Work Text:
BOOM
Darcy’s day was no longer going well. She was lying in the street surrounded by the smoldering remains of Thor only knows what in so much pain she was almost numb. Numb was good, right? Wait, no. Numb was bad. Very bad. But then why did it feel so good?
*
Jarvis’s day was no longer going well. He was currently trying to get as much help for Darcy as he could, but the Avengers were scattered, the cops were outgunned, and the ambulances couldn’t get into the heart of the battle zone because of all the debris. Steve was still trying to get Bruce on site but it was taking time in the ensuing chaos. The spies were still too far away to be of any help, and Thor and Tony were in mid battle, under attack from Jarvis wasn’t even sure what.
* Earlier that day *
“Darcy.”
Darcy rolled over and grumbled.
“Darcy, wake up.”
After more incoherent mumbles, Darcy inhaled deeply and yawned. “Sup, J…”
“Sir would like to know if you’d care to accompany him this morning into the city.”
“Wuh-ayeeeeee?” she asked around another gaping yawn.
“Sir has a meeting in the same building that both Dr. Foster and Miss Potts will be in and he thought you may like to see them for lunch and have a girl’s afternoon.”
Darcy smiled sleepily up at the camera in her ceiling. “Yeah, that’d be great. Thanks Jarvis. When does he need to leave?”
Darcy had been excited to go to lunch with Pepper. Jane she loved, but she went to lunch with her regularly. And by ‘went’ she meant force-fed her bits of pop-tart and sandwich on a daily basis. She didn’t get to go out with Pepper as often. She’d quickly put on her favorite top and a cute pair of jeans with some sparkly flats before grabbing a cardigan and her purse to meet Tony in the garage.
That had been this morning. Everything had been great until things went to pot about 15 minutes ago. Now she was lying in the street, her coffee mixing in a puddle with her blood. Ugh. Blood. Her blood. When had that happened? Where was it coming from? Well, from her, obviously, she thought with dry humor.
She’d met Tony in the garage and together they’d ridden out in one of his sports cars. That morning at Tony’s insistence Happy had driven Jane and Pepper to their meeting and was currently waiting on them. Arriving at the building, Tony had left Darcy with Happy in the lobby before waving goodbye and heading off to his own meeting. Having gotten ready so fast that morning, Darcy hadn’t gotten the chance to have any coffee. Happy had offered to run down to the nearest chain coffee place for her but she’d declined. Darcy didn’t mind getting it herself. She’d left the coffee shop with 4 complicated drinks (one for herself, Jane, Pepper, and Happy- his had chocolate sprinkles on top because he was such a sweetheart.). She’d been looking forward to seeing the surprise on the man’s face when she handed him his. Happy was a good guy and though she knew he was paid extremely well, she also felt he didn’t get enough thanks.
But that had been then. Now all of her good intentions lay strewn all over the ground and her. Damned explosion. She’d paid good money for these drinks! Looking down Darcy saw the explosion had literally knocked her socks off. Well, shoes off (she wasn’t wearing any socks). Where were her shoes? And why had there been an explosion? Darcy’s head was still swimming from the blast. Trying to focus, she did her best to retrace her steps that day- bed, Jarvis, shoes, Tony, car, hi Happy, bye Tony, I got it Happy, walk, walk, walk, 4 please, thank you, walk, walk, walk, sun, walk, nice day, walk, walk, walk, BOOM, blood, shoes? Huh, a lot of help that had been- Darcy still didn’t know what had happened. She tried to sit up but couldn’t seem to- something heavy was pinning her down.
“Jarvis… help…”
*
Steve was in the living room sketching when the alarm had begun to sound.
Jarvis was speaking to him before he’d even jumped off the couch to run for his uniform and shield. “Captain Rogers.”
“Jarvis- what’s the situation?” Sweet artsy Steve was gone. Captain America was in the Tower.
“An explosion down town. All Avengers have been notified. Sir is closest to the scene. Thor is taking off as we speak to join the battle via air with Sir. The criminals appear to be new, Captain. They do not appear on any of SHIELD’s databases. Casualties appear to be zero an-” Jarvis stopped short.
Steve was already stepping into his uniform. “And what, Jarvis? What’s wrong?”
“Dar- Miss Lewis was caught in the initial blast. I am accessing traffic cameras and security footage. She is lying in the street, bleeding. Captain-”
Color drained from Steve’s face and his heart jumped into his throat. “Get Bruce.” Steve stuck his shield to his back, turned, and ran to the garage where Bruce was already waiting for him, med bag in hand.
The city was in absolute chaos as people ran from danger. Steve and Bruce raced through traffic and people on Steve’s motorcycle. The chaos got worse the closer to the fighting they got. Speeding up, Steve zipped them first through crowds, then traffic jams, then accidents, and eventually rubble.
Besides Tony, Steve knew that Thor was the only other member on scene. Sam was in DC, and Bucky, Clint, and Natasha were on a mission somewhere. He didn’t expect they’d have any other back up. Getting them as close as he could, Steve parked.
“Jarvis- how is she?”
Jarvis had been monitoring Darcy’s vitals via special bracelet that all those closest to the team wore. When the blast had hit her the spike in her readings had made Jarvis search for her with the traffic cameras. Steve had never heard the AI sound so distressed. “Hurry.”
They’d been running so fast that they’d almost missed her.
Darcy was still trying to wrap her mind around what was happening when she saw an American flag run by in a blur. “Steve-” Darcy wheezed out at him.
Skidding to a halt, Steve had nearly fallen over before turning and running back to her. Darcy was under several twisted metal pieces of something no longer identifiable. “Hang on Darce, I’ll get this off of you in a jiff-“
Bruce stopped him. “No, don’t- she might bleed out. We need t-”
Suddenly the high-pitched whistle of a missile filled the air and Steve was shouting, “GET DOWN!”
Darcy watched with uncomprehending eyes as time slowed and everything happened in slow motion. Bruce hulked above her and braced himself just as the blast hit Steve’s already raised shield to cover them all. The blast threw Steve straight into the Hulk’s back.
The screeching of the quinjet sounded overhead as it fired back on their behalf in the direction the missile had come from. “Jeeezuz!” Came the static mangled voice of Clint over the coms into Steve’s ear. “You ok Cap?!”
Steve didn’t answer right away. It felt as if his head were a bell- vibrating and ringing as he staggered forward.
Bucky’s voice came next as he shouted, “Hit ‘em again!” Natasha happily complied and another round of shots were fired.
“Hulk,” Steve said, still trying to focus his eyes. “Protect Darcy.”
Hulk nodded grimly before wrapping himself completely around Darcy.
Satisfied, Steve turned and began running toward the fight. “Avengers-” he wheezed out, his control coming back to him. “Assemble!”
*
Tony and Thor were in the air. Whatever these things were, they weren’t friendly. They sort of reminded Tony of gremlins. Only with wings. And rocket launchers. He’d just been sitting down to his meeting when the first explosions had rocked the block and his Avenger’s com had sounded.
Without so much as a goodbye Tony had raced out of the conference room toward the lobby. Happy had greeted him with his portable suit that he’d taken the liberty of grabbing out of the car.
“Go, I’ll get Pepper and Jane.”
“Thanks-”
Happy's face was marred with concern. “Boss, Darcy went for coffee- she hasn’t come back yet.”
“Darcy can take care of herself-” I hope. Tony thought as he frantically jumped into his suit. “Keep an eye out for her,” he said as they ran to the doors and stepped outside. The helmet’s faceplate latched into place as he powered up. With a nod from Happy, Tony took a running start before taking off to make first contact.
“Sir-”
“Jarvis! Talk to me.”
“Sir, Dar-” Before Jarvis could finish his sentence, every internal alarm went off in Tony’s suit. “Incoming!”
Tony twisted just in time to avoid a missile. “WHAT THE HELL! WHO THE FUCK ARE THESE GUYS?!?!”
“They appear to be some sort of flying humanoid creatures. With military grade weaponry.”
“…What, like fairies? Are you telling me that fairies are blowing up my city?”
“They look closer to societal depictions of demons, sir.”
Glancing around, Tony spotted one. “Yes, they do. So talking is probably out of the question since they just tried to blow me out of the sky.”
“Sir, Dar-”
“Jezus!” Tony shouted as he was suddenly jerked downward and to the side. “Jarv-i-i-i-i-i-s!”
“Sir, it would appear that the evil demon fairies have latched onto you and are ripping at the suit. Suit integrity is down to 98% …97%”
Tony struggled to keep airborne as the evil demon fairies (Jarvis’s name, not his) tried to rip his suit apart in mid air. Cursing, he dove and began to barrel roll in an attempt to dislodge them. “Jarvis, initiate protocol Jason Grace!”
“Initiating.”
Suddenly there were shrieks as the demon-whatevers were electrocuted and fell from the suit. Tony would be forever glad he’d thought to give the suit electrocuting capabilities. He didn’t have time to dwell though as more monsters began to swarm him. “Shit.” Before Tony could ask Jarvis where the hell the back up was, a distant roll of thunder sounded before lightning cracked and arced across the sky, hitting some of the gremlins.
“Thor! About time you got here! You’re late to the party!”
“This is not the party my friend! This is the battle! The party shall come after we are victorious!”
“Sir-”
“Busy.” Tony grit his teeth in concentration as he and Thor fired on the creatures.
“Sir.”
“Give me a second.”
Steve’s voice came in over the coms. “Iron Man! Thor! Drive them toward me! Soldier and Widow have the jet- they’ll shoot ‘em down and I’ll knock ‘em back! Hawkeye, you’re gatekeeper- catch the strays!”
“You got it, Cap!”
“Aye, Captain!”
“Roger, Rogers.”
Between the two of them, Tony and Thor managed to drive most of the whatever they were forward toward Steve's direction.
“Sir!”
“Yeah-” The drone of the quinjet rumbled above Tony as Clint’s arrows began firing past him in quick succession. The jet blasted into the swarm, knocking most of them out of the air. The remaining ones that managed to drive out of the sky down to street level were clobbered by Steve (who was battering them with his shield and swinging a broken traffic sign at them like a Louisville slugger).
Throughout the battle Tony knew that Jarvis had been trying to tell him something. He’d sounded anxious but Tony hadn’t been able to hear him out with all of the fighting. He hated having to ignore his AI when he sounded like that. But emergencies were emergencies. Chasing a few strays that had managed to get away, Tony blasted them out of the sky. “Ok J, what is it?”
Jarvis’s voice rang through Tony’s helmet in his private feed. “Darcy has been injured!”
Tony’s head snapped up and his body went ridged. Still patched into the team’s coms, Tony began firing questions. “Darcy?! How bad is she?"
"Her monitoring bracelet has been damaged, I am no longer aware of her status," Jarvis fretted.
If the AI could wring his hands, Tony was certain he would be. "Where is she?”
Steve’s voice came over the coms “She’s one block over- we were hit before Bruce could help her. He hulked out and I left her in Hulk’s protection. She needs help though. Hawkeye, Thor- can you take care of the stragglers? The rest of us will go find them!”
*
Darcy was seeing green. Literally. All she could see was green. Green everything. Green skin, green hair, green nails. Green. Why so much green? It wasn’t St. Patrick’s Day, she was certain of it. Besides, it didn’t smell like beer. It smelled like… coffee. Speaking of which, where was her coffee? Oh, that’s right, on her. How had that happened, again? Was it before the green or after? Either way, what a waste of perfectly good coffee.
Suddenly someone began shouting at her. “Darcy? Darcy!”
“Steve?” she asked, tiredly. God, she was so tired.
“She’s still alive!” Steve shouted into the coms. “Get down here!”
Tony raced down to street level just as Hulk was unwrapping himself from around Darcy. Steve, Bucky, and Natasha were already assessing her injuries. Tony landed with a thud as Natasha turned on her heels and ran back into the jet.
Bucky looked at Steve before looking down at Darcy. “This is gonna hurt, doll,” He said before he clamped his metallic hand down hard over her wound.
Hulk watched as Darcy yelped out in pain. Anxiety twisting his green face into the most anxious puppy-dog face Tony had ever seen.
Steve looked up at Hulk. “It’s ok, Hulk. You did really great- you saved her from getting killed. If it hadn’t been for you she wouldn’t still be here. But now she needs Bruce. Don’t worry, Bruce will make her better.” Steve put his hand on Hulk’s arm and gave him a small reassuring squeeze.
Hulk nodded. As much as he wanted to stay and watch over Darcy, he knew Bruce could help. Bruce always helped. It’s one of the reasons Hulk protected him. Everyone just thought that Hulk was the manifested rage in Bruce Banner. What they never bothered to consider was that he was also the manifestation of the need within Bruce to protect. Sometimes righteous fury was the most frightening form of rage there is. Hulk exhaled as he receded and allowed Bruce back out.
Natasha came running back up with a robe and Bruce’s medical bag in hand. Throwing the robe over Bruce, she waited for him to cover himself before handing him his bag. Having taken care of the last of the gremlins, Thor and Clint came swooping down.
“Sir-"
“She’s alive, Jarvis. But I’m gonna get out of the armor now to help them- you’ll have to talk to one of the others, ok? Phone Happy- tell him we’ve got her and we’ll meet him and the girls back at the tower. It’s gonna be ok, Buddy.” Tony pressed the release on his suitcase armor and stepped out. He knelt down beside Darcy as the armor folded itself back into the case and took her hand. Thor elected to relay what was being said to Jarvis who was still watching through traffic cameras while the others got to work.
“How are you doing, Darcy?” Bruce asked as he checked her pulse and pulled out an IV of morphine.
Darcy’s mouth felt dry as she spoke. “I’m gonna need chocolate. Lots of chocolate…”
Bruce gave her a wan smile.
“I’m sure Jarvis will get you all the chocolate you want,” Clint said as he took the IV from Bruce and held it above her.
Darcy eyed Bruce dubiously. “…What are you doing?”
“I’m going to administer an IV to help with the pain,” Bruce responded calmly as he ripped open an alcohol pad.
“No one ever tells you getting shot means you get shots…” Darcy groaned and turned her face toward Tony.
Tony didn’t bother to correct her. He was pretty sure she’d been caught in one of the initial blasts, and not shot. He also didn’t bother to tell her that an IV is not a shot. Because after all, a needle was still a needle. Tony could see the anxiety in her eyes. She needed something to focus on. He could do that. He was good at being the center of attention. “Shit,” he said, trying to distract her. “Jarvis is going to be so mad at me. I take you out on a field trip and look what happens- you get lost, shot, and hit with flying metal all in under an hour. He’s gonna ground me for weeks.”
“HA- ow…” Darcy gasped out. Laughing. Laughing was bad. Laughing right now was the devil.
“Ok, Darcy. I’m going to put the IV in now so hold still. You’re going to start feeling much better real soon.” Bruce promised.
Darcy scrunched her nose and closed her eyes tightly when Bruce stuck her. Tony gripped her hand tighter. It might seem silly to people who had never been severely injured before, but he understood Darcy’s issue. Her mind was ignoring the fact that she’d been seriously hurt because it was too overwhelming- physically, mentally, and emotionally to deal with. So instead it was focusing on small things- things like needles, which, Darcy obviously didn’t like.
Bruce administered the IV in a smooth motion before reaching back and squeezing the bag Clint held out to him.
Steve and Natasha had run back to the jet for a stretcher and were now reemerging down the ramp with it. Darcy started to relax as they approached and prepared to lift her onto it. Knowing the pain would be excruciating, Bruce wanted to wait until the morphine kicked in before they tried to move her.
“Ok Darcy,” Bruce stated, “how many fingers am I holding up?”
“Purple.”
Bruce nodded. “Yup, let’s move her.”
“Hey, when this is all done and I’m out of the hospital, let’s have a party,” she smiled up at them. Bruce was right, she really was starting to feel better.
Clint’s lips twitched in a smile. He glanced at Natasha who nodded. “Deal,” he said down at her.
Darcy looked at Bruce reassuringly in what Steve was certain was an attempt to cajole him into joining. “We can do science and drink lots of vodka. We can drown science in vodka. Drunk science.”
Bucky’s lips twitched. “Why would you want to make science drunk?”
Darcy rolled her eyes at him. “For science! Obviously.”
Tony was still holding her hand. “Sounds awesome. Can I come?”
Darcy’s head rolled back before lolling to the side. “Pshhhhh dude. It’s at YOUR house!”
Tony laughed. “Awesome. I hear I throw the best parties.”
Darcy pouted at him. “You don’t know?”
Tony shook his head and offered her a weak smile. “Never remember much of them.”
Darcy nodded sagely back as she looked from Tony to Bucky. “That’s the sign of a good party.” Bucky humored her and nodded back.
After some brief shifting, Bucky continued to hold Darcy’s wound while Steve, Clint, and Thor lifted her onto the stretcher. Clint handed Bruce the IV while he ran to prep the jet with Natasha. With Bucky still clamping on Darcy’s waist, Steve and Thor lifted the stretcher while Tony and Bruce walked beside it.
“Somebody grab my coffee…” Darcy mumbled out at them as they carried her into the jet.
*
The spies had been about to set a course for the hospital or SHIELD’s medical wing but Darcy wanted to go home to Tony’s private medical floor instead because Jarvis was in the building. Since Tony’s medical floor was arguably one of the best in the city, none of them argued.
The moment they were in the building Jarvis started talking to Darcy. “Darcy. Darcy.”
Darcy smiled, “Haaaay J.” She’d been fighting the urge to pass out on the ride over, but she finally surrendered as they entered the elevator.
“Don’t worry, Jarvis, she’ll be fine now.” Bruce reassured the AI as they rode down to the Medical floor where an entire medical team was waiting for them with a gurney. The team watched as Darcy was wheeled away, accompanied by only Bucky (who was still clamping her wound) and Bruce (who was still carrying the drip bag).
*
Hours later Tony was sitting in Darcy’s room. She’d come out of surgery fine and was now sleeping peacefully (doped up). Holding her hand Tony was surrounded by boxes upon boxes of chocolate, flowers of all kinds, and some of the biggest stuffed animals Steve had ever seen. Everyone had been surprised when they’d started arriving by delivery men from every delivery service in the city and had immediately assumed it was Tony’s doing. But Tony had been just as baffled. When Tony had asked Jarvis about the stuff, Jarvis had said Darcy wanted chocolate (Thor had relayed her earlier demands via com), that flowers were customary, and that stuffed animals were comforting and sold in every hospital gift shop in the country. When questioned about the quantity of his gifts, Jarvis simply cited that he’d taken a page out of Tony’s playbook and reminded him about some of his extravagant gestures over the years.
Tony couldn’t argue with that.
Happy had brought Jane and Pepper back to the safety of the tower hours ago and both of the women had camped out on the plush armchairs in the corners of the room. One by one as they finished their reports and briefings the others had filed in. Thor had taken over Jane’s chair, settling her on his lap; Steve and Bucky had sat in the chairs by the small table; Natasha leaned against a dresser while Clint crouched on top of it; and Bruce sat down with Happy by the window. Not wanting to leave, they all settled in for a long night.
It was well past 4am when Darcy’s eyelids fluttered opened. “Jarvis?” She whispered out into the dim room.
“Yes, Darcy. I am here. I’ve had chocolate delivered for you.”
Darcy smiled weakly. “You’re the best.”
“How do you feel?”
“Floaty.”
Bruce came into view and took her pulse. “That’s to be expected. Are you in any pain?” Darcy shook her head. Bruce nodded back before double-checking her IV. Taking her hand in his he placed a small device with a button on top in it. “If you do start to feel pain, hit this button. Ok?”
“Ok.”
The other members of the team gathered around her to see her condition for themselves. Steve handed her one of the smaller stuffed animals, while Bucky brushed a light kiss to her forehead. Both Pepper and Jane kissed her cheeks and Thor patted her gently on the head. Natasha nodded at her before setting a box of the chocolates down on the bed by her hand. Happy left some magazines and the remote by her bed within reach for her. They all slowly filed out wishing her a good night with promises to visit her the next day before heading back to the residential floors of the tower.
When they were left alone, Tony produced a small box from one pocket, and her monitoring bracelet from the other.
“It got damaged in the blast,” he explained as he placed it back on her wrist. Opening the box he showed her what looked like a set of pearl earrings. “These are a com device I’ve been working on for you. The pearls are hallow and have little transmitters inside of them. If you wear them you’ll be able to talk to Jarvis when you’re out of the tower.”
Darcy smiled at him sleepily. “Thanks, boss-man.”
Tony nodded. “Do you want me to stay with you?”
Darcy shook her head. “It’s ok. I’ve got J.”
Tony smiled. “Yeah, you do. Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow, kid.”
“Night Tony.” Darcy sighed one he was gone.
“Sleep, Darcy.” Jarvis said, “I have you. Rest.”
Darcy closed her eyes and surrounded by her mountains of chocolates, her fields of flowers, and her own army of plush toys, she did just that. Jarvis really was the best.