Chapter Text
The mission was simple—at least on paper. The team was tasked with investigating what was suspected to be a new monolith. No one knew exactly what it did, only that it was dangerous. The only instructions given were: Be careful. Don’t get too close.
That, in Daisy’s experience, was never a good sign.
Kora, however, wasn’t the type to take ominous warnings seriously. “I still think we should have an official name,” she announced as they made their way through the dense jungle. “Something that makes us sound cool.”
Daisy rolled her eyes as she pushed aside a low-hanging vine. “We have a name. We’re S.H.I.E.L.D.”
“No, I mean us— our team. Like ‘The Astro Ambassadors.’”
Sousa snorted. “That’s a little lame.”
Kora shot him an annoyed glare. “It’s diplomatic!”
“Sounds like a bunch of astronauts doing PR,” Piper muttered, unimpressed.
Daisy sighed, rubbing her temple. “You know what? Fine. We’ll talk about branding after we find the monolith.”
Kora smirked in triumph, but before she could argue further, they reached the entrance to what appeared to be a temple-like structure. Cracked stone pillars loomed overhead, vines creeping up the ancient walls. It looked old— too old to be in such good shape.
Then she looked around, wide-eyed. "It's like an ancient city, don’t you think?"
"Yeah, it feels like The Mummy !" Sousa said.
“Why do you guys sound excited?” Piper shot them a wary glance. “Did you forget there was a mummy in that movie? A murderous one?”
“Technically, there were several ,” Kora corrected, grinning.
Before Piper could retort, Daisy cut in. "Okay, dorks, let's shelve the movie club discussion for now and focus on finding the monolith."
"Got it." Kora muttered, though she was still smiling.
As they moved deeper into the ruins, they reached a fork in the hallway. Two darkened passageways stretched out before them. Daisy didn’t like splitting up, but they needed to cover ground faster.
"Alright," Daisy said. "We’ll split into two teams. Sousa and I will take the right hallway. Kora, you and Piper take the left. Stay in touch and call if you find anything weird—" She shot them a look. " Before you start poking it."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Piper smirked. While Kora only nodded.
Sousa sighed. "Why do I feel like the two of them are going to find something before us?"
"Because the universe likes to mess with me," Daisy muttered under her breath before heading down the right hallway with Sousa.
✦✦✦✦
Daisy and Sousa's POV
The air inside the temple was thick with dust, the scent of old stone and damp earth surrounding them. Their footsteps echoed against the walls, the dim glow of their flashlights barely penetrating the darkness.
The corridor was lined with eerie statues, each carved with expressions that were either screaming or grinning—it was hard to tell in the shadows.
Sousa exhaled, shifting slightly. “Yeah, this place definitely doesn’t scream safety. ”
Daisy hummed in agreement, sweeping her flashlight across the walls. “We’re looking for something monolith-y.”
“And what exactly qualifies as monolith-y ?”
Daisy smirked. “You’ll know when you see it.”
A few minutes later, Sousa suddenly stopped, his grip tightening on his cane. “Daisy, I think I saw something up ahead.” He half-whispered, pointing towards a shadowed altar.
Daisy followed his gaze. The altar was shrouded in darkness, but she could make out a series of torches arranged in a circle, surrounding something obscured from their vantage point.
“You call Kora and Piper. I’m gonna check it out,” Daisy decided.
"Why don’t we go there together, the four of us?" Sousa tries to reason with her.
"No, you call them. If they take too long, we might miss our chance to—" Daisy hesitated, then sighed. "Look, the layout of this place is weird. If they wander around without a guide, they’ll end up somewhere they shouldn’t be.”
Sousa sighs. "Okay, I will find you as soon as I find Kora and Piper."
Daisy flashed him a grin. “Wouldn’t expect anything less.”
With that, she jogged towards the altar, leaving Sousa behind.
As Daisy approached, she took in the eerie setup. The torches weren’t randomly placed—they formed a precise circle. Scattered flower petals covered the ground, leading up to the center like a path guiding her to a specific spot.
Something about the arrangement felt... deliberate. Ritualistic.
She frowned. “That’s... weirdly welcoming.”
Instead of stepping forward, she circled the altar, trying to get a better view. When she reached the front, her suspicions grew stronger.
A large fabric sheet covered something tall in the center of the altar. Even before she pulled it back, she knew what it had to be.
Her stomach twisted.
That had to be the monolith.
Reaching into her pack, Daisy pulled out a tablet and snapped a few photos. The surrounding carvings, the torches, the offering-like setup—everything felt wrong.
This doesn’t feel like a forgotten ruin. This feels like something that was left here on purpose.
Taking a slow breath, she stepped forward.
The moment her foot crossed the line of flowers, an excruciating pain shot through her skull.
Daisy staggered, gripping her head.
It burned.
It felt worse than the monolith she’d touched on Maveth, worse than anything she’d ever felt before.
“Oh yeah,” she gasped, steadying herself. “That’s definitely a monolith.”
She forced herself to move closer, her fingers trembling as she reached for the fabric. With one swift motion, she pulled it off.
What she saw made her breath hitch.
The monolith was— glitching.
One second, it was black, smooth, with carved markings—like the Time Monolith.
The next, it shifted, swirling into something different—pulsing energy, shimmering like the Creation Monolith.
Then, without warning, it turned an inky black-blue, like a deep abyss—the Space Monolith.
It didn’t settle. It glitched, morphing chaotically between the three monoliths, never stabilizing.
Daisy stepped back, gripping her tablet tighter. "That’s definitely not a good sign," she muttered.
She snapped a few quick photos, intending to retreat, but as she stepped back—
Her heel pressed down on the last petal of the flower path.
The moment she did, the monolith reacted. The shifting sped up, cycling faster and faster, flickering between its unstable forms.
Then it liquified.
“Oh, come on. ”
The inky substance surged forward, a black tide crashing over her.
Daisy barely had time to scream.
"KORA! DANIEL! HELP!"
The darkness swallowed her whole.
Daisy barely had time to react before the inky surge launched toward her.
It was like a tidal wave of darkness. The moment it touched her, it felt like it was pulling —dragging her into its depths.
Her body lifted off the ground as if gravity itself had changed.
Panic surged in her chest. She tried to fight it, tried to resist, but it was too fast.
" KORA! DANIEL! HELP! "
Her scream barely made it out before the monolith swallowed her whole.
The last thing she saw was the torchlight flickering in the distance.
The last thing she thought was—
‘ Please, send me somewhere and sometime that has an internet connection. ’
Then—nothing.
Darkness swallowed her.
✦✦✦✦
Unknown Place, Unknown Time
Darkness.
Cold.
Daisy wasn’t sure if she was awake or dreaming. The last thing she remembered was the monolith—the way it had glitched and shifted before swallowing her whole. Then, nothing.
But now…
Now she was standing in the middle of a memory.
She saw herself as a child—Mary Sue Poots, not Skye, not Daisy.
A wide-eyed girl, clutching her whole life in a small backpack, bouncing between foster homes, never truly belonging anywhere. The world had felt so big, and she—so small.
Then she was Skye. Finding her own freedom, living in a van and searching for her family who abandoned her.
Then she got caught by SHIELD, finding Coulson, finding something she could almost call family.
Then she learned who she really was. Learning the truth about her parents and her lineage.
Jiaying’s smile, warm at first, then twisted into something cruel.
Cal, his wild love for her as dangerous as it was pure.
Kora—
Daisy turned sharply. Her sister stood in front of her, half-shrouded in shadows, her golden eyes burning with something she couldn’t quite place.
Anger. Resentment.
"Because of you, Mom went crazy."
Kora stood there, her face twisted with fury.
"Because of you, I lost my mother."
Daisy shook her head. "No… that’s not—"
"It’s all because of you . You destroyed your own family!"
Daisy flinched like she had been slapped.
Her hands trembled. Her heart pounded.
"No, that’s not true," she whispered. " This isn’t real! "
But Kora stepped closer, her golden eyes filled with resentment. " Isn’t it? You stood by and watched Mom die. You let it happen. "
"No," Daisy's breath hitched. " I didn't have a choice! "
"There's always a choice," Kora sneered. " But you chose SHIELD. You chose strangers over your own blood. You abandoned us. "
Daisy squeezed her eyes shut. Her mind screamed that this wasn’t real, that it was just another nightmare. But it felt real—the cold air, the weight in her chest, the way her hands trembled.
“Say it, Daisy.” Kora’s eyes bored into hers, unrelenting. “You killed our mother.”
“No.” Daisy shook her head, backing away. “Stop this.”
Jiaying’s lifeless body flickered into view behind Kora. Cal’s agonized screams rang in her ears. SHIELD’s war with Afterlife. The blood, the pain, the betrayal—
Daisy clutched her head as the images surged, clawing into her mind like talons. “This isn’t real. This isn’t real —”
Kora didn’t move. “Then why does it hurt so much?”
Her hands balled into fists, her nails digging into her palms.
This isn't real. This isn't real. This isn't real.
Something inside her snapped.
"STOP IT!" Daisy screamed, her voice cracking.
A force erupted from within her—a powerful, uncontrollable wave of energy. The air rippled. The ground cracked beneath her feet.
The world around her trembled, as if reality itself was breaking apart.
Kora’s form flickered like a ghost before vanishing into the void.
Everything shattered.
✦✦✦✦
Daisy gasped as she shot upright, chest heaving, her body still trembling from the shockwave she had unleashed. Her fingers dug into the cool earth beneath her, trying to ground herself.
It was just a dream.
She repeated that to herself, but her heart still pounded against her ribs, her pulse erratic. Her hands trembled, and she could still feel the lingering vibrations seeping from her body.
The phantom echoes of her nightmare still clawed at the edges of her mind, Cal’s bittersweet smile when he killed Jiaying, Jiaying’s lifeless face flashing in her vision, and Kora’s accusations still ringing in her ears.
Slowly, Daisy forced herself to take in her surroundings. The temple was gone. No monolith. No torches. No Piper, Sousa, or Kora.
Instead, she was surrounded by towering trees, their leaves swaying in a gentle breeze. A blue sky stretched above her, so clear it almost looked unnatural. The air smelled different—cleaner, purer. Wherever she was, it was far from the temple.
Where the hell am I?
Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, and panic twisted in her chest. As it did, her powers responded instinctively. The ground beneath her rumbled in warning, sending vibrations outward, unsettling the soil and shaking the nearby trees.
No, no, not now!
Daisy clenched her fists, forcing herself to focus, to breathe. She tried to pull the vibrations back into her body, absorbing them before they could cause real damage. But the emotional aftermath of her nightmare still clung to her, making it harder than usual to control her gift.
Her gloves—Fitz and Jemma’s latest design, a thoughtful birthday gift—began to crack under the pressure. Tiny fractures spread across the reinforced material, but then—
Snap.
Her gloves.
A sharp sting ran through her fingertips as the reinforced metal tore, falling away in useless pieces. She stared at the broken material, frustration and exhaustion washing over her all at once.
" Great. Just great,” she whispered, her breath coming in quick, uneven bursts.
She fought harder, pouring every ounce of strength into calming herself. The tremors slowed, then finally stopped. But the effort drained her. She barely had the energy to stay upright, her vision swimming with exhaustion.
And then—movement.
A figure, standing just beyond the treeline, bathed in soft sunlight.
Her breath caught in her throat.
A woman stood at the edge of the clearing, watching her with sharp green eyes, cautious yet calculating. Her red hair was tied back in a loose braid, a tactical suit clinging to her frame like she had just stepped out of a mission.
Daisy knew that face.
A face she had seen only in a single, carefully hidden photograph—the one Coulson had kept buried in his wallet, a memory both treasured and mourned.
She blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of what she was seeing. Her voice came out weak, barely above a whisper.
“N-Natasha… Romanoff?” Daisy asks, her face showing confusion.
The woman’s eyes narrowed at the sound of her name, but before she could respond, Daisy’s body finally gave in to exhaustion. Her vision blurred, her limbs went weak, and she barely heard the distant sound of rushing footsteps before everything faded to black.
✦✦✦✦
A Few Moments Later
Daisy awoke to hushed voices.
“She just fell out of nowhere?”
“More like crashed .” A feminine voice responded. “The ground shook like hell when she landed.”
Her head pounded like someone had taken a jackhammer to her skull. Every muscle in her body ached. She forced her eyes open, blinking against the light. The ceiling above her was wooden, a contrast to the cold stone temple she last remembered. Slowly, her vision cleared, revealing two figures watching her from a short distance.
The first was the woman she’d seen before—Natasha Romanoff. Arms crossed, expression unreadable, but there was something intense in her gaze, like she was studying Daisy, piecing her apart bit by bit.
“Good,” Natasha said smoothly. “You’re awake.”
Daisy tried to sit up, but a sharp, burning pain shot through her abdomen.
A white-hot, burning sensation flared just below her ribs, sharp and unbearable, like someone had pressed a red-hot brand into her skin.
“Ah—!” Daisy gasped, her body instinctively curling inward as she clutched her side. “What the hell —?!”
“Yeah, you might want to brace yourself,” another voice said—lower, rougher. “It’s gonna sting like hell for a few more minutes.”
Daisy turned her head slightly, spotting the man who had spoken.
Clint Barton.
His tone was casual, but his posture was tense, his eyes flicking over her cautiously. Like he wasn’t sure if she was a threat or just something wrong.
Before she could respond, another burning pain flared, this time on her forearm. It wasn’t like a bruise, not like the usual fractures her powers left behind when she pulled too hard. This was something else. Something worse.
She sucked in a breath and, without thinking, yanked open her shirt just enough to see what the hell was going on.
Daisy didn’t care if it made her look reckless or insane—this hurt and she needed an answer.
Her arms were already littered with purple bruises, a familiar side effect of her powers—pulling her vibrations inward always took a toll, fracturing her bones in the process. That wasn’t what worried her.
It was the words that did.
There, etched into her inner right forearm, in deep, dark script, was a sentence:
‘Yeah, you might want to brace yourself, it’s gonna sting like hell for a few more minutes.’
Her breath hitched.
Her stomach clenched as she glanced lower, near her ribs, just above the old scar where Ian Quinn had once shot her.
Another sentence.
‘Good, you’re awake.’
The exact words Natasha and Clint had just said.
And they burned. Like fresh ink still searing into her skin.
Her pulse pounded in her ears. What the fuck?
Her head snapped up. Natasha and Clint were both staring at her now, unreadable expressions frozen on their faces. If they thought she was insane for suddenly tearing open her shirt in front of them, they weren’t saying it.
Daisy didn’t care.
She lifted her arm, pointing at the words. “What the fuck is this?”
Clint inhaled sharply, wincing as his hand shot to his own forearm, his fingers pressing against the exact same spot where her writing had appeared. His jaw clenched, his breath hitching, like he’d just felt the same pain she had.
Natasha answered for him, but there was a flicker of confusion in her voice.
“We didn’t do that to you,” she said carefully. “We just noticed the bruises.”
“No, I couldn’t care less about the bruises,” Daisy snapped, shaking her head. “What I’m asking is why the hell there are words on my skin—the exact words you two just said.”
There was a pause. A silent exchange between Natasha and Clint, something unspoken passing between them.
Finally, Natasha exhaled and said, “You mean the Soulmarks ?”
Daisy blinked. “Soul—what?”
Clint was still nursing his own arm when Daisy shot him a sharp look, demanding answers with nothing but the fire in her eyes. He exhaled through his nose, rubbing a hand down his face. Okay. This is a mess.
“Alright,” he muttered, wincing as the pain in his forearm pulsed again. “I feel like there are a lot of things that need to be addressed right now.”
Then he turned to Daisy, his eyebrows drawing together. “But, more importantly—you don’t know what a Soulmark or soulmate?”
Daisy scoffed. “Would I be asking if I did ?”
Natasha remained silent, her gaze unreadable, but Clint could tell she was thinking the same thing he was— how the hell does she not know?
“You’re serious?” Clint asked, eyes narrowing. “You’ve never heard of them?”
Daisy shook her head, frustration evident in her posture.
Clint exchanged a glance with Natasha. Her expression remained unreadable, but there was a flicker of something in her eyes—calculation, curiosity, maybe even concern.
“Well,” Clint sighed, shifting in his seat. “Soulmates are people who are destined for each other. Everyone is born with words written on their skin—the first words their soulmate will say to them when they meet.”
Natasha then continued. “And soulmarks are words that show up on your skin when you hear something important—usually from your soulmate.”
Daisy blinked at him. Once. Twice.
Then let out a short, incredulous laugh.
“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said flatly. “That’s—that’s some fairy tale bullshit.”
Neither of them laughed.
The room fell into silence.
Daisy’s amusement died as she looked at them both again. Their faces weren’t just serious. They were dead serious.
She swallowed. “Wait—you guys are for real ? About this whole soulmate thing?”
Clint raised an eyebrow. “Uh, yeah. Everyone has a soulmate. How do you not know this?”
Daisy opened her mouth—then hesitated.
Because how the hell was she supposed to explain this?
How was she supposed to say that where she was from, soulmates weren’t real ? That she’d never grown up with ink appearing on her skin, never been told that she had some destined person out there?
That, before today, the idea of soulmates had only ever been a fantasy —and now it was burning itself into her skin ?
Daisy exhaled sharply, pressing a hand against her forehead. “Uh, well, how am I supposed to explain this…” She hesitated, then muttered under her breath, “It’s kinda complicated.”
Natasha raised an eyebrow. “Try us.”
Daisy hesitated again. She had no idea how to explain to two complete strangers— who apparently were her soulmates now? Wait, Natasha Romanoff and Clint Barton are her soulmates? What the actual fuck? —that where she came from, this wasn’t a thing.
How the hell was she going to get out of this one?