Come with me now I'm gonna take you down

[contranitoris]

Who: Eowells and Darcy
What: Wells needs to deal with Darcy getting too nosy and mouthy
Where: It starts at a party and goes down hill from there
Warnings: Kink and questionable things, dubious at best



The device was simple, really. Nothing more than a transmitter with a very specific purpose and incredibly limited range. He'd originally started to develop the technology to replace the collar used to trap the more volatile metas. Cutting off their power only went so far when they were frequently full of rage. Being able to make them docile with the press of a button seemed the most humane option. In the ways of so many scientific discoveries, Harrison realized he'd tripped over something that could be used for so much more. A free pass to quite literally mess with someone's head.

When it came time for a field test, Darcy made herself far too easy a target. She was far too nosy and far too loud to be left unchecked, and she'd been asking some questions that Harrison simply couldn't tolerate being considered. Which is where the necklace came in. A black choker that blended his taste for the sleek and elegant, and her rougher edges. He presented it to her with an invitation to be his escort to an event he was hosting. A benefit to show his seriousness on making amends for the damage his lab caused to the city.

The device was hidden within the necklace. An array of filaments that once activated basically hijacked automatic brain functions, bypassing a few vital parts that the brain stem would handle. A little something to deter unplanned removal. Not that he'd be telling her, of course. Until he activated it, however, it remained an innocent piece of jewelry.

As they made their way into the gathering, Harrison dressed in his best suit, he flicked a glance up to Darcy. "I trust you'll be on your best behavior, Ms. Lewis," he remarked with a subtle note of warning.

Comments

[sorryitasedyou]

There was something to be said for being used to having full access to practically anything in Jane's lab - she was used to it. She was used to people not hiding things and lying to her face. She was used to people not making the hair on the back of her neck stand up while large warning bells went off when it came to science things. Of course she dug into things that she shouldn't have and of course it bit her in the ass. Especially when she wasn't 100% sure he was genuine about wanting to make amends or that his intentions were good. Add on top of that what she'd managed to start to find out about some of his experiments? Yeah. She was paranoid for a good reason.

She'd wanted to turn down the invite, along with the jewelry, but Jane wasn't going to let that happen. Something about her going to have a little fun and representing their own lab while she was off across the world with Thor and Erik was at a conference in Iceland. If she hadn't had to spend the last two weeks literally learning everything she could about Jane's current project, she'd have gone hardcore into her fact-finding to try and make the event crash and burn before it even started - expose the hoax she could swear was there.

By the time she arrived, she didn't even feel like herself anymore. She was dressed to the nines and very uncomfortable. This wasn't her life, wasn't what. Fingers lightly toy with the choker, brushing her curls over her shoulder before giving him a distinct eyeroll. "You say that like I don't know how to behave in public around hoity toity types. I wasn't raised in a barn." Despite her best efforts to make it seem like she had been... Being born to New York socialites had meant that she did, in fact, know proper manners. Manners that any other day she fought very hard to go against.

Her voice is soft enough just so he can hear her, before adjusting the skirt of the dress and moving past him. She's all smiles for everyone who approaches her, though the conversations hush slightly while she speaks to a few people she's 90% sure don't consider Harrison to be a friend. Those were the people who could get her the info she needed to take back to Jane so she could give it to Thor and the other Avengers. There was one person in particular that had pulled her to the side, sent to track her down by someone she actually trusted. She'd tried to get out of sight of Harrison, voice urgent ,trying to answer his questions with what she'd already found out. She wasn't thinking about consequences, wasn't paying attention to whether or not Harrison was still out of sight. Not when she might have found the person with the missing piece to her puzzle.

[contranitoris]

Harrison couldn't stay near her. Not when he was the dreaded star of this event and she darted off so quickly. He had appearances to keep up and it wasn't so easy to just walk away. The chair gave him some sympathy, but it was harder to move through a crowd without rolling over the toes of some very important shoes. But that's quite alright. He could play polite and still keep Darcy in check. He'd planned on it, actually.

He was making the rounds, speaking with those who either supported or questioned him. Meeting them all with the same cordial but slightly smug air that he handled all of these things. He was in the middle of one of these conversations when he spotted just who Darcy was speaking to. General Eiling, even in his dress uniform, was an imposing figure. And as far from a friend as Harrison had at this gathering. Watching them, the way they behaved, was the last detail he needed to confirm his suspicions.

He watched her, from across the room. Even as he spoke to a woman near his own age in an understated sort of dress, he watched Darcy. He waited until she knew he saw what she was doing. Nothing changed in his expression, nothing more than the intensity of his gaze. Then, without breaking his conversation, he made a gesture that looked like he was making some sort of emphatic point, and activated the collar. She might hear a faint buzzing for a brief moment, and might feel a bit light headed. The buzzing was the magnets in the claps activating, ensuring it couldn't be removed. The feeling was the initial frequency attempting to override a few basic functions, trying to find a back door into her head. But as the collar found just the right frequency of her particular brain waves, it would settle and become unnoticeable. And once it passed, she would find herself unable to speak. Sound was still possible in every other form, but he had basically shut off the part of her brain that handled speech. The words were still there, but she'd no longer have the ability to translate them into anything she could possibly communicate.

With that done, Harrison merely turned back to the woman with an apologetic smile. Explaining that his escort was sometimes rather uncouth and he was concerned she might make a scene. You know how young people are, no manners. And that was saying something, given his team.

[sorryitasedyou]

She'd already stilled while talking to the General when she'd caught sight of him out of the corner of her eye. It was something she'd learned very early on when dealing with scientists, assume they're already three steps ahead of you if they're in on the plan. Apparently he was in on the plan and she'd was screwed. She'd wanted to excuse herself from the General to quietly peace out before he could make his way over to her - let Jane know she might be in a tough spot. Maybe call in a favor and get someone to come get her. Someone who could be intimidating if necessary.

Too bad she'd never get the chance to make that call.

She swayed lightly on her heels, the General reaching out to hold her elbow to steady. There was a feeling of air quickly escaping her lungs as the panic set in. It didn't take an idiot to figure out something was wrong. She tried to answer the questions flying at her, but nothing but a string of incoherent sounds escaping. With a shake of her head, she's already moving - the respectful demeanor with which she'd been trying to hold herself gone as she makes a beeline straight for Harrison.

What have you done is what tries to come out, not that it's successful. She wants to kick him and scream, but even with her rage she refuses to make a scene. So, she decides to leave him behind - moving to one of the bathrooms to try and pry the choker off. As much as people seemed to think, she wasn't dumb. She'd heard the click, knew it was the only new element in her wardrobe that hadn't been picked up by her.

[contranitoris]

When she approached, Harrison leaned closer to her, waiting for her to say something. His head tilted, shaking it slightly, as if not quite understanding what was going on. To anyone looking in on the interaction, he looked completely concerned and worried, and perhaps a little fearful that she might do something that would embarrass them both. He started to open her mouth to ask what was going on, when she took off.

He settled back in his chair, turning to the people he'd been speaking with. Explaining that she was probably nervous. Playing it off like she was some uncultured child who didn't know how to handle these things.

However, the further she got from Harrison, the harder she would find it to walk. Like her legs were growing weaker with each step. A nice little feature he'd built in to make sure she wouldn't go running off to embarrass him. The weaker the signal to the collar, the more it took from her lower motor functions. If she didn't find somewhere to sit down, she would collapse before she reached the bathroom. And with Harrison still extracting himself from his conversation.

[sorryitasedyou]

At some point, once this is all over, she'll bring him down. There are some things that she can be really stubborn about and this was just moved towards the top of her list. After figuring out how to get the stupid thing off. Thoughts flood her mind thanks to the panic, she wanted to call Jane - phone out in the car. If she could get the collar off, she could make a break for it.

Her body had other ideas, though, apparently determined to humiliate her.

She stops before she goes too far, having picked up on just how awful everything continued to go as she moved towards the bathroom. Darcy ignores the people starting to move around her and the offers of assistance. There's a slight stagger as she starts to move back towards Harrison, fighting the urge to kick him and try to find the control so she can release it... And that sure is a dirty look directed at his current company he's conversing with. Guess who's too mad to care about appearances anymore.

[contranitoris]

Harrison continues to speak to the woman as if he has no idea Darcy returned. He's deep into explaining the finer details of what STAR Labs intends to do to repair their image, speaking as if there was a much larger team than him and two assistance and a small scattering of people of flit in and out of the lab on whims. He trails off as she stares in a polite sort of horror, his head turning, concerned and confused to see what the matter might be. Seeing Darcy there in all of her outrage, he let out an exasperated sigh.

"My apologies," He said to the woman first, "As I've said, she's not as accustomed to these things." Only then did he address his young friend. "Darcy, I'm not sure what you thought tonight would be, but this is entirely professional. It does not suit you to lapse into such fits of jealousy." He muttered another apology to the woman he'd been speaking to and excused himself, then back to Darcy, holding up a finger as if he needed to stop some outburst that he knew would never come. "Not a word. Let's take this outside before you make a scene." Without waiting for a response, he swept his chair around her and headed for the door. Since she'd come back so fast, he trusted she'd follow without his waiting for her.

[sorryitasedyou]

This was a dick move. This was such a dick move. If she got out of this alive, she was going to bring him down. She'd see this through, he just sealed this deal through this trick. He was playing this so well. Ok, so she'd underestimated him, but she was a quick learner. People tended to write her off as being crazy anyways, given the circles she ran in - but the damage he was doing to her name? It was gonna be hard to bounce back.

And because everything's already been damaged? She flips him off before realizing he's moving. Yes, she remembers what happened when she'd tried to run. There was a range on this damn thing and she wasn't interested in testing that again. Fingers continue to pull at the collar, staring at the back of the chair in a way that she hopes her gaze will burn a hole into it and straight through him. By the time they're actually outside, she wastes no time leveling a look at him that makes it clear she'd 100% try to kill him if she could.

He's so lucky she can't speak right now. Answers, pls.