AN: Hello amazing people. Starting, many thanks to MegaDiary123. Now, I am really glad to post this chapter, I hope you all enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next week...

All rights go to Marvel

Skye's POV

I let out a breath as I pried my eyes open. I could tell that I was still somewhat exhausted, but old habits seemed to die hard as I looked at my clock which indicated it was just after 4:00 am. From the light snoring coming from behind me I knew that Jemma was still out cold and would be for a few more hours in the least. She deserved it, we all did, but since she was actually able to see it through I didn't intend to interrupt her dreams.

I slowly took Jemma's hand off my waist and laid it back on the bed as I stood up. I was stealthy enough not to bother the sleeping girl, but I had a feeling that even if the whole plane started shaking she would still be clueless about it and keep on sleeping. Placing the blanket back safely over her form and kissing her on the forehead, I made my exit after putting on some more loose clothes. I knew that everything of value and classification was safely locked and even if Jemma looked around the room she wouldn't find anything she shouldn't have. I trusted her, I really did. There were just some things that she didn't know and it would be for the best if it remained that way.

I made my way to the cockpit, where there was enough space for me to do what I wanted to. I saw the training mats on the side but decided against laying them on the hard, metal floor. There would be no sparing after all.

Taking a deep breath I centred myself and started making my way through the various Tai Chi forms. The nightmares had indeed stayed away the previous night, allowing me a clarity which I was craving for a few days now. A peacefulness and calmness which I was sure would not last for long, so I decided to treasure it while I could. While my thoughts ran and my, previous' days, frustration melted away I found myself in the presence of another.

I didn't need my vibrations to tell me that she was there, up in the spiral staircase looking down. Years of training with her and with my siblings were enough to allow me to pick up the slightest movement around me. If I was in the right mindset that was…

"Care to join me?" I asked May without stopping.

As it was her trademark since we met I expected her to walk away but was glad to see that my assumption was wrong. In tight leggings and a similar, sleeveless t-shirt she came and stood next to me, joining in as if she was there from the beginning.

Her movements were just as fluid and graceful as I remembered them. Still a bit more so than mine, especially since living in a van, undercover for months didn't really allow me to keep up with this habit, despite waking up really early every day.

The comfortable silence that filled the room was something that I didn't want nor intended to break. It was a kind of silence that lacked from every other interaction I had with the woman so far. I could feel the minutes ticking by as my mind-map picked up some other activity across the plane which matched Coulson's and Ward's steps. The former making his way to his office, while the latter opened the door to the cockpit, saw the two of us and then proceeded walking off after we both ignored his intense stare.

"You are tense" May's low tone brought me back to our exercises as we were slowly coming to an end.

"I am alert, there is a difference" I told her just as calmly, focusing more at my form.

"I know the difference. I am alert and as I said, you are tense" she finished as she came to her neutral stance and inhaled deeply. I mimicked her movements and finished my morning routine as well. I could see her looking at me and so I turned my attention to her, my body facing hers. "You've improved".

"Thank you" came my reply after my initial shock had passed. For some reason, I had a feeling that her praising anyone was not something happening as often as it used to in the past. "I would love to spar with you at some point. Since we don't have any missions yet and I haven't had anyone challenging enough fighting me, I don't want to lose my form" I continued, hoping that she would accept.

She remained quiet for a few seconds before replying. "How's the shoulder feeling?", she nodded towards the bod part which was in a sling yesterday.

"Almost as good as new" I said honestly. She would have seen right through my lie if I had not answered genuinely. "Could use another day before any heavy workouts"

"Good" she was clearly satisfied by what she heard. "Tomorrow then" and it sounded somewhat like a command, though I couldn't figure out why there was a need for such a tone to be used. "We have more pressing matters at hand" she continued with the same tone, which had me looking at her confused before realisation hit me. "Cockpit, 10 minutes. I believe that's enough time for you to freshen yourself" and with that she walked off.

When she disappeared on the upper floor a giggle found its way to my lips. Well, isn't this interesting? I thought. Her giving an order and then pulling a disappearing act before I got the chance to even reply was such a 'Maria Hill 2005' move from when I was in the Academy. I shook my head, smile still on my face as I made my way to the bunk I called 'home' these days.

Jemma was still sleeping in my bed, her legs having kicked the blanket off her body. I laughed internally at the sight, I hadn't seen her like that since the last time we shared a room which was before I left for my mission with Clint, before everything went downhill. It was so innocent and normal that people would undermine its value. Normal was what I would try to protect no matter what.

The girl stirred at her sleep and cracked on eye open, looking around the room trying to find me. "Get back to sleep" I gently said so as not to startle her.

"What time is it?", her voice was rough from her heavy sleep, cracking in some words.

"Just past 06:30. You still have at least a couple of hours to lay in before we are asked to do anything. I doubt Coulson would have you and Fitz rise earlier after yesterday's events" I swiftly changed clothes with my back turned to her. Being roommates for so many years had made any sort of awkwardness, regarding changing in front of her, fly off the window. "I have to meet May, see you later" I continued but as I turned around to look at her, her eyes were already closed and her breathing evened out. I shook my head at that and left the bunk. The door locked on its own when I closed it, and only someone from the inside could open it unless they knew how to unlock it.

As I walked towards the cockpit I passed by the kitchen that the Bus was equipped with, because of course it had a kitchen. How else were we supposed to feed ourselves while staying in the Airborne Mobile Command Station. Mobile being a key work. I waved at Ward who was sitting alone eating a bowl of cereal.

"'Morning" he said even if a little hesitant. It might have been small, but it was something.

Without giving him a second look I moved towards Coulson's office to greet him as well. I walked in as soon as my knocking his door was acknowledged. "Just wanted to say good morning" I said, peeking my head through the door.

"Good morning to you too" he replied happily. "I saw you had already had a morning session with May". At my titling of the head he clarified, "CCTV".

"Right" I replied with a slow nod. I had momentarily forgotten about the cameras, a useful information to have in the back of my mind constantly. "Speaking of which, I need to head to the cockpit. I have a feeling she will have my head if I am late, see you later" I resumed in a hurry, closing the door and leaving him with a surprised expression plastered on his face.

Just like the last time that I went to the specific room per May's request, I locked the door as I walked in and went to sit on the shotgun seat. I was guessing that the cockpit was a place either free from the cameras that the rest of the Bus was equipped with, or that May had turned them off for privacy reasons. She was not stupid enough to have a camera over her head 24/7 and if the past was any indication, Coulson trusted her so much that having no cameras there would not be a security problem.

"I am guessing that this is about what you and our esteemed Director talked about?" I didn't beat around the bush. The slight nod that I got in reply was enough of an encouragement for the edges of my lips to form a small smile. I was expecting silence if I were being honest and even this small movement was a great step forward in my mind. "I am, also, guessing he told you to brief me in or something similar?" I continued with newfound courage.

"He told me he briefed you in on the situation himself but I was to tell you my part in the story" her eyes pointed at one of the panels behind us. "There is a direct and secure line to Director Fury himself, from where I give him weekly reports on Phil's status. He wanted to make sure that him dying for 8 seconds, plus the whole experience with the Avengers, didn't affect him mentally" she concluded.

Of course this was what the Pirate told her. I slowly nodded, thinking what to say next. "You asked him why he doesn't remember me" I said. It was not a question, since I knew that May wouldn't hesitate to ask.

"Among other things" she confirmed. "He said it was classified and it was up to you to explain it" Of course he did. "I also asked when you came back and why I wasn't aware of that situation" she turned her head to my direction so our eyes met. "Guess what he said"

I scoffed at that. "It is up to me to tell you"

"Yeah. As well as to answer the questions I asked you the last time you came up here. You can answer anything you want really or nothing at all, he just told me to report back to him so that he knows we are on the same page".

She might have said that I could not answer her if I wanted to, but her tone was clear enough that she wanted to know what was going on. It was a trait of her character that, despite the years when I hadn't seen her, hadn't changed. She liked to be on top of things instead of being in the dark. And it might, or might not, have been because of that trait of hers that my own quest for the truth started. I also knew that I missed May. Be that the old May or the new one, I didn't care really. And if me telling her the truth was a step that would help patch up our relationship, I was willing to take that step. And the fact that there would be another person knowing the truth about me in the Bus, who I could confine to, was a plus.

Even without knowing what had happened in those years we were apart, I knew one thing for certain. I trusted her more that Fury at the moment and I knew she could keep a secret.

My gaze turned to the front, looking out of the glass windows and into the horizon of the slingshot, were not so many hours ago the 0-8-4 was sent flying to space. "I am guessing the microphones of the room are turned off?" I asked.

"Of course" she said matter-of-factly.

"What I am about to tell you is only cleared for Level 10 agents, people who were direct participants of this Initiative or agents cleared by Director Fury himself".

"But only Director Fury and the Secretary are Level 10" she said with disbelief in her voice.

"Exactly" I replied. "So you understand that whatever you hear from now on is extremely classified and must not leave this room or be repeated to anyone. I am going to trust you with this, so you better not break that trust" I closed my eyes and thought of the best way to tackle this whole situation, where to start.

"There are six people aboard this aircraft" I said and I could almost hear the scoff from my left. "The two of us are here, Coulson is in his office. Ward finished his breakfast and is currently taking out his frustrations about me right outside the lab, where he put up a punching bag. Simmons is heavily asleep and though Fitz is still laying on his bed, he is awake, just not bothering to get up". Despite the calm mask I was sure she was wearing, without even looking at her, I could feel her heart rate picking up slightly as I continued to speak. "Oh, scratch that. Fitz decided to go to the kitchen. He just passed Jemma's bunk and was surprised to find it empty and I am sure he will soon go and look for her down in the lab. Yup, just did that"

"What are you talking about?" May asked, hesitation in her voice. "How do you–?"

"Know all this?" I interrupted her, my head titled to the side so I was looking at her. "I am sure if you check the camera feeds that you have installed, which I guess only you and Fury know, you will find out that what I am saying is true" I pointed at one of the panels next to her, were something similar to a screen was installed, tacked away. I couldn't see exactly what it was from my mind-map, but I hoped that it was indeed what I thought it was.

She slowly put her code in the cabinet and took the piece of technology I was referring to, which turned out to be exactly what I thought it was and saw that all my words were true.

Even though she was still looking at the screen, realising that everything I said was true. "Oh, the camera you had in my bunk won't work by the way. I dismantled it before I left after we landed in New York" I let her know. "That's why you won't find Jemma in her room, she is in mine".

She side looked at me, as if asking what that was about, but didn't form any words. The look was enough to transfer her thoughts to me.

"Back to our topic" I said as I looked back to the landscape in front of us. "Remember the mission we were together? The one where we were captured and interrogated?" I asked her. She nodded, and my eyebrows knitted together. Not because of the nod but from the slight jump her heart made, which didn't appear on her face, the practised mask never breaking. And I am sure that the memory of it might have been enough to maybe upset her a little bit, but after the second and third jump her heart made I knew that there was something there that I didn't know. "May…" I said her name slowly and purposefully. "What are you not telling me?"

She raised an eyebrow at that. "What are you talking about?", she fainted to be clueless but my lie-detector told me otherwise.

"There is something about this mission you are hiding from me. I can tell. Now, what is it?" I asked and I used a tone that left no room for anything but the truth.

I could tell I caught her by surprise when I used the tone that she used on me so many times in the past and that stunned her speechless for a couple of seconds before recomposing herself. "The mission was a cover-up. It was supposed to be your test before you were assigned an S.O., Maria. It got out of hand, it was not supposed to be so brutal. But still you passed, we both did"

I couldn't help but laugh at that. It was so S.H.I.E.L.D.-style for something like that to happen. Like a very over-the-top training exercise. "Of course it was" I shook my head and pushed my thoughts on the matter aside. "Remember what happened at the end of this test?"

"There was an earthquake, the whole building came down and then you left" she replied. "Come on, Skye, you know this already, what's the point you are trying to make?"

"I never had you for the impatient type May, we are getting there. It's more complicated than you think" I told her as she stared daggers at me. The whole sight making me extremely happy as the roles were finally reversed between the two of us. "I came to a realisation after this mission, which was why I ran. I didn't want to endanger any of you, or myself for that matter. I didn't feel safe in S.H.I.E.L.D." I made sure she was still following me, though I knew she wanted to ask more questions, she restrained herself to letting me finish my explanation first. "Now, what do you know about the Battle of New York?"

"Everything there is about it, really. I am Level 7 after all" she said confidently.

I smirked at her confidence. One thing she should know was that you never knew the whole story of anything, not when Fury was involved in any way. "Sure you do" escaped my lips before I even thought about it and her gaze made me retract it. "Okay, okay, sorry. What I mean is, what do you know about the Avengers?"

"What do you man?", she questioned.

"Exactly what I asked"

She looked at me questionably but resumed her reply nonetheless. "I know who they are, at least their code names but not their current location or their real identities. Well, apart from Stark, about whom everyone knows and Clint and Natasha because… well, because it's Clint and Natasha"

"Name them" I all but commanded.

"Skye–" her tone and look was as if I had grown a second head or I had gone crazy.

"Name. Them" I repeated myself with more intensity in every word. "Code names" I explained.

"Iron Man, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Captain America, Quake, Hulk, Thor" she let out a sigh. "Happy now?" She asked extremely irritated. "What does this have to do with anything?" Her normal whispery tone has risen to a normal one, indicating her frustration even more.

"Everything" I kindly smiled at her, like a mother would do to a child. "It has everything to do with it. During that mission back in 2005, it was not an earthquake that destroyed the building. Well…" I thought about it, "…it was an earthquake, only not a natural one. I left because I could feel something inside me that was begging to be let loose. And I had no control over it, so I was a threat to both you and myself and I decided it was better to leave. Living a quiet and remote life, off the radar. That was until I couldn't stay behind the curtains anymore, not when someone I care about was in danger and that was how S.H.I.E.L.D. found me and trained me, in secret.

"I am sure you tried to look for my files after you saw me again. After Union Station and while I was away you had enough time to do your digging and you came up empty, because no files exist that are linked to me. My name isn't in any of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s servers and there is no record of my training or abilities. I used to be in the Index, but after New York even those files were destroyed". May made a motion to speak but I lifted my hand and stopped her before she phrased anything. "When Fury found me again, I was not the same person you knew. Not in the sense that my experiences had changed me, but in the sense that I was different. Different as in with powers different. Powers enough that got me enlisted to the Avengers Initiative, a project which started in 1995 and was shut down in 2012 after the famous Battle of the same year"

When I referred to my powers I could tell that she grew more anxious for some reason, as if her breathing had just grown a bit shallower, quicker, even if only slightly. "My powers are what allow me to know where everyone is on this aircraft, what allows me to know that you are growing more and more uncomfortable with this conversation, what allowed me to bring this building on our heads all those years ago". I extended my hand, facing the ceiling. "Give me your hand" I saw her staring at my open palm, hesitant to touch me. "May" I spoke quietly and her eyes met mine, a hard gaze meeting a soft and understanding one. "I promise I won't hurt you". Though she was wearing her normal nonchalant mask, I could still see the traces of fears that were hiding underneath. "Do you trust me?" With that she slowly placed her hand into mine and I squeezed, ever so slightly, glad for that outcome.

I let a small vibration travel through our link into her fingers, then hand and eventually only up to her elbow. Nothing too fancy or too extreme, only a small amount enough to demonstrate but not scare her away.

"I have the ability to manipulate frequencies" I told her as she stared at our holding hands. "Frequencies big enough to bring whole buildings to the ground, or small enough to make an invisible-like shield that would make a bullet bounce off my shoulder instead of piercing right through it". Her fingers, that were still laying lazily in my grasp, clutched mine a bit firmer giving me more strength than I would like to admit. "My code name, is Quake"