[47] : Doubt and Trust
They decided to set off at sunset because it was already close to dusk. By the time everyone was ready, it would be sunset. It wasn't that they insisted on going out at night. Roger understood this, so earlier, he was just trying to lighten the mood with a small joke. Unfortunately, except for Spider-Man Peter, no one else appreciated his humor.
To reach New Jersey, where the message had come from, the fastest and most convenient way was by using the underground railway. So, the group decided to head to the central station in the city center.
The group was traveling in a car that Wasp had shrunk using Pym Particles, heading toward the central station. Roger, seated in the back of the minivan, looked out at the "giant" surroundings and suddenly asked Wasp, "Hope, can I ask you a question?"
"What is it?" Hope replied, turning to look at Roger.
Roger asked, "Could you make suits like your father's that can shrink people down?"
"What do you need the suits for?" Hope asked.
After thinking for a moment, Roger explained, "I just thought of something. When I travel through the wormholes, I experience intense compression, like the pressure of deep-sea depths. My body is strong enough to withstand it, and Peter's is too. Dr. Banner can handle it when he turns into the Hulk. But... you guys are just ordinary people. If you really follow me to another world, you might get crushed by the pressure."
"So you want us to shrink and hide in a hard space while passing through the wormhole?" Wasp quickly understood and asked.
Roger nodded. "Exactly, that's what I was thinking."
"Then why not just put us in a large, sturdy object, like a jet... and then shrink the jet?" Hope asked, puzzled.
Roger: "..."
He had indeed overlooked that. It was a much more reliable method than what he had suggested.
At this moment, the usually silent Winter Soldier Bucky suddenly chimed in, "Maybe... he just didn't think of it."
Roger fell silent again.
He admitted that he had fallen into a mental trap. After all, in the fourth Avengers movie, the team had traveled through time by shrinking themselves, so it was the first thing that came to his mind to shrink them into suits.
But speaking of which...
"Hope, you reminded me," Roger said as he looked outside. "You see, I can fly, right?"
"Right."
"So... why not let me grab the shrunken minivan and fly you all to the location from the message?"
"...?"
The car fell silent.
This time, it was the Avengers who were left speechless. The Winter Soldier spoke up again, "...because... we didn't think of that?"
After this blunder, everyone realized just how much convenience their new ally Roger could actually bring them. However, even though that was the case, the Avengers still didn't feel comfortable entrusting everyone's lives solely to Roger.
Because once everyone shrunk, if Roger applied just a bit too much force, it could be disastrous.
It wasn't that the Avengers didn't trust Roger... well, maybe just a little bit. After all, compared to Banner and the others, Roger was a hero they had never known or seen before. Who knew what he might do?
Only Spider-Man Peter Parker fully trusted Roger. Having not yet experienced the harsh reality of Mysterio, he still retained a pure hope for society.
"Alright, everyone, we need to make a decision. Do we take the risk and find a train to our destination, or do I take you there as fast as possible? The choice is yours," Roger said calmly, noticing the group's hesitation.
Peter, seeing Roger's expressionless face, tried to comfort him, "Mr. Roger, don't be angry. It's not that we don't trust you, we just need a little time to get used to this..."
"Am I angry? Don't worry, I'm definitely not angry. I'm absolutely, definitely... not angry," Roger replied with a grim look.
Peter chuckled nervously because Roger's demeanor was far from convincing.
In the end, it was Banner who expressed unconditional trust in Roger and said to the group, "Alright, this isn't the time for doubts. I trust him. After all, he saved me, and now he's helping us figure out how to save the world. If he really wanted to harm us, he could have done so back at the floating base."
"...Fine."
The most suspicious, the Winter Soldier, sighed and apologized to Roger, "I apologize for doubting you earlier. We shouldn't have questioned you. Hope, let's do as he says."
The last part was directed at Hope.
Hope nodded to the group and then instantly returned the minivan to its original size.
The trust crisis temporarily dissipated as Roger stepped out of the minivan and watched it shrink to the size of a toy car. Honestly, it didn't feel good to be doubted, and Roger had indeed felt a bit down earlier, but he wasn't about to take it out on the minivan.
He wasn't a child; he knew what was important. So, when the van shrank, Roger carefully picked it up and placed it in the pocket of his hero suit, making sure his movements didn't crush the vehicle.
With an earpiece allowing communication, Roger could talk to the people inside the car.
Once ready, Roger said to the people inside, "Buckle up, I'm going to..."
Before he could finish, a special arrow came flying towards Roger, cutting off his words.
"!!"
As the arrow flew toward him, Roger quickly caught it. Realizing there was special equipment at the tip of the arrow, he took just 0.1 seconds to hurl the arrow far away!
Boom!!
The moment the arrow left his hand, it exploded in midair. Roger crossed his arms in front of him to block the blast, and without hesitation, fired a crimson beam from his eyes straight towards the source of the arrow!
Splat!
The sound of heat vision tearing through flesh reached Roger's ears as his super vision showed Hawkeye Clint's upper body separated from his lower half by the beam, his intact upper half snarling at Roger as he tried to reach for another arrow.
But Roger was faster. Seeing that Hawkeye wasn't dead yet, Roger fired another heat vision shot from a distance, shattering Clint's head!
Roger then flew into the air and looked down at Black Widow Natasha, who was aiming a handgun at him. He spoke to the people in the car, "Sorry, everyone, I just killed one of your Avengers. Now..."
Bang!!
Natasha fired her gun, the bullet bouncing off Roger. Roger sighed and said, "Looks like I'm going to have to kill a second one."
"No! Don't do it!" Roger was about to kill zombie Black Widow in the same way when he heard Banner shout, "Isn't our goal to try and restore them? Since she can't hurt you, please don't kill her! Maybe she... and the others can be saved!"
Banner's timely intervention stopped Roger.
Indeed, according to the original storyline, Vision's Mind Stone did have the ability to restore zombies.
But... Roger thought death might be a relief for Natasha, seeing as the blood on her mouth indicated she had definitely eaten human flesh, and not just once.
When she returned to normal, could she really accept what she had done?
However, as Banner said, those zombies with intact limbs might still have a chance. And whatever happens to them after turning back is their own business, not Roger's concern.
So, looking down at Natasha, who continued firing at him, and seeing Captain America and Falcon emerging from the central station, Roger decided against killing them.
Before they could attack him, Roger soared into the sky with the group and, with a sonic boom, disappeared into the clouds.