Chapter 857

S.H.I.E.L.D. had detected the anomalous energy surge too.

They had been watching it closely, and the following day, their instruments picked up another massive energy reading in the exact same location.

This time, the readings matched the signature of the Bifrost perfectly.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had its answer.

An Asgardian had come to Earth.

Naturally, the task of making first contact fell to the one S.H.I.E.L.D. team with the most experience dealing with Asgardians: Phil Coulson’s Special Operations Team.

And, exactly as Evenson had expected, he was called in.

Melinda May was halfway through briefing the team when a familiar voice rang out from the corridor.

"Hey, guys! Anyone want to give me a hand?"

The meeting stopped.

"I brought some cargo with me," Evenson continued. "Fragile cargo, actually. Handle with care. Who wants to help me move it?"

That was unusual enough to get everyone’s attention.

Normally, Evenson was the one taking things off S.H.I.E.L.D. aircraft. Usually, whatever he brought back was valuable enough to trigger an entirely reasonable internal investigation into government property, accounting procedures, and several other words that basically meant Evenson had stolen something again.

Now he was apparently bringing them a gift.

Curious, the entire team headed downstairs.

They found Evenson sitting cross-legged on the floor beside a stretcher.

Skye lay unconscious upon it, dressed in an oversized hospital gown.

Simmons took one look at her and nearly screamed.

"What did you do to her?!"

She knew exactly how badly Skye had been injured. Seeing the woman lying on a stretcher with no visible medical equipment attached to her was enough to send every alarm in Simmons’s head screaming.

She immediately waved Fitz over.

"Help me get her inside!"

The two of them rushed Skye into the medical bay and transferred her onto a bed. Simmons began attaching monitors, checking her vital signs, and running through every diagnostic procedure she could think of.

"You really don’t need to go that crazy," Evenson called from behind them.

Simmons ignored him.

"Skye’s surgery was successful," Evenson continued. "She’s completely out of immediate danger. All she needs now is basic aftercare."

Melinda finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

"So that’s the cargo?"

She glanced at Evenson.

"I was expecting an actual present."

Evenson laughed.

"Well, Skye being alive and well is a pretty good present."

"That it is."

Melinda smiled.

"Dr. Strange really is something. I’ve seen some of the best doctors in the world throw up their hands over Skye’s injuries, and somehow he had her stabilized in less than a week. How?"

"Cutting-edge cellular regeneration techniques."

Evenson delivered the answer without missing a beat.

"He went to Kamar-Taj to study magic, but apparently he also took the opportunity to work on some very advanced medical technology. No medical board breathing down his neck over there."

Melinda’s eyes widened.

"You let him use experimental procedures that haven’t been approved?"

"Desperate times."

Evenson shrugged.

"And they worked."

He paused.

"Besides, the medical board isn’t exactly famous for regrowing severed spinal cords."

You should be grateful.

If I’d been a few minutes later, Moira would’ve turned Skye into biological soup.

Instead, she rushed back from the excavation, worked overtime, and rebuilt half the poor girl’s body while eating a meat pie.

And she didn’t even add the garlic.

"What matters is that she’s alive," Melinda said, apparently deciding not to argue.

Then her expression changed.

"But aren’t you rushing things? You know how dangerous our missions are. Bringing Skye back here now seems..."

She trailed off.

It wasn’t because she thought Skye would be a burden.

Quite the opposite.

Melinda was worried that the team itself would put Skye in danger.

Their missions were conducted on a knife’s edge. The fact that they’d survived so many of them without casualties didn’t mean that was normal. Skye had only just escaped death. Nobody could guarantee that the next mission wouldn’t send her straight back there.

And an injured person was always the weakest link in a firefight.

Evenson understood that.

Surely.

Unless...

Melinda narrowed her eyes.

Was the medical bill too expensive?

"If that’s the problem," she said, "just send us the bill. We’ll reimburse you."

"Kamar-Taj isn’t a hospital."

Evenson spread his hands.

"It’s a secluded mystical sanctuary. They don’t exactly run a public medical ward. Strange agreed to treat Skye because he owed me."

"As for long-term care, that’s our problem now."

"Oh."

Melinda nodded, realizing she’d misjudged him.

Then Evenson continued.

"Speaking of which, Skye’s surgery wasn’t cheap. I paid the whole thing upfront. I even had to put my house up as collateral. When exactly are you planning to reimburse me?"

Melinda stared at him.

Then she laughed.

"Come on. You saved a woman’s life. Can’t you show a little class?"

"Does sleeping on the street count as class?"

Evenson raised an eyebrow.

"Besides, I’m already taken. If I start playing the hero-and-damsel game now, I’m not putting up my house as collateral. I’m burning it down."

"All right, all right."

Melinda waved him off.

"I was joking. Bring me the bill later."

"Kamar-Taj isn’t exactly a tax-paying institution. They didn’t give me a receipt."

A suspicious glint appeared in Evenson’s eyes.

"But I remember the total. I’ll tell you how much it was. Surely you trust my honesty."

Melinda stared at him.

Trust your honesty?

That was generous.

"You’re telling us how much you spent, and we’re supposed to pay whatever number you give us?"

She sighed.

"All right. Fine."

They’d known Evenson long enough to know what he was like.

Consider it charity.

"Cash," Evenson said immediately.

Melinda frowned.

"And why?"

"No electronic transfer."

His expression brightened.

"I’m finally getting some spending money."

Before Melinda could answer, Simmons’s voice cut through the room.

"Wait."

She was examining Skye’s body, and a crease had formed between her eyebrows.

"What is this?"

She hurried out of the medical bay and approached Melinda.

"You need to see this."

Melinda glanced at Evenson, then followed her inside.

Only after Simmons began examining Skye beneath the loose hospital gown did they discover what had been hidden underneath.

An exoskeletal support system covered parts of Skye’s body.

It wasn’t especially bulky or sophisticated at first glance. It looked almost like a metallic framework fitted with hydraulic joints, attached along her back and extending over her limbs.

Melinda lifted one of Skye’s hands.

A thin metallic structure covered the back of it, shaped almost perfectly around the bones of her hand. Similar mechanisms covered her feet. The components connected to the exoskeletons along her arms and legs before converging at her back.

And there, at the center of the system, was its most sophisticated component.

A completely mechanical artificial spine.

It rested directly over Skye’s spinal column, a segmented metal structure resembling a mechanical centipede.

"What..."

To an ordinary person, the sight might have been disturbing.

Simmons, however, was a medical doctor. Melinda had seen enough strange things in her career that a mechanical spine barely qualified as a surprise.

She studied it carefully.

"This looks like the prosthetic technology that was released recently."

Melinda leaned closer.

At the top of the artificial spine was a logo resembling half a maple leaf, accompanied by a verification QR code.

That confirmed it.

"Gospel."

Gospel was the medical technology company responsible for one of the most revolutionary early applications of advanced prosthetics.

Their signature technology directly linked artificial limbs to the human nervous system, allowing users to control them with almost the same precision as natural limbs.

The vice president’s youngest daughter had even appeared in promotional material wearing one.

The technology had already helped thousands of disabled people. In some cases, it had restored mobility to patients suffering from complete paralysis.

But why did Skye have one?

Melinda turned toward Evenson.

"What’s going on?"

"That?"

Evenson answered casually.

"It’s a rehabilitation and mobility-assistance system."

"Skye didn’t just injure her organs. She suffered a spinal fracture. The spinal cord is one of the most important neural systems in the human body."

Simmons’s face tightened.

"She isn’t paralyzed, is she?"

During Skye’s initial treatment, doctors had warned that paralysis was a possibility.

Had Strange saved her life without being able to restore her mobility?

"No."

Evenson shook his head.

"Strange is a surgeon. He managed to reconnect the severed spinal structures and nerves. But neural tissue is considerably harder to repair than internal organs. If the reconstruction isn’t handled properly, there can be serious complications."

"So this system assists Skye while she recovers. The movement stimulates the nervous system and helps accelerate the healing process."

"Once she’s fully recovered, it can come off."

Evenson suddenly raised one finger.

"One more thing. Since she won’t need it for long, I didn’t buy the system. I rented it."

Melinda gave him a flat look.

"I paid a deposit, too, so don’t break it."

"And when she’s recovered, let me know so I can return it and get my deposit back."

"We’ll tell you."

Melinda rolled her eyes.

The explanation sounded perfectly reasonable. Medical devices were routinely used during rehabilitation, and Gospel’s work in neurological assistance and recovery was among the best in the world.

There was nothing suspicious about Strange using one.

Nothing at all.

Still, Melinda had been in intelligence too long to leave things entirely to chance.

She gave Ward a subtle signal.

Check it.

A quick inspection. See whether the device contained any hidden surveillance equipment.

It wasn’t that she distrusted Evenson.

It was simply good intelligence work.

Besides, with Evenson’s technical education, if someone had hidden something inside a piece of advanced machinery, he probably wouldn’t recognize it even if they pointed it out.

Ward saw the signal.

And his stomach dropped.

What does that mean?

He glanced at Skye.

Then at Evenson.

Then back at Melinda.

Let’s think.

Skye had been injured.

Evenson had immediately taken her away for treatment, regardless of whether Coulson’s assault on the Tahiti facility succeeded.

His explanation was that he’d taken her to Kamar-Taj to see the legendary medical expert Stephen Strange.

But who could verify that?

Evenson could say whatever he wanted.

And Skye’s injuries had been severe enough that almost every doctor they’d consulted had admitted they were beyond their capabilities.

But there was one organization that could have treated her.

Umbrella.

Their biotechnology research had advanced far beyond conventional medicine. If anyone could restore Skye in such a short period, it would be them.

No.

Not just anyone.

Only them.

There was no way even Stephen Strange, no matter how brilliant a surgeon he was, could have restored someone this badly injured in such a short period.

Unless he had access to Umbrella’s biotechnology.

And Evenson’s story about Strange wasn’t entirely impossible.

Everyone knew Strange had been a medical prodigy.

But why had he been so talented?

Was it really because he’d spent years studying and practicing?

Or had he simply been standing on the shoulders of giants, exposed to biological knowledge that ordinary doctors couldn’t even imagine?

Ward’s eyes widened.

Dr. Stephen Strange could be an Umbrella operative.

It made perfect sense.

Strange had always been fascinated by surgeries other doctors considered impossible. Outsiders had interpreted that as a brilliant physician challenging himself.

But what if he had actually been collecting clinical data for Umbrella?

And now Evenson claimed that Strange had disappeared after a car accident to study magic.

Who was supposed to believe that?

Ward almost laughed.

If that’s true, I might as well start expecting divine possession next.

So the accident had been a cover.

Strange hadn’t gone to study magic.

He’d gone back to Umbrella to report his findings.

And Skye had already been identified as an Umbrella operative.

Now she had received treatment from Umbrella.

And this artificial spine—

This artificial spine was almost certainly one of Umbrella’s products.

Which meant there had to be something hidden inside it.

But then why was Melinda asking him to inspect it?

Ward’s thoughts accelerated.

Melinda was also suspected of being an Umbrella operative.

If Skye was already an agent and Melinda was one too, why would either of them need a listening device or transmitter?

They could communicate without one.

So the spine had to contain something else.

But why was Melinda asking him to check?

Had they misunderstood her?

Was she actually not an Umbrella operative?

Impossible.

That conclusion had come from their superiors.

They couldn’t simply have been wrong.

Which left only one possibility.

Melinda knew Umbrella technology could evade ordinary inspections.

Or—

Ward’s blood ran cold.

She’s testing me.

Of course.

Skye was Umbrella.

She had nearly died because John Garrett had orchestrated the attack against her.

Umbrella would naturally interpret that as a challenge from HYDRA.

They would be furious.

So Melinda wanted to see how Ward reacted.

If he performed a superficial inspection, pretended not to find anything, and deliberately looked the other way, then he would effectively be signaling that he wanted peace with Umbrella.

If he actually investigated the device...

Then she would know.

And she would kill him.

Ward swallowed.

He reached toward the artificial spine.

Meanwhile, inside a Gospel laboratory, a woman lay unconscious on an operating table.

She was a Latina woman with dark skin and an unusual half-shaved hairstyle.

An artificial spine and mechanical prosthetics covered her body, nearly identical to the system installed on Skye.

Except this one was far more complex.

Far more complete.

Without warning, the artificial spine emitted a faint violet glow.

Gnomes glanced toward it.

His expression remained cold.

"Remote subconscious overwrite protocol activated."

The machinery hummed softly.

"Behavioral pattern simulation in progress."

The violet light pulsed once.

"Project Edge of Tomorrow officially initiated."