ΑΝ: Hello there! This is another hefty one, i hope you all enjoy it! As always, many thanks to MegaDiary123 for being an awesome beta, and i shall see you all in a couple of weeks. Until then...
All rights go to Marvel
May's POV
"You said she could only affect men", I grunted at Lady Sif, my fists balled tightly by my side. I had to stay calm, for Skye's sake.
"I did not know of her ability to also entrance women", she said just as snipingly. "Lorelei's treachery remained unchanged, no matter the world".
Phil placed his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from telling her how much we cared about her treachery right now. "We'll find them. We have every agent in the area looking for them", he tried to defuse the situation.
She threw her sword on the ground, pining it on the metal. "To what end, hmm?" She took the now broken collar and waved it around. "It has been broken. Short of death, we have no means to end her enchantment".
Phil took it from her hand. "Let me worry about that, Stay here, and please…try not to punch a hole or destroy my airplane even more", he pleaded looking at the gash her sword made. He looked at me before leaving, a warning in his eyes. "I will go, see how Bobbi is and get Fitz to start working on this"
I stayed back, waiting for him to leave the Cage, in which Lady Sif had taken residence, and closed the door behind him. I leaned back against the wall, taking some breaths to calm down, and watched as she picked up the sword and started sharpening it, sitting on the cot.
"You are blaming me for Lady Sky's current state", her voice broke the silence. "I cannot nor will I blame you for that. And you might not like what I am about to say—"
"Then don't say it", I warned her, cutting her off.
"But you need to hear this", she insisted. "I have been where you are, Melinda May… a man I cared for , under her spell, so enchanted, forsook his family, his friends, me. You might not care for her as I did for him, but your love for her runs deep. You need to steel yourself to do what might be necessary. She is no longer the woman you knew, she will not hesitate to kill you"
"Skye won't kill me", I instantly said. No doubt in my mind.
She smiled sadly, as she put her weapon away. "Do not let our feelings cloud your judgment".
"I will deal with her, when the time comes", was the only thing I could say. And I left, wanting to make my way to Coulson, ask him for an update, when Bobbi appeared out of nowhere. Her head bandaged, where she had a cut from how hard Skye had thrown her. "How are you doing, agent Morse?"
"Oh, you know, nothing some rest won't heal, collected myself a concussion" she folded her arms over her chest, looking down on me. "Were you or agent Coulson ever going to tell us that… I don't know, that Skye has powers? Didn't you think it was an important detail to be aware of?"
Well, the cat was out of the bag the moment she got taken by Lorelei, and there was no salvaging this now. "It was classified intel, if you have any issues you can take it up with the Director", I answered, tone clipped.
She breathed in deeply, her hand went to rub her forehead for what must have been an awful headache, but flinched at the contact with the skin, the area still very sensitive. "Look, I'm sorry, it's been a hard day. There's been a lot new information, and I don't like going in a situation blind", she was genuine in her words. Her shoulders falling slightly as a metaphorical weight seemed to settle on her back.
"You are good", I said, feeling some of the agitation leaving me as well. "And her status as an Avenger was on a need-to-know basis. Still is. For her safety. So, let's keep this in the house, okay?" When I received a non verbal reply, I continued. "Why don't you go get some rest, we will let you know when we have news"
She waved me off, "Nah, rest? No can do" she said as she made her way to the small kitchen. "I'm gonna go help Jemma with whatever she is busying herself with at the moment. I don't want her to be alone" she started preparing a couple mugs of tea.
I joined her, looking around for the stash that Skye always made sure was properly stocked up, and took a tea bag from there. "Darjeeling", I explained. "For when she is stressed. And don't forget the two spoonfuls of sugar. I won't hear the end of it from Skye when she gets back", my voice soft as I let emotion bleed through.
She nodded her thanks, which I returned, before making my way to Phil. I knocked and waited. I could hear the pacing from out here. When I didn't receive any reply for a few seconds, I pushed the door open and prompt closed it behind me.
As expected, he was walking up and down the small room. Back and forth, back and forth he went, eyes trained onto nothing, lost in thought. He was so much in his head, he hadn't even realised I was there with him. "Phil", I called out, at which he stopped momentarily before resuming his pacing.
I grabbed his upper arm, stopping his from taking another step. "Sit down", I motioned him to his chair, and went to grab a water bottle from his mini fridge. "Drink up, and take a few breaths", I used the voice I used on Skye when she was doing something stupid. He looked chastised, but did as I said, slumping his shoulders as he took ragged breaths. He was getting too worked up.
"How are you so calm?", he asked, not looking at me, instead picking up the tablet expecting or hoping to see any information that we knew their location.
"I am not calm", I said in a low voice, there was a warning there. "But we can't afford to lose our heads now. Especially not now. Skye is our priority, getting her back. Don't do the self-blaming game until after", I warned him. There was no time to waste, the sooner we found them, the better.
"Damn it, May!", he stood up quickly walking up to me, empty water bottle crashed in his hand. "She is gone! Again! And it is all my fault!" His face was inches from mine. Trying to make me lash back.
I felt the anger rise within me, and I pushed it down. Redirect it, I thought to myself. So, I looked at him, straight in the eyes, my own narrowing. "Don't confuse my control for blamelessness. You are the one that insisted she joins this mission, the one that didn't really consult Andrew again the moment you knew this mission was more than it originally seemed to be", my voice was low but the point did come across nicely. "Now, pull yourself together, and come out of this when you have your wits about you, not a moment sooner"
With that I left and closed the door hard behind me. I needed to come up with a plan, because if we didn't find them soon, I would have to call Natasha and Clint, and I really didn't want to do that.
As I made my way towards Skye's bunk, to try and figure something out, I noticed Ward with his phone and earbuds in, leg bouncing up and down with energy as he was collecting himself. I felt my jaw tense. Skye's identity was already blown. There was nothing we could do for his double crossing. Hopefully, it would at least yield some good information.
He lifted his head and nodded at me, which I returned.
Reaching Skye and Simmons' bunk, as always when Skye was not here, it was closed shut. I turned on my phone, looking for the application that she had installed for me when we were at the Tower. After a handful of steps and a couple of passwords, I managed to connect with T.A.D.A.S.H.I. who opened the door for me, overriding the need to use her powers in case of an emergency.
Shall I contact Mr. Stark?, the text appeared on my screen as soon as I went in.
It was probably an automatic response that was programmed into him. After denying the request, I started looking around. He phone was still here… most of her stuff really. And she was a hacker. We wouldn't be able to find her if she didn't want us.
'Can you track where Skye is?', I asked the U.I. I have not been connected to a different network by her. However I can detect that the equipment that Mr. Stark has provided seems to be quite a distance away from here. Here are the coordinates.
Of course, I chastised myself. Skye would be wearing the bracelets. She told me about the present when she came back in the Bus. I was mentally berating myself, as I swiftly made my way to the nearest tablet and started searching.
Ward caught my rapid movement and moved to get closer. "What happened? What did you find?", he asked, coming closer and looking at my search.
"Sif said that Lorelei is accustomed to palaces, castles. Looking for an army of wealthy and pliable men, or women as it turns out. What's the closest one from our location?" I came up with a way to justify my search without making it seem like I knew where she was. Ceasar's Palace came up. "If I were to bet, I'd say she's here. I'll have Fitz look at the feeds and verify, but get ready. I have a feeling this is where we are going".
Skye's POV
As I brought Lorelei to Caesar's Palace, she looked around in awe. She wanted a palace so I brought her to the closest one could find here on earth.
"I am fortunate to have found you. You are quite resourceful", she said as she looked at me, laying next me, her hand drawing circles on my skin. "You are worlds apart from these men at the desert, you are powerful".
"I am, and I am dangerous" I smiled back.
She excused herself, pulling away and wrapping a sheet around her as she looked down from the suit that I had procured for her. "When I first arrived here, I thought Earth left much to be desired. But from here, it's quite beautiful", she had a soft smile on her face. Her eyes burned with the desire to rule on this land, before they turned hard. I wanted to make her feel better, walking next to her and placing my hand on her lower back. "I've spent the last 600 years locked away in a dark, cold cell… my throat shackled… my voice silenced. Torture", her voice was venom.
"You don't have to feel like that ever again", I said wanting to take the pain away from her. "You don't have to go back. Whatever happens, I will protect you, I always protect those closest to me"
She turned around, her hands landing on my shoulders, gentle yet firm. "But Sif is on the hunt. She will not rest. She will not stop. And I will not know peace" she confessed. There was no fear in her voice, simple resignation.
I reached up to kiss her pain away. "I won't let it come to that. She is not the first Asgardian I have fought, if I sneak up on her, she won't see it coming" I whispered inches away.
"The graves of Asgard's enemies are littered with men who underestimated Sif" she whispered back, like it was a secret. "Do not make the same mistake. You do not know her. You might have fought with Loki but you were not on your own. And she is not alone now either"
I smiled at her worry. She didn't have to, but she cared. "I might not know her, but I know them. If we managed to get you in, silently, you can use the others, she will be alone. She will be the singular threat and together we can kill her. We can free you", I moved with renewed purpose to get ready.
I looked at the bracelet and earrings that Tony had made me, through for a second to put them on, but shook my head. They wouldn't understand, they fight her as she stands against Sif. So I left them there. When turned around she was similarly ready. I smiled at her, grabbing her from the arm and made our way downstairs. If my calculations were right, they would soon get here, which would leave the plane vulnerable.
Jemma and Fitz would be the only ones left behind, everyone else would go to the suite, and by the time they got back, we could have Lorelei control Ward and Coulson and the tides would turn on our side.
A guy outside the Palace gave us his car and I was lucky enough that the Bus had not change its location since first landing here. I parked a bit further, not wanting to make it easy for them to realise we had come back. I went first in, silently, making sure to absorb my own vibrations to not make much sound. I saw only Fitz at the Lab, working on the collar. I motioned for Lorelei to come, he wouldn't be too difficult of a target.
And he really wasn't. I had his hands pinned behind his back before he even could think of yelling for help. He would always be so completely unaware of his environments when working. "Now, calm. Don't you want to serve me? Tell me, what has Sif been up to?" Lorelei approached and just a few of her words were enough to enthral him.
"Yes, of course, anything I can do to be of service", he said happily. "The collar was broken when Skye quaked it alongside Bobbi, but I managed to make it work again. Sif went out with the others to find you"
There was anger that passed through Lorelei's face as she went to grab the collar. "No", I called out, reaching for it first. Not sure exactly what possessed me to do so.
I blinked a handful of times, seemingly frozen in place, like something was wrong. I opened my mouth to say something, but Lorelei's soft touch caressed my cheek and any tension that was created melted away. "Such a strong warrior, such a strong will. Give me the collar, Skye"
I lifted my hand and did just that. "My Lady, hear me out. If we destroy the collar now, the moment the others come back they will know something is wrong" I said. And she paused, examining the offending piece of metal.
"What do you suggest we do then? We cannot let Sif get her hands on it" she said, lifting an eyebrow.
"Why not place it at the Cage? It's where she stays right now. We can lock her in, I'll take flight and open the roof. Sif goes flying and so does the collar", the plan formed easily. "When Loki was initially locked, the failsafe was to drop him from around thirty thousand feet. We won't be able to get that high, but even the sturdiest of Asgardians wouldn't survive the fall"
She was thinking my plan over. A smile formed on her face. "Yes, a fall to the death, that seems like a deserving death for everything I had to go through"
"We should hurry", I said. "We don't know how much longer until they return", I reasoned.
"What will you do with Jemma?", Fitz asked while being handed back the collar.
"Jemma is the one you told me about, correct? Your old love?", she turned to me and I nodded. "I will gift her to you, once you have gotten rid of Sif for me, as a token of my gratitude"
I nodded my thanks and made my way upstairs. I moved quietly, just as I had done when I first entered the Bus. My powers showed me that she was sitting in our bunk. Soundlessly I made my way, peaking through the door and watching as she was sitting on the bed, knees to her chest, the hula girl in her hands.
I felt the corners of my mouth lift. I could keep her safe here. "Don't worry, Jemma. We will be together soon", I said and closed the door, locking it with my powers. I could hear her scream my name from behind the metal separating us. "Tee, activate the soundproof mode on my quarters", I called out and he instantly replied, "Right away, Skye". Jemma's cries died instantly and I could feel like I could breathe again. Her anguish made me feel something I didn't want to feel right now.
I turned around and found Lorelei. "Hide at the Lab, I will go to the cockpit and prepare to take off as soon as Sif is locked in the Cage. Fitz will help you with Ward, faint he needs help with something"
With my mission in mind I went to where May normally resided and took point at the pilot's seat. Checking all the systems, having everything prepared for when the time would come to put the plan in motion. Thankfully we didn't have to wait long, the vehicles pulled up, the four agents exiting and making their way to Fitz.
I was watching the feed, seeing as Fitz led Sif to the Cage, May and Coulson talking by the sofas. Ward stayed down at the Lab, Lorelei already having put her will onto him, and Bobbi went to the kitchen, looking around for something… or someone.
As soon as the Cage door closed, I took off. The plan went off without a hitch so far, and as soon as Sif was disposed of, I closed the ceiling back up and put the plane in autopilot.
Just as Lorelei made her way upstairs with Ward, I left the cockpit moving toward the others. Meeting with the three agents in the centre of the plane. From within the shadows that I was hidden, I could see Coulson slipping away, probably heading to the Cage. Didn't matter, Sif was already gone.
"What did you do with Jemma?" Bobbi asked, looking between Lorelei and Ward. Her gun trained at the Asgardian. With both May's and Bobbi's attention at the two of them, sneaking up from behind them was not hard.
I grabbed hard on Bobbi's weapon, sending a wave in her, making her loosen her grip enough for me to dismantle the weapon and disarm her, while I lifted my other hand to send a wave towards May. She, being more accustomed to my powers, dodged out of the way and crouched behind one of the sofas. I stood protectively in front of Lorelei, who smiling kissed me on the cheek. "Dispose of them, while I retrieve Sif's sword. It will look better in my hand"
And with that she left, heading to the Cage that would have been guarded by Fitz.
There was a couple seconds of a stand off. Ward was the one to move first, Lorelei's command fresh on his mind. Lifting his gun, he pointed it at Bobbi, who pulled her two batons from behind her back, knocking his gun away before engaging.
So, my attention turned to May. May who had risen from her cover, hands in front of her, ready, but also palms open, in a small pacific gesture. "Skye, this is not you. You know who you are. This is Loki all over again"
I gritted my teeth at the last part and sent a blast her way. I felt the plane shake slightly in the sky, and pulled my powers back, it would do us no good to drop from this high up. So I closed in quickly, but she was also fast, meeting me halfway. I might not be able to outright use my vibrations, but I can still track her movements, like I had practised so many times.
I knew May, I knew how she fought, and I knew her patterns. A particular twist of her leg, and she was going for a spinning kick. I moved out of the way trying to hit the leg keeping her upright, but she also knew how I fought and recovered quickly.
"Okay, okay. No mention of Loki, I get it", I heard her say as we engaged in hand to hand combat that was dragging on for a while. "Think of Natasha, Clint, Pepper", I threw a jab at her head and she easily avoided it. "You have us here, Phil, Jemma", she retaliated with a few blows to the body, which I took but used in my advance. I grabbed on her shirt, using the momentum of the blow to roll us both on the ground, going for a chokehold. "I am here Skye" she got out, and I froze momentarily.
It was enough for her to turn it against me, getting behind me, arms around my neck, legs holding me in place. I had half a mind to notice that Ward was on the ground, writhing around from Bobbi electrocuting him with her battle staves.
As I was pinned on the ground, flailing left and right to try and get out the hold, May started talking to me, "Come on, don't let her control you. You are stronger than this", I knew that I just had to send a wave in her to break the hold and move away, but just as I had done with the collar before, I stopped myself from actually doing so. "Think of your family. Tasha, Clint, Bruce, Pepper", she continued listing names and once more I froze in place, blinking confused. Muscles tensed ever more as I seemed to be suck in place both in mind and in body.
And then, I felt like all warmth that had engulfed my body left it in one go. I felt both present and detached to the situation at the same time. "Mel? Mel, I think it's me" I grunted out from the hold that I was placed in.
The grip around my neck was released immediately, May moving away and staying up her. Guard still up. "She speaks the truth", Lady Sif walked over with Lorelei in tow, collar secured around her neck.
May's shoulders dropped instantly, relief clear on her face, same with Bobbi who seemed to be sporting a bloody nose.
I stayed down, very disoriented for exactly two more seconds, before I jumped on my feet, stumbling as I hastily reached my bunk, quickly unlocking the door. Jemma, who must have been banging on the door this whole time, took a couple steps back quickly as soon as she saw me, her screams dying in her throat. Tears still running down her face.
I felt nauseous at the sight. "Jemma", came out broken as I took a step back.
I didn't get the chance to take a second before she crashed on my chest, her arms wrapped tightly around my neck, her face buried there as her shoulders rose and fell with choked up sobs. All I could do was hold her close.