6292/Meeting the King

Meeting the King
Date of Scene:	21 May 2021
Location:	Afterlife Settlement - Nepal
Synopsis:	SHIELD detects activity in Afterlife who turns out to be King Blackagar, the leader of the Inhuman moon faction. Daisy has questions.
Cast of Characters:	Daisy Johnson, Blackagar Boltagon

---

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Afterlife.

An once idyllic settlement where Inhumans were rescued to and lived in peace, away from the dangers of humanity, quiet and serene. The houses followed a very eastern pattern, Jiaying's influence, the Inhuman who has been alive for hundreds of years now and was a leader to her people. At least to the ones here on earth.

Yet right now things are very different from the past. The Inhumans are on the run from Hydra, many having been captured, others dead. And the settlement? It's been partially buried under snows that drifted down from the nearby mountains, covering most of it's beauty forever.

Some houses are still visible here and there, in ruins. Some still bearing holes or visibly burnt wood and stone where Hydra's weapons hit.

Life has left this place, and what remains is snow and silence.

Blackagar Boltagon has posed:
The whistling of the mountain winds ruffles his hair as Blackagar Boltagon stands where he landed, in the middle of Afterlife. Blue eyes as cold as the snow gaze around at the damage inflicted, the desolation and most noticeable for him, the silence.

Silence was life, but not in a place such as this. This settlement should have been full -- would have been full if not for...

It was his second visit to this place, the first nearly a week ago where the shock of what happened had led to the man leaving after a short evaluation. He had seen no one, noticed nothing other than the devastation and he had left.

Now he has returned to walk the grounds. The sound of snow crunches under his boots as he strolls with hands folded behind his back and thoughtfulness etched on his features.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Afterlife may be gone. But it does not mean that it's been forgotten. Certainly not for one Daisy Johnson. It was the place where she had finally met her mother, Jiaying, after years of searching. Where she had found her own people and understood what her purpose was. To protect and to find the others of her kind.

So she, along with SHIELD, had set up some surveillance tech. To perhaps try and root out any other Hydras that attempted to go there. For who else would know of that place if not Hydra or those Inhumans who had fled the place? This newcomer though, it comes as a surprise.

<<Daisy, we are detecting some activity up on Afterlife. Image isn't clear, these satellite feeds never work as we want them to but it seems to be a lone figure wandering it.>>

A jet is scrambled, and two hours later the quinjet is flying above the area, cloaked and silent. A marvel of SHIELD technology. Davis, the pilot, speaks back to Daisy. "Are you sure you want to go in by yourself?"

"Yes, but stand on alert." Daisy says, the back of the jet opening up, some of the frigid winds starting to enter it. "We need to make sure whether it's a friend or foe first."

And she tosses herself out of the jet, falling at speed until she is arriving close to the ground. There's an harmonic hum heard first before Daisy points her arms down to 'cushion' her fall by use of her vibrational powers until her feet finally touch the ground.

Blackagar Boltagon has posed:
By the time the SHIELD quinjet arrives, Blackagar has moved himself to the center of the village, settled into a stance that allows him to face the towering mountain peak nearest which saw the snow slide to cover houses. Hands folded behind his back, the man stood in an unmoving stance with his hands folded behind his back. In that posture, taken for such a period that time itself began to blend away for him, it is not until the harmonics that vibrate through the area at a different frequency then the wind does Blackagar find himself broken from his reverie.

Slowly he turns. Tall with strong features, blue eyes, and dark hair, Blackagar looks at the figure that finally begins the descent to settle upon the ground. With arms still folded behind his back, the Inhuman looks at Daisy with a measuring gaze -- but no words are spoken. Rather he stares at her in silence.

Finally after holding this posture, he reaches to his side and grabs something, a small piece of slate about the size of an envelope and throws it towards the new arrival. Upon it is written the words 'What has happened here.'

Daisy Johnson has posed:
The woman finally comes to a landing, a few ways away from Blackagar, dark hair tumbling about her shoulders, eyes slightly narrowed and determined. Shoulders tense as if she was ready for an attack. She is not too fall, but does seem fairly athletic, encased in a black and blue suit with the SHIELD symbol just above her heart, black boots on her feet. That determined look though, that may be a familiar one, at least to those who may have known Jiaying in the past. The same lines on her chin, the same kind of stubborn, unshakable determination in her eyes.

That he tosses a slate is ..., maybe a surprise. She catches it while it's flying towards her, holding it on her open palm. Daisy's gaze goes to it, then back up to the man. "If you are a tourist you have come to the wrong place." she says, "But if you want to know, death has come to this place, enemies of our people have trampled it down." the woman not hiding bitterness on her tone.

Finally she asks a question, "Who are you? And what are you doing here?"

Blackagar Boltagon has posed:
He listens to her words without looking at her. Instead, Blackagar walks a bit once more, looking at a nearby house that has its walls collapsed on one side the clear scorch marks of destruction around it. Stopping he picks up a small item, a picture it would seem that he examines for a moment while crouched down.

There is no response from the man for some time, the question that is asked simply sitting in that space as he seems to consider it for a while. Then finally he sets the picture down where he got it and rises, reaching to his waste to produce another slate upon which he begins to write. The process takes him time but when he finishes, he tosses that one as well towards Daisy. On it the same neat handwriting as before can be read.

'Who brought death to this place? Where is Jiaying? If this place is of your people then you know who I am.'

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Daisy watches the man walk about, touching Afterlife, it's remains. It has her tense up again, she also moving slowly about perhaps still fully unsure on whether this is a friend or foe. Even she is leaning towards neutral right now. Which is a step above foe! Always a good thing.

At least she is patient enough to wait until the other slate is thrown even if her brows narrow in suspicion immediately. "You know her name." fairly obvious apparently! "She is safe, along with the others. And you are talking about my mother." a beat, "I am Daisy Johnson."

"And I certainly don't know who you are supposed to be." Some suspicion remains but .., perhaps this is one of theirs that wasn't here when this all came down. "But one thing I am fairly certain of, you are one of us as well, aren't you?" She asks, approaching slowly, letting her gaze wander about the encampment again, jaw tightening.

Blackagar Boltagon has posed:
He hasn't truly faced her in a few moments, having kept his attention elsewhere. However, as Daisy approaches finally Blackagar turns to look at the woman fully. There is moisture in his eyes, a bit of it having leaked down his cheek, sorrow evident. When she speaks of Jiaying being safe he nods a bit, relief touching those eyes for a moment.

Reaching down, he pulls up the larger slate he keeps, the one he doesn't throw around and rights on it slowly before turning it so she can read the words.

'Then your mother did you a disservice. I am not one of you. you are one of me. I am Blackagar Boltagon.

King of the Inhumans'

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Noticing the sorrow on Blackagar's expression is enough to have Daisy take a 'step back' where it comes to her suspicion. It's a sorrow she knows well. What happened here had wounded her deeply, and worse than that it had also made her angrier than she thought possible. So she lowers her head just so as if signaling she is 'standing down'. And then she brings one finger up to her ear, speaking to it, <Davis, you can land. This man is not a threat.>

Soon after a jet is heard starting to lower a few ways away, uncloaking from invisibility. Daisy's attention stays on the man though, specially after he reveals that last slate. It has her blink. "King?" it makes her highly doubtful of it but at least she doesn't call him an outright liar. "Jiaying was the leader of this encampment. She never told me about a King." a pause, "Even if admittedly, it had only been a small while since I had met her."

Not even the name seems to ring a bell though. It's apparently clear Daisy wasn't in on that particular secret. But then she asks the inevitable. "Why weren't you here?" some irrational moment in which she perhaps is blaming this man who claims to be a king to not have been here to help them.

Blackagar Boltagon has posed:
Blackagar erases the slate after he holds it for Daisy to see and instead of answering her right out, he silently looks back towards the mountain. Reaching a hand up, he uses the back of his hand to dry at his eyes and takes a deep lift of his shoulders in a silent breath. Finally, he returns his focus towards the woman and starts to approach her with intentional steps.

He writes on the slate without looking away from Daisy, so well practices with his script that he is able to do so and manage it neatly before he turns it and faces it to the woman.

'Because this is not the only place of Inhumans. It is one of them and other areas required my attention as well.'

Writing does not carry tone often, but the expression on Blackagar's face is one that does with its stern furrow of his brow. He leaves the slate for her to read before quickly erasing it with a swipe of his hand and adding, 'Afterlife is the transit hub to the home of the Inhumans. To where our people live when they are free of this world'.

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Other places. That's a ..., she could say surprise but in the end she is a spy. She knew Jiaying had been hiding things from her. She just wasn't totally sure on what. Guess this was one. It makes her wonder how many more were there.

"What other places?" Again some bitterness in her tone? Maybe she -wanted- her mother to have been more open with her. But she takes in a deep breath but soon enough she appears centered, nodding sharply back at the man, focusing on taking in control her own powers, attuning herself to the 'song' all around her and the vibrations. A faint hum rises again from her but soon comes back down.

"You almost say it as if you lived elsewhere other than Earth.." a brow arching. "Jiaying told me that it was aliens that brought about the Inhumans, that made us evolve in such a manner." again her eyes roam Blackagar, this time more intently, her own powers reaching out, almost as if she was trying to read his vibrations, to sense the differences.

"Are you one of those?" Is she talking about the Kree?

Blackagar Boltagon has posed:
The man looks at Daisy, studying her as one might expect an elder to look at a younger one and he reaches into his pocket. From it he pulls out an object, it looks like a tuning fork in fact. He turns it over in his hand before holding it up between them for her to see. Letting her examine it if she wishes before he puts it away and starts to write on his slate. It takes him some time, a lot to share it would seem and the writing is much smaller forcing him to hand it over to her after he finishes some minutes later.

'Among your people do you have one who knows the language of hands? It would make this easier. You ask many questions, answers for which I do not trust you to share. Not yet. You struggle still? Our powers come from a disciplined mind. This object is what I use for my own focus. Were you taught to carry a focus to steady yourself?'

All of this is expressed but then the question about being an alien draws a harsh expression and a sharp shake of his head. It is scrawled in answer with a firm 'No.'

Daisy Johnson has posed:
A tuning fork. That's quite the curious thing considering Daisy's own powers, related to vibration and sound. She furrows her brows, watching the small object, her own powers coming forth as she attunes and reaches out to 'feel' it with her own song. A song she was only now learning the full potential of. Not just on the vibrational sense but .., much more.

"Sign language." She considers it, "I only know military signs." courtesy of SHIELD, a moment of consideration. "We could probably figure out a device to let you talk, depending on the reason on why you can't.. I am unsure if it'd be because of being mute or something else. But SHIELD has great minds, they helped me in the beginning. When I could not control my powers." she lifting her hands up.

"I used technological gloves in the past. They were my focus. But .., I have gone past them." she says. "Ever since I began to learn here, with Jiaying."

She gestures. "Come on. We can go to the quinjet. We have computers in there, might be easier to communicate." Daisy suggests, starting to walk to where the Quinjet landed if Blackgar so agrees to go with her.

The firm no about being an alien brings a nod from Daisy. "I don't even know where to start. Have you known Jiaying for long? And the others? Gordon?"

Blackagar Boltagon has posed:
Blackagar nods slowly in acceptance of the offer, turning to walk with Daisy towards wherever it is she is going, beginning to scribble as he does so. It is a painstaking way to have a conversation but it does allow for a great truth, there is no rush to speak.

'She has known of me for all of life.' Blackagar writes for Daisy to read while he walks, 'But this is my first time to come to Earth. In the past, she has come to us. When we lost contact with Afterlife we were in the midst of internal turmoil. Once that was settled, I was able to come here myself to see what has occurred.'

The snow crunches under his feet as he walks, the cold not appearing to bother him as the stroll continues. 'We keep a strong separation between Earth and our people for the protection of all. I do not trust this world. Your gift?'

Daisy Johnson has posed:
Internal turmoil. Kings. "I hope it wasn't the kind of turmoil that ends up in red weddings..." Ah, yes. Series references. Surely Blackagar will understand -those-! But at least Daisy seems a bit more at ease now. She walks along the man, over the snow and towards where the quinjet is, the back door down and a man with a beard looking over, waving when he sees the group arriving. "This is Davis. He is one of our Agents." her eyes then going to Davis, "This is .., uh King Blackagar." she makes her way inside the quinjet, "Can you go take care of comms while I talk with our friend here?" she requests of the other Agent, who moves out to do just that. Daisy comes back out with a couple of smartphones. "We can use these." she says.

And she goes on about showing Blackagar on how to you use the thing to talk through it and send messages. Handy things if one is to be honest!

"I have to ask though, where do you live? If not here?" And he did say he wasn't an alien so ..., it seems she is both curious and puzzled of it. "Even if I understand you do not trust me enough for that yet."

As for her gift she explains. "I have power over vibrations, or what Jiaying calls the song of the universe. And so does Master Fu." she exhales slowly. "But the gist of it is I can sense vibrations and manipulate them. Be it sound, or anything else really. And yours?" She asks.

Blackagar Boltagon has posed:
Davis, the agent is given a polite nod of greeting and a gesture indicating permission to come aboard the craft before doing so. Blackagar showing at least some kind of proper respect for these individuals he is about to travel with. The nod at being called a King is done to emphasize the correctness of the term.

There is almost a subtle smirk to his lips as he's handed the device. As Daisy shows it to him, he frowns some and finally sets it aside and opts once more for his slate. 'I will stick with this. That device is too primitive for my liking'. He probably can write faster than he can tap buttons after years of practice. The conversation that ensues takes place with writing, showing, erasing, and repeating until the sentiments are all passed along.

'I live in the home of the Inhumans, the City of Attilan.' He looks at Daisy then, as if expecting her to understand the reference but then frowns considering that she does not know her own history. He continues to write. 'We have hidden the city from humans for centuries but they continue to encroach upon us so over 100 years ago we moved to where they could not reach us. The moon.'

Letting that soak in he considers her question and finally writes, 'I harness the energy all around us. It is why I cannot speak, for if I do the energy of the universe pours out.'

Daisy Johnson has posed:
When Blackagar speaks about Attilan there is no signal of recognition out of Daisy. Clearly she hasn't been told much at all about her people. But then again she did say she only recently found her mother. Though she can't help but laugh when Blackagar refuses the phone. "That's like the latest rage in technology here!" certainly amused that this man calls it primitive. And then writes!

"You live .., in the moon?" That makes Daisy blink a few times. "Okay, you are going to have to tell me more about this. As for our people, as I told you they are safe now, we are keeping them safe. We can go back to the Playground. There are some people you should meet and then .., I can bring you to them."

And so they settle inside the Quinjet, ready to take off to go out. The description of the man's powers do strike an odd familiar chord with Daisy. "It is very similar to some of the things I have been exploring. I wonder .., if we could use it to communicate somehow." a beat, "But lets not try it now. Not in the Quinjet at least! I wouldn't want it to explode, yes?" yes.

And so they take off to go back to the United States!