Well, I said I'd add a chapter to this after Season 3 ended, and I shall do just that. I only wish this could've been a happier one. So, this chapter will have a lot more angst and much less humor compared to the previous one. And if you haven't guessed by now, this contains spoilers for the Season 3 finale.
Disclaimer: I own nothing but this story.
The nightmare began as it always did; flashes of memories from events in her life. Then the scenery changed. There was nothing around her besides a gray hue of a featureless landscape. She felt an overwhelming pressure coming down on her, as her mind felt the touch of something vast and ancient. Then the landscape shifted in a flash.
Her memories of everything she had done while under the control of Hive; killing Malick, framing Lincoln, devastating the Playground, threatening Fitz, crippling that Kree, nearly killing Mack, offering herself to Hive after being freed and watching as Lincoln sent her flying out of the Quinjet, which then rocketed into the sky. Then the scene shifted again.
She saw images, memories, visions that were not her own. She witnessed a cloud of blue glowing particles form itself into a humanoid in black armor, covered in blue light which emanated from the shoulders, chest and the vaguely t-shaped visor. The being's right arm had seemingly been replaced by a cannon, and this creature was hovering off the ground. It was clear that the suit design was beyond even what Iron Man possessed. She didn't know why, but this being gave off an aura of wrongness. It felt like it shouldn't even exist.
The landscape changed again. This time, she was standing on a cliff overlooking an alien city. As she watched, a massive skyscraper-sized squid shaped... thing emerged from the sky and landed in the streets, blaring a deep bass note that was felt rather than heard. The squid shifted, and a beam of bright red light emerged from between a pair of tentacles, carving a path through the city.
The scene shifted, this time on a barren world filled with dilapidated ruins of an alien nature. They seemed vaguely Kree in origin, yet clearly from a different source. Hanging in the sky was a moon. This was no ordinary moon, considering that a normal moon didn't have continent-size tentacles emerging from the bottom half, resembling some form of demonic jellyfish. The moon shrieked, shifting the view into cold darkness.
The view shifted again. All that could be seen now was the green and yellow of rotting flesh. Tentacles curled and writhed throughout the landscape, seemingly aimless in their direction. Then they turned towards her. The flesh of the tendrils slithered towards her, and her powers did nothing to discourage them. Soon, nothing could be seen as the tentacles wrapped around her. She felt this monstrosity, this abomination. It felt endless. Then, a disembodied rasping baritone voice pierced the icy darkness.
"This is not your grave." Some sort of disgusting gurgling punctuated that statement. "But you are welcome in it."
"What-what are you?" She choked out.
Suddenly, a massive worm-shaped head emerged from the inky blackness, the same texture as the tentacles earlier. Within the creature's maw was a mouth composed of razor sharp teeth. She felt very small as the massive creature turned to address her.
"I am the monument to all your sins."
Daisy awoke with her heart pounding in her chest. She was in her bed in one of the containment cells, with everything in the room shaking from her powers. Quickly, she cut the vibrations before she could do any damage. Sighing, she buried her face in her hands, as was custom nowadays.
She wondered if the nightmares from her time under Hive's thrall would ever stop. Then she wondered whether they should ever stop. And whether the cravings she felt from Hive's mind control would ever go away.
Sighing, she rose from her bed and shook, still feeling the withdrawal from when she was under Hive's control. Yet another side effect from that monstrous Inhuman, and these nightmares were another. While she hadn't normally seen anything from Hive's mind during her thrall under him, she had gotten occasional flashes of some sort of visions from him.
And still these visions haunted her for weeks after Hive's defeat and Lincoln's... sacrifice. Her thoughts shifted to all the emotions she still felt from that event. That was supposed to be her destiny. To ensure Hive would never rise again.
She hadn't wanted anyone else to die for her, least of all him. Lincoln was the one person who understood her. In some ways, more so than even her friends in SHIELD could claim. He was the one she loved. Loved... Tears streamed from her eyes at the thought of their final conversation over the radio.
He had told her he loved her. And she never had the chance to tell him that she felt the same. How much he had truly meant to her. The tears rolled down her face, unbidden and with no desire to stop them.
And now, he was gone.
"I love you, Lincoln." She whispered huskily. "And I always will."
"Status?"
"We've recovered one body from the Quinjet's wreckage."
"How is he?"
"He's stable. Considering the state he was in when we found him, that's really all we can ask for."
"And Hive?"
"We can't find him anywhere. For all we know, his remains burnt up in the atmosphere."
"Keep searching. If the information we got is accurate, Hive may be a far greater threat than we thought."
"You really think he's working for them?"
"I'm certain of it. Especially after the neural scan of Ms. Johnson's dreams."
"The one SHIELD doesn't know about?"
"Obviously."
"Right well, Mr. Campbell's mind is showing some erratic behavior, but I think we can chalk that up to the regeneration process."
"You said that the bomb was filled with a variation of Hive's parasites. Could he be under Hive's sway?"
"We've cleared any of those parasites from the explosion, and if Hive's dead, then there's no one to control him. Still, there's no way to be sure if he's not suffering another form of mind control until after he wakes up... Of course, that's assuming he will wake up."
"Keep him stabilized. Hopefully, he'll be able to tell us what happened to Hive."
"What do we do with him afterwards?"
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Poor Daisy. She's lost her parents, was brainwashed and broken by Hive, attempted to sacrifice herself, only to lose the guy who loved her, and who she was clearly in love with herself (even if she never got a chance to truly tell him). And now, she's getting nightmares of beings that are far worse than Hive could ever be, and will soon leave and be hunted down by her former friends. She really needs a(nother) hug at this point.
Fortunately for her (and SHIELD), the nightmares she's getting (thanks to me) are just that: Nightmares, nothing more. If any of these beings were trying to brainwash her... well, let's just say that Hive's sway and the aftermath would look pleasant by comparison.
Speaking of which, who can tell me what beings appeared in Daisy's nightmare? To those who have read some of my other stories, you can probably guess who they are, but to those who haven't, I'll give you a hint; none of them are from Marvel.
This wasn't exactly what I wanted to have written about Daisy and Lincoln in the aftermath of Season 3. Still, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and reviews are always welcome.
