In the highly improbable case of Aliens Invasion: Survival Guide.
Darcy couldn't breathe. Her phone in hand, the slow ticking of her fantasist cat clock echoing in her room was keeping her from doing something stupid like call Tasha, she kept counting every passing seconds instead. Her friend was on mission and she might not know yet, she'll be in danger if Darcy told her. She couldn't lose the both of them on the same day.
When her phone rang, Darcy was tempted not to answer, it wasn't an unknown number, it was Phil's personalize 'Star spangled man' ringtone, it wasn't protocol, she deserved for them to respect the protocol. She let it go to voice mail three times before finally answering.
"It's not what the protocol says Phil, I should be on the phone with director Fury, he was supposed to be the one to call me" she started rambling on the phone not giving him a second to explain. "Oh my God, is Fury dead too? Is that why you're the one calling me?"
"Darcy!" Coulson didn't scream, he didn't shout, he was very calm using all the authority his agent's voice could muster. He had never used it on her until now. "Clint is not dead. I repeat he is not dead. Do you understand?" he asked his voice gentler.
"No" she admitted in a whisper.
"Darcy, they are agents at your door right know they are going to stay right where they are until someone comes to get you, it will take a few hours. Natasha will call you back with the name of the agent who will escort you to safety once I get a hold of her." He explained to her taking his time but her mind was still foggy.
"You can't tell her he's dead she is on a mission, she'll get either killed or disappear, you have to wait until you can see her and keep her safe." She started yelling at him.
"Darcy, Clint isn't dead." He repeated over and over until she stopped crying.
"But…" She couldn't find the right words to explain how she felt, empty, cold, broken.
"I promise you, he isn't dead. There was a situation and he was compromised." He explained to her.
"It's my fault I compromise people." Darcy mumble.
"Loki's on Earth he took control over a few agents, manipulating them into following him blindly" he kept talking over her.
"Jane!" She cried out.
"Hey you're back with me!" He joked. "Look Darcy, I can't even imagine how you felt, but I promise he is still very much alive and I don't think Loki took him to kill him, he'll need him." He took a pause. "He took Erik too." He must have prepped himself for a shout because he didn't answer right away when she asked.
"Do you know where they are?" so she repeated herself.
"That's why I called, didn't know you would think he was dead, I was hoping you might be able to help us find him." Phil admitted.
"Sorry! He totally… Puff" she simply answered.
"It's okay, we'll find him." He promised, that was his 'I promise' voice, the same he used when he said he would find popcorn with salt and butter.
"Jane?" she asked calmly this time.
"Already on the move, sorry I can't tell you were we are sending her, you'll see her as soon as Loki's been dealt with" again the promising voice. Agent Coulson didn't promise things he wasn't sure he could make happen, that much she knew about him.
"I have to call Natasha, you can't leave your room until she tells you it's safe Darcy." He was really bad at giving her orders for a handler, he'll always see her as the 10 years old little girl who used to send unicorns through his nightmares.
"No leaving my room, No complaining about the agents at my door, No talking to anyone who isn't you or Tasha, or Stark" She knew Jane wouldn't call her they would put her in a never landing plane if they had to.
"No Clint until you hear from someone else that it's safe, Darcy it's really important, he might try to contact you do not answer until either Natasha, Fury, Hill or I tell you that it's safe." Phil was worrying.
"But what if…" Darcy wanted to believe that if Loki took him away maybe he could come back just as suddenly.
"No Darcy. Not until we say so, you have to promise me." He insisted.
"I don't know if you noticed Phil but I'm not 10 anymore." She had a father, she didn't know him but she didn't need another one either way.
"I know someone noticed." He said lightly and she stocked her tongue out even though he couldn't see it on the phone.
"Darcy?" He asked.
"Yeah okay no Clint even if the bond comes back until someone says it's safe." She took a deep breath for the first time in what seems like forever, Clint wasn't dead, Clint was still alive. "But Phil, if it's not to tell me he's dead Fury can't be the one to call me, I can't go through that again."
"Roger that. Natasha should call you in a few hours try to sleep." He told her before hanging up.
6 hours 23 minutes 35 seconds and about 5 coffees. That's how much time it took Tasha to call her, she had been out of coffee after the 4th hour but she had promise Phil not to nag at her escort, she tried taking a bath since she was fortunate enough to have a bathtub but she kept fidgeting splashing water everywhere, she tidied her room and Clint was sooooo going to pay for that, because she had put a lot of effort into making the place look like it's been lived in instead of being where she had ended up only a week prior, she had read some of her classes books but nothing was registering in her brain.
Finally her phone rang, an unknown number, could be Tasha she never had her personnel phone with her on mission, but it could be Clint too. That's why SHIELD had so many protocols, the phone rang 3 times before hanging up, than 1 time before hanging up again.
"Tasha." She finally answered.
"Darcy, I'll find him." She told her, "even if I have to kick his ass all the way back to you"
"He said you would do that when we first talked." Darcy laughed for the first time in days she realized. If someone could bring him back it was Tasha.
"Listen I don't have much time, I have to convince someone who can find something Loki stole to Help." Tasha's explanation were always so clear and simple.
"Well that's not at all mysterious." Darcy told her.
"I try." Tasha joked.
"Agent Coulson said you'll have info for me, people I should trust, places to be, coffee hopefully."
"I'll tell her to bring coffee." Tasha said "Agent 13, should be at your door in about 15 min make it 25 if she stops for coffee on the way, she'll know where to drive you, under no circumstances will you get out of her sight, and you'll give her your phone as soon as she'll get there." Tasha ordered.
"You're worse than Coulson" Darcy pouted, her phone had games, entertainment.
"Don't go with anyone else and don't let anyone else in the car with the two of you." Tasha continued.
"How am I supposed to know that she is who she says she is?" Darcy asked.
"You'll know." She answered omnisciently. "Be safe and I'll bring him back to you, okay?" she said more friendly, more Tasha less Agent Romanov.
"Be safe." Darcy told her before Tasha hung up. SHIELD needed to teach their agents proper phone etiquette.
15 minutes later on the dot, Darcy's door open, no one had even grazed her door in 7 hours, she grabbed Sparky from under her pillow and pointed it at the intruder.
"Sharon?" Darcy asked incredulous. She was so tired she was having hallucination.
"Darcy, you need to pack up, essentials only" her hallucination told her handing her a coffee for that little place they liked on the way between college and their apartment. Her Hallucination was really thorough.
"Darcy! Stop staring and move your ass." Sharon spanked her.
"Agent 13!" Darcy snapped but moved along.
"Sorry, we'll talk about it on the way." Sharon really looked contrite.
"Where are we going?" Darcy asked.
"Not here." Sharon was helping pack if she wasn't helping with the enigma.
"Did Tasha teach you her annoying thing? Because it doesn't suit you." Darcy told her.
"Darcy, we don't have time for this now. Are you going to trust me or not?" Sharon already had her phone in hands ready to make a call to be replaced if Darcy couldn't trust her.
"Don't call! I'll go with you but I am doing it for Tasha not for you! Is your name even really Sharon?" Darcy asked on the way to the car.
Once inside Sharon asked for her phone.
"Back to burner I see." She commented. "Good take this one instead" she said handing her the latest Starkphone.
Darcy looked at her, staring for a long time before taking the phone. "So you're one of the 5"she stated.
"What?" Sharon sputtered.
"Coulson, he said 5 SHIELD agents knew about my bonds, you're one of them." Darcy explained.
"I guess, I figured out about Coulson when he asked me to keep an eye on you when you moved into my dorm, from stories Aunt Peggy had told me, about bonded agents, I figured out about Clint and Natasha and they told me about Stark when they called asking me to pick up the phone before I'll get you." Sharon was telling her story as she used to speak about her family work.
"Wait you mean…" Darcy stopped to think about it a little.
"Ask whatever you want Darcy" Sharon prompted her.
"Is your entire family SHIELD related?" Darcy asked first.
"No!" she laughed "I can't believe I have to tell you that, Darcy you met my great aunt like 4 times."
"Yeah Aunt Peggy, what about her?"
"Think about it for a while." Sharon told her and Darcy looked at the roadside by the window trying to figure out what she should have already figure out.
"You're Aunt Peggy is Margaret "Peggy" Carter! The one from Captain America's history lessons!" she suddenly screamed, remembering the woman from Phil's flash, her voice was hoarse and her head foggy. "Did I fell asleep?" she said wincing at the taste of cold coffee on her tongue.
"A couple of hours yes." Sharon admitted "you needed it, but hey good news you finally figured out my family's secret."
Darcy wanted to sulk but Sharon was right it took her way too much time to figure that one out.
"Was I just a mission?" she asked shyly. Sharon looked at her angrily, parked the car on the side of the road and turned to look at her.
"How can you even ask that? My mission was to look after you make sure you didn't end up kidnap, didn't get in jail, didn't drink too much at a frat party, it was basically my job as floor manager anyway, becoming your friend was never part of the mission and I stopped telling them anything not vital after that first night." She explained angrily.
"You said I could ask anything." Darcy reminded her. "And FYI, Agent 13, you're scaring me right now."
"Sorry I just…" Sharon shook herself out of her angry stance and turned back to Darcy with her usual smile. "I don't have that many friends, even among the agents because of the Legacy thing, I have to prove myself constantly and…"
"It's okay I get it." Darcy told her feeling better "I just needed to be sure I could trust you." Sharon nodded.
"What was that about legacy? Sounded like more than 'my father is an agent' kind of thing." Darcy asked.
"Peggy founded SHIELD, with Howard Stark among others, but even without that, SHIELD is a spy agency, all male, all the time, so much testosterone." Sharon complained lightly.
"My super-spies didn't give me 'History of SHIELD' lesson, but I saw and tased enough agents to get the testosterone thing. Tasha's a bad ass though, and Hill is deputy director so female still matter." She tried to joke.
"Yeah." Sharon smirked. "Peggy recruited Fury, she would haunt him forever if he was favoring male agents based on genetics."
"Sharon?" Darcy whispered.
"Yeah?"
"Where are we going?" she wanted to know if she was really going to be safe.
"Stark Tower." Sharon told her.
"It's a 7 hours drive." Darcy snapped. She'll need to pee and she promised to never leave Sharon's line of sight, they might have slept in the same bed for months but their friendship had limits she didn't want to cross.
"More like 18." Sharon retorted. Darcy looked at the sign on the side of the road. "But we already did almost 3"
"Wait, I thought Stark Tower was in New York why are we heading south?" Darcy panicked.
"We have someone else to bring with us, Agent Romanov's orders." Sharon told her almost sounding like Agent Coulson.
"She told me not to let anyone else get in the car." Darcy retorted.
"She told me to drive you there and let you decide." Darcy was doubtful, but she had trusted Sharon before and the agent would protect her.
"Where are we going?" she asked again.
"Charlotte." Darcy sighed.
"Do you have snacks? And will you let me drive?" Darcy resigned herself.
"Yes and no way you don't even have a driving license." Sharon grinned at her shocked expression.
"You let me drive before, and I drove every day in New Mexico." Darcy protested.
"It's one of Stark's car." Sharon told her as if it was nothing. Darcy looked around her, the car didn't look extremely luxurious, and it was simply black, but now she was noticing the deep purple leather soft under her palm, the high hand technology, the amazing sound the motor was making.
If I may Agent 13, you'll find a gas station in 20 miles, the restroom had just been cleaned it might be more pleasant.
Darcy jumped at the soft British voice.
Sir says to put anything you need on the card Agent gave you.
"Thank you JARVIS and thank Mister Stark for us." Sharon said as if talking to the car was perfectly normal before laughing.
"Darcy Lewis meet JARVIS. JARVIS is Stark AI, he basically run everything for him. He is more secret than you." Sharon explained.
"JARVIS." Darcy simply said.
It's a pleasure to finally meet you Miss Lewis, Sir and Miss Potts are pleased to offer you their house and asked me to assure you, you'll be safe there.
"Hum, Thanks."
"You'll get used to it." Sharon assured her.
"I hope so."
Darcy started playing with the console, trying to find out how to change the music, the AC setting, anything to keep her occupied.
Do you require any assistant Miss Lewis?
"No Jarvis. It's cool. I am just bored." A panel opened in what Darcy had assumed was the glove compartment.
A movie might disturb Agent 13 from her driving but perhaps I can interest you in a game.
"Against you?" Darcy asked surprised.
Yes indeed, unless you would rather play solitary games. I am afraid you're not currently allowed to use internet interfaces but I could entertain you.
"Don't you have other car to run? Or a house? Do you run the tower?"
I can do all that and more and still take time to play or answer your question Miss Lewis.
"Can you drop the Miss Lewis? Only people from the social services ever called me Miss Lewis."
There was a light pause, as if the AI was thinking about it.
Would you prefer Darcy?
"Hey! How is that fair?" Sharon protested "I've been asking you to stop calling me Agent 13 since I got into this car."
That specific protocol is pending Miss Lewis safely arrival at the tower.
"You were right I like him." Darcy grinned.
The gas station will be on your right in 20 seconds
"If I had known rescuing you involved dealing with Stark I'd ask a big favor of Natasha instead of volunteering." Sharon told her while parking the car. "I would have done it either way but at least I'd got something out of it."
Sir says: "If Darcy gets here without a scratch she can keep the car".
"JARVIS, is he listening in on us?" Darcy asked self-conscious, she hadn't even met him yet.
Not at all. I was simply quoting an earlier conversation Sir had with Agent Romanov.
"Good to know" they both said at the same time, and started laughing.
"JARVIS is keeping us safe in the car, what if something happens inside the station?" Darcy suddenly didn't want to pee that much anymore, she could still feel the cold missing piece inside of her, she needed all the safety net she could get.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Sharon said rolling her eyes. "JARVIS is on your phone." She rummaged through her bag on the back seat and found a little box, "here put this in your ear and you'll be able to talk to him without taking your phone out." she showed Darcy her own device in her left ear. "He monitors the cameras for me."
Darcy put the ear piece in and immediately heard JARVIS' voice in her ear, reassured she followed Sharon to the restroom.
"I don't care what Tasha said, I am not peeing in front of you." Darcy told her going in.
Sharon rolled her eyes check to see if they were alone and let Darcy enter one of the stall before getting into her own. "Just don't get out before me." she informed her.
They went back to the car, and the rest of the road to Charlotte was spend between cat naps and some games with JARVIS for Darcy and a battle of wits between JARVIS and Sharon.
They were supposed to meet their second passenger into a bar, JARVIS informed them that there were no video system inside so Sharon asked Darcy to stay in the car. She was only gone for 5 minute when she came back, a tall woman with long dark brown hair concealing her face. Once they were close enough Darcy recognized her.
"Oh by Thor! Betty!" She tried to get out of the car to join them but JARVIS had locked her in. When he judged that Agent 13 was close enough he finally released her, Darcy pushed herself out of the car and into Betty's arms. "You're you and you're here. And..." She glanced toward Sharon "Is that Coffee?"
"Glad to see where you priorities are." Betty joked.
"Come on get in the car I want to know everything." She said pushing both of them toward the car.
JARVIS didn't talk openly into the passenger compartment and asked Darcy to keep his presence quiet on her earpiece.
Betty explained how Natasha had kept her away from her father by moving her from women shelters to safe houses all over the country, she had only been in Charlotte for a few hours when the call came in. And Darcy explained how she was Darcy not Max.
"Did you know that Iron Man was in Stuttgart? Apparently something to do with a men in a green armor." Betty asked them.
"Thought I told you to keep off the internet?" Sharon hissed.
"It was on the news at the bar. It was kind of hard to miss." Betty answered.
Darcy knew better than to ask question she wouldn't have answers to. She was feeling so tired anyway, to many emotions, to many people, in the car, under her skin, the tension was unbearable. She felt asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.
"Nooooooooooo!" She screamed when she woke up. "No! No! No! No! No!" she kept saying until Sharon had stopped the car. "I need to..." Darcy was having a hard time opening her seat belt, so JARVIS did it for her.
Darcy your heart beat is too elevated and you have difficulty breathing, the car sensor don't detect any injuries. Please remain in the car until your vitals are back to normal.
But Darcy didn't listen, she couldn't even hear him over her pounding heart, pulsating in her ears, she was vaguely aware of Betty and Sharon trying to keep her in the car, but she need to get out she needed air, she need to not throw up on Tony's leather.
JARVIS finally opened Darcy's door and she stumbled outside falling on her knees, she was crying so hard that she couldn't even see her own hands. Someone other than JARVIS was talking in her ears and lightly caressing her back.
She could hear Sharon telling her how sorry she was, and Betty telling her to take deep breath and to hold them in. But mostly she could feel her own body draining all the restlessness, worrisome, dorkiness that was all Phil, it was taking him away piece by piece while simultaneously filling up with love, gentleness and compassion and everything that screamed Clint at her. She couldn't process both at once it was too much pain and so little happiness that it was not enough to balance the heart wrecking feeling of losing Phil. Phil was right, feeling someone dying had nothing to do with what she had felt when Loki took Clint away. The grief and angry feeling coming from the other 3 at once and colliding with her own was too much for her.
She must have passed out because she woke up safely tucked under covers on the back seat, Betty was on the front seat listening to the news, they were talking about an attack on NY. Aliens were invading and Iron Man and a group of unidentified people were battling against them. The point of origin seem to come from a portal opened above Stark Tower.
"So much for our safe heaven." Darcy sighed.
Internally she was a mess of feelings, she could feel a compression on her left ankle, so Tasha must be hurt. She put her hand in her forehead to put her hair away but felt the familiar feeling of blood. Stark was feeling guilty and tired, Clint was angry at himself but relieved to be back.
"Betty you mind patching me up?" She asked.
"Idiots" Betty mumbled before turning toward her with wide eyes.
"Yeah but they are my idiots." She sighed.
"Don't take all the credit Darcy, one of them is mine." Betty joked before getting out of the car, contouring it so she could come near Darcy's head.
"How do you feel?" She asked while looking into the med kit for some swipes and a bandage. "Of course it's Stark's car all the bandages have Iron Man on them." she said rolling her eyes.
"Sad but better, in control again. And I don't mind the Iron Man bandages." she grinned at her. If Betty was meant to follow them to Stark Tower or where ever, Sharon who she could see was on the phone, would find for them to be safe, she might as well know the all truth.
But like all the scientist in her life, Betty was totally clueless and just cleaned and wrapped her head wound.
A few minutes later a jet appeared out of nowhere, it was weird looking and when it opened up Darcy tucked Betty against her and asked JARVIS to close the door. A few more seconds and Sharon appeared with a new man alongside her she knocked on the door and JARVIS opened the window.
"Darcy, this agent Ward, Dr Ross I believe you two already met. He is our new ride." she stated.
"Tasha said no strangers." Darcy recited.
"That's why Fury sent Ward, Betty knows him." Sharon nodded toward Betty.
"He gave me ride to the airport. I mean he was nice and polite but I wouldn't say I know him. No offense." she said to Ward.
"None taken." He answered swiftly.
"Look Darcy, I don't know how to pilot that thing" she pointed at the jet. "Fury wants to make sure you'll both be safe before he gets a hoard of angrier Avengers up his ass, so get on the freaking Quinjet."
Darcy, sir would like for you to follow Agent 13. I concur, you have a higher chance of being safe on the SHIELD Hellicarrier.
"What the hell is a Hellicarrier?" Darcy shout out accidentally.
"Want to come and see for yourself?" Sharon grinned at her like the Cheshire Cat.
"Yeah Okay, you got me, let's move to the Quinjet." Darcy agreed hushing Betty out of the car. "What about Stark's car?"
Someone will come pick it up shortly.
"Okay, cool" Darcy said out loud totally disregarding the weird glances and crooked eyebrows from Betty and Ward.
Ward got them out in the air quickly, the Quinjet interior was military based, a few straps, and parachutes, a closed computer and in the corner medical equipment. They had been flying for an hour and Darcy was getting restless, she wanted to get her mind out of her body, of all those conflicted feelings she still had. Sharon was telling Betty that they didn't have direct reliable info on their partners though for now Darcy didn't care very much about the lack of Intel on her bond mates, she had bigger problems at hands.
"Betty" Darcy hissed, she couldn't breathe anymore, not like before when her body wouldn't breathe but like all the oxygen in the Quinjet had been taken away and whatever she did she couldn't have air any in her lunges.
She could feel Betty try to pump oxygen into her to no effect, both Ward and Sharon were shouting in the cockpit. Her head hurt as she was slowly but painfully falling asleep, her last thought had been.
"I am going to freaking kill Stark."
She felt a surge of oxygen in her lunges, on her tongue, rolling on her veins, getting to her foggy brain. She wasn't dead. She was feeling weird though and something in her mouth was keeping her from breathing or talking. She started to panic but Betty stopped her from touching her face.
"Back with us?" Betty asked but it wasn't really a question. "I am going to take the tube out but don't try to swallow and don't push against it, you're going to gag it's normal."
She took the tube out and Darcy felt like throwing up and would certainly have if she had anything left in her.
"ETA 15 min." Ward said from behind her. "Fury says to drop you all of at the Triskelion, he'll bring you to Stark from there."
"So much for Tasha careful plan, of no extra passenger, no talking to strangers, no getting into places that don't exist." Darcy mockingly complained, and she could hear Ward mumbling.
"Who the hell are they?" to Sharon.
She wanted to laugh so badly but every part of her body hurt.
"Betty, it hurts there." she said encompassing her all body and Betty finally smiled.
"How sure are you that you're the one hurting? I don't want to give you anything if it's not coming from you." Betty reasoned.
Darcy thought about it but she couldn't be sure, her head hurt from the lack of oxygen so Betty gave her a cannula and a little bottle of oxygen they had on board, her ribs hurt from CPR but it would go away, Betty hadn't broken or fractured any of them. Since she couldn't be certain Darcy told Betty to forget about it.
They landed swiftly and the trap opened, before she could say anything about Tasha's security protocols a tall black bold man, with a long leather coat and an eyepatch entered the jet. She recognized him from Phil's flash a few weeks back.
"Agent Ward, you're dismissed."
"Director" Ward saluted swiftly before exiting the plane.
"Miss Lewis are you feeling better?" Fury asked and she put all her energy on not making pirate jokes.
"I was promised a Hellicarrier if I got on the jet. I am disappointed." She told him while taking his offered hand to help lift her up the floor.
"Sorry, the Avengers are bringing Loki to the Hellicarrier so he could be brought here as soon as we leave, maybe next time." Fury seemed genuinely sorry which made her even more curious.
"Can I see Phil?" She asked tentatively.
"I..." Fury was clearly surprised by her question. "He is still on the Hellicarrier."
"And what about the others?" She asked glancing at Betty.
"Dr Banner and the rest of the Avengers will be at the Tower later tonight, if you want to follow me, medical would like to check on you, Agent Ward was pretty intense about your episode on the com." Fury gestured toward a door leading outside of the Quinjets garage.
"No!" Darcy stopped and glared at him. "With all due respect sir, I am not going to medical, tell whatever you like to Agent Ward about what happened, but they all made sacrifice to keep my secret I am not going to tell theirs because one of your agent got scared, not today, not ever. You wanted to escort me to the Avengers, who I assume are the people who just defeated aliens, personally I am here. I'll go to the tower and nowhere else."
She heard Sharon coughing, but it was her fake 'you forgot something' caught, she turn toward her and Sharon was playing with her hair.
"Oh yeah, we need to shower first and maybe put on some clothes I didn't throw up and slept in for the past 24 hours." She started following him to a door marked decontamination shower. Well she said she wouldn't leave the garage. She got into the room when he hold the door and Sharon and Betty both followed her inside with the bag they had took from the car.
"Oh and Director." She said getting his attention again. "I want to know what happened to my people. All of them." she instead on that last part making sure Fury knew what she meant.
45 min later, showered, changed, hair and teeth brushed and Sharon little speech about how no one talk to Fury like that ever done with. She said good bye to Sharon, with a promise of girls' night, thanking her for coming to get her. She took a seat in a helicopter, with Betty beside her and Fury in the pilot seat, JARVIS was keeping her informed on the wellbeing of the team, apparently they were out for shawarmas, whatever that was so they should all be fine. Fury had provided her with a tablet and footages from the NY fight. He had explained to her in private where Jane was and what happened to Phil and she had cried on Betty's shoulder for 10 minutes before they had been able to get her to focus on seeing Clint and Tasha.