The Bus was quiet after Union Station. Too quiet.
Blaze leaned against the bulkhead in the common area, helmet resting by his boots. Through the slanted windows, the city lights dwindled, replaced by the soft shimmer of stars against black sky. Below, civilians were putting their lives back together. Above, S.H.I.E.L.D. had scored a victory against Centipede — but Blaze knew it was only the beginning.
"Correct," Aegis murmured smoothly in his head. "Statistical probability of additional Centipede incidents: ninety-eight percent."
Blaze smirked faintly. Figured you'd say that.
"I do enjoy being consistent. It balances your tendency to improvise."
Footsteps approached. Jemma Simmons appeared, tablet clutched to her chest, eyes darting from him to the window.
"You're remarkably composed," she said softly. "After what just happened, most agents would be… rattled."
Blaze shrugged. "Wasn't my first firefight. Won't be my last."
Simmons tilted her head, curiosity sparking in her eyes. "Still. You were calm in the middle of chaos. That's rare."
He offered the faintest smile. "Maybe I've just learned to hide it well."
Before she could respond, Fitz came bustling in, muttering to himself, his arms full of gear. He dropped it onto the table with a clatter.
"Unbelievable," Fitz grumbled. "Running civilians through a hot zone, dodging unstable beams… Do you have any idea how much worse that could've gone?"
Blaze met his glare evenly. "Kept them alive. That's the only metric that counts."
Fitz opened his mouth, then closed it again, grumbling under his breath as he sorted his equipment. Simmons glanced between them, torn between defending Fitz or agreeing with Blaze. In the end, she just gave Blaze a faint smile before trailing after her partner.
Blaze exhaled quietly, rubbing at his scarred jaw.
"You are not winning popularity contests," Aegis noted drily.
Not here for popularity.
"And yet…" Aegis' tone shifted. "Agent Ward has been observing from the shadows for the last three minutes. He disapproves. Strongly. But he won't act. Not yet."
Blaze didn't turn his head, but in his peripheral vision, he caught Ward leaning against a doorway, silent, eyes sharp. Always watching.
Noted.
The next set of footsteps were softer, more hesitant. Skye emerged from the bunks, hair loose around her shoulders, eyes still wide from everything she'd seen. She hugged her arms around herself as she leaned against the opposite wall.
"So," she said, her voice carefully casual. "You're Blaze."
He raised an eyebrow. "And you're Skye."
She smirked faintly. "Everyone here is a mystery. Coulson's this… charming robot-man who won't stop smiling, May looks like she could kill me with a glance, Fitz and Simmons talk faster than I can Google, and Ward…" She shrugged. "He's… Ward."
"And me?" Blaze asked.
Her eyes flicked to his scars, then back up to his steady gaze. "You're quiet. Too quiet. But when things get messy, you move like you've already run the play a hundred times."
Blaze tilted his head. "Maybe I just don't like losing."
She studied him for a long moment. "I can't figure you out. Not yet. But I will."
Blaze smirked faintly. "Good luck."
Before Skye could press further, Coulson's voice crackled over the intercom. "Team, briefing in five. Wheels up soon."
Skye gave Blaze one last searching look before pushing off the wall. "See you in there."
Blaze exhaled, tugging his gloves tighter. Yeah. See you.
Flight Deck
The holo-table glowed as the team gathered. Coulson stood at the head, calm as ever, his gaze sweeping over them.
"Good work tonight. We saved lives. We brought Mike in alive. And we confirmed Centipede isn't done. Which means neither are we." He tapped the console, and a new file blinked into existence. "There's a situation in South America. A classified artifact — designation 0-8-4."
Ward frowned. "An object of unknown origin."
"Which makes it dangerous," Simmons added quickly.
"And interesting," Fitz said, his tone already bright with curiosity.
Skye raised her hand half-jokingly. "Uh, what's a zero-eight-four?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Coulson said smoothly. "Nobody knows what it is. But when it shows up, it's our job to find out."
Blaze felt May's eyes on him from across the table. She gave the faintest nod. He returned it.
Coulson's gaze lingered on Blaze longer than on anyone else. That same flicker of familiarity, of uncertainty. But Coulson let it pass.
"Pack up," he said. "We leave in twenty. Wheels up."
The team scattered — Fitz and Simmons buzzing toward the lab, Skye wandering toward the bunks with wide-eyed excitement, Ward silent and unreadable.
Blaze lingered a moment, helmet tucked under his arm. His AI broke the silence in his head.
"Observation: Agent Ward is still watching you. Caution advised."
Yeah, Blaze thought, watching Ward disappear down the corridor. Caution.
The engines rumbled beneath his boots, the hum of the Bus alive once more. Blaze allowed himself a faint smirk.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt like he belonged exactly where he needed to be.