A/N: Hello, again, friends, and welcome to Chapter Five!
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Chapter Five
Peter's mind started shuffling through all the possible scenarios: Doom had discovered his identity and had Aunt May hostage, Doom was there looking for Spider-Man from the person who always took his photos, Doom wanted Spider-Man and was going to start murdering his way up the line of associates.
"Mr. Parker," Doom said, walking around the rubble of Peter's door and stooping to pick up a sheet of paper. "Doom has need of your scientific acumen."
Not a single one of Peter's options had been that one.
He had to remember to be afraid, which wasn't hard. Doom had tech that could rival Tony's, and his skill with magic put him second or third in line to be Sorcerer Supreme. Not to mention that he was nearly as smart as Reed. And his Spider-Sense was warning him of six Doombots standing guard in the hallway. But still, he had to remember that Peter Parker had never met Dr. Doom before, and Peter Parker needed to be appropriately terrified. "Dr. von Doom," Peter said, forcing a tremble into his voice, "I… I can't imagine what help I could be to you, sir."
Doom laughed, and Peter was surprised to find it sounded human. The dictator was still walking around the lab, picking up pieces of paper. "Doom does not wish to be misunderstood, Mr. Parker," he said, stopping only inches from Peter. "I do not require you, yourself. Only whatever notes you have taken on your latest research."
Peter should've known. The whole world would be at each other's throats to get the information he had now. He was only fortunate that, in his haste to find a cure for Carol, he hadn't written anything down regarding the Vita Rays' effect on cellular and DNA structure. But he knew that Doom would figure it out much faster than he had, if he was allowed to leave with that file. As Peter Parker, however, there wasn't much he could do to stop Doom. He could fight, of course, but that would just show Doom who he was, and then Aunt May would be on a one-way trip through time. "Doctor," Peter said, "The only research I've been doing has been in marketable electronics and tech. Nothing that a scientist of your caliber would be interested in."
A metal hand fell on Peter's shoulder, and Peter saw Doom's eyes widen in surprise when the weight didn't cause him to dip his knees. "Mr. Parker," Doom said, his voice somehow becoming more devoid of humanity, "I wish you to understand that Doom is currently engaging diplomacy." The gauntlet began to close, and Peter was aware that he should be experiencing great pain, so he knelt and tightened his features. "You would not like to be on the receiving end of my more aggressive negotiations."
Spider-Man had seen several of Dr. Doom's "aggressive negotiations." People usually died. "Please, Doctor, I don't have anything of value," Peter said through gritted teeth. Attempting to dissuade Doom was about the only option he had left, but he knew that wouldn't work. Doom obviously knew that the Super-Soldier file was here. The best Peter could hope for was to keep Doom talking, maybe get some useful information out of him.
The metal hand released Peter's shoulder, and he fell to his hands and knees. Doom walked around him and started picking up more pieces of paper. "Indeed? What, then, are these pages? Notes on Captain America. A S.H.I.E.L.D. file on the new Captain Marvel? Medical test results… interesting." Doom shuffled through the pages, flipping through them as a child might flip through a picture book. "It appears Captain Marvel is dying, hmm? Being torn apart by her own genes." He stepped over a piece of rubble, and his cape kicked up concrete dust. Doom grabbed one of the folders and stuffed all the papers inside. "I would love to examine her body," he said, snapping the folder closed.
Fire boiled into Peter's eyes and fingertips, and he rose from the floor, staring at Doom's silhouette in the lab's decimated doorway. "Doctor," he said, his voice shaking.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Parker," Doom said, turning around and walking out of the lab. His cape billowed behind him, and dust created a cloud that obscured him from Peter's vision.
As Doom walked out of the lab, Peter's boss, Max Modell, ducked inside, his red goatee and ponytail covered in gray dust. "Peter!" he called, waving his arm and coughing. "Peter! Where are you, son?"
The only answer he received was the creaking of an overhead air vent.
XXXXXX
Doom stepped out of Horizon Laboratories and into the midday sun, followed by his personal guard of Doombots. New Yorkers averted their gaze or shaded their eyes from the sunlight reflecting off of his armor. The breeze blowing in from the Hudson swirled his cape, and once the onlookers realized who he was, they started running.
He walked over to his floating platform and stuffed the file down into a side compartment. As the device rose, the dictator smiled beneath his metal mask.
And was promptly kicked off the dais, crashing into a tree and breaking several branches.
"Hey, Dr. Doom-and-Gloom," Spider-Man said, landing on top of the platform, "Didn't anyone ever teach you not to take things that don't belong to you?"
The Doombots didn't wait for orders from their master; instead, they started blasting at Spider-Man with green palm-mounted lasers. He back-flipped off the platform and bounced off the ground, firing a web line into one of the robots' faces. Pulling the web, Spider-Man was surprised to find himself flying toward the Doombot, rather than the other way around, but he improvised and planted his hand on the robot's head, sticking to the metal surface, stopping his momentum.
He landed on the ground behind the Doombot just as its comrades started firing more lasers. The metallic skeleton buckled underneath the heat of the green energy, and the lights blinked out of the robot's eyes.
"One down, five to go," Spider-Man said, lifting the metal corpse and hurling it at another Doombot. The sentry dodged and started firing more blasts from its hands.
"Spider-Man!" Doom rose from beneath the broken tree branches, green lightning crackling around his gauntlets. "You will pay dearly for striking Doom!"
"Do you think I could pay in installments?" Spider-Man said, punching another Doombot in the face, ripping the mask away and revealing the machinery underneath. "Because I have been seriously strapped lately." He leaped, dropkicking the robot in the chest, then stuck his feet to the metal and crashed it to the ground. He finished by stomping its face, crushing the head. "And that added security of not having to pay a lump sum would just," Spider-Man clasped his hands together over the spider emblem on his chest as though he were in prayer, just as sparks flew from the robot's shattered head, "It would give me such peace."
Doom roared, and glyphs in his gauntlets began to glow. Spider-Man recognized the effect from when Dr. Strange would cast spells, and leaped out of the way before his Spider-Sense started trying to rip open his skull. A giant stalactite of ice fell out of thin air and landed where Spider-Man had just been standing, further crushing the Doombot beneath it.
Spider-Man stuck to the side of a lamppost. "Ice? Aww, that's so nice of you, Vicky," he said, flipping away as the Doombots fired more lasers at him. "Hey, everybody, free snow cones once the fight's over!"
"Be silent!" Doom yelled, pressing a button in his gauntlet. Suddenly the floating platform came to life, producing several laser cannons that started firing at Spider-Man. Doom walked over to the platform and stepped on. "Doom has little time for your incessant prattling," he said calmly, the dais raising higher into the air.
All of Spider-Man's concentration was now focused on dodging the endless fire. If it weren't for his Spider-Sense, he would have been dead from the beginning. But Doom was getting away with the information he needed to save Carol's life, and he wasn't about to let it go without a fight. "Really? Well, if you only have a little time for me, I sure don't know how you're gonna fit any of my friends into your schedule."
Reaching down to the center of his belt, where he used to keep the Spider-Signal (which seemed like fifty years ago, now), Spider-Man pressed the button he'd installed there.
"Avengers Assemble!" he yelled.
XXXXXX
Kicked back in Avengers Tower, Logan sat watching the giant screen. Monitor duty wasn't the best way to spend an afternoon, but at least the damn thing got cable.
Suddenly his show was interrupted as a GPS map of Manhattan appeared on the screen, along with a blinking circular icon of Spider-Man's mask. "Avengers Assemble!" Logan heard Peter call through the sounds of energy blasts.
"What's going on, Webs?" Logan said, standing to get a better look at the screen. The beer bottle he'd been holding fell to the floor. Logan pressed several buttons on the keyboard, patching Peter's Avengers I.D. card to the rest of the team.
"Dr. Doom has stolen some research from Horizon Labs!" Peter said through heavy breaths, and Logan could hear the sound of skin striking metal. "Peter Parker's research!"
Logan growled, his claws aching underneath his skin. Whatever the web-head was working on was supposed to be able to cure Carol. She was a friend, and Logan didn't like it when people threatened his friends. "Don't you worry, bub," he said, reaching behind his head and pulling his mask on, "We're on the way."
Heavy footsteps came from the hallway, and Logan heard hands tightening their grip on leather. "Indeed we are," Thor said, Mjolnir's runes glowing in anticipation, thunder rumbling in the distance.
XXXXXX
In the hospital wing of the tower, Carol Danvers was lying in her bed, completely and utterly bored. She'd watched every movie she'd ever loved, several she didn't, and quite a few that, frankly, she hadn't wanted to watch alone. The other Avengers' company was welcome, (well, maybe not Simon so much), especially Jessica, and Logan, and Steve, but they weren't the ones she wanted to see.
She wanted to see Peter.
She wanted to hear more from him than just clinical updates. She wanted to know about more than just how his research was going. Yes, she was grateful that he was working so hard to figure out what was wrong with her, but that didn't mean he couldn't stop by and stuff his face with popcorn and laugh with her at Stantz, Spengler and Venkman.
Then she thought about him, and his life, and how seriously he took his responsibilities, and realized that was exactly what that meant.
Carol ran her fingers through her new short hair and started coughing. She pulled the oxygen mask up to her face and breathed in until the fit stopped. She didn't want to admit it, but she was getting weaker, feeling more and more tired every day. She raised her fist, tried to generate even a glow. Nothing.
What if Peter figures out a way to cure me, but my powers stay gone? she thought. What if I can't be Captain Marvel anymore?
What if he doesn't find a way to cure me at all?
Carol pushed the thought out of her mind. She'd trusted him to look into her illness for a reason. He'd never let her down before, and she didn't expect him to start now.
She thought about it for a minute and realized, other than maybe Steve, Peter was the only man in her life who hadn't ever let her down in some way. Her father and brothers had screwed her over in so many ways she stopped counting long before getting her powers, Michael had been murdered (which technically wasn't him letting her down, but still, he was gone), Mar-Vel had abandoned her, and Simon had been a complete jerk during Osborn's reign (and even more afterward).
And then, there was Peter. Her friend. Someone she could talk to when she wasn't sure what she needed to say. Someone who looked at her like she was a person, rather than just a woman, but saw her as a woman too. Someone who respected her, not for her power, but for her character. And someone she respected for the goodness of his heart, for his willingness to sacrifice. Someone…
Oh, crap.
Breaking the monotony of the medical machines, her Avengers I.D. card beeped, activating the automatic speakers. "Avengers Assemble!" she heard Peter shout over the sounds of energy weapons. Suddenly her heart was hammering in her chest, and her breathing was more ragged. She had to pull the oxygen mask back up before she started coughing again.
She heard Logan talking to him, heard him mention that Dr. Doom had stolen his research. She heard Logan and Thor tell him they were on their way, heard the thunder in the distance. And she started to worry. Not about the research, not about the fact that if they didn't get it back, she could be dead. No, she realized then that she was worried about him.
Just him.
Oh, crap.
Coming up in Chapter Six: The Avengers vs. Doctor Doom!