Christmas at Jane's
Chapter 2: Jane Gets A Message
Darcy was in her room, texting Ginny about how boring this dumb Monday afternoon was, when Jane started screaming.
And when Jane screamed, she screamed loud.
Very, very loud.
Darcy jumped, startled, and put her phone down.
"Jane? What's wrong?"
I hope no one broke in. Or stole anything. Or threatened Jane. Or–
She cut herself off quickly before any grim thoughts ruined her day. Darcy ran across the hallway, down the stairs, and towards the living room, where Jane was sitting with her laptop on the coffee table, and her shaking hand holding her phone.
Quick look-around. No thieves. No robbers. No bad guys. No stupid, brainless agents stealing Jane's computer or anything (phew!). Everything was in place. Even Jane's hair, which tended to get a little messy when she was flustered.
Darcy sighed.
"Well, what is it? Is it good or bad?"
Good, judging her expression and her happy tears and her smile.
Jane's face is definitely an open book.
"Oh… Darcy…"
Jane's voice shook a little, and she stared into the computer.
"WHAT?" said Darcy impatiently.
"There's a message from Doctor Banner concerning… concerning… gods."
What the–
Gods?
Thor?
This better not be a false alarm, Mr. Hulk, or I'll kill you.
"You mean… Thor?" said Darcy.
Evidently, yes. Jane was too happy to answer.
Darcy plunked herself down on the couch and leaned over Jane's shoulder. Sure enough, there was a new email displaying itself on the screen. She wiped her glasses with the hem of her shirt and began reading.
"To Miss Jane Foster.
We have had a breakthrough concerning your boyfriend that you may be interested in.
Our system picked up a signal from somewhere last night, and when I called Tony Stark, all the screens in the former Stark building blanked out. A bouncing envelope icon appeared on the screens.
Upon clicking, the icon enlarged and began to change form. The form it took was a large Hammer with the insignia of the gods. We are not sure, but some of us are convinced that this is a message from Thor.
Perhaps you would like to discuss this matter with the Avengers.
Best regards,
Virginia Potts. Assistant.
Stark Industries."
Darcy stopped to absorb this new information.
Suddenly, she stood up and went towards the coat closet.
"Well, are you coming, Jane?"
"What do you mean? Where are we going?"
Darcy frowned.
"We have a date with the Avengers."
Ten red lights later, they both stood at the lobby of the "Avengers Mansion" (as Darcy dubbed it). Jane constantly fidgeted and smiled and shuffled her feet, something she did not usually do, while Darcy made sure her sweater was buttoned correctly.
They had driven in Jane's (new) car, a second-hand Toyota Corolla (Jane had a strange affection for those), to the Avengers Mansion, and, because Jane was a nervous wreck, Darcy drove.
Darcy was not a good driver.
Now it was late afternoon, and they were waiting in the lobby for the Esteemed Tin Can Man to welcome them (for their convenience, Jane had bought a house close to the Mansion; Erik Selvig occasionally visited from helping in the mansion, heavens knew what he helped with).
Anyway, Darcy was getting very, very bored when the Tin Can Man himself and his girlfriend made an appearance.
"Darcy! Jane!" he said dramatically, and Ginny swatted him.
Darcy ignored Tony and waved at Pepper ("No matter what, I am NOT calling her Pepper, Jane!"), who smiled back at her.
"Hey," she said. "As you can see, Jane's really excited about this, so please hurry up. It's nearly five and I'm taking Ginny and Tasha out to dinner."
Tony looked a little mock-offended at this, as if he cared whether he was invited or not.
Like Darcy would invite him in the first place.
He began to lead them into the elevator, and Darcy pressed the button.
They waited.
Darcy watched anxiously as Jane chewed on her nails.
(It was hard, the elevator being so slow, but he was working in such a large tower, after all.)
"There we go," said Tony triumphantly as the doors opened.
Nick Fury glared bad-temperedly at him through his one eye.
"Good afternoon, Director!" said Darcy brightly, and, after the Director had exited, they went into the elevator.
"So… Mr. Stark, anything other than this mysterious hammer thing?"
"Please… call me Tony," said Tin Can Man. He winked at her.
Darcy was not impressed.
"It will be Mr. Stark or just plain Stark. Take it or leave it," she said. If she had been in a better mood, she would have obliged to his request, but today's sudden events was making her a little jumpy.
"Oh well. Yeah, there actually was something other than the hammer, but–"
"But what?"
Usually, Jane didn't interrupt other people (unless she was really angry), but this time she did.
"But I'll show you later."
"Spoken like a true man," mumbled Darcy.
Tony raised his eyebrows.
MEN! Good grief!
She stopped herself.
Boy, am I snarky today.
"My apologies, Mr. Stark," said Darcy as calmly as she could. "Please continue."
She shrugged at Ginny and they all came out of the elevator.
Darcy breathed in.
Every time she came to the Avengers Mansion, it always amazed her. She hadn't been on all the floors yet, but still– she liked it a lot.
"STEVE! BRUCE! CLINT! NATASHA!" called Tony over the clacking of keyboard keys.
The Avengers assembled (pun intended).
"Miss Foster. Miss Lewis. Good afternoon."
"Jane, Darcy. Hello."
"So, I'm cooking, huh?"
"Clint!"
(Apparently, Hawkeye had not gotten over the fact that he was making the food for the party.)
"Hi everyone," said Darcy. "Steve, Bruce, Stark, I sent you guys emails; invitations for our Christmas party. Forgot about it, but I just remembered. Hope you got it."
They all nodded, except for the captain, who smiled.
"Back to business. So. The hammer. Mjolnir, or whatever. Anything else?"
All eyes on Darcy.
"WELL?"
"Yes." Bruce Banner led them to an isolated room, and they all took seats around a large glass table. Each seat was paired with a computer. Dr. Banner pressed a button on the table, and they simultaneously turned on.
Darcy inspected the computer, and was impressed.
Wow. New features and everything. What does this thing do?
What brand is this?
Yup. Knew it. STARK.
She changed her focus to the screen. Whatever Bruce clicked on his computer (the one at the head of the table) appeared on their screens. So all Darcy had to do was sit down and relax.
"Now I will show you the footage of the security cameras," said Banner.
The video turned on.
Everything was according to the email: the blank-out, the envelope, the hammer. But the camera zoomed in at the last moment before the hammer disappeared.
Darcy blinked and missed it.
Dang.
The video paused, and Dr. Banner went back a little.
"If you look closely, and let me just zoom in a bit, you will notice that instead of the usual pattern around the sides of Mjolnir, there is something else."
Everyone craned in closer to take a look.
Darcy waited until the scientist had zoomed in a little more. She glanced at it and shrugged.
Nothing. I don't see it.
But then her eyes caught something. A word, engraved in sharp, deep scratches. If she had looked it over quickly, Darcy would've thought it was Norse.
But it wasn't Norse. It was English: a word, four letters, hidden from the casual observer.
On the other hand, not a word.
A name.
Jane.