Chapter Text
The first time Darcy uses her powers, she’s one year old and no one notices.
It’s before she can walk much. She gets around a little, holding on to things-- but in a pinch, Darcy still likes to crawl. No one is paying much attention to her, because it’s her mother’s birthday. The house is full of adults that she doesn’t know, and she's settled in a corner with some blocks to entertain herself with. There are so many more interesting things in the room than blocks.
Like the power strip behind the computer desk.
No matter how many times her mama yells at her, Darcy always wants to pull out all the plugs. It’s hard to say if she knows that it’s a bad thing to do-- her thinking is simple at this age. She wants it, so it must be good.
One of the cords has been chewed by something-- a rat, or their dog Maggie-- and it’s frayed and dangerous. Her hands are spit-slick from being in her mouth. When Darcy presses them to the exposed wires, she should be electrocuted. There should be screaming.
But nothing happens.
She grows up doing a lot of things that most kids can’t do. Darcy’s mother thinks she’s good with technology, that it’s ‘in the genes’. Whatever that means.
It’s hard to explain how she does what she does. It’s all intuitive, like floating in water-- just a quality her body has. It can be explained if Darcy really tries, but it’s like a math class where they ask you to ‘show your work’. Explaining takes everything fluid and beautiful out of it. Makes it something flat and joyless.
She know there’s something odd about it, but she never really thinks about what it might mean. Until after the super heroes start to come out. Suddenly there are hundreds of them, in spandex and capes with silly names. In hoodies and masks.
Darcy doesn’t have a hero’s body-- she can’t scale a wall or fly. But why should she? When there are so many heroes out there, looking for the information that comes to her so easy?
So she sends the tips. Sometimes they act on them-- sometimes they don’t. But slowly, most begin to understand that the tips are always real. They always come with enough proof to act, and enough information for them to understand the danger that might be there.
Perhaps they call her something. She might have a name, among the heroes, but Darcy prefers not to know. It’s a one-way communication.
It’s hard to articulate where she is, the first time she hears his voice. Where are you when your mind is in one place, and your body is in another? She feels something brush against her-- a presence, a probe.
Hello? Darcy asks, uncertain. She meets things inside the computer sometimes, viruses and other simple beings. Nothing with a strong intelligence-- but this presence was different.
Good afternoon. It answered. The voice was polite, male-- cultured. With an English accent, of all things.
May I enquire as to why you are probing the edges of Mr. Stark’s private servers? It continued.
Darcy considered lying, but she’d not had much practice separating her thoughts from what was expressed in this place. Best to stick to the truth.
Tony Stark is Iron Man? Darcy asked, the press conference coloring her thoughts, so it came out of her almost in Tony’s voice.
Indeed. The voice said, with dry amusement.
Well then, I have some information for him. Darcy said, and she let the knowledge flow between them.
Tony Stark was more than capable of gathering his own information, especially with J.A.R.V.I.S. on the case. Still, sometimes Darcy happened upon something that seemed in his wheelhouse, and she’d pass it along.
Sometimes even when she had nothing Tony Stark might want to know, Darcy talked to J.A.R.V.I.S. Maybe it was that no one else truely knew Darcy. She had never thought of herself as having a secret identity, but she had never told anyone what she could do. There was no need to tell J.A.R.V.I.S. There was no way to lie to J.A.R.V.I.S.
Or rather, if there was a way to lie to him, Darcy found that she didn’t care to know it.
There was something about speaking like this that was so intimate.
She was inside some of the SHIELD files when something found her. It was like J.A.R.V.I.S., something smart. Something with a will. But it was not like J.A.R.V.I.S.
This was dark, dangerous.
Darcy was able only to send out a warning, a shout, before it was on her.
She came to with a pounding headache and a burnt taste in her mouth. And to someone touching her face with a cool, wet cloth.
“Tony, she needs medical attention!” A woman’s voice insisted, close to where Darcy lay. “We don’t know what happened to her, we don’t know how--”
“Pepper, we can’t take her to the hospital. Hospitals want ID. Hospitals keep records. And I’m not really inconspicuous in the suit or out of it. Besides… she’s one of us.” This was a voice that Darcy knew. Tony Stark.
“She’s not an Avenger, Tony. She’s probably still a minor!” The hand with the cloth was resting now against the side of her face. It felt nice.
“Pep, do you know that when… whatever happened, that every hero in the city got a message? All of them. Me, you, every Avenger, Spidey, Daredevil. God knows who else, Pep, because this girl’s like an urban fucking legend.”
Holy shit they’re loud. Darcy thought, irritably. Without thinking about the wisdom of it, she opened her eyes. The cool hand belonged to a woman with light red hair and freckles. She looked worried, but not pinched by it.
Tony was vibrating with a sort of nervous energy. “Hi. I’m Tony Stark.” He said, offering a hand. Darcy looked at it with a combination of exhaustion and amusement.
“I know who you are.” She said, and her voice came out raspy. “I’d shake your hand but I don’t think I can move right now.” Every muscle in her body felt sore.
The woman with the red hair was giving Tony an accusing stare.
Tony frowned. “J.A.R.V.I.S.? You did a scan. I thought you said she didn’t need a hospital.”
“Indeed, sir. The young lady will require fluids, rest, and nourishing food in a liquid form. I do not detect any permanent damage-- it appears to be similar to the physical effects of electric shock.”
At the sound of his voice Darcy tried to sit up, looking around. “J.A.R.V.I.S?”
“Hello, Cassandra.” J.A.R.V.I.S. said, and Darcy frowned. He had always called her Darcy. Then she laughed.
There are stupider code names, I guess.
“Hello again J.A.R.V.I.S.” Darcy relaxed back against the mattress, feeling silly for trying to see an AI.
It was good to hear his voice.
“...J.A.R.V.I.S, buddy, I am feeling a little out of the loop here.” Tony said, looking up at the ceiling. “Have you been fraternizing?”
“I was not aware that Cassandra was considered to be a hostile element, sir. She has proven herself helpful on more than one occasion.” J.A.R.V.I.S said stiffly.
“Obviously I don’t consider her to be hostile, or I wouldn’t have her here. At my house. Where I live. She just seems a little glad to see you.” He was obviously trying to be diplomatic, but was undercutting every word with a huge grin.
“It is a natural reaction when one's life is in danger to find relief in the presence of allies.” J.A.R.V.I.S. was all offended British Dignity, and Tony looked positively gleeful.
“Pepper. I think I’m embarrassing my AI in front of his girlfriend.” He whispered to the redhead, and pressing his hand to chest. “My little boy, all grown up. I’m so proud.”
“While I do hold Miss Cassandra in the highest esteem, I do not believe that would be an appropriate way to characterize our relationship.”
“How would you characterize your relationship?” Pepper asked, looking up at the ceiling with a quizzical expression.
J.A.R.V.I.S. was silent, which Tony seemed to find hilarious.
Darcy enjoyed tormenting others as much as the next person. But right now her head was pounding like something was stabbing into her temples. She didn’t know if she wanted a drink of water or if she needed to vomit up everything inside her stomach.
“J.A.R.V.I.S.” She said, hoarsely. “Did you get the files. Do they know-- about Hydra.” It was all she could get out before she started to hack.
Pepper filled a glass of water to her lips, and Darcy swallowed gratefully.
“I recovered it from our usual drop, yes. We are acting on your information.” He assured.
“Usual drop.” Tony muttered, and Pepper rolled her eyes.
“Can you tell us what happened to you?” She asked. Darcy grimaced at the memory.
“Zola.” She says, with the last of her voice.