UPDATE
ON
TIME (ish).
BOOM.
It was a well-known fact that Percy had decently severe ADHD. It served him well in battle, but amongst a group of growingly impatient government agents?
Not so much.
"Would you - please - stop that!" Daisy nearly shouted at him. He froze, unaware he had been doing anything to annoy her. He gave her a confused look.
She dragged a hand down her face. "The tapping. Stop."
Percy glanced down at his hand and forced it to stop jittering the cap of the water bottle against the cold metal chair, twirling it between his fingers instead. Coulson cocked his head to the side. "You have ADHD?"
The teenager scoffed and turned his head with an expression that read, "No duh." "Yeah, and dyslexia. But you should already know that, right? From stalking my entire life?"
Of course, he was referring to the barrage of questions that ranged from his several expulsions (he still didn't think the canon thing was his fault), taking a shot at skydiving from the St. Louis Arch (go big or go home, right?), his disappearing step-father (which, for the record, was not something he was interested in talking about at all. At least Gabe served as a decent excuse for the scars covering his back and chest), until his most recent tendency to drop off the map for months at a time (which he owed to the ever so wonderful Hera and dam Arachne).
They kept trying to talk to him about the last disappearance. It was all he could do to change the subject before something surfaced- he didn't need to break a fuel line unintentionally. Luckily, said powers exposed by said memories were of enough interest to drop the other thing.
Coulson brought it up first. "So, just how long have you been able to manipulate liquid?"
"Just water."
Coulson sighed impatiently. "How long?"
Percy clicked his tongue and pretended to think about it. In reality, he was just giving himself enough time to think of a decent response. He was thoroughly confused why the man seemed so calm about the fact that he was basically a bad ass superhero.
Okay, so maybe he was giving himself too much credit. But still.
"When I was twelve, I learned how to control it, I guess?" he winced. There wasn't exactly a protocol on how to explain his demigod powers to mortals.
Not that he'd follow them.
He briefly contemplated using the Mist to make them forget the whole thing when Daisy sat forward suddenly. "Who taught you? Where?"
"I taught myself. When Annabeth and I were kidnapped," he made sure to leave Grover's name out. The less people they had in custody, the better. "I had no other choice. So I guess she kind of helped too."
Daisy sent Coulson an uneasy look. Percy didn't know what she was thinking, but Coulson certainly did. How did this kid manage to get his powers before the terrigenesis fall out? Was he a part of her mom's Afterlife?
In retrospect, the whole notion made a lot of sense. The annual disappearances? Troubled kid act? Random powers?
"You were a part of Afterlife, weren't you?" she asked before her mind had a chance to run through the consequences of such an action. The teen's face scrunched up in confusion, clearly not recognizing what she was getting act. "I'm obviously not dead, I'm sitting right in front of you."
Coulson opened his mouth to intervene, but Daisy cut him off with a series of questions. She bombarded him with questions of her mother, Gordon, terrigenesis... Lincoln. Percy's head was beginning to spin.
"Look," he managed to cut in, resuming the habit of tapping against the chair once again, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about. Speak English. Please."
Daisy whipped her head around and made eye contact with Coulson once again, who looked equally as lost. How could have this kid not have undergone terrigenesis and still have powers so early, years before the outbreak?
Unless he was lying about something, or they didn't know everything they thought they did.
They did their best to withdraw more information from the suspect as long as they could, but by the time they landed, they still knew nothing other then the fact that he was aviophobic, sarcastic, scatter brained individual with a touch of water-bending powers and a knack for 'accidents'. And the fact that his powers seemed to not link up with being an inhuman frightened him; he'd have Bobbi do a blood test later, on the both of them. He wasn't sure he would be ready for the results, but they had to get answers not shrouded under six feet of sarcastic and vague answers.
No one was happier to get off the jet when it finally landed than Jackson. Daisy raised her eyebrows at him when he sighed loudly in relief as he took the final step off of the thing and into the large underground hangar.
"Are you going to kiss the ground now?"
Surprisingly, he didn't fire back with a comment of his own. Instead, he spun around in a slow circle, surveying the vast area with wide eyes. "Where's Annabeth?" he demanded as a ground crew rushed around them to dock the plane. One called Coulson over, which caused him to curse quietly under his breath. He beckoned May to watch over the two. She agreed, but wasn't excited about it by any means. Coulson left without another word.
Daisy had already forgotten about Percy's question. Her dark brown eyes focused on Coulson and the other agent talking. Neither one of them looked happy. The director rubbed his forehead, while the shorter girl seemed almost apologetic of whatever information she was telling him. It was impossible to hear, especially with the dying roar of the jet engine as the flight crew drove it off to the side. The young inhuman couldn't help but wonder if it was another powered person- ever since the breakout, it had been a race against time to find them before the police, guard dogs, or ATCU did.
"...Hello? Where's Annabeth?" Percy repeated, stomping in frustration on the concrete. His question was left unanswered once again. He threw his hands down in exasperation. "I appreciate being ignored, thank you."
The short- haired agent whipped her head back towards him and away from Coulson's conversation before crossing her arms. "We're not ignoring you, you're just insignificant. Now shut up."
The demigod bristled and glared. He prepared to respond with an insult of his own when a large clacking sound emerged from above, echoing throughout the entire hangar. Slowly, artificial lighting was replaced by sunlight as the ceiling split into two, revealing the silhouette of a quinjet against the blue sky. The unexpected movement sent him stumbling back in surprise, instinctively clearing the area to avoid getting smushed by the bird.
May grabbed his bicep and pulled him farther away as crew members scrambled to clear the landing zone. Daisy walked briskly ahead of them as the massive beast descended, the rushing air sending a deafening roar through the space. Percy wrestled out of May's grip and glared until the Quinjet touched down; the cargo hold sunk to the ground and the same routine that they had witnessed: agents running up to 'park' the aircraft quite chaotically: was soon underway. Daisy noticed how he visibly relaxed when the tall, curly blonde strutted off the aircraft, looking around in wonder at the structure of the building. Red lights flashed to signify the closing of the hangar doors, the cranking noise causing both of the teens to flinch.
Jumpy.
Jackson took a step towards his comrade's direction immediately, but May barked a command for him to stay put. He spun around and narrowed his eyes down at her. His voice was surprisingly calm when he began to talk, but obviously charged with indignation. "Would you chill, man? This entire place is flooded with armed agents. What am I going to do? Do you seriously think I could wipe this entire place unarmed? Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm seventeen. I'm not a terrorist. I'm just a kid who wants to go to school and go on a freaking normal date with my girlfriend. Now, if you excuse me-"
"Last time I checked, you're still a prisoner. Our prisoner," May stated without emotion, not letting her irritation shine through. Daisy glanced between the two warily, worry seeping into her at the sight of Percy's clenched jaw. He didn't break eye contact with the agent; instead, his shiny green eyes hardened and stared down unnervingly at her. Daisy wouldn't have been surprised if either one of their fists flew up, which would definitely cause a relapse in the kid's trust.
Luckily, they didn't have the opportunity to start anything before Coulson marched over. The tired expression on his face was soon replaced by one of annoyance. His voice was flat when he demanded an answer for the tense state.
May crossed her arms. "I hate kids," she summed up before striding away. Daisy shrugged in innocence when the director looked at her next. With a sigh, Coulson turned to his captive. The look on his face was so harsh, it could've been thought that May had just killed his girlfriend; who, speaking of, was dragging Mack away to inspect the beams intersecting in the corner. Her interest caused him to smile slightly; he himself was quite impressed with the construction of the newest base he had discovered in Fury's toolbox. It was quite a bit smaller then the others such as Resurgence, but it included all of the necessary facilities. It had soon became his favorite base; it was fairly new when they found it, still unnamed. Daisy took the liberty of naming the space the Cabin, unofficially.
"Look, I'm going to be straight with you Jackson. You aren't my worst problem at the moment. I'd really appreciate it if you don't try to get yourself killed by May. It'll make it easier for the both of us."
Coulson was taken aback when the teen smiled and shook his head slowly before laughing. A cold, empty laugh. "Easier? I'm going to be straight with you. You want easy? Try not kidnapping two random people on a date and accusing them of terrorism."
"We have plenty of evidence to support those accusations," Daisy jumped in on Coulson's behalf, despite his words hitting her hard. She was starting to doubt the analysis behind the information she and Fitz had found.
"You're wasting my time," Percy spat. "I'm walking away now."
Daisy stepped forward to stop him, but Coulson held up a hand to indicate that it was fine. He watched the teen until he finally reached her and Mack. He watched in concentration as a look of relief crossed over her face before embracing him quickly. His eyebrows raised in suspicion when she watched her whisper something into his ear before pulling away, inspecting him from head to toe.
"That kid has way too much sass for his own good," Daisy cut off his train of thought. The corners of Coulson's lips quirked up, amused. "This coming from you?"
She laughed and held up a pair of hands in mock guilt. "Okay, you got me."
Bobbi suddenly appeared next to him. "Sir, would you like us to take them to the cell?"
"I need blood samples from the both of them first; that first, then yes. Take Hunter and Fitz with you. Did you learn anything?"
The tall spy rolled her eyes. "The girl certainly knows how to avoid a question. Apparently she has no idea of the technology behind Jackson's weapon or why it only injured the one Inhuman on our team; Fitz still can't figure out what type of metal it is. Some sort of bronze." She continued to rattle off facts about 'Riptide,' as it was named, and the void of unknown surrounding it. It created an uneasiness within him, on top of what Agent Barrows hold told him.
He dismissed her after asking a few questions, satisfied when she handed him the transcript of their conversation with the Chase girl on a jump drive. Daisy waited patiently for her to leave, pulling Mack and the two captives along with her, before pouncing on him. "What's the news?" she begged, itching for information.
He scratched the back of his neck and sighed in defeat. He had hoped she wouldn't ask, or at least have waited until he had the time to fully process the information. That was one of the many downsides attached to the role as director of S.H.I.E.L.D. Information overload.
"It's Lincoln," he finally spilled. "They think they found him, and it won't be long until the ATCU does too. "
Just as he had feared, her eyes lit up with hope and excitement. As much as he hated to say it, the electric inhuman was a liability. He was worried that Daisy's obsession with him was going to get someone hurt. The doctor surely wasn't happy when they showed up at the hospital unexpectedly before, and who was to say he'd change his mind now?
"I need to go, then. I can bring him back," she swore, her posture straightening. "Where? I'll leave now; I need to go alone."
"Slow down. You're not going alone, first of all."
"-but he only trusts me. If you send me with a group of people with guns he's going to run."
"If he doesn't want to be here, you can't force him to stay, Daisy.
"It's not a matter of where he wants to be. It's where he's safe. I'm not going to sit back and watch him get picked up and tortured, or whatever the hell Rosalind and them do! He's not hurting anybody, and you know they'll just lock him away. Where is he, Coulson?"
(A/N I'm creating my own storyline for this btw. New base, new story, new random Agent Barrows, yeah... hope that's okay ;P)
He tried to brush it off, to get her to forget it. A mission would waste time, supplies, and heart ache. It wasn't worth it; Daisy was a great agent but too impulsive for her own good. Unfortunately, a solid ten minutes or arguing did no use to persuade her otherwise. The young agent stood firm on the ground, her lips flattened in a determined- now somewhat angry- expression.
"You forget I've hacked into S.H.I.E.L.D. multiple times," Skye- no, Daisy- shot out. "If you won't tell me, I'll figure it out myself."
"Fine," the director sighed in defeat, knowing it was no use. He plopped down into his office chair inside one of the large conference rooms they had walked to. "Outskirts of San Francisco. I'll get you the specs, but on one condition- give it a day. You need a plan, and a team. You aren't going alone."
She hesitated before nodding in agreement. "Thank you, sir."
With that she left.
Coulson took advantage of the reclining chair and attempted to get a quick power nap untill the next twenty four hours of craziness that was his job. He was just about to to drift off when a crackle sounded in his ear.
"Coulson, do you copy?" He heard Bobbi's voice from the other end. What could she possible need? Her job was simple as draining blood and taking them to the bottom floor for holding. Apparently that had proven too difficult for his group of four.
...yeah. Maybe he was a bit over tired and grouchy.
"I copy," he replied half-heartedly. His response came seconds later, a response he definitley wasn't expecting.
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TO BE CONTINUED, RIGHT AFTER THESE ADS
the next chapter sneak peek: will be better promise. some fun flashbacks and lincolnnnnnn in cali 😂
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JustAnotherGirlmcg
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