Authors Note: Hi everyone, with all the recent Skyeward baby fics out there I totally want to hop on the baby bandwagon, but I thought I would add a little twist to be different. Also, I haven't forgotten about Playing Secret Agent. It is just on hold for the time being. :D

Summary: Sometimes if you get to someone early enough you can save them from themselves. Perhaps this is what Director Coulson had in mind when he sent Agent Alexander Ward into his parents's past on a dubious assignment.

Once a Hero
Prologue

April 20, 2041— The Apex

Alex opened the door to the laboratory and his glasses steamed up.

"What are you standing around for? Get in here already!" An arm yanked him through the threshold and damn near knocked his spectacles off the bridge of his nose in the process. He wiped them in his shirt and squinted at Ellie.

"Something I can help you with, Elle?" He huffed half in annoyance, half in exasperation.

The brunette looked at him pointedly. "Alexander Philip Grant Ward," she scolded. Her accent was a pleasant mix of proper English with just a hint of Scottish lilt. "Do you know what time it is?"

Alex winced. "Half past," he offered sheepishly.

"And what time did I call you down here?" She rounded on him.

"Six-ish," he shrugged. He had been waylaid somewhere between the Navidson records and proofing the newest batch of security protocols for The Freezer. In the grand scheme of things what was thirty minutes, really? He started to explain this to Ellie, but she didn't seem to follow his logic. Damn, she looked ready to throttle him.

"Six o'clock," she corrected and her voice rose an octave. "Not 6:05, or 6:20—six o'clock!"

"At ease, Dr. Fitz. I'm sure Agent Ward had a good reason for being late."

His head shot up. "Director Coulson, sir." He breathed and murmured an apology that the elderly man dismissed with a wave of his hand.

"Be on time in the future," Coulson warned in the tone that always made Alex wince.

"Yes, sir."

Alex glanced at his godfather who had turned his attention back to Ellie who was typing something furiously into a large computer screen. She leaned forward in her chair to let Coulson squeeze past her into a narrow observation area flanked with plexiglass. He motioned to Alex to follow him.

"Incredible, isn't it?" Coulson pressed a finger against the thin glass partition, peering out into the empty space beyond. Alex knew better than to regard the small, windowless room as anything other than remarkable.

"It's something," he agreed, training his gaze on the one identifying feature of the room: a coat of arms etched in the frosted glass. It was the same emblem displayed on his badge: a four-pointed heraldic shield emblazoned with a rising phoenix. It's head was facing dexter and upturned with wings raised as if paying homage to its eagle predecessor. The words 'Domestic Protection Division' curled in a downward arc under the furthest point of the shield.

"I'll admit, it does nice ring to it—D.P.D.. At least it's easy to say," Coulson mused.

"Still sad our initials no longer spell out S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Alex quipped, knowing full well that Coulson kept an extensive collection of old S.H.I.E.L.D. memorabilia in his office at The Apex.

"A little," Coulson sighed before his lips curled into a smile. "But personally I'd rather us not be branded terrorists by the United States government."

"Yeah, that'd certainly put a damper on what we're trying to do around here." Alex shifted uncomfortably on his feet, at 6'3' he dwarfed over Coulson by a good five inches.

"S.H.I.E.L.D., D.P.D.—we took a vow when we got into this racket to protect others from harm. What we call ourselves while we're doing it shouldn't matter." Coulson huffed and rolled his shoulders in a slight shrug. "Thirty years ago we thought we knew everything, but you know what Alex? We're still ironing it out—and I'm okay with that. The first step in solving any problem is recognizing there is one and that's what we're doing."

"So why'd you really call me down here, AC?" He let the old nickname slip passed his lips out of habit and Coulson did little to correct him.

"I want you on my team."

"Sir," Alex looked at him as though he had grown an extra head. "You don't have a team anymore." At least not since S.H.I.E.L.D. had disbanded. He explained this with a careful patience, concerned that the years were catching up with his longtime friend and mentor.

"I'm not going senile, Agent Ward." Coulson chided. "I have an assignment for you—using The NET." He once again gestured to the expanse beyond the glass.

Alex swallowed. Only senior high-ranking agents were granted access to it and even then, it was rare.

The Neutron Extratemporal Tesseract colloquially dubbed 'The NET' was a displacement device originally developed by S.H.I.E.L.D. turned D.P.D. scientists: Dr. Leopold Fitz and Dr. Jemma Simmons in the early 2020's. It utilized neutron radiation in addition to a tesseract fuel cell to temporally displace anything that came in contact with it for a predetermined period of time. Coincidentally, 'The NET' was also a highly accurate description of the web-like diffraction pattern that was produced as a result of high energy particle collusions that occurred during the staging phase of its activation. Knowledge of The NET's existence was not widely known and Coulson reserved its use for dire situations only.

"It's just a simple recovery mission, Agent Ward." Coulson reassured as he ran his hand along the dark grey chevrons embroidered in his tie, his fingers smoothing out the creases absentmindedly. "I just need you to retrieve some old S.H.I.E.L.D. mission files on an encrypted hard-drive we lost a long time ago. Nothing to it, really."

He didn't say what for. Alex knew it was none of his business and D.P.D. was a hell of a lot better at full disclosure than S.H.I.E.L.D. had been, but it made him nervous none the less.

He snuck a glance at Ellie who appeared distracted by the screen in front of her. Her hair was pinned into a loose ponytail that hung across the back of her lab coat. She didn't look at him, but he could see her chewing on her bottom lip like she always did when she was nervous.

"With all do respect, sir. I'm not exactly a high ranking field agent." Alex hedged, unsure how to continue.

"I know," Coulson told him gently. "But, you're the only one I can trust with this."

Ellie frowned at the display screens. "Not to rush you, sir. But, we don't have much of an alignment window if you're gonna do this."

The older agent sighed. "This is your call, Alex."

"You really think you need to ask, AC?" Alex returned dryly. The man had done enough for him and his mother that Alex would follow him to the moon and back if he had asked it of him.

Coulson nodded solemnly. "Get in, befriend my team, get the data, and get out. Understand?"

Coulson handed him a thin leather wallet, not unlike the one fixed to his hip. He flipped it open, studying the silver disc inside—a volant eagle guarding a three pointed shield was beveled across the polished face. The ID card accompanying it displayed the exact same photo as his own badge, but the credentials had changed:

'S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Alexander Philip Grant—Level 7 Specialist'

Just the prologue for now. The actual chapters will be much longer. I am partially holding off because I have an idea where I want this fic to go, but the entry point where Alex initially ends up in the AoS timeline is still up in the air. Where would you like to see him?

A: 1x08 when Ward is suffering from the effects of the staff

B: 1x19 when Ward has defected to Hydra

C: 1x13 after Skye has been shot

D: 1x10 after Coulson is kidnapped

E: Other ideas?

I am also open to scenes you would like to see. I am planning for a ton of Skyeward, Fitzsimmons, and perhaps some Coulson/May?

Please Review and I will Update :D