Daisy Stark

Daisy was on her way to Colleens dojo. After she'd made her decision about at which dojo she wanted to train, Daisy had sent an email, which immediately got a response. So now, just after 3 o'clock, she had her first appointment. While she walked there, she thought back at her first fight training on the bus. With Ward, she'd purposely messed up her hits and kicks while he assessed her. Of course that had meant hitting the punchbag a hundred times, the right way. It wasn't until hit 73 that she realized she could've just told Ward she’d learned to fight in a foster home.

Of course, when he taught her to shoot with a gun, she couldn't act like she did know how to use a gun. Not being capable of throwing a punch, but being an excellent shot? (Even if she'd never actually shot a person.) It would be weird. So she had messed that up too. And again, and again. She really had enjoyed seeing the impatient look on Wards face. But back then, he hadn't been evil. Or, she hadn't known that he was evil.

Daisy had been so caught up in her thinking that she almost walked past the dojo. When she walked in, she saw a woman from around her age, perhaps a little older. 

'Hello, you must be Daisy.' Upon Daisy's nod of confirmation the woman continued, 'I'm Colleen, the studio owner. In your email you mentioned that you've already had training in the martial arts before, which martial arts are you already trained in? We can build on from there.'

'Um... We'll, my trainers have been a little unconventional, I was just trained in self-defence, period.'

'Well, then, attack me. That way I can see your level of experience.'

Daisy considered for a moment, as she suspected everyone had when asked to punch someone. But then she realized that if Coleen was less good than she was, than she wouldn't be fit to be a teacher, let alone hers, anyways. Colleen looked at her expectantly, and Daisy decided to start off with a kick, knowing that Colleen would expect a punch. 

Colleen saw the kick coming just in time to duck, so daisy followed her with her fist. Her punch was blocked however and Colleen now threw a kick towards her. It was clear to Daisy that she was holding back, so Daisy increased her fighting. Daisy started to look for patterns in Colleens attacks, however it was hard to find them when it was clear Daisy had the lead in the fighting. Colleen turned around, trying to land a high kick, but Daisy rolled away and stood up right away. She followed up immediately with a left-handed punch, nearly taking Colleen by surprise. The other woman was a lot faster however, so Daisy quickly realized she was losing. She tried to do a roundhouse kick, but her foot was caught by the dojo-owner and Daisy found herself laying on her back.

Colleen lent her a hand and pulled Daisy up again. 'You're good, clearly trained properly, but it's obvious that you're not very experienced. You don't have many moves in your arsenal yet, making your actions pretty easily predicable. You'll learn more moves eventually when we start on other disciplines.'

Daisy nodded, understanding what the other woman said. The rest of the class, they spend working on multiple techniques to hit and kick, and by the time she left she had tons of bruises on her body, but also a sense of accomplishment. Daisy had paid her, and had three more appointments scheduled this week, so she was definitely hoping to improve much in her martial arts.

When Daisy got back at the apartment, she found not just Tony, but also Pepper and Rodhey present. It was nearly seven by then, having spent over an hour shopping for new clothing before returning home. It was clear that Tony had done his best in the kitchen, because the apartment smelled like delicious Indian spices, he'd been making nasi, a dish Daisy loved. No one would ever guess, but both Tony and Daisy knew their way around the kitchen, seeing that they couldn't just go out for dinner together. Daisy put the bag with clothing in her room before walking in the kitchen and greeting Rodhey, who gave her a hug, the look in his eyes told Daisy that Tony and Pepper had just told him about the events that had led to her return. She silently thanked them both, being really glad that she wouldn't have to explain it all again. 

'So, uncle Rodhey, have you done anything interesting lately?' She asked, having the feeling that her dad wouldn't appreciate her asking about the boy, spider-man, in Rodhey's presence. Oh, well, she'd find out eventually. 

'Well, during the fight that came after the split up from the Avengers, there was this guy who could shrink, at first that was all we thought he could do, but later we found out that he could also grow to the size of a giant, or something. I have to admit I was terrified.'

'Really? Were there any other people who weren't officially members of the Avengers?' Daisy asked, hoping that she would find out more about the teenage boy. 'Like inhumans or other enhanced people?'

'There was this guy, the spider-man from YouTube, I believe your father showed up with him, that Spider-man stole the Captains shield, before landing on a rooftop after doing a flip mid-air. I have been trying to find out who he is, but Tony has been incredibly tight-lipped.'  

Daisy figured that she did have excellent reason to ask about it now. 'Spider-man huh?' She looked at her father pointedly, 'You wouldn't mind telling more about it to your daughter, would you?'

Tony rolled his eyes. 'I'll tell you later, alright?'

Big chance 'later' was about as specific as she would get. Daisy sighed. However, Rhodes next sentence did distract her plenty. 

'Daisy, what do you say we go to one of the empty compounds meant for the Avengers tomorrow, one of those that has been abandoned, so you can train there? We can also practice on your boxing skills'

Tony joined in, 'I already had my eyes on the compound just outside Liberty state park, It's close and relatively unknown due to it never actually being taken in use. It's actually still registered as a warehouse. It will also allow you to use your powers without anyone noticing.'

'Well, how could I say no to that?' Daisy laughed. She hadn't had one on one time with Rodhey in years. She had missed her honey uncle almost as much as she had missed her father. 

The nasi was finally done, and they ate, and they laughed. 

Daisy felt something she hadn't felt in ages. She felt safe.

The next week went by in a blur, as promised, Rodhey had taken Daisy to the compound, where they first practiced some boxing and physical fighting. Then Daisy asked Rodhey to leave, she whipped out her gloves, and she started practicing. She had trained for hours and hours and at the end of the day she felt exhausted. She hadn't just used her powers for direct combat, but also, at the suggestion of Tony, to tap in the surrounding vibrations. This allowed her to sense much more than just what she could see. The next day she went back to Colleen, where she trained some more. Not just hand to hand, but also with a katana. At first Daisy wasn't quite sure how that would benefit her in hand-to-hand combat, but the Japanese woman had assured her that this would help Daisy with her speed, strength, and hand-eye-coordination. So Daisy practiced with her katana, and she realized she actually liked the weapon. Afterwards she went to a specialized shop, where she bought a practice and a sharp katana. She would never actually use the weapon in a fight, but a girl had to have her hobbies.

After three weeks she'd improved so vastly in her martial arts that Colleen asked Daisy if she would be interested in training with another woman, one who was about four years older, and who was much more trained in other fighting styles, but who had only recently started fighting with the katana and other fighting styles, and had enrolled only a couple weeks before Daisy. Daisy replied that it would never hurt to try.

'Well, that is up for debate.' The studio-owner had replied, with a mysterious smile.

Daisy decided that she would do her absolute best not to let it hurt. Or at least try to let it hurt just as much for whoever her sparring partner would end up being. She did hope the other woman would be fun, she could always use friends outside of S.H.I.E.L.D.