Prologue: A matter of perspective

Daisy made her way through the darkened underbelly of the ship, sliding along walls and slinking through corridors, listening intently as she went. Somewhere in this creepy-ass villain's lair on the high seas, they were keeping Jeffrey Mace. And she was going to save him.

A couple of armed guards darted out at Daisy seemingly out of nowhere, but the suddenness hardly surprised her. It was tough to see much of anything down here. Her arm shot out instinctively and the guards fell quietly to the floor, thanks to the blast of power she'd sent at them.

Allowing herself a small smirk of satisfaction, Daisy stepped over their prone forms and found the next door. She heard a muffled voice and the sound of a chair moving slightly, its legs scraping the floor. Pushing the door forward with her shoulder, she held out her gun in preparation for whatever might await.

Alone in the room, Mace looked up in total surprise at her arrival, his face lighting up for a split second before his expression turned dour.

"You shouldn't have come," Jeffrey said a little hoarsely, then coughed. He was tied to a chair clad in only his pants, and the place was freezing. Their breaths puffed in front of them in the cold air as fury coursed through her. Recent wounds were scattered all over him, cuts and bruises on his face, chest, arms, and stomach reflecting torture by Shockley and Ivanov. She swallowed back a wave of rage, wishing she could make them pay for hurting Mace.

"Yeah, maybe not," Daisy admitted, and she could feel that her pain at his abused appearance was showing despite her smile.

"But I'm here anyway," she assured him. She took a step forward and slid to the floor beside him, starting to untie the ropes that bound him.

Their eyes met, and she was once again staggered by the blazing blue of Mace's gaze. Daisy smiled more softly than she usually let herself and said, "I'm here for you."

He opened his mouth to reply, but just then, Ivanov cleared his throat. There he stood in the doorway, gun in hand and more guards flanking him.

"Actually," Ivanov said by way of greeting, "The Director here was right. You should not have come." As he pointed the gun directly at Daisy, she rolled her eyes.

Sorry, you bunch of despicable, racist bastards, she thought, summoning every ounce of confidence she possessed. There's no way I'm not leaving here with Mace.

Standing with her arms raised, Daisy grinned at Ivanov. "That's what you think."