Darcy's in the labs with Jane, trying to force food upon the tiny astrophysicist, when FRIDAY pings them.
"Miss Lewis, it appears you have two visitors requesting your presence in the lobby."
Both women freeze because Darcy never gets visitors and Darcy takes that moment to shove a piece of sandwich into Jane's gaping mouth. "FRIDAY, can you bring up a visual, please?"
A hologram flickers to life just to the right of Jane's dry erase board, and both women rush forward to see who it is. Squinting, Darcy can make out the elderly faces of two people she's hasn't seen in over six years and gasps.
"Is that..?" Jane mumbles and Darcy nods.
"Grams and Gramps."
Jane lights up. "Grams and Gramps!"
"Janie, no."
"Darcy, yes," the astrophysicist laughs. "Your grandparents are the cutest thing ever. I've only ever met them via facetime, so it's about time we meet in person."
"Yeah, but," she groans, her head tilting back. "You know my family," she frowns. "The Halliwell name is cursed."
"But you're a Lewis."
"Not by blood," she mumbles. "And besides," Darcy says. "-wherever Grams goes, trouble follows." Turning her attention towards the ceiling, Darcy calls out. "FRIDAY, is anyone on the Common Floor?"
"Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes are, Miss Lewis? Shall I request their assistance?"
"No, we're good. The two old folk downstairs are my grandparents. Can you go ahead and beam them up to the Common Floor?"
It takes a few seconds, but FRIDAY eventually answers. "Your request is acceptable."
Jane's smile dims when Darcy meets her gaze once again, the scientist understanding why her assistant is resistant to a face to face with any of her family. "Well, let's go meet the fam."
Darcy had been born a Halliwell, but when her mother found out about her husband's magical abilities, her mother ran. Her mother called off her engagement to one Chris Halliwell and surprisingly gained full custody of their child after threatening to out the Halliwells and their abilities. Darcy's mother then remarried and changed both their last names, and Darcy only got to see her father's family when her own powers manifested and her mother didn't know how to deal with it. Chris then took Darcy in and introduced her to numerous cousins, aunts and uncles, and explained their family's magical legacy.
Being grandchildren to the Charmed Ones was a dangerous thing, and hunting demons and other various monsters got old pretty quickly. Of course, saying goodbye to her family and going off to college only brought a new source of magic into her life in the form of an alien God, and Darcy knew she couldn't ignore her magic for much longer. When the time then presented itself, Darcy sharpened her skills and potion making abilities when she had the chance, and had her cousins ship her various crystals to keep herself and Jane safe.
After the Dark Elves had attacked and Jane returned from her mini-vacation to Asgard, Darcy made the rather important decision to let her friend in on the Halliwell family secret. The two women had been through so much together and since Thor kept hinting to Jane that Tony Stark was looking to give her her own lab space along with housing for both she and her intern, Darcy didn't want to pass up the opportunity to live in Stark Tower. And if Darcy didn't plan on leaving Jane, she had to tell the petite woman her deepest secret in case worse came to worse and Darcy had to out herself.
Darcy then ended up waiting until she had finished up college and was promoted from unpaid intern to Stark Industries Scientist Wrangler, and the curvaceous brunette found herself finding a second family within the Tower. Jane surprisingly took the news well even after Darcy told her she could absolutely not run tests on her, and then vowed to always have Darcy's back when the young wrangler expressed her fears of the others thinking differently of her because they were so touchy around magic. And in the end, Darcy only told Jane and Pepper about her magic- Pepper because she's Darcy's boss and she wanted to be honest with the CEO.
The elevator dings, and Jane and Darcy casually step off the elevator and follow the not so quiet laughter. In the kitchen, Grams is cooing over Steve, and Bucky is off to the side with Gramps- the two men not bothering to hide their amusement at Steve's obvious discomfort.
"Grams!" Darcy snaps though there's no heat to it. "Stop molesting the national icon."
"Oh, hush," the white haired woman waves distractedly over her shoulder. "Let a old woman have a moment."
Darcy will swear on it that the older her grandparents got, the more her Grams let a little more loose.
"Piper," Gramps finally intervenes. "That's enough, sweetheart."
An equally white haired man steps forward to guide his wife away from Steve, and Steve slumps in relief. "Uh, Grams..?" He says, his questioning gaze landing on Darcy.
"Yeah. Steve, Bucky, meet my Grams and Gramps. Grams, Gramps, meet Steve, Bucky, and this is Jane."
Steve and Bucky smile respectively at the elder couple, shaking hands when Gramps steps back towards them. "You can call us Grams and Gramps as well or just Leo and Piper will do. We're not picky."
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Jane gushes and rushes forward, not giving the soldiers a chance to reply.
Grams lights up at the sight of Jane, she ushering the younger woman into a welcoming embrace right before Gramps does the same. Darcy smiles at their interaction as she walks over to Steve and Bucky, she then leaning on the island counter with a sigh. "Not that I'm not happy to see you two, but what are you doing all the way over here in New York?"
"What?" Grams grins. "Can't we visit our grandchild without motive?"
"Well, yeah, but you never leave the Manor. When you or Auntie Paige or Auntie Phoebe step out of the comfort of your homes.. stuff," she says, putting emphasis on the word. "-happens."
"Nonsense, Darcy-Lou," Grams smiles and Bucky lights up at the nickname. Darcy scowls at him, flipping him off when he gets a teasing smile on his face and Darcy turns her attention back to Grams. "And besides, not that we don't love you, but it wasn't our idea to come out. That lovely lady friend of yours, Miss Potts, invited us out. We just got in a day earlier than expected."
Darcy snorts. "Pepper invited you? Of course she did. I was wondering why she kept pestering me about how long it'd been since I saw the two of you after our last phone call."
"Yes, well, she sounded like a marvelous woman," Gramps says. "Is she around?"
The elevator dings on cue and it's only a few seconds before Pepper makes her entrance. Introductions are made all over again, hugs are given, and then Pepper's not really apologizing for going behind Darcy's back to get her grandparents there. Darcy waves her off with a laugh, and then Pepper is leading Grams and Gramps to their own living quarters that they'll be staying in for the week.
During the week, Grams and Gramps are introduced to Tony, Wanda, Bruce, Clint, and Natasha. Vision is off with Thor on Asgard for the next couple of weeks and really, Darcy is grateful for that because the last thing she needed was Vision outing her Grams. Of course, there was always the scare that Vision could out herself, but after a stern talking to from Thor, Vision was learning to keep most things to himself unless he was absolutely sure there was a threat to the team.
Bruce had been immediately taken with the elderly couple, and more often than not Grams and Gramps could be found in the Common area playing Scrabble and drinking tea. Bruce joined them a lot of the time, and Darcy couldn't help but find that hilarious (especially when Tony pouted about losing his science bro).
However, during Grams and Gramps' stay, Darcy couldn't shake the feeling that something was coming. It's a feeling she's used to, but it's also a feeling she's paying more attention to than normal since her grandparents are in the building. So when left alone, Darcy stocked up on explosive potions and handed them to Grams and Jane, and made them promise to keep them on hand at all times.
And sure enough, Darcy didn't have to wait long for that feeling to actually become a problem.
xXx
Everyone's surprisingly down on the Common Floor for lunch when Darcy's senses make her spine straighten and go stiff. And unless her eyes are deceiving her, Grams has recognized the impending danger as well.
Gramps immediately senses the change in his wife and granddaughter, and his easy going old man smile vanishes. One by one, others start sensing the change in the atmosphere as well.
"Janie," Darcy breathes, slowly stepping out of the kitchen as her eyes dart all around the place. "You still have those vials that I gave you?" Her hands find their way into the pockets of the sweater she's wearing, she gripping tight to a few vials of her own.
"Yeah," Jane squeaks. "Am I- do we need them?"
The rooms deathly quiet, the tension running high as Grams joins Darcy and the two women go back to back.
"Yes, you'll need them," Grams says seriously. "Protect Leo."
"What's going on?" Natasha asks, her hand itching for a blade in her boot when she realizes that Darcy and Grams are on edge.
But before Darcy can answer, two figures wielding crossbows appear in a swirl of black orbs. Grams' hands fly out in front of her, her fingers flexing at one dark-lighter and blowing him up while Darcy throws a vial of potion at the other and blows him up as well.
Another dark-lighter behind both witchy women and Jane's shout of, "Hey!", distracts him just in time for the tiny astrophysicist to throw a vial of her own and watch as he disappears in a ball of flame.
"What the fuck!" Clint shouts.
Bucky, Natasha, and Tony are all armed- Bucky with a gun, Natasha with a blade, and Tony with a gauntlet from his suit wrapped around his hand.
"I'll explain later," Darcy shouts back. She and Grams are waiting for the next wave of dark-lighters when Steve's don't turn green, don't turn green reaches her ears. And sure enough, when she glances over her shoulder, she can see Bruce hunched beside the kitchen island and looking a little green. "Shit," she mutters and then, "Hey, Bruce!" When the scientist manages to look up, she smiles sadly. "I apologize for this, but we really can't risk a code green right now."
Bruce looks dumbstruck for a split second and his eyes widen when he sees Darcy turn in his direction with determination etched into every feature. Her hands raise and just like her Grams, she flexes her fingers but instead of Bruce blowing up, he freezes.
"What the hell, Lewis?!" Tony's shrieking now, but a calming hand from Pepper and a quick whispered conversation seems to calm him down.
Three more masses of black swirling orbs appear and dread fills Darcy's stomach. Her gaze falls on the two small side tables in the sitting area where two glass bowls are filled with stones and crystals, and she knows what she has to do in order to protect her family and friends.
Looking at the gathered Avengers once more and watching as Bucky empties round after round into thin air, she frowns. "I'm sorry, but you all need to be safe." Then before anyone can protest, Darcy throws a hand out towards the glass bowls she had just been eyeing. "Crystals!" She yells and several crystals disappear in small masses of blue swirling orbs. "Circle!" She then directs her hand at her friends and watches triumphantly as the crystals form a protective shield around them.
Everyone seems to explode after that- at being kicked out of the fight- and it takes the combined forces of Gramps, Pepper, and Jane to stop the yelling as they explain a few things.
Turning her attention back to the fight, Darcy intercepts an arrow heading straight for her Grams. "Arrow!" The arrow orbs from mid-flight, she then glaring at the dark-lighter who dared shoot it. "Crossbow!" In a swirl of orbs, the crossbow disappears from the dark-lighter's hands and into Darcy's.
She shoots an arrow back at him and throws the crossbow down only to retrieve more potions from her pocket. Dark-lighter after dark-lighter appear, but Darcy and Grams take care of the problem with a bit of ease.
"Who are these assholes?" Tony finally yells again.
"Bad guys," Darcy shrugs. "Now shush."
"Behind you!"
Pepper's warning is a second too late and an arrow grazes Grams' left shoulder.
"No!" Darcy screams when her Grams yelps. She whirls around, flexing her fingers and blows up two dark-lighters back to back. In her rage, she misses the third one to her right and only realizes he's there when she feels an arrow sink into the side of her stomach. "Oomph."
"Darcy!"
She staggers back in shock and having hit their main target, the last remaining dark-lighters vanish into thin air with cruel smirks. As everyone yells and demands to be let out of whatever force field they're stuck behind, Darcy grimaces as she pulls on the arrow only to have Grams rush to her side and yank it out herself. Darcy screams out, and everyone again demands to be let out while also shouting and asking if she's okay. She grits her teeth and absently nods, but as their yelling becomes too much, Darcy whirls on them and squints her eyes at one of the stones. Then with a wave of her hand, one of the stones fly out of place and the force field drops.
Immediately, Jane and Steve are rushing to Darcy's side while Leo and Pepper rush to Piper's side. Leo's fussing over Piper even though she's shushing him and swatting at Pepper's attempts to check the graze on her arm, and Darcy has to have a small laugh at that. It's then her turn to ignore the fussing of her friends, she instead choosing to focus on those of her friends who seem to linger a good few feet away from her. But the second Jane puts pressure on Darcy's wound, the only thing Darcy can think about is how her wound feels like it's on fire.. and spreading. Rapidly.
One second she's mentally bitching about about how much pain she's in, and the next she's closing her eyes because of the room spinning. She can feel the beaded sweat along her hairline starting to drip down the side of her face and when she suddenly pitches forward, Steve's at her side so she doesn't fall flat on her face.
"What's wrong with her?" Steve demands.
"P-poison," Piper tells him. "A dark-lighter's arrow is poisonous to any and all white-lighters."
"White-lighters?"
Piper falls quiet and looks to Leo, and Leo shrugs. "I guess you can say our little Darcy-Lou is something like a half angel." The elderly man waits until the group is over their brief shock, he then pointing to his granddaughter. "I'm guessing this is a new poison. It's never worked this fast before."
"Well it is," Tony eventually points out. "How do we save her?"
"D-dad," Darcy mumbles. All eyes dart to the now clearly delirious girl, dread filling them at the sight of her sickly pale and sweat slicked skin. "Dad."
And despite the serious situation, Clint snorts. "Is she calling Steve her dad? Kinky."
Natasha glares at him, but it's Bucky who punches him in the arm.
A swirling mass of blue orbs descend from the ceiling, everyone preparing themselves for a fight when Leo waves them down. "Stop. It's just Darcy's dad Chris."
And sure enough, a handsome man with light green eyes, salt-n-pepper shortly cropped hair, and a five o'clock shadow appears. He glances around at all the strange yet familiar faces, and eventually down at his daughter. "No," he breathes out in horror.
Chris falls to his knees beside his daughter, hands hovering over her wound. "What happened?!"
"Uh, Leo said something about a dark-lighter?" Steve answers, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head.
Chris' eyes widen and then he's shouting, "Wyatt! Wyatt, Darcy's in trouble!"
Before anyone can ask who Wyatt is, another swirling mass of orbs appear. By now, everyone's given up being on edge for an impending threat and step back when another man appears, this one with short curly brown hair and a dark brown goatee. His eyes, too, widen upon Darcy's appearance but instead of asking what happened, he's immediately on his knees and holding a hand over her wound. His hand glows a bright golden yellow and soon enough, Darcy is gasping and coughing and being helped into a seated position.
"Ugh, Grams," she groans tiredly. "-see what I mean by stuff always happening when you leave the Manor." Grams and Jane chuckle, and when Darcy realizes the room is too quiet, she glances up at all the questioning gazes. "Uh, surprise!" She weakly flashes them jazz hands. "I'm a witch."
She cringes at the first voice to speak, "Thought you were a white-lighter?", but the question is one that's not accusing her of secrets so she breathes out a sigh of relief.
"I'm both," she says. "Mom's human, but Dad," she nods at Chris. "-takes after his parents Grams and Gramps. Grams is a witch and Gramps was a white-lighter, but he broke the rules when falling in love with Grams so they kinda- they kinda.."
"They clipped my wings," Leo finishes off with a smile, grasping Piper's hand in his own as Wyatt heals his mother's arm. "And I'd do it all over again given the chance."
Jane, Pepper, and Clint aww, and then Darcy's introducing everyone to her Dad and Uncle, and vice versa. Though Wyatt is actually pretty giddy to be meeting the Avengers, Wyatt has other things to tend to and orbs away. And after making sure his daughter is absolutely okay, Chris brings Darcy into a fierce hug and promises to catch up with her later because his current charge was having a bit of a crisis that he had suddenly left in the middle when he heard Darcy's call.
"So," Tony drawls. "-we'll be discussing why you kept such kick ass talents from us later, but I think right now we should focus on the currently frozen Bruce and how we're going to keep him from hulking out."
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that," Darcy mumbles. "Um, meet me on the Containment floor."
She casually walks over to Bruce and lays a hand on his shoulder, she childishly waving her fingers in a wave at her friends before orbing away to a containment unit with Bruce in tow. Once she leaves Bruce in there, she walks to the opened door, unfreezes him, and then slams her hand down on the lock down button.
Bruce hulks out even as Darcy assures him everything is fine from outside of the unit, she speaking through the speakers and trying to calm the Hulk down. Everyone shows up in less than a minute, and it takes Natasha doing some sort of lullaby to bring Bruce back. Then once everyone's settled and calm enough to act civil with all that's come to light within the last ten minutes, all eyes turn to Darcy and her family who seem to have huddled together off to the side.
"First things first," Tony speaks up. "-what are we looking at here? Wicked Witch of the West or Good With of the North?"
Grams and Gramps chuckle softly, and Darcy rolls her eyes. "Are you kidding me? Grams would strip me of my powers at the first sign of evil. No. All witches of the Halliwell line work for the Light. And if not, then we try our damnedest to take care of our own and make them see their mistake."
"So you're born with this power?" Natasha asks. "Not enhanced at a later portion of your life?"
"Born," Darcy smiles.
"How..?" Clint says, arms crossed over his chest. "How did you keep this secret for so long? And why?"
Darcy's smile turns sad then, she knowing full well of Clint and his edginess for all things magic. "It wasn't just me," she shrugs. "If I'd have said anything, I'd be putting my entire family at risk. My dad, aunts, uncles, cousins, Grams and Gramps. I had wanted to tell you all, but I only ever got as far as Jane and Pepper."
"But you're good."
"Most definitely," she grins at him. "My family, they protect this plain we live on from those of the Underworld. We're kind of like the Avengers, only we take care of the problems before anyone can question whether or not the threat is of this world or not."
"You seem so.. normal," Clint pushes. When Jane and Pepper narrow their gazes at him, he holds his hands up in surrender. "What? I'm not- I'm just asking. Yeah, the magic bit is a bit to take in, but I don't think any different about Darce. I'm just curious."
"Well that, my friend, is a story for Grams," she laughs.
Grams preens under all the sudden stares and she sits up a little bit straighter from her perch on a stool. "Well, it all started long ago when a witch predicted that three daughters would be born to another witch, and that these three daughters would be the world's only hope against the Source of all Evil. These daughters would eventually be known as.. the Charmed Ones."