This isn’t her day, and she can feel how a headache is growing stronger and stronger. Looking at the mission plan, she starts to wonder if she should just call Natasha and Clint themselves instead of going through Fury. This mission needs more experience than the team she is about to send out. Granted, one of the two agents was top of his calls, then again… he was handpicked by Garret. The other one, zero experience, she doesn’t count the experience they had when they blow a hole in their plane.
“Agent Hand.”
Felling how the headache reaches a new point at the sound of Coulson’s voice. She turns around, arms crossed, and eyes narrows as she watches him, Ward and May entering the room. Coulson is smiling towards her, in his way to makes things easier. Rolling her eyes at his behaviour, she is somewhat glad that his brush with death didn’t change to much of his personality.
“Coulson, Ward, May.”
She says, nodding at each one in order. When she looks at May however, she realises that something is off. She can’t put a finger on it, but she knows that she doesn’t like it. She also knows there is now way she will be able to figure out what the other woman is keeping from her, which makes things worse than they already are.
“You have a mission for us.”
Coulson points out, making Victoria turn her attention towards Coulson once more, nodding her head before looking towards the large screen beside her. As she is about to start explaining, the door to the meeting room opens, a younger agent looks inside. She can see the worry in his eyes as he looks around himself.
“What?”
She asks, knowing she is probably too hard on the young man. But she knows she has trained them all not to interrupt when she’s in a meeting. Seeing how the agent swallows his fear, he stands a bit taller.
“Sorry ma’am, but… Your niece is here to see you.”
The agent explains, feeling as if the floor beneath her opens up, multiple reasons as to why Skye has entered the building swarms her mind, one reason worse than the other. Taking in a deep breath, in a try to collect herself, she nods her head.
“Thank you.”
She informs the younger agent who quickly escapes the room. Turning to look at Coulson, Ward and May, she can see that at least two of them are looking at her out of surprise. Ignoring the fact that May doesn’t react like the rest of her team for now, she nods her head.
“Excuse me, I need to make sure everything is alright.”
She says, turning her attention towards one of the agents in the room.
“You can start showing them what the mission is about.”
She informs the agent who nods his head, with that, she leaves the room. Walking down the long hallways of the HUB, she tries to calm herself down enough to face Skye. She knows that the young woman has grown a lot since she first took her in, she does know however, that Skye can still reach if one comes against her looking angry. Reaching her office, she pushes the door open to see Skye sitting in her chair, spinning like a bored child. Seeing this action, Victoria smiles, it has been too long since she has seen this personality coming from her.
“Skye.”
Seeing how Skye stops spinning her chair in the right spot so she can see her, she smiles big.
“Hello Vic!”
She greats happily, Victoria can tell that there is something that isn’t right, however. Normally, the young woman would be up on her feet and giving her a hug. It’s the normal reaction she has to meeting any of her siblings or Gwen too. Skye’s a hugger and seeing that she isn’t holding onto the young woman right now, tells Victoria that something isn’t right.
“What’s wrong?”
She asks, her eyes narrowing. Normally, this would be enough to get Skye to tell her at least part of what is wrong, it didn’t seem to be working on her this time.
“Oh, you know. This place is quite boring when walking around it alone.”
She says, with a shrug of her shoulders. Seeing how she suddenly leans to the side, Victoria lifts one eyebrow.
“Should have know you would be following Vic.”
Skye speaks to someone that is apparently standing behind her. Turning around quickly, her eyes lands on May, who is shaking her head. There is however a smile, a smile Victoria is sure she has never seen before.
“I thought I told you not to interrupt the meeting, you would see your aunt after.”
May tells Skye as she enters the office properly, the door closing behind her. Looking from May to Skye, Victoria starts to realise what is going on and she lets her head fall forwards.
“With the way the agents around here are acting as if they are stepping on eggshells? I figured Vic wasn’t in a good mode, and there is where I come in.”
Skye explains, leaning back in the chair, looking far to happy about herself. Seeing how May rolls her eyes before turning to look at her, Victoria let’s out a deep sigh. She grows worried just a second later when a full realisation hits her.
“You came with them?”
She asks, looking at Skye but pointing towards May. Skye nods her head at this, her happy smile gone as she goes into a serious mod.
“Yes, I have been part of Coulson’s team as a consultant for a bit now, they picked me up when I needed an out of the mission you and Ria put me on.”
Skye starts to explain, and Victoria can feel how she starts to grow worried, what had happened to make Skye need an out. And why did Coulson pick her up and not her or Maria, feeling how her worry turns into anger at this.
“You can blame Ria, she’s the one I sent the distress call to. Although, I’m starting to think what happened was the best outcome if it all.”
Skye quickly adds, nodding her head, Victoria turns her attention towards May.
“I should assume you all know then, who Skye really is?”
She asks, seeing how Skye and May look at one another. This look makes Victoria narrowing her eyes. Hearing how Skye takes in a deep watch breath.
“Melinda is the only one that knows about me on the BUS.”
“I’m still saying we need to tell him.”
“He doesn’t recognise me and I’m quite sure he isn’t even going to try and figure out what is the file I gave him. A file he should know by heart, because I know you, Vic, Tash, Clint and Ria does.”
Hearing the broken tone in Skye’s voice, Victoria is tempted to move towards her, May on the other hand moves forwards, placing herself beside the chair and Skye leans towards her for support.
“Coulson doesn’t know even if you gave him your file?”
“Granted the file I gave him was the redacted version, but I know both of you would have seen right through those black lines. And like I said, I don’t think he is trying to figure out what is written in it.”
Shaking her head, Victoria can see that Skye moves from May and turning her attention towards the woman.
“He asked you to look into it, didn’t he?”
She asks and seeing how May nods her head, Skye throws her arms into the air.
“Freaking amazing, of course he would put this work on someone else!”
Skye says with an annoyed sigh, seeing how May puts a hand one Skye’s shoulder, she calms down slightly.
“Don’t blame him to much, we did call Maria and asked her to call Natasha to try and find your background information when Simmons pointed out that you were afraid of Ward and Fitz.”
May explains which makes Skye smile slightly.
“So, this means he won’t be getting any information then.”
She says, her voice low and seeing how May nods her head as an answer, Victoria moves to stand on Skye’s other side, leaning towards her desk.
“So, exactly who knows, and what do they know?”
She asks, all of these secret keepings are getting to her head, and she wants to know who knows what, in case she comes across anyone else in this weird family mix.
“Well, this is where things are getting a bit complicated. So, Melinda knows who I am on the BUS, she also knows about me living with Coulson, you and then my siblings. Then Ria knows I’m with Coulson and Melinda, neither Tasha nor Clint knows about this. They still think I’m out there, playing hacker within the Rising Tied. Then there is Gwen, she knows everything…”
“Obviously.”
Victoria comments with an eyeroll. The friendship between Skye and Gwen have been a close one since they were young, Victoria would be surprised if the other girl hasn’t been informed about what is going on in Skye’s life. Seeing Skye roll her eyes with a smile at her comment, Victoria relaxes.
“Evgenia has been given some of the information, and then there is the part where Tony Stark knows that I’m working with Melinda….”
Skye continues and Victoria starts to wonder how he has been given this information and how.
“Oh, and then there is the fact that Pepper knows everything. All from me being with Melinda and the fact that Coulson is alive.”
“Excuse me?”
“What?”
May speaks at the same time as herself, feeling how her eyes grow large at this information. Seeing how Skye leans back in the chair, smiling at their reaction, Victoria turns her attention towards May who at least looks as lost as she is feeling.
“Can you go over that again, Pepper Potts knows that Coulson is alive? How?”
May asks, taking the lead in the investigation on how Tony Starks second half managed to get information about Coulson being alive, when it’s a locked level 7 secret.
“And not to mention, has she mentioned this information to anyone else?”
Victoria asks, to make sure that the information is at least somewhat contained.
“Apparently, Fury and Coulson gave Pepper a level 8 clearance, she called me to inform that Coulson was alive when she found out about it herself. I made her promise not to tell anyone else, so that secret is still safe.”
Skye informs them, hearing that Pepper has a level 8 clearance, makes her turn towards her computer. Moving from her desk, she starts to look through the agents with level 8 clearance and to her surprise, she does find Pepper’s name on the list. How they didn’t know about this is beyond her and she doesn’t think Fury have thought his level 7 status on Coulson properly. Or he forgot the fact that he gave Pepper this power.
“So, the people I will be able to talk to about all of this is you, May, Maria, Evgenia, Gwen and Pepper? Did I get all of that right?”
Victoria asks and seeing how Skye nods her head with a smile, Victoria rolls her eyes.
“I swear, my life gets more and more complicated the more I see you kid.”
She comments, which makes Skye’s smile turn into a proud grin. With a shake of her head, Victoria turns her attention towards May.
“How you are keeping together with her around for this much is beyond me.”
Seeing how May smiles ever so slightly at this, makes Victoria sure about one thing. Putting May as the first guardian over young Mary-Sue was probably the best thing Fury could have done, everything after that, is questionable. With a look at her wall, she realises they have been gone from the meeting for to long and the mission is time sensitive.
“We should head back to Coulson and Ward. You…”
She starts saying, looking at May who nods her head before looking at Skye.
“Should head back to the BUS. I don’t want any pranks, or anything being pulled off, you know just as well as I do that if it comes out that someone is pulling pranks in the HUB, Natasha and Clint will be running over here.”
She orders Skye, only to take a few seconds to think about it, it would be a good way to get Natasha and Clint here and then force them to do the mission. On the other hand, Coulson and Ward should be knowing all about the mission right about now and they will be getting ready for how they will do it.
Seeing Skye roll her eyes at the order, Victoria knows that with the look May is giving her, Skye will to what she is asked. Smiling, she gives Skye the hug she has wanted to give the young woman for a while before leaving the office, giving the mother and daughter a few seconds of alone time. She would have expected May to stay longer than she does. As May walks up beside her, Victoria turns her head.
“What did you tell Coulson and Ward when you left after me?”
“That I needed something to drink if I was going to be able to handle this.”