"At 0-800 hours, three men infiltrated the Havenworth Federal Penitentiary," Coulson said, playing footage of the break-in as we watched. "Infiltrated? More like cannonballed," Skye muttered. "They were in and out in less than two minutes. Left no prints at the scene, but we do have one lead," He zoomed in on a device on one of the man's arms that was becoming painfully familiar. "Centipede," I scowled, annoyed with the revelation. "Seems they salvaged some of their research from Hong Kong," Coulson said.

"So, we were right. Chan's platelets solved their combustion problem. Now they can create Super Soldiers with no fear of explosion," Simmons was sounding unnervingly excited about the prospect. "Maybe don't be so excited about it," Fitz whispered. "Two of Centipede's labs have been destroyed, but they keep popping back up. Now they have at least three of these guys, maybe more," Coulson informed us. "Who'd they break out?" I asked, crossing my arms. "Edison Po, former Marine, expert in tactics and rapid response. He fell off the grid in '08, reappeared 18 months ago at a diner in Boston," He said.

"Where he stabbed a friend's eyes out," Ward added. "With a steak knife, then finished his meal," Coulson finished. "That's funny. Po doesn't look crazy. I'm kidding. The guy is a walking mugshot," Skye said. "Which means he shouldn't be that hard to track down. Finding Po and these Centipede soldiers is a top priority for S.H.I.E.L.D. We'll be running point, but we won't be working alone," Coulson said. "What team did HQ send for backup?" Ward asked.

"Not a team--a person, someone who can help fight fire with fire," He said. "Somebody we worked with before?" Skye asked. "Not exactly,"

-

"...Union Station could have gone another way. Another team might not have let me out of there alive. I owe you, all of you," An unfamiliar voice said. "That's bygones and water under a distant bridge far away. How's your son?" Skye asked. "Still with my sister. He thinks I'm working construction, but he's good, happy," The man said. "We are locked, loaded, and on our way. Who's this guy?" I asked, walking in and nodding to the man. "Oh. I'm Mike Peterson," He said, holding out a hand.

"Asya. It's a pleasure," I said, shaking it. "So, what do we have?" Coulson asked. "Not much on Po. I checked his previously known addresses and old military contacts--came up empty," Skye admitted. "We've been looking for where Po might be on the outside. Let's look at his life on the inside--at the prison. See if that gets us any leads. Anything on the Centipede soldiers?" He said. "We found a facial recog match on one of them," Simmons said.

"Name's Brian Hayward. Stationed in Afghanistan for three years, then fell off the radar when he got back," Ward said. "Only living relative--sister, Laura, sophomore at the University of Ohio," Skye said, pulling up a picture of a young woman. "She's our best shot at finding Hayward. You and I will go talk to her. Go set a course for Cleveland," Coulson ordered, and I made my way back to the cockpit, taking my seat. I started flipping controls, earning a look from May. "We've got a lead--Laura Hayward, sister of one of the soldiers," I explained, setting the course for Cleveland.

-

"So, how'd you get tangled up in this mess?" I turned to see Peterson standing nearby. "Coulson picked me up from a bus stop, threatened to out me, and took me here. I just haven't left," I admitted. "I don't remember you from the station," He said. "Oh, they picked me up after that, right when we got an 0-8-4 report," I said. "0-8-4?" He asked. "An object of unknown origins. Some Tesseract technology from HYDRA or something, I don't know, we just picked the thing up," I said.

"You don't sound like you're from around here," He pointed out. "'Cause I'm not. I'm from Russia," I said. "Why'd Coulson bring you on?" He asked. "I have a very specific skill set. He thought it would be useful to the team, so here I am," I said. "Like what?" He asked.

"I'm a decent fighter,"

-

"Hayward's cellphone has been traced to an abandoned factory about eight miles from here," Coulson said as we descended the stairs to where Ward, Fitz-Simmons, and Peterson were. "Probably Centipede's new lab," I said, standing on the first step. "Certainly been their M.O.--We destroy one factory, they set up another, putting us back to square one. This time, I want answers," Coulson said. "Means we go in quiet, do minimal damage to the facility and the people inside," May warned. "Ward, May, Asya, you'll go in through the west entrance. Mr. Peterson and I will enter through the loading door. You'll run the backend from outside," Coulson said, assigning our teams.

"We're doing this just us? We've been playing Whack-A-Mole with these guys since Ward first picked me out of my van. Shouldn't big S.H.I.E.L.D. be sending in backup?" Skye asked. "Trust me, they already did," He said. "Let's move," May said, and we gathered our gear.

-

Centipede Warehouse, Location: Oakland, California

"We alone here?" Coulson asked over the coms as we combed the building. "It appears so. The only heat signatures we're reading are yours," Simmons said. "But there's a weird electronic signal. I'm trying to isolate it," Skye reported. "Place looks emptied. Think we're too late?" I asked. "Fitz, dial Hayward's number. Find out," Coulson ordered.

There was the sound of a phone ringing, and a carrier burst open. "Uh, sir, you got company!" Fitz exclaimed. "Coming your way!" A trailer burst open behind us, a soldier coming out. We immediately engaged, him trying to sweep my legs but I jumped to avoid it. Ward got knocked out and May used two steel poles to fight him while I kept parrying his blows and trying to grab his attention.

He swept May's feet and turned to me. Remembering Romanoff's signature move, I jumped up, swinging my legs around his neck and hooking them, beating on his head to try and knock him out. He grabbed me and flung me off, but I switched in midair and rolled to soften the blow. One of them got bested and the other two booked it. I stood up, groaning since I had taken a pretty hard blow to the stomach and the head.

-

"I'm gonna call it an early night, sleep off these blows," I said, trudging to my bunk. When I got there, I reached under my pillow, pulled out my pair of handcuffs, and put them on my right wrist, attaching the other side to the bed. Just like they did all my childhood. I laid down, feeling the familiar tug on my wrists as I fell asleep.

-

There was a knock on my door, and it slid open to reveal May. "We're meeting ab--why are you handcuffed to the bed?" She asked as I quickly unlatched myself. "It's--it's nothing. Just an old habit. You said we were meeting?" I asked, brushing off the question, and her eyes narrowed. "Peterson just got a call. They want to trade," We sat down, and Coulson explained further. "Bloody savages! They want to experiment on him, determine how he still has his abilities," Simmons said.

"And we're gonna let them? We've fought these guys before," I said. "We don't have a choice. The instructions they gave Mr. Peterson were very specific. I called HQ, told them to stand down," My blood was boiling. We were going to give up an innocent person so they could experiment on him. "Stand down?" May questioned. "So we take them alone," Ward said.

 "We should at least have a hostage-rescue unit in support of this," May said. "They said they would murder my son. If we make one wrong move," My fists clenched, my nails digging into my palms. "Any electronics, any coms, any sign of surveillance, and they'll terminate the arrangement," Coulson warned. "I'll give myself up, no problem, get him back. I can figure it out from there," Peterson said. "You're still recovering. We can't just hand you over to them, can we?" Skye asked.

"Fitz-Simmons have a non-electronic method of tracking him," He revealed. "Simmons has fabricated an odorless scent. I have an instrument that can track it. Works like a bloodhound can track it from 50 kilometers," Fitz said. "After we make the trade, we'll be able to follow Mr. Peterson. Buy him some time to get his strength back. We'll find him," He said. "I don't care what happens to me. As long as my boy is..." He trailed off. "I promise you, we're gonna get your son back,"

-

I watched from the wheel of the truck as Peterson and Coulson approached the Centipede workers. Ace ran up to his dad as the team watched over May and I's shoulders. Peterson walked towards us, as Coulson collapsed and they dragged him away. Skye got out of the car, as my grip on the wheel tightened. May contacted HQ as we climbed out, and I drew my pistol.

"Keep him safe. Take care of my boy!" Peterson started running towards them, as the gas trucks on either side blew and flames erupted from them. "No!!" Another explosion went off, this time with the car Coulson was in. Blood was pounding in my ears, wiping out any sound. I stood there, numb with shock. I didn't notice the helicopter taking off, or the flashes of gunfire.

I just went back to my seat, sitting down heavily.

a/n I know this is super late, like 3 weeks late, but I'll try and get some chapters written since I'm going on Winter break soon so I'll have a few prewritten chapters that I can upload.