Darkness

Return

It had been two years since Daisy had died. To the day. The mood around the base was solemn; even Simmons, who usually tried to remain cheerful, was upset. Coulson understood. They had lost a close friend, and it still felt recent to all of them. He hadn't seen May, Lincoln, or Fitz all day. He assumed they had all taken off to deal with their grief in separate ways. He was snapped out of his thoughts by the door opening. May came in. She said quietly, "Phil... I have something to tell you." He was instantly worried. She sounded almost... Scared. He replied, "Melinda, what's wrong? Is everything okay?" She responded, "You tell me." She handed him a photograph of a young woman he vaguely recognised. May said, "It's her, Phil. It's Daisy." It clicked. It really was her. She looked different, but he could still tell it was her. He hesitated before responding, "When was this taken?"
"Two days ago," May answered, a grim look on her face. She continued, "Somehow, she's alive. And she's a killer, Phil. She's been connected to over one hundred murder cases in the past four months alone." Coulson, shocked, replied, "It can't be her, May. She must have been brainwashed, or something. Daisy would never..." He trailed off. After a moment of silence, he said, "Lincoln. Has he left the base?" May nodded and Coulson continued, "That isn't good. She could go after him." As if on cue, they received a distress call from Lincoln, telling them he was being attacked and needed backup.

Lincoln had been cornered. There was nowhere for him to run, and his attacker was too strong for him. He had already gotten a powerful hit to the shoulder, and didn't want to make it worse. The attacker pinned him to the wall and carefully placed a hand against his chest. He felt his entire body begin to vibrate. He recognised the attack. It was almost identical to... It couldn't be. She had died two years ago. She suddenly stumbled back, her hood falling back away from her face. He recognised her instantly. It really was her. Somehow... Daisy was alive. But something was wrong. Tears streamed down her face, and she had a look of pure confusion in her eyes. And hatred. She was angry. Whether it was directed at him or something else, he didn't know. He realised that she recognised him, somewhere deep within her mind. She stepped towards him, snarling, "Who are you? How are you doing this?" He took a cautious step towards her and said quietly, "I know you remember me, Daisy. We were in love. The- the sky's the limit, remember?" She cocked her head to the side. He knew she remembered. He smiled and murmured, "That's it, Daisy. You remember me. G- good job." He took another step forward towards her. As he did, he heard the sound of a small jet passing overhead. SHIELD was there. But Daisy didn't hear. He could see the pain in her eyes. She was scared and hurting and he didn't know how to help her. He reached out a hand to her and murmured, "Daisy... You're safe now, okay? Whatever they did to you, it won't happen anymore. I won't let it."
Suddenly, he heard an ICER fire. She collapsed. He caught her and carefully picked her up, making sure not to harm her. They rushed her back to the base to make sure she was okay.