Another week had passed, which had been more than enough to master his latest ability, which allowed to interface with machines remotely through electromagnetic waves, which had some incredible implications for his tech designs.
That wasn’t the only thing that broke his routine. He was enjoying being a trainer since they had expanded the training curriculum, something he was rather satisfied with, as Skye’s enthusiasm toward their newest item had been spectacular.
She was a dedicated learner, handling everything he threw at her. It was a fun break from his fake house arrest and base construction. She was fun, sexy, and very eager to learn some new tricks in the bedroom.
There was one thing that would have been problematic, that she was extremely nosy, with no respect for boundaries, especially in the digital space.
Luckily, at this point, his technological capabilities had been running in a completely different dimension, meaning anything she hacked had been deliberately left for her to find; and her nosy personality meant SHIELD would never question the possibility of an intentional leak.
Their routine remained fixed. Two training sessions, having lunch together. The only real change was that she stopped using Jessica’s apartment to sleep, and instead regularly ended up in his bed.
In total, two weeks had been enough for her to develop a basic competency with Eight Trigram Palm, at least enough to channel her powers in a limited manner, focusing on three variants. She was able to create a flickering shield enough to hold back bullets, a ranged blast of energy, and a truly devastating direct palm attack.
He wouldn’t want to be its target even with his endurance.
The only problem was that, without the enhanced endurance and regeneration from his Blessing, using her powers caused significant damage to herself; something she was constantly discussing digitally with their science team to find a solution.
They were going back and forth between an engineering solution to help her control, and a weaker super-soldier serum to enhance her body. He didn’t care much other than reading the notes, using them as an inspiration for his own Expert Chemistry talent.
Initially, he hadn’t focused much on Chemistry other than using it to enhance his computers, mostly because he didn’t need it, but he was slowly changing his mind.
For one, he had access to many chemical solutions to empower people. SHIELD databases were like a graveyard of failed super-soldier projects, each eventually abandoned due to side effects. He also had supercomputers he could dedicate to analysis, limiting the actual time he needed to put in.
However, one thing the computers couldn’t replicate was the spark of creativity. And, if he were being honest, he wasn’t exactly the most creative person when it came to coming up with new things.
Even with all his skills and traits, his real ability lay in adapting and perfecting other’s prototypes; which was why constantly monitoring Skye’s communication with Jemma Simmons helped to improve his understanding of super-soldier serums, far more than he had initially expected.
As for feeling guilty about spying on Skye’s private communications, he had none. Skye was trying to do the same … she just failed to realize everything she accessed was utterly fake.
But, just because he wasn’t angry didn’t mean she didn’t reserve punishment … the fun kind.
Today was the day Jemma Simmons and Melinda May were visiting the penthouse. Skye even gave them the access codes without asking him. He could have just changed his digital locks and warned them about respecting his privacy … if the visitors were boring males.
A genius biochemist and a sexy field agent deserved something more entertaining. He knew exactly when they would arrive, just before dinner, which, ordinarily, would have after their training had finished, and ‘training’ had begun.
However, he made an exception. Toward the end of their training, he pushed her against the wall, and started playing Skye’s favorite game … the evil mastermind ‘torturing’ Special Agent Quake with his ‘special rod’.
He wasn’t being arrogant when he assessed his bedroom skills as incredible. Some strategic healing, nice positioning, and it was trivial to make her forget what was going on.
Meaning, when Simmons and May entered the building, they were met with Skye’s loud cries. “I’ll never surrender to you! I won’t betray SHIELD. No matter how much you torture me!” she shouted as he rammed into her tight hole repeatedly.
May would have probably realized what was going on, but luckily, distracting her with a sudden flash of lights that would remind her of a sniper’s rifle had been easy, her spy instincts working against her.
It was something he had perfected while teasing Natasha, and it worked just as well on another legendary agent, Melinda May, a.k.a. The Cavalry.
May was behind. Hearing the shout, Simmons had rushed forward, opened the door, a gun already raised. A gun wouldn’t have scared him regardless, but he had been using his electromagnetic connection to examine their loadout, and knew that it was merely a new tranquilizer gun they invented, called Incapacitating Cartridge Emitting Railguns, or ICER.
Cool name.
“Step away from Skye, you bastard—“ she shouted in panic.
He stood up, his hand already covered in flames ‘reflexively’. Simmons was trained, but she was not a field agent, so she panicked, and shot him in the shoulder. He made a show of falling to his knees, but stayed awake.
After all, his enhanced durability and regeneration was well known.
“Damn it, Jemma! Stop!” Skye shouted as she jumped in front of him, not wearing a stitch of clothing.
“But … you … what!” Jemma gasped.
Skye paused, remembering that she was naked. She hurriedly covered her breasts just as Agent May burst in, her gun raised, but lowered it immediately when she glimpsed the room, understanding what was going on.
He didn’t miss her subtle smile. She was stoic, but she clearly enjoyed anything that would embarrass her junior agents as well.
“Damn it, Jemma. We were … roleplaying,” Skye said, blushing.
He used his flames to heal himself visibly even though it wasn’t needed, and stood up, standing behind Skye to hide his erection, but making sure Simmons got a glimpse. Teasing a shy scientist was fun. “Agent Quake, the correct terminology is training exercise.”
“With live rounds,” May commented, deadpanned, which made Skye’s blush spread.
Simmons, meanwhile, gasped in shock. “Melinda!”
“Ladies, what do I owe this unannounced visit? An emergency?”
May sighed. “Skye?”
“I was going to tell you, then you distracted me with … training exercises,” Skye admitted, her blush growing even more.
He slapped her ass, which sent Simmons nearly catatonic. “Maybe it wouldn’t have happened if you had checked with me before inviting guests to my home,” he reminded her, but he caught Simmons’ gaze while he did so.
May clearly noticed what he was doing, but she merely watched with her stoic expression that expertly hid her amusement. She didn’t even interrupt Simmons’ shock. Watching May’s reaction, he changed his mind about her. She was not a boring agent he had initially assumed. She was a mean prankster as well, which immediately made her more interesting.
But then, he realized it was his mistake. She was a part of Phil’s team, of course she was an excellent seduction target.
Phil the Wingman was once again doing excellently.
“I’m guessing we’re about to talk about something important,” he asked as he stepped away, used one of the gym towels to wrap around his waist, which barely hid the show, aware all three of them were watching. May appreciated the show, Skye was still aroused after their interrupted fun, and poor Simmons was practically catatonic.
He threw a towel to Skye, and she wrapped her body in it.
“So, ladies. Do we have time for a quick shower, or are we dealing with an emergency?”
“A shower is advisable,” May said as she started walking around the gym, taking note of everything.
“Perfect,” he said. “There are some guest rooms one floor down if you want to rest. We’ll be ready in half an hour,” he said, then he grabbed Skye, threw her onto his shoulder, and walked to the connected shower.
“Michael!” Skye gasped.
“You know my principles about interrupting training,” he said. “And, it’s a bit late to act shy with your team, after everything they had seen. And, you need to be punished for not informing me about potential visitors!”
“I—“ she started, but a playful spank and the warm water of the shower broke her complaints. As he slipped back in, she tried to keep her voice down, but she failed spectacularly.
After all, he was putting on a show for the audience. Agent May stayed in the gym, testing the equipment while listening to the show without a hint of shame, treating it as an amusing interlude. It wasn’t a surprise.
She was an experienced field agent, and he suspected that shower sex wasn’t the most extreme thing she had ever seen.
Simmons’ reaction was far more entertaining. She retreated from the gym, but her curiosity got the better of her, and she stayed in the corridor, listening Skye’s moans; unaware that she had multiple cameras watching her.
She was shy and inexperienced, which he normally wouldn’t have found interesting, but she had a certain naughty charm, especially since she stayed to listen rather than running away, her legs brushing against each other with suspicious frequency.
“Tell me. Why do we have guests?” he asked once he finished with Skye, and they dressed quickly. With his habit of burning their clothes rather than removing them, they had kept some spares in the gym shower, which helped.
“Jemma has some ideas about using super-soldier serums to allow me to use my power, and we want to run a few experiments.”
“And you want to do it here, where I can handle any issue,” he said. “Smart.”
“Either that, or you come to us at a SHIELD facility, and I had a feeling you wouldn’t do that.”
“Even before I realized Fury was dealing with a bunch of rebellious agents, I wouldn’t have done so. A snowflake has a higher survival chance in hell.”
“I assumed so,” Skye said with a playful smile. “Now, let’s go meet your team.”
Skye blushed, but said nothing as they left the showers, and she paused when she realized May was still in the gym, meaning she had heard them.
"You look healthy," May said, her voice deadpan, which was intentional.
It made Skye blush even worse. "Y-yeah. I mean … I have been training. Which I have. Because that's what I'm doing here. Training."
"Clearly."
“Let me go pick Jemma,” Skye said, dashing out.
“That was good,” he chuckled once Skye disappeared, not showing any awkwardness after Skye left.
May let a small smile appear on her face. “You can catch I’m joking. Interesting,” she said.
He shrugged. “After spending enough time with Nat, I got better catching that deadpan amusement face.” He paused. “Not to mention, getting better at reading people in general.”
“It’s good improvement over a few months.”
He shrugged. “I’m sure SHIELD already has multiple reports mapping how fast I can learn and improve,” he said.
“Why do you think so?” she said. He didn’t even bother answering, just snorted. “Fair enough. We can be a little obsessive when it comes to documentation. How’s Skye’s training? Real training,” she said.
“Better than I expected. She still can’t use it without a regenerative factor, but she already has some strong capabilities. It helps that Eight Trigram Palm worked better than I expected to channel her powers. I had been expecting to design a style from scratch, which is not as easy as it sounds.”
“Unlike your own style,” she said.
“It’s different when you’re trying to adapt to your own power,” he said.
“How so?” she asked, but this time, he noticed the shift. She didn’t ask that question as a spy subtly trying to get a feel of his personality, but as a martial arts enthusiast.
“It’s like trying to learn how to ride a bicycle, and trying to teach someone else merely by describing it on the phone. It’s worse since the mechanics of her power differ quite a bit from mine. Mine is more conceptual, while hers is more mechanical and less malleable.”
He didn’t hide it, considering he had told far more about his powers to Skye. Nothing they could really use against him, but still useful enough. They discussed the styles a bit.
“How about a spar while we wait for them,” he offered after that little discussion ended.
“I don’t want to be thrown down like a rag doll,” she said, aware of his enhanced strength. “I’ll keep my strength and speed sufficiently low. It’s about technique,” he said.
That made her eyes light up with interest. “Why not?” she said, attacking without warning. He leaned back, letting her swing miss by an inch. He retaliated with a simple jab, but limited to human speed, which she dodged easily.
That triggered a sparring match which was surprisingly difficult, because he made sure to suppress his physical stats below hers across the board. He moved slower, hit weaker, and reacted with larger delays.
Yet, his superior technique ensured that he always had the upper hand, easily parrying her attacks. She was excellent, switching between styles fluidly. When Skye and Jemma returned, she had used about forty different styles and variants.
Unfortunately for her, he matched every style directly, using esoteric but effective counters.
Well, not unfortunately, he decided, not missing her growing personal interest. It was just physical interest and nothing more, but it wasn’t like he was against it. She had the right mixture of sexiness, confidence, and badass competence he found attractive.
She would be bored while Simmons and Skye discussed science, and he could always entertain her.
“Wow, you’re good,” Skye gasped. “Why do we never spar like this?” Meanwhile, Simmons was watching him with a fun mixture of shock, fascination, and arousal.
“Because you are nowhere near good enough yet,” he responded. “You’re just learning the forms. Sparring before you settle on the basic moves doesn’t help.”
“True,” Agent May said, her tone once again calm.
“So, do you guys want me in the meeting, or would you like privacy?”
Simmons blushed as he caught her gaze. “Actually, we would appreciate if you were with us. We have an experiment kit that was about to arrive, and it includes some animal testing. We need to understand how your abilities work with the super soldier serum before we even consider attempting to use it on Skye.”
May interjected. “Before doing that, are you sure you want to take the risk? Helping people use super-soldier serum is a risky achievement. And, we can’t keep it a secret. The connection is too obvious.”
He shrugged. “I see your point, but it won’t be as impactful as you think. I can already keep rich old people alive, which is the worst thing one could possess. Rich old men are willing to do anything to survive.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Simmons said, showing her sheltered optimism.
“Believe me. If it wasn’t known that attacking me would bring the full might of the Avengers and Professor Azure down on their heads, I would have been kidnapped and shuffled to some kind of black ops site, with my healing abilities sold to the highest bidder. There are too many rich old men that would pay billions to stay alive just another year.”
Simmons looked at May, who nodded. “Really?”
“Really,” he replied. “Now, let’s go to Jessica’s office and start working.”
“We’re not in that much of a hurry,” Simmons said. “Agent Coulson gave us a couple of weeks to operate.”
“Yeah, but the sooner we start, the sooner we’ll find the gaps. If necessary, I can order a few specialized tools from Professor Azure.”
That made Simmons’ face shift into joy that carried a strong sense of innocence, like he had just declared Christmas had come early. “Really! I mean, he’s a real genius. The shield drones he produces alone are genius. Then there is—“
Skye poked Simmons. “Calm down, girl. We’re not visiting a toy shop. It is scientific equipment.”
He smirked. “Oh, should I cancel the order I put in for a special reinforced field computer dedicated to hacking, then?” he said.
Skye’s eyes widened. “A field computer. For me?”
“It was, but since you’re not excited—“ he started, only for Skye to jump at him, kissing him hard. “Better,” he said, then turned to Simmons. “Is there a chance I can get a kiss from you as well?”
Simmons’ blush was deep enough that he would have been worried without his healing capabilities. “W-we … I need to bring the equipment,” she said and dashed away.
“That was mean,” Skye said, yet smirked.
“It was also funny,” he said with a shrug. “You can’t bring me the cutest scientist in the world and not expect me to pull her pigtails.”
“You weren’t that forward with me,” Skye whispered as they walked.
“Simmons didn’t just experience a near-death experience that might push her into something ill-advised. I wanted to make sure the attraction was real rather than hero worship that will fade in a day or two, turning our training into an awkward mess.”
That made Skye blush. “You can be surprisingly thoughtful,” she whispered, her fingers brushing against his hand. “It’s cute.”
There was no message about subverting her loyalty. He wondered if it was about her not being a part of SHIELD officially, or the fact that, unlike Natasha, Skye probably didn’t register her emotions as a liability that would force her to make a choice in the future.
Natasha did the moment she felt them, and made a decision, which triggered the achievement.
Though, at this point, he didn’t care much. It was more of a curiosity than anything else.
Then, they moved to the meeting, which he mostly listened, occasionally assisting Simmons with the testing while she tested about thirty different super soldier serum variants, though only a few of them were truly viable.
It was interesting, though he wished he didn’t have to hide his Expert Chemistry. If he could ask deeply technical questions to Simmons — or Jemma, as she insisted on being called after some time — directly, he would have improved far faster.
Instead, he played the interested amateur, lucky enough to ask the right stupid question.
On average, it would have been a boring meeting … but Agent May made things interesting when she sneaked her feet from under the table, playing footsie.
Having three different beautiful women to flirt and tease made the meeting a special kind of fun…