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“We have a mission, people,” Coulson announced as soon as they all gathered in the briefing room. “One of our satellites picked up a suspicious heat signature in a German research outpost in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.”
Skye groaned. “Seriously? Can’t we ever get a mission somewhere nice and normal? It’s always either completely freezing or so hot you can’t stick your nose out of the Bus.”
Ward shot her an annoyed look. “What makes it suspicious?” he asked Coulson.
Phil pulled up a few pictures on the big screen, showing a small bunker-like building covered in snow. “The Drescher research station was a cover for a Hydra-operated secret base,” he informed them, clicking over to a blueprint map showing extensive underground tunnels. “It was abandoned in 2004 after S.H.I.E.L.D infiltrated it.”
Ward nodded, a knowing expression on his face. “I heard it was Agent Romanoff who brought us the intel as she went undercover. She got captured, though, so S.H.I.E.L.D. had to send in a large strike team to rescue her and take over the base.”
Coulson raised his eyebrows. “Yeah, I heard that too, but the files are all need-to-know, so we can really only guess at what happened.”
Skye huffed. “I hate all this super secret, confidential stuff. This would be a cool story to know.”
Coulson shrugged. “It is what it is.” He could admit to himself, he was also a little disappointed that he didn’t have access to the mission files. Clicking over to another slide, he showed them their flight plan. “We’re leaving in two hours, so get your gear and bring everything you need onto the Bus,” he instructed his team. “Don’t forget warm clothes - especially socks - or you’ll be coming back a couple toes lighter.”
Skye was still frowning but knew better than to complain again. Instead, she just turned on her heel and left the room, presumably to pack her stuff. Coulson looked at the rest of his team, gauging their reactions. Ward had a slight frown on his face, as usual; Coulson could never really tell what the other man was thinking. Simmons seemed to be cautiously excited about another mission, while Fitz looked like he’d much rather stay at the base and play with his gadgets. May was impassive, her face perhaps a little tighter than usual, but then again, she didn’t particularly care for freezing climates either.
“Well?” he prompted them, when no one moved. “Off with you, chop chop.”
His team finally got moving and Phil shook his head a little fondly. They were like a bunch of rowdy teenagers. Turning to May, who had stayed at his side, he raised his eyebrows. “You good?”
She paused, nodded and then left the room without a word.
Snorting, he stared after her. Typical May.
Half an hour before takeoff, Phil made his way into the hangar to check on the Bus. Not that he would really know if something wasn’t in order - he had May for the technical stuff - but he still liked to walk around the enormous plane and admire its sleek sides and powerful engines. Smiling to himself as he walked around the nose, he noticed May fiddling with some knobs and levers in the cockpit as she performed the necessary preflight diagnostics. She didn’t appear to have noticed him, but as soon as he finished his round, his best friend appeared at his side.
“Everything ready?” he asked her.
The Chinese woman nodded, handing him a folder with their flight plan to sign off on. “All set. I’m ready to take off.”
“Good,” he smiled at her, quickly scratching his name at the bottom of the document. “You packed your socks?” he asked teasingly.
She rolled her eyes, taking back the papers and shooting him a sideways look.
He grinned at her unimpressed attitude. “Come on, it’s not gonna be that bad - I’ve heard Antarctica is beautiful this time of the year,” he assured her cheekily.
She turned to look at him directly. “I don’t like the cold,” she told him stonily. “Warm clothes restrict my movement.”
Coulson gave her a soft smile. “I know,” he soothed her. “Hopefully, you won’t have to do any fighting this time; it should be a simple mission - just check the place out and then leave.”
The side of her mouth twitched slightly, though Phil couldn’t say if it was in amusement or in annoyance. “Wheels up in fifteen,” she told him, looking around the mostly empty hangar. “If they’re not here in time, I’m taking off without them.”
Phil nodded. “Understood, I’ll go see what’s holding them up.” He was almost sure May wouldn’t actually leave anyone behind, but it was better not to try her. Especially when she was in a mood.
It was exactly five minutes to takeoff when he finally managed to gather the whole team in the hangar, and Melinda was pissed.
"Wheels up in five," she snarled as they all walked up the cargo ramp, before striding off to the solitude of her cockpit.
Skye rolled her eyes as soon as May was out of sight. "Jeez, keep your shirt on," she mumbled, prompting a reproachful look from the rest of the team. "Sorry," she mouthed back at them, actually looking regretful for once.
Coulson shook his head. It was situations like these that made him notice how young the girl really was. Still more of a teenager than a grown woman.
"Lock it or lose it," May announced over the intercom a couple minutes later. "We're off." And with those words, the cargo hold ramp went up and the engines came to life. Coulson sat down at his desk, rifling through the Drescher files he’d been able to get his hands on.
After what felt like forever, the intercom in his office rasped out in his friend's voice, "We'll touch down in twenty. Get ready."
"Roger that," he confirmed, for once not joking about who was actually in command and who was supposed to follow orders. He had a feeling it wouldn't go over too well - May still sounded strained.
When they landed, he gathered his people in the cargo hold. "You all ready?" he asked. "Make sure you have everything you might need and that you're well dressed - we won't be returning for anything."
Simmons nodded, the movement barely noticeable underneath all the layers she was wearing. "I've made sure Fitz and I have everything we could possibly need, in case we run into something that requires examination. I even made a list," she informed him proudly.
Fitz winced. "Yeah, she made me go through it at least four times before she decided we hadn’t forgotten anything."
Coulson gave the two scientists an approving smile. "Good, I have to say you certainly look ready," he told them, eyeing their clothes. "Skye? Ward? How about you?"
The two nodded, Skye waving her hands comically in her oversized winter jacket. It was then that Melinda joined them, clad in a decidedly thin-looking black winter jacket. He raised his eyebrows at her.
"I have a military grade thermal suit underneath all this," she explained. "I told you I didn't like to have my movement restricted."
"Ok," he allowed hesitantly - in his experience, thermal suits weren't really of much use. "I promise to warm you up if you get cold."
Skye faked a barfing noise. "Ugh, disgusting. Stop flirting and let's go - the sooner we leave, the sooner we can be back."
Figuring that arguing he hadn't been flirting would be useless, Phil hmmed in agreement. "Okay, people, let's go."
It was a long hike to the former Hydra base, despite May having landed as close as she could, so it took them good forty minutes to arrive. The two specialists looked like making their way through enormous piles of snow wasn't really any hardship, while he and the rest of the team were panting harshly as they struggled along behind the fit duo.
"God," he panted. "I'm really out of practice. I used to be better than this."
May gave him an impassive look. "When?" she asked in a deadpan voice.
He spluttered. "What do you mean 'when'?" he questioned, feigning offence. "I used to be in shape."
The teasing glint in May's eyes disappeared. "I know," she said so quietly that he barely heard her, glancing briefly at his chest.
Ward interrupted their moment by knocking impatiently on the door to the bunker. "So, how are we supposed to get in exactly? You haven't brought a key, have you?"
Coulson faltered. He hadn't really considered the possibility of the door being locked. When Furty didn’t give him any keys or other means to get in, he’d assumed it wouldn't be a problem. Fuck him, he was really rusty to have made such a rookie mistake.
Thankfully, Melinda was there to save his arse, as always. "There's a ventilation shaft a couple paces north that we can use as a point of entry."
Ward nodded, heading off in search of the vent. Coulson stared at him. "Ward," he called after him. "She said north."
The specialist turned back around, a bewildered expression on his face that reminded Phil of a little kid. "I am heading north," he said hesitantly. "I think," he added. "I've never been to Antarctica before, but I thought that 'I'm heading south and now I'm heading north' thing didn't happen until you crossed the actual pole."
Phil nodded. "That's true," he admitted. "You're still heading about fifteen degrees east of where the vent is."
Before Ward could answer, May called at them from where she was standing over the vent entrance - about eighteen paces to the left of where Ward had been headed - to 'move it'. Typical May - while everyone else was talking, she was doing, thought Coulson fondly.
It took the lot of them a ridiculous seventeen minutes to make it through the vent system into the base underneath. By the time Fitz and his equipment finally got through, May was looking impatient. The engineer pulled out a handheld scanner - Phil assumed it was supposed to pick up signs of any heat signatures or energy fluctuations - scowling at the display.
“I don’t see anything,” the Brit muttered. “It all looks empty.”
Ward’s brow furrowed. “We should have a look around the old-fashioned way,” he suggested. “You know, with our eyes?”
Fitz shot him an offended look. “I’ll have you know that my technology is-”
“Fitz!” Coulson interrupted. “I’m sure your gadgets are fine, but we’ll still have a look around, okay?” Then, turning to the rest of the team, he ordered, “May and Ward lead, the rest of us follow, understood?”
Everyone nodded, and the two specialists went to the door of the room they were in, opening it. The room emptied into a long, narrow hallway, where weak lights showed them the way - thanks to Fitz, who had turned on the power.
They slowly made their way along the narrow passage until they turned a corner, Phil’s heart almost stopping. There on the ground lay a man in a grey uniform, his neck at an unnatural angle.
“Oh, my god,” Skey voiced all of their thoughts. “What the hell?”
Ward, having pulled out his gun as soon as he saw the body, walked closer and nudged it with a toe of his shoe. “He’s dead,” he exclaimed.
Simmons somehow managed to suppress an eyeroll. “Well, I could’ve told you that,” she told the specialist a little haughtily. “His neck has clearly been broken.”
The tall man raised an eyebrow at her.
The doctor walked over to him, crouching next to the corpse. “It is a complete break, which is difficult to do,” she announced after a quick inspection. “So this is the work of a professional.”
Ward clenched his hand more tightly around his gun. “So someone’s here apart from us?”
“I told you no one was here!” Fitz complained exasperatedly.
“Yeah, sorry if I don’t trust you,” Ward shot back. “There’s a dead guy on the floor.”
Coulson sent a pleading look to May, who had been unusually quiet even for her, but it was Simmons who interrupted the childish bickering. “I don’t think there’s any need to worry, Agent Ward,” she said. “This man has been dead for years.”
Phil was confused. “What? Are you sure?” he asked, looking at the body. The guy looked like he had just died.
The doctor stood up from where she had been crouched. “Yes, sir. The very low temperature has preserved him quite extraordinarily,” she explained, the spark of wonder that all the scientists got when faced with something interesting glinting in her eyes. “He’s been dead for about ten years I’d guess,” Simmons continued, “though the approximation is vague.”
Coulson perked up. “So about 2004, you’d say?” he questioned her. “About the time SHIELD stormed the place?”
The woman nodded. “I think it’s possible,” she admitted. “But would SHIELD really leave him here like this?”
Ward snorted. “If they had to get out quickly,” he shrugged. “What did you think an armed commando was going to do? Pick up after themselves?”
Skye was still looking a little shaken, unable to take her eyes off the dead man. “It’s the least they could do,” she whispered. “This is just wrong.”
“If you can’t take it, maybe you shouldn’t be here,” May snarled at her, the first words she’d uttered since they entered the base.
“May,” Phil tried to calm her, “you can’t-”
“Let’s just get this over with,” she interrupted him, turning on her heel and walking again.
The team followed hesitantly after her, Fitz almost stumbling over the body as he went past. They turned another corner and, before he could even see anything, he knew things had just gotten worse - everyone stopped in their tracks, Fitz and Skye immediately turning their backs on the scene, their faces white.
There were dead bodies everywhere - some with broken necks, others with crushed skulls or bullet wounds in their torsos. When he thought about it, it actually looked a bit comical, men in all sorts of contorted positions spread across the floor, blood painting the walls.
“Who could’ve done this?” whispered Simmons, her voice shaky.
Ward shrugged, seemingly unbothered. “They sent in a strike team. What did you expect?”
Fitz retched.
“I don’t think SHIELD did this,” Skye said with a shake of her head, eyes fixed on a dark red splash of blood that adorned the wall next to her. “This was done by some sort of monster.”
May scoffed. “Oh, get over yourself.”
Not used to seeing his best friend so ugly, Phil stepped in. “What’s wrong with you today, May? You’ve been growling and grunting ever since we were assigned this mission.”
The Chinese agent glared at him.
“What?” he asked. “What’s wrong, Melinda?”
She didn’t answer him, but there was a weird look in her eyes.
“May?” he whispered, realisation dawning on him. “They didn’t send a strike team for Romanoff, did they? They sent the Cavalry.”
The guilty look on her face was his answer. “Oh, May.”
She turned back around, facing the massacre she herself had left behind. “Let’s just get this over with,” she grunted. Then, throwing an annoyed look at the still upchucking engineer, she strode right through the middle of the mess.
Phil started to go after her but paused to address the rest of his team. “You guys can stay here if you don’t want to see any more,” he offered. “But we still need to check out the base to see if we can’t find a source for that heat signature.”
Ward’s mouth was hanging open. “I- sir?”
Huh, the unflappable Grant Ward seemed to be flapped, he thought. “What?”
The specialist looked incredulous. “May was the strike team?” he asked in awe. “She did all of this herself?”
Phil narrowed his eyes at the younger man. “She always worked best alone,” he said quietly.
Grant nodded. “The Cavalry.”
“Don’t call her that,” he reminded the specialist, before finally going after Melinda. He followed in her footsteps, though at a slower pace - making sure not to step on anyone or anything.
He managed to catch up with her after a couple hundred yards, finding her standing in the middle of a small room. There was a broken chair inside, three dead men, and a lot of blood. “You okay?” he asked, putting a hand carefully on her shoulder.
She nodded silently.
“Is this where they held her? Natasha?” Phil questioned further, intent on making her talk.
A nod.
“And the blood?”
“Natasha’s,” Melinda finally spoke.
He squeezed her shoulder, stepping closer. “What happened?”
The specialist glanced at him. “She had been tortured," May disclosed in a tight voice. "She was so hurt, I had to basically carry her out of here."
Biting his lip, he stepped in front of his best friend, shielding her from the view of the small room. “You did good, Melinda.”
“I slaughtered the lot of them,” she choked out, looking him in the eye intently. “You heard Skye; she thinks I’m a monster.”
“She doesn’t understand,” he assured her. “She’s a kid.”
Nodding in acknowledgment, though Coulson was sure she didn’t actually take any comfort from his words, she blinked, and suddenly it was like a mask had fallen over her face. “I think I found what we’re looking for,” she told him, voice firm and expression impassive.
Feeling like he’d gotten whiplash from the rapid change of mood, he floundered. “What?”
Motioning with her head at something behind him, she explained. “The wall by the vent over there is charred.”
He turned to look, walking over and inspecting the darkened wall. “Where did the fire come from?”
May shrugged. “I don’t know. The vent leads to somewhere downstairs.”
Phil hmmed, turning on his comm. “Ward, take Fitz-Simmons downstairs to check for any signs of fire.”
“Yes, sir,” the male specialist answered, sounding like he had managed to pull himself together.
Giving his Asian friend a small smile, he tried teasing her, “So, you ready to leave, or do you want to do some more sightseeing?”
She scowled, but the anger no longer reached her eyes.
Raising his eyebrows cheekily, he offered Melinda his arm. “Come on, May, let’s get out of here.”
She didn’t accept the arm, but her mouth did twitch with a suppressed smile, so he counted it as a win.
They made their way back outside, where Skye was already waiting for them. She glanced hesitantly at May, keeping her distance. “Uh, about what I said…” she trailed off, looking uncomfortable. “I’m sorry.”
May accepted the apology with a stiff nod. If she noticed the girl stood a lot farther away from her than she normally would, she didn’t show it.
“We found the source of the fire, sir,” Simmons’ voice informed him over the comms before anything else could be said. “It looks like some acid Hydra had stored in the lab down here ate through its container and caused a reaction. It must’ve ignited something, but the fire soon burned itself out.”
“So there’s no danger,” Coulson concluded, posing it as a question.
“I believe not, sir,” the doctor agreed. Her words were followed by Ward stating, “We’re coming up, sir. There’s nothing for us here.”
“Ok,” Phil confirmed. “We’ll meet at the Bus then.” And with that, he motioned for the two Asian women to start walking.
They walked in an uncomfortable silence for a couple of minutes, which was unusual as Skye normally filled any silence with unceasing chatter, before Melinda lost patience and picked up her pace. “I’ll get the Bus ready,” she threw over her shoulder, leaving them in her wake.
Skye let out a sigh of relief.
Coulson took a deep breath. “I know it must’ve been difficult to see the reality of what May does,” he began slowly, “but you must’ve had at least some idea, Skye.”
The girl shook her head, lips pressed tightly together. “I never thought about it,” she admitted. “I mean, I knew she was- you know, the Cavalry, but I never thought about what it actually meant.”
Phil squeezed his protége’s shoulder in a similar fashion to what he had done to Melinda earlier. “I’m sorry you had to go through that,” he apologised. “Had I known what was in there…”
“Did May know?” the girl asked. “Did she know no one had cleaned up after her?”
“I don’t think so,” he answered truthfully. He didn’t think Melinda would ever expose the team to something like this on purpose - or even expose herself for that matter. It must’ve been just as hard for the stoic woman as it was for the others to see the aftermath of one of her missions.
“I’m scared,” Skye whispered suddenly, interrupting his thoughts.
“What?”
“I’m scared of her, AC,” she repeated in a small voice. “I don’t want to be, but someone who’s capable of that-” she stopped speaking, taking a shuddering breath.
“They weren’t good people, Skye,” he tried to soothe the hacker. “May only did what she had to do to save Romanoff.”
“I know.”
“She only ever does things to save people,” he continued. “That’s what the legend of the Cavalry is all about - not about the bodies she leaves behind, but about the lives she saves.”
“I know,” Skye repeated, though she still looked apprehensive. Coulson figured he’d done all he could for now. The young girl needed some time to collect her thoughts and come to terms with the new reality.
He didn’t see May at all until everyone was back on board the Bus and they were in the air. He went to the cockpit, hoping to get a feel for how she was faring. She was hiding behind her aviators, staring stonily at the horizon.
“You doing all right?” he asked softly, sliding into the copilot seat, feeling like it was the hundredth time he had asked that question in the last twenty-four hours.
She was silent for a long time, and he was starting to think she wouldn’t answer him, when she finally spoke. “They saw the Cavalry,” she said, her voice not betraying any emotion. “They saw what I’m capable of, and now they’re afraid of me.”
“They’re not,” he denied quickly, but Melinda only snorted.
He sighed. “Well, I’m not afraid of you,” he insisted. “I know that you’re actually all soft and cuddly on the inside.”
“Right,” she deadpanned skeptically.
Coulson grinned at her, leaning close and whispering in her ear, “Seriously, all fluff.”