Daisy's intelligence division was split off from Victoria Hand's oversight and merged with Jasper Sitwell's operations division to form a new department: the Information Processing and Combat Analysis Division.
Losing two departments at once, Victoria Hand was understandably unhappy. To compensate her, Fury placed the S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy directly under her supervision.
All parties were more or less satisfied. Daisy hadn't made a fuss without reason — she'd put real thought into choosing Victoria Hand as her target. After all the maneuvering, she'd finally made a name for herself within S.H.I.E.L.D.
She was confident about the future. Setting aside her foreknowledge entirely, current polling already showed Obama with the advantage. Once he won the election, her standing within S.H.I.E.L.D. would only climb higher.
One thing she hadn't anticipated, though, was Pierce tossing Sitwell out to work alongside her.
The bald agent looked exactly as she remembered — she could still picture the moment she'd talked him into helping her steal the Terrigen Crystals. It had been over a year since then. And now, somehow, the two of them were colleagues. Fate had a strange sense of humor.
They were nominally equal partners, but Daisy figured that keeping Sitwell in check wouldn't be difficult. If she ever played the Viper card, he'd drop to his knees on the spot.
That time hadn't come yet, though. First she needed to get a firm grip on the intelligence division. The operations side could wait.
To strengthen her position, she needed to ensure Obama's election went smoothly. After two days of analysis, she made a call and arranged a meeting — then traveled to Obama's campaign headquarters in Washington, D.C.
However it had come about through political horse-trading, there was no denying it: Obama had genuine charisma. "Warm and approachable" didn't even begin to cover it.
Daisy dressed formally for the occasion — hair pinned up, glasses on, the picture of professional polish.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, she got to the point.
"I've reviewed your policy platform," she said. "Ending the war in Afghanistan, developing clean energy, tax cuts, expanding healthcare — these are all forward-thinking priorities. But..." She paused. "They still feel somewhat surface-level."
Obama didn't quite know what she was getting at, but whatever he privately thought, he gave her comments the respect they deserved — and played the gracious listener, asking what he could do better.
"Your focus on vulnerable populations is still too superficial," Daisy said, choosing her words carefully. "We need a bold, high-visibility move to win over voters."
Obama was sharp — no one reached his position by being slow. He hesitated. "Actions like that require significant funding. My current campaign budget is limited, so..."
He assumed Daisy was too young to understand the dynamics at play. He'd been in politics long enough to raise hundreds of millions with a few phone calls — but elections had their own rules, and under the public eye, he couldn't move large sums around freely.
Daisy smiled and pulled a document from her bag, sliding it across to him. "This is a proposal from Skye Data. It's affordable, and it will draw attention."
Curious, Obama took it. He glanced at the title — "Ice Bucket Challenge?" — then started reading.
Halfway through, he could already see that this would absolutely grab attention, bring him closer to voters, and give critics almost nothing to attack. The worst they could say was that it was a publicity stunt.
He skimmed the rest, and his eyes lit up. The actual amount raised almost didn't matter. What mattered was that he'd get national — even global — exposure. Public charity work was an easy way to earn goodwill.
"Miss Johnson, this is brilliant!" Obama said, his voice full of conviction. "ALS is a community that genuinely deserves society's attention!" He went on as if he'd move mountains for ALS patients. Daisy played along, projecting the image of someone who deeply cared about vulnerable communities.
In truth, neither of them really cared about ALS.
This was a spectacle on a grand scale. Daisy wasn't just helping Obama win — she was engineering her own moment in the spotlight. Reputation was intangible, invisible — but it was real, and you never knew when it might come in handy.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had stayed hidden for too long. Neither the public nor those in power wanted the organization to keep lurking in the shadows forever. Rising through internal selection, relying on her own abilities, or even being sponsored by HYDRA — none of those paths would get her to the top reliably. She needed external leverage. A strong public profile would help.
Tony Stark had eventually served as S.H.I.E.L.D. Director. What was his edge? Public prestige. Plain and simple.
If Stark could become Director riding on a wave of public goodwill, then Daisy building her reputation now wasn't too late at all.
Obama received the Ice Bucket Challenge proposal and immediately called his inner circle together to review it and identify any gaps.
Three men and two women — these were his most trusted advisors, each one a former senior executive or high-ranking government official.
They all knew, to varying degrees, about Daisy's not-so-secret identity. Having a senior intelligence operative in their corner didn't strike them as a bad thing.
The two women even hugged Daisy warmly when they were introduced.
One by one, they read through the Ice Bucket Challenge plan. Privately, every single one of them kicked themselves — why hadn't they thought of this?
As for finding holes in it: Daisy's proposal was already the polished version she knew would work. Without firsthand experience, none of them could spot a flaw.
"You all think this is viable?" Obama's gaze swept the room.
Not one of the assembled high-IQ strategists and corporate power brokers had a single revision to offer. It was a publicity stunt, just on a larger scale with higher-profile participants.
"Good. Let the word get out — in three days, I'll do the first bucket. Daisy, you'll do the second?" Obama knew how to work a room. Handing her the baton was a gesture of good faith. Being first was most memorable, but second still got attention.
The whole Ice Bucket Challenge was Daisy's vehicle — a way to ride the election wave and boost her profile. Obama taking the lead was only fair. She accepted without hesitation.
Campaign finance rules were strict, but media coverage was a different story entirely. Over the next three days, Obama appeared on five different talk shows, talking at length about raising awareness for ALS and supporting vulnerable communities.
The hosts had no idea what he was building toward, but civic duty meant they went along with it. Ordinary viewers watching the election like a theatrical drama were baffled. The sharper analysts started to sense something big was coming.
The Republican Party mobilized in response — bank insiders, Treasury employees, every contact they could reach — all on standby, ready to pounce the moment Obama stepped even slightly out of line.