"Hey Darcy," Jane whispered, staring at her scuffed boots. "You're the best friend I've ever had, you know? Just... thank you for sticking with me through all of this."
"Sure thing, Boss-lady. I honestly wouldn't change a thing if giving the choice.... Except maybe the last twenty-four hours...." Darcy answered, twisting her wrists and feeling the zip ties dig into her skin.
"Yeah, that would be nice." Jane snarked, only to freeze as the door to their cell opened and five men stormed in.
"Only take the Doctor." The smallest one ordered, taking a syringe out of his pocket and approaching Darcy, who looked at him fearfully. "We're almost out of time and she'll be the most valuable to us."
She struggled against the bounds, but was unable to do anything as she felt the needle plunge into her neck and as her eyelids grew heavy, the last thing she saw was one of the thugs knocking out Jane.
*****
When Jane woke up, the first time she noticed was the pain in her head. Reaching out with her hand, she felt the wetness on her skull. Luckily, the bleeding seemed to have stopped. She was reminded of why she woke up when she felt another shockwave go through the building. In the distance she could hear thunder. Taking in her surroundings, she noticed the lack of assistant by her side and she remembered what had happened.
"Darcy..." she said, eyes wide open and staring at the spot she had last seen her. The men who had taken them here, had apparently mistaken Darcy for her!
Jane pushed herself up, fighting to keep her balance as the world sup around. She had to get Darcy back! Right then, another blast shook the building, making her fall over again.
*****
The next time Jane woke up, she wasn’t in that building where they had kept them anymore. Instead she felt soft blankets cover her and heard the beating of her heartbeat on one of the nearby monitors. Opening her eyes she was met by blinding lights, but as she got used to them she noticed a person sitting next to the bed she was lying in. Turning her head, she was met by steady green eyes, who observed her face in a somewhat clinical matter. The eyes belonged to a beautiful redhead who Jane instantly recognised, even if they had never formally met.
“Thor just went outside.” Natasha Romanoff, better known as the Black widow, said. “I believe he went to go to the bathroom. He should return in just a minute, but before that, let me inform you that you have been out for three days because of your head wound and that Thor has been worried sick about you, which is definitely no fun for his teammates, me included.”
“Worried sick about me? What about Darcy? Have you found her already? Is she alright?” Jane asked, firing questions at the assassin before remembering who she was talking to.
The redhead didn’t notice it however, going blank at the mention of Darcy. “Your assistant, Darcy Lewis? She was with you then?”
“Of course she was! She goes to practically everything with me! Is she alright?” Jane pressed, brow furrowing. “Last thing I remember the guys who took us thought she was me and took her right before you guys arrived to save us! Did you catch them?”
The Black Widow paled slightly and started cursing. “No, yebat. We didn’t even know she was there with you! I can’t believe we didn’t notice!” Getting up, she stormed out of the room, almost walking Thor over as he just returned.
“Lady Natasha? Are you alright? Jane, my love! What has got my shield-sister so agitated?” He asked, worry clear on his face at the loss of composure of his friend and the frown on his love’s face.
“Darcy! Oh Thor, they took her! She was with me when we got kidnapped and apparently they thought she was me and took her and left me when you guys came to save us! She’s still somewhere out there, Thor!” Jane answered, swinging her legs up and over the side of the bed, getting up despite the headache that was returning.
Freezing, Thor stared at her in horror at the thought of Darcy, who he considered his little sister, being taken by the foul men. “By my father’s beard… We have to retrieve her!” Jumping into action, he, too, stormed out of the room, leaving Jane behind, as she gingerly walked a few steps.
*****
By the time Jane arrived at the War Room, as they called the room where the Avengers discussed their strategies and tactics, all of the superheroes were there already. Tony had pulled up holographic maps of the area where they had kept her, and was discussing different ways to find them with JARVIS while also arguing with Steve on who should play what role in the rescue of Darcy. Natasha sat on the side, tapping away on a tablet and talking in low Russian to Clint, who answered curtly on occasion in the same language and spent the rest of the time fixing his arrows and staring into nowhere with a frown on his face.
As Jane stepped into the room, everyone fell silent, taking in her pale but firm face and the tears she refused to shed. “Have you found her yet?” she asked, voice barely noticeably shaking.
“No, my love, but what are you doing out of bed? You should be resting! In no way are you in any shape to help right now!” Thor answered, stepping towards her and reaching out.
Jane, however, batted his hands away and walked around him, falling down onto one of the empty chairs. “No. I refuse to sit and do nothing while my best friend is in danger. What can I do to help?”
“Well, to be honest, Foster, not only do you look like you could keel over at any second, but this is more of a super powered people gig.” Tony said, looking at her warily.
Speaking up for the first time after sharing a look with Captain Rogers, Clint got up and walked towards her. “Actually, Foster, I think I know something you could help with… Can you follow me?” He extended his hand out towards her to help her up and a bit warily she accepted.
Stumbling only a bit, Jane followed the archer out and into the hallways. They walked in silence for a while, before they paused in front of a door Jane didn’t recognise. “Hey, I just wanted to say that I’m sorry, alright? About all of this.” Clint said, opening the door and motioning for her to go in.
Stepping into the room, Jane turned in confusing at the bare room. “Wha-“ Only to be met by a closed and locked door. Shocked, she stared at tit for a moment, before she realised what had happened. Then she snapped.
She kicked hard at the door, which lacked a doorknob, and then quickly walked around the room, searching for a way out. The only furniture in the room were an old couch, a table and two chairs. She quickly shoved them away, inspecting the walls in search of something that could get her out of here. Nothing. The only thing she found was a teeny tiny air vent in the top corner, which would be too small to fit her head through, let alone her entire body.
Sighing, she sank to the ground, leaning against the wall with her knees pulled up. Resting her head on her knees, she closed her eyes, trying to come up with a way to get out of here. Rationally she knew that she wasn’t up to par with any of the Avengers. She wasn’t as capable with technology as Iron Man or even the Black Widow, and she definitely lacked the strength and skill the others possessed. Still, Clint had trained her and Darcy in self-defence, which included firing guns, and she had got a pretty good score, good enough to go up against normal human agents. And then there was that thing Queen Frigga had mentioned when Thor had taken her and Darcy to visit Asgard all those months ago.
At the time she hadn’t understood anything about it, but now she was pretty sure she knew what her future mother-in-law had meant. She had taken Jane apart at one point, talking about how glad she was that her son had her, and that she had Darcy. She had said that Darcy was Jane’s heart. Her love and the thing that kept her upright during hard times, which had made Jane uncomfortable, because wasn’t that supposed to be Thor? But she had explained that part, talking about the different kinds of love and soulmates that didn’t need to be romantic to be truly yours. The really cryptic part had come next however.
Frigga had showed her the place where she apparently spent most of her time, which was supposed to be closely connected to Yggdrasil and showed her visions of the future. Jane had been sceptic, but Frigga had continued on, saying that while, and because, Darcy was her rock, if she was removed from her side, that Jane would lose her connection and ascend into either greatness or despair. The loss of Darcy was unavoidable, Frigga had said, but the choice as to which direction she went was Jane’s.
Now was that moment to choose. Most people would have assumed that she was already going into the direction of despair, sitting on the ground in some weird kind of cell, unable to do anything but stare, but Jane wasn’t most people, and she hadn’t made it in a male-dominated field just to back down.
Standing up, she turned her face towards the ceiling, praying that he would hear her. “Heimdall. I know you’re there. I swear to any gods that are out there, if you don’t let me out of here, you will regret it very dearly.”
She held her breath for a bit, and was just about to return to sitting on the floor when she felt it. Rumbling above her head. A few seconds more, and a rainbow beam enveloped her and a moment later she was standing outside.
Not outside the Avengers base, no, she was standing somewhere in the woods, a few hundred yards from where a fight between the Avengers whichever group they had tracked was happening.
Stepping out from between the trees, she walked a few yards, before a familiar suit landed before her. His mask going up, Stark looked at her with annoyance. “Hey, hawkass, you had one job!”
“Come on, Foster, this really isn’t the moment to be difficult. Lewis is in that building over there, somewhere, but we’re a bit occupied with some mutated monster-things, so if you could just go hide somewhere and stay there until we come and get you? That’d be great.” He said, looking down on her.
Jane could feel her blood start to boil. All her life she had been talked down to, all her life people had acted as if she wasn’t capable of doing things. And she had enough.
She clenched her fists, only to freeze in surprise as she felt something in her hand. Looking down, she found that the stick she was holding, wasn’t a stick. It was a hammer.
Looking back up, Stark’s face had changed from annoyed to surprised, and other Avengers had notice what was going on too.
A grin appeared on Jane’s face, as she twisted the hammer and tested out its weight, feeling how light it actually was. Feeling something from inside the hammer pull at her mind, she allowed it inside, and a glow extended from it, making the wind blow and her hair fly up as armour slowly began to cover her.
After a few seconds, her entire body was covered in steel and silver, and a red cape wrapped itself around her shoulders. Feeling her left arm pull up, she allowed it to move, as a gorgeous helmet, including wings sticking out on the side, landed in her hand. Putting it on, she finished her transformation, feeling energized thanks to the warm feeling coming from the hammer.
“Whoever holds the hammer of Thor, shall behold his power.” She grinned at the stunned heroes in front of her. “Now, let’s test this thing out and get my other half back.”