Morning after

Disclaimer: none of the characters are mine, but belong to their appropriate owners.

Note: this story contains some spoilers for the official series.

Lance Hunter was awakened by sun shining outside through a window, and by tropical birds singing loudly and proudly. He woke up, and fell sore all over – and rightly so.

"Best, night, ever!" Kara Lynn sang in her happy voice, even as she pranced and fit on various clothes and faces. "Thanks there, lover boy, you really helped me out here. How much do I owe you?"

"You don't owe me anything – me and Phil have come to meet you in order to have your friend help us find Skye," Lance said with a cringe, as he remembered the disaster that it turned out to be – hopefully, Deathlok had been able to help Coulson in time. "Seriously, if you have just listened to us-"

"Why should I have?" Kara Lynn turned to Hunter with a childish pout on her face, but the words she spoke sounded anything but child-like. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has left me behind when I was down – why should I care about it now that I am climbing back up? S.H.I.E.L.D. has left me on the curb because I was not important enough – and that bitch Melinda May has taken my face! My face! If I ever meet her again, I will take hers!"

"Okay," Lance said cautiously, "this is a goal, I suppose." In truth, he had nothing – Coulson was thinking mostly about Ward, how dangerous and reluctant he might be, and ex-agent 33 had been largely overlooked...and this is where everything has gone wrong. "Can I be untied?"

"I don't know," Kara Lynn confessed, "I'll probably wait until Grant gets back to see if he wants a go with you first. Maybe he is gay, you know? After all, I am ready and willing, and he doesn't honestly care about my face – got me the ointment for the scars and all..." Her voice grew soft and quiet and confidence seemed to leak out of her. "What do you think?" she turned to Lance.

"Think about what?" Grant replied instead, joining his partner and the mercenary in the room.

"Grant! You're back!" Kara Lynn squalled in genuine happiness. She gave him a hug and stiffened. "You smell of smoke."

"Yes, our new friend of Hydra had – well, has – a penance for fire and the like; big hairy men too," Grant grimaced. "Who's your date of month?"

"A month? No! He won't last that long!" Kara Lynn shook her head. "Besides, he works for S.H.I.E.L.D. –"

"Screw 'em-"

"He wants us to find Skye-"

"Well, she's not with us," Grant faced the other man, all traces of humour gone from his face. "She has shot me, and showed that she wants no part of me, so why would she be with me and Kara? That doesn't make sense!"

"We know that!" Lance protested, suspecting that Grant just might have a go at him – but it will not be a sexual one; rather one that involves sheep shears or something like that. "Some bloke without eyes took her; a semi-alien one, similar to Skye herself and Raina. We need you to find this fascist frog, or Hydra, Dr. List- Tell them, Phil!" Lance stopped his babbling, even as Coulson, backed by Deathlok, came into the room.

"Tell us what, Phil?" Grant said in the same sort of warm and friendly vocal tone that Kara Lynn had used last night while explaining to Lance that she was going to drain him dry – and she did. "We're listening." He wrapped up his sleeves.

"We need you to find us this person, List," Coulson reluctantly thrust a photo towards Ward. "This is one of the last high-ranking Hydra personnel who are still at large."

"Aha," Grant nodded, before going out of the room, and returning in a few moments with a woman, generally similar to the local populace, but with bright chestnut hair and matching eyes. "Is that her?"

"Dr. Qahira List?" Lance Hunter spoke up from his prone position (though the others would rather keep him quiet.

"Yes?" the woman grouchily, before looking in his direction – and taking another look at him.

"We need you to help us find a bloke with no eyes, who kidnapped a friend of ours," Lance continued gamely. "You wouldn't know someone like that, would you?"

"No, not personally, but by hearsay – yes," the aforementioned Hydra doctor said thoughtfully, even as she rubbed her chin. "Do we need to discuss it here, or can we go somewhere more private?" she added meaningfully, indicating the approaching police sirens, resonating from the outside.

"Yes, let's," Coulson said with a sigh, and so he and his new team up and left in search of Skye and her eyeless kidnapper. And then they returned and untied Lance and took him with them, half-carrying him, for after a night with Kara Lynn he was numb all over. And then they all up and left in search of Skye and her eyeless kidnapper for real.

End