I have a legitimate reason for why this took so long. My choir teacher/play director, let's call her Mama C, her husband has just passed away and we've all been there to support her. So, if you guys could, keep Mama C in your thoughts because all things considered, her husband was still pretty young and honestly she is like a second mother to me and everyone in the plays and choir so...
That being said, I would also like to dedicate this chapter to David Bowie and Alan Rickman. Though this chapter has nothing to do with either of them, it's the thought that counts.
And, shout out to TostitoQueen. I've been reading her story Anomaly Mishap and it is amazing. Go read it, I demand you do so.
Disclaimer: I have Antman on DVD now, does that count? No...? Ok. I own nothing then. Except my OC's… which we finally see in this chapter… Yay.
.::. .::. .::.
Nick Fury blinked tiredly at his computer screen as he downed the remaining dregs of coffee at the bottom of his mug. Glancing at the clock on the stove, he shook his head.
"Two in the morning… Any sane man would call it a night." Then again, when have I ever claimed to be sane?
The former director scrolled through the video feeds a few more times before leaning back in his chair, exhausted. I'll never understand why she insists I do this. That woman has ten people who are actually willing to do it. And are paid to do it, at that.
He was about to call it a night when he saw a flash of red on the bottom right. Curious, he enlarged the video feed and rewinds it a bit. Fury watched a bit concerned as some man, whose face he couldn't see, shoot down an authorized personnel door. The man dashes inside, is gone for a few seconds before he runs back out. Fury hums thoughtfully as the man runs away, having been spotted.
What surprises him is when Wanda Maximoff starts to chase after him, but stops short to investigate the shattered door. Her hands glowing are the only source of light she has. She's saying something, but Fury has no audio feed to go by. She steps inside cautiously, and Fury hurries to find the correct video feed for the room. It takes about five minutes but he finds it.
She's glancing at a computer and she seems confused and a bit scared. Considering what Wanda Maximoff had gone through during the whole 'Ultron' mess, and the guaranteed strangeness she gets from dealing with Darcy Lewis on a daily basis, Fury considers that an impressive feat.
Speaking of Lewis, he glances to the mid-left of his laptop's screen and purses his lips in thought. Darcy is talking with Bucky Barnes and he seems to be giving her fighting tips. The two are laughing and talking and considering half the stuff Barnes has done, and the fact that he often questions Darcy's mental state, Fury isn't comforted by it.
Tapping his fingers together, Fury thinks for a moment before selecting the two video feeds. After rerouting the security feeds and looping footage, he deletes both videos he selected and hopes that she didn't see what he just did.
Of course, things don't always go how we want them, do they?
The light buzzing sounds coming from behind the laptop cause Fury to curse slightly. Reaching for his phone, his suspicions were confirmed. New message.
I saw that… -S.W.
Frowning, he replies: If you have people watching what I'm doing, why don't you cut out the middleman and watch everything by yourself?
It comforts me, knowing you actually pay attention to the important details. –S.W.
The important details, or the details you normally pay attention to?
Who was that girl? The one with the red, glowing hands, I mean. –S.W.
You told me that it was only crucial to observe Darcy Lewis's behavior at the moment.
I've seen that girl hanging around Darcy quite a bit. They seem close. That could be beneficial… -S.W.
Fury didn't expect any less from her. Always observing human behavior, always taking notes on interactions between a person and the obstacles of life, always seeing where it could benefit her. Not a horrible thing to do, but not a good thing either.
She's unstable.
She's grieving. –S.W.
She has no guaranteed control of her powers yet.
All the more reason she needs guidance. –S.W.
The same way Darcy Lewis needs guidance?
Perhaps not exactly the same… Darcy pays better attention to human interactions and notices things most people glance over. That other girl however, she seems curious… I like that. –S.W.
Curiosity killed the cat.
And satisfaction brought it back. –S.W. Fury could all but see the woman smirking.
What is your point exactly?
Curiosity is heavily associated with all aspects of human development, in which derives the process of learning and desire to acquire knowledge and skill. We, as a species, learn through curiosity. I need people who are curious enough to go looking for something when not given straight answers. –S.W.
Darcy and Wanda's behaviors might also be associated with Instant Gratification.
You and I both know that it isn't. –S.W.
Fury sighed. When she was right, she was right. It left a bit of an unpleasant taste in his mouth and an anxious feeling in his stomach, all the same. So what're you getting at really?
I'll overlook the deleting of footage this time around, but I want you to keep an eye on them. They're curious girls, the world needs more of them. –S.W.
You know, they aren't exactly the sanest of minds. Once he sent the message, Fury paused and then sent another one as an afterthought. Or the most conventional of thinkers.
He could practically sense the woman smirking when he received her reply. All the better. –S.W.
He may have won have many battles, but this is one of the few Fury would ever admit to losing.
.::. .::. .::.
The older figure glanced at the picture on his desk. One he had kept since his college days. It was of him and his best friend at the time. And the woman he utterly adored.
"Dennis Hix has reported back. As of May 22, 2015 at exactly 12:13:04 AM, Project Infinity is in place." The younger figure smiled. The figure tapped a few icons on her tablet and then turned it to show the older figure. "Looks like S.H.I.E.L.D isn't the only one getting a head start…"
The older figure raised a brow. "They've started looking for the Infinity Stones?"
"Mhmm. As of May 19 they've begun the hunt. That's around the time our sensors detected a type of cosmic radiation that seems to announce the Asgardians departures and arrivals." The younger figured rolled their eyes. "So, S.H.I.E.L.D and the rest of the Avengers are apparently wrapped around Asgard's thumb. Always a plus…" The last bit was drawled out sarcastically as the younger figure dropped the tablet into the older one's lap.
"Hmm," The older figure frowned thoughtfully, "did anyone spot Dennis Hix?"
"Our camera feeds say no but we've got some vocal detectors that say otherwise. We're looking into it."
"Project D-12?"
"We've been trying to increase the potency but without anyone to test it on, we're uncertain of how well it will work."
"And what about our friends out west. How's the Pym Particle coming along?"
"We have plenty of time. Cross can't seem to get his head out of his ass quick enough to do anything about it. All eyes are on us…"
The older figure smirked. "Well… I think it's about time S.H.I.E.L.D meets their newest benefactor, don't you?" The younger figure smirked back in response. For once, something was actually going according to plan.
Now all they had to do was keep it that way.
.::. .::. .::.
"Darcy was right, he packs a punch." Wanda sighed, pressing the ice pack to her cheek. That morning, during training, Dennis had insisted he be Wanda's partner for the day (much to Darcy and Vision's confusion). Of course, Wanda had tried to refuse, but he was very insistent—and a touch intimidating when he needed to be.
Wanda knew he was only doing this as a warning. What she had seen last night solidified that, of course, she didn't know what she saw exactly. She just knew Dennis had installed something called 'Project Infinity' onto one computer.
Whatever it was, it was important enough to him to give her a warning/beating. She had never felt this sore since she left HYDRA.
Vision frowned sympathetically. "It does seem rather odd of him to train so… intensely with you and Darcy in the same week."
"With Darcy, he was just being a dick. With me… well,"
"Wanda, is there something you're not telling me or Darcy?"
The witch glanced at the ground awkwardly. She had tried to tell Darcy earlier that day, but she had left already. She also tried to tell Vision, but Dennis had dragged her away before she could. Now she had a bruised face, split lip, and sore muscles. Wonderful day, really.
"Wanda, is everything alright? You seem worried." Bless Vision, always so concerned about her and everyone else's well-being. There needed to be more people like him in the world.
Glancing around, Wanda leaned in close and whispered "I saw something last night."
"And over to the left is the training area. Well, the agent training area. The Avengers have their own." Maria Hill's voice carried down from the hallway, startling the two Avengers.
"Fascinating," a new, male voice observed, "and it took you guys how long to build all of this?"
"Technically, we were just adding on to it. But it took us roughly two weeks. Oh, here are a couple Avengers now." Maria smiled as she approached Wanda and Vision.
"Ms. Maximoff, Vision, I'd like you to meet Charles Hix and Trisha Hix, his daughter. They run Hix Industries in Chicago." Maria gestured to an older man with brown hair and beard, deep blue eyes and a young girl with blonde hair pulled into a bun atop her head (not one hair out of place, Wanda noticed) and a pristine white lab coat.
"It's an honor to meet you," Trisha beamed. Holding out her hand for them to shake. Wanda didn't mean too, really she didn't, sometimes people's thoughts were just too loud. You couldn't help but hear them.
She was able to hear Trisha's wonderment of the place, awe of meeting her and Vision, and a sort of scientific curiosity that she only ever had seen in Jane before. Wanda smiled a bit, despite the bag of ice she was pressing to her cheek. "It's nice to meet you as well."
Vision extended his hand to Hix. "My name is Vision, nice to meet you."
Instead of shaking the android's hand, Hix placed a business card in his hand. As Vision glanced at it, confused, Hix smirked. "Pleasure to meet you as well, Vision. My business number is on there, you should give me a call sometime. I've heard about your abilities and I'm interested to see how they work."
As Trisha sent her father a warning look, Wanda glanced at him. Admittedly, Wanda was curious, but she had promised Vision, Darcy, the other Avengers, and basically S.H.I.E.L.D that she wouldn't look inside a person's head without permission.
But again, sometimes a person's thoughts are just too loud not to hear.
By listening for a total of fifteen seconds, Wanda realized that Hix was slightly unstable. There was this obsession with the mind, control and some woman named Elisa Foft.
"So, what brings you both to S.H.I.E.L.D?" Vision asked, crumbling the business card in his hand in a rather discrete manner.
"Hix Industries is our new weapons benefactor." Maria supplied politely.
"Weapons benefactor?" Wanda questioned. "Isn't that what Stark is?"
Hix chuckled. "Stark builds toy soldiers, I build the future." Vision and Wanda exchanged unimpressed glances. If I had a nickel for everytime I heard that.
"We've been working on a few new projects." Trisha added, grinning happily. "Daddy thinks there the next big thing in modern warfare."
"What is it?" Wanda asked.
Hix smiled somewhat secretively at the two Avengers. "Imagine, a perfect army. One without the flaws of humanity."
"Oh, like machines?" Vision questioned.
"No. Ultron was a machine."
"So… more androids?"
"Not exactly. My plan is to create a serum. One that can finally perfect humanity." Hix smiled wistfully as a glint appeared in his eyes. "Imagine it; a soldier bravely charging into battle because he feels no fear, a sniper never missing a shot because there are no emotions to cloud his thinking… just pure perfection at its finest."
Wanda frowned. "Um… but what about the soldier and sniper themselves? Wouldn't this serum take away their freedom as an individual person?"
"It wouldn't last forever." Trisha explained. "Just long enough for them to get the job done, and then they'd be back to normal."
Wanda still isn't satisfied with the answer. In fact, she feels downright disturbed. What Hix is talking about is taking away a person's individual freedom. Their right to think and act of their own will. This serum sounds like someone sitting behind a screen and punching in a bunch of commands for the soldiers to perform like an army of mindless robots.
A low buzzing makes them all jump a bit. Maria frowns and digs her phone out of her pocket. After glancing at it a minute, she stuffs it back into her pocket again. "There's an issue in Sector 3. Minor issue, but I'm sorry Mr. Hix, I'm going to have to cut the tour short."
"Oh that's quite alright." Trisha says in place of her father. "This was just a business meeting after all." The woman brings out her own phone and frowns. "Besides, the experimental serums aren't due to arrive for another few days. We'll just come back then…"
"Or," Hix speaks up, "perhaps there is someone else who could continue the tour?"
Maria nods and then glances at the two Avengers. "Would one of you like to continue the tour? There is an Avengers' meeting going on right now but I can tell Steve you guys were doing me a favor."
Once again (accidentally!) hearing Hix's thoughts take a rather disturbing turn, Wanda spoke up. "I can show them around."
Vision frowned worriedly. "Are you sure? You did sustain a rather… significant injury…"
Remembering the Ice Pack pressed against her cheek, Wanda blushed, a bit embarrassed. But nodded her head. "I'll be fine."
Handing the Ice Pack to the android, the witch felt her face grow hotter when Hix and Maria winced at her bruises and Trisha shook her head sympathetically, saying "That's going to hurt in the morning."
Wanda shifted from one foot to another, awkwardly. "I was not allowed to use my powers, alright? Let's start the rest of the tour. I'll catch up with you later, Vizh."
The android, though reluctant to leave his friend, nods and follows Maria as she walks away. Once Wanda has led Hix and Trisha through the training area, cafeteria, and has shown them Dr. Cho's lab (read: lab door), Trisha shyly asks "Um… how did you get that bruise, if you don't mind me asking?"
"Training. The guy as a good swing on him."
.::. .::. .::.
"Maybe if we find a way to strengthen the amygdala…?" Ian tiredly suggested.
"Um… that might work, but are we sure it deals with long-term memory? Cause that's what we're dealing with…" Darcy says, blinking sleepily at her notes.
"Why did you and Wanda agree to do this again?" Ian has now rested his head on the desk, looking close to sleep. Darcy can't say she isn't far behind.
"We got Stark'd."
"I am so sorry."
"So are we…"
She and Ian have been up since seven-thirty in the mourning trying to figure out the neurological recognizer. True, Darcy had to leave for her training earlier that day, but that didn't mean she was any less exhausted than Ian was. She had given him permission to go back to the apartment and get some sleep, but either he didn't nap or it wasn't a very restful sleep.
"Ian, Ian, babe, focus." Darcy gently shakes his shoulder and, with a groan that she can sympathize with, Ian lifts his head off the desk. "Ok, what we really need to do is focus on how a memory gets from one place to another and somehow… I dunno, strengthen it, I guess?"
"What you might want to look into are the neural pathways." A new, high and somewhat raspy voice announced. Darcy and Ian turned to find a pretty, short-brown haired girl in a tight purple David Bowie t-shirt, and three earrings in her right ear leaning against the far wall. "If you can find a way to strengthen them, then the passage of memories should be safe.
Ian was looking at the girl, wide-eyed, when Darcy smiled politely. "Hi… Um, thanks for the suggestion but, who are you?"
The girl smirked and practically waltzed over to where Darcy was, offering her hand for the brunette to shake. "I'm Rosie Hernandez. My boss—well, my boss and his daughter who is basically my other boss—are visiting here today. I was supposed to stay with them, but I got bored and started to wander."
"Who're your bosses?" Darcy asks, starting to feel a bit angry at how blatantly Ian is checking this girl out right in front of her.
"Charles and Trisha Hix, from Hix Industries." Upon noticing the blank look Darcy gave her, Rosie sighed. "They haven't exactly been in the media for the past two… three… fifteen years."
"What does Hix Industries do, exactly?"
"You want the brochure answer or the truthful answer?"
"Is there a difference?"
"Brochure answer: Hix Industries specializes in computer based technology that will take mankind to the next level and help America get out of the Middle East. Truthful Answer: Hix Industries wants to see how close they can get humanity to resemble robots without actually dipping them in a bat of molted metal and installing flash drives in their brains."
Darcy cracks a tired, yet amused smile. "I'm sensing you don't like your job. Understandable, two-thirds of us in this room are Americans."
Rosie's smirk was quickly replaced by a scowl. "It's not that I—a woman with two PhD's in neurology and psychology—resent my job as a secretary. It's more like I have a strong, passionate dislike for the unstable, obsessive man I work for."
Darcy was taken aback. She glanced at Ian, just as taken back by the venom in Rosie's words as his girlfriend was. "Oh… ok…"
Rosie huffed out a breath before glancing at Darcy's notebook curiously. "So, what's with all the brain and memory talk?"
"Oh, I and my friend, Wanda, have sort of taken on this project a friend of ours started." Darcy shrugged. "Ian was just helping me."
"Yeah," Ian smiles a bit too enthusiastically for Darcy's liking as he makes his way over to Rosie, "It's a pretty big deal, this experiment that we're doing here…" Ian blushes stupidly as Rosie raises a brow.
Darcy smiles at him threateningly. "Yeah. Ian, my boyfriend, was helping me."
Ian just seemed to remember the whole 'boyfriend' thing himself, and thus sheepishly smiled at Rosie before backing away a couple steps. Though, he seemed to only do so out of fear of Darcy's wrath.
Rosie smiled at Ian, if the woman was flirting with him, Darcy couldn't tell, and made her way over to the desk and gestured to the notebook. "May I? The project fascinates me."
Darcy raises a brow. "I'm not sure."
"Oh, let her, love. What harm could it do?" Darcy want to scream at Ian but settles for glaring at him as she reluctantly hands over the notebook. Rosie flips through the first few pages (complimenting the artist of the little BMO drawings on the side—Darcy makes a mental note to tell Wanda about the whole ordeal) and hums thoughtfully, face hard to read.
When the woman pauses on a certain page, looking thoroughly surprised, Darcy starts to get worried. However, Rosie's next words throw both her and Ian for a loop. "Y'know, Hix is working on something similar to this at the moment."
Darcy blinks at the woman, surprised. "He's what now?"
"Yeah. He and someone else are doing it personally." Rosie hands the notebook back to Darcy, shrugging. "He keeps saying that it will improve modern warfare, personally, I think he's bluffing."
Ian glances at the notebook before fixing Darcy with a curious look. "I thought Tony told you and Wanda this was something entirely new, something Bruce hadn't even told S.H.I.E.L.D."
"I… I thought it was…" Darcy stared at her notebook. Was what Rosie saying true? Had she and Wanda just wasted two weeks on something that a company had been working on for God-knows-how many years?
"It's not exactly the same." Rosie said after a while. "Same basic idea and principle, different purpose and function."
The two others in the room glanced at Rosie, confused. "Different purpose and function? What's that supposed to mean?"
Rosie narrowed her eyes at them warily, as if she suddenly couldn't trust them. Darcy found this a bit odd, considering she was the one who waltzed in and asked to look at her notebook.
Finally, after about two minutes of silent debating, Rosie asked "You guys know anything about Hix?"
"Apart from the stuff you just told us… no." Ian shook his head. And even that seemed like faulty information, he thought.
Glancing at the clock, Rosie sighed. "I've gotta go catch up with Hix. As much as I hate him and everything he stands for and everything he does to get what he wants, he's my ride home." She reached over and grabbed an unused sheet of paper and pen and scribbled something down. "You two should skype me sometime, like, maybe tomorrow? I've put my email address, Gmail address, skype name, all that good stuff basically. I've got some information you might be interested in."
After Rosie handed Ian her information, she practically sashayed out the room.
Darcy glared at her retreating form suspiciously. There's just something about that girl I don't trust…
"Hey, that girl seem off to you?"
Ian glanced at the information sheet, intrigued, before shaking his head. "No, not really."
.::. .::. .::.
Loki looked at his reflection on the elevator's glass. The metal is not glass, it is not a mirror, and so his reflection looks a bit hazy, blurred.
They're sending him back to the vibranium mine. He couldn't get all of it before his magic was drained the other day. Joy…
The elevator door opens and the guards behind him and on his sides start to move before he does. Loki bites the inside of his cheek to hold back the snarl building up in his throat. The car they use to usher him to and fro outside the base comes into view. The urge to roll his eyes is great, yet through the great self-restraint he is known for, Loki resists the urge.
Loki was shoved into the car, swallowing the growl as he sat down, and waited for Darcy Lewis to appear. He didn't have to wait long, apparently. The God didn't see her coming, no. He heard an older male voice call out "Elisa!" and mere curiosity made him glance out the window.
Darcy Lewis stood a few feet away from the car, glancing around in surprise before glancing behind her when the voice called out "Elisa Foft, is that you?"
A man with brown hair and beard all but sprinted up to Darcy and skidded to a stop and into her personal space. The girl stepped back, surprised. The man, a bit older than some of the people Loki had seen around here, was panting when he looked up at her again. He seemed almost disappointed when he said "You're not Elisa Foft… are you?"
Darcy shook her head, Loki was a bit surprised himself that Darcy Lewis knew who the man was referring too. "That seems pretty impossible… for a number of reasons actually."
"You look so much like her… The hair, the nose, the mouth, the walk… Not the eyes though…"
Blushing, embarrassed, the girl took a step-back as she laughed uncertainly. "Yeah, that's what everyone says. 'Look like my mom, but got my dad's eyes' and all…"
The older man balks and raises a somewhat shaky finger at Darcy. "You… You're Elisa Foft's daughter?"
Darcy eyes him and nods slowly. "Yeah, her youngest."
"Youngest?"
"I have an older brother…"
The man looks shocked and a bit… anguished as Wanda Maximoff and a young, blonde girl who bared some resemblance to the older man run up to his side. "Mr. Hix, you shouldn't run off like that. But I am impressed… Even I can't run that fast." Wanda Maximoff huffs out a breath, nodding 'hello' to Darcy Lewis.
"Daddy, what was that all about?"
"I thought I saw…" Mr. Hix glances at his daughter and, noticing her questioning look, shakes his head. "Never mind."
"Wait," Darcy starts, "you're Charles Hix?" The man nods and Darcy turns to the blonde. "And you're Trisha Hix?"
"Yeah, how'd you guess?"
"I, uh, ran into your secretary on the way here. She was telling me what unrecognized geniuses you guys were and all that shit…" Loki raises a brow. She lied. Why would she lie?
"Oh, you ran into Ms. Hernandez," Mr. Hix suddenly seems uninterested in the conversation.
Wanda frowns at the man, before gesturing tiredly to Darcy. "Mr. and Miss Hix, this is Darcy Lewis. She's the Avenger's assistant of sorts."
Mr. Hix, once uninterested, now seems shocked and anguished all over again, and Loki notices a sort of tenseness in his jaw that suggests a kind of anger. "Lewis?" He questions Darcy harshly.
Surprised, she nods.
"As in… Devin Lewis?"
Darcy's eyes grow to a comically large size. "You knew both of my parents?!"
Trisha laughs nervously, trying to break the ice. "Small world, huh?"
"We went to college together." Hix says, sizing her up. "How is your mother these days?"
Darcy and Wanda exchange quick glances before Darcy actually answers. "Good… She owns a bakery and helps out with the High School Drama department."
"That's good… And your father?"
A slight shadow crosses her face and sky-blue eyes hardened to cold steel as she replies. "Dead."
Hix, for what it's worth, seems surprised… But also, strangely enough, relieved. "Oh, is he?"
"Yeah… It was a while ago, so…"
"How long ago?"
Darcy's face turns red in anger just as Trisha steps in between her father and the girl. "Ok, well. It was very nice to meet you Miss Lewis. I'm sure Miss Maximoff will fill you in on the details of what all this is later, but…" Trisha glances nervously at Wanda, who merely buries her face into her hand and mumbles something in her native tongue that Loki can only assumes means she is embarassed. The blonde glares reproaching at her father, grinding out "We need to go find Rosie. Our flight leaves soon. Miss Maximoff, could you please show us back to the main building?"
"Yes!" Wanda covers up her hasty answer with a cough, wanting to get away from the awkward situation as quick as possible. "I'll see you later, Darcy."
Darcy nods and makes a sound of approval as she slowly backs away from the three. Or, more specifically, Hix's odd, unabashed stare.
All but launching into the car, Darcy quickly buckles up and signals to the driver to go. Loki leans back and watches the odd, little mortal girl as her face suddenly twist into one of confusion and she glances back, staring at the retreating form of Wanda Maximoff and Charles and Trisha Hix.
Once out of the garage, Darcy slinks into her seat and sighs heavily. Glancing up at him, she frowns. "You heard and saw the whole thing, didn't you?"
"I did," Loki answers truthfully.
"And did you find that Hix guy creepy, or was it just me?"
Loki offers no answer, merely stares out the window. But as she reluctantly goes to her beloved portable for entertainment, he thinks He did seem a tad off, to say the least.
.::. .::. .::.
Short chapter is short but it's here!
Ok, won't be able to update for a couple more weeks because of mid-terms and spring musical stuff. But I'll try!
Ok, hope you guys enjoy, review, and I'll see you later!