A/N: So sorry, took so long again! :/ On the plus side, I made this one super long :)
Thanks to Amber for emailing me 2 weeks ago! I know you didn't say anything specific about what was happening, but you gave me the inspiration to finish this chapter the way I did :)
More thanks to bhut, Abigirl123 and two guests for your reviews!
Without further adieu, here is Chapter 25! Enjoy!
The fifth punching bag of the morning burst open, covering the ground in front of Steve with sand, some pieces making it look like confetti. Slowly, he pulled his fist back from the remnants, and the bottom half swung precariously from the top, attached by only one two-inch long piece of material.
Steve stepped back, barely breathing heavily at all. He sighed.
There was no clock in his eye line, so he called out to the AI.
"Eleven-thirty, Captain Rogers." JARVIS replied.
"Thanks, JARVIS." Steve started unwrapping the bandage covering the knuckles on his right hand, wandering over to the showers attached to the gym in Stark Tower.
"Sir, Mr Stark would like you to meet him upstairs." JARVIS added after a moment.
"How long has he been waiting?"
"Around half an hour. Colonel Rhodes, Ms Romanoff and Doctor Banner arrived some time ago."
Steve frowned. "If it was so urgent, why didn't you interrupt me earlier?"
"…I believe Mr Stark wants to show you what it is before telling you why."
"Of course he did." Steve muttered to himself. Probably another of his damn inventions. "I'm on my way." He said, louder.
"I'll inform them." JARVIS sounded…tense? If an AI could get tense, but Steve wasn't sure what computers were able to do anymore. He was still trying to adjust to the twenty-first century without being thrown for a lurch each time something futuristic happened.
Steve was still in the elevator when JARVIS addressed him again. "Captain Rogers, Mr Stark wants to let you know that he, Colonel Rhodes, Ms Romanoff and Doctor Banner are all currently in a video call with S.H.I.E.L.D."
Steve blinked. S.H.I.E.L.D.?
"What?"
"Apparently a group survived the rise of Hydra and have been expanding carefully over the past year, calling themselves S.H.I.E.L.D."
Steve pondered this, not sure what to think of it. What if they have much the same problems as the original S.H.I.E.L.D.? "Who's their leader?"
JARVIS remained silent.
"JARVIS?"
"That is what Mr Stark wants to show you, Captain Rogers. I'm afraid I'm not allowed to tell you anything more than that."
"Lovely." Steve remarked dryly as he stepped out of the elevator. Seeing Natasha and Rhodey almost immediately, it didn't escape his notice that both of them were rigid. Rhodey looked slightly worried and troubled, while Natasha appeared angry. Tony entered his vision next, his leg bouncing at speed almost unconsciously as he scratched his beard. He looked an equal mixture of shock, excitement and anger. That alone made Steve wary. Lastly, Bruce could be seen. He was slumped forward in his seat, his expression one of sad confusion.
"What's going…" Steve's voice died in his throat as he looked to his left and saw the face on the screen.
Phil Coulson.
Phil Bloody Coulson.
"What the hell?!"
"That's what I said." Natasha said as Tony raised his hand towards Steve in agreement.
Steve couldn't take his eyes off the screen. Coulson looked a little apologetic, and behind him, Steve could see a number of men and women, watching him as intently as he was watching Coulson.
"How is this even possible?!"
"I have no idea." Bruce said quietly.
Steve turned to face Coulson squarely. "You were dead. You died!"
"Yes, I did." Coulson said. Even his tone was different. It wasn't the flat, easy calm of an experienced agent. This Coulson sounded forced in his attempt to be placating, an apology clear in his eyes.
It sounded wrong.
"Explain." Steve's voice was flat, chilling in his anger. Tony and Rhodey eyed him warily. Steve paid them no mind.
"There was a project I was working on prior to Loki turning up through the Tesseract." Coulson began. "We had found an alien body, and found out that when extracted right, the blood had remarkable healing properties for humans."
"Healing." Bruce piped up. "Not 'resurrection'."
"We hadn't used it for that purpose, no."
"The body, I can understand. Push an electric pulse through and it can mimic a heartbeat. Maybe…maybe it would be enough for alien DNA to repair damage."
"He was stabbed in the heart." Tony pointed out. He turned back to the screen. "Alien blood healed that?"
"Yep." Coulson looked somewhat uncomfortable.
"How much detail do we need to understand all that's gone on since Hydra rose?" Rhodey asked.
"Got a month?" a dark-haired younger man behind Coulson replied. The older man grimaced and glanced down.
"Yeesh." Tony muttered.
"How long have you been back?" Steve asked, still glaring at Coulson.
"And answer this time." Tony added.
"…Two years."
There was a collective, tense inhale in Avengers Tower. The men and women assembled on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s end looked at Coulson and then each other, completely silent.
"будь ты проклят! Two years?!" Natasha's voice rose to a shriek. The others weren't handling it so well either.
"Why weren't we bloody well told?!" Tony shouted, throwing his hands up in utter frustration.
Steve didn't speak until the others' initial outburst had died down. "Why even bother contacting us at all, if it took you so long to get round to it?"
"We need your help." A few of the people – agents – gathered behind Coulson nodded in agreement.
Steve raised his left eyebrow, looking first at Coulson incredulously, then sharing the look with Tony, Rhodey, Natasha and Bruce in turn.
"You what now?" Tony was the first to break the silence.
"We need your help to end Hydra for good."
Again, silence permeated, but the looks between the Avengers weren't so dubious.
"Do you know where they are?" Natasha asked, her voice sharp. "Or did you want help in tracking them down, too?"
"More so the first. We know that they have a significant base in Siberia–"
"Ah."
"…yep."
"You want me specifically."
"There's no way you're going there on your own." Steve interjected pointedly, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Well," a woman behind Coulson piped up. She was seated next to the young, dark haired man who spoke earlier. "No offence, Captain, but you're more than easily recognised pretty much anywhere."
"I never said I would be the one going with her."
"Yeah, but you're Steve Rogers." The woman shrugged.
"And, you are…?"
"Skye Johnson." She smiled, brightly, but there was a hint of sadness to her eyes. The man beside her reached out and interlocked his hand with hers.
"Who are all of you, anyway?" Rhodey finally spoke up, an eyebrow raised.
Coulson blinked, then turned to the side and started introducing the other people in the room with him. "This is my Deputy, Melinda May." May nodded briefly at Natasha, who nodded back. "Agents Bobbi Morse, Lance Hunter, Jemma Simmons and Leo Fitz, and Alphonso Mackenzie."
"Mack." The large man added quickly.
"And, finally, Grant Ward. He's not really an agent, more like a highly involved consultant."
"I should get a name tag." Ward drawled. Skye laughed, Fitz and Morse snickering. Coulson appeared slightly amused, while the Avengers reacted no more than bothering to cock a brow upwards.
The faint sound of boots on concrete filtered through the video feed, and the group in S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters all turned towards it. All of them except Skye and Ward reacted defensively, hands reaching for guns in their holsters.
"Finally." Skye murmured, drawing May's attention.
"It's Palamas, isn't it?" she asked, relaxing back into an at-ease stance. Skye glanced back at her and grinned, looking back at the door in time to see Kara push open the door and stride in, her expression a little on the annoyed side.
"Thanks for letting me know, Coulson." She grumbled, ignoring the tension of the rest of the agents in the room. "Really appreciate it."
"Hey." Skye smiled at her, getting up for a hug. The others relaxed back into their previous positions.
"Good to see you." Ward added as Kara made a beeline for him after releasing Skye. He stood as well, accepting her hug warmly.
"Sorry, Agent Palamas, but we weren't sure how Ward being back would go." Coulson addressed her once the greetings were done. "Considering how your return went."
Kara merely nodded briefly in acknowledgement, but was still clearly irritated. Looking at the screen she plastered a smile on her face and introduced herself to the Avengers.
"Hi, I'm Kara Palamas. I was known as Agent 33 before S.H.I.E.L.D. fell." Natasha nodded in understanding, remembering the woman, while the others smiled back. "No need for introductions on your parts, I already know who you all are."
"…and back to the topic at hand." Coulson continued after a beat, swivelling around to face the screen.
"So what's the plan with taking them out?" Rhodey asked, leaning back in his seat.
"At the moment, that's still in progress." Coulson began. Simmons jumped in to explain.
"We only have information pertained to their location, within a twenty mile radius. The documents didn't state what their security detail was, or exactly how essential it is to the organisation. We have most of their data, of course, but it's all encrypted."
"Yeah, and who knows how long that's gonna take." Fitz added.
"So any volunteers would be nice." Simmons finished.
Steve's attention was drawn to the couple behind Coulson – Skye and Grant? – as they looked at one another, conversing silently.
"We'll go." Skye said. Coulson and May opened their mouths to argue, but she cut them off. "You'll need an Inhuman over there."
"And there's no way I'm sitting over here doing nothing." Ward added, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"I'll go, too." Bobbi spoke up, side-lining a glance at Ward.
"Normally, I wouldn't, but I think it's more than time to kick some Hydra ass." Mack said.
"Well said." Natasha murmured. Steve glanced round at her, chiming in with his own decision to join the mission team as he faced the screen once again.
"Skye, stop." May heard Ward groan for the third time. Smirking with amusement, she looked around at them to see Ward staring, unimpressed, down at Skye. His arm was wrapped around her waist, the other holding an ICER weapon at his side. Even as May watched, the hard set of his mouth twitched upwards at the corner, and she knew Skye was smiling.
The sound of someone approaching caused her to turn her head back around. Bobbi was walking over, loading her semi-automatic pistol with a cartridge of rounds.
"Taking precautions?" May asked, jerking her chin at the gun.
"Always." Bobbi replied, and glanced at Ward. May nodded. She didn't trust Ward either.
Simmons walked into the hangar, an ICER in her hands and her eyes scanning the room. As soon as she spotted May, she hurried over at a fast walk.
"May, it's ready." she said.
"Is that…?" Bobbi began to say, halting when May shot her a look.
"The extra strength ICER?" Simmons nodded. "Just in case."
"Thanks, Simmons." May smiled at her. Simmons smiled back, then looked over at Skye and Ward.
"If you're worried about Ward, don't be." Bobbi said softly, seeing Simmons' pinched expression. She received a raised eyebrow from both the women with her in return.
"Don't worry about Ward?" Simmons breathed, disbelief colouring her voice. "Have you forgotten what he's done? Only yesterday, you said you didn't trust him."
"I don't. But along the lines of not forgetting what he's done, he's helped us a lot lately. Probably more than he's ever helped Hydra. Thanks to him, we essentially have a God complex over them now." Bobbi shrugged. "Skye trusts him. And she trusts us. So maybe we're all on the same team?"
"At least for now." May muttered.
"Hey, DC!" they heard Skye call. Glancing round, May saw Skye looking at the hangar door, where Coulson was just walking out. He was still clad in his suit. Clearly, he wasn't planning on going on the mission himself.
"When are they gonna get here?" Skye continued.
"They should be arriving right about…now." he answered, ending the sentence just as the hangar roof mechanics started opening the large room to the sky. A quinjet blurred into view as the deflector shields were switched off, and the roof began closing. The agents gathered in the hangar made their way over to the space set aside for the Avengers to touch down, and the quinjet alighted on the ground quickly.
"Oh my god…" Skye breathed, excitement making her voice squeaky. Ward rubbed her back with his thumb.
"I can't believe we're actually meeting the Avengers!" Fitz said, his own excitement lighting up his face. He had a wide grin spreading from ear to ear, and while Simmons was just as delighted that the world's most famous superheroes were metres away, she couldn't keep her eyes off him for long, constantly glancing back.
"I really hope none of them punches me in the face." Coulson said. A nervous smile played on his lips, his eyes glancing round at the members of his team.
"As opposed to anywhere else on your body?" Hunter quipped, an eyebrow raised. Ward pursed his lips together tightly, not wanting to laugh.
"Well, in the event that it does happen–" Coulson began to say, slowly. Mack cut him off to finish the sentence.
"I'm really glad the hangar has CCTV."
Ward couldn't keep his snickering to himself this time, but neither could everyone else. Even May was laughing; her eyes were closed and her head bowed as she shook it, her body shaking with her amusement.
The quinjet door finally opened. Skye half-expected it to release white smoke, like a dramatic action movie scene. Footsteps echoed off the metal; six pairs, some heavier than others. Then the Avengers came into view.
Captain America strode forward confidently, wearing jeans and a leather jacket instead of his stars-and-stripes uniform, but carried his shield on his right arm. Black Widow followed at his left hand side, her steps lighter and quieter than the Captain's. She had a pistol holster strapped to each thigh, and her eyes darted around the room, taking in every detail. Hawkeye carried himself with much the same demeanour, striding alongside his partner with his quiver and bow slung across his back. Bruce Banner had none of the obvious confidence that the Captain had, but his expression was friendly.
Iron Man and War Machine came out as exactly that; fully clad in their suits. Their footsteps were the loudest, clanging as metal struck metal, again and again. They were the last to get off the quinjet, Iron Man just ahead of War Machine and standing out the most in the iconic hot rod red and gold trim.
As the waiting group were not standing too far away, it took all of fifteen seconds for the Avengers to reach them once they'd gotten off of the aircraft. Coulson let his gaze drift over the assembled superheroes, but he looked back at Steve Rogers, who'd stopped just in front of him.
"You're still mad." The agency director noted, more calmly than he aimed for. He silently cursed himself for sounding aloof.
"You think?" Rogers demanded, his frustration at the entire situation evident in his eyes.
"And he's not the only one." Iron Man spoke up as he stood next to his colleague. The mask plate lifted up to expose Tony Stark's face, equally annoyed.
Skye sucked in a breath, fangirling quietly.
"You have a lot to make up for, Coulson." Barton continued walking until he was right up in Coulson's face, then laid him out with a lightning fast right hook.
"Barton!" May snapped, pushing the sniper away. She crouched down next to the director, who was completely out cold.
"Sorry I didn't have a video call to straighten things out." He retorted. "All I got told was 'You remember Coulson? Well, he's alive, and hey, he's asked us to kick Hydra butt for him.' But I suppose I should be grateful to be informed, shouldn't I?"
May sighed, and shared a look with Bobbi. "Mack." she called. "You'll need to carry him."
"Great." His reply was flat, and he sent Barton a highly unimpressed look as he passed him. "Where to?"
"His office. Might as well get on with briefing them about the mission particulars."
Coulson stirred, feeling a throbbing pain near his left temple.
"Finally. I was beginning to wonder if you'd wake before we left."
"Huh?" he mumbled, confused at the male voice that managed to work its way through the fuzz in his brain.
"The Avengers are all briefed and heading down to the hangar to get ready to leave, and Morse, Kara and Skye are all down there with them." The voice said. It sounded familiar, but the words didn't make him tense up as much as the feeling of suspicion as to who was the owner of said voice.
He opened his eyes to find Grant Ward, of all people, standing over him, quite casually. What baffled him more was that May, Hunter and Mack were standing behind him as though the traitor being there was no problem. He blinked, and in an effort to get his bearings and decide how to proceed, glanced around the room.
He was in his office, on the sofa. In The Playground.
What was Grant Ward doing in The Playground, and how the hell did he get in?!
He glanced back at Ward, who was still watching him. One eyebrow was raised a little, as though he was a tad concerned. "Coulson, you okay?" he said. "You took quite a hit."
He decided to waste no more time; he launched himself off of the sofa and towards Ward's holster, going for the gun. He grabbed it and held it up, aiming at the traitorous agent.
"Whoa, Coulson!" Ward reeled back, surprised. Coulson now noticed that Ward's weapon was an ICER, and it occurred to him that if Ward really didn't want him to have it, he would easily have stopped him rather than do what he did. Ward raised his hands in a surrender gesture, looking more than a little concerned now.
Something vague slotted into place in Coulson's mind. This confusion could be explained by one of two things: one, he was dreaming. It would explain the out-of-character actions by members of his own team. Two, this was real, but he's forgotten something. Something important, clearly.
His head throbbed painfully again. He needed a Tylenol. Raising his hand to his head, he pinched the bridge of his nose tightly, squeezing his eyes shut as well.
"Could one of you do something?" he heard Ward ask. Opening his eyes, the scene before him hadn't changed, only Ward was now looking round at the others in the room for help.
"I don't know, I'm kind of enjoying this." Hunter chuckled. Ward narrowed his eyes at him.
…so, not a dream?
"Really? Like now's the time for this." The former agent snapped, annoyed at Morse's ex-husband.
"Ward's right." May spoke up, stepping closer to the director.
…or it is a dream? Coulson looked at her like she was crazy, flicking his gaze back to the man on the other end of the ICER.
"Phil." May continued as though he wasn't feeling like he was going mad inside. "Give the ICER back to Ward. We have to leave for the mission ASAP."
"What…?" he shook his head, more confused than ever. "What mission? What are you talking about?"
The room was silent.
"Uh-oh." Ward said after a few moments. Hunter nodded along, his face showing nothing but blank surprise.
"'Uh-oh' is right." Mack agreed.
The whole group looked around at each other, worried.
"What's going on?!" Coulson burst out. "Why is Ward here?"
"Because you're okay with it…?" Ward answered, looking like someone had slapped him, but also like he'd walked into something he'd rather not be in.
"Why on earth would I be okay with it? You betrayed us!"
"Well, that rules out amnesia." Hunter piped up.
"Very useful." Ward said sarcastically.
"Phil." May was now being very cautious. That just made Coulson feel worse. "What's the last thing you can remember?"
"The…" Coulson had to really think back. He was still holding the ICER at Ward, but the younger man had lowered his arms. "The…video that Fitz showed us after Palamas and Skye swapped…" his voice trailed off as he focused on Ward once again. "Where is Skye?!" he demanded.
"Safe!" Ward replied defiantly.
"In the hangar." Hunter said at the same time.
"With the Avengers." Mack added after them.
"I'm really confused right now." he whispered, just loud enough for May alone to hear.
"I noticed." She replied in the same tone.
Skye was equally worried, impatient and excited. Worried because Coulson was still out cold when they finished the briefing and left the office to begin the mission; impatient because everyone in the hangar was ready, and what was taking Grant and May so long?; and excited because she, of all people, was going on a mission with the Avengers.
And her powers put her on an equal par with them.
"You can what now?" Tony Stark had asked, shocked. His eyebrows were raised until they could clearly be seen above his aviators, which he apparently liked to wear inside. He had made a show of coming out of his Iron Man suit before they all trooped upstairs after Mack, May and Coulson. Colonel Rhodes, exiting his own War Machine suit, rolled his eyes and gestured at Stark saying, "You see what I have to put up with?" before smiling at the agents around him and shaking their hands.
"I can sense and cause vibrations." Skye simply stated. The rest of the Avengers were looking at her with mixed expressions of surprise, awe, and pity.
"How?" Banner asked, taking his glasses off. He was still holding the information pages on the mission in his right hand.
"It's…a long story." Skye started. Then she took a deep breath and tried to simplify it. "Basically, ancient aliens experimented on my ancestors, and changed their DNA to allow them to develop special abilities when exposed to a chemical mist hidden in alien-made crystals."
"I suppose we'll have to wait until after the mission to get the rest of it, but it sounds pretty crazy." Barton spoke up after a few moments of silence.
"Well, I'm up for a good old shindig once we're done." Stark added. "Beers on me?" Hunter and Mack raised their hands simultaneously at this, while Bobbi just smiled and rolled her eyes.
Hurried footsteps in the corridor towards them yanked Skye out of that particular memory. Focusing, she recognised the heartbeat of the person; Grant. She immediately headed for the hangar door, drawing the attention of her mission colleagues.
When he emerged from the entrance, Skye felt the Avengers' collective surprise. Whether it was because she knew there was someone coming before anyone heard him, or that Grant was the only one approaching, she couldn't be sure. Not that that was her main concern.
"What's going on?" she asked, her brows pinched together with worry.
Grant looked troubled. "We have a problem." He said, switching his gaze from her to the others. Skye drew herself up and halted on the spot, now utterly anxious and confused.
"Thanks, Clint." Rogers said, his voice low and sarcastic. May looked up from Coulson, who was sitting on the sofa, now ICER-less. She had laid the weapon on the desk, and kept the director from touching anything else.
"What?" Barton voice was defensively high-pitched, as though he had done nothing wrong. "I didn't hit him that hard!"
"Clearly." May heard Ward quip, also dealing out a fair amount of sarcasm. "Because the ICER he pointed at me was all part of an act."
"It's not like it was an actual gun." Barton retorted, then the office door opened, and the slight muffling that the walls provided was rendered moot. "Try chilling out."
"He's supposed to co-ordinate the entire operation, Barton! Are we supposed to brief him on more than a month's worth of whatever's been going on?!" Ward strode through the office door and headed straight for herself and Coulson. "Is he still the same?"
"Still just as confused." She replied.
"Could you stop talking about me like I can't speak for myself?" Coulson piped up.
"We're not." Ward answered.
"But you are confused. And completely unprepared for this situation." May added.
"In the meantime," Romanoff said, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "We still have this mission to complete. We can't put it off until he recovers, it's an indefinite amount of time."
"I'll stay here." May said. "I'll need to keep an eye on him anyway."
"We're going up against Hydra, May, you can't oversee the mission and keep an eye on the partial amnesiac." Ward rebutted. "Besides, you hate being out of it."
"He's right." Bobbi spoke up just as May opened her mouth to rebuke him. "Don't bother fighting him on this, May, we don't have the time for a complicated problem solving session. I'll stay, have Fitz with me for any technical back up you need, and Simmons can go for onsite medical and tech support."
"You hate that just as much as I do." May said softly. Bobbi just shrugged.
"It's the right move." Romanoff said. "Morse can run the op from here, and you'll have command on the ground. We'll need the different perspectives, anyway."
"So what are you gonna do with me?" Coulson asked.
The agents looked at each other before Skye answered.
"There's plenty of people here at the base, you can go down to the infirmary, get checked over and what not."
"Fine." He muttered.
"Great, we're sorted." Ward said, with a tone of finality in his voice. "Shall we go?"
"You ready?" Skye asked him softly.
"Yeah," Ward said, not really feeling it. "You?"
She smirked; she knew he was lying. "Yeah." She replied.
They were standing at the back of one of the two quinjets, alongside Romanoff, Barton, Hunter and May. Rogers, Stark, Rhodes, Mack, Banner and Simmons were in the other. The aircraft had flown from The Playground straight to Siberia, stopping on a US aircraft carrier in the Bering Sea just off the coast of Alaska to fuel up. The officer in charge wasn't too happy, but Stark wrote out a cheque for fifteen million dollars to be shared amongst the crew in exchange for the fuel, and the man waved them on.
They were nearing the site identified as the Hydra base, and the quinjets slowed, landing on the snow a couple of miles away. The deflector shields remained active on both, hiding them from any overhead patrol.
"The base is north of here, right?" Hunter asked after they were all disembarked.
"Yep." Rogers answered, putting his shield into place on his back. "Morse, you'll let us know if we've got any company headed our way?"
"Sending drones out right now." Bobbi replied. A whirring could be heard from the quinjets, creating an eerie effect as the aircrafts were still invisible. Then small drones appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and flew off in every direction. As the team was heading north towards the base, most of the little robotic scouts covered the area ahead of them.
"Your GPSs should vibrate if one of the drones picks up any movement." Fitz added.
"Thanks." May said. "Let's move."
As none of them, save Simmons, needed anything more than weapons and cold climate gear, they were soon on their way and making a single file trail northbound. To confuse anyone who happened to come across their tracks, they each deliberately stepped in the footsteps of the person in front of them. Stark went first, providing cover for everyone behind him. Following in order was May, Skye, Ward, Banner, Barton, Hunter, Romanoff, Mack, Simmons, Rogers and Rhodes, who brought up the rear.
For the entire two miles to the base, they walked in silence. The knowledge that they were close to Hydra, and a step closer to ending the decades-old fight between the two organisations, weighed on the members of the team. The anticipation caused a tense atmosphere, with Bobbi and Fitz remaining quiet on their end of the comms.
Hunter eventually spoke.
"Oh, would you look at that. They're into underground bases too."
All that could be seen from the ground, where the team gathered, was an old, small metal building covered in snow. It had one door and could be mistaken for a disused outpost if the agents didn't know what was in that exact spot.
"You're there." Bobbi confirmed.
"Depending on how far down the base goes," Fitz said. "The comms might not work."
"And the GPS?" Ward asked.
"We'll be able to tell where you are at all times, no matter the depth." Came the reply. "They're ones I designed. I was working on doing the same for the comms, but all I've managed to get so far was a bulky prototype that works but is highly impractical."
"You'll get it." Ward said.
"In the meantime…" Barton brought the conversation back to the mission. "Is the door booby trapped and can they see us right now?"
"Ward?" May asked.
Ward half-frowned and raked his gaze over the building. "They'd be stupid to not have some sort of surveillance at their entrance, and I doubt this this is their only one. Whether there's someone watching the footage right now, however…we can't be sure of that until they do something."
"And for the booby trap part of the question?" Romanoff prodded.
Ward shrugged. "Anyone got a rock?"
"Hilarious." Bobbi said flatly. "Any real suggestions?"
"You could've asked me." Stark stepped forward and looking round at the rest of them. His tone was of mock offence.
"God help us if we don't consult you on a door." Rhodes said sarcastically.
"Talk about touchy." Stark replied before facing the door. "JARVIS?"
"Analysing right now, sir." JARVIS answered. The rest of the team members were watching Stark, unable to hear the AI. "Sir, it appears that without the correct identification, the surface building is set to explode instantly."
"Lovely." Stark stated flatly.
"Verdict?" May asked.
"ID or boom." He made a shockwave gesture with his hands.
"Simmons, is this something you and Fitz could figure out?" Ward turned to the scientist.
"Well, Fitz was working on a master ID card several months ago…" she started, her tone thoughtful as her brows pinched together in concentration.
"I packed it!" Fitz blurted out through the comms. A few of them winced at the volume. "Jemma, it's in the case in the pouch in the back pocket of your backpack." Simmons followed his directions and pulled out a small black box.
"I've got it."
"Hold on a moment…" Fitz muttered as he delved through the Hydra files to find an identification that wouldn't raise any eyebrows for the location.
"Getting cold here, Fitz." Barton piped up.
"Almost, just…there." Just as Fitz spoke the last word, a light blinked into existence on the box in Simmons' hand, flashing several times before remaining on.
"Does that mean it's ready?" Rogers asked.
"Yes." Simmons said, opening the case and removing the card. It was an off-white colour, and looked like a standard access card; the only marking on it was a multi-digit number stamped into the side. She moved towards the door.
"Wait!" Rhodes said, hurrying over. "I think someone with a bulletproof suit should do it." He smiled tightly. "In case of explosion, and all."
"Right." Simmons said, glancing at Skye. The latter looked concerned.
"We should probably all move back as well." Ward said, clearly beating Rogers to the punch, who had just opened his mouth to give the same suggestion. The group glanced around at each other before making their way backwards.
Once they were all at least a hundred metres away, Stark spoke up.
"Be careful, Rhodey." He said.
"Yep, thanks." Rhodes replied quietly as he turned to face the building. "Well, here goes nothing."
He held the card up to the scanner. The light at the top flashes red twice, then flicked to green and held steady.
"We're in." he said to Stark, who relayed the information.
"Please tell me that's all there is." Bobbi said over the comms, her voice slightly strained.
Rhodes didn't get a chance to answer before the door opened and he came face to face with a Hydra soldier aiming a hand-held missile launcher at him.
"Uh-oh." He muttered. Behind him in the snow, the others raced for the door, all knowing there was something wrong.
"Hail Hydra!" the man shouted.
Fortunately, the man never got to release the missile. Skye, whilst running at full tilt for the entrance, raised her right hand and slowly relinquished her hold over her abilities. The missile launcher and the man holding it began to shake violently.
"Move!" Skye yelled. Everyone threw themselves out of the way as Skye manipulated the vibrations to toss the man and the launcher out of the building and far behind them. As they hit the ground, the missile exploded.
"Come on." May said, mobilising her troops. "Before they have more time to send another one up."
Everyone piled into the room, the fit a little tight.
"Now what?" Hunter asked, looking around. "Anyone see an extra door, or…?"
"Hold up." Fitz said. A few seconds went by of radio silence. "According to the blueprints we have of this base, the only way in through there is down."
"As in, straight down?" Rogers queried.
"Well, how do we manage that?" Rhodes sounded a little sceptical. "There's no other scanner to use the card on."
"I have an idea." Skye blurted out. "Everyone stay still and away from the walls." As the others complied, Skye shut her eyes allowed her senses to vibrate the walls, floor and ground, enough to get a read of the mechanics.
"Hmmm." She hummed thoughtfully. Releasing the catch that held the door open, it slammed shut, thrusting the room into darkness. If it weren't for the light emanating from Iron Man's suit, it would be pitch black.
"Great. Now we're stuck." Barton said, followed by a solid smacking sound and a yelp of pain. "Nat!" he complained.
Ward sniggered, and turned his attention back to Skye. A faint whirring sound reached his ears, as though it was coming from below them.
"Anyone else hear that?" Banner finally spoke.
"Yep." Ward, May, Rogers and Romanoff answered.
"To be honest, I thought that was my suit on overdrive." Stark added.
"When is your suit ever on overdrive?" Rhodes said exasperatedly.
"Quiet." Skye commanded, and the room fell silent. "There." She breathed, and floor finally shook for a moment before descending into the Hydra base.
"Here we go." Mack said. But whether he was more terrified or excited, he wasn't sure.
The large group crept out of the elevator once it reached the bottom, weapons armed, aimed and at the ready.
"They're coming." Skye said, striding forward and ahead of the others. The corridor in front of them stretched for a few metres before splitting off in three directions.
"How many?" May asked as she and Ward hurried to keep pace with her.
"Round about a couple dozen." Skye tilted her head. "Not exactly light weapons, either."
"Please tell me none of those happens to be a missile launcher." Rhodes piped up. "If I have to get another one of those in my face again…" he trailed off, his meaning clear.
"They're not gonna launch one inside their base." Ward replied, in a tone that implied he thought it was obvious.
"Well, excuse me." Rhodes snipped back.
"Guys, focus." Bobbi cut in.
"Oh, you can still hear us?" Stark piped up.
"How close are they?" Romanoff moved closer to Skye, keeping a wary eye on the junction of the corridors.
Skye didn't need to answer. The group of heavily armed men appeared in the corridor straight ahead of the S.H.I.E.L.D. team, running pell-mell towards the intruders.
"You got this?" Ward asked quietly.
"I got this." The Inhuman replied, raising her hand. The air itself soon started to shake, and the men charging at them lost their footing on the cold, concrete surface. They crashed to the ground, shouts of surprise and pain ringing out.
Skye slowly started to advance on them, her attention completely narrowed at the enemy soldiers. She dialled up the intensity of the vibrations, the men now shaking as though they were a baby's rattle. Around her, her teammates moved forward as well, weapons raised and ready. They kept a watchful eye on the other two corridors as they passed them, with the Avengers also watching the scene curiously.
When the last soldier had passed out, Skye reined in her power. Her hand dropped to her side and the shaking subsided. Ward reached out to place a hand on her back, silently offering his comfort, and letting her know that he was still there. He knew she never liked this part of the gift. She turned her face towards him, and they shared a small smile.
Hunter let out a low whistle. "Damn, downing a couple dozen men without hurting them? That's–"
"They were hurt, that's how they passed out." Skye cut him off, her tone low.
"Probably brain damage." Stark mused out loud. Everyone looked at him incredulously, Rhodes smacking him upside the head. "Sorry."
"Let's move." May said. She started striding in the direction of the soldiers when Skye called out to her.
"Not that way." The Inhuman said. "It's just barracks down there."
"What about weapons?"
Skye glanced behind May, then closed her eyes. She raised her hand again, and lowered it within a matter of moments. Then a split second later an explosion blew up the end of the hall. May ducked as a piece of debris flew overhead.
"Now more people are dead." Skye said flatly. "Shall we move?"
"Which way, though?" Mack asked. "Left or right?"
"It doesn't matter." Fitz announced over the comms. "They both loop round to the main part of the base."
"Just stick together." Bobbi added.
"Will do." Barton replied. "Let's go left." Passing Skye, Ward and Simmons, he strode off in the direction he said.
The others followed him, some jogging to keep up. Every time they passed a doorway with people inside, the team members would either ICE them, if they were scientists, or kill them if they were not. The scientists were then tied up, removed from all communication devices and locked in the rooms they were found in.
It took them half an hour to work their way down the kilometre stretch of communal hallway as it wound and weaved its way towards the main section of the base. Around halfway through, they lost communication with Bobbi and Fitz.
"I hope they're not too worried." Simmons murmured when this happened. She, like a couple of others, chose to leave the comms device in her ear in case communication with The Playground was restored.
"We're in a Hydra base, how worried would you be?" Ward said.
"Not helping." Simmons snapped back.
Eventually, they reach a metal door, locked with a pin and signalling the end of the corridor.
"Here we are." Banner said.
"Can you tell what's on the other side?" Ward asked Skye.
"Yep." She replied. "One big, big room. This door's about halfway up one wall."
"What would they need such a large room for?" Rogers queried.
"Something not good." Skye looked at Banner. "You might wanna Hulk out."
"Great." He muttered.
"What's the security in there like?" Romanoff asked.
"Tight. We'll be on exposed stairs to the ground, so I'll cover you, but then you gotta find shelter once you're down there."
"Rhodey and I'll distract some of them." Stark offered. Skye nodded.
"Everyone ready?" Rogers looked around. Nods of affirmation were his only replies. "Good. Tony, you and Rhodey go out first. Skye, bullets will fly as soon as that door opens, so have your vibration shield up before that."
"Gotcha." She answered.
"Rest of you, get ready to run. Ward, that means you as well. Skye doesn't need any distractions."
"Bu–" Ward started to argue.
"Grant, it's fine. Stick with May." Skye cut him off. Smiling, she squeezed his hand. He couldn't return it.
"Simmons, you're with me." Rogers finished.
"Right." Simmons replied.
"Tony, if you'd like to do the honours…"
"It'd be my pleasure." Stark agreed, striding to the door. Rhodes remained beside him. Skye raised her hand, allowing the particles in the air in front of the group to tremble. The door started shaking with it.
"Thought you could do with the help." She smirked as Stark looked back at her.
"Tony, either you do it, or I will." Rhodes said bluntly.
"Fine, fine." Stark faced the door again, raised his foot, and slammed it into the door. It flew off its hinges, hitting the railing of the stairs and spinning away into the cavernous hangar of the room beyond. It was three times the size of the hangar in The Playground.
Immediately, Iron Man and War Machine jetted out through the doorway, zooming upwards and away from each other, drawing some of the fire that rang out when the door became detached from the wall. Skye had already moved forward as the suited men in armour flew into the hangar, and she remained in the doorway, half hidden behind the wall as she concentrated on deflecting bullets away from the staircase. Agent after agent hurried past her, each racing down the stairs and darting behind cargo boxes that were littered around the floor.
The detached door lay part way along the tarmac floor, dented and leaning against a body, one of the two security members that it had hit. The other man lay mere feet away.
Once Skye gave the go-ahead, Rogers exited the corridor first, Simmons hot on his heels. He held his vibranium shield up, covering the scientist and giving her an extra bit of protection. Close behind them were Mack and Hunter, their weapons up and ready to fire, but with that amount of hesitation in their stances that clearly proclaimed that they didn't know what would happen to their bullets while Skye was bending the laws of physics in front of them.
Romanoff and her partner followed, their eyes darting around like the trained spies they were, but they wasted no time in getting to the ground. Banner trailed behind them, glad that he had given his glasses to Simmons earlier, and doing his best to quell the urge to transform into the Hulk while on the narrow metal staircase.
May and Ward followed Skye's advice and partnered up. While there wasn't a lot of trust between them, they fell into an easy rhythm of watching each other's backs. It was obvious that their past experience of working together was paying off for this mission.
Skye was now the only team member left in the corridor. Just as she stepped onto the top platform to descend, Rhodes called out to her.
"Skye, watch out, he's got a freakin' missile launcher!"
She glanced in the direction of the man with the launcher aimed directly at her. He was a few metres away from the dented, detached door, almost halfway along the floor. He loosed the missile.
"Skye!" Ward yelled from below, but she barely heard it. What she did hear, and sense, was more soldiers running in the corridor, close behind her. So instead of stopping the bomb, and pushing it away, Skye leaped up onto the railing and jumped. Flinging her arms out and downwards, she propelled her momentum further than any ordinary human. She appeared to be flying instead of falling.
Just in time, she was clear of the initial blast radius when the missile hit the doorway. The resulting shockwave that rippled through the hangar added to the lift that Skye was already giving herself. She nearly made it to the other end, landing somewhat clumsily near the monster of a machine that Hydra was developing. The troop of soldiers in the hallway all died instantly from the bomb blast.
"What the bloody hell is that?" Hunter exclaimed, looking around his makeshift cover at the gigantic cargo plane. At least, that was one initial interpretation of it.
Ward wasn't paying any attention to anything else other than the fact that Skye was on the other side of the hangar, surrounded by enemy agents. She appeared on guard and holding her ground, but he worried that it wouldn't be for long.
"Ward!" May shouted, finally getting his attention. "Try focusing!"
"Right." He shook his head and scanned his immediate surroundings. His back's covered; the rest of the team are both behind and to the right of him. There are a couple of Hydra agents to his left; take them out first. Several agents are bearing down on them, firing as they approach. Highly dangerous. Barton and Romanoff were already taking on a decently sized group of soldiers further along the back wall of the hangar. Banner was transforming into the Hulk. Ward suddenly understood the exhilaration – whether materialising as fear or awe – that accompanies watching the man become the green beast. The flying suits of armour were drawing fire from men who would otherwise be attacking Skye; there were at least a hundred enemies over the other side. He was appreciative of Stark and Rhodes' assistance.
Knowing he needed all his focus directed at the onslaught of Hydra fire, Ward ducked down further and moved backwards, shooting the arms and then the heads of the two enemies as they slid into view. He returned to his position beside May.
"Any ideas?" she asked.
"Uhh…" Ward looked around, and saw Simmons crouching next to Rogers, who was preparing to run at the soldiers. "Wait for him to do a little disrupting?"
May glanced around at what he was looking at. "Worth a shot." She agreed.
In the background, the Hulk was chasing down engineers of the enormous metal contraption, breaking down the barricaded door in the far wall to get at them. Screams were heard; a stark contrast to the deep roars of the large green Bruce Banner.
Rogers waited a couple more seconds before launching himself from behind his cover and charged at the nearest group. The four men tuned their guns on him almost simultaneously, but Ward could see their fear and it showed in the way they desperately tried to shoot the super soldier dead. Rogers just held his shield up in front of his head and torso, allowing the bullets to deflect harmlessly off the surface.
He reached the soldiers in mere seconds, knocking two backwards with one swipe of his shield. The others nearly tripped over each other trying to get away, but May and Ward took aim from their own cover and gunned them down. More of the soldiers firing upon the team started to recognise the threat from Captain America as he used his shield, legs, arms and pistol to take them out one by one. Ward darted out, followed closely by May, as the numbers opposing them decreased.
They jumped into the fray, moving in synchronisation around each other, their enemies falling like tenpins. Ward shot the nearest agent dead, using his body as a temporary cover while he advanced on the dead soldier's colleagues. May shadowed him, breaking free of the cover he supplied when a group of seven, in their anger, moved within range of her martial arts. Ward used a mixture of punches, limb-breaking and shots fired to take out three of the advancing seven, while May ducked and wove around the rest and their flailing arms and legs, knocking them off balance before stunning them instantly with vicious blows to the head.
Within moments, the Hydra security in that one particular section was completely taken out; either injured, unconscious or dead. Ward, Rogers and May still stood in their fighting stances, eyes darting around them. Slowly they relaxed a little and turned their attention to the other soldiers, most of whom were converging on the singular threat that was Skye. The others were battling the partnership of Hawkeye and Black Widow nearer to the oversized aircraft. Hunter and Mack made their way to the Captain and his two compatriots-in-arms, guns out and acting as bodyguards for Simmons.
Just as they all, collectively, started walking towards Skye and her impressive display of power against her many opponents, the Inhuman let out a blast of vibrations that sent one of the soldiers tumbling back. The man flew back towards the advancing S.H.I.E.L.D. group so fast, it was remarkably cartoon-esque. He slid to a halt between Ward and Rogers, and didn't move.
Five soldiers now faced off against Skye. One of them was limping, but they all were keeping their distance and spread out around her, guns trained on her heart. Stark and Rhodes were just finishing dispatching their own opponents.
"She got this?" Rogers asked. Ward cocked his head to the side, watching the scene intently as they strode forward with intimidating confidence.
"She will do." he replied. Then he raised his gun and shot the one who was edging his way behind Skye. The others flinched, breaking their concentration for a split second to glance at the oncoming threat.
A split second was all she needed. Instantly, she pushed herself backwards, flipping up onto her hands and continuing the motion to land another metre along, squarely on her feet. Her hand was raised and releasing a pulse as soon as the four other soldiers fired. The bullets not only stopped in their tracks, they were shunted back along their flightpaths and into the bodies of the men from whom they came. The soldiers dropped.
"Remind me never to pick a fight with you again." Hunter remarked as they drew closer. Skye grinned. Stark flew over to Barton and Romanoff to help out and Rhodes dropped onto the ground next to the small gathering.
"That was some pretty impressive moves there, Ms Johnson." War Machine added, his tone one of admiration.
"Thanks." Skye replied, looking rather proud of herself.
"You okay?" Ward asked, pulling her into a hug.
"Yeah." She answered, but he had already felt her twitch. Frowning, he pulled back and studied her side.
"No, you're not." He sounded put out. "You've been shot."
"I'll be fine." She insisted. Simmons immediately moved closer and felt along Skye's right side.
"If you let me treat you now." the scientist said, all business. "You will be. This bleeding isn't going to stop any time soon."
"We have bigger problems to worry about, like that crazy-ass contraption." Skye gestured towards it, trying to change the subject. Everyone saw through it. Beyond Skye's shoulder, Ward saw Barton take out the last of the soldiers left in the hangar.
"Speaking of…" Rhodes trailed off as he jetted over to the entrance. He landed on the ramp and walked inside.
"And if you collapse from a treatable bullet wound, you're going to be one of them." Simmons retorted sweetly. Skye opened her mouth to continue being stubborn, but Ward cut her off.
"Listen to the doctor." He said, glancing at a flicker of motion that caught his eye. "Incoming."
The others all looked around to see another troop of soldiers enter through a door on the other side of the hangar. May and Rogers shared a look before moving to lend support to Barton and Romanoff. The Hulk could still be heard throughout the base as he pummelled his way through it, the sound punctuated by high-pitched screams.
"Go with them, I'll stay here." Ward said to Hunter and Mack.
"I can help–" Skye tried again.
"No, you will stay put until Simmons is finished." Ward cut her off again, his expression making it clear he meant to uphold every word himself if he had to.
"Hunter, let's go. She's in good hands." Mack spoke up, tugging on Hunter's arm.
"Fine." Hunter grumbled.
"Just don't die, alright? Bobbi'll kick my ass."
"Not to mention mine, just for the sake of it." Ward added, too quiet for the two other men to hear, but both women snickered.
"She doesn't hate you." Simmons said without looking at him as she pushed up Skye's combat suit to get clear access to the wound.
"What?" Ward was confused.
"Bobbi." She finally glanced up at him. "She won't trust you, of course, but she doesn't hate you."
"…huh."
"When'd she tell you this?" Skye asked.
"Before we left. Probably because he's helping us now, he's helped us recently, you're happy and safe, Mack let you in without a fuss, etcetera." Simmons finally slowed the bleeding. "Ward, could you hold this here, please?" Ward placed his hand over the gauze. "Thank you." She muttered out of habit as she pulled a sterile needle and thread out of her first aid kit. "Skye, this'll hurt and I'm sorry. But we don't have time to numb the area."
"Copy that." Skye grimaced. Ward holstered his gun and offered her his hand to hold. She smiled tightly at him, grateful for the support.
"Here we go." Simmons gently moved the gauze aside, and stuck the needle into Skye's skin, top right above the bullet hole. Skye hissed in pain, both hands squeezing Ward's forcefully. Simmons mumbled apologies as she deftly sewed up the wound, tying the end and snipping off the excess thread. Grabbing a cotton plaster from her kit, she placed it over the injury and pressed the tape edges onto Skye's skin. "All done."
"Thank God." Skye moaned, resting her forehead against Ward's chest. "Painkillers, please?"
"Not until we leave. You need to be in control." Simmons answered. "I'll ICE you if it's too much, okay?"
She nodded. "Okay."
"All the soldiers are down." Ward commented. "Let's go to the others."
"Ward!" Rogers called from where the rest of the team was walking towards the back of the aircraft. "You all done there?"
"Yes!" Ward replied in kind. "On our way!" Gently, he tugged on Skye's arm and the three of them made their way over.
Once they were all back together, and the Hulk had burst his way back into the hangar, Rhodes walked out, his visor up and his face grim.
"I don't care if Coulson or you think this could be used for S.H.I.E.L.D. or the US military," he began, directing his conversation to May. "There's no way we're leaving this thing intact."
"I agree." Skye piped up. Her eyes were closed, and her hand held out towards the aircraft.
"I don't think S.H.I.E.L.D. has the room for it." Ward said.
"We don't." May said. "How do we blow it up?"
"Load it with explosives, and light a really long fuse." Hunter suggested.
"Don't need to, there are explosives already on board." Skye stated matter-of-factly.
Rhodes frowned. "I didn't see any."
"They're wired in, or something. Self-destruct, I think."
"Well, what else could we do?" Stark asked. "I like the long fuse idea."
"There's potential in that." Romanoff nodded. "Hi, Bruce." She added as the Hulk joined the party. He grunted.
"Puncture the fuel tank and trail a line of gas from here to the exit." Ward put his suggestion out there.
"That would give us, what…" Barton started to say, then calculated in his head. "A minute, two, tops before the place blows up?"
"That's good enough for me." Simmons said. "Only one person needs to light it, and I'd rather not stand around in a Hydra base for the next half an hour debating the best way to blow it up. And we need to get in contact with The Playground."
"Before they go out of their minds with worry." Skye nodded in agreement.
"If they haven't already." Simmons finished.
"Great. I take it the task for laying the fuel line falls to us?" Stark said, gesturing between himself and his best friend.
"That would make the most sense, yes." Rogers stated flatly. It came across as slightly sarcastic. "The rest of you, let's go."
"You happy to stay Hulked out until we get back to the quinjets?" Barton asked Banner as they started walking towards an exit that was not blown up or identified by a hulk-sized hole.
"His clothes are in rags, of course he is." Romanoff said, as though it was obvious. Hulk grunted in accordance. "See?" she pointed out. "Even he knows it."
"I was just making sure." Barton grumbled. "There's plenty of clothes in this base that aren't being used right now."
Rogers just rolled his eyes and said nothing about it as the team made their way back outside.
A/N: What did you guys think? What would you like to see in the epilogue? Let me know! :) R&R