Middle School Heroes

Chapter 11 - STRIKE vs SHIELD

Skye wasn't surprised to find Ward waiting for her at her locker when Computer Science was over. She was surprised to see him carrying a black duffle bag for her. "Garrett asked me to give these to you."

"Oh awesome," she replied sarcastically, as she unzipped the bag. She saw that it contained two sets of black clothing. "Is this like a uniform or something?"

"Yeah. It's what we all wear for OPs."

Skye sighed. "I suppose I should go get dressed."

"I'll wait here for you." He folded his arms and leaned against her locker.

She walked into the girl's bathroom and quickly changed into a pair of black cargo pants and a black t-shirt. She was happy to find a black sweatshirt with the school's logo on the front, and pulled it on. She shoved her school clothes back into the bag, and walked out to discover that Ward hadn't moved from his original position, but had been joined by a brown haired girl that Ward introduced as Adrienne Frost, a really tall boy named Jack Rollins, and Brock Rumlow. They were all three dressed in their uniforms. She took one look at them and groaned loudly. "So what's going on? Is this some kind of guard to make sure that I get there without getting lost?"

"No Skye, they just wanted to meet you. You might find that you really like STRIKE, when you give it a chance. I'm pretty sure they want you to." He gestured toward Rumlow, Rollins and Frost. "Let's get going." Ward pushed her to start walking down the hall. Rollins walked in front of her, Rumlow and Frost took up a position on either side of her, and Ward walked behind her. She felt a little bit like she was being escorted to prison.

As they walked, Rumlow handed her a booklet, explaining the steps she had to take to get weapons certified. She noticed that she needed a mentor who was already certified, but decided to wait and ask Natasha, so she didn't have to get stuck with one of the people she was with now. Ward and Frost were taking turns telling Skye about STRIKE and how she would be an asset to them. They seemed to be talking like she had already agreed to join them, and she was really wishing that she was officially part of some other group already, ANY group. She started looking around for that talking raccoon that Peter Quill mentioned. She could always learn to dance. Well, maybe.

As they walked outside, they ran into a whole group of people blocking their way. Clint, Natasha and Sam were all three dressed in their OPs uniforms and standing together shoulder to shoulder. Tony was standing to one side of them, and she noticed that Fitz and Peter Parker were on either side of him. Peter nor Fitz seemed to be able to stop grinning. Bruce Banner was behind them, watching thoughtfully.

Steve and Bucky were standing to the other side with Rhodey, and Skye couldn't help but laugh when she noticed a beaming Jemma standing behind Rhodey, his hand outstretched in front of her protectively. Thor and Loki were beside them, both looking unhappily at the group that just came through the door. Pepper and Jane were standing behind them. Wanda and Pietro were also there. Wanda was staring calmly at Skye, and Pietro was sort of bouncing around quickly.

It was Steve who spoke first. "Hey guys. How about you cool it with the theatrics, and let Skye walk down to the field with her friends." He motioned to Clint, Natasha and Sam, who all three just stood there expressionless.

"We intend to be her friends too," Rumlow grumbled. "Sunshine might decide she wants to join STRIKE, ya know."

The way Rumlow called her Sunshine made her mad. Skye could feel her anger bubbling up and the buzzing under her skin got stronger. She started to clinch and unclench her hands, and her breathing was getting more and more rapid. She knew that she needed to calm down. Glancing around, her eyes landed on Wanda, who just kept staring at her intently. She took a deep breath and held her gaze until she felt calmer.