Ring, ring, ring. Click.

"What?"

"Hello, Director," Darcy sighs. This man was not Darcy's favorite person. He was going to snipe at her and growl while being laconic and mysterious.

"Lewis… It's 6 A.M. What the hell do you want?"

See, snipe, snipe, growl, growl, growl. Well, fuck him in his eyepatch. "Sir, with all due respect, shut up. I'm reporting in."

Darcy listens to dead air for a few moments waiting for him to yell at her. Because otherwise he'll just interrupt her. But instead he asks in his most long-suffering tone, "What did they do?"

"Sir?" Well that wasn't what she'd expected. But after a moment what he asked sinks in.

"You never report in. What did they do?" He's asking if they broke something or someone. Like they would have the energy or the motivation to get into any trouble not involving breaking themselves. Oh, that is just so not okay.

"Sir, the Avengers had a hard week, that's what they did." She keeps most of the anger out of her voice, but he must still hear something that he thinks means his superheroes made a mess that he'll have to clean up.

Because the asshole tries again, "So, why-"

"Sir, you are useless." She can't help it. She's still half-mad from her conversation with Pepper, and this jerk isn't even concerned for Phil, his one good eye or whatever. "You sent a political science major to be a handler for a bunch of crazy people. None of them have a good night's sleep for at least forty-eight hours. These people live in an office building. They have access to their work and are ridiculous, ridiculous people." She's yelling by the end of her rant. She knows she is, but she just spent the better part of three hours wrangling grown adults all older than her into getting some sleep.

And this man has the gall to ask her what they did wrong. Like they're just crazy, crazy assets.

"Shit."

She takes a deep breath to calm her breathing and sighs. "Exactly. None of them were sleeping until a few hours ago. They'll be out of commission until at least tomorrow. Ideally it'd be best if they weren't needed until after the weekend."

"Understood. Thank you, Miss Lewis. I'll pass that onto Richards and Xavier." He's backtracking, trying to placate her. Whatever, not like she has superpowers.

"Thank you, Director." Although she could probably bully Tony into making a suit. Or at least into suping up her taser.

"You should get some rest, too."

She snorts. So now he wants to take an interest in the health and welfare in the tower. "Oh, I plan to, sir. You're the last thing on my list."

"Good to hear."

"Lewis, out."

"Fury, out."

That was over. Darcy sighs and slides to the floor.

"Miss Lewis?"

"Hey, J?"

"Agent Romanov is asking after you. What should I say?"

Darcy smiles and levers herself to her feet. "On my way. Tell her to relax."

"She says that she has been trying but without you it's difficult."