Oceans Away || Leo Fitz Book Three

Chapter Sixteen

Asia sat in the Quinnjet, replying to a text from Daisy, who had run into Lash once again. She sighed, feeling bad that she hadn't been there to help. She was busy, flying overhead through the sky, waiting for the potential of needing to arrive as backup, to make sure May and Hunter got out alright. She had been up there for over a day, waiting for the call. It was frustrating beyond belief, sitting up there amongst the clouds, waiting for some sign, some signal, that she could do something. That she could be of use. But here she sat, with nothing happening to her, besides replying to Daisy's text.

She leaned back against the seat with a sigh, glancing over at the pilots. They didn't even let her fly while she waited. It was easy to get bored, but at least she had remember to bring a couple books. She had been on a thriller kick recently, the suspense of the story taking away the limbo of her daily life. But even the books couldn't keep her from hearing ghost text messages arrive, every time she checked the phone - blank screen.

She picked at the hangnails she had, she stretched her powers, moving the clouds outside around them, drawing water in and out of herself, forming rain clouds, water the lands below them. She knew that Hunter was in a bad spot, she knew it. There was no doubt there, based off of everything May had briefed her on.

Hunter was deep undercover, infiltrating Ward's new version of Hydra, the Hydra that the man she once called her best friend was building from the ground up. His goal, obviously, was the kill Grant Ward, but Asia did not imagine it would go this way. She thought it would be much cleaner, much more efficient. She thought it would be something like Hunter sitting blocks away, sniper in hand, much like she had spent her last year. She didn't think he would be so up close, so in harms way. But he as out for blood, and apparently this was the only way to get it.

It was weird, thinking someone she had once considered one of her closest confidants, someone she considered close enough to be family, was going to be dead soon. That she knew it, that she had assisted in the premeditation of the act. If she thought back on it, she could remember incredible memories with Ward. Their competitive streak, their first time jumping out of a plane together...she had to be careful not to let herself get dragged back by these memories or she would get too remorseful. It was easier not to think about it. Asia understood he had to die, she understood why, but nonetheless, that never made it any easier.

Suddenly, Asia's comms crackled to life. "Monroe, this is May. Hunter's moving in, stand by for the word." Asia sat up straight, looking over to her crew up front, who had also heard the message. "Coulson, are you on?" May asked, the line going silent as everyone waited for a response.

"Here, and I read you loud and clear," Coulson's voice cut through seconds later. There was something about hearing him that always made Asia feel calmer. Knowing their fearless leader was there, having their back, even if he was back at headquarters, that meant something. Some leaders stood back, but Coulson was always right there.

Asia sat in her chair, eyes closed, waiting for a sign, a sound, anything at all, straining her ears against the white noise so deeply that her ears began to ring.

"Monroe," Coulson's voice cut through comms suddenly, sharply, surprising her with the urgency even though she had been waiting for a sound. "We're rerouting you to a new position. Coordinates are being sent to your plane. No time for waiting."

"Sir, what's wrong?" Asia replied, holding her hand to her ear, pressing the device in as if she could make his voice reverberate louder than it already was. There was something very wrong, she could sense it in his voice. But if she wasn't being called in as backup for Hunter and May, what could it even be?

"It's Dr. Garner, that's Ward's next target," Coulson replied, remaining as calm as he possibly could in a situation such as this. "They have a live feed playing on him, there's Hydra members around him right now. We need you to get in there and take them out. We need you to get him out safe." Asia could picture the man in her mind, the man who had helped her through her transformation, who was a support system and a healer for their team.

"Understood," She replied evenly, standing up and walking towards the cockpit. "How far out are we from the coordinates?" Asia asked, leaning down to look at the instruments in front of them. Too far, she thought to herself, worriedly. When the captain advised her it was going to be another four minutes before she could jump, Asia nodded, heading back to her seat again and suiting up. She adjusted her wristlets, strapped on a chute, and stood near the ramp, ready for the signal. She could feel the clouds and moisture all around them, and she pulled as much of it towards her as she could. And when the light turned green and the ramp opened, she jumped.

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"I'm headed in," Asia radioed to Coulson as she looked out towards the small corner store, a tiny little convenience store that would look nice and quaint if it weren't for the big men she could see through the windows, men of Hydra, pouring something on the floor and knocking over shelves. She couldn't see Dr. Garner anywhere through the glass, but she couldn't get as good of a glimpse as she would have hoped for.

Asia began to walk across the street, stretching her arms out as ripples of ice spread across the ground, crawling over the building, chilling the air around her. Suddenly, a young kid, probably around her age maybe a couple years younger at most, burst through the front doors, sprinting away. "Hey!" Asia called out, trying to grab his sleeve, "Hey!" But he kept running.

Asia turned back to face the store when suddenly heat rippled out towards her, and she heard the sound of glass bursting before she saw it happen. On instinct, the woman jerked into a ball, water surrounding her, shielding her from the heat and flames and the shards of glass that shot out from the store as the building burst into flame.

When Asia stood up front the ground, brushing rubble from her arms and pants, the building was still burning, flames crackling. Without a second thought, she ran towards the building. Dr. Garner could be in there, trying to survive the flames. She was the one who could fix this, she was the one who could save him.

Ducking through the door frame, she thrust her hands out, water spraying forth from her and smashing into the flames, pushing them back, dousing them. The heat was almost unbearable, but she kept going, until the ceiling was dripping and all which was left were small embers and ash. "Dr. Garner?" She called out, stepping forward again, looking for any sign of life, or...any sign of a body.

She was so focused, so intent on the task at hand, that she didn't sense the presence behind her. She didn't see the woman, younger than she, hands glowing red, and didn't see her swing a gas can against the agent's head, knocking Asia out cold, her body dropping like a rock to the floor.

And she didn't hear the woman send out a comms message either. "Ward, I've got her."