Hi everyone!

It's been a while, but writer's block is a thing.

I'm back with a new chap full of... lot of things actually.

Enjoy reading this!

She kept him always in her sight, watching his every move. In the pocket of her lab coat, she kept one of the tasers Fitz had designed. Simmons was not afraid of him. She was just cautious. After all he had done, she couldn't take too much precautions. She heard footsteps coming to the room. She looked up, hoping it would be Antoine. No, she shouldn't call him that, even in her head. She could let that name slip one day, and their relationship would be over as soon as it reached Coulson's ears. So, she hoped it would be Tripp. She smiled to herself. Much better.

"Jemma."

The voice was highly recognizable of course. It was Fitz. What was he doing here? Shouldn't he be with that Asgardian he liked so much?

"What are you doing here, Fitz? You don't work here."

"I know."

She raised an eyebrow and turned around, looking at him. He was awkwardly standing against the door frame. She expected something else from him, but he didn't say another word. She sighed.

"What do you want?"

"I want to know if you worked on Torunn's shield."

She rolled her eyes. Of course it was related to that girl… He couldn't just be here to talk to her, try to rebuild some kind of friendship, no. He couldn't. She took a deep breath.

"No, I… didn't. I didn't have time. Sorry."

"I'll tell Coulson that…"

"I know it's the same material than the Berseker staff and Thor's hammer."

"So forged from Asgardian iron by the dwarves in Nidavellir… Lot of good this info is gonna give us…"

"I suppose she told you that…"

He sighed. She was right. Torunn had told him this during one of his talks. She had told him many things about her world and he had told her many things about Earth as well. They shared an interest for one another's culture. It was one of the things that helped her grow closer. But he still laughed when he saw her 'I-don't-get-what-you-are-saying-scientific-mortal' face. That happened everytime he tralked about science.

"She did. But I don't see what it changes."

"oh, you don't see. Right. Of course you don't."

"What is it Jemma?"

"You care more about some Asgardian serial killer than about your best friend."

"And that last person would be?"

"Me. I am your best friend Leo."

"You don't act like one. the closest thing I have to a friend right now is Torunn."

They were so caught up bickering that none of them saw the form of Skye slipping in the lab and sitting next to Ward's bed. She had to wait for the second part of the plan now. She looked up to see how he was. He was looking right at her with disbelieving eyes. He opened his mouth to say something but she shushed him.

"We can talk later. Just wait."

She muttered. He had a little nod. Fitz and Simmons were now plainly shouting at each other, all the things they hadn't said coming out on the surface. All the anger and the worries and all the hurtful acts of the past. It was raging and it was almost too violent.

At the moment they were starting to lose their nerves altogether, Tripp appeared at the door.

"Oh... I'm interrupting something?"

He asked, earning a roll of eyes from Fitz and a smile from Simmons. The latter looked rather happy to see him.

"Of course not, Ant… humm… Tripp!"

Leo looked at the two of them. And he was the one not giving attention to her? He didn't know who the two lovers were fooling but he wasn't one of them. He had agreed to talk to her only to help Skye. the girl needed to see her almost-maybe-ex-future-boyfriend-when-he didn't-want-to-kill-everybody_and-she-didn't-want-to-kill-him. He would have said no if it wasn't for Skye's sanity needing a boost, or the way Torunn had looked at him with puppy dog eyes. He sighed. Jemma was leaning against the agent, looking at him lovingly.

"Go get a room, you two… I'll close the lab."

He said, earning a surprised look from the two love birds. He shooed them away. They retreated to their bunk giggling like teenagers. He seriously hoped he would never look that silly. He wondered how Torunn had gotten Tripp to come now. He was doing the arsenal check list for Coulson and visibly didn't want to be bothered. But then again, she had arguments. Including a very sharp sword. He smiled and shook his head, thinking about Tripp's face when she had threatened him. It should have been a sight to behold.

He heard footsteps coming. There was supposed to be nobody else coming, to let Skye and Ward have a little bit of intimacy. Torunn was supposed to take care of that. He didn't doubt her ability to scare people off.

"Fitz."

Skye was holding Ward hand through the little talk between Tripp, Fitz and Simmons. They looked at each other in the eyes, not talking. She felt his thumb slowly brushing against her hand, and she didn't want to admit how good she felt. It was a warm feeling, she was calmer, better. She wasn't lost when she looked in his eyes, she was at home with him, safe. But that feeling of serenity was smashed when they both heard May's voice.

It was cold, authoritative as always. Ward's hand tightened around hers, dreading they would be discovered and she would be taken away from him. He hoped that would never happen. He had yet to apologize about many things, and he still needed her.

Immediately, the senior agent asked for them. It was clear that she had taken Torunn out of her way quickly. They both looked at each other, saying goodbye silently. Fitz tried his best to convince her they weren't here but she found them anyway. Her footsteps approached the bed.

May found a curled up Skye, sitting at the foot of the bed and holding Ward's hand. She was looking at her, as if she was daring her to keep her away from him. She could find it cute, adorable even, if she wasn't that worried for her 'daughter's sake.

"You two have five minutes. Then, I want you to go to your bunk, Skye. And not leaving it until tomorrow morning. Am I clear?"

She asked. They both nodded, thankful. Five minutes was better than nothing. She walked away and left them together. They heard Fitz leaving as well. They were leaving them some privacy. Skye took a deep breath.

"Hey…"

He smiled. Hey. That was all she had to say. But he understood as he opened his mouth to say something back. Words were pressing in his mind to express everything he was feeling, the pain now manageable and locked in a corner of his brain. But, as he exhaled, only one word came out.

"Hey."

The corridor was dark. Very dark. Carter doubted the Asgardian was in some kind of lighter room, maybe on an upper level. They had found her. Since the death of Agent Blake, she had taken finding the criminal to a personal level, which was not at all professional in any way. But now she had her, she knew her fighting style and she was wounded. This was the day she would get her revenge.

The blonde woman checked on her team, each member at a time. They all answered loud and clear, in the right order. They separated, guns ready to shoot. Their footsteps were quiet, their breathing even. But fear was starting to creep on their minds.

That same fear Hella put in their minds instead of rational thoughts. They tried to shake it away, but it remained waiting in a corner of their brains. It was like a little predator, clawing at you until you gave up. It was hidden and waiting to put you down.

She heard noise on the right. And all hell broke loose. A compelled soldier came out of a door, attacking them by surprise. He was shot easily but others started to come. They had underestimated them, somebody shouted in her com, before there was only static. Fear and anger crippled her mind and she lashed onto the assaillants. They were many but they were angry.

Her gun fired too many times, killing innocents who were just under the wrong person's commandement. But she had forgotten about that. She felt like her grandmother described when she was taking down Hydra pieces by pieces after Captain America's presumed death.

One death again, one body falling on the ground, soldiers calling for retreat. The thrill of chasing an opponent, the certitude of

finding her. Finally. The room was exactly like she thought it would be. She checked her bullets, she had enough for Hella. One for the heart, one for the head and one for each limb. She walked into the room.

"So you finally took courage to fight me, mortal?"

She stood up. Her armor was shining slightly. Her injured arm was cradled against her side by her metal clad one. She could almost look .

"I did. You're lucky. My orders are only to bring you back. Not to kill you."

"Why so vindictive?"

"You killed my teammate. And he was a good friend."

"Friends are useless. They are allies you cannot betray because feelings won't let you do it."

"Wasn't Torunn Thorsdottir your friend?"

"The Thorsdottir is merely a pawn to take Thor and Sif away from Asgard! She is nothing more to me than an ant is to a giant."

She laughed, a cruel, cynical laugh. The idea that Torunn Thorsdottir could mean something to her was ridiculous.

"Please surrender, Hella."

The woman stood up from her chair, left her wounded member dangle painfully from her shoulder and took out her sword. She could not see under the bandage but it should have been in a better state by now.

"No."

"Fighting is not a solution."

"It is and you know it."

"Then... There's only one way to end this."

"We fight."

"Nice socks, AC."

Coulson looked from his newspaper to the young hacker he liked to see as a daughter. Skye sat on the couch, in sweatpants, looking nothing but exhausted. She was munching on cereals, and didn't say another word. What was she talking about? How could she know what socks he had on? He just frowned and let it go.

"You'll tell May she looks good in red."

"What?"

May never wore red. She was always in black, or at least dark colors. He looked at Skye who didn't stop munching on her cereals. She turned on the tv. It was a habit of hers she had lost with the time, breakfast with the tv on. He was happy to see her doing it again, it meant she was feeling better.

Torunn entered and sat next to Skye. She looked as awake as the hacker. They shared a look and the mortal put the bowl of food between them. He raised an eyebrow and resumed his reading. They started to chat, of little things. Skye asked for news of Ward, Torunn gave them to her. They continued their little chat. The death of her grandmother was debriefed and Skye's willingness to touch the warrior surprised him. The Asgardian had a little smile. Everybody was starting to get attached to her. And he understood why. She was a nice girl, when you went through her bad side.

They focused back on the tv, and the silly sitcom full of tropes the channel was broadcasting. Tripp sat on the other side of Skye and the bowl went back to the hacker, where the three of them could pick some cereals with their hands. They didn't talk. They just focused on the sitcom. It was quiet this morning. The teams had gone on missions trying to get Hella back. Sif and May were sparring together in the gym, Thor was visiting the scientific ward to see Jane Foster, Simmons was running tests on whatever sciency project she was working on, Fitz was building another infernal device. And Ward… Well, Ward was sleeping. He had been taken back to a vault, his state better, more stable.

"Where did you have this scar?"

It was Tripp's voice, he was pointing at the pink scar tissue visible on her ankle. It was round and different than the other scars they could see. She dragged her pant leg a little so they could see more of it.

"Battle scar."

"Bullet?"

"We do not use firearms on Asgard. This one was… An arrow . It pierced through my ankle."

They all looked at her with wide eyes. She said that like it was nothing. An arrow had gone though her foot and she was telling this story with no particular emotion.

"Oh my God… It must have hurt like Hell!"

"At the moment yes. But I've seen way worse."

"Have you ever been tortured?"

Coulson decided it was the moment to stop the storytelling.

"They don't wanna know."

"You're too protective of them."

"Torture is something they will learn by themselves. And not soon."

"You prefer know that they were terrified, leaving the imagination to think about horrible fates when they come to look at the tormentor in the eyes?"

"You're a goddess. What they did to you would hurt them stronger."

"As you say, Son of Coul, I am a goddess. And the torture they applied on me was designed for a god. "

He took a deep breath. He shouldn't get angry with the girl. She someway had a point. Someway. It was true he didn't want to worry the 'kids' about torture, or the dangers of being a SHIELD agent. Most of them had already seen it, but he still wanted to keep them away from it. She was right when she said it was better for them to be prepared, at least mentally, for it. But he was too much protective.

"Just… Don't walk around showing off your scars and telling your graphic war stories."

"What do you have, humans, against scars and battle? This is a fate of pride on Asgard. I'm only recognized as a warrior if I have scars and stories behind them. These scars show how they thought I was weak. And how I proved them wrong. This is a sign of courage, and patriotism, and strength. This is the sign you can protect your people."

"And knowledge, wisdom, the acts of the mind rather than those of the sword? What are they, for you Asgardian?"

"In war, good words lead to nothing but death, when battle skills lead to victory, wealth and peace."

"And happiness?"

She sighed and looked away. All her life she had believed that war never brought happiness, but it was necessary for some people to sacrifice their happiness to the cause. But now… It was different. War had led her to this realm, to these people she was getting attached too. War had led her to Leo and Grant and Skye. It had brought her parents, or at least her mother, back.

War had its flaws. But it was how she lived. She had war inside her. It had kept her alive. But it had threatened to destroy her too. And it was leading her to what she craved the most. Recognition. Love.

"Happiness… is different."

"It…"

He didn't have the time to finish his sentence, not even to start it properly. An over-excited agent Carter rushed into the room. She started to talk at an extreme speed, but had to stop to breathe. It was the moment he chose to say something.

"Start again. Slowly."

"We found Hella."

He stood up, immediately. Torunn followed, hand on her sword at her hip. She was ready for battle. He looked at her. Should he send the girl out? She was surely an amazing warrior, the kind you could not forget. He had seen her style, her ways. She could hold her own against Hella. But he couldn't risk letting her loose. She was still a prisoner. Even if she had way too much freedom.

"Where?"

"They are bringing her in."

"They defeated her?"

She nodded. He remarked she was in field gear. She had been on the team who captured the Asgardian. She looked proud of her team. She was indeed proud, but also sad. Another agent had fallen under her command.

"Yes sir."

"She has to be in one of the high-secure vaults. Don't let anyone close to her. It's a threat for SHIELD and Earth."

The woman nodded. She gave orders and walked away. Before she could pass the door, Coulson called after her. She turned to him, waiting for the new instructions she thought would come.

"Good job, Carter."

"Thank you, Director."

She smiled, shaking her head, and resumed her way to the vaults. They had a psychotic serial killer to take care of.

So... Here we are!

Block overcome and all...

What do you think?

This is the first time I hint about what is going on in this story... Do you have any ideas?

Thanks for reading.

Don't forget to review/fav/follow etc, I really love that!

Until next time,

The Queen of Heart.