Chapter 25

Strays

The next couple days flew by faster than any had in a long time. There was a little earthquake. Weird given their location over stable bedrock. Natasha went on a mission to retrieve some physical intel where her skills and contacts were of more use than any on Coulson's team. Lab work finally satisfied Dr. Simmons, who was in charge of the lab, infirmary, and all things bio, and she allowed Skye freedom from quarantine. There was an alien fight in the base.

Apparently, a species called the Kree had done some experimenting on humans thousands of years ago. The experiments had resulted in humans that could be changed, given powers, turned into weapons by artifacts that had been left behind. Artifacts and that flooded underground "city" that Mack had mentioned. The science wasn't explained, not that Emily would have understood advanced genetics like that. One of the Kree had shown up again. The experiments had been his specie's attempt to create warriors for some ancient war, and he knew that one of the artifacts had been activated, a new superhuman-weapon-warrior abomination created. Not agreeing with those ancient Kree and realizing the danger of these superhumans, he'd shown up to destroy them and the artifacts.

An Asgardian had tracked his arrival on Earth and chased him down. The Lady Sif, one of Thor's friends and Odin's finest warriors. Emily had nearly pissed herself in fangirl glee to even be in her presence. When Lady Sif had learned that the Kree guy wasn't a warmonger, but a good guy trying to right old wrongs, they'd settled to calm discussion of how to hunt the abomination down. Some woman named Raina, who'd worked with some shady people like HYDRA.

An earthquake had struck, not much more violent than the other one, but much, much longer lasting. Emily didn't have a lot of experience with quakes, but the long-lasting ones were supposed to be the most violent. This one had felt like it was building up to really bad, but all it really done was make boobs shake and knock coffee cups off tables.

The part that made it really exciting was that the source of the shaking was Skye.

Lady Sif demanded to take Skye to Asgard, for everyone's safety. The Kree guy wanted to kill her. Coulson didn't like either plan, nor had most of Skye's friends and fellow agents. They'd run, taken Skye somewhere safe. Hence the alien fight. The battle had thrashed hallways and half the lab as the Kree tried to kill Skye and Lady Sif tried to take her into custody.

Emily had followed in their wake, making sure no one ended up dead. And the entire time, the building had been shaking. She wasn't exactly clear on the details, but somehow Coulson's team had convinced Sif to leave Skye in Coulson's custody. They'd subdued and erased the Kree's memories, and Lady Sif had escorted him home.

Natasha had been upset that not only had she missed the fight, but that Emily had managed to get herself hurt. Just a little cut from flying glass. Only six stitches in her shoulder. Nothing big. It didn't hurt that bad. The only part that Nat hadn't been troubled about missing was the cleanup. She was only mildly irritated that she'd missed the team's reactions.

Half of them were afraid of Skye. Okay, most. Fitz wanted to keep treating Skye like a normal person. Simmons had been upset about Fitz having changed DNA results to hide Skye's changes, but she seemed otherwise supportive. As was May.

Skye more or less locked herself in a secure, reinforced cage. She stared at Emily when she showed up. "What are you doing here?"
"Came to hang out."

"I'm fine."

Emily snorted. "Yea. No." She slid her backpack around and unzipped it, displaying its contents. "I brought a hard drive full of movies and series, candy, popcorn, chips, salsa. And beer."

The girl's face wrinkled in confusion. "Why?"

She pushed past her, into the dull, but not terribly tiny cell, plopped on the small bed thrust against a wall. "I have a bad habit of making friends out of dangerous people." The beer hissed as she opened it. Drifting vapor brought up the malty scent of hops. "Have you met my partner? Former KGB assassin, has a laundry list of bad deeds a thousand miles long, gorgeous hair, cute butt." She sipped beer, watched Skye as she hovered in the doorway. "You know, the other woman around here that everyone's terrified of."

Skye finally folded herself on the other end of the bed. "There's something wrong with you." A tickle of a smile was in her eyes.

"Yep." She burped up beer bubbles, laughed with Skye at herself, handed over the hard drive. "Pick us something to watch."

The drive was plugged into her laptop, and she gave Emily a look that said her opinion of Emily's intelligence was plunging. "You brought horror movies? You realize that my power is tied to my emotions, right?"

"If you cry at Disney movies, then we're just as screwed. I didn't make a playlist for movie night, woman. It's my personal library. Pick something."

By the third day, Skye had eased enough in her presence to laze comfortably, rest her head in Emily's lap and fall asleep to the silly comedy she'd picked. That was about the only improvement in her. Despite emotion-control-training sessions with May and long conversations with a very good psychologist, she wasn't learning how to control her power. Well, subdue, yes, but not control, not make it useful and part of herself. And she had nightmares that sent things shaking. Lack of good sleep and stress had her ragged. Injured too. There was bruising and hairline fractures all along her arms, concentrated in her forearms.

Emily had no idea what had caused it.

Natasha sighed as Emily reported her Skye visits to her as they lounged on their bed. "You are as bad as Clint."

Lowering her tea, Emily frowned. "What?"

"You know how he finds strays and injured creatures, takes them to the vet, tries to take them home." Nat paused. "He used to before Laura put her foot down and told him she wasn't taking care of two kids, chickens, and his pets."

"What does that have to do with me?"

"How many broken little boys have you tried to put back together?" She prodded.

"Skye isn't a little boy," nose crinkling, Emily argued.

"But she is a lost, broken, scared kid whose family doesn't know how to help her."

Yea. She was. Emily took a drink of tea. "You make me sound like a mom with empty-nest syndrome. "

Nat chuckled. "You and your bird analogies are cute."

She grunted.

"What's your plan, momma bird?"

Slowly, Emily grinned. "Take a stray home with me."

Natasha's shoulders stiffened, and her eyes tightened. "Home?" Only some adventurous neighbors, Bartons, and Steve had visited their house, and Natasha was keen to keep visitors low. Not just for the sake of security. She didn't share well, especially her private space or Emily, with strangers.

"Upstate New York." Emily explained. The Avengers' training facility, where they had fun annoying the construction crews by testing its usefulness. More than one wall had paintball stains. Arrows were lodged in the infrastructure. The Hulk's antics had forced an entire section to be rebuilt.

Those hardhat wearing people hated going into shadowy corners of the site. Monetary bonuses had happened at least twice that Emily knew of. Apparently, being part of covert operations training wasn't part of their contract. There were constant complaints about being tied up, grabbed from behind, pegged by paintballs, and drugged into unconsciousness. Pansies.

Slowly, Nat nodded. "Plenty of space far away from civilians to learn about her," she paused, probably avoiding saying power, for Emily's sake. "Gift."

"The facility is being designed to withstand earthquakes that won't ever hit. For Hulk to play, remember?" Emily took another sip. "I have no idea how to help Skye train, but it's a start, right?"

"Yes. It's a good start."

The next day, during a dull part of a dull movie, Emily brought up her offer to take Skye home.

"Train with Avengers?" Skye's eyes actually lit up.

"More or less." Emily considered. "Might keep you away from Bruce though."

"Yea." Slowly, she nodded. "Okay."

When they told Coulson, he hemmed and hawed, couldn't decide if he liked the idea well enough to let Skye go. After a bad mission involving some crazed enhanced people and Skye losing control of her powers, Coulson couldn't get her and the Avengers out of his base fast enough. She swore that the man nearly cried like a mother hen under his calm facade as he ushered them onto a quin.

Natasha worried that there was more going on than they'd been read into.

Cap and a stand of trees went flying. Tony held out the popcorn, crunching as Emily grabbed another handful. "Do we have to give her back to Coulson once she figures out how to not blow everything up?" he asked.

Emily huffed, "She's not a toy, Tony."

"You're right. She's not a toy." He crunched. "That girl is Avengers material."

Flash grenades exploded around Skye. The ground under Tony and Emily's seated butts rumbled.

"Maybe." Emily hummed. "But she's got a superhero family already."

Tony pouted. "Who?"

"Coulson and his team."

Lips pursed, and Tony swayed. "Okay fine. Coulson counts as a superhero. What is he to her? Brother, uncle, dad?"

"Dad figure."

Slim arms slid around Emily, followed by a familiar light perfume and fiery curls falling across her shoulder.

"Emily's trying to be a mom figure." Natasha chirped, softened her tease by kissing Emily's cheek.

He laughed. "She moms everybody. Did you hear her rant at me about my caffeine intake yesterday?"

Natasha was sliding around, settling herself in Emily's lap, helping herself to the popcorn. "I also noticed you trembling from overdosing on it the other day."

"Okay, fine!" He tossed popcorn at them. "I'll refrain from the caffeine if you don't tell Pep."

"Have you finished that new tac gear for Natasha yet?" Emily asked.

"You don't play fair." He grumbled.

She chuckled. "Neither do you."

"Fair enough. So, are you two finally going to give us a show o-" He spluttered at the rain of popcorn that descended on him care of Natasha.

"Oh my god. You guys are such dorks!" Skye was in front of them, sweating from her workout with Steve, staring like she'd discovered that Thor wore a tutu.

Natasha threw the rest of the popcorn at her.

"Tony," Emily whined. "We're out of popcorn."

The bowl was thrust at him, and he grumbled and moaned, but got up to go make more. He really was a pushover under his playboy attitude and narcissism.

"More salt this time!" Natasha yelled after him.

Skye stole his seat while Steve began dodging a rain of arrows. "Where the hell is Hawkeye? How does he move around like that?"

Natasha pointed. A blur of movement said the bushes there weren't swaying only in the wind. Arrows flew out of them. Steve barreled through, but Clint had already changed position. Natasha pointed again before another arrow went airborne.

"How do you know where he is?" Skye demanded. At Natasha's smug silence, she caught Emily's eye. "Can you tell?"

"Sometimes." She tried, but couldn't figure out where Clint was now. Steve yipped as a rubber-tipped shaft got him in the butt.

"You need more training, Em," came Nat's input.

Emily didn't argue, instead prodded at one of Natasha's ticklish spots, grinned at her squeak.

"Emily!"

"What?"

Lovely green eyes narrowed at her. "You're starting trouble."

Impish, she agreed. "I'm trying to."

"Never thought I'd meet you two let alone watch you act like newlyweds." Skye was smiling brightly.

Natasha scowled until Emily tickled her again. "Emily!" And proceeded to yell at Emily in Russian, which meant she was playing along. Emily strained up and kissed her. Fierceness kissed back. Fingers prodding at Natasha's sides ended the embrace, got Emily swatted and cursed at more.

Skye giggled, and Emily decided that the day was a sound win. Giggling was a huge improvement over dour, scared, confused kid.

Word had come that SHIELD was fighting amongst itself, Coulson had gone into hiding, and his team, well, they were struggling. Natasha thought there must have been a couple of spies among those they'd interrogated. A couple had seemed off, though not enough to have tipped their hand. Skye didn't know. Yet. Emily had been keeping her busy for the past few days, using the excuse that she needed distraction while the rest of the Avengers were ambushing a big arms dealer. There was intel that the dealer either had Loki's scepter or knew where to find it.

Aside from Skye needed supervision, they'd decided to leave Emily behind given the new tech installed on their quinjet and at the Avengers Tower care of Dr. Cho. Neither were as powerful as the cradle in Seoul, but the one on the quin would keep a patient alive til either the tower or Seoul or Emily could be reached. It was nice not to worry about her team when she wasn't there to patch them up. Okay, not worry as much.

"Hey, Emily." Skye panted from where she'd stopped running.

"Yea?" Emily asked when she'd stopped too.

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure."

"I was wondering," came hesitantly.

Several quiet breaths later, Emily answered one of Tony's usual questions. "Yes. Nat and I use toys. Regularly."

The girl choked. "Uh."

"Skye, I'll answer pretty much anything about myself. Only Natasha's history is off limits." Emily offered, hoping to ease Skye into asking her question.

It worked. Skye chuckled. "Why stay here with me? You have brothers. Why not go visit them while everyone is off on a mission?"

"Alan has a business to run, and Kevin is in a new relationship." She shrugged. If she didn't have Skye to worry about, she'd go hang out at the Barton farm or go see Lizzie. Not going to tell the scared kid that though. Okay, she wasn't a kid. Not at twenty-five and older than Alan. Skye just looked like she was eighteen, maybe twenty, and her insecurities tugged at Emily's maternal instincts.

"What about your mom?"

Emily stiffened. "I'd rather try and brush Hulk's teeth than spend time with my mother."

Skye was perplexed. Her idea of family must come from Disney movies. "But she's your mom."

Emily stretched, looked around at the forest they were running through. "You are much better company than my mother. Fuck. HYDRA agents are better company than my mother. At least they'll throw punches instead of guilt at me."

"Huh." Hands fiddled in pockets. "I had this image of you coming from a happy home."

"Why?"

"Because you're warm." Skye shrugged. "You're easy to be around. I just assumed you learned that from your parents."

Emily gave up stretching. "My parents taught me how to hurt people."

Skye gaped. "Were they agents too?"

For a moment, she met Skye's eye, then dropped it to stare at the weeds. "No. They were just assholes who dumped their parenting responsibilities on me and used us as punching bags. Physical and emotional punching bags. I killed my father when I was fourteen and let my mother hide in her room while I tried to be the kind of parent I'd always wanted."

"And I thought my dad was bad."

She looked up.

"My dad is a psychotic murderer, but I couldn't bring myself to kill him when I had the chance."

Emily studied the girl before speaking softly, hesitantly. "I have nightmares about killing mine. It changed me. Some days, I scare myself."

Their eyes met again. Shadows haunted Skye, like they seemed to haunt all of Emily's superhero friends. "So, you're a decent human being because you chose to be."

"That's what you got out of me telling you I committed patricide as a teen?"

"Yea." Skye shrugged carelessly. "I guess so."

"In that case, I should stop hiding stuff from you while you still think I'm cool." Emily sighed.

The shadows thickened, and Skye's open expression closed. "What?"

"Day before Nat left, she got word that another SHIELD cell took over your base. Coulson is off the grid. "

Panic flashed. Branches and leaves shivered with Skye's emotions. "Is, are..."

"No one was hurt. I don't really know more th-" over the rattling of leaves, she heard jet engines. She turned to the sky. There wasn't much to see through the thin cover except blue sky, some clouds. "Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"Quinjet engines." This didn't feel right. Wasn't right. Miles of airspace around the facility were restricted. There shouldn't be anyone in the air right now. "Get under cover," as she grabbed Skye. They dove under thicker branches. Emily double checked if either of them was wearing bright or conspicuous clothing. Nope. Tac gear, armor, day packs. The most conspicuous thing was the Starkified Power Ranger helmet hanging from Emily's pack. Even that wasn't shiny or particularly eye-catching.

"What other SHIELD cell? How did you hear about this?" Skye hissed. "Did Coulson know about them?"

"Nat has a way of knowing everything important." With more hidden contacts and access to secret things than Emily could begin to imagine.

Her clothing was grabbed. Anger growled at her. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Emily flinched, but met and held her gaze. "Because you can't use your gift with any accuracy yet. What if you got there and accidentally hurt your team while trying to help them?"

Skye deflated and let go. They waited for gunfire or dropping troops, but the jet engines eventually moved beyond them.

"How do you feel about California?" Emily eventually asked.

"I used to live in L.A. in my van."

"Does that mean you'll like my suggestion of taking a vacay to So-cal?

Skye frowned. "Sure. But why?"

"'Cause they won't notice a few extra earthquakes, and I've got friends who might host us." Emily paused. "You don't mind the smell of weed, do you?"

"Did I mention that I used to live there?" Skye started to smile.

Noise from moving brush sounded, and Emily's pistol was halfway in her hand when she was tackled. She rolled with the soldier, got her knee between them, shoved for space, slammed her elbow into a throat. The soldier coughed, stunned. Emily kicked at their helmeted head until they stopped moving. A second fight drew her attention. Skye was grappling with another soldier. Tired, she was sloppy, losing. Emily looked for her pistol. It was lost among the leaves and grass. She made it to Skye's side as she threw her opponent over her shoulder. He landed hard, didn't rise. Gunshots followed, clipped the trees around them.

"No! Icers only!" A woman's voice yelled. "Skye!"

Skye whirled to the new threat, her arms going up. Trees exploded, and the handful of people on their six flew backward. The wave continued past, rattling trees and grasses for some distance.

"Oh my god." Skye moaned at the devastation.

Emily swallowed against the adrenaline, the fear of Skye's power. "Time to run."

"No. We can't leave them," argued.

"They shot at us!" She waved at their downed enemy. "Yes we can."

But Skye was running toward the woman in a dressy sweater and yelling over her shoulder. "She's hurt! Emily, you have to help her."

Dammit. She glanced at the others. Three soldiers in full gear. Two knocked out. One holding her head and trying to rise. Emily touched her face, put her to sleep. A man in a suit and flak vest, groaning, but not getting up. He had a piece of tree in his shoulder that was plugging the blood vessels it'd severed. A glare was managed at her before he passed out on his own. He'd live. "Fuck you too," she grumbled.

"Emily!"

She ran to Skye, skidded to knees to inspect the injured. Her eyes were open, pain obvious. "I know you." The tall, sassy agent who Nat had teased Emily about when she'd realized that Emily had drooled over her a little. And then proceeded to remind Emily that she was Natasha's. A long, thorough reminder that emphasized Natasha's impressive array of sex techniques, strength, stamina, and cunning. It was a tempting idea to flirt with other women in front of Nat in the future just to get that reaction again.

"Bobbi. Why are you after Skye?" Emily demanded.

Bobbi coughed. Blood flecked her lips.

"No. No. No. No. Bobbi. Emily, help her." Skye pleaded.

After a few curses, Emily yanked the spear-like sliver of wood that had impaled Bobbi's chest, repaired the damage as fast as she could. Ruptured blood vessels, lung, membranes, the works. Half an inch down, and the woman's heart would've been opened too. Lucky her.

Whimpers turned to coughs and yells as the lung was sealed. Emily stopped after the immediate danger was past. She checked their surroundings for reinforcements. Nothing close, but probably soon.

"Why are you after Skye?" Emily repeated.

"She's dangerous," was the blunt reply.

Emily whipped up her knife, poked it at Bobbi's throat. "My gift is healing, but that's not what makes me dangerous."

"Emily? What're you doing?" Skye gasped

"Proving a point."

Bobbi's eyes darted. She groaned. "We can't just let her run around, Emily."

"She's a good person, just needs some time to figure out her gift." Emily did some more healing just to deliver pain. "Why the hell are you attacking an Avenger on Avengers' property? I don't appreciate it. Pretty sure the others won't appreciate the news either."

"The Avengers should be under SHIELD jurisdiction too." Bobbi grunted.

"Maybe." Emily growled. "I'll talk to the others about it later, then Coulson, him being director of the new SHIELD and all."

She heard more boots in time to... watch them fall to a man who moved like water among them. A familiar, terrifying man. "More are coming." The Winter Soldier said. "We need to go."

"Uh." Emily blinked.

Bobbi gasped. "Isn't he...?"

"Bucky," finished Emily, eyes on the flash of metal not covered by camouflage fabric or glove. Because she couldn't think of him as the Winter Soldier or she'd freak out. Her healed wrist twinged at remembered pain.

"Hurry." He snapped impatiently. "Finish healing the woman and let's go."

For Skye, Emily closed Bobbi's chest, but left the damaged layers above the ribs for her to deal with, then took her gun, noted it was a non-lethal icer, and growled. "Don't make me regret saving you." She shot Bobbi with the dendrotoxin, grabbed Skye, and followed Bucky.

One of the quinjets had only two guards on it that even Emily could have taken care of alone. Bucky didn't even break stride knocking them out. The three of them were in before Emily thought to ask, "Can you fly this, Bucky?"

"Yes." And he slid into the pilot's seat. "Close the bay door."

She and Skye rolled the unconscious guards out before closing it and strapping in. "You didn't kill them."

"What?" Skye asked.

"Bucky." Emily repeated, "Didn't kill anyone."

Skye stared.

"Today, at least. Why?"

The jet was at cruising altitude before Bucky replied, and he did after setting the auto-pilot and standing. "You were letting them live, protecting that woman's life. I followed your lead, Sekhmet."

"Emily." She shook her head. Sitting in a tiny, enclosed space with a legendary assassin who'd previously tried to kill her and her friends and a young agent who couldn't control her dangerous powers really was too much. Even for her. She needed an ounce of normal to keep the adrenaline from making her lightheaded. "Just call me Emily."

"Emily," he repeated. "I," he frowned at the floor, back up at her. "I went back to HYDRA after you healed me, but they wanted me to remain a monster, to never remember Bucky Barnes. I want to remember Captain America's friend. And if I can't, I don't want to be a monster any more. I will follow you, Emily, and learn to be someone new."

"Do you have any average people in your life?" Skye whispered.

Emily lolled her head back. "Do you?"

A little smile twitched. "Touché"

Bucky was waiting.

"Why come to me and not Steve?" She asked.

"He doesn't have your power."

Fair enough.

"I need to call Nat, let her know I won't be home when she gets back." Emily dug out her phone, left a message for Natasha, didn't mention anything about Bucky or the attack with the justification that it would only worry Nat when her head needed to be in the mission. "So," into the cold tension, "Where'd you point us, Bucky?"

"South. Do you have a destination for us?"

A/N - Happy Mothers Day to all you moms out there :D Keep up the good work!