"Any news on the girl?"

"Yes sir, she was escorted from the hospital by Stark and the alien prince and moved into Avenger's Tower."

"Alright we will watch for now. You know your orders."

"Yes sir." The door opened signaling the second speaker's departure.

"Do you think He knows?" A third voice asked from the corner of the room.

"No. And we will insure he never will. We shall proceed with operation Ice Strike."


"The fuck?" Phil Coulson winced at the brash words spoken in such a public place. And at the young woman who spoke them. Though he couldn't say he was surprised, Darcy Lewis had always been a colorful individual. He never expected to see her again, but if he had he'd have pictured her expression exactly as he saw it now: part anger, part surprised happiness as she clutched a medium iced coffee and lemon scone.

He looked to her left and met the hardened eyes and stiffened stance of Natasha Romanoff. "Fury." A statement rather than a question.

He nodded trying to convey with his expression how sorry he was that he didn't tell her and Agent Barton he was still alive. She had always been good at reading what wasn't said.

Romanoff shrugged, "Too bad he's dead." That was all Phil needed to hear to know that Nick Fury, wherever he was, would be getting a very unpleasant visit one day soon. He swallowed uncomfortably as she uncrossed her arms and widened her stance.

Sensing tension, Darcy plopped down in the seat across from Phil asked the question that had been burning in her veins for years. "Where's my fucking ipod secret agent man?"


Two Weeks Later…

As Jane and Tony bickered in the lab for the millionth time, Darcy decided to take the night off; she and Jane both needed a break from each other. She'd taken to wearing clothes that hid her cuts and bruises. Today's outfit consisted of black skinny jeans, classic black converse high tops, and a blue long sleeved button up top.

Darcy loved her boss and friend but every time Jane saw the healing bruises and scratches, she'd get this wounded look and then drop whatever it was she was doing to coddle Darcy and growl at Tony if he got too close. The last part happening almost constantly as Tony had taken to popping up in Jane's lab and the communal kitchen and living area whenever Darcy was around (she was starting to get the feeling he was following her, but that was crazy right?). She loved being catered to but this couldn't go on any longer. Jane was going to explode if she didn't get her proper quota of science. And Tony Stark would end up severely injured in the melee.

So she would go out and get reacquainted with the real world and not the super one she was currently living in. She loved hanging with the Avengers but she felt she needed to remember she was a normal healthy 20 something grad student turned intern. Something crashed in the background but she ignored it, because she knew Jane had thrown something at Tony again, and decided to check out that cool bar the cute barista guy mentioned the other day (she had been flirting with him ever since the interrogation/meeting with Agent Still Fucking Alive Phil Coulson). I'll just give Jane some space and have some fun at the same time, she thought as she glanced over her shoulder to see Jane clutching her journal scriblin pencil like a weapon as Tony boisterously waved his arms around (he had to be doing this on purpose). And she would hopefully be able to get a little of her normal self back. She'd worked too hard to lose it now. "First things first," she absently muttered to herself as she headed out the door; she needed a clean bill of health.


"Hey Doc, how's George doing today?" Darcy casually walked into Bruce's lab careful not to touch anything; she'd learned that lesson the hard way when she'd accidentally almost set a laser off in Tony's workshop the week before.

Bruce sighed. He knew he'd be doing that a lot around Darcy. "Angry as usual. And please stop calling him George."

She scoffed. "Never, he's such a George it's criminal. Anyway I'm here for my mandatory checkup."

"Alright." He pulled away from his microscope and turned to her. "Any trouble breathing?"

"No more than usual." She glanced around his lab, taking note of all the little things he kept around himself to stay calm. There was a whole corner with shelves filled with different teas and assorted mugs, a sofa for when he crashed from science exhaustion and couldn't make it to his room (Jane and Tony had them as well), and a stereo he used for relaxing music. She smiled when she saw that the stuffed kitty she bought him had gained a friend, an Iron Man themed teddy bear. "I see Mr. Bobin Boots has made a new friend."

Bruce snorted good naturedly. "Tony." He said simply as he gestured across from him. "Could you sit in that chair please? Any pain or irritation different from what you've been feeling?"

"Nope."

"Can you roll up your shirt please? I need to see the how bruising is looking."

"Yeah. When's that going away by the way?"

"Couple more weeks at the least.' He gently probed the areas around her ribs and stomach. "Does this burn or make the pain unbearable?"

"Umm..it kind of burns but I wouldn't say its unbearable. More like a sharp ache. My stomach doesn't hurt as much though."

He pulled his hands back. "You can put your shirt back down now. It might be another week or two before you notice any change in the area around your ribs, but you're getting there. Your stomach is doing well." Examining her face he made an approving noise. "The bruising on your face is healing pretty well also. Have you had any blurred vision or dizziness?"

"No and no. So when do Hulk and I get to smash things?"

"Never." He examined her wrists. "The cuts here are almost gone. No signs of further damage, good."

"Yay, I can flash my bare wrists again." She did a demonstration of 'jazz hands' to make her point.

He chuckled. "Extend your right arm out in front you please." She did and he checked her hand and reflexes. "Good now the left." He did the same as before and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Well your left arm seems a little weaker than the right. This is the one that was injured when you were being held right?" At her nod he continued. "There's still a little swelling, which isn't uncommon, and your muscles are stiff. I'm going to recommend light physical therapy to get back up to par with your right arm."

"Ok, thanks Doc."

Turning back to his microscope he spoke over his shoulder, "So you're good for now. I'll email you a few exercises you can do for your arm."

When she just stared at him he turned back around. "Need anything else?"

She nodded but wouldn't meet his eyes. "Yeah you uh, got anything for insomnia?'

"Insomnia?"

"Well ok, I've been having trouble staying asleep…on account of all the nightmares."

Realization dawned. "Oh well I personally wouldn't recommend any medication for that as it can sometimes make things worse. Have you thought about meditation? I can't quite say it calms the other guy's anger completely but it does help me. I can send you some meditation techniques."

"Ok, thanks." She moved to leave.

"Darcy." She turned back. "It might also help to talk to someone about this."

"I'll think about it," she hedged. The last time she'd talked to someone, they hadn't believed her.

"Please do." He said quietly as she left the room.


Tony muttered to himself as he accidentally fused two wires together. Ok so he'd had her tested again, and again the paternity test came back negative. What was happening to him? This wasn't like the time his arc reactor was slowly killing him or when he was having those black hole flashbacks. This was something different, a funny feeling he felt in his chest which he couldn't explain. It was in no way similar to what he felt for Pepper, definitely not. It was something else. And he knew he wouldn't stop until he figured out what it was. Some might call that obsessive, he called it thorough. Well, ok and obsessive. Totally obsessive, but he'd never admit that out loud.

But now he had taken to showing up whenever and wherever the kid was going to be and she was starting to notice. He was freaking himself out and if he was freaking himself out, then he was surely freaking the kid out. He was lightly stalking her…

He needed to get a grip. He wasn't her father and that was that. The end… But he was never good at leaving something alone, not if he really wanted it. And he did, he wanted it. Way in the back of his mind he could quietly admit to himself the he wanted Darcy to be his kid- Jeeze he needed to get out of his own head. He was seriously contemplating commanding Jarvis to lock everyone out unless there was an emergency. He would build something until this weird feeling of disappointment went away, or until he just accepted the facts. He had no blood relatives; and maybe he didn't deserve them anyway. Not with all the shit he pulled on a daily basis-

"So how's my baby doing?" Darcy asked startling Tony so badly he dropped his soldering tool. Where the hell did she come from?

He turned around with a fierce frown to glare at the innocently smiling girl behind him who'd appeared out of thin air. "Good god kid, don't do that! And please don't mention babies in my presence, you don't know how scary that is for me." Especially since I keep seeing you as my kid, he thought to himself. "And-and don't have any babies anytime soon okay?" he added for good measure. He didn't think he could handle grandkids at this point in his li- what the fuck was he thinking? She wasn't his kid!

Darcy laughed out loud at Tony's antics. Sometimes he was so weird. She glanced around his workshop interestedly and started pacing the room. "Cool your jets rocket man. I just came to see if my taser was back from the brink. I might need it tonight."

He nodded to a worktable next to his desk. "I kept all your mods, I just made them better. You'll have a better output of power and electric current. Do me a favor and try it out on Rogers first?" He asked cheekily as he focused back on the tech he'd been working with before she came in. "That man seriously needs to unclench."

"Cool, thanks. And you leave poor Steve alone."

"Never will I ever. Where are you going anyway?"

"The Library, I just hope it won't be too crowded."

"Oh, well have fun with all the books and stuff."

"Thanks see you later Man of Iron."


The Library was an interesting club. They hosted live music every night and a good sized dance floor which had free standing bookcases dispersed throughout. The odd part was that the people dancing would often grind on the bookcases, bringing the term bibliophile to a new level. But Darcy was really starting to regret not leaving her glasses back at the tower as they seemed to attract a lot of attention.

"Hey sweetness, here alone?"

And here we go, Darcy thought to herself as she took a sip of her drink and tried her best to ignore whatever douchebag had approached her from behind. She turned her body farther away from him and tried to focus on the band on stage.

Unfortunately, he wasn't deterred. She felt him move closer into her personal space. "Aww come on baby, don't be like that! I promise you'll have a good time. Why don't you slide that sexy body closer and come talk to me; I'll tell you about all the overdue library books I have. Name's Alec Allen, you'll be screaming it by the end of the night."

Great, now she couldn't let it go. Darcy whipped around, her face fixed in contempt. She sooo wanted to throw her drink in his face, but she knew times like these called for a cool head otherwise she'd be calling Jane from county lockup. Again. "Look dude I don't know you, I don't want to know you. I don't appreciate you inferring that I invited your attention just because of the way I look. I came here alone because that's what I wanted to be- alone."

He opened his mouth but she cut him off as she put up her hand. "And no you can't change my mind, no you can't have my number or my social media, and no I'm not crazy or a lesbian -which is highly offensive to use to boost your ego by the way- just because I'm not interested in you. I'm just not interested. Now fuck off." Well a mostly cool head.

Face red he slunk off further down the bar towards a group of women chatting and dancing amongst themselves.

A low chuckle across from her caught her attention causing her to meet the eyes of the bartender. "Good on you, babe. I appreciate a woman who can take care of herself. Nice glasses by the way." He winked.

Darcy threw her hands up, "Oh good Lord!" She grabbed her drink from the bar and headed off into the crowd.

Despite the weird vibes from the guys at the bar she was having a good time. Normalcy felt so... normal. She danced, ignoring the slight twinge in her chest when she raised her arms or pushed away people who got too close. She drank, of course it was only cranberry juice and lime seltzer as she was still taking mild sedatives for her healing ribs. She laughed as one of the band members tried to crowd surf but ended up flat on the floor as the crowd coldly rejected him. She punched, as the grabby weirdo from the bar tried to slide in behind her and didn't seem to understand the words "back the hell off". She also tazed him for good measure and watched satisfied as he finally jerkily backed the hell up. Unfortunately he backed into someone who took offense at his poor walking skills and Darcy got the opportunity to be included in the ensuing riot, an elbow to the face, and arrested for her trouble. Sigh.


"Never trust a man with two alliterative first names," Darcy declared as she swept (well, limped) into the main room of the tower five hours later her face bruised anew and her left hand cradled to her chest, a grim Steve Rogers at her side. Thor and Jane jumped off the love seat they'd been cuddling on, concern and anger on their faces when they saw that their friend was hurt. Mjolnir flew into Thor's hand as he took a step forward.

"What has happened, Darcy? Why are you injured?"

Darcy patted his shoulder with her uninjured hand. "Don't worry big guy, it looks worse than it feels. You should totally see the other guy. I'm sure once you've been tazed in the balls you finally understand that no means no, am I right?"

Jane went into the kitchen to get an ice pack then crossed the room and put her arm around Darcy's shoulders. "Come sit down. Steve, could you go get Dr. Banner? I want him to check her out." She handed the ice pack to Darcy and watched as she gingerly applied it to her face.

Steve nodded firmly. "Absolutely. Darcy let Dr. Banner take a look, okay? It's obvious to see that you're hurt, please don't refuse medical attention again."

"Dude, I don't have any insurance. Of course I refused medical attention."

Steve placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I don't think that's gonna be a problem here."

He swiftly left the room, passing Tony and Natasha on their way in.

"I'm just sayin, put on a little smooth jazz, some mood lighting, maybe some melted chocolate, even Hulks like melted chocolate right? Then you- whoa what the hell happened to you kid?" Tony came to an abrupt stop at the sight of a disheveled Darcy sitting gingerly on one of his ridiculously expensive love seats with an ice pack held against her face.

"Well Tony, you're looking at the results of a night out gone wrong. I shouldn't have gone to that stupid hipster club in the first place."

Tony's face scrunched in confusion, "Hipster club? I thought you said you were going to the library."

"I did. That's the name of the club, The Library. All it was was just a bunch of freaks grinding on strategically placed bookcases on the dance floor. And weird dudes trying to get their naughty librarian fix on- as someone who wears glasses it was not fun. I was like catnip to those guys."

Natasha had walked further into the room and settled gracefully on the other side of the couch beside Darcy. She grimaced as she looked at Darcy's face and hand. "What happened?"

Darcy sighed as she pulled the ice pack off her face. "This guy was hitting on me at the bar, I told him to back the hell off. He did but only after I verbally ripped him a new one. Then the bartender started on his shtick, so I left the bar and went out on the dance floor. That's when the first guy came back and wouldn't take no for an answer. He grabbed me and I had to punch him to get him off me. Then I tazed him in the balls to get the message across. Only problem was he stumbled into this other guy who thought it was the guy beside him and then chaos. People started fighting and I got elbowed in the face while I was trying to get away. Then the police came, and I called Steve to come bail me out."

"Who was it?" Tony demanded. He pulled out his phone and shot a quick message to Pepper. She was back in Malibu but would want to know what happened; especially as she'd want to get legal involved to publically flay the aggressor, she had a soft spot for the kid too.

"Uh unh Iron Petticoats, don't try to fix this the millionaire way."

"Umm, I think you mean the multi-billionaire way; and why not?"

"Because I don't need the indentured servitude of that man's firstborn and grandchildren on my conscience."

"You know I don't actually have to ask you, I was just being polite. Honestly, I can just hack the club's cameras and pull this guy's face; and look at that I already did. Put it up Jarvis."

"Sir, Miss Darcy's assailant seems to be missing from the footage."

Everyone turned to look at the screen in the center of the room as the video from the club was pulled up. Steve and Bruce walked in just as the video version of Darcy whirled around and punched what looked like a blurred outline of a man who was grabbing at her from behind, then pulled her taser out and shot it directly at what looked like her assailant's crotch. He stumbled backwards out of the frame and Darcy was then swallowed by the agitated crowd.

"Pause," Tony called out. "Jarvis work on unscrubbing that video." He looked over to Darcy. "I take it the taser performed well, no overheating or backfiring?"

She nodded sadly as Bruce examined her hand, "Yeah but the cops confiscated it; something about it being extremely illegally illegal (which is totally redundant), a danger to the public, and evidence in an ongoing investigation. So apparently I'll never see it again. One loser ruins it for everybody."

"Was this guy at the police station when they brought you in?" Nat asked.

Darcy shook her head. "No and I tried to tell them what happened but I got the feeling they thought I was just another tipsy club bunny. I was going to go back tomorrow and file a complaint."

"Pepper's already on it, you'll have your taser back in a few days, and someone will be by tomorrow to take your full statement." Tony stated without looking up from his phone.

Bruce pulled an ace bandage from his bag and started wrapping her hand. "Your knuckles are just bruised so they shouldn't take too long to heal. However, you do have a slight concussion so you're going to need someone to watch you tonight."

Jane leaned forward, "I'll do it, Darcy can stay with us for the night."

Darcy nodded her acceptance, she was tired and just wanted the whole mess of a night to be over already.

"Feel better Mighty Mite, I'm off to be my maniacal billionaire self." Tony crossed the room to the elevator.

Nat place a hand on Darcy's shoulder as she got up to leave as well, "You did good tonight. When we start your training, I'll show you how you could have broken his wrist." She caught Steve's eye as she backed onto the elevator. "We'll talk later." He nodded.

Bruce started packing his stuff back into his bag. "I think it's a good idea that we all get some rest."

As everyone got up to leave Darcy turned to Thor. "Would you braid my hair tonight?"

He smiled as Jane snorted. "It would be my honor shield sister."


Tony pressed a few buttons on his phone before giving up the pretense and turning to the Natasha, who was staring at him in the reflection of the elevator doors. "What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing, just wondering if Darcy knows you've been stealing her DNA for secret paternity tests."

Tony said nothing at first as he used his phone to mute the video feed in the elevator. "You gonna tell her?"

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "You aren't going to."

"Well yeah, it came back negative. I figured it'd be kinda weird to tell her she isn't my kid."

"Is that why you've had her tested a second time?"

"You knew about that? I didn't even tell Pepper till after…oh god, were you in our room the other night?"

"I didn't have to be, you told me right after you did it."

"Funny, I don't remember getting drunk that day and spilling all my secrets."

"It was all over your face. Especially when the results came back negative again."

"I wouldn't say I had any type of disappointment on my-"

Nat crossed her arms. "Why are you pursuing this?"

Tony mimicked her stance. "Why tell her I did it in the first place?"

"I have a feeling it's not good to keep certain things from her. She's been hurt before. I don't know what it is but I do know it keeps her up some nights. She's smart but she's buried herself in being Jane's assistant. She hides behind sarcasm and misdirection so you don't immediately think she's as smart as everyone else in the room. She makes friends easily but she doesn't let people in all the way."

"So says the Russian spy…"

"Exactly Tony; I was forced to cut off my emotions and hide behind a mask until eventually I became exactly what they wanted. I think she hides too. She'll fight for others but she won't fight as hard for herself."

"So that's why you think she should know I had her tested? Even though it came back negative? Because you're fighting for her?"

She paused. "There are not many I would consider to be a true friend. Not without ulterior motives on both sides. She's one of the few who wants nothing from me- from all of us really- other than actual friendship. I want her to have the tools to fight for herself. I think you do too, you wouldn't have just casually broken so many laws if you didn't."

"I break laws every day.."

"I won't say anything about the testing, yet, I figure it should be you who tells her about it. And as for the second test, why test her again if the first one was confirmed to be negative? Why are you still pursuing this?"

"I don't know."

"Come on Tony, you're usually a better liar than this."

"No, I really don't know. I'm..not..sure. There's something there, I just haven't figured it out yet."

"Well figure it out soon, because it's going to affect her more than it does you. It's not a game." Natasha walked off the elevator after it stopped and headed for her room.

"I know," Tony said into the empty air as the doors closed.


A few days later Darcy reread over the contents of the envelope she'd just gotten, her cup of coffee sitting forgotten next to the papers she was supposed to be transcribing for Jane. "The fuck? I'm being sued?" She quickly scanned the words on the paper again. "Wait a minute, he put his hands on me first! I was well within my rights to defend myself. And he has the nerve to sue me?!" She started pacing. "Jarvis?"

"Yes, Miss Darcy?"

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Could you call Pepper for me? I'm too busy with my rage to locate my phone. Unwarranted assault indeed…"

"Certainly Miss Darcy."