The Bridge
Skye's POV
I sat cross-legged on my bunk clicking keys on my laptop; staring intensely at the several profiles that flitted across my screen when I heard a knock on my door. It was Coulson.
"Mission briefing in five minutes," he informed me.
"Okay."
I made to close my laptop but not before Coulson had the chance to enter and get a look at the female agents of Shield profiles I had been sifting through.
"Kathrine Shane?" he read out.
"Do you know her?" I asked.
"We ran a few ops together in the 90s. Smart, resourceful. Had a soft spot for Truffaut movies."
"Easy there, charm school. According to these files Agent Shane could be my mom!" I said, teasing him. But he just sighed.
"Even if Shane was the agent who dropped you off at the orphanage, it doesn't mean she's your mother," he reminded me.
"I started looking into all the female agents active when I was born. Needle, haystack, I know. But then I factored in age and marital status and then I built a program to narrow down the field," I informed him excitedly.
"You're still looking at a long road."
"Well, it would be a lot shorter if I could access more files. Maybe you could remove my internet nanny?"
He just stared at me so I held up my wrist and shook my bracelet to emphasize my point.
"I'm talking about my tacking bracelet."
"I got that."
"So you'll take it off?" I inquired hopefully, though not expecting the answer to be anything but no.
"No. But I asked May to look into Shield's more restricted files."
"I was kind of hoping to keep this private," I said slowly. I wasn't quite sure if I liked the idea of May poking around on my behalf.
"Agent May specializes in private."
He nodded his head to me then turned to walk out of the room. "Let's go." I closed my laptop and made my way to the Command Center while Coulson went to go get Ward and May.
"At 0-800 hours three men infiltrated the Havenworth Federal Penitentiary," Coulson informed the team once everyone had gathered.
"Infiltrated? More like cannonballed!" I declared.
"They were in and out in less than 2 mintues. Left no prints at the scene, but we do have one lead." Coulson waved his hand over the halocom bringing up another picture onto the big wall mounted monitor. It was a close up of one of the Centipede Soldier's wrists showing the device.
"Centipede," Ward hissed.
Coulson waved his hand over the halocom a few more times showing different images, showing Chan and the lab in Hong Kong.
"It seems they salvaged some of their research from Hong Kong."
"So we were right. Chan's platelets solved their combustion problem. Now they can create super soldiers with no fear of explosion," Jemma said. I frowned as I noticed how excited she sounded about the fact that they had figured it out. Again, this was one of the many reasons I did not want Jemma Simmons finding out that I was a freaky powered person.
Fitz, seeing the expression on my face, leaned in closer to her.
"Maybe don't get so excited about it," he advised her.
"Two of Centipede's labs have been destroyed but they keep popping back up. Now they have at least three of these guys, maybe more," Coulson said.
"Who did they break out?" May asked.
"Edison Po, former Marine, expert in tactics and rapid response." Again, Coulson waved his hand over the halocom putting Po's information on the big monitor. "He fell off the grid in '08, reappeared 18 months ago at a diner in Boston."
"Where he stabbed a friend's eyes out," Ward said, squinting at the screen.
"With a steak knife, then finished his meal," Coulson commented.
"That's funny, Po doesn't look crazy," I observed.
They all turned their heads to stare at me, and I felt my eyes go big as I got defensive.
"I'm kidding. The guy is a walking mug shot!"
"Which means he shouldn't be too hard to track down. Finding Po and these Centipede Soldiers is a top notch priority for Shield. We'll be running point, but we won't be working alone," said Coulson.
"What team did HQ send for backup?" asked Ward.
"Not a team, a person. Someone who can help us fight fire with fire."
"Somebody we worked with before?" I looked at Coulson, my curiosity getting the better of me.
"Not exactly."
********************************************
Coulson's POV
"This is a bad idea."
I shot a glance over to May as we stood on the balcony watching as an SUV drove up the cargo ramp.
"While I have you in a good mood you should know that Skye's trying to ID the agent that dropped her off at the orphanage. We agreed to protect her from the truth, so I told her you were looking into it," I informed her and ignoring the glare she sent my way.
"She may come to you."
May sighed and slightly closed her eyes, then focused on Mike again.
"One mistake at a time."
Skye's POV
I did my best to keep my mouth shut as Ward, Fitz-Simmons, and I rewatched the footage of Mike saving the female doctor way back when. I was just glad that they hadn't replayed any footage yet of me saving people. It wouldn't help matters if that footage was played right while I was standing next to them.
"It's not good, at all. The guy was a ticking time bomb, literally," Ward grumbled.
"HQ wouldn't have sent him if he was still combustible. They must've found a way to stabilize him somehow," Fitz argued back.
"They stabilize his attitude? Cause he was pretty hostile in Union Station," responded Ward.
"Well, it's not like we haven't opened up our doors to other people, people with questionable track records." I frowned slightly as I noticed Jemma's head nod in my direction while I stared at her with an open mouth.
"Not cool, but true. And don't worry about Mike, he's a good guy."
"Who's been in the Centipede program," Jemma stated.
"Exactly. He can give us some superpower backup," I declared.
"Yeah," Jemma nodded in agreement.
"Just saying, this could easily go sideways," Ward complained.
I shut my mouth and didn't respond as I noticed the man in question following Coulson behind Ward's back.
"I mean the last time we saw this guy, he was a raging homicidal maniac –" He dropped his words when he finally looked up at our faces as we watched Mike pull up to stand right behind Ward. "He's standing right behind me, isn't he?"
I nodded my head and made a face.
"Mr. Peterson, this is Agent Grant Ward," said Coulson in introduction.
I smirked as Ward turned and looked just a bit sheepish at being busted.
"He's the man who shot you at Union Station," Coulson added before pointing at Fitz-Simmons, who both offered a wave. "Fitz-Simmons, they designed the weapon he used, and I think you remember –"
"Kidnap victim," I said, raising my hand up in the air above my head while giving Mike a big warm smile.
"You joined Shield?" He said, laughing at me a bit.
"Yeah. Turns out, guys in suits, not so bad," I told him, while silently praying that he didn't blow the lid off of my secret.
"Look, I know Union Station could have gone another way. Another team might not have let me out of there alive. I owe you, all of you," Mike said.
"That's bygones and water under a distant bridge far away," I rambled. "How's your son?"
"Still with my sister. He thinks I'm working construction, but he's good, happy."
Coulson walked over to the holocom.
"So what do we have?"
"Not much on Po. I checked his previously known addresses and old military contacts, came up empty," I said, irritatedly. It hurt my pride that I hadn't been able to find out much.
"We've been looking for where Po might be on the outside. Let's look at his life on the inside, at the prison. See if that gets us any leads."
I nodded as Coulson glanced over to Fitz-Simmons.
"Anything on the Centipede Soldiers?"
"We found a facial recog match on one of them," Jemma answered.
Ward hit a button on the holocom and brought up the information on the big monitor.
"Name's Brian Hayward. Stationed in Afghanistan for three years, then fell off the radar when he got back."
"Only living relative – sister, Laura, sophomore at the University of Ohio," I added to Ward's description.
"She's our best shot at finding Hayward," Coulson stated. "Ward, you and I will go talk to her. Have May set a course for Cleveland."
********************************************
I was doing some work on my laptop when I heard someone coming. I quickly pulled out the flash drive that was plugged in.
"Hey," I greeted as I went to go stand in front of May.
"Coulson told me you were helping to, you know, find my long lost folks, so thanks. I'm glad you're in on this with me. It means a lot," I told her. Maybe this would allow us to finally connect a little better.
May said nothing though, just gave me one of her stares.
"Right, I can tell you're really into this. Um, I've done a lot of the heavy lifting already, came up with a short list. I thought you might –" I started to say.
"We're on a mission, Skye. Is this why you called me here?"
I held the flash drive out for her to take.
"No. I was just working on this while I waited for you. Uh, I called cause I found something about Po."
"Show me."
We headed over to the Command Center where I then pulled up the security footage from the prison.
"Po only had one visitor during his prison stint, her. You notice the outfit? Miles said a girl in a flower dress asked him to hack Shield, this could be the same girl."
"Can we hear the conversation?" May asked, leaning in.
"That's the bummer, there's no audio. But it's not a total loss. I was able to use Shield's lip reading program, because we have one of those," I laughed, thinking about how cool that was and definitely something Hydra would never have thought necessary. May stayed stoic as always. "It didn't work on the girl because she never looks up at the camera, but Po did, once, and it caught this."
I hit a button and the feed zoomed into Po's mouth as what he was saying was being said by a robotic voice.
"The Clairvoyant does not like to be touched."
"I wrote that down, so we don't ever have to hear that again – ever," I commented.
"The Clairvoyant?"
"Yeah. Does that mean anything to you?" I looked at May curiously but she shook her head.
"But it means something to them. To Po and whoever that woman is."
"Her name's Raina."
We both looked up to see that Mike had entered the room and was now looking at the screen.
"You know her?" I looked at Mike in surprise.
"Yeah, she recruited me for Centipede. Came up to me in the hospital where I did my back therapy, out of the blue. Told me she could change my life."
I quickly got a hold of Coulson on the phone and sent him a picture of Raina.
"We're running her through our systems. Maybe we can get an ID but we're guessing she's Centipede's recruiter and Po was her latest recruit," I informed him.
"Three super soldiers dive bomb a prison, pluck him out? He's her number one draft pick," Coulson replied.
"But why him?" I asked.
"Centipede's making more soldiers," Coulson stated. "Maybe they want Po to coordinate them, lead them."
"His background's tactical strategy, he fits the bill," chimed in May.
"So, these guys have super soldiers, an expert military strategist and a clairvoyant who can see the future. Anyone else thinking about switching teams?" I joked halfheartedly. I did not mean it, I just wanted to lighten up the tension.
"They couldn't have a psychic," Coulson argued. "There are none on The Index, they're a myth."
"So was Thor," I pointed out. After everything I'd heard about him, I really wanted to meet him at some point.
"Maybe it's an alias," Coulson suggested. "Run it through our database and see if anything pops up. Ward is approaching Hayward's sister now."
********************************************
Coulson and Ward’s little ruse apparently worked and Laura ended up leading us to her brother, who happened to be in Oakland, California.
While we were all passing the time as the plane started to head to California, I decided to check up on Mike.
“Come in!” he shouted when I knocked on the door to the holding cell he was currently occupying.
I looked around in surprise. There was a cot set up on one side with a plaid comforter on top of it.
“Oh, it almost looks homey,” I commented with a laugh. However, in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but remember how all the nights I had spent in various cells over the years.
I went to close the door, noticing Mike picking up his wallet from the bed and going to put a picture back inside.
“Is that Ace?”
I walked to the bed and he held the picture out to me. I took it and sat down beside him.
“What a cutie!” I exclaimed. “He must be so proud of you, his dad working for Shield. Which he can’t know with everything being classified,” I suddenly remembered. Well there goes that. Way to put my foot in my mouth...
Mike reached for the photo and I gave it back.
“That’s all right, he knows I’m working,” he said as he looked at the photo. “Called him on his birthday and gave him all the “Heroes of New York” action figures, made sure to include the Hulk like you requested.”
“Nice,” I said with a laugh. “Are you two close?” As I watched him staring down at the photo of his son, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. Did I have parents out there that missed me as much as Mike missed his son? Were they even alive? And if so, would they even be happy if/when I eventually tracked them down?
“We’re a team. I’d do anything for this little guy.”
“That’s got to be the best feeling. Son looking up to you, who wants to grow up to be just like you.”
Mike looked away from me and I looked down at the bed, trying not to get overly emotional.
“Yeah. Looks like he’s growing fast, though.”
I studied his face for a moment then the door opened. Mike looked over and quickly scrambled to stand when Coulson entered the room holding something. I decided to remain seated.
“You said you wanted your shot,” Coulson said, holding the bundle out to him - it looked like dark black clothing. “Here it is.”
Mike quickly stepped forward and took the bundle out of Coulson’s hands.
“I won’t let you down.”
Coulson gave him a tiny smile and nodded his head, before walking out. I stood up and clapped Mike on the back with a smile before walking out as well.
********************************************
“Hayward’s cellphone has been traced to an abandoned factory about eight miles from here,” Coulson updated Fitz-Simmons and Mike as May and I followed him down the spiral staircase to join them.
Coulson hit a button on his tablet and brought up a overhead view of the factory.
“Probably Centipede’s new lab,” said Ward.
”Certainly been their MO, we destroy one factory they set up another putting us back to square one. This time, I want answers,” Coulson said.
“Means we go in quiet, do minimal damage to the facility and the people inside,” May declared.
“Ward, May, you’ll go in through the west entrance. Mr. Peterson and I will enter through the loading dock. Simmons, you’ll run the back in from the outside.” I opened my mouth to argue that I should be at the forefront of the action and then remembered that I had the secret of my powers to protect. At this point, it was also about avoiding having to explain all about Hydra and my training as well. My coping mechanism so far had been to simply ignore thinking about it and doing my best to pretend that it had never happened. It was hard, but I’d been spending the last few months tossing all that baggage into boxes and tossing them into the mental closet of my mind. Not that it worked half the time...
“We’re doing this just us? We’ve been playing whack-a-mole with these guys since Ward first plucked me out of my van. Shouldn’t big Shield be sending in backup?” I questioned instead.
”Trust me, they already did,” Coulson stated, glancing to Mike and giving him a nod of his head.
********************************************
“We alone here?” Coulson asked through his comm as he and Mike approached the abandoned factory.
“It appears so. The only heat signatures we’re reading are yours,” Jemma replied. We were parked a ways away in our surveillance van.
“But there’s a weird electronic signal. I’m trying to isolate it,” I tacked on.
“Think we’re too late?” Ward asked.
”Fitz, dial Hayward’s number,” demanded Coulson.
A few moments after Fitz had dialed, my super-hearing managed to catch the sound of a cellphone ringing nearby the factory. And then a huge explosion rocked my ears as the doors of one of the shipping crates was blown off by a Centipede soldier.
“Uh, sir, you’ve got company,” Fitz informed Coulson. I rolled my eyes. I’m sure he’s figured that out, Fitz!
”Yeah, we do,” Coulson confirmed.
I tensed up as I heard the faint sound of another crate being busted open. I clenched my fists as I resented the fact that I wasn’t there right now to help; stuck in the van with Fitz-Simmons instead, forced to watch as the monitors on Mike’s suite go crazy.
“What’s happening?” I cried out.
“His systolic and diastolic pressures are dropping!” Jemma exclaimed.
“Heart rate’s plummeting, as well,” Fitz added.
”Sir, he’s in bad shape. Between the physical exertion and this wound his vitals are dangerously low,” Jemma informed Coulson. I clenched my hands even tighter, my nails drawing blood from the palms of my hands, but I barely noticed or cared since I knew the wounds would heal over soon enough.
“Who’s behind Centipede? Who’s doing this?” I heard Coulson demand of Howard.
“I won’t say anything. I promise.” Even from my spot in the van I got the sense that Howard wasn’t speaking to Coulson. “No! Please! Don’t do th –”
There was a sound of a blown circuit and I flinched as my nails dug even deeper into my palms.
********************************************
“On the left is Akela Amador’s. Hayward’s is on the right.” Fitz clarified as we all looked at the x-rays displayed on the screens in their lab as Simmons was tending to Mike. “Now, his prosthetic was slightly damaged, but based on digital reconstruction I can confirm that the technology is virtually identical.”
“Hayward’s prosthetic has the same internal power source, backscatter capabilities and biometrics as Amador,” I chimed in.
”So Centipede also developed the eye implant?” Coulson asked.
“These guys are serious multitaskers,” I commented.
Mike looked at us in confusion. “Who’s Akela Amador?”
“Former Shield agent, the first person we encountered with this eye technology. A good agent who was forced to do some bad things,” explained Coulson.
”We helped her,” Jemma declared with pride.
Mike laughed. “Kind of a pattern with you guys.” He shifted on the table, groaning as he did so. “So then theses soldiers at the warehouse were forced to attack us through that eye thing?”
“They were getting orders. When the tide turned in our favor Centipede flipped Hayward’s kill switch, told the other guys to run,” Coulson said before turning to look at me. “Can you track the eye feed like before, find their location? “
“Nope. They’ve updated since Amador. Their feed’s untraceable now,” I grumbled irritably.
”Their technology keeps advancing at a disturbingly rapid pace. They must have endless manpower, resources,” Coulson pointed out.
“And someone with a fat wallet,” I added.
”Po’s the strategist. Raina’s the recruiter. Perhaps this Clairvoyant’s the money,” suggested Jemma.
“That makes sense. If I could see the future, I’d go straight to Las Vegas,” Fitz said with a smile.
Mike and I grinned at him while Simmons just rolled her eyes.
“Whoever’s behind them may or may not be psychic, but they’re one step ahead of us every time. I need to update HQ. This is bigger than we thought,” Coulson said, walking out of the room, leaving the rest of us to exchange worried looks.
On my way up to my room, I passed by the minibar in time to catch May arguing with Ward. I paused with my foot on the too stair not wanting to interrupt. Apparently she was angry with Ward for taking a punch for her earlier.
“I am not some recruit who can’t separate church from state. I’m on the same page as you. So don’t flatter yourself,” I heard Ward say coldly before he stalked off past me with a bump to the shoulder.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to crash...” I said slowly as May looked to where Ward disappeared and noticed me.
“What do you want? This about that thumb drive again?” Ouch, I get that your upset with Ward right now but no need to take it out on me, woman! I gritted my teeth and forced myself to calm down.
“No.”
“Good.”
“Look, I get that you don’t want to help with that loud and clear, big neon flashing lights. But I didn’t ask, okay. Coulson –” I didn’t get to finish though.
“Coulson doesn’t want to tell you the truth. The truth is…” I opened my eyes wide, waiting with baited breath for whatever she was about to say for a long moment. She seemed on the verge of saying something, but then her expression changed. “You have to decide why you’re here. We have a mission and it’s not to find your parents. If you can’t put aside your personal attachments, then you shouldn’t be here,” she said instead.
Her speech felt like she was berating herself and taking it all out on me. My face blanked as I did my best to not look like May had just sucker punched me, but I don’t think I did a good job of masking my hurt shock. May walked off leaving me behind.
I spun around and tore off to my room and dumped out the box of paperwork I had been keeping with all the documents of my research. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I gathered them up and angrily ripped them all in half and shoved them in the wastebasket.
I swiped at my tears, half angry, half in shock to find myself crying. I couldn’t remember the last time I had ever cried. I don’t recall crying as a child, and if I had, I’m sure Hydra had stamped that out quickly. As far as I can remember though, I had considered it a point of pride and one of the few ways that I could rebel against their control over me - not crying for them when I knew how much it turned on the sadistic pricks.
I did my best to hold back the sobs that threatened to burst forth, not noticing the sound of footsteps outside my door or Coulson’s indecisive figure hovering close by, debating whether or not to knock on my door.
********************************************
“They want to trade. Ace for his father. They’ve set a time and place,” Coulson informed us a few hours later. Mike had called his son, only to discover the Raina was with him.
”Bloody savages,” Fitz said, his accent stronger than normal.
“They want to experiment on him, determine how he still has his abilities,” Jemma said. I flinched as she mentioned experimentation; noticing out of the corner of my eye that Coulson had seen me. I doubted that I would ever grow to like that word.
”And we’re gonna let them? We’ve fought these guys before,” Ward said.
”We don’t have a choice. The instructions they gave Mr. Peterson were very specific. I called HQ, told them to stand down,” said Coulson firmly.
May crossed her arms. “Stand down?”
“So we take them alone,” said Ward.
“We should at least have a hostage rescue unit in support of this,” May interjected.
“They said they would murder my son,” Mike spoke up.
Everyone quieted as we looked at him.
“If we make one wrong move.”
“Any electronics, any comms, any sign of surveillance and they’ll terminate the arrangement,” Coulson relayed, with a gleam of determination in his eyes.
“I’ll give myself up, no problem, get him back. I can figure it out from there,” said Mike defiantly.
“You’re still recovering. We can’t just hand you over to them like that, can we?” I exclaimed.
“Fitz-Simmons have a non-electronic method of tracking him,” replied Coulson.
“Simmons has fabricated an odorless scent. I have an instrument which can detect it. Works like a bloodhound, can track someone from over 50 kilometers,” said Fitz.
“After we make the trade we’ll be able to follow Mr. Peterson. Buy him some time to get his strength back. We’ll find him,” said Coulson.
“I don’t care what happens to me. As long as my boy is…” Mike started to say.
“I promise you, we’re gonna get your son back,” Coulson declared. I nodded in agreement.
********************************************
“Once the swap happens, I’ll fire up my equipment. We’ll be able to track you wherever they take you,” Fitz explained to Mike as I watched Jemma spray his hand with the odorless tracking stuff.
“Just don’t do anything that’ll endanger my son,” Mike stated.
”We won’t, but we want to make sure Ace has his dad at the end of the day, too,” I replied gently.
Coulson walked around the van and into view. “Time to go.”
I found myself once again digging my nails info the palm of my hands as I watched Mike and Coulson approach the middle of the Bridge where Raina was located.
My ears twitched as I heard Ward curse from his perch on one of the nearby roofs. Damn, his view must be blocked! My nails dug deeper into my flesh as I bit my lip with worry.
I growled under my breath as the two men disappeared from view for too long. I breathed a sigh of relied though when I saw Mike’s son run into my view to be picked up by his father.
“There’s his son!” I declared with relief.
“Oh, thank God. I have no stomach for this,” said Simmons.
“On my mark activate comms and tracker,” May’s voice instructed through the comms.
We watched as Mike held Ace close and walked past Coulson with him in his arms. I noticed him turn back and say something to Coulson but even my ears could hear what he said.
My eyes widened in shock and fear as I watched Coulson get stabbed in the back with some sort of drug, Mike running at us holding Ace and then Coulson being dragged away.
“What happened? They took Coulson. All right, call it in, we need backup!” Ward cried out. “I have a shot,” he added as I ran forward to meet Mike and Ace.
“Do not engage. They’ll kill Coulson. Stand down I’ll contact HQ,” May instructed.
As Mike checked that his son was okay, May contacted HQ.
“Shield HQ this is Shield RG422 we need immediate satellite support!”
Mike finally got close to me and handed Ace over to me; kneeling down to look into the boys eyes. What the hell is going on?! I was barely comprehending the fact that Coulson had been exchanged and not Mike.
“Ace, I’ve got to make something right. Daddy loves you so much, okay? Stay with Skye. You remember Skye, right? Keep him safe. Take care of my boy!” I looked into his pain filled eyes and nodded franticly as I tried to hide my emotions and smile down to Ace. I lifted him up into my arms as I watched Mike run back down the bridge toward the car Coulson was dragged to.
When he passed by the cement mixers both of them exploded on either side of him though. I flinched in horror and hugged Ace tight to me; making sure that his face was turned away.
“No!!! Mike!!!” I shouted.
Everyone looked at the bridge shell shocked.
“Where’s Coulson?” Ward said in panic.
I looked over to the car Raina drove in and it exploded as well.
“Oh, my God,” I said, still holding tight to Ace. “Coulson.”
The bridge was left in utter devastation. We heard helicopter blades whirring and one suddenly appeared next to the bridge. May and I watched as it flew away. I saw Ward focusing on the chopper only to suddenly get shot at; causing him to duck for cover. I winced as he doesn’t duck quick enough, he’s hit – it looked like maybe in his shoulder – and he went down. Everyone watched shocked as the helicopter managed to get away.
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Author’s Note
- so here’s another thought that just came to me as I was writing this chapter. Instead of making it so that Skye finds Mt. Olympus during the whole centipede serum thing, I could still keep the garrett/tahiti storyline in, but just make the whole transformation something that happens after the battle of new york so that the avengers cld be involved in it, or it cld happen like i originally planned where shes her new and improved self before fury finally recruits her and maybe shes so transformed that they dont recognize her at first? think that cld actually be cool to write - wld still need a new hero name for her but i do like the idea of her finding out their her soulmates at the end of the whole garrett/tahiti stuff but being to scared to face it and still not in full control of her powers so hiding the fact that shes skye and then when she finds out loki and thor/hulk etc are also soulmates itd add a whole other element to, anyways just let me know your thought, if you havent realized yet, I kind of use this section to just free flow write out my thoughts more so for myself since half the time i come to a conclusion after writing it out but I figure why not let yall see my thought process as I write/edit my stories lol