AN: I'll do my best to update and stay on track with this story. If anyone would like to make any suggestions for things to add in I'd be very appreciative. Also, the story is based more on the marvel movie universe instead of the comics. So be kind.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of it. So you no sue, I no cry in the shower with a pint of butter pecan icecream.

Her name had been called and she'd risen with the others, making her way up the podium and collecting the rolled up paper with its maroon ribbon tied crookedly, making Darcy Lewis's hot-rod red smeared lips frown some. You'd think for a place as swanky as Culver University they'd manage to make the diploma's a little neater. Remembering where she was she offered the dean a smug little grin as she shook his hand and continued down to where the rest of her graduating class awaited, anxiously and excitedly clutching hats, anticipating the moment the word was given to toss the ugly square things into the air.

The brunette, wanting to keep her own, opted to steal one from the boy next to her and launched it into the air prematurely and whooped loudly, "LEWIS 2012!" This was accompanied with her own in zone dance of sorts, backing that fine ass of hers up some, only to lose traction upon noticing that all eyes were on her. She gave a nervous laugh, adjusting the thick rimmed glasses on her face, and waving at the dean, who despite a very stern face on normal occasions found the whole thing to be rather amusing, "Ladies and Gentlemen, the Culver University class of 2012."

Applause rang out and Darcy found herself in a downpour of caps and thunderous cheers from the newly graduated "adults" around her. People began to make their way to their loved ones who'd shown up to see this landmark of a day, but the previous political science major didn't bother. No one would be around today. Jane was off in Europe or something working on some top secret blah-de-blah-blah thing that she'd not been invited on by SHEILD. Selvig had never said where he was going. Her parents had bit the dust a long time ago, or at least that's what she told herself, it was easier for a kid in the foster system to cling to then the idea that she'd just been unwanted. Darcy Lewis didn't need no stinkin' attendees for today anyways. Today was about her and she intended to celebrate it the same way she did with every big milestone in her life. Alone.

It had become her little tradition of sorts. No matter how broke she was, Darcy would scrounge a little money up to take herself out to a nice dinner when there was a special occasion. When she turned 13 she had snuck into a socialite's wedding, wearing an oversized old prom dress she'd nicked from Goodwill, and celebrated her birthday with a Cornish game hen and two glasses of pink champagne before being discovered and tossed out. The time she lost her virginity to her science teacher at 15 she'd stolen his wallet and decided to dine Parisian, spending a total of 300 dollars on appetizers alone. After making it through high school she'd saved money up from summer jobs to try sushi for the first time, still wearing her cap and gown. When she'd got accepted into Culver university she went to town on six different types of cheesecake at an upscale bakery.

After surviving her bizarre internship with Jane Foster last summer in New Mexico, aka the sea of beige, and both tasering and meeting a real live Norse god Darcy had to settle for a box of blue berry pop tarts and a bottle of Jack Daniels as she struggled to understand just how close to dying she'd come when Mr. Superfine space hobo and his robot brother leveled the town they'd been staying in. It was amazing that out of all the crazy that went down her only two regrets had been the lack of some sort of dinner roll basket being brought to her and the loss of her beloved IPod.

Ditching the maroon bathrobe in her beat up old jeep Cherokee, she shimmied into a nice black dress right there in the parking lot, not caring if anyone was offended or just a little to tuned into her lime green bra, got in and drove off into the city. Be it a lack of traffic or just how quickly time went by when you blared Shania Twaine's "Like a Woman" on repeat, she reached a fancy looking bistro within just minutes, stepping out and tossing her keys, which must have weighed about 5 pounds with how many key chains were linked together on it, to a valet, "Take good care of her for me, oh, and there's a snickers bar in the glove box. Go crazy."

The teenage boy did his best not to gape at her in her cleavage baring black dress as she confidently strode past him and into the restaurant, approaching the hostess, "Hi. Lewis. Party of one."

The skinny blond twig of a woman, sporting a name tag reading "Claire" gave her a once over, before lifting her snooty nose into the air, "Do you have a reservation?"

"Uh. Duh. Why else would I have said my name, plus party of one?" She put her hands on her hips.

Claire looked down at her list and then back at her with a dull unimpressed expression, "There is no reservation under Lewis. May I suggest you try the Ihop down the road?"

Before her trusty Taser made an appearance, and boy was it about too, and smooth male voice would speak up, "Try again. Under Coulson, party of 2." The agent from New Mexico was standing there, looking unassuming and pleasant in his crisp black suit, smiling at Darcy with a level expression on his face, "I hope you don't mind me joining you."

The voluptuous young woman cautiously looked at him, "uh, Jane's not here. Oh god." She would suddenly whisper, "you're not here to like…off me, are you? Cause that would be pretty messed up. I'm excited to try this place's salmon, but fish as a last meal? Lame." She was nervously rambling, her voice slowly regaining normal volume and he'd silence her with a look as the hostess looked up from her list.

"…Right this way please." Claire said unpleasantly, leading them to a discreet table in a darker half of the joint, separated from the rest with a red velvet rope. Darcy followed like a good girl, but only because she had no real escape plan.

After being seated and brought sparkling wine, Darcy looked over at the agent uncomfortably shifting in her seat, and began to butter a dinner roll with her butter knife grasped tightly in her hand.

The agent gave her a sympathetic look, "Ms. Lewis, you have no need to be worried, you're not in trouble or any sort of danger,"

"No offense, but then why are you here?" She didn't lessen her grip on her dining utensil. She couldn't imagine what he'd want with her.

"I'm here to congratulate you. Culver's a very good school." Coulson held his hand up, signaling the waiter, "We'll have a bottle of champagne please. Also, could you have the chef whip up something special, we're celebrating her college graduation."

The waiter nodded and off he went. Darcy arched a perfectly plucked eyebrow as she looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. "Uh. No offense. But that sounds like total and complete bullshit. There's no way you're here to hang out with me. Yeah, I get it, I experienced thunder-Romeo's little showdown with his brother back in New Mexico, but I didn't think I'd see you dudes again after you jacked my ipod and deleted my facebook. By the way. You missed my myspace account." She smirked some.

"No one uses myspace anymore. It wasn't an issue." He dryly said as the waiter returned, pouring them both drinks, then quickly darting away to another table at Coulson's dismissive glance. "But you're not wrong. In normal circumstances we'd of kept tabs on you for a few years, but avoided direct contact unless you'd continued to work with Dr. Foster or any of her affiliates, and even then you'd of been handled by a lower level associate of mine."

"So… what makes this circumstance…unnormal?" She awkwardly lifted her glass to her lips and watched him.

A folder somehow materialized from Coulson's briefcase, that Darcy had failed to notice, and made its way into her hands. She cautiously opened it up and came face to face with various snapshots of three men and one very stunning woman. "…What's this? Reed Richards…Ben Grimm?" She was pretty sure she'd heard those names before from Jane, but couldn't place where, as sometimes she tended to space out when she and Selvig got going on science talk.

"Dr. Richards recently took part in a shuttle mission sponsored by Von Doom Industries to study cosmic energy and it's relation to human genetics. However there was an incident and his calculations were off, a large storm overtook the space craft they were in. …The storm happens to coincide with the appearance of our mutual friend from another world."

Darcy frowned, "…Are you saying that thunder-hobo's coming here killed these people?" There was an intense sinking feeling in her stomach. She didn't see the friendly blond giant taking that well at all once Jane brought him back planet-side.

"They've all survived the accident." Coulson assured her and watched as she visibly relaxed. "But…there have been some severe reactions to the radiation they encountered in space."

"No way." Darcy's eyes flickered back down to the papers, "Dude. They went all superhero from it didn't they? That's… Cool."

Coulson smiled at her childlike wonder. "Yes. It is."

Their food would appear moments later and Darcy took a second to take a whiff of the still steaming prime rib that had been put down before her, then looked at him, "I still don't get why you're here."

"Given your ability to handle abnormal circumstances and the work you've done as a lab assistant, paired with your newly acquired degree in political science and public relations SHIELD would like to offer you a job."

Darcy dropped her fork.

"What?"

"We need someone to covertly keep an eye on them, while running interference with the media if and when their powers come to light. We've already taken the liberty of submitting a resume and application to the Baxter Building for you, as well as deleting any other applicants from their inbox."

"That's pretty ballsy, what if I tell you no?" The recent graduate managed to pick her eating utensil back up, acting as if she wasn't shocked that this was really happening.

"We're very confident that you'll take the offer. If you look in the folder you'll find a starting salary,"

Coulson took a moment to take a bite of his own food and chewed slowly, watching as her blue eyes bugged out behind her glasses. The brunette gave him a look of disbelief, than finished off the drink in her glass. "That's insane. Like. Charlie Sheen on a Sunday cuckoo for cocaine-puffs."

"I'll send a car in a week's time to transport you to the airport, in the meantime tie up any loose ends here in town and pack." Coulson would stand up, and pulled his wallet from his inner jacket pocket, producing a pure black credit card and placing it on the table. "Dinners on us. Order anything you'd like. We look forward to working with you Miss Lewis."

Agent Coulson then departed from the bistro.

Darcy picked up the black card from the table and flagged the waiter down, a wicked look coming across her face, "Garcon, I'd like to order one of everything on the menu to go, along with your finest wine, I'm celebrating tonight." Then with an afterthought she glanced at the blonde hostess walking by. "And charge a hundred dollar tip to everyone in the joint except for blond ambition over there."

The waiter looked alarmed, but nodded, "I'll…be sure to do that."

Darcy Lewis smugly went back to eating her dinner.