S.H.I.E.L.D. Base Lighthouse – Command:
645 hrs/80thday after incident
"What do you mean there's not trace of her?" May demanded as Fitz scrolled through surveillance of every floor.
The young man stopped for a moment, his fingers poised over the computer keyboard. "Well, that's not exactly true…" He dropped his fingers and rapidly typed at the sound of her low growl. "It just isn't much help."
May drew a breath through her teeth, exhaled slowly and watched as the screen blurred then slowly focused to show a small girl dragging a large crate down a dim hallway, pushing it to the wall then climbing on to it. She narrowed her eyes and looked closer then turned to Fitz and back to the screen. "What the…"
"It's the console hub on the thirteenth floor. I believe she is…" Before Fitz could finish the kid turned to the screen and raised one finger. A second later the camera showed only static."
"Did she…" May's voice was incredulous.
Fitz nodded. "Exactly, she disabled half of the camera's I've managed to get working. The rest she simply avoided. She knows the location of every one."
Coulson shook his head. "I don't think that was what May meant, but how the hell would she even know about any of that?"
Fitz fell silent and continued typing, flipping off the scene and once again scanning other views on the several larger screens on the wall.
"Fitz…" May's comment was more a threat than a question. She looked to Simmons who had been silently watching since they'd regrouped in command.
Fitz blew a breath through puffed cheeks and set his hands down lightly on either side of the keyboard. "It is probably because she has been helping me get the system up to date and…"
"Damn it!" May spat.
"Oh, Fitz," Simmons almost scolded.
"You had her helping you set up this…this…" Coulson was near speechless.
"Surveillance, sir," Fitz finished for him.
"Have you lost your mind?!" May demanded, stepping so close the young man could feel her breath.
"No!" Fitz barked back. "No, I haven't," he repeated in a calmer tone.
For a moment it was silent as everyone merely stared at everyone else. Fitz drew a deep breath and continued. "You were all so hell-bent on bloody treating her like a child…"
May let out an exasperated breath and walked away then turned back and crossed her arms over her chest. Anything she had to say right now would only exacerbate the situation. She chose to save her anger until it could be best used.
Fitz looked at Jemma who returned a sigh. "All of you," he continued, "fawning and cooing over her like she was a wee child."
"Damn it, Fitz, right now she is a child. Look at her!" Coulson's voice was tense as he pointed to the now blank computer screen.
"But not here," Fitz tapped his temple. "She is still the best computer whiz we have and she needed something to do and I didn't mind the help. She needed to feel useful, not just some poor thing taking up space." He stopped, feeling the pain of the distant memory of feeling much the same. His accident…injury had left him feeling much like a child that everyone tiptoed around or treated him as if he would shatter if they spoke to him. The young man drew a shaky breath and glanced at Jemma before continuing. "This place is so antiquated and so much had to be rewired and decades of dust and small gnawing rodents did nothing to keep it in working order."
"So you had Daisy work on security?" Coulson was flabbergasted.
"She knew what she was doing," Fitz countered, then mumbled, "and a bit more than I knew about how to get around it. Who better to create an unhack-able system than a master hacker?"
May let out a hiss that drove a chill through both scientists. She did not have to speak to let them know her feelings.
Coulson stepped closer. "Such as?" His voice was gratingly serious.
Fitz looked from one person to the other and shook his head again. "Apparently she was able to get into all of the files. As long as she can get to one of the hubs she can turn on or off any secure parameter she pleases. I can turn them back on but I have to get through her gobblety gook first." He ended with a frustrated huff. "She excels at covering her tracks."
"So you're saying Daisy can go anywhere in the most secure base on earth and we have no way to locate her." May's voice was so cold it felt razor sharp.
Fitz shook his head. "Not that way." He pointed to the computer screen. "All of the lockdowns are still in place. They aren't controlled by the same system and need the director's order to be released, even she cannot get through that…" He paused and thought for a second, "well, not quickly in any case."
"Well, thank God for small favors." May huffed.
"We don't have the manpower to look for her the regular way, either." Mack announced as he and Elena moved into the room, having heard the argument from the ramp below. "We've covered four flours but she could be on one as soon as we clear it."
"There is no sign of her in the vents." Yoyo shook her head. "But like Mack said she could be two floors above or below even before I get there." Yoyo brushed the dust and cobwebs from her arms. "And she fits in those damn small holes like a little ratón."
"Sir," one of the young agent's voices came through the microphone on the main hub. Mack flicked a switch and responded signaling the agent to continue. "We found something near the tunnels." He hesitated then cleared his throat and went on when Mack again ordered him to go on. "It's blood sir…not much and we don't know for sure."
May was already on her way with Coulson a step behind. Neither waiting to hear what else was said.
Day 80 still - I didn't sleep very long cuz it isn't very comfortable with buttons and switches and all that plan stuff sticking in your back. I knew it must be almost morning because the lights were getting brighter. Somebody had the idea to make the lights go up and down with the time. I guess it was so people living like moles under the ground would know what time of day it was. Fitz told me it was for circadian rhythm. It kinda made sense otherwise I guess you'd never know when it was time to sleep or what it would be if you needed to go outside. I pushed my legs out because they were kinda achy. The cut on my knee wasn't bad but the blood was all crusty on my leg and my sock was hard where it dripped and dried. I picked it off and wondered why it looked like brown paint.
I looked at the pilot's seat and thought about how big it looked. It made me think of this big dumb chair we had at St. Agnes. Somebody donated it and the sisters put it in the big room, where everybody played or sometimes got to watch TV if the nuns found something they felt was not objectionable. This chair didn't match anything. It was kind of an orangey color but it might have been red once and it smelled like an old man's pipe no matter how many times the nuns washed it. It had huge arms and these sides that stuck out right above them. There was a rip in the place where your head would rest and one of the nuns put an old blanket over it. It was kind of ugly but it was really soft and I used to curl up in it and put my head against the blanket. I'd close my eyes and pretend I was sitting on my mom's lap and she was hugging me. Sometimes I'd reach across it with my arms and hug it back. Sometimes I'd fall asleep on it. I thought if I did I could force myself to dream of a real mom but it never worked.
I pushed myself up off the floor and climbed onto the pilot's seat. It wasn't soft or huge like the big old chair but my real mom sat there a lot and flew this jet. My arm reached all the way across it so I gave it a hug and really wished I hadn't screwed everything up so bad. Then maybe I could still have a real hug…from my real mom. It was dumb to miss it, dumb to think like a little kid but I couldn't help it. Maybe it was all that time with Skye or maybe it was seventy days of having a mom to hug me…real me…well real little me not a multiverse me or a me whose body I was borrowing. But dummy me let myself get used to it and it hurt like a thousand hells to lose it. I didn't really know what to do or how to fix it. So I just started crying again. I think I cried so much in the last couple days that there's no water left in my body.
Maybe that somebody was right and if you cried too much you wouldn't pee.
MEANWHILE -
Coulson and May arrived at the entrance to the tunnel within minutes. They were met by several young agents who were still combing the area. The faint beam of a flashlight could be seen a few hundred feet into the darkness.
The agent apparently in charge approached them. "Sorry, sir, they still haven't been able to get the light working in this area."
Coulson waved him off. He really was not concerned with that fact now. He moved to follow May who had joined two other agents who had sectioned off a small area on the floor near the small electric carts. He looked down at the small drops of brownish stain on the floor.
"It's been here a few hours, sir. It's already dry but we managed to follow a trail." He pointed with his flashlight to the line of carts, one of which was pointed in the opposite direction that the others. Waiting until both senior agents had looked in that direction he moved toward the cart. "There's a bit here on the floor and the wheel." Again he used the flashlight to point out the areas. "And it looks like someone may have smeared a bit here." Using the light he showed them a swatch on the edge of the seat. When neither commented he added, "there's nothing else, sir. I've got three agents walking the tunnel. It will be a bit before they report."
Coulson gave a quick nod as May leaned back from inspecting the interior of the cart more closely. "There's only a bit of blood, May. It can't be bad, probably only a scratch." He assured her.
May drew a breath and gave a nod, agreeing with Coulson while at the same time dismissing the young agent. Once he had moved away she took a few steps and paused. "We did this." She spoke without turning to face her partner. "We agreed to that ridiculous proposal Fitz-Simmons dreamed up and this is what…"
"They were only trying to help, May." Coulson stepped behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. "We all agreed it was worth a shot."
"I never agreed." She hissed back, shaking his hand away. "It was a stupid idea and I was just as stupid for going along." Spinning back on him she continued, "she could be anywhere on this damn base and that isn't the worst of it. You know her Phil, when she's hurt or scared she runs. What if she got out before that lockdown? Do you know what could happen to her out there?"
"I know I feel sorry for anyone who tried to pull anything on her." Coulson chuckled trying to lighten the situation.
"This is serious. This is our child, Phil, I can't lose her again." May was close to cracking. It did not happen often, but Coulson recognized it.
"Okay," he spoke softly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and waited for her to push him away. When that didn't happen he continued, walking her away from the tunnel back toward command. "I'm sure we caught it in time and she is still here. We need to take some time…to think."
"SIR!" the young agent interrupted as he ran to catch up to them.
Coulson dropped his arm. May pulled her angry mask back into place. The young man ignored their closeness, he cleared his throat.
"We've heard from the Night-watchman. Agent Johnson was there about three hours ago." The young man spoke quickly.
"Three hours!?" May repeated.
Before she could go on the agent continued. "Communications are sketchy in this part of the base ma'am. They are working on it." He tried to cover his gulp of apprehension with a cough.
"Damn it," May spat. "She's out there with an almost four hour lead. She could be anywhere."
"No ma'am," the young man shook his head. "He says he talked to her for a bit then turned her around and sent her back. Might be why that cart is heading south instead of north like the others." He jerked a thumb over his shoulders toward the small fleet of mini-vehicles.
"She knows she is not to take one of those without one of us with her." Coulson defended the absent girl.
May let out a snort and rolled her eyes, "like that means shit…she's pulled every stunt in the book and you think she wouldn't just hotwire one of those putt-putts and go joyriding?"
"Technically, ma'am the keys are in them and they don't get more than 3 or 4 mph." He muttered before realizing she didn't really give a damn.
"You see," Coulson actually smiled as if it were a good thing. "She's still here, in the base." He tapped the com in his ear and ordered Yoyo to check the bunk Daisy'd been using, then looked at May. "She could be right back where she started, sound asleep while we're pulling our hair out."
May raised an eyebrow and glanced at his head. "Luckily you haven't got much to pull."
Coulson rubbed a hand over his thinning hair and gave a small shrug.
"There's no way she went back there." May growled a moment before Yoyo affirmed the girl was not there.
Coulson blew out a frustrated breath and told the agent to have his team finish with their task and return to quarters. They could all use the rest. He hurried to catch up to May who had already rounded the corner at the end of the corridor. "Like I said," he huffed as he worked to catch his breath. "We know her. We just need to figure out where'd she go."
May did not answer, simply plowed ahead for several steps before stopping so suddenly Coulson plowed into her. When Daisy's powers had overwhelmed her and she refused to stay in the base…when Coulson dragged her back with that Hell Head… A second later she marched forward, double-time.
"May…" Coulson called after her.
"I know where she is." She called back without turning.
Coulson opened his mouth to reply, then snapped it shut and followed.
DAY 80 PROBABLY BREAKFAST TIME I figured that because my stomach grumbled and woke me up. It was a good thing because I heard something. It was just a little sound but I was pretty sure somebody was in the plane. Maybe it was maintenance, cuz they do checks a lot or maybe there was a mission and they were doing a pre-check. May said it was import to make sure the plane was perfect before taking off…ever…even if you just landed. Whatever it was there was no way I could move or hide without them seeing me, unless…
I slid down real slow, almost like melting and fit right under the instrument panel. If I squeezed back real far I didn't think anybody could see me. I guess being a shrimp is a good thing sometimes and as long as nobody sat down I was pretty sure I'd be out of sight. I tried real hard not to breath loud or move and make something click or bump. Maybe somebody just forgot something and they'd just grab it and be gone.
Only they didn't.
It is a little strange but sitting down makes a noise, so does standing up. May taught me that. She taught me to listen not only to everything but with everything not just my ears. So I knew whoever was there sat down on the seats along the side of the jet. I knew there was at least two people but I didn't know why they would just come in and sit there…unless there was a mission and they…but no, the pilot didn't come to check the plane and nobody would get on before the pre-check. It wasn't proto…pro…it was a rule that they couldn't. And why can't I spell the words I want. I can say them but the letters feel like they get mixed up sometimes. None of that mattered because somebody was just sitting there and I was just stuck under the panel. So I just kept listening.
I almost gave it away when I heard Coulson say it would be alright and that she had to be somewhere. I knew he meant me. I actually slapped my hand over my mouth when May said she didn't know where else to look and what if I was outside the base. She said she never should have let me be all alone in that room and it was a big mistake even if Simmons thought it might kick start me to growing back into myself. I didn't know that and it kinda made me mad that no one told me. A second later she said they should have told me but Coulson said they didn't think it would work if I was just too ankshus…damn, I know that is not how to spell it! He said Simmons thought if they treated me like I was my old self it might force the after effect to stop and I'd be cured. Then May said a lot of words she keeps telling me not to say and that it didn't damn work and now I thought she just threw me away. It sounded funny cuz May's voice never sounds like it's breaking or she's just holding back from…well from being not May. Nobody said anything for a couple minutes and I figured Coulson was just letting her know everything was okay like he always does buy putting his arm around you and just letting you lean on him til you don't feel so awful. It made me feel sad just to think about it. I moved my leg cuz it was getting a little crampy and I hit something that made a clink so I froze but nobody did anything.
I just heard May take a breath and I was pretty sure she was going to tell Coulson to be quiet and start listening. I knew she'd hear me breathing so I just held it, but damn, May could hear your heart beating. It must have worked cuz I didn't hear them move or come closer or even stand up.
May said they searched everywhere and not one agent found a trace of me. She said she didn't know how she would handle losing me and Coulson told here she didn't. She said even if they found me I would never forgive them. He said he didn't think that was a problem. Then May said she didn't know what she would do with Ling-a-ling. Coulson said he missed making me breakfast and reading together every night. He said he missed being a family and was glad we had the time to do that even if it was just a couple months. May said she did too and that she felt like she needed something, like something was really missing and that she just wanted to hug me and hold me and never let me go again.
That's when I just choked a sob. I couldn't help it. This time I knew they heard because they stood up and May asked Coulson if he heard something. He didn't answer right away but then said he thought somebody was in the jet. I pulled my knees up close and wrapped my arms around them and tried to cry quieter. It didn't work because I knew they were there, scrunched down and looking at me.
Coulson said, 'hey, Daisy, what cha doing under there?' but I didn't answer him so he said it didn't look very comfortable. He asked me to come out but I just didn't look at him and shook my head. He said he thought I should cuz we wouldn't all fit in there and it would be a good idea if we all sat together. I just shook my head again but kept it down on my knees. I heard May breath before she said anything then I felt her tap the back of my hand. I just looked at her fingers. She was holding out her hand and I looked at her. She wriggled her fingers like she wanted me to take her hand and she was definitely saying 'come on, let's go,' with her eyes. I just slipped my hand into hers and let her tug me out.
When I stood up she just looked at me and I looked at the floor. I was pretty sure she was gonna read me the riot act…again and I didn't want to see how happy-sad Coulson looked. A minute later she scooped me right up and hugged me real tight and just hugged her right back because I think we both really needed it. Coulson hugged us too. May talked to me real quiet in my ear and said, 'don't you ever pulled a damn stupid stunt like that again'. I just hugged her tighter. Coulson kissed the back of my head and we all went to sit on the jet's seats. I got plopped right between them.
Coulson said he was sorry about all this and May said it never should have happened. I told them I thought they just wanted to be done with me since they couldn't send me back. They both said that would never happen and that they were sorry I felt like that. They did all the explaining about Simmons and Fitz's theory about kick starting me to grow into my self and May said again it was a dopey idea. They said they were sorry a million times and that it didn't matter how long it took to fix this crazy situation, we'd do together. Coulson said they would try harder to work with the adult part of my head but I had to understand they still needed to protect the kid part of my body. I just nodded cuz I really didn't know how that was going to work and I was pretty sure there was more to discuss so I asked if I was in trouble. But, I didn't look at either of them even though I knew they looked at each other.
Coulson held my hand and said I had to learn that running away was not the answer and that by this time he really hoped I had. Even though it was a bad situation they would have taken care of it. He reminded me I needed to trust the system. He said that sometimes people make mistakes like he and May did with this dumb plan but when they realize it's dumb they fix it and don't do it again. That made sense. Then he said that when somebody knows something they did was a mistake but they keep doing it anyway it isn't a mistake anymore, just a bad habit. He said my bad habit of running away needed to stop. He didn't yell, just kind of explained it, but when he said maybe I just needed a good reminder I didn't think things looked good.
May tapped my knee and I turned to look at her. She said she wasn't really happy with the mess in the bunk I was using and I kinda mumbled that I would clean it up but she said it was taken care of already. Then she pointed out that I'd left the base vulnerable when I disabled the security system and she was not impressed with the salute I gave after I did. She pointed to the gash on my knee and asked how I got it. I shrugged at first and she got quiet, just staring at me until I told her what happened. She asked if I moved the cart and I just nodded real slow and kept my head down til she told me to look at her. She asked me again and I knew she wanted an answer in words so I said 'yes' and she just shook her head real little. Then she asked me if I was in trouble. I said 'definitely'. Then we all got real quiet.
I really needed more hugging so I stood up and just squeezed May again, but I whispered 'māmā duìbùqǐ'. She hugged me too and patted my back. She said, 'wǒ zhīdào, wǒ kě'ài de gūniáng.' That made me feel good cuz I knew she forgave me for being stupid and I was pretty sure I was in for a sore butt. I asked her and she said, 'definitely' so I hugged her tighter. May said maybe we should go clean the cut on my knee and have Simmons take a look at it. I told her it maybe just needed a band aid. She said she'd let Simmons decide and I just shrugged. That's when Coulson said right now we were going to put things back where they belonged and everyone was going to get some rest since we'd been up almost all night. He stood up and picked me right up too. I just wrapped around him and rested my head on his shoulder cuz now I really felt tired, but while we were walking out and I was just staring at the cockpit and I asked if I could have grilled cheese sandwich. He said I could have whatever I wanted and May just shook her head.
DAY 83 All my stuff got moved back to my room and Ling-a-ling just reappeared on my bed. Turns out it was the end of the school year but they told me I was done. We talked about it for a while and I said I didn't really mind because I never really graduated anyway so maybe we should think about it some more. They agreed and I actually felt good about making a decision all together.
I thought a lot about them finding me in the jet and figured they knew I was there when they were talking so I asked. May said they were sure I was there because it was where I usually hid when I was feeling bad. They knew when they came up the ramp because there is a mirror over the pilot's seat that lets that person see if someone is coming up that ramp. It's kinda like a rear view mirror. Did you know if you can see someone in a mirror that they can see you? I forgot about it but they could see me curled up there and sliding under the console so they just pretended until I came out. It wasn't really a trick just a way to let me know how they felt before they came and got me. Hey…it worked.
The cut on my knee is almost gone and all it needed was some peroxide and a band aid. Jemma said we didn't want it to get infected. It didn't. I didn't get that spanking May promised and I did not ask why. Maybe Coulson put in a good word or maybe because I still had that split kinda shirt on my body and arm. It doesn't hurt anymore but kinda itches a lot. Jemma said it might come off today or tomorrow cuz everything looks healed enough…kind of an inhuman thing…everything heals faster.
Fitz let me work with him fixing all of the security cameras. We both thought that was a no-go but everybody agreed I was good at it. I also told him about the door to the warehouse and how it didn't get locked down when everything else did. I pointed it out we wouldn't have know that if I didn't find it. May said that didn't earn me any brownie points. I giggled because it wasn't something very May-ish but she looked at me with that mom-look and I knew she wasn't being funny. Me and Fitz are working on getting the lights and communications to work in the tunnel and the warehouse too. I even got my own laptop in the lab and Fitz let me sit on the counter…well mostly cuz I can't reach anything from the chairs but I get to help every day. I got my special watch back too and they told me that yes there was a tracker on it, but it was for my own safety. I guess I just have to live with it for now.
DAY 85 Jemma said I was good today and took off the splint shirt. It was great to be able to scratch but she told me not to because it would just get worse. She gave May some medicine for itching and said to use it two times a day.
An hour later May demonstrated that she does not say anything she doesn't mean. She talked to me for a long time about the things that happened when I tried to run away.
I'm pretty sure my butt's gonna sting til tomorrow…after supper…
