Stuff of Legend

"You have got to be kidding me," I muttered as I walked into the kitchen about half a week later and saw what Skye had prepared a very… interesting breakfast. It wasn't surprising for her to leave things out for me with how much later I seemed to rise than everyone else, but the fact that it was three pancakes shaped like hearts with her standing there as if she had been waiting for me could not possibly mean I was in for a peaceful breakfast. I could guess what the subject of conversation was and I was even less interested in talking about it now than I had been half a week ago.

"What?" she questioned, acting completely innocent. "I just thought I'd do something nice for my fellow fish out of water. Plus we've been so busy that we hadn't really had the chance to talk in a while." Now the pancakes were really starting to look like a trap with a smile like that.

I slowly took my seat as she slid them towards me, cautious about what I was getting myself into. It was true, we hadn't really had a conversation since I warned her and Simmons about the lack of extraction plan. I had spent the last few days getting everything straightened out in terms of what had happened between Sitwell and I in that room. It was even important enough that it was Maria Hill on the other line of the call ordering me to tell her everything I could remember. She didn't seem as nostalgic about seeing one another again as I was. So I relayed the whole thing- excluding the future stuff because I was finally starting to convince myself how impossible it was.

And then I learned that my version was a bit different from the official statement Sitwell had provided. His involved my setting up the meeting, a gun being held to his side, and a raving lunatic of an amnesiac demanding her memories back. Oh boy did I have a few things to say about that interpretation… along with the creep who had sold me out with a second thought. Had no trouble lying through his teeth to keep his goodwill and standing. Probably to get back at me for not being whisked away by him to this other team and giving him answers to his damned silly questions.

It didn't help that Hand backed him up about my being volatile in our encounter after the meeting. Another lousy coward just trying to save face. It was unfortunate my decision there had taken so little time to bite me back, because I really wanted to keep enjoying that look on her face when I'd taken her down a peg. Now it just got me frustrated which was no fun at all. It had led to me spending most of my free time outside these meetings either with the punching bag or alone in my room. The others had understood and given me a wide berth of space.

With two accounts against mine, the verdict naturally did not come down in my favor. Hill made it clear it was what she had to do and not necessarily what Fury believed should be done. But they were two senior Agents against someone like me who might be a maniac with rage issues if they were to be believed. So I was put on suspension for a month. I technically was supposed to leave the team and take some time off to gets things sorted before being interviewed if I was okay to come back. But my situation and the truth of the matter threw protocols out the window, especially when it became clear Fury and Hill were well aware of the fact that my entire team had known the truth for a bit though.

Coulson and May had been with me practically the whole time and it was Coulson who fought the hardest in these negotiations for the actual terms of my "suspension". I was not leaving the Bus to literally wander the earth a nomad. This was my home and I was staying here no matter what the rules said. I was not going to be put in completely unnecessary danger when I was so useful to everyone here. I also wasn't being taken off missions- he'd just make sure in his official reports my name just happened to be left out. Nobody needed to know I was there so he wouldn't tell them. I got to see firsthand for myself what the power of being Fury's favorite was because Hill had agreed pretty quickly to all of this after a discussion with the man in the eyepatch. He thought the best thing for me to do was keep doing what I had been doing. It seemed to be working somehow so why try to change that? I was told they couldn't protect me forever though and I had to be careful when around others to not give them an excuse to chase me away from the team.

I damn well wasn't planning on that. As of right now, there were only five Agents I trusted implicitly- all of whom were ready to have my back when it came to navigating a month of secrecy on our parts. I think Simmons was reveling in being a bit rebellious against Hand so long as we had Fury's permission. Plus I had the other teammate who was now going to heckle me with these things she had supposedly been seeing between me and Fitz.

I cut a piece of the pancake, still staring at it quite suspiciously still as she watched me with a large smile. "Well, why don't you say what's on your mind?" I prompted before taking the bite- splendid as always. "Pitch to me this grand love story you have concocted about Lee and I with our obvious throbbing passion that we are hiding from one another."

She laughed. "That actually wasn't what I wanted to say at all." What? "Though the fact that you're still obsessing over it I think only helps to prove my point. But we can get back to that in a moment." Great. I had just dug myself a bit of a hole it seemed. I just had thought… I honestly didn't think about it at all. Because it wasn't true. It was about as true as this future nonsense. "You look like you're doing some mental aerobics right now. Did I just blow your mind?"

I took another bite. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I acknowledge that you're ignoring the question and we will return to that," she preempted before launching into her tale. "So Coulson looked into this redacted file I've been tracking for forever while we were at the Hub." Now this was something I could get behind. I looked up, giving her all my attention. "Now, it doesn't say much but it talks about when I was dropped off at an orphanage as a baby by… get this… a female Agent."

Wow. This was… this was great. "Does it say who she is?"

"No, but I'm going to look into it more with Coulson and May," she continued, obviously ecstatic about this development. "There's no evidence one way or the other, but she could be my mom, Ashleigh." The way she said the word was reverent. This was a girl who was daring to dream right now for the first time in what must have been years. "I feel like she might be. She has to be, right? And maybe, maybe she left me because people were after her and I-"

"Skye," I ended her breathless speech gently. I covered her hands with mine. "She could be. That could all be a very true story. I don't deny that. I just… I don't want you to get your hopes too much. And I know it's impossible not to because that's who you are and one of the things that makes you so great. But I also don't want you to get hurt." I shrugged. "I mean I've been around the block with the whole parent's thing and it didn't exactly turn out the way I expected. I had no hopes and was sorely underwhelmed."

She nodded. "I hear you. And I do have my hopes up that she's my mother because it would answer the question that has been haunting me since I could understand the concept of parents. I've been searching for so long and now… it might finally be happening. I might learn who I am… where I came from. It's all I ever wanted… a family." I kept eating my pancake and she sighed. "I guess I just don't understand…"

I knew exactly where she was going and why she was so hesitant about saying it. Everyone else had taken me up on my desires without a word to the contrary- it had almost seemed too easy. Fitzsimmons and Ward were content to live in the moment with me if I desired and not question the strange nature of my arrival so long as I was here now. But part of me knew that was because they didn't understand in the slightest what the inside of my head was like despite their best efforts. They could not imagine a big empty space where all the stuff and memories they held the most importantly were stored. Hell, I suspected some of them thought they were better off not remembering that stuff. But Skye understood the situation, which is why she couldn't understand me.

"You don't get why I'm so willing to just let the whole matter of my past drop," I answered for her, doing my best to make it clear I wasn't upset with her in any way for bringing this up. It was clearly a fear given the heart-shaped manner of food item. I didn't hate her for this though because I knew who Skye was. She wanted the answers not out of any type of malice, but because she cared so much about others she practically made it her job to understand them. It was one of the qualities I loved most about her.

She nodded. "And I want to. I feel like I need to because honestly you're probably the closest friend I have here. You're the one I have the most in common with for sure with the whole unknown background now thrust into dangerous situations thing we both have going on. But you have this different way of dealing with all of it that just… they trust you more." She sighed, putting her head in her arms. "I am making absolutely no sense."

I smirked. "Verbally… absolutely." She groaned. "But I think I get what you're going for." She glanced up at me through her hair, curious to hear my response. I just decided to go for it, not really dwelling on the words I was saying before they came out. "Okay, so I think the reason I'm able to keep my head on my shoulders about the whole matter is because… don't laugh, but I get the feeling I made this choice." Her head was up now, full attention on me as my breakfast now lay forgotten between us. "I don't think someone held me down and forcibly erased my memories. I wasn't forced away from answers like you were. I had all of them… and I chose to let them go. I just feel that within myself I guess and it gives me peace about the whole thing. I trust me."

I gave our still clenched hands a squeeze. "So don't think you're doing anything wrong by being excited or going for this full force. It's not making you any less of an Agent than I am or a coward or anything like that. Because you aren't any of those things, Skye. We're just… two very different situations is all," I tried to explain. "They're going to come around about you and start trusting you again. And I hope in the process you find all the answers you're looking for because-"I didn't get to finish as she threw her arms around me in a tight hug. Skye and her hugs. They always had a way of taking the weight of the world off you if even for a moment.

She smiled and pulled away a minute later, wiping her eyes. I pretended not to notice. "You're not a coward either," she spoke after a moment. "You're not a coward for putting your personal matters to the side for right now. As long as you think you're doing the right thing, then I think you are too." We sat in silence for a moment before I picked up the fork again- unable to deny my stomach any further. "But, back to the throbbing passion-"

"Guys," Ward interrupted, stepping into the kitchen and ignoring the precarious sight of me with my fork right in front of my mouth. "You need to come see this. Now." And just like that, he was gone. We both glanced at each other and I put the fork down.

"It must be serious if he didn't make fun of me," I noted. Skye nodded and soon the two of us were bolting after him into the living area of the Bus. Everyone else was already there, eyes locked on the television and whatever breaking news was on it. Coulson stood with his arms crossed while Fitz was clutching a pillow to his chest. I slid into the spot on the couch next to him, watching as some sort of black ship was moving through the water. The situation didn't look good as the people ran with urgency and panic. "How fast can we get there?" I asked. These people needed our help. That ship didn't exactly give off the friendliest vibe. And neither did the other shapes in the sky- they appeared to be holes with different places behind each of them. Portals.

"Greenwich, England," Coulson spoke up, face locked on the screen. "We're about three hours out from there right now. The nearest S.H.I.E.L.D. unit is on their way with about thirty minutes."

"It doesn't look like they have thirty minutes," Skye said matter-of-factly. Everyone seemed tense beyond belief, all of us sitting on pins and needles as various cameras S.H.I.E.L.D. was tapping into were displayed on screen, providing angles to the conflict I was sure the public wasn't seeing. We watched as a group of aliens disembarked from the ship, intimidating as hell with the sheer power and confidence they marched with.

"What are they doing?" Fitz asked, hiding behind his analytical nature. "They obviously have some sort of plan involving the portals that have opened up, judging by them being in the exact center of where they will line up." Smaller views in the corners showed people running and fleeing, clearly distressed at what was happening.

"It's hard to believe this is the world we live in right now," Simmons spoke, voice almost shaking. "And there's no one who can help them right now." I turned to see she looked absolutely haunted by the site, perhaps dwelling on her own experiences these past few months. I cleared my throat and elbowed Fitz, earning his confused attention. He almost looked a little white himself, but seemed to bring himself down to earth a bit as we looked at each other. I nodded over to Simmons after a beat and he seemed to take the hint, lacing her hand in his. She seemed relieved at the comfort, shoulders relaxing a bit. I turned back to the screen just in time to see the lightening.

"It can't be," May whispered. The blue light cleared and there he stood- the God of Thunder. Thor was here.

"I should have guessed he was involved," Coulson huffed and though I couldn't see it I swore he was rolling his eyes. Leave to Coulson to have a personal relationship with an Avenger and give him grief when he had the opportunity. "We should be in good hands though." The Thor got thrown by the lead alien into a pillar, shattering it. "Though the amount of property damage will skyrocket now."

Cameras kept switching as the two went to battle with one another, someone at S.H.I.E.L.D. must have been desperately sorting through all the cameras and footage they could find right now. This must be being shown all over the Hub, every Agent hoping their hero could come through for the world once again. Otherwise we didn't stand much of a chance at all based on what this villain was throwing out. I didn't even know about it, let alone how to counter this power.

Thor was thrown off his feet into a building, taking half the roof with him as he was thrown. And the battle continued and raged as the portals came into play, cameras switching even faster now.

And then it hit me like a shot, the trigger completely lost in the chaos- a headache that shot right through me so powerful I let out a cry of pain. "Ash?" I heard someone ask from what seemed like miles away. "Ash?!" I soon heard other voices join this one as I squeezed my eyes shut. It was like someone was taking an axe to my skull again and again. I felt my breathing speed up and a familiar ache in my chest it was so brutal. There were sounds everywhere, ones I didn't recognize and yet were so familiar I knew exactly where I was. My hands went to my ears, desperately trying to shut everything out, to keep myself safe in any way I could. It was almost as if something was being ripped from me completely- leaving me in pure agony. I tried to push past it and get my senses back, but it was just a wall of pain I couldn't surmount.

I became vaguely aware of the others hovering over me and speaking to me. I forced my eyes open, not really seeing anything as they turned to Coulson behind me- the only thing I really recognized right now over the cacophony in my head. Something was bubbling up from inside me and I just let it out, aiming the words right at him.

"Like the old man said. Together." And then it was gone- just like that. Everything vanished and it was just me sitting on the couch of the Bus again, completely aware once again of my surroundings. And completely aware of the fact that all eyes were locked on me now. I felt myself blush despite my best efforts, completely uncomfortable. "Sorry. Just a headache. Maybe still a crazy side-effect of the whole virus thing. I'm alright now though. I swear. Sorry for worrying you guys."

I turned back to the screen, forcing my attention to go back to the battle and Thor, but not before I saw that Coulson's look meant I could expect a talk later. But I pushed that all from my mind, trying to focus on the hammer now flying through the air. I didn't know what the hell had just happened to me in the slightest. I had no idea why I said what I had, because those words meant absolutely nothing to me now though they seemed essential before. I had just had some sort of… moment and everyone had been there to witness it. The interrogations later were going to suck so much, especially since I didn't have the hint of an answer. God, I was a freak. I was-

I felt a hand come over mine and forced myself to take a deep breath. Freaking out was not going to help anyone, certainly not me. Especially not when there were more pressing concerns at the moment. So I locked my fingers between Fitz's and held it the whole rest of the fight until Thor, with an assist from Jane Foster and her team, saved the world and destroyed so much property. With fifteen minutes to spare before the first S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent would arrive on the scene. I bet Tony Stark was halfway there by now with his suit and would be cursing when he saw the action was over.

But as I watched the battle, I couldn't help but notice a niggling in the back of my head as I stared at Thor- a familiarity I couldn't place that hadn't been there before. It wasn't until all the cameras cut off and we were left staring at a black screen that it came to me. And it was terrifying. Something about this situation was familiar enough to spark something deep within my head suddenly and violently. But now for the life of me I couldn't remember what… or anything that had been in my head for those few moments.

I think I had just experienced my first memory. My first glimpse at what my life had been.

And it really sucked.

XXX

"Sir, I'm fine," I desperately kept myself from rolling my eyes. Simmons had practically dragged me to the lab as soon as the show was over, determined to give me a full work-up and make sure the virus wasn't still active in my body. Fitz and Skye had followed her, hanging on the fringes with crossed arms and worried facial expressions. Coulson had come down just as she was finishing up taking my blood pressure, computer dinging which meant my blood samples were done being analyzed. Yes, she had to draw blood again. I just could never catch a break. "You can ask May. I've been back training for a few days now without a moment of weakness."

"You say that now, but what happened back there certainly throws it into question," he just stared at me, clearly lost in thought. "We'll be landing in about a half hour and I'm wondering if-"

"I'm not staying on the Bus," I argued, yanking the cuff off my arm. Simmons merely rolled her eyes fondly and made her way over to the computer. "I'm not missing out on this." Especially if there was a chance I might run into Thor and figure some things out. I had been determined to drop the matter, but my brain didn't seem to be agreeing me. I needed to figure this out before it happened again. "I was completely fine at the Hub, essential even. I'm not letting any of you out of my sight in a situation that involved a freaking Avenger."

"You're suspended anyway," Skye mentioned. "I know you'd hate to let Sitwell win, but maybe it would be best to just sit this one out." I glared at her and she turned to Fitz. "Right, Fitz?"

It was a low blow and she knew it. Fitz locked eyes with me, instantly melting any of my ire with his concern. "I just… we can't lose you again, Ash."

I came really close to giving in- dangerously close. But I steeled myself, glancing down at the tattoo on my wrist for strength. I hated arguing with Coulson, but I needed to make sure my voice was heard loud and clear. "If Simmons blood test says everything is okay, then I'm going. I just had a moment and will take myself out of the equation if another happens. I swear. I won't push. The last thing I would do is put everyone in danger and you know that."

"Her blood is clear, sir," Simmons spoke up from the computer. "Not a trace of the virus within her." He just stared at me, clearly weighing all his options. I wanted to tell him what I suspected, but I wasn't going to make him worry for nothing. He had enough on his plate involving me without throwing this on too. So I just stared back, willing him to see that I was fine and capable as I had ever been.

"Okay, but if something happens, anything happens you are on the Bus for the rest of your suspension without argument." I nodded in agreement, hopping down from the table with a slight bounce of triumph. I gave him a little salute.

"Yes, sir!"

"We land in twenty minutes," he informed everyone after shaking his head at me. "I expect everyone ready for wherever and whatever we're assigned to when we land. This is going to require quite a bit of work and cooperation on our part to assist with the aftermath of this event. And I know this goes against my usual saying but… keep Crawford out of trouble." With that, he dismissed himself from the lab, leaving the group of sitting around and waiting. Fitz went back to his recent project while Simmons continued to examine my blood, clearly double-checking her work.

"I hope we get to go after that beast still running around," I commented, trying to break up the silence and move things along. "I think the team of us would make excellent creature catchers with our skills and wits. And I'm not just saying that because of my natural ability with animals."

"I literally take care of that mouse for you, thank you very much," Fitz spoke up from his workbench, smirk on his face. Okay, everyone seemed to be calming down a bit. It was all going to be just fine.

"And we both love you for it," I commented sweetly, batting my eyelashes. He just snorted and went back to work. "I just want some excitement. A week in holographic meetings really didn't do it for me. It just gave me cabin fever and it's driving me bananas." I got that familiar feeling and turned to Skye. "I feel like I'm referencing something."

"I'm on it," she typed away at her laptop for a few seconds. She always tried to build a stronger base for my pop culture references, because if I didn't understand them there was no way they would either. "It's actually a song from Muppet Treasure Island."

I just stared at her blankly. "What the hell is a Muppet?"

"It means you had a childhood," Skye summarized. I made my way over to her and the two of spent the rest of the time watching the videos she pulled up on the topic, somehow instantly putting me at ease. These guys were actually pretty entertaining and it was good to know where some of my quips may be coming from. We felt the plan begin to descend and she shut her laptop, the group of us getting ready to disembark and see exactly what kind of trouble… I mean help we could drum up for ourselves. I really needed to get off this Bus before I turned into an adrenaline junkie.

We all stepped onto the cargo ramp just as Ward descended the metal staircase to join us. He made his way right over to me, staring me down a bit. "You okay?" he asked intensely, leaving no room for me to lie if I wanted to.

I smiled at him. "Right as rain at the moment. I learned what a Muppet is."

"Good." He then stepped around me, having everything he needed to hear about the subject. Fitz came up beside me, tapping me on the shoulder to get my attention.

"So, it's not quite ready yet, Ash. I just need to tweak it a bit more and we should be good."

"Thank you so much, Lee." I gave him a quick punch on the shoulder, painfully aware that Skye was watching us. "You're the best." He rubbed the spot, but with a clear smile on his face. "You ready to go creature catching?"

"We won't be," Coulson's voice cut in as he descended the stairs, May right behind him. "S.H.I.E.L.D. already has a team on the beast. We, on the other hand, will be assisting with clean-up of the ship at Greenwich University… seeing as Thor decided to leave us with quite the mess."

Seriously? He was gone and now we were stuck cleaning up after him? Well, congratulations Thor because you are now my least favorite Avenger. I'll be sure to give you the trophy the next time I don't see you. I groaned out loud, making everyone laugh. "Not quite the excitement you had in mind?" Simmons questioned. I just gave her a look. "Come on. It'll be fun. Who knows what we might come across?" The ramp lowered and we started down it, immediately hit by the cold air and clutching our coats a little tighter. "Just take these." I looked down to see Simmons was extending a pair of gloves my way- a very think pair from the looks of it. "Just don't want to risk anything happening if you decide to touch something."

I took them and put them on for her sake, grateful for the gesture as I admired them. "Thanks Jemma. They looks fantastic."

And so we found ourselves not trailing the beast from another world, but inside an old building where all the scraps and rubble from the battle had quickly been moved to before the public could get any ideas. And I was stuck holding up rock for Fitz to scan for alien signatures to see whether we could chuck them or not. And I mean every rock. They weren't so keen on letting me get into any trouble by myself, probably because I would send the whole University toppling over with my luck, so here I was tethered to my best friend assisting him in a job he could do faster alone if only so I had something to keep me occupied. It was mind-numbing and I checked out pretty quickly. I was already in a bit of a bad mood when we came in though, but by the time an hour rolled by I think everyone else had grown quite sick of cataloguing this mess as well. The only small joy I got was out of watching Fitz work, though even he didn't seem as into as per usual.

I was deep in thought about this whole battle and what had happened to me, something I wouldn't have time to freak out about if I was say hunting down a beast, when I heard a dumping noise and turned to see Ward add another container full of rubble to our already large pile. I let out a moan and he just smirked at me. He seemed to be the only one keeping some good humor, probably because he liked seeing the rest of us suffer. "Don't say I never gave you anything."

"I won't if you take it back," I shot back at him as he leaned against a larger piece of rubble to watch the two of us.

"Yes, checking for alien spectrographic signatures one teeny rock at a time," Fitz quipped as I held up another rock to his device.

"Necessary precaution," Ward reminded the two of us. "We don't want anything alien getting into the wrong hands."

"Still, this is definitely the type of work a monkey could easily do," Fitz added as he shook his head, causing me to put the rock in the larger pile before grabbing another.

"You're our little monkey," Ward teased our scientist, and I was unable to keep from laughing at the look that crossed his face as it almost became pinched.

"Stop it, Ash," he warned me sullenly, though he was not very convincing as I kept going. "I said stop it and hand me the next rock." I was clutching my side now, unable to stop. "Seriously. Ash."

I managed to bring myself down a bit, turning towards him as I held up the next rock. "I know. I know. You just… you should have seen your face." I waited a beat before adding the next part. "And also because it's kind of true."

"Ash!' he glared at me, causing me to laugh again. I heard a chuckle and looked to see Ward had a rare genuine smile on his face as well. He dropped it the instant I saw though, putting his mask back on as Fitz continued to whine and try to get me to deny it. I opened my mouth to say something when the sound of a cell phone rang out. We both turned behind us just in time to see Simmons hit a button on her phone to stop it, noticing both of us just staring at her.

"Don't you two give me that look," she chastised us. "I'll talk to them when I talk to them."

"Talk to who?' Ward questioned as he stopped dragging the basin to fill with more rocks and walked over to join the group of us.

"Simmons is avoiding her Mom and Dad," I answered for her. "She hasn't told them about the whole virus thing yet."

"I just don't want to terrify them for no reason, especially when something like this just happened. They'll want answers and right now I don't have them. So I shouldn't waste anyone's time with it, really."

"Jemma," I sighed, holding up another piece of rubble. "You need to talk to them. We've talked about this."

"Yes, and you pulled the amnesiac card which wasn't very fair of you," she reminded me. "There is only so much one should be allowed to bring up that they would tell a family if they had one to make others do their bidding."

"Come on," I waved a hand at her. "I only use it like once a week."

"Try once a day," Fitz muttered under his breath, but I heard it clear as crystal.

"Thank you for your input, human monkey, but I think I'd know if-"I was cut off by the next piece of rubble, a piece with two half circles carved into the metal, causing the machine to let out a very shrill beeping sound. I instantly jerked the item away, holding it in front of myself in excitement that finally something interesting was happening. "Fitz, did we just find-?"

His face moved in right next to me with curiosity, but I tried to ignore that in favor of looking at what was in my gloved hand. "Definitely not from here."

"Another piece of the ship," I surmised, just as Ward snatched it from my fingers. "Hey!"

"What are you doing?" Fitz questioned as Ward sprayed the piece with some sort of chemical before locking it in a thick metal briefcase.

"Out of sight… out of mind. That's why we're here. Keep everything under control."

I turned back to our pile of rubble with a sigh. "Well, there goes the only exciting thing that will happen all day." Ward went back to his basin, but I wasn't content to let him off the hook just yet. "Congratulations, Ward. That was the only thing that was interesting this whole bloody day, to borrow a turn of phrase from my capuchin friend here." Fitz just rolled his eyes. "You are a certified, grade A fun killer."

"Better a fun killer than suspended," he shot back, smiling at the frown that instantly came to my face. "You're lucky you're even holding up rocks right now."

"I hate you so much."

"Right back at you, Crawford." He went back to his work and I went back to mine, holding up rock after rock for Fitz's examination with his device and silently begging for something exciting to happen.

"You know I don't mean any of the jokes, right?" I felt the need to say to Fitz when he stayed almost stone silent, concerned I'd hurt his feelings. It was the last thing I wanted to do and maybe I pushed too hard at them. I did tend to do that. "I'm sorry. I was just-"

"Ash, you're fine," he told me sincerely, forcing a smile on his face. I could tell it was a very fake one. "I'm just… bored out of my mind is all I suppose. I mean, Ward doesn't do verbal combat with me quite like he does with you. You two have your own little… dynamic I suppose." Oh, he was being a little territorial with Ward. Maybe it was how he and Simmons seemed to have had a bit of a moment back there. Okay, time for the best friend to boost some confidence.

"That's because you're way too smart for him," I made clear, hand on his arm. "And I participate because making him annoyed makes me happy. Getting you annoyed wouldn't make me happy in the slightest." I leaned closer to him, poking his arm. "Now come on, Lee. Let's see a real smile. The genuine article. Because we know if anyone's the helper monkey in these parts- I think I take the title."

"You're impossible, Ash," he shook his head, unable to his the smile creeping onto his face. Mission accomplished.

"Good. Now we just need something to happen that alleviates us being conscious of the minutes of our life that we're losing."

"Pack up." We all looked up to see Coulson with May and Skye who had been diverted to another task. "We're headed to Norway. We just a call they think is right up our alley involving a death at a national park."

Well, of all the… "I didn't mean like that!" I said quite a bit too loudly, hopefully catching the ear of whatever deity was listening before rising and dusting myself off for a new adventure.

XXX

I had taken a quick shower, having about an hour before we were at our new destination. I knew I had been wearing gloves, but I did not want to risk anything of any sort being on my skin. I even swapped out my possibly germ ridden clothes for a thick pair of jeans and boots with a warm maroon sweater and yellow scarf.

Coulson hadn't given us too many details on our walk back to the Bus, mainly because we didn't have too many. There had been a man and a woman who cut a tree down and taken something it seemed, but not before she had killed a ranger simply by shoving him- which sent him flying into the trees and broke his neck. We might be dealing with more superpowers and I was going to do my best to avoid flying car doors.

I did my hair in a quick ponytail and grabbed a Pop Tart snack before making my way into the lab- or the doorway of the lab. Fitz almost bumped into me as he had been rushing for the door as well.

I couldn't help but beam as he held up what he had been working on for the last few days, trying to cheer me up with this whole Sitwell thing. It was the hamster ball Ward had bought for me, but its shape had been altered and reinforced so there were now two evenly spaced metal handles on one side of the sphere. I quickly grabbed it from him, beaming. "Wow! Thank you so much!"

"Don't thank me quite yet." He pulled something out from behind his back. "Because what is a girl without her accessories." It was just like I had asked. The first was my backpack for out in the field, now with an additional leather strap running down one side of it. The second was one of my belts, which looked the same to the naked eye, but I knew better. "Both of them will magnetize the ball perfectly and keep him from getting knocked around too much."

I gave him a quick hug of thanks before grabbing the other two items as well. "Well, now I suppose I say thank you. This is seriously fantastic! I can't wait to go tell Cheesetauri he gets to go on a road trip!" With that, I was sprinting off towards my bunk, but not before coming to a halt and running back- dropping on of the Pop Tarts in his hand with a smile. "You're the best Lee!" And then I was off again.

I dropped everything on my bunk and made my way over to Cheesetauri, who was currently living life to the fullest by drinking some water from his little bottle. I quickly scooped him up and placed him in the ball gently, adding a carrot in case he needed a snack. It was gone by the time I attached it to my belt, everything locking into place perfectly so he was hanging just off my left hip. "Looks like you get to join me buddy," I smiled at him over my shoulder. It may have been completely ridiculous, but I wanted to keep the little guy with me as much as I could. He was excellent at keeping me cool under pressure, and I would need that today. With Thor gone it looked like my memory situation was just going to hang in the air. I just had to hope to God nothing else violently triggered it again, especially in a dire situation.

"You hold my sanity in you little paws," I told my companion before making my way back to the lab to show it off to my best friend. Clearly this invention to please me would be the highlight of his career. My bounding didn't seem to disrupt Cheesetauri as planned as I made my way to the lab, strutting in like a runway model when I had Fitzsimmons attention. "And you thought this little guy wasn't going to have a life outside the lab." I looked down at him. "You are going to see everything the world has to offer, buddy." He just blinked at me, but I think he understood.

Simmons just looked back at Fitz, who gave the largest shrug he could muster. She then rolled her eyes and returned to her work packing everything up for our field trip. I leaned over the counter across from her. "Have we talked to Mom and Dad yet?"

"Not yet," she sighed, clearly annoyed at my bringing this up again. "And I don't think the five minutes we have left will be enough for that conversation."

"Then I will check again when we're done here." She let out a huff and continued packing. "Listen, if I didn't pester you, Jemma, who would?" I wrapped an arm around Fitz's neck. "We can't count on this guy to keep you in line. He gives in to us way too easily." He wriggled free of my grip just as Ward entered the lab while zipping up his coat. He took one look at Cheesetauri and shook his head.

"What?" I questioned him, folding my arms. "I needed enjoyable company on these missions. All I've got at this point is a fun killer as we've discussed. At least this guy knows how to have a good time." He just went to through the lab to the cargo ramp without another word- just as Coulson and Skye entered and stared after him. "He's jealous of a mouse," I told them. "It's kind of weird."

We landed a few minutes later and I disembarked, taking the cars to the scene of the crime as it were. I had not yet received anymore driving lessons and thus rode shotgun to Ward while Coulson and Simmons sat in the back taking everything in. I had to admit that Norway was a ridiculously pretty place like I hadn't seen before. The trees were so tall and everything just had this air of being natural. It was a nice change of pace to the life we seemed to usually live. I did pull out my tablet though, looking over a few details we had on the scene.

When we reached the preserve, Coulson ordered me to his side- not even saying a word about the mouse strapped to my hip. I guess he expected these sort of antics from me by now. But hey, as long as he wasn't saying never again I was quite fine with the reaction. "I want you to talk to other ranger who was on the scene with me. I think he'll respond well to a comforting female presence."

"I think I can handle that." The others fanned out around the scene as we made our way up to a man in uniform with a thick mustache and beard who had Agents surrounding him. He looked absolutely dreadful with shock and worry at what he had seen, tears in his eyes. His cap was clenched in his hands like a talisman and he looked super uncomfortable with the interrogation he was receiving. "Excuse me. I'd like a moment please." The Agents all looked at Coulson and he nodded for them to clear out of there. I went next to the man and put a soothing hand on his arm. "Hi. I'm Agent Crawford and this is Agent Coulson. You are?"

"Lunde Karlsen," he spoke, still clutching that hat for dear life. "My name is Lunde Karlsen. You're-you're actually the first to ask, miss." God, those Agents needed to learn proper manners.

"I heard something pretty bad happened here, Karlsen," I spoke gently, trying to put him at ease. Coulson seemed completely content letting me take the lead. "I'm so sorry to hear about Sivert." Yeah, I had done my research on the way here. Never let it be said that Ashleigh Crawford was unprepared.

He was crying now, hands pinching his nose. I rubbed his arm, giving him the time he needed. We were in no hurry. "Who would do something so evil?" he asked.

"I know," I sympathized, feeling for him. I couldn't imagine losing anyone I worked with. "I'm so sorry for what happened. We're going to make sure your friend gets the justice he deserves."

He stared forward for a moment. Almost lost in thought. His knuckles were almost white around the hat. I took initiative and screwed the lid off the ball. "I'll trade you," I told him before switching the hat out for my mouse, who just blinked up at him. "This is Cheesetauri," I explained with a smile. "He's a pretty good pal to have on a rough day. You can pet him if you want."

He just stared down at him for a moment before gently petting him. Cheesetauri to his credit remained perfectly calm. "She… she was screaming. And there was so much hate in her eyes. It-it burned right through you. Tossed him like it was nothing." He paused, but I waited, still rubbing his arm in comfort. "She was with a man… and she was holding this silver stick."

"A silver stick?" I probed, eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Steel, maybe," he clarified. "I-I don't know. It, uh, had decorations on it."

"Could you describe or draw them?" Coulson asked, speaking for the first time with strength and compassion like only he could.

He sniffled. "I didn't get a good look. I just ran."

"You did what you needed to do," I told him. "Your friend wouldn't have wanted the same fate for you. You didn't do anything wrong, okay?"

He nodded, blinking back more tears before speaking again. "This forest is a protected reserve. I mean, who do they think they are?"

"Anything else?" Coulson questioned. "Details? Anything that might help us find these people or where they might be hiding?"

"Sir, doesn't look like they're hiding," Skye's voice echoed in our ears. I could hear some kind of shouting behind her.

"Sending to your devices now," May added, and I pulled out my tablet as Coulson did the same with his phone. It displayed the scene of what looked to be a riot through the streets, people shouting and crying at the top of their lungs.

The female anchor continued her report. "…Raiding had left twenty injured- three in critical condition. Reports indicate that the group of about a dozen was led by this man and woman."

"That's them," Lunde pointed at my screen with Cheesetauri still cupped in the other. "Those are the two that were here. I recognize them." I nodded, switching my tablet off as Coulson went to report the news to Ward who was with Simmons at the fallen tree. It looked like they were finishing up whatever they were doing.

I turned back to Lunde, putting a hand on each shoulder. "We're going to find them… and we're going to kick their asses, okay?" He actually smiled a touch and I quickly kissed him on the cheek and placed the hat back on his head. "Be safe, Lunde."

"I wish you the same. Thank you. And thank you to your mouse as well." I took Cheesetauri with a smile and tucked him back inside the ball, making my way back over the team to find out how exactly we planned to take those two down. Because make no mistake, they were going down. I'd just make sure it was May doing the ass kicking and not me.

XXX

"Jakob Nystrom, thirty," Ward pointed to the first of the two familiar faces on the screen of the lab where Skye and Fitzsimmons stood around one of the table with me. We had all done our research on the way back, myself staring at the burning words 'We Are Gods' long enough to send shivers up my spine. These people had some serious issues. "Girlfriend, Petra Larsen. Leaders of a Norse Paganist hate group." Yeah, I had no clue about that.

"And their numbers are growing," Skye continued, "thanks to what happened in Greenwich and thanks to the internet. Yay, internet, she said sarcastically." I rose my hand.

"Sorry, this may be an amnesiac thing, but Norse Paganist?"

"Don't worry," Simmons comforted me. "I don't know what that is either, I'm afraid."

"Obsessed with anything derived from Norse mythology," Skye explained.

"Or as we know them stories of Asgard," I followed up, earning a nod from her. Okay, back in the loop. This was good.

Ward picked up the white model in front of us- the one Fitz had been able to craft from the scan of the tree Simmons had taken. These two never ceased to amaze me. "And now a weapon."

"The scan only accounted for one side," Fitz said almost apologetically. "Too much damage to the tree for complete reproduction."

"Hey, you did great Lee," I told him.

Simmons pointed to the ends, clearly agreeing with me. "But see here… it's clearly broken on both ends."

"So there are more pieces?" Ward asked, clearly not liking where this was going. I didn't either.

"Yeah," Fitz nodded. "Two at least."

"Which means Sid and Nancy may be looking for a complete set," Ward sighed with a glance to the two faces on the screen. "And markings?"

"The Asgardian symbolism," Coulson spoke from behind us as he entered with May, joining us around our table. "Hard to translate with our limited knowledge."

"You should give your buddy the god of thunder a shout," Skye mentioned as Coulson looked over the staff himself. "He gets his power from his hammer, right? What if this is his nail to the hammer?"

"I already did," Coulson answered, surprising all of us. "Director Fury told me he's off the grid." Figures. Still my least favorite Avenger now. "And if he has a cellphone, we don't have the number. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s investigations are on the trail of Nystrom and his followers. We're charged with identifying the object and finding any other pieces before they do."

I snorted. "Well, how kind of them to give us the exciting assignment this go around." He glanced my way. "I read it took them four hours to catch it. We could have done it in half the time and you know it."

"By using the rodent as bait?" May fired with a raised eyebrow, effectively silencing me… for now. I would mention how he brought healing and peace later.

"They seem to have some advantage," Ward brought up. "They found this thing in 150 square kilometers of Norwegian forest."

"Guys," Skye cut in, eyes widening. "What if it called to them with magic?" Fitzsimmons looked quite skeptical at the idea, though it didn't sound impossible to me given everything.

"Called to them," May repeated.

"We know it's Asgardian, so the rules are a little bendy here," Skye defended.

Simmons rolled her eyes. "Just because we don't understand something yet doesn't mean we should regress back to the dark ages, talking of magic and fairy tales."

Coulson seemed to disagree. "Actually, that's exactly what we're going to do." Skye and Simmons both spoke up, one in alarm and one in joy. "When we first found the hammer in New Mexico, Crawford you might remember as you pretended to be there-"

"Funny, sir," I tried to sound mad, but couldn't hide the smile if I tried.

"I consulted on of the leading experts on Norse mythology… Eliot Randolph, a professor at a university in Seville." He puts the model down and looked us all over before nodding to May. She was off before he spoke again. "We'll leave immediately. Maybe he can tell us more about these markings. Crawford will be with me to talk with him," he said as he started out. "And you can bring the mouse."

I turned to Fitz in elation with an extended hand, and he was quick to oblige my high five.

XXX

I took a quick nap on the way to Seville to get my energy up before readying myself to join Coulson in Lola on the drive to the university, Cheesetauri's ball in my lap as he drove. "How are you feeling Crawford? You've seemed alright the rest of the day."

"I have been," I told him sincerely. "I don't know what that moment was, but it was indeed just a moment. I'm sorry I freaked everyone out."

He paused for a moment. "Do you remember what you said to me?"

"I do, but I can't remember why for the life of me I did. It seemed important at the time though, critical even. I think it would be for the best if we both keep it in mind in case it applies to some situation we're going to be facing." And I had been considering that, instructions placed in my head that were activated when this whole event happened. "I unfortunately still have quite a few question marks when it comes to the things I do."

"We'll face them as they come," he promised. "Just as long as you're okay. Don't feel like you have to deal with all of this on you own. My door is open anytime."

As always, Coulson had this way of making me feel like a million dollars. "I will, sir. I promise." And I meant it. I was incapable of lying to the man these days.

We parked and made our way to Randolph's office, pausing outside the door at the voices inside. "I've included a list of book there that might help you. I'll see you later." The door opened and a young woman, a little uncomfortable, strolled past and revealed a smaller man behind her. His eyes went to me first before he almost seemed to shudder and turn to Coulson. "Oh!"

"Professor Randolph," he greeted. "This is Agent Crawford."

He didn't even glance my direction again as he gestured for Coulson to enter. "Come in, come in."

Coulson pointed to the pen in his hand. "Waterfield 44." He chuckled to himself. "14-karat-gold nib with mother-of-pearl inlay." Leave it to a mythology professor to bring out the collector in him.

"That's quite an eye you've got. I didn't know you were a collector."

"On a government salary, not quite."

He stepped around his desk, facing us but again it seemed making a deliberate effort not to look in my direction, focusing purely on Coulson. "Well, I'm assuming you found something on the ground in London."

Coulson set his briefcase down and pulled out the model. "In a tree in Norway. And, unfortunately, we weren't the ones who found it."

Randolph made his way around and began to examine it with great curiosity. "It's a 3-D model my friend Leo Fitz-"

"Please don't speak," he cut me off curtly, holding a hand up in my direction. I looked to Coulson, but he merely shrugged as Randolph looked the model over. "Oh, that is amazing. Now, based on these runes I'd say I'm looking at a piece of the Berserker staff." He thrust is back at me unceremoniously and grabbed a book from the desk. "Let's have a look." He turned the pages with a grunt before smiling. "Yeah, the myth dates back to the late 12th century. It's all about a powerful warrior from Asgard." He looked over the page before pointing at a line. "Here. A soldier in the Berserker army."

"Berserker army?" I questioned as I put the staff back in briefcase.

He shook his head. "Please, I warned you not to speak. But they are a powerful army, fierce." Okay, this guy was really starting to get on my nerves. "Berserkers battled like raging beasts, destroying everything in their path. A single Berserker had the strength of twenty warriors."

"So whoever wielded the staff got superhuman strength?" Coulson questioned, the both of us clearly drawn into the tale.

"Fighting with it put the warrior into a state of uncontrollable rage," Randolph explained, making things click with the behavior the girlfriend had been exhibiting according to Lunde. "The staff contained a very powerful magic."

"Simmons would argue science," I quipped to Coulson.

"I'm sorry, but can she wait outside," Randolph said suddenly. "I'm not comfortable continuing with her here."

What the hell? "Seriously?" I questioned, watching him rub his face. "I'm sorry if I've offended you, but-"

"Just get out!" he shouted, pointing to the door. I turned to Coulson, who didn't seem to know what to do with this situation. So I made the tough choice and started for the door, grumbling to myself about the asshole professor the entire way out. "Wait," he spoke suddenly, making me pause. "The mouse can stay if he desires." I made sure to slam the door so hard it rattled. I leaned against the wall, stewing until Coulson emerged about ten minutes later.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but he-"

"Ignore him," Coulson dismissed. "He's not exactly all there and you're lucky he didn't take an interest in you given his history." I had to run to keep up with him as he typed away on his phone. "He thinks we should check Baffin Island off the coast of Canada. I'm sending Agents in the vicinity over there now."

I nodded. "Any idea about the third?"

"Only vague poetry," he sighed. "Thank you for making the call back there, Crawford. I know it was hard to step away…"

"Do you know what his problem was with me?" I questioned, still irate over the whole situation in that office. "He wouldn't even look at me, the asshole."

"I don't, but I believe it was nothing on your part. He just doesn't know how to handle a strong young woman such as yourself." He held the door to Lola open for me.

Like I said, leave it Coulson to make you feel like a million bucks when you're down.

XXX

So Baffin Island ended up being a bust and our bad luck seemed to continue with the riots dying down as everyone seemed to go underground to find the next piece. That and my training session with May ended with me chipping a front tooth when she flipped me onto my stomach. You could only see it if you really looked, but it was enough to add to my self-conscious attitude after the asshole professor had cast his judgement on me with one look.

But now was not the time. Because right now I was in a crypt in the bowels of Seville, navigating the cobwebs and rats as I attempted to track down the piece of staff Skye and May had dug up might be hiding down here. Cheesetauri was attached to my backpack and well out of reach of his rat brethren who sent a shiver up my spine as one crawled over my boot. My flashlight probed the walls as I continued forward, one of Fitz's device clutched in my other hand, cursing myself for volunteering to come down here with Ward and Skye so we could cover more ground. I should have stayed with Fitz and Coulson in the car. I tentatively stepped forward, cautious with every single one that I would end up stepping on the remains of some poor Viking soul.

"Ward, your spectrograph is reading something near you," I heard Fitz in my ear. His voice gave me a degree of comfort as I paused in my trek, letting the familiar Scottish lilt lull me into a deep breath to calm my nerves. It had been a long day and I was starting to regret my quest for excitement.

"I don't see anything."

"Well, it's right in front of you."

"Lee, be nice," I chided him.

"Oh, wait. No. Uh, okay, hold on. It's moving. Northwest." Weird. I started to make my way back towards the entrance we had come from.

"Visual contact," Ward confirmed. Fitz guided him along for a moment as I tried to navigate the labyrinth- running myself now as I sensed an urgency about the situation. "Ran into some unexpected com…"I rounded the corner just in time to see Ward go down like a sack of potatoes after a groan in pain, a figure that looked amazingly like the asshole professor making his way up the ladder with what had to be the staff. I made my decision right there, rushing to his side and kneeling on the ground next to him.

"Ward's down," I said out loud, hand going to my ear. "Randolph ran off with the staff. He has it" I shook him a bit as Skye came across us, towering over me. "Ward," I shook him. "Ward, are you all right?"

He sat up like a shot, flipping me onto my back and pinning me to the ground with a hand around my neck. I felt everything is me go cold as he glared down at me with so much ferocity, pressure making it hard to breathe. "Ward," I croaked. "Ward, stop." Skye ran into him as things went fuzzy in my vision, managing to knock him a little loose of me so I could get in one solid gasp. I dug my hands into his hand, trying to pull it free but it was no use.

"Grant, stop! You have to stop! Clam down, please!" she cried as I coughed. She touched him again and I swore his eyes dilated. And then it was like something clicked and he was across the room, as far from me as possible. "Calm down," she got between us as he started hyperventilating and I coughed heavily to fill my lungs, making sure Cheesetauri was alright. I couldn't stop my arms from trembling as I tried and failed to push myself up.

He just kept breathing heavily, even as Skye helped him to his feet. "The staff," he said shakily. "He has it."

She kept herself between us as her hand went to her ear. "Something's wrong with Ward. Ashleigh's hurt." She then turned slowly and helped me to my knees, patting my back as my breathing started to normalize. "Are you okay, Ashleigh?"

I tried to speak, but only a croak came out. So I settled for nodding, noticing Ward seem to realize that I was there and what had happened to me.

"Crawford!" He took a step towards me, but I shrunk back. "Crawford, I didn't-"

"Stay… away… from me," I lashed out, voice croaking horribly. Logic told me I had no reason to fear Grant Ward, but my emotional roller coaster was doing everything for me. And it was afraid of what had just happened… and that it could happen again.

"Crawford… Ashleigh, I would never-"

"Ash! Ash!" There was a thud as Fitz practically threw himself down the ladder, running past Skye's barrier and running right up to me. He had me on my feet in a few moments, arm laced around mine for support. "Ash, are you alright?"

I nodded, starting to come down from the adrenaline of the moment. I sagged against him but he kept me solid and steady. "We'll have Simmons look you over when we get back." He led to the ladder and gestured for me to go first. "Go ahead. I'm right behind you." I tried to thank him, but words refused to come out. He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. You're welcome." I started up the ladder and he followed, the other two behind me. As we started towards the car, Fitz wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close as I shivered. I glanced back to see Skye was whispering up a storm to Ward, who had his eyes locked on me. I turned back and Fitz pulled me closer, head resting on top of mine.

We found Coulson waiting there with Professor Asshole in the backseat of the Jeep with a scowl on his face. There was no sign of the staff which certainly didn't bode well. Coulson came right up to me, frowning at my neck. "I want her fully worked up when we get back."

"I already planned on that," Fitz agreed, helping me into the car. Randolph's head whipped around the moment I was in front of him, staring at my eyes briefly before turning away. He almost looked like the mere sight of me was making him sweat. I didn't care and climbed in with Fitz and Skye behind me, sliding right up beside him. He took a deep breath. "I can't-"

"You're in no position to make demands," Coulson barked as he climbed into the driver's seat and started the car. I was still shaking, Fitz clutching my hand the whole ride and unclipping my back pack to put Cheesetauri in my lap. Ward just stared straight ahead in the passenger's seat while Skye had her arm behind Fitz to rest on my shoulder. It was silent as a grave in there. I then realized my breathing wasn't the heaviest in the car and turned to see Randolph was almost shaking and trying to be as far away from me as our small space was allowed. I tried to call him out, but only a squeak came out. Well, it looks like he had won in that respect.

We drove up the cargo ramp, Coulson dragging Randolph in the direction of the Interrogation Room without hesitation while the four of us stepped into the lab. Simmons had Ward hooked up to a strange bit of blinking metal cups pretty quickly before looking me over with a comforting hug. "It looks like he damaged you windpipe quite a bit," she diagnosed. "It should be fine in a day or so though. The bruises… they might be a week or two." I nodded, sensing the tension present in the room.

Everyone had their eyes warily on Ward, including myself. Fitz was perched between the two of us protectively while Skye hovered on the other side of the table. We all watched Jemma work in silence for a moment before Ward finally spoke up, making me flinch with his harsh tone.

"This is ridiculous."

"It's anything but," Skye argued. "Ward, you passed out. And when you woke up you nearly killed Ashleigh because you weren't right."

"Listen, my training just kicked in when I woke up. I acted on instinct and she got hurt, but-"

"You had her for a solid thirty seconds," Skye disagreed. "That wasn't instinct." He growled in annoyance.

"Coulson ordered me to give you a full work-up, and that's exactly what I'm doing," Simmons cut in, looking over her tablet. "Um, before you lost consciousness, were you feeling claustrophobic?"

He looked at her like she was insane. "Why?"

"She's ruling out a panic attack," Fitz informed him, not a hint of warmth in his voice at what I assumed was in defense of his best friend.

"I don't panic," he shot down harshly. "Ever."

"There we go," Simmons tried to appease him. "Ruled out."

"Touching the staff caused it, right?" Skye cut right to the chase. She looked at me and I nodded, reflecting back on the moment.

"Any residual effects?" Simmons asked him. "Are you exhibiting any extra s-strength?"

Ward nodded towards the screen that displayed footage from the Interrogation Room. "Why don't I find out on that guy?"

"Why don't we not worry about him?" I croaked, having some manner of speech back though shaky. My voice seemed to shut him down a bit and he looked down, almost ashamed.

"What's the last thing you remember before you lost consciousness?" Simmons followed up.

"This is a waste of time," he declared, pulling his arm free of the device around it in irritation. He rose and stepped forward, Fitz sliding so he was partially in front of me. "This is a waste of time. We need to find the staff." This wasn't Ward. This wasn't our Ward, fun killer, and it was plain to see. He hadn't even apologized to me yet and the real Ward… the real Ward would.

"Answer the question," Fitz said with a harsh edge. "What do you remember?"

"Something I hadn't thought about in a long time," he replied after a beat, haunted look crossing his face for just a moment. Whatever it was, it had been bad.

"Why don't we leave it alone?" Skye seemed to sense it to as she put a stop to all this. The group of them devolved into worrying whispers while Ward turned his attention back to the screen.

"Quiet!" he barked, making all of us jump. "I want to hear this." And he turned the volume up as we all hung back by each other in a scared silence, afraid of what this Ward might be capable of. We listened as Coulson questioned Randolph on his motives, the Asshole Professor only offering that he wanted to study it and prove the Berserker to be part of history. Simmons glanced down at her screen as Ward watched, before hitting a button that shut the screen off.

"What are you doing?" he wheeled on us. Simmons had the courage to face him and actually smile. "Your heart rate's rising," she told him gently. "Adrenaline's spiking. You need to calm down, not get worked up." He sighed for a long moment before taking an even longer breath, leaning over the lab table. Skye took initiative and leaned in with him, saying some things that only seemed to make him angrier.

"Because that's what you do… talk… and talk," he voice grew in volume as Skye stepped away, almost afraid of him. "You're worse than Crawford. Don't you ever get tired of hearing your own voices? Maybe it's a good thing she can't talk right now."

"Ward. Stop," Fitz warned, putting even more distance between myself and Ward.

Simmons glanced at her tablet. "Well! This makes more sense. Ward, what you're experiencing, this feeling… it's chemistry. All of it."

"Hope so," Skye voiced, eyes locked on him.

"Yeah, spikes in his adrenocorticotropic hormone." She snapped, looking for a way for us to relate to her babble. "It's like those stories you hear when a mother is able to lift a car to save her baby. An adrenaline surge can create a massive-"

"Stop talking!" he barked in a very threatening manner. "Just fix it!"

"I wish I could," she frowned. "We can relieve some of the symptoms. I'm going to give you 10cc of benzodiazepine."

I turned to Fitz. "Chill pill," he answered my unspoken question before nodding at his partner. "Good idea."

"A sedative?" Ward went off. "Not gonna happen."

Fitz stared him right down without a hint of fear. "Yeah, well, be reasonable. Look at how you're behaving… what you've done already."

Ward poked him in the chest harshly. And that was enough for me as I got to my feet. "And if I'm sedated and we cross paths with those juiced freaks, the ones who flip cars and smash people up, are you gonna take them on? Keep us safe? Or am I gonna have to save Simmons' ass…again?" He paled a bit and I slid right between them, narrowing my eyes as I held Cheesetauri's ball.

"You leave him… leave him the hell alone Ward," I managed. "This isn't you… isn't you and you know it. So stop."

He glanced at me for a small moment before turning back to Fitz. "Look at her jumping in to defend her hero. Her Lee. Little Ash and her pet rat, because she has no one else. Little does she know the only reason you saved her ass was because you didn't have what it took to save Simmons. She was just the runner-up and it must eat you alive she gives you so much credit for it." I could feel Fitz behind me shaking, so I just went for it.

It wasn't the first time I had punched Ward, but it was certainly the hardest. It sent him reeling a bit and I heard Skye gasp as he whirled back to face me with that dangerous glint in his eye. But I wasn't scared of him anymore and I certainly wasn't going to let him get away with this.

"Leave them… leave them alone, Ward." He just glared down at me. "What are you going… going to do? Finish the… job this time?" His eyes darted to my neck before going back up again, the glint having faded a touch. And then he turned to storm out, but not before slapping my hand and sending the ball to the floor.

"Cheesetauri!" I shouted, dropping down to make sure he was okay. The lab door slid shut and I cradled the ball to my chest, grateful he seemed shaken up inside but otherwise alright. "It's okay, buddy. I'm here."

"That was just a biochemical reaction," Simmons addressed us after a moment of silence. "He didn't mean all that."

"No, I know," Skye nodded, clearly shaken.

"No explanation necessary," Fitz added, clearly pissed as well. I wasn't content to let him off the hook so easily though.

"Screw him." With that I rose to my feet, ball cradled to my chest. "I'm… I'm going to find Coulson and get… get in there with Randolph." God, this voice sucked.

"Ash, you've been through a lot. Maybe you should just sit down and-"

I hugged him tight, cutting him off. "I know… I know what he said isn't true. Okay?" I looked him right in the eye. "I know, Lee. I'm okay."

He just looked down at me before smiling and taking a step back. "Go get all the answers we need. Randolph isn't going to know what hit him." I nodded proudly and started out the lab door for the Interrogation Room, opposite the way Ward went, strapping Cheesetauri to my belt as I went.

"She literally just has to hug you and you do anything she says," I heard Skye comment as I left.

"I do not," I heard him argue.

"It's a fair observation," Simmons countered and that was the last I heard as the doors closed behind me. I squared my shoulders, shaking my mind free of Ward and choking and headaches and memories and Thor and whatever lies Skye was going to put into his head- I could worry about that later, and continued my march because someone was going to get a piece of my mind.

Professor Asshole was about to be ripped a new one. I thought my day was bad, just wait until I dealt with his.

XXX

Here we are. Sorry for such a long wait but this one required some real development on my part in terms of moving forward. There are a lot of clues in here as to the future and I had to make sure it all played out just right. So thank you all for your patience and marvelous support. The next one should be up by next week- I'm already through a large portion of it. As for Randolph's weird behavior, well you might just have to wait and see.

Thanks to those who have followed this story and decided to keep a tab on where it goes: Alexstarlight18, Randomfox77, midnight03, Subeast, xoshellbee, I Love Oc's, XxAmyTheGreatxX, happinessinthedarktimes, Sparkplugs, livlifembleming, eckles, nightmareparade, readingisloving, Densho, Please Ignore This, alysianicole, The Ultimate Prize, Brokencity14, Nightwhat, and Madalayna. I hope it was nice to receive an e-mail at long last and I hope they become more frequent.

Thank you to those who have favorited- letting me know how highly they view this little venture of mine: Supernatural Believer, alexmariewinchester, Randomfox77, midnight03, Hurrincane.'97, I Love OC's, Sparkplugs, Mikado X Goddess, livlifembleming, simslovr1, eckles, just-keep-dreaming, readingisloving, Please Ignore This, alysianicole, Brokencity14, and harley001.

I swear each time I think these lists will get shorter, but they just seem to get longer. Thank you to everyone again for the love and support.

And thank you my very special reviewers: Madalayna, Guest, Mikado X Goddess, HoneyBunnyLemon, MiaR, AthenaB, NessieBooEvans, MulishaMaiden, Lara Barnes, stormrunner74, Cow-Lover2214, and a special shout-out to my friend eckles for making my day. I love all of you and appreciate you kind words so much.

See you all very soon- promise.