Avengers Tower
The first week of summer 2012
(last week of June)
"Tony, why aren't you ready?" The Super Secret Hero Basement Lab was filled with simulations and rock music which she was silencing with quick subvocal commands to JARVIS. She refused to shout at Tony so she had to silence everything else.
"Yeah I'm too busy, can't go. JARVIS lock out Ms. Lewis."
"Belay that order JARVIS override code Hotel Echo Lima Papa"
"That can't be a real order."
"Take it up with Pepper."she shrugged, and waited patiently as Tony tried interacting with JARVIS.
"Damnit Darcy you broke JARVIS."
"I am not broken."
"So lock her out."
"I'm afraid not sir."
"I am going to reprogram you until you sound like SIRI!"
"Yeah, yeah threats later, change now hop into the limo and lets move it!"Darcy marched into the elevator knowing he had no choice but to follow once she shut down the lab. Happy emerged from the elevator and Tony was dragged out to change. Darcy did a quick check of the lab and made notes checked her email they were off. On the steps of City Hall Tony and Captain America were presented with the keys to the city. SHIELD was keeping a close eye on the situation and Darcy felt a bit odd because she wasn't listening in to their check-ins but she focused on the ceremony. An hour later she was dodging elbows and squeezing through bodies to try keeping pace with Tony as he made his way through the reporters and his admirers.
A scuffle broke out and Captain America broke it up and kept the fanatic that had started it until the police arrived. Tony kept giving sound bites and then they were back in the limo. Captain America was waving one last time and Tony was pouring himself a drink.
"Want a drink Lewis?"
"No thanks."
"Oh come on lets celebrate they just gave us the keys to the city!"Tony tossed both drinks back and Darcy got to work on the tweets and soundbites making their way across the internet. Along with reports from Captain America's little scuffle she was working and needed more caffeine not alcohol.
"It'll be a bit until we can get reaction from the news outlets but so far people were pleased."
"Lewis there are three things I hate-" Tony started.
"Being handed things" cut in Darcy.
"Being told what to do." Threw in Happy.
"And I also hate drinking alone." he didn't really but he was getting really drunk, so Tony tried waving another tumblerful of whiskey at Steve and Darcy.
"Is there a point to this Tony?" Steve asked as he pulled the cowl off.
"Yeah that I hate doing these things I mean it was great when I made that Senator honor me but New York is still messed up kinda seems premature." He fidgeted at the confession and drank some more, "Lewis and Happy know it so why do I still have to do them?"
"Bruce can't and Pepper said you have to." answered Darcy quickly, it was unspoken that Steve was trying to live a normal life for as long as possible the name of the game being denial, obfuscation and keeping his vigilantism work strictly aligned with Captain America. Steve Rogers was just another guy and it needed to stay that way.
For the next few blocks Darcy enjoyed the relative quiet of the limo as Steve pulled out his own cellphone, apparently the promise of more action breaking up public disturbances or taking down any and all criminal activity in the most of New York had persuaded him to learn the "new-fangled" technology. Not to mention that Sam Wilson wasn't the only person he talked to on it. At least if Clint was to be believed.
"You know what? This is ridiculous we're going to LA."
"Sure tonight or tomorrow?"
"You've never been on my private jet. Oh hey Jarvis get the jet ready we're going now." Darcy just blinked and double-checked all Tony's present engagements. Tony turned to Steve, "What about you Steve?"
"Ms. Potts has just arrived from Washington should I tell her you are going to LA." announced JARVIS.
Tony responded by cancelling the jet and lunch passed in a blur of communications down in the lab's kitchenette. Darcy invited Steve to lunch with the lab folks but he had stuff and things to do.
Looking through their commitments Darcy made a note of several things. One, always keep a suitcase packed with essentials in the limo or the jet (possibly both). She was pretty sure one of these days she was going to need it. Two, Bruce wasn't in the lab and he wasn't in the Tower. She didn't want to turn on the tracker so she assumed she'd need to force him to introduce Betty to the team. Three, the scientists were either taking their independent projects very seriously and ignoring their work or just plain ignoring their work. Maybe Darcy would need to find a way to get them to take some vacation time. Especially since Bruce and Tony were out. Fourth and most important: What was Darcy going to do about Jane? They still shared Jane's apartment even though most of Darcy's things were in her own apartment. It was almost like three thousand square foot apartments were slightly too much for a single person to live in by oneself after years of cramped dorm rooms and tiny trailers.
Which would explain why most of the time the team would start hanging out in the massive common kitchen or the common room where the Hulk had beaten Loki. The Tower was vast and they were all getting comfortable with each other.
The next day after brunch Darcy was digging through her messenger bag for her extra ammo. Finding it she reloaded and pushed her way past Steve's protective form as he tried to force her away from the scene and laid down cover fire for him to run towards the giant robots. He'd already pulled off his regular clothes in a thicket by the bridge that spanned the brickway in Central Park. He grumbled but pulled on his cowl as she kept up the cover fire. "Get the hell out of here agents will be here in less than five minutes!" he yelled at her as her second bullet connected with the massive robot. It made a loud ping but otherwise did nothing.
"Just tell them to bring enough ammo, I'm almost out!" she yelled back. Some civilians were cowering beside an overturned carriage their horse half squashed by the stainless steel robot. Captain sprinted towards them as Darcy clicked in her last magazine and tried shooting the robot in the eye. Score! At least the thing was partially blind now. She blinded two of the other robots and looked down to where Captain America was leading the civilians to the relative safety of a black SUV. Iron Man now suited up was blasting the robots as the Hulk took one of huge robots down. The Scarlet Witch was focusing on disrupting Doom's concentration while Quicksilver checked all the corners of the Park looking for more civilians. Clint and Natasha had arrived with SHIELD. Just as Darcy was considering heading for one of the black SUV's herself she was picked up by one of the robots and tossed into the sky. She twisted around trying to find purchase on something, anything just as Iron Man caught her.
Tony flipped up his mask and dropped her on the nearest SUV, "Go home Lewis!" he ordered and for once Darcy didn't argue with him. Besides she was out of ammo.
In the SUV she noticed there were some injured so she went with them to the nearest hospital. The agent that was driving the SUV was referred to only as Agent 13, Darcy remembered seeing her before but didn't really think she should bring it up in front of the civilians. Darcy busied herself with the civilians, trying to get the little boy who was crying to focus on the fact that Captain America had just saved him. "Hey do you remember that big guy in the ol'red white and blue?"
Sniff, "yeah," his mother had long ago fainted and been deemed "safe" that is, not a potential security risk. It might have been because they were Haitians and spoke little English.
"That was Captain America! He's best friends with Iron Man, you like Iron Man don't you?"
"I like the Hulk." Darcy grinned and he smiled back tight curly black hair framing his dark cherubic features.
"He's pretty awesome too, he's the strongest one. But anyways they're all friends and they're going to kick those huge robots outta New York!"
As the child calmed down his little afro tickled Darcy's nose as he leaned back against her in the hospital his mom in the next bed the doctors attending to her she could feel the texts buzzing her phone but she ignored them.
Most of them were from Jane, who as she watched the news, texted Darcy, "Are you ok?" and "Why aren't you home?" and "IF you're aren't dead and just ignoring your texts I'm going to kill you!" and "Omg I'm turning into my mother..."
Darcy burst out laughing and the medics rushing past her in the corridor gave her dirty looks. She texted back quickly, "I'm fine just waiting for a ride back home."
"Why can't you walk?" that was a good point. The hospital they'd taken her to was halfway between Central Park and Midtown where the Tower was.
"I'm fine I'm busy with stuff." besides the stitches she still needed.
After the little boy was done crying, Darcy had cleaned off the snot and the last of the stitches were sown up on her scalp she left the hospital and walked home. She listened to the sounds of the city from one ear and talked to JARVIS getting updates from the team and texting Jane. A block away from the Tower Darcy spied Steve walking into the cafe below the Tower. He was clean again, not a hair out of place and he stood waiting for the hostess to seat him.
A young blonde with a pretty pink bow of a mouth threw herself into his arms and kissed him. Steve blushed and Darcy's own heart skipped a beat. She'd known Steve had a girlfriend but seeing the kiss, seeing them together had startled her, so she kept walking. Well there's always California.
The next morning Darcy made sure to pack her bags, shoving in the nicest of everything she had and feeling that it was probably going to go to waste if she was just going to be stuck at the mansion the whole time. A Malibu mansion Darce, she reminded herself. Maybe I'll even get to go the beach.
Speaking with the lab assistants and subtly suggesting that vacations could be had with minimal disruptions Darcy managed to rid herself of a third of the scientists. Jane was going to be tough though.
The private jet should NOT be impressive. Before she knew it Darcy was drinking champagne and reclining at 5,000 feet. Impressive for the fact that she totally didn't get to enjoy it as she was suddenly busy with Pepper stuff. Suddenly Tony was nothing but a distant thought and Pepper pulling her into her world of finance and an empire the likes of which was barely comprehensible to most. Luckily Darcy's experience included actual governments and aliens from other realms.
Still pretty impressive when she considered that as CEO Pepper was Prime Minister to Tony's, symbolic but still reigning, king. Their small army of attendants had been whittled down to just Darcy as it was now the weekend.
"Thank you Madam Secretary,"
"Oh please call me Hillary, that is if I can call you Pepper." That's the Secretary of State on screen with my bosses, I think I might die of suppressed squees! thought Darcy.
"Oh of course, Hillary." Pepper grinned.
"Told you she wouldn't mind Pep." Chimed in Tony and totally photobombing behind Pepper, he was more than a few drinks in. "Tell the next country you meet with Iron Man is just a few hours away, then they'll listen!"
Secretary of State, Hillary Rodham Clinton put her shades on and cut the connection the hint of a smile the last thing Darcy saw as she closed her eyes trying to sear the image into her eyeballs.
"Hey Darce, you ok there?"
"I just saw my personal hero. I'm great." said Darcy just a bit breathlessly.
The rest of the flight to a private airstrip was uneventful and downright relaxing. This was a whole new game and Darcy was pretty sure even SHIELD didn't have training for this sort of life.
A/N:
I had this whole political meeting scene planned but this fic is getting long so I just included the closing with our former Secretary of State.
Also if you're new to the series Darcy trained with SHIELD but was offered a job as Tony and Pepper's PA and took it.
