Jemma Simmons is a terrible liar (needanewplan) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-08-01 13:42:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !complete, !trigger warning, jemma simmons, laura kinney (wolverine), natasha romanoff (black widow) |
Who: Jemma Simmons, Laura Kinney, Natasha Romanoff and a cameo by Kitty Pryde
What: Jemma is called in for an autopsy which proves unnecessary.
When: Early August
Where: The Agency
Warnings: Dead body, mentions of self harm
Status: Log | Complete
The Agency didn’t typically take in corpses. But the circumstances under which the body had been found appeared to be dream related. The girl couldn’t be older than nineteen. There were lacerations all over her body, and the right side of her face was bruised and bloody. Puncture wounds in her fists had contributed to a bleed-out. According to an officer from the scene, she hadn’t been the only one found. It looked like someone had been mauled.
Unfortunately for Jemma, there was only one person remotely qualified (who was also available) to deal with this Jane Doe.
Reasons Jemma should probably not spend so much time at work. But it was a good way to avoid the things she didn’t want to think about. She’d been in the lab when someone came to inform her that she was needed in autopsy.
“What? What about Dr. Jones?” Because really, Martha was in the medical division and while Jemma easily could do an autopsy has she had training, it wasn’t exactly her specialized area. But as it appeared Martha was on call or otherwise unavailable and she was the only one with training? Current project put away, the biochemist went to put scrubs on and to autopsy.
First things first, she did a preliminary check of the Jane Doe, recording her analysis before she began to cut away at the clothing so as to make the first incision.
As soon as the scalpel touched her skin, the Jane Doe sat up gasping. On instinct, Laura's claws popped out of her fists and she swiped blindly, before rolling back off of the table, and crashing into a cart of instruments. It toppled over with a clatter. Laura spun around, crashing into another cart filled with specimens. It toppled over, glass shattering and Laura jumped onto a counter, looking around, wide-eyed.
As miraculous as the suddenly returning to life was, the lacerations began to slowly, but visibly, close.
Or her patient could suddenly come back to life. That worked, too. Though really, it just caused Jemma to yelp in shock as she jumped backwards, hand flying to her chest as if to calm her now racing heart. It didn’t, and why people would think that it would, who knew. But it was reflex. Thankfully, she had managed not to get sliced by the claws that had popped out.
Well no wonder she was brought here instead of a normal morgue. Okay. Breathing was important. Slowly placing the scalpel down because clearly she wasn’t going to be needing it after all, Jemma just kept an eye on the Jane Doe, slightly stunned by the healing of injuries, though not entirely given she’d seen the GH325 heal Skye in the dreams. Knew what it was capable of. Knew Coulson’s file and how he’d been brought back…
“Are you okay?”
Of course she wasn’t okay. But it was the only thing she could really think of to say. She would need to find something for the poor girl to wear once she calmed down.
Laura closed her eyes, panting for a moment as she caught her breath and realized she wasn't in danger. "No." She opened her eyes and took in her state. The blood, the cuts, the pounding in her head.
"No... I was attacked." She couldn't remember who, or what they wanted. They had seemed to be...professionals.
Her claws retracted, but the wounds they left didn't close right away. Blood oozed out, and Laura made a whining sound. Why wasn't she healing faster.
There wasn’t much Jemma could do about the fact that she was attacked. She could ask for more information, but first she needed the girl to calm down a bit more. To be able to focus. But she did notice that she wasn’t healing as fast and was still bleeding, so Jemma grabbed some antiseptic and bandages, holding them up to show the Jane Doe.
“I’m going to clean your wounds, okay? Then we can find something for you to wear. I fear I had to cut you out of your clothing when it appeared you were dead.”
With a statement of what she planned to do made so as to keep the poor thing in the loop, Jemma moved towards her slowly so as not to startle her. Only once she got an acknowledgement that it was okay did she start to tend to the wounds.
“I was dead.” Laura shifted to sitting on the counter. There was broken glass and she didn’t want to step on any. So she sat there, pretending she wasn’t shaking like a leaf.
Dream her wouldn’t shake. Dream her would be calm. Sad. But calm. Her voice shook. “I.. I died.”
“That sounds dreadful, I’m so sorry.” And she was. Jemma hadn’t died in her dreams only to come back, nor had she died here. Obviously. But she’d been close to it more times than she was comfortable with and then worrying about Cosima on top of it… watching Fitz struggle, seeing Trip’s body… Well. She was more familiar with death than she had been before coming to Orange County.
Once she got all the wounds cleaned up and bandaged, Jemma found some scrubs that should fit the Jane Doe.
“Here you go. Is there anyone I should call? Or do you want to just sit for a spell? I can make tea?”
Because there might be people who needed to be aware. She knew she was going to need to mark this down and inform someone. But her main priority at the moment was ensuring that the girl was calmed down from the ordeal.
"Thank you." Laura hugged herself. "I could use some tea." She frowned, thinking about informing people, but she didn't want anyone to worry. "There might be a few people, but I do not want to worry them. I do not even know where I am."
“Of course. I can go get that set up.” Or the girl could mention not wanting to worry anyone. That was something Jemma was all too familiar with. And while she herself was not someone who could necessarily be trusted to mention if something were wrong, more likely to brush it off and claim she was fine, she would still give an opinion on the matter. “Perhaps. But they might worry anyway. Think about it while I go get things ready for tea, hmm?”
With a gentle smile, Jemma turned to go and get what she needed. While there was indeed a cafe at the agency, the biochemist had brought her own things for when she needed a proper cup. Something that was clearly needed at the moment. So to her office she went, got her electric kettle plus some mugs and tea and went back to autopsy.
Laura had found a broom and cleaned up most of the glass, picking up the carts and instruments and other things by the time Jemma returned. She’d nearly bolted, but had convinced herself to stay put. She sat down in a chair when Jemma came back. “I am sorry about the mess.”
It had been a risk to leave the girl there, but given the need for tea, it had been necessary. And she had a feeling deep down that she would stay. Though what she hadn’t expected was that she had cleaned up most of the glass and cleaned up the clutter.
“You didn’t have to do that, but thank you. Really, it’s okay. Given everything that happened…” well, it made sense she would panic. Water in kettle and kettle plugged in, Jemma leaned against the wall. “I’m Jemma.”
Might as well try to make the atmosphere a bit less tense.
“I am Laura.” She held the cup with both hands. It was really hot but that didn’t seem to bother her. “I am Laura…”
“I heard they brought in a…” Natasha trailed off after she stepped into the lab. “Oh.”
“Well, despite the circumstances, it’s nice to meet you, Laura.”
And then Natasha showed up. That answered that particular question. Because really, Jemma was going to have to figure out what to do eventually. So instead she looked up.
“Yes. Would you like some tea?”
Sometimes it was just safer not to ask.
“Yes, actually.” Nat pushed her hand into her hair as she took in the scene. “This is only the third strangest thing this month.”
“Natalia Romanova,” Laura said, studying her. “The Black Widow. They had files on you. The people that made me.”
The redhead smile was tight. “I’m sure they did.” She glanced at Jemma. “Laura is from those other set of dreams I told you about. The similar but different ones. Her father is Logan.”
“Clone,” Laura corrected. “I am his clone.”
“There maybe, but here you’re his daughter. That’s a very important distinction to keep in mind.”
And suddenly Laura seemed to know who Natasha was and about the Black Widow and Jemma nearly spilled tea on herself as she was making a cup for said woman. She of course knew it was possible, look at those she was friends with. And the fact that Laura was a clone also caught her attention as she was familiar with clones thanks to Cosima and Sarah.
“You’re still your own person, regardless of how you came to be.”
That was important to remember as well. Despite the dreams, despite it all. They were still themselves. Either way, Jemma handed the (non-spilled) mug of tea to Natasha before going back to her own.
“So if you know Logan, I take it you know Kitty as well?” After all, Kitty had introduced her to Logan for DNA analysis purposes when she was first explaining the physical changes that could take place. It also explained the claws and self healing.
It was something that Laura tried to remember. It wasn’t easy, but she tried. “She is a teacher at the school for mutants that Logan took me to.”
Nat sipped at her tea. The question that she had was what was Laura doing here, who had hurt her, and if she needed to call Logan in to help her ‘clean up’ the problem.
Jemma gave a slight nod.
“Well, she works here as well as Natasha and myself. So if you want we can call her? Or Logan? He knows where this is….”
Since she wasn’t quite sure what to do. She had the initial information she’d been given upon arrival, as well as what she had picked up from Laura, but really she had been more concerned with getting her calm after everything to focus on the questions. Sometimes she could have a decent bedside manner even when she was better at just dealing with science.
Leaning against the table, Natasha tilted her head. She kept her voice gentle but not condescending. “What happened, Laura? What do you remember?”
Laura shifted in her seat, eyeing Jemma. Jemma felt… warming (and smelled really nice), but something about Natasha made her want to trust her. Her eyes shifted between the two women. “Logan.”
She didn’t answer right away, about what happened. She wasn’t sure she remembered.
Seeing the look to her, and the fact that she seemed to want to tell Natasha, Jemma just gave a small nod to say it was okay, if that was indeed what she was asking. Jemma knew she’d trust Natasha, and really, they were going to need to know what had happened beyond the incident report she had been given.
“I do not remember all of it. Something made me go into that alley. I think I was following someone.” It was a fuzzy memory, and part of her wanted to say it was a little girl, but she didn’t know for certain. “The men surrounded me. I..” She rubbed at her wrist. “I could not control myself, but there were too many. One hit me in the head.”
It wasn’t the whole story. Some of the cuts were a little older. Some of the cuts made her feel.
It certainly wasn’t the whole story. And Jemma had made note of the cuts in her initial report before everything went Orange County on them. But it wasn’t really her place to say anything, nor did she know how to. So Jemma just got up and brought over the incident report to help Natasha fill in the blanks. Scene details, pictures. Combined with what Laura had given, that should hopefully help.
“Thanks… “ Natasha lowered her voice, though if Laura was like her father she’d still be able to hear. She looked over the report. Not all of the men had gotten sliced up. Some had gotten away and she’d need to track them down. “.... I’ll take care of the coverup. It was self-defense anyway, but we try to keep this stuff out of the public eye.”
Something tugged at the back of her mind as she looked over the report. “Something isn’t normal about this. I don’t mean Laura, either.”
Yes, logistically speaking, a cover up would be necessary by sheer fact they knew to bring Laura here in the first place. But that wasn’t her area of expertise so it wasn’t like Jemma had actually thought about it. She’d been more in doctor mode than anything. But then Natasha was saying something didn’t feel normal and Jemma just looked at her.
“What do you mean?” Something Laura had said stuck out, that it seemed the people after her had been organised, like they knew, “You think it was organised by someone?” Or some organisation.
“I’ll bring Kitty in. She can troll the network and some of the communications of people we’ve been watching. This isn’t the first time someone’s made a move on people with healing factors or powers.” Natasha closed the file with an audible fwop. “I’m going to need to read you in.” She lifted her head and looked towards Laura. “Laura? I’ll call Logan to pick you up. Why don’t i have someone escort you to the cafeteria. You’re probably very hungry.”
“Someone has attacked Logan before.”
“Among others,” Natasha confirmed. She didn’t see the point in sugar-coating it. Not when she knew Laura could be a very good asset in the future if approached right. Not that she would bring that up in front of Jemma…
“That doesn’t surprise me.” Jemma had seen it in her dreams. Attacks on powered people. Experiments. Being undercover at Hydra, seeing their files as well. It was a headache and the more she saw of the darker side of humanity, the more sickened she felt. Which at least was a good sign, that she didn’t see it as okay or embrace it. But it was still exhausting. And why she threw herself into her work. “Of course.”
She knew protocol. There were levels and compartmentalisation. So while Laura put together that Logan had been attacked before as well, Jemma remained where she was standing, finishing her tea.
Natasha called Kitty down, thinking that someone familiar might keep Laura calm. The brunette jogged in and took in the scene. “Ooookay. Allright, kiddo, lets go wait for Logan.”
Laura got up. “Thank you for patching me up.” She slipped past Natasha, and Kitty followed her, giving a few feet of space for Laura to not feel crowded. She made the ‘we’ll talk later’ motion at Nat and Jemma before she was out the door.
Sinking into a chair, Nat rubbed her face. “I’m remembering how much Maria Hill used to complain about the X-Men.”
Smiling gently to Laura in response, Jemma watched her go before quirking a brow at Natasha. Because, well, the dreams they shared didn’t have X-Men. And Jemma had no idea what the Obelisk...Diviner...whatever had done. Just that it had unleashed a pathogen that could lead to an epidemic.
“Oh?”
“Well, a Maria Hill, anyway. Wherever the mutants go, trouble tends to follow.” She crossed her legs, pinched the bridge of her nose, and beckoned Jemma closer. “There used to be a terrorist group called Cerberus. They were vaguely related to the dreams of a woman, one of our field soldiers, but they were responsible for a lot of bad things. Bombings, they shot down the plane Kitty and her new wife were on. Experiments. Super-soldiers and the like. Awhile back there was a power struggle inside the organization. Between us and some other people we’d done a lot of damage to them. But what emerged from the power struggle has every hallmark of Hydra. I don’t have 100% definitive proof and nothing to really act on, but this sounds like it might be them. I sent Kitty away while I debriefed you because anything having to do with the people that killed her wife tends to turn her into a bomb and I’d rather drop her on people who deserve it.”
As she was motioned closer, Jemma moved to a chair next to Natasha, only to want to hit her head on the wall as everything was explained. And not even everything, just the overview.
“Bloody hell.” Because of course it was Hydra. It was always Hydra. The one thing she had been a moment of hope was that Hydra wasn’t here. But of course they were. And of course there wasn’t actionable intel, because why would they make it easy? At least they weren’t in the ranks of the Agency. In theory. Though after the fall of SHIELD. “And that’s understandable.”
Well if working at the Agency hadn’t been similar enough to her dreams before, it certainly was now.
“Some of this is conjecture, some of it is from side projects I’ve got going on. But I can’t get anything… physical. Until now, at least. If not Hydra, then it’s a Cerberus cell and that’s just as bad. Because the last thing we need is them getting ahold of a healing factor. They already have super soldiers.”
That was an admission she hated to make. “A few months ago, they grabbed Kitty. I helped her girlfriend at the time rescue her. They had….for lack of a better word, demon soldiers.”
It wasn’t that Jemma was going to be sick, it was just that she was disheartened. She knew it was a possibility, and she knew that she really couldn’t discredit anything. But to hear that Hydra or a similar organisation existed here was bad enough, but the fact her friend had been targeted as well? She hated feeling powerless. She was good in the lab, science and microscopes and everything, those made sense to her. But if there was one thing that the falling of SHIELD had shown her… more punctuated by Ward’s betrayal, it was that she hated being unable to help.
“Is there anything I can do?” She really wasn’t a spy, she had survived Hydra (miraculously) and Coulson had taught her tricks to get by, how to use her inability to lie to her favour, to be disarming by being herself. May had taught her basic self defence. But she still wanted to do more. Maybe she always would. Between wanting to find a way to help Cosima here, and now the fact that she found herself in the same war (more or less), she wasn’t just going to sit back and hide in the lab.
“I’m not going to ask you to infiltrate them, or anything like that,” Natasha warned. “But yes, I think there might be some things you can do. I want to get my hands on one of those soldiers I fought. Maybe we can figure out how they’re getting juiced up.”
That was a relief. Because while Jemma would do whatever was necessary to help, if she didn’t have to go undercover, that would be lovely. Really. It had been nerve wracking and terrifying enough just from the dreams. She still had nightmares when it wasn’t a new dream to throw her world upside down.
“Well, whatever you need. That would be a good starting place at any rate.”
“We’ll start with your areas of expertise, and then eventually.” Natasha dropped her hand, leaving little pinch marks on her nose. “Maybe we’ll make a spy out of you.”
It sounded like a good start at any rate. Still, the new information was certainly something she was going to have to go over in her head. It wasn’t like she wasn’t already critical of the things she came across, but knowing of a familiar threat? That upped the antics in a way. So she just nodded and sipped her tea. It wasn’t like there was much she could say on the matter.