Changing Your Life. by Voracity2
Summary: Darcy Lewis is not the standard human and she's not putting up with pushy people who are trying to run her life for her and her daughter. It's not her usual way to fight but they threatened her kid.
Categories: Non-Buffy Stories & Crossovers > Avengers Characters: None
Series: None
Chapters: 8 Completed: Yes Word count: 128049 Read: 156375 Published: 03/18/2021 Updated: 03/18/2021
Story Notes:
This had been on the list's archive as 'April nano challenge 2020'. That covered up to the end of part 3.

1. Part 1 by Voracity2

2. Part 2 by Voracity2

3. Part 3 by Voracity2

4. Part 4 by Voracity2

5. part 5 by Voracity2

6. part 6 by Voracity2

7. part 7 by Voracity2

8. part 8 by Voracity2

Part 1 by Voracity2
Note: Started March 29, 2020. Finished Nano goal in 4 ½ days of writing. Finished April 12th. Added second epilogue April 16th

Note 2: Madeline Canbary is not real. Isadora Duncan is actually real and a woman I look up to for her don't give a fuck attitude.

Note 3: There is talk of a past sexual assault and some healing from it mentioned in the story a few times. A forced heat situation. It is not graphic.



Changing Your Life.




Jane looked up as Darcy walked in carrying her fussy daughter. "What happened? Were they out of oatmeal?"

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Someone in the local confederation group got huffy that I'm not dating one of them. Told my daughter she was faulty. Even though she's a purebred." She put her down and pointed. "Go tell Aunt Jane." Aria pouted as she walked over to complain at Jane about stupid idiots.

Darcy sighed as she sat down. "Oh, and they're trying to fix me up with a mate in the local group." Jane scowled. "I know. I don't like it either. I can't see it going very well either." She smirked. "They're trying to force it though." She shrugged. "And I'm about to scale up and destroy things."

"Go for it," Jane said. "We'd all like that." She hugged Aria. "You're a good little dragon."

"Yes I damn well am," Aria agreed, pouting up at her favorite aunt.

"Language, young lady," Darcy quipped, but grinned at her little girl's moment of powerful.

Jane snickered at the little girl. "Go sit and play? Let your mom do data entry."

"Fine. I'll go talk to the old lady next door's Growlie."

"No talking to people's Growlies please," Darcy said patiently. "It creeps people out."

"Fine." She flapped a hand at her mother. "If you're sure." She went to get her stuffed wolf friend, given to her by Darcy's current boyfriend. "Is Mr. Paul coming over soon?"

"Not sure, kitten." Darcy shrugged. "I know he heard them complaining and me snarking back about him being a better man than the one they were trying to force on me." She took the files from Jane to get to work. She frowned. "Wasn't Ian doing some of this yesterday?"

"They're in the wrong boxes," Jane sighed. "Or space is suddenly twisted to eat itself."

"Fuck," Darcy muttered. "Is he doing that on purpose?"

"No idea but do try to reteach him."

"Gladly." She got into the files and went back farther to the last one she had done. "Shit." Her daughter hopped up to stare at her, eyes wide. "He messed up last month's too, Jane. I did April's and it looks right. All but two days and that may be explainable." She hugged her daughter to calm her down.

"Let me pull the files to make sure back to January. " Jane moaned but tossed down her pen, helping her grab those files from the boxes. Darcy settled in to check details and fix things. When Erik Selvig and Ian, the intern, showed back up with the measuring devices Darcy glared at them. Erik stepped back. "Not your doing," Darcy said bluntly. "Honey, let Uncle Erik read to you please?" Her daughter quit sitting on her lap to go ask Erik what he had been doing and why.

She motioned Ian over and pointed. "You messed it up. Again." He slumped. "All the way back to February. I don't know how," she said quietly. "But I don't have the time to redo all your work and the rest of the stuff I do." She stared at him. "So it will never happen again."

"As another note, if I get the wrong numbers input into the formula, I can create an explosion," Jane said without looking. "Which I would have done if I was building a new terminus like I had planned for this weekend." She glared at Ian. "If Aria filled in one day, and did it brilliantly, you should be able to do that, Ian." She handed Darcy a stack of notes she had made, letting Darcy put it aside for now. "How are we looking?"

"February is nearly done," Darcy said. "There's a few extra numbers in one area I'm not sure where they came from. It's not labeled." She stared at her. "The time codes it looks like?"

Jane came over to look, then shook her head. "Did I do that?"

"Not sure," Darcy said. "It's not on the notes." She looked at Erik. "Are the time codes important?"

"We had to take the multiple readings those days," he reminded them. "Due to that fluctuation. So there's probably a few for each day." Darcy handed him the notes. He marked lines between groups and handed them back with a grin then went back to telling Aria about the desert.

"Okay, I can understand that. Let me go up and do a bit of reformatting." She moved up to split cells under the same date to add those. "Did it start on the fifteenth? I remember we had something start then."

"It did but we didn't get extra readings until the eighteenth," Jane said.

"Okay." She could fix that and then move onto March's. Ian was pouty but oh well. She got finished later that night, after dinner and bath time, and saved everything down twice, once on the backup hard drive. Once on the online backup that was with a privacy company. Then she moved onto the other notes since her daughter was down for the night. At least she had managed to feed and bathe her. Some days, things were really hard being a single mom.

***

Darcy looked at the meeting she had been called to. "First, I don't care!" They all glared. "Second, she is from a mating cycle, people. Aria came to be because some little bitch at Culver decided to go around stealing suppressant patches. I went into heat suddenly in the middle of the damn campus. It's one reason why she died. She got me and another five of us."

They all hissed and winced. "So yes, my daughter is a pureblood dragon and I don't blame her father. With that sudden heat, he had no option to get away because he didn't know. I had no option of fighting it off because I couldn't get another patch thanks to her friends in low places. So yes, Aria came to be from a proper mating flight and her father has never been in her life."

"We had only heard of such incidences, not who was involved."

"That's the law," Darcy agreed impatiently. "To protect people. Third, fuck yourself," she noted, staring at the head of the local confederation council. "I don't need someone to decide who I'm seeing and when. I don't have time to baby another failed relationship while I'm working.

"Whoever it is, can fuck themselves too. I have a lot of my present time taken and no energy to want to deal with a whiny male who can't find his own mate. It's not good for my health, my daughter's health, and I'll be damned if I'm going to play damsel for *anyone*." She clapped her hands.

"I was there when the Dark Elves came and helped defend us all against them. I was there when Loki was attacking New Mexico, right up the street, and protecting some of the townspeople there. The phrase you're going to get is 'no thank you'." She turned and walked off. "And stay out of my relationship. If I want to date someone who isn't a dragon that's fine with me. At least *he* respects me and my daughter."

She let the meeting room door slam behind herself. She went to the daycare she and Jane had picked, smiling at the harried looking daycare worker. "Is the wetness from my daughter crying? Or the hair pulled mess from her?" she asked with a grin. "I figured you're looking frazzled due to Aria being a little bitch today. She had it earlier."

"No, the toddlers are throwing things," she said with a smile back. "Aria's been a dear all day, though she did show off her scales."

"She did what?" Darcy beamed. "My baby scaled up?"

"Oh, was that the first time? I should've taken pictures. I'm sorry."

"Nah," Darcy said with a hand wave and a grin. "She can do it at home for pictures. She's a year too early and I didn't expect that." She looked around the corner, waving at the kids. Aria squealed as she ran over to pounce her. "Hi, kiddo. Tell Miss Janice and Miss Brenda thank you."

"Thank you for watching me today, Miss Janice. Give Miss Brenda a hug for me?"

"Of course I will, Aria. Next time, please don't eat other people's oatmeal?"

Darcy looked at her. "You had breakfast."

"Oops. I got nibbly, Mommy."

She sighed. "Should I replace some?"

"No, it was baby oatmeal."

Darcy nodded, giving her a pat on the arm as she carried Aria off. "Thank you."

"You have a good day, Miss Janice," Aria called with a wave and a grin. "Oooh, Turtle!" She got down and went to get her stuffed wolf friend, bringing it back. "Here we are." She hopped a few times until Darcy hauled her back up to put on her hip. "Are we going to see Auntie Jane?"

"Yup, I had to call off work for a meeting with the local confederation." She looked at her daughter. "If they come near you again, you yell really loudly."

"Are they being dumb bunnies?" she demanded.

Darcy nodded. "Yup, they sure are." She carried her back to Jane's apartment, tapping before walking in. "Go get one single granola bar. Then come show us your scales, Princess." She squealed to get one, coming out nibbling it, and handing Jane one.

"You are just like your mother sometimes," Jane said, grinning at her. "What did you do today?"

"She stole some oatmeal and managed some scaling up." Darcy sat down and pulling out her phone. "Okay. Let's see, Princess Kitten." Aria wiggled out of her shirt and concentrated real hard, scrunching up her nose. Then scales popped out. "Oooh, you're blue! That's sweet!" She had taken film.

"That's really pretty," Jane said, giving her a hug. "Still under your skin too so not so scratchy. Good job!"

She smiled at Ian, who nodded. "They're very pretty, Aria. I know that's an important point to hit. Good job."

"Thank you, Ian." She put back on her shirt, letting her scales fade. Darcy put up her phone and gave her a hug. "Was my daddy blue?"

"Brown. You know most dragons are their eye colors." She stared at her.

"Then why aren't you?"

She winked and tweaked her nose. "That, my darling, is a secret. Just like your eyes are green." Aria blinked at her then ran to the mirror to check. Then she ran back to pounce her mother again.

"Why is that?" Ian asked.

"The dragon color overrides your natural eye color. Most of us have our eyes change color to our dragon scale color when we start to manifest." She smiled. "It's a family trait sort of thing for her to have a different one."

"Oh, that's different," Ian said, turning back around to get back to work. "How did that meeting they summoned you to go?"

"They're still trying to set me up with someone local." She looked at Jane.

"We're probably moving in three months." Ian moaned, staring at her. "Norway. Huge observatory there." She looked at Darcy again. "So she'll need some snow stuff."

"She has some leftover from winter. We can get more as she grows." Darcy looked at her, getting a nod back. "Okay, you and Turtle the wolf play for a few while I do Jane's typing." She sat down with her coloring books and her stuffed wolf. Ian got up with a sigh so she sat down to look at the forms. She looked at him and motioned him over, pointing at things.

"These two are switched on the tables due to screen room needed," she said quietly. "And that's this column," she said with a point. He groaned, taking the laptop to fix all that. Darcy used the tablet she had to organize a few things Jane needed and answer Jane's email. "Oh, Jane. Stark wrote." Jane held out a hand to get the tablet. "Is it good news?"

Jane smiled and nodded. "We've been offered a spot in the tower working on the bridge project. Fully funded." Ian beamed at her. "But we have to leave next week."

Ian winced. "I need to be here for another semester."

"We need to talk to Erik quickly," Darcy said, calling his apartment. "Erik, me. Come over immediately, there's an offer on the table." She hung up. "He's actually putting on pants for this." Erik Selvig opened the door a few minutes later, he only lived up the hall.

"Hi, Uncle Erik."

"Hi, Pumpkin. What offer?" Jane showed him. He read it over, then smiled at her. "That's a serious move up, Jane. Fully funded means new machines."

"I know," she said happily. "And Ian has to stay through this semester and next."

"I'm not being moved for another six months," he said, looking at Ian, who nodded he could work with him. "Is Darcy going?"

"I'd turn it down if she doesn't," Jane said. "I'd starve to death without her." Aria giggled, hugging her. "Let me answer him back." She sent back an email message about her wanting to go, but she did have Darcy and Darcy's daughter as her lab helpers. She had Erik, who had to be here for six months, and Ian, who had to be here for college time for about seven months. But she and Darcy would love to move immediately with Aria.

"Jane, mention the thing," Darcy said quietly, staring at her. "Just in case we run into a bigoted ass."

"Oh, yeah." She sent that as a second email with 'Darcy reminded me to note that she's a scaled shape changer and so is her daughter, who is three'. She got back an email after that one saying that shape changers were fine with him. Darcy had already passed a SHIELD background check. Aria looked cute in the pictures. And did she need a room in her apartment for them.

"He's offering housing but only if you live with me," she said, looking at Darcy, who shrugged. "I'm not against that." She noted that was a good thing, Darcy made sure she ate and slept. Tony replied that was a good thing and they could be brought over in a week. He included the scheduled flight and movers coming times. "We have to pack! The movers come in five days, we leave in seven."

"So an overnight bag," Darcy agreed. "Let me finish this and I'll start."

"I can start with the equipment," Ian offered, moving to do that. Erik came to help. Darcy finished up the rest of the emails and data entry Ian had abandoned, then went to pack up hers and Aria's stuff. There wasn't that much of it but she also had to tell her boyfriend, who pouted a lot. He wanted one last date so they went out that night with him. Aria slept on his couch while she and the wolf shape changer had a lot of messy, loud fun in the bedroom.

***

Darcy got out of the car first, looking around. "Guards," she said quietly. "Okay." She held out a hand, helping Jane's bag out then Jane. Then Aria got unbuckled and got out with their bag. She had decided it was her job to guard the bags so they let her carry the lighter one. Jane's had her laptop and a few other things that hadn't gotten packed. They got the single suitcase out of the backseat and Darcy took Aria's hand to walk into the tower behind Jane.

Jane smiled as they made it to the guard desk. "I'm Dr. Jane Foster, we're supposed to be starting work tomorrow. This is my assistant Darcy Lewis." She pointed. "And her daughter."

"We don't have anything on tomorrow's shifts," the guard said.

"We're also supposed to be sharing an apartment," Darcy said.

They looked there and found them, letting the head of the guard unit come talk to them. Darcy nearly scaled up to hiss at him. SHIELD and an idiot. "Oh, look, it's him, Jane."

Jane stared. "Wow, they took you from stealing my equipment to head of security?"

The guy sighed, staring at them. "Not exactly. Ladies, let's get your passes done." He looked at the cleared throat then down. "Who're you? I don't have you in my records."

"I'm Aria, I'm three, and if you're a jack booted thug, Auntie Jane will probably swear at you. She does that," she said, looking totally serious.

He nodded. "She has once already." Aria grinned at that. "Let's get the passes done so you can go to your lab tomorrow, ladies." He took them to his office. "Doctor Foster, were you supposed to have more than a two-bedroom?"

"I noted Darcy has Aria. We can make do. We had worse in London."

Aria looked at her mother. "Does that mean I need to sleep on a cot again?"

"We'll look and see. I can probably get you a real bed." Darcy patted through her hair. "You need a brush."

"Yuck! I hate brushes!"

"Tough." She grinned, handing the one in her bag over. "Please use it." Jane snickered but did fix her hair before the picture for her pass was taken. Aria didn't need one, but she did get an ID bracelet for the tower so she could be tracked if necessary and it would let her onto certain elevators. They got taken up to the apartment and Jane paused in the doorway. "This can't be ours. That's not our stuff." She got out of the way.

"This is the suite JARVIS noted as yours. Let me call that in, Dr. Foster." He called that in and got told she was on the single bedroom floor. "No can do, her assistant and daughter are staying with her. No, assistant's daughter."

"We made sure Tony Stark knew that when we took the offer," Jane said patiently, staring at Darcy, who shrugged.

A man in a dirty tanktop and jeans came off the elevator. Aria stared at him oddly, head tipped to the side. "Ooh, a kitty, Mom." The guy stared at her. She smiled and waved. "Hi, I'm Aria, I'm three."

"And you have manners," Darcy sighed. "Sorry. She likes to meet new people. I'm Darcy and this is Dr. Jane Foster. I'm her assistant and my daughter is mine."

The guy smiled. "That's cute, kid." He shook her hand. "I'm Clint." She grinned at him and nodded. "And I'm not fully a kitty. I can't change."

"Well, that blows chunks," Aria said. "That's mean of your body. It should be nagged like Mom does Auntie Jane."

The guard guy was trying not to laugh. "They said they put her here."

"I don't think so," Clint said. "That's that British guy who hates everyone's apartment." Darcy let the door close. "Let's see." He video called someone on his phone. "Doctor Foster and her two assistants are here," he said. "And there's a housing snafu. Where did you originally put her?"

"Floor 54, room 8," he said, reading it from the email.

Clint looked. "That's the sneering British guy's place."

"Crap. Let me look. Take them to the caf?"

"Oooh, does that mean snacks?" Aria asked, looking up at her mother. Who nodded. "Please? I'll let you guard the bags."

"It's about time for snacks, yeah. I can let you eat something that's not jerky for a few minutes." Aria hugged her around the stomach with a grin. She looked at Jane, who nodded. "Yeah, we can hit the caf. Jane could always use coffee."

"Then we'll do that," Clint said, taking them down there. A few people looked as they walked in.

"This is Dr. Jane Foster," Darcy announced with a point. "Please don't ask her stuff before coffee?" That got a few snickers and Aria was introducing herself to each of the cafeteria workers. She sighed. "Aria."

"Sorry, I'm being polite, Mom." She got handed a nice plate. "Thank you!" Darcy got her own snack and paid for theirs while Jane got her own. They sat down with Clint, her humming while she nibbled. "They make very good vegetables, Auntie Jane. You should have some too. Veggies make you strong and grow bigger," she quipped.

"I don't think I'll grow any more," she said, staring at her. "You're a mini version of your mother today."

Aria grinned. "Only the best genes!" Clint burst out laughing but nodded and patted her on the head. "Don't make me use a brush again, please. I hate brushes."

"I won't, kitten. Your hair looks good." Aria grinned at him and patted his arm then went back to eating. He looked at Darcy. "She's so cute."

"Most of the time," she agreed with a nod and a grin. "Some days...." Jane nodded at that.

Tony walked in and sighed. "Pepper's assistant is an idiot."

"No comment," Clint quipped. "Tony Stark, this is Dr. Foster." He pointed. "Her assistant Darcy Lewis, and Darcy's daughter Aria."

"Hi, I'm three," Aria said with a smile and a wave.

Jane looked at her. "Why do you tell people that?"

"So they can either be really amazed that I'm super good or annoyed that I have a good word sense." She grinned and ate a piece of broccoli.

"I hadn't thought about that," Jane admitted. "Some three-year-olds can barely speak and you do speak well." She looked at Tony. "So, do we need to apartment hunt suddenly?"

"No. We have you two adults in two one room apartments beside each other. We can add a door later this week."

"Does that mean I have to sleep on the couch?" Aria asked.

"We can figure that out," Darcy said patiently. "I might sleep on the couch since you snore so much." She scowled at her mother. "You do."

"I do not! That's all lies! Uncle Erik said I purr in my sleep, not snore."

Jane looked at her. "Dragons don't purr."

"Bullshit," Darcy said. "But we have to be in a state of contentment." Tony sat down, staring at her. She grinned at him. "Hi."

"You're a dragon?"

"We're both dragons. Is that a problem?"

"No. Not in the least. We only have three other shape changers on staff, two in security who're more furry. One in the labs who's a bird if I remember right. We do not discriminate, Lewis."

"Thank you. Will the local daycare nearest to here?"

He pointed upstairs. "Floor twenty-one. And no, they don't. They do have someone who comes in once a week to help a kid who'll change into a cat of some kind. He got stuck last year."

"I just scaled up for the first time the other day," Aria said proudly. "I'm blue."

"That's cool, kiddo. We'll make sure it's safe for you."

She stood up on her chair to stare at him. "Mommy will taze someone," she said very seriously.

Darcy poked her so she sat down to eat again. "Yes I will." Clint grinned at that. She grinned at Darcy. "She's been around other types of changers in the past. I was dating a wolf changer while we were in London. She doesn't spend much time around other dragons at times, because the confederation council in London was full of egotistical assholes, but she's been around a lot of us."

"That's actually a great thing. We can get her set up in the morning since it's nearly three." He looked at her. "Do you like daycare?"

"It's neat playing with other kids. And running around playing tag. I can't do that around the lab, it'll break Auntie Jane's machines."

Tony nodded. "I can see that. It'd break my robots too."

She blinked a few times. "What're robots?"

He grinned. "We'll show you tomorrow while you help your aunt and mom set up their new lab." He winked and looked at Darcy. "Do we need to take any precautions? Extra fire system?" he asked quietly. "I ask because I have no idea," he said at her opening mouth.

"Most of us these days don't breathe fire unless we're in battle mode. Now, she's a toddler and battle mode sometimes happens over bath time." She stared at her daughter, who stuck her tongue out. She smiled at Tony again. "She shouldn't be able to do that until after puberty though."

"Okay, then I won't worry about getting some installed really fast to protect her." He grinned. "We can put a door between yours and Jane's apartment, Lewis. That way you can still nag her." He tapped the table. "We all eaten up?" Aria hurried to finish her vegetables and Jane finished her danish and coffee. They went up to the new apartments. Their stuff was already in there.

Aria got to dance around her boxes of toys. Darcy's closet was unpacked. They went to Jane's to find her unpacked and all the kitchen stuff over there. Darcy set up the coffee maker for Jane while Aria helped Jane figure out where to put pictures. Tony hung out with Jane to talk about her work and where she was going, with Aria 'helping' them.

Darcy looked up at the sound of sudden thunder. "Jane, Thor's here."

Aria squealed. "Can I go pounce him?" she asked Tony, who nodded and sent up permission for her to do that. She ran for the elevator, which had been instructed to bring her to Thor and only to Thor. She ran off the elevator squealing already, ducking around a few bigger people's legs to pounce him. "THOR!"

He blinked a few times. "Aria?" She grinned and nodded at him. "Is your mother here?"

"And Auntie Jane. Ian and Uncle Erik are back in London for another six months or so and then we'd have to see." She hugged him. "I missed you telling me stories, Uncle Thor!"

"I missed telling them to you. Let's go greet your mother and aunt." He grinned at the staring people. "She is the daughter of Jane Foster's assistant, who is like my sister." He carried her off talking to her about the trip they had done earlier.

One of the guys grinned and waved a hand. "Jane Foster just signed on. Darcy's her assistant and Aria's her daughter." The others just nodded. "She's adorable though." Clint grinned brighter. "She introduced herself to everyone and told them she was three so they'd be amazed she was so well spoken."

"She seems sweet," Steve Rogers agreed with a nod and a grin. "A bit loud but she's little. And fast." He looked at Natasha, who just nodded she agreed.

Thor knocked on the door and Darcy answered, grinning and letting him in. "Darcy!" He hugged her around the kid clinging to him. He walked over to Jane to kiss her. "I was going to be back tomorrow. You saved me much travel." He kissed her again, making Aria giggle and wiggle to get down.

She looked at Tony. "They don't need my help for that." She bounced into the kitchen to help her mother. "Are we baking? You promised we could bake!"

"We can bake dinner," she promised, smiling at her. "We have all the stuff we need for a casserole."

Aria scowled. "What's that? That sounds weird, Mom. We don't like weird food."

"The stuff in the dish with cheese and crunchy bits."

"Oh! We like that. Even Auntie Jane does." She washed her hands and climbed up onto the counter by pulling out a few drawers to stand on, then got to work mixing for her mother. "Mr. Tony, would you like to help us bake?"

"I can come talk. I have no idea about kitchen things, kitten." Aria grinned at him and let him hold the bowl for her while Darcy chopped things.

Someone knocked so Aria hopped down and ran to the door to open it, staring at the woman there. "Hi. Did you come to meet my Mom and Auntie Jane too? I'm Aria."

"Pleasure to meet you, Aria." She held out a hand and the girl shook it. "I'm Pepper and I was looking for Tony."

"He came to meet my mom and Auntie Jane. He's helping us bake and you can too if you want." She smiled and let her in.

Darcy leaned out. "She's in Thor land for a minute," she excused. "Should I add more to dinner?"

"No, I was supposed to take Tony out tonight." She smiled at him. "Pepper Potts."

"Darcy Lewis." She waved a hand. "Cutting onions."

"Then I don't mind if we don't shake." She smiled at Aria then at Jane and Thor, sighing. "Thor, you're in public."

"Sorry," he said. "Didn't meant to make a spectacle." He stepped back, smiling at Jane then at Pepper. "Oh, you've come for Anthony. This is my beloved, Jane Foster."

"Pleasure," Pepper said, smiling and shaking her hand. Jane grinned back. "Do we need anything to settle in?"

"Just an opening between the two apartments," Tony quipped. He patted Aria on the head. "I need to help Pepper get pretty, kitten. We're going on a date."

"Mommy does that sometimes with Mr. Paul, but some dragons got snotty about it and I nearly mooned them but that would've been mean to do in public so I didn't."

He smiled. "Sometimes, people do deserve to be mooned but not in public. That way not everyone can see your butt." He patted her on the head. "I'll see the big two people tomorrow in the lab. You have fun at daycare." He smiled and left with Pepper.

"Have a good night," Aria called after them. "Make happy noises when you show her candy things!" Darcy cleared her throat. "You do when Mr. Paul gave you some."

"Um, yeah. But that's just a me thing, Aria. Try for some tact?"

"That's so *boring*, Mom!"

"Yup, but an important life skill. Like tying shoes are."

"Shoot."

"And no mooning," Jane reminded her. Aria huffed but nodded, climbing back up to help her mother. She looked at Thor, who just grinned.

***

Darcy walked Aria into the daycare, smiling at the woman waiting on her. "Hi, I'm Darcy Lewis, and this is my spawn Aria."

"You're only calling me a spawn because I wouldn't let you brush my hair," Aria complained. She smiled. "Hi, I'm Aria, I'm three!" She held out a hand. "Who're you?"

"I'm Eliza Nomady. I head the daycare, Aria." She smiled as she shook her hand. "You're very well spoken."

"Thank you." She grinned.

Darcy nodded. "Often," she agreed. "And as certain of things as any teenage girl." Eliza laughed but nodded. "Can we look in her room so I know where it is?"

"Of course." She led her that way. "Is that her special stuffed friend?"

"This is Turtle the wolf. Mr. Paul was dating Mommy and he gave me Turtle." She held it up. "He's a good wolf."

"That's great. We can make sure you don't lose Turtle, Aria. And keep someone from stealing it for a nap." She patted her on the head. She looked at Darcy. "In the spirit of disclosure, we do have to tell you that a few shape changers are among our students."

Darcy grinned. "Now you've got another one; she just scaled up for the first time last week."

"I'm blue," Aria said with a smirk.

"Even better, dear." She smiled. "We do have a specialist who comes in weekly to work with a few of the other shape changers if you wanted to meet him to see if he can help you with your special changing exercises."

"Two more years," Darcy said. "She's naturally easy at it, the same as I was. My mother said that I changed fully my first time at seven. She came in to wake me up and found a tiny curled up dragon snoring."

"Dragons do not snore!" Aria said firmly, glaring at her. "Grandma lied!"

"Dragons do snore. We both snore, daughter." She looked at Eliza, grinning. "I have it on video to prove it." She nodded, patting Darcy on the arm. "Yeah, if she wants to learn the meditations, that's fine with me. It won't hurt her and maybe she'll use it to focus herself when she's bounding off around Jane next time." She looked at her. "What's the rule?"

"No bouncing in the lab in case I tip over the all important coffee or one of the machines and it creates a portal that will eat me," she sighed. "But I was in the kitchen, not the lab, Mommy."

"You still nearly spilled the coffee."

"I apologized and cuddled!"

"You did and I'm proud I didn't have to remind you." She smiled, petting over her head. "Try to straighten out your hair today if you won't let someone brush it for me?"

"Brushes suck. I need less hair."

"We can take pictures for Grandma, who insisted I not trim your hair until next year and then find a cute haircut." Aria beamed and nodded. "You get to tell her though."

She flapped a hand. "Grandma will be happy because she knows I hate brushes." She looked at the daycare room, oohing. "Blocks, Mom."

"You go ahead with those blocks, sweetie." She ran in there to sit with Turtle in her lap and build something. Darcy grinned at her. "She's great but she's very well spoken at times."

"I noticed and that's fine. We have a few prodigies who've come through here. Come do the paperwork?" She nodded, coming to the office to do that. She noticed a few things left blank. "No father?"

Darcy cleared her throat. "We're not together. I'm actively dating." She heard her daughter cry and got up to look. "Aria?" She sniffled. "What did you do?"

"My ankle popped again, Mom."

She went to check it, then got her brace from the diaper bag. "Here. Let's put on the brace." Aria pouted but nodded. "There." She kissed her on the head. "All better?"

"Mostly better. Can I have chocolate milk?" she asked Eliza.

Who nodded and got her some. "A recent injury?"

"Last year someone tried to snatch us to get Jane," Darcy said quietly. "It broke her ankle and the muscles had to heal. They're strong enough usually but now and then that one still can pop out of place. She's growing out of it by next year they said." That got a nod and a note made. "She knows how to put on the brace and what to do to make it go back in. If not, call me and I'll come down to help if I'm anywhere nearby."

"We can handle that and make sure her bracelet has a tracking dot," she promised with a smile. Darcy grinned back. Aria was sipping her milk while talking to her stuffed friend and building with the free hand. A few other kids came in so she blinked at them, gulping her milk to go talk to them. The other kids were nice to her so that was good. "She'll handle it well I think." She shook Darcy's hand. "We'll call if we need you and you'll call if you're going to be later than six."

"She's been around Jane's lab since I met Jane so I'll set a reminder to come down between four and six to get her. Aria, love you."

"Love you too, Mom! Have fun with Auntie Jane!"

"You have fun with Turtle." She winked and left her there, going up to the lab floor. She nodded at the guard at the elevator when she got off. "Hi, Darcy Lewis, Dr. Foster's assistant." She could smell this one was another dragon shifter.

"Rumlow, STRIKE commander," he said, holding out a hand. She shook it. "She's already complaining about how things are sorted."

"Jane's a bit picky about her lab. Have a nice day." She went that way, walking in and sighing. "Let's get the dolly so we can move things, Jane. They're too heavy to shift by hand. Do we have a dolly or something to shift things easier?"

"Two," Jane said with a point. "Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Her ankle popped. I had to explain about that injury due to kidnaping." She shrugged. "She's got her brace, her Mr. Turtle, and the new kids to get to know. She was fine. Begged for chocolate milk."

"She does milk that ankle for chocolate milk," Jane agreed with a nod. They got to work on the lab's set up and restructuring. By the time Aria had to come up they had most everything in place and started. Aria helped by pushing the dolly for them when they weren't using it.

***

Jane looked at Darcy's fiddling at her desk, shaking her head. "Etsy orders?"

"Yup. Special orders." She grinned then went back to hiding data devices in everyday objects. And some not every night objects. She looked at Jane's hidden backup drive that was on a shelf. It was in a little collectable pop bobble head figure. This new one was going into some dildos. No one would want to search them for data devices. They hadn't when SHIELD had tried to steal all of Jane's science back in New Mexico.

The agents had totally passed over the vibrators and mint box that had held data devices. Darcy had a lot of fun making little data devices out of odd things. And they did pay for the bills at times. Jane had appreciated that some of her data had been saved from the jackbooted thugs when Darcy had told her she had the backups hidden. She was getting a lot of geeks ordering fangear with data devices. Darcy bought them, or had someone send her one if they were specific about what type, and then fitted the data device inside with a way to upload to it.

The current vibrating one was sent in by someone, who had specially ordered it. It was a pretty one, all swirled and textured, and a bit weird, but hey, whatever floated your boat. The chemist who had ordered it had made sure she could still use it regularly and as a data device, and had wanted bluetooth capabilities. One of the easiest drives to insert. Then she'd make a few general ones for the regular sales.

Stark leaned in. "Is that some special talisman that makes her science work, Lewis? You creeped out a guard who saw you carving on it."

"No." She grinned and waved him in. "It's for my etsy shop. I make hidden data drives." She smirked and showed him. "USB and bluetooth this time. She wanted this model she sent to me filled."

He nodded slowly. "Can you still plug that in?" She showed him on her laptop, letting him see it was recognized. Then the device was pulled off and the base cap reapplied. Though Darcy took it off to put a rubber ring to keep any moisture out of it then put it back together. He blinked at her. "Why?"

"A lot of people want hidden backup drives, especially in the science fields. This one will go to a chemist. I've been making hidden drives for myself since my last year at Culver. It's saved some of Jane's work too." Jane nodded from her desk without looking. She grinned. "It keeps the kid in oatmeal."

He patted her on the shoulder. "Remember, you get a salary now so you can cut down on making cutesy things." He looked around the lab then left her to it. That was a weird idea that a lot of geeks he knew might really like. He looked up her etsy shop and sent it to Pepper and Rhodey. They both sent back they were cute and hidden, so a good idea if he wanted to talk to the crafter about getting one.

Darcy finished cleaning up that one and packaged it up for shipping. They had a mailing center down by the daycare so she could ship it out later.

***

Darcy looked at the new doctor with Aria. He was a dragon specialist. He was also a jackass. "You aren't the one I came to see," she noted patiently. "And I don't want you near my daughter. She's actually seen Dr. Simpson in the past after we nearly got kidnaped and her ankle got ripped."

"I'm an adult doctor," he said firmly.

"And mine is in Virginia, and knows Dr. Simpson as he referred her to him." She smiled slightly. "And I'm not changing. Thank you anyway. Will Dr. Simpson be here soon?" He scowled. She stared back.

"I think we need to talk about your use of suppressants."

"I think if you start that talk with my daughter in the room you're going to go flying out that window," she said with a point. "She is three and does not need to talk about such things for a few years. We are only here to see Dr. Simpson about her ankle. It's a routine check on a former injury. When will he be here?" She stared at him.

"It's not healthy...." Darcy let out a growl and he fled the room.

Darcy sighed, looking at her daughter. "If someone starts that talk with you..."

"I know, yell loudly about them being stupid," Aria quipped, grinning at the nurse coming in. "He pissed off my mommy talking about adult things in front of me. Is Dr. Simpson nearly here? It's been a really long wait."

"He's actually a bit confused why he hasn't seen you yet, Miss Lewis. Let me get him." She looked at Darcy, who grinned and nodded. "Are you calmer?"

"He started to nag me about those sup's in front of her."

"Oh! Yeah, I would've growled too." She went to get the doctor, who came back in with the nurse. "Here we are."

"Hi, Dr. Simpson," Aria said with a happy grin and a wave. "My ankle popped three days ago when I started daycare, I was sitting funny while I built with blocks. I put on the brace though."

"That's what usually needs to be done. Let me see the ankle, Aria?" She put her foot out for him. He gently felt around her foot and ankle up to her knee then back down. "It's healing well but still a bit weak. We may want to put her in some physical therapy, Darcy."

"I can do exercises at home with her. I'm not sure about health insurance at the new job yet. We only started three days ago."

"That's reasonable. We can do that." The other doctor stomped in and he rolled his eyes. "So far, this injury thanks to that attempted kidnaping is healing well," he told Aria. "I want you to start doing some stretching things to help make it stronger though."

She nodded. "I can do that. I do stretches most mornings now. It's important to exercise."

"It is," he agreed, smiling at her. "Okay, we're going to do three new exercises. One, I want you to stand up." He put her on the floor. "Go up to the balls of your feet," he showed her and she followed. "Okay, hold it for a second, then relax back down." She did that and sighed, nodding. "Do that twice a day, ten times each, and in a few months go up to twenty a day by fives. So in a few months you do fifteen, then you do twenty." Darcy was making notes. "Got it?"

"I can do that. It hurts a bit."

"It'll do that at first, and then it'll hurt less as you do it. I want you to do twirly stretches." He lifted a foot to show her. "Just like that. Go for about five minutes at a time. Or a good commercial break if you do it while watching cartoons." She did that and nodded, wincing once. "I know, it'll get better." She nodded. "When it's a bit stronger and those don't hurt, I want you to work on moving your foot back with something like a jump rope. Your mom can show you that one in a few months."

"Just like flexing back to flat foot and then relax?" Darcy asked.

"Exactly. You can do that one also if you want to do some leg or knee lifts too. Her knee doesn't feel too weak but I'd like to make it a bit stronger. Also, any walking is good."

"She runs and dances all day," Darcy said dryly, nodding but smiling at her little girl. "Should we look into something like baby yoga? That was suggested by someone else in another lab. Her daughter goes because she had poor balance."

"I wouldn't be against it. It won't hurt her definitely. If she likes it, great, it'll probably help her when she starts school." He patted Aria on the head with a smile. "You've healed very well."

"Thank you for fixing me when the mean idiots tried to take me." She hugged him around the waist with a smile. "You're a good doctor."

"Thank you, Aria. Go ahead back to your mom." She climbed back up on the table, wincing at her ankle but she put back on her brace with a sigh. He checked and nodded. "Just a bit weak. It'll get stronger." He patted her on the cheek then looked at Darcy. "Howard is retiring next year."

She nodded. "Anyone I'll like up this way who isn't the person who tried to talk about sup's near my three-year-old daughter? Specialist or regular."

Dr. Simpson glared at his colleague, then smiled at Darcy. "Liker."

"I've heard about him. He's not confederation council suggested."

"No but he's a great doctor and doesn't complain if you are one of them, Darcy."

"Okay. Can Dr. Ambersin refer me?"

"I'll talk to him myself tonight about that. Are you going to be local for a bit?"

She shrugged. "Ask the Jane."

"I remember her. I'll let you two figure that out." He clapped her on the arm. "Good luck and have fun with her. There's a lot of fun things in the city for her to see." He and the nurse left, the nurse dragging the other doctor with her.

Darcy grinned at her daughter. "So that's good news. Just a bit of exercising. We can call Grandma tonight to let her know."

"Cool! I can talk to her about the haircut then too." She hopped back down with a wince, taking Darcy's hand to walk out with her. "Thank you, Nurse. You were very nice to us." The nurse smiled and handed her a sugar free lollipop. "Oooh. Thanks." She let out an evil little smirk.

Darcy rolled her eyes. "Thank you for the help." She shook her hand and checked them out, paying her copay. They went back to the tower, nodding at the guards as they walked in. She logged them into the building and up to their apartment, going over to Jane's from the door that had appeared that day somehow. "We have some exercises."

Jane looked up from sitting on Thor's lap. "That's a good thing though." She hugged Aria. Who hugged them both then went back to their own apartment.

Darcy winked and left them to hang out together. "Call your grandmother while I work on dinner."

"Okay!" She called and waved at her picture on the tv when the video chat came up. "Hi, Grandma!"

"Hi, Aria." She beamed at her. "Is that a doctor lolli?"

"It sure is. She had a checkup with Dr. Simpson to check her ankle." She smirked at the tv. "Just a few exercises."

"That's wonderful news." She stared at her granddaughter. "How are you liking the new daycare?" She settled in to babble at her grandmother about everything she had done recently. "Aww, that's sweet. Who was Mr. Paul?"

"Mommy's boyfriend. He was a grr changer."

Darcy rolled her eyes but nodded. "We left him back in London."

Her mother scowled. "You were dating a wolf changer?"

"Not like anything would happen if he accidentally bit me," she shot back with a smirk. "And he was good to us. Very nice to Aria, Mom."

"Fine. That's the important thing." She sighed. "I got a letter from the council in London about you being rude, Darcy?"

"Yup, they wanted to force me to mate to some ignorant little dweeb who couldn't get his own," she said dryly, staring at the tv again. "Thought Aria was a half blood too and called her that and unfortunate."

Her mother winced. "Oh, dear. No, she's not and that sort of feeling is an antique from a long, thankfully, gone era." Darcy hummed but nodded. "Well, I'll send them a nice response about their manners." She smiled. "And I got one from New York's confederation council asking about you."

"I can find my own dates, Mom."

"I know you can, dear. Thankfully not with Ian." She stared at her. "I'll have a talk with them about that idea as well."

"Please do. Before I have to." She gave the camera a pointed look. "Did I send you the video last week?"

"You did!" She smiled at Aria. "You're such a cute little dragon, sweetheart! So cute and blue!"

"Thanks, Grandma!" She smiled. "I'm getting a haircut! I hate brushes!"

"Can't you wait another year? For pictures maybe?"

"We took official pictures yesterday," Aria said with a smirk. "I hate brushes!" She ran to grab her mother's phone and brought it back to show the camera. "That's the haircut I want."

"Your mother had that haircut once but she didn't like it."

"I wanted shorter," Darcy agreed. "You hated it."

"Well, it is more feminine."

Darcy looked over. "She can go as short as she wants, Mom. It's her hair."

"Fine. Even if she does look like a little boy."

"She can still wear those sparkly headbands she liked until last month." She shrugged and got back to chopping vegetables. Aria changed pictures to show that one off.

"That's very short, Aria. I'd have to see how it looks on you."

"And if not, hair grows and she'll find a place where she's comfortable with it," Darcy agreed. She smirked at her mother's picture, getting an eyeroll back. Aria yawned. "Please do tell them that I don't need the help getting fixed up, Mom," she said patiently. "I'd hate to have to zap someone else so soon."

She nodded with a sigh at the end. "I'll be more polite."

"Mom, they may not understand anything but rude. If I have to go rude, I will."

"I agree, dear. You should. I'll handle it and tell them to leave you two be." She waved. "Have a good night, Aria. We love you." She hung up with a blown kiss.

Aria looked at her mother. "Is that confed...con..the council people going to do that to me too?"

"Nope. I'm a mother dragon for a reason, kiddo." She smirked. "They won't try it with you." Aria came over to hug her then went to the bedroom to play. Darcy had the full closets in there, but a pull out bed out here that pretended to be a couch. She wanted Aria to be safe in case someone broke in. She flexed her scales, then sighed as they went back in. She was still tense from the idiot doctor earlier.

***

Darcy accepted the letter with a grimace, staring at it. She was at work, it had been sent to the lab. It was from the local confederation council. She opened it and stared. "The fuck?" she demanded. Jane jumped, staring at her. She waved the letter. "Take my tazer from me please?"

Jane read the letter, shaking her head. "Nope. You might need it."

"Oh, I want it, but I probably shouldn't have it." She took the letter back, considering her options. She got up and smiled at her. "Pick up Aria for me please?"

"Gladly if they've kidnaped you. With the way they worded that, they might."

"I'd destroy everyone, Jane." She walked off grimacing. The guards got out of her way. "Not mad at you at least," she told one. Who just nodded and still got out of the way. She got an uber to the local council's building, walking in waving the letter. "How fucking dare you?" she demanded, staring at them. A few gasped. "How dare you try to make personal decisions for me. Try to *force* me to take in some whelp that never got taught enough manners to get his own mate. Hell no!" She stared at the head of the local council.

"I didn't allow it when London tried that stupidity. I'm not allowing it now. I will unregister myself and my daughter from all of this." She waved a hand around. "I will destroy what my great-grandmother created. Because she'd expect me to go to war over this bullshit. You do not come near me, not near my pureblooded daughter, ever."

She stared at the guard moving toward her. "I will end you. I wouldn't try it." He backed off. She looked at the Council again. "I don't care *why* you think I'm ready to settle down. I can date, people. I have dated a few very nice people."

"None of them were dragons," one sneered.

"You'd be wrong about that too. Just like you're wrong about my interest in someone who can't get a mate."

"Your daughter..."

"I was the last one of Sivilla's little patch stealing plots," she said dryly, glaring at them, making them back up. "Yes, I do adore my daughter. My purebloood daughter," she said plainly, staring at one, who was a doctor. "I don't give a goddess fucking damn who in the hell wants what. My life is my choice and I'm not going to be taken in as someone's *special mate* because they're desperate. I'm not lonely and I don't need that. If they do, let them hire one." She walked off. "Come near us again, people. Watch me stomp you all when I go to war."

"You've never been noted to have fully changed," that doctor sneered.

Darcy turned as she changed there to her lesser form. "Really?" She breathed fire at that one, making him scream as he lit on fire. He had to change to put himself out. He managed to get halfway changed. "You so sure of that?" She stared at each one. "Come near myself or my daughter again. Or Jane. Because I have no issues destroying what Grandma Russie started." She changed back, staring at them. "Feel lucky I used words this time." She walked off, huffing as she strode out.

"The international groups will stand up for us," the head of the council huffed. "She is not going to abuse our ways that way." The hallway dissolved and they all screamed and ran away.

Darcy stepped outside, calling her godmother. "Godmother Sephora, I need a temper keeper please?" She listened. "No, trying what London did. Some unattached whelp of a male who can't seem to find his own. Be damned if I'm going to be one of them." She looked behind her as the hallway disappeared.

"Huh, I didn't do that. Great." She listened. "No, the building partially dissolved. Could be Jane, yeah. Oh, Aria's blue, auntie." She grinned. "Yeah, that. I'm at the fuck that stage and thankfully I mostly used my words and warned them this was going to start a war. No, they seem to think Aria is less than good enough," she said sarcastically. "Which is why I don't like dating other dragons.

"Yup, them. London tried it too. Same name mentioned. Sure, I can send you that letter they sent me at work today." She took a picture of it and sent it over, then listened to her godmother read it and scream and rant. "Exactly. Oh, he's ...that's *charming*," she sneered. "Great." She looked at the SUV pulling up and glared at the agents getting out.

"It wasn't me who ate the building but I hope like hell they got eaten too." She listened. "Please, Auntie. I could use some temper easing and maybe a guard for Aria. It's going to get messy and I'm still struggling not to change back. No, I burned the doctor who tried to talk to me about suppressants in front of her. So fuck 'em all. Yup!"

She grinned. "Gladly! Please do. Oh, and can you send the sprout cookies of some kind? She complains mine aren't good enough anymore. Thanks, Auntie. No, agents. Have fun!" She hung up and looked at the staring agents. "What?" she demanded.

"What happened?" She held up the letter to let them see it.

One of them sneered. "All the council people are like damsels."

"Some of us just wanted some civility to end the tribal warfare going on," she said dryly. "That's why my great-grandmother started it in the US." They scowled at her. "She would've helped me destroy this mess. Grandma Russie was not a happy person when shit like this went on before. Which is why she created the Confederation Councils to stop it."

She shrugged. "Oh, and I hear that guy named has killed or somehow managed to lose nine other mates they did this to." She took the letter back. "Let me go check on my baby girl before I lose control of my scales again." She summoned an uber and got into it a few minutes later to go back to the lab.

The agents shared a look then went to investigate the building's attack. They'd figure out who she really was later. And end up asking Jane Foster if she had destroyed the building.

***

Jane looked up at the agent coming into her lab. "Why are you invading here?" she demanded calmly.

"We wanted to know if you were the reason that a building partially disappeared. Your assistant was seen telling them off."

"I wish I could claim it, but according to the machines it was magical in nature. I don't deal with that." Darcy walked in with her daughter. "What happened?"

"Their building lost a hallway." She looked at the agent. He smelled like a changer, a minor dragon. "Two blocks up is a hidden teacher of magic for changers. Go ask him or ask the Sorcerer Supreme."

Jane pulled up her data. "That's about when I noticed the twitch. Those two being high means it's magic, not scientific." She looked at Darcy. "I see scales."

"I warned them they were starting a war." She stared at her. "And I did burn one of them. They accused me of not being able to change."

"So, morons," Jane said with a nod.

"That doctor that tried to talk to me about the patches? Him."

"Eww, educated moron." Jane grimaced. "I hate that people like that get an actual education and never use it."

Darcy sat down, cuddling her daughter. "I was on the phone with my aunt when that happened, Agent dude. You can ask her." She pulled out her phone to get into that call information, holding it up.

"She's on the council in DC," the agent said.

Darcy grinned and nodded. "Yup. She sure is. My mother heads the one in our area." She smiled. "And you're discounting I'm a legacy." He winced but stepped back. "Grandma Russie started the councils because they were doing things like forced mating and tribal warfare." She smirked. "Watch me call her back from the dead, dude."

Aria looked up at her. "Can we do that?"

"Ask me sometime when there's no cameras or others, dear." She looked at the agent again. "Frankly, if I had destroyed it, the whole building would've went." She smiled. "And left the people. I don't like to hurt people unless I have to."

The agent nodded, making that note. "I'll pass that on, Miss Lewis." He looked at the kid. "Yours?"

Darcy nodded. "From that Sivilla bitch at Culver. It was recorded with her birth but I didn't get to do more than charge her. She was killed by the next one she tried. Aria's birth was recorded by our local council. If they had looked they would've tried it with some other poor, slightly literate young dragon damsel. Which I am not." She grinned. "I may not be the biggest bitch ever, but I am a mother."

"Understood fully, Miss Lewis. Can we ask that you not involve Lord Thor?"

Darcy looked confused. "Why would I? I'm not dating him."

"For protection of your daughter?"

"Oh, no, dear. I've already warned of a war coming. I flamed the ass of the guy who tried to talk to me about my patches in front of my daughter." He nodded, making that note. "But the hallway wasn't me."

Jane looked at her machines. "They put it back about twenty minutes ago. Or there was another magic surge at that time."

"We'll check that teacher and with the Sorcerer Supreme. Thank you and do let us know if you need help guarding her? SHIELD would not want that war."

"Actually, one of them tried to start one last year by kidnaping the three of us to get me," Jane said with a smirk. "Pity."

"You can tell those morons that I'm withdrawing my confederation council membership for the area. I'll belong to the one at home instead. The New York one can ignore that we exist."

"I'll put forward that solution, Miss Lewis. Thank you." He went to make that report. He found the director waiting with Captain Rogers, wincing at the staring at him when he walked in. "The hallway disappearing was apparently not her. Doctor Foster showed me a recording of the event that pointed at magic and it may be back now. Miss Lewis has warned that she will start a war over her daughter, and apparently flamed one of them who was rude to her the other day as well as today." He tried to look upbeat. "And she's a legacy."

Director Fury winced. "What sort?"

"She called her Grandma Russie."

"So the one who actually pushed to have the confederation councils started to stop the forced selling and mating of young females and to stop the old wars."

"Apparently, yes. Also, be aware she called her aunt, who is in DC."

Fury winced. "Alinadra?"

"Sephora by the contact information name, sir."

"Fuck! Their mouthpiece and the Oprah of dragons!" Fury said, making a few agents flinch. "What the hell?"

"Sir, she admitted that her daughter's birth was recorded with her home council and apparently there's something in there that was partially covered up. Something about an unintended heat...."

"Sevilla," another agent sneered. "She was pushing to take away everyone's suppressants, and got a few away from some women who couldn't get a new one thanks to her friends and cohorts so they went into unintended heats. One of them killed her by stomping her into a greasy spot on Culver's campus. Where is Lewis from?"

"Lewis and Foster are both Culver alumni," Darcy said from the doorway, still holding her daughter. She held up the letter. "Take a photocopy for evidence. Aunt Sephora said he's *misplaced* nine mates the local Council let him take. All on file with the local Council."

Fury took it to read and nodded, getting a copy of that. "He's under investigation."

"Great. I don't want him near me or her." She stared at him. "Oh, and that doctor... Pity about his burns." She grinned. "He accused me of being too weak to change. I've declared war. I sent over the usual formal warning earlier. If they don't back the fuck off me, they're not going to appreciate my traditionalist views."

Nick Fury stared at her. "You swear that way in front of her?"

Aria looked at him, frowning some. "Mommy is allowed to swear. She's an adult. When I'm older I can tell people to fuck the hell off too." She smirked. "It's every woman's right to defend herself from idiots." She put her head back down while the agents laughed. She grinned at a few of them she could see. "Hi, I'm Aria. I'm three."

Darcy patted her on the back. "Relax, kiddo. We'll go nap in a bit once Jane's done for the day."

"Can I ask Uncle Thor for a story? It's been a long day, Mom."

"If he shows up tonight. If not, call Uncle Erik to see if he'll read you one. If not, I will."

Aria pulled back to stare at her. "Uncle Thor does the voices, Mom. You don't." She put her head back down with a yawn.

"Sorry, I'm not good at that." She looked at Nick Fury, who she knew was a changer of some kind. "So? Now what?"

"We'd like to move you to protective custody?"

"Is there more protective than here?" she asked.

"Potentially but probably not. Are you living here?"

"Next door to Jane."

Nick Fury nodded once. "All right. We'll talk with Stark about how to guard you both. Did you have this problem before?"

"London tried, to the same guy, and I told them the same thing I told this group the first time, to fuck the hell off. We moved here about two weeks later."

Nick Fury grinned. "At least you didn't taze them."

"I had Jane take it from me before I did." She walked off with the letter. "Let me go remind Jane she's supposed to eat twice or more times a day. Have fun with them, people." She waved a hand back. She ran into Stark. "I'm sorry they made me bring stress and drama," she said quietly, staring at him. "I'm going to fix it if I have to."

Tony Stark stared at her. "What, exactly, happened?" Darcy handed over the letter for him to read. "Okay."

"Which is foul," Darcy said. "And wrong. And to stop that sort of shit is why the confederation council was started. By my great-grandmother."

Tony winced but nodded. "That means people would look up to you?"

"If I wanted them to. I don't. My mother is that sort. She runs the local council near her."

"Okay."

"I have a few new tricks they don't know about yet too. I'm not the mama dragon they want to rile. I'm hoping they took the hint."

"The hallway...."

"Not me." She took the letter back with a grin. "I was talking to my godmother outside when that went off." She shrugged and walked her daughter off. "Let's go nag the Jane."

Aria looked at Tony. "I'm sure she'll calm down once they go away again. She did the last time someone tried to tell her who to date about Mr. Paul."

"Yeah, some dragons are judgmental idiots, Aria. You have to learn to ignore their petty thoughts because their minds are weak and flabby. Unlike yours and Auntie Jane's, who have very strong minds because you use them so often they get a lot of exercise." She went into the lab and paused to stare. "Jane?" No answer. "Stark!" He came jogging up the hall. She pointed. "Check her?" He came in to check, finding the reason on her arm. "Great. That's not one of us."

"No, that's not," Fury said as he walked in. "Ross tried to get her but the agents ran them off before they could." He picked up a papertowel to grab the dart with. "Let's get you both back to your apartments. Stark, can we put a few guards there?"

"Please do before I have to end Ross myself."

Darcy nodded, grabbing a few things. She put Aria into her chair and locked up things in the safe, including the notes Jane was drooling on. She put the laptop in there, looking around. "Stark the tablet's missing." Aria looked and pointed. "No, that's mine. Not hers." She got into hers and locked Jane's tablet so they could find it. She held it up so they could see it, then picked up her purse and her daughter. "Let me get her there and I'll come grab Jane."

"I can have her carried up there, Lewis," Stark said with a hand wave, calling that in. Clint came jogging up the hall. "Ross managed to dart her."

"From the airvent. There's a little auto darter up there I had to disconnect." He picked up Jane. "You don't weigh as much as you should," he complained.

"I try," Darcy quipped. "We're going to our apartments. She can nap on our couch." He nodded, leading the way. Darcy and Aria followed. "Sorry, Mr. Stark."

"Not your fault. All mothers should react that way to someone threatening their kids. Mine wasn't all that much as a mother and she did the one time she heard I got threatened." He followed them to talk with Fury about what they could do about this problem.

***

Late that night, Darcy was on a video conference with someone in Europe. "As you can see by the agreements in front of you, they've been abridged in clause two and three." They read and one grimaced. "Not only in the US but also London tried the same thing for the same person." She sent over copies of both letters to her.

"We are appalled that they've been given at least nine women to that one man, who has somehow lost them by the records. Though one has been found dead, and there's hope that we can find the others' bodies so their families know what happened."

"It's a grave charge you bring, Darcy Lewis."

Darcy nodded. "I know. I know I should not mention that my grandmother had to fight like hell to get out of one of these and that's why she crafted those agreements we all supposedly live by. If this is the way they're abusing our society then they shouldn't still be in action. Or in power. If our people are not protected by us, then what use are we?"

The head of the group nodded. "That is very true and we will be looking into the abuses of this being. Though the London council's records noted you were dating a different sort of changer."

"Yes, he was very nice to myself and my daughter. You do realize that the first four people who founded the European council were all married to other sorts of changers?" They groaned. "I know it's hidden because the modern supposed traditionalists and confederation council members who claim they are have hissy fits. Hell, one of them mated and consorted a human. And had four kids who turned out to be great changers and great helpers for our community."

They nodded. "We do like to forget that and that we're not above the others," the head of the European council said, sounding like he was complaining. "Why are your records at your home council sealed?"

"Because my mother heads it."

"That is not a good reason."

"I was nearly stolen twice as a child. It was sealed so they couldn't come after me to get to her." They nodded. "Also, because I'm a *traditionalist* in the oldest meaning of the words." One stared at her, eyes wide. She smiled. "My mentor growing up was Doctor Howards, yes. I'm that little shit he used to tell you about."

One winced but nodded once. "I've already sent over the traditional declaration of war against my family due to this. Your council agreeing to look into it could only help me but I can and will do it without your aid or permission. I burned one earlier. I can do more of them."

"You breathed...oh," the head of the Council said, staring at her. "A traditionalist." She smiled and nodded. "May we open Dr. Howard's records?"

"If you ask him nicely he probably would." She smiled. "I don't mind if he does as long as it doesn't get out. I don't want that sort of risk in my life. Or my daughter's."

One of them walked off calling him and got told what was sealed. He came back. "He admitted he sealed your daughter's records."

"She's blue. She's quite happy she's blue."

"Is she the same sort...."

Darcy smiled and nodded. "Yup, sure is. Her and the Growlies as she calls the ones she can sense and see."

"Oh, dear."

"Oh yes. And they think I'm going to stand by for this? No." She shook her head. "So may I have you look into these serious violations of our charters? Before they kill another young woman who may have only had the sin of being born lower class? Or being single? I'm told one of them was on long term suppressants due to health issues that meant going into heat would've killed her due to a heart condition. She's the one they've found the body of, though she died of torture, not a heart condition."

"We will gladly investigate it," the head of the Council said, staring at her. "I would like you to suspend your declaration of war."

"Can they agree not to come near us? Because one of them thoughtfully sent her a stuffed snake with a real one inside earlier tonight." She held up the bag with the body of the snake, already beheaded. "They snuck it into her toy box."

"I..." He licked his lips and nodded. "That is foul and should not happen. We will make that note that they will stay away from you and quit sending you such things. If your daughter is harmed...."

"You can go 'wow, she's really mad' about the destruction I cause," Darcy said bluntly, staring at them. The snake bag got dropped. "Because I won't stop until she's safe."

"Agreed. It's a mother's right," another one said. "Your grandmother razed three different clan groups for trying her son."

"Four, she left their kids and pets though." He smiled and nodded. "I got told that story by her once."

"You met her?"

"She only died four years ago." She grinned. "Some of us are longer lived."

"I didn't know that. Interesting. I'll...send over the challenge and the order to leave you both alone. And your boss as I know that you're close to her." Darcy smiled and nodded. "Do be safe and let us know if they try again. Even an email before you have to attack?"

"If I can and have your email, Director Gordon."

"I think you should."

"I'll get it from my godmother." She smiled. "Thank you for your help." She hung up and went to check on Aria then to the bathroom to hide and cry for a bit. This was going to be badly evil. She didn't want her baby girl to have to witness them losing their minds. Or her losing her temper. She didn't want her daughter to be scared of her.

***

Darcy looked at the guard out in the hall the next morning. He had knocked so it was a fair assumption something was going on. "Huge problems?" He held up the gift basket. She tapped the cellophane, making the snake try to pounce her hand. "That's evil." The guard nodded. "That's a statement of evil coming and that they want us to die. Can you track that back so I can send them an alligator or something?"

"Can you do that?"

"Don't know. It'd be better than poisonous snakes, which is a sign of death." He nodded, walking off calling that in. "Oh, come get the body of the one I got out of her toy last night?"

"Why didn't you tell us?" he demanded.

"I tried, and the guard just huffed that my daughter got sent a toy snake that had a real cobra inside." She got the bag and brought it back to hand over. "I killed that one when it came out. I'm surprised no one heard Aria sobbing and screaming about it."

"I know it was reported she was having a kid fit."

"She doesn't. She's three, not a toddler. Her version of a pouty temper tantrum happens in zoos and museums when you try to get her to leave before she's ready and then she just sniffles pitifully and sobs quietly on your shoulder."

"I'll make that note." He carried them off to hand to Director Fury, who winced at that dead snake and the live one when he spotted it. "She said she does not throw kid fits. She'll sob quietly when she's upset that you're trying to take her from museums and zoos."

Nick Fury looked at him. "What color are her eyes?"

"Green," another agent said after looking it up. "Hers and her mother's, which are kind of aqua in her picture." He looked up. "Why?"

"It's an indication of what type of dragon she is," Nick Fury said. "Scan the whole tower for more snakes. They're a threat on purpose. She will destroy people." He went up to talk to her. She opened the door and stared at him. "You do have blue/green eyes."

She smiled. "Yes I do, and a lesser form."

He swallowed and nodded, stepping in. "Lewis, I don't want to ask." She smiled and let some of her scales out. "That's what I thought." He nodded again. "So the war?"

"I burned one yesterday. Those snakes came from the idiot they wanted me to mate with."

"Great." He looked at the girl at the table then at her. "Her?"

"We're both traditionalists." She smiled. "She's blue."

"Good to know. We'll scan for snakes." She pointed at one hanging from the ceiling. "We'll get the whole building cleared for snakes."

"I can take her off campus if it'll be safer."

"It won't be. Even if you go home it won't be, Lewis. Let us handle this mess." He took the dead snake down and carried it off. It got taken from him. "In the air ducts."

"I'll have Barton go check," they agreed. "And scan the building and mail."

Nick Fury went to talk to Lewis's mother from a closed office to see what sort of security protocols she had down in Virginia. She had that same 'fuck them' feeling when he warned her about the snakes. He heard a gunshot then nodded when she said she had found one in her breadbox. He dispatched someone down there to help her get to her own people.

He stomped off to talk to the senior changers in his people and Stark. Stark wouldn't cooperate if he wasn't included even though this wasn't something he should step into. He stared at the three male agents, and Stark. His top female was in DC and heading to check on Lewis' mother. "They sent snakes. She's found three so far." The three agents glared. "The gift basket the live one is in was from the one they wanted to make her mate to."

"Last night she called Europe to talk to a council sort of place," Stark said, running that video. "I'm about to repeat her 'fuck that shit' rant." He looked at the agents then at Fury. "I know I'm not one of your sort."

"I'm not a dragon," Fury admitted. He looked at his agents. "You three are. None of you are confederation council aligned though. So what's the protocol?"

"We guard her," Rumlow said. "Heavily. If they're sending snakes that's foul and she should take him to court, though that'd be local so might not work."

"They found one of the nine's bodies," Stark said.

"I've heard, Stark." He looked at Fury. "We need to talk to her."

"Two notes," Stark said, moving the video ahead to a point. "Does that have meaning that would be bad?"

They watched and Rumlow winced. "She's definitely legacy. She can call to have the councils disbanded. And she did." He rubbed his cheek then looked at Fury. "Her mother?"

"Found a snake in her breadbox. I sent an agent out to help guard her until she can get to her people. Sharon Carter will have fun with that."

Rumlow looked at the other two. Then at Fury. "Leave it to us."

"Please do. The idiot they wanted her to screw?"

"Mating is more than that," Rumlow said. "That's a problem those councils started anyway." He looked at the other agents. "Let's go talk to Lewis. Stark, let us handle this. It's our people. Any other changers in the lab warn them."

"There's a few in the daycare," Fury warned.

"Aria goes to the lab all the time," Stark said. "I'm fairly certain Darcy would demand it."

"Good," one of the two agents said. "Let's go talk to her." They left together.

Fury looked at Stark. "Call the other ones so we can warn them so they can be aware that the local council is stupid."

"I can do that." He pulled up a list and had the summoned. They came in and looked at him. "People, bad incident yesterday thanks to a local confederation council thing." He got out of the way. Fury stepped up to explain what happened and why, and what they need to hear if they spotted it coming.

"The daycare?" one asked.

"Lewis will keep Aria with her in the lab," Stark said. "She's been around Jane's work area for years."

"We'll keep watch. How bad will it get?" Tony showed the beginning of the video call. "Wow."

"Yup," Fury agreed. "Three snakes so far. All poisonous."

"Understood," one agreed. "We'll handle it. Is she safe?"

"I have three senior agents who're dragon changers," Fury said then smirked. "They're not happy."

"Good!" They went to tell their lab flunkies to watch out for certain things. It was a shame this was going on. Lewis seemed very nice. They called their own overseeing groups in the area to see what they knew.

***

Darcy checked before answering the door, nodding at the three she smelled dragons on. "Morning, Agents. New problems?"

"Going over your security," Rumlow said, walking in. He looked at the cute little kid. "Aria, can we talk to your mom?"

"Of course you can. She's standing right there." She ate a bite of jelly toast.

He grinned. She was a cute kid. "Can you go talk to your Aunt Jane for a few so we can talk quietly about bad things?" She nodded, taking her jelly toast over to Jane's apartment then came running back after dropping the plate to climb up her mother's back. Rumlow shot the snakes that were trying to chase her, sending the other two to rescue Foster. He patted the kid on the back. "That's what we're here to talk about, so you don't have to be scared." Darcy looked at him. "You should've set the one in London on fire," he said blandly.

"Don't tempt me." She pulled Aria around to cuddle. "It'll be okay. Even if I have to destroy people."

Aria looked at her. "Will that make them more mad, Mom?" she asked quietly.

"They're mad because they did bad things, kitten. It's nothing we've done to make them mad beyond telling them no to joining their bad things. They're just proving they do bad things."

"Okay. Is Grandma safe?"

"Director Fury sent an agent to help her," Rumlow said. The agents came back. "Eradicated?"

"Probably a few in the ceiling vents," one said. "Otherwise, yup. Including the one in her cabinet."

"The snake toy that held a cobra was in her toybox."

"How did they get put in there?" Rumlow asked.

"I don't know yet." She stared at him. "Can you tell me who I need to send another declaration of war to?"

"You did?"

"Fully traditional." She smirked a tiny bit. "And yesterday I burned one."

"Good." He nodded. "Your grandmother was right to stop the wars but the councils have become a monster," he said quietly.

"I'm realizing that. I tried really hard to stay out of it, out of all the pressure and hell. I don't want to be my great-grandmother. I don't want to lead, nothing like that."

"The only way you could is if you rebuilt them or you're one of the mystical six," one of the other agents snorted.

Darcy stared at him. "I know one of them." He shuddered. She grinned. Aria shivered. "Scale itch?" she asked her.

"Yes," Aria said, pouting. She bobbed her head around. "There's new Growlies, Mom."

Darcy looked at her. "Where?"

"Here. Outside. They're mad but not at us." She wiggled and got down, going to look in the hallway. "Huh." Darcy walked her back inside and shut the door again. "They went to visit Uncle Thor I guess." She looked at the couch before climbing up it. Darcy moved her to let the agents grab the snake. "Someone is really dumb." Aria looked at her mom. "Can I breathe fire yet?"

"Not until after puberty. So like teenage years." She put Aria down. "Go make more toast?" She went to do that so they had some room to talk.

"Do you know this guy?" Rumlow asked.

"I don't recognize the name. I had a few one night stands in London but no idea otherwise." She shrugged. "I might recognize a picture." Rumlow looked him up and showed him. "Yup, a stress break one night stand before I found my last boyfriend. Met him at a classy bar I was there to get plastered in. It's safer to get drunk in a classier bar than a dive bar," she said at Rumlow's odd look. "Less chance of ending up with a knife in your gut after you're...attacked." She glanced at her daughter then back at him.

"Good point I guess. Never considered it."

"I'm a woman, we have to make those calculations." He nodded. "I was barely tipsy and went home with him, where I spent some time complaining about Jane wearing on my last nerve that day. It was really pitiful sex that lasted less than an hour then I cabbed home to relieve Jane from babysitting. I think he said his name was Robert."

Rumlow nodded. "That means he may be stuck on you?"

"I left while he napped off his minimal coming and maybe that's why?" she asked quietly. She shrugged again. "No f-ing clue. All I know is I'm going to destroy him for all this."

"Please do. We need to get him down so we can arrest him."

"Charge him with the murder?" She pulled up files from the local council. "All the mate contracts on file." He smirked, taking them to look through and match names with. They had him charged within twenty minutes of another four deaths, so five total, and the local council couldn't shield him.

He was in London at the moment so SHIELD Europe had some fun for the day. The London council tried to get in the way but they stomped on them too. The local judges in the all councils panel were not amused at any of this and one wanted to throw the charges out but the rest overruled her and made her recuse herself. By the time Darcy got calmed down and it was lunch, the idiot was in a cell for at least a few months.

***

Brock knocked that night with someone in a suit. "He's a lawyer."

"Did I hire him?"

"The man you had falsely arrested is your mate, young lady."

"I don't think a one hour, one night stand counts for that." She let them in. "Prove it." He held up a picture that showed her wearing a pretty necklace in a pretty dress at some dinner honoring Jane. She went to get something, coming back to show the same necklace in a graduation picture.

She held up the necklace. "You notice at the end it says 'love, mom'." She stared at him. "It was a high school graduation present. Frankly, I woke up well before he did. There was no mating ceremony, no exchange from any hoard, nothing.

"He was an easy bit of stress relief one night for an hour and he told me his name was Robert." The lawyer slumped. "Second, your client, who has killed some of the ones they made go with him, sent my daughter snakes. He'd better stop and if you're helping him you'd better stop." She stared at him.

"For your information, I have a broken mate bond. About four years ago. I was dating someone when the bitch stole my suppressant patch and I went into sudden heat. He didn't want to deal with being a stepfather." She stared at him. "It was severed at his request due to the attack on me." The lawyer shuddered and backed off. "Third, there is the right of self defense so if I see him, I'm going to kill him for threatening my daughter. You being here means that it'll get worse."

"I can propose an annulment."

"For something that never existed? Take me to damn court."

"We can do that. He wants his gifts back."

"I can give him the bodies of the snakes he sent," she said dryly. "Because there's been no presents."

"He was paying your rent."

"We were living in Jane's mother's owned condo. No rent." She leaned against the back of her couch. "But please go ahead." She waved a hand.

"He gave your daughter multiple dolls."

"She has one doll, it's a cloth doll she picked up at the museum that had an exhibit about cultural dolls, and it's threadbare. I can have someone go search if you want confirmation."

"He sent them to your flat in Old Town."

"There's no Old Town in London, dude. Old Town is in Croydon. We visited once because Thor knew a warrior who was banished living near there." She waved a hand again. "Keep going."

"He said he helped furnish your apartment."

"He's a lying sack of shit since I shared an apartment with Jane and Erik Selvig was there for a few months. My daughter slept in Jane's room so I didn't have to share a couch."

He blinked. "Your daughter..."

"Is a pureblood and you're not going to go near her before I break your body into atomic bits." She stared at him. "Anything else?"

"You don't even have a degree."

"Dude, SHIELD locked my records after Loki attacked us in New Mexico. And no, I've gotten it since then." She smirked. "I've actually finished my masters." Brock was smirking behind the guy's back. "But keep going. And do remember, everything said here is recorded." The lawyer went pale. "So, what else did you have as supposed proof?"

"Taping is illegal..."

"Sign on the doorway into the building that all meetings are taped. Not illegal. If you don't read signs that's your problem. Most lawyers would read every single sign in case it's pertinent."

The man looked at Brock then at her. "You're aligning yourself with the uncultured thugs?" he sneered.

"No, he's protecting you from me before I kill you. You should be really happy that there's agents here to keep me from taking you out and destroying everything you have." She smirked a tiny smirk. "Some of us are *traditionalists*. Including when we go to war."

The man stepped back, looking horrified. "You came near myself and my daughter. You nearly got my daughter killed. I'm the dragon mother they write stories about." He fled from the room. She looked up. "JARVIS, did you get to tape that?"

"I did," the AI agreed. "From when he entered the building, Miss Lewis. I'll send you a copy of the film to your email."

"Thank you, virtual dude." She looked at Brock. "Jane really needs to talk me out of going on a flight." She walked off. "Thank you for being a witness."

"Not a problem." He watched her go. He was a bit stunned but she was clearly amusing. Puffballs who threatened, so cute. He heard a zap and went to look. There was a guy climbing in her daughter's window. She had tazed him and he was now unconscious and about to fall. He looked down there then at her. "He'll die."

"Sucks to be him. And can you kill the snakes please? I don't have a knife." She pointed at the three in the corner. There were curled up on top of the heat register.

He looked. "Asps. I didn't know you were Greek/Egyptian."

"Me either." She shrugged, moving Aria out to her own bed for the night. The guy's body slid some, making him wake up. He screamed. "Way too loud," she said in a sing-song manner. "You broke into my daughter's room. Have a nice trip back down." He whined. She walked off again.

"It's not often a woman her age can be called Queen," Brock smirked. "I think she's earned it."

"I think I earned it a few years ago when I had to go destroy the council in Hartford for being dumbasses trying to claim my little girl," Darcy called. "Her paternal grandfather was a moron who killed himself in the middle of the hearing over it because he had disgraced the family and his mother had demanded."

Brock shuddered. "Great." He called in that the guy was about to fall. Darcy let in a few agents who made it in time to catch him before he fully fell. The guy was still slipping and screaming and pissing himself. Brock handed over the dead snakes and the guy's bag, which was still pretty wiggly so probably another one. "They were asps."

"Is she Cleopatra?" one of the agents joked.

"This is her little girl's room."

"Ooooh." The agent stared at that guy. "Wow, you pissed off a mother." They hauled him and his snakes off.

Brock filed a report and went to check the other entrances to hers and Jane's apartment. Jane stared at him oddly. "Someone climbed down to break into the kid's bedroom to leave asps."

"Please kill any snakes you find," she said, going back to reading with her feet up on the couch. She heard him snap a few things and decided she did not want to know.

***

Darcy faced off with a court. "Please do have him explain how an hour long one night stand was a mate bond?" The judges stared at him. "For that matter, as far as I knew, his name was Robert."

"He gave you a necklace. Granted, a lower class one."

Darcy pulled out a picture to hold up. "High school graduation. Necklace look familiar?"

The left most judge took it to look at. "That does." He handed it back after the other two looked. "If he gave it, he should know if there's an engraving."

"With all my love," the idiot said.

Darcy held up the necklace in question. "With love everyday, love, mom." She let them hold it. "He doesn't look anything like my mother. Who gave it to me for my high school graduation."

"It's from college," the man sneered.

Darcy looked at him. "I didn't walk either of my college degrees, Robert."

"That is not my name!" he shouted.

"That's the name you gave me when you picked me up in the bar because I was stress drinking due to Doctor Foster's work," she said blandly. "You were still asleep when I left, just over an hour later. There was no exchange of anything because he doesn't kiss during sex and I demanded a condom." She took the necklace back. "Also, let me make another charge."

She held out a folder. "From the things killed by the agents where I live." The judges took them to look over and hissed as one at the top picture. "Before you have to count, there's nineteen pictures in there. And three room shots. Plus a few reports on others that didn't get killed by them." She crossed her arms over her chest. "If he had been my mate, that's still underhanded and evil of him and I'd be killing him for that anyway."

"I see multiple snakes in this file," the center judge noted.

"You see multiple poisonous snakes," Darcy corrected. "All but one. It was a type of python according to the guys who killed it for me."

The judge winced. "That is illegal if someone is your mate or not," he agreed, staring at 'Robert'. "Why did you send those?"

"She spurned my mating contract!"

"There's no contract filed," Darcy said. "Not here or London." The man sneered at her, trying to change. "You do and I do and I'm worse." The guard got between them. She looked at the judges. "I want him away from myself, my daughter, my friends, my apartment, my mother he tried to kill. Also, they found the bodies of six of his nine supposed mates that were *forced* to go to him. As they tried to *force* me. That is illegal by all the confederation council contracts. It's why it was started actually. Do I need to pull up the original records?"

"No, we're aware that it was in the originating charter of the confederation councils," the center judge said quietly. He looked at 'Robert'. "There are protections on the courtroom to prevent you from changing." He looked at Darcy. "Even you."

She smirked. "Maybe." They stared at her. She quirked an eyebrow up. "I would be defending myself. Most of those sort of protections do have outs for that."

"Point," the right judge said. He sighed. "I do not like this case."

"They started it," Darcy said with a shrug. "Not my doing outside protecting myself and my daughter. They tried to force me to mate to someone. That's illegal. They tried to force me to mate to someone who has killed at least six other women who were forced to mate to him. Still illegal but now with multiple charges. There's lying to the courts about what he supposedly gave me. Which he didn't. There was the snake barrage we've fought off, which is illegal in a whole other, civil court manner. Frankly, he should still be in jail for the homicides. We know how they were killed thanks to modern autopsies. Should I find those records for you as well?"

"We have them," the center judge said, patting that file. "It's disturbing."

"Yes and they decided I should be next," Darcy said patiently. "They tried to proclaim my daughter not one of us when she is. And her birth was registered." She looked at Robert. "Too bad you didn't take the hint from her grandfather in Hartford." The center judge sat up and stared at her. "I was the next to last Savilla got," she said dryly. "I told the father bluntly he didn't have to do anything with her. And he kept me at my word. She's registered in case it becomes pertinent." She looked at Robert again.

"The European court hates that you brought the councils before them," the center judge said.

"Then they shouldn't be allowing them to break the charters. The charters are supposed to be the law of the confederation council, the bedrock they're built on. They let them break multiple clauses in the case of London's. New York was complicit with them trying to force a bonding against my will. That violates their charter as well."

She shifted her stance. "If I have to handle it on my own I will and I told them that." Robert was sneering. "After all, I can still call insult on them." Robert burst out laughing. She stared at him. "What, you don't like civil courts?" He stopped laughing. She smirked. "Ya know, political science degrees did teach me a lot. What I didn't learn at my mother's knee."

"That's a tiny, inconsequential little council," he sneered. "No one cares about those hicks."

"You mean the nine senators that reside in it?" Darcy asked, making him flinch. "Or all the IRS agents. Or the ATF agents? Or the SHIELD agents actually as I found out recently when you put a cobra in my mother's breadbox." She smirked. "You so sure they don't matter?" He was shrinking away from her. "I want you out of my way and out of my life. If you *ever* come near my daughter again, in any way, sent or in person, the declaration of war will be carried out. I'm not the shy one. I may cry later over your pets dying, but I won't cry over destroying you."

"Miss Lewis," the judge warned.

Darcy looked at them. "They started it so I have to finish it, don't I? I'm not letting my daughter go into danger. I'll send her to Asgard first."

The center judge laughed. "How would you do that?"

"Well, my boss is dating Thor. He's proclaimed me his little sister. So far I've kept him pretty much out of this." The judges all stared. She grinned and nodded, waving a hand back at Jane. "I'm pretty sure I could probably ask for a huge favor and he does love being an uncle to my little girl."

Jane nodded. "He offered this morning."

The judges looked at Darcy. "You know some very powerful people, young lady."

"Which I've never counted on until this situation. I've already removed some people from my holiday card list because of this."

"Do you plan later children? That was the reason that supposedly mating was encouraged. The birth rate is falling."

"If I do, they'll never be registered unless there's an exceptional reason like how I conceived my daughter. You've all proven to me that you've ruined the original intent of the charters and councils. For that matter, I'm not registered with the local council any more as of close of business tonight. Both of ours are now missing so I don't have to see them."

"That means you shouldn't be able to bring this suit."

"He called me here, not the other way around."

They slumped, staring at each other. "We are not allowed to give a judgment for anyone not affiliated with the confederation."

"That's fine. I'll do it myself." The judges all winced. "Bye, Robert." He tried to attack her and she went to her lesser form and lit him as he ran away from her. "Damn, I almost missed. I need target work. Maybe some hunting tonight." She changed back with a lazy spin, looking at the judges. "That still leaves him killing six of the nine, at least, who were confederation aligned. As I was when they tried to force it." She walked off. "Looks like we need to find a cave and hole up for a few weeks, Jane."

Jane followed. "I've never seen you change that fast."

"Usually I change slower to ease my knees and shoulders." They walked out and someone shot at her. She got Jane back inside as her scales came out. She pounced the shooter and her claws ripped his throat out. "Damn. I hate messing up my manicure." Jane burst out laughing in stress laughter.

She got off the idiot shooter and strolled off, changing back at the bottom of the stairs. She stared down 'Robert', making him flee from her. She and Jane went back to the tower. She got Aria from Thor, who was scowling at her. "What?"

"It was on the news," Aria said. "Why are you pretending to be another color, Mom?"

"That's a difficult question, kiddo. Some day I'll tell you so you hopefully never have to find out." Thor stared at her. She grinned back. "Thanks for the babysitting, Thor."

"You're most welcome." She took Aria back to her apartment, shutting the door between them. He looked at Jane. "Her temper is high."

"She had to change twice in ten minutes, Thor. He tried to attack her in the courtroom." She sat down with a sigh. "Maybe coming to New York was a bad idea."

"It was not," he corrected. "They have the wrong idea and it shows."

She leaned against his side. "She might have to go into hiding."

"She won't. She's a strong woman and Aria will be safe."

"She joked about a nesting cave."

"She should probably have one anyway. One such as she is may need one someday." She looked up at him. "It may come in handy if she picks to have a second child."

"I guess but that would suck for work."

He nodded. "Perhaps but you'd be able to see the stars easier." He heard shouting and listened. Darcy venting so it was all right. "Aria must be napping. Darcy is venting."

"She needs to get it out before she becomes a vengeance spirit." She put her head back down. They'd talk to Darcy later, when she had calmed down.

***
Part 2 by Voracity2
Darcy was telling Aria about hoards in the lab and why you had them when the agents came back. "What's up, Agents?" She looked at her daughter. "It's traditional that next year I buy you something to start yours with, something that some day you'll share with a real mate. So you have to help me pick out something pretty to put in there."

"Like a shiny headband?" she asked, eyes wide, touching her current headband.

"Or something more like jewelry," she agreed, patting her on the head. "My own hoard has very few jewelry pieces but I collected some statues and art I liked. I lost some of it when my last mate left, but that happens. A real mate contract, or more preferably a consort, wouldn't want to steal from you but that's how a lot of dragons up their own hoards. It's cheating but they're assholes anyway."

Aria pouted. "Why would you date someone like that?"

"I didn't know he was like that when we dated. We had decided to go to mate status before making a real commitment. And then he got jealous and nasty and hateful until someone slapped him with some reality, then he just decided he couldn't handle it." She grimaced. "I hope you get better taste, dear."

"Me too. I don't need some asshole that way. There's enough dumb bunnies anyway in this world." She pouted at the agents, who all grinned at her. "Are you guys that way?"

"Most of the dragons who don't go with the confederation councils don't believe in mate contracts. They only believe in consorts."

"Yeah but the divorces are messier," Darcy said. "I always considered the mate contract to be like an engagement."

Rumlow nodded. "I know a few who saw it that way. Like you, they're more about the oldest of old ways." She grinned. "Is she okay?"

"So far. We've only seen one snake today and we're not sure if it was leftover or fresh. It fell into the lab next door and ate a few lab mice."

"We heard because they yelled a lot," Aria said. "Auntie Jane had to apologize too." She looked at her mother. "Can I look up pretty things?"

"Yup, you can start doing that. That's why I'm teaching you about them." Darcy grinned. "You'll give me some ideas."

"Are they in a bank?"

"Mine's mostly in Grandma's attic. Like I said, I like art."

Aria considered it, hugging her stuffed wolf Mr. Turtle. "Will I like art?"

Darcy shrugged. "No clue, sweetie. That's all up to you."

Aria grinned and nodded. "I might like that. I'll look at catalogs. I like catalogs." She went to find her usual stash of them in the lab, she looked through them often. "Mommy, can we put a toaster in there?"

"No, toasters are too common," she said. "So are coffee makers, even though Jane's hoard contains two."

"Coffee is important," Aria said, very serious when she looked at the agents, who all nodded. "Do you guys have one?"

"Hoards are personal stuff we don't usually talk about," Darcy said patiently. "It's like bragging about new stuff or family heirlooms."

"Oh, sorry. I don't mean to be rude." She went back to her catalogs, staring at one picture she tapped. "Ooh. Mom, am I old enough to get my ears pierced?"

"Eight," she reminded her. "So you can take care of them properly."

"Shoot. Those are pretty." She brought the catalog over to show her. "Those are pretty?"

She looked and nodded. "Those are a great pretty thing for your hoard, dear." She smiled and kissed her on the cheek. "We can look around after your birthday to see if we can find a pretty pair." Aria beamed and went back to her seat to look through things, putting little post it notes on top of the pictures she liked. Darcy stood up, looking at the agents. "Bad news?"

"Checking in," Rumlow said, staring at her. "Are you two okay? Things have been quiet."

"Jane's working with Dr. Banner up the hall. We've been fixing all the data entry stuff Ian did wrong most of today." She grimaced. "The paper form and the computer form are a bit different in format." Rumlow winced but nodded once. "Yeah, so he straight entered instead." She waved a hand lazily in the air. "Otherwise, not much of a problem. Oh, the magic person upstairs?"

"Wanda," one of the agents said. "She said she felt someone down here earlier. The kid?"

She looked at Aria, who stared back then she looked at him. "There's a non magical gift there."

Rumlow stared at her. "Your family's?"

She stared back. "Read great-grandma's biography?" she guessed.

"Her husband. I did a major paper on him in high school."

"Ah." She nodded. "Something closer to his. The Growlies she sees and senses," she said quietly.

"Spirits," he said. She nodded. "That could come in handy. Can you?"

"No, I can't talk to them. I haven't been able to since I was seven. I lost it during my first full change."

"You changed fully at seven?" one of the other two asked, looking horrified. "I was fourteen."

"I apparently decided napping that way was better. Mom came in and found me changed when she tried to get me up." She shrugged but grinned. "No one said I'm the standard girl. I'm a lot more self aware than some." She smiled at the man walking in. "Mr. Stark, you didn't have to bring us stuff for her to look at."

He stared at her. "This was delivered for you. By an ex?" He held it out.

She took it to put onto a table then carefully opened it in case it held another snake. It held a pretty nightgown. She looked at the card, holding it up. "Him. Again."

"Isn't he in jail?" Rumlow demanded.

"The US complained and got him out of the jail in England. So he's here but stuck in the states." She boxed it back up. "Let me send that back with a note saying I don't want him anywhere near my family." Stark took it back to do that. "Stark, don't get too involved. He could try to attack you for being a human," she warned quietly. "Some dragons are like that and pure asshole about it."

He smirked at her. "I've seen worse. I dated one of you when I was a teenager and had to drop her suddenly. Talk about pissy bitches." He walked off to send that back.

Darcy clapped her hands. Then used some hand sanitizer. "So. Anyway." Rumlow nodded. "You guys need more intel?"

"Can we talk about some of the ones you've talked to or who may show up to help you?" the other of the two lesser agents asked. "That way we can maybe slip them a word?"

"I've sent everyone a warning I was going to war over this. Two I haven't heard from. One of my mentors ordered me to calm down. Said I was being a panicky mother and girl sort. When I sent him pictures of the snakes, he got a bit pissed off and went to talk to my mother."

"Does that mean Grandma's coming?" Aria asked.

"Not sure yet, sweetie. She'll try to visit soon but she's not sure when." She looked at the guys again. "The agent near her is really nice she said. Said she even likes tea."

Rumlow nodded. "Carter can be that way." He shifted his weight, getting out of Jane's way. "Can we talk about who else may show up? That way we're not shocked into not moving?"

"I guess. Did you want a dating history? I doubt many of them would pop up that way. None were more than casual dating. If it had happened when we were dating they'd be there but most have moved on to other relationships."

"Didn't one just lose his mate?" Jane asked, sitting down.

"Yup, Brandon did. His consort died in a car crash when someone jumped the median while half asleep." She looked at them. "My mother had such hopes that I'd like him enough to take him in. We dated back in high school. We're still on friendly terms but he was a bit horrified that I kept Aria. Now he'll send her a generic birthday card."

Rumlow nodded. "That's good to know. Any of them that would probably come to help you or would help hide you if necessary?"

"If I need to, I can bum the old family nesting cave," she offered. "We still own the land around it."

"You'd have to be able to fly to get there?" Jane guessed.

"Or rock climb up quartz heavy cliffs," Darcy agreed with a nod. She looked at Brock. "Different great-grandma than Russie before you ask about hers. Hers is in Brunswick."

"I saw when your uncle was being an idiot. I was a junior member of the team that went to grab him."

She grinned. "He was so damn high," she said quietly. "Testing his own shit."

Brock winced. "We heard."

Darcy nodded. "Great-grandma heard too. Which is why he died."

Brock grinned. "Sometimes mothers can be that way."

"Yes I am, because I learned at her knee. Hers and Grandma's."

"Like I learn from my grandma?" Aria asked, looking up.

"Not quite, dear. My mom worked all the time so I sat around with my dad's mom a lot. She did a lot of my babysitting."

"Oh. So no daycare?"

"Not in that area then."

"Huh." She went back to looking.

Jane sighed. "You're using all my post it notes, Aria."

Aria looked at her. "Mom told me about hoards today and how next year we have to pick something pretty for it. I'm picking out pretty things then you can have them back?"

"I'll get more," Darcy promised with a sigh at the end. She stared at Aria, who pouted. "I know you're trying. Stick with those for now and weed them down, putting the post its back together." Aria nodded, going back through her choices to weed them down like she did with her holiday list. She looked at the guys, shrugging. "She's smart. Most of the time."

"Most people are," Jane agreed with a nod.

Rumlow sniffed and turned to look then at Darcy. "That lawyer."

"He can stay in the hallway," Jane ordered. "I found a snake in my bed last night trying to get warm under my blanket."

Darcy looked at her. "Why didn't you tell me? I would've come killed it and helped you change the sheets."

"Thor was over last night." Jane grinned. "He can do it easier with one hand."

"True, he does have strong hands." Darcy stared at the lawyer, who was looking nervous. "What? Speak now or run away." It was the official way of offering a negotiation during a war. Rumlow stiffened at that phrase.

"My employer wanted to make peace. It will look like an annulment contract." He handed it to the lesser agents.

Darcy took it to look over, then picked up a pen to write through multiple places. She handed it back to him. "He still needs to pay for those deaths. Before they try to force another one as one was announced earlier in the news. Facebook, yay."

The lawyer winced. "I was not aware of that."

"I wasn't either," Rumlow admitted. Darcy pulled it up to show him. "Shit, he did. She's barely eighteen." He showed it to one of the lesser agents, who went to put an agent to watch over her just in case she died. "We'll make sure this one doesn't disappear," he told the lawyer.

"Are you a shifter?" he asked impatiently.

Rumlow let out a few scales on his arms. "Ya think?"

The man backed up, staring at him. Then at Darcy, who grinned. "He's supposed to be an excellent agent. The rumors state he's never lost a mission. Having him guard my little girl is making me relax a lot. Or else I'd still be scaled up." The lawyer nodded and left. He didn't quite pee up the hallway but he was walking awkwardly like he might have had a bit of a leaking problem. She sighed, looking at him. "How did you learn to just highlight the tattoos? I can usually only scale up my full arms that way. Or just my legs to treat new bruises from running into Jane's coffee table."

"I don't know," he admitted. "I've always done it that way. Changing just one arm I can't do though." She showed off hers. He noticed something. "You have some chipping."

She looked and sighed. "We'll spa together tonight. Aria does great with those sort of brushes."

"They don't hurt my hair, Mom."

"Point." She grinned. "Let me narrow down her choices of first hoard presents."

"Still need a contact list?" he suggested.

She handed over her phone. He scanned through them, then moaned at a few names. She looked and grinned. "Godmother. Really upset over this but they told her to calm down. I was just one woman." She smirked. "They're going to be a smoking wreck soon."

He handed the phone back with a nod. "We'll make sure if any of them show up to help you that they get to you." He looked at Aria then at her. "You two are safe up here?"

"Hopefully." She glanced at Jane then grinned at him. "We'll probably be just fine since they've been scared off again."

"Okay." He left with the lesser agent, who hovered up the hall to guard the lab area. He went up to Fury, staring at him until he looked up. "Her godmother is Sephora."

Fury blinked a few times. "She's got a few godchildren."

"She's mad."

"I've heard they were fighting in DC."

"The other one listed as godmother has no name but a few Chinese symbols."

"We don't have contacts in the dragons there," he admitted. "Or in my own breed's council."

"Hmm. You need to look up what traditionalist means." He walked off. "There's two meanings."

Fury looked that up, staring at the list of what made up a traditionalist way of life. Lewis wasn't one of those freaky old ways people. But she did hold a lot of the same views apparently. The other one talked about the original dragons who had ...introduced their genes to humanity. He didn't think she fit that one. That one talked about magic and multiple forms from the first generation kids.

So he'd have to wait and see but he'd bet on the first. He hoped anyway. Thor had never mentioned she had magic.

Though he did look up what she did in New Mexico during Loki's attack. She had rescued the animals and then went to bigger dragon form to stare him down with Jane behind her leg to protect her.

***

Rumlow showed up that night, late that night, after the kid was down. He got let in by Darcy. "I need to ask a tactical question," he said quietly, staring down at her. "I've heard you mention a lesser form. Did you mean your size change?"

She grinned. "I'll probably tell you yes if I wanted to talk about such things."

"Your grandmother, she could change sizes."

"She could," she agreed with a nod. "She died when I was like four but she showed me how."

He licked his lips. "Is that what you meant though?"

She tipped her head to the side. "Things like that are often more hidden than we do about our hoards. Do your family talk about any family gifts?"

"No. My family doesn't have any."

"Outside the extended stamina and strength?" she guessed.

He tipped his head but smiled. "I was given a serum when I was undercover to take down HYDRA, Lewis. That's not a family thing."

"Oh, sorry. I just assumed." She shifted her weight. "Did his biography note that he married an original line daughter?"

"No," he said slowly and clearly. "You are?"

"She was."

"Does that hold true for your mother?"

"No. It didn't."

"Did you test it with training?"

"Some. I took what I could with my mentors. Dr. Howard was very good to train me since he hated I was a girl." She leaned against the back of the couch. "Aria can see sprits. The Growlies she talks about are spirits," she said quietly.

"Which you could originally do."

She nodded. "There's a block there. I can't do it any more. She may lose it when she reaches her first full change like I did." She shrugged. "I've had to get past it once, and that was in London with the dark elves. It's not on camera thankfully but I made myself hella sick doing that. At that time I breathed plasma."

He winced. "That's good to know. It was probably excused as a near-death event."

She nodded. "It kinda was."

"So nothing you could possibly just call up."

"Not without a lot of pain."

"Do you have more than one form? Not the size changing."

She grinned. "I'll probably only share that with a mate."

He nodded. "That's a good idea. Some people are idiots about that sort of traditionalist." He gave her a pointed look. She grinned back. "Have a good night, Lewis." He went back to his own rooms to think about things. She did smell good.

***

Darcy met with the lawyer again, at his request at his office. She walked in and stared at him. "What now?"

"I wish a detente," he said calmly, staring at her. "No guards today?"

"They're guarding my daughter. She's more vulnerable." She stared at him. "Why would I want to talk about the man who needs to be punished for killing at least six women out of the ten the local council forced to go to him as mates? Though the one from yesterday is already missing. Nor will I bend on him coming near myself or my daughter, especially with all the snakes that appeared suddenly in our lives."

"He wishes to make reparation."

"I think he's got at least six women's family in front of me," she said dryly.

"He did already pay them for their losses. Or so he's said."

"Uh-huh. He bought them through the local Council," she said dryly. "The mating ceremony here uses a stone to record things." He flinched. She smirked a tiny bit. "Any outside that aren't considered mated if you're confederation aligned."

"I... I have a consort so I was not aware."

"You would've said your vow in front of it anyway. The thing with the wine or tea."

"Mine was done out of the States and it may have but I didn't notice." He stared at her. "It's said that you're usually a babbling, nervous wreck during conflict."

"Not really. When I'm nervous, yes. When you threaten me or my daughter? Nope."

"I see."

"I doubt it." She smirked. "Thankfully they didn't catch me on film in London when the Dark Elves showed up."

"I've heard about that from their local council. They got a personality file from your home council."

"Which means my mother made me seem nicer, more polite, and a lot more geeky than I am. I was at eighteen. A decade later..." She waved a hand sideways in the air. "After two battles and a lot of threats due to my work with Jane? I'm not eighteen anymore. I have a daughter to protect."

"I'm sure you're very fierce in her defense. Will she be able to change?"

"Yeah. She's already scaled up." She smirked. He slumped, that meant she was protected by some of the oldest laws. She pulled out her phone to prove it. "So yes, he needs to pay for what he's done to them and to never come near me and mine again. Anything else to talk about today?"

"No," he said quietly. "I will let him know that you will let him be handled by those other families' needs first."

Darcy tipped her head. "Thank you for that. Don't send another snake related thing to my daughter. The necklace was tacky and I don't let her open things without me being there." She dropped it onto the desk before walking off.

The lawyer picked up the snake necklace to look at then tucked it into a drawer. He had no doubt she had taped that talk as well. His client was in a bad place, and so were the Council that had helped him.

***

Darcy came back to the tower after having a shaking fit in the park's safe area. Now she was calm again and her daughter was in the lobby for some reason. "Why are you down here?"

"I got onto the wrong elevator and it won't let me up," she pouted. Darcy sighed, taking her hand to sign them in and go upstairs. The elevator wouldn't work for them either. She looked at the staring guards, using her pass on the sensor. It turned green and the doors didn't open. "Mommy, did they take Auntie Jane from us?" she begged.

"No, sweetie. It's probably a malfunction somewhere." She kissed her on the head. "The pass sensor goes green so the passes still work. I hope someone can fix it." She glared a guard, who stared at the floor. "Okay, let's ...." She considered it. "You know what, let's go for a walk, kiddo. Let me text Jane." She sent her one, getting a confused one back from Thor, who she repeated the message for. She walked off carrying Aria.

She got them to a nearby public space that was higher up. She sighed, looking at her daughter. "I'm going to change and we're going to fly over. You have to hold on *really* tight when I'm carrying you. Got it?" She nodded. Darcy changed to her smaller form and picked up Aria, then leapt off the building's roof to change to her bigger one in flight.

A few people were taking pictures but she landed on the roof of the tower, putting Aria down against an antenna tower. "Hold on to that until I change down." She went to her smaller size and took Aria back to help her down the stairs. Once they got into the staircase she went to human and winked at her girl, who was giggling at that. "Now we only have six flights to walk down to the lab."

"That's a lot easier than fifty up," Stark said from a doorway. "Showoff!"

Darcy grinned. "The elevator wouldn't let us on even though the sensor went green. We just problem solved." She walked past him with Aria waving. "We're going back to the lab. Why does Thor have Jane's phone?"

"No clue but he's in the infirmary." She stared at him. "He got hit on the head. He's confused and thinks he's in New Mexico again."

"Ah," she sighed, nodding slightly. "Let me know if we can help." She and Aria hummed as they went down the stairs. She had to carry Aria the last flight but she was still too young to walk all those stairs by herself. She stopped at the vending machines to get them all a snack then went to the lab. Jane looked confused when they walked in but did take her snack bars. "How did she get onto the elevator?"

"The ceiling guy told me to go visit Uncle Thor," Aria said.

"It was not me," JARVIS said patiently. "That was someone in the security sensor."

"JARVIS, please don't let my daughter wander that way," Darcy said. "There's still probably a threat to her."

"I tried not to. She was allowed in the elevator."

"She's three, JARVIS. She's not allowed anywhere without an adult. Can you modify that outside of emergencies?"

"Yes, I believe I can," he admitted. The bracelet beeped. "That will fix that and I'll alert others who were in the control room when that message was sent. And who rigged the elevator."

"Cool. Thanks." She smiled at Aria, putting her down. "Go sit and snack." She settled into her usual seat in the corner to nibble while talking to Jane about what her stars were doing today.

Darcy sat at her desk to eat, ignoring her email. Her mother's got a look so she answered her that it was necessary to get them back to their lab and then the apartment. Then she ignored the video call request. Her favorite aunt wrote and she read it then sighed and marked it as spam. Her aunt needed an enema to the brain apparently. She put a note on her facebook, which her mother and aunt both lurked on.

She put on there the whole situation, including that the idiot had gotten one while still harassing her and she hadn't been spotted since the hand over, and that they had tried to kill her and her daughter. If her relatives were that sort perhaps she had fewer actual relations than she had thought. Then she left it there until she saw the notification that her aunt had copied it and her mother had read it.

Then she erased it for a less specific note about how the local and London councils had been engaging in selling mates. Which violated all the charters. She listed all the violations she knew of and put out a call to remake the councils so they were the way they were supposed to have been when they were created. Though she did note that the horrible behavior had made her withdraw her daughter from the confederation council's lists for her own safety and well being, before someone tried to sell her off. Someone on Facebook reported her for hate speech but she could defend it all by police reports. They had to let it go when she uploaded those official copies of the documents.

Her last statement of the day said 'we should not be the evil in the fairytale, we should be above needing to have an evil or a fairytale in these modern times. If not, we have failed our bloodlines and futures completely'. She left it there and got back to work. She noticed it trending on twitter and sighed. A whole lot of bigots on twitter. But they'd deal.

***

Darcy looked up as the door was knocked on that night, going to check the spy hole then answered the door with the chain on. "Yes?"

"Miss Lewis, Director Fury would like to see you."

"I doubt that since I saw him an hour ago."

The man glared. "Who're you to...."

Darcy slammed the door in his face and sighed. The guy kicked it but someone hit him for it. "Thank you," she called. "Let me know later what his problem was."

"He's an anti changer bigot," a male voice called. "Has always been and got fired from SHIELD for that."

"Okay, have fun with him then." She went back to the table. Aria was staring at her. "Don't be rude like I can be unless you have to, okay?"

"I'll try, Mom. I'm very much your little girl according to Uncle Thor."

"Yeah, you are. Sometimes that's a bit more rude than the average person needs though."

"I'll try." She dug into her casserole with squash. "Mom, why are there yellow and green and white things?"

"Because squash can be that way?"

"Eww. Isn't squash what I did when I sat on the donut?"

"Same name, different reason. Eat up." She noticed her daughter ate the yellow squash and the green squash but the white squash she ignored totally. She heard a bang and looked at the hallway then at her daughter. "Let's go somewhere for tonight. We can sleepover."

Her daughter sighed but knew not to argue. Even if she did wander off complaining about dumb bunnies pretending to be human. She packed her own bag and made sure she had some important things, like shampoo, soap, her phone and tablet and charger, and her wallet.

She had to help Aria pack so she got more than a few t-shirts and one pair of socks, but that was usual. She checked the hall and snuck off with Aria trudging behind her. They snuck around one of the three dragon agents downstairs because he was busy sneering at the bigot. Darcy put her backpack on and picked up Aria to carry her. "Let's go...rent a car." Aria looked at her oddly. "Maybe we'll go visit Grandma."

Aria sighed. "She'll complain because we didn't warn her."

"Maybe. She'll be too happy to complain for a day." She got them onto a bus to the airport and managed to make it to the airport without a problem. Then one agent stepped in front of her.

"Where are you two going?" Rumlow asked calmly and quietly.

"To visit Grandma so she has to complain," Aria quipped with a smile. "It's like a sneak attack."

Rumlow nodded, looking at Darcy, who grinned and nodded. "They have a few agents."

"That's why I was going to rent a car."

"That would take longer to track," he decided. "We can fly you down there. Or hide you in the city."

"We had a bigot show up."

"I saw both facebook posts and moaned a lot." He walked them out of the way. "We can hide you in the city. There's a lot of us who aren't council aligned in the city."

"I was maybe going to make it to Maryland. I have a few friends there I could overnight with."

"Go toward the Catskills?" he suggested. "Or the Poconos?"

"I don't know many people that way. I don't want to depend on SHIELD either. They've been bitchy about me working with Jane and tried to kidnap us in the past. That's why she has an ankle problem." She looked at the car rental desk, which was closed, and winced. He held up a set of keys. "I can't ask you to take me somewhere safer."

"I'm not going to take no for an answer." Darcy glared. "She's more important than that. Those sort of the bigots know not to come near me." He walked her off, hand on her lower back. "I know you're not used to trusting SHIELD, they made sure of it actually, but in this case the community is more important. There's a whole lot of us that hate the CC's."

"I understand why. I was taught to fix it from the inside. I'm not into the public life that my mother and grandmother were."

"Good. It makes you safer if you're not." He looked at her. "You probably tried to get help and they decided it would look bad. Now it's going to look very bad when it all comes out. A lot of us are only looking for a reason to challenge them."

"Did they hear about the ones he got? Including that the new one's missing?"

"Yup, I told them myself."

"Is there some other form of council I didn't hear about?"

"No. Not really. There's more a tribal council sort. A lot of warriors who scowl at the rest of us for not being into their sort of ideas." He grimaced. "The real traditionalists hate them anyway."

"I try to stay out of that and keep a lower profile."

He looked at her. "I can see why. It's important to hide you both."

"I don't have the things that people might expect, Rumlow."

He paused her to stare at her. "I realize that. Do they?"

She shook her head. "No. Most of them don't think I have anything at all. My mother doesn't."

"So they think it's latent and they can't force it out so you're expendable now."

She shook her head. "My father's a founding line," she said quietly. He winced but nodded. "He's not anywhere near here and he doesn't admit I'm his, but yeah, I'm his. He liked Savilla's ideas too. Until they got people attacked. He showed up to talk about how she died and recognized me, went totally pale, and then nearly ran away from me. And my mom when she got there." She grimaced. "He still doesn't admit I exist."

"That's a later problem if they bring it up." He walked her off again, looking at the kid. "She's out."

"Bus rides do it to her. So does being bored."

"I think that's most kids but I have no idea." He got her into the car and drove her off to a more protected safe house. It was nearer to his usual area of the city so he was calmer here. Aria got put down on a bed and Darcy went to look outside. "It's safer here. The council people would never come."

She looked at him. "I'd hope not but I still have a panicky, bad feeling about that." She went to check on her daughter. She was at least happily dreaming of nice things with the way she was licking her stuffed wolf's ear. She came out when she heard Brock walk past. "Are you going to nag that my last boyfriend was a wolf changer too?"

"It's not my thing but it was probably safe enough for you. He couldn't bite you and change you by accident. If he got a bit rough you could get away. Do you get hell for that?"

"Yup, even from my mother at one point." She nodded. "Then I point out that Varena married a human and had four powerful, strong dragons."

He smirked a tiny bit. "Are you looking for one of those?"

"The dragons I've seen socially were uptight assholes who decided they could make decisions for everyone. Including one that wasn't aligned to any council in the area but he followed their rules."

"They have a lot of that. Most of us are just more of a leave us alone sorts."

"I'm all for that. The confederation councils should have been war stoppers and our version of the UN. And then they used it to go right back to the bad things."

He nodded. "That's the nature of sentient beings on this plane. Is it like that on Asgard?"

"No idea. I've only been there for about ten minutes by following Jane." She shrugged. "I about petted Heimdall, but otherwise no clue." He grinned, going to check the back door. Darcy went to look in her bag. She had packed a small bag of things for her daughter. She looked at the bag then at her. Brock came to the doorway. She held it up. "It's hers if I fall."

He took it to look inside and nodded. It went back into her bag. "I'll make sure of that. Wouldn't they come for her though?"

"Yup. They still consider her not one of them." She looked up. "She's not the only one they do that to. They still think women are weaker than we are. We should still be matrilineal."

"That got stopped when?"

"Around the first time they started to take human wives because dragon ones were too strong." She grimaced but looked at him. "I'm not like this when I'm not in danger. Or she's not in danger," she said quietly. "I'm usually a happy enough person, a loving mom who sings and dances with her daughter. This is changing me more than Loki or elves did."

He nodded. "Battles do it to all of us." He looked toward the doorway, frowning. "They can't have found us." Darcy put the baby under the bed and covered her completely, making sure she had her wolf and the bags. She came to the door, her knife in her hand. Her tazer wouldn't help her this time. Someone broke in the door and fired on them. Brock stopped them, glancing at her. "I know you can't. Go guard her."

"She'll be fine." Darcy changed to her smaller form, getting a nod. She was harder to kill this way. More people tried to attack and Brock growled at a few who apparently weren't usually with the confederation council sorts. She bit a few, making them run away. Someone broke the wall of the bedroom and Darcy snapped to her bigger size to guard her daughter and kill that idiot. He died with a scream and a curse but she spit out his parts, then grimaced at his taste. "Foul in multiple ways. Huh." One made it to the door and her tail batted him into a wall. Brock shot him for that. Darcy stared at one, who she knew and who knew her. "Don't you even come near my daughter," she warned.

"You should've given in, Darcy."

Darcy growled and concentrated then changed fully to her full form, her other colored form, and got him for it. He died with a scream and a blast of magic but it was stopped by her shoulder. "No getting near the sprout. You know that."

Brock stared. "Fuck."

She glared at him. "Right now? Really? Is this the time for that?"

"Mom, quit making Growlies," Aria called.

"Shut up, kiddo, and hide."

"Yes, Mom. Was that Uncle Mortimer?"

"Yup. Pity. Someone will take his place."

"There's always six," Brock said, staring at her. "That's the myth."

Darcy grinned at him. "Yes, there are. And I'm not one." She pointed at the bed. "She is if it isn't blocked like mine was."

"Blocked by someone?"

"Blocked by someone snatching me to get my mother." She changed back into a human, staring at him. "I'm a teaching handmaiden here, Rumlow. Not one of the six mythical poles that we all swear are problems." She smiled at him. "So we're about to have a sixth born apparently since Mortima died."

She felt the spell coming and made him duck down next to the bed. "What the..." he started and then the spell hit the house. "Which one was that?"

"That was Mortima's son. Hubert's not happy." She winced. "No, Aria! You stay there!"

Rumlow locked her in a closet. "Stay in there before they hurt you!" She pounded on the door. He looked at Darcy, backing away from her. She was glowing and clearly someone was attacking her. That looked painful and the kid didn't need to see that. And then she changed, fully red now. Fully enraged. Fully the queen that some matriarchs could be. And she went to find the idiot and stop him by any means she needed to use. He followed, changing to his black/green self.

"Guard my daughter," she ordered.

He backed away from her, going to guard the kid. She was talking to someone but there wasn't a phone so maybe she was talking to spirits. "Don't summon things, they can hurt you," he told her quietly.

"Shut up!"

"Hey!"

"They're after me and my mother." She muttered at the Growlies she could see and they went to help her mother. Who could summon them once, long ago. Darcy called the others in the neighborhood to join them and attack the idiots trying her daughter. Aria shrieked and covered her ears and head with the blanket. Brock reached in and knocked her out. It'd save her mind.

Darcy unleashed the hell her daughter had started to call for her. And then her own. That block on her? Gone. Her mentor was there staring at her, not being hurt. She stared at him. "I asked your ass for help too. Don't even get judgy that you made me protect us both this way. If I have to destroy everything my family helped build, so damn well be it."

Dr. Howard stared at her. "I thought they would've stopped it when the law intervened, Darcy."

"Well, they didn't! All this is because of the local council idiots." She waved a paw. A police car came closer and she glared. "Don't even get out. They threatened my daughter. I've already declared a war and you're vulnerable." He sped off. She looked at her mentor again then at her scowling mother. "Not talking to you either! Oh, you need to be more mannerly, Darcy. They'd not do this if you weren't rude," she mimicked, making her mother wince. "Fuck that shit." She looked at the man stomping her way. "Oh, now it's you." She blasted him with a curse on his line, making him scream and dissolve.

"Are you in heat?" her mother complained.

"Mom, shut the hell up!"

"Well!" She changed. "I am your mother!"

"And you fucked up greatly trying to make me play nicer with the ones who threatened all of the rest of the family. So I don't wanna hear it, Mom. If you were the mother I am, then you would've already went to war over this shit starting in London. You didn't so I had to." She looked at Howard, who had changed to his dragon form. "You won't stop me either."

"I'm not here for that. I'm here to guard your daughter, who apparently called the dead. She's got to have a huge headache."

"She's fine where she is before we leave. After I stomp some people." She glared at the people stomping their way and changing. "You weren't invited to help me rescue my daughter. Thank you anyway for the assistance."

They stopped to stare at her. "We're the Knights, Lady."

She grinned. "I'm Darcy Lewis DeAnders." They backed up further. "They tried to force bond me and tried to kill my daughter." She waved a paw. "I'm a bit pissed off."

"We can help you guard your egg."

"She scowled at me for calling her that," Darcy complained. They grinned, going to check on the kid. Rumlow got in their way. "They want to help guard the sprout."

"They're a street gang, Darcy."

She looked at him. "Right about now, I'd even accept HYDRA help, Rumlow. If they're not going to hurt her or me? I'm not going to bitch."

"Point. SHIELD is on the way."

She nodded. "Yay. And I believe that since they would've shown up before the police usually. They're probably nagging my boss to dump me because I'm overly emotional and dangerous." She snorted smoke at someone walking toward them. "Yes, ma'am?" she asked patiently.

She looked up at her. "Why are you red?"

"I was born this way." She smiled. "Always have been." She faded to her usual color. "Better?"

The woman stared. "Most of us can't do that."

"Yeah, but mine's a lifeline gift of sorts." Her mother growled. "Shut up, Mother." She sighed but smiled at the woman again. "My mother wanted me to play nicely with those sort."

She snorted, looking at the older mother then at her. "I wouldn't." She walked off. "Try not to destroy any other buildings, young lady. They're all old and weak around here."

"I'm trying not to. My daughter's here right now and I don't want her to see that." The older woman smiled and patted her on the leg before going home. Darcy laid down, her tail tip swishing. Her mother glared at her. She stared back. "Don't care. You made your choice to hold up the faulty, broken things instead. While your council might not be doing that, and I doubt it with how close and tied we are with DC's council, it doesn't mean I don't have to protect my baby from the rest of them."

"The DC council was disbanded earlier," her mentor said, sounding pleased. "Sephora found out and went off on them."

"Good!" Darcy purred, smiling at him. One more attack was tried and Darcy burned them before they could do more than fire a few shots. "The neighbors are probably trying to sleep," she said facetiously. "You're making that impossible by being so loud." She watched them die. "Bye now." She waved her tail. Then she huffed and laid back down to stare at the street.

Brock looked at the awed punks. "Before the males got tired of not being in control and took humans so they could act more like the Romans they were looking up to, that's what all dragon women were like. There's a reason they call them queens." They nodded and left to let him handle it. He listened. Aria was crying but awake. "Darcy?" She looked back at him. "She's crying." She changed back and came to soothe her little one. He looked at their other two guests, staring at the one who wasn't female. "Dr. Howard Abelsome."

He changed back with a grin. "Yes I am. I was young Darcy's mentor after she got blocked. I made sure she wouldn't hurt herself. Which she probably did tonight. And Aria as well. May I check them?"

"Darcy?" he called. "Can your mentor check you both?"

"Please. She has a reaction headache."

"Of course she does. You did the same thing when you did that same act on someone trying to kidnap you at six. Then again when you got blocked." He went in to check the child first. Darcy would insist on it. "Shh. It's just an overuse headache, Aria," he soothed, easing it with a bit of magic. She sniffled up at him. "It's all right. Your mother can and did protect you. Is that a wolf?"

"This is Turtle. Mr. Paul gave me to him," she said quietly, holding him up. "Are we okay?"

"You are now." He patted her on the cheek. "It's good you can get along with other changers, dear. It's an important skill." He eased another spell into her, making her nap. "Just to ease the headache, Darcy."

"I know you wouldn't hurt me. Wouldn't help us but won't hurt us."

"I thought they would give up, as your mother did."

"I don't actually believe that."

He hummed and nodded. "I realize that." He checked her over. "That blockage was broken, young lady, and you're in heat because of it." She looked at her arm, then groaned and took off the patch. It was empty anyway. "You need to go into heat hiding."

"I can't really do that. I haven't had one since she was born. I don't have one set up."

"Then I'd go find a cave."

She sighed but nodded. "Yeah, I can do that. The family has a few." She looked at the ruined wall. The bags were still whole so she grabbed them and Aria. "Let's go." He nodded, walking her out. She stopped to stare at Rumlow. "It sent me into heat. We're going to go hide." He nodded, grinning some. "Oh, don't tell me I'm already going over."

"Not a bit of scent."

"Thank you for you protecting her." She patted him on the arm. "Tell Jane I'll write tomorrow. I have my phone." She walked off and let her mentor take her off. When they got to the family land the next morning she changed and flew off with her daughter and the bags to a nesting cave. Aria woke up in a nest and scowled. "Don't start," Darcy said, stuck in her dragon form. "I'm in heat, dear."

"You told me that sometimes heats happen and you had to do what you had to do." She pouted. "Where are we?"

"Safer than we were last night. There's all sorts of cave drawings you can study for the next few days to tell Thor about." She nodded, going to look at them. Darcy started a small fire for her. "There's some stuff stored in the back. I'll make breakfast in a few minutes."

"Mom, you can't do that with paws."

"Like hell. I learned how to make bread with claws." She went to check the traditional supplies. "No oatmeal of course." She sighed but made her daughter some cornmeal mush instead. Aria grimaced but did eat it. Darcy went to sit on the ledge and concentrate on not going into a full heat. She did not need to go into rut where her daughter could see. Aria had already seen that men leave, like Thor did and her dates had, and that relationships were icky, her words about bad dates. She smelled another female flying nearby and let out a loud growl, making her daughter squeak. "Just another female, dear."

"Okay. Tell me if I have to hide, Mom." A new head leaned down to stare at her. "Hi." She smiled and waved before eating more of her mush.

Darcy nudged the head. She knew that head and the dragon attached to it. It was one of her older friends. "I went into fucking heat," she complained.

"We can watch Aria for you, Darcy," the other dragon said.

"No thanks. Not after last night."

"It was on all the news. Human and not. Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She was knocked out for part of it by someone nice." She looked at her daughter then at her buddy. "Even Mom told me to try to play nicer."

"That was caught on film too. And they showed you breathing plasma in London."

"I thought they missed that." She scowled. "Jane's going to be pissed off. Hey, Aria, call Auntie Jane please?"

"I did when I woke up, Mom. She's mad that you didn't stomp them all and you'd better tell her where we are."

Darcy shrugged. "It'll take about a week to get out of heat probably. If I have to I'll send you to Jane for some babysitting time when it's safer."

"Okay." She sent that to her aunt, who she called again. "Mom, your battery's nearly dead."

"There's not many plugs in a cave, Aria," Darcy quipped, cracking up her friend. "So don't take too long." She sighed but waved and hung up. The phone went back into the bag. "Thanks." She looked at her friend.

"I'll take it to get it charged. She need anything?"

"She adores oatmeal for some reason. Plain, regular instant oatmeal." Her friend giggled but took the phone and charger to recharge it and get the kid some oatmeal. Darcy went to show Aria the hiding areas for her to use. Then she went back to meditating. She still had a headache. Her body ached from the heat starting. Her daughter was trying to act like normal when she was probably headachy and traumatized too. Yeah, it was going to be a horrible week.

***

Rumlow walked into SHIELD the next morning, nodding at Fury when he walked into his office. "She's in real hiding. Last night sent her into heat."

"Can she do that with the kid there?"

"Yeah. We can hold that off," he admitted. "Sometimes."

"Is she alive?"

"Yeah, I'm assuming so. Her phone's being charged. I have it tapped for location."

"So she's somewhere in Virginia?"

"Nope." He smirked. "Not near her mother's house."

"Shit."

"Yup, but her mother made a major misstep and Darcy got onto her about it."

"I saw that on the news. And what happened in London."

Rumlow shrugged. "We did what we had to do. The kid and mother are safe. The ones who tried it aren't."

"Uh-huh. What was that other color?"

"It means she's nearly mythical. If only because she nags Foster about eating." He walked off. Fury complained but oh well. He went to talk to Foster. "She's fine. I have her phone tapped for location." Jane stared at him around Thor's arm. "She's fine."

"I got called by Aria."

"She's in heat, Foster."

"Eww. I saw her have what she called a mini one when her suppressants were late."

"She's full blown enough she can't put on another one and her old one ran out last night."

"Crap. So a week?"

"Probably. With the kid there I'm not sure how she'd handle it but likely."

"She handles it on her own," Thor said.

Brock stared at him then shook his head. "Not a full heat you can't. There's no sex toys that'll work for that, Thor." Thor scowled. "That'd be like you going into heat and desperate for skin touch. Would a toy work?"

"No," he admitted. "It would not." He huffed. "Would her former boyfriend help?"

"If she could get into her human form? Probably. I'm not sure she can get into her human form. If so, ask her when she gets her phone back from her friend that's charging it." Jane rolled his eyes. "Me doing it means that no one else can and that way we can make sure where the kid is at least."

"They've in a cave," Jane said.

Brock nodded. "That's how it's done traditionally, Foster. The same as the flying is." Thor shivered. "I doubt she'd catch if she did ease it that way but that's the easiest way."

Thor nodded. "She is not in the mental place for a mate right now and she would insist on that before becoming a consort."

"She mentioned that." He shrugged. "Not my ways so not my need to say anything."

Thor nodded, patting him on the shoulder. "Keep us informed of her needs."

"I can do that. Or maybe work to get the kid back to you two?"

Jane shook her head. "I'm good for a few hours but anything over twelve and I'm going to ignore her for science, Commander. I know myself too well for that and I've done it when she was younger."

"Okay. We'll keep that in mind if we have to go save her." He went to his desk to make an ongoing report. He got a few odd looks but grinned. "They wanted to remodel that safehouse anyway." That made the odd looks go away but they'd come back later he was sure. They usually did.

***

Two weeks later, Jane stomped up to Rumlow when she found him getting coffee after a meeting. "Where is she?"

"Still in her cave." He sipped his coffee. "We can arrange for you to quietly get there, Foster."

"Please. I'm sure that they're having problems."

"Mostly it's probably only a showering problem. Most caves were set up to be lived in full time so there's sanitary needs taken care of in even some of the oldest caves." He finished his coffee. "Let me check the location and check out a car."

"Not a plane or flying to the closest city and driving over?"

"A car there is less noticeable. It'll mean no one can track us." She sighed but nodded. "It'll take about a day though. If not just over."

"Did you plan that already?"

"No. But I drove down to DC a few times from up here and it takes most of a day if you don't make many stops for more than gas."

"Give me directions and I can drive myself down."

"You don't have a legal license, Doctor Foster." He stared at her. "And Thor flying you down there would chill you too much." He walked off. "Let me check on her phone." He got into his desk computer to look at that location file. "Still there. She's probably stuck." He got what he needed and turned off everything, leading her to the SHIELD carpool area. "You have stuff you'll need? Like a change of clothes and things?"

She ran off to get it while he waited against the trunk of his car. Foster came back with a heavy looking bag and he just mentally sighed. Some women weren't that practical and the more degrees they had the worst that problem seemed to become. He let her put the bag in the trunk and he got in to drive. She got in and buckled up, then tipped the seat back to sleep. That was actually very nice of her. It let him drive without complaining. He'd heard her nag more than one person.

***

Darcy looked down the cliff as someone walked up to the high area. "Hi, Jane. I'm stuck."

"Rumlow said you would be." She stared at her. "Get me up there?" Darcy flew down and grabbed her to bring her back up. She hugged her around the neck. "Are you okay?"

"I'm good. Just ...stuck." She nodded toward the back. "There she is. I know you're worried."

"She didn't answer my text, Darcy."

"I'm out of minutes, Jane."

"Oh." She went to look at the tiny kid. "You need a bath."

"We had one last night," Darcy complained. She rolled her eyes at the dragon landing above them, staring up at him. "Thank you for bringing Jane to nag her."

He nodded. "I tracked your phone so I'd know if anyone else did." He settled into a sunny patch. "You good?"

"Bit stuck."

He nodded. "There's not many ways around that."

"I'm nearly out of heat. It should only be a few days more." She looked back at the nagging Jane. "She took a shower last night, Jane. Quit nagging about her hair looking gross. You know she hates to brush that stuff. That's all that is."

"Fine!" She stared at Aria. "Did you eat?"

The girl nodded. "Mom's friend brought me oatmeal. Auntie Jane, when did you turn into a grandma?"

Jane snorted. "I haven't yet. I came to make sure you're both okay."

"I'm okay. Mom's cranky with her girl stuff that I don't need to know about for years."

"I brought her box of patches," Jane said, looking at Darcy.

"Unfortunately won't work until I'm out of all this," Darcy said dryly, waving her tail around. "Which should be within a few days I hope. I can feel it easing." She looked up at Brock. "Not offering for you, before you jump to conclusions."

"Didn't think you were. Women who want things like that ask or show their interest. You haven't." He got comfortable in the sun. "I'm just a driver, Lewis."

"Thanks." She went to her smaller form, going to nag Jane back for all the nagging she was doing. "She was learning tiny words earlier. We've went over all the cave drawings."

"There's one about the Thor bridge," Aria said with a happy smile. "I get to tell Uncle Thor about that." Jane looked at Darcy.

"There's a landing sigil about thirty miles away that's mostly worn off the rocks," she said with a paw point. "Real old."

"Great." She let Aria show her that marking and ran a thumb over it. "How old are these?" She used her phone to light up the area.

"Closer to early Native American times," Darcy said. "This is an ancient cave."

Jane looked at her. "Why pick this one?"

"It's damn hard to get to?"

"Yes it was," Jane agreed. She sighed, looking at the drawing again then at Aria. "I can bring her home so you get a bit of privacy to cure that."

"Jane, until the heat chemicals stop even a toy won't help." Jane grimaced. "It shouldn't be more than a few more days. I sent an email."

"I saw. Earlier today actually." She hugged the kid. "Are you chilly?"

"Little bit." Darcy went to relight the fire. "Thanks, Mom."

"Welcome, kiddo." She laid back down. "Jane, can you babysit for a few? I want to stretch my wings."

"Sure, go for it. She can tell me about the cave's paintings." Darcy stretched as she got up and went outside to fly around. "Let's see 'em, Aria, and I'll try to work some of the knots out."

"Can't we just cut it already? Grandma won't nag too much."

"I don't have scissors."

"Shoot!" She took her to see the other cave drawings, telling her the stories she had worked out.

Darcy breezed down, staring at the staring dragon. "Just stretching my wings. It feels nice."

"It should. Have you never done a fly when you're in heat?"

"No. I didn't quite make it off the ground the last time." She flew off again.

He sighed. "Someone really has to teach her about a lot of the other traditions." He settled in to guard them. Darcy was happily drifting around and getting a good fly in.

Aria looked out after an hour, making Brock push her back into the cave. "Hey!"

"You almost fell. Your mother would kill me," he said patiently. "Go back inside."

"Fine!" She stomped back to talk to Jane, which distracted her from taking pictures of the drawings. "I did not nearly fall!"

Jane looked at her. "Uh-huh." She pulled her closer to let her help tape the pictures for a few other geeks.

Darcy landed and stared at her daughter. "There's no baby gates here, be more careful!"

"Yes, Mom," she pouted.

"Do your ankle exercises." She shook herself, rattling all her scales before laying back down in the sun again.

Brock looked down. "Change to your real form," he said quietly. "Not like we don't know." Darcy scowled. "It was on the news, Lewis. Everything was on the news." She groaned but changed into her red form, settling in to nap. He sighed. "Did your mother never tell you how heats are supposed to actually go? Or were you just taught that polite, on the ground, basically human copulation?"

"I heard rumors about that but most of us don't do that anymore. The same as we have human style pregnancies instead of laying in a nest. The ones I heard about having actual eggs were complained about and pitied."

"Yeah, that's another problem that council nastiness caused. For a traditionalist..." She glared again. "You should let yourself be a real traditionalist."

"Most of them want weak women and would be more than happy to date humans who want dragon dicks."

"True, but there's whole lots of traditionalists like you are. They tend to call themselves originalists."

"I've seen," she said, grimacing enough that her snout screwed up. "Most of them want to go restart the bloodlines and theirs aren't good enough to do that."

"Not that group. Your doctor mentor was one of the one I'm talking about."

"I don't fit in with them. They all want us to study magic and the like." She sighed. "I wish I did fit in more with them but I don't. Half of their ideology sucks. Women there are only for offering purposes and nothing else. They don't allow consorts or mates. They're a lot of baby daddies basically."

He nodded. "I thought about that but I'm too traditional for that." He shifted, leaning his head down so he could be more quiet. "The true form of being one of us is actually being a dragon. Not a human who can shift. The humans who shift are like most of the wolf ones. Your last boyfriend wasn't but most of them. The same as the confederation council sorts were that same short of shifter. True dragons, we're dragons who can occasionally look human. Do you even let yourself sleep in your form?"

"I sleep in the living room and I sleep too deeply so I'd never hear when she needed me. I used to in college."

"You need to get back in touch with that version of you. This you is human. You think like a human, you act like a human. Real traditionalists are *dragons*. All dragons."

"Then you get back into tribal problems and weak women."

He nodded. "Sometimes. There's no perfect group. Even if you form your own tribe with your own rules, people will nag or make fun of it." He shifted some. "I can't believe they didn't teach you any of that."

"We barely had sex ed in my high school. The dragon education packs mentioned *stories* of all that but it wasn't a good mention."

"You went to a human high school?"

"There wasn't a changer school anywhere near me. All of us went to a regular high school. Most of the ones in the US go to regular schools. There's only four changer only private schools in the US."

"Wow. We had a separate small school for all of us." He frowned. "When did that happen?"

"Regan."

"Oh, him. That explains a lot. We all got told to be more uptight and less seventies party boys." She giggled. "You're not that old, are you?"

"No. I'm twenty-eight. I'm an older millennial. Sorry."

He grumbled. "That blows. You guys missed out on a lot of things." He patted her on the head. "Go back to those meditations that only work half the time."

"Don't tell me that! It'll sabotage it and I don't want another kid."

He leaned closer. "There's ways around that too, Lewis."

"They don't work on me. Hell, the dragon IUD doesn't work on me."

"Oooh. Sorry." He grinned. "Go fly some more. I'll keep the kid from falling off the cliffs."

Darcy was staring in the distance. "I have no idea who that is. Daphne is light green and her husband is a horse changer," she said quietly.

He looked. "They're blue. Want me to shoo them off if they're male?"

"It's one of two if they're one I know. One's an uncle and he's an uptight ass. Or there's an ex who's about ten miles into Maryland. Not sure which." The blue dragon flew closer. "Nope, that's my uncle. Jane, Uncle Hilly is here."

"I'm staying in here before I pop him one again," Jane called back. "Are the drawings considered sacred?"

"Not really," Darcy said. "And they're family owned so I gave you permission."

Her uncle landed nearby, staring at her. "The rest of us own them, Darcy."

"Bullshit. The land's in my daughter's name and we pay the taxes on it." She stared at him. "So you can fuck the hell off like my mother can."

"She didn't like you here?" he sneered.

"No, she tried to get me to go along with the ones who tried to force bond me to some idiot who killed at least six of the last ten that confederation council forced to go to him. Anything else since defending ourselves meant I went into heat and I *really* don't want you to be near me during it?"

"Not like I'd bother. You're a weak...." Darcy changed and glared. He blinked, falling onto his tail. "When did that happen!" he demanded.

"The first time I changed. Thankfully, Grandma Rosie taught me how to handle that dual form." She stared at him. "Now, I'm in here, and I'm considering you a threat to my daughter. Do you really want to stay here?"

"She should be with the humans," he sneered.

"Why? She's already scaled up." She smirked. "She's a better shade of blue that looks prettier on her than yours does."

Aria wiggled out to stare at him. "Are you one of those bigoted assholes Mom complains about who think their poop smells like roses?"

"Hey!" Darcy warned. "Language, young lady!"

"Yay. Dumb bunnies don't deserve nice language, Mom." She went back inside. "Auntie Jane, we need to make a better family. Grandma tried to get Mom killed, and me probably. Uncle Hilly just tried to say I was a human. They're so damn dumb bunnies."

Jane hugged her. "No swearing. Even at dumb bunnies. That puts you down on their level. Also, that's an adult thing and you need to let your mother or me handle it." She noticed Darcy get up and pounce her uncle, making him scream as he broke a bit. "See, your mom can handle it."

Aria went to look but Brock shoved her back inside so he could climb down and prevent her from seeing that. "No, you don't need to see that. Go back to Jane, Aria."

"Fine!"

"Thank you." He looked down there. "Nice pounce."

Darcy grinned. "Thanks!" She went to her full size and jumped up into the air, then grabbed her uncle's badly dented form, carrying him off to hand to her aunt. She dropped him, making him moan. "Thought my daughter was weak and so was I. Pity about his idiocy. My daughter was right when she called him a dumb bunny. I nearly hunted his ass down." She flew off again. "Later, Aunt Elise."

"Oh, Darcy," Aunt Elise sighed. "Did you have to do that?"

"Yup. It's nice I left him alive." She flew faster with a sigh.

Aunt Elise called the local healer for changers. "Our niece was in heat and Hilly tried to say something mean to her so she stomped him. Hilbert, can you change?" He just moaned. "He's just moaning, Doctor Abelsome. Yes, Darcy," she sighed. "She flew him back. Thank you." She hung up and went to check on her mate, who was grumbling about her niece. "Then next time don't be mean to a mother in heat. The doctor's coming, Hilbert." She settled down to watch over him. "Don't worry, if you die, we'll put you in your family's plot. Your mother told me she had saved a plot just for you." He groaned again.

***

Darcy landed and let down a small deer's body. "I hunted on the way back."

"Will the owner mind?" Brock asked.

"I don't know. Aria, I brought down a deer. Do you mind?"

"No, Mom."

Darcy grinned at him. "It's almost a family tradition to switch to the youngest one's name to make sure the lands stay in the family. They're supposed to be paying taxes and half haven't." She looked smug. "So we have dinner." She looked at it. "I didn't do more than blood it. Let me go gut it."

"You can actually do that?"

"I learned how." He moved it with her to help her when she got stuck.

Jane came to the cave's landing, looking at that. "Eww."

"Fresh meat," Brock told her. "It's good for her. Her being in heat needs fresh meat."

"Still weird. I can understand cows..."

"Cows are owned, deer aren't," Darcy said.

"I guess." She went back inside.

"Thor made you deer tacos," Darcy called after her. "Even if it was commercially raised deer."

Brock snickered. "It's sometimes handy to find." Darcy nodded and they finished stripping the carcass. The bones got shoved into a dip beside the hill. It was used as the cave's trash pit anyway. They settled in to smoke the meat and make sure it'd last for a few days. Brock heard another one and went to stand guard. "Do we know you?" he asked.

"Boy, why are you stealing family lands?" he demanded.

Darcy walked out, staring at him. "Shut the hell up!" He flinched back. "For that matter, it's my daughter's lands because you and yours didn't pay your taxes yet again. We've been paying them all along for the last two years. That means I can make you move." She walked off again. "Aria, let's teach you how to smoke meat."

"Okay, Mom." She came over to learn.

Brock shrugged. "I'm guarding her and her daughter, and Doctor Foster."

"She brought a healer? Is she having an egg?" the man sneered.

"She's not that sort of doctor," Brock said. "She's the makes great things happen that can destroy humanity sort." The other dragon flew off with a huff. "Lewis, was that actually one of your relatives?"

"Stepfather's family," she admitted. "I don't know why my mother had that sort of taste," she muttered. "And ignore that, Aria."

"Fine."

"Thank you." She hugged her. "Just a few more days and we can go back to the lab."

"That'll be nice. It's less boring." She helped her aunt make some stewed deer leg and that was nice. They were out of oatmeal anyway.

Darcy looked at Brock, who was grinning but shaking his head. When a female came back, Darcy went to greet her. "Aunt Lisa."

"Darcy?"

"Yup."

"Why are you here?"

"I'm in heat thanks to having to defend myself and my daughter. I didn't need to go into full heat in New York City, did I?"

"No, that's probably not a good thing with what happened the last time. You made Hank huff. Again."

"Yeah, he tried to sneer at me. I pointed out all this was in Aria's name and we've been the one paying the taxes and if he pissed me off I'd suggest he move."

Aunt Lisa sighed. "Darcy, dear, your temper is really high. I mean, we saw the news, but you should be able to calm down by now."

"I've been in heat since that night! My suppressant was worn out when I changed and went to battle mode."

Lisa blinked and landed on a tree, staring at her. "Why haven't you fixed that?"

"With my daughter here? I've been handling it but I'm a bit stuck until I can get mostly of it out."

Aria came out to look at her aunt. "I have pictures of you but I don't think I've ever met you. I'm Aria."

"I'm your mom's Aunt Lisa, sweetie." She smiled. "Your grandma married into our family."

"I heard about that." She smiled and waved. "We're making deer."

"It's not hunting season," she said, staring at Darcy.

"I'm still in heat. After two weeks I'm still in heat," she said firmly.

"That's a good reason then." She sighed. "Can you at least nag him more politely?"

"Nope! I'm tired of polite. Polite nearly got me killed and her killed a few times. Fuck polite. And your husband's attitude problem when he sneered at me."

Lisa nodded. "I can understand that fully. He was a problem when you got attacked too." She sighed again. "All right. I'm going to call together the family and yell at the lot of them. Is she okay?"

"She had a shower last night with the rain water. She hates brushes though."

"Ah. Yeah, that can happen sometimes. My own daughters hated them for a while too." She smiled. "Let me go yell at Hank and others. They should know better than to come near a woman in heat at the very least. Especially one that has an anger issue because she had to protect her baby." She leapt up and flew off. "Have fun, dear. It might help ease that heat some."

"I can't do that in this form," Darcy complained quietly. "And until I can master the meditation to get back to my human form it won't happen." She laid down with a huff. "If it's my mother tell her I'm a Growlie and she can pray I don't haunt her."

"I can do that," Brock agreed patiently. "Go for another fly?" She shook her head. "Tired?" She nodded, putting her head down. "Rest, Darcy. You'll probably be up most of the night." She nodded, laying down in the sun again. He settled in to guard them again. Hopefully there weren't any more relatives.

***

Aunt Lisa landed and changed back, staring at the gathered family. "Well, Darcy's right. None of us have kept up our family obligations toward the lands we put into her daughter's name. She has every right to kick us all out since we didn't help her protect her daughter."

"Her daughter isn't one of us," one of the uncles complained.

"She's three," Lisa reminded him. "Did you have a full change by then?" He slumped but shaking his head. "Then lay off! She's a sweet little girl! And none of us have stood up for Darcy! Even though she was attacked. Not a damn one of you helped that girl when she was raped." A few of the men flinched but the women nodded. "It's no wonder she's stuck in her dragon form for the last two weeks of being in heat! Especially since she was in a battle before then!"

"How did she change color?" one of the old uncles asked.

Lisa looked at him. "She's always done that. We who knew just hid it. I saw it at nine when she broke her knee that time. She scaled up due to the injury and they were mixed then. Her mother told those of us who saw." He sulked. "There's probably a reason someone like Doc Abelsome *mentored* her. We all know he's one of those originalists."

They sighed but nodded. "Her mother did try to hide her from the rest of us," another aunt noted.

"Her mother is presently not in Darcy's good graces. I don't know that full story but I know enough that they tried to force her to mate with someone. She said no and they tried to force it. So she declared war as only a mother could."

Another uncle shook his head. "Her facebook said that and that the guy had killed at least six of the ten he had been given by their council. And that London's council had tried the same for that same guy." He looked around. "She is exactly like her great-grandma was until she died. Grandma Rose too."

A few nodded and the guys mostly shuddered. Rose had been an iron scaled old battleaxe who had an iron fist when needed. "If we don't support Darcy then she'll turn on us like she did her mother." He looked around. "It also sucks that you made her pay your taxes. That means she really owns your properties." He looked at Lisa. "Which cave?"

"The older one with the drawings. Aria looked a bit greasy but Darcy said she took a shower but hated hairbrushes." She shrugged. "There's a male there, but he seemed more like a bodyguard sort than her mate. I smelled a human too."

"The one Darcy works with probably," a male said as he walked up to them. "Peace, people. I'm one of the agents in the local confederation council and I have a peace treaty for Darcy." He held it up. "I know the one who lives here is a relative and could probably find her."

Lisa took it to look over, grimacing. She handed it to that nicer uncle, who grimaced at it. "Darcy will turn that into charcoal," he said, staring at him. "We'll talk to her mother about this insulting clause in the first paragraph and any others. She should've called."

"She's been locked out of all that because they're related."

"Darcy was sure she'd be withdrawing from all the councils," that uncle said. Then he smirked. "The judges there tried to hold off making a decision. Darcy pointed out that all the councils who had done that had broken their charters." The agent winced but nodded once. "She was right too, her great-grandmother would've been appalled."

"Was she alive during this?"

"Died four years ago. Darcy's daughter would've been named after her but Russie said not to. She died right after Darcy got attacked. She held her when she did the pregnancy test next to her death bed."

"Damn. We didn't know that." He took the scroll back. "I'll let them know that and that she's still very mad."

"She's in heat," Lisa said smugly. "A battle will do that to most females."

He nodded. "I've seen that happen. Thank you and have a better day, people." He went back to the council to tell them that. Her mother laughed loudly about them trying to sweet talk her and make her do anything.

***

Darcy woke up late that night, sighing at the stars. Jane was napping with Aria. Brock was napping up above. She carefully got up and stretched, walking out to stare outside. There were a few dragons flying around but they were pretty far off.

Brock leaned down to nudge her with his snout. "They're males if you wanted to go tempt them," he said quietly.

"I'm not into that as far as I know."

He nudged her again. "Your instincts are talking, Lewis. Listen to them." She glared at him. "They are. This is what dragons do."

She sighed again. "I feel like flying but...not that."

He nodded. "That's up to you. If they try to force it, bite 'em back."

"Most seem to think that's a come on."

"Only if they weren't trained right." She scowled but pouted at the end. "Go for a fly this way instead of their way. With your luck one's an uncle. Yell if you need help." She nodded, taking off to go for a quiet fly around. The air was calling for her. She avoided one of the other dragons, shaking her head. "Not into that."

"Sorry. Thought I smelled you, dear."

"You could be but I'm not into that. I'm controlling it." The male shot her a dirty look. She glared back. "I just wanted to fly around. I'm nearly out."

"Fine. We'll leave you alone. Go back to the north?" She nodded, going that way. "That's south!" She turned to go the other direction. He went to warn the others. "She's not interested, she's just relieving heat stress." They nodded. They could avoid her. They were all married anyway.

Brock heard something and stood up to scan around, finding Darcy arguing with a young dragon. He flew off, staring at it. "You're too young to want to flirt with her."

"She's cute!"

"She's an adult! You're not! Go home!" He hissed and the kid fled from him. He looked at Darcy, who was shaking her head from her spot on a tree. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks." She took off again, going back to gliding. She spotted the kid coming back with his mother. "I warned him to go home," she called. "I'm at the end of my heat cycle and I didn't want him to get too close."

The mother sighed but nodded, nudging her son with her head. "I'm sorry. Ma said I was rude," the boy said. He looked at Brock. "Are you her boyfriend?"

"Guard."

"Oh." He looked at his mother then looked at Darcy again. "I'm sorry I was tryin' to be pushy, miss."

"It's something all guys learn eventually. At least you learned younger than some guys who still have that problem at forty." The mother snorted but smiled at that. "You guys have a better night. I'm going to turn in too." They nodded and flew home. Darcy went back to the cave with Brock following. He landed first up on top of the cave again. She looked up as she landed. "Aren't you bored?"

"Sometimes," he agreed. "That's guard duty though."

"Do we think it's not safe anymore?"

"I'd hope it was. My morning email from my team said that they thought it was. The other two senior dragons in SHIELD are *sure* that the stupid has stopped. One of them said he stopped it trying to restart so we're pretty sure it's done with."

"My job probably is too," she sighed. "Not even there a week and drama came from me."

He leaned down to look at her. "It wasn't your drama. You were fighting the drama. And Stark, he lives for drama at times. No one was giving Foster any side eye for it. You're probably okay. Just lay a bit low when we get back."

"I guess I can do that." She settled in to nap around Jane and Aria. "Thanks, Rumlow."

"Welcome, Lewis. You rest. You need more rest to get through this." He settled in again, watching the ones flying around. One was sniffing the air and flying their way so he lifted his head. That one decided to go the other direction. So at least that one had some sense.

***

Darcy snuck in with Jane about a week later. Their apartments were fine when they slipped into them first. Darcy got Aria into a shower and bath, then into bed with clean pajamas. She washed Aria's clothes, shaking her head because most of hers were still clean. "Didn't need them when I'm scaled up," she muttered as she started the washer. Someone knocked and she flinched but went to see who it was, letting in Stark and Pepper. "Hey."

"Are you all right?" Pepper demanded.

"The battle sent me into heat." Pepper winced. "I spent the last two weeks in heat, Miss Potts. But we're okay at the moment. Aria's napping."

"That's good for someone her age," Tony said. He stared at her. "The only one that started anything was one of the bigoted asses. So tomorrow, you can come in wearing a flower crown and a cute outfit."

She frowned. "Why would I wear a flower crown? They're signs that I'm looking for a mate. Like third or fourth date before sex."

He raised an eyebrow. "It is?"

"Yeah. It was with the one I was raised around." She frowned. "Did someone suggest I wear one?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Your insta had you wearing one as a filter choice."

"Yeah, that was a spring planting festival wear a flower crown thing. The last time I wore one I was trotted out for what equates to our version of a debutante ball. We sponsored a few younger girls into it that couldn't afford to go so I had to go too."

"That's interesting. Was the focus on community service and then later good marriages still there?" Pepper asked.

Darcy nodded. "It was kind of announcing we're of technical adult age and ready to be courted but all of us did community service anyway. Our high school demanded."

"Did you go to one of the private ones?" Stark asked.

"Nope. My whole state had us in regular schools. We had an after school club but otherwise not anything different to what the normal humans had." She waved at the couch. "Go ahead and sit. I didn't mean to be rude. I may have something drinkable."

"Don't worry about that," Pepper said, smiling at her. "Is Aria all right with what happened?"

"She's too young to think much of it beyond thinking a lot of people are dumb bunnies as she calls them." She shrugged. "It's the benefit of her being three." She flopped down, looking toward the bedroom then at them again. "She's snoring. She won't wake up for hours, if not daylight."

"That's another benefit of her being little," Tony said with a grin. "Do you think you'll need some more security?"

"I was told all the idiots were gone. I'm hoping so. If not, I can probably handle most things, Mr. Stark."

"It's Tony, Lewis, and you shouldn't have to. There's security to handle that and they can do more than stop reporters."

"Mostly it'll be snotty attitude." She smiled. "But thank you."

"Not a problem. I have no idea about stuff so I'm going to ask. Are you automatically registered with the council?"

"No. The births are noted for most everyone, unless they're paranoid. You can't be entered into the confederation's files until you're an adult. Of the three I sponsored, two registered after they married someone who was part of the group. The other one didn't but it made her contacts and she did marry one of the paranoid assholes who think we're going to take everything from them. They're homesteading somewhere off the grid the last I heard."

"So it's a separate thing."

"In Aria's case, her birth was noted specially due to what happened. With her father not wanting to claim her, which I totally told him he did not have to, she was noted as a special circumstance. We have our share of baby daddy, but they keep track of that." She grinned. "His new wife knows about her and what happened.

"She showed up when we were in New Mexico to bluntly ask. I told her about the whole thing and how that bitch who took my suppressant died from the next victim stomping on her until she was a greasy spot the officers couldn't save. His dad tried to get custody of Aria due to bloodline things, but his grandmother made his dad shoot himself in the courtroom for embarrassing the family."

She grimaced but then grinned. "Her father was sitting in the back going 'dad, we agreed since it was an attack situation'. The judges agreed that it was the right way to handle that for all parties involved. They asked me and I said I had forgiven all that since he didn't have a choice. Her action had basically rendered us both incapable of consent.

"The judges agreed and said that Aria was fine. She was snoring through everything, her health check had gone well. Grandad's wife got to get some cooing in. So they all know about her but they know I'm not pushing for her to be included. They asked that I tell their lawyer any big milestones so they can have pictures and I've done that."

"Did he say something during all this?"

"Nope. He's in Hartford and they're exclusionary. They were one of the first formed. They don't stare down their noses at me, because of my mother's position, but I'm not suitable to marry into their little clique. They look at New York's version of the council like they're dog turds who have no class."

"I'm pretty sure they proved it," Tony quipped. "Are you going to make her sign up?"

"Nope. I wasn't going to but then Grandmother Russie said that I should because of the legacy and all that." She flapped a hand. "Aria knows it's up to her when she's an adult. I'm not making her do the ball or anything. Even if she sponsors the rules are different now."

"What about schools? There's an exclusive changer one up here and she may be safer."

Darcy shook her head. "I want her to exposed to real people. She'll have to deal with real people all her life. Not just dragons. There's not many of us who can just deal with other changers. I did a regular high school and she can too unless she has massive problems. I might think of a private because if we're here in New York the public schools are rotten. I'll start looking next year if we stay here. I'm not sure what Jane has planned." She heard another yell from next door and listened. "Oh, they're having a yelling match." She sighed. "I hate when they do that."

"Do we think they'll split?" Tony asked.

Darcy nodded. "Possibly. He doesn't understand her drive for knowledge and she doesn't understand warrior things."

"That blows," Tony said. "They seem happy most of the time."

"Sometimes. That depends on how willing he is to deal with other ideas that might involve Jane's science." Thor pounded on the wall. "Oh, shut up," she called. "Wake up the kid and read her multiple stories all night, Thor!" He quit. She sighed but smiled at them. "He's done that before. Totally woke her up when she was teething." She smiled. "So he got to help her go back to sleep." She watched Aria stomp up to the doorway between the apartments, then opened it and stomped over there.

"I'm trying to sleep!" she shouted. "We don't want me to be cranky tomorrow! Or either of you. So go sleep and deal with it like big people tomorrow!" She stomped back to her room, slamming the door.

Darcy grinned at Pepper. "She's so my adult years clone sometimes." Pepper giggled.

Jane leaned through the door. "Sorry to have woken the kid, Darcy."

She nodded. "Seen it happen before. Is this 'thou art sciencing when I want you to girlfriend' or 'I wish you would speak of me instead of the numbers'?"

"The second," she complained. She closed the door, staring at Thor. "Women are more than accessories. We have a full life and full being and full rights without a man on our arm. I listen to you tell stories of your battles all the time, nearly every single night."

Thor grimaced. "I do not."

"Do you want me to ask the AI?"

"No." He frowned. "Perhaps we should not speak for a bit."

"That's up to you, Thor. I'm mostly happy with what's going on in my life. Outside the threats to the kid over there. Then I'm going to build something to destroy them."

He stared at her. "You cannot do that, Jane."

"Bullshit. I already have two done. Both accidents for creating portals." Thor shuddered. She grinned. "I've had a lot of people who discounted what I could do and how smart I was because I'm a woman. But if you want to go be with Sif, then go be with Sif. I adore the lady and she deserves some happiness. If you two get together for real, you have my blessing.

"I may love you but your life is going to drive me nuts. I'm not sure I could ever be a true consort to a king. They need a queen who can sit there and listen to things, or to handle emergencies. I can handle emergencies but I'd start to think about my current experiment instead of listening to someone vapid who had to complain about the style of pinching underwear."

Thor slumped, staring at her. She stared back. "We both need people who understand our lives. Yours with battles. Mine with the lab. I doubt I'll date Darcy but I need the male version of her who wants to be my helpmate, not make me bend to their own needs most of the time. I need someone who wants me, science and all. The same as you need someone who likes you even though you're a prince. Because that's really a drawback to dating."

Thor nodded. "That is true." He stood up with a sigh. "I do not want to become enemies with you, Jane."

"Then don't, Thor. We can still have a friendship. We're good at being friends. Even if we suck at being together, we're good at friendship." He nodded, kissing her on the cheek before leaving. She sighed, flopping down. She went to Darcy's apartment, shaking her head. "I told him he should go flirt with Sif." She sat in the other chair. "So we'll try to remain friends."

Darcy nodded. "I figured it'd get to you. Being a queen means you have everyone in your business and staring at you." Jane nodded with a grimace. "Plus you'd have to wear clothes without holes."

"Good point." She looked at Pepper. "Sorry you guys had to hear that. We hate that drama happens around us, especially since we've only been here for a few weeks."

"I got an email from Ian." Darcy pulled it up to show her.

"You're not mean!"

"No, but he thinks I'll stomp on him for simple things." She shrugged. "Sorry, Jane."

"It's not your fault men are like that." She frowned at Pepper.

"I wear delicate yet pointy toed and heeled shoes for men like that," Pepper said fondly.

Tony nodded. "They hurt too." He stood up. "I'll see you two in the lab tomorrow. Have a better night, ladies." They left them to bitch about men together.

Darcy looked at Jane. "At least Ian never flirted with you to get a higher spot in a lab."

"True." She got comfortable. "She's not snoring."

Darcy listened, shaking her head. "She's reading pictures. Sleep, Aria," she called quietly. They both smiled at the sound of a book falling. Darcy looked at Jane. "They said that there shouldn't be many problems."

"Good." She got up. "Let me go get some coffee. We'll figure out the week's schedule. Is she coming in again?"

"I'm going to wait a few days to get her back to daycare, just in case."

"That would be safer and let others calm down," Jane agreed, going to get coffee and come back to plan for the week's schedule.

***
Part 3 by Voracity2
Aria carried a small stack of folders into Tony's lab, making him smile. "Mom said to bring you these."

"Shouldn't you be in a daycare?" he asked, pointing at the table. "Put them there for me please."

Aria pouted. "Mom said you needed them."

He leaned closer to her. "I don't like things being handed to me."

"Oh! I know everyone has a thingy that upsets them." She put the folders where he had shown her. Then she started to stand on tip-toe. "Do you mind if I kiss your cheek? I know I should ask."

"That's fine." He pointed and leaned down for her. She kissed him on it and grinned as she went back to fully footed on the ground. "Why are you out of daycare?"

"Kids might be scared of me for a few more days so I'm mom's intern today," she said happily. She looked around. "Do you have scissors?"

"Not ones you should use," he said. "What were you planning on cutting?"

She held up some of her hair. "This nastiness before it needs another brush. Brushes are nasty." She looked totally serious.

"Your mom might not like that. You should ask her permission."

"Grandma said that Mom cut her own once." She smiled. "And it'll mean no more brushes!" She twirled a few times. "So do you have scissors?"

"Not that'll cut hair. Sorry." She pouted. "They make stuff to put in your hair to make it not tangle."

"But it makes my scalp itch."

"There's oils," he offered.

"Still itchy and then I'd need another shower and even more brushes. I need to avoid brushes before they turn me evil."

Tony wanted to laugh so much since she looked so serious about that. "They make people who cut hair."

"But if I do it myself it'll save Mom money and it won't take her away from work. Then we can be interns together!" She beamed. She heard a noise and her eyes went wide as she spun around looking for it. "What was that?"

"I think that was Dum-E. Hey, Dum-E," he called. The robot trundled over. "This is one of my robots. I made him when I was in school. His name is Dum-E."

"Isn't that a mean thing to call someone?" she demanded, tapping a foot, hands going to her hips. "Are you a bully?"

He could seriously see her mother's mannerisms in the little one. Darcy had done that same thing to Jane once or twice that he'd seen. "Robots are named as acronyms, Aria. Like the AI JARVIS is. It stands for Just A Really Very Interesting System."

"Ooooh!" She nodded. "So that's not calling him a rude name?"

"There's been times I wanted to. He's a bit slow on the uptake sometimes."

"Huh?"

"He doesn't always do things you tell him to do."

"So he's naughty and you ground him?"

"A lot. Usually by taking away the fire extinguishers he likes to play with." She pouted. "Right now he's being very good. You can say hi." She walked over to introduce herself to the single armed robot. Stark taped it for her mother. Within minutes of talking to the robot about needing to cut her hair, Dum-E was playing with it for her. Tony grinned, looking at the folders.

Then he heard a zap and just knew what it was. "Stay away from the cutting lasers before you get really hurt, Dum-E," he yelled. "And no letting little kids use them!" He went to find that pair. Yup, the robot was holding a laser cutter and her hair. He had cut the back of it for her. "Wow. Your mom's going to be mad at me."

"No she won't!" She grinned. "My mom's not one of those screaming moms at the mall." She hugged the robot. "Thank you, sweetie. You're very helpful." She hugged Tony around the waist then bounded off. "Have a good day, Mr. Tony."

"You too." He sent that file to Darcy to cover his butt. He didn't think she'd yell at his robot but you never could tell with some mothers.

***

Darcy watched the video, smiling at it. Her daughter had nice manners for three. And then she saw why Tony had really sent it. She sighed. Jane lifted her head and looked around so Darcy waved her over. She reran it. Jane grinned at the manners she helped Darcy teach, and then moaned at the haircut. "Where is my daughter now?" she asked patiently. "JARVIS? Where is my bouncy, twirly spawn?"

"In the break room with the mirrors and a knife she found in the hallway. Darcy sighed but got up. "She's locked the door and it's a manual lock. I'm afraid I can't open it."

"I know how to get the door open," Darcy said, going that way. "She used to do it a lot to the bathroom." She pulled off her ID as she headed up the hallway, still shaking her head. Doctor Banner looked upset. "My spawn is cutting her own hair with someone's knife she found." She looked at the lock and stuck her ID into the lock area to wiggle it so the door opened. She walked in and stared at her daughter.

"You are not old enough for a sharp knife," she said patiently. "And you're grounded for a week! No library trip!" Her daughter sniffled, pouting at her. "Yay!" She took the knife to look at and put it into the sink to clean it off. She did trim one spot that Aria hadn't gotten to but washed and dried the knife well. She laid it on the counter before walking her daughter off. "We were going to get your hair cut tomorrow night, daughter." Bruce was staring. "I left the knife she found in there."

"I'll make sure it gets back to the owner." He looked. "She didn't do too bad."

"Dum-E helped me!" Aria said happily. "He had a neat laser thingy."

Darcy sighed, looking at her. "You're too young for lasers too. They could really hurt you and we couldn't fix that sort of injury. Also, not supposed to play with Mr. Stark's things without asking. His robot might get grounded for that." She ran off to apologize and beg for her new friend to not get punished. Darcy sighed, looking up and shaking her head. "My daughter's cute. I have to keep that in my mind sometimes." She followed to grab her little girl. "C'mon, lab time, my intern."

"He's not grounded, right?" she begged Tony. "If he's grounded he can't go to the park or anything like the library with us."

"He doesn't usually get to leave the building. He has to stay in the labs so JARVIS can watch over him."

She pouted. "Then how does he have fun?"

"He sprays me with weird things."

She sulked. "But he needs more fun. Like a puppy or a toddler, without fun things they turn destructive. I nearly destroyed the moon by playing with Auntie Jane's machines when I was bored. He might do the same thing and the moon is important. Without it, some changers would never make it."

He gave her a hug. "We'll teach him to play nicer with kids and maybe he can go play in the daycare." She beamed and nodded. "You didn't do too badly with your hair, kiddo, but I think your mom wants you back." She kissed him on the cheek again before bounding back to her mother's side to go back to the lab. Darcy mouthed 'sorry about her' while being dragged off. Tony groaned but sent that whole thing to Pepper so she could giggle. That robot was beeping at the others, apparently they were gossiping. He'd have to stop that trend and teach Dum-E to play with blocks and do puzzles.

He sent a copy of that video to Darcy too so she could save it and embarrass her future teenage daughter. Parents did that as far as he knew.

***

Darcy walked Aria into the barbershop that was up the street from the tower. The guys in there all grinned. "She borrowed someone's laser cutter and then a knife she somehow found to fix her hair. Can one of you tidy it up so it's cuter?"

One of the guys waved them over. "I can do that, little one." Aria got put into the kid seat and he put a poncho over her. "Let me guess, you didn't like brushes?"

She shook her head. "They're evil and the stuff to make them less evil made my scalp itch so I asked a new robot friend to help me cut it since no one had any scissors. He found the laser cutter and did the back for me. I found a pretty knife and took it to the break room to use the mirror. I didn't do bad. Mom had to trim off one long part."

"You did do pretty good but it's always better to let professionals take care of important things like hair," Darcy reminded her. "That way you don't look lopsided." She looked at the barber, who was snickering. "She's a good kid. I did the same sort of thing when I was four. Just make it look cute please."

"I can definitely neaten it up. She did a good job. That might be a good career."

"I wouldn't mind if that's what she wanted. She likes talking to people too." Aria nodded, chatting with him about how you trained to be a hair person. He told her about how you went to a special school and learned all sorts of things. He did neaten and clip a bit of the sides and back, leaving the top a bit longer. Aria squealed when she saw it, wiggling around to hug him. Darcy paid and they went up to the nail place up the street while the barber was pleased with the little hurricane that had been so sweet.

Darcy brought Aria back, letting her run to show Jane her nails and hair. "Those are adorable stickers on your nails," Jane said, patting her on the head. "And your hair is very cute."

"The nice hair guy said I could learn how to do that."

"You probably could, yup." Aria danced around, making it to the radio to turn it on. Then she went back to dancing while her mom came over to make them all dinner. Jane looked at Darcy. "That's cute."

"It's very cute." She grinned. "She can still wear her sparkly headbands too."

"That's sweet."

"Can we show Grandma?"

"You can record a video for her," she offered, turning that feature on so her daughter could talk to her. "Hold the phone back farther so she can see more than your nose." Aria propped the phone on the table and leaned down to talk to it so she could record for her Grandmother. When she was all babbled out she handed the phone back so her mother could send it. She took a few pictures to send too then sent the whole group.

Darcy grinned at her. "I think you look adorable." Aria grinned. "Dinner's in twenty minutes. Go look at a catalog." She ran to the table to see what types of catalogs Jane had. Only for machines so she went to find one in their apartment. She found someone knocking. "Mommy's next door," she called. Then she ran back.

Darcy went to the door to look out there. A different lawyer but one she knew. "What's happened?" He came up the hall, handing her a paper. She read it and grimaced. "No, she's fine." She let the lawyer see her daughter. "I sent over photos of her scaling up, right?"

"You did and her grandmother was very happy with that." He smiled at the curious young girl. "I work with your father's family, Aria. I'm the one that gets pictures from your mom for them."

"Ooooh!" She nodded and smiled. "Well, I'm cute today. Do they need another one? I just got a haircut and my nails done." She wiggled them in the air.

"I can take pictures of that. She hasn't gotten to send us one today." He pulled out his phone to take pictures of her, including one of her twirling around to show off her pretty skirt. He smiled at Darcy. "Her grandmother said next time let her guard the kid for a few days?"

"We went to hide in a nesting cave while I was in heat."

"I figured. So did she. Just let us know if we can help."

"I will. Thank them for me."

"You're welcome." He smiled at Aria. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you too, Aria. You have a good night." He patted her on the head before leaving.

Darcy closed the door. "Your grandmother said next time she'd help if I had to yell at people." Aria hugged her around the waist then went back to her catalog. She let Jane see the note then put it up for now. She could write a long letter to Grandma later.

***

Brock found Darcy and Aria the next day, staring at the young one's hair. "You really went short."

She grinned. "No more brushes!" she cheered.

"True, that's why I keep mine short too." He handed Darcy a bag. "Those are the books that my mom suggested for young draglettes to teach them the important skills. I was thinking the Bunny book but she sighed and said it was so outdated."

"What Bunny book?"

He pointed at the bag with a smirk. "It's in there too. It's one I started with."

She looked and smiled. "Oh, I didn't know we had these."

"A lot of parents can't teach some of the more old traditions. That'll give her a good overview but it's meant for little kids. Like catechism class for being a dragon basically."

Darcy smiled. "Thank you, Commander. That's sweet of you to think of her."

"Not a problem." He looked at the kid then at Darcy. "Don't let the ultra femme idiots get to her," he said quietly. "The current in fashion locally is all you women having super long hair."

"Yeah, I've seen that and sneered at one who complained at me for not following it. She's not doing the ball and she's not doing that."

"Ball? The announcement ball? You went?" he asked dryly, smirking at her.

"I didn't want to but we sponsored a few girls so I had to go too." She grimaced while shrugging. She let Aria have the bag to look at the books. "I'm not going to make her do that."

"That's probably a good idea. There's the nice changer school."

Darcy shook her head. "I want my little girl to get to know people, real people. If we're here she can go private for a decent enough school but I want her around and exposed to a lot of people so she learns how to deal with them. One of the girls we sponsored and I were close until the anti-human homesteading sort married her."

He shook his head. "No, I can't see her being one of those. There's a few good ones that have clubs at least."

"Which is what I grew up with in my own schools." She looked down then at him. "Then again, we may be back in the middle of nowhere so I'll be home schooling." Aria gave her an odd look. "If we go back to the observatory in Norway, there's no school anywhere near there. So you'd have to learn from us instead."

"That's going to be mean, Mom. Sometimes I need time away from you being fussy at Auntie Jane."

Darcy smiled at her. "I feel the same way sometimes." Aria grinned and settled in to look at one of the new books. She looked at Brock, shrugging. "If we're going to be here then I'll gladly ask for a better school list."

"I'll get my mom to make one out if you're still here next year. You be good, Aria."

"Thank you, Mr. Brock."

He grinned. Darcy frowned. "What was that?"

"My name. I let her use my first name," he said.

"Oh!" She smiled. "I didn't know your first name. Thank you for the gift, Brock."

"Welcome." He grinned at them before walking off.

"Oh, the knife she found is still in the common area if you know who she borrowed from."

He went to look and texted someone a picture. "He lost it in the entryway," he complained. "Or so he said. He'll come get it." He grinned as he walked off.

"Thank you," Aria called. She carried her new books into the lab to settle in her corner to look them over.

Darcy walked in. "Commander Rumlow brought her a few books."

"That's sweet." Jane looked, frowning. "Is that on hunting?"

Darcy looked and nodded. "It is a skill she might need someday." She sat down to go over the books with Aria. One she did put aside. "That's for a bigger girl. You'll need that one in two years." Aria nodded at that. Jane smiled at the teaching books. They sounded all right.

***

Aria's first day back at daycare, the worker stared at her hair. She smiled. "I trimmed it and Mommy made sure the nice barber guy did a good job making it look cute for me."

"That is cute, Aria. Most girls have a lot more hair than that but that does look cute on you." She smiled at the manicure too. "Very pretty, dear."

"Thank you." She went to help the person feeding the fish tanks then went to play with some blocks.

She looked at Darcy. "I'll...."

"Those ones who insist women have long hair? I don't hold to that," she said quietly but firmly. "Frankly, I feel about like I do with ultra right wing religions. If they must, then that's their choice but if someone wants to be helped out of that abusive ways I'll gladly help there."

The woman nodded. "Many of the mothers are taking that up."

"Well, they can bite me." Darcy grinned. "And if they try to say something to her, then you can tell them I said that."

"It's not a usual thing for a dragon damsel."

"Yeah, we're not damsels," she said dryly. "Damsels are weak. We're not."

"Oh, okay. You're a traditionalist."

"Yes I am. From some of the oldest traditions. Women are strong because we have to be to handle all the things in our lives. Aria will do fine when she's older."

"Understood and I'll keep anyone from remarking on it."

"Thanks." She smiled. "She's still very girly but that whole princess and damsel thing just sets my teeth on edge." She strolled off. "See you tonight, Aria. Be good."

"I will," she called back. "Have a happy day nagging Auntie Jane!"

"Of course I do." She smirked back at her before leaving.

Aria bounded around the room gathering all the blocks in one area to stare at them to see what they wanted to become this time. She smiled at the staring worker. "The blocks will tell me what they want to become. The same as paints do when I fingerpaint." She finally found the last one she was looking for, because she really liked that small purple square block, and settled down to arrange them until they told her what they wanted to become. Then she'd build it.

The room worker nodded. "It's good when things find their true forms," she agreed. She made a note about Darcy hating that damsel ideology. Kids didn't need to see that sort of stress.

A wolf changer's mother stared at Aria when she brought her son in. "Oh, that poor dear."

"Her mother doesn't like the damsel ideology," she told the woman with the long, dyed blonde hair. "She's letting Aria pick it for herself."

Aria looked over at the woman. "There's a reason they called us queens. Queens handle things and rescue themselves according to Uncle Thor. Princesses have to be rescued thank to Disney." She went back to building. "Sam, the blocks want to be a castle today. Help me build it?" He settled in to help her build her castle. He liked blocks too.

The woman nodded, smiling at the daycare worker. "She's right. They used to call us older females queens." She strolled off. That little one was very strong personalitied. She'd learn as she grew up. Though with her mother being so tough... No, the locals would help ease those rough edges. She smiled at a dragon agent coming in. "Morning."

"Morning," he grunted with a nod. He went to log in and hit his desk. He already had two emails from people suggesting he explain hierarchies to Lewis. He sent back that she wasn't an agent, she wasn't part of the local tribe, and she was a good mother. She was a matriarch of an older line and her daughter was adorable the way she was. Weak women annoyed him and the thought that they should all be damsels made him cringe.

They both stopped that idea thankfully. He did send Lewis an email warning that the local tribe within SHIELD was being fussy about her being so strong willed but he encouraged her to say it louder to teach some of them manners. He got an email from someone in the lower level of agents, asking for an intervention on her behalf.

He went to find her to see what had happened this time. Turned out her boss was a changer and wanted her to be a more delicate woman. He sneered at the senior agent, who backed away from him. "SHIELD agents aren't weak, delicate, or femme unless they're undercover that way," he sneered. "Leave her alone before I challenge you." The man ran off. He looked at the woman.

"I filed a challenge to him being my boss," she complained. "Got told to suck it up. He docked my performance review due to my hair length and the fact I won't wear a skirt."

"Talk to Hill?"

"She huffed and said she'd fix it and hasn't in three months."

"I'll talk to Hill." He walked off to get more coffee and call her. He found her in the head office. "Hill, I got asked to talk to a senior idiot who wanted all of you to be femme little girls instead of competent agents. And you haven't taken out the things he put in the performance reviews." He sipped his coffee. She glared. He stared back. She huffed. "Not like agents can do their jobs in skirts, Hill. It'd get in my way to wear the sort of floaty, feminine skirts they want you women to wear. One dress code for all," he finished patiently.

She snorted but did look those up. He selected an agent for her to look at first. She stared, grimacing as she removed all that. "That's stupid."

"Yes he was. It seems to be creeping into all the changers anymore. I've already had two emails from whiners who hate that women have sense and strength and told them to fuck off." He finished his coffee and got more from the pot in there. Fury glared at him. He stared back. "Not like you've dealt with your pack for that same thing floating in. Half of them have made their wives embrace the whole damsel thing."

"No, I haven't. They're all idiots."

"Hmm," Brock said, walking off. "Repeatedly."

Hill got into the other reviews that had the same sort of language to fix them. She sent out a SHIELD wide email stating that she had found such problems and if she had to fix them she'd do so and fire the ones who gave her extra work. Female agents weren't weak women and didn't have to act like it either. Female agents could be pretty, cute, or femme, and still kick an ass but the dress code said no skirts on duty. And to keep your hair battle ready. She looked at Fury, who was snickering. "Have a talk with your people?"

"Tonight," he agreed.

"Thank you. They're causing me more work." She went back to her desk. She had thousands of reviews to go over for stupid things.

***

"You could be more feminine," a female in the cafeteria told Darcy.

"Why?" She ate a bite of salad.

"It's important and the way we are."

"No it's not. It never was. That's conservative Christian ideology sneaking into the changer communities." She sipped her water. "We were named queens and matriarchs. We went to war and defended our whole clans. That's not feminine. If you can defend your kids in a dress, you go for it, Sister. I'm not like that."

"It's the way we've always been!"

"No it's not. The long hair you're trying to style there, and it's all fly away so you need a conditioner, only started being fashionable when I was fifteen." She stared at her. "My grandmothers never had it. My aunts never had it. If *you* like that ideology then you go for it in your life. In mine, that's worthless and pointless. In fact, most of the world doesn't believe in that."

"It's why you're single," she sneered.

"No, I'm single because I consider a lot of changers to be frivolous, judgmental assholes. They've proven it to me repeatedly, just like you just did." She stared at her. "Frankly, I've had plenty of dates. I'm not going to hitch myself to someone because they have a nice hoard. I'm not a gold digger." She gave her ring a pointed look then looked up. The woman shrieked but stomped off.

"Bye, have a great day. Please pick up a few history books." She went back to her salad, grinning at someone staring at her as she chewed. They ducked down and went back to eating. Darcy sighed in pleasure. She hated that viewpoint. She dropped a book off on Brock's desk after lunch with a grin. "A good biography for those women who want to appear weak to look up to. A real princess and damsel who became a real queen." She strolled off.

He looked at it, skimming the first few pages. He'd heard of that queen in school. It turned out she was a lot more than the current idiocy suggested. It was an interesting read. Half of those things hadn't been mentioned.

***

Brock stood to Fury's right as he stared at all the changers in SHIELD. Some were on screens, some were in person. Most were scowling. The other top changer agents across all the breeds were on the stage too. "People," Fury noted. "We apparently have fucking idiots among you." They looked at each other then at him again. "We have people trying to *arrange* things and agents who think that their personal preferences are more important than missions." He scowled at Brock.

"I knew she wasn't the right one for that job and you proved me right by getting her killed, Fury." He stared back then looked out there. "People, quit trying to whine all the changers in SHIELD into damsels." They mass groaned. "Every damn last one of the ones in this room has fought for our spots here and our ranks. It fucking sucks that we have to have this talk about people being held back due to their short hair!"

A few shuddered and one shrank down. "No, I saw how you sent her on a mission that got her assaulted," Fury told him. "And you're done here. After this you're going to be arrested for that." He looked around. "Maria Hill found ninety-seven notes about hair length. Another fifty about not wearing skirts on duty, which isn't allowed anyway. If you want people in skirts around you all the time, go run a girl scout troop."

"My daughter's one and they don't wear skirts usually anymore," one female quipped. "Does that mean all the write ups I got that meant I didn't get my promotion are gone, sir?"

"Hell yes. If they're not, you tell Hill so she can look into it. Though, weren't more for insubordination?"

"Yup, I told my boss to suck my tit about wearing a short skirt for him."

"Oh, that. Tell Hill. I'm ashamed this has went on, and has spread to the normals within SHIELD. One of them tried to write up Hill herself for not being a delicate little princess." Brock broke out snickering. "It stops now, people. I don't care that your people are pushing you to become conservative Christians. It doesn't impact SHIELD's duty. If it does, then you're in the wrong agency and I'll expect you to retire. We need more good agents but damned if we need more like that."

He looked at the other changers, who all nodded to back him up. "We all are done with this shit. Don't make me go find individuals to talk to them in person." He stared at one screen, that then went blank. "Huh. May is having a talk with them." He smirked. "I'll be happy to let her talk to others."

"For not being a changer, she's definitely a senior dragon matriarch," one of the other changer heads quipped. Brock nodded he agreed. "Sir, we need to set up an official hierarchy."

"No we don't," Brock ordered. "Most of us who do our jobs are in and out so often it renders it pointless and then becomes a stress for someone trying to take authority." He glared at him. "Every time you leave on a mission I have to go chew on your supposed second-in-command for nearly bringing down SHIELD by forcing his ways on others. Frankly, I'd like to see your supposed second-in-command under the FBI's building. He's one of theirs and spying for them anyway."

"He is not!" he shouted. He lunged and Brock punched him, knocking him down.

Fury looked then at his commander. "Was that really necessary?"

"I could've ripped him apart," he offered. "Did you want the blood on your stage, sir?"

"No!" He glared at the other one. "I've heard the same complaint from others so get up and act like a damn adult." He looked at Rumlow. "You're too alpha sometimes."

"Yup." He grinned. "I sure as shit am. It's good for me and for STRIKE. Thank you for noticing."

He looked at the others. "I'd like to be able to brag on our agents, but it appears I can't as most of our men are scared of women and most of the women have to keep fighting them so often they can't get things done. I don't know *why*," he sneered. "But if it doesn't stop I'm naming Rumlow over all of you for six months." They shrank down.

"And look at who'll have physical mandatories to meet," Rumlow quipped. "And all the donuts will be stopped." He stared at one.

"No, sir, I'd shoot you first," he quipped with a smirk. "My wife's cravings are spreading and I'll be damned if I let her suffer in peace since she's not supposed to eat them at all."

"You could give them up too."

"Sure, when she has the kid, I'm sure it'll stop. Until then, it's keeping her happy and she's prettier and meaner than you so I like her more." He smirked. "Bite me if you pout about that, Commander."

Brock laughed. "It's good she's prettier at least." He looked at the others. "Weekly 5K runs," he said smugly. "To keep in combat ready shape."

"Sir, can we take out the commander?" one asked from a screen.

"I doubt you could," Fury said sarcastically. "You tried once and didn't manage it." That one sulked. "Any other comments on things I won't put up with?"

"No, sir," they all agreed.

"Mass trip to the beauty parlor," one of the females said loudly. The women went with her.

Fury nodded. "She's showing good handler skills." He stared at the men. "Quit being so childish and babies about women being just as strong or find another job. This is the last warning and if I see another one, well, the FBI is hiring." He walked off.

Brock looked at his people, staring at each one. "It stops now. Damsels aren't worthy of anything but being a concubine and none of us need that in our lives." He walked off. The other changers just nodded at their people and followed.

That night, on the SHIELD bulletin board, there was a group who were suggesting that Rumlow should be set up with a nice little dragon who'd love to baby him. That way he'd calm down. He saw it and laughed for a good, long while then put in what he liked in a woman to help them. Suddenly that board got shut down.

***

"Some day she'll make such a cute wife for a warrior," a woman said in the grocery store.

Darcy looked at her. She was a SHIELD agent. She was wearing the uniform. "She'll be her own warrior, thanks though."

"Women don't do that," she said firmly.

"And yet," Darcy waved a hand at the woman's uniform. "And tell that to Natasha Romanoff."

"We'd never accept someone like her in our community." She huffed off.

Darcy waved at her back. "Which is why the communities are dying and I had to go to war to protect myself and my daughter from that sort." The woman gasped but stomped off faster. "Goddess damn, people are stupid," she told her sleeping kid. "Don't ever become one of them. I'd hate to beat it out of you." She heard a female laugh and shrugged. "I would. I'd never let my daughter grow up that weak." She pushed the cart on, getting the few things they needed at home. Including oatmeal. She still didn't understand why her daughter liked oatmeal like most kids liked cookies.

She was nearly back at the tower before that older woman following her got tiresome. She glared back at her, making her go the other direction. She got into the tower and pointed her filled hand. "She was following us from the grocery store," she said quietly. They made note of her picture just in case.

***

Jane looked up as a guard let someone into her lab. "Do not do that. I don't allow outsiders in here," she ordered. The guard stepped back but nodded. "Who're you and why are you invading my lab, lady?" She had heard about the old woman from the grocery store last night so she had to wonder.

"I'm Miss Malantha. I'm the tower's coordinator for special needs people."

Jane stared at her. "I don't have any special needs beyond masses of coffee so science works."

"Your assistant, Dr. Foster."

"Darcy, yeah. She doesn't usually have special needs either. She usually takes care of them herself when she does."

"We know she's a changer, and her daughter."

"Yes. Since when has that qualified as a special need?"

"We were thinking the child may be sick. She was taking her to the doctor today and we noticed she cut off all her hair and changed her clothes."

"Kids change styles all the time and Aria hates having hair that needs brushed so she cut it and Darcy had it cleaned up."

"Most young dragon females have quite pretty, long hair."

"Yes, I'm told that means that they're trying to be damsels and that's something Darcy's never stood for. Darcy's a matriarch of the old ways. She looked into the origins of the damsel feelings and most of it seemed to come from some conservative religious ideology that she also doesn't agree with." Jane stared at the horrified looking woman. "Aria will grow up to be the woman she wants to be and the dragon she wants to be. Though I doubt you could ever call any Lewis woman a damsel."

"That's not the way the modern community works."

"Bullshit and Darcy's withdrawn from the local Council due to their faulty thinking and trying to force mate her. As far as I know she's withdrawn from all the councils because of all that and her mother." Jane glared. "Considering she had to destroy people over that? I doubt you're going to be welcome to talk to her about them and I'm pretty sure she'll have a fit if you try to talk to her daughter about such backwards ways. Darcy is not the queen of everyone but she is the queen of her family and her word is law. Aria will grow up just fine being mentored into a fine, strong young woman who has sense and an education so she never has to be rescued."

"We...we can turn her in for that," the woman huffed.

"For what? Protecting her daughter from those who seem to want them to be weak enough to be victims? I doubt social services will handle that since it's what *good* parents do." Jane stared at her. "You have a great day somewhere else before I start to lose my temper, okay?" The woman huffed off.

The guard got glared at. "Sorry, Dr. Foster. She insisted and she's the one that does all the room assignments."

"So that's the idiot that tried to put us three in a one bedroom apartment," Jane said dryly. "Figures."

The guard walked off laughing. "I'll make a note to stop her, ma'am."

"Thank you. People hate it when I slap people." She sent a text message to Darcy and got back to work.

***

Darcy looked at her phone when it beeped in case it was important. "What the hell?" she muttered. She sighed, rubbing her forehead.

"Mommy, did Auntie Jane blow up the lab again?" Aria asked. The doctor flinched away from her. "She does science stuff with stars."

Darcy waved a hand. "Jane creates portals. No, dear. One of those damsel affiliated dumbasses showed up to nag Jane." She looked at the doctor. "I've pointed out a few times my daughter isn't going to be that way."

"She clearly isn't. They always have a lot of knotted hair because no girl at that age likes hairbrushes."

"Which is why she cut her own hair and I had to get it cleaned up," Darcy agreed with a grin for him. "But I had already agreed to trim it before she did that."

"Some kids are strong willed," he agreed.

"Yes, we both are," Darcy agreed with a nod, looking at her daughter. "This is probably related to the SHIELD agent I told off last night at the grocery store for thinking you should be a weak little simpleton."

"That seems to be fashionable."

"I grew up with sense and she'll grow up with sense. And if her hair ever gets to be that fashionable waist length, I'm cutting it on her myself."

"That'd need a whole lot of evil brushes," Aria said. "I'm not doing that, Mom."

"Good!" She smiled at the doctor. "I try so hard."

"Most parents do. You're doing fine with her. I can't find any fault with her outside that ankle."

"We were almost kidnaped last year. It dislocated her knee and ankle during that. She's got exercises to strengthen that at the moment."

"That's fine. It's a good idea if she doesn't need surgery."

"No, they popped it back in. The ankle will sometimes pop out but she knows how to handle that if I'm not nearby and how to put on her brace. It's happened in daycare a few times."

He nodded, making a note of that. "Which is good for her. Children with chronic health issues do sometimes need that sort of training." He looked at her. "Her diet?"

"She...you know how some kids will only eat chicken nuggets or noodles? She's that way with oatmeal. Plain, instant oatmeal."

"Which isn't all that bad for her. She could probably be encouraged to eat more vegetables."

"Dinner always has veggies," Aria said, looking serious. "They're good for me and for Auntie Jane."

"They are," Darcy agreed with a nod. "And making you eat them means I get to make Jane eat some too."

"Your..."

"Boss. Not girlfriend, boss." That got a nod. "We lived with her when we were in London. Now we live in connecting apartments."

"That's fine. I'm sure it's made safe in the lab?"

"Yeah. Most of the time Jane's doing math. When she's creating new things Aria's in the daycare."

"That's good. Means you take care of her." He looked at her. "A lot of parents don't think about that."

"I'm used to ducking for cover when Jane builds something so I made sure she was safer." The doctor laughed but made that note too. "I know it's time for shots."

"NOOOOO!" Aria wailed. "No shots! You didn't say shots!"

Darcy stared at her. "Really?" Aria pouted. "Keep it up, no chocolate milk when we get home." Aria pouted at the doctor, who chuckled at that. "She was on the London schedule if that matters." She pointed at the shot record.

"We locally request two more. I'm surprised her daycare let her in."

"They didn't ask. What two?"

"We like the hepatis vaccine before now. We also encourage the chicken pox."

"I have a slight problem with the chicken pox. I ended up in the hospital from them after taking the stupid shot."

"Usually you see mild cases."

"I ended up in an oxygen tent. I'd rather not test that one with her."

"We can do a test to see if she'll be allergic."

"Please," Darcy said with a nod. "My mother nearly killed the hospital when I was sick."

"Do you take the flu shot?"

"No I don't. I don't mind the flu and I'm not one that's going to get it easily. She ...last year she didn't get one and got a mild version of the flu instead of the serious cases she gets most times she took it."

"Huh. Some people do react that way. The flu shot is suggested."

"And we'll think about that but it's not time yet. I was going to let her try the nasal spray option instead to see if it worked better." She smiled at him. "You'll need someone to help me hold her down for shots," she said quietly, pointing at the forms she had filled out. "She has bruised some nurses."

"Some kids do," he agreed. "We can handle that. We're used to them here." He smiled. "Some kids will fight with shots."

"She's damn good at it too. She fractured my wrist last year for the IV in the hospital after that kidnaping."

The doctor made that note and circled the 'does not take shots well' rating she had put down. "I'll get an extra nurse." He looked at her. "You get three shots." He looked at Darcy. "I would've expected you to be a slowed down schedule."

"I am for anything new. If she's not had a reaction I'm okay with the regular schedule but anything new I do ask that she only get that one. Just in case."

"I can fully understand it. As long as she's getting them." He went to get a few nurses and the shots. Aria tried to run out but Darcy caught her at the door and held the squirming and fighting little one. Even if she was going to be bruised from the kicking the kid was doing.

A nurse came to help hold her down and a third one covered her head so she didn't see the shots coming. They gave her all three shots and Aria was sobbing pitifully but it had to happen. "It didn't hurt that much," the doctor said. "And it's not a long term pain." He gave her a safety lollipop. "Be a good girl, Aria."

She nodded, pouting at her mother. "Shots are mean."

"You have to have a lot of shots to get to school," Darcy said, staring at her. "Not negotiable, sorry!" She hugged her. "I love you enough to get you shots even if you did just nearly break my thigh bone." Aria slumped but nodded, sucking on her treat. She smiled at the nurses. "Thanks."

"Not a problem. We've seen worse cases." They left with the doctor and Darcy picked up Aria, wincing as she moved. She paid her copay and they went back to the tower. Aria curled up in the corner of the lab so Darcy could sit down.

"I drove off the woman who said she'd call social services because your daughter's not a weak little whiny thing."

"Thanks. She here or SHIELD?"

"Here. She's the one that tried to get us into one apartment."

Darcy just rolled her eyes. "Great." She got an ice pack from the fridge and put it on her thigh. "It was a shot day."

"Oh." She looked at Aria. "Someday you'll quit doing that."

"Shots hurt!" she complained.

"Uh-huh. So?" Jane smirked. "Just wait until you're older and waxing the hair off, Aria. That hurts just as much for each pull." Aria huffed but curled up in the chair to nap. Jane looked at Darcy. "You okay?"

"She got me pretty good." She went into the bathroom to check it, coming back out with some toilet paper under her jeans and the ice pack. "Broke the skin from a jeans rub." She sat back down to get back to work.

Jane shook her head. "Kids are so weird sometimes."

"Yeah, so were we, Jane."

"True." She got back to her current math problem. A guard came back with that same woman. "That's the one I was about to slap earlier," Jane complained. "Didn't I say not to bring her back here and to quit bringing people into my lab?" she complained.

"She can overrule us."

Darcy looked at her. "I don't give a single bit of a damn what the local community thinks about women being strong enough to protect themselves and their families. I don't plan on hanging around with them. Especially since I had to fight so many of them recently to protect myself from being raped and killed." The woman backed off with a gasp.

"Frankly, I grew up with sense and an education and my daughter will too. All those who want all women to be *damsels*," she said with a sneer. "Need to get away from her before they ruin her mind. I'd never let my daughter be that weak or that stupid." She smiled. "You have a great day, ma'am."

"It's tradition!"

"From about when I was fifteen and the Reganites in the councils decided we were all needing to live like those evangelicals you see on tv," Darcy shot back. "Lady, my mother heads a council. Shut the fuck up. You're not going to get your way with my little girl."

"I can report you!"

"You go right ahead so I can sue you." She smiled. "That would be making a false report and trying to libel myself and my daughter. She'll need a great college fund so she doesn't have loans." She smiled. "Anything else you wanted to speak on that's none of your business?"

"You're an unfit, violent mother."

"I'm only a violent mother when I have to be to protect my daughter. I think I've pretty well proved that." The woman fled before Darcy could stand up. She looked at the guard. "She comes back and I'm shoving her out a window. We don't need that sort of problematic being around my little girl."

He nodded. "I can see that, but she overruled what Dr. Foster said and my boss, miss. Are you all right? I noticed the ice pack."

"It was vaccine day. She really hates needles."

"Ah. Yeah. I've see kids that fought back." He left to tell the head guard that. Pepper Potts was already down there with the woman who had called her to complain about evil, violent people. He ran the video from the meetings for her.

Pepper looked at the woman. "She seems like a good normal mother to me." The woman huffed again. "Frankly, that whole damsel thing is disturbing and wrong to many women. That's why only the dumb ones follow it. Celebutantes who follow it are just as stupid. I've talked with Aria. She's a healthy, happy young girl who is well spoken and has manners. That's better than half of my friend's kids too. A good quarter of them are dragon changers and their kids are a lot more spoiled and whiny than Aria is.
"Second, that is not a reason to call a social worker. Her liking short hair and to not be a flower picking little girl is perfectly normal. Not all girls like flowers and girly things. I was up trees and in the mud most of my life until I was thirteen." She smiled. "Girls like us get things done and do good things for humanity. Your accusations are harmful and I'm now annoyed." The woman stomped off. "Does she do that often?"

"Yup," the head guard said. "She nags all the dragons in the tower to be more like her or she'll complain until they give in. Even if they aren't most of the time at home."

"I noticed the ice pack Lewis had?" she asked the lower guard.

"She said it was vaccine day and the kid hates shots."

"That happens I guess." She walked off. "Do we have a higher dragon than her?"

"In SHIELD."

"Can you ask them to talk to the woman before I have to fire her?" She walked off. "Thank you for letting me know she was a problem."

"Not a bad thing," the head guard agreed. "Go find one?"

"Rumlow, Taylor, or Pekin?"

"I think I saw Rumlow leaving earlier for something. He was in tactical gear and swearing at someone who was trying to catch up to his team."

"I'll go find Pekin. Taylor's an asshole," the lower guard said as he walked off to go find that agent. He found him at his desk. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure." He went with him to the hallway. "Which agent did what?"

"One of the dragon elders in Stark's part is trying to nag everyone into enforcing the damsel stereotypes and threatened to call social services on Lewis about her letting her daughter have her hair cut."

"Excuse me?" He called up the video footage so he could see them both. Agent Pekin grimaced. "That's just dumb! It's not like it's more than a fashionable thing right now."

"Which meant we had to stop her from calling social services and Miss Potts asked that someone higher up than her nag her back or something. Or order her to stop it before we have an incident."

"Yeah, I can nag that old biddy and make sure people know that the rest of us consider that harmful. That's one serious problem of those council sorts." He rubbed his forehead. "Where is the old biddy?"

"Admin floor six, back right corner office. Thank you for not making Lewis flame her."

"Not a problem. We don't need to see that either." He went to get his coffee cup and refill it before going to talk to that old biddy. On the way he called his tribal leader. He followed one of the wannabe warlords in the city and he needed to hear the party line to complain it back.

***

Darcy had a week of peace and quiet until she had a date and Aria had a problem at daycare. Darcy got dressed up before going to grab her daughter to take her to Jane. Aria came out wearing a pretty flower crown and Darcy stared before taking it off her. "Um, no, dear. That has a meaning. Who gave that to you?"

"Miss Malantha gave it to me and Jennifer." She pointed at her.

"Ummm. Okay, sit for a minute please." Aria sighed but sat down. Darcy pulled the daycare worker aside. "That flower crown means that she's ready to be mated to. It hasn't changed meaning in years," she said quietly.

"Oh, dear. Let me tell her mother."

"Please. I have no idea if her mom is affiliated with the confederation council sorts and if there's a different meaning in the other communities beyond being mated to. Last I heard that was a wedding thing."

"Oooh." She called the mother. "It's Omara in the daycare. Can I have you come down for a minute? No, not a fight. I'd rather you come down though. Thank you." She hung up and looked at Darcy. "I'm sorry."

"It's not a problem. She likes things like crowns and sparkly headbands." The other woman came in and Darcy got out of the way so she could see her daughter. "Mine had a blue one with some pink flowers." She held it up. "A Miss Malantha gave it to her according to Aria."

"She's the one that got chewed on for trying to call social workers on you for getting Aria's hair cut." She took the flower crown off her. "Dear, that's pretty but it's delicate so we'll put it on your dresser tonight?" The girl smiled and nodded. "Okay, I'll do that. I need to go get my purse and things and then we're done for the day if you can wait for ten minutes?" Her daughter bounced with her to go up to the lab and wait in the hallway. She ran into Commander Rumlow stomping in looking unhappy. "Can I have a moment?" she asked. He scowled. She held up the flower crown. "In the daycare. A Miss Malantha put it on her and Aria Lewis."

He looked at her kid then at her. "She's not ready to be married."

"I know that."

Darcy came out with Aria. "In the Council's ways, that's done when you're ready to make a commitment and mate to someone. Usually when you're ready to seriously say you're with them and make the preliminary mate moves. So like fourth, fifth date range if you're serious." She handed over the one that Aria wore. "The pink flowers are probably understood as I don't think their meaning has changed."

Rumlow grimaced. "Who is this woman?"

"Some admin with Stark," Darcy said. "She's the one that threatened me with a social worker for her hair cut."

Brock looked down at the kids. "I like her hair. It looks easy to take care of." He looked at the other mother.

"She threatened mine and my husband's job if we didn't toe the line with her. So at home she's taught to be stronger and a real queen."

"Good. I hate the damsel ideology." He took the crowns. "Let me see if someone's talked to her."

"Thank you," Darcy said. "I wasn't going to mention it but I was going to send it back and complain about her." She walked Aria off. "C'mon. You're staying with Jane tonight while I have a date."

"Lewis, what happened to your thigh?" Rumlow demanded quietly. He had noticed the edge of the older bruise.

She pointed at the kid's head without turning around. "It was shot day."

"Oh, okay, so not an attack?"

"Only of a kid sneaker."

"Good." He smiled at the other mother. "Let me talk to her."

"Thank you, Commander." She walked her daughter off. "Let's go get my purse and lock things down."

"Aria said she gets to hang out with her aunt in the lab."

"Her aunt does math stuff and I do chemical things. Math stuff isn't dangerous, chemicals are," she said patiently. "If I had an office I'd let you sit and color in it."

"Okay," she sighed.

"Maybe we can work out a playdate."

"I'd like that. Aria's pretty neat. She likes to build stuff."

"Good! Maybe she'll be an architect then. The world could use more pretty buildings."

Rumlow just smiled at that idea. The kid might do good at it. He went to put down his gear and find the other two top tier dragons. He held up the crowns. "A Miss Malantha?"

"Admin floor six, back right corner," Pekin quipped. He looked at the crowns. "The pink one go on Lewis' kid?" Rumlow nodded. "Crap. I warned the old biddy."

"I think it's my turn. Is she council?"

"Yup," the other one said. "She's the one that's threatened all the other changers in Stark to go by her ways. She had one fired for wearing pants."

"Great." He walked off, going to grab Potts first to talk about that. He had to tell her what the flower crowns meant, even to the council sorts, but she looked at all her recent actions and it was more than enough to get her fired. He followed to back her up, handing back the crowns with a smirk. "You can have those back since I don't think either child is old enough to declare a mate." She shrank away from him.

Pepper stared at her. "I believe that we're not going to keep you employed and all the harm you've caused this company's reputation will become a problem with your next career. You have a nice life, Miss Malantha." She walked off and let the guards help her pack her office. She looked at Rumlow. "Are they always like that?"

"In this city? Yes. In DC's, they were a lot more about power relationships. There's always one old aunt somewhere trying to make people conform to her ways. Most of them still wouldn't go near a kid. Children are sacred to us too. Doing that was seriously messed up." He rubbed his forehead. "A lot of their worst ways are coming out of the woodwork because the ones on top who were the earlier problem aren't there to tell them to shut up.

"Really, a lot of us consider the new councils to be the problems with all of us. They've pushed some to want to be warlords. Plenty of us ignore that they exist totally. It's a lot like regular kids versus the debutante crowd."

"I remember being one of those regular kids," she agreed. "Can we stop it easier?"

"Make sure you don't hire them?" He shrugged. "That would get the company annoyed by them for discrimination."

"We can rearrange our values questions to weed out ones like that. Thank you, Commander." She went down to HR to talk to them about any other problems like that. They sent out a memo saying that Miss Malantha had been fired. The next day, most people would be back the way they were when she wasn't looking. Pepper had wondered why there weren't anyone wearing dress pants.

***

Darcy came in the next day. Aria was in the lab twirling around in the corner. "Why aren't you in daycare?"

"They're bug spraying for the next hour," Jane said, looking at her. "You're late. You said nine last night."

"I had to find a way back from about an hour away thanks to my date taking off on me." She sat down with a huff. "He decided I wasn't his type after all so stranded me up there and with the bill."

"Oooh. You overdraft?"

"I switched some thanks to online banking. So I won't make my student loan payment until after next payday." Jane nodded, reaching over to pat her. "But I did manage it. Thankfully Greyhound went there."

"Shit. You didn't call?"

"I did call, you didn't answer, and I did text but you didn't answer." She showed her. Jane looked at her phone, letting Darcy have it. Darcy resent the last text message and it didn't come through. She stared at her. Darcy called Thor's phone. "It's Darcy. Is your phone getting Jane's texts? Because hers isn't getting texts from me, Thor."

She listened to him check it and say he wasn't. "Let me send you one to check it." She did and Thor said he didn't get it. "Huh. So it's probably my phone. Thanks, Thor. Easier day." She hung up and looked at her phone. "So I need to change phones. Let me download all my pictures and files so I can do that."

"Do we think it's hacked?" Jane asked.

"No idea."

The AI cleared his throat. "There is a block from anything coming to your phone or going from it," the male voice said. "It appears it showed up three days earlier."

"Any idea from where and if we can end it?" Jane asked.

"Not at the moment unfortunately."

"Would me getting a new phone but keeping the same number help?" Darcy asked. "Or do I totally need to change numbers and everything?"

"I would change numbers and phones, Miss Lewis. It may be safer."

"Thank you, JARVIS. That's really sweet of you to check for me. I'll get one for lunch."

Jane nodded. "Let me know when you get the new number."

"I will." She looked at Aria then at Jane. "She's quiet. Did you bribe her?"

"She fussed a bit last night but she was fine, Darcy. I didn't do any math and we watched a princess movie."

"Okay, if she wanted." She sighed, looking at her phone. She didn't actually like her phone but it was fully hers and paid for. Signing up for new service would be costly if they had to move out of the country again. Buying a new phone outright was going to be costly now. Maybe prepaid? She got online to check what her phone plans' phones were and how much they were to buy a new one.

Ones like hers were pretty expensive. Going better wasn't a real option at the moment. Going cheap might work but that'd leave her with a weak phone when she needed one. She checked her contract stats. She had just signed up when they moved back. So that was going to suck but she may be under warranty so maybe she could tell them that the phone quit calling and texting? It might work when she went to do that later. The page changed to a different site's phone and she stared at it. "JARVIS, was that you?" she asked quietly. It got Jane's attention.

"No, or sir's. Though that phone is harder to hack."

"Can you tell who hacked my system?"

"Not at the moment."

"Okay." She shut down the laptop and looked at Jane, who sighed but shut down her own. "Let's go work in the park, Jane?"

"Yay!" Aria said, bouncing around.

"Coffee!" Jane warned to get the girl away from it. Aria sidestepped away and grinned at her before going back to dancing around. "Let's go to the park to work." Darcy got them both reusable mugs that she filled and notebooks with pens and pencils. Old school but it'd work. Her phone got left there since it wasn't usable anyway. Their laptops got left there too.

The park was safer. It wasn't private, no one could attack there without being noticed. She had plenty of room if she had to shift to handle a threat. Plus they were away from the super tech of the tower in case that mattered. Jane pulled Darcy away from the lady outside trying to get them to put on flower crowns and made sure Aria wasn't near her either.

"The girl should have something pretty," the seller called.

"That's for marriage and she's too young," Darcy called back. "Please don't come near my daughter again."

Jane looked at her. "Temper," she said quietly.

"I'm not mad. I don't have reason to yet."

"Good point." They found a nice open place in the park that had a bit of traffic so they weren't totally alone but were backed up to a tree so it was safer. Aria was playing with a spare notebook and a pencil near them. When she wanted to get up and run around she could easily be seen.

Darcy looked up when she heard a loud noise and a gasp from her daughter. "Aria." She came running back to hide behind Jane's back. Darcy looked at the large green dragon who had just landed. "You needed something?" she asked him.

"Your daughter is adorable."

"Yes she is and she's three. Please don't go near my daughter."

"Was that a beg?" he joked.

"No, that was a warning and a polite request." The dragon snorted and tried to move closer so Darcy changed out to her larger but non-red form, staring at him. "Back the fuck away from my daughter. Now please. We don't want to fight here. I might have to fix the park." He backed away from her. "Thank you. Keep going." She waved a paw. "Have a good day." The dragon huffed but flew off. She changed back and huffed. "The nerve of some people!"

"Perverts exist in all places and cultures," Jane reminded her, handing over the kid. Darcy cuddled her. Jane watched out for the dragon to show back up. An officer strolled over. "He made a move toward her daughter, who he called adorable. Darcy warned him not to get near her."

"You should probably report him to the local council."

Darcy looked at him. "Not like they'd stop it. They never seem to. The local council is super shitty about that, Officer. Maybe one of the other ones if I knew where he was from." The dragon came back and landed, holding onto a male form that she knew. "Andrew." She nodded. "He with you? He made a move toward Aria."

"Not really. He's my brother's assistant." He walked over. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Aria."

She looked up at him. "I've seen your picture but I don't know you. I'm Aria, I'm three." She smiled and held out a hand.

Darcy looked at Andrew and nodded. "Pumpkin, I'm your dad," he said quietly, smiling at her.

"Oooh!" She hopped up and straightened herself out. "It's nice to meet you." She shook his hand. "We saw your lawyer guy."

"You did." He smiled, squatting in front of her. "You're sweet, kiddo. Relax. The way things were still stands but I know that your mom's about to get the hell sued out of her."

"I doubt it," Darcy said.

"Wrongful death," he said. "Got filed earlier."

"They attacked me. So that's self defense."

"You'll need a good lawyer."

She nodded. "We'll handle that," Jane agreed. "I know a few. I dated one."

"I dated a few," Darcy agreed with a smile for Andrew. "It's cool, Andrew, but thank you for telling me."

"Can she visit this summer?"

"If we can make sure she's safe? Probably for a week. I'll let her go to the house and stay at a nearby motel in case she panics or something."

"That would be fine. I know you're paranoid after what happened." He stood up, touching her cheek with a smile. "You should get to know your half-siblings with my wife, kiddo. There's three siblings."

"What's a half-sibling?"

"Ones I had with my wife instead of a full one I'd have with your mom."

She looked at her mom. "Is that okay?"

"Yeah, I think it'd be fine to get to know them, Aria. They're your family too." She smiled as she adjusted her headband. "That's fine with me. I'll let you meet them while I'm at a motel nearby in case something happens."

Aria looked up at her father, nodding. "I can video call like we did with Grandmother?"

"I can probably figure out how to do that on our end. I don't think I've ever done that before," he said with a grin. She beamed and nodded. "We'll figure that out this week then." He stroked over her cheek again. "You're a very smart little girl. Your mom has done an excellent job." He winked at Darcy. "We'll call later this weekend so we can chat. The wife wanted to get to know you too." He smiled, walking off with the changed back to human dragon. "Apologize. Darcy's rightfully paranoid about her daughter with the way the local council screwed itself up."

"Sorry, ma'am. I wasn't going to go near the kid."

Darcy nodded. "Thank you." He nodded. She looked at her daughter. "That's interesting." Aria beamed and nodded. "Go back to coloring?" She did that. Darcy looked at the officer, who just strolled off. This was getting a bit complicated. She needed a bit of normal quietness to calm her paranoid nature down.

***

Darcy looked at the judges a week later. "You do realize I was raised as a member of the confederation council of Virginia, right?" she asked the other lawyer. He winced. "And that I've seen all this before?" She put down three files and a video tape. "I'm entering these into evidence, Your Honors."

"Where is your lawyer?"

"Apparently he didn't want paid," she quipped. "That's his fault, not mine."

"You should have someone who is presently Council related so you can be represented."

Darcy pulled a book out of her messenger bag, looking at the page she had bookmarked. "According to the law, that's wrong." The other lawyer snickered. She held up the law book. "I do believe it says that all are fair and equal under the law, including the changer law councils, and that even if they are not under the jurisdiction that it is important and necessary to hear arguments from them."

She put the book down, open to that spot. "Let's see." She read it out loud, making the lawyers wince. She looked at the judges, who all looked pissed off. "Let me repeat myself here. I was raised a Council member, the daughter of the leader of our council actually. The granddaughter of Rosie DeMars." The judges all flinched. "The great-granddaughter of Russeline, and those two were my mentors growing up."

"Russeline died eighty years ago," the other lawyer complained.

Darcy looked at him. "She died four years ago. She withdrew from public life because people kept trying to get her to agree with their stupid ideas. I was sitting beside the bed she died in six days later when I was waiting on the pregnancy test for my daughter." The lawyer slumped. "She's the first one who knew. Andrew knew that too. He was in the house." She stared at him. "You may think I'm one of those crying little weak bitches that the Council up here has been encouraging us all to become but I'm not.

"Virginia's council is still full of practical and mentally healthy people. We don't fuss at someone not being a damsel." The lawyer flinched away from her. She looked at the judges again. "So, you can follow the law or I can push a request to the local regular judges network to hear this case. Or appeal it there."

"They don't like to do that," the lead judge said smugly.

"Yeah, and they will because this is going towards you guys still not doing your legal job. I mean, a murderer is walking free."

"Yes you are," the other lawyer sneered.

She glared at him. "I meant the one killed nine young women for fun. *I* was defending myself and my daughter. By the bylaws I might add since I noted multiple times that I had sent a declaration of war over this. I noted it three times in public." The lawyer shrank away from her again. "I noted it in this court and they refused to do their judicial duty. Which means that they should be disbanded and this hearing sent to the local regular courts."

The judges all moaned. "Also, as they're accomplices to him committing murder, they should probably be in jail as well. Because two of them gave that man the mates that he killed and the other is a step-uncle of one. So either he got paid off to not protect his family or he's just a shitty dragon. One of the two and still illegal and shouldn't be on the judicial panel for this or any other hearing. That is the law, is it not?" she said in her most snotty voice.

"It is," the lead judge said. "There's no need to note that here though and that will be stricken from the records."

Darcy smirked. "Sorry but no." She pointed behind her. "My guest is a reporter." The judges all stood up to glare at her. She stared back. "You guys started it. Did you think I declared a peace treaty?" The other lawyer let out a shaky laugh. "Yeah! Didn't think of that, did you? Apparently some of the older ways aren't learned any longer," she sneered. "You came after me to try to kill me and my daughter. Fuck no that won't work. I mean, elves couldn't. Loki couldn't. What makes you think you're better than a God of Chaos?"

The reporter cleared his throat. "You were in London?"

"Yeah. Right there with Thor and Jane and Ian, our intern." She smirked. "I changed to protect Jane actually. I didn't think it had been caught on film but the same night in question it was shown on a lot of news stations."

"You're not that color." Darcy changed to her smaller size, then her red smaller one. "Oh!" She changed back to human, staring at him. "How?" He waved a hand.

"I was blocked when I was seven due to a kidnaping to get at my mother." She looked at the other lawyer again. "I was mentored by a lot of people who knew the actual old ways, and how they were broken and needed to be fixed for everyone to be more healthy. You attacked me. Self defense is still a right even if the court is so crooked and full of the same sort of evil that the council became. What makes you think I'm going to bend my knee to you?"

"I can make you pay for it," he sneered.

"You can try but this court doesn't have a right to garnish wages." She smirked. "And you'd only get my student loan debt."

"We can claim your hoard."

"Yeah, that'll get you about maybe a thousand bucks at a pawn shop. My hoard isn't gold and jewels. It's mostly cheaper artwork I liked." She shrugged but smiled. "I get can get new things from those same artists mostly. One's died but his stuff isn't collectable yet."

"Your family has land."

"Which isn't in my name and hasn't been in my name since my cousin was six."

"It's in your daughter's name."

"And it's protected in her name as she's a minor. Her name's not the only one on it, just as the current holder of it. Even then you can't use this court to confiscate it, they don't have that power. Virginia's won't hold it up and nothing's near here."

"Your daughter has property in Hartford's area," he said smugly.

"Hmm. You might want to recheck that." She looked at the reporter, who was from Hartford's council. "Can you check that for him?"

"The dragon who was forced to mate with her thanks to that evil one sending her into a sudden, unexpected, dangerous heat is in Hartford's council area," the reporter said. "They do know of her and admitted her as part of the family bloodline but do not have custody or care of the child."

"She just met her father the other day," Darcy said. "He wanted to talk about all this and warned me that this attempt had been tried."

"I will force you to hand over your daughter and to marry the one they wanted you to marry," the head judge sneered.

"There's no way you could force me to do anything like hand my daughter to someone. If I did, I have an offer of her going to Asgard with her Uncle Thor." The judge flinched back. "Secondly, you have no right to force any bonding and if you did, he'd die. Quickly. Even if I was drugged, he'd die as soon as he touched me." She smirked. "You forgot that about fifteen years ago certain vows were popular." She shrugged. "I was romantic instead of practical back then. So yeah, if he touches me against my will, he'll die."

"Those don't have the magic behind them," the secondary lawyer complained.

"And yet, I have two forms," Darcy quipped. "And I'm off an original line on both sides of my family." They stared at her. She grinned and wiggled her fingers. "Grandma Rosie was on my dad's side."

The third judge heaved. "Oh, God, you're Gerald's."

"No. Uncle Gerald is pretty mean to me actually. He hates that I'm a girl and thinks women are weak. So I ran him over with a car once when I was learning to drive." She smiled. "Wrong sibling."

"Bartemy..." the third judge started. Darcy smirked and shook her head. "Oh, fuck!" He stood up. "Your father was conceived like your daughter was."

"Yeah. He was." She nodded. "And actually I was conceived at someone else's wedding when they were put into heat suddenly by his family's old world tradition of a special drink during it. My parents agreed to deal with things together but they weren't together." She smirked. "Keep going though. If you think I'm not the woman that Grandma Rosie raised you'd be wrong." They all looked at each other then at her. She grinned. "Grandma Rosie was his mom."

"Her flying mate for that one was some unknown dragon."

"Who was original lineage," she agreed with a nod. "And we know who it was. We have records on that stuff. Grandma Estella was into that stuff."

"Grandma Estella?"

"Dad's wife's mom. She used to be so amused that I was a book reading, political science studying girl."

"You have lineage," the head judge sneered.

"Yes, from the ones who built all this mess you're dirtying. So I'm about to publically call for them to be ended with the way you're corrupted it. Including the European one for not caring that London was the same sort of dirty. Maybe they'll hold elections sooner instead but we have proof so many of you are dirty." She waved a hand. "This proves it more than most things."

"Kill the reporter," the head judge ordered.

"I wouldn't do that," Darcy told the bailiff. "He's connected to DC's council. And Boston's." The bailiff winced but backed off.

"Do it or I'll have your family banished!" the head judge ordered with a point.

"People can have always lived without the councils," Darcy said patiently, looking at the bailiff. "There's plenty outside it that're not a whole lot different." The judge came at her with a dagger and she changed to bite his arm. He pulled back with a scream, dropping the dagger and changing. But Darcy was bigger and mad. He went down with multiple cuts from her claws.

She stood on top of him, staring down at him. "Keep it up. Watch me finish my war. I'll declare peace is brought when you're all gone and my daughter is safe." She got off him then snorted a bit of smoke at him when he whined. She looked at the other lawyer as she changed back slowly, staring at him. "You gonna try that?"

"No," he said. "I'm not stupid and I don't want in the middle of this war. I was hired under false pretenses."

"Hmm. So you realized you won't get paid from some mythical old hoard? No, you won't. Sorry but we hoard things that we appreciate that aren't shiny. Gold's so boring and so pre-history." She looked at the other judges, tipping her head. "So, what are we doing from here?"

"We are calling this until the reporter can be removed safely and you calm down, young lady."

"I'm perfectly calm. If I wasn't, I'd have broken him. I think I proved I can do that when they attacked myself and my daughter the last time."

The judge swallowed. "We do not want to go this direction."

"Well, that's your choice since you're all dirty. You started it, people. There's now eleven women who've been raped and force bonded by him. Nine of which we know are dead since their bodies were found. One's still listed as missing and the other one fled for her own sanity and took a vow to a Moon goddess.

"She was the second one he took and she tried to press charges but you guys blocked it for him. So you're all responsible for the other deaths. Their families should call insult on you for it but I think they're grieving too much. Maybe that's why New York has such a high pressure to make damsels, so we can't protect ourselves. Thankfully I never fell into that trap and my daughter won't either."

"Do you have their names?" the reporter asked.

"I was told that one was threatened with his family being killed if he didn't threaten me not to mention her name." Darcy looked at him. "They're in the papers. He was formally arrested in London for it. This council forced his release from London's courts as he was a New Yorker most of the time. They were supposed to put him into a New York jail and didn't. Which is why someone had to get a young woman from him last night that he was trying to force himself onto." She looked at the judges again. "So now what?"

"You're going to sign that paper, aren't you?"

"I've been asked by others who could sign it not to yet. They want the chance to fix things. The only way it'll ever live up to the intent and the actual charter documents is if it's changed from within. Frankly, you guys have made me ashamed of what my great-grandmother built. She would've been appalled and walked me up to the paperwork to end the charter to sign it."

"Are you on something?" the second judge demanded.

"I took a valium. I hate public speaking." She grinned. "It doesn't do anything but ease the anxiety of being the focus of attention. That's the whole purpose of anti-anxiety medication. I've had an emergency script for it since eighth grade."

"Nothing else."

"Nope." She stared at the broken one then at him. "It might make me lose control of my form. I never do anything beyond getting lightly tipsy now and then. It's just not wise for a woman to do that in today's world."

"We could charge you with that. You're not supposed to be here and high."

"Having a valium in my system isn't high. It's a prescription medication and, again, I've been on it for decades as needed. You can't complain about that unless you complain about people being on blood pressure medicine or insulin, both of which can affect certain people's mental resources if they're sensitive to it."

"I think it made you violent."

"Valium isn't known for that side effect. Want me to pull up the known side effects for you?"

The lawyer shook his head. "She's right, sir, that's not a reason to throw her in jail or even render her unable to make decisions for herself and her daughter."

"There's no reason for anyone to do that," Darcy noted.

The lawyer grimaced. "You dated other types of changers."

"Wow, racist asshole," she shot back, making him flinch back. "For your information, the one in the picture that's behind the judges married a human. He was her full consort and they had four beautiful, powerful dragons together. Half of the first confederation council had spouses that were different types of changers. Beyond that, I don't like dating other dragons.

"They tend to be judgmental pricks who want women to be weak. Why would I do that to myself? Dating someone like that shows a great lack of self respect. Dating someone who is mentally healthy and emotionally healthy is better for you, even if they're not your type of being. They've all respected me as a mom and liked my kid if we got that far. I wouldn't date a dragon from this region even if I had to. You've proven how worthless they are."

"What about the non council ones?" he sneered.

She shrugged. "I determine who I date on their personality, not on what they are. The same as I don't care about race when I date. I'm not a bigot and I wasn't raised to be one. Nor will I ever hopefully be one. The only thing I'm against is asshole bigots who try to make my life harder." She gave him a pointed look and he shrank away again.

She looked at the judges. They didn't look happy. She smiled at the reporter. "What do you think about making the actual, factual, biography of Madeline Canbary suggested reading for everyone? Not the historical inaccuracies that had her painted as a jezebel and adulteress but the actual one."

The reporter blinked. "I've only heard about the adultery scandals." He looked that up and frowned. "She did what?"

"She was made to do what," Darcy corrected. "Her actual history is pretty fascinating and a lot of sad. She and Isadora Duncan are the two outside the family I kinda stan on."

He looked her up too. "Huh. She had a lot of interesting times."

"Yeah, Isadora was a lot of 'don't give a fuck, I'm doing my thing' about her dancing. I like that about her." She grinned. "Madeline Canbary had a lot of that too. Even when they made her cheat on her spouse by spear point at her daughter's throat and forced her husband to charge her as an adulteress for it so they could put their chosen mate in her nest place."

The reporter looked at her. "That's actually a long history there."

Darcy smiled and nodded. "I know. I got into some historical docs from that time when we were in London. Including what her son wrote about her and her daughter."

"It'd be interesting to look that up. Even historians..."

"To the victor goes the writing of the histories," she quipped. "The same as you never really heard that the confederation councils were started as peacekeeping groups that would stop the wars and forced bondings. No one ever reads that history or the actual charters."

"If they're in that disarray they're probably void," the lawyer said. He looked it up and groaned. "They were already ended by violations." Darcy nodded with a grin. "Hell!"

"Ten years ago for the earliest one I know of that ended itself by violating the foundation clauses. We actually studied that incident in a modern history class at Culver."

The lawyer looked at the judges, nodding. "We've violated five of the seven foundation principles in the charter and it states it's to be voided if we violate more than two."

"So the council is actually illegally meeting and trying to control things," Darcy said. "I hope they can rewrite their charter so it's better for everyone in the local communities."

The judges looked at the article on the lawyer's phone then groaned. "It does appear this court is illegally meeting and has no jurisdiction." He stared at Darcy. "This will make you a bigger target."

"If speaking the truth does, we're already fouled as a society and worthless beings," she shot back. "After all, you guys made me fight. Making me be a bitch to defend myself and my daughter means I'll turn into the biggest one I can. You should be lucky I haven't tried what his clients did and sued you for all that stress you caused us. I'm not like that though. I was taught better." She looked at the lawyer then at the judges. "I'm assuming this case is adjourned?"

"Yes it must be," the second judge huffed.

"You have a good time rebuilding things so they're actually fair and right." She walked off with the reporter. "Are you okay? I didn't expect them to threaten you," she said quietly in the hallway.

"I'm fine. It happens a lot when you find out people did the wrong thing." She smiled and nodded, letting him run off to send in that report before he went home. That way it made it to print in the next edition even if they tried something against him for witnessing that event.

Darcy went back to the tower with a stop for coffee, sighing when she ran into a scowling elder dragon in the lobby. "Am I in trouble already? I just got back."

"No, I'm mad at one of my agents who was a total moron."

She nodded. "I have that feeling now and then too. Usually about myself though." She walked around him. "Let me take my lunch upstairs. Have a better day?"

"Eat real food. Coffee isn't enough for lunch for how active you are."

She shot him a smirk. "I'm not doing anything else today." Her pass tried not to work until she looked at it and tried it from the other end. "Must be where I had to jimmy open a door thanks to my daughter locking it. I'll have it resealed, guys." They just watched her go. Rumlow was watching her go. She checked herself in the shiny elevator doors to make sure she didn't have her skirt tucked into her panties or something. That would be so like her to do that.

Rumlow sighed, going to yell at his agent before he had a huge headache from all that stuff piling up.

***
Part 4 by Voracity2
Rumlow got called before the representatives of the other groups outside the council that night. "You rang?" he asked politely, for him.

"You know the one who pointed out the council destroyed itself?" one of the older males, who had fought his way to the top, asked. He looked amused.

"Darcy? Yes I do. I was guarding her when they attacked her. After three days of snakes being sent at her and her daughter."

"Snakes?"

"Nineteen overall. All but one was poisonous. Mostly sent toward her daughter but they also mined the ventilation system at her work and a few other places."

"Is she calmer? We know she verbally destroyed them earlier and was said to have taken a valium."

"I didn't know about the valium but her files mention she hates public speaking. That's probably why."

"Is she still favoring that idea?" another elder asked.

"The great-grandmother who helped raise her helped start those," Brock said. "She's idealistic enough to want them to be what they were supposed to be, our version of the UN." A few smiled at that. "But she's realistic about the many ways they screwed themselves. Especially since they tried to force her to mate to someone who's killed a lot of women."

"She's against mating?"

"She's against anyone forcing her to do that, and especially with someone who's killed at least nine people, possibly more than eleven. We know he's had eleven mates given to him, nine have been killed in fairly tortuous ways, and one's taken a vow of silence since they wouldn't help her when she escaped him. The last is still listed as missing."

"But she's not against mating?"

"If they date her first. She said she considered it like an engagement period for humans. A pre consortship basically."

The old one nodded. "That's a thoughtful place to stand. I've heard it said she claims a traditionist title?"

"From the original meaning, not the more modern one. Russeline was her great-grandmother." They mostly moaned at that. "She studied history and the original ways. She's definitely a poster for the original matriarch of a clan."

"Yet she has a nest mating."

"No, not what happened." They stared at him. "I'm sure you heard about some little bitch named Savilla?" They nodded. "Darcy was her fifth victim, the sixth one stomped her into the ground when they were walking her off to arrest her for attacking Darcy and the others."

"So she was on suppressants and suddenly got forced into heat," the old one said.

Brock nodded. "She told me that she doesn't blame the father, he had almost no choice when that happened near him on the campus. Apparently his family knows about her. Darcy has said that she didn't expect him to take any responsibility but there's a family lawyer who she sends pictures to. His family all know, including his wife. Darcy said his wife tracked her down to talk to her about what had happened."

"Good of her. A good choice." The old one considered it then looked at him. "Do you think she'd become one of the unaligned?"

"Right now she's tentatively aligned with the council her mother heads in Virginia. She's got nothing against us. Though she has heard some of us are more like the old style warlords and that doesn't make her giddy with delight. She probably studied too much history to be comfortable with all the rampaging and attacks they used to do."

The old man smiled. "I can see that. We'd like them to not do that anyway. I'm told you got her child some books?"

"Darcy's area didn't have a special class for dragons or other changers. They went to a normal school and had an after school club." The old ones in the room sighed. "I gifted her daughter with some books about how be a dragon in the world. Including an older one that I found helpful when I was little. I know she's blue, she's scaled up partially a few times. She's a curious little girl who nearly fell out of a cave to see what her mother had just landed on top of. I know they've gotten some shit from others due to her daughter not wanting to have long hair. And Darcy hates the damsel movement as well."

"So you sent her the basics of the teaching set?"

"The Bunny Book and about six others about how dragons form packs and dens. Her mom said one was above her level so she'd leave off the book with the relationship explanations until she was older or Darcy was starting one. Though she doesn't favor dating dragons because we're petty, judgmental assholes according to her. She's gotten it about her daughter, about not being a damsel, about fighting back, about declaring a war. All that. One old biddy at Stark tried to call a social worker about Darcy letting her daughter have her hair cut."

"People like that need to give up changing and just die," the old one sighed. "Do we think she could be happy with a relationship with one of us if she wasn't sneered at?"

"If you want to flirt with her, go flirt with her. I only guarded her. I'm not going to be in the way as I'm not guarding her right now."

The old one rolled his eyes. "We were hoping she might like someone like you, Brock."

He snorted. "I'm over a decade older than she is."

"Her great-grandmother was very long lived."

"She said she died four years ago," Brock agreed. "Still not the point. And if my mother set you up for that I'll nag her later."

"No," the old one sighed. "She seems to be one who could be like her great-grandmother, one who could gather those around her who had ideas and sense."

"She hates being the center of attention but she could," he agreed. "That's why she brought a reporter to the earlier court hearing." The old man smirked at that move. "From Hartford's council area."

"That's smart of her." He stared at him. "It would do you good to have a mate."

"I'm too busy to date."

"Uh-huh," the old man said dryly. "Would she consent to date others?"

"I'm sure she would. She dated a wolf changer in London."

"She'd be safe if they had a problem with the change," one of the men in the back agreed.

"And he really adored her daughter and her. She still carries around the stuffed wolf he gave her." That got a few 'aww's. "If someone who wanted to flirt with her started something I'm pretty sure she could get away from anyone who wasn't worthy of her. She's a strong woman. I'm also fairly certain she'd make sure at first that whoever wasn't after her boss' work because by the records that's happened."

The old man nodded once at that. "It would be beneficial to have one who was so into helping others among us."

"Then talk to her about that stuff. She's perfectly capable of making decisions about her alignment."

"I was hoping you'd find her pleasing."

Brock stared at him. "Again, I'm too old for her."

"You may outlive her if she has to keep getting into fights," the old man complained.

"I was there guarding her daughter. She broke blocks that had been on her for years to do that. I had to knock her daughter out so she didn't get hurt by it."

"You followed her to her nesting cave."

"To guard her. I brought her boss and best friend down there and spent a week laying in the sun while she struggled to end her own heat."

He sighed. "You're incredibly dense, Brock."

"No I'm not. She stated she wasn't asking me for help. I had to tell her to go fly a few times because she had been taught that polite stuff."

The old man stared at him. "They don't fly for heats?"

"Apparently not often. One of her uncles showed up to sneer about her possibly having an egg."

"That is an asshole," he decided. "We could suggest you get to know her better. Maybe you could find a relationship in there."

"I only have cheap, easy ones until I find a true consort. That's how I was raised."

The old man grimaced. "That's honorable. Could you perhaps think about her that way? Sometimes the most stubborn arguments against come from those who really want something."

"I'm not in the closet. If she wants to flirt, she'd flirt. So far I've gotten a few happy greetings and she appreciated me helping her protect her daughter. As far as I can tell I'd overwhelm her. We may have a moment of stress relief sometime but I can't see her falling for me. Who said we might work?"

"Miss Edith."

"Sorry, I don't hold with anything that old crank says. I don't believe in foresight."

The old man nodded. "Fine. What about rebuilding the council?"

"I'm sure they'd like to. I'm assuming they will. Behavior modeling would point at people getting panicky about them not being around."

"Would she help?"

"If they asked. The same as if some of us wanted to help them rebuild it so it's more realistic we could probably try. There's going to be some money going at it though. Maybe we'll see fewer damsels out of it."

"One can only hope as the vapid little princesses are annoying." He stared at Brock. "It might help you to get to know her better. Some day you could be in a battle for position."

"I'd hate that. I already have enough stress and I'd hate even more to have a mate witness my death from something like that."

"Point but not much of one. Most of us don't fight to the death anymore. You'd probably win anyway."

"I could but that's not a stress I need or want. I'd rather stay unaligned. It's healthier in a lot of ways."

The old man nodded. "It can be. If I had that choice I would've taken it." He stared at him. "Though you could try it."

Brock rolled his eyes. "You're acting like an old aunt." The man smirked and nodded. "Well, if she flirts I'll see if it goes anywhere. Right now she's more concerned about her daughter." He left them to their plotting. It was weird how they were so insistent but they probably wanted Darcy's ideas safely contained and with someone who could make her quiet down at times.

***

"Darcy, may we speak?" an older man asked Darcy two days later when she was out for coffee.

She looked at him. "Like a peace treaty talk?"

"I'm not aligned with any of that," he said with a smile.

"That makes me even more nervous. Some of you are decent and some of you aren't." She stared at him. "I take it as you're honorable because of the marks you wear on your shoulder that shows through your shirt." That tattoo was for a group that considered themselves knights. She stepped up when the person in front of her moved, ordering for herself and Jane. She looked at the older man once she had paid and gotten out of the way. "So why the talk?"

"We have a few who can see and one said that you'd be a good person for your guard to date. She was most insistent that he have someone good."

She looked confused. "If he had wanted me he would've flirted."

"He said you'd have to flirt with him, young lady." She rolled her eyes again. "He did the same thing when we told him that the seer had said for you two to get together."

Darcy got hers and Jane's coffee, leaving a tip in the jar before coming back. "I'm not against people flirting with me but he seemed really uptight and I need someone fun who'll make a great stepparent for my daughter. I think he could easily do the stepparent things but I don't think he likes me like your seer thinks. He seems more paternalistic or even den parentish to Aria. And some to me since he thought I didn't know certain things."

"He could be," the old man agreed with a nod. "There's many who consider you dangerously sexy."

She snorted, shaking her head. "This is the real me, not the protective mother sort. I hate getting into fights. I hate hurting people but I've had to."

"I understand that. Many of us felt the same way." He stared at her. "Could you date him if he did offer?

"Probably. He's very easy to talk to but I doubt he's into that sort of thing." She shifted the coffees. "I'm not against dating someone for real. I'm not going to play around. I've got a daughter to think of. I'm not against one night stands but I have to think about her first."

"That's what any good mother does. I'll tell the local boys that you're not that scary unless you have to be. Half of them thought you were a bit Amazonian."

She smiled. "Only when I have to be. They forced me there."

"Good. It should." He patted her on the arm. "Bring your coffee to your boss. Have a good, safe, easy day, Darcy."

"You too." She smiled and walked off. She ran into Rumlow just past the doorway and blushed.

He sighed. "You heard some old crank of a supposed seer saw us together?" he asked dryly.

"One of them talked to me in the coffee shop. Suggested I should let you flirt."

He nodded with a sigh. "I'm too old for you and I told them that, and that we can probably be friendly but not in lifelong love."

"I never make that distinction until after I've dated someone for a while. It's too easy to see infatuation as childish love. Then you get to know someone and they annoy the living shit outta you."

He grinned. "I've had girlfriends who've done that." He got out of her way. "Go lubricate science with that."

"Oh, she'll need it," she agreed. "Thanks." She went up to the lab to tell Jane about that meeting. Jane sipped her coffee, shaking her head. Aria was thankfully in the daycare today since Jane was tinkering with a new machine.

***

Stark looked up as the alarm started to go off. "JARVIS!"

"Doctor Foster's machine exploded when she plugged it in. Thankfully no one was hurt but they're evacuating the closest labs for smoke inhalation."

"Crap." He was hurrying that way. Darcy was coughing in the hallway. "Foster?" he demanded. She pointed, leaning against the wall. "People, get her to medical. She's got smoke inhalation." The other geeks took her from him and he went to find Foster, who was being nagged by Banner. "What happened?"

"I was plugging in the new metric reader, just a scan and report numbers machine, Mr. Stark. I have no idea what happened. I just plugged it in to check the connections between the screen and the meter."

"Okay," he agreed. "Let me go check that. Is it fuming toxic anything?"

"It's a wall plug," she said. "The machine's not burning. I got it unplugged as soon as it popped the first time then smoke came out."

"All right. Let me go look. Bruce."

He handed Jane to a few other geeks and followed Tony to that lab. He sniffed. "That's burning flesh."

Bruce groaned. "Snakes again?"

"Could be one we didn't see," Tony agreed. They moved closer and checked the other plugs. The power was off in there. Bruce turned off both laptops and Darcy's ringing phone. They didn't need a random spark setting off anything. They checked the machine, finding the smell was indeed a dead snake that had been electrocuted. The smoke wasn't from there. The smoke was from the outlet itself. One of the STRIKE teams, a lower one, came stomping in. "Snake in the machine, the smoke's from something else." He waved a hand. "Let me check the outlet."

"Let us, Mr. Stark. In case it was an intended attack." He got out of the way, using a knife to carefully open the wall around the outlet. One of the plugs had a device on it and that had smoked up and burned slightly. "Any idea what that is?"

Stark looked at it, shaking his head. "That looks like a limiter for power draw but why would it be in a lab? They haven't been used since the sixties." The agent stood up and held up another snake's skin. "Great, another one."

"Could've been older. It's clearly a dried out shedding." He looked at the machine. "One of you find the snake to see if this is theirs."

They looked and pulled it out. "Wrong shade but two of the ones that were in the airvents was that type," another agent reported. "This one's an older snake than the others too."

"Bob, up in the herbology labs, is missing his pet ball python he brought in to work to crawl on the trees so they felt useful," Bruce said. "I have no idea if that's one or not."

They looked and the one nodded. "I think it might be. We'll ask him, Dr. Banner. Thank you." They looked the machine over, Stark grimacing at the level of duct tape on it and refusing to touch the duct tape. They found another device and that one had melted. So some of the smoke was from it. They got Doctor Foster back in. "Dr. Foster, what's that component?" he asked with a point.

She looked, frowning. "Part of the monitor. It's the connection to the computer board. Did that do all this?"

"No, that sparked to kill the, we think, pet python from upstairs. That device was on the outlet." Stark held it up.

Jane frowned. "What is that?"

"It's like a fuse to limit how much power an outlet can draw. It's really old tech and hasn't been used since the sixties." He bounced it a few times and something fell out. "Well, that's not old." He held up the small silver ball. "That's an interface device."

"Is that what's hacking Darcy's old phone?" Jane asked. Stark and the agents all stared at her. She looked at the phone on the desk. "Yeah, that's her old one. It was blocked from sending or receiving texts or calls. She could call out but it'd never connect. The same with texts."

Stark nodded. "Phone." He held out his free hand, taking it to look at. "Did we have me look at it?"

"She asked and JARVIS told her it was hacked. She's gotten a new phone that's cheap enough until she can afford something nicer. Whole new number and everything. Aria pouted that it didn't do videos." The digital interface started to smoke so Jane held up her cup of coffee for him to drop it into. He did that and took the cup, the phone, and the device with him to his lab to look it over. She looked at the agents. "We're really sorry. We don't mean or try to bring drama that way. We'd never want this sort of drama. Darcy and I both hate drama."

"We know it's not you, it's stupid beings," the lead agent of that team said. "Is your assistant all right?"

"They're giving her some air. She inhaled some smoke getting me away from the plug. I need to go see her." They nodded, letting her lock up her notes and then hit the medical area. The agent looked at the others. "Scan for bugs and things. Just in case. Let's do all the labs." They nodded, gathering the equipment they'd need and started there. Stark came back to see what they were doing. "Bug check, Mr. Stark. Just in case."

"That's a great idea. Lewis' phone was fully compromised thanks to that interface that leads back to SHIELD." The agents groaned but took the detail so they could arrest an idiot.

***

Tony Stark smirked as Nick Fury walked into his office. He held up the silver ball then dropped it back into that cup of coffee. "Yours."

"I have no idea."

"We tracked it. It goes back to SHIELD." He held up the notes on that with a bigger smirk. "To your monitoring and social media department to be exact, a Stephan Mora."

Fury looked him up. "That the only one?"

"Nope." He picked up the baggie of them. "They mostly lead back to a Rebecca Myers. Same department." He dropped the baggie onto the desk. "You were bugging my geeks for no reason and without a warrant. Most of us believe that you were trying to steal our work."

"I'm going to figure that out."

"Yes, do so. Before I kick all of you out of *my* tower." Stark stared at him. Fury huffed but went to talk to people. Including his equipment team to see how many of those had been checked out. They didn't have that gear listed at all. So that was fun. That social media department had three people and they were all involved apparently because they were complaining that their links had been cut when he got there.

***

Darcy leaned into Tony's office a few hours later. "I'm really sorry, Mr. Stark. We did not mean to bring this level of drama here. We had no idea about any of this."

"Shut up, Lewis. They were tracking more than you." He looked at her. "They had most labs bugged."

"So it wasn't the dragon thing?"

"Nope, it was SHIELD trying to steal data." He grimaced. "Though your drama, it was good drama. It saved a lot of others from getting hurt. That sort of drama I appreciate."

She smiled. "Thanks. We're hoping it's done with."

He nodded. "We all hope the stupid is done with. How did Aria nearly destroy the moon?"

"Jane was calibrating and inputting information on her bridge project into a device. Aria was trying to help and put in the wrong number and then hit the engage button before it was fully filled with a destination. So it rattled the moon a bit before Jane realized and stopped it."

Stark blinked a few times. "She... Okay, yeah, I knew I didn't want to really know. Is Foster doing that again?"

"I don't think she can. That device didn't work very well so she's rebuilt it a few times." Stark was staring at her. "I have no idea but SHIELD kept trying to get her work before to weaponize it. It's why we didn't want to work for SHIELD."

"Thankfully, Stark isn't SHIELD," he agreed. "That's dangerous. Can she still do that?"

"I have no idea if the current version of that machine will work that way. You'd have to ask Jane. I just do data entry and make sure she eats." He got up and followed her back. Jane was nagging Aria. "What happened?"

"She was whining," Jane said.

Darcy looked at Aria. "About?" She held up the book. "Okay, and?"

"People eat bunnies!"

Darcy nodded. "Yeah, bunnies can be eaten. There's specific types of bunnies for that. They're not the type that you raise as a pet."

"They said that dragons can hunt bunnies!" She huffed. "It's wrong!"

"Dear, people eat what they can catch," Darcy reminded her. "We talked about people who hunt to eat like that show you found. Remember that show and talk?" Aria went teary eyed. "Yeah, that show. Sometimes you gotta catch something to eat because you can't go to the grocery store. Like with deer, bunnies are easy to catch usually." She hugged her. "We'll talk about it when you're older."

"But they're *bunnies*!" she whined.

"Dear, some people eat squirrels too," Darcy said patiently. That got a wail and Aria went to hide in the bathroom. She sighed, sitting down. "Sorry, she's a bit sensitive."

"I guess she'll quit calling morons dumb bunnies," Jane said. She looked at the staring geek king. "New problems?"

"The moon?" Jane groaned and rolled her eyes. "Can you still do that? If so we need to lock that machine down so SHIELD or anyone else can't get it from you."

Jane pointed at the machine. "I've rebuilt it with safety switches since then. Twice."

"So no one fiddling with it, like a janitor who gets curious, could do that? It's happened in another lab, Foster, and that one nearly destroyed the building. Anything that dangerous we like to have locked up or somehow rendered unable to be turned on without you installing something so no one can fiddle with it."

"I suggested a removable cord but she couldn't do it," Darcy said.

"We can look at that idea," Stark agreed, smiling at her. "Before I have to rebuild the building?"

"I can do that. I've got a fingerprint scanner from a home security safe system on it."

"Great!" He nodded. "Show me, Foster. We'll make sure some idiot can't touch it without your help. It'll make us all safer." She nodded, leading him to that machine to go over how it worked and what safety protocols she had. Darcy got Aria and left the lab with her just in case. Last time the thing had spewed slime.

***

Aria was sitting in the hall sulking when the guard shift went past. "Why aren't you inside?" the guard asked her patiently.

"Because things suck and I hate that," she pouted up at him. "Mom told me to go pout in my room but I'll hurt my toys if I pout at them; they'll think I'm pouty at them."

He nodded. Three-year-olds did think toys were real sometimes so that was kinda normal to him. "Toys can be sensitive that way. Does your mom know you're out here?"

"Yup. She's in the kitchen listening." She pouted at him. "People eat bunnies."

"Sometimes," he agreed, smiling at her. "But that may be the only food they can find." She slumped and pouted more. "Don't some dragons eat bunnies?"

She stared up at him, eyes getting damp again. "People are dumb bunnies, I'd never eat them. Dragons don't eat people."

"No, honey, not that sort of bunny."

"But bunnies are good friends. They're soft and they eat their own poop!"

He reached down to pat her on the head. "I'm pretty sure you can avoid eating a bunny so you don't hurt their feelings, but bunnies for food aren't pet bunnies."

She shook her head. "All bunnies are soft friends."

He nodded. "Well, you can avoid that. That's a choice you make, sweetheart." She nodded, pouting again. "You should probably go back inside. It's getting late. You should probably have a bath and go to sleep."

She shook her head. "I won't get to sleep because I'll be sad about the bunnies."

"Okay. We'll make sure you're okay on our rounds." He walked off. "Try to think of other things, like cupcakes."

"I have a cupcake pillow," she admitted. "It's comfy." But then she pouted again. "People would eat it too."

He sent a text message once he was in another hallway to let the head guard know that the kid was pouty in the hall when they ran into her napping there later. The head guard decided to let the head of the local tribe know so he could go straighten out the weird kid.

Brock got a text message, sighing at it. He put down his beer and went to put on a t-shirt, going down there. He stared at the pouty kid. "Why are you so pouty?"

She looked at him. "Those books were mean. People eat bunnies."

He sighed, staring at her. "There's not many animals that people somewhere don't eat, kiddo." Darcy opened the door. "The guard shift commander told me she was confused." He looked at her. "Someone somewhere probably eats anything you can name. Are you sad about that?"

"I..." She looked at her mother then at him. "We should teach them to eat cows."

"They would if cows could live there," Darcy said. "Cows are expensive, big animals that are hard to take care of. Remember, we went to that embassy event and they had goat on the grill? Goats are smaller and easier to take care of than cows."

Aria stared up at her then at Brock. "Do they raise bunnies like cows?"

"Some places, yup. Some places you hunt wild ones. It's a usual first hunt for a young dragon."

"I don't want to do that. It's mean to bunnies."

"When you go on your first hunt there may not be any bunnies. You may find a deer or something."

"I don't mind deer, even with the movies." She was still sulky. "Bunnies are still nice friends and they eat some of their own poop."

"So do dogs and cats...." Darcy was shaking her head frantically. "So do pigs probably and you like bacon. Pigs eat everything, including people if they can mange it." She blinked at him. He nodded. "Thankfully we quit feeding pigs that sort of stuff if they were going to be used for bacon and hams."

"The piggies at the petting zoo weren't like that. They snuffled me and let me pet them but they didn't bite."

"They were well trained pigs," Darcy said. "Are you done pouting?"

"No!" She looked at Brock. "If I pouted inside I'd be pouting at my toys and they'd be sad about it because they'd think I was pouting at them."

"Toys can be sensitive," Darcy agreed. "But you shouldn't be in the hall this late. You'll distract the guard." Aria glared at her. She pointed. "C'mon. Bath time. You can pout at the bubbles."

"Nope!" She looked at Brock. "Why do we hunt anyway?"

"To teach you how in case you have to. It's a good life skill. It's also a way to prove that you can protect yourself from some things. It's like a thing you do to prove you're growing up."

"Oh. Do girls do that?"

"Mine would. I'd never want kids to be helpless."

She looked at her mother. "Did you do that?"

"One of my uncles made me even though your grandmother complained. Like I hunted the deer when we were in the cave."

"I don't mind deer. They're meant to be hunted, even if you do watch those silly movies." She looked at Brock. "Bambi is evilly dumb. And sad!"

"Yeah, it could be but it's meant for kids so they care about deer and skunks."

"I guess. Still sad and silly and mean." She pouted again.

Darcy rolled her eyes, looking at Brock. "I did hold back the book on relationships."

"I figured you would and maybe the bunny book too and the one on old tribes and their ways."

"She understood that. I've worked with a few Native peoples from a few different areas."

Aria looked at him. "They had neat rituals and clothes they wore during them."

"They do," he agreed with a nod, smiling some. "That's important to their culture. The same as some things are important to dragon cultures."

She nodded with a sigh. "I get that. But I'm still not eating bunnies!" She stared up at him. "People can be dumb bunnies and I'd never want to eat them."

"No, not that sort of bunnies. We don't eat people who're dumb bunnies. Only smaller ones that hop."

She blinked a few times. "But..."

"People being dumb bunnies doesn't change them from being people," Darcy said. "Unless you can change someone's form magically like Loki could."

"Oooh."

"She met Loki?" Brock asked.

"For a brief second in New Mexico before someone took her off."

"Oh, dear."

"Seriously, kids are chaos sources so they're like mini worshipers. She's powered at least one chaos god today from the pouting."

He grinned at that. "I think most kids do. At least healthy ones." He stood up, hauling Aria up to stare down at her. "You can ask me questions about big dragon stuff. Or your mom. We answer questions."

"But you're not the den daddy."

He leaned down. "I'm the top dragon in SHIELD, Aria," he said quietly, staring at her. "That's part of my job when the young dragons need questions answered. SHIELD has their own tribe and the ones here in the tower have rolled theirs into ours since we protect them." He patted her on the head. "So if you have questions you can ask your mom or me when I'm around. All right?" She nodded, staring up at him. "Do you have other questions?"

"Why do you have all the tiny scars?"

"Umm....well, a building fell on me while I was undercover to stop some really bad people."

"Oh. I'm sorry I asked if it made you feel bad." She hugged his arm. "You're a nice dragon daddy." She went inside.

"Thank you," Darcy said quietly, smiling at her. "And sorry about her lack of tact."

"People noticed them a lot more before they got healed." He stared at her. "I know we do things differently than you grew up doing but she deserves the full field so she can make her own decision."

"I'm not against that. I've talked with many who weren't council aligned over the years. She's a bit too young for some of it though. Especially the stuff that I heard from one of our Aussie counterparts about ritual markings."

"No, that's Native dragon, not Euro-based Australian peoples. I asked about that to an Australian agent once." She grinned at that. "Go have fun being a mom. She's a good kid. I'm in and out but she can email me questions if she wants."

"She can't read that well yet. But I'll let her send you video emails. She's really good at that."

"Sure, that'll work." He walked off smiling. "Have a better night."

"You too and thanks. Tell them not to bother you on your nights off. Free time is rare and important."

He looked back at her. "I work fewer hours than you do with Foster." He gave her a pointed look before strolling off again.

She rolled her eyes but went inside. "Aria, you could ask me those questions too."

"I know but I wanted to pout."

"Fine. Bath time." Aria went to take her bubble bath while her mother muttered at the ceiling gods about her. Her mother talked to ceiling gods a lot when she did things she didn't understand. Her mom must not remember being a kid her age. Darcy came in to help her wash her back and hair. "Mom, when did you learn to talk to the ceiling gods that Auntie Jane told me about?"

"The day I met Jane. She makes me talk to them more than you do."

"Ooooh. Yeah I guess that's why Auntie Jane knew about them." She held up her washing doll. "Can she have soap?" Darcy squirted some on so she could clean herself with the doll shaped sponge.

***

Aria was delivering things again when she ran into a problem. At least she thought it was a problem. She considered it and did what her mother would do. "JARVIS, why is Uncle Thor not Uncle Thor?" she asked, making the 'Thor' wannabe flinch and stare at her. Tony blinked at her and got out of the way. "I can tell you're not Uncle Thor. He tells me stories and his Growlies are different than yours are. Yours is pretty though. And she said you're naughty to impersonate your brother, whatever that means. So who are you? I'm Aria, I'm nearly four!" She smiled and held out a hand, waiting on him.

He stared at her. "I am Thor."

"Uncle Thor has warm tingles that my dragon can feel."

"What dragon?" he asked.

She smirked. "See, Uncle Thor knew I'm a dragon." She showed off her scales and the not Uncle Thor grimaced but nodded. "Here, Uncle Tony. Mommy sent those to you." She put them on the table and looked at him. "So who are you really? Your Growlie is really pretty and sweet looking."

"What's a Growlie?" Tony asked patiently.

"She talks to spirits," the not Thor said dryly.

She beamed and nodded. "Mommy could too when she was my age. Do you know my Mommy and Auntie Jane?"

"I've been slapped by your aunt once," he admitted dryly, smirking at her. "You should not be in here, Aria."

"I'm being an intern and delivering things," she said cheerfully. "And hoping to play with Dum-E. He's a neat friend." The robot beaned the not Thor on the head, knocking him out. He turned into someone else. "Ooh, I don't know you yet. You're not a dragon." Stark was spluttering and choking.

Darcy strolled in and put her daughter out in the hall, closing the door. "My daughter needs sense." She kicked Loki on the ankle, staring at him with a grin. "I'm sure Jane would say hi, Loki, but she and Thor broke up recently. So why the visit?" She looked to the side. "Huh, your mom was really pretty. And that's a pretty necklace. I need to find something in that stone for Aria. She loves opals for the rainbow effect." She looked at Tony, nodding. Then she looked at Loki again.

He sat up, staring at her. "Your daughter is incredibly weird."

"Yup, that's why she's my daughter." She grinned. "We do protect Jane."

"I came to see what the oaf had done this time to piss off Heimdall." He stood up carefully, looking at the robot then at her and Stark. "You can't think...." She put up some of her scales. "That's interesting. We never felt magic around you before."

"Well, I had a block and I can't do real magic," she said dryly. "And studying it at this late date would take me away from my daughter." He stared at her, looking amused. "Beyond that, why else did you pretend to be your brother? I mean, Thor's about a pain in the butt since he was drunk for the last three days. I got texted about how pretty my scales would look against his hammer and he's only flirty with me that way when he's wasted."

"That may be why Heimdall was mad at him."

"Or that he broke up with Jane?"

"I don't know that he would be fazed by that." He considered her. "I meant no harm to you or your daughter, Matriarch."

"And yet, I'm here so they're under my protection, including the head geek king here."

He sighed. "You cannot fight me."

She grinned. "Watch me bring your mom back to life."

Loki flinched, staring at her. "You cannot."

"I'll suffer a great headache." Frigga was shaking her head not to. She looked at her then at Loki. "She was a mom I could mostly look up to according to Jane. So what would she be doing right now?"

"Finding a sword, my mother was good at it."

"I have claws for that." She grinned. "I can hear Thor stomping this way."

He nodded. "I think you should look at magical theories at least."

"Probably. But still a lot of work for a lot of headaches." She waved. "Shoo." He disappeared, leaving Frigga for a second. She shrugged at the ghost, who sighed but followed her son to nag him more. Thor stomped in holding his hammer. "Your mom said hi. She's following your brother around to nag him."

"My mother?" Thor demanded.

"Pretty sandy blonde older lady. Wearing formal Asgardian dress robes and a pretty opal necklace with a gold collar overtop of it?"

Thor blinked a few times. "I thought only your daughter could do that."

"She had to get it from somewhere, Thor, and the blocks I had were broken." She patted him on the arm. "Aria was totally amused by someone pretending to be you by the way." She walked off shaking her head. "Daughter, let's talk about when not to introduce yourself to strangers. I'd like you to make it to four years of age." Her daughter pouted at her. "Quit being so friendly to bad people please. Loki is not a nice guy and he might've hurt you."

"I'll do better," she sighed. "I'm trying to be polite like Auntie Jane taught me, Mom."

"I know you are." She hugged her. "You're good at it too. Just make sure they're not bad guys, okay?"

"Fine."

"That funny feeling that told you it wasn't Thor? That's a warning sign that they're probably not nice people." She sighed but nodded, going back to the lab to get other things to deliver. She looked up and shook her head.

Thor looked at her from the doorway to Tony's lab. "Your daughter says that's talking to Ceiling Gods."

"Yeah, Jane taught her that." She looked at him. "You might want to call home to see why Heimdall's mad at you. Loki was seeing why he was mad."

"I can do that in a moment. How did she tell?"

"Thor, you radiate certain things, like everyone else does. Do you think Aria's not sensitive enough to tell that?"

"I had not thought of that. So she felt it wasn't me."

"Yup, from what JARVIS showed me when he warned me she was talking to someone weird."

Thor nodded. "I'll call up there to see what problem has happened. You warn her off Loki."

"I had a talk about her not talking to dangerous people or ones who felt weird until she was sure they were good people." She gave him a pointed look. "I do a lot of that. She knows not to do that but Jane taught her to introduce herself to strangers to be polite."

Thor nodded with a sigh. "My mother did such and had to remind me not to talk to weird people as well." He went to find Aria and talk to her about his mother's training.

Darcy looked up again, shaking her head. "Thanks, JARVIS." She went back to Jane's lab then checked on her spawn, who was petting Dr. Banner. She went to check on her. "Aria?" she asked. Bruce woke up and Aria grinned, going back to patting him. "You need permission to pet people, you know that."

"He was having a bad dreamie, Mom. I did what you do to mine." She grinned and held up the envelope. "From Auntie Jane's machines?"

"Thank you, Aria, and for the help, but please ask before you pet me."

"I will." She hugged his arm and walked off.

"I'll have that talk with her again tonight. Sorry," Darcy said quietly.

Bruce shook his head with a sigh but did open the data packet so he could work on it. The kid was a breath of fresh, weird air. Then he heard Tony complaining about Loki showing up and the kid being nice to him. He winced. "Yeah, she needs to have a lot of talks with the kid about strangers."

***

Maria Hill got a report from the lab guards and stared at it, then sighed. She went to hand it to Fury personally, making him stare at it. "Well, she is probably the toughest female dragon in the labs," he decided. He blinked a few times. "And she does matriarch duty for Foster too." He looked at her. "Are you more worried about that part or that Loki was here and we didn't know?"

"All of it. It could put her daughter in danger."

"No, she'd never let that happen. Her daughter will always come first, Hill. That's what a matriarch does." He put the paper down. "I'll make sure the hierarchy around the agents knows that she's claimed protection over Stark too. Really, the guy could use it. She might make him eat too."

Hill walked off sighing, going to take a copy of that report to Agent Pekin, who was the third top dragon in SHIELD locally. "Got a few?" He nodded. She handed over the report. "Fury said not to worry."

He blinked as he reread it. "Yeah, she's building a nest I guess." He looked up at her. "Sometimes females will be the sort to take in any stray kids around. My mother wasn't one but an aunt was. She always had a spot open for a kid who needed to hide for the night, or ones that needed to hide more often than that in one case.

"I'm guessing Lewis would be that way by the way she's an overprotective mother hen over Dr. Foster." He put it down. "There's not a problem with her claiming protection. She won't jump into battles or anything to protect Stark. But he'll come right after her daughter, then Foster, in her worries when things happen. He can fight that battle himself probably."

"Why would this suddenly start?"

"Because before she was living with Foster, and not paid. She's finally settled into a place of her own, with her nestling daughter. It's fairly common to set up the first real place of your own as a nest to make sure you're all right and everything is going to be okay. You probably put comforting things from home. This is our version of a picture of Grandma on the wall and throw pillows."

"Oh. All right. So no worries about her stepping into something?"

"If someone comes for her daughter, sure will. If they come for Foster and her daughter's safe? Probably will. Stark? If he's down and unable to do it himself, probably as long as the first two on the list are okay and safe."

"Good to know. Are there others?"

"One of our admins is that sort of grandma. She's in HR and you can always find a treat on her desk and her smiling at most everyone who isn't Melinda May."

She sighed. "Fine. Thank you."

"Welcome. We'll make sure she can tell Aria how to tell bad people she shouldn't talk to." Hill nodded, leaving it with him. He grinned, getting back to work. It figured Lewis was a nest building sort of mom.

***

Jane looked at Darcy that night after Aria had went to bed. "There's talk about you being in nest building mode."

"No, I don't have my hoard of art here. I mean, first apartment in a while but my dorm room was my original nest." She considered it. "No, if I was nesting I'd be redecorating. Since I'm still using the given furniture we're probably okay with that."

"Yet you claimed protection of Stark."

"Yeah, he needed it at that moment. And about half the time he doesn't notice things that could hurt him. The same as you don't. He's next door and it seemed to make sense." She shrugged. "I'm probably just still over-sensitive from the long heat and my body's wondering why we don't have an egg on the way."

"Huh. Okay. Are you feening for a new kid?"

"No," Darcy said, shaking her head quickly. "It was really hard with Aria."

"But you've got a paying job now. It'd be easier."

Darcy looked at her. "And that barely covers the two of us. Having another one means more diapers and food and clothes."

"You're making enough." Darcy got her pay stub to show her. Jane blinked then nodded once. "I don't pay rent that way. Huh." She got up to get her own pay stub, bringing it back. "No, mine doesn't look like that." She sent an email to HR about that, wondering about her assistant's paycheck being so different from hers. "We'll see." She looked at her. "If it's something hinky we'll figure it out."

"With my luck they'll try to fire me," Darcy complained. She shifted to curl up some. "If so, you've got to hire me under the table."

"I will." She smiled at her. "We'll figure it out." Someone knocked so she got up to get it. "What's up, Agent Pekin?"

"I thought this was Lewis'..." Jane pointed. "Oh, okay. Lewis, there was talk about you needing to nest. We have a few nice shops that're run by the local community."

"Cool. I don't think I'm nesting but my hoard is full of art and statues." She grinned. "Thank you, Agent Pekin."

"You're welcome. Are you sure you're not nesting?" She looked around the apartment then at him. "True. Are you and the sprout all right?"

"So far. We had a long talk about her not talking to people that made her feel funny so hopefully it won't be Loki next time."

"We can only hope." He grinned. "There's a social event in a few weeks."

Darcy shook her head. "I don't do good in social things. I'd hate to have a valium that night and fall asleep on someone."

He snickered. "It's not a ball, Lewis. It's like a church dinner."

"Will they accept me with all the problems that landed on us?"

"I don't think it'll be a problem. I'll ask one of the local matriarchs who can tell others to shut up if they try something."

She nodded. "If no one would mind, Aria should get to know more people. It's good for her to get to know more changers."

"It's mostly just dragons at that event. The local communities don't mix as often as the smaller ones do."

"It'll still lead to teaching her things and getting her used to a community around her. She's got to get used to rules."

"There's a lot of kids that go to these. A lot of parents use it to show off." He grinned. "It'll give her some good socialization."

"She could use it but she is not to show off her scales."

"We've heard she's blue."

"She is."

"Does she have that same dual...." Darcy nodded. "Ah. That's fine. We won't talk about it. Some parents brag. I'm sure you've seen them before."

"Yeah, my local one when I was growing up had parents like that. I hated the debutante ones."

He snickered. "I figured you weren't that sort." He handed over the invitation. "I'll let a matriarch know tonight so she can tell the others not to fuss. It does you good to have a good den around you too." He left them to talk.

Jane sat back down. "Are all male dragons very paternal?"

"In a lot of cases, yup." She nodded. "At least he didn't try to order it like some have in the past. London had a lot of ordering me around that I ignored and glared about. They didn't hold many social events that weren't formal dinners at someone's house."

Jane nodded. "I didn't think you went to any in London."

"Nope. There was one in Norway we went to but they were giving us odd looks because they didn't get too many that weren't natively local and it was a find a mate sort of event. I'm the only one that brought a kid."

Jane nodded. "That makes sense. I remember you nearly slugging an agent for trying to take your breast pump and then you handing him the crying kid to feed since he claimed he had to take it anyway. His horrified look was pretty."

She grinned. "Yes it was. It's amazing how breast pumps suddenly got found to not have data capabilities. He had the same look about the two vibrators I had." Jane burst out in giggles. "Speaking of, I've got to hide them better. Aria was in my dresser earlier." She got up to find a better hiding place from her daughter. The top shelf of a cabinet seemed to be the safest place.

***

Agent Pekin looked at the matriarch of his group, nodding at her. "I've invited Darcy Lewis and her daughter to join us."

"Wasn't she the one that brought down the confederation council?"

"Over them trying to force a mate on her with someone who's killed a lot. She's not really related to any council at the moment, outside maybe the one her mother runs in Virginia."

The matriarch nodded. "She seemed nice outside all that."

"She is. And she's borderline nesting. She hasn't gotten to redecorating but that battle did send her into a two week heat she handled on her own." The matriarch rolled her eyes. "Rumlow went for a week of it to guard her but he's said that she made it clear she was handling it on her own. She meditated it out with her daughter in the back of the cave and her best friend making Rumlow bring her after a week."

"It's good she could handle that on her own but that means she's stubborn."

"Yup," he agreed with a grin and a nod. "She's stood up against the damsel epidemic we're having locally. Including one that threatened to bring her to social services for letting her daughter have a hair cut." That got a tiny growl. "The same woman had been forcing the other dragons in Stark to follow the damsel way or get fired. There was a lot of haircuts when she got fired for that and putting a flower crown on two younger girls in daycare."

The matriarch shuddered. "Oh, dear. That's nearly evil."

"Yup." He nodded. "I had nagged her for another changer. That incident got her fired." He stared at her. "I told her that she and her daughter would be okay and without a lot of stress outside the socially climbing bimbos we have."

"We can probably guarantee that. I don't like them sniping either." She stared at him. "Do you think she wants to join this nest group?"

"I don't think she's into any of that. She's of the original ways, when things were matrilineal. As Rumlow said, she's a queen of the old order. And an original line heir apparently. Her father was one."

"So she'd have heard histories?"

"From her grandmother, Rosie."

The matriarch shuddered but nodded. "I met her once. That was an iron dragon matriarch."

"And she helped raise Lewis." He grinned. "Her daughter will be the same way. Lewis insists that her kids will go to a normal school with changer lessons on the side so she's used to the full spectrum of changers and normals. She did that herself."

"Hmm. That's not that popular up here but I can see why she would. She studies people?"

"Political science degree. She helps Dr. Foster, who was rebuilding the Bifrost and dating Thor."

"That pretty brunette assistant?" He nodded with a grin. "Huh, I didn't recognize her as one." She frowned. "I can usually pick them out of the pictures. Is she a mythical pole?"

"That's not sure. During that battle she broke some sort of block according to the report Rumlow filed. She'd had it since she was seven. One of the people who showed up was Dr. Abelsome, who was her childhood mentor." She shivered. "I know her daughter can see something she calls Growlies. I've heard her mention them and they sound like spirits she's seeing. She saw the one hanging around Loki when he appeared but pretended to be Thor. She figured it out before Stark did and told him the ghost hanging around him was pretty."

"That's sweet of her." She stared at him. "Getting that little one to understand more than one group would be a good thing to do."

"Which her mother agrees with. And that she has to learn that there's a community that has rules. She's almost four."

"Awww. That's a good age to start thinking about the way you want to be."

He waved a hand with a grin. "Lewis promised that if her daughter suddenly started to grow the waist length hair, she'd cut it on her daughter. She *loathes* the damsel movement. And she looks up to the real history of Madeline Canbary and a dancer named Isadora Duncan. I've never heard of her."

"The real history?"

"Yup. She handed Rumlow a copy of her real biography. Including how she was forced at spear point at her daughter's throat to commit adultery."

"I studied her in high school. She was an interesting queen and that was a huge amount of political screwing up on purpose that she was forced into." She nodded a bit. "She sounds interesting and I look forward to her coming to the picnic."

"I told her it was like a church picnic."

"It is," she agreed with a smile. "A lot of it. I'll warn Mary Magera to leave her stuff at home."

"I gave her catalogs for a few stores we run since we think she's borderline nesting."

"After a two week heat? Her body's probably wanting to set up a nest at all. Pity he didn't talk her into it. He'd be less uptight and so would she."

"She's not uptight and she had a date with a normal last week. She's not against dating anyone but the bigoted asses who hiss at her for dating whoever she wants even if they're not dragons."

She nodded. "Some of our best and strongest matriarchs in history have been that way. Including a few who turned humans into consorts." She shrugged. "I can't hold that against her but I'll remind Mary Magera to shut her whore mouth." She smiled. "Thank you for bringing this bit of liveliness to our group, Mark."

"Welcome, Grandmother." He got up to kiss her on the cheek. "I know Lewis feels better with a community she can talk to. She hasn't had that since before they went to London." He went home to make dinner.

His grandmother smiled as she cleaned up the small mess from the tea. It was very interesting who her grandson ran into sometimes.

***

Aria came out dressed up in a very weird outfit. Darcy stared at her, shaking her head slightly. "You don't need the rain boots." Aria pouted. "The skirt and shirt don't match. And neither does the headband, dear." She walked her back into the bedroom to get her redressed. "Pick one thing you really want to wear out of that mess that doesn't match?" She pointed at her boots. "Um, not those. That might insult someone. Sneakers please. You might get to run around and play."

"Fine," Aria sighed. She slumped, staring at her mother. "The skirty?" They had built in shorts underneath them and she liked it a lot.

"The skirt's a good choice. You have three shirts that go with it." She pulled them out of the drawer. "Which one?" She pointed at a printed t-shirt. "That may be a bit informal. We're meeting with another group of dragons tonight for a dinner."

"They'll think I'm a fun kid. Which I am."

"You are," Darcy agreed with a grin, pulling out a matching t-shirt that had a cute graphic. "Want unicorns or zombie bears?"

"Zombies please." She grinned. Darcy let her change out shirts and undershirt that she didn't actually need. That matched well with the shirt and she got her a pair of sneakers to put on instead. She held up a choice of two headbands. "Sparkly rainbow or simpler but sparkly?" She touched her current one. "It's the wrong color." She put her in front of a mirror. "See, it clashes with your shirt."

"Ummmm." She ran to get something and held it up. "It's pretty and it'll go."

"Tiara is only for around the lab. Even though Thor bought it for you. You have a headband that's really fancy from Jane's mom." She pointed at it since it was in a case. "That means you have to be careful with it. It could get broken."

"I'll let you hold it if we get to play." She let her mother fuss at her hair and settle it in it. She ran to the mirror and smiled. "Lip gloss?" She let her put on some tinted chapstick then went to fix her own makeup and put on something else. That way she matched her daughter and was more casually uptight. They left together with the invitation in Darcy's bag. They got there and Darcy held up the invitation. "We were invited by Agent Pekin."

The guard on the door smiled and nodded. "Welcome to our group, Miss Lewis and Aria. The matriarch said you'd be coming tonight." He smiled at the girl. "You look adorable." He pointed. "That's our matriarch and she's ignoring her husband at the moment."

"Thank you," Darcy said, walking that way. "Hi." She smiled, putting Aria in front of her but holding onto her shoulders since she was looking around. "Thank you for inviting us. Aria needs to know more about her people sometimes."

"The world is a great big place," the older woman agreed with a smile. "Agatha." She looked over and came to meet Darcy. "I'm Mary Magera, dear. Some of the socially sniping ones are mine."

Darcy nodded. "I went to school with some of those." She smiled at the other matron. "Ma'am, I'm Darcy and this is Aria, my heathen princess."

She burst out in giggles, smiling at the young girl. "Heathen princesses are always welcome here, dear."

Aria smiled and held out a hand. "I'm Aria, I'm nearly four."

"That's a wonderful age." She shook her hand. "I'm Agatha and the matriarch of this group of families and nests." She led her off to introduce them, letting Aria get a piece of chicken to nibble on, even if her mother did sigh. "She's fine, Darcy."

"She has manners. Jane and I made sure she had good manners."

"I know. She has delightful manners and a chicken leg is meant for a young one to eat. They have a built in handle so they don't lose them."

Darcy nodded. "I prefer them for that reason too. I'm clumsy sometimes."

Agatha smiled and patted her on the back. "It happens sometimes to all of us." She introduced them to a few others, Aria remembering to keep her chicken out of her right hand to for shaking. They ran into the kids and Aria looked at her mother, who took the sparkly headband so she could go play when that mother nodded it was okay. Darcy put the headband in her own hair for now, making Agatha giggle. "It's cute."

"Her Aunt Jane's mother bought it for her." She smiled a bit. "Uncle Thor bought her a cheap tiara and I had to keep that in the house and the lab."

"Some girls like twinkly things, dear."

"Oh, I know. I don't mind that but I don't want her to show off."

"That means you're a supportive and careful mother." She patted her on the shoulder, putting her with a group of younger dragons, mostly men. "Boys, behave with Darcy. Her daughter's playing with the horde." She waved a hand at the chasing kids. Aria yelped when she fell down and huffed but worked her ankle so it was better, and got up to limp after the others again. "Oh." Agatha looked at Darcy.

"Kidnaping last year loosened it. She's got exercises. Aria, I have your brace," she called quietly, waving it. She limped over to grab it to put on then went back to playing. "She's got exercises to strengthen it and her knees."

Agatha smiled. "That's a good thing, it means it can be solved easier." She patted her on the shoulder, staring at the doorway. "Oh, there's Mary's daughter-in-law," she sighed. She went to stop her from coming over by talking to her.

Darcy grinned at the guys, shrugging some. "You guys can talk about guy things. Don't worry about me."

One waved a hand. "We all have sisters, Miss Lewis. It's fine. We're mostly watching the heathens ourselves before they turn into spawns of our siblings."

"Aria tries so hard not to be a spawn," she joked with a grin. "But sometimes...."

They nodded. "All kids do," one of the three other women quipped. "We're basically the singles corner. This way we don't have to hear about who's trying to have a new kid and who's failing at that. That group over there is in a contest to see who has the most kids in a decade. One cheated by going IVF and had triplets." Darcy giggled, shaking her head. "The rest of us have sense." Darcy giggled louder. "That's how we feel too." Aria came limping back over. "Hey, kiddo."

She looked at them. "If one of you dates my mother, you can't be buttholes to her." She ran off again.

"Grounded tomorrow," Darcy called after her. Aria pouted so she stared at her. "You knew better to be that rude."

"Sorry," she called. "I shouldn't be rude." She went back to playing.

Darcy sighed and shook her head, looking at them. "Sorry. We taught her manners for the most part."

"My sister's oldest kid looked at my last boyfriend and told him she'd flame him to death if he wasn't good to me in bed, whatever adults did in there when they locked the door and had fun." The woman smiled at her. "Aria was downright polite compared to my sister's kids."

"We try so hard," Darcy sighed, watching her daughter play. She looked at the others. "I've been fighting her on walking up to everyone and telling them her name and how old she is."

The others nodded. "That could be dangerous," they agreed. Aria went to introduce herself and her new friend to others, who somewhat knew the other kid but were amused by them anyway. One pointed. "She's meeting new people now."

Darcy looked. "Aria, please don't bother people," she called.

"I'm not, Mom. I'm being polite with Lisa." She pulled Lisa over. "This is my mom, Lisa. Mom, this is Lisa, a new friend."

"Hi, Lisa." Darcy smiled and shook the shy girl's hand. "It's nice to meet a new friend of Aria's." She looked at her daughter. "Don't bother any elders," she said quietly. "They could be talking about important things."

"I won't interrupt," she promised, skipping off arm-in-arm with Lisa to greet others.

Darcy sighed. Then moaned quietly. She looked at the others, who all smiled at her. One of the guys patted her on the shoulder with a grin. "She's a good kid most of the time," she said, smiling at them. They grinned back. They chatted nicely for a bit until she heard a kid burst out crying so stood up to look. Aria was defending her new friend and a few other kids from another adult. "Excuse me. My daughter's turning into a queen again." She strolled over that way. "Aria?"

"She sneered at us for playing, Mom," Aria called without turning her head. "We weren't even near her kids. We were playing hopscotch in the corner."

Darcy looked at the matron. "I'm sorry, did my daughter upset you?" she asked pleasantly.

"You," she sneered. "What are you doing here?"

"We were invited to meet some new people," Darcy said. "I've always had friends from all different walks of life."

"You're council," the old woman sneered.

"No, my mother is council. Not a local one and ours in Virginia isn't full of spoiled bitches." She gave her a pointed look. "My daughter will make that choice for herself some year. I never hinder my daughter making friends and getting to know others and their ways."

"I doubt she needs to know us."

"I doubt she needs to know you," Darcy corrected with a smile for her. "Because you seem kinda mean to kids. Girls, let's come play over near us again? Please, Aria?"

"You should punish her."

"For what? Standing up for herself? That's her right and her responsibility. If you were being a bitch to the kids, I want my daughter to protest on hers and others' behalfs. I want her to be a good person who sticks up for others." She walked the kids off. "C'mon, we can redraw the hopscotch board." Aria ran over to get their marbles they had been using, handing them back to the one she had borrowed them from with a grin and a 'thank you' before coming back.

"Thank you, very polite, Aria." She smiled at Lisa and the other kid. "I'm Aria's mom Darcy, guys." She smiled. "We're used to all sorts of kid things so you can play near us." She let them run off to find a new hopscotch field and play there instead. Darcy handed over two quarters for box marking. "There you go." They threw them out and got back to their game. Darcy sat down with a smile for Agatha since she was staring that way.

"She has some of the nicest manners," the nearest mother said with a smile for Darcy.

"Jane and I both insisted on it. But she does good most of the time. Even if I do have to remind her not to introduce herself to weird people." She sighed. "Her aunt was dating Thor for a bit."

That got a nod. "She's a good little princess."

Darcy grinned. "She'll tell you princesses have to get rescued due to Disney but queens are self rescuing like Thor's mother was." She giggled but nodded. "My baby's unique but fun most of the time." She smiled as she watched the girls drag a few boys into the game when they complained it was for girls. They reset the score and got back to the game for points they made up.

"What do you do, dear?"

"I'm a lab manager for an astrophysicist." She smiled. "We just recently took up Mr. Stark's offer to move to his lab from London. I've got to take some time to bring her and my boss out to the zoos and things. Jane could use some outside time."

"Mom, did I hear the magical zoo word?" Aria called.

"You sure did but you have to convince Jane to take a field trip," she called back.

"Yay!" She danced around with Lisa, who was giggling but telling her about the five zoos in the area. That was amazing and she'd have all the talks with Auntie Jane about going out to see the animals.

Darcy grinned at that. "My daughter is such a goofball." The others just smiled at that. It was nice, these ones weren't as sneering about things as the ones she was used to. Only one matron being mean was almost a blessing.

***
part 5 by Voracity2
Darcy was carrying Aria back in, nodding at the guard. She juggled her daughter to run her ID card, getting a smile back. "It's late for her," she said quietly, carrying her to the elevator. The pass sensor didn't want to work again so she sighed, looking back. The guard let her onto the elevator and she went up to her floor, getting off to go to her apartment. Which had a note on it. She looked up. "JARVIS," she asked quietly. "Can you pop open the door?" It opened and she smelled something. "Is that why there's a note?"

"I believe that was Dr. Foster trying to cook," the AI said quietly. "The note is a 'tell me how it went' from Agent Pekin."

"Oh, thank you, JARVIS." She put Aria into bed and took off her sneakers then backed out carefully, going to email that agent after taking down the note and airing out the stink of Jane's cooking. She looked up the various zoos and children's museums in the city, smiling at the large list. Her daughter would have months of field trips. Probably one a week or so because Jane would be stubborn.

She went to her own bed, curling up in dragon form so she didn't have to change clothes and wake her daughter up.

***

Aria bounced out the next morning and found her mother snoring in dragon form. She backed up slowly and ran over to Jane's apartment to hug her. "Mom's in dragon mode, purring."

Jane looked then at her. "That's snoring, Aria."

"Nope! Dragons do not snore! We purr," she said firmly, staring at her. She leaned on her aunt, hugging her around the waist. "Did you know there's *zoooooos* here in the city?" she asked, eyes wide. "Lisa told me about one in the big park!" She smiled up at her aunt. "It's our sacred duty to learn more about animals so we can protect them, Auntie Jane. We should go learn about them."

Jane stared at her. "I need to science today."

"You can take readings in the park! It's the park!" she squealed, smiling at her. "The park is good for you!"

"That's like your mom reminding me I need to go outside sometimes."

"So of course we're right," Aria quipped with a smirk. "We should go appreciate the animals so we learn about them. What if your bridge brings rhinos? We won't know what to do with them. Or monkeys! A lot of monkeys could cross before you shut it down again! We'd never know how to handle a monkey!"

Jane grinned. "They'd be in the lab so we'd probably let them nap for a bit until we could return them."

"Nope." She shook her head with a grin. "Because you said your bridge was one-way."

"We can turn it the other way so they can go home."

"How would we know what to feed them when they get here? It could take *months* to redo the bridge thingy!" She beamed. "We need to learn what they eat in case they show up! And if they can be petted!"

Jane sighed. "This weekend?"

"Will have a whole lot of kids. Do you want to listen to squealing dozens of kids?"

"No," she sighed, staring at her. "I really should get stuff done, Aria."

She grinned. "We can ask others if they want to come. Even Uncle Thor, even if you're not dating he likes animals but Mommy won't let me go with just him."

"That's because he'd lose you." She cuddled her. "Tomorrow?" Aria pouted, making pathetic noises. "Aria!"

"Please, Auntie Jane? And Mommy really needs a nap. That's why she's purring in dragon form."

"She won't like it if we don't take her."

"We'll bring her back coffee!" She beamed. "Mommy needs good coffee."

"She does. So do I."

"You have coffee." She looked in her cup then carefully carried it to the pot for her aunt. "Here, we can get more and bring it on the way over."

Jane sighed because the kid would start to whine soon. She couldn't take Aria being too unhappy even if it got in the way of science. "Put on sunscreen." She ran to do that while Jane got two travel mugs of coffee to go with them. And a few bottles of water for Aria. "Don't drift from my side. If I lose you, your mom's going to flame me." Aria beamed and nodded, taking her hand to walk out with her. Jane left a note for Darcy so that was good enough probably.

***

Darcy woke up with a yawn, looking at the clock as she got up and turned back to human. "Fuck." She went to check for her daughter, finding Jane's note. "Hey, my little girl made Jane get sunlight. That's cool. Though I'll have to hear about animals for the next week." She went to answer her own door, smiling at Brock. "Morning."

He looked at his watch then at her. "Late night?"

"Fell asleep in dragon form so I didn't wake up Aria."

"Where is the kid?"

"Jane's note said she begged her way into going to a zoo so they could handle any monkeys that came across the bridge before Jane could send them back."

Brock considered that then nodded with a grin. "That sounds like a kid. She okay with last night?"

"She was pretty good last night. There was only one older lady who tried to nag the kids. Aria stood up to protect her friends." Brock smirked. "Heard that?"

"From Agent Pekin, who claimed she was more polite than most of the adults there."

"She did try very hard. And made some new kid friends." That got another grin. "I'd offer you coffee but I haven't started any yet. I was going to shower and go save Jane from the animals."

"Thor got called to go help her."

"Hmm. They broke up."

"Yeah, he said Aria was worried about someone following them."

Darcy called Jane's phone. "So how's my spawn?" she asked patiently. "And I'm proud she talked you into getting some sun but sorry about the animal barrage." She listened. "Who was it that tried to get her? And is she still with you?" She looked at Brock, who waved a hand. "Here, talk to the commander." She let him have the phone. "Some SHIELD agent wanted Aria."

"What happened, Dr. Foster?" He listened. "I know of him. No, I'm going to stomp him myself. Does he have her? Oh, with Thor. You can't get much more protective than that. Is that an officer? Yeah, we'll be right there. Let Lewis change into something clean and we'll be right there to pick you three up." He hung up. Darcy was already heading to change clothes and spray dry shampoo into her hair. Then she came out pulling on a cardigan. "Let's go," he agreed. "Keys?" She held them and her wallet up. He noticed her tazer but Lewis had that reputation.

When they got there, Darcy headed for the location she could hear squeals of delight about Thor being there coming from. She walked through the crowd. "Hey, Thor. Is that my baby girl?"

He turned so she could get Aria off his back. "The agent wanted to walk her off and Jane stopped him but could not make him leave."

Darcy smiled at her little girl. "Nice job getting Jane out in the sun, spawn o'mine." She cuddled her on the way to Jane's side, staring at the agent and officers huffing at her. "Jane is her favorite aunt and I was sleeping in this morning. Jane has every right to bring my daughter to the park. Like most kids, she'll beg you into losing your temper to come to the zoo." An officer snickered at that. She looked at the agent. "SHIELD has no right to come near my little girl officially."

"We're watching out for her, Miss Lewis. She might get taken."

Darcy stared at him. Then she looked at her daughter. "Nope, I'd scream and rant and yell and if I'm not awake I can pee on them!" Aria said loudly. "Because they're evil and they deserve accidents!" She stared at the officer. "That's how kids do it, right?"

"It is," he agreed with a nod. "Though your aunt should be able to guard you."

"Jane does a really good job usually," Darcy said, letting Aria down since she wiggled so she could pull her jeans down so she didn't have a wedgie. The agent reached for Aria and Darcy zapped him, making him scream. "I'm still the same lab assistant who got Thor for being a mouthy asshole when Jane ran into him." She stared at him. "Don't touch the daughter. Ever."

Brock came over. "Officer, I'm a senior SHIELD official. I was checking his orders and he does not have one." Darcy hit the taser's key an extra time, making the agent scream again. Brock looked at her. "Let them arrest him for attempted kidnaping, Lewis. The other cons will make him hurt for it in gen pop."

She smiled. "I think he needs a better lesson and to become a lesson. Daughter?" she called.

"With Auntie Jane," she called. "We're watching the red pandas, Mom."

"Thank you. Stay with Aunt Jane please." She looked at the offer, smiling at him. "Can we have him?"

"No, ma'am, and we should confiscate the tazer." She pulled out her wallet and held up a card. "Oh, you have official permission." He handed that card back. "In that case please release him so we can arrest him." A guy in a mask stomped over. "Oh, no, who's that?"

Brock turned and fought the guy off. Thor hit the guy with his hammer and made him go to a gooey spot on the ground. Brock moved the mask. "Former SHIELD. Officers, we're calling in some higher ups." He looked around. "Foster?" She waved from her and Aria's position. "Okay. Lewis, go guard them?" She nodded, going that way. "Thor, can you help corral any more idiots?"

"Of course. I would not wish the local officers to have to tussle with such beings." He went to help Aria learn about animals. He had barely heard of red pandas.

Brock looked at the officers, who were calling that in. Brock called in Fury. Who showed up with Hill behind him. He pointed. "Tried to grab Aria Lewis," he said quietly. "Foster had to call in help from Thor to guard her earlier. Lewis was sleeping in so Aria talked her aunt into the zoo apparently."

Fury nodded. "It's good for kids to come to the zoo. This one...." He looked down. "Isn't he HYDRA?"

"Excuse me?" Darcy demanded. "He was *what*? Why would they want my little girl?"

"Don't know yet," Brock called. "Stay with her. Hit anyone who shows up."

Aria beamed at him. "Some day soon I get my own tazer." She beamed at her mom. "Then I get to be an official intern, right, Mom?"

"That's right, when you get one you get to be an official intern, sweetie, but it won't be until you're at least six so you can hit people effectively. They're too heavy at four." Aria pouted but nodded. "We'll figure it out, sweetheart." She took her back to cuddle.

"Mom! I don't need cuddles!"

"Yeah, suck it up, I do." Aria huffed but did cuddle her mother. Jane grinned at her. "Sorry that they turned your day at the zoo into a problem, Jane."

"It was good until someone tried to grab her and they didn't have anything to do with any of this. Then the agent showed up. It was suspicious so I called Thor."

Thor nodded. "It was wise to do," he agreed. "The agent was not doing what he should."

"We can ask him why," Hill said. "Someone left him living."

"I don't tend to kill people," Darcy said, staring at her. "Let me know, okay?"

"Gladly, Lewis. Um, scales," she said with a hand wave.

Aria looked then grinned at her mother. "They're cute, of course. Because we're Lewis girls."

Darcy grinned at her. "That's right, we are. All Lewis girls are cute."

Jane nodded. "That's why I'm not as cute."

Thor scowled at her. "You are so, hush that, Jane." She scowled. He stared back. "You are more than cute and pretty enough to be of Darcy's tribe. Do not argue with me, I could not have dated you if you were not at least cute and pretty." Jane hit him on the arm but followed Darcy and Aria to the next exhibit to get the kid away from the violence.

Hill frowned at Brock. "She's moving the kid so she doesn't have to see us hurt them."

"Oh. That's good then. A firm mom move I guess." She looked at the being on the ground. "You will tell me what you had planned or I will have someone talk to you for me so I don't mess up my manicure." The man spluttered.

A female cleared her throat, showing two Avengers behind them. "Can I perhaps help?" Natasha Romanoff asked. Clint slurped from his drink.

Brock pointed. "Backing up or showed up to snatch Aria as well."

"Interesting," she said, staring at the mess of human. Then at the alive one. Who was trying to wiggle away. "Unlike Darcy, I am not a nice young woman." She walked closer. "You will tell us all. Won't you," she said, staring at him until he made begging noises. Clint slurped another drink, staring at him. "He does not like those who would hurt children. Nor do I." Brock got out of the way. "You can guard," she ordered. "Preferably the child and mother."

"And the astrophysicist and Thor," he agreed, going to do that. He didn't want to witness that. "Wait on me," he called, jogging to catch up to them. "Good idea to move on from there," he told Darcy quietly, getting a smirk back.

Aria looked over at him. "We're checking on the monkeys in case Auntie Jane's bridge brings some. Monkeys seem to be everywhere on earth so they should be everywhere the bridge connects to but it may take a few months to put them back so we need to know how to take care of them."

"Most of them eat vegetables," he said with a smirk. "A lot of vegetables." She sighed but nodded, turning to look at the monkeys. She wiggled to get down and went to talk to the person who was wearing a zoo shirt. Darcy sighed and followed her. The zoo employee smiled at them when Aria told her why she wanted to know about what monkeys ate. She explained what they fed to the monkeys and how they could make sure it was healthy for alien monkeys. Aria thanked her and danced off to stare at the monkeys.

Jane shrugged. "I don't know why she thinks the Bifrost will bring monkeys but thank you," she said quietly.

"It's always good for kids to ask," she said with a smile. "She has a great imagination."

Darcy nodded. "Yes she does. She wanted to bring tiny flying dragons too." She went to follow her daughter. "Thank you! I know she has a lot of questions sometimes." She picked up Aria again. "No getting away from the group," she reminded her. Aria hummed and nodded, watching the monkeys.

Brock looked at Thor. "Does Asgard have monkeys?"

"Not that I'm aware of but you never know where the bridge will first connect to." They followed the kid, though Brock looked back to check on the interrogation going on.

Clint Barton was strolling their way with a new drink from a drink cart. "Hey," he said with a nod and a smirk for Brock. "The kiddo?" He pointed. "That's cool. She must like animals." He went to talk to her. Thor had praised her being smart and a bit of a smartass. "Hey."

Aria looked at him over her mom's shoulder. "You don't look like the other agents but I remember you're one."

"I'm Clint, I work with your Uncle Thor, and I fire arrows."

"Oooh at bad things? Like deer or bunnies or..."

"Only at bad things. Which you probably won't be. Your mom has sense."

"Oh, okay. Do you like monkeys?"

"I think they're cute and really weird. Show me the one you liked most, kiddo?" She waved him over and pointed at one grooming another one. "Awww, it's cute!" She nodded, leaning on her mother's shoulder. "We can sit if you want a rest break."

"I'm good. There's more types of monkeys." He nodded, walking them off together.

Thor smiled at Clint's back. "He is good with children. I have no idea about children other than her." He, Brock, and Jane went after the other trio. They got a report over Brock's comm system that the problem was removed and that HYDRA had wanted the price on Aria and Darcy's heads. Brock paused to call back about that, and sighed. "Darcy." She looked over so he waved her over. "Tell her, Hill."

He handed over the earpiece. Darcy put it in and listened. He grabbed her arms when she started to growl and sat her down. He took the earpiece back. "The party line on this is.... Yeah, I can do that. Yup, sure, we'll guard the kid. Tell me how many more want money from that piece of shit. Thank you, Hill." He hung up and looked at her. "So I'm back to guarding you both," he said, staring at her. "This time we won't need a cave and the ones who were supporting him are in jail. He's in jail. His lawyer isn't."

"Is it the guy who showed up with the fake demands?" she asked quietly.

"No. Different guy in London. The European SHIELD office will handle it and tell us tomorrow. As far as we know, he's a dead man."

"Nope, he's being sued first," she said, smirking at him. "That would cause his family in Boston and London a lot of noteworthy cringing. She could use a good hoard."

He grinned and texted that to Fury, who agreed they could push that and then take him out. "Let's get the kid back to the tower?"

She nodded. "We can do that. Aria, pack it in for the day. We need to go home to feed the Jane."

"Yes, Mom," she sighed, looking at her aunt. "You should've said you had belly grumbles! We could've gotten you food!"

"Your mother reminds me of that repeatedly."

She grinned. "Of course she does. That's who I learned it from," she quipped with a smirk. "Let's go feed her belly grumbles please, Uncle Thor."

"Of course, Aria. Let's go help your mother cook dinner." He took her to carry. "You're getting very big."

"I'm nearly four," she reminded him, then grinned. "Mom said I could have a party at the kid pizza place."

Clint grinned at her. "That'll be a lot of fun for you." He was sure Darcy would need to get drunk afterward but that's what moms did he guessed. They went back to the tower and Darcy cooked for everyone and they played games with the kid to keep her from getting too stressed out.

Her mom could go into the bathroom after Aria was down to have a fit.

***

Brock looked over the guard shift the next morning, shaking his head. "No." He turned when he heard someone and nodded at Pepper Potts. "I'm removing these guards for someone better."

"Why did HYDRA come after Aria?" she asked quietly.

"The one they wanted to force mate her to put out a price on both their heads. HDYRA thought it'd be fun to get them then hand them over apparently. They think Darcy can do some bigger things than she can. They want to test it in someone Aria's age. They'd probably destroy the guy after taking his money and keep the duo."

"All right. I'm sure you've told her?"

"She had a 'fuck that, I'm going to make him suffer before he gets to die' fit last night," he said then grinned. "We all clapped at it. He needs to die but he can gladly pay them first."

Pepper nodded. "Are those Stark gaurds?"

"No, they're lower SHIELD agents and ineffective. Bordering on dumbass. I'm calling up better guards. Mostly changers because this is our people screwing up."

"That's fine. Let me know personally if things change. I know the ladies hate this going on."

"Lewis was worried she'd have to leave Jane to stop all this stress."

"Not likely. Assistants like that are worth their weight in platinum. I wish Tony had one." She went to talk to Darcy while Brock handled the security needs of the labs.

Brock looked at his chosen lieutenants in the dragons within SHIELD. "People, that idiot went after Lewis and her daughter by offering a price on their heads," he noted. They all groaned at that. "Which apparently HYDRA took." They stared at him, mostly glaring. He nodded. "Lewis has let us handle him going to jail and/or dying but she's back in vindictive land again and said he's going to pay for this greatly. And all the others that're involved." A few snickered. "She's serious. She's put in a legal challenge against him to pay reparations for the snakes and all that shit that went on."

"Her daughter should be able to afford school," Pepper said as she walked past them. "Aria was worried about daycare so she's in the lab."

"We'll make sure no one explodes the floor," Agent Pekin noted. "Thank you, Miss Potts." She nodded, going back to her office to make notes on all this. "Think she'll get them into court before we take him out?"

"We think HYDRA wants to see how she did that and take the kid for a future operative," Darcy said as she came out to stare at them. "Don't make my daughter paranoid. Right now she thinks the bad people are getting arrested. She's three." She gave them a pointed look then looked at Brock.
"Most of us aren't doing anything that would make an explosion today. Friday is a testing day and Thursday has a few late that night somewhere else. We'll be home that night. I've already called off my date for tomorrow." She walked off to get something from the snack machine. "Let me know what I need to do to help guard us."

"Just relax for now and don't get too tense. You'll be too tired to react when something does happen," Brock said. She nodded at that, walking off eating her M&M's. He looked at the other changers, who just nodded back.

"My wife does that same thing but it means she's at the volcanic level of temper," one of them said quietly. "Let's find a way to stop it sooner? Before she has to explode?"

"Too late," Darcy called from the lab. "The lawyer was amused though."

"Great," that one said, ducking his head. "Usually I buy her something pretty for that temper." He walked off. "I'll take the other end of the hall."

"Thank you. Spread around the labs and the nearby entrances. Make sure they don't get in by helping the building's security. If another agent shows up, figure out if they're HYDRA after you knock them out. We had one last night who was a US Marshal and he was an idiot." They nodded, going to do that. He stayed on the lab floor. It was the most vulnerable spot if they got past the others somehow.

***

Darcy waved at the picture on the screen. "No, myself and my daughter are both out of the area, not only not in London for this, but also in protective hiding at work. Not thanks to the snakes but because of the second complaint where he put a price on mine and my daughter's head." She stared at the judge, who was flipping through that complaint. Then she smiled at the moan. "I take you saw the official notice and what happened when she talked an aunt into taking her to the zoo when I was sleeping in?"

"This group noted?"

"HYDRA are the terrorists who infected so many agencies they almost all fell in. Including SHIELD, who we are near. They work in the same tower my boss does and we have a team of them guarding us. Thankfully they figured out it was HYDRA who was coming for my daughter at the zoo and stopped it."

The judge cleared his throat. "You should be here for this, Miss Lewis."

"Yes but I'm presently employed in New York and that cowardly murderer switches cities. He's presently in London avoiding being arrested *again*."

"Again?" the judge asked.

"Again," she said firmly. "That's in the brown folder in front of you. The red is the threats against my daughter and myself he did because we denied his desire and what happened when it showed how broken all the confederation councils are. The blue one I do believe is the proof of those threats with pictures from all the snakes he sent us."

The judge grimaced. "I heard about that in a sideways manner. I was appointed after that."

Darcy nodded. "Half the old council in London was responsible for him being given women by forcing them to mate to him."

The judge grimaced. "I heard. That's disgusting."

"They tried it with me and I fought back," she said simply. "Now he's trying to have us taken and tortured by terrorists. I'm tired of playing. I want to be punitive and when he has to show up to answer to this they can arrest him afterward."

The judge looked at her. "I saw the two agents in the hallway, Miss Lewis."

She grinned. "I have nothing to do with that, Your Honor. That's SHIELD because he played with terrorists."

"Oh, dear." He read through everything, then looked at the camera. "Is your daughter all right?" She tipped the tablet to show her drawing in the corner then back on herself. "Good. The snakes?"

"If I remember right, nineteen of them. Only one wasn't poisonous."

"That's what I read."

"Including things snuck into her toy box and our cabinets in the kitchen. Plus some in the air ducts that got others. He is psychotically dangerous to the community and my nest. I won't put up with this any longer." She chewed on the side of her nail then put it down. "I'm sorry he decided to warp things so much that it brought down multiple councils from forcing women to go to him, but that's his fault and my ancestors would be appalled."

He nodded at that. "So would mine and some of them did such things but never killed them." He looked over the information he had. He looked at her. "Why be punitive?"

"So no one can do it in his name and HYDRA has no more incentive to come after myself or my daughter. If there's nothing there to pay for it...." She waved a hand.

"That's a good point. The government would do it for you probably."

She nodded. "But they're not so I am. They tried the first time he got arrested but the New York confederation council stepped in to get him out of jail because he had so many dirty. It's a shame he brought down so many probably decent families."

"It is," he agreed, looking at her. "Did you sign that document to end the councils?"

"I didn't have to. Yet. Looking at the charters showed how many had broken all their clauses. Which automatically dissolves them by law. If I have to, yes I will. So will a few others. They asked me to hold off to see if they could rebuild it better and the way it should be."

"Good. We're hoping we can rebuild."

"I'm hoping you can rebuild in a way that's just, and right, and in the spirit of the original agreements to be our version of the UN, plus to stop forced matings."

"I can definitely agree with that. Including that the European council needed to go down for not stopping the problems." He sighed and looked at the camera. "You had the right to sue him for the first offense. Why didn't you?"

"Because the local council here decided to ignore everything and let him attack me." She shrugged. "I had to defend myself and it nearly destroyed a whole block and unfortunately got caught on the news."

"That was you?"

"That was us. The one helping us was a SHIELD agent who was guarding us due to all the snakes. The idiot in question had actually tried to sue me and say that we were mated but lied horribly."

"I saw that on the news. Damn it."

She shrugged. "I managed to defend us and get us out of the area because I went into heat."

He nodded. "You should have sued him then in an all changer court."

"Not available here in the city."

"The Yanks are all screwed up," he complained lightly. "All right. With what I have here in front of me, and him not showing up yet to defend himself, I'm going to grant this." The idiot's lawyer complained so he glared at him. "Shut up." He looked at her. "If anything you find that is given to you was theirs...."

"It'll go back to their families. I had that plan already, Your Honor."

"Good." He tapped the papers. "What he's done is disgusting and I would've wanted her to sue him sooner." The lawyer started to complain again. "He went to terrorists to have her and her daughter captured. That's not a good thing," the judge said more firmly. The lawyer tried to complain again. "You're in contempt of court." That shut him up. He looked at Darcy. "Do you have any other plans?"

"I didn't have this plan until my daughter nearly got kidnaped from the zoo by terrorists. I figured one of the other girls' parents would've asked to have the hoard checked for their daughters' things."

"I'm going to agree to that before hand," he decided, making that order. "Which means you may not get much, Miss Lewis."

"I'm fine with that. They lost their daughters. They deserve it. Even though a few were sold by their parents, I don't want to get into that."

"That's a good thing," the judge agreed. "We'll be looking at those matings." They nodded. "For now, have your client appear by force," he ordered. The lawyer did that and the idiot had to appear. The agents got him as he stomped in. "Thank you. Miss Lewis, I hope she's safe."

"I hope so too. I hate to go evil or violent." She grimaced. "I just had to." She hung up and popped her neck, looking at Aria. Who was now napping on her coloring. She looked around with a frown. "What is doing that?" She got up and felt dizzy. "Please let this be hunger. JARVIS?" She went down and the AI got one of the guards in to check them both and take them to the infirmary. The reason for them passing out was found easily enough. It got destroyed too.

***

Darcy blinked at the man standing in front of the chair she was tied to when she woke up. "What do you want and where is my daughter?"

"We wanted to know what you did when you changed. We've seen hysterical motherhood events in the past," the man sneered. "We wanted to see if it was something else."

"Even if it was, you'll die for touching my daughter. There's no way in hell I'd let her be hurt."

"Awww, motherhood," he sneered. "We can harm her greatly before anyone here realizes it."

She stared at him. She looked at the chair she was tied to then him again. "Even if it was a hysterical motherhood moment, you provoking another one would get you dead. Me probably going into heat again but you'd be dead."

"We could handle your heat for you."

"No, not likely. It doesn't really work that way." He changed down to his smaller dragon form. She snorted. "Thankfully we don't rate ourselves on colors as yours is mud." He said something and she heard a kid yell. "That's not Aria, but provoking her first change won't help you either." She was mentally swearing at them and gathering herself for a battle. It was going to be a huge battle. She wasn't a warrior but oh well this time.

She heard the kid yell again and changed suddenly to her full red form, stomping on that small dragon until he nearly died. Then she ripped through the walls with her claws and went for the kids she could hear. They were being held by someone. Who died. Messily. The kid strapped down had a few cuts. Darcy leaned down, using a claw to let her free.

"Melissa, I need you to hide. It's going to be really mean soon. Okay?" She got her free and pointed a paw. "Take Aria and any other kids into a closet and shut the door for me." Aria grabbed the other three kids and hid in the closet. One kid almost got left out but Darcy got him into another closet. She realized she was in the daycare and sighed.

Two new dragons came in and she blew smoke at one, making her stop. "The kids are safely in a closet." That one changed back and ran to check the kids, getting that other one Darcy pointed out to guard in a safe room in the back Darcy hadn't known about. The other dragon stared at her. She stared back. "So," she said. "Are you with them or someone else?"

"I'm SHIELD."

"For some reason I don't believe that." A man ran in. "Agent Pekin, there's a female with the kids." She nodded. "Safe room she said."

"We can check that. The one that took you?" Darcy pointed a paw then stared at him. "Okay. You stay here."

"I'm not moving. I'm really mad and I can't change back yet because of it."

He patted her on the shoulder. "That's fine. Let me handle the kids." He ran to do that. The other dragon there backed out slowly.

Brock stomped in, nodding at Darcy. "You calm?"

"Nope."

"Okay. Try to calm down? The one you stomped?" She waved a paw. He went to check it and nearly had to go 'eww' at the broken body. But they could force him back to see who he had been. He came back to look at Darcy. "What were they wanting?"

"He thought my change during the battle was hysterical motherhood. Had one of the kids cut a few times to make them scream." She looked at him. "He didn't get what he wanted. I just stomped him."

"You did a good job too." He patted her on the arm. "Try to do some breathing to calm down?"

She sighed. "I'm fine. I'm slowly calming myself down," she said impatiently.

"Okay. I know Aria will want a cuddle."

"I can cuddle in this form." She looked at him. "Didn't you tell me that our dragon forms is our natural form?" He nodded. "I'm not hysterical."

"No you're not and I'm happy with that."

She sniffed. "Change," she ordered. "Right now." He backed away. She stared at him. "Right the hell now." He changed into a wolf and she pounced him to fight him. "Commander Rumlow guarded us for a bit. I saw his natural form." The wolf was injured and trying to bite her but she stuck a paw in his mouth to block his jaw while standing on his back. "Stop it, puppy. Before I bite you back." It went limp.

She looked at the man in the door. "I know you're not Stark. He's not a changer. So quit trying." They changed and came at her. She punched one, making that wolf yelp. The other one tried to get her throat but she headbutted him and backpawed him into a wall.

She heard a crunch and sighed. "I hate that." She stared at the lone dragon. "Keep trying." He whined. "If we're really in the daycare, JARVIS! Help the kids please! Or let your boss know!"

"The AI was rendered mute," the dragon in the doorway smirked. "And the one with them will take care of those children nicely."

"I doubt that. I met Agent Pekin's grandma the other day. I'm pretty sure she'd destroy him if he hurt a kid. If I'm wrong, I'll avenge them." A shield came up the hall and hit the dragon to distract him. Darcy blew fire at him, making him scream as he changed back to human and cowered. She stared at him.

"Wow, look, a damsel," she said dryly. She looked at the wolf underneath her. "Are you a damsel that same way?" He whined in pain. "Hmm. Agent Pekin, are the kids all right?" she called. No answer. "Oh, great." Bucky stepped into view with the shield. "Agent Pekin and some female I think was one's mom, have the kids in some safe room in the back and they didn't answer. Get the kids please?"

He nodded, going to do that. She sighed, sitting down. "We'll see who this was from," she decided. "And then I get to eat someone. Or maybe a whole cow. I'm hungry for some reason." She looked at the wolf under her paws. "Are you hungry?" He just whined louder. She hummed and checked the others she had handled. "Well, I guess I made a mess. I'll have to volunteer to clean it up." She heard Aria yelp and went to help Bucky. Who was trying to get the kids out of the closet. "Aria?"

"Mom!" She stared up at her. "That's not metal guy! It's not!"

"Okay, all the adults need to get away from all the kids until someone *I* fucking trust gets here. Because she can tell that people aren't right." Aria ran back in there and she pulled the door closed and locked it. She sighed, looking at the other kid. "You're good at being invisible, kiddo. Aria, you forgot one." She came to get him and then did it again. She looked at Bucky. "So....."

"Hail..." He started to speak and sneer so she batted him on the head into a wall. He came up to fight her so she knocked him down and sat on him this time. He was not getting out from underneath her heavy butt.

She stared at the other two. Agent Pekin looked sick. The other woman was crying. "I have no idea about either of you but according to my daughter, who can tell sometimes, you're not the way you're supposed to be so I'm going to wait on someone I trust to come help the kids. All right? We're all going to sit here and wait on someone to help the kids." She looked back at the wiggling body, shifting her weight. Bucky moaned and went still. "Thank you. You're making me itchy and I hate itchy scales." She spun the shield a few times while humming until someone else ran in. She stared at him. "Well, I know who you are but we've never formally met. So are you one with them? Or been brainwashed or anything?"

Sam Wilson stared at her. "No, I haven't. Though nice job sitting on Barnes."

"He stared to hail HYDRA. My daughter could tell they're not normal so they're locked in a room." She pointed. "All the kids I found."

"Good!" he agreed, nodding at that. "I can agree that's a great thing, Lewis. Are you still angry enough to blow fire?"

She looked at him. "If I need to, I can always blow fire." She smirked. "I'm a mother, we can do that even if we don't change."

"Point. My mother can too and we're normals," he decided. She grinned. "What's with the wolves?"

"One of them tried to pretend to be Commander Rumlow but I smelled it wasn't him so I had him change. The few wolves attacked but tiny little mouths aren't really a full match for scales."

"You've got a few open cuts."

She shrugged. "It'll heal. I'll cry later."

He nodded. "That's what a mother does." He called it in and the actual Stark ran in. "We think Barnes was rebrainwashed." He kicked Bucky's foot. "She said he started to call out for HDYRA."

Darcy nodded. "I knocked him into a wall when he started to hail them. He kept fighting back so I knocked him down and sat on him."

Stark patted her on the side. "That's not a bad form of restraint, Lewis. The kids?" She pointed. "Let's work on getting them out of the way. Wilson?"

"I'm not letting anyone go anywhere with people I don't know!" Aria yelled. "Fuck that shit!"

"Language," Darcy called back.

"Tough noogies, Mom! This is a time to swear!"

"It is," she agreed. "Still, less swearing, Aria. I appreciate the sentiment and the actions but not the language you used."

"Yes, Mom," she sighed. "Still true though!"

"We can arrange that," Stark agreed. "Let me get Dum-e down here. She'll trust him."

Darcy looked at him. "He can be reprogrammed," she said quietly.

"She doesn't understand that, Lewis. Aria, want Dum-e?"

"Please! He's safe and cuddly. We can cuddle him."

"Sure." He looked at her while sending for the robot. It trundled in and Aria let it in to cuddle the kids with her. She locked them back in again. Stark shrugged at Darcy. "It's safe."

"I hope so. They had one kid they cut to make her scream," she said quietly. "The second one I decided to get stomp happy like it's a line dance."

He grinned. "I'm sure you'd do fine with that, Lewis." He got guards down to clean up the mess. Rumlow finally got found and stomped in. Darcy stared at him and Stark got out of the way. "There was a fake you."

"They gassed the whole lab floor," he told her.

"I finished talking to the judge and turned to find Aria passed out so I called for JARVIS. Then I guess I passed out," she said.

He sighed, nodding. "That's reasonable. You can't fight sedative gas, Lewis." She stared at him so he changed. "See, it's me." She leaned over to sniff and relaxed. He made himself appear more relaxed as he changed back. "They had a fake me?" She looked and pointed at one of the wolves out front. "Ah."

"I realized you didn't smell right and he turned into a wolf."

"That sucks." He stared at her. "Can you change back?"

"Not sure yet," she admitted. It cracked up Tony. "Right now I'm kind of seething that they cut one of the girls to make her scream to make me act." She cleared her throat. "And I'm wondering if we should probably hightail it to somewhere safer again. Probably for good."

"Like hell," Stark ordered. "Get off Barnes at least since Spangly is here?" She got off Bucky's head and back. He wheezed in a breath and got up. Rumlow knocked him out with a nerve pinch while he was disoriented. "Rogers, he went back."

"Fuck." He looked at Bucky then at Darcy. "Did you fight him?"

"I batted him a few times. He kept getting up so I sat on him. It was safer for everyone."

Steve nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea," he decided. He put cuffs on Bucky and got him taken to the infirmary to be guarded in there. He looked at Stark then at Darcy. "The kids?" She pointed at the room. He knocked. The kids screamed and he winced and sighed. "Guys, it's safer," he called. "Can we get you to the infirmary so your parents can pick you up?"

"No!" Aria called. "How do we know you're not a bad guy. I haven't met you yet! Strangers can be bad."

"I'm right here, Aria," Darcy called.

"Hey, littlest intern, I'm here too," Tony said. "C'mon, you know me." Aria cracked open the door with the robot right behind her. "You can sense me and tell I'm me." She did and nodded. "So let me help you and the robot into the infirmary so their parents can get them?"

She looked at her mother, who nodded. "Mom says it's okay and it's him. I delivered him papers before for Mom." Tony got all the kids to the infirmary with Wilson helping by carrying two who were too little to walk that far. Dum-e followed them to keep watch on them.

Darcy sighed and changed back, wincing as she rolled her shoulders. "Damn it."

Brock stared at her. "You have a few cuts."

"The wolves tried awfully hard." She touched one and shrugged. "I'll heal. Am I under arrest?"

"For being kidnaped?" he countered. "Does that happen often?"

"In the US? Yes!"

"Oh. No, not as far as I know. We'll figure this out." He walked her off. "Who was the other dragon?"

She shrugged. "He said I'd prove it was hysterical motherhood. He had the kid scream by having her cut. At the second scream I changed and stomped."

"Good. That's a good response," he said calmly. He was going to keep her calmer. "And if this was really HYDRA I'm going to stomp them for you."

"Agent Pekin has something wrong according to Aria."

"We'll check both of them. It'll be okay." She sighed but nodded, swallowing. "You can lock yourself in the bathroom in the infirmary so your daughter doesn't worry," he said quietly. She nodded more quickly and ducked into one to cry while he stood guard.

Agent Hill stomped in. "She protected the kids. Aria said something's wrong with Pekin, and he did seem fairly pale. The other one I don't know that well. She knocked Barnes down and sat on him to keep him down. She has a few cuts," he said to the nurse coming over. "She fought a few wolves off in dragon form."

"We can stitch them," the nurse said. "Is she all right?"

He listened by tipping his head then shook his head. "Still crying in reaction." The nurse nodded and got the nearest bed ready to treat her. He looked at Hill. "She was worried that the stupid in the US would have her arrested."

"Not for protecting herself and the kids," she said. "Even if they tried, we'd overrule them." He nodded. "You told her that?"

"That I doubted it'd happen."

"Good. Lewis, can you come out yet?" she called quietly.

"Give me a minute," she said quietly, and they heard water running. And the toilet flushed then more water running. She opened the door, staring at Hill. "How's my daughter?"

"In the other room talking to Stark," Hill said. She stared at her. "You're not in trouble for protecting you or them." Darcy sighed and nodded, going a bit limp. "Let's get you treated before your daughter sees and freaks out." Darcy got led to the bed and let the nurse clean the injuries.

"Can you change to your scales in the injured areas?"

Darcy shook her head. "I can do my arms or legs but not my chest or neck." She changed to her smaller form, letting the nurse clean those areas too. The nurse smiled and fixed them up, letting Darcy change back for stitches now that the scales in the way were trimmed.

Brock looked at Hill. "So?" he asked patiently.

She blinked at him. "We're finding out if it was HYDRA and how they retriggered Barnes."

"He had the shield," Darcy called quietly. "And something on his arm."

"We can check that," Hill agreed. She looked at him. "If you hear something..."

"I'm going to stomp someone then present their body to her," he said dryly. "It's only right."

Hill nodded. "Not a bad idea. Let me check on the kids and Barnes. Their parents are on their way from a safe room we had them in." She went to check on the kids first. The nurses in there stared at her. "Parents are on the way," she said quietly. "All but one was found."

"I came down to play but my mom was at home," that girl said, staring at her. "She had a migraine."

"We'll let her come down to get you." She looked at the kid with the two sets of stitches on her arm. "Your father is really mad at them for hurting you and he's been ranting and screaming in a hallway. We'll make sure he can pick you up without anyone having to see him having a dad fit." She went to make that order. That father was sneering about all this. An agent came up with the plans someone had in their phone.

"They were going to take all the children to use," she said, staring at that father, who huffed. "Your daughter has two tiny lines of stitches. They did enough to make her scream," she said calmly. "But she's fine. Lewis got them into a safe area when she screamed the second time."

"Why do they want that one?" he demanded.

"Because she fought back against a murderer and he put a price to get her body to abuse. HYDRA saw the battle with her saying no and thought she'd make a good bit of fun." She grimaced. "She guarded the kids."

He nodded. "I don't blame her. I'm worried the daycare won't be safe enough."

"Stark got the kids moved because Aria wouldn't go with anyone she didn't know. Him and one of his robots." He huffed again. "We told her you'd get to calm down before you yelled and scared her."

"I'm not going to yell at Lewis. It's not her fault. I know that. But my little girl and I need to go sit and cuddle, Agent Hill."

"Granted. They're all in the back right side of the infirmary together." He nodded, going that way with the other parents. Including the one who hadn't been in the lab. Aria was let into where her mother was being fixed up, letting her pounce her mother. Darcy shifted her some so she wasn't on an injury but still cuddled while the nurse finished up.

Then the temper showed up in the form of Jane Foster. The nurse saw her and got out of her way.

Brock stared at her. "They're all fine, Foster. Calm down. You're not a five-foot-six hurricane of anger. You'll scare the others." Jane glared at him. "They gassed the whole floor, Foster. Calm. Down." He glared at her until she huffed but calmed herself slightly. He pointed. "They're in there." Jane went in to check Aria and nag Darcy. Brock let the nurses nag Foster for now. Before he shoved her into a closet and locked her in there for a few minutes. The next time he heard her blame Darcy he did just that and slammed the closet door in her face. "No one needs that shit, Foster." He went back to his guarding post.

Darcy looked at him. "She's just upset, Brock."

"It wasn't your fault," he said firmly, staring at her. "And it's wrong of her to say that, especially in front of the kid." She looked down but nodded. "Foster can get out of her time out when she's less huffy and not blaming the wrong person." He looked at a staring parent. "We're going to find out why they wanted to take all the kids as their newest...employees like Barnes," he told her. "And I'm going to beat them to death for it." The mother smiled, walking her daughter off cuddled to her shoulder.

Aria came out to stare up at him. "You're going to scale up soon. Mommy does when she gets that mad." He stared down at her. "It's how dragons are sometimes. Not that I don't want to too but that might not be good right now. Even though it'd give Mom and me someone to pet." She went back to cuddling her mother.

Brock snorted but did make himself appear more calm. He was fighting some of his scales coming up. Stark stopped by him. "I'll make sure they're safe in their apartment tonight."

"Sure," he agreed with a nod. "Good idea. Let us help with HYDRA, okay?"

Brock looked at him. "Maybe." He smirked. "I might leave someone something."

Stark grinned back. "Well try really hard. Rogers wants some of them now too and so do I for doing that in my tower." He walked off with his robot following. "I'm going to have Lewis and Foster moved to a bigger apartment on a safer floor. That way Lewis has her own room too." He went to talk to Pepper, who agreed it was a good thing.

They had a nice four bedroom apartment open. Or a couple of two bedrooms that they could be next to each other again. That way Foster had an office so she could work from home. Agents moved everything for them, though a few did give the sex toys in the kitchen an odd look. Stark looked then texted Foster, who sent back why. "It's to keep the kid from finding them, people." The agents just nodded. That figured to them.

***

Brock looked around the new apartments, which were joined by a big hole in a wall, nodding slowly. It was nicer. Darcy was putting Aria into bed. Then she came out sighing. "You okay?"

"They put my clothes in the room with her bed."

"Maybe they mixed them up because they're the same size?"

"Hers had disney sheets."

"You never know about some agents. You can arrange them tomorrow." She nodded, going into the kitchen. She saw the three sex toys in a plastic tub on the counter and put them up in a higher cabinet she could barely reach. He grinned at that.

"She went searching in my dresser the other day," Darcy said with a shrug. "It keeps her away from them."

"It's not a bad idea. I'm guessing my mother had a locking drawer or didn't have any." He settled into a chair he could see the door and the hole in the wall from. "You should rest. You're exhausting yourself."

"I... yeah." She ran a hand over her hair. "They hate us," she said, looking at him. "I'm sorry we brought all this drama."

"Not your fault. That was theirs." He stared at her. "Go curl up in dragon form."

"I...it's like I feel creepy about it now." She flopped down on the couch. "If I wasn't a dragon none of this would've happened."

He kicked her foot, making her stare at him. "It is not your fault!" he said firmly but quietly. "Not the fact that you change, none of it was your fault. The idiot stalker and murderer was at fault."

"And he wouldn't have done it if I was more cultured or even not a changer."

"Bullshit. He got three normal women too." She went green and shuddered. "The only one at fault is the one who started all this and got the people in those councils dirty and then tried to give you to terrorists. Quit blaming yourself."

"I don't want to," she said. "But..."

He held up a hand. "Two of the young women he took? They were eighteen, Darcy. They didn't know you could fight back. By their autopsies, they figured it out somewhat." She slumped, biting her bottom lip but nodding. "He was a sick minded bastard. It had nothing to do with you beyond the fact that you're pretty and had a daughter he could branch off into." She shuddered. "It's. Not. Your. Fault." He stared at her. "Any of it!"

"I guess," she said quietly. She looked at her hands.

"Go rest," he said more calmly. "You need rest to handle her tomorrow and Foster being angry again." Darcy sighed but nodded, going to rest. Brock considered it and wrote his mother an email about how to help her get over that hump. It was probably pretty normal psychologically but it was still harmful to her.

***

Darcy got yet another email from an aunt she'd really want to gut and cook over an open pit, but she wasn't supposed to do that. But she was still having problems with her change. She had been talked through getting in touch with her dragon form, though she had always had an instinctual merge with it instead. It had made it harder to meditate on all that. So now she was feeling stuck and angry and upset and wasn't sure what to do about anything. She looked at her daughter, who was at her desk in the corner, then at Jane, who was scowling at her. "What?" she asked Jane.

"You look upset."

"My aunt." She let her see that email.

Jane looked at her. "Who's the matriarch of your clan?"

"Well...." She sighed. "That's... yeah, I need to do that but I need to be able to change again. Which I'm having a problem with thanks to all that recently."

Jane sighed. "Can I help with that?"

"No. Probably not. I've got an instinctual handle on it, and most everyone else seems to meditate to bring it up for some reason." She shrugged. "Right now my dragon is feeling guilty about all that coming thanks to her being here."

"It wasn't your fault." She stared at Jane. "It wasn't."

"The thing in the daycare was," she said quietly. "Because I lost my stupid temper."

"They might have...."

Darcy shook her head. "They wanted to make sure I couldn't do it again, Jane," she said quietly but firmly. "That's why they went after the kids." Jane slumped. "That's my fault for not being more careful."

"Not like you could've been more careful when you were protecting both of you."

"I could've let them handle it more."

Jane stared at her. "Why would you trust someone else to handle an emergency for you?"

"I wouldn't!" She sighed. "Which is why I feel hella guilty right now, Jane. And it's created a huge block."

Jane sighed but nodded. "I get that. I get why. But you're going to end up getting hurt because you've got that block. What if they come back again." Darcy shuddered, ducking her head down. "Exactly. So how do we help you get over that?"

Darcy shrugged. "I'll figure it out. Then I've got to go stomp on some aunts again." She sighed, looking at her computer again. She really had to handle that. Maybe Brock had the right idea in that the dragon was the natural form here. She didn't meditate very well and that never seemed to work for her. Instead, she'd talk to them tonight when she napped. If she got to sleep. She hadn't gotten there last night. Aria looked over. "What's up, kiddo?"

"Mom, is it nearly time for lunch?"

Darcy looked at the clock then at her. "No but it's nearly time for dinner. Sorry, I forgot to set a timer. Jane, dinner?"

"Yeah, I can work in my office area." They locked up for the night and went up to make dinner and let Aria have her nightly bath. Then Darcy tried to get into her dragon form, but it was still feeling guilty that someone, a kid, got hurt because she could change. So she couldn't get there and ended up laying on the couch to work through it again.

If that meditative stuff actually worked for her, she might be able to talk to her dragon form but she couldn't do that. She shifted, wincing as her hips hurt. "Oh, great, and in heat too," she muttered. "Just fucking great." She went limp, considering things. She knew it was her mental block, she and the dragon weren't separate. She had to work through this.

Then she'd have to go yell at her relatives about their stupid problems. "I really need to make a whole different lineage and family," she decided. "But that would mean having more kids." Which she didn't want to think about and was kind of freaking her out. Her last time, it hadn't been that pleasant.
Her mother hadn't shown up until it was over with. Most of her family had yelled at her about it. And she just really wanted to kill them all but she had been too tired. Now...still tired but for different, Jane related, reasons. She heard Aria have a nightmare and got up to go soothe her. The nightmares Darcy had weren't helping her sleep either.

***

Rumlow looked at the mother and kid the next day. They were walking past his desk toward the infirmary. Neither one looked like they had gotten any sleep or were in any shape to do anything but nap. He considered talking to Foster, but he realized Darcy would hate that. He got up and went to stop them. "Are you okay?" he asked Aria quietly, staring at her.

"I'm okay. Just twisted my knee." She pointed at her good one. "It hurts a lot and we need a new ice pack."

He nodded. "You could be carried."

Aria looked at Darcy then at him. "She's too tired for that and I'm too big."

He picked her up. "How about I do that and bring you back to your mom while she goes to rest?"

She blinked at him. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I kinda like you, kid, and seeing you limping around sucks." He looked at Darcy. "Go rest and I'll bring her back to your apartment?"

"We were there but my ice pack is missing." She rubbed her forehead. "I can do it, Brock."

He grinned, walking Aria off. "I'm using her to avoid a meeting, Lewis. Go sit down and I'll bring her right up."

"Thank you." She went back to her couch to rest for a few minutes.

Brock looked at the kid outside the infirmary. "Nightmares?" he guessed. She huffed but nodded, pouting down at his chest. "Hey, they happen to all of us, Aria. It's perfectly normal after bad things happening." He tipped her chin up. "It happens to all of us and you can talk to me about those too. Okay?"

"We're not your den mates," she said, staring at him. "The book talked about that."

"Well, you kinda are because I head the ones here in SHIELD and the ones in the lab. So technically you are. That's why I can answer questions for you."

She put her head on his shoulder slowly. "I hate the nightmares and they wake Mommy up," she said quietly.

"Yeah, and she's probably had some of her own." He patted her on the back. "We can handle that. That's what parents do for kids. Your mom's helping you handle yours and we'll help her handle hers." Aria looked up at him. "Really."

"Are they coming back?" she asked quietly, looking like she was about to cry.

"Not if I can help it. They made a horrible mistake trying for you at the zoo and we didn't get them before they made an even bigger one by coming here. Now, they're not going to get a third chance."

She sighed, slumping in some. "I miss having friends."

"I know and it's not your fault they showed up. The same as it's not your mom's. Even if she does try to blame herself, it's not anyone's fault but the bad guys." A nurse looked out. "She could use an ice pack, she twisted her knee."

"I can get one, Commander." She looked at the girl. "You look like it's nap time." She smiled gently.

Aria shook her head quickly. "I can't do that. It's evil to sleep." She put her head back on his shoulder.

The nurse looked at him. "Oh," she said, realizing why. She got him an ice pack to help her. "If she needs it, we have a counselor on staff."

"We'll see, I'll ask her mother," Brock said. "I'm just helping. Thank you."

"Thanks," Aria echoed.

He walked her off. "If you need to talk about the nightmares I can listen, Aria. I'm going to be here for the next two days, then I've got a mission coming and I can listen when I get back." She looked up at him. "Really. I can help if you want me to. The same as your aunt could."

"Auntie Jane doesn't understand people and Grandma would help but she's being a butthole about Mom."

"Your grandmother needs to have her mind rearranged," he agreed, staring at her. "None of this was yours or your mother's fault."

She nodded, putting the ice pack on her knee. "I know. Mom said bad guys are super stupid. Doesn't mean they didn't hurt kids to get us."

He cuddled her. "It wasn't because of either of you."

"It was what Mommy did to protect us."

He tipped her face up again. "What your mom did, a lot of others could do if they're pushed there. They just haven't been pushed that far." Aria blinked at him. "Really. Plenty of us can stomp on others to protect the ones we care about. Your mom may have done a few things that were bigger than what some people do, but that's because they never had to try. They never had to handle super stupid bad guys."

Aria relaxed and nodded at that, putting her head back down. "And I know it was scary but we came to rescue you as soon as we could. The same as your mom did." She nodded again. He carried her upstairs. "Remember, you can talk to me about bad guys, Aria. I may be out of the area for missions sometimes but you can record an email for me."

"Then Mom would hear."

"Could be but if you ask your aunt she'd help. Or you could steal your mother's phone and have JARVIS help you do it. He can probably send an email for you."

"You think?"

"I'm pretty sure. JARVIS ordered me dinner last night so he could probably send an email for you." She nodded, cuddling in and holding the ice pack on her knee. He knocked on the door, handing her over. "They offered a counselor if she needed one but we talked about it," he told her quietly. Darcy scowled. "And I reminded her she could talk to me if she wanted to, Lewis."

She sighed but nodded. "It's good she can talk to someone beyond me and Jane." She looked at her girl, who cuddled in and yawned. "We'll try a nap on the couch to cartoons, kiddo." She kissed her on the head. "Thank you."

"Welcome." He went back to his desk.

Darcy laid down with Aria on her chest, letting her talk about what Brock had told her. She could agree with it, it helped her daughter quit feeling like it was her fault. No kid Aria's age should ever feel guilty for idiots attacking kids. It was good he had helped break that cycle for her.

***

Brock got handed the file on the idiot that had started all these problems, reading it over while Fury watched. "Anyone tell her yet?"

"That's classified and need to know, Commander."

Brock stood up. "I think she needs to know, Fury. It nearly got her killed on purpose." He walked it off. "Fire me if you want."

"Damn it." He tried to follow but a few of the other STRIKE agents got in his way and just stared at him. "She doesn't..."

"She does. She blames herself for them coming here and hitting the daycare," Rollins said firmly, glaring at him. "The same as most of us would. So drop off."

"Fine. Whatever. It doesn't get out." He stomped off because he had lost this round.

Rollins looked at his teammates. "Let's make sure they never come back, right?" They nodded. HYDRA was a menace they had been fighting anyway.

Brock tapped on the lab's door, nodding at Darcy. "C'mere please." She sighed but got up and came to stare at him. He held up the folder. "On the moron."

She took it to read. "Should I be able to see this?"

"Nope but Fury can sit and spin, sweetheart."

She looked up at him. "What?"

"Too old a saying?" he quipped.

"The pet name?" she asked patiently.

"It happens sometimes. Just read that." She sighed but read it over, getting very angry, and still no scales. She finally turned and kicked the wall a few times then went back to reading. "Exactly. It wasn't anything you did, Darcy." She turned to stare at him. "They went after a lot of us to get new warriors since they lost Barnes. They thought they could turn you into Romanoff." He stared down at her. "It wasn't your fault. And I'm mad that you still can't scale up."

"I..."

He put a hand over her mouth, staring at her. "They had no idea who you really are, Lewis. They just saw a single mother who had a lot of college loan debts."

"Let her go," Jane called.

"Shut up, Foster." He looked at Darcy again, seeing the glare. He stared back. "If they had known who you are, who your daughter is, they would've snatched you off the streets in London due to your father's lineage." He let her mouth go. "If they knew about your great-grandmother they would've taken you in and made you a point at fixing the old system so they were on top again. You would've been brainwashed into being a figurehead and then taken out when you got popular to prove their point they could rule them all."

"I don't want any of that."

"I know that. Which is why you didn't mention it before very often. They *still* don't realize who your father is, or your aunts or any of them. And that's kept you at an average level of safety. You being a single mom actually put you in more danger this time."

"I..." She rubbed her forehead.

He tipped her face up again. "I went undercover in them to stop them, Lewis. They thought you'd be usable and your daughter could follow in the Black Widow's footsteps, only with extra abilities. The fact you did all that to protect you both means you're a lot tougher of a target. The one that came here, he wrote it up as hysterical motherhood. Like the panicking mother who lifts a car off her kid, they thought you did that."

"They said that."

He nodded. "I saw the security footage. I couldn't have stopped myself after the first yell."

"I'm a bit worried that I could."

"No, you tried to discourage them. They did it a second time anyway. Only the cold, serial killer sort could've handled that and not changed." He stared at her. "They actually only had you as a side topic to prove themselves right. They wanted a few of the kids. That's why they put something on Pekin to take his mind over and that one kid's mother. That way she wouldn't complain when they came for her kid."

"I was just a side topic."

He nodded. "Yup. People have no idea how hysterical motherhood happens so they were going to test that. You were conveniently in the building when they came for that other kid and her mom for her science work. If they knew the *real* you, you'd be considered a dangerous enemy and they might try to take you out but they don't have many assassins anymore since we have Barnes." He patted her on the cheek, taking the folder back. "Does that help any?"

"I..." She nodded. "It may."

"Can you try to scale up?"

"No."

"Try," he ordered, staring at her. "In case you have to do it to protect her again," he finished quietly. "We're going to take down another group of them in a few days. I need you able to protect yourself and her, plus Foster in case they feint this way to distract us."

She winced. "I didn't want to think about that. We can stay inside."

"Yeah, and that'll probably solve it, but I've also heard your mom is being a bitch."

"I need to go take the matriarch's vows. I really do."

"Which means you have to be able to change into your true form." He stared at her. "Try the meditation again?"

"That has never worked for me. I have instinctual control, not forced."

"I just met them and we talked. I didn't have to force anything."

"I can't do that."

"So you're a full changer, you're the same being," he realized. She nodded. "Okay. Do you want me to try to threaten you to force the change?"

She shuddered, shaking her head. "That's for warriors, Rumlow. I'm not one. I'm a mom, I'm a single mother, they had that part right. That's the most of who I am. I never acknowledge my father and half the time I ignore my mother too. Hell, me taking those vows will shove a few aunts and others out of the family. It'll cause even more stress."

"Mothers do what they have to do to protect their families," he said simply. "The same as matriarchs protect their nests and dens." She nodded, handing back the folder. "Try again," he ordered. "Just try to scale up something. You being stuck means you could be in a lot of danger. What happens if something happens and you try to suddenly change to handle it and don't make it?"

She shuddered. "Yeah, we don't want you to burn up from the inside for that. And your daughter sure doesn't need to see it." He stared at her. "Change." She concentrated and a few scales appeared from her lesser form. "No, your real form. You may end up losing your lesser form."

She winced. "I worked really hard for that."

"I know. That sort of thing takes study and work. Try your real form."

"I usually have to go to one then the other."

"That's because you made yourself do that to protect your identity. You don't have that now." He stared at her. She huffed but did concentrate and bring up some of her red scales. Then she changed to her tiny form, mostly. No tail. He stared down at her. "You're a foot shorter than usual and your tail is missing." She looked and groaned, coming back to human. "And you're in heat."

"I noticed," she complained.

He tipped her face up again. "Let her have a babysitter and fix that somehow?"

"I'm trying!"

"Fine. Now change for real." He started to shift and she stiffened, but changed to hiss at him. He grinned. "Good to know, sweetheart, but I'd never force it. I'm not that way." She changed back and hit him a few times on the arm. "Someone needs to work on your hitting strength too, Lewis." He grinned. "For now, cure that please? It means you're vulnerable and I don't want to help the kid understand any other rituals this year."

"I... I'm not real comfortable with all that."

"Which means you never got any help after the rape," he said quietly. She shuddered. "I get that. I do. I've seen female agents who did the same thing and did it on their own. They had to fight like hell to find a real relationship after years of working on it." She slumped, shaking her head. "And I'm not against you working through it if you can do that, but being in heat will mean something will try to take over on you. Can you fight that if you end up that bad?"

"I have." She looked at him.

"Good. Most people can't, the same as most guys can't fight off a rut. But you doing that will mean it'll only get more traumatic. I can only hope that some day you find a good, real relationship that makes you both happy."

"You're talking like the den alpha."

"I am of SHIELD's dragons," he agreed with a smirk. "There's one that's older but I can beat him in a fight so he doesn't even try to be an elder." He shifted his stance. "We rolled all the ones in the lab under us for their own protection. It kept people like AIM from coming at the changers a few times. So technically, I am the den alpha around here. You're a family matriarch. You've been making nesting motions for years."

She snorted, shaking her head. "I'm not. I'm not decorating or anything."

"Not all nesting is physical. Some of it's adopting extra kids to monitor." He stared at her. Then looked at the staring engineer. Then back at her. "You've been doing the other form of nesting to build a new nest family. Decorating isn't always important as long as it's comfortable."

"I don't even have part of my hoard up here."

"Does that really matter? Most of us don't really sleep on our hoards anymore. Mine's in a bank box. I never see it." He shrugged. "You're in full nesting mode because you've dropped the assholes in your family for what they've pulled. Will that stop when you take the matriarch vows?"

"No," she admitted then huffed. "Damn it!"

"Yup." He nodded as he shifted his stance again to lean against a wall. "You're about the toughest mother dragon we have in this den too by the way. Most of the female dragons are in DC or the LA office. They've got their own dens and they're highly rabid about the ones near them. DC's are mostly admin types so they can't defend themselves.

"LA's has a lot of lower level agents so they're protective over them. The same as this den is over all of you. There's only eight female dragons in this den." She grimaced. "And I'm not offering you the matriarch position. You have to fix your own nest first. That's just a reality but you're the strongest we have emotionally and physically."

He stared at her. "So I need you to do whatever you need to do to work this out for yourself. Your daughter and you both need to be *healthy*. Including post incident trauma counseling if you must," he finished quietly. "However you need to do to work through the trauma before it infects your little girl's future life."

"I tried that, they decided I was just a woman and overruled by my biology."

He snorted, shaking his head. "Slightly but no. That's worse than the alcohol led to it." She nodded. "So talk to whoever and work your way through it. You're not doing your daughter any favors watching you struggle with this. Remember, she'll consider how relationships go by the ones around her."

"She already knows that guys aren't reliable. Thor taught her that."

He winced but nodded once. "Yeah, I can see that. Most guys aren't Thor though."

"Physically? No. Realistically? Most of the guys my age these days would bail."

"Which proves that my generation did something wrong raising them," he shot back, staring at her. "But does your daughter need to see you struggle with guys like that?"

"I've always said I didn't care who they were as long as they were good for both of us."

"I fully appreciate that. But some day I'd like to sniffle at your little girl finding someone nice to date."

"No nieces and nephews?" she joked.

"A few," he admitted. "I'm going to sniffle at theirs too." He tipped his head to the side. "Nice deflection tactic." He gave her a pointed look as he walked off with that folder. "I can get you a referral if you want."

"No thanks. But thank you for letting me know." He nodded as he hit the stairs. She sank down to sit against the wall, staring at Tony. "I'm not formally adopting you to be a Lewis. They're all sorts of bitches."

"That's fine. I'd make you a Stark but the press would run you over." He stared down at her. "You don't have to protect me."

"I know that. Quit fussing at me."

He snorted but looked amused. "Fine. I can help you find a good therapist."

She shook her head. "I've worked it out already, Stark. I'm not damaged that way anymore. Past trauma has it's moments, but I've fought that war already."

"Good." He patted her on the head. "Your kid hasn't brought me a single thing or snuck in to play with my robot."

"She's hiding in the closet today with a coloring book. She said she didn't want to talk about it."

"Aren't there medicines to help with heats?"

"Yeah, and I'm on them." She looked at her suppressant patch. Then back at him. "A female dragon will often go into heat right after a heavy battle because usually we were fighting to protect our nests. Men can go into rut the same way."

"So it's like post battle stress relief instead of the usual PMS reasons?"

"Plus hormones." She stood up. "We have vibrators and stuff to help."

"Uh-huh, but that would require you to go to bed," he pointed out. "And you haven't been. Your daughter has that same tiredness from the nightmares."

"She slept through last night."

"Great job," he said, smiling at her. "Did you?"

"I ...."

"Yeah, you probably didn't sleep at all," he said dryly. "Which doesn't help your hormones regulate themselves at all. Throwing your body out of whack makes all that harder. Trust me, I've had whole months when I didn't really sleep." She nodded. "Take something light tonight?"

"I tried Benadryl last night. Didn't work."

"We can get you a single pill for a low dose sleeping pill. The infirmary wouldn't care to do that. The kid can nap with her aunt if she has to."

"I can't do that to Jane. She has a date tonight."

Stark nodded. "I hope it's fun for her. You both could use more fun and less stress. You can have JARVIS talk to her if she gets up tonight."

"I...maybe." She sighed. "Thanks, Tony." She punched him on the arm, going back into the lab. "Someone found the original notes on me from HYDRA. They had no idea who I am beyond a single mother with college debt."

Jane looked at her. "Seriously?" Darcy nodded, sitting down again. "Is that why the London council picked you?"

"The idiot was one of them. He decided to solve the problem of working for you with application of him so they could replace me with someone they'd like to use." Darcy grimaced. "They still only think I'm a single mom with college debt apparently. They put that down to hysterical mom strength."

"Which is safer in a lot of ways," Jane agreed. She considered it. "I can cancel my date."

"No, you go have fun. We'll be fine. I have tomorrow off anyway."

"Point. Okay, if you're sure." She got back to work. "Aria, would you like to come out to get a snack for us with your mom?" she called. No answer. Darcy went to look and smiled at her daughter napping on top of the printer paper, mostly closing the door again so she could rest. Darcy went to get some snack food for her and Jane then came back to settle in to get back to work.

***

Brock came back a few days later to find Lewis working from home and Foster smelling like Lewis in heat. He sniffed Jane, making her spin to stare at him. He stared at her. "You're wearing her pheromones," he said quietly. "And someone young and stupid will probably try to flirt."

"One did earlier. I've taken a few showers."

"Try some dryer time with a smelly dryer sheet, Foster. It'll solve a lot of that. And help Lewis fix it?"

"I have no idea how to do that. I'm not into girls."

He nodded. "There's a lot of dragons in the area."

Jane stared at him, shaking her head. "Darcy's feeling on that are after marriage."

"Oh, one of those. Okay."

"No, she's not against guys, but she won't *mate* for years."

He nodded. "I've seen others like that. Let me see if I can set her up with someone to help her. Before you send someone into rut by smelling so cute." She scowled. He gave her a pointed look. "You smell like a prime aged female in heat, Foster. Even your ex would be fighting himself." She blushed, going back to the lab with her lunch.

He sighed, going to check his email. He had nine different suggestions of setting Lewis up with someone. She had stayed inside her apartment but you could still tell someone was in heat. He went to the security center to turn on something to help ease the scent from her apartment. Then he went to check on her. "JARVIS, please clean the air around her?"

"I have been," the AI said. "She has multiple scented candles around as well, Commander."

"Okay, I can hopefully set her up with someone." He rubbed his forehead once he was outside her apartment because the scent was affecting him too. He knocked, staring at the young girl who opened the door. "Your mom awake?"

"Of course." She ran off. "I'm going to my room so you can talk about big people things."

"Thanks, Aria." He shut the door and checked the candles, blowing out two. "Vanilla draws out the undertones of the heat scent." She winced. "The pomegranate was a nice idea though. It's strong enough to hide a lot of it." He sighed, staring at her. "I got nine emails asking if I knew someone to fix you up with." She blushed, shaking her head. "Anything needed beyond good in bed?" he asked quietly.

"I've been fixing it."

"Foster smells like a dragon in heat." She winced but moaned, curling up. "I told her about the smelly dryer sheets." He sat across from her. "Please let me set you up with a heat partner? Before you drive someone into a rut?"

"I've taken all the precautions," she defended.

"You have," he agreed with a nod. "Everything we'd expect any of you women to do. Or a guy in rut doing. But clearly..." He stared at her. "Change for a minute?" She sighed but did change the arm skin to scales. She stared at them. "You're totally bleached out, Darcy. That means you can't handle this with the vibes and happy thoughts."

"I..."

"I heard from Foster you'd prefer a human form due to wanting to save that for a real mate. I totally get that. A lot of women do." She relaxed again. "I can talk to a few other unbonded and unaligned males I know. Some are aggressive so I'd warn them you're skittish and it's been a while." She sighed but nodded. "Thank you."

He texted someone and they answered. He sent another one to the same person and he agreed he could help. When he mentioned who and why, he agreed he could be gentle and not spook her. He put his phone up. "Eric will be here tonight. He's a small time wrestler these days." She nodded, looking at him. "Do you need things like condoms?"

"I have some. I use them with the toys."

"That'll work too." He stood up, kissing her on the head like he would her kid. "Let me know if you need stuff to help stop this. I'll bring him up." He left her to settle herself and do whatever women did before sex dates. Including hopefully finding the kid a babysitter.

***

A few months later he heard the big news, Lewis and Foster were moving to her aunt's house upstate by about an hour outside the city. She had taken matriarch vows and removed a lot of the in-laws from her mother's second marriage from the family. He grinned at that news. That was good for her and her family. The fact that she had protected some of the teenage kids was very good of her too. She had sent him a letter too.

Well, Aria had sent him a letter, and she had added onto the drawings at the end. It sounded nice. Jane had her own building out back, basically a garage with an apartment on top to work from. Aria had a lot of area to roam around. She admitted there were a few extra family caves on the grounds but most were ground caves.

He looked at the address, memorizing it in case he needed to go find either of them. Or in case someone needed Jane Foster. He adjusted the SHIELD file so they weren't listed in New York any longer but he didn't put in the new address. They'd have to go looking to find the old family home, and the newer house they apparently lived in.

Aria had said they lived in the new house, not the old house that didn't have water and looked like something from an old west story book. He grinned at that news, tucking it into his bag to go home with him so it wasn't found here. That would do good for them.

He would write back to make sure they had adequate security systems. You never could tell when you needed one.

***
part 6 by Voracity2
Six months later, Brock was headed up to Orange County, New York. It was his problem this time, not the ladies', but maybe Lewis could help him. Because he was stuck and there were going to be problems if he fixed it in the city. It was a really pretty drive. Up closer to the mountains. A lot of woods.

It wasn't a long drive, it was within daily commute length for most of the city. But there was fresh air and Foster could probably easily see stars out here. He passed a lot of non-productive farms but that figured. A lot were probably here for generations. A lot of small towns that should be called quaint. And lots of trees.

The last time he'd driven through this many trees he'd been in Estonia to take down something huge going on. He found the house, which did look kind of like Aria's picture of it. She had done a good job on the color and the fact it had a front porch. He stopped and got out, looking at the woman reading on the porch. "Hey."

She smiled. "The security system you suggested I get said you were coming ten minutes ago." She looked at Aria, getting up to go help her. A quick boost and she was on the big cupped area near the bottom of the tree in the front yard.

"How do I get down?" Aria asked.

"Flip underneath like a sloth, let your feet go, then drop. It's only a little taller than you are, Aria," she said. She went back to walking over to Brock. Aria ran inside and came out with the stepstool, making Darcy roll her eyes. "What happened at SHIELD or Stark this time?" she asked quietly.

He cleared his throat. "The unaligned have become war bands almost."

"I can smell you're in rut," she agreed with a nod.

He nodded more quickly. "And if I did hit it with anyone they'd take offense. Someone would no matter who it was."

"I..." She looked at Aria then at him. "I can help but I'm not into going to dragon form for it, Brock," she said quietly.

"I get that some people prefer..."

She held up a hand. "I'm one person, not two forms. Maybe I'm more like twins in one body but anyone with me has to be able to handle *all* of me." She stared at him. "The woman is just as important as the dragon female."

"I get that," he agreed. "Please?"

"Yeah, I could use it too." She moved closer to kiss him, making Aria giggle. "When you're hungry, go remind your aunt to eat lunch." Aria giggled some more but she was happy in her tree. "All of us have climbed that tree for ages."

"It's good that it's lasted." She walked him back up to the porch. "The city's just become a mess of power struggle. Two of the older male dragons died in the last year and their people are fighting."

"I'm hoping they're keeping it between themselves?"

"Usually. Most of us suggested some sort of fight ring system to work it out." She smirked at that. "But if you step outside your group to fix things like ruts, they'll complain you're stealing or poaching from their dens."

"It figures. Many men are possessive." She looked at him. "Are the women and kids okay?"

"Yeah, they've been fine." He ran a hand over his hair. "I..." He kissed her.

She moaned and leaned into him. "I could use it too, Brock. Relax." She ran a hand over his arm. "Heats happen to all of us." He nodded, kissing her again. She led him inside, through the living room and up the hallway to her bedroom. It was a large master bedroom with an en suite bathroom. It had a lot of windows that looked out on the acres they had. She smiled at him staring out there. "We had almost a hundred acres originally but we've sold off here and there so we're down to twenty-five."

"It's pretty and quiet," he said, looking at her. She nodded. "Aren't you bored?"

"No more than I was with Jane. We're an hour away from a few places that have zoos and museums. Aria gets to climb and play and explore while Jane works in the garage. The other day she found a new nesting cave."

"Your family's?"

"No idea," she admitted with a grin. "Some of the past matriarch's may have used them that way. Could've been Native American. There's no drawings she found so we can't really date it. We did find a necklace but it was a pretty European design from the mid 1800's."

"That's interesting. There's historians."

"I can dig out the family records. I've been meaning to do that to see if I can find where Aunt Emmaline buried her jewelry box. She had some truly ugly enameled things that Aria might like because they're bright."

He snickered. "Kids grow into better taste." He kissed her. "Are you sure you can help? I might need you to go fully over," he said, staring at her.

"I'm in heat even with the suppressants. It's annoying me and I was about to text you to see if Eric the wrestler would come out here."

"He's in Mexico right now." He pulled her closer by the hand on her cheek, kissing her again. "I can handle this for us."

"Please do." He smirked and kissed her again, then pulled her shirt off her. He closed the curtains because he heard Aria dancing around near them. She didn't need to see this. He picked Darcy up and took her to the bed, putting her down to take her clothes off her. He stripped himself more slowly, showing off. Male dragons could be a bit vain about their bodies. She smiled, spreading her thighs for him to get a good view, making him lick his lips. He kissed her as he laid on top of her carefully, shifting to tease her until she was breathless. Then he could do what they both needed.

***

Aria danced into Jane's garage/lab. "Auntie Jane, Mommy told me to remind you to eat lunch when I got hungry."

"Your mom didn't feed you?"

"Mr. Brock showed up and he was all panty and happy to see Mom." Jane stared at her. She grinned. "He was happy to see Mom and they kissed."

"Oh, great. Sure, I can feed you lunch then come back to finish projecting my newest attempt." She took her upstairs to feed her lunch. It did mean that Jane remembered to eat today. Aria was almost as good as her mom at reminding her to eat and do normal people things. "What did you do today?"

"Mom taught me how to get up into the tree out front. I got a stepstool so she didn't have to keep helping until I'm big enough but it's nice. I can read there. Mom said all the cousins used to climb that one too."

"That's a great thing," Jane said with a grin. "Want to go for a walk after lunch?"

"Yes!" She squealed. "Is it warm enough to uncover the pool?"

"Not sure if your mom checked it yet or not. We'll have to check it when she comes out for dinner tonight."

Aria giggled. "If, Auntie Jane. She was all giggly."

"Oh, that sort of visit."

"Yup, he smelled like warm honey on toast."

"Ah." She nodded. "We can go for a walk to see if we can find anything else your mom has to note on the family records." Aria nodded, humming as she ate her sandwich. Jane smiled, eating her own. Afterwards Aria went to the bathroom and they went to wander in the woods together. Aria showed her the nest cave she had found recently. Jane took pictures and they went on again.

Jane found a moss covered lump and frowned, tipping her head. "What's that? Stay here, let me look in case it's dangerous." She went to look closer, finding a door. "Is that a bunker or a sweat lodge?" She scraped at some of the moss. "That's a metal door." She scraped some off the door and frowned. "Oh, fuck." She called Darcy. "It's us, I think we found a weapons bunker." She hung up.

Brock came out shirtless, making Aria's eyes go wide. He looked at himself and sighed. "It's fine, Aria. I ripped my shirt trying to put it on."

"Were you in the bathroom?" she asked.

He blushed. "Yup." Aria grinned at him. Darcy came out with a few things like a shovel and a book. She took coordinates from a program on her phone and wrote a description while Brock got the door free. He frowned at the writing in Russian. "That's weird."

"We might've taken the door," Darcy admitted. "Some of the Uncles were in the war and a few aunts as nurses."

"The door might be a replacement," he agreed. "It doesn't look like it's a tight fit." He checked it before opening the lock and taking the flashlight to check around it for wires. No wires so he carefully opened the squealing hinges. Aria put her hands over her ears. "Foster, take her back a few more feet please. If there's stuff in here it's probably old and unstable." Jane took her to look at that new cave again. Brock flashed the light in there and frowned. "That's not ammunition boxes."

Darcy squatted down to look and moaned. "Oh, that's Emmaline's stuff." She climbed in there and looked at the back. "Nope, a few older rifles and what looks like soaking wet grenades." He got her out of his way to go look, pushing things out. Darcy moved them out of the direct way. One box Brock wasn't going to touch and the box of soaking wet grenades he didn't want to move either. "What's up?" she asked when he motioned her closer. "What's that box?"

"It's listed as Matriarch records."

She moved it out of the cave area, looking inside it. "Oooh, former diaries." She put them aside. "Why are the grenades wet?"

"It's glycerine oil. There's a rubber sack inside the wooden case." He carefully moved them and Darcy went to check out the back corners of the cave with the flashlight. She made a moaning noise and he looked. "Something more bad?" She held up a necklace and he sighed. "Family?"

"Not that I've heard or seen around." She dug out the rest of that group of jewelry. The whole bottom level got scraped to see if they had something buried in there, and there was. That got put into Darcy's outer shirt when Jane came back. They could get that inside while Brock called someone about the antique weapons.

Brock nodded at the military officer who showed up. "This is a matriarch's family home," he noted as he walked over. "Her daughter was exploring and found a bunker with some stored stuff. Including some world war one or two weapons. A lot of old grenades in glycerine too."

The military person frowned. "Why would they do that?"

"Aunt Emmaline was a pacifist but she was in the Korean war as a nurse," Darcy said from the porch. "I tried to call but she's in the Bahamas."

"Are you the clan's matriarch?"

She nodded. "I took the vows not even four months ago. Aunt Emmaline's response was 'finally, I can retire to find cute beach guys'." Brock snickered. "There's some not real fond of me members of the family since I stopped some bullshit but oh well, they were in-laws anyway."

"That's fine, ma'am. Can we clean this up?"

"I have a four-year-old daughter. We wouldn't have called if we didn't want you to handle it." She smiled slightly.

"Agreed." He looked at the weapons. "Those're pretty."

"If you can sell them to a collector for me, that's great," Darcy quipped. "I'll take forty percent of the price."

The officer smiled. "I'll see if that's allowed, ma'am." He looked in the other box and groaned. "Those probably won't fire but that's probably also dangerous. Glycerine can light on fire." Brock nodded, helping him lift that case onto the SUV's back gate so they could drain the grenades off.

"Don't let it go near the tree," Darcy said. "There's been generations of us climbing that thing."

"We'll try," the officer agreed. He got a bucket for the glycerine oil, though a bit did get onto the grass and go down the driveway toward the road. Darcy went inside to answer the phone and came back out talking to someone. "Is that her?"

"Yeah. She said her grandmother put that in there after world war two, they stole the door from somewhere on the way home. She said that necklace I found was her mom's stuff that she decided to bury and I could let Aria have it if she wanted. And those could definitely be taken and disposed of properly. Or sold." She listened, smiling as she chatted with her aunt. She told her about the nesting cave Aria had found, frowning at what she heard.

"Really? That's weird. Okay, what do you want me to do?" She sat down, nodding. "Okay, I can ask that of them. Any other areas that we might find?" She stiffened. "This is where she hid that? No, mine's here in a closet now. I'm still pissed at my mother for sticking up for that evil shit." She listened. "Yeah, I can teach her how to do that. Not a problem, Aunt Emmaline."

She considered. "Are you sure? Some's probably antiques. Yeah, I can do that and let you see. We'll call in a few days. Thanks, Auntie." She took a picture of the military guy and Brock, sending them to her. "Dealing with the grenades." She hung up on her aunt's happy giggling. She walked over. "My aunt thinks you have a nice car. She said it's fine if we deal with those. She mentioned another cave around here somewhere that my Grandma Rosie used once to hide in."

"That's cool," Brock agreed. He looked at the military officer, who was staring at Darcy. "I'm SHIELD," he said quietly. "We pay attention to this."

"We heard," he admitted. "Ma'am, are you doing okay out here?"

"I played here for years when I was younger." She smiled. "It's just my turn to be the matriarch of the clan."

He nodded. "That can happen. Your aunt?"

"Emmaline's in St. Croix at the moment, flirting with her dive instructor."

"Emmaline was almost a legend around here."

Darcy grinned. "I know. She was to us too. She told my mother to blow it out her ass more than once. I'm definitely more like her than my own mother."

"I heard you mention Rosie?"

"My paternal grandmother. She did a lot of my raising too." She grinned. "She was most amused when I told my mother to suck my dick about a few things. Grandma tried to tell me I couldn't manifest one but I told her they made devices for that so my mother could still do that. They even made ones that fit dragon forms so she walked off giggling about that because I was about my daughter's age."

He just nodded. "That's a good thing sometimes." He finished draining the oil and they got the weapons packed so she could calm down. Emmaline had been said to be weird, Rosie had been said to be mean, and it was generally agreed that those two had been old dragon dames who had iron fists of beating young idiots. So this one being like them? They didn't want to mess with her. They might really regret it.

"Let me fill out a few forms so you can sign off on us taking them legally." He got them from the front and filled them out then let Darcy sign it. He got in and drove off, not wondering about why they were finding new nesting caves. If she was weird like Emmaline, she might need it. She did have a shirtless alpha dragon near her.

***

Brock stared at Darcy that night, after dinner and putting the kid down. Thankfully his rut had been slightly solved but he was getting needy again and Darcy was puttering in the kitchen with breakfast stuff. The casserole dish went into the fridge and she cleaned her hands before coming out and sliding into his lap. He grinned at her knowing what he needed. He sniffed her throat and moaned. "Oh, you're in heat."

"I told you that earlier."

"I was wondering how you had such good timing."

"I'm fantastic at it, Brock." She smirked at him as she leaned in to nip his throat. He shivered, his scales going back by force when they popped up. She grinned. "Nice." She kissed him again and let him manhandle her into a better position for him. They both paused when they heard a car, Darcy getting up to see who it was. "Hey, Elaine." She came out to hug her. The girl burst out crying. "Hey!" She cuddled her. "What's going on?"

"My mother's a cunt," she sobbed. "She yelled at me about getting molested and having to take care of things and she said I had to leave everything there."

"Um, no, and I'll send Annabeth to get your things." She cuddled her until she calmed down. "Even if you didn't need the protection I would've kept you in the clan, Elaine. Your mom and dad are fucking morons." She smoothed her hair down. "C'mon, there's the barn apartments and you're more than welcome to use one. Though you may get woken up by a four-year-old little dragon."

"Aria's cute, Darcy." She wiped off her face. "Sorry," she told Brock when she noticed him. "I needed sanctuary."

"Her mother's a bitch of the highest order who wanted her daughter to suffer. We're going to the barn apartment and I'll be right back."

"That's fine. That's what matriarchs do, Darcy." She nodded, letting Elaine get her bag and go out there. Darcy got her settled in and went to send a nasty email, and one to Annabeth. Who sent back that she had already packed everything but two pieces of Elaine's hoard that she couldn't get. Darcy ordered her mother to send them to Elaine or else she'd take her out of the family and take back all the family's hoard items that she had claimed.

Which would devastate their family's finances as they sold a few things recently that she wasn't allowed to. She sent out a family wide FYI about not supporting torturing victims and if they kept it up, she'd end the clan itself and keep all the family shit for herself and her daughter. At least Aria was a proper, good dragon youngling who didn't expect or want their children to suffer.

Brock came over to hug her from behind. "She got attacked too?"

"High school dance and her mother demanded she keep it," she said quietly. "I told Elaine to do what she felt she had to do. That it was her body, her choice, and if that's what she wanted, then it was up to her. They were going to force her to marry the asshole. Who is in jail for good."

"For good?" he asked quietly.

"Yup." She turned to look at him. "He was into them being under fifteen. He thought Elaine was and he was in his forties." He winced. "So he's in jail for good. And his wife beside him."

"Oooh, that would've been messy."

"Yup." She nodded. "Be damned if they're going to hurt her for daring to go to something that hundreds of other kids were at."

"No, it's not her fault and I agree, her parents need a tail upside the head."

"Don't tempt me." She smirked. "I kicked them out of the clan and kept Elaine."

"That's good! A good matriarch handles her family in the way they need. Including getting rid of the bad wood." He cuddled her, letting he calm back down. She was still having a heat reaction, he could smell it. He was still about to pounce. She bit him hard on the chest, making him yelp. "Hey!"

She grinned, strolling off. "Aria has a white noise generator and she's upstairs and over the kitchen. She liked the view of the pool and garden area."

"That's good to know." He picked her up to carry her back to the bedroom to handle their needs. He stripped off his pants again, staring at her. "I'm about to scale up."

"Then I'd suggest you make sure I need to get that hard too." She smirked, taking off her shirt. "Can you do that?"

"Yeah, baby, I can do that." He pushed off her pants and lifted her up to push her against the wall, leaning down to lick and nibble all over her breasts. He could smell her getting warmer and lifted her higher so he could taste that too, making her squeal in pleasure. "That's what we need." He kept going until she got off and began to moan about being too much.

He put her on the bed, moving closer to mount her, making her yelp in pleasure. "That's a good start." He made sure she got happy, her being happy would encourage her heat to make her shift, and he could need that right now. He was fighting his own scales coming out when she finally flipped onto her stomach and changed to her smaller form. He growled, changing to his to take her again, pulling her closer by her shoulders.

Her tail moved nicely out of the way for him and he was in full rut. He lost control of everything but his need, growling and hissing at her wiggling. He finally roared as he came and moaned against her throat. She wiggled and he made sure she came one last time before changing back. She'd be stuck until she did. She went limp and changed back underneath him, letting him feel better as he shifted. "Oh, gods." She smiled, moving some sweaty hair.

"Well, yes, I could be one I guess." He cuddled her back against his chest, just breathing her scent for now. She wiggled, moving his arm to a better place. "Thanks, needed to breathe."

"Not a problem. Thank you." He kissed the back of her neck, making her sigh in pleasure. He fell asleep against her back, letting her drift off while listening to the grounds. Of course, that lasted about two hours before he woke up thanks to a heavier engine sound. He got up, leaving her there, sneaking over to put on clothes then heading out to figure out who it was this time. He stopped the looters and tied them up, then looked at Darcy since she was coming out with a shotgun. "Family or otherwise?"

She came over to look at what they had dug up. "That wasn't in that shelter area. That wasn't ours as far as I know." She stared at them. "So who the fuck are you?"

"This is our land!" one of them complained.

"Shut up. We've held this land since the late seventeen hundreds." She stared. "Sorry but Aunt Emmaline is not going to be a happy camper if I have to have her identify your remains." One tried to get free by changing to a wolf and Darcy went to her dragon form, staring at him. He shrank back, going back to human.

She stared at the lone female, who was sobbing. "I have no idea who the fuck you think you are, but this is a matriarch's house. It has been since the late seventeen hundreds. And you're trespassing on family lands." She heard a footstep. "Hey, Jane. Check on Elaine in the barn please?" She went to do that, coming back with her. "Elaine, do you recognize these people?"

"One's the wife of the asshole who assaulted me." She pointed at the woman. "The other two aren't. No idea who they are."

"Oh, great." She let Brock call in to get someone to come get them and arrest them. Darcy settled in on her haunches, staring at them. He came back to wait with them. Jane went back to her garage and apartment above it to make sure no one touched her things.

A state officer showed up. He got out and stared at them. "You don't look like Emmaline," he said in greeting.

"She's in St. Croix hitting on her diving instructor." Darcy grinned. "I'm Darcy Lewis, the new family matriarch. I'd shake but that one tried to change to rush us so they could try to loot the lands and hurt Elaine again."

"Okay, that figures about Emmaline. She's been talking about moving to the islands forever now." He stared at her. "Can you change back?" She did and stared at him. "I knew that name and I was right."

She shrugged. "It's why I finally took over my duties as the family matriarch."

"Good. Some families need a few new holes chewed." He looked at the tied up ones. "So, who're they?"

"She's the wife of the asshole who assaulted me at a school event," Elaine said with a point. "And why my parents got kicked out of the family."

The officer stared at her. "You okay?"

"Now," she snorted.

"I told her to make her own choices and I'd support whatever," Darcy said. "Her mother wanted her to marry the asshole apparently." The woman snickered. Darcy kicked her in the face. "Don't fuck with my family, lady. I'm a matriarch from the *original* meaning." The woman shrank away from her, crying.

Elaine got something on her phone to let the officer see it. "Her husband's in jail permanently."

He looked it up and nodded slowly as he read. "That looks reasonable to me. And that you claimed their hoards." He looked up. "Is that what they tried to steal back?"

"No, they were going after something we found buried earlier," Darcy said with a nod at that pile. "I didn't know we had that. Somehow they did and they tried to claim this was their land."

The officer looked at them. "Lady, I remember the two days that Emmaline didn't have control of the land in the last seventy years she was here. The judge who tried that ended up killing himself when it drove her a tiny bit nuts."

"Losing an important family heirloom can," Brock agreed. "This is a family line home so it would snap them that way."

Darcy nodded. "Aunt Emmaline nearly lost it in a divorce but the judge realized he had made a major mistake on behalf of his golfing buddy," she explained. "Pity about the bigoted ass since he hated on her for the family's lineage." She looked at the officer. "I'm more like Rosie. She helped raise me for my first few years." She grinned.

The officer took a step back but nodded with a smile. "I had her hit me more than once."

"I don't usually hit. I taze." She grinned. "So much easier on my hands." Brock snickered but nodded. "So can you have them and drop them in a river or something?"

"Yeah, I can definitely do that, ma'am."

"Darcy's fine. Myself and my daughter are both here probably for good."

"Excellent. The area needs a few new firm matriarchs. Emmaline kept letting some mothers be idiots with their kids."

"I don't usually mess in other families but if they're rude around my daughter they're going to hear about it."

"Even better." He grinned and got Brock's help to drag them off. Anything on them that wasn't marked as theirs got left for the young woman to handle. Brock did hand over a pistol but that was nice of the young alpha. "Hers?" he asked.

"Heat partner. I'm in the city."

"Oh, that's a mess. Don't blame you at all. She seems sweet."

"She can be." He grinned at Darcy then at him. "Her daughter's a cute kid too."

"Even better. All kids should be." He got the last one buckled in and looked at Darcy, filling out the forms he'd need and letting her sign them. "We heard a military guy came out earlier. Was it a threat?"

"We found world war two weapons," Darcy quipped. "Including some very old grenades in glycerine oil. My daughter didn't need to see them going off."

"Nope. Makes sense to me." He took the forms back. "You guys have a better night. If we hear problems coming, we'll call." Darcy wrote her email address and phone number on the form for him. "Thanks, Miss Lewis. Have a better night." He got in to drive them back to the county jail.

Brock looked at Elaine. "You okay, kid?"

"I'm okay. I don't want to get violent." She sighed, looking at Darcy, who hugged her. "Thanks. Did you call my mother?"

"Chewed her a new one by email for being an idiot and an asshole." She grinned. "What I needed to do. Before there's a third of us." Elaine nodded, looking down. Darcy tipped her face up. "Your mother needs her ass handed to her. The same way my mother needed her ass handed to her, and got it from Aunt Emmaline. She and Russie were the only ones who stood up for me and I'll be damned if I'm not going to be a matriarch like mine and Grandma Rosie. Even if you are from the other side of the family. You're mine now." She smirked. "We're the best of the bloodline and all I expect is for you to live up to that. And not taking up the damsel ideology. I'd hate to have to cut your hair on you."

Elaine burst out giggling and hugged her. "Thanks, Cousin Darcy. It means a lot to me." She smiled at Brock. "You're a lucky guy to spend time with her." She went back to her apartment feeling better. The things that got left were brought out to her to deal with in the morning.

Brock followed Darcy back into the house, letting her run up to check on Aria then come back down. He was feeling very settled, so his rut was done with. "Need to worry about her parents showing up?" he asked quietly.

"This isn't their natal family home. Elaine's from my mother's second marriage. The in-laws are notoriously assholes."

"I remember a few from when you were in the cave." He moved closer, letting her kiss him. He smirked at her. "I can help you up the security. If only so no one breaks in on Foster."

"The security system is pretty okay, Brock. You don't have to worry. And I'm sorry New York's council imploding did that the local changers."

"It was always like that, Darcy." She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, it was already like that. They just brought it out more into public. Most of us told the ones being assholes to stop it before we took them out too." He pulled her back to cuddle him, making her relax. He sniffed and she was still in heat. "We'll fix that tomorrow." She looked up at him. "I've got all weekend." He smirked. "Ruts never end that fast so you're magical." He took a kiss. "Check the system to make sure there's no one else then we'll go rest?"

"I can do that." She went to a computer in the corner to look things over, zapping one guy in the woods. He shrieked loud enough to wake Jane, who went to beat him to death with her baseball bat. "Looks like you brought an agent."

He looked over her shoulder. "I know him, he's an idiot." He did a video capture and sent it to that guy's senior agent, who apparently saw it and called his agent to swear at him and tell him to let her beat him to death. Jane wasn't going to be that merciful so the guy got locked in a closet in the garage and the other one on the lands was a hunter so Jane swore at him too, making him flee for his life for being on their land. She yelled after him that any deers here would be taken down by the changers who lived here, they didn't need the help. He ran faster. So that was helpful. Darcy looked up at him. Brock grinned back. "I'll drag him when I go."

"Thanks. I'm wondering if my aunt had this problem or not."

"Probably not." He walked her back to bed after checking to make sure the door was locked. Darcy was more than happy to cuddle tonight. In the morning he'd fix her heat and it'd be good. Of course, his SUV was disabled by the idiots the night before. He went to check on the agent. "Did you destroy SHIELD property?" he demanded. The guy shook his head. "Go fix the SUV so I can bring you back with me."

The guy ran to do that and Jane came out to handcuff him to the car. Brock grinned at that, going to help Darcy with the stuff she needed around the house. Darcy decided they needed to dig up that stash and hide it in the house. The agent wasn't allowed to see, but he got to watch Aria run off to hunt for more interesting areas, and drag her aunt with her. Jane apparently found things easier than Darcy. She finished hauling up the things he dug up for her. Aria ran back to tell them they found another nesting burrow so they went to check that.

Brock sniffed as he got closer. "This is a den, not a nest, Aria. That dusty smell, that's from a wolf changer."

Darcy inhaled and nodded. "That smells like Aunt Emmaline's sister's quilt. So probably her husband." Brock looked at her. "Her third husband was a wolf changer. Her first one died from pneumonia, her second in Vietnam. He was a late life spouse that made sure she had fun. We appreciated him but I can't remember his name for the life of me."

"Your aunt was okay with that?"

"Aunt Emmaline? Yeah, she was 'whatever makes you happy' about spouses. The same as I am. Their other sister? Stupidly, rabidly, bigoted." She shrugged. "Every family has at least one. My mother's borderline that way sometimes. I blame her second husband for ruining my mother and if I had a way I'd make them divorce."

"As the matriarch...." he started then grinned.

"Yeah but her Council would be behind her. It'd be a battle and I'm not up for that. I'll just keep her harm down." She grinned. "She didn't realize I joined both families by taking both sets of vows."

"Was Emmaline your mom's family?"

"Yeah. But she and Grandma Rosie were trouble buddies. They used to go drinking at college bars in the eighties."

He grinned. "College grannies?" She nodded with a grin. "That's sweet. Let's go see if we can find any more, Aria." She nodded, bounding off with him. He paused Darcy. "That little nameplate, I'm pretty sure it's a memorial."

"According to family legends he is buried somewhere around here. We supposedly have a cemetery somewhere around here." They followed the kid to look at the other nests. Elaine came out to join them, finding one that made her sigh in pleasure. Darcy looked at her. "If you need one, go for it."

"No. I don't yet. But maybe if I need one when I get pregnant for real."

Darcy patted her on the back. "It is family land and I adopted you into the clan, Elaine. My favorite one is still the Green one." Elaine looked at her oddly. "It is. It has pretty drawings, it has a good water source. I can hide there for weeks." She smirked. "There's none of the family near there. If I had been in a better state of mind I would've went there last time."

"I've only heard of that one." Darcy pulled out her phone to show her pictures. "Wow, that's a real living cave."

"Yeah." She nodded. "Which means the older kid has a bed area of her own. She hates it when I curl up in larger form around her."

"Yes I do. I'm not a treasure," Aria called.

"Well, kids are priceless," she shot back with a smirk. "I was showing Elaine about the green cave."

Aria waited on them to catch up to her so she could see. "Oooh, that's pretty. Can we visit there, Mom?"

"Maybe if I need a nesting cave. You'll have your own area too, so you can do homework." She ruffled her hair. "Show us the next one." She ran off again, making Brock smirk at the ladies before catching up to her. Darcy grinned at Elaine. "I don't regret my spawn," she said quietly. "Even if I was pressured not to handle it by his family. And my mother. I didn't talk to my mother for two years because of that. Grandma Russie yelled at her the day before she died about that shit."

"Grandma Russie was one iron lady." Darcy nodded. "You make a good heir for her, Darcy." They shared a smile. "My boyfriend is weird."

"Mine was about a month from doing a mating ritual and he left because he couldn't handle it. A lot of guys can't. If yours can't, then we'll help you until you can find a better one who's great to you." She stared at her. "Because I will flame an asshole boyfriend."

"I scared off one of those myself." They caught up with the kid at the new nesting burrow, letting Elaine go first. "Aww, this one has a nest. Um, we have some sort of animal."

Darcy looked and shrugged. "If we need it, we can figure that out. Maybe they're the type to coexist." Jane gave her an odd look. "Many will. They consider us bigger, protective animals. Though, raccoons can be a problem. They tend to get possessive and hateful."

"My grandmother said that her original home was invaded by squirrels and she has a theoretical hatred of them because they stole things," Brock said. Elaine giggled but they went back toward the house because Aria was looking tired and hungry.

"Mom, is the pool fixed?" Aria asked.

"Not yet. It needs a bit of patchwork and filled."

"Shoot."

"By next summer."

"Okay. I guess." They got back and found an officer waiting. "Hi, Officer," she said with a grin and a wave. "I'm Aria."

"Hi, Aria, I'm Captain Overton." He shook her hand and looked at Darcy. "Emmaline?"

"St. Croix. Flirting hard."

He sighed but nodded. "That figures. Are you her stand in?"

"No, I fully took the vows to be the matriarch of the family. On both sides." He shivered. "A lot of our family was warped by the bad influences my mother married into for her second marriage."

"Oh."

"I'm Darcy Lewis." She held out a hand with a smile. His eyes went wide. "Emmaline was my mother's aunt. Rosie was my paternal grandmother. They told people they met at my christening even though they met at a disco in the late seventies." He shook it with a nod. "This is Brock, he's just visiting. And my cousin Elaine, who I added into the family den when I kicked her parents out."

"Hi," Elaine said.

Jane smiled and waved. "I'm Dr. Jane Foster."

"I've heard about some of your work, Dr. Foster." He looked at Darcy. "The ones last night?"

Elaine pulled up her file to show him. "The female was his wife."

He read it and winced. He looked at her. "We're not all that uptight locally, Elaine. We're nosy but not uptight."

She grinned. "I'm going to start college next year, I'm hoping up here somewhere." She took her phone back.

"That's a great thing." He looked at Darcy. "They said something about a piece of the land was theirs due to a wolf changer leaving it to them."

"The only wolf changer in the family for the last eighty years was Aunt Emmaline's sister, Matty's, third husband. If I remember right, he was without a pack, he had outlasted most of them."

"I vaguely remember her."

"She died back in the early eighties. I only knew her by family stories by Aunt Emmaline. But this is the matriarch's family line home. Including a few nesting burrows."

"One did smell like a wolf changer but there was a memorial plaque," Brock said. "I know they weren't supposed to be here and I doubt the young woman needed to deal with that heaving bitch."

"No, I don't want to see that happen either. Do you have a family list of wills? I know some do."

"I have not gotten into them. Give me a minute to get them from the library." She jogged up to the house to grab those boxes to bring out. They got put on his hood since the ground was wet and they were in cardboard boxes. "Here we go. And Aunt Matty's, with her husbands, all three of them," she said, finding that file. She let the captain have it.

He looked it over, shaking his head. "Not listed that he left anyone anything. That he was without family except one son who was disgracing the family by being against his love life." He scratched his forehead. "Doesn't list any property they owned. Hers lists everything going to her husband, and if he's gone it went to Emmaline and Harriet?"

"Their missing sister, who was a bigoted ass about Aunt Matty's third husband," Darcy said. "She died in, I want to say, seventy-nine maybe? She was one of those uptight women by the family stories. The one I remember about her was she was against the ERA and helped work with the orange juice lady."

"That woman was disastrous for women's rights," the captain agreed, handing it back. "Emmaline's still alive. What does hers say?"

"It's matriarch's vow, not by inheritance. The land's put into the family trust, which lists the matriarch's name and the youngest kid in the den's name together. Right now, we have a six-month-old cousin named Devon who's on it and now mine. We just got the paperwork last month."

"That's reasonable, so it can't disappear." Darcy nodded, putting the file back and the lid on the box. "Do you have someone listed?" She pointed at Aria with a grin then at Jane. "She's her nanny?"

"My best friend and if I fall, Jane's to take custody." Jane nodded.

"That's reasonable I guess when you don't have family for that."

"Oh, I have family but I'm really not happy with them. When I took over I had to take nineteen people from the family's lists due to assholeness to me, my daughter, and a few others."

"I got kept," Elaine said with a shrug.

"Her and five other kids."

"That's a sensible thing. I heard about you and the New York council. We don't have one around here."

"I'm not against the confederation councils that are doing what they're supposed to be doing. They were meant to be our UN, our mediators, and to stop things like forced matings. Then they became the evil they were meant to end." She shrugged. "If the ones around here aren't like that I have no problem with that. If they are, I don't usually associate anymore so I don't get blamed for having to protect ourselves."

"That's reasonable. Do you have someone to follow you?"

"I'm still trying to decide on that. A few of the younger girls are strong enough to stand up to stupid things. I have time. They can't remove the vows and if they want away from the family that much they've been notified they can leave it." He winced. "I don't play with the stupid my family broke down into. They tried to harm my little girl and me. Fuck 'em."

"Good!" He smiled. "We like it when we have strong residents instead of wimpy girls."

"Oh, I'm not one of those."

"Around SHIELD, her name is usually the Tazer Queen," Brock quipped. "She tazed Thor once. And a number of agents over the last few years."

The officer chuckled but nodded. "Strong women become matriarchs. I know a few of the local changers have hidden in some of the caves," he said with a point.

"Our lands cover twenty-five acres but that edge, I think they end near the pond. As long as they're respectful I don't mind if they have to nest out there for a heat."

"I'll let them know. Thank you, Miss Lewis."

"Not a problem. I'm all about being helpful and decent as a being." She smiled. "Until someone makes me change."

"That's usually the best way to be. Treat 'em as they treat you." He shook their hands and drove back to town to tell the others.

Darcy took the boxes back inside. Aria followed to beg for mac'n cheese. Brock looked at Elaine and Jane, who both shrugged. "She's a strong matriarch," Jane said. "She's why Aria's mostly normal." She walked off. "Let me check my observatory download of data points."

Elaine looked confused so Brock nudged her. "She's trying to rebuild the Bifrost bridge. She's an astrophysicist."

"Wow."

"Yeah. We're kind of scared of what her brain will come up with some day." They went inside to help Darcy make lunch. Aria was dancing around happily since her mother had given in, as long as she ate some vegetables with it.

***

Brock walked into SHIELD's office, handing the waiting agent his minion. "He fixed the car someone tried to break and has spent the nights in a closet." He walked past them to file a report that Foster was safely in her own lab in the woods. Lewis was safely in the family house. Aria was just fine and learning a lot. It was a good thing. If someone tried her about the family home, Darcy would probably pull up something and sell a family heirloom to cover it up. Or fly in and stomp on someone in person then go back home.

The senior agent stared at his minion. "What was your plan?"

"You wanted me to get information on what Foster was doing. I was going to sneak in and video tape her work area."

His boss rolled his eyes. "I said to get a report." He walked him off to talk to him about his idea problems.

***

Darcy sighed as she started to feel that weird feeling. Again. It'd been six months and it was happening again. Her suppressant was clearly not enough anymore. She called her new personal physician about getting a stronger version. He hated that idea and suggested her body wanted a second child. She pointed out she was single, dildos couldn't knock her up, and she wasn't into a new kid right now. Her present one wasn't school aged yet.

He gave in at that reminder and sent her a better one. She drove in to hit the pharmacy and the grocery store then went back home to put on the new patch. She ignored any looks she got from the more native people. They were still getting used to her not being as mean as Aunt Emmaline.

She got back and found Brock waiting. He looked upset. "What happened?" she asked as she got out. "Let me put up groceries."

He came to come help her lift stuff into the house. "Have you seen the news today?"

"I got the morning update about that stupid bill. They'll have a war if he tries it."

"He signed it earlier."

"And the appeal was already done and Congress overturned it." She looked at him. "They pointed out most hoards aren't gold anymore and they didn't need to tax hoards because that would make us move everything out of the US. Two very loud, politically sound, very rich changers spearheaded that."

"Fury wanted to follow it."

"He can bite my shiny ass." She looked at him. "Did he send you?"

"No. Hill sent me to warn you."

"If Nick Fury tries to claim anything in my hoard all he's going to get is some art I found in college." She smirked. "Any family heirloom things he can't prove outside the one thing I sold. And if he wants half that money it went to maintenance of the roof."

He shivered at the evil look she had. "He'll harp on you being single."

"Which means I don't have any leverage that can be applied outside my daughter, and I'll send her to Asgard or something. Jane wants to go visit their observatories."

"She'd work and forget her."

"Possibly." She put up the frozen stuff. "So you're here to warn me?"

"I am." He stared at her. "Fury thinks that you're going to be influential."

"I put my weight behind certain things but I don't do it loudly." She looked at him, closing the freezer. "And I can't do that to Aria."

"You could find a mate for a while."

She shook her head. "I can't work that way, Brock."

"He thinks your family's got impressive heirlooms. And he's probably not far behind me."

She grinned. "Well, I did find Uncle Morty's paranoid arsenal. I mean, I can meet him with that since that law was overturned."

"The World Security Council oversees us, we're not fully bound by US laws, Lewis."

Darcy grinned, looking over his shoulder as a few SUV's and an officer showed up. "Go get Aria out of the tree?" He went to do that. She got something and went to the porch. "Morning, Officer Bart."

"Miss Lewis, these agents think that they can go with an overturned law."

"I heard that. Help someone guard my little girl please? I don't need a war with SHIELD. Even if they start it." Nick Fury got out smirking. "What do you think we own that'll help you, Fury?"

"I think you've got Foster here."

"And I think Jane's going to use the guns I found to shoot you." He scowled. She stared back. "She's told you repeatedly she won't work for SHIELD. Anything else you wanted? Or did you just show up to prove you're an ignorant, pushy bastard? Because you're trespassing."

"We have a warrant." He held it up.

"That law was overturned." The officer took the warrant to look at, shaking his head. "Legal?"

"Nope. Based on that overturned law." He looked at her. "And he wanted to claim your daughter."

Darcy smirked. "That would start a war." She looked at Fury, who stepped back. "I think we know how that'll go when I let Jane evacuate Aria." She shifted her stance then sighed. "You know what, let's end this now, Fury. I took the hint from Loki when he showed up that time. All changers do still have some magic.

"I learned how to do a few tiny things. And then I ran into an uncle's things." She pulled it out and blew up the SUV's. "Now you can walk the fuck home, asshole. You're trespassing without a legal warrant to search for things. And you have no right to claim my daughter."

"I can throw you in jail for that. We're a government agency."

"SHIELD is an international agency and you're still trespassing." She grinned. "And notice what did it." She put that on the ground. He stared then shuddered. "Yeah, Uncle Archie and Uncle Morty... I think you know them by another name though."

Brock stared at her. "Weren't they AIM?"

"Um, they founded AIM, then dropped it when they realized how stupid it was becoming. Grandma Russie kicked their asses at every single holiday event for decades about that. Hell, it came up at Uncle Morty's funeral." She looked at Fury. "Then again, that's not a good reason either. Aren't you glad I went poli-sci instead of chemistry?" She smirked.

"We can confiscate their things."

"This is the family home, not theirs. Uncle Morty's home was in Delaware and it got sold to a geek he liked before he died. I'm told the geek did find the hidden lab space and he's having fun working on his thesis there." She shrugged. "Uncle Archie's family home burned when his wife got mad he was cheating. Which is how he died actually. I only have the family archives and he left this little baby in a closet."

She smirked. "If I had known that before, I would've used it last time I went to war." She stared at Fury then looked at the agent coming closer. "Back the hell down." He ran back to the others. "I'm actually the only one keeping Brandy and Rebecca from following their dad's footsteps. So you might want to quit before I give them permission to do their own things. Uncle Archie would be *so* proud of his little girls." Fury shuddered. "So anything else this pretty fall day, Director Fury?"

"Get the kid," he ordered. And suddenly there was a very large red dragon in his way. And she was already smoking. "You wouldn't."

"I'm pretty sure I've proven I'll protect my little girl to the ends of others. Don't test me. I've had a whole lot of time to think up new ideas. Not much else to do out here but read." Her tail whapped one agent on the head, making him quit trying to get near the house. Jane came out with a shotgun and the agent ran to hide behind Fury.

"Foster, you don't like guns."

"Bullshit. I know how to hunt." She smiled. "Had to do it a few times in my life, Fury. And you forgot that Darcy adopted a puppy." The big wolf came out and sniffed at Darcy, who petted him. Then he sniffed at the agents. They all backed away slowly.

Brock looked over. "Is that a real wolf?"

"Yeah," Darcy said with a grin. "Asgardian wolf to guard my spawn." She petted him. "Go guard the baby, Fennel." He loped over to climb up to cuddle the baby, completely covering her. She complained about inhaling the fur but she was fully protected.

She grinned at Fury. "Plot denied, and thank you for coming today." He sneered. She stared back. "I mean, I can stomp you if you want. I'm in heat, I'm not against a bit of violence." The agents ran for the road. Nick Fury was still glaring. "What were you even hoping to do, Fury? I mean, Aria would destroy you."

"People want her back where she belongs."

"She is where she belongs. She's my daughter and she's with me. That's where she belongs. Her father and she call all the time and this isn't coming from him." She looked at him. "Brock, he's got something on his throat." He came over to look and got a knife out to remove it, even though Fury fought him to make him quit. Brock managed to trap him and use the knife to flip it off. Fury went into a seizure but calmed down after a minute. "Is that why he had the bad ideas?"

"Probably," he admitted, picking it up to look at. "That's clearly a control chip." He held it up. "Any of you have one?" he called. They checked each other, shaking their heads. "Great, so you were just following bad orders. Hike back to town before I call STRIKE." They ran. "The other way!" They ran that way instead. He looked at the officer, shrugging. "Sorry about them but they're the sort that don't question orders and are really horrible agents."

Darcy giggled as she changed back. "There's so few of those in SHIELD."

He sniffed her. "Why are you in heat?"

"They had me on low dose suppressants. I got higher dose ones earlier."

"Oh." He nodded. "They wanted you to have another kid?"

"Yes, but I pointed out I was single and a dildo couldn't do that job." She looked at Jane, who was rolling her eyes. "But anyway." She smiled at the officer, who was staring at her. "What? Matriarch's go to war over our kids." She looked at the groaning man. "So, who put the control chip on you?" Nick Fury glared at her. "I can burn you to death for that if you want. I mean, you did try to hurt my little girl."

Nick Fury sat up, rubbing his head. "I..." Brock held up the device. "Shit."

"Yup." He looked at Darcy. "Can I get you a guard or six?"

"If you want to hang around shirtless," she quipped with a grin. "Don't bring harmful people near my kid. You know she'll try to talk to them."

"Hey," Aria complained. "I like meeting people."

"Bodyguards can only talk to you off duty," Brock called. He looked at the wolf then at her. "That's an Asgardian wolf?"

"He's only eight months old." She grinned. "He's a very good boy." He hopped down and came over to get petted like any good puppy did.

"Yay, I can breathe more than fur. He needs brushed, Mom. You hid the brush from me."

"It's in the kitchen in the messy drawer." Aria hopped down and went to get it, coming back to brush her furry friend. He enjoyed that a lot, laying across her lap to let her do whatever she wanted. Darcy grinned at Brock. "It was a gift of respect from Lady Sif."

"He's clearly very protective of Aria." He looked at Nick Fury again. "He's probably got another year of growth left too."

"Probably," Darcy agreed, going to help her daughter. Jane was helping brush the wolf too. It had a bad habit of shedding when it came to visit her and wolf fur screwed up her machines.

Nick Fury stood up, staring at Rumlow. "They want that lineage to end."

"Yeah, denied," Brock said dryly. "Who wanted it to end?"

"AIM. They make those, Rumlow."

"I can talk to my uncle's former helper," Darcy quipped. "I'm sure he'll be amused."

"No evil thoughts or I have to take the kid and hide," Jane complained.

"Mom, no going evil. Evil people are mean and Moms shouldn't be mean."

"Fine." She looked at Brock. "Have fun with them since I'm told I'm not allowed? I've got to call the judge about the in-laws trying to sue me for things later anyway."

"We can stop them too," Brock offered with a smirk.

"It's a formality. They only married in and weren't part of the den originally. The fact that I kept a few of the kids included means that they can't really complain, especially about why they were so bitchy." She grinned. "But if you want to yell at them you can."

"You need real protection," Fury ordered. He quit staring at the wolf, looking at his senior dragon again. "You have my permission to bring your team up here to guard her until whatever AIM's got going on is stopped. I have no idea what they did." He rubbed his forehead. "And get that weapon from Lewis so we can use it on them."

Brock grinned. "I'll see if I can sweet talk her out of it."

"Nope. Family heirloom," she quipped. "Just keep me from using it on the idiot who tried to make that law."

Nick Fury winced. "Damn it."

"Got overturned by Congress," Jane called. "They reminded him they mostly weren't gold anymore and the ones who did have gold would move it out of the US immediately. The stock market lost three hundred points already over that."

Brock shook his head with a sigh. "We'll handle that. If she has to, she can take in a supposed mate for a bit." Darcy stared at him. "Just to protect you both?"

"Am I that bad at it?"

"No," he said. "But it gives you a lot of nightmares, Lewis." She rolled her eyes but he looked at Fury. "I can bring STRIKE alpha up here, sir."

"Do so. The idiots I brought?" He looked at the mess of former car.

"Town," Brock said with a smirk and a point.

The officer laughed, calling the office to tell them what had happened. "I can give you a lift back so they can pick you all up, Director Fury. Miss Lewis, it was noted you were wandering around while in heat."

"I was picking up a higher dose of suppressant. The new doctor had me on a low dose one and I went into heat again, twice in six months."

He grimaced. "That sucks."

"The higher one went on as soon as I got home. Sorry if I confused anyone with my scent."

"One young one thought you would be happy to meet him but his mother chewed on him. I'll let her know you were picking up new meds." He sent that in too. His boss would go talk to her to make sure the young one didn't try anything. He looked at Rumlow. "Are you staying for a bit? I know you were here for a heat before and I'm worried someone else will try the kid." He looked at the wolf. "I'd hate to clean up his mess."

"Yup. Apparently." He looked at Darcy, who shrugged. He looked at Fury, who huffed but nodded, heading for the police car. "Can I ask about your uncles who founded AIM with April Devine?"

"April was Uncle Morty's first wife. They were ex's." She went back to brushing.

"Why did they form AIM?" He came over to sit with them.

"They were tired of the idiots pushing things like wars for no reason. The uncles restarted it actually, someone had a similar idea earlier on. Uncle Archie lost his only son to Korea and hated that we got into wars to play out the cold war without nukes. So they started it to get all that stopped. Then April apparently decided she liked being evil. Her new husband overthrew them, she overthrew him, then the current admin there overthrew her and kept hold of it. I'm not even sure if they knew the uncles."

"Huh." He nodded, taking the brush from Aria since she was so limp wristed. "Can I brush you, Fennel?" The wolf barked so he brushed him to help. "You do shed a lot."

"He's getting a winter coat." Darcy grinned at him. "He's a great cuddle on the couch too. He sleeps with Aria, uses her as a pillow most nights."

"That's good because it's protective of her." He looked at Jane. "How is your science?"

"It's going well. I'm ready to present soon." She looked at Aria, who was curling up on her furry buddy. "You can nap inside." She nodded, wandering that way. Fennel got up to go with her. "She named him."

"I was teaching her about other veggies and she liked fried fennel fronds," Darcy explained with a grin.

"It's a very girlish name but it suits him." Brock stared at her. "That weapon?"

She looked at it then at him. She grinned. "They were tinkering at home." He nodded and sighed. "If you're bringing more guys up here, they need tents. If they're in the house, Aria will visit. I'll let them use a nesting burrow if they want." She pointed at the nearest one. "That's pretty spacious for a few people."

He went to look and took pictures then came back calling them. "Bring Alpha team up to Lewis' family home. Fury was under control, people wanted Aria Lewis, and we've probably got more coming. Bring a tablet too to look up someone and amend files. I found out who helped remake AIM way back when." He hung up and sat down again, looking at Darcy. "We'll make sure you're both all right."

"Thanks." She punched him on the arm. "Let me go start on lunch. Hungry, Jane?"

"Probably." She looked at Brock. "Hang out on the porch. The blue wicker couch thing is the most comfortable but the red chair is Darcy's." She followed Darcy inside.

Brock got up to check that couch, sitting on it with a nod. It was nicely padded. When the other team got there, they looked at the mess of former vehicle. "Lewis blew them up. The agents had to run back to town." He got handed the tablet with a smirk from Rollins. "Did you know about Morty and Archie refounding AIM?"

"Nope." Brock looked them up and fixed the files then handed the tablet back with a smirk. "Well, fuck."

"No swearing around the kid," Darcy called. "It's bad enough I do it. And watch out for Fennel. He's super protective."

"Fennel is an eight-month-old Asgardian wolf who was a sign of respect from Lady Sif to guard the kid."

Jack Rollins stared at him. "Okay," he said. Then he spotted the staring dog creature. "It's big."

"It is and sheds." He smirked. "Burrow's there," he said with a point. "I told Aria she can't talk to anyone who's on duty. Set up and we'll go talk to the ladies. Doctor Foster is in an old garage."

That got a nod and he went to set everyone up. Brock was having a bad day apparently. "Boys, set up. Lewis is letting us use a nest burrow. Don't mess it up." It got pointed at. They set up camping gear around and in it. They had a field generator to set up. Within twenty minutes they were set up and the agents were waiting on Brock to brief them about what was going on this time.

He came down to talk to them quietly, including warning about Aria being curious. A few of them had kids so they understood that. One of them flinched at the wolf coming out. Brock let the wolf come sniff everyone, and pee on one guy, then go back into the house. Brock shook his head with a sigh. Then he looked at the team again, going over what had happened and why.

They moved the remains of the cars down to the trash pick up area. Rollins called the local recycler to come get it for them. The kid ran out to climb up in the tree, letting them all grin at her. And the wolf that came out to hop up with her to nap on her. They could handle this for a few days.

Even if they could tell Lewis was in heat. They wouldn't talk about Rumlow maybe solving that for her.

***

Darcy came out to talk to the guy they had captured the next night, tipping his face up. "You'd think you would be nicer to the family of the ones who restarted AIM originally." The guy flinched, shaking his head. "Yeah, Uncle Archie and Morty restarted it before April took it from them." She grinned. "She was an ex-wife though so...."

She let his chin go. "I mean, if it wasn't for my uncles, you wouldn't have a job. And now you came to upset me and my little girl. Is that *really* what you wanted to do today?" He shook his head with a whine. She smiled. "Good. Then let's talk about what you wanted."

"We were going to take in your daughter so she was protected from the evil ones who wanted to end all original lines."

"They're going to be lucky if I don't have a son who makes more original lines," she said dryly. "I'm not against that." He moaned, staring at her. She grinned. "And if they come near my baby girl, I'm going to destroy what my uncles built. I'm not the damsel that a lot of dragons are." She smirked a tiny bit. "Can you pass that back and tell them to protect the other ones? I mean, I'm not against her being protected but you're not removing her from me or going near Jane."

He moaned, slumping. "I'll pass that back. Who are you?"

"Darcy Lewis, Jane Foster's assistant for years." She winked at him. He wet himself. "I'm not actually mean."

"No but you're scary!"

She patted him on the head. "Thank you! That's very sweet of you." She stepped back. "Do let them know that please?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Thanks!" She strolled off. "The kid's in bed. Don't wake her up. She'll ask questions all night." She went inside.

Rumlow looked at the AIM agent. "Yes, she's super scary. That's why we're protecting you from her." The guy nodded, looking down. "Call in to make sure they know that."

"I need my comm." He pointed. It was handed over and he did call that in. They set off his self destruct chip but that was blocked because that depended on cell signals and there were no towers nearby. The agents talked to him about AIM's current goings on and got him turned so he wanted to be SHIELD instead by the time the pick up team got there in the morning.

Natasha Romanoff got out of the SUV, staring at the waiting guys. "Did you have to make him messy, boys?"

"He got scared of Lewis," Rollins quipped with a grin and a wave. "He wants to change to SHIELD."

"They may enjoy that." She came over to get him into the back of the SUV then came back to get notes on his capture and reasons. She was not amused but that happened sometimes.

Darcy came out to the porch. "The diner in town won't be open yet, but the little bakery on the east edge of town, with the purple sign, is a *killer* bakery, Natasha." She grinned. "They make such good croissants. Stuffed ones too." She went back inside but Fennel came out to pee.

Natasha's hand went to her gun, staring at the creature peeing on the roses. "What is that?"

Brock looked then at her. "That's Fennel. Lady Sif gave it to Aria. He's eight-months-old." He grinned. "They cuddle."

"Awww," she said patiently but flatly. The wolf came over to sniff her so she let it sniff her free hand. It barked and ran back inside to bark at Darcy until she fed him. She blinked a few times. "Oh." She looked at the agents, who nodded they agreed. "It's a very nice companion animal for the child." She went to drive off, but did stop at that bakery. They were excellent stuffed croissants she could eat on the way back to the city.

Brock looked at the others. "Start morning shift." They did that and the ones on rest went to sleep in the burrow. It was nicely safe and warm in there. Very comforting for being a burrow. Brock went back to the porch to calm himself down. Darcy came out. "Why did you need science credits and take the internship if you like chemistry?"

"I got burned out on chem in high school. I didn't want to help the teacher make experimental things so I basically gave up for a bit." She shrugged. "Culver's chem teacher was an ethical nightmare who believed in human testing even if you had no idea what things did. So I needed science credits." She settled in. "You can go rest too."

He shook his head. "I'm good."

"You've been up since yesterday."

He nodded. "I'll rest tonight." She left it there, going to the garden area to check for anything ripe. She brought in a few zucchini. So that was probably dinner. He calmed down and watched things, falling asleep there. Fennel came out to nap on top of him when Aria came out to read on the porch. She was in easy reach and Brock was nicely stretched out. Aria grinned, getting her mother's phone to take a picture. Or six. Then she went back to her reading practice. The guys were doing weird things but she knew she shouldn't talk to them if they were doing SHIELD things. It was important like Aunt Jane doing science was.

***

Nick Fury showed back up a week later. "Peaceful intent," he called as he got out.

Aria looked over from her spot in the tree. "I doubt that," she called. "MOM!" Her mom, who had been flying around, landed with a ground shaking thump. Aria hopped down and ran for the safe room her mom had set up recently with the wolf puppy. She stopped to get some water and food for him then went to lock herself in there. Some people were mean and she didn't need to handle that.

Brock climbed out of the burrow, staring at him. Then at Darcy and her stunningly pale scales. "Still?" he demanded. She glared at him. He sighed but looked at Fury. "You needed some help, Director?"

"I noticed you got all set up," he said, looking at their camp then at Lewis. "Letting them use the bathrooms at least?"

"The barn has two spare apartments, they can use the one in there so they're not freaking my daughter out by being naked men in the house." She stared at him. "Problems, Fury?"

"Is Foster safe?"

"We hired her guards," one of the STRIKE guys called. "She's fine in Dallas at the conference."

"Good." He looked at Darcy. "There's a lot of worry that you're single and it's turning you evil."

"By who?" she demanded. She turned back with a few twitches of muscles, rubbing her shoulder. Brock stared at her. "I turn back easier when I can move. It stresses my shoulders and knees if I don't." She looked at Fury again. "By who?"

"Abelsome for one."

"Not like they can force me to mate."

"No," he agreed, staring at her. "But they can make it uncomfortable. You've become too loud according to some."

"I should see if I can call back either grandmother's ghost to talk to them," she quipped, making Fury step backwards. "I'll do that later since they'd probably nag me to take in the whole STRIKE team as a harem." She stared at him. "What's the crackhead plan this time?"

"They want to give you a few options of who to mate to so the family's more secure. They think your daughter will have too much of a duty some day to take your spot."

"It's not direct lineage, Fury. Even in your type of changer. The last matriarch of the family was my great-aunt on my mother's side."

Fury blinked a few times. "I thought it was always direct line for dragons."

"Depends on where your line started. Ours, it's not. It's the best suited and brought up to do it. I'm about to take in two young cousins to train with Aria so they can do it some day. Aria's really smart and I can see her doing the same things Jane does only in another field."

Fury stared at her. "I actually redid your background check." She shrugged. "You won two state high school chemistry awards."

"I was cheated out of the national comp once too. So? I got burnt out and went poli-sci to work with people who needed help."

He stared at her. "You could've done what Foster did yourself."

"I don't have the passion for science that way. I never really did. It's something I'm pretty good at but after a few hours I get totally bored with it and put it down."

"If someone like AIM got you now, they could use you to finish projects."

"And I'd use it on them." She shrugged but stared at him. "I'll talk to my former mentor later."

"He thinks you could be a unifier and maybe even solve some of the stress in New York that's going on."

"I'm not moving back. The matriarch has to stay in the house." She shifted her stance. "Otherwise, the last I heard the unattached ones wanted me to date Rumlow thanks to a seer." Brock nodded at that, crossing his arms over his chest. "Unless I take in all the top ones as my personal harem, that won't stop anything."

"He could fight for a top spot," Fury said, looking at him.

"Whole lot of work," he said dryly. "And that would be defeating the purpose of mating her with me since she's got to stay here to guard the family's nesting areas."

Fury grimaced. "We could set you up out here."

"There's literally nothing up here, Fury."

"It's an hour commute, Commander."

"And I have to be within twenty minutes for call in," he shot back. "Not that I don't think she's sexy but so far she's avoided doing anything like propositioning me." He looked at her again. "Though, with how pale you are...." She turned to glare at him. "Just sayin'," he defended. He backed up a step. Fury snorted in amusement. Brock looked at him. "My job and my mother would require me to be closer to the city. She can't leave without letting someone else take the vows. Two've tried I'm told."

"Three. Melissa tried again last night and I had to knock her out." She looked at Fury again. "Even if that plan went off, why would that stop the barely hidden fighting going on? That's been going on for decades, Fury."

"It's happening in other areas."

"Yeah, they probably need to clean up their own councils."

"I know nothing about any of that. My type of changer doesn't have that overseeing body."

"You do in most of the US and all of Europe but New York's and DC's are mostly do-it-by-pack ones," she corrected. Nick Fury glared at her. She stared back. "They do." She shrugged. "I was most amused at the one outside London who came in to party when I was at a club. They were really cute and polite and happy to dance with me without strings and without groping. Though I did take one home for a night."

Nick Fury sighed, staring at her. "A lot of other dragons hate that idea."

"I know. They're assholes and bigots. I'm not."

"Whatever. They wanted to let you talk to the various factions and maybe find a mate that way. Your former mentor is very concerned you're turning bitter."

"If I turn bitter and cold, that's their fault for making me. I may hate that I can defend us but I'll do it anyway and cry later."

"I think they want you to have a warrior to fix that."

"Yeah, one who'll want me to shut up," Darcy shot back. "There's probably a hope that it'll make me calm down and quit pointing out problems. There's also a push to get me to have a second kid, which is why they gave me fake suppressants this last time. I've already told my new doctor I knew that and I was going to kill him for it. He's sent me in a good prescription and Jane's picking them up for me on her way back since I'm too sour smelling to go into town myself."

Fury blinked at her. "They did what?"

"That explains a lot," Brock said, staring at her. She shrugged without looking. "One of you go pick up her prescription and make sure it's the real thing," he called. "And the kid's vitamins too." The team's medic went to do that for them. "Thank you."

"Thanks," Darcy called. "Get me my wallet from the living room and I'll give you my insurance and copay stuff." He went to grab those for her and she handed them over with a smile. "Thank you, Doug."

"Welcome, Darcy." He got into one of the team's SUV's to go handle that simple errand, and to get Rumlow more protein bars. He was nearly out and he'd get grumpy about that.

Darcy looked at Fury. "Anything else you wanted to propose about how to make me calm down?"

"They're apparently not ready to go back to the original ways," Fury said dryly.

"Yeah, that's why they started to steal maidens to impregnate. They wanted to be more like the Romans that were fawning over them. Thankfully there's still a few pure lines left."

"There are?" Fury and Rumlow demanded in unison. She nodded.

"Where?" Brock demanded.

She looked at him. "Like hell I'll tell anyone. They'd be hunted down by people like my mother and my former mentor." She looked at Nick Fury again. "They don't have that problem with women the way the weaker, younger ones did. Though a few have dabbled in maidens, always freely offered and given." She stared down Nick Fury, who was looking amused. "Won't work. Even if you had a telepath, Fury."

"Fine. We think it'd be a good idea if you did take in a warrior spouse. Even if they're not your consort or a mate, they could help you protect things."

"The idea that giving a woman a little dick makes her quiet down is really insulting." She shifted her stance. "You can tell them I said that and I'd still be louder than hell because I wouldn't have to worry about Aria being hurt." She smirked a tiny bit. "They'd probably hate that more."

"I would," Fury agreed. "You could take Rumlow. You're compatible."

"Not totally. We see our other forms in vastly different ways. We've talked a few times about that subject."

"He ended the heat after that battle."

"No he didn't."

"He..."

"Drove Jane down because letting her drive means watching a few accidents," Darcy interrupted. "No, I meditated that heat out. The same as I'm doing now. Mine'll be ended by tomorrow even without a new patch. Though he's good in bed, I need more than that in my life. I do have to think about what I do around my daughter."

"I'm not sure if I should be insulted or not," Brock quipped.

"Don't be. You're really pretty," Darcy said with a smirk for him. "But you barely put up with us." She looked at Fury again. "Also, I talked to that seer before we came up here. She gave me advice that said I'd have a few more kids. Including mystical poles." Fury slumped. "Me having a mate won't make that any less likely to happen and they would be trained to be like me, Fury. After all, their alternate caretaker if I'm incapacitated is Jane."

"She'd make the kid weird."

"All kids are weird. She'd make sure they got a real education and a real loving home. And probably make sure at least one went into science instead."

Fury coughed. "What about the Loki thing?"

"He suggested I learn magic. Real, old line magic. Which isn't really my thing. Whole lotta work for a little bit of power and some headaches. All changers have some magic." She smiled. "But thanks for wondering."

"Are you going to Asgard with Foster when she goes?"

"She'd only go to see the observatories, Fury. She and Thor broke up after we got back from hiding."

Fury slumped, staring at her. "He doesn't say that."

"And yet he hasn't even called in weeks. The last time he called it was to talk to the kid about her wolf."

"Oh." Fury huffed. "They'd still like you to be mated soon to calm you down."

"Yeah, that won't do anything but make me louder. You can tell them I said that." He groaned but got into the SUV to head off. She huffed. "The nerve of some people." She went to check her daughter. Brock stopped her. She blinked at him. "What?"

"You need to fix that heat," he said patiently. "You're too pale and your temper's high."

"I've been fixing it."

"You're still pale." She nodded, waving a hand around. "Fine. I think we should talk about a few definitions. I saw a book in the library that showed not all of us came from handed over maidens to get strong warriors."

"No. Some of them were taken because they wanted a mate. Why?"

"Also some of the early changers were taken back by full dragons."

"Yeah." She nodded. "That happens still." She grinned. "Why?"

"Unless I forgot basic math, a whole and a half make three-quarters."

"They do." She nodded. "And those ones can breed together to get a standard level of three-quarters mostly."

"Was your father one of those type?"

"No." She smiled.

"He was saying he was second generation dragon the other day when he was promoting his ideology."

"Yeah, I heard and sent him a note about how that wasn't true and why historically. And I sent it to the same people he was bragging to." She shrugged but walked off. "No, he wasn't a second gen."

"Was he a third generation?"

"Nope."

"How far down was he, Lewis?"

She grinned. "I'm not going to answer that. I'm not a bloodline bigot." She strolled into the house.

He sighed, looking at the others, who were shaking their heads. "Figure it out." Their tech person went to look that up to see if he could figure out what was going on. One seer being batty was one thing. Everyone wanting her to have more kids meant there was something bigger going on. Their tech person waved him over so he looked at the file. "Fuck!"

"Not in front of the kid," Darcy called.

He stomped in there. "You're a second generation," he said firmly.

"Met my grandfather once. He was not amused with my father and that's how he knew who I was. He asked what I wanted from the visit and I said I only wanted to meet him. To learn about the old ways. He's how I know what old line matriarchs are like." She winked. "Grandma there, who wasn't the Grandma he usually admits to, but she gave her son up to him. She only wanted the boons he could give her."

"What boons?"

"She asked for a few things. Including a few pretty things from the hoard to start her future family up right. Promised to bear him a proper heir." She went back to slicing bread. "She's been stricken from the family line but we knew that already."

"So Grandma Rosie slept with a real dragon?"

"They were consorts until they broke apart a few years before I was born. He didn't want to watch her age."

Brock slumped into a seat, staring at her. "So you can ultimately tell them all to shut up."

"You bet I can." She grinned. "Andrew's lines are a bit muddied but Aria's pretty strong. In the analogy you used earlier she's a bit more than half." She cut another slice and moved to make sandwiches. "Put the bread up for me please?" He did that. "Thanks."

"You could show up and note that lineage and shut a lot of problems up."

"Which would be using that for gain. Go ask Garrett. He's into that stuff." She glanced up. "Even if I was first gen they wouldn't listen to a woman. They're too ingrained against us being strong for that. Ask Garrett, he'll handle it most likely."

"Is he related to you?"

"Nope."

"But he's the same..." He waved a hand at her. She nodded, glancing up and going back to laying sandwich meat in neat folds. "Where is he?"

"Usually found on tv talking about history of changers with some supposedly fantastic things that are mostly cover for a few facts being shown and enforced."

"He's one of those wacky history idiots."

"Yup." She grinned. "He's got a point to do that though."

"I'll have someone talk to him. Would he admit that?"

"Probably. He has in a book."

He slumped but stared at her. "How many others are your level or first gen ones?"

"I don't do the census, Brock." She stared at him. "Why would it mater?"

"It could matter a lot to a lot of people."

"It would get us hunted, which is why we don't," she corrected. "Some of those warlord wannabes would definitely hunt them down to end the threat of stronger first gen ones. It'd get their power base taken."

He nodded. "Good point." He watched her make Aria's lunch. "Was Russeline like that?"

"Nope." She grinned. "She didn't take a mate after one got forced on her." She went back to making lunch. "Go let them out of the safe room?" He did that, muttering most of the way. "I made a ham and a turkey," she said, smiling at her daughter. "Which one do you want?"

"Bologna?" she asked, looking at the sandwiches. "That's thick bread, Mom."

"Thick bread only matters if you're feeding it to Fennel, which you know you shouldn't." She stared at her. "Turkey or ham? And no feeding it to the furry one!"

Aria pouted. "Did you already put stuffs on it?"

"No, I haven't put anything but meat and cheese on it. You're a picky kid and I know not to do that," she said patiently. Aria leaned up to look then at her. "Turkey or ham for lunch?"

"No mayonnaise?"

"We don't even have that in the house. How did you find out about that?"

"Cooking show I was watching last night." She ducked her head. "But it looked gross."

"It kinda is. That's why there's none in the house. Turkey or ham?"

"Turkey I guess."

"What stuff do you want on it?" Aria went to the fridge to stare at the shelf with salad dressings and sandwich things. She brought back the raspberry italian so Darcy let her taste that. She got the regular italian and brought it back. Darcy doctored her sandwich and handed it over with a smile. "Fennel, stay. She has to eat on her own, not feed it to you." The wolf whined and looked pitiful. "You're getting fed in a minute. You do not eat people food." She fixed her own sandwich and put everything back then got Fennel some of his fresh food from the fridge. The wolf dug in and munched happily while Darcy sat at the table with her little girl.

"Auntie Celeste said to ask you if I've ever seen a real dragon, one that doesn't change."

"You have, two of them, but she doesn't need to know anything about that. Why did she want to know?" She ate a bite of her sandwich.

"I had your phone and she asked."

"I told you to grab the spare phone to bring with you so I expected that and I'm glad you remembered." She smiled. "Aunt Celeste doesn't need to know anything about that topic. It's not her business and she's the sort that would put you in danger by telling others." She got the spare phone to text that 'aunt'. That got a sigh and a 'fine' from the in-law.

The phone got put back into the grabable spot Aria kept it so she could find it. "People don't need to know private details of your life," she said patiently. "Like the online stuff I complain about? A lot of that shouldn't be shared but people do and it puts them in danger of bad people showing up in their lives."

"I guess. When did I meet them?"

"You were a tiny little baby. That was before we went to live with Jane in New Mexico." She stared at her. "They were highly amused that you were sleeping through it."

"So I was a tiny baby?"

"Yup. Very tiny baby."

"Where?"

She stared at her. "No comment until you're old enough to make that trip on your own, and whoever asked you to ask that, tell them to bite you. They don't need to know because they'd be dangerous to them. People like that would hurt real, true dragons because that meant they weren't the special ones anymore."

"Oh." She nodded, pulling apart her sandwich to eat it, still hating the thicker bread. It wasn't refined bread, it was homemade bread. "Am I starting school next year?"

"You are starting school this fall, young lady." She grinned. "In a nice normal, average town school. There's a few other changers there, mostly a few wolf changers."

"Oh, okay." She went back to nibbling on her pieces of sandwich, then looked at her mother. "That means we have to shop?"

"Yup. Probably. And you have to wear shoes."

Aria grimaced. "That blows." She ate a bigger bite, looking at her wolf friend. He was napping in front of his bowl. "He might need to see someone."

Darcy turned to look at him, noticing her daughter stole her sandwich and replaced it with the bits and pieces. "I think he's just ate himself into a nap today." She looked at her plate then her daughter's. "That's why I asked, Aria." Aria pouted held up the sandwich. "No, you can eat that. Just eat it all." Aria nodded, tearing it apart to eat more of it. Her daughter was so weird sometimes. Fennel got up to go to the door and woofed at someone. Darcy looked. "Let him in, Fennel." The STRIKE team medic came in with the bag, handing Darcy the change with a smile. "Thank you, Doug."

"Welcome, Darcy. Aria, I'm free this afternoon if you wanted to talk to me." She beamed and nodded, eating two last bites before going out with him.

"Get an apple at least," Darcy called. Her daughter grabbed one to nibble on while she talked to her new friend. Darcy finished up both sandwiches with a sigh and cleaned up the lunch mess. Fennel had went with the kid. So she was alone in the house again. She pulled out her new patches and went to call her doctor's office to chew on him a bit. She held up the box when the nurse accepted the video call. "Not the right type since these are the low dose ones that kept me going back into heat."

"He said you didn't really need the higher dosage. You have a mate there now."

"Just because there's guys here to guard my daughter doesn't mean I'm boning them or want to bone them. Frankly, I don't go for that during heats." She stared at her. "And I'm on the higher dosage due to break through heats and the bone issues they cause. Do I need arthritis at thirty? They've already found it starting in one knee at twenty-five, that's why they put me on the higher dosage."

"The doctor thinks you may be ready for a second child."

"Which would cause a lot of problems for my arthritis. And no I'm not. I have no intention of having a second child, probably ever even if I do end up with a consort." The nurse slumped. "Please have him fix it to the right prescription, the one I was on when I showed up, so I don't have to come to him for painkillers." She stared at her. "I'm too young to have the bone density changes I have." The nurse sighed and made that note. "Thanks! I'll bring this back to the pharmacy tonight."

"We'll have your insurance cover it," she said, making that note as well. "I'll have him send it over tonight, Miss Lewis."

"Thank you." She smiled. "Have a good day, Nurse Bethany. I know it's a long week ahead." She hung up and groaned, rubbing her face.

"Arthritis from changing or from the heats leeching the calcium out?" Brock asked.

Darcy flinched and yelped, glaring at him. "Don't sneak up on me!"

"Sorry." He stared at her. "From the heats?" She nodded. "Don't they say to end them sooner in that case?"

"No, they say not to have them at all to stop that and to take some calcium supplements. Which I do. Until I got up here." She stood up. "Actually giving in to a heat would make it worse. The sexual output tends to leach out the calcium faster so I have to take extra those nights I have sex in any way." She shrugged. "Sucks but it happens."

"Would you eating a better diet help?"

"No. I take in at least double the required calcium most days. Plus my supplements. The doc up here doesn't have to deal with too many dragons and he's the sort that think all women want to be broodmares. Repeatedly. I'll head back to the doc in town in a few weeks to check the arthritis. I don't really like him that much, and he's kinda grumpy, but at least he's honest about not liking females being strong enough to be able to decide what they want for dinner."

He held up the mail, letting her take it. "Liker isn't that great of a being but he's a good doctor."

"I know. I've seen a lot of those." She smirked as she read something. "Good, they accepted the contract." He made an inquisitive noise. She looked up. "One of the family properties has the best of all the nesting caves on it and they sold it on purpose to upset me. I talked to the guy who bought it for hunting land and we agreed on use rights and we'd pay the land taxes, but if he ever wanted to sell it I'd get first pick and if he gave up with the county I'd take it back."

"That's not a bad plan."

"The family trust does that with all the family lands. Just Aunt Celeste being an idiot cunt." She put the papers aside after signing them.

"No notary?"

"No, this is the formal copy of it. The original was already filed. The judge just sent us a copy so I've signed it and dated it as a formality."

"That's good." She grinned and nodded. "The power bill too."

She looked and sighed. "Jane needs to quit using so much power." He looked and moaned. "Yeah, her machines do that." She put it aside. She'd pay it later. Somehow. After she talked to Jane. "Too bad solar panels won't work year long up here." She walked off scowling. "Anything good coming this way?"

"Not yet. Your other script?"

"I can go get it. These will bring me out enough that I'm not a danger to others."

He looked, leaning over to accept the call. "Darcy, it's some guy." She came back to sit down. He got out of the way. "Let me find Aria to check on her."

"Thanks, Commander." She looked at the video image, smiling some. "Yes, Dr. Marlay?"

"Arthritis isn't noted in your file, young lady."

"Then you didn't read it. It's been noted since I was twenty-five. It's in the one from New Mexico, the two visits in London, and the speciality visits in New York." He looked and huffed. "Yeah, that's arthritis in us. See, heats do to us what a six-month pregnancy does to human women.

"They realized pretty quickly that the changing sets off flare ups and heats weaken us to the point that we should've never had kids at all originally. So they made suppressants when chemistry got good enough to stop that. I'm still taking extra calcium on top of a calcium heavy diet, with a lot of natural vitamin D and magnesium. And I'm still getting worse. Each heat is detrimental to us. That's why we take the suppressants."

"I have no idea about any of that."

"I realize that. But I have to be on the higher dose or I get break through heats. That's why they put me on them in New Mexico. Aria was old enough to go off nursing and my body had already compensated for the pregnancy. Frankly, I spent two weeks after labor with a fractured hip just from the labor itself. They thought it was the pregnancy but looking at it afterward I had been low on bone density before it."

"They make IV treatments."

"I go in a few weeks to get one from a specialist. And I'm still doing a lot more calcium than suggested and it's still not helping a ton." He grimaced but nodded. "Which is why I'm on the super high dosage."

He looked at the file from New Mexico, grimacing. "You were hospitalized."

"For two days. I fractured my wrist by leaning on it. Dropped Aria onto a countertop a few inches below her. Had a total panic attack about it and they found out about my wrist in the ER when I had her checked over. I think they admitted me so I'd have time to rest and calm down but then they did the special x-rays." She smirked a tiny bit. "Uni of New Mexico was really good about figuring out what was going on. Some women get extreme PMS and some dragons get extreme heats."

He nodded. "All right. I'll put you back on those. The local pharmacy doesn't like them. They refused to fill them once."

"Then send them to a mail in pharmacy please. I don't want to have to air my personal business when I scream at the pharmacist this time."

"This time?"

"Yeah, she refused to give me my calcium ones so I snapped at her last month. I did apologize to her when she realized she was going to kill me since calcium is important to heart strength. I'm hoping she grows up soon and realizes her job and her religion are at odds and she has to pick one."

"There is the conscience laws," he said firmly.

"She's a member of a cult-like religion that doesn't believe in *any* medicines. She's denied people their anti-anxiety meds too. She tried that with me but I glared until she filled it the last time." He slumped. "She can't not believe in medicines and be a pharmacist. That's a breach in ethics and not fixable. She needs to pick one. And I'd use the other pharmacy in the next town but my car's a piece of crap."

He sighed. "Fine. I'll make sure she knows you need this and all your other medicines, even if she does complain. Her father comes in on Saturdays."

"I know, there's a huge waiting time for him." She grinned. "If I wasn't already in heat...."

"Will that lower dose bring you out?"

"Mostly. For a few hours. My body will suck it dry within a day though."

"All right. I'll send those in, Miss Lewis." He looked at her. "Is that why you're adamant you're not having another child?"

"No, it's because I don't want another kid. I went through hell when I had Aria, not just because of the assault or my family being bitches about the assault." He slumped again. She stared at him. "Having a kid is a lot of hard work and I need that strength for other things, including protecting the first kid." She shrugged. "And I'm not married and I don't really want one right now. Maybe some day I'll be up to changing eight diapers a day and being up all night for weeks on end due to colic but it's not right now."

"No, I've seen that. Many women want more children."

"Women have the right to decide that for themselves and if they want more kids, yay them. Hopefully they raise good, healthy, mentally and emotionally strong children who do good things in the world. Plenty of us didn't want kids in the first place. I wasn't going to have any until I got married and probably not for years after that because I expected to need to do things first."

"Oh. I can understand why some women are that way." He looked at her. "You could adopt."

"I may. Especially some of my cousins to train them how to be the later matriarch of the family." She smiled. "It's part of the duty."

"I suppose it would be. I'll send them over now."

"Thank you." She smiled and hung up, then leaned back to tip her head back. She checked, Aria hadn't heard that. One of the guys waved so she waved back. "Aria out in the woods?"

"Asking Doug about why Fennel can't eat people food."

She grinned. "I didn't think he was a vet."

"He's looking things up." He grinned at her. "Need to run back there?"

"Yeah but I can go pick up some groceries." She stood up with a sigh. "Let me change into going out clothes." She went to do that and came back with her wallet and phone. "Aria, want to hit the grocery store and pharmacy to get the meds straightened out?" Doug winced. "Not your fault. He didn't realize dragon women in heat go through a ton of calcium and it wrecks our joints." He winced again but nodded. "Yeah, that's why I'm on the higher dosage. We just talked." She grinned. "And the lady at the pharmacy will probably sulk at me." Aria leaned out to stare at her. "Gotta go pick up meds and milk. C'mon."

"I can stay here."

"I can watch her, Darcy," Doug said. "Rumlow's in bed too."

"I guess that's fine. Fennel, stay with the kid." Fennel barked and leaned on Aria's leg. "Thanks, Doug." She got into her car and drove off, wincing at the roughness of the engine. "Some days I want to be one of the ones sitting on a mythical hoard so I don't have to deal with bad cars and stress." The car's engine spluttered so she gave it more gas. It sped up and quit making noises at her again. She wouldn't tell her car it was ancient and not working again, it apparently got hurt feelings. Darcy went to the pharmacy first, staring at the old guy behind the counter. "Hi, Doctor Mike. Did you get mine for the things I'm supposed to be on?"

"I did, Miss Lewis. Why are you on a high dosage like that?"

"Arthritis."

"Ooh. I heard that can be a problem for some of you girls." She nodded with a sigh. "I heard gossip that you have new boyfriend?"

"No, I have a few guards out there guarding the kiddo. Because someone tried something stupid yet again," she finished with a smirk. "So they're camping and putting up with Aria asking them all sorts of things."

"That's how kids learn," he said.

"Yup, and she's already super smart. Even if do have to keep reminding her not to feed Fennel people food."

"Fennel?"

She grinned. "Lady Sif brought a canine from Asgard to protect her. He's a big puppy, and eight-month-old. Vet Chalmers takes care of him." She smiled. "He likes to lay on top of Aria whenever she's still for a few minutes." He laughed but smiled back. She showed him a picture.

"That is a huge dog."

"He's part wolf we think." She grinned. "He's super protective of her though. He barked at Jane when she called from the conference the other night because she was keeping Aria up late."

"That's a good dog." He handed over the bag, letting her pay for it. "That's a six month supply."

"Good! I hate going into heat. I always end up with aches and pains." She got some aleeve and bought it too, putting it into the bag. "Let me go get milk too. Thanks, Doctor Mike."

"Welcome, kid." He smiled at her back. She was so much nicer than her aunt, who had been a battleaxe. Darcy was a lot more womanly and sweeter. He smiled at the next one coming in to pick things up. "I just saw pictures of Miss Lewis' dog from Asgard. Huge puppy she said. Very protective of the kid."

The officer nodded. "The thing's a wolf from Asgard, isn't even a year old yet, and it'll probably be bigger than Aria for a few years. He's going to pout when she goes to school this fall. Fennel likes to sit on the porch to watch the mailman and trash guys when they show up to make sure they don't get near the kid. But he's a sweet puppy. Sniffed me and let me pet him right away. Took to the SHIELD guys up there watching her out for her kid right away. Didn't bite anyone yet when they tried to break in. Fennel is a model protector for the kid."

The pharmacist smiled and nodded. "Sounds like it. Is that legal?"

"It's a diplomatic gift."

"Oh, so outside all those regulations."

"She'll have it see a local vet every six months. They agreed that was a good idea and she'd let us know if the thing went feral. So far it's a pouty little puppy. Aria was running through the hose and he was pouting that he didn't want to play in the water the last time I had to head up there to get someone from the SHIELD guys." Mike grinned at that, handing over his bag of meds. "No daughter today?"

"She's talking with her mother. A few people mentioned she was being...unhelpful with some of her choices."

"Yeah, she denied the Stephenson kid his meds and you know he's on some strong anti-anxiety meds and a light anti-psych."

"That poor kid," Mike agreed. "I came in to handle that myself that day when they called the house." He grinned. "Her mother is going to talk to her so I'm in for the next two days."

"Even better. Thanks, Mike." He left, going to spread that news. They'd have a run on refills today because Mike didn't fuss at them about what they were taking.

***
part 7 by Voracity2
Brock went up to Darcy that night, sniffing her neck. "That's rude," she noted with a glare at him.

"I don't mean anything by it. Just making sure since you stunk like soured lemons earlier and that's not normal."

"Yeah, new calcium meds again." She waved the bottle. "Stronger ones."

"That's good. Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. Fully out of heat and just fine."

He stared at her. "The arthritis stuff."

"It happens to a lot of us."

"I realize that. It happens to guys who go into rut too." He stared at her. "I know there's a few new treatments."

"I've been on the quarterly IV stuff now for years. Since Aria was about six months old. University of New Mexico put me on it when I fractured a wrist by leaning. So far I'm doing okay, just some joint pain."

"What about the drugs for RA? Or even PA?"

"I didn't think about the psoriatic arthritis drugs. The RA ones are not suitable to any dragon."

"That blows." She nodded. "But you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm about as strong as I usually am. I'm already recovering from the heat, I've taken extra calcium the whole time."

"Is that why you don't like to change?"

"No." She leaned her back against the countertop. "This is a fundamental difference here, Brock. To me, with who I am, I learned that the dragon and human are the same. Just look a bit different. We're like siamese twins in some ways. There's no either/or or helping one side and not the other. It's all me. You said you consider your dragon to be the stronger form, the original one. To me, they're both the original.

"I'm as comfortable with my wings and scales as I am with my skin and hair. I have to be a bit careful because I can change unexpectedly. I always have. That's why my first one was while I was sleeping at seven. Yeah, I blocked myself a bit with the guilt but that was my dragon mind going 'it's bad and we have to hide from the bad'. I wouldn't have come out of the apartment at all if I didn't have to so I could hide from all that."

"So you really don't consider it a human and dragon."

"No I'm a draman. I'm both at the same time. The dragon and human sides are both in there, coexisting peacefully as they're the same thing. They taught that the dragon was different due to the church hating on us for generations." She smiled a bit. "You're a dragon who can change. A lot of them are humans who can change. I'm just...all at once."

"Your scales don't come out often."

"Actually." She picked up his hand to run up her arm. "My scales are never fully gone. You can feel them underneath the skin all the time. That's why I used to wear those sweaters when I was around a lot of non-changers, so they didn't freak out at that." He stared at it. "Yeah. I don't differentiate. It's all the same. Being in heat means that I enjoy the sex just as much as a human as a dragon. I may still have issues about being pinned down in my full size but that's trauma related," she finished quietly. "And while sex as a dragon is fun and all, it's a bit too submissive feeling for me to enjoy it as much."

"Flying one would probably solve that."

"Yeah but that won't happen until I have a consort. That's supposed to be special, something that you do with your consort. Not just anyone out there to have some fun. That's why I have sex in my human form a lot more often than my dragon one. If they can't please me there, they sure can't please me in my bigger forms. And many guys don't know what to do with a pussy anyway."

"I can't say as I've ever asked a guy how he did that." He shifted back away from her, letting her arm go. "I can totally compartmentalize the two."

"Which is what you were taught. The Church made most everyone learn that to feel shame about what their ancestors screwed." She shrugged. "Me, I'm just me. Now and then my dragon tongue will come out to help me cook with spices so I don't get too happy with them. My scales are always there. My tail may not come out real often because it gets in the way and it knows that."

He blinked a few times. "How did you learn that?"

"Grandma Rosie." She smiled. "That's how she was brought up too. She was a first gen dragon too." He nodded at that. "The same as you don't separate out your mom and your dad, why should I separate out what they gave me?"

"I get that. Though I do look more like my mother most of the time." She grinned at him. "Are you teaching Aria that?"

"Yup. Her scales aren't as prominent as mine were. They're still just under her skin but you can't really feel them most of the time until she's in a bubble bath."

"Huh." He nodded. "That makes sense. I...is that to do with the strength of the dragon in your bloodline?"

"No, that's all raising. Any of us can be raised that way. My mother complained for years about Grandma Rosie teaching me that. Called it uncouth."

"Which leads back to religious arguments that used to get us named libidinous and unworthy of God," he realized. She nodded. "I didn't even know that. I can commune with mine when I meditate."

"If I could meditate I could probably do the mirror thing to talk to myself. I can't meditate very well." She shrugged but smiled. "If I hear them differently I've noticed stuff subconsciously that it's being brought up. Like someone in the tree out there." She pointed. He called that in and the guys went to pounce them. She grinned. "I hear some purring now and then. She's very happy with our egg. Even if Aria hates being called that."

He nodded. "That's good though." He stared at her. "Can full dragons change?"

"Not that I'm aware of. I asked and got asked why they'd want to." She grinned. "He was confused about that."

"Huh. Yeah, being in dragon form is pretty great."

"Being both at the same time is like being in dragon form all the time for you." She turned and got back to work. "Tell me who that guy is?"

"He said he wanted to check on that wolf. We've lectured him about how Fennel is a baby and is protecting the baby, and a diplomatic gift that would bring some of Asgard down here to destroy his family."

"I'd do it anyway. We do have governmental permission to have him." She grinned. "I asked the guy over the DNR at the state level about it and he called up higher because it was a diplomatic present. So we have official permission from all the way up."

"Great. That's safer for Fennel anyway." He looked at what she was doing. "Soup?"

"For tomorrow." She nodded. "Aria needs something warm tomorrow. It's supposed to be chilly overnight." She looked at him. "Are you guys okay out there?"

"Yeah. The burrow's really warm. We've found a blocked off back section of the cave from a dirt slide and cleared it. That gives us enough room to move the whole camp in there if we want. It even unblocked the water supply so we don't have to run to the barn to get water."

"You can use the kitchen."

"I know." He grinned. "Don't want to make it too easy for them." He walked off after patting her on the shoulder.

Darcy looked up then got back to chopping vegetables for the soup. Aria was in bed already, with Fennel on top of her like usual. So they were all safe.

***

Darcy looked up a few days later at a loud 'boom' that went off. "Please tell me that wasn't Jane?" she yelled as she headed that way. Aria ran into the house with Fennel right behind her and headed for the safe room. "Okay." She went outside to find her ancient piece of crap car was now a smoking wreck. "Who did what?" she demanded, hands going to her hips.

"We were totally trying to figure out something we found in the back of the cave," Rollins said, holding it up with a wince.

Darcy walked over to look at it. "It's obviously a laser of some sort with that tuning crystal." She looked at him. "You blew up my car. I have to be in the city tomorrow for a specialist's appointment." She glared.

"We can drive you," Doug offered.

She looked at him. "I'll be in there all day, Doug. They'd make you go do paperwork." She looked at Rollins again. "You owe me a better used piece of crap car." She walked off with the laser.

"Yes, ma'am," he said smartly, looking at Brock, who was shaking his head. They had woken him up and he was touch grumpy about it.

"We'll figure it out," Brock called after her.

"Jane's back, she might babysit," she called back. "If I have to, I'll fly in." She went to talk to Jane, who took the laser to look at when she walked in. "They blew up the car."

"Aria hates going to the doctor with you anyway. I figured I was baby and wolf sitting."

Darcy grinned, hugging her. "Thanks, Jane. It'll probably be one of the super long ones because tomorrow's an IV day. I have to figure out where I can fly to." She went to call them, bringing the computer out onto the porch. The nurse winced at the picture on the screen. "So I may be a touch late tomorrow. I can fly in but I have no idea where I can land near the hospital. You guys are a good bit away from the area in Central Park that's a safe fly spot."

"You shouldn't fly in at all, Miss Lewis. It's not really permitted. It makes people nervous."

"I get that a lot." She grinned. "I'd take the train but it's a good thirty minute drive in the other direction."

"What happened to that wreck of metal?"

"Someone found a laser and wanted to see what it was." The nurse giggled. "Seriously. I had an uncle that tinkered. It was in the back of something."

"Oh, dear," she said, still laughing. "Can you fly to the train station?"

"I may be able to but that's a bit more iffy. That whole town is anti-shifter. They drove out a deer shifter."

"Oh, one of those. Let me see if I can figure out where you can land. I'll call back in a minute." She hung up and went to tell the scheduling nurse. Who was giggling over that but knew where she could land nearby. The port authority had a safe landing and flying area for training flights. It was only ten blocks away. So an easy cab distance if she didn't want to walk it. She told Darcy that, letting her look it up for directions. Darcy promised to be on time if possible and hung up, going to make a flight path plan. At least that was away from both major airports. She handed that plan to Brock so he'd know where she was. He was still grumpy.

He blinked at it then at her. "You can't fly all the way back to the city, Lewis."

"It's only an hour. I can do that."

"We can drive you." He sipped his coffee. "I can pop in on my mother to nag her back about the last email." She sighed but nodded. "Your appointment's at nine?"

"Nine-thirty so I have to be there by nine for the pre-IV check." She stared at him. "It'll be a long day of waiting. I won't get out until probably fiveish because there's a post IV watch time."

"That is long, but it means I get to let my mother make me lunch." He stared at her.

She nodded. "If you insist I wouldn't mind. The commuter train's not near here, it's a few towns over and they're very anti-shifter."

"I've seen some of their people and saw the local news that said they ran a stag out." He finished that cup of coffee. "I'll drive you tomorrow. The guys can watch Jane and the kid."

Darcy stared at him. "Is Fury going to change you guys out? No one's mentioned that and I know a few of your guys have families."

"He's sending up two to trade out weekly starting next week. I'm going to let Fennel scare the crap out of them so I don't have to nag." He smirked. "And Rollins needs to find you a better used car."

"He blew it up."

"I know, and I agree, he needs to replace what he broke. The same as we'd replace a lamp we broke during guarding." He looked at Rollins then at her. "Just fuel efficient?" She nodded. "We can figure that out. Some of us know engines. Yours was bad anyway."

"It had hurt feelings. I called it crappy."

He nodded. "It needed a lot of work from what we heard whenever you started it." She nodded, going to check on Jane again. Aria was up the tree so she was safe enough. She was probably even asleep underneath the sleeping wolf. He looked at the team. "I'll drop any paperwork on Hill tomorrow before I get fed." They nodded, handing over reports and other things that needed to go in.

"Patrick, you were going back first anyway. You and Mays. Henry, I pushed you back by a week because your wife warned me to not let you home yet. Apparently she's painting." That guy shuddered. "So you're second going back." He nodded, walking off calling his wife to talk to her.

They all heard it when he huffed at her trying to paint a nursery for someone, and then the shouting that it was about his future kid she hadn't told him about during any of their nightly calls. "Maybe you're going second, Mays. I'll bring up a relief agent tomorrow." He called that in to Fury so he could set up a replacement when he was in the office tomorrow.

***

Brock walked up to Fury's office, tapping since the door was open and his assistant wasn't at her desk. "Reports."

"Thank you." He took them to skim, frowning. "You're still in the burrow?"

"It's a really big nesting cave, just not up on top of a hill. We've got the full camp in there. It's nicely insulated. The run to the barn for showers is easy enough. Before you flip, Rollins had an accident." Fury flipped and found that one, staring at it. He looked up at him. Brock shrugged. "We agreed, we owe her a new piece of crap car. Hers was about dead anyway, that's why he tested the device on it."

"So he intentionally destroyed her car?"

"Her car was dying a slow, painful death. It was merciful."

"I see."

"She said just something fuel efficient that was good enough to get her little girl to school next month." He grinned. "She's in for a specialist visit."

"Perfect. How long does she have?"

"Probably about five this afternoon."

"Oh, one of those. All right. Abortion?"

"No. Treatment for bone density."

"Oh, that stuff. My mother had that." He looked at the other reports then at his STRIKE commander. "How many have you sent to the local boys for us?"

"Romanoff picks up about weekly. She enjoys that bakery."

"Is AIM still coming?"

"Twice. Once someone minor HYDRA tried to show up. The officers complained they had to scrape him off the road. We were really happy that we managed to stomp him that flat in about ten minutes. Good team building."

Fury smirked. "Any luck on making her think you like her?"

"I do like her. She's plucky and a good mom. She's a strong woman. We don't see eye-to-eye on a few things, including a major way we see our changes." He shrugged. "She's not interested. She didn't even give me a flirty look during her last heat when the local doctor didn't understand about higher dosage suppressants being necessary."

"So it's unlikely?"

"I think my job ruined it for her." He stared at Fury, who rolled his eye but nodded that he understood that. "That and her family home has to have her in residence most of the time. If she's gone over a week someone else could take over."

"That blows."

"Sucks wide actually. Does limit her being able to take Aria on vacations."

He sighed but nodded. "Your relief agent won't be ready until one."

"I can pick him up on the way to get Lewis. My mother's been nagging and I brought Henry back to talk to his wife. She wanted him held back by a week while she painted the nursery he didn't know they needed." Fury winced. "He ranted so long and hard it woke up Aria and she told him to shut up and fly home like a real dragon would. Fennel barked to back her up when Henry glared at her. I pointed out he wasn't a dragon changer, he couldn't fly. Her answer to that was a huff and to ask Jane Foster if Loki would change him so he could fly home."

"Has the kid met Loki?"

"No idea," he admitted. "Unless he's the wolf we haven't seen him."

"All right." He stared at him. "How chummy did she talk about him?"

"She may just know him through Thor's stories."

"Uh-huh. Ask Thor?"

"No idea where he is."

He tapped a button to call Avengers tower. "Rogers, get Thor on the phone. I need an important question answered about Loki." He listened to Rogers complain. "That's what I'm wondering. Thor, Nick Fury. Aria Lewis has been talking like she's met Loki a few times. Is that possible or probable?" He listened. "So he's tried to sneer at Jane Foster and she sent him off with something she created...oh, something Lewis' uncle created. Great! So does the kid talk to him?"

He listened, rubbing his forehead. "That's fine. No, she grumped at someone who was complaining at his wife to ask Loki to be changed into a dragon so he could fly home. Exactly. You may want to. Her mom's in town for a doctor appointment so Foster probably has the kid right now." Brock nodded. "Let me know if he's been around here, Thor. Just in case he tries another invasion." He hung up. "He's went to annoy Foster twice now and she's sent him off with something Lewis' uncles made."

"I wish she had told us." He sent that to Rollins to figure it out. "Jack'll go talk to her." He grinned. "Then tell us all."

"What destroyed her car?"

"Some sort of laser wand weapon."

"Shit." He looked up. "Seriously?" Brock nodded. "Great!"

"Looked like it could've been a Harry Potter wand sort of wand with one external crystal. We've decided we'll ask if she knows first."

"Saves you from buying her a new car," he said, staring at him. Brock grinned. "Fine. Go have lunch with your mother or whatever. Come back after three to pick him up or let me know."

"She said she'd be done by five."

"That's fine." He waved a hand. Brock strolled off. Fury slumped, shaking his head. He was hoping all the stress would be solved by Lewis hitting on Rumlow but apparently she hated SHIELD agents. It was probably his fault.

Hill came in to get the reports, staring at a few of them. "What sort of laser?"

"Wand style."

"Oh. Nice." She looked up. "How was that found randomly?"

He leaned back to smirk at her. "What do Archie, Morty, and April mean to you?"

"The rebuilders of AIM," she said. "No idea beyond that."

"You'd be right. More notably Uncles Archie and Morty, and one's ex-wife named April." She slumped, staring at him. "According to Lewis family legends, they restarted it to stop the wars going on. They got overthrown by the ex-wife, who then got it taken from her by the current group." He smirked. "They apparently tinkered up there too." She let out a tiny, painful sounding moan. "Yeah. My feeling too. So Rollins put her dying car of out its misery apparently by testing against it."

She nodded. "Great! Can we help Lewis set up somewhere safer?"

"It's a matriarch's home. She has to live there all the time. Only allowed off about seven days a year."

"That sucks."

"Yup." He nodded. "She's in town getting some sort of speciality treatment for something orthopedic."

"Even better." She grimaced. "All right, so all the pushing?"

"I pushed too hard and Rumlow said they don't connect on a few fundamental things."

"Pity. It'd solve a lot of local stress."

"She was in serious heat, color bleached and all, and didn't even flirt with him. So I guess they're going to have to suck it up."

"I'll pass that along to Pekin." She left to spread that gossip. He had connections back into the local dragon communities who could gossip with others. Maybe it'd stop the bullshit about Lewis.

***

Darcy came out of her doctor's office wobbly. Brock got out to help steady her. "I'm okay."

"Not the point. You're about to trip and fall."

"The meds do it to me a lot." She sighed, looking at the other agent. "Let me get into the back to lay down?"

"Sure. If you want." He helped her in and then shut the door for her. He got in to drive. "How soon before you go back?"

"Every three months." She yawned, doing one seatbelt around her waist. "Just like normal. New med but it's supposed to be stronger and not come with a risk of hip fractures."

"That's good then. You rest. Need us to hit a pharmacy?"

"Nope. They had it brought up from the one here. I'm on a different sort of calcium supplement. This one works differently. I'm off my suppressants for a week though." She grimaced. "This stuff counteracts it and would send me into a super rut sort of heat."

"All right. We can watch out for that. Won't that hurt your calcium balance though?"

"Not fully. If I was on them both, yup. Now, not likely since I just had one." She yawned again. "Let me know when we get close to home. Aria will want to babble all day."

"I can do that." He drove off, glancing back now and then. He looked at the replacement agent. "That is Darcy Lewis. You were briefed earlier. She had a specialist appointment earlier."

"So she's a changer then?"

"We both are," Brock agreed. "So is her daughter. Half the team has another form of some sort."

"Oh. I didn't realize STRIKE did that."

"Alpha team does. Epsilon doesn't. Beta has one, and they're the medic and tech person." He shrugged one-sidedly. "We build teams that work and work well but consider whether you have one form or two afterward." He nodded. Brock could get a bit paranoid about him being one of the bigots but they'd end up locking him in a closet if they had to.

Darcy yawned and sat up then sighed and laid back down. "Turnpike?"

"Yup, to the exit by the house. That way it's safer from a road ambush. It'll take an extra twenty but you can nap it anyway, Lewis."

"Okay. Thanks." She drifted off again.

Brock smirked, shaking his head. "She snores just like her daughter," he said quietly. "Though Aria says that dragons don't snore, they purr." He looked at him. "By the way, there's a dog named Fennel. He's huge and happy and protective of the kid. Don't hurt the dog, it came from Asgard."

"Got it," he agreed. "Do we need to stop for supplies?"

"We've got a good camping area in an older nest cave. It's a burrow nest but it's safe, comfortable, and well insulated." That got a funny look. "There's the kid and her in the house. Us being in there would upset the kid. There's two spare apartments we run out to get showers from. It was that or camping in an old barn."

"Probably safer and easier in the nest then. Never been in one myself."

"This one is pretty old and very comfortable. Full base camp is set up in there plus sleeping places." That got a hum from the junior agent. Yup, he was probably going to cause a problem. Well, his team would gladly stomp on him when he did try to start something.

***

Darcy looked at the officer that stepped up to her in the grocery store a week later. "What's up, Officer Mel?"

"Someone made a claim that you're claiming relation to some terrorists."

She rolled her eyes, shaking her head with a sigh. "When my uncles started something, it was to stop wars going on. One had lost family in Korea and the other one lost his only son to Vietnam." That got a nod. "That group got taken from them, and from the one that took it from them, and became AIM."

"Wow. Okay."

"Remember hearing about Archie and Morty? Them."

"Oh! Yeah I heard a few things about mad geniuses."

"No, they considered themselves guys who tinkered in the garage. They were just exhausted with the US playing out the cold war by starting mini wars."

"That did suck," he agreed. "What were they to you?"

"Mom's uncles." She took out her notepad with her shopping list and a pen to draw on it. "Here. They're Aunt Emmaline's direct first cousins. That same generation. One of their sibs had my mom, who had me." She let him see it. "So they were great-uncles. I only learned about them by family stories but we've found a few of their things recently and AIM just found out that they had founders who weren't into the same thing they were. The new guy who just took over AIM wants to know what they hid from them after they got overthrown by one's ex-wife."

"Okay. So the guards you have?"

"To protect the sprout. Aria needs it."

"You could go home."

"I am home. I'm the clan's matriarch." She grinned. "And that means I have to live in the house."

He grimaced. "I don't know how that works."

"A lot of people don't." She shrugged. "That's more family politics than a lot of things in most cases." She pushed her cart on. "Anything else, Officer Mel?"

"They wanted to know what you had stored out there too."

She looked at him. "Family records mostly. I brought the first non-fiction book to come into the house in over eighty years."

"I think the locals are worried about what you're doing out there, Miss Anderson."

"No, Anderson was Aunt Emmaline. It was from her second husband. I'm fully a Lewis." She stared at him. "And if you're going to try something against the family, just don't. I don't need to go to war this month with her starting school soon." He scowled. She stared back. "Sorry but I don't and I will over my baby girl and my family." She gave him a pointed look. "You have a great day, Officer Mel." She walked off again, texting Jane to tell the agents. Because Jane could turn on the full security system with Aria's help. They had to find Aria, she was in the woods. Jane wrote back a note that Aria hadn't been found in about a half-hour of looking so she'd tell the agents looking for her. Darcy stared and got done, checking out and heading home. Someone was in her driveway and she looked at them. "Go away," she called. "Before I find Uncle Archie's tinkering stuff to blow you up."

The man smirked. "Those family records are most interesting, Miss Lewis." And just like that Darcy changed and burned him. He didn't even get to scream. The few agents in the house ran out and she stomped on them. One tried to set something off so she burned his hand with the switch. The small fire got started but she set off the fire suppressant system and it put it out. The remaining few agents stared at her. "Guys?" she called. "Where are we?" Jane came rushing out. "Here, tie them up for me, Jane?"

"Aria's not answering anyone's call in the woods."

"I can track her. Tie them up." Jane nodded, getting Darcy's rope stash to get them tied up. Darcy took off for the woods, following Fennel's scent. She found him, and he was injured. "Shit." One of the agents rushed over. "He goes to the vet in the next town," she said with a point. "Now. Jane has the AIM guys who tried to burn the house." She glared when he didn't move, but he did carefully pick up the wolf and bring him to the team SUV's. Darcy searched, finding Aria in a cave, pulling her out to cuddle. "It's all right."

"One of them hurt Fennel," she sobbed into her shoulder.

"Whoever it was is going to pay greatly, daughter. No matter who it was." Brock landed next to her. She stared at him. "So the cluster fuck of the day happened how? I got talked to by Officer Mel in town."

"One of the anti-changers from that town showed up to protest this being historically owned." She sighed but nodded. "He tried something and got taken off by someone. Not sure if that relief agent had something to do with it or not. I'm finding that out."

Aria glared at him. "One of you hurt Fennel!"

"One of the agents?" he demanded. "Who did it?" She shrugged. "Okay, I'll find that out too and stomp them into the ground for it." She nodded, going back to crying on her mother's arm. "Get her back to the house."

"That safe room won't last through a fire," she said quietly.

"We won't let that happen, Darcy."

"I had to stop it. They were in the house." He groaned. They went back together, her carrying her daughter. One of the AIM guys was free and trying to get something out of the car, which Brock landed on top of to smash it down.

Darcy handed Jane Aria and checked the house over. Some of the older family records were in the fireplace but the rest was safe. And then Darcy felt someone, most likely her cousin Melissa, trying to take the matriarch role from her. She concentrated and blasted that little brat into a coma for now. She'd deal with that when she calmed down. She was tired of this and the fussing of the other family that wasn't even hers.

Darcy cut them out of the family completely, only keeping Elaine. A few more showed up in the same light so she cut them out too. Her mother was throwing a fit, she could feel it through the family bond, but oh well. It was her family's problem anyway. Her mother tried to call. Darcy put the phone on speaker. "Mom, not right now. We're presently under attack thanks to your uncle's former creation. Please do yell at the spirit of your Uncle Archie for me, 'kay?"

She hung up and went to make sure the rest of the house was clear. She called Fennel's vet. "It's Darcy Lewis. Is he there yet and how is he?" She listened. "Okay, so went to the wrong vet? Please do go save him. I don't know. Aria claimed he got shot but I didn't sense any blood. No, we have idiots here. Thank you. I'll call in an hour or so. Let me calm Aria down." She hung up and went back outside. "House is clear outside the attic. I can't get up there in this form. If I could, Aunt Mary's armory is up there since that was her painting room."

Brock looked at her. "Let Rollins go look?" She nodded. "You go into the safe room, Aria. With your aunt Jane." Jane nodded, taking her in there with the spare phone. Darcy was growling. "You good?"

"They put Melissa up to take the vow today. During it."

"That's fucked up."

"She's one of the in-laws. I've cut them completely out, outside those kids and Elaine." She sat on her tail, looking at him. "So now what?"

"Now, we clean up the mess. Which officer?"

"Mel. New guy?"

"Went with them to the vet."

"They hit the wrong vet but mine knows so he'll go save Fennel from the other guy. Was that new guy part of this?"

"No. He doesn't understand, considers it very weird and slightly wrong, but he'd never do that, Darcy. And if I find out one of my team did have something to do with it, they're not going to make it." She nodded and laid down. "You relax for now. Let me handle all this."

"Please. And if my mother calls, ignore it. She tried to throw a fit."

"Great!" He went to do clean up the mess they had found started. The family records were removed from the fireplace and put on the couch out back for now in case they were a bit warm. The rest of the house was searched a second time and they were secure there. Rollins found the house map on the security system and found a few rooms of armory.

One was Aria's safe room so he left that alone after checking on Jane. The attic, he was amused at the artwork up there. And found the sliding panel for the armory. It wasn't huge but it was weird. And guns. He took pictures for Rumlow and looked at one gun, nodding at how used it was. It needed cleaned. The other armories had more recently touched weapons.

Still mostly dusty and could use cleaned. And a few more weird things. One large box he took outside to look at, and blew up the ground near that tree. He winced and the others moved to fix it. Aria would sob about the family tree too. They hated to see kids crying. Especially that one.

Rumlow hung up. "The backup already heading here will stop in to brief the local police for us. Fennel is fine, one agent headed there automatically because those two called in help for it. The actual vet has him and says he's just sedative darted. He's looking for any injuries." He took a deep breath.

"The plot by AIM may have just broken AIM's back because they were that dumb. We had their head guy here." They looked at the smoking remains of the head of AIM. Then at the ones they had retied up for Jane. There was probably two missing somewhere in the woods so he'd go hunt them down later. Darcy came out carrying Aria. "The vet has Fennel and said he's just napping, Aria. I called the agents that took him." She nodded, tucking her face under her mother's hair.

"Is it safe to go there?" she asked.

"Let me check your car." He looked at the tree then at her. Then at Rollins.

Darcy looked at him. "If you blew up that, you can fix it just like you did the car, without replacing it. They planted that tree in 1826 and each of us has climbed it at least once." She went to the car with Brock following. He cleared the car of any explosives but held Aria while Darcy started it just in case because she was paranoid. She got Aria into her car seat and got back in to drive to the vet's.

Brock looked at Rollins. "Pick a better, scrawny tree."

"Yeah, I didn't mean to hit near the tree. It skews left."

"Figures." He came to look at it, aiming for a forest tree. It destroyed two of them to the left. "Good to know." Rollins nodded. "Fix the tree."

"Fine." He went to check it with the other guys not guarding the AIM people. Maria Hill got out of the first SUV that pulled in. "She took the sprout to safety at the vet's since the dog had to go."

"That's safe," she agreed. "What happened here?"

"Well, that charcoal briquette used to be he head of AIM," Brock said with a point. "They wanted into her uncle's things and tried to burn the family records." Hill winced at that. "It got stopped, Hill. We have the agents here in custody. A local officer tried to talk to Darcy about those same uncles in the grocery store. They darted or something Fennel to get him away from Aria." She winced again. "The kid's fine. Bit traumatized."

"Figures. I would be too even if I wasn't five." She looked around. "It's pretty here."

"Her family has owned it since the late seventeen hundreds."

"That's a family heirloom then." She sighed. "Give me a full brief on what's been going on."

"We haven't really seen AIM outside that one guy. A few bigots. One teenage couple thinking it was sweet to go hide in a nest to have their first time together. Nothing bigger than that one AIM guy."

"And now, you had a lot of AIM." She looked at the cowering people. "What happened to the dead ones?"

"Lewis got mad that they were threatening her family."

"Shit."

"I landed on top of the AIM SUV. Sorry it may have to be towed." Hill looked at that partially smashed SUV. "We got back from finding the kid to find one had gotten free and was getting something out of the back."

Rollins came out of the house with the cordless phone. "Her mother wanted to know what happened."

"Tell her to wait, Darcy's with Aria helping Fennel, and we've handled the idiots her uncles started."

Rollins repeated that. Then he replied who he was to tell her that. She hung up. "She's not happy that SHIELD is here or that we're blaming her uncles."

"I can understand wanting to fight against the wars going on," Brock said. "The ones who took it over on them, not so much."

"Why?" Hill asked.

"They started it to fight back against the mini cold war wars going on."

"Oh, that reason. That was a good reason to start something like AIM would've been. I can only imagine they'd be more humanitarian if they were like Lewis." Her agents gathered the arrested ones, and the parts of the others, and one even scooped up the charcoal remains of the other one. "Which one was he?"

"We were in the woods getting Aria to safety." He called up the security cameras they had installed, letting her see it. She blinked at what Lewis landing on someone did to them. And Rumlow landing on top of the SUV. "So I'm guessing that's the head guy now?"

"He was third-in-command but wanted to move up. Pity about him." She made that note on the report. "The local officer was not involved, but he was one of those who hated changers so they used him to waylay Lewis so they had more time. The agent there to pass on reports said that he's retired before he confessed about why he was retiring. He didn't want the kid hurt, even if she was a part-time dragon as he put it."

"Lewis will listen to an apology but I doubt it should be soon," Rollins said as he came over. He tested the new thing he had just found in the kitchen on the AIM car. It sort of...sucked in on itself and became an unrecognizable ball of what looked like melting plastic. "Huh."

"Would she let us test those weapons they tinkered into being?" Hill asked.

"I can ask," Brock said.

She looked at him. "Why did half of New York want you to date her?"

"Some seer said that we'd be good together and any kids we had would be strong. Pushed it as a new era of strength and protection." Hill slumped. "Lewis likes me fine but she's not into guys like me, Hill. Or if she was, she's hidden it pretty well. She doesn't even usually want help for heats." He shrugged. "That's all up to her. I'd flirt but she's not made herself seem receptive."

"She stares at your ass when you walk away from her," Jack Rollins said with a shiteating grin. "We thought you two could make it too."

"If she'd let me, I'd gladly flirt. I like her and the kid. Of course, I'd have to give up my job because I can't commute in daily from here." Hill stared at him. "I can't."

"An hour isn't an unheard of commute," she noted. "Just not within STRIKE. Unless you become their senior agent and therefore handler and oversight." He shrugged. "You'll let me know if I need to make that personnel change." She looked over as Lewis drove back in with the kid and the big dog. "That is one huge beast," she said quietly.

"That's Fennel. He came from Asgard and Lady Sif," Rollins said, walking over to help by picking up Fennel for the ladies. "He good?"

"Sedated," Darcy sighed. "Bit of a scratched spot from falling onto the woods floor." She took him from him. "C'mon, kiddo, we'll let you both rest on the couch."

"We moved those records onto the back porch in case they were still a bit warm," Jack said. "They only had one box out."

"Yeah, those were hereditary files on the family's lines." She grimaced. "That way he can't talk about my birth father." She carried Fennel into the house with Aria following to curl up on him.

Thor landed with a thump and a bit of ground shaking. "Darcy?" he called.

"In the house," she called back. She smiled at him. "Hey, Thor." She gave him a hug. "Aria was trying to hide when AIM got here and they sedative darted Fennel."

Thor looked at Aria. "I'm sure he would rather it be him than you." She burst out in tears.

"Thor, she's a little girl!" Darcy complained, picking her up to hug her. "She doesn't need to worry more about people like that coming for her!"

"Sorry, I was trying to ease her pain, not make it worse." He patted Aria on the back. "He was not truly hurt, Aria. He would not want you to cry so." She glared but wiggled down to hug her friend and cry on him. Thor sighed, looking at Darcy. "I did not mean harm."

"I know, Thor. It's been an ass of a day."

"I had heard. What has happened?"

"My mother's uncles started a group that became AIM."

"I remember fighting some of them. Very weird weapons, often built off alien ideas."

She nodded. "The uncles started it to fight back against those people who were starting pointless wars to fight the cold war." He nodded at that. "And then they got AIM taken from them by the current people. They wanted to see what the uncles had stored here. They got with some local bigots who hate changers to help them."

"That is foul. Are you and Aria well?"

"We're both about ready to cry again. It's been a horrible day and I'm about ready to lose my temper and go take them the fuck over so I can stomp them all." She stared at him.

He gave her a nudge. "I will sit with Aria. You go hug the commander for a bit, let him calm you down. You are good enough friends for him to fill in for what a true mate would give you."

"We're not like that!"

He stared at her. "There are not many ways of ending post battle stresses, especially when you feel another coming. I know I could still go to Jane for mine. The same as he would gently hold you while you cried and raged about this if you asked." She walked off shaking her head. He picked her up to carry her out there, handing her to Brock. "She is in the post battle rage that you get when you know more is coming but now is already hard." He went back up there. "I will watch Aria and her friend Fennel." Personally he thought it cute that Aria had named him so close to his father's name.

Brock looked at Darcy then pulled her closer to hold. "Shh. Calm it down. Cry for now, then you can go throw a fit in the woods where Aria won't see and be scared." She shook her head but he stroked over her hair, making her relax enough to be able to cry. Hill walked away, letting him handle it. He ended up sitting down with her when she seemed to collapse.

***

Darcy brought a tupperware storage tub out later that night, handing it to Jack. "Do not use it on my car, the house, the tree, or any nesting cave. Or you get to rebuild it by hand." She walked off. "Tell them if they come back again, I'm going to find worse and use it on them. I'm tired of having to protect people and if I have to do it one more time I'm going to just destroy everything and then laugh as I finish going evil."

He nodded, taking it to look at outside the nest they were borrowing. The two things in there were small but looked ominous. He took them to test on the woods across the road, which weren't owned by anyone. The first was the lesser looking weapon and it vaporized a good swatch of trees. He put it back carefully and looked at the second one. He didn't want an accident so he looked at the plans underneath them. And the thing hidden underneath the plans was something cringe-worthy. It was a signet ring on a claw. He'd leave that alone for now.

The other weapon he tried on some other trees. The land nearly boiled under him and did boil under those trees. He had to move the tub, himself, and the weapons very fast to save them all. It dented the road too but it ended just past the driveway. He carefully put that back in the box after making sure it wasn't warm. He put the lid back on and turned to look at the rest of his team watching him. "There's a signet ring in there too. Not sure if she meant to hand me that."

Brock nodded. "We can use those." He grinned. Jack handed over the tub then got out of the way as more of the road heated and got soft. They helped him to a more steady bit of ground. They did report that they had tested an AIM level weapon on the side of the road and melted it some, and promised to have it fixed. Hill got film their medic had taken. Her answer back to Doug was swearing a lot to let Stark have those.

Brock answered that they were asked to kindly take them to AIM to talk to them about leaving her and the kid alone. Then Stark could have it. They went back to the nesting cave to safely store those with the compressing thing, and Brock took out the signet ring to look at, taking it up to the house to hand back. "Was in the bottom of the tub." He kissed her on the cheek. "Don't use the far side of the road for a bit. Jack melted it." He left her to sit with Aria and Fennel, who was being cuddled by them. Thor was resting on the couch reading something for now.

Tony Stark landed in his suit and stepped out of it, staring at them. "Hill had a hissy fit about weapons." Doug came out to show him the video. "Damn."

"Lewis' uncles," Brock explained.

"Super damn. I had no idea she could do that."

"She used to be into chemistry but got burned out."

"Figures. So many with good skills do." He took the phone to rerun the video. "Great. So we need to hide those."

"She asked that we take them to AIM to make sure they never want to come near her again," Brock said smugly. "You can have them afterward."

"I think I'll go along to make sure they don't disappear or get broken too hard, Rumlow. Just in case you understand."

"The more the merrier. AIM hates you too, Stark." He walked off happier. That meant he didn't have to ask for backup this time. "Your teammate's helping guard the ladies and the wolf because he got sedative darted earlier."

"That blows," Stark said. "The kid okay?"

"Still mostly crying that he got hurt," Rollins said. "He woke up fine and they've been cuddling him a lot."

"That's what girls do. That's why they're girls," Stark said. That got a nod from a few of the SHIELD guys. "Let me see if I can bum a couch on the porch." He went up there, looking at Darcy. "Let me help deliver the message?"

"Sure," she said with a grin. "Computer over there, file on them." He went to look at it, then moaned a few times at what he read. She grinned when Tony looked at her. "They wanted peace."

"We'd all like peace and every warrior really wants it too," Tony assured her. "We can make sure they don't come back. That tree?"

"Biggest family heirloom. Rollins needs to finish fixing where he set off something near it."

"Yeah, I'll have someone help him. We have some biologists at Stark." Darcy beamed at him for that. "How old?"

"It was planted in 1826 and every single kid in the clan has probably climbed it at least once."

"That's a good family heirloom. Better than a tacky mansion my parents left me." He went to check the tree. "Let me call a biologist to get you help shoring it up." Rollins grinned and nodded so he sent that back to his lab people. They suggested an arborist and one knew a good tree company. They'd come look at it. Maybe they could dig down and plant the roots deeper again. If they found something, Darcy would appreciate the family history and probably rebury it underneath the tree again.

***

Brock came back from...talking to AIM. He walked into the house and presented Darcy with the peace treaty. "They decided that your family being altruistic was not their way and they were sad your uncles were that way, but they would not make you change to closer to their ways. That they were incredibly sorry they had made your little girl paranoid. And that they had made you destroy people. They'd like to commemorate it by this peace treaty. They will never come here again."

Darcy looked at him. "Did you destroy all their things in front of them?"

"Did you want me to?" he quipped with a grin.

"Usually those sort don't give up or apologize."

"They're incredibly sorry because their whole organization got destroyed and then ...well, Jack really liked that thing that destroyed the road."

She shook her head but took it to read, then kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, Brock." He grinned. "You protected my nest very well."

"You're welcome." He took a real kiss. "Stark has both of those things to study in case someone else figures it out."

"I know he won't use it randomly unless SHIELD tries to steal from him again."

"Probably not." He pulled her closer, making her look at him. "Can I be flirty?"

"I wouldn't mind but I'm not thinking in terms of mates."

"I never think in terms of the lesser step, Lewis." She blinked at him. "I'm a marriage minded sort of guy." He kissed her again. Aria giggled. "Sorry, didn't know she was here."

"That was probably Thor chasing her around the yard while Fennel sits on the porch. He's pouting that Thor took his spot."

"Thor has to go home sometime. Fennel shouldn't worry his little girl would abandon him."

Darcy looked and grinned. "Fennel, get the Aria. She wants to play." The wolf got up and went to play with his human. Thor let him have her and that was great. She squealed and hugged him then ran off so he could chase her. She had to stop to cry on him again because he could catch her but that was her being a girl. Then they went back to playing. The guy in the woods who wanted to take down Fennel got stopped by the agents holding a gun to his head. He decided to give up and go home. Thor settled on the porch to watch them play. Aria headed for their tree and Fennel followed. It was a bit wobbly so she carefully settled on her branch and let him settle on top of her, not even minding that she had a face full of fur again.

Darcy looked at Brock, who was still holding her. "Are you still being flirty?"

"Yes. Unless you mind?"

"No, I don't mind. Sometimes being held is a great thing." He pulled her closer, just holding her for now. She relaxed finally. It may fully be over with. "Is it done?"

"Yeah. All you have to worry about is bigots and your family."

"I told them all off earlier on conference call when they called up to complain about the tree being hurt. When I told them why, Mom suddenly shut up quickly. The plots to take it from me stopped even faster. Melissa finally woke up and realized she wasn't involved in this family any longer. Then the rest decided they were going to quit before I stripped the family of everyone not like me.

"I did note that the family heirlooms here needed to be cataloged and I'd be selling certain things because the house needs some repairs and the land taxes had to be paid soon. And I pointed out that three years without paying them meant that I could take them over.

"Celeste tried to say something about that land she sold off so I told her how I had handled it since that cave specifically has a lot of Native cave drawings and might be considered historically important. She huffed but said the young guy would probably sell it to me after all. He was looking to join the Marines."

"That does a lot of young guys some good," he agreed, kissing her again. "Did you arrange that?"

"The local historical society wanted to get it instead. When I pointed out it was a family owned nesting cave they protested but I said they could take pictures but not destroy things. That the aunt who had given it to them wasn't supposed to and the one who had sold it was even worse and not part of the family any longer. They agreed they could like to take cave pictures and look at any other marks up there. I really should go dig up the few dairies that have ended up there but they said if they found something modern they'd just put it aside for us while they studied."

"That's good. So it'll still be yours."

"Yup, and I got to yell at Aunt Emmaline because she was the one forgetting to pay the land taxes that made me do it. She suggested I find some job locally. So I'm back to being Jane's paid intern." She grinned.

He kissed her again. "That's always a nice thing. You got bored a lot."

She looked at him. "Is this a last one for the road?"

"No." He stared at her. "We aren't leaving for a week. Ask me next week." She poked him but he smirked. "This is I'm still strung up from the fight and you look sexy."

"I look sexy often."

"I've noticed that. Can Thor watch her?"

"Aria, I'm going to lay down for a bit," she called.

"Okay, make giggly noises with the den daddy guy," she called back then laughed.

"My daughter is a tiny bit warped," she quipped but he laughed and led her to the bedroom to tease her until she finally pounced.

***

Brock came back before the holidays, staring at the kid staring at him. "Hey, kiddo."

"Is there more mean people?"

"Nope. Came to talk to your mom. How's Fennel?"

"He's good." She let the dog out to let him pet him. She grinned. "Mom's out with Auntie Jane. I just came back to get the phone. Grandma wanted a call." She waved the phone. He texted Darcy and she came back, shaking her head on the walk. "Let me go talk to Auntie Jane. This looks like adult stuff and the other kids think adult stuff is gross." She and Fennel ran off to Jane's lab.

Darcy looked at her daughter's back. "Quit telling the other kids stuff and they'll quit being grossed out." Aria grinned at her and waved before disappearing. She looked at Brock. "More problems?"

"Two things." He held up a note. "From Fury." She took it with a sigh. Then groaned. "Yup, some of your former in-laws were behind the AIM stuff showing up here." He licked his lips. "One kid ended up having to be switched around to different parents." He sighed, staring at her. "They finally figured out a new stepparent that wasn't going to be arrested after the third try."

"Shit. Madeline?"

"Yup."

"Mom has her."

"I heard." He grinned slightly. "Is that why she wanted a call?"

"Maybe. I haven't talked to her recently." She shifted her stance to lean toward the right. "What's the other big problem that brought you all the way out here?"

He held up a handwritten note on heavy paper. "Any idea why I got asked to go to Norway?"

She looked at it then at him. "Tell Granddad I said hi?"

He blinked a few times. "What now?" She nodded. "Shit! Why?"

"No idea. I've sent a few letters about Aria but he's not real chatty."

"Do you think he heard that seer's crackhead ideas?"

"That could be." She shrugged. "But do tell him we said hi. I'll get you a recent picture. He hasn't gotten one in about ten months." She went inside to get a hard copy of one and came to hand it over with a smile. "Have fun up there. There's a hike by the way."

"I figured there was. It's halfway up an uninhabited mountain." She grinned and nodded. "How did you do that with the kid?"

"She was mostly napping in the bag. She did that a lot because she hated the snuggli I got. She was the most anti-cuddly baby ever."

He smiled. "Okay. I'll tell him you said hi."

"Have fun."

"I will. If it is that?"

"Let me know."

"I can do that." He smiled. "You guys okay?"

"Mostly. Aria likes school. It lets her talk and play with other kids. The teacher thinks she's a smartass. She brought Fennel in on pet day and the teacher was horrified but Fennel played with the other pets very well. He herded the cats that came in too but he was gentle and cuddly with them. I had to warn him we didn't have stuff for cats. Still nearly came home with one that the kid almost forgot." He laughed.

"But they're doing good. The tree's solid again so they've been up it repeatedly. She wants to decorate it for the holidays instead of an indoor tree. I pointed out that meant she couldn't climb it for a while but she said she couldn't do it in the snow anyway." He snickered, nodding. "But yeah, they're good."

"Thanks, Darcy." He kissed her on the cheek and went back to the car. He drove off, letting Darcy handle her own kid.

***

Brock finally made it up to the cave. He hadn't been pushing himself but it was a gentle hike. He made sure he got his boots clean of the snow before stepping into the cave.

The woman coming out stared at him. "Do we know you, young man?"

He grinned. "I got sent here, ma'am." He held out the invitation.

She read it. "Oh, that's him." She came to the opening and pointed. "See that dark spot? That's his cave. He's in a bad mood today too."

"Thank you for the warning and the directions, ma'am." He smiled and took the invitation back, going up there.

"Such a nice young man. I wonder why that one sent for him?" She went back to talk to her son, who might know. The old one was his father, and he might've told him.

Brock made sure to clean his feet off again before walking in there. The old dragon stared at him. "You had me invited, sir?" He held out the picture. "Darcy said you hadn't gotten one recently."

The dragon took it to smile at. "That child is adorable." He put it on his desk area, looking at him. "You didn't bring them with you?"

"We're not together, no matter how often a certain seer tries. I like Darcy, a lot, and her kid's super sweet and mouthy, but I don't think she's into me all that much."

The dragon stared at him. "She's occasionally a very willful young woman."

"Who took the matriarch vows for the family in the last year."

The dragon nodded. "I heard and felt. It was good to hold the family together. Though I know she weeded out that tree."

"A few of the one she had to trim out went to a group called AIM, who're techno terrorists, to get her gone."

The dragon winced. "That poor woman. Is she all right?"

"Much better now. Aria just started school a few months back. She has a pet wolf friend from Asgard to help protect her. They're great together."

The dragon smiled, putting his head back down. "That's sweet. And that Darcy went to Asgard."

"Her boss Jane was dating Thor."

"Ahhhhh." He nodded. "The way that girl gets into things," he sighed. He stared at him. "Why does she hesitate on you?"

"Part of it is that I'm a different form of traditionalist. She got raised by the confederation council sorts and I was not one of them, ever. She's wary that I was taught to separate my dragon and human sides." The dragon nodded. "There's also my job, which is about an hour away from where they live. I could change job areas slightly to make that work but she's not real fond of SHIELD. I work for them."

He stared at him. "Why do you separate them?"

"I was taught that my true form was the dragon side, and the human was weaker and I only used it to deal with other people who don't understand. I had no idea that people who merged both sides at once could do that."

"That's a weakness brought on by those church sorts," the elder dragon said, staring at him.

Brock nodded. "I've learned a lot of that from Darcy. I think she's a great lady and a great heat partner once or twice, but she's kind of wary about a few things."

"What things?"

"The bone density stuff happened."

The dragon winced, but nodded once. "So she's suppressing her heats?"

"She's had to go on special medicines to help fight that. She's had a few heats thanks to defending Aria and regular ones, and just meditates them out."

"That is one stubborn granddaughter of mine." Brock nodded with a grin. "Do you like her?"

"I could come to like her. She's nice and sweet and a great mom. I'm not sure if I can stand that sort of laid back lifestyle that she lives with the kid."

"There's ways of leaving the matriarch's house."

"She said she could do it for seven days a year. Or more like nights but I have no idea how that works. I'm not a matriarch and I don't think my family has done that in generations."

The dragon nodded. "Many forgot the older ways." He sniffed him. "You have fouled the dragon."

"I went undercover to stop idiots with bad ideas. They gifted me with a serum to make me stronger and faster, plus it slows down my aging. Thankfully they're mostly gone. We got them put down."

"Which group?"

"HYDRA."

The dragon groaned. "Even I've heard of them." He stared at the young man. "We can train you to use your dragon the right way."

"I like learning whenever it's offered." He smiled a bit. "Can I teach others?"

"We'll see." He blew fire suddenly at Brock, taking his enchanted form back to the back of the cave. "We'll see. That seer had some interesting ideas. Darcy is a favorite granddaughter of mine and still a bit weird. She's also very perky." He put Brock down and breathed a cleaning fire on him to clean off all the weird things. Thankfully he didn't have anything like a phone on him. The simple bracelet got put aside before it burned him. Brock got forced to change and the elder dragon nodded that he approved. "Good. We can work with this."

***

Jack Rollins showed up a week later, slamming the SUV door as he got out. Darcy heard and came to the porch to stare at him. "Where did he go?"

"To Norway. He got invited to talk to a senior dragon elder." She sipped her coffee. "His consort called up night before last to talk to Aria." She grinned.

"So one of your family?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Grandma Rosie's former consort." She took another sip.

He walked up to stare at her. "Is he safe?"

"I haven't seen them in person since Aria was just under a year old," she said with a grin. "They thought it was delightful she hated to cuddle."

"So an actual old line dragon?" he asked quietly.

"I know about the two listening devices, Agent Rollins." She grinned. "They're both in the toilet."

"They have a few other ways trained out here."

"I figured that they did. Jane's about to destroy them though. It's making her even more paranoid than usual."

"Oh, great. I'll be waiting on how she does that." He stared at her. "Why did they ask to see him?"

"No clue. They didn't tell me." She shrugged with a grin. "Granddad is his own being and I think maybe he heard from that seer that said we'd be good and I'd have four more kids." Jack sighed but stared at her. She nodded. "Probably powerful ones."

He groaned but nodded. "All that pushing you two together."

"Yup." She finished her coffee and put the mug down. "I'm sure he's fine."

"I'd hope so but his life sign meter went off for a bit."

"That could've been some interference. There's some northern lights up there."

"Didn't think about that but we know he's alive. We can't get a GPS lock on him but we know he's alive."

"I doubt he would've called Brock up there to kill him. He doesn't usually interest himself in the local goings on outside the mountain goats that like to graze near him."

Jack sighed, staring at her. "Where is he?"

She grinned. "Can't tell you that. Sorry. Huge family secret because there's assholes who'd want to hurt him for existing. Including some on Asgard."

"Did they come from Asgard?"

"No. But Asgard hates that they happened down here. Apparently that's only for their peoples."

"Oh, charming. But figures I guess." He stared at her. "What if he needs help?"

"I'd guess the current grandma up there would do that." Jack looked confused. "He hates to see his consorts age."

"Oh."

"That's why Rosie was free to mostly raise me for my mom."

Jack tensed his butt cheeks. "She was a changer."

"Yup, and so was my dad, her son."

"Like a first generation changer?" he hissed, staring at her. She just smiled. "Fuck!"

"Yeah, my father is. Mostly in the head." She smirked. "But I can't tell you anything, Agent Rollins. I'm not going to endanger my family. I'd hate to go avenge them. I'd rather stay the happy, bouncy, flouncy, slightly wild woman I usually am."

"I'd hate you to do that too." He stared at her then at the dragon coming in to land. He didn't know her but Darcy went out to talk to her. The dragon nuzzled her when she changed her form. Jack just watched so he could make sure his teammate and friend could come back. And then there was a second dragon, one he'd seen many times. "Finally!" he complained, going to stare at Brock. "Your life sign monitor went off twice."

Brock stared at him. "Yeah, northern lights sort of interference. Why are we up here?"

"To find out where you were since you were considered missing in action. Fury nearly shit himself over this."

"Fury can bark."

"Or ...what sounds do deers make?" Darcy asked her new grandmother.

"Usually a squeal, dear." She nuzzled her granddaughter. "Is she in school?"

"Nope, hiding from me. She said the Growlies told her she was getting visitors today. Aria?" she called. "Fennel, bring Aria, she's got a visitor." She heard a bark and the dog came trotting out with Aria bouncing behind him. "Good boy, Fennel."

The elder female dragon sniffed noses with Fennel. "You do your line proud, son of Fenris." She nuzzled him with a smile. "Very good job." She nuzzled her granddaughter. "We have not seen you since before you could speak, Aria."

The little girl blinked at her. "Are you a grandma?"

"Remember how I told you about consorts and that being another level of Grandma?" Darcy said. Aria beamed and nodded, moving closer to talk to this new grandma. She looked at Brock. "You good?"

"Longer flight than I'm used to." He wiggled his arms but sighed, staring at her. "That seer did tell him." Darcy giggled. "And he said that bone thing would get healed faster in an easier way."

"Yes, we can teach you how to do that, Darcy." The elder dragon nuzzled her. "I had that too until I realized a few things."

"Is this Granddad's way of saying he wants more kids to meet?"

"Well, yes. He thinks you like being a mom."

"I do, but that's a lot of work."

The elder dragon smiled. "At least you have a lot more running water than a cave does, dear."

"True." She nodded, not rolling her eyes. "Someday."

"Oh, we know. We don't expect one this year." She grinned. "Maybe in two or three." She looked back as someone landed. "Pup," she said with a nod.

"Thor, this is my grandfather's consort, so my newest Grandmother."

Thor nodded at her. "Pleasure to meet you, ma'am. Darcy, where is Jane?"

"Out back but she's about to test something that will knock out all the satellite based spying going on." She grinned.

Thor sighed. "Heimdall sent down he was worried about her current research." Darcy waved a paw so he went to talk to her, petting Fennel on the way. Aria ran over to give him a hug then came back to talk to this grandma. Darcy reminded her she couldn't tell anyone about it when she babbled about her friends. The older one smiled at her for that.

Brock looked at Darcy, nuzzling her gently with his head. "Hey." She looked at him oddly. "Can we talk?"

"I guess." She walked over to him, changing back to human. Brock did the same thing. She could tell the difference in his skin. "So Granddad straightened that out?"

"He did. He reamed me a new one a few times over things. Including to quit ignoring my mother." She laughed, staring at him. He pulled her closer. "I got told why she suggested me."

"I talked to her before we moved up here. The idea of four more kids creeped me out a bit."

"Me too. One more, maybe two."

"One was a set of twins."

"That only happens when you nest with an egg," he said, staring at her. She nodded. "Huh." He kissed her. "May I try?"

"You'd have to come up here more often."

"Yes I can. We can work on that?"

"If you want."

"Good." He kissed her again, looking down at the staring kid. "Your granddad suggested I should date your mom. That good with you?"

"I guess but we have to talk about it."

"Of course we will," Darcy agreed. "Go talk to Grandma." Aria rushed back to talk to her about more stuff. Her grandmother didn't watch tv. That was kind of weird to her.

Brock grinned. "You've done a great job with Aria."

"Thank you." She smiled. Around them a heat shimmer went off and things got zapped. "If you destroyed the tv or computer, or the security system, you'd better turn it back on," she yelled.

"We can check, princess." He took her inside to check on things. They went to talk to Jane about the security system so she let those go back on. And the tv and computer before things drove the kid or Darcy nuts. He came back, looking at the elder female dragon, who was smiling at them. He looked at Darcy. "Did you know they were matchmakers?"

"Granddad said he believed in soulmates." She relaxed, watching her daughter chat happily. She had missed having a grandmother she could talk to. She blinked when Aria changed then changed back without realizing it. She looked at her grandmother, who nuzzled Aria. "That's really young," Darcy said quietly.

Brock nodded. "It was. Aria, do your legs or arms hurt?" he asked.

"My head is kind of funny but I'm okay." She grinned then pounced her grandma for a hug around the neck. "You're a neat grandma. Can you do emails?"

"We don't have a computer, dear. Or a phone really." Aria pouted. "But you can send a friend over there letters when you can write." Aria beamed and nodded, changing back again then getting stuck on the way back. She squeaked and fixed that, going back to full on dragon. Darcy sighed, going over to help her daughter. She came out with the normal scale-like skin Darcy had.

The older one, she was amused and thrilled. She talked Aria through the details of being a young woman dragon. Darcy coughed at one point, staring at her. That got an eyeroll but she changed topics with the girl. Aria curled up next to her in dragon form, chatting about the big girl topics she was learning about.

Brock looked at Darcy. "Just think, making her a big sister will make her squeal for weeks until she has to deal with the actual baby."

"Some girls don't like dolls, including her," Darcy quipped. "She'd pout."

He nodded. "It's handleable." He pulled her closer to stare at her. "I was shown why they think we'd work. And they're right." She smirked at him. "But I'm still into dating."

"I'm leaving that up to you. I'm not against dating, if it actually happens." He smirked, pulling her closer.

"Does that mean I have to take over the team?" Jack Rollins complained.

Brock looked at him, nodding. "Probably. I'll be the oversight officer. So in the field about half the time." Jack groaned but agreed with a sigh. He looked at Darcy again. "Want to go make dinner?"

"I can set up a spit."

Her grandmother looked over. "I can change for dinner, dear. You don't have to build a firepit." She looked at Aria, who was all but asleep. Fennel was sitting nearby staring at his little girl. She smiled at the wolf. "She's the same girl she was, even if she is scaley, dear. Don't you worry about that." She nuzzled him, getting lapped back. She changed, carrying the little draglette inside with Fennel following to nap with her. She came to talk to Darcy and Brock, and Jack because he was Brock's best friend. He seemed very nice.

***

Epilogue:

***

It had been a long year of dating. There'd been a lot of adjustments, some fighting. A lot of Brock being slightly resentful that his new job was less intense and less time consuming, and less physical. Darcy had let him set up a gym in the back of the house, in a spare bedroom no one liked to use because it had no windows and was next to the laundry room.

There had been some adjustment from Aria too. She wasn't used to it being more than them and Jane anymore. She settled in well enough but pouted a lot when Brock was too busy to read to her. Even though Darcy reminded her she could do it too, she wanted Brock to read to her.

Fennel was happy because Brock helped Aria brush him most weekends and he could go for a run in the woods with him. Aria pouted a bit about that too but Brock told her she could start to run with him. She thought that was a lot like exercise so she refused. Darcy had giggled in the other room while they had that talk. Aria had started to take over his exercise bike to read on while she peddled. She couldn't ride a bike, had horrible balance when she tried, so a bike she couldn't tip over was fun to her. Even if it didn't go anywhere.

But they had worked it all out. Everything had settled down. Brock hadn't started a fight in four months. Darcy hadn't started a fight about feeling crowded in three. So it was going well. Brock decided maybe it was time to move to the consort step. Darcy still wanted a mate step like an engagement that humans had. He understood that but it made his scales itch. That was the topic of their last fight actually.

Darcy came in that night, not tired for once that week. Aria had been fussy and had a cold. Fennel was even tired of her fussing and had laid on top of her head last night to make her quit sneezing. Then he had realized she sneezed into his fur and he hated that more, going to whine to Darcy to clean it up for him. She had gotten his fur all pretty and he went to sleep on the couch instead of with his little girl, which made her fuss even more and cry a bit then climb out to go chase him down and nap on him like usual.

Brock looked up from reading in bed naked when Darcy came in pulling down her hair. "She down?" he asked.

"Thankfully she is." She sighed, laying next to him. "Her cold is almost gone. Jane's agreed she can babysit this weekend at least one night and day so we'll get some rest."

He put down his book, putting aside his glasses to look at her. "Just rest?"

She blinked at him. "Huh?"

"I was thinking maybe we could do something?"

"The diner in town's shut down and the movie this week isn't something you like."

"Not what I was thinking, Darcy." He stared at her. She blushed, staring back. "Hmm. Go for a fly with me?"

"I..." She sighed. "That is tradition."

"It is," he agreed with a grin. "I've teased you a few times."

"That means we've got to do the tea thing too."

"Tea...oh, you learned that one. I'm more used to ceremony, happy parents, disappearing to somewhere to start with the oiling."

"Ah. I was taught the tea ceremony and no parents until the next day. Too many have been interrupted by non-happy parents."

"Point," he agreed. "I can see that. Mom would like to see us in the next week sometime."

"I'm not against that. Your mom's good and loves Aria."

"I'll ask her if she'll babysit if you want. She'll sob all over us."

"I don't think I can handle more crying. And she's kind of scared of some of the neighborhood ladies there. We'd get a call crying to come pick her up. And we can't bring Fennel thanks to that one guy."

"That's an uncle and I've already stopped his bad ideas. And about Aria marrying someone in the family. Thankfully he probably won't be alive when she's old enough." She grinned. "But Fennel would have a problem with him." He looked back at the opening door. "What's up, Fennel?" He came in to woof at them then stared. Darcy got up to let him show her what was wrong. Darcy moaned loudly so he got up to check, putting on some sweat pants in case he ran into the kid too. "What happened?"

"Jane's lab has a huge bubble of glow around it. She's running a test without warning."

He looked and sighed, calling out there. It startled Jane and the glow ended. "You just worried Fennel that we're being invaded. Are we?" He listened. "Uh-huh. We could see you through the trees, Foster. You had a sunny glow going on, only in a pearly white. It looked like what some people said the Reaping looked like. Yeah, when all the holy are recalled to heaven sort, Foster." He blinked a few times. "Can you maybe do that when the kid's not in the house? Thanks!" He grinned and hung up. "She'll do it tomorrow while Aria's in school."

"What is she doing? She's working on three different ideas."

"Intergalactic shipping."

"Like packages or like relationships?"

"I think relationships. She was saying she'd get to see him again and he was most happy if she'd get it done finally."

"She's dating Loki," Darcy mouthed. They knew there were still some bugs around here. He moaned, but nodded at that. "So yeah, he probably would be." She petted Fennel. "Thank you for telling us, Fennel. We'll talk to the Jane tomorrow. Good boy." He barked happily and went back to sit with his girl to watch over her. "Nap, Fennel. She's got school tomorrow." She led the way back to the bedroom, shutting off lights on the way.

Brock rechecked all the doors and windows down there before following her. The school was a mile away so they had to drop Aria off in the morning, which he usually did on his way to work. Darcy climbed onto the bed and flopped down face first. Brock grinned, climbing in beside her so she could cuddle. She always cuddled. She shifted to put her face on his shoulder, letting him wind her into his arms. "So, tea?"

She blinked up at him. "You hate tea, right?"

"Not always. Sometimes it's necessary."

"There is a wine version now thanks to some Greek and Italian dragons back in the early renaissance."

"I could like that more. Do I need to pick up anything?"

She nodded, pulling his phone over to look up that wine and the cups they'd need. "We have one in the family but it's cracked."

He kissed her on the forehead. "I can find that." He took a real kiss. "Rest, Darcy. You've worn yourself out with her being sick and Jane being pouty." She nodded, yawning into his throat. He smiled as she fell asleep, looking at that wine. It wasn't one he'd heard of. "I'm wondering if that's the only type allowed," he said quietly. She hummed, blinking at him. "No reds?"

"Reds are for the blood binding." She put her head back down, drifting off again.

He kept in the moan. That was a huge step they may never be ready for. So yeah, he'd be fine with a white wine.

***

Brock walked into the wine shop he liked to use near his mother's house. He was about to head home. "Hey." The two sales clerks smiled at him. "Darcy said to pick up some of this," he said, showing that off on his phone.

"That's a traditional thing," one said with a smile for him. "It's got a funky front taste and mellows after the second drink to something melony sort of. But the first sip is bitter to remind you that a marriage isn't always happy."

"Okay. Is there another one that's more traditional? She vetoed the reds and told me why."

"Some have been using a pretty California white that's not dry and is still fairly mellow. The traditional is about six hundred for a bottle. The new one is about thirty."

He called. "Babe, there's two versions. A modern that's a California that doesn't have the up front bitterness and the old style one that's fairly rare."

"And this year's was the worst one since last year," the other clerk agreed.

"The one we've been liking is a Pinot Grigio and Viognier blend, but it brings out the citrus notes in the PG and the Viognier is a bit more soft and fruity so it's a well balanced and not dry white." He led him to a bottle he liked. "This one is a bit more expensive and not traditional but it is one that we recommend because the other two have a heavy taste that doesn't go excellently with the traditional meats and berries."

Brock must look confused. "If they're doing it this way, it's a very traditional thing. In the old days, she'd have hunted for the meats and berries served. Then the wine ceremony with the tiny little pastry bites. That's supposed to inflame you enough that you go right to the oil and then the flying."

"I'm more used to the modern, US version," he admitted quietly. "But that's good to know. I wonder what she's doing for that. She can hunt, but there's nothing near us." He sighed. "Yeah, that may work. Give me two bottles?" He showed him the price. "I can put it up for our anniversary?"

"It'll store nicely in the usual manners." He brought up the two bottles. Brock stopped at the wine glasses, staring at them. None of them seemed right.

"Might I suggest you go to the crystal shop?" Brock stared at him. He nodded. "Not modern wine glasses, they're too thin. It'll do well with the wine but you want something heavy and that could be a chalice."

"I know her family has one but it's cracked."

"Modern wine glasses don't crack, they break. Or let her pick that out?"

"I can probably do that." He paid for the wine, and a handmade date bar they sold. They put the wines into a cardboard carrier and handed it over once he had paid. "Thank you." He carried the wines out, running into his sister. He kissed her on the cheek, making her blink at him. "Picking up some wines."

She looked at them then at him. "Since when do you drink whites?"

"She asked for a special dinner."

She stared at him. "Are we going to have to nag about a church wedding? You know Ma wants one."

"Not sure yet," he admitted. "I haven't asked."

She hit him on the arm but rolled her eyes. "Dumbass." She smiled. "I hope it's a cute thing she wants to make for you. You're coming to talk to Ma soon?"

"Next weekend, with the kid but not the dog."

"Good idea. She okay?"

"Aria? She's great. Just over a cold. Darcy's a bit stressed. Jane's been testing again."

"Eww. So have fun." She smiled and hit him on the arm again before walking off with her boyfriend. She smiled at her boyfriend. "Darcy's from Virginia."

"They do things a bit differently in the south."

"I think Darcy's family does things a lot more differently since she's one of the ones that studied the original ways before changers were started."

"Oooooh. I didn't take her for that sort."

"She's not. She's definitely not the submissive wife sort that the locals think came from history. Apparently back then, women were matriarchs and in control of the nest." She patted him on the arm. "Then the weaker males wanted to be like the Roman guys who were trying to suck up to 'em according to her."

"So she's studied actual early dragon history?"

"Yup. She's a political science sort." She shrugged. "She's super nice and a good mom."

"Did she have a former mate?"

"No, she has an asshole who stole her suppressant patch one day to fuck her up," she said quietly, staring at him. "On the college campus." He shuddered. "Yeah. But she's never held it against her little girl. She's such a good mom to her little girl. Ma was so happy with that and hopes for later grandkids to join her."

"She mentioned it to me too."

She smiled and nodded. "Some year, not yet."

"Gladly." He pulled her closer to get her away from someone walking while on their phone. "Do you think they'll get to the old way of flying instead of just mating while oiled up?"

"Possibly. I know there's a tea thing instead of a wedding." He nodded he got that. "Not sure how it goes after that. It's not done in front of the family. You can ask Amber. Her first marriage was one of those."

"No thanks. That's a bit intrusive, and not my style." He smiled. "We can have a church wedding when we get to that point."

She nodded. "That's good. Next year maybe?"

He stared at her, grinning some. "Are you that rushed?" he teased.

"Yes. It'll mean the aunts will quit nagging."

"I told them last time if they didn't quit I'd dump you and leave you to some dirty dragon on the street. They shut up for the rest of the dinner."

"I wondered about that silence." He grinned.

***

Brock put the wine next to where she was cooking, letting her stare at them. "That's what they suggested there."

"Arabella said those are nice. She had one of those instead of the traditional one, which had a bad year last year." She smiled, taking a kiss. "Thank you for picking those up. I have no idea where to get wine. Put them in the cabinet for now? We can chill it that day."

"Okay." He did that for her. Then he came back. "I looked at glasses but they suggested we go to something crystal?"

She smiled. "Let me finish her tacos?"

"Of course." He helped her by cutting up the vegetables for salsa. She had mixed masa and made her own tortillas on the flattop pan. Aria liked them that way so they happened infrequently but they were good. After Aria was down for the night, Darcy took his hand to walk him down to the basement and to the small cabinet in the wall. "We keep the family heirlooms here?"

"This isn't the original one in the family. That broke when we came over." He nodded he understood that. She pulled out a wrapped bundle, letting him have it to unwrap. He stared at the cup. "This is what we went to in the sixties."

"It's pretty," he said, looking it over. It had a chip on the rim and a small crack that didn't go all the way through. "Is this crystal?"

"It's like sixties glass. We never wanted real crystal for this. It'd be too thick to keep the wine at the right temp."

"I can agree with that." He handed it back. "Find me one I can pick up?"

She smiled. "I can do that too."

"The food? I got told you should hunt for it."

"I normally would but I'm going to totally not go farther than hunting at a meat shop. It's not a hunting time and I don't want to upset people by catching a deer and a bunny."

"I won't be upset at that. I have no idea how that's supposed to go, sweetheart. I've only seen the wedding with the tea in the center."

She shook her head with a sigh. "This is to prove I can provide for the family and make sure it's prosperous. It's supposed to be three things that are native to the area or your family's farm. Originally I'd go buy the animals from your family as part of the wedding or hunt on their lands for it to prove to them that I can take care of you appropriately. I'd cook it in their kitchen and then we'd go hide in the woods to do this." He grinned, pulling her closer to kiss the tip of her nose. "Then we'd end up in the nest area we set up together, house or not."

"I can see that. So should I expect something like deer?"

"Yes." She smiled. "I found a local one who raises them for meat. I don't have to not tell you if you want to know."

"Please. That way I'm not shocked by something?"

"I'm doing steak tartare with deer. I'm doing beef Korean style on a little grill so we cook it then, and I'm doing pork belly braised and roasted in plum sauce."

"That sounds a bit sweet."

"Asian plum sauce."

"Oh!" He smiled and nodded. "Less sweet but a hint of it."

"And the roasting will bring some of that out but it'll go well with the beef on the Korean grill."

"I can accept that. I heard rumors of little cookies?"

"It's almonds mostly. Browned almonds ground down into a paste, like dough paste not peanut butter paste, and you fill it with a few spices and a bit of bacon fat that's been rendered and smashed into a berry filling." She stared at him. "Not that sweet."

"That sounds ...actually that sounds nice." He grinned. "Better than wedding cake." She nodded with a grin. "Do I get to help you make them?"

"Aria gets to help me make them." She smirked. "Those you can't help with. You can help me pound the meat out if you want."

"I might do that." He cuddled her. "So we just need the new glass?"

"Please. And maybe candles."

"I can do that. Any particular? Fancy candles?"

"Lemon scented would be nice. They'll go well with things."

"I'll see what I can find."

"Don't worry about them being fancy, pagan working quality candles. They can be hallmark candles."

"That's easier to find." He took a kiss, rewrapping the glass and putting it back carefully. He stared at her because he wanted to know about his present he had coming. "The tradition is a necklace exchange."

"It is." She smiled, pulling him to the small safe in the basement to look in there and pulled out one. "That's yours." He opened it, staring at the fairly simple looking, diamond cut chain that had a single, non stone pendant. "It's obsidian. Obsidian, especially that piece, is lava that flows into water and cools off quickly to form the stone. It breaks into the sharpest flakes. People used to use flakes to shave with," she said, smiling at him. "Obsidian is always my mental mantra when I'm freaking out over something. I should be as strong and yet delicate as obsidian."

He kissed her, pulling her closer. "I adore that."

She touched the stone. "I bought that stone as a focus when I was sixteen, and the necklace my first semester in college." She smiled up at him. "It was the first thing I really put into my hoard for the future mate."

He smiled. "That's sweet and sentimental."

"When I thought I was going to mate mark Tommy, I didn't even think about pulling that out. I pulled out a more delicate gold chain because he always thought he'd break anything I gave him. It was deceptively delicate. He couldn't have broken it even if someone grabbed it."

"Was he...fragile probably isn't the right word."

"No, he was nineteen." She stared up at him. "When the attack happened, his first thought was 'how dare she do that to me' and then immediately went to 'I'll be a stepdad' and then went to 'shit, she needs to heal and not have me make it worse' so he calmed down by the time he saw me the next morning."

"Most guys wouldn't go that route," he said dryly.

"At nineteen a lot of guys do. Hell, there's plenty of guys at your age that do because they consider their wife to be their property, their possession."

"Most guys would've been more 'how can I help you heal'." He stared at her. "Even if there are assholes who dump a wife who's been assaulted." She nodded. "Is that a southern thing?"

"One of your mom's neighbors is getting a divorce because of that, Brock."

He huffed. "The ones on the right?" She nodded. "She said she couldn't stand to be touched but I agree that's his problem not hers. He shouldn't be pushing her to be touched or any intimacy after that until she's ready and she'll let you know."

"It took me over a year." She stroked his chest. "Jane helped me get over that."

He cuddled her, kissing her gently. "I would've offered to move into another room so you didn't have to handle that sort of idea yet. You'd tell me when you were ready to even hug and kiss again when you were ready after therapy to help." She snuggled into his arms. She smiled and kissed him deeply, making him moan. "I'd show you the necklace I have for you but it's in a bank."

"I'm fine with that." She snuggled into his chest, just leaning there. They both heard the crying and she closed the safe after putting the necklace back into it. They went up to check on Aria, who had a bad dream about someone attacking her dog. So they soothed her before going back to bed.

***
part 8 by Voracity2
Brock took the next day off, not that he told Darcy. He still went into the city to go near the office, but instead he went to his mother's. He knocked before walking in, surprising her since she was eating breakfast. "Ma, I need some help."

"Of course, baby. What's wrong?"

He sat down across from her. "I'm serious about Darcy."

She smiled. "I figured when I heard from your sister that you were buying white wine." She patted his hand with her free hand, the other putting down her coffee cup.

"They don't do the wedding stuff. They do the tea ceremony only with wine."

She blinked a few times. "That's very old fashioned."

"It is. She showed me the necklace she picked out. Neither piece is a family heirloom but they're important to her." She nodded slowly. "The first necklace she picked out herself to put in there. A pendant made from a stone that's been her personal focus for years. And it's important to her."

"A stone?"

"Obsidian, Ma." She scowled. "No, it's special to her and I can see why. Obsidian is made from lava, like volcano lava, that hits water and cools really fast to form into a strong stone. It also flakes off into some of the sharpest flakes ever. People used to make tools and shave with the flakes."

"Oh." She considered it. "That's... that's not totally traditional."

"No, but it's meaningful."

She nodded. "I can see that and I like that sentimental bit about her." She stared at him. "I know you've put a few pretty necklaces in your small hoard, baby."

"They're all pretty standard. I thought they were pretty but nothing's sentimental or special. They're pretty but pretty average and Darcy isn't."

She patted his wrist. "I can go with you to look at them and then pick out something if you want."

"Thank you." He sighed, staring at her.

"Will I get a wedding out of you two?"

"Maybe a renewal."

"So...is it going on your neck or your head?"

He sighed. "My neck. She thought mating would be like an engagement but we've lived together for the last year and a bit. She knows I'm only going for a consortship placement." He stared at her. "I need to find a new glass too. The one she found won't be here for weeks. The family one has a crack."

"Does it need to be crystal?"

"Theirs was made in the sixties. It's a pretty wine glass with a ribbon of silver around the rim. A bit thicker than the current styles but not crystal."

"Hmm. You could take my wedding set."

"No, Ma. Those go to my sister for her wedding." He stared at her. "She'll need 'em. We only need one anyway."

She sighed. "That's romantic, Brock." She finished up, putting her plate and cup in the sink. "Let me shower and change. The bank won't be open for an hour anyway." He nodded, relaxing for now. She came down well dressed, making him smile.

"You haven't worn that in years, Ma. It looks good." He got up to escort her to the car. She locked up the house and he let her hold his arm to get down the stairs. He opened the door for her too. His mother had taught him manners.

***

Brock looked at his choices on the table, then at his mother. "None of them speak 'Darcy' to me." His safety deposit box's hoard was pretty but standard.

She touched one pendant. "That's pretty but that's for just any girl. One who's not picky and might like a hoard that's more expansive."

"Her hoard is mostly art she liked."

His mother smiled. "Really?"

"Really. She'd rather have things she can touch and use and like than something just to sit there. Most of them are in the attic for the moment because she's got to sort out her former aunt's artwork too."

"So she's picked things that are experiences and give her happy feelings."

He nodded. "It is. It's a lot of pretty art, mostly muted abstracts or things that would remind you of The Scream or something. Not realistic but pretty and emotionally connecting."

She nodded. "What about something to go with this then?" she asked, touching one ring. "We can put that on a necklace as a pendant."

He stared at that opal. "Aria adores opals because they hold rainbows." She grinned at that. He played with that ring, looking at it. "It could change with what she wears it with or her mood." He put that into his pocket and put the rest back in the box, keeping out two things. His mother stared at him. "Earrings, Ma."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. She's got solitaires so I was going to make them drops for those."

She patted him on the cheek. "It's good you know what she usually wears."

"A lot of leggings and bigger than needs to be sweaters," he said dryly. "She said she got tired of people thinking her IQ was 'breast' back in high school." She giggled, hugging his arm. "I love it when she dresses up for me but yeah, I appreciate the not too showy thing she usually has." His phone rang so he looked at it.

"Hey, babe. What's up? No, I'm with Mom at the bank. Picking...what happened?" he asked, hearing the stress. "Darcy?" He listened to the voice saying they didn't need to worry. She'd be taken by a proper mate. And then there was an explosion and her phone registered the security system saying 'Jane Foster portal engaged'. "Shit." He handed them to her mother, letting the bank employee lock it again.

"Sorry, gotta rush off. Someone invaded the house. Or Foster's new portal ate the house." He handed his mother the keys and headed out calling his people. They were waiting on him outside the bank so he climbed into the SUV and they took him right to the office to get a flight up. It'd be shorter by about a half hour.

They got there and found Loki staring at the house. "Loki!" Rollins snapped.

Brock put a hand on his arm. "He's been helping Foster." He stomped over. "She was on the phone, someone was threatening her, where's Fennel and Darcy?"

Loki smirked at him. "I'm glad the gift of a guardian soothed the child, but neither are here. Jane's portal ate the idiots, and Fennel was injured as there's a bit of blood, but she and Fennel are both in stasis inside the portal. I cannot bring it down without harming them." He glanced at Rollins then at Brock. "And I do not know how. Jane is presently knocked out by that same group. Her hand hit the machine controls when she went down."

"Who were they?" Brock demanded.

"Not the ones her uncle started but they seem to think the same way. Though one did pray to something weird."

"Like HYDRA weird?"

Loki scowled. "A what now?"

"The ones who had the cube originally," Rollins said. "We helped bring them down from the inside."

"Oh. I did not know that. I have no idea if they're that sort." He pointed. "The only one that survived, mostly, is there. The portal threw him out."

Rollins went to look. "Yup, HYDRA."

"Great." Brock looked at Loki. "Can you get Jane up?"

"She's not remembering this year. She thinks she still dates my brother."

"Fuck!"

"Yes, quite," Loki said dryly. "I have no idea how to handle this. Her portals are not my thing as Darcy says." He stopped him. "If you step in there and get caught by the portal, you may not go to the same area they are. And if he's too injured he could hurt her."

"Fennel won't, even if he's rabid. Can we get Thor to help?"

"No. He's swearing at Jane. This let him know we are together."

"I didn't know until I came out to find you both making breakfast," Brock said dryly. "Okay, let's get Foster to undo this." He went that way with Loki. "Jack, deal with the rest of the agents showing up."

"Yup." He sighed. "This is not good."

"No, it's not," Darcy said, but it wasn't theirs. They stared at her. "Brock?" He came jogging back but paused to stare at her. "Yeah, not the one in the house. Jane's portal belched and I'm back here with the time stone." She held it up with a grin. "I'm here to give it back to the one we took it from later today to fix all this."

He smiled. "Can I have that, baby?"

"Yes you can and please save me from the damn portal since I'm panicking a lot. And Fennel's wound is pretty bad but his shoulder is worse." She stared at him. "I'm stressing over him instead."

"Got it." He took a kiss. "That me is still really lucky." She smiled but looked a bit sad. "Please tell me we didn't break up, baby."

"I have no idea where you are. Fury had you brainwashed and removed. With all of STRIKE. Janice and I are searching but he's getting in the way so I've called a few college buddies to bring down SHIELD." She grinned. "Only you can stop me," she quipped then disappeared.

He squeezed the stone. "How do I use this?"

Loki smirked. "That's a dangerous question, Commander." He strolled closer. "It could change much. Including their injuries and the future. That Darcy may not be yours."

"I'd hope not. I hate being brainwashed." He bounced it in his hand. "Okay, let's use this sucker. Jack?" He came over after telling a few others to guard against idiots like other agents. Loki used the stone to bring them back to handle the issue. They hid out in the woods that night, hunting the idiots that showed up before daybreak. The final one that nearly got Darcy Brock shot with a wink. Then they disappeared back to the current time. Well, a few hours later as time had passed. Rollins called that in and Brock looked at the stone, then at Loki. "Go help Jane?" He grinned, going to do that. "Tell them to leave him alone, Jack."

"Already did. Fury's not happy."

"We'll talk to him in a minute." He saw the staring sorcerer and knew who he was. "Hey, Sorcerer Wong." He tossed the stone at him. "Jane had to borrow it?" He changed, bringing Jack with him on a quick flight home. He dropped Jack onto the top of the team SUV then landed in front of Fury, undoing Loki's cuffs by cutting them open. "Go check on Jane. We don't arrest helpful sorts." He stared at Fury.

"You're letting him go?" he demanded.

"Yeah! He actually helped and he loves Jane." He changed back, staring at him. "We've seen him plenty. He's been seeing Jane now for almost a year." Fury glared. "He's not done a thing wrong and he was the way we solved everyone being hurt earlier. Otherwise Darcy and Fennel would still probably be stuck in a portal while injured and Foster would have a concussion and short term memory loss." He looked at the STRIKE people. "Any of them show back up?"

"No, sir," they said. "Only bodies."

"Good. Let's arrange for them to go home to be shown as martyrs to stupid ideas, boys. Darcy's probably freaked the fuck out and I hate that. We need to prove how much I hate that."

"Yes, sir," they agreed, looking at Rollins, who gave specific orders about where to gather any missing ones so they could return them and make them a very visual point.

Brock looked at Fury. "So why did HYDRA do this?"

"I think they wanted to make sure you weren't happy."

"Well, they fucking suck and are stupid," he said dryly. "Pity for them." He looked at the house as Fennel came out. "You okay, boy? Let's look you over." Fennel came over to let himself be checked over. The one shoulder was still warm. "That looks sore. Did you hurt yourself?" The wolf lapped him. Darcy came out with a large glass of something clear. "Baby, you good?"

"No," she said, her voice squeaky. "And I'm about to have a fit."

He walked the wolf over and hugged her. "I will make sure they won't come again." She let out a tiny squeak. "Why are you so freaked out? HYDRA or something else?"

She blinked a few times. "They were HYDRA?" He nodded. "Well, fuck them!"

"I'd never have that bad of taste, but maybe we can find someone who can summon a real hydra so they can worship in person." She snorted, looking up at him. "Hey, I'm here, calm down." He cuddled her. "You good?" he asked in her ear. She shook her head. "Just freaked or injured?"

"Freaked. Panicking and freaked."

"Go check on Jane?"

"I'm not going to interrupt the time honored girlfriend checking." She blinked then went 'oooh'. He nodded with a smirk. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"Baby, they're going to be sorry. I'm just glad that you landed back here."

"I... What?" He hissed in her ear. "I probably called Doug and maybe Tommy and Horton. He hears a who through the internet." She grinned. "And I'd totally do that." He nodded, kissing her gently. "You need to go do macho agent stuff."

"I'm the guy in charge now. I don't have to lift bodies." She grimaced, sipping her drink. "Vodka or tequila?"

"Tequila. Jane introduced me to tequila and I only drink vodka in mixed drinks." She rested against his chest. "This is all screwed up."

"We are still doing it this weekend. They can bite me if they try again and I'll make a hydra appear my own damn self." She burst out in giggles but it went to hysterical so he walked her inside to cuddle her with the wolf helping.

Fury looked at Rollins. "Shouldn't he be out here handling things?"

"I can do it! I've done the same stuff for years, Fury." He scowled at him. "Fuck the hell off for now. Let us finish taking down more of HYDRA."

Fury glared at him. "Do you want to keep being employed?"

"Not sure at the moment. Seems like shit's coming soon." Fury walked off rolling his eyes. He called someone, waving the phone around slowly. "Came to threaten Darcy to get back to Brock," he told the woman. Who grimaced. "Thankfully we ran into an incident with Foster's portals two ways. Including one that brought a later Darcy back."

"Interesting," she said. "At the house?" He nodded. "I can be there soon."

"He wanted us to give 'em back." He smirked. "Said they should become martyrs to the stupid idea."

"Yes, they should," she agreed. She looked behind her. "Thor is not going to be helpful."

"I found out earlier Foster's dating his brother. Rumlow said they're happy."

"Huh." She nodded. "That's a good thing if it calms Loki down."

"Who is that?" Thor demanded behind her.

"Agent Rollins from STRIKE. They had to take out HYDRA agents who showed up to hurt Darcy."

"Why would they?"

"Because Rumlow's getting ready to do a consortship ritual with her," she said impatiently. "Demoralizing an enemy was a known tactic even when you were a child, Thor." He slumped. "And frankly, if Loki understands her science and desires toward it, then he's probably good for her life. Maybe it'll make him more calm and less apt to invade places." She looked at Rollins again. "When do we bring them back?"

"Tonight good for you?"

"An excellent time. I'll ask Steve if he wants to go with us."

"Please do." He smirked as he hung up. He looked at the staring director. "Romanoff said she'd love to help the handover." Fennel came out to sniff people, staring at one. "We know, Fennel. We don't know who replaced 'im yet but we know he's not him." The wolf stared at the guy until he backed away slowly and changed back to himself. Then the wolf smirked and changed to Loki, punching the guy. "He after Foster?"

"Yes! He's the one that laid the devices that spy on us and the main house. It's what let the idiots earlier to know when to show up. It's what broke some of Jane's machines. I would rather not see her destroy this realm. It'd mean less amusement." He strolled off again.

"I guess he'd know since all royal thrones have politics around them," Rollins said. "Let me check the couple." He went into the house. "We hate that they did this because of us, Darcy. Don't blame him for that?" he asked.

She snorted, waving the glass around. "They didn't say a single thing about you guys. Not a one." Brock moaned. "My father opened his huge ass idiot mouth again."

"They're going after your grandfather, aren't they?" Brock asked. Darcy nodded, taking another drink. "We can stop that too."

She looked at him. "They did a better background check than Fury did since they wanted to know if I still did chemistry." She finished that glass. "Vowed they could bring the family heirlooms there so I could mark the mate they'd give me." She got up but Brock gently pulled her into his lap. "I'm fine."

"I'm not." She stared at him. "Can I have your father arrested on something non-serious and have him tortured in jail?"

She giggled, hugging him. "Don't tempt me!"

"I can do that," he said. "Just ask, Love."

She sniffled, staring at him. "This didn't drive you off?"

"Nope. Not in the least." Someone outside landed and he sighed.

Rollins looked. "Darcy's in here, Lady Sif. Loki's protecting his girlfriend out back."

She came up to stare at them. "What has happened and what is this about Loki dating?"

Darcy blinked at her. "Loki's been seeing Jane for a year now." She grinned. "He's so sweet to her and helps her with idea problems by backrubs."

Sif blinked a few times. "Heimdall said that Fennel was injured."

"His shoulder is a bit sore," Brock said. "We're taking him to the vet tomorrow. Today's been a day of someone trying to invade. He's been favoring it a bit for a few days but it feels like it may be arthritis. I gave him a heat pack the other day and he liked it a lot."

Sif blinked a few more times. "He has what?" Fennel got summoned and she squatted to test his shoulders, then nodded. "That is fairly standard for larger beasts. I can bring him home."

"If you do, Aria will sob and I'll let her up there to cry on you," Darcy said, staring at her. "Fennel is her friend and she panics if he's not nearby when she gets home. He's got a vet to take care of him, Sif. But thank you for the offer of having him treated for it."

She tipped her head. "He may not be able to protect her."

"Sif, Fennel makes people piss themselves just because he's big." She stared at her. "The same way Thor makes girls drop their panties because he's tall and blonde." She burst out giggling but nodded. "Fennel's a good boy and we love him. He's staying. We'll have his shoulder looked at tomorrow so you can tell his breeder about it."

"Fine. I would not rob Aria of her friend." She petted him before standing up. "What has happened?"

"My biological father was an idiot and got me notice from HYDRA because they wanted to know where his father was and he doesn't know."

"Does he have special skills?"

Darcy stared at her. "I can't tell you because there's some people who're probably watching who'd want to kill him for existing, Sif." Sif frowned. "Seriously. Including Thor. I heard his story about some hunt in the snow lands...."

Sif stiffened. "A true dragon?" she hissed.

Darcy nodded. "Yup, that's what they were looking for. Which they won't get and neither will anyone else." She stared at her.

"We did not know that they still existed. We consider them fouling up the energies of the planet."

"If it wasn't for them, none of us changers would be here," she quipped. "Including me and my daughter." Sif stepped back. "All us dragon changers have a true dragon in our bloodlines. That's why we change. Though they really did that because the Romans were trying to get things by flattering them. They taught them about the human women they thought were property." Darcy grimaced. "So they created changers."

"I thought that was magically gifted."

Darcy shook her head. "Nope. It was not." Sif shuddered, shrinking away from her. "Not like I've done that, Sif. The start of my line was a woman who wanted to be able to take care of her family. She offered to bear a true heir in return for it." She shrugged. "She gave up the kid and left once she had delivered."

"That is still a bit foul."

"Wasn't my generation," she quipped. "I only sleep with Brock." She nodded at him. "His family's been changers now for over ten generations."

Sif shuddered. "I cannot imagine."

"And yet you asked Loki if he could change to draw off a giant spider by his wiles." She stared at her. Sif walked off shaking her head. She looked at Jack. "Aria needs to be picked up in a half hour."

"I can go do that," Brock said. "But my car's in the Bronx with my mom." She looked at him. "I took her to pick out which thing I'm putting on you this weekend." He took a kiss. "Let me go pick her up in the team SUV." He moved her so he could get up, walking off with Jack. "Find them for me, 'kay?"

"Already looking." He looked at him. "Romanoff said she'd love to help hand them back."

"That's one classy lady, she could probably even write a nice thank you note." He nodded at Hill as he walked past her. "Going to pick up Aria."

"Fine. I noticed your car isn't here."

"My mom was helping me at the bank. She has it." He got into the team SUV and drove it off to the school. He had forgotten to look in the back but there wasn't a body. Just an agent typing on his computer. "Pat, tell me if you find 'em."

"Gladly. Its nice the town has wifi."

"It is. Means I get to read on my phone in the park with the kid while she's on the playground."

"You don't play soccer with her?"

"She considers that exercise and nasty." He grinned back at him as he parked. "She hates to run and jump and play but she'll sit on my exercise bike to read while pedaling because she can't handle a regular bike."

"Trike?"

"She said she's too big until she's old enough to get one like the motorcycle one she saw."

"Those are sweet." He went back to typing. He looked behind them. "We were followed."

He looked. "That's Stephens. He lives on the other side of town." He got out to talk to him. "Hey."

"Commander." He glanced around then looked at him. "Why do you have a SHIELD SUV here?"

"Had to come up to remove HYDRA from the house." Stephens winced. "Everyone's fine. Darcy drank the panic attack away so I'm picking up the kid."

"That's good. Are you on her list?"

"Of course. I'm going to be her stepdad."

"Aww. That's sweet. I'll tell the wife." Brock grinned. "Any other traumas?"

"Hill and Fury are both glaring at Loki, who's been dating Jane Foster. Thor's not pleased when he heard today. And apparently Lady Sif didn't realize how changers came to be. All in one afternoon."

Stephens snickered but nodded. "Darcy is the ultimate protective mama dragon. It'll be okay I'm sure. Even if she does change and sit on Thor." Kids started to come out. He waved his over. "Donald, this is Commander Rumlow of STRIKE. They're part of SHIELD."

"Also known as Aria Lewis' stepdad." Brock smiled and held out a hand. "Nice to meet you, Donald."

"It's nice to meet you too, sir." He smiled and shook his hand. "She got called to the office twice today."

"Oooh," Brock sighed. "I did that many times though." The duo walked off laughing. He went inside, smiling at the school secretary. "Is Aria in detention?"

"Someone wanted to talk to her but she refused and went to hide. We had to call her back out to get her back to class. She should be right out."

"Thanks. Who wanted to talk to her?"

"He said he was her grandfather. The principal wasn't so sure so she said they had to do it in front of her."

"Yeah, her grandfather's a crank that's trying to start a movement with changers taking over on others. I'd rather he not ever get near her. Her mother will kill her father for that."

"Good! Darcy's always so nice but overprotective."

He grinned. "I like her that way." He winked and walked outside. "Hey, shorty, SUV." He pointed. Aria beamed at him. "Let's go check on your mom. Bad people tried the house again so she's a bit drinking," he said once they were inside.

"Like the same one that came to see me today?"

"I think it might be related, yup. Which means I get to change form and stomp on someone." She hugged his arm. "Let's go home. Homework?"

"Nope. Did it earlier," she said happily. "Recess was super boring."

"That happens sometimes but you should always take the time to play."

"We were inside. I didn't want to play with the balls in the gym."

"I can see how that happens." He took her back. He parked and got out, nodding at Fury. "Her grandfather was here? Tried to talk to her at school."

"The fuck?" Fury demanded.

"Shut your whore mouth around me," Aria complained. "Only assholes swear around little girls."

"Excuse you?" Brock asked her with a smirk. "Who taught you that?"

"Auntie Jane." She walked off. "Let me check on Fennel then I'll check on her."

"He's in the house. He's going to see the vet tomorrow for that shoulder thing."

"That's good. I know it's warm and I tried to give him an ice pack but he didn't understand." She spotted Sif and ran over to try to hug her but Sif held her off. She pouted. "I'm sorry if I upset you, Lady Sif."

"It wasn't you, Aria, but it's not a good day for cuddles."

"That happens. That's why someone mean tried to talk to me at school. Is Fennel okay?"

"I think his shoulder may have a problem. Sometimes his line does."

"We'll figure it out then. He's a very good boy. And a great friend to me. Even when I sneezed on him." She ran inside. "Fennel!"

Brock looked up there at the "EXCUSE ME, WHO TRIED TO TALK TO YOU TODAY" that came out of the house. "Shit," he said. "Darcy, let me handle it please?" he called, walking up there. Nope. Darcy came out, changed, and went to find her father to kill his dumb tail. "Darcy, let me help!" he shouted.

"Watch the egg, Brock. It's my father and I'm having a talk with him."

"Yeah, sure." He nodded, nodding at two of the dragon changers in STRIKE to follow. They changed and followed her to help. And hopefully arrest. He looked at Sif. "You just took out a prejudice on a little girl who did nothing but be born." He gave her a pointed look. "None of us want Aria to realize that people are like that." He walked inside to cuddle her. "Your Ma's going to go stomp someone into the dirt, princess. We should work on dinner for when she gets back." She cheered, going to wash her hands to help him. "My mom wants to see you next weekend."

"She's a neat grandma," Aria agreed with a grin. "She tells me all sorts of stories about you when you were my age."

"She's been waiting a long time to tell those." He washed his own hands, looking in the fridge. "I think your mom had plans for those meats. So ...carbonara?"

"Too much. Mom will be mad later and won't need anything too big. Salad?"

"We can do that. Grilled veggies as salad?"

She nodded with a beaming grin. "That's a good idea!" They got to work chopping while he helped her learn how to saute vegetables.

Outside Nick Fury looked at Rollins. "Is it always like this?"

"Yup. He's a good da to her. Darcy's an excellent mom. She's a good kid who doesn't realize that bad people do things that we have to end. No kid should ever know what we have to do sometimes."

"No, they shouldn't," Hill agreed. "Agent Stephens wanted to make sure that we didn't need him."

"His kid goes to her school," Rollins said.

"Interesting." She gave him a weird look.

"He lives in the same town. Rumlow looked up people near here."

"Oh." She nodded. "That makes sense." She looked up at the feeling of a draft, getting out of the way of the body falling down there. Then the hovering dragon landed and turned back into Darcy. She kicked the other dragon until it changed back. "Lewis, can we arrest that notorious crank?" she asked.

"Not yet. He wanted to have my little girl hurt and me hurt and kidnaped, so he could hurt his own father for daring to let him be born." She kicked him again until her father turned back to try to defend herself.

"You're...."

"My mother was Abigail. Yeah, you're my sperm donor," she said dryly, staring at him. "Want the DNA test we had done to make sure? Even Ancestry knows that." The man looked horrified, backing away from her. "And you went after my damn daughter!"

"She's just special to my father!"

"Duh! Motherfucker, of course my grandfather has met my daughter!" He shuddered. She punched him a few times but Rollins kept him from running away from her. She manifested claws and went after him again, making Jack bounce away from her a few times. Her father was making begging noises but couldn't defend himself. Brock came down and shot him in the stomach, then looked at Darcy. "Hey!" she complained.

He grinned and kissed her. "My turn? We're making vegetable salad tonight because Aria wanted it."

She blinked a few times. "You're getting her to eat vegetables? She quit doing that for me last month."

"I gave her a choice. She picked that over carbonara because it might be too heavy for you after you kick his ass." He shot the guy again, this time in the leg, when he tried to move. "Not done with you yet." He looked at him and the guy shrank away from him. "Baby, why don't you go wash your hands and we'll eat." She rolled her eyes. "I'd like to have a manly talk about how real dragons don't abandon their baby mother even if it was just a midnight fling."

"You'd have to teach my mother that too."

"I can do that too. I certainly wouldn't abandon you even if it was just a midnight thing. My mother would've killed me." She kissed him. "Go wash your hands. You got them all messy." She nodded, going inside to do that. He looked at the guy. "You're such a failure as a parent and you think we want to follow you? You don't even do what you talk about, Frederick."

He stared at him. "I mean, hell, she's the one that broke the weak asses in the confederation councils when they tried to sell her into marriage against her will. You're not even as good as your daughter and now you want to have her and her daughter tortured because you've got daddy issues?"

"Where's her baby's father?" he sneered.

"She was raped, asshole." The man flinched back. "One of your minions had a crackhead idea about suppressants and stole hers while she was on a college campus. So you're directly responsible for her raping and your granddaughter, who you tried to kidnap from school earlier today so I know you knew about her, coming into being."

"I only knew that she was special to my father!"

"Uh-huh. Yank the other side, they play Jingle Bells." He moved closer. "I'm at least thousands of times the man you are, and at least double that as a dragon. Your daughter, better than I'll ever be and more than I deserve. Hell, your father doesn't even remember your name anymore but he bought a phone to talk to his granddaughter." He stared him down. "You will not come near my girls again or you and I will go round and I'll do it the traditional way."

"I can take you now even with the injuries she did," he sneered, changing.

Brock changed and stomped his ass until the guy was unconscious. Then he slit his throat with a claw, just deep enough to scar and bleed but not kill him, staring at him. "Never come near my girls again. I'm not merciful. I've taken out terrorist groups by myself and you're not even bad enough to get a single agent watching over you.

"Be damned if I need to baby your granddaughter through the trauma of meeting you." The other one flinched away from him. "Now, go the fuck away. Never come near them again unless you're offering a bone marrow transplant to them or an organ they need, and shut the hell up.

"We don't need your shit in the community. There's already too many failed men like you out there. It's why your daughter was single so long and all the other daughters you fathered probably are too." He sucked in a breath through his nose.

"Kill me then!" the asshole demanded. "You think you're so hot, kill me."

Brock changed back and shot him in the head. "You're not worth the death by fire." He walked off putting his gun back into the holster. "Jack, I made that veggie salad thing for her. You want some?"

"Please." He walked over the body, going up to eat. The rookies could clean up the mess Brock had made.

Fury looked at Hill. "When did I lose control of this?"

"When you showed up assuming you had control," she said, staring back. "You can't tell Foster she can't date whoever she wants. Even if it's Loki. You can't tell Lewis not to handle things to protect herself and her daughter. The same as Lady Sif can't say what happened back in a past bloodline matters now." She looked at her. "Please don't upset the child, Lady Sif. She's fairly delicate for being five." She looked at the waiting agents. "Clean up their mess, people. We'll go deliver the HYDRA bodies back to them to prove they're idiots as requested."

"Are we just ignoring Loki?" Fury demanded.

"If they've been dating over a year and our surveillance hasn't caught them yet, I doubt he's planning on using her to destroy the earth," Rollin's new second-in-command, Doug the medic, said blandly. "And really, our surveillance is illegal as we have no reason to watch our own person or his personal relationships since she's not turning him to another side, sirs."

He stared at Fury. "Especially since our devices led them to her. I've already helped stomp one person who thought about selling pictures of the kid running around." Fury flinched back. "Be damned if SHIELD should support that sort, sir. If it does, maybe we'll be reformed under Rumlow. Even if that does mean a lot of PT daily."

"New wife, it'll distract him," another on the team quipped. "So we've got at least a year before he decides to beat us all for not being as fit as he is." He looked at himself. "Maybe if I was, I could find a woman like Lewis. She's one hell of a woman. Even if she is a goofy mom sort." He walked over the new body, going to get a bag for it. They had a trash bag he was sure. They scraped him into it and tossed him with the others, letting that agent finally leave the scene.

Nick Fury left behind them, letting Hill finish the clean up.

Maria looked at the agents. "Behave, be on shift by tomorrow at noon, don't make Lewis stomp you, bring me a report on if Foster is getting married soon so I have time to find a present." She left them there.

Lady Sif shook her head. "They'd accept him dating Thor's former girlfriend?"

"They were over with over a year ago," one of the guys said. "They broke up back when they were in the science labs in the Tower, Lady Sif." She grimaced. "She hasn't been Thor's for years and Loki seems to genuinely like her. He listens to her, helps her with her progress, and keeps her from going overboard and dying from not eating for days on end. She's a lucky woman to find someone decent, even if he was evil and tortured and stuff."

She stared at him. "You know of him how?"

"You know, most people think I look like my father," he quipped, staring at her. Her eyes went wide. He grinned and wiggled his fingers. "Tell Pop I said hi."

"Your mother..."

"Oh, no. No, there was a battle and alcohol, and ...." He shrugged. "My stepmom knows though. I've talked to her more than once." He grinned. "Tell him I said hi?"

"I will do such," she said, staring at him. "Loki does not bother you?"

"Men in love don't make wars unless they're forced to."

"True. The other thing..."

He shrugged again. "They are not their ancestors. And really, most of those maidens used were slaves of the Romans trying to get favors. Did they have a choice?" She slumped, shaking her head. "Then they are what they are and who they are. I'd feel creeped out if there were present day ones but again, not our job. I know that teaching that little girl that people hate you for how you're born is evil though."

"Point," she admitted. "I would not want to do that." She sighed, looking inside. "I'll have someone ask about Fennel's shoulder in a few days." She looked up and got sent back home by Heimdall.

The agent looked at the others, who just shook their heads.

"Tell your dad I said hi and I'm going to tickle him again the next time I see him," Darcy called from the house. "And you do look too much like him. I almost expected you to hit on me like he did." The agent burst out laughing as he walked off.

***

Brock smirked at his mom the next morning. "I've got two hours before I have to appear at the office, Ma."

"Good." She handed over those things he had left, letting him look at them. "C'mon. I know just who can do that by this weekend."

He nodded. "She's upset today because her dirtbag of a donor showed up." She poked him on the arm. "Seriously! Knew he had a kid and didn't even care. Thankfully he's gone too." She hugged his arm. He kissed her on the head. "Fennel's going to the vet today. He's got a shoulder thing."

"That's good it's being taken care of." She walked him off. Someone tried to rob them but she stared at the young idiot. "He's a federal agent, boy. Go home!" She pointed. "Before I tell your mother you're out here acting like an idiot!" He ran off. "The neighborhood has slightly fallen down some."

"It happens everywhere. They see it on video games and decide it's cool." She giggled, patting his arm as she led him to the family's usual jeweler. He stared. "I didn't think they were still here."

"Barely here. The owner's nearly eighty so it won't be too much longer probably. It'll be a shame to lose them." She opened the door and let Brock handle it. She smiled at the old, stooped man at the counter. "Brock, this is Mr. Evans. He's the one who made my engagement ring."

He smiled, putting down the three things. "I need a chain to put that opal on as a pendant. And the two stones to be made into drops to fit onto solitaires if you can."

The man stared at him. "How soon is the wedding?"

"We're bonding this weekend. I can wait for a few months on the earrings but I'd like to present them at the same time if you can."

The man smiled. "Setting that ring as a pendant won't be that big of a problem, or putting settings on those stones, young man. Come look at necklaces."

Brock found one that he was drawn to. "Ma?" He looked at her. She came over to look. "Not the shiny one, she's not into twinkly things and her hoard isn't all that glittering."

"The one that looks like a rainbow? The herringbone."

He nodded, standing up to look at her. "Is that a lighting thing or is it actually painted?"

"It's different types of metal actually." He let Brock see it. "That's a great bonding necklace but the opal might look odd." He pointed at the chains. "There's a few pretty types we can string that on easily."

Brock got down to look at them. "I like the Palma style. It looks pretty sturdy yet pretty. But the Figaro style is more delicate."

"I can put those stones around the opal if you want," Mr. Evan offered with a grin.

"We don't get out much. We live a bit more in the country and she's the new family matriarch."

"Hmm. Most of them would demand bigger things."

Brock smiled. "Hers to me is more sentimental and meaningful to her than stately. Also, she's about thirty."

"Go with the figaro style. Get the palma one for something else." He smiled. "It could be a pretty bracelet. So would the herringbone one you were drawn to."

"I..." He considered it then looked at his mother.

"I doubt she'd be returning such a big gift," his mother said. "Darcy's not acquisitive. She always wears the same pieces of jewelry."

"I... Yeah, I like that idea. Let's do the figaro chain with the opal. We'll do the other two bracelets so she has daily wear stuff too." He smiled at his mother. "She'd probably wear more if she had more, Ma."

"Good point. They'll look pretty with her usual leggings and baggy sweaters."

He smiled. "That's what I was hoping." He put his arm through hers to go back to the work area. "Have you seen those stone-less rings they wear sometimes?"

"Yes but they're very carved usually," Mr. Evan said, smiling at him. "This one's a nice band but it'd probably look better with another stone instead. Perhaps something more substantial than an opal though. It was definitely too delicate for that setting."

"Maybe for our next anniversary." Mr. Evan smiled and nodded. "She's really not the sort I thought I'd end up with. She's not a career woman. She's a helper sort. She's very womanly and not into fitness."

"Sometimes opposites do attract, dear, and you're alike in many ways," his mother said gently. He nodded. "And you do adore her daughter."

"Aria's the neatest kid I've met. A bit mouthy like her mom but a great little girl." He grinned at her. "She said I could give her siblings when I told her I wanted more kids to join the family. But she said I couldn't expect her to do girly things with it because that would be like playing with dolls and she wasn't that sort of girl."

His mother burst out giggling. "She walked up to someone's motorcycle and petted it like it was sentient, including talking to it about needing a bath like her poor dog Fennel, who hates baths. The biker was very amused but promised he'd give her a bath later. We had to explain all bikes were girls."

"Awww." She smiled at him. "She's a good grandchild."

"She's one hell of a girl. Did I ever tell you she messed with something in her aunt's lab and nearly destroyed the moon? She was being helpful by putting in numbers."

"That figures," she agreed, still smiling. "She is one very interesting young girl." She rubbed his arm. "Has she scaled up yet?"

"She did that at four, Ma."

"Really?"

"Her mom fully changed at seven."

"Ooh." She blinked up at him. "Do you two get along on that level?"

"I learned a few things from her and her family." He grinned. "They don't have a one or another side. They do both at the same time."

"That's interesting. I've never heard about that. I'll ask Darcy when I see her next time." He nodded, letting her hug his arm again. He paid for the work and said he could be back Friday when it was offered. They shook Mr. Evan's hand after paying then went back to her house for a few minutes then he had to get to work.

Brock walked in and saw all the looks in his direction. "I can go home again," he offered with a point. They got back to work and he made it to his desk. He had a few emails waiting about the report he sent in. His desk also had two cards on it and a new mug with candy in it. "Thank you," he called. He grinned as he opened them and put the candy into his bag for Darcy and Aria. He texted her about Fennel. They were taking x-rays.

He told her about the cards and she said to say thank you for her too. She'd write letters later if he wanted. They'd handle it pretty well. "Low cartilage," he muttered. "That figures. My knee feels like that sometimes. Can they fix it?" he muttered as he typed that. He winced at the suggested surgery.

"Hmm. Will that cause later problems?" She asked that already and they said probably not, it didn't usually, but they referred her to an orthopedic specialist who had done some zoo work as well. He was in Syracuse. So that was an easy enough day trip. He agreed to that and she agreed with the vet. Fennel got two shots too. She noted Aria had an upcoming shot appointment too and she might need someone to help hold her down.

Jack looked over. "Big things?"

"Fennel's at the vets. He's got a shoulder with not enough cartilage."

That got a nod. "Seen others with that sort of joint. Specialty vet?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "One in Syracuse. So we'll probably see within a week. Darcy asked for backup for kid shots too."

Jack nodded. "Remember when she was so bruised from the last set?"

"Ooh. Yeah." He nodded. "I do remember seeing that bruise. We'll have to help with that. I'd hate to handcuff the kid."

"You can't do that," another agent said. "That's considered kid cruelty." He grinned. "Aria hates shots?" Brock nodded. "They'll probably help hold her down."

"Maybe I can talk her into meditating through them," Brock said.

"Maybe," the other guy agreed. "But doubt it at her age." That got a grimace and a nod. Yeah, they'd handle it he guessed.

***

They finally got time alone on Saturday. Jane was crying on Aria, even though she and Fennel didn't understand why. She was determined to make her aunt feel better.

Darcy was making the special almond bites when Brock came out of his workout area, all sweaty and a towel on his shoulder. "Hey." She took a kiss with a smile.

"Can I help once I shower?"

"Not a lot I can't do. If you want you can handle the mixing things for this. The pork belly is already marinating from the braise time and is ready to roast at any time. The venison is already ready and melding together. The other stuff is ready to be put on the grill once we're ready. I just have to finish these."

"Okay. Let me shower really fast." He went to do that and came out with just a simple pair of pants. They looked good on him, riding a few inches low to show off his hips. She showed him how to use the almond paste to surround the berry mixture. He remembered to put the wine in the fridge and came back to help her form little almond bites. He watched. "Why the ground up bacon fat?"

"To take the place of the butter or lard that they'd usually use." She smiled and took a kiss. "It means it matches better with the rest of dinner too."

"Okay. That makes sense." He kept making little dollops of almond paste surrounding the berry mixture. It was hard to keep them together but she showed him how to dampen his fingers to help with that. He grinned, making more of them. He could see her eating a few of these. She moved to put the pork belly pieces into the oven while they finished the little dessert bites.
The pork belly came out and got set to cool down. He'd look at them but they were covered for now. He went to set up the room, smiling when he found all the candles laid out. Two pillows to sit on around a small table. Beside it was the table with the grill and the platters for the meat dishes. He adjusted them slightly to put the grill on its own so it wouldn't get other things too warm. Also so it was on metal instead of on top of a wood table. They did not need a fire today.

Darcy came in to fuss at things. "That's a good idea. I couldn't find something safer to put the grill on." She took a kiss. "Thank you."

"Oil?" he asked. He lit the grill to get it ready.

"In the warm water on the back porch. I put the new cushions on the chaise out there." She took another kiss. "Things are in the oven. I'll be right back." She went to shower and change.

Brock went to look around the kitchen to make sure nothing burned. The almond bites were getting a bit brown so he took them out, letting them cool on the wire rack waiting for the pan. Darcy came out winding up her wet hair and smiled at him for that. The foil was off the pork belly and they were in under the broiler at the moment.

He brought the special glass and the first wine bottle to that set up room. It was the least he could do since she had cooked so much. He settled himself on the pillow with his back to the door. It showed he trusted her. Her necklace was in his pocket with the bracelets. The earrings would be done in another week. He calmed himself when he heard her bringing in things, smiling at her. He was ready for this. He was ready for her. She was calm so he could not be giddy and dance around.

She went back to bring in the other few dishes, finishing with the pork belly that was still sizzling. She settled herself on the other pillow, smiling at him. "Together, we will join our nests," she said quietly, taking his hand. "Make a new line of our own."

"Our own line," he agreed, squeezing her hand. He had looked this all up a few days earlier when he realized he should say something. "Your nest is mine and your eggs are my eggs, even the one born before us."

She smiled and nodded. "Our future eggs will be protected by both of us."

"I'll protect you and them, Darcy. Always." She grinned. He tried to remember if there was something else. Oh, yeah. The providing. "I'll give our nest what it needs to survive, thrive, and mature into a long life of being healthy."

She relaxed and nodded. "I'll take what you bring me and make it for us." She let go of his hand and moved to put the plate in the center of the table. She put the first meat on there, the venison tartar, with a few pieces of pumpernickel bread waiting for them. She put the thinly sliced, marinated beef on the ready grill, and put two pieces of pork belly on the plate. It only took a minute for the beef to cook so she pulled it over and rolled it up with the fork. She held up the first bite of the venison, letting him eat it from her fingers.

He moaned at the flavor. "You did great, babe. That's...I've never had that."

She smiled. "I added a bit more herbiness than I would with the steak version." She held up the beef roll, letting him eat it. He smiled as he barely had to chew. Then the piece of roasted pork belly in plum sauce. It was crusted from the baked glaze. Pork belly was what bacon came from so it was fatty and soft and just melted for him. He moaned again. She grinned. "Does it go well?"

"It goes very well," he said, staring at her. He licked his lips. "It goes very well and you did a fantastic job." She beamed. He poured the wine into the single glass, taking a sip of it to taste it. It was subtle but not too light. It had a good flavor and a bit of acid. He held it out to her. "Drink, my consort."

She licked her lips and sipped then ate in the reverse order he had. He smiled, letting her pick up the glass to sip then let him have some. This was starting to turn him on. The candles, the low light, the food, the tastes, her smiling at him. Now he knew why they did it this way. She served more food and wine, letting them finish what they wanted.

Then she opened the other bottle and pulled over the tiny almond bites. They were about thumb-tip sized. She held up the first one, smiling at him. He knew it was traditional. He sucked it from her fingers, then moaned at the taste. A bit burnt tasting but that was almonds being baked. The berries gooshed out as he bit down, leaving his tongue coated with sweet and the bacon fat and a touch of honey. He moaned again as he swallowed. She let him have the wine to sip. "This goes well with that especially."

She smiled. "I'm glad I could do this the right way. Grandma Russie taught me to make these but I haven't since I was sixteen." She fed him another one and he fed her the next one. She moaned a bit, nodding she had done good. She sipped the wine, letting him have the glass back.

"Should've saved some of the berries so I could spread it over you later to lick off," he teased. She giggled, shaking her head. "I know, I'd need to cook it but I could probably blend it into a pudding to spread over you. I'd love to lick that off your breasts."

"Brock," she sighed, blushing. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." He stared at her, feeding her another almond bite. "Do we usually do this naked?"

"No. In the old days you'd be surrounded by family members or maybe monks singing if you were wealthy enough."

"Monks?" he asked with a grin.

"There were monks everywhere back then."

"Is that why we have music playing?"

"Yup, just some light instrumental stuff."

"It's pretty. Just like you." He stared at her. "Take off the shirt?"

She shook her head with a smile. "You're supposed to strip me off."

"I can do that." He took another sip of wine and fed it to her. Then another almond bite. She smiled at him. "Let's put this up so I can oil you down, my queen?" She blushed again but got up to help him do that. The rest of the wine got poured into normal glasses and went with them out to the chaise on the back porch.

Brock stripped her shirt off her, then shoved down the light cotton pants she wore, leaving her naked. He oiled his hands, working them over her skin slowly and gently, making her shiver and lay down. To them, that was like a submission to his will in this. He grinned, oiling her down all over. He kneaded each muscle, making sure he got every crack and crevice as well. Just taking his time to appreciate her body and how the skin felt.

She motioned him down and got the oil for her own use. He laid there, letting her oil him however she wanted. She was more erratic about her path but she teased him by avoiding the hot spots she knew he had. The second pass got a light teasing stroke nearer to them. The third got a touch on them. The fourth he moaned and made begging noises so she oiled where he wanted. He flipped over to loom over her, staring at her. She wiggled some when the staring got intense.

Then she changed to her smaller form and got free of him, taking off for the sky as she moved to her full size form. He smirked, changed to follow her. They met high up in the air, him twining around her body but she wiggled free and sped off. He followed, teasing her and she taunted him back by getting free of him. He knew that couples usually landed in dragon form and started the consummation from there but he wasn't sure about her issue with that. He finally wrapped her in his paws, nipping her throat with his snout. "Ready?" he purred.

"Yes," she moaned.

He got them to the ground softly. She stretched out and he leaned against her back. "Move the tail for me, sweetheart. Let me in," he said in her ear. "Just let me in." She did, swishing her tail side-to-side. He wiggled his way closer as her tail moved, letting him have a small opening to mount her. He managed it with impeccable timing.

She stiffened but he nibbled on her throat. "Brock," she whined.

"Want to change already?" he asked. "I will let you lead there, Darcy. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable with me." She looked back at him then took off again. He rushed after her, watching how she flew. She wasn't exactly fighting it but she wasn't making it easy on him. She was the most challenging woman he'd ever had but the enjoyed that about her. He finally caught her again and held her tight while his wings held them up, mounting her again, staring at her eyes.

"Like this?" he asked quietly. She reached over to bite him on the throat, making him moan and nip back. He thrust in harder, making them shift position because they were in the air free floating on his wings. She moved her wings to help them stay up. He finally had to land them, still holding her tight against his front as they rutted. "Mine, Darcy."

"Yours," she begged. "Brock, please."

He licked her throat where he had bitten her. "You are mine and I will do whatever you need me to do, Darcy. Take me and make me yours." She tightened around him, making him work harder to be able to move. "Ooooh, Darcy. Please!" She relaxed slightly, turning around to change back into a human form. He changed back, lunging to get her back. He put her on his lap, thrusting hard up into her until she clawed his shoulders with her hands. His head dipped down to taste her nipple, his hands going to hold her hips down in place. "Darcy," he moaned. "Please, babe."

"Nearly there," she panted, riding his motions. "More, Brock." She reached for her arm but he stopped her hand and held it instead. She blinked at him.

"That wasn't me wanting the patch off, Darcy. I want that sucker to stay right there."

"Are you in rut?" she panted.

"No, just happy to see you." He grinned, pushing in harder, making her shiver. "Just come. Let me do what I want to do. I want to make you scream in pleasure tonight, mostly on my tongue. Please come so I can do that."

"You..."

"Won't be coming for a few minutes. Please, babe, just come." He teased her clit, making her wiggle and tense up until she finally went over and bit him hard on the shoulder. "Oh, baby." He panted, getting control of himself. He picked her up, picking up their clothes on the way to the bedroom carrying her. She gave him an odd look. "It's in my pocket."

"I put mine in the bedroom."

He grinned. "I didn't have that forethought." He dropped the clothes next to the bed on his side, then carefully put her onto the bed. She had changed the sheets so the leftover oil and sweat on her skin wouldn't stain their usual one if they got too messy. He stared down at her, then stayed staring at her as he leaned toward her nipple. She giggled, wiggling away from him. That helped his angle anyway so that was good. He licked and nibbled over her chest until she was getting breathy again. He touched her, gently using his fingers to make her open up so he could look her over. "You are so pretty."

"Thank you. I have nothing to do with that being pretty though." He stared at her. "I don't."

"Shh. I'm being romantic and sexy."

"You definitely have sexy down." She grinned and made grabby hands. "Come make me regret interrupting your seduction, Brock." He snorted but leaned down to lick her a few times. "Oh, hey! We don't usually do that!" She wiggled but wasn't trying to get away. He held her hips down and teased her until she was making begging noises. Then he climbed up her and lined up, gently sliding in. "Oh, more of that!"

"That's all I've got, babe. Going to have to enjoy every inch instead of ask for more." He kissed her as he gently rode her back into happiness. She finally came and he let himself relax enough to finish up, making her pant as she pulled him down to cuddle. He rolled them onto their sides, cuddling her while she calmed down. "I say some of the stupidest things during sex," he said in her ear, making her giggle but kiss his throat. "Are you happy?"

"I don't think I could be any happier." She looked up. "Though I could use some water."

"We only had a half-glass of wine and I left it outside." He got up to get her a bottle of cold water, bringing it back to her. "Here you go." He laid back down while she sat up to drink. He took the last few swallows for his own needs and she laid against his side and shoulder again, snuggling in. He smiled. "Should I get up to get things?"

"Are you disappointed?"

"Why would I be upset at something sentimental? Now that I know about obsidian I really identify with that too. Pressure makes other gems. Fire and stress and sudden release makes obsidian." She smiled up at him. "I'd never not appreciate a sentimental one instead of something fancy that I'd be afraid to wear all the time."

"If you can't wear it on missions I understand."

"Good! I figured you couldn't wear mine every day but part of it you can." She stared up at him. He shrugged.

"I thought we agreed on one thing given?"

"I was taught three was traditional and I don't expect more than one." She sighed, staring at him. "That's how guys are taught, Darcy. We give three, you give one, and then on the anniversaries we each give one."

"I... I thought it was supposed to be equal."

"No, I totally expect you to suddenly find something that reminds you of me and present it just at dinner one night sometime." He grinned. "Because I've seen you do that with Jane."

She smiled. "I've found a few of those."

"Uh-huh. So we can do that." He got up with a groan, getting into his pants. He brought the three small boxes over. "Close your eyes." She did and he put the necklace on her first, sliding it over her head and around her neck. The bracelets went on her wrists. She opened her eyes and looked then at him. "That opal had been the centerpiece of a ring that my grandmother bought herself when she was getting into her old and sassy years. Her husband didn't like jewelry so she always bought her own." He touched it. "Like Aria says, it contains rainbows, just like you." She smiled at him. He grinned back. "I know opals are a bit fragile but not totally so and the chain I picked to go with it when I had it mounted is a bit delicate but not too much."

She looked at the chain. "That's not a delicate chain, or a rope chain that'll peel up." He nodded. "That's sweet, Brock." She kissed him. "Would she approve?"

"She considered it just a kitschy piece of jewelry. Wore it around and to church but it wasn't something she considered 'good' jewelry because there wasn't a real stone. To her only diamonds, sapphires, and rubies were *real* stones but this was the one thing I asked to inherit from her."

"That's weird."

"She hated emeralds. She had the coloring to pull them off but she hated them." She smiled at him. She looked at her bracelets then at him. "I saw those when I was getting the other one. The rainbow one is different types of metals. I thought it'd go well with most of what you wear, and it's cute enough to wear whenever you want. The other's a pretty bracelet that you can wear when you want to feel more special."

She hugged him. "I love them. They're beautiful." He sat next to her while she got his necklace, closing his eyes. She got it from her bedside table and went to put it over his head. "Oh, it's stuck. I'm not mate marking instead of consortship." She pulled it off his ears to open and slide around his neck, fumbling with the clasp in the darker room. He helped. She smiled. "Sorry I'm not that smooth."

"It's dark in here. I'm surprised you can see it at all." He smiled, touching the piece of obsidian. It was soft, smoothed by touches, and felt cool against his skin. The chain wouldn't catch on anything. It fit him well. He smiled, kissing her. "That's a good fit. Thank you for sharing this with me."

"Thank you for sharing with me." She snuggled into his chest again, touching her necklace. His hand covered hers. "Do you really want kids?"

"Not this year. Whenever you're ready. I'm not pushy. I'd feel like I'm defiling your uterus anyway." She giggled at that, squeezing him. "I'm jealous. I'm hoarding you and Aria. You're my most precious thing in my hoard." She giggled, but shifted on top of him to kiss him. That made it better and he quit saying awkward, mushy things. He was much more comfortable with his hands on her butt, squeezing her cheeks, and working on getting her to pounce him.

***

Jane looked up as Darcy and Brock came out the next morning, nodding at them and looking at the pouty kid. "She forgot extra books."

"She could draw," Darcy said.

"I forgot my crayons too." She hopped up to come look at her mother's new jewelry. "You're wearing rainbows." She smiled at Brock. "That's pretty."

"It is. That's why I picked that out for her."

"The rainbows infected her bracelet?"

"It's different types of metals," he said, letting her see it.

"That's still pretty." She looked at his neck. "What's that?"

"Obsidian. It has a lot of meaning for your mom." He touched it and let her touch it.

"Why, Mom?"

"Obsidian's a special thing that comes from lava. I'll show you later." She smiled.

"It's still pretty." She kissed Brock on the cheek. "I'm glad you're my new daddy." She bounced back to hug Jane then hugged Loki, making him stare at her. "Do you get to do that to Auntie Jane?"

"We are not dragons, dear. Jane is as fierce as any dragon but she is not one. That's your cultural expression. Us, we just give rings."

"Oooh. Is she getting a ring?"

"She hasn't asked," he said with a smirk. "It's nice you ask for her though."

"Well, when you do, I want to see it to make sure you did good picking her something pretty. I know science may not like jewelry, I asked a bit ago when I noticed she didn't wear any." He nodded. "So it has to be pretty enough to compensate and so science wants her to be beautiful for it." She grinned. "Can I see it before she does to make sure?"

"Not a chance. I'll give it to her in private and she can show you, Aria."

"I guess that's okay." She stared at him. "We have to take Fennel to the special vets this week."

He looked up. "His shoulder?" Darcy nodded. "Do we know why?"

"The x-rays show that his shoulder's not sitting very well. They think they'll have to remove the ball part of the shoulder joint. They do it a lot to dogs and other canines with the same sort of shoulder problem and it seems to solve it without further complication."

"I'll ask one of the animal healers the next time I'm home." She nodded with a smile. He stared at Brock's chest. "Obsidian matches you both. You did good." She grinned at him. "Have fun with them, Aria." She hugged him then bounded over to hug Jane, then ran to get her backpack and go with her parents. He looked at Jane. "Did you want one of those some day?"

"A little girl? Not this year but maybe some year." He grinned, going back to his reading when she went back to her math work. They both heard Thor land. Fennel yelped and ran into the house to get away from him. Aria followed her furry friend with a 'hi, Uncle Thor'. Loki sighed, looking at her. She shrugged back. Thor knocked a minute later. "What?" she called. Thor walked in. "Didn't stop to hug the kid?"

"No, I did hug her and I promised to read to her in a moment." He stared at his ex and his brother. "May I ask when this happened?"

"About six, seven months ago," Jane said. "He showed up to handle something that my last attempt would cause. Heimdall sent him."

Thor nodded, sitting down in Darcy's desk chair. "Then you found yourself together?"

"No, first we found ourselves talking," Jane said. "He accidentally brought the book he was reading and I asked about it because Darcy read it a few years back. I don't remember it really well but she read it to Aria when she was still barely walking."

"So you talked and found yourself suitable." Loki nodded, staring at him. "I do not want her bothered by talking from waspish tongues, Loki. I would never want Jane harmed by any of that."

"They'd talk about me more anyway."

"True, and I hate that as well." He stared at him. "There is enough stress without the wagging of evil tongues." The couple nodded. "Then I'm pleased she's found love and you've found someone that made you remember peace, Loki. I wish you both happiness." He stood up. "Sif is most confused."

"She's really confused because she realized most changers weren't magically converted," Jane said. "She nearly flinched away from Aria after that got brought to her attention."

Thor stared at her. "I can smell the recentness of Darcy's lineage on her. It does not disturb me as she was not the one doing it, but I doubt that dragons would be good for the base of humanity to learn about."

"No, they're not," Jane agreed. "Which is why we hid all that. Sif learned about it and was so horrified she didn't let Aria hug her."

"I'll speak to Sif. She was probably just horrified."

"We thought you would have more problem with that with how you've talked of hunts," Loki said.

"I have more problems with those who desire to consort that way. That is rather..." He grimaced. "It makes my mind cramp painfully at that image."

Loki nodded. "Who one loves is up to them."

"It is," Thor agreed. "And I would not harm them. I know Darcy guards that secret. The problem the other day?"

"Her father," Jane said. "He tried to get to Aria because he heard she was favored."

"Hmm. Pity he tried that. Is he still around?"

"Nope." Jane grinned. "He tried Brock."

"I like how protective he is of them." He nodded. "I'll speak to Sif later." He hugged Jane. "I wish you much happiness, Jane. I know I was not what you needed to date as I don't deal with science or those sort of problems. I hope he is good for your life." He nodded at Loki. "Shall I tell others?"

"And have her attacked by them?"

"I will make it known that I approve, brother." He shook his hand. Then he left to go read to the daughter of the house. Aria was a bit pouty but she was still young and girls did that as far as he knew.

Loki looked at Jane. "That went more peacefully than I thought it would."

"Sometimes he does surprise you." She smiled at him. "I'm going to try to redo the bridge tonight."

"I look forward to it, dear." She got up to calibrate her newest machines. She had to rebuild a few of them.

***

Brock walked Darcy into his mother's that afternoon. His mother squealed, coming to hug them all. "Ma, quit fussing," he said with a grin. "We had to bring Fennel. Jane's doing stuff with a machine."

"I don't mind your puppy and the idiot is at home," she told Aria, taking her to cuddle. She walked off talking to her.

Brock sat down with Darcy next to him, Fennel following his little girl. His mother would come back soon. When she did, she stared at his chest. He grinned. "Ma?"

"She has good taste. That color of obsidian is pretty on you. I looked it up after you mentioned it and it does fit you very well." She kissed him on the forehead then hugged Darcy. "You did good, sweetheart." She smiled. "That opal looks adorable too." She tweaked Darcy's ear, handing back the kid. "You two sit. A few of the aunts are coming over soon for a card game." She went back to fussing at things. Then came out with stuff to eat and drink for them. The aunts got there and stared at Brock and Darcy. "They bonded this weekend." She beamed. "Darcy had a totally sentimental moment and gifted my son with her favorite stone, one that means a lot to her and does speak to what Brock's done." They came to congratulate them, smiling at Darcy's opal.

"No gold?" one aunt asked.

Darcy shook her head. "I'd never wear it anywhere. I don't do fancy things and I'm not really into really fancy stuff."

"Awww. He did excellent matching his gifts to your lifestyle, dear." She smiled at Aria. "And I've seen you, little one." Aria grinned and waved, leaning against Fennel to eat the sausage bites her grandmother had given her. "That's very big dog."

"This is Fennel," she said with a grin. "He came from Asgard from Lady Sif."

"Awww, that's sweet." She looked at Darcy, who nodded. "She did?"

"Yeah. I know Thor and Lady Sif both. I tazed Thor once actually but he was acting like a total d-bag and drunk after Jane hit him with a car." She grinned. "She's known Thor since he showed up to too."

"Oh, my." She smiled. "How are they doing?"

"Thor's still at the tower. His ex, who I work for, has moved on and he wished them well. He's asked a healer to look at Fennel's sore shoulder. He loves to read to Aria." She grinned. "Thor's a pretty chill guy most of the time."

"That's good. I never considered him being that normal."

"That can depend on the day," she admitted. "Some days...." Brock snickered but nodded. The aunt smiled and went in to gossip with the others and play cards. She looked up at Brock. "Think they've managed it or should we call to make sure the house is still standing?"

He looked at the surveillance camera he had logged into. "There's a glow but the house is fine. So is the special tree." He let her see. The glow got brighter. And then snapped. They had to wait while the camera unwhited then saw the house was mostly still there but everything on it was bleached.
"She had better not have destroyed the attic work areas. I was going to auction some of those off since no one wanted it." She called. Jane went up to look and took pictures for her. A few things had bleached but not a lot. She sighed. One of her own pieces had bleached. Jane went to see if she could fix that.

Aria looked over. "Did Auntie Jane goof?"

"Tiny bit," Darcy admitted. "Everything's a bit more pale than it should be."

"We can check everything else later," Brock promised. "Maybe it looks worse than it is."

"It'd better since that's right over my closet," Darcy said dryly. "I don't look good in white and I doubt you want to wear white to work."

"No, not really. It's hard to sneak up on someone evil in white clothes."

"This is some PBS plot of a kid's show," Darcy sighed. "She stole all the colors and we have to get them back. I almost feel like Dora is going to show up with her backpack and encourage us to go on the quest with her."

"I remember Carmen Sandiago." She laughed but nodded. "Hopefully Jane will put back the colors before I have to fill out a report about why I need to completely rekit my tactical gear. I can see that brain seizure from SHIELD." He looked at her, then sniffed. He looked at the patch on her arm then at her in a pointed way.

"Needing a new one but next week is another treatment week." She shrugged. "So I'll have a lower dose for a few days then off it for a week."

"I remember the last time. You cried at the carrots." She sighed but nodded. "But we'll handle it." His mother stared at him. "She has some arthritis in her knees, Ma. She's got a bone density treatment this week."

"The day after we get back from the specialty vet," Darcy said.

"That blows," Aria said. "Two days out of school?"

Darcy looked at her. "Nope and nope. You're not going to the vet's if I can help it. You'll cry all over him." She sighed but nodded. "And you can go to school while I'm on the IV all day, Aria."

"Yes, Mom." She sighed, looking at Brock, who nodded he agreed. "Darn it."

"Yup. Yay." She grinned. "You need school time."

"I know. It's nice to play during recess too." She snuggled into her poor friend's good shoulder, getting cuddly so she could nap on him. "It's been a long day."

"It was a long drive. You can nap," Brock said quietly. Aria nodded and napped. He looked at Darcy. "You made the neatest kid ever." She grinned at him. "We'll have to let Jane warp the later ones too." She poked him on the arm but snuggled into his side again. The aunts had told the others in the family so they'd all show up eventually by dinner to formally adopt Darcy into the family.

***

Brock walked into work on Monday, wearing all white. He saw the looks. "Foster's newest machine bleached the entire closet." They all groaned. "We felt like we should go on a kid's show quest for the colors." He went to the people they got gear from. They stared at him and he held up his vest. "Foster's newest machine leached all the color out of everything in the closet."

They groaned but took his vest to check over then get him a new one. Tactical uniforms were black or dark gray for a reason.

Jack strolled past him. "Going angelic?"

"Of course I am," he said dryly. "Darcy says I am because I bring her coffee." Jack stared at his throat. "Obsidian." He touched it. "It's sentimental to her."

"Suits you," he said with a nod. "Suits you very well." He walked off grinning. "Foster said she's undoing it later."

"I'd hope so. Does Darcy know?"

"She called. She had to move a lot of stuff out of the house for a few hours so it was away from the color eating light."

"I hope she manages it. I don't look as good in white. I feel like I'm in a disco movie." Jack snickered as he left him alone. The requisitions staff stared at him. "I do. All I need are some gold chains."

They just nodded. They'd hear the gossip about him suddenly wearing jewelry later.

Hill met him near his desk, staring at him. "Why?"

"Foster."

"That figures."

"The whole closet, Hill." She just shook her head. He grinned. "Quit staring at it."

"It's pretty."

"Obsidian. It has great meaning to her."

She looked that up and nodded. "I can see why." She stared at him. "How did your ceremony go?"

"We went with the wine version of the tea one. Went pretty good."

"She cook?" she taunted.

"You bet." He grinned. "Including these little almond bites with berries."

She sighed. "I had a cousin who said one of her mates wanted those and she had no idea how to make them." She walked off. "Congratulations. You're missing paperwork."

"She's already on my HR forms."

"Not that sort, Rumlow. The sort that comes with a report."

"Oh, that sort. Check your email." He went in there, finding Natasha waiting. He stared at her. "Foster bleached the whole closet."

She grinned. "I've heard from her." She stared at the necklace, nodding. "Obsidian is a good stone for you both and comes in many colors." She stared up at him. "What did she make? She was stressing over something last week but I do not cook so couldn't help."

"Probably over the venison tartare." Natasha nearly drooled at that. He grinned. "I'm pretty sure we don't have leftovers. We grilled the rest of the beef the next day for an asian salad with the last of the pork belly bites roasted in plum sauce."

"Asian or southern?" she asked.

"Asian." He grinned. "So damn good. Slow braised in it then roasted afterward to make it crispy." She sighed but nodded. "And little almond bites with berries. They're traditional in some areas."

She sighed but nodded. "I need to talk Darcy into making me cookies again." She walked off happier with that. Darcy was an excellent baker so it had been good she had showed off.

Brock sat at his desk with a grin. Yeah, this was a good thing. Especially since Darcy texted to say Jane had fixed the coloring problem she had. So his clothes were black again. "Yeah, that'll be good for us."

***

Brock made it home two days later, shaking his head because traffic had been a nasty bitch tonight. He saw the unknown car and considered it. Rental car, local airport bumper sticker to identify it. He hoped it wasn't one of her worthless in-laws trying something but maybe it was Elaine since she was at college. He grabbed his work bag and headed inside, hugging the little girl that ran into him. "Watch where you're going," he reminded her. She grinned at him and ran into the kitchen. He looked at Fennel, who seemed to shrug. "Okay. Good boy, Fennel." He petted him, going in there. "Any good news?"

"Fennel's shoulder surgery can be done easily and quickly. He can recover at home once he's better. The animal healer tried to say that they could *replace* him and I told her off for breaking Aria's heart if they tried. She didn't understand that kids get attached, even if they're injured. She showed up when we were at the vet's so they talked and he agreed with me, there's no reason to make him be *replaced*."

She stared at him. "The healer thought it was kinder so I kindly reminded her that she was there to help protect a little girl who adored his very shedding self enough to not like people he didn't like the scent of. She huffed but agreed fixing it wouldn't be a problem and that sort of fix was unheard of to them but she decided it wouldn't lead to later problems and Fennel's already fixed so he can't pass that on."

Brock sighed, staring at her. "We all good? Is there going to be a diplomatic bite back for that?"

"Sif tried that." She smirked a tiny bit. "And Thor yelled at her. So she's stopped." She lifted her chin, taking a kiss then grinned at him. "I know you've seen my mother before."

"I have," he agreed, nodding at her. He kissed Darcy again. "So Fennel goes in when?"

"Two weeks. They gave him a steroid shot to help ease it." She smiled. "So he's mostly back to happy puppy mode. Though the vet said he was probably a bit chunky. Even if it is mostly muscle." She grinned. "He said he couldn't see him having to lose any weight since it's mostly muscle but he gets *way* too many treats. Fennel pouted at him for that so we had to admit he was an Asgardian wolf. That got him scanned better and they were interested in where he came from. I had to admit I didn't know, Sif had gotten him for her. He wrote to Thor to ask particulars."

"That's good." He nodded. "But he'll be okay?"

"He'll be just fine. They'll take off the ball of the shoulder joint and it'll be solved with some minor PT afterward. But he'll be just fine." She leaned into him to kiss him better. "Did you get the new tactical vest today?"

"I did. It's lighter weight but I miss my old one. I knew that one would protect me, I'm having doubts about this one." He got poked on the side so he looked at Aria. "What's up, shorty?"

She giggled. "You don't look like the guys on the videos, Brock." She held up her picture. "The teacher made us draw silly, stupid stuff today. I didn't want to draw flowers, they're icky. I told her they're icky and I didn't really like flowers. She said to do it anyway and so I drew a horse eating flowers. Do I have to go on the field trip to look at flowers?"

"It's important to go on field trips," Darcy reminded her. "That means you get out of classes for a few hours with everyone else to go do stuff outside the school."

"That might be nice but we'll miss recess."

"You get to walk around the park or something this time." Darcy shrugged. "Yup, you gotta go. Sorry. Flowers being icky and all." She grinned.

"I guess I'd miss my friends that day."

Brock looked at the kid picture. "The horse has a really long neck, but it's a good green horse." He handed it back with a grin. "We need to find you some art stuff on PBS so you don't have to cross out stuff like you did on his tail."

She beamed and nodded. "Art's kinda nice."

"We'll look tonight, sweetie."

"Thanks, Mom. Oooh, it's Auntie Jane and Uncle Loki." She opened the back door to stare at them. "Are you going to do more machine stuff that eats colors? I'm doing some art stuff tonight."

Jane hugged her. "Not tonight. We came to ask about Fennel's appointment." She came in and nodded at Darcy's mom. "This is Loki." She looked at the puppy coming in to get petted. "You're walking better."

"Steroid shot," Darcy said. She looked at Loki. "The animal healer wanted to *replace* him."

"The crying fit would not end," he said dryly. "But some people do not differentiate between your animal and an animal I suppose. Weird for a healer."

"Sif?" Jane asked quietly.

Darcy shrugged. "Maybe. She and Thor had a talk because there was a diplomat. They quit after a few minutes." She shrugged. "It happens I guess. Anyone can be a bigot and you just never know."

"I guess," Jane agreed. She looked at the picture Brock was helping Aria fuss at. "Is that a camel?"

"It's a horse," she sighed, staring at her aunt. "Eating the yucky flowers my teacher wanted us to draw because we're going to see some tomorrow."

"Field trips can be cool. It means not being in class for a few hours." Jane ruffled her hair. "Make the belly smaller. It's gently round, not hippo round." She pulled up a picture on the nearby tablet. "See?" She let the girl trace her finger over it then draw it.

"I used to do my first one by tracing over the book," Brock told her. "That's how you learn." He ruffled Aria's hair then looked at Loki. "Someone claiming to be your aunt showed up earlier to nag Thor loudly in the entry of the building. Thor just huffed and walked off shaking his head as she followed nagging him for another twenty minutes."

"Brunette?" Jane guessed. "Kinda mahogany colored hair?" He nodded. "Euna?" she guessed, looking at her boyfriend, who just nodded and rolled his eyes. "You didn't tell her I was out here, right?"

"She ignored me completely and it took Thor twenty minutes to finally look at her and tell her to quit before he put her on a dragon's back to go fight something. She huffed, fake cried, and then told him she was worried he'd die alone because he was too much a warrior to keep a woman. Called you Jarl."

"She is quite the king," Loki joked, getting smirked at by Jane. "Euna is a nagging punishment on the family lineage." He pulled Jane closer when Fennel came over to get to his bowl. She was in the way.

"Give me a minute, Fennel. I haven't put it down yet," Darcy said. She did that and the wolf nuzzled her leg before eating. She looked at her daughter. "Meatballs."

"Why?" she whined.

"Because I wanted meatballs." She smirked. "You're eating them too."

"But, Mom!"

"Nope! I make one dinner and you eat it or you starve until breakfast." She grinned. "And a lot of times you try to skip breakfast because you want to stay up late."

"Fine," she sighed, helping Brock set the table. She looked at him. "Did your Mommy do that to you?"

"You bet. No one but the cook gets to say what dinner is unless it's something special celebrating something you did." He smirked. "My mother, I couldn't even ask most days. She'd get mad and threaten me with being grounded from playing."

"That's mean of the new grandma."

"That's the way Italian moms are. You're lucky yours isn't old school like most of my aunts are."

She shook her head. "No thanks. They make nice sons but nope." She paused to stare at him. "Are you like that?"

"Not always." He grinned. She sighed but looked at her mother then at him. "We've gotten along this long."

"We have." She hugged him around the waist and finished putting out the silverware for him. She looked at the extra set, letting him put down the plate and move a chair over. She put them there and went to talk to her grandmother. She hadn't gotten to talk to her in months. "Are you still being a butthole about Mom?" she asked, staring at her.

Darcy cleared her throat. "Manners, child of mine."

"Sorry." She stared up at her grandmother, who sighed and shook her head. Aria grinned. "Good!" She pointed. "This is Fennel. He's my best friend." Fennel leaned over to lick her cheek then went back to his dinner.

"He looks like a very good friend, dear." She smiled at her, patting her cheek. "Your mother and I having a fight has nothing to do with you."

"If you're sure. I remember the scary things." She stared at her grandmother, then bounded off. "I'm going to put up my crayons before they break."

"Thank you for that," Brock called, smiling at Darcy. "You did make one hell of a good little girl." She grinned and nodded.

"I think I warped her teaching her manners," Jane said.

Loki looked at her. "All children need some manners but it made her look more adorable. Any in our future would get to learn how to play pranks instead."

"That might help." She snuggled his side. "I can feel Thor." He looked up and sighed but nodded. "I'm wondering if he's coming here or something's going on."

Brock looked at his phone, logging into something. "Battle near here, about two hours away. All Avengers members appearing. Some whacked out scientist who got high from his plant samples and created a three story tall hallucinogenic plant that's trying to eat women."

Loki sighed, shaking his head. "Thor will have fun fighting the massive plant. He can probably tell that story to others."

Darcy pulled up a story to show him, pointing at a section. "A fanfic I read the other day." She grinned at Brock, who smirked back.

Loki read it slowly, then a second time frowning. "Why?" He reread it again. "I...that would be interesting."

"I was thinking the dining hall could use the tension break," Darcy quipped.

Loki handed back the phone, kissing her on the forehead. "Don't tempt me. We have a charming fountain outside the formal dining hall and throne room."

"My first thought when she showed me was the garden pond." He smirked a tiny bit. "Your mom's fish might not like it but..." She grinned at him. "And it's deeper. Or the big, pretty pond outside the other side of the throne room from the garden."

He moaned. "Jane, that's fairly wicked."

She grinned. "That happens when science breaks on me." He kissed her. She grinned back.

Aria looked over. "Are you two going to make babies soon? I could use a baby sister."

"Not right now," Darcy quipped. "And they'd be like cousins to you, not a full sibling."

"Oh. Well, I could use a sibling. Another teacher was saying she could always tell single children. Then she told me I clearly wasn't one so did she hear a big secret you haven't told me yet?" She looked from Brock to her mother.

"Well, probably not," Darcy said. She looked at her consort.

"Your patch did wear out during the flight," he admitted, kissing her with a grin. "Maybe sometime soon." Darcy's mother gave him a horrified look. "Yes, we're both that traditional. She led me on a great chase, twice actually." Darcy looked smug. "After a really good dinner and some wine."

Her mother rubbed her forehead. "So am I going to become a grandmother?"

"According a seer yes," Darcy said. "No idea if that's already a thing or not. My suppressant patch ran out literally during the flight." She shrugged. Brock came over to side hug her, letting her lean into his side. "The seer said you'd have four other grandkids, Mom." She moaned, shaking her head. She looked up at Brock. "There will be space between them."

"Whenever you want, babe. I'll enjoy practicing anytime you let me and when you want to be super spoiled you'll let me know." He kissed her ear. She grinned at him.

"So you two had a flight, landed, and possibly made me a grandmother again?" she sighed.

"No, we did it the traditional way in flight too, Mom. He's just that good at it."

Jane nodded. "We saw you two flying and it was super sexy. I pounced Loki so hard he bounced." Loki smirked at her but almost rolled his eyes. She grinned back. "We have to replace the pillow you ripped while I was teasing you."

"You had sex with my granddaughter nearby?" she demanded.

"She was asleep in another room. Not like she was on the other half of the bed," Loki said.

"You know, there's a lot of cultures that have a whole family shared bed and they manage to have more kids," Darcy said. "But Aria does have her own room at each place so she can nap safely there. She had Fennel laying on top of her most likely. They sleep like that all the time."

"He'd crush her."

"No he doesn't," Aria complained. "Now and then I get a mouthful of fur, especially in the tree, but we cuddle every night, Grandma. Best friends always cuddle." She looked out front at a thump. "It's Lady Sif, Mom."

"Go ahead and tell her to come up."

Aria went to do that, staring at her 'auntie'. "Hi, Lady Sif." She grinned. "My grandma's here too. We can set another place at the table if you want."

"No, Aria. I came to get Fennel to bring him to the animal healer."

"Mom said no. They talked earlier."

Sif stared at her. "It will keep him hurt."

"They have a surgery to fix that. He gets it in two weeks."

Sif blinked at him. "We can probably do so faster."

"Nope. The animal healer lady wanted to take my Fennel and give me a fake Fennel to treat like him. You're not taking my best friend. You wouldn't want them to take Uncle Hogun and replace him with another one, right?"

"No I would not. Is your mother busy?"

"Nagging Grandma." She looked but Brock came out with Darcy to talk to her. She went to check Fennel to make sure he was still hers.

Loki looked at the wolf. "If you prove your lineage they'll try to remove you," he warned quietly. Fennel barked and trotted out there to stare at her. Loki sighed, looking at Jane. Who nodded him to go help. He walked out there. Sif gave him a horrified look and grabbed her sword.

Darcy stopped her from pulling it. "He and Jane are dating, Sif. Thor's very happy for them." She stared at her. "And we don't believe in switching pets until our favored friend is passed on from life." She stared at her. "Fennel's getting a good bit of healing in about two weeks. They gave his shoulder a shot today to ease it. And I'd hate to have the kid see you pull that sword and me have to defend my nest."

Sif backed away from her. "You threaten me?"

"Only if you pull a sword near my family. And that family does include Jane." She stared at her. "Loki has healed from all the shit he had to go through when he was tortured. He's not the guy who invaded New York. He makes Jane happy in a way Thor never did. So leave the sword alone." Sif relaxed her hand on it. "Thank you for not escalating this." She looked at Fennel then at her. "The vet was most pleased with him today. Said he was well mannered, could use fewer treats, and he was a good boy to love Aria that way. She'd never accept another friend while she was worried about him living."

"We can replace...."

"You don't replace a pet that has a medical problem. The same as you don't replace a child that has one." Sif slumped but nodded. "Fennel is a valued member of this nest pack. Even if he and Aria weren't the best of friends. I'd never let him be replaced by some other furry friend. And she'd cry forever and quit trusting people." She stared at her. "I know you don't like to see children cry."

"No, I don't," she admitted. "Are we sure they can heal him? The healer said they would have to mutilate him."

"They... you know how shoulder joints are balls and sockets, right?" she asked, making the fist and cupped hand picture to show her. "Shoulders look like this. Only his cup side isn't deep enough. What they do is take off the ball part," she said, letting go of her fist. "That means it won't dislocate and he won't have any more problems with it. They'll move the muscles to make sure it's still strong enough and all that." She put her hands down. "They do this to thousands of animals a year who have this sort of problem from a birth defect or an injury."

"How did he gain that?"

"Birth defect," Loki said casually. "It's been that way since he was a young puppy. It does actually run in his family." She stared at him. He stared back. "I know of his lineage, Sif."

Thor landed and stared at them. "Sif. Brother. Darcy." He hugged her then Aria, then Jane. He stared at Fennel, who blinked up at him. "You are quite the guardian, Fennel." He petted him with a grin. "The animal healer was most enthusiastic that you were so good to the baby. And she learned a lot about human medicine today." He petted him again. "Go guard the baby." Fennel ran to do that. He looked at Sif. "She has attached herself to the furry one completely as a sibling. You would not remove and replace a child born with a birth defect, would you?"

"No," she said, grimacing. "Though..."

He held up a hand. "It is not anyone's fault how they were born. They do not decide that. They do not pick their lineage. They do not pick their ancestors. Or else you would not have aunts who want you to be girlish and I wouldn't have had Odin." She slumped but nodded. "They are the same as they were, only you've changed. And if you harm that little girl you will regret it for years as that would cause war with my house." She nodded, taking a step back. "Good." He smiled at her. "We could use your help if you wanted to defeat the mind clouding plant. Some scientist had wrong minded ideas. Fire has not worked yet."

"I do manage to kill plants very easily," she said. She looked at Darcy, seeing the overprotective mother she was, and realized she had set it off herself. "Aria, come give me a hug?" She ran over to do that. "You will tell me how Fennel's surgery goes," she ordered, smiling at her. "You be well, Darcy?"

"Of course, Sif. Have you met my consort yet? This is Commander Rumlow, of SHIELD."

She stared at him then nodded. "A good warrior to help you when you must battle. It is all a woman could want to protect her nests." She smiled at her. "Thank you for the indulgence."

Darcy grinned. "You can come visit Fennel and Aria whenever you want. Though she's in school now so gone half the day during the week."

"I'll stop in soon." She left with Thor. Maybe she was wrong minded. She would have to think on that.

Darcy nearly fell down in relief. "Oh, thank all the Gods." Brock caught her and carried her back inside.

Jane looked at Loki. "Is he off the myth of Fenris?"

"Well, yes." He smirked at the wolf, who trotted inside after his little girl. "He is."

"Would that cause problems if they knew?"

"Sif hates Fenris."

"Ah."

"But I know he would not harm the little girl in there. We'll have to get any future children their own guardian." He walked her off, making plans to fix things. Jane's chaos was so sweet at times.

Darcy's mother stared at her. "I thought you were more diplomatic, dear."

"I am, Mom. I haven't yelled at you yet for going along with those assholes who tried to have me mated to a murderer against my will."

She cleared her throat. "I had no idea he was that way. It was thought it'd give you a way to have an easier time for a while and to calm down so you could lead our council some day."

Darcy stared at him. "Fuck no I don't want to do that. Do I look like Russie?" Her mother slumped. "I'll help them rebuild so they're better for all of us, including those who don't want to join. The reality between what they should have been and what they became is way too vast. And I don't want political power. I'd hate to be in the limelight that way."

"I suppose I can see that." She stared at her daughter. "I've thought for years that I'd hate being an empty nester."

"Then give me a sister," Darcy quipped with a smirk. "You were complaining about the birth rate the other day. Put your money where the mouth is, Mom."

She shuddered. "I'm too old for that."

"You're barely forty-eight and you can fly for another five years probably." Her mother walked off shaking her head to talk to her granddaughter. She looked at Brock, who was smirking at her. "I'd suggest noise later but I think we'll be up for other reasons."

"Probably." He cuddled her but helped her with dinner. They could stop her mother's plans later to get something that was hidden around the family heirlooms later. They were up late most nights anyway.

The End!
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