Chapter 1: Homecoming

Continuity Notes: For AOS, this takes place at the end of Season 2, between the scene of Skye getting her Secret Warriors assignment and Simmons disappearing. (Even though Skye calls herself "Daisy" in that one scene, Simmons is still calling her "Skye" when she returns, so I assume Daisy is still mostly going by "Skye" for a little while.) For DD, it's between Seasons 1 & 2. Enjoy!

xXx

Skye always knew that her past made her the person she was, but most of it only lived in her memories. She had the hula doll that once lived in her van, but even that van was gone now – impounded when the US government start seizing SHIELD bases. A lot of that purging was by design. No baggage, no attachments, no pain when things got left behind.

That didn't mean she didn't keep tabs, on the people and places that once meant something to her. For instance, she knew that Miles Laydon, her hacker ex-boyfriend, was currently doing time in Travis State Jail after getting caught stealing someone's credit card information. Similarly, Saint Agnes Orphanage stayed on her radar, and she always sent a few presents during their annual Christmas drive, or money when she wasn't broke.

It wasn't that she enjoyed her time there. Really, she hated every second, with the nuns and the rules and the bleakness of the place, all constantly overshadowed by a looming feeling of worthlessness. She was there because no one wanted her, no one could ever love her. At least that's what she thought at the time. But the important thing was that she didn't want any of the kids there to feel like she did. She wanted to know, to some extent, what went on in that little corner of the world, and what she could do to make it better.

It was still a tad jarring when she strolled into the gym and heard Piper and Davis casually discussing the home of her youth. Her different worlds weren't allowed to collide like that, or when they did, it always meant bad things. There was that time that SHIELD itself detained Miles for matters unrelated to his current crimes. Then, of course, there were the various run-ins SHIELD had had with her parents.

"What was that about Saint Agnes?" she asked, shedding her jacket and tossing it over a bench. "Are you talking about the orphanage in New York City?"

Davis handed over his phone, which had a video paused on a blurry shot of a building. The title above the video read "Daredevil Saves Orphanage from Ninjas". "Watch from the beginning."

"Davis loves this vigilante stuff," Piper sighed, giving an exaggerated shake of her head.

"And ninjas!"

"Sure. Boys love their ninjas."

Somewhat bemused, Skye scrolled back the video, which had begun after the promised ninja fight was already in full swing. A handful of onlookers had gathered in front of Saint Agnes – yep, it was her Saint Agnes – and most had their phones out, trying to capture the memory of that time that they stood there stupidly watching a man in a red bodysuit duking it out with some katana-wielding dudes in black. "Are you sure they're ninjas?" she asked. "I thought swords were a samurai thing and that ninjas used knives and stuff."

"I don't know about that, but they're wearing black, and look at the way they're flipping around. They're ninjas for sure."

They were indeed putting on a good show, taking full advantage of cars, signs, and everything else in the area as a few tried to hem in their opponent and the others attempted to scale the building. The guy in red (Daredevil, presumably) was doing the same, but he was completely owning them, and he was doing it with far more spinning kicks than seemed necessary.

Skye was reluctantly impressed, watching him duck and dodge and weave around people and then yanking the ninjas off the building, some by hand and some with a long cable that stretched between two red sticks. He was also using those sticks to hit a lot of people in the face while delivering some truly devastating kicks that combined strength, agility, and precision. "Oh, look, he's flipping around again," she deadpanned, downplaying her admiration.

She did flinch when one of the bystanders was grabbed, but it turned out that there was no need to worry, because that ninja soon took a stick to the face, which bounced back into Daredevil's gloved hand mid-backflip. (This backflip was begun to avoid a leg sweep from another ninja, who was soon downed.) "New Yorkers," Piper scoffed as the crowd merely shuffled back a few steps and kept filming.

On the screen, Daredevil spun around, swinging his sticks to deflect two small flashes that were aiming for his back. "Arrows," Davis informed Skye as she squinted, trying to figure out what happened. The comment was unnecessary, as Daredevil then sprang up the side of the building, using mostly window ledges as footholds as he reached his last adversary, who was still uselessly firing a longbow. "It looks like a video game," he enthused, watching the effortless ascent.

She wanted to pause and replay those last few seconds, but she let the rest of the video play out. "Those shots came from above and behind him, and he still knew they were coming and managed to deflect them?"

"I know, right? Guy's got powers for sure."

The rest of the video consisted of Daredevil reaching the archer and unceremoniously chucking him off the roof (fortunately out of sight of the camera) just before the cops finally rolled in, lights flashing and sirens wailing. Daredevil split as the bystanders swarmed the cops to tell them what happened, running between the twitching bodies of half-conscious ninjas. At this point, the videographer started moving, too, and his footage got shaky as he ran. Then it cut out.

"Bad footage," Skye commented. "Weird that it was so dark. I mean, for the city." She shrugged. "I guess the ninjas turned off some lights. Or this Daredevil guy did. Too bad there's not a good look at his face, or even his jawline." Most of his head was concealed by a mask, of course.

"I think he's white," Davis said helpfully.

"Great, that should narrow it down, but I'll see if our computers can make anything of him anyway. Is there any better footage?"

"Not from this fight, but he's been around a while, so you might get something."

This didn't seem urgent, so Skye ran through her morning routine and showered up before hitting the Internet, spreading out in Coulson's office because he had the most screen space. He puttered in eventually, frowning over an iPad and balancing a cup of coffee in the stump of his left arm, which was currently supported by a wide sling. "You'll get wrinkles that way," Skye told him.

"What?" he asked distractedly. Then his mind caught up to what she'd said and his forehead smoothed out. "Oh, I'm afraid that ship has sailed."

"What'cha workin' on?"

"Just some drama with Talbot. And you..." He glanced up at the giant displays taking up most of one wall as he carefully unloaded his iPad and coffee onto his desk. "You're interested in street-level vigilantes now?"

"The theory is he might have powers. I want to check it out, if that's okay with you, boss."

"Go ahead, and take Simmons with you."

"Here's the thing, though: This guy's been around for a couple years, and there's not a single halfway decent video or picture of him. They're all dark and blurry and at terrible angles. I have nowhere to start."

Coulson smiled gently. "Skye, you know where to start."

She released a deep sigh and let her chin fall to her chest. "Guess I'd better get going. Sure I can't take May?"

"Sorry, but she's getting a much-deserved vacation, while Simmons is mostly staring at that old monolith. Anyway, I'm sure you can handle the fighting just fine on your own."

So, he wanted to send moral support with her. Skye heaved herself out of her chair and closed down her work for the day. "Well," she said, "who says you can't go home?"