Doomed

Chapter Nine

Steve smiled. "Peter, I don't blame you for feeling angry. If we have to fight Doom, I wouldn't mind you letting some of that anger out on his face. Just remember that we're not looking for the fight, ok?"

Peter sighed. "Sure thing, Cap," he said.

Steve looked at his friend. "Try to get some more rest, Peter," he said. "I'll let you know once we get over the landing zone."

Peter leaned the chair back again, throwing his forearm over his eyes. As he drifted off, Peter thought of his uncle, and wondered if Ben would forgive him.

XXXXXX

"He did what?!"

Carol hadn't slept long. She couldn't. She knew that Peter was going to go do something stupid, like trying to take Doom on by himself. What she hadn't expected was that he'd leave so soon after their talk, or that he would rope Steve into his crazy scheme.

"They," Tony said, "They essentially stole one of our Quinjets. And, I'm assuming, are currently flying it into Latveria."

She really, really wished she had some level of power going right then. Just so she could take out her frustrations on the wall. "Why are you assuming, Tony? Did they not file a flight plan?"

"Nope."

"But the question is 'why?'" Natasha said. "Why didn't they log out the plane? Steve knows the procedures, and he's not usually one to shirk the rules."

Her hospital room was getting crowded. Jess was standing in the corner, Tony and Natasha were at her side, and Logan was standing at the door, his face still looking a bit blistered from the day before. "We've been trying to raise 'em on the radio, too," Logan said, "But we're just getting static. It's either jammed…"

"Or they've shut it off," Tony finished.

The decision to include Carol in the conversation had been Jessica's. The others hadn't wanted to stress her further, but once they started talking, Jess assured them that Carol would want to be kept in the loop. "You know once she's better she's gonna kick every ass in this building that decided she didn't need to know something," Jess had said.

"The only reason to do what they did is if they're trying to hide," Natasha said. "But why would they be trying to hide from us?"

Jess stepped closer to the group. "What if it's not us?" she asked. "I know for a fact that Hydra's got people inside S.H.I.E.L.D. What if Doom's got people too? What if they're trying to hide from Doom's eyes?"

Tony shook his head. "That would make sense, but Doom's got to know they're coming," he said. "The way Spidey was acting, Doom knows Pete's gunning for him."

"But he won't know when," Natasha said. "He may be expecting us to take more time to prepare before storming his castle."

Logan walked over from the door, standing between Tony and Natasha. "Or expecting some of our strongest, probably me an' Thor again too."

All of which told Carol that Peter and Steve were woefully unprepared for the death trap they were walking into.

Carol was starting to sweat. She was feeling stifled. Confined. There were too many people, too much going on around her. She needed to clear her head. She needed the sky.

"Guys," she said. "Out. Please. I just," she paused, breathing in heavily. "I need a few minutes, ok?"

The Avengers looked at her, nodded, and started for the door. Carol grabbed Jess's wrist as she walked past. "Not you," she said. Jess rolled her eyes, but stayed in the room.