Chapter 14
Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Everything belongs to their rightful owners and I am not making any profit from this.
AN: Thank you to all who have added to alerts, read, reviewed or any combination of the three. It means a lot to me.
AN2 IMPORTANT PLEASE READ IMPORTANT!: Okay so I never intended the time jump at the start of the chapter to be as big as it is. When I first wrote this chapter it was only a couple of days but the more I wrote the more I realised that it needed to be more time. I tried to go back and fill in the missing time but I felt like I was repeating myself, so sorry about that. Hope you like this chapter anyway. Thanks for all your support.
AN3: In response to a few reviews I have gotten I have reasons behind choices I have made which makes characters seem out of character, which I would have responded to privately but both were done as guests. Natasha and Melinda are the two who I feel are the most out of character and I am trying to work on that and stick to what I have created.
To addresses how Skye likely wouldn't call people Aunt and Uncle I want to explain something, this is a girl who, according to cannon, called someone Mom after less than a month, I know that it was when she was a kid and she has grown up a lot since then, but I believe that what she truly wants is a family and what she is the most afraid of is no one wanting her, so the reason I feel that she is calling them Aunts and Uncles is that she truly wants them to accept her and for them to be a family, so she opens herself up more than you would expect for someone who has been though what she has. Also I am twenty years old and am studying Creative Writing at Uni, I apologise if my writing is bad and I will do my best to improve.
For almost two weeks Skye works on getting into a schedule. In the morning Sky does her operations training with Clint for over two hours, where she is very slowly getting familiar with a bow and arrow, and an hour and a half with another agent doing a combination of different ops based activities or an extra hour and half with Clint. In the afternoon she does her communications training, which also consist of S.H. .D protocol and history lessons. At nights she has been spending all her time doing work or spending time with her Uncle as he sneaks in her window and spends time with her, when he can, because he knows things aren't really easy for her at the moment.
Skye studies more than she ever has because she doesn't really have much else to do as she hasn't made a single friend, as most of the other cadets still clearly think that she just got into the course because of who her parents are, and the very few who Skye thinks doesn't believe that don't want to go against the group. Even though she does her best not to let that bother her but it gets harder with every day that passes, especially after the first weeks results came out and she was top of all computer science classes and the whispers started about how she only got such good marks because of who she is.
While Skye has been trying to prove herself at the academy the rest of the team are still tracking Mike. They are still parked in Monaco because for some reason it seems like Mike is staying in the city. They haven't been able to come up with a way to get a tracer on Mike without it been found quickly so they are tracking him from a far.
Melinda, Coulson and Natasha are sitting in Coulson's office going over everywhere Mike has been trying to see a connection between the destinations.
"Anything?" Coulson asks.
"Not sure." Natasha answers.
"Um sorry to interrupt but Director Fury is on video conference he would like to speak to May and Romanoff." Ward says.
"Did he say why?" Coulson asks.
"No Sir." Ward responds.
"We'll be right down." Melinda tells Ward.
"Bet's on how bad this is going to be?" Natasha asks Melinda quietly as they get up and walk down the stairs.
"Who knows." Melinda responds and the pair walk into the command centre.
"Yes Sir?" Melinda asks as they walk into the command centre.
"Agent May, Agent Romanoff." Fury greats.
"Sir." Both Melinda and Natasha respond.
"There's an urgent mission that I need a three agent team to complete." Fury tells Melinda and Natasha, "You are two of the agents." Fury tells them.
"Who's the third?" Natasha asks.
"Captain Rogers." Fury answers.
"What's the op?" Melinda asks interested as for them three of them to be assigned on a mission together it must be serious.
"I can't tell you over a video feed. I need you to get to Hill's base. One of the smaller transports are standing by for you to take." Fury orders it being clear that he needs them on this mission.
"Yes Sir." Melinda answers.
"We'll see you soon." Natasha responds and Fury ends the call.
"You, Me, and Steve on a mission, this isn't anything good." Natasha realises.
"No, it's not." Melinda confirms, "I've got to talk to Phil. I'll see you down here in a few minutes." Melinda tells Natasha and she heads upstairs.
Like she has done every other day since she has been at the academy Skye wakes, gets dressed and heads to the dining room for a quick breakfast, where as she eats she does her best to ignore the stares at the whispers that she has become so accustom to in the past weeks. Once she is finishes her food she grabs her bag and heads to the door, but before she can leave she finds her path blocked by the girl and boy, who she has since learnt are James and Paige, who gave her such a hard time her first night, day, and every day since.
"Really?" Skye asks, "Blocking my path? That's mature of you." Skye tells them, "Look if you're not going to say something then just get out of my way, I've got a class to get to." Skye tells them getting really tired of their crap, well truthfully she was getting tired of it days ago but it's getting so much worse.
"Of to spend more quality time with Agent Barton are you?" Paige asks.
"Well considering that he is in charge of my ops training spending time with him is what happens." Skye tells her.
"Oh, and do all agents get hugs at the end of their lessons? Because if so I'm missing out." Paige asks her tone clearly implying something which Skye realise won't be good for her Uncle if others believe her, she doesn't care what it means for her.
"Nope, it's not normal for instructors to hug their agents." Skye tells her and she is positive that she sees a smirk on both Paige and James's face, "An Uncle hugging his niece on the other hand is normal." Skye tells her, "Agent Barton is my Uncle so whatever it is that you feel oh so happy about thinking you've found out it isn't that." Skye tells them pushing past them.
"See I told you that she's getting favours, what's the bet that Agent Barton Is just going to pass her no matter what she does." James comments loudly.
At his comment Skye feels herself getting angry and she hears a voice, which suspiciously sounds like Simmons, telling her to walk away, to let it go, but instead she does the opposite and turns around and walks back to them.
"How did you get here Williams? I thought S.H.I.E.L.D had higher standards." Skye comments.
"You're one to talk, you're only here because of what your last name is." James tells her.
"You really are an idiot." Skye tells him, "S.H.I.E.L.D is a great organization that doesn't treat people different just because of what their last name is, trust me Director Fury would never allow it." Skye tells him, "Yes Agent Barton is my Uncle and yes he is in charge of my ops training but he won't be the one grading me at the end." Skye reveals, "Not because he can't be objective because he can, he's one of the best agent's S.H.I.E.L.D's got and you're lucky to have him, but to shut people like you who are claiming favouritism up. People who feel the need to blame everyone but themselves for their own failure." Skye tells him, "Stop wasting all your energy on me and focus on your own work, because according to the results I'm currently beating you in everything and not because I'm getting treated differently, grow up and realises that you're lucky to be here, to have a chance at be a part of S.H.I.E.L.D and you're currently wasting it with your own stupidity." Skye tells him and turns to walk away feel proud of herself for keeping her anger mostly in check until she feels someone grab her arm.
"Let go of me Williams" Skye requests.
"Your pathetic Coulson, you think that just because you're her on an intensive course or because of who your family is, or because people are giving you better marks because they feel sorry for you, then you are better than us but you're not." James tells her twisting her arm. "Your pathetic and useless, soon enough everyone is going to see that, see how much of a mistake it was to let you come here, I promise you that." He tells her twisting her arm tighter with every word he says.
"Is there a problem here?" Eve asks walking up to them.
"No Agent Harrison." James responds letting go of Skye's arm.
"Cadet Coulson, problem?"
"No Ma'am." Skye responds.
"Well, if I remember correctly all three of you should be getting to class." Eve tells them.
"Yes Ma'am." Skye, James and Paige respond.
"Off you go." Eve tells her and James and Paige head back into the dining room and Skye calmly walks away. Once she is sure that she is out of sight she heads into a supply closet and attempts to fight the panic attack she feels coming on, because James had a look in his eye identical to the one that Lard had when he hurt her, the look of a person wanting to cause pain.
She has been sitting in the supply closet trying and failing to stop her panic attack for several minutes, when she hears the phone that Steve gave her starting to ring. Confused Skye pulls it out of her pocket.
"Hello?" Skye answers with difficulty.
"Hey, we've only got a couple of minutes until S.H.I.E.L.D realises that there is a call they can't trace going on on campus so just focus on my voice." Tony tells his niece, "I need your help, Fitz forgot the passwords to the ghost drive so I need you to talk me though hacking into it." Tony tells her knowing from experience that a way to help someone through a panic attack is to get them to focus on something that they are good at, something that they love, for him it was building things, for Skye he's betting it is hacking.
"Fitz never forgets." Skye says with a large amount of difficulty.
"He did this time." Tony tells her, "Come on Kiddo, help me, how do I get into it?" Tony asks.
"I've hidden a back door in your system." Skye tells him her breathing getting slightly better.
"Where?" Tony asks actually surprised by that, "Why haven't I noticed It before?" he ask.
"I did it when I was using Jarvis to set up the program to find Mike." Skye explains, "If you go to your ghost server and open a portal, and enter what you called us when we were sitting above the cargo bay you can get into the system I set up on the plane. I set it up in case I ever needed to get into the plane's system from another location. I figured the only ones who would ever have to are me and you." Skye explains her breathing getting easier.
"Good, that's good." Tony tells her, "Have you got any other surprises in my system?"
"Maybe." Skye answers vaguely, "Thanks Uncle Tony." She tells him when she is almost calm again.
"You're welcome." Tony tells him, "How's your arm?" he asks worried.
"I don't know." Skye answers.
"Go to the medical bay." Tony tells her.
"Can't. I am already late for Uncle Clint." Skye tells her Uncle.
"Good, he'll make you go to the medical bay." Tony comments.
"Not if he doesn't know about it." Skye says before hanging up the phone, taking a deep breath, something that is more difficult than normal Skye stands up and walks out of the closet.
Back on the plane after leaving the command centre, after the video call with Fury, Melinda goes right back up to Phil's office.
"What did Fury want?" Coulson asks when he sees his wife.
"He needs Tasha and I to leave as soon as possible for a mission." Melinda explains, "A mission where we'll be working with Steve as a three man team." Melinda tells her husband knowing that he will reach the same conclusion that her and Natasha reached.
"You, Natasha, and Steve, on a mission, together?" Coulson asks the worry clear.
"That's what he said." Melinda says, "I've got to pack." Melinda says walking out of the room and over to the closet that her and Coulson share.
"What's the mission?" Coulson asks following her, "What could be so serious, so bad, that Fury needs you, Steve, and Natasha to work together?"
"He wouldn't say." Melinda tells him, "All I know I that Tasha and I have to get to Maria's base as soon as possible." Melinda explains.
"What about the rest of us?" Coulson asks, "With you both gone no one can fly the plane." Coulson points out.
"Ward can." Melinda reminds him.
"Does this sit right with you?" Coulson asks, "Fury calling you and Natasha to go on a mission, with Steve, when he knows that we are trying to find the Clairvoyant?" Coulson asks curious
"Not really." Melinda admits, "But whatever it is that he needs us to do must be serious." She tells him.
"I don't have a good feeling about this." Coulson tells Melinda.
"I would be shocked if you did." Melinda tells him, "I love you." Melinda says before giving Coulson a kiss.
"Be careful." Coulson says as Melinda walks down the stairs.
"I always am." Melinda responds as Coulson follows her down.
"That goes for you too, be careful." Coulson tells Natasha giving her a hug
"I'll do my best." Natasha tells him, "We should go." She responds and the pair leave.
"Sir, what's going on?" Ward asks and Coulson turns around and faces the young specialist and tells him everything that he knows.
Skye arrives at the gym for her training with Clint five minutes late. As she made her way to the gym she hopes that Clint hasn't already heard about the incident with James and Page thought it is very, very likely that he has.
"I'm late, I know, I'm sorry." Skye tells her Uncle as she walks in.
"Take of your jacket and let me see." Clint tells his niece as a greeting.
"What?" Skye asks faking confusion.
"Either roll up your sleeve or take of your jacket, I want to see what that jerk did to you." Clint tells his niece.
"How did you even hear about that? I'm pretty sure that the only ones who saw were Paige and James and neither of them are likely to say anything." Skye comments,
"The entire dining hall saw Kid. Stop staling. Let me have a look." He requests.
"It's fine, he just twisted it a little." Skye tells him as she rolls up his sleeve, "Please don't tell me people are making a big deal out of this, that's the last thing I want." Skye tells him
"He's getting remanded and suspended from classes for two days." Clint tells his niece, "Everyone heard what you said so Agent Johnson came and told me so that I wouldn't hear it from someone else." Clint explains as he gently picks up Skye's wrist to have a look at it.
"Great, that's just what I need." Skye comments sarcastically, "Even more people thinking I am getting treated differently." Skye says wincing as Clint feels the arm.
"That's the same punishment anyone who done what he did would get." Clint says walking over to his stuff and grabbing an ice pack, "Here put this on it. I think it might be sprained." He tells her, "What are my chances of getting you to go to the med bay?"
"Less than zero." Skye responds.
"Thought so." Clint realises, "Come on sit down, let's talk." Clint says leading Skye over to the stands. "So Paige and James are still giving you a hard time then." Clint comments as they sit down.
"Thought that was obvious." Skye tells him.
"Why don't you tell Eve?" Clint asks as he knows that she doesn't want him to do anything, she even made him promise that he wouldn't and it is taking all of his strength to keep that promise.
"Why? It will make things worse, plus if you know then it is likely she does too." Skye tells him, "I've just got to put up with it and avoid James and Paige as much as possible." Skye tells her uncle.
"That's not fair." Clint responds, "You have just as much right to be here as they do. You shouldn't have to just put up with it." Clint says angrily.
"It is what it is Uncle Clint." Skye tells him, "Please don't do anything. It will just make things so much worse." She tells him.
"I hate that you are so unhappy." Clint tells her, "Skye you don't have to stay here." Clint tells her, "You don't have to do the course here to be an actual agent, it's not worth you being so unhappy." Clint tells her.
"You saying I should quit?" Skye asks surprised, "I do that and I am proving that I don't really belong here. I started this, I've got to finish it." She tells him.
"That's my girl." Clint tells her with a small proud smile, "But if things get worse then I am doing something about it." He tells her.
"I can't convince you not to can I?" Skye asks.
"Not a chance." Clint tells her.
"Okay fine." Skye tells her, "So can we practice now?" she asks.
"Nope, you're resting." Clint tells her, "No ops training for you today. Go back to your room and rest your arm." He tells her.
"Uncle Clint." Skye begins to object but Clint cuts her off.
"Don't even start." He tells her, "You're hurt you need to rest that arm or go to the med bay, those are your choices." Clint tells her
"Fine, I'll rest." Skye tells him though she doesn't look happy.
"Just today Kid, we'll see how you are tomorrow." He tells her.
"I guess I'll see you later." Skye says grabbing her bag and walking out the gym.
As he watches his niece go Clint would like nothing more than to go to agent Harrison's office and find out just what is going to happen to the people who have been giving his niece such a hard time, but the promise that he made Skye is preventing him from doing that, because he doesn't want to become just another person who breaks the promises that they make to her. So instead he heads to the work out area and starts to punch a punching bag repeatedly.
A few hours after they leave the plane Natasha and Melinda arrive at Hill's base where they are directed to Hill's office. When they get there they find Steve waiting, in his S.H.I.E.L.D version of his captain attire, but no sign of Fury or Hill.
"Do you know what's going on?" Natasha asks Steve curious.
"No, all I know is that Director Fury needs us for a mission." Steve responds.
"Just that is pretty telling." Melinda comments.
"What do you mean?" Steve asks interested.
"With the exception of the last few months Fury rarely assigns Natasha and I to missions together because of what we are capable of. I know that after New York Fury had you two working together often which means it wouldn't be odd if he requested the two of you for a mission, but for him to say that he needs all three of us this mission is either, very serious, very dangerous or potentially the end of the world" Melinda explains.
"Or all three." Natasha adds, "Steve, both Melinda and I by ourselves are equal to a whole strike team, you're equal to several, so for Fury to needs all three of us to work together this can't be anything good." Natasha explains.
"You're right there Agent Romanoff." Fury says walking into the room and over to the desk where he presses a button underneath, which both Melinda and Natasha know to mean the room is now completely one hundred percent secure but Steve is confused about.
"What's going on Sir?" Steve asks.
"At 9:08 local time this morning a classified wing of the sandbox was broken into. Unstable, experimental tec was taken as well as five of the scientists working on it. We've believe we have found the location where both the tec and the people are being held, but it is very heavily guarded and difficult to breach." Fury reveals, "You three are the only agents who stand a chance at being able to breach and get our tec and people out safely." Fury reveals, "Even then this mission is dangerous, and with the mole in S.H.I.E.L.D, even though we are unsure if these two incidents are connected, we can't risk an extraction team. No one not even Maria who is currently on the Helicarrier knows the reason why I called you three in. It will be up to you three to get the people and the tec back and to safety." Fury explains.
"What's the tec?" Melinda asks.
"We're not completely sure, but we do know that it is dangerous, the scientist who were working with it said that they were close to a breakthrough." Fury reveals.
"Which could explain why they were taken now, to stop them before they could figure it out." Natasha realises.
"Or to make them figure it out for them." Steve realises.
"Either would make sense. Here is everything we've got." Fury says handing each of them a file.
"Do we know anything about the facility?" Steve asks several minutes later once they have all had a quick read of the little information that is known.
"According to our intel we believe that it may have been an old HYDRA base back in the day." Fury informs them.
"If it was then that's good for us." Steve comments and he receives three looks in response, "HYDRA kept their bases pretty uniform, navigating it will be pretty simple." Steve explains.
"Getting in won't be." Fury informs them.
"If we do it form above it will be." Natasha realises, "If we fly above it and parachute in, putting the plane on auto pilot first to land let's say, seven miles away, we can fight our way to the agents and the tec from the inside then fight our way out." She suggests.
"That could work." Melinda realises, "Steve?"
"Sounds like a solid plan." Steve agrees.
"Here's the coordinates, good luck." Fury says handing Steve a piece of paper. The trio nod and leaving the information in the room they leave.
After she finishes her classes for the day Skye heads right back to her room deciding to eat the food she keeps stashed in her room for dinner instead of going to the dining room. It is about eight and Skye is sitting at her desk doing work when there is a tap on her window an Skye once again, unsurprisingly, finds her Uncle on the other side.
"You know everyone knows that you're my Uncle now, you don't have to come in through the window." Skye tells him as she lets him in.
"It's more fun this way." Clint tells her as he climbs in and removes a shopping bag that you put cold things in to keep cold from around his arm, and puts it on the desk.
"What's in the bag?" Skye asks.
"Dinner." Clint says opening it, "I went with Chinese, I was going to get pizza but then I realised it would be rather hard to climb up here with it so settled on Chinese." Clint explains, "And dinner isn't all I brought." He says pulling a DVD from out of the bag.
"Firefly." Skye says with a smile.
"You've been trying to get me to watch it for months, so I figured, why not." Clint tells her, "Oh and here." He says pulling a block of chocolate out from his back pocket.
"You brought me chocolate?" Skye asks surprised.
"Yeah, if there is one thing I have learnt from your mom and Aunt it's that chocolate always helps after a bad day." Clint tells her, "They also taught me that Tequila helps and Vodka makes things worse, but I figured that wouldn't be a good idea." He explains.
"Thanks Uncle Clint." Skye tells her Uncle giving him a hug.
"You're welcome Kid." Clint tells her, "Put the DVD on and let's eat." He tells her.
Skye and Clint have watched all of the pilot, the train Job and are part way through the third episode when the phone that Steve gave Skye rings, as Clint pauses the DVD Skye answers it.
"Hello."
"Put me on Speaker." Tony requests and Skye does as he asks.
"Barton, you there?" Tony asks interested even though he hasn't seen him leave it doesn't mean he hasn't.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Clint asks confused.
"Coulson got in touch with me. Natasha, Melinda and Steve are on a mission together assigned to them by director Fury that he wouldn't talk about over video conference, they left the plane a couple of hours ago." Tony explains, "Coulson doesn't know any more than that but he wanted you to know. I've got to go, I'm taking a big enough risk making two of these calls today." Tony says hanging up the phone.
"Mom, тетя Наташа and Steve on a secret mission, what could be so bad to require all three of them?" Skye asks her Uncle.
"Nothing good." Clint comments, "Or even in the realm of safe." He comments.
"Well I don't know about you but I want to find out exactly what they are doing, and what we can do to help." Skye tells her Uncle.
"No, you can't use your knowing power." Clint tells his niece
"Why not?" Skye asks confused.
"Because we don't know if using it realises electrical energy." Clint tells her, "S.H.I.E.L.D is pretty obsessive when it comes to tracking electrical energy on the campus because the biggest spikes usually mean something alien. If you use your knowing power and it does release electrical energy then someone will be sent to find out what the source is and that won't be good for you." Clint reveals.
"So what are we going to do?" Skye asks interested, "We can't just sit back and do nothing." She tells him.
"We won't." Clint assures his niece, "I have some free time tomorrow. When I do I'll go off campus, call Phil and see what he knows. Then we'll react." Clint tells her, "I need you to promise me that you won't use your abilities." Clint requests. "Please Skye." He adds.
"I promise." Skye tells him.
"Good." Clint tells her, "Pack up your stuff just in case we need to leave quickly but until I talk to Phil there is no need to worry." Clint tells her.
"And yet you are worrying." Skye notes.
"I can't help it." Clint tells her, "None of this sits well with me." He explains as he un pauses the DVD.
Far away in an unknown location Ian Quinn is sitting reading the paper and drinking coffee when his phone beeps with a new message. Once he checks the message Quinn makes his way through a long dark corridor and to a room where there is only a single person sitting in darkness, the only light being that from lines of electricity in the air.
"What is It?" the figure asks.
"It's Victoria, Father." Quinn reveals, "According to her Fury has ordered May, Romanoff and Rogers to Hill's base but he is being very secretive as to why." Quinn reveals.
"Good he is acting just as I knew he would." The figure responds, "Tell your sister good work. I may be the one with the power but I couldn't do what I do without the two of you. Each of us are a piece that each make up the Clairvoyant."
"Thank you Father." Ian responds.
"It's the truth my boy. When the time comes you and your sister will receive my gifts and continue the goal that this family has been working on for so long, destroying S.H.I.E.L.D and raising our army." The figure tells Ian.
"It would be our honour Father." Quinn responds.
"Good, you may go." Quinn's father tells him, "Contact your sister. Tell her I need to know what May Coulson is doing at all times, as long as she is around she makes everything harder for me to see."
"Yes Father." Quinn responds and he leaves the room.
"Family is my strength but S.H.I.E.L.D's weakness, and they will discover just how big of a weakness it is. That is a promise"
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