Chapter Text
Daisy picked Beijing because, according to her mother, she has distant cousins there and she wants to take advantage of any “family discounts” they might be able to get.
Okay, and there’s street racing. She’s only human.
Her Mandarin is passable, at best, enough to sweet-talk her way into the day’s final race anyway. From what she’s managed to pick up, this isn’t a race for money so much as for bragging rights. Whatever.
“I shouldn’t be offended that you’re spending part of our honeymoon with a car, should I?” teases Kara as she watches Daisy fiddle around under the car’s hood.
“Well, I already took you for a ride, babe,” replies Daisy, looking up with a salacious wink. “But even you can’t go eighty.”
“Yeah, yeah.” Kara rolls her eyes and smirks. “You’re making it up to me later.”
“Don’t worry,” Daisy purrs as she slams the car’s hood down and pulls Kara in for a kiss. “I’ll get under your hood too.”
“You’re so corny,” Kara laughs.
“Hey, you must like it, you married me.”
Daisy’s working with a loaner car, which isn’t her favorite - she prefers to get to know how a car drives before she races it. But this is better than nothing, and she likes the way this engine hums when she starts it up. It’s a black Lamborghini, not the latest model, which is probably why it’s up for grabs, but she can feel that it’s still a good car. And with the modifications she’s made to it today...well, let’s just say that she’s pretty confident that she’ll win.
Soon enough she’s down at the starting line, the other racers (all guys, of course) revving their engines and yelling what are probably playful jeers at each other. She can only get every other word - there’s a lot of insults about their mothers - so she tunes them out.
She grips the wheel, settles into the seat, and waits for the flag.
Daisy’s not religious. Sure, she grew up surrounded by nuns who did their damnedest to put the fear of God into her - but fear’s not the way to convince her of anything. The closest she’s ever felt to the way Sister Elizabeth described her love for God is...well, it’s in this moment, when the flag drops down and she lets the car do what it does best.
Then it’s just instinct. Hit the gas. Avoid the other cars. Don’t run into anything. Don’t brake unless you have to.
Win.
The race itself is a blur. She barely absorbs anything but the cars around her, weaving wildly through the streets. They know these streets, but she’s smart and she doesn’t mind fighting dirty. Finally it’s her and one other guy, who’s driving a sleek red Ferrari. She sees him glare over at her - he’s pissed. Whether it’s because she’s a girl or a newcomer or some combination, who knows, but either way he’s out for blood.
Unfortunately for him, so is she.
They race side-by-side, cars scraping together, and he tries to drive her into one of the buildings, but she’s not having any of it. Her tires squeal as she wrenches the steering wheel around and tries to use her car’s sharper nose to shove him away from her. He pushes back.
Daisy shuts her eyes and floors the gas.
When she opens her eyes again, there’s nothing in front of her but the finish line. Also her engine is smoking. That’s new.
She wins the race, doesn’t crash the car, and it doesn’t quite burst into flames, so she considers it a success.
---
Kara sighs, melting into the bed. “Oh my god, that’s enough,” she gasps, shoving Daisy’s head away before she can start on round four of the apology cunnilingus. “You’re forgiven.”
“You sure?” Daisy asks, giving her a shit-eating grin. “I feel like I have at least one more apology in me.”
“At least give me a minute,” Kara says, laughing. “C’mere.” She tugs Daisy up for a kiss. “You crazy daredevil.”
“Look, the car’s in one piece, I’m in one piece, I won, everything is fine.” Daisy tosses her head. “Plus, you love it. It turns you on.”
“Didn’t say it didn’t.” Kara runs her hand through Daisy’s hair. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
The next morning, Kara refuses to get out of bed no matter how much Daisy pokes her, so Daisy shrugs and goes out to get them steamed dumplings for breakfast. There’s a little shop not far away that has a killer deal.
She’s on her way back when she hears a car’s engine failing to turn over. She spots the car, hood up, a few blocks away, a woman leaning over it. “Need help with your car?” she calls in her rudimentary Mandarin. At least she knows car terms.
The woman looks up. She’s white, with long brown hair, and wearing sunglasses. That’s weird. It’s not even that bright out today. “Sorry?” she asks in English.
“Oh,” says Daisy, jogging over. “I was asking if you need help with your car.”
“I guess so,” purrs the woman, smiling at Daisy. “Thanks. Do you know anything about cars?”
“Kinda.” Daisy grins at her own joke and leans over the car. “It sounded like your engine’s not getting any fuel. Oh, that’s weird...your fuel relay’s missing. That’s not supposed to-”
“I know,” interrupts the woman, and Daisy looks up to see her holding it, like a dare. “So how’s your honeymoon going, Daisy?” She slips her sunglasses off her face and looks Daisy square in the eyes.
Daisy sucks in a breath. “Aida, Jesus Christ. What are you doing here?”
“Looking for you.” Aida leans over to expertly place the fuel relay back in its spot and continues breezily, “I have a job for you.”
“A job?” Daisy curls her lip. “What in god’s name makes you think I would ever work for you?”
“Oh, you’ll work for me. I know it.”
“You do realize my team can stop you, right? No matter what crazy bullshit you pull, they can-”
“Oh Daisy.” Aida gives her a pitying look. “I don’t think you understand. Your team will be going up against the one thing they can’t handle.” At Daisy’s silence, she (unnecessarily) explains, “You.”
Daisy shakes her head. “I don’t have to listen to this. Goodbye, Aida.” She starts to turn away.
Aida coughs and pulls out her phone, offering it to Daisy. “I think you’ll find this convincing,” she calls after Daisy with a smirk.
Daisy narrows her eyes and turns back to see whatever Aida’s showing her on the phone. Her heart plummets when she checks the screen. “Fuck,” she gasps, mouth falling open. “What…?”
“I’ll contact you with the details,” says Aida, slipping her phone back into her pocket. “And you’d better not tell anyone about this, either. I’d hate for anything to happen to that cute little wife of yours.” Before Daisy can say anything, Aida’s in her car and speeding off, leaving Daisy standing there dumbfounded, holding the bag of dumplings.
She dazedly makes her way back to their hotel, where Kara’s in the middle of getting dressed. “Hey,” she calls, beaming. “You were gone longer than I thought, everything okay?”
Daisy nods and sets the bag down on the table. “Yeah,” she says, offering Kara what she feels like is a blatantly false smile. “Just fine.”
---
Mack’s trying to make sure all the girls are doing their stretches, so he doesn’t see the figure hovering around the edge of the soccer field right away. Even when he figures out it’s there, he does his best to ignore it. It can’t be anything good. It’s actually not until the figure has sidled up to him and murmurs, “Mackenzie,” that he acknowledges it.
“Yeah?” he grunts, not taking his eyes off the field where his girls are lining up for the start of the game.
“You could look at me,” replies the figure wryly, and Mack spares a half-second to look him full in the face. It’s Mr. Nobody, of course. Mack knew it would be. Same wry smirk, same black eyepatch covering his left eye. Same bald head, even though it’s covered by the hoodie he’s wearing at the moment. Subtle.
“Okay, I looked at you,” Mack says, wary. “Did you want something? I’m kind of…” He nods at the field, where the girls are just about to do the first kickoff.
“Cute,” Mr. Nobody says. “Glad you’re enjoying your unemployment. That one’s Hope, isn’t it?” He gestures toward the one of the taller girls, who has dark skin like Mack and a fierce expression as she sprints after the ball.
Mack doesn’t respond. “I’m actually working right now. If the Dragon Warriors lose this game, then they don’t go on to the championships, and if they don’t go to the championships, I’m gonna have to comfort twenty upset nine-year-olds with hours of ice cream and karaoke. Have you ever taken twenty nine-year-olds to Baskin-Robbins?”
Mr. Nobody’s mouth quirks up on one side. “I have not.”
“Nine-year-olds eat their weight in ice cream if you let them,” deadpans Mack. “It’s a disaster.” He turns back to the field. “Careful Sophie, keep the ball close to you!” He glances back at Mr. Nobody and adds, “Anyway, like I said, I have a job to do.”
“You do,” says Mr. Nobody. “And I’m about to brief you on it.”
“I don’t work for you anymore, sir,” Mack says. “Good job, Trinity, good hustle!”
“Not technically,” Mr. Nobody replies. “But you were the one who gave us the intel on that rogue EMP device in Berlin. So you’re the one who gets to go get it.”
Mack gives him a long stare. “And why exactly should I do that?”
“A rogue EMP device,” repeats Mr. Nobody, as if Mack’s a child. “You know the specs on it. You know it can knock out entire blocks’ worth of power in a second. A whole city, maybe, if set off in the right spot. You know the danger in that.”
“I do,” says Mack, turning back to the field, . He starts clapping and calls, “C’mon, Hope, it’s wide open for you, go for it, don’t let them - yes!” He pumps both fists in the air and then glances at Mr. Nobody, beaming. “That’s my daughter!”
“Congratulations,” says Mr. Nobody dryly. At Mack’s stern look, he raises his hands to clap slowly and loudly several times.
“Look, can we talk about this later?” Mack asks. “Like I said, I have a job to do.”
“Your job is to keep people safe,” Mr. Nobody replies. “Including them.” He nods at the field. “How safe do you think it is for a rogue EMP device to be floating around in Berlin?”
Mack’s quiet a long moment, then he sighs. “What do you want me to do?”
“Steal it back,” says Mr. Nobody, in a tone that implies he thinks Mack is stupid for even asking. “I know you’re still in contact with that team of yours. I know they’ll come running if you call.”
Mack doesn’t answer right away, just yells, “C’mon, Felicity, remember what we talked about!”
Mr. Nobody ignores him and continues. “It’s dangerous, but I know you like that shit. We can’t trust a regular government team with this. It’s completely off the radar. If you get caught, there’ll be consequences.”
“Nothing you’re saying is making me want to agree,” says Mack, although part of him is intrigued.
“If you don’t, we can’t guarantee anyone’s safety. Including your daughter’s.”
That makes Mack sigh in a long-suffering way. “Fine. I’ll call Daisy after this.”
“I expected nothing else.” Mr. Nobody shrugs. “I’ll contact you with the details.” He strolls off, calling “Good luck” over his shoulder.
Mack sighs and shakes his head, then does his best to concentrate on the game. But he’s rattled from his talk with Mr. Nobody, and the knowledge that he’s going to have to leave Hope again when he’s only had a few months with her since the last time. He does his best to act normal, and he is overjoyed when the Dragon Warriors win the game and ambush him with hugs. But when the rest of the players run off to change, Hope stays. “Dad,” she says, “is something wrong? You look sad.”
Mack sighs. “You know how I said I got fired from my old job?”
“Yeah.” Hope tilts her head.
“Well, they need me to do one more thing. And it’s really important, and I can’t say no. But it means…” He runs his hand over his head. “It means I have to leave again, honey. I think just for a week, but I’m not sure.”
Hope gives him the saddest eyes, but she nods. “Okay,” she says. “Does that mean I’m gonna go stay with Uncle Ruben?”
“Yeah, probably.” Mack pulls Hope in for a hug, and she nestles against him. “I’m sorry, baby.”
“It’s okay, Dad,” Hope mumbles. “But you have to be back for the championships. Promise?”
“I promise,” Mack says, and he’s never taken a promise more seriously in his life.
---
“Well,” Mack says over the comms. “I feel like that could’ve gone better.”
This is a bit of an understatement, considering there’s a dozen special forces vehicles on their tails, as well as a helicopter.
“Don’t look at me,” Elena says, “I did my job. I could have broken into that security system in my sleep.”
“Guys!” yelps Daisy. “Let’s debrief later, get out of the way of that wrecking ball now!” Because, of course, there’s a giant wrecking ball that’s come loose and is rolling after them.
“If Lucy gets one scratch on her I swear to God-!” That’s Robbie, who’s ridiculously overprotective of his 1969 Dodge Charger. To the point where the rest of the team wonders why he keeps bringing it on top-secret, highly dangerous missions, but he insists on it, so they don’t question him.
“Fan out!” calls Kara, and they do, Kara and Daisy’s cars veering off to the right with Mack’s close behind them, and Elena, Robbie, and Melinda going off to the left.
“Please everyone be careful!” Jemma yelps. She’s in Melinda’s car, because they couldn’t not bring their team doctor along, even though she hates the getaway driving parts of these missions. “I’d prefer we all get out of this in one piece!”
“We’ll do our best,” Mack promises. He steps on his gas and starts swerving, trying to lose one of the cop cars that’s on his tail.
Meanwhile, Kara and Daisy stick close together. Daisy has the EMP device in her car, and Kara’s prepared to act as the decoy if the cops manage to stay on them for too long. “Dais,” she says over the comm, “you need me to lead them away?”
She waits, but Daisy doesn’t answer. She speeds up a little so she’s driving right alongside Daisy, and looks over at her before trying the comm again. “Daisy! Want me to get the cops off your ass?”
Daisy doesn’t reply again, just turns to look at Kara. Kara’s seen her wife in a hundred moods, and she likes to think she’s pretty good at reading Daisy’s face at this point. But Daisy’s expression sends a chill through Kara. She’s never seen Daisy look so...vacant.
“Daisy?” she asks. “Daisy, c’mon, what’s wrong?”
Daisy says nothing and hits the gas, peeling away from Kara.
“Mack!” Kara calls. “Mack, go after Daisy!”
Mack hears her and obliges. He’s far enough away that it’s faster for him to turn so he’s practically pointed straight at Daisy’s car. He eventually manages to flank her, looking for the cops he presumes he needs to throw off Daisy’s scent.
Except there aren’t any cops. It’s just him and Daisy.
“Daisy!” he calls. “You okay?”
Silence. He tries again. “Daisy! Come in!”
She looks up at him then. Holds up the EMP device, so he can see it. And then, face completely devoid of emotion, she rams her car right into his.
He’s barely able to absorb what’s happening before his car flips over and there’s a deafening crash all around him. Then, pain and heat that he suddenly realizes is the fire coming from his trunk.
He manages to drag himself out from the wreckage of the car just in time to watch Daisy drive onto the lowered ramp of the helicopter that had been chasing them.
“Mack!” Kara comes in over the comm, which has been sort of mashed into the side of his head in the crash (and he’ll have a killer headache from that), but seems miraculously unharmed. “Mack! Where’s Daisy?”
Mack shakes his head, still trying to make sense of what he’s seen. “Daisy...she’s gone, Kara.”
“What?”
“I’ve seen that look in her eyes before. Daisy Johnson just went rogue.”