"You really should have taken care of this when we returned," the Captain chided Peter sternly. The wound had been badly infected. It had taken nearly 50 minutes for the infection to be cleaned out and then for the man to slather antibiotics and bandage. Peter, still feeling guilt from having attacked his team mates, flushed at the reprimand.
"I didn't think it was that bad," he softly said. "Thank you for helping me. I don't deserve such assistance." He stared at his feet, unable to look at the others.
It was the deathly silence that alerted him he'd said something wrong. Slowly, he looked up, his eyes first seeing Lucy and Fury; then glancing at Strange and Scott before allowing his gaze to land on Wanda and Danvers. None of them looked terribly impressed by his declaration. Carol looked unimpressed and thoughtful.
"Luckily for you, you don't get to decide for us who we decide deserves our help." Wanda snipped without any heat before putting the first-aid supplies away. Strange and Scott carefully released him, both giving him a brotherly pat on the shoulder before going back to their seats. Lucy made room for them. Wanda went to sit next to Scott. Fury moved to stand in front of the door. They were all still staring at him. He began to fidget awkwardly.
Carol, who still stood in front of him, carefully smoothed his shirt down over the bandage before gripping his wrist tightly. Peter was surprised that he was unable to jerk his arm free- and as he didn't want to repeat his mistake from before, didn't fight as the Captain pulled him toward the table. It wasn't until he found himself bent over, his upper torso resting on the table, that he realized what Danvers planned to do.
"Wait! You can't…" he protested, attempting to stand. The Captain's hand was against the small of his back, holding him firmly in place. He couldn't control the panic that came over him, struggling harder. Suddenly four sets of hands gripped him gently, comforting him even as they held him still. He flushed scarlet, realizing that every member of his team was about to witness his punishment.
"Why…?" Peter asked in confusion and was chagrined to find his voice unsteady with unshed tears.
"You are being punished because you tried to hide your injury. That is unacceptable, even if you have a better healing system. If you hadn't tried to hide the injury, you might have been prepared for the side-effects of the poison, and NOT attacked Wanda and I." Carol declared, rubbing his back gently. "If you can't be a good example, then you'll have to be a bad warning." Carol concluded her explanation.
Four pairs of eyes widened around the table as the implications of the Captain's words became clear. One, single eye narrowed slightly before the owner of said eye nodded at Carol in agreement - and promise that he would hold Carol accountable to the same standard.
Peter missed all the by-play between his team. His eyes were squeezed as tightly shut as he could get them and he was tensed up waiting for what he knew was coming. He wondered briefly why he didn't fight more- attempt to get away- but he couldn't bring himself to do it. If Carol felt this is what he deserved, then perhaps he did deserve it. He had begun to trust the woman, seeing her as someone who was fair and just. He clenched his hands, relieved that the other hands still gripped him, helping him focus. He could take a little pain.
Then the first smack fell and his eyes flew open as he let out a harsh gasp. That was quite a bit more than a little pain. As Carol's hand rose and fell rapidly, covering every inch of Peter's bottom and upper thighs, the Spiderman quickly realized that he would not be able to be stoic through the ordeal. Only five swats into the punishment and he was already squirming uncontrollably. If he hadn't been being held by everyone on the team, he had no doubt he would have broken free or fallen on the floor.
By the tenth swat he'd given up remaining quiet, allowing himself to gasp and whimper. He made all types of promises and pleas for the spanking to stop, but Carol was relentless, wanting to make certain that the lesson was memorable- not only to Peter but to all the witnesses. The Captain did not quit until Peter went limp, all fight leaving him, finally submitting to and accepting the correction. Tears streamed down his face and the only words he gasped out were apologies, no longer trying to convince his disciplinarian to stop the punishment- only wanting forgiveness.
It took him several minutes to realize that the spanking was over and the Captain was rubbing his back again, while the rest of his team mates were carefully squeezing or rubbing his arms. Lucy was gently carding fingers through his hair like an older sibling might do for a younger brother. Taking in a shuddering breath, he slowly lifted himself from the table and wiped at his eyes, giving an abashed glance around the table before focusing on Carol and turning bright red.
"You SPANKED me!" he pouted, reaching back and rubbing his sore bottom despite his promise to himself not to do so.
"Yes. And I'll do so again if you ever hide something so important from your team again." Carol replied sternly. "Is that clear?" she glanced around the table at the rest of the Avengers, including them in her orders.
"Yes, ma'am!" five voices answered back quickly- Peter's the most vehement.
Smiling gently, Carol pulled Peter close to her side, giving him a warm side-hug, and then led the penitent young man to a seat, sitting herself next to him. Fury quickly moved back to the front of the table and refocused the team on the mission.
Peter glanced around at the faces of his team- grinning sheepishly as Lucy sent a slow lazy wink in his direction. He somehow felt even closer to these people than he had a mere 30 minutes before. He shifted, the sting still fresh, stopping with a sigh when the Captain put a warning hand on his shoulder. He glanced at Carol, chagrinned. Yeah, he'd never try and hide an illness or injury again. He'd just have to hope Carol never decided he needed to learn any other lessons.