"So, where did Captain America learned how to steal a car?" Nat inquires from the backseat of the now stolen truck.

I lightly chuckle as I have my feet up on the dashboard, "Good point, Nat. Care to elaborate, Captain?"

"Nazi Germany," Steve dryly says while glancing at me, his left hand resting comfortably on the steering wheel and the other on the gear shift. "And we're borrowing, take your feet off the dash, Nikki. Nat, feet of the seat." I smirk at him and share a look while the spy.

"Alright." At the same time, my legs bend to give me enough room to place my feet on the floor.

Natasha suddenly props herself between the two front seats, her elbows resting at the top of our places. "Alright, I have a question for you," she turns her attention to the super-soldier, and I watch the interaction with interest, "which you do not have to answer. But I feel if you don't answer it though, you're kind of answering it, you know?" I furrow my eyebrows while listening to her talk.

"What?" Steve asks while keeping his eyes on the road.

"Was that your first kiss since 1945?" A smirk slowly coming across her face, my interest is peaked, and I intently stare at Steve, waiting for the answer.

"Why do you want to know?" I can see a slight blush is creeping into Steve's cheeks; I bite the inside of my lip to keep from smiling.

"Well, for starter's, you couldn't keep your eyes off of Nikki. That and blushed when she kissed you." The spy is making the soldier more and more uncomfortable.

"Nat, leave him alone." I chime in as I watch Steve squirm slightly in discomfort.

Steve looks at me out of the corner of his eye, "That bad, huh?"

I lean my head against the headrest before staring at the side of Steve's face, "I never said that." I sang aloud the car.

"It kind of sounds like that's what you're saying."

"Take it easy," Nat cuts in, "I was just wondering how much practice you have had."

I roll my eyes at her statement, "You don't need practice." Steve tells her before I open my mouth.

She looks at him, intently, "Everybody needs practice."

"No, that was not my first kiss since 1945," Steve finally announces, looking very proud of himself, "I'm 95 not dead." I snort lightly at his comment before turning my attention back on the road.

"Nobody special, though?" Nat asks out of curiosity. I keep my eyes straight ahead, but I feel both Steve and Natasha look at me.

Steve scoffs at the question, "Believe it or not, it is kind of hard to find someone with shared life experience."

"Well, that's alright. You just make something up." I tell him while keeping my eyes on the road.

"What like you two?" I don't know why that question hurt me, but it did.

"I don't know. The truth is a matter of circumstances; it's not all things to all people all the time. And neither are we." Natasha explains unconcerned about the truth about us.

"That's a hard way to live," Steve comments after a brief moment of silence.

I look out the passenger side window, "It's a good way not to die, though." I muse unabashedly

"You know, it's kind of hard to trust someone when you don't know who that person really is." Steve joins in with a look at both of us.

"Yeah," I suffer a sigh at the end of my words, "Who do you want us to be?" Natasha finishes my sentence for me.

"How about a friend?" Steve suggests. I loudly snort at the last word, "Well, there's a chance that you might be in the wrong business, Rogers." I tell him, Nat returns to her reclining position in the back. I glance into his eyes before softly smiling and turning my attention back to the world passing by us.


"The file came from these coordinates," Nat informs us as we climb out of the truck, she looks at her phone to double-check that she is right.

"So did I," Steve answers. "This camp is where I was trained." I glance around at the old base before turning to look back at Steve.

"Change much?" My question ringing through the air.

"A little."

Steve stares blankly ahead as we approach the gates, he's not focusing on anything particular. "Hey, you alright?" I ask, placing my hand on his arm. He nods numbly at me, but I am not convinced.

"Well, this is a dead-end," Nat announces from her spot near the doors. "Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a writer to throw people off." She sighs at the screen and before placing her phone back on the phone.

I see Steve looking at a particular building, "What?" I ask him — trying following his eyesight.

"Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards from the barracks," he informs us. He looks over the building before walking over to it, "This building is in the wrong place."

I watch Steve bringing his arm back, and his shield makes contact with the lock that is on the door. It breaks open under the force of the vibranium. He walks in; first, I trail after him, and Nat brings up the rear. We all walk down a flight of stairs into what looks to be a basement; I walk over to a light switch and flip it on.

The lights slowly come to life, "This is SHIELD." I announce as I look at the emblem on the far wall.

"Maybe where it started." We walk down the middle aisle; I walk over to one of the desk's looking over the old set up.

"Nikki, over here." My head snaps over to where I hear Steve's voice resonate. He jerks his head, motioning for me to head over.

We head into a room that looks to be where files used to be kept. Steve leads us towards a set of pictures that are hanging on the wall. My eyes scan over the portraits; I see Stark's father, Howard, Peggy Carter, and a couple of others that I don't recognize.

"There's Stark's father," I announce to the group. "Howard." Steve nods in confirmation while looking at the photo. I watch his eyes slide over to the picture of Peggy, and I don't say anything.

"Who's the girl?" My neck cranes to look at my female companion. Steve doesn't even glance at us as he walks away as he walks further into the room; he stops in front of a rather large bookshelf.

"If you're already working in a secret office," he examines the bookshelf intently, before grabbing the edge and pulling it open, "then why do you need to hide the elevator?"

We all walk towards the elevator with cautious steps before I look at the keypad that is to the right. I pull out my phone and run password scanner, the numbers are revealed, and I put my phone down and lightly press the buttons. The doors slide open, and we all step into the elevator, and it takes us down to the bottom floor. As the door slides open, I see rows and rows of dusty computer software.

"This can't be the data point," Nat points out as we stare at all of the ancient technology. "This technology is ancient." I shoot her an unimpressed look before I notice a new age USB port.

"Nat, can I see that?" I hold my hand out for the flash drive; the cold metal makes contact with my skin, "Let's give this a go." I place the thumb drive into the port, and things start powering up.

A dull, robotic voice comes through the speakers, "Initiate system?"

"Y-E-S spells yes." Nat muses as she types on the keyboard, "Shall we play a game?" She turns towards Steve and begins explaining the reference, "It is from a movie that was really-"

"I know. I saw it." Steve says while cutting off the red-head assassin, the computer begins whirring loudly, and the camera that is resting on top of it start to move.

"Roger, Steven Grant. Born in 1918." I look over at him as he watches the computer intently, his SHIELD ID materializes on the screen, and his face sets hard.

"Romanov, Natalia Alianova. Born in 1984." Her SHIELD ID shows up right after Steve's disappears. Her attention snaps over to the computer, and she takes cautious steps forward.

Suddenly, the camera turns to me, "Volkov, Nikolina Tatiana. Born in 1986," I see my face show up on the screen and makes me feel on edge. My shoulders tighten, and my vision turns sharper, and my hearing increases.

"This has to be some kind of recording," Nat says, attempting to make us feel better.

"I am not a recording, Fraulein. I may not be the man I once was when the Captain took me prisoner, in 1945." A black and white picture pops on the screen and shows a man frowning at the camera with large round glasses covering half of his face.

"You know this thing?" I inquire Steve while giving the computer a judgmental look.

"Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's been dead for years." The short reply came from the soldier as he walks around the platform.

"First correction, I am Swiss. 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. Two hundred thousand feet of data banks, you are standing in my brain." Zola explains to us as I look around and begin walking around the computer center.

"How did you get here?" Steve and I demand at the same time.

"Invited." I furrow my eyebrows at the computer's answer.

Nat begins to explain, "Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic value."

"They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own." The computer explains.

"Hydra died with the Red Skull." Steve snaps, his jaw clenching with anger. I discreetly place my hand on his back in an attempt to try and calm him.

"Cut off one head; another shall take its place." Zola confidently states to us.

"Prove it." Steve is challenging the computer as I watch the screens around me.

"Accessing archive."

The computer screen changes to a set of photos, some of Zola and HYDRA in the background, and some were the original founding members of SHIELD.

"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 of SHIELD. For seventy years, HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history didn't cooperate, history was changed." A picture of the Winter Soldier flashes across the screen.

Natasha steps forward in an attempt to try and counter the computer, "That is impossible. SHIELD would have stopped you."

"Accidents will happen." A picture of Howard and Maria Stark appears on the screen. There is a newspaper clipping declaring their deaths as an accident. Nick Fury, suddenly, takes place on the screen with the word 'DECEASED' stamped across his photo.

I slowly thickly as I watch the screen, "HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security." A picture of the Helicarriers that are sitting under SHIELD flashes on-screen; my stomach sinks at the thought of those being launched. "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."

I can feel the anger rolling off of Steve in waves, h storms forward and smashes his fist into the computer screen. The screen goes black, and silence enters over the room as Zola disappears.

"As I was saying," my attention snaps to the right as he moves to a smaller monitor to continue speaking.

"What's on this drive?" I ask, stepping in front of Steve, a barrier between him and the computer.

"Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm." The Swiss voice explains to us.

"What kind of algorithm? What does it do?" Natasha is trying to gain as much information as possible.

"The answer to your question is fascinating. However, you shall be too dead to hear it."

I whirl around on my heels as I hear the sound of metal moving. I see the set of elevator doors closing, locking us in; Steve throws his shield in an attempt to stop the doors, but it does nothing but bounce back to him.

"Guys, we got a bogey. Short-Range ballistics. Thirty seconds tops." As that announcement, I begin looking around the room, trying to find someplace for us to take cover.

"Who fired it?" Steve ask while also looking for an escape route.

Natasha looks disappointed as she tells us, "SHIELD."

"I'm afraid I have been stalling, Captain.

"Great," I mutter under my breath.

"Admit it; it's better this way. We are both of us; out of time."

We all run towards the grate that is on the floor, and Steve rips off the top, and Natasha jumps in first. Steve shoves me in after her, and he pulls me into his chest when he jumps in; he raises his shield above his head and braces for impact. I hear the missile coming in fast, and I throw a force field around all three of us; I grunt as I feel massive amounts of concrete falling on top of my force field.

Steve looks me in the eye as I keep my fists in their place above all of our heads. My breathing is becoming short as I am trying my hardest to keep the shield in place; granted, I haven't used my powers in a while, but fuck it. I feel something sliding down my face as I continue my strain; Steve raises his hand and brushes it against my face. His hand is dripping in my blood.

"Nikki, stop." I ignore his advice as I continue to feel the massive impacts on the shield. "Nikki, I can handle it from here. You're going to hurt yourself."

"NIKKI! STOP!" That is the last thing I hear before my world turns black.


I feel myself laying on something soft; there is warmth around me as I barely open my eyes. I peer around to find that I am in a bedroom and laying on the bed; I slowly push myself into a sitting position and groan when my vision blurs for a moment. The bathroom door opens, and Steve walks out with a bowl and a towel in his hands.

"Hey," his voice soft as if he is trying not to scare me," you should lay back down."

I continue looking around the room, "Where are we?" I can croak out.

"Safe." I raise my eyebrow at the response, "We are at Sam's house." Steve finally tells me, I nod in understanding.

He squats in front of me before dipping the towel into the water, he brings the wet cloth, and I flinch away before he can even make contact.

"I want to clean your face." My eyebrows scrunch in confusion, "Nikki, you're face is dirty and bloody, I just want to clean it off." I swallow hard before nodding at the soldier.

I feel the wet cloth making contact with my face, and I slightly jump, "Sorry." Steve whispers to me as the towel glides down the skin of my face.

"What happened?" I ask the man who is crouching in front of me; I keep my eyes on the water as I watch it slowly turn red.

Steve lets out a long-suffering sigh, "The missile hit; you threw up a force field and large parts of concrete starting weighing it down immensely. I yelled at you to stop, but you didn't, blood started falling out of your eyes and nose, and then you collapsed into my body."

As he talks, flashes come to the front of my mind. "Yeah, I can vaguely remember it."

"God, Nikki. You scared the hell out of me. Why didn't you listen to me?" His voice is angry as he stares intently at the red liquid in the bowl.

"I'm sorry. I just wanted to protect you and Nat." I tell him numbly as I begin twiddling my thumbs.

"Why did you pass out?" His eyes soften at me when I give him my reasoning. "I thought you had them for a while."

"I never wanted to rely on them, I got them from HYDRA, and I didn't want to continue to use them because they were a reminder of what I went through. However, desperate times call for desperate measures." I sigh out, and Steve nods in understanding. A thought appears in my mind, but I decide not to voice it.

"What is that look for?" Surprise flashes across my face, but he catches it before I can hide it. "I know you well enough to know when something is bothering you, come on. Out with it."

"It's just... I thought when I joined SHIELD that I finally escaped The Red Room's and HYDRA's clutches. It turns out that it was all a lie, and they were still using me."

"They were using all of us." Steve tries to comfort me.

"Hey, I made breakfast if you guys eat that sort of thing," Sam trails off when he looks at us, and we smile in amusement. Steve holds out his hand for me to grab, and when I do, he helps me to my feet and makes sure that I am steady.

We make our way into the kitchen area, and I see Sam plating some food, and Nat is pouring some juice into a couple of glasses that are sitting on the counter. After we eat, we begin telling Sam about the events that have occurred over the last 48 hours.

"So, the question is, who at SHIELD could launch a domestic missile strike?" Nat asks us while she leans against one of Sam's counters.

"It has to be Alexander Pierce," I tell the room confidently from my spot next to Steve.

Nat pushes herself off the counter, walking towards us, "Who happens to be sitting on top of the most secure building in the world."

"He's not working alone. Zola's algorithm was on the Lemurian Star."

A light bulb flashed in my mind, and Nat and I make eye contact with each other, "So was Jasper Sitwell."

Steve nods in agreement, "So, the real question is, how do the three most wanted people in Washington kidnap a SHIELD officer in broad daylight?" The question hangs in the air as we stare at each other.

"The answer is, you don't" Sam chirps in, he grabs something from the counter and drops a file in front of Steve and me.

"What is this?"

"Call it a resume." I read the name that is on the file in curiosity.

Nat picks up a photo of Sam with his team, "Is this Bahkmala? The Khalid Khandil mission that was you?" Before Sam even has the chance to answer, her attention turns to Steve. "You didn't say that he was pararescue."

"Riley?" Steve inquires while gazing at the photo, ignoring the question that came from the assassin.

"Yeah." A gentle tone in Sam's voice.

"I heard they couldn't bring in the choppers because of the RPG's," Nat recounts the mission, "What did you use, a stealth chute?"

"No. These." Sam picks up the file and hands it to us.

I take in a suit that looks like a pair of wings that strap onto the back of a person. I am pretty impressed.

"I thought you said you were a pilot?"

"I never said, pilot." Sam recounts with a smirk on his face.

"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason." Steve reasonably states to the other male.

Sam scoff at Steve, "Dude, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to get back in."

"Where can we get our hands on one of these things?"

"The last one is at Fort Meade, behind three guarded gates and a twelve-inch steel wall," I mull over the information that is given; it seems easy enough.

Steve looks at Natasha, who shrugs before he turns to look at me.

"It shouldn't be a problem," I state with a Cheshire grin on my face.