//------------------------------// // Chapter 27 – More Than a Symbol // Story: Infinity Era // by JDPrime22 //------------------------------// 27 Lake Ontario, USA Above the Lighthouse 6:03 p.m. Qovas was beginning to feel rather impatient with the Humans. From the bridge of his starship, the leader of the Remorath could see the pitiful excuse of a base the Humans called their home. A sliver of land, an erected lighthouse, and miles of water directly beneath. Earth’s sun had begun to slip away, making way for the night. Like any of it mattered. Qovas would acquire what was promised to him at any time, as long as it was today. For what was promised to him, by the leaders of HYDRA itself, was the dangerous element known as Gravitonium, as well as the Inhumans the Humans below kept with them. And what did they ask in return? Simply the protection of the Confederacy against the Mad Titan himself, Thanos. But Qovas knew, right away when Thanos had unleashed his army onto both Earth and the alien world over their heads, that that protection would no longer be adequate. Even the might of the Confederacy was no match against Thanos and his holy quest. The Humans didn’t know that. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn’t know that. And their leader, Phil Coulson, definitely didn’t know that. All communication with the Humans below had been cut off, making Qovas’ patience that much slimmer. He tried to keep it all together, and not bombard the lighthouse below with the full might of his starship. The Gravitonium the Humans held would be worth it. Not only was it a rare element, highly valued amongst the cosmos, but it was also extremely powerful. So powerful, in fact, that it could split an entire planet apart. The Confederacy, even with their great power, would be feared and respected even more with that kind of strength under their belt. It was a power the Humans refused to relinquish. To make things even more irritable, Phil Coulson had the audacity to say his pitiful “Lighthouse” was able to withstand anything Qovas and his starship had in terms of firepower. Qovas almost smiled at that statement. He most certainly believed Coulson to be telling the truth, but that didn’t mean Qovas wouldn’t retrieve the Gravitonium… other ways. Standing on the bridge of his starship, Qovas stared down to the lighthouse below, where the Humans held their last stand against the Confederacy. He stood with his hands behind his back, his long, black jacket practically touching the floor. With him stood his Remorath marauders, weapons in hand, ready to follow the next order that befell their great leader. He smiled at the lighthouse below, his dark skin curling upwards. He said, “Earth’s shield… Phil Coulson, refuses to negotiate. I think it would all be in our best interest to… follow through with our deal anyway. He dares to mock the power of the Confederacy, but with the Gravitonium, we will be the most feared power in all the universe.” He spun around accordingly, facing the Remorath behind him. They held their short blades, the masks on their faces not even hiding the fury in their eyes. Qovas smiled to them, holding out his hand. “Retrieve the Gravitonium. Kill any Human… or Inhuman who would dare stand in your way. By the power of the Confederacy, we will not be denied our…” The Remorath, every last one of them, lifted up their heads. Their eyes grew wider, each of them taking several steps backwards. Qovas furrowed his brow. It was almost like they appeared uneasy, that they saw something that made them… fear. Impossible. The low growl said otherwise. “What?” Facing forward once more, Qovas eyed the glass shield that separated himself from the alien air of Earth. And all the sunlight was gone. A dark shadow rushed forward and fell upon his starship. Qovas knew better than to call it a shadow. He knew right away that the creature that fell upon his ship belonged to the one they promised to protect Earth from. It was too late to react accordingly, to do much of anything but experience the complete and total destruction of the starship once the Chitauri Leviathan flew straight through it, devouring the bridge in one bite and tearing the ship in half. The remains erupted into a flurry of red and orange blossoms, the massive hunks of what remained falling down to the lighthouse and ocean below. They impacted the secret S.H.I.E.L.D. base, sending shock waves reverberating throughout the Lighthouse. The roar of the Leviathan flying overhead did the exact same thing. The Lighthouse, Electrical Room 6:05 p.m. The resounding earthquake throughout the Lighthouse was the least of Leo Fitz’s problems. Not only was he desperately focused on restoring control of the Lighthouse, but his main concern lied with reversing the shutdown protocol Coulson had activated by mistake. The last thing they needed was staying underground for who knows how many years. Thankfully for him, he wasn’t alone in checking electrical breakers and restoring full control of the Lighthouse back with S.H.I.E.L.D. Joining him was his equally-educated, lovely as ever, and wife Jemma Simmons. She stood directly behind him, watching intensively as he tinkered with the control systems of the security in the Lighthouse. Another earthquake. Fitz bit his lip and shook his head. The aliens must have already started their attack on the Lighthouse. After he and Simmons got the shutdown protocol reversed, they would immediately return to Coulson to ready the Lighthouse for an alien attack, as they should have from the start. Then… something else followed through. Something that made both Fitz and Simmons immediately stop what they were doing and listen closely. They listened to the powerful roar that echoed throughout the walls of the Lighthouse. Then silence. No more tremors. No more screams. It was so quiet they could hear their own breathing again. Unnaturally quiet for an alien attack. “All right, Fitz,” Simmons said, gripping her husband by his shoulder, “no more messing around. Time to get systems running again.” “Messing around, she says,” Fitz mumbled, returning to the electrical breaker. He tinkered with it for several seconds longer, sticking out his tongue in concentration. Then finally, by removing a wire and flicking a switch, they waited and listened for what followed. “And…” Fitz whispered, pressing his thumb down on a single button, “… got it.” The electrical room lit up, the light bulbs above their heads shimmering to life. Not only that, but the following effects from Fitz’s work reawakened the rest of the Lighthouse. Like a rock thrown in a pond, the resulting waves brought the Lighthouse back to life, the hologram of General Rick Stoner staring at them from outside in the hallway. He informed not only Fitz and Simmons, but every agent in the Lighthouse of the safety of the situation. The nuclear attack—that never was—had faded away, and the world above ground was habitable once more. Fitz and Simmons ignored him, Simmons smiling to the warmness of the light bulbs above her head. Turning that smile to Fitz, she could see his own beginning to grow. He exhaled a chuckle. “Let there be light.” “We need to find Coulson,” Simmons exclaimed, grabbing Fitz by the hand and leading him out of the electrical room and into the hallways. Together, the two dodged and weaved around approaching agents to reach their destination, the Lighthouse’s main control room. It was in there where they would find Phil Coulson and inform him of their current situation. But when the two of them finally arrived, they could see that their current situation was no longer their main concern. The control room was nearly filled to the brim with agents, some Fitz and Simmons knew personally and some they didn’t. The ones they knew stood close together, their eyes focused forward, centered on the man with his face glued to the screens attached to the wall. The ones Fitz and Simmons knew were Melinda May, Alphonso Mackenzie, Elena “Yo-Yo” Rodriguez, Piper, Davis, and, of course, Phil Coulson. Deke Shaw was there, as well. Fitz and Simmons’ biological grandson. Considering both Fitz and Simmons were barely even married, it was odd enough to know they already had a grandson standing mere feet in front of them. The reason being when the agents were sent forward in time through the White Monolith, they were stuck in a future where the Earth had been destroyed, completely uninhabitable. All that remained of humanity lied within the Lighthouse, which had managed to survive on a chunk of the Earth drifting in the shattered planet’s orbit. They were under the rule of the cruel Kree species, and with the help of Deke Shaw, they were able to return to the present and hopefully change the inevitable future that awaited them and the planet. Joining them back to the present was Fitz and Simmons’ grandson. Deke stood with his arm in a sling, his free hand holding the container of Gravitonium they were tasked to destroy by sending the dangerous element into the Sun. That, unfortunately, would have to be put on hold, because the second Fitz and Simmons stepped forward and stared at the same exact screens that every other agent faced, they soon realized that upgrading the Zephyr One for space travel won’t be happening any time soon. On every single news channel their screens could showcase, the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. witnessed a world under siege. Cities in flames and the militaries of the world fighting back against the alien invasion. They could only watch as Chitauri warships descended from the skies, hundreds upon hundreds of chariots leaving them and bombarding the cities they decimated. Gigantic Leviathans roared as they tore through buildings, slithering through the air before the camera footage cut out. The agents had nothing to say. Everyone’s expressions were shaken, some ashen, all of them completely immobilized and frozen to the screens. Alphonso Mackenzie, or Mack for short, glared at the screens. Yo-Yo Rodriguez stood close to him, her robotic hand gripping his sleeve as Chitauri starships obliterated American military choppers, their burning husks hitting buildings and impacting the streets. Melinda May stood with her fists balled in fury, her fuming eyes watching as the aliens continued to destroy city after city. Piper and Davis exchanged a glance, returning to the screens with distress in their eyes. Fitz and Simmons approached Deke from behind, their grandson turning back only slightly to see their approach. Together, all three of them stared on in with confusion and terror rippling through their expressions. An aerial shot from a helicopter revealed the Chitauri scouring the streets of what appeared to be Los Angeles, the aliens walking over the dead bodies of dozens of civilians. And Phillip J. Coulson had just about enough of it. With his arms crossed, hand resting over his mouth, brow furrowing at the horrific images of the alien invasion, Phil could hardly believe they were back, that the Chitauri had returned with an even larger army than what Fury had informed him about. He could only think of the last time the Chitauri had arrived to Earth with ill intentions, back during the earliest days of the Avengers Initiative. It was a simpler time, to what Phil could recall. He was just another high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, just another true believer under the shadows of gods, super soldiers, and men in metal suits. All of which changed for him after he died. Stabbed through the heart at the hands of Loki, Phil could only remember what Fury had done for him. The man had gone through heaven and hell to bring Coulson out of the darkness, injected him with alien blood just to get Coulson back in the fight. He went through so many hoops so that Phil could live again, so that he could run S.H.I.E.L.D. after it fell and rebuild from there. Unfortunately… things never turn out how they’re initially planned. World-ending events, threats from remnants of HYDRA, and literally being sucked into the year 2091 to see the Earth itself completely destroyed were all becoming the norm for Phil Coulson and his band of most-wanted misfits. S.H.I.E.L.D. was nothing like it used to be. It worked in the shadows now, labeled as a terrorist organization after the rise of HYDRA from within S.H.I.E.L.D. Whatever remained of it did things in the dark, their agents wanted terrorists, trying to convince the world otherwise, that they were back to protect the world, not destroy it. They could only do so much when the world saw them as a threat. And as the leader of said “threat”, Phil Coulson watched as the world itself was being slaughtered by the alien race that decimated New York six years ago. Not only that, but an alien planet hung dangerously over their own world, causing massive amounts of terror, speculation, and damage across Earth. The governments of the world were trapped in a frenzy, caught off guard, their focus on trying their absolute best to control the situation. Phil knew this was their time. The world would be focused on dealing with the threat of the alien invasion and the planet, which would give S.H.I.E.L.D. enough time to make a difference, to help turn the tides of this attack. How they would do so, Phil had no idea. The Chitauri outnumbered them, outpowered them. They needed more than what they had. They needed a plan. They needed reinforcements. Phil felt down for his phone, but yielded. He knew he couldn’t make the call just yet, not with their own situations to deal with. Qovas and his alien buddies were dealt with as it seems, the Lighthouse had gotten out of lockdown thanks to Fitz and Simmons, and yet they still had the Gravitonium. They still needed to get rid of it. Letting his arms fall to his sides, Coulson turned fully around, the eyes of his fellow agents centering on him. His friends turned his way; Mack, Fitz, Simmons, Yo-Yo, Deke, and… May. Phil met her gaze and held it for several seconds, finding the strength to say what was needed to be said. For them. For his team. For Earth’s shield. “As you can all see,” Phil began, “the Chitauri are back. To make matters worse, they have a lot more than just one mothership. And even though we now have full control of the Lighthouse, we still have to deal with the Gravitonium… on top of dealing with this full-scale invasion.” A few voices whispered to one another. Phil interrupted their side discussions. “So, here’s what I think,” he said, facing Deke and eyeing the Gravitonium capsule he held in his uninjured left arm. “We can’t get rid of the Gravitonium with aliens that are surrounding the atmosphere. Zephyr wouldn’t last ten seconds against that type of firepower. We hold onto it for a little longer, keep it locked in the lab and get everyone in here for a briefing on our next move.” Everyone remained still, some looking back to the screens, some still staring at Coulson. He frowned, declaring loudly, “That’s an order!” Instantly, the room shuffled about. Fitz and Simmons came to their grandson’s side, taking the Gravitonium from him and walking to the lab for safekeeping. Deke shuffled quickly behind them, spouting off about the Chitauri, who they were, why they were attacking Earth, and so forth. Phil descended the steps and reached the ground level of the control room, coming in contact with Agent May. “Phil…” May began, her voice somewhat distant. “Think that was a pretty good speech?” Coulson asked with a smile. “I mean, I started to blank a little about—” “The Chitauri, Phil,” May began again, this time finding her voice. Coulson fell quiet, letting her speak. She shook her head, her eyes falling to the ground. Her hands rose to rest on her hips. “We can’t face something of that magnitude, even with what we got.” “Just get everyone together in this room, and I’ll handle the rest,” Phil told her. May took a look around, nodding to Coulson. “This is mostly everyone. I’ll round up the stragglers in the halls.” She turned to make her escape, but only stepped a few feet away from Phil when his voice called to her. “May…” Freezing where she was, May slowly turned back and faced her superior. Through the chaos that filled the control room of the Lighthouse, the screens showcasing the world on the brink, Phil Coulson had his eyes scanning and attention centered on one individual. A single individual who was not present but he desperately wanted to find. He gazed back to Melinda, his eyes telling her exactly what he wanted to know, and something May had kept from him for several hours. “Where’s Daisy?” Unidentified Cemetery The Grave of Jiaying 6:10 p.m. They called her Quake. They called her Inhuman. Some called her a hero, some even called her a monster and a terrorist along with the rest of S.H.I.E.L.D. Hardly anyone called her Daisy Johnson. But that’s who she was. The daughter of a crazed lunatic and a genocidal Inhuman. Starting off as a professional hacker with Rising Tide, and going by the name of Skye, Daisy wouldn’t stop until she discovered the truth of who her parents really were. That all changed when Michael Peterson, a.k.a. “Deathlok”, came into the public revealing more than normal human abilities. Right in the aftermath of the Battle of New York, seeing everyday superheroes was quickly becoming the new norm. The next step was knowing on how to deal with these “gifted” individuals. Daisy found herself caught up in S.H.I.E.L.D.’s business sooner rather than later, and even earned a spot on Phil Coulson’s team. After several firefights, getting shot a few times, Daisy realized it would probably be best to learn how to fight. Just being a hacker with the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn’t help in the long run. Training from Melinda May definitely helped, but everything in Daisy’s life changed once she experienced terrigenesis. Once she came out of it with her newfound powers, Daisy was more than just human. She, like her mother, was Inhuman. They were beyond what average humans possessed. They held abilities that made them unique, abilities they could use for good… as well as for evil. Her mother, unfortunately, chose the darker side of things. Daisy didn’t. With the power to literally shake the earth beneath her, Daisy Johnson became the hero many knew as Quake. Worst came to worst, and after losing nearly everything—Grant Ward being HYDRA, her mother going insane and dying in the end of her grand scheme, and losing someone she might have called a real lover—Daisy Johnson stuck with her team, with her friends, with the only family she felt she truly had. With Phil Coulson and his team, Daisy felt like she belonged somewhere. Even when they faced vengeful spirits with flaming skulls or was sent to the future to undo what was to come, they had been together through it all. Which is why it hurt Daisy so much to know that Coulson may be dying. Whatever deal he struck with the Ghost Rider in order to stop Aida from destroying the world, it was killing him, making him weaker, and the longer he tried to deny it, the quicker it meant he would be gone. For good this time. Daisy wouldn’t let that happen. Even if she went beyond orders, even when she went dark, she would do whatever it took to ensure Coulson lived and they prevented the inevitable “quaking” of the Earth. Whether or not she was to blame for Earth’s destruction, she still didn’t know. With help from Tony Caine, she was given the Centipede Device with the Centipede Serum inside, the same serum that John Garret used to gain enhanced strength and invulnerability when he turned on S.H.I.E.L.D. If that didn’t save Phil’s life, then Daisy didn’t know what would. Unfortunately, the serum was missing a key ingredient, a specific set of Inhuman DNA that would keep Coulson alive. A type of DNA that had regeneration and longevity powers. The only DNA Daisy knew her mother had. With a shovel resting on her shoulder, Daisy Johnson strode through the empty cemetery. The sun was nearly gone, the coolness of the summer night beginning to settle in. In her long, black jacket, with her long, black hair, Daisy stopped, standing in front of the lone grave with a single name resting on the face of the cold stone. Jiaying. The rest was covered by the dirt Daisy flung at it as she drove her shovel into the ground. Daisy dug faster and faster, the threat that Phil Coulson’s life was on the line giving her the strength and energy needed to push through the exhaustion. She kept digging and digging until… She struck something. Through the dirt, Daisy had struck the coffin. Tossing the muddy shovel aside, Daisy bent down into the dirt and began scraping away, peeling apart the covering of the coffin and gazing at what remained. Nothing but bones of her deceased mother. Daisy frowned, shutting her eyes and keeping her emotions in check. She may have been insane, but she was still the only real mother she had. The thought of what Daisy would do next almost made her feel dirty, but she knew better. The greater good hanged in the balance if she did literally anything else. Johnson collected as many bones as she could and stuffed them in her bag. Once she had finished, spotting the orange glow of the Centipede Serum from her bag next to the bones of her mother, Daisy wiped her hands against her jeans and hopped out of the grave. Tightening the strap over her chest, she heaved her bag over her shoulder and picked up the shovel, ready to clean up the evidence. An ear-piercing roar stopped her from doing just that. Falling to her knees, dropping the shovel down into the grave, Daisy felt her heart rate increase tenfold. She turned her attention to the night sky, gaping in awe at what flew over her head. Never in her entire life did she imagine she would see it. Even when she was still a hacker riding the coattails of the Battle of New York, Daisy never imagined she would see a Chitauri Leviathan with her own eyes. Yet there it was, roaring once more as it slithered high above her head, past the cemetery and towards the unsuspecting city ahead of her. Daisy followed its directions, her chest heaving with added adrenaline and confusion, the fear quickly filling each eye once she saw not only one Leviathan, but three others swarming the city ahead of her. Not only that, but they descended from the skylines, right from the Chitauri warship that fell upon the city. The screams quickly came, followed by the sirens, all completely drowned out by the invading alien force completely overwhelming the city. Daisy Johnson didn’t stay and watch. She ran as fast as she could, taking what she came for, leaving the evidence behind, and not looking back. No matter how much it hurt to hear the screams. Because she knew she had a mission to finish. She had a goal. She would save Coulson. She would do whatever it took to understand where this invasion came from and how it could be stopped, how she could avenge the people who screamed out in terror. And she would see through with it no matter what. Because that’s what S.H.I.E.L.D. did.