Chapter 14: The Mission
Agent Maria Hill stood on the deck of the S.H.I.E.L.D helicarrier, looking out at the sky. Director Fury stood beside her, also keeping his eye on the horizon.
"Think they'll come?" Hill questioned.
"I'm confident they will," Fury replied.
As they were talking, two tiny figures appeared on the horizon. For a moment, they simply appeared to be far away. However, it soon became apparent that they were supposed to be that small, especially when the two figures spontaneously grew to reveal Hank Pym and Janet van Dyne now in the guise of Ant-Man and Wasp.
"Glad you could make it," Hill greeted them. "Welcome to the Helicarrier."
"And I thought the college lab was big," Janet said in awe.
"It's impressive I'll admit," Hank allowed, flipping open his face plate. "So, who else will be joining us on this little endeavor Fury?"
"You'll find out in a moment," Fury told him.
A helicopter appeared in the sky, making its way towards the helicarrier. The four onlookers watched as it landed, the doors sliding open as Bruce Banner and Rick Jones climbed out, followed by Natasha.
"Sorry I'm late," she apologized as she allowed her two companions to exit the copter. "These two needed a shower and some fresh clothes."
"Hey, you try keeping yourself clean when you're a fugitive," Rick said in his defense.
"I have, which is why I helped you."
"Dr. Banner," Hank greeted in surprise. "It's good to see you again."
"Hank, hi," Bruce greeted back, shaking his hand. "Good to see you again."
"I heard about your accident," Hank told him, looking at him sympathetically. "You doing alright?"
Both Rick and Bruce exchanged glances, then Bruce just gave a shrug.
"As well as I can," he answered.
"That's good at least," Hank said. "Uh, you remember Jan, right?"
"How could I forget?" Bruce replied, shaking Janet's hand with a soft smile. "You would never shut up about her when we were colleagues."
"Aw, so you do care Hank," Janet ribbed.
Hank rolled his eyes, but he was smiling the entire time
"Don't let it go to your-"
Before he could finish, a rocket like sound rang out. Everyone looked up to see Iron Man flying to towards the helicarrier. As he deactivated his rocket boots, he did a flip, allowing him to land on the helicarrier in a dramatic pose. Both Hank and Janet stared, a sense of dread coming over the two of them.
"Oh great..." Janet groaned. "They did go to him."
"Perfect…" Hank lamented.
Tony stood up as his faceplate lifted revealing his face.
"Well, well, isn't this a surprise," he declared as he walked over towards the group. "Nice to see you again Hank. How's your shrink particles coming along?"
"Just fine, Tony," Hank replied with a stone-cold face. "Just fine."
"Okay, don't tell me," Tony backed off before turning to Jan. "Hey Jan. I knew we traveled in some of the same social circles, but I didn't know you went to parties like this."
Janet crossed her arms and turned away from him, effectively giving him the old shoulder. Rick leaned over to Bruce and whispered in his ear.
"I'm getting the distinct impression that they don't like him," he hissed.
"What gave it away?" Natasha asked.
Rick jumped, then glared at Natasha.
"You are way too good at that spy thing," he informed her.
As they continued talking, a second helicopter came up and landed on the helicarrier. Coming out of it was Clint Barton and Spider-Man, the latter of which was still in his costume.
"You know, I've clung to the outside of countless helicopters, but this is the first time I've ridden in one properly," Spidey commented, stretching a bit.
"Glad to provide you with such a thrilling experience," Clint responded sarcastically.
"Who's the pre-teen in the underoos?" Tony questioned, pointing at Spidey. "Is it bring-your-kid-to-work day?"
"Hey!" Spidey called out. "I'm 16! At least."
"Respect your elders, punk," Tony quickly replied.
Clint patted Spidey on the shoulder with a smirk.
"Don't let him get to you," He told him. "He's a dick to everyone."
"So I noticed," Spidey remarked.
Tony turned away from Spidey, noticing Bruce and Rick standing off to the side.
"Dr. Banner," Tony called out walking over to Bruce and shaking his hand. "Good to meet you. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled. And I'm also a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."
There was a moment of silence after all that was said. Spidey took a side step away from Bruce.
"... thanks," Bruce replied. "Though I'm hoping not to expose too much green on this little trip."
"Which is why you should keep all mention of the Hulk to a minimum," Rick interjected. "And try not to purposely get on Bruce's nerves."
"No problem here," Spidey called out. "If I wanted to get beaten to a pulp by a giant beast I'd throw some of my one-liners at the Rhino."
"Mr. Jones is right," Fury interjected. "Dr. Banner is here to aid in the scientific part of this mission, nothing more."
"Well then, I look forward to working with you," Tony told him.
"Fury you sure bringing 'him' here was a good idea?" Hank asked.
"To which 'whom' are you referring to, Dr. Pym?" Fury replied. "Dr. Banner, or Mr. Stark?"
"Stark," Hank answered.
"Howard Stark was the leading scientist that studied the effects of the Cosmic Cube," Fury explained. "He is one of the two members of this team that may give us an edge against HYDRA."
"One of two?" Janet repeated. "Who's the second?"
"I believe the director was talking about me," a voice called out.
Everyone turned to see two people approaching the group. One was Sharon Carter, back in her Agent 13 attire. The other was Steve Rogers, fully decked out in the red, white, and blue suit that had become his trademark, his shield hooked to his back. Everyone stared slack jawed, completely shocked to see the legendary super soldier they'd heard so much about.
"Is that-?" Rick started to say.
"Captain America," Spidey finished.
Spider-Man then instinctively jumped in front of Captain America and began shaking his hand.
"It is an honor, sir," Spidey greeted. "I am a huge fan of your work. You have been a major inspiration to me."
Steve smiled as Spidey continued shaking his hands, becoming visibly uncomfortable. Thankfully, Spidey caught on quickly.
"I'm… shaking your hand too long, aren't I?" Spidey asked sheepishly.
"Yes," Cap answered. "Yes, you are."
"Sorry," Spidey replied letting go.
"Well, at least I know I'm not the only hero lover on this floating boat," Rick remarked.
Cap turned to look at the person who said that. What he saw took his breath away.
"... Bucky?" he whispered.
Rick blinked, then pointed at himself.
"Are you talking to me?" he asked. "Sorry Cap, but my name's Rick. Rick Jones."
Cap shook his head for a moment, trying to clear his thoughts.
"Sorry you… you look like someone I… once knew."
"Bucky Barnes, right?" Rick guessed. "Yeah, I used to get that a lot back when I was in college. But I'm not all that important anyhow."
Rick stepped aside, allowing Bruce to step forward.
"Dr. Banner," he greeted. "Rick is my… assistant."
"Nice to meet you Dr. Banner," Cap greeted shaking his hand. "Agent 13 tells me you can track the cube."
"Is that all she's told you?" He asked, glancing over at 13.
"Only thing I care about," Cap replied.
A relieved smile graced both Bruce and Rick's faces as Tony stepped forward.
"So, you're the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan," Tony declared. "You look good for someone who spent 77 years as a capsicle."
"Mr. Stark," Cap greeted stoically.
"Cap'n," Tony replied equally stoically.
"Great," Nick Fury let out. "Now that we've all gotten acquainted, let's get inside so we can discuss the matter at hand."
…
Fury and Hill ushered everyone inside, where they gathered at a large table on the main flight deck.
"Thank you all for coming," Fury greeted. "You all have been carefully selected as part of a highly elite task force, called the Avengers Initiative. The purpose of which is to bring together a group of unique individuals to handle tasks ordinary soldiers never could."
"And I'm guessing this 'cosmic cube' thing is the task you had in mind?" Spidey guessed.
"Correct," Fury confirmed before pressing a button on a computer.
Suddenly a holographic image of the Tesseract appeared before them
"This is the Tesseract," Fury continued. "In 1945, rogue Nazi scientist Johann Schmidt, AKA the Red Skull, attempted to use this cube to bomb the entire eastern seaboard as a display of HYDRA's power."
"Luckily for the world, the Cap'n and his friend Barnes were there to save the day," Tony interjected. "Trust me, every kid who ever took second grade history knows the story."
"Indeed," Fury agreed. "The Captain, Barnes, and the cube were lost to sea. That is until 48 hours ago, when we intercepted a HYDRA communication about the discovery of the cube and the frozen remains of Captain America in the Arctic. As you can plainly see, we succeeded in retrieving the Captain."
"But HYDRA got the cube," Cap finished.
"And now in the hands of this man," Fury proceeded as the face of Baron Strucker appeared. "Baron Wolfgang Von Strucker. Current leader of HYDRA."
"I had the displeasure of meeting him on that submarine," Cap told them. "That fancy red glove of his ain't just for show."
"The Satan Claw," Clint remarked.
"It's a specialized weapon manufactured specifically for him," Natasha explained. "It has the power to drain the youth and vitality of its victim, transferring it to Strucker himself. It's the reason he's survived as long as he has and is as strong as he is."
"So, avoid shaking hands with the Neo-Nazi Dr. Claw," Tony jeered. "Got it."
"So how are we gonna find this guy?" Spidey asked.
"This is where Mr. Stark, Dr. Pym, and Dr. Banner come in," Fury explained. "The Tesseract emits a low level of Gamma radiation. Considering Dr. Banner's 'hands on' experience with it, he should have no problem finding a way to track it."
"I just need access to the right equipment," Bruce told them. "How many spectrometers do you have access to?"
"As many as you need, Doctor," Fury told him.
"Call up every lab you know, have them set the spectrometers on the roof for gamma radiation," Bruce instructed. "I can run a tracking algorithm for basic recognition clusters. At least we can narrow down a few places."
"I can start running that algorithm if you want," Spidey offered.
"No offense kid, but this isn't your high school science class," Tony retorted. "I highly doubt you could offer up any-"
"If you're attempting to pinpoint a specific frequency of radiation, then you'll need to lock onto its wavelength," Spidey interrupted. "I've had some experience tracking electricity-based villains before, and with some slight calibrations to my formula, I should be able to properly adjust it to fit what we're looking for."
Rick let out a slow clap.
"I like this kid," he whispered to Bruce.
Tony was honestly starstruck for a moment.
"Well then," he finally said. "Let's get to work."
"Agent Romanoff, would you kindly escort everyone to the science bay?" Fury requested.
Natasha stood up, gesturing for the science team to follow her.
"You'll love it boys," she informed them. "We've got all the toys."
…
Natasha did not exaggerate when she described the S.H.I.E.L.D science lab. There was every available piece of equipment any of them could think of, as well as an entire array of chemicals that Spider-man wasted no time raiding.
"Can someone get me a graduated cylinder and a few stirring rods?" he asked as he grabbed several vials of chemicals. "I'm low on web fluid and I need to make more for this big mission."
Hank passed him the things he needed, allowing the young hero to get straight to work. As he did that, Tony and Bruce began working on setting up the search.
"One last component…" Bruce said. "There. Model's locked and we're sweeping for the gamma signal. Once we get a hit, we should have a location within half a mile or so."
"Yup, we'll get Fury's cube back within the afternoon," Tony added.
"Then you and I can head back to Ontario for some peace and quiet," Rick declared, wrapping an arm around Bruce's shoulder. "A nice, peaceful cabin with plenty of room for the big guy to enjoy."
"I admit, I'm anxious to finish this and leave," Bruce admitted. "Having the big guy up here, might not be the best thing."
"Tell you what, after this is all over, why don't we all pop by Stark Tower," Tony suggested. "A little science bros moment. Top ten floors are all R and D. You'll love it."
"I have been itchin' to check that place out," Spidey admitted.
Rick let out a hiss.
"Bad idea, Mr. Stark," he informed him.
"Rick's right," Bruce agreed. "Last time I was in New York I kind of… broke… Harlem."
"Ah," Tony let out. "Well you don't have to worry about that. I promise a stress-free environment. No tension, no surprises."
Tony then quickly jabbed Bruce with a small electric stick, eliciting a yelp from the doctor. That small sound was enough to have Jan, Hank, Spider, and Rick all jump in surprise. Tony eyed Bruce, half expecting him to turn green right then and there. Thankfully, all that happened was Rick slapping the stick out of his hand.
"Are you out of your mind?!" he exclaimed.
"Jury's out," Tony joked. "You have really got a lid on it. What's your secret? Mellow jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?"
"Is this some sort of joke to you, Mr. Stark?!" Rick demanded. "Do you have any idea what might have happened?!"
At that moment, Cap walked into the lab, picking up the tail end of the situation.
"What's going on in here?" Cap asked.
"Stark tried to unleash the Hulk," Rick explained. "I like the big guy, but he would tear this ship, and everyone on it, apart!"
"That is an immense exaggeration, if not 100 percent accurate," Tony replied.
"Is everything a joke to you?" Cap asked.
"That's what I said!" Rick declared, throwing his arms up.
"Funny things are," Tony quickly responded.
"Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship is not funny," Cap berated. "No offence."
"None taken," Bruce replied, placing a reassuring hand on Rick's shoulder. "I wouldn't have come on here if I couldn't handle… pointy things."
"You're tiptoeing big guy," Tony told him. "You just need to strut."
"And you need to focus on the problem Tony," Hank told him.
"You think I'm not?" Tony replied.
"I think it's clear you're not," Janet commented with a snarky tone.
"Well I have been, while also working to ask a few questions," Tony responded. "Like, why did Fury call us in?"
"I've been wondering that about you since you got here," Hank replied sarcastically.
"And what about the rest of us?" Tony asked. "Seems a little excessive just to get a shiny rock don't you think?"
"What?" Spidey asked. "You think Fury's hiding something?"
Tony turned to Spidey with a withering look.
"Kid, Fury's a spy," he explained. "No, scratch that. He's 'The' spy. He's so secretive, his secrets have secrets."
"That… doesn't sound possible," Spidey responded, raising an eyebrow.
"Well it's true," Tony continued. "I can't be the only one bugged by this."
"Well… Bruce and I don't exactly trust Fury," Rick admitted. "Then again, we've never had much reason to."
"And if Fury is anything like Ross…" Bruce pondered out loud. "I can only wonder what he plans to do with the cube once he gets hold of it."
"I guess it's too much to hope that he'll toss it back in the arctic," Janet commented wryly.
"Right," Hank agreed. "I've never known Fury to just throw away as powerful as the cube."
"The Red Skull described it as the beginning of a new world order," Cap remembered. "Nobody should have that kind of power. Not even S.H.I.E.L.D."
"So… what does Fury plan to do with it?" Spidey asked.
"I should probably look into that, once my decryption program finishes breaking through all of S.H.I.E.L.D's secure firewalls," Tony told him.
Everyone, save for Bruce for obvious reasons, turned to Tony in shock.
"What?!" they all let out.
"You can't go one minute without committing corporate espionage!" Janet exclaimed.
"JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge," Tony told them. "And I'd like to think of it as corporate snooping."
"Yet you're curious about why they didn't want you around," Cap remarked.
"An intelligence agency that fears intelligence?" Tony posed. "Historically…. Not awesome."
"You are just like your father, Tony," Janet snapped. "Just like Howard."
Hank placed a hand on Janet's shoulder to calm her down, shaking his head.
"That was too far, Jan," he told her.
"Hey!" Tony let out. "I am nothing like my father!"
Enough!" Cap called out. "Arguing isn't gonna help anything. Strucker is the real enemy here. This is a man that wants to cause World War three, and if we don't stay focused, he'll succeed."
One of the monitors began beeping, drawing everyone's attention to Spidey. He'd been working on his tracking algorithm the entire time they'd been arguing, and he appeared to have gotten a hit.
"I think I found the cube!" he called out.
Everyone gave the web head a surprised look.
"What?" Spidey let out. "Someone had to stay focused while you guys were arguing."
"Nice work kid," Cap complimented. "Where is it?"
"That depends," Spidey replied, turning the monitor towards the Cap. "That castle look familiar to you?"
Cap looked on the monitor and saw an old castle nestled in the Alps.
"According to Wikipedia, the castle was built by HYDRA after the fall of the Red Skull," Spidey explained. "It houses all of the old tunnels and labs used by old Skull-face back in the old days."
"What's a 'Wikipedia'? Cap asked, confused.
"We've got a lot to catch you up on," Tony remarked.
"Suit up," Cap instructed. "We're heading out in 20 minutes."
All the members of the retrieval team made their way out of the lab, leaving Bruce and Rick alone. Rick looked over at Bruce, noting the worry lines etching along the doctor's face.
"You alright, Bruce?" he asked.
"While his methods can be debated," Bruce told him. "I can't help but wonder if Tony's right to mistrust Fury."
"You're right on that one, but it will take some time for even Stark's decryption software to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D."
Rick tapped his chin thoughtfully, then an idea came to him.
"However, I might have a way to speed the process," he suggested. "I think it's time I do what I do best."
"Break into places you shouldn't?" Bruce guessed.
Rick nodded, a grin forming on his face.
…
Clint and Natasha went over one of the Helicarrier's jets, making sure everything was in order for the mission. Nat stuck her head out of the cockpit, looking down at Clint as he checked the engines.
"All clear on my end," she declared. "What's your status?"
"All clear here too," Clint called back. "We're good to go."
Nat nodded, then looked back to see the retrieval team making its way towards the jet. She and Clint got to their feet, giving the team a once over.
"We're ready for take-off Captain," Clint informed him.
"Great," Cap replied. "Then let's get going."
The team piled into the ship, the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents taking the pilot seats as the ship took off. As the Helicarrier disappeared into the distance, Cap's gaze drifted out the windows. His grip on his shield tightened visibly, something that didn't go unnoticed by Hank.
"You alright there, Captain?"
"Fine it's just…" Cap let out a small sigh. "Back in my day when something flew this high, we didn't call it an airplane."
"What'd you call it?" Hank asked.
"... science fiction."
…
Rick walked about the helicarrier, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie as he whistled a random song that popped into his head. To the untrained eye, he would appear to be nothing more than a bored young adult. However, Rick's eyes were scanning every door he passed, and every agent that he caught sight of.
As he walked passed a door marked "Authorized Personnel Only", he watched as an agent swiped an I.D. card, unlocking the door. Rick let out a small curse, realizing that his self-imposed mission just got a little bit harder.
…
Captain America wasn't the only one suffering from aerophobia. Spidey kept tapping his fingers on his seat as they soared through the air, much to the annoyance of Iron Man.
"Ya mind knocking that off?" Tony asked.
"Sorry..." Spidey muttered. "It's just… usually jets are trying to kill me, kidnap me, destroy me, you know. This is my first time riding in one while not fighting for my life."
"Uh huh," Tony replied. "I've had my fair share of killer jets myself."
"Well, you can outfly them," Spidey quipped, falling back on his trademark snark. "Me, not so much."
"Right," Tony responded. "By the way, you need to work on your deflection."
Spidey looked over.
"That obvious, huh?"
"Kid, I'm a master of using humor to mask pain," Tony told him. "So, what's yours?"
"I… Uh…" Spidey tried before letting out a sigh. "It's personal."
"You don't have to go into specifics," Tony assured him before deciding to change the subject. "I've also noticed you haven't taken your mask off since you got here."
"Unlike you Mr. Stark, I don't have bodyguards or multimillion dollar suits to protect my friends and loved ones," Spidey replied, tugging at the side of his mask. "Just this piece of cotton."
"I've been meaning to ask about that," Tony spoke. "Where did you get that suit?"
Spidey paused for a moment, caught off guard by the question.
"I- I made it, actually.".
"I can tell."
Spidey crossed his arms.
"Hey, not all of us can order high quality materials on a whim. I had to mow lawns for months to scrape up enough cash for the materials for this."
"Hey, I made my first suit from a box of junk in an Afghan cave. I know what it means to work with what you have."
Spidey looked at Tony as the man placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Tell you what, you let me play around with the design, maybe make a few modifications," Tony suggested. "I'm sure I could give you a much-needed upgrade."
"You- You'd do that?" Spidey responded, honestly caught off-guard.
"You seem like a good kid, and frankly, it would give me something to do," Tony replied nonchalantly.
"I-"
Before Spidey could answer, he felt an all too familiar buzzing going off in his head.
"Um, whoever's flying this thing, veer left now!" He shouted.
Clint took the web head's advice and veered left, just narrowly avoiding an oncoming missile. It exploded in the air beside the jet, but thankfully didn't cause any damage. Unfortunately, that buzzing returned not long after.
"Bank right!" He shouted again.
Clint did as he was told, once more narrowly avoiding getting blasted out of the sky.
"Nice call kid!" Clint called back.
"In front of us!" Spidey let out, pointing out the window.
Unfortunately, Clint couldn't move fast enough to avoid the third missile. It struck the jet, reducing the engine to scrap metal and sending it plummeting towards the ground.
"Well," Clint let out. "If any of you had lunch, you're about to lose it!"
"Stark!" Cap called out. "Think you can level us out?!"
"In a few minutes, you'll either know or won't care," Tony replied standing up.
Iron Man then opened the escape hatch, activating his suit and jumping out. Spider-Man took the opportunity to slap a fresh set of web fluid into his sprayers, aiming them at the ground.
"Let's hope I have enough."
He depressed the buttons, filling the cabin of the jet full of his fluid in hopes of cushioning their inevitable fall. Outside, Iron Man flew around to the front of the jet and pushed himself against it, in the hopes of lessening its crash.
"JARVIS, thrusters to max capacity, now!"
"Already on it, sir."
Iron Man's thrusters fired at full power as the jet came closer and closer to the ground. Spidey emptied the last of his web fluid just seconds before they impacted. Thankfully, Iron Man's thrusters had lessened their descent to one that lacked the expected pyrotechnics. However, the jet did hit hard enough to buckle the metal chassis. Iron Man was sent flying into some trees as the jet skidded to a stop. Iron Man flew over, scanning the wreckage.
"JARVIS, signs of life. Quickly."
"All jet occupants showing signs of life."
"Good," Iron Man replied before using his built-in laser to cut a hole in the jet.
The metal then fell to the ground, revealing an almost solid mass of sticky white webbing molded into a large protective ball. Before Tony could do anything about it, a large knife suddenly pierced through it, sawing its way through. After cutting a hole big enough for someone to climb through, the knife disappeared, replaced with a gloved hand.
"Need a hand?" Tony asked, offering his own.
His hand was grabbed by Natasha as he pulled her out of the jet. Clint followed suit, then the Cap pushed himself out as well, reaching back in for his shield. Jan and Hank went tiny, easily hitching a ride on Spidey as he pulled up the rear.
"That went well," Spidey remarked as Hank and Jan leapt off him and grew to normal size.
"Safe to say they know we're here," Hank remarked, giving his suit a once over to ensure nothing was damaged.
"How'd you know those missiles were coming?" Cap questioned.
"Let's just say I have a 'sense' for these things," Spidey joked, dumping the empty cartridges and replacing them.
"What, like a spider sense?" Jan questioned.
"Pretty much," Spidey replied.
"As riveting as this conversation is, we can't afford to be caught standing around," Natasha informed the group.
"Right," Cap agreed. "Let's get moving."
With that, the group started moving in the direction of the HYDRA castle.
…
Rick walked onto the main deck of the Helicarrier, looking around like a tourist that had lost his way. He looked around, then finally landed eyes on Director Fury.
"Excuse me!" he called, walking towards the man. "Fury!"
Fury turned around to see Rick walking towards him.
"Can I help you Mr. Jones?" Fury asked.
"Yes, this place is bigger than half of the small towns I've been in, and I've been trying to find a bathroom for the past half hour," Rick answered. "Please, please, puh-lease tell me there's one nearby."
Fury just sighed in response.
"Down that hallway, third door on the right," Fury told him.
Rick placed both of his hands on Fury's shoulders, sighing in obvious relief.
"Thank you," he said, his voice breathy. "Seriously, thank you."
He hands slid down Fury's shirt as Rick turned and hurried out the door like a man on a mission. Once the doors closed behind him, Rick looked at his hand, where Fury's S.H.I.E.L.D. I.D. card now rested.
"You've been a tremendous help," Rick added, pocketing the card and disappearing down the hall.
...
Looks like things are getting heated up, and the teams up to a rocky start.
