AD ASTRA. | II.

( 'PLAYING WITH FIRE' )

"I don't know, it looks fine to me," Robbie said, stepping away from the hood of the van.

"The engine caught fire," Daisy said.

"How is that not a dangerous problem?" Loghan asked. He turned to face the both of them from the other side of the open door.

"Maybe you should leave it alone, so you don't get hurt." He nodded the bandage around Loghan's arm. "Or smoked," he whispered. They stood there for a moment while he went to check out the inside. Daisy walked to the other side of the door and leaned in.

"You claim your victims earn that. Hard to verify all of them?" she asked subtly, making sure none of the other workers could hear. Loghan walked over to stand in front of her, but faced Robbie.

"Somehow you tracked me down," he said, his eyes never leaving his work.

"You'd be surprised at how easy it was," Loghan mumbled.

"Just to talk," Daisy said, glaring at her. "I figured you're either on the right side of things or you're—"

"Or what? Or else?" he paused, before looking back up at them. "You're out of your mind coming here. You may know who I am but you don't know me and what I'm capable of."

Loghan smiled, knowing what Daisy was going to do. "Funny you should mention that. I was just thinking of how many memories I have of you Reyes," Daisy said loudly. "Not this too cool for school version you've got going on now, but, the real you."

"He wasn't always the strong, silent type?" Canelo asked and the girls turned around.

"Well, I've known him since Crandle Elementary. He was always quiet, like he was hiding something," she said, a tiny laugh escaping her. Loghan saw Robbie shift uncomfortably in the car. "The two of us used to hit up the Moonraker arcade down in Little Tokyo. I remember we would just let Gabe and Loghan here play when we had to watch them. Isn't that right, Robbie?"

Said man looked up at her with a sort of silent anger. "Yes, it is," Daisy replied for him. "I've seen a side of him that most people haven't. We used to hang there everyday until your uncle would pick you up," she nodded as he moved closer. "How's he doing these days?"

Robbie leaned closer and said in a low voice, "You get lost. Or I'll get angry. So angry I may not remember what I do to you."

》》◆《《

"What do you want?" Robbie spat. They were in the back now, away from the Canelo and everyone else. 

"We looked into your kills. Some of them check out," Loghan said, stepping forward.

"I told you, its vengeance." He and Daisy had said the last part at the same time.

"Well, vengeance seems to put you on the same path as me, and maybe her," Daisy said, poking out a thumb at Loghan. "So tell us what you know."

"Look, detective, they got what they deserved, end of story."

"Alright, and I'll tell you what I know," Daisy replied, moving closer. "There's a group called the 'Watchdogs'. They're hunting people like us."

"Us?"

"Inhumans," Loghan clarified, stepping in line next to Daisy.

"That's not what I am," he stated calmly.

"Look, I—I know what you're going through, I've been there and I know that its hard to control, but killing is not—"

"You here to council me?" he interrupted Loghan. "You wanna save my soul? I'm telling you girl, I sold mine."  

Loghan frowned in confusion. 

"To the devil?" Daisy asked skeptically.

"He was the only one buying, you know?" Robbie smiled, stepping even closer. "You wanna throw it down again, we could do that. I like my chances. And I don't think your friend here even wants to fight," he said, nodding in Loghan's direction. 

Loghan clenched her jaw but decided to keep quiet for the time being. 

"You wanna turn me in? Try it, I've got nothing to loose," he said.

"I'm sure you don't, but I bet Gabe will be pretty sad to loose his brother. You're all he's got left," Loghan whispered. Before Robbie could do anything, Canelo opened the door.

"Robbie! Listen, I gotta take the truck. Drop off a GTO at Palm Desert."

"Take all the time you need. I'll lock up," Robbie replied, stepping back.

"Ándale, mañana!" Canelo hollered, shutting the door and leaving. Once he had left, Robbie grabbed a wrench and flipped it in his hands. 

"Now, you. You shouldn't have mentioned my brother," he said as his eyes turned the same red from the last time they had fought. 

Loghan stepped forward. "I guess I'm not the only one who's protective of their sibling," she said, before holding her hand out. Carbon from the air came to her hands and she used her mind to mold it into a pipe. Robbie's wrench caught fire, and from the side of her eye, Loghan could tell Daisy hadn't wanted this to happen.

"It doesn't have to go this way," Daisy tried calming both of them down. 

"You're wrong," Robbie said, still walking. Loghan kept her feet planted and was ready to fight, but Daisy blasted a car above the two and it fell, causing both of them to back away. Robbie walked out from behind the car.

He came at them, this time, really angry. Loghan was glad her bullet wounds had healed since their last encounter. Over the time she had spent with Daisy, they learned that she also had an enhanced healing factor. Which came in handy, since they were often dealing with people aiming guns at them. 

Robbie ripped off a piece of the down-turned car and set it on fire. Daisy tried to push him away but failed, and he came at her. He used the flaming exhaust pipe to hit her elbow, and she fell. He stood over her for a moment, before punching her. And then she was out like a light.

The man turned to Loghan. 

"That night, why'd you save me?" she pressed. 

"You're like me," he said. 

"Why do you always speak so cryptically?" Loghan complained. 

Robbie threw a part of the trunk at her.  She dropped the carbon pipe, deciding to use the magnesium instead.

"So, how much do you know about magnesium? Because I know that they put it into fireworks, and you're basically a matchstick. So, you wanna help test my theory?" She asked, moving the magnesium lined trunk near the flames on the exhaust pipe. Robbie pushed it hard enough to make it skid across the floor.

"How about we do this hand-to-hand?" Loghan suggested, a bit defeated. He dropped the car part.

"You have blood on your hands," he said, as they exchanged punches.

"It was self-defense. Plus, karma was coming his way long before I did," Loghan said, before judo-flipping him. 

"I know it's tempting sometimes, but you don't get to decide who lives and who dies—" She was cut off by a blow to her stomach. She stumbled over, hitting her head on the ground.

Robbie towered over her. "I don't, but the other guy does."

"Go ahead. I have it coming," she spat.

And then he knocked her out.

》》◆《《

Loghan shrugged her shoulders, trying to figure out where she was. She remembered fighting with Robbie, and then it was blank. She looked around, only to see Daisy tied into a chair with cables similar to the ones that held her. She had a throbbing headache, and it seemed like it was going to stay for a bit.

Daisy was still out, and Loghan saw Robbie come through the door with the crate they kept in the car. He set it down causing Daisy to jolt up. She struggled to get out of the constraints, where as Loghan sat there, knowing it was a useless fight. 

"I've seen a lot of breaks. Your arm is fractured, not broken," Robbie said. "Keep trying to break out of that I can't guarantee it'll stay that way."

"What are you doing?" Daisy questioned.

"Looking for proof," he answered. Then he pulled out her passport, and Loghan knew they were going to be in trouble. "You see, this is new for me," he looked over at them, "I've never been—"

"A kidnapper?" Loghan finished for him.

"Caught. You know who I am, which is a problem," he simply stated, "for all of us. Which has to go away. "

"Threaten us all you want. You think either of us is afraid to die?" Daisy came into the conversation.

"I think you want it. No doubt, you've got a death wish. Coming back to find me after I let you live," he looked up, meeting Daisy's eyes. "You told me not to. You said you deserved it," he said the last part while nodding towards Loghan.

"You got a sister?" he asked, flicking through a small album of pictures Loghan kept. 

"That's none of your business," Loghan snapped. 

"Well, I think if you're gonna get into my life, then I should at least know a little bit about you."

Loghan pursed her lips. 

"You have a concussion, so the whole powers thing isn't gonna work," he said.

"What are you even looking for?" Loghan asked, agitation flaring across her face. 

"I'm looking for proof that you two deserve what you're asking for," Robbie replied, his gaze returning to the box that was in front of him.

"And then?" Daisy asked.

He grimaced. "My problem goes away and your wish comes true." He sat down, holding Daisy's journal. "Something in your past you can't live with, you could just tell me," he offered. 

"Haunting me," Daisy repeated.

"This coming from the guy who claims to be possessed," Loghan snipped.

"I prayed for vengeance, I got it. You two, fighting to right every wrong all the while begging to be taken out. Seems to me your thing is serving penance," he nodded, flipping through some pages. "We're not so different, you and me," he then pulled out a picture of a man. "You just feel sorry for the dead in your wake. I don't feel anything."

"If that were true, you would have killed us by now," Daisy fired back. "You're really saying that you aren't curious about what's going on out there."

"You hunted those skinheads down. Why?" Loghan asked.

He nodded, "They spilled innocent blood."

"Wow, listen to you. Take yourself seriously much?" she mocked. Robbie looked away for a moment, before his gaze returned.

"They were working with the Chinese, does that happen a lot around here?" Loghan questioned. After being met with silence, she continued. "Didn't think so. And outfitted with RPGs, you're not interested in how these things are connected?"

"Look," Daisy cut in, "I know that the big picture is kind of lost on you, but someone is arming them. Uniting them. And that should concern us all."

"I said I'm not what you are," he repeated.

"You're enhanced, and you just said we're not that different from you," Daisy said.

"Yeah, like, ten seconds ago," Loghan added.

"They won't stop until a lot of people are dead," Daisy urged.

"More they are," he mumbled. 

"And who knows what kinds of weapon they stole from the energy lab in Pasadena. Still haven't been able to dig up any informa—" Loghan was cut of by Robbie.

"Wait, what did you say?" he furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Momentum Alternative Energy Lab, printout right there in your hands," Daisy told him.

"Its where they stole the weapon from, but its been shut down for years," Loghan filled in. Robbie threw the packet to the ground and stood up, grabbing a roll of duct tape. "Wait, does that mean something to you?" She perked up. He walked up to Daisy and taped her mouth shut, walking over to Loghan to do the same.

"No, Robbie! Listen, I think I know what's going on, if you just—" She was cut off by her mouth being taped closed. Daisy struggled against her restraints and Loghan started to do the same as he walked out without another word. Daisy started to shake the room and she managed to quake off her restraints. She ripped the duct tape off of her face, and Loghan managed to turn into a gaseous form. 

She stood up, following Daisy whilst also ripping the tape off of her mouth. "We headed to the lab?" She asked as they exited the garage. They saw Robbie's car outside and he was starting it up. They ran after him as he drove away. Daisy quaked herself up on top of the car and Loghan created a thin board of carbon and stepped on it, using it as a sort of hoverboard. 

"What do you know, Robbie?" Loghan shouted at his window, but he ignored her, going faster. He drove into a tunnel and began swerving between lanes to get Daisy to fall off. "You are a really bad driver, like, who gave you your license?" She joked but he just kept going.

Suddenly, his eyes went red and flames shot out of the hood of the car, almost burning Daisy. She fell off from trying to shield herself, hitting the ground. Loghan turned around and watched her hit the ground, hard. 

She glanced between the car and her friend before making her choice. She went and helped Daisy back up, and they both watched Robbie drive off. 

》》◆《《

Daisy and Loghan sprinted through the halls of Momentum Labs, looking for any sign of Robbie. Then they heard a load voice yell "Fitz!" It came from a room down the hall from where they  were. Daisy seemed to recognize the voice and the name, and she ran as fast as she could.

When they got in, Loghan saw a tall buff man stuck inside of a capsule, another man trying to get him out, and Robbie was holding what appeared to be a ghost by the neck.

"Fitz," Daisy got the man on the outside's attention. He moved back slightly and Daisy opened the capsule. The man on the inside opened it and came out.

"We need to turn the reactor off," the man who Loghan assumed was Fitz said, his Scottish accent heavy. She and Daisy ran over to where the Ghost Rider stood, and watched him burn the ghost man away. Daisy shut her eyes and Loghan just stared.

Fitz shut down the reactor, and the machine turned off. "Its done," he said. Everyone watched the Ghost Rider walk away as if nothing had happened. Before he left, though, he grabbed a picture that was hung up on the wall and crumpled it up, letting it burn in his hand.

Loghan started to move closer to him, hoping that she could trap him, or put out his fire, but Daisy stopped her by putting a hand on her arm. Ghost Rider then proceeded to walk out the door, and Loghan summoned her "hover board," ready to follow. The tall man picked up a ax-gun hybrid but Daisy ran up in front of him.

"No, no, no. Don't," she said, and he just stared at her.

Loghan glanced uncomfortable between the three in the room. "This seems personal, I should go..."

"Wait, Daisy, who is this?" he asked, looking at Loghan weirdly.

Loghan answered simply, "Loghan Crawford."

The man arched an eyebrow but didn't say much more. 

》》◆《《

"There, is that too tight?" The tall man whom Loghan learned was named Mack asked Daisy after putting a cast on her arm. Loghan sat there next to Fitz, who didn't seem too thrilled about having her on their quinjet. 

"So," Mack sighed. "That fire-head an Inhuman?" 

"He's. . . not Inhuman. We're not sure what he is," she quickly looked at Loghan, but then looked away.

"He's a killer. That truck heist in eastern LA, three people were brutally murdered," he said. 

"What if they deserved it?" Daisy voiced Loghan's thoughts.

"Is that how it is now?" he asked her, to which she replied by staring at him blankly. "You running with a vigilante who decides who lives or who dies? And a wanted killer?" 

"That was an accident," Loghan mumbled, sinking in her seat. 

"I'm not running with him. And she needed my help," Daisy defended. "But he can't be that bad. He came here tonight and he saved Fitz's life."

"Yeah, but from what? What was that thing?"

"I have no idea," Daisy shook her head.

There was a brief pause, and then Mack spoke up. "Daisy come home with us," he said. "So we can properly take care of that arm. We have a drug that can help heal bones faster. Now our supply keeps running low, but we're about to. . ." 

Loghan looked down as the realization hit him. 

"But you already have it, don't you?" he finished.

Daisy didn't meet his eyes and Loghan could sense the tension in the air. "Its Yo-yo. She's stealing it and you two have been in touch this whole time." 

"We've been looking for you," Mack started again. "Trying to protect you and put the pieces back together and you. . .Why? Why are you doing this?"

"Because she's turned her back on us, Mack!" Fitz suddenly intervened. "Because something terrible happened and she didn't want our help getting though it!"

"Slow down," Mack tried to calm him down. 

"Well we've all been through terrible things, all of us—and we've never turned our back!" he leaned back. A painful silence over came the room, only being cut with the ringing of Loghan's cell phone. 

When she looked at the screen, she saw it was Lucille. She glanced at the others awkwardly before exiting the plane. 

Loghan accepted the call, and Lucille's voice cut through. 

"Where have you been?! I couldn't get to you for EIGHT MONTHS!"

"Well, I'm talking to you now?" Loghan offered.

"Gee, thanks for your generosity. What were you doing for that long, anyway?"

"Uh, not much," Loghan lied. "I, uh, started traveling the states."

"Traveling the states?" 

"Yeah, and I even made a few friends," Loghan nodded. "I got tired of San Francisco."

"Sometimes I really don't understand you. Are you coming home soon?"

Loghan bit her lip. "No..."

"So when are you coming home?" 

"Uh..." 

It broke Loghan's heart to let her sister down like that. They had always been close. But there was a reason she was out as Fallout, and with everything that had happened with Lucille in September and the Accords, she didn't want to throw her own problems onto little sister. 

"I'm in LA right now, but I'll see what I can do," Loghan responded. "No promises, though."

"Alright."  Loghan could practically hear the disappointment in her voice. 

Just then, Daisy stepped out of the Quinjet, looking solemn. 

"Hey, I gotta go," Loghan apologized. 

"Okay. Love you."

"I love you, bye."

Loghan put her phone in her pocket and approached Daisy. "So, where to now?"

"Honestly?" Daisy pursed her lips. "I don't know."

And so the two of them ended up wandering around, trying to figure out their next step. 

They were a few blocks away from where they had started when a familiar black charger pulled up beside them. 

"Your friends with you?" Robbie asked from inside the car.

"No," Daisy said.

"Than what am I?" Loghan said dramatically. 

"Yes and no," she corrected. Her gaze returned to the man sitting in the car. "I left them."

"You two wanna know what's connecting these things?" he asked.

Loghan nodded and he sighed. "I think it might be me." 

He opened the door, inviting them in. Loghan looked around, silently asking Daisy if this was a good move. She gave her a look of confirmation and they both sat inside. 

Then they drove off.