"Girls, I honestly can't believe I'm saying this but Bobbi's in charge while we're away." Melinda voiced. "She's the oldest and oftentimes she's the most responsible."
Phil added, "Yeah, that's usually when Hunter is not around."
She laughed at her husband's comment before addressing the girls once more. "We will only be gone for a couple of days."
"But Mom, what if-"
"Daisy, you will be fine." She smiled as she knelt to the girl's level. "Jemma and Bobbi will take care of you. You have nothing to worry about."
"Why do you both need to go?!" Daisy whined. "You two only go together when it's that serious."
"It is that serious." Melinda looked at her apologetically. She felt bad for leaving Daisy in a time like this when at any time a panic attack or night terror could occur. "If Fury didn't need us both we wouldn't both be going. Now I can't tell you what the mission is or where but I can assure you that your father and I will be alright."
"If you say so."
"Cheer up, my little flower." Phil scooped Daisy into his arms. "Tell you what, when we get back we can arrange an exclusive tour of The Hub."
"Really?! We're never really allowed to go anywhere in The Hub!" Daisy squealed. "That would be amazing!"
"Look at her, Daddy's little princess and Mommy's greatest warrior," Jemma remarked. "It's good to see her all excited."
"Yeah, the last couple of days were tough." Bobbi agreed. "I missed this side of her."
"I just hope this side of her stays." She replied. "With the Night Terrors and the Panic Attacks, her depression was expected."
"Even Raina can tell something is up, no matter how hard Daisy tries to hide it."
"Maybe she should see a psychologist. That should help." She voiced. "I hate seeing her sad or depressed. When she is in a state that I can't help, it breaks my heart."
"It breaks all of our hearts."
"Alright Kiddos, we have to get going." Melinda sighed. "Be responsible and if you need anything, you ask the Johnsons. Jiaying already knows Phil and I are going to be away." She pulled Bobbi and Jemma into her arms. "Keep each other safe and Daisy, don't give too much trouble."
"Hey! How comes I'm being singled out."
"You tend to be the most trouble." She laughed as she hugged Daisy. "I love the three of you."
Phil and Melinda arrived at The Triskellion to see their team gearing up.
"Glad you two can make it." Fury voiced. "I wouldn't have pulled both of you if it wasn't absolutely necessary. We got a hostile situation and our team needs evac.
"You said the person holding our men hostage is gifted, right?" Melinda asked.
"That's right."
"Are they on the list?" She continued.
"No, our team was the welcome wagon but they weren't received well."
"And that's where we come in." Phil voiced. "To either calm them down or put them down."
"That's right." Fury confirmed. "You sure your girls are fine? I can have shield agents down there in a moment."
"The girls will take care of each other." He smiled. "Just in case, keep a distant eye on them."
"You got it, Coulson."
After the Quinjet took off, Melinda looked over the dossier. "Phil, I know you rather choose the passive option but with what's in here, I suggest we contain and if need be, cross off. He's extremely dangerous however, if you think we can do this with words then I'm with you all the way."
"Mel, you know the way I operate." Phil smiled. "When the situation calls for aggressive actions, then and only then aggressive action will be taken." He turned to the others. "I will go in alone, be on the outside ready and waiting."
"You got it, sir."
"Bobbi, I'm bored!" Daisy whined. "Can we go to the mall or something?"
"I guess we could." Bobbi laughed as she sat on the couch next to her cousin. "I just have to see if Jemma wants to go. You should call Raina and see if she wants to go."
"Do I have to?"
"What's going on between you and Raina?" She looked at the younger girl worriedly.
"Nothing," Daisy replied. "She just keeps asking questions and I don't want to talk about it."
"Oh, Daisy. That girl cares about you. You are her best friend and she doesn't want to see you hurting. She also doesn't want to be left in the dark about something as important as this. Think about it, if Raina was going through depression, wouldn't you want to know what the cause is so you could at least try to help her? It's unfair to her, Daisy."
"I guess you're right." She frowned. Daisy felt guilty inside. She didn't want to hide or hurt Raina but she also didn't want her to worry about her problems. She had been overwhelmed with all the problems associated with The Night Terror that she didn't think about how it was affecting her friendship with her best friend. "I will talk to her."
"Good." Bobbi smiled. "I will go check on Jemma while you do that. She's probably doing homework."
"Probably?" She chuckled. "She is most definitely doing homework. I have never met anyone so interested in school."
"Everyone has their hobbies for their reasons."
"How can school and homework be a hobby?"
"That is a question for Jemma." Bobbi laughed. "While I go talk to her, talk to Raina. Don't worry about notifying her parents about us going to the mall. I'll deal with that."
"Okay." Daisy smiled.
The quinjet landed near the mission area and the team offloaded the aircraft. One of the agents looked towards Phil and Melinda and called out to them. "The loadout box is ready for you to use. Time to select a gun."
"If I need a gun, I'll take one," Melinda replied. "The same goes for Phil."
"I guess my wife has spoken." Phil laughed. "Anyway, I don't think I'll require one to deal with this guy. You have your orders, wait for my signal. Follow Agent Melinda's lead."
"You got it, sir."
"Phil," She called out to him, looking worried."He's dangerous."
"I know." He smiled.
"Be careful."
"Aren't I always?" He chuckled which rewarded him with a glare. "Okay, point taken. I'll be careful."
"Good." She nodded. "I'll be ready in the event you give the signal."
He nodded and proceeded to engage the target's area.
The target sat in a barn filled with hay. He was a man in his twenties and sported short brown hair. Around him, agents lay lifeless. "Reinforcements? Look! I just want to be left alone and no one else has to get hurt!"
"I understand, I'm not here to cause any harm." Phil smiled as he slowly walked towards the man. "I just want to talk."
"Talk?" The man laughed. "I've seen enough movies to know that you're going to try to talk me down then when I drop my guard, take me down and ship me off to some government facility to be dissected."
"That's reasonable." He replied. "However as you can see, I'm alone and I'm unarmed." Phil was confident that he could talk the man down.
"You're crazy, you know that?" The man looked at Phil shocked. "I'm dangerous. You are putting your life on the line."
"Well, one could look at it like that but I just want to talk."
"You said that before."
"Let's start over." Phil smiled. "Hi, my name is Phil Coulson, Agent of Shield."
"Derrick Sutherland."
"Nice to meet you, Derrick." He stepped forward slowly. "Let me explain how this usually works. We talk, you let me document, I add you to the list and you get to leave a free man, mostly."
"Why should I believe in empty words?" Derrick challenged. "What's not to say that you won't add a way to neutralize me in your documents then eliminate me when I least expect it or when I get out of control."
"I prefer the word contain." He replied. "See how it works is: we keep tabs on you often by assigning an agent to you. That agent checks in with you and somehow, someway, we help you gain control of your abilities. If you lose control, we would contain you so you don't harm yourself or anyone else. Another thing, we won't eliminate you unless that's the only way and even then, I try to search for other ways before making that decision."
"Well, how do you expect to help me gain control?"
"That depends on your abilities." He answered. "It works on a case by case basis. Each powered person differs in their abilities so their process would differ as well. Tell me, Mr. Sutherland, what exactly are your abilities."
"Let's just say, I make it windy."
"I find that to be very cool." He chuckled. "No pun intended."
"I can't control it." Derrick voiced. "I told your people to stay away from me. That I'm dangerous. I warned them and they wouldn't listen. When they cornered me here, the winds picked up and wiped them out."
"I understand that. We have systems in place to contain your powers and help you gain control. I must know, do you live with anyone? A wife? Kids, maybe?"
"I, uhh..., used to live with my girlfriend." He frowned. "When my powers started manifesting, she broke up with me and moved out; said I was freaking her out and I'm a threat."
"That's got to be rough. I'm sorry you had to go through that."
"Well, what about you crazy man? You got anyone special?"
"Yeah, I got four lovely ladies in my life." Phil smiled as he thought fondly of his family. "A wife, two beautiful daughters, and a niece I consider one of my own."
"Do they know you are out here doing this kind of work?"
"Yes, they do." He replied. "It's quite rare for someone's family to know about S.H.I.E.L.D but my girls do and they are my drive; my motivation."
"How does your wife cope with you going out and handling dangerous situations like this?"
"Thing is, she usually always has my back, literally." He answered with a smile. "She's outside waiting on my signal. I'm sorry for the guy who decides to hurt me."
"That kind of devotion is admirable."
"That's what S.H.I.E.L.D is all about."
Derrick walked over to Phil slowly. "I'll let you take me in. I'm not going to run or hide. This way you can help me learn how to control my winds."
"Very wise choice." He smiled as he took out a pair of modified handcuffs. "These cuffs were designed to negate your powers. They have inhibitors embedded in them." He slowly unlocked them. "Don't worry, you'll be safe."
Derrick nodded as he allowed Coulson to cuff him.
"Team, Stand Down!" Phil commanded. "I repeat, Stand Down! We have Mr. Sutherland in our custody and he poses no threat." He slowly walked out of the barn with Derrick as the other agents holstered their guns.
Melinda walked up to Phil with a smile. "Good job."
"All we needed to do was have a little chat." He flashed his signature smile. "See, no problem at all."
"I'm guessing you're the wife." Derrick voiced. "Your husband is crazy but from what I can tell, he's a good man."
"Thank you." She smiled before turning. "Alright, load up. We want wheels up in five!"
"Good job." Fury smiled. "Derrick Sutherland is being safely transported to one of our facilities. It's there we can watch and study his powers as he learns how to control them."
"Thank you, sir." Phil smiled back. "Sometimes all you need to do is talk and let them know that it's going to be okay."
"This is why you're the best." He laughed. "No other agent would be crazy enough to try to talk down a guy that wiped out agents sent in. I'm glad it all played out. I believe I kept you two away from your girls enough. Go on."
"You got it, sir."
