Hello there! Soooooo, first fanfic, I love constructive criticism (but please mind your language). Thanks, and enjoy!

btw if you know what my username is from, I like you already :)

Chapter I - Intruder Alert

Exhausted yet giddy with excitement, the team - Agent May, Agent Ward, Agent Skye, Agent Fitz, and Agent Simmons - dashed to the BUS. May hopped in the cockpit to blast them away, Simmons and Fitz returned to the lab to analyze the 0-8-4, Ward went for the showers, and Skye headed to her computer to do some research. Bobbi, Mack and Hunter were back at the base, eagerly waiting for the special team of five to arrive at HQ.

The plane landed gracefully in the hangar, much to the relief of Coulson. The retrieval of this 0-8-4 was vital to their mission - stopping Hydra, once and for all. Coulson dug through his messy desk, as if some magical file would appear full of details about the 0-8-4. That was the hardest part about being the director - not killing people, not keeping secrets, and not even dealing with idiots like General Talbot. No, the hardest part was putting the pieces together to try to understand Hydra's plan. It was like trying to build a fridge with instructions on how to build a dryer. And unless Coulson saw the world from Hydra's perspective, the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. were useless.

"Sir?" Skye asked as she knocked on Coulson's office door.

"Yes?" Coulson replied, not looking up from his scattered mess of documents.

"Simmons wanted you to come by the lab when you get a second."

"Is everything all right with the 0-8-4?" Coulson questioned worriedly, looking up at the young agent.

"Yep, she just wants you to see what she's found," Skye reassured him.

"Tell her I'll be there soon."

Skye nodded and closed the door.

Coulson returned to his documents. The 0-8-4 was extremely dangerous - in Hydra's hands, it would be a terrifying weapon. It needed to be erased from existence, but no one knew how. The 0-8-4 had to be destroyed before any innocent human beings were.

"Sir," a deep, familiar voice said. Coulson looked up to see Mack, the muscular Mr. Fix-It guy onboard, standing in the threshold. "There's someone in the bay."

Coulson frowned. How did someone find the top secret S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters? "Do you have any idea who they could be?"

Mack shook his head, "No sir."

"Could they be Hydra?"

"No Hydra symbols on them and no weapons, sir. I'm not saying they're safe, but I doubt they're Hydra."

Coulson thought for a moment. This visitor could hurt the team, and would have access to all kinds of information about the team and S.H.I.E.L.D. "Have the team meet by the door. And tell the to be armed and ready, just in case."

"Yes sir." And Mack was gone. Coulson stood up slowly, praying he was making the right decision. A voice in the back of his head warned Coulson that he could be jeopardizing his entire team. But looking at the thin file of the 0-8-4 with the shouts from Hunter and Bobbi's last argument still ringing in his ear - maybe a fresh face wouldn't be so bad.

Skye sat on her bunk with her computer, hoping to find more information about the 0-8-4. Coulson was right - it really was dangerous, and the sooner FitzSimmons found a way to destroy it, the better.

There was a polite knock at her door, and Skye grunted for the intruder to enter. Her mood instantaneously changed when Ward walked in the room, a fresh cut on his cheek from their latest mission.

"Someone's found the base," he said. "Mack says he didn't see any weapons or Hydra symbols, but Coulson wants us all armed and ready just in case."

Skye grabbed her gun and stood up. "Shall we?" she smiled, shoving her gun in her pants.

"We shall," Ward grinned back, kissing her on the cheek. "Now get a move on, I'm going to round up the others."

Skye was still giddy from Ward's kiss, but curiosity and slight panic had her running down the halls to the door.

An intruder?

Mack said there weren't any Hydra symbols.

At least, none that he could see.

How did someone find the base?

It was insanely well hidden!

Her mind raced faster than her feet as Skye tried to shake off the ominous thoughts.

The little gathering of agents was growing as curious but equally terrified members grabbed clutched their guns and prayed this wasn't the end.

Coulson arrived, and nodded for Mack to open the door.

Turns out, there wasn't a visitor.

There were two.

Before anyone could say anything, a man stepped forward, tall, bearded, and exhausted, he raised his hands and begged, "Please don't hurt us. I'm Agent David Ridley."

Coulson, who stood between Fitz and Simmons, opened his mouth to counter but Hunter beat him to it. "Really? Where did you work, then?"

"The Hub, sir." Ridley replied, taking off his gloves.

"May I see your badge?" Coulson questioned sternly.

"Yes sir." Ridley pulled out a shiny silver S.H.I.E.L.D. badge. "Level 8."

Coulson stepped forward to examine the badge. Ridley's face lit up when he realized who he was. "Agent Coulson, sir! The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. - we were at the Academy together."

Coulson smiled, "I do believe I remember you. You were the prankster, right?"

"Yes sir." The two men shook hands, and Ridley put his arm around a young girl, about 14 years old or so. "Oh, and this is my daughter, Georgia Ridley. She's gifted in computers, like her mom."

Skye perked up and couldn't hold a smile off her face.

"Is that so?" Coulson replied. "Our agent Skye is incredible with computers."

Skye nodded at the girl, who smiled back. Her eyes lingered on Skye for a while, and it took the hacker a minute to realize she was staring at the gun she carried. Georgia looked alarmed that everyone on the team had a gun - even Simmons, who could barely use one. Skye understood and tried to cover up her weapon.

"…But may I ask what you're doing here?" Agent Coulson questioned, obviously anxious for an answer.

"My wife Jane and I worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. She was killed when Hydra took over, and Georgia and I have been on the run ever since. I knew Fury had built secret bases for S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and I knew we'd be safe in one."

"I'm so sorry to hear about your wife," the director replied. "And yes, you are safe here. But I'm sure you can understand that we will have to examine you and your daughter to make sure we can trust you." Coulson motioned to the stout goofball, Billy. "Billy will take you to our Lie Detector. Don't worry," he added quickly, noting the girl's triggered countenance. "You'll be all right. And afterwards, you can settle in and meet the team."

When Billy and the Ridleys were out of earshot, Coulson turned to the team with an expression of upmost concern. "Normally I would trust these people, but in light of recent times, I want to take every precaution to ensure the Ridleys aren't hiding anything. Skye and Hunter, I need some info on David and Georgia, anything suspicious or abnormal. Bobbi and Ward - go through their bags and make sure they aren't hiding anything. May - tell the other bases that we've found Agent Ridley and that any information on him would be welcome. And Ward, look in the Academy yearbook in my office and make sure Ridley really was at the Academy."

As everyone turned to leave, Mack spoke up. "Woah, slow down Coulson! Can't we just give these people the benefit of the doubt or something? I don't see a single evil thing about them. They're just refugee agents."

"I know it sounds strange, but we need to be able to trust them. If David and Georgia are staying here, they'll have mountains of S.H.I.E.L.D. information at their fingertips. Now, let's get to it."