Redback Widow II | Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. [9]

The Dirty Half Dozen

Afterlife, Location: Nepal

"No! What the hell?!" Gordon bought us to some sort of room, letting go of me. "This is for your own good," he teleported away, and I ran to the door, pulling on it but it was locked. I pressed my hand against the wall, but I couldn't do anything to it. "What the hell? Let me out! I'm a good guy! Выпусти меня! Выпусти меня!"

-

The Bus, Location: Classified

There was an electric pulse, and Gordon entered the room with Skye. "Come on. It's time to go home," Gordon grabbed my arm, bringing us to the Bus. "On your knees, now," I could hear May. "May, this isn't me," Ward. "Then what the hell was it?" Skye and I rounded the corner, leaning on the railing.

Coulson's gun snapped over to us, lowering when he realized who it was. "Skye. Asya," he said. "Hey, guys," Skye greeted. "This is great. We finally got the team back together," as Ward passed me, I jabbed my gun into his spine. "Even think about betraying us, and I'll turn you into a piece of swiss cheese," I slipped the gun back into my waistband, heading to the bathroom.

 I sighed, splashing some water on my face before leaning against the sink. I glanced up, looking at myself in the mirror. Bags under my eye, dusting coating my skin, knots in my hair, cracked and dried lips. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail, wiping the dirt off with a washcloth, and rubbing some water on my lips. Good enough.

"We should review the Op," Coulson said as I headed into the console room. "Ward--can't believe I'm saying this...bring us up to speed on Bakshi's intel," Ward had a smirk on his face, the smug son of a bitch. "alright. Bakshi's using old HYDRA text channels to provide us with intel, although m--much of it is, uh...much...alright. Can we just address the elephant on the plane? I know. This is weird. Mistakes were made," Ward said, glancing around at our hardened faces. "By you," Fitz muttered, probably still feeling betrayed after all these months. "And people got hurt," he continued.

 "By you," Fitz repeated. "And I could stand here and explain again how my parents and brother left me vulnerable--" he said. "We all have trauma, Ward. At least none of the rest of us turned out to be psychopaths," I snapped. "Well, we all have our own ways of coping, don't we? For example, I was yours," he said. "Watch it, Ward," Coulson snapped.

"Look, I'm just saying we all made mistakes. Coulson handed me over to my abuser--thank you. Skye shot me--" he said. "After you killed how many people?" Simmons asked. "Yeah, and we were a team and a family, and you betrayed us," Fitz spat. Clearly, he had not gotten over the betrayal. Neither had I.

"I know! It's what I regret the most. Not the lying, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Agents I had to put down, and--I'm sorry- not even dropping you two in the ocean. It's this. My actions destroyed this. I'll regret that forever. 'Cause, there were good times. Right? Before? I mean, for a while there, we were a good team. Weren't we?"

"I'm still happy I shot you," Skye said. "Yeah, me too," Fitz said. "Shoulda aimed for the face," Simmons added. "Yeah," May and I agreed. "I'm still happy I broke his nose," I added quietly.

"Guys...I know this is so weird, but we have to come back to the mission. Two teams. Skye, Ward, and Simmons on rescue and medical. Fitz and I will break into the missile defenses for intel. May's with us for firepower, Asya's with rescue," Coulson said. "Wait, you're not on rescue?" Skye asked. "Let me handle the mission assignments. The point is, there's a lot of challenges ahead. We don't wanna implode before we even get there. And, Ward, just...no more talking...to people,"

-

Arctic HYDRA Research Facility, Location: Arctic

"We've been spotted. It's time," I slid pistols into holsters on my sides, pulling on a bullet-proof vest. My rifle was on my back and I had a backpack full of medical supplies and mags. "I've got visuals on the target. Buckle in," I slung my backpack on, following the others as I pocketed a knife. "They've locked on," the Quinjet shook as an explosion raged below us. "I'm starting to think this wasn't a very good plan! Is there anything you can do about the drop?!" Coulson said as we shook violently in our seats.

"Not if we want HYDRA to believe we're debris!" May shouted from the pilot's seat. "I'm really starting to wish I hadn't eaten that hot pocket earlier," Coulson admitted. "Hold on!" we stopped just before we hit the water, sparks erupting from some wires. We pulled on parkas, trudging through the snow to enter the building. "Clear," May reported.

We pulled off the parkas, descending further into the building. As we did, I could hear the sound of bones crunching, making me even tenser. "I was being followed," the man defended as the body dropped to the ground. "Calm your mind, Bakshi. Your compliance will be rewarded," Ward said. "It's good to see you again, sir. Where's Kara?" Bakshi asked.

"Exactly where she needs to be. Is List still here?" Ward asked. "Yes, sir. In the lab, along with the other prisoners," he reported. "And the mainframe room?" Ward asked. "Down the hall, to the left," he said. "Everyone clear on their objective?" Coulson asked.

"If it's agreeable, I'd prefer to join Agent Ward's team," Bakshi said. "Is that gonna be a problem?" Coulson asked us. "Hardly. If he tries to turn on us, he'll have a bullet in his head. I'm sure that's enough motivation," I said. "Remember, just fifteen minutes until Gonzales' jets arrive. Move,"  we split up, Bakshi getting us into a room with a keypad lock. The door clicked open and we entered, weapons hot.

There was a spray of bullets and we ducked behind a counter. I grabbed my rifle, pulling it off of my back and twisting around, propping it on the counter. Before I could pull the trigger, Skye rounded the corner and sent a shock-wave thing at the enemies. "Right. Superpowers. I forgot," I slung the rifle back onto my back. "So that's what happened in Puerto Rico," Ward observed.

"The least you can do is thank me," he added, and I rolled my eyes. "How about I just don't try to kill you again," we made a beeline over to the cages, where Mike was sitting up, a bandage over his eye. "It's not as bad as he looks," he claimed. "Really?" Simmons asked hopefully. "No. It's pretty bad," he admitted.

"There's another guy in here. He has electrical powers," Skye said. "Lincoln? They moved him just before you showed up. You need to hurry. The guy's in pretty bad shape," he reported, and Skye took off. "Hold on, we don't need glass everywhere," I pulled off my glove, pressing my palm against the glass and steading my body, sending a pulse through the glass starting at my palm. "Feel free to enter," I said, and Simmons knitted her brows. "Look. It's intangible," I waved my hand around in the space where the glass appeared to be.

-

"Don't just stand there! Find something we can carry him out on!" Ward was standing in the doorway stiffly as Simmons treated Mike's injuries. "Surprised you'd sign up for any mission with Ward involved," Mike commented as he disappeared. "I saw an opportunity to do the right thing, so I took it," Simmons answered. "And you--when did you get superpowers?" Mike asked, looking at me. "Uh... a few weeks ago," I admitted.

"Help him leave, I'll help Skye with Lincoln," I nodded as Simmons took off. "Okay, I'm gonna make you intangible until we get out of here," I said, sending another pulse from my palm before lifting the mattress he was on. "Try to hold on," I advised, carrying him out of the door.

a/n Fun fact: Asya actually knew about Theta Protocol and brought Fury and the team of agents to the base where the Helicarrier was kept, helping them with evacuating Sokovia.