Jiaying

"Your mother was special because she had a gift. She comes from a line of people who have gifts. You have a gift. It’s why I brought you here, so you can receive it. It’s your birthright. There’s a transformation… a change that has to happen."

- Calvin Zabo to Skye

Jiaying is an Inhuman gifted with longevity after experiencing Terrigenesis. Thanks to her ability, she was able to guide a number of Inhumans throughout dozens of generations, helping them to cope with their powers, and in time, harness them. She worked in a clinic in China alongside her husband, Calvin Zabo, and had a daughter whom they named Daisy. Jiaying was captured and vivisected by the HYDRA leader Werner Reinhardt, who believed he had killed her. In truth, her body was found by her husband, who stitched her back together, allowing her healing powers to work.

Her experience with Reinhardt and the subsequent taking of her daughter by S.H.I.E.L.D. warped Jiaying's moral compass, and she developed a dispassionate attitude towards Humanity, which pushed her away from her husband. Eventually, she became the leader of Afterlife, the Inhuman community on Earth, and was reunited with her daughter. She then started an open war against S.H.I.E.L.D. when they approached her for peace.

World War II
"No. Please, don't. Don't do this."

- Jiaying

Near the end of World War II, Jiaying was captured by Werner Reinhardt and used as an unwilling test subject to discover the abilities of the Diviner. When she survived her contact with the Diviner, Reinhardt sought to have her experimented on to discover why she could safely touch the artifact. However, with the Allies rapidly approaching, Reinhardt was forced to flee, but not before ordering Jiaying to be locked in a cage. She would later be found and freed by a Strategic Scientific Reserve team led by Peggy Carter.

Mother Figure
"It's going to be okay, beautiful; I'll show you the way."

- Jiaying to Gordon

By 1983, Jiaying was the mother figure of those Inhumans who emerged confused after Terrigenesis. Her power of longevity allowed her to help many generations of young Inhumans adapt to their metamorphosis. One such person was Gordon, who lost his eyes upon emergence from the mist. She calmed him and got him to control his newfound power of teleportation.

Family
Jiaying fell in love with Calvin Zabo, a medic who opened a clinic in the village. Since his Chinese was poor, she helped with translations. On July 2, 1988, the couple had a baby girl they named Daisy, to whom she often sang the song . The pair lived together in her village in the Hunan Province of China, where she was considered a village elder, since the locals were aware of her unusual nature and true age.

Found by HYDRA
"What did you take from her, sir?" "Everything that I possibly could. Dispose of the rest."

- Hauer and Werner Reinhardt

In 1989, Jiaying was one of the elders of the Chinese village where the Diviner was found, and was among those who were brought to Austria by HYDRA operatives operating within S.H.I.E.L.D. After Reinhardt learned that she was alive and physically unaged, he was finally able to experiment on her. She died as a result of the subsequent surgery, which involved the removal of her organs and bodily fluids. Although Reinhardt was unable to find out why she survived touching the Diviner, the experimentation was still beneficial to him, as he was able to use her DNA to regress his body back to a younger age. Unbeknownst to Reinhardt, the body of Jiaying was discovered by her husband, who swore vengeance on the people who he thought had killed her.

In desperation, Zabo stitched her corpse back up, leaving scars on her face and body, and let her healing powers bring her back to life. The pair desperately searched for their daughter, leaving a trail of carnage in their wake. Eventually, after their efforts were continually met with failure, Jiaying realized that she was turning into a monster and gave up the search. When it became apparent that Calvin would continue on his dark path, Jiaying returned to her people.

Leader
"Sometimes as leader I have to do things I would rather not do."

- Jiaying Eventually, Jiaying became the leader of the Inhumans living in Afterlife, a settlement established to hide them from the rest of the world. During Jiaying's leadership, Eva Belyakov decided that her daughter Katya, who was living in the outside world, should be exposed to the Terrigen Mist and undergo Terrigenesis without the proper mental conditioning Inhuman children usually get. To this end, she stole some Terrigen Crystals, and used the crystals on her daughter, who went insane. The two were ultimately killed by a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, and Jiaying took that incident as a lesson that she would teach her own daughter upon reunification.

Ever-changing Story
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Phil Coulson and Melinda May went to Mexico City to obtain information about Skye's parents from Richard Lumley, the only living agent with first hand knowledge of Skye's origins. According to Lumley, in 1991, a team of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents was assigned to extract an 0-8-4 from a village in the Hunan Province. The team was massacred along with the entire village except for a baby. A second team that included Lumley and Linda Avery was sent to investigate. They learned that the villagers were killed by monsters seeking their child.

Coulson and May did not tell Skye that her mother might be a monster.

Upon learning that Grant Ward might know her origin, Skye talked to him while he was imprisoned in Vault D. According to Ward, when Skye was a baby, a group of HYDRA agents came to the small Chinese village, attempting to abduct her. Her mother attempted to protect her and was killed in the struggle. When Skye's father discovered what had happened, he went into a murderous rage and slaughtered everyone in the village.

Family Reunion
Calvin Zabo told Skye her origins and that he knew Daniel Whitehall killed his wife in 1989, when they were reunited by Grant Ward in the Ponce de León Theater‏‎ in San Juan. He explained that he was working for Whitehall to see Skye and to exact his revenge for her mother.

Whitehall forced Skye, at gunpoint, to touch the Diviner; when he saw that she was not petrified by the artifact, he told her that her mother could touch it as well. He revealed to her that her mother did not age physically over time and wondered if Skye had this power as well. He contemplated experimenting on her to learn the answer. After Skye's arrival at the Inhuman settlement known as Afterlife, Jiaying confronted her but without revealing that she was her mother. Jiaying stopped Skye from hurting Raina, who was also in Afterlife, and offered to be Skye's trainer and to help her with the transition to her new life after Terrigenesis. Jiaying was then teleported by Gordon to the sealed room of Calvin Zabo, where she thanked and hugged him for keeping his promise to reunite her with their daughter and helping her fulfill her potential in becoming an Inhuman. However, when Zabo asked her if he could leave his prison to see her, Jiaying refused him. Jiaying helped Skye with controlling her powers, first watching her start a controlled avalanche, and then to vibrate the water in glasses, playing different notes. However, Skye shattered the glasses, and this caused her to pour out the story of her early years in foster homes, and the feeling that no place was truly home. Jiaying listened, shocked, as her daughter told her that she did not even know the day of her birth. Finally, Jiaying told Skye that her birthday was July 2nd, and described the day for her, revealing that she was her mother, and had searched for her for years. Jiaying then requested that Skye not to reveal their relationship to anyone else on Afterlife yet, telling her the tragic story of how Eva Belyakov had disagreed with Jiaying's leadership and stole Terrigen Crystals for her daughter, Katya, despite her lack of mental preparation for Terrigenesis. She related the results of Katya's transformation, and the fact that this experience caused the Inhumans to dislike those who go through the process with the proper preparation, as Skye had done, and that their relationship would be looked upon suspiciously. Then Jiaying asked Skye for a favor; she wanted her to have dinner with her father Calvin Zabo. Though Skye was hesitant to do so as she still believed him to be a monster, she eventually agreed and the three had dinner together. Jiaying asked Zabo to tell Skye about the day of her birth, and he told the story of how he had to go in search of a car to take her to her hosptial, despite his poor Chinese. Jiaying took great pleasure in seeing her family reunited and enjoying each other's company.

Sending Calvin Zabo Away
Jiaying met Zabo in his room the day after their dinner, where he remained delighted at their reunion, despite know Skye was still afraid of him. Jiaying calmed him down by reminding him that they had both changed and it was the future that mattered. They discussed how Zabo's presence in Afterlife made Jiaying's life more difficult. They made arrangements for their next family dinner and Jiaying made the suggestion to Calvin Zabo that he should leave Afterlife in order to retrieve his belongings. However, she did not tell him that Gordon was to leave him there and not return. Later, as she and Gordon discussed Raina's newfound powers, Skye entered. Gordon left, and Skye asked if she could talk. Jiaying agreed, and Skye asked if sending Calvin Zabo away was really a good idea; Jiaying told her that it was necessary. Later, Skye came to her, and asked if she could go with Zabo to Milwaukee in an attempt to "soften the blow". Jiaying was reluctant, but agreed to let Skye go. However, she assigned Lincoln Campbell to watch over and protect Skye.

Unexpected Return
Jiaying heard Raina cry out in her sleep; knowing of her powers, Jiaying waited for her to wake up. When she did, Jiaying asked about her dream, but was interrupted by Gordon's return. Going outside, she heard Calvin Zabo, who had returned with Gordon. Zabo was furious and Jiaying listened as he ranted about her attempted abandonment. Zabo revealed that Skye was their daughter, and Jiaying watched as people started to whisper, Jiaying ordered Zabo to go and calm down so she could speak to him later. Skye, who had also returned with Zabo and Gordon, asked where Lincoln Campbell was, and Gordon attempted to retrieve him, but returned moments later and revealed Campbell had been taken by HYDRA. Jiaying was in her office when Skye asked about a rescue attempt for Lincoln Campbell. Jiaying told her that there would be no rescue as she knew HYDRA was tracking Gordon and if he was captured it would be far too dangerous for her people. After Raina convinced Gordon to take Skye to S.H.I.E.L.D., Jiaying went to Zabo's room, jokingly commenting on how he had been pacing up and down to calm down and asked him to walk with her. Zabo apologized for his earlier outburst, and Jiaying explained that she felt it was simply too dangerous to keep Zabo in Afterlife, but she decided to allow him to stay for the time being. She asked him about Raina, and Calvin Zabo warned her of Raina's dangerous traits.

Dealing With Raina
"It was dangerous, and it was foolish, and it won't happen again. From now on, any decisions based your gift, will be made by me"

- Jiaying to Raina

She visited Raina again, and asked her why she convinced Skye to go to Campbell, Raina insisted she had not convinced her to go but simply told her what would happen, Jiaying informed her that from now on any decision involving her gift would go through her. Raina began questioning Jiaying's leadership when she had a vision. Jiaying tried to calm Raina as she told her of a vision involving the Scepter and an army of Ultron Sentries that would change the world forever..

S.H.I.E.L.D. Threat
"S.H.I.E.L.D. wants us to be afraid, to fracture. But we're all tied together, a history that goes back thousands of years. They will not take that away from us."

- Jiaying

When Raina had a vision of a Kree Stone which could prove deadly to the Inhumans, Gordon rushed to inform Jiaying. She explained to Raina the history of the stone and how the Kree had built it to destroy the Inhumans after they declared them to be abominations. Jiaying ordered Gordon to locate it, and Raina offered to help, as she could recognize the area it was being stored in from her vision; Jiaying agreed and ordered them to find it.

Jiaying called Calvin Zabo into her office to discuss Raina once again, wishing to know if she was truly dangerous. Zabo briefly lost his temper when thinking about if Raina ever hurt his family, threatening to rip out Raina's heart if she did, but he quickly calmed down. Zabo went on to tell her how he had met Raina was a homeless child with no family and had witnessed her turning from resourceful and clever to manipulative and selfish. He told her that he had never known Raina to not want something, leading Jiaying to ask what he believed she wanted now.

When Gordon and Raina returned, having successfully located the Kree Stone in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s possession, they began discussing their next step, with Calvin Zabo joining in on the discussion, much to Gordon's annoyance. Zabo insisted he should be involved as their daughter was currently still at S.H.I.E.L.D. and was likely in danger. As tensions rose, Zabo accused Raina of putting on an act to control them and cause chaos. Jiaying managed to calm the situation and assured them that they would not allow S.H.I.E.L.D. to bring down their civilization. She spoke to one of the residents of Afterlife, who gave her one of the Terrigen Crystals that had been grown by the Inhumans, ready to be used as a precaution. Gordon then returned with Skye and Lincoln Campbell, who had been saved from HYDRA by S.H.I.E.L.D.. Jiaying sent Campbell to be checked up in the recovery room while she spoke to Skye about what happened. Skye informed her that Phil Coulson wished to speak with her and bring a peace between them, insisting that she should as Coulson was a good man and worth speaking to.

Jiaying informed Calvin Zabo that S.H.I.E.L.D. was coming to get his view on the matter, Zabo immediately lost control of his temper at the thought and smashed a table, although he immediately apologized. Jiaying asked him if he believed she could trust S.H.I.E.L.D., although Zabo made it clear he despised S.H.I.E.L.D. and especially Coulson, he knew that Coulson did care greatly for their daughter. When she asked Zabo about the Index, Zabo appeared horrified at the idea, telling her that S.H.I.E.L.D. would brand them and take away her power. He suggested she use her power to fight against S.H.I.E.L.D. and shoot their plans from the skies, but she insisted that that was not what Skye would want. Jiaying said that her people would never follow her blindly into a war, but Zabo insisted that he would. She lovingly told him that his boldness had not diminished with age, and he was still the man she fell in love with, but she had changed. Seeing no choice, Zabo suggested that she hand him over to S.H.I.E.L.D. as a gesture of good faith, allowing him to protect his family.

Gordon later came into Jiaying's office and informed her that Raina was seemingly plotting to overthrow her leadership. Jiaying, Gordon, Skye and a team of Inhumans stormed into Raina's room to confront her. Jiaying told her that while many would call her transformation a curse, they called it a gift, so she was not defined by the way she looked. She told her that she had used her powers to manipulate and control all those around her and taken advantage of her good faith. Although Raina tried to convince them she was telling the truth, Jiaying did not believe her and ordered her to be locked inside her room so she could decide her fate once S.H.I.E.L.D. had gone.

Killing Robert Gonzales
"How dare you compare your scars to mine? You're nothing like me, like us. Whitehall cut me to pieces. He ripped out my organs and stuffed them in jars! I will never let that happen to my daughter. To any of my people."

- Jiaying to Robert Gonzales

Shortly afterwards, Robert Gonzales arrived at Afterlife instead of Phil Coulson. When Skye questioned this, Gonzales insisted he was there with the same intentions of S.H.I.E.L.D., Gonzales then asked why Calvin Zabo was present and Jiaying explained that she was willing to give him to S.H.I.E.L.D. as they had willingly returned Skye and Lincoln Campbell to them. She asked Skye to take Zabo to S.H.I.E.L.D. so she could begin her meeting with Gonzales.

As they began talking, Gonzales explained that he had heard the stories of what HYDRA and Daniel Whitehall had done to her all those years before, and told her he had his own scars from HYDRA, indicating his damaged leg. He tried to explain that S.H.I.E.L.D. was different to HYDRA by giving Jiaying a gift of a necklace which had been found in Whitehall's office after Phil Coulson had killed him. Jiaying recognized the necklace as one she had intended to give to her daughter as a child. Gonzales went on to explain that S.H.I.E.L.D. simply wished to protect innocent people from the bad people who gained powers and said he wished to do this by meeting Jiaying's people and keeping a record of them, so they could always be there if they ever tried to harm the innocent.

Disgusted by the idea, Jiaying offered Gonzales her own gift, a Terrigen Crystal, calling it a piece of their history. She began explaining that over her many years of life she had seen countless generations fall into the same trap of putting people into categories to be tracked and controlled out of fear. She told Gonzales how her own fear of losing her Diviners led her to create her own Terrigen Crystals; as she explained she quoted Daniel Whitehall's motto of discovery requires experimentation. She explained that although they had succeed in creating crystals, the Diviner metal was stuck inside the Terrigen Mist, making it deadly to humans. With this, she smashed the crystal, causing the mist to wash over Gonzales, slowly petrifying him. Once Gonzales had completely turned to stone and died, Jiaying then ripped Gonzales' gun from him, causing his hand to shatter. She then calmly turned the gun to her own shoulder and fired two shots at herself. The noise of the gunshots alerted everyone nearby who ran to her aid. Jiaying walked out of her office, clutching her bleeding shoulder and told her people that S.H.I.E.L.D. had tried to assassinate her. She then told her people that a war had now begun between the Inhumans and S.H.I.E.L.D., before collapsing from blood loss as Skye ran to her.

Personality
Jiaying is very much a kind and gentle woman. She acts as a leader and mother figure to all of the Inhumans under her care, and her strictness to adhere to the rules of their people is motivated by her strong desire to protect them.

However, Jiaying's role as leader also divides her duties and her humanity. She can be very compassionate when allowed to be, but her duty to the Inhumans can make her choices and compassion questionable at times. While she loves her daughter, she insists that their relationship remains a secret from others to avoid favoritism. But more significantly, she convinced her daughter to have a family dinner together with her father because even after she left him and knows what he has become, she remembers the good man he used to be, and that she owes their reunion to him. But not long after that, her duty as leader of the Inhumans again makes her indifferent with non-Inhuman matters, which extends to Cal. Despite him being responsible for reuniting her with their daughter, she intended to abandon him without saying a word to him. She is not at all concerned about the people who might get hurt if Calvin Zabo gets angry at her betrayal and becomes violent again, because she feels her duty to protect her own people is more important then the risk of Cal harming the people he comes in contact with after Gordon leaves him.

Powers
Jiaying is an Inhuman who achieved her genetic potential after undergoing Terrigenesis, gaining superhuman abilities. "I won't live forever, Yat-Sen."

- Jiaying


 * Longevity: Jiaying retained her youthful appearance for over 70 years.
 * Regenerative Healing Factor: Jiaying was able to come back to life with just some scars, when most of her internal organs were removed due to surgery, after her husband stitched her body back together.

Abilities

 * Multilingualism: Jiaying is fluent in both Chinese and English.

Family

 * Calvin Zabo - Former Husband
 * Daisy - Daughter

Allies

 * Inhumans
 * Yat-Sen
 * Gordon
 * Lincoln Campbell
 * Raina
 * Ethan Johnston †

Enemies

 * HYDRA
 * Daniel Whitehall † - Supposed Killer
 * Hauer - Disposer
 * S.H.I.E.L.D.
 * Robert Gonzales † - Victim

Trivia

 * In the comics, Daisy Johnson's mother was named Jennifer Kim Johnson. Unlike Jiaying, Kim was not an Inhuman, Chinese, or Calvin Zabo's wife, but a Caucasian prostitute, with whom Zabo had regular "business".