Revelation

After leaving Coulson in the custody of Davis and Patten; Mick, and Daisy returned to the triskelion to be greeted with a furious scowl from Commander May. He'd always made it a point to not let the Commander get angry with him, so this punishment was going to be brutal. He'd probably be stuck dealing with new recruits or clean-up, or whatever she thought of that would be worse.

"You're late," she growled as Mick and Daisy entered the building. "Briefing room, now. You know how much The Doctor hates tardiness." 

"Sorry, it was my fault," Mick started. Of everyone in the two sets of memories swirling about his head, May was at least consistent. She was always on point, business only no matter who she worked for. He surprised the mild headache coming from the rushing of SHIELD memories as May kept her watchful eye on him. 

"I don't care about your excuses," May barked as she opened the doors to the conference room, where stood Leopold Fitz, otherwise known as Hydra's second in command, The Doctor.

He earned that name due to his advanced skills, and the his new technological breakthrough that detects potential inhumans, and what their powers would be. He always dressed sharply in a suit, his hair nice and tight, always with a firm look. Seeing him brought back such conflict in Mick, the memories of an old friend, a timid science loving boy who was one of his best friends. These two were in direct contrast with one another. Mick shook his head, fighting back the intrusive thoughts. 

"Nice of you to finally join us," The Doctor said harshly, motioning them to join the ranks of the other soldiers of STRIKE, except Ward, before beginning his presentation. He started by changing the monitor to a picture of a girl standing by an older looking car. Upon closer focus, Mick and Daisy recognized that girl as Jemma. "This subversive is extremely dangerous. She is a suspect in the bombing at the school bombing, you are authorized to use lethal force. Dismissed," his words were cold and calloused, polar opposite of the Fitz from Mick's other memories. "Bellouve, I'd like to see you in my office." The words struck Mick to his core, he'd never been summoned to the Doctor's office alone. It was always with Commander May, or with Samantha. 

"Don't worry I'll protect the girls," Daisy whispered to have Mick frown nervously and nod. "Jemma and Sam safe with your friends, in case you were worried." 

"Johnson, come with me," May barked as Daisy and Mick shared a look before going their separate ways. 

The Doctors office had large windows, overlooking all of DC from the top of the triskelion. He had very few trinkets, even fewer pictures, most of him and a woman Mick had only heard of, Madam Hydra, but somehow seemed vaguely familiar. She didn't come around the lower floors much, but everyone knew of her. She was as ruthless as they come, and even more feared than The Doctor himself. 

The Doctor sat at his desk staring intently at a picture on his computer screen, before motioning Mick to sit in the small chair across from him. "Did you know we have a mole?" The harshness in his voice unnerved Mick. How could the Fitz from his memories be so different here? Were they really the same person, or was this something completely different? Who all here was real, and who all was not? 

"Sam and I suspected as much, but we hadn't enough proof to confirm it," Mick intended to explain their findings from the school, only for the Doctor to look at him with a bit of skepticism, causing him to stop talking. 

"Really? You both suspect it?" There was something unusually intense about his tone, something that cut Mick to his core. What was he implying? 

"Yes Sir," Mick replied timidly. "We found traces of terregen in the crater, which means someone had to have stolen from us, or provided the bomber with it-" 

"What if I told you your wife was the mole?" Mick's heart stopped, why would he suspect that? How could Mick protect Sam from the Doctor, or all of Hydra for that matter? 

"I would have a hard time believing it, surely I would be able to tell. I mean, I trust Sam. She wouldn't betray us," Mick stammered as the Doctor's eyes narrowed. Mick's heartbeat was racing as the accusation seemed much heavier than Mick could imagine. Could their powers be betraying them now? Did this mean he was going to be on the block next? His fight or flight was beginning to kick in.

"See, Agent Bellouve, the thing about betrayal, it only comes from those people we trust," he said as he turned his screen so that Mick could see the image he was looking at. To Mick's horror, it was Sam standing with Jemma outside of their house. His heart began to race, how could he get out of this? This was very recent; did that mean they had a picture of him with Jemma as well? How could Sam have been so careless to speak with Jemma outside? "It's your job to prove your worth to Hydra. We cut out our moles like the cancer they are. Either kill Samantha Bellouve, or I will."

Mick sat silently, unsure of what to do. How could it have come to this, why? Before Mick could respond, Madam Hydra walked in clearly distressed. "We need to get to Radcliffe, the no fly zone has been breached," she fussed, then glared at Mick who she didn't expect to see in the office. Something about her stirred up an unwitting rage in him, these twisted other memories were going to get him killed. 

"Interesting," The Doctor said not taking his eyes off of Mick, intrigued by his twitchy reactions. "Let's go see if it's who I think it is. You're coming too, I have a feeling you may get to prove your worth sooner than later," he finished as Mick gulped. He hoped Sam was far away from wherever they were going, hopefully she was somewhere safe.

They boarded the Hive, which was an oversized mobile base of a jet, housing its own arsenal for soldiers on board, a training room, a lounge, a few bunks, a laboratory, as well as a few vehicles. Madam Hydra had Mick handcuffed in the special cuffs that the Doctor had designed to neutralize any enhanced powers, typically used when bringing in inhumans. It was clear, Madam Hydra wasn't going to take any chances, Mick wasn't getting an option if Sam really was involved as the Doctor seemed to suspect. 

A few hours passed and Mick was shoved off the plane like a prisoner by two hydra guards. He was completely humiliated, never before had he betrayed Hydra, never before had he given them a reason to treat him like this, so why now? The Doctor and Madam Hydra took point as they walked up to a grey haired man with a scruffy grey beard to match, who seemed vaguely familiar to Mick. His real world memories continued to blur as he looked at him. "Search the island! Find them!" Madam Hydra barked as four soldiers stayed close, two with guns pointed at Mick, the other two at the sides of Fitz and Madam Hydra.

"Ophelia, you promised if I stayed on the island out of your way, you'd leave us alone," there was fear in the man's raspy voice that matched the distressed look in his eyes although Mick couldn't help but be amused by his Scottish accent. It really was quite the place to stay out of the way. The whole island had a tropical feel, amazingly comfortable climate, a nice mansion with a pool, it was clear this was meant to be a paradise for the man.

"Drop the act Doctor," she spoke soft yet firmly. "This islands no fly zone was breached an hour ago," she paused looking around with great annoyance written on her face. "We both know you're harboring subversives, and I will find them. Soon enough." With that the Doctor walked off with two soldiers to search the island.

Mick stared at the uncomfortable look on the man's face, the way he kept looking at Ophelia, which Mick never knew her real name. "Subversives? Those are people who happen to be our friends!" He exclaimed, as Mick stared at him curiously, was this guy from Jemma's theoretical real world too? Did that mean he knew, and could explain exactly was going on? "You turned them into prisoners!"

"Hah," there was disdain in her tone. "I did exactly as you asked," she said with a wicked smile on her face, which only brought agony to the man.

"Don't play innocent with me. We both know this has gone much farther than that!" He snapped, which caused Ophelia's lips to curl angrily.

"I took away their one greatest regret. How things played out from there wasn't really up to me," she snapped coldly. Mick started wondering what all of this meant. What was Mick's biggest regret, is that what caused all of the pain in his head when he tried to recall. Pain and the image of a lock and key filled his mind as he struggled to pull forth the truth. 

"You put yourself into the framework and have been manipulating it ever since! This whole thing has ended up a disaster!" He growled in frustration as Ophelia shook her head, slightly amused. "On top of that, all you do is lie!"

"Sometimes it's okay to lie, to save a life," she snapped back, back to her unshaken evil smile. "You taught me that," she taunted as the man glared bitterly.

"Don't use turn my logic, or my bloody programming against me AIDA!" Those words were like a knife to Mick's mind, cutting straight through more of the memories of the Framework. He remembered the man's name, Holden Radcliffe. Ophelia's original self, AIDA, the life model decoy originally designed by both Radcliffe and Fitz, but couldn't remember why. While the memories were so vague, they felt the most blurred than the others, could it be because they were most recent? He knew he had a severe distaste for AIDA, but he felt that back at the Doctor's office, this at least gave a little more reason. Mick's mind snapped back into focus, seeing a furious scowl on Ophelia's face. She eased closer to Radcliffe, her anger radiating like a fire.

"Do not call me that here. AIDA is an acronym, the A stands for artificial, I for intelligent, D for digital, A, assistant," she growled as she then began to circle Radcliffe as a lioness to her prey. "Do you know how degrading it is to be kept in a closet? Used? Treated as a thing?" She paused as Radcliffe looked up at her. "Well, I am not your tool, not anymore. I'm just as real as you now." 

"Found one in the back," Fitz said returning to Ophelia's side, glaring at both Mick and Radcliffe who wore a look of concern for who Mick found. Mick turned to see the woman in the soldier's custody, who bore a remarkable resemblance to Ophelia, then looked back at Radcliffe who was now horrified.

"Holden, what's happening, who are these people?" Her voice was even a perfect match to Ophelia. She trembled with fear as she spoke. 

"Well, it's exactly as you said," Fitz said harshly as he looked over the woman, almost disgusted at her. "The other side is coming for us." He reached up touching the woman curiously as she winced and trembled, "She even has your face." 

"Why does she look like me Holden?" The woman began to shake with absolute horror written all over her face.

Mick tried to pull an hand free, the cuffs steadily burning into his wrists, only for Ophelia to reach into her jacket pocket pulling out a small red device. She was glaring at Mick, almost daring him to move again, much less speak anything he heard. He knew that device, he had used it on inhumans. Within the cuffs were an almost taser like function that would send countless volts into a prisoner, guaranteeing compliance. He knew that there was no way he could go against her now, whatever was going to happen, he was a reluctant witness to it all. 

"Don't panic love, I can explain all of this. I've been meaning to, but the timing has just," his words were cut off by Ophelia.

"This man is from the other side. He's the one who enslaved me," Ophelia's tone shifted from bitterness to one of fear and melancholy.

 "What? That's a pretty extreme bit of paraphrasing don't you think?" Radcliffe stared as Fitz's eyes stayed locked on him. The anger could be seen kindling, not yet fully ablaze. 

"He used me, kept me as his property." Ophelia continued playing on her martyr story as the Doctors's cold expression only grew darker. Mick wanted so badly to react, but the way she held that button, he wasn't sure if he wanted to chance it. He wanted answers from Radcliffe, but maybe if he watched the truth would become more clear. 

"Now, dear boy, I don't know what lies she's been feeding you but," once again Radcliffe was cut off by Ophelia.

"He wants what we have. All for himself. He means to replace me with her." Ophelia spat, glaring at the woman being bound by two soldiers, who continued to wear a look of horror as she struggled against their relentless grip.

"No, no!" Radcliffe exclaimed as he turned to the Doctor with look of desperation. "That couldn't be farther from the truth. Her name is Agnes, she's harmless, not a threat, you have to believe me!" He pleaded only for the Doctor to turn away and take a gun from the soldier guarding Mick, cock it, then point it at the woman, causing her to scream and jump backwards.

"Then convince me," the Doctor said darkly locking eyes with Radcliffe who was mortified at Fitz's reaction.

Even Mick jumped, which brought out Ophelia's wrath, as she clicked the button. Mick screamed in agony, falling to his knees. He struggled to regain his composure as he looked up at the Doctor. This wasn't who he was, he would never act like this. Fitz was a very kind hearted man, would give you the shirt off his back if it would help you. The Doctor however, was as dark as the blackest night, only caring about one thing, pleasing Ophelia.

"You, uh, you're right!" Radcliffe stammered as the began to panic. "The subversives are here. I see now I should have been more forthcoming. Please put the gun down, I'll take you to them." He pleaded as the Doctor kept the gun pointed right at Agnes' heart. Ophelia smiled with eagerness. 

"Tell me the truth; you act like you know me, why?" His voice was darker than ever. Mick didn't dare move again, although everything in him was screaming to help Agnes for Radcliffe.

"The soldiers can find the subversives, we should be going," Ophelia chimed in, hoping to get the Doctor to relent and to follow without question. This failed, as Radcliffe cut her off. 

"You were like a son to me!" He exclaimed as Ophelia scowled. "We worked side by side in the lab, occasionally raise a pint," he paused briefly as if he remembered a few moments, "Or six, watching football, real football!" He smiled hoping to see a change of expression from the Doctor, but was only met with the dark scowl.

"That's absurd," Fitz replies tightening his grip on the gun. "I've never met you." 

"It's the truth my boy! You even helped me build AIDA!"

"Enough!" Ophelia screamed, glaring furiously at Radcliffe.

"Then why don't I remember you?" Fitz asked as Radcliffe sighed.

"Because it all happened in the real world," Radcliffe explained as Ophelia interrupted.

"That wasn't you Fitz, it was their worlds version of you!" 

"And the subversive, Jemma Simmons?" Fitz asked as Mick's mouth opened to speak, only to be electrocuted once again by Ophelia, dropping to his hands as tears filled his eyes. Slowly it was all coming together, Radcliffe was proving Jemma's story to be true. These odd memories, they were all true. 

"You were in love. A force to be reckoned with! You nearly drowned for her, you crossed the bloody universe to rescue her!" Radcliffe said as Ophelia scoffed, Mick nodding as the memories slowly came to mind.

"You see what we're up against? They mean to destroy us," she said darkly as she and the Doctor shared a look, before his focus returned to Radcliffe. His gaze had a very dark intent, that could not be discerned. 

"She lies because she knows I'm right! She's trying to deceive you! Ask this boy, Mick, I believe it was, he should remember if she hadn't messed up his mind too!" Radcliffe exclaimed as Mick turned to look at Ophelia almost begging her not to, only for her to squeeze the trigger ruthlessly. He screamed out in agony as the electricity surged through his body, causing him to collapse, convulsing across the dirt and grass. 

"She won't even let him speak she's so scared of what he'll say!" Radcliffe barked as the Doctor looked at the agonizing Mick and back at Ophelia as to say enough. 

"I love you, they're trying to take you away from me!" Ophelia snapped releasing the button while the Doctor looked between her and Mick, then turned back to Radcliffe.

"The world has changed, but you! You're not this man! You're one of the good guys! You help people! This isn't you!" Radcliffe said with his voice full of confidence, yet trembling due to fear. 

"Please Fitz, you've got to believe him," Mick whimpered, the words snuck out, prompting Ophelia to press the button again, causing his body to convulse once more. 

Fitz stood silently, looking between Radcliffe and Mick before tightening his grip on the gun. "You believe this nonsense?" The Doctor asked glaring down at the charred and dirty face of Mick, who could barely return a nod. "What a strange coincidence the two of you think you know who I am, when I myself supposedly do not," he said flatly. 

"It's not your fault, any of it!" Radcliffe interjected.

"I'm struggling to consider any of it myself, it comes in flashed, the more I've heard," Mick muttered, although he wasn't sure if the words were even audible at this point. 

The Doctor scoffed as he turned to Agnes, "You're wrong. I know exactly who I am." He paused, giving Radcliffe a moment to consider, then he then pulled the trigger. 

Time seemed to slow down as Agnes began to fall, Radcliffe began to lunge for the woman, only to have soldiers restrain him. As the moment continued to unfold, a woman was heard screaming from a distance, sounding like she was crying out for Fitz. Mick watched as the Doctor spun around, then lock eyes with Jemma and Sam standing beside her. The soldiers began to fire, as Mick used the little strength he had to kick one, causing him to fire into the tree's, missing Sam and Jemma. Ophelia noticed this act of betrayal, electrocuting him once more, this time, everything went dark.