A Complicated Web

Chapter Forty-Seven: The Answer Is No

In the end, it took close to an hour before the medics were satisfied with Fred's care. He wasn't too happy about the tetanus shot he'd been avoiding, or the antibiotic booster they gave him, but it was done. He didn't need the added reminder to try and take things easy, though GoGo promised to make sure he did. He didn't feel quite as bad when she gave him a sly wink after saying it.

By the time they'd returned to the rest of the team, Tony had somehow managed to procure enough sandwiches and drinks to feed the lot. And, after checking with Honey, both Big Heroes felt relieved to learn no one had gone ahead without them as far as discussing recent events. GoGo didn't have beat anyone up, which was a nice surprise.

Tony gave them a moment to get settled with plates in hand before clearing his throat as a reminder them that they really should get things started. Even though the hour was getting late, they had a lot of information to get through and the sooner they started the better. "I believe you guys have something you wanted to tell us," he reminded when none of the Big Heroes took the hint.

Wasabi glanced at each of his team mates before staring directly at their host. "Yes, we do," he stated firmly. He'd had enough time to work himself up into a state of confidence. "But first, you have a few things to tell us. Like what on earth happened tonight and why we were used as bait. Did you catch the mole and do we have to worry about other psychos coming after us?"

The billionaire rolled his eyes. Well, he supposed it was fair. "Okay, fine. You know, you're right. You do have a right to know." He paused at a look from Phil Coulson. "He's absolutely right," he defended. "Apparently keeping them in the dark hasn't done much to keep them out of trouble so we might as well just tell them what we know."

Natasha gave Phil a bit of a nudge. "You know he's right. Keeping them in the dark hasn't kept them safe."

Phil had to admit they were both right. "Very well," he sighed. "Yes, we did plug the leak. The unfortunate thing is the mole committed suicide before we could get much out of him. But what we did get from his is both disturbing and problematic."

"Hail Hydra," Natasha whispered. "We heard over the comm link. This complicates things."

The last time they'd gone up against Hydra, they'd nearly witnessed the entire destruction of New York City. In fact, they were still trying to repair all of the damage. And, every now and again, some alien tech left over from the battle could be found being used by people who had no idea what they'd gotten their hands on. It had created quite the problem.

Fred seemed to shiver at the word. His dad had told him stories of Hydra, and he'd heard the name mentioned by Tony when he'd last visited. Not to mention what history books had to say about the matter, not that they'd actually used that name, but he knew which atrocities to equate with them thanks to a more open than usual education. "That is definitely not good," he admitted.

A shadow filled the doorway as Dr. Bruce Banner joined them. "Sorry I'm late," he apologized, looking more than properly chagrined. "When you guys didn't need my help downstairs, I decided to take a little stroll around the block just to make sure the coast was clear." He didn't mention how he'd Hulked up when attacked by a second group of would be extractionists. "What did I miss?"

Tony cleared his throat. "We were just discussing how Hydra appears to be behind the kidnappings of our two little missing friends." He scratched at his nose, his sandwich long finished. "And while that does present some very serious problems, there are a few other things we should be discussing tonight. After all, we still don't even have a clue as to where they're keeping them."