Skye's POV
On my way to the Bus, Ward filled me in over the phone on what had happened since I left. Apparently earth had more asguardian visitors lady sif and someone named Lorelei. He then filled me in on the news that his SO Garret and someone else had been attacked at a safe house and had a run in with Mike Peterson. I sighed. I had the same feeling as before the battle of New York. This was not going to end well.
*****
3rd Person POV
"You realize, Agent Coulson, they have these things called teleconferences now," Agent Hand said as she walked up to Coulson.
"Nice to see you, too, Agent Hand. Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Coulson replied.
"A little unconventional meeting this way, isn't it?" Agent Sitwell asked.
"Oh, from the reports I've read "unconventional" seems to be Coulson's middle name these days," Agent Blake chimed in.
Coulson gave him a small grin.
"Fight breaks out, let me take Blake. He's coy but scrappy," Agent Garret said.
"I'll explain everything as soon as we hit 50,000 feet. This way," Coulson simply stated as he ushered everyone onto the plane.
"Cruising altitude reached, bearing 90 degrees just over the North Pole," May said as she walked into the Command Center where everyone was talking and drinking coffee.
"Thank you," Coulson said before turning to face everyone. Before he could say anything though Garret spoke up first.
"Apologies for the song and dance but we brought you here as a precaution."
"A precaution against what?" Sitwell asked.
"The Clairvoyant. If there is someone out there who can read minds, at least up here we're as far away from him as possible," Coulson explained.
Sitwell and Blake shared a disbelieving look.
"Figure maybe the northern lights will knock a few bars off his psychic wi-fi," Garret added.
"Coulson you know S.H.I.E.L.D.'s stance on psychics, they don't exist," Blake argued.
"Are you suddenly a believer?" Hand asked.
"Not definitively. But I had a recent experiences with an Asgardian who could bend people's will with her voice," Coulson said as he spotted Ward and May sharing a brief look. "Forced me to open my mind, so to speak."
"All we know for sure is the Clairvoyant has been a step ahead of us, stealing plays from our playbook," Garret piped up.
"And it's pissing me off. I take it you've all read Agent Garrett's latest report?" Coulson said.
"The hit on the safe house. Mr. Peterson's alive and kicking," Sitwell summarized.
"We call him Deathlok," May cut in.
"It was the project's code name," Ward added.
"Agent Garrett and I have been tracking him the last few weeks," Trip reported.
"We think the Clairvoyant's super-solider bodyguard came after us for a reason. We're getting close," Garret finished for him.
"To what? His identity?" Asked Hand.
Garrett and Coulson shared a look.
"We've narrowed the list to 13 candidates," Garret started to explain.
"Narrowed it how? From what?" Blake said looking confused.
"Agent Garrett has been taking a second look at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s gifted Index, specifically the rejects," Coulson answered. "Individual's S.H.I.E.L.D. interviewed who are believed to have psychic abilities but were ultimately dismissed."
"So you think we've encountered the Clairvoyant before?" Sitwell asked.
"Think how many cases we've encountered across the globe, how many cases we vetted. It's more than possible, it's probable," Coulson replied.
"I need more coffee," Blake commented.
"Let's assume what you're saying is possible. What then? If we're going up against an actual clairvoyant, how do you suggest we combat that?" Said Hand.
"By compartmentalizing the information," Garret told her.
"A member of my team is an expert at pattern recognition and analysis, finding needles in haystacks," Coulson said, hinting towards Skye as May shot Ward another look. She remembered what Lorelei had told her about Ward being interested in someone else besides her. "She'll prioritize the candidates on Garrett's list, locate them, then pair us off into random teams."
"That way only one person knows the full scope of the mission," Garret finished for Coulson.
"You do understand that this person you're referring to, she'd need to be a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent to be granted that level of access," Hand commented, knowing that they were referring to Skye and having her doubts.
"I'm glad you brought that up," Coulson told her.
*****
Skye's POV
I stood in the lab trying to field questions from Jemma as I glanced nervously at Fitz.
"Guys, I swear, I am fine. How much blood are you gonna draw before you believe me?" I said, hoping that Jemma wasn't going to start trying to pull up my shirt to check on the bullet wounds since those had already healed up by now. I knew she was mostly concerned about the drug that had saved Coulson and I but if she discovered I had healing abilities I did not want her becoming another Whitehall scientist! Not that I thought she was anywhere near as cruel and vindictive as that man!
"Your recovery, it's honestly, quite remarkable," Jemma commented but thankfully she wasn't pressing the issue of checking my wounds. "We know Coulson had a very different recovery experience, so we understand why he's hesitant about sharing our findings with others."
"Yeah, but something like this drug, it needs to be studied. It has the potential to save so many lives," Fitz commented before stuttering to a pause as he caught the glare I was sending him when he started talking about studying.
"We'd like to send a blood sample of yours to some colleagues to do a molecular breakdown. Maybe if you spoke to Agent Coulson –" Jemma started to say before I cut her off. Coulson and I had both agreed that the fewer people who knew about the GH325 the better.
"Yeah, I don't think that's a good idea. If Coulson thinks it's important that this stays between us, then we should trust him. Right? He's the boss."
"So you're saying we should obey the rules," Jemma said looking at me in surprise.
"Who are you, and what have you done with Skye?" Fitz joked as I stuck my tongue out at him.
I heard the doors behind me open and turned to look at Ward.
"Skye, upstairs. Top brass wants to see you."
He walked out and I stared at his back confused but followed him upstairs all the same.
*****
"Pairing off makes total sense. Just one thought though, what if we make it a double blind?" I suggested after I had been filled in on Coulson's plan.
"How so?" Hand asked. I glanced over at her but decided to ignore the fact that she had once kicked me off the Bus.
"Well, I'll give one person from each team the potential Clairvoyant's coordinates and I'll give the other one the identity. That way no one person knows the full specs of the op until you get there." I looked over at Coulson and felt my heart warm at the proud smile he sent my way and looked over to see Garret grinning at me. I don't think I had officially met him yet but I recognized him as Ward's former SO.
"I like how you think," Garret told me. I blushed. "I like how she thinks," Garret added again as he looked at the other agents in the room.
"One question, how am I supposed to access all the classified files without someone in the room? I don't have clearance," I pointed out.
"Now you do," Coulson said with a grin as he held up a wallet. "Welcome to S.H.I.E.L.D., Skye."
I looked from the wallet to Coulson with large surprised eyes as he smiled at me. I took the wallet and after he nodded his head at me I opened it and saw my badge inside. I blinked furiously as I tried to avoid tearing up as I looked up at all the faces then over to see May (with a rare large smile) and Fitz-Simmons enter the living room area, with large smiles as well.
"I told them to come up," May said.
I smiled to May and Fitz-Simmons. Garrett and Trip were smiling as well but I noticed Hand and Blake remained passive. Enh who cares what they think.
"I –I don't know what to say," I said as I looked at Coulson. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me. You've passed every required S.H.I.E.L.D. exam with flying colors!" Coulson said with another proud smile on his face.
"For a level 1 agent," Hand pointed out.
Garrett shot her a look at this, but I couldn't care.
"You've assisted us on multiple field missions, put your life on the line. You earned this," Coulson reassured me.
"Hell, you took two in the gut. More than Sitwell here's ever done," Garret added as Sitwell looked away from Garrett rolling his eyes a bit. Coulson and I shared another small smile for a moment.
"Okay, everyone. Back to work!" Coulson ordered.
"Congratulations," Garret told me as May walked by and patted my shoulder.
"Thanks."
"Congratulations, Skye!" Jemma held her arms out for a hug and I did a happy little hop before embracing her.
"Awesome!" I cheered.
"Congratulations!" Fitz said as he pulled me into a hug.
After Fitz and Jemma walked away I glanced over to award with a smirk.
"Couldn't have done it without a great and very patient S.O," I told him.
"Yeah, you could have. I'm not clairvoyant, but I do believe some things are meant to be," Ward replied putting a hand on my shoulder giving it a squeeze then walking away.
I stared down at my new Shield badge grinning to myself. I was an official Shield Agent!
*****
I glanced down at my phone to see it finally said "Download Complete".
"Okay, on this phone, you will find a set of coordinates that'll lead you to one of the three potential clairvoyants I've chosen," I told Garret as I say in one of the holding cells with him. "When you're within a mile, your partner will be granted access to the candidate's name and profile on their own phone. Make sense?"
"You know, we haven't officially met," Garret said looking at me intensely. He gave me a smile and held out his hand to me.
"John Garrett."
"I guess lying unconscious in a gurney really should not count," I said smiling as I shook his hand.
"How are you feeling?" He said studying me. Something about the way he was looking at me made me uncomfortable but I shrugged it off. It was probably just my nerves.
"A lot better, actually," I told him.
"Been shot a couple of times myself, back, shoulder. Had my throat cut once. But you know the toughest one?" He leaned forward and pulled down his turtleneck showing a nasty, chunky looking scar near his collar bone. I grimaced but leaned in closer to take a look. "Thing about a third degree burn..." He covered the scar back over and leaned back. "The burn itself doesn't hurt at all. Crazy, right? The nerve endings get all fried. But the area around the burn? That smarts. Still, gut shot's the worst." I decided not to mention that I knew what it felt like from personal experience with Hydra.
"Sir, I know what you did for me, how you risked your life to save me. So thank you," I said instead.
"You've got a good team around you. I just jumped on the bandwagon," he replied.
"Well, you trained one of them, sir."
"Guess it all comes full circle. Ward's your S.O., I was his. Turn, turn, turn. But this S.O. thing goes both ways. You've had a big impact on him. He's different than how I remember him."
"Different how?" I asked curious.
"Well, the tough thing about being a specialist is being alone. A team gives you a whole new perspective. Guess it's the difference between fighting against something and fighting for something." I watched as he looked me up and down. "Or someone."
I gave him an uncomfortable smile. Not really sure what he was implying. The last I remembered, Ward was sleeping with May. Granted it didn't seem like it was anything more then sex between them.
"Ward's got that now." He gave me another smile, picked up the cellphone and walked to the door. "Thanks for this." He turned back to me. "And Skye, lose the "sir". I'm a Shield agent just like you." I grinned at him as he left.
*****
Next up was Coulson. I tapped away on my laptop until I heard a ding from the cellphone attached to it. I pulled it loose and handed the phone to Coulson.
"Okay, you're all set," I told him.
"Hope you paired me with someone good, or interesting at least," he said, though I was barely paying attention which he seemed to notice.
"Stop worrying."
I looked up at him. How had he known?
"You wear your heart on your sleeve, and your face. I trust your judgment. The way you see the world. It's different than the rest of us. That's why I want you to dig deeper into these."
He pointed at my laptop where there were different files on display.
"The candidates psych evaluations?" I asked.
"The Clairvoyant thinks he can read our minds. See if you can read his. We need some insight into who this person really is, a weakness. So, do what you do, find the exploit. And stop worrying," he told me. Not that it did any good. I went straight back to worrying. There wasn't much I was going to be able to do if any of the pairs ran into problems and I hated that fact. As brief as it had been, I had enjoyed my time with the Avengers, being able to be in the middle of the action and make a difference besides using my computer skills had been a nice change. It had made me feel good for once about the training Hydra had given me, though now I had memories of Ward training me to thankfully help replace those.
*****
"May to Hub, Deathlok's here! Blake's down!" I groaned as I slammed my fist into the side of the holding cell where I was stationed. Angry that I was stuck in here and forced to sit back and listen to everything on the comms.
"All backup teams, move in. We have an agent down. Repeat, Agent Blake is down!" I heard Hand calling out. I clenched my teeth as I fretted about the rest of the team. I forced myself not to rush over to May when she finally arrived back on the Bus and to give everyone some space as we flew with Blake to the Hub. Knowing that I wouldn't do anyone any good by hovering. I glanced down at my phone as it suddenly pinged three times.
Widowmaker: Is everything ok?
Arrowman: Are you ok?
AmericanPie: You alright, doll?
I wasn't quite sure how to respond since we had yet to talk about what had happened when they attacked me. But I also didn't want them worrying too much about me. Suddenly I received two more texts.
WingedDevil: Everything ok, dove?
Reindeer: You alright, kitten?
I rolled my eyes at everyone's constant pet names for me and sent everyone a thumbs up emoji and decided to leave it at that.