Skye wasn't surprised to find Ward waiting for her at her locker when Computer Science was over. She was surprised to see him carrying a black duffle bag for her. "Garrett asked me to give these to you."
"Oh awesome," she replied sarcastically, as she unzipped the bag. She saw that it contained two sets of black clothing. "Is this like a uniform or something?"
"Yeah. It's what we all wear for OPs."
Skye sighed. "I suppose I should go get dressed."
"I'll wait here for you." He folded his arms and leaned against her locker.
She walked into the girl's bathroom and quickly changed into a pair of black cargo pants and a black t-shirt. She was happy to find a black sweatshirt with the school's logo on the front, and pulled it on. She shoved her school clothes back into the bag, and walked out to discover that Ward hadn't moved from his original position, but had been joined by a brown haired girl that Ward introduced as Adrienne Frost, a really tall boy named Jack Rollins, and Brock Rumlow. They were all three dressed in their uniforms. She took one look at them and groaned loudly. "So what's going on? Is this some kind of guard to make sure that I get there without getting lost?"
"No Skye, they just wanted to meet you. You might find that you really like STRIKE, when you give it a chance. I'm pretty sure they want you to." He gestured toward Rumlow, Rollins and Frost. "Let's get going." Ward pushed her to start walking down the hall. Rollins walked in front of her, Rumlow and Frost took up a position on either side of her, and Ward walked behind her. She felt a little bit like she was being escorted to prison.
As they walked, Rumlow handed her a booklet, explaining the steps she had to take to get weapons certified. She noticed that she needed a mentor who was already certified, but decided to wait and ask Natasha, so she didn't have to get stuck with one of the people she was with now. Ward and Frost were taking turns telling Skye about STRIKE and how she would be an asset to them. They seemed to be talking like she had already agreed to join them, and she was really wishing that she was officially part of some other group already, ANY group. She started looking around for that talking raccoon that Peter Quill mentioned. She could always learn to dance. Well, maybe.
As they walked outside, they ran into a whole group of people blocking their way. Clint, Natasha and Sam were all three dressed in their OPs uniforms and standing together shoulder to shoulder. Tony was standing to one side of them, and she noticed that Fitz and Peter Parker were on either side of him. Peter nor Fitz seemed to be able to stop grinning. Bruce Banner was behind them, watching thoughtfully.
Steve and Bucky were standing to the other side with Rhodey, and Skye couldn't help but laugh when she noticed a beaming Jemma standing behind Rhodey, his hand outstretched in front of her protectively. Thor and Loki were beside them, both looking unhappily at the group that just came through the door. Pepper and Jane were standing behind them. Wanda and Pietro were also there. Wanda was staring calmly at Skye, and Pietro was sort of bouncing around quickly.
It was Steve who spoke first. "Hey guys. How about you cool it with the theatrics, and let Skye walk down to the field with her friends." He motioned to Clint, Natasha and Sam, who all three just stood there expressionless.
"We intend to be her friends too," Rumlow grumbled. "Sunshine might decide she wants to join STRIKE, ya know."
The way Rumlow called her Sunshine made her mad. Skye could feel her anger bubbling up and the buzzing under her skin got stronger. She started to clinch and unclench her hands, and her breathing was getting more and more rapid. She knew that she needed to calm down. Glancing around, her eyes landed on Wanda, who just kept staring at her intently. She took a deep breath and held her gaze until she felt calmer.
"That seems unlikely, since she agreed to join us earlier today." Tony smiled at Skye and gestured to Peter and Fitz. He also turned to Jemma, but just started shaking his head and laughing before turning back to the STRIKE kids.
Skye felt Ward's hand on her shoulder. "Really? The second day? You hardly know these guys. You'd do so much better with us, Skye. You really would."
She flinched and took a step forward, causing him to let go of her. "Yeah, I am feeling really welcomed by you all right now, Ward," she replied sarcastically. "And I know them better than I know you."
Rumlow just rolled his eyes. "Dramatic as this little show is, we're about to be late, and I don't think Coach Garrett or Coach May would appreciate Sunshine being late on her first day. Get out of the way."
Loki made a quick move forward, but Thor reached out and tried to grab him. What happened next, Skye didn't see because a blur of blue flew up to her and she heard Pietro's voice, with his unmistakable thick accent. "Well, we can't have that, now can we?" The next thing she knew, she was being lifted up and the entire world went blurry.
No sooner had it started, then it stopped. He sat her down next to a woman that she presumed to be Coach May. She was a petite Asian woman with long straight black hair. The woman looked from Pietro to her and smiled. "Well, I suppose that is one way to be on time. Nice to meet you, Skye."
"Sorry, ma'am. There was a bit of a confrontation up at the school. Had to do something," Pietro shrugged. "Didn't want Skye being late for class. Now, I don't want to be late for my own. See you later, Skye." In a blur, he was gone.
Skye sat down on the ground cross legged, still feeling a little dizzy and disoriented. "What in the world was all of that about?"
"I suppose that he really didn't want you to be late for class." She gave Skye an amused look. "At least you won't be running laps like that group coming down the hill now."
Skye looked and saw that Clint, Natasha and Sam were trotting toward them, all three grinning from ear to ear, and the STRIKE kids were looking angrier than anyone that she'd ever seen. Except Ward. He just stared at her like he was disappointed. As they approached, Coach May yelled, "Four laps around the field kids. Don't be late next time"
"Happily ma'am!" Clint yelled back with a salute to Skye. "Totally worth it!"
**********
OPs turned out to not be as horrible as Skye expected. Once they got through the warm ups, which consisted of push-ups, sit ups, jumping jacks and these things called burpees that Skye had never heard of and wished that she still hadn't, they all got fitted for what Coach Garrett lovingly called War Games. Skye was relieved to find out that they used laser tag equipment to play. Both coaches would be given a ten-minute head start, and the student's goal was to find them and knock them out of the game without being shot themselves. It actually sounded like fun, until Coach Garrett loudly assigned Ward to show Skye the ropes. She and Natasha had been planning to stick together.
Skye sullenly wandered over to where Ward was standing and allowed him to show her how the equipment worked. He spoke as little as possible to her as they got ready and typed in their names into to the computer. He then launched into an explanation of the game and told her to stick close to him. He was obviously very angry at her.
They waited quietly as Coach Garrett and Coach May ran off into the woods. When the horn sounded, they all scattered into the woods after them, Ward holding Skye back to take up the rear. He grabbed her arm and led her into the wooded area, holding up his laser gun with his other hand, motioning her to do the same. A few of the STRIKE kids were ahead of them, and Skye marveled at how they moved, looking up and down, their eyes covering as much of the scenery as possible. She wondered which way Sam and Natasha had gone, and glanced at the trees around them guessing exactly where Clint was.
"Get down low when you move, Skye," Ward ordered her as he pushed her down under a tree branch. "Garrett usually sticks to the ground, but May is small enough to get into the trees and just pick people off."
"Yeah, okay. So we are using the trees for cover?"
"That is exactly what we're doing," he replied grumpily. He pulled her along behind him, as they inched through the trees. She saw something move out of the corner of her eye and Ward must have seen it too because both of them jerked around to aim in that direction. It turned out to be another student that Skye had seen at the X-Men table. "You're lucky you didn't get shot, John," Ward grumbled. Skye just shrugged at the boy apologetically, while being dragged away again by Ward.
They reached an area where there was a clearing in the trees, and he motioned for her to stay back against the trunk of the tree that they were under. He moved quietly to the edge of the tree line, and looked around. "I bet one of them is around here somewhere," he said, coming back to where she was. "We'll wait and see if they show themselves. It's a good vantage point"
"Bobby Drake is out of the game," came a robotic sounding voice from somewhere behind them. She looked at Ward questioningly.
"When you get shot, whether by a coach or another student, you are out of the game and the computer makes an announcement. Never mind that. Skye, what are you thinking?"
"Umm......right now? That getting shot might be a good thing if I get to go back to base."
He glared at her. "No, not right now. In general. Why would you decide on a team so quickly, and even then, why would you pick them?"
"I'm sorry. Did you miss the part where your little STRIKE buddies were leading me down like a prisoner and telling me about all the good times I would have in STRIKE? Because I'm pretty sure that was happening."
"Skye, it was for your own good. We knew that other teams were after you, and we wanted to give you time to choose."
"Really? Because that didn't look like choosing to me." She was getting angry again.
"In any case. Those guys are not good enough for you. Bunch of showy blow hards, if you ask me."
"Good thing I didn't ask you, and so far, those guys are my friends." She began inching her way around him, toward the clearing.
"I........we.......really could have helped you, Skye. You would be a good asset to our team. You can change your mind, you know. Any time you want to. I think you might find that you do want to, when you take the time to get to know us better. For now, the best advice I can give you is that you better watch yourself when you're around them. After you were carried off by that Pietro kid, your little sixth grade friend, Loki, attacked Rollins and knocked him down. My guys won't take kindly to that, so be careful that you don't get caught in the middle."
"Wait," she said, grabbing firmly on her gun handle. "Loki knocked Rollins down?"
"Yeah, he used his little power to do it." Skye couldn't help stifle a giggle. She wished that she had seen that. "It isn't funny. He's lucky that idiot brother of his, and the rest of those losers blocked the way, or there would have been a fight. I thought you might be different, Skye."
Skye didn't answer. She pointed her weapon across the clearing and pulled the trigger. She felt the vest of her equipment vibrate and light up almost immediately.
"Skye is out of the game." She heard the computer shout.
"Bummer! I thought I had him. Guess I really do have terrible aim!" She smiled cheerfully.
"Coach Garrett? I didn't even see him."
"Yeah, because you were too busy complaining about me. Have fun!" She rolled out of the trees and headed back to the base before he could say anything else.
Skye enjoyed her time hanging out at the base waiting for the game to end. She met Bobby Drake, who apparently went by Iceman, and his best friend John Allerdyce, the boy in the woods, who went by Pyro. She wasn't sure she wanted to know why either of them got those names, and they didn't volunteer.
Sam came along pretty quickly after she arrived, with Clint following closely behind. Apparently he and Coach May were both moving through the trees, and ran into each other. She told them both about the lecture she got from Ward, and they told her about Loki going after Rollins. She made a note to thank him, even though she wasn't sure that it was the best idea for him to have tried.
The game ended when Natasha, and a boy named Lex Luthor, got Coach Garrett and Coach May respectively. Everybody met back at base for a wrap up, and then they were dismissed. Before she could walk away, Coach Garrett called to her.
"That was a nice try, Sunshine. Gotta practice though. I'm sure Ward here would be happy to get you certified and teach you to shoot."
She sighed and looked down at the ground. She hadn't had a chance to talk to Natasha about this yet, and she really didn't want to get stuck with Ward.
Before she could respond, Coach May shouted over, "She's got it taken care of, Garrett. Romanoff's already agreed to train her." Skye looked from Coach May to Natasha, and they both smiled at her.
"Sure thing." Coach Garrett shrugged. "Works for me." Skye noticed Ward standing next to Garrett, looking as grumpy as ever.
"Thanks so much for telling Coach May that you wanted to train me," Skye said to Natasha as they walked back to the dorm. "I'm tired of ending up with Mr. Grumpypants all of the time."
"I didn't say anything to her. I was hoping for the job, but I assumed that you must have talked to her."
"Whew. I guess Professor Coulson was right, andCoach May was looking out for me."