A Part of Something Bigger

Chapter 3 - Devils you know... and didn't

Daisy lay awake in her bed. The Reyes boy was on her mind. She didn't understand. He said he wasn't Inhuman, but he was certainly gifted... Or cursed, in some way. Some gifts felt like curses. Her own felt like that after she went through terrigenesis. Even now that she was used to her powers, she could hurt herself. There was no greater pain than feeling her own bones shatter, even though she was rarely pushed to that point. She also had a hard time getting a grip. At first, whenever she'd get nervous or angry, the whole block could start shaking. Maybe that's why Robbie stayed alone all the time, trying to stay calm. His unnatural body heat suggested some sort of fire powers. If those got loose, that really would be bad. What really helped Daisy during her transition was her family. Being around people she loved helped and motivated her, she got support from them. Yo-Yo described the same after she transitioned. So why did Robbie have such a hard time? Did he have no loving family to help him? Then it dawned on Daisy. Do they even know? Daisy sighed. Based on how Robbie acted, he probably didn't tell anyone. Not his family, not his friends. Though the more Daisy thought about it, the more it seemed like Robbie didn't have friends to tell it to. He was always alone. No one tried to draw him into conversations or tried calling him to hang out after school. "He needs to know he isn't alone," Daisy determined. "He needs support." Driven by a sudden idea, Daisy got up and grabbed her laptop from her desk. She was always good with computers and knew how to find information. It took some digging, but eventually, Daisy found some information. Robbie did have family, just not too good. His parents had died. Daisy didn't really want to dig into that. Just knowing that it had happened was rattling enough. She couldn't imagine how Robbie must've felt. It was his uncle Elias Morrow that had custody over him and his little brother, Gabriel. His attitude suddenly seemed different to Daisy. That trauma could have caused Robbie to push away from people. That's why he didn't have anyone to talk to about his abilities. Whatever those were. Daisy started wondering. If the gifted index really was a list of people with powers, was Robbie on it? Suddenly Daisy's eyes widened. "Am I on it? And Yo-Yo?" Daisy felt like a dagger was stabbed in her heart. If she and Yo-Yo were on the list, their parents must have known about that. Why did this SHIELD even keep a list? Were they with the ATCU? A thousand questions bolted through Daisy's head and each one of them took away a little bit from the love and admiration she had for the man and woman she called her parents. She needed answers, and she was running out of patience.

Both May and Coulson noticed how awfully quiet Daisy was the next morning.

"Any idea what's up with her?" Coulson asked as they were driving to work.

"She's closer to you, you know," May answered simply to cover for the fact that she had no clue.

"Yeah, I don't know either," Coulson said, reading his wife.

"Could be something in school. Maybe Ward." May tried.

"I hope it's just that and nothing more serious," Coulson said while staring out the window.

"More serious? Like what? A boy?" May asked jokingly.

"Come on! You know I'm not that kind of father."

May just smiled, amused by his reaction.

"We're almost there," May stated. "And you should talk to Daisy when you get home. She might open up to you."

"Monday. The beginning of a new week. It's the perfect opportunity to start things you set out to do." Daisy was thinking on her way to her classroom. The previous night she set out to do two things. Get to know Robbie Reyes and find out more about her parents and SHIELD before she lost all her patience and barged in front of them with all of her questions. Currently, being in school, she could only do one of these. But how was she to get to know someone who wanted nothing to do with people in general? Daisy decided that the best way might be to address him directly. As she walked into the classroom, she stopped at the door and looked around. She found Robbie sitting in one of the back corners, alone, as always. She took a deep breath and walked up to him. As she stopped beside the desk, he looked up at her.