NY Ledger – March 13th 2013

Washington DC – Day three of the United Authorised Defence Program Hearing will begin this morning. The evidence to be presented to the State Armed Services Committee will continue its focus on the prior actions of the group known as The Avengers. As stated by Senator Bonyton, a member of the S.A.S. Committee; "We demand answers about what this group of vigilantes have done and what threat they may pose." The witness list includes Dr Erik Selvig, Dr Jane Foster and Miss Darcy Lewis, who were present during an altercation in New Mexico.

Darcy slid out her phone to check the time. Another hour had passed but here she was, alongside Jane and Dr Selvig, waiting to be called before the committee. The hard wooden bench they sat upon, one of the dozens spaced evenly along the shiny white hallways in the government building, was less than comfortable. The cheap poly/rayon pant suit she'd been stuck with since college was rough against her skin. The whole thing sucked.

Squirming on the seat to try and get settled again, Darcy noticed the coiled bun she'd spent ages wrangling Jane's hair into had begun to unravel. Then again, all morning Jane had been rapidly alternating between picking at the hem of her business skirt and chewing at a fingernail. Even the best hairdo could only stand constant nervous twitching for so long. At least Dr S. at the end of the bench appeared calm. Mostly. He just watched Jane, his face etched with concern. Darcy wasn't a big fan of public speaking but despite being one of the most tenacious scientists on the planet, Jane was utterly phobic about it. So when Jane hunched over again to review the sweaty notes clutched in her palms, Dr S. began to rub her back gently.

Rather than crowd her hyper-stressed friend, Darcy left the reassuring gestures to Dr S. Her gaze instead wandered over to the trio's designated 'protection unit.' It was the first time she'd seen Clint or Natasha going incognito and she had to admit, it was kind of impressive how they blended into the Washington crowd. Even without the addition of Natasha's blond wig and heavy-framed glasses for Clint, the pair had changed their entire demeanour from S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to generic D.C. workers. The casual observer would be hard pressed to recognise either of the pair as the heroes who'd been fighting aliens in New York last year.

"What if they do ask?" Jane's urgent whisper to Dr S. interrupted Darcy's thoughts. "Maybe it would be better if I just told the truth?"

"Really?" Darcy interjected, feeling herself perk up. "Because I'm still ready to set those suits straight about who the good guys are."

Even though they'd barely been talking above a whisper, Natasha broke off from her quiet conversation with Clint and crossed the few short steps to lean over them. Anyone passing by would see a woman with a clipboard and pleasant smile, pen poised to tick something off a list. But Natasha's tone was firm and Darcy was fairly sure the pen was an incognito deadly weapon. "Guys, we made the decision. You three are to avoid identifying yourselves as being linked to the Avengers. Unfortunate bystanders. Took in a crazy homeless man you'd hit with a car. Total shock when he returned later wielding a hammer." Jane looked set to protest and Natasha leaned closer, her voice transforming to become gentle and soothing. "I know you want to defend Thor and the others. But this is a hostile committee. Nothing you say will change their minds. You'll only be making yourself a target for anyone who believes a girlfriend is a leverage tool in the making." Natasha smiled the warmest, most reassuring smile anyone could imagine. "So. Unfortunate bystanders. Ok?" Jane nodded slowly and Darcy just leant back, even as her eyes narrowed in contemplation. Seriously, Natasha could manipulate anyone. Darcy had seen her assassin/spy powers in effect a few times by now.

From the moment their names appeared on the inquiry witness list, the jackbooted thugs from New Mexico a.k.a. S.H.I.E.L.D. had reappeared. Jane had been dragged out of the lab and Darcy had been retrieved from graduate unemployment land. They were relocated to a temporary safe house. It was sold to them as 'protective custody'. Which was fine until approximately 0.02 seconds after a S.H.E.I.L.D agent let slip that his superiors were already planning their statements for the committee. And as Thor was back on Earth semi-permanently, he'd discovered pretty quickly that his girlfriend and her former intern a.k.a. "the civilians" weren't fans of being shut out of the decision making process. 'Discovered' meaning that he'd walked in on a yelling match between a senior agent and an infuriated Darcy/Jane combo. While Darcy wanted to believe it had been her beguiling charm that had changed things, really she knew that Thor had used his Avengers leverage to get them clearance. Not that everyone involved was thrilled by that turn of events. But still, Darcy and Jane had started sitting in on meetings.

The next few days had been pow-wow after pow-wow between them and Dr. S. and a rotating cast of others from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers and anyone else with a vested interest. S.H.I.E.L.D. apparently had rights over Dr. Selvig and turned out to even employ a couple of the Avengers. Tony Stark had turned up on occasion, but most often his proxy Pepper Potts was in attendance along with Steve Rogers and Thor on behalf of the Avengers themselves. Admittedly, parts of the meeting details went over Darcy's head but she'd learnt pretty quickly that the committee being formed in Washington was full of hostile senators who'd previously labelled the Avengers with terms like 'vigilantes', 'unrestrained' and 'dangerous'. It was also apparent that whoever was driving the 'United Authorised Defence Program Hearing' was operating out of the reach of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s influence, which had irritated a couple of people named Fury and Hill.

Hour after hour, the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. had debated the level of witch-hunt going on, what the hidden agenda was and what 'the civilians' like her should say. Avoiding any mention of S.H.I.E.L.D. was the obvious no brainer. But it had gotten sticky when the sentiment in the meeting was that Jane and Darcy would have to deny knowing Thor in any real capacity and let the committee paint a negative light over what happened in New Mexico. Darcy's stand from the start was that she wouldn't be pushed around, Thor and the others had totally saved them all and she was totally ready to tell the legislators in Washington where to stick their inquest. And Jane had been in agreement, even when Thor tried to dissuade them both. So the sneaky demi-god had brought Natasha in to the meetings. Not long after, Jane had flipped her position and was happy to go along with the 'sit down and shut up' plan. Even worse, Darcy had somehow ended up conforming. A decision she still hated, even if she still hadn't quite figured out how Natasha had manipulated her into it. But after seeing Black Widow convince the guards at the security checkpoint in the Senate building that they really didn't need to body search her or her associates, Darcy couldn't do anything except respect the woman and her ridiculous powers of persuasion.

In comparison, Clint was simpler to deal with. Or at least, more direct. Once he'd been assigned to their protection duty, he'd met up with Jane and Darcy and talked them through the security protocols and what to do in worst case scenarios. Apparently Dr S.'s super-secret-time with the super-secret-team meant he already knew the drill. So he was spared the initial teething problems where Darcy had ignored the safety procedure and snuck out past the safe house guards to queue for the midnight release of the new iPhone. Clint had been the one to find her and a rumour had circulated the next day that he'd been forced to throw 'the civilian' over his shoulder as she refused to leave the Apple store. Which, as Darcy had explained to anyone who would listen, was mostly untrue.

After that little adventure had been resolved, Darcy had found being the new kid with the escort wasn't all bad. Just last night, Clint had knocked on their D.C. hotel room door and after witnessing Jane's nervous pacing around the room and Darcy threatening to smother herself with a pillow, Clint had returned ten minutes later with a laptop. He handed the laptop to Jane so she could Skype with Thor over a secure connection and then took Darcy to the hotel bar where they'd shared a couple of beers and watched a hockey game between some easy banter.

"How do you think it'll go tomorrow?" Darcy had asked while being escorted back to her room.

Clint had taken a moment before replying. "The questions will be aggressive. Going to be tough for you to not get worked up by that."

Darcy had nodded in acknowledgement. They'd reached her door and she'd paused to rummage in her pocket for the keycard. "I figure in the end, it's harder for you guys. You're the ones getting slandered by that committee. I just have to keep my mouth shut."

The briefest of smiles had broken Barton's otherwise serious visage. "After the past few weeks, I know that's a big sacrifice for you Darcy. " And he'd ushered her through the door before she'd had a chance to reply.