A New Hope

Chapter 20

I had officially been living with the Avengers for six months. I hadn't gone to school since the incident with the MRD, but I was still attending classes online. I hadn't stopped Doctor Doom or even Flash for that matter. I had been training with Peter and his team. I was slowly going insane. Fear had been killing me and so was not taking action.

Steve and Tony and the others tried to help, but it just made things worse. I was a lost soul, desperately trying to cling to my sanity. "Will, you can get through this" Steve had said to me.

Everyday I would would repeat the same routine. This helped me not to lose myself in fear. I was suffering from an internal battle, and I didn't know if I was winning anymore.

I was sitting on the floor in my room when my phone rang.

"Hello" I answered.

"Hey, Will" Peter was on the other end.

"Peter, what do you want?" I asked.

"Will, you really need to come back to school" he whined.

"I can't. Not until this whole Doom thing blows over; not to mention the whole school still believes that I'm a mutant" I stated "it just isn't safe for anyone".

"I know, but Coulson is worried. You haven't been at school in over a month and have basically been off the grid to us. Will, I need to know if you're alright" Peter said.

"Peter, there is a psychopath that wants to use me as his weapon. There are two evil organizations that want to use me as their weapon. A lot of people want me dead. I'm not alright. I'm trying to fix the world. I'm trying not to get captured again. People know who I am, I don't have a mask to hide behind" I started.

"You can't fix the world, Rogers. You can help fix it, but you can't fix it alone. You need help, so let someone help you. Maybe you should just go off the grid. Go into hiding. Enjoy your life, Will, don't live in fear. I know it's killing you" Peter interrupted.

"Maybe you're right. Maybe I can't fix the world alone, but I have to live in fear. If I don't, then I let my guard down" I said.

"Will, all I'm saying is that you need a break. See you soon, I hope" Peter hung up. I pondered what he said. Maybe I could go to the cabin in the woods again, or maybe I could go to Clint's farmhouse. I knew that he would be going there in a few hours to see his wife and kids.

I went downstairs to ask Clint if I could go with him. "Hey, Clint, could I maybe go with you to the farmhouse?" I inquired.

"Yeah, but why?" he gave me a confused look.

"Peter says I need a break from trying to fix the world. He suggested that I go off the grid for a while" I shrugged.

"Then go pack. We leave in twenty" Clint left the room. I left and packed my bags with a few weeks worth the clothes and proceeded to the jet.

"Ready?" asked Clint. I gave a half nod and Clint started the jet. It took a couple hours to get to the farmhouse so Clint and I just talked the entire flight there. It was nice. When we got to the house, we were greeted by Clint's kids.

"Will, welcome to your normal family experience" Clint smiled as we headed inside.

"Clint, you're back" Laura said, rounding the corner "and you brought company".

"Hi" I gave a small wave.

"Will, it's nice to see you again, but shouldn't you be in school right now?" Laura pointed out.

"Well technically yes. It's a long complicated story" I replied.

"I have time to hear it".

"It all started when we got captured by Doctor Doom the first time" I started. It took half an hour for Clint and I to finish explaining the last few months.