Outside of Doomstadt ... Who: Jessica Drew, Steve Rogers, Victor Von Doom NPCs: various Latverian soldiers/guards and S.H.I.E.L.D. agent hostages When: 12/06/09 Where: Near Doomstadt, Latveria What: Jessica and Cap go on a stealth mission to rescue "detained" S.H.I.E.L.D. agents from holding. They complete their mission but not before Doom catches them in the act. Rating: PG-13 (for violence and mild cursing)
Twenty miles outside of Doomstadt, where the rolling countryside meets the foothills of the Carpthian Mountains, a lone military truck drove down a stretch of road, which was prohibited for ordinary traffic. Kicking up dust as it rolled through the area made desolate by the oncoming of winter, the pair of drivers were bundled up against the cold in their fatigues, sharing a thermos of strong coffee; the man in the passenger seat had an assault rifle resting across his lap. Looking ahead, the driver called his fellow soldier's attention to the road and stopped the truck. In a particularly rocky area, large branch from a tree had fallen across the road. Owing to the rocks, it would be difficult to swerve around the branch without potentially damaging the underside of the truck.
"Radio ahead," the driver told the man sitting beside him, speaking in their native, Latverian language. "Tell them we've run into some trouble. I'll go out and investigate."
Grabbing his own rifle from behind his seat, the driver got out of the truck and being cautious, looking around at all sides for a possible ambush or snipers, he approached the fallen tree, while the other man used the radio to inform their destination about what was happening. Reaching the fallen branch, the driver could see that the branch looked at though it had been hit by lightening, and that actually, it wasn't blocking the road as bad as he initially thought. Motioning with his hand for his partner to come, they made quick work pushing the branch aside and clearing the path. Getting back into their vehicle, they used the radio to tell them every thing was alright now, and that they'd be there in another twenty minutes.
What the soldiers didn't know, was while they had been moving the branch, Captain America and Jess had sprinted from behind the rock they where hiding and climbed into the back of the truck and hid under the tarp among the cargo. They were the ones who had blocked the road, Jess using her bioelectric energy blast to fell the branch. Cap smiled, grimly: this was an old trick he used before in World War II, against the Nazis in occupied France. It still works, he thought, glancing over at Jess to confirm she was alright just as the truck's engine revved up.
Jessica smiled grimly and nodded. The plan had been simple and executed easily enough. (Though she never did care for using her powers much; it felt like cheating somehow. Some she couldn't turn off-- strength, speed, agility-- but the others... she preferred to do her job without them whenever possible.) And, although this was hardly the most comfortable of situations, it would do just fine to get them to where they needed to go. Now they just had to play the waiting game... again.
The silent road led upward, slowly coiling around a hill cleared bare of trees. As they came around one of the last bends a large facility was visible perched at the top of the hill. It stood out there, in the middle of cleared acres while the hills surrounded it remained wooded. The approach of the truck, or anyone from any direction, would be visible far ahead of time to the security forces manning the fence and watch stations. The radio crackled in the cab as the guard's checked in with the soldiers, call signs and security codes being exchanged.
The building itself, though surrounded with a double fence and guarded, did not look anything like a prison. It was a three story stone structure, built recently though not of any modern design. The windows were small, more like arrow slits than the large glass panels in favor in the West. It was listed on government inventories as a research facility, and it truly was. However reports by some of the missing SHIELD agents before their disappearance had been that it was the location of a variety of political prisoners. People von Doom wanted gone, yet were not publicly arrested. Scientists, possible espionage agents, they were rumored by some on the inside to go here, to Rasnov.
SHIELD had known the missing agents had been taken there thanks to a small implant that had been surgically placed in their bodies, which acted as a homing device in case of emergency. All nine had disappeared from their stations at once, raising suspicion that their covers had somehow been blown and that they were arrested all on the same night. Their homing devices were still active, and with the help of a console, small enough to fit in the palm of Captain America's hand, they could track down their precise location. This would be indispensable, in the mission to rescue the captives.
The truck parked behind the building, beside the loading area. Listening carefully, Cap heard the sounds of men walking and speaking to one another. Unable to understand the language, he couldn't tell what they were talking about, but he hoped there would be a chance for him and Jess to slip out unseen, without causing a commotion. Cap didn't want to hurt any of these men; they were soldiers, defending and protecting their nation just as he protected his own. They were on opposing sides, with dynamically opposing goals, but they still had families, friends. But so did the SHIELD agents, who were being kept locked inside cells, and he would risk his life to bring them back to the America soil. That they carried delicate information also factored into the equation, but remembering they were people was more important to Cap.
Motioning silently to Jess, he wanted her to peek out from under the tarp to make sure the coast was clear.
Jessica was happy when the the truck stopped and the engine shuttered off. This was definitely not her favorite way to travel. (Not that she was complaining-- she wasn't. Not with Captain freaking America as her partner here. That just seemed wrong somehow.)
The conversation the men were holding sounded as though it was on the far side of the bay, so she nodded her agreement with Cap. Jessica flipped her image inducer (in anticipation of exiting the bed) and lifted the tarp just enough to scan the back and through the slats on the sides of the truck. The area within viewing distance of where they would exit looked clear and she bent back just enough to signal that to her partner.
It was awkward, moving around under the tarp, but she was glad for the cover. Jessica slid out from under sideways-- if she was caught, she wanted to know before bullets were unloaded into her-- and then off the truck feet first. She bent down as if adjusting her boots, while waiting for Cap to follow suit. She didn't want to draw any attention to the area until they were both in the clear.
Waiting for Jess to give the signal, he followed suit, slipping from under the tarp and standing beside her, casually looking around to see if either of them had been spotted. No alarms, no shouts, no guards with guns running toward them - so far so good. Their image inducers hid their true identities, so that instead of his Captain America uniform, with his shield strapped to his back, they would only see just another Lavterian solider. A pair of them, in fact, with Jess nearby. Hoisting a rifle to his shoulder, he muttered to Jess, "Which way?"
Once Cap was beside her, Jessica straightened again. Just like her partner, she assessed their situation but everything looked clear. It was almost enough for her to breathe a sigh of relief-- almost. But that was going to have to wait until after she was back in Britain. Right now it was time to get in, free the agents, get out and hopefully do all that under the radar.
Yeah, no pressure. And she was doing it with the hero of freaking America. From World War Two. Yeah. Really, not a big deal at all.
Jessica nodded toward the stairs up the loading dock. That door would lead them into the place they'd tentatively titled "A Block" on the S.H.I.E.L.D. map. She glanced at the locator, skimming through the signals quickly to get an idea of where they were. "I've got a cluster of three in the first block and four in the second. It doesn't look like the signals are too far spread out, though."
That left one agent unaccounted for. Was he dead? This worried Cap, but he kept it from registering on his face. If this was the case, then at least they could bring the others home, though his mood was to locate and bring home the dead agent's body to his family where he could be buried on U.S. soil. Nodding once to show that he'd heard, he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "Continue as planned, we'll split up once we take care of the control room."
The plan was to enter into the control room, subdue the guards found there so they wouldn't be able to pull the alarms, and then free the prisoners. Confident, he strode out of the loading dock, beside Jess, and when he spotted what seemed to be the main entrance to the prison, they walked through the door, unhindered.
"Roger that," Jess agreed quietly, mostly because it amused her just a little. She didn't get to play soldier nearly enough in her undercover work. No, she got to spend her time playing a myriad of different, generally stupid and demeaning roles. Which she mostly didn't mind, except that it didn't allow for nearly enough ass kicking.
She was maybe a quarter step behind Cap as they walked forward thanks to her shorter gait. Jessica wasn't certain what she'd been expecting but what was inside the main entrance wasn't quite it. The outside of the building was an old stone structure but the inside looked like the sort of thing she'd expect to find inside a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility.
She scanned the area, gauging the personnel. "Cells are that way," Jess whispered, jutting her chin forward. "And the central control room is this way," she finished, leading him down a hallway to the right. (The maps she'd seen had indicated basically the entire left side was used to handle the upper lab levels of the facility.)
Eyes scrutinized the area, strategically taking everything in, but Cap remained silent. The door to the room was unlocked and they confidently walked through; there were four men present at the console, who turned to see who had entered. Not recognizing the faces, one of the guards rose and asked something to them in Latverian.
Jessica smiled at the man who was talking to them. Then she flicked her hands open and let loose her bioelectric powers. She made certain to aim forward only-- she didn't want to hit Cap, after all-- as it was a wide burst. More tiring than her usual but also more effective and timely. Besides, if all went well, this would be the only time she had to use her powers at all during this mission. (And that was a-okay by her.)
The men all fell when the long zap ended. Not killed-- no, that would've definitely been overkill-- but stunned long enough to be out even after they were back on friendlier soil. "Check the alarms," Jessica told Cap. From the command center they could see everything that was happening in the prison areas-- all the guard locations, all the prisoner's cells-- but all of that was only useful to them if their location hadn't been compromised.
While Cap was occupied, Jessica collected each of the men's rifles and any other weaponry that was visible. Then she began tying them up. The shock she'd given them ought to keep them out but if they had on special armor or if Doom had implanted something in their brains... who knew? Better safe than sorry and all that. The last thing she wanted was one of them waking up early, sounding the alarm and ruining all their covert work.
Cap was already moving toward the console even before Jess spoke. A switch was flicked, another, and he looked up at the monitor. "All clear." They had to work quickly now: just because the alarms were disabled, didn't mean the other areas in communication with the command center wouldn't figure something was wrong. Striding over to Jess, he took a pair of rifles from her, saying, "You go to the three in block one, I'll take block two. Meet back here."
Shouldering the rifles, they left the room, closing the door behind them. Before splitting up, Cap pulled from his belt the hand held device he'd gotten from Reed Richards, just before leaving New York City: it was designed to override the magnetic locks used in the facility and with it he sealed the door shut. Running down the hall to prison block two, using his own homing device to pinpoint the exact location of the SHIELD agents kept prisoner here. At the first cell, he stopped and used Reed's device to unlock the door.
The inside of the cell was cramped, and the agent inside dressed in an orange prison uniform who sat upon his cot, scowled defiantly at who he first perceived as just another one of von Doom's men. "This is an escape," Cap simply explained, tossing a rifle at the now started man. He then pressed button on his image inducer and Cap's disguise disappeared, revealing himself in his Captain America uniform. "Hurry!" he said, going to the adjacent cell.
Jessica nodded, expression serious as she hogtied the last of the guards. "Roger that." She was out the door at his side, this time making sure to keep pace. Adrenaline rushed through her but she maintained a cool calm. She was a professional, after all.
Following suit, Jess removed her own device-- courtesy of Mr. Fantastic (the man had earned his name in her book)-- and headed down the cell block. The first S.H.I.E.L.D. agent she found was a woman, short with dark hair and a darker expression. The orange jumpsuit didn't much suit her and she looked ready to give Jessica a piece of her mind when the cell door popped open.
"Come on," Jess ordered before she could start in on whatever it was she wanted to say, pulling out her agency badge and flashing it to her. "This is a rescue." She handed her a rifle and nodded that she follow. The woman's expression was grim but determined as she nodded her ascent and did as ordered.
Freeing the second two agents went along the same lines as the first. One was a tall, lanky man who looked like he'd not spent more than a few days of his life outside of a lab and the other was a shorter, burlier man that reminded her a little bit of a funny cartoon version of Weapon X that'd circulated the agency email a while back. Neither appeared especially worse for the wear and Jessica led them toward Cap's cell block with the idea that they'd meet and then head out together.
It was the lanky man who stopped her in her tracks. "They took Robertson this morning," he told her in an urgent tone. "He was in the cell beside mine."
"What?" Jessica frowned. She knew there were supposed to be eight agents but there'd only been seven blips on her screen. She'd thought, perhaps pessimistically, that he hadn't made it. "Took him where?"
The woman supplied the answer: "Down to the dungeons. That's where the interrogations take place." The way she said interrogations sent chills down Jessica's spine. Damn. It was probably because the whole place was made of old stone that she couldn't read his signal through the floor.
Jessica nodded, frowning. "We'll meet up with Cap's group and then figure out what to do." This was his mission more than hers, after all, and the truth was that she didn't want to make that decision. She knew they weren't meant to leave any men behind but the longer they were there, the more likely they'd be caught. What was more important?
(She knew the answer ought to be the lost man's life and dignity but being trained by Hydra didn't make that her gut instinct. After all, cut off the head and two more grow back in its place, right?)
The prisoners Cap was responsible to free were all standing outside their cells with weapons, which he hoped they wouldn't have to use. The heavy sound of footsteps coming toward them caused Cap and the others to turn, defensively, in case it was Doom's prison guards, but seeing that is was Jess and her freed agents, he nodded with satisfaction.
"We don't have much time," he told them, motioning with his hand for them to gather together so they could teleport out of the prison to safety, when Jess interrupted by telling him that the final agent was being 'interrogated' in the floor below. Scowling at the news, there was no other option in Cap's mind - no U.S. prisoner should be left behind. He looked in the faces of those they'd just freed. "Are you well enough to support as backup?" While they were weak from being underfed and tortured, they all nodded affirmatively. "Can somebody show us the way?"
"Follow me," said the lanky man, who Jess had freed earlier, the weapon in his hands looking heavy in his thin arms.
They ran through the hallway and down the concrete stairwell, ever alert for the presence of guards. Cap took the lead with his shield, getting directions from the man beside him.
Jessica wasn't surprised that Cap wanted to go for the last man; however, she was a little stunned that he wanted the prisoners flanking them. Everything would move faster if it was just the pair of them slipping through the stone hellhole. Then again, they didn't know what was down there-- they might need the manpower (weak though it was).
Flanking Cap's other side, Jessica kept her eyes open and alert. She left the muscly, Weapon X-ish man to pull the rear-- out of everyone he seemed to have the most combat experience.
They moved quickly for a large party, down into the dark depths of whatever Doom kept down in his dungeons. (And who had dungeons anymore, anyway? That was just weird.) As they drew nearer, it was easy to hear where the man was being held-- his horse cries and the sound of electricity were easily distinguishable. Not to mention the smell of burnt flesh. Jessica made a face.
"Let's get him and get out," she whispered urgently to Cap. She did not want to spend any more time down here than absolutely necessary. Because this-- this was a place that peoples' spirits went to die. Had been for hundreds of years. And that wasn't anything Jessica felt like experiencing anytime soon, thanks.
That they hadn't run into any guards yet made Cap suspicious - it seemed too easy. Were they walking right into a trap?
"This is it," the lanky man said, pointing out the specific door. Positioning himself in front, he motioned for the rest to get out of the line of fire while he tested the handle: it was unlocked. Giving a nod to Jess, he flung the door wide open and leaped inside, taking advantage of the element of surprise.
The door was heavy plated metal, a modern security door in the stone and beam construction of this ancient edifice. But left unlocked it was no barrier as Captain America entered the room, a sprawling low-ceilinged room encased in metal. There was no sign of the stone or wood, the earth that surrounded this basement level. Instead the room hummed with the sound of many near-silent machines, the air had the recycled smell of a laboratory, the sharp taint of ozone.
The sudden entrance of Captain America caused a man to turn, too slowly, one dark eyebrow raised more in annoyance than alert. His hand rested on the back of a chair positioned at a console as if he was just readying to seat himself. At the appearance of the leaping intruder he called out in a disturbed voice, voicing some curt question or profanity, raising one hand as if to stop the intruder.
Without waiting another moment, Cap threw his shield, which cut silently through the air and knocked the man unconscious; bouncing off the wall, it returned to Cap's waiting hand. A quick look around the room proved there were no others there, so he made another motion to bring everybody inside. Upon closer inspection, they could see the final prisoner in a chamber beyond the console. A thick window let the technician, now slumped on the floor, observe the agent. In a well lit, nearly bare room he sat in a chair, strapped in place. Electrodes were attached to his shaved head and monitors on the console seemed to measure his brain activity in more ways than would have seemed possible to the observers. The agent seemed to doze, his head lolling, a small metal skullcap on the crown of his head covered in a variety of blinking LED lights.
Past the console was a security door which obviously led into the chamber holding the agent. A series of similar doors ringed the room as well, each marked with cryptic labels.
Jessica felt nauseated, looking around the room. Even the momentary distraction of Cap putting down the torturer-slash-guard with his shield wasn't enough to stop the feeling. (Though it was pretty damn awesome.) It wasn't right, what they were doing to this poor man. Fuck, they had the Geneva Convention for a reason.
"I know one of you is a tech person-- get him out of there," Jessica ordered the former prisoners. She would've done it herself if she wasn't so completely crap at handling computer and technology stuff.
A mousy sort of woman stepped forward and began hitting the buttons in a seemingly random order. Jessica bit her lip with just a touch of anxiety-- she didn't want that poor man suffering any more...
And then the security door suddenly released with a loud clang. Jessica shoved the door open and quickly began working to free the man. (And when she wanted to, she could be fast. Strong, too, which helped in ripping wires out of the machine. She didn't want Doom using it again anytime soon.)
"He's not in good shape," she told Cap, though it was nothing simple observation wouldn't tell them. Jessica lifted him from the chair and proceeded to hoist him over her shoulder fireman style. "I think it'll be best if I carry him." She only needed one hand to direct the release of her bioelectic charges and, well, super-strength.
Cap had wished that somebody else would be able to carry the tortured prisoner, freeing Jess completely for combat, but one look at the status of the rest told him that Jess would be the logical choice. While they were freeing the man from the chair, he had spotted a security camera mounted in the corner of the ceiling, intensifying his urgency to hurry.
Somewhere between the opening of the chamber door and the removal of the agent from the chair there came a hissing sound from all directions. Pneumatic systems activated and a number of doors ringing the room slid upwards, revealing inky blackness beyond. From inside the shadowy alcoves came the sound of booted feet on the metal floor. And then emerging into the room were robots, a dozen of them, their bodies made of a dull, dark metal, their large round eyes glinting in the light. Heads turning in unison the robots tracked the presence of the intruders. Arms were raised and small cannons snapped out of a housing in the forearm.
Robots. General Fury hadn't informed them that Doom had robots at his disposal. "Take cover!" Cap shouted as the first barrage was fired, keeping his own position and blocking the blasts with his shield, hoping to draw fired to himself while the prisoners ran for safety.
Fuck! Robots? "My powers don't work on electronics!" Jessica hissed to Cap. He seemed keen on drawing their fire, so she took over dealing with the former prisoners. She signaled for the them to follow her behind some of the equipment. The agents moved quickly for the most part, though most were obviously not in field ready condition.
Nodding to the lanky man, Jessica laid Robertson down behind cover. "Watch over him," she instructed. "Those of you with shooting skills, use your rifles. Those of you that aren't-- don't. Save your rounds for someone who can actually hit something." Or in case the robots made it past the line drawn by Cap.
"What are you going to do?" a young agent asked with wide green eyes.
Jessica smirked. "I'm going to kick some metal ass," she said before leaping out from behind the equipment. With her super agility, she dodged the robot blasts (relatively) easily. She made it to Cap's side, giving a nearby robot a swift punch to the head. Said head went flying off its body and into a wall. Not that that stopped the robot but at least it slowed it down.
Chancing a glance at Cap, Jessica nodded behind them. "Hostages are safe for the time being," she reported quickly, kicking the nearest robot back into two more advancing machines. "You have a plan?" Because none of her contingencies involved robots.
Fucking robots. Of course Doom would have them, right? Fuck.
The robot guards took the cue, homing in on Captain America as the center of resistance in the room. Carefully calibrating their attack they spread in an arc, each firing at him in random order, attempting to surround him. Their plan was disrupted by the appearance of Jessica and her removal of one end of the arc of mechanical soldiers. Compensating with the speed of their internal computers the robots began firing on both opponents, ignoring the agents for the moment.
The agents who had better aim began firing their weapons, distracting them enough for Steve to make a bold move: he tossed his shield and it sliced through the air so smoothly at an angle that the robots' sensors couldn't detect its approach. It was thrown with such strength that it decapitated another pair, leaving them without a means to detect their targets. Cap then did a roll, successfully avoiding being hit, and was ready to catch his shield when it returned to him after ricocheting off the wall and tearing off the arms off another robot, literally disarming it.
Closer to Jess than before, he continued to block incoming blasts while telling her, "Get the agents out of here and in the hallway and toward the stairs. I'll be right behind!"
Even though Jessica had seen clips of Captain America using his shield before, seeing it live was indescribable. Like poetry or some other equally trite metaphor. Not that she really had time to stand there and admire his handiwork-- her hands were full dodging blasts and playing hand-to-hand with the robots. (On the plus side, she didn't have to hold back. She couldn't accidentally kill something that wasn't alive.)
Blessedly, it seemed Cap did have a plan. In a flurry of dodges and flips, Jessica landed back with the ex-hostages. "Okay, we're getting out of here." She gently lifted Robertson over her shoulders fireman style. (It was the only way she knew that would leave her hands free.) "I'm going to lead you out, then I want you to continue up the stairs. Cap and I will bring up the rear to take care of any lingering robots."
Jess chanced a look over the cover and saw Cap with his hands full. "Move on three," she instructed. "One, two--" Jess stepped out, turning to signal the other agents-- "three. Go, go, go!" The agents streamed out, some more weapon-ready than others but all moving quickly thanks to adrenaline. When they were all out, Jessica followed them. "Clear!" she called from the hallway, half turning back to check on his progress.
The sudden mass movement of people toward the door registered on the robot's sensors, and in unison they turned to fire at Jess and the agents, but not Cap, who remained perfectly still, waiting for the precise moment. When that moment came, he leaped directly in their midst, using his shield as both as an offensive and defensive weapon, utilizing all his strength and fighting skills to demolish the robots, breaking their cannons, smashing their bodies. Naturally, the robots turned back on Cap, but by that time, only a handful were left standing.
The damage done, Cap retreated backwards from the room, blocking shots with his shield, and once he was in the hall, he pulled from his belt the same mechanism he'd used to open the cells. Pressing a button caused the door to slam shut and lock, sealing the robots inside. He then ran to catch up to Jess and the others, who were halfway to the stairs.
The agents rushed up the stairs, heeding Jess's advice and rushing to safety, away from the robots and their auto cannons. All eyes were on the robotic guards below, who despite Captain America's attack were still relentlessly following after the intruders, doing their best to neutralize them. The slam of the door cut off the sound of their clanking feet and weapon fire. The sudden silence from below suddenly brought to the attention of Jess and Cap the sound of gunfire above. The rifles which had been in the hands of the fleeing agents were firing madly above, followed by several cries of alarm and caution. As Jess and Captain American rushed up the stairs, realizing the agents had met more resistance, they heard the rifle fire end suddenly at the command of one of the agents.
The room at the top of the dungeon stairs was quiet as the two entered, only the echo of the gunfire ringing among the stone. Much to their relief the agents where there, seemingly unarmed, spread in a row along this end of the room, rifles at the ready. One agent stood, hand raised, as if to command them to hold fire. All eyes were on one man, one solitary man, standing at the other end of the room.
Victor Von Doom stood at ease, it seemed, if such a description could be given to a man encased in an armor of dull steel appearance. He held no weapon and indeed stood with arms crossed despite the guns pointed at him. The air around the man was shimmering, and the pockmarked walls around him made clear that he had easily deflected the fire of the rifles with some sort of force field. He stood blocking the one exit to the room and showed no intention of moving.
His face was shadowed by his hood, and even then covered in a mask of metal, so there was no telling what reaction he had at the emergence of Jess and Captain America from below. His armored arms did not twitch, the eyes behind those eye slits too distant to see. His voice sounded metallic itself somehow as it emerged from the hole in his mask.
"I'm surprised at the hubris of Fury. Either you are too much his lapdog or have as little sense as he," Doom intoned, turning his head slightly to face Captain America.
Jessica didn't even have to think. The second she heard gunfire, she was off in a dead sprint beside Captain America. Hadn't those poor agents had been through enough already? There was an ice cold pit in her stomach, though, when the gunfire stopped. Because, as bad as it was that they'd met more resistance, at least that sound meant they were still up there-- still fighting.
The sight that greeted her when she reached the top of the stairs had Jessica stopping in her tracks. Doom. Doctor fucking Doom was standing right there in all his metal and caped glory. (On the plus side, the reason behind the ceasefire did not involve the ex-hostages in dire straights but the shimmering force field that their bullets hadn't managed to break through. Small favor but she'd take it.)
A small beep from Jessica's wrist informed her that she'd reconnected with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s network. She cast a sly glance at Cap. "Get near the others and we're good to go," she told him in a low tone, already moving discretely in that direction. "Sorry, can you dumb that down for us lapdogs?" Jessica asked in a louder voice, eyebrows raised challengingly. "I haven't reached hubris on my word a day calendar yet."
A couple of the agents had been wounded in the exchange of gunfire, but so far they seemed determined not to go down without a fight, having been captured and tortured by the hands of the Laterverians for so long; their steadfastness and bravery made Cap proud, and in his mind he was just as determined not to let these women and men down. Straightening his back and holding his head up defiantly, Cap was confident that the force field which kept his side from shooting Doom and his soldiers, worked the other way around and that they wouldn't be able to fire back.
Taking confident steps forward, his shield held at his side, he came closer to where Doom stood, and by proxy, the agents. Out of the corner of his eye, he kept tabs on Jess's position, though he ignored the sarcastic comment she'd made. He had seen Doom in action before, fighting against the Abomination, and while a part of him wished they could attack, they were outnumbered and outgunned. It wasn't their mission to fight Doom, just to bring the captured agents home, which they were moments from accomplishing. There would be no shame in falling back; it seemed likely that their paths would cross again, anyway.
"You've proven yourself to be worse than dogs, for the way you tortured these prisoners," Cap retorted, but then said with his own brand of sarcasm, "I'd love to stay and chat, but..." Letting his sentence dangle, he made a quick movement with his hand toward Jess.
They could not see Doom's eyes follow Cap's movement. But they did, the sensors in his security system relaying information to him silently, letting him realize what was coming. That they would escape, well he had to accept that at this point. Victor von Doom was not ready yet for what would come with capturing or killing Captain America. But that they should leave thinking themselves the victors, the righteous, that was unacceptable.
"These foreign agents, here on Latverian soil committing treason against my throne, were questioned. Don't pretend you would have done otherwise," Doom intoned, gazing dispassionately at the seemingly trapped group. "And now an armed group of superpowered individuals have illegally crossed my borders and broken into a government facility. I wonder how you would respond in my shoes, Captain America?" Doom's question hung in the air.
Okay, that was the signal. It was time to go. Jessica did one last quick cursory check. Everyone had to be within range or they might get left behind. Then she pressed the teleport trigger on her wrist. As the eight hostages, Cap and Jessica disappeared from view, she grinned and waved cheerily at Doom. Yeah, she was being a brat. But how many chances would she have where she really one-upped someone like Victor von Doom?