Washington D.C, 2014

Agent 14's gun was sitting precariously on the passenger seat as she drove down the street. She had her red hair pulled up in a messy bun and her blazer was freshly pressed at the dry cleaner's. She was off duty, but still looked all business. The radio played in the background until the music suddenly cut out and was replaced with an emergency news report. "There is currently a situation in downtown New York. A masked man with a gun is on the loose; Captain America is on the scene, but residents are advised to stay away from the area and inside for their own personal safety." Staying stoically calm, she voice-dialed her fellow agent - Agent 13's - number and put the phone on the dashboard. "Sharon!" she cried, the moment her friend picked up. "What's going on?" She approached New York via the highway and saw it. The utter chaos. Cars were scattered everywhere.

"Katie!" Agent 13 cried, the panic clear in her voice. "You have got to stay away from downtown! It's dangerous; there's a killer there! You could be - ! " But it was too late. Agent 14 slammed the brakes when she reached the yellow tape and grabbed her gun, stepping out of the car, her heels clicking on the pavement. It was eerily silent and police were already on site, but the masked man was nowhere to be seen. Gripping the gun tightly in her hand by her side, she wandered around. A policeman saw her and came over.

"Ma'am," he said with a commanding voice. "You're not allowed to be here."

The agent just looked at him and held up her S.H.I.E.L.D badge. "But - " he protested, but she stepped around him, continuing to wander around the grounds. It was total devastation. A Range Rover was lying on its back in dying flames, covered in bullet holes. Katie approached it and closely inspected the damage, running her fingers over them. Still hot. Suddenly someone screamed and Agent 14 whipped her head around. Standing in front of her was a huge man in an all black suit and a black mask covering his face, holding a large machine gun in his gloved hands. The gun pointed at her. His masked eyes boring into her soul. She stared back at him and at the gun tip, the breeze slightly tossing their hair around. Fear had her frozen in place and she considered shooting him on the spot before he could shoot her, but she was afraid to move. For a few long seconds they looked at each other. Her breathing was shaky, but she held firm. No way was she going to let this guy see she was afraid of him. His vacant eyes passed across her face once more and she gulped, bracing herself for the bullet, but to her shock, he lowered the gun and stalked away, not looking at her ever again.

The second he was out of view, Agent 14 collapsed against the vehicle. Her chest was heaving too fast for her to catch her breath and sweat slid down her face. Who was that? Someone screamed her name but she could barely hear it. Agent 13 fell beside her and grabbed her by the shoulders. "...you could have been killed! Are you stupid!?" she was yelling.

The agent grabbed her friend's arm, not meeting her eyes. "Who was that?" she gasped, looking at her in awe-struck terror. Agent 13 didn't respond, instead helped her to her feet and led her to a truck that will take her back to SHIELD headquarters.

While Agent 13 met with the SHIELD officials, Agent 14 wandered off to a secluded room where the files were held. She used her tag to unlock the classified room and immediately headed for the "W" section. W. Winter Soldier, The. She pulled out the file with a large, red "CLASSIFIED" printed on the front. She flipped it open and saw a grainy image of his masked face and shivers crawled up her spine. She glanced over the information. Affiliations: HYDRA. Name: Unknown. Age: Unknown. Location: Unknown. Famous Victims: President Kennedy (1963), Howard and Maria Stark (1991). More cold shivers. Another agent appeared in the doorway. "14, you shouldn't be here." he said, with a warning voice. "It's restricted."

Agent 14 slipped the file in her bag and stood up straight. "I was just leaving." She smiled sweetly before slipping around him and out the door.

- THREE YEARS LATER -

Sharon Carter and her best friend Katerina Mansfield, formerly known as Agent 14 before SHIELD dissolved, were lounging in front of the television screen, popcorn in hand. They were reporting on the battle raging in Wakanda that very moment. "A mysterious figure going by the name 'Thanos' has been terrorizing citizens for years and was behind the 2012 New York attack. No one knows who this Thanos is but the Avengers are on the scene…" the reporter was saying.

Sharon stood and disappeared inside the kitchen. "What's happening to the world?" she wondered out loud as she poured herself a glass of beer.

Katie took a handful of popcorn and stuffed it in her mouth. "Who knows." she replied, her eyes still glued to the news.

"Uh...Katie?" came Sharon's voice from the kitchen. "Something's wrong." There was the sound of a glass smashing to the floor and Katie immediately dropped her popcorn and ran into the kitchen at the sound. She found Sharon standing there staring at her hand in horror, which was disappearing into a cloud of dust. She looked up at Katie. "What's happening?" she gasped. Her arm soon followed and Katie could do nothing but watch as the rest of Sharon vanished into dust.

"NO!" she shrieked, collapsing to her knees and grabbing at the dust. "SHARON! Sharon, no!" She ran to the window and watched as people on the street began to vanish as well and more people ran outside, the distress clear on their faces. "What's going on?" she gasped. Katie grabbed her keys and drove to her family home, but the moment she stepped inside she knew. It was dead silent, except for the sound of television eerily echoing through the house. She walked into the sitting room where the television was still on, playing the breaking news report. She slid down the wall in tears, her hand over her mouth to muffle her sobs. "Citizens are vanishing all over the world. Our current numbers are saying that about 3 billion people have disappeared in the last two minutes into, what seems to be, dust."