Disclaimer: I do not own Agent's Of SHIELD. I only own Alex and any other character I may come up with while writing this story.
A/N: I'll keep this short, as I'm sure a few of you just want to get on with the chapter. Apologies for the long wait, I got a bit side tracked with something else.
This chapter is just a bit of fun and Skye musing on things. I got inspiration for part of this chapter from a scene from Iron Man 2. It's the scene where Natasha flips Happy in the boxing ring. Check it out and then picture that in your head while reading what happens in the later half of the chapter. Also, the outfit Natasha is wearing in that scene is somewhat similar to what I have her in this chapter.
I mentioned in a previous chapter that I will be re-uploading chapters with some fixes, yet I haven't. That is being fixed. At the moment I have re-uploaded Chapter 1 & 2. I have made some minor fixes and added somethings to make it flow a little better. Hopefully, I'll be doing the rest over the next couple of weeks.
Haven't mentioned this in a number of chapters but I do not have a Beta. Any mistakes you see are my own. I try to catch them before I post but I might miss some. If you happen to see any that really stand out, tell me and I'll fix them.
I hope you like the chapter.
Enjoy!
The Hacker, Biochemist and The Beast
Chapter 14
Knocking Down a Peg
Skye's POV
Not wanting to give Ward anymore of an excuse to act the way he is, I change into the workout gear quickly. It was kind of funny to see Alex's reaction to me telling her I was ok with her staying while I changed. That's the most uncomfortable she has been, not that I've seen her uncomfortable before, since first meeting her. It was kind of adorable to watch. I like seeing Alex like this, over how she was when she first came on the plane. The more time she spent with us, the more she seemed to loosen up. She is still guarded and careful when she speaks but now isn't so withdrawn and tense around us. It make me wonder how she interacts with this friend she mentioned. And how close they actually are. I think exiting the changing room in the new workout gear.
Alex is waiting just outside the doors, leaning against the wall with her eyes closed. She looks so relaxed, I wonder if she is sleeping but as I approach her eyes slowly open and look at me. To my disappointment, they aren't as open as they were minutes ago. Did I go to far? I ask myself as we start off towards the main training room.
"Do you think Ward would have a problem if I watched?" Alex asks a little hesitantly, opening the door for me.
"I don't have a problem with it, he can deal with it." I answer her, resting my hand on her arm briefly as I pass her.
"If you say so." She mumbles letting the door close behind her and guides me toward where Ward is most likely to be.
We find him in a large area with a bunch of training mats step up. I see that he has a few training equipment by his feet on the training mat. He gives what passes as a smile for him when he spots me but that fades when he notices who is walking along side me. I just roll my eyes at the glare he sends Alex's way, not understanding his dislike of her. Fitz has somewhat come around to her but mostly because of guilt for his part in the incident with Ward. He is still a little scared of her but Jemma and I believe that will go away the more time he spends with Alex. Ward isn't afraid of Alex, just doesn't like her.
"What's she doing here?" Ward asks me and completely ignoring Alex all together, not that it seems to bother her at all. I notice her hands are in hoodie pockets and I bet if they weren't, her knuckles would be white with how tight she is fisting them. She is trying not to show he bothers her. I surmise of why Alex is doing her best to appear unaffected by Ward.
"She's interested in how your training me," I answer his questioning with a white lie. Alex asked if she could stay and watch but didn't say specifically why. "I said she could stay." I tell him, leaving no room for argument.
Ward just rolls his eyes and turns away from us. I look up at Alex with a victorious smile before going over to Ward to get this training session over with. The quicker we get it done, the more time I can spend with Alex while we are at HQ. I had hoped Ward would lay off the training while here and give both of us a little break, especially since I'm not all that happy with him. He doesn't seem to pick up on my unhappiness with him and is acting like everything is fine.
As Ward is putting on the padded gloves, I spot Alex taking seat on a bench not far from the mat that Ward and I are using. She draws up her long legs to sit indian style while resting her elbows on her knee so she can rest her head in her hands. Her gaze is on Ward, watching him intently as he puts the punching gloves on. The look in her eyes is indecipherable but the way she is following his every move is like she doesn't trust him.
My attention is drawn away from Alex by Ward telling me to focus. He has me start out warming up with the boxing punches he has taught me, doing varying combinations that he calls out at random intervals. I'm using this training session as an excuse to vent my frustrations about the incident with Ward by punching as hard as I can. A bonus about this is that Ward is the one training me. Not even ten minutes into our session, someone calls out Ward's name and he tells me to take five while he talks to them for a few minutes. I roll my eyes at him and turn to face where Alex is seating, only to see her walking over.
"Mind if I give you a pointer?" She asks when she reaches me.
"No, go ahead." I tell her, not bothered at all. I'm just pleased she asked before giving me advice, unlike Ward.
"You'll get more power behind your punch by rotating your hips," She advising me, getting into a stance and slowly demonstrating what she is talking about. "Give it a shot." Holding up her hands like Ward but with out the round pads on her hands.
"No, you don't have the proper protection." I tell her, shaking my head.
"It's one punch, Skye," She says in return, not lowering her hands an inch. "Your not going to hurt me, I promise." She tells me before clapping her hands together and putting them back up.
I get into my stance with my hands up. Alex gives me a nod of encouragement when I look at her face. With a sigh, I move my right and make sure to rotating my hips the way she showed me. I wince a little at the sound of my padded fist hit the palm of her hand. Alex just gives me a smile as if I didn't just punch her in the hand.
"There you go," She says with a bright smile, straighten up and lowering her hands to her side. "And you didn't her hurt me." She says with a cheeky smile and wigging the fingers of her right hand.
"Yeah, yeah." I say with an eye roll trying not to smile at her antics.
"Oh, better return to the bench." Alex says while looking over my shoulder.
I understand why she left back to the bench when Ward voice sounds from behind me. He just gets right back into it like he isn't the reason we stopped in the first place. We go back to what we were doing before but this time using what Alex showed me. I can see it in Ward's eyes that he notices a difference from my punches from before. He doesn't say anything about it though.
Another ten minutes of that, we switch to practicing hand to hand. Ward switches from the large padded gloves he was wearing to ones like I'm wearing. I'm getting distant at hand to hand combat, which I'm pretty proud of. It takes longer for Ward to take me down, which I think is an improvement but Ward will only be happy until I can take him down. I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Occasionally, I get the chance to glance over at Alex sitting on the bench. A frown appeared on her face about four minutes into our hand to hand session and seems to deepen as time goes on. She doesn't appear to like how my training session with Ward is going or it's something that's bothering her about it. I'll ask her the next time I have the chance, which I hope is soon after falling to the mat more then I would like. From the advice she gave me earlier about the punching, Alex has some training. Probably more then me due to the time she has been at HQ. She would have to have some if she was able to take down Yuri, though that was a little close from what Coulson said. There are a lot of questions that I want to ask Alex but I'm afraid she will close herself off. I don't want that to happen, not now.
Ward tells me to take a break after about forty minutes and probably because I hit the mat three times in a span of five minutes. He heads off towards where the doors are and I head over to where Alex is sitting on the bench. I'm not sure when she got up to get a towel and a bottle of water but she has them sitting on her right on the bench. She holds them out to me when I'm close enough.
"Thanks." I say to her with a grateful smile and she gives me a smile in return as I take a seat where the water and towel resided before.
"May I ask you something?" Alex asks as I take a large sip from the water bottle.
"You don't have to ask to ask me something," I tell her after swallowing. "Just ask and I'll do my best to answer." Wiping some of the sweat from my forehead with the towel.
"How long have you been training with Ward?" Alex asks me with a serious look on her face.
"Not long, around two months," I answer her question. Alex nods her head with a small frown on her face. "Something wrong?" I ask, curious about her reaction to my answer.
"No, nothing wrong. Just curious." She answers, giving me a small smile.
I can usual tell if someone is holding something back but with Alex it's difficult to tell. The only other person that I've had difficulty reading is May and thats only because she is a trained spy, which Alex is not. It makes me wonder if she is like this because of what happened to her or she was already like this before and it stuck with her. I want to ask her but will save it for a more appropriate time, if there is one where Alex is concerned.
"Do you get trained by somebody?" I ask instead, it having crossed my mind and it being more appropriate as we are already talking about training.
"What makes you ask that?" She asks in return, seeming startled by my question.
"You know a little about boxing and from what Coulson told us, handled yourself pretty well against Yuri in the warehouse," I tell her or more like reminding her. "That leads me to believe that either somebody gave you a little training or maybe still are getting trained." I say and watching her have a debate in her head.
"I am being trained," She finally answers with a sigh. "It helps with my control and to expend energy. We learned early on that I need to be active or I get restless and act like someone who's had one to many energy drinks." She explains with a chuckle at the end of her sentence.
"That's the only reason for it?" I ask, her answer not being what I expected. If she is being trained by somebody then why not for the reason to use her skills. It would be a S.H.I.E.L.D. thing to do, look at the Avengers.
"Yes, what other reason would there be?" She asks curiously, tilting her head to the side a little that never fails to remind me of a puppy.
"No other reason, I guess." I answer, fiddling with the towel in my hands. A little hope blossomed that if Alex was getting properly trained that she could become an agent, like me, and then become a member of our team. I think Alex would do well with our team, minus Ward. The past couple of days are proof enough. Maybe I'll talk to Coulson about it. He'll be able to do something, hopefully. I think, glancing over at Alex.
She is still sitting indian style on the bench with her elbows resting on her knees. Her back is straight, almost stiff straight. I frown at her posture, thinking she was comfortable around me now. Looking at her face for any further signs of tension but it's relax unlike her body. Maybe she just has proper posture. I chastise myself for over thinking. As my eyes travel down from her face, I notice for the first time a scar running horizontally on the right side her neck and is just below her jawline. By the colour of it, I'm guessing it's far older then the ones I have seen.
"12% of my body is covered in scars, so the doctors say when I was first brought in," Alex's voice breaks me out of my staring. "Some are easier to see then others, fading a little over time." She says, turning to look down at me. Even sitting down on the bench there is a bit of a height difference.
"Sorry, I hadn't notice the one on your neck before." I tell her apologetically, not meaning to stare at her scar to long or get caught doing so. Every time I see a scar on her, it reminds of how she got them.
"Probably because you've always been standing on my left." Alex says with a small smile but I can tell the mention of that particular scar doesn't go over well with her.
"Skye!" Ward calls out from the mat we had used before. He stands on the mat with his arms crossed looking annoyed that I hadn't noticed his return from where he went off too in the training room.
"Back to getting my butt kicked." I say place the towel and bottle of water where I was sitting. Alex gives me a reassuring smile before I walk away back to the mat.
This time around, Ward has a few plastic knives and guns with him. He'll be bringing them out randomly for me to disarm him as quickly as I can. I pretty good at it but I always have a hard time with some of the moves as I find them hard due to my height and his height and weight. Ward keeps telling me that'll I'll be able to do it with practice. I just discreetly roll my eyes every time he says that because he says that about most things. Sometimes I feel like I'm not making any actually progress with the things Ward has been teaching me but I have noticed a difference. My stamina is better then it was, arms and legs becoming more toned, my strength is up and I can successfully do forty push ups without my arms feeling like jello. With the other things Ward is training me in, I feel like I am still at the beginning and not making much progress.
Ward seems to feel the same as he stops our training session for a moment to go over it again. As I do what he taught me step by step like he first taught me how, I face the bench Alex is sitting on. She is not alone, though. A woman with bright red hair is sitting next to her. By the look on Alex's face and how close they are sitting on the bench, I'm guessing Alex knows her. A nudge to my ribs brings me back to the task at hand.
My focus from then on isn't completely on what Ward and I are doing. I glance over to the bench where Alex and the mystery woman are sitting every chance I get. They seem to be deep in conversation and not paying attention to us, as Alex had been before. Remembering the description Jemma gave me of Agent Romanov that she met last night, I guess that is who is sitting next to Alex. I don't fail to notice that the woman is beautiful, gorgeous really. She knows it too, if her attire is anything to go by. I completely stop what I'm doing when I see the woman wrap her arm around Alex's shoulder and lean into her. What surprises me about the whole thing is Alex doesn't seem bothered at all by the contact.
Next thing I know, my back is hitting the mat really hard. I groan from the impact and know that will hurt later on. "Skye!" Alex calls from over by the bench and I open my eyes to look over at her but instead see her hovering over me with concern in her eyes. I blink in surprise at her sudden appearance at my side.
Another body hitting the mat hard catches my attention and raise my head to see who it is. I sit up completely with Alex's help when I see the red headed woman pinning Ward face first into the mat with his arm twisted behind his back and a knee digging into the small of his back.
"Are you ok, Skye?" Alex asks from next to me and turn my head from the woman and Ward to her kneeling on my left. She places a warm hand on my arm and looks at me with worry in her grey eyes.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I tell her honestly and she just continues to look at me. "Honestly, Alex, I'm fine." I say, placing my hand over the one on my arm. She nods her head but the worry doesn't leave her eyes, not fully anyway, and helps me get up off the mat.
"Get off me!" Ward's muffled voice says when I'm on my feet again.
The red headed woman seems to think it over for a few seconds before getting off of Ward. She glares at him as he picks himself off the mat. He sends her one too when he is back on his on feet. They just stand there glaring at one another for what seems like hours before, to my surprise, Ward backs off first.
"You have to keep focused and be aware of your surrounds," Ward scolds me with narrowed eyes. "If this was the real thing you would have been dead." He tells me again for the millionth time. I'm getting a little tired of him remind me of that fact, it was made very clear in Malta.
"So would you," The red headed woman says in a tone eerily similar to May's. "If this was the real thing, like you said." She says, crossing her arms and still glaring at Ward.
"If this was the real thing, you wouldn't have gotten the drop on me." Ward bites back, also crossing his arms.
"Wouldn't be to sure of yourself." The red headed woman says casually, leaning her weight on one leg.
"Wouldn't be so sure of yourself either." Ward fires back at her, glaring at her again.
"Is that a challenge?" The red headed woman, raising one perfectly sculpted eye brow.
"It is now." Ward says in a dark tone, reminding me of the one he used because of the affects of the Berserker staff.
"I do like a challenge." The red headed woman says while gracefully slipping out of her heels.
"You don't have to do this," Alex tells her when steps over to hand her the heels. "He's not worth it. Plus, haven't you always taught me not do what your about too." She says with a raised eyebrow while taking the heels.
"It's fine, Alex," The red headed woman says, patting Alex on the cheek with smile. "I have another reason for doing this." She says, motioning for us to go over to the bench.
Alex huffs before guiding me over to the bench we had sat on before. I smile inwardly at the hand she places lightly on the small of my back. Doing things like that seems to come as second nature to Alex and not done as show of possession, like some guys have done. Alex doesn't seem like that type of person. Or I hope she is not. I think, taking a seat on the bench like I had before. It's really confusing me when these random thoughts about Alex pop up and these feelings I'm starting to have towards her. Feelings I'm suppose to be feeling towards Jemma. I think, taking a sip of the water bottle that Alex held on for me. It's even more confusing because my feelings for Jemma are the same. Ugh, I see a long conversation with Jemma in my future. Sighing heavily while recapping the water bottle.
"Do you care to explain to me what just happened?" I ask Alex to distract myself from any of those thoughts.
"Ward was cocky with the wrong person," Alex says with a little shake of her head, watching the two on the mat as the prepare to spar. "I'll introduce you properly after but the woman is Agent Romanov. Jemma met her last night. Ward has no idea what he got himself into, trust me." She tells me, shaking her head more.
"I figured that's who it was. Jemma gave me a bit of description of her," I say, eyeing the woman with red hair. She is currently rolling up the sleeves of her white blouse that is almost a second skin. Her black suit pants are tight around the hip but loosen up as they go down. "No offence but she doesn't look like she could take down Ward like she did again." Shaking my head in disbelief that this small woman could take anyone down. I turn my head to Alex at her chuckling from next to me.
"You wouldn't be the first to underestimate her and probably won't be that last," Alex says after her chuckling dies down. "Don't let her size fool you, trust me. Watch her while she spars, I think you'll learn somethings that could help you." She tells me with a kind smile before turning her attention back to the two on the mat.
Agent Romanov and Ward are facing each other. Ward is in a fighting stance with his hands up a little in preparation. Romanov doesn't look like she is taking this seriously and just has her hands at her sides. This seems to confuse Ward a little because he straightens up a little. He takes this has his chance to strike and moves to punch Romanov but she easily dodges the punch. Ward tries to hit her with his elbow to the face but she easily dodges that as well. With every punch, leg swipe and kick that Romanov dodges with well trained grace, Ward gets more frustrated. His movements become more aggressive and this seems to please Romanov greatly, if the smirk on her face is anything to go by. Ward notices this as well and frustrates him more.
I'm in awe of the way Agent Romanov moves. It almost seems so effortless to her, as if she has done this thousands of times before and it's just become second nature to her. She is an inch taller then I am but she doesn't let that hinder her and actually uses it to her advantage. I can see why Alex told me to watch her. Romanov would actually be a better Superior Officer then Ward. It's probably why she told me to watch her and why she asked how long I have been training with him. Alex doesn't think Ward's training lessons are benefiting me. Another thing I'll talk to Coulson about. I think as Romanov swipes Ward's legs from under him in the most graceful move I've ever seen.
Ward tries to swipe her legs while he is on back but Romanov dodges it. He lets out a frustrated groan as he quickly gets up back on to his feet. Romanov grabs the wrist of Ward's left arm when he tires to punch her and twists it, causing a crack to sound. She pulls it downward and, to my utter surprise, acrobatically wraps her legs around Ward's neck and flips him over onto his back, pinning him to the mat again. I stare in disbelief at what I just saw before me. She moved and flipped him so easily, so effortlessly. Even with the moves Ward taught me I find it hard to flip him.
"Пусть идет," Alex calls as she gets up from the bench and over to the pair on the mat. "Столько, сколько я не люблю его, пусть идет." She tells Romanov when she doesn't listen the first time in what ever language Alex is speaking.
With a huff, Romanov lets Ward go and gets up from the mat. Ward just lays where he landed trying to get the air back into his lungs and probably wondering how the petite woman did what she did. His face is red from lack of oxygen and I should be concerned but I can't find it in me to be. Not after the way he has been acting around Alex or after what he did to her. I think, looking away from my teammate and back to Agent Romanov, who is putting her heels back on.
"Your getting better," Romanov says proudly to Alex as she slips into her second heel. "You have a real knack for languages. Keep it up and you'll know more then I do." Patting Alex on the arm, a small proud smile on her face. The tender moment is, of course, broken by an angry Ward.
"How did you do that?" Ward says angrily, getting up off the mat, face still a bit red. "Your just a pencil pusher, a desk jockey. You shouldn't have been able to that." Facing Romanov with a glare on his face and hands fisted at his side.
"I did just do that," Romanov says casually, not affected by Ward's anger. "I'm the farthest thing from a desk jockey, Agent Ward." She says dismissively and a bit of anger in her tone.
"Don't." Alex growls at Ward when he takes a step toward Romanov. He glares at her and then at Romanov before stalking off to the men's locker room or somewhere else in the training room.
"I wish I had my phone with me," I say regrettable, watching him leave. "That would have been great to get on video. He's probably never been beaten by a woman before." I say with a smile.
"He probably has, just would never admit it," Romanov says with a chuckle, turning to face Alex and I completely. "I'm Agent Romanov, we sort of met yesterday." She introduces herself, though it's not really necessary, with her hand out.
"I'm Skye," I introduce but know she knows that already. "Your awesome." I blurt out, causing her to smirk at me and Alex to chuckle at me.
"She is pretty awesome." Alex agrees with pride in her tone. I don't miss how Agent Romanov's eyes light up just a bit more at also hearing the tone.
"Guys like him need to be brought down a peg or two," Agent Romanov says with a shrug. "It's necessary every now and then or they think they are invincible and get big egos." She says with a knowing smile.
"Я хотел бы сделать больше, чем сбить его спесь," Alex mutters under her breath in what ever language she is speaking. I knew she could speaking Chinese but didn't know she knew any other. She holds her hands up when Romanov sends her. "Извините" She apologizes and I get the feeling that isn't the first time Alex has apologized due to that look.
"While I appreciate how far your Russian has come," Romanov says to Alex, still giving Alex the look. "I think Skye would prefer you stuck to English," She tells Alex, who looks at me with a sheepish look. "I'm afraid that tour of where you can go will have to be done later. I have another meeting I'm needed at in a few minutes. Agents Simmons is on sub floor 7, lab 8 if you two want to join her." She directs to Alex.
Alex nods her with a small smile at the information. Agent Romanov smiles in return and gives Alex's arm a squeeze before going the way Ward had stormed off in. I watch Alex as she follows Romanov out. She looks a little sad that Romanov had a meeting. She is probably one of the few people Alex as regular contact with. I think, coming to a quick conclusion. They also seem pretty close. Remembering what caused me lost my focus and allow Ward to flip me.
"We should go find Jemma in the lab or she'll be there all day," Alex says, breaking me out of my thoughts. "So, go shower. I'll be waiting out in the hall again." She tells me motioning with her head in the direction of the training room doors.
"You'll have to unlock the locker. I relocked it after putting my stuff in." I tell her and she nods her head as we make our way to the exit.
On our way out, I notice Ward hitting a punch bag. He is focused on what he is doing so doesn't look our way. I can't wait to tell Jemma what happened with Agent Romanov and again I wish I had my phone with me. She did mention that she thought Agent Romanov had some sort of field training and seeing what she did to Ward, I can say for certainty that she does. It makes me wonder if she is the one that is training Alex. She wouldn't answer if I asked but I'm pretty sure that it's her.
Alex holds the training room door open for me with a little smile. I have many questions in regards to Alex and now I have even more but I'll think about them another time. Right now, I'll enjoy the time I can spend with Alex while here at HQ. We could be called to a mission at any moment. And who knows when we'll be back here.
A/N2: Here are the translations:
пусть идет = Let him go
Столько, сколько я не люблю его, пусть идет = As much as I dislike him, let him go.
Я хотел бы сделать больше, чем сбить его спесь = I'd like to do more then knock him down a peg.
Извините = Sorry
Hope you enjoyed.