13037/Sunshine in Dark Places

Sunshine in Dark Places
Date of Scene:	11 October 2022
Location:	Vault D - Playground
Synopsis:	Kora escapes and leaves a trail of flames in her wake.
Cast of Characters:	Kora Johnson, Jane Foster, Leopold Fitz, Jemma Simmons, Daisy Johnson

---

Kora Johnson has posed:
Still unconscious, Kora is deposited in the containment cell. This one was a little too volatile for less security. It's true that Inhumans who suddenly gain their gift in the wild have trouble controlling it and can be quite destructive but Kora seemed to have some level of control over her abilities.

Still, an ICER shot to the body is an ICER shot to the body. Thankfully she wasn't immune to it or wearing armour. Whatever her story she was a prisoner of HYDRA and that makes her lucky - especially since none of the others made it.

Jane Foster has posed:
Jane Foster may be a doctor, but not the level of Jemma Simmons. Few are, in the field. She nonetheless happens to be present to defend her friend where both of them face a general unknown. On the trip over, her synopsis is fairly brief: strange radiation abilities, exotic matter, things she's tracked and continues to track. The data isn't hidden from Jemma; the isolation she's been able to manage gives some records on par with celestial objects. Like burning balls of fire.

"She's dangerous until we know what we are dealing with. She isn't likely to be happy about our presence. There is only /some/ protection we can feasibly get, but I need you trust me if this goes bad and run. Don't hesitate. Run. You know I will not experience trauma the same way."

How do you damage an embodied soul? Radiation should do it. Maybe radiation doesn't. Her expression is set, determined. "I'll toss you out safely if I must. So we are clear, the same as you would shove me out of the way of a speeding donkey."

Leopold Fitz has posed:
Radiation. Dr Leo Fitz has been at the supposedly defunct SHIELD facility known as the 'Playground' since the Inhuman arrived. She requires special and specific containment, and there is one engineer who is intimately familiar with the labs, with all that technology that remains behind. (Not to mention he knows what will fit and with what interfaces!)

The good doctor is in civilian wear, that is, slacks, button down oxford shirt with a knit vest atop, and a jacket over all for the cool of the facility. He has his ID on his belt, but that's just to be able to access his own specialized equipment, which is out, plugged in, and is being utilized. A small alarm goes off, which brings the engineer's attention from his circuit board studies to his watch; he eyes it, touches the small readout panel on it and gets back to work.

The good doctors will be here shortly.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
When it comes to medical care and attention, there are many people in SHIELD that can provide top quality care. However, when adding into the mix those same medical personnel that have experience with metahumans, mutants, and Inhumans, that pool of people grow considerably smaller. The Venn diagram that one could draw would indicate only a few that would remotely qualify, with perhaps only one that would fit in all the circles.

Doctor Jemma Simmons.

And, when coupled with the fact that her new patient is nestled in the Playground...yes, it makes perfect sense that Jemma is the one called up to give the Playground's new resident an examination. As well, it makes sense that Jemma would ask Jane to come along. For the very reasons that Jane just offered. Jane, in her current state, is perhaps a bit more durable than Jemma. And yes...having backup with an unknown variable in the mix is always good scientific practice.

"From what I was informed, the subject is currently unconscious, sleeping off the effects of an ICER round. I am not a fan of this...but we can get a blood sample while she is still under the effect of the ICER. It will make it modestly safer for all parties involved, plus it will help for any screening. Then...I can do my regular examination afterwards."

Thinking ahead. That's Jemma for you.

Kora Johnson has posed:
Kora shifts on the cot the cell contains. The shielding is not up because SHIELD personnel are inside and as Jane put it, might need to RUN. Kora is slowly stirring though which means she is coming off the effects of the ICER finally. The clothing she was wearing, a hospital like gown, is still all she has.

It's not dignified and there are some literal freezer burns on her from the haphazard cryofreeze she underwent at HYDRAs hands. A technology people shouldn't be using casually - but they used it, and failed to maintain it, on a dozen Inhumans.

Her eyelids are moving. She might be dreaming and by the pained expression on her face it might not be a happy dream. That's not uncommon for people who end up in a HYDRA lab.

Jane Foster has posed:
The brunette in her long coat doesn't wear much dangly. No earrings, no necklaces, and definitely no scarves or belts. Nothing metal but a really dull chain around her wrist in the lightest of touches. She otherwise resembles a completely normal woman with her hair pulled back. She thumbs her pocket, hovering off Jemma's shoulder in a position that could let her physically yank the doctor out of the way if needs must. Emphasis on must.

She nods slightly, chin rising. "We know the toxins can affect people differently. Err on the side of caution until you have certainty on what you are dealing with, that's all I am saying. We need to ensure any genetic information is kept secure, since the last breach was too close a call."

Her gaze flickers across the glass and the woman therein, expression shuttered to a calm look. Some people have poker faces. Some people have no skill at hiding their feelings, and she's somewhere in the middle, but the psychic abilities buried behind her facade are honed to act. Prepped to receive, anyway, for anyone who thinks too loud. "Do you want me to come in? Fitz is around here somewhere, and can move if need be." Where /is/ Fitz?

She waves, plenty obvious about it. See, hi! Hiiii! Oh, the security systems have mild unhappiness around her. On the fritz, you might say, at least in specifically scanning her.

Leopold Fitz has posed:
Fitz is keeping a weather eye on the levels of the containment area. With a couple of SHIELD personnel inside already, he's very, very attentive. There are systems in there that are tapped into the fire suppression system that allows for other types of gasses, should it be necessary. With Jane and Jemma's arrival, he's got the readouts sent to their datapacks; everything they could need in terms of data. Output of.. 'ability' vs ambient, what sort of shielding is recommended, and of course monitors should things rise so high as to be untenable.

"Welcome back to the Playground," Fitz offers up in his soft Scottish burr. "I have a devil of a time getting some of this equipment. I owe Agent Coulson," Commander Coulson, "I think I might owe him my firstborn for some of this."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
As someone who has seen HYDRA labs first hand, Jemma knows more than most just what sort of experience that could be. And, as such, she is not surprised that this individual on the cot is having less that pleasant dreams. And...as co-creator of the ICER technology, Jemma can recognize when the dendrotoxin is beginning to fade. Which means, at least for her, that she has a limited window in which to get a blood sample before Kora awakens.

Which is why she doesn't necessarily wait. Without much of any warning to either Jane or Fitz, Jemma immediately steps into the holding cell, taking her out of Jane's grasp. Not a smart move on her part...but Jemma isn't necessarily thinking of her safety, but more the well-being of the individual in the holding cell. Dressed in her standard affair of sneakers, blouse and slacks, with her labcoat over it all, all that Jemma has with her visibly for defense is the medical kit in her hands. It is this kit that she opens quickly, retrieving a syringe with a 23 gauge needle, primed and ready to go. Does she have time to don gloves? No...probably not. The sooner the better.

As soon as Jemma places her bare fingertips upon Kora's arm, there might be a visible reaction, to those watching. A calming effect, as the stirring and even the bad dreams may abate, for a while. Certainly, more relaxed...a little deeper sleep. Then, showing her expertise and vast amounts of practice, Jemma shifts to take the sample. In and out, with nary an issue.

The fingertips remain on Kora, as Jemma returns the blood sample to the medical kit. It is only when she removes her fingers that it seems Kora may start to wake again...but gently...and certainly with no nasty dreams. And...it is only then when she turns back towards the glass and beckons Jane in. "You can come in if you want, now."

Kora Johnson has posed:
Kora's shifting slows with Jemma's touch. It's a good thing too because she likely would have woken with quite a start when blood was taken from her. As it is, the moment those fingers are gone Kora's eyes open.

A strange place, the last thing she remembers was the store where Afterlife was hunting her down. That face - Daisy Johnson's face - burned in to her memory. She got her, she thinks. One less liar trying to lock her up.

She sits up rapidly and stares at Jemma. A face she doesn't know. Rather than attack she draws back from her quickly. This seems more like HYDRA than Afterlife all of a sudden. But she's very discombobulated and turned around at this point. Three white people, no Chinese this time. There's English writing on the door.

Not even Jane looks familiar to her as she didn't see her in the confrontation in Shanghai. But it's clear from Kora's expression when she notes that Jemma seems to be a doctor or nurse of some kind that she is horrified. It's obvious what's going through her head - she's been taken, again, and thrown in a prison, again, and is being experimented on, again.

"Stay away from me!," she says with a shaky voice as she tries to figure out just where the hell she is. There's a big emblem on the wall. SSR. Whatever the hell that is.

Leopold Fitz has posed:
Fitz is keeping watch over it all from the lab; he's got CCTV and radiation monitors all throughout, and as Jemma moves in, he's tracking. Blue eyes are glued to the readouts, and as he watches his partner in labs work, the patient is quiet, or is that quieted? Brows rise but he says nothing.

The rapid movement of Kora once the blood has been taken, however, has the good doctor getting ready to flip some switches to fill the room with some of that 'night night' gas. "Jemma.." he says in a single word of warning. "Don't stay in there too long. It's safe levels now, but I don't know how quickly that can change."

It's a very natural reaction, given Kora's recent experiences, but that also means there isn't a real understanding of friend/foe. Everyone is 'foe' until proven otherwise; and that proof may be posthumous, unfortunately.

"Don't take chances."

Jane Foster has posed:
Jane very well could protest the breach, even throw rank into the mix as a reprimand. SHIELD is, after all, a vertical agency. However, her nature isn't to interfere immediately so much as to observe. The brushes of awareness around those in her vicinity do not radiate pure hostility, as far as she can immediately notice. The whole process requires a larger portion of her attention than she cares to admit, and actively feeling rather than passively riding a wavelength feels strange, like a dress on a goose. Technically possible, but not often done.

"Careful," she murmurs spontaneously when Jemma puts her hand down, opening a pathway to possible trouble. When Kora doesn't immediately incinerate their favourite doctor, she might breathe a little easier. Only then, though. No signs of outgrowth in scales or plants, a win. Still, her shoulders twitch. "Glad you have eyes on this. Anything changing since we set out?" she asks Fitz, eyes in the not quite sky. Her tablet hates her, per usual, and she reluctantly draws up the tabs on the fourth try. "I'm anticipating a sedative should not be necessary, hopefully. We might expect that it interacts in odd ways -- any medication, for that matter. If we have Quake as our baseline, that is." The other baselines are a bit shiftier, Bobbi among them.

Her gliding path carries her into the containment cell of sorts, and she rolls her shoulders. No signs of it being too cold, though again, all is relative. "Are you cold?" English. "We can bring you a blanket or raise the temperature to help you be more comfortable." Hopefully English is obvious. Hopefully. If not, she can go into fluent Mandarin. Fluent everything. "We want to be sure that you were okay. You walked through broken glass and a lot of metal, didn't you?"

Jemma Simmons has posed:
When Kora awakens and immediately goes on the defensive, for good reason, Jemma takes a step back, sliding the medical kit back behind her in the process. Yes, it is painfully obvious that this particular person has an immediate fear of doctors and Jemma does not wish to feed into that. Her hands raise up, showing the palms to Kora and indicating that yes, they are empty. "We are here to help."

That calming sensation...it does seem to be lesser when Jemma is not in immediate contact with Kora. Jemma's thoughts briefly notate this, in her analytical way, and Jemma shifts. Maybe if she concentrates....she can make that calming sensation without actual physical contact. And, to those that know Jemma closely, there is a moment in which her expression shifts, minutely, but enough to show that she is concentrating.

To no noticeable effect.

There may be just a hint of disappointment, but it is quickly stuffed away as Jemma dons the pleasant demeanor that is a hallmark of her bedside manner. "I would imagine that hospital gown cannot be terribly warm. Would you allow us to get you some proper clothing? I understand if you do not wish for a wellness check, but let us at least make you comfortable." That expression of pleasantness cracks for a moment as she shifts to speaking of HYDRA. "Those HYDRA monsters are not going to hurt you anymore. Not if I can help it."

And...with the serious tone buried in those soft British tones, it is apparent that Jemma means to keep her word.

Kora Johnson has posed:
Kora's eyes flit from Jemma to Jane. The guilty way Jemma hides that medical kit. Her suspicions raised. She presses where the blood was taken to stop it bruising and her eyes narrow back at Jemma. "I've heard that before," she warns. Some real clothes would be nice but she doesn't want to take anything from these people, whoever they are.

"If you really meant me no harm you wouldn't be keeping me prisoner." Never mind that Jane is right and her feet are killing her - that's a problem for later. The now problem is yet another cage and caught by Afterlife.

"What a cosy base of operations you've found for yourselves," she states noting the faded nature of the SSR logo. It's not unlike Afterlife to find the corpse of a building and co-opt it for their own purposes.

Kora rises up from the cot. It does her no good to cower from these people. She can fight back even if it might cost them their lives. Whatever they hit her with from that gun? it knocked her out good. The transition from there to here was mentally jarring but she's not going to let that happen again. Not if she can help it. Her eyes begin to glow and the sensors Fitz set up begin to register strange strange energies.

Jane Foster has posed:
"I wouldn't know. I wasn't here or privy to any of the property arrangements." Most certainly, Jane wasn't old enough to recall the fall of the Berlin Wall if she were even born when it happened. Youth favours certain features, like impetuous behaviour or irrational responses triggered on fear. The astrophysicist can read the room's mood nearly as well as she does the infinitesimal spike in rare energy accompanying Kora rising from her bed. The distinctive measurements on the tablet cease to matter, sketching a tale that she's been reading for fifteen years and change. Probably one she understands better than all but 0.001% of people on the planet, and one of them busy in Doomstadt won't be interfering here.

"Miss, you're showing elevated levels of distress." Not the patient, the guest, the stranger. No dehumanizing third-person pejoratives pulled into the situation. Her attention narrows as she sidesteps around Jemma, truly about as concerned as a rabbit oblivious to the stooping hawk. "You've made your wishes clear. We will not push that boundary with you. And no, you're not a prisoner but you /are/ risking the lives of several thousand innocent civilians right now. None of whom did a thing to harm you. Deep breath, please. We found you hurt, and I'm bound by the hippocratic oath to do no harm."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
Jane knows exactly what to say. For Jemma's own part, she is bound to the very same oath that Jane is. And Jemma, unlike her HYDRA counterparts, takes that oath very seriously. "Please, try to relax. We really are only here to help."

Not that Kora is going to believe that in a minute. Still, with Jane stepping in between Kora and Jemma, it does give Jemma a moment to slowly back up, towards the exit. Because, yes...glowy eyes from Kora tend to cause concern. And Jemma is squishy. Not to mention that Jemma is now suddenly very invested in what secrets hold in that vial she obtained. Is this something from HYDRA she needs to neutralize? Jemma remembers full well the experiments that a certain HYDRA scientist did that were less than ethical. There might be traces of that here.

It might be misconstrued as Jemma wanting to leave to save her skin. When...really, it is Jemma wanting to leave to possibly save Kora's skin. But...it is apparent Kora is not in a listening mood at the moment.

Kora Johnson has posed:
Kora's lips snarl as Jemma ducks away behind Jane and Jane replies to her. It might seem like a logical thing to say but what's going on in Kora's head is far from logical. It's gutteral, a wounded animal cornered and caged and she knows it.

"Oh, you think I'm distressed? you must have a lot of PHDs," she barks back and her hands begin to glow as she takes a step forward. "You didn't find me hurt, you chased me down and shot me, then abducted me and brought me here. If there's innocent civilians out there then that's on YOU." The energy readings spike wildly.

"Get out of my way and we won't have a problem. Stay in my way and you'll learn just how 'distressed' I can get." It's like she's channeling Cal - perhaps that part of the family tree fell upon her shoulders more than Daisy.

Her lips are in a distinctly snarled poise, "Relax, Obey, Submit, Think of the Innocents, ... I've had enough. I'm not so naive to fall for your lies ever again!" The energy flares out around her like coronial mass ejections from the sun.

Jane Foster has posed:
What happens when the shepherd comes upon the injured sheep, and the injured sheep proves to be a wolf or nearly feral?

The fury that boils off of Kora does not, as it happens, entirely trouble Jane. While the Inhuman grows staticky and verklempt, she holds her hands open and she waits. Not moving here, there or anywhere, the focal point for such irritation can be nicely narrowed down onto the astrophysicist. No signs she would rush forward to try to calm the patient, no signs she's about to turn tail and scarper off somewhere safe. Concern radiates around her eyes, and it's probably going to bother anyone watching to no end that she doesn't take her safety seriously. Radiation deaths are a nasty way to go, all said and done. "I did not shoot you. I was disabling a device trying to broadcast your personal information to a likely hostile entity." A pause. Maybe this is when the light should burn her. It's going to be /incredibly/ awkward to be nude in a charred room with nothing else intact but the pair of them. "I'd wanted to bring it up to mitigate it." Nothing else than that, the quiet precision of her tone at complete odds with the snarling, spitting fury. In the face of such things, it's so easy to fall into rage, overcome by the weight. On the other hand, she's faced a hundred souls ripped apart and balled up, then hurled at her, so this really isn't the worst that even the past few months have brought.

"Absit invidia."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
With Jane running interference, it doesn't take much for Jemma to manage to back her way out of the holding area, beyond the boundaries of the force field that really could go up at any moment. With Jemma knowing Fitz, he is going to wait until Jane is clear, too. Not that he really has to, but that is besides the point.

Once Jemma is clear, though, she immediately turns and heads to the lab, much to the relief of the eye in the sky. And...as she does so, Jemma taps on the comms, just loud enough for those who really need to hear to do so. Namely....Jane, Fitz...and a Daisy too.

<<Heading to the lab. I...have a suspicion. Will know more shortly. Fitz, warm up the sequencer.>>

What does Jemma suspect? She isn't clarifying. But the fact that she isn't waiting must mean something.

Kora Johnson has posed:
It's the unrelenting stoicism of Jane that gives Kora pause. Jane can see something in her eyes she wasn't meant to see. It's the fear. Palpable real fear that someone might genuinely get hurt by her. It's one thing to shoot back when being chased by, at the time who she thought was HYDRA. It was another thing when Afterlife came after her again too - why she blasted at Daisy.

But this person, this Jane, is standing in the way of a wildly dangerous force and that fear in her eyes tells a story that is all too common with Inhumans. Kora does not have control of this. Her face turns from fear to pleading. Why isn't Jane running like Jemma?

She takes a step forward. It's a limping step. As predicted by Jane earlier her feet are wounded and she will limp her way out of here if she has to. Not knowing what Jane is, Kora whispers softly when Jemma has made it out, "I'm sorry."

The burst of energy explodes around the room and dances off the force field. It's unfocused, untuned, and pure wild. The cot behind her bursts in to flames; the fire alarm goes off and the sprinkler rains. The water turns to vapour immediately filling the containment area in a fog glowing earily with the light of Kora's power.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
<< What's going on? >> Daisy's voice on comms at Jemma's response there but then she is on the move as the warning klaxons begin to echo through the base. It can only really mean one thing because besides the few Secret Warriors that find a place here right now the base is working on minimum SHIELD personnel. So Daisy starts on a run out of the room where she was working on a AAR report...

Again that Inhuman. Destructive. A menace. But how much can Daisy blame on them? She barely had a grasp of her own powers before. Yet if the containment room doesn't work how will she be able to do this...? Well, she may have a plan or three about that but first .., it's time to get this situation under control..

She takes a turn and runs right into Jemma, "What happened..?" she looking around, "Where's Jane?"

Jane Foster has posed:
Mentally counting is a good means of focus. Except it's less one sheep, two sheep, and more sequences of numbers in alignment to the details she remembers from a tablet in an apartment several states away. One that ended up on the nice round number of yottajoules or something wonderfully absurd. Life, so full of absurdities, is not serious; rather, a string of blandishments punctuated by unexpected turns and moments of laughter that prove whomever, whatever, orchestrated all this has some sense of humour. Jemma's presence recedes in her awareness, untethered by a hallway to the point it's safe to step back in slow, careful motions. The holding area isn't big, but wide enough two steps will not take her to the unconfined excitement of a hall. But sometimes, the way things turn out isn't the obvious way anyone expects. Probably not to Fitz watching on high, nor in the traces that Jemma Simmons once calibrated for, nor the regular, steady heartbeat that Daisy's powers surely know by now almost never varies. Not even when a flush to the cheeks or a sudden burst of adrenaline would normally require the body to saturate itself with oxygen in anticipation of its own survival at stake.

Instead, the colliding forces bring the peculiar aldehydes and raspberries of deep, pure space since the moment of the Big Bang together with ozone, and whatever the hell sunlight smells like. "It's all right," she says, and she surely believes it. For without that faith, what is there?

"Just the daily output of the sun," said a silent king in midnight days prior.

Maybe this is never, maybe this is the hinge point where tomorrow never comes. Before Kora, After Kora, a measure to slice a life by. Energy lashes out in fury and takes with it all the fixtures that it encounters, surely. The tablet dies a quiet firefly death, spark and no more, the delicate electronics never made for that sort of abuse. Ionized or particulate masses exceed what the mortal eye is meant to see up close, but even closing them wouldn't stop Jane from trying in some way to identify this new experience, too. Oh, it hurts -- the memory of hurt, the very real fear in Kora's head, her own dire concern for the building landing on them or Jemma not getting clear all leave bruises and lacerations in ways that knives, bullets, and falling down a slope won't. Her clothes are only mundane, blasted and weathered in the vibrant slipstream. But things that ought to light up don't.

Her hair, though the elastics used to hold it back are dusty impressions on the face of time. Good thing she didn't like those jeans, anyway! Or that her favourite black tank is now a was. Flesh that stays pale and smudged by ashes is hardly an exciting look. If any dragons decide to hatch because of this, keep her /firmly/ away from a throne and a nephew.

The heat and the fury assail her, and no, it's not fun, but she hasn't been evaporated at the atomic level the way probably other non-shielded items have. Did Fitz protect the furniture? Fine, six forms in triplicate for HIM! Still, depending on the expended rage, all remains in ashes except for that damnably boring, utterly unremarkable chain around her wrist that's so fine, it probably cost $15 at Target.

Jemma Simmons has posed:
It takes just a little fancy footwork to not collide with Daisy. However, Jemma does avoid the collision, with her medical kit in her hand. It is quite obvious that Jemma is making a beeline for the lab. Her comm message was proof of that. But...for what? Jemma's answer for Daisy is short, which is rather unlike Jemma normally. Or...rather, it is like Jemma when she knows of the urgency.

This...qualifies as urgent.

"In the holding area." Vague, yes...but Jemma knows that Daisy can piece it together. Jane is in there with Kora. "Took a blood sample. I need to test it immediately. I suspect...." But what does Jemma suspect? A quick shake of the head dispels her commentary as Jemma keeps moving onward. "I need to verify. I will keep you posted."

With that, Jemma breaks off to head to the lab. But...not without a parting comment. "Daisy, don't hurt her..."

Why? It is probably just Jemma's overdeveloped sense of protection.

Kora Johnson has posed:
As the fog settles in to a fine myst and the fire sprinkler relents under Kora's attack, she limps past Jane. A hand touches the force field and she pulls it back like it were made of fire and she hadn't just exploded her exotic energy everywhere.

She looks back at Jane and twists her lips. There's sadness mixed with anger in her eyes. This is a cage after all and for some reason a very nude Jane is stuck in here with her. Well, it seems that way to her. It's clear from her actions that Kora just wants to be free. "Don't try to stop me," she warns but if that's the best she could do to Jane is there anything more to her bite?

She also looks a little depleted from that huge burst. But not done. Her hands lift up and she presses her lips together tightly. Her eyes shut as she expels energy once more - shooting from her hands they hit the walls of the containment area. The whole base goes dark. In the time it takes the backup generator to kick in, Kora has stepped past the shield and is limping toward the stairs.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
The holding area. Then there's that familiar 'buzz' again of a year ago. When Jane had that encounter with.... Something isn't right. Daisy's head snaps towards the holding areas, "Comms. Channel 5." This about them keeping in touch, hand resting on Jemma's shoulder a brief moment, "Counting on you.." her voice has gained an uncharacteristic seriousness to it though. Focused.

She isn't about to lose Jane again.

It's perhaps why Daisy doesn't say anything in return about that request to not hurt their 'guest'. It would all depend on what she'd find.

She finds herself running then, following the vibrations and moving to the containment area, reaching out with her powers to -feel- for someone in there. "Jane? Are you in here?" she looks within, trying to discern anything through the smoke still in the air at the fire and then the sprinklers. Someone moving. Their captive. Up the stairs..

Priorities first though. She walks in, all the way past the smoke to find Jane. "Jane! Are you okay?" she blinks, seeing the woman naked. Is she hurt? She can't really discern it through the smoke but ... "Come on, we need to get you out of here."

Jemma Simmons has posed:
And, with that Jemma just nods. She knows what is at stake. All she offers in return is a repeat of the last order. "Comms, Channel 5." Then she turns and heads for the labs.

Which doesn't take her long at all to get to. She knows her way around the Playground rather well, after all. The medical kit is opened as Jemma takes out the blood sample, even while in motion. The lab is small, but it is set up to her specific specifications, so she maneuvers with ease, pulling out the particulars she needs for DNA sequencing in a manner of moments. A drop or two of Kora's blood, placed with care, and into the spectrometer it goes.

While the machine runs, Jemma turns to the computer terminal. She needs a comparison...that baseline to judge from. And...for that baseline, she pulls up one in particular.

Daisy Johnson.

There are others she could use...but Jemma made it a point to pull up Daisy's. And now...all she has to do is wait for the program to run its course.

Soft muttering is heard, in the lab, and not on the comms. "Tell me I am wrong. Tell me now..."

Jane Foster has posed:
Jemma's work on the blood sample will be important in days and hours to come. Surely her medical expertise proves deeply important, significant for the business of sorting out Kora's particulars. By the time the dust settles, it will be a hell of a headache for bureaucrats and more.

But Peggy Carter's strange foresight in putting Jane deep in the echelons of SHIELD's smallest department probably shows itself now together with the chemical bath of a fire suppressant. She sinks down to her knees, arm wrapped around herself, staring dimly after the woman who departed out of the Playground. "Ugh," she murmurs, wiping soot off her lips with the back of her hand. Her dark eyes are sooted heavily, Winter Soldier-style, thanks to falling flakes of what could've been paint, a blanket, her ankle boots. There isn't any kind of tablet or comm system around her personally to give a thumbs up to.

Rather she can wait patiently, not coughing, a mess of dust and charcoal. "Yes," she calls back when she hears Daisy. Waving her arm is out of the question. "I need a towel or a coat. It may still be hot. I can't be sure."

Clipped, data-driven, that's basically the gist of it.

Kora Johnson has posed:
Limping, slow progress. In to the elevator. Button pressed. Rising back to the surface and out in to the sunlight. A parking lot with a non-descript office building in a quiet part of town. It takes her a moment for her eyes to adjust back to the sunlight.

You're out, you're free. Where the heck do you go? Whoever these people were, possibly connect to Afterlife, they seem to lack the conviction of HYDRA. That's a good thing. For her at least. She's learnt harsh lessons on how to survive but since she has no one and no where to go there's no other path forward than to simply walk.

Part of her wishes she'd said yes to Jemma's offer of clothing but would things have turned out any differently? A force field. They had her in a force field. This is not a kind or safe world. She will have to keep a lower profile and that means figuring out how to keep a lid on her gift.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
A towel or a coat is easier said than done... Specially when Daisy looks around and sees .., nothing? Clothes are done for. Lab coats? Didn't survive. And nor did a lot of the lab equipment. That Jane is still with them is nothing short of a miracle but Daisy isn't thinking on the WHYS, she's more giving her silent blessings that Jane is alive and talking. Talking's good. Specially when she sounds quite coherent still.

But well, back to the coat! There's really only one choice here, isn't there? And that is for Daisy to get the top end of her uniform out. She still has a Star Wars T-shirt underneath but the warm upper-part of her uniform is tossed across the room to land right in front of Jane. She takes her warning seriously. It may still be hot. Too hot for her. It's exactly why Daisy just dashes into that room to help Jane out if she will accept the help, draping the upper-part of her uniform on the other woman's shoulders.

"Let's get you out of here." She whispers. "I need to go after our 'guest', are you going to be okay?"

Jane Foster has posed:
Jane will be pretty patient, all in all. The alternative is being starkers to a horde of goggle-eyed SHIELDies staring at their deputy commander, and no thank you. This year's review will not include being dressed down by Nick Fury for failing to be dressed up. She occasionally speaks up mostly for Daisy's benefit.

Her private life is, after all, lived almost totally in silence. She will be fairly happy to not be naked. "I'll be fine. I'm familiar with her energy type and calibrate accordingly," she says when Daisy comes close, taking the top. "Thank you. Go after her. She's running scared."

Kora Johnson has posed:
It doesn't take too many stares for Kora to find a quiet alley to slip down in to. She sits and nurses her feet. The weight of the last day finally settling on to her. That sign that Daisy flashed her. The instant rage it brought up within her. She has to get a hold on this - she can't let Afterlife rule her forever.

The basics. Food. Clothes. Shelter. Her head falls in to her hands and she can't help but start to weep. She's the problem. The monster. The thing that needs to be locked up to keep everyone else safe.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Running scared. "She'd better be." If anything Daisy has always had a blind spot where it comes to the people she cares about. The loss of losing them can be too much and it can lead her to rage. To anger. Sometimes to protect, other times to .., destroy.

One hand rests on Jane's shoulder a moment after the uniform is at least covering her, "Stay safe.." and then she is running. Bounding upstairs, not taking the exact same path that Kora did because she knows the shortcuts inside the base!

A few moments after she is flying out to the surface, that vibrational hum of her powers familiar as she comes to land not far from where Kora is. She can feel the vibrations but she can't see her. She can't see the despair, or the tears.

"Come out." She calls out.

Jane Foster has posed:
Jane stays behind to at least get herself dressed, head down and footsteps measured down to a shuffle. The emotional beating requires her to approach wherever she goes carefully. In this case, she's seeking Jemma in some kind of laboratory.

She won't be too proud to call out to try to find their intrepid biochemist, but not a constant shout. Just a check now and then until she can catch the mental signature of their hardest-working Furiae. Their guardians and their watchers will have to wait; Kora is pursued by Daisy and she needs some kind of place to rest. And lament the death of her poor tablet.

Kora Johnson has posed:
It's not over. Not when there's a voice demanding she come out. Who is it this time. HYDRA? Afterlife again? More of the SSR people not so keen to let her walk away. She wipes at her eyes and sniffles back more tears. Perhaps one last fight is required to secure her freedom this time.

She rises back up and limps out in to the open and stares, seeing Daisy once again. "You!" she says with the distinct frown of displeasure. Afterlife. Her eyes don't immediately glow as she has been expending herself and the emotional cost, the anger, was spent in full in the containment area with Jane.

"Just leave me the hell alone if you know what's good for you..." I'm no good, her mind reminds her. More people will just get hurt. May be not Jane; though she might not appreciate her clothing being disintegrated more than once. Jane must be Inhuman too to survive like that. Now that she thinks on it, the way she briefly felt with Jemma touching her.. Jemma must be Inhuman as well. They must all be from Afterlife.

The glow returns to her eyes as she squares off against Daisy. It's not quite as intense as it was in China or in the containment area. Whatever it is that gives her this gift does eventually run out and need time to recharge. It's clear that Kora is beat but unwilling to yield.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
It would be easy to rage out now. To just demand for Kora to stand down and return peacefully. Or to tell her she is a menace to others and needs to be stopped. It's all things on the tip of Daisy's tongue. Yet she can't get herself to saying any of those, perhaps having been on the same place Kora has been in the past. Chained because of a gift she couldn't use properly.

"We can help you."

The star-wars t-shirt dressed Inhuman says, staying in a defensive posture still, one foot ahead of the other, hands at her sides but thrumming with energy.

"You know we can't leave you alone, but there are others like us. Others with who we can figure out how your gift may become what's supposed to be."

All words though. Words mirroring those spoken by Gordon in the past. Or even Jiaying. In fact those eyes are so similar to hers too.

Kora Johnson has posed:
Kora's eye starts to twitch again as the same words she's heard before echo back in to her ears from Afterlife. From all those years she believed them to be true. Like a fool she believed them when they said she needed special training - off away from everyone else. Locked in a room with giant stone doors, only Gordon entering and exiting to bring her food.

Her hands clench in to fists and her eyes glow darker, "I'll never go back to Afterlife. Never. You're all monsters." Because they should have just put her down when she first killed her friend. Her breathing is harder now, ragged. It's almost like looking in a mirror when Daisy used to rage out.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"Afterlife is .., we can help you there.." Daisy is perhaps a touch surprised that Kora knows about Afterlife. "Now that Jiaying, their old leader, is back we are finally being able to do what we were always meant to do. Unite our people. No longer stay hidden, or afraid." Daisy takes a step forward to the girl, hands opening to her sides.

"I do not know how we wronged you but .., we can make amends." Another step forward.

"I have been where you are now and it can be a scary place to be, but there are people who will help you if you will just let them.."

Kora Johnson has posed:
Kora's breathing quickens as Daisy says the name Jiaying. How dare she? "Jiaying is dead." She says flatly in response, her face ashen with endless mourning of a daughter who lost her mother and father at a young age. She doesn't hesitate because for her there are simply more lies coming from this agent of Afterlife. They'll say anything to trick her back in to that prison.

Her hands raise up and she blasts her energy from them. Limpingly she moves forward while keeping the energy pressure on. "How DARE you.." she yells as she does it. She flicks her head as memories of mother and father taking her to a park to play come back. The tears return instantly. It's a wound that she doubts will ever heal. They died and left her in the hands of the monsters of Afterlife.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"No, she ..." Is my mother. But Daisy never finishes saying that sentence because she gets blasted by those darn rays again. She -was- ready this time though so the shields come up in time that she doesn't get thrown back through the street. Instead she holds her ground even if her feet skid back some at the impact. Teeth grit but she doesn't give further ground for the moment, keeping the vibrational shield up and running, thrumming against the light blasts.

"You have to listen to me! Just let me..." Another blast that has her stagger back.

Blasts are growing in intensity as this next one she isn't able to hold as good as she did the first.

Kora Johnson has posed:
Kora is having none of it. But she's also exhausting herself. It's worth it though. Afterlife, trying to use her dead mother to trick her in to submitting to them all over again. She remembers the only person in Afterlife worth caring about. Gordon.

~~ She had run away from Afterlife for the second time and this time when Gordon appeared he saw a broken girl whose stolen gun had failed to end it all. Kora crying, he crouched down and cupped her chin. "Go.. I'll tell them you're dead. You will end up that way if we keep you here any longer. Find happiness, somehow, Kora. It's what your mother would have wanted." ~~

One hand, then the other, as she blasts at Daisy who seems to be able to deflect it away. "You don't get to say her name!"

Jemma, excited at the discovery and that her theory was right eagerly taps on her comms <<"Daisy! Daisy she's your sister! The familial match is 9.99%. Same mother. Same father. She's your sister Daisy.">>

Daisy Johnson has posed:
'She's your sister, Daisy'

That comes as a shock. Enough that her shields falter for a moment and she is sent flying back against a building. She drops to a knee, gritting teeth together as she keeps her shields barely running. << What? >> many questions go through her mind right now. How could this be possible? Why didn't Jiaying ever told her? And many, many more. Yet one thing she is certain of. Jemma is always right.

She has a sister.

Her powers renew and she gets back up to her feet. Those teachings with Blackagar come back to mind. Sometimes it isn't about emotion but learning to let go in order to protect those we care for. Or those we are supposed to care for.

A shockwave is sent in return and she begins approaching at a steady pace now, the vibrational waves expanding, larger and larger as they absorb the light thrown at them.

Kora Johnson has posed:
Kora pauses for a moment as Daisy is knocked back. She needs to catch her breath. Her body is exhausted and she can feel the pain everywhere now. This is too much; like the more extreme training she did in Afterlife when she first got her gift. Like when she first lost complete control.

As Daisy starts to return fire though, she pushes out her hand. Her energy is getting weaker and it's getting easier and easier for Daisy to contain it. "No... NOOO!" Kora yells out at her in response. "I won't go back! Please don't lock me away again. PLEASE."

Daisy Johnson has posed:
"We aren't going to lock you away." A serenity to Daisy's words as she continues her approach, powers fully unleashed with the Inhuman fully in control of them. It's almost as if she was feeding off Kora's light with it powering her vibrational waves. It contains the volatile, uncontrollable aspect of the other woman's powers, keeping it localized and focused.

"I am Daisy." She tells Kora. A familiar name.

And Daisy certainly sees the familiarity there. The rage, the uncertainty about the future because of powers that can't be controlled. But she won't let that happen. "Daisy Johnson."

"I won't let anyone hurt you." She steps right into Kora's personal space and wraps her arms around her, unafraid, vibrational shields keeping both their powers in check.

Kora Johnson has posed:
Kora's eyes slow glowing as Daisy contains her using wubwubs. She shakes her head a little. It is a familiar name. Not that common. Even less so for an Inhuman. Another sick joke perhaps? She ataken back entirely when she is hugged though. She's not quite sure how to respond. It's been so long.

Slowly, she wraps her arms around Daisy and her chest shakes with quiet sobs. "Johnson... that's my name," she says quietly. "Daisy was my baby sisters name," she says as her sobs increasing. Her brain isn't making the connection because it's too impossible to consider.