Prologue

A/N: Hello! You might recognise this from when this story was on my joint account under the title "Darkest Hour", but it's now been revamped. As always, reviews are very much appreciated. This fic will start in Captain America: The Winter Soldier and move forward from there.

2014

Azra Mulligan rarely regretted stealing things. He was, after all, a master thief by occupation. However, he was beginning to think that his latest steal had been extremely bad idea, considering his pursuers. Azra hadn't really thought the item of much value, some development-stage weapon. He hadn't tested it, but that wasn't his forte. All he needed to do was market the product.

Unfortunately, this particular theft had gained the attention of a group that Azra recognised all too well. Anyone working in the criminal underground knew about the Serpent Squad. They were a trio of mercenaries and arms dealers, always dressed in all black with helmets to disguise their true identities.

Slipping around the corner and into an abandoned warehouse, Azra removed his phone from his pocket with fumbling fingers. If he could just make a call, then maybe this theft would be worth the danger he was now in. Clearly the object in his possession was worth more than he'd ever imagined, which just meant it would fetch a higher price.

Something caught Azra's wrist as he raised his phone, and he looked down to see a metallic whip coiled around his arm. With one savage yank, the phone clattered to the ground and Azra along with it. Scrambling to push himself up, Azra looked wildly around as the Serpent Squad closed in on him.

He'd never met them before.

One of them was significantly taller than the other two, certainly a bit over six feet, with broader shoulders. He brought up the rear, lingering in the shadows like he was content to let the others do the hard work. His arms were folded over his chest, and there was no doubt in Azra's mind that behind the tinted visor, he was watching his every move.

The one with the whip was leaner, built like a runner. With a flick of his wrist, the whip snapped back into his grip. It was clear that he knew how to use the weapon with a lethal efficiency, and he was definitely making no move to put the whip away.

The smallest stalked toward Azra. His small and slight build made Azra think he might be young, a teenager perhaps. Yet the way the other two simply watched made it clear that the small one was in charge here.

"Do you know who we are?" The words came out low and harsh, warped by a voice distorter. If the small one was a kid, Azra would never know. Combined with the helmets, the Serpents were utterly unrecognisable. He could have met them before and never thought twice.

"Yes." Azra's palms were sweating now. "The Serpent Squad."

"Very good. I'm Cobra, and these are my friends, Eel…" The one with the whip. "…and Viper." The tall one.

"I know what you're here for." Azra tried to keep his tone level. He was just a thief. There was risk in what he did, but no real danger. "I could do you a deal for it."

Cobra laughed. The sound was disconcerting due to the distortion. He could hear the emptiness in the noise. Although Azra was taller than Cobra, that didn't stop the guy from freaking him out.

"I don't think so. You don't even know what it is you have, do you?"

"Some kind of weapon." Azra attempted to sound confident, yet even could hear himself faltering. One of the others chuckled softly, but he couldn't tell which. "Look…here."

He was not usually the sort to handle over such things, but Azra didn't think this weapon was worth his life. These people had made an effort to hunt him down, so clearly they wanted it – badly. He reached into his pocket, however he yelped when Eel's whip lashed around his wrist. This time it was crackling with electricity, searing Azra as he shouted in pain.

"No funny business, Azra. Viper, remove the weapon."

At Cobra's command, Viper strode over and took out the weapon, a tiny device that could easily fit in his gloved hand. Eel didn't relinquish the whip even as Azra hissed curses under his breath. It was only once Viper moved across to Cobra and handed him the device that Eel flicked off the electricity and withdrew the whip, making Azra stumble again.

"Do you know who this belonged to?"

Azra shook his head fervently.

"Idiot. You steal things without knowing what they are and who owned them? You're possibly the most incompetent thief I've ever had the displeasure of meeting."

"Then tell me," Azra challenged, Cobra's insults stinging him into boldness.

Reaching up with his free hand, Cobra's fingers caught the underside of the helmet, yanking it over his head. Azra's stomach twisted in anticipation as he realised he was about to discover the identity of at least one of the Serpent Squad. Either Cobra was a fool, or he didn't believe Azra would be getting out of this alive.

She, Azra mentally corrected himself. Because Cobra was not a man at all, but a young woman, probably in her early twenties. Dark chocolate brown hair spilled out from the helmet and down past her shoulders. A pretty face with devious brown eyes and a mocking smile tugging the corners of her lips. The feared Cobra was just a girl. An oddly familiar girl.

"Cobra," Viper warned, but she ignored him.

"This is a sonic taser, and it belonged to Obadiah Stane, before his death." Her voice was very different now, without the distortion. Suddenly Azra realised exactly who she was—her statement paired with her familiarity gave it away.

After Obadiah's death, his son Ezekiel had taken control of the family assets – and accomplished a very successful business of his own. On the surface, Ezekiel was a major game-changer for weapons and arms development, but there were whispers that he had some shady associations.

In his mid-forties, Ezekiel also had two kids of his own—Ophelia and Cassio. Ophelia was like her dad and enjoyed the spotlight, a known socialite. Cassio was two years younger, but people said he favoured his mum—she'd been a university lecturer on literature, hence her children's Shakespearian names.

This young woman didn't seem the type who attended social functions and flirted and drank expensive cocktails. There was a cold steel to her smile that made Azra certain that Ophelia was not the careless party girl the tabloids portrayed her as. He opened his mouth to state her name, but she pressed a finger to her lips. Something told Azra that the men with her weren't quite as observant and likely didn't know who she really was.

"I go by Cobra in these circles." She glanced over her shoulder at the men behind her, giving them a curt nod. Reaching into her pocket, she fished out some ear plugs and put them in her ears. "Wanna see what this can do?"

"No, wait," Azra protested, but it was already too late. Ophelia pressed a button on the device that emitted a high-pitched sound, the frequency making Azra open his mouth in a wordless cry of pain before he felt his body going numb. It seemed like the high frequency from the device was capable of causing paralysis. Ophelia watched him with a vindictive smile playing about her lips, before she reached up to tug out her earplugs, kneeling down beside Azra and tilting her head to the side.

"No one steals from my family and gets away with it. You hear me? No one."

The young woman's voice was soft and full of venom. Azra was struck by a cold clutch of fear as he realised that he'd been right to assume he wasn't getting out of this situation alive. Ophelia pushed herself to her feet and drew a gun from her belt, flicking off the safety and pointing it directly at Azra's head. She pulled the trigger with cold eyes and no hesitation.