Rise of the Champions - Chapter Ninety-Nine

Author: Milady Dragon


Daisy went up and down on her toes in sheer nerves as she watched Clint step through the portal, run into a complete stranger, then threaten said stranger with his bow.

She couldn't make out what he was saying to the person, of course, but she could tell it was threatening because of the arrow aimed in the guy's direction.

The place beyond the portal was…weird. She couldn't see much of it, but she thought it must have been some sort of castle, only there weren't any windows and who built a castle out of red bricks, anyway? The man was human, but his clothes were strange, and it really struck Daisy that her Ata had just stepped onto another world, and so far it didn't look all that friendly. It made her want to run through herself and make a mess, but she couldn't risk it. Ianto and Stephen might need her, if things go wrong and they needed to reopen the portal. The link she had with Dad, and to a much smaller extent Crystal and Clint, would help them do that.

But damn, it was hard to just stand there and watch.

Then the woman showed up, with several fierce-looking people in tow, pointing what only could have been weapons at her Ata. The woman carried a wicked-looking pair of staves in her hands, and looked like she could seriously kick ass at any moment. However, the moment she saw Clint, she seemed somewhat amused, and the group with her lowered their hands with the odd-looking weapons.

It took Daisy a moment to realize that she'd seen her before…Bobbi Morse, from the traveling show, the one who'd been on the team Jack had gotten together to look over things there.

So there were apparently doppelgangers of people they knew living in this other world.

Lovely.

And then the man who looked like her Dad showed up.

Oh, it was obviously not her Dad. For one thing, Dad wasn't missing his left hand. He also looked a little older and careworn, and was dressed just was weirdly as anyone else in that other world.

Daisy wanted to much to follow Clint as the man led him and Lucky away. It was all she could do stay in place and wait.

The magic that Stephen and Ianto were working with tingled against her skin. It wasn't all that comfortable; the Reality Stone just wasn't right, and she had to wonder if it had been created that way, or if it had something to do with the way it had been melted into the black rock that was making it like that. She knew that the gemstone in Tony's chest was a sister stone, and it had never really given her the creeps like the Reality Stone did. Something that powerful, would it have some sort of consciousness of its own? Neither Grand Master had mentioned anything like that, but Daisy had seen how the Reality Stone had taken over Ruby Hale, had seen the Novice access magic that she wasn't strong enough of a Wizard to have. So, she thought it was a valid supposition.

It seemed to take forever. She glanced up to see Wanda, Trip, and Jack all watching them closely. Jack was looking very worried, but then this was his husband anchoring the magic that was being used to bring back Dad and Crystal. Wanda and Trip were also concerned, but Wanda was fidgeting with the new gauntlets Dad had made for her, while Trip was chewing the thumbnail of his left hand, in as close to nervous as he usually got.

Off to the side, Iohannes was also watching, but his was a considered expression. After all, he didn't know any of them really, but it was good of him to also be concerned. There was also the fact that him getting home once more depended on the success of this first part of the mission. And Daisy knew he really wanted to get back to his home; she wanted that for him, as well. He had to be missing his own family just as much as Daisy was missing hers, and being trapped in a strange place had to be preying on him. Daisy felt the urge to hug him, but she didn't dare leave where she was standing. Ianto and Stephen might need her, or Dad or Ata or Crystal might need her, and she needed to be close by.

Gods, what was she going to do if the portal closed and Clint was also trapped on the other side? It would just be her; Medusa would be taken away, to another temporary home, because she hadn't been officially adopted yet. It would leave Daisy alone in that huge Keep, the only ones left Melinda and Andrew…

No, that wasn't true. She had Uncle Nick, and Natasha, and her new Uncles Steve and James, and Ianto and Jack… she also had Clint's side of the family; she quite liked Aunt Laura, but Uncle Barney still had a ways to go to get her forgiveness for being a jerk toward her Ata. So, she wasn't as alone as she'd thought.

Still, she wanted her entire family, at home, where she can keep an eye on them all.

Daisy kept watch. The corridor wasn't empty; she could see the Bobbi Morse double there, examining the portal and aiming something at it that the young Wizard couldn't identify. Others loitered about the area, getting a really good look at her; she waved insouciantly at them, with a snarky smirk on her lips.

And then, her own double decided to put in an appearance.

Now, that was just a little bit mind boggling.

This Daisy was older than her, which was also really weird. Her hair was shorter, and she didn't have the purple dyed streak that Daisy herself had started to wear a couple of weeks ago, on the advice of Aunt Natasha, who'd taken her to Triskelia Town and had put her in the hands of a hairdresser who looked old enough to have been Daisy's great-grandmother – if she'd had one – and with the steadiest hands the young Wizard had ever seen and the sassiest sense of humor ever. Daisy had immediately adored her.

This other version of herself was wearing gauntlets, but they weren't like the ones Daisy had. But why did she have them? The young Wizard wasn't getting the sense of much magic through the portal, and there wasn't any sort of magical aura around her duplicate, so it was a mystery that Daisy didn't quite know how to solve.

That other Daisy stepped right up to the portal, but didn't come through. Instead, she regarded Daisy, a curious expression on her face. She said something, but the words didn't come through the portal.

"Sorry," she mouthed, knowing that, chances were, her other self wouldn't hear them, either.

"Here." Wanda appeared, pressing a journal into Daisy's hands, along with a fountain pen that she recognized as being one of her Dad's. Wanda had most likely gotten it from Dad's casting chamber, in one of their lessons.

"Thanks." She was grateful that her friend had had her lessons materials with her.

Wanda smiled. "If that was me, I'd want to talk to me, too."

Daisy grinned, opening the journal and flipping it through to the first blank page, past unfinished spell diagrams and notes on things Dad had told her.

Hoping that the other Daisy could read it, she printed out,

I'm Daisy.

Her other self laughed, calling back over her shoulder. The Bobbi lookalike stepped forward, passing her a strange board thing with some paper held to it by a metal clip of some sort, writing on it then turning it around so Daisy could see it.

I'm Daisy too.

It was a scrawling script, but perfectly readable.

This was so fantastic.

Daisy made another note.

And this is my dragon, Skye.

Skye, who was perched on her shoulder as usual, chirped a greeting and Daisy could she her waving a claw in her peripheral vision.

The Daisy on the other side of the portal looked surprised by that, and then she laughed.

So, Coulson is your dad in that reality?

And he wasn't in that place? Daisy felt a bit sad for her other self. She had no idea what an awesome father Phil Coulson was. That he'd saved her, raised her, and made her into the person she was today.

Daisy nodded, flipping the page on the journal and scribbling,

He's a great Dad.

The other Daisy looked a little wistful, and the young Wizard thought that, perhaps, she wished that he was her Dad.

I'm sure he is.

There was a commotion at the end of the corridor and, coming toward her, was the Phil Coulson double and, with him, her Dad, her Ata, and her sister.

Daisy breathed a sigh of relief. They were alright. She had no idea just how worried she'd been, until the worry was gone, replaced by a joy that warmed every single empty spot within her.

The moment Crystal caught sight of her, she was out of Clint's arms and racing down the hallway and through the portal. Daisy had her sister in her arms before she even realized she was bending over to grab her up, embracing Crystal fiercely and never wanting to let her go again.

"Daisy!" Crystal shouted in her ear.

Daisy didn't mind being temporarily deafened. Not one bit. She was just glad that her family was coming home, safe and sound.

She pulled away a little in order to get a good look at Crystal. Her sister was pale, and her eyes were overly bright, but otherwise she seemed to be just fine. "Are you alright?"

Crystal nodded. "That place didn't have any magic, Daisy. Well, not much. And it made me sleepy. But I'm okay now."

The young Wizard wanted to shiver at that. It had been a genuine fear, that Dad and Crystal would end up somewhere without magic, and not be able to help themselves. Obviously, though, there was at least a little there, because they were both still alive, but it must have been a very miniscule amount, just enough to keep them going. How long would they have lasted if Ianto and Stephen hadn't been able to find them? It was terrifying to even contemplate.

Skye was off her shoulders and greeting Lockjaw the moment the dragon was also through the portal, cooing at him in greeting and rubbing her snout against his. Myfanwy, as the elder dragon, was also there as if she'd teleported, examining the younger dragon closely, as if checking him over for any sort of damage done. She seemed satisfied when Lockjaw made several chirping noises at her, but he gladly accepted the cuddling she was insisting upon giving him.

Daisy glanced over Crystal's head toward the portal, watching as Dad and Clint bid farewell to the people on the other side, her Dad duplicate handing some sort of bag to Dad. She felt a sudden itch under her skin, the need for them and their dragons to get on with it already, that all the politeness wasn't necessary. She just wanted them to get their asses home.

Now.

And then, they were through.

The portal closed.

Daisy was in her Dad's arms the moment his feet hit the stone floor of the laboratory.

She gave a small sob as his arms slipped around her, hugging her to him, a thump as the bag he'd been given fell to the floor. Daisy finally relaxed, knowing that Dad was home; Clint took Crystal back from her in order for the young woman to wrap her own arms around Dad, clutching the back of his tunic and never wanting to let him go. She knew she was being overly emotional, but this was her Dad. There had been a real chance that she could have lost him forever.

Then Wanda was there as well, joining in on the hug. A small part of Daisy was irritated, that she wanted to have him to herself for just a little while longer, but she pushed it aside. Wanda loved him, too, only in a different way, and had been just as worried as they all had that he might not ever come home again. She deserved to welcome him back, as well. And it wasn't like she wouldn't go home to her own parents pretty soon, leaving Daisy and the rest of the family to look after Dad and Crystal once she was gone.

Trip had approached as well, clapping a hand to Dad's shoulder; Jack was with him, a large smile on his face. It took a little bit for Ianto and Stephen to join them, needing to shut down the magic that they'd been using in order to keep the portal open. That tingling she'd been feeling faded away, and she was grateful that it was going. She hadn't liked it, but she also knew that Ianto and Stephen would have to do it one more time, to get Iohannes back to his own world.

She really wanted to see the dragon off. She quite liked Iohannes, even if she thought it was a little creepy that he looked so much like Ianto. Still, she'd been the one who'd conversed in a way with her own double, so who was she to talk?

"That was something I don't care to ever experience again," Dad commented, as they stood within the circle of their friends and family.

Clint had one arm around Dad's waist. "You're not the only one."

Daisy had to agree with that sentiment.

"We have one more thing to do," Ianto said. He looked tired and pale, and there was a pinch between his eyebrows that let Daisy know that he had a headache, but she also knew that he wasn't about to make Iohannes stay away from his mate any longer than needed.

That was when Dad noticed the other man in the room. He looked curious as he regarded Iohannes, his eyes flashing with Void then widening in surprise at what he'd seen. "You're definitely not from around here," he greeted dryly.

Iohannes barked a laugh. "Oh, you are very much like my own Phil Coulson. And no, I'm not. I got dragged here by your Ruby Hale when she went looking for monsters in other dimensions."

"I can tell you're magical, but not a magic I know…"

"Iohannes is a dragon," Jack replied. "He's an otherworldly dragon who can change into a human form."

"Really. Now, that is amazing." Dad reached around them all to offer his hand. "Phil Coulson, Grand Master of Void Order."

"Ianto Jones. But everyone has been calling me Iohannes, just to avoid confusion."

"I'm sorry about you getting pulled into our mess, but I'm sure Ianto and Stephen will be able to get you home."

"We can." Stephen looked confident, if a little tired as well. "Why don't we do that now, before Jack drags Ianto back home and back to bed?"

"If you and Ianto are up to it, then I won't object."

"Let me do this first." Ianto reached out and touched Clint on the forehead; a spark passed between them, and her Ata jerked back a little, then smiled. "Thank you for letting me do that, it made things a lot easier."

"No problem. Like I said, I'd do anything if it meant getting Phil and Crystal back."

Dad was looking curious, which meant that they were going to get interrogated once they got home. Daisy didn't mind, because that meant they were all going to be heading home together. Which was all she really wanted.

Her family was back, and Daisy couldn't have been happier.