Title: Lula May

Summary:

Lula May is Melinda May's daughter. Realising that Lula was a mistake, May hands her daughter to her father, away from her dangerous SHIELD life. Refers to the new female character 'Lula May' from the second installment of Now You See Me 2.

AUTHOR NOTE:

This story is based on the new charcter ('Lula May') from the new movie 'Now You See Me 2'. Hope you guys like it.

Chapter 1 - A Mistake

Melinda May didn't know what to do. She was always a very level-headed person. Intelligent, skilled yet mature. She knew what was right and what was wrong. But this? The pink bundle in her arms was a proof of her foolishness. Proof of what she had become in her lust. She can not accept this. It's against her rules. She's not even 21 yet and she already made the biggest mistake of her life that all women tend to make. How could she? It wasn't her. It can't be. She's not equipped and trained to do this. It's a mistake. All a mistake. A mistake that she foolishly made with her long-time friend, Coulson. She shouldn't have. But she needed the comfort. She needed his presence. The warmth of his body against her seemed the right thing to do. She wasn't sure if she loved him but she was sure that the moment he was with her, all her worries disappeared. That one night wasted in drinking and laughing felt like the perfect moment. A moment that she had longed so much. Now that it has come and gone, the consequences are finally settling in.

"I'm so sorry, Lula." She muttered to the infant in her arms. She caressed the soft cheek and held the little fingers in her hand. The baby looked beautiful. Just like her mother. She could already see few traces of Coulson's genes, like the nose and the ears, definitely the ears. Soft and small. They reminded Melinda so much of Coulson. It didn't take long before she was kissing the infant's forehead and then looking up at the large house right infront of her. She has to do this. She has to. It's the best option she has, to run away from her mistake and avoid this responsibility. The job she does, the danger she plays with, the enemies she makes, stops her from keeping this infant... This mistake... Maybe she was being harsh by calling it a mistake but she didn't know what else to call it. Coulson isn't ready to take this responsibility, nor is she. Heck, Coulson wants nothing to do with children. After all they were so young. Still 20, trying to make their careers. How could they take this responsibility? It's imperative that she does this. For the sake of her job and for the sake of herself, she has to do this. Maybe in the coming years, she might change her mind but for now she's not ready.

Maybe it was the cold chill in the air or the sleeping bundle in her arms that made her shiver. Whatever it was, she felt her emotions drain as she knocked thrice on the front door before waiting two seconds and then knocking the fourth time. It was a code. Devolved by her CIA mother for security.

She waited silently, inhaling and exhaling, while tapping her foot in patience. She glanced back at the infant and nearly felt her heart melting. Nearly. Before she gained her control back on her emotions. It was after few seconds when she heard the first click and then the second and then third. Letting the door swing, she found herself facing an elderly man who she hasn't seen since she was 16. The age she left to pursue her career in SHIELD. He looked the same. Four years doesn't really make a difference on him. It was only his small patches of grey hair around the sides that indicated his four year ageing. Other than that he still had that same middle age charisma.

"Melee?" The rough yet soft voice of her father travelled to her ears.

"Hey, dad." Melinda greeted her father, wincing at the childish nickname.

"Oh melee.. I missed you so much. Why didn't you reply back to my phone calls?" Her father asked, not Realising that she was holding onto someone in her arms. How would he? Eye-sight problem.

"Dad, can I come in?" Melinda interjected. Her father nodded and let her in, the door slamming shut behind her. She looked around the warm living room which hasn't changed much. She could see the same Egyptian eye symbol hung over the door. Same old trophies. Same old couch. Same old fireplace. Same old chinese interior. If she knew any better, it felt like she was a child again, desperate to find her father's secrets that he has hidden in the house. Forced to look through many magic tricks that she never believed were true. She could even see the old deck of playing cards that her father used to show his tricks with. She always hated the word magic. It was a unknown variable that she never understood.

"Oh melee, your mother was so worried. I was worried. I hadn't seen my baby girl since-"

"Dad." Melinda said loudly, gaining his attention. She didn't have much time. "I've got a problem." She stated as she held out the pink bundle in her arms which was now moving. Lula must be awake.

William May looked at the baby in his daughter's arms. He knew about the presence of the infant from the beginning, but he didn't wanted to address it until his daughter was comfortable. He may be old but his eye-sight is not that bad. He knows a distress look when he sees one.

Melinda watched as her father slowly walked forward and held the infant in his hands. She could see his face brightening as Lula did her first yawn and opened her eyes.

"Oh my... She looks just like you, melee." Melinda tried to hold her smile back but she couldn't. This is the first time she had seen her father happy after he was divorced from her mother.

"Her name's Lula, dad. Lula May."

"Welcome to the family, Lula." The sentence itself knocked Melinda off her hinges. She didn't expected her father to be this easily acceptable of her mistake.

"Dad, it was a mistake." Melinda blurted out, horrid at her own sentence. "I.. I can't take her." She knew she was being cruel but she really can't.

"Don't be like this, melee. She needs you." Her father insisted as he held her hand and squeezed it in comfort. But the simple touch of assurance wasn't enough for her. She can't risk her career for this yet.

"I'm sorry." She said as she pulled her hand away, in the process knocking over an ancient vase that she now remembered was one of the parts of her father's game. Sacrifice. That's whats in the vase. A tarot card representing Sacrifice.

"Sacrifice can be both ways, melee." Her father reminded her, knowing that she remembers the significant of this vase. "Don't choose the wrong one."

"I've already made my decision, dad." Melinda repeated back, looking at the vase and then at Lula. "And it's the right one." With that she moved back to the front door. The sooner she leaves the better. Her father looked at her in shock and sadness.

"Don't be like your mother, melee." William May stated as he cradle the little infant. "Lula needs you." Melinda stopped in her tracks and looked at her father.

"She will learn to be a sacrifice, Dad. Like I have. I'm in the same place as mum." Melinda said before she wrenched the door open, letting the cold air of the winter night come in.

"Melee, please. She needs you." Her father pleaded. She looked at Lula with a growing sadness. She can't do this.

"I.. I can't." Melinda whispered out, shaking her head, holding her tears back. 9 months with the baby has made her attach. But she wasn't ready to sacrifice her career yet. "Please, just take care of her." And with that she left the house and leaving a crying infant in her father's arms.