Hello lovies! You probably all know as well as I do that I should not be starting a new story... but I can't help it... After seeing Civil War in theatres, my mind has been whirling. Below are a few important notes (the third one is especially important for any character shippers)

A few notes on the story: My character Crystal is a canon Marvel superhero. However, for the benefits of my story, I have changed her dramatically. Her background, name and so forth, have been twisted, re-written and turned in order to fit into the universe of my work. Of course, that is the point of fan fiction, isn't it? ;) So, she is a canon-OC in that sense. Check her out - she's pretty damn cool!

Another is that I use foreign languages throughout the story (especially German and Russian). For this, I simply used Google Translate - any with knowledge (or who speak) these languages, any help/editing would be greatly appreciated :) please do not take offence if the online translations are messed/wrong.

Last but not least - I do want this story to have some romantic intentions. However, I cannot decide if I want her to go with Cap or Bucky. I have an idea of where each relationship would go, and how everything would pan out... I just can't decide on that. Any help on that would be greatly appreciated :)

This story will continue on with the Marvel series. WS, AoU, and then CW etc.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except 'my OC' and anything else in the story that is un-canon from the Marvel Universe. Some mild language and possible down-played lemons.

Chapter One

-Crystal-

Steve ran across the deck of the Lemurian Star, dodging around the ships equipment and cargo. He hated doing Fury's "laundry." It was always hard-work, and half of it had horrible repercussions. He was just glad that he had a good trusty team behind him. A man was only as good as those who were willing to follow him. Three up ahead. He was coming in fast, his mind whirling with the quick ideas of how he was going to take them out. A piece of cake.

He rolled under one of the soldiers, and kicking him sideways He kicked the others feet from under him, and then flipped the third guy hard onto the ground. As he straightened up, the second mercenary did as well. Before Steve could do anything, a flaming shuriken got him in the chest; with a pained groan, the merc crumbled to the deck. Steve yanked his head in the direction the star had flown. A brunette woman in a black catsuit was crouched on the upper deck. As she spotted Steve's gaze she held a finger to her lips and winked. He wound up to throw his shield, but by the time he had it positioned, the woman was gone.

Perplexed, Captain Rogers decided to continue on with the rest of his mission. He ran forwards on the deck, taking our a merc with a swift swing of his shield, his most trusted weapon. Even back when he had been the Captain America of the Second World War, his shield had kept him covered. He had also saved countless lives with it. He had to admit; he had missed his life in the possible 40's, 50's and so on, but he had never felt more alive. He was powerful.

Two ahead decided to engage with him. Steve threw the first into the wall opposite, and the second pulled knife from somewhere on his person. They fought for a few measly seconds before Steve was able to knock him down. The first reached up in fear, trying to grab onto the fire-alarm. Rogers snatched the second's knife, and tossed it, getting the first in the hand. The man screamed in horror, just in time for Rogers to kick him in the head and run-off.

He took out several more before the team finally reached the deck, Rumlow teasing him about holding his own. He liked Rumlow, the head of SHIELD's STRIKE force. He was a good fighter, and followed commands deftly - there was just... something about him that was off.

Natasha, one of his seemingly best-friends in the 'New World,' caught up to him from her landing point, the two walking briskly alongside each other. "What about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? She seems kind of nice."

Steve rolled his eyes with a grin. They were continuing their conversation from earlier it would seem. A conversation about his dating life... which was non-existent. Everyone around him seemed so concerned with it. Everyone except himself. "Secure the engine room, then find me a date."

Natasha grinned. "I'm multitasking." She leapt over the railing to the deck below, Rogers carrying on on his way.

Steve leapt up levels, until he was able to shoot a small listening device onto the window of the 'captains' room, where pirate Georges Batroc sat with his henchman, rapidly conversing in French.

"Targets acquired." One of the STRIKE agents commuted into his mic.

When Rogers got a confirmation from Natasha's position, he commanded. "On my mark... Three... two... one."

There was an explosion somewhere else on the ship, as well as a few cries of panic. The sounds echoed back to Steve, and he knew that it was his turn to move. His earpiece repeated Batroc's words of confusion as he tried to get through his other men. Steve ran towards the operations room, throwing his shield through the glass towards Batroc, who dodged out of the way just in time. He avoided a kick aimed at him by the pirate, who took off running in the opposite direction. Steve dislodged his shield from the steel wall in anger, giving chase.

As he made his way to a lower deck, his earpiece sounded off. "Hostages enroute to extraction," Rumlow said quickly. "Romanoff missed the rendezvous point, Captain. Hostiles are still in play."

Steve felt his pace quicken in panic, lifting his wrist-mic to his lips to muffle his voice. "Natasha, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages," when there was no reply, he became more frantic. "Natasha!"

Suddenly, Batroc flew into Steve, who was able to lift his shield in time to block the attack. The two began to fight, Batroc gained the upper-hand rather quickly. Steve had to admit, the pirate was good. Someone had trained him in quick and fluid martial-arts, his leg was almost everywhere, aiming to disengage the Captain. Steve fell a few times, but he was glad for his trusty shield.

Batroc flipped away from him, grinning mockingly. "I thought that you were more than just a mask," he sneered in his wrathful French.

Steve narrowed his eyes, strapping his shield on his mask, and taking off his helmet. "Let's find out," he returned in equal good French.

The two dived at each other, switching to hand to hand combat. Steve was able to gain-up on Batroc - his armour was superior, and he was much stronger than the the gangly pirate. It was't long before he was able to deliver a hard kick to the latter, knocking him backwards onto the deck. The merc swore, shaking his head, dazed. As he got to his feet, Steve launched himself at him, throwing Batroc backwards. The two collided with a door in the wall opposite, blowing it straight off its hinges. They fell, and Steve delivered one solid punch to Batroc's face, knocking him out cold.

"Well, this is awkward."

Steve looked up. Natasha smirked from her position, leaning over a table of computers, a huge screen on the wall before her and typing furiously. "What are you doing?" He snapped from his position, getting to his feet.

"Backing up the hard drive," Natasha replied without a care. "It's a good habit to get into."

Rogers glanced nervously over his shoulder, but Batroc was still out like a light. He strode over to Natasha, his eyes had and jaw set. "Rumlow needed your help!" He glanced at what she was working on, a hard drive flashing from its position in one of the computers. "What the hell are you doing here?...You're saving SHIELD Intel."

Natasha shrugged noncommittally. "Whatever I can get my hands on."

"Our mission is to rescue hostages." Steve snapped.

"No. That's your mission." Natasha pulled the hard drive from the computer, smiling up at him "And you've done it beautifully." As she went to pass him, he snatched her arm and twirled her towards him.

"You just jeopardized this whole operation."

"I think that's overstating things." She quipped back.

"Ah. Natasha. Rech' idet o vremeni vy obnaruzhilis." (Ah. Natasha. It's about time you showed up.)

Both of them turned towards the speaker. Steve felt his stomach drop as he realized it was the woman from earlier. She was smirking at them from the doorway, a foot pressed harshly down into Batroc's stomach. He had to admit, her Russian was impeccable, the accent was strong; though, he knew not a single word.

Natasha smiled at the woman, yanking her arm from Steve's grip. "Oh, ya ne dumayu, chto my vzyali, chto dolgo." (Oh, I don't think we took that long.)

The woman came over to them. Steve felt heat flood his face as she looked him up and down and smirked. "Tak, eto on? Kapitan Amerika. On, kak vy skazali. Ochen' seksual'no." (So, this is him? Captain America. He is as you said. Very sexy.)

Steve perked up at the mention of his name. "Who the hell are you?!"

Natasha smiled, holding out a hand towards the woman. "Steve, This is Crystal." She said the name weirdly, as if it weren't correct.

"Crystal?" Steve narrowed his eyes. "Another Russian-spy-friend of yours? Ex-KGB?"

'Crystal' smirked, but he could see her eyes blazing. "It's very nice to finally meet you, Captain Rogers. I've waited quite awhile for this." Steve was perplexed. Her Russian accent was completley gone. Now, she spoke with a very firm 'American' one. What the actual crap was going on?

"Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?"

Before either woman could reply, Batroc stood from where he lay. He yanked a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and tossed it at them before fleeing. Steve knocked the grenade away with his shield, grabbing Natasha and bolting towards the nearest window. Black Widow fired at it, glass raining down on them as they flew through it, crashing to the floor outside of the room. Just as the grenade exploded, there was an eruption of water.

Steve glanced through the broken window, his stomach twisting at the site. 'Crystal' stood with her back towards them. Her arms were out before her. The room was flooded, a huge wall of water containing the fire from the explosion, and destroying the equipment. Not a drop ever passed her. She glanced over her shoulder at him with a smirk. "Not exactly what you were expecting, huh?"

Natasha groaned from her position on the ground. "Okay. That one's on me. And she's on Fury."

"You're damn right!" Steve snapped, getting up and storming off.

-C-

The sun beat over the Triskelion, which stood high and proud in the sky. The place was teeming with people. It was never not busy. Sunlight was streaming through the many large windows of Nick Fury's office as Steve stormed in, his voice hard and angry. "You just can't stop yourself from lying, can you?"

"I didn't lie." Fury sat in his chair, the back facing Rogers. "Agent Romanoff had a different mission than yours."

"Which you didn't feel obliged to share." Steve snapped.

"I'm not obliged to do anything." Fury quipped back.

"Those hostages could've died, Nick."

Fury spun his chair to face Steve. His expression was one of annoyance, and it showed in his voice. "I sent the greatest soldier in history to make sure that didn't happen."

"Soldiers trust each other, that's what makes it an army," Steve retaliated. "Not a bunch of guys running around and shooting guns."

"The last time I trusted someone, I lost an eye." Fury stood up, leaning on his desk. "Look, I didn't want you doing anything you weren't comfortable with. Agent Romanoff is comfortable with everything."

"I can't lead a mission when the people I'm leading have missions of their own," Steve looked at him with pleading eyes. "And... what about that woman? The water one? Diamond? Why were none of us aware that she was there, except Natasha? Last night was a blindside, Nick."

"It's called compartmentalization. Nobody spills the secrets because nobody knows them all."

"Except you."

Fury stood back, stung. "You're wrong about me. I do share. I'm nice like that." A slow smirk grew on his face. "And that 'Diamond' woman is 'Crystal'. I sent Agent Amaquelin in to help Natasha with the extraction. She's quite the hacker herself, and I thought her skills would be useful. I guess the enemy got engaged before she could get to the computer system."

"I've never heard of her." Steve pointed out.

Fury shrugged. "She keeps herself under normal SHIELD radar. I guess it's just her thing."

"Why? Does my thing bother someone?" The voice was catty, teasing. The men turned to see Agent 'Crystal' Amaquelin lounging on one of Fury's office couches, casually looking through some of his files.

"Agent Amaquelin," Fury stepped forward, snatching the files from her hand. "We didn't hear you come in."

"The doors are pretty quiet." She smiled coyly and nodded towards Steve. "Captain Rogers, it's nice to see you again."

"Agent Amaquelin." Steve looked at her, his eyes narrowed.

Fury felt the tension that Rogers seemed to radiate from his body. With a roll of his eyes he headed towards the elevator. "Come with me Rogers. And you too Amaquelin..." The two followed him towards the elevator, Crystal flicking Steve in the back of his head, Rogers turned to look at her with an angry glare. Fury stood back against the window. "Insight bay."

The SHIELD computer spoke up as the doors closed. "Captain Rogers and Agent Amaquelin do not have clearance for Project Insight."

"Director override, Fury, Nicholas J."

"Confirmed." The elevator began its decent downwards.

"You know, they used to play music." Steve said, a slight smirk on his face.

Nick chuckled. "Yeah. My grandfather operated one of these things for forty years... My granddad worked in a nice building, he got good tips... He'd walk home every night, roll of ones stuffed in his lunch bag. He'd say "hi", people would say hi back. Time went on, neighborhood got rougher. He'd say "Hi", they'd say, "Keep on steppin'." Granddad got to grippin' that lunch bag a little tighter."

Crystal perked up. "This story sounds like it's heading in a good direction."

Steve's brows furrowed. "Did he ever get mugged?"

Nick seemed to puff his chest with pride, shrugging. "Every week some punk would say, "What's in the bag?""

"Well, what did he do?"

"He'd show 'em. A bunch of crumpled ones and loaded 0.22 Magnum." Fury smiled mischievously. "Granddad loved people. But he didn't trust them very much."

"The world has gotten worse when it comes to trusting others." Crystal said pointedly and Steve nodded, sizing her up.

The elevator dropped lower, and the lights got dimmer. When they were all able to see again, they realized that they were in an underground launchpad. Crystal and Steve stared out the glass walls in shock. Giant Helicarriers filled the bay.

Fury chuckled at their expressions. "Yeah, I know. They're a little bit bigger than a 0.22."

When they departed from the elevator, Fury led the two heroes across the bay. "This is Project Insight. Three next generation Helicarriers synced to a network of targeting satellites."

"Launched from the Lemurian Star." Steve said in realization, looking at everything being done around him.

Nick nodded. "Once we get them in the air they never need to come down. Continuous suborbital flight courtesy of our new repulser engines."

"Stark?"

"Well, he had a few suggestions once he got an up close look at our old turbines. These new long range precision guns can eliminate a thousand hostiles a minute. The satellites can read a terrorist's DNA before he steps outside his spider hole. We gonna neutralize a lot of threats before they even happen."

Crystal frowned, looking up at one of the big helicarriers. "These sound incredibly dangerous..."

Steve nodded in agreement. "I thought the punishment usually came after the crime."

Nick gave him a hard look. "We can't afford to wait that long."

Roger's and Crystal looked at each other in confusion. "Who's "we"?" Steve asked suspiciously

Fury sighed. "After New York, I convinced the World Security Council we needed a quantum surgeon threat analysis. For once we're way ahead of the curve."

"By holding a gun at everyone on Earth and calling it protection." Steve replied harshly, his eyes hard.

"Oh god..." Crystal took a few steps away, looking up at the giant carrier above her. "SHIELD now has weapons of mass destruction..."

Fury glared in her direction, turning to Steve with a cold stare. "You know, I read those SSR files. Greatest generation? You guys did some nasty stuff."

"Yeah, we compromised. Sometimes in ways that made us not sleep so well. But we did it so the people could be free." Steve defended himself. "This isn't freedom, this is fear."

"You'll turn the whole world against you... citizens won't trust SHIELD anymore if word of this gets out." Crystal turned to look at Fury in alarm. "This is a dangerous game to play, Nick. Especially with the world somewhat distrusting of us already."

Fury turned from the two of them, obviously annoyed. "SHIELD takes the world as it is, not as we'd like it to be... we're here to protect the world, and sometimes that leads to fear and distrust." He turned back to them, his eyes on Rogers. "It's getting damn near past time for you to get with that program, Cap."

Steve was glaring, his jaw was set in anger. "Don't hold your breath." He turned and walked off, leaving the two others perplexed.

Last but not least - I do want this story to have some romantic intentions. However, I cannot decide if I want her to go with Cap or Bucky. I have an idea of where each relationship would go, and how everything would pan out... I just can't decide on that. Especially because Steve seems to have something with Sharon Carter... either way, any help on that would be greatly appreciated :)