A/N: As usual, thank you, everyone, for the follows, favorites and reviews. You guys are amazing! Also I realized the rating on this story was wrong, I thought it was set on T, but it says K+. Just for saftey, the rating is T.
Summary: Agents Melinda May and Phil Coulson are put on a new assignment to look after an object of unknown origin, an 0-8-4. The only catch is this 0-8-4 is a person. A fourteen year old girl who's spent her life in the foster system is now in more danger than ever. A man beast is hunting her and SHIELD has to make sure that it doesn't get close to her. AU, MCU characters will be used.
Chapter Nine
Monday, September fifth 6:30 am
The subject of Skye being tested again or about her struggles in general didn't come up again much to the teen's relief. The conversation as a whole had sent her for a whirlwind of emotion and caused her to have a weekend of sleeplessness. In her mind there was no way they could keep her after her outbursts, her panic attack and now these other issues resurfacing. Desperately she wanted to believe that they did just want to help her, but after everything she had experienced she just couldn't believe them.
She had fallen asleep around in the previous night only to wake up at three and not fall asleep again. It gave her a lot of time to think about the upcoming day. She was nervous to go to school, meeting new people used to be something she enjoyed until she realized she would never see them again. Making lasting friendships was not something she could ever count on.
Though it did give her a chance to reinvent herself until she found a version she liked. Thus far she wasn't sure what to think of this version, she hoped for the best though. With any luck she would make some friends of her own that she could keep in touch with. She had a pen pal once, but then her computer privileges were taken away and she never got the chance to speak to them again.
Skye glanced at her clock, it read in green numbers 6:27. In three minutes we alarm would go off, she sighed and turned the alarm off and climbed out of bed. Besides she wanted to be ready as soon as possible. She had worked hard the rest of the weekend to be a model child, she didn't want to cause Melinda and Phil any trouble. They had already done so much for her. She wanted to stay in their good graces until she left.
Skye went through her morning routine of brushing her hair and personal hygiene before changing into her uniform. Not once in her life had she ever had to wear a uniform to school. Of course there were dress codes she had to follow, but never a set uniform. The high school, Carter High or called Carter Academy depending on the person, had an almost collection of clothes that could be worn. Five different colored polos, a choice between khaki pants, shorts or skirts. Sperry shoes with white socks. It wasn't a terrible uniform, though Skye wouldn't know what would be considered a terrible uniform. Probably having to wear a blazer would be terrible she guessed.
Skye slipped on the white polo shirt and khaki pants deciding it would be the plainest one and have the least attention brought to her. Maybe having a uniform wouldn't be terrible, especially if it meant she could blend in easier. She looked at the school's insignia on the right side of her chest, it looked kind of like an eagle if she had to guess. It was stitched in with dark blue and silver. Once Skye was dressed, she grabbed her backpack which was already filled with notebooks and a pens. She made her way downstairs to find Melinda in the kitchen, Phil sitting at the counter. They were talking in hushed tones which was a clear sign that they didn't want her to hear any part of this conversation.
Melinda spotted Skye first, "Morning Skye."
Skye nodded, "Morning."
Phil turned around to smile at her, "Sleep alright?"
Skye shrugged her shoulders, taking a seat by him at the counter.
"Nervous about today," Melinda stated, though it rang like a question to Skye.
Of course she was nervous about going to school. Not once had she ever gone to a private school that would be filled with a bunch of snobby rich kids who never had to struggle to survive. The thought made her angry. Angry that all of them had it easy and she didn't. She was also afraid that she would get picked on for being an orphan like so many other kids had. Even at the orphanage she was picked on for being an orphan. Not to mention Friday's conversation still had her frazzled.
"School and me aren't exactly friends," Skye started a little hesitant, "Public school you deal with a bunch of assholes while at private schools you deal with snobby assholes."
"Not always," Phil told her, ignoring her language.
He wasn't sure if he was supposed to reprimand the fourteen year old for her cursing or if that was the normal teenage thing. He hadn't really started cursing until junior year and even then it was scarce.
"At least give it a chance, you might like it," Phil went on.
Skye frowned at that, she didn't want to like it. If she liked it, then it would be harder for her to leave. There was no doubt in her mind that she would leave this place, she gave it two weeks.
"The school is a little different than others ones, but it what makes it unique is it's schedules," Phil told her after a moment on silence, "The counselor will explain more once you get there."
Skye winced at the mention of the counselor, but she just nodded silently.
Phil dropped Skye off at the front of the school and this place was huge. At first Skye hadn't thought this was the right area because the high school looked more like a small college with fancy buildings. She seriously wondered how much money it costs to keep this school running, not to mention how much did the people here pay to attend here.
Were Phil and Melinda actually paying for her to go here? Why would they do that? It's not like she would staying here for very long, unless- No. Skye stopped those thoughts straight away. There was no way she would let herself think of the possibility of staying when it was nonexistent. All it would take is for her to screw up or do something they didn't like for her to be shipped away. Skye gripped her backpack strap tightly as she marched into the front building. When she got inside, she realized she had no idea where she was supposed to go or who she was supposed to talk to.
"Dammit," Skye muttered to herself.
Skye glanced around the lobby area, she noticed a few students around but didn't want to ask any of them. Instead, she would just figure it out and hope that the counselor's office was somewhere around here. After five minutes of walking down the white, green and blue hallways, Skye was annoyed and aggravated. She stopped on the side annoyed with herself and worried she might get lost. Phil told her that classes started at 8:00, it was 7:32 now which gave her time. Skye leaned back against the white wall, what a great way to start her morning.
"You alright," questioned a gentle voice, "You look annoyed."
Skye scoffed and looked at the source of the voice, "What gave it away?"
A teen boy with blue eyes chuckled, "Well your face is set in a scowl and you look ready to murder. Monday's are never easy."
In spite of herself, Skye grinned, "No they aren't. Any idea where the counselor's office is? I need to get my schedule."
The teen nodded, "Yeah sure. Right, this way. I'm Lincoln by the way."
Lincoln extended his hand to her which she took after a moment of hesitation, "I'm Skye."
"It's nice to meet you," Lincoln told her, his smile boyish, "You new here?"
"Yeah, obviously," Skye said curtly. Lincoln wasn't fazed, "Should have guessed that, but this place is pretty big."
Skye didn't say anything as she followed him through the mostly empty halls.
"Where you from," Lincoln asked curiously.
Skye glanced at him, "Nowhere special."
Lincoln nodded, his smile remained, "Nowhere special, I've heard good things about that place. Probably a lot better than where I'm from. Here we are, counselor Lance."
Skye stared at the plain wooden door for a moment. She hated counselors. In her mind, they were all people who didn't give a damn about anything, but meeting a quota or their paycheck. Fake was a good way to describe counselors, at least all the ones she had been to.
"Thank you," Skye told him. Lincoln flashed her another smile, "Anytime. I'll see you around."
Without another word, Lincoln left leaving Skye in front of the office door. Skye sighed, it was now or never she guessed. She knocked on the door and waited a few moments when the door opened to reveal a young woman with wavy hair.
"Hi," Skye greeted, "I'm supposed to meet with you about my schedule."
The woman nodded, "Yes Mary. It's nice to meet you. Call me Ms. Lance."
"Don't call me Mary," Skye said sharply then added as she took a seat, "Please."
Skye has spent a fair amount of time sitting before the desk with an authority figure behind it. Not an unusual place to find herself, not by a long shot. Though she tended to avoid counselors at all costs, though they were all fakes who didn't really care about the person they were talking to.
"Alright, what do you prefer to be called? Oh I have your schedule here and your student guide should be here in a little bit," Ms. Lance explained, "If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me or your guide until you get comfortable. I'm sure you'll enjoy your time here."
"Call me Skye," said the teen as she stared at the folder.
There were two schedules inside, her attention was focused on the first which ordinary. The second one was interesting and she assumed it probably wasn't here, but she wasn't going to say it.
The counselor smiled, "That's a nice name. Well, Skye, I think you're going to enjoy your time here."
Skye shrugged her shoulders but didn't give a verbal reply. Ever since she was younger, she hated school with a burning passion. Kids were mean, she was slow at learning and already without a family. She was always alone, she was always set apart. The only reason she tried in school was that if she wanted a job, she'd need a degree. She couldn't get a degree if she didn't do well, so she tried hard in school. Not to mention she lost count of all the ones she got in trouble for not doing well or being disruptive in class. School was not a place she liked to be.
"Are you settling in okay," Ms. Lance asked as she handed Skye her schedule.
Skye nodded, but still did not speak. To the teen's surprise, the woman didn't push her to speak. She also remembered that it was the counselor who brought up that stuff to Phil. It was this stranger's fault for the outburst and difficult night and weekend.
"Well that's good, the Maysons seem like great people," commented Ms. Lance.
Skye still didn't speak. She had nothing to say.
Ms. Lance went on, "Mr Mayson told me he mentioned to you about your reports."
Skye's head snapped up like that, her eyes burned with anger, "Yeah. He mentioned that."
"I know you don't want to talk about it, but I think you should reconsider," said and Lance, "And before you respond, hear me out."
Skye glared furiously, but she kept her mouth shut.
The woman continued on, taking her silence as a prompt, "You've spent years trying to hide it and not receive the help you need."
"I don't need any help," hissed Skye as she clenched her fists angrily, "I can handle myself just fine and have been."
"Just because you can doesn't mean you should," replied Ms. Lance smoothly, she gave Skye a pointed look.
Skye bit her tongue, calling on whatever strength she had to not snap back at her.
Ms. Lance spoke again, "Once you have settled into the school, we will talk more about it. You cannot run from this, we just want to help you to be as successful as possible. But we can't do that if you don't let us."
Skye stiffened, she said coldly, "I don't need help from you or anyone else. Can I go now?"
Ms. Lance shook her head at that, "Not yet. Your student guide should be here soon."
A knock sounded on the door, three times and quick. "Ms. Lance? It's Simmons, are you busy," called a girl's voice from outside.
Ms. Lance smiled, "No, great timing come on in Jemma."
Skye looked over her shoulder to see a girl close to her age enter the room. She was wearing a white polo shirt and a khaki skirt. Her auburn hair cut off right below her shoulders, she had pale skin and brown eyes.
introduced her, "Jemma Simmons, meet-"
"Skye," answered the teen, "Just Skye is fine."
Simmons shook her hand with a bright smile, "A pleasure to meet you Skye. My name is Jemma Simmons, but everyone calls me Simmons."
"Are you from England," Skye asked lowering her hand.
Simmons nodded with a grin, "I am. I moved from the UK in sixth grade. About four years now."
"That's cool," Skye commented.
She had never met anyone from Britain, she knew people from Mexico and Canada, but no one from Britain. When Skye was younger, she wished she could travel all over the world. Meet new people, make short-lived friendships and then continue on her merry way. The idea was something she used to hold onto, but now it was just some child's lost dream.
"Thanks, come on I'll show you around," Simmons said, "goodbye Ms. Lance."
Ms. Lance waved to them, "See you later girls."
Skye gave the counselor a weak wave before shutting the door behind her and Simmons. Now the day was really going to get started, she didn't bother hoping that it would turn out well. Hope was like a balloon, the higher it goes the more likely it is to pop.
"So this high school is a bit weird," Simmons explained as they walked down the hall, "It's meant to guide their students to a career. Since I'm interested in biochemistry, I'm taking a science-based curriculum with the required social studies courses."
"Really, that's kind of awesome," Skye said honestly.
Simmons nodded, "Quite right. It said on your schedule that you had an interest in computers, so you're taking classes geared toward that career. You'd have classes such as coding or communications. Learning about software, hardware and so forth."
Skye was surprised to hear that. She remembered answering the question of what she wanted to do in the future, but she thought that was simply one of those get to know you questions. Not something that would actually be taken into consideration for something. What kind of school was this?
"Are all private schools like this," Skye asked walking beside Simmons.
Simons shook her head, "No. This academy isn't really like other private schools, or so I've been told."
Skye was prepared to question her further, but she was interrupted by a shout.
"Hey Simmons," called an accented voice.
The two girls turned around to see a teen with curled light brown hair and fair skin. He wore a navy blue polo and khaki pants.
"Hey Fitz," Simmons called happily, "Come over, I want you to meet someone."
The teen, Fitz made his way from his locker over to the girls.
Once he was before them, Simmons introduced them, "Fitz this is Skye. She's a new student here."
Fitz grinned at her, he extended his hand to her, "It's nice to meet you Skye."
She shook his hand, "And you too. What do you study here?"
"Engineering mostly, but I hope to move into rocket science later on," answered Fitz with a slight smile, "And what about you? Or are you doing the straight forwards?"
"Straight forwards," Skye questioned, eyebrow raised.
Simmons explained, "Typical high school, where you take everything. You have two schedules, one is straightforward, it allows you to wait on what you want to do and just decide as you get older. And the other is the one Fitz and I follow, where it gives you like a, like a jumpstart."
"You must not have given them an answer about it before," Fitz said, "Usually they ask which one you want before you arrive."
"Well it is almost a month into the school year, so I'm a bit behind," Skye replied, her tone turned slightly bitter.
While she definitely wanted to look into computers, she wasn't sure if that was a good idea. There was no telling how long she would be here, why start something she couldn't finish?
"I think I'll stick with the straight forwards," Skye said a bit dejected.
Fitz frowned, "Can I ask why? I mean it just seems like a waste, you could start early to see what you like and what you don't. Not to mention that if you don't like it, you can change it."
"Fitz, don't push her," Simmons admonished, "if she doesn't want to do it, she doesn't have to."
Fitz raised his hands in surrender, "Just curious is all."
Skye released a sigh, "I won't be staying long, so why start what I can't finish?"
"Do you have a computer," Simmons asked, a bit randomly in Skye's opinion.
She had a computer that she wasn't allowed to keep. The nuns took it away saying she shouldn't have the privilege of the internet because of all the trouble she caused. The computer had been wiped, but everything Skye needed from it was downloaded onto her hard drive in her backpack at the Mayson's house.
"No, why," Skye questioned, eyebrow raised.
"You would be able to continue their courses online if you wanted to if you left the school," answered Simmons, "Perhaps we could convince one of the principals to give you one."
"They just give computers away," Skye said in shock.
Fitz nodded, "They have more than they do students. If you wanted one, you could have it."
"What kind of school is this," Skye asked, more to herself than to them. At her last school, if you took their computers, you could be arrested.
"One of the best," Simmons grinned, "Come on, let's take you on a tour."
"Are you sure I shouldn't call?"
"Coulson, she's fine."
"But what if she isn't? What if something happened after I dropped her off? What if she's hurt?"
"If something happened to Skye, Agent Morse would contact us."
"But she can't have eyes on Skye all the time."
"No, but all the other agents present would send their updates straight to Morse who would send them to us and Hill. Relax Phil."
Coulson released a sigh. For the past hour he had been going back and forth about all the things that could go wrong with Skye out of their sight. He wondered if this was how parents felt after sending their child to school for the first time. May had nearly chewed him out when he asked if he should go back and bring Skye home. That what if she didn't make any friends and others were mean to her. It was ridiculous.
"She's a big girl," May said, "She can take care of herself."
Coulson took a seat on the couch, "Maybe. Am I overinvested?"
May gave him a look that said all he needed to know.
Coulson released a sigh, "Sorry. I just…. I want her to be okay you know? She's a really sweet girl, I think she could do a lot of good for this world,that she could be something amazing."
"You think that about everyone," May commented.
Coulson merely shrugged, "Everyone Is capable of amazing and terrible things. I have a feeling Skye's going to do something important one day."
"Don't get too attached to her Phil," said May softly, "You know protocol. By the time we're done, Skye will be right back in the system and we won't have a clue as to where she is."
"Protocol be damned," said Coulson sharply, "You've read her file. She's been abandoned and hurt enough, how can we leave her to? After her near panic attack in the mall, or after the conversation we had Friday? She has literally been left to the wolves all her life. We can't just abandon her too."
May could only stare at Coulson in surprise and confusion. Sure she liked the girl, but they hadn't even had her for a week. It was clear that Coulson was already too close to her for some reason that May didn't understand. They had been on undercover assignments before and had gotten close to their target or protected, but Coulson never responded like this. May couldn't understand why this assignment was any different for him, but she planned to find out.
"Care to explain why you're already so attached to this girl," said May folding her arms over her chest.
Coulson blinked, "I don't know what you mean."
"Oh yes you do," May said sharply, "You gave her your Captain America cards, something you never let anyone so much as breathe on and now you're talking about not abandoning her even though once that man-beast is found, she will be right back in the system and we will lose all contact with her. Explain why you are so attached."
Coulson didn't speak for a long time. He had an answer, but he was unsure of how to explain it or put it into words that she would understand. Skye was more than a 0-8-4, she was a fourteen-year-old girl with too many scars from the world. He wanted to help her, he liked to help people and she was his next person in need. May wouldn't understand that though. Sure she helped people, but her ability to show attachment had been severely damaged. If she was attached to anyone anymore, Coulson could never tell, no one could.
"Because she matters," Coulson answered after a pregnant pause, "I intend to make sure she knows that at least one person will always be looking out for her."
May would have pressed him further, but she decided against it. He was stubborn as ever and she was not in the mood for a long-standing argument over it. However she would not let this go that easily, there was another reason why he was holding onto Skye, she just had to figure out what it was. May wouldn't keep the fight going, she had work to do to keep her cover.
"Alright," May said flatly, "In the meantime, we need to look at our jobs and other files."
Coulson took a breath, "Yeah, let's get to work."
China Mountains, Unknown Area
An Asian woman sat at the table, she looked out at the hills below and sighed. Though the view of endless trees and beautiful flowers with a clear sky would never grow old, her mind and heart were heavy. It had been so long since she had peace and she feared that she would never find that peace again.
When heavy footsteps filled her ears, she spoke, "You have to learn to control your temper, otherwise I'll have to take you off of this."
The owner of the footsteps didn't reply straight away. The woman looked up at him, his fair skin looked a bit pink and his once warm brown eyes were frantic like a trapped animal. Gone was the man who she adored, in his place was only a shell. She could hardly blame him though. After all, she was nowhere near the same woman she was before.
"You," he started hesitant and annoyed, "You cannot do that."
She looked away. "I can and I will. The council already disagrees with the search as a whole, but the added trails of bodies are not helping them see our side." The man brought his hands to his face, he forced his anger aside despite its building up inside him. He has to stay calm, he had to stay calm.
"Just- I just need a little more time," he finally said lowering his hands, "I am so-so close to bringing her back."
The woman turned her head to look at him, her narrowed eyes softened as she met his gaze. As she thought of who he was speaking of. Many years ago, they both lost someone they held dear. Someone who they loved more than anything in this world, who they would die and kill for without a second thought.
"I know you are, but I still think it would be simpler for Gordon to locate her and bring her back," said the woman gently, though she knew why Gordon couldn't take on the task.
"The teleporting would be suspicious, he can't just take people out of thin air," replies the man simply, his brown hair blowing in the breeze.
The woman would have smiled at the sight, but she frowned, "So a trail of dead bodies is better? His way would be a lot cleaner."
Knowing he was close to losing this battle, he said quickly, "I-I won't kill anyone else, I promise, I just have to be the one to bring her back. I promised I would bring her home-"
"Then do so," interrupted the woman, she stood up and faced him completely, "Bring our daughter home Cal."