Summary:Agent Daisy Johnson and her team are infiltrating Sokovia in order to bring in the 'inhuman' Maximoff twins, but SHIELD aren't the only ones interested in the Hydra base. Skye is the last person Natasha Romanoff expects to see drop out of the sky in Sovokia, but the game has changed and the Avengers will need Quake on their side.
The third work in the 'If Skye Had Met Black Widow series'.
Notes:This work may be include mature scenes but I will add a warning before those scenes! Everything else is canon typical 12A content with maybe more swearing.
Chapter 1: What happens in Sokovia...Summary:Nothing can go wrong with the Avengers and a certain someone raiding the same base...
Chapter TextDaisy pressed herself further into the cobbled stone wall as an explosion rocked through the corridor of the Hydra base. Dust rained from the ceiling onto the bedraggled team of SHIELD agents.
"No surrender! No surrender!"
The rallying cry of the Hydra soldiers echoed around them. Hunter made a cross sign on his chest and clutched his gun. Bobbi was ahead, peering around the corner and waiting for assailants.
"I swear I'm gonna kill whoever gave us that shitty surveillance report," Hunter seethed, "Oh we'll just be in an out, secret tunnel under a Hydra base in the middle of bloody Sokovia. They won't even know we're here."
"Not helping, Hunter," Daisy grumbled, peering out the fort window. The base's fortified shield was being pummelled with explosives from an object flying far too fast for her to make out.
"My intel was good," Bobbi defended, running back towards them, "They haven't ordered the attack on us."
"Then who?" Daisy asked.
"The Avengers," Bobbi replied, brushing dust away from her eyes.
"Selfish brutes, the lot of 'em," said Hunter.
The heavy footfall of boots echoed further down the corridor, Daisy readied herself as two hydra soldiers appeared around the corner with guns drawn. Daisy raised an arm and quickly quaked them away. They flew violently through the air before cracking their heads against the concrete floor, guns smashing into the ground.
"Coulson, the Avengers are here what are our orders?" Daisy asked into comms.
"All agents retreat. Do not engage," Coulson ordered, barely audible through the crackle of static.
"Copy that," Daisy replied, before wincing at a piercing frequency emitting from comms. She tore it out her ear before nodding to Bobbi as they backed up the way they came. They flew down winding corridors, taking down three more Hydra agents as they sprinted to freedom. They entered the last chamber, Bobbi quickly pressed on the brick to open the secret door, revealing the passage behind.
A loud sound whipped through the air behind them and something or someone very fast shot past them, knocking Hunter straight to the ground. He bent over wheezing as Daisy and Bobbi hoisted him up to his feet.
Daisy felt the vibrational presence of another person in the room and whipped around just in time to see one of the inhuman twins, her eyes glowing an ominous red. Her hands were crackling with red energy, which she lifted to blast towards them. Daisy lifted her arms to shield against it, manipulating the vibrations around them to create a shield. The red telekinetic energy dispersed before it hit them, but Daisy cried out from the pressure.
"You two go," Daisy ordered to Bobbi as she levelled eyes with Wanda Maximoff.
"No, we're not leaving you," Bobbi protested.
Daisy pushed them away, before sending them through the door with a quick blast. They stumbled back down the passage steps as she quaked a portion of the ceiling. She rolled out of the way as the ceiling collapsed and blocked the entrance with a pile of rubble.
Wanda cocked her head curiously as she watched Daisy from the entryway.
"You are not with the Avengers," she stated.
"No," Daisy replied, "I'm an inhuman – just like you. I'm here to help you."
Wanda, to Daisy's surprise, began to laugh – humourlessly, but a laugh all the same.
"I am not an Inhuman," she said, "and I do not want your help."
She made a snapping motion with her hands, red energy rippling across her fingers. Daisy flew backwards into the wall and barely managing to cushion herself with a quake as she slammed into the floor. She clutched her side, the breath knocked out of her and a dull ache throughout her back.
She pulled herself to her feet, charging toward Wanda. Daisy pulled her fist back and launched it towards Wanda, who managed to block and grab Daisy's arm, but Daisy kicked out and swept Wanda's feet out from underneath her. They both toppled to the ground, Daisy moved to pin Wanda but suddenly she disappeared from beneath her hands.
She rushed to her feet. Afterlife. She was at Afterlife, the familiar red huts surrounded her, statues of random figures and the mountain range in the distance. A cool breeze blew across her face and the sun felt good on her skin. Mack stood alone in front of her, facing away from her in the middle of the empty pathway.
"Mack?" Daisy called out.
He turned around and raised the shotgun axe in his hands, "You're a monster!"
"Mack? What? No," she said, backing away. He raised the gun and she quaked him, sending him flying through the air. Suddenly she was on top of him, pinning him down, sending a quake through his chest. Horrified she looked down at her bloodied palms, this was Mack, what was she doing?
"Skye."
She looked up to see Ward standing in front of her. She scrambled away from Mack, on her palms as she tried to put as much distance between her and him. He was wearing a strange high-necked coat and there was something otherworldly in his gaze. He walked calmly forward, and she was frozen – staring at him, he bent down and cupped her cheek in his hand.
"We share a connection, Skye," he said. She looked past him, May and Coulson were standing there – horrified with her. She moved to pull his hands away and a cross necklace fell out of her palm. She raised an arm and sent a quake blast at Ward.
She snapped back to reality, feeling the blast leave her hands. It shot into Captain America quicker than she had even processed that Captain America was standing in front of her. He flew back and skidded to his knees, he set his jaw as he glanced up and Daisy's eyes widened.
He threw his shield and she rolled out the way to avoid being hit in the chest, taking a minute to clear the fog from her brain. Steve Rogers caught his shield as it magnetised to his gauntlets. He stared her down.
"We have another enhanced in the field," Rogers said into his comms, "Female. Appears to have some sort of earthquake powers."
Daisy pounced to her feet; arms outstretched in surrender.
"No, I'm not-" she started to protest but didn't have time to finish before he advanced towards her. He threw the first punch which she grabbed, but his other fist smashed against her stomach. She doubled over and he grappled her towards him. She threw back her head into his and he released her. She dropped to the floor, sending a quick blast. He flew back and smashed against the wall.
"Sorry," she shouted behind her, sprinting out of the door and down the stone steps. She felt him in pursuit behind her, before something solid collided with her back, sending her tumbling down the stairs. She tucked herself in as May had taught her, landing at the bottom with a few scrapes and bumps but nothing too serious. His shield clattered at her feet. He appeared at the top of the stairs and she sprinted to the other side of the room before skidding to a halt at the entrance to an open archway. There was a long drop below.
She worked vibrations underneath her, building up the pressure just as Rogers leapt to the bottom of the stairs. She pushed harder and shot up into the air, leaving Captain America just a speck below her. She flew up and into an arch, breaching the space above the base before beginning to fall down toward the snowy forest below. Her stomach dropped as she fell fast, and she noticed in her peripheral Mjolnir was propelling towards her in the air. She reached out to blast it away from her, but the force jerked her in the air. She struggled to right herself as she plummeted down toward the earth.
On impact, she sent out a vibrational field to cushion her fall, creating a huge blast crater in the snow. She fought to her knees from where she had been sprawled out on the ground, clutching her side that had taken most of the impact. Her gauntlets had held up until the quake jump but her arms were aching with the strain. She heard yelling to her right and grabbed her ICER. Three perimeter guards rushed forward with guns, but she took them out swiftly with her gun.
She just needed to head north to where the Quinjet was cloaked –
"Got eyes on the enhanced, north side."
She whipped around, ICER raised toward the voice. It was Natasha Romanoff, her own gun trained on Daisy. Daisy dropped her gun to the floor, raising her hands in surrender, meeting Natasha's shocked expression with one of her own.
"Skye?" Natasha gasped, mostly confused and mostly in awe. Her gun didn't waver in her hand, but she frowned. Skye's hair was cut short above her shoulders and she was dressed in a tactical field suit not unlike her own, except the silver gauntlets on her arms.
Iron Man flew past in a blur, shooting a taser out of his gauntlets and into Daisy, who jerked violently and collapsed. She convulsed until she suddenly stopped – unconscious.
"Tony!" Natasha cried out in shock, running toward the motionless girl sprawled out amid the snow.
"Oh, I'm sorry, was I not supposed to do that?" Tony retorted, flying away to cause some more explosions.
Natasha reached Skye and checked for a pulse, relieved to find her heart still going steady. She cupped her cheek, and moved some hair out of her face, a nasty gash running down her temple. She bent down and scooped Skye up into her arms, head lolling against her shoulder. She shuffled her in her arms and made her way back to the Quinjet.
She had a lot of questions to ask.
Chapter 2: The name's Johnson. Daisy Johnson.Summary:The Avengers have some questions for the mysteriously powered individual.
Notes:This is Daisy pre-season 3, because events move fast in S3 and she'd unlikely have the time for fighting Ultron. Some events and pieces of information like the ATCU are probably not entirely accurate to the timeline of the show but it's as close as I can get whilst moving the story along! Also, yes I know that apparently the official acronym for ATCU is Advanced Threat Containment Unit but Alien is more accurate anyway.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextNatasha checked Skye's pulse as she adjusted her in her arms. She ascended the ramp to the Quinjet, Skye's head gently knocking under her chin and hair tickling her neck. She caught eyes with Steve, who stood at the top of the ramp to count them in.
She was the last to arrive back - Thor was hovering over Clint on the medtable, Tony was readying for take-off and Banner was sat in the corner listening to calm opera - or something.
"You know her?" Steve asked, gesturing to the girl who had attacked him, cradled in Natasha's arms.
"Previous work colleague," Natasha answered, manoeuvring Skye into a seat on the jet, buckling her in to prevent her from falling out mid-flight. He pressed the button to raise the ramp and watched Natasha with crossed arms.
"Care to elaborate?" Steve questioned; eyebrow raised.
"Last time I saw her she was an untrained, unenhanced consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D," Natasha explained, reaching for the pair of gauntlets on Skye's field suit. She slid them off, surprised at the bruises evident on the skin underneath and handed them over to Rogers.
"So, she's Hydra?" he asked, frowning as he turned the gauntlets over in his hands.
"Not necessarily," Natasha replied, but reached for a pair of reinforced handcuffs, complete with an obnoxious Stark logo. She locked them over Skye's hands. The Quinjet jolted as Tony lifted them off the ground and Steve safely deposited the gauntlets inside a case.
"You don't think she's one of Strucker's experiments?" Steve queried, "There were two other unknown enhanced in the field with her. Abilities I've never seen before."
Natasha cocked her head as she stared down at Skye, whilst asleep she looked remarkably alike the vulnerable rookie she had met only a few years ago. She could almost picture the memory of the sleeping girl under the stars in the middle of the wilderness.
"She had a clear shot at me back there," Natasha contemplated, "She didn't take it."
Steve nodded and Natasha moved her attention toward Clint, who was stuck lying on the table, pretending to listen to Thor's enthusiastic retelling of his entertaining, but incomprehensible outer space adventures.
**
Daisy's head was throbbing, and she hissed, bringing a hand to her head. She noticed they were definitely restrained, and opened her eyes, wincing at the harsh light of the Quinjet.
"The prisoner is awake," Thor exclaimed, and Daisy's vision came to focus on the literal god standing before her. A quick glance around the room told her she must be in one of Stark's Quinjets. At least someone had thought to buckle her in. She could probably quake her way out the restraints, but that didn't seem like a good idea on a jet full of Avengers.
Black Widow joined Thor; arms crossed over her familiar black field suit as she stared down at her, expression unreadable. Her hair was cut short at her shoulders too. She was caught off guard - it had been a long time since Daisy had even thought about Natasha Romanoff.
After that quick kiss outside of the café years ago (which was nothing eventful at all really) she was not naïve enough to think that a relationship with Black Widow was feasible, and so had thrown herself into becoming an agent. She had welcomed Ward's advances when they came, and it had screwed her over – bad.
She had taken him to that same café, he had sat in the same seat as Natasha and it had made her sick to make any sort of comparison. Then they had killed Garett, discovered the Playground and she had no time for anything other than training and tackling Hydra. She had known Natasha was safe and working privately with Stark. Maria Hill had confirmed as much.
Captain America joined the gathering number of ogling avengers and she groaned internally, remembering how badly it had gone after she'd quaked him by accident.
"Let's start with a name, shall we?" Rogers asked.
"My name is Daisy Johnson, I'm an agent-" she paused, considering the repercussions this could have on Coulson's S.H.I.E.L.D, "I work for the ATCU."
She saw Natasha frown at the name and narrow her eyes at her calling herself an 'agent'. Lying to Natasha was definitely not the best move, but what choice did she have?
"AT what now?" said Tony Stark, idling over, never one to miss out on a gathering of more than two.
"Alien Threat Containment Unit," Daisy clarified, "We had intel that Strucker had two Inhumans. I was leading a team to bring them in. I didn't intend to get caught in the crossfires."
This was in fact, a half-truth, whilst Daisy was leading a team to get the Maximoff twins, May had been leading a team to retrieve Loki's sceptre. She could only hope they had made it out.
"Inhumans?" queried Natasha, "I don't know the word."
"It's not public knowledge yet," Daisy said, "At least not by name, but you must have seen the reports? Mysterious people with powers popping up across the globe?"
Natasha shared a glance with Rogers.
"There has been an increase in reports of enhanced people," he admitted.
"Well," Daisy explained, "Inhumans, like me, are people who share specific alien DNA and, when exposed to a substance called Terrigen Crystals, can evolve in a process called Terrigenisis and gain powers."
Natasha was listening with rapt attention, face betraying no hint of surprise. Daisy wondered what she was thinking.
"Terrigen crystals are illegal," Thor interjected, face marred with a deep frown, "The Kree failed to create their abominations. Asgard made sure of it."
"Lady Sif came to Earth after I activated a Diviner in a Kree temple. Their experiments worked," Daisy proclaimed, looking down at the cuffs, "And you should probably talk to her more."
"Lady Sif was here?"
"Hold up," Stark interrupted, finger raised, "I think we should circle back to the part where you said you were an alien?" He looked Daisy up and down and raised an eyebrow.
"Like, one-tenth Kree," Daisy corrected, rolling her eyes.
"Which is an alien," Stark retorted.
"He's an alien too," Daisy argued, gesturing to Thor, "And I'm pretty sure Banner other there turns freaking green."
"Can you do that?" Stark asked, tilting his head.
"So, you aren't working for Hydra?" Rogers asked before Daisy could defend herself.
"No, I was in Sokovia to bring in the twins. The Inhuman transition can be very overwhelming and the new powers very dangerous," Daisy clarified, "And I'm sorry I attacked you. I was seeing things and I thought you were someone else."
"Apology accepted," Steve said, "You have a mean right hook."
"Could use you on our team," Natasha offered, moving forward to unlock the cuffs. Daisy rubbed her wrists, tender from the slight bruising her powers had caused during flight.
"I should get back to my own team," Daisy protested, "They'll be worried about me."
"Your team?" Natasha asked, eyes narrowed.
"At the ATCU," Daisy added, meeting her gaze with a challenging stare of her own.
"Right," said Natasha, "The Unit focused on Containing Alien Threats. Like you."
"I want you to hang around for a while," Steve said, ignoring the obvious tension between the pair, "Get you checked in on our system."
"You at least need to stay for the after party," Tony insisted, glancing at his smart watch, "Landing in 20."
Notes:Do we think Daisy can lift Mjolnir? Should she try at the party or should it be left unknown?
Chapter 3: Pokey Needles and Bachelor PadsSummary:Daisy is welcomed to the Stark Tower, Natasha wants to keep an eye on her and Stark is about to discover how good at hacking she is.
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter TextNatasha's brow was set in a small frown, her hair covering most of her expression from Daisy's view, the dim light of the Quinjet casting deep shadows under her eyes. Thor's retelling of his extensive history with the Kree faded to background noise as she tried to decipher what Natasha had thought about her lies. Thor had wanted to know how she had met Lady Sif and she knew Natasha had been listening intently, despite watching over Clint.
Natasha glanced toward her, catching her staring and Daisy broke eye contact, fixing her gaze to the floor. She focused on the rhythmic thrumming of the Quinjet beneath her feet to ground herself and prevent the blush from reaching her ears. She turned to Thor but could feel Natasha's scrutiny on the back of head.
"And house Kasius? Piece of work the lot of them," Thor continued, "But I fought valiantly and crushed their hold against the Skrull faction in N-58…"
Daisy lost all focus on Thor when they flew towards the Avengers tower. Skye would have squealed, probably, but Skye would also have been excited to listen to Thor. The sun glinted off the windows of the tower, stretching tall amongst the high rises of Manhattan.
"So cool…" she marvelled, watching the rest of Manhattan around her as Stark made a steep turn. Steve strode over to the doors, hand on a handle to steady himself as he waited for them to land and the hangar doors to open.
"Never gets old," Steve remarked to Daisy, giving her a soft smile. She maintained eye contact, nodding her head in acknowledgement.
The hangar doors opened, and Clint was wheeled out, Natasha hot on their heels as they prepped him for medical care. Daisy stood up from her seat as Maria Hill ascended the ramp – clipboard in hand and face stern. Her face betrayed her surprise to see her there, but she schooled her expression and tilted her head.
"Agent Skye?" she greeted, giving her spare hand for Daisy to shake. Daisy returned it firmly.
"It's Daisy now," Daisy corrected, stepping out of Thor's way as he marched out with Loki's sceptre under his arm. Hill's steely gaze assessed her from head to toe and she shifted awkwardly, crossing her hands in front of her, feeling self-conscious at Hill's analysis.
"I was wondering why Rogers requested an information report on a Daisy Johnson," Hill remarked, adjusting the clipboard in her arms, "I'm sure you'll be glad to hear my search yielded no results. A new alias?"
"Something like that," Daisy replied, crossing her arms. Steve came to stand at her side.
"Daisy works for the ATCU, we picked her up on the mission, she says her team were after the enhanced," Steve said, "What's the word on Strucker?"
"NATO's got him," replied Hill, and turned to Daisy, "What do you know about the Maximoffs?"
"Not as much as I thought I did," Daisy said, "Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Thought they were Inhumans but Wanda disagrees. Pietro's extremely fast, Wanda has some kind of Telekenisis."
"The file says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments, so I can confirm they are not Inhumans," Hill answered, "I'm afraid I don't have much more than that, a more comprehensive list of their enhancements maybe."
"You know about Inhumans?" asked Daisy. Hill raised an eyebrow.
"Hard to ignore when the United States government sanctions a new organisation for the primary purpose of containing alien threats," remarked Hill, "At some point that raises the question of what alien threats the US think they need to contain. At any rate, the ATCU is quite forthcoming about the existence of Inhumans."
Of course they were. Daisy tried not to let that anger show. Of course Hill was on top of the new organisations in play, whilst the Avengers had their heads in the sand. Did Natasha know?
"Steve, walk with me," Hill ordered, turning on her heel. Steve looked apologetically to Daisy.
Steve called out to Banner who took off his headphones, "Take Daisy down to the lab, get her processed in the system."
Banner nodded from his seat and gave Daisy a sheepish smile, "Guess you're with me."
**
Banner led her through the hanger floor, which was impressive expensive to say the least, swish and technology advanced, all polished metal and self-moving parts. JARVIS greeted them as they entered the elevator and Banner made no attempt to small talk with her. They stood in a comfortable silence, which Daisy didn't mind at all.
They reached a vast open plan of the labs. It was expansive and the engineering capabilities looked endless, with all sorts of inventive looking machinery. She knew Fitz would love to get his hands on this. There were shiny polished metal tables and holograms displaying all sorts of programming, which she wanted to get her hands on herself.
Banner stopped outside of his bio lab, Daisy could see Barton inside some machine that looked like it was printing skin. Natasha stood by his side, watching over him and talking to the doctor.
"How's he doing?" Banner asked Stark who stood in the doorway.
"Unfortunately, he's still Barton," Stark quipped before moving to let them through.
"That's terrible," Banner muttered, indicating for Daisy to follow him inside. Natasha's gaze followed them as Banner gestured her toward a metal chair by a table in the corner, giving her a hesitant smile.
"I'm sorry I wasn't listening earlier," Banner apologised, "What was your name again?"
"Daisy," she replied, giving him a reassuring smile as she took a seat, "So what does 'putting me in the system' involve? No pokey needles I hope?"
He pushed his glasses up his nose as he rummaged around in a few drawers, "I'm afraid there will be some (small) needles involved, but I can assure you I'll be as efficient as possible."
Dr Cho was explaining to Natasha how the machine worked as Banner indicated for her to shrug off her jacket. She unzipped it and peeled it off, leaving her in her low-cut tank top underneath. The air was cool against her skin as Banner wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her arm, it squeezed her arm tight and he jotted down a reading before readying a needle.
"I see Banner's already sticking you with needles," Tony commented to Daisy, coming into the room with a tray of drinks on one hand and a small case in another. He turned to Dr Cho, and said sarcastically, "Oh no I think he's flatlining. Might have to pull the plug."
"No, no, no I'm gonna live forever," Barton retorted, "I'm gonna be made of plastic."
"Well, here's your beverage, Barbie Boy," Tony quipped, handing out his drink. He glanced toward Daisy, who winced a little as Banner slid a needle in and began to draw blood.
"How much are you taking?" Daisy muttered, watching Banner swap out one blood tube for another.
"One's for analysis, one's for records," Banner explained, setting aside the tubes before pulling out the needle. He placed a bandage on her arm, ordering her to put pressure on it while he scanned his sample into a machine.
Stark placed the case down onto a nearby workbench, flipping the lid to reveal Daisy's gauntlets. He plucked them out, turning them in his hands as he examined them.
"What are these for?" Stark asked her, weighing them up in his hands.
"My powers can do damage to my arms when I use them," Daisy explained, "Fitz designed these to help cushion the damage and absorb the vibrations."
Stark made an impressed face, whilst Banner held up a cotton swap in front of her.
"Say 'ah'," Banner ordered as he stuck the swab in her mouth. She grimaced but he was done quickly, placing that too into his machine for analysis.
"Well whoever this Fitz is, he's done a cracking job," Tony praised, prying open one of the metal panels to reveal the circuitry underneath, "Could do with an upgrade though, perhaps some Vibranium…" he muttered some other things to himself before chucking the gauntlets back into the box, closing it with a snap.
"If you don't mind, I'll keep these," he said, leaving no room for a response from her before turning on his heels and walking out of the room.
The results from Daisy's tests popped up on a nearby holoscreen and Banner adjusted his glasses, frowning at the structure of the DNA. He spun it around in his hands, examining the unfamiliar genetic markers.
"This is remarkable," he commented, turning to Daisy, "I've never seen anything like this."
Dr Cho, curiosity peaked, came over to have a look and said some very science things to Banner that Daisy had only heard thrown about by FitzSimmons. She shifted in her chair uncomfortably as all eyes in the room fell on her. Natasha came forward too, tilting her head at the DNA structure of the screen.
"So, you really are an alien," she teased, giving Daisy a lopsided grin. Daisy looked down at her fingers and Natasha glanced down, brow furrowing at the hint of bruising around Daisy's wrists and fingers.
"Was this caused by your powers?" she asked, picking up one of Daisy's hands and turning it over to examine. Daisy shrugged, watching Natasha as she peered at the bruising.
"It's not that bad, really," she replied, "Just surface bruising when I landed."
Natasha raised an eyebrow but dropped Daisy's hand, instead lifting her hand up to Daisy's head, fingers ghosting over the area of the wound on the side of her forehead, "You should get this cleaned up."
She rummaged around in a few drawers beside Daisy, coming up with some disinfectant wipe and some medical glue.
"Hey Daisy," Banner called, "Do all Inhumans have these genetic marker modifications?"
"All Inhuman DNA gets changed after Terrigenisis, but it doesn't change in the same way for every person," Daisy replied, allowing Natasha to clean the wound with a disinfectant wipe. Natasha was gentle but thorough and the small marks of concentration in her brow were rather endearing.
"Fascinating," Banner remarked, pulling up his own DNA file to compare the changes against hers.
Clint groaned from inside the machine and Daisy turned her head to look, but Natasha curled her fingers hand under her chin, turning her back towards her. Daisy squashed down the flurry of butterflies that fluttered at the gesture.
"Stay still," Natasha admonished gently, "Barton's fine. He's just upset you're getting all the attention. The little drama queen."
Natasha turned to stick her tongue out at Clint, who flipped her off and continued to sip his drink through his pout. She began applying the glue to seal the wound, her hands were warm against her Daisy's skin. Natasha glimpsed away from the wound for a second and Daisy looked away, catching eyes with Bruce who was leaning against the medtable, watching them.
"You two know each other?" He questioned, fiddling with the tablet in his hands as hovered awkwardly close by.
"I was an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D," Daisy answered, "We met on a mission that went pretty FUBAR."
"I don't remember you being an agent at the time," Natasha scoffed, "I think the term of choice was consultant?"
"Consultant, then," Daisy agreed, rolling her eyes.
Banner nodded and Natasha stepped away from Daisy, who didn't want to admit she missed her touch. Banner stepped forward, bringing the tablet up to Daisy's face, a holo-scan taking a reading off her face. He made her use a fingerprint scanner for all of her fingers, before inputting some data and flashing her a smile.
"You should be sorted into the system now," he reassured, "I'm sure Stark has a spare room for you here."
"I'll take her," Natasha offered, picking up a tablet nearby and examining the tower blueprints, "Looks like Sleeping Quarter 8 is free."
Daisy shrugged on her suit jacket, Natasha's eyes flickered down over her tactical suit, and she smirked, "Love the outfit."
Daisy raised an eyebrow, "It's practical."
"I know," Natasha said. She turned on her heel and Daisy followed her as she led them through the lab. Stark was busy examining the sceptre and ignored them as they stepped into the elevator.
The doors closed and Daisy felt the atmosphere change, like the vibrations of the particles around her had taken on an extra charge filled with tension. Jarvis greeted them cheerfully. Daisy shifted her weight to her right, hands clasped ahead of her. Natasha pressed the buttons to the 81st floor.
"I know you're lying," she stated evenly, keeping her gaze on the doors. Daisy contemplating saying nothing at all, but the pressure of silence felt uncomfortable in her chest.
"About what?" Daisy challenged; eyebrow raised as she turned towards Natasha.
"You don't work for the ATCU," Natasha stated, matching her stare. "You wouldn't work for an organisation run by the US Government that wants to contain people like you."
"You don't know me," Daisy said simply, looking away.
"You're right," Natasha responded, voice cold, "I don't know you, Daisy."
'And I don't trust you'. She didn't say it, but the sentiment lingered in the air.
"You have arrived at the 81st Floor, Sleeping Quarter 8," JARVIS announced, "Please enjoy your stay, Miss Johnson."
The doors opened to reveal a gorgeous open-plan apartment floor, with wooden panels and soft carpeted floor. A kitchen with a sleek island bar and a fridge with a water dispenser – the kind Daisy always thought you only had if were rich. There was a comfy-looking living room, with a matching blue colour scheme. It was obvious there'd be at least one bedroom and a bathroom. It was huge and the impressive wall to floor windows gave her a view thatalmost distracted her from the cold stare of the assassin next to her.
"My floor is just above," Natasha said, "I'll be there if you need anything."
'Or to keep an eye on me', Daisy thought, but nodded in acknowledgement.
"Pepper stocks these rooms with spare clothes and things, in case of unexpected guests," Natasha explained, "You should find what you need, but you can always come to me if you're willing to share."
Daisy knew she wasn't talking about sharing clothes, or well, maybe she was but either way she wasn't inclined to accept.
"I'm good, thanks," Daisy responded, and Natasha took her queue, swiftly turning away and walking into the elevator without a backward glance. Daisy ignored the sinking feeling in her chest as she flopped down onto the sofa, her muscles melting into the soft material.
**
Daisy found the clothes Natasha was referring to – and was currently sat on the sofa eating cereal, enjoying the view of Manhattan whilst wearing the softest black shirt and cargo pants she had ever felt. The shower had been glorious, and the shampoo was some salon-type of deal that made her hair feel soft and silky.
What would it be like to be a full-time Avenger? To go home to a plush apartment, designer clothes and expensive shampoo instead of a cold military base? To fight with superheroes.
Lonely. She thought, already missing Coulson, May, Mack, Fitz, Jemma… God, Jemma was still missing. She should be there, helping to find her and get her back. She should be taking orders from Coulson, not Rogers.
With a sigh she put down the empty bowl of cereal and stood up, moving over to the workstation area where there was a Stark laptop atop the desk. She folded herself into the desk chair, legs tucked underneath her as she fired up the machine.
There was a fingerprint scanner that allowed her access, but a quick scan revealed that all activity was monitored by JARVIS. Although that wasn't necessarily a bad thing…
"JARVIS?" she called out.
"Yes, Miss Johnson?" came the immediate reply for the disembodied voice.
"Activate authorisation access point Skye.net," she commanded.
"My system indicates that a password is required to execute your request for access point Skye.net," replied JARVIS.
"LND6405#21_SML," said Daisy, smiling slightly. It was a cute password really, just her old van's license plate, her age at the time and the letter S for Skye and ML for Miles.
They had worked together to hack JARVIS; Miles had kept Stark running in circles whilst she dug for information on Project PEGASUS.
"Access authorised," JARVIS remarked to her surprise.
They had implemented major red herrings to cover-up the access point, but she had honestly expected him to discover it and close it.
She got to work straight away, sending an encrypted message to both May and Coulson, telling them that she was okay, she was posing as ATCU and awaiting extraction from the Avenger's tower.
Piece of cake.
**
"We need to re-model the programming based on the firing of synapses," Banner said, "Replicate whatever is inside this."
Banner had his chin in his hands, pacing as he examined the hologram of the sceptre's core.
"Exactly," Stark agreed, "Re-programme using code as pulses, have Ultron think in real-time, make decisions based on cause and effect without the need for specific algorithms. It could create new ones based on its own experiences."
"A fully conscious computer," Banner marvelled.
They jumped as an alarm blared throughout the room, the screens surrounding them flashed red, a message displayed across the screen with 'Skye.net accessed'.
"Skye.net access point has been authorised," JARVIS informed them. Stark's brow furrowed.
"Can you get me a read on their location?" he asked. He had been waiting for the hacking bastard to pop up again, keeping the access point open only so he'd know if they tried again. They were good, very good and he either wanted to hire them or take them out of the competition.
"The 81st floor," JARVIS responded.
"Of which building?" Tony answered back testily, flexing his fingers, ready to spring into action.
"This building, sir."
Notes:Hi! Thanks you so much to everyone for your wonderful comments! I should really get into the habit of replying to you all, but know I appreciate every single one of them, hope you enjoyed this chapter xx
Chapter 4: Stark Recruits DaisySummary:Stark recruits Daisy, for better or worse...
Notes:(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text"Lockdown of floor 81 has been initiated," JARVIS announced. Daisy jumped up from the desk, abandoning the laptop in front of her in surprise as a thick shutter came down across all of the windows.
"Please remain calm and await instructions," JARVIS continued.
The elevator numbers were counting down towards her floor as she held her arms up in a fight stance, prepared to fight whatever battle was waiting for her. The elevator slid open and Tony Stark emerged, flanked by a flustered Banner. Daisy knitted her eyebrows together in confusion and lowered her hands.
"You," he said, pointing accusingly Daisy as he walked forward, "You messed with JARVIS. How."
"I was just sending a message out to my teammates," Daisy explained, "Needed it encrypted."
"I mean, how," Tony repeated, "How did you know about the access point? Are you in cahoots with someone?"
"I know about the access point, because I made it," Daisy said, "Years ago. I was young and made some bad choices, hacked into places I shouldn't. I'm sorry."
"You're sorry?" Tony said, looking affronted, "That was one of the most impressive hacks I've ever seen. Took me minutes to flush you out of the code, and trust me," he turned to Banner, "that's good."
Daisy allowed herself a little smirk, "Took me a while to pull together."
"So tell me," Tony said, leaning forward, hand steepled under his chin, "What did a girl like you possibly need to get from JARVIS?"
"Access to information on Project Pegasus," Daisy answered, "I was part of the Rising Tide, trying to expose SHIELD secrets. That's all I took."
"All you had time for," Stark scoffed, "You were good, but I still turfed you out before you could get more than a glimpse under the hood."
"Actually, you turfed out Miles," she corrected, "He was the one running you in circles with the virus. I was skimming your files and hiding the access point."
Tony nodded, his eyes brushed over to the open laptop on the desk and he smiled.
"You thought the access point was still unprotected," he stated, "That's not very smart."
"Not very smart leaving it open."
"Well I did catch you red handed," he countered, and looked down to his tablet, "JARVIS show me the activity log from laptop 5."
A holoscreen popped up from the tablet, displaying no activity from laptop 5 for today.
"You think I don't know how to wipe my history?" Daisy said, crossing her arms, "Look I didn't do anything else. I just sent out a message. You'll find it in JARVIS' code, sent using Twofish encryption."
"You're going to prove that to me later," Tony answered, before measuring her up, "but, I'm going to go out on a limb and trust you. Banner and I have a project that you should take a look at."
Daisy hesitated, "Alright."
"Don't make me regret trusting you," Tony said.
**
Natasha watched Daisy through the window of Banner's lab. Daisy was sat on top of a workbench, tapping away at a laptop as she talked animatedly with Stark. He was talking her through her a hologram of some kind of complex code. Banner was writing down some equations on a whiteboard, occasionally chiming in with their conversation.
"What do you think they're up to?" Clint asked, moving himself off of the damned med table and coming to a stand next to her.
"Nothing good," Natasha replied. Daisy must have done something impressive because Stark looked at her in surprise and zoomed in on a section of the hologram.
"Daisy seems to have made a friend," Clint said. Daisy did indeed look comfortable, working in Stark's presence.
"She's a great hacker," Natasha said, "Course Stark likes her."
"Not just a hacker now eh?" Clint remarked, "Heard she packs a real punch."
"Not quite the Rookie anymore either," Natasha pointed out and cocked her head slightly, "A lot must have happened since SHIELD fell."
"She's still just a kid," Clint said, as Daisy celebrated some kind of success, ducking when Stark playfully threw a rag at her.
**
"I'm working on the programming the synaptic response feedback and I noticed…" Daisy began, looking up from up computer to see Stark was absorbed in the piece of interface. She scrunched up her nose in annoyance and grabbed a grape from the packet she had been munching on.
She threw it and it hit him squarely in the head. He barely flinched and bent down to pick it up before popping it in his mouth and turning to her with a hand on his hip.
"I'm sorry did you need something?" Tony sassed, eyebrow raised.
"Yeah, you said JARIVS had enhanced feedback capabilities, so I was wondering if I could get a model based on his code-"
"Toss me another grape," he interrupted making a grabby gesture with his hands, and she chucked one at him, him trying to catch it in his mouth, "Sure yeah whatever you need." He said through a mouthful.
Bruce put an exasperated hand on his hips when Daisy and Tony got distracted by a grape catching contest. Daisy cheered when she caught the latest one, doing a little celebration dance.
An hour later Daisy was yawning and rubbing her eyes at the laptop, hair ruffled from endless raking through it.
"You should try to catch some sleep, kid," Bruce said to Daisy gently, "It's getting late."
Daisy looked to the clock, seeing it was past 1am already. She sighed, "Alright but you should take a break too."
"You go ahead," Tony said, peering up from over his computer, "We've not got the staff for long so I'm making the most of it."
Daisy gave in to her tiredness and said goodnight, shuffling back to her elevator floor. Tony went straight back to his coding, but Bruce leant against a desk, arms crossed.
"She's good," Bruce remarked, "Smart, capable."
"Whatever you want to say Banner just come out with it," Tony bit back. Bruce sighed.
"We should tell her," Bruce said, "She should know what we're creating Ultron for."
"We'll tell her when she needs to know."
Bruce was not enthused but went back to his work. It will all work out and won't matter anyway.
Notes:Sorry for the short chapter, for some reason I really struggled to get through these scenes, I have some more Natasha/Daisy scenes planned for next chapter xx
Chapter 5: Sparring with EmotionsSummary:Daisy spars with Natasha but do they trust each other?
Notes:Sorry this took so long to update, I'm not abandoning this fic! Life just hits you like a freight train sometimes.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter TextDaisy didn't notice the shifting of vibrations that meant she wasn't alone. All that mattered was her fist pounding against the firm punching bag, the kickback, the tearing of her knuckles. The aching ripple in her shoulder as she jabbed forward.
Pummelling the bag again, again and again.
You're a monster.
She needed it out. She needed the pain, the ache, the burst of adrenaline, forcing out the visions in her head. Mack on the ground. Coulson and May's horrified face. Something nagged at her, something missing, something like grieving. Ward, gloating and smug and so utterly punch-able. Except she hadn't wanted to punch him in her vision. It was disturbing.
She felt the vibrations kickback at her every time her fist hit the bag. The bag swinging with every hit. She needed out. She punched harder. Hook. Uppercut. Cross jab. No space for thinking. Only driving her first forward. Sweat dripping from her brow, her shoulder, her shirt sticking to her back. She needed to punch harder, and harder and harder-
The force of the quake behind her punch sent the bag flying. It clattered against the wall. She stared after it, chest suddenly heaving for oxygen.
"That bag owe you money?" a voice asked. Daisy jumped, fists raised, and turned to face Natasha. She schooled her expression into one of caution, suppressing her surprise at the company. She rolled out her shoulders, trying to ease the ache of the overtaxed muscles.
The gym had been empty at 5am, even Rogers didn't set off for his run until 5.30. She had tried Tai Chi but even that couldn't help her shake off the nightmares. Trip haunted her in her dreams, her vision haunted her when she was awake.
"Just checking out your fancy Avengers gym," Daisy replied, grabbing her water bottle off the ground and taking measured sips.
She suddenly felt self-conscious of the sweat glistening on her skin as Natasha continued to stare, her arms crossed, face beautiful even so early in the morning. Daisy eyed her from over her bottle, she was dressed for a work-out too, although she looked far more combat-ready than Daisy felt. The tight sports bra and leggings suited her too well, and Daisy took another sip of her water to distract her wandering brain. She was an agent in a top-secret organisation and There was nothing between her and the Avenger.
"Well at least that's not the only punching bag we've destroyed in here," Natasha said, breaking eye contact to set up some sparring mats, "Rogers gets through at least three a day."
"I'm sure Stark loves that," Daisy countered, stretching out her legs. Natasha moved over to the table, grabbing herself some wraps. Her impressive arm muscles rippled as she wrapped the cloth around her hands. Her stomach was impressively toned, she definitely had very nice abs. Not that Daisy noticed or imagined what-
"Want to go for a round?" Natasha offered. Daisy blinked and forced herself to look away. She could handle sparring. She wasn't a babbling mess with a crush. She was a trained agent. This would just be like training with May, and Daisy could very well hold her own.
"Sure," she replied coolly, adjusting the wraps on her own hands. The images of the vision were already beginning to fade as her attention shifted to the challenge ahead.
Natasha stood ready on the mat, dropping into a relaxed but ready fighting stance. Daisy joined her, readying herself and settling into the fighting stance engrained in her muscle memory. She could see Natasha calculating, watching, ready. Eyes glinting with the challenge. Daisy observed Natasha's stance, she favoured her left, which probably meant she was right-handed. Daisy fought to steady her breathing, clear her mind, should make the first move or wait-
Daisy caught the fist aimed for her head but grunted in pain as Natasha's punch landed on her stomach. A rush of adrenaline flooded through her as she ducked, swung her fist, avoided a kick to the head. She launched a fist forward, but Natasha caught her arm and twisted it behind her back. Daisy flung her free elbow back, hitting Natasha's jaw. She stamped her foot down hard, twisted, flipped Natasha over her shoulder. Natasha rolled gracefully and sprung to her feet. Daisy launched forward with a fist, faked out, jabbed with an elbow. Natasha caught her elbow in a restraining grip, her chest to Daisy's back, steady breathing in her ear.
Daisy threw her head back; Natasha broke the hold. She ducked, avoiding the swing of a fist and shuffled away, light on her feet. They circled each other. Daisy fighting to calm her heavy breathing whilst Natasha looked barely out of breath. Natasha eyed her, smirked and beckoned her forward. Daisy ignored how attractive the gesture was and sprung forward with a high kick, Natasha blocked. Daisy rained on the kicks and punches, but Natasha twisted and turned and did not leave her an opening. Daisy ducked, swung, got behind Natasha and her elbow was around Natasha's neck and hooked a leg around her ankle and she could win-
The world spun and her back in the mat hard.Suddenly Natasha was right on top of her. A knee was pressed firmly on her chest, wrists pinned down. Her face was inches away, an amused smile on her lips. Her lips did not look kissable at all and Natasha's firm grip on her wrists definitely didn't do inappropriate things to Daisy.
"You did good ribka," Natasha praised, and Daisy felt her shift her weight and she rolled to the side. Daisy missed her as soon as she moved, "May taught you well."
"Thanks," was all Daisy could manage as she pulled herself into a sitting position. She regretted going so hard on the punching bag. It took her a second before she realised exactly what Natasha had said, "but Ward was my SO before…"
Natasha shot her a 'really?' look and the explanation died on her lips.
"I know a Melinda move when I see one," Natasha said, eyebrow raised, "You don't have to lie to me, Skye. I know you're just trying to protect them."
Daisy scoffed, "My name is Daisy, and I don't know what your-"
"I spoke to Maria," Natasha interrupted plainly, seeing the light of resistance spark in Daisy's eyes, "She told me all about the new Director of S.H.I.E.L.D and his merry band of misfits."
"So, she gave away everything, just like that?" Daisy replied, letting the bitterness seep into her voice.
"I asked nicely," Natasha quipped, but her voice grew softer as she continued, "Look I don't know everything that happened after the Hydra uprising, but I know it can't have been easy. Coulson trying to rebuild SHIELD? I think it's noble – stupid, but noble."
"It's necessary," Daisy defended, getting to her feet, "You Avengers just sit around in your cozy little tower with your cocktails and luxury spas, electing to ignore the absolute shit the world is going through until Stark decides something is worthy of his attention. We're out here making a difference, fighting for the people you've forgotten."
Natasha went quiet, face pensive as she stared up at Daisy, "You're not wrong."
Daisy saw the sincerity in Natasha's gaze, "This hasto stay between us," Daisy ordered, "The more people that know about SHIELD, about Coulson…we're too vulnerable."
"I can keep a secret," Natasha remarked, leaning back on her hands. She looked relaxed, made it seem as if discussing a secret organisation was yesterdays' news.
Daisy held her gaze, but said softly, "I know."
I know because I read your file. Daisy didn't say it, but she let it linger between them. She knew Natasha understood because her posture tensed a little and something dark flashed in her eyes, but it was gone in an instant, replaced by an easy smile.
"So, why the new name, Daisy? I like it," Natasha asked, and Daisy sensed a tactic to change the conversation.
"Why does anyone have a name?" Daisy replied, "My parents gave it to me."
Natasha raised her eyebrows in apparently legitimate surprise, "You found them?"
Although it might have been therapeutic to retell the twisted story of last year, Daisy felt no obligation to say anything. Not least when Natasha seemed intent to pry all on her own, anyway.
So she shrugged, tugging on her wraps and missing the comfort of her gauntlets, "It's a long story," she replied, "Want to go for another round?"
She held out her hand for Natasha to take – a peace offering, and Natasha took it with a gracious smile.
**
Daisy was good, Natasha observed. Even though the trained assassin was holding back, she wasn't exactly going easy on her either. She could see the improvement of two years since they last spoke on the girls' stance as she readied for action.
Natasha found herself almost missing the bright-eyed, naïve little Rookie she had protected in France. The girl who treasured her team and had no filter, who made mistakes but only wanted to be accepted. Someone who looked at Natasha without fear, without expectation and maybe even a little admiration. The one she kissed because she couldn't resist that excitable little smile.
The powered individual circling her on the mat, with tense shoulders and eyes that have seen too much, seemed a world away from Skye. This girl, Daisy, looked at her with measured caution, eyes that didn't trust. Natasha knew she couldn't change the harsh reality of time, people changed, people hardened like ships rusting under the constant pressure of crashing wave after wave. SHIELD had collapsed underneath them, somewhere along the line Skye had found her name, found an impressive superpower and learnt to face the world through the eyes of a trained agent. It was unfair for Natasha to expect she'd be anything less.
Still, Natasha could see that beneath the new muscle rippling on Daisy's shoulders and the frown of concentration, she was still…soft. Natasha knew to peel back a person and strike where they were vulnerable. Daisy squared up like a trained agent, but underneath she was still the bold but insecure girl who wanted to save the world. She recalled Daisy's playful interactions with Stark, the way she'd smiled and thrown grapes at the billionaire. People evolved, but their soul stayed the same.
Daisy flung herself forward in a complex kick-combo move but Natasha easily ducked and rolled, hooking a leg around Daisy's ankle to send her sprawling on her back. Daisy recovered quickly and was soon back on the offensive. Natasha studied her body, watching for signs of her next move. Daisy certainly had much more toned biceps and her shoulders looked great in that tank…Daisy's elbow landed on her stomach and Natasha forced herself to concentrate. She grabbed Daisy's arm to throw her over her shoulder, but Daisy anticipated and evaded the move well. Still, when Natasha decided to call it, she climbed Daisy's body easily, using her favourite move to pull Daisy to the ground by her thighs.
She manoeuvred quickly out of the intimate hold, once again pinning Daisy against the mat. Daisy was breathing heavily but chuckled out from beneath her, hair splayed out on the mat. Natasha liked the new hairstyle, it was cute, cropped short.
"May still hasn't taught me that ninja move yet," Daisy said. Natasha smirked, looking down at the girl. Daisy's cheeks flushed. Natasha cocked her head, wondering if Daisy was still just as obvious about her crush on her or if time had dampened that too. Daisy broke eye contact and cleared her throat, shuffling from underneath the pin-hold.
Natasha removed her hold on the girl's wrists and leant back, dropping her gaze from Daisy's face. She frowned when she caught sight of Daisy's stomach where her shirt had rucked up her abdomen. She knelt back, legs still loosely straddling Daisy's thighs. She lightly traced the two bullet wound scars shining above her bellybutton, feeling the smooth texture of the large patch of skin. Daisy, hair still plastered to her face, furrowed her brow but didn't stop Natasha from examining them.
"You should be dead with wounds like these," Natasha murmured, fingers brushing over the scar tissue, "Would've perforated the intestines. Might've survived one shot, but two at close range?"
"I was…basically dead," Daisy said, and propped herself up on her elbows, Natasha still knelt around her thighs, "Shot by Ian Quinn. Twice. I was on life support. Coulson went to the ends of the earth to save me."
"When?" Natasha asked.
"A week after we met-up in the café," Daisy replied.
A spike of fear ran through Natasha, picturing Skye dying – in a hospital bed with two bullet wounds to the stomach. She could barely fire a gun when they'd met, what kind of idiot would put her in a situation where she would take two in a gut? She would have been so defenceless. She would have walked right into Quinn's hands, into Hydra's hands and her team had let her?
"Coulson let you out in the field again?" Natasha demanded, unable to keep the anger out of her voice.
"I went in on my own," Daisy shot back, voice harsh and she could see anger flashing across her face, "He did everything he could to save me. It was my fault for going in there alone. This isn't on him."
"But Coulson was the senior agent-" Natasha protested.
"It doesn't matter," Daisy interrupted, "None of any of that matters now. That SHIELD is gone. You don't know any of what we've been through. What he's been through."
She kicked out, shucking Natasha off from where she had settled, and Natasha let her. Watching Daisy as she got to her feet and turned away to fetch her water bottle.
She wanted to reach out with an apology and began to sift through the right words to say, but Stark appeared to steal Daisy away for his pet project and she missed her chance.
She spent the rest of her workout calculating ways to gain Daisy's trust and told herself it was because of the importance of assessing security threats. Not because fighting with Daisy left her with a sinking feeling that didn't go away, no matter how many punches she threw at a bag.
Notes:For some reason, it was really difficult to map out this scene. The relationship dynamic is so much different now that Daisy has gone through S1-2 but I also want to try and keep the same feel to their chemistry? Like Daisy is still smol bean and Natasha is still protective top, but Daisy is now way more #trauma and I don't want an insta-romance. Please let me know what you thought and if you have any thoughts on the dynamic/what you want to see in the unfolding of the plot!
Will be building up to the party in the next chapter and then soon we'll be back on track with the events of Ultron xx