If you have never read a comic book before – like me – go to Marvel Wikia and learn about: S.P.E.A.R., Xian Zheng, The Circle, Grace Tam, The Ascendants. You can understand this whole chapter without needing to know any of this, but if you'd like to know… these are my Easter Eggs for the comic book readers. :)
The new image cover contains new characters. As you read this chapter who'll understand who they are, but for now I'll just tell you their names so that when you read, you can put a face to the name. Top left is Skye, top right is River, bottom left is Heather, bottom right is Dale. (How matchy these names are…)
You've learnt in the previous chapter that May and Coulson actually tried to run away with Skye (action that goes back to what happened in chapter 19). This chapter is the last and it's a sweet treat to end this fanfiction in a high mood. This is the 'what if?' chapter. What if Fury convinced Pierce he'd handle Coulson, May and Skye's issue? What if they had really escaped? How would their life be like?
Coulson, May and Skye had just crashed down on a motel in the outskirts of Minnesota, near the border with Canada. In the morning they would be leaving to another state, trying to reach the West coast as fast as possible, so that then they could leave the country by any other means other than car or plane. It was hard to be on the run with a child, and SHIELD had given them two days to hand Skye over to them. They hoped that in two days they'd be far away from Washington's tristate area, knowing that that would be the first search parameter.
Skye was sleeping undisturbed in bed, May was finalizing the falsification of their passports and identities and Coulson was getting rid of their old documents and cell phones. They were even considering giving Skye a haircut and dye her brown hair in a different color, to make it easier to escape. Coulson was frozen once his phone vibrated in his hand.
"Unknown number," he said, looking at May.
"Don't pick -" Too late by then; Coulson had already pressed the button and accepted the call, "up."
"We've got 2 minutes and 40 seconds before SHIELD taps this conversation and picks up your location, so listen -"
"Director Fury?" Coulson asked in disbelief.
"I'm not Director now, but I'll get my position back soon enough. Right now I just need you to listen to me attentively, Coulson. I need you to go to Macao with Agent May and the girl. I've contacted one agent on the ground there and he's waiting for you, to take you to a secure location. Once I recover my position as Director, you'll be given new directives."
"I appreciate the help, but we've resigned the agency so we handle SHIELD the way we find wiser."
"Alexander Pierce ordered a STRIKE team to hunt and bring back all three of you. Dead or alive. Still want to deal with them the wiser way? Leave, as fast as you can."
Coulson was left with nothing else to say as Fury hung up. He looked at Skye sleeping and then directed his look at May, "We need to get past the border soon. Then he'll get on a plane to Macao. Fury's order."
"We've left a resignation letter -"
"Pierce has a STRIKE team onto to us. Fury found a way to send us to a secure location. We have time to discuss his authority later."
May nodded and packed up their things. Time was ticking and they needed to be fast. They reached the airport full of suspicions. They didn't know if Fury was being honest with them. Even if he was, that he had a secure location for them, they knew he'd later want something from them. Fury wasn't the kind of man who offered something without demanding something else back in return. Coulson handled the check-in procedure while May stayed among a mass of people with Skye. Her eyes were attuned, looking for any threat that could present. Luckily they boarded on the plane without troubles and landed in Macao half a day later. Skye was physically well, but still very much confused from bouncing from place to place and seeing Coulson and May so uptight. Even though they explained her everything that was happening on the flight, Skye was afraid. She feared that all the trouble they were going through wouldn't be worth it and that she'd be sent to an orphanage again, but this time without any memories.
Coulson and May were tired, jetlagged, tense. They really wanted an agent to be there waiting for them and to lead them to a secure place. But even if there was nothing or no one waiting for them, they wouldn't back down. They had on the run for a full day now and they wouldn't give up if they were left alone, in the lurch, without any help. As soon as they stepped out of the plane, Skye grasped Coulson's hand, looking around. They walked in the airport to retrieve their only luggage – a backpack – while May and Coulson looked around, waiting to find that agent.
"You can send me to the doctor," Skye said, "I don't mind going away and forgetting everything."
"Angel eyes," Coulson stooped before her, grabbing her little hands on his, "everything's gonna be alright. Those things that we told you about forgetting everything were just a misunderstanding. That was just coming from a man who didn't know what he was saying. You are with me and Melinda on this, and you're not being taken away, ok? We'll be alright."
Skye hugged him and muttered, "I really want to. I just wanted a mom and dad, nothing else really."
Coulson pressed a kiss on her forehead, "And you have a mom and a dad. Trust us, little monkey?" Skye nodded her head and the man smiled for her reassurance, "We're going to a safe place, and we'll be ok."
"I think I've spotted him," May's added in as she approached them.
Coulson looked the same direction she was looking and stood up, holding out his hand for Skye. The three walked in direction of a short man, wearing a full navy-blue suit. His hair was as black as coal, but his eyes were of a light blue color. He was sitting at one of the chairs in the waiting area, reading a newspaper, cross legged. He put the newspaper away as soon as he saw the three walking towards him.
"Agent Coulson, Agent May," He got up, giving them a handshake, "I'm Agent Sebastian Tsetsang. I was assigned by Director Fury to take you to a secure location. Follow me, please."
The three of them were guided to a black SUV and Agent Tsetsang gave indications to his fellow agent behind the wheel to drive to Coloane, which was relatively close from the airport to the island. Skye was avidly looking out the window as the car passed through the bridge. There was nothing but a clear blue sky and pristine river water. A big boat was crossing the waters, heading for the main Peninsula. The girl looked back to see as to where the boat was sailing and noticed that they were driving away from the bustling Macanese city.
The more they moved into the Coloane Island, the less they saw hints of a metropolis life. Coloane was a small traditional community of fishermen. The lanes were narrow, there were a few alleys and squares, and the colonial buildings were painted in hues of yellow, blue, and green. Old-fashioned street lamps were adorned with hanging baskets of flowers and some paths were of uneven, the material of the ground was of cobblestone blocks. The car moved through this friendly-neighbor street and stopped in front of a house. Tsetsang alighted the car and Coulson and May repeated the gesture, taking Skye with them by the hand.
The house's two-story façade was of a blizzard blue color but the windows and door were white. There was a staircase with a few steps that gave access to a porch. It seemed to be quite a roomy house, with a small balcony on the second floor, and it also had a small garden in the back. They didn't have much long to contemplate the house though, as Tsetsang gave them the house keys.
"Here you have two burner phones," Tsetsang then gave them two cell phones and resumed, "just give a call if you need anything."
Tsetsang entered the car and the other agent drove away. The three newcomers watched the car until it disappeared down the road.
"Are we gonna live here now?" Skye asked.
May placed her hand on Skye's head and stroked her hair, "For now, yes."
The couple and Skye walked in, meeting a house fully furnished, entirely for their disposal. It was hard to relax in the first days, but as soon as Coulson and May warmed up to the idea that the house was safe they got their first real night of sleep, but that only happened by the end of the week. Just when they had relaxed, they heard a knock on the door that awoke them startled. No one knew about the house and Tsetsang hadn't announced that he'd be swinging by. May and Coulson went for their guns and walked to the door. Agent Tsetsang was waiting outside the door, looking around, hands clasped behind his back, and the same black SUV was parked outside their new house. The two let out a relieved sigh and an eye roll, opening the door for him.
"You could have warned," May growled.
"I'm sorry," Tsetsang smiled, "Agents, Miss Skye, I'm here to take you to Safe Haven."
"I'm sorry, take us where?" Coulson asked.
"Director Fury's orders. Follow me, please?"
They were taken back to Taipa, but this time to a secret facility. It was located on the underground of an old industrial complex. They got off the car two levels below the surface, meeting an enormous hangar, completely empty. Looking up, May realized the ceiling had a retracting roof, allowing planes to enter and exit. Tsetsang led the way upstairs, and they strolled through endless empty halls, meeting some doors that were marked as 'Vault' in alphabetic order. Coulson counted at least six of them. They also passed by an empty laboratory, a gym facility and a shooting range before they made it to a lounge area. On the left of that room there was another flight of stairs that led to an office. Tsetsang beckoned them to follow him to that particular room. It was empty, as every other room, but the agent made a big flat TV screen slid from behind a brick wall. SHIELD's logo was flashing in red, and after flickering around the screen for a while, Director Fury appeared on video call.
"Agent Coulson, Agent May," Fury greeted.
"Sir, what is this place?" Coulson immediately asked his superior.
"That is your new working place, Agent Coulson."
"My working place? We resigned."
"From SHIELD, yes," Fury shortly nodded. "But I have other plans in mind."
"What plans?" May asked.
"SHIELD in the west, SPEAR in the east. That's your new base, Safe Haven, and from now on you are the Director of SPEAR. Agent May is your deputy. You two come up with a meaning for the acronym."
"Sir, we've resigned," May reminded, "we don't want -"
"I know." Fury leaned back on his chair, "I know you are tired of all of this, but since I'm Director of SHIELD again, I found your resignations a stupid ass decision and I chose not to accept them. You've got the opportunity to get a fresh start. You've got Agent Tsetsang to assist you but I don't think you've anything to worry about."
"What about Pierce?" she asked.
"I've tamed him. Skye won't have to go to the Guest House. But of course, he was pissed about it, so I suggested that you two would run Safe Haven. That way you'll be away from him, and he won't sound like he's eating poison every time he swallows." He took a short time to let his words sink in to add, "I couldn't let that two of my best agents would walk out the door like that."
"You've said I'm in charge of this," Coulson said, "where do I start?"
"You're the Director and that is your base. You make the call. Agent Tsetsang will help you meeting the parameters required for the base and you may begin to recruit your own agents whenever you want. I wish you good luck, Director."
Coulson smiled and filled his chest with air, "Thank you, Sir."
Fury disappeared off the screen and Tsetsang let the family talk privately. Skye looked up at May and Coulson, "You're gonna work here now?"
"Apparently so," May replied, glaring Coulson. She wasn't exactly angry, but she couldn't say she was pleased with the fact that Coulson decided for their lives in thirty seconds.
"And we'll live here too?"
"Yes," Coulson nodded and smiled, picking Skye up in his arms, "we're going to live here."
The girl leaned into her dad's ear, whispering, "I get to have a mom and a dad for real now?"
May overheard everything Skye whispered and answered her, "Yes."
Skye grinned, "This is the best day ever."
3 years later
Safe Haven, Macao, China
"Touching down in ten," May spoke through the ear comm, "prepare to open the rooftop."
After landing the Quinjet in the hangar, May marched out of the plane with a blonde woman. Coulson had asked May to fly to China and get the one person who could be their newest agent, Pryia Ling.
"Where's Corey?" she asked one of the agents in the hangar.
He lifted his head up of the hood of the cars he was repairing, "Last I saw him, he was in the lab with Wu."
May told him, "Get her to Corey. I want a full medical exam of her and the results in Director's desk by tomorrow. I'll be back in an hour or so to do her psych and physical eval. Got it?"
"Yes, Ma'am," the agent grabbed Ling's arm and took her to Corey as May ordered him to.
May strolled down the halls, no longer empty or seeming so endlessly long, making the way to Coulson's office. As she walked, she could only think of how she didn't believe her luck. Their base, Safe Haven, grew by leaps and bounds. It now housed thirty-seven agents, was self-sustained operations' base and was performing well in missions. Her family life was always sailing really well. They lived their lives between the Peninsula and Taipa; Safe Haven was at the island, strategically near the airport but they'd take everyday trips to the Macau Peninsula to drop Skye and River at the private schools they attended. Their days were a mix of routine with improvisation, and that was what made their life interesting. No day was the same as other, but they always got to tuck their children to bed at night and sleep tangled in one another.
Coulson and May found it almost surreal that between the crazy year of putting together a secret facility and building a secret agency from the ground, May got pregnant. She never saw herself carrying a child after what happened in Bahrain, but time changed her. The couple welcomed their baby boy into the world had been two years now; River Ming-Yu had a personality just like his father but all of mother's looks. A few months after his birth, Coulson and May tied the knot, and around the same time Skye, who was now eleven, officially adopted her dad's name (and got a middle name as well – Skye Mei-Lin Coulson sounded better than just Skye).
She knocked on the door of his office, but giving the fact that he didn't answer, May put together that he was still on the phone with Stark's assistant and that the business proposition wasn't still closed down. So, she let herself in.
"I know Mr. Stark only does R&D contracts with the American government and not with SHIELD," Coulson smiled a little, looking at May, "but my business proposition has nothing to do with the main SHIELD organization. Even though we do have affiliations with them, I'm Director of SPEAR and this is my base, and I'd like Mr. Stark to provide us some weaponry. If he's available to negotiate, I might add 5 million more to the deal. If not, I'm sure there are a lot of other private constructors willing to do business with me."
The woman on the other side of the line sighed deeply, "I'll have a word with Mr. Stark. I'll contact you tomorrow, Mr. Coulson."
"Thank you, Ms. Potts, I appreciate it."
"He's tough bone to chew," May commented when Coulson hung up.
"Yeah, the kid's hard to convince, but I'll break him."
"I know," May smirked, "persuasion is after all your strongest suit."
"But tell me, how did these last two days treat you?"
"I've had worse. But still I'm considering filing a complaint letter to my Director," she joked, grabbing his tie and pulling him in for a kiss. "She kicked me in the ribs when I first approached her."
"I will dutifully make it up for you later tonight."
"At length?" she raised her brow, walking to sit at the chair on the other side of the desk.
"At length. And as you wish, Ma'am." Coulson smiled and leaned back on his chair, "Anyway, what's your assessment on Ling?"
"You know what I think. She's a mercenary."
"Yes, but what's your assessment?"
"She's a good mercenary," May admitted, "I'll handle her psych and physical eval in an hour. I'll let you know if she's worth or not by then."
"In an hour? You're going to pick up Skye and River?"
She got up from the chair, "Yes. Running after Ling for two days drained me. I need a break."
Coulson chuckled, "And you think Skye and River are the top picks for relaxation?" May didn't exactly answer; she simply showed off a small smile, "Can you ask Skye to come to my office once you guys arrive?"
"Still thinking about Zhang?"
"Yes," he rubbed his forehead, "I still can't wrap my head around it. How come did he escape a team of six agents inside a mall?"
"Why does it matter now, Phil? We've got him in our custody for over two weeks now."
"My pride is wounded," he whined, "so please tell Skye to come here. She's good quite observant and might help me reviewing the footages."
"Alright," she was on her way to the door when she backed a few steps, facing him again, "By the way, how are the plans for The Circle?"
Coulson grinned and showed her the blueprints on the screen, "Almost, almost finished. Can't wait for this hub to be ready and take some of our agents with us."
"So we're really leaving Safe Haven?"
"That's our only choice. The only person I'd trust to take lead there, or here, would be you, and I'm not going alone or sending you to China on your own. I know I'm the Director of this agency and I should make sacrifices, but… without you or the kids there's no me. And if there's no me, there's no SPEAR. Besides, The Circle will be for us what the Triskelion is for SHIELD. It'll be our main headquarters and I suppose the Director should be where the hub is, right?"
"Yes, right," May nodded her head. "Who are you leaving to lead here?"
"Xian Zheng seems like a good choice, at least for me. But as my Deputy, I want to hear your thoughts too."
"You want my opinion as your wife, just say it."
The man had a short chuckle, "I do, yes. Oh, and I forgot to tell you that Fury has already offered us a house welcoming gift. He's waiting for The Circle to be ready to send it to China."
"He's giving us The Bus?" May asked, a small smile playing with her lips – she couldn't wait to get her hands on that Boeing C-17.
"Persuasion is after all my strongest suit," he smirked. "Not only are we getting The Bus, which is yours solely," he added, knowing how much she had waited for that plane, "but he's also sending us sixteen airships. We can't take everything from here and leave this base unprotected. And, one last thing," Coulson turned to the screen and zoomed on a small room that was almost undetected in the blueprints, "that is The Crib 2.0. It's even more secure than the room we have here, so it certainly allows us to, who knows," he raised his brow, "expand the family."
May smirked and shook her head, walking to the door, "We'll need to discuss that."
"Leaving again, Ma'am?" Tsetsang asked May as he met her on the way to the exit door.
"I'm getting Skye and River. Should be back in an hour, Buz."
May parked across from the school's entrance, waiting for Skye. Since there were still some minutes left for the school day to be considered over, May stepped out of the car and crossed the street, waiting for her daughter by the school's gates. Soon enough an avalanche of kids was running out of the school and even though they all wore identical uniforms, May immediately spotted Skye. The girl was walking at a slower pace, looking forward to know who was going to pick her up from school that day. Usually Mom and Dad picked her and River from school but sometimes agents from the base would come to collect them whenever their parents were too busy. Once Skye spotted May, she ran to her wearing a big smile.
"Hi, mom," Skye greeted, wrapping her arms around May's waist. "Did you have a good flight?"
"I did, yes," she answered, carrying Skye's backpack for her. "How was -"
"And you weren't hurt during the mission?"
"No, I wasn't," the woman affirmed, holding Skye's hand and walking to the crosswalk. "Everyone is alright."
"Uhm, and have you eaten already?"
May rolled her eyes, "Are you interrogating me?"
Skye smirked and shrugged, "Gotta look after you. Dad says you don't listen to him, so he asked me to ask you these things."
"Just get in the car," the woman chuckled. "How were the last two days with Dad?"
The girl fastened her seatbelt, telling her mother, "We definitively didn't eat junk food. And I didn't play poker with Lim Yee, Ed and Will at the base. And River didn't fuss at all in the morning when it was time to go to kindergarten. And, of course, I didn't go to the gym and sparred with Lily."
"So you basically didn't do any of the things I specifically told you not to do?"
"Of course not," Skye grinned.
May looked at Skye through the rearview mirror and smiled. Once they arrived at the kindergarten, River was one of the last children still waiting for his parents to collect him. Skye waited in the car as May quickly picked him up. River was excitedly babbling to his mother about his day as she strapped him to his booster seat. Skye noticed that the back of her River's hands had yellow marker scribbles. She tried to rub it off his hand with her thumb, but it didn't come out. Skye loved her little brother, and it was a reciprocal feeling. She was always a bit jealous of the other kids at school who had a brother or a sister, and at the time, when she was still living in DC, she had a father and a mother in two different times of her life. Once she got a permanent family, she only lacked a sibling, so when River was born, it made her happiness. She was nothing but caring with him ever since he was a baby. Seeing the two of them getting along so well was something that made Coulson and May extremely proud. And happy. They all deserved to be happy and have a tranquil life.
As soon as they arrived the base, May walked straight to begin her evaluation on Ling. Skye and River parted away; they knew their way around Safe Haven – it was their home after all. River ran to the lounge room where some agents were relaxing, whilst Skye walked to her bedroom to slip into more comfortable clothes.
(There was one room that only River and Skye knew of. Coulson and May taught them the way there, to the room they called The Crib. If there was ever a problem at the base, the two of them had to go in there; it was a safe place inside their already fortified base.)
"Mom said you wanted me to come here?" Skye said, poking her head inside her father's office. He nodded and beckoned her to walk in, eyes shifting back to the screen. "Sorry for taking so long. I was changing my clothes."
"It's nothing urgent, baby," he looped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to his side, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. "I need your help figuring out how Zhang deceived us."
"Still?" he raised her brow – something she picked up from May. "Didn't you and Mom arrest him weeks ago?"
"I still don't know how he got way inside a crowded mall. I need to know."
"Uh, why don't you ask him that then?"
Coulson sighed and changed the images he had on the screen, "Alright, I give it up."
Maybe Skye and May were right, he needed to let it go. There was no need to insist on that matter anymore. He showed her the project for The Circle that he asked Wu and Corey, two of base's engineers, to project.
"What do you think?" he asked Skye, directing his eyes to the screen. The girl did the same, "Asked Corey and Wu do this. And, I know this might not be the best way to tell you, but we'll be moving to this base. It'll be a much bigger base, I'll have much more control over things, have the chance layout more bases here on the east, and coolest thing, The Circle floats."
"That is the best. Idea. Ever," Skye praised walking closer to the screen, "It floats?"
"Yes," Coulson smiled, pleased upon knowing that moving from Safe Haven wasn't a bad news for Skye, "What do you think River will think of it?"
"He's gonna like it, dad."
"I really want this change to be smooth for everyone," he said as he took the images down from the screen. "Where is your brother, by the way?"
"He was downstairs at the break room with Lim Yee, Ed and Lily," Skye said, looking back at her father. "Dad, can we go eat at Lee's today?"
Sometimes Coulson and May took Skye and River away from the base for a few hours, to do some things that normal families do (having a meal at a restaurant, taking a walk somewhere) mainly because River was building this strange – but understandable – idea that everyone lived in a super-secret underground base like him and his family. Besides, the kids did really need to experience the outer world other than what they experienced at school.
"Your mother and I had thought of that already. Let's just hope she gets done with Ling's eval quickly."
Coulson sat at his desk and Skye took a seat at the chair in front, "Can I help with something?"
He handed her a stack of papers, a rubber stamp and the ink pad, "You can stamp those files for me."
Skye nodded and began her task while Coulson signed all the other files. May walked in the office moments later, carrying River in arms. If she wasn't tickling the boy's side and he wasn't giggling, neither Coulson or Skye would realize they were walking in. as soon as he saw his father, River wiggled in his mother's arms, wanting to be put down on the floor. He ran to Coulson's lap, greeting him with a hug.
"Dad said we're going to Lee's," Skye said, lifting her head to meet her mother's eyes.
"Then why are we still here?" May responded. She held the door opened for the three of them, "Let's go."
They were strolling along the halls when River tugged on his father's jacket sleeve, "Dad, wocket lau'ching."
"Do you have your spacesuit on?"
River gestured the act of putting on a suit and a helmet and then said, "Weady fo' lau'ching. In five, fouw, thwee, two, one, and -"
"Launch," Coulson said as he reached down, grabbed River under the arms and lifted him into the air with a little toss.
River screeched in happiness when he realized that he was airborne. His father caught him on the way back down, and the boy didn't stop giggling after that. Coulson quickly laid him facing down across his arms and spun around, swinging the boy up and down, mimicking with his mouth the sound of an engine working. River giggled heartily, even after his father began leaning towards the ground and put him down back on his feet again.
May smiled as she shook her head, hoping to find Tsetsang just around the corner. When she did find him, she gave him orders to control the base while they were away. Obviously the Director and his deputy made sure to tell him all over again to call if there was any trouble and to not let their agents do rounds of shots and dare each other to do reckless stuff. Sometimes Coulson and May could swear that they didn't have two children but thirty-seven.
Four years later
The Circle, China
Coulson served River a bowl of cereals for his breakfast as he had a cup of coffee himself. A few agents walked in and out the break room, greeting the Director and the six-year-old boy. Heather and Dale, the three-year-old twins, were still sleeping and May would be bringing them down to the break room after she had had a shower.
"Can I go with you, dad?" River asked between a spoonful of cereals.
"Do you want to freeze your butt out there in the Arctic?"
The boy nodded his head vigorously, "Yes. I wanna go too. If I can, of course."
"I'm sure you can come with me and the SHIELD team to look for Captain America. And I'm sure your mother will let you go too. It's only for a few weeks after all." Coulson offered a smile, whilst River grinned and resumed eating.
The scent of honeyed shower gel and shampoo let Coulson know that his older daughter was in the room. He looked up and saw Skye, now a fifteen-year-old young woman, walking in sluggishly, looking exhausted.
She flopped down on a chair and whined, laying her head over her arms, "I swear one day mom is going to dismember me with her working out sessions."
Coulson smiled, "She's trying to help you. Don't you want to go to The Academy?"
"Yes, but I don't think they accept corpses."
May walked in the break room, sitting the twins at their chairs, "Nothing becomes reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work."
"You should write motivational books," Skye said.
Heather was happily babbling, asking for breakfast while Dale had a frown and was still sleepy. He was always extremely moody in the mornings, unlike his twin sister. Coulson tickled the boy's sides but Dale whimpered and squirmed as he tried to push away his father's hands.
Coulson bopped his son's nose, "You're so moody in the mornings," he pressed a kiss onto Dale's black hair and gave him the juice cup he was trying to reach.
"Sir?" one of their many – over hundred and fifty – agents poked his head in the room, looking at Coulson, "Our analysts think they found Grace Tam."
Coulson nodded his head, put a kiss on each of his kids' heads and walked out the door, following the agent to the analysts' room. Buz showed up at the break room, ready to take the kids to school, as he did every morning. Coulson and May always wanted Skye, River, Heather and Dale to attend school away from the base they worked at. It helped the kids feeling that they had something in common with the ordinary children. They did not worry about their safety as they all had a bracelet that kept track of their movements.
Once all the kids were sent to school, May made the way to the analysts' room as well, and listened to Coulson addressing to a team of agents.
"Grace Tam, activist, mostly know by her user name, Vector. Tam has been arrested three times for unlawful protesting, assisting hackers, conspiracy and other charges. She claims that her desire is to expose corruption. She claims that she wants to "help the humble, voiceless people to speak up and infuriate the ones she speaks against." We are going to pay a little visit to Mrs. Tam as she has also displayed some strange ability: teleportation. Our first and only objective with this mission is to approach this woman, assess her ability, put her on the Index, and luckily, recruit her. For this I want a small team with me and little to no armament. We will not need those." Coulson looked at all the agents in the room, and after they nodded, he ordered, "Prepare a jet and set up the team. We'll meet at the hangar in 15."
Coulson began walked out of the room in quick strides, to gear up as well. May followed him, running the few steps to walk side by side with him.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" May asked Coulson in a low voice.
"We have to try."
"Do you want me to go too? You'll need someone to help with the translations and -"
"No, I need you here. Contact The Olympus and give me updates on Wen's medical condition, check how things are at the Jungle Gym, at Safe Have. Oh, and The Bridge was ha –"
"I'll check how the activity is at all the bases. Again, do you need me to go too or not?"
"No. We're just the welcoming wagon, and that's the only reason I'm going with the team. I know people, I know what makes them tick and I'm sure I'll convince her to be part of the Ascendants. But, if she doesn't want to come and work for us, at least she'll be registered on the Index."
"We've done this before. We were also just the welcoming wagon and you know how it ended," she pointed out.
"May," he stopped and placed himself in front of her, "things will be alright. Besides, the worst she can do is play cat and mouse with us and not make me get here on time for dinner with you and the kids," he smiled.
She sighed as she smoothed the lapel of his jacket, "Be careful, Director."
"I will, Agent May," he offered a small smile and put a soft kiss on her forehead. Looking into her eyes, he added, "Love you."
"Love you too."
If there was one thing they learnt is that life rewards those who always get up after taking a punch. No matter how life is hard, no many how many troubles they encounter, there's always a reward for those who stand up to protect others again and again. Coulson and May were always willing to give their life to protect others, and so they were rewarded with a stable job and a perfect family life. So, for them, life couldn't get any better than that.
I absolutely loved writing this fanfiction. I've got to thank you all for reading it, for your reviews and your support. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
I'll take a small break to structure new fanfictions, but I'll be back.