In which Kara learns she likes explosions, Grant ponders the past, and Mike is self-conscious about his cybernetic implants.

Grant smiled to himself as he entered the Hydra base through the boiler room, closing the manhole behind him as he went. "Mike, you remember what you need to do, right?"

Mike's voice sounded in his comms a few seconds later. "Yeah, get to the east corridor, rescue the incentives, and get the hell out."

"Good. And Kara?"

"Wait for you to lead as much of the opposing force as you can to the west corridor, as far from Mike as possible, and get the drop on them."

"Alright, good luck."

Mike didn't respond, so Grant knew he was already well focused on his task. Kara did though. "This is going to be so much fun," she whispered, a giggle escaping her lips.

Grant frowned as he made his way to boiler room exit. "Did you seriously just giggle? I have never heard Kara Lynn giggle."

"Yeah, well, I'm pumped on adrenaline. Plus, this is so exciting!"

He sighed, reaching down and grasping his silenced pistol. "Just get to work."

"Sir, yes sir!" she said sarcastically, her comms cutting out after that.

Their team was ragtag at best, but they got along nicely. Mike had only been on a few missions with them, but he was an enormous help. He covered the prisoners or incentives while Grant and Kara took out most of the members of the opposing force and obtained intel. Peterson would have been a huge help taking out the main forces, but they wanted the hostages to have the best protection possible. He was good company too. He made both he and Kara laugh, something that Grant thought he would never do again. Plus, the puppy loved him almost as much as Kara. It still hadn't gotten used to Ward, but that was probably because of his almost permanent scowl.

He closed the door behind him, creeping in the shadows as he made his way west. Three lone Hydra operatives walked past him, chatting animatedly about a hockey game. He sprang into action, grabbing one in a chokehold and raising his silenced handgun, pulling the trigger twice. The two bodies fell to the ground and Grant snapped the neck of the man he held. He moved forward, taking down a few Hydra agents along the way. As he neared the west corridor, he paused. "Mike?"

"I'm in position. You are a go for phase two," informed his ally.

Showtime. Taking out an unsilenced pistol, he fired at the ceiling until the clip was empty. He dropped the emptied gun to the ground, backing up against the wall. Alarms began blaring throughout the base as a swarm of twenty agents sprinted into the room, pointing their guns at him. He examined the small army in front of him. Given the decently small size of the building and the amount of agents he killed on his way here, he guessed that this was pretty much the remainder of their forces, with perhaps a few more on the way.

"Hands in the air!" several of them shouted.

Slowly, he raised his hands in the air, taking in the formation of the men surrounding him. Most of them were pressed against the opposite wall. Good. "Do it!"

The wall across from him exploded, debris flying and knocking most of the men to the ground. He grabbed one of the soldier's assault rifles, quickly dispatching the remaining hostiles. Kara stepped over the debris and bodies, smirking as she made her way to him. She picked up a gun along the way. "We used some valuable semtex, but that was…wow, that was really fun!"

He smiled briefly in her direction before exiting the room, his partner in tow. "Mike, how we looking?"

"I've got the incentives. We're out of the warehouse. Mission is complete. And Kara's right, that was kinda fun," reported Mike.

Grant chuckled lightly as they sprinted through the empty corridors. "We need to make ourselves scarce before Hydra reinforcements or S.H.I.E.L.D. show up. Kara, did you set the rest of the explosives?"

The woman in question turned slightly to look at him as they ran, holding up a detonator with a wide grin. "Once we get out of range, this place is turning to ash."

He nodded in acknowledgement as they continued on their path. A minute or two later, they threw open the compound's front entrance, making their way to the hidden jeep for extraction, Ward took a moment to consider the turn his life had taken in the past months. He had found a good friend in Kara, taken down Hydra bases, took in a puppy, made friends with Mike Peterson, and pretty much left behind the idea of ever returning to his former team. Once he had mostly come to terms with the fact that they would hate him forever, everything got a little easier. He still had nightmares about his betrayal and the things that were said and done by both himself and his former team members, but he wasn't thinking about them every waking moment. There were still times where waves of regret and hurt would wash over him, and he highly doubted that he would be able to forget them completely. Most of the time, he stuffed his nightmares to the side in favor of helping Kara, who could remember everything she had done under Whitehall, through her own problems.

They hopped into the van, Mike already waiting for them with a smile on his face. Grant jumped in the back while Kara sidled up in the passenger seat, scooching as close to Mike as possible. He rolled his eyes at her antics. His friend had taken a liking to the cyborg, and he wouldn't be surprised if it turned into a crush sooner or later. That is, if it hasn't already.

Grant turned around, watching as they put more distance between themselves and the warehouse. Finally, he deemed themselves far enough away from the blast radius. "Blow it," he commanded.

Kara wiggled her eyebrows at his word usage and he groaned, covering his face in his hands. She pressed the detonator and he heard the explosives go off as the building began to crumble behind them.

"So…now what?" asked Mike, relaxing in his seat with one hand on the wheel.

"I'm kind of in the mood for a drink," responded Kara.

For once, Grant agreed with her quickly. "God, a good drink sounds really nice right now."

Mike nodded in agreement. "So, nearest bar then?"

"Yep," said Kara, popping the 'p'.

The three sighed in content, sipping their beers with a satisfied expression on their faces. They were currently situated in a corner booth, invisible to most of the people in the bar. Mike was wearing a black hoodie and blue jeans to cover his cybernetic implants while Kara had on a magenta shirt and short shorts, her hair tied in a ponytail. Grant was clad in his usual black on black, a long-sleeved black shirt, black jeans, black gloves, and a black hat that was titled to cover most of his face.

"So," drawled Kara, burping as she continued. "There's this totally cool zoo nearby and we haven't taken a day off in a while…"

She paused, her implication settling in the silence.

Grant, for the second time that day, agreed with her. He shrugged his shoulders, bringing the cold beer bottle to his lips. "Sure, why not? We could use a break."

Mike frowned, a sad look on his face. "It's supposed to be really hot tomorrow and I don't want to have to hide myself again."

"So don't," supplied Kara with a shrug.

The cyborg's frown deepened. "But then people will stare at me like I'm a monster," he said dejectedly.

Kara's response was blunt. "I'll punch them in the face."

Mike blinked rapidly before bursting into laughter, Grant and Kara following suit.