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. ]
[ Yes, that all makes sense. It's what they tried to do with the blood samples they took from Steve in an effort to reverse engineer the serum created by Erskine. The man had been killed and the last vial stolen, lost forever to the pavement of New York City. All they had was Steve's blood and even then, the science wasn't advanced enough to do what they wanted to do.
But here, now? In the year 2511? Should be easy as pie with the facilities available to them. It's just a matter of doing it discreetly. But then —
Their eyes meet as they arrive at the same conclusion. ]
The lab techs, [ she echoes softly, pleased. ] They must be curious, especially if we've run samples by them in the past. We just have to hope the others are as on board with the idea as we are. [ Because they obviously are, discussing it like this. ] So we have a strong theory on our varied skill sets, but what about the one thing we do share?
[ Now it's her turn to put a hand to her chest, right beneath the gold pendant hanging from her throat. ]
The bond. [ A beat, then: ] Although mine has felt a little — strange, today.
[ There it is again. Synchronicity, nothing short of a word, here at the end of the multiverse. His mouth curves, helpless to do anything else. The lab techs can help them test the samples, compare them, destroy them. They're trusted and located nearby for this short window of time. Perfect. ]
The bond.
[ low agreement. he has more to say on that, only she mentions feeling off. concerned, he adjusts, facing her and canting his head. ]
[ She doesn't have a word for the glowing centre of her chest other than glowing centre of her chest. Referring to the bond seemed the most expedient, to make the most sense, if only because she isn't aware that the others believe they house a portal of some sort in their own bodies. But she does know of the circumstances that may trigger the burning sensation from her trawling through the network.
As it is, Peggy shrugs one shoulder, dropping her hand into her lap. ]
It was burning when I woke up. I've read about the possible causes but I still don't understand how it's possible.
[ And as far as she's aware, she isn't missing any time. The dates still line up. So that leaves the sudden appearance of her necklace. ]
[ he leans forward, elbows resting on his knees, as he thinks over how to respond. he feels confident in aspects of his approach to to this world and its peculiarities, but uncertainties persist. ]
It's only a theory, but it seems to burn when something flows through us — emotions, objects, ourselves. [ and rattling them off, ] It's an opening, a portal, a transfer in progress, or something like it. Connected to us, tapping into us. I don't know.
[ he drags one hand up, carding it through his short curls. ]
We may have come through a portal to get here, but in doing so, well, we've become gateways ourselves.
No testing for that, I suppose, [ she murmurs after a beat, considering him and his words. She handles this information better than she did the reveal of her true ability; partly because she's rested and recovered, and partly because it's a unique quality they all share rather than a single particularity.
Peggy resists the urge to touch her chest again and instead lets her fingertips drift higher to the pendant resting above her collarbone. ] But it does explain my mother's necklace turning up this morning. I thought I'd lost it when they took me.
[ Items they value turn up on their person, just as they all seem to wake up in their own beds in the event of a disappearance. How does it find them? How do they find Point A again? Like a yo-yo or some kind of homing beacon. And there are no further answers as to how or why. She exhales, grimacing only faintly when her ribs protest the expansiveness of the breath, and looks back out over the water.
After a beat, she moves on. ]
So our best course of action is to run a myriad of DNA tests and compare our results to the local population and perhaps those creatures, too, if they came through the same way we did. Maybe we'll manage to narrow down that interactant — if it's present in our cellular structure. Maybe it isn't. But it's the only start we have.
[ when she mentions the necklace, he turns to look back at her. daisy had experienced the same thing, and he'd received the photo of jemma, too. his expression softens at the edges, even as she shifts back to business. he thinks to say i'm glad you have something from home but can't find the words. ]
That it is. [ test their DNA, complicate some theories and toss out others, hope they don't blink out of this bloody universe before they land on something solid. ] So, we'll figure out how to ask our fellow displaced and local agents, run the tests, and go from there.
[ he stands, rolling his weight on the balls of his feet. ]
But first — [ jerking his head in the direction of the market. ] Could go for some dessert.
[ She does wonder how their fellow displaced would take this development, should they choose to pursue it as far as they can manage. Maybe some people aren't built to seek out and solve puzzles the way they are, perhaps that's what makes them such excellent agents — what serves as a criteria for the SSR in the 1940s and SHIELD in the 2010s. Maybe it's because they were in the business of creating and studying what the world calls superheroes and now they're living it, twisted on its head.
Will having answers point the way back home or will it just make it easier to live in this city until then? That's something she hasn't answered for herself yet. But as she watches Fitz pull himself to his feet, she wonders why he's as invested as she is. Because he's certainly invested, far more deeply than she even realised. That's another why she'd like to chase, amongst other things. ]
Peckish already? [ she teases as she rises gingerly from her seat, falling into step with him. In the same light, conversational tone: ] You must be feeling better.
[ Their mission wasn't too long ago. She'd been unsteady then, but so had he, in his own way. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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. ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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?
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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.) ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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?
no subject
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.
no subject
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.
no subject
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. ]
no subject
But here, now? In the year 2511? Should be easy as pie with the facilities available to them. It's just a matter of doing it discreetly. But then —
Their eyes meet as they arrive at the same conclusion. ]
The lab techs, [ she echoes softly, pleased. ] They must be curious, especially if we've run samples by them in the past. We just have to hope the others are as on board with the idea as we are. [ Because they obviously are, discussing it like this. ] So we have a strong theory on our varied skill sets, but what about the one thing we do share?
[ Now it's her turn to put a hand to her chest, right beneath the gold pendant hanging from her throat. ]
The bond. [ A beat, then: ] Although mine has felt a little — strange, today.
no subject
The bond.
[ low agreement. he has more to say on that, only she mentions feeling off. concerned, he adjusts, facing her and canting his head. ]
How so?
no subject
As it is, Peggy shrugs one shoulder, dropping her hand into her lap. ]
It was burning when I woke up. I've read about the possible causes but I still don't understand how it's possible.
[ And as far as she's aware, she isn't missing any time. The dates still line up. So that leaves the sudden appearance of her necklace. ]
no subject
It's only a theory, but it seems to burn when something flows through us — emotions, objects, ourselves. [ and rattling them off, ] It's an opening, a portal, a transfer in progress, or something like it. Connected to us, tapping into us. I don't know.
[ he drags one hand up, carding it through his short curls. ]
We may have come through a portal to get here, but in doing so, well, we've become gateways ourselves.
no subject
No testing for that, I suppose, [ she murmurs after a beat, considering him and his words. She handles this information better than she did the reveal of her true ability; partly because she's rested and recovered, and partly because it's a unique quality they all share rather than a single particularity.
Peggy resists the urge to touch her chest again and instead lets her fingertips drift higher to the pendant resting above her collarbone. ] But it does explain my mother's necklace turning up this morning. I thought I'd lost it when they took me.
[ Items they value turn up on their person, just as they all seem to wake up in their own beds in the event of a disappearance. How does it find them? How do they find Point A again? Like a yo-yo or some kind of homing beacon. And there are no further answers as to how or why. She exhales, grimacing only faintly when her ribs protest the expansiveness of the breath, and looks back out over the water.
After a beat, she moves on. ]
So our best course of action is to run a myriad of DNA tests and compare our results to the local population and perhaps those creatures, too, if they came through the same way we did. Maybe we'll manage to narrow down that interactant — if it's present in our cellular structure. Maybe it isn't. But it's the only start we have.
no subject
That it is. [ test their DNA, complicate some theories and toss out others, hope they don't blink out of this bloody universe before they land on something solid. ] So, we'll figure out how to ask our fellow displaced and local agents, run the tests, and go from there.
[ he stands, rolling his weight on the balls of his feet. ]
But first — [ jerking his head in the direction of the market. ] Could go for some dessert.
[ it'll help ease the portal revelation, too. ]
no subject
Will having answers point the way back home or will it just make it easier to live in this city until then? That's something she hasn't answered for herself yet. But as she watches Fitz pull himself to his feet, she wonders why he's as invested as she is. Because he's certainly invested, far more deeply than she even realised. That's another why she'd like to chase, amongst other things. ]
Peckish already? [ she teases as she rises gingerly from her seat, falling into step with him. In the same light, conversational tone: ] You must be feeling better.
[ Their mission wasn't too long ago. She'd been unsteady then, but so had he, in his own way. ]