As Thaddeus Cummings spins them a tale, Carol Danvers can't help but continually come back to the handholding. It was… awkward and distracting, truth be told. And she was fairly certain that it was not the preferred method for any warden to keep custody of their prisoner.
… But what did she know? Not like she hadn't been the Head of Security for goddamn NASA once upon a time or anything like that. Sure, that had been years and years ago, but she was pretty sure how to handle flight risks hadn't changed in all of that time. At the very least a hand on the man's shoulder would have made more sense… right?
Then again, maybe it was just Carol projecting feelings of jealousy and inadequacy onto the situation. Her personal life had been pretty damn bumpy for a long time now. Ever since she and Mar-Vell, aka Captain Marvel had decided to be just friends, she'd found it difficult to find any man worth her time.
Admittedly, looking back on her obsessive crush on Mar-Vell made her blush and cringe even now, but that still didn't change the fact that most other men simply didn't measure up to the honorable and steadfast Kree Warrior. Even her superpowered colleagues left a lot to be desired… or in Rogers' case, were otherwise occupied holding a torch for a woman they could never truly be with.
And admittedly, Thaddeus was a Grade A Hunk. He was as tall as Walters and a bit broader, but not as huge as Banner got when HE hulked out. Maybe that was why Carol couldn't quite shake the feeling that Walters and the young man she's holding hands with have already bumped uglies. Or maybe it once again circles back to the handholding to give her that idea.
Still, she's more than capable of multitasking, so even as she's a bit too focused on that whole situation, Carol is also listening along with the rest of the Avengers as Thaddeus tries to convince them in no uncertain terms that Emma Frost is not the threat to Earth that the X-Men say she is.
When he's finally done telling his side of things, the questioning begins with Stark, who sounds distinctly unconvinced.
"How do we know you're not just being controlled though? If reports about how powerful this Phoenix is are to be believed, she could have sent you here from wherever she's hiding and still be puppeting you from range."
While Carol thought that was a fair concern from the team's resident playboy billionaire, the way Thaddeus looks makes it clear he doesn't feel the same way.
"If that were true, then we wouldn't be having this conversation where I try to convince you, now would we? If she was controlling me from this distance, she could just take control of all of you as well. Nobody would be safe."
Barton clears his throat at that.
"The Compound is shielded from that sort of thing, isn't it? I think what Stark is actually suggesting is that she would have left all the latent commands she needed to make you think you weren't under control while sending you to talk to us. Maybe to get us out from behind any form of protection so she CAN take us over."
Stark rolls his eyes with a huff.
"Well, I wasn't exactly going to blab the specifications of our security to a potential hostile… but yes, all of that."
It made sense to Carol. The anti-psychic security that Stark himself had designed wasn't just state of the art, it was ahead of its time. The only location in the world with better protection against unwanted telepathic intrusions was probably the Baxter Building… though you of course never told Stark that if you didn't want to put him in a bad mood. Someone pointing out that Reed Richards was smarter than him was one of a handful of buttons that would send Tony Stark into a bit of a tailspin.
Thaddeus just looks more exasperated, if that's somehow possible. Before he speaks, however, he glances down at where he and Walters are still holding hands and grimaces.
"Sorry, but having a conversation like this is ridiculous. I'm not going anywhere; I'm going to have to insist on having my hand back."
He pulls his hand free of Walters' at that point, prompting the big green woman to frown harshly. However… in the end, she doesn't stop him. Maybe even she was starting to feel ridiculous. Carol has to admit she finds herself in agreement with Thaddeus. It's a lot easier to take him a bit more seriously as he crosses his massive arms over his broad chest and grunts.
"Look, if the plan was to get you all out in the open so that Emma could take you over, there would be a hundred other ways to draw you out, especially with the level of power she currently wields. You were hunting us anyways, if you recall. Whenever you finally found out where we were hiding, you would have come after us and left the protection of this place anyways."
Stark shakes his head.
"Yes but we would have come prepared. Personal shields, for all of us."
Another fair point as far as Carol is concerned. Their 'guest' only seems to grow more exasperated though… only to finally reach a boiling point.
_Yes, well… they wouldn't have_ **_worked_** _any better than your security here works._
The words don't come from his mouth, but instead Carol's mind. All of their minds, judging by the reactions of the rest of the group. Immediately, Stark and Barton are on their feet while Rogers has his shield in his hands. Walters tenses up but just frowns rather than doing anything else.
And Carol… Carol has her hands curled into fists and is gritting her teeth, mere inches away from launching herself forward and putting the threat in the ground. The only thing that stops her… is the casual way he stands there, completely unbothered by having gotten some of Earth's Mightiest Heroes in fight or flight mode.
"The hell, Stark? What happened to 'telepathy is banned!' and 'I'd like to see a psychic get through THESE shields!'?!"
Barton's complaint comes as the archer's empty hands twitch. Seeing as Walters ambushed them with their 'guest', neither he nor Stark are currently armed. If it does come to a fight, then Carol and Rogers are their only fighters… because she's pretty sure Walters is already compromised. Not good odds, all things considered, especially if the She-Hulk is so compromised she fights on the enemy team.
Stark just grumbles, his eyes narrowed as he stares at Thaddeus.
"My stuff is some of the best around. What the hell did you do, Cummings? Some sort of sneaky sabotage before showing up here?"
Thaddeus rolls his eyes in response.
"I didn't do anything to damage or even disable your technology, Mister Stark. If you check, you'll find it entirely operational still."
Stark obviously doesn't take that claim at face value. Keeping one eye on Thaddeus, he stomps over to the nearest wall and part of it slides open, unfolding a console that he begins to tap away at for a second while everyone else stands there tensely. All save for the mutant in their midst… Thaddeus Cummings just waits patiently until Stark finally turns back to all of them with a disgruntled and baffled expression.
"… He's right. Shielding is still in place. No telepath should be able to function here in the Compound, let alone peek in from outside."
Thaddeus shrugs.
"And most still wouldn't be able to. The fact that I… or Emma Frost could… is a byproduct of something else entirely. We can both bypass all current forms of psychic shielding… because we needed to be able to in order to help with your operations the other day."
There's a pause as everyone processes that. Carol finally breaks her silence, her tone incredulous as she lets out a scoff.
"You're talking about Hydra? What do you have to do with Hydra?"
He smiles at her at that and Carol tries not to let it get to her. It's a very nice smile though, admittedly.
"I'm sure it's dawned on at least some of you that the takedown of Hydra was extremely clean. Do you really think you got as lucky as you did?"
Before Carol can respond, Rogers cuts in with a tone of understanding.
"Overwatch. You're saying that you and Frost offered clandestine overwatch during the operation."
Was that what he was saying? Carol furrows her brow, thinking back to how things had gone that day. It HAD been rather… serendipitous. They'd gone from Stark finding evidence of Hydra's operations to breaking down doors and taking out Hydra leaders within twenty-four hours. They'd hunted the Head Hydra himself all the way to the fucking Arctic and taken him down before he could escape to what was apparently a secret Hydra Base on the fucking Moon of all places!
But more than that… after the fact they were informed by SHIELD Director Fury that their own operations were just a slice of the pie. All over the world, groups ranging from other heroes to literal government intelligence agencies had come down on Hydra Branches like a ton of bricks. All at once, all in one day… the terrorist organization had been effectively dismantled with no hope of coming back.
Hydra's fondness for saying 'remove one head and two will grow to take it's place' had been put to the test in the harshest way possible… and without any heads, or indeed much of a body remaining, it truly seemed like they were done for good.
Thaddeus nods to Rogers' words.
"That's exactly what I'm saying. And yes, I know the implications are… rough. It's certainly not the kind of thing Emma or I wanted to reveal to anyone, really. Unfortunately, the situation has forced my hand. The assistance we provided your group as well as everyone else that day is what brought the Phoenix down on our heads in the first place. It only chose Emma as a host because she used her immense power for good… to defeat Hydra once and for all."
Thaddeus' eyes slowly slide across everyone else in the room save for Walters at his side. He meets and matches each of their gazes before continuing on.
"If Emma wanted to be a threat, she already would have been. She didn't need to go run and hide like she's done, she already had immense strength _before_ the Phoenix showed up. Her decision to tuck herself away and avoid any situations that might provoke another incident like what happened with Jean Grey should tell you all that she is taking the most measured and logical response to all of this. She's not an enemy. I'm not your enemy either. Not unless you make us be."
Carol huffs.
"See, now that sounds like a threat."
She expects something trite from Thaddeus Cummings. Something like 'it's not, it's a promise' or whatever. Instead, he just looks directly at her and flashes his pearly white teeth in what might either be a bearing of fangs or a simple grin.
"That's because it is one. Emma might not want a fight… but I'm not going to let anyone hurt her just for what could happen."
… Damn. What she wouldn't give to have that kind of loyalty from a man. Meanwhile, Barton just groans and sits back down, rubbing his face with a palm.
"How the fuck did Frost get strong enough to wind up in a mess like this in the first place? She wasn't this strong back when Grey died, right? Otherwise the Phoenix would have just swapped hosts back then instead."
That was… surprisingly insightful of the archer. Carol doesn't say so out loud of course, but for all that he had excellent eyes and spectacular aim, Clint Barton was not exactly the team thinker. And yet, his words give all of the Avengers something to chew on even as Thaddeus goes blank faced in response. All… except for Walters.
Carol's eyes narrow as she frowns the longer Jennifer Walters stands there looking ever so slightly guilty.
"She-Hulk. You know something about this."
Her words prompt all eyes to turn towards Walters, even Thaddeus' own. The mutant lets out a resigned sigh and shakes his head as Walters looks between the rest of the team and him.
"Fine. I won't ask you to lie to them… and we're spilling secrets anyways at this point, aren't we?"
Looking Carol directly in the eye again even if his words seem to be for all of them, Thaddeus shrugs.
"Its my mutation. I can make the powers of others stronger, while at the same time copying their powers and strengthening my own copy the more we… engage. Basically, if there's anything special about someone at all, I can enhance it while enhancing myself in the process. Doesn't matter if its super soldier serum, radioactive space rocks, or a mutation either. Anything and everything is applicable to my power."
That was…
"What?! That's fucking busted as all hell!"
Barton takes the words right out of her mouth; Carol has to admit. Albeit, she might not have used that exact language. Then again, she might have because that was… well, that easily made Thaddeus a greater potential threat than even Emma Frost. After all, he was the root of the supposed threat that Frost posed right this moment, wasn't he? And he could potentially empower others if he wasn't careful…
Though… Carol scowls and steps forward, hands clenched into fists at her sides.
"There's something you're not telling us. You're still holding things back."
Years of work in both intelligence and security had left Carol more than capable of figuring out when someone was not just lying but also obfuscating the truth. Thaddeus just sighs again, not looking surprised or even worried about being called out.
"Yes. I am. Because frankly, you lot don't need to know everything about my personal life. I've already told you a lot."
On the one hand, that was probably fair… in a vacuum. On the other hand, there were extenuating circumstances to this whole situation that meant they couldn't afford to be 'fair'. They needed to know everything!
But before Carol can press the issue… an entirely new voice joins the conversation, albeit not one that Carol is unfamiliar with. It's the voice of Stark's AI Jarvis, who takes care of all the Stark Properties, including any and all Avengers Facilities. His posh British accent fills the room and causes everyone to look up at the ceiling.
"Apologies for the interruption, but there is an elderly man at the entrance of the Compound requesting access. He has introduced himself as 'Saul' and claims he is here to speak with Mister Cummings."
Carol blinks, as does everyone else as they all turn eyes to Thaddeus who looks… distinctly nonplused and confused. At having their attention, he shrugs and shakes his head.
"I have absolutely no idea who that is or how he would have even found me here."
Strangely enough, despite all the friction in this conversation… Carol believes him.