Renegade Rising || Leo Fitz Book Two

Chapter SeventyOne

They had won. They had won but they had lost so much. Asia had stumbled, exhausted and blood covered, with May and Lincoln out onto the deck. She had hurt those of her own kind. Skye's mother was dead. Coulson had lost an arm to the Terrigen. The whole flight home, Leo hadn't spoken to her once. They had won, but they had lost so much.

But they had also gained. Asia and Skye both had learned so much about their powers and how to use them. They had become strong and in control, and their powers were only going stronger. They had stopped the crystals from being released on the entire planet. They had gained new allies to join Shield.

Bobbi was alive. Jemma has taken amazing care of her and she was slowly recovering. Emphasis on "slowly," which the woman wasn't too fond of. She wanted to be back in action, she wanted to make sure those she cared for could never be hurt again. Hunter had taken to drinking because he and Bobbi had really split up again. He and Asia spent a lot of time working out together. He understood her silence, her lack of interest in talking, the reason she was avoiding rooms Jemma or Leo were in, just as she understood why he did the same with Bobbi. He had made a pact with Asia to help her find her sister, now that they knew she was alive.

Sheild had moved the precious cargo that was on the boat to the Playground, the one the Inhumans had been so afraid of, keeping it locked away in one of the basement rooms, surrounded by its glass chamber, and then walled in by concrete. Jemma and Leo were to study it, safely of course, and figure out what exactly made it so dangerous. Why had Shield locked it up all those years ago? That was their new mission; find out.

Skye's father had gone through the Tahiti program, after a sincere and sweet goodbye between father and daughter. Skye has said goodbye to him, as he said hello to his new life. It was difficult, but it was for the best. He could finally be at peace. He had a little veterinarians practice and it was going quite well, from what Skye had said. Oh, and she was going by Daisy now, her birth name. It was a change for all of them to get used to, but it would stick, after time.

Coulson has tasked Skye, with Asia to support her, to create a new team, a special force of powered individuals to aid Shield in their various missions. So far, the list only included the two of them, but they had a feeling they would be able to expand that sooner rather than later. After all, there were plenty of Inhumans out there who didn't have a home base anymore. Things would fall into place. They always did.

So that was life now. Work, train, work more. Because of this, Asia found herself in one of basement training rooms, jabbing at a black punching bag, nothing but her and the ballet music she had playing in the background. She found herself doing this a lot, a safe way to preoccupy herself and stop her thoughts from drifting back to Leo, but still keep herself sane, strong, and ready for anything.

Suddenly, there was a sound of a scuffle from behind her. Grabbing the punching bag and stopping the swing she turned around to find Leo there, holding onto some files, trying desperately not to drop them, his face red as he looked back at her. "Sorry to interrupt!" He blurted our awkwardly.

"You're fine, Leo. Do whatever you need to do," she replied, turning back toward the punching bag and swinging a kick out at it. She focused on the bag and the music and tried to tune him out. It was just easier that way, less painful for sure. And then he and Jemma could live out whatever future they were supposed to, and she wouldn't have to think about it.

"Aren't you going to ask?" His words cut through to her suddenly, surprisingly. She hasn't expected him to talk to her again. There had been so much distance this past week.

She stopped the swinging of the bag again, leaning against it for support as she turned back to face him, her heart racing. "Ask you what?" She forced the words out of her mouth and she took a deep breath, trying not to let him see how nervous he made her.