Sorry to leave you all on such a cliffhanger XD
I hope I can make up for it by posting this chapter so quickly!
Previously: "Daisy, watch out!"
Daisy shouted in pain from the jab and backed away from the table, disoriented. Quickly, May shot Branson with her ICER before he could do any more damage.
"What did he do to you?" Jemma asked Daisy frantically as the Inhuman stumbled onto the floor, leaning against the wall. Her facial expression remained shocked as she looked down at her bare arms which had just recently been taken out of the casts. The site where he had jabbed her was red and swollen and was spreading through her veins; the veins were turning bright red as they moved across her arm. She noticed that as the serum spread, the bruises on her arms disappeared.
"I..." Daisy choked. "...I don't know..." Her chest moved quickly up and down as she panicked and hyperventilated.
"Hello?" Coulson said to Mack, tapping his comms.
"I copy, sir. What's going on?" Mack asked from the other side.
"Release Lincoln from containment and bring him to the lab," he ordered.
"Are you sure about that? Why?" Mack questioned, confused.
Coulson somberly looked at the girl he thought of as a daughter. "Just do it. Daisy needs him."
"Daisy," Simmons said sternly, putting her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Look at me."
Daisy shook her head and felt the tears coming out of her eyes.
Simmons started to try and comfort her but was interrupted as Hunter and Bobbi entered the room.
"We heard everything from the security feed," Bobbi said somberly.
"Well, what happened? We didn't hear anything!" Jemma said, getting frustrated as Daisy suffered next to her.
"Long story short, he said he wanted to 'cure' Inhuman powers and that the Watchdogs had him perfect it. Obviously he brought it here and...used it on her," Bobbi explained.
"This means her powers are..." May started.
Bobbi and Hunter cut her off by nodding.
There was a moment of solemn silence.
Finally, Coulson nodded at the pair. "Could you all take Branson down to containment?"
"Of course," Hunter replied.
As they took him out of the room, Jemma noticed that the red veins were spreading up to Daisy's neck and collarbone.
"Ah!" Daisy cried out, her eyes screwing shut.
"Does it hurt?" Jemma asked, concerned.
Daisy just nodded and cried out again as the redness started to spread to her face.
"We need to get her to the lab and see if..." Her voice broke as she tried to keep the tears from coming out. "...See if there's anything we can do."
"I've got her," Coulson said, bending down and gently lifting Daisy from the floor. He carried her bridal-style toward the lab as Simmons and May followed, May putting a comforting hand on Jemma's back as the tears spilled out. The small group received a lot of concerned looks from the other agents as they made their way to the lab.
As Coulson set Daisy down on the table, she whispered, "It's...over."
Simmons sighed as she stepped out of the exam room, tossing her gloves in the trash. May, Coulson, Hunter, Bobbi, Mack, and Lincoln were all waiting anxiously outside.
"How is she?" Lincoln asked. He and Mack had been told the whole story by Hunter.
Simmons looked down somberly at her feet, then back up at her friends. "I tried everything I could to stop the serum from spreading through her body, but..." She choked back some tears, then shook her head in disbelief. "If what Branson said is correct, her powers are gone."
Coulson looked through the glass wall to see Daisy staring off into the distance with a blank yet sad expression. It was as if she was numb to the pain physically but still experiencing it emotionally.
"Is there any way she can get them back? Like with a terrigenesis crystal?" Mack asked.
Simmons sighed, running her hand through the back of her hair nervously. "It's a possibility, but I wouldn't risk it. I'm still waiting for her blood test results. It would also be quite helpful to get some more information out of Dr. Branson." She took a deep yet staggered breath. "I think she just wants to be alone right now. Maybe we should respect that." She nodded curtly and went away to go check the blood test results.
Lincoln buried his face in his hands. "What have I done..."
"What do you mean? This isn't your fault," Mack said to him.
He sighed. "If I hadn't been in that damn containment room I could've protected her..."
"Look, Sparks," Mack said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "All of us could have protected her, but Branson is the only one responsible for this. You got it?"
Lincoln swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. After a few moments, he said, "I really want to go in there and talk to her. She needs me, doesn't she?"
"Don't go in there," Bobbi told him. "We don't know if the serum is contagious. We don't want you to lose your powers too."
"It'd be worth it," Lincoln muttered under his breath. Bobbi's glare was enough to shut him up.
As Daisy sat there staring off into the distance, she thought about the day she got her powers. Sure, she hadn't asked for them, but ever since that day, her powers had become a part of her. They were what defined her. In the beginning, she might've asked for a cure, but she would never want one today. Her powers had saved lives. Her powers were her.
And now her powers were gone.
The excruciating pain that came with the spreading serum went away a few moments after it had overtaken her body. The bruises on her arms had disappeared with it for some reason, yet so did that feeling, that need to release her powers. Maybe it felt like relief for a split-second but the realization at her powers being taken away from her caused her to feel a huge pit in the bottom of her stomach.
All she wanted to do now more than anything was leave this damn glass box. Everyone was staring at her with looks of pity and she couldn't stand it. Especially Jemma. Every time she got near Daisy or talked about her she looked she was on the brink of tears.
Her powers were gone.
And there was no way of knowing if they'd ever come back.
That's all for now! Sorry to leave you on another bit of a cliffhanger but please review! Love you all :)