A few minutes later, the Kree warrior was back on his feet. He picked up his axe, his eyes glazed and unfocused, then staggered toward the depths of the pitch-black forest like a drunk stumbling out of a bar.
Skye had recovered somewhat as well. Supporting herself against a tree trunk, she stood up and watched the savage Kree recede into the distance. "Is it really okay to just let him go back?"
"I made a few minor adjustments to his memories. He won't remember what happened to him on Earth," Michael said. "He'll only think his reconnaissance turned up nothing, then report to his superiors that the Inhumans experiment ultimately failed."
Skye let out a long breath and leaned limply against the trunk, clutching her arm. "What you just did to him... was it the same thing you did to me in the temple?"
"You mean the Hypnotic Spell? Yes. You lost control then and nearly tore apart the whole city," Michael said. "I helped you calm down."
Skye fell silent for a long while.
"Thank you," she said.
"Don't thank me. I only went to that city to retrieve something, and I came here because a deep-space surveillance satellite detected that blue guy landing in this area," Michael said, then paused for emphasis. "Besides, I'm a terrorist. A bad guy, remember?"
"S.H.I.E.L.D. puts everyone with extraordinary powers and an unknown identity on its high-risk wanted list. I know how their procedures work." Skye studied him cautiously, as though trying to read his reaction through that pitch-black armor. "But I don't think you're a bad person."
After a pause, she looked down at her mud-stained hands and gave a bitter smile. "Actually, by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s standards, I don't think I'm far from ending up on that dangerous list myself. I've