Now comes the biggest change ever made to the MCU! I hope you like the change, and I hope that it makes sense. Sam and Tony have the loudest voices in my head... followed by Foggy.
Please read, enjoy, and review!
*FMttM*
Fury was taken to a special SHIELD hospital - or maybe it was one of their secret guest houses, like the one Phil Coulson had been taken to for Project TAHITI. They were not allowed into the surgery, so they had to watch through one of the windows.
Natasha arrived soon after they did, "Is he gonna make it?"
"I don't know." Steve told the Black Widow.
"I did what I could for most of his wounds, but the bullets are another story. My healing spells don't really take projectiles into account when healing."
The redhead nodded, "I'm sure you did your best." She looked to the Captain, "Tell me about the shooter."
"Fast. Strong." Steve thought back to his encounter, "He had a metal arm that was powerful enough to catch my shield and throw it back at me. He even knocked me back a few paces with that throw."
Natasha frowned as Agent Maria Hill approached them. The Black Widow spoke first, "Ballistics?"
"Three slugs. No rifling. Completely untraceable." Hill answered.
"Soviet made?"
"Yeah."
Suddenly several alarms went off in the surgery and the doctors began to scurry around gathering a defibrillator.
"I can save him!" Diana tried to bolt toward the surgery door, but Hill grabbed her arm.
"Let the doctors do their work."
"You don't understand. I can save him!" The blonde insisted. He wouldn't have to fake his death.
"We have the best medical staff. I don't think there's anything more you can do."
"Let go before I make you." Diana growled.
"It -"
"Let her go in there." Natasha ordered.
Hill looked at the Black Widow incredulously, "But she's not -"
"She has more than science at her fingertips. Let her go save the Director."
Hill let Diana go and the blonde darted through the door, but it was too late. Just as Diana entered the surgery, one of the doctor's announced, "Time of death: 1:03 AM."
"No." The blonde breathed. Was he really dead? Or was he faking like he had in the movie? She had to take a look at the spiritual realm. That would give her the answered she needed.
Diana entered her astral form and bent time so that she would only be gone for a few milliseconds. She took a good look at Fury's body and saw the faint glow of light that indicated life in the spiritual realm. She returned to her body and stood in the doorway motionlessly for a few seconds.
Steve and Natasha entered the room with Agent Hill following behind them. The Black Widow put her hands on the hospital bed and leaned over her boss's, her mentor's, seemingly dead body with her eyes squeezed shut. Steve put a hand on the redhead's shoulder.
"I need to take him." Hill told them.
"Natasha…" The Captain addressed her. The red head didn't answer, but reached out her hand to run her fingers over Fury's covered head and face. She then spun around and stormed out the door, barely missing smashing into Diana on her way out. Steve followed her with Diana right behind him, "Natasha!" He called out.
She then turned on them, "Why was Fury in your apartment?"
"I don't know. He -"
Rumlow approached them and addressed Steve, "Cap, they want you back at SHIELD."
"Just give me a second." The Captain requested.
"They want you now."
"The Director just died." Diana ground out, "He'll return when he's ready to return. So go away."
"You don't have a say in this, sweetie. So keep your pretty little mouth shut."
That was interesting. HYDRA still obviously didn't see her as a real threat. Well, they were going to be in for a huge surprise when she stole their Asset and beat their asses with his strength on her side.
Natasha was still glaring at Steve, "You know, you're a terrible liar." She turned and walked away.
The Captain stepped close to Diana and took her hand. Within his was the flash drive, "Keep this safe while I'm gone."
"I will." She gripped the flash drive and slipped it into her own pocket when Steve stepped away.
"I'm ready to go."
With one last glance at Diana, Rumlow led the Captain away.
*FMttM*
Diana Sling portaled to Avengers Tower, "TONY!"
"Welcome back, Miss Larson. I shall alert Sir of your arrival," JARVIS addressed her.
"Thanks JAR. I might need your help with a super top secret flash drive that Fury gave to Steve."
Moments later a door opened and Tony strode in, "Glinda! How goes it with our resident witch?"
"Not a witch, Tony. More of a sorceress. A witch usually needs a focus, like a wand or staff. I don't." Diana rolled her eyes, "I need your help." She held out the flash drive.
"Ooo. JARVIS said something about a super secret SHIELD flash drive." He plucked it from her hand.
"It's not SHIELD's. Well, it is, but is isn't." She explained and Tony arched an eyebrow at her, "It's HYDRA."
"HYDRA? I thought they were all dead!"
"Cut off one head, two more shall take its place." Diana quoted their motto, "The SSR hired Arnim Zola as a scientific advisor, and he was one of those guys who dedicated his life to a cause, but refused to die for it. Those types are more dangerous than the people who are the cannon fodder."
"Because they can burrow in somewhere else and spread their ideals." Tony understood, "Okay, come with me."
They entered one of Tony's labs and he plugged the flash drive into a computer, "JARVIS, do a scan of the drive for homing beacons, bugs, viruses, trojans, everything and anything the bastards could use to track us."
"Yes, sir." There was a brief pause before the AI continued, "The drive had several homing beacons and old viruses, but I was able to clean them out. There was, however, an intricate AI program which is protecting the information. It tried to hide from me by going through a trace back to what I surmise is its original source."
"Follow it." Tony ordered, "And show me the origin on screen when you get there."
"Yes sir." It only took a few moments before a map appeared on the computer screen, "I believe that location is Camp Lehigh in New Jersey." JARVIS informed them.
"What else can you tell me about what's on the drive?" Tony asked. There was a pause as the screen changed to various folders and files. "This'll take a while. JARVIS, make a copy and transfer all files to a secure server." The genius, billionaire cracked his knuckles, "Alright, now to find out some HYDRA secrets."
"Look up the Winter Soldier," Diana told him, "He's the guy who shot Nick Fury."
"I never thought anyone could pull one over on that pirate." Tony tried to joke, "Maybe he just didn't see it coming."
"He's officially dead."
"Dead? Like dead-dead or Agent-dead, 'cause I know SHIELD thinks they're being sneaky hiding Agent, but I'm me. I've caught him on camera's too many times to think he's as dead as SHIELD says he is."
"Nicholas J. Fury was pronounced dead at one am this morning." Diana reported. Then she leaned forward, "But between you and me, that BAMF is totally alive and getting ready to kick HYDRA ass."
A vicious grin spread over Tony's face, "Well, then, in the name of that pirate, I'm gonna tear apart those files on the Winter Soldier. They won't know what hit them."
*FMttM*
Diana went to her workroom in the tower and retrieved the notebook which contained Tony's parents' deaths. It would be best if he knew now about HYDRA's involvement and their use of the Winter Soldier Asset as their weapon. She sat on her office chair to read her recounting of the assassination of the Starks again.
When she was finished, she gathered her courage and returned to Tony's workroom. He was sitting there looking pale and ill. How long had she been gone? She dug out her phone in her pocket. Only an hour. What had happened to Tony in one hour that would make him look like that? Diana then looked at the computer screen and saw a video file was pulled up.
"Tony?"
"You know, I always thought of HYDRA in the context of history, like the Nazis." He told her, his jaw worked a little, "I never really thought too hard about what they did to people because I thought they were gone." Tony turned to look at her, "Did you know there's a seventy year long file about this Winter Soldier guy that they forcefully made into their own personal assassin?" The older man grimaced, "What happened to me in Afghanistan was peanuts compared to what they did to him."
"How far did you get into the file?"
"Only scattered written reports from the late 40s and throughout the 50s." Tony said, "Then I skipped ahead because the details were starting to make me queasy. They mutilated and humiliated him. They forced drugs into his system and made him hallucinate through all his senses in order to break him. There were details of disciplinary action for various offenses, mostly talking back." The corner of the billionaire's lips twitched in a very quick smirk before turning serious again, "Apparently he liked to talk smack to the soldiers before they beat it out of him. Zola wrote a lot of notes and took perverse pleasure in the amount of control he had over the Soldier."
Tony's finger tapped the computer table, "After that, I changed to the video feeds. I kind of wish I hadn't. This," he indicated the screen, "was the last one I watched - a ten minute sequence showing how they wiped his memories with an electroshock-type machine. How that guy is still alive, I don't have a clue."
Diana bit her lip, "It gets worse, Tony." She set the notebook down in front of him, opened to the correct page.
"What's this? You rarely show me your notebooks."
"This one's important. It's the one I finished before all this happened." She told him, "And please, please don't be mad at me when you're done reading it."
"Why would I be mad?"
"Because your parents' deaths were not an accident."
Tony froze, his eyes wide, and any color that was left in his face drained away, "What?"
"Just… read it. I'll be in my workroom if you want to come yell at me when you're done." Diana turned and practically fled the lab.
She sat in her chair, twiddling her thumbs for a little while when her phone vibrated. She had a text from an unknown number.
Text - 8:24 AM
Unknown: Hey girl. We're at the mall wondering where you are.
Diana frowned and texted back: Who is this?
Unknown: We've only met a couple times, but you know my bf: Chris Evans.
Diana realized who it was and added Scarlett Johansson to her contacts. The blonde then texted back: Oh, hey ScarJo.
She added another text: Chris forgot to tell me which mall. Where you at?
Text - 8:25 AM
Scarlett Johansson: I want your ideas for where we should go on a honeymoon.
Diana returned a text: Well, Chris is a World War II buff.
She sent a second text: I bet he'd love to visit the old training camps on the East Coast.
Then a third text: I think his grandpa trained at Camp Lehigh in Wheaton, NJ.
Scarlett Johansson: That's a great idea! I'll tell him. Thnx!
Diana sent another text: I'm here with Robert Downey Jr. He helped me with those files I couldn't read.
Text - 8:26 AM
Scarlett Johansson: So that's why you completely forgot about meeting us at the mall.
Diana texted back: Sorry!
Scarlett Johansson: Well, the least you could do is bring Robert when you meet us for lunch.
Diana understood what Natasha wanted - to meet at Camp Lehigh: Okay.
She Googled how long it would take Natasha and Steve to drive to Camp Lehigh and came up with almost three hours. Maybe Diana could convince Ironman to join in as air support with Falcon. Tony certainly had the motive to kick some HYDRA ass.
*FMttM*
The door to her workroom slammed open a little over two hours later, and Tony stood there clutching the notebook.
"Is this true?" He asked flatly.
"As far as I know, yes."
"HYDRA had my parents killed so they could get their hands on more super soldier serum. I found the file in one of the mission reports for the Winter Soldier."
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you before."
"I'm gonna kill them." Tony ground out, his hand squeezing the notebook, "Everyone in HYDRA is as good as dead once I'm through with them."
"What about the Winter Soldier? He was the one they used to kill your parents." She hoped Tony wouldn't put any of the blame on Bucky, but she had to ask.
Ironman's jaw worked, as if he was chewing on his answer, "After seeing how he was treated for years… I'll try not to kill him. No promises, though."
"Natasha and Steve are heading to Camp Lehigh so we can investigate the trace we found."
"You know," Tony's expression bordered on cruel, "I've made a new suit. Pepper would probably kill me for doing it, but… HYDRA killed my parents. I think she'll forgive me for using it this once."
"Yeah, we should take it with us."
"What about you, Shieldmaiden? Where is your suit?"
"My robes are just as conspicuous as your Ironman suit."
"Hum… I'll make you something new later, then."
As Tony went to get his suit, Diana returned the notebook to the safe and retrieved the flash drive, not really remembering whether it would be needed at the Camp.
"Here." He handed her a device, "Stick it in your ear so we can communicate if we get separated. The channel is secure. Since only JARVIS and the people wearing these specific earpieces can hear each other; J will stop any hackers."
"Thanks, Tony. Do you have pieces for Steve and Natasha?"
The billionaire rolled his eyes, "Of course I'll bring one for the Capsicle and the Widow."
Diana nodded and slipped on her Sling ring.
"Ooo, are we gonna do some of that magic travel of yours?" Tony asked, a silver briefcase in one hand.
Diana smiled, "Yup." She waved her hand in a circular motion and created a portal to Camp Lehigh.
Tony strode around the portal, "That's amazing! It's like you created a wormhole or a rip between two spaces! I wish I had more time to analyze it, but we've got work to do." He stepped through the portal.
Once she stepped through, Diana wiped out the portal, "I don't know how long we'll have to wait before Steve and Natasha get here." She turned and saw that Tony had in fact suited up.
"I'm gonna check the perimeter." He told her, his voice distorted by his suit's speaker.
Diana looked around. Everything was completely overgrown since it hadn't been used in years, "This place gives me the creeps." As she walked around a building that looked like a barracks, she put in the earpiece Tony had given her and pressed it to turn it on.
"Shieldmaiden, can you hear me?" Tony's voice came through too loudly and Diana winced.
"Yeah. It's a bit loud, but I can hear you."
"Awesome. Cap and Widow are approaching the other side of the base from the road. They're about two minutes out."
"Thanks. I'll head in that direction."
"I've also figured out which building that signal was coming from." Tony informed her, "I'll meet you on the other side of the base."
Diana quickly jogged across the army base to where she could see the main road. She could hear a car approaching and watched as Ironman touched down. His suit became a briefcase again, "Thirty seconds." He told her as he approached.
The car approached and skidded to a stop not far from Diana and Tony. Steve got out of the driver's seat and Natasha the passenger's. They both gave a quick scan of the area before striding toward their two friends and allies.
"I'm glad you're safe, Di." Steve gave her a quick hug, "It was a good idea to go get Tony."
"I figured that if anyone could get into a SHIELD-based flash drive without kicking up any dust it would be our resident genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." She then grinned, "Although it was actually JARVIS that did all of the hacking."
"Hey now!" Tony gave a pout, "I read a lot of gruesome files on the Winter Soldier. Give me some credit for surviving that!"
"Point." Diana nodded.
"Thanks for helping, Tony. I'm pretty sure that if we'd tried to get into that drive ourselves, they would've caught us." Steve held out his hand.
Tony shook it, "No problem, Cap." He then turned and pointed toward one of the buildings not far away, "The signal is coming from that building. I thought about just blowing it up, but…" He shrugged, "Maybe there's some info on what the hell's going on with SHIELD."
"Yeah." Steve was looking around looking fairly nostalgic, "This camp is where I trained." He told them as they began walking toward the building.
"Bet you beat all those recruits," Tony smirked, "showed them up with your patriotism and speeches about freedom."
"Actually, I trained here before the serum." The Captain made a face, "I nearly killed myself trying to keep up."
"Colonel Phillips probably wasn't very encouraging." Diana added.
"The Colonel saw a scrawny, sick kid who wouldn't amount to much of anything except another lost soldier." Steve replied, "I think his mind changed after he threw a fake grenade into our exercise group and instead of running away like everyone else, I dove onto it to dampen the blast."
Tony whistled, "I take back everything I said about the serum being the only thing making you Captain America. That takes some balls… or maybe stupidity."
The Captain laughed a little, "Bucky nearly had a heart attack when I told that story to the Commandos and chewed me out for being an idiot, moron, and any other insults he could think up."
Everyone had a nice chuckle at that. Moments later they stopped in front of one of the buildings, "The signal is coming from in there," Tony told them.
"This is wrong. This is a munitions storage unit. What's it doing…?" The Captain frowned at the lock on the doors.
"What're you talking about?" Diana asked.
"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards of the barracks." He pointed to another edifice just across the street and a few paces away, "This building is in the wrong place, which means..." Steve explained as he took his shield off his back and slammed it into the lock. It broke instantly and fell to the ground, "Let's go." He wrenched open the door and the four of them strode inside.
"This is a SHIELD bunker." Natasha observed.
"JARVIS," Tony tapped his ear piece, "Scan and give date of last use."
A few moments passed as the four continued down a hall toward the origin of the signal, waiting for JARVIS to give them information, "Analysis of the dust covering as well as cobwebs and other materials, this facility was last used for long periods of time around the 1960s or 1970s." The AI announced, "There have been various visits, but none lasted very long and the dates of these visits are uncertain. There have not been any for the last few years."
"Great! That makes this place more abandoned than I originally thought." The billionaire smirked.
They went into one of the first large rooms they found. It happened to have three portraits on the wall opposite the door, and an empty bookcase a little further away, "Maybe this is where SHIELD started," Steve indicated the old photos of Howard Stark, Colonel Chester Phillips, and Agent Peggy Carter.
Diana looked between the photo of Howard and his son Tony standing in front of her, "You look like your dad."
Tony made a face that scrunched up his nose, "His looks and his genius are the only things he gave me. Moving along." He swept past the photos without giving them a second glance.
Steve reached out to touch Peggy's face. "Who's the girl?" Natasha asked. The Captain's lips thinned, and he followed Tony without answering.
"It's a touchy subject. Steve was falling head over heels for Agent Peggy Carter." Diana explained, "We just saw her at a retirement home yesterday. She has Alzheimer's really bad."
"Oh…" The Black Widow looked a little sad and maybe a tiny bit guilty before the two women followed the Captain and Ironman.
Tony had stopped in front of a bookcase and was examining it, "What do you think, Cap?"
"I think that if you're already working in a secret office," Steve pulled the bookcase aside with ease and revealed an elevator door, "why do you need to hide the elevator?"
"JARVIS?" Tony asked, and after a few seconds, the doors slid open.
The four of them stepped into the elevator, the doors slid closed, and they began to descend.
"The least they could do is have elevator music." Tony joked, trying to ease some of the tension that was in the air.
Unfortunately, it didn't work, and the elevator doors opened to an even more tense group. The room was full of old computers from the late 1960s, according to Tony.
"I don't know how that signal could've been coming from here." The billionaire looked perplexed, "This tech is ancient! It couldn't handle Solitaire much less anything of intelligence like the signal suggested. I was expecting modern SHIELD tech at the very least, not this… junk." Then he became even more confused, "What the hell's a flash drive port doing in this scrap pile?" He looked to Diana, "Hey, Hermione, you still got the drive?"
She dug through her pockets and produced the drive, "Yup," and handed it to the resident tech genius.
As soon as Tony plugged in the drive, it started up the system, "Woah, okay, that's unexpected."
A cursor lit up on one of the screens: Initiate System?
"Uh, yeah." Tony said. Nothing happened, "Dammit. I forgot this was an antique." He brought his fingers up to the keyboard and typed: YES.
An accented voice spoke and an old camera focused on each of them, "Rogers, Steven Grant. Born 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born 1984. Stark, Anthony Edward. Born 1970. Larson, Diana. Born… uncertain. Interesting."
"Okay, I was not expecting that." Tony leaned back and raised his chin defiantly, "To whom am I speaking?"
"I may not be the man I once was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am." A screen flared to life and showed the very matrixed face of a man with glasses.
"Cap, you know this... thing?" Tony asked.
Steve's teeth clenched, "Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years."
"First correction, I am Swiss."
"Geographical semantics. You worked for the Nazi Science Division called HYDRA, therefore, you were in the employ of Germany, making you German by proxy." Tony shot back, already hating the guy who'd tortured the Winter Soldier.
Zola went on as if he hadn't been interrupted, "Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind, however, that was worth saving on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain."
"As impressive as this might be for the 1970s," Tony added, "what's this gotta do with SHIELD going bonkers and starting a Cap-hunt? And how are you involved in all this?"
"I was invited into the SSR, which would become SHIELD." Zola replied simply then continued with his explanation, "After the implementation of Operation Paperclip, the SSR hired me to help with their cause. While I did as they asked, I mostly burrowed deep within their ranks and helped my own cause."
"HYDRA died with the Red Skull." Steve informed him.
"Ah, but what is HYDRA's motto?" Zola inquired, "Cut off one head, two more shall take its place."
The Captain's expression darkened, "Prove it."
"Accessing archive." Several images flashed across Zola's face screen, including photos and newsreels of the Red Skull. Zola narrated over the information, "HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom, they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."
"Oh god, he sounds like Reindeer Games." Tony groaned.
Natasha was a bit louder, "That's impossible, SHIELD would have stopped you."
"Accidents will happen." The screen flashed with the newspaper article about Howard and Maria Stark's accident.
Tony suddenly activated his suit and raised one of his palm repulsor, "I'm gonna rip apart your so-called brain, and when I'm done, I'll incinerate the pieces." His robotic voice snarled, "It's no less than a monster like you deserves."
Steve looked at his friend in horror, although he wouldn't grasp the gravity of the situation until he learned the Winter Soldier was responsible for Tony's parents' deaths.
Diana put a hand on Ironman's arm, "Tony, not yet. We need to know what's going on now. You can destroy it all later."
Ironman turned to Shieldmaiden, "My patience with this… thing is wearing thin, Diana. One minute, that's all I'll give him." Tony lowered his hand repulsors back to his sides.
Zola continued, "Now, where was I? Ah yes: HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA's new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your Life: a zero sum."
It was Steve's turn to lose his temper. First smugly informing his friend that his parents' deaths were no accident (although Tony technically already knew), then Zola had the audacity to mock Steve's sacrifice during WWII! The Captain punched the screen that showed Zola's face. It probably wasn't as satisfying as punching his actual face would have been.
The antagonizing man simply appeared on another screen, "As I was saying…"
The Captain cut him off, looking at Tony, who'd opened his helmet, "What's on the drive?"
"Files on the Winter Soldier and something called Project Insight." Tony answered, "I didn't get to look at the latter, but the Winter Soldier files are the stuff of nightmares. Torture - physical, emotional, mental, chemical… complete brainwashing and memory erasure… should I go on?"
"There is no need. The Winter Soldier is mine, and it will protect HYDRA to its last breath. Besides Project Insight requires... insight. So I wrote an algorithm." Zola replied.
"What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" Natasha asked.
"The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it." The Zola AI told them and they noticed the elevator doors closing.
Steve threw his shield at them, but it was too late and the sound of metal clanging on metal rang through the room as the shield returned to Steve's hand.
"JARVIS! Get those doors open!" Tony shouted at his AI.
Suddenly, Diana heard static from her earpiece, "That was more difficult to break into than I thought. The distraction will cost that other AI..." She sucked in a breath when she heard Zola's voice coming through it, "I have mere moments, Fraulein but I must tell you… just like he did with Captain Rogers, he asked for you, Diana Larson. Screamed for you. Begged for you. I wondered who you were, why he would call your name along with the Captain's, but once I broke him, I didn't care. And now I know. Your SHIELD file is quite interesting - your connections to Captain Rogers and Sergeant Barnes helped me create my ultimate masterpiece. Knowing that, like his dear Captain, the woman he pleaded for would not, could not, come for him... that makes everything so much more satisfying."
There was more static and he was gone, "My apologies, Miss Larson. I was distracted -" She vaguely heard JARVIS' voice over her heart pounding in her ears.
Diana then ripped out her earpiece and threw it on the ground, stomping on it..
"Hey, what -?" Tony noticed what Diana had done but got cut off by Natasha, who had received an alert on her phone.
"We got a bogey. Short range ballistics. We got thirty seconds tops."
"Who fired it?"
Natasha's lips thinned, "SHIELD."
"I am afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it, it's better this way. We're both of us...out of time." Zola mocked.
Steve noted a small opening in the ground covered by a metal door. He ripped the door off its hinges, grabbed Diana, "I got her. You get out while you still can!" Captain America shouted at Ironman. Tony snatched Natasha, blasted a hole in the roof, and flew out. Steve covered the two of them as best he could with his shield and Diana cast one of her own.
Moments later, Steve began to dig them out. Ironman was waiting for them on the other side, holding a large piece of rubble, "You guys okay?"
"Bruised and battered. Could be better, though." Diana brushed herself off.
Steve looked around at the hole the explosion had made with a frown, "That did not go as planned."
"When does anything go as planned?" Natasha arched an eyebrow.
They all took a moment to stare at the rubble, before Tony grumbled, "But I wanted to destroy that frog-faced creep!" Steve, Diana, and Natasha couldn't help but chuckle a little, releasing some of the tension from their encounter with Zola. Then Tony's head cocked to the side, "We gotta go." Tony told them, "There are SHIELD - no, HYDRA agents coming."
Steve turned to Diana, "Portal?"
"Where?"
"Anywhere but here."
Ironman landed, but didn't deactivate his suit, "Back to DC. That's where Project Insight is gonna happen. JARVIS looked at the files and gave the information to me while Zola was blabbing."
"We need somewhere to hide out." Natasha told them.
Diana looked at Steve, "Sam?"
"Should we really get him involved?" The Captain asked.
"There's no time for debate." Tony informed them, "They just found your car and will be here any second!"
Steve took a deep breath, "Sam."
Diana quickly created a portal back to DC, hoping that because her mind was on Sam, it would open close to wherever he was. If not, they could always catch a ride in a taxi or something.
*FMttM*
Since they didn't know where Sam's house was, Tony wanted JARVIS to hack into the Drivers' License database, but Natasha was faster (and more legal) and simply found him on Tinder with Steve's help in identifying his friend's profile picture. It left the billionaire pouting a little bit behind his sunglasses as they rode the bus to the stop nearest Sam's house ("This is humiliating." Tony grumbled with his arms crossed.). They walked the rest of the way there and knocked on Sam Wilson's door.
When Sam opened the door and saw them, his eyebrows went up, "Hey, man." He addressed Steve.
"I'm sorry about this, but we need a place to lay low." Steve told his friend.
"Everyone we know is trying to kill us." Natasha put in.
"Not everyone." Diana refuted, "Just everyone in SHIELD which has apparently been infiltrated by HYDRA that didn't actually disband at the end of World War II."
"Well, I'm not SHIELD, so I'm not gonna try to kill you." Sam opened his door wider and stepped aside, "Unless you eat my gumbo. Then I won't make any promises."
"Thanks Sam." Steve clapped him on the shoulder as they entered.
Once Sam closed the door, he turned to them with a frown, "You guys look like shit. What happened to you?"
The Captain sent a look of displeasure toward his friend at his bad language before replying, "We don't know too much, and explaining the inner workings of SHIELD would take too long."
"Not really." Diana began to sum up their adventure, "HYDRA didn't die at the end of WWII. Stupid people hired a HYDRA scientist, Arnim Zola, who was determined to continue his human experimentation. Zola did just that, and spread HYDRA influence throughout SHIELD, even after his death since he somehow uploaded his mind into a computer. Also they have a super soldier assassin called the Winter Soldier working for them, and he killed the one person with any power within SHIELD who was on our side and not HYDRA. So, we're pretty much screwed right now."
Sam just blinked for a few seconds, "I would let loose another curse word, but I think the Cap's had enough of that today."
Steve just sighed in annoyance before agreeing with Diana, "That's the jist of the last couple days so far."
"Well, I bet you guys could use a shower and some sleep." Sam offered, "I only have one extra bedroom, but the couch is a nice place to catch a few winks too."
"I should actually head back to the Tower and analyze some of the data JARVIS got from Zola's mainframe." Tony told them, "I just wanted to make sure the Cap wasn't taking these two lovely ladies to a serial killer."
"You don't have to worry about Chocolaccino." Diana told Tony with a smile, "He's a regular cinnamon roll."
"Chocolaccino?" Tony arched an eyebrow at her, "I thought I was the one coming up with the nicknames around here."
"Wait a second, you're Tony Stark." Sam's eyes were wide.
The billionaire grinned and puffed up a little, "Why yes, yes I am."
"You're Ironman."
"Yup, I'm that too."
"You're standing in my house."
"And now I'm gonna leave your house." Tony stepped outside the door. He paused and glared at Diana, "Don't think I forgot about you smashing my earpiece. You're gonna have to explain that when I get back, and I will be coming back. JARVIS is monitoring Natasha's and your phones by GPS. Don't hunt HYDRA without me."
"You deserve a little vengeance for your parents. We won't start without you." Diana promised.
"Awesome." Tony activated his suit, "See you in a few hours." Then he flew off.
"That's so cool." Sam looked wistful from beside Diana as they both watched Ironman fly off toward New York.