A nonzero chance. It hasn't occurred yet and the locals might find it suspicious, so there are factors working against it. Ultimately, it depends on why we were taken. If we were chosen for our expertise, doubles would be of use. Two Jemma's working on a biotech weapon would be better than one and so on.
[ of course it's a jemma example. ]
If we're the test run of an experiment, they might only pursue the double if the first option fails.
[ If his body rejects the new powers and he dies, does a hotter Fitz rise up and take his place? Maybe. ]
[ she considers the question for a moment or two, just long enough for fitz to likely being to wonder about the reason for the delay (read: blame himself). ]
i guess the question is: are we supposed to be in the city at all whoever captured us had us for a while, right? they shaved our heads but our hair had time to at least start growing back, some more than others, and no one's had any major wounds from recent surgeries
did they release us because we were ready for something we don't know about yet, or because we failed some kind of test we don't remember?
El said Morningstar thought they were intercepting a weapon's transport when they rescued the first wave of us. Given the lack of tech on board and our newfound abilities, I imagine we're the weapons. The monster attack may have been an opportunity to test our abilities.
[ big kree and framework vibes. engineer superpowers to harness humans as weapons. ]
And if we were failures, we wouldn't have been set free.
[ said with the confidence of someone who would've disposed of the failures, if he were the mastermind this time. ]
you'd think an entity capable of opening up wormholes in time and space would be capable of generating better offensive weapons i hate to say it ... but hydra kind of did it better
[ remember maveth? remember daisy having to quake a rock into goo that turned into a special space-time portal that released the extra-special-evil possessed dead body of her ex-romantic interest? yeah, daisy (and pepperidge farm) remembers. ]
Just because of the multiversal connection. And I told her about my prior work before Loki or Strange inevitably mention it.
[ pricks!!! also what's the point of being secretive when SHIELD's wrecked and MIA again. Fitz is of the mind that keeping his intel private is counterproductive to getting home (getting back to Jemma) — except in the case of his no good very bad turn as mr madame hydra, which he's, uh, working up to, maybe. ]
She also shared that Loki was a Young Avenger, which I appreciated.
[ hot goss ]
Edited (ugh i guess the line isn't secure or w/e) 2018-10-21 15:34 (UTC)
Oh, because I'm sure you were tight-lipped with "hot" Hawkeye.
[ you know exactly the face he's making. ]
We three need to decide what we're sharing first.
[ "hello mr's stark and strange, i'm a lousy shield agent who built a murder robot literally right after ultron, and then i went hydra and stole people's powers just like our captors did, but hey, you know that neat laser cutter nick fury has? that was me, so are we square?" not a great avengers resume-builder. ]
could have been better if the lips were open, but you can jerk off to that mental image later if you want
[ she's deflecting. ]
what about bobbi katelin? i thought she was on the dl pretty sure the actual avengers aren't going to be super stoked about some random listening in on a conference call
Everything. Just left out some details about her own choices, so I didn't threaten the timeline. And she knows that, too.
[ after all the time she spent covering for him, when no else had faith he'd find Jemma, he couldn't look at her and just lie. Hard to say what she thinks of it all, of him now, but it's done. ]
I suspect she's monitoring the situation as much as she's concerned for my wellbeing.
[ if not more so goes unsaid. she's a top agent. it would be naive to think she saw him as anything less than a potential threat — and he is that, isn't he? when the bus crashed in new amsterdam, he shot someone without thinking, and the look on mei's face confirmed that wasn't an acceptable, instinctive response for most people. hunter had been the same with him, neutral until his actions shocked. ]
[ that's the problem, he wants to say. it's not the hypoxia or ophelia's influence. he might be experiencing a psychic split, which would explain the voice sneaking through the din of his thoughts, on occasion, but he'd have to discuss the theory with someone (with strange, probably, shit). but there's nothing wrong that could explain what he did, or why he thinks differently now — nothing fixable.
fitz just isn't the person that he thought he was. ]
I'll think about it. There's too much overlap between here and there.
[ there. the framework. ]
I met with Markus.
[ a fact he didn't share until now oops. ]
And with a guy called Marcos. He said he came from a world where people with powers were experimented on, and that I have the same abilities as a friend of his.
[ which means his portal manipulation ability could've been taken and given in the same way he took from lincoln and gordon and ― just gave to AIDA, no matter the cost. between the androids and the power-swapping, he's beginning to feel that by keeping his experiences in the framework to himself, he's withholding potentially valuable information.
daisy sucks in a breath; shaky hands cup an imaginary phone, thumbs hovering over where the keys would be.
he can't spiral like this. he's got to keep a level head. she needs that brain of his. if there's any chance of them getting out of here, if there's any chance they'll make it back to anywhere even remotely resembling home, he's got to keep it together. ]
this isn't like that. that wasn't real.
fitz, this isn't the same thing. you have to know that.
[ it's a miracle that no one noticed his near month-long slow spiral ― that he was only obviously perturbed when he first clocked the similarities, speaking with strange in the safehouse and suddenly frantic. if there's one thing the framework afforded him, it's the ability to better contain his emotions, at least until they become too much.
he's not about to crash, not yet. there are self-centered and self-pitying aspects to this, undeniably, but there's also a purpose.
fitz rings her, unable to condense his explanation into a text. ]
Just, okay, Daisy, just hear me out. [ he walks somewhere private, into one of the sky parks, largely empty in the early evening hours. ] If there are infinite parallel universes, there are infinite ways events unfold, but similarities remain. Resonances, across the worlds closest in trajectory. Android humanisation, experimentation on powered individuals ― they recur. It isn't the same thing, [ maybe, possibly, probably. ] but it's close and that matters. Any overlap could be indicative of what happened, what's to come, and how we fix this.
[ It could give them an edge on their current universe or timeline, so to speak. put them a step ahead of this multiversal sequence of horrors. which is why he's been comparing worlds, even if it pains him to answer questions with half-truths and pry into personal suffering that he may very well have caused, however inadvertently. ]
[ she almost doesn't want to answer the call. it's one thing to discuss, ever-so-casually, the horrors they've left behind in the teal-cast hellspace that had been the framework. it's another altogether to consider that alternate reality crashing into this new disaster zone.
but, like in all things that fall outside daisy's expertise of hacking (whether it be the beep-bloop variety or the more useful social engineering concept) or brute force, she has to take fitz's lead. they are good dance partners, to be fair, but this is a dance she is growing weary of. ]
I'm listening. [ and walking, finding her own quiet place in a back alley, ducking under a clearly non-functional guard gate in order to find solitude on a loading dock for a business that's long since gone out of. ] It sounds ... convenient.
[ she doesn't know enough to say it's inaccurate, and perhaps more importantly, she knows that fitz knows she doesn't. her disagreement would be squarely on the second point. ]
But I've heard you and Jemma yelling at interns enough. "Correlation, not causation." Right? It might be similar, but it doesn't mean this is all because of --
[ because of you. because of the framework. she can't say it, but does it even need to be said? ]
[ daisy nails it. correlation, not causation. jemma would remind him of that, too, hand soft on his check. don't do that. that's not what this is, she might say.
but how many universes have their own terrible leopold james fitz's, building androids and stealing powers? every single one where he didn't have his mum around? what about where he met anyone other than jemma at the academy? how many factors had to align to result in their universe, the one where he was able to help SHIELD, at least for a short time? he feels compelled to explore all those possibilities, twisting in his head. ]
You're right. [ of course that's not all he has to say. ] It's still conjecture — but I have to investigate it. [ he sucks in a breath. ] It's been seven months for me, Daisy. [ a hasty correction follows. ] Six without anyone.
[ seven without jemma. in truth, fitz's perception of time filters into two categories: with jemma and without jemma. he realises that's unfair to daisy and bobbi, who are precious to him. ]
I can't leave a stone unturned.
[ so he charts the similarities between universes and considers telling Strange the truth, hoping that someone more objective can analyse them, too. ]
[ there it is. the sharp memory, the defining line. seven months without, he says, and the implication is all too clear. no matter how much daisy tries, no matter how much she works to fight the aftermath of the framework, no matter how many times she reassures him of his worth or encourages his hands-on tinkering or reminds him of his humanity, she still isn't enough. she's still not jemma.
it's hard to fight down the voice that tells her she'll never be enough; when she manages to speak, her voice is soft, hurt coloring the spaces in between words. ]
I know you do, Fitz.
[ and she knows, too, without hesitation — if there was a stone she could move for him that would bring the two together, she would do it. no matter what the cost. ]
You don't need to get my permission.
[ has she said that already? she feels like she has. a broken record of "you don't need me," in all ways that seem like they matter. ]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Ultimately, it depends on why we were taken.
If we were chosen for our expertise, doubles would be of use. Two Jemma's working on a biotech weapon would be better than one and so on.
[ of course it's a jemma example. ]
If we're the test run of an experiment, they might only pursue the double if the first option fails.
[ If his body rejects the new powers and he dies, does a hotter Fitz rise up and take his place? Maybe. ]
so much for a light-hearted text thread
i guess the question is: are we supposed to be in the city at all
whoever captured us had us for a while, right? they shaved our heads but our hair had time to at least start growing back, some more than others, and no one's had any major wounds from recent surgeries
did they release us because we were ready for something we don't know about yet, or because we failed some kind of test we don't remember?
i hate us
Given the lack of tech on board and our newfound abilities, I imagine we're the weapons. The monster attack may have been an opportunity to test our abilities.
[ big kree and framework vibes. engineer superpowers to harness humans as weapons. ]
And if we were failures, we wouldn't have been set free.
[ said with the confidence of someone who would've disposed of the failures, if he were the mastermind this time. ]
no subject
[ she's not convinced. ]
you'd think an entity capable of opening up wormholes in time and space would be capable of generating better offensive weapons
i hate to say it ... but hydra kind of did it better
[ remember maveth? remember daisy having to quake a rock into goo that turned into a special space-time portal that released the extra-special-evil possessed dead body of her ex-romantic interest? yeah, daisy (and pepperidge farm) remembers. ]
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[ and that they're easier to defeat than hive.
but that reminds him — ]
HYDRA's another constant between universes, unfortunately.
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ugly white dudes never miss an opportunity to tell themselves they're better than other people
[ like her boss. ]
why'd you ask about kate, though?
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And I told her about my prior work before Loki or Strange inevitably mention it.
[ pricks!!! also what's the point of being secretive when SHIELD's wrecked and MIA again. Fitz is of the mind that keeping his intel private is counterproductive to getting home (getting back to Jemma) — except in the case of his no good very bad turn as mr madame hydra, which he's, uh, working up to, maybe. ]
She also shared that Loki was a Young Avenger, which I appreciated.
[ hot goss ]
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[ says the girl who went 0-60 in telling kate she was shield too. it's not her fault. kate's hot. ]
as much as it physically pains me to admit it, i think strange is right
we need to have a house meeting or something
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[ you know exactly the face he's making. ]
We three need to decide what we're sharing first.
[ "hello mr's stark and strange, i'm a lousy shield agent who built a murder robot literally right after ultron, and then i went hydra and stole people's powers just like our captors did, but hey, you know that neat laser cutter nick fury has? that was me, so are we square?" not a great avengers resume-builder. ]
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[ she's deflecting. ]
what about
bobbikatelin?i thought she was on the dl
pretty sure the actual avengers aren't going to be super stoked about some random listening in on a conference call
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[ also, she's the best at lying and strategy, so they need to consult her before any group hangs. ]
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and how much of what we potentially need to share have you told her about?
no subject
And she knows that, too.
[ after all the time she spent covering for him, when no else had faith he'd find Jemma, he couldn't look at her and just lie. Hard to say what she thinks of it all, of him now, but it's done. ]
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[ she doesn't know what to say to that. ]
how'd that go?
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[ her face was near unreadable. ]
I suspect she's monitoring the situation as much as she's concerned for my wellbeing.
[ if not more so goes unsaid. she's a top agent. it would be naive to think she saw him as anything less than a potential threat — and he is that, isn't he? when the bus crashed in new amsterdam, he shot someone without thinking, and the look on mei's face confirmed that wasn't an acceptable, instinctive response for most people. hunter had been the same with him, neutral until his actions shocked. ]
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[ they can debate the ethics of the framework all day long, but daisy's opinion remains firm. ]
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fitz just isn't the person that he thought he was. ]
Yeah, right, okay.
[ a pause. ]
I want to talk to Strange alone first.
[ no, you don't. ]
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[ i think that's a stupid idea, but i'm not going to tell you no. ]
let me know if you need a plus one for the party.
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There's too much overlap between here and there.
[ there. the framework. ]
I met with Markus.
[ a fact he didn't share until now oops. ]
And with a guy called Marcos. He said he came from a world where people with powers were experimented on, and that I have the same abilities as a friend of his.
[ which means his portal manipulation ability could've been taken and given in the same way he took from lincoln and gordon and ― just gave to AIDA, no matter the cost. between the androids and the power-swapping, he's beginning to feel that by keeping his experiences in the framework to himself, he's withholding potentially valuable information.
what's he supposed to do? ask jemma. ]
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daisy sucks in a breath; shaky hands cup an imaginary phone, thumbs hovering over where the keys would be.
he can't spiral like this. he's got to keep a level head. she needs that brain of his. if there's any chance of them getting out of here, if there's any chance they'll make it back to anywhere even remotely resembling home, he's got to keep it together. ]
this isn't like that.
that wasn't real.
fitz, this isn't the same thing. you have to know that.
voice.
he's not about to crash, not yet. there are self-centered and self-pitying aspects to this, undeniably, but there's also a purpose.
fitz rings her, unable to condense his explanation into a text. ]
Just, okay, Daisy, just hear me out. [ he walks somewhere private, into one of the sky parks, largely empty in the early evening hours. ] If there are infinite parallel universes, there are infinite ways events unfold, but similarities remain. Resonances, across the worlds closest in trajectory. Android humanisation, experimentation on powered individuals ― they recur. It isn't the same thing, [ maybe, possibly, probably. ] but it's close and that matters. Any overlap could be indicative of what happened, what's to come, and how we fix this.
[ It could give them an edge on their current universe or timeline, so to speak. put them a step ahead of this multiversal sequence of horrors. which is why he's been comparing worlds, even if it pains him to answer questions with half-truths and pry into personal suffering that he may very well have caused, however inadvertently. ]
no subject
but, like in all things that fall outside daisy's expertise of hacking (whether it be the beep-bloop variety or the more useful social engineering concept) or brute force, she has to take fitz's lead. they are good dance partners, to be fair, but this is a dance she is growing weary of. ]
I'm listening. [ and walking, finding her own quiet place in a back alley, ducking under a clearly non-functional guard gate in order to find solitude on a loading dock for a business that's long since gone out of. ] It sounds ... convenient.
[ she doesn't know enough to say it's inaccurate, and perhaps more importantly, she knows that fitz knows she doesn't. her disagreement would be squarely on the second point. ]
But I've heard you and Jemma yelling at interns enough. "Correlation, not causation." Right? It might be similar, but it doesn't mean this is all because of --
[ because of you. because of the framework. she can't say it, but does it even need to be said? ]
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but how many universes have their own terrible leopold james fitz's, building androids and stealing powers? every single one where he didn't have his mum around? what about where he met anyone other than jemma at the academy? how many factors had to align to result in their universe, the one where he was able to help SHIELD, at least for a short time? he feels compelled to explore all those possibilities, twisting in his head. ]
You're right. [ of course that's not all he has to say. ] It's still conjecture — but I have to investigate it. [ he sucks in a breath. ] It's been seven months for me, Daisy. [ a hasty correction follows. ] Six without anyone.
[ seven without jemma. in truth, fitz's perception of time filters into two categories: with jemma and without jemma. he realises that's unfair to daisy and bobbi, who are precious to him. ]
I can't leave a stone unturned.
[ so he charts the similarities between universes and considers telling Strange the truth, hoping that someone more objective can analyse them, too. ]
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[ there it is. the sharp memory, the defining line. seven months without, he says, and the implication is all too clear. no matter how much daisy tries, no matter how much she works to fight the aftermath of the framework, no matter how many times she reassures him of his worth or encourages his hands-on tinkering or reminds him of his humanity, she still isn't enough. she's still not jemma.
it's hard to fight down the voice that tells her she'll never be enough; when she manages to speak, her voice is soft, hurt coloring the spaces in between words. ]
I know you do, Fitz.
[ and she knows, too, without hesitation — if there was a stone she could move for him that would bring the two together, she would do it. no matter what the cost. ]
You don't need to get my permission.
[ has she said that already? she feels like she has. a broken record of "you don't need me," in all ways that seem like they matter. ]
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