2 weeks after the video was released to SHIELD and Sienna's disappearance
"Skye, you have those doors open yet?" Steve yelled over coms, punching a man in the jaw. The enemy staggered, but came back up again before Cap could get in another hit.
"Almost." The hacker said, concentrating on the screen over a thousand feet up from their position.
"Kid, almost is never enough." Clint voice screeched over the line as he hit his bow on top of a burly mans head, kicking him in the stomach.
"God you guys are picky. Wait a few more seconds....."
"Skye hurry." May entered the conversation, currently breaking someone's wrist. She threw him away, seeing Natasha out of the corner of her eye.
Melinda knelt down, Romanoff running up her back and jumping, landing on another assailants shoulders. The redhead pulled a string from her cuff, pressing it against the man'a throat.
"Please boys, were fine out here. Let the girl take her time." Natasha commented, still choking the guard.
She looked up as the man fell, red and gold streaking by. Stark pulled up, beams of light shooting from his palms,"Widow's got a point, these guys aren't much of a fight. I took most of them down last year without my suit."
Ward, currently on the roof, pulled up his gun, shooting a sniper who had his scope trained on May," Sucky body armor too."
A hundred feet away, a gigantic boom was heard, Thor's hammer smashing into concrete as it barely missed a soldier," Got to admire their numbers. AIM has surely grown."
Back on the other side of the building, Clint drew his bow, letting an arrow fly into an enemies chest," Yeah, you wouldn't be admiring them if you were guarding the door, which isn't even open yet!"
"Calm down." Skye said, chewing on her lip as she typed in the last few letters for the overide.
"There you go, it's open. Happy?"
"Sure." Tony lands his suit on the ground, blasting away a few more guards as Rogers throws his shield, knocking out a man charging at him.
The Captain catches it, holding it in his left hand," Thor, Stark; keep the door secure. May, circle around to help me and Barton clear the building. Romanoff, take care of the agents on your side. Ward, stay up top on the roof and play sniper."
A chorus of yes's and sarcasm flood through the coms as Clint put away his bow, pulling out a pistol. It was a munch better choice for clearing the building.
Melinda met up with Steve as Thor made his way to the door, standing on the opposite side of Tony.
"Stay in your positions unless given a good enough reason." Rogers commanded as he and two of the SHIELD agents entered the compound.
"So...going up for a glass of tequila is a no?" Stark joked.
"Mind if I join?" Clint answered, a playful smirk on his face as he surveyed the room.
Steve rolled his eyes, sighing," Let's just find Sienna."
The inside of the building resembled a hospital waiting room, maybe from the seventies. The place seemed run down, a good forty years on the place, with a wooden reception desk that had paint chippings. One door was on either side of the room.
"I got left," The Captain pointed," Barton has right. May, you see if anyone has used this office in the last ten years."
The trio split up, Melinda jumping over the desk to looking at the filing cabinets while the others went in there way.
Clint made his way silently down the right hall, opening the first door he saw before entering, pistol in hand.
"Si," He whispered," Where do they have you?"
Roger's had to travel aways before he hit a door, this one locked. He slammed his shield on the knob, and the door slowly swung open. He walked in, immediately spotting a lone cot. Hope rose in the captain, but the luxurious flooring and full bookcase seemed like it belonged to an officer if some kind.
"Someone's defiantly used this in the last few months," Steve said over coms, examining the thin layer of dust on the wooden case," Perhaps three at the earliest."
May had unlocked the file cabinets, only to find a few flash drives. Three to be exact, each seeming about 16 megabits. She checked the other cabinets, finding nothing.
The last drawer of a cabinet had three electric locks. May tried looking for the key, but to no avail. Finally, she took out a small EMP, and watched as it dismantled the locks.
As she pulled it open, Melinda reached into drawer. Her had grabbed smooth glass, pulling out a tablet. She immediately saw the sb ports, and put one of the drives in. she tried to turn the tablet on.
As she expected, the little EMP had fried the computer on accident. She pressed her earpiece.
"Skye, I have three flash drives and a dead tablet. You think you can salvage anything?"
"You underestimate me?" She answered, playfulness in her tone as the older woman shook her head. She began to inspect the rest of the room.
Meanwhile, Clint had found all the rooms in that hall empty. At the end was a stairwell, which he was descending.
"SiSi where are you?" He said, his voice just above a whisper. The archer was answered with cold stillness as he went down into darkness.
Barton pulled out a flashlight, mounting it on his pistol. The light revealed another hall, less doors.
"C'mon Sienna, show your face."
He tried the knob of one door, finding it locked. He took a step back, breathing in quickly. His foot hit the wood, immediately unhinging itself.
Clint let out a breath, talking louder this time," For God's sakes Sienna, I wrecked René. The only way you'll kill me is if you find me."
Still, the quiet was the only one to greet him. The archer shook his head, going out and moving on, more aggrivated. He just wanted his partner back.
It took around an hour to search the building, but there was no sign of any prison. The part of AIM that had escaped from the compound wasn't much, and Natasha and Ward had rounded them up and called the local authorities. They would get a nice present of tied up scientists and soldiers.
The teams took the quinjet back up to the Bus, greeted by the ever sarcastic Skye, who was more then happy to salvage the tablet and flash drives.
Stark sat down in the couch, letting out a long sigh," Another dead end."
May turned to the billionaire," Maybe not. Once Skye is done-"
Tony shook his head, covering his eyes his his hands as he yawned," We all know that AIM couldn't kidnap Sienna if they really wanted to. At least we know that now. That was the only functioning base of their's that we know of, and pretty sure it was the only."
Before Melinda could answer, FitzSimmons strolled in, followed by Doctor Banner, holding a data tablet.
The threes had been buddies since they'd set foot in the lab. Once Jemma practically explained all her PHDs, Bruce hadn't stopped talking with her. Fitz also lent in on conversations, his expertise a little irrelevant during their chats, but he still had a good enough knowledge of pretty much everything science.
Of course, Tony would pop into the lab now and then, always curious. He was fascinated with the Night Night gun (Now called an ICER. So much cooler), and had studied the blueprints with genuine happiness. The Science Bros had been extended it seemed, now including a Sis as well.
Jemma put on a happy smile, observing the group," How'd it go?"
Natasha let out a sigh, plopping down in a recliner," No more leads. Only wounded people with the occasional dead."
The bio-chemist's smile slightly fell," Oh."
Fitz quickly picked the situation up," Bur this isn't out only lead. We have that one from that one Iranian guy-"
"He was on meth when we talked to him. I'm pretty sure Sienna's not in London." Ward said, walking in to sit at the bar, pouring himself a nice glass of beer.
Stark looked behind him, a glistening light in his eyes sparkling," You have Scotch in there?"
Ward looked over the bar, grabbing a bottle of deep brown liquid," You want the bottle or a glass?"
Stark was about to answer, but Natasha's glare seemed to cut through him," I think just a glass."
Romanoff smirked.
Clint walked in, a particular unhappy look on his face. Frustration. He sat next to Ward at the bar, finding himself some beer. He didn't talk at all, just looked very angrily at the wall.
All he could think was that he missed his friend, that kid who used to be at the bottom of the roster.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was midnight, everyone crashing due to exhaustion. The plane was on autopilot, the humming sound either an irritation or a lullaby. Stillness had taken over the Bus.
Everything but two figures at the bar. Ward and Rogers, both not drinking. Just there to be away from there beds. Nightmares had been a plague to everyone, but these two decided to get out of their confined little rooms.
The quiet seemed like a barrier between them, each completely still. They faced away from each other, Grant leaning on the bar while Steve looked into the room, observing the darkness.
Ward finally looked over in all the silence, observing the Captain," Can't sleep either?"
Steve slowly nodded, eyes still lost in thought," Yep."
Another period of quiet before Ward started again, voice mellowed this time," So what things do you see when you close your eyes?"
Rogers stayed silent, letting his eyelids fall.
A train. A blast. He's reaching for Bucky. His best friend falls.
He let's Sienna go. She's in a chair, a gun to her head. A boom.
He failed them.
Steve's eyes open fast, breathing in slowly. Though he's not sleeping, the images replay over and over in his head. He failed again.
His silence answers Ward's question, and the agent shifts in his seat," It's not your fault you know. Your not the one who was sleeping a room away when her sister dragged her away."
Rogers still stays quiet, still seeing the images replaying over in his head. Sometimes it's Sienna who falls off the train. Sometimes it's Bucky in the chair.
Ward notes the Captain's silence, but decides to keep talking," I didn't even know her, really. I disliked Firman as soon as she set foot on this plane. I saw her as a threat to my team. But as soon as I knew she was looking for Co-"
Grant stopped himself. The Avengers thought Sienna found a lead on her sister's that led her to the team. They had no idea Coulson was alive. They thought May was commanding the team.
The agent quickly backtracked," I mean Zerina. God, I need sleep."
Steve still answered with silence, setting his jaw as Ward continued to talk on.
"She was something else when it came to fighting though. Those knives became a part of her when she got in the right mood."
Then the flashback came.
Sienna had Steve's head in a sleeper hold, keeping him angled so that it's be a challenge to get up. He threw his weight forward, but she expected that. She landed on her feet, her movements almost catlike as she sleekly dodged his attempts to kick.
"Use your strength to your advantage," She coached, always seeming to appear behind him somehow," I'm faster because I'm lighter. Use your brain."
Steve went for another jab, Sienna blocking him with ease as she slipped away. He smiled," What do you think I've been doing?"
Sienna kicked him in the gut, but he grabbed her foot. She cocked her head," Sassy, aren't we?"
Her hand went for his throat, and he had to let go of her boot. She twisted out of his grasp, catching his arm and elbowing him in the face. Steve grabbed her hand, but she kicked him forward, sending him flying over him.
He recovered fast, launching himself at her gut, knocking her over. Sienna slightly staggered to get up, but he kicked again, pressing her against the wall. He advanced forward.
"I have the right to be sassy if I'm winning."
She gave a look of defeat, but that meant something was up. He was stopped a few feet away from her by something lodging itself between his rib cage.
She smiled, twisting the knife a little," I don't believe they classify your opponent about ready to puncture your lung 'winning'."
Steve looked down at the butter knife in her hand, pressing into his skin," Fine, you win."
She retracts the blade, throwing it up in the air and catching it, a playful smirk making it's way across her face.
"I thought you said no weapons?" The Captain asked, picking up a water bottle as he adjusted the training mats.
Sienna shrugged, still juggling the knife," Please. If your ever in a fair fight, your tactics suck. Always be prepared."
He takes a swing of his water, the cold liquid quite refreshing," So you were getting desperate? That means-"
"Steve, I'm never desperate. There's always a plan."
He rolled his eyes," Sure..."
The butter knife ended up in the water bottle, the plastic bending as the liquid seeped out. Right onto Steve.
He looked up from his wet clothes, face full of shock," You did not..."
She raised her eyebrow,"I did."
He grabbed the butter knife out if the plastic, a smile spreading across his face, and he did his best to throw it. Sienna caught it with ease.
"Are you trying to make an even bigger fool of yourself?"
He stifled a laugh, throwing the bottle is the nearest trash can," Apparently I have you to do that for me."
Sienna simply turned around, letting the knife sink into the punching bag,"And you ain't losing me anytime soon. Expect humiliation for you in the coming years."
He was brought back to reality, glancing at Ward. He bit his lip.
"She always had a way with her blades." He reminisced, imagining the water on his shirt. That completely horrible attempt at throwing a diner utensil. Her smirk.
Grant continued to observe the soldier, who just kept staring into the darkness like he was watching a movie. He couldn't help but feel sad for the guy. He imagined imagined losing one of his team. Made Ward almost feel guilty.
"She's still out there." Steve said suddenly, still looking the opposite way. The agent nodded.
"Of course she is." He answered, carefully choosing his words.
Rogers shook his head, unconvinced," Soon, people are going to lose hope, believe she's really gone......"
Ward shifted in his seat, turning to face him," How do you know that? We could keep searching for years, and eventually find her. Sooner rather then later would be nice-"
"We'll find her," The man said to himself, eyes now on floor," She's around here somewhere."
That's when they both decided the conversation to be over. A stillness passed over the two, not saying a word. Just kept gazing into the darkness, to whatever answers it seemed to hold.
Little did they know how both wrong and right they were.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was five in the morning. Skye was rubbing her eyes, imagining the dark circles that would surely be evident in the morning. Still, she squinted at her laptop, stifling a yawn.
The flash drives contained weapons blue prints, but that was all. The only thing was, these things would be fueled by what seemed to the same energy that made the Icers possible. Only in airborne form.
She had been studying these plans for hours, not be able to make sense of half of it. She had spent a good amount of time thinking up theories of how AIM even got their hands on this technology.
Skye felt her eyelids closing as the fight to stay awake got much harder. Sleep deprivation was not good, but the past few weeks had been full of restless hours researching building plans or captured information.
Or trying to spy on the Avengers, but that was none of her business.
The hacker closed her laptop, not bothering to put it away. She removed the flash drives, then gingerly opened her door, trying her best not to wake anyone up. She tip toed into the hall, sliding her door back gently.
Skye crept down the floors of the Bus, making sure her feet hit the ground in a soft manner. Once she passed all the sleeping quarters, she walked a little faster, reaching the stairwell. She descended it quickly, waiting for the doors to the lab to open automatically.
The girl figured she would leave a post-it note on the drives for FitzSimmons and Banner to look at in the morning, because she was definitely sleeping in till nine, or whenever Romanoff decided to break down her door. That way she could her in a few extra hours of precious sleep while the sciency people were doing something productive.
Skye quickly grabbed a sticky note and spare pencil laying on the table, scribbling a few words before setting the drives down. Her fingers grazed something smoother then the table, and her hand clenched around a Manila folder.
This immediately peeked her interest. She had seen both Leo and Jemma with it at different times, always hush about what was inside it. She had even asked Fitz what it was, who answered with a few mumbles of a simulation of sorts.
So of course Skye grabbed it, pulling her phone out of her hoodie pocket to act as a flashlight. She opened the top of the folder, first pulling out a photograph.....of incredibly weird bubbles? Her tired mind struggled to identify the picture as she reached into the file again, this time pulling out a small tube of red liquid.
Blood. The girl's mind reverted back to three weeks ago, when Nya was alive and Sienna was in the lab. Jemma had pulled up Sienna's blood cells on the screen, saying there was something off about it.
She took another look at the picture, immediately recognizing the cells. They seemed normal. She reached into the file again, this time pulling out another picture. This one had oddly colored bubbles.......taking over the other bubbles?
She saw a clipping of paper attached with a paper clip to the picture, reading 'anomaly?'. Skye was now very confused. What did FitzSimmons mean by 'anomaly'? She reached into the packet one more time, taking out pieces of paper. Notes.
In the dim light, she couldn't make out the faint scribbles, almost unreadable in the sloppiness of it. This was written very fast, very urgently. There was only one word she could make our in the dark. Tessseract.
Light immediately flooded Skye's tired eyes, seeming to burn them from the suddeness. She spun in her heels, facing Jemma, who had a very worried look on her face.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
<><><#<><>£<><<~><<
So the anomaly keeps popping up *dun dun da*
Second chapter is up pretty fast yay!
I'm tired because my inspiration to write comes at 11 PM and usually stays through most of the night. Wonderful.
So yeah, a little Siogers scene ( thanks Smudge357 for the name)
Summer is coming to a close..........the S word is everywhere......fall is upon us...
*shudders*
Anyways, love you all and happy reading!
Xoxo,
The writer