|
    |
The lab in SHIELD's basement is particularly dusty and smells like it today as sparks fly from the far side of the room. The smell of burning materials and melting metal wafts through the halls as one of SHIELD's resident nerds welds metal together on the far side of the room.
The torch is set aside and flipped off as the masked figure (SAFETY FIRST!) lifts the mask off its face, exposing one Leo Fitz. "I don't think it'll come apart now — looks right solid to me — " Fitz's yelling falls on deaf ears as his lab partner has, apparently, vanished from the lab.
His lips quirk down as his eyes flit towards the workbench where he'd last seen her. Sleepy has had its battery removed (no stray wandering!) and the mechanisms are strewn about the lab bench. He frowns and tugs the large gloves from his hands before treading to the (temporarily) disassembled DWARF. "Can't make heads or tails of it," he mutters, "only to have Doc slip in from the corner. "Don't get any funny ideas," he murmurs to the bot — not that it really has any consciousness to process his words.
"
*
The face Fitz expected to see in the lab may not be present, but a different one is on their way in. Liv slips inside just as Fitz is admonishing Doc, a pair of mugs in hand. Tea, from the smell of them.
"Fitz? Are you in — " Ah, there he is. Who's she kidding, of course Fitz is in here. With a wry smile, Liv makes her way over and offers one of the mugs, casting a brief, curious look towards the Sleepybits strewn across the bench. "Thought you might be due a cuppa."
*
Ava has given herself an office day, it seems. Not that she's doing something as mundane as sitting at a desk. No, as usual, she's sticking her nose in people's business. And this lab has sparks flying around it! Shortly after Liv steps in, she peeks her head into the lab, getting a look at what's going on.
*
"I could use tea," Fitz replies easily as he looks at the pieces of Sleepy across the bench. "Unbelievable, isn't it? Sleepy has quite a few component bits," his nose wrinkles. "Got to figure out a better way to find the data."
He shoots Liv an easy enough smile. "My partner in crime was busy doing this. But… apparently not anymore." He shoots her a relatively easy smile. "I think," he starts and then stops as his eyes flit towards Ava at the door, "Why… hello? Can I help with something?" He motions towards Sleepy's parts, "Don't worry Sleepy will be good as new in a few." He shoots her a lopsided grin.
*
Mirroring the smile, Liv waits for Fitz to have a free hand before passing him one of the mugs of tea. "I'd offer to help, but I've never had a head for things like this," she admits, looking back towards the table with an odd laugh. "I have no idea how you do it. I don't even think I could learn." She doesn't sound bothered by this.
She turns in place when Fitz looks towards the door and Liv's expression brightens when she sees Ava there. Probably a good sign when someone you've used as cover still seems pleased to see you.
*
"Sleepy?" Ava quirks a brow, stepping all the way inside with a flicker of a smile for Liv. "No, I was looking for Doctor Simmons. No one's done a physical or a reading in the last five years, so…" She trails off, shrugging. Apparently she's used to being experimented on, though. At least she's not that reluctant of a patient. "I was going to see when I should come in."
*
"Oh!" Fitz lifts hand towards Ava as he accepts the tea from Liv. "Jemma is…" Leo looks around and then his speech slows, "…not here?" It's more a question than an answer. "I mean, she was here, but now she's not. She probably went to go get… something. Or maybe she needed to go get — " his lips purse and he just shrugs. "Sorry. I don't know where Jemma is. Normally I know. She was here. She's just," his eyes trail upwards, "not, anymore."
He smirks at Liv, "You could learn. Anyone can learn. It's just like a puzzle. Doesn't mean you'd like doing it, but it's learnable." He shoots her a dimpled grin. "You can come in now and wait if you like," he waves Ava towards the table. "But. Maybe don't touch anything, yeah?"
*
Well, while people have been walking on egg shells around the cranky, pregnant director, Peggy seems to have realized that maybe she's been a *bit much* lately. Especially since her own husband walked out. So, she's surprisingly more gentle as she approaches the lab now. Hell, she's not just more gentle, she's brought *treats*.
The Director of SHIELD is not a cook. She's actually totally awful at it. But she does hold the budget and being able to splurge 10 dollars on doughnets for her overworked staff is certainly in her purview. Especially after a night like last night. Peggy looks like she's barely slept, though she's still living out of her office if rumor is to be believed, and she's carrying a tray of at least 20 doughnuts of all sorts of varieties.
"…If I bring sweets and promise not to yell, will you all stop staring at me as if I shall bite everyone's head off at any given moment?" Peggy offers to the room, holding up the tray of sugar with an exhausted, actually slightly apologetic look.
*
"I'll do you a favor and not ask you to teach me," Liv says to Fitz, a bit of a twinkle in her eye. "You don't deserve the headache. I've never been a vey good student." She actually winks at him before bringing her own mug up for a drink, her free hand coming up to offer a friendly wave in Ava's direction.
Just in time for Peggy to arrive. Liv keeps her mug up to her lips and watches her for a moment, wary — predictably wary, apparently, given the director's greeting. She casts a sidelong look to Fitz before she slowly lowers her drink.
"…I mean, I suppose if there are sweets…"
*
Ava lifts a hand, giving Fitz an innocent smile…as a blue spark jumps between her finger and thumb. "I promise," she says sweetly, right as she hops up to sit on the edge of a table. At least it's an empty table. Which gives her an excellent vantage point when Peggy arrives with donuts, brows rising. "Bribery is a time-honored tradition in Russia," she assures the director.
*
The sweets are given a once over and Fitz looks down at Sleepy, "You can wait until I've had a snack, right?" His grin turns toothy, and the dimples carve deeper into his cheeks as he trails up to the director, "Thank you, uh… ma'am?" the question is about titles rather than thanks.
He chuckles at Liv, "You'd be surprised. I don't easily get headaches from teaching people — that's the fun bit of my day. Getting to talk about things I care about? Yeah, sign me up for that."
He grins at Ava, "Good. Yeah, Jemma is around, just… not here at the moment. Not sure where she got off to."
*
"Fitz, what is a safe surface I can put these on without interrupting delicate science?" Peggy actually asks, trying to be RESPECTFUL of what other people do around here and not assume that any table is clear at the moment. She has no clue what he's playing with, just that it's rather important and takes a lot of focus.
Once she's motioned to a safe area, she sets down the tray of sweets and motions, "Well…have at. I brought more than enough so there would be extra for everyone's… enhanced metabolisms." Peggy does know her agents — Asgardians and enchanced humans alike. She knows a single doughnut isn't going to satisfy such stomachs. She then looks back to Liv, all too well recognizing the wariness. "…I am not happy about… matters with your armor, Sigrunsdottier… But I recognize that isn't you. But your shoulders down. You are not in trouble." She chuffs out quietly. That's as close to an apology as Peggy gets, but she is trying. Apparently, exhaustion can even teach a proud director.
"Eat… Fitz, eat. Then explain to me what is going on here, but all of you, eat first."
*
The last few days have actually been so chaotic that, for a moment, Liv looks genuinely confused when Peggy mentions her armor. Then understanding dawns on her face. "Oh! Oh, gosh. Right. Still, I apologize all the same," she says quickly, waving her free hand as she steps over to claim a donut for herself. Don't mind if she do~
Liv at least makes sure Ava gets her pick of the lot before she takes one for herself. Manners are important. Especially since she then points at Ava's fingers, smiling broadly. "I didn't know you could do that."
*
The table next to Ava is free, once the agent slides down a bit to make room. Which conveniently puts her right next to the goods. The takes a jelly donut from the box, a smile flickering as she looks to Liv. "It's part of what I'm here for. Most of what I'm here for, actually. They could never figure out if it was the result of a mutation, or if it was related to the quantum entanglement issue. So. More tests."
*
Fitz points Peggy towards an empty bench, "We cleaned that one up this morning. The hydrochloric acid we spilled on it is long gone." He shrugs. Chemicals in a lab? No big deal. "It was almost a problem when we accidentally had the energy weapon from Turkey go off," he points towards a burn mark on the wall. "Don't worry, we were wearing goggles." Because that's everyone's concern.
He rubs the back of his neck, and his eyes widen considerably, "Armour? Did I lose some armour?! Did we lose something — Director I'm very sorry! Jemma and I are normally super organized, but we've been unpacking and I wasn't sure — gosh! Liv, I'm so sorry! We didn't mean… we don't lose things often — " He cringes. The apology is incredibly genuine.
His teeth sink into a crueller and he nods at Ava, "Reasonable. Jemma will be able to help you out. She's amazing. I mean… truly brilliant," nothing to see here, folks.
*
"No, it was Heather." That simple statement says that while Peggy is more kind now, she's working on being more gentle, there is still a world of anger in store for her secretary who has been mysteriously not present for a few days. Nothing more is said about it, Peggy plucking up a chocolate doughnut for herself, and then coming to lean against one of the benches.
Ava's showing off and commentary about not being certain about exactly what she is gets a small nod of approval as Fitz promises Jemma can help, "You have permission to take time out of your work day to work with Agent Simmons. She has a mind for these things and the proper background." Peggy offers, trying to sound gentle and encouraging about it. Exhaustion still keeps her voice a bit stiff, though. Liv's armor isn't commented on again, but her dark eyes do give the tall woman a long, slightly thoughtful look.
*
"Either way, I can see it being rather handy," Liv muses to Ava, leaning against a clear spot of the bench with her tea in one hand and a donut in the other. Perhaps this morning's shaping up to be okay after all —
Oh, geez. Liv quickly shakes her head at Fitz, cringing. "No, no, you didn't lose anything!" she promises, her eyes darting to Peggy when the director clarifies. She winces. Best way to help Heather out here is probably to just keep her own mouth firmly shut. Eat your donut, Asgard.
*
Ava takes a bite of her donut, looking blankly between the others as they go on about armor. "You can take a bullet," she notes to Liv, as if that's a reasonable observation. "How come you can take a bullet?"
*
Fitz's expression turns confused at the mention of Heather losing armour. The implicit question how did that happen? is not given a voice, but it's writ over his face. Fitz confirms Simmons' talent, "Yeah, Jemma is good at it. She's the brightest you'll meet and she's got a mind for this stuff. She'll be happy to help, too. If you wanted to know the best student at the Academy, look no further. Jemma Simmons is it." He shrugs. "Well. I mean, we tied in most things. But. Still." He manages another flicker of a smile.
"Yeah… how can you take a bullet?" he echoes Ava's words.
*
While Peggy Carter isn't exactly a blend into the background kind of person, after a week of pissing off half her staff, destroying her marriage, then climbing out of a helicopter to talk down a raging monster of an old friend then holding his girlfriend while she cried half the night? Well, the director might actually just be tired enough she is content to simply lean back, watch her staff, listen and learn. At least no one has tried to kill her this week. Yet.
She leans her shoulders against the wall, tucking one arm below her chest, against the top of her generously round stomach, hand folding beneath her opposite elbow. Free arm still holds half a chocolate doughnut which she's meticulously munching, but she seems quite content to lean in silence and watch.
*
With a mouth full of donut, Liv blinks owlishly and glances between Ava and Fitz, apparently not having expected to be asked. Quickly, she swallows her food and wipes at her mouth with the back of her hand, casting a questioning look towards Peggy as she does.
It's Fitz that Liv focuses on, and her expression becomes a touch anxious. "Because I was born on Asgard," she says with a very slight, anticipatory wince. "We're… sturdy."
*
Ava's brows rise, but it doesn't put her off eating her donut. After all, she spent her childhood in a secret Red Room lab. Who is she to judge normal? "Asgard, as in the Norse gods and the fellow who was on the Ed Sullivan show promising to protect all of us and then allegedly killed the president?" Way to hit the high notes, Ava!
*
"Huh," Fitz replies to Liv before looking towards the Director. "So… when are you due?" Pause. Uh-oh. Simmons told him never to ask that question. Time for fierce back-pedalling, "I mean — you look like your'e glowing and thank you for the donuts and I really love this donut and please feel free to spend as much time in the lab as you like but remember that I am just a lab monkey and know nothing about any of this and gosh look at Sleepy's outputs — " his chin drops and he proceeds to stare at the machine.
*
Well, Peggy was relaxing, but then Fitz asks that question that he SHOULDN'T be asking at all and she just blinks, arching a brow to him. A brief look is exchanged with the women as Peggy tries to decide if she should let him still sweat and back peddle or just answer the question. She does look weirdly amused, as if a part of her was enjoying the man's sweating, but finally she just clears her throat. "Fitz. It's fine. I'm due right around the end of February… maybe March. I'm too old to be doing this nonsense so… it's a bit in the air. But we manage. Just… breathe. Goodness. You are going to have a coronary."
*
When Ava seeks clarification, Liv's wince deepens just slightly. She raises her mug of tea in a salute and nods once. "That's the one," she says tiredly, her eyes drifting down to the sweets. She needs another donut. Or twelve.
Though maybe she needs to save Fitz, first. Liv shares a brief look with Peggy before she cracks a relieved smile, taking two quick steps to put Fitz's shoulder within reach for a reassuring pat. Steady on, man.
*
"Huh." Ava takes another bite of her donut, which almost hides her grin at Fitz's discomfort when he realizes what he's asked. "So, is the Thor running around with the hammer right now the same Thor from the legends? Or is Thor like a title? Or a name that gets handed down? Are we talking about Thor the thirty-second now?"
*
The hand on Fitz's shoulder has Leo relaxing. He emits a soft sigh followed by a nod. "Right. Good. Thanks," he replies to Peggy. "I know that wasn't… just sorry." He manages an apologetic smile, complete with a single dimple before further tucking into his crueller. Mental note: let the women do the talking. Fitz shall do the science.
*
Not really a fan of talking about her 'delicate condition' — in fact, if helicopters are to be noted at all, Peggy's pretty much trying to pretend like it doesn't exist, she clears her throat and now looks back to the women. Ava's question about Thor gains a touch more attention from the middle aged director. "I was under the impression he is the same but… I could be wrong. I have only met the man once and, though it went well, the Asgardian… well, your people haven't done too well by this planet as of late, Liv. Hopefully that will not remain the state of things…"
*
Liv offers Fitz a quick smile and only takes her hand back once he seems to have gotten his wits about him again, trying not to be too relieved herself that her presence actually helped. For precisely the reasons that Peggy's just alluded to.
Her expression darkens and Liv grunts unhappily, looking down into her mug of tea. "No argument here. I don't know what the hell they're thinking," she mutters, turning to return to the table of sweets. Donuts will fix this. Belatedly, she remembers Ava's question and tries to force her expression to thaw, coughing quietly. "It's… Thor is Thor. The stories aren't literal, most of them, but his deeds did help inspire them. As I understand it."
Grabbing a fresh donut, Liv shrugs helplessly. "I was just a guard."
*
Ava tilts her head at Liv, and in typical, completely oblivious fashion, follows up with: "So how old are you?"
And Fitz thought he had no social skills.
*
Since Ava is asking questions Peggy would love to but is simply too polite, or attempting not to distance Liv further, the director goes quiet again and reaches for a second donut. She's pregnant, she's allowed! A full mouth is a good excuse for her to listen to whatever answer Liv gives, even if it might be in her file already.
*
It actually is in Liv's file, even if she'd had to repeat herself a few times to reassure the agent taking her information that he had actually heard her correctly. One of her eyes squints in thought as she does some quick math. "It's 1963, so… nine hundred and twenty five?" she says after a moment, glancing briefly to Peggy, as if she should somehow know if she's calculated it wrong.
*
Munch. Chew. Consider. "No wonder you're so good in a fight, then," Ava flashes a smile after she swallows, brushing the sugar off of her hands now that the donut is gone. "Will you train with me? Most of the agents are worried they might hurt me, or they're not…" She turns a sidelong glance on Peggy, not wanting to insult the director. "They are not so much trained as field agents."
*
"That seems about right, according to your file. And yes, you two would do very well to train together. I understand that not all of our recruiting has been of the more… martial style of agent as of late, Ava. It'd be good for you to face an actual challenge." Peggy's eyes flicker for just a moment over to Fitz. Not that he's a new recruit, but he's definitely not a martially gifted agent. Which isn't really an issue, agents come in all types, he's simply a convenient example for her statement. She also then cracks the smallest of 'I'm attempting to joke with you so we can be friends and prove everything is ALRIGHT' smiles at Liv, "…I like keeping you around, Sigrunsdottir. You make me feel like I am not the old lady in the room." See? Hah! Funny. Everything is fine.
*
"I really should train more," while the ladies have been chatting, Fitz has been scribbling notes in a notebook while piecing Sleepy back together. "The energy output on this thing is amazing," he writes something else down. "I'm sure I read that in Doctor Richards' paper. This really does seem like the multiverse isn't just theoretically possible, but undeniably imminent."
*
Liv actually looks quite pleased to be asked. She smiles brightly at Ava and nods once, the tension that had begun to gather in her shoulders melting away. "Of course, I'd be happy to. It'll help us work better together when we're in the field. We should know how far I can throw you," she says with an innocent smile.
The smile actually widens at Peggy's note and she inclines her head. "Just doing my part to help, ma'am. It… mmh?" Aaaaand distracted. She casts a curious look towards Fitz, her brow furrowing. "Is this from the readings off the… thing." She won't call it a spaceship. "Last evening?"
*
Ava's brows rise. "You could throw me?" Crazy little Russian actually sounds excited about that. "This will be an excellent exercise," she grins, tucking one leg up under herself just as Fitz mutters to himself. Instead, she hops back down, coming over to lean over and get a look for herself. "What is it?"
*
A little groan escapes Peggy's lips as Ava and Liv plan acrobatics between them already. "…If you get hurt, it's not our fault. SHIELD cannot…officially endorse their *agents* THROWING each other." Peggy groans out, half teasing, but there, she's said the official boring bureaucrat statement about the matter and doesn't push it otherwise.
Especially as Fitz is commenting about the energy output and the Mulitverse. She blinks slightly, her head tilting a bit to the side, watching it all like some sort of interested great cat. Distant. Not sure she understands it. But certain that she wants to. Or, at least, to claim it for her own. "…Explain more for us, Fitz."
*
Fitz's head tilts to the side as a pleased smile pulls at the corner of his mouth. Towards Ava, he points at Sleepy, "Sleepy is a DWARF. Jemma and I designed it as six other robots to collect information. DWARF… uh Drones Wirelessly Automated to Retrieve Forensics. Basically it collects info of different sorts. Temperature changes, air pressure," his nose wrinkles, "bio info, whatever we can glean using a lot of tools."
His smile extends. "But," he starts again as he lifts a finger, "this one felt it prudent to enter an invisible spaceship yesterday."
His gaze lifts towards Peggy now, "Basically, this one suggests the blue energy was like… a portal that gives us a glimpse into the space-time continuum. You see, there's a theory that there are multiple worlds. Versions of the same earth in different points of time. Basically each of these exist at the same time as potential versions of the future. We are in a finite place, but each of these other earths in the multiverse could happen depending on what events lead us to that point."
His lips purse. "Might be easier to think of it like… " he lifts a hand. "Okay. In 1963 we understand the War happened and ended in one particular sequence of events that then unfolded to bring us here today. It's theoretically possible that there's another version of earth simultaneously in 1963 where the war didn't happen. Basically, it suggests there are infinite potential futures. But each of these futures brings us to different points in time. It suggests that there's a strange place in the fourth dimension where there's convolution between space and time."
*
Liv waits a moment for Peggy's attention to shift to Fitz, but then she leans towards Ava to murmur a very quiet aside to her, with a twinkle in her eye: "I could throw a truck." Yes. She can totally throw Ava. They must practice.
But later. Liv falls silent to let Fitz explain and gnaws on her donut in the meantime, listening with an attentive furrow to her brow. A lot of this goes well over her head, but he's doing a good enough job of explaining things that she seems to be following along well enough. Small favors.
*
"Like Snow White." Ava's smile quirks at Fitz. Sure, the Red Room used it to teach the girls English, but at least it was a little bit of time in her childhood that wasn't entirely horrible. Still, she nods along to the explanation, oddly enough not seeming the least bit confused by it. For all her lack of a formal education, she's the child of two revolutionary scientists. She's smart, at least. "But why are we the fixed point?" she asks, quirking a brow. "Could we not be the result of some change in one of those other universes?"
*
The dark haired director listens innocently, missing (or simply ignoring) the promise of Agents being thrown. The multiverse was far more intriguing. "And something about this… invisible space ship… makes you think that the there is a convolution between space and time? Why? And yes… Why are we the fixed point?" Peggy echoes Ava's question with a touch of praise in her voice and an approving nod to the young agent. Ava really was brilliant.
*
"It's entirely possible we're not," Fitz offers back to Ava. "Maybe we're a fixed point, maybe we're not, but it seems like someone is interested in something here. The readings suggest the portal was opened from a parallel or future version of earth. The question is, who did it and why?" His eyebrows lift. "We may be the result of a change in another universe. It's entirely possible we're having this conversation in another version of earth at this exact moment. Or it's possible we all serve jellyfish overlords in that space and we're just automatons serving the jellyfish."
But he digresses. His hands lift. "Regardless, the energy output suggests different decay in the earth's atmosphere. It was like… earth. Every reading says whatever spat out the vessel was spitting it out from the same spot on earth."
*
Why are we the fixed point? "Everything's relative," Liv muses, mostly to herself, then shrugs and takes another big bite of donut. Surely, in some other parallel earth, they're asking why they're the fixed point, too. She squints thoughtfully as Fitz goes on, her eyes drifting up towards the ceiling. "I wish I'd gotten a look at whoever was aboard that thing. They did speak english, though, I know that. And they spoke about Sleepy like he'd be a collector's item," she notes dryly, with a glance towards Doc.
*
"The same spot on earth that is possibly further along than this earth, or where the atmosphere decays at a different rate, or possibly further along in time but only one of the infinite possible futures because so much as dropping a donut in this room makes one and millions of donuts are dropped or not dropped every day." Ava shrugs, stepping back from the device and looking around the room. "The jellyfish overlords are not doing a very good job right now, for what it's worth. Perhaps we let the sea turtle overlords eat them and try."
*
Peggy just *stares* at the room, especially as they go on about jellyfish and sea turtle overlords. She blinks once. Twice. They HAVE to be joking. A slightly deeper smirk from the director, "…Jellyfish and sea turtles aside… so… do we have actual proof that these people in this… 'ship'… we from the future or a different timeline? I mean, is that what you are absolutely telling me to be certain, Fitz?"
*
"Letting the sea turtles eat the overlords seems like the best solution for all parties. Besides," Fitz says thoughtfully to Ava, "I'm pretty sure I'd rather serve sea turtles than jellyfish. At least they have spines." He shoots her a lopsided grin. He turns back towards Liv, however, and his head tilts curiously — an effect that makes him look more like a puppy than the science nerd he is, "It's possible Sleepy was a collector's item. I know I'd love to get my hands on a radio from the first War. Innovation creates appreciation for whatever was created in yesteryear."
"I'm certain the blue energy was either from the future or a parallel earth," Fitz confirms to Peggy. "Whether the vessel was," his hand rocks in the air. "I don't know enough about it to be certain either way."
*
"If the readings are backing it up, it would at least make what I overheard make some more sense," Liv offers towards Peggy, looking genuinely apologetic to be backing Fitz up in this instance. Just one more bit of 'the universe is not what you thought' for the people of Earth this year. What's next? "If they're coming here, they must be looking for something. Or someone."
*
"Perhaps they are wanting to make certain we do not make a bigger mess of things than we already have," Ava smiles ruefully back to Liv. "What if no one had heard about aliens and Asgardians? I think that would change some very big things. Although if each change just creates a new universe, then the people in whatever universe they're in would have no reason to think there was a problem, because to them, their universe would always have been the way that it is." She squints, looking up toward the ceiling as she parses back through her words, then nods. "Yes. That."
*
Definitely not *comfortable* to hear, but Peggy trusts her scientists. "..Saying that DWARFS were a collectors item would *imply* the future. But this is all very… strange." No, she doesn't like it one bit. She shares a slightly ruffled look with Liv, exhaling a quiet breath. "…Fitz, is there anything you can build to… Anchor these things to our space or time? So, the next time one shows up we can keep it here long enough to get answers?"
*
A nods towards the back of the room draws Fitz's attention, "I should… check on that. Lots to think about… and more to consider later. Would love to chat more about this another time," he offers before disappearing behind one of the work bench.
*
As Fitz is turning away to get to work on other things, Peggy clears her throat to the others in the room, "Well… Breakfast over, don't you all have work to do? If not, start training. We can't just sit around here and watch the damn scientists. This isn't a movie theater! Get back to it! Dismissed." Peggy states flatly. Though she does scoop up the tray of doughnuts, several left, to take back upstairs. Maybe she'll share with other agents. Maybe they'll live in her office now.
*