After everything had settled down, May walked down the hall to find Daisy watching Fitz in the lab with Mack.
Daisy looked at her mother and smiled.
"I'm glad he's talking to someone. I have to admit I'm having a tough time with it." Daisy admitted.
"He's changed." May said.
"We all have. Even the director." Daisy said with a hint of bitterness in her tone.
May looked at her. "Your father has a lot on his plate. Rebuilding SHIELD, it's not easy."
"I wouldn't know, he's not exactly the sharing type these days."
May stepped in front of her.
"He has the world to worry about, not just us."
"That's not it mom!" Daisy told her. "I've been watching him for months I know there's something wrong with him. He's keeping something from me and it's not just because he's the director of SHIELD. I think something's wrong with him."
"Daisy-" May started.
"No, mom be honest. Is he okay?"
May felt bad lying to her daughter like this but it's what Coulson wanted right now.
"Of course." May said.
She knew Daisy didn't believe her. But she made her way down to Coulson's office.
"What is wrong with you? You're the director not some level one SHIELD agent!"
She spent the next five minutes arguing with him about going into the field and him being overly stressed. He agreed it had been too long since his last episode, and he was tired of fighting it.
He spent the next few hours carving into the wall behind the screen, while May documented by taking pictures. She had to pass them on to Daisy so she could look more into them.
The next few days were relatively calm, May continued with Daisy's training, including firearms.
Daisy was getting good, she emptied a magazine and got a kill shot every time.
"I imagined they were all Ward." She told her mother.
"Imagine they're all targets. Don't get cocky. It's all about control in your mind. In the field you need to maintain control." May said with Daisy saying the last couple of sentences along with her.
"Uh oh, the maintain control drill." Natasha said as she strode up.
"My mom was just telling me how small and puny what I just did it." Daisy smirked at Natasha.
"By all means, you try." May stepped back and gestured for Natasha to watch Daisy shoot.
Natasha put a blank target up while Daisy replaced the empty magazine with a full one. Once the target was in place, Daisy took aim.
"Relax, I know you're tired of hearing it but your mom's right." Natasha said, close behind Daisy with her hands on the other woman's shoulders.
Daisy noted the close proximity of Natasha but still managed to breathe and relax. She emptied the gun again and, surprisingly, did better than before.
"Maybe you should be her SO then." May smirked and grabbed her daughter's wrist to check her pulse.
"Sixty-one beats per minute, consistent the whole time. Not that puny." May remarked before grabbing a sniper rifle.
"Speaking of not puny." Daisy raised her eyebrows.
"Yeah I want you to get used to this, it's a sniper rifle." May balanced the gun on her hip.
That was when Hunter and Mack showed up. They eyed Natasha wearily who gave them a blank stare in return.
"Pardon me, one quick question. You went to the SHIELD academy right?" Hunter asked Daisy.
"You didn't. If you did, you'd know better than to shoot us." May said in a dark tone.
"Apology number 470 I am very sorry Agent May-" Hunter tried to say.
"Don't be sorry, just wait." May said with her eyes narrowed.
Both men looked uncomfortable seeing the small but deadly woman threatening Hunter with a sniper rifle balanced on her hip.
"We just have a little wager. So did you?" Mack asked.
"Go to the academy? Yeah, no." Daisy answered.
Hunter sighed.
"Have fun doing inventory. Remember Koenig is very particular." Mack smiled, handed Hunter the clip board, and walked off.
"Coulson said you're an agent with a badge and everything." Hunter whined.
"Yeah badge I had for like a day before SHIELD..." Daisy made an explosion gesture with her hands. "It was more of a work study thing."
Hunter then began describing what Idaho and Hartley would do after they killed on a mission.
"Are you asking me if I've ever taken anyone out?" Daisy asked.
"Have you?" Hunter pried.
"Not that I know of." Daisy said a little hesitantly.
May reminded Hunter that he had inventory to do and assured her daughter knew that experience didn't make it any easier to cross someone off before she ran to catch up with Coulson who was returning from a recruiting mission.
"She's right." Natasha said.
"And you would know." Daisy said casually. Then she realized what she said.
"I'm sorry." She bowed her head. "It just came out."
"It's okay." Natasha said. "Before SHIELD I actually did a lot of bad things, I'm trying to balance the scales like Hunter said his friend used to do. But it doesn't make it easier, even when they're Hydra."
"Because they're still a person." Daisy confirmed.
Natasha nodded. "I avoid it when I can. But sometimes it can't be helped."
Daisy moved over to the sniper rifle her mother had set up for her and got to working on it. Natasha watched with curiosity, the woman took to her training well. She was her mother's daughter through and through. She admired that.
A new problem arose by the end of the day. Donny Gill, who created a weather machine and a super storm, now had freezing powers and was on the loose. When he had been taken from the academy, he went to the sandbox where planted Hydra agents helped him hone his abilities and now they wanted him. Coulson knew they had to get to the young man first.
And he wasn't being subtle. He had frozen a ship that was supposed to cast off. He wanted Hydra to find him so he could take them all out.
The plan was for May, Daisy, Hunter, and Natasha to parachute from the bus onto the ship and try to bring him in. But if they couldn't bring him in, they would have to take them out.
Aboard the ship, it didn't take long to run into Hydra. May took out two agents and informed Coulson they weren't alone.
Daisy was sent to protect the exit route while May, Natasha, and Hunter went in to find Gill.
Coulson got on comms and asked if they had eyes on him yet. A moment later, Hunter spotted him talking to a Hydra agent.
"End that conversation now!" Coulson demanded.
Hunter was about to shoot when May recognized Simmons working undercover for Hydra. She took a shot at Hunter and informed Coulson, Daisy, and Natasha that Simmons was there. Natasha had been briefed on the agents cover before coming on this mission.
"What am I hearing?" Coulson asked, hearing the gunfire.
"Agent May shot me." Hunter sat up and checked his bulletproof vest.
"Repeat?!" Coulson yelled.
"May shot me." Hunter grumbled.
"Simmons is here. Repeat Simmons is on site with Hydra. Do we maintain her cover?" May asked Coulson.
"Yes, maintain her cover."
"What about the primary target?" Hunter asked.
"If we can't take him in we take him out." Coulson instructed.
"Copy that." Hunter responded.
Donny Gill had been brainwashed by Hydra, there was no bringing him in. So as he was attempting to freeze the ship and the agents inside, Daisy used a sniper rifle to take him out, and then pretend to take a shot at the Hydra higher up that Simmons had come here with in order to maintain her cover.
"The threats been neutralized. Hydra doesn't have him." Daisy said over comms. "Simmons' cover has been maintained. They're leaving empty handed, but we're not." She referred to all of the Hydra cargo on the ship.
After the mission, May found her daughter on the bus working on her laptop.
"What are you doing in here?" She asked in a soft voice.
Daisy had taken someone out for the first time, May had to check on her.
"I don't know. It reminds me of before." Daisy said without looking up.
"We should replace the glass if we're going to take her out regularly." May looked around.
"I've been checking Moroccan law enforcement channels. They still haven't found Donny Gill's body." Daisy said in an emotional voice.
May sat up in the table and put an arm around her shoulder, Daisy leaned her head on her mother's shoulder.
"That it?" May leaned her cheek on Daisy's head.
"I'm scared for Simmons. I get why dad kept her cover a secret from me to keep her safe but you knew?"
"I knew." May kissed her head.
"Simmons is a terrible liar." Daisy stated.
May giggled a little.
"I'm serious! I love her but her trying to lie? It's a horror show!" Daisy said.
"Maybe before." May said. "She can handle it now. She's good. She's not the only one."
Daisy nodded.
"Thanks mom."
Later on, May ran into Natasha.
"So, how's she doing?" The red head asked.
Knowing exactly who Natasha was talking about, May sighed.
"Okay. She's more worried about Simmons. I don't blame her, last time they saw each other Simmons was a horrible liar." May grinned.
"So it's been a while then?" Natasha asked.
May didn't lie to herself, she missed Simmons too.
"Yeah but she's doing good work. She tipped us off about Gill. This wouldn't have happened without her." May said.
"And you wouldn't have gotten Hunter back without her." Natasha raised an eyebrow.
May smirked. "Yeah, that did feel pretty good. He said I bruised his shoulder."
"I'm surprised that's all you did."
"There's only so much I can do."
"So, are you ever going to tell me more about you and Coulson? About Skye?" Natasha inquired.
"Why so curious?" May cocked an eyebrow.
"My SO has a super secret past, not something I'm not used to but I can't help but want to know." Natasha shrugged.
"That it?" May teased. She had caught Natasha staring at her daughter a few times, and not just curiously.
"Forgive me for wanting to get to know more about the people I'm bunking with." Natasha smiled before walking off.
She was on her way to the gym to train when she heard someone taking deep breaths.
She turned a corner and found Daisy backed against a wall, next to the door that led to the vault cell Ward was in. She was breathing deeply.
"Hey! Hey!" Natasha put her hands on Daisy's shoulders. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing I just...I..." Daisy stammered.
"Okay I'm going to get your mom." Natasha tried to walk away but Daisy grabbed her arm.
"No don't it's okay. I don't want to worry her." Daisy pled.
"Daisy, what's going on?" Natasha stepped closer. She glanced at the vault door. "What did he do?" She looked angry.
"Hydra, Hydra is going to come after me. Something about my DNA." Daisy said.
"What about your DNA?" Natasha inquired.
"Come with me." Daisy grabbed her arm and took her to an empty office. "I don't want my parents to know, they have enough on their plates."
Natasha nodded.
"Hydra thinks that I have some gift, something special about me and they want it. Ward said Garrett wanted me and Hydra wants to bring in any and all gifteds. If they can't, they take them out. Like they would have done with Gill."
"Daisy, it's okay. Your parents won't let anything happen to you, none of us will." Natasha assured her. She felt for the woman, and she could see how emotional this made her.
"How far is Hydra willing to go if I'm already on their radar?"
"I don't know but we aren't just going to hand you over. It'll be okay." Natasha stepped closer, now in Daisy's personal space.
Daisy nodded.
"Are you okay?" Natasha touched her arm.
Daisy checked a device on her wrist. Her heart rate was slowing down steadily, she was calming.
"I'm fine. I just had a small panic attack." She ran her fingers through her hair.
"Hey, I know Simmons is your friend and she's undercover in Hydra right now but if you need to talk, it's okay to talk to me." Natasha usually wasn't this open, but she was with Daisy.
"Thanks." Daisy smiled before they walked out of the office.
Some time later, the alien writing Daisy was working on popped up. A church in Miami had burned down and the only thing that survived was a religious painting that had the writing carved into the back.
A philanthropist was throwing a gala to raise money for the church, and they needed to get in to see the painting. So Hunter went undercover and distracted the man's assistant in order to hack and steal tickets for May and Coulson to get in.
Natasha, Tripp, and Daisy listened on comms from the bus while May and Coulson went undercover.
"Where is the painting Daisy?" May asked.
"Third floor under security, it'll be brought out to the guests later." Daisy answered.
"How heavy is the security?" May inquired.
"Still assessing." Daisy worked on her computer.
"Soto is sending out the painting in the morning for verification. Rita whispered it in my ear, if you know what I mean." Hunter implied.
"Yes everybody on the planet knows what you mean." Coulson shut him up.
Natasha smirked next to Daisy, who smiled back automatically.
"Are you sure you don't want me there? I can get around any security measures there." Daisy asked her father.
"No, keeping it to two agents allows us to minimize detection." Coulson informed her. "This writing was in Garrett's lab, the obelisk, and now a 500 year old piece of art. Getting that painting could mean answers for us."
"Okay, we will-"
Daisy was cut off by a very disturbing sound.
"Wait What was that?" She asked.
"Yeah, that's your mom." Coulson said.
"Is she okay? Is everything okay?" Skye demanded.
"Yes, she's laughing. I think the worst of it is over now." Coulson said.
Daisy knew her mother, she didn't laugh out loud like that. She giggled occasionally, but she was serious most of the time. She glanced around at her other teammates. Tripp looked slightly afraid, Fitz confused, and Natasha just had her eyebrows scrunched. She must not have done anything undercover with May.
When Hunter and Mack were back on board, Tripp complained that he was left babysitting an empty plane while Hunter was off wooing Soto's assistant.
"It's weird. Women just like me. I don't get it." Hunter smirked at Natasha, who raised an eyebrow.
"If it makes you feel any better, I don't get it either." Daisy teased.
"If I wanted someone to take jabs at me I'd still be married." Hunter complained.
"Oh no not this again. Can we not?" Mack groaned
"Oh no I think we can." Daisy countered.
"Oh now this I can agree on." Natasha added.
Hunter went on to spin a tale about meeting his ex wife and having no idea she was what he called a she-devil.
"Hey guys." The comms came back on.
"Best timing ever." Tripp said.
"Decided to come back online did we?" Daisy was slightly frustrated.
Coulson changed the mood completely when he told them Talbot was there and they needed to go for the painting now instead of later.
"I'll take point." May said before she moved in on Soto and began flirting, much to the irritation of Coulson and the shock of everyone else. Even Daisy hadn't seen her mother this friendly.
"Okay she's my mom and I haven't heard her talk this much." Daisy commented. She looked over at Hunter who had a stupidly confused look on his face.
"Alright Agent May." Tripp smiled.
"That's very alarming." Fitz whispered.
"I have to agree. This is just scary." Natasha admitted.
Everyone stared over at her, the Black Widow didn't scare easily.
"What?" She asked them. They all shook their heads and focused back on the mission.
They ended up having to grab the painting a lot faster than they anticipated. Talbot looked like he was interfering. But there was no painting.
Apparently that morning Talbot took possession of it stating it was part of an ongoing military investigation. This threw all kinds of wrenches into their plans.
They tried to make an escape but Talbot caught them on their way out. He proposed they help each other out. He wanted to let them examine the back of the paining but in a secure military facility.
No one liked the sound of that, especially Daisy. What she heard was the government trying to entrap her parents and lock them away.
Back on the bus she was tending up, listening in on every word. Then she felt a hand on hers.
"Hey, ease up." Natasha told her, "They're not just going to hand themselves over."
Sure enough, Coulson said he needed to check in with their team and May told him it didn't add up. She would be going ahead of him to Talbot's hotel, to make sure he wasn't up to anything.
"See?" Natasha grinned satisfactorily.
"You love being right don't you." Daisy rolled her eyes but relaxed.
"I get the feeling she's right most of the time." Tripp smirked.
"Now that's a smart man." Natasha pointed over at him.
"Alright, I give." Daisy held her hands up. "My mom can handle herself, but I don't think we should just let them walk into a secure government facility."
"It'll be fine. We'll work out an emergency extraction plan." Natasha assured her.
Coulson made his way back to the bus and a short while later, got a phone call from May that everything checked out okay and she would be coming back to get him soon.
She walked on the plane and everyone was working out what the next step would be.
"Hey!" Daisy said with a smile, "We were just about to-"
"Good. Coulson?" She nodded to him as she walked by.
Daisy watched them go with a confused look.
"Okay, that was weird right?" Skye asked the others.
Natasha narrowed her eyes.
"May is always serious, especially on a mission." Tripp shrugged.
"No, she barely acknowledged Daisy." Natasha said.
But on her way out, she apologized.
"Hey I'm sorry I just brushed you off, just trying to stay focused you know?" May put a hand on Daisy's shoulder.
"Yeah, no I get it." Daisy smiled slightly. Something still felt off to her but she supposed May was just nervous potentially letting Coulson go with Talbot.
May smiled back and went with Coulson on their way to see he general.
But Daisy's gut was right. Soon after her parents left, the bus shut down emergency exits and the ramp closed. Something was wrong.
"The bus thinks we made a water landing!" Mack read the schematics. "There's no way out."
"Who's doing this?" Hunter asked.
"We're the only ones on the bus. This is all happening automatically." Daisy said.
"I think I know." Fitz suddenly said. "Somebody, they, uhh..."
He still struggled with communication thanks to his brain injury. He was pointing at a device that was planted on the plan discreetly, that wasn't there before May had gotten back.
"Sabotage." Mack confirmed.
"God!" Daisy wrung her hands in her hair. "I knew that wasn't my mom."
"We all thought it was her." Natasha pointed out.
"Yeah but she's my mom, if anyone should have known it was me. Now we're in trouble." Daisy said.
Fitz confirmed their worst fears by saying if they didn't put a stop to it soon, the plan would explode.
They ran around like chickens trying to solve it and keep the plane from exploding. But it wasn't easy with their engineer disposed with a brain injury.
And then to top things off, the real May had been captured by Bakshi who was pretending to be Talbot.
Daisy had never been so relieved when she saw her parents walk up the ramp.
"What happened?" She said as she ran to her mother and hugged her. She noted May was sweaty and had burn marks. "What did he do to you?"
"He tried to torture information out of me." May said.
"I take it that didn't end well." Natasha said as she walked over to them.
"Coulson chased him down and knocked him out, I electrocuted his friend right in the face." May smirked.
"After she got into a fight with herself." Coulson added.
"Yeah how exactly did that happen? She liked exactly like you? Do I have an evil aunt I don't know about?" Skye grinned.
"A nano mask. She used it to impersonate May after they knocked her out." Coulson answered.
"Kind of wish I had been there to see that." Natasha crossed her arms.
"Don't be jealous, Nat." Coulson smiled. "It was hardly fair, she wasn't anywhere near May's level."
May grinned at her daughter, wrapped an arm around her shoulder, Daisy wrapped an arm around her waist, and they went into the bus together.
"What happened here?" Coulson asked Natasha.
"The fake May tried to blow us up." The woman answered.
"What?!" May stopped in her tracks. Then she turned and examined Daisy. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine mom." Daisy brushed her off. "She planted a device that spread a virus through the plane, Fitz stopped it before it could get to the fuel."
"She tried to kill my daughter." A very dark look overcame her.
Natasha's eyes widened, she wasn't sure she had ever seen her former SO this angry.
"She didn't, everyone's fine." Coulson approached her and squeezed her shoulders with his hands, attempting to relax her.
"I'm going to kill her." May simply stated before she went to change clothes and go to the cockpit.
"So, drinks anyone?" Natasha asked.
"Please." Daisy said with wide eyes. Sometimes she forgot she had parents now, May being overprotective reminded her.