A/N: as always I don't own anything! so it took me a little while I wanted to make sure I wasn't being too hard on our girl, I still think I was a little hard on her but it will help her in future chapters. I hope yall enjoy meeting some more avengers/agents, thank yall again for all the reviews and follows!
Darcy walks into the old wrestling warehouse, the place is empty except for the center ring. She can hear two people fighting. She makes her way over to the benches on the side of the ring and sits down, setting her newly issued SHIELD backpack down, the purple handkerchief is tied to one strap. She watches the pair in aw of the talent.
"Again" a female with a face guard on and black boxing gloves screamed in an accent.
The sandy blonde all American punched at her hands again. One. Two. Three.
Natasha's red hair flies as she moves to the side in a defense move. She grabs his left arm, spinning him around. "Don't go soft on me now Rogers"
"Wouldn't dream of it" Steve says going down to one knee he swings his right leg to break her fall. She starts to go down and catches herself with one arm, flipping back up.
"Better" Natasha said going over to the corner of the ring she pulls off her face guard taking a drink of water out of her water bottle. She looks over at Darcy sitting there on the bench. "You, shoes off!" She never trained in shoes, and actually did better fighting with her shoes off, so that is how she was going to teach.
Darcy stood up and took her shoes off. "Um...ok. I don't think I'm suppose to be here. I mean this is the right address but the letter said training. I was expecting a classroom, not exactly a boxing ring with" she pauses as Steve come out of the ring. "Captain America?" her mouth hangs open a bit.
"Good afternoon, Ma'am" Steve says with a cheery smile walking to the bench to grab his equipment.
Darcy musters a "Hi" as she can't take her eyes off of him. He is taller than he appears on television, larger muscles, and he looks like they could have modeled a Ken doll after him. She blinks as the Russian lady starts to yell.
"Agent Lewis, focus" Natasha calls out.
Steve smiles again "Miss Lewis huh?"
"Darcy actually, but I guess it's all military here huh, last names." She looks over at Natasha and back over at Steve.
He flashed the all American smile again. "Nice to meet you, Steve Rogers at your service."
"You too" Darcy said slowly still mesmerized by the superhero.
Natasha rolls her eyes. "Agent Lewis!"
Darcy snapped out of it and started to make her way over to the ring picking up the green boxing gloves and face guard that was closest to the corner she came in on.
"Holy shit, you're the Black Widow" she said coming into the ring and getting a closer look at her opponent. "Why are you training me? Shouldn't some bottom level agent have to the train the new girl?"
"You can call me Natasha and we were all bottom agents once." She was still a child when a Soviet leader brainwashed her to join a gang and start to mercilessly kill innocent people. Many died at the smooth hands of a trained spy. Natasha wished she had people that had cared about her psychological health the way they care here. Darcy didn't know how lucky she was. "Let's just say your position may put you in more danger than most, so we are taking special care with your training." In actuality it had been Bruce that had asked her and she agreed. She was going to start by breaking Darcy today so that no one else ever would. "What are you afraid of Darcy?"
"Spiders?" Darcy answered really not sure what kind of answer the Widow was looking for. She had been afraid of the dark when she was younger but she felt there was some other answer Natasha was looking for.
Natasha studied her a moment; then walks off the ring and comes back with a chair. "Sit and put on the blindfold." She holds out a black facemask.
Darcy unwillingly placed the blindfold on; she sits down in the uncomfortable folding chair as the Widow cuffs her hands lightly behind her. "I saw an episode of Oz that started out like this once, it didn't end well." It was dark and the ring was quiet except for her own heartbeat she could hear pumping away in her chest. The fear of the dark feeling was creeping back.
"What are you afraid of now?" Natasha asked in her right ear.
Darcy tilted her head up trying to figure out where exactly Natasha was. "I'm afraid you are going to do something that is going to leave me in a cast"
"Humor is good and bad; humor will keep you alive, it gives you hope. Fear is good too Darcy. The enemy is going to try and use it against you. You can't let them." Natasha gracefully and quietly moved around to the other side of the chair and whispered in Darcy's left ear. "Are you afraid of the dark?"
"No" Darcy lied. She was starting to hate whoever suggested the Black Widow 'train' her. At the same time she absorbed everything Natasha told her. Her other senses taking over now for her lack of sight she could hear street noises and what she thought was Natasha's feet on the mat.
"What are you afraid of?" Natasha asked again a little louder in her right ear. "I think you are scared of something you won't say"
Darcy wondered how she knew. "Isn't everyone?" What are you afraid of?"
"I will tell you, but not here, this time is yours." The Widow was in front of her talking softly now. She was testing Darcy, and she had her right where she wanted her. Darcy was going to give her everything. She saw Darcy bit her lip, a nervous twitch that she probably did not even know she was doing. Natasha smiled. "You are afraid"
"I am" Darcy said her tone just as smooth as Natasha's. She just wanted this part to be over. She wanted out the darkness.
"I want to hear it" Natasha was at her left side now moving so swiftly she made no sound with her bare feet on the mat. Years of diligence hand thought her strict technique.
The darkness still trapping Darcy inside. She looked towards where she thought Natasha was. "No"
"WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF?" Natasha was in front and her hand was on Darcy's chin again.
A tear rolled down Darcy's face. "Ok, OK"
Natasha let go of her face. "Say it"
"THE DESTROYER" Darcy screamed "I'm afraid once we open that portal" she didn't finish her thought as Natasha took her blindfold off. She gasped not believing she actually let out the fact she was afraid of the thing that attacked New Mexico, still; and she told the secret to the Black Widow of all people.
Ward and Sitwell watched from behind a glass office on the second story of the old building. "Grant we have to stop this"
"Easy Jasper, don't get your knickers in a bunch, she's stronger than she looks" Agent Ward watched with a smile, he had seen people break before but had no doubt she would not.
Sitwell folded his arms and watches the action below. "You say that till Romanoff brakes her neck, she's just a civilian"
"Wrong" Ward reminded him "she's an agent now. Fury chose her"
"With no prior military training" Sitwell reminded him it took a lot to get to the top and many have fallen.
"Neither did you." Ward smirked knowing he had Sitwell cornered.
Sitwell didn't like this game. He never wanted to be a field agent; he was assigned to it, he just wanted to make a difference and discover the unknown. "Which is why I'm just a logistic liaison and not a field agent"
Ward turned towards Sitwell as the two agents went back and forth. "Which is why you'll never make Level 7"
"First Coulson and now you, there is no Level 7" Sitwell turned back to the glass watching the training, in denial of the upper level he so long to achieve.
The Widow goes behind her and bends down unlocking the handcuffs. She does not mention the Destroyer or Darcy's fear at all. "Another day I'll teach you how to get out the cuffs. Today we start with simple punches"
"You mean that wasn't the start?" Darcy rubbed her wrists, the handcuffs had been loose but she still hated the feeling of having something binding her.
"No. We wanted to make sure you weren't afraid of him." Natasha walks over to the corner of the ring and picks up two bottles of water walking back over to the center she hands one to Darcy. "Take five, get some water then we start"
Darcy is silent as she takes the water. The Black Widow had done the crazy interrogation because they wanted to make sure she wasn't afraid of the Hulk? She felt sorry for him not afraid of him. Maybe when he was doing his whole 'here my mighty roar' thing, but she had bigger things to be afraid of than a big green muscled man that probably did not deserve to get tank rockets shot at him.
Natasha gave Darcy a few minutes to recover. She put the boxing gloves and face guard in the center of the ring. Natasha put on her boxing gloves again instructing Darcy to stand in the middle with her.
"What would you do if I were trying to attack you?"
"Do I have my taser?" Darcy wondered about her favorite weapon. "I'm going to say something related to the groin area if you were a man, and I'm a killer hair puller"
"Funny girl, that will get you in trouble, just ask Stark. But, at least you have a starting point." Natasha helped Darcy with her gloves and put her hands up instructing her to punch. "Always have a plan. It doesn't have to be the best but being a step ahead could save your life. Lie if you must"
"I grew up with a little brother, we beat the living hell out of each other till I was old enough to drive" she had almost forgotten they drove their mother crazy with the fighting. She remembered and punched with her right hand and then her left hand.
"Good, now use your whole arm, from here" Natasha forced Darcy's right arm up more to a 90 degree angle. "Your whole body, now again"
She swung with all her might. She didn't think she could fight someone but maybe a few more wounds with the Widow and she would enter the IFBA. Natasha made her punch over and over until she felt like she could not fight anymore.
"Good." Natasha smiled, Darcy was a quick study, she liked that, she could use that. "Again"
Darcy hit her palm hard and stopped trying to catch her breath.
"Better" Natasha dropped her hands. "All for today маленький cectpa"
She dropped her arms, Darcy's whole body feeling fatigued, she was so happy it was over. "Give me Hulk in the park any day" she said slipping out the ring she walked back to her bag and put her shoes on. She didn't look back at Natasha or the boxing ring.
Darcy did not go back to the lab instead she went to the suite. Walking into the bathroom she stripped down and turned the water in the shower on all the way to the H. The steam filling the large bathroom up within a few minutes. She got in, washing her hair the warm water washing away the humiliation of the day. Darcy rested her head against the cool tile wall of the shower. She had admitted the thing she hadn't told Jane yet, she put on a front, but she was afraid of whatever was on the other side of the Einstein Rosen bridge.
A/N: the Russian is roughly translated as "little sister"