Kamala slid along the floor as laser blasts struck the floor all around her, skidding into cover. She threw her back against the side of a rock, catching her breath after the relentless assault.

"Oh man, this is nowhere near as easy as I thought it was gonna be." Kamala stated. There was a loud bang, following which Kate tumbled over the rock, hitting the ground. Kamala grabbed her, pulling her into cover and starting to heal them both.

"Dude, this is pretty hardcore!" Kate commented. "I know we wanted a sweat, but did you put this on hardcore difficulty or what?"

"Right now, I'm wondering if this dude even has a health bar." Kamala muttered. "It feels like when Vader showed up at the end of Fallen Order!"

"Dude, spoilers!" Kate yelled. Kamala just stared at her.

"That game's been out for a while." She pointed out.

"Uh…spent years on the run hunting AIM! Hello!" Kate reminded her. "Alright, what do we need to do about this guy?"

"I don't know, you're like the senior, junior Avenger." Kamala stated. Kate just stared at her. "What? Technically you are! You were a junior Avenger long before I was!"

"Yeah, let's not try and make me feel too old, right?" Kate said, risking a look over the top of the rock. "OK, let's see what we're up against…most of the mooks are down, we don't have many more to get through to get to the big guy…"

"And that would be our problem!" Kamala stated. "I mean, it's a freaking DRAGON!"

"OK, um…here's one thought. Most lizards, their underbelly is softer than the scales on their back and their sides." Kate reasoned out. "So, if we hit it there, it might be like a weak spot."

They both ducked back as a jet of flame came rushing over their heads.

"OK, so…that'll be easy." Kamala interjected. "Thoughts?"

"How about I use some smoke arrows, block you on your way in, then you ebiggen and hold it from behind?" She asked. "That should expose its underbelly long enough for me to get some shots in."

"Uh…OK, not the worst idea I ever heard." Kamala said, sounding not entirely convinced. "And since I can't think of any other plans…I guess we're kind of out of options."

"Alright…GO!" Kate said, before leaping backwards, quickly firing off some arrows. They exploded all around, creating a blanket of smoke. Kamala broke cover and started to run. It was difficult to see through the smoke, but considering the fact their opponent was the size of the old Avengers tower, it wasn't too difficult to make out the general direction she needed to run. She felt the heat intensifying as she got closer and closer. As she broke through the other side of the smoke cloud, the creature could see her. It reared back its head, lunging down, snapping at her. She avoided the first strike, but the second caught her heel. She managed to slip her foot out of her boot, scrambling along the ground.

"Way too close!" Kamala muttered. "Oooh, gravel! Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

She ran right between the creature's legs, getting through to the other side. It started to bring its tail down like a hammer, smashing into the ground. She had to dive around to avoid it, before getting into position.

"Kate, I'm making my move!" Kamala yelled, running and leaping. "EMBIGGEN!"

She launched herself high into the air, stretching out as big as she could possibly reach. She latched onto the back of the creature, starting to entwine its limbs with her own, wrapping it up and pulling back, causing it to unbalance.

"I don't think I can hold this!" Kamala called out. "If you're gonna do it, now's the time!"

"Don't worry, I just need the shot." Kate assured her. "No matter how narrow that shot is!"

She nocked an explosive arrow into her bow, letting it fly. It hit the beast square in the chest. It started once more to breathe fire, forcing Kate to run. She leapt off a broken tree, aiming and firing another exploding arrow right into the same spot. She hit the ground and immediately sprinted off in another direction, narrowly avoiding being roasted alive.

She ran up a rock face, flipping backwards and taking a third shot, once more right into the same spot. She saw a wound opening up in its leathery hide.

"Kamala, I see a wound!" Kate told her. "Buy me time!"

Kamala concentrated on winding up the creature's legs, tripping it and bringing it to the ground. She started to unwind herself, dodging as it swung its claws for her. She managed to get on top of it as it swung around onto its back, clawing for her face.

Seeing the wound, she brought up her fists and slammed them down into it. Again, and again. The creature started to scream out. Finally, she could feel they were damaging it.

She looked down as she saw Kate coming up to her. She teleported once, up onto Kamala's thigh, before disappearing, then reappearing up on her shoulder. One more time she disappeared, before Kamala could feel something up on her head.

"Kamala, get back!" Kate called out. Kamala leaned back as Kate leapt off her head, letting Kate come down. Turning the point of her sword downward, she prepared to drive the point right into the creature's heart.

Before she could drive the point home though, the creature started to shimmer and glitch out. By the time she should have hit the creature, she went straight through, finding nothing and continued right to the floor. Her sword rebounded off the steel, spinning out of her hand and Kamala fell backwards onto her butt, shrinking.

"Time expired, simulation over." An electronic voice announced. Kate and Kamala both groaned out loud.

"Dude, seriously?" Kamala asked.

"Hey, what gives?" Kate demanded. "There was no time limit on this simulation!"

"The HARM suite has been booked for another party." The voice came back. Kate put her sword away as Kamala retrieved her boot.

"And it couldn't have waited like, ten more seconds until we actually beat the boss before glitching out?" Kamala complained. "I always hate when that happens."

The door opened and none other than Dum Dum Dugan walked in the door. He had his shotgun slung over his shoulder, and his ever-present cigar between his fingers.

"Come on, ladies, your time's up." Dugan told them. "See you around!"

Kamala glared at Dugan as they walked out, and he gave her a pointed look straight back. As they headed out of the room, Kate just pulled in.

"Is it just me, or does it feel like the AC is on full blast?" She asked. Kamala just shook her head as they headed for the showers.

They were back at Substation Zero. There had been a few more incidents with the Tachyon Rifts, giving the team the impression that something big was coming very soon. Since the Avengers spent a lot of time at Substation Zero now, and since SHIELD needed to train their own agents, something that was a lot harder to do now that the organisation was no longer a legitimate Government agency, he had given them their own HARM room, which they had taken to referring to as the HARM SUITE! It was kind of an extension of the gym and firing range, and it did have access to the showers. Kamala just shook her head as she saw Kate looking at her.

"I don't think he likes me much." She told her.

"I don't think Dugan likes many people much." Kate assured her. "I mean, he was fine with Barton, Hill, Natasha and Fury because they're all SHIELD, he likes Cap of course, but almost everyone else…yeah, he's pretty big on the old-school 'earn my respect' crap."

"Well, maybe if he showed people a little respect, they would give it back." Kamala suggested. "We had a run in a little while back…he tore into me about the Creel thing and I mighta, sorta, totally…shouted back at him."

"Whoa, look at the brave streak on you!" Kate commented. "I mean, I don't know whether to be impressed or question your sanity."

"I don't know what it is, he just really gets under my skin!" Kamala said as they got to the showers. "I just really don't feel like he has any right to lecture me when he isn't playing straight with us."

Kate just furrowed her brows as they both went to get their shower.

A little while later, Kamala was in her room when there was a knock at the door. Kate came in, carrying a couple of large mugs of cocoa.

"Extra marshmallows." Kate said with a wink. Kamala gratefully took it from her. "So, you up to much?"

"Nothing that can't wait." Kamala said, throwing aside one of her latest comic books. Kate leaned against the wall while Kamala took a long sip.

"Kamala, what did you mean when you said Dugan wasn't playing straight with us?" Kate asked her.

Kamala didn't answer her. She didn't know how to. Even though Kate was not really a SHIELD agent anymore, she still had pretty close ties with a lot of them. She had to think that Kate probably wasn't happy hearing her talk badly about one of her colleagues. She hated to think that she might have harmed her friendship with Kate over a petty argument with Dugan.

"I…I don't think I mean anything." Kamala told her. "Look, I shouldn't have said anything then, and I shouldn't have said anything to you now. I was just angry he was chewing me out for helping people in Jersey and I kind of…snapped at him."

"What did you snap at him about?" Kate asked her. Kamala just gulped.

"It's…"

"Kamala, I'm not mad." Kate told her. "Look, I knew Dugan for a while when I was shadowing Clint. He can be a bit of an ass at times, but he's worth listening to once you get past all the bluster."

"I know but…"

"Kamala, like I said, I'm not mad. I just don't want you to feel like there's anything that gets in the way of you trusting a guy I'd trust with my life." Kate assured her. "So, what is it?"

Kamala went to her computer, pulling up a Wikipedia page. She showed it to Kate.

"Dugan's Wikipedia?" Kamala asked her.

"Yeah, check it out." Kamala told her.

"Look, these things are rarely accurate." Kate told her. "I…I think I see here. Look, don't worry about the fact there's a date of death here, there are about fifteen people I regularly lunch with who have been registered dead…"

"It's not that." Kamala told her. "Look at his date of birth."

Kate looked at the page, and she saw what Kamala was talking about.

"You see?" Kamala asked. "The guy's about a hundred years old!"

"No, there has to be some mistake." Kate said, checking it. She had known Dugan in her time with Clint, but it wasn't like they were exchanging life stories or anything. Dugan more often than not would contact them whenever SHIELD wanted them to do something for them.

"He knows Cap from his pre-icicle days!" Kamala told her. "He was one of the Howling Commandos! Look, his picture is right there!"

"That's…that's definitely weird." Kate agreed. Kamala started to regret bringing this up, seeing the look on Kate's face.

"Look, I'm sure there's something I'm missing." Kamala stated. "I mean, Cap was from back then, and Thor's even older than both of them…"

"Yeah." Kate said thoughtfully, taking a long sip. She pondered what she was seeing.

"Kate, I'm probably just being dumb…"

"Kid, you haven't met many private investigators, have you?" Kate asked in response. "You've got me curious now, so now we have to figure this out."

"Yeah, but how?" Kamala asked her. "It's not like we can go in and ask him."

"No, but it's easy when you have access to SHIELD's archive." Kate answered, raising an eyebrow. Kamala just smiled.

A little while later, Kamala was waiting outside Director Hill's office. She was trying her best to look casual, but she was fortunate that no one was walking past. One of her most endearing qualities was the fact that she found it pretty much impossible to convincingly do anything dishonest. When she lied, when she tried to act casual while in the middle of doing something, she knew she shouldn't, she always somehow managed to give herself away. The others actually found themselves laughing most of the times she tried to wriggle out of things meaning that more often than not she got away with things more because they just were no longer mad with her than any real ability to divert suspicion.

"Come on, Kate, come on, hurry up!" Kamala muttered, fidgeting intently. She finally saw Kate strolling up the corridor. "Finally, are you sure we need to use THIS computer?"

"Hey, it's the nearest one with top level access to the full database." Kate pointed out.

"But it's Director Hill's office we're breaking into!" Kamala reminded her. "So, I'd kind of like to get this done and get the Hell out of here, what took you so long?"

"You think it was easy getting her key card?" Kate asked, producing the card. "Now, keep a lookout, would you?"

Kamala started looking around as Kate triggered the lock. Once they got inside, Kate hit a control, tinting the glass so that no one could see inside. She ran around to the computer and started working.

"Alright, keep an eye on the monitor for the hall camera." Kate told her.

"This is insane, I'm sorry I started this." Kamala grumbled. "Look, it's Director Hill's computer, there's probably passwords and firewalls up to the wazoo…"

"And…I'm in!" Kate said with a little wink. "Come on, Kid, you should know by now this girl's got some serious skills."

"Alright, just have a quick look and let's get out of here!" Kamala whispered.

"Alright, here we go, I've got some of his personnel files." Kate told her. "Service record, OK, we have World War 2…Korea…Vietnam…Iraq…"

"Wait, what?" Kamala asked. "Aren't all those wars like…decades apart?"

"Yeah, they are." Kate agreed, moving in closer to the screen. "His military history before moving to SHIELD alone is like…over sixty years!"

"But how could he have served in all of those?" Kamala asked her. "Even Cap only served in the Second World War before he was frozen until this century."

"I'm seeing a lot of time in the HARM Suite; he has his own program." Kate told her. "According to the records, he's in there at least two hours a night."

"The dude likes to keep in shape, I'll give him that much." Kamala said. "Kate…Kate…Director Hill's coming back from the firing range!"

"Damn it, I found some links to other files." Kate stated.

"Kate, we need to get out of here now!" Kamala yelled. Kate quickly locked up the computer, before they both rushed out of the office. She turned the windows back to their normal state, before she and Kamala walked along, just as Director Hill rounded the corner. Kate walked into her.

"Oh, sorry, didn't notice you there."

"It's alright, I wasn't looking where I was going either." Maria replied, before heading towards her office. She checked her pockets, finding her keycard, and went in, at which Kate and Kamala decided to take stock.

"Alright, we didn't get much chance to see anything." Kamala stated. "You said you saw some other files."

"Yeah, something called Zola and Weapons of Mass Destruction…"

"Weapons of Mass Destruction?" Kamala asked. "Well, I guess as a sub-director he will have access to some serious firepower."

"I just wish I had time to look." Kate stated. Kamala started to head away. "Hey, where are you going?"

"Well, we don't have anything else to go on." Kamala stated. "I thought maybe we might check out that training program of his."

"Alright." Kate sighed. "In the absence of a better plan."

They went to the HARM Suite, going inside. Kate pulled out her bow to prepare.

"Computer, run training program Dugan, HC1944."

"Access denied." The computer stated.

"What?" She asked.

"That program is authorised only for Sub Director Dugan." The computer explained. Kate just smirked.

"We'll see about that." She said, heading to the console and accessing it manually. She worked with the keypad for a little while before the computer lit up.

"Access granted, welcome Sub Director Dugan." The computer stated, as all the projectors started to fire up. Kate and Kamala both got ready, Kate nocking an arrow into her bow, waiting to see what Dugan had prepared for his training. They were a little surprised when they found themselves surrounded by brick and wood. The floor looked like it was made of rough woodwork, and they were surrounded by tables and chairs. The room was decked in a deep, orange glow.

"Hey, put that away Willma Tell!" She heard someone yell. They both turned to see a bar, with a bartender standing behind it. He did not look happy. "I don't care what outfit you serve with; the rules are simple. Weapons are holstered or you're out the door!"

Kate put her bow and arrow away, at which Kamala started to look around.

"What is this place?" Kamala asked. Looking around, they could see the place was full of men, sitting around, drinking, singing and generally having a good time. They were all dressed in a variety of military uniforms, and some of them spoke in very heavy accents from many different places. Even completely different languages. A pianist was playing, providing the atmosphere.

"This is…really weird." Kate stated. Kamala pointed at the corner.

"Dude, is that…is that Cap?" Kamala asked. There, sitting at a table with a group of other people, clear as day, was none other than Steve Rogers, a tankard in his hand, smiling and joking with them. They headed over. "Cap, we didn't notice you in here."

"Yeah, I'm here most nights I'm not on duty." Cap told them. "Now, if you don't mind, we're waiting on a friend."

"Cap, it's us!" Kamala told him. He just looked at them both for a moment.

"I'm sorry, normally I'm pretty good with faces." He said as he tried to place them. "Were you with the USO?"

"Cap, what are you talking about? It's us, Kate and Kamala!" Kate said to him. One of the other men just chuckled.

"Well, I never thought I'd see the day." He said in a strong, British accent. "The good Captain now has so many groupies he can't remember them all."

"Groupies?" Kamala shrieked.

"Pinky, it's fine." Cap said to his friend, before turning back to them. "Look, I'm really sorry, but…"

"Computer, pause program!" Kate called out. Everyone in the bar stopped, including Cap! Kamala waved a hand in front of his face.

"That's why we didn't notice him, this isn't our Cap." Kamala surmised. "He's a hologram."

"The rest of these guys, they look familiar." Kate said, thinking about it. It took a moment, but finally she remembered. "I saw them in a picture earlier, they're…"

"They're the Howling Commandos!" They heard a gruff voice behind them say. They both gulped and turned around slowly, seeing Dugan standing behind them. He folded his arms. "Bishop, Khan, mind telling me what you're doing in my private simulation?"

Kate just stared at him, looking like a child that had been caught raiding her parent's cookie jar. Kamala hated seeing her like this. Kate had been on good terms with Dugan, she respected him, and he seemed to respect her. It had been her that started all of this. She took a deep breath and prepared to throw herself onto the grenade.

"I was the one that suggested we come here." Kamala told him. "We heard you had your own program and thought…it might be a cool workout."

Dugan looked between them both, not saying a word. He couldn't have looked less convinced if Kamala had told him that she was the new Director of SHIELD.

"Ladies, welcome to Eperleque." He told them, pacing the floor. "Northern France, 1944. That right there are the Howling Commandos, some of the finest men I've ever served with."

"Wait, so you created a whole program to hang out with your old drinking buddies?" Kate asked him. He just nodded.

"Khan, you didn't really just want to check out a training program, did you?" Dugan asked her.

"Well, I uh…"

"I know you've had questions for a while." Dugan interrupted her.

"I mean, I guess you do look pretty good for your age." Kate offered weakly. Dugan just laughed.

"Tell me, have either of you heard of someone by the name of Armin Zola?" He asked them. They both just shook their heads. "Well, back in my day…the real old days, he was doing some tech work for HYDRA. I'm not just talking normal either, I'm talking Stark level stuff. His engineering was good, but it was computers where he was a real whizz."

"Computers?" Kamala asked him.

"I know what you're thinking, but even back then he was working on stuff that is beyond what we can do now." He clarified. "Do you know what the human mind really is?"

"Uh…kind of a gooey, spongey…"

"Electric impulses." Dugan interrupted Kamala. "Pieces of information carried through one of the most refined computer networks ever created, the human brain. For years, people have speculated that if we can only figure out how, it would be possible to create a human mind inside a computer. To put a person into machines. At least…that's what everyone thinks. Thing is, Zola actually managed to do it."

"What?" Kate and Kamala gasped together.

"He figured out one of the Holy Grails of computer science back in the 1940's." He told them. "Now, we stormed the compound and destroyed it. Most of the tech was destroyed, which is why HYDRA lost in the end. But before we could take him out, Zola escaped into the computer. He's still around today…somewhere."

"Dude, that is…kind of creepy." Kamala said with a shudder.

"So, what does all this have to do with you?" Kate asked him.

"Do you know why the Government will think absolutely nothing about writing off a multi-million-dollar fighter jet, but move Heaven and Earth to get back a pilot captured behind enemy lines?" He asked.

"Because it's a person?" Kamala asked. Dugan just smiled.

"You're an optimist kid, try not to lose that." Dugan commended her. "But in reality, planes can be replaced. It's just tech. What they can't replace is the mind of a pilot. All those years, all that money in training down the drain if a pilot is lost. Expertise is worth a lot more than tech will ever be."

"I don't follow." Kamala stated. Dugan just reached up, removing his bowler hat. They both stumbled backwards at what they saw underneath.

"You're…you're a robot?" Kamala asked.

"A life model decoy." Dugan informed her. "One of the first ever made. The process is tricky, it doesn't always take, and it's damned expensive, but we retrieved enough of Zola's work to replicate his process and put people's minds into bodies that last just a little bit longer."

"Like…close to a century?" Kamala asked. He just shrugged.

"Every now and then a body gets too banged up to keep operational." He told her. "But effectively…yeah. Turns out Uncle Sam really saw something in me and figured I was one of the ones they wanted to keep around. So, I volunteered to let them take a copy of my brain and here we are."

"So, the real Dugan…?"

"He's in Arlington." He said to them. "Don't be too broken up about it. He went out the way we all hope we will. In his 80's, in one piece…for the most part. One night, just went to sleep and that was it."

"I…I'm sorry?" Kamala offered with a bit of a gulp. It wasn't every day they heard someone talk so candidly about their own death. In fact, they were pretty sure they never had heard anyone talk about their own death. After all, it was generally pretty final. He smiled.

"Like I said, don't be too broken up about it. He wasn't." Dugan told them. "Now, if you ladies don't mind, I'd like to have a drink with some old buddies."

With that, they headed for the door while Dugan sat down.

"Computer, start simulation!" He called out. The rest of the table all jumped in surprise.

"God, Dugan!" Cap exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"Stick with me, Rogers." Dugan cackled. "You'll learn a whole lot of tricks."

As they were about to head out, Kamala couldn't help looking back one more time. Seeing Dugan sitting, a cigar in one hand, a tankard in the other, laughing with his friends, she just smiled. She had misjudged Dugan, and she was determined to make it up to him in time. For now, she was happy to see him smiling in a way she never had before.