Chapter Text
The morning they were set to leave, Afterlife was quieter than usual. Word had spread that Dante was going, and while no one stopped him, there was an unspoken weight in the air. Some watched from a distance, lingering in the doorways of their homes. Others approached him directly, offering quiet words of encouragement or brief, reassuring handshakes.
Dante, to his credit, handled it well. He had spent the last several days working with their healers, learning how to control his abilities with a level of precision he hadn’t thought possible. Lui had been patient, teaching him the basics of regulating his temperature, recognising the early signs of transformation, and, most importantly, understanding that his power did not have to define him.
But Dante had still made his choice.
Moira stood off to the side, letting him have his moment. He had become comfortable here, more at ease than she’d seen him since their first meeting, but when they’d spoken the night before, his mind had already been made up.
“I don’t belong here,” he had admitted, glancing at the mountains in the distance. “I mean, I get why some of them stay. But I wasn’t meant to hide. You and Stark – you didn’t just want to study me. You actually gave a damn.”
“You sure about this?” she had asked.
Dante had nodded. “Yeah. I want to go back with you.”
So, now, as the final goodbyes were exchanged, Moira found herself standing near the edge of the courtyard, arms folded, observing the quiet farewells.
“You’ve done well with him,” Jiaying’s voice cut through her thoughts.
Moira turned to find the leader watching her, hands clasped in front of her. There was no accusation in her tone, only quiet observation.
“He made the choice himself,” Moira said.
“Yes,” Jiaying agreed. “Which is why I’d like to speak with you before you go.”
Moira hesitated, glancing back at Dante, who was shaking hands with one of the elders. He’d be fine for a few minutes.
“Alright,” she said, following Jiaying toward her office.
The wooden door shut behind them with a soft click.
Moira stood at the edge of Jiaying’s office, arms folded, trying to ignore the weight of Jiaying’s gaze as the leader placed a small square of cloth on the desk between them.
Beneath it, Moira already knew what lay hidden.
“I told you before,” Jiaying said, her voice soft but unyielding. “I believe in choice.”
Moira exhaled through her nose. “And yet, you still put it in my hands.”
Jiaying lifted a shoulder in an elegant shrug. “Would you have taken it from me otherwise?”
Silence.
Jiaying smiled like she had expected as much. “You’re a pragmatist, Moira. You weigh the risks. You look at all the angles before you act. That’s why I trust you with this.”
Moira eyed the bundle warily. “You trust me, or you want to test me?”
Jiaying tilted her head. “A little of both. It’s a strange thing, isn’t it? To learn that something inside you – something you never even considered – could make you more than you are now.”
Moira’s jaw tensed. “I’m not looking to be ‘more’ than I am.”
“No?” Jiaying’s voice was gentle, but knowing. “Tell me, then. Would you be holding yourself back if you weren’t afraid of what you might become?”
Moira clenched her fists. “You don’t know me.”
“I know people.” Jiaying’s expression softened. “I know what it is to stand on the edge of something vast and terrifying and to wonder if stepping forward is worth the risk. I also know that if I had been given the choice before my transformation, if someone had let me decide for myself rather than having it thrust upon me, I would have wanted time to consider what that meant.”
She slid the wrapped crystal forward.
“That’s what I’m giving you now. Time.”
Moira stared at it but didn’t move.
“You don’t have to do anything,” Jiaying assured her. “You don’t even have to tell anyone you have it. But one day, if you ever decide you want to understand what’s inside you – who you might become – then you’ll have that choice. And no one else will be able to make it for you.”
Moira finally reached for the cloth, fingers closing around the edges carefully, deliberately avoiding any contact with the stone inside. It felt heavier than it should have.
Jiaying’s voice was quiet but certain. “If nothing else, consider this: you work with people who will always be stronger, faster, more powerful than you. But you, Moira MacTaggert, are not just anyone. You could be one of us.”
Moira swallowed. “I already made my choice, Jiaying.”
“Maybe.” Jiaying leaned back. “But now you have another one.”
And Moira, despite every instinct telling her to leave the crystal behind, carefully tucked it into her pocket as Gordon arrived to take her home.
Moira stepped outside, the weight of the crystal pressing against her thigh through the fabric of her pocket. The cool morning air of Afterlife was crisp against her skin, but it did little to quiet the thoughts racing through her mind.
She found Dante standing near the central courtyard, adjusting the straps of the bag slung over his shoulder. Lui, his transition guide, stood a few feet away, nodding at something Dante was saying. A small group of Inhumans had gathered with them as well, whispering among themselves, their expressions a mixture of understanding and disappointment.
When Dante spotted her, he gave her a small nod before turning back to shake Lui’s hand.
“You sure about this?” Moira asked when he reached her.
Dante exhaled, glancing around at the quiet sanctuary he was about to leave. “Yeah. I mean... this place is great. They’ve helped me. But it’s not where I belong.” He met her gaze. “S.H.I.E.L.D found me first. You found me first.”
Moira searched his face for any hesitation but found none. He had made his choice.
“Alright then,” she said, nodding. “Let’s get you home.”
A familiar flash of blue light crackled beside them as Gordon appeared. “Ready?” he asked.
Dante took one last look around, then turned back. “Yeah.”
Gordon reached for his shoulder, and in an instant, he was gone.
Moira let out a slow breath, rolling her shoulders back. When she turned, Jiaying was watching from the steps of her office, arms folded. Her expression was unreadable, but something in her eyes told Moira she already knew Dante’s choice had been final.
Gordon reappeared. “Your turn.”
Moira hesitated only briefly before stepping toward him. One last glance at Jiaying, at the buildings tucked into the mountainside, at the people who had built their own world in secrecy. Then Gordon’s hand closed around her arm, the blue light engulfed her vision.
And when she blinked again, she was back – stood beside Danta on the terrace of Howard’s villa.
The humid air of the island replaced the dry mountain breeze. A shout rang out from the villa as a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent rounded a corner, eyes going wide as he registered her sudden appearance.
A moment later, the front doors burst open, and Howard Stark shoved past her to grab Dante into a one-armed hug.
“Oh, thank god,” Howard muttered. “You’re both back. We’ve had people combing the island for days. Where the hell were you? Who took you?”
Dante, grinning, launched into an eager retelling of their time at Afterlife as Howard guided him inside.
Moira followed quietly, nodding at the agents gathering in the doorway, but her fingers brushed against the cloth in her pocket.
Jiaying’s words echoed in her head.
She had made her choice. Dante was entrusted with the secrets of Afterlife and the Inhumans who resided there.
But Jiaying had given her another one.
Moira sat on the edge of the bed, elbows resting on her knees, eyes fixed on the crystal sitting on the dresser. The cloth lay discarded beside it, the stone catching the dim light filtering in through the curtains. It was harmless like this, silent, still, waiting. And yet, it felt like it was watching her, aware of the power it held.
She ran a hand through her hair, exhaling sharply. Jiaying had called it a choice, but Moira wasn’t sure that was true. A choice implied she had no outside influence, that the weight of it hadn’t been handed to her by someone else.
Undergoing Terrigenesis at the X-Mansion wasn’t an option – she’d be a walking security breach before she even knew what her powers were. Doing it at a S.H.I.E.L.D. base wasn’t any better. Too many bodies, too many risks. She’d have to talk to Stark, find a safe place – if she’d even activate it at all. But holding onto it, knowing what it could do, was starting to feel just as dangerous.
With a frustrated sigh, she stood and crossed the room, grabbing her bag and shoving the crystal, cloth and all, into an inside pocket. Out of sight. That would have to do for now.
She turned to the phone on the desk. Checking her messages was an afterthought, something to ground herself in the normalcy of routine. But the second she hit play, she regretted it.
“Moira, where are you?”
Click.
“Please tell me you’re not picking up because you’re on your way here. Things are crazy…”
Click.
“If you’re doing this out of spite…”
Click.
“Moira.”
Alex’s voice in the final message was quieter – strained. Less frustration, more desperation.
She stared at the machine, jaw tightening.
It looked like she wouldn’t have time to keep deliberating after all.
Moira scanned the suite quickly, grabbing everything in sight and shoving it haphazardly into her case. She wasn’t packing; she was cramming, barely registering what went where. There was no time for neatness.
By the time she jogged downstairs, she was already scanning the rooms, searching. No sign of Howard in the usual spots. Which meant…
She swung open the door to the lab.
“I need to go to Winchester,” she said, striding inside like she hadn’t just barged into what looked like the middle of an experiment.
Howard blinked at her, the oversized goggles he was wearing making him look like a cartoon character.
“Huh?”
Thankfully, convincing Howard Stark to book her onto a flight didn’t take much effort. The moment she explained the urgency he was already working on getting her out that afternoon.
“I still don’t think Dante’s up to air travel yet,” Howard mused as they finalised the details. “Don’t get me wrong, the kid’s made incredible progress, but I’d rather get him back to the States by boat. Less chance of him having an accidental… situation.”
Moira nodded, only half-listening. Her thoughts were still stuck on Alex’s voice, that raw edge of desperation she wasn’t used to hearing.
Howard didn’t miss it.
“Relax, you’ll get there in time,” he reassured her before grinning. “Meanwhile, I’ve got my own battle, getting Inferno to leave this place. But if Maria’s last phone call was anything to go by, she’s not going to be thrilled if I extend my trip much longer.”
Moira’s expression softened. “You didn’t have to stay with us this long, Howard. S.H.I.E.L.D. could’ve sent someone else.”
“Hey, no skin off my back,” he said breezily. Then, smirking, “But if you wanna make it up to me, you can be the one to tell Dante you’re off on an exciting mission without him.”
Moira sighed but agreed, wasting no time heading upstairs. She needed to be at the airport as soon as possible.
“I can fly!” Dante protested the moment she told him.
“Dante,” she said, exasperated. “It’s not about the flight. You don’t have clearance for field missions yet. And to get clearance,” she added pointedly, “you need to start your training back at HQ.”
“But…”
“I don’t make the rules,” she reminded him.
He groaned, overly dramatic – spending too much time around Stark was definitely rubbing off on him.
“Fine.”
“Great,” Moira smirked. “And I’ll try to work something out so I can help with your training. Deal?”
Dante’s scowl morphed into a grin. “Deal.”
Neither of them was particularly surprised when Howard insisted on driving her to the airport, dragging Dante along under the guise of exposure training. It was a fair enough excuse, though he had the sense to keep the kid back in the car park where there were fewer witnesses.
Howard walked with her through the car park, hands shoved in his pockets, his usual cocky grin subdued for once. Dante, under strict orders to stay put, was watching from the car window, his face unreadable. Moira didn’t turn around. If she did, she might actually reconsider leaving.
“We need to talk when I get back,” she said, voice low, purposeful. “About what happened at Afterlife. It’s important.”
Howard shot her a side glance, his smirk twitching back into place. “So stay. Let Johnson’s team handle Winchester. Whatever’s going on with your mutants, they’ll still be there when you get back.”
Moira let out a breath, shaking her head. “You know that’s not how it works. Right now, I’m the only one they trust. If something’s happening, I have to be there.”
Howard sighed dramatically. “Alright, alright. Go be a hero, Agent MacTaggert.” He leaned in to press an exaggeratedly loud kiss to her forehead. “Try not to miss us too much.”
Moira rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop the small smile that crept in.
It was strange, the thought of being apart from them. After everything with Dante… chasing him through the streets, dragging him halfway across the world, seeing him shift between fear and trust – it felt unnatural to leave him behind. He knew what it was to have his world rewritten in an instant, to wake up and find himself changed. But he didn’t know Moira might understand that feeling more than she let on. That she carried the same possibility with her, tucked away, waiting.
Howard, of course, had spent the last week making it his personal mission to wedge himself firmly between them.
Moira had lost count of the number of times he’d physically inserted himself between her and Dante on the couch, in the car, even at the breakfast table. “What?” he’d say, all innocence, before launching into some story designed to monopolise Dante’s attention.
One time, he’d actually thrown his arms around both of them and declared, “My boys! My beautiful boys!” before immediately attempting to recruit Dante into some absurd scheme involving an offshore speedboat race.
“Howard, no,” Moira had deadpanned.
“Moira, yes,” he had replied, completely unbothered.
And then, of course, there was the time he had casually presented Dante with the keys to a brand-new car, watching with smug satisfaction as the kid gawked at it like it was Christmas morning.
“One can never have too many cars,” Howard had said sagely, leaning against the hood while Moira pinched the bridge of her nose.
It was irresponsible, ridiculous and entirely Howard. But Dante had been laughing, grinning in a way he hadn’t since they’d met, and Moira supposed, in his own chaotic way, Howard was doing what he did best – taking care of people.
She trusted him to. After all, he’d done the same for her. When she’d been lost in the gaps of her own mind, memories stolen from her without permission, it was Howard and his team at S.H.I.E.L.D. who had helped piece her back together. He was reckless, infuriatingly smug and prone to making everything a spectacle, but beneath all that, he was a genius. A genius who knew how to put people back in control of their own lives.
Dante was in safe hands.
Still, as she approached the terminal, something heavy settled in her chest. Howard would keep an eye on him, and she trusted Jiaying wouldn’t send Gordon unless it was absolutely necessary.
Unless Moira made the choice Jiaying expected.