A/N: Hello everyone! I bring you all a brand new fic, which you all can thank the wonderful Emmy-Kent for, since she requested it! And while I had the beginning of this idea already typed up on my laptop, I had let some dust gather on it while I worked on the other stuff I've put out, and it wasn't until she sent me the kindest request ever! Emmy-Kent, you sure know how to boost someone confidence! Thank you so much for reading what I put out; I really hope you enjoy this and that I do your idea justice.
Warning: While I'm sure most people have seen F.Z.Z.T, this fic contains many spoilers, so stop here if you don't want to be spoiled.
FYI: just want to put it out there that some of the lines you read in this fic were taken directly from the episode (I won't disclose how many times I had to watch this ep to get the complete transcript down). I only did it this way to try to keep it true to the ep as much as possible, seeing as this is a tag of sorta to F.Z.Z.T.
That said….
Disclaimer: I own nothing! I don't own AoS, I don't own the characters, I don't own Marvel, so please don't sue. :- )
Skye sat in the lab with Fitz, quietly watching the scientist as he worked. Since she and Ward weren't exactly on speaking terms at the moment, training had been canceled until further notice. And while she could attempt to train on her own, she'd much rather be with company, then alone.
"Sky—"
"Fitz, you wanted to see me?" Ward asked, interrupting the younger agent as he walked in.
"Uh, yea, yea. I um, I finished the night-night gun and needed you to make sure it's good." He said, briefly glancing at a very silent Skye.
Ward followed Fitz gaze for a brief second before turning back to the task at hand. He didn't care for the hacker all that much at the moment.
He picked up the gun and maneuvered it around his hands for a few seconds, trying to get a feel for it, before he swiftly lifted into a shooting position.
Ward sighed, "Sorry, Fitz. It's close, but it's just not right." He said handing the gun back.
Fitz gaped at the man, confused. "Really?" he questioned. "Cause agent Coulson had no problems."
Ward shrugged. "It's an ounce too heavy."
"An ounce? Seriously?" Skye asked speaking up for the first time since Ward had entered the lab.
Ward spared her a glance before directing his attention to Fitz. "It's the difference between success and failure when you're on a rooftop with a 15 mile an hour wind, and your target is 500 yards away." He explained casually.
Skye sighed softly, turning her attention to her chipping nails. Ward couldn't make it anymore clearer that he didn't want her on this team.
"Well yea, I guess… bu-but that's why we have the rifle, no?" Fitz asked.
Ward sighed, frustrated. "Lose the ounce, Fitz." He said quickly making his exit and leaving a flustered Fitz behind.
"Lose the ounce, Fitz." he muttered under his breath, clearly annoyed with the agent. "I'm agent Grant Ward and I can shoot the legs off a flea from 500 yards as long as it's not windy." He mocked playfully, arms on his hips.
Skye stared, trying unsuccessfully not to laugh.
"Hey, that's a sound I haven't heard in a long time." Fitz said, walking over to Skye. He must admit, he'd actually missed the playful hacker.
Skye sighed. She kind of missed her old self too.
"Yeah, well, you wouldn't be laughing a whole lot if you were living in Ward's doghouse." She muttered sadly.
Fitz frowned. He really did feel bad for her. Everyone made mistakes, and in his opinion, she'd suffered enough.
"You made the rounds, apologized to us all; what more can he ask for?" he scoffed.
Skye shrugged, swinging side to side slowly in the stool she sat on. "I don't know. I have literally been busting my ass! Memorizing every S.H.I.E.L.D. protocol manual, following every order, "Yes, sir.", "No, sir."… I even let them tag me like a stray dog!" she said clearly frustrated. "I mean, I know I lied to you guys, but I was trying to protect my boyfriend."
Fitz nodded sympathetically. "I know it's rough, but give'em some more time. Ward's not like the rest of us, after all."
"Yeah, I guess."
Skye turned her attention back to the laptop she'd been messing with before Ward had come in, when Jemma entered the lab.
"Well, that took longer than expected." She said, dropping her clipboard on the counter. "Oh no, Ward was here again, wasn't he?" she picked up the night-night gun and turned to her partner. "What's wrong with it now?"
Fitz smirked. "He said it was off by an ounce."
Jemma rolled her eyes. "Of course he did." She weighed the gun on her hand then set it down exasperatedly. They'd been trying to perfect the damn night-night gun forever, it seemed. "I'm agent Grant Ward, and I could rupture your spleen with my left pinky blind-folded!" she said mocking the older agent in a rather nasaly voice.
Skye chuckled, incredibly amused by the pair of scientist.
"That is dead on!" she chuckled.
"Well than—Oh, Agent Ward."
Jemma straightened up as Ward walked into the lab, a suspicious look on his face.
"Something funny?" he asked, folding his arms across his broad chest.
"Uh no, no… just-"
"Poor silly Fitz, he mistakenly left a dummy round in the pistol." Jemma said, ending Fitz's fantastic stammering. "Should be proper now." She handed the gun over to him, biting her bottom lip in anticipation.
Ward took the gun, eyeing her cautiously, before testing it as he'd done earlier with Fitz.
"Hm, great. Thanks." He said, handing it back to her. "Now hustle up and grab your gear; we're on a mission."
Skye, Fitz, and Jemma watched Wards retreating back, trying hard to stifle their laughter. Ward was something else, for sure.
AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS
"So, what exactly are we looking for here?" May asked, walking alongside Coulson and the team.
They landed in the middle of nowhere a few minutes ago and had yet to be informed on what the mission was.
Coulson stopped in the middle of the forest and motioned to the area around them. "Local police got a call from some kids last night; they said their troop leader had been killed. When the cops arrived, one of the boys said the troop leader, Adam Cross, had apparently heard something in the woods and went to check it out. That's where the electrostatic anomaly occurred." He explained.
"Weird, from what I understand, electrostatic anomalies are caused by massive electrical storms-"
"Which didn't occur anywhere near the area last night," Jemma said, cutting Fitz off.
Coulson smiled, "Right, which is why we're here."
"Right, Sir." Jemma said blushing. "We're just going to go have a looksie." She said, ushering Fitz to the other end of the wooded area.
Coulson looked on amused. Those two were something else.
AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS
"The battery blew straight through the hood." May said, dusting off her hands.
"It landed over here." Ward pointed out, squatting over the charred battery. "Had to of been one hell of a force to create that kind of trajectory."
He stood to his full height and walked towards the edge of the wooded area; Skye following closely behind.
Since they weren't training in the makeshift gym they had, she'd opted to shadow her S.O. instead, and get some field experience. So far he hadn't objected, since he didn't have to really talk to her.
"Omf" Skye bounced back, startled as she ran into Ward's back. "Sorry." She muttered quietly, looking anywhere but at him.
"What are you doing?" he asked annoyance clear in his voice.
Skye tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "I uh, I'm shadowing my supervising officer." She explained feeling a bit intimidated. Ward was a big guy.
"Shadowing, not smothering." He said, walking away from her.
Skye huffed, completely at a loss. This whole thing was seriously starting to get on her nerves. She had literally tried everything she could think of to get back on Ward's good side, but everything she'd done hadn't worked. Maybe quitting would work. What was the point of sticking around if you weren't wanted, right?
"There's scorch marks all over that tree. Lucky the whole forest didn't burn down." Ward said, breaking Skye from her thoughts.
She gave herself a quick mental shake and focused on the task ahead. Last thing she needed to do was screw the mission up because her head wasn't in the game.
She jogged, quickly catching up with Ward as he made his way towards the rest of the team. Skye stuck close, observing her surrounding area.
"I don't get it. It seems to me like this electroshock thingy was some freak lightning strike.
I mean, why call us? What's the big…nevermind." She trailed off as she came to face with a floating man. "Whoa…"
"It's so sad a man died this way, and yet, so amazing." Jemma said carefully taking a step towards the man's floating body.
Skye pushed past Coulson and May and stood beside Jemma and Fitz. Sometimes their job could be so cool!
"What could cause an effect like this?" she asked completely interested.
"Judging by the horizontal electrical discharge-"
"Perhaps nano-batteries, an electrical discharge, or it could be-"
"Time." Coulson said, interrupting both scientists as they spoke over each other. "Let's try that again. Any idea what could cause an effect like this?"
Jemma shrugged, "Hell if I know."
"No, not a clue." Fitz muttered, turning his attention back to the readings he was taking.
Skye chuckled, amused at the pair. They were so cute together.
"Seems to me like we're dealing with some freak natural event or a new high-tech weapon." Ward said, stepping up beside Coulson.
"Or could it be someone from your uber-secret index?" Skye offered, circling the floating body and ending up on the opposite side of Jemma.
"There's no one on the index with that type of power." May informed.
"Not that we know of. I'll call HQ, see if anyone knows anything." Coulson said. "In the meantime, let's get the body back to the lab."
"Hey, what's this on his forehead?" Skye asked, curiously observing the area.
"Don't touch it!" Jemma admonished a little too late as a loud zap sounded followed by Skye's startled scream as the body suddenly dropped.
"It wasn't me!" Skye yelled, rubbing her finger.
Ward walked over to her, anger visible on his handsome face.
"You were supposed to observe, not touch!" he said loudly. "Go back to the truck."
"Bu- I-"
"Now. That's an order." He cut her off roughly.
Skye glared at Ward for a second before walking away. This was hopeless.
AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS
"Hey, you ok?"
Skye looked up to see Coulson standing at the door of her bunk.
"Hey Coulson. I'm good." She said, offering a small smile.
Coulson regarded his young hacker before walking into her room and making himself at home.
"I know Ward is being-"
"An ass?" she laughed humorlessly
Coulson smirked, "Well, I was going to say hard on you, but I suppose an ass works too."
"I'm really trying here, Coulson. I know I can't erase what I did, but I'm really trying. I don't know what else I can do to make him see how sorry I am." She said sadly. "I mean, if there even is something I can do, because at this point, it just seems kind of hopeless."
Coulson patted her leg sympathetically. He knew she was trying, but he also knew how much she'd hurt Ward, whether said agent admitted it or not.
"Hey, it's not hopeless. Nothing ever is." He said, smiling kindly. "Just keep doing what you're doing. Show him he can trust you by helping the team get to the bottom of this. And just give him some time. He'll come around."
Skye nodded. She was going to have to wait whether she wanted to or not- it appeared no one could rush badass Agent Ward into anything.
"So, what can I do to help?" she finally said, shuffling off the bed.
Coulson smiled, "I need you to get me all the info you can on our victim."
."Consider it done, AC." She bounded out of the room, leaving a pensive Coulson behind.
He really hoped he was right about her.
AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS
"Skye, have you found anything on Adam Cross?" Couslon asked, walking into the computer room with Ward following closely behind.
Skye rolled her eyes. "Many things, actually, but you already knew that, thanks to my fancy SHIELD house-arrest gizmo, tracking my every key swipe, online activity, and cholesterol." She said, holding up her wrist. "I just wish it came in another color…or came off."
"The victim?" Ward said, not impressed by her.
"Right." She mumbled under her breath. Tough crowd. "Adam Cross…single, no kids, originally from Wrigley, Pennsylvania, not far from here."
"Been there. They have a nice little strawberry festival in the spring."Coulson smirked. "Occupation?"
"Um, phys-ed teacher at the local high school and varsity baseball coach and troop leader and volunteer firefighter. This guy makes Captain America look like "The Dude." She laughed, but quickly quieted down when Ward and Coulson just stared at her. "The Big Lebowski?" she questioned. "Seriously?
She looked from Ward to Coulson, finally giving up when they both just stared, unimpressed and definitely not amused. Alright then… moving on!
"What about a criminal record, restraining order, something that might give us a suspect?" Ward questioned, all business. He was all about getting the job done. The faster they figured this out, the less time he had to spend around his rookie.
She shook her head, swiping away old documents and pulling up new ones. "Nada, not even a parking ticket." She informed, impressed. "I skimmed all his posts, anyone linked to his pages, hoping for a crazy ex or super-powered stalker. It's clean."
Ward glared at her, arms crossed over his chest in typical Ward fashion. How people didn't get intimidated by that, was beyond her. If she didn't know him, she'd be terrified of him.
"Everybody looks clean on their first go-round." He spat bitterly.
Skye's sharp intake of breath was all that was heard before Coulson spoke up, breaking the awkward tension filled silence.
"Ward's right. We're missing something. Dig deeper." He ordered, offering her a reassuring smile.
Skye remained silent, not trusting herself to speak without bursting into tears in front of them. She simply nodded and walked away as fast as she could. After this mission was over, so was her S.H.I.E.L.D career. She refused to stay anywhere she clearly wasn't wanted.
Coulson sighed, his eyes following Skye's retreating form. "You're being too hard on her." He said quietly.
Ward shifted, but didn't speak. He knew he'd pushed it too far this time, but he couldn't help it; he was just so pissed at her and at himself for letting her get to him like this.
"She's trying Ward." Coulson added, now facing him.
"Sir, she lied to us. She contacted the Rising Tide while we were on mission. If she wants our trust back, she's got to earn it." Ward argued.
Coulson nodded. He understood where Ward was coming from, and even agreed with him to a certain extent. He knew when he was picking Ward to be a part of this team that he'd have to be extremely patient with him, since he clearly wasn't a team player. Ward was a lone wolf; he was trained to be the whole solution- a one man weapon. He couldn't expect him to trust people with his life that easily. But, he had a feeling they were a step closer.
"The background she ran on Cross is a good start. Put it up on the server. I want May to have a look when she's done with her interrogation." He finally said, leaving Ward alone.
AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoS
"I can't believe he said that!" Jemma huffed indigently as she listened to Skye tell her about Ward's behavior towards her. That man needed a serious reality check!
Skye shrugged, swinging her legs back and forth as she watched Jemma working in the lab. She'd decided to keep her friend company since she didn't have anything better to do and Fitz had excused himself from the area once the smell started to get to him. "It's not completely uncalled for. I did lie to you all and stuff."
Jemma put down the tool in her hand and walked over to Skye.
"Look, you've already apologized to everyone and I think you've more than proven yourself to the team; Agent Ward needs to let up a little." She said, reassuring the resident hacker.
"Yeah, I'm not holding my breath." She muttered quietly.
Jemma sighed, wishing she could talk about this more, but knowing that this mission was a bit more pressing at the time.
"Look, we'll talk after this is all over, ok? The faster I figure out what this is, the faster we can discuss what's going on."
"Deal." Skye remained quiet the rest of the time, giving her friend space to work.
AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoAoSAoSAoSAoS
"Anything new?" Couslon asked walking into the lab, acknowledging Skye with a quick nod.
Jemma looked up with those ridiculous looking glasses that always made Skye giggle.
"Still working, Sir!" she said, motioning Coulson over.
"Take a look at this, though!" she said ushering him towards the screen in front of them.
"What exactly am I looking at?" he asked, clearly confused.
"It's the victim's brain!"
"Whoa…" Skye gasped, stepping up behind them.
"It looks like a burnt baked potato." Coulson frowned.
"Yep, that's what happens when it's hit with close to 2,000 megajouls of electrostatic energy. That's almost double the power of a lightning bolt!" she squealed, practically vibrating with excitement.
"Have you figured out why the body was floating?" Skye asked.
"Not yet. The molecular density of the victim was temporarily altered by an unknown energy source. I'm hoping to shed some light on its effects once I extract a brain-tissue sample."
"Right, of course…"Skye gagged a little at the mention of extracting tissue.
"Sir, it's happening again!" Fitz suddenly said, interrupting the group.
"Where?"
"Uh… about 20 kilometers from here, Sir."
Skye quickly ran to her laptop and typed in a few things before turning back to Coulson. "There's a farmhouse a mile north of here, right at the center of the signal. That's got to be it." She said, her adrenaline starting to rise.
Coulson left the room and paged Ward and May down. The three of them were in the SUV and out of the bus within minutes.
AoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoSAoAoS
"I can't believe this is an alien virus!" Skye said, amazed.
"I know!" Jemma said, just as excited. "I need to show Coulson this!"
Jemma paged Coulson down, and judging by the speed in which he made it, he was just as anxious as they were to close this case.
"What'd you find?"
"Look!" She said ushering him towards the microscope.
Skye looked on excitedly. She'd been the first one Jemma had shown her discovery to.
"What am I looking at, again?"
"Wait for it!"
"What was that?" he asked, lurching back a little.
"A groundbreaking discovery!" she squealed excitedly. "I believe the firefighters initially contracted the virus when they cleaned the helmet, the friction activating some long-decaying Chitauri organism."
"Hang on! These cells are from the body of firefighters?"
"Brain cells, yes!" she said, stepping closer to him."The last vestiges of the infection; some viruses "sleep" inside host cells for years before reproducing, as they did inside the helmet the initial source. But what those cells tell us is that we're dealing with a propagating virus, which means-"
"The virus can move from person to person." Coulson finished for her.
"So cool!" Skye added, listening intently.
"Exactly! And that's the most exciting part of how is spreads, not through the air or through direct fluid transfer, but through electrostatic shock. It's like nothing we've ever seen on earth. I didn't think it possible a virus could alter its host's molecular density and polarity, although that explains the floating. I can't wait till the virologists at the CDC and S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ see this…" she trailed off, noticing that Coulson's attention was no longer on her. "Sir, is something wrong?" she frowned, following his gaze.
"Oh no!" she gasped, watching her friend in horror.
Skye's smile slowly slide off her face and was replaced with a look of confusion instead.
"What? What are you looking at?" she asked, looking at them questioningly.
"I'm so sorry, Skye." Coulson muttered brokenly.
"Wha-"
Skye turned around looking for whatever it was that was making Jemma and Coulson act this way, and was quickly met with the answer.
"Oh."
Swallowing the lump in her throat, she turned back to the two members of her team, fear clear on her face, only to find Coulson pulling an unwilling Jemma out of the lab and hitting the lock button on the glass door, as the floating object behind her dropped with a loud clang.
A/N: Thanks for reading! This will be about 3 or 4 chapters long, all of which are done, so updates will happen fast!
Reviews are love!
*.*.*.*Pixiee*.*.*.*