A/N: Oh my gosh, thank you so much for the positive encouragement after the last (pathetic) update, I can't believe anyone is still following this story after so much time had passed. I APPRECIATE YOU SO MUCH! I was inspired by those comments to take another crack at the "lost" chapter, and I'm much happier with it this time around. So here it is... Chapter 13 of More Than a Prediction!

Action inside the Kwoon Combat Room was furious as cadets and rangers sparred. The viewing galleries were full of visiting scientists, Doctor Banner nodded in greeting at a number of his own neuropsychs when he stepped in. Movement caught his eye from a dimmed corner, Marshall Coulson was waving him toward a door at the back. Banner followed him, entering a small private room with a prime view of the mats.

"Your own private box?" he teased smoothly as Coulson shut the door behind them.

"One of the many perks of being Marshall," Coulson replied drily. "I also get a double-wide bunk and extra dessert on Pudding Nights. It's good to see you again, Bruce. It was a big surprise."

Dr. Banner gave him a quirky smile in response, and sat down in front of the wide window. "Surprised myself, to be honest. Good to see you as well. It's been too long."

"I didn't realize you were on the West Coast."

Banner laughed. "I wasn't! I was in Calcutta. They pulled me out of bed to patch me into your neural feed. I was on the next flight out. I flew commercial for this, Phil."

The marshall nearly choked. "You, a man with breathtaking anger issues, got on a civilian flight? I'm surprised you didn't bring the whole tin can down into the Arctic."

"It was close, I was in economy. Luckily they were generous with the pretzels and I brought a good audiobook."

The marshall sat down beside him, watching the martial art on display below them. Ranger Simmons had arrived, stripped down to shitabaki and a tank top, and was stretching in a corner. With his eyes fixed on her, he spoke quietly. "Bruce…. I heard that Betty married General Talbot. I'm sorry."

Banner was silent for several beats. "Well…. yeah. Let's face it, her dad was never going to forgive me, was he? At least Christmas dinner won't be awkward with Glenn, they can be best buddies and talk about Kaijubusters while carving the turkey together." He cleared his throat and gave Coulson a sideways glance. "And on that note, I'm sorry to hear about Audrey."

Marshall Coulson rolled his eyes. "'On that note'….? Really? Subtle, Bruce. Real smooth."

Bruce chuckled. "Hey man, I've been off the grid a long time. Cut a guy some slack."

"So hey, about that. Calcutta? Why?"

"Maybe I'm just really into yoga and Bollywood."

Phil snorted. "Yeah, right. Okay then, Maharishi Banner, what brought you back, really? You didn't jump on a 20+ hour flight in your pyjamas just because my rangers had some pretty bridging data."

Banner's chin went up suddenly. Coulson followed his gaze and saw that Skye and Ward had entered the combat room together. They were stepping in unison, heads tracking the same movements among the other people in the room. Phil wondered if they were even aware they were doing it.

"Don't play dumb with me, Phil," Dr. Banner's voice rumbled slightly. "I know you still follow my studies, you've got Barton and Romanova on your payroll. You know exactly what's going on here with those two." He stabbed a finger out towards the Antares crew and pursed his lips. "They are ghosts, aren't they, Phil? What am I going to see, here?"

Ward and Skye were stretching in synch now, with Simmons hopping up and down, chatting animatedly, beside them. The two men solemnly watched them. "You tell me, Bruce," Coulson eventually replied. "You're the expert."

They watched in silence. The training clerk had handed out bamboo shinai swords and the rangers were already running through their kata. The clerk was gesturing at various cadets. In very short order, Simmons, Skye and Ward were back-to-back in the center of the room with a ring of cadet kendoka surrounding them.

"Kakari-geiko!" shouted the clerk loud enough to be heard in the galleries, and a trio of cadets advanced on the rangers. Curt shouts and the clack of bamboo on bamboo filled the air. Bruce leaned forward, elbows on his knees and chin in his hands. He clucked his tongue once, attention pinned on the rangers.

"Three pilots," he pointed out unnecessarily. "Look how fast Simmons is on her kote-bu and do-bu guards, she's feeding off Ward and Skye to cover her flanks. It's tight."

"Ji-geiko!" the clerk announced, and the cadets fell back. The Antares crew broke apart and settled into position as a solid wave of kendoka descended on them. Simmons deftly parried blow after blow, but Skye and Ward were clearly on the attack. In perfect synchronicity, they parted the opposing cadets without effort.

"Ooo, watch this," Banner exclaimed, unable to hold back his enthusiasm.

They were unmatched and unstoppable, acting as one ranger with two swords. The clerk called down wave after wave of cadets and eventually other rangers, dashing them against Skye and Ward's swords like water against rocks.

Sitwell and Peterson were unable to initiate strikes before the Antares crew had them tagged out. Amador and Blake stepped up next, with Ward and Skye scoring head shots on both and Jemma jumping in smoothly to finish up with twin nuki-waza counterattacks on each. Felix gave them a flat stare while Akeela hissed angrily.

And thus it went. The Koenigs faired no better, even May and Hill lasted mere seconds against the crew of Antares Redoubt. It wasn't until Natasha and Clint stepped into the arena that the air changed palpably. Ward inhaled deeply with a wicked smile, and Barton winked at Skye.

"Don't wreck my hair," Natasha cautioned… and a storm erupted.

Shinai moved so quickly they were only a blur, bodies twisted, leaped and twirled in mayhem almost impossible to follow. The entire Kwoon Combat Room held its breath. Jemma stumbled, landing roughly at their opponents' feet with two matching tsuki-bu blows at her throat.

"OUT!" shouted the clerk, and Simmons scurried off the mats. Arrow Zulu's pilots turned to Ward and Skye, identical grins on their faces.

"Bring it," Ward growled, and both Romanova and Barton launched at him.

Shikake-waza met oji-waza, strikes met blocks, counterattacks followed every blow and parry. Skye's thick hair had come loose from its ponytail, it whipped furiously through the space, blinding Ward for a split second. It was enough for Barton to knock his sword out of position and Romanova to lunge in with a sharp snap to his wrist.

Ward gasped in pain, his eyes flying to his partner. Skye was pale, her teeth clenched together. He grimaced, noticing the red welt appear on her left wrist, wondering if anyone else heard her bite off her own cry. Quickly he moved back into an attacking position, advancing with renewed vigour. With a shout, Skye jumped in off his flank and rained blows down on their opponents from his guarding side.

"Bingo," Dr. Banner breathed from the viewing gallery. "Holy shit, Phil."

"What do you see?" Marshall Coulson asked calmly.

"Her wrist. I see a Scenario 12. Fuck me. You found them. You found a Scenario 12, didn't you?"

"I think so," Coulson nearly whispered. "I wasn't sure, I figured you would know for sure. But Whitehall…. why did you bring Whitehall with you? Who is that guy?"

Bruce cursed and ran his hands through his dark hair. "Oh sure, like that was my idea. Screw that guy and his bullshit research. PPDC brought him in from that weird think-tank in Dresden, the one with the red skull logo on everything."

"Oh, them," Phil nodded. "They built Hydra Slingshot, Ward's old Jaeger."

"Ha, no wonder he was salivating on the Jumphawk over here. You can tell which scientists he brought with him, they all have those stupid red skull lab coats. And pens. And clipboards. Seriously, for a research lab, they went crazy with the branding. Watch that guy, Phil. He's got some strange ideas and a lot of friends at PPDC. He'll pull your ghosts to pieces if he gets the opportunity."

Coulson's blood ran cold and he looked at Bruce in concern, but the doctor's attention was still fixed on the arena. "Holy shit, these rangers are still at it," Banner idly commented.

"Bruce," Coulson started slowly, "Tell me more. Tell me what….. what the hell?"

Coulson trailed off as the room started to shake, building in intensity. Banner stood up in alarm and grabbed at Coulson's arm.

"Whoa!" Bruce yelped, trying to keep his legs steady as the tremors grew.

"It's probably just an earthquake," the marshall assured him. "Move into the doorway, we'll be fine. Welcome to California, Bruce."

Down in the combat room, the rangers and cadets had moved to the safe areas as well, everyone except Ward and Skye. For some unknown reason, Skye was frozen in the middle of the arena, arms outstretched, her eyes wide and unfocussed. Ward had dropped his sword, both his hands tightly grasping Skye's wrists, a look of total and utter panic on his face.