Pain.

That was the first thing Carol registered as she flickered into consciousness. Her head radiated pain, like she'd been hit by an entire planet head on. It took her a few seconds to even realize that she wasn't standing, but hanging in the air. She also realizes that her arms were restrained as well.

"Oh, you're finally awake."

Carol jolted, and her head stung even worse. A harsh, mocking laugh didn't make the pain any more bearable.

"Well, It's good to see you're still alive. I thought Marvin might have gotten the dosage wrong for a while, but here you. The oh-so spectacular Captain Marvel."

The spite in the man's tone was audible, almost penetration, but Carol pushed past it and raised her head enough to look at who was talking to her. And her heart sank.

"What's the matter, blondie?" Quinton Beck asked casually as he fiddled with his illusion suit. "Never seen a dead man walk before?"

"...H-how?"

Carol despised how weak she sounded, and she hated the way the illusionist laughed before he answered.

"How am I alive? Shit, that was the easy part." He answered with a scoff. "All we had to do was hack EDITH and program her to not detect by biosignature after I took off the glasses. I let Parker play with my drones while I slipped away. And after that, all I had to do was leak the video and let the world tear him apart."

And then the smile fell into an angry grimace rose on his face, and he looked up at the restrained hybrid with barley restrained rage.

"And then you came along and fucked it all up." He spat venomously. "You took Parker back to the precious Avengers, and got Fury back up in my shit. Suddenly, my team is dropping like flies, and the plan I've been developing for over a decade is in shambles."

Beck took a few deep breaths to calm himself, before an evil, conniving smile rose on his face.

"But...thanks to those HYDRA idiots that attacked the bank, we were presented with a… unique opportunity. A chance to put one of the New Avengers in a position of...well, lets just call it compromising for now."

"Fuck...you…" Carol hissed, eyes glowing definitely. "I'm not...doing anything...for you."

"Oh, I know that!" Beck confirmed with a hearty chuckle, before flipping a few switches on a nearby panel and twisting a green dial. "All I can tell you is that it's gonna be out of your hands, dear. The rest is a surprise. Goodnight, o' captain."

Suddenly, Carol's eyes felt much heavier than before. She fought momentarily to stay awake, but found herself slipping away. As she drifted off, Beck turned around and left the room, entering an adjoining one where William and Troy continued to work on drone maintenance.

"How are we looking, Will? How much longer till the program is done?" He asked, startling the mustached man.

"Oh! W-well, technically the program is already done." William answered as he pushed his glasses up and gestured to the screen. "We already have the data we needed to simulate, after all. Now, we're just waiting for the drones to update."

"Alright. It's game time, then." Beck hummed, before turning to Troy and nodding with a sadistic grin plastered on his face. "Re-activate her tracking chip. It's time for a show."

Line Break

"Heya, Spiderling. How are you doing?" Wade Wilson shouted as he entered the training room that Peter had been using. The webslinger didn't even turn around to face the approaching merc with a mouth as he backflipped over the last combat droid before webbing it and flinging it full-force into the far wall.

"Hey, Wade." Peter greeted between ragged breaths. "I'm-I'm alright. Just a little tired."

"Well, that is what happens when you trash the same dozen tin cans for two days straight." Wade mused, before a more serious look crossed his face. "Look, I'm no expert on healthy coping mechanisms, but...I think you might need to rest for a bit."

In the back of his mind, the briefest spike of anger shot through Peter at the thought of Wade of all people lecturing him, but quickly squashed the feeling. He knew that Wade was right. Punching droids into scrap heaps wasn't going to get Ms. Danvers back any faster.

"Yeah...yeah, ok." He admitted, before motioning for FRIDAY to turn off the sim.

"So...are you really doing alright?" Wade repeated, his expression still serious.

"I...guess? I'm just worried about Ms. Danvers." Peter confessed, pulling off his mask and raking a hand through his hair. "It's been two days, Wade, and we haven't heard from her or...or Beck."

"Ah, right. The bearded asshole." Wade acknowledged, coaxing a smile from his companion. "From what Eye-patch and Holo-Stark have told me, he's just a guy. I'm sure Danvers will punch her way out of whatever cage he put her in no time."

"Heh, it's a nice thought." Peter admitted with a chuckle. Again, Wade was right. Carol was a freaking powerhouse of a hero! Sooner or later, she'd escape, maybe even capture beck, and everything would be just fine.

Suddenly, Peter's comms clicked to life and Tony's voice flooded through the speaker.

"Pete, get to the command center now. Grab everyone you can on the way!"

Peter and Wade glanced at each other before both sprinting out the door. Minutes later, the rest of the Avengers were assembled in the command center where Tony and Fury stood before the main screen, which was now showing a bright red light in what looked like Queens.

"We've got a bead on Danvers." Fury anocened, gesturing towards the screen behind him. "The tracking chip in her suit activated a good hour ago."

"So, what's the game plan?" Sam asked, eyeing the pair expectantly.

"You, Rhodes, and I will be the eyes in the sky and last resort." Tony answered, before gesturing to a building a few blocks away from the dot. "Peter, Scott, Wanda, and Wilson will be stationed here, and will move up once we give the all clear."

"WaitwaitwaitWAIT!" Wade interjected, waving his hands around energetically. "I'm coming on this mission? Am-am I technically an Avenger now?!"

"Told ya he was gonna ask." Tony snarked, while Fury just groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation.

"We'll discuss it later. For now, grab your gear and get to the Quinjet in the next five minutes."

The group began to disperse, gradually emptying out and leaving only Tony and Peter in the command center. Eventually, the genius noticed the webslinger and quirked an eyebrow in surprise.

"You ok, kid?" He asked, seemingly bringing Peter back to reality, the younger man managing an awkward chuckle.

"Oh, yeah. I'm fine, Mr. Stark." He replied, before glancing back at the bright, flashing dot on the screen. "I just have this weird feeling...like something bad is gonna happen."

"Peter Tingle?" Tony asked, before laughing and correcting himself. "Oh right. I mean "Spidey-Sense"?"

"Not exactly." Peter answered with a mock scowl. "Just...a bad feeling."

"Well, tell you what. I'll be on high alert, then." Tony assured his protégé., before waving his hand dismissively. "For now, just grab your gear kid. It's time we save your girlfriend."

"WHAT?! S-she's not-ugh, fine!" Peter sputtered before stomping off, Tony laughs echoing behind him. As he marched towards the hanger bay, he mentally checked himself. Maybe Tony was right.

Maybe nothing would go wrong.

Maybe.