Chapter Text
He was The Trickser.
And His plan was perfect.
All He had to do was wait.
* * *
Darcy Lewis grew up well on a small horse farm surrounded by the cornfields of Iowa. Like all teens she had her rebellions, but they mostly consisted of riding a motorcycle and smoking cigarettes. Unlike many of her peers, Darcy Lewis paid attention.
While the boys in her class were trying to get their hands up, or down, her shirt; she was reading up on international relations; fascinated at the political influences on economics. Her Junior year one of her teachers, Mr. Deal, gave her a stack of college applications, all for schools with strong political science programs.
Darcy left them on her desk for almost a year, not sure if she was ready to leave her home and her parents for a school; they were all so far away.
It was her mother who brought it up, she’d gone into Darcy’s room to get her laundry and she’d seen the packets, covered in dust and untouched.
When Darcy came home they were on the table, waiting.
Her mom wanted her to experience life on her own, to get a sense of self; her father only asked that she go wherever it was cheapest.
After a few nibbles from schools that well outstripped her financial capabilities, Darcy got her letter from Culver. Fall admission. Full Scholarship.
She moved two weeks before school started.
Her mom bought her new shoes and a good coat.
Her dad bought her a taser.
The dorm was little more than a closet. But she got her pick of sides, so there was that.
She also happily landed a job at the campus coffee shop, because a full scholarship did not include per diem and Darcy was determined not to be a burden on her financially strapped parents.
Three years later, with the occasional trip to see her parents on her own dime, Darcy was assistant manager at the coffee shop and well on her way to being done with her degree.
Culver had become her home. She’d moved from her tiny dorm into a studio apartment a block from the university. It was only a little bigger than her dorm, but it had a kitchen and it was hers.
She had made a couple good friends in her program, but with her hours at work and school she hadn’t become terribly close to any of them.
There had also been a few different boys, nothing serious, certainly nothing to write home about. More often than not any boy expressing interest in her thought she was easy because she had a rack. Wrong. Fortunately she never had to use her taser on any of them. But still. It sucked.
More than once she found herself staring enviously at curveless girls, wishing someone would take her seriously for a change.
Other than triggering occasional bouts of body issues, Darcy enjoyed working in the coffee shop.
Over the years she had gotten to know most of the grad students; one in particular was in every morning of late with her laptop. She sat at the same table and ordered the same drink and had the same depressed look on her face.
Every. Morning.
Darcy placed the large hazelnut latte on the table and picked up the five that was waiting for her.
“What’s up?” She asked with a grin.
The woman at the table looked up, bleary eyed and obviously exhausted, and stared blankly at Darcy.
Darcy picked up the cup, “Ok, is there anything I can do for you besides putting an extra shot or two in here?”
The woman shook her head and looked back at her computer.
Darcy returned with the extra-caffeinated coffee and gave it to the woman, who drank about half of it at once before looking at Darcy.
“Thank you.” She muttered.
Darcy shrugged, “Sure. Anything else?”
“Not unless you know someone who’s willing to be my intern.”
“What for?”
“Astrophysics.” She sounded defeated.
“Huh.” Darcy thought it over, “do you have to be an astrophysics major?”
“What?” The woman’s eyes seemed to clear, “Um, no. At this point I would take an English major. I just need an extra set of hands with a brain attached.”
Darcy held off on making a joke at the Kinesthetics department’s expense, “If that’s all you need I’m surprised no one’s gotten the job yet.”
The woman’s head dropped into her hands, “No one’s even applied.”
“Seriously?”
She nodded, “I’m studying an astral phenomenon present in New Mexico, and no one’s willing to go all that way for a six unit semester.”
Darcy looked around, she was top of the food chain here, at least as high as she was ever going to get. Her studies were in good order, but there were some classes she could take that were offered over the web. She shrugged and looked back at the woman at the table, “Where do I apply?”
And that was how, with 20 units until graduation Darcy Lewis found herself on a plane to New Mexico with Jane Foster.