Gene shook his head mulishly at Anton's words and looked back up at him, fire in his eyes. "My life," he said in a low voice, "belongs to nobody but me. And I would rather die than become a captive again." He'd do it, too; if SHIELD wanted to take him, they sure as hell wouldn't take him alive. Better to die a free man than live a captive, after all.

Perhaps that hadn't been what Anton had meant, but he was fixated on that dark and terrible future that surely awaited him if he fell out of Keeliai with no memories. He knew that he was going to have to run for the rest of his life, however long that might be, spending years away from civilization to atone for his sins. He'd protect the Earth, but it could no longer be his home. He was not welcome there. He never would be again.

"That's different," he said stubbornly, regarding the metaphor. "That isn't something that gets erased."