So… How'd you guys like the cliffhanger? I kid, I know you weren't expecting it, but it had to be done. Also, I am loving you guys! Eight new reviews, keep it up, seriously—I love all of you!
Speaking of reviews, had a couple guest one so I'll respond to those.
Guest: I'm happy you like my story so much! The man from the Starbucks was Stan Lee, basic founder of Marvel comics and he makes little cameos in every Marvel movie. And I'm glad you liked the scene between Darcy and the little girl (and you're right, so much trauma for a baby girl). Bewitched Loki, eh?... LOVE IT! Seriously, that perfectly describes Loki right now. I hope this was quick enough for you, thanks for the review!
AislingSmith: I'm glad that you liked the Stan Lee cameo. And I imagine Loki is in his full armor… well, full armor minus the helmet, obviously. And yes, he used an illusion spell, but the sudden trip to Earth kinda took a toll on him so he's a bit weak. Thanks for the review!
Cocoa4Christmas: I think anyone in the Thor-fandom has at least some amount of like for Loki… And then there's the Loki-Army and Tasertricks thing. I'm happy you like the story and thanks for the review!
Guest 2: And I understood your reference *wink, wink*. And yeah, I couldn't resist putting Stan Lee in. I'm glad that you like the story!
Disclaimer: Lida Rose/Will I Ever Tell You is property of Meredith Wilson. I own nothing.
.::. .::. .::.
Darcy was only four years old when she broke her arm. She was riding her bike with brother when she hit a pot hole and fell off. The doctor told her daddy that she had broken through both bones in her forearm. The doctor told her daddy that the bones were so broken, she had to go have a special doctor's appointment so they can put the bones back in place.
She had been to the doctor earlier that day and they had given her a temporary cast. Lying on her bed in her bedroom, her stuffed animal Mr. Bun-Bun tucked under her non-broken arm, Darcy looked at her temporary cast and sniffled slightly before she started to cry.
Tomorrow, the day she'd be going to her special doctor's appointment to get her bones back in place, was her best friend Savanna's birthday party. There would be a blow-up-bounce house with as slide, water balloons fights, a clown, and marble cake with cream cheese frosting dyed purple (her and Savanna's favorite color) and she'd have to miss it!
Not to mention Darcy and her mommy had gone to the store and got Savanna the Disney Princess Sing-along Microphone she had been wanting, the perfect gift and Darcy would have to miss all of it.
"Why did I have to fall off my bike?" Darcy asked Mr. Bun-Bun tearfully. "I'm a big girl now, big girls don't do stupid stuff like falling off bikes!"
The thought of missing her best friend's birthday party and the fact she wouldn't be able to swim for the rest of the summer ("Casts aren't waterproof, Cece." Aaron told her sympathetically. "No swimming until that cast comes off."), Darcy started to cry. What else could she do? Life for the little four-year-old girl just became too much to handle, the pain in her arm and the pain of missing out on something fun just hurt her too much.
Darcy hugged Mr. Bun-Bun closer to her face, her tears staining his bright lilac fur. She didn't hear her father's footsteps as he entered her room. Devin Lewis saw his daughter, his baby girl, crying and he frowned. He knew it upset her to miss Savanna's birthday party, but he didn't want her to be in pain. His wife, Elisa Lewis, was soon by his side. Elisa frowned, maternal instincts kicking in and her heart going out to her youngest child.
Quietly, the husband and wife made their way to their daughter's bed. Situating themselves and Darcy so the child's head was on Elisa's lap and her little legs lay across Devin's lap, all the while the husband and wife made sure to never move her broken arm.
Devin sang softly as he rubbed small, comforting circles in his daughter's back 'Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, to get the sun back in the sky… Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, about a thousand kisses shy. Ding dong ding, I can hear the chapel bell chime…' Darcy's sobs slowly turned to quieted sniffles as she turned her neck into her mother's lap. 'Ding dong ding, at the least suggestion… I'll pop the question. Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, without a sweetheart to my name. Lida Rose, now everyone knows that I am hoping you're the same…' Devin smiled sweetly at his daughter as he comforted her, her sniffles coming few and far between now, though there were still tear stains on her little cheek. 'So here is my love song, not fancy or fine… Lida Rose, oh won't you be mine—Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose…'
Elisa smiled softly, stroking her daughter's dark hair as she picked up where her husband left off 'Dream of now, dream of then, dream of a love song… That might have been. Do I love you? Oh yes, I love you, and I'll bravely tell you, but only when we dream again. Sweet and low… Sweet and low… How sweet that mem'ry, how long ago. Forever… Oh yes, forever. Will I ever tell you? Oh no…'
The husband and wife smiled as Darcy cracked a tired, tearful smile continuing 'Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose. (Dream of now,) Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, (Dream of then,) to get the sun back in the sky… (Dream of a love song…) Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, (That might have been) about a thousand kisses shy. (Do I love you?) Ding dong ding, (Oh yes, I love you) I can hear the chapel bell chime… (And I'll bravely tell you) Ding dong ding, (But only when we dream again) at the least suggestion… I'll pop the question. (Sweet and Low) Lida Rose, I'm home again, Rose, (Sweet and low…) without a sweetheart to my name. (How sweet that mem'ry,) Lida Rose, now everyone knows (How long ago) that I am hoping you're the same… (Forever…) So here is my love song, (Oh yes, forever) not fancy or fine… (Will I ever tell you?) Lida Rose, oh won't you be (Oh no…) mine—Lida Rose, oh Lida Rose oh Lida Rose…'
Darcy closed her eyes, her parents always sang that song to her to calm her down or get her to go to sleep, and it always worked, one way or another. Carefully, as so not to move her arm, Elisa and Devin Lewis removed themselves from underneath their daughter's head and legs respectively and proceeded to tuck her in to bed. Gently laying her and Mr. Bun-Bun's head on the pillow and pulling the comforter up and gently placing it around her broken arm.
Elisa Lewis leaned down and kissed her daughter's cheek. "Goodnight, baby girl."
"Night-night, mommy." Darcy whispered.
"I love you,"
"I love you too, mommy."
Elisa kissed her daughter's cheek one last time before exiting her room, lingering at the door as she watched her husband kneel down by her daughter's beside. "You are going to be one strong woman when you grow up, Darcy. You wanna know how I know?"
"How?"
"Because you're a Lewis." Devin smiled at his little girl, all the pride a father could have for his daughter radiating from his smile. "And a Lewis is always tough and always brave."
"But I'm scared about my sir-jury tomorrow."
Devin chuckled and stroked his daughter's hair. "Surgery, pumpkin. And admitting your scared makes you extra brave."
"Why?"
"Because it takes a brave person to admit when they're scared."
Darcy smiled, all the love a child could give their father shining in her smile. "I love you, daddy."
He kissed her forehead. "I love you too, pumpkin."
"Do you love me to the moon an' back?" Darcy asked knowingly.
"I love you to Neverland and back!" Devin smiled. "And if anyone else says otherwise, I'll hand 'em over to Captain Hook."
"Make sure they walk the plank!" Darcy finished. It was their nightly ritual, whenever her daddy would tuck her in, Darcy would ask him how much he loved her and he respond as such. He had been reading her the story of Peter Pan since she was two, but they had done their little ritual ever since she could form sentences.
With one last peck on the cheek, Devin Lewis left the room (making sure Darcy's My Little Pony nightlight was on), shutting off her bedroom lights on his way out. Elisa met him at the doorway and gave him a loving kiss before the two left.
Darcy hugged Mr. Bun-Bun closer, staring at her nightlight as her eyes slowly closed. The pain in her arm almost forgotten
.::. .::. .::.
As Darcy slowly came back to consciousness, she realized she was neither in the alley she was knocked out in nor her childhood bedroom. Nor was there any pain in her arm as she awoke, but a small, aching pain at the back of her head and around her neck.
Other than that, she was ok.
Blinking her eyes open, Darcy tried to distinguish where she was by the blurry shapes she saw before her. "…arcy? Darcy? Darcy, honey, are you ok?" A light, comforting voice asked.
Darcy hummed uncertainly in response.
"It might be a minute, Jane." A new voice informed the first one. "She had one heck of a bump on her head forming when I got her."
"Does she have a concussion?"
"I'd be surprised if she didn't have one."
"Where am I?" Darcy mumbled.
"You're in the hospital. Well, HQ's hospital" An accented, female voice told her. "How're you feeling?"
"Like someone used my head as a punching bag," She narrowed her eyes and made out Jane, Tony, and Wanda's figures out of the mass of blurs. "Would one of you like to explain what the hell happened to me, or do you just wanna stare at my gorgeous mug all day?"
The three exchanged hesitant glances before Tony sat down at the foot of her hospital issued bed. "HYDRA planned some sort of attack. We're not sure who or what they were after, but they attacked downtown New York City."
Darcy, in her confused state, tried to sit up, but a swift pain in the back of her head stopped that as quick as it started. Wanda helped her ease back down on to the pillow, "Your head might still hurt. It was banged against the ground last we checked."
"And now's the part of the story where one of you tells me who did that and why."
Jane grabbed her hand and frowned, "Darcy… You were attacked by… By the Winter Soldier."
It was like a floodgate in Darcy's brain just opened as memories came flooding back to her. Finishing up her Shawarma and hearing the gunshots, the mother dead in the road, the baby girl she carried to safety and later sang to, the Old Man who helped her by taking the baby, being attacked by the Winter Soldier, she remembered it all.
"Why did he chase me?"
"We don't know that either." Tony said. "He just did… Seemed pretty intent on killing you, though."
"If you wanna know why that is, you're gonna have to ask him."
"Oh, believe me, we're trying." Natasha announced as she and Steve walked into the room. Steve winced, "How ya doing, Darcy?"
"Everything from the neck up hurts like a bastard."
"Language. Darcy." Jane teasingly chided, ignoring Steve's glare.
Natasha smiled in sympathy, handing her a pocket mirror. "Everything from the neck up looks like it hurts."
It did look that way. Bruised cheeks, bandaged nose, a black eye, a split lip, Darcy frowned as she tentatively touched her nose, only to jerk it away. "You're lucky it wasn't broken. It only got bruised badly. The bandage is there because you got one heck of a cut there…"
"Yeah," She gestured to her face as she lowered the mirror as to see her neck, "Pretty sure this isn't lucky." The bruises on her neck were shaped like his fingers, just thinking about it made her neck hurt all over again. "What'd you mean you're trying?"
"We picked him up after Shellhead over here dropped you off. Someone, thank Asgard, knocked him out so transportation was a cinch." Natasha explained, sitting down on Jane's arm rest. "Getting him to talk, however…"
Darcy nodded in understanding before turning to look at Steve, "How you doing, Stars-and-Stripes?"
He exhaled slowly. "As well as I can, I guess."
Darcy reached out and squeezed his hand comfortingly, he offered a small smile of thanks in return. That's when a particular question popped in her head, "How did I get here?"
"National Guardsman found you," A new voice explained, "dropped you off at the Red Cross. Tony's limo just so happened to be driving by when he saw you, called us, pulled a few strings and was able to bring you up here."
Darcy turned and smiled at Phil Coulson as he entered the room. "Guy who stole my iPod, you're alive!"
Phil smiled, "Nice to see you too, Miss Lewis."
"Darcy," the girl corrected before sticking out her hand expectantly, "now can I have my iPod back?"
"Darcy!" Jane scolded as Tony laughed.
"No need to worry, Dr. Foster." Phil pulled out an older generation iPod in a plastic bag out of his coat. "I figured she'd might say something like that, so I came prepared."
Darcy smiled, gleefully taking the technology from his hand, "You are God-send, Phil Coulson!"
"Thank you, now I was wondering if I might get a couple questions answered."
Darcy wrinkled her nose but nodded, "We can try, but I'm not sure how well I'll answer them."
"Fair enough," Coulson nodded, pulling up a chair and sitting down next to Jane and Natasha, "What we're you doing before the attack?"
"Um… I got a text that looked like it was from Tony, but I guess it wasn't. He told me if I hung around in New York for another hour, he'd be back and we'd play Sherlock and Watson until we figured it out… He called Sherlock, btw."
"Again?" Steve asked, sending Tony a somewhat disappointed look.
"I'm always Sherlock!" Tony protested.
"She's more Sherlock than you'll ever be." Natasha added.
"So," Coulson started, getting everyone back on track, "you received a text that looked like it was from Stark… but wasn't?"
"Basically, yeah."
Phil hummed thoughtfully, that seemed suspicious. "Ok, but what about after that? What did you do for the hour Stark was gone?"
"I had F.R.I.D.A.Y call in a Shawarma order for me—"
"Well that explains the charge to my account." Tony muttered
"—And I walking there and eating there took about half an hour. I was going to go do some window shopping, but then I heard gun shots." Darcy paused, trying to remember what happened next. "Um, a lot of people pushed me to the ground after that, trying to get away and all…"
"Security footage we found caught you carrying a baby girl with you. Care to explain?"
"Uh, yeah, that. I, um, saw the girl's mother lying dead in the street… The Soldier guy shot her and he was about to shoot the baby too. I couldn't let that happen so I dove in and saved her. I used Electabuzz, my Electro-Magnetic Pulse gun," Darcy explained, noting Phil's confusion over Electabuzz, "and blasted him back. It kept him away for a little awhile, anyway. So, I took the girl and ran. I calmed her down the best I could, but he was still chasing me."
"What'd you do with the girl?"
"I ran into some old guy who was helping get people inside some coffee shop safely, I gave her to him and left because Metal-Arm was still chasing me. Little later he cornered me in an alley and I fought back. He beat me down and… I… I don't really remember much after that."
But she did. Darcy remembered a vision in green and gold tackling the Winter Soldier to the ground. Green and Gold… Darcy thought. Green and Gold… why does that sound familiar to me?
"Alright, this last question's just out of pure curiosity, but how were you able to fight back against The Winter Soldier so easily?"
Darcy smirked wryly and jabbed her thumb toward Natasha, "What? I'm going to spend two and a half years with her and Merida and not pick up a thing or two?"
"Merida?" Phil chuckled, "I'm not going to lie, haven't heard that one before." The Agent stood up, nodding at Darcy. "Well, if we come across any other problems, I'll get in touch with you."
"How long have you been alive?" Darcy asked randomly, Wanda and Jane face-palmed as she did.
"Little over four years now, I think." Phil replied, heading towards the door.
"Well thanks for telling us, Agent-guy!" Darcy called out sarcastically.
"Get well soon, Darcy!"
The room was silent for a few minutes as they digested what Darcy just revealed. The vision in green and gold played back in her head and Darcy's eyebrows furrowed. To the best of her knowledge, National Guards didn't wear green or gold in their uniforms…
"So… Some National Guard guy found me, took me to the Red Cross, Tony just so happened to see me and he picked me up and flew me back here? That's what happened."
"Yeah, pretty much." Tony nodded.
"It's not like any of us could've saved you." Natasha pointed out. "We would've, but we weren't really there."
Darcy would have believed it, she wanted to believe it, hell she was ready to believe it. At that moment, Darcy would've believed there story; that a National Guardsmen that had been called to help control the crowd had found her and brought her to the Red Cross, where Tony spotted her in his chic-as-all-hell limousine and proceeded to fly her back to the Avenger's HQ, where she could be taken care of in private without the pushy-ness of the press hounding her for answers. She would've believed that story,
If she hadn't seen the pinched expressions on Jane and Wanda's faces.
"Alright, I was just checking. You guys wouldn't lie to me."
Her friends and employers and roommates just lied to her… Darcy couldn't help but wonder why.
.::. .::. .::.
Darcy tried to keep her eyes open, but God help her it was just too difficult. She hadn't slept much the previous night. Images of mothers dead in streets, screaming babies, visions of green and gold, and gunshots kept her up. Not to mention, his eyes…
She had only seen them for a minute, but Darcy knew something wasn't right. The Winter Solder was no doubt subjected to horrible torture and pain during his time with HYDRA, but even then, Darcy could never imagine anyone with eyes like his. Dark, unfeeling, soulless, dead…
"What if I knocked you unconscious now?"
"It won't change the past."
"But it'd make the present so much nicer."
Wanda and Vision laughed, The Big Bang Theory playing on TV. Darcy had taken it upon herself to show Wanda finer point of American Culture, and to show Vision the finer points of being human. Apparently, Big Bang was a success.
"This is really funny, Darcy." Wanda laughed, turning to see her friend nodding off on the edge of the sofa. "Darcy? Darcy!"
"I'm awake! I'm awake…" Darcy replied quickly, jerking into a sitting position.
Vision's forehead creased in a frown, "Are you alright, Darcy?"
"I dunno, maybe?" The girl in questioned sighed. "I didn't get much sleep last night."
Wanda hummed thoughtfully, "Again? That's two nights in a row."
"Ugh, don't remind me." Darcy groaned, sluggishly pushing herself off the couch and making her way toward the kitchen. Vision and Wanda exchanged uneasy glances just as the doorbell rang.
"I'll get the door, if you get the Darcy." Wanda said. Vision nodded and (literally) floated over to the kitchen as Wanda made her way to the door.
.::. .::. .::.
Vision landed a respectful distance behind Darcy as the brunette rummaged around the cabinet. "I'm grabbing some Hershey bars that Jane usually hides—don't tell her I know where she hides them. You want some?" Darcy paused as she offered the chocolate bar to the android. "Wait, can you even eat?"
Vision smiled. "I can eat if I want to, but I can survive if I don't."
Darcy eyed him before shrugging, "You're just a biological mystery wrapped in a gold cape, aren't you?"
He laughed. "That's not what I came here to discuss, Darcy, and you know it."
"Yeah… Look, I don't know why I can't sleep… Ok, that's a lie. I know why I can't sleep. It's just, I dunno, something about the look in the Soldier's eyes, it didn't seem right."
"What was the look in his eyes?"
"That's the thing, though, there wasn't any look! It was like he wasn't really there, like he wasn't in complete control, like he wasn't alert at all… He might've experience some traumatic shit, but that look in his eyes… I don't think HYDRA gave that to him."
"Darcy, what're you suggesting?"
"I'm not suggesting anything, Vizh. I just get the feeling something's Rotten in the State of Denmark." Upon seeing Vision's confused face, Darcy elaborated. "Shakespeare reference. Y'know Hamlet? 'Something is rotten in the state of Denmark' that whole spiel?"
"Yes?" Vision shook his head no, smiling sheepishly.
"Remind me to lend you a few of Shakespeare's books, I think you'd like them." Darcy took a bite of her chocolate bar just as Wanda skipped into the room, smiling happily.
"Someone's here to see you, Darcy." She said in a sing-song voice.
"Alright, what's got you perky?"
"I'm just excited to see how my friend will react to her boyfriend showing up." Wanda said, expecting her nails.
"Look, Wans, I don't know what you're getting at but—wait, boyfriend showing up?" Darcy pushed passed Wanda and bolted into the living room and squealed loudly once she arrived.
"Ian!" Said man laughed gleefully as his girlfriend launched herself into his arms.
"I missed you too, love." He smiled bashfully as she kissed him.
"When did you get back?" Darcy smiled brightly.
"My plane got in about an hour ago, I just called up Erik and Jane and they sent a car to pick me up." Ian kissed his girlfriend before adding, "I made them swear not to tell you because I wanted to surprise you."
"You're a dork," Darcy said lovingly, pulling Ian down for a passionate kiss
…That was interrupted by Wanda clearing her throat.
Blushing, and remembering they weren't alone, both parties turned to see Vision and Wanda awkwardly shuffling their feet by the far wall. "Well," Wanda cleared her throat again, "I just learned the meaning of 'Third Wheel'."
"Sorry," Ian said bashfully.
"We can do this later if you guys—"
"No, no. Uh, you two keep doing what you were doing… We'll just go and bug Rhodey or something."
"We will?" Vision asked, a bit confused by what was happening.
"Yes. We will, y'know, give them some privacy." The android seemed to understand that, his eyes widening in meaning.
"Ah, well, alright then." Vision actually walked to the door this time, holding it open for Wanda, who shrugged on a red fleece jacket. "We'll be going now."
"Don't do anything stupid," Wanda told the two, before smirking and winking at them saucily, "and for God's sake, you better use protection."
Wanda dragged Vision out before he could question her meaning, and when the door closed it left a blushing Darcy and Ian behind. After a moment, Ian awkwardly coughed. "So… You live with her now?"
"Well, yeah." Darcy smiled at him. "And now you do too!"
"But, didn't she, I dunno, help Ultron?"
Darcy stared at him, her smile gone. "Technically, yeah, but she was just confused. She's like, one of the nicest people you will ever meet."
"Well, it's just… I want to make sure it's safe and all."
"Ian, babe, trust me. Wanda won't hurt us. But for future reference, try not to mention her brother around her, she's still grieving… Even if she doesn't let us see it." Darcy frowned at the memory of Pietro sacrificing himself to save her and Clint. Shaking her head, Darcy pulled her boyfriend (whom she hadn't seen in months) onto the couch. "Now, not that Wanda's suggestion wasn't a good one, but I kinda just want to talk to you right now."
Ian nodded and hugged her close. "Alright, what do you wanna hear?"
"How's your mom?" His mom, Kaitlyn Boothby, was a nice old woman who had suffered with lung cancer. That's why Ian couldn't come home as quickly as he could, his mom's cancer flared up again and she was put in the hospital and Ian wanted to help his dad until his mother was ok to come home.
"Mum's ok—she and Dad send their love. They got her on some new medication and they have a nurse coming every week to check up on her." Ian explained.
"That's good. I like her, she's one of the coolest moms ever."
"She likes you too. Went to visit her and the hospital and she chastised me for being there and now with you, no joke."
Darcy laughed. "That woman has my respect. Ok, so other than your mom being ok and normal, how was your time with Jane? I know she can get pretty out-there when she goes into Science-mode."
Ian sighed, "Where to begin? Alright, has she always been a horrible cook?"
"Yep! Woman couldn't cook to save her life."
"Exactly. What else? Oh, the way she talked on and on, even when I wasn't there, crazy. And I practically had to shove her in the bathroom to get her to shower."
Darcy chuckled, "Been there, done that."
"And all the work! Every day, she had me log in data into the computer, and I could barely understand her handwriting as it was."
"Heh, yeah… That is pretty bad."
"And all the coffee runs, I mean honestly, I have a degree in Astrophysics and I'm well on my way to a doctorate. I think I can do a little more than that of an average assistant. How did you put up with it?"
Darcy understood that Jane could be a handful at times (Besides the Avengers themselves, Jane was one of the most child-like adults she's ever seen. Second only to Tony Stark), but Ian took on no more than she did when she was still Jane's assistant. She handled it well and without any major complaints (a few here and there, but they were about minor things). Darcy felt Ian didn't really have much room to complain.
But, seeing as how her boyfriend whom she hadn't seen in months was here with her, Darcy decided against arguing with him. Sighing tiredly, she snuggled into him and pressed her lips to his neck. "I'm glad you're back, Intern."
"Not an Intern anymore." Ian pointed out as his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling out to check the message, his face grew worried as he unconsciously glanced between his phone and Darcy. His girlfriend felt him tense and frowned, "Everything ok?"
Ian stared at his phone for a second longer before setting it on the end table, smiling sweetly, although a bit tightly. "Yeah. Just my dad making sure I got home ok."
Darcy nodded and the couple snuggled deeper into the couch, their attention diverted from the rest of the world by Big Bang Theory. After a while, Ian frowned in thought.
"Can I ask you a question, love?"
"Uh-huh."
"Thor's back in Asgard, right?"
"Yeah. He left a couple weeks ago. Why?"
"If he's back in Asgard, what does that mean for him and Jane?"
That made Darcy think. Last time something like this happened, Jane tried to move on but it didn't work out so well. Now that he was gone…
"I… I'm not sure."
.::. .::. .::.
"Mm, this food's quite good!" Ian gushed after swallowing his chicken salad.
"Hey, the best for by guy after months of having to choke down Jane's cooking." Ian, herself, and the Avengers (minus Steve) laughed at Darcy's little jest while Jane glared jokingly at her friend.
"I'm better than Thor, that's all I got to say on that matter." The astrophysicist said, taking a bite of French fries.
"Oh jeez, remember that time he tried to make Pop-tarts and he set the entire kitchen on fire?" Natasha asked Darcy, mirth sparkling in her eyes.
"Wait, wait, Thor did what now?" Sam asked, choking on laughter.
"Ok," Darcy swallowed her spoonful of Mac and Cheese, "so Thor gets hungry in the middle of the night and I guess his 'godly' brain thinks it's a great idea to make some Pop-tarts… Only he tried making them in the actual oven, with the foil around it…" Wanda, Rhodey, Sam, and even Vision were practically in stiches they were laughing so much.
Ian laughed, although it sounded hollow to everyone else at the table. "Kinda like you setting that couch on fire, huh love?"
"One; You promised you would never bring that up again, two; that was an accident and you all know it, and three; I'm never going to get rid of that damn couch thing am I?"
As the Avenger shook their heads sympathetically, Ian chuckled. "Still, I can tell you taught Thor how to cook."
Darcy narrowed her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It's just, well, the girl who set a couch on fire teaching a God to cook… That can't be a good result."
"Well it's not like it's my fault he set the kitchen on fire."
"That's not what I'm saying—"
"Really, cause that's kinda what it sound like."
"Darcy, I know it wasn't your fault Thor set the kitchen on fire."
"Then why did you make it sound like it was?"
Before a full scale argument could break out, Steve plopped down between Natasha and Rhodey, a ham and cheese sandwich in hand. "Hey," he said dejectedly.
Sam frowned, "Everything alright, man?"
"I just went to see Bucky."
The whole table froze, no one moved, they all just stared at Steve. Natasha broke the silence first, "Well…?"
"Well what?"
"What'd he say?"
Steve slowly unwrapped the plastic from his sandwich. "He didn't recognize me."
Natasha and Sam exchanged knowing glances, they figured he wouldn't but they didn't want to say anything. Rhodey spoke up next. "Does he know anything about the attack he, er… Lead?"
Natasha glared at him and the War Machine shrunk back in his seat. Steve shook his head. "No. He has no memory of anything about the attack except…" He glanced at Darcy, expression confused but curious. "He asked if you were ok."
To prevent herself from doing a spit take onto Vision and Jane, Darcy opted to choke on her water instead. Jane patted her back as Darcy set her water down and coughed out a "What?"
"Yeah… He was, um… wondering if you were ok. I told him you were alive and he seemed to relax, I guess."
Darcy stared at her Mac and Cheese, appetite long gone. The Avengers, Ian, and Jane glancing back at her and Steve in surprise. Darcy stirred her lunch idly with her fork, memories of dead, unfeeling, machine-like eyes running though her head.
.::. .::. .::.
"I still can't believe he called me out like that at lunch today. Can you believe him?" Darcy paced back and forth behind Wanda as she tried to do some calculations on Project D-12. "He made it sound like I'm some super-mega-klutz who can't be trusted with anything fragile. I am not like that!"
"I'm not touching that one." Wanda remarked dryly.
"He's been like this for months now. I call to check up on him, see how he's doing, and he starts to pick a fight! Then he complains about Jane and Erik like it's a burden for him to do the simplest of tasks, like Jane and Erik are some annoying toddlers he was forced to take care of!"
"Not touching that one, either."
"Can you at least pretend to care right now? Like, maybe act like the typical white-girl-friend who complains with her friend about the shit her boyfriend does?"
"I've never been one of those girls, and I don't see how I could be one now." Wanda sent her a wry smirk before setting her pencil and calculator down and standing up. "Now can we please talk about something else, something besides annoying boyfriends and this damn Recognizer?"
"Run into a problem?"
"I've run into several, which one shall I bore you with?"
"Neither." Darcy eyed the notes she and Wanda have been compiling on the Neurological Recognizer. "Wish we knew where Banner was going with this… Or at the least he left better notes to follow, they're all over the place!"
"Didn't I say we should talk about something other than the Recognizer?"
"Right, sorry." Both girls stood in companionable silence before Darcy turned to Wanda and asked "Why do you think Metal-Arm asked if I was ok?"
Wanda cracked her knuckles and shrugged. "I don't know. Because he was concerned about you?"
"Yeah, cause he seemed pretty concerned when he tried to kill me."
"I'm just saying, it might be a possibility. Didn't he remember Steve after that whole Helicarrier mess last year?"
"Maybe?" Darcy chewed her lip uncertainly. "Steve, Nat, and Sam never really clarified that."
Wanda shrugged. "Well, no way we can know."
Thinking of the Soldier's eyes, and Wanda's off-handed comment made a lightbulb go off in Darcy's head. "Wanda, you're an Avenger, right?"
"No, I just go to the trainings and meetings because they look like fun."
"Ok, hear me out… As an Avenger, you have full level clearance to everywhere in this facility, right?"
Wanda raised a brow. "Yes… why do you ask?"
"I need you to sneak me into the holding cells underneath HQ."
For a moment, Wanda resembled a fish out of water, the way her mouth open and closed in shock. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. It sounded like you just said you wanted me to sneak you into the holding cells…"
"I did just say that… And I want you to do it."
"W-why? Why do you need me to sneak you in there?"
"Cause I only have Level 5 clearance, I can only go down there if I get Hill or Steve or Coulson's permission. But I know that if they give me permission, everyone would be listening in and I need to talk to Metal-Arm in private."
"What's so important that you talk to him in private?"
"Look, will you sneak me in or not?"
Darcy almost swore she saw fear flash in Wanda's eyes for a second before it was replaced by uncertainty and nervousness. Finally, the witch steeled herself and shook her head. "I'm sorry Darcy, but I won't help you. And there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise."
.::. .::. .::.
"Damn you, you're convincing." Wanda grumbled as she and Darcy walked as quietly down the stairs as they could. Having just passed the security checkpoint—and the night guard—with ease, the girls made their way down the steps.
"Hey, the guard bought our half-baked story, didn't he?" Darcy asked. "Don't see why you're complaining." They had lied to the guard and said Coulson had sent them down here to question Bucky, and the guard had bought it.
"It's just… who knows what kind of people they keep down here."
"You and I both know exactly what type of people we keep down here. And up until two days ago, things have been pretty quiet, so we haven't really had need of this place. Besides, they have like, what, one prisoner down here?"
"More than one…" Wanda muttered under her breath.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
"Why are you nervous? Are you claustrophobic or something? Cause you don't have to come down here with me…"
"No, no, no! I'm not claustrophobic per se, it's just… Look, let's just find the Soldier and get out of here."
"You're pretty eager for someone who was against this plan about five minutes ago."
"The sooner we find him, the sooner we can leave."
They reached the landing and were greeted with another imposing door. Wanda merely swiped her clearance card and the girls were let in. Row upon row of cells built into the walls with a maxi-glass front greeted them. Most looked clean and untouched, mostly because they were.
It didn't take them long to find the Soldier, he was in the second cell on the left and he was lying on the bed, trying to sleep. Darcy frowned, he looked so peaceful. Not at all like the weird man-machine thing that tried to kill her two days ago.
Darcy tapped on the glass lightly and he jerked awake, glancing around until he saw Darcy standing about an inch away from the glass, fist still raised for knocking. The Soldier's eyes widened in surprise. "You…"
"Hi… Bucky, right?"
He slowly stood up, studying her as he did. "That's what people keep telling me."
Right, no memory. "Can I call you Bucky?"
He shrugged, "I'm ok with it."
"Ok… Um, so…"
"So…?"
"This is a lot harder than I thought it would be." By now, Bucky came to stand in front of her on the other side of the glass. Wow, he's tall, Darcy thought dumbly. Snapping out of her thoughts, Darcy realized Bucky was staring at her face with a quiet, sad intensity that made her squirm a bit. "Uh… like what you see, slick?" Behind her, she heard Wanda face-palm.
His metal hand came up and his finger gestured toward her nose. "D-did I do that to you?"
Darcy mentally kicked herself, remembering what he had done to her face as he was attacking her. "Um… yes?"
Bucky sighed heavily, making his way back to the bed. "Great, just great! It's no wonder they didn't believe me."
Darcy's brows furrowed. "Who didn't believe you about what?"
"All these agents, that Captain guy… They didn't believe when I told them I didn't mean to… um, hurt you."
"Could've fooled me." Darcy mentally kicked herself again for her poor choice of words as Wanda, once again, face-palmed.
Bucky raised a brow and glanced around Darcy, seeming to notice Wanda for the first time. "Who are you?" he asked the girl leaning against the far wall.
"Uh… I'm Darcy's friend, Wanda. She made me sneak her in here… Choices were made…"
"Darcy?' He turned to the brunette at the front of his cell. "Is that your name?"
"Uh-huh."
"Oh, nice to meet you Darcy… officially anyway."
"Yeah, our first meeting wasn't very… official…" Darcy cringed as Bucky frowned and glanced at his shoes.
"I am this close to hitting you." Wanda held up her hand, showing the nearly miniscule amount of space between her pointer finger and thumb.
A long, awkward moment of silence passed between the three before Darcy asked "Why did you want to know if I was ok?"
Bucky looked surprised by her question, he stared at Darcy as if she had suddenly grown tow heads. But he eventually glanced down, looking ashamed. "I don't remember much before the… attack. But I remember some man telling me that I was going to attack thousands of innocent lives, and then I was going to kill the Avenger's assistant… Next thing I remember is you lying on the ground, not moving, as someone beat the heck out of me… I didn't want to hurt you or anyone. The fact that I might've killed you, without remembering that I did it… I needed to know if you were ok."
Darcy and Wanda stared at the Winter Soldier in shock. Not only did he just admit to being controlled by some unknown and hostile party, but he just admitted that the same unknown and hostile party wanted her dead. "Do you remember who the man was or what he looked like?"
Bucky laughed mirthlessly "What does it matter? No one believes me."
Darcy stared at the Winter Soldier, blue eyes carefully considerate. "Come over here."
"Uh… come again?"
"Come over here, I want to take a look at you."
Eyeing her warily, Bucky slowly made his way to the front of the cell. "Why?"
"I just… I need to see something for myself."
Darcy narrowed her eyes in concentration as she leaned toward the glass a little bit, studying the Winter Soldier's grey-blue eyes. She noticed that they watched her uncertainly (not that she could blame him) and that they darted between her and Wanda with wariness (again, couldn't blame him), but mostly, she noticed how awake he seemed and how alert he was. Darcy took a small step back from the glass, "Ok, I believe you."
Bucky's eyes widened. "What?"
"Yeah, what?" Wanda asked.
"Look at his eyes," Darcy told Wanda, the witch stepped closer but made sure to stand behind Darcy, "doesn't he seem so awake, so alert?"
Wanda nodded. "He wasn't like that when he attacked you, was he?"
"No." Darcy smiled slightly at the Winter Soldier. "He wasn't."
"You… you believe me?" Bucky asked, not wanting to believe it.
"Of course, when you attacked me, your eyes weren't so… awake as they are now. You acted and kinda looked like a machine."
"And now?"
"Now?" Darcy glanced at his eyes and smiled at him again. "Now you look human."
Bucky stared at the girl in front of his cell in shock. No one, not even the Captain, believed his story. It was a relief that this Darcy girl believed him. The same Darcy who he… oh.
"I'm sorry about trying to, you know…"
Darcy placed a hand on the glass, surprising Bucky. "Dude, it's ok. You weren't in control so it's not your fault."
Bucky stared at the young woman in front of him in utter shock as he realized that she (and maybe her Wanda friend) was the only one to believe him. He wasn't used to people treating him so nicely, and Darcy (and subsequently, Wanda) being here and giving him the benefit of the doubt was by the most amount of kindness he'd been given since God knows when.
"You know Darcy, you and your friends are some stand-up dames."
Darcy blushed slightly at the compliment, but smirked and raised a brow nonetheless. "Yikes, you are definitely a 1940's guy."
"No offense, but I've never heard anyone say 'dame' with the exception of movies." Wanda added. Bucky smiled sheepishly and looked down.
"No, no, it's fine!" Darcy assured him "It's actually kind of sweet." Now it was Bucky's turn to blush.
"Well, thanks for answering her questions…" Wanda said as she and Darcy slowly made their way towards the exit. Bucky thought for a moment, glancing down the hall.
"Hey, wait, I've got a question for you, Darcy!"
Darcy and Wanda stopped, exchanging curious glances before Darcy turned to face him. "Uh, ok. What's your question?"
"Why's your bodyguard down here too?"
All the color drained from Wanda's face, sudden fear flashing in her eyes as she looked at Darcy, who looked confused. "Bodyguard? I think you're confusing me with someone else, cause I don't have any 'bodyguards'."
"No, no that's one of the few things I remember." Bucky told her. "I was… well, you know, strangling you and he just pulled me off of you and beat me senseless. After that, he picked you up and you both were gone."
"You mean the National Guardsmen who saved me?"
"National Guardsmen?"
"Darcy, we should go. Now!" Wanda grabbed onto her friend's arm and tried to drag her away, but Darcy jerked her arm away.
"No, wait." She walked up and stood in front of Bucky's cell again. "What're you saying?"
"I'm saying, that even though I don't get how the 'modern' world works, I'm pretty sure no National Guard would ever wear something like he wore."
"What'd he wear?"
"Darcy, I will pay you to leave here right now." Wanda begged.
"Uh… It was weird. Like, leather armor but colored green and gold."
Green and gold? Darcy's eyes widened slightly. "Leather armor?" The brunette was starting to get a strange, foreboding sense of familiarity. "Where is this so called 'bodyguard'?"
"Darcy, if you love me at all, you will walk straight out that exit right now!" Wanda told her sternly.
"Down the hall, somewhere, I think?" Bucky nodded to his left and Darcy glanced down the hall. The brunette cast one last suspicious glance at the Winter Soldier before making her way down the hallway.
"Darcy, please, forget everything, let's just leave!" Wanda told her friend, trying to pull her down towards the exit. Darcy just shook her friend off and made her way down the hall. About four cells away from Bucky's, Darcy saw a dim light on. Raising a brow, she walked over there and once she saw the person being held prisoner there, she gasped.
"I'm so sorry, Darcy! Jane wanted to tell you, I wanted to tell you but Coulson and Fury made us and the rest of the Avengers swear not to. I wanted to tell you, believe me I wanted to, but they made us swear not to because there not sure what he's doing here or why he's here and we haven't been able to contact Thor or Asgard yet and… I'm so sorry… I should've told you."
Meanwhile, Loki smirked at Darcy superiorly, getting up from his bed and making his way to the front of the cell. If Darcy thought Bucky was tall, than Loki was a giant… which considering what Thor once told her wasn't a completely out there assumption.
"So," Loki drawled, smirking down at Darcy, "they finally let you see your savior, hm?"
Darcy could only stare at him in open mouth shock, eyes raking over him. One phrase kept running through her head, Loki saved me… Loki saved me… Loki saved me…
The God of Lies raised a brow, amused by her reaction. "What? No words of thanks for your hero?"
It was like a cold, hard slap to the face; curtsey of reality. The look of shock was washed away as Darcy just stared at Loki like he was some poisonous snake who could and would kill her if he saw fit. Darcy chuckled harshly, disbelieving coloring her otherwise unfeeling laugh as she glanced at the ground for a moment. Loki's smirk faded away and Wanda and Bucky exchanged confused looks.
Fuck this bullshit. Finally, Darcy met Loki's eyes again. Her ever expressive blue eyes revealing that she gave absolutely zero fucks about this whole situation.
"No," Darcy told him simply, shaking her head. "No, no, nope, no, no, no, nope, no, no, no, no, no…" Darcy began to walk away, shaking her head and smiling disbelieving as she pushed past Wanda and headed to the door. "No, nope, nope, nope, no, no, nope!"
As she exited the prison, Loki stared at her in confusion. He wasn't sure what that was, but it certainly wasn't the reaction he had been expecting. Meanwhile, Bucky looked just as equally confused if not a bit amused by what Darcy just did. Wanda, however, she just stared after her friend.
After a minute or so passed in silence, Wanda remembered where she was and who she was left with. As her eyes widened, Wanda could've sworn she heard the old, cliché cricket chirping in the background. Glancing around slowly, the witch glanced at Loki, who looked rather unimpressed by her existence, and then Bucky, who looked a bit concerned about what just happened. Wanda slowly turned around again and rocked back and forth on her heels uncertainly, lips pressed in a tight line.
Finally, she sighed slowly. She glanced at both prisoners nervously before blurting out, "be seeing you, boys." And running after Darcy.
Even if by some odd string of circumstance, she was the one who ended up with super speed and not Pietro, Wanda still would've thought she didn't get out of there fast enough.
.::. .::. .::.
Man, got this up quickly. Within a week of the last one, I'm doing good. On that note, I may or may not be able to update for a while. I've got my school's fall play coming up in a couple weeks and then Thanksgiving after that. I'll try and get the next chapter up soon, but things are about to get hectic for me so I make no promises.
On the plus side, Loki and Darcy finally met… Yay!
Review and I'll see you guy's next chapter.