Awakening Quake
By Misha
Disclaimer in Chapter One.
Chapter Forty-One: Diplomatic Interlude
"Dr. Doom requires your presence at the Latverian embassy." Tony told Steve.
Steve didn't look up from the file he was studying for the thousandth time. The file containing all the information S.H.I.E.L.D had on Grant Ward. "Someone else can go play nice with Doom."
It had been 10 days since Skye had been taken. 10 days and there had been no sign of her. It was as if she had vanished off the face of the Earth.
"He sent you a note," Tony told him, handing it to him, "and his messenger was very clear that it was for your eyes only. I considered reading it, but technically you're in charge of the team," Steve knew that Tony was occasionally irritated by that fact, even if Steve thought of them as co-leaders, after all it was Tony's money that paid fr everything, "so I didn't want to go around you."
Tony softened. "I know it's not a good time and believe me I know this is the last thing you want to deal with, but ignoring Doom is never a good idea."
Steve knew he was right and finally looked up from his file. He took the note from Tony and opened it and then froze as he stared down at a picture of Skye.
She was wearing a long blue dress and she was seated at a dinner table, Grant Ward beside her.
"Fuck." Tony exclaimed.
"Yeah." Steve agreed, unable to tear his eyes away from the image of Skye. She didn't' look like she was hurt, but he could see the strain on her face and he felt anger course through him at the sight of Grant Ward.
"How is Doom involved in this?" Tony wondered.
"I don't know," Steve said, standing up, "But I guess I'm going to find out."
"You should have let the bastard die when you had the chance," Tony muttered, referring to a mission where the Avengers had tangled with Doom's forces. It hadn't ended well for Doom, who had almost gone over a cliff, but Steve had saved him. Because he had a hard time letting anyone die, plus Doom's death on those terms would be a political nightmare. For good or bad, Doom was the sole ruler of Latveria and his death would plunge the nation into chaos.
Still, a part of him agreed with Tony, and he was tormented by the idea that his choices could have led to Skye's current predicament.
"We should call Richards," he said instead, "He'll want to be kept in the loop with anything that involves Doom." The Avengers and the Fantastic Four mostly kept out of each other's way, but they shared intelligence occasionally and no one knew Doom as well as they did.
"JARVIS," Tony called out.
"I'm getting Dr. Richards on the line now." The AI informed him. "It'll just be a moment."
"Thank you." Tony instructed and then he looked at Steve. "At least we know she's alive and where she is."
Yeah, in the hands of the most brilliant supervillain Steve had ever encountered, most likely locked up in his impregnable fortress, along with her psycho stalker. For some reason, the information didn't exactly fill Steve with relief.
"Mr. Rogers." Doom greeted a while later, when Steve was ushered into the Latverian embassy.
Over the objections of everyone, he had come alone, as Doom instructed. He wasn't going to risk Skye's safety by defying Doom.
"Where is she?" He demanded.
"She's safe." Doom informed him. "She's my guest at my home in Latveria."
Steve stayed silent, knowing that losing his temper wouldn't do anything to help Skye. She might not currently be in Doom's presence, but she was in his home, no doubt under the carefuleye of his army.
"When I entered into an agreement with Grant Ward, I was unaware that Skye was your fiancé." Doom told him. "I owe you a debt, Mr. Rogers, and I always pay my debts. I am granting you permission to enter Latveria and escort Skye home. This permission will last for 48 hours and I will make no attempt to prevent you from returning to the United States with your fiancé."
Steve knew Doom well enough to read between the lines. Doom prided himself on being a man of his word and he was, but only his exact word. So when Doom said that he would not attempt to prevent Steve from leaving Latveria with Skye, he only meant himself, not his army of robots or any of his human goons.
"You don't even have to go alone," Doom told him, "you can take up to five companions with you, if that will make you feel better."
It would, Steve had to admit.
"Will you be accompanying us?" Steve asked, knowing that having Doom on hand would make getting out even trickier than it was likely already going to be.
"No." Doom told him. "I will give the order allowing you into my home, but I will stay here in New York and you can assign me a guard to watch me. My only request is that it is not Reed Richards, as I find his presence tedious."
Steve was still suspicious of the offer and he wasn't naïve enough to think that it was going to be a cakewalk, but he also knew it was the best he was going to get and it was a lot fairer than he expected of Doom.
"I'll take it." He agreed after a moment.
"I expected that you would," Doom told him coolly. "You have 48 hours and the clock starts now."
With the clock ticking, the Avengers quickly assembled and prepared for the trip to Latveria. The issue was that the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D added up to thirteen between them, not counting Steve, and Doom had specified that only six would have permission to enter Latveria.
"I'm going." Coulson stated in a tone that left no room for argument and Steve wasn't going to make one, though he could see Tony wanted to. He knew that Skye loved Coulson like a father and it seemed the feelings were mutual.
"I'm going too." Natasha informed them and then dared any of them to argue with her. No one did.
"I've got you back, punk," Bucky spoke up, "Just like old times."
"Do you think that's wise?" One of the other S.H.I.E.L.D agents, a man who's name Steve thought started with an M, asked. "Aren't you untested in battle?"
"If Bucky says he's up for it, he's up for it," Steve said firmly, "There's no one I trust more."
That left only two spots remaining.
The S.H.I.E.L.D scientists were obviously not trained for this mission and most of Coulson's team remained silent. Steve knew that Skye had never really bonded with the newer members of the team, so he wasn't surprised that they spoke up.
"I'm going." Agent May announced, the one member of Coulson's team to do so, and like Natasha, she seemed to dare people to deny her. Though, unlike Natasha, she did get an argument.
"No offense, but I think Doom requires a little more than you get offer." Tony said dismissively. "This isn't the place for regular agents. Besides, Quake is an Avenger, this should be an Avengers mission."
"Skye was a member of our team first," May shot back.
"Until you decided she wasn't human enough for you," Clint shot back, "then you sent her to us."
"I'm willing to stay and watch over Doom." Bruce volunteered and Sam seconded that. But Clint, Tony and Thor were all standing there, obviously very unwilling to be left out. The rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D team stood behind May, obviously supporting her stance. Coulson looked like he had a headache.
"We're wasting time!" Jemma yelled, causing everyone to turn to look at her. "Every moment we stand here is one less moment we have to rescue Skye and bring her back home. I don't care who goes to get her, I just want her back!"
"Lady Simmons is very wise," Thor praised, "Lady Skye's welfare is of most grave importance and I will do everything I can to accommodate that, even if it means staying behind."
"I'm going." Tony said stubbornly. "Doom's got an army of robots that we'll be rumbling with." He had a point there, plus they needed at least one flyer. Though, with this many people, they'd be taking the plane.
Clint stayed silent, just glaring at May.
"May can take my place." Coulson said finally. "That way she and Barton can both go. Simmons is right, it's Skye's welfare that matters. We're all on the same side here. Dr. Banner and I can watch over Doom together, in the spirit of co-operation."
Steve admired the way that Coulson was handling the situation and could see the strength of his leadership. If they made it out of Latveria in one piece, they might need to revisit the idea of an Avengers-S.H.I.E.L.D alliance.
"Well, then, what are we waiting for?" Tony asked. "Let's go storm Doom's castle and bring our girl home."
A.N- One of the most important things about Doom is that he does have a strict sense of honor, even if his moral code doesn't match up with anyone else. He never lies (though he often manipulates the truth, by sticking only to the letter of it) and he takes debts very seriously. One of the reasons I settled on Doom as the villain of this piece was reading that Steve Rogers once saved Doom's life, making Doom feel indebted to him. It felt like something I could work with.