I like to call this chapter the chapter of many characters and many surprises for many characters (some surprises for the good guys and some surprises for the bad guys). Enjoy! :)

-randomblueboots


MARIA

"Agent Hill, there's been another shooting downtown, it seems to me like it's the same killer." Agent May's voice echoed through Maria's ear.

"On it."

"What about the Captain?"

"Steve's busy. I'll investigate." Maria took a u-turn towards downtown while May sent over the address of where the assassination had taken place. She knew she should tell Steve but he was busy directing SHIELD now that Coulson had been taken down, and he was working on the whole "communications shut-down" plan. Bruce had left the bomb-shelter against Steve's orders because he was pissed about not being able to call the group down in Florida, which made Steve's job even worse. As Maria reached the address—an unbelievable fancy hotel where the HYRDRA leader who had been shot had been staying—she looked around at the roofs of the buildings around the hotel.

"Do we have any video feed of the killer?" Maria asked.

"No cams were watching the roofs." May replied.

"So where do you think he shot from?"

"If I were him I would've shot from the building to the left of the one across from the street. If we could get closer to the window he shot through we might be able to see the actual angle-"

"We don't have time. I'm going up." Maria ran for the apartment building, and found the elevator. It took her up to the highest floor within minutes. She came up onto an extremely windy roof, her hair blew in her face as she examined her scene.

"He would've had to have been very skilled to know how to shoot through this wind!" She gasped. She turned and moved towards the edge of the building facing the hotel. "There's definitely a clear shot from here."

"Do you see a shell, or any other evidence?" Maria turned to her left, and found a bullet shell, she leaned over to pick it up, but suddenly had her legs knocked out from under her. The impact on the roof made her ear-piece fall out. She could hear Agent May yelling, but she spun around and lashed out at her attacker, a tall, dark haired man, wearing a mask over his lower face.

"Agent Hill?!" She knew him, she had seen him before. But before she could stop herself she punched him right in the face.

"Ow! Sorry!" She gasped, her knuckles felt like they were broken, and she stumbled away from him. It had been years upon years since she had seen him. And, the last time she had he had been trying to kill them all. "James?! James Barnes?!"

"What are you doing here?"

"What are you?!" Maria shouted. James turned slowly away from her and shook his head.

"It's a long story."

"I've got all night. Are you the vigilante?!"

"I- I suppose I am."

"Why? The last time I saw you you were trying to kill us all!" Barnes looked around and shrugged a giant sniper rifle over his shoulder.

"Let's go somewhere safer to talk and I'll tell you everything." Maria looked up at him skeptically, but she followed hesitantly and curiously, forgetting all about Agent May.


TONY

"Hello, Mr. Stark, again." Miss Reynolds towered above him, so Tony shook off his sleep and gently laid the little girl down and stood.

"Hello, Miss Reynolds. I was hoping you'd come."

"Really? What an interesting turn of events... I suppose now you'll cooperate?"

"I wouldn't say that exactly." Tony looked up to the small window above him and grinned. "So... Where exactly are we anyways?"

"Mr. Stark, you are far below deserving of an answer to that question." Miss Reynolds sighed. "It's really quite none of your business. Besides, you think you would escape? Please. They took all your gadgets away at the crazy house."

"Oh yeah... the did didn't they? But... I'm quite sure they didn't count on this." Tony held up his fist, revealing the flashing re-designed watch. Miss Reynold's didn't even have time to process what she was seeing before red and gold shattered through the window.

"Finally!" Metal wrapped around Tony, engulfing him in what was so familiar and great. "Home sweet home." He breathed.

"Great signal, Sir." JARVIS said as Tony hovered above the horror-stricken Miss Reynolds.

"Thanks, JARVIS. It took me forever to actually modify it and connect with so little tools."

"No, sir, I meant the radio one. I didn't get one from the bracelet."

"What radio one? Nevermind. Where are we?"

"Los Angeles, Sir." JARVIS said.

"Perfect!" Tony had a summer house in LA at the edge of the city. It would be the perfect hiding place for him, Fitz, and the little girl to hang low before they returned to New York.

"STARK! IF YOU TRY AN LEAVE THIS BUILDING SO HELP ME, I WILL SHOOT HER BRAINS OUT!" Miss Reynolds held the gun up to the little girl's head. The child began to wail, reaching out for where Tony hovered above them.

"Shit." Tony groaned. There was no way he could fight his way out of this, and come to think of it, how was he supposed to get Pumpkin and Fitz out safely anyways?

"Sir, the summer house." JARVIS said.

"What about it?" Tony asked.

"Iron-girl Mark 1 resides there."

He had been making an Irongirl suit for Aspen once, but Pepper had made him stop before he'd ever tested it. "I never tested it." He said.

"I don't think we have much of a choice, sir."

"Fine. Deploy it, but gentle on the impact!"

"Already on it, sir."

"Okay. I won't leave, just don't shoot the kid." Tony breathed. Miss Reynolds smirked. "Lets talk about this like rational adults."

"How about you stop hovering and stand on the ground like a normal person, Mr. Stark?" Tony complied. It felt so good to be back in his suit that he almost didn't even care about anything else. It was like being home again.

"Sir, the Mark 1 is not replying."

"Goddammit! Can we call Steve?"

"Unfortunately, sir, at this time all communications with SHIELD are cut off. Possibly this is the work of the organization called HYDRA."

"Dammit."

"Mr. Stark, how about I cut you a deal? You stay here and I'll drop little whiny here off at an orphanage."

"Yeah right." Tony laughed.

"You can even come along if you'd like."

"You're that desperate to get your hands on my smarts...? Wait a second... how do you even know little missie here has special genes?"

"Girlie has the same traces of the genetic code I pulled off my last few patients, a code that calls for genetic mutation."

"JARVIS, are you sure you can't reach anyone?"

"It seems as though SHIELD has found away to block all outside communications, including HYDRA."

"That's unlikely, HYDRA is a part of SHIELD. They know all of SHIELD's secrets."

"Wait, I think I have something, sir."

"Call it. I don't care who it is."

"Yes, Sir."

"Mr. Stark, I have a feeling that you're trying to find backup somewhere in this world. It's rather unfortunate that SHIELD shut down their communications, isn't it?"

"Hello?"

"Thank god! This is Tony Stark. I'm trapped in some basement with a raving HYDRA lunatic. I need back up! I've got a girl here, she's just a baby. We need help."

"Slow down, Mr. Stark." The deep voice said. "What is your location?"

"Uhh...LA...uhhh...JARVIS, where the hell are we?"

"Almond Loop, Sir. I can't get a precise address. The signal is cutting out. However, it is a blue house, with a white rocking chair on the front porch and a black vehicle in the driveway."

"Got it. I'm on my way, Mr. Stark."

"Hurry up. She's got a gun."


MARIA

"So... now that we're... wherever we are... are you going to tell me your story or not?"

"Sit down, Agent Hill. This is a secure location, but you don't need to worry about that." Barnes pulled off his mask and brushed his now-short hair away from his eyes. He yanked off his trench coat and gloves revealing his metal arm. Then he sat down in the seat across from Maria.

"I don't remember anything, at least not much, except a year ago. I woke up suddenly like I was waking up out of a dream."

"Where?"

"In Los Angeles. I felt like there was a chunk of me missing, and I knew it was all HYDRA's fault. I became this, I suppose you could call it a vigilante. I traveled across the country from Los Angeles to New York destroying as many of the scum as I could, and now I'm here."

"This is incredible! Just... I can't wait until I see Steve's face when I tell him!" Barnes grabbed her arm.

"You can't tell Steve."

"Why not?"

"You can't tell anyone anything. It could endanger them, they could get in my way. Trust me, it's better when people don't know."

"But- Steve's my boyfriend. I can't just keep a secret from him."

"You're going to have to." Barnes whispered. "You can't tell anyone, you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. Here, if you ever need my help, just press this and I'll lock onto your coordinates and come find you."

"Thank you?"

"Maria, don't try and find me again." Barnes said, and then he vanished out the window and down the fire escape.


CLINT

"Alright! Who's ready to beat some HYDRA ass?!"

"Barton... augh... what time is it?" Thor groaned.

"It's only one in the morning, but HYDRA will be off their guard. Seriously Thor, get out of bed, we have to go get Agent Oath."

"Augh!" Thor threw off the hotel comforters to reveal boxers and a light green t-shirt.

"Suit up." Clint said, tossing Thor his cape. "I'll meet you outside Agent Oath's room."

"Fine, fine, alright. Time to smash some foes. Right." Clint rolled his eyes and left Thor to change. Outside of the room he grabbed his quiver and threw it over her shoulder, strapping it on tightly, and making sure he had every arrow he could possibly want, when Thor suddenly burst forth from his room with Mjolnir, screaming, "DEATH TO THE FOES OF SHIELD!"

"Alright, alright... Quiet down! We don't want to wake anyone else, besides, it wouldn't be fun if we burst in on Agent Oath and she was already awake, right?"

"Ummm... yes, I suppose you are correct."

"Alright. Lets go."


JULIETTE

Juliette was, in fact, already awake, but not because of Thor. It was mostly on account of her worrying. She had tried to call Bruce that afternoon but had received no answer, and was wondering about what she should do when Thor and Clint decided it was time to invade the warehouse they had found. She sat up slowly and switched on her light, pulling out her SHIELD issued tablet she searched for "Bruce Banner" and his picture popped up, but the file was Level 8 info, and for some reason Coulson had kept her at level 5. She sighed, and threw it down her bed, standing up to use the bathroom she straightened her pajama pants and fixed her tank-top when suddenly the door burst open.

"Who's ready to kick some HYDRA ass?!" Clint screamed.

"Indeed!" Thor shouted. So... the moment of truth arrives.

"Hey, guys."

"Oh, you're awake. Did Thor wake you?"

"No, these walls might be thin, but I was already awake."

"What's keeping you up?"

"Oh... I just... The fact that we can't contact the others worries me."

"I see. Well, Thor and I have decided it's time to smash through the gates of our enemies and rescue Tony and Fitz, what do you say?"

"Well, I do have something to say, but I don't think you'll like it."

"Go ahead." Clint said.

"I can't go."

"Why not?" Thor gasped.

"It's just, I don't just have my own life to worry about anymore."

"What exactly are you saying?" Clint frowned.

"I have something... someone else's life to worry about. I'm- I'm pregnant."

"WHAT?!" Thor screamed.

"HOW?" Clint said.

"Well, Clint, when-"

"Not like that! Who's the father?"

"Bruce. Bruce is the father." Juliette whispered. Thor's mouth dropped open, and Clint stared, his eyes wide as saucers.

"Excuse me?" He squeaked.

"He-He-He...She saith what now?" Thor breathed. Juliette smiled.

"Bruce and I have been dating since... before I left for the academy. I guess, I've been pregnant since then almost. Yesterday, when I was gone, I actually had an appointment. I got to hear my baby's heartbeat."

"Oh my god, Congratulations!" Clint grinned, "To both of you! Holy crap, Thor, say congratulations."

"I-umm-Great Blessings to thee and thine own...of...what?... What in the name of the Yggdrasil is going on here?!"

"Bruce and I are going to have a baby." Juliette said gently.

"There's no way you're going out onto field now, Jules," Clint said, "The safest plan of action would be to have you just go back to New York."

"No way!" Juliette cried, "I'm not abandoning you. I'll stay here. I'll be your tech."

"Do we even have the ability to communicate anymore?" Clint asked.

"HOW ARE YOU HAVING A BABY?!" Thor screamed.

"I told you, Bruce and I have been in a relationship since before I left for the academy. I'm not exactly keen on sharing the details. As to your question, Clint, I was Bruce's student for a little while there, you think I didn't learn some things about tech. I can establish a basic frequency between just our mics and earpieces so that we can communicate freely."

"Serious?!"

"I think so. If you all give me your mics and earpieces I'll check it out and then we'll set my computer to the frequencies and I'll be here making sure you idiots aren't missing anything."

"Sounds like a plan, how about it Thor?"

"WE SHALL FEAST IN CELEBRATION FOR THE BIRTH OF YOUR CHILD!"

"Ummm... Yes, we've moved past that, Thor." Clint said.

"But thank you." Juliette smiled. "I really appreciate your support."