Worlds Apart | Leo Fitz Book Five

Chapter Seven

Asia was unsurprised to be restrained when she woke back up, sitting on a metal chair in a lavishly decorated room that looked much like an King's hall in a palace, except...obviously this was space. But there was the first greenery she had seen since she had arrived on this hellscape - handfuls of potted plants. She tugged at the leather bindings around her wrists, just to check. Unsurprisingly, they were not loose.

"Ah good. Now you're both awake," the Kree man, Kaisus Deke had said his name was before, and Asia felt like it was a pretty fair guess to imagine this was the man he had been speaking of. Asia glanced to her right and saw Daisy there, also in a wooden chair, arms and feet bound. "Proceed with the tests please," he said, nodding at another individual, a Kree doctor of sorts, with black rubber gloves, thicker than the ones that doctors on Earth usually wore.

The doctor approached them each individually, inserting a needle expertly into their veins to draw blood. Asia studied him, but he didn't make eye contact with her as he inserted the needle on the first try. He had dark blue skin like the other Kree and a thin, pointed nose. His eyes were narrow and yellow, but still didn't look to meet either of them.

As the blood began to flow, Kaisus began to speak again. "You know, I rescued humanity, out here on this ship. What you may not have realized is how much I have sacrificed to do so." The way he punctuated his words only further gave way that this was someone important to the Kree - or at very least to this space station. He had clearly grown up in a refined setting. "You see," he continued on, examining the vials of blood extracted from the both of them. "This place was nothing before I arrived. A husk of an organism that once was. And yet, I saw the potential. Without me, there would be nothing. But I had vision, and now, thanks to the two of you, that vision will finally be completed.

"You've already taken our blood," Daisy spat back. "What more could you possibly need from us?" Asia wanted to reach over and kick her. They weren't in the best position right now and antagonizing their captor couldn't make it much better.

Kaisus sighed then turned back to face the two of them, his gaze alternating between them. "Despite everything I have done for the preservation of these humans, I find them still desperate to cling to their gods, their bedtime stories. One such fairy tale was that of Quake and Frostbite. The Old Ones used to tell a story of how Shield would return one day from the past to save them. And now, here you are. Quite the turn of events, wouldn't you say."

"We're certainly not here by choice," Asia replied back quietly.

"Interesting," Kaisus mused. "And yet, the two of you arrive at the exact same time as a human who has no metric and no scars on her wrist, trained with skills far beyond her station." He could only be talking about Jemma. He had to be. Asia feigned confusion as he looked at her. "A woman who goes by the name of Jemma. So. Tell me. How many of you are here?"

"There's no one else," Asia answered confidently for the both of them. "We were the only ones sent here. Involuntarily, I'll add again."

"Mmm, see, I'd like to believe you Asia, I really would," he tsked in response. "And while we're on that note, may I call you Asia? Much less formal than the Bringer of the End. I would hope neither of you find my informality as disrespect. You see, I have come to interpret the fairy tale of you two in a slightly different way. I think you are here to help me." He leaned down close to them both, whispering now.

"That seems unlikely," Daisy replied, keeping her eyes straight ahead and not meeting his gaze.

"I doubt that," he replied with a small chuckle, standing back up to his full height and strutting about. "Word of your arrival has piqued the interest of many, many bidders. In fact, they're on their way as we speak. And with the price I'll fetch for even one of you two, I'll be able to leave this horrendous excuse of a habitat, once and for all." The sheer loathing and disgust in his voice permeated everything around them.

"And what makes you think we'll go along with that?" There was an edge, and almost innocence, in Asia's voice as she spoke, and she realized for the first time...she sounded like Nat. A pang swelled in her chest as she thought about her mentor in that moment, how she was thrust so far into the future that she couldn't dial up Strike Team Delta to ask them questions, pick their brains on new potential tactics.

"Because, of course," Kaisus said, stepping back, to reveal Jemma standing behind him. "Your friend's face is so perfect, so beautiful, don't you want to make sure it stays that way?" Jemma looked towards the two of them, her face neutral, no reaction to their conversation whatsoever. Her hair had been pulled back in a sharp braid and her forehead was painted gold, as were her lips and a band around her neck. She wore pale blue robes with wide sleeves and stood as still as a statue. She didn't appear to even register their words, but her eyes were trained on Asia and Daisy.

His threat hung in the air as he exited the room, leaving Daisy and Asia to think alone, minus the guards who watched them. He let them stew in their worry, let them wait. Time was on his side, after all, and he already had the two of them captured.

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Eventually, two guards came to collect them, large guns trained at the back of each of their heads as they were lead out of the clean room and towards a grubby elevator. It was dark, no lights except the flashlight beams of the Kree guards who lead the two Inhumans out. Asia couldn't begin to guess where they were headed - she could only hope it wasn't towards their execution. The elevator ride, though short, felt like forever. The doors slid open and before them, Asia saw to people, human people, fighting.

There was an older one, one she had seen in Kaisus' chambers before he disappeared, and the other, young and shirtless. The younger one seemed to be exceling, though the older one was clearly a good fighter as well. She watched, stepping out of the elevator and into the light, eyes narrowed as she scrutinized each of their forms. There were others in the room too, other humans, one of the women Kaisus kept around in the blue clothing was there, watching silently.

The younger fighter was a much better fighter than the older one. It was as if every move made by the elder man was man seconds too slow, the younger one was able to counter, catch, exchange every single blow, to the point where he had the older man flipped and landing hard on his back, air shoving out of his chest.

Asia nodded to Daisy, moving further into the room, standing near a table covered in a variety of foods and folded towels. When the fight was done, the younger man walked over towards the two of them, grabbing a white towel and slinging it over her shoulder before popping a grape into his mouth. "They grow it," he said, apparently out of nowhere. Asia squinted her eyes at him, unsure of what he meant.

"Your friend," he nodded at Daisy, "She's wondering where the meat here comes from. They grow it."

"Mhmm," Asia said, nodding slowly. "That wasn't a guess, was it? You read her thoughts. You're probably reading mine right now."

He shrugged, popping a piece of celery into his mouth next, the vegetable crunching as he bit into it. "It's not really reading, it's hearing. But you're right. And observant. And yes, what you're guessing is right. I'm Inhuman."

"That's how you won that fight then," Daisy said, standing beside Asia. "Which, by the way, it's pretty intrusive to read someone's mind without their permission." She was still incredibly on edge, Asia could tell. She didn't have to be a mind reader to know that, she had spent enough time with Daisy to read her body language, the different inflections in her tone.

"I hear what I hear," he shrugged with a sigh, turning to look back out at the training grounds. "It's kind of a relief when they turn it off." As if on queue, there was a blue glow from behind his ear and Asia watched closely as a silver device imbedded in his skin made a small, high pitched sound. "Just like that," he said with a slight wince.

The older man approached them, interrupting their conversation. "Alright everyone, out." Asia shrugged and turned to go, grabbing Daisy to pull her along beside her. "Not the two of you," the man said harshly. "You two are something special. You get a private viewing." He nodded up and to the right, and the two Inhumans looked upwards.

There, standing above them, was Kaisus and another pale woman. They were both dressed in lavish robes and stared down their noses from the viewing chamber. A sense of dread began to flood Asia's system. Whatever was coming....it couldn't be good.