earthquakes and is prepared to launch into it when the world halts at the name HYDRA. It's a name that should be confined to history — in a poor light, in a past tense. But Fitz speaks of personal experience, which — impossible.
Surely. ]
HYDRA was defeated in 1945. The Commandos and I saw to it.
[ Ah, he'd hoped someone else would handle this (Bobbi; even Daisy or Strange, with their offhand remarks) but as is often the case, needs demand he fill the gap in time between them. ]
[ It's a good thing this is over text so she can take a moment to feel the absolute gravity of such a horrible, familiar phrase. Then I guess we'll keep cutting them off, she'd snapped back at Werner Reinhardt before arresting him and all his soldiers. She'd been so certain they'd won that last battle of a war that was meant to be over by Christmas. A battle they won for those they lost along the way: Steve Rogers and Bucky Barnes.
For what, then? What does their sacrifice mean if it survived decades later? She feels, for one awful second, like she might cry. But her emotions have been too raw, too volatile, lately and she reins it in with an iron will. Later. There will be time to be angry and upset later. ]
To hell with the head, I should have gone for the heart.
No matter. HYDRA isn't the issue now. You're right, we won't find any answers as to who is behind all this but we can start making informed guesses as to why and how. But first, tell me, Agent Fitz: what's the current theory regarding the nature of our arrival here?
[ It's horrible in the way of sudden, sheer drop. Every time HYDRA resurfaces, it's as though the terrain shifts, the world giving out beneath SHIELD's feet. You can't destroy the threat by shooting for the head or the heart. HYDRA has neither.
You have to take them apart limb by limb, and hope that one day, you've buried the last extremity.
Fortunate that Carter lets the moment pass and saves him from worse news. HYDRA survived by embedding itself in SHIELD, rotting us from the inside. ]
I don't know what others believe, but I'm of two minds, which share an entry point. In either case, we entered this universe through a portal in spacetime, so the question becomes: Were we chosen and dragged through the portal, or accidentally sucked into an unstable opening?
[ One day they'll discuss it. But not now. God, no, not now. ]
Given my encounter with the rift caused by Zero Matter, I had begun to wonder the same. Whether or not its deliberate remains to be seen, but here's another wrinkle for your forehead: do you suppose the earthquakes have something to do with our being here? (And the monster in question.)
It's far-fetched, maybe. But that's why I want to know if there are any rumours of similar individuals in the other cities. If we've all tripped through the same entry point one way or another.
Not a wrinkle at all. I think the earthquakes and power outages are side effects of our entry mechanism or symptoms of whatever force is causing the gateways to open.
Theory one: The monsters came through the same door we did, potentially exposing them to the same interactant that makes us glow blue and manifest unnatural abilities. We get picked up and equipped by a third party from there.
Theory two: The first group of seismic events released enough of that interactant for the people who picked us up to sample — and use to create a defence against the oncoming threat, intentionally infusing us with it.
Theory three: The third party is actually also the second party and doing something to cause the openings, earthquakes, and so on.
I'm inclined to go with three, if only because I'm familiar with people who are too clever for their own good and impacting the world for better or for worse. (Often, they believe it's because of the former.) If we knew the rhyme or reason behind the specific abilities manifested in each of us, we'd be able to narrow those down.
We're not in the business of believing in coincidence and all of these things can't be. Our being here, what we can do, getting involved in local affairs and in public no less, being passed over by the UNA and our handler alongside us. There's a reason. Someone out there either anticipated something coming or took advantage of a situation to right a possible wrong that's gone on long before us.
No, we're not in the business of believing in coincidences, Carter.
[ he agrees with her. whatever's happening is both cosmos and chaos. there's an element of unintentionality, yes, but someone's capitalising on the byproducts of this reaction in spacetime. ]
Counting ourselves, I know the abilities of twelve present individuals. I also know the abilities of two who've since gone missing. That's not a bad sample.
[ has he been collecting that data intentionally this whole time?
he doesn't know. ]
So let's narrow it down. Meet you by the waterfront. Corner of 74th and 6th.
Edited (RADICALLY CHANGES MY MIND also wow higher numbers extra shady) 2019-02-09 23:00 (UTC)
[ She'd been on her way back to the motel after work but after a quick recalculation via her GPS, it's easy enough to change tack and switch trains at the next station. After that, she puts most of her neural implant programs into sleep mode and makes her way to the designated meeting spot by the daylight breaking over the tall spires of New Amsterdam.
It's not far from where they first came across the river so she cuts through the market to grab a quick bite to eat (some kind of steamed bun filled with savoury mushrooms) and offers another to Fitz the moment she spots him on a bench. ]
Here, [ she says before easing herself gingerly into the seat next to him. ] It's difficult to theorise on an empty stomach.
[ Which is what she'd said to him in the SHIELD kitchen not too long ago. ]
[ though he leans back where he'd normally hunch forward in an effort to protect his ribs, one foot still taps with his tell-tale nervous (at once excited and frightened) energy, reserved for reworking theories. by now, he's switched into more casual attire for his night job. a grey crew neck and dark trousers, steel-toed boots. a little scruffier than he was the month prior, too.
in his haste (whirring in his head), he'd forgotten to grab a bite tonight. at carter's offer, his features loosen, breaking up the tight lines and wrinkles of thought on his face. oh. that's very — thoughtful.
like jemma. ]
[ a little duck of his head, as he budges up to make room for her. ] Thank you, Carter. [ one corner of his mouth tugs to the side, not quite a smile. a bite and then, ] Quick thinking.
[ he cases their surroundings then, with the evening crowds (morning, if the faintly rising light is any indication of the natural hour). plenty of people to cover their chatter. ]
Shall I get into the list?
[ that he hadn't realised he'd been maintaining meticulously, tucked in a locked cabinet in his mind, with the key appearing alongside her comments on the importance of knowing. unsettling, if he thinks about it too long (he's been thinking about it the entire way here). his gaze fixes somewhere in the distance, even as he digs into the food. ]
[ She leans against the bench with a soft exhale, keenly aware of the pressure against the colourful bruising across her back, but there's nothing for it. They are all still in recovery even with this future's medical advancements and that hasn't stopped anyone from doing their jobs — both overt and covert. Which is why she says, ]
By all means. Far be it from us to have a meeting without making it about business.
[ It's a joke and it isn't. They're always busy, always working, always thinking. She should take it easy. (They all should.) But in the wake of the raids is the best time to pay close attention and it's better they're on the same page moving forward. ]
[ At the joke, he blinks twice, not sure if it is just that. Hard to distract him when he's set on an idea, though she nearly managed it with her gift of food. Right. ]
Telling. [ another bite. he tries to talk through it near the end, but has the decency to cover his mouth with his other hand. ] More secure that way.
[ clearing his throat. ]
As we both know, you have metal-based shielding, which first manifested in self-defence — an adaptation to survive, localised at the site of a potential wound. And Markus has more literal shields, rather expansive and movable. [ a rolling gesture before he brings his hand back to his person, over his heart. ]
Now, I have portal-based manipulation, a subset of spacetime manipulation. The portals have increased in size and distance by 200% since they began occurring. [ he points outward. ] Similar to myself, Cain has a localised spatial manipulation ability, a subset of spacetime manipulation.
Both Hafid and Ren have a form of combustion, seemingly unstable, with the former's particularly volatile, not unlike his emotional state. [ it's a clinical observation, as all of this is. ] Vanessa and Katelin have some form of emotional affectivity. [ tipping his head this way and that. ] I'd classify Katelin's as more active, like persuasion or manipulation. [ he hums in thought. ] Similarly, Marcos had the ability to induce truthfulness in others. [ an unpleasant experience, evident in the slight tightening of his mouth. and moving on, ] Ah, Connor, meanwhile, can compartmentalise his emotions and sensations. Originally, this ability was restricted to himself, but it appears he can affect others now. He noted this allows him to be more like his former self: A machine.
[ he counts on his fingers, keeping track. ]
Jaqobis has a form of wound transfer, where he can take on others' injuries and likely return the favour. Ciri had a form of blood-based healing, of particular note because she was known and hunted for her blood in her homeworld.
[ he arches his brows. maybe there's a pattern here, after all. ]
That leaves Daisy with the ability to deconstruct objects and then construct new devices with the parts. [ well. ] And, of course, there's the good doctor — whose ability I'll have to omit, as he's been rather upset about my discussing him with coworkers before now, but it would appear to tie into his former life, as I know it.
[ Mild irritation there, but he gets it. Every tidbit he reveals now is evidence that he's been looking at this too closely, that he can't be trusted, but Hunter and Bobbi both said he ought to use this side of himself, right? This is useful. ]
[ She listens quietly and without interruption, her expression unreadable. Despite her trying to keep her implant activity to a minimum until she's fully on the mend, she still pulls up a window to take mental (literal) notes. No names, she can keep those straight well enough, but she jots down a quick shorthand of the abilities as he outlines them with plans to look into the individuals who possess them later on.
Peggy is confident there's a pattern. She just has to suss it out.
But as Fitz goes on, she finds herself surprised by the detail. She shouldn't be, given that they are both intelligence operatives and this is the job, but there's a keen level of observation that goes above and beyond the typical field report. He has a mind for this, sharp and analytical, just as he has a mind for strategy. It hearkens back to when they'd uncovered her ability and the way he'd put aside first aid for more questions about the how and why of it all. The shift of priorities.
So he's a curious fellow. But he's also a curious fellow. Her gaze flickers over him, studying him as he's studied the others. And then when he's through, she lets the moment sit between them as she wraps her notes and saves them under lock and key, takes a bite of her bao, and says, ]
You've certainly been paying attention. [ Her tone and expression remain mild, but there's a sharpness too. Who are you, Agent Fitz? ] I don't know everyone, but as you've pointed out, most appear to tie to the person in question in some way.
[ She tucks her reusable cloth napkin back into her purse after shaking the crumbs from it, mulling over the verbal dossier he's thrown her way. She knows about Connor's life before turning up here, enough to understand the machine comment. Katelin had revealed herself to be Bobbi, agent of SHIELD, so persuasion and manipulation tracks that particular skill set. Then there's Ciri and Strange.
And her. Her, the living shield. She thought she was like Steve in terms of durability but perhaps the link is more literal. ]
Regardless of how we acquired them, they do seem to be uniquely tailored. [ A beat. ] Is this common when you're from?
[ Because his insight speaks to a particular level or comfort and familiarity with the subject at hand. (The subjects.) ]
[ Paying attention, asking the right (wrong) questions, pushing people and twisting their arms with deft touches so they'll tell him what they can do. His power is out in the open now, but before that, several people on this list told him of their abilities in times of personal turmoil.
He made a point not to return the favour. Was that him or me? And throughout each conversation, he's been paying closer attention than he thought in the moment. ]
Yes. [ he finishes off a bite. ] In 1945, you freed the prisoners turned test subjects of one Dr Daniel Whitehall — also known as Dr. Werner Reinhardt. Among them was a woman, Jiaying. She was being held captive precisely because of her abilities: Draining the life of others, outliving baseline humans, and accelerating her own healing. [ his gaze flickers. ] Although the SSR didn't know it at the time, she was one of many inhumans.
[ a beat, as he lets that settle. Although this is history, it rankles inside him. 'Cause he knows there's a world where he's the mad doctor, not the SHIELD rescue, and that the other Jiaying was murdered in his pursuit of Ophelia's aims. Don't. He knows which version of the story needs to be told today, when Fitz sits beside the woman who dedicated her life to eradicating the HYDRA threat.
One hand slips into his pocket, toying with the coin that Connor gave him there. ]
They're an offshoot of humanity, currently working in tandem with SHIELD or just trying to get by on their own. [ he leans back, mouth tugging downward. the science is about to get even weirder. ] Kree aliens spliced their DNA with humans, leading to bloodlines with dormant abilities. Now, once these humans are exposed to an interactant, known as terrigen mist, their abilities activate. [ removing his hand from his pocket, he performs a quick motion between them, seeing as that detail fits with his spacetime interactant theory. ] For instance, before coming here, Daisy had the ability to manipulate vibrations, causing earthquakes. [ arching his brows. then, he hesitates. his words slow as he grows more thoughtful (and finishes off his food). ]
[ splaying his hands. ] I knew another inhuman who believed that no ability was random — that each one is meant to fulfill some kind of evolutionary need and create equilibrium within the sub-species. [ biting the inside of his cheek. ] I don't know if I agree, but there's an element of synergy with our new abilities, yes. [ he tilts his head back, looking skyward. ] I've spent the better part of my career diving through holes in spacetime, chasing the people I love when they're dragged away by unseen forces, wanting for something magnificent out there, waiting on the other side — and now I can create wormholes [ snapping his fingers. ] just like that.
[ that is to say, he agrees with her. the data speaks for itself. ]
[ Her expression flickers with recognition at the name, a twitch of her brows and a tightening of her mouth. Werner Reinhardt had been at the last HYDRA base she at the Commandos had raided and just on the heels of Fitz telling her it wasn't the last head to be cut off, the victory feels hollow now. But it's strange how the pieces fit together — she does recall a Chinese woman named Jiaying only because they'd taken a record of the survivors before getting them home. They hadn't noted anything remarkable about her at the time and maybe that was for the best. God knows what the SSR and American government would have done with such a find. (Winning the war doesn't guarantee being a Good Guy.)
And unbeknownst to both her and Fitz, among the artifacts recovered from that base was a crate holding the body of a dead Kree, along with the Diviner that triggered the inhuman "epidemic" in the 21st Century. She knew nothing about it either, only that it was dangerous. And all of it, Reinhardt included, had to be locked away from the world in order to protect it and to stop men like Howard Stark from toying with it. Seems as though that only delayed the inevitable. Humanity does like to evolve and discover, for better or for worse.
None of it matters now and yet all of it does. It provides the context for Fitz's understanding of the abilities they now possess and how something similar may apply here. He may not agree but Peggy does, if only because it falls into the most basic of reasoning: a problem occurs, a solution presents itself. A hole is discovered, something fills in the gap. These inhumans balance the scales, Captain America was engineered to do the same. The displaced tumble into the 26th Century plagued by all its problems.
We're not in the business of believing in coincidences. ]
The closest our science ever came to such a thing was Project Rebirth, [ she says after a moment. ] Dr Erskine always said his formula was designed to enhance what was already within. [ Good becomes great, bad becomes worse. ] Johann Schmidt received the same serum as Steve Rogers — and one turned into the Red Skull while the other became Captain America.
[ She exhales slowly, gaze drifting towards the water and the skyline towering above it. She remembers that basement in Brooklyn all too clearly, the quiet bravery of the slight man at her side, his screams from inside the pod. Shut it down. He could have died and he was willing to take that risk for his country. ]
We didn't know what would happen, not with Schmidt as the only success we knew of. We just had faith that the science was sound and that the man we chose was the right one for the job. [ She speaks about Steve as she would any other soldier; with careful detachment and professionalism. But the silence before the pod hissed open had been worse than the screams. ] I believe that's what's happened here with us. It's as you said — you've been leaping through holes in space and now you can create them. And I... [ A beat as she holds her breath then exhales it in a silent laugh, shaking her head. ] Well, I'll always find a way to be in the line of fire.
[ She looks down, lips quirked. ]
May as well be the shield while I'm at it. Why let Rogers have all the fun?
[ When Peggy Carter says shield, he feels a chill run through him. Since her arrival, Peggy has challenged him. No stone unturned, no statement unquestioned. And all the while, she's been extraordinary in one way or another, not because of who she was in his history textbooks but who she is now. She's a leader in the same way as Markus or Coulson or Mack, earning respect and loyalty with her words and actions. No need to stand before their crowd (or even their team, when Fitz chose to step forward instead).
He fixes her with one his too-long stares, really looking at her, as he did when she exited that scuzzy fitting room and when she first named him Agent Fitz, too. The buzz of the market fades into background noise, gone so he can focus on her, watching the way she tips downward.
Everything she says better informs his theories, nudging his perspective and widening his purview. No coincidences, interactants that alter their host using what's already within, like Captain Rogers and the Red Skull, perhaps even like the inhumans of their world. ]
Can't think of anyone I'd rather have out front.
[ it's said without thinking, wholly genuine. Something clicks. ]
So knowing that, we can walk back to the theories I put forward and consider the nature of our changing. [ he fists a hand in his shirt, like he might find the answer in his chest. ] If our powers are rooted in ourselves, it's likely we were exposed to an interactant, intentionally or unintentionally. And that interactant is what makes us glow, what causes the abilities to manifest so uniquely, perhaps even what turned the creatures into colossal bloody hybrids.
[ Not for the first time, she feels the weight of his gaze on her. Maybe it's something she's said or maybe it's another piece of a hidden puzzle slotting into place, but this time she looks back and sees that expression again — the one reserved for Captain Rogers on the field. It makes her cheeks warm and although her lips curve in a small smile with the sincerity of his reply, she does have to look away again.
There are times she doesn't feel the stretch of decades between them. And there are moments like now where it's so obvious that he's witnessing the marriage of who she is and who she becomes. It's a little flustering but flattering, too, that he trusts her — and her judgement, her opinions — so implicitly. That was only a recent development at the SSR and she fought tooth and nail for it. Here? It's common courtesy. Refreshing.
She clears her throat and straightens in her seat as they move on, her left side protesting with a twinge. ]
Mm, [ comes her soft hum of agreement. ] What sort of tests can we run for that? Can we test for that? Bloodwork seems to come back as normal for the most part.
[ Lucky that she chooses that moment to look away, that he doesn't have long to consider the slight colour in her cheeks or the way she fidgets, so unlike her typical poise — because she asks after the science, so his focus drifts, spying something in the corner of his eye.
This is the part he knows intimately, the knowledge he's withheld since arriving here and chatting with Strange (seeing the slight knit of his brows, hearing the suspicion in his voice). Fitz knows exactly what tests you need to run to ascertain to get a full picture of their inhuman profiles. His life's work was finding ways to identify, extract, and use that data. Bloodwork's only the start. ]
Yes, apart from the aliens and the androids, we're rather ordinary.
[ dry, that. he straightens up. ]
But there are other tests. [ Fitz's hand returns to his pocket, shifting the coin between his fingers. ] We'd need DNA samples and lots of them. [ rattling them off, ] Hair, nails, cheek swabs, and so on. [ a noncommittal noise. ] We could look at hormone levels, too. And see if we've been exposed to radiation of some kind through frequent blood tests over several days, looking for drops in disease-fighting white blood cells and abnormal changes in the DNA of blood cells. [ sighing. ] We'll also need controls from several local individuals willing to submit the same samples — [ oh, now there's an idea. ] — like the lab techs we rescued.
[ He glances back to her, eyes alight with interest. Maybe they can look into this, after all. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
What do you suppose, then? Just another in a series of elaborate field tests?
no subject
I think for all our talk of not making assumptions, we trapped ourselves in one early on, myself included. We're not just experiments or sleeper agents of chaos or even some Machiavellian nonsense.
People use human beings, when they think they're doing the right thing.
We fought the monster. We cured the outbreak. Those are defensive manoeuvres. And we were only equipped to do the latter because of how we've been altered.
no subject
There's a delicate pause, and then: ]
Perhaps I'm grasping at straws, but I haven't been able to shake the parallel between us and Project Rebirth since our little chat a few weeks ago.
It's as we said — humanity can't have changed very much in five centuries. Yes, the pervasiveness of greed and corruption is staggeringly unsurprising, but there's another matter that's remained consistent: someone seeing a threat and creating a solution. Who's to say that isn't what we are? That's what Captain Rogers was.
Gaby called this a period of environmental unrest. Things are happening to this planet, changing, and we're part of it.
no subject
Project Rebirth, Project Looking Glass — they stem from the same source. If you want to save the world and the ones you love from extraordinary forces, you need extraordinary operatives. ]
As you know, on June 27 2511, shortly after the first wave of us were retrieved by Morningstar, earthquakes preceded the arrival of a large creature. So, I looked into the seismic activity on this planet, and the incident with the creatures marks the second unpredicted quake in the last year despite all others being identified in advance by the technology of this world. In September 2510, the seismic event in question hit a number of large megacities, including New Amsterdam, New Oslo, and New Venice. Moreover, there were power outages across all the cities, despite their divergent locations. That sounds more like an EMP than separate, latent infrastructure and electrical issues.
I think you and Gaby are right. This earth was changing before we awoke.
And someone noticed. Whether or not they altered us, they equipped us with implants so we could survive out here.
[ and be of use. ]
no subject
Very few people were aware of Project Rebirth. We couldn't risk the enemy finding out (though they damn near came close) and losing our advantage, especially if we had succeeded in creating the army of supersoldiers as planned. Rogers made up for that discrepancy but even so, he was part of an elite squad whose movements remained confidential in order to remain effective. There's a possibility the people involved don't all know they're involved.
And regarding those earthquakes: have we heard of any reports about people like us in Oslo and Venice?
no subject
And with varying levels of self-awareness, as you said.
[ teeth everywhere. and some don't know even why they're locking their jaws (like ward, always like ward). ]
No, but we wouldn't. I've scoured online. Boards of all kinds. Anything substantial would be censored before it reaches us.
[ he looked into it after the monster, actually. the media can't stand against the government or third-party hackers. ]
no subject
Surely. ]
HYDRA was defeated in 1945. The Commandos and I saw to it.
no subject
I'm sorry, Carter.
You cut off one head.
[ The rest is history, ever repeating. ]
1/2
For what, then? What does their sacrifice mean if it survived decades later? She feels, for one awful second, like she might cry. But her emotions have been too raw, too volatile, lately and she reins it in with an iron will. Later. There will be time to be angry and upset later. ]
To hell with the head, I should have gone for the heart.
no subject
No matter. HYDRA isn't the issue now. You're right, we won't find any answers as to who is behind all this but we can start making informed guesses as to why and how. But first, tell me, Agent Fitz: what's the current theory regarding the nature of our arrival here?
no subject
You have to take them apart limb by limb, and hope that one day, you've buried the last extremity.
Fortunate that Carter lets the moment pass and saves him from worse news. HYDRA survived by embedding itself in SHIELD, rotting us from the inside. ]
I don't know what others believe, but I'm of two minds, which share an entry point.
In either case, we entered this universe through a portal in spacetime, so the question becomes:
Were we chosen and dragged through the portal, or accidentally sucked into an unstable opening?
no subject
Given my encounter with the rift caused by Zero Matter, I had begun to wonder the same. Whether or not its deliberate remains to be seen, but here's another wrinkle for your forehead: do you suppose the earthquakes have something to do with our being here? (And the monster in question.)
It's far-fetched, maybe. But that's why I want to know if there are any rumours of similar individuals in the other cities. If we've all tripped through the same entry point one way or another.
no subject
Theory one: The monsters came through the same door we did, potentially exposing them to the same interactant that makes us glow blue and manifest unnatural abilities. We get picked up and equipped by a third party from there.
Theory two: The first group of seismic events released enough of that interactant for the people who picked us up to sample — and use to create a defence against the oncoming threat, intentionally infusing us with it.
Theory three: The third party is actually also the second party and doing something to cause the openings, earthquakes, and so on.
no subject
I'm inclined to go with three, if only because I'm familiar with people who are too clever for their own good and impacting the world for better or for worse. (Often, they believe it's because of the former.) If we knew the rhyme or reason behind the specific abilities manifested in each of us, we'd be able to narrow those down.
We're not in the business of believing in coincidence and all of these things can't be. Our being here, what we can do, getting involved in local affairs and in public no less, being passed over by the UNA and our handler alongside us. There's a reason. Someone out there either anticipated something coming or took advantage of a situation to right a possible wrong that's gone on long before us.
no subject
[ he agrees with her. whatever's happening is both cosmos and chaos. there's an element of unintentionality, yes, but someone's capitalising on the byproducts of this reaction in spacetime. ]
Counting ourselves, I know the abilities of twelve present individuals.
I also know the abilities of two who've since gone missing.
That's not a bad sample.
[ has he been collecting that data intentionally this whole time?
he doesn't know. ]
So let's narrow it down.
Meet you by the waterfront. Corner of 74th and 6th.
no subject
[ She'd been on her way back to the motel after work but after a quick recalculation via her GPS, it's easy enough to change tack and switch trains at the next station. After that, she puts most of her neural implant programs into sleep mode and makes her way to the designated meeting spot by the daylight breaking over the tall spires of New Amsterdam.
It's not far from where they first came across the river so she cuts through the market to grab a quick bite to eat (some kind of steamed bun filled with savoury mushrooms) and offers another to Fitz the moment she spots him on a bench. ]
Here, [ she says before easing herself gingerly into the seat next to him. ] It's difficult to theorise on an empty stomach.
[ Which is what she'd said to him in the SHIELD kitchen not too long ago. ]
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in his haste (whirring in his head), he'd forgotten to grab a bite tonight. at carter's offer, his features loosen, breaking up the tight lines and wrinkles of thought on his face. oh. that's very — thoughtful.
like jemma. ]
[ a little duck of his head, as he budges up to make room for her. ] Thank you, Carter. [ one corner of his mouth tugs to the side, not quite a smile. a bite and then, ] Quick thinking.
[ he cases their surroundings then, with the evening crowds (morning, if the faintly rising light is any indication of the natural hour). plenty of people to cover their chatter. ]
Shall I get into the list?
[ that he hadn't realised he'd been maintaining meticulously, tucked in a locked cabinet in his mind, with the key appearing alongside her comments on the importance of knowing. unsettling, if he thinks about it too long (he's been thinking about it the entire way here). his gaze fixes somewhere in the distance, even as he digs into the food. ]
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By all means. Far be it from us to have a meeting without making it about business.
[ It's a joke and it isn't. They're always busy, always working, always thinking. She should take it easy. (They all should.) But in the wake of the raids is the best time to pay close attention and it's better they're on the same page moving forward. ]
Are you telling me or sending it to me?
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Telling. [ another bite. he tries to talk through it near the end, but has the decency to cover his mouth with his other hand. ] More secure that way.
[ clearing his throat. ]
As we both know, you have metal-based shielding, which first manifested in self-defence — an adaptation to survive, localised at the site of a potential wound. And Markus has more literal shields, rather expansive and movable. [ a rolling gesture before he brings his hand back to his person, over his heart. ]
Now, I have portal-based manipulation, a subset of spacetime manipulation. The portals have increased in size and distance by 200% since they began occurring. [ he points outward. ] Similar to myself, Cain has a localised spatial manipulation ability, a subset of spacetime manipulation.
Both Hafid and Ren have a form of combustion, seemingly unstable, with the former's particularly volatile, not unlike his emotional state. [ it's a clinical observation, as all of this is. ] Vanessa and Katelin have some form of emotional affectivity. [ tipping his head this way and that. ] I'd classify Katelin's as more active, like persuasion or manipulation. [ he hums in thought. ] Similarly, Marcos had the ability to induce truthfulness in others. [ an unpleasant experience, evident in the slight tightening of his mouth. and moving on, ] Ah, Connor, meanwhile, can compartmentalise his emotions and sensations. Originally, this ability was restricted to himself, but it appears he can affect others now. He noted this allows him to be more like his former self: A machine.
[ he counts on his fingers, keeping track. ]
Jaqobis has a form of wound transfer, where he can take on others' injuries and likely return the favour. Ciri had a form of blood-based healing, of particular note because she was known and hunted for her blood in her homeworld.
[ he arches his brows. maybe there's a pattern here, after all. ]
That leaves Daisy with the ability to deconstruct objects and then construct new devices with the parts. [ well. ] And, of course, there's the good doctor — whose ability I'll have to omit, as he's been rather upset about my discussing him with coworkers before now, but it would appear to tie into his former life, as I know it.
[ Mild irritation there, but he gets it. Every tidbit he reveals now is evidence that he's been looking at this too closely, that he can't be trusted, but Hunter and Bobbi both said he ought to use this side of himself, right? This is useful. ]
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Peggy is confident there's a pattern. She just has to suss it out.
But as Fitz goes on, she finds herself surprised by the detail. She shouldn't be, given that they are both intelligence operatives and this is the job, but there's a keen level of observation that goes above and beyond the typical field report. He has a mind for this, sharp and analytical, just as he has a mind for strategy. It hearkens back to when they'd uncovered her ability and the way he'd put aside first aid for more questions about the how and why of it all. The shift of priorities.
So he's a curious fellow. But he's also a curious fellow. Her gaze flickers over him, studying him as he's studied the others. And then when he's through, she lets the moment sit between them as she wraps her notes and saves them under lock and key, takes a bite of her bao, and says, ]
You've certainly been paying attention. [ Her tone and expression remain mild, but there's a sharpness too. Who are you, Agent Fitz? ] I don't know everyone, but as you've pointed out, most appear to tie to the person in question in some way.
[ She tucks her reusable cloth napkin back into her purse after shaking the crumbs from it, mulling over the verbal dossier he's thrown her way. She knows about Connor's life before turning up here, enough to understand the machine comment. Katelin had revealed herself to be Bobbi, agent of SHIELD, so persuasion and manipulation tracks that particular skill set. Then there's Ciri and Strange.
And her. Her, the living shield. She thought she was like Steve in terms of durability but perhaps the link is more literal. ]
Regardless of how we acquired them, they do seem to be uniquely tailored. [ A beat. ] Is this common when you're from?
[ Because his insight speaks to a particular level or comfort and familiarity with the subject at hand. (The subjects.) ]
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He made a point not to return the favour. Was that him or me? And throughout each conversation, he's been paying closer attention than he thought in the moment. ]
Yes. [ he finishes off a bite. ] In 1945, you freed the prisoners turned test subjects of one Dr Daniel Whitehall — also known as Dr. Werner Reinhardt. Among them was a woman, Jiaying. She was being held captive precisely because of her abilities: Draining the life of others, outliving baseline humans, and accelerating her own healing. [ his gaze flickers. ] Although the SSR didn't know it at the time, she was one of many inhumans.
[ a beat, as he lets that settle. Although this is history, it rankles inside him. 'Cause he knows there's a world where he's the mad doctor, not the SHIELD rescue, and that the other Jiaying was murdered in his pursuit of Ophelia's aims. Don't. He knows which version of the story needs to be told today, when Fitz sits beside the woman who dedicated her life to eradicating the HYDRA threat.
One hand slips into his pocket, toying with the coin that Connor gave him there. ]
They're an offshoot of humanity, currently working in tandem with SHIELD or just trying to get by on their own. [ he leans back, mouth tugging downward. the science is about to get even weirder. ] Kree aliens spliced their DNA with humans, leading to bloodlines with dormant abilities. Now, once these humans are exposed to an interactant, known as terrigen mist, their abilities activate. [ removing his hand from his pocket, he performs a quick motion between them, seeing as that detail fits with his spacetime interactant theory. ] For instance, before coming here, Daisy had the ability to manipulate vibrations, causing earthquakes. [ arching his brows. then, he hesitates. his words slow as he grows more thoughtful (and finishes off his food). ]
[ splaying his hands. ] I knew another inhuman who believed that no ability was random — that each one is meant to fulfill some kind of evolutionary need and create equilibrium within the sub-species. [ biting the inside of his cheek. ] I don't know if I agree, but there's an element of synergy with our new abilities, yes. [ he tilts his head back, looking skyward. ] I've spent the better part of my career diving through holes in spacetime, chasing the people I love when they're dragged away by unseen forces, wanting for something magnificent out there, waiting on the other side — and now I can create wormholes [ snapping his fingers. ] just like that.
[ that is to say, he agrees with her. the data speaks for itself. ]
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And unbeknownst to both her and Fitz, among the artifacts recovered from that base was a crate holding the body of a dead Kree, along with the Diviner that triggered the inhuman "epidemic" in the 21st Century. She knew nothing about it either, only that it was dangerous. And all of it, Reinhardt included, had to be locked away from the world in order to protect it and to stop men like Howard Stark from toying with it. Seems as though that only delayed the inevitable. Humanity does like to evolve and discover, for better or for worse.
None of it matters now and yet all of it does. It provides the context for Fitz's understanding of the abilities they now possess and how something similar may apply here. He may not agree but Peggy does, if only because it falls into the most basic of reasoning: a problem occurs, a solution presents itself. A hole is discovered, something fills in the gap. These inhumans balance the scales, Captain America was engineered to do the same. The displaced tumble into the 26th Century plagued by all its problems.
We're not in the business of believing in coincidences. ]
The closest our science ever came to such a thing was Project Rebirth, [ she says after a moment. ] Dr Erskine always said his formula was designed to enhance what was already within. [ Good becomes great, bad becomes worse. ] Johann Schmidt received the same serum as Steve Rogers — and one turned into the Red Skull while the other became Captain America.
[ She exhales slowly, gaze drifting towards the water and the skyline towering above it. She remembers that basement in Brooklyn all too clearly, the quiet bravery of the slight man at her side, his screams from inside the pod. Shut it down. He could have died and he was willing to take that risk for his country. ]
We didn't know what would happen, not with Schmidt as the only success we knew of. We just had faith that the science was sound and that the man we chose was the right one for the job. [ She speaks about Steve as she would any other soldier; with careful detachment and professionalism. But the silence before the pod hissed open had been worse than the screams. ] I believe that's what's happened here with us. It's as you said — you've been leaping through holes in space and now you can create them. And I... [ A beat as she holds her breath then exhales it in a silent laugh, shaking her head. ] Well, I'll always find a way to be in the line of fire.
[ She looks down, lips quirked. ]
May as well be the shield while I'm at it. Why let Rogers have all the fun?
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He fixes her with one his too-long stares, really looking at her, as he did when she exited that scuzzy fitting room and when she first named him Agent Fitz, too. The buzz of the market fades into background noise, gone so he can focus on her, watching the way she tips downward.
Everything she says better informs his theories, nudging his perspective and widening his purview. No coincidences, interactants that alter their host using what's already within, like Captain Rogers and the Red Skull, perhaps even like the inhumans of their world. ]
Can't think of anyone I'd rather have out front.
[ it's said without thinking, wholly genuine. Something clicks. ]
So knowing that, we can walk back to the theories I put forward and consider the nature of our changing. [ he fists a hand in his shirt, like he might find the answer in his chest. ] If our powers are rooted in ourselves, it's likely we were exposed to an interactant, intentionally or unintentionally. And that interactant is what makes us glow, what causes the abilities to manifest so uniquely, perhaps even what turned the creatures into colossal bloody hybrids.
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There are times she doesn't feel the stretch of decades between them. And there are moments like now where it's so obvious that he's witnessing the marriage of who she is and who she becomes. It's a little flustering but flattering, too, that he trusts her — and her judgement, her opinions — so implicitly. That was only a recent development at the SSR and she fought tooth and nail for it. Here? It's common courtesy. Refreshing.
She clears her throat and straightens in her seat as they move on, her left side protesting with a twinge. ]
Mm, [ comes her soft hum of agreement. ] What sort of tests can we run for that? Can we test for that? Bloodwork seems to come back as normal for the most part.
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This is the part he knows intimately, the knowledge he's withheld since arriving here and chatting with Strange (seeing the slight knit of his brows, hearing the suspicion in his voice). Fitz knows exactly what tests you need to run to ascertain to get a full picture of their inhuman profiles. His life's work was finding ways to identify, extract, and use that data. Bloodwork's only the start. ]
Yes, apart from the aliens and the androids, we're rather ordinary.
[ dry, that. he straightens up. ]
But there are other tests. [ Fitz's hand returns to his pocket, shifting the coin between his fingers. ] We'd need DNA samples and lots of them. [ rattling them off, ] Hair, nails, cheek swabs, and so on. [ a noncommittal noise. ] We could look at hormone levels, too. And see if we've been exposed to radiation of some kind through frequent blood tests over several days, looking for drops in disease-fighting white blood cells and abnormal changes in the DNA of blood cells. [ sighing. ] We'll also need controls from several local individuals willing to submit the same samples — [ oh, now there's an idea. ] — like the lab techs we rescued.
[ He glances back to her, eyes alight with interest. Maybe they can look into this, after all. ]
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