Awakening Quake
By Misha

Disclaimer in Chapter One.

A.N- I'm relieved that Ward does not appear to be a psycho stalker on the show, but in this story he still is. Psycho!Ward makes for a good villain, after all, and it's a big part of where this story is going. Also the Mockingbird/Hawkeye relationship is comic cannon, so I decided to add it as part of their backstory.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Old Meets New

Skye was a bit nervous as she awaited the arrival of May, Bobbi and Jemma at the Avengers Tower. The women were coming alone since this wasn't officially a S.H.I.E.L.D mission, which was too bad because Skye would have loved to see Coulson and Fitz, and would spend the night at the Avengers Tower as they prepared for the mission.

"You have no reason to be nervous."

Skye turned to see Natasha and Maria Hill standing behind her.

"So much has changed since I saw them last." Skye said with a shrug. "I guess I'm worried that they'll expect me to be the girl I was."

"No one stay the same." Maria said dryly. "The world is constantly changing, Skye, and we have to change with it or be swept away. Anyone in our line of work should understand that."

Skye understood what Maria was saying, but it was easier said than done. "Do you miss it?"

"Nope." Maria told her. "S.H.I.E.L.D was important part of my life, but things had to change and I didn't have the energy to be part of that change."

"You know, there's always a place for you here." Natasha told her.

Skye knew what Maria's response was going to be, the conversation came up every time Maria visited the Avengers.

"No way." Maria said with a laugh. "I'm happy with a desk just at Stark Industries and just pitching in every once in a while. I don't think I could handle the craziness all the time."

"It's actually a lot of fun once you get used to it." Skye said with a grin. "Never a dull moment."

"Yes, but I'm starting to appreciate the dull moments." Maria told her. "I didn't realize how badly I needed a change of pace."

Before Skye or Natasha could respond, JARVIS interrupted. "Miss Skye, your guests have arrived and they are on their way up."

"Thank you JARVIS." Skye told him, though she wasn't sure that they were her guests. Still, she was the liaison between S.H.I.E.L.D and the Avengers, so maybe they were.

A moment later, the elevator doors opened and Bobbi, May and Jemma got off.

"Skye!" Jemma squealed, running towards her.

"Jemma!" Skye exclaimed enthusiastically, wrapping her friend in a tight hug.

After a moment, she released Jemma and turned to greet May and Bobbi. To her surprise, May greeted her with a very brief hug. With Bobbi, it was a smile and a handshake.

"Agent Hill, Agent Romanoff, good to see you." May greeted the other two women.

"It's just Maria, these days, Melinda." Maria told her firmly. "My agent days are over for good."

May didn't look convinced, but she just nodded.

"Bobbi." Natasha greeted coolly.

"Natasha." The blonde's greeting was just as cool, not surprising given their history. Skye had been surprised to learn that before Budapest and before Lance and Bobbi had started making each other crazy, Clint and Bobbi had been a thing. She wondered if it would be a problem for the mission, but figured Natasha wouldn't have suggested bringing in Bobbi if she couldn't work with her.

"Natasha, I'd like you to meet Jemma." Skye said after a moment, pulling Jemma forward. Maria and Jemma had met before, but she knew from their many talks, that Jemma had never met any of the Avengers.

Natasha smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Skye has told me so much about you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Jemma said politely, seeming a little awed by meeting the famous Black Widow.

"Jemma, you're with me." Skye told her after a moment, "May and Bobbi, we've set you up in one of the guest apartments. We'll get you settled in and then we can meet and go over the details of the mission."

Having the S.H.I.E.L.D agents stay over-night was going to be a little tricky, mostly because no one wanted S.H.I.E.L.D to know about Bucky yet. Skye trusted her old teammates, but she also knew that a lot of people would consider the Winter Soldier a security threat and they didn't want to risk that. So the plan was to keep May and Bobbi to very specific areas of the Tower. Skye trusted Jemma not to say anything, if she and Bucky happened to cross paths.

May nodded. "Sounds good."

The women headed back to the elevator. Skye and Jemma exchanged smiles and Skye knew that they were both eager to be alone so they could catch up. Skye had so much to tell her friend about her life as an Avenger.

Ward watched the three women enter the Avengers Tower and got the confirmation that he had been waiting for. Skye had to be Quake, why else would May, Simmons and the new girl be visiting the Avengers Tower?

He had been in New York for a couple weeks and hadn't been able to get any confirmation one way or another about the identity of Quake, because it appeared she rarely left the Tower or at least, not by the front door. When the Avengers left on a mission they did so by helicopter from the roof of the Tower. Or by super-powered flight.

The lobby of Stark Tower was easy enough to monitor. There were so many super-hero groupies, that he was able to blend in and he'd managed to set up a few cameras and recorders as well, hoping to catch a glimpse of "Quake" so that he could see for himself whether or not it was Skye.

He found it interesting that she was so reclusive and it made him think that it was Skye and that she was purposely laying low. Was she afraid of her new powers or was she worried about her father? Ward was starting to realize he'd made an error in judgement teaming up with the Doctor. He'd wanted to fulfill his promise to Skye, but in the end he had just driven her away. Now she was probably terrified of him too, afraid he'd bring her back to her father, he'd have to assure that he wouldn't do that. He just wanted her to be happy.

Still, he'd been getting frustrated by the fact that he couldn't confirm one way or another if Skye was Quake and then the female S.H.I.E.L.D agents arrived and he got his answer. So now he knew where Skye was and that meant he could start working on a plan. He just needed to talk to her, he was sure once that happened everything would be perfect and she'd understand that everything he had done was because he loved her.

Yes, once he saw her, it would all be ok, he just had to figure out a plan to get her away from the Avengers and make her listen to him. Then they could finally be together.