Soul Sisters
“I mean, we’re all a little mad here,”
Tony’s statement broke the considerable tension in the room, Sam snorted loudly, and Natasha rolled her eyes in his general direction before turning her laser focus pointedly anywhere but Remy. If Darcy noticed the same pain emanating from her that she felt in Remy, well, she kept it to herself.
“Speak for yourself, Stark. I for one, am perfectly sane,” countered Deadpool as he waltzed through the front door, giving Darcy a cheeky wave. “Glad to see you’ve been keepin’ busy sweetheart, but if I’d known you were recruiting mutants to be your loyal followers, I would have volunteered before this clown,” he gestured at Magneto, who was restrained by a blue hand smacking him around the back of the head.
Shaking her head and laughing, she sent a shaky grin in his direction.
“Don’t worry Wade, I’m always looking for a good Girl Friday,” she countered.
“Can’t promise about the good… or the girl,” he said, grinning through the mask, “But I do a mean Friday, I’ll show you sometime,” After a pointed glare from Bucky, he raised both hands and took a step back. “Uh, maybe not. Well, I’m off now, I’ve got my own franchise to star in, and none of you are invited!” He called as he turned and waltzed out the door, muttering something about foxes and budget cuts.
A moment of silence followed before Tony cleared his throat.
“Well that was as weird as it always is,” he announced cheerfully before turning to the pair still holding onto each other for dear life.
“Glad you’re alive kid,” he told Darcy with a genuine smile, before something flashed in his eyes and he began stammering, “Not that - Not that you’re my kid, ha ha, it’s just a saying. An expression, if you will. You have parents. Multiple. Many. None of which include me,” By this stage, he had a hand behind his neck and was nearing full panic mode. “Anyways! Gotta go now, party to plan, other damsels to save, probably. Bye!” And with that, his faceplate slammed down and he zoomed out the front door.
“Huh,” Darcy remarked a moment after the dust settled, she looked over at Charles and he raised an eyebrow.
“Indeed,” he replied thoughtfully.
“I have no idea what’s going on,” Clint volunteered helpfully, grinning at her as she returned the smile fondly, noticing for the first time the complicated weave of purple surrounding her best friend.
“You never do,” she told him, tugging Bucky towards the door and nodding her head at Charles as she went. “I owe you my life,” she told him, “If you ever need anything, you’ll know how to find me,” He nodded sagely and smiled.
“Best wishes, Darcy Lewis,” he told her. Remy was next to step up to her, smiling gently and clapping a hand on her shoulder.
“Remember what I told you chere,” he said softly, glancing sideways where the Widow was hovering and avoiding eye contact. “Sometimes the things that are the hardest are the ones that mean the most,” with that he let her go and sent one last sad smile in Natasha’s direction before turning with a flap of his coat and striding out the door and down the path Wade went.
“Take care, Bub,” Logan grunted as he followed in his friends path. Grinning at his surly goodbye, Darcy quickly used her powers to tear the edge of his shirt a little.
“Get a shirt that fits!” She yelled out after him, laughing as he shot her the finger over his shoulder.
“C’mon Doll,” Bucky said, throwing his arm around her shoulder, “Let’s get you home now,”
Shaking her head slightly, Darcy smiled up at him with a mixture of awe and confusion.
“What?” He asked, squeezing her closer to him.
“Nothing, it’s just - ‘Home’. Weird concept now, y’know?” Leaning in close, he brushed his nose against the spot above her ear.
“Gets less weird when you have someone to share it with, or so I’ve been told,”
Just as they were passing through the threshold, Darcy caught sight of a familiar face standing by the quinjet.
“Thor!” She called delightedly, breaking free of Bucky to run towards him, but stopping just short when she saw the look on his face. “...Thor?” She asked uncertainly, cocking her head in confusion. When she realised he was staring at her eyes with apprehension, she quickly averted them.
“Oh… Oh. Yeah, they take some getting used to, I guess. The whole, soulless silver of it all,” she mumbled, fiddling with the edge of the button down she wore.
“Is that how you feel, Lady Darcy?” He asked gravely, and she felt the concern and a touch of fear emanating from him.
“Huh?” She asked, finally turning her gaze back to a man she once considered a close friend.
“Soulless?” He prompted her, and she suddenly understood. He thought she was a monster, an abomination. When she really concentrated, she could feel it coming off him in waves. His distaste for what she had become, what had happened to her. It was so powerful she took a step back and ran into something solid. Her vision was hazy from… tears? No. That couldn’t be right. She didn’t cry. Assets did not cry. It was the first thing she was taught as a child… except - no. It wasn’t. Because she wasn’t an asset, she was -
“Darcy? Darcy? Dammit Thor! You get the hell away from her or I swear to god-” As her mind struggled back into focus she heard Bucky growling ferociously at the larger man.
“Sorry, shit. Sorry. The memories,” She gasped, putting a hand out and grasping onto Bucky’s bicep for support. “There’s - a lot. Going on up there at the moment. Y’know, with the mind control of it all,” She was silenced by Bucky kissing her fiercely.
“No. Don’t you ever apologize for that. That was not your fault, you hear me doll?”
“I - um, yeah,” she stuttered, bringing her hands up to clutch at her head and pull frantically at her hair.
“Hey, hey, he didn’t mean it doll. He knows you have a soul. You’re Darcy, you’re my Darcy,”
“Yes he did,” She gasped, “I can feel it. I can feel-”
“You should not be able to read me,” Thor interrupted, looking disturbed, “No mortal should be able to see into my soul, it is far too complex-” Letting out a derisive snort, Darcy turned back to the man she knew she once considered family and cut him off mid-sentence.
“Right now you’re feeling three things; Sorrow, for the loss of your sister; Concern, for your Lady Jane and how she’ll feel when she finds out what I’ve become; and fear, because you know your bullshit superior defence system doesn’t work on me,”
A moment of shocked silence followed her declaration, Bucky slid his hand down until it tangled with hers, and she felt solidarity coming off him in waves. In her anger, she could also feel static electricity dancing up and down her arms, a knee-jerk reaction to any situation that felt threatening.
Natasha came slowly to stand in front of her, reaching up cautiously and touching her face.
“Darcy,” she said, “Darcy, I want you to focus on me, what do I feel?” she asked.
“You feel -” Darcy paused in confusion, “Nothing, you don’t - I can’t,”
“Try harder,” Natasha told her patiently. Shifting on her feet and pulling away from James, she reached up and placed her palms on either side of Natasha’s face.
As she breathed in and out, she felt the static dissipate, and she began to get bits and pieces of what Natasha was giving off. She had the distinct feeling that she wasn’t receiving any information that wasn’t being willingly given.
“Calm,” she said at last, “You feel calm, and you know. You know that I don’t want to hurt any of you. You’re not afraid of me,” Nodding, Natasha smiled at her, slowly drawing away. Before she could fully recede, Darcy grabbed her hand and leant in to whisper something. “That loss, he feels it too. You’re not alone in your pain,”
Stepping back fully, she turned to Bucky again with a slight grin tinged with exhaustion.
“You mentioned something about a home? As much as I would love to continue the drama, I’ve had kind of an tiring day,”
“Anything you want, doll,” he told her, drawing her into his arms again for a second before leading her towards the Quinjet. She heard Thor quietly talking to Steve behind them for a second before the telltale sound of his Hammer launching him into the air came. For the moment though, she let that drop away and focused on the feeling of desperate relief and contentment radiating from the man next to her.
Stark Tower - New York City - Later That Day
When the quinjet landed, Darcy tried her hardest to not stare around in wonder at all of the amazing electronics and gadgets that were everywhere.
“I want you to know that your arm is still, barely, my favourite shiny thing,” she breathed, looking at James with a grin before turning in a slow circle, “That being said, Woah,”
“Thanks,” Tony said as he breezed past her, obviously preening at her amazement of his lair,
“I’ve been calling it the Iron Cave,”
“No he hasn’t,” Clint countered as he walked past with his bow strapped to his back.
“Mostly because we won’t let him,” a new voice added, and Darcy turned to see Pepper Potts standing in the door in 6 inch Louboutins and a power suit with a serene look on her face. “Welcome home, Darcy, I’ve waited a long time to finally meet you,”
Smiling shyly, Darcy went to extend her hand to shake before she thought better of it, not wanting to make the other woman feel like she had to touch her. As if she sensed her hesitation Pepper strode forwards, holding her hand out with a professional smile that made Darcy feel like she was just another person. Feeling incredibly grateful, she reached out and shook the other womans hand with a small smile.
“It’s nice to be met,” she said confidently before what she said registered and she began to stammer. “I mean, it’s nice to meet you. Not that other thing. You’re really cool. I wrote my thesis on you and the way you changed the way the world looks at Stark industries. Um, I’m going to shut up now before I say anything else embarrassing. Ok. Shutting up in three… two… one,”
“The resemblance is uncanny,” the other woman muttered, radiating amusement before that feeling turned to affection as she breezed past Tony with a kiss to the head on her way to the door.
“I hope to meet you again soon, Darcy Lewis,” she said with a smile as she backed out of the room and into the elevator.
Darcy was aware of James approaching her again as soon as he began to move, she was finding that she was incredibly attuned to his individual signature, every move he made she could feel, somewhere down in her gut. Turning to face him, she smiled tiredly.
“So, Soldier,” she began conservationally, “This home of yours got a bed?” The grin that the question pulled out of him nearly blinded her, as he pulled her into him and nuzzled her hair.
“For you doll? Always,” he rumbled from his spot snuggled into her, and she grinned into his chest in answer.
“Smooth talker,” she accused lightly before turning and seeing Natasha sitting on the bench nearby and smiling slightly at the pair of them.
Behind her, James stiffened, and his mood immediately changed from at ease to tense.
“Not yet, Tasha,” he warned, “Let her get some sleep, she’s exerted herself enough for the day,”
“Umm,” Darcy interrupted, glancing between the pair, “‘She’ would like to know what the hell is going on, if that’s okay with you,”
“We need to debrief,” Natasha said matter-of-factly, “Before you start forgetting the small things that could help us take out the men that did this to you,”
“No,” James growled, subconsciously pulling her closer to him as he did so. “This isn’t the Red Room Tasha, we can afford to give her a little time to recover before you grill her,”
“I get that you are too close to this to see why it has to be right now, but if she were anyone else, you would be in there already asking away,” she shot back, rising gracefully to her feet.
Growing tired of being talked over, Darcy stepped out of James arms and turned so she could glare at both of them at the same time. When they continued to bicker, she crossed her arms and used her powers to push something off of a bench nearby to get their attention.
“Hey!” Tony complained from where he was working on something in the corner, “That was expensive,”
“So build another one,” she replied, not taking her eyes off the two who had been stunned into silence. “Do I have your attention now?” she asked patiently.
“How did you -” Natasha began to ask before thinking better of it and shutting up.
“I have all sorts of tricks up my sleeve,” Darcy replied dryly, thinking that knocking something off of a bench for attention like a goddamn cat was the least of them.
“Where are we doing this debrief?” she asked, instead of voicing that thought.
“Darce-” James began, but she shook her head at him and turned to Natasha with a raised eyebrow.
“Well?”
“Follow me,” Natasha sighed, heading towards the elevator with Darcy and James close behind.
When they got to the interrogation room after a very tense elevator ride during which James was stonily silent and glaring at Natasha whilst standing as close to Darcy as possible, Natasha was looking studiously at her tablet and ignoring them, and Darcy was slightly grumpy and exasperated at her boyfriend(who she wasn’t even sure was her boyfriend - was that the right word?)’s caveman behaviour.
When they got to the room he refused to sit outside as a silent party. When Natasha tried to argue, he glared stonily at her and gripped her hand so hard in his flesh and blood one so hard she was afraid hers might break. She understood his hesitance, though, she didn’t want him to leave her sight either, just in case he didn’t come back. After the two spies glared at eachother for a moment, Natasha seemed to relent, and pushed the door open for the two of them.
When they first sat down, Natasha started out slow and easy. Where were you kept? Who were you with? Why did they want to keep you controlled? Darcy answered all of her questions as best as she could, and then they started getting more difficult.
“What did you think of Wanda and Pietro?” she asked calmly, and Darcy glanced up at her abruptly.
“Why does that matter?” she asked, not understanding the question or the reasoning behind it.
“Just answer the question please, Darcy,” she replied calmly.
“I - I don’t know. I think they were assholes who assisted in my capture and brainwashing,” she replied, glaring fiercely at the table and trying not to think of the heartbreak she could clearly remember on Wanda’s face.
“Darcy,” she heard a reprimanding note in the Widow’s voice, and her hackles rose a little at the threat. Because she was talking to the Widow now, Natasha was gone. Bucky must have sensed her unease, because he squeezed her hand a little in reassurance. “This won’t work if you’re not honest with me,”
“I am being honest!” Darcy exclaimed hotly, “every time I felt a shred of hope in that god forsaken place of getting out, they extinguished it,” That much was true, what she wasn’t saying was that she was beginning to think there may have been more to the story.
“Okay,” Natasha was back again, and she smiled placatingly, “let’s move to something easier,” Blowing out a relieved breath, Darcy nodded her assent. “What did your daily schedule consist of?” Nodding to herself, Darcy began to speak. This she could do.
“Well, in the morning, I would wake at approximately 6AM every day, if the alarm clock on my bedside was correct,” she began, not sharing that she would usually wake to Wanda sneaking her in some coffee, despite the fact that she knew she wasn’t supposed to because it messed with her concentration, “Then we had breakfast,” During which she would usually bicker with Pietro over who had eaten the last poptart, “After that we trained, usually for about four or five hours,” she didn’t bring up how she used to get frustrated with her lack of progress, and Wanda would reassure her with kind smiles, while Pietro would annoy a laugh out of her.
“Then came lunch,” Pietro always made sandwiches with too much jelly, but nobody ever complained about his sweet tooth. “After that, a few more hours of training. I’m still working on,” she waved the hand that wasn’t captured by Bucky’s at herself “the whole control when I’m emotional thing, so we played on that,”
“How so?” Natasha asked, cocking her head at her. Smiling softly to herself, Darcy shrugged.
“Usually Pietro would annoy me until I got really pissed off, and then Wanda would make me concentrate on something small that only required a small amount of power, so I had to learn to tone it back,”
“Sounds like they were an integral part of your day to day life - the twins, that is,” Natasha observed, taking some more notes on her tablet.
“Yeah,” Darcy agreed, slumping in her chair, “That’s kind of how Stockholm Syndrome works,”
“You think they were just acting like they liked you to gain your trust?” the Widow asked, cocking her head to the side and staring intently.
“Well, I don’t think they kidnapped and brainwashed me for the express purpose of becoming my friends,” she retorted hotly, “I mean, there are far less complicated ways to get there, coffee for instance,”
Natasha was silent for a moment longer before shuffling her pages and pulling out a report and looking back up her with a grim expression.
“Alright, then I’ll be needing to ask you about the time before you were with the twins. Feeling her whole body going cold, Darcy nodded slowly and took a deep breath. She tried to focus on the man sitting to her right to ground herself, but she could feel the hint of panic and tension emanating from him. Taking another deep breath she tried to cut herself off from him, shuffling away from his reassuring hands and looking back up at Natasha.
“Okay. What do you want to know?”
“What do you remember from when they first took you?” She asked, and Darcy braced herself in her chair before replying.
“I was - naked, and strapped to some sort of medical table. There was a scientist, he was German, who spoke to me over the PA system. I passed out again shortly after waking up, I assume due to some sort of gas, because when I woke up I was… this,” she gestured helplessly at herself.
“And what is that? Soulless? A monster?” the Widow asked calmly, and Darcy’s head snapped up to look at her again, the pain and betrayal in her eyes.
“I - I don’t” she began, but was cut off by James.
“Tasha,” he said, and there was warning in his voice, but Darcy could feel his fear. His fear because of her. Because he agreed with Natasha. She couldn’t help but remember the scene Wanda had shown her, that very first day they had met. The image of the redhead and her man locked in a passionate embrace, the happy look on his face when he stared at her. It seemed like a stark contrast to the anxious expression he was now sporting.
“-arcy?” her head snapped up to face Natasha once more, and she swallowed harshly.
“I don’t know, maybe,” she finally replied helplessly, “I don’t know what they did to me, maybe I am a monster now, maybe I’ll never be able to control myself around the people I love,” she was could feel the static that was a sure sign of an outburst starting to dance along her skin, so she started to pace around the room like a caged animal. James made to step towards her, but she flung up an arm, meaning to ward him off but accidentally sending him careening into the wall.
“Oh god,” She said, flinging a hand up over her mouth in horror, “I’m so sorry, oh god, I didn’t mean to, James,” she could feel herself becoming more distraught as the lighting above her flickered in and out.
“Darcy,” Natasha said cajolingly, and for the first time, Darcy could sense her fear. That, more than anything, sent her even further into a panic. Sinking to the floor she shook her head desperately.
“Please, don’t,” she choked out, “I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t want to hurt anyone,” she sobbed. She could sense Natasha hesitate and begin to back up, clearly trying to remain as unthreatening as possible.
“Darcy,” she tried again, and this time, the younger girl looked up, silver tinged tears streaking her face. “What I said before, I was just trying to get you to remember more, to delve deeper. I don’t think you’re a monster, and what they did to you does not, nor will it ever be the reason you become one. They don’t have that power over you unless you let them,”
“But you’re afraid,” Darcy said quietly, “I can feel your fear, and your anxiety, and I can feel his fear. The one person who I never wanted to be afraid of me and now I’ve-,” she choked back another panicked sob, “I’ve gone and ruined everything and-”
The thought of losing James suddenly burst into her mind, and she could feel the fake memories slowly slotting into place like some sort of fucked up defence system. She struggled to push them back - to remind herself that she did have a family, but the more she panicked, the harder it was to cut off the underlying feeling of being overwhelmingly alone.
In one last desperate attempt to keep herself from being lost to the abyss inside her own head that Charles had tried to warn her against, she dropped to her knees and released the uneasy prickly power that was building at the base of her skull with a pained scream. When she opened her eyes again, she could see Natasha and James staring at her with wide eyes from their position behind the table they had thrown over in defence, and when she looked above them, through the newly shattered two-way window to where her four Father’s stood with identical expressions of horror, she felt the seed of dread in her stomach begin to grow.
“Oh god,” she whispered, “I am a monster,” Slowly, she backed away until she hit the door, before turning and running as fast as she could away from the raw pain and disappointment in her parents eyes. She could hear James calling her name as she slammed through a door and began running up some stairs, but she couldn’t bring herself to break through the mass of swirling emotions long enough to stop for him.