"Could sure use a little light in here," Coulson said. "I got this," Trip said, activating a light and tossing it to the ground. "So, who do we talk to about getting a haircut?" We opened fire on the man, but the bullets didn't do much. "If it isn't the Spider," I lept on his shoulders, hooking my feet and twisting to bring him to the ground, grabbing the Berseker staff that glowed in my hands. "Don't ever call me that," I sneered.

I swung the staff into one of the men, taking down a pillar while I was at it. "Bring the house down," Coulson ordered. I took out all the pillars, being the last one to leave as the building collapsed behind us.

-

"The Trojan Horse worked. It gave us access to the system we wanted. Our secret weapon--we now have eyes on their operation right in the palm of my hand," Skye said, coming into the room as I sterilized some tweezers. Trip had gotten a bullet to the shoulder, and I was going to get it out. "We're gonna need more than eyes to defeat Garrett. This is gonna hurt," I warned him, reaching into the wound and grabbing the bullet, making him wince in pain. I pulled it out, dropping it into a little tray and grabbing a needle, sewing the wound shut. 

Coulson came into the room, looking solemn. "What is it?" May asked as I taped gauze onto his shoulder. "Fitz-Simmons' tracker crossed the ocean. It's in New Mexico," he said. "They managed to tag the plane?" I asked. "It appears so, but they're not answering," he admitted.

"No," Skye and I breathed, my mind going through the worst scenarios. "We can't think about that right now. They may have been captured. Either way, they risked everything to put a tracker on that plane for us. Now we know exactly where Garrett is, and Skye can see what he's doing. If Fitz and Simmons are still alive, then catching Garrett is our only shot at finding them,"

-

"We only get one shot at this, so let's go over the plan one more time to make sure we're clear on exactly what we're doing, okay? Trip, Asya, and I will crest the ridge, use a noisemaker to grab a three-wheel, maybe something with more fireworks, and open a window for you two. You crawl in, grab the dealer, force his hand. He'll get us our Ace in the hole, and then Bob's your uncle,"

I loaded my rifle, putting it in its sling before cocking two pistols and putting them in holsters. "Roger that," Skye said. "Makes it sound easy," Trip added. "Coulson, it's a solid plan you've mapped out, but it hinges on a gamble--a big one," May warned. "And backup isn't coming. It'll be just the five of us. We'll be outmanned and outgunned. But Fury always said...A man can accomplish anything when he realizes he's a part of something bigger. A team of people who share that conviction could change the world. So, what do you say? You ready to change the world?" Coulson asked.

"No, I'm ready to kick some ass," May said, putting a magazine in her pistol. "That works, too,"

-

Cybertek Manufacturing Facility, Location: New Mexico, United States

"Alright, what do we want? There's a three-wheel over there," Coulson said as we sat, perched on the ridge. "Here comes a Humvee that has better fireworks," I said. "Hold on," we put on our binoculars, spotting a very nice looking ride. "Now that's what I'm talking about," Trip grinned. "You bring a noisemaker?" Coulson asked as we lowered our binoculars.

"Sir, I bring the noise and the funk wherever I go," Trip wound up the noisemaker, lobbing it towards the cars, and the sound of bullets erupted from it. "Hey-ho, friends! The enemy approaches. Careful, now, or they'll win the day!" the noisemaker shouted. With the enemy distracted, we crept up and took out the guards, and I clambered into the front seat, flooring the car and ramming the gate open. "God, I love my job," I muttered, smiling. Trip launched a missile at our assailants, causing them to go flying.

The car jolted and bucked as we rounded the corner. "You know where to put this next one," Coulson said, and a missile sailed into the wall, blowing it open and giving May and Skye an entrance. "Nice work, guys. The window's open," May radioed. We were heading towards another area when a Soldier jumped down and started punching the windshield in. "More on our six," I said, glancing behind us at the oncoming truck.

"Here they come," Coulson said as more Centipede Soldiers ran towards us. "These windows can't take many more hits like that, sir," Trip said. "Let's hope they don't have to," Coulson said. "Coulson, we've found the dealer," Skye's voice crackled through the radio. "Time for the guns?" I asked.

"Time for the guns," I pulled my rifle out, watching as the Soldier paused mid-swing. "Stay. Stay. Good boy," the Soldiers started walking off. "They're off to defend Garrett," Trip observed. "And lead me right to him," Coulson added. "Now that we're inside, go contact Armed Forces. Make some noise on the way out. Asya--you're with me," I nodded as Coulson crawled out of the back.

"Trip, if the rest of us don't make it, I still want this place to burn," Coulson said, sticking his head back in. "I prefer you make it, sir," Trip replied. "Me too," Coulson said, disappearing again. "Wait, before you go..." he pressed his lips to mine, and I kissed him back for a bit before pulling away. "Just for good luck," he said as I climbed out.

-

"Looks like the back entrance to the factory floor is on the south side," Skye radioed. "Roger that," I responded. I threw another one of the noisemakers, to both cause a distraction and because I found them amusing. "Hey-ho, friends! The enemy approaches. Careful, now, or they'll win the day!" the noisemaker shouted. We crept in, walking pretty damn close to Garrett.

"Hi, John," Coulson knocked him on the jaw pretty. "Hi, Phil," he hit him and sent Coulson flying, his gun clattering away. "Hey, Garrett," I cocked my rifle, firing a few shots at him. He started walking towards me, and I unloaded a few more shots. "Come on, Coulson," I muttered as soldiers came in, firing both at where Coulson vanished to and me, causing me to duck behind some metal crates.

He emerged with a glowy-looking gun thing, taking out the soldiers firing at us. It powered down, and I popped up, unloading a full magazine into the punk while a stranger popped out and unloaded their pistol into Garrett as well. The gunshots were making my ears ring, blocking out any other sound. Peterson appeared as I watched Garrett stand up like he hadn't just gotten two magazines of bullets shot into him. I chuckled when I saw the stranger saying something, seeming quite annoyed at Garrett.

Peterson's little arm missile started powering up, but I was all out of bullets and I was in a position where I couldn't grab my pistols without revealing myself. Suddenly, he turned and launched the missile into Garrett, sending him flying back.

-

By the time I crawled out of my hidey-hole, the mystery man was long gone and Garrett was charred to a crisp, dead as a doorknob. "Without regular injections, they're just men. Once doctors remove their cybernetic eyes, they'll be essentially back to normal," Coulson said as we watched the Centipede Soldiers file out. "Minus an eye, of course. But, it's not that bad," I said. Ward and May appeared, Ward in cuffs. "You get a chance to express all your feelings?" Coulson asked her.

"Is he still breathing?" She shot back. "Guess she kept some of it to herself," I observed. "He's having trouble speaking. I think I fractured his larynx," May muttered. "Oh, good. Your attempt to cross off Fitz and Simmons failed, but Fitz may never be the same again. So I'm going to invent new ways to ruin the rest of your life. And we'll do whatever's necessary to get HYDRA intel from you, but your torture--that's gonna be internal," Coulson warned. "And a little bit external," May added.

"Sure. Some of that," Coulson agreed. "But you devoted your entire life to a deranged narcissist who never gave a damn about anyone, and now he's dead. You've got the rest of your life to wrestle with the question--who are you without him?" He added. The guards started to take him away, but I stepped in. "Wait, before you go--" I walked up to Ward, and punched him as hard as I could in the nose, a crack echoing through the air as blood started streaming down his face. "That was for all the murder you've committed, and this..." I kneed him where the sun did not shine.

"Is for betraying us,"

-

"Hey, Coulson, what d'you want me to do about the...problem down the hall?" I asked, sticking my head into the doorway. We had brought Ward onto the Bus and were going to personally make his life a living hell. I was quite looking forward to it. "Who's this?" A familiar voice asked, and I froze, my eye sweeping the room and landing on a hobo-looking man in a chair.

"Uncle Nicholas?" I asked, my voice going up. "Iva?" He replied with equal confusion as I moved fully into the room. "You two know each other?" May looked between us as my uncle stood up. "Your parents told me you were dead!" He exclaimed.

 "The team told me you were dead!" I countered. "Wait--you two are related?" Coulson asked. "You didn't tell them?" He asked. "Why should I? I didn't know you were off running the biggest spy agency in the business and you thought I was dead," I replied. He took off his sunglasses, revealing a clouded eye with scars around it.

"What the hell happened to your eye?" He asked. "What the hell happened to your eye?" I countered. A grin split across his face, and I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "I missed you," I mumbled. "I missed you too," He replied.

"And by the way, my name's Asya,"

-

The ramp lowered to reveal Simmons, and we all headed towards her, Skye going faster and wrapping her in a hug. "Fitz--is he okay? Please tell me he's okay," Skye asked. "He's alive," I let out a sigh, a small weight lifting from my chest. "What is this place?" May asked. "First thing I found in that box was these coordinates. Another secret base?" Coulson admitted.

"I call it the Playground, although, technically, it doesn't have a name because technically, it doesn't exist, it being a secret base and all," we turned to see Eric, or someone identical to Eric, standing there, hands clasped at their stomach. "Eric?" Skye asked. "Billy...Koenig, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., although I totally understand the confusion. Eric passed away, sadly, but it's great to have company, finally, and I did not mind minding this place," Billy said. "Agent Coulson," Coulson introduced. "I know. I know. And it is an honor to meet you, sir. I'll get your lanyard shortly. For the rest of you, lanyards will be handed out on a case-by-case basis. Can't be too careful with all those HYDRA threats out there still out there, causing trouble. That's why we're here--get you up and running and back fighting the good fight, which is gonna be cool. I know we don't have much, but what we do have is yours, sir," Billy said.

"Thank you," Coulson said. "So...where would you like to start?" He asked. A thought seemed to have struck Billy. A wave, hell, a tsunami, of nostalgia washed over me hearing the opening speech. It was like we were back at Providence.

"Oh, um, we had someone else show up a few hours ago. I think you'd like to meet her," Billy said. "Who is it?" Coulson asked as we followed him into the base. "She hasn't said," Billy said. My eye looked at anything and everything as we entered a new room. A woman in a wheelchair was sitting in front of the entrance, a smile on her face.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Director. My name is Agent Rowena Darness,"

Asya Anatolievna will return in Redback Widow II