Author's Note: This is a 'missing scene' set after Alphabet Soup - U is for Ungrateful.
Retaliation
"J, get me the full story," Tony ordered as he left the small gym. Darcy might be shrugging it off, but that did not mean he would. She'd been hurt enough to hole up away from all of them, and that pissed him off.
Tony Stark did not get close to people as a rule. Pepper, Happy, Rhodey – they stayed in their own class of people for a long time. After the betrayal of Obadiah Stone, he'd wanted to hole up and barricade against any newcomers. The team…well, they could fight together, but that didn't mean he had to let them into his inner circle. Sure, he would let them move in – it only made sense to have a common location – but he didn't have to be friends.
Darcy Lewis took one look at his whole system of 'no trespassing' warnings, laughed, and then breezed right past them.
Somehow, and genius though he may be, he still hasn't figured it out; somehow she managed to take a group of individuals, a reluctant team, and create a family. People just…well, they adored her. She was pushy, sarcastic, nosy, and bossy. But. She remembered their favorite restaurants, kept the place stocked with their comfort foods, and made sure every important date was noted and celebrated. No matter what else was happening during her day, she took the time to scold or praise them, hug or tease them, whatever they needed or deserved.
He didn't get it.
Well, he hadn't gotten it at first. After several weird talks with Pepper, he finally understood that Darcy – this woman who was literally young enough to be his daughter – mothered all of them. She did everything a mother was supposed to do…and that Maria Stark had never done. It felt weird. Wonderful, but weird. How was he supposed to react to some hot young woman acting like a mother? It took a while, but he eventually just stopped trying to label it. He let her do her thing, including maneuver him around like she did everyone else. Oh he put up an argument from time to time in order to see her get wound up.
It was fun.
Now, though, Darcy belonged to a very select group of people – people who were allowed to be in his personal space and people who could hand him things without a fight.
And someone had hurt her feelings.
"JARVIS?"
"I have the video feed, sir," the AI replied.
The light tone of anger in the voice coming through the speakers made Tony lift an eyebrow. Sometimes he wondered if he'd overdone the personality on the AI. "Dial it-" The door opening interrupted him. He turned to see the rest of the team, plus the ladies, file in. "Yes?" he demanded. "I'm busy."
"Just tell us what you found," Steve told him. "We all want to know."
Tony blinked, frowned, and opened his mouth. Then he slowly closed it as his eyes took in the various expressions of anger and worry on the faces in front of him. "Right," he agreed in a thoughtful voice. "JARVIS, play it."
They watched the short confrontation and a shared growl of anger rumbled through the room at the last couple of sentences. Perhaps it was no big surprise that Jane erupted first. "What a bitch." The scientist's eyes narrowed and flashed. "How dare she? Darcy is not a brainless bimbo!"
Tony repressed an unexpected smile. He did love seeing the way the usually absent-minded scientist grew focused whenever someone threatened her family. His gaze scanned the room one more time. "So," he tossed out. "Anybody else think we need to handle this?" He held up a tablet. "JARVIS has names."
Wicked smiles touched on every face.
Georgiana Killingworth stepped out of her car and made her way into the office. She had reports to file and wanted to take a long lunch. That meant getting into work early enough to make the hours. Her lips twisted in a grimace. She hated filing for the Avengers initiative. Honestly, how can one group create that much paperwork? Okay, so they required less reworking of their files before actually closing cases, but still! Too damn much paperwork.
"Why can't that Lewis woman do it?" she muttered. "At least then she might be doing something worthwhile to earn her paycheck. "Who knew someone like Agent Coulson would be just as weak as any other man when it comes to a big rack?" She sat at her desk in the empty room. Her computer began booting up as she organized the files in her inbox.
The door opened and she looked up in surprise. Three women stepped inside. Two women, both brunettes of one shade and another, were strangers, but the third woman had Georgiana's jaw dropping. "Miss Potts!" Pepper Potts stood in front of her desk.
"Georgiana Killingworth?" The cool voice managed to blend absolutely proper manners with a complete disdain.
"Yes?" Her nerves began to pick up.
The light-haired brunette stepped forward. "So you're the-"
"Jane." The darker brunette put a restraining hand on the other woman's arm. "Let Pepper handle it."
"Thank you, Betty," Miss Potts said, giving both women an understanding smile. The smile dropped off as she turned back towards Georgiana.
Suddenly Georgiana put the pieces together and blinked in surprise. These women had to be Doctor Jane Foster and Doctor Betty Ross – two world renowned premiere scientists currently attached to the Avengers Initiative.
"Miss Killingworth," Miss Potts spoke up once more. "I am here to inform you of certain legal issues you will be facing should you choose to continue behaving inappropriately with one of my employees and dearest friends."
"I would never-"
Dr. Foster scoffed, but settled as Dr. Ross patted her shoulder.
"There is proof of your inappropriate words and behavior directed towards the person in question," Miss Potts continued. "Should another such incident occur, you will be facing charges of harassment." When Georgiana went to protest, Miss Potts lifted one hand dismissively. "I have no control over SHIELD's internal handling of inappropriate workplace behavior, but I do have a great deal of input when it involves Miss Darcy Lewis. It was part of the agreement between SHIELD and Stark Industries when it came to allowing Miss Lewis to work directly with the Avengers Initiative." Her cool, direct gaze pinned Georgiana in place. "I would recommend you never treat Miss Lewis with anything less than deference and respect. Do you understand?"
Georgiana nodded, unable to speak.
"Excellent," Miss Potts replied with a calm smile. "I believe we are finished here." Her eyes glanced at the nearly vibrating Dr. Foster. "Unless of course I need to allow Jane to put her threats on the table? I should warn you it will probably be quite detailed and to the point." Her lips curved with fondness. "Scientists are good about that." At Georgiana's desperate headshake, Miss Potts tilted her chin in acceptance. "I am so glad we had this little conversation. Do try and remember it, won't you?"
With that last rhetorical question, Miss Potts guided the scientists out of the room and left Georgiana staring blankly at the computer screen in mute shock.
Tristan Appleby changed into workout gear. All SHIELD employees were expected to maintain a certain level of fitness and fighting skills. Despite being a simple administrative worker, he prided himself in his ability to keep up with most of the agents. Today meant recertifying in hand-to-hand expertise. He joined a group of around thirty other employees stretching and waiting for their certifiers to arrive. Usually the certification was done by senior agents caught between assignments. They tended to be bored, impersonal, but thorough.
The doors opened and three agents in SHIELD's standard skintight uniforms stalked through the doors. Jaws dropped.
Agents Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton, and James Barnes moved to stand in front of them.
Agent Romanoff stepped forward, letting the two men flank her. "Divide yourselves into three groups." No one moved and she lifted a single eyebrow. "Do you require such simple directions as how to divide by three?" she asked in a cool tone.
People began moving and forming roughly three equal groups. Once finished they waited, nerves becoming more apparent as the three agents eyed them in an ominous silence. Tristan repressed a shudder as he stood in the middle group. "Why are these three doing this?" he murmured under his voice to the man next to him. His mouth snapped closed as three pairs of cold eyes zeroed in on him. Shoulders relaxed slightly as Agent Barton moved to the group on his right and Agent Barnes headed left. The tightness returned as he watched Agent Romanoff make her way to his group. Meeting her cold green eyes, he suddenly recalled her codename, Black Widow, came from her previous employers – a cold-blooded Russian agency.
"Appleby, you're first."
Tristan stepped forward.
He spent the next ten minutes getting his ass kicked. Agent Romanoff never stepped outside of the limits of recertification boundaries, but she brushed them quite often. There would be bruises in places he had never been bruised before. Sitting down was going to be difficult for days. Finally, just when he'd reached the point of exhaustion, she flipped him and pinned him at a small distance from the group. He felt her put a little extra pressure against his shoulder as she leaned forward.
Her voice breathed across his ear. "Next time you feel the desire to speak about anybody related to the Initiative the way you did Lewis and Coulson? I suggest you not." She pulled back and pulled him to his feet. Her eyes bored into his. "We will meet again." She let him go and turned away, dismissing him without as much as a blink.
Tristan's eyes stared at her, wide with startled surprise. His gaze slid around the room. Two cold pairs of blue eyes met his look even as their owners continued working. A shiver slid down his spine as he realized they all knew what he'd said about Coulson. He stumbled out of the room.
Angela Trice made her way to the main conference room. As the head of the administrative department, she attended meeting on a regular basis and an extra meeting was no surprise at this point. SHIELD did enjoy crossing 'T's' and dotting 'I's' in order to cover their asses, and she was an expert at it. Usually they let her know what files to bring, but emergencies did happen.
She made her way into the meeting and her steps stuttered to a stop.
Five pairs of eyes and one single eye focused on her. She recognized each and every one of them.
Director Fury, Assistant Director Hill, Tony Stark, Captain Steve Rogers, Doctor Bruce Banner, and Thor sat around the long conference table. Director Fury pointed to a seat facing all of them. "Have a seat," he rumbled.
She managed to sit down despite the sudden shaking in her knees. The entire scene seemed surreal. Why was she here? Why were they here?
Director Fury leaned forward, forearms resting on the table in front of him. "Miss Trice, I am having a very bad day. I planned to sign a few pieces of paperwork, double check a handful of other items, and set up some necessary missions. It was going to be a simple, casual day." His eye never wavered from her. "Unfortunately that plan derailed almost the moment I arrived to find a group of unhappy individuals waiting to speak with me." His eyebrow lifted. "Imagine my surprise when I discovered their unhappiness stemmed from the flagrant disrespect shown by SHIELD's administrative department."
Angela opened her mouth to respond only to snap it closed as the assistant director cleared her throat. Assistant Director Hill sat military straight in her seat. "We have received formal complaints in regards to your behavior and interaction with Miss Darcy Lewis," the woman said. Angela blinked in surprise, but kept her mouth closed as the other woman continued. "In addition, there are complaints in regards to the people under your command for the same. As you can imagine, SHIELD is less than amused."
None of the Avengers spoke. They merely kept hard eyes focused on her. Angela shifted in her seat, feeling like the deer in the sights of the hunter.
Director Fury spoke up once more. "Killingworth and Appleby are being informed of the error of their ways as we speak. While these gentlemen were quite unhappy with your behavior, they are too much the gentlemen to bring you to task over it. I don't have the same sense of politeness, and believe me when I say that Hill is even less picky than I am."
"Miss Lewis is a valued member of the Initiative," Assistant Director Hill spoke up, eyes frosty. "Your treatment of her is unacceptable. The fact that you allowed your department to speak of her in such a manner without calling them to task shows a distinct lack of the leadership we expect from our department heads."
Director Fury tapped his finger on the table. "The Avengers will be leaving now," he told her. "We asked them to remain long enough to assure them we intended to take this matter seriously." As the other men began to rise, he nodded to Hill. "You will be reporting directly to Hill's office for a discussion on proper leadership and workspace behavior." He rose to his feet and leaned on his hands. "You may consider yourself on report. I am not a happy camper."
"Y-yes, sir," Angela nodded, her voice stuttering as she tried to ignore the men filing past her towards the door. The normal, average day she had planned suddenly took an unexpected downturn and she felt like she was standing in quicksand.
The entire group entered the private area of the tower trading stories and laughing over odd comments. None of them noticed the two people waiting for them in the foyer. A small break in the conversation was interrupted by the clearing of the throat. Their eyes snapped around and focused. People began wincing and shuffling as they met two intense gazes.
Darcy stepped forward, putting her hands on her hips, "What did you do?"
Nobody spoke.
She opened her mouth, but Coulson put his hand on her shoulder. His eyes scanned each face and a light smile touched his mouth. "I take it the matter has been handled?"
"Completely, sir," Clint nodded.
"Fully, totally, and even with approval," Tony shrugged.
"Good." Coulson directed Darcy towards the kitchen as she started trying to argue. "Dinner should arrive in twenty minutes. We're having Thai."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed.
"Well," Tony clapped his hands together. "I'm headed for the lab." Bruce nodded, but Pepper and Betty caught their arms.
"No, you're not," Pepper informed them both. "Each and every one of you will be at dinner." Tony opened his mouth to argue, but snapped it closed. "Period."
The entire household made it to dinner, and if Darcy seemed extra happy with them? That was just a cherry on the top of their day.