If I Die Young
Disclaimer:
As always, I own nothing...except for Adannaya Coulson.
Genre:
Family/Romance/Drama
Pairings:
Grant/OC
Coulsye (Coulson/Skye)
All canon Twilight couples
Lyrics Used:
Katy Perry "Choose Your Battles"
Choose Your Battles
Choose your battles, babe | Then, you'll win the war | Stop digging your own grave | Within, so much to live for
Ob, this is not a competition | So, baby, why the ammunition | I don't wanna be the last one standing
"Dad, what are you doing?" Adannaya asked, terrified she already knew the answer.
"Well, if you're right, and there is an army of newborn vampires on the loose...Then, we need to get ahead of it." Phil reasoned.
"Dad, you don't understand!" Adannaya countered. "You are in so far over your head, it's ridiculous! These newborns will outmatch you at every turn!"
Whipping around to face his daughter who was following him to the conference room, Phil argued. "Yes, but, you also said that they have no capacity for strategic thinking. That gives us the advantage."
"It would..." Adannaya countered. "If you and your team were immortal with all of the strength and super-human speed that comes with immortality."
"Adannaya, with all due respect, my team can handle it." Phil argued, hoping his daughter wouldn't fight him on this. "Just like the Avengers, yes, it takes time for them to get any traction...But, they are a hell of a lot stronger than they seem!"
"That's not the point, dad!" Adannaya cried, before calming herself when she saw her father's team gathered in the conference room, watching the exchange before them. "Look...Even assuming that you and your team could win the battle against newborns...Even if you did wipe them out...The treaty with the Volturi clearly states that S.H.I.E.L.D. and all of its associates are allowed to know about the existence of vampires PROVIDED they don't KILL any vampires! If you get involved in this battle-best case scenario-you kill the newborns, dismantle their army only to get yourselves sentenced to death by the Volturi." Pausing to take in the look on her father's face, Adannaya finished "Dad, please. I know you and your team have accomplished some amazing things, together. I've seen what they're capable of. But, I won't let you put yourself-or any of them-in harm's way. I just-I can't. I won't do it."
Phil thought about his daughter's argument. He had to admit, he knew where she was coming from. And, he truly did appreciate her concern. But, he just couldn't see how he was supposed to just stand aside and let her walk into a war without him there to back her up. Without another word, Phil turned and entered the conference room-his mind made up.
"So, what have we got?" Agent Ward asked, all business, as his boss and mentor entered the conference room.
"Who's she?" Agent May asked, her face impassive as ever, when Adannaya entered the room seconds after her father.
Beating her father to the punch, Adannaya spoke for herself. "My name is Adannaya Coulson." She spoke proudly, standing tall and prepared to hold her own.
"Coulson?" Fitz repeated, clearly confused, after Adannaya introduced herself.
"Just do you think you are, exactly?" Simmons asked, incredulously, knowing nothing of the situation that was about to unfold before them.
"She's my daughter." Phil interjected, cutting off anymore remarks against his daughter. "She's also a former field operative for S.H.I.E.L.D." He explained.
"So, what is she doing here?" May asked, still skeptical about the whole thing.
"Yes." Simmons added. "And, why have you never told us you had a daughter?" She demanded, somewhat hurt that their mentor would hide something so big from them.
"Well, to my father's defense, he's believed me to be dead for the last year or so." Adannaya cut in, always ready to come to her father's defense.
"Yes." Phil began. "And, to answer your question, May, Adannaya is here to offer her assistance with our latest investigation-"
"'Assistance' my ass!" Adannaya cut her father off, frustration radiating off of her in almost tangible waves. "What my father has yet to come to terms with is that the Cullens and I are taking jurisdiction over this case."
"The hell you are!" Ward countered, furious that this woman thought she could waltz into their headquarters and just take over their case the way she was.
"Look, I understand where you all are coming from." Adannaya began, trying to placate the team of operatives before her. "Really, I do. But, what I need you to understand is that the series of murders you've been sent to investigate is not the work of your average serial killer. This is the work of newborn-"
"Are you seriously going to insult our intelligence by trying to tell us that infants are running around committing murder?!" May demanded, snark dripping from every syllable.
"Well, you have to admit...We have seen some pretty strange things..." Fitz conceded. "Would it really be that far-fetched to believe-"
"I am not saying that babies are committing murder!" Adannaya all but shouted in frustration. "Now, if you are all done interrupting, I will tell you what is going on!" Evidently, the dark tone in her voice coupled with the murderous look on her face was enough to effectively silent the rest of the team before her. "Good. Now, as I was saying. The murders you've all been sent to investigate are the work of newborn vampires."
"Oh, come on..." Simmons interjected. "Surely, you don't expect us to believe that vampires actually exist, do you?"
"Well, if you had asked me that a year or so ago, I would have said 'Hell no!'" Adannaya conceded. She didn't expect them to just take her at her word, right away. She realized how crazy she sounded, right now. "But, now...You're actually speaking to a vampire."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Fitz asked, an audible tremor of fear in his voice.
"Well, if you think I'm saying that I'm a vampire, then, yes." Adannaya spoke as if it were plain as day. "That's exactly what I'm saying." Looking around the room, she realized the team of operatives before her would need more to go on. "About a year ago, my father and I were on assignment in Forks, Washington, when the mission was compromised. Some critical intel had been leaked to the enemy and...one thing lead to another...and I was shot in the chest and left for dead in the middle of the woods."
Seeing the toll the story was taking on her dad, Adannaya rested her hand on his shoulder, reassuring him that everything was okay. "Anyway, fortunately for me, Dr. Cullen, here..." Adannaya paused to indicate the tall, statuesque, blonde man behind her. "Was present in the woods at the time I was shot. He heard the shots and came to see what he could do to save me. Sadly, one look at my injuries and he knew I would have been dead long before I could have received the necessary medical attention. So, he took me home with him and turned me." Pausing to smile appreciatively at Carlisle, Adannaya returned her focus to the team of operatives before her. "And, even after that, Carlisle and his wife, Esme, were kind enough to welcome me into their home and into their family. They helped me adapt to their vegetarian lifestyle-"
"'Vegetarian'? What does that mean?" Ward asked, genuine curiosity reflected in his voice.
"It means, Agent Ward, that we feed on the blood of animals rather than humans." Adannaya explained, simply.
"Believe me..." Simmons interjected. "This is all...beyond fascinating..." She conceded, though, May beat her to the punch of what she intended to say, next.
"But, it doesn't really answer the question of why we're here." May interjected. "Or why you think you're so much more qualified to handle these newborn vampires than we are." She deadpanned.
"Listen, you guys..." Adannaya began carefully. "I've been keeping a close eye on my dad ever since I was turned. Therefore, I've seen the things you've all accomplished in your short time as team. And, you are beyond formidable opponents." She conceded. "But, what you have to understand is that a vampire is never physically stronger than they are during their first year of immortality-their 'newborn year', as it's commonly referred to. That's because they still have their own human blood lingering in their tissues-and, as any vampire will tell you, human blood makes us stronger than animal blood. But, all of that aside, even a mature vampire would outmatch you at every turn. That's why the Cullens and I are taking jurisdiction on this one. We've dealt with a newborn army before. We can handle it, again." Adannaya reasoned.
"How can you be so sure they'll out match us?" Agent Ward countered, somewhat insulted at Adannaya's lack of confidence in their team's ability.
"Let me ask you this, Agent Ward..." Adannaya replied, a slight attitude tinging her voice as she crossed her arms over her chest. "When was the last time you smashed a two-ton boulder to dust?" She asked, raising her eyebrows as if daring him to answer. "When was the last time you moved faster than the speed of light?" Still, silence. "Yeah. That's what I thought." She declared, proudly, before dropping her smug smirk and unfolding her arms.
"Look, let's assume the best possible case scenario..." Adannaya began. "Let's say that you get lucky enough to destroy a newborn. The whole reason I was able to come back and tell my dad the truth about me in the first place is because of a treaty that S.H.I.E.L.D. has with the Volturi-"
"'The Volturi'?" Simmons asked, curiously.
"What the bloody hell is that?" Fitz added.
Sighing lightly, Adannaya paused a moment as she mentally search for the analogy that would best describe the Volturi in a way that the operatives before her could relate to. "Well...I suppose you could think of them as the vampire equivalent of a federal government." She replied. "They make and enforce our laws."
"Vampires have laws?" Ward snorted.
"As a matter of fact, Agent Ward, we do." Adannaya replied, pointedly. "Well...Really, only one that's regularly enforced." She amended.
"And, that would be..." May prompted.
"Don't go around bragging that you're a vampire to random humans on the street." Adannaya replied, sarcastically. "But, getting back to the matter at hand. The treaty that S.H.I.E.L.D. has entered into with the Volturi clearly states that S.H.I.E.L.D. and all of their associates have the right to know that vampires exist provided that they do not kill any vampires."
"How exactly would one kill a vampire, anyway?" Fitz mused.
"Aren't they supposed to be immortal?" Simmons wondered.
"It's quite a simple matter, really..." Adannaya replied, cheekily. "Simply behead them, dismember them, and burn the pieces."
"Sorry I asked." Fitz cringed.
"Anyway, as I was trying to say..." Adannaya began, trying to get back to her original point. "The Cullens and I are here to handle the newborn army for you. While you are a force to be reckoned with, this is one instance you are in so far over your heads, it's not even funny." She explained. "A newborn would kill you before you even realized you were dead."
"With all due respect-" May began before being cut off.
"As I was saying..." Adannaya interjected, effectively silencing May's argument. "Best case scenario...You get lucky. You destroy a newborn. Congratulations! You've just earned yourself a death sentence from the Volturi. If any one of you destroys a vampire, it nullifies the treaty and the Volturi will not hesitate to kill you all."
"Then, what can we do?" Phil asked, desperate to do whatever he could to back up his daughter.
Turning to direct her attention to her father, Adannaya replied "Look, dad, I know this won't sit well with you...But, I need you to let the Cullens and I handle this."
"There is no way in hell I'm letting you walk into a war without any back-up." Phil fired back.
"I know, that, dad." Adannaya replied, deliberately keeping her voice soft and warm in her attempt to placate her father. "But, honestly...In this case, the best thing you can do for me is to stand down. I can't walk into this battle, distracted by constantly worrying for your safety." She reasoned, turning her attention back to the rest of the group. "That goes for all of you. We need you all to stand down if the Cullens and I are going to be able to defeat the newborn army." Pausing for a moment, Adannaya scanned the room, taking in all the skeptical looks on the faces of team before her. "I'm not asking you to like it. Hell, I'm not even asking you to understand it. … I'm just asking you to do it."