Chapter 16: Let's Shake Things Up A BitNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
Chapter Text
Skye's POV
There was a strange feeling crossing over me when Simmons said that I was not actually fine. I wanted to laugh, I really did. But as much as I wanted to believe that she was joking and lying, I couldn't. First of all, the look in her eyes was genuine and even if she tried to create it on purpose, she was a terribleliar.
I looked back at Fitz who had the same perplex expression as me because he had no idea what she meant.
"Can you explain what's wrong?" I asked trying to figure out a way to get inside that big brain of hers.
Her face was still paler than her normal white skin and she did gulp at my question, but she seemed more grounded than before. What the hell had scared her so badly? "I run the normal examination, you know the basics and of course nothing was wrong there. You are perfectly healthy as far as anyone who looks only that deep is concerned," she said and framing her thoughts seemed to calm her down a little.
"I guess you looked even deeper?" I propped her to continue.
"Yeah, I applied what we learned at the course right now. I, basically, separated your DNA and then mapped it using gel electrophoresis. But at the same time–".
"Jemma, please. In English" I interrupted her since I could see the begging of a rambling clear in the air.
I saw the corners of her mouth title up slightly and some of that laugh reached her eyes. Even though it was only a small part, I called that a success. "I went deeper than just blood test and looked into your DNA and yours looks completely different from how a normal one would look like. It's like, it re-arranged itself containing extra macromolecules. If I hadn't had the results in my hand, I wouldn't think that's even possible".
I could feel the colour drain from my own face this time as she continued speaking. I managed to get most of what she said and that was enough. "That's…" I was at a loss of words, "…interesting".
"It's not just interesting, it is full-on strange! We know that this is not a disease since no one you have come in touch with was affected, so we have no idea what that means at all. It is like, a whole discovery!" She kept on talking and talking with no sign of stopping.
I had backed up to the only clean corner of the room and just sat there bringing my knees to my chest and wrapped my hands around them. I had stopped listening to what she was talking about, a long time ago. My mind suddenly clicked, realising what this could mean and how someone would use it if they found out about this peculiarity. "We need to burn it" I lifted my head and looked at the two scientists. "Maybe not literally apart from that piece of paper in your hand, the rest of the data I can erase from existence if I hack into the equipment".
All sounds stopped immediately in the room. Both sets of eyes were trained on me, one with understanding and the other without.
"We can't! This is a major breakthrough. We need to learn more about why that is or how it happened" Simmons was fast to say. "As a scientist I have a duty to the rest of the world, to help learn about this extraordinary discovery" she continued and my gaze was fixed on Fitz who had not spoken a word.
"You called me strange" I may have been looking at Fitz but Simmons knew I was talking to her. "If you, who know me, think like that then what will happen if other people find out".
"Oh, Skye. I didn't mean it like that, you know it. It is just… not ordinary" she tried to reassure me.
"No, you said that if you hadn't seen the results or done the examination yourself you wouldn't believe them. That you, the smartest person that I know, didn't think of it as possible. And we are in an Academy where they look for the out-of-the-ordinary. If someone outside of this room gets those results, then I bet that Skye will not be staying here any longer. She could be experimented on, and we need to protect her from that because she is our friend" Fitz came to my rescue.
I watched silently at the gaze battle between the two of them were having as they seemed able to read one another's thoughts. After what seemed like an eternity to me, Simmons sighed and handed the papers to Fitz who quickly gathered all other paper with results on and put them in his bin.
After all the work that we had been working on for the last couple of days was destroyed all three of us went to the maintenance or the Sci and Tech bar that was hidden from the other Academies. Simmons and Fitz found a group of people from their year and they got into their conversation. I was itching to release all this build-up energy and I really needed to get out.
"Jemma, I'm gonna head to the gym". I could see the question marks all over her face and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I am fine really, just need to punch something. Don't wait up for me" and without another word, I disappeared.
The gym was empty, something that didn't surprise me. It was around 11 pm when I arrived there either way. I needed the gym's equipment, but I needed privacy as well. So, when I entered the room I locked the door behind me and opened my computer to enter the camera feeds from the observation room behind the one-way glass. Once I made sure no one was there, I went to the punching bag and places the laptop next to me, so that I could always check in case someone, or Hill more specifically, came to observe.
I let my frustrations on the bag. With my mind lost on its own world, I didn't really realise when the room started to shake, or when the buzzing feeling that had crawled its way on my hands became more and more apparent.
The information that I got some hours ago flashed through my mind and my punching became harder. Until one punch connected to the bag and sent a shock wave that threw the bag on the other side of the room. It went flying across the room hitting the wall hard and leaving a small crack there before it fell on the floor.
I looked at my trembling hands and trembling room as the buzzing feeling increased even more.
I focus my breathing as May had taught me, focus to a single point and let everything else become noise in the background. Thankfully the shaking stopped soon after. The shaking on my hands though hadn't diminished in the slightest.
I managed a deep breath, grabbed my laptop and started typing. All the video feeds from when I was in the room suddenly disappeared and were replaced by empty gym hours. I quickly left and got back to my room. It was well past midnight now and Simmons was already fast asleep. The buzzing feeling never left my hands for the whole night as I laid awake on my bed and I had a feeling that it would never truly disappear.
Chapter 17: Let's Get Down To BusinessNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
Chapter Text
Skye's POV
"Tell me why you have to leave again?" I heard Simmons say for the third time since I started packing my bag.
"It's an off-campus training camp. I don't have much of a choice really" I turned and looked at her as I zipped the now fully packed bag. "Trust me, I would much rather stay here with you but I don't get a say in the matter. The only one to skip this camp is Ward and that is because he will be gone in a few days for his undercover mission" it was obvious that she wanted to keep on rambling, so I had to put a stop to it somehow. "Look, it's only for a month. I will be back before you can say 'manscaping'".
The beginning of a smile tried to make its way before she smothered it, letting me know that she wasn't really mad at me for leaving. "A month is too long!" She exclaimed and threw her hands in the air to put more emphasis on her words.
"But we can talk every day if you want to" I answered back. I had an answer ready for every possible excuse or statement that she could make. Mostly since she was using the same lines over and over again for the last week. "You know that even if the rules say 'no contact with anyone outside the camp' I can easily do so without them knowing" I winked and got up from my bed.
As Simmons realised that this was me actually leaving she wrapped herself around me in a bone-crushing hug. "Promise?" She asked, her tone soft and pleading to emphasize her need for my agreement.
I would promise anything to you, Jemma, I thought to myself. "Promise".
She seemed to relax a bit at that but soon tensed again. She pulled away and went to my nightstand. My face was the term of confusion as she seemed to inspect something. Then she turned and looked at me. I could read that she was hurt all over her since she wore her heart on her sleeve.
"What?"
"Why is this still here?" She asked and picked the object of interest and shoved it into my hands. I looked down as the hula girl danced from the sudden movement. I lifted my gaze, looking back at Simmons and I could almost out make what she was thinking. Why didn't you pack it as well? Is this how much this meant to you?
"Oh, no Jemma" I quickly said before she got the chance to think more. Her quick and uncontrollable thinking could get out of hand too fast for my liking. "It means the world to me, honestly. I just thought that you would like to keep it safe for me until I get back." I could still see that she was hesitant and the raised eyebrow helped verify my suspicions. "Look, I know that no matter what I tell you, you're gonna miss me. So… I thought that if you had this…" I said as I pointed to the shaking girl, "…then maybe you could look at it and not feel the distance between us that much".
The smile that appeared on her face warmed my heart in an instant. She let out a quiet breath, almost like a sigh, and came closer, placing her hands on top of mine. She pushed the object of debate further to my chest but still held my hands firmly.
"You keep it. I have plenty of your stuff here. It is, after all, our room. That way if I do miss you, which I will, I have half a room that reminds me of you. That's why you will take it with you so that I'll have a way of knowing that there is something near you that reminds you of me" her tone was soft yet serious, leaving no room for arguments.
I unzipped the bag to place the hula girl in. Once that was over, I threw the bag over my shoulder and headed for the door. "I'll call you as soon as I can," I said and left the room.
This was the training camp that got most of the Operations cadets cut. Every year, this one month would be the last glimpse of S.H.I.E.L.D. that many would have. And because what occurred during the camp would, immediately after its finish, become well known, every year they would come up with new and more complex exercises.
I was really glad for all the training that I had done with Natasha and May before I started at the Academy. If I hadn't, I would probably be on the floor trying to catch my breath, just as a lot of the other cadets were.
The whole facility was somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Like, there was only one road, which we took to come here, and other than that the only view one could have, was trees. Endless rows of trees going as far as the eye could reach. It was probably one of the most remote places I had ever seen. And my daily life for the past, almost three weeks, was pretty much the same. The 24 hours were filled with different kinds of exercises and a lot of running, the most running I had ever done in my entire life.
It was right after this 45-minute jog after a very intense strength training that Hill called out to me. "Skye! Come here!" She screamed and waited for me to reach her. All the others from my group had left and it was just the two of us among the trunks.
"Yes ma'am?" I said with my back straight and my hands wrapped behind my back.
"At ease, Skye. How's the training going so far? I guess you are having more fun than at the Academy?" Her tone casual, as always, but I could see her eyes studying my face. I wasn't sure why though, and it made me feel exposed in front of her.
"It's more challenging. I like it" I replied honestly. Her eyes were still on me and I had to fight with myself not to fidget on the spot.
"Good, that's good" her gazed fell as she moved her hands and only then did I notice the folder that she was holding all this time. She raised it to my chest and I took it, reading the bold, capital, red letters on its cover. "Classified? What is this?" I asked as I looked at her for permission to open it and read its contents and she nodded to me.
"This is O'Brien. He came into possession of an 0-8-4 weapon that was stolen from us years ago. We were informed that he is going to sell this weapon to the highest bitter in less than a week. S.H.I.E.L.D. is assembling a team to infiltrate and recover the weapon, without making ourselves known. I requested that you participate on this team so that you can properly see how things work outside the Academy" she finished and I was left looking at her like an idiot.
"I- I- I- I am not sure this would be the best idea," I said trying to find the proper words to express my thought.
Hill raised an eyebrow at that. "Care to elaborate? I am doing this for you. Other cadets would kill for a chance like this one and you dare to doubt an idea of mine?"
It was hard not to gulp at the tone of her voice. "I never meant to disrespect you. And I am sure that you thought this as thoroughly as you possibly could. But if you want my opinion on the matter it is this. This O'Brien guy seems trouble. The fact that he holds a 0-8-4 is a threat on its own and this operation is too important for the team to have a not full-badged and with hands-on-experience agent among them. You've been training me to make decisions like that, and even if it's against me, I believe that there are better agents suited for this mission".
A silence enfolded us that seemed to stretch out to infinity. My gaze never left hers, showing the confidence that I had behind my words. Her laughing took me completely by surprise. My face was full of surprise as her giggles kept going and she patted my shoulder in an appraising way.
"I knew I made the right choice" the smile on her face never truly disappearing. "That is exactly what I was expecting and wanted to hear from you to know that you are ready. The fact that you put so much thought into it tells me that there is no way you're gonna screw this up. And, don't worry, you're gonna run back end and won't see the action first-hand, but it will be a worthy experience. Now go get your stuff. You're leaving to meet the team in an hour". Doing her trademark move, she walked away without leaving me any chances to talk back or say anything else.
It was an approximately 3-hour ride from the training camp to the safe house. Hill had come with me but once we reached the door she insisted that I cross it first. This confused me a little bit but still did as was told, only with my guard up.
The safe house was pretty much a cabin in the woods, not much of an upgrade from the training camp facility in that aspect, and it was pretty simple. It was one storehouse in a country style, seemingly made completely out of wood. The majority of the space was occupied by the living room, which had a couple of couches and just as many armchairs, all of which appeared to be new.
My attention was later captured by the back of three heads that were sitting at one of the couches and were observing something in an up-to-date technologically television. As soon as I stepped into the room, the wooden floor creaked and all three agents turned to look in my direction alarmed. Before I got the chance to analyse any of their faces the door behind me shut and I sharply turned to look at Hill blocking the exit. She had a triumph smirk on her face that I couldn't quite place where it came from or where it was leading.
Shaking my head, and my thoughts with it, I turned back to look at the other members of the team that I would be part of for this mission.
My whole vision became tunnel-like once I spotted the small, black-haired Asian woman who had all but raised me since the day she found me.
"May?"
Chapter 18: Beginner's LuckNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
Chapter Text
Skye's POV
"May?"
Her form moved from behind the couch and she came to stand in front of me. From the corner of my eye I spotted the other two agents who had yet to move, not surprised by my question. Good, they were briefed over our relationship.
"Hello Skye," May's warm voice reached me with an indescribable desire to hug her. True, I had distanced myself for the past couple of months but ever since I explained the reason for my actions she had been so helpful on finding out more about my past. We talked more often than we ever did before and she was always very keen on knowing what was going on in my life. Ever since the training camp had begun we hadn't really had the chance to properly chat and it was like a dream seeing her in flesh standing there.
I could see that all she wanted was to hug me as well, but she contained herself. I had to remind myself that this was not appropriate and we would be working together for the time being. Maybe when we would be left alone we would have more freedom to talk and relax in the presence of one another.
I could see her eyes analysing my face, trying to guess what my next move would be. "You forgot to introduce me to the rest of the team" I simply told her, relaxing the muscles in my body that had unintentionally tensed.
She sighed with the corners of her mouth tilting up as she giggled ever so slightly. This made a smile appear on my face as well. She came around and placed a hand on my back, pushing me a little towards the other members who were just looking at us. "Maria told me that you just got the assignment, we have to properly brief you".
Hill's POV
Just as she was asked and was expected, Skye was running back end in this operation. Given her history with hacking, she got the role of monitoring the comms, the cameras and basically scanning anything and everything that she could get her hands on about the place that was to be infiltrated. And, just as expected, I was in the same van as her, driving through the dark streets.
Not long after we were parked in an even darker alley. I had made sure that we would be close enough to the place we were to raid so that Skye would be able to connect to the servers, but far enough so that we wouldn't be easily spotted or not at all. And given the mission, I highly doubted we would be seen. Once I had pulled the handbrake I climbed back and sat next to the young girl whose eyes were glued to the monitors in front of her. She was so focused and I could feel the anxiety coming off of her in waves that it brought back a lot of memories from how I was in my first ever assignment with Melinda as an S.O.
"What do you see?" I asked after picking up my set of headphones that was just lying around waiting to be used. Maybe asking her for a progress report would relax her a bit, since she wouldn't keep everything inside.
She raised a finger and pointed to one of the screens to her right that had the camera feeds from the well-guarded estate. "This is the place where the 0-8-4 is kept. The dance that O'Brien hosts serves as a good distraction and has me looking all over for potential threats as they could be hiding everywhere. The face-recognition software helps though" was her reply as she continued typing fast. "There are no cameras that show the 0-8-4 directly and so I have to monitor the ones that appear to be closer to it. That, however, leaves the team hanging as to what traps may await for them as soon as they pass the door" she indicated a different feed that was focused on a metal door.
Of course and there isn't any camera that shows the 0-8-4, I thought to myself but didn't share my thoughts with Skye. She was tense all over and she didn't need my help to be even more so.
"There isn't much that you can do in cases like these" my voice echoed in the closed and tiny back of the van. "All you can do is keep yourself focused and alert them as soon as something seems out of place. Anything really. This is why I am here as well, I am kinda like your S.O. after all" I told her but it was obvious that my words entered from one ear and exited from the other without being truly processed or just registered.
I sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder which made her jump out of her skin. "Relax Skye," I said as I squeezed my hand. "You are doing great. And whatever happens behind this door, I am sure that May will be able to handle it".
Not knowing what else to tell her I sat back on my seat and let out a breath. I saw the oh-so-familiar May breathing exercises being executed by the girl as she tried to let some of the tension go.
"You're right" she finally said after a long pause. Of course, I am right, I refrained from replying just as I fought not to roll my eyes. "May can handle anything". It was obvious from her tone that she believed that sentence wholeheartedly, and it was something that the many years that I had spent with May had led me to believe the same thing.
The minutes went by as I watched her keep switching between the screens and resumed checking the camera feeds and several lines of coding that she had written in order to bypass their security. Knowing about where she was coming from I could definitely see the people that affected her in the way that she acted.
I remembered Melinda's deadly seriousness in every case that we had met, and I could totally see a similarity in a mission-mode Skye. Clint's funny remarks were something that one could easily see in Skye if she decided to open herself up. And her closeness and lack of attachment was a trademark of Romanoff's. And then Coulson, well, he was responsible for her hacking so there was that.
As my thoughts kept running wild, the time for the actual mission came and May with agent Hart went in the ball. Agent Woo was in a nearby rooftop, riffle at hand just for the formalities since we weren't really expecting any emergencies to come up.
And, as expected, the operation went smoothly. Honestly speaking, I highly doubted that Skye would make any mistake when it came to hacking or when it came to a situation where Melinda was involved. She shut down the systems to help our agents get into the mystery room and get the 0-8-4. After the systems came back up, most of the security near the weapon was either unconscious or on the floor trying to understand what just hit them and S.H.I.E.L.D. was long gone.
But no matter the success, Skye was still on her toes the whole time, with her whole focus and energy spent on checking whether or not she missed anything or if something seemed out of place. Wanting her to relax once again, I placed a hand on her shoulder. She was startled once more and I made a mental note for her future training to have her pay better attention on her surroundings, just like before the sparring that we had some days before her birthday. This girl could get so lost in her mind that she could shut the whole world out if she wanted to. It was a very useful skill, but not during a mission.
I couldn't help it, I began laughing as she pushed my hand off her shoulder and refocused on the screens. The pout on her face just made me laugh even harder. Then her face turned all serious though I could clearly see that she was enjoying the whole situation. "Oh, don't be like that!" I playfully hit her on the same shoulder and eased back onto my seat.
Once she finished her work, she turned towards me with her hands crossed over her chest. An eyebrow was raised in a silent question that was too clear for me to miss out. Why is this so funny to you? Well if she wanted an answer who was I not to deliver?
"You know that I was like that as well when it was my first mission with May?" The thought that was running in my head since the beginning of this mission finally out in the open. True, I called her Melinda since the history that we had together and all, but with Skye here I found it proper to use her surname. If I didn't she would definitely not let it slide and I didn't want to be the one to explain to Melinda why Skye suddenly started calling her the same.
I could see a light in her eyes once I told her about my mission with Melinda. Probably she didn't know a lot about the Asian's time as an S.O. so I was expecting a question related to this topic. However, to my surprise, it was quite a different one.
"You know your mood swings are kind of creepy right?".
Oh, that was interesting. I could truly hide the smile that went even broad on my face or my whole body going up and doing in a failing attempt to suppress a laugh. "Please…" I said drugging the word more than necessary, "…continue". I knew my tone was playful and was glad to see her relax onto her car seat a bit more.
"Your personality is like a complete 180 from when we are at the academy. Plus, you are all serious in one moment and in the next you can be laughing for the most stupid reason ever". I didn't know where she found the courage to actually say all that, but I was glad that she was feeling secure enough with me to express her thoughts in such away. So I had to return the favour of her opening up and answer honestly.
"In the Academy it's different. I am a teacher there, an instructor. Here, today, I am just your S.O. and the one role compared to the other is completely different. I can be formal when I want and informal just the same. There is a lot you don't know about me, Skye, just as there is a lot that I don't know about you". Her eyebrows nearly reached her hairline at my latest statement and I raised my hands in a manner of surrender. "Fine, fine… guilty. I do know most things about you but this is only because of the clearance and my role as a trainer. But still, I don't really know you. I only know what is written in your file" I was now leaning in my chair, my elbows rested on my knees as they supported my whole upper-body weight. "But that's not who you are" I continued as I pointed to her chest. "You decide who you are and I would really like to know who you have decided to be". As I finished, I still had the corners of my mouth tilted up, just as I did during the whole duration of my monologue, despite the seriousness of my words.
It was time for me to do something other than sitting and staring at Skye and so I got up and motioned her to follow me to the front of the van as I started the engine to get out of that alley.
"See…" she started talking while lowering herself down on the co-driver's seat "…you just say stuff so serious out of the blue and I am never sure what to expect next". Well, since I truly believe that she would pass the true meaning of this mission there was no harm in leaving clues, was there?
"Oh, don't worry. You will see more of me in the next years, you know, me being your S.O. and all".
"I thought that you couldn't have an S.O. until you graduated or for the last couple of years while in the Academy?" She asked quite unsure.
I knew that her roommate was a girl, Jemma Simmons if I was right, from Science and Technology and she probably got confused as to why they have S.O. so early on and why we, in Operations, don't.
"Well, this is how it usually works in Operations. We can't have each cadet assigned to an S.O. since a lot of people don't make it that far. But if someone wants to be a Specialist, then an S.O. is assigned to them during their stay at the Academy. Take Grant Ward, for example, his S.O. is Garrett and he has been in that position for… three years I think" my eyes never leaving the road as I was explaining how the system worked.
"Yeah, that's all good but I am barely finishing my first year. When you said earlier that you are my S.O. I thought you were joking. I am guessing you are not?" She asked as the moving lights from the sides of the road seemed to relax her even more.
"I guess not, but you will find out more soon enough" I was smiling, something that I didn't even try to hide from my voice
Skye's POV
The rest of the ride to the meeting point after our talk was enveloped in a welcoming silence that neither Hill nor I dared to break. It was about twenty minutes later when the car parked and not far after when another two vehicles followed suit and stopped right beside us.
I stayed in the back with Hill, listening as the other three agents from our team arrange the transfer for the 0-8-4 and briefly talked about what would follow. I watched as the team dispersed and May came closer to where Hill and I were.
"Hey Maria, mind if I drive Skye back? We have some things we need to talk about" she plainly said as she stopped a few feet away from us. I could see Hill hesitate as if she shouldn't, and probably that was the case, but one more firm look from May had her sighing in no time.
"Fine, but you will have to explain about the report she should fill in after the mission and all the paperwork. I know you don't like talking about this stuff, you hate paperwork, but if I am gonna leave you two alone you might as well do me a favour in return".
"I trained you too good, you know that? Fine, I will explain everything. Will meet you back at the safe house" May said dismissing Hill with a wave of her hand though she couldn't hide the playfulness from leaking in to her tone.
Once all the others were out of site May closed the few feet that kept us apart rapidly and had me in one bone crushing hug. My hands were now wrapped tightly around her torso as I returned the gesture with all my strength. I had not realised how much I had missed talking to her until I told her about finding out about my past and I hadn't realised how much I missed her hugs until that moment. How much I had missed all of my family.
"You have a lot of explaining to do" May whispered in my ear, never once moving away. "I know. I will" I replied back and then she made a move to step away. I could see her eyes scanning properly over my form since she hadn't really seen me for several months now. "You lost weight," she said in a matter-of-fact tone and I was really glad for her not judging. Then her finger touched my hair "And you let them grow".
"Well, you know my relationship with my hair. They were always long and I never thought of cutting them, it would be too drastic of a change… you look good" I finally said, not really sure how to reply. She looked the same as she did the last time I saw her, maybe a little more tired, but I knew she wouldn't want me to mention it. "How are the others?"
We went into the car and turned the engine on as we got ready to take off towards the safe house. "Everyone is fine really. Natasha and Clint have been in more missions these past few months than they had in the past and Coulson is doing what he was doing before. Meaning he is basically being Fury's boyfriend and they are attached to the hip. They all miss you"
"I know they do. I miss you guys as well, but you know how it is with the Academy, you've been through it yourself" I said but the side look that I got from May before she focused back on the road made me raise my hands in a surrendering manner. "Fine, fine. It may or may not have been my fault that we stopped talking for some time but you have to understand my point of view". I relaxed back into the seat of the black SUV as I let a long sigh come off. "Did you find anything new? Did Fury say anything?"
I could see from the corner of my eye May fidgeting on her seat and I knew that she had learned something. But I also knew that she wasn't going to lie to me, not after how I had withdrawn within myself when I thought that they were hiding information.
"I did have Coulson ask Fury information about the redacted file that you sent over" she started and my head turned slowly in her direction when she paused. It was obvious that she was trying to find a way to bring up this matter as smoothly as possible and this didn't really help reassure me about what was found out.
My eyes were trained at May as her attention was on the road, though I could see from the faraway look that she had, that her mind was in a whole other world. Not the safest thing to do when one is driving, but I wasn't brave enough to tell her that or sure that there would be a similar situation to learn about what she had found out. So, my gaze turned to the dark road ahead just to make sure but as expected we were the only ones on the road, no other car lights were seen anywhere.
We weren't going that fast, given May's lack of attention on the road. The speed, or the lack of it, in this case, was something that I was grateful for until we were about in the middle of a crossroad. Where there were no cars, suddenly headlights shined too bright from my left and I could hear a car picking up speed rapidly.
"May, look out!" I screamed as I bent over to turn the wheel in a useless try to change the direction of the vehicle to avoid the hit, but my luck seemed to run short.
The unknown car crashed onto us in the back part of our vehicle and we were sent spinning for what seemed like forever. The only reason why I wasn't sent flying out of the car was the seatbelt that I was wearing, but this didn't prevent my head from hitting the widow hard before everything went black.
Chapter 19: Waking UpNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Skye's POV
The first thing that I realised when I woke up was the excruciating pain that run through my head. It felt as if I was hit by a truck. A groan escaped my lips as I tried to lift my head and the pain just multiplied.
"So, the sleeping beauty finally decides to join us" I hear a voice but I don't really pay any attention to it. I still try to piece out what had happened. I stay like that, head on my chest as I was sitting somewhere with my hands tied to the arms of the chair and my eyes closed. Not long after I heard footsteps, a hand gripped my chin hard and harshly lifted it up, making my head spin. "You will look at me when I am talking to you" the same guy stated as he tapped my cheek a few times until I finally managed to actually open my eyes without everything being too bright or spinning around.
"That's more like it" he let go of my chin and walked back to where another chair was placed a few meters away.
I wasn't really sure what had happened. The last thing that I remembered was driving back to the safe house with May. We were talking and I asked what Fury had said about the redacted file and then… and then there was a car coming speeding right at us.
So, it wasn't an accident, I thought to myself as my gaze went around the room trying to assess the situation that I had found myself in. Remember our training, my subconscious pointed out and what we had learned in the Academy for cases of interrogation came flashing through my mind.
First I looked around. I was in a room that looked like a basement, the only reason why it wasn't pitch black were the lights that were turned on, on the roof. It was a pretty dirty place, as if not used in a long time and though there was plenty of space, the only pieces of furniture were the chairs upon which my captor and I were sitting. And then there was my captor. Now that I could see without feeling like I just exited a roller coaster, I took in his face and characteristics. One name popped up when I realised who I was sitting across from.
O'Brien.
"Oh, so you know who I am" I heard him say.
Shit! I must have shown emotion when matched the face of the files, which I had learned by heart, with the person in front of me. But I wouldn't make the same mistake again. Quickly Natasha's mask appeared on my face as I got rid of any emotion shown upon it.
He seemed to study me, trying to read me. For what seemed like hours to me, he just sat there, piercing me with his eyes. Finally, finally, he gave up and with a sigh, he got up. "Well, at least I won't have to introduce myself, Skye" his watchful eyes never leaving my face, waiting to see my reaction to him knowing my name.
"I guess the introductions are over then?" It was more of a statement that I made, rather than a question. "What do you want?" I asked after a long period of simple silence.
He smiled at that question. A sickening smile to be honest. It was like this was the question he was waiting for and his whole world lit up suddenly. "Well, it's pretty simple really. I want my weapon back" he came closer and crunched right in front of me so that he would be at my eye level.
"Well, it's not that simple really" I couldn't help the remark. "I mean, I would love to give you your weapon back, the problem is that I have no idea what you are talking about". That earned me a punch in the face. My head bounced on the right when his fist connected to my left cheek. The world started spinning once again but thankfully stopped sooner than last time. Though I did have to blink a few times to refocus.
Apparently I needed more time than he was willing to give me and so he grabbed my chin, turned my face and looked my head over. His hand went to my right temple where he touched my skin and I flinched violently from his hand as if he had just used fire. "Well, it seems that the crash did more damage than intended. So, why don't you just answer my questions and we won't have to do this the hard way?"
"See, the only problem is I am already answering your questions" that earned me a slap this time, since he figured that he didn't have to put much force into the hits to make them painful for me. "As I said…" I repeated between gritted teeth "…I have no idea what you are talking about, we don't steal weapons, we just take back what's ours. So unless you ask the proper questions, I can't help you".
"Oh, so you are from S.H.I.E.L.D.," he said with his eyes lighting up. "Probably shouldn't have let that slip out" he said as if disappointed by my revelation.
"Oh, please. Like you didn't know who I am working for, you already knew my name. This was no news for you" I said knowing that my words were true. O'Brien was good enough to steal an 0-8-4 from S.H.I.E.L.D. and get away with it for a long time, there was no way that he hadn't done his research, given his knowledge of my name.
When I finished talking he rose to his feet. "You think you are smart, huh? How do you think that I found you? You are the rookie of the team that was sent to 'retrieve', as you call it, your precious weapon. So, you would of course run the back end of the operation. What are you, sixteen right? And based on how S.H.I.E.L.D. works, then you were the one to hack into my system and this must have been your first assignment. I am guessing you are still at the Academy and good enough to be in an operation so young.
"But you are not as good as you think you are. I knew for sure that my attempt to sell the weapon wouldn't go unnoticed and so I had prepared a small surprise for whoever tried to hack into my system. So when you shut down everything, a tracking virus was released to your coding allowing me to track you back" he had a sick smirk on his face, clearly proud of what he had accomplished.
I made sure not to show any emotion on my face as he spoke and when he revealed that it was my fault that I got into this situation. "I can clearly see that you have some stuff to think about. Don't worry I will be back" he finished as he exited the room, turning off the lights and leaving me in the dark with my thoughts.
And as he suggested, that was exactly what I did. I started tracing back to the whole operation trying to figure where and when my coding slacked. And at the same, my mind was running wild for two other things. One of them being a discovery of an escape plan, should I be able to escape before S.H.I.E.L.D. came to the rescue, and the second being May. She was in the accident with me, but I had no idea what state she was in and she was the one to take the main blow from the crash.
Notes:Sorry for the late update guys. Still within the day thought ^^' (sorry if you're reading this from a place where the time difference is so big that it was a day later). I will try to keep it being posted in the morning/early afternoon as I have done so far.
Chapter 20: Not All Fun And GAmesNotes:
All rights go to Marvel
Chapter Text
May's POV
I woke up with a searing pain going through my ribs. I tried to take a breath, but with the inhale, the pain grew bigger and I couldn't prevent the hiss that escaped through my greeted teeth.
"Melinda, take it easy" I heard Maria's voice as she placed a hand on my shoulder, holding me in place and not allowing me to sit up. "How are you feeling?" She continued when I relaxed back to the bed that I was lying on.
"Could be better" I answered. "My ribs hurt, but I'll live" I continued honestly because for some unknown reason Maria could always tell when I was lying. My eyes were now open as I was looking around the place. We were back to the safe house. "How is Skye?" My first and foremost concern at the moment was her.
Maria sighed and I snapped my eyes in her direction. This was not a good sign. "What happened?" I all but demand from my former trainee. My gaze steeled at her lack of instant reply and when I made a move to get up she seemed to regain some composure and pressed me back down on the mattress. I shot her a look full of anger for her inability to answer my question as well as trying to make me not leave the bed. Wanna try that again Hill? My eyes were asking her and the tone went across to the woman.
"What happened was that something went wrong with the plan. I should be asking you what happened. You were supposed to see the car coming, manoeuvre to avoid the crash, take cover and then let the agents capture both of you. But for some reason the car hit you full force and you never avoided it, resulting in both you and Skye getting injured in the process. So, should I ask what happened or are you not going to tell me anyway?"
One thought passed my mind during Maria's words. Shit. She was right, this was all my fault. I knew that I wouldn't really get to talk with Skye and the initial plan was for Maria to drive her back while we planned the whole scheme, however, I really needed to talk to her and I took Maria's place in the SUV.
"Is Skye okay?" I asked in return, never answering the question that I got from the younger agent. And she had spent long enough time with me as her S.O. to know that I wasn't going to answer unless I wanted to.
All she could do was release a breath and sit back on her chair as she allowed me to slowly sit up. My right hand went automatically to my aching left side as I positioned myself better on the pillow that I was previously lying my head-on. "Skye is fine, all things considered," I heard her voice as she gave me a computer that was previously sitting on the night table. "She has a wound on the right side of her face and some bruises here and there. Before you ask, it is nothing serious, both of you were really lucky".
I saw Skye tied up in a chair, with agent O'Brien across from her. "She just woke up a few moments ago but given the training exercise we couldn't give her any medical attention, and neither to you if you haven't figured out as much yet" Maria kept talking but I zoned out her words as I focused on the girl that I had as a daughter.
Thinking that the cause for Skye's pain was nothing else other than my fault didn't really help. "Is she in the basement?" I finally got the question out, though I already knew the answer.
"Yeah, we had the room prepared for the interrogation" we watched as O'Brien got up and left Skye alone in the room. "She will be fine Melinda, you know that this girl is as tough as nails".
"Look who is up!" O'Brien's voice echoed through the room as he opened the door to the room. "Really sorry for the accident May. I didn't mean to hit you and your girl so hard" he said as he passed me a glass of water and only then did I realise how dry my throat was. I waved him off, meaning that there were no hard feelings. "How are you holding up?".
"Great. Haven't been better" I said in a rush, an almost automated answer for when people asked me about my health. I never wanted to burden them with my injuries. "When will I go down?" I asked in return. Anxious about my role in the whole play.
The man eyed me carefully. "I will leave Skye alone for a couple more hours. She was pretty shaken up with the head injury, nothing too serious I assure you. But I am guessing she will be really tired and will doze off sooner than later, this is when I'll go down again. We have to be convincing, don't we?" I slowly got up and stretched to see how painful it would be to move around. Or to be tied up in a chair across from Skye in the hours to come. "Then after showing her a few of my 'information extracting' tactics, I will introduce you to the picture. Sorry in advance for what it is to come".
I focused back on the computer screen where Skye was sitting on the chair, seemingly lost in her own mind and I was wondering what kind of thoughts were running through her head at the moment.
Skye's POV
I must have dozed off because in one moment I was thinking hard about what went wrong with my coding and in the next I wake up from a bucket of water being thrown directly to my face. I looked around frankly, in an attempt to get my bearings back together and realise what had just happened.
"I think I gave you quite enough alone time, don't you agree?" O'Brien stated as he placed the, now empty, bucket of water on the ground. "It's time for you to answer my questions," he said and for some reason, his tone seemed much more different than it did before. It was somehow more determined and I realised that this was when the 'party' was about to begin.
"Where is the weapon?" He was now in front of me.
I had two choices in that situation. Be silent, or react somehow to what he was saying. I chose the latter and without putting much thought behind the action, I spitted in his face. "You are delusional if you think you are gonna take any information from me," I told him with the most serious voice that I could muster at the moment while he was cleaning his face up.
"I was hoping you were gonna say that" and with that, I got what must have been one of the most full-force punches that he could possibly give.
The hit was so hard that I was left disoriented and in immense pain for a very long time. My head was throbbing and my eyes were shut because whenever I opened them the world would spin around too much for my liking. I faintly heard the sound of a knife and felt the ropes that held me to the chair being cut. I tried my best to attack or at least defend myself for what I was thinking was gonna be one hell of a beat-up, but all I managed was to get thrown on the hard floor. As I was lying there, I tried to pick myself up and managed to get as far as I could on my hands and knees but I didn't have the time to celebrate my achievement, as it was immediately followed by a hard kick on my ribs that made me roll a few times and left me breathless.
As I was trying to catch my breath my hands were tied in front of me, in a metal chain this time, and were secured to a hook. I saw my captor leave from my field of vision and tried to get up only for a machine's sound to fill the room and me being yanked on my feet and off the floor.
Where the hell did this machine even come from? I cursed internally as the whole hook-hanging-off-the-ceiling situation had escaped my assessment of the room in my initial scan and I wasn't prepared for something like that.
"Did you rethink your last statement?" He questioned clearly enjoying the whole situation. Where did that psychopath even come from? Though he should be a psychopath considering that he stole an 0-8-4 from S.H.I.E.L.D. and tried to get away with it.
Focus! I scolded myself. I had to focus at the moment and not let my mind wander around and start doing its usual speculations and just run wild. Some matters needed to be taken care of with more importance.
He took my silence as an answer and he started his workout/torture. I wasn't sure which of the two he considered he was doing since he was using my ribs mainly, but the rest of my body wasn't left unscratched, as a punching bag. Though he did leave the head alone for most of the time his fists came my way. But I guessed this was because he didn't want me to pass out so soon, but from how he was going I wasn't sure that this desire of his would last for very long.
Despite the pain that I was in, I was proud of myself that I hadn't said anything in the minutes or hours, truly I had lost track of time, that he was continually asking questions about the location of the weapon. At some point, he changed and started asking general info about S.H.I.E.L.D. and I wasn't sure whether his true purpose was to find out where we stored the weapon or if he wanted intel about the organisation that I was gonna work for one day. The things closer to words that I got out was the grunts that couldn't help but escaped my lips without my permission.
My head was slummed to my chest and my fingers grew numb for the amount of time that they were left hanging over my head. Actually, my whole body was pretty much numb itself and I had stopped registering the increasing amount of hits that it was receiving.
I could faintly hear him say something in the lines of 'change of tactics' before I heard the door of the room close. I was coming in and out of consciousness and knew that this wasn't a really good sign for the state I was in. It must have been in one of the moments when I was out of it when a second bucket of water was thrown on me, startling me and I was hanging centimetres above the ground and my feet subconsciously made an attempt to kick O'Brien but with the lack of ground to support her, it must have been pretty pathetic.
"Careful, she kicks!" I could hear his stupid laugh echo through the small place as I locked my eyes with his. "I'm glad I haven't broken you yet kiddo, because trust me, I will" he moved aside and only then did I realise that I wasn't alone in the room with him anymore.
No, he had brought May with him this time and she was tied up and knocked out in the chair that I was occupying before I found myself hovering over the ground.