AN: Here we start with the 3rd episode from the series. Thank you MegaDiary123 for putting up with me all this time. Hope you all enjoy, until next time...

All rights go to Marvel

Skye's POV

May might have told me that we would have a sparring session, but I couldn't blame her for postponing it after the bombshell that I threw at her after revealing my powers. I could tell that she was not all too comfortable with the thought of me having powers, but she didn't say anything about it other than to give her a few days to digest everything.

She was also informed that Jemma knew about my powers, as well as my Avengers status. What we did not discuss at all was the reason why Coulson didn't remember me, or anything else relating to what happened during or before the Battle of New York. Mainly about me being under Loki's control and what happened during that time. I never mentioned that Clint was training me, but given that both he and Nat were Avengers as well, it was a given that they knew about my return to the organisation and that they hadn't let her know. I tried explaining that when I was brought in the whole situation was pretty covered up and kept in secret, but it was clear as day that she was still a bit hurt that my siblings hadn't even suggested the idea of me being back.

So, without May to train with, and with us flying all over the US for some small missions here and there, I found myself with more time than I knew what to do with. As always, I kept messaging Natasha, Clint and Pepper, letting them know that I was okay and asking about how they were. Natasha was, once again, on a mission with Rogers. Clint on the other hand had taken some time off to work on a present he was preparing for Nat, and was at Missouri building up a homestead for the two of them to be able to go to and relax. Apart from Maria and Fury, from whom he had to get the okay, I was the only other person that Clint included in this little secret of his. This was the only secret I was more than happy to keep.

Back in the airplane, we were flying somewhere over Massachusetts when at lunch Ward decided to ask me if I wanted to spar with him. I had caught him checking me out when I was doing some strength training, putting more emphasis than I would normally do in my right shoulder, to bring it back to normal.

A smile appeared on my face at the request and he knew that my answer was a positive one. I didn't think that he expected anything less from me, I never backed down from a challenge after all. And this was a challenge alright.

It wasn't even a couple of hours later when we were both at the cargo hold, matts laid on the floor as we both put on some MMA gloves on.

We both stood across one another, our hands raised to protect our faces. I relaxed my shoulders, letting the tense muscles loosen up. I hadn't had a proper sparring with anyone in quite some time and this would be a nice test to my shoulder as well. From the corner of my eye I could see Jemma looking at us while working on her own work with Fitz, as if ready to step in if I was hurt.

My thoughts were brought back to Ward when he finally made the first move and we stopped circling each other. He made a punch towards my face which I easily deflected and in return kicked towards his torso. He dodged my leg before it made contact, and then his eyes continued scanning me for any sign of weakness. "Come on Ward, give me your best" I teased him on purpose. It seemed to do the trick as in the next moment he came at me with a jab-cross combination followed by left hook and a roundhouse kick.

After ducking under the hook, I let his kick find its target, but instead of letting it hit me full-force, I absorbed the power behind the kick by rolling on my back. My hands wrapped around his ankle and as I rolled I twisted his leg, letting the momentum do the rest. He bent his captured leg, falling on the knee and, using the momentum to his advantage, he brought his elbow towards my face, making me release his ankle to protect my face. He had grown a lot more agile since the last time we fought, not using only his height and strength to overpower his enemies.

After a while we found ourselves going back and forth in a continuous manner, exchanging blows. I landed more than I received, still better at dodging than he was and as always, I could see him get impatient. This seemed to be a trait that his S.O. hadn't managed to get rid off.

Using that, I stopped attacking as much as dodging until one of his right jabs was a bit more sloppy than the rest and I found an opening. As the punch headed towards my face, I ducked under his arm and behind his back, where I swiftly kicked the back of his knee. Before he even fell to the ground my right elbow wrapped around his neck and forced him to the ground, as he was completely off balance. He didn't even have time to realise what was happening before his back was on the mat, breaking his fall. My right hand was on his neck and my left one raised as if to punch, but I didn't finish the movement.

He raised his hands in surrender and I release my grip on his throat, standing up and offering him my hand. "No hard feelings?" I asked with a smirk as I helped him up.

He actually laughed at that, "No hard feelings. Wanna go for a second round?"

I opened my mouth to reply only for May's voice to interrupt us through the Bus' speakers. "Changing course, briefing in three. SHIELD 616 with new orders. Set for Colorado air field North" she said before the speakers turned off again.

"Ah!" Fitz exclaimed from the lab as he took off his lab-coat. "Looks like we're on the move"

I turned my attention back to Ward who was already started taking his gloves off. "Rain check?" I asked as I followed his example.

"Rain check" he said as we both started heading to the common area, following the science twins up the stairs. "You are just as good as I remembered"

I turned to look at him, momentarily stopping dead in my tracks. "Did you just give me a compliment?" I brought my hand to my heart.

"I—" he shook his head. "I made a comment" he clarified.

"A kind one! Did it physically hurt to do that?" I leaned closer to him, "Do you need an ice pack?" I teased him and it made him smile. I resumed our walk giggling to myself and I could still see him laughing on the back. "Wow… a compliment and a smile"

"Comment" he quickly corrected.

I just shook my head at his persistence. "You are not so bad yourself" I offered before we reached the sofas and each of us sat on a different one, waiting for Coulson to arrive.

It wasn't a minute later when the leader of this team walked in, playing around on his tablet, probably pulling up for information for the mission. "A few minutes ago, a SHIELD transport was attacked while carrying a priority red protected asset off route 76 near Sterling" he didn't get far before Jemma interrupted him.

"Priority red?"

He nodded and turned his tablet around, showing us a man. "The asset was Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall, known for his work—"

"Oh no, not Frank" Jemma said with a devastating look at his face. "Dr Hall?" Fitz added with a similar expression on his face. "He was our chemical kinetics adviser our second year" he further explained.

That explains why I hadn't heard of him before. "Yeah, he's so enthusiastic about science, we just adored him. We can rescue him, can't we?", the girl continued more hopeful as she reached the end of her sentence.

Coulson gave a small smile at them. "He's one of ours. We're gonna try" he reassured.

"And the attackers?" Ward questioned with a more tactical approach than FitzSimmons' mumbling.

Coulson looked at him and paused before replying a simple, "Invisible"

"Wait, invisible?" The question escaped me before I managed to restrain it, a giggle following it. "Cool" I said, nodding to myself. This would be a very interesting mission and I was so looking forward to it. But then I looked at the rest of the team's faces and shook my head adding a, "…but terrible".

May's POV

By the time we landed, the sun had already set and we all headed to the scene of the crime. After debriefing agent Mack, who was the guy that was in charge of the transport of Dr. Hall, we found something really interesting that we took back in the Bus to examine. It was a small circular device which contained some short of substance in the middle that had some really interesting effects to its surroundings when it was activated. So we got it back at the Bus for our science people to have a look at, at a more controlled environment.

In the end, it was pretty late when we wrapped everything up so we knew that we would continue working on everything for as long as we could, take a few hours of sleep and then continue our research.

First thing in the morning, Phil and Ward would go to meet three potential suspects who could have sold equipment to the people who got Dr. Hall. At that time, FitzSimmons would be working on finding everything they could about what we recovered from the scene, while Skye and myself were going through every communication out of HQ since the transfer was decided. We had concluded that it most likely was an inside job, after all.

Thankfully most of our research paid off. The two men had found the person they were looking for, and the two scientists had found out what the substance that was powering the device was, as well as who we were looking for. The two of them been Gravitonium and Ian Quinn respectively. However Skye and I hadn't had any luck so far, so we still had no idea who leaked the information out…

This was how, in the afternoon of the following day, we all found ourselves around the briefing room to see how to proceed with the new information we had gathered.

"The man's a prisoner, and it's up to us to get him out" Phil said, as we were trying to come up with a plan. All of us, apart from Skye, were hovering over the table screen were all the data was presented thinking our heads off. I had already set course to Rome, and had the autopilot on while we were down here. We still had a few good hours in the least to come up with a solid plan.

Ward looked again at the information, pointing at the notes we had already kept. "We've checked the specs" he said, clearly upset, walking away from the table to take a breath and clear his head. "There's no way into the Quinn's compound without a large S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force or a man inside. He's got neodymium laser fencing surrounding the property"

Phil just shook his head. "They will never allow us a strike force in Malta. Plus, this weekend, Quinn's Worldwide got its annual shareholders gathering. We'll risk a global outrage, but…" he sighed and I finished the sentence for him.

"If we go in alone…"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. can disavow us" he continued nodding in my direction.

I looked over what we would have to face again trying to think of a tactical way to infiltrate the compound but I was coming up empty. "Without a man inside, it's impossible. Unless you're immune to pulse laser emissions" I added letting a bit of sarcasm escape in my tone.

"If we had a monkey, we could get it" Fitz suddenly looked up, a glint of hope in his eye.

Simmons was quick to dismiss him, raising her voice. "Ugh, Fitz!"

"If we had a monkey…" after that I stopped listening to what he was saying. I had a hard time not staring daggers at him. Seriously, this guy. Ever since Fury shot down the idea of getting a fish tank, he had grown more and more obsessed with getting a monkey and he would bring the topic up every time he got the chance.

"I could go in" I seemed to be the only one to have heard Skye as she spoke, my head snapped in her direction, making eye contact with the girl. She was doing something on her phone, typing away not even looking at it as she maintained eye contact with me.

Ward, completely ignoring her continued as if she hadn't spoken. "Drop me in the hills outside of Valletta". Now, I knew that they might not get along as well, but he could at least acknowledge her. "I'll spend a few weeks establishing a cover gathering intel—"

"Hall doesn't have a few weeks" Phil interrupted

Simmons found this moment to agree with the man. "And to restate, any Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. caught on Maltese soil can be shot to death with bullets. Legally" she added the last part with more emphasis as Fitz agreed with her.

"Not me, I could go in" Skye said again, a bit louder this time and Ward finally seemed to actually have heard her, not that hearing her meant that he agreed.

"Why not you? Last time I checked you were a part of S.H.I.E.L.D."

"Wait" Phil stepped in between then, trying to make the tension in the room less apparent. He moved closer to Skye, willing to listen to what she had to say. "What are you saying?" He asked, the same question running though my head but he phrased it before me.

"Well, I don't have to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent for starters" she explained. "My Rising Tide cover is still intact, so I could go in as Jane. This way I am not breaking any of those stupid rules" from the corner of my eye I saw Jemma open her mouth to counteract that statement but Skye seemed to have caught on that movement herself and looked at the biochemist. "'International laws' yes, I know Jemma" she told her. The two of them seemed to be able to talk just by looks, even more so than Simmons and Fitz could when down in the lab. That had me wondering where that connection was coming from. And let's not forget how Skye had said that Jemma was in her bunk one night and the older girl even knew of Skye's powers…

"Did you hear the deadly laser part?" Fitz countered upset. "Without a brave monkey—"

The agent didn't wait for him to finish that sentence and I was really glad. "You said we could go in with a man inside"

"And you want to be that man?" I asked her. It might have been that I used to know her, and despite her not being the same person she was back in the day, I could still read her a lot better than most people could. I knew that she was hiding something.

"FitzSimmons loved the guy, and he needs our help. And honestly, we don't have a better plan at the moment. I have everything required for a mission such as this, the background, the clearance and the experience". Her eyes had moved to her phone where she was still typing quickly. The corners of her lips soon titled upwards a bit. "Plus…" she said adding a pause for dramatic effect as she turned the screen to us so that we could see what was displayed there, "…I've got an invitation. Well, technically, it's an e-vite" she shrug her shoulders but the smile never left her face.

Phil looked at the phone for a few good seconds, weighing the options. "Good" he concluded before turning around and going back towards the table. "We know where to start. May, what's our ETA to Rome?"

"We still have at least 6 more hours to get to the base there" I replied not even bothering to head to the cockpit to check. I knew how fast my plane could go after all.

"Great. Quinn's gathering is tomorrow, afternoon. That gives us plenty of time to come up with a solid plan until then. FiztSimmons, you head down to the lab and see what you can come up with to shut down those lasers for a second team to go in, even if it's for a few seconds. May, you will stay on the stick tonight, make sure our journey is as smooth as possible. The rest of you, have a ten minute break and then we have to start thinking the details of the plan. We won't stay too late tonight, we have to be ready and fresh for tomorrow, this goes for everyone. It will only work against us if we try and come up with ideas when our brains are not functioning properly. I will see you in a bit. Dismissed"

I was the first one out of the room and as I passed by Skye I called her. "With me" and she didn't hesitate to follow.

I saw her make a move to lock the door as she walked in my solitude haven, which had become a place for the two of us to talk without any interruptions. She was the only person I could have in here without minding. Even Phil forced a conversation when he was in here, but not Skye. She would, more often than not, just come here and sit, staring at the horizon as we flew without breaking a comfortable silence that would sit between us.

"Don't lock it" I told her as I moved towards my spot, but standing right beside it, not lowering myself to the seat. "You'll need to leave in a bit either way"

"Fair enough" she turned to look at me.

She opened her mouth as if to ask what I wanted, but I beat her to it. "Why are you doing this?"

Her jaw snapped closed at my question and she seemed perplexed. "I don't—" she started but I didn't let her finish. We only had a handful of minutes before she had to meet Phil and Ward.

"You said you were doing this because we don't have a better plan at the moment" I repeated her own words. "I say, there is something you are not telling us, me. The others can't see it, but I know this isn't the real reason why you are doing this" I explain. "Now, am I gonna have to ask again or are you going to answer truthfully this time?"

"He doesn't trust me" her instant answer was almost like a whisper but I caught it nonetheless. "I was not selected for this team, and despite you being the one who truly decided who would be included or not, Coulson still thinks it was his decision, and I was not part of that. Hill might have vouched for me, and Coulson might have been the one to agree to keep me on the team, but I still feel like I don't belong. I'm getting along great with FitzSimmons, not that this was hard to accomplish. I can feel that I am getting somewhere with Ward, he is still not a hundred percent sure about me though. I think that the two of us have started to rebuild the trust we once had, but with him it's different. Sure, I helped out in our missions so far but I can still see his doubt about me, even if he tries to hide it.

"Taking initiative for this mission, coming up with a plan and seeing it through is me trying to get on his good side. I told you we are not discussing this yet, but since he doesn't remember me, he had no reason whatsoever to feel like he can believe in me. He might have told me that I have his trust unless I break it, but I can honestly still see the doubt in his eyes every time I have an input. So…" her gaze was still glued to mine, determination shining through her eyes, the request that followed sounding more like a command, "…please don't question me on this. I need to do this. I need to prove myself to him"

I couldn't say anything after that and just let her walk away as I sat down on the pilot's seat, my mind going over everything that I had just heard.