This was going far too easily. Two Avengers down…well, three, if you counted Hawkeye. Just sending soldiers out into the field was not Red Skull's style. Skull always thought two moves in advance, he calculated every possibility before moving his pinkie. Something bigger was going on, but Nick was unable to see it. Just like with Palpatine, and just like with Dooku, dark forces were rising, and Fury didn't know if he would be able to stop them in time.

They were heading straight to Egypt now, where SHIELD had picked up sightings of Captain America. Wilson seemed particularly eager for this mission. Of course, Steve Rogers was no joke. With his skill, his shield, and experience, there was a good chance he could take out the whole crew.

It may come down to Fury revealing his Jedi powers. And what if the Skull's affects couldn't be reversed? Or what if there was a kind of failsafe that prevented full eradication of the Skull's influence. None of them knew the extent of the damage.

And if Skull did manage to conquer this planet (and all of the super powered beings who inhabited it) what was stopping him from doing the same to other planets? What was stopping him from mastering galactic travel, and taking over other stars, and systems…in a galaxy far far away. It was too much. Too many lives at stake. Too many things that could be lost…too ma-

"Fury?" It was Sam's voice, calling from the far left of the plane.

Nick turned to the back, his hands were shaking on the piloting yoke. "Yeah, what is it?"

"Can you please explain to me how junior here," he thumbed to Finn who was sitting right next to him, "Hasn't ever had ice cream before? Aren't you supposed to be takin' care of your boy?" Sam Wilson smiled as he gently smacked Finn's scalp.

"He's right, man," Rhodey said from the back, "Not having ice cream is a crime, no matter what planet you're from."

Fury shrugged, "Never had ice cream?" Nick forced a smile, "Well, we'll have to fix that as soon as we're done here."

Yes…ice cream. A simple thing that hardly meant anything. Cold and sweet, it was a luxury Finn might have been afforded as a boy. Fury did not know much about the First Order, but what he did know, he did not like. If that was the state of his home galaxy, he would be damned if he would allow the Skull to corrupt it even further. And he would be damned if he allowed Hydra to turn his adopted home into a nightmare that not even Palpatine could conceive of. He would win. Nick Fury, and Mace Windu would make sure of it.

"Approaching Egypt now," Fury said. "Hold on."

Fury had set the jet down in a remote part of the desert, but the quinjet looked as obvious sitting there in the hot sun as an Ewok in a herd of Clonetroopers. No doubt Cap knew they were there. The group filed out of the jet one by one. Finn kept the lightsaber's hilt close to his side, but Nick could sense his uneasiness. The guy wished he had a blaster…not that Fury could blame him.

"Stay sharp team," Fury said. "Anything cou-"

Fury stopped. There was something here, something he could sense through the Force. Strong. Determined. Without fear.

"Steve."

A red, white and blue shield came soaring through the dry air, ricocheted off the wing of the jet, and slammed straight into War Machine's face plate.

"Uh…I think Cap knows we're here," Rhodey said. "And I don't think he's happy."

Fury looked across the sand dunes, and gazed out into the empty landscape. There was nothing there. "War Machine, could you track the trajectory of the shield? It might lead us to Steve's position."

"That won't work," Sam interjected. He spread his wings out into the air and took off. "Listen," he said over the intercom, "If Steve is in a secure location, he never just throws his shield from that same position. It would give himself away." Falcon scanned the area from the sky, there'd be no way Steve would attack Falcon from that position. There'd be nothing to mask his whereabouts.

Steve Rogers was smart, Sam gave him that. The World War II vet wasn't just going to lay down while the enemy soared over head. He would move. He would calculate the odds against him. The enemy would have superior numbers, superior fire power, and superior tech.

"War Machine," Sam said through the radio, "I've got a strategy to defeat Cap, but I'm gonna need your help, alright?"

"Really?" Luke Cage asked, "Captain America is a pretty big deal, what exactly are we supposed to do against him?"

"We trust Wilson," Nick Fury said from below, his arms crossed over his chest, and his mind sharp. A good leader knows when to fall back. Sam Wilson trained with Steve, he knew how the man thought. If Sam had a strategy, Fury would not interfere with it. "Wilson's got this, we need to take out Skull's device."

Panther raised his wrist, and checked his readings, "I'm already scanning."

The device was located approximately thirteen meters to the north. It was unguarded (of course that was just what Rogers wanted them to think). The device sat big and bolt against the Egyptian sands, the air was drier than Jabba the hut's sense of humor.

"Be cautious," Fury said, "He could attack at any minute."

And any minute, was now. Steve's shield came flying through the air once again, slamming into Luke's face, and ricocheting back into Captain America's star spangled hands. He stood there with a sullen expression. "This is as far as you guys go," he said.

"Look," Nick Fury began, "I could try and convince you that you're on the wrong side, that the Skull is just using you, and try to get you to shake off whatever mind mojo that Nazi's got on you…but I don't really have the patience for all of that."

"And I," Steve said, "Don't have the patience for bullies."

Luke Cage walked up to the forefront, "Oh, you're the one throwing shields at people's faces, and we're the bullies? That's rich." Luke Cage charged forward, his fists outward. "Believe me, this is gonna hurt you a lot more than it's gonna hurt me."

Luke punched, and Steve dodged and swept his legs beneath Luke's…only to have his leg be slammed against skin as hard as steel.

"Surprised Uncle Sam?" Luke asked.

Captain America scrambled to his feet, hand to hand combat wasn't going to work against this group…so his shield would have to do most of the work for him. He mounted his weapon on his arm, and threw.

It ricocheted off Luke's chest, and into Finn's line of sight…only to be blocked by War Machine's armor.

"Nice try, boys," Captain America said, "But you'll have to do better than that." His shield came back, as it always did, and Steve planted himself into the ground, ready for the next attack.

"Well," Nick said, "We already did." Director Fury pointed towards Steve's shield, and laying against its frame was a small electrical device.

"W-what that-" but before Steve could finish, the machine activated and sent a grand wave of electricity to the Captain's body, knocking him from his feet, and onto the dry sands. He couldn't move.

"Pretty smart, right?" Fury asked. "It was Falcon's idea. He knew that your shield was your greatest weapon…and your biggest weakness. If we could somehow compromise it, we could compromise you as well."

Steve Rogers fell to the ground, "You tricked me…"

"No," Fury said, "Sam tricked you."