Worlds Apart | Leo Fitz Book Five

Chapter Five

There was a ringing in her ears, one that Asia was familiar with. When a loud noise like a gun or an explosion goes off near you, there's a ringing, high pitched, almost beautiful but still as if there is something wrong with the sound. It can lead to permanent hearing damage or tinnitus. Once the cells are damaged, that's it. There's no going back. It happens a lot to hunters. It happens a lot to agents. It's started happening to her mentor, Clint. So when she heard that sound, it was familiar, in a way. But she didn't know why...she didn't remember there being a gunshot or an explosion, or anything. She just remembers...remembers...the ringing got louder and she couldn't think straight. She wanted Leo. All she wanted was Leo.

And then like the first downward shot of a roller-coaster, a sharp breath of cold air shot through her lungs and she sat up, gasping. She was awake, and on the Lighthouse. Not...in Deke's built bar. The Framework. She was out of the Framework. And then the memories came back and she sat up with a jolt, pulling at something that was in her arm and she let out a yelp before someone clapped their hand over her mouth. Deke. She looked up at him, blinking, half tempted to bite his hand.

"Quiet, we need to keep attention off you, ok?" Deke said, looking around them. The room was dim, but it looked like some sort of makeshift doctor's office. A disheveled one, surly, but she had seen worse in her time. Sometimes you do what you have to do in the field.

"Hey," Daisy whispered, moving to her side and taking her hand. "Can we have a minute, Deke?" She asked, and after a moment he sighed and nodded, then disappeared. Daisy turned back and looked at her, brows furrowing as she squeezed Asia's hand. "How long did you know?" she asked quietly.

Asia closed her eyes and took a deep breath, making herself in tune with her body, feeling out what was wrong, using water to heal. "I found out right before the Framework. Leo only just found out before...all of this. So. Not long." It hadn't. It hadn't been long. And she couldn't change anything now, right? She couldn't go back and change time, she could only keep going forward. And the only person out there who could make it feel any better was Leo.

"I'm so, so sorry, Asia," Daisy said. "I didn't know. I wish there was something I could have done." There were tears that formed in her eyes as she shook her head.

Asia sat up fully now, and pulled Daisy into a hug. "You couldn't have known, and there's nothing you could have done. I don't....I don't know, Daisy. Something tells me I was never supposed to see what we saw back there. I think this is all a big mistake." She shook her head as she pulled back to look at her friend. "I wasn't supposed to see it. I feel it in my bones. I just...we have to get out of here." There was something, truly, deep within her that felt this was wrong. Being here, all together, in the future, was wrong. She needed to get home, she needed to get back to Leo.

"Are you going to be ok?" Daisy asked. "Your vitals look alright. Deke made sure we had someone who could take care of you, but you know how things are here. I wish Simmons was here...she's the real professional."

"I'm okay," Asia concurred. "We need to find her. Find her and get the hell out of here." She shook her head, "We have to do it quickly." She knew this in every part of her body. She didn't want to think about where Jemma was, what Jemma was going through. All she wanted to think about was how they could get to her. "Can we go?" She asked, reaching and pulling the IV from her arm. They had changed her pants, which was helpful. She still felt sore, like she had exercised beyond her means, but she wanted to just get the hell out of here.

"Let's go," Daisy said, wrapping an arm around Asia to give her support. The two moved together, as if one unit, walking out into the hall where Deke was waiting. He looked at her with a concern in his eyes that hadn't ever been there before. She was worried it bordered on pity. She didn't want pity. But it didn't quite tip over the edge from worry to pity, which gave her a small comfort. Whatever small comfort she could possibly even take in this moment as she remember she had played a part in the destruction of the Earth, and that seeing it had caused her such a destress that she lost her baby.