Oceans Away || Leo Fitz Book Three

Chapter SeventyOne

Asia threw up a wall of water above herself and her team, fending off any of the falling flames from the explosion. Little debris of flame sizzled and licked against the cool blue water, before sliding to the ground in charred thumps, and they all stayed below, sheltered and safe. Piper, one of the recruits, stared at her in awe, mouth hanging just slightly open.

"What?" Asia asked her, shaking some of her brown hair out of her face, which had slipped loose from her tight ponytail. "Did you see something? Is someone following us?" She glanced over her shoulder, checking for any potential enemies headed their way, or anything that looked ominous or out of place.

"No, I, sorry," Piper said, flustered, shaking her head, cheeks slightly flushed even in the dark. "I mean, I knew you were coming on this trip, I've just never seen a real Inhuman using real powers in real life...and it's fucking cool. She was clearly flustered and a little embarrassed by the question.

Asia blinked a couple times, surprised at first, but understanding. "No worries," she sad after a short moment, giving a small smile. "Can be a little jarring the first time, I get it." She flicked her wrist, the water disappearing. "Now, what the hell was that explosion?" She asked over comms, hoping someone on the other end would have answers for them.

"That," Coulson's voice appeared in her ear, strong,m steady, and concerned. "Was the Kree." After that, all Asia could hear was the sound of her own blood pumping.

Mack sent one of the newer recruits to go scope out the area. When he made it back, he shook his head. "Nothing out there. Just debris and some reaaallly big footprints." Coulson was right. The Kree were here.

"Well that's just perfect," May sighed in that dry tone of hers. "As if the soldiers and Inhumans weren't enough, now we have more players on the field."

"Wait, wait, the fricking aliens just landed on Earth and we're not going to, like, take a moment and acknowledge that that's happening?" Piper said in protest, eyes wide. Sure, this was Sheild. But not every day did aliens land here.

"Maybe there's a better question," Mack said, staring out into the shadows, almost as if he were waiting to see a blue figure appear from within them. "Maybe we should ask whose side they are on." He had a good point. Asia couldn't really picture that thing in Ward's body inviting them here for a good, clean party. They had created it afterall, the first Inhuman. Through torture.

"Then let's follow them and find out," Asia suggested. "Discretely, of course." And so they did. They followed one of the giant blue aliens around town as soon as they were able to track one down. It didn't take long. Just had to follow the sounds of screaming.

When they made it to the base of a small hill, atop which resided a little white church, they paused behind an overturned vehicle to report back to their team in the sky. "It looks like he's taking out the Hydra agents," Mack advised, as he peered through a small, nigh vision scope as the alien cut down another Hydra agent.

"Or just anything that gets in his way," May muttered, a little pessimistically.

"It will be a lot easier of a fight if we have the Kree on our side," Asia replied, eyes trained on the hulking figure before them. She sure wouldn't want to be fighting that. Not any time soon. "Or even just not against us. Having a common enemy would...really even the playing field."

"But why would Hive call the Kree here?" May questioned rationally. If Hive really felt so much hatred towards his creators, so much spite for their treatment of him, why bring them here? "If they're his enemy, why signal them to where he's been hiding?"

"Maybe he's trying to create some sort of creepy fucking alien alliance," Mack muttered, mostly sarcastically. It was possible though. Maybe Hive thought that after all this time, the Kree would want to work with what they created. That they would see his strength and therefore see his value. It would be a twisted, deranged plan - but Hive was a twisted and deranged creature. So it fit.

"I don't think so," May shook her head, eyes still trained on the Kree as it shook blood from its large, curved blade. "These things...they're hunters, not allies." She looked up towards the sky, almost as if she could see the plane up there. "Coulson, what are our orders from here?" They could all use a little guidance with this delicate situation.

"Follow at a close distance," Coulson instructed his ground team, an air of concern in his tone. "But don't get too close to that thing. I don't want it turning its attention to any of you." He didn't have to tell any of them twice. No one wanted to get close enough for the Kree to take a swing at them.

Piper took her scope and focused in on the Kree, tracking his movement. "Hey, wait," She hissed in a whisper. "He's looking at the church. He senses something in that church." All eyes slowly shifted to look up at the white building atop the small hill. "My money is on Hive," Mack said in response.

The church didn't look like anything special - in fact, it looked about what you would expect of a church in a very rural Wyoming town: faded white paint on the wooden plank exterior, a few stained glass windows, one thing, tall steeple, and a general sense of disarray. It didn't look like a place where one would have his last battle - or any battle, really.

Suddenly, the ground around them began to rumble. Mack and Asia locked eyes, a look of knowing playing across both of their faces. Even in the pitch dark, in the middle of BFE Wyoming, they would know that feeling anywhere.

Daisy.