Hi!
So it's been quite awhile since I've done anything for the AOS fandom but this idea was consuming my brain and, well, here it is!
Just a fair warning, this story is set in Season 5 so there are some spoilers, but it pretty much takes off after like the third episode and detours to a different path that I wanted to play with.
That being said, not everything is consistent either; this is fanfiction after all!
Here are three things you should know about this fic: 1. This fic and its angst is family-centric (as opposed to a romance). 2. There will be major angst and Daisy whump. 3. There is swearing, violence, torture, and descriptions of injury, which is why it is rated T.
Update schedule will be at least once a week, if not quicker. This story is already complete so it will not affect the updates of In the Darkness I Will Guide You for anyone also reading that fic.
Also, I like to give a question of the day at the end of my chapters for readers to answer if they feel so inclined! No pressure or obligation to participate, it's just for those who want to.
ALERT! Spoilers for Season 5!
Disclaimer: I do not own Agents of Shield
Daisy Johnson was no stranger to fighting.
Hell, she had spent the majority of her life doing it, first in foster homes, then in the streets, then against bad guys with SHIELD…
However as she stared at the metal door in front of her, Daisy knew for a fact this was going to be a fight unlike any other.
For one thing, she was being watched for entertainment.
Even her most disturbing foster homes hadn't treaded that far.
Secondly, she was going to be sold into some kind of twisted intergalactic gladiator games.
There really were some comfort zones that Daisy did not mind staying in and the comfort zone of "not being sold to aliens" was one of those.
The metal door began sliding upward and Daisy heard her name being announced.
"Quake, Destroyer of Worlds."
Daisy grit her teeth and stepped forward, adjusting the leather wraps around her arms.
Destroyer of Worlds.
She had wanted to deny it but staring out the window of the space station, she recognized her own handiwork, the growing power that resided between her lungs at the core of her being.
Daisy was terrified of exactly two things.
One: she was afraid of losing her family.
Two: she was afraid of herself.
This whole go into outer space in a future where you've destroyed the world experience wasn't exactly soothing either of those fears.
She didn't know where Coulson, Mack, Yo-Yo, or Fitz were. May, according to the other fighter slave people that Daisy was now one of, was severely injured and being prepped to fight. Jemma was being forced to play servant to a seriously creepy alien who had somehow taken away her hearing. God, if she had one minute alone with that sick blue bastard…
Lifting her gaze slightly, Daisy caught her friend's gaze. She couldn't get used to the disturbing gold makeup spread across her brow and lips. Jemma's dark eyes met hers and Daisy could tell she was scared.
It's going to be okay, she wanted to assure the scientist.
This was only the warm up. The big show wasn't until the next day.
A trainer in a grey tunic walked through the opposite door, moving into a fighting pose. Simultaneous, she felt her own inhibitor switch off.
There was no way Daisy was going to do that.
She suddenly had a flashback to a conversation she had with May long long ago.
"It looks dumb. Why do we have to pose before we fight? It's not like we're here for a photo-shoot."
May had shot her a clearly-you-are-the-dumb-one look.
"Even if your body is ready, taking a position helps your mind become ready."
Well Daisy's mind was not ready for this and it wasn't ever going to be.
Daisy Johnson was no blue alien's pet monkey.
A blow to her jaw caused her to briefly lose her train of thought as she went reeling to the ground. For a moment she stared at the cement beneath her, wondering what exactly would happen if she just refused to fight. She was pretty great at getting beaten up.
The trainer grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and threw her across the room.
"Don't just lay there, get up and defend yourself!" she heard May's voice in her head.
"Don't wanna," Daisy thought. "You're not here, you're just in my head."
Daisy glanced back up toward her watching audience, pleased to find that Ugly Blue was looked severely annoyed.
Then she found Jemma again and her heart sank at the horrified look on her friend's face. The young woman was biting her lip, brown eyes wide with worry.
Gosh dang it. She was going to have to fight.
Daisy hauled herself to her feet, ducking to avoid the fist flying toward her face. Grabbing the trainer's arm in the end of its swing, she deftly twisted it behind the trainer, kicking him in the back.
He barely flinched, spinning on her.
Give them what they came for.
Daisy raised her arm and quaked him away.
It felt like cheating, she contemplated, watching the man fly through the air into the wall and slide down limply to the ground.
The audience clapped and Daisy felt as though her entire soul had drained from her being.
"Behold, Quake, Destroyer of Worlds!"
For a futuristic sci-fi-y world, the prison cells were downright medieval.
"Why do prisons all look the same?" Daisy complained to the guard ushering her in. He didn't even look at her, just locked the cell door. "Metal bars, cement floor, an uncomfortable bed… It's so damn cliché."
"The view of outer space is a new one at least," a voice commented.
"May?" Daisy spun around, peering into the cell next to hers. "Oh my god, May!"
The senior agent was propped against the wall, arm wrapped around her stomach, one leg crudely bandaged.
"The one and only," May smiled faintly before her expression morphed to one of concern. "What are you doing here?"
"You didn't hear? They're bringing back the gladiator games, except the special bonus edition with inhumans and aliens." Daisy sat down next to the bars separating her from her mentor, worriedly trying to assess how injured the woman was.
"I heard." May's voice was tight.
"I'm the damn prized stallion being broken in for sale." Daisy glanced away as May swore softly. She couldn't stand to see the worry and care she knew she would find in her mentor's gaze. She might fall apart if she did.
"Daisy."
She looked despite herself.
"We heard about a breeding program." May's dark eyes were fixed intensely on her.
"A breeding…" Daisy furrowed her brow, trying to figure out what May was asking, before her eyes widened. "No. Oh god, May no, I'm okay. They didn't touch me."
"Good." May relaxed incrementally. "Otherwise I would have to kill them all."
Daisy smiled.
"You still could," she suggested. May flashed her a small smile.
"You okay?" Daisy glanced at May's leg and split lip.
"Fine. Jemma?" The Asian agent changed the topic. "I saw her."
"Horrible taste in make-up, right?" Daisy slowly reached through the bars to grab May's hand, a wave of comfort easing over her as May squeezed her hand back.
"Is she okay?" May's voice was low and suddenly Daisy could barely keep her tears at bay.
"I don't know. They did something to her hearing." She clung to May's hand, worry for her friends washing over her. "How are Coulson and Mack and Yo-Yo?"
"Basically indentured servants in a junk yard," May grimaced. "But holding up. Worried about you and Jemma."
"Any sign of Fitz?"
Daisy shook her head.
They sat for a moment, quietly holding hands.
"They called me Quake, Destroyer of Worlds. It's like my battle name because I blew up the earth."
May turned quickly.
"You didn't blow up the world."
Daisy bit her lip, glancing up at the dark ceiling. "I did."
"Daisy…"
"No, May, I really did. All this… it's because of me."
"Bullshit." May's eyes flashed. "You don't have that much control over the fate of the world. Don't think so highly of yourself."
"Gee thanks," Daisy complained, feeling substantially better. "I can always count on you to cheer me up."
May squeezed her hand, eyes softening and they lapsed into silence for a bit.
"May." Daisy broke the silence. "They're going to sell me, take me off this ship. Just in case I don't get a chance…"
"Don't you dare finish that sentence," May grit out.
"No, I have to tell you. You... you're the mom I never had. And Coulson is the dad and Fitz and Simmons are the brother and sister and…"
"Daisy."
"And we're all a messy glorious family and it's been the best thing I've ever had…"
"Daisy."
"So I just need you to know that I really appreciate you and love you guys so much and if I don't make it back, it's okay because I'm just happy I got the chance to be a part of our crazy family…"
"Daisy!" May nearly shouted and Daisy stared at the floor to try to stop the tears that were pooling. "Listen to me." The older agent painfully pulled her body closer to the bars separating them, reaching one bruised hand through the gaps to gently lift Daisy's chin, forcing her to look at her. "Listen. No matter what happens, I will find you. Do you hear me?" May searched the younger agent's face, dark eyes intense. "Coulson and I will find you and we will bring you home."
Slowly, gently, May wiped away the stray tear that had escaped Daisy's attempt at suppression.
The screech of the cell door caused them both to jump.
"Jemma!" Daisy jumped to her feet as her friend was let into May's cell. "Can you hear us?"
"I can hear," Jemma flashed Daisy a smile, eyes soft with relief. "They brought me here to look at May's injuries. I'm so glad to see you both." The woman attempted to roll up her excessively flowing sleeves, kneeling beside her senior agent.
"How are things out there?" May asked, gritting her teeth as Jemma gently pulled back the bandage on her leg to examine it.
"I have no idea, I can't hear anything." Jemma's voice was crisp but Daisy could hear the edge of frustration and concern.
"How is she?" Daisy wrapped her hands around the bars keeping her from her friends.
"It's not good. I'm going to see if I can get them to let me bring her to a different room with medical supplies." Jemma straightened.
"They're going to make her fight."
"I know. Maybe I can get her out of it if I…"
"I'm right here," May reminded them grumpily.
"We know," Jemma and Daisy said in synchrony then turned back to each other.
"I'll call a guard," Daisy offered.
"Daisy…" Jemma paused. "I'm sorry. This is… so messed up."
"Are you okay?" Daisy bit her lip. "That blue guy is seriously creepy."
"I'm alright." Jemma swallowed hard. "Any sign of Fitz?" Her voice was light but her eyes betrayed the intensity of her feelings.
"I'm sorry."
Jemma glanced down. "Well. Considering what is happening here, perhaps it's for the best."
They exchanged a small smile before Daisy flagged down a guard.
Watching Jemma help May limp out of the room, Daisy was hit by the sudden realization that she didn't know if or when she would see them again.
[SPOILER ALERT RIGHT HERE]
"I want her. Now. No bidding, no show. Just a simple transaction, brother to brother."
Daisy raised her head slightly, feeling sick.
She had just watched Ben, another Inhuman, be killed in front of her. Kasius had admitted that he wanted to sell Jemma with her as "persuasion" and although Fitz had shown up, she had no idea what his plan was.
Things were not looking too great.
The two blue men discussing her fate as though she were an object were not helping.
"What about all my lovely guests? Some have travelled very far to see this." Kasius's voice was smooth as usual.
His brother did not seem impressed.
"Let them travel to the fights to see her after I've finished her training. We both know you have no intention of selling her to them," Faulnak said.
"A good show is invaluable. It raises morale, bonds the audience together…"
"I will raise my offered price but only if you give her to me now."
Kasius paused. "I am open to persuasion," he said silkily, clearly relishing the opportunity to have his brother try to convince him.
"Distract your guests with your human projects; I'll take the girl while you do so. When you announce that she is gone, they will be upset but what will it matter when the next time they see you they will have to grovel at your feet in the face of your riches?"
Kasius considered. "It just seems like such a shame…"
"I add my final offer; I will talk to Father about your reinstatement in the family. But do not draw this out any further; make your decision or I will leave now."
Kasius's eyes lit up. "Deal." He turned to a guard. "Fetch the companion for departure."
"I have no need for the companion," Faulnak spoke up. "I have my own methods of persuasion that do not require another tiresome life form to maintain."
"Excellent." Kasius looked pleased. "The companion will make a nice consolation gift to the marauder; he already inquired if she was for sale. I imagine he will be most upset. I was going to sell Quake to him before I heard of your arrival…"
Daisy tried to hide her look of immense relief. No matter what happened to her, Jemma and Fitz would be okay. If they could just get May, then she could at least leave happy for whatever hell awaited her.
"Do what you want," Faulnak said brusquely, nodding to his own personal guard. "Prepare the ship."
"Be sure she is taken the back way where no guests can see her departure," Kasius warned.
A heavily armed guard nodded and Daisy found herself being pulled roughly out of the room, ushered down a back hallway. Servants scattered before them, bowing as they slipped into the shadows, clearly knowing the presence of one of Faulnak's guards and what it meant.
One servant did not flee their presence, rather stood in a doorway watching with distress.
"Jemma," Daisy murmured, catching her gaze.
"Don't speak." The guard pulled her chains roughly.
Daisy winced but set her jaw.
"That's my friend. Let me say goodbye," she growled.
The only response she got was her head slammed against the wall. Hard.
"Stop!" Daisy recognized Jemma's voice in the haze of her swimming vision. She suddenly found her friend standing in front of her.
"It's going to be okay," Daisy smiled slightly, hoping Jemma would understand. "It's okay."
"They're taking you, Daisy," Jemma was physically shaking. "Where are they taking you?"
The Faulnak guard grabbed Jemma by the front of her tunic. "How dare you speak?!"
"Put her down. You could bruise her." One of Kasius's guards had appeared, pushing Faulnak's guard back and moving Jemma out of his grip. "She's a gift; she is to be without blemish."
"Please, give us a minute," Jemma clutched at Daisy's manacled hands.
"No." The Faulnak guard pushed her out of the way.
"Jemma, it's going to be okay. Really." Daisy fought to remain close to her friend. "If things don't work out for me, give the team a big hug for me and live an awesome life with Fitz, god please marry that boy already, and know that I am so glad I got to have you in my life as my best friend and sister." She was yanked forward, the Faulnak guard clearly fed up.
"Daisy, no!" Jemma tried to follow but Kasius's guard held her back.
Daisy glanced back and gave her friend a brave smile before she was pushed around a corner. As she was taken further and further away from her friends, she fought the sudden feeling that she was alone in the galaxy.
What do you think?
This chapter is in some ways a nod/continuation to the darkness of the underlying themes of Season 5, such as objectification of women and slavery, which remain a reality in our world and are very unfortunately not limited to alien realms.
Also, I did change the order of some events. Sorry...
Okay, switching to a lighter topic. Question of the day: libraries or parks?
Make sure to let me know what you think! I'm excited to start this journey of a fic with you all!
~silverlining