Studying dial’s alien

Mahmoud Schahed/Dial

Fitz ran a device over my wrist as Simmons and Skye watched. May, Clint, and Natasha had all gone upstairs to talk about spy stuff, I guessed.

"So yeah," I said. "The Codon Stream is what allows the Omnitrix to do its thing. All the genetic information the Omnitrix can access exists in that stream."

"Well," Fitz said. "It is giving off some very odd readings. If this is accessing another dimension for power, that would explain it."

"Can you turn into an alien?" Simmons asked. "That may give us new readings."

I blinked. "Yeah, okay," I thought about it, then tapped the watch. In seconds, I'd become Diamondhead with my proud battlecry. Funny, for some reason I was really starting to prefer Diamondhead over Blitzwolfer. Weird, but I went with it.

"Whoa," Skye said softly, staring up at me. "You're... big. And shiny."

"Yeah, I get that a lot," I said.

"Oh my," Simmons said, walking up to look at me as Fitz stared. "And this means your DNA has changed as well?"

"Yeah," I said.

"I wonder..." Fitz moved around. "I can sense some sort of energy from you," I raised a hand palm upwards and made a crystal sprout from it. Fitz stared at his scanner, then looked at the crystal I'd sprouted. "And that energy made the crystal grow, at a guess."

"Does that contain your DNA?" Simmons asked. "It's quite beautiful."

I released the crystal and rested it on the table. Skye backed away from it nervously.

"Uh, there's no chance you have any diseases or anything, is there?" Skye asked. "I mean, the last time we interacted with an alien thing carrying a virus..."

Simmons stared at the crystal I'd created with sudden fear when she realized what Skye was implying, Fitz stepping further back from me.

"I wouldn't worry," I said simply. "I'm been turning into aliens for weeks without anyone getting sick. Besides, I'm more worried about my human form getting sick. I got the sniffles one week, and Swampfire couldn't control his powers."

"Really?" Simmons said, stepping closer to the crystal. "So your human form's health has some effect on the aliens then?"

"Can you turn into another one?" Fitz asked politely. "For some reason, I can't understand some of these readings."

"I might be able to help with that actually." I said, tapping the Omnitrix.

"Upgrade!"

I leaned forward and poured into Fitz scanner.

"Whoa, what the-" Fitz freaked out and dropped me, stepping back.

I released a loud beeping noise as my tiny body hit the floor. I grew legs from the bottom of my oblong body and rose up, looking around while blinking with an eye made from the scanners port. Feeling a bit dramatic, I grew arms and waved at the three.

"He's so cute!" Simmons cried happily.

"Yeah, still a twenty-seven-year-old man," I reminded her with my green circuits glowing with every word.

"Whoa," Skye lowered to look at me. "What does that feel like? I mean, mixing with technology."

"Like reinstalling your third lung," I said, getting confused blinks. "Hold on one second... I think I can make the scanner better."

"You mean you can improve technology permanently?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah, but I don't seem to be that good at it," I admitted. "Some of my aliens mesh better with my personality than others do. But here," I rose up and separated from the scanner, becoming a giant nanite goo monster once more and passing the scanner to Fitz, who looked at it. "Try it now."

Fitz turned it on and seemed staggered by what he was seeing. "Jemma, look at these readings!"

"I know," Simmons said excitedly, staring at the computer that was receiving the scanners

Just then, Tony and Coulson walked back into the room. I turned into my human form as they joined us.

"Fitz, Simmons, Tony would like to speak with you," Coulson said, looking around. "Where's May?"

"May went upstairs with Black Widow and Hawkeye," Skye said with a grin. "Seriously, how cool is that sentence?"

"Fangirl," Tony coughed. When Skye glared at him, he smirked. "Sorry, my cough interrupted me. I called you Fangirl."

"Let's go join them," Coulson said, guiding Skye and me away. Smiling, we all went upstairs as Tony and Fitz-Simmons continued to talk science at a rapid pace.

"What's it like?" Skye asked me later. We were sitting on the top level of the plane, resting on plush seats around a table. Coulson, May, Clint, and Natasha were sitting a bit away from us, joking around and reminiscing, which left Skye and me to talk. But man, the Bus really was a nice plane. For something owned by SHIELD, I was kind of jealous of all the soft chairs, the bar, and all the other amenities.

"What's what like?" I asked, sipping at my orange juice.

"Oh come on," Skye said, sounding excited. "Turning into aliens! What does it feel like?"

I grinned at her. "Oh man, it's a total blast. I mean, it's weird. Some of my aliens are just plain crazy. But some of them..." I thought of Diamondhead's incredible strength and power, flying as Astrodactyl, zooming through the city in a blur as Fasttrack. "There is nothing like it in the world. Knowing at any second, I could just tap my wrist and get a few minutes to do things no one else can."

"Man," Skye leaned back, staring at the Omnitrix with a smile. "That sounds really fun."

"You have no idea," I admitted.

"Okay, now you're rubbing it in."

"Just a bit," I said with a grin that she returned.

"You ever think of letting other people try that out?" she asked.

I shrugged. "All the time. Sometimes as a possible strategy, sometimes just to let someone try."

"You can't take that off?"

"I can," I said. "But no one else can. Once it's on, I'm the only one who can wear it."

"Can I try?" Skye asked.

I scoffed. "No way. This is my super-awesome alien watch."

"Stingy," Skye teased.

I nodded slightly, watching as she slowly drank the brown alcohol in her cup. She didn't strike me as someone who drank often, but apparently, she'd needed it. I looked over at the group of super-spies. Coulson and May were drinking the same alcohol that Skye was. May seemed tense, the older Asian woman engaging in the conversation only in the sense that she was sitting close to it. Coulson was talking, but it didn't feel real, somehow, like he was going through the motions.

Skye was the same way. Like she was trying to distract herself and failing desperately. Well, shoot. I had a distraction that few in the world could match.

I got up and held a hand out to Skye. "Hey, you want to see something cool?"

She blinked up at me. "Uh, what?"

"Something cool? It really put things in perspective for me, and I think you'll enjoy it. Granted, every human on Earth would enjoy it, but..."

"I mean, are we even allowed to leave?" she asked, still taking my hand and rising up as I pulled her along. I ignored the confused looks I got from the super-spies.

"If anyone tries to stop me I'll try to unlock Way Big and throw them into the horizon," I said, moving towards the hanger.

"You do not have an alien called that!" She said, giggling. "That's so dumb!"

"Yeah, well, if you saw him you'd understand," I took a moment to feel offended on Ben's behalf. I liked the alien's names. We went down the stairs and I poked my head in on Tony, Fitz, and Simmons still discussing things at a rapid pace, now looking at the scanner I had modified. "Hey, guys!"

The three looked over at me.

"Skye and I are stealing a Quinjet," Skye gave me a startled look. "Wanna come?"

"What?" Fitz said, shocked.

"Hell yes!" Tony said, delighted.

"Absolutely not!" Simmons said at the same time, horrified at the idea in a way that made me smile a little wider. Hermione Granger would have loved Simmons.

"Yeah," Skye said, letting go of my hand. "I'm not so sure about-"

"Hey, Fury," I said into the Omnitrix's comm link. "X, connect him to the speakers."

"Of course sir," X said.

"Dial," Fury said, annoyed. "This better be quick."

"I'm stealing a Quinjet with Tony and some of Coulson's people," I said simply.

Fury sighed in annoyance but didn't really seem to care. "Well, we were thinking about redistributing some of our resources. Sure, it's yours."

"...What?"

"Dial, I may be suspicious of you, but I'm also grateful," Fury said simply. "You were essential in saving SHIELD resources, and especially personnel. Many of my people are alive because of you and the Avengers now. You've more than earned a Quinjet. So go ahead, pick one and have X let me know which you took. Fly safe."

With that, Fury hung up, leaving us all in shock. I mean... I had a Quinjet now. Holy shit. Wait, had Fury done that just to mess with me? Or was he honestly grateful despite all his suspicions? ...Whatever, I had a Quinjet!

"Looks like you have a Quinjet now," Tony said, somehow reading my mind, and rushing out of the lab. "So where we going?"

"What is going on?" Someone said upstairs. I looked up to see Clint leaning on the railing above, looking down at us. "Fury told me to come babysit you, and that he gave you a Quinjet? Was he kidding?"

"I knew that he couldn't just let us have this," Tony groaned in annoyance, but I just grinned, feeling a bit giddy and confused all in one.

"Yeah! Can you believe it!? I mean, what the hell, right? Come with us!"

"What exactly has you so excited?" Clint asked curiously, bypassing the stairs to simply hop over the railing.

"Yeah, seriously," Skye asked, sounding a bit weirded out.

"Okay," I said, raising my hands up. "Yesterday, I saw something amazing, something so beautiful it took my breath away."

"Damn, you just met her," Tony said, looking between Skye and I. "Granted, I don't blame you, but..."

Skye grinned at Tony. "Heh. That's an ego boost for me."

"Will you all just come on?" I said, looking over at Fitz-Simmons, who still looked hesitant. "Look, I promise, it is going to be awesome."

Moments later, I was merged with a Quinjet again, Upgrade's incredible powers being put to use. My Quinjet. Seriously, I loved Fury. For all his suspicion, gifting me with a Quinjet in return for saving SHIELD made him my hero.

As of then, I had flown into space once more. This time, I turned the bottom of the aircraft transparent to show the world below.

"Man," Clint said slowly, sitting on the transparent floor and staring down at Earth. "She really is beautiful."

Fitz-Simmons, Skye, and Tony were staring at the same view, while I was using my camera's and sensors to do the same. We were floating over the East Coast now. Uh, the East Coast of the United States that is.

"I can't believe we're actually watching this," Skye said softly.

"It's so pretty," Simmons said brightly. "Look at the way the clouds are forming to the North! Do you think-?"

"Possibly," Fitz replied. "But of course-"

"Yes, that might happen," Simmons agreed.

To my surprise, Tony suddenly cut in. "I don't think so. Look, the winds are clearly breaking up the clouds as they go south."

Fitz-Simmons both stared for a moment before nodding simultaneously. "Oh yes, that's quite right," Simmons said.

"God, there are three of them," Skye said, sounding more happy than annoyed.

"Still, it's very pretty..." Fitz shook his head. "This is unbelievable. I mean, we're in space!"

"I know!" Simmons giggled.

"Earth's... small," Tony said, sounding very different from his usual self. "I mean, obviously it's not small, but-"

"No," I interrupted. "She's small. Beautiful, and so..." I didn't say anything else.

Until you're up there, watching home spin below you among the beauty of the stars, Earth never seems real as a concept. You can know, intellectually, that you live on a tiny piece of the universe in a far bigger part of it. But it's only when you see her in all her glory that the concept of it really hits you.

We floated there for a while before Clint sighed, looking over towards the sun. "This is pretty crazy man. How fast are you like this?"

"Not light-speed fast," I admitted. "But give me time. I think... I think I can make things better. Not just upgrade them temporarily, but permanently."

"How fascinating," Simmons said, looking around at the black and green interior of the ship. "And you said you're a species made of nanites? That's how you improved the scanner back in the lab?"

"Yeah," I said through the Quinjets internal speakers. Well, the speakers I had made.

"And how much can you change?" Fitz asked. "What's it like?"

"Not a lot of ways I can explain it, but Upgrade is really damn versatile. Oh, here," I raised a podium in front of Skye, who blinked when it opened on top to reveal a keyboard and screen. "Check it out! I can make computers."

"Can your nanites be replicated?" Simmons asked.

"I've got theories about that," Tony said.

"You guys are really ruining the experience," Clint noted, looking over as Skye began typing at the computer I had made her with great enthusiasm. I could feel her sending a message to Coulson, who didn't respond.

"Well, the experience is going to be over in a bit," I admitted, a familiar red beep coming from the Omnitrix symbol.

Clint and Tony froze. Skye and Fitz-Simmons looked over at them, understanding something was wrong.

"Uh," Tony said. "These things are airtight, right?"

Clint didn't seem to know.

With a final beep, I appeared in the back of the Quinjet in human form. The transparent floor became black metal again. More importantly, the artificial gravity I had been creating disappeared, leaving us all to begin to float. "It was airtight, but I just made it more so," I admitted, spinning in the air to look at everyone. Time as Goop left me well adjusted to floating. "The Quinjet isn't quite a spaceship, but it will get us to home and the engines should be a lot faster now."

"Oh thank god," Fitz said with a sigh, floating to grab at his seat so he could strap himself down.

Clint rose up, pulling his floating form over to the cockpit. "Seriously, what is with that thing's random timing? I think we were up here for about twelve minutes this time."

"It may be some sort of failsafe!" Fitz yelled towards the front as Clint sat down. "Uh, Hawkeye, sir."

"Call me Clint."

Fitz grinned at that.

"Today has been weird," Skye said, looking at me when I sat down. "Seriously, I'm hanging out with three Avengers in space."

"Uh, excuse me?" Tony said, smirking. "Two Avengers. Fanboy here is a reserve member at best."

"I can kick the ass of every other Avenger in the right form though," I mumbled. Tony grinned, not disagreeing.

"Fanboy?" Skye asked as Clint turned the ship towards the Earth.

"Oh, you didn't know?" Tony asked, looking mischievous. "I'm his favorite Avenger."

"You mispronounced Black Widow," I sniped. "I distinctly remember saying, 'Black Widow is my favorite Avenger.'"

"All that leather really does it for ya, huh?" Skye asked me. She smirked at the betrayed look I gave her.

"So, back to the rendezvous?" Clint asked, flying down.

"Hey, Jarvis?" Tony asked. "Are they still talking about uh... what was it?"

"International border laws, sir," Jarvis said.

"God, please keep me from politics," Tony said, an ironic statement from the man whose involvement with such in the comics caused a civil war. "Yeah, let's not. Hey, let's go to my place. I wanna show you guys the labs."

"Wait, at Stark Tower?" Fitz asked.

"It's the Avengers Tower now," Clint responded from the pilot's seat.

"Shush Legolas, I'm talking," Tony tossed something at Clint, who easily dodged it. "What do you say Ross and Rachel, wanna see my toys?"

The pair seemed to glow with happiness. "Oh yes-"

"We would very much like-"

"If it's not too much trouble-"

"How about you, Fangirl?" Tony asked Skye.

"Sure," she said brightly, not bothered by the name. "Keep the good times rolling."

I hid a smile. Maybe they'd have to face it later. But for now, I'd managed to distract the three. And that was good enough.

"Cool, I'll introduce you to Bruce."

"Bruce Banner!?" Fitz-Simmons yelled in unison.

Author's Note: One interesting thing about this story is that I have to deal with some things I never expected, one of them being the science side of things. Characters like Diamondhead, Upgrade, Goop, they all exist in a state that would be a dream for normal scientists to study. I'm not sure it's possible to state how say, the study of Diamondhead's biology would change the world. Hopefully I conveyed that well.

Also, I'd absolutely visit space every second I could if it was as easy as tapping the Omnitrix. The only reason I wouldn't do it as Astrodactyl is the fear I'd be changed back in the atmosphere.