(Well I forgot to put a proper disclaimer for the song lyrics in the prologue. Silly me. But the song lyrics belong to Young Guns. Check out the band, they're awesome.)

The following chapter will be rated T +.

I do not own Avengers or Darcy Lewis

Chapter One

Flashback

The smell of alcohol permeated the air of the apartment, signaling to Darcy that her father was yet again drunk. Her mother, she had figured was locked in the bathroom crying after another bout of arguing that turned to violence. Darcy always escaped the apartment when the arguing turned ugly. But this time the sixteen year old had come back a little earlier than normal. Her father was passed out in the chair, a bottle of tequila still in his hand.

Sighing softly, she shook her head and disappeared into the kitchen to make dinner. At least have it ready when her father woke up. If she didn't, then she would be on the receiving end of his words and after that she would be trying to cover up the next bruise that she received. It was never like this, not until her mother miscarriage her unborn baby brother and the abuse started. Sure her father never hit her when she was younger, but once she hit her sixteenth birthday, he saw her as a new punching bag.

She always went to school wearing long sleeved shirts or even hoodies to hide the bruises. She didn't make friends for the simple reason that they would discover what was going on at home. It seemed easier and safer that way, because her father was always the type to question her about her school day. And even inquire about boyfriends.

Darcy knew that she was pretty and maybe even beautiful enough to attract guys, but she never let anyone get close to her. Always being the loner, the freak, and even the loser to keep guys away from her. And from her father knowing, because even when he wasn't drunk, he could still resort to violence whenever he found out that she was doing something behind his back. It was just a never ending stream of violence and tip toeing around him so he wouldn't become angry.

Even as she worked to make dinner, she was quiet. Whether or not that she knew it, her father had woken up and stumbled into the kitchen to lean against the door way, with a bottle of Jack Daniel's Whiskey in hand.

Darcy turned around to head to the fridge and she stopped suddenly at the sight of her father. The sight of the bottle in his hands made her cringe on the inside as she lowered her gaze. She knew that her father was a time bomb that would explode at any moment. And she didn't want to say or do anything to make him angry, so she continued on with what she was doing, well aware that her father watched her like a wolf eyeing his prey.

Darcy woke with a start, as she took in her surroundings for a moment. The dream was always the same. And always ended too soon. But for once she was glad, because she always woke up in a cold sweat and crying. Those kinds of dreams were hard for her. Hard for her to really remember and to understand. Sure she never told anyone really what her home life was like, until meeting Jane. Still forgetting the past seemed harder than what she had first thought. And she didn't want to remember.

Stark Tower

New York

2:07 PM

"Do you think that she will accept the job? I mean I know that she knows Thor and everything. But you saw her at the funeral." Tony replied as he paced the length of his office. Even though he had allowed Director Fury to visit and to even propose his idea. He wasn't too sure about having the young woman working as a liaison for the Avengers. Sure she could help Thor with his Midgard understanding. And Steve to acclimate to the change. It just didn't seem fair to the young woman to push her into something after all that happened.

"Stark. Ms Lewis needs this. I need her to get away from her regular job as assistant."

Director Fury countered as he watched the other man pace. Even though he knew that Tony Stark wouldn't go along with the idea at first, he knew that having Ms. Lewis there would ease the tension that was mounting among the others. And he could see that Ms. Lewis needed a change of scenery from being cooped up. And there was also the issue of her withdrawn attitude that had him worried. Though most would never see that side of him.

"Look. I will send her over with a month trial period. If things don't work out, you can send her back."

Of course that compromise would not always work with Tony Stark, because he knew that the other man would never agree to something, unless there was a catch. "Just think of this as a chance to let Thor and Steve relax without trying to destroy things." Without another word, he settled the folder on Stark's desk and made his way out, without hearing his response. He just hoped that he was doing the right thing and letting Ms. Lewis stay there. But he knew that she needed the change and seeing Thor would raise her spirits, if only for a short time.

Review Recognition:

[Chamberlain of Music: Thank you so much for the review. And I was thinking on bringing back Agent Coulson somewhere in the middle of the story. Might be hard on Darcy knowing that his death was faked, but it was needed to get Darcy to open up to others.

[Alexceasar: I also thank you for the review. Please stick around, because this story will get better as the time goes on. ]