Blood of the Covenant |1| The Dark Waters Series (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.)

Chapter Nine: Repairs

May looked over to her phone as it chimed. She walked across the hotel room to look at it, doing up the buttons on her shirt. "We have a mission."

Behind her, Ward stepped out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist. "Any specifics?"

"No," she answered, checking the readout.

He nodded, going over to pick up his clothes. "Well, we should follow the same plan as before, take separate routes back, stagger our timings so no one suspects—" The door closed, and he turned to see May had already left. He rolled his eyes, smiling fondly.

***

In Coulson's office, he, Genevieve and Skye were discussing the mission.

"Wait, a telekinetic?" Skye was saying. "I thought they didn't exist."

"We never verified one," Coulson explained. "That's why we're going to Batesville, to conduct an Index Asset Evaluation and Intake."

Skye blinked. "Does that mean we talk to her and see if she has powers?"

He tilted his head. "Basically."

"Well, that needs a better name," she decided. "Less IRS, more... better. Something like the Welcome Wagon."

Genevieve smiled, handing her a folder. "I want you to pay close attention on this one, Skye. It's an opportunity to learn how to deal with someone with newfound abilities."

"It's not like I've never done this before," Skye pointed out, opening the file and skimming through it. "I found Mike Peterson before you guys did."

"Yeah, and as I recall, we had to shoot him in the face with a powerful dendrotoxin to stop him from blowing up," Genevieve reminded her. "This is a chance to see how it's done when it's done right." They headed out of the office, Skye following.

"How many people like this have you encountered?" she asked.

"A handful," Coulson replied. "There's not that many people on the Index."

"They must wig out when they see the S.H.I.E.L.D. trucks roll up."

"Each case is different," Genevieve explained. "Some people are in complete denial that there's anything unusual about them. Others try to hide their abilities because they're scared of what people will think, and often they have no control over them. It's a delicate process, and from all reports, this sounds like a particularly sensitive situation."

"'Particle accelerator explodes'," Skye read, looking at the information they'd gathered on a tablet. "Hannah Hutchins, one of the quality control engineers. Was it her fault?"

"Well, the town blames her," Genevieve shrugged. "Four technicians died in that blast, on her watch."

Skye frowned. "That's terrible. All those families..."

Coulson nodded. "Small church community, they're pretty rattled."

"She must be, too," Skye pointed out. "Friends, co-workers dead, and on top of all that, she might have some crazy power she can't understand."

"Or control," Genevieve pointed out, leading the way down the spiral staircase into the cargo hold.

"Oh, good," Simmons smiled as they came down. "The Department of Energy's declared the particle acceleration lab too dangerous to enter."

"But the good news is we still think we can retrieve the disaster event data from the instruments," Fitz added.

Simmons nodded. "We'll determine the cause and see if there's any correlation between telekinesis spontaneously forming and a particle accelerator exploding."