Chapter 2: The Investigation
Two Days Later, HQ
"So, what do you know so far?" Mack asked May and Coulson as the team sat around a table in the conference room.
"Melody was born July 2, 1988, in the morning, but Ava is a different story." "Amelia Handhawk brought her to us on November 1 of the same year, telling us that the DNA tests they ran said that she was our daughter." "We still don't know how that's possible; they were both taken from us on a trip to China's Huan providence," Coulson explained.
"Wait did you say July 2?" Daisy asked sitting up to her full height in her chair in surprise.
"Yes, why?" Coulson asked answering Daisy's question at the same time.
"Just wanted to make sure I heard you right," Daisy replied. Coulson and May looked at each other, knowing full well that there was more to it than she let on but decided not to press. Knowing that it might not end well if they did.
"What did they look like?" Jemma asked.
"They look similar with desert rose completions and similar features, but Ava has dark brown hair and slightly larger dark brown eyes, while Melody has slightly curly black hair and her eyes were a lighter brown," Coulson replied.
"Well, the first step to finding them should be to find out who took them," Mack stated.
"How are we going to do that?" Kora asked.
"It was Hydra," May stated in a matter-of-fact tone.
"How do you know that?" Daisy asked out of pure curiosity.
"The spider had a Hydra symbol on it," May told her friends.
"How come I didn't see it?" Coulson wonders out loud.
"Because you weren't looking," May stated.
"A good place to start would be by going through some of the old files to see if we can find anything we can use," Mack told the team.
"When were they taken?" Yo-yo asked.
"February 18, 1989," Coulson responded.
"We could also go through the database, for anyone who matches their descriptions." "Maybe someone ran into one or both of them but didn't know who they were," Daisy suggested.
Mack nodded. "Good idea you can work on that while the rest of us go through the files," Mack told Daisy, who nodded smiling having gotten out of reading through who knows how many files. "We'll meet back here in the morning," Mack concluded.
Ten minutes later Daisy was on her laptop accessing the database. Daisy sighed as she put in the parameter: Asian-Americans born 1988-1989, providing room for any errors in their birthdates, knowing from firsthand that they weren't always very accurate. Daisy looked at the long list of people around her age and sighed, this was going to take a lot longer than she had first thought.
Looking through the list of people, Daisy began to cross people out. The list had gotten a lot smaller there were not very many who matched Ava and Melody's descriptions and all of them had known biological parents including herself.
Daisy sighed once again; she had hit a dead end. She hated seeing May and Coulson so sad, but she was also worried that they would no longer want to spend time with her when they found their daughters. But she tried not to spend time thinking about that, the important thing was to find them. So maybe they could have what she never had, real loving parents who cared about her and were not psychopaths.
Meanwhile, the rest of the team was looking through all files from 1987 to1989, hoping to find a lead. "I think I found something," Jemma said after a while. She started to read the file out loud.
In 1982 S.H.I.E.L.D scientists working in China's Huan provenance started researching ways to help unborn babies with only half their DNA be born normal. In late 1987 they were ready for volunteers. Two unnamed couples were the first to volunteer, both eager for their unborn daughters to have semi-normal lives. For their and their baby's safety, the babies were injected with the DNA of a random male and female agent, who volunteered their DNA. Some of which were Phil Coulson, Melinda May, and Violet Sendoff….
Jemma stopped reading, "It's possible that one of those babies was Ava," Jemma revealed. "I mean you said you don't know where she came from and your names are on the list."
Later in the evening, Jemma walked over to the couch where Daisy was sitting. "You, okay?" Jemma asked.
"Yeah, I just hit a dead end," Daisy replied frustrated.
"Are you sure that's all? Jemma asked, "You seem a little worried." Daisy sighed and looked up at her best friend, who was like a big sister to her.
"It's just… I'm worried that when we do find Ava and Melody, May and Coulson won't want to spend time with me anymore," Daisy confided in her friend. "Before…. I mean, I thought I was the closest thing they had to a daughter but now…" "Now they have two daughters, where does that leave me? "What if they don't want to act as parents to me anymore?" Daisy asked Jemma.
"Oh, Daisy of course they'll still want to spend time with you and they'll always be like parents to you, they love you and nothing can change that even if they had twenty daughters," Jemma told her pseudo little sister.
"Thanks, Jem," Daisy said offering her friend a small smile, her spirits lifting. "Maybe they'll be like sisters to me."
"That's the spirit!" Jemma encouraged her friend. Suddenly, an idea struck Jemma that if she was right could and that would change the team forever.
Later in her lab, Jemma began to run a DNA test on her lab computer. When it was completed, Jemma opened the results. She gasped.
"Why did you gasp?" Fitz asked coming into the room.
"I found something Fitz, I found something!" Jemma said getting excited. "I was right!" "I was right!"
"Right about what?" Fitz asked.
Jemma grinned, "I'll show you at the meeting," she told her husband. Fitz sighed wondering what in the world had gotten his wife so excited.
