Owner	Pose
Clint Barton	Clint was taking a bit of time off from the Avengers. Not that he didn't love the team, he did, it was part of who he was, but with a crazy mutant father and an obsessive killer robot gunning for Skye, he had to budget his time accordingly. However, he did have one last shift of montior duty before his leave, actually it was the last night of a set of three. Guess taking some leave means everyone dumping his shifts onto him before he goes. Clint took it like a champ though. No complaints, said it was a good chance to gather his stuff to bring home. So when it's time go, Clint is in the kitchen pouring coffee into a travel mug that reads 'The World's Greatest Archer' in purple, of course, though someone, likely Kate, scribbled in '^Second' between 'World's' and 'Archer.' "Last night then I'm free," he says to Skye as he puts the pot back and slaps a cap on his cup. "Go out for breakfast when I get back? Not around here, but one of those greasy spoon places down by Hell's Kitchen?"
Skye Johnson	Skye's there with her trademark grin, tiptoeing up to offer Clint a kiss. It's like a scene out of the 50's, except neither of them do anything more domestic than turn on the coffeemaker, and sometimes cook a meal. Oh, and dishes. They do do dishes. "Ooooo my choice this time? I know this little diner, called Alice's. One of my safe meetups. I'd say Fred's in mutant town, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed back there yet. Could always try it out and see?" The mug is laughed at. "I gotta meet this Kate. Anyway, you go. I'll be fine. I have a load of research to do." And she did - her dad. This Hydra and chemical thing Lumley mentioned. Tracking Genus. The fact that her mother was a healer, supposedly... Those crystals. Especially those crystals. "You know me in work mode. I won't even notice you're gone. Annnnd, no worries. I have the cellphone set to beep and remind me to eat food."
Clint Barton	Clint returns the kiss, smiling at the very domestic, fifties vibe they've got going on. "Should have got you pearls for your birthday, you know something to do vacuuming in, like June Cleaver," he says like either of them vaccummed, there was a reason they scraped together the cash each month to keep the cleaning service going. Neither of them had the time or inclination for that sort of thing. "Sure, Alice's works, or Fred's. I mean push come to shove, we could swing by the Trisk and borrow nanomasks..." Yeah right, they might be cavalier with the rules but those masks cost a pretty penny. "Anyhow think on it while you work and surprise me when I get back." He glances at the mug and smiles. "Yeah, I'll invite her over to hang out. She's fun," he says about his erstwhile protoge. "And yeah, I know how you get in work mode, should I bring a fog horn back with me so I can get your attention?" he asks with a cheeky grin.
Skye Johnson	"I am not that bad," Skye protests, completely ignoring the fact of Project: Make sure Skye eats and sees Sunshine after the Hydra attack. Even if she did turn one of her enforced outtings into work (shhhh, don't let May know!). "And just what would I do with pearls, anyway?" Skye shakes her head. "Go. Finish your shift. Though I keep telling you, you don't have to take the time off just because of the mess going on." She keeps telling him this, and she means it, but deep in her heart, she's glad that he is. With everything in her life being thrown into chaos, knowing he's there for her has been a stabilizing force. And just one of the many reasons she loves him. "Tell Tony he owes me lunch."
Clint Barton	Clint smiles knowingly in the face of Skye's protestations, it was all the comeback he needed. "Uh, wear them?" Clint replies smirking as he takes a sip of his coffee. Though the image /totally/ didn't work. Which was good by him, he wasn't really the pearls and dresses type. "And going!" he says bending to kiss her one more time before he scoops Gretel's keys off the counter. "Can I borrow her?" he asks before he lifts his coffee cup. "My bike doesn't have a cup holder." Even if it flies. "And I'll tell Tony if he even knows I'm there, his project mode is as impenetrable as yours," he says with a shake of his head. "And I know, but I want to," Clint says meeting Skye's eyes with his own. "Besides it's the Avengers, it's not like the Mansion is going to blow up if I'm not there to stop it."
Skye Johnson	"You be nice to Gretel," Skye says with the look of someone who may be sending her firstborn out on a date with a stranger. "Don't don't be putting any of that premium crap in her, she won't know what to do wit it. Cheapest cheap ass gas you can find. You hear?" She nods, and gives him a crooked little grin again. "Less chance of the Mansion blowing up if Tony isn't there. Pepper is falling down on the job. Anyway, go. I have work. And so do you. Shoo."
Clint Barton	Clint grins his best Han Solo grin and spreads his arms in fake chagrin, "What you don't trust me?" he says with a wink. "And sure thing, the cheapest crap I can find," he promises with a little salute. "Heh, this is true, his projects can get a little, intense," he says with a shake of his head. "Anyhow, will remind him about lunch, have fun!" he says in a tumble of words as he heads to the door. He pauses there a moment to turn, say, "See you later, Keyboard," blow her a kiss, then vanish out the door, letting it close behind him. And the house was hers.
Skye Johnson	Once Clint is gone, Skye settles down, and actually tries to do some work, but she's having trouble focusing. There's that whole business of what Lumley had said, about her mother being a healer. And then the rage monster that her father seemed to be. Walking through walls. Killing people without hesitation. It sounded like a very odd pairing to Skye, but then again, there were those who couldn't figure out how she and Clint had gotten together. But what Lumley had said niggled. Skye realized that she'd never actually thought about what it might mean for her - if she were their child, and they werne't completely human, then might she have some powers too? The whole idea gave her the creeps. She couldn't think of any real way to figure it out, but she did have those crystals of her mother's, and well.. that's where Skye's mind kept drifting: back to those crystals. With a sigh, she closes her laptop and retrieves them from their hiding place, noting that she probably should get them secured by SHIELD. 'After this' she tells herself. And having told Fury about them, Skye had ensured she'd have to do something about them other than tuck them in her nightstand. First, though, she was going to play with them and see if there were anything about them that she could figure out. Something maybe that she, Skye, could trigger. 'yeah, right, weirdo,' she told herself. Still, it didn't stop her from getting them and sitting down on Clint's big purple couch in the livingroom, trying to see what she could do with them.
Clint Barton	Removed from the bag, the crystals lay inert, each one the length of a man's middle finger, a deep, dark blue, shot through with veins of silvery metal. When brought together they clink like glass, held in the hand they're lighter than they appear, much much lighter, and cool to the touch. But even touching them with bared skin doesn't spark a reaction.
Skye Johnson	Skye holds them, each in turn. First one by one, then in pairs, seeing if they warm up. Then she does the absurd (all the while telling herself how *stupid* it is) and thinks at them, trying to get a response. That little thread of silvery metal has her attention: what is it? And why is it in the crystals? It occurs to her that they may be divining rods. Or some sort of homing device. Or antennae. Some less than crude mimicry of stonehenge, where if placed in the right order or shape, they'll come to life.
Clint Barton	The crystals warm slowly, if only with the residual heat of her hand. Adding a second makes no differnece. And when thought at? They remain frustratingly inert. The metal when closely examined glints with both lighter and darker tones and seems to be imbedded into the crystal itself, visible in bands along it's surface and with closer inspection, forming veins inside of it as well. As to placing them in paterns, well there infinite combinations one can make from five long crystals.
Skye Johnson	"Stupid things," Skye mutters. There's the traditional pentagram, so she does try that. Not that she's expecting much of anything by doing so. It bugs her. They were her mother's, not her fathers, so theoretically, if she followed along that line... would they be used for healing? Or, she wondered, if striking them either together or with a tuning fork might give her more information. Sadly, she's without a tuning fork. But she does have a butter knife. Probably not the world's best substitute, but it's what Skye has on hand. She tries that route next.
Clint Barton	As expected nothing happens when they're put in a pentagram. Striking them together gets a dull clink out of the crystal. The butter knife gets a better result striking a bit of the metal in the crystal and striking a cord. The crystal vibrates then slowly stills in Skye's hand.
Skye Johnson	"I wonder," Skye mutters, hitting one a little bit harder, seeing how long she can get the vibration to sustain itself. They'd been found in a village where wind chimes nad gongs were a common thing. Wouldn't it stand to reason that maybe these might have a similar function? Or, perhaps, more importantly, maybe they created a field that her mother had healed from within... Only Skye didn't really have the proper equipment to set up a way for the crystals to continue resonating the way she imagined they would work. Still, it was a working theory.
Clint Barton	The harder impact gets a reaction but not the one that Skye was looking for, when they connect they vibrate, but there's a tiny of explosion of dust at the point of impact, bursting away from the crystal's surface and fading into the surrounding air. A tiny dent is left behind in one of the crystals.
Skye Johnson	"Ouch," Skye says of the tiny dent. "Clearly not the way to go. Or at least I need to stop being the one playing with these." She bites at her lower lip, deciding. "Okay, one more stupid thing before I take them to the experts." And it really was stupid. She knew it was, yet she couldn't stop herself from trying it. Of course, for this she'd need more than a butterknife. One of the sharp paring knives they had would do, Skye carefully pricking a fingertip, and seeing if blood did anything to the crystals.
Clint Barton	The reaction of Skye's blood and the crystal is less violent, but still surprising. The drop of blood rolls down the side of the crystal until it reaches the little dent, coating it's surface with it. The blood stops rolling, a dark film spreading across it for a moment before crumbling away leaving the blood behind, specked with its remains.
Skye Johnson	"Riiiight. Fitz and Simmons are going to yell at me if I keep this up." With a sigh, Skye puts the kitchen utensils into the sink, and the crystals back into their pouch, and decides to head over to the Trisk. Like she should have in the first place.
Clint Barton	It's evening and much of the 9-5 bussle of the core group of Adminions has gone quiet for the day, not that the Triskelion ever really sleeps. There's always people training, working, blowing off some steam... and in one corner of R&D arguing. "If we only had a monkey..." Fitz laments. Jemma rolls her eyes, "What is it with you and monkey's anyway?" "I like them," Fitz says quietly. Jemma just shakes her head, "Anyhow, barring any simian assistance, what do you think we should do..." The two banter back at forth looking at some complex design on the holo-table in front of them. So engrossed in their work that they don't notice any visitors. Proving 'work mode' is pretty much endemic in many parts of the organization.
Skye Johnson	Because it's not *her* in work mode, Skye is all amused at the banter and the obliviousness. And because she's really not sure yet what it is she's going to say to the pair, or ask of them, she's content to sit and wait until they notice her. Of course she's going to sit on a counter to do it - because if you're going to taunt someone with not noticing you, you're going to do it in such a manner as they're going to be put out when they discover you ... not exactly doing something wrong, but close enough. Also, becausee everyone threatened her laptop when she was in workmode. It was kind of a retribution thing she had going on here.
Clint Barton	The tactic works. One moment the pair are chattering away in techno-babble the next as if alerted by some inner fastidious super-sense, Fitz turns and even before looking says, "No, you canna sit there-" Though he cuts it off when he completes his turn and sees it's Skye, sitting on his counters. Jemma turns with her lab partner but her reaction is more measure, a stern expression commands her features until she turns and sees Skye and it brightens into pure sunlight. "Skye!" she exclaims with a smile. "It's been ages," she says drawing out that last word. Then fiddling with a loose strand of hair, she adds, "Though if you wouldn't mind jumping down from the counter, we do try to keep that clean."
Skye Johnson	Skye waits until they see it's *her* and not just some nameless peon, then hops off the counter. "Oh, C'mon Fitz, would I really sit there?" She's all smiles for the pair, and offers Gemma a quick hug. "Yeah, I've been kinda busy, what with being an international crook and all. And then that vacation of mine." She takes a deep breath, "So, speaking about that vacation, there are a few things I'd like to discuss with you two. If you've got the time, that is." Inwardly cursing her cowardly self, knowing she's giving them (and herself) a way out of a talk that should have been had as soon as she got back from vacation. Hell - before she went on vacation.
Clint Barton	Simmons returns the hug and Fitz offers an awkward wave from the holotable. "We heard," Simmon says of Skye's time as an international crook. "Yeah, you should have come to us before your little escape, we could have gotten you out of here in half the time," he says proudly. Simmons nods, "Oh yes, we have loads of things that would have helped with that," she says excitedly. Though the mention of her vacation gets their attention back on the here and now and not escape kit for an op that finished months ago. "Oh, did something happen on the vacation?" Simmons asks glancing at Skye's left hand and failing hard at being subtle. "Yeah, something that'll come to a conclusion in December maybe?" Fitz asks hopefully. Dear gods... they bought into the wedding pool.
Skye Johnson	Whoosh. Totally over Skye's head for a few, as the young woman blinks at them, then gasps and makes agahst face. "No. No. There is nothing coming to a conclusion in December. Ew. How could you.. you guys are our friends.. What am I saying? Darce is one of my best friends and she started that pool." Still, Skye scowls at the pair. "I am not pregnant." Instead, she thrusts a date stick at them. "This. This is what I should have come to you with sooner. Before my vacation. It's why I went on vacation." Still grumbling, Skye mutters to herself, "I can't believe you thought I was pregnant."
Clint Barton	Simmons blushes, "Pregnant, noooo!" she protests. "I can /tell/ you're not pregnant," she says like the idea that she couldn't was laughable. "We thought you were engaged." "Yeah," Fitz confirmed. "Bet you'd have a December wedding." Simmons nods sadly, "We wanted June but Agent Triplet beat us to it." Fitz holds up his fingers an inch apart. "That close." The flashdrive though draws their interest immediatly, it's almost like Skye could wave it around and their eyes would track it like a cat on the hunt. "Oh?" Simmons says holding out a hand for the drive. "What's that?"
Skye Johnson	"You're betting whole months?" Skye just chuckles. She was going to have to talk to Clint about this.. But first.. "It's a lvl 10 encrypted file. Only, I've unencrypted it for you. It's mine. Well, about me. And mine." She finds herself flustering a bit through it all. "Fury handed it to me after the Tidepool stuff was all cleared up. It's why we went on vacation. Sorta a chance to get my head in gear and deal with what is in those files. You're.. well, he said I could tell who I wanted, and you were at my disposal." Which sounded pretty weird to say. "June, huh? Man Trip thinks Clint works a lot faster than he does."
Clint Barton	"Well parts of months, really," Simmons says as she takes the drive from Skye. "Trip got the last spot in June but we got around Christmas." "Still time to make that happen," Fitz opines and Simmons gives him a look. "Jus' sayin'" Fitz protests. Simmons shakes her head. "Level 10 hmm?" there was some excitement in her voice. "You know what that means," Fitz says moving to a panel. "Can I, or do you want to?" he asks Simmons. "Go right ahead." Fitz nods. He presses a button then says, "Initiate Shadow Protocol." The lab doors seal shut, and the glass on it and the walls shades over becoming opaque. Fitz and Simmons share an excited look. "Well, let's see what we have then, shall we?" she asks sticking the drive into the holotable. The files spring up and hover in the air, the pages of the report, a few odd pictures, and of course the DNA report. The two scientists are fixated on the images hovering in front of them, eyes sweeping across the words quickly taking it in. "Skye," Fitz says looking back from the report about what happened to her. "I am so sorry, to think SHIELD did something like that..." It was clear it shook him a little. That wasn't the SHIELD of his little laboratory bubble. Simmon's eyes haven't left the DNA report. "Fitz, look at this, it's remarkable... I've never seen markers like this before in my life."
Skye Johnson	Okay, so Skye expected them to get somewhat excited, but this excited? "I should have known you would have some protocol for just such an occassion," she tells them fondly, and not without a small bit of awe and trepidation for how quickly it all went down.. and how soon they were going to know everything about her. Only, once they know, it's like May and Darcy and Clint all over: nothing but support. It's all rather humbling and mind-blowing to the young woman. "I was hoping you might have," Skye tells Jemma. "But I was expecting you wouldn't. I'm what they call and O84. And that there, if I understand it correctly" she points at the screen Jemma is looking at "says I'm not fully human." She takes the crystals, still in their pouch, and puts them on the table. "Oh, and there are these, too."
Clint Barton	"Of course we do, standard protocol really," Fitz says while he reads. "Barely ever get to use it." "Yes, he's very excited," Simmons supplies. "An object of unknown origin," Fitz says defining an 084. "I've never heard it applied to a person before." "Nor have I," Simmons says flashing a sympathetic look Skye's way. "But, the good news is, looking at this DNA report you're human save for these markers which are quite extraodinary." She pulls up more detail studying it closely. Fitz supplies, "It's unusual, but not so alarming. Your DNA looks much closer to human than say a mutant or someone changed by an experiment, like Doctor Banner." When the crystals come out Fitz takes them before their laid on the holo table. "Where'd you get these?" he asks as he carries the carefully and sits them down on the counter Skye had been sitting on.
Skye Johnson	"Except for those markers." Skye sighs. "You know, that's not all that encouraging. Except for those is like saying someone is a little bit pregnant. They're not normal. I'm.." "The crystals belonged to my mother. She's rumoured to have been a healer. Long lived. And speaking of Bruce Banner, I think my father is a rage machine. He apparently kills people with his bare hands. Oh, and he walks through walls. Don't ask me." She nods with her chin at the crystals. "I can't figure them out. I damaged the one, and got a reation out of it. And yeah. I know. People aren't supposed to be O84's. I'm the first, and as far as I know, officially the only one."
Clint Barton	"It's not all that bad really, I mean, sure you're a little bit different, but otherwise you're human," Fitz says. "'sides thought it was your think to be different. Though, I suppose this is another thing all together, isn't it?" He frowns at his faux pas and lets himself focus on the crystals as he talks. "An' sorry to hear about your father, mine wasn't grand either, but, walking through walls, and killin' people with their bare hands... that must be horrifying..." He moves on to the crystals and comfortable ground. "It's an interesting structure, never seen anything like this form with metal in it." He lifts one to the light to study the veins of metal inside. "An' what sort of reaction?" he asks sounding a touch worried that he's holding one of the things in his hand. He's setting it down when Simmons says, "Fitz." "Hey, don't be doing that when I am handling crystals," he warns before coming over to look at what she's looking at. A silmulation of Skye's DNA based on the report. "I would have to have a look at a proper sample, but, I'd say these markers are incomplete, like they're missing a piece. It's..." "Remarkable?" Fitz offers. "And yeah, I see what you mean, they just end, there's no completion to them. Like they're looking to bond with something."
Skye Johnson	Skye utters a very small "Oh" and tries not to look guiltily at the crystals. "Looking to bond to something, huh? Wow. That's just like.. uh.. like a protein deficiency, right? Kinda?"
Clint Barton	"No, no, you're fine," Fitz says to Skye. "Talking to Simmons, calling to me while I'm holding the thing. Anyhow, what sort of reaction was it?" he asks her about the crystals. "Very close," Simmons says. "Except because the rest of your DNA is complete it doesn't leave you short on anything... looking at the rest of the material here, I think these markers are half of a gene. Though without the rest I won't know what exactly it does, if anything..." "Anyhow, what was this about crystals?" she asks looking away from the display to try to catch up with the world around her.
Skye Johnson	"Well, that would suggest that.. maybe the missing bit is because one of my parents is fully human?" Skye looks perplexed because the stories of her mother suggest she's a mutant at the very least - which she can't be given they know what mutant markers look like; and she's met her father. He most definitely does not act human by any definition she knows. "Oh. The crystals. I was just fooling around with them and thought maybe if they were used for healing, maybe they'd react to blood. I tried it and where I chipped the one, there was a funny reaction." She tries not to frown. "You don't think the bits that are missing in my blood are in those crystals, do you? That that's why Hydra was after them? So they could use them on someone else like me?" Or given Karl's interest in her, on Skye herself.
Clint Barton	Both scientists look at both startled and curious when Skye mentions it had a reaction to her /blood/. "Skye, you don't want to be touching unknown objects with you blood. There could be all sorts of reactions," Simmons says coming over to Skye and the crystals. Looking Skye over as if she might be suffering from some strange symptom right now that only she could see. "I think she's fine, Jemma, but she's right Skye, experimenting outside of laboratory conditions ends up with things like Doctor Banner." The hypothosis draws both scientists to silence. "It's possible...." Simmons allows. "But how would someone evolve..." Fitz says as though they were carrying on half the conversation telepathically. Then they stop again, eyes locked, coming to the same conclusion. One they don't share right away, Simmons just pastes on a smile. "Well, Fitz, why don't you run a scan on the crystals and Skye, if you'll let me I'd like to take a blood sample." "Yeah," Fitz says. "Anyhow, don't worry about it, even if that's the case, we won't let Karl get you. You're one of us, we look out for our own."
Skye Johnson	"There's still a smudge of my blood on the crystals. I didn't wipe it off if you want to see what happened?" As for taking a blood sample, Skye just looks resigned. "I wasn't sure if I was going to tell you about them yet. They'd kind of been private, you know? Just between me and, and this whole past I never had before. Only when the weird happened to my blood I thought I'd better come let you look." "Oh! They vibrate if you hit them just right. Hit them harder, and they break. Or possibly might break. I dented the one."
Clint Barton	Jemma takes a breath, slowing down the enthusiasm train to a steady chug, she puts a hand on Skye's arm. "I know this must be overwhelming for you and if those crystals are a link to your past, I can understand why you kept them private. I think any of us would do the same," she says. Fitz nods in support. "If they're safe, we'll get them back to you after a hefty scan and if not, well, then the may not be the best thing to keep around the house, especially if Karl's after them." She smiles, looking Skye in the eye. "Fitz and I? We're your friends, and we're going to do everything we can to help figure out what all of this means." She gives Skye's arm a squeeze. "Though we'll hold off breaking them until we've done our scans. Safer that way."
Skye Johnson	"Yeah, I know. It seems silly now to have kept them secret. I don't know what I thought would be different. And when I figured out they might not be safe, I brought them here." She gives the pair a weak smile. "You'll let me be here if you break them, right? I want to know. I mean, be here and know, not find out after the fact. I.." There's a sheepish look from Skye. "I know how excited you guys get doing your job. Kinda like me and mine."
Clint Barton	"Of course, we'd let you be here if we break them," Fitz says. "I mean, not only are they your treasured heirlooms, but what sort of friends would we be if we kept all the cool stuff to ourselves." Jemma smiles faintly at that. "His heart's in the right place," she says to Skye. "Now, do you mind if I take that sample?" Fitz for his part selects one of the undamaged crystals and puts it gently into a scanning tube, adjusting it so the crystal is held snuggly, and safely. Then lowers the tube into the machine. "Shouldn't take long, this equipment is top notch." "And guess who designed it," Jemma says lightly.
Skye Johnson	Skye snorts, "Fitz. Of course." She pushes her sleeve up to offer to offer her arm to Jemma - mostly unecessary due to the fact she's in short sleeves, but it seems the thign you do when someone is going to take your blood. "This isn't going to hurt, is it?" All the while craning to get a better view of the scanning going on.
Clint Barton	"Not at all," Jemma promises about the pain and she's mostly right, there's a sharp prick then a little pressure and she's pulling the needle away and telling Skye to hold a bit of cotton to where she'd pricked her for sixty seconds. She takes the needle over to a machine and slots the tube of Skye's blood inside. As for the scanning of the crystal it's quick and mostly self contained, the machine thrumming like a CAT scan until it stops and details begin to appear on the holodisplay shunting over Skye's files. A lot of it, okay most of it is incomprehensible. "Wow," Fitz says. "This is really something..." he runs a hand through his curly mop of hair and squints at the details. "This metal is like nothing I've seen before, and the crystal... is some sort of suspension I think and partially organic..." His eyes don't leave the screen, "Well, whether you're an 084 or not, I'd say these crystals most definitely are."
Skye Johnson	"Partially organic? Like a biocell?" Skye wasn't unfamiliar with those, given her hacker life. But she'd not thought of less techie sorts of applications for it. Nanites, maybe? but that wasn't what Fitz was describing. She dutifully holds the cottonball to the prick mark. "I always wondered why you have to do this. I mean, it's just a little hole, right?" Okay, less dutifully now as she peeks to see how the arm is doing, only for a little welling drop of blood to rise.
Clint Barton	"Not quite sure yet," Fitz says as he begins to manipulate the holotable to display more detailed data on the organic components. "Jemma, can you have a look at this." She was the bio-tech person. Jemma wanders from her machine to look at the data. "It's so that doesn't happen," she says with a smile to Skye. Then she delves into the data, mming at it and moving various bits of holo stuff around with great sweeps of her hands. "I have no idea what the metal is, but looking at the crystals themselves, their meant to preserve and contain this biological material..." "Yeah, I see it now, an' the metal, it' helps keep the whole matrix stable..." "But see here and here," she points to more holodata. "There's decay, the organic material has begun to break down. I am guessing the suspension wasn't durable enough to keep it stable for all these years." "The metal though," Fitz says. "Still never seen anything like it it." The blood scanner bings, it's work up complete. Jemma gets that data moved to the holodisplay before turning back to Skye. "I'm not sure yet, but there may be something to your theory these crystals have ties to your DNA. If so then that might explain the reaction to your blood."
Skye Johnson	"So, what if my mother made them for me? You know, like knew this might happen, and hoped they'd be there for me some day?" Of course none of that explained things if the crystals had been hers before Skye was born. Not unless she'd had them from before for some reason. For some reason because she'd be unable to access the materials easily after she.. Skye pushes the cottonball down on her arm. "Are they from here? I mean earth. Because, what if they were brought here like.. not like batteries, but kind of? You know what I mean. They activate something, like the second half of my DNA, only normally this wouldn't be how it would happen. This was just a safety measure becuase.. well, okay, they said they worshipped her as a god in my village. What if she wasn't from here. What if neither of them were?"
Clint Barton	Jemma nods, "If she did, then she was an amazing chemist," she says. "Though if she was worshiped as a goddess and a healer, maybe that's why." "Would be nice, wouldn't it?" Fitz muses. "Being worshiped for scientific accumen." "Seems to work for Tony Stark," Jemma says. "Anyhow, it's very possible she did make them, what chemicals I can recognize here are found on Earth, the only unknown is the organic material and that metal." "Yeah, the metal is definitely strange, but, can't say for sure if it's alien yet," Fitz remarks. She moves back to the holotable and enters some commands. "Running the compounds through the SHIELD database to see if there's any matches to anything like the biological material on file." Jemma moves the data from Skye's blood front and center. "As for your parents..." she studies the results. "I'd say one of your parents had to be human, but those markers look like they were inherited from your mother's DNA." "Maybe she did make them then," Fitz posits. "I mean, she knows you're going to be born, and so she makes the crystals to help you do whatever it is they're supposed to do." "Well we don't know for sure but the thought is quite touching, really, isn't it?" Jemma muses.
Skye Johnson	"What if the organic material came from her? I mean, she had them. They were hers. It's not that crazy a theory, is it? So it won't react to someone else. Just someone who has the same as her." Jemma's thoughts on her mother have her nodding. Not that Skye is terribly up on matrilineal inheritance or dna markers - the truest way to trace lineage. None of it, however, explains her father. "It's touching, but I saw my father. He was.. he walked through a wall. I didn't make it up. You can ask.." And here Skye has to stop herself, because May might not have seen it. May was pretty busy bashing a man's skull in at the time.
Clint Barton	Jemma cocks her head and the idea. "Hmm, didn't think of that," she admits. "We should be able to run a comparison." She moves back to the holotable and brings up the details of the organic material and Skye's blood work. The comparison is quick. "No, it doesn't look like it's your mother's DNA, but..." She brings up the original image of Skye's DNA with the markers. She adds the readings on the stuff from within the crystal. "It's definitely the missing piece," she says. "Or would be, but you can see here, the connections on the crystal side have decayed, meaning they wouldn't be able to form a proper bond."
Skye Johnson	"Skye peers, but it's not as clear to her at Jemma. She sees the fray, but isn't sure /why/ it's there. "I'm not sure I follow. Decayed, like rotted? Because it's part biological? Or just, like, maybe the way they were stored or something? They were hidden, but not really totally protected from the elements."
Clint Barton	"I'm not sure," Jemma admits. "This organic material is new to me but it could be the elements or simply time. I should be able to tell by studying the substance here in the lab." Her search through the database finishes and she frowns. "Which may be our only chance to understand it as we don't have anything like it in the SHIELD database." "Well, her parents had to find it somewhere, didn't they?" he says. "Maybe if we find her father, he can tell us." "Fitz, that's a horrible thing to say, I am sure Skye doesn't want to run into him again." "I dunno," Fitz says with a look to Skye. "Even horrible fathers are still your father." He wrinkles his nose. "Anyhow it's none of my business, but I can say, fairly confidently these crystals were made, likely around the time you were born, given the break down of the chemicals we do know about."
Skye Johnson	"I'm not sure I get a choice about finding him. He's looking for me, and hurting people while he's doing it. I figure the easiest way to end this is to find him myself, before he can do more damage, and get what I can from him. Then we put him on ice." Skye shrugs as she says that, like it's totally sensible, and anyone would speak of putting their father away so casually. "If you need more of my blood to play with one of those, I'm game. I want to know, you know? Even if it doesn't work like it was supposed to, I'm curious now what it might have done." Even though she wouldn't admit it, she's a bit disappointed the crystals sound like they no longer do anything. Relieved.. but disappointed all the same.
Clint Barton	Fitz seems to understand the coldly rational way she's dealing with her father, Jemma, whatever her opinion, is simply too British to speak it. "We can definitely draw some more blood and run some tests to find out what might have happened had you exposed yourself to one of these things more fully," she says. "Though given the incomplete bonds, I can imagine it might be disasterous." "An' we'll run tests on the other crystals too, see if the orgnanic materilal there is in any better shape."
Skye Johnson	"They might not all be the same," Skye suggests. Or, she thinks, maybe not all of them are degenerated to the same level. As for her father, it's the only way that Skye can deal with the matter. "I guess you draw more blood and I leave you guys to do your thing?"
Clint Barton	"I'm afraid so," Jemma says. "Going to be all terribly boring until the tests are done, but if you want to sleep in the Triskelion we can call you as soon as we've got some results." "Or if we're going to experiment with the crystals," Fitz adds. "In the meantime if you come over with me I'll get your samples taken care of," Jemma offers, before putting a hand on Skye's arm again. "I know this whole business must be terribly trying."
Skye Johnson	"Guess it's a good thing I brought my gear with me." And that her former suite was still unoccupied. Turns out she'll have a place to stay while all this is going on and Clint is nicely occupied elsewhere. "It's not been fun. But I have things I can work on while you're doing this. A few leads to run down before gathering folks together and seeing if we can find my father and end this." She is, of course, working under the assumption that her mother is dead.
Clint Barton	Jemma leads Skye back to a more dedicate medical area to get more blood, she ties a rubber band around Skye's arm and smiling apologetically she says, "This will take just a little bit longer," she says as she goes about the business of drawing blood. "And for what it's worth Skye, I think you're making the right decision, with your father, even if he does hold the key to all of this, he's done horrible things, he needs to be stopped." She looks up sympathetically. "And if there's anything Fitz and I can do to help you. You can count on us."