Chapter 50: Chapter 49: Reunion

Chapter 49: Reunion

Back on the Bus, Jemma ran a few tests on Skye to check her health and changes in her body.

“So this is the genetic marker Ben keeps talking about? It’s quite remarkable how a human’s DNA could change like this after Terrigenisis.”

Coulson turned to Skye worriedly.

“And you’re sure you’re feeling okay?”

“I’m fine. It just feels…new. But Ben said he’ll help me train my powers so I should be able to control it soon.”

Coulson nodded then looked at Benjamin.

“Where were you?”

“Oh, I caught Whitehall.”

Benjamin opened up a portal and pulled Whitehall out from it.

Before meeting back with the others, Benjamin went back to Cal and checked in on them.

The result was Whitehall being completely broken and bloodied beyond recognition.

Benjamin told him the time was up and healed Whitehall back to normal and at the same time, used a Clarity Bell that he bought to cleanse Cal of his mental ailments, letting him finally take control of his moods and put a stop to his outbursts.

From the portal, Cal also stepped out.

Seeing him, everyone got into stance.

“Uhh, why is he not restrained?”

Skye asked in confusion as she knew that this person was their enemy earlier.

Cal smiled and raised both hands to surrender.

“Please. I’m here to turn myself in.”

“...What’s going on here, Ben? Who is he?”

Coulson asked.

Ben smiled and nodded to Cal.

“Go ahead and introduce yourself.”

“My name is Calvin Johnson. I’m a doctor…and I’m also Daisy’s father.”

“Who’s Daisy?”

Cal smiled and didn’t answer Coulson’s question with words but everyone knew the answer based on how Cal looked at Skye.

“...Me?”

Skye was shocked at the sudden revelation.

“Your real name is Daisy Johnson. You were born on July 2nd. It was a hot night and for some reason, your mother decided to clean the house before I woke up. We were in a small village in China and…we didn’t have a car and there was no one there who could speak English. And I can’t speak Chinese so uh…well, it was a mess.”

Cal chuckled at the end.

Skye fell silent as emotions started to resurface from within her.

She realized that this wasn’t some joke or trick…it was real.

“You see, your mother…she also had gifts like you. Whitehall, he…he experimented on her and tore her apart…and then you disappeared too…I couldn’t protect you both because I was powerless…so I developed a drug to enhance my strength. But it wasn’t perfect. It caused me to…be unstable. I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes…but I’m okay now. Mr. Freed here fixed me. I won’t run away from my crimes. But I want you to know…I’m here now.”

Cal smiled.

Although this wasn’t the perfect reunion he had in mind, he was already happy that he got to see his daughter with a clear mind.

Benjamin interjected.

“I helped your father get rid of his unstable mood swings and his enhanced strength was due to a drug that has already worn off so he’s pretty harmless now. You guys decide what to do with him.”

Until now, Skye still hasn’t said anything as she tries to understand the situation in her mind and also because she didn’t know what to say.

Cal smiled wryly.

“I know, I must look like a monster to you…and I agree. At some point, I just…stopped caring about all the lives that I took. Convincing myself that it is all to protect you…And I wish I could blame it on the imperfect drug but…at the end of the day, I have harmed many innocent people. That is true. And I won’t run away from that.”

He turned to Coulson and raised both his hands as a sign for him to be cuffed.

“I’m surrendering myself.”

Coulson looked at Cal then turned to Skye.

“We’ll take good care of him. Arrange for some rehabilitation. SHIELD could still use some good doctors and scientists after all.”

Skye bit her lip but nodded.

She then turned around to leave but just as she was about to go through the door, she stopped and spoke.

“I’ll wait for you to get better…then we’ll talk again.”

After saying that, she left and never looked back again.

Cal heard what she said and was delighted.

His daughter was willing to give him another chance!

“Thank you…Director Coulson. I feel guilty now that I was planning to kill you before. Haha.”

“...”

Coulson was speechless.

“Jokes aside.”

“Was that really a joke?”

Coulson retorted but Cal just chuckled.

“Thank you…for taking care of my daughter.”

“...We’re family. This is what families do.”

Everyone smiled warmly at them.

Suddenly, the plane shook.

Benjamin felt that it should be Skye as it didn’t feel like turbulence so he quickly excused himself.

“That’s probably Skye. I’ll calm her down.”

Coulson nodded and he left to look for Skye.

Making his way to her bunk, Benjamin knocked and made a light joke.

“Now I know why you included your bunk as part of the tour.”

Skye let out a small chuckle amidst her crying and the shaking also stopped.

“...Come in.”

Opening the door, Benjamin found Skye hugging her knees on the corner of the bed and her eyes red from crying.

“Sorry about the shaking. I’m fine now.”

Benjamin smiled and sat down next to her.

“Your powers are much more powerful than most Inhumans. So much so that you are still unable to control it immediately and it appears whenever your mood changes drastically. Here.”

Benjamin handed her a Clarity Bell.

Skye naturally recognized the bell and was surprised that he would give her one.

“If you feel like you can’t control your emotions anymore, just ring that bell once and you’ll calm down immediately.”

“...Thank you.”

“Of course, that’s just a stopgap. The best way is still to learn to control your powers. We’ll start tomorrow so rest well for now.”

Skye nodded.

Benjamin sighed and stood up to leave.

“Well, I should get going. Good night, Skye.”

“Daisy.”

“Hm?”

“...Call me Daisy from now on.”

Benjamin smiled and nodded.

“Goodnight, Daisy.”

Skye, or rather, Daisy, smiled as well.

After assuring Coulson and the others that Daisy was okay, Benjamin left and head back home.

The following day, just as Benjamin was about to start training Daisy, he received a surprising report from the Portugal branch of EPD.

Based on the description, Benjamin felt that this should be Lady Sif.

Benjamin vaguely remembered the plot in the TV series Agents of SHIELD and remembered she was here to stop a Kree who had appeared on Earth because the Diviner was activated.

Was it the same for this case?

Curious, Benjamin teleported to Portugal and spoke to the EPD branch.

“How did you capture her?”

No matter what, she was still an Asgardian and more powerful than humans. It should be hard to capture her.

The guy in charge of the branch just shrugged.

“She was looking for some guy named Kava. We told her Kava is on his way.”

“Is he?”

“No, but you’re here.”

“...”

It works like that?

Benjamin could only smile wryly and went to approach Sif.

Sif looked at Benjamin curiously as she asked.

“Are you Kava?”

“Nope. Benjamin Freed.”

Benjamin stretched out his hand to shake hers but Sif could only awkwardly shake his hand.

“I apologize I can’t introduce myself. I seem to have…forgotten my name.”

“It’s alright. I know your name. You are Lady Sif. A great warrior from Asgard.”

Sif tilted her head.

“Lady Sif? Great Warrior? Of Asgard? Am I that amazing?”

“Haha. That you are. Don’t worry about your lost memories, I’ll help you remember them now.”

“How are you to do that?”

“Magic.”

Well, there was no reason to follow the plot of the TV series by the dot. Since he could take a shortcut, why not?

Anyway, the reason why she had lost her memories was supposed to be some Kree tech so it isn’t that complicated to undo with magic.

It’s not like he’s trying to restore the memories of the whole universe so surely nothing bad will happen.

Benjamin made some hand signs and muttered an incantation for a while before tapping Sif on her forehead.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Sif’s eyes widened as her missing memories appeared one after another in her mind.

“I…remember now.”

Sif’s demeanor changed entirely from a lost child to that of a great warrior.

“Thank you, Benjamin Freed. For restoring my memories.”

“No problem. So, what’s the reason for the visit? And who’s Kava?”

“Kava is not a name, but a Kree word which means ‘keys’ in your language. Heimdall had seen a Kree ship land here in Midgard so I am here to stop him. Lord Odin and the Kree Empire had once had an agreement that the Kree are not to step foot in the Nine Realms. Since a Kree had appeared here unannounced, he is surely up to no good.”

Sif’s expression was cold as she remembered her fight with the Kree earlier.

Benjamin asked.

“So, any idea where to look for him or do you have a Marauders Map?”

“What’s a Marauders Map?”

“...Right. Asgardian. Well, you won’t get the reference. You should watch Harry Potter next time you visit.”

Benjamin chuckled and opened up a portal.

“Well, if you don’t have any idea where he is, I know someone that can help. In the meantime…”

Benjamin walked over to the guy in charge of the branch and ordered.

“Look for anyone else that might have lost their memories. See if you can check the hospitals.”

“Why hospitals?”

“Just a gut feeling.”

Benjamin smiled and left with Sif.

Triskelion.

Benjamin opened up a portal and met with Coulson and the others again who were surprised to see Sif arrive.

“Lady Sif. I’m surprised to see you here. Are you chasing another rogue Asgardian or…just on a date?”

Coulson asked as he looked at Benjamin and Sif who appeared together.

Benjamin just shrugged.

“I just met her today you know? Her memories were lost and she wandered into the EPD branch in Portugal. I already restored her memories and seems like she needs some help.”

“Why bring her in SHIELD then? Can’t EPD help her?”

“Well, I assume it’s better she works with some familiar faces so I brought her here. Besides, her target is sort of related to SHIELD.”

Benjamin turned to Sif who nodded.

“Phil, Son of Coul. It’s been a while.”

“Lady Sif.”

Coulson nodded and shook her hands before turning back to Benjamin.

“See, that Son of Coul thing just keeps spreading.”

“It’s catchy.”

Benjamin chuckled.

“Well, let’s hear it then.”

“I am tracking down a Kree that has appeared here in Midgard. Though I do now know why he is here, as per the agreement between Asgard and the Kree Empire, no Kree shall step foot in the Nine Realms. This act could be seen as a provocation to that agreement and could lead to war between Asgard and the Kree Empire. Hence, he must be eliminated as soon as possible.”

Sif spoke in a grave tone.

Benjamin was a bit surprised since he didn’t think that this would turn out to be a big deal.

Naturally, Coulson was also surprised.

“War? Will it really come to that? Does that mean Earth will also be caught in the crossfire?”

Sif nodded.

“The only reason why the Kree Empire had not conquered Earth is that it is under the protection of Odin. However, Odin is growing weaker…and some forces may use this chance to disrupt the balance. The Chitauri invasion that happened here in the past is one such circumstance. With the Mad Titan already eyeing our Realm, we cannot afford to have the Kree Empire against us as well.”

“I agree.”

Suddenly, another voice appeared from the door that opened.

There, two figures could be seen walking in.

One, Benjamin was quite familiar with. Nick Fury.

The other was a woman with short blonde hair wearing a suit that had a star in the middle, red at the top, and blue at the bottom.

[Carol Danvers - Captain Marvel. Affiliated with SHIELD, SWORD, Avengers, and Skrull Resistance.]

Captain Marvel!

Benjamin was surprised.

He initially thought that this would play out the same as the plot in the TV series but it seems to have blown up in proportions…

He didn’t think that this small incident would be one that may potentially trigger a war between two huge forces in the universe…

Even Captain Marvel was alerted!

“I was in deep undercover to find out more about the so-called Mad Titan that tried to invade us before through Loki but was notified when a Kree ship appeared on Earth so I rushed as fast as I could.”

“Isn’t that too fast though? That guy only appeared today right?”

Coulson asked.

“I had Fury activate the Tesseract.”

Benjamin turned to Nick and asked.

“You still had the Tesseract!? Why did I not know this!? I’m your boss!”

I thought they sent the Tesseract to Asgard through Thor like in the movie…

Benjamin cursed in his mind.

“We handed a decoy to Thor so no one is supposed to know that it’s still here.”

“...But now you used it, others should know too. Which is why you’re saying it now.”

“Smart.”

Nick Fury laughed while Benjamin just groaned.

Once a spy, always a spy.

This guy just has too many secrets.

“So where is it now?”

“Here.”

Nick Fury suddenly tossed a case to Benjamin who caught it and turned to him curiously.

He’s handing it over, just like that?

Nick Fury knew what he was thinking and just shrugged.

“You said it. You’re my boss now. Besides, I figured it’s safer in the hands of a God. And it’s not like you need to use it with how you can already open portals and such. Plus, no offense to Asgardians, but you’re still one of us Earthlings. I’d trust you to hold on to it more.”

Benjamin nodded.

It’s true that the Space Stone isn’t that useful to him but it was still an Infinity Stone so he might as well.

Carol turned to look at Nick Fury in surprise.

She didn’t expect that he would give someone the Tesseract.

Also, what did he mean by he’s a God?

“Well, I’ll be safekeeping it for now then.”

Benjamin chucked the Tesseract from his Inventory and the others could only see the cube disappear from his hand.

He then reached out his hand to Carol to introduce himself.

“I believe we haven’t formally met yet. Benjamin Freed. I’ve heard a lot about you from Nat, Captain Marvel.”

“Carol Danvers. By Nat, do you mean Natasha? The Black Widow?”

Benjamin nodded.

Carol thought for a moment and was surprised.

“You’re that guy Nat mentioned before!”

The one who’s a monster in bed!

Unconsciously, her eyes traveled down.

Is he really that good?

Benjamin felt her gaze look below and sweated.

Just what has Natasha been telling other people about me!?