Memory Bingo
Bucky was half asleep on the couch he’d finally managed to crash on at 10am on a Monday morning when JARVIS let off a loud ‘bing’ and informed him that his continuous observation of CCTV footage had yielded some results. Sighing with relief, Bucky called for Sam before telling JARVIS to project what he’d found up on the wall.
He let out a breath that he hadn’t been aware he’d been holding when she danced into view, moving about gracefully and laughing at something someone who was just out of view of the camera had said. She was wearing a long sleeved button up shirt that definitely didn’t belong to her, and Bucky didn’t even flinch when Sam laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“She’s alive, man. That’s a good sign,” He said, patting comfortingly once before jumping over the back of the couch and watching himself.
The man she was with finally came into view a few moments later as they entered a new aisle, and another trailed a few minutes later, shaking his head at their antics. Suddenly, Darcy’s whole face lit up and she did the funny little excited dance Bucky had grown to love before throwing herself on the first man for a hug. He was clearly well versed in avoiding cameras, because neither he, nor the other man had shown their faces once yet.
“She looks… happy,” Bucky stated, ignoring the way his voice broke on the last word as he watched her be swung around by the tall man in a trenchcoat whose figure looked vaguely familiar.
Just as he was about to ask JARVIS to turn off the footage, the man dropped her to the floor, and all three turned to the door in unison, dropping into protective stances. Moments later, the girl from the original footage in Hungary appeared. Whatever she said clearly angered Darcy, as she made a flicking motion at the men trying to creep up behind her and sent them flying into nearby walls before flopping lifelessly to the floor. He watched helplessly as the girl who he had since learnt was called Wanda(Codename: Scarlet Witch) took a step forwards, and the camera shorted out.
“Jarvis, buddy, can I get you to bring up footage surrounding the area?” Sam asked after a minute of tense silence broken only by the increasingly frequent whirring of James’ arm.
“I am afraid whatever interfered with the camera in the store also compromised surrounding electronics, Mr. Wilson,” JARVIS replied, Bucky thought that if he was human, that would have almost sounded apologetic. Grunting quietly, he pushed off the couch and shook his head.
“Not whatever,” he countered, “Whoever. She has powers now right? She probably shorted them out because she doesn’t want us looking for her,” Before Sam could reply, the tone that announced the Avengers were inbound after a mission sounded, and Bucky gave a grim smile before heading up to the hangar to meet with Maria and greet the team.
---------------
When he arrived upstairs, Thor was carrying the scepter, Tony was slowing twirling in his pilot seat, Bruce was huddled in the corner looking haunted, Steve was talking quietly with Maria, and Natasha and Clint were glowering at the small man who was sitting with his hands tied together crudely. Raising his eyebrows at the unexpected cargo, he turned to Steve for an explanation.
“Bucky, meet the director of Project X,” he said in lieu of a greeting, sweeping his arm grandly towards the glowering man, “He’s graciously agreed to come back here and answer any questions you might have about his involvement in the kidnapping of Darcy,”
“I shall never talk!” the man cried, obviously going for the cyanide filled tooth all Hydra minions kept in their mouths, only to stop and make a confused face when all he found was empty gums. Smiling grimly, Clint help up a small white tooth and raised an eyebrow at the man.
“Looking for this?” he asked innocently, and when the man reared up with a snarl, Natasha planted her boot firmly on his back and knocked him back to the floor.
“So predictable,” he sighed, and shook his head as if disappointed before looking at Bucky again.
“You want the first crack at him?” He asked with a shit-eating grin grin. As he nodded, Bucky felt the first fluttering sign of hope in his gut in months.
-----------------
Twenty minutes later, Bucky had changed into his working clothes (Things he wouldn’t mind getting a little blood on), and was sitting across the table from the man while Natasha hovered imposingly in the doorway. Tony breezed past them as he was shuffling some papers on the metal table and stuck his head in.
“Don’t forget we have the party tonight,” He reminded them with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, “So no bloodstains that you can’t wash out before then,” at this, he gave Natasha a pointed look before flouncing back out the door and up to his lab.
Finally turning his attention to the man in front of him, Bucky began reading off the papers he’d been brought. The man’s face slowly drained of color as Bucky listed all of his known aliases, bases where he worked, living family members, and property portfolio. When he’d finished, Bucky turned ice cold eyes on him and stared.
“Basically,” he said, “What I’m saying is; if you don’t cooperate, I’m going to make your life a living hell. You are going to wish you’d never crawled out of whatever hole you came from. And I am going to enjoy it,”
Letting out an overdramatic sigh, the man slumped in his seat and looked up at him.
“Very vell, Mister Barnes, you have me exactly vhere you vant. What shall you ask first?” Bucky had a bad feeling about the glint in the smaller man’s eyes, but leant forwards and snarled his question into his face anyway.
“Where the fuck is Darcy?” The man let out a short, startled laugh, before shaking his head in amusement.
“Ah yes, Darcy Lewis. My favourite pet monster,” he said jovially, and Bucky couldn’t help the knee-jerk reaction he had to stand up and drag the other man to his feet.
“Don’t call her that,” he growled, and the Baron pet his hands placatingly for a minute for he dropped him back into his seat.
“Ah yes,” he said smugly, straightening his tie and looking like the cat that ate the canary. “I almost forgot. Ze Vinter Soldier and Ze Ice Princess. You two are like a harlequin novel. Ze kind my vife used to read,” he leaned forwards and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper, “Before I killed her, of course. I don’t imagine she reads much of anything, nowadays,” He heard Natasha shift behind him, and he knew, without a doubt, that she had pulled out one of her impressively large hunting knives and was using it to clean her nails.
“I can see ze cover now: In a fight, they’re lethal… But around eachozher, zey melt,” Bucky leant forwards and got right in his face before flicking a knife of his own from his belt and planting it firmly in the metal table between the Baron’s hands.
“If you don’t shut the fuck up, the next one’s goin’ in your hand,” he told him dangerously before yanking the weapon back out and sitting back. The Baron stared at the now gaping hole in the sturdy table for a moment before returning his gaze to Bucky’s.
“If it is any consolation, I have been told zat she remembered you long after she forgot herself,” he said, eyes taking in every movement as Bucky fought to not flinch visibly.
“What,” he took a moment to compose himself before continuing, “Does that even mean?” he asked, and he felt fairly certain that if it weren’t for the stabilizing agent in his serum, his blood pressure would be through the roof.
“Oh,” the Baron scoffed and waved a hand as carelessly as he could while he was chained to the table. “Darcy Lewis? She is no more. Even if you do find her, and zat is a big if. She will look upon you and know you only as a name. Not as a memory. Not as a feeling. You vill be nothing in her eyes,” Grinning wide, he spread his arms as wide as they would go. “Ze girl is gone, and only ze monster remains,” he sing songed, letting out a manic giggle, he tilted his head and studied Bucky. “I imagine you know a little about zat, Mister Barnes,”
Letting out a feral snarl, Bucky lunged across the table and picked the Baron up by his throat. He ignored Natasha’s calmly worded warnings as he tightened the grip he had bit by bit, watching at the man’s eyes went wide and his face went purple. He only let go when Natasha did a complicated chopping motion with her hand that left his fingers slack and his rage unsatisfied.
“Fuck off Tasha,” he warned, not taking his eyes off of the now cowering man.
“If you kill him now, we’ll never get any intel on Darcy,” She reminded him in that infuriatingly calm monotone.
“You heard him!” He exploded, throwing the chair clean across the room. “She’s gone,” he choked out.
“And you are going to give up, just like that?” She asked, giving him a disapproving stare. “You are going to give up on the girl who followed you to hell and back without complaint? Who pulled you back from the edge you were stumbling along with no regard for your own sanity? You are going to give up on the girl who changed who she was to save you?” At his sullen silence, she nodded briefly before shoving him towards the door.
“I didn’t think so, now go. This will be over faster if I do the…” pausing, she gave the now cowering man a predatory smile, “talking,”
A Crappy Motel (Again) - Long Island - August 2014
“So - not that I’m not like, digging this whole illicit affair vibe we’ve got going in this dodgy motel, but do you guys have a plan?” Darcy asked curiously, hanging upside down from her perch on the bed in the aforementioned dingy motel room.
“A plan?” Remy replied, giving her an amused smile as she absent mindedly used her powers to slowly rearrange the furniture.
“A plan,” she affirmed, “You know that thing that happens when your head brain thinks about actionable things that aren’t entirely stupid and you form them into a semi coherent structure and carry them out - preferably in a way that avoids bodily harm,”
“Ah,” he replied with a cheeky grin, “As it so happens, chére, I do have one of those,”
Ceasing her re-decoration of the place, Darcy sat up and gave him an interested smile.
“Well?” she prompted, doing her best ‘I’m listening’ face, “Do share with the class, LeBeau”
"Do you remember hearing of a man by the name of Charles Xavier?" He asked before dodging the pillow she lobbed in his direction.
"That joke got old the first time you told it," she retorted shortly, flipping him off when he let out a loud laugh.
"Believe it or not," he chortled, "That one was an accident," When her only response was to roll her eyes and scoop Luke Skywalker onto her stomach, he continued on with his idea.
"As I was saying before my hilarious word choice got in the way," he said, "Charles Xavier is a freak like us, or as he likes to say - a mutant,"
"He calls himself a mutant?" Darcy asked incredulously, screwing up her nose, "God, that's grim," Instead of replying to her outburst, he studiously ignored her and continued on.
"Anyway, he's a telekinetic," at the unenthusiastic silence that met his grand statement, he grabbed his staff and poked her in the side. "Hello? Telekentik? As in he can fix the mashed porridge that is your brain?" Screwing her nose up at him and knocking his stick across the room Darcy rolled off the bed and began pacing.
"Call me crazy," she said tersely, pushing her hands through her hair, "but I'm not exactly thrilled by the idea of having another person rummaging around in my head. It's getting kinda crowded in there as it is,"
"Trust me," Logan piped up from where he'd been reading an old western in the corner of the room, "If you're going to have anyone messing around in your head - he's the guy you want," When his statement was met with more reluctant silence, he got up and grabbed her by the shoulders, staring into her eyes.
"Do you want what they took from you?" He asked her seriously, and when she sighed loudly and nodded, he gave her a feral grin.
"Well Bub, let's go get it back,"
---------------
"Remind me again why we're in a Walmart right now," Logan groused from his place behind Darcy and Remy as they flounced through the store, throwing everything they could reach into their baskets.
"Because if I have to go anywhere with you in that death trap you call a car, then I need snacks," Darcy called back with a grin, "Also, we need to buy you shirts that actually fit,"
"My shirts fit," he rumbled from behind her and she turned to Remy with a knowing smirk and a snort.
"A six year old, maybe," she taunted, and when she saw the overgrown man make a pouty face at her she let out a loud laugh. "Oh come on Wolverine, cheer up!"
"I swear to god Bub," he grunted in annoyance, "if you call me that one more time I'm going to take my goddamn death trap of a truck and leave you behind," Nudging Remy in the side, Darcy rolled her eyes dramatically.
"Actual child James Howlett, everybody," she said loudly before freezing in place as she was hit with a powerful memory.
"Holy shit," she whispered, before turning to Remy and letting out an excited squeal. "I remember his name! Remy! The man with the metal arm is James!"
"You remember? Chére! That is incredible!" He exclaimed, swinging her around when she jumped into his arms. She couldn't remember the last time she was so excited that she actually felt the need to be tactile with another person, but she sure as hell hoped she would soon.
Just as she was about to hug the cause of her revelation - actual child James Howlett - who was currently crossing his arms and obviously trying very hard to look entirely unaffected, the windows in the front of the store shattered. Groaning loudly, Darcy turned to the people storming through the shattered space and snarled.
"You see," Remy quipped casually as he unsheathed a glowing knife from under his coat, "This is why we can't have nice things,"
“Darcy,” Wanda said calmly from where she was standing amongst the rubble, and wasn’t that a fantastic metaphor for everything Darcy saw in the other woman, “It’s time for you to come home,”
“Oh?” Darcy asked, a deadly calm in her voice, “That’s odd - ‘cause according to my watch, it’s time for you to go fuck yourself,” Wanda’s carefree laughter seemed to fill up the space as her eyes flickered from person to person.
“Little dove,” she mocked, “Do you really think you can beat me? What is it you americans say? Do not bite the hand that feeds you?”
“Unfortunately for you,” Darcy began, dashing the men who had been sneaking up from behind into a wall with a flick of her wrist, “This monster just learnt how to feed herself,”
The air was alive with static electricity as her anger rolled over her in waves, and even Remy took a step back as the room almost seemed to waver.
“Darcy,” Wanda barked out sharply as the man to her left fell in a lifeless heap with his neck twisted at a sickening angle, “Stop this. Now!” Letting out a slightly hysterical laugh, Darcy took out another man.
“I think it is adorable how you think you have the right to order me around like some kind of twisted mother hen,” she snarled, “I’m not your kid. I’m not your family. Hell, I’m not even your friend,”
“Don’t say that. Don’t you say that,” the other girls broke as she spoke, and for the first time, Darcy flinched away slightly. “I protected you. I looked out for you! You don’t understand Darcy, I had to. It was the only way. And now you have to come with us, or they will make me hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you - don’t, don’t make me hurt you,” her voice came out as a broken whisper as she walked forwards slowly, ignoring the way Remy and Logan were warily eyeing off the ever growing number of soldiers filling the area. “Darcy. You are family. You are my sister - and I do not want anything bad to happen to you because you picked the wrong side. All Hydra wants to do is eradicate the liars who say they are protecting us. They aren’t. They’re monsters too - just like the rest of us,”
“You poor idiot,” Darcy said quietly, staring into the flickering red irises of the other girl, “You picked the wrong side. And you can tell your bosses that they fucked with the wrong girl,” As soon as she finished speaking, the soldiers outside seemed to decide they were sick of waiting for Wanda to talk her down and launched a cannister inside that was leaking a strange coloured gas. Before she could react Logan had kicked it back outside and was yanking her backwards by her shirt.
“Get in the car!” he yelled, and she spared one glance for the basket of goods they were leaving behind before diving headfirst into the backseat and covering Luke’s cage with her body as Remy screamed out of the parking lot.
Logan was leaning out one window with an impressively impractical shotgun as they sped down the deserted road and towards the highway. He paused in his shooting for a moment to pull a gun from somewhere unseen and throw it at her.
“Help me get rid of this tail, dammit!” He yelled, and she glanced frantically from her hand to the car behind them. Just as she was leaning out the window to send a blast of electricity at the Remy let out a sharp ‘No!’
“We’re literally sitting in a heap of metal - Do not electrocute us all right now,” he yelled back and she let out an exasperated scream.
“I’ve never used a gun before!” she yelled back, and both of the men rolled their eyes in unison before yelling back.
“Yes you have,” Remy screamed.
“Just point and shoot,” Logan ground out from where he was reloading his own weapon.
Sighing loudly, Darcy glanced between them one last time before levering herself out the window.
“Alright,” she conceded, “I’ll try, but if I catastrophically fuck this up, its on you,”
“Shoot!” Squeezing both of her eyes shut, she let off a few wild rounds before opening her eyes and narrowing in on the front tyres. Letting off another two quick shots, the car seemed to pause for a second before doing an impressive front flip and landing on its roof. Looking over at Logan across the roof she gave a broad grin.
“Holy shit. I can shoot,” As she threw herself back into the car, she was suddenly hit with a powerful memory.
She was sitting on the window ledge of a small hatchback as they sped along a country road.
“Dammit Darcy! Take the shot!” Bucky yelled, and she could feel her face spreading into a huge grin and she slung a bazooka onto one shoulder.
“Patience, my little cinnamon roll,” she taunted, and she could almost hear his grunt of annoyance over the whistling wind.
“Oh my God! Stop calling me that!” As the grin continued to spread, she finally took the shot and blew the car up that had been trailing them. Flopping back into the car she turned in her seat and smiled at him.
“But you’re so sweet and delicious,” she said innocently, ignoring the way he gave her the finger and zeroing in on the upwards twitch of his lips.
Chuckling quietly, Darcy repeated the words to herself, liking the way they sounded the same as they did in the memory. Noticing the quizzical glance Logan was giving her, she shrugged again, pulling Luke out of his cage and placed him on her shoulder.
“Nothing, just remembered something funny,” she said quietly, before turning to look out the window as the countryside around them changed into lush greenery.
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A little over an hour later, Remy pulled into a long gravel drive. Noticing a sign hanging on the grand entrance, Darcy read it aloud.
“Charles Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters,” She thought that over a moment before snorting with laughter. “Youngsters? Who even says that?!”
“British people,” Logan replied shortly from where he was stoically gazing ahead.
“Ah,” she replied, moving smoothly as to not jostle Luke Skywalker, she jumped down from the truck and turned to the other two. “Well, lets go meet the old chap then,” when her statement was met with silence, she glanced at them out of the side of her eye. “No? Okay,”
Out of all of the things Darcy was expecting to see as the double doors swung open, three young and incredibly attractive people screaming at each other while one of the men held the other at gunpoint was not one of them. A young woman who was entirely blue and looked like she’d rather be literally anywhere else was glaring at a man with glasses, who was clearly very angry at the man with the gun. From her side, Remy let out a startled curse.
“Weren’t you seventy and in a wheelchair last time I saw you?” he asked loudly enough to stop the yelling and find himself pinned to the door with the blue woman's foot on his neck.
“Raven, looking wonderful as always,” he choked out, and she snarled prettily at him before drawing two guns and pointing them at Logan and Darcy without moving.
Letting out a put upon sigh, the man with glasses shook his head wearily.
“I’m afraid it’s a rather long story, and you seem to have caught me at a bad time. Perhaps you could try again later?” Letting out a bemused snort, Darcy turned to Logan and raised one eyebrow.
“Is that the one who’ going to help me get my memories back?” She asked authoritatively, and she could feel Luke Skywalker puffing up as he hissed angrily at the girl daring the point at gun at his human. At his nod, she tilted her head to the side for a moment, seeming to consider the situation before replying. “Ok,” she said curtly, before concentrating and using her powers to pick up Magneto and Raven and take their guns away.
Ignoring their outraged screams, she forced them to be still and quiet. When she had them both floating a foot off of the ground in front of her, she was momentarily glad looks couldn’t kill.
“Hi,” she began, ignoring the wondering stare of the man who she assumed had to be Charles, “Yes, ok? Do I have your undivided attention?” A strangled scream escaped the blue one, and she nodded again. “Excellent,” she said succinctly. “So you see, Hydra - the evil little fucks, stole my life, and all of my memories. So right now, I literally cannot remember ever being loved - by anyone. Or what it feels like to love. Or even what actual real fucking freedom feels like. And I really fucking want to go home - only I have no idea where that is, or who its with,” At this, the man stopped struggling, and gave a slight nod at her to continue. “So here’s the thing. You’re going to shelve whatever the fuck it is you have going on here, I’m going to get my life back, and then, you may resume whatever weirdo fucking foreplay you people have going. Okay? Any questions?” When she finally released her hold on them, the man looked up at her with a charming grin and made a flouring gesture towards Charles.
“Be my guest, far be it for me to stand in the way of a fellow mutant,”
Ignoring the way her skin crawled a little when he smiled at her like that, she turned to Charles and crossed her arms.
“Now. Charles, You are going to fix me now. Okay?” she asked, making it clear that she was leaving no room for arguments.
“Uhh,” he said uncertainly, scratching the back of his neck, “I’ll certainly try?” Clapping her hands together, she gave him a dangerous grin.
“Atta boy!”
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When she and Charles were sealed safely inside the huge metal orb, she glanced around casually.
“So, Cerebro, huh?” she asked conversationally, and he paused for a moment in applying a strange looking helmet.
“I didn’t choose the name,” he told her succinctly before looking up towards the roof anxiously for the fifth time since they entered the room.
“Relax, I left Luke Skywalker in charge. Nobody fucks with that cat,” Nodding at her statement, he took a deep breath and gestured for her to come over to him. Placing his hands on her head, his face twitched suddenly as he flinched a horrible, full body shudder.
“What a complicated web they have woven. There are so many layers, this work was not done in one sitting - how long did you say you were under their control?” He asked.
“Around two months,” she replied, standing tense under his gentle touch. Letting out a long whistle, she screwed his eyes shut even further.
“They would have had to alter your mind in some way every day in order for the damage to be this extensive,”
“Well?” she asked tersely, “Can you fix me, or not?” Letting out another deep breath, he slowly moved his head from side to side.
“I can’t -” his voice cracked suddenly, and he straightened himself before letting his grip on her head get firmer. “I can’t completely erase the implanted memories, but I can - I can bring the old ones back. So you’ll have both,”
“How will I know which is real and which is a lie?” Darcy asked, barely recognizing her own voice as it grew small and afraid.
“In time, the real memories will override the fake ones - before that, you’ll just have to hope those loved ones you spoke of finding will be able to hold you together. We are, after all, only as strong as those we surround ourselves with,”
“Okay,” She said after a moment of deafening silence.
“Okay?” He asked, and she nodded her head slowly.
“Do it,” she commanded, wishing she didn’t feel so afraid as he readjusted his grip on her skull.
“I must warn you, this will hurt - a lot,” Letting out a slightly hysterical laugh, Darcy shook her head.
“Oh doc, if pain is the worst thing you can promise - you really need to up your game,” As she suddenly felt like she was being stabbed in the brain with those electric cattle prods she’d seen the Hydra goons carrying, Darcy regretted that smartass statement.
Catholic Orphanage for Unwanted Youth - California - 1995
She felt like she was falling through an endless pit, until she wasn’t anymore, and she could smell freshly cut grass and hear small children screaming in the distance. Slowly, she opened her eyes and took in the scene before her. She was aware of Charles’ steady presence behind her as he rested a hand on her shoulder - but she was paying attention to the small brown haired girl huddled on the front porch of an old ranch house. An ugly bruise marred half of her face as she cowered into the railing. Big terrified blue eyes stared out across the field that was the front yard as the raised voices inside grew louder and quieter as the children roamed around.
“That’s you?” Charles asked from behind her, and she nodded her head robotically before opening her mouth to explain.
“Yeah - I think, I was kind of a smartass. I liked to know things, liked to learn. The others thought I thought I was too good for them - so the other kids used to steal my food before I could eat it. They hoped I’d starve to death,” She felt strange as she spoke, as if she didn’t know what she was saying until it was already out of her mouth.
“How barbaric,” Charles gasped from behind her, “What about the adults?!”
“They kind of hoped I’d starve to death too,” she told him in a detached voice.
For some inexplicable reason, the colors around her grew brighter as a feeling of hope filled the air. The front door creaked open, and two painfully familiar men walked outside, dressed in Army fatigues. One dropped to one knee in front of baby-her and gave an encouraging smile. His face fell as she turned her whole body away and pressed herself as hard as she could into the railing.
“Hey. Hey- hey, hey. What’s your name, sweetheart?” he asked gently, exchanging a pained glance with the other man before turning a brief and fierce glare on the stern looking woman who had led them outside.
“Darcy,” came a quiet voice as she refused to move from her position.
“Darcy? That’s a pretty name - Carl, don’t you think that’s a pretty name?” before the other man could say that it was, indeed, a pretty name, a ferocious glare overcame the tiny girls face as she whirled to face him.
“I don’t want to be pretty. I want to be scary so nobody every hurts me again,” her statement was met with shock and quiet rage as the two men turned identical angry glares on the older woman. Turning back to the tiny fierce child, Carl gave her a small supportive smile.
“Luke. This is her, we can’t leave her here,” he said resolutely, and Luke nodded quickly, dropping down next to Carl and giving her a smile.
“Darcy? Would you like to come home with us?” he asked quietly, searching her face as her eyes darted from man to man.
“...Will there be food?” she asked hesitantly, eliciting a full body laugh from both men.
“Yeah, sweetheart, there’ll be food,”
Lewis Household - Navy Base Wisconsin - 1997
When the next scene materialised in front of them, Darcy let out an amused snort. She heard Charles chuckle over her shoulder as they watched a skinny kid with wild hair and grease all over her face stand on a bucket and lean over the engine she was playing with on the front drive of an immaculate house surrounded by other, just as immaculate houses. She kept making disgusted noises and pulling out and replacing various parts. On one memorable occasion, she simply yanked something out, held it up to her eye and muttered ‘Pocket watch?!’ in a bewildered voice before tossing it over her shoulder. Darcy jumped to the side and watched in fascination as the watch passed through Charles completely before clunking to the floor behind him.
Her attention was drawn back to the scene by the arrival of a new car, and the alarmed shout of Carl as he swept mini-her up into his arms and away from the mustang.
“Darcy Anne Lewis! What do you think you are doing?” he demanded in a panicked voice, setting her down and carefully checking over for her for nonexistent injuries.
“I’m fixing it Daddy, duh,” the child sassed back, scrunching her nose up at him before retrieving the spanner that had been dropped in the excitement.
“Darcy, baby, where did you learn to do that? And where is your dad?” He began to frantically call out for the other man as she rolled her eyes and ambled back to the car. Just as she was about to climb up onto the block she was using to be able to reach into the engine, she was lifted up again.
“Seriously, Darce - who taught you this?!”
“The book from the library,” she replied, giving him a smug smile before pointing to the Advanced Mechanics textbook sitting on the ground a couple of metres away, “And Dad had to go to work, so Louis is babysitting me,”
“Okay, sweetheart, but where is Louis now?,” Her father seemed to take a moment to collect himself before asking in a very controlled voice. Waving her hand in the air carelessly she pointed towards the kitchen.
“Taking a nap - he says I exhaust him,” her smile was downright wicked as she looked up at the older man.
Running his hand over his face in defeat, he turned back to the Mustang and bumped his hip against her.
“I hate to burst your bubble kid, but not even Tony Stark could fix that old piece of junk,” At his remark, she snorted loudly and grabbed the keys from her back pocket. Jumping into the drivers seat, she jammed them in and turned the key. With a roar, the engine jumped to life. Sticking her head out the window, she grinned at him once more.
“Good thing I’m not Tony Stark then,” she yelled over the noise, and the real Darcy could hear Charles chuckle from his spot behind her. Mouthing along with the next words, Darcy let herself smile as well.
“Holy shit. My kid is a genius,”
Lewis House - Navy Base Texas - May 2002
When the next scene materialized in front of them, Darcy winced and shook her head.
“We don’t need to watch this - I remember it perfectly,” she told Charles. Shaking his head and smiling softly, he gave her a pat on the shoulder.
“I’m sorry my dear, but it doesn’t quite work like that,” he told her. Giving a resigned sigh, she turned to witness one of the worst days of her life (Pre-Hydra, that is).
“What do you mean you’re getting a divorce?” a shrill voice demanded, the young woman was shaking as she looked frantically from man to man. Darcy could remember with shocking clarity the thoughts that had been running through her head that day. Was it all her fault? Did she do this? What would happen to her now? She knew she shouldn’t have gotten attached.
“Because, sweetheart,” Carl began gently, “We still love each other, but we’re not in love with each other any more,” Nodding along, Luke gave her arm a soft squeeze.
“It’s better this way, Darcy-Doll,” he soothed, and she broke away from them both, shaking her head frantically once more and letting out pained cry.
“But…” she began uncertainly, tears springing to her eyes, “Where will I go?” When they both looked confused, the girl elaborated. “I don’t want to go back to that house - please don’t make me go back there! I- I’ll be good! I swear! I won’t complain about moving around all the time or living on army bases anymore. I won’t even improve any more appliances! I told you I didn’t mean to make the fridge talk! It just happened! Just… Don’t make me leave,” her voice trailed off at the end of the sentence, and Charles let out a small pained noise from behind her at the fear that was filling the room.
Luke was the first to recover, and he pulled young Darcy into a crushing hug, shaking his head fiercely.
“Oh God, sweetheart no! Why would you think we would send you away?” he asked her, pulling back enough to allow Carl to pull her into an equally fierce embrace. Burrowing her head into his neck she whispered out the words that broke the tension in the room.
“Everyone leaves,”
“Not us, darlin’” Carl promised, “We’re family - we ain’t ever leaving you behind,”
“Really?” she asked, daring to look up with a hopeful expression.
“Really really” replied Luke warmly - and that was that.
Garcia Household - Navy Base in New Jersey - November 2005
Darcy let out a choked laugh as the next scene materialized before them, a teenage girls bedroom filled with more superhero paraphernalia than was exactly reasonable wavered into focus.
“Ironic, huh?” she asked the man standing behind her as the scene blinked into focus and began to play.
A fifteen year old Darcy sat on her bed, listening to angry girl music via her walkman while she painted her toenails what appeared to be hotrod red. A moment later, a boy tumbled in through her window and plucked the headphones off of her head.
“Uh, I do have a front door, dude,” she told him, not even looking up from her artful application.
“I have a weapon that needs modifying,” he told her solemnly, apparently this was enough to catch her attention, because she glanced up once, seemed to appraise him for a moment, and ducked her head again.
“You’ve got the wrong gal kid, sorry you wasted a climb,” she told him casually, returning to her nails.
“What? No I don’t. Word on the street is you’re a weapons genius,” he told her smugly, crossing his dark arms over his chest and grinning down at her.
“The street? This is a Navy base, buddy, not Detroit,” she snarked back, finally finishing her work and leaning back to admire the flawless application. Letting out a frustrated sigh, the boy dropped himself heavily onto her bed, making her bounce a little.
“I know it’s you - I’ve seen you making trades with other guys!” he exclaimed, and she snapped her head up to glare at him fiercely.
“Read. My. Lips,” she snarled, “Nope. N-O. You got the wrong girl cowboy,”
“Why won’t you help me?!” he demanded angrily, waving his hands in front of her face to make her look at him again. Snorting inelegantly, she rolled her eyes and stood so she was towering above his sitting form.
“Well. First of all - You’re underage, you’re what? Fifteen?”
“I’m sixteen,” he interrupted, all gangly limbs and righteous rage.
“Well alright, you’re sixteen. So that is extra illegal to start with, and also. You’re a legacy. As in a bona fide, honest to god, legacy. If I sell you an illegally modified weapon, I’m pretty sure Captain America will come back from the dead to haunt me. And another thing! Your father literally runs this base,” her voice was getting more and more shrill as she paced the room, ignoring the way the boy was staring at her in fascination. “If he found out, he’d kick my Dad’s out of the Navy!”
“All three of them?” he asked solemnly, laughing loudly when she lobbed a pillow at his head.
“Yes all three of them! Not to mention Carl would probably get yelled at by his scary faceless boss!”
“Well,” Trip began casually, pulling a shiny new Stark gun from his jeans waistband, “That’s a shame. This brand new not even released to the public yet Stark Weapon of mine will have to go unmodded…” he began slowly walking to the door as Darcy obviously warred with herself.
“Wait!” she called, stuffing her hands into her already unruly hair, “Brand new Stark Weapon?” she asked weakly, and the taller boys face split into a huge grin.
“Being a legacy sure has it’s perks,” he told her teasingly, dangling the weapon over her head. “So?” he asked her, “Will you help me, or not?”
“Fine. Fine! I’ll do it,” she grumbled, “But you better not tell anyone, legacy,”
“My name is Trip,” he told her, elbowing her in the side gently before handing her the gun.
“I know,” she muttered under her breath before turning and flopping back down onto her bed and turning her full attention on the work of art in her hands.
An hour later she was still working quietly while Trip read one of her comics when the front door slammed loudly. Her head snapped up as she stared at Trip in a panic.
“Darcy?” A voice yelled loudly, “You home?”
“Oh shit,” she whispered with feeling, “Oh shit, oh shit, oh Shit!” Glancing around frantically, she shoved the gun under her pillow and lamented her lack of a closet to shove Trip in. Glancing consideringly at her bed, she clearly considered shoving him under it.
“Uh,” she faltered, “I was not built for deceit,” she told him with wide eyes and he let out a dry chuckle.
Moving closer to her, he smiled gently and grabbed a lock of her hair.
“I have a plan,” he told her, glancing down and her lips and back up into her eyes before raising an eyebrow.
“Okay great what is-” she began, but he cut her off by smashing his lips to hers. To an outsider, Darcy imagined it looked chaste - but she remembered the way butterflies had erupted in her stomach. She remembered the way she completely forgot about the pretty shiny under her pillow, and the fact that it was likely a scary dude with the title ‘Dad’ was probably about to burst through the door and demand to know if she was still insisting on eating barbeque sauce on her tacos like a sinner.
A moment later, this kiss was broken when Caleb slammed the door open and raised an eyebrow at the both of them in that incredibly unnerving way of his.
“Oh, Caleb! I thought, um, I- hi,” Darcy stammered out sheepishly before pushing Trip slightly behind her.
“Incoming Luke,” he told her with a little grin, “You’ve been warned,” Moments later, Luke ran up the staircase, immediately dropping his wide grin as he saw who else was in the room. For a moment the whole house was filled with a tense silence, but then a dangerous smirk overtook his features and he slung an arms around Trip’s shoulder and led him downstairs.
“Son, have I ever told you about that time when we were under heavy fire and…”
Malibu Cliff face - Malibu, CA - February 2007
“I would just like to point out,” Darcy said loudly from where she stood in a huddle of four men in tuxedos, “That this is so weird. Like not at all normal. We may be the strangest family in America. And yes, before you ask, I’m counting people that live in Texas,” She told them all seriously, but could help but break out into a face-splitting grin when Caleb swept her off her feet in an unusual display of affection.
“Sweetheart,” Luke pointed out from where he was fixing Jake’s bowtie after Carl had messed it up, “Since when has this family been normal?”
“Point,” she said reasonably, before shoving Carl on the shoulder. “Welp, go on you big weirdos, go get married,” Trip chose that moment to walk up behind and wrap his arms around his waist.
“Hey,” he said amicably, “Which one of you throws the bouquet? ‘Cause I’ve got a fifty for whoever aims at this one here,” He let out a loud laugh when she elbowed him sharply in the stomach.
“Very funny, Army brat, very funny,” Carl said dryly, rolling his eyes at their antics.
“If you think I’m not carrying just cause I’m about to get married, you got another thing comin’, kid,” Luke warned.
College Dorm - Culver University - May 2009
The next scene Darcy’s brain decided to drop them into made her flinch backwards hard enough to smack into Charles’ chest. Her younger self was sitting on the bed, with her furry cat phone held to her ear crying her eyes out. Behind her, Charles let out an empathetic noise.
“What’s going on?” he asked, and Darcy sighed exasperatedly.
“Just, watch,” she said with resignation, before college Darcy started wailing even louder.
“What do you mean you’re sorry but you have to? What does that even mean!?” she cried. She could hear Trip's voice drifting through the line as her younger self cried shamelessly.
"Darcy," he pleaded, "They said I had to choose - I'm so sorry," Darcy could almost see the exact moment where she went from upset to really fucking pissed off.
"Choose what?!" She demanded, "Between me and the job? And you chose the fucking job?!"
"Darcy," he tried to reason, "You know this is all I ever wanted in my life. I'm a legacy. My grandparents actually founded SHIELD. It's in my blood to be an agent,"
"I-" College-Darcy cut herself off with a sharp intake of breath, "I thought you loved me. You said it was you and me against the world,"
With one final useless platitude, he hung up the phone, and she hurled gets across the room with a scream before throwing herself down on the bed and breaking down in tears.
Shaking her head exasperatedly, Darcy raised an eyebrow at Charles and smirked.
"Man," she joked weakly, "does she have a rude shock coming if she thinks that is a bona fide tragedy,"
Bar Nine Coffee Shop - Culver University - August 2011
Darcy could help but grin as she was thrown into the next memory, the sight of her younger self and Jane sitting awkwardly across from each other while they sipped on shitty coffee brought the memory rushing back as the colours around them bloomed and stood out in high definition. Clearing her throat, Jane shuffled the messy array of paper in front of her and sighed, loudly.
“Well,” she began, and Darcy’s head snapped up eagerly, grinning at the smaller woman, “You are soft science - but I’m not going to lie, you were the only applicant. Which is incredibly weird-”
“So weird,” Darcy said, her eyes widening dramatically as she stared over the rim of her glasses, “So, so weird,”
Nudging Charles in the side with a small smile, she nodded at the interaction and smirked.
“I hacked into her computer and deleted the other applications,” she confessed smugly.
“I don’t believe it,” he replied dryly, returning her smile.
“Well,” Jane was saying calmly, “I guess you get the job. We start tomorrow,”
“Yes!” Darcy cried triumphantly, grinning happily at everyone around her, settling quickly, she sat back down and shrugged at Jane. “It was this or Chem304, and I really hate Chem,”
“Wait a minute,” Charles said suddenly, turning to her with his face scrunched up in confusion.
“Why were you in soft science, if you’re a mechanical genius?” he asked.
“Uh, funny story, actually,” She said, scratching the back of her neck sheepishly, “You know how sometimes, when you’re good at something, so all of a sudden everyone expects you to be great?” at his nod, she smiled and continued, “And then when you get great? You’re supposed to be incredible?” He seemed to understand that she needed a moment to gather her thoughts, and she stared off into the familiar distance as he waited. “I guess I… I just didn’t know where it would end - when it would ever be… enough. If that makes sense? I started to hate doing the things I was doing - just because there was always so much pressure. And I didn’t want to hate it - I used to make things because I physically couldn’t stop myself. It brought me joy. I didn’t want to stand by while it became a chore. So I changed majors to something that I found interesting, but didn’t feel obliged to be a whiz kid at, and I learned things that challenged me - but in a good way,”
“Did that make any sense at all?” She finally asked, giving him an uncertain look.
“It- It did, actually,” he replied quietly, and seemed to be contemplating something else as he reached a hand out. “Shall we?” he asked, and when she nodded, the world around them began shifting once more.
SHIELD Headquarters - Classified As Fuck - May 2013
When everything stopped spinning, Darcy took in the cavernous gym equip with top of the range everything, and in the very middle of the room in an almost comical stand off stood the a version of herself she could identify with most. Opposite her stood the man who was her best friend. Not for the first time since the whirlwind re-exploration of her mind had begun, she felt a pang in her chest as she saw herself joking around, twirling with a grace that was yet to become deadly, and striking not to kill, or even to hurt.
Suddenly, the doors swung open abruptly, and a man in a billowing trench coat with an eyepatch strode in, flanked by none other than Antoine Triplett and his senior officer, John Garret. Young Darcy used Clint’s distraction to flip him through the air and onto the mats. Not wasting any time, she plonked herself down on his chest, and proceeded to make herself comfortable as the men made their way over to them.
“Director Fury, Sir,” she intoned, raising one hand in a snappy salute, “How may I help you?”
The imposing man seemed to take a moment to take their position in, before sending a pleading look heavenward. Sighing heavily, he turned his gaze back towards her, rubbing his forehead as he did so.
“I need to speak to Hawkeye,” he told her seriously, crossing his arms and levelling a look at her in a way that Darcy imagined had sent many lesser humans running for cover. As she wasn’t quite normal, all she did was grin broadly and glance around innocently before pointing to the man she was currently silencing with her calf.
“Oh?” She asked, raising an eyebrow curiously, “This Hawkeye?” Clint, of course, chose this moment to begin struggling for freedom. Muffled noises that sounded suspiciously like curses made their way past her leg as she ignored him and looked upwards. When he finally raised an arm and tapped rapidly at the mat, she removed her leg and shook her head at him.
“Uh uh uhh, that’s not the word we use,” she told him, a shit eating grin stuck on her face as she teased him. His face was becoming an impressive shade of red as he glared at her.
“Don’t you dare try to make me say that right now Darcy Anne Lewis,” he spat out making desperate puppy dog eyes at her. A quiet choking noise made her look up at the group of men, Garrett was choking down laughter, as Trip gave her an indecipherable look.
“Oh, we’re going there, huh? Clinton Francis Barton?” she asked as she turned her attention back to him. Another loud sigh drew her attention back to the director as he leveled a glare at his senior agent.
“Say the fucking word, Barton,” he commanded, and Clint let his head drop back to the mat in defeat before whispering an indecipherable word.
“I don’t know about you boys,” Garrett broke in, “But I didn’t quite catch that,” At that, Clint muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a threat before scrunching his eyes shut and speaking at the same volume as someone who’d just been to a rock concert.
“Poppycock,”
The room was silent for approximately three seconds before Garrett burst into laughter and Darcy rolled to her feet, making a face at Clint as he slapped her proffered hand out of the way. Fury’s booming voice rose above the din as Clint levered himself to his feet, mumbling the whole way.
“I like it better when people fear me,” he said, and if Darcy was a lesser woman, she might have shrunk away from his glare. “Why don’t you fear me?” he sounded almost plaintive.
“Well,” Darcy said, “I was raised by three Navy seals, and a CIA operative. I have a pretty skewed definition of scary,” Sighing loudly, he nodded in agreement before nodding towards the door.
“Regardless, I have to talk to Barton now,” When she made no move to leave, he cocked an eyebrow, “In private, Agent,”
“Sir, Yes Sir!” She cried again, snapping a final salute before turning swiftly and marching from the room, ruffling Clint’s hair on her way past - and if she maybe swayed her hips a little to show Trip exactly what he’d thrown away, well, who was going to judge her? The last thing Darcy heard before the memory faded away was Garrett's booming voice.
“I like her,”
Safe House - New Mexico - One Week after ‘The Incident with Those SHIELD assholes’
The first thing Darcy heard when the next scene materialized was a loud whine.
“Buck-eee,” she felt her heart thump in her chest as a man in soft looking grey sweatpants with a metal arm rounded the corner with a fond smile and raised an eyebrow at memory-her.
“James,” she whispered, the only thing stopping her from stepping forwards was Charles grip on her shoulder as she watched the scene play out.
“What now? Hm, princess?” he joked, sliding a hand into her hair and gently moving it off her face.
“I need sustenance! Feed me Seymor!” she exclaimed imperiously from her spot on the couch, nursing a hand in a very macgyver-eske brace. Sighing loudly, he drew himself away from her and headed for the kitchen.
“I don’t even understand that reference,” he told her, before turning and raising an eyebrow, “And I would like to point out there is nothing wrong with your feet,” Pouting, if she may say so herself, quite adorably, she made a big show of rising.
“Well,” she grunted, “If you insi-” before she could even finish her sentence, he was there, mother henning her back into a horizontal position and mock glaring at her.
“Just as bad as Steve, I swear ‘ta God,” he grumbled, tucking the blanket that had fallen away around her again and shaking his head, “I hate when you call my bluff,”
“Psht,” she joked, “You love me. Now come here and snuggle,” she made grabby hands at him until he relented, and watching over the scene, Darcy felt more at peace - more whole, than she had since the day she’d been taken.
Instead of wavering, like she expected it to, the scene stayed vivid as she snuggled into him and let him fuss over her non-serumed body.
“This memory is stronger than the rest,” Charles told her, cocking his head at her curiously, “It is strange, your mind is still muddled and confused, but your love for him is strong and true regardless,”
“I didn’t mean to fall in love,” she told him on autopilot, barely seeming to consider her words before they spilled from her mouth, “Not at all. He was so broken, I was so confused. I just wanted to do some good, you know? But at some point, he smiled, and holy shit - I blew it,”
“I know the feeling,” he murmured quietly, before the room around them changed, the energy turning sour.
Alpha Facility - Sleeping Quarters - June 2014
The room the ended up in was pitch black, but suddenly, the air was crackling with static electricity as a girl in the middle of the room sat up with a strangled scream. Darcy watched on, barely recognizing herself as her hands flew through tangled hair and she muttered to herself.
“Oh god,” she finally whispered, “Oh shit,” Rolling out of bed, she quickly went about yanking on clothes, she began packing a bag, and within a few minutes, was headed for the door she absolutely wasn’t to touch.
Just as she was about to turn into the corridor that held her freedom, a familiar figure appeared.
“Wanda,” her voice was icy cold as she addressed the other woman, “Move,” if there had been any mistake about it being an order, the loud crackle of electricity dancing through the air left no room for argument. And yet, the other girl still didn’t budge.
“Darcy,” she spoke, her voice was deceptively soft as she began working her magic, “We’ve been over this,” her tone remained gentle as she took a small step towards her, tendrils of red danced from her fingertips as the two faced off. “We need you to end the Avengers,”
Darcy could see that the magic was taking it’s toll, but in the memory, she was clearly fighting the urge to give in.
“I don’t - I don’t want to end the Avengers. They’re my friends,” she choked out, clenching her fists and trembling visibly as she fought with the cloud that was overcoming her brain.
“I don’t want to,” she muttered under her breath, “James, James, James, his name is James. He has a name. He’s a person, he loves me, so I must be too,” at this she looked imploringly at Wanda, “He needs me - I, I need him. Don’t take him away again,” her voice cracked as she dropped to her knees, finally heeding to the mental control.
“No, my little dove,” Wanda told her, gently caressing her head and preparing to unravel the progress she’d made, “You don’t,”
Darcy can feel Charles’ fingers digging into her shoulder as the screaming starts, it’s funny, how you notice so much more the second time around. She never before noticed the tears streaming freely down the other girls face, or the way Pietro paled even further than his already unhealthy palour at the broken pleas for someone, anyone, please help her. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and unwillingly, Darcy found herself wondering if she was the only one who’s hand was being forced in that facility.
Alpha Facility - Sleeping Quarters - July 2014
The room that next materialized was familiar and dark as the scene set itself. It was empty, save for the brunette who was huddled in the corner, staring blankly into space - no doubt wondering why the hell she felt so goddamn empty. All of a sudden, clear voices filled the room, a product of her super-human hearing.
“I know I volunteered for this Baron - I know! But, she did not. She did not volunteer, and this fight is not hers to win. And every time I see that horrible betrayed look on her face when I have to take away all that she holds dear, it hurts even more,” If she cared to notice, Darcy would see the girl curl in upon herself, an action that she found herself subconsciously mirroring as it all came back.
“I volunteered. I believe in what we are doing. But she does not. She has a family, she loves, and in turn, she herself is loved. Who am I to take that from her? Does it not make me just as much of a monster as Stark if I continue to do this?”
“Listen to me, girl,” a voice snarled, and Darcy clenched her fists tightly to repress the shiver that the sound forced upon her, “If you so much as think about releasing her, or helping her in any way, I will hurt you in ways you cannot fathom,” The promise in his words finally spurred her younger self into action.
“Holy shit,” she whispered, wrapping her arms tighter around herself and rocking slightly.
“Oh Darcy,” Pietro appeared in the dim light of the doorway, “I really wish you had not heard that,”
Cerebro - Upstate NY - Present Day
As he released his hold on her shoulder, Darcy stumbled away and dropped to her knees on the catwalk. Crouching in front of her, he gently raised her chin so she had to look him in the eye.
“How do you feel?” he asked, examining her face for any sign of shock.
“I… I remember everything,” she whispered quietly, sitting back heavily. Just as she fell backwards, a deafening crash sounded from above them, and they both snapped into high alert. Remy burst into the room, his leather coat was flapping madly behind him as she skidded to a halt.
“The Avengers are here,” he gasped out, “And they are pissed,”