The Flower That Blooms In Adversity (X-Men/Fantastic Four/Kurt Wagner Fanfic)

Chapter 8 - MRD

The next day dawned bright and beautiful, giving the impression of a good day to come. Darcy had called Rogue the night before, and talked early into the morning, simply spilling everything that had been bottled up inside. Rogue wasn't very comfortable with talking about her problems to anyone but Darcy, and Darcy couldn't talk about everything she needed to with her family, who were still oblivious to her mutant status. After a few hours of sleep, Darcy got up and dressed, taking the bright, sunny day at face value.

She walked down the stairs, greeting the others, and headed to the kitchen, grabbing an apple. She ate that as she stared out the window, lost in her thoughts. About halfway through the apple, she heard four loud thumps from the other room. Pausing in the middle of the next bite, apple halfway to her mouth, Darcy froze. She knew something was off here. She could feel the absolute wrongness in every fiber of her being. It was like every hair stood on end. she placed the apple silently to the living room, looking for something. What, she didn't know, but she soon found out. Susan, Johnny, Reed, and her father were gone. Simply gone. She realized too late what that meant. It had been a few years, but she yelled at herself before black overtook her vision for not recognizing the signs. She felt a pain in the back of her neck, and collapsed. The last thought that ran through her head, was that she should have known. Then, the black haze clouded her senses, and she drifted off into the nothingness.

---TIME SKIP---

Hours passed before Darcy opened her eyes again. When she did, she remained still for a moment, mentally checking that she still had everything she needed. If she was correct about her location, it was possible that she would need every hidden weapon she had with her. Once she had confirmed the placement of her things, Darcy sat up, wincing slightly, and causing her to be attacked with worry from the other four people in the room. She waved her family off with assurances of her well-being, and they quieted enough for her calm voice to be heard easily.

"What do you remember, Reed?" she asked. He was the most calm of the group, second only to her. Johnny was angry at being cooped up, Susan was completely freaking out, and Ben was terrified for his family, as well as being terrible at hiding it. Reed was scared as well, but knew he had to be calm for Susan. He started, and answered her.

"Sitting in the living room, nice day, everyone's up, then Ben just fell over. Then Johnny and Sue, and I felt something hit me a few moments before I passed out. That's all I got." Darcy nodded, seemingly thinking hard as she looked around the room. "I have no idea where we are." He continued. Then, Susan cut him off, nearly hysterical. She hated enclosed spaces and dark cells, remembering the few times Doctor Doom had imprisoned her in such places.

"What is going on? Where are we? Why are we here?" Reed took her shoulders, and pulled her into his arms, attempting to calm her, but he had no answers.

"I don't know, honey, but we'll figure something out." Darcy's voice rang out again, startling them all with her words and the changed tone of her voice. It had something new to it that put them all on edge. She had climbed a chair that sat in the corner, the only one in the room, and was inspecting a grate on the ceiling.

"I do."

"What?"

"I know what's going on, where we are, and why we're her. Plus, the one thing Sue didn't ask, why we're all wearing these stupid collars." Reed gestured for his niece to continue. That was something he had been wondering himself, though he didn't understand how she could know these things.

"Please explain." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes. Darcy knew that today would be when her family found out about the other side of her life. Not the ideal way for them to do so, but it would have to do. So, she opened her eyes, and answered.