Higher Further Faster (Universe 13,400,063)

Chapter 21

Carol sat in the cockpit of her plane, looking at the sky. Every time she flew her plane, it brought back horrible memories. Ones she wanted to forget. She put her helmet back on, and listened to the distant chatter of the other pilots. 

"Ready Avenger?" Rhodey said. 

"Yes." She tried to free her mind of her thoughts. 

"You are good to go." Flight control responded. 

Carol flew her plane off the runway and into the sky. The Sun had barely risen over the mountains, sending a glow through the window. She watched the sky turn from a dark black to a a fiery orange. Everything was silent, except for the occasional chatter from the flight tower. 

"Right behind you Danvers." Steve informed. 

"Have you seen this sunrise?" Bucky commented. 

"It's amazing. Haven't seen one of these in a while." Carol somehow found it peaceful. 

"Has Fury gave us any news on the next mission?" Steve asked. 

"Not that I've heard." Rhodey replied. 

"Last I heard, he wanted us in New Mexico." Sam joined in on the conversation. 

"He postponed that one." Rhodey said. 

"Why?" Bucky wondered. 

"I don't know. When I talked to him this morning, he seemed to be in a hurry." Rhodey continued. 

"That's strange. He's never in a hurry." Steve hesitated. 

"He'll probably tell us later." Carol shrugged. 

"True." Sam agreed. 

"Whatever it is, I'll take at this point." Bucky said, not caring that much. 

"How's your life been lately?" Carol asked to Rhodey. 

"Decent. I was in New York a couple days ago. Stark told me about some of his stuff." Rhodey began. 

"Sounds cool." Carol responded. 

"Some of it was. The rest of it was just random ideas that seemed crazy." He laughed a little bit, trying to lighten the mood. 

"Colonel, Fury needs you back at base." Flight control announced to Rhodey. 

"Did he say what he needed me for?" He seemed confused. 

"He didn't get into detail. It's for another mission." Flight control told him. 

"What about Danvers?" Rhodey asked.

"She needs to come as well." Flight control continued. 

"We're heading back right now." Rhodey said. 

They both flew back to the base, and ran towards the meeting room. The rest of the Avengers were already there, along with several S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

"What are they doing here?" Carol asked in confusion. 

"That's what I am going to explain." Fury told her. 

"This must be urgent then." Rhodey sat down. 

"I have a new mission for you guys. Yesterday evening, I got a video from the Chinese government. And we are going back to Laos." Fury announced to the Avengers. 

"Absolutely not." Carol objected almost immediately. 

"You don't have a choice." Fury looked at her with a serious look. 

"I am not going back there. I have spent months trying to forget what happened. That place single handedly ruined my life." Carol continued, refusing to go on the mission. 

"I have more news." Fury advised. 

"It better be good or I am leaving." Carol was really hoping that it was good news. 

"From what information I got in the video, the Russians have been hiding in Laos." Fury continued. 

"How the hell did we not catch them?" Steve asked. 

"They figured out how to hack our satellites." Fury replied. 

"That's horrible news." Carol folded her arms. 

"I brought the S.H.I.E.L.D agents to help us. We need to find out what they are doing before something bad really happens." Fury explained. 

"Considering it's the Russians, it's going to be really bad." Bucky said. 

"This is a stealth mission. No air support. You guys are on your own until back up arrives." Fury noted. 

"The odds are definitely messed up." Sam observed from the information. 

"Not if we plan it out right." Steve replied. 

"Do we even know where in Laos?" Sam wondered. 

"A hidden bunker in the jungle. We have the coordinates." Fury spoke. 

"Who's in what group?" Rhodey asked. 

"I split us up into three groups." Fury informed them. 

"Group one is Rogers, Barnes, Davis, and Simmons." Coulson began. 

"Group two is Rhodes, Wilson, Coulson, and Hill." Hill continued. 

"Group three is Danvers, May, Rambeau, and Fitz." Fury finished. 

"You got Maria to agree with you?" Carol said, surprised at Fury. 

"It wasn't that hard." He said. 

"When is the mission?" Steve asked. 

"Tomorrow morning." Fury replied. 

"That's way too close." Sam commented. 

"Deal with it. I don't want the Russians to take over the world." Fury gave him a serious look. 

"This is one of the crazier ideas I've heard from you, then again I'm not really that surprised." Carol rolled her eyes. 

"If this mission goes to hell, I'm blaming you." Sam looked at Carol. 

"It won't go wrong. We got way more people." Fury interrupted. 

"What happens if they ambush us?" Steve wondered. 

"Solve the problem. You guys are smart enough." Fury replied. 

"Depends on the person." Carol teased. 

"I feel like you're targeting me." Sam looked at her. 

"Maybe I am." She smiled at him.