So many of the agents within these halls hide their pain behind expertly crafted masks meant only to reveal the best of them and on any regular day Simon was no different but he couldn’t be bothered for the last week there was no point in hiding his emotions because sooner or later it was going to bubble to the top and explode. He glanced over when the familiar voice that in it’s self brought a sense of comfort with it filled the otherwise empty weapons locker. Sure, it’s not exactly the most genius hiding place for someone who has a name tape across a locker but well, it wasn’t as if anyone was going to walk in. ‘A drink.” There’s no hesitation and it’s telling of Simon’s coping mechanisms, when he’d first lost them there hadn’t been a single day where he was sober and on the anniversary, it was the last thing he wanted to be.
Ray found himself going into the base less and less these days, only really going in for training sessions with Nic and Marco twice a week and alternating between medical and psych check ups every second week. He didn’t need to really do paperwork. For what? He didn’t go on missions and he wasn’t doing work like he was in Comms. All he was doing was working on his general health and fitness, basic self defense and fighting and his powers. What was the point of hanging around the base between sessions?
So to save just sitting around and frustrating Marco with his uncertainties about what to do and whether working officially with Marco once he was at a more functioning level was the right thing, Ray just stayed at home. He could spend more time with Hailey that way anyway, instead of leaving her with younger kids at the SHIELD daycare. She’d been doing her school work remotely since the shooting attempt on the street by Shigeru’s apartment and her own training had been arranged to allow Shigeru to enter the SHIELD base and use one of their training rooms where Hailey was safe, so she went in with Ray and trained in a separate room while he did his own.
At home, Ray could work on some of his solo training. Part of it was simply meditation, recommended by Dr Silva (something he’d also been working on previously with Dr Lawrence) to help him calm himself better and also to help him pause and take time to sort out his own emotions properly from those he picked up, instead of letting them all jumble up and throw off his own moods as they had often used to.
Another benefit of the meditation was that it helped Ray become more aware of his powers and how they worked in general. He spent a lot of time sitting cross-legged on his bedroom floor, ACE by his side or lying on the bed behind him, occasionally making a comment that would remind Ray a bit of the way Nic would throw in friendly teasing to keep the mood light. Other times ACE would step in and remind Ray to stop and take breaks, otherwise he’d find that hours had passed, if no one else was around or too busy themselves to come interrupt. It was easy to get a bit disconnected from the actual time passing, when he was so focused on the psychic workings of his empathy and navigation.
He tended to get confused sometimes, more so after his longer sessions that accidentally stretched on far too long, having to take time to readjust from the faded world he saw in empath vision in comparison to the burning bright aura colours and then seeing the world again as it was normally. He’d ended up needing to get glasses to help his eyes focus for reading screens and print to prevent some of the migraines he was getting from all the mental and visual strain. But his control over his powers and the effects of them was better than it ever had been, save a few days every now and then where the depression threw him off.
Ray was currently working on better understanding the psychic navigation and the links it made once he first had contact with a person, Nic serving as a practice ‘target’ at the base. The two kept in touch through a messaging app Ray had open on his phone in front of him, Nic making a game of it while they tested the limitations of the tracking: could Ray sense him from home first of all? Was it dependent on how close/far away Nic was as he moved around? Did certain areas of the base have worse ‘reception’? Could he sense Nic’s presence from there, or also his emotions?
Yes, he could.
Like Ray had been able to in the past, before Bancroft; the psychic navigation link to Nic allowed him to also read the emotions, without being affected by them himself. Different to the involuntary link made by Ray’s own strong emotions towards someone, like he’d had with Clay. It was back to the controlled use Ray had had previously, when SHIELD had used him to keep track of field agents.
He wasn’t sure exactly where Nic was in the base, as he didn’t have a map to try to follow along on, so Ray was occasionally caught off guard when he picked up vague readings of others Nic passed by or interacted with, Nic seemed to be functioning as a signal booster for his powers.
Ray was starting to zone out a little, tired, and lost track of Nic for a bit. He must have even drifted off for a moment as he sat there, suddenly jumping awake at a noise from his phone.
Ray let out a sigh and looked around for his glasses he’d taken off while sitting with his eyes closed. He wasn’t used to needing them yet and was still a bit stubborn about it, but tired as he was, he was struggling to focus on reading the words.
“To your left…” ACE said from his spot on the bed, Ray reaching up to pet him in thanks once he had his glasses.
Nic: Let’s try something different. Does it work down here?
Ray?
Hello?
Ray: Sorry. Got distracted. Need to find you again.
Ray sat staring at the name on the phone screen, hoping it would help him refocus. He must have looked like he was starting to drift off again though, as ACE commented about him needing a break to rest.
“I will,” Ray sighed. “After this…”
There was a noise like a snort of disbelief, but otherwise the android dog chose not to comment, for the time being.
The empath closed his eyes again, frowning at first when his attempt to focus back on the base left him with a sense of discomfort… a dull tingling that reminded Ray of the ‘pins and needles’ feeling of a limb sat in the wrong position too long.
“Come on Nic, where the hell are you?” he muttered, not liking the feeling. It reminded him too much of-
Ray took in a sharp breath. He’d managed to link, he was sure. But… this was not Nic. He was going to have to ask what floor Nic was on, but he suspected it was the same floor that also held prisoners, or at least in one of the areas unintentionally above or below it because Ray realised why he was picking up the static-y feeling: he had accidentally linked to his old mentor in his prison cell.
“...Bancroft.”
In the past, Ray would simply have panicked and rushed to break the connection. Now though, he was curious. It had been… nearly a year now, he realised, since their last encounter back in Canada and Ray hadn’t really heard of the man since. Hadn’t asked either. Well, he was still alive obviously. Ray could vaguely hear ACE trying to get his attention after being alerted by the name, but Ray held up a hand to stop him for a moment.
“I’m fine. Just want to see…”
Mostly Bancroft just seemed bored. There was frustration as well, bordering on anger, but that was fairly normal from what Ray knew of the man.
It occurred to Ray then that now that he was connected, he could potentially test if he could do a long-distance projection. He had been hesitant to try it out much with Nic, not sure what would happen if he opened that door. The last few times he’d accessed the remote empathy fully, Ray had been hit with agent Sterling’s emotional and physical pains and then of course there was Clay…
Ray tensed.
If he could work that projection though…
He could finish what he started. He could project more of that pain and fear that had set off Bancroft’s existing heart condition. Ray could do it again, right then and rid the world of the man.
No one would know. There’d be no traces…
Beut could he? Yes, easily, he suspected. But could he actually live with the knowledge that he’d done it? Ray doubted it, considering he’d always been so afraid of becoming evil like Bancroft was.
He was vaguely aware of ACE’s voice, trying to get his attention and his phone buzzing as Nic tried to call.
Ray shook his head and took in a deep breath, letting it out as a sigh of relief when he broke the connection. He blinked to refocus and found ACE was now at his side, clearly concerned by the lack of response.
“I- I’m alright…” Ray mumbled, though he leaned over to wrap his arms around ACE’s neck, forehead resting against the furry body for lack of anyone else around to hug as he tried to settle himself.
"Damn, I'm rusty." Sterling's breathing was labored as he held up his hand for Nic to help him up off the mat. "Think I gotta call it. My endurance is shot and I gotta save some energy for home." He chuckled as he made it to his feet with his friend's help. They were both a little rusty to be honest. Sterling had been out for roughly three months and hadn't been keeping up with his workouts or sparring with Chen still recovering and the two of them exhausted from taking care of the baby. Nic had been just getting back into the swing of field training after years of desk work. Overall they were fairly evenly matched, but Sterling wasn't one to push himself to the point of not being able to move the next day.
Not anymore, that is.
"Wanna catch our breath a minute and then grab something to eat?"
”If anyone happens to see agents Barton, Cooper and Martin hanging around somewhere together, I highly recommend you do not engage. Seriously, for your own sanity: Do. Not. Engage.”
"Oh, no thank you," Marco said, politely declining the offered drink. "I'm simply here to watch and play designated driver. My friend however I think will gladly take it," he added, gesturing to the man sitting beside him.
His head is laid back against the cool floor but he looks up for just long enough to see the roll of the other mans eyes.
“Yeah you know let me just tell the JOLTING pain to stop while your finger goes on a damn joy ride.” He speaks through his teeth for a moment, equally as irritable as the other man. Simon was, well stubborn was the easiest way to put it when it came to medical things.
“Just, give me a second.” He took a few deeper breaths, knowing well that bullet needed to come out and that it’s in a less than advantageous spot, really who manages to snag a sniper in the abdomen? Talk about bad shot. “Okay okay, get it out.”
"Hey, Ray!" Nic called out as he let himself into the office the Empath shared with his mentor Marco. "I need your help with something."
"Good morning to you too," Marco muttered sarcastically. "Please, come in Nic."
The other agent stopped, grinning sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry man, yeah, I shoulda knocked first…"
"Uh… you said you wanted my help?" Ray asked. "With what?"
"Well, if you guys aren't too busy that is-"
"Out with it Martin," Marco sighed. "Or just take him. Nothing pressing here he's needed for at the moment."
Nic nodded and motioned for Ray to follow him. He paused just outside the door to speak to Marco quietly in a language Ray couldn't understand, then carefully closed the door.
"Dude really needs to cut back on his shifts and sleep more."
Ray nodded in agreement, following Nic to the 'elevator', a small smile of amusement on his face as he recalled the confusion when Nic first heard him refer to one as a lift. Sometimes he liked to purposely use terms he knew were specifically used back in Australia, finding Nic's confusion amusing. Overtired Marco just tended to get snappy and insist he just use the term they were all familiar with.
"So I need your help with some translation work," Nic finally explained. "Now, before you ask 'why not Cassie?' I picked you because firstly, she's busy already and besides, I haven't heard her use anywhere near as much slang as you so I'm not sure how much she can help…"
Ray looked more confused now. "But why do you need-?"
"Right, so. There's an agent who's arrived at the base. Problem is he's from our Australian base and he uses a lot of those confusing words you seem to love reading me with."
"Okay…" Ray said slowly. "Wait. We have an Australian base?"
"Oh yeah man, they're all over the place! There's…just one, I think down there though, out West?"
"Righto," Ray shook his head, surprised no one ever thought to mention it to him before.
"I'm sure the agent can explain it better. He's actually been there."
Nic paused outside a door, remembering to knock first before announcing he had brought a 'translator' and the door opened to show a very bewildered looking agent. She sighed in relief. "Thank God. I'm glad he's enthusiastic about his work, but he's giving me a headache."
Nic nodded and let the agent excuse herself from the room before addressing the visiting agent.
"Alright, we've got someone here who might be better suited to-"
"Hartell? That you mate?"
Ray looked confused for a moment before recognition seemed to kick in, then he lit up and stepped closer to the other agent.
"Seth?! Bloody hell, what're you doing up here? I thought you joined up with the Army after graduation?"
"Yeah, nah. I did, for a short while, but then I got scouted by this lot and moved over to West Australia to work with 'em there," the other agent responded. "Been working with a whole heap of people over there, keeping an eye on things. Left my mate in charge while I'm up here- oh you remember my mate Henry Norris, right? He’s a commander now! Right anyway, I came up here ‘cause we’ve been flat out down there and we could do with a bit of a hand I reckon.”
“I’m… I’m not following…” Nic said.
Ray waved a hand dismissively at Nic before speaking to Seth. “Right, go on. What’s the problem then?”
“Yeah mate. So we thought at first we just had a few ratbags causin’ trouble in the city, right? Nah, turns out we’ve got ourselves an outbreak of new powers or something; a whole heap of ‘em out there going agro!”
“You’re sure they aren’t just organised protests?” Ray asked, frowning.
“Yeah…. Nah. Nothing like that. No signs or nothing, just out there causin’ damage and stuff. We’re trained to stop ‘em and all, but I haven’t got a clue why they’re suddenly going off and we’ve got limited resources right now. They way they appeared so suddenly just seems…iffy to me?”
Ray ran a hand through his fair, sighing. “Far out…” he muttered. “So you reckon it needs investigating?”
