Omnitrix introdution

January 13th, 2014

Later, the meeting was still going on. And by later, I meant I had left at around 2:00 am as it continued to take a nap, only to wake up about four hours later to find they were still talking. With nothing to do, I took a shower, pulled my hair back, put on my super-suit, and went to one of the mess halls. The carrier had two, one of which was still being used as a makeshift brig for Creel and Bucky, since they're special needs meant the actual brig wouldn't cut it. Davida had been put in there with them. Later I'd have to see about possibly fixing it so the brig could hold superhumans, but I decided to just go to get some food in me.

When I stepped into the room, everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at me. I blinked at the sudden attention and waved. "How's it going?"

A SHIELD agent waved back weakly.

I went to join the line for food. After a moment, people stopped looking at me, though glances were still thrown at me, especially at the Omnitrix. The line moved very quickly, people simply grabbing the various breakfast foods as fast as they could from the buffet style set up. Feeling a bit ravenous, I grabbed a bagel, a doughnut, some eggs, and, feeling a bit nostalgic, was happy to see someone had made smoothies, of which I grabbed a strawberry one.

I went to an empty table and sat down, eating quickly. Once finished, I grabbed another plate, then sat down to continue.

"Damn," someone said as they sat to join me. "You can sure put it away, can't you?"

I looked up to see Sam and gave him a grin around a mouthful of turkey bacon. "I haven't eaten in a while dude."

"Same," Sam said, wearing his costume just like me. He swiped my doughnut and chuckled at the glare I gave him for it. "Been a wild couple of days, huh?"

"That's putting it lightly," I admitted. "Kinda weird not needing to run anywhere for a bit."

Sam smirked at that. We ate in silence for a bit, ignoring the looks we got dressed in our costumes, Sam with his jetpack and me with my Omnitrix. In fact...

"You don't have any clothes here, either?" I asked Sam.

He nodded. "Yeah. And the SHIELD stuff they had just doesn't feel right somehow, with everything that's going on."

That was true. Somehow, with all the discussion on what to do next, wearing SHIELD clothing felt weird.

"Um, excuse me?" Sam and I looked up to see Fitz and Simmons looking at us. The British duo was standing with trays of their own, both smiling nervously. Simmons, the one who had spoken, waved at the empty table. "Um, I'm Jemma Simmons, I work with Agent Coulson."

"I'm Leo Fitz, and uh, I work with her," Fitz said nervously. "Well, I mean, we both work for Agent Coulson, we just- Do you mind if we sit with you?"

"Sure, no problem," I said. "If Sam doesn't mind."

"Go for it," Sam said.

Grinning eagerly, Fitz-Simmons sat down, Fitz next to me, Simmons next to Sam. Sam and I continued to eat. When we realized they weren't eating, we looked at the pair.

Fitz was staring at Sam's wingpack and Simmons was staring at my Omnitrix. When they realized they'd been caught, Simmons laughed nervously.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "It's just your weapons are so fascinating!"

"Yes, I was researching your wingpack," Fitz said excitedly. "And I noticed that you could increase the rigidity flexibility ratio by changing the material to carbon fiber!"

"Yeah, Tony said something about that," Sam said, apparently not knowing what to do about Fitz's enthusiasm.

"Tony Stark said that?" Fitz asked excitedly, turning to Simmons. "Did you hear that?"

"Yes, yes, you said the same thing another genius did," Simmons said dismissively, but with a very fond smile that Fitz returned. "But that," she pointed at the Omnitrix. "What is it? How does it work?"

I looked at the Omnitrix, then at Fitz and Sam. Sam shrugged. "Hey, I'm curious too, man."

Fitz nodded in agreement.

"Well, all right," I swiped my doughnut back from Sam and took a bite. Swallowing that, I was about to speak when Simmons interrupted me when she saw more people walk into the room.

"Wait," she said excitedly. "Skye, Trip! Over here!"

Sam and Fitz looked over as well. The pair walked over to join us. Trip had a wide smile on his face as he sat, Skye looking less excited.

"Look at you two, sitting with real Avengers now."

"More reserve Avengers," I admitted, Sam nodding.

"Still pretty cool," Skye said.

"He... what is your name?" Simmons asked me. "I mean, I know they call you Dial, but..."

At her leading pause, I answered. "It's Mahmoud."

"Yes," Simmons said. "He was going to tell us about the watch!"

"Omnitrix," Sam corrected for me. "He's really specific about that."

"Wait," Skye asked. "You're the guy who made that giant diamond at the Triskelion?" when I nodded, she looked at Sam. "What was it like flying through that thing?"

"Whoa, wait!" Simmons said hurriedly. "I want to hear about the watch first."

I looked at Sam. He smirked at the lost look on my face. "You first, man."

Sighing, I put down my food and held out the watch. "Okay. First off, I don't know who gave this to me or why," I mean, I knew who, but explaining Professor Paradox's dickery was too much trouble.

"Oh..." Simmons seemed disappointed.

"But the watch imprinted its history into me," I said, Fitz-Simmons seeming to perk up at that. "So I know who created it. Azmuth, an alien scientist."

"Was he a famous weapon designer?" Fitz asked.

"...Not intentionally," I leaned back and sighed sadly. "So, look. Azmuth was... well, he was brilliant. Smarter than any person in three galaxies, and more creative to boot. While his whole species, the Galvan people, were naturally more intelligent than almost any other species, he had this spark that none of the rest could match. But he had something even better than that. He was in love."

Simmons, who had been listening avidly, suddenly smiled softly at that. Fitz looked over at her and smiled as well.

"The girl he loved was a scientist as well, a woman named Zennith, and someone he cared for deeply. One day, he went out on a date with her, and they saw the planets align in the skies above. When they aligned, Azmuth was inspired. 'What if,' he thought to himself, 'I created a weapon that could tap into the fundamental forces of the universe. A weapon powered by existence itself.' The thought consumed him, and he spent all of his time creating it."

"And that's when he created the Omnitrix?" Fitz asked.

"No," I answered. "He created Ascalon, a sword."

"What?" Trip asked, confused. "All that build up for a sword?"

"Elegant, isn't it," I asked. "All the power of the universe, in something so small. Zennith tried to warn him as he created it, but he ignored her, obsessed with creating his masterpiece. So, she left. And he never noticed."

Simmons seemed crestfallen while Fitz was thoughtful.

"Azmuth finished Ascalon, and a warrior stole the weapon, hoping to use it to stop an eons-long civil war between the many factions on his homeworld. And when Azmuth saw the destruction of that world, saw how his creation turned a planet into an asteroid field with a single swing, he was devastated. Only then, did he realize what he had done, that he had sacrificed Zennith for nothing."

I was really getting into the story now. "So Azmuth hid Ascalon away and dedicated himself to peaceful sciences. He wanted to apologize, and he started on a creation that would show how sorry he was. Hoping that she would see how he had changed and one day she would return to him."

"The Omnitrix," Skye said, likely figuring out where this was going.

"It's not a weapon, not really," I extended my hand out. "It's a tool meant for peace. Imagine. Being able to walk a mile in other species shoes. To understand them because, in a way, you are them. An ambassador who understood all people, who could stand in their defense without judgment. But that was only part of it."

"Zennith," Simmons took hold of my wrist, staring at the Omnitrix. "Azmuth wanted to prove he had learned his lesson. To prove he cared."

"Romantic, right?" I said sarcastically. "Instead, Azmuth failed. He made a tool for peace, and someone saw its potential for a weapon."

"Yeah," Fitz said sadly. "That fits. Anytime someone just wants to advance science, someone else sees a shiny new bomb."

"That's part of why I like the idea of SHIELD restructuring itself," I admitted, gently pulling my wrist. "There are peaceful aliens out there. Ones like the Asgardians. Making alliances with them, furthering Azmuth's dream... I've done good work patrolling in New York City, and I want to do that later. But making the world, and possibly beyond, a better place is nice too."

"Oh, now that's a question!" Fitz said. "Can you turn into Asgardians? Like Thor?"

"Now that would be awesome," Skye said. "I mean, Thor is just..." Skye sighed. "So dreamy."

"Skye," Simmons said, sounding scandalized, a blush on her face.

"No, she's right," I admitted. "I mean, we've all seen the pictures, and I'm comfortable enough in my sexuality to admit Thor is hot."

We all thought about that for a moment.

"Well," Trip said, shaking his head. "Now that you mention it, you two were in on this whole idea to rebuild SHIELD right? I mean, you were in on it from the start?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "One of my aliens even created the Hercules app."

Fitz and Skye seemed to become very focused on me all of a sudden. Fitz spoke first. "Is there... is there any chance that the app can make a mistake?"

"Fitz," Skye said, sounding sad and frustrated.

"No, I mean, if it made some miscalculation, or discovered someone was not actually HYDRA, maybe?"

I was already pulling out my phone. I placed it on the table, activating the Hercules app. "Who was it you're asking about?"

"...Grant Ward," Fitz said hesitantly.

I opened his file. "Okay, Grant Ward. Recruited by John Garrett after he was arrested for trying to kill his parents and oldest brother in a fire. HYDRA is very detailed in it's filing so..." I sighed. I'd already known what I'd find. I passed my phone over to Fitz, who looked at it desperately. He flipped through the files, one by one, ignoring the pitying look Simmons was giving him.

"Fitz," Skye said.

"It's not true," Fitz said, his voice wavering. "There must be something, right? Something, some proof. He didn't just die a traitor, there has to be some mistake, some reason-"

"Fitz!" Skye yelled. "Ward was a traitor, okay!? He got what he deserved!"

The cafeteria froze. Skye was breathing heavily. Fitz stared at her.

After a moment, he tossed my phone back to me and stood up, walking away very quickly. Simmons went to follow, but Trip put a hand on her shoulder.

"Give him time, girl," he said softly.

Skye groaned, putting her face in her hands. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Don't worry about it," Trip said. "We're all dealing with betrayal today."

Looking around, I could see he was right. None of the SHIELD agents surrounding us seemed confused. Just understanding.

"So uh," I said. "Maybe we should meet up later?" I asked. "I know Tony wanted to talk to me about something? Invite Fitz along, we can all hang out."

"Not me," Trip said easily. "I'm meeting a friend."

"I'll try to get Fitz to come," Simmons said. "I know he'll be excited."

"And I'll go too," Skye said. "Maybe I can apologize then?"

"I don't suggest it," Sam said. "Stuff like that... It takes time, not apologies. Maybe talk him through it, but the fact is you were right."

"Well, maybe apologize for yelling," Trip corrected. "But yeah. Give him time."

"You should still come through," I added. "We're supposed to be doing something important, apparently. Although he said we were meeting on the Bus."