Chapter 3. Coward and Traitor
Menel blinked several times, looking around her, trying to find something that told her where she was; and then she noticed her surroundings properly, the single beds with white sheets. She was standing in the middle of a hospital room. The bed closest to her had a tag that read "Jane Doe", however, the moment she looked at the person on the bed, the she-elf knew exactly who she was:
"Agent Hand..." She whispered in shock.
She didn't look good, not at all. A quick look at the notes made by some doctor or another on the chart at the foot of the bed revealed a GSW to the chest, critical blood-loss, a practically shattered rib and serious trauma; the doctors were saying it was a miracle that she was still alive.
"It worked..." She whispered in a mix of shock and awe. "The bracelet really worked..."
It had, it also explained why she had dropped unconscious in AC's office. Because she knew for sure she wasn't awake in that moment... though she didn't remember ever having astral projected while unconscious, especially without consciously choosing a target. Maybe her magic on the bracelet was enough to call her there.
Pushing all conjectures aside, the brunette decided to focus on what was important: the bracelet had worked, the spells she'd woven into it to help save Agent Hand's life in case of an emergency had been activated just in time... and apparently drained her badly enough she had collapsed, and was still unconscious. She wondered how worried AC was...
As if that were some kind of cue to herself, Menel noticed her surroundings vanishing, or maybe she was the one vanishing? She didn't know for sure, all she knew was that she was waking up... which was hopefully a good thing.
xXx
"Ouch..." Was the first word to come out of Astrid's lips as she recovered consciousness. "My head's killing me..."
By the time she opened her eyes, a handful of seconds later she could see Phil standing by her bedside, worry etched in his every feature.
"Skye..." He whispered softly, touching her shoulder lightly. "Are you alright?"
"I... I think so..." She murmured, even as she assessed herself. "A bit groggy..." She tried to sit up, only to fall back against the pillows almost right away. "Oh... head-rush..."
"Skye!" Phil worried even more at that.
"It's okay, I'm okay. Ju... Just v-vertigo" She hurried to reassure him before sitting up again, this time more slowly. "Ca...can I have s-some water, please-e?"
Phil immediately offered her a glass of cool water with a straw, as well as a couple of pills for the headache she'd first complained of.
"No thank you." She took the glass but refused the pills.
"You said your head was hurting." He commented, returning the pills to their bottle.
"It is, but the pills won't do any good." She explained. "Things like aspirin and the like simply don't work on me, most simple meds don't actually. It made things harder when I got sick which, thankfully, wasn't often. For the longest time I did not understand why such a thing happened to me... knowing what I know it seems only logical."
Of course, since she wasn't human, it was to be expected that some medicines wouldn't work on her. Only the stronger ones, used for surgeries and chronic ailments, did anything to her, and most of the time she would need high doses to manage a low effect (something Simmons had at least half-discovered while Skye was in the medpod, after being shot).
"So what can I do to help?" He insisted, hating seeing her in pain, especially when he had been unable to stop her from getting that way.
"Sadly, nothing." She shrugged slightly. "A headache is too small a thing for me to use high-end meds. Besides, they would probably cloud my mind, and that's probably not a good idea if we need to get to work, which we probably do... where are anyway? This doesn't look anything like my bunk on the bus... or the infirmary."
"We're in Providence." Phil explained to her. "A highly classified SHIELD facility Fury set up without telling anyone else, in case of an emergency, apparently. We actually arrived late yesterday afternoon, you were still unconscious, have been for almost 24 hours now."
"Wow... I'd never slept that long." She admitted thoughtfully.
She opened her mouth to say something else when she noticed the tension in his every muscle.
"Is everything alright AC?" She inquired, worried herself.
"Upon arrival Agent Koenig, the man in charge of this place, informed us that the Fridge has fallen." Phil told her seriously.
"The Fridge..." Skye's eyes widened instantly. "What about Ward?!"
"He's alright..." Phil shook his head and corrected himself. "He has a couple of broken ribs, a fractured cheekbone and a number of nasty cuts and bruises, but he'll be alright. He arrived yesterday evening. Agent Hand and her men on the other hand..."
Skye was feeling so lost at the development she didn't even remember about what she'd seen in her unexpected 'astral walk' while sleeping.
"However, that's not the worst part." Phil admitted grimly. "All the devices, weapons and others that SHIELD kept secure in the facility are now in Hydra's hands... all the prisoners have also been released. According from what we were able to find online, they're already creating havoc."
"Ian Quinn..." Skye couldn't help but whisper in horror, a hand pressed to her middle.
"I'm afraid so." Phil nodded. "And Skye, to be perfectly honest, he's not the worst to escape. Quinn is a sociopath, but a lot of the others were downright psychopaths... a lot of them also have some kind of ability..."
"Wonderful..." She muttered sarcastically.
It was in that very moment that she identified the kind of tension on his body, it was the way he held himself whenever they were about to go on a dangerous mission.
"Wait a second, you're going after them?" She asked in shock. "I mean, you're going after them, as in, right now?!"
"It's necessary." Phil told her.
"Very well." She nodded, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. "Just let me splash some water on my face and get changed..."
"No Skye." Phil stopped her from getting up. "I want you to stay here!"
"Oh, not you too!" She couldn't help but half-whine. "I've had enough of Ward treating me like a delicate flower, too weak to fight for herself, I don't need the same kind of treatment from you! I have been trained by..."
"I would never treat you like that, Skye, I hope you know that." He stated in a quiet, though no less intense tone of voice. "It's not that I don't think you could do it, be of help; it's just that there are other things I need you for."
"Alright." She nodded, calming down. "Tell me, what's my mission?"
"I need you to try and track down the inmates who escaped, use satellite feeds, surveillance video and pictures, anything you can find." He said. "I'm giving you carte blanche to hack whatever and whoever you need to, to get the information as fast as possible. As long as you're not caught, of course, the last thing we need is to get the government after you, after any of us, on charges of espionage, or something like that. Also, if you can, find out what happened exactly in the Fridge it would help a lot."
"In the Fridge?" That caught her by surprise. "Didn't Agent Koenig tell you, and Ward?"
"They did, they each told me all they know." Phil admitted. "But there's something that just doesn't add up. I don't even know what it is, just that there's something..."
"Very well, I'll check it out." She nodded again.
She trusted him, enough to know that if he had a bad feeling there probably was a reason for it. And with freedom to hack whatever she might need...
"Well, what are we waiting for?" She asked, finally pushing herself to her feet. "Lets get to work! We have things to hack and a world to save!"
Phil couldn't help the laughter that escaped him at her words, her antics... if only it were as easy as she made it sound...
xXx
It certainly wasn't that easy, or that quickly. Skye was directed to where she could take a long, hot shower and then to eat something (a full meal since she'd missed several being unconscious) before Jemma allowed her outside the sleeping area of the secret facility. Then, once she was ready, and fully back in her 'Agent Avery' persona (tight ponytail, leather jacket and boots and everything), she had to go meet the Agent in charge of the place.
"Agent Koenig, sir?" She asked as she stepped into the man's office.
"Ah, you're the one I was missing." He nodded at her.
"Astrid Avery." She introduced herself, offering her hand.
"Yes, Agent Avery!" He shook her hand very enthusiastically. "You're a legend! I am from Communications myself, you know? What you've done, especially when taking down the Rising Tide... a legend, truly."
Astrid couldn't help herself, she blushed bright red. Really, it was one thing to hear her superiors commending her briskly on a job well done, and another thing entirely hearing the admiration, the awe, in Koenig's voice as he spoke of her achievements.
"You've heard about me." She blurted out before smoothing out. "I'm very sorry I cannot say the same, sir. Communications I may be, but that's probably because I've always been better at handling machines than people..."
That was actually true, for the most part (it had been in the past, at least), and the official excuse why even though people 'remembered' her from the Academy and other things before the month she'd actually been there, she didn't remember that many people.
"AC... I mean, Agent Coulson told me I was to report to you..." She commented uneasily.
She really would have preferred to have her AC there with her, at least until she could familiarize herself with the place, but that just hadn't been possible. Phil was out hunting down one of the 'former residents' of the Fridge, who apparently was extremely obsessed with a cellist from Portland, and would be a serious danger for her unless they did something about it.
Astrid wasn't a fool, she knew what wasn't said, she'd heard about Phil's cellist before, from his own mouth even. How much he'd loved her... how much a part of him still held onto the memory of her... the young woman knew that with SHIELD pretty much gone there was a chance Phil would decide to ignore all protocols and rules and reconnect with her, look for a second chance between them; and as much as it may pain her, the possibility of losing him before ever really having him, she'd already decided not to do or say anything that might compromise that chance. He deserved to be happy, and she would be happy for him, no matter what he decided...
"Yes, of course." Koenig turned to lead her out right away. "If you'll follow me this way we'll get you through Orientation right away, and then you can have your pass and access to the whole facility." He turned to look at her over her shoulder. "Agent Coulson said to grant you full access to our Communications Room, after you had passed."
Which meant he was fully confident she would pass, it was good to know.
The 'Orientation' turned out to be a polygraph test, which almost made Astrid have a heart-attack, though she managed to keep her expression smooth and stay as relaxed as possible. If AC thought she could pass the test, that meant she could.
It wasn't really that hard in the end.
"Can I have your full name?" Koenig asked.
"Astrid Avery." She answered promptly.
Koenig's brow furrowed.
"Is that your name or an alias?" He inquired, curious.
"My name." She told him. "It hasn't always been my name, I'll admit. But it is my name right now, legally and all."
After a second or two more Koenig nodded, satisfied, and moved on.
The rest of the test went quiet quickly, until they reached the final question:
"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists." Koenig declared seriously. "The agency has been labeled a terrorist organization. So why are you here?"
"This team is my family..." She said simply.
They weren't her only family anymore, not like when she'd first learnt the truth of her origins... but they were still part of her family, and she valued that.
"Congratulations Agent Avery." Koenig smiled brightly at her as he offered her a pass like the one hanging from his own neck.
"Thank you, Agent Koenig." She smiled, taking the pass.
"Should I lead you to the Communications Room now?" He offered.
"Yes..." She began, then changed her mind. "Only, could you direct me to where Agent May might be first, please? I need to talk to her."
During the Orientation/Interrogation she'd finally remembered about her little 'astral trip' earlier; someone needed to get Hand, before Hydra happened to find her, and since Phil had gone to get Daniels, taking Jemma, Leo and Triplett with him... she would have to talk to May about the situation. The brunette still did not like the woman, she'd lied to AC about very delicate matters; but she was still family, and Astrid knew she could be trusted, and someone trusted really needed to go get Agent Hand...
Astrid actually met Ward on his way to see May, Koenig told her she was on the Bus, probably working on repairs (something more definite than her rushed used of magic on the fuel line).
"Skye...!" He called the moment he saw her.
"Sh!" She hissed at him instantly. "When are you going to learn not to call me by that name Ward?! It's dangerous..."
"There's no one else here..." He half-mocked at here.
"We're in a SHIELD facility, that very likely has cameras and microphones embedded in the walls, can you begin to imagine the people who would hear you calling me by that name?" She retorted, probably more harshly than was entirely necessary.
"There's no SHIELD anymore..." He began.
"Doesn't mean we don't have enemies out there." She reminded him. "Quinn is free! Wanna guess what he'll do if he learns I'm not as dead as we've claimed?!"
That actually seemed to be enough to shut him up.
"Ok, I get it, not calling you anything but Avery, Agent Avery." He said, only half-mocking her.
He did worry about her enough to take that risk seriously... which reminded her of the mess that had happened in the Hub, which she still wasn't happy about! Then, right as she raised her head to look at him and tell him exactly what she was thinking... she stopped. It was just for a fraction of a second, but she could have sworn there was a shadow in his expression, a darkness she'd never seen before (though she had sensed it), one she did not like, it gave her a bad feeling. And even though it vanished as quickly as it had appeared, Astrid could barely hold back the shiver; in that moment she wanted nothing more than to get away from Ward, which was shocking in and of itself, and yet, she'd never been one to ignore her instincts, they had saved her life more than once, even before her heritage had been unlocked and her magic added to her instincts. Which meant there was something really wrong...
"So... that drink...?" He said, standing in front of her.
"Eh...? What?" So lost was she in her magical senses that, for a moment, she had no idea what he was talking about.
"The drink I was going to take you up on?" He inquired. "We talked about it back in the Hub..."
"Ah! That drink, yes!" Yes, she'd been planning on telling him her thoughts about what had happened in the Hub, but considering what she was sensing, that probably wasn't a good idea. "Rain check? I really need to talk to May..."
"I..." He seemed honestly surprised by that. "Yeah, sure, rain check."
"I'll meet you later for that drink, I promise." She told him as she walked past him.
And yet she refused to look back at him, almost afraid of what he might see in his eyes, or what he might see in hers... she really needed to talk to May.
xXx
Astrid found May on the Bus, realized the woman had probably been working on the necessary repairs so they could use it again. It was a good thing, especially since Astrid had no way of knowing how long her little spell would have kept the leak on the fuel line blocked.
"May?" She asked, approaching the woman in her bunk. "Can I talk to you?"
"If you're here to yell at me for keeping secrets from Coulson..." May began, turning to stare at Astrid directly.
"No I... why would I do that?" The younger woman honestly wasn't expecting that.
"I know he told you what happened." May explained with a shrug. "Ever since you found him on the desert, he's been trusting you more and more... it's not a bad thing. So I imagine you know already what happened..."
"I do know." Astrid didn't bother trying to hide it, there was no point. "But like I said, I'm not here to yell at you about it, or anything. Why would I do that?" She shook her head. "I may not like it, I may not even fully understand it... but it's not really my business. It's yours, yours and AC's, and I really hope you'll settle this matter, sooner rather than latter..." It was until that point that she noticed the bag on May's bed. "You're leaving?!"
"Yes." May kept packing even as she said that.
"But why?!" Astrid couldn't believe it.
"Astrid..." She let out a breath before finally sitting on the bed, signaling to the girl to take a seat as well. "It's nothing against you, or anyone else from the team..."
"We're a family May." Astrid insisted, her voice going through an octave... or two. "We're supposed to stay together..."
"How can I stay where I'm not wanted?" The older woman sounded oddly vulnerable as she asked that question. "And Phil really doesn't want me here..."
"He's angry... and more than that, he's hurt." Astrid tried to explain. "So much has happened in such a short time... Once things settle down a bit and we, all of us, get the chance to process everything that's happened, he'll realize there's no reason to really take his anger out on you." Her voice turned quieter. "You cannot leave May... what are we going to do without you?"
"You don't really need me."
"Yes we do! And I'm not talking about pilots, or fighters, or anything like that. We need you! I know that, and AC does too... he just needs to remember it."
May actually hugged Astrid at that, something that surprised both women, though neither commented on it.
"You're still leaving, aren't you?" The girl asked quietly after a while.
"Yes." May admitted just as quietly, as she pulled back from the hug. "There's something I need to do... it might even help smooth out things with Phil. I'll rejoin you as soon as I can, I promise."
She didn't explain where she was going, or what she planned on doing, neither did Astrid ask; she had learnt a lot about the need for secrecy in their line of work, and in their lives in general; and that sometimes it wasn't a matter of trust, or lack-of, sometimes it was just a matter of protecting the other, not trying to bother, or even just that they were trying to achieve something on their own. And there was nothing wrong with that.
"Ok." The girl simply nodded, before remembering, again, the reason why she'd wanted to talk to May originally. "There's something I need to ask of you."
"What is it?" May was intrigued by that.
"It's about Agent Hand." Astrid began explaining, though not before doing a quick, silent spell to make sure no one would overhear them.
"Victoria?" May definitely wasn't expecting that. "She's dead. Died when the Fridge was taken, Ward told us when he came..."
"Actually, she's not..." Astrid admitted, almost sheepishly.
Though the fact that Ward had said that, and so confidently, was probably another confirmation that there was something really wrong with him, even if she had no idea what, exactly (or maybe she just did not want to know...).
As she heard Astrid explained what had happened, what she had done... Melinda could only marvel. The kind of power the brunette had inside her, and she used it to save people, even people who she hardly knew, and who probably would never know they'd been saved by a sorceress, or by anyone at all! And she was practically a child still!
It was amazing and humbling at the same time, for the hardened agent, to see the mix of power, innocence and will in the girl's eyes. To know that if anyone outside of their little, dysfunctional family found out the truth about her, about her lineage, they would condemn her for who her father was; it was unlikely they would see past that, and see her, see the amazing young woman who tried so hard... Melinda could only be thankful that she was counted among the people the girl cared for, that she was part of that crazy family... she would do her best to protect the girl in return, with all she was...
xXx
Astrid spent the rest of the day in the Comm/Sat room, typing like crazy, hacking satellites from several organizations, including Stark's and the NSA's, as well as hijacking feeds from security cameras all around the world, until every single screen on the room was showing a different place, some even switching every few seconds between angles of the same area.
"This is amazing..." Koenig declared when they were done. "And a bit scary too."
It was, and she knew it. Not even when she was with the Rising Tide had she done something as huge as what they were doing right then. But it was necessary.
She'd kept Koenig around with the excuse of wanting to be-friend the man, as they had 'come from the same place and all that'. She'd also needed some help to get everything set up and... if she was honest with herself, she was at least a little bit afraid to leave Koenig alone with Ward. Even if she had still no idea what the feeling of 'wrongness' she got was (or she was in extreme denial) she still wanted to do her best to protect Koenig.
In the evening Astrid got a message in her private phone, from May. It was short and to the point: "Victory secured... Errands yet to run... Will rendezvous in 24." The brunette couldn't help but breathe at least a little easier after that, knowing Agent Hand was safe. She still did not know what else May needed to do, but that was alright. At least one thing seemed to be going according to plan... it gave her hope other things would fall into place, eventually.
"Hey S... Astrid..." Ward called suddenly.
The brunette couldn't help it, she practically jumped from her seat at the voice, and it took all her focus to keep her magic under wraps, but she managed.
"Ward!" She still cried out as she spun the chair around to face him, slapping him on the chance to discharge at least some of the tension. "Are you crazy?! Don't go around scaring me like that!"
"I'm sorry..." He didn't sound sorry, at all. "Didn't mean to scare you that much. Are you done yet? You've been working all day."
"For the most part." She answered, a bit evasively. "Some of the satellites have yet to fully connect, but that's because I had to take the feed on a complicated loop so we wouldn't run the risk of being found if they happen to detect the hack." She tried to sound flippant. "AC's orders, I am not to be found."
And while he had given those orders, she was delaying some things on purpose, because if her growing suspicious (which she was finally allowing herself to have) proved true, then it was likely Ward would do something, something bad, when that feed was revealed. Which meant she would need to act before that happened.
"I'll just set things to continue running without me." She announced, turning to the computer again. "Hopefully it'll all be ready by tomorrow morning."
"So, you'll have that drink with me then?" He inquired.
"Sure." She nodded, not actually looking back at him. "Why don't you go ahead. I'll join you in five minutes or so."
"Sure you don't prefer I help you with something or..."
"No, I'll be done in a moment, you go ahead." She insisted, trying not to sound nervous. "Why don't you choose a drink. I'm sure you'll know more than me regarding what's good... I've never had money for anything more than cheap beer."
That wasn't true, of course. Her year living with Josef had afforded her a lot of opportunities. He was a fan of expensive things (furniture, art, places, food, wines...); but then again, as it had been proven more than once in the past, especially since her return, Ward didn't really know her, not the real her anyway...
Ward had just left the room, closing the door behind himself, thankfully, when Koenig... Eric, as they'd taken to calling each other by their first times at some point during the long afternoon working together, approached her.
"Is everything alright Astrid?" He asked her softly.
"Wha...?" She was honestly surprised by his question. "Yes, of course! Why shouldn't I be?"
"Well, honestly?" He asked her with a small smile. "You seem more than a bit nervous, and not the kind of nervous I would expect of a girl going on a date... but the kind of nervous an Agent going on a dangerous mission tries hard not to show..." He was quite blunt for an easy-going guy. "I may not be a field-agent like you seem to have become, Astrid, but I can see a few things... computers is not all I'm good at. I actually am a certified profiler... and I can tell that you are afraid right now... something about Agent Ward terrifies you Astrid..."
"Oh Eric..." She whispered, turning to him.
"You know I can help you, right?" He asked her right away, so willing to help his new friend, the first he'd had in so long. "Just tell me what's wrong."
The whole thing just endeared him all the more to her, she was almost willing to add him to her (seemingly ever growing) family... and it was precisely for that very reason, that the brunette knew she had to protect him, from the darkness she could feel growing, the darkness she could feel anchored on Ward.
"I'm really sorry Eric..." She whispered, brushing her fingers against his temple. "I promise you I'm doing this to keep you safe..."
That was the last thing Eric heard before he collapsed unconscious, head onto her lap.
Astrid knew she had to act fast, least her ruse be discovered. The little spell she had used would keep Eric asleep for a few hours, hopefully long enough for him to be out of danger. So with that in mind she used some more magic (seeing how she did not have the strength to carry him on her own) to get him into the supplies closet (where it was least likely that Ward would find him). She even added a simple cloaking spell, meant to break at the same time the sleeping spell ended. Then she prayed it would be enough, and went to meet Ward in the lounge.
Ward was actually waiting for her outside the lounge. She wasn't expecting it, and Astrid almost tripped over her own feet at the sight of him.
"Skye!" He called, hurrying to her side.
She was focusing so hard on keeping all her feelings concealed she even forgot to chide him for using her real name... again.
"It's alright." She assured him immediately, straightening. "I'm alright. So... have you chosen our drinks yet? I'm thirsty..."
It sounded stupid to her own ears, but she didn't know what else to say, she just hoped he would not see through her facade.
"Actually, I'm afraid we're gonna have to take yet another rain check on that drink." He told her.
"What...? But why?" She wasn't expecting that.
"I just got a call from Fitz." He answered, waving around the secure phone Phil had left them with. "The team needs us to back them up."
"What?!" She so wasn't ready for undercover assignments... which was pretty much how it felt right then. "Are they alright?"
"For the time being, yes." Ward seemed to be trying to reassure her. "But they'll need our help to take down Daniels. We need to get going right away. The bus is fueled and ready to go, if you want to go ahead, I'll inform Koenig."
"I could do that." She offered, swallowing her nervousness.
"It's alright." He insisted. "I should do it, being the highest ranking agent right now, and all that. Nothing against you, it's just protocol."
"Protocol..." She repeated, before making up an excuse on the fly. "Well, it won't do much right now anyway, Eric's not here."
"What do you mean he's not here?" Ward obviously wasn't expecting that.
"He left for the night." She lied. "Went for the little town west of here..." As she began talking she got more confident, she had lied before, she was good at it, her father was the God of Lies for Pete's sake! "He wasn't going to go, what with us being here and all, but I told him it was alright, to go, get some air... have some fun."
"Some fun?" Ward parroted back, obviously still confused by it all.
"Well, he didn't exactly say it... but if you ask me... I think he had a date..." She said the last part in a low, conspiratorial tone, as if she were a girl gossiping to her best-friend.
Ward let out a laugh at that, it wasn't a nice laugh.
"I suppose we can go then." He declared, wounding an arm around Skye's shoulders to pull her with him. "You do know Coulson isn't going to like this right? Leaving a secret base to go on a date? And when he was so against us leaving after we arrived?! I mean, I know Eric and you are friends and all that, though I have no idea how that happened..."
"We have some things in common, that's all." She tried her best to brush the comment off.
"Coulson is still not going to be happy with him." He insisted. "Come on."
In that moment, Astrid wanted nothing more than to go back, find another way to warn her team, her family, of what was going on. But she couldn't. Really, in that moment the best way to keep them all safe was to follow Ward's game, get him away, from the base, from Eric... then she would have to think of a way to survive... hopefully.
That didn't stop her from shivering inside at Ward's touch.
xXx
More or less at the same time (late in the night), the rest of the team were on their way back to Providence. Daniels was in prison again, this time with his powers neutralized for good, thanks to FitzSimmons, and something created by Dr. Banner that Phil didn't quite understand. In any case, it was a good thing, since they no longer had a 'Fridge' where to keep him.
As they flew Leo couldn't help but question his voice regarding the cellist they'd just saved: Audrey Nathan. It had become obvious during the day that she and Coulson had been involved in the past, that they had truly loved each other. Leo couldn't understand why Coulson wouldn't take the chance and reveal himself to her...
"Sir, is everything okay?" The engineer asked, worried for his team-leader.
"She said I never lied to her." Coulson said quietly. "Today, I did..." He had, and even if it had been for the greater good, her own good... it had still pained him to do it. "But she's alive and safe. We did that, at least."
He had needed to do that at least, keep her safe, protect her... like he'd promised her he would when they first met, the first time he hunted Daniels down.
"Why didn't you tell her the truth?" Leo couldn't help but ask, again.
"I probably will." Coulson admitted after several seconds of silence. "Someday, I guess, when there's a chance she'll understand..." He shook his head. "But right now is not the time. With the danger we're all in, trying to clean up the mess Hydra has left us with, and with the Centipede soldiers still out there... probably with Quinn and Raina back heading that project... it's just not a good idea." He let out a breath. "Besides... she's moving on. Regardless of how long it might have taken, she's moving on, healing... I will not take that from her." He made a pause before adding, almost hesitantly. "And maybe it's time I do the same, and move on..."
Leo couldn't be sure, psychology and such weren't his thing, after all, but he was almost sure there was something more to Agent Coulson's words... maybe it was related to his very close friendship with Astrid/Skye... or maybe he was just imagining things. Jemma did say that he was such a romantic, he tended to see romance even when there was none...
"When we get back, I need to make things right with May." Coulson went on saying, having no idea of Leo's line of thought. "After all, how can I expect Audrey to forgive me if I'm not willing to do the same with May?"
And how could he expect his team, his family, to hold on if he was the one fracturing it? Skye's prophecy, it had warned them about the family being torn apart... he didn't want that to happen, and there was just no way he would allow himself to be the reason for that fracture. He had to make things right... somehow.
xXx
Everything was a hell of a mess... again, and it wasn't even noon yet! It had begun early in the morning, when Phil, Jemma, Leo and Trip had returned to Providence, to find their Bus gone and the remaining members of the team missing. Jemma had freaked out when finding Agent Koenig apparently knocked out, laying in a corner in the main closet. None of them had understood what had happened on that front, and then learning that the last thing the man remembered was Astrid afraid for whatever the reason, saying something about protecting him before touching him in the head did not help matters any. All security feeds were missing, except for the motion-activated one that had recorded Melinda May leaving through the main door at some point before noon the day before; and then, around midnight, Ward and Astrid boarding the Bus and taking off. There was no message, no call, no explanation whatsoever of what had happened; though Koenig's report that Astrid had been afraid of Ward for some reason certainly put them all on edge.
Then, as if all that weren't enough to give anyone a bad day, it only got worse when none other than Colonel Talbot arrived (lead by Maria Hill of all people!), with a group of his men, to take over the base and arrest Coulson's team (Phil wasn't, because he was the one supposedly turning the base over to the military to 'make a deal').
At least that part was solved when Phil revealed his suspicions that Ward was Hydra (at that point there was no other reason for Skye to be terrified of him); which allowed them to infer that it was his fault Hand was dead, the Fridge had fallen, Garrett was most likely alive, and Agent Avery was in serious danger. Something in that list ended up being enough for Hill to change her mind as she helped Phil take down the military so they could all go after Ward and Astrid.
Thankfully Fitz and Trip together had managed to reset enough of the systems to be able to track the Bus to an airport in L.A. While they were working on that Phil had also been able to deduce why Ward had taken Astrid, that he needed her to crack the hard-drive, which meant she was alive, they only had to rescue her...
The flight went relatively fast. While Maria and Trip handled the piloting, Phil was sitting in the back, looking at the sky through the tiny window across from where he sat. (FitzSimmons and Koenig had taken a smaller plane, to lay low until they got Astrid back). One second he was looking at the clouds, the next he was seeing a young woman's reflection on the glass. And when he turned around in shock he found none other than Menel, looking around her, she seemed as surprised as he felt.
"Oh... again?" She asked out-loud, though apparently to herself.
"Again?" Phil asked, confused.
"Oh..." She turned wide-eyed to him right then. "You can hear me? And see me? That's new."
"S...Astrid?" He called, confused. "What's going?"
"I think someone knocked me out." She answered, though it almost sounded like a question. "I'm not quite clear on the who or the why right now, but I think that's what happened."
"Are you alright?" He asked next.
"Aside from the knocked-out part?" She inquired, but did not wait for an answer. "And the, most-likely-kidnapped one? Yes, just perfect."
"We know you're in L.A." Phil told her. "We're on our way."
"What for?" She asked, sounding honestly confused.
"To rescue you of course!" He was deeply offended by her surprise. "It's not like we're just going to give up on you."
"That's exactly what you should do AC." Menel told him softly. "I just remembered who knocked me out: it was Mike Peterson." She shook her head. "I tried to get Ward caught, lured him to a diner in L.A., tipped off the police about our presence there. He killed them all, and when I tried to run away, Deathlok caught me. The last thing I remember is him jumping onto the car I was driving, smashing the glass, and grabbing me. Even if I'm still in LA by the time you get there, there's no way you will be able to take on Deathlok."
"I am stronger than I used to be." He sounded almost petulant at that.
"I know you are." She assured him. "But it's been such a short time since your power activated... you're still learning to use it."
"Doesn't mean I shouldn't try."
"You could die! Again! Hela won't be able to send you back a second time AC..." She forced back a sob. "I knew the risks when I signed up for the job... both times. I won't let you die because of me AC, it's not worth it... I'm not worth it..."
"The hell..." He was furious. "Don't you dare say that! Don't you dare belittle yourself in such a way. And don't try to make my decisions for me either!"
"Don't you see I'm just trying to protect you?!"
"If that's what you're doing, shouldn't I be allowed the chance to do the same?"
"Look I..." She shook her head. "If Deathlok is with Ward as I suppose he is they're probably taking me back to the Bus. You should get someone to shoot it down and be done with it."
"Skye..."
"I know you don't like it, but we both know it would be the easiest solution to the problem. That way you take down both Ward and Deathlok, and you can prevent Garrett from getting the information on that hard-drive."
He shook his head and she sighed.
"Oh!" She remembered something else right then. "And you need to find May."
"She left Providence." Phil pointed out.
"I know." She waved off that fact dismissively.
"Not like we have the base anymore but..."
"Wait what?" That she wasn't expecting. "What happened?"
"Colonel Talbot happened." That was enough of an answer.
"Did you find Eric? He was unconscious in...
"In the supplies closet, yeah." Phil actually smirked at that. "He's with FitzSimmons. We found him when we arrived, he told us you had left him like that..."
"I had to. Even before I knew that Ward was Hydra I could sense there was something off about him. I just knew I had to protect Eric... god knows what Ward would have done to him."
"Kill him, most likely. He knows that too, is thankful that you saved his life."
"Good, now let me save yours. Go away."
"You know I'm not going to give up on you that easily."
"Argg!" She half-groaned half-whined. "You're so stubborn."
"No more than you are. You were saying about May..."
"Right." She forced herself to focus. "I know she left Providence, but she promised she was coming back to us. She said she needed to run some errands, no idea what they were about, but I asked her for a favor and she agreed."
"What kind of favor?"
"To pick up Agent Hand."
"Victoria Hand is dead."
"Actually, no she's not. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but when I first woke up my mind was kind of foggy, and by the time I remembered everything you were already gone. Remember the bracelet I gave Agent Hand before she left for the Fridge? It didn't only have a tracker on it."
"Magic..." He understood then. "So that's what knocked you out?"
"Exactly. It was far more draining than I thought it would be, but it worked out. She's currently in a hospital, registered as a Jane Doe... the coordinates are in a file you can access from your tablet. Last time I communicated with May she told me 'Victory was secure', which was our code for Agent Hand being safe... If you go there you can probably find May and get Agent Hand someplace safe where she can finish her recovery. The one time I saw her she was out of danger but still in pretty bad condition... and the last thing we need is Hydra finding her, or worse, Ward, especially if it was him, or Garrett, that shot her."
"I'll make sure she gets to safety, May too." Phil assured her, before adding. "And you can be with us to make sure of that."
"AC... please..."
"Don't." He interrupted her. "You won't change my mind Skye, I'm not giving up on you."
She couldn't help it, she smiled. He saw her mouthing a thank you before she vanished, like smoke. She probably had woken up. He let out a breath.
"Wanna explain to me what that was, exactly?" A voice suddenly called.
Phil's head snapped up instantly even as he cursed himself for not being as attentive as he should have been. All his attention had been on Skye, which wasn't that surprising, all things considered, but still, he was a Senior Agent, he should have been more alert.
"Did that girl just disappear into thin air?" Hill pressed on.
"Pretty much, yes." Phil answered flippantly.
"Wanna explain to me how she did that, exactly?" She asked next.
"Not particularly." He wasn't giving Skye's secrets away, no matter what.
"I don't remember anyone with such abilities on the Index." Maria insisted. "Which means she wasn't on the it. Which means you've been in contact with a gifted, without reporting it to SHIELD for addition to the Index..."
"Which is a good thing considering, you know, Hydra!"
"By the trust with which she spoke to you, and the nickname... it's obvious that you've known each other for a while. And you did not report her... why?"
Phil refused to answer.
"Very well, I'll let that go, for now." She chose to focus on what mattered most to her. "Did she really just say that Vicky was alive? In a hospital?"
Phil's expression actually softened at the questions, and at Maria's own change in voice as she asked them; he could hardly believe he'd actually forgotten about the connection between the two women, of course Maria would be interested in knowing about Victoria!
"Yes, she said that." He nodded, more calm. "According to her Melinda is there by now, she'll make sure Hydra doesn't find her. At least until we can get her to a secure location when she can finish healing properly."
The expression of relief on Maria Hill's usually immutable expression was such that Phil actually felt the need to look away, like it was a private moment no one should witness.
"I don't know how she did it." Maria said, knowing Phil wouldn't tell her. "And right now it doesn't matter just... when you see her again, tell your girl thank you for me."
"You'll get the chance to do it yourself." Phil declared. "I'll introduce you once we get her back."
Because they were getting her back, there was simply no other option Phil was willing to contemplate. He wasn't giving up on Skye, not then, not ever.
xXx
The sound of the cuffs clicking shut made Skye want to curse. It wasn't the first time, but still. At least she had gotten a good punch in, and a head-but, before Ward managed to cuff her to the staircase. And AC was on the way, with others... who hopefully would convince him that the smart decision was to simply shoot the Bus out of the sky the moment it took off... Doesn't mean she was about to lay down and die, of course not, she wasn't born a martyr... or an idiot. She was a fighter, in many ways, ways Ward did not know about, because he refused to see them, refused to see her. She would teach him to underestimate her...
"All this time, everything we've been through... why?" She half demanded, half-whined, getting ready to surprise him. "How could you?"
"I was on a mission." He answered simply, unemotionally. "It wasn't personal."
"It was..." She couldn't believe it. "You did not just say that." She hissed. "It wasn't personal?! Are you kidding me?!"
"Skye, listen to me..." He began, in such a condescending tone he only made her angrier.
"God, I might actually believe that." She muttered, waving her free hand wildly around. "You... that... I... that is the twisted logic that they teach you when you sign up to be a Nazi!"
"Stop, wait." He interrupted her, taking offense. "I'm not a Nazi."
"Yes, you are." She retorted, strangely calm. "That is exactly what you are. It's in the SHIELD handbook." Which, surprise, surprise, she'd actually read... superficially at least. "Chapter one. The Red Skull, founder of Hydra, was a big, fat, freaking Nazi!"
"That has nothing to do with today." He insisted, like he actually believed that...
"You know, you always had that Hitler youth look to you..." She commented in an almost dismissive tone. "So it's really not that surprising."
"It's not like that." Ward insisted. "I'm a spy, I had a job..."
"You've killed... I don't know how many people." She truly did not know, and that scared her more than anything else. "You gonna kill me now?"
"No." He actually seemed offended by her supposition, the bastard. "I would never hurt you."
"Once I crack the drive, are you just gonna shoot me like you did with Thomas Nash, or are you gonna have someone else do it, like you did with Quinn?" She insisted.
"I didn't know that was gonna happen." Ward retorted. "That was all Garrett."
"Oh, of course it was Garrett's fault." She snorted not believing him at all. "That was part of 'the mission' right? Just gonna kick back and watch me bleed until it's your turn to pull the trigger."
"You think I had a part in that?" He seemed offended. "That I would let that happen to you?"
"And do you honestly believe that changes anything?!" She snapped back at him. "Can you imagine what Garrett will do if he finds out who I am? That I'm alive?! Do you think he'll care to keep me alive?!" She rolled her eyes. "On the other hand, maybe he will care, if only to find out how exactly I survived!"
"It will not come to that." Ward either was stupid, or in deep denial. "I will not let it come to that. I promise you... You know how I feel about you, Skye."
"Wait." She almost laughed hysterically at that. "So even though you've been lying to everyone, about everything, you're saying that your feelings for me..."
"They're real, Skye." He finished for her, reaching to caress her face. "They always have been."
He made a move to kiss her and she moved as far back as she could, horrified.
"I'm gonna throw up." She declared with a sharp inhale. "You make me sick. As sick as Odin, and you know how much I hate the bastard..."
"Do you think this has been easy for me?" He actually had the gall to try and sell his sob-story to her. "Do you have any idea how hard it was? The sacrifices, the decisions I had to make? But I made them. Because that's what I do. I'm a survivor."
"You are a serial killer." She hissed, and then, words came to her mind, and through her lips, before she was even fully conscious of them. "You are a Coward... a Traitor..."
"I'm not..." He began, offended.
"And you know what else?" She insisted. "You're forgetful... you've forgotten who I am, who my father is, and the power that grants me..."
A twist of her wrist, and suddenly her right hand was pale blue... and very, very cold. The cuff froze around her wrist, the brittle material breaking with one more twist. Then, with her hand still mostly as that of a Jotun, Skye swung her arm, putting all her weight behind the move, delivering her strongest punch yet, straight to Ward's face. It was enough to break his nose, and probably give him two black eyes.
"I will never... ever give you what you want." She hissed at him almost viciously, even as she shook her hand to return it to normal.
Ward's expression was telling, and it somehow gave Skye even more satisfaction that the blood running down his face and his already darkening face. He truly had forgotten about Skye being Loki's daughter; either that or it simply wasn't something that had ever truly registered in his mind. She couldn't help but wonder briefly if it was part of his misogynistic attitude regarding her, or if it was part of the protective spell her father had left on her...
Regretfully, the satisfaction hadn't lasted long. Garrett had sent Deathlok to get the information from her. She'd tried to remind him he was a good man, a father; a tactic that failed spectacularly when he pointed out that he'd left his son in the hands of a woman who was dead (the magic made it so he couldn't recognize her), and an organization that had delivered that son to the man currently manipulating him. She couldn't believe she hadn't thought of that before...
Then, while she was still lost in that thought, Mike had done the one thing she hadn't been expecting. Rather than hurting her, he'd hurt Ward... shot him a device that made his heart stop, and he was the only one who could restart it...
"You think I don't want to watch him suffer?" Skye was trying her best to sound aloof as she watched Ward moan in pain, but she was failing.
"Not suffer, die." Mike reminded her. "Garrett doesn't think you're gonna let that happen."
"He's a murderer." She murmured, as if trying to justify it to herself more than Mike.
"Yes, he is." Mike agreed blankly. "Are you?"
No she wasn't, and they all knew that. Even if Mike did not recognize her, it was obvious. So she told him, the secret, the thing that had kept the hard-drive protected until then. It wasn't about a location, it wasn't about longitude and latitude... it was about altitude... 30,000 feet.
The bastard had the gall to approach Skye, as she was setting up everything for the hard-drive to unlock and be copied...
"Thank you..." He whispered, stopping briefly beside her.
"I didn't do it for you." She hissed back at him. "I did it for my father..."
That actually caught him by surprise, and it showed.
"Being what we are..." She murmured, trying to be vague in case Mike was listening in. "If we ever spill blood we run the risk of becoming addicted to it... he didn't want that for me..."
"You could still have done nothing." He insisted, trying to convince her, and himself, that she did care. "It's not like you were the one holding the trigger."
"It would still have been on me." Skye replied calmly, typing the last command before turning to him and staring right into his eyes. "So, in the end, you are alive because I promised my father I wouldn't become a killer, not because of you. For you I couldn't possibly care less."
Ward was left speechless at that, still refusing to believe what he was hearing. Skye did not care anymore; when Mike approached she didn't resist, simply followed him to the 'cell'. She would wait until the two men were busy handling the take off to break out through the roof. At least that was the plan until about five minutes later, when the door opened unexpectedly, revealing none other than Phil Coulson.
"AC?!" She couldn't even think of trying to hide her surprise at his appearance.
She had known he would try to rescue her, despite everything she might have told him during their little talk when she was knocked out... she was just hoping he wouldn't take such risks... which probably had been a pointless wish from the very start.
Still, nothing could have stopped her when she stood from the hard chair she was sitting on and hurried to his side, embracing him tightly before she was even fully conscious of her own actions; her need for him completely instinctive.
"Are you okay?" He began shooting questions at her right away. "Did Ward hurt you?"
"No, I'm okay..." She narrowed her eyes at him. "And I told you not to come!"
"And I told you I would come anyway." He retorted in the same tone, before adding in an over-dramatic manner. "Besides, if you are Loki's daughter, you are a princess, true?" He didn't actually wait for an answer as he went on. "As an Eihenjar I am supposed to be a royal-guard... you can consider this part of my duty..."
Her mouth dropped open in shock, she definitely hadn't seen that one coming... she didn't like it.
Still, the two left the cell and began moving through the plane.
"So, what's the plan?" She asked as calmly as she could.
"Well, I would like to take the plane back... but seeing as I'm not sure how safe it would be, for either of us, to try and take Deathlok and Ward at the same time..." He shrugged. "We're getting out of here now."
She was glad she didn't have to call him insane for trying to do such a thing. As much as she liked to believe she was strong, and he too... they didn't have enough experience with their respective abilities to take on such opponents. Also, she ha spent more than three months focusing on doing as little magic as possible. After New York and everything Loki had done back then SHIELD had actually created machines capable of tracking down magical signatures to a point, the risk of her being found through such a device had been too great.
"I can't let you leave, Agent Coulson, Agent Avery..." Deathlok called suddenly.
Skye could have cursed, how had she not noticed Deathlok approaching them? But there was no time. They had to run. Phil had the fore-though (or at least enough of a plan) to open the bay doors as he rushed to the back of the plane.
"Get in the car!" He yelled at Skye as they rushed down the stairs.
The young woman didn't stop to question his plan, just did as told, jumping on the passenger side. Right as Phil reached the other side, and Deathlok entered the cargo bay, shooting at them almost immediately.
"Down! Get down!" Phil cried out even as he turned the car on.
Skye didn't. She might have spent months forcing herself not to do magic, but she didn't have to do that anymore. So instead she raised both hands, calling on a shield to deflect the bullets from both Deathlok and Ward.
It worked. They managed to get off the Bus without a single shot hitting them. It wasn't exactly easy, flying car or not, Lola wasn't made to fly at such altitudes; but they managed. Skye was safe, the family was together, they'd survived...
xXx
In the evening, the group gathered at an out-of-the-way motel, where Trip and FitzSimmons were waiting, all three of them seemed equally delighted at seeing Astrid again. As was May, who arrived shortly after they did, announcing that Valery Heins (Hand's alias) had just been transferred to a medical facility connected to Stark Industries, she would be safe there.
Astrid had just finished embracing each member of her team when she came face to face with Maria Hill, who had just stepped out of the room where she'd apparently been talking to Phil about something serious.
"Agent Astrid Avery, I believe?" The black-haired woman inquired, offering her hand to the girl. "I am Maria Hill."
"I know... ma'am." The brunette blurted out, half in shock. "It's an honor to meet you."
Even before she'd grown to actually like SHIELD she had greatly admired Maria Hill, for a woman to have made it that high in such an organization, despite the obvious racist and even misogynistic tendencies of some individuals... it was admirable.
"The honor is all mine, Agent Avery." Maria assured her, briefly taking Astrid's hand in both of hers. "I believe it is you I have to thank for Vicky's life..."
Astrid understood it then, the connection that existed between the two woman.
"I did what I could, ma'am." She replied honestly. "I would have done it for more, but I did not have the means..."
"You used power to do it." Maria nodded. "Supernatural power. I know you are gifted..." She clarified. "I witnessed part of your exchange with Coulson on the jet earlier today... though he has refused to tell me what it is you can do."
"A variety of things." Astrid focused on appearing nonchalant. "I myself do not know everything. For most of my life I lived as a human, until something happened and my abilities revealed themselves... this was barely a few months ago... I don't yet know all I may be capable of."
"Phil called you Skye..." Maria revealed something else no one expected her to know. "That is the name of a consultant who was reported to have died, killed in action five months ago..."
"From two GSW to the stomach, fired by Ian Quinn, on orders from the Clairvoyant, who we now know to be John Garrett." Astrid finished for her.
For several seconds, very long seconds, not a word was said. Everyone stood immobile, Maria looking all serious, Trip shocked, FitzSimmons and May surprised, while Phil held himself in a protective stand beside Skye/Astrid.
"I am she." The brunette revealed abruptly. "I am Skye. As you can see, I'm not dead, though the manner in which I managed to survive is not one I'm willing to share, suffice it to say that it's connected to the manifestation of abilities and cannot be repeated by anyone else." She was being truthful and evasive at the same time. "Before Quinn was picked up, my team found out that his intentions when shooting me had been to push AC... Agent Coulson into finding a way to save me, the same that saved him, and of which there was no record anywhere... we knew it was a bad idea, and it wasn't like I actually needed it in the end. So we faked my death to throw both Quinn and the Clairvoyant off their game. We hoped that if they believed Agent Coulson wasn't willing to go to those lengths to save one of us, then he wouldn't try such a thing again."
It was the truth, that had been the plan, and it had worked.
"How could you get back into SHIELD?" Hill inquired.
"Does it matter?" Astrid refused to answer that, she wasn't giving that kind of ammunition to anyone not family. "It's not like it makes much of a difference at this point."
It was obvious Hill did not like the lack of answer; but she must have still felt enough in Skye's debt she did not insist on the young woman answering her.
Then, as if they hadn't had enough surprises already, two more people arrived.
"Clint Barton... and Darcy Lewis..." Maria Hill stated as she saw them arrive, bags in hand. "I don't know why I'm even surprised..." She turned to Phil. "Though the Avengers were not supposed to know about your return."
Clint's loud snort called her attention before Phil could say anything in his defense.
"If you think there was any way you could keep that secret after the train station last September, you aren't as clever as I once thought you were, Maria." Clint pointed out calmly. "Stark has known at least since then, and he informed the rest of us. And at least some of us have been in contact with Phil for a few months now."
Maria turned a recriminatory gaze to Phil again, but he did not back down, he wouldn't apologize for wanting his family back. They had tried to take it away, had even managed it for a while, something he would never understand, or forgive... but he had regained it, and wasn't letting it go again, not the old or the new one. It was something Maria did not understand, because as much as she may care for Vicky, she had never gotten so attached to a full team, enough to feel like they belonged together, beyond the missions. They would go after Ward, Garret and Deathlok, would take them down... but even after they were done with that, he wouldn't let them go; because even after the mission was finished, they would never stop being a family...
"I imagine you'll be staying here then, at least until you've regrouped and are ready to try and take on Garret and Ward again?" Hill tried to get an idea of what they were planning.
"Actually, no." Astrid stepped in. "As good as this place might be for a little rest, maybe even a night. I have a better one in mind. A... friend of a friend owned an apartment, uptown. She no longer lives in LA, but the apartment still belongs to her, if indirectly. And she gave me the codes to the alarms years ago, in case I ever needed a place to crash. The place is big enough for all of us, it'll probably be dusty, but good enough for a few days."
No one asked her who that 'friend of a friend' was, or where the apartment was located exactly, they trusted her to take them somewhere safe.
"I suppose you will be sticking together from now on?" Maria commented more than asked.
"The only reason we stayed away as long as we did was because it was safer for him as his team." Clint informed her. "Things have since changed. With SHIELD in pieces, we are all there is, so yes, we're sticking together."
"Besides, we're a family." Darcy added, not cowed at all by the woman's expression or presence. "Family sticks together, no matter what."
The answering nod came from everyone around. It made Maria wonder briefly what SHIELD would have been like if people like them had been the ones in charge, people who valued loyalty, bonds, above power and status... it probably would have been so different, maybe even better... too bad they would never know.
xXx
After Maria Hill left, the rest began filing to their respective rooms. After the comment that the other apartment was probably dusty it had been decided that they better go there in the morning, when they would be able to clean up a bit, change sheets, that sort of thing. Eventually the only ones left sitting in the chairs by the motel's pool were Phil and Skye (who was looking more like her old self in that moment than at any other in the last three months since her return).
"Does the apartment belong to that friend, Josef, you mentioned?" Phil couldn't help but ask.
"No." Skye actually chuckled at his almost petulant tone. "I said 'friend of a friend'... Josef owned a mansion, which was burnt to the ground almost a year ago... the apartment belonged to a friend of his. I actually don't know why she chose not to sell it when they left... but in any case, it is convenient to us."
"Will it really be safe?" He inquired, not doubting her, but unsure after all that had happened.
"I promise you." She assured him calmly, before getting on her feet. "I think I will go now..."
She was walking behind his chair when she stopped and turned back to him.
"Oh, and one more thing..." She said, bending until her lips were right by his ear. "What you said earlier today, about you being an Eihenjar and me being a princess..." She let out a breath, making him shiver. "I have no interest, or need, for a bodyguard... I could use a match though..."
She deposited a single, searing kiss into the juncture between his neck and collarbone; the contact lasting just a second, only to leave before a single word could form, either in his lips, or mind. So no, she hadn't given up, she probably never would, and now... the next move was his to make...
So, what do you think about how Skye's prophecy is showing? If you don't yet understand what everything means let me know and I'll add an in-depth explanation in the notes of the next chapter.
Also, what do you think about the little insinuation I made of Victoria and Maria? If you don't like it I suppose you can always ignore it. It wasn't planned, but after I decided to save her I wanted to experiment some with a pairing for her, I briefly considered Melinda, but after the mention that he had a husband in the past, and considering she still has that mess with Ward to solve, I didn't want to add another one; and then I remembered Maria came into the story in this part and... it just fit. They will come back at some point, and I might or might not touch upon the relationship again (if too many people are against it I suppose I could leave it unsaid).
Next chapter... We're connecting to CA2 - The Winter Soldier! (And yes, I mean that much more directly than what the show already did!) Hope you'll like it.
See ya next week! (Please don't forget to comment, I still need help on the Smallville-decision department... and if you want any other crossovers I haven't mentioned before).