Work Text:
Day 12
Darcy Lewis/Timothy “Dum Dum” Dugan
“This Halloween season I was planning to try a few new seasonally appropriate activities: apple picking, pie baking, and witchcraft.”
xXx
"Hey Buck, did you know about this?" Steve asked his best friend as he made a beeline for him on the sofa in the common room.
"I'm gonna go with no, mostly 'cause I have no idea what you’re talkin' about." Bucky sat up from his slouch, unsettling Darcy who'd made herself comfortable at his side. Steve sat next to him, handing over the Howling Commandos Biography he'd been meaning to read since it was published a year prior. He pointed out a particular section.
Bucky took the book and began reading, vaguely aware of Darcy reading over his shoulder. When he was done he read it again, and then once more after that. "What the hell?"
"Wait, nobody told you guys?" Darcy asked, confused. Steve shook his head.
"‘Timothy "Dum Dum" Dugan disappeared in 1950 while on a mission for the newly formed S.H.I.E.L.D.,'" Bucky read from the passage. "‘Despite numerous recovery missions and in depth exhaustive investigations, neither Sergeant Dugan, his body, nor any of his possessions with him that day were ever found.’" Bucky looked up from the book. "You don't think…?"
Steve shrugged. "I don't know, Buck, the author didn't write anything about the mission. It might not have anything to do with Hydra."
Bucky didn't reply his attention focused on the book in his hands. "Why don't you ask Coulson?" Darcy suggested. They looked to her.
"You think he would know?" Bucky asked, a hint of hopefulness in his voice.
"Maybe, maybe not, but I bet he at least has access to the old files that could tell you what you want to know."
"He is the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. now," Steve added. Darcy nodded in agreement.
xXx
“Got it,” Daisy called out across the room, her voice muffled by the tower of file boxes stacked around her. Her head popped up just over the top of the stacks and she lifted the box they were looking for over her head for Bucky to take. He passed the box to Steve before offering his hand to help Daisy out of the stacks. When they turned back to Steve, they found him already going through the box with Coulson.
“Well, anything?” Bucky asked.
Steve looked skeptical. “It says here Tim was conducting an investigation into some strange disappearances. During his third check-in ten days in, the transmission was cut short and he never called back. So Director Carter sent an undercover team to find him, but they couldn’t.”
“They did, however, find something else,” Coulson chimed in, another file in hand.
“What was it?” Bucky asked.
“A suspect.” Coulson pulled an old black and white photograph from the file. The woman in the photo was strikingly familiar to Bucky, though he couldn’t put his finger on it. She was beautiful, her back straight, her shoulders back, the picture of proper etiquette and higher breeding. Her long dark hair was in a simple twist at the back of her head and her full lips held the slightest curve of a smirk. Even without color he could see the mischievous glimmer in her eye. But it was the pendant around her neck that caught his eye the most. It was a dark metal filigree with a gemstone of unknown color at the center, a smaller tear drop stone hanging just below that. “That’s all there is.”
Coulson handed over the file when Bucky reached for it. “He’s right, Steve, there’s nothing here.”
Steve closed the file he was looking through and put it aside to look through the box again. “There has to be more.” He was frantic now, and Bucky stepped up, placing a hand on his arm to stop him.
“But there isn’t.”
Steve let out a harsh sigh. “This doesn’t make any sense. People don’t just disappear.”
“Maybe they do,” Daisy answered, and all eyes turned on her. “I mean, think about it. A few years ago I was trapped in some underground, alien city, and now I can control earthquakes. Weird things happen, things we can’t always explain.”
“She’s got a point, punk,” Bucky agreed.
“What about this woman, this suspect?” Steve asked, taking the picture as Bucky held it out for him. The woman was just as familiar to him, and the niggling thought at the back of his mind sent a chill down his spine. “Something’s not right,” he muttered to himself as he handed the photo back. “Something is very not right.”
xXx
The last thing Dugan remembered were the most beautiful blue eyes he had ever seen. He’d been sent on a mission by Peggy to Long Island, close to the Hamptons but not quite in the ritzy neighborhood. The mission was simple enough: figure out why prominent businessmen from various large companies were going missing. All of them were last seen in the area, heading for a spa resort. The resort had, shortly before he was sent there, been outed as a front for the mafia. It had been providing wealthy, influential men with the company of women for the duration of their stay. Those in power believed it was a mafia plot: blackmail the businessmen and when they wouldn’t comply, get rid of them. Peggy, however, thought that particular scenario was too messy and had the potential to draw far too much attention to the spa, a fact the mafia heads would be well aware of and most likely steer clear of.
With that in mind, she asked him to look into it. So he did. Posing as a businessman passing through, he investigated each resident surrounding the spa one by one and until… until… fuck, until what? There was something there. He could feel it, the answer he was looking for. The truth. Why couldn’t he remember? And for that matter, where the hell was he?
It was pitch black, his senses muted, but ever so slowly he began to pick up sounds. It started with running of feet against hardwood floors. Then, whispered voices came forward in his consciousness.
“Where did he come from?” That voice was female, soft but sure.
“He just appeared. There was a bright light and then he was just there.” Another voice, also female, this one a bit shaky; full of emotion.
“Do you think he’s an angel, Mommy?” A child.
“I doubt it, look at the way he’s dressed. I’d believe time traveler first.”
“You think that’s possible?”
“Beats me, but five years ago no one believed in Norse Gods, so I’d say anything’s possible.”
“Maybe we should call the police. They should be able to help him.”
The voices had gotten steadily stronger before stopping. He thought maybe the people were gone and he just missed the footsteps, but then:
“He moved,” one of the women said.
Had he? He felt the impulse as a limb twitched. He supposed he had, then.
“Sir? Can you hear me?” One of them was closer now, beside him if his senses were to be believed. His mouth refused to articulate so all he managed was a groan.
xXx
“I’m sorry we couldn’t be of more help to you,” Coulson told them as he walked them to their car.
“We appreciate you humoring us, Director,” Steve replied as they stopped beside their SUV. At this point they just wanted to go home. The day had been emotionally draining and not for the first time Steve wished he could drown his sorrows in something. Maybe Thor still had some Asgardian meade left.
“I’ll have my agents keep looking into it. Something is bound to turn up.”
As if on cue, Daisy came bolting into the garage, heading straight for them.
“Agent Johnson?” Coulson questioned.
“You all need to see this,” she said simply, before turning on her heels and heading back the way she’d come.
“What’s the urgency?” Steve asked as they made it to the lab where Daisy was working. Fitz and Simmons were looking over her shoulder at her laptop but moved out of the way when Steve, Bucky, and Coulson approached.
“Okay, so, Director Carter, brilliant woman that she was, decided—when the technology became available—to digitize the frequency signals of every tracker beacon S.H.I.E.L.D. or the SSA ever had on file. On a hunch, I looked up the beacon Agent Dugan would have had on him, and turned it on.”
“You found him?” Coulson asked.
“Yep, and a police dispatch call to go with it.”
“Police dispatch?” Steve repeated.
“Apparently a young couple called the police claiming that a man had just appeared in their…” She paused to make a face and continued, “ drawing room in a flash of light. The police brought an ambulance and took him to the county hospital. He’s there right now.”
“Do you know what kind of shape he’s in?” Bucky asked.
Simmons spoke up this time. “Daisy was able to access his chart. From what I can tell, he’s in and out of consciousness and a little disoriented but other than that he’s in good condition.”
“We need to go get him,” Steve said.
“And we will,” Coulson replied. “Dr. Simmons, you're with us. Let’s go.”
xXx
Three weeks later Dugan was living in Stark Tower, trying to get used to this new world he had woken up in. Steve understood all too well and went out of his way to help his old friend as best he could. Dugan had always been a fairly simple man, he didn’t need much, didn’t want much and in this new age of excess it was a little overwhelming. Bucky and Steve had both hoped Darcy would be around to help, the way she had for both of them, but other than being there when they brought Dugan home, they hadn’t seen much of her at all.
In the meantime, Dugan was working with S.H.I.E.L.D. to find the 0-8-4 that had sent him to the future. He’d related everything he could remember as it all returned to him, starting with the woman who was responsible for all of this.
Her name was Katya, a young woman of Eastern European descent. They’d seen her picture, they didn’t need him to explain how beautiful she was. He had run into her during his investigation and he’d immediately pinpointed her as a person of interest. It was mostly because she was living alone in a wealthy, affluent neighborhood in 1950. No husband, no parents, just her. And the strangest thing was that none of the other residents thought that was weird. These were very traditional people, who didn’t bat an eye at her or her lifestyle. It was almost as if they didn’t really see her. He’d sent the picture he’d swiped to Peggy and continued to investigate.
“I got too close,” he explained. “She was sweet and charming. I started to convince myself that she was innocent.” He sounded pained, as if he had truly developed feelings for her in that short amount of time. “Then one day word got to me that the ‘Spa’ was not the only one in the area and since I had been there three more men had gone missing. On a hunch, I went to see her and ended up walking right into the middle of whatever she was doing to him. Next thing I know I’m here, in this time.”
“And you don’t remember her last name?” Daisy asked.
Dugan shook his head. “It’s on the tip of my tongue.”
“I think that’s all we’re going to get today,” Coulson cut in, standing from the table in the communal kitchen. For the last week or so, as the memories began to trickle in for Dugan, he, Daisy and Simmons were regulars at the Tower, taking notes and looking into whatever information he could give them.
“She’s the only thing I can see clearly from that day. Long brown hair, big blue eyes. I can even still hear her voice.”
It was another week before the truth came out.
xXx
The Tower was under attack, which wasn’t anything new, but this particular attack was less nuisance and more serious problem.
It started with a helicopter shooting flare bursts at the Tower's EMP defenses. Tony was out of the Tower in his suit, shooting the aircraft out of the sky and relocating it before it could hurt anyone one the ground. That had been a diversion, and opened Tony up to attack while ground agents forced their way into the Tower from the lobby before JARVIS could stop them. The small contingent of soldiers split up once in the building, joining more soldiers who had been meandering around the public areas as tourists or guests. They had a five minute head start before all active members of the Avengers and visiting S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were in action, tracking the intruder's' movements and pursuing them.
xXx
AIM knew that despite all their extensive planning they would never make it to the lab level before the lab manager, a woman their intel names as Darcy Lewis, could secure the scientists in the panic rooms and lock down all classified research in the vaults. They could, however, if all went according to plan, get there before she could make it to her own panic room. They could force her to open the vault.
That was Agent Paul Allen’s job. A former double agent embedded in S.H.I.E.L.D., he barely managed to escape when Hydra was outed. Now he found himself ascending the emergency stairwell to the lab levels, his cohorts keeping the Avengers and their allies busy.
Darcy Lewis was headed out of the vault lab just as he rounded the corner.
“Just the woman I was looking for,” he called out, halting her in her tracks. He smirked as he watched her turn slowly to face him and the smirk dropped off his face. By all accounts, Darcy Lewis was a poli-sci grad with a decent grasp of computer coding; a civilian through and through, but woman standing before him was not at all what he pictured.
Her eyes were a brilliant blue, sharper than he’d ever seen. It was almost as if they were glowing, crackling with energy. Her posture was tall, proud. She was not afraid of him or the weapon he had trained on her.
“Are you sure?” she asked, her voice taking on a melodic lilt.
When questioned later in one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s interrogation rooms, Agent Paul Allen would not be able to explain what happened next. He could only say that suddenly he’d forgotten why he was there, a haze like fog falling over his mind and a fear-gripping thought that he should have listened to his mother and gone to law school like his half brother.
When he came to, he was on the floor, looking up at Stark Tower security. Darcy Lewis was gone and the infiltration had been stopped.
xXx
“Intruder on the main lab level,” JARVIS sounded.
Bucky cursed, laying down a line of fire from his covered position. Dugan crouched beside him, picking off strays that managed to break through the line.
“What’s going on up there, JARVIS?” Steve’s voice called out over the comm links. Bucky and Dugan pulled back to reload.
“Only one agent, Captain. My sensors are spotty, I believe they’ve been tampered with. I can only confirm that Ms. Lewis is not yet in the panic room.”
“What did you say her name was, JARVIS?” Dugan asked, catching Bucky’s confused glance before he started firing again.
“Darcy Lewis, Sergeant Dugan.”
“That’s it! That’s her name!” Dugan shouted over the gunfire. He picked off two more before ducking back under cover.
“I thought her name was Katya?” Coulson’s calm tone was out of place in this situation.
“It was Katya Lewis.”
“Glad you remembered, Sarge, but can we focus on the current problem now?” Clint added.
“I’ve dispatched members of security to the lab level. My sensors are no longer spotty. The intruder had been dealt with and Ms. Lewis is in the panic room.”
“Good, we’re just about done here,” Steve replied.
xXx
“It’s just a coincidence, Tim,” Steve said, following after Dugan as they made their way through the sublevels of the tower.
“Could be, Cap, but some weird shit has been goin’ on and I’m not takin’ that chance,” Dugan replied.
They were headed for a small interrogation room where agents and employees were debriefed after incidents. Darcy was currently there, going through hers.
“How’s she doing?” Steve asked as they entered the observation room.
“A little shaken up, but she’s been through worse,” Coulson replied.
“That’s her!” Dugan interrupted, turning from the glass.
“How can that be possible? She looks nothing like the photograph,” Steve replied as he, Bucky and Coulson stepped up to the window.
“What are you talking about? She looks exactly like the photo!” Dugan told him, looking to each of them. It was obvious none of them seemed to believe him. He wasn’t sure why they couldn’t see what he saw, but he knew the woman in there was Katya.
xXx
Dugan brushed off dinner and went back to his apartment. The Tower was still on lockdown as per protocol, which ensured that everyone would be in the Tower when Dugan proved that he wasn’t seeing a familiar face in a young woman he’d never met. That if she could bend time, than she could fool them with her appearance.
When he knocked on her door, she answered quickly and the knowing gleam in her eye only affirmed his belief. He went on with his plan nonetheless.
“Hello, I don’t know if you know who I am,” he began with a charming smile. She smiled back.
“Of course, Sergeant Dugan. Steve and Bucky’s long lost chum,” she replied teasingly. He did not, repeat, did not blush. In all his haste he’d forgotten how beautiful, how sweet she was. How many long conversations had they shared over coffee at the local diner? How many nights did he fall asleep hoping she was innocent?
“Yes, well,” he cleared his throat. “Cap and Buck speak of you often so I thought I’d introduce myself.”
She smiled sweetly. “I’m about to sit down to dinner, care to join me?”
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“It’s no intrusion. Not for a friend of Steve and Bucky’s,” she told him, stepping aside and allowing his to pass.
He heard the door shut behind him before: “Privacy protocol, JARVIS.”
“Yes, Ms. Lewis,” he replied.
“You know, Tim,” she spoke again. “You're the only who’s ever seen through my glamours.”
“Is that right?” he asked, turning to face her.
She hummed. “My nana used to say that there would only ever be one person who could see through a witch's magic.”
“And who's that?”
“Supposedly, it’s your soulmate,” she explained. “Someone you would willingly let your guard down for.”
“Do all witches send their soulmates through time?”
Darcy sighed. “I don’t know why that happened. You must have triggered an opposing reaction in my spell. I wasn’t trying to hurt you. I could never hurt you.”
“And that’s supposed to make it better? What about all those men, did you mean to hurt them ?”
She was suddenly very angry, the rage boiling at the surface. “Those men got exactly what they deserved,” she spit, her intent almost deadly.
“Why, because they sought the company of a professional?” he questioned skeptically.
Darcy huffed, shaking her head. “Leave it to S.H.I.E.L.D. to be so in the know and yet completely blind to what’s really going on.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means, S.H.I.E.L.D. had no idea they had been infiltrated by Hydra, I don’t know why I expected them to figure out those men were SS.”
Dugan looked dumbfounded. “Nazi Secret Police? How… how is that possible?”
“After the war, the members of Hydra who had already infiltrated the US government in preparation for the Red Skull's assault had to find a new plan. So they decided to start smuggling in their comrades who escaped the Allies. They gave them new identities, jobs in high ranking and strategic places, and sometimes even plastic surgery to avoid detection.
“They were using that ‘Spa’ to pick up new orders from the man who ran it for the Marzetti Family. Dominic Marzetti’s beloved older brother fought for the Allies in the war, actually volunteered to go over there, and there was nothing Michael Marzetti hated more than a Nazi. So when I told Dominic what was going on, he agreed to help me.”
“So all of those men were…”
“Nazis,” she nodded. “Converted to the Hydra branch of Nazism when they were brought here.”
“But how did you know who they were?” he asked.
Darcy could see the weight of this information sitting heavily on him.
“The first one to go missing,” she continued. “I recognized him when he passed through town. I recognized him as the man that divided all of us up when we got off the cattle cars.”
Dugan had fallen onto the arm of the sofa as she spoke, unable to bear his own weight any longer.
“What did you do to them?” he asked, his voice soft.
“I come from a long line of ‘grey’ witches. Witches who toe the line between good and evil. Most of the time we keep to ourselves, but a few of us have been known to work for either side for the right incentives.” She paused. “I used a powerful form of dark magic to separate their souls from their bodies. I then sent them back in time, into the bodies of those who would not survive the camps they so proudly oversaw.”
“And your family?”
“Gone. I’m the last.” She said it with a sense of finality that spoke to just how long she’d had to live with this. “I spent decades agonizing over what happened to you. I thought…” She couldn’t finish as the tears began to fall. “I didn’t realize I had started to fall for you until you were gone.”
Dugan found his feet again, crossing to her and wrapping his arms around her; because the truth was, he felt the same.
“I’m here now.”