This turn of events had truly caught Coulson completely off guard. From Skye fainting, to Evenson somehow taking control of Skye's body and using her life to threaten him, he had been unable to react at all.
But he understood that he was now at a complete disadvantage. Even if he could ignore whether Skye lived or died, she had already passed out. Every movement of her body was controlled by the mechanical exoskeleton, making her like a puppet on strings. Even if Skye truly died, this machinery probably would not stop. How was he supposed to stop it then?
You could not kill someone who was already dead. Besides, Coulson and the others were all holding tranquilizer pistols invented by Fitz. No matter how effective the sedatives were, they could not affect an inorganic object.
But it was impossible for Coulson to simply give up. So he began negotiating. "You're using Skye's life to threaten me. I have to say, you understand me well. You know I regard her as a daughter, and I can't possibly abandon her."
He only said this because Skye was unconscious and could not hear him. Otherwise, recognizing a goddaughter right in front of her would have been embarrassingly awkward. "But what about your feelings for her? Can you really bring yourself to kill her?"
"She joined S.H.I.E.L.D. because of you. You're usually very strict with her, but I know it's out of concern. She has always regarded you as an older brother, and I believe you regard her as a younger sister. Can you really bear to kill her?"
Skye—or rather, Evenson—fell silent for a long while. You said you treated her like a daughter, then said I was her brother... emmm... What kind of agent are you, playing this sort of twisted