The Asset/ Memoria

After a brief amount of downtime, while the bus was being repaired at the Slingshot, Mick found himself alone with Coulson at the small bar, aptly named, The Watering Hole. Mick, not being much of a drinker, went only to shoot pool. "Oh good, I've got a few questions I've been meaning to ask you." Coulson said as he grabbed a cue. 

"Grand. Just what I love about bars, questions." Mick groaned as he racked the balls, then grabbed his own cue. Coulson then set the cue ball, leaning down ready for his shot.

"What's your reason for joining the team?" Coulson asked bluntly as he steadied the cue on his hand. 

"I haven't really thought about it much." Mick said as Coulson stood upright, eye to eye with Mick. 

"You really were never a good liar." Coulson said as Mick frowned. 

"I don't follow. I'm working with my friends again, steadily making new friends."

"Yeah, but you left S.H.I.E.L.D. to move across country, I just want to know what made you change your mind and follow my team." 

"I'll make a deal with you, Agent Coulson. you beat me in a game of pool, and I'll explain everything." Mick said, as Coulson smiled, then leaned down. He lined up his shot, then the cue ball flew across the table. The balls shot off, scattering across the board. Mick stared in disbelief as the table cleared, and then the cue ball paused just before falling into the left pocket. 

"Start talking." Coulson smirked as Mick stared at the table, speechless. 

"How," Mick asked as Coulson just smiled "That had to be some kind of trick." 

"Not a trick, just lucky." Coulson said, winking as Mick frowned, talking about the last few years wasn't something he wanted to do, which is exactly why he tried to run away from it. 

"It all went to crap after the day Patten got married," Mick began to explain as he began to visualize the scene. "I hadn't been stateside long, after chasing the last few leads on the Specials that worked with the Ten Rings. We were all out this small little church in Midtown. I heard the commotion outside, left the changing room only to have Davis inform me of the alien invasion. He said he'd cover for me, since most of the people in the room were either Patten's family and didn't know me, or Agents who did." Mick paused as he took in a deep breath. 

"I quickly jumped on the defensive, using my webbing to stop debris from hitting civilians, keeping those freaks from attacking the cops helping to evacuate. I ended up meeting Captain America, seeing Natasha again, and even met Clint Barton, before I rejoined in the evacuation effort. After the battle I may have asked for Captain America's autograph at a tiny restaurant, 'cause I mean, why not? Then asked if he got to meet you, his biggest fan. They then informed me you died." Mick said as Coulson began to rack the balls once more.

"I didn't know how to react to that, I felt like I had lost a second father, everything began to spiral out of control from there. Less than twenty four hours later, I was sent by Director Fury to Denham, because someone was hurting people claiming to be Recluse. Turns out Jake had someone cloned my powers, stolen my old suit, teamed up with the Specials who wouldn't join S.H.I.E.L.D. and I had sent to the raft for being major threats, and to top that off, Sam's little sister Bree," Mick paused as Coulson stared at him, curiously, "Yeah, that Sam."

"That sounds really rough." Coulson said as Mick nodded with a sarcastic grin.

"That's not even the worst part. Originally it was just me, Spencer, and her brother Wren checking out the situation, thankfully Davis and the others showed up to save us, as Jake had us dead to rights, which didn't make sense at the time, because only the three of us knew my plan of attack. Once Davis and the others showed up and evened the score with Jerren's new battle gear, we managed to defeat Jake and his team. I managed to explain to Bree what really happened to her sister, and how it wasn't my fault it was Jake's, she apologized and went willingly with Davis back to HQ, but that wasn't even the worst of it." Mick paused talking a sip from his drink on the table behind him. 

"When Spencer and I returned to our base, we learned that there was a traitor in our group. Spence swore it wasn't her, leaving only one person. Wren. We tried to confront him until he turned on us. He threatened to kill us both unless we joined Hydra," Mick paused as Coulson stared at him skeptically, "Yeah, that's how I felt too. He said Hydra was very much alive and ran deeper than I could ever understand. He had two guns, one pointed at me, the other on Spencer, there was no way I could save the both of us," Mick bit his lip tearing up. 

"So you made a hard choice." Coulson said with a frown.

"A very hard choice. I had been in deep cover, working with him for so long, I really thought we were friends. The last thing he said before he died was Hail Hydra. Spencer forgave me, but that didn't help. I couldn't handle being around my friends anymore, so I became my alias. I became a Recluse. I moved to California, as I knew quite a few members of the Rising Tide were based there because of Wren. I tried helping various teams pick them up until I ran into a familiar face," Mick frowned as Coulson nodded at him.

"I met Skye before, at the attack on Stark Stark Expo, then when I saw her being assaulted by that mugger, I jumped in without hesitation. Turns out the guy was a gang leader, and that sparked a power vacuum that lead to an all out gang war. Dealt with that as Recluse, which was now know around LA as the Black Coat Hero, I did odd and end jobs to make a paycheck during the day, and deal with crimes at night. Skye and I became good friends talking about the works of the Black Coat Hero, and I really did my best to keep her out of S.H.I.E.L.D. business by keeping in contact with Davis, cause he can't keep a secret to save his life. Not only for her safety, but because I didn't want to deal with S.H.I.E.L.D." 

"Are you only here because of Skye then?" Coulson asked, while Mick shook his head. 

"I followed her to make sure she was safe, now I'm here because I want to be," Mick said with a sigh. 

"And how would you feel if I said Skye is going to start training as a field agent?"

"It's her choice. I'm sure Agent May could show her the ropes." 

"What about Agent Ward?" Coulson's gaze was piercing Mick to the core.

"He's tough too. I'm sure he can teach her just fine," Mick said, taking another swig from his drink. 

"See, that's the part I'm concerned with. You clearly have feelings for her." Coulson said soft, yet sternly.

"We're just friends. Let him be her S.O, I don't care." Mick huffed carefully setting his drink down, as Skye walked in smiling with Ward following behind her. 

"You'll have to face it sooner or later." Coulson said as Mick stared at the two of them as they walked to the bartender. 

"I'll choose later." Mick said before walking toward the exit without another word.

The next morning Mick found himself awake earlier than he wanted to be, so he walked downstairs to the make shift training room Ward had set up for Skye. He slipped his headphones on, then started his typical workout playlist, which featured many of Laynie Daniels' pop and country songs as well as what Mick considered classic and punk rock. He reached out his right arm touching his fist to the bag, before taking a few practice jabs, careful not to hit the bag too hard.

After an hour, Mick paused, sliding his headphones down seeing Skye leaning against the glass wall of the lab, smirking slyly. 

"Is that Laynie Daniels?" Skye teased as Mick pulled out his phone, pausing the music. 

"What of it?" 

"It's just a little weird. You must think she's hot!" Skye continued to prod as Mick rolled his eyes. 

"I actually dated her," Mick snapped as Skye chuckled.

"Yeah, okay. Let me guess, she's big into the whole super hero thing too," Skye taunted as Mick scrolled through his phone, pulling up a picture of the two of them together at the last concert Laynie held in Los Angeles, then showing it to Skye. 

"We dated back in high school." 

"Yeah sure you did," Skye stared sarcastically as Mick began scrolling on his phone once more. He then held it up, as if he had a phone call. 

"Hey, I have a friend here doesn't believe we dated back in school, care to set her straight?" Mick said as Skye stared at him, curiosity and disbelief on her face. "Here, it's for you," Mick then held out his phone to Skye, as she shook her head in disbelief.

"Look, this little joke was funny at first but now it's just sad," Skye said, placing the call on speaker.

"Oh, you must be the girl he told me about!" Laynie exclaimed as Mick's eyes widened as Skye stared at him blankly, both curious about what Laynie meant, and how Mick really knew her.

"Let's just stick to the question at hand. We dated, right?" Mick asked as Laynie giggled.

"Yeah, we dated for a year back in high school. We tried to rekindle things a few years back, but as you've figured out, Mick has a funny little habit of avoiding relationships now." Laynie said as Skye shook her head in denial. 

"No way, that's just a girl who sounds like her," Skye tried to reason as Mick chuckled, taking the phone and pressing FaceTime. When Laynie answer Skye was in utter shock, then Mick walked away with his phone, leaving her speechless as Ward stepped out of the lab. 

"Have fun." Mick teased as he left them alone, walking into the lab. "And you, I don't have a commitment issue." 

Laynie laughed as Mick glared at her. "I didn't know if you told her your secret or not. Are you back with SHIELD now?" 

"I figured. We're both in SHIELD, she's actually starting training to be a field agent." Mick said proudly as Laynie stared at him interested. 

"I haven't seen that look in your eyes in a long time," Laynie said as Mick scowled. 

"We're just friends."

"Whatever you've got to tell yourself Mick, I've got a concert tonight, so I need to get some rest." 

"I know; show Charolette just how good you are. Sorry I won't be able to be there," Mick said with a smile. 

"Take care of yourself Mick." Laynie said compassionately before they disconnected.

The rest of the day went smoothly, with them completing the crew finalizing the repairs, clearing them to finally leave the Slingshot. They departed soon after to head back stateside, which always made it hard for Mick to rest. He noticed Jemma and Fitz heading down to the lab, so he followed, only to see Ward in the training area seemingly annoyed. "What's with that look, are we bugging you?" Mick asked as Ward shook his head. 

"It's not you three. It's Skye." Ward scowled as he glanced down at his watch, punching the punching bag impatiently. 

"Oh, yeah I remember those days. I can't really you how many times I got in trouble for being late to evening workouts," Mick said just loud enough for Jemma and Fitz to hear, causing them to chuckle. 

Skye then walked by in a grey work out tank top, and black leggings, her hair pulled back in a ponytail, bouncing around as she tried to walk and stretch at the same time. "You're late," Ward called out, causing Skye to pause in place frowning. 

"I'm tired from the mornings workout. I thought I was joining S.H.I.E.L.D., not 24 hour fitness," She moaned, dragging her feet as she finally reached the bag and the scowling Ward.

Mick watched as they talked, Skye barely tapping the bag as Ward continued to look aggravated. The two continued to bicker among themselves, which caused Mick to chuckle. "You really should stop staring," Jemma said pulling Mick's attention away from the training session. 

"Sorry, it's just," Mick paused only to see a devilish grin on Jemma's face. 

"Pretty funny. Glad we didn't have to do all that, eh Jemma?" Fitz finished for Mick, as Jemma rolled her eyes, while Mick went in for the fist bump. Fitz quickly returned to his work, spraying a small aerosol can, revealing a small laser on the small machine he was working on, while Jemma scuttled around the lab looking for a tool. 

"What did your S.O. give you guys for morning drills?" Ward called out, as Jemma and Fitz looked at him curiously.

"Oh, atomistic attribute drills. Naming every element of the periodic table in number order. We'd name the mechanical, chemical, thermal," Jemma paused to take a breath.

"Electrical properties of materials, and," Fitz followed up before Jemma could continue. 

"Okay, okay, they made your point," Skye said loudly so that they'd stop.

"Man, I don't know what half of what you're talking about was, but it sounds pretty rough." Mick said as Fitz glanced up at him with a serious expression. 

"Much better than pull ups and pushups that's for sure." 

"Oh, Fitz!" Jemma teased as Mick laughed thinking about the amount of push ups and sit ups he did without punishment, it was a wonder he still did them at all now. 

"What, it's true. I hate those bloody things. Just leave me in the lab, and I'll be fine. Speaking of! Check this out Mick!" Fitz exclaimed pulling out a small hilt similar to the one on Mick's sword, only without the retractable blade. 

"Very cool, but where's the blade?" Mick asked as a coy grin crossed Fitz's face. 

"Oh please don't do it again! You almost burned a hole in the table last time you turned that on!" Jemma fussed as Fitz shook his head." 

"I recalibrated the wave particle output, should be fine this time!" Fitz said as he tapped a button on the handle, causing the hole where the blade should be to spark. A thin beam, around three foot long flickered briefly before the handle popped, shocking Fitz, causing him to drop the hilt. It fell to the ground, smoking as Jemma rolled her eyes at the wide eyed Mick.

"Told you it wasn't ready yet," Jemma started snarkly. 

"Was that what I think it was?" Mick asked, almost as giddy as a child. 

"It was supposed to be." Fitz said as Mick's eyes stared at him in disbelief.

"You are working on making a lightsaber?" Mick shouted in excitement, causing Ward and Skye to state curiously. 

"Well, it's not exactly a lightsaber per say," Fitz tried to explain as Jemma butted in.

"In theory, yes, but the technology just isn't quite there." Jemma said as Mick leaned back against the small table contently.

"One day." Mick smirked as Fitz winked. 

The loudspeaker then chimed followed by the May's announcement, "Changing course, briefing in three." 

"Ah, looks like we're on the move," Fitz stated almost happily, then slipping out of his lab coat.

"Grand. Wonder what it could be this time?" Mick asked as he followed them up the stairs to the lounge. 

"Based on our last mission, maybe it'll be something just as exciting!" Jemma exclaimed as they took a seat on the couch in front of Coulson, who seemed pretty eager himself. A few moments passed before Skye and Ward joined them 

"A few minutes ago a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport was attacked while carrying a priority red protected asset off Route 76 near Sterling." Coulson stared, as Fitz then whistled. 

"Priority red?" Jemma asked, shocked by the news.

"The asset was Canadian physicist Dr. Franklin Hall." Coulson said, flipping a tablet around showing everyone a picture of the doctor. "Known for his work," Coulson paused as both Jemma and Fitz shook their heads in shock

"Oh, no. Not Frank," Jemma murmured.

"Dr. Hall? He was our chemical kinetics advisor our second year," Fitz stated as the two turned to each other, then back to Coulson.

"Yeah, he's so enthusiastic about science, we just adored him. We can rescue him, can't we?" Jemma asked eagerly.

"He's one of ours. We're gonna try." Coulson stared firmly as Mick nodded with a half grin.

"And the attackers?" Ward asked curiously, only to have Coulson smirk. 

"Invisible." Coulson stared, before turning to follow May back to the cockpit. 

"Wait, invisible?" Skye sounded both entertained and confused.

"That's a first for me," Mick said as Skye let out an amused giggle

"Cool," she exclaimed, then turned to Ward with excitement, only to see a serious expressed on his face, killing her excitement almost instantly. "But terrible." 

"We better get some rest, it won't take us long to get there." Ward said sternly as Fitz and Simmons shared a look, before getting up without question, following Ward off to the bunks.

"Wow, one suggestion and they're gone just like that," Skye stated slightly annoyed. 

"It'll help the time to pass quicker," Mick said as he started to get up. 

"Aren't you the slightest bit excited about the invisible thing?" 

"Well yeah, but until I see it up close, it really just seems unreal." 

"Says the guy who can shoot spiderwebs from his wrists." 

"Touché," Mick nodded. "But do you really think I'd believe something like that could happen without seeing it first?" 

"Why not? I mean, look at the battle of New York! Did you believe any of that could happen?" 

"No, and I wouldn't have believed it if I wasn't caught in the middle of it either." Mick said, causing Skye to gasp in amazement. 

"You were there for that? Did you meet the any of the heroes? How cool was Iron Man?" The giddiness in her voice was overwhelming. 

"We can talk about that later." Mick smirked as he walked off, leaving Skye to huff in annoyance.

After a few hours, the Bus touched down at a small airport, then everyone piled into the Jeep, except Mick, who followed close behind on his motorcycle. They parked behind the police tape, and then began walking up the dark road. 

"So this guy, Dr. Hall was an asset?" Skye asked as Fitz and Simmons were clearly off in their own world, taking in the scenery. 

"One of a few select scientists S.H.I.E.L.D. has been protecting, people our enemies would love to get their hands on. We keep them hidden, keep them on the move," Coulson said cooly catching Simmons' attention.

"Which is why Fitz and I were so lucky to have him," Simmons said cheerfully as Coulson frowned.

"We don't have him anymore," he replied as Jemma sighed, then returned to looking around in the dark.

"And, what does priority red mean?" Skye asked as both Ward and Mick shot each other a look, before turning focus back to Skye. 

"It means security should have been," Coulson started to say, before he paused hearing metal groaning from above as a slight breeze blew. The team all looked up seeing multiple SUV's wrapped and mangled in the trees. "Heavy," Coulson finished as everyone stared in shock and horror.

Mick walked through the piles of boxes, looking at the large white trailer in disbelief. How could someone actually pull something over on S.H.I.E.L.D.? They always seemed to be on point with everything, it was Nick Fury's mission in life to be head of anyone who could be a potential threat. He then turned around seeing Skye standing by Fitz as he fiddled with his tablet. 

"Fitz, what am I seeing here?" She sounded quite confused as she waved around a metal like baton that reflected the green glow from the even stranger glasses she wore. 

"Well, I'm not wearing the full-spectrum goggles I designed," he paused briefly as he turned to Skye with a smile on his face, only to receive a shrug, causing him to roll his eyes. "No clue." 

Mick jumped around a few boxes, catching up to Ward as they made their way towards the front of the trailer by Simmons, "What's your take on all of this?" He asked as Ward let out a sigh. 

"Even in all of my world traveling, this is a first. Much like dealing with everything else I've seen since joining this team." 

"Yeah, I'll give you that," Mick said with a smirk as they paused behind Fitz, as he reached for the glasses on Jemma's face.

"No, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, don't move!" Jemma exclaimed as she pointed at Fitz's feet, causing him to freeze in place. "Wait just a second." She then stooped down picking up a handful of dirt and rocks before tossing it into the air in front of Fitz. The dirt and rocks began to swirl around wildly, occasionally slinging rocks in random directions.

"What the heck is that?" Skye asked astonishment, then ducked as a rock shot passed her brushing her hair. 

"I think the electro-static field scanner activated some kind of, well, thing," Jemma said completely unsure of herself, as she smiled nervously. More rocks began to shoot out, smashing holes into the trailer, and a few of the field lights.

"Okay, can we deactivate it?" Coulson asked with both frustration and concern.

Simmons then began trying everything she could on her scanner before Fitz stepped in and they muttered amongst themselves smashing buttons on their devices, while the rest of the team continued trying to dodge rogue rocks. The two continued to fuss until the device in Fitz's hand sparked, then the dust fell to the ground. Everyone stared curiously as Jemma knelt down, pulling a pair of tweezers from her coat pocket, then picking up a spherical object with a green aura, and rings spinning around a small rock in the center. "Incredible! This little thing caused all of this," the fascination in Jemma's voice was astounding. Coulson seemed intrigued by the small object as well as Jemma held it up for him to look at. He quickly plucked it from the tweezers bringing it closer to his face, almost amazed at the tiny device. 

"What exactly is that?" Skye asked, then looked seeing Ward, May, and Mick all shrug.

"Something big, I want it examined and a full report ASAP. Let's get back to The Bus." Coulson's tone was full of concern, as he continued to stare at the device as they walked back to the Jeep.

After parking the vehicles back on The Bus, Mick leaned on his bike, wincing in pain and grabbing his left side. "Hey, are you okay?" Jemma asked running over to him. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's nothing!" Mick tried hiding his pain, only to have Coulson walk over staring at him curiously. 

"Doesn't look like nothing," Coulson said seeing the blood on Mick's hands from his side. 

"Seriously, is this like a guy thing, you all have to act like Superman?" Skye stated as Mick shot a scowl. 

"Let me see how bad it is," Coulson said firmly as Mick started to sigh, then winced in pain. Blood had already seeped through Mick's coat, which only made it worse when Coulson lifted it seeing the bullet like hole in Mick's abdomen. 

"Did it go all the way through?" Ward asked as Mick clenched his fists as Coulson checked his back, seeing a smaller exit hole. 

"Thankfully. He's going to need to be patched up Jemma," Coulson said as both Fitz and Simmons stared at Mick apologetically. 

"I'll take care of him, I've got some medical training, let those two get to work on that thing," Ward said as Coulson nodded. 

"Sounds good," Coulson said grimacing at the blood on his hands.

Ward then helped Mick up, and let Mick lean on him as he walked him up the stairs and to his bunk, before leaving him leaning against his bed to grab his first aid supplies from his bunk. "Go figure, I make it out of Peru without getting shot, but a flying rock is what hits me," Mick grumbled as he tried to slide his jacket off without hurting himself too much. 

"I guess even superpowers don't make you invincible," Ward said, catching Mick off guard. 

"Yeah, that's no joke," Mick said with a weak laugh followed by pain. 

"It's funny, you tend to forget that people with powers are still just people at the end of the day," Ward said as he helped Mick pull off his black tee, then began cleaning the wound on his abdomen. 

"Yup, just as breakable as your average person," Mick groaned as clutched his pillow in pain as Ward began to stick up the wound.

"I used to be jealous of people with powers, because I thought they believed they were all better than the rest of us. I really hated them at first, especially Tony Stark, but you're nothing like the images I built up in my head." 

"Glad I could help?" Mick said skeptically as Ward chuckled. 

"Yeah, you're definitely helping me see the world in a different light," Ward said as he finished dressing the two wounds, then stood up, holding a bottle of pills. "Take two of these, and be sure to lay down. Not only do they work as good antibiotics, they're potent pain relievers too. See you tomorrow." 

"Tomorrow?" Mick asked as Ward started to walk away. 

"Yeah, tomorrow," Ward said as Mick shook his head, before climbing into his bunk and lying down. He debated taking the pills for a moment, then grabbed his water and just took one to ease the pain. It was only a matter of minutes before the room began to spin. "Huh, he was right, they do work fast," Mick stuttered as his eyes felt extremely heavy, then closed into a dreamless sleep.

Mick woke up to the sun shining brightly throughout the lounge, his mind extremely hazy. He winced as he slid out of his bunk, grabbing his old white tee with his Recluse logo Laynie made for him after she moved away. He stumbled across the lounge, down to the stairs, curious as to why he hadn't seen anyone yet. After reaching the lab, he was stunned to see it empty, so he shook his head and made his way back upstairs. The only place left to check was Mission Control on the third floor, if no one was there, he'd simply go back to bed and wait until everyone returned. his way back upstairs. The only place left to check was Mission Control on the third floor, if that was empty, he's simply go back to bed, and wait for everyone to return. He slowly walked up the stairs as his side began to twinge with pain once again. Upon reaching Mission Control, he saw Jemma, Fitz, and May pacing back and forth between multiple different screens pulled up from the Planning Table. 

He walked in listening curiously as May was feeding information to someone, "What's going on?" Mick asked, as Jemma turned to him with a slightly nervous look on her face. 

"Ah! We're in the middle of a rescue operation!" Jemma exclaimed as Mick nodded curiously, leaning heavily on the table. 

"If you three are in here, that means," Mick paused as he stared at the map Fitz had open, with markers labeled Ward, Coulson, and Skye, "No, no, no, no no. Why is Skye in the field, and so far away from the rest of the team?" 

"Mick, calm down, everything is fine!" Fitz said in attempts to ease Mick's nerves. 

"How far away are they? Surely I can suit up and get to them!" Mick exclaimed pushing off the table as Jemma caught him before he fell. 

"I'm not any happier about this than you are, but you're in no shape to go out there. Sit down and watch, or go back to bed." May barked as Mick stared at her, intimidated by her tone. May then set Skye's comms to come through the Planning table. Jemma then leaned down, listening intently to Skye's smooth talking, as Mick slumped in a chair in the corner, wishing that things would move along. He hated that he wasn't out there, not only to protect Skye, but Coulson and Ward as well. Anything could go wrong with a three man rescue, even more could go wrong with a dirty handed man like Ian Quinn. Mick had heard of him through Davis and Patten, which only upset him more.

"Got the dispatch leaking Hall's location. User's an alias." May said as she stared down at her laptop.

"Oh, can you trace the DHCP server –" Fitz started until May interrupted.

"Trace is running, but it'll take time. How's our girl?"

"I thought she was done for, but she's just sweet talked her way into Quinn's office," Simmons said surprised. 

"How'd she manage that?" May asked in shock, as Mick frowned, he knew just how slick Skye could be when she wanted to be. 

"Pbht! She probably just used her, um," Fitz said, awkwardly holding his hands out over his chest, as Mick tried not to laugh at his implication. 

"Really Fitz?" Mick teased as Fitz seemed quite embarrassed by the looks from both Jemma and May. 

"Ugh. That's the only explanation on how a smart woman accomplishes anything!" Jemma stated sarcastically ready to continue lecturing Fitz, until the feed let out a loud squeal followed by silence. "Oh no! The signal, it's dead!" She began to panic as Mick pulled himself up, joining everyone at the table. 

"Fitz, how do we fix this?" Mick growled as Fitz shook his head with his hands up. 

"I didn't do anything! She must've," Fitz paused for a moment as a harsh realization hit him, "Oh, Lord." 

"So she's on her own now?" Mick growled furiously, his heart racing and his hands shaking.

"Calm down, we have to let Coulson know," May stated as she tapped on Coulson's icon. "Skye's offline, we've lost audio and vitals." 

Mick slammed his hands down on the table shaking his head, cursing under his breath about the rock and his injury. Time seemed to stop as Mick slumped back in his chair as everyone else paced around the table, until it let out a beeping sound. 

"We're in!" May exclaimed as both Jemma and Fitz hurried to the table. 

"She did it! Now it's my turn!" Fitz said semi confidently. He quickly began typing away trying to disarm the security system. 

"Fitz!" Coulson's voice came over the comms, followed by gunfire. "Fitz! Any time now!" 

"Saying his name repetitively does not increase productivity!" Jemma fussed as the table beeped. 

"Okay, go!" Fitz exclaimed as a countdown appeared. "System rebooting in three, two, one!" 

"Gotta say, I really hate sitting up here and not being down there," Mick fussed as he winced in pain. 

"You never were much of one to sit on the sidelines were you, Mick?" Fitz teased as May's expression dropped as she returned to her laptop. 

"This isn't good. Pull up Coulson's comms again," May said firmly as Fitz nodded, switching over to team two comms. "Coulson, the leak came from," before May could finish Coulson interrupted.

"Dr. Hall. Yeah, I'm getting that." He said with a slight frustration in his voice.

A few moments passed of Coulson talking with Dr. Hall, before the radio cut off, with Fitz and Simmons both wearing a deeply concerning look. "We need to get to the lab!" Jemma exclaimed as her and Fitz scuttled out of Mission Control, and down the stairs. 

"Come on Cripp, you get to come too," May teased as she helped Mick, which was both frustrating and helpful.

Fitz wasted no time pulling comms down to the lab, as Coulson finally responded from his radio silence. "Guys, we need to talk." 

"Lost you for a minute there. So Hall wanted Quinn to kidnap him?" May said in disbelief. 

"That's so weird, why would he do that?" Fitz stated as he and Simmons stood around the small device hooked up to some metal clamp on the work table. 

"Something isn't adding up," Mick said as he stared at the device curiously. 

"Quinn built a gravity generator. Similar to the one we found, but bigger. Hall knew Quinn would need him to control its raw power, but Hall just wanted to unleash it." Coulson's voice sounded as if he were in pain as Mick and May took in a deep breath. 

"The one that we found was 2.5 centimeters in diameter. It stopped a semi," Jemma stated as she stared at the device trying to picture just what Coulson could be dealing with. "How big are we talking about?"

"Twelve foot. It'll definitely take down the entire compound," Coulson said as Mick, May, Fitz, and Simmons shot each other confounded looks. 

"It'll sink the whole place!" Jemma exclaimed in horror. 

"No, it'll do more than that," Fitz stated lifelessly as he seemingly pictured a devastating scenario. 

"Coulson, just do what you can and get out of there!" May fussed as his audio began to scramble and distort. "Connect me to Ward, now!" She barked as Fitz quickly switched radio channels, then he, Jemma and Mick leaned against the wall, watching helplessly as May pulled up a map of the compound. "Ward, come in!"

"Good to hear from you! This place is massive, where am I going?" Ward's voice was calm and collected, which was slightly reassuring to Mick. 

"Southwest corner," May stated as she watched the map intensely. "Please tell me you have things covered on the ground, because I can't do a thing from out here." 

"Working on it. These tremors aren't helping though!" Ward barked, which really pressed more tension on Mick. If he were down there, he could easily just use webs to break into the windows, or just web up Dr. Hall and drag him out kicking and screaming, but no, he was stuck on the Bus, helpless.

"We need to figure out a way to stop that thing, before it tears the whole place apart!" May barked as Fitz shook his head.

"The only thing I can thing of is some kind of catalyst. I believe that spark from my scanner set off a reaction in the core, which killed this one," Fitz said with a sigh. 

"Try to reach Coulson and tell him that! We're running out of time!" May barked as Mick hung his head, trying to calm his nerves. 

"It's going to be okay, we have to believe in them," Jemma said rubbing Mick's shoulders, as he let out a sigh. 

"That's a lot harder than being out there," Mick groaned as Fitz finally patched through to Coulson. 

"Can you hear us now?" Fitz asked as he could still hear tremendous amounts of static over the radio. 

"Yeah, have you found anything on stopping this thing? I've tried cutting the power, but it's still going," Coulson barked in frustration.

"You need to find a catalyst!" Fitz exclaimed.

"Something that will create a chain reaction in the core!" Jemma added. 

"It's not too late to do the right thing, help me find a catalyst!" Coulson begged before his comms fizzled out once more.

Mick sat there, his heart pounding in his chest, silence from Ward, as well as silence from Coulson. He kept picturing the worst, because that's what he was used to. When he let himself get close to people, someone ended up dead. First his two sisters, Mom, and Dad, then Sam, then Wren, originally Coulson, but he turned out to have somehow survived, but could he really this time? Now he was on the verge of losing not only Coulson, but Ward, and Skye as well. It was this kind loss that caused Mick to take the name Recluse quite literally. Tears began to fall down his face from his emotions, and the pains in his side.

After a few moments, the silence is broken by Coulson. "We're all fine. The machine has been stopped. I need an Extraction team for this thing." 

"Oh thank God!" Mick exclaimed as he let out a sigh of relief, brushing his hands across his face and hair. 

"We're on our way," May said relieved.

Mick watched as Coulson walked up the ramp with Ward and Skye right on his heels. Mick was quite surprised by her red dress and runny makeup, but figured it was just part of the mission. Coulson walked right by without a word, Skye and Ward followed May into the lounge to get patched up and drinks after a quick debriefing. "Are you going to be ok?" Fitz asked Mick, who didn't take his eyes off of Skye. 

"If you keep tensing up like that it could tear open the wound," Jemma said as Mick let out a sigh. 

"I don't know what I would've done," Mick started as Jemma patted his shoulders. 

"She's your close friend, I understand. But, she's also an agent in training. Danger is part of the job," Mick shook his head, before nodding silently. 

"Danger is part of the job," he exhaled. "I'm going to talk to Coulson. I think it's time I make things official." 

"So you're rejoining SHIELD then?" Fitz smiled. 

"Yeah. Yeah, I am," Mick said confidently.