Chapter 31 – The Asset

When Skye finally came to, she found herself surrounded by darkness. After a few moments, she realized that she had something over her head. It felt like a burlap sack. A few seconds after that, she became aware that she was being carried over somebody's shoulder. She was about to start struggling, but she felt that her hands her cuffed.

"I don't think that the sack was such a great idea." A female voice said.

"Yeah?" Another voice, this one sounding like a male's, spoke up, and Skye realized that it was the person carrying her. "Well, tasing her wasn't really what I had in mind."

"You obviously haven't met Darcy Lewis." The woman said. "The first time a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent tried talking to her, she knocked him out with a taser."

"I know. I heard the story."

The two were silent for a few moments, and Skye felt a small pang of fear as she felt herself being carried up a ramp, up a few stairs, and eventually, into some room. She felt the man carrying her place her in some kind of seat, and the there was the sound of a door being sealed shut. Then, the sack was removed from Skye's head, and she blinked, adjusting to a blue florescent light. She looked around, and saw that she was in a small, dimly lit interrogation room with honeycomb shaped patterns on the wall. She blinked, and her eyes fell on a symbol mounted on the wall. It was a symbol she was all to familiar with.

S.H.I.E.L.D.

Actually taking notice of the other two occupants of the room, Skye looked them over. It was the same two people who tased her back at the van. She glared, trying to act tough. "You guys are making a big mistake."

Ward gave a smirk. "You don't look that big."

Skye just glared at him, while Soladat gave a smirk. "Don't mind him. He's just being moody."

Ward blinked, looking surprised at what Soladat just said, and glared at her. "What...?"

"Wait a minute." Skye said, interrupting the pair. She was now looking at Soladat intently. "I know you. I saw you on TV with..."

"With the Avengers." Soladat confirmed. "Yeah. The Archangel. I got more publicity from that than I would have liked. Thanks in no small part to you."

Skye looked confused. "I don't under..."

"We know about you and your group. The Rising Tide. And don't try to deny the connection." Soladat said, crossing her arms. "You've been spilling out information that has been placing numerous gifted people around the world in danger. Frankly, we're getting tired of it."

Skye was wide eyed for a moment and looked defensive. "I didn't intend for anyone to get hurt. I just... it's just that... well..."

"Well... what?" Ward said, glaring at Skye intently. Skye pursed her lips for a moment, and then said nothing.

Soladat quirked an eyebrow, and then pulled out the chair in front of the desk, sitting in it. She looked at Skye, putting on a sincere looking facade. "You got a name?"

Skye nodded.

"What is it?" Soladat said.

"I don't know if I should tell you that." Skye said, crossing her arms and giving Ward a look that said she clearly didn't want him knowing anything.

Following Skye's glance, Soladat smirked. "Look, you seem like a good kid, so I'm gonna give you a break here. What's your name?"

Skye's lips grew tight for a moment, before she sighed. "Skye."

"What's your real name?" Ward pressed, but Soladat shot him a glare, a glare that he returned, but nonetheless backed off, huffing.

She turned back to Skye. "What about your surname?"

"It's just Skye." Skye clarified. "I've had multiple last names. None of them have ever actually stuck."

Soladat nodded, understanding. "So, your a drifter. Makes sense."

"What?" Skye said, visibly surprised. "How would you...?"

"I was like that once, too." Soladat said honestly, giving Skye a smile. "I went by several names, had a load of talents that helped me get by. I can see that you share those qualities."

Before Skye could respond, Ward stepped in. "Look, ma'am, I'm glad you've made a friend here, but might I remind you that this girl is working for the enemy?"

"Quit being such a hardass, Ward." Soladat quipped, and Ward reared his head back in surprise. She turned back to Skye. "Look, we're looking for somebody, and we need your help finding him."

Skye frowned. "What makes you think I can help you?"

"Cuz you've already seen him." Soladat confirmed. She took a file out from beneath the desk, and placed it on the table in front of sky. "The phone that you filmed the Hooded Hero with had the same cryptographic signatures that the Rising Tide has used in their posts."

Skye just sat back in her chair, arms crossed, trying to look innocent. "Yeah, and? Was that a mistake, or am I now sitting in the center of your secret headquarters? What is this place anyway? A plane? You guys let me inside, and by now you've probably discovered that you can't beat the encryption of my equipment, so really, you can't prove anything."

"Actually, we can." Soladat quipped back, opening up the file. She pulled out a photograph, and Skye paled when she saw it was a picture of her holding up her phone, taking a picture of the Hooded Hero. "We had a picture taken of you on the scene moments before that building went up in flames, and the Hooded Hero jumped out of it. Want to tell me what my friends are gonna find there?"

"Friends?" Skye said, glancing at Ward. "Is that what you're calling these people? I thought the super friends were more up your ally."

"The Avengers are my friends, yes." Soladat shrugged. "But I can't rely on them all the time. I'm either solo, or I've got the agency to back me up."

"I imagine so." Skye said, feigning understanding. "So, alright. Fine. I was there. What do you expect me to say now?"

"Quite a bit actually." Soladat stated, leaning forward. "Like how did you know that the Hooded Man was in the building?"

"I didn't..." Skye said, but Ward interrupted her.

"Did you blow it up to lure him out?" He accused. Skye looked up at him, slightly offended.

"No, did you?"

"Come on, Grant." Soladat said, giving Ward a look. "Does she really seem like the kind of person that would do that?"

"You don't. Yet you've blown up palaces in your career." Ward stated, crossing his arms.

"Yes, and she's a computer hacker who lives in a van." Soladat said, smirking. "Tell me, how do those things compare exactly?"

Ward gave a frown, and then huffed, turning away. Soladat returned her gaze to Skye. "Look, we have a lot to get done, so I'm gonna make this quick. What do you know about the Hooded Hero?"

"Again, what makes you think I'd tell you anything?" Skye said, frowning. "You may be famous, but it's gonna take a lot to get me to spill, sister."

Soladat smirked. "We have our ways."

"Oh, really?" Skye said sarcastically. "Is it the easy way, hard way gist?"

If possible, Soladat's smirk grew wider. "Not exactly."

Skye's face grew confused when she saw Soladat reach into her bag, and pull out a tootsie-role pop, and offer it to her. "Tootsie-pop?"

ooooo

Agent Ward stood in the corner, arms crossed and his face showing with annoyance as the two women in the room laughed, sharing stories with each other.

"So wait." Skye said, pulling her tootsie-pop out of her mouth. "That wasn't just some disguise? You actually wear that on duty?"

"Yup." Soladat said, smiling. "Originally I was supposed to wear this really tight jumpsuit, and it always kept riding up. Plus, some of male trainees always ogled at me when I wore it, so in the end I got tired of it and decided to improvise."

Skye laughed again. "So you picked that outfit? It looks like a Dragon Age cosplay from a comic convention."

"I know." Soladat said, shrugging. "Where do you think I got it?"

Skye just stared at Soladat incredulously. "You're kidding. What about all of that armor plating and..."

"I was smart enough to make improvements. Iron armored plating, courtesy of Tony Stark. It took a lot to get the materials, but we eventually perfected the armor. Now it's perfect for protection and close-range combat."

"That's awesome." Skye said, smiling wickedly. "You're alright. How can you stand walking around with Robocop over there?"

Soladat glanced over at Grant, who was giving Skye an annoyed glare. Chuckling, Soladat said, "He's just moody. Been like that ever since he enlisted."

"I'm standing right here." Grant spoke up frustratingly, but Soladat or Skye didn't seem to here him.

"But he's not always like that." Soladat said, smirking. "There was this one time where he and I were assigned a mission in Rio de Janeiro. An assassin was hired to kill the Brazilian ambassador, so Ward and I were sent to stop it. After the mission, Ward and I were waiting for pickup, so we-"

"Agent Wrekk." Grant spoke up suddenly, marching over and putting his hand on her shoulder. Soladat glanced up at him, and smirked when she saw that his face was turning red and he was giving her a very unhappy glare. "Can I speak to you for a moment."

"Why?" Soladat said innocently. "I was just going to tell her-"

"Now!" Grant growled, pulling Soladat up out of the chair and out of the room, leaving Skye confused.

Once the two were out of the interrogation room, Ward closed the door, and spun around to glare at Soladat. "What the hell are you doing?"

Soladat just blinked. "I'm interrogating the prisoner."

"Okay, first off, I can't believe you brought up Rio." Ward growled, eliciting a smirk from Soladat in the process. "Second, that sounded more like a girl talk than an interrogation."

"It's called winning someone's trust." Soladat said plainly. "There are some people who can't be suaded by idled threats or intimidation."

"My methods are top notch. You said so yourself."

"I said you're methods were capable to a certain degree." Soladat corrected, crossing her arms. "If we were up against a hard-minded thug, maybe I'd need you to get a little ruff. But this is a civilian woman who poses no capable threat. From my experience, the only way to get through to her is to win her trust."

Ward wasn't convinced. "If you just let me talk to her-"

"I've made up my mind, Ward." Soladat said, frowning. Ward blinked, surprised to here her use his last name. "Now, lets get back to this, and be done with it."

Without another word, Soladat moved past Agent Ward and reentered the interrogation room, where Skye was sitting there, waiting. She looked up at the two, eyebrow raised when she saw Ward, whose jaw was clenched and his eyes were hard as he looked at her.

"Sorry about that." Soladat said, sitting back down. "My friend here is just getting impatient. So, back to my earlier questions..."

Skye's face immediately turned sour. "I'm not telling you where he is."

"That's not very wise." Soladat lectured. "We just want to help him before-"

"I know how you help people." Skye retorted harshly. "You covered up Dr. Banner, Carrie White, Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. It's only logical that you'd cover up Centipede, too!"

There was silence. Soladat blinked, and glanced over at Ward. Ward looked just as surprised as her, and he just shrugged helplessly. Soladat turned back at Skye, who was looking between the two with confusion.

"Centipede?"

"No way." In a split second, Skye's harshness vanished and was replaced by an ecstatic and slightly arrogant smile. "You have no idea? Billions of dollars of equipment at your disposal and I beat with a laptop that I won in a bet?"

"Looks that way, doesn't it." Soladat said. She leaned forward towards Skye, a serious look on her face. "We're not the only ones in the world interested in people with powers. If you're so adamant on helping this guy, you'd help us. We'd like to contain him, yeah. But someone else might want to study him, dissect him, put him through various tests and shit. Let me be the one to say that that isn't a pleasant experience."

Skye, and Ward, both looked at Soladat in surprise. Skye stuttered. "W-What do..."

"You think that S.H.I.E.L.D. is bad? That they'd treat this guy like a lab rat?" Soladat said. "You're talking to a woman who is willingly involved in their operations, despite having augmented strength and a pair of indestructible metal wings attached to her back. If they were as bad as you've said, do you really think that they'd let me wonder around in a high-class jet like this? Think again."

Skye opened her mouth to come up with a retort, but nothing came out. Seeing her expression, Soladat gave a sigh. "Skye, have you ever heard of an organization called A.I.M.?"

Skye blinked. "Advanced Idea Mechanics? Yeah. What does that-"

"Twenty-six years ago, around the time where Dr. Abraham Erskine's super soldier formula was brought back for deciphering attempts, a group of scientists detached from A.I.M. after making a deal with an unknown group of people. We never figured out who they were, but they wanted to create their own unique super soldier program." Soladat explained. "They took with them a leftover sample of Erskine's original serum, but their goal wasn't to utilize it, it was to perfect it. They saw the formula as being the first step to perfecting the human race to greatest efficiency. They thought that if they upped it to higher levels, they could give it the capability to grow back lost limbs or have an immunity to things like cancer and HIV. They succeeded in completing the formula, but were underfunded."

"Their employers were getting impatient. They wanted practical results, not numbers, and were slowly limiting the team's resources, denying them requests for better equipment. So, Dr. Sylvia Wreav, who was the head scientist in charge of the group, took matters into her own hands and used her own daughter as a test subject."

Skye took a moment to process this info, and her mouth fell open in shock. "You... you mean you-"

"Yup." Soladat said, sadly. "My own mother willingly used me as the guinea pig. I was only six at the time, but I can still remember how uncomfortable the process was. The injections hurt like hell. But by the time it was over, I could feel myself changing. I was stronger, more awake, and faster than everyone else. I was deemed a success, and the team forwarded the info to their financiers. They were ready to accept their payment, and got it. Everyone was killed."

Skye shuddered at the thought. "And then?"

"My mother and the rest of the team were killed and all of their research was taken, including me. I spent the next several years in an underground facility, subjected to various tests that were both painful and tiring. Four years into my imprisonment, they decided to take a new step in my transformation. Somehow, they had recovered a rare supply of vibranium metals, and melted it down into a liquid form. Then, through precise study and work, they grafted it into my body in the form of prehensile wings. The process took over twenty-four hours and was agonizing. I had to be conscious for the procedure, so they used special stimuli to keep me awake."

"When I was fourteen, I had learned every part of the facility and escaped with only a surgical knife. I escaped to New Jersey where I got a few jobs, lived off different people, until S.H.I.E.L.D. eventually found out about the operation and found me. After some persuasion, they got me to enlist in S.H.I.E.L.D., where I used my enhancements to get various high-level operations done, and became a shadow agent."

Skye looked dumbstruck. Ward was standing nearby, just looking at Soladat dumbstruck. He never knew any of that. Soladat rarely shared any of her past to anyone. After a few moments of silence, Skye spoke, her voice wavering. "Why are you telling me this?"

"Because this is exactly what you're friend will go through if we don't find him, and you're our only chance at doing that." Soladat said squarely. "Now. What's it gonna be?"

Skye just looked at Soladat for a few minutes, her lips pursed. Finally, she took a deep breath and reached into her pocket. Soladat watched as she pulled out what looked like a driver's licence.

She slid it over to Soladat, who looked at it with a frown.

It read, Michael Peterson.

Wow it has been a while since I've posted for this story. For those of you following it, rest assured I have not forgotten. Some of you asked in the past where Soladat got her wings. Hope this was enough of an explanation. Review please, and have a nice day :)