"I told you to fucking wait before you blew the charges, Barnes," Nat hissed through the comms as she raced back to the quinjet.

Bucky huffed a breath. "I waited."

She could hear the quinjet powering up in the background. "You better be ready to have this in the air the second I get there. And waiting thirty seconds was not what I meant!"

"Semantics," was his answer.

It took another Natasha another fifteen seconds before she reached the ramp. She grabbed on to a seat as Bucky started moving, the ramp closing as they took to the air.

"See? That wasn't so bad," he said from the cockpit.

"Fuck you."

Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a clean shirt. The one she had on was stained. If anyone asked (Clint!), it was the blood her enemies, and not ketchup from the hotdog Bucky had been eating. He might have accidentally thrown it away, in her direction, as they approached the target.

"Check your phone." Bucky did not sound happy.

She took her phone from the bottom of her bag.

Code 911-D. Call me when you can. This is not a drill.

Oh for fuck's sake. She just dropped them off like five minutes ago. Okay, it had been a few hours but still. She used the jets communications system to call Steve. "This a joke," was her greeting when he picked up.

"Oh, you're done with your mission, I see," was his sarcastic response.

"Steve."

"There seems to be an animal containment anomaly at the park," Steve responded.

Natasha was already annoyed. "What the fuck does that mean?"

"It means," he sighed, "that there is already video hitting the internet of pterodactyls attacking people. There are also rumors of a large animal on the loose."

Bucky's shoulders tensed. "Steve, I swear to god..."

"Trust me, I wish I was joking. The hashtag run for your lives is already trending. There's a picture of Darcy breaking some guys fingers all over the web, too."

Bucky growled low in his chest. "Have you called Stark?"

Steve paused. "I... talked to Darcy. I'm pretty sure I heard her asking for a shotgun."

Looking over his shoulder, he looked at Natasha. She nodded. "We're on our way."

"So are Clint and I. Thor is flying in, too."

"See you there," was Natasha's sign-off.

Darcy groaned as they lay there. "This is ridiculous."

Owen laughed, a bitter sound. "Yeah."

He didn't say anymore, nor did he need to. This whole thing could have been avoided if stupid people hadn't created a monster! If they just stopped to think. Have a fucking brainstorming session. A pros and cons list. She could think of a few things to put in the con column, namely: death, destruction, death, and death. Did no one learn from what happened in the past? She sighed. History was repeating itself, but this time there were thousands of people on the island. The potential for a mass casualty event was staggering.

Her phone beeped at the same time Owen's rang. Pulling it out of her pocket, she sent a mental thanks to Tony for building a nearly indestructible product.

WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? FOR THE LOVE OF GOD TELL ME YOU'RE NOT WHERE I THINK YOU ARE. THAT'S A BAD IDEA, DARCY. WHY DON'T YOU LISTEN TO ANYTHING I SAY? THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS!

Oh, her Uncle got the text. Darcy sent back, you're my favorite mathematician.

She had a response in less than five seconds, DARCY, TELL ME THAT DINOSAUR IS A FUCKING EUPHEMISM. THIS ISN'T FUNNY. I'M TOO OLD FOR THIS SHIT.

To which Darcy replied, Calm your tits, I'm fine. There's been a slight containment issue, but we're working on it. Love you, bye! She probably shouldn't have sent that, but oh well. She wasn't exactly known for keeping her mouth shut.

She tapped ignore when her phone start ringing. She put her phone away. There was no point in answering it now. She looked over at Owen, who looked absolutely rageful. Darcy looked up at the sky, which was thankfully free of flying creatures. "Hit me with it."

"Well," he started, "kids are safe. They're back with Claire. Her assistant was eaten by a mosasaur and Vic is strapping cameras to my raptors because he wants to send them after the Indominus."

Well. Okay, then. "So, back to the raptors?" Sshe asked. There was nothing more they could do for the kids, they were safe. For now. Sucks about Claire's assistant, but that was a lost cause. The only thing they could do was try and talk Vic out of his absolutely batshit plan.

Owen nodded as he stood. He reached a hand down to help her up. His grip was strong as he pulled her to her feet. "Yeah. Apparently Mr. Stark told Bruce to go green but Vic threatened to have him arrested. Or turned over to the government. I'm not really sure on the details."

Darcy rolled her eyes. Seriously, the Hulk could probably take care of this in five minutes. He might destroy everything on the island trying to get the job done, but still. She huffed as she took her phone out again, making a call. "Tony? What's going on?"

"Ah, I'm going to the raptor enclosure. Bruce is staying here with Claire and the kids until we need him. Shit! Sorry. These fucking things are everywhere. Fuck, okay. I'm going to try and clear as many of these things that I can." She could hear the sound of pterosaurs squawking in the background.

Darcy bit her lip. "Careful, please."

She could hear the smirk in his voice as he answered, "Always, beautiful."

Laughing, Darcy replied, "Don't let Pepper hear you say that."

"Please, Pepper loves you." And then he was gone.

Steeling herself, she turned to look at Owen. "Fastest way to your babies?"

He pointed and they were off. As they were running, Darcy thought of all the ways that Vic could "accidentally" fall into the raptor enclosure. And get locked in. She was pretty sure by the look on Owen's face that he would be an accessory to the crime. I mean, they'd be doing the world a favor, really.

God, she didn't want to think on how he was going to get cameras on them. She was going to be seriously pissed if they got hurt. Darcy may have almost been raptor food, but Blue seemed to like her, and that crazy lizard had already wormed her way into Darcy's heart. She'd go to the grave defending her if she had to.

Finally, they made it to the raptors. Dear lord, that was awful. Running might have been part of training regime, but she'd always hated it. And, running at a moderate pace on the treadmill was a hell of a lot different than an all-out sprint through the woods. They stopped at the door to the cage. She wrapped her hand around one of the bars, the other one holding her side. She bent over and just tried to breathe.

"Gonna make it, girl?"

Darcy's lip curled as she straightened herself. And there he was, the smug bastard. He was standing in the cage. His hand had been taped to support his broken fingers. "Hey, can you point me to the nearest bathroom?" She asked and laughed his face got red.

"You'll pay for that," he threatened, taking a step in her direction.

Suddenly, there was a chorus of snarls.

Darcy didn't jump. Nope, not at all. She turned and looked to the side of the cage. All four raptors had their heads stuck through a wall, heads in metal harnesses. They could only move minutely.

What the fuck?

Turning her back on Vic, she stomped over to them. There, strapped on their heads, were cameras. Seriously.

She turned her head when she heard Owen yelling. "You can't do this!"

"Fucking watch me, Grady. This is what we've been training them for. Masrani is dead and InGen has been placed in charge. My security team and I will handle this. With or without you." Vic was yelling, getting right up in Owen's face.

The raptors were agitated, trying to move their heads in the tight space. They didn't like this. She walked to the nearest one and placed her hand on the side of its head without even thinking. She made soothing sounds, stroking the pebbled skin. The eyes closes and she settled, trying to make the chirruping noise Darcy came to associate with them.

"It's okay," she whispered, bring her face closer. "Everything's going to be fine. Shh."

The raptor moved her head up and down as much as she was able, as if to say that she agreed. There were still loud voices in the background, but Darcy was trying to ignore them. Clearly, Vic wasn't going to listen to a word that came out of her mouth. Huh. Weird what happens after you break someones fingers.

Though, Clint did still talk to after she accidentally sliced him with a knife in the kitchen.

What? She had her earbuds in and he sneaked up on her. He should have known not to startle someone with something sharp in their hands.

Natasha still hasn't let him forget about it.

She was so lost in the memory that she didn't hear someone come up behind. Her arm was grabbed and she was wrenched around. She let out a yell as the momentum turned her, her hand coming off the raptor.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Vic. Ugh.

She rolled her eyes and tried to pull her arm back. His grip was strong and he was squeezing her arm so tightly that there was definitely going to be a bruise later. "Do you really want to put your hands on me again? While you still have one working hand?"

He tossed her arm away and she stumbled.

The raptor next to her hissed and Darcy could hear the talons hitting the wall from the other side.

"Looks like I'm not the only female that can't stand you, Vic," was Darcy's answer. Her eyes went wide as he pulled his hand back. She stood there, waiting. If he was going to hit her that would be the last fucking thing he did. Her hand was in front of the pocket that housed her taser.

Owen grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back before he could follow through.

Darcy might have breathed a little easier. Look, she was as tough as the next person (okay, maybe not the people she stands next to), but she also recognized the fact that getting hit hurt. She'd endure it but it would suck.

Hands clenched, Owen snapped out, "Fine! I'll do it, but we're doing it my way. Do you understand me? They won't listen to anyone else."

Forgetting all about Darcy, Vic grinned, "I knew you were a smart man, Mr. Grady." He led Owen away to discuss to coming attack.

Darcy folded her arms over her chest and glared in their direction. Okay, she understood why Owen caved, but she didn't have to like it. Vic was crazy enough to try and use the raptors on his own. While she wouldn't exactly be upset if they ate him, she didn't want anyone else to get hurt.

Turning, she found Blue in the second harness. Darcy approached her slowly. The animal's large, lizard-like eyes found her and tracked her movement. Blue blinked slowly and chirped.

Well, tried to.

Darcy smiled. "Hi, Blue. Thanks for not eating me earlier," she said, slowly moving her hand to pet Blue, making sure to choreograph her movements so she didn't startle the animal. Blue just blinked those huge eyes at her. Darcy thought it was adorable.

Looking around, Darcy made sure no one was paying her any attention and leaned her face in. Darcy rested her face lightly against the metal harness, her cheek brushing against the rough skin.

Blue made a sound low in her throat and Darcy swore she tried to nuzzle her head against Darcy's. She smiled and continued petting her.

"What the hell have you been rolling around in, Lewis?"

"What?" Darcy whirled around. "I wasn't doing anything!"

It was Tony. Who just gave Blue a pointed look and motioned for Darcy to join him a few steps away. Darcy gave Blue's cheek one last pet and walked away.

Blue chirped. Charlie, Delta, and Echo joined in. She was going to kill Vic if something happened to them.

Giving the raptors one more look, she turned to Tony. "I thought you were shooting pterodactyls out of the sky."

Tony shrugged, which he made look easy surrounded by a suit of metal. "Bunch of army types took over. Didn't seem to appreciate my generosity. Figured I'd be more wanted somewhere else, so here I am. What the fuck do you have all over you?" He looked her up and down, disgust evident on his face. "Blech."

Darcy scowled. "It's essence of pterosaur. Charming, isn't it?"

He wrinkled his nose. "New tower rule, wash off dinosaur guts before entering the building."

Darcy just rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Okay. We'll totally need to worry about that in the future. I'll whip up a memo."

Tony grinned. "Excellent. Hey, Cap keeps trying to call me. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

Her eyes wide, she shook her head. "No! Of course not. Why would I know about that? I haven't talked to him at all. Or Jane. I've talked to exactly no one."

"Oh man," Tony whined. "You did. You totally did." He sighed. "I guess we better wrap this party up."

"Where's Bruce?"

"Brucie is helping all the injured boys and girls. Not that I'd admit this to Icky Vicky, but setting the Hulk lose with this kind of concentration of people isn't my game plan. I figure I'll just light it up and we'll be ready to go by dinner."

Owen came to stand next to Darcy, he was so close to her that their shoulders made the barest of contact. That felt more intimate to Darcy than if she were leaning on him. He spoke with grim determination, "We'll use the raptors to locate the Indominus and then Mr. Stark can take it from there. Vic is going to be sending his own guys with us, too."

Turning his head with an eyebrow raised, Tony asked, "Using the raptors? You can't be serious."

Sighing, Owen rubbed the back of his neck. "Trust me, I don't like it either. Vic is crazy enough to try and use them himself. If I don't help, it'll be a bloodbath. Besides, I can't let them do this on their own." The prospect of using the raptors like this wasn't sitting well with anyone, least of all Owen. He had been there when they hatched. They imprinted on him. They were family.

"And how do you expect your raptors to find this thing?" he asked, still not believing what he was hearing.

"They have the chunk the Indominus tore out with the implant. I'll have them scent it and we'll set them loose and follow from there. We've practiced this a thousand times before. Just…usually not out in the open like this." Owen looked stood tall. "Don't worry about my raptors, Mr. Stark. They'll know what to do."

That's what Darcy was afraid of.