Chapter 36: Pieces, Solving A Puzzle

They stood face to face, fire swarming around the man in front of her and she could see he was prepared to strike like a viper or a wild animal. Raising his arm fire swarmed out in a wave and she brought her hand up releasing a string of vibrations pushing the fire back to his surprise.

"Quake" he said.

"You've heard of me" she said walking towards him but still keeping a cautionary distance.

"As I'm sure you've heard of me" He said his voice distant and cold.

"Enough talking" She snarled. Sending a series of vibrations that hit his chest she knocked him into the wall planning on crushing him when fire swarmed out from him blocking the vibrations from coming nearer to him.

A curse escaped her lips. Dropping her arms, she walked towards him and swung her fist which he caught easily twisting her around until her back hit his chest. Slamming her head back her grunted and released her before she kicked him hard in the chest knocking him against the wall.

Getting up he swung his enflamed fist at her and she twisted to the side narrowly missing get singed when she brought her fist hard into his chest, he winced bringing his elbow down and hitting her on the shoulder hard before grabbing her arm and twisting it up painfully.

Bringing her other arm up she struck him across the face just as he kicked her in the chest, knocking the wind out of her.

Panting, she raised her head and glared at him as his gaze me hers evenly. Throwing her fist out he caught her fist easily and pulled her toward him slamming his knee into her chest hard as she shoved him back with a series of waves.

Exhausted and fatigue they stood, both looking worn and tired and Daisy gritted her teeth and ran towards him her body slamming into his they hit the ground and he grabbed her face and she could feel her blood begin to boil as she gasped and reached out to grab his shoulders as she sent a series of quakes through his body.

It was a showdown now to see which would lose first. She was repeatedly sending quakes into him and his touch was causing her whole body to boil.

Getting up he slammed her into the wall and she gasped as her whole body felt like it was on fire like she was being burned alive and he was trembling from the quakes traveling through his body.

Gritting her teeth, she gasped and squeezed her eyes shut her whole body felt like it was burning alive and her skin was starting to smoke.

"I always thought that the infamous Quake would be a lot tougher than this. I have to say I'm actually disappointed. Don't worry Daisy Mae this will be over quick." He hissed in her ear.

"Daisy Mae?" she thought. The name sounded familiar but that was impossible no one had ever called her that before, no one. The name rung in her head.

"Daisy Mae, Daisy Mae, Daisy Mae" Why? Why was that name in her head? Scrunching her eyebrows together she replayed the name over and over again in her head like a loop until a voice echoed in the back of her head.

"Well it's been fun Daisy Mae…. Well it's been fun Daisy Mae, maybe we should run into each other again sometime, grab a cup of coffee or something" Snapping her eyes open she stared into his warm brown ones and her lips parted as she felt more memories flash through her mind.

"So, what did you do sweetheart?"

"Come on you show me yours I'll show you mine"

"Ouch I am genuinely hurt at the insinuation"

"Well I can see the resemblance"

"Well you were the one who offered"

"Really? How psychotic?"

"Well you should have led with that"

"Ward, Grant Ward" he said.

Her eyes widened as she gasped. "Grant" she breathed.

"Grant" she sobbed feeling her blood getting hotter.

"Grant… it's me Daisy" she couldn't hold the quakes anymore and she fell to her knees feeling her body reaching the breaking point any hotter and she didn't know if she was going to make it.

"I know who you are and don't call me by that name like we're old friends" he said ignoring her.

"Grant, grant it's me Daisy…. Daisy Johnson" she screamed out the last part feeling her insides about to boil over.

"I already told you, I know who you are" he snarled.

"Nine… nine years ago, you were arrested for arson" she choked.

"So, you read my report" he drawled his face blank and without any recognition.

"You… You met…. You met a girl. An angry girl who nobody had ever loved" Daisy sobbed feeling her body drying out.

"Her mom… her mom was a prostitute and her father was a deranged psychopath" Ward paused a frown slowly forming on his face but he still held her face and she could still feel the heat searing into her bones.

"She was 15 and had just been arrested for breaking into a car. She thought her life was over but then… but then a lawyer came and changed her life forever…. He told her that her father was Tony stark and for the first time something good actually happened in her life"

"She went on… to discover that she was inhuman her powers having awoken from her step father's experiments…. And then she was kidnapped by her stepfather and he took her to Wyoming and then eventually she escaped."

"She went on to learn…. To control her powers before joining shield" She yelled her voice so dry it came out as barely a whisper. Wards eyes were slowly widening as he was processing everything she said.

"Eventually she graduated…. She was… put on Coulson's and she became Quake…" she said in between sobs tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Her name…. her name was Daisy…. Daisy Johnson"

Ward Released her in a second. Backing up so fast that he tripped, falling on his butt and his back hitting the wall opposite of the one she was pressed against as she slid down.

The sat there opposite of each other neither saying anything Wards eyes were staring straight into hers, both of their breathing coming out labored and uneven, both exhausted.

The silence drawled on for several minutes and Ward still hadn't said a single thing and yet neither had Daisy.

The sound of footsteps came pounding down the hall and suddenly it was Coulson and the rest of the team. "Ward! Don't move a muscle" Coulson yelled his gun trained on Ward. He didn't even notice the tension in the air.

Ward didn't break eye contact with Daisy, not even as he was hauled up and being taken away, not until he turned the corner and was completely gone from view.

"Garrett got away. No surprise there, but we did catch Ward so that's something" Coulson said as he helped Daisy to her feet. Touching her cheek, he frowned.

"Your burning up" he said looking at her concerned.

"Ye... yea" she croaked her voice hoarse and dry. "Ward, he… he got a hold of me and nearly… burned… me alive" She whispered the last part. Her mind flashing to that boy from nine years ago.

Falling into steps with Coulson Daisy didn't say a single word the rest of the way back, not a single word.

Standing A little ways away from the room they were keeping him in Daisy debated whether to go in or not. Ward had been here for almost two days and she was still terrified to talk to him, not because he was a monster but because she didn't know what she would say to that boy she met all those years ago, Nine years. Nine years had passed and that was a very long time. She wasn't the same person that she had been back then and neither was he.

Nobody had gone to interrogate him yet and she found herself frozen. Looking down the hall she glanced both ways to make sure nobody was nearby as she took a deep breath and strode towards the door, grabbing the handle she twisted it and walked in. Her heart racing as her eyes fell on the man that she had never thought she would see ever again.

He was holding something, a photo maybe? In his hand and he didn't even look up as she walked in. "I was wondering when you'd show up" he muttered his voice low and almost a whisper.

Walking further into the room she closed the door behind her. "We need to talk" she said walking over to the chair, sitting down.

Raising his head to meet her eyes he turned his head to the side, observing her. Reaching out gently towards her she flinched but didn't move away when his fingers brushed across her jaw before grabbing a single lock of hair twisting it around his finger.

"You've cut your hair. It's short now" he muttered. Dropping his hand, the curl bounced and she found herself trying not to blush at the way his fingers had brushed against her jaw.

"Nine years" she whispered.

"I know, I've been piecing together the puzzle that has been the last nine years since I found out who you were. You were a cute kid, you know that" He murmured lifting up the photo again, but she still couldn't see what it was.

"What… What are you talking about?" she said. His eyes met hers and he slowly placed the photo on the table to where she could see it.

"I didn't know it was you. I honestly didn't, but then it all began to come together like pieces, solving a puzzle." He said.

"Where did you get that?" she breathed.

"Your mom gave it to me. I saw her before she died" Daisy felt tears gathering in her eyes and she struggled to contain them. Her father had told her years ago that her mother had been murdered, shortly after she found out Coulson was alive.

"No" she said shaking her head as she made to stand up but he grabbed her wrists instead holding her down.

"Don't!" he snarled. "Don't you walk away from me, you're going to hear this because I want to make myself clear. I know why you came in here and it wasn't because you knew me vaguely once long ago and wanted to catch up. You're looking for that boy you knew nine years ago and I want to set the records straight. You try getting up again and I will break your wrist" he hissed in her face pulling her closer to him.

Shaking now she could feel tears gathering in her eyes. "I saw your mother several years ago when I saw around 20 and she is the one that lead me to the temple that awakened my dormant alien powers and I…"

"No… No, no" Daisy sobbed shaking her head. "And I killed her. I couldn't have anyone left alive that could stop me" A shout came from Daisy and she lunged across the table and slammed into Ward knocking them both against the ground.

"How could you!? What the hell have you become the Grant I knew would have never done this!" she screamed pounding her fist onto his chest as she sobbed.

"You are completely different and I don't even recognize you" she screamed.

"Me, you don't recognize me! What about you? You're the one I don't recognize. So, who are you now? Daisy Johnson or Daisy stark. I'm a little confused. You got yourself a new daddy and the perfect life! While I stayed trapped in the darkness!" He roared.

"Why are you doing this?" She whispered tears sliding down her cheeks her face close to his and she could make out every detail.

"I want to let you know that I can't be saved. So, don't even try" he said.

"It is funny though how I met your Stepfather and your mother. Maybe we were destined to meet. Now wouldn't that be funny" he smiled.

"I met your brother once" she whispered.

"What?"

"Christian, I met Christian Ward once. It was when I ran away from home. I met him and he hit on me. You talk about fate, but maybe it is fate, us meeting. Maybe it was inevitable"

"I'm warning you Daisy the Ward you knew is gone" he hissed.

"Then why did you let me live. You could have killed me, but when you knew who I was you stopped. There was some part of you that still cared about me" she said.

"And your delusional" he snarled.

"And your psychotic" she yelled back.

"Well glad we agreed on something" he snapped.

"I hate you" she shouted.

"Yea, well I hate you more" he roared.

Footsteps echoed down the hall and she could hear the rest of her team coming they must have heard the shouting. Raising her hand, she released a series of vibrations at the door handle, snapping it off and making it impossible to get in.

"I don't believe you're a monster. I refuse to believe that boy I met is gone" she said.

"Five minutes Daisy. We only knew each other for about five minutes. You didn't know me"

"I didn't have to know you to know you were a good person" she shouted.

Daisy could hear the others struggling to get in and she knew it was only a matter of time before they got through.

"I killed my family Daisy. I killed your mother" he hissed. "What does that tell you about who I am"

She could hear Coulson and the others almost getting through and she knew she was out of time, ward knew it to.

Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her closer into his lap and wrapped his arms around her until he was hugging her. His lips near her ear as he whispered softly, "I have a message for you Daisy from your mother. She wanted me to tell you that she loved you and that everything she did was because she loved you and she has always been protecting you. Ask your father Daisy. Tony Stark, ask him about who your mother really is…."

The door burst open and Ward instantly released her and she sat back as everyone trained a gun on Ward. "Get the hell away from her" Coulson snarled as Ward stood up slowly his hands held up high as he back away.

"Alright, Alright. No need to shoot we were just talking, right Daisy Mae" he said his lips curled into a smirk.

"Daisy" Coulson said looking at her with a frown. "Let's go" Nodding her head she walked passed Ward but felt him grab her hand at the last minute. His thumb brushing over her wrist in a soft, delicate manner. A blush rising to her cheeks as he let her wrist go and she looked back one last time their eyes meeting as the door was closed behind her cutting them both off.

"Daisy! What the hell was that?" Coulson said.

"Nothing, it's nothing" she whispered. She couldn't possible explain all of it to Coulson and expect him to understand when she didn't even understand what the hell that was herself.

Without saying anything else she walked away wanting to be left alone in her own thoughts.