He wasn't stupid — he knew the situation was getting complicated. The Human Torch charged at him, but Red Hood dodged — he didn't want to end up burned.
"Give me a report on him," Stark asked as he watched the fight with Johnny.
"From what I can tell, he's a great fighter… and he seems to have a sixth sense," the Captain replied. "I can barely land a hit. We need to strike fast — we can't let him breathe."
"For some reason," Susan said, "his movements remind me of someone…"
"What do you mean?" the Captain asked.
"Look how he moves, how he dodges everything," Susan replied. "Doesn't he remind you of someone?"
The Captain watched the fight, trying to analyze it.
"Honestly, I don't see what you're seeing," she replied. "All I notice is that his fighting style keeps changing…"
Hawkeye rolled his eyes.
"This is stupid," he muttered, getting ready. "Time to strike."
"No, Hawkeye, wait—"
The Captain didn't even finish when Hawkeye pulled out two explosive arrows and fired them at Red Hood.
His spider-sense kicked in. He spotted the arrows coming his way and used one of Johnny's missed attacks to grab him and use him as a shield.
"JOHNNY!" the three members of the Fantastic Four screamed.
The Captain frowned and looked from Hawkeye to Stark.
"Look at that, the Captain was right," Black Cat said. "They're only getting in our way."
Captain Marvel didn't like the comment and shot the thief a dirty look.
"You should be in jail, damn thief," she growled.
"Easy, blondie. This time, I'm on your side," she said, arms crossed. "For now," she added.
The smoke cleared, revealing Red Hood holding the Human Torch by the neck.
"Your moves were way too predictable," he said. "And those arrows helped a lot." He looked at them. "Thanks, Hawkeye," he mocked.
Hawkeye fired another arrow, but the Captain stopped him.
"He's got a hostage."
Red Hood tightened his grip, making Johnny pass out. The Thing frowned and jumped at him. Red Hood quickly pulled out a smoke bomb and threw it in his face, causing the Thing to crash hard.
The Thing was trying to get up when the sound of repeated metal clicks echoed, followed by an explosion.
"That's enough," Stark said, putting on his mask. "Let's finish this," and charged at Red Hood.
The Avengers and the Fantastic Four began attacking while the X-Men watched Logan.
"What is it?" Gambit asked.
"That guy…" Logan replied. "He smells strange." He frowned. "I can't recognize him — too many scents mixed together."
"Tsk," Cyclops muttered. "We're just standing here."
"They seem to have it under control," commented Psylocke.
Red Hood was struggling to dodge the attacks, but that didn't mean he wasn't taking some hits.
"They're trying to wear me down," he thought as he dodged again.
Some heroes backed off to catch their breath, while Black Widow, Invisible Woman, and Captain Marvel resumed the attack.
"I think it's time to strike back. If this keeps up, they'll break through my defense," he thought.
He managed to push them back, and when they attacked again, he greeted them with a flurry of kicks, sending them flying.
Iron Man launched several mini-bombs. Red Hood dodged them and climbed a still-standing antenna.
"You're nothing without that armor."
Without another word, he jumped at him and, mid-air, pulled an EMP from his belt and threw it.
"Damn it, I hate your tricks," Stark muttered as his system shut down.
Red Hood landed on him and began punching, cracking the helmet.
He felt himself thrown back and saw Psylocke joining the fight. He was exhausted and, struggling, tried to get up but fell again as a field of energy began to choke him.
Psylocke smiled at Susan, who approached Red Hood. With effort, he looked at her.
"P-Peter…" he muttered. "P-Peter is still alive…" he confessed.
Susan's eyes widened, and stunned, she stopped choking him. He tried to catch his breath when she suddenly started shouting that he was lying.
"LIAR!" she screamed.
Red Hood looked up, quickly stood, grabbed Susan by the neck, and threw her at Psylocke. Captain America threw his shield and, at the same time, Cyclops fired an optic blast. The shield hit first, and Red Hood grabbed it, using it as a barrier against the blasts, charging at Cyclops.
Cyclops stopped firing just in time to be hit by the shield, breaking one side of his visor. Red Hood then felt himself paralyzed and being pulled toward Jean Grey, who was using her powers on him.
"You're exhausted," she said. "You should surrender."
Hawkeye didn't wait and fired an arrow. But it stopped in the air. Jean looked at it.
"That wasn't me," the redhead said.
He glared at Psylocke, who was getting up from the ground.
"Don't look at me like that, short arrow. I was still on the ground," Psylocke snapped.
The arrow turned toward Hawkeye, then shot back and exploded in his face. Logan began sniffing the air.
"Grrr… it's Frost," he growled. "Come out, wherever you are!" he snarled.
Emma stepped out of hiding and walked over to Jean, who was still holding Red Hood in place. The heroes sighed in relief.
"You okay?" the blonde asked.
"I—"
Jean didn't finish. She collapsed — along with everyone else. Red Hood dropped to his knees and looked at Emma.
"Y-you're a bombshell, darling," he praised.
Emma crossed her arms and frowned.
"Taking them all on at once was stupid," she scolded.
"A-and I still wiped the floor with all of them," he teased.
Emma sighed and helped him up.
"We need to get out of here. Jean and Susan could wake up at any moment."
"Just them?"
"I used my blasts to knock them all out, but because of their powers, it won't last long," she explained. "Let's go."
She let him wrap his arm around her neck so they could start walking.
"I'm tired and a little hurt," he whispered. "I think I need a nurse…"
"Maybe the nurse won't show up after all that stupidity," she replied. "But who knows? If you behave, maybe she will…"
...
Jean and Susan woke up shortly after, followed by the others. No one said a word — they just returned to the Avengers Tower to analyze the situation. The meeting room was silent until a furious Hawkeye exploded:
"THAT GUY HUMILIATED US!" he yelled.
The Captain sighed, and Black Cat looked at him.
"Is he always like this?" she whispered.
"Yes," he growled. "I said we needed to hit him fast. But what did you do? You rushed in without thinking!" He looked at Johnny. "You got angry." Then to Hawkeye. "You got distracted." And finally to Susan. "You almost had him, Susan. What happened?"
"Watch your tone, Captain, unless you want me to knock out those perfect teeth," Johnny threatened.
"That guy said something that shook me, alright?"
She sighed.
"I wasn't there. What happened?" Jennifer asked.
"We were humiliated," the Thing replied.
"Yeah, and you weren't there. Where were you?" Carol asked.
"With Jessica. I was helping — some escaped villains were causing chaos," she explained.
"Hmm," Natasha muttered, turning away. "You won this round," she whispered.
"We're getting off-topic," the Captain interrupted. "Susan, what did he say?"
Susan lowered her gaze.
"He said… Peter is alive…" she whispered.
The room went silent again until Stark burst out laughing.
— That's stupid — he said after calming down. — He's dead, the world saw it, and so did we — he growled. — You let him escape — he accused.
— Red Hood was right, you're nothing without that suit — the blonde shot back. — At least I immobilized him. And you, what did you do? — she smiled cynically. — You did nothing because he hit you with an electromagnetic pulse — she reminded him.
The Captain was deep in thought about everything that had happened and looked at Felicia, who was clenching her fists. He grabbed her arm and pulled her closer.
— I have a theory — he whispered in her ear.
— I remembered several things that happened before they showed up — she replied. — I think it matches your theory.
— What are you two talking about? — Natasha asked.
They stepped away.
— Nothing — the Captain replied. — We're leaving.
— You're leaving us with this mess? — Hawkeye growled.
— No, I'm just taking you out of it — he replied. — When they showed up, we were already getting used to his fighting style — he explained.
— But then you all barged in, and it became a disaster — added Black Cat.
— The result would've been the same — Betsy interjected. — That guy faced almost everyone. It was obvious we'd lose.
— But we would've gathered more intel — Black Cat argued. — Believe it or not, that guy leaves clues.
.......
— Done — Emma finished bandaging him. — I'm surprised you only have two broken ribs — she said. — What happened before I got here?
— The Avengers and the Fantastic Four started attacking me — he sighed. — I managed to dodge most of their attacks, but some got me. I imagine the hit Carol gave me is what broke my ribs.
— Besides that, you had several bruises and some scratches — she informed. — They would've won by numbers and because you're tired.
— And because I didn't use my powers. I have stingers, but Felicia knows that, so she could...
— Could expose you — she finished.
— Exactly — he smiled. — But I left clues... I want to see how attentive they are.
— I see — she kissed his lips. — You still want to go through with this?
— Kill the Goblin? — she nodded. — Yeah, I still want to do it. He shouldn't be free and doesn't deserve prison — he growled. — You still want to stay by my side? — he asked, uncertain.
She kissed him again and bit his lower lip before pulling away.
— Yes, I still want to be by your side — she smiled. — But they already know I'm with you.
— What are you going to do?
— Same as always: confuse them.
The Captain, along with Black Cat, stopped on a building far from Avengers Tower.
— Let's hear your theory, old man.
— Peter… — he said. — That guy is somehow connected to him… or maybe he is him…