A/N: Hey guys! Things have not been going right when it comes to getting these stories edited and posted but I'm really going to try and get them up for you guys! I just want to say thank you for all the faves, follows, and reviews you guys leave on this and every other story I'm writing! It really motivates me to write and post more, so thanks again! Please don't forget to fave, follow, and review! :D

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but Katherine Howlett!

XXX

It was early the next morning and Steve was right, neither of them had gotten any sleep. They didn't speak all night… they just didn't sleep. Katherine moved around a little too much for him to think she was asleep. With a quiet sigh, he untangled himself from Katherine. The woman opened one eye, watching him. He gave her a smile before leaning down and pressing a kiss to her head. She closed her eye again, seeing if maybe she could get some real sleep. She knew that if she couldn't sleep with Steve in the bed, that there was no way she was sleeping without him. The man stood up to his full height before walking towards the door to the bedroom. He walked through their silent apartment before he got onto the elevator to head down to the lower levels. He put on the bottom half of his suit, leaving the rest where it was and keeping on his gray t-shirt. They remained silent until they made it to their desired floor.

"He's all over the globe." Maria said as the elevator opened and the pair stepped out. "Robotics labs, weapons facilities, jet propulsion labs. Reports of a metal man, or men, coming in and emptying the place out."

"Fatalities?" Steve questioned.

"Only when engaged. Mostly guys left in a fugue state going on about old memories, worst fears, and "something too fast to see.""

"Maximoffs." Steve said, knowing exactly who Maria was talking about. "That makes sense he'd go to them. They have someone in common."

"Not anymore." Maria said, turning to her tablet. Steve stopped at the top of the steps to turn to her. He took it when offered; looking down at what she was showing him. The picture was of Strucker dead with peace written beside his body in his own blood on the wall.

XXX

Katherine sighed about twenty minutes after Steve left. She was right, sleep was useless. She laid one arm over her eyes, wishing for some sleep before she rolled out of bed. She stretched out her slightly sore muscles, her body still healing from the fight with the Iron Legion. She stood up and followed Steve's footprints out of their apartment to the lower levels. She walked to the elevator and riding it down to the suit-room as she called it. When she got there, she noticed that the bottom half of the Captain America suit was missing, meaning that Steve was wearing it. Katherine grabbed her suit, putting it on. It was a pair of leather pants with thigh-high boots. The top was a similar vest style that she wore with her X-Suit. The difference was the sheer material that covered her mid-stomach. Tony had made the material himself, it was said to be able to withstand most rounds fired from a gun. She hoped she wouldn't have to test the theory.

She pulled her mid-bicep length gloves on, looking at the color-changing gem on the back of her hands. It changed colors according to whatever element she was going to be using. That was another Tony Stark add-on. All and all, she actually did like the costume. She took her ring off her finger and put it back on the chain around her neck. The vest had a relatively low V in the front, meaning that there was nowhere to hide the ring. Not that it mattered to her at any rate. She left her hair down as she made her way back to the elevator, her heels clicking on the floor. The ride up was quiet… no Jarvis to randomly speak and surprise everyone. It was actually a bit depressing.

The elevator stopped in the main room, which was still destroyed from the night before. She made her way up the stairs into one of Tony's smaller labs. Everyone was gathered inside. Tony was the first to hear her shoes; he turned to her, offering her a smile when he saw her in the new suit. "You like the new suit?" He asked. She smiled.

"It's very Tony-fied." She answered and he chuckled.

"Just wait. There are all kinds of little goodies pack into that." It was her turn to chuckle.

"Can't wait." She stepped over to Steve, the man wrapping an arm around her neck and pulling her close without even looking at her. She leaned up on her toes, asking for a kiss. He pressed his lips to hers before handing her the tablet.

"What's this?" Tony asked as he came closer. Thor was looking over Katherine's shoulder as she held the tablet.

"A message." Steve said. "Ultron killed Strucker." The woman handed the tablet to Tony.

"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." He said before looking up at everyone. Bruce came to look over his shoulder.

"This is a smoke screen." Natasha said from where she sat in front of the computer. "Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"

"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve said, glancing at Katherine. The woman nodded her head.

"Yeah, I bet he—" Natasha paused to look up at the screen. "Yeah. Everything we have on Strucker's been erased."

"Not everything." Steve said and Katherine knew that meant a lot of reading. Everyone grabbed a box, looking through them for anything that might be useful to them.

"Known associates." Steve said, setting a box down on the table. Katherine was sitting on a table away from everyone, a box beside her and papers scattered on the table behind her and on the floor. "Baron Strucker had a lot of friends."

"Well, these people are all horrible." Bruce said, looking through his files.

"Wait." Tony said, catching everyone's attention. "I know that guy." He was pointing to the file in Bruce's hand. The doctor handed him the file, watching as Tony read over it. "From back in the day. He operates off the African coast. Black market arms." Katherine set her papers down before sliding off the table and walking over to him. Steve looked at Tony with a face. "There are conventions. Alright? You meet people." Katherine poked him in the side as she looked over the papers. "I didn't sell him anything." Katherine glanced up when Clint came to join them. "He was talking about finding something new, a game-changer. It was all very Ahab."

"This." Thor said, pointing to something on the pictures he was holding. He tilted it to show Steve, Tony, Clint, and Katherine.

"Ah, it's a tattoo; I don't think he had it." Tony explained.

"Those are tattoos, this is a brand." Thor said, pointing from around the front of the man's neck before moving to another picture that showed the back. Katherine held out her hand, Thor placed the paper in it. She brought it closer to her face, looking closer. She could feel Tony looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah, that's definitely a brand. The way the skin healed means that definitely isn't a tattoo. I've never seen it before… even when I was on Team X." She said, handing the picture to Steve. Bruce took one look at it before making his way over to a computer.

XXX

The search lasted a few minutes before the computer beeped with the results. "Oh, yeah. It's a word in an African dialect meaning 'thief'… in a much less friendly way." Bruce said, turning to the rest of the team.

"What dialect?" Katherine asked.

"Wakanada…Wakanda." Bruce stammered over how to pronounce it. Steve looked at Katherine.

"Do you know it?" He knew she'd spent some time in Africa, he just wasn't sure in what part or how much. She bit her thumbnail before shaking her head. When they were looking for the Adamantium, they had crossed into that part of Africa but Wade had been the one translating so she never even bothered to learn any of the language or the dialect... she thought she'd never have to go to Africa again. Steve looked at Tony over the top of the woman's head.

"If this guy got out of Wakanda with some of their trade goods… " Tony began. Steve turned to the man.

"I thought your father said he got the last of it."

"I don't follow." Bruce said, coming over to them. "What comes out of Wakanda?" Katherine released her thumb, rubbing her index finger over it.

"Two of the strongest metals on Earth." She said and Tony looked at her confused.

"Two?" He asked. She nodded, looking at Steve's shield before turning back to him.

"Vibranium and Adamantium. Both metals came out of Africa. I was there briefly with Team X when we were hunting down Adamantium to use for Logan's experiment." She said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Vibranium, like its name though, it better at shock absorbing and repelling which is why it makes a better weapon or shield. Adamantium is solid and heavy, it would be hard to use as a weapon. Logan's healing factor and pure strength of will help to make it work for him. Either element in the wrong hands can be extremely deadly." She bit down on her thumbnail again, looking up at both Tony and Steve before looking back down at the ground again.

"Where is this guy now?" Steve asked the billionaire.