AN: Hey everyone! I hope you're all doing well! As always, many thanks to MegaDiary123 for beta-ing this and all chapters. Now, as for the more AU part that I mentioned last week... 'The Well' (last episode I worked on) was episode 108. Now, we jump to 112, 'Seeds'. I know there are important episodes in between, however, I'm changing the timeline of the series. We will go back to episodes 109-111 eventually, we're just gonna have a detour first. That's it, mainly, if you have questions feel free to PM or review and I will try getting back to you with spoiler-free answers. Also, a heads-up, the next chapter will come in two weeks, as I won't be able to post next week :)

All rights go to Marvel

Skye's POV

As luck would have it, or more like as my luck would have it, it didn't take long before we got our next assignment. Turned out we had to leave in a hurry and so Randolph ended up not coming with us, as we actually didn't even finish the overnight stay at that hotel.

I had the tablet with the details of the new mission at hand, as Fitz and Jemma made breakfast. "There is nothing more unsettling than being part of something so horrible, completely unaware" she shook her head as she sipped her tea. "The cadet could have died" she softly spoke, just voicing her thoughts.

Fitz placed a hand on her back. "We dropped those concepts years ago. We didn't know they'd be applied in that way" he tried to comfort her.

I stared down at my tablet once more, going over the information that agent Weaver sent us when she requested Jemma's and Fitz's presence in the Academy. "So…" I started and pointed at the photo of the device that instantly froze a whole swimming pool, trapping cadets inside. "Based on what we were briefed in, this device was planted in the filter days ago. It looks like someone was waiting for those specific cadets". As I read the information again I nodded to no-one in particular. "And since it was composed of things you both designed we are called in to assist with the investigation"

"Precisely", Jemma said while Fitz nodded at the same time.

Now that I was more awake I noticed a detail that I had missed before. I looked up as I sensed May closing in and got to her as she was passing by. "It says here that it will just be me and FitsSimmons helping them out. What are the rest of you gonna do?" I asked as I walked with her towards the cockpit as she prepared to land the plane.

"After we drop you off, Coulson and I have other matters to attend to. And those include Ward" she said leaving too much space for interpretation.

I stopped her with a hand on her elbow. "What's going on?" I asked, not liking to be kept in the shadows.

She looked at me and then checked around to see if anyone was close enough to hear us. She leaned in and whispered in my ear. "You're not supposed to know, but because of what happened with Ward we need to head to HQ for disciplinary action. This team might work outside of the system, red-tape-wise, but what happened had to be reported" she leaned back and looked at me. "You're the leader for this mission" she placed a hand on my shoulder and briefly squeezed before she disappeared behind the cockpit doors.

I stood there speechless for a good few seconds before I recomposed myself. Well… this mission was going to be more interesting than I first thought.

"God, I haven't been here since forever" I exclaimed as the three of us walked closer to the Academy.

"Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Jemma said as she took a deep breath of the fresh air.

"It definitely does," I said, thinking back to those days. "It's weird if you think about it". Jemma turned to me with a look that said 'What is?'. "You know, how cadets from different Academies aren't supposed to interact, apart from Communications, and yet we lived together. You visited Operations and I visited SciTech"

She seemed to consider that and why that happened. "Probably had to do with you being 15 when you first came here" she concluded, a cute wrinkle between her eyebrows as she thought hard on it. I buried the urge to flick her on that spot as I saw agent Weaver close in and I nodded my head towards her to let the others know as well.

"There they are. It's so good to see you both" Weaver said as she shook hands with both of them, a genuine smile on her face.

"You are as lovely as ever" Jemma, ever the charmer said back and Fitz concurred.

"Thank you," she said and then turned to me with an extended hand which was my turn to shake. "Agent Skye, a pleasure to have you, ma'am". As I touched her I memorised her vibrational imprint to have for later use if I ever need it.

"Pleasure to be here," I said back with an easy smile on my face. "I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances. I heard there is a list of suspects?" I said, not really wanting to get off the track.

She pursed her lips and stood a bit straighter. "Based on the level of intelligence that it'd take to put a device like the one we've found together, we've narrowed it down to the top 10% of our cadets. I'm worried there is a bad seed"

I expected as much. "I know you already questioned the victim… Seth Dormer, was it?" I waited for her to nod. "Would you mind if I had a chat with him after FitzSimmons' talk?"

She looked a bit surprised by that. "I would have expected you to want to meet with him as soon as possible. The lecture should take a while"

I shook my head. "That would have been the ideal. However, I would like to be there for the lecture. Since the top 10% of your Academy will all be gathered in a room, I'd prefer to be present. While I am not sure anyone would attempt anything in such a restricted area, I'd like to get a 'feel', let's say, of the suspects" I explained. "It will help with the investigation later on"

That seemed a good enough reason for her and pointed towards the large building. "If that's the case, please follow me. I need to prepare these two for their lecture. I will make sure you speak with Seth after the lecture" she smiled and led the way.

I let the three of them walk a bit ahead of me and I stayed in the shadows a bit behind. I watched as students walked up to them, telling them what a great honour it is to meet them and just be happy that FitzSimmons visited. I always knew that they were the popular kids among SciTech cadets, but seeing them being greeted in such a way warmed my heart.

Suddenly a thought flashed through my head, as I remembered a particular place that the Academy had. I quickened my step and walked up to Weaver. "I just remembered, there is a place here I'd like to visit. Would you mind if I let you go ahead and meet you at the lecture hall? I know the way" I quietly told her so as to not attract attention from the surrounding students.

She smiled and nodded. "If you're certain you know the way. The lecture should begin in about half an hour. Shall I save you a seat or would you prefer a different arrangement?"

"That's okay. It will be just a while that I'll be gone. I'll find a seat on the back to keep an eye on things". I then thanked her and walked off.

It wasn't two minutes later when I found myself in front of the Wall of Valor. Names from S.S.R. and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who had fallen marked the whole surface of the memorial. My eyes travelled to the date of the Battle and all the agents that died that day, many of whom I had killed. I let my fingers brush the names that I had memorised. My fingers lingered at the last name of the people who died that day.

'Phillip J. Coulson' it said.

I smiled sadly.

My eyes closed for a brief moment as I took a deep breath and let it out. I gave myself this one moment. And when I opened my eyes once more I walked away and didn't look back.

By the time I got to the lecture hall, the place was already almost fully packed. I found a nice seat in the back of the room, from where I could keep an eye on everyone. I eased down and watched as more people came in. I caught Jemma's eye, who was looking around. I waved a little bit at her and she smiled, her heart rate slowing a bit down now that she saw me.

As I sat back, I closed my eyes and focused. I let my powers travel through the ground and I slowly picked up people's vibrational signatures and heart rates. I didn't focus too much on everyone, but kept an eye out if anything spiked or seemed out of the ordinary. It would otherwise overwhelm me, to feel every single person's rate in a room as big as this one. So, with eyes still closed, I relaxed further into my seat and waited for the lecture to start.

As Jemma and Fitz start talking, some hearts spiked and I then looked round to those people. They were, however, just very happy for the two scientists on the podium. Most of them eased back into a normal rate soon enough.

All of them but one.

Just as Jemma and Fitz were about to start the examples of technology falling into the wrong hands, this one person that I had focused on got up, looking alarmingly down. "What is this?! What's happening?" He started yelling and I immediately got up and made my way to him.

I saw as his lower body was already covered in ice and the cold layer was quickly making its way towards his head to completely take over.

"Stay back!" I yelled to the students around him and immediately felt the surrounding area for a device similar to the one that was found in the pool. By then, Jemma and Fitz had already joined us and Jemma was preparing a glucose shot in order to lower his body's natural freezing point.

My vibrations didn't have to travel far, as I picked up on the device that was under the seats a couple of rows away from the freezing guy. "I found the device!" I yelled at the two scientists.

"Smash the damn thing" Fitz yelled back as the ice had almost completely covered the cadet.

With no second thought, I stepped on it hard, destroying it. The ice instantly retracted from the guy as he fell towards the ground, while Fitz caught him and Jemma did the injection.

The other cadets that were surrounding us started clapping. I shook my head and looked over to where agent Weaver was. She noticed that I was moving her way and we met halfway. "I need everyone but the second victim out of here, to begin with. I'll have a talk with…"

"Donnie. Donnie Gill" she provided me with the name of the student who was just attacked. At the same time, she called up the buildings staff in order to secure the room.

"Donnie Gill?" I asked as the name was sounding familiar. "Wasn't he one of the people who were in the swimming pool when Seth Dormer was attacked?" With her affirmative, tight-lipped nod I took a deep breath in.

I looked back to where Jemma and Fitz were around Donnie, who was still shaking. A S.H.I.E.L.D. blanket was thrown around his shoulders. Absolutely no idea where this came from. The rest of the cadets had started to be shown out of the room and with the little more privacy that was provided, I moved closer to the trio of scientists. "Hey, Donnie" I gently said when I was close enough. "How are you feeling?"

His hands were rubbing his arms, as he was shaking slightly. "C-Cold" he stammered out.

My eyes travelled to Jemma who seemed to pick up on my silent question. "He just needs plenty of rest and to stay warm", she pointedly looked at me. Got it. I'll have to ask my questions later on.

I motioned to Weaver to come closer. "Just a question before you head back to your room. Can you think of anyone here who'd like to hurt you?"

"I don't know anyone" he answered. And while I tried to pick up his heart rate to see if he was lying or not, it was going abnormal fast as it was trying to send more blood to him limps and to warm him up.

As Weaver motioned to two other members of the staff to come and escort him back he turned to FitzSimmons. "I'm sorry I ruined your lecture. I was really looking forward to it" he tried to smile through the cold he felt.

"It's not your fault, Donnie," Jemma said softly with a sad smile on her face.

As soon as the cadet had left the four of us gathered around. "The device is being processed as we speak," Fitz said. "But if it's anything like the first one, no genetic material or fingerprints are going to be found on it"

"And I'm gonna guess the same will be with surveillance," I said to no-one in particular. "I can try to bring something up but if the device was planted days ago and the system was down there isn't much that I'd be able to retrieve"

Jemma just shook her head with this whole situation. "Fresher pranks are a tradition. But these are something else" she was simultaneously worried and disappointed.

"Attempted murder?" Weaver voiced what we were all thinking.

"Since he was at the pool when the first attacked happened, you think he was the intended target all along? Did he have anything in common with the cadets in the pool other than being in the top 10%?" I asked the senior agent.

"These kids were popular". Her tone said it all.

"And Donnie was not. Got it". So, what he said about not really knowing anyone must have been the truth. This made things more complicated and more simple at the same time.

"Donnie hasn't made any enemies" she further explained about the young man. "But he hasn't made any friends either"

"He had a hard time adjusting?" Jemma caught up to the meaning behind Weaver's words immediately. "How old is he?"

"Eighteen. Youngest since you guys. 190 IQ and dropping out of high school when we met him. When things went well here we were considering graduating him early and assigning him to the Sandbox"

Wow, that was something. Only the best of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s scientists worked at the Sandbox. And Jemma seemed to share the same idea. "That's amazing. He'd love it there"

Weaver just shrugged. "He doesn't like it here. I'm afraid he will wash out" she clearly wouldn't like that to happen. However… that gave me an idea.

"Maybe that was the idea". Everyone's attention turned to me and I directed my next words to the head of SciTech. "Agent Weaver, keep working on the investigations. Interviewing cadets, instructors… Let me know if you have any new information" I motioned to the duo to follow me as we made our way out of the building.

"Where are we going?" Fitz couldn't help but ask, curiosity was always getting the better of him.

"Well, their interviews won't bear any fruits. Cadets are taught to keep secrets. So I thought, we could do our own little investigation. How about a trip to the boiler room?" I asked suggestively, thinking back to our days at the Academy.

"Oh, yes!" Fitz exclaimed just as Jemma squealed.

I lifted my hands to point to them that they should keep it down. "The thing is…" I started and both of them stopped jumping up and down. "I need you to go to Donnie's room," I said to Fitz, already anticipating the complaint from him.

"But— What—" he seemed unable to form proper sentences. "That's so unfair!", his accent popped up even more with his annoyance.

"I know, I know. But listen to me" I waited until he was a bit calmer. "Donnie is withdrawn. He definitely knows more than he's letting on. You and Jemma are heroes here, Fitz. He respects you. So, you hang out with him and then join us at the boiler room. Even if he had no clue who might be after him, he still needs a friend" I tried to reason and saw his resolve slowly come apart. "You remember how much help Jemma was to me. I don't even want to think how I would have been if I was alone" I added and Jemma hugged me from behind.

"She's right, you know. He could really use a friend and it's clear he looks up to you" Jemma helped out, still clinging onto my back.

Any final reservations he might have had flew out of the window with Jemma's input. He groaned and threw his head back before pinching the base of his nose. "Fine, fine. But the first round's on you" he pointed straight at me with a serious expression.

"Of course, of course," I said.

He seemed more satisfied with this whole idea now. "Well, in that case… see you later" and just like that, he walked off.

I shook my head at how easy it was to actually convince him. He was a very nice guy after all and what he was doing was the right thing. I turned around and wrapped my hands around Jemma's neck, as her own were lying loosely around my waist from when she was hugging me. "Now…" I said with a smirk. "How about I buy you a drink, m' lady?"

I saw her blush and felt joy spread through me. All she did was nod and then she grabbed my hand and we started making our way towards the room. "What about the mission?", she asked after a while.

"I can multitask" I answered. "After I buy a, very beautiful, girl a drink, all we have to do is get comfortable with the students. Mingle, try to get them gossiping. See if we can find anything out" I turned to her and saw the unsure look on her face. "Or not. I know you're terrible at lying, so don't even try. You can just enjoy the beverage of your choice as I gather information" at that she instantly eased up.

It wasn't too long after that that we both found ourselves with a beer at hand and among cadets. It was easier than I expected to chat up with the barman, who turned out to be a Communications cadet and get the information on Callie Hannigan. Who, other than the fact that she lost her spot to the Sandbox because of Dollie, was also at the pool during the first attack and was at the top 10%. It seemed like a good place to start.

Soon I found myself playing pool with her. I whistled as she nailed her first shot. "Not bad," I said and watched as she moved around the table to see where to hit the white ball from.

She smiled with a relaxed expression. "Elastic collision, contact point geometry and practice" she shrugged it off. "So, what's your deal? I've never seen you here before and I don't beg you for a SciTech cadet, no offence" she quickly added and I swiftly reassured her that no offence was taken. "Newbie at Communications or just found out about this place?"

I looked around, making a real show out of it and motioned for her to close in, which got her intrigued and she did just that. "I'm gonna let you in on a little secret," I whispered. "I'm not actually a cadet". I could both see her eyebrows rising as she did check me out again and I could feel her heart pick up. "I'm actually a fully-fledged agent. And…" I emphasised as I saw her not really believing me, "…I'm looking for the smartest mind you have here to duck out and join my top shadow unit" I said and showed her my S.H.I.E.L.D. standard badge. "I heard this was the place to look for that someone. Is that you?"

It was clear as day that she now believed me and was interested. "Could be" her words only made my suspicions true. "Shadow unit doing what?" She asked.

I moved a bit away gritting my teeth. "I've said too much already, but… that tech in the lecture hall? It was impressive. Whoever built it, I can see them moving to Level 6 within a year. Easily" I said as I took my turn to pool.

She looked sceptical. "Even though Donnie and Seth were hurt?"

I shrugged. "The boys survived" I brushed off.

I watched as she moved around the pool and got ready to take another shot. "Yeah," she said. "Probably the best thing that's happened to them all year". She hit the white ball and my hand came hard down on the pool table grabbing it. She wasn't expecting that.

"Why don't you tell me what you mean by that?" I asked, my tone more serious. "And I won't report what just happened to agent Weaver" I threatened.

She lifted her hands to show she meant no harm. "I'm just saying, they got to meet agent Fitz. They've been talking about it for weeks"

I narrowed my eyes as I didn't pick up any indication she was lying. This gave me a bad feeling, for we came just this day. And it was a last-minute thing. "Talking about it to whom?"

"Each other," she said and I instantly knew it was the truth.

They knew each other. They were looking forward to this lecture for weeks. They were the only ones to be attacked by the device. Shit, I thought. I turned around and motioned for Jemma to follow me out of the boiler room.

"They're working together," I told her as soon as we had some privacy. "Call Fitz, now" I said as we started making our way to the room that Fitz was at. "Tell him to get out of there"

She didn't question me, picking up the urgency in my voice. But by the time we got a hold of him, it was too late. He understood what had happened and then ended the call as he headed back to Donnie's room. As soon as that happened I instructed Jemma to wait for me in a building close by as I sprinted toward the room. I took out my Night-Night gun as I closed in the room. I couldn't pick up any vibration but a person who was laying on the floor. I barged in, not even bothering to check the room, knowing I would only find the rocket scientist. "Damn it, Fitz," I said as I bent down and gently slapped him on his cheek a few times, waking him up.

As he slowly came to, I took out my phone and called agent Weaver. As soon as she picked up I spoke. "Agent Weaver, this is agent Skye. I need you to initiate a lockdown to the SciTech Academy and set up a perimeter immediately. Seth Dormer and Donnie Gill were the two cadets behind the device and they're missing. I repeat we are looking for Seth Dormer and Donnie Gill. We can't let them leave"

"Roger that," she said back. "Meet you back at the reception" and she hanged up.

"Fuck!" I exclaimed as the alarm blazed in every room and corridor within the Academy.