Bad Aim Chapter 5

By: Cadet Deming

I don't own the rights to The Avengers, Marvel and Disney do, so please don't sue. Rated T for adult language, situations, and violence. Thank you so much to the people who read and review. It's much appreciated and motivating.

A.I.M. Headquarters

Carmilla buzzed Clint Barton, "Clint, could you please come down to the front desk? We have a security issue."

Clint travelled to the foyer.

Carmilla blocked the entry of a tall man dressed in a forest green suit and wearing a black ski mask. The suit was tightly tailored in the manner of European clothing as opposed to baggy American cuts. His cuffs were monogrammed with the initials: "VVD".

Clint was instantly suspicious of anyone who wore a mask in 71 degree weather, let alone someone who wore it indoors.

Carmilla introduced him, "Clint Barton, this is Doctor Victor Von Doom. He has an appointment, but he refuses to take his ski mask off."

She whispered in Clint's ear, "And I don't think he's playing with a full deck. Not in a neurotic New Yorker way, but in a psychotic referring to himself in the Third Person kind of a way."

Clint said, "I'm sorry sir, but for security reasons, I can't allow you to enter if you don't remove the mask."

Von Doom said, "Doom does not follow the orders of underlings. Doom wears what he pleases. I came all the way from Latveria for an appointment with your CEO. Let me pass or rue the consequences."

His accent sounded Eastern European, and his voice was a baritone. It deepened whenever he said "Doom," as if he was in love with his own name.

Clint braced when he mentioned Latveria. He was curious if the man had any connection to Draken X. He still didn't appreciate being insulted and threatened by this pompous ass.

Clint said, "These are the rules. You can't get in wearing a mask."

A trio of A.I.M. workers in bright yellow bee-keeper uniforms and fully-shrouded face masks walked by in the background.

Doom gestured to them. "You were saying?"

Clint said, "That's different. They passed a security check."

"Do you think I would have been invited here, had I not passed Dr. Rappaccini's background research?"

Carmilla straightened up when he mentioned Rappaccini's name. She said, "Your eyeball still isn't in our system."

Doom hissed, "Silence, you impudent child."

Carmilla said, "Child? I'm over 18 buddy. Do you know who my mother is?"

Doom said, "Doom is not your buddy. Show Doom the respect due to your elders and betters, you American whelp."

Clint sighed, "Can we please solve this like sane people? I can let you put the mask back on inside, but I need to see your face and photo ID to verify your identity. We can go someplace private if that makes you more comfortable. And no, I'm not hitting on you."

Doom crossed his arms and glared at Clint. He stared down his nose at him.

Finally he said, "Very well then. But I want her fired."

Carmilla frowned.

Clint led Doom to the nearest men's restroom. He had a newfound respect for airport workers. They must have to deal with things like this every day.

Doom handed Clint his passport. He paused for a moment, and peeled the mask from his head. Clint could see why he kept himself covered.

The skin on his face was marked with scars. Not the mere healed over cuts of knife wounds, but the melted tissue of third degree burns. He looked like Freddie Krueger or a radiation survivor.

Clint looked at the passport picture. It was unscarred, and although as a straight male Clint wasn't used to acknowledging other men's good looks, he had been shockingly handsome. The bone structure between the man in the photo and the man standing in front of him was the same, as well as the eyes. They were a chestnut shade of brown, with the same look of determination blazing through. He noted that his neck, hands and lower arms were completely unscarred.

Clint saw that the passport was stamped with visits to Symkaria, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. He returned it to Doom. Doom stared wistfully at his old reflection and closed the passport.

He felt guilty about exposing Victor's deformity. It must be horrible to go through life looking like this, but it must be an even crueler fate to have once been one of the beautiful people.

Clint said, "I'm sorry. I had no idea. How did it happen?"

"An accident. Like so much in life. Man plans, and accidents happen."

"My girlfriend got scarred up pretty badly not too long ago. A plastic surgeon was able to fix it. I can give you his number, if you want."

"Don't you dare pity me. I am not so vain as to turn to surgery and Western Medicine."

Clint suspected he was lying about vanity, or he wouldn't be wearing a mask. Perhaps he just wanted to fit in? Doom seemed too grandiose to fade into the background though.

He put his mask back on and said, "Take me to my appointment. Doom has spoken."

Clint led him to Dr. Rappaccini's office, silently counting the ways he missed working for SHIELD.

STARK TOWER

Tony faced the crowd of engineers and tech workers testing the ARC Reactor technology. He felt Pepper's presence beside him before he saw her.

She asked, "What are the results?"

Stanley Lieber, the Vice-President of Research and Development said, "The ARC Reactor is working just fine. Something or someone temporarily tapped into and diverted the power."

Tony considered all of the possibilities and nuances. He was relieved that his pet project worked correctly, but felt like he was also under attack. "Are we looking at sabotage?"

Pepper sighed.

Stanley said, "It could be simple theft, or an attempt to reverse engineer your product, or someone with a grudge. Do you have any enemies?"

Pepper suppressed a laugh. He could tell it came from nervousness as opposed to humor. Tony could use a dosage of humor now, but even he was at a loss for quips.

His inventions were like the children he never had. Hearing that someone was trying to steal them was like a Mother Bear finding someone trying to steal her cubs.

Tony said, "Do I have any enemies? Oh, let me see. Everyone who's ever envied me. Every business competitor. The U.S. Military hates me for not sharing the Iron Man technology with them. I did blow up an enemy Chitaurian starship, which means I've got enemies from different galaxies. Every woman I ever had a one night stand with that I didn't respect in the morning. God, this is worse than when I had syphilis and had to call every woman I ever slept with."

Pepper flashed him a warning glare.

Tony said, "I'm clean now, honest."

Pepper said, "We'll talk about it later. The important thing is what we can do now to proactively protect ourselves?"

Tony said, "It's time to bring in a little help from my friends. I'm bringing SHIELD in."

Central Park

Clint Barton tried to multitask by eating his Grilled Chicken Panini Wrap and call Natasha. His instincts didn't trust his own employers enough to call from work.

He said, "Hey, are you busy?"

Natasha said, "I'm always busy, you know that. But I'm in the middle of boring surveillance work. What's up?"

"I'm sure you're an expert on all things Latverian by now. What can you tell me about Dr. Victor Von Doom?"

The phone was eerily silent.

"Natasha? Are you still there?"

"Are you kidding around? Seriously, are you?"

"Uh, no. He came into A.I.M. headquarters two hours ago and said he was Latverian. It could be a stretch, but I just wanted to see if you knew anything about him."

"It's impossible for you to have seen him two hours ago?"

"Why? Is he supposed to be dead?"

Natasha said, "No he's alive. And I'm looking right at him here in Latveria."

To Be Continued

Author's Note: I've toned down Dr. Doom's character a little bit from the comics, and I'm going to tweak him to fit the more realistic Marvel Cinematic Universe. Characters who SPEAK IN ALL CAPS KNEEL BEFORE THE GLORY OF DOOM. DAMN YOU RICHAAAARDSSS! are fine for comics, but can be overbearing to read in regular fiction. I'm also not really using the much maligned Julian McMahon version from the 20th Century Fox Fantastic Four Movies (although I love Julian McMahon as an actor).