Pietro groaned as he came too. His jaw ached. She definitely hit harder than she used to.

'Wait...oh no…'

He bolted up right, ice filling his veins when his eyes failed to locate Becca anywhere in the room. He shifted his gaze to the window where Bucky stood. Bucky shook his head.

"She's gone."

His heart sank. He grabbed his head with a frustrated groan.

"She going back to Viper, isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"Damn it! We were so damn close!" Electricity crackled and whipped around him like a whirlwind, so fast that the couch tipped over with a loud thud.

Bucky's eyes widened, 'Damn, kid.'

Steve quickly spoke, his voice calm and still. "We can go after her, Pietro. Scott and Hope-"

"And just where are they, Captain? They sure in the hell aren't here, now are they?"

He just grinned and shook his head, "If you could let me finish, I'd be able to tell you that their hitching a ride on Becky."

The dawning realization in Pietro's eyes made Bucky chuckle.

'Yeah, kid. I've had a few of those moments myself...during WWII of course.'

"Do you always plan so ahead, Captain?"

Steve rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, not really. I usually end up winging it in the end."

Bucky couldn't help himself and he laughed for the first time in what seems like forever. Which causes Steve to still until he finally chuckles.

'It feels good to laugh, even if it is for just a moment.'

/ / / / /

Dr. Pym pulled back from the microscope with a grimace. He had thought the crazy ants dying so suddenly was rather strange...

'I know someone who had a collar put on them…'

Pietro's question about the collar haunted him.

If it was the same collar that he had seen in Viper's possession before than it was bad news...very bad news.

He pulled up the warehouse footage and watched it, starting from the moment Rebecca arrived. He replayed it a few times when something odd catches his eye and he enhances the footage...focusing on the speedster and the girl. He enhances it once more, zeroing in on the collar around her neck, he watched it blink red once, then twice, and then turn green.

Like it was remotely activated.

The pieces within his brain clicked into place and he immediately rewound the footage, replaying it at half speed and then one quarter speed.

The light turned green just after she spoke to Pietro.

But just that collar alone shouldn't have been enough to cause the convulsions he saw.

That made him pause and he pulled up a locked file in his computer's data bank.

He hesitated momentarily, his hand shaking over the mouse. He took a deep breath and then double clicked on it.

"Voice recognition required."

His voice shook as he gave the answer. "Janet."

"Voice recognition verified."

The file only confirmed his suspicions and he immediately hit his com.

'Damn it.'

/ / / / /

"Captain?"

Steve activated his com, "Hank? You have something?"

"Yeah and you're not going to like it."

"Go ahead."

"I did some digging and found something...something bad. You remember the collar that was on Rebecca when she attacked us?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"If I'm right, that device was remotely activated by Viper but that wasn't the cause of her seizure…"

There was silence followed by the clicking of keys and Steve's phone buzzed.

Steve opened the file and looked at the small mechanical device with wires sticking out of it, thoroughly confused.

"What are we looking at here, Hank?"

"That is what caused her seizure, Captain. It's a delivery system...more than likely for a virus."

"A virus?!" Bucky yelled.

"Apparently Viper wasn't just training your daughter to be an assassin, Sergeant Barnes. She was also using her enhanced genetics to perfect an extremely fatal biological weapon. One that could be carried inside 'soldiers' like Rebecca and then activated once they were in a location of optimal impact. That's where the collar comes in."

Bucky grimaced, "It's a remote trigger."

"Precisely."

"But if it was activated in the warehouse, why didn't we get infected?"

Pym was quick to answer, "It was more than likely a test run to see if Rebecca's body could handle its activation. Since she's still alive, I'd say the test was unfortunately a success."

"Could there have been any chance of the device not working in the first place?"

"I don't know, Captain. I would have to have the device in front of me to answer that."

"Just how do you know all this, Hank?"

"Let an old man keep some secrets, Captain."

Pietro then remembered the orange ants blanketing her.

"Wait! What about the ants, those little orange ones of yours...they gave off an electrical charge right? Wouldn't that have broken the device?"

"Yes, or at least disabled it enough to need repairing."

Steve jumped at that, "So she's either going to try and fix the device in her, or put a new one in. That's a procedure that will take time. Our top priority now is getting there before they can place the device, and destroy any and all documents, computer files and backups…"

He pointed to Bucky and Syrena, "You two will go after Becky. Wanda, you're their failsafe, alright? If it looks bad, "suggest" Viper's goons to leave you alone."

"Pietro, your job will be to place charges at key locations around the base. Dr. Pym, send a message to Scott and Hope...see if they can get a hold of schematics to help him."

"Yes, Captain."

"Alright, everyone...suit up!"