Hello!! I'm sorry for not being active at all for the last several months. I'm going to be candid with you guys and tell you that the reason why is because I've been struggling to effectively manage my ADHD, and I've had like no time to write. Anyways, here's another chapter. Mostly Agents of SHIELD plot, but not all of you watch that anyways. Some other plot as well. Here we goooooo!

- Spathi

Actually wait.

It's been a while since I updated (duh).

So, here's a review of the main characters and also the characters in this chapter:

Percy Jackson: Son of Poseidon, Savior of Olympus, Slayer-of-insert-like-half-of-Greek-Mythology-here, The Sea Scorpion, Natasha Romanoff's little bro.

Natasha Romanov: Adoptive Daughter of Mars, Avenger, BAMF, The Black Widow, older sister of Percy Jackson.

Bruce Banner: Son of Hephaestus, Avenger, Bane of Loki tbh, The Incredible Hulk, Natasha Romanoff's love interest.

Melinda May: Daughter of Aquilon, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., Kickass Pilot and Super Spy, You-Don't-Know-This-Yet, Natasha's S.O. as well as another character's something else.

Phil Coulson: Mortal, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D./Officially Dead Guy/ Gov Man In Suit/The Director, N/A, May's BFF/Possibly Something Else.

Skye: a girl with earthquake powers bc she's an Inhuman (meaning she's part alien), and her powers just got awakened. Before that she was a hacker. She's May's trainee, and v troubled. She thought she was an orphan, but her dad's alive, and also kind of a psychopath. Feels a bit traumatized because she thinks she killed her friend Trip.

Antoine "Trip" Triplett: Good agent whose grandad was one of the famed Howling Commandos (read Steve and Bucky's War Buddies), assumed to be dead bc the agents in the last chapter found some stone rubble that looked like him (no medusa was not involved) but actually that's just his cocoon thing from Terrigenesis and he passed through the rocks and then Percy got him the heck outta there.

Sunil Bakshi: Mortal, irrelevant Hydra dude, no one cares about this guy.

General Talbot: That one general who's friends with General Ross (you know, the jerk from Incredible Hulk and Civil War), in the comics had an interesting relationship with SOMEBODY's ex, which I may or may not put in. However, on AoS, he's kinda a jerk, but not a terrible person.

Barbara "Bobbi" Morse: In the comics, the character known as Mockingbird who is another SOMEBODY's ex (not sure if I'm putting that in there yet), capable spy, pretty good at interrogation, also likes chemistry I think.

Lance Hunter: a mercenary turned agent who is British, and also he's kind of a jerk, but has a good heart. He and Bobbi have the most complicated relationship ever because they've been married and divorced several times, but they still love each other sooo

Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie: Big tough agent who is super serious, pretty level-headed, but more than just the muscle. Likes to repair cars, tho.

Jemma Simmons: Brilliant biochemist from England who is eager and curious, but currently kinda afraid of super-powery stuff given all that's happened recently (trip's "death", aliens, etc.) Had honestly accidentally written as Jemma Fitz because she and that boy are inseparable. Are literally referred to as a collective as Fitzsimmons by basically everybody which means that they came with their own ship name. Because they are in love, but also AoS writers give them so much angst.

Leopold Fitz: Weapons and technology experts and mechanical engineer from Scotland who met Simmons in a SHIELD lab, and became her best friend. He's much more sympathetic to the alien thing than his counterpart is, and he was the first to find out about Skye's newfound powers (other than May, bc she's observant like that). Bit of a rift between him and Simmons, bc he got a brain injury after an encounter with Grant Ward the traitor (agent that Percy completely destroyed that one time they fought right before he met May), and then Simmons disappeared off to infiltrate Hydra, and he didn't take her absence well because he kinda really needed her there, and then she came back, and then things were a bit awkward, but they were getting better and then Skye happened and he didn't tell her and that's where we are in the story.

Lady Sif: character of Norse Mythology, in which she's an earth goddess, but this is the "alien" aspect of her, so she's just a badass female warrior with a sword and a bit of a crush on her comrade Thor, but she's fully capable of taking care of herself and she's not exactly pining I don't think.

Yeah, I think those are all the characters that need any explanation.

Now, let's get into it.

May's P.O.V.

She stood behind Coulson, regarding the prisoner in the containment cell with baleful eyes. Coulson seemed cheerful as always, which she knew was an act to try and unsettle the prisoner.

"This plan had better work." she thought to herself.

" Hope you're feeling better this morning, Mr. Bakshi, because you have a date with the U.S. government. Smile. There he is, general." Phil chirped as he essentially Skyped General Talbot.

"Sunil Bakshi ... the man tied to the Navy wedding massacre, the U.N. attack, and who tried to kill you, Coulson." the general mused.

"While dressed up as you, sir." Coulson commented.

"Safe to say, I'm not a fan." Phil smiled.

"Perfect. I'll trade him to you to add to your collection. All I ask is your assistance in handling... " Talbot interrupted him. 

"Remaining HYDRA forces. I understand the idea, Coulson, and in this case, I'm not against it." Phil nodded.

"Thank you, sir." he said, and cut the call. May shook her head in faux anger and strode out of the room ahead of Coulson. They loaded Bakshi into the van and drove out of the Playground. After a couple minutes of dead silence while Bakshi fidgeted uncomfortably in the back, Phil finally spoke up.

"Go ahead. You agree with the rest of the team. You're concerned we're out in the open." May glanced at him.

"More that we contacted the U.S. government." she replied.

"I think Talbot's on the level." Phil said.

"I'm not worried about Talbot, but around him? There are security leaks everywhere. And with Whitehall dead, Bakshi may be even more valuable." she responded.

"I'm well-aware, but without Talbot in our corner... " May sighed dramatically.

"I know. Without him, we'll never have a chance to get the upper... " She was cut off as a truck slammed into the side of the van. It shoved their car sideways into a warehouse, where it skidded to a stop. Red liquid trickled out of her mouth, but she ignored it, looking out the window. She could see soldiers streaming out of the truck, guns at the ready. May muttered a curse, and went for her weapon. 

"Move up! Hit them!" a soldier yelled as shots were fired their way. 

"Go!" she yelled, shoving Coulson towards the door. They scrambled out of the car as quickly as they could. Then, they crouched behind it, returning fire.

Tires screeched as another van pulled into the warehouse. Coulson held up a explosive device, and she nodded, pulling out a couple grenades. They rolled their explosives under the car, taking cover as they went off, eliminating most of their enemies. May picked up the mirror of the car, which had fallen to the ground, and held it up so she could see the remaining hostiles.

"I count four left. You know what that means." she said.

"Not really." Coulson shrugged, and she rolled her eyes, grabbing his gun from his hand. She shot at a nearby pile of gas, which exploded, causing a distraction. Then she climbed onto the hood, doing a flashy aerial off the side (she had to have fun somehow), and landing with both guns aimed at her targets. She fired off two shots from each gun, taking down each of the four remaining enemies with precise aim. Then, she walked back around the car, catching sight of Coulson standing up and staring at her in shock.

"That's what it means ... means I'm gonna do that." she explained. Coulson nodded, eyes wide.

"Good to know." he said slowly.

"More will be coming." she pointed out, putting her back to the van and peering around the corner. It seemed clear.

"They must have intercepted our transmissions." Phil commented. She sighed.

"Talbot." she stated. 

"Come on. Get out of there." Phil said to Bakshi, roughly pulling him out. 

"Seems you underestimated us again." the man said smugly.

"Underestimated how desperate they must be if you're this important to them now." Phil snarked. They were just walking around the back of the car when May suddenly saw a soldier. Her eyes widened, but it was too late. The gun went off, and she jerked backwards, falling to the ground. She couldn't move anymore. Instead, she lay on her back, staring upwards at Coulson's face. It was twisted in pain and anger.

"Noooooo!" he yelled in anguish.

"You'll never take us alive!" Phil screamed in defiance. She heard him start running away. He'd barely made it a couple of steps when two more shots sounded. He grunted as they hit him, and she heard his body hit the floor.

"The S.U.V.'s still running, so get in!" the soldier commanded Bakshi in an American accent. The man stared for a couple seconds before obeying. May lay perfectly still, red pooling around her.

"Well, at least I can't feel the pain." she thought. The car's engine faded into the distance.

"Clear!" someone yelled, and she sighed, slowly sitting up. Coulson was already on his feet, dusting his hands off. She gave him a look over her shoulder.

"'You'll never take us alive!'? Really? A little over the top, don't you think?" she complained.

"I only had a day to come up with this whole thing." he defended himself. Then, a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes.

"Besides, if I let you write the script, no one would say anything." he joked. She rolled her eyes, watching as Bobbi headed off on a motorcycle. She peeled off the fake blood bags concealed in her clothes and threw them to the ground. She'd make sure they were picked up later.

"Well, Bakshi has a flair for the dramatic. Let's just hope he bought ours." Phil commented as he slung his jacket over his shoulder. May mentally crossed her fingers. She definitely didn't want to have fake-died for nothing.

Hours later, they were back at base, and waiting for Hunter and Bobbi to report in. She sighed in relief when they finally did.

"We did it. They turned on each other just as planned." Bobbi said, and Coulson silently fist-pumped.

"Dork." she mouthed at him, and he smirked.

"Good. That gives us an opening to completely destroy Hydra. Good work. See you once you return to base." he told Bobbi, and hung up. 

"Yes!" he exclaimed, and immediately wrapped May in a celebratory hug.

She wrinkled her nose and pushed him off, although her lips were twitching. Phil laughed, starting to dance around the office.

"You're an idiot." she said flatly.

"Yeah, an idiot that manipulated the leaders of Hydra into killing each other." he pointed out smugly. She rolled her eyes, sighing in defeat.

"Good job." she deadpanned.

"I know. Thanks, though." Phil sassed. May face-palmed, and walked out of the office.

"By the way, I'm heading to Trip's mother's house in a few hours." he called after her, and she froze.

"Dammit." she muttered, scowling. She'd temporarily forgotten that she was lying to her entire team. Again.

At the house, she kept her features completely blank, watching as Coulson pulled Trip's mom into a hug. She clenched her fists and made a mental note to herself to work something out with C.H.A.O.S. so that Trip's mother could know he was alive.

Natasha's P.O.V.

"Lex? Where are you?" she called uncertainly into the darkness of Percy's bedroom on the Manta. She heard an answering groan, and moved further into the space, assessing her surroundings.

She found her brother lying on the ground with a box of files sitting a couple feet away.

"What's up with you?" she wondered.

"I vapor-traveled while falling down a flight of stairs in a military base in France." her brother replied, clearly exhausted.

"Falling down a flight of stairs??? Were you attacked?" Natasha exclaimed, eyes wide in worry.

"No..." Percy mumbled. Natasha tilted her head, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

"Then why - " she shook her head. "Wait. Before I ask that, what are these files?"

Her brother sat up slowly, wincing as the motion made his head spin.

"Some CIA files with some interesting information in them." he replied vaguely. Natasha's gaze snapped to her little brother.

"You stole these from an active military base? Idiot! No wonder you fell down the stairs." she scolded, and Percy grimaced.

"Actually, it wasn't active... in fact, there was nobody there." he argued. The red-head raised an eyebrow at her younger sibling.

"Okay. Then explain to me exactly how you ended up taking an unexpected trip to the bottom of a stairwell." she deadpanned, and Percy sighed. He buried his face in his hands, muffling his response.

"iknatrpd." she heard, and frowned, leaning closer to her brother.

"Can you say that again? In a louder and more clear tone?" she asked. Percy blew out a breath, and met Natasha's gaze with an embarrassed look of his own.

"I- um- well. I kinda tripped. Over a wooden plank." he clarified, grinning sheepishly. Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You tripped. You, the famed Sea Scorpion, infamous assassin, child of Poseidon, twice Hero of Olympus, and a whole lot of other titles that I'm not bothered to name right now- you tripped over a piece of wood." Percy cringed at her words.

"Uh, maybe?" he responded. Natasha face-palmed.

"Perseus Alexei Jackson, you are unbelievable." she complained.

"Well, my job does involve a lot of lying." Percy joked, and Natasha shot him a scathing glare.

"Not on the ground, it doesn't." she retorted, and pulled her younger sibling to his feet. She then shoved him, causing him to stumble back and fall onto his bed. He sighed in relief, sinking into the mattress.

"Ah, that feels better." Natasha stared at him.

"You couldn't even make it from the floor onto your bed. How much vapor-traveling have you been doing recently?" she questioned.

"Um, maybe six to eight places?" he responded uncertainly.

"Six to eight places in how much time??" she pressed.

"In a day?" Natasha punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

"Ow!"

"Ow is right you vlacas! You can not use your powers that much! You're going to burn yourself out over time! And this should be obvious, but that's not healthy!" Natasha yelled.

"But there are so many things to do!" Percy argued, propping himself up with some pillows.

"Well, you're not the only person who has to do them. You're a leader. Delegate tasks! You don't have to shoulder this burden alone." she told him. Then, she paused.

"Wait. Is that what this is about?" she asked.

"Is what what this is about?" Natasha sat down next to her brother on the bed.

"Feeling like you have to do everything yourself because you don't want others to get hurt." she said gently. Percy's face stayed blank, but Natasha knew her brother.

"Lex, you can't save everyone. Neither can you help them all. I know you want to, and I know that this is why C.H.A.O.S. was formed. But it's just not possible. The only way you could really keep everybody out of danger is by locking them up, but you don't want to do that. And in all honesty, you can't do that, even if you did want to. Because we're all part of a team. And you need that team. Without everybody's help, we can't succeed." Percy looked down at his hands.

"I just don't want to lose more of my family and friends. I've already lost so many people that I cared for; is it so bad that I'm trying to keep that from happening?" he replied.

"Well, everybody on this ship has lost a lot as well; we don't want to lose you either. But if you keep doing these things, if you throw yourself into C.H.A.O.S. like this, then we will lose you. It may not even be physically; you as a person may fade away as well. I need you to take a step back, and take some time for yourself." Natasha pointed out. Her brother nodded.

"Will you do that for me?" Natasha checked, just to make sure. Percy flashed her a thumbs up, and she smiled.

"Good. We'll follow the leads in this file box in a couple weeks. For now, just rest." she said, picking up the box and moving to leave.

"Bye, Alia." her brother called just as she reached the door. She paused briefly and smiled back at him, shifting the box in her hands so she could reach for the light switch.

"Bye, Lex. Sleep well." With that, she switched off the lights and left the room, closing the door behind her.

"Thank you." she heard in her mind. A slow smile spread across her face.

"Anytime, little brother. Any time."

May's P.O.V.

A couple weeks after the takedown of Hydra's leaders, May found herself dodging under a well-placed punch with a smirk on her face.. She was sparring with Skye in the training room, and was very pleased with how far she'd come. After a few minutes of training, the younger woman managed to pin her to the ground, but stopped before striking her in the head to finish the fight. Instead, she helped her up. May could tell that they were both holding back.

"Not bad. But once I'm pinned, you should try for a finishing blow." she told Skye.

"You want full 'Mortal Kombat'?" Skye asked quizzically. May rolled her eyes.

"I want you to stop holding back, Skye." she clarified.

"I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to try to hurt you. I feel like I'm constantly on the verge of... I don't know." May knew she was referring to her newfound powers.

"Look... we lost Trip, and it hurts like hell, but you can't shut those feelings out. Can't sustain that." she said, forcing the lie out between clenched teeth. Luckily, Skye didn't notice.

"Well, what's my option? I just lose it right here?" May sighed. That was definitely not an option.

"We've talked about this. Control. Embrace your emotions, your nerves. Use them... on your terms." she explained.

"I don't know. What I'm feeling is pretty... dark. I'm afraid I'm gonna go postal and tear your head off." Skye admitted. May smiled grimly.

"Go for it. I promise you won't." It wasn't meant to sound like a threat, but Skye gave her a slightly alarmed look.

"Maybe Skye needs a break." Fitz commented, stepping out of the shadows where he'd been lurking for about seven minutes.

 "Training is not a group activity." Fitz looked kind of nervous at her words.

 "Yeah. I just came down to... Have ... Uh, see what... I-it's about." he justified.

 "I'll tell you what, Fitz ... come back in an hour. I'd be happy to show you what it's all about." Fitz looked even more nervous, and she cursed internally. Why did she keep making passive-aggressive statements? She sounded like she was offering to beat him up.

 "I'm fine, Fitz. Really." Skye told the engineer. May knew that the reason why Fitz was hovering was because of her powers. It was pretty obvious that the engineer knew, with the way he covered for Skye when May had noticed her hand bleeding earlier.

"It would be pretty funny to see you and Fitz go at it..." May swung an arm at her face, which was quickly blocked.

"Okay. Guess we're back on." Skye noted, startled.

"And not holding back." May growled. That was a lie. Both of them were still holding back.

Later on, Coulson came downstairs to tell them about a mission.

"Apparently, Lady Sif appeared and had a fight with some guy on a beach." he said. May raised her eyebrows.

"Okay, then." she replied.

"Yeah, it seems weird. But hey, she's a highly trained warrior from Asgard. There's probably a really good reason." he responded.

"Right." Phil grinned.

"So, you're in." She raised an eyebrow.

"Can't watch your back from here. Wheels up in twenty." With that, she walked out of the gym to get ready.

As it turned out, Lady Sif didn't really remember much. Luckily, it didn't take long to figure out who she was looking for.

"A blue man? Really? I wasn't aware that we were in Las Vegas." she snarked.

"I feel like you would have preferred that." Coulson pointed out.

"Of course I would. I love Vegas." she said. They walked down the hall to where the blue Kree alien was being held. They'd subdued him after taking the alien by surprise as he lugged a case out of a cave in Chaves. He didn't even have time to raise his weapon, which was good, because the truncheon had an interesting power.

"So, how does this thing work? It's the thing that wiped Sif's memories, so it's probably our best shot at reversing it." Coulson said to Bobbi Morse, who had been analyzing the weapon.

"It's possible that only he can operate it. We've seen other alien materials react to biology or DNA." she replied.

"Don't remind me." Mack muttered.

"Or me." Skye added.

"We've all been there, done that. Fitz and Simmons will examine the case. If this guy's telling the truth, we might finally get the answers we've been searching for." Phil said.

After a bit of interrogation and an unexpected backflip combo that ended with an Asgardian getting hit in the stomach by a truncheon (although it was done with good intentions), Sif had her memories back. Then, the Kree started explaining why he'd come to Earth. Apparently it had to do with Kree history, which was something that Sif was rather willing to explain.

"Eons ago, the Kree waged a very long war. The casualties were high, and they needed more soldiers." Sif started.

"You mean cannon fodder." May had to interrupt.

"We needed killers. One vicious faction among the Kree genetically modified other creatures' DNA. These modifications can be activated with Terrigen crystals." the Kree continued. May suddenly remembered the crate of crystals that her father had given them.

"Well, that explains a lot." she thought.

"We know these torturous experiments failed." Sif said.

"Not on Earth. Here, we had to shut them down. This faction had built a city. They brought with them the Diviners, which hold the crystals. Their plans were discovered and thwarted by the better of my kind, putting an end to that dark chapter of our past." the Kree explained.

"Until now." Skye whispered, and May glanced over at her, realizing that she knew that she was one of these so called "experiments".

"When I saw that an ancient signal had been triggered, I knew it had to be a Diviner. If the Kree empire learned that these experiments were a success, they would be likely to renew them." Skye shook her head slightly.

"Why did you come here?" she wondered.

"These transformed beings are... abominations. I knew that I had to find the remainder of the Diviners before another monstrosity occurred, and erase any knowledge of it." May noticed the panic starting to settle on her protege's face, and silently willed her to keep it together.

"How many Diviners are supposed to be in that crate?" she asked, stepping forward.

"Enough to create an army." the Kree responded.

"Sir, the crate is empty." Simmons reported over the comms.

"My worst fear has come true." the alien whispered.

"We must find the remaining Diviners, as well as anyone who's transformed." Coulson bit his lip.

"We drowned the temple where the Diviners were activated, so that's a plus. And we do know the woman who was changed." he told the Kree, who had by now introduced himself as Vin-Tak.

"So, someone was transformed. A Kree slave warrior created. Have you put it down?" Sif asked.

 "No. She disappeared." May put in.

 "What do you know of her?" Sif wondered.

"We don't know much about Raina's transformation. Skye witnessed it but didn't see much." Coulson mentioned.

"You were there? What did you see?" Sif pressed.

"I-I didn't ... I mean, n-nothing." Skye stuttered.

"Were there others with you? The changes may not be on the surface... but buried inside." The room started rumbling very slightly. A nearby glass of water started sloshing around.

"You must understand, these creatures are weapons ... abominations ... even if they don't know it." The shaking got worse. The lights flickered on and off. 

"Son of Coul, what is this?" Sif questioned.

"Skye... you want to talk to us?" May asked. She had to do it. But she wasn't going to let anyone near Skye without a fight.

"Skye, what's doing this?" Skye looked at Coulson with terrified eyes.

"I am." she whispered. Sif immediately tried to grab her arm.

"Don't!" Skye exclaimed, breaking away. She grabbed her head, and suddenly the windows nearby shattered.

"Hand her over. I will take her to Asgard. It will be safer for all of you." Sif demanded.

"We will do no such thing." Coulson said firmly.

"The weapon has been activated. It needs to be eliminated before it hurts someone." the Kree stated.

"Skye is not a weapon." Coulson protested.

"Coulson, no one is saying Skye chose this, but she is dangerous." Sif tried.

"I don't want to be this way." Skye pleaded.

"Imagine what will happen if your powers grow. It may not stop at breaking glass. You could bring down buildings, tear continents apart... " Sif said.

"I can get a handle on it." Skye assured, although her voice shook.

"That's not what you were designed for. You were designed to destroy, which is why you must be put down." the alien said unsympathetically. 

"Yeah, well, that sounds an awful lot like killing to me." Fitz suddenly cut in.

"This is not your concern... " Vin-Tak started, while Coulson glanced over at May. She nodded, and grabbed her protege by the arm, pushing her towards the door.

"Skye, let's go." she urged.

"Fitz, we need bambino! You want her, you go through me." she heard Coulson yell as they ran from the room.

"What the hell is bambino?" May wondered as she sprinted after Coulson. Simmons stepped out of the lab as they went down the hallway.

"Wha- what's going on?" she wondered.

"Jemma, I am so sorry." Skye apologized as May dragged her away. They sprinted to the containment cell, and May locked it behind them as Skye sat on her bed.

"Okay. Listen to me ... just me. We can do this. You can do this." she pleaded, kneeling next to her.

"I can't... I can't make it stop." Skye gasped, rocking back and forth.

"You will control your emotions, just like we practiced." she ordered, gently grabbing her shoulders.

"I can't make it stop. Everyone is at risk." Skye sobbed. 

"Just focus. Skye, look at me. Focus. It'll stop." she reassured. Suddenly, a sword appeared near her head, struggling against the web of electricity shielding them from the outside world.

"Agent May, release the girl!" Sif commanded.

"May, she'll get through." Skye panicked.

"Ignore it. Remember ... focus!" she urged, getting ready to fight the Asgardian.

"I can't." Skye said, panting heavily. Sif broke through the barrier. Just as May was about to launch herself at the Asgardian, Skye suddenly grabbed the I.C.E.R. from her hip and shot herself in the arm. She slumped over, unconscious, and the rumbling stopped.

"Skye!" she whispered, hurrying over to her protege.

"She harmed herself!" Sif said, shocked. 

"Even though she knew it meant giving up her freedom." Coulson said, having dashed down the stairs and entered the room.

"All to save the rest of you." Sif muttered.

"Don't you see? She wants to get better. If you take her away from the people she loves, she'll only get worse." Coulson tried, aiming his gun at the Asgardian. Sif seemed to consider it for half a second, but then her eyes narrowed.

"I don't know if I can take that chance." she said, and suddenly leapt at Coulson, slamming him to the ground. His head hit the concrete hard, knocking him unconscious.

"Agent May, I advise you to step out of the way." May glared at the Asgardian.

"No." she said.

"You don't understand-" Sif started, but May cut her off.

"Don't I?" she asked, her eyes glowing an icy blue. Sif paused, looking her over.

"If I lost control, I could tear this building to pieces. I could rip everybody in here to shreds with nothing but the wind, impale them with icy daggers, even steal the breath from their lungs. But I haven't, because it's possible to learn how to stay in control." May told her. Lady Sif still looked determined.

"So, you know your parentage now. Perhaps you should come to Asgard as well. There is a training facility there." she suggested. May shook her head in a firm refusal. She summoned the staff her father had given her, and twirled it around, watching as the symbols glowed blue.

"That's the Berserker staff." Sif realized. May didn't answer, waiting for the Asgardian to make her move.

"Come on, then. Show me, child of the North Wind, the limits of your control." Sif challenged. May simply nodded her head once. The Asgardian charged, swinging her sword at May's midsection. May blocked it with the staff, turning and dropping to the ground to aim a sweep at the Asgardian's legs. Sif jumped over the sweep, and swung downwards. May parried the swing, and leapt into the air, kicking the warrior backwards. Before the Asgardian could react, May sent a blade of wind at her shoulder, slicing through her jacket without touching the skin. The Asgardian instinctively checked her shoulder for a wound, leaving May an opening to blast her with ice.

Sif flew backwards, but managed to tuck herself into a roll, sliding back across the floor and standing up.

"Is that all?" Sif goaded.

"I could finish the fight now." May shrugged.

"Then why don't you do so?" the Asgardian wondered. May smirked.

"As you wish." She reached out to Derecho, and turned into her wind-vapor form, speeding around Sif at ridiculous speeds and throwing her all over the room. After about a minute of this, she rematerialized in mid-air, grabbing Sif and body-slamming her into the ground. Then, with a yell, she brought her staff down right next to Sif's head. The Asgardian stared up at her, wide-eyed.

May sighed, storing the staff in her tattoo. She didn't move from where she knelt by Sif's head, instead leaning down and gripping the Asgardian's collar harshly.

"You leave Skye alone. She's part of my family, and I'll take care of her myself. Clear?" she snarled. Sif nodded.

"I think you are quite capable of handling it." she agreed. At that moment, Coulson sat up, groaning, and froze as he took in the scene in front of him; that is, May kneeling over a very beaten up Sif, looking like she was about to kill the Asgardian with the way that her hand was twisting her collar. The rest of the team rushed in shortly afterwards, all stumbling into each other as they stopped short. Skye also sat up, confusedly looking around.

"Shit, May. Did you just beat up an Asgardian?" Hunter asked, and Bobbi elbowed him. May just glared, and let go of Sif's collar, helping her up.

"So, we have an understanding." she drawled coldly.

"Yes. I will leave Skye with you. I'm sure that you'll be able to take care of her." Sif said for the benefit of the team. Everybody's jaws dropped.

"Good." May responded.

Sif and Vin-Tak left soon afterwards (the latter had somehow lost his memories of the entire thing), leaving Coulson and May staring at the sky where they'd disappeared. May tried not to act like she wanted to lie down on the floor and sleep. But her stunt with Derecho had left her drained of energy; as she stood, her legs nearly collapsed under her. She caught herself quickly, and carefully stood still.

"Not a lot of laughs, that one. And when I say that about somebody..." she joked, referring to Sif. Coulson turned to look at her, his expression unreadable.

"You agree with her. You think Skye's more than we can handle." he said. May sighed.

"Look, most of the time, I believe what I see. You know that, but..." she trailed off.

"But?" Phil questioned.

"... you died. You were brought back with a map to a city encoded in your DNA. Our team's first mission? We picked up Skye. Last week, we took her to that city. I can't help but remember what Lumley said. Wherever Skye goes... death follows." She wasn't trying to imply that it was Skye's fault. But she had a feeling that the universe had something planned for the girl, something big.

Coulson bit his lip, and nodded, considering her words carefully.

"Well, we'll have her back the entire time." he replied. May agreed, and they headed back inside. While walking down the hallway, they overheard a conversation between the younger agents. May groaned internally. She just wanted to burrow under the covers of her bed and not come out for several hours.

"Jemma... um... I know you feel that I could have been, uh... a bit more forthright ..." Fitz started, and Simmons laughed bitterly.

"Forthright. Fitz, as understatements go, I think that qualifies as an instant classic. You lied to me." she shot back.

"Okay. So now we're even. Can you blame me, the way you were going on about Raina, that she's a-a-a plague to be eradicated?" Fitz retorted, stuttering slightly.

"I ... Skye is my friend! She's different." Simmons protested.

"Oh, yeah. Like I was your friend, and then I changed. How did you handle that? Uh, t-the point is, secrets don't help any of us." Fitz replied, referring to the fact that after he'd suffered brain damage due to a lack of oxygen, Simmons had left on a mission for a very long time, causing him to feel abandoned. Prior to his injury, they'd been practically inseparable. Now, not so much.

May and Coulson listened in horror as the other agents began arguing with each other. Fitz defended Skye, but the others voiced their concerns one after another. May wanted to do something, but she couldn't move. She didn't know what to do. 

The argument came to a head when Mack finally snapped.

"No, Fitz! We're the ones that need protection from her!" he growled, and there was a quiet gasp. Everybody froze, turning their attention to the room's other entrance, where Skye could be seen in the doorway. She looked heartbroken.

May really wanted to give that girl a hug.

"Skye..." Mack said, but the girl just shook her head, and ran off. Finally, May snapped into action. Forgetting her previous exhaustion, she swept into the room like an enraged Severus Snape, striding right up to Mack and crossing her arms.

"Explain yourself. Now."  she said quietly, and he gulped visibly. He opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it, hanging his head in shame. May nodded in satisfaction, adrenaline rushing throughout her veins. Of course he was speechless. He had no excuse.

"Skye has been a member of this team for longer than you have. She is family. You don't talk that way about family. Just because she has powers now doesn't mean that she's a different person. She still has feelings, and you just stomped on them." she said in a low, firm voice.

"Well, what are we going to do? She can't control them." Bobbi pointed out. May turned and glared at her.

"Why don't we look at it from another perspective?" she suggested, and the blonde woman nodded slowly. May took a deep breath.

"Imagine that you have a dog. Maybe one of a larger breed, a dog that's athletic and strong and full of potential. Maybe you have a German Shepherd. And you love that German Shepherd. He or she is loyal, playful, and full of energy, and you love that dog for it. But something scary happens to that dog, and they become very jumpy as a result.  And at random times, your German Shepherd will suddenly feel threatened and attack whatever they perceive as dangerous. When the doorbell rings, your dog will try to bite whoever is on the other side. A friend pops open a champagne bottle, and your German Shepherd jumps at them. A child is too rough with the petting, and suddenly, your dog is tensed up and growling. Sometimes, you pat your dog on the head unexpectedly, and they snap their jaws at you. Are really you going to send your dog away to be locked up just so you can protect yourself? Or are you going to help your beloved German Shepherd through their trauma? Don't tell me that you wouldn't at least try to assist your dog in learning to control its aggressive impulses." Everybody was silent, but she could tell that they all agreed with her words.

"Skye is our lovable German Shepherd. She is part of our family, and family means nobody gets left behind - or forgotten. So you'd better not forget who Skye really is, got it?" Everyone nodded.

"Good." she said, and turned to leave. Hunter's voice stopped her.

"Wait, hold on a second. Did you just quote Disney at us?" the British man asked. May raised an eyebrow.

"So what if I did?" she questioned.

"I mean, no judgement here. It's just- I kinda thought that you'd find Disney a little... I don't know, childish?" Hunter continued. May stared at him for a couple seconds. Then she moved in front of him and stabbed a finger into his chest.

"Dishonor." she stated flatly.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Dishonor on your whole family." she said, poking him again.

"I don't even-" she cut him off, turning to Phil, who was trying not to laugh.

"Make a note of this." she joked. Coulson saluted. She turned back to Hunter, who looked flabbergasted.

"Dishonor on you!" This was emphasized with another strong jab to the chest.

"What did I-"

"Dishonor on your cow!" she snarled, pushing her finger into his chest one more time before whirling around and walking out of the room.

"That kind of hurt." she heard Hunter mumble.

"Be a man!" she yelled over her shoulder at the agent, continuing down the hallway and making a beeline for her room. Just as she turned the first corner, she could faintly hear Phil finishing her thought.

"With all the strength of a raging fire, mysterious as the dark side of the moon!" he called after her.

She grinned.

Mulan was her favorite Disney movie.

Percy's P.O.V.

The forests of Canada were very different from the streets of New York, Percy reflected. Here, deep in the wilderness amongst towering spruce trees dusted in white, everything looked quiet and still. It was a startling contrast to the bustling sidewalks full of people that the son of the sea's birth city was known for, where one couldn't go more than a block without seeing another person.

He looked at the snowy clearing, inhaling a lungful of fresh, clean air, and closed his eyes. If he listened very carefully, he could just make out the chirping of birds in the trees, the soft tread of bears hunting miles away, the rustle of the trees as the wind danced through their branches; every sound was clear and distinct, and although there were many different noises, they were never intrusive.

He exhaled slowly.

"It's nice, isn't it." his sister said, and he turned, sea green eyes coming to rest on his older sibling. She leaned casually against a spruce, her own piercing green eyes taking in every detail of the scene.

"Very nice." he replied, and Natasha laughed, eyes crinkling as she smiled widely.

"Well, enjoy it while you can, because we've got some work to do." the red-head pointed out, and Percy smirked.

"Let's get started." he said. "We've got a relative to find."

Natasha nodded, pushing herself off of the tree and striding forward.

"Still can't believe that they're related." she muttered, green eyes flashing in amusement. Percy shrugged, running a hand through his dark hair.

"Well, that's why we're here, isn't it? To get an explanation?" he responded.

"Among other things." his sister reminded him. He quirked his lips.

"Right. Can't forget about those. Well, it's time we get moving." The two siblings started walking through the forest.

"Over the river and through the wood, to Grandmother's house we go." Percy quipped, and Natasha snickered. They trekked onwards through the snow, only stopping once to extract a slim file from the red-head's backpack. They paged through it for a couple minutes, reviewing the information inside.

"That way, right?" Percy pointed at a seemingly random direction.

"Yeah, that's right. At least according to Google Maps." Natasha replied, eyes narrowed at the screen of her phone. Percy pocketed his own phone and then tucked the file, a thin manila folder with a red CLASSIFIED stamp at an angle across the front, back into his sister's bag.

"Thank the gods for almost limitless internet service." he sighed.

"And a reasonable data plan." his sister added. Two sets of green eyes locked before they both burst into laughter.

"Come on, we've got to get to the old Providence base before it gets dark." Natasha said after they'd calmed down.

"Gods, I can't wait to see Frank's face when he learns he has an Aunt." Percy sighed.

"I just want to see May's face when she finds out she's got a nephew." Natasha responded, smirking mischievously.

"But first, we should really get some answers." Percy replied.

"Yeah, you're right. Because that's one interesting family connection. Seriously, what are the odds?" his sister wondered. Percy just shrugged.

"I've learned not to rule anything out when it comes to the Fates. Remember, we figured this out because I tripped over a piece of wood when going through an old military base, so obviously we shouldn't expect anything vaguely normal."

"Yeah, no kidding. Just a little while ago, the almighty Sea Scorpion, famed assassin, was defeated by a piece of wood." Natasha said in a judging tone.

"Hey, don't underestimate the power of a piece of wood! Jason used a frozen plank to replace his sword when he was freeing Hera from her cage." Percy protested. His sister shot him an are-you-really-trying-to-save-your-pride-right-now? look, and his shoulders slumped, averting his gaze.

"Ugh, if you think about it, the Fates are kind of weird sometimes. Like seriously, you should have seen that plank before you almost fell down that flight of stairs. It's like they write highly implausible and entertaining situations for us so that they don't get bored." Natasha commented suddenly.

"That's actually so true, though! Like seriously, what are they, angst-loving teenagers who live vicariously through the super heroic deeds we manage to complete by luck that is both absolutely terrible and also very convenient?" Percy complained, straightening up again. Natasha lifted one shoulder in a careless shrug.

"Who knows? At least we can say with certainty that if we had books or movies about us, they'd be really awesome." she pointed out.

"True. What do you think our story would be called?" Percy questioned. Natasha scrunched up her nose, thinking carefully.

"I don't know. Probably something like 'The Avenger and the Demigod', or 'The Unlikely Siblings', or 'Blood Ties and Webs of Lies'." she suggested, her face completely serious. Percy snorted in laughter, suddenly remembering something.

"Ha, well remember when Zeus made us siblings? I feel like that would have been when the title thing with the credits started rolling. You know, right after he yelled DO YOU SWEAR TO BE SIBLINGS IN EVERYTHING BUT BLOOD or whatever he said? But in the movie, we'd look at each other dramatically, open our mouths to respond and then bam! The scene cuts and the title card is displayed. Siblings in Everything But Blood. The screen would kind of zoom in slowly on the words, and then suddenly move in really quickly, cutting to the next scene." he said.

"Actually, that sounds kind of awesome. We should make someone in C.H.A.O.S. just document everything we do, and turn it into a book. It would probably be an interesting read. I'd hope it would be, anyways." Natasha replied.

"Well, I bet that one girl who's not actually dead or an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agent could do it. She seems to always know what's going on anyways. Still haven't figured out how or why she's there, though. I just found her in one of the meeting rooms with a laptop, a stack of books, and a ton of notes. When I asked her what she was doing there, she told me she was deciding my fate and then ignored me." Natasha frowned.

"That's kind of suspicious, but I guess she's not actually causing any harm? Once we've dealt with... everything, we'll figure out what to do with her. But until then, keep an eye on that girl, because her actions might have a very large impact on our lives. Seriously, what if she does something and one of us dies???"the red-haired woman reasoned.

"Sounds good to me. But Alia, I think you're giving this girl too much credit. Come on, there's no way she'd cause any of our deaths!" Natasha turned her head to look Percy dead in the eye.

"You never know." The sky seemed to darken suddenly. At the same time, the wind picked up and they both shivered at the icy temperature. Just as quickly as the change had happened, the wind died down and the sky brightened again. They continued to walk in silence for a few minutes.

"At this rate, we'll be at Providence base pretty soon." Percy announced suddenly.

"Yeah, that went pretty fast." Natasha responded. Then, she tilted her head,looking off into the distance.

"I wonder how May's doing right now. I hope she's having a good day." she mused.

Percy hoped so too.

May's P.O.V.

Melinda May was not having a good day. And she swore that she'd make anybody that pointed out that her sentence rhymed pay.

She'd woken up at about 2 in the morning to the base shaking like a maraca, and immediately rushed to Skye's room only to find the younger woman caught in a bad dream.

Naturally, she'd grabbed a nearby glass of water, lowered the temperature with her powers, and poured the entire thing on Skye's head. That had the effect of causing Skye to sit up very suddenly and earthquake blast her.

Luckily, Melinda was capable of turning into wind, and Skye was too disoriented to notice her S.O. dispersing into air and reforming. However, May's powers were not exactly easy to use, and so when Skye's head finally cleared up, she was confused when she found May doubled over and gasping for air as if she'd just run a marathon.

"Shit, I did it again. I am so sorry, May. I- why are you so tired? Isn't your room like just around the corner?" she had asked, frowning. May had glared affectionately at her, and told her to go back to sleep. Skye shrugged and did as she was told. 

However, Melinda now had adrenaline rushing through her veins, and was definitely not going back to sleep herself. And she'd been so quick in stopping Skye's power outburst that literally nobody else had noticed. 

She sighed, deciding to make herself a cup of tea to try and calm herself down.

Naturally, there was no more tea. She glanced at the coffee machine, wrinkled her nose in disgust, and turned away.

Several hours later, when everybody else began to wake up, she'd already completed her tai chi routine, done her daily workout, checked the base's security, practiced some of her powers, and finished all of her paperwork. She spent the morning in Coulson's office, literally just staring at the man as he did his work.

"Maybe you could help some of the rookies with their fighting technique?" Phil suggested at around noon. May stood up and walked out of the room without a word, heading straight for the gym.

Two hours later, she stormed out, her mood dampened considerably. All six of the trainees had terrible form, and were utterly disrespectful when she tried to correct them. Naturally, May wasn't going to stand for that. Lying on the gym floor as she left were six battered agents with six equally bruised egos.

Now she was pissed. She'd already been awake for about twelve hours without the help of tea, she had to deal with some arrogant idiots, and she literally had nothing to do.

She ended up checking in on Skye again, at which point Coulson stopped to talk to her.

"She's acting like everything will go back to normal." he commented, looking at the young woman Melinda called her trainee.

"That's what she does." May replied.

"Does she know we're putting her on the index?" he questioned.

"Yeah. She does seem to be getting control of the powers." she answered flatly.

"That's good, but we barely understand them ... other than they're strong. Catastrophically so. Protocol is anyone on the index undergoes a full psych eval and threat assessment. We'd need to bring in someone from outside. Someone we can trust. I know who I'd call... if it weren't a thing." Coulson mused. May raised an eyebrow, and turned to meet his eyes. She immediately knew who he was talking about.

 "Andrew? It's not a thing." she assured. Coulson gave her a look.

"He might say no." May acquiesced. Phil nodded, turning to leave.

"Reach out. See what he says." he told her. Then he was gone. May took a deep breath and headed to the hangar.

A little while later, she found herself standing in front of a building, waiting for an old friend to appear. She smiled faintly as she caught sight of him, walking down the stairs and talking with a student.

"Well, there's no substitute for actually spending time with a patient. You just can't get around it. What about the new software to track emotional health? Software won't anticipate a manson or a Bin Laden. The human mind is infinitely complicated. It's messy and..." Andrew's voice trailed off as he caught sight of Melinda, standing at the bottom of the stairs with her arms crossed.

"...and surprising. Well, if you'll excuse me. Thank you." Andrew told the student, and made his way over to her. He approached her warily, probably trying to figure out what she was doing there.

"Long time." he finally said.

"Yeah. S.H.I.E.L.D. needs your help." May said flatly, not wanting to dance around the issue. The psychologist sighed.

"I haven't worked with S.H.I.E.L.D. in a long while. I moved on for a reason." he pointed out.

"It's a different S.H.I.E.L.D. Coulson's the director now." she reassured. Andrew raised an eyebrow, and motioned for her to follow him. They went to his office, where she wordlessly handed him a file. She waited as he flipped through it for several minutes. Outside of the room, she could hear students making their way from class to class, laughing and chatting excitedly. She bit her lip, and trained her gaze on a picture frame, conveniently faced away from her. She stared blankly at it until Andrew closed the file. He leaned back in his chair, staring up at her.

"Okay. Why me? Is, uh, Skye that bad?" A smile spread across her face at the thought of her protege.

"She's that good. Good agent. I'm her S.O." May informed him.

"You're back in the field?" She nodded at him, and shifted in her seat.

"So, what do you think?" she prodded.

"What do I think? I think... What the hell, Melinda? You show up asking for a favor, but when I called you after S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed to check if you were all right, not a word." Andrew exclaimed, scowling in frustration. May simply shrugged.

"It was a busy time." she replied. Andrew rubbed his forehead.

"Busy. Yeah, all right. Well... thanks for the apology." The psychologist leaned forward to look her in the eye.

"If I do this... I have conditions. No observation, no monitoring, other than what's deemed medically necessary. My sessions with her are in private. My evaluation won't be. She gets a copy. My duty is to her, not S.H.I.E.L.D. " Andrew proposed. Melinda sighed.

"Like I said, it's a different S.H.I.E.L.D." she agreed. The man smiled, more at ease.

"My consultation fee's gone up." he joked. She ignored him, fixing him with a serious gaze.

"I should have called you back." she said sincerely. Andrew snorted, waving it off.

"Nah, I talked to your mom." May raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. " she said.

"She told me you were alive. We had a nice talk. She invited me over for dinner, and..." Andrew chuckled, and a warm smile spread over Melinda's face.

"I'm not surprised. She still hasn't forgiven me for divorcing you." she replied, laughing.

She'd never fully forgiven herself for that. But the thought of letting the darkness in her corrupt someone as good as Andrew had outweighed all other feelings of regret. She'd packed her bags and left the divorce papers signed on the kitchen table.

Maybe it was cruel of her. But people as scarred as she was weren't meant for an ordinary life. 

She had just made the mistake of thinking she could be the exception.

The flight back to the base was uneventful. Their arrival was equally quiet. Andrew and Coulson had a conversation that lasted all of thirty seconds, and then it was business as usual.

However, Skye took the news that they'd found her a psychologist about as well as she'd hoped.

"You're kidding, right? A shrink?" the young woman exclaimed. May rolled her eyes.

"It's not personal."

"Hell, it's not personal. It's a shrink. " May groaned as Skye continued to resist the idea. Apparently she'd not had the best track record with psych evals.

"You'll like this one." Melinda insisted.

"Yeah? How do you know that?" Skye challenged, arching an eyebrow. May smirked.

"Because I was married to him." she stated flatly, and watched in satisfaction as Skye's mouth dropped open in shock.

"Checkmate." she thought.

Things were quiet for the next few weeks. May was actually feeling hopeful about the future. The base wasn't shaking as much, Skye seemed less afraid (in fact, she was eagerly milking Andrew for information about their past marriage), and Melinda was beginning to relax a little.

But then, Skye's psycho father popped back up. And Skye, being the selfless idiot that she was, forced her way into the field to try to get her father to stand down by pretending to be in danger.

That plan went to hell when Skye accidentally turned her powers inwards, fracturing her arms and passing out in May's arms.

Afterwards, Andrew came to talk with her.

"I left Coulson and Skye copies of my report." he said, and May sighed, turning to face him.

"I assume you're recommending Skye be removed from active duty." Andrew shook his head.

"I'm recommending Skye leave S.H.I.E.L.D. altogether. It's too much for her to deal with ... emotionally, physically. She needs to be somewhere safe to do that." he responded.

"She is safe... with us." May insisted. Andrew scoffed.

"You really believe that? After Bahrain? You better than anyone knows how badly this can end." he retorted. May flinched slightly, but stayed strong.

"We're as close to a family as Skye has." she told him, and he sighed.

"Yeah." The psychologist averted his eyes. May stepped closer to him.

"She likes you. Would you consider consulting for us?" she asked carefully.

"No. I can suggest someone, but it can't be me. S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't changed. None of it's changed. There was a reason I moved on back then. And I have another reason now. Her photo's on my desk." Andrew replied. May pressed her lips together and nodded. Her ex-husband turned to leave, but paused, looking back at her. His expression turned a little sad.

"Goodbye, Melinda." he said, and walked away. She stayed where she was, watching him go.

Her heart twisted as she realized why the situation felt so familiar.

After Bahrain, she'd pulled away from Andrew completely. She'd ended things in one fell swoop and walked away, resisting the urge to turn around and go back.

This time, Andrew was the one leaving. And as she watched him disappear from her sight, she felt a little part of her leave with him.

It was then that she realized that she'd never stopped loving him. Instead, she'd just buried that emotion under layers and layers of ice. But now that she'd finally found it again, it was already too late.

Because Andrew was gone. He'd already moved on a long time ago. He'd felt his emotions, processed them, and let them go. Meanwhile, she'd ignored her own for years.

Now, she regretted it.

May felt a sharp ache in her heart as she composed herself, slipping on her blank mask. On the outside, she was impenetrable.

Nobody would know that below the surface, she was damaged beyond repair.

Nobody would know that she loved with all of her heart, and paid the price time and time again.

Nobody would know that she was hurting.

She was ice cold.

Natasha's P.O.V.

"Wait, so you're May's mother's sister?" she clarified, leaning towards the old woman sitting on a chair in front of her. Grandma Zhang nodded.

"And you have shapeshifting powers." her brother said. The old woman sighed.

"Yes, Perseus. I can shift my form." she replied, exasperated.

"Wait, does that mean that May also has shapeshifting powers?" Natasha wondered. Percy pursed his lips.

"Probably not. Maybe it just manifested differently. That could explain the thing with the wind horse?" he responded.

"That would make sense." Natasha agreed. Grandma Zhang stared at them impassively. The two siblings exchanged a glance and stared impassively back. The old woman eventually turned away and returned to sifting through the ashes with her stick.

After they'd arrived at Providence base, they'd hacked into the abandoned base's systems to try and locate the nearest buildings. They'd found a well-hidden bunker in the mountains; it had taken them two days on foot to reach it. They opened the door slowly to find Grandma Zhang sitting in front of the fireplace, poking at the ashes with a long stick.

She'd seemed entirely unsurprised by their appearance, which had made Natasha raise an eyebrow; if someone wasn't shocked when two people suddenly walk into their house, it meant they'd seen some pretty weird stuff.

Seeing as this was apparently Melinda May's aunt, there was no telling just how weird those things got.

After about an hour of silence, which Percy and Natasha had actually been spending making conversation with each other in their heads, Grandma Zhang spoke again.

"You came at a good time. My sister will arrive here soon." she announced.

"Couldn't she have told us that an hour ago?" Percy complained to her mentally. She stifled a smile.

"How soon?" Natasha asked her. Grandma Zhang checked her digital watch.

"Around now." As if on cue, the door swung open to reveal Lian May. Like her sister, she did not seem surprised to see them.

"Ms. May." Natasha and Percy greeted, standing in unison. Lian inclined her head, and stepped into the house, reaching back and dragging William May behind her.

"I know you." she said to Natasha. Then, she turned to Percy. "I don't know you." 

"I don't know either of you." Grandma Zhang added. Natasha felt a wave of confusion come through her link with her brother.

"We've been sitting in her house for several hours. Why didn't she ask?" he wondered.

"I don't know. It appears that everybody related to Melinda May has to be mysterious." she thought back.

"Frank isn't." Percy pointed out.

"Neither is William, so obviously there are exceptions." she responded. She cocked her head.

"Wait, I thought you said you'd been to Frank's grandmother's house?" she realized.

"Well, she was in her room the entire time, so we never actually met." Percy replied. Natasha blinked in surprise.

"That explains it." She then turned to May's parents and aunt, who were just staring at them.

"What would you like to know?" Natasha asked.

"I know that you are Natasha Alianovna Romanoff, the assassin known as the Black Widow. I know that you are one of two people to ever train under my daughter, although you had previously been trained by the Red Room. And I know that Melinda trusts you. What I want to know is how you know of my sister, who you've brought with you, and why you are here." Lian stated.

"Well, we're here because of Melinda's father." Natasha started.

"Me?" William asked. Of course, he'd been around ever since May was a young child. He was just as much her father as Aquilon was.

"No, her biological father." The three relatives tensed slightly. Percy and Natasha noticed the movement, and immediately braced themselves. And then, chaos reigned.

William dove over the couch with surprising agility given his age, pulling out weapons as he moved. Grandma Zhang and Lian May, however...

They didn't move from their spots, technically.

What they did do is both turn into dragons.

Gigantic dragons with leathery wings and talons as sharp as swords, capable of breathing fire and detecting humans from miles away with snake-like eyes.

"Shit, they didn't take that well." Percy mentally yelled, moving so they were back to back.

"No kidding." she retorted, analyzing the situation. She noticed William aim a Gatling gun at them.

"Hey, wait. Is there any way we can just talk this out. We're honestly not here to cause any harm!" Percy tried asking May's father. Natasha kept her eyes on the sky, watching as the two dragons launched into the air and started circling.

"May's parentage is classified. Anybody who doubts that I am her father cannot live." William replied.

"Yeah? Well, her biological father wasn't trying to kill me when May and I went to go meet him." Percy protested. Natasha chanced a glance at William,  who looked confused.

"Wait, you guys aren't with the government?" he asked.

"I mean, I'm an Avenger, but that's not why I'm here. Also, I kind of dumped government secrets on the internet." Natasha responded.

"I am definitely not with the government. Or S.H.I.E.L.D., for that matter. No, we have our own motivations for being here, and those are personal." Percy added. The dragons were still circling.

"Oh. Well, I'm not going to try and kill you, but unfortunately, you'll have to deal with my ex-wife and her sister on your own. I can't really help you with them. I hope you survive." William said. Percy groaned.

"Thanks." he snarked sarcastically, and Natasha smirked.

"Right, so how do you want to do this?" she asked her brother. Behind him, William climbed downwards into a bunker, shutting the door firmly.

"Well, first, we should probably survive the wave of fire that's going to come down now that William is safe." Percy said calmly.

"Good idea. I'll be in that tree about 50 yards to your six." she replied. And just as flames rained from the sky, she shadow-traveled away, She could see two columns of fire blasting away at where her brother had been standing, evaporating all the water in the area. But her brother wasn't there anymore. He was on the other side of the clearing, leaning against a tree.

"So, about that plan." she prompted.

"Uh, is there a way we can calm them down? I mean, they're mad because they think we're with the government, right? Maybe if we prove that we're not, they'll stop trying to kill us?" Percy suggested.

"Yeah, because that's easy. What are we going to do, hold up a gigantic sign? Or maybe we should just show them selfies we took with May and Frank." Natasha snarked.

"Actually..." Percy started, and Natasha stared at him incredulously from her spot all the way across the clearing.

"Please tell me that isn't actually the plan." she pleaded.

"No, it's not. But it did give me an idea..." Percy told her.

"Well, whatever it is, it's probably worth a shot. Go for it." Percy flashed her a thumbs up, and she returned the gesture. She watched as her younger brother leapt into the air, snow rising from the ground to circle around him. He landed in the clearing, kneeling in the center of an icy hurricane.

"What the Hades are you doing?" Natasha questioned.

"Get two drachmas ready, and wait for it!" her brother yelled mentally, the hurricane picking up speed and growing even larger. The two dragons circling overhead opened their jaws. Natasha hurriedly did as he said.

"3...2...1...GO." Percy counted, and two columns of fire shot downwards towards her younger brother. At the same time, he lifted his arms and screamed, shoving the hurricane towards the flames.

The storm and fire columns met with a loud hissing sound as the ice instantly turned to vapor. The mist spread across the entire clearing, and Natasha gasped as she realized Percy's impulsive but admittedly brilliant plan.

The sun's light danced through the mist, creating rainbows everywhere. Natasha hurled the drachmas into the mist, focusing on Frank Zhang and Melinda May as she prayed to the rainbow goddess. Their images formed within the mist, and Percy thrust his hands towards the two demigods, pulling them through the mist and depositing them on the icy ground next to him. He then collapsed to the ground, absolutely exhausted.

"What the hell was that?" May asked, and Natasha stepped into the clearing.

"Sorry, but your mother and your aunt were trying to kill us, so we needed to prove that we knew you." she explained.

"So you kidnapped me." May replied.

"Technically, Percy kidnapped you." Natasha pointed out. Frank spoke up.

"Wait, why am I here?"

"Oh, because your grandmother is her aunt." The boy blinked at her in confusion.

"Wait... what?" he asked

"Frank, May's your aunt. Surprise." Percy groaned from the ground, lifting his head and opening his eyes to briefly make eye contact with Natasha before going limp.

She glanced at the sky, seeing that the two dragons were now descending. Just before they landed, both morphed back to human.

"Mom, you can turn into a dragon?"

"Grandma, you're alive!"

May and Frank's exclamations of surprise overlapped each other as they went and hugged the relative they were more familiar with.

"So, you're not with the government, then." May's mother said.

"No, definitely not." Natasha replied. Frank glanced down at the ground.

"Um, is Percy going to be okay?" She laughed, and crouched next to her brother, turning him onto his back. He didn't move or open his eyes, but his breathing was steady and even.

"He'll be fine." She said, willing the shadows to swallow him up and transfer him back to base.

"He'll come back once he's awake." she told them.

"Oh, okay." Frank responded, shifting awkwardly. 

"Do you want to maybe... explain what's going on?" May questioned, gesturing vaguely at her relatives, including her father, who'd poked his head out of his bunker. Natasha surveyed the clearing; mud, patches of slush, and debris littered the area.

"Yeah... but we might want to be in a nicer area?" Melinda nodded.

"The Manta?" the older woman said, and Natasha smiled.

"Exactly." She turned to May's relatives, and looked each of them in the eye.

"What you're about to see is confidential, alright? No one, not even the camps, knows about it. But the gods approve, so don't worry about that." The family nodded in unison, and Natasha stretched her hand out to May.

Her old mentor took it, and extended her hand to her family, who created a chain of linked hands.

Natasha reached into her pocket, and removed a small statue of a scorpion. She held it tightly, and envisioned the Manta.

They vanished from the spot in a swirl of mist.

A/N: The last part was going to be a bit longer, but I decided that I could postpone it. Anyways, the next part is written by cajoling, who is, simply put, amazing. Check out her profile!

Unknown P.O.V.

The waves crashed down onto the sand, roiling with the coming storm. There was a slight breeze--this he knew for sure because of the loose particles of sand flitting through the air, speckling the outside of the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, and the dots of seawater on the rocks just a few floors below. It wasn't an optimal beach for families, or anyone, really, as there were too many big rocks and not enough sand, but that was one of the things he liked about his waterfront manor. He wasn't bothered unless he wanted to be. He leaned on the windowpane just a little, sipping something clear and bubbly from a tall glass, watching. It wasn't long--or maybe it was long, he wasn't certain--before the door to his study creaked. He turned to see a man poking his head through the crack. 

"Sir," the butler said. "A boy is here to see you. Asked for you by name." 

 "It's all right. I'm expecting him." The man set his glass down on a coffee table and sat in one of the room's armchairs. 

"He can come in." Immediately the boy appeared in the room and shut the door behind him. Not quite a child anymore, but a boy, nonetheless. He was dressed formally, like the other man, nearly as tall as him, and that was saying something. He was still for a moment, taking in his surroundings. Despite the fact that the window took up an entire wall, it was dark, poorly lit. A bookshelf stood on one wall, probably hiding something like a safe, and a desk sat in a corner, waiting.

The man nodded a greeting to the newcomer and motioned to the remaining chair. The boy obliged, not taking his dark gaze from the man's face, studying his silvery hair, his icy eyes. He was graceful in his movements, easygoing at first glance, but underneath sat a distinct, cold rigidity, just waiting for a cue to appear. 

 "Hello," the boy said nonchalantly, sticking his hand out to his host. He was rewarded with a shake, the other man's fingernails digging into his skin relentlessly. He bit the inside of his lip stealthily to keep the surprise from showing on his face. 

"You're the Recluse," he stated, sounding impressed. 

"In the flesh," the silver-haired man confirmed, and drank from his glass. 

"Although I do believe we are here to talk about you."

"Is that so?" The boy brushed a strand of dark hair off of his forehead. 

"I wasn't exactly told why I was being summoned." He tried his best not to sound annoyed. Unfortunately for him, it was to no avail. The Recluse looked at the boy sitting across from him, his stare calculating. He didn't say anything for a moment, and the little pings of sand grains hitting the window could be heard. 

"I have a proposition for you." The boy raised an eyebrow skeptically and thought for a second before responding.

"I was under the impression that you did everything on your own." The Recluse chuckled softly. 

"Some jobs even I can't do anymore." He set his glass on the coffee table and procured a folded piece of paper from his breast pocket, turning it in his fingers. 

"Consider it a...favor." The boy's nostrils flared. He plucked the paper out of the Recluse's hands and held it up accusingly. 

"You've written it down?" he asked, his voice considerably lower now than it had been before. The man's eyes wandered in the corners of the study. 

"Even in your own home, you cannot be too careful." His gaze landed back on the boy.

"You know this, of course, as your reputation precedes mine," he said quietly, his voice like honey. Poisonous honey. 

"It is how I still don't know your name." Barely containing a shiver, the boy ignored the last statement, unfolding the paper and scanning it. The Recluse waited patiently until the boy folded it again and put it in his own pocket. He glanced back up at the man, his eyes hard, emanating pure hatred. 

"I work alone." The Recluse blinked once, twice. 

"I'd like to remind you of the circumstances." The boy looked away, his jaw clenched, then back at the Recluse. 

"Why do you need this done?" The man stood, slowly making his way to the window, his footsteps precise and eerie, the only sound in the room. He stopped a foot away from the glass, admiring the ominous clouds, the rain. 

"I have my reasons in the same way that you have your own." 

 "Surely you could afford someone else." He said it flatly, without emotion, but perhaps that was the problem. The Recluse turned from the window once more, noting the boy's posture, catching a glint in his eye. He smirked slightly and returned to the storm. 

"Don't let our differences cloud your judgement." His eyes followed a raindrop down the glass. "I have more than you could ever think to ask for." The boy pursed his lips. He looked up, thinking, and let out a breath. 

"I'll check my calendar." The man's shoulders tightened, but he kept his voice smooth. 

"We both know you're not busy," he said bluntly. The boy got up from his armchair and crossed the rug, his footsteps echoing in the sparsely furnished room, floor creaking. He joined the Recluse at the window, listening to the rain drumming on the roof. "And if I refuse?"

The old man tore his gaze from the scene outside and set it on the boy, seemingly intense enough to burn. 

"I am known by many names. You know the Recluse." he said in answer. 

"You have yet to meet the Crimson Artificer." He gave his attention back to the ocean. 

"You do not want to meet him." He blinked slowly and waited a beat before continuing. 

"And neither does Sophia."  The boy's blood ran cold at this, and he fought to keep an indifferent countenance. The man noticed the stiffening and smiled knowingly. 

"Yes, I know of her. There are many things that I know." The sky outside was dark, illuminated by tiny flashes of light, high up in the clouds. Trees swayed in one direction, then the other, then back again. 

"I know that this task must be done. Preferably by someone of your background." The boy swallowed, looking through the glass with disdain. 

"Why?" The man didn't answer. The corners of his mouth lifted in what was a small, grimacing smile. He slipped his hands in his pockets, looking smug and dangerous at the same time. 

"I trust you will get it done quickly," he murmured, taking the question as an affirmative.

"There is no sense in waiting." Realizing he was being dismissed, the boy inclined his head slightly, turned around, and started for the door. He hated this man with a burning passion, hated how he was being told what to do--him! 

 "I will contact you soon," the Recluse called from his vigil at the window. 

"Prepare." 

Grant Ward clenched his jaw, and tightened his fists. Flames flickered between his fingers before receding as he took a calming breath. At that moment, he made a promise to himself. He would kill that man someday. But not today. He slipped through the door and was gone as suddenly as he had come. 

The Recluse finished his drink and watched as a powerful strike of lightning flashed close by, the thunder making his manor shake. He relished the feeling and filled up his glass again.

Awesome, right?

For those of you who know who Grant Ward is, I don't like him at all, but as a character, he's quite useful in making things harder for our dear protagonists. And no, I did not tell cajoling that she was writing about Grant Ward. Surprise!!!!!

I'll (hopefully) see you soon with the next chapter!

- Spathi