*bursts into a room where all of you are milling about, swamping my email with Wattpad updates.* I'M BACK!!!! *immediately squeaks in fear as all of your very accusing eyes turn towards me.*

Umm... hi? I am so sorry that I haven't been around, but life got in the way. *sighs*

Anyhow, here's the next update! Not so many references (barely any), but much more plot! I think it was kind of rushed, but this was several weeks late, sooooo yeah. *throws it into the middle of the room and runs off.*

*calling over my shoulder* WELCOME TO THE AGENTS OF SHIELD ARC!!!!

Percy's P.O.V.

Celebrating Natasha's birthday had been very fun, but it seemed that they'd never catch a break. Later that evening, he and Natasha were sitting on the couch, watching the second Hunger Games movie. His phone chimed and he dug into his pocket, wondering who it was. He realized he'd gotten a message from Melinda May.

Will need backup in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Something big is about to go down. Three way fight between S.H.I.E.L.D., a psychopath, and Hydra.

Percy showed the text to Natasha, who nodded. She picked up the remote and paused the movie.

"Tell her that we are on our way." she said. Percy flashed her a thumbs up, and sent the text. Meanwhile, his sister called in a squad of C.H.A.O.S. soldiers. They arrived in one the custom designed Quinjets that Percy had asked Leo to make. He called that particular vehicle the Messenger, after Luke Castellan. It could fly at Mach 4, which meant that flying anywhere in the world would never take more than four hours. They could get to Puerto Rico in just over 30 minutes.


The two siblings quickly told their parents that they had an urgent mission, and suited up. A minute later, the Sea Scorpion and the Black Widow strode onto the Messenger, armed to the teeth and ready to kick ass.

They arrived in San Juan, and immediately started sneaking through the streets, using the tracking dot in May's phone to hone in on her location. They sent the C.H.A.O.S. agents with them in a different direction, telling them to start clearing the area. Finally, the two siblings spotted the daughter of Aquilon, who stood watching the street with a gun in her hand.

"May!" Natasha exclaimed, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agent turned, a slight smile on her face.

"It's good to see you. Happy birthday." May said. Natasha pulled her into a hug.

"It really is, and thank you. So what's the sitch?" Percy's sister asked.

"There's some sort of alien device that causes people to turn to stone if they touch it." May said bluntly. Percy frowned. Something felt familiar about that sentence.

"Wait...." The two women turned to him.

"What is it?" Natasha wondered. Percy pivoted towards May, eyes wide.

"The crystals. The ones that Aquilon gave us. He mentioned that Hod had gotten them from aliens. Didn't he also mention that the impure version was dangerous? What if the device has the blue crystals inside, and so any completely mortal person who touches it turns to stone?" he exclaimed.

"Shit! Zabo took Skye! If she touches it..." May realized.

"Who's Zabo?" Percy questioned.

"Her crazy psychopath father. But that's not important right now. We need to go!" May replied, dashing off. Percy and Natasha exchanged a look, and then charged after her.

They followed her into a room with a drill, and dove to the side upon seeing Coulson standing in the room. Luckily, Coulson had not been facing the entryway, so the two siblings had enough time to hide behind a table.

"Skye must have gone after Raina." Coulson said. Percy wondered who Raina was. It was clear that Coulson was planning to go into the gigantic hole in the middle of the room.

"No, you can barely stand, let alone..." May tried.

"I put her on this path. I have to try to make it right. If we're not back before the bombs go off, get everybody to the bus. Just because Whitehall's dead doesn't mean Hydra's gonna pack up and go home." Coulson interrupted determinedly.

"Phil." May warned. Percy had no idea what was happening, but there was a very clear message conveyed in that one word: Don't be a idiot, you self-sacrificing ass.

"I'm not saying this is a good plan. But after all the carving and obsessing and searching, I'm pretty damn curious to see what all the fuss is about." Coulson defended himself. Percy frowned.

"Carving? Obsessing? Searching? What?" he wondered, and nearly missed Phil practically cannonballing into the pit.

"Damn you, Phil." May swore. Percy checked in with the C.H.A.O.S. agents.

"Status report." he demanded.

"The area has been cleared." came the reply. Percy sighed in relief.

"Good." He and Natasha walked over to May, and stood beside her.

"I'm going in." he announced.

"We'll come with you." Natasha said.

"You can't." Percy replied. His sister raised an eyebrow.

"Why not?" she asked.

"First of all, Coulson has no idea that you know he's alive. If he sees you, then that will raise a ton of questions. Also, if he sees May down there, he'll wonder how she managed to get there when there was no one up here to lower her down. And if we run into the crystals, and you get hit, you'll be turned to stone for some time. But I've already been affected by the crystals, and Coulson can't connect me back to either of you, so I'll be able to interfere as much as needed." Percy reasoned. Natasha nodded, accepting his logic, and stepping back.

"Alright. Be safe." she said.

"I'll try." he promised, and swan dived into the hole.

While falling, he unsheathed his sword, and stuck it into the side of the pit, slowing his fall a considerable amount. He landed with a silent roll, and dashed down a nearby hallway. After a couple of minutes of running through a maze of hallways, he spotted Coulson approaching a well-built man that he recognized from S.H.I.E.L.D. files: Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie. Behind them, there was a corner turning to the left.

Just as Coulson tried to get Mack's attention, Percy sprinted at the wall to his left, leaping off of it. He sailed over the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents' heads, sprang off the right wall, and rolled into the hallway he'd seen. He mentally patted himself on the back for the flawless maneuver as he came out of the roll, not even checking his momentum. Ahead of them, he could see a room slowly being sealed off by a moving wall. He poured on the speed, and dove through the slowly closing gap. There were two women standing inside. They were so focused on each other that they didn't even notice Percy enter. Another man came running in just after him: Percy realized that it was Antoine "Trip" Triplett, another person he'd seen in S.H.I.E.L.D. files. Seconds later, the wall slid shut.

Percy didn't move from his place in the shadows as Skye and a strange lady that must have been Raina realized that Trip had entered the chamber. In the center of the room, a really oddly shaped metal device began to open. Just as Percy had suspected, there were some strange crystals inside of them. Before Percy could even react, they burst, and Raina and Skye were encased in stone. Trip freaked out, and shot at the device. A piece of its metal embedded itself into his stomach. He began to be encased in stone as well.

Percy waited, realizing that something important was about to happen. And sure enough, it did. Skye's rock cocoon started to crumble. The second that the young woman looked over at Trip's stone covered form, the room started shaking heavily. Percy realized that she was causing an earthquake.

"Shit!" he thought, and knelt, placing his hands on the ground. He focused on the earth, trying to negate Skye's emotion driven powers. The room continued to shake. Percy gritted his teeth, and flared his power, exerting his control over the earthquake by force. It stopped, and Percy looked over at Trip and Skye. The latter was still partially covered in rocks. The former...

Percy's eyes widened.

"He became partially transparent and passed through the rocks. The real him is lying right next to the stone cast of himself. But he's starting to lose blood from that shard in his stomach." he realized. Skye had also seen Trip, but she was evidently unable to see that Trip had survived from her angle. She screamed, closing her eyes. Percy dove forward and grabbed Trip just as the rock shards exploded away from her. He shielded Trip with his body, wrapping his arms around the man and vapor-traveling away. He'd almost turned to mist when a couple of rock shards slammed into his back.

He landed in the Medical Bay of the Manta. Trip was immediately carted off to the ER, while several medics started working on getting the shards out of his back. Just before he passed out from pain and exhaustion, he sent his sister a text message.

No casualities.

Hours later, he woke up to find Natasha and May standing over his bed.

"Hey, sis. And welcome to the Manta, Agent May." he greeted.

"Welcome back to the world of the living." Natasha replied. May nodded at him.

"You were right, in a way. We didn't lose any civillians." the agent said in a level tone.

"But?" he asked.

"But we lost Trip. He turned to stone, and shattered." she replied. Percy shook his head.

"No, he's fine." he dismissed.

"The team found a pile of rocks that had his features." May pointed out.

"No, I got him out. He was sent to the ER, last I saw him." he insisted. May looked stunned.

"How?" Natasha asked for her S.O.

"His power is basically turning into a ghost. He passed through his rock cocoon. But Skye was distraught upon seeing him what she thought was him turned to stone, so she caused an earthquake. That shattered the statue. She most likely believes that she killed him." he answered.

"Caused an earthquake?" May questioned.

"It's her ability. I don't think she's a demigod, like we are. I think she's part alien. But I wouldn't confront her about it." he responded.

"Seeing as she thinks she killed Trip, that's understandable." Natasha replied.

"Speaking of Trip, is it an option for us to return him to the team?" May asked.

"Well, the only people in that chamber were Trip, Raina, Skye, and myself. I'm pretty sure that Raina and Skye were both part alien, because of the way they got into the chamber and the powers they gained. Raina now has a ton of spikes sticking out of her face, which doesn't resemble the powers of any of the gods, and Skye is definitely not the daughter of Poseidon. But Trip is a possible demigod. We'll have to test him for that. Either way, we can't let him return. It would raise a lot of questions, such as how he escaped, and how he survived the piece of metal sticking out of his stomach. And I think that Skye's been through enough trauma as it is. Returning someone that she cares about directly after she's convinced herself that she killed him would probably wreak havoc on her emotions, which is especially dangerous considering her new powers. It's better to let her come to terms with the entire event first. That will give Trip enough time to master his powers before eventually returning to the team." Percy responded. May sighed, but nodded.

"Alright. Then I'll need to return to base. We've got a funeral to plan, and a mother to console." she said.

"Don't worry about his mother. We'll work something out so that she won't have to grieve for too long." Natasha promised. May nodded again, and turned to leave.

Then, Victoria Hand walked into the room.

"Tori?" May asked in disbelief.

"We forgot to warn her about that, didn't we." Percy thought to his sister.

"Yup. We forgot. And that's not the only person we saved that she knows personally." Natasha responded.

"Right. Tori's girlfriend. Izzy Hartley." he realized.

They'd managed to save Hartley after her car crashed during an incident concerning the alien device and a man named Carl Creel. She'd panicked upon picking up the device, which had malfunctioned and broken a crystal the second she touched it. She thought that she was in danger, as the cocoon was forming slowly and hurt a lot. So, Izzy had cut off her arm.

This did nothing but delay the cocoon from forming and almost cause her to die from blood loss.

Luckily, the cocoon formed while she was stuck in the car and stopped her from losing blood, prolonging her life long enough for some C.H.A.O.S. agents to go in and retrieve her. They caused the car to explode directly afterwards, covering up the obvious lack of a dead body.

Izzy had spent several hours in the ER undergoing surgery for the missing arm. She'd been fitted with a prosthetic one that attached to her nerves in the process. After getting out, it took her another three days to wake up.

Victoria had spent most of that time sitting worriedly by her bed, anxiously waiting for her apparent romantic partner to stir.

Finally, Izzy had opened her eyes, finding Victoria hovering over her. Percy remembered that day pretty clearly.

"I guess I died, then. Because I see an angel." she muttered. Victoria snorted.

"You're not dead." she responded.

"Really? Because last I checked, you were." Izzy shot back.

"No, I'm alive. So are you." Victoria assured. The woman lying on the bed blinked in surprise.

"Well, then. That's good to know." Izzy commented. Victoria laughed, and pulled her in for a kiss.

Nearby, Percy sat watching the reunited couple.

"Aww, that's cute." he said out loud. Then, he realized that there was literally no one else in the room.

"Great, now I'm talking to myself." he realized. He glanced back at Victoria and Izzy, who were kissing again.

"Okay, it's time to leave. This is getting awkward." he told himself. He stood up, and started walking towards the door.

Which happened to be on the other side of the room.

Victoria and Izzy broke apart as he moved past them. They were both blushing slightly. The couple watched him stroll past, whistling.

"Hey, guys! Nice to see you awake, Izzy. Congratulations, Tori. Don't mind me, just casually passing by." He kept walking. The couple continued staring at him.

"Just keep walking, just keeping walking." he muttered under his breath. He made it out the door, and sighed in relief.

"Note to self: When someone is waiting for someone else to wake up, and there is nobody else in the room, give them their space. Let's not do that again." he decided as he left the hallway, runnning directly into his sister.

"Who are you talking to?" she asked.

"Oh, just myself." he replied cheerfully, proceeding down the hall. Natasha stared after him in confusion. Then, she shrugged.

"He's probably fine." she said. She frowned.

"Great, now I'm talking to myself too." She sighed and walked off.

Hartley had quickly made a full recovery. A little while later, she'd been claimed by Dionysus, which apparently had nothing to do with how much she drank. It turned out that she was a pretty good actor.

After being cocooned, she'd (by accident) realized that she could temporarily drive people insane, and had gotten better at psychoanalyzing people (the latter popped up when she was able to figure out the motive behind a crime by literally looking at the criminal's face).

Hand had decided to break a crystal soon after, and had ended up being able to shoot people with pink energy bolts.

An unfortunate agent (the same one who Hartley had previously driven insane) discovered that the energy bolts caused the affected to feel heartbroken to the point of non-functionality for a little while.

Luckily for them, it only lasted five minutes. But Hand and Hartley made a point of apologizing profusely with ice cream and a couple of presents.

This was only a small portion of the chaos that had been happening on C.H.A.O.S.' s Manta since Percy had last talked to May, so he felt that he couldn't really be blamed for forgetting to warn her that some people weren't really dead.

But he had, and now May looked like she'd been slapped in the face with a fish. It was an odd comparison to make, but Percy felt that it expressed the sheer amount of shock on the agent's features quite nicely.

"You're alive? I thought Ward had killed you!" she gasped.

"Well, he did shoot me. But then Alex burst out of the closet and.... I'm actually unsure of what he did, but he managed to get me onto this ship." Victoria explained.

"You came out of the closet?" May asked him with a straight face. Natasha choked. Percy blinked.

"Um, yeah." he said blankly. He glanced over at Victoria, who was snickering.

"What's so funny about that? It's not like I was far enough into it to find Narnia, or anything. It wasn't hard to come out at all." he continued. Natasha sighed, face-palmed, and muttered something under her breath while Victoria laughed harder. May decided to not to react, and continued with her questions.

"Why were you in the closet?" she questioned.

"I'd spent the day saving S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from Hydra ones. I was trying to steal the plane because I'd salvaged a ton of weapons and was too tired to just teleport, but then Ward, Garrett, Tori, and a couple other agents walked on." he replied. May shrugged.

"Alright. So are there any other people who aren't actually dead that I should know about?" she wondered. Victoria smiled.

"Just one." she responded. Izzy chose that moment to walk in. May turned and stared at her. Izzy froze.

"Hey, Lin." she greeted awkwardly.

"You- I thought- Morse and Hunter are going to be so pissed at you." May managed. She spun back around to face Natasha.

"Okay, so is anyone actually dead in this universe?" she exclaimed. Percy shrugged.

"Not if we can help it." he replied. May shook her head in disbelief.

"Well, I'm not complaining. Anyways, I've got to go back to the base now." she said.

"How are you going to get there? A Quinjet isn't exactly inconspicious, you know. As a matter of fact, how'd you get here?" Victoria wondered. The agent smirked.

"I flew." Her eyes started glowing with an icy blue light. Victoria and Izzy gasped as May rose into the air. Natasha just smiled, having been told about May's powers by Percy.

May took a deep breath. Then, her form flickered. Smoky wings formed on her back, and her eyes sparked with a tiny bit of electricity. The temperature in the room dropped several degrees.

Percy grinned, realizing that the agent had figured out several things about her powers since he'd last seen her. She looked like a female version of the storm spirits.

"Stay safe. I'll visit again sometime." May told them, and Percy noticed that her voice was layered with power. He waved at her, and she nodded.

She shot off, flying directly at a nearby wall. As she moved, her form dispersed more, until she looked like a blur of bluish-black fog. It reminded Percy of how the Death Eaters and the Order of the Phoenix members flew in the movies.

Seconds later, May had disappeared, having phased straight through the wall. Victoria and Izzy stared after her in shock.

"Since when did she have powers?" Izzy demanded.

"Since she was claimed as a demigod." Percy replied.

"She's a demigod?" Victoria shrieked.

"Yup. Daughter of Aquilon, also known as the North Wind." Natasha answered.

"That actually explains so much. She's always liked the cold and flying." Victoria realized.

"And it's a good thing, too. We don't have to lie to her." Izzy added. Natasha nodded.

"That's always a plus." she agreed. Percy stepped forward, having a topic he wanted to broach.

"We need to talk about the A.S.S.E.T." he commented.

"The what?" Izzy wondered.

"A.S.S.E.T. stands for the Advanced Specialized Semi-autonomous Extraction Team. It's an elite team that consists of our most experienced demigods. Namely, us." Natasha explained.

"Basically, we're like C.H.A.O.S.'s version of the Avengers mixed with S.T.R.I.K.E. mixed with an extraction team." Percy clarified. Victoria and Izzy nodded.

"Alright, so what do you have in mind?" Victoria questioned. Percy smiled.

"Follow me." He led them through the Manta, and into the room where only demigods could enter. He walked over to a panel on the side of the wall, and pressed his palm to it.

Part of the wall melted away to reveal another armory. On the far side, there were two necklaces hanging from a peg. Percy grabbed them, and turned back towards the three women following him.

"Tori, Izzy, I had these made for you after you came in contact with the crystals. Alia, I'm still working on yours." he said. He handed them the necklaces.

Victoria's necklace had a green heart-shaped pendant on it. The pendant had a simple leaf inscribed in gold. Izzy's necklace had a red circular pendant with a rose inscribed in silver. The two necklaces were meant to complement each other as a sign of the pair's love for each other.

The two women gasped softly at the jewelry. They helped each other put on the necklaces, and then faced Percy again, smiling.

"Thank you." Victoria said sincerely.

"You're welcome. But there's still one more thing you guys have to do." he replied.

"What's that?" Izzy asked.

"Wrap a hand around the pendant, and think about armor appearing." he directed. They complied. Seconds later, they were both wearing the outfit he'd designed for them.

Izzy was wearing a green suit with silver lining that was almost robotic in appearance. There was a kris strapped to her inner arm, and a kukri in a sheath at her hip. Her prosthetic hand had been covered in a layer of metal, forming a caestus. Her face was covered by a green mask and a metal helmet around it.

Victoria on the other hand was wearing an outfit made of thinner material. It was dark grey, with pink highlights. She had a metal cylinder attached to her forearm, which Percy knew expanded into a large scythe. Concealed in a thick belt around her waist was a chain-dagger whip. Her face was hidden by a set of glasses that Percy had upgraded.

They looked at each other in disbelief.

"You made us superhero costumes?" Izzy asked, astonished.

"Kind of?" Percy replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"You didn't add a cape." Victoria commented randomly.

"Capes aren't really helpful. They just get in the way." Natasha pointed out.

"Well, if we're going to be superheroes, then we'll need code names. Any ideas?" Izzy remarked.

"What about Shatterhand for Izzy, and Heartseeker for Tori?" Percy suggested.

"Why those in particular?" his sister questioned.

"Well, Izzy's power is to shatter people's minds. And she also has a really powerful prosthetic hand that I still need to give her. Also, Tori's last name is Hand. So, you put all of that together and get Shatterhand. I suggested Heartseeker for Tori because her power is to shoot heartbreak bolts. Also, in the Harry Potter books, the seeker was the one who was quick and sharp-eyed. And Izzy's last name is Hartley, so it's a play on her name. So basically your names suggest your significant other and your powers at the same time." Percy explained.

"Shatterhand.... I like it." Izzy decided.

"Heartseeker sounds pretty badass." Victoria grinned. Percy fist-pumped.

His sister laughed at his antics, and clapped her hands together.

"Alright. It's settled. Welcome to the A.S.S.E.T., Shatterhand and Heartseeker." she announced. Percy smiled. Now, their team consisted of four people. Things were looking up.

Melinda's P.O.V.

She flew through the air, a smile plastered on her face. Izzy, Tori, and Trip were alive. They were alive, and she hadn't failed them, and she actually felt completely happy for the first time in a while. Now, she just had to protect the rest of her team...

She frowned. Skye needed to learn how to control her powers. But Melinda couldn't help her until the girl admitted she had them to her team. And that's where the main problem was. Skye was most likely feeling self-hatred and guilt, which, when combined with her childhood growing up in foster homes, was toxic. Skye put up a brave facade, but Melinda knew when someone was feeling depressed. She could recognize the signs anywhere, because she was quite familiar with those emotions herself.

The face of the little girl from Bahrain flashed through her mind, and she froze up, losing control over her powers. She fell through the air for a couple seconds before she managed to reign in her emotions, starting to fly shakily through the air.

"Let me help." Derecho whinnied inside her head. The offer was tempting, but she resisted.

"I-I can't." she refused.

"All you have to do is relinquish control." the wind-spirit coaxed.

"I won't lose control. I can't." she argued, her voice trembling. But she was starting to cave.

"Just let the girl go." came the soft reply. Melinda gasped as she was thrown into her memories.

Her and Andrew, having a peaceful moment in the kitchen. Coulson showing up, ready to bring her on the mission. The plane ride. The briefing. The little girl, skipping through the streets, tapping random members of S.H.I.E.L.D. as she went. The meeting with Eva Belyakov, and how it went so wrong. The concern as she realized that the little girl had been taken as well. The panic when the team they sent failed to report in with Coulson. The determination to go in. The doubt as to how to treat the little girl. The call to Andrew that would be the last time she ever spoke to him while they were both happy.

She saw herself as she realized that the S.H.I.E.L.D. team had been turned into pain-seeking zombies. A fight that moved from one room to another as she was forced to take down her own allies without lethal force. The battle between her and Eva which culminated in a pole being shoved through the other woman's stomach. Her realizing that her allies were still enthralled while she was so injured that she couldn't even stand up. And then she stepped into the room.

The little girl, reaching out towards her. An insane smile twisting her lips. And the whispered admission:

I like the pain.

The steady steps as she walked closer. Her scrambling back, and freezing when she felt something lying on the ground behind her. May heard herself plead for the little girl to stay back, to let her allies go, but it fell on deaf ears. She remembered the moment that she realized that there was only one way out of the situation. Only one way to complete the mission without any more casualities.

"Don't... " she had said, and the girl had cocked her head, waiting.

"Just put your hand down and stop. Everything's gonna be all right." she'd soothed, just as her fingers wrapped around the gun. The little girl didn't move. Suddenly, something in her face twisted, and May acted.

BANG.

The gunshot echoed all around the room. The little girl stared at her, an expression of sadness, pain, and betrayal etched on her face. Then, she slumped to the ground. Everybody that she had possessed collapsed as well, unconscious.

Melinda had just pulled the little girl's body onto her lap and brushed the hair out of her face when Coulson and the Bahraini police stormed through the door. The latter had been yelling at Coulson loudly, but fell silent as soon as they saw her, sitting on the ground with the body of the little girl she'd murdered in her arms.

"May?" she heard, and she broke free of the traumatic memories, suddenly realizing that her face was wet with tears. She blinked, looking around, realizing that she was slumped against the wall in the hangar of the Playground. She mentally thanked Derecho for bringing her there.

"May, are you alright?" the same voice asked. She turned, realizing that Phil was crouched down beside her, a very concerned expression on his face. She shrugged silently, and Phil nodded, understanding that she didn't want to talk. He sighed, taking a seat on the ground next to her. They sat in silence for a while, and May relaxed slightly. Phil's presence was always calming to her.

Eventually, someone came looking for them. Jemma appeared, looking worried but excited.

"She's awake." she explained. May was confused for half a second before she realized that the scientist was talking about Skye.

"How is she?" Coulson asked. Simmons paused, most likely trying to figure out the best way to respond.

"Traumatized." was the one word answer. Coulson nodded in understanding, and May clenched her teeth. Skye did not deserve to feel that way. She shouldn't be blaming herself for the apparent death of one of her closest friends. It just wasn't fair.

Then again, it seemed that the Fates loved to screw with everybody's lives. Coulson did nothing to deserve a sceptre through the chest. Fitz didn't deserve brain damage. Simmons didn't deserve a life of secrecy and danger. There was no way that Tori and Izzy had deserved being betrayed. And Natasha sure as hell did not deserve the Red Room.

The only person that deserved what they got was her. She had killed a little girl. She'd destroyed her relationship with her husband. She'd abandoned her partner to die by the hands of a Norse god. And then, she betrayed her best friend completely. She'd done all of these terrible things, and she had no good explanation for them.

Katya was killed because of her fear. Andrew was pushed away because of her anger. Coulson had died because of her self-hatred. And Phil had been betrayed because of her mistrust and dishonesty. And these events were only the tip of the iceberg. There were so many other terrible things that she'd done. Why were the people that she cared about punished when she was the one who deserved it?

She broke out of her thoughts when she almost walked into a door. She shook her head, and maneuvered through the doorway, entering the gym. She set up a bag and started punching, not even bothering to wrap her fists.

She didn't know how much time passed while she was in the gym, but she did know that she'd been there long enough for her knuckles to turn red and raw. She stopped her assault on the bag, blowing out a frustrated breath, and went to her room to freshen up.

Thirty minutes later, she was standing in Coulson's office, listening to the director talk to Simmons. The scientist had gone back to Puerto Rico, and had apparently run into a familiar, flower-loving face.

"How many victims were there?" Coulson asked.

"Two dead, three in critical condition." Simmons replied. May frowned.

"How did Raina do this? She has no weapon." she wondered.

"She was covered in thorns. It's hard to comprehend. I shot her a few times." Simmons responded flatly. May quirked an eyebrow. The rose had grown some thorns? How ironic.

"Good." she commented. She was still pissed at the woman for everything that she'd done. It was bad enough that she'd played a large part in the Centipede debacle, worked with Hydra, and put Phil through a very traumatizing memory machine. Now, she was all mixed up in this powered people craziness. She needed to be locked away, and soon.

"But none a fatal hit, it seems. I did manage to gather some tissue from the ground, blood and such." Simmons sighed. May glanced over at Phil's desk, noticing a smaller version of Lola sitting on Coulson's desk. She frowned slightly.

"Since when did Coulson have that? And did he check it for recording devices? Because we spent a long time carefully analyzing everything else in here." she thought.

"How long until you can blow the shaft on the ocean floor?" Coulson asked Simmons.

"We're preparing the charges now. That place will be underwater and sealed up for good." May sighed in relief. That was definitely good news. Simmons was silent for a second, evidently thinking over her next words carefully.

"Sir, as much as I'd like to join the manhunt for Raina -" The young scientist paused, making May feel a little wary.

"I'd much rather come back to HQ, see...everyone. To study Raina's tissue and check on Skye." she finished, and May's eyes widened imperceptibly. She knew what the deal was with Skye - she was part alien. But she couldn't let anyone know that she knew anything yet. So, she had to allow Fitzsimmons to take a look at Skye. She wasn't looking forward to that conversation. Jemma didn't really sound accepting of supernatural things right now.

"Whatever transformed Raina..." May baited.

"She was exposed as well. We have enough boots on the ground in Puerto Rico to hunt down Raina. Come home, Jemma." Coulson completed, and May squeezed her eyes shut briefly. It was going to be hard to get the team to be okay with all of these things. If they ever found out that she wasn't fully human herself... she was just glad that demigod DNA didn't look any different from normal.

Coulson turned towards her, and she could immediately tell that he'd made a decision.

"Gather everyone. We're going after Hydra now." he stated, and May nodded. Coulson walked out of the room, and she groaned quietly before following him.

A little while later, the team met just outside of Skye's med-pod/cell. She knew that it wasn't being used as a cell, but it sure seemed it was. Coulson detailed an interesting plan that he'd come up with in order to strike back at Hydra.

"With a prisoner exchange? Using Bakshi out in the open like that, it's a dangerous strategy, sir." Bobbi piped up. May's eyes narrowed.

"Why was she picking now of all times to question Coulson? The team was fractured right now, why was she trying to make it worse?" she wondered. She decided to keep a closer eye on Bobbi.

"I know it's high risk but we have a small window to take advantage of HYDRA's lack of leadership." Coulson said calmly.

"It puts us out on a limb." Hunter tended to back Bobbi up, so May elected to ignore him.

"With a chance to deliver a crushing blow to those responsible for Trip's death. I'll take it." May bit her lip. She knew Trip wasn't dead, and it was killing her that she couldn't tell them the truth. But she knew it would be better for them in the long run. She just hoped that they would be able to forgive her for it. Coulson had barely forgiven her for the last time she'd lied about something this big, and it had been pretty recent.

"Responsible, huh?" May's attention snapped to the large agent. He was facing an odd angle; his back wasn't to them, but neither was his front. He was kind of angled sideways, and there was a dark expression on his face. May could see that he blamed Coulson for Trip's "death". She cursed internally. This secret of hers was going to tear this team apart. But revealing the truth to them would basically burn it to ashes.

"You have something to say, Mack?" Coulson asked.

"Plenty, but I'll keep it to myself." Mack growled, and May shifted, detecting that Mack was feeling a bit violent.

"Don't mind him, he's just coming down from the worst alien acid trip of all time." Hunter dismissed.

"That's not funny." Fitz said, and May agreed with him.

"Just trying to lighten the mood, mate." Hunter defended.

"Yeah, well, Mack didn't ask for what happened to him." Fitz retorted. May noticed Mack turn completely away from the conversation.

"Of course not." Hunter said.

"No one asked for any of this to happen. Hydra forced our hand, and now Coulson plans to force theirs." May tried to be diplomatic, but her words just caused Mack to whip around, burning with rage.

"Did they? Did Hydra force our hand?" he snarled.

"Calm down, Mack." Bobbi tried.

"Repeatedly, but we have a chance here -" Coulson was interrupted.

"Or did we hand them detailed plans and the location of that city?" Mack asked.

"Hydra took them when they took Skye." Coulson pointed out. He took a step towards Mack.

"Are you saying we shouldn't have gone in to save her?" he questioned, an underlying warning in his tone.

"I'm saying there wouldn't have been anything to take if you and Skye hadn't been obsessed with the alien messages in your damn head." May noticed Bobbi's eyes widen, and she decided that she definitely needed to keep an eye on her and Mack. But she put that thought to the side as she registered Mack's words, immediately feeling anger rise up in her chest.

Mack hadn't been there. He had no idea how much the decision of injecting alien blood into Phil and Skye had been agonized over. He didn't see how obsessed Coulson had gotten. Not like she had. She'd stayed up with him night after night, knowing that he had no control. And May hated the idea of not having control.

""All right, let's all just -" Bobbi attempted to step in, but Coulson cut her off.

"This isn't about blame." he said, staring the bigger man down.

"Watch yourself, Mack." May cautioned.

"No one would've left Skye there. That's not what he's saying." Fitz defended him, looking over at his friend.

"I shouldn't have to ask any of you to save one of our own." Coulson said, and May agreed with that statement. Mack stepped closer to Coulson, and May tensed, ready to fight the man if necessary.

"You never ask!" Mack yelled, and May could see Bobbi look over at him, willing him to quiet down.

"You just give your orders, no matter how cracked out they are!" he continued, and May decided to step in.

"Mack, you'd do well to remember your rank right now." It was a terrible line, but she just needed to distract them.

"Really? Rank at a time like this? Why don't you shove rank up your -"

"Not helping, Hunter." Bobbi put in. Skye spoke up, her voice almost impossible to hear as the others began to argue.

"Guys, stop." May wanted to listen, but she needed to defend Coulson. The others were turning, turning on him, and that was bad.

"No, it's cathartic." Hunter said. She really wanted to slap him, but she was distracted by the fact that she could see a can of juice beginning to rattle within the cage.

"Shit, I need to distract them more." she realized.

"Do you have any thoughts of your own on it or do you just parrot his?" Hunter scoffed, and May ignored the sting of pain that the man's words caused. She had feelings, after all.

"Coulson's only trying to stop HYDRA." she said in a very tight tone. In her periphery, she could see that Skye's vitals were going crazy. The girl was visibly panicking.

"We didn't stop anything! We unleashed something on the planet!" Mack yelled, and May wanted to tell him otherwise. But she couldn't do that.

The can was still rattling.

"Please." Skye muttered, and May clenched her fists.

"No one knows what happened yet." Fitz interjected.

"Trip averted disaster. It could have been a lot worse!" That, at least, was true.

"And Skye barely made it out alive!" She'd give him that point. But now, she had to tell a barefaced lie.

"Thanks to Trip! He sacrificed his life, Mack!" She could feel her fingernails break her skin as she said this. She felt like such a liar. But she knew that it was the right thing to do.

"No! He traded his life for hers! And then he was shattered into a thousand pieces!" Mack roared, and May briefly entertained the thought of teleporting behind him and slamming his head into the ground. She could see Skye grab the can and try to get it to stop shaking. She really needed to teach that girl how to control her powers.

"That's enough!" Coulson practically screamed. Everybody fell silent. Skye's powers stopped acting up. May breathed out a silent breath of relief.

Coulson moved right in front of Mack, and glared up at him.

"If Trip was here, he wouldn't be arguing. He wouldn't be bitching. He would be gearing up to do what needs to be done. Yes, we're dealing with forces we don't understand, but Hydra? I do understand." he said in a deadly calm voice. He looked around at the rest of the team.

"I want everyone ready when the sun comes up, end of discussion." he commanded, and strode out of the room. May glanced over at Skye, who was staring at the can with wide eyes. Then, she followed Coulson.

"What the hell are we going to do, Coulson? The team is splintering apart, and if Hydra strikes now, I'm not sure we'll be able to make it." She knew that she could always call in C.H.A.O.S. for help, but Coulson didn't know that.

"We'll pull through." the infuriating man responded calmly, and May rolled her eyes.

"Is that even a possibility right now? Mack seems like he wants to throttle you."

"You sort of start thinking anything's possible if you've got enough nerve." Phil said. May raised an eyebrow at the dork.

"Harry Potter? Right now? Really?" she asked accusingly. Phil shrugged.

"You recognized it." he pointed out. She scoffed.

"Not the point!" she exclaimed.

"I'm just waiting for the day that someone tries to attack Daisy when you're not around so that I can see you pop out of nowhere and yell NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" he shrugged.

"She's not even my daughter, though!" Melinda protested.

"She's as good as." Phil said gently. She averted her gaze, falling silent. Neither spoke for a couple minutes.

"So, what pranks have you been planning, hmm? The team still hasn't figured out that you're the one messing with their heads." The man smiled at her, changing the subject.

"I'm not telling you anything. But, I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." she deadpanned.

"Now who's the nerd?" he teased. She pushed at his shoulder lightly.

"Dork." she retorted. The sound of their laughter filled the hallway and chased away her shadows for a while. For a couple seconds, she felt whole again. And she thought that maybe, just maybe, those couple of seconds were worth fighting for.

And cut! I felt like this was a good stopping point. Some more important plot points were established here. Also, yay for superhero costumes. And sibling relationships. And platonic/romantic relationships. Woohoo! But, I still felt that this was rushed, and not quite my usual writing style. And there was literally only one P.O.V. change. There will be a lot of May P.O.V. in these next couple chapters. It's kind of her arc, after all. And she's important. Anyways, I hope you still enjoyed the chapter.

- Spathi