AD ASTRA. | V.

( 'LOCKUP' )

Loghan sat on the floor, silently picking at her nails. Daisy was beside her, typing casually on her computer. 

They hadn't said much since the last time they had spoken. They weren't on bad terms, it just seemed like there wasn't much to say. 

Robbie stormed onto the quinjet hangar. "I'm getting off this plane, now."

"Yeah, not a good idea," Loghan sang. 

"That would put you in..." Daisy looked at their location on her computer. "Rural Utah. And to think you're pissed off now."

"This is no joke," Robbie fumed. "I should be down there getting answers my way."

"M-Hm," Daisy looked up at him. "And how are you going to do that? Cracking skulls?"

"Its worked so far."

"Really?" Loghan asked sarcastically. 

"I had been careful," Robbie started. "I'd never been caught, not even a parking ticket. Then you show up and bring S.H.I.E.L.D. with you."

"Careful," Daisy warned. "You've been murdering people, possessed, and on fire."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Robbie scoffed. 

"I know you're settling scores hoping that thing will go away," Daisy challenged. "How's that going for you?"

He looked away. Daisy shut her laptop. 

"Look Robbie, I get that this is personal for you," she acknowledged. "But if you really want answers, you need to trust Shield."

"Oh, like you trust them? Why else are you up here hiding from them?"

Loghan's eyebrows shot up and she looked to Daisy, who just shut her eyes for moment before saying, "I keep my distance because it's what's best. For everyone."

Robbie nodded. "I'm starting to see why."

He left the quinjet. 

Loghan wished there was something she could do. Because despite feeling the same way when it came to her family, she knew no amount of words could make up for what Daisy had lost. 

She didn't have to be told. She put the pieces together. Daisy left SHIELD, and clearly because she lost someone close. Loghan knew she blamed herself, from the longing stares at the picture she kept in her journal to the tense posture when asked about what happened. 

Loghan placed a hand on Daisy's shoulder and just sat there quietly. 

Sometimes the best comfort is knowing you're not alone. 

》》◆《《

"She has friends," Mack said, turning to face the others. 

Robbie, Daisy, and Loghan stood there, clearly not on good terms from before. 

"We'll have to assume they're targeting Eli Morrow," Mack informed. 

"Targeting?" Robbie asked. 

"Well, he put her husband in a coma," Daisy pointed out. 

"Yeah, I'd be pissed, too," Loghan added. When everyone just stared at her blankly, she got defensive. "Okay, I'm not siding with the psycho-ghost-lady, I'm just saying her motives make sense."

Mack shook his head, stepping over to a model of the prison Loghan and Robbie had visited the day before. "Coulson and May are barricaded in the warden's office on the west side, which is located right here," he showed them a model of the room. 

"Wait, Melinda May?" Loghan asked incredulously. "I thought she did paperwork."

May had been a close friend of her mother's until the incident in Bahrain. Loghan still didn't know what had happened. All she knew was that Catherine and Melinda drifted after that, hardly speaking anymore.

"She dropped that a long time ago," Daisy said. "So what's the plan?"

"We'll split into two teams," Mack announced. "Daisy, you lead a team to extract Coulson and May. I'll lead a team to grab Eli."

"I'm going," Robbie insisted. "This is my family. You have no reason to keep me out of this."

"You said you only kill people that deserve it."

"Exactly."

"But down there, everyone deserves it. So you stay put."

"But we need an advantage down there," Daisy argued. "That's him."

"She's right," Loghan agreed. "We can't even touch the bastards but he can kill them."

"You said if you needed some ghost busting," Robbie reminded Mack. 

"Okay," Mack said, his expression unreadable. "But you don't leave my side.

Let me be clear: this is an icer-only op. Anyone could have the psychosis so they can't be held responsible for their actions. Now Shield is marshalling forces to control the perimeter, but that's hours away. Right now, we're the only ones going in. And we'll be outnumbered."

"Works for me," Daisy said. 

Mack's watch beeped. "Fitz' quinjet is five minutes out. That means we leave in six. Gear up."

》》◆《《

Loghan stood in the containment module beside Robbie, wringing her hands together in anticipation. Outside, everyone else gathered their weapons and got ready to go. 

Two other agents stepped into the module, then Daisy with her new gauntlets, then Mack. 

"So these are ghostbusting epi pens?" Loghan asked Fitz, who stood outside the door with a briefcase in hand. 

"Sort of," he answered, holding the case out to Mack. "To counteract the psychosis, the serum needs to be delivered directly into the brain stem."

He held one of the tools. "The injector," he placed it at the back of his neck, "needs to be placed at the base of the skull."

"Wait a minute," Mack interjected. "You know I don't like needles."

"Well, it's a bee sting, really," Fitz demonstrated how it worked. Three tiny needles poked out of the top. 

"Aw hell no," Mack mumbled as the doors closed. 

Loghan felt the cell drop out of the plane and closer to the ground. Her stomach had a weird rising sensation as they slowed, indicating they had reached the ground. 

The doors opened again, and Loghan was the last one to file out. 

They were in the parking lot outside the penitentiary where Robbie's uncle Eli was held. 

"Where are the guards?" Agent Davis asked. 

"Good question," Mack loaded his gun. "Keep your heads down."

"Yes, sir."

They split into two groups; Daisy took two agents, and Mack, Robbie, and Loghan went another way. 

Loghan walked next to Mack, Robbie following closely behind. 

The prisoners sent very angry glares their way as they passed through the hall, though some gave her creepy smirks. She just ignored them and kept walking. 

The sound of Robbie's footsteps stopped behind her. She turned to see him talking to one of the prisoners. He looked like he was getting riled up. 

As she approached him, she could hear what they were saying. Something about a gang named the Locos, two kids, and a car accident. 

"Ahora estas en mi barrio," the man in the cell challenged. 

Robbie stepped forward threateningly, but Loghan grabbed his arm, stopping him. 

"Don't," she implored. "This isn't what we're here for."

Robbie looked at her for a moment. 

"Ve adelante, chica," the prisoner taunted. 

Robbie clenched his jaw, but turned to leave. Loghan let go of his arm, but sent a withering glare at the man in the cell. 

They left the hall and entered the boiler room, where Mack went off. 

"Forget it," Robbie grumbled. Mack walked behind him, gun in hand, and Loghan behind him. 

"I can't do that," Mack maintained. "That thing inside you is my responsibility."

"No, it's mine," Robbie corrected. 

"And if you can't control it?" Mack questioned. 

Robbie stopped walking. "Look, my uncle can't know what I am. So I'm keeping it down. Not for you, for him."

Loghan's eyes widened as a ghoulish figure walked behind Robbie. 

"Duck!" Mack shouted, shooting at the person, but they disappeared as the bullet went through. 

They stepped around cautiously, and Loghan formed two carbon daggers in her hands, holding them out defensively as they continued. 

Robbie grabbed a chain off of some railing and wrapped it tightly around one of his hands. 

Loghan saw another ghost coming closer to Mack. Robbie and Mack shared a look and Mack ducked down as Robbie whipped the chain at the person. It caught fire and wrapped around the ghoul, causing it to catch on fire and disintegrate. 

"Ghost busted," Mack exhaled. 

Before any of them had real time to be relieved, another ghost came out of nowhere and walked through Mack. He stumbled over and swung at him mindlessly. 

Loghan threw her spikes at the man, but they went right through. The ghost came closer to her but she changed her own atomic state, and it passed through her without causing any harm. 

She stared at her hands in shock. It was a last minute thought that she didn't even think would work. 

Mack threw his ax at him, and it lodged in his chest. The man looked up and smiled crookedly, the ax falling to the ground. 

He was about to lunge after Loghan, but Robbie grabbed his neck. The ghost shriveled into embers and faded away. 

Robbie and Loghan moved to check on Mack. He told them to stay back and used the cure Fitz had supplied them with. 

"Yikes," Loghan said as Mack got back on his feet. "Was it really like a bee sting?"

》》◆《《

They made their way into another cell block, where the prisoners were banging on the bars and shouting at them. 

Robbie found Eli and took a breath of relief. "Tio."

"Robbie, what are you doing here?" Eli asked, glancing skeptically at Mack and Loghan behind him. 

"We're getting you out of here," Robbie replied. 

"Step back, please," Mack instructed, placing a small explosive on the lock. 

The lock exploded and the door swung open. Eli stepped through. "This is S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"You're in danger," Robbie reasoned. "Lucy Bauer is here and she's coming for you."

"Robbie, I told you to stay away from this," Eli scolded. 

"She can walk through walls, sir," Loghan stepped forward. "I don't think you wanna stick around for that."

"Walk through walls," Eli repeated. "S.H.I.E.L.D. said she had abilities."

"Yeah," Mack confirmed. "And we think she has that book. Who knows what else she's capable of."

"The book?"

Robbie nodded. 

"Yeah, lets go," Eli agreed. 

The alarm blared loudly as they made their way out of the prison. 

"The exit's up ahead," Mack called out. He lead the group while Loghan brought up the rear. She reformed her carbon spikes. 

She kept an eye out behind her for the ghosts, but she didn't miss the dark look Eli had when he saw her use her powers. She pursed her lips and didn't say anything, continuing to assess the area. 

They came across a locked chain gate, where some people were blocked behind. Loghan went to help but Mack shouted, "Hey! Get Eli out of here, I'll be right behind you!"

Loghan and Robbie did as told and escorted Eli back the way they came. 

They came back to the cell block where Robbie had confronted one of the prisoners. Chaos was everywhere as people fought each other and tore the place apart. 

Robbie pushed through, and Loghan defended from the back as they got Eli out. 

But Robbie stopped when he saw the man from before on his cot, completely unbothered by the havoc around, silently reading a book. 

He tried to keep going but stopped again. 

"Hey!" Eli motioned at the door. 

They came to the end of the block and Robbie turned around and met Loghan's eyes. 

She knew what he wanted to do. And she understood, more than anything. Loghan considered herself to be a moral person, someone who believed in justice. But this seemed personal. She knew it was wrong to let Robbie carry out the punishment himself, but she figured out why he was so upset. And honestly? She would have done the same. 

If she ever got her hands on the people that had ruined Lucille's life, she'd be more than just an accidental murderer.

A grim expression overtook her features as she nodded slightly, moving to stand next to his uncle. 

"Just keep going," Robbie told them. "S.H.I.E.L.D. will meet you out in the yard."

"What about you?" Eli asked. 

"I got one last thing to take care of," Robbie said quickly. "Go! I'm right behind you, go!"

Loghan walked with Eli to the door. She sent one last fleeting glance at Robbie. Then she opened the door and let Eli pass. 

She looked around them and began walking. 

"You S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Eli asked her as she analyzed the area. 

"Not exactly, no," she breathed. 

"How do you know my nephew then?"

"Its..." she paused. "Complicated."

It really wasn't complicated. She was a vigilante, like he was, and they happened to be working on the same case. 

But she couldn't reveal any of that to Eli, so she lied. 

They came up to a red ambulance. 

A chill ran through Loghan. She fell back and shook as the world became a gloomy gray. 

Eli looked down at her and asked if she was okay, but all she saw was a black shadow in place of his face. The asphalt cracked and rumbled as different elements began forming around Loghan, who was panicking and backing away. Her breathing became ragged and more difficult as she lost control of her powers, depleting oxygen from her lungs. 

"Move," she heard a raspy voice say as her vision faded. "Or I will take your mind apart piece by piece."

Eli didn't even look back as he got into the truck and they drove away, leaving Loghan on the road, destruction unraveling around her.