F.Z.z.T

Mick watched as Fitz continued to tinker with the Night Night pistol, clearly growing more frustrated with Ward's unappreciation of it. "I don't understand why he keeps bloody rejecting it!"

"Let me see it Fitz," Mick said trying not to laugh. Mick picked it up, sighted it a few times and shrugged. Everything felt fine to him. "I don't know, maybe Ward is just picky about his guns?"

"Picky is an understatement!" Fitz barked, as Mick set down the gun, walking over to see Skye covering her amusement with the screen.

"What are you so smiley about?" Mick asked as she glanced up at him.

"None of your business!" She teased, pulling the screen down so Mick couldn't see.

Ward walked in and picked up the pistol, sighting it just as Mick had just done. He then held out the pistol, staring at it, contemplating.

"Nope, still an ounce off," Ward sighed before setting the gun down.

"Seriously?" Skye exclaimed as Ward looked over at her, clearly still upset.

"One ounce can make a huge difference," he started. "It's the difference between success and failure. When you're on a roof-top with a fifteen mile per hour wind, your target is five hundred yards away."

"But we have rifles for that," Fitz interjected, only for Ward to glare, not just his normal glare, but in an intimidating manner.

"Just lose the ounce," Ward set the pistol down before walking out of the room.

"Huh," Mick frowned. "Someone clearly woke up in the wrong side of the plane this morning."

"Lose the bloody ounce," Fitz grumbled. "Oh, I'm agent Grant Ward, I can shoot the legs of a bloody flea off from five hundred yards away." His mocking tone was quite amusing that both Mick and Skye laughed.

"As long as the wind isn't blowing," Fitz sounded like himself.

"That's the Skye I like to remember," Mick said as she closed her laptop.

"It's been quite a while since we've heard you laugh like that," Fitz said as Skye nodded.

"It's hard to have fun when you're stuck in the doghouse," Skye's smile faded.

"You can only apologize so many times Skye," Mick said as Fitz nodded in agreement.

"I know," she sighed. "I've been working hard to memorize every protocol! I've been following every order, I even say sir when I respond to him!"

"Wow," Mick chuckled as Skye hit him playfully.

"I'm even wearing this tag," Skye held out her right arm.

"I don't know what else he expects of you," Fitz said sympathetically.

"I know I lied, but I was just trying to protect my boyfriend," Skye said as Mick frowned.

"Ex-boyfriend," Mick interjected as Skye playfully rolled her eyes and smiled.

"We all make mistakes," Fitz leaned on this workstation.

"At least with Miles there were no head games," Skye sounded remorseful. "Nothing passive aggressive, but with Ward it's so," she trailed off in her frustration.

"You were similar, you were on the same wavelength," Mick said as she smiled and nodded.

"Much like we are," Fitz said as he motioned between himself and Skye, without her noticing.

"Yeah!" She exclaimed as Fitz smiled. "You and Jemma are the best team because you're psychically linked!"

Fitz's face fell as Mick smirked. "That's not exactly what I meant."

"Sure it is," Mick patted Fitz's shoulders when the heard someone walking down the hallway.

"Was Ward in here?" She asked seeing the pistol out on the desk.

"Yeah," Mick replied.

"What's he say about the Night Night gun?" She asked happily.

"It's still off by an ounce," Fitz rolled his eyes.

"Of course," Jemma scoffed as she picked up the pistol examining it. "I'm Agent Grant Ward, and I can rupture your spleen with my left pinkie," she also had a highly amusing mockery voice, which caused everyone to laugh.

"That's so spot on!" Skye cheered.

"I'd hate to see how you guys talk about me behind my back," Mick smiled.

"Oh you know we don't do that," Jemma smiled politely.

"Ey, we'd just say it to your face," Fitz smiled as they all laughed once more.

"What's so funny?" Ward asked, as the room fell silent.

"Oh it's just poor silly Fitz left a dummy round in the pistol," Jemma said with a coy grin, handing the pistol to Ward. "Should be proper now."

He sighted quickly, contemplated briefly, then handed it back. "Great, thanks." He looked as they all smiled. "Get your gear together, we have a mission." With that he was gone.

Mick waited a few seconds before speaking. "I'm Grant Ward, I can't stand fun, or the sound of laughter. I'd rather be serious and grumpy all the time," Mick's mockery voice clearly needed work as everyone seemed unimpressed.

"Maybe you should leave the jokes to us," Fitz teased as he patted Mick on the back.

They drove to a deep wooded camp site, in Wrigley, Pennsylvania. The sight brought back old memories of Mick's camping trips with his best friend, Jerren, back from their teenage years. The smell of scorched wood, mixing with a strong acidic smell. "Troop Leader's name was Adam Cross," Coulson began informing them as they looked around the vacant campsite. "Apparently he said he heard something in the woods, went to check it out. That's where the electrostatic anomaly occurred."

"What I don't understand is, usually, they're caused by a massive electrical storm," Fitz sounded quite annoyed to be out in the field.

"But there wasn't a storm within a thousand miles of here last night," Jemma said looking around curiously.

"I don't think it was a lightning strike, sounded like it had quite an unusual side effect," Coulson said as he walked over to May and Mick were was examining the truck.

"Looks like the battery went straight through the hood," May said as Mick scratched his head, staring at the burned hole in the side of the frame, and the large hole in the hood.

"Where'd it go though?" Mick asked he and May tried guessing the trajectory.

"Found the battery!" Ward called out from thirty foot away.

"Holy crap," Mick straightened up, seeing both Ward and Skye kneeling in the distance.

"That's one heck of a blast," Coulson muttered as they walked over to see the battery still smoking.

"What do you think could cause something like this?" Coulson glanced and May, while Mick knelt down, poking the battery with his saber.

"You're like a little kid," Coulson teased as Mick shrugged.

"I don't want to just touch it, it may burn me," Mick grinned as Skye called out for them.

Mick stared at the man floating in mid air, lifelessly. It was quite terrifying, as the fear was permanently etched on the man's face.

"This is so sad," Jemma said as she eased closer to the man. "And yet, quite amazing."

Fitz didn't seem quite as amused by this as Jemma was.

"Do we have any idea's how this happened?" Coulson asked, keeping a very skeptical look on his face, as well as a good distance between himself and the body.

Fitz and Simmons stared at each other momentarily, then began speaking at the same time making everything they said sound like more science gibberish than words.

"Stop," Coulson held out his hands motioning for a time out. "I can't handle all of the back and fourth. Just one at a time please." He glanced at Simmons.

"I have no idea," Jemma said as Coulson then turned to Fitz.

"Uh," Fitz nervously stared at his screen. "No clue, Sir."

"Seems like some freak natural event or a high powered weapon maybe," Ward looked over the body as Skye continued to follow his every movement.

"What about someone from the Index?" She glanced between Coulson and Mick.

"Know of anyone Bellouve?" Coulson asked as Mick tried to go through the known subjects on the list.

"None that I know of, Boss," Mick frowned.

"That we know of. I'll contact Agent Blake at S.H.I.E.L.D. H.Q., have him check it out," Coulson frowned at the thought of involving more agents. "Whoever or whatever is responsible, we can't let this happen again."

Jemma eased closer, examining the man's head, clearly intrigued by her findings.

"Come get a look at his forehead!" Jemma seemed to be onto something. "Look at that endothelial discoloration."

"Yeah," Fitz noted as he kept his distance. "It's same dispersal pattern as the strike on the truck."

"Could be an entry wound that cauterized immediately," she jumped backwards as the body dropped to the ground.

"What did you do?" Coulson asked as Jemma backed away slowly.

"I didn't do anything Sir," Jemma said as Coulson stared between Jemma and the corpse.

"Freaky," Fitz said with a nervous expression.

"Freaky indeed," Jemma said.

"Ward, Bellouve, we need to get the body back to the Bus," Coulson patted the two boy's on the shoulder as he walked by.

Mick stood watching as Jemma was clearly very impressed with her research. "Help me with that scanner please," Jemma asked as Mick grabbed the device, following Jemma as she slowly walked around the body with her end.

"Isn't this more of a you and Fitz kind of thing?" He asked as he glanced over to Fitz sitting outside the lab making disgusted faces.

"Yes," Jemma said looking over Mick, with a scowl. "But someone is scared of dead bodies."

"I'm not scared!" Fitz bared, his voice muffled by the glass door of the lab. "It's got strange readings that you shouldn't even be around!"

"Scared, got it," Mick teased, as Jemma smirked. "So what are we looking at?"

"Well, normally his brain tissue would be much more illuminated, much like the other organs," Jemma pointed at the screen while explaining. "But it appears as though his brain has suffered a major burn."

"So the lightning killed him?" Mick asked as Jemma frowned.

"Lightning doesn't burn like this," Jemma said as she walked over to the body, looking at the wound on the man's forehead once again. "Usually it enters and exits quite quickly."

"Right, looks for the quickest way out," Mick said as Jemma turned to him with an impressed smirk. "I know things."

"I never said you didn't," Jemma smiled. "Whatever happened to Mr. Cross, cooked his brain and caused the damage to the truck."

Mick stared as Jemma continued to analyze the screen, wishing he could understand just half of what she was looking at.

Some time passed, Mick walking out to talk with Fitz about his thoughts on Cross. Ick looked up to see Coulson inside the lab talking with Jemma. Their conversation was muffled, except when Jemma teased Fitz about being afraid of the body. "I'm really not scared," Fitz sighed.

"If you say so," Mick grinned.

"Are you seeing this?" Fitz showed Mick the screen of his tablet with a red tint showing up on a map.

"What is it?" Mick asked.

"Bad," Fitz said firmly. "It's happening again!"

"It's just science Fitz, I have to dissect something!" Jemma called back.

"Not that" Fitz shuddered. "The satellite's picking up another electrostatic event not even twenty kilometers from here!"

Coulson ran over to the door to see the screen, surprisingly followed by May. Within a matter of minutes Coulson left with May and Ward, leaving Mick to safeguard the Bus.

Mick and Fitz switched the monitor over to his tablet's display as Skye joined them in the lab.

"What's the reading now Fitz?" Coulson's voice came over the intercom.

"Uh, we're at three hundred and twenty magajoules and growing stronger," Fitz grimaced. "Dangerous territory, sir."

"If you compare the signal to this map, it looks like there should be a farmhouse at the center of it," Skye said as Mick looked at the laptop and then back at the screen.

"I'm not getting any storms on radar either, Sir," Mick said looking at his own tablet.

"Great," Coulson said sarcastically. "I need any information on the farm owner you can get."

"I'm on it," Skye said happily.

"Fitz?" Mick asked, tapping on the monitor, catching Fitz's attention.

"Where'd it go?" Fitz gasped.

"Where'd what go?" Coulson asked.

"The signal," Fitz sounded quite confused. "It just vanished."

"That's not good," Coulson said.

"It spiked, then just vanished," Fitz looked at the body of Cross behind him with a sympathetic look.

"We'll contact you once we reach the farm," Coulson said, followed by silence.

"Do you think they'll get there on time?" Skye asked with a nervous look.

"I don't know," Mick said solemnly.

"You don't seem to happy that he took Ward over yourself," Skye said as Mick turned to her.

"I like to think he picked me to protect you guys because of my powers," Mick said proudly.

"Or because he knows Ward isn't afraid to pull the trigger," Fitz said making finger guns, as Skye and Jemma smiled.

"I'll pull the trigger if I need to," Mick sneered.

"We need real time sat surveillance, now." Coulson's voice ended their conversation.

"On it," Mick said as he pulled the image to the monitor.

"You guys might want to see this," Skye said taking over the monitor with a picture of four firefighters, one being Mr. Cross. "I'm sending it over to you guys now."

"So the two victims knew each other?" Ward asked as Skye clicked on the image, with two names appearing, Adam Cross and Frank Whalen.

"They were both responders when the aliens crashed New York," Skye said as she continued reading on her laptop.

"Two victims from the same firehouse, found in the same weird way," Ward said solemnly.

"Are we still thinking a killer?" Mick asked.

"If their is, then maybe we can get answers from the other firefighters," Coulson said firmly. "But first, we need to clean up here. Get your gear. We need you here."

They arrived at the barn, quickly unloading and seeing Coulson, May, and Ward just before they left to go meet with the firefighters. "Get the body and what ever evidence you need and get back to the Bus. I don't want to take any chances," Coulson said sternly, face to face with Mick. "If anything even seems wrong, you get them out of here."

"Yes sir," Mick nodded as Coulson walked over to the Jeep's passenger door. "Be safe." Coulson smiled at Mick's sentiment.

He walked in to see Fitz's drone flying around the levitating body of Mr. Whalen. The drone flew right around his head, when a spark hit it, sending both the drone and the body crashing to the ground.

Mick shot a web catching the drone and pulling it into his hands as Fitz breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks," Fitz smiled.

Jemma walked over towards the body now tucked into a rather large crate. Staring curiously at the head wound.

"Does anyone else notice all of the metal tools scattered around in such an odd manner?" Mick asked.

"Now that you mention it, it looks like there was an electromagnetic field around them," Fitz began examining the strange pattern. "I wonder what would cause that?"

"We need to get this body back pretty soon," Jemma said with unease. "There's something about these wounds that is really bothering me."

"I'll start loading things up," Mick said as Fitz agreed to help once Mick closed the box.

"How weird that the two of them were part of the dozen that went to assist with the Chitauri invasion?" Skye asked, her voice over both the comms and following Mick and Fitz to the borrowed truck. "Do you think that could have anything to do with why they were targeted?"

"Maybe how they were killed," Ward's bluntness bothered Mick.

"You mean like one of these things weapon?" Mick asked.

"I wouldn't rule it out," Ward stated.

"I don't remember them being able to make things float or shoot out electrical pulses," Mick said as Fitz and Skye stared at him. "Energy blast that exploded like missiles upon impact yeah, but nothing electrical."

"You were there for that?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah," Mick nodded. "Pattern got married that day. I kind of missed it because I was busy keeping the alien freaks away from the church."

"That's both heroic and sad," Skye said with a curious glance.

"Then what would cause that kind of reaction?" Ward asked.

"That's what we're going to find out," Coulson said firmly. "Hopefully we get there before anyone else."

Once Mr. Whalen was unloaded, Jemma quickly went to comparing the two wounds, as well as getting a scan to compare the brain damage. She was so lost in her focus, that she completely missed Skye walking up beside her.

"What are you looking for?" She asked, startling Jemma.

"A scented candle!" Fitz called out from cabinets on the opposite end of the lab.

"Not you!" Skye called back as Mick smirked.

"This wound, something doesn't quite make sense," Jemma started as she leaned in looking at it carefully. "Initially, I thought these were entry wounds, as if from a gunshot. But they're not, they're exit wounds."

"So this is where the lightning shot out of his body?" Mick asked as Jemma frowned.

"But a surge that powerful should have an entry wound right?" Skye asked as Fitz walked over toward the two tables.

"What if this supposed weapon overloaded the brain past the threshold of its electrical capacity causing it to discharge like an E.M.P.?" He said as Jemma looked at him skeptically.

"You're assuming we're dealing with an external source," Jemma stated as one of the tablets began beeping. "I think it may have actually come from inside him."

"Guys, something is happening!" Skye said louder as the beeping intensified.

"Coulson there's a discharge forming just over your location!" Mick said in a slight panic.

"Switch the feed, you guys should see this," May said, Fitz quickly accepting her camera feed to the monitor. Mick stared at the helmet, a horrifying remnant of one of the worse attacks Mick had ever seen.

"That's Chitauri," he muttered as the helmet sparked.

"So it's not a weapon that caused the cranial discharge?" Jemma began to pace around the lab, lost in thought once more.

They listen to the conversation between Coulson and another man, hearing about how the three men polished rust off the helmet when Jemma's face dropped. "It wasn't rust."

"What do you mean?" Mick asked as May began to reach for the helmet.

"No, don't touch that!" Jemma cried out as May seemed to step back, flipping the camera to see the worried expression on Jemma's face. "Sir, he's not using a weapon. He's infected."

"Infected with what?" Skye asked.

"Based off my current findings, I believe the hemet host some kind of alien virus," Jemma said full of both concern and fear.

"But how would it," Fitz started to ask.

"Sir he's at six hundred megajoules and climbing," Jemma urged.

"Get everyone out," Coulson ordered. "Get them out now! I'm cutting the comms."

"But sit he's going to discharge at any moment!" Fitz said, but the only returning sounds were May and Ward ushering out the firefighters.

"We have to trust that Coulson knows what he's doing," Mick said, unsure that he could believe it himself.

Everyone stayed silent, waiting to hear from Coulson as the watched the numbers on the monitor climb, until eventually peaking with a pulse, and it was gone.

"Coulson?" Mick asked nervously.

"He's safe," May said somberly. "Go ahead and head this way, so we can get this cleaned up."

"Don't take too long, we're calling in a hazmat team to pack up the helmet," Ward added.

"We're leaving now," Mick replied.

They arrived after the hazmat team, parking the truck near the Jeep. The building was coated with tinted white visqueen tarps over every exit as a hazmat protocol. Inside stood Ward, Coulson, and May. Fitz began to scan the others while Mick, Skye, and Jemma watched the hazmat team as they cleaned everything.

"Everyone is all clear of electrostatic energy," Fitz said happily as he slid his scanner into a neat holster on his belt.

"Why do you think they'll do with the other firefighters?" Skye asked while the others slowly walked over.

"They'll be monitored in quarantine at a Shield biohazard facility," Jemma replied.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Mick said as Skye seemed quite skeptical.

"Why does it look like they're putting that stuff in our truck?" Skye said nervously.

"We're flying it to the Sandbox," Coulson said as Skye stared confused.

"It's a special research facility across the Atlantic," Mick said.

"We're just about done here, why don't you go ahead and load up?" Coulson asked as Skye frowned, the cautiously walked over to the Jeep rather than ride in the truck. "If it's truly a virus like you suspect, we need a cure," Coulson looked as if he expected a miracle.

"Yes Sir," Jemma said, with a very heavy expression on her face.

"You okay?" Mick asked as he started to walk closer to her, only for her to keep her distance.

"I'll be fine," Jemma lied, as she climbed into the truck.

Upon returning to the bus, Jemma asked if she could be alone to research for a bit. Mick reluctantly agreed, walking to his bunk to relax for a bit. He laid back on his bed, only to have Skye walk up and knock on the wall. "Not bothering you am I?"

"No," Mick said looking over at her, then sitting up so she'd have room to sit as well.

"You seem a little out of sorts," Skye said bluntly.

"Just nervous about having the infected helmet on the plane," Mick said with a sigh.

"You sure that's all it is?" Skye asked with a coy grin.

"What else would it be?"

"I saw how close you and Jemma have been lately," Skye teased as Mick raised a brow. "You like her don't you?" She playfully poked him.

"Jemma?" Mick couldn't keep a straight face at the accusation. "She's like a sister to me, has been for years."

"Sure," Skye teased. "That's what all guys in the friend zone say."

"Trust me when I tell you, I don't feel that way about Jemma," Mick said sternly.

"Okay," Skye's smile faded. "You don't have to get so defensive."

"Besides, I'm pretty sure someone else likes her," Mick teased as Skye's eyes widened.

"Who?" Her curiosity was peaked.

An alarm began to sound as both Mick and Skye jumped out of the bed.

"I have bad news," Coulson's voice came over the intercom. "Jemma's infected."

"No," Mick and Skye muttered harmoniously.

Mick sat on the floor beside Fitz while Jemma sat on the other side of the glass. All of them wore the same depressed expression. Fitz was working on a virus injector that could also inject an antivirus at the same time.

Fitz reached up tapping the glass, showing his progress to Jemma, who only responded with a weak smile. Mick watched her, her face growing pale, her eyes having dark bags forming underneath. He felt sick to his stomach with how helpless he was to save her. "Fitz, tell me she's going to be ok," Mick said as Fitz simply pressed his lips together.

"We can only hope," Fitz said disheartened while he continued to focus hard on putting the pieces of his machine together.

A few moments of silence and and everyone else heading up stairs. Fitz had the strange looking taser like machine finished. "I think this one is gonna be a real winner." He stood up, laying the machine in a glass drawer, then closed it so Jemma could reach it. He then tapped on the glass getting her attention. "Not like it was easy making a serum that could both suspend the vaccine and conduct electricity.

Jemma smiled politely, then turned away, walking towards a few lab rats she placed in a large plastic container. "I really wish you wouldn't use the word vaccine. It's more of an antiserum." She then places a cartridge in the machine, before picking up a rat.

"These antibodies should be able to target the virus' antigens, if this bloody alien virus even has antigens," Jemma didn't sound as hopeful as Mick was.

Watching her like this killed him on a level he hadn't been brought to since he was forced to watch helplessly as his whole family get burned alive by the psychotic Jake Carson many years ago. "Please work," Mick begged as Jemma pointed the device at the rat, causing it to spark. She then set the rat down. A few moments later a blue flash, and the rat was suspended in its cage.

Tears streamed down Jemma's face, while Fitz clenched his fist. Mick found himself biting hard on his lip, to the point it began to bleed. "Well that wasn't very cooperative of 'em now was it," Fitz tried to lighten the mood, which made Jemma smile weakly, clearly struggling to hold herself together as two of her best friends stared at her with fear in their eyes.

"You're not giving up," Mick snapped trying to choke down his concern. "You guys are Fitz-Simmons, you can solve anything!"

"Mick," Jemma sighed with a weak tone.

"No, he's right!" Fitz stood up as he grabbed a tablet and began trying to calculate a new serum.

It seemed like a few seconds and Fitz had the new idea ready, Jemma mixed it, then tested it on the second rat. A blue flash, and now there were two suspended rats. Jemma's hope was fading fast, and there seemed to be nothing to cheer her up.

"It's all right. We can do this," Fitz said full of determination as he frantically typed on his tablet.

"Please stop, I see you checking your watch," Jemma said with a frown, her face even paler, eyes darker, slightly glistening now.

"We're not giving up on you Jemma," Mick said sternly as she shook her head.

"Are you sure this thing even works?" Jemma's frustration came to a boil.

"It's worked twice now!" Fitz fussed. "It's the bloody vaccine that isn't working!"

"It's an antiserum!" Jemma yelled. "I'm just wondering if you calibrated it correctly!"

"Guys!" Mick said, only to be ignored.

"Hey, it's not the device!" Fitz huffed. "Don't put this on me! I was doing just fine tucked away in a safe, indoor, non-mobile lab at the academy!"

"Fitz!" Mick fussed as Jemma stared with an unamused smiled.

"Stay out of this!" Fitz barked at Mick before looking back at Jemma with fear and frustration. "Then you had to go and drag us into this flying circus!" He paused as Jemma continued to stare furiously. We didn't even pass our field assessments, for God's sake!"

"Oh, please, as if I forced you to follow me anywhere," Jemma barked back as Fitz swung his arms around in frustration.

"You said, and I quote," he cleared his throat preparing to mimic Jemma's voice. "Oh, Fitz, it's the most perfect opportunity for us to see the world! We'd be fools to pass this one up!"

Jemma stared at him, seething with rage. "I hate it when you use that voice. That's not even how I sound." She then stormed over to the door pointing her finger at Fitz's face. "You were terrified of going back into the field!"

"Of for the love of God!" Mick yelled as they both stared at him. "We have to focus on getting you this vaccine or antiserum, whatever the heck it is!"

Both Fitz and Jemma looked down in disappointment, Fitz then looked at Jemma with remorse in his eyes. "You have to fix this," he muttered. "I'm not ready to lose my partner. We've been a team for too long to let it go now."

Jemma shook her head in defeat. "I don't know how, Fitz. The antibodies from the three firefighters aren't strong enough to fight this virus. It's born from alien DNA. There's no one to create an antiserum from because no one's actually survived this except..."

"Chitauri," Mick suggested as the three of them smiled.

"Of course!" Fitz exclaimed. "The bugger that wore the helmet seemed to survive without exploding!"

"Perhaps because they were immune to it?" Jemma suggested. " Maybe she was just the carrier, like Typhoid Mary."

Fitz stared at Jemma before shaking his head. "Uh, "she"? Well, no, wait." He stammered for a moment before idea's seemed to pop into his head. "You don't really think that, you know what, never mind that doesn't matter. Um, so if I scrape some epithelial cells from the inside of the helmet, we can create a vaccine?"

"Yes!" Jemma exclaimed as the hope seemed to return to her eyes. Fitz took off without another word, Mick following behind.

Fitz ducked off into the holding room, while Mick stopped in the briefing room to stop anyone from chasing Fitz. "What are you doing Mick?" Coulson asked as Mick stood between them and Fitz's path.

"Don't hate me, but we need to try something very risky," Mick said as Fitz ran by with the hazmat case from the holding room.

"You better explain what the heck is going on," Coulson demanded as Mick looked up at the screen.

"FitzSimmons cracked the code," Mick said as they all watched curiously.

They all stared eagerly as Fitz and Simmons carefully moved about the lab without touching one another, working in the most harmonic ways. Moments later they had the serum, this time Fitz injected the rat.

"I can't breathe," Skye panicked, holding her breath, as the others tried to keep calm.

It seemed as though the rat was fine, Mick let out a sigh of relief, then the screen flashed.

"No way," he moaned.

They all walked downstairs in time to see Jemma standing by the door with a dejected look on her face. Mick held Skye as she cried, he struggled to hold it together as well. How could it have come to this? How could FitzSimmons fail? May walked away, followed by Ward. Then Coulson gave Mick the go head to leave, in which he took Skye with him, finally followed by Coulson. They had all gathered in the briefing room as Skye leaned on Mick.

"Agent Blake is on the line," May sounded quite reluctant. "He said if you won't answer he wanted to speak with Ward."

Coulson took in a deep breath and his face seemed to twitch in annoyance. "What are your orders, Sir?"

"Unchanged," Coulson said firmly.

An alarm cut through the tension, as everyone looked at the screen. "Someone is lowering the cargo hold!" May said as the screen flashed.

"Simmons!" Ward snapped as he took off. Coulson quickly flipped the seeing Fitz in the lab looking at live rat before screaming as he fought to unlock the door.

"Please let them stop her!" Skye cried out as Mick wanted to run to them so bad, but his muscles just wouldn't budge. Coulson then switched the feed to the cargo hold where Ward pulled the parachute from Fitz, jumping out the Bus as if it were nothing.

"May, we need to get down there," Coulson ordered as May nodded.

"You get down to the cargo hold and wait for me, we'll take Lola to get them," Coulson ordered as Mick nodded, leaving without argument.

Mick reached the lab, seeing the panicked look on Fitz's face. "Don't worry, I'm sure Ward got her," he tried to reassure Fitz, only to be met be a tearful, yet hopeful smile. Mick then climbed into Lola, unsure how Coulson's Corvette was going to get them to Ward and Jemma.

Coulson then climbed into the car, revving the engine before pressing a button. The car jerked as things creaked and shifted, then it lifted off the ground, before Mick could react, they were backing out of the bus into a rollercoaster like fall. "Fitz guide us to them," Coulson said sharply.

"Ten kilometers ahead, probably below the cloud line by now," Fitz's voice came over the speakers.

"Keep an eye out!" Coulson ordered as Mick leaned over the car, scanning in every direction until finally spotting the chute.

"There!" Mick yelled pointing down to the right.

"Perfect, let's bring them home," Coulson said, plunging the car downward again, causing Mick's stomach to lurch.

Catching them was surprisingly easy, using Mick's webbing to bring them in, then carefully cutting the chute off before it could drag Ward down. The harder part was catching up to the Bus.

Once they landed, Coulson took Jemma and Ward up to his office. Leaving Mick with the now content Fitz. "Must've been pretty crazy huh?" Fitz asked.

"Yeah, everything about this mission was," Mick said relieved to be back in the Bus.

"I'm glad it all worked out," Fitz smiled.

"Me too," Mick replied. "Maybe we can get some rest before landing at the sandbox." Fitz then helped Mick stand up as the walked together toward the lounge.