Thank you all for sticking with me on this!
Holden Radcliffe couldn't have been happier living with Agnes on that island. Sure, he might be dead in the real world, but what did that matter anymore? He hated Aida but she wasn't going to hurt him now. He was safe, and Agnes was safe.
He was safe, he was happy, and he wasn't suffering anymore.
This morning when he woke up, he sat up in his huge king-sized bed and took a sip of his pineapple juice he kept at his bedside every night. He gulped it down, then stood from the bed, opening the blinds on his windows. He sucked in a breath of saltwater air and listened to the waves as they crashed peacefully against the shore.
Gosh, was he lucky?
A smile on his face, Holden changed into his normal outfit of a Hawaiian button-down, khaki shorts, and sandals. He went into his beach-themed bathroom and washed his face with his sand-scrub that Agnes bought him last week.
Holden walked out onto the porch and found Agnes sitting on the porch swing, two coffees in her hands. She smiled and handed one to him. "How'd you sleep?" she asked.
Radcliffe smiled, taking the coffee and seating himself on the nearby wicker couch. He crossed his legs, sipping the coffee then swallowing. "Good. Falling asleep to the sound of the ocean never gets old."
Agnes beamed as she watched the blue ocean. "It never does."
Radcliffe took out his phone, checking the news channels to make sure everything was going well in the world he'd created.
His face fell when he saw the newest Hydra article. The Doctor's newest experiment had failed.
As much as he wanted to forget about it, he had a duty. He knew Daisy was aware of the real world and he knew she needed his help to get back there.
He stood from the couch, sighing at Agnes's happy expression. He didn't want to ruin her mood.
"I have to go run an errand," he lied, heading for their private jet in their large garage.
Agnes stood up quickly. "What?!"
"It's fine, Agnes, I just need a few hours," he lied again.
"Holden..."
"Please, Agnes. I'll be back."
With a hmph, Daisy punched the punching bag in the SHIELD training room. She needed to regain her strength so she could get out of here. Everyone was counting on her now. She really wished they had a terrigen crystal.
Daisy knew for sure that Coulson, Simmons, and May wanted to get out of the Framework, but she knew Mack, Mace, and especially Fitz weren't so sure. Mack didn't trust her, Jeffrey didn't believe her, and Fitz was a Hydra superior.
A shudder went down her spine at the memory of him pummeling her to the ground.
Daisy knew had to take a break from punching that bag. Her chest was aching from her healing ribs and she was out of shape. She hadn't been eating much because of her achy and unreliable stomach, so she was starving her head off.
But she didn't want to stop. She had a responsibility and she needed to fulfill that.
But one of her punches got to be too much. The bag swung backward and delivered a whack to her sore chest, immediately knocking the wind out of her. Desperate for air, Daisy wobbled back and stumbled to the floor, coughing as she struggled for air.
"You can't keep doing that, you know," came Jemma's voice. Daisy groaned when she realized the girl had been watching her the whole time from the treadmill a few feet away. The past few days, she'd been berating Daisy for working out too much, saying nonsense like it was too much for her to handle as she recovered.
Daisy's nostrils flared as she finally managed to swallow a breath of air. "I'm fine, Jemma. Leave me alone."
Turning off the treadmill, Jemma didn't seem too convinced at that. She approached Daisy, crouching down and taking her hand, pressing her finger to her radial artery. Daisy shot daggers at her.
"Your heart rate is much too fast. Daisy, you have to take better care of yourself. You've already lost ten pounds from not eating anything, and if you keep that up you'll never be able to get back to normal physical capaci- "
"So now you look through my medical files?!" Daisy snapped, leaning away from Jemma and standing up, using the wall post for support.
Simmons shrugged as she, too, stood up. "What can I say? I miss being a doctor."
"Speaking of you missing things, Jemma, you aren't exactly in great shape yourself. You've been in Hydra's basement for years...well, your avatar has been programmed that way."
"I know I'm not. But since I'm actually eating and setting my own limits, I'm healing a lot faster than you are."
God, she's just like real-life Simmons, Daisy noted.
Daisy grabbed a towel and dried her sweaty face and neck off. "I'm fine, Jemma. Please stop smothering me."
Jemma crossed her arms over her chest, shrugging. "Go eat something."
Daisy glared. "It'll come right back up."
"It's worth a try."
Daisy had to admit, food was quite inviting to her right now. It had been so long since she'd eaten a real meal...
It had also been so long since she'd harmed herself.
"I think I'm good, thanks, Jemma," Daisy said quickly. Before Jemma could say anything else, Daisy left.
Wanting to hide in her temporary bunk (which, unfortunately, she shared with Jemma), Daisy made her way down the hallways.
Daisy groaned when she ran into Agent Burrows. Well, the Framework version of him. The real version was dead.
"What now, Burrows?" she asked. He was usually the one to tell her Barns needed to run another damn test on her.
"Before he and Mack left for a mission at Hydra's Enlightenment Camp, Mace wanted me to tell you you have a visitor," he replied, his hands folded neatly behind his back.
Daisy scowled. "Visitor? What...?" She brushed past the short man, heading toward the Director's office.
"Who is it?!" Daisy nearly shouted as she burst into the office. Coulson and Mace were the only ones inside.
"Him," Mace answered, showing her his tablet. "He's asking for Daisy Johnson." The security feed from outside the base showed someone Daisy did not want to see.
Holden Radcliffe.
Daisy's eyes widened. "Don't let him in," she ordered. "He's the one who put me in the Framework, who put all of us in the Framework."
Mace seemed annoyed at her when she mentioned the Framework again, but Phil furrowed his brow as he studied the feed.
"He's saying something," he told Mace and Daisy. Mace turned on the audio.
"I come in peace!" Radcliffe insisted. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a light blue crystal of sorts. "This is for you, Daisy. I figure it might help you out."
Immediately, Daisy said, "Let him in."
"What?" Mace inquired. "How did a crystal change your mind that quickly..."
"Do it, Jeffrey," she hissed.
"Fine. But I have to go on a mission to save one of my agents from Hydra. Phil, can you take care of this?"
Coulson nodded. "Yes, sir."
"How did you get here and why do you suddenly want to help us?" Daisy demanded from Radcliffe. The guards had brought him to an interrogation cell and despite Mace's reluctance, Daisy convinced him and Phil to let her do the talking.
"I want to help you get out of here," Holden told her, clenching his hands from outside the cuffs.
Daisy was angry as she slammed her fist on the table, being careful not to crush the terrigen crystal which laid on the table menacingly. "You were the one to put me in here!"
"It was Aida's idea."
"That you went along with! How in the hell could you think that it was the right idea to shove a depressed SHIELD agent into a simulation in hopes of her magically getting better?!"
"It seemed like your only option." He noticed her intense anger and short fuse. "Seems like it still is."
Daisy couldn't disagree with him on that. She set her jaw and turned away from him, crossing her arms and walking around the room a little.
"So what made you change your mind?" she finally asked.
"Aida killed my real body," Radcliffe replied.
Daisy tried to stifle her shocked reaction, but she still widened her eyes. "What..."
"She thought I was a threat to the Framework, so she killed me so I can't get out. Thank God she doesn't know where I am now. If she did, she would- "
"Ophelia," Daisy interrupted.
"What about her..."
"Madame Hydra. Aida."
"And?"
"If she finds you, she'll kill you," Daisy said.
"Because I'm the only other one that is aware of and believes in the real world," Holden realized. "I'm the only one who can help you get out."
"You're wrong."
Holden furrowed his brow. "How do you mean?"
Daisy leaned against the table. "We're not the only ones who believe in the real world."
Radcliffe's jaw dropped. "Daisy. Don't tell me you- "
"I told everyone who actually exists besides Fitz," she finished for him. "For the most part, they're all on-board to get out of here, besides Mack and Jeffrey Mace. The only thing is, I have no idea how to get out of here. Usually I'd try to get close to death so Aida would come in and save me, but I have a feeling my life doesn't matter to her anymore, not after killing you."
Radcliffe sighed. "That's why I came here. I came here to help you get out." He pointed to the crystal with his head. "That won't hurt me or any humans. It's a special type I made sure to program into a hidden safe in my island home. Go ahead and break it. Heal yourself and regain your powers."
Daisy swallowed, carefully picking the crystal up. She looked at Holden. "Are you sure this will work?"
He nodded. "Positive."
With that, Daisy tossed the crystal onto the floor and it broke, sending the mist everywhere. The Inhuman husk began to appear on her body and travel around.
Daisy took one more deep breath before succumbing to her cocoon, ready to regain the part of her she'd missed so very much.
When the husk exploded off of her, everything began to shake around Daisy. Holden took cover under the interrogation table, grabbing the legs to keep it from moving. Guards tried to come inside the room but Holden shouted at them, telling them to give her a minute.
When Daisy's vision finally cleared up, she crumpled up onto the floor to try and control the buzzing insect feeling she'd grown to be so accustomed to before being tossed into the Framework. It was odd going through terrigenesis a second time, but nonetheless, she was grateful that she hadn't killed anyone this time.
She shuddered upon remembering Trip's death.
Daisy finally gathered her bearings enough to open her eyes. She watched as guards burst into the room, aiming their guns at Radcliffe. Holden raised his hands in surrender.
"She was willing to do it," he told them.
"Is this true?" an agent asked Daisy.
Sitting up, Daisy nodded. "He gave me what I was destined to receive."
The guards looked confused and now aimed their guns at both Daisy and Holden.
Inpatient, Holden just blurted out the truth: "I gave Daisy her powers, dammit! She's a potential Inhuman, you know that!"
The head guard nodded to his fellow agents. "Escort her out of here. She can talk with Mace when he gets back."
Daisy glared at the head guard as the others grabbed her arms, lifting her to her feet and leading her out of the cell.
That's all for now! I have big plans for the next few chapters coming up, but I'm not sure what I should do about Aida/Ophelia, Fitz, and Project Looking Glass. Do you all want me to include the part where Aida gets a real body in the real world or just kind of throw that out for the sake of progressing the story? It's up to you.
Anyway, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!