After leaving S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, Skye drove to Queens. Upon arriving, she checked into a hotel, removed her earpiece, and left it in her room.
She then changed into casual clothes and quietly exited through the hotel's back door.
Skye switched modes of transportation several times before finally arriving at the Charles Agency on 71st Avenue in Forest Hills.
Standing in front of the agency, she eventually stepped inside.
"Welcome! How can we assist you?" asked the receptionist.
Skye removed her hood and took off her mask before saying, "I have a task to commission."
The receptionist bowed and said, "Please follow me."
Skye was quickly led into the reception room and sat down. Not long after, Selene entered with a task commission scroll.
Looking at Skye, Selene smiled and said, "My name is Selene, and I currently run this agency."
"Miss, what is the nature of your commission?"
After shaking hands with Selene, Skye replied, "My name is Skye, and my commission is to investigate my own background and information about my parents."
Hearing Skye's request, Selene sat down and asked, "You mean you want us to find out about your real identity and gather information about your parents?"
Skye nodded, "Yes."
Selene continued, "Do you have any information about your parents? Names, photos, anything like that?"
Shaking her head, Skye replied, "No, I don't have any information about them. I don't know their names, and I don't have any photos."
"The only thing I know is that my background and my parents seem to be related to S.H.I.E.L.D."
Selene looked at Skye in surprise, not expecting this young woman to have ties to S.H.I.E.L.D.
"I see. You're asking us to uncover your personal information and your parents' identities, which could be quite challenging."
"So how do you plan to pay for this commission?"
Skye gestured to herself.
Selene, surprised, asked, "You mean you want to use yourself as payment for the commission?"
"What value do you think you have that could serve as payment? We're not looking for a waitress here."
"It might take a lifetime of work to cover the cost of this task."
Skye explained, "I'm marked as an 084 by S.H.I.E.L.D., and I'm an expert in the internet. I'm a highly skilled hacker with exceptional abilities in computers."
Selene was taken aback when Skye mentioned she was an 084. She knew that her boss was collecting everything related to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 084 artifacts, and just one 084 could be worth as much as a body-enhancing serum.
But a human being marked as an 084 was something Selene had never encountered before.
"You're certain your file in S.H.I.E.L.D. lists you as an 084?"
Skye nodded, "Yes, I've confirmed it myself."
Selene smiled, "Interesting."
"I understand your situation and the nature of the task. However, due to the unique nature of the payment, I can't guarantee whether your commission will be accepted. I'll need to report this to headquarters."
"If your request is approved, I'll notify you."
Relieved she hadn't been outright rejected, Skye realized she had taken a calculated risk, with the final decision now resting on their review process.
Skye took out a slip of paper from her pocket with a secret email address written on it.
"If the commission is accepted, please send the information to this email."
Selene then added, "If approved, you may need to be taken into our custody. The specific payment method will be decided by our superiors."
Skye thought to herself that she'd rather work for them than S.H.I.E.L.D., and replied, "I understand."
Selene glanced at the task scroll in her hand and put it away, deciding there was no need to formalize things just yet.
"We'll contact you once we've made a decision."
Skye pulled up her hood and stood up, saying, "I'll be waiting for your message."
With that, Skye put her mask back on and left the office, returning to the hotel she had checked into earlier. Once there, she put her bone conduction earpiece back on.
Watching Skye leave, Selene found the task intriguing.
After organizing the details into a report, she submitted it to headquarters, leaving the final decision up to Skye's luck.
…
At the Charles Base-
Charles had just stepped out of his room when he ran into Tsunade.
Tsunade, surprised, asked, "Finished with your mission?"
Charles shook his head, "No, it'll take quite some time to finish, but I get to take a month-long break for now."
Hearing that Charles had a month to rest, Tsunade hugged him tightly and said, "Perfect timing! I've just developed a new military ration pill that combines local herbs to replenish chakra. Come check it out."
Surprised, Charles raised an eyebrow. This world didn't have chakra, and the local herbs weren't infused with chakra energy. How had Tsunade managed to develop a functioning pill?
Charles had nearly given up on the idea after all these years, relying on delicious ramen for energy replenishment instead.
Tsunade led Charles to the lab, where she presented the newly developed pill and explained, "This is the new military ration pill I created using local herbs."
"Unlike the ones from the ninja world, this pill can't directly replenish chakra energy."
"Its main effect is to restore the user's physical strength and mental energy. Since chakra is a combination of cellular strength and mental power, users will still need to extract chakra themselves after taking the pill."
"In terms of efficiency, it's not as good as the ones from the ninja world, but it's definitely more convenient on the battlefield than relying on ramen."
After hearing Tsunade's explanation, Charles fully understood and gave her a hug, saying, "Considering the limitations of the materials here, you've done an amazing job creating this version of the pill."
"Tsunade, you're incredible."
Tsunade, beaming with pride, responded, "Of course, I'm Konoha's medical genius! This kind of thing won't stump me."
Charles planted a kiss on Tsunade's cheek, then smiled and said, "We should test our skills and see how strong you really are."
With that, Charles carried Tsunade back to the room and pinned her to the bed. But Tsunade wasn't one to back down, flipping him over and straddling him, saying, "Let's see who's really stronger."
The two 'wrestled' in the room, exchanging moves and thoroughly enjoying their time together. Tsunade, with her remarkable stamina, fought intensely until they were both drenched in sweat.
Smiling at Tsunade, Charles teased, "When it comes to endurance, I'm definitely stronger than you!"
With that, they resumed their 'battle' once more.