Natasha and Clint flew the Quinjet over the Republic of Poland. The terrain below them was dyed in hues of gold, orange, and tones of mellow yellow due to the change in season.
Tony Stark followed behind on his own plane. He refused to fly in the same carrier as James Buchanan Barnes. It was probably for the best considering that it was still painful for Tony to be around the man who had murdered his parents (even if it had been under the orders of a terribly powerful hypnosis).
Steve Roger's currently observed his best friend who was sitting across from him. He noticed the scraggly beard he wore, the dark bags that had formed under his eyes due to countless of sleepless nights. He was on edge, right now. Scratch that, it almost seemed as if he was always on the edge.
Buck couldn't even distinct reality from fiction. At this point, he didn't know what was true and what wasn't. The reality was nonexistent to him.
"Hey, Buck," Steve reached out to him and gently nudged his knee lightly.
His cold eyes snapped at met Steve's. The Captain noted they were empty, they held no emotion. His handgrip tightened around the machine gun he was holding anxiously. It even pained Steve to see him like this.
"How you doin' partner?" He offered with a small smile.
The long-haired man, however, remained stoic and silent. His dark eyes met his friends.
"We're going to find that Sage." Steve pressed with a small smile. He wasn't giving up on his friend anytime soon. He had faith that the Bucky he had once known was buried somewhere deep inside of the obscure man that sat before him.
"Brace yourselves, boys, we're about to land." Natasha suddenly said over the intercom.
Some moments later the Quinjet remained hidden in the Polish forest. The forest was located near the Belorussian border.
"We're here," Natasha said as they stepped into the ground which loudly crunched under their weight. "The dead forest? Funny name," Clint commented as his eyes analyzed every observable nook and cranny of the tall forest.
Before them stood a massive tree. However, it was different from the others. Its bark had turned dark and lacked color. However, it was undead. It's roots stretched and the tree did not rot despite its inability to produce leaves or acorns.
"How odd.…" Natasha said as her pale hand traced the bark ashen tree.
"You think that's something!" Tony suddenly spoke into the audiphones that the agents were wearing. All looked up and saw the Iron Man flying above the treetops.
"There's a trail of hundreds of them," Tony added as he followed the trail or dark trees.
It was suddenly that Clint's senses slightly made his shoulder twitch. Before the enemy had the chance to attack there was an arrow between their eyes.
"We've got company," Clint said as he drew another arrow from his quill.
"Means we're in the right place." The Captain nodded.
With wary eyes, Bucky simply charged his weapon ready to strike.
"You're not the only one with company…" Tony murdered into his microphone. Some moments later missile blasts could be overheard echoing the hollow forest. The zooming of jets came along with it.
The Sage sat in a meditating position. She sat on a stack of hay, both of her legs were tucked underneath her body. In her hands, she held a copy of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina. It could've been the hundredth time she read it. She had already memorized the plot.
However, it was best that being alone with her mind.
She had been alone for such a long time that sometimes she wondered if she could still speak. The thought of her own voice resounding the empty echo of the walls before her frightened her. Next to her sat a pile of books she had re-read over and over again. With the exception of Gone With the Wind.
It was then that the Earth trembled. Her eyes instantly shot up and she could see the layers of dust and pebbles coming loose from her roof. The inside of the room was kept lit with ominous orbs of energy that were strategically placed.
It was silent for a moment.
Disturbed, she felt a terrible headache suddenly overcome her. Coming to her feet she wobbled reaching one of the walls in the dimly lit cave. It was then that she heard it again, but louder. The ground shook. The pile of books tumbled over, so did the few belongings she possessed. Realizing the intrusion panic surged through her veins. She had been found. It was over. It was then that it all came crashing down.
At least the roof did.
The Sage was cornered as trees, rocks, and dirt came crashing down. Her cover had been blown, her hideout had come crashing down. The sunlight was blinding. She shut her eyes tightly and cringed at the burning pain. After being in the darkness for years, looking into the light appeared to be impossible. She could feel the warmth of a fire nearby and could hear the cracking of the wood beneath the licking flames.
Words in a tongue which was foreign to her were being tossed around. It was Yankee language.
She covered her face with her fisted hands. She had to get out of here. Stumbling backward into the wall she attempted to claw her way from the burrows of the underground cave which had served as her former home. Adrenaline pumped through her body. Her heart hammered in her rib cage out of fear and desperation.
A person continued speaking to her. It was then she felt a strong hand reach for her arm.
She shouted to be left alone in her native tongue. The grip only got tighter. She attempted to pry her eyes open but found it too painful. Her body was lifted for a moment. The heat got more intense. The man held the body of the woman and leaped to the surface escaping from the destroyed cave ditch. The moment he set foot on the ground he spoke into the intercom.
"Subject is safe," he looked at the blazing flames which ignited the Dead forest. Before he realized a fist collided with his stomach. To him, it felt almost like a tap on his abdomen. He looked at the woman who was kicking and screaming like a wilding. Her eyes were shut tight and her hair was long to her waist and tossed up in a messy spread. Steve's eyes were wide this hadn't been part of his training!
It was then that the woman wriggled free from his grip. He saw a light emitting from her palms and he dropped her to the ground in order to shield his eyes.
"She's on the loose!" Captain American shouted back into his audio before sprinting after the Sage. Meanwhile, Iron Man attempted to contain the fire he had caused when he destroyed the enemy's jets that were hovering around the terrain. Hawkeye and Natasha were currently fighting the army of pouring SOPHOS soldiers who were in pursuit of the Sage. The woman ran blindly, bumping into trees, falling branches and stumbling with the grown roots of the Dead Forest. The smog inside of the woods was overbearing. The flames licked at the autumn leaves on the floor. She could feel her legs scorching with the flames she could not avoid. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't run. She couldn't think. Her migraine wasn't helping.
Someone was pulling her head back. She yelped as she collapsed on her knees. Her hair was being ripped from its roots.
Barnes heard it. He heard the screaming of a woman through the unfolding chaos. He was surprised he heard it over the roaring fire and the bickering of Steve, Natasha, Tony, and Clint all speaking at once over the earpiece he wore. He heard it.
He stabbed a soldier in the chest and wasted no time in pursuing the shrieking voice. He ran through the black fog and flames. Sweat build on his temple. His metallic arm was feeling heavier. The steel was heating up.
He shot down any soldier he encountered. His sharp eyes were focused when he suddenly spotted them.
A woman on her knees, a SOPHOS soldier grabbed her long hair on a tangled hand as he spoke into an earpiece. Steve was a couple of yards away fighting off the backup solders. The woman, without any hesitation, sliced her long hair off. By the time her hair hit the ground the soldier that had attempted to overpower her was on his back, probably dead.
Bucky had wasted no time shooting him down. Her scrunched up face turned away as she attempted to escape again. Debris proceeding to fall around the woods. The smoke irritated his eyes. Regardless he sprinted coming from behind he lunged at the Sage and wrapped his arms around her. She hissed at the touch of his steaming metal arm against her skin.
"I got her. Let's get out of here," he said into the intercom communicating with the others. The woman tossed and turned wildly and she repeatedly shanked his metal arm with desperation and clawed at it.
"Pozwól mi odejść!" She shouted.
'Polish', he though recognizing the language.
"Let's go!" Steve jogged up to the scene coughing. Sweat was rolling down his temples due to the heat of the burning woods. He coughed as his lungs protested. "Miss, I'm going to need you to calm down," he spoke slowly.
His wishes were heard by deafened ears The hysterical woman continued shouting. Bucky simply approached Steve. Without saying a word, he reached for Captain America's shield and hit the woman in the back of the head with it.
The Sage went limp in his arm.
"That'll do," Steve mused.