Redback Widow V I Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. [16]

The One Who Will Save Us All

"Okay, so, how much Gravitonium did Talbot use?" Fitz asked.

"All of it," Simmons said, coming in.

"Well, maybe it's not so bad. I mean, he did just annihilate a bunch of Remorath warlords," Deke pointed out.

"But the side-effects of Gravitonium are catastrophic. Ruby absorbed just a fraction..." Jemma said.

"And it drove her completely insane," Fitz ended.

"Yeah, well, she wasn't all that stable before," I pointed out from where I was pressing an icepack against my head to fight my killer headache.

"Neither was Talbot," May added.

"With his previous brain injury, I fear that Talbot will almost certainly suffer a major psychotic break," Jemma said.

"We need to find him," I said firmly.

"The Lighthouse only just came back online. It could be hours until all systems are fully functional," Fitz pointed out, and I looked around.

"Where'd Mack go?" I questioned.

"He went to go make sure the threat was eliminated,"

-

"Hey, I heard about today," I said, catching up with Mack in a hallway. "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's not the first creepy crawler I've had to go toe-to-toe with," I tried to get a better look, but he pulled away. "No, I'm good."

"Mack," I said firmly.

"Um, they're waiting for me," he said, brushing me off after a few seconds.

-

"Where were you?" I asked Daisy as the elevator opened.

"May had me drop off Polly and Robin," she lied.

"I'm not stupid, there's more than that," I snapped.

"I'm not having this conversation right now, Asya. Coulson's missing," people keep brushing me off today.

"Yeah, and it's because of you," I snapped. "After all your finger-wagging, suddenly the same rules don't apply to you?"

"You are the last person who should be giving a lecture right now," she shot back.

"What's in the bag?" I asked after a beat.

"It's none of your business," I clicked my fingers, making the bag invisible and revealing its contents.

A skeleton.

"What the--" she punched me in the nose, before flipping away. I jabbed her stomach, her jabbing mine. She grabbed my arm, flipping me over put I looped my legs around her neck, using her momentum to send her to the ground. I slid across the ground, glaring at her.

"We needed you," I snapped. "People died!"

"Don't put that on me," she snapped, returning my punch. A rumbling started filling the air as she threatened me with her powers.

"Oh, you wanna use powers now?" I clicked my fingers, pushing her with a column of air. "I think I win."

She sent a shockwave at me, sending me flying into the wall behind me. I let out a growl, running toward her when a gun fired.

"You done?" May snapped. "Satellite just picked up an object outside of Earth's atmosphere. Piper believes it's the Remorath ship."

"When do we leave?" Daisy asked.

"As soon as the artificial gravity's installed in the Zephyr,"

-

Daisy sent a shockwave at the guards, knocking them out against the door. "It's a start," May commented. She knocked back the guard at the door, and we ran in to see Coulson hovering, courtesy of Talbot.

"You quake or phase and Coulson dies," he threatened.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. isn't welcome here. This is my ship," he claimed.

"This is an alien ship," May countered. "We're here to rescue you."

"Rescue me? I'm the one that's gonna save us," he snapped.

"Then put Coulson down, and we can talk about that," Daisy and I urged.

"Agents Johnson and Anatolievna, always in the center of the storm. Maybe that's because you're the problem," he sneered.

"If we're the ones you want, fine, we won't resist, but first you have to put Coulson down," I wagered.

"You and I all know you two can't be trusted," Talbot said.

"I trust them," Hale claimed.

"Why would you trust Quake or Umbra?" Hale asked.

"Because they kept their word. When Ruby was infected with Gravitonium, they tried to help, but since they couldn't, they put her out of her misery," Hale said.

I never said anything about putting Ruby out of her misery.

"Infected? Ruby was weak. Gravitonium wasn't intended for some itty-bitty little girl. It was meant for a hero strong enough to handle it," Talbot snapped.

"You need to take a deep breath and calm your mind, Glenn," slowly, Coulson lowered back down to the ground. "You know what's best. It's best if you comply."

"Compliance will be rewarded," Talbot said monotonously.

"That's right," she said.

"And so will your betrayal," Hale rose into the air, and...I don't even want to describe what happened.

Daisy quaked him and I lobbed a pair of orbs at him, but they didn't do anything.

He flicked his fingers, and that was it.