Pointe Shoes and Spider Webs

96. Animals

Daphne absentmindedly plays with the food on her plate. She shuffles individual rice pieces from one side to the other and only rarely takes a bite. Derek eyes her worried and finally musters up the courage to break the silence.
"I won't be home tomorrow evening," he says after clearing his throat.
"Hm?" Daphne doesn't look up and purses her lips.
"The zoo is organizing a winter disco every Thursday and they're a little short staffed this time around." Derek raises his eyebrows when Daphne doesn't reply, so he pokes his fork into her food, stealing a piece of chicken off her plate.
"Hey!" She exclaims. Derek raises his eyebrows at her as he triumphantly munches down on Daphne's food.
"Figured you're not gonna eat it."
"I am! I am... I just-" Daphne looks back down at her plate and immediately starts shuffling the dish with her fork again.
"You just?" Derek cheekily brings his cutlery back to Daphne's plate and she manages to chuckle as she sword-fights him away with her own fork.
"Sorry, dad, I've got a lot going on," she sighs.
"Oh, and I don't?" Derek scoffs. "You're not the only one suffering from everything that's happening to you." Daphne bites her lip and takes a breath.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Derek lets out a loud sigh as he leans back in his chair.
"I know you don't, Daph..."

Derek looks at Daphne as she continues to play with her food. Right before he wants to break the silence himself, Daphne speaks.
"When I was brought back by Loki..." She frowns, lost in thought. "After the thunder strike."
"Yeah?" There's a short pause and Derek leans forward again, quietly shuffling his own food around his plate.
"He said he gave me back to you. And then he left." Derek bites the inside of his cheek, knowing what Daphne implies. He'd hoped she'd never ask him this. Not because he has anything to hide, but because he wished he had a more meaningful answer.
"I..." He quietly puts down his cutlery and looks up at Daphne. "I never knew it was him."
"Not even when the images from the New York attack went viral? Everyone knew Loki at that point." Daphne twirls her fork in her hand and Derek isn't sure if she's angry or just curious.
"You were unconscious. You were bleeding. I had been looking for you for hours, Daphne. I only went back home when the storm became too much. At the time I couldn't care less about whoever brought you back. The only thing that mattered was that you were back. Safe, with me. I didn't care to remember his face." Derek rubs his eyebrows and ponders his words. "I took you from his arms and when I turned to tell him to get inside with the storm still happening, he had already disappeared. I never questioned it."
"Why not? Wasn't that weird?"
"I always thought that man was your guardian angel," Derek admits. He seems almost embarrassed. Daphne chuckles as she finally puts some food on her fork to take a bite.
"I guess he really was." After her second bite, Daphne looks up at her dad again. "You mentioned a Zoo Disco?"

...

"Excuse you?" Tony stares at Nick Fury, wide-eyed.
"You heard me, Stark."
"No-no, I don't think I heard you well enough. Come again?"
"You just want to hear me say I fucked up."
"What? No, of course not! I just didn't hear you the first time," Tony says with a loud fake cough. Nick lets out an agitated groan.
"Fine," he sighs. "David got out." He sucks at his teeth. "We're guessing we can find him wherever Daphne is, so we want you to contact her." Tony doesn't give Nick Fury his answer straight away. Instead, he counters his question with a question of his own.
"How in the world could he escape?! From the Raft, of all places?!"
"Ask Strange." Tony's face turns sour.
"Strange?" He says quietly. The name seethes from his lips. "Strange!"

An orange glow fills the room and Stephen steps out of his circular portal.
"You called?" His eyebrows raise nonchalantly and Tony takes a few forceful steps his way.
"Care to explain how David escaped the Raft?" Stephen's eyes go wide and he takes a step backwards.
"He what?!"
"Yeah, that was pretty much my exact response! The fuck did you do?" Stephen shakes his head slowly. You could practically see the gears turn in his head.
"The kid has very potent magic and in order to keep it from growing out of proportion I had to teach him some basic things, so he can control it."
"You taught him?!"
"Upon my request," Nick butts in. "That silver stuff triggered something and he was in a lot of pain before Strange showed up." Tony pulls at his hair and grabs his phone, dialing Daphne's number.
"How'd he get out?" Stephen turns to face the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.
"He created a portal," Nick replies calmly. "Like the one you just walked in with." Stephen stares at Nick in complete disbelief.
"I never taught him that..." he mumbles.
"He must've watched you quite closely then, doctor."
"And only with one hand?" Tony asks with his phone still clutched between his shoulder and his ear.
"You don't need two hands to create a portal. Magic is only limited by your mind," Stephen sighs. "This kid is dangerous."
"Yeah, no kidding," Tony scoffs. "Come on, Daph, pick up!"