10 Months Later

Tony!" Pepper called as the elevator doors opened to the party deck of Avengers Tower. Tony Stark looked up casually from the conversation he was having with Bruce about tracking the scepter, giving Pepper a wave as she strode toward them. She threw a massive stack of mail onto the bar between the men and shot Tony an accusatory stare, "Is there any particular reason you told Maria Hill not to gather the mail from the last five months?"

"It's just fan mail and bills that JARVIS pays automatically, it's nothing important." Tony mumbled casually as he pulled the rubber band off of the stack Pepper had deposited. Pepper reached into her messenger bag and dropped another pile, then another, and then a fourth one before placing her hand firmly on her hip. Bruce massaged his temple as Tony looked at all the mail, "You know, when you were my assistant, this wouldn't have happened."

"Open the mail Tony. Hill says you've gotten several complaints that none of the fans ever hear back." Pepper teased, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to Stark's lips. "I'm taking the Stark jet to LA. I'll be back next week."

"It'll be the worst week I've had this month." Tony murmured into her ear as he kissed her neck and she smiled softly before pushing him against the chest. "Fly safe, Pep."

"Open the mail, Tony!" Pepper called as she pushed her bag farther up her shoulder and left the men alone with their project. As Pepper reached the elevator, she passed Steve, "Hey, I collected the mail Tony's been ignoring. Make sure he opens it please."

"Will do, ma'am." Steve answered, turning his attention to what he could already see would be a long afternoon. He trudged over to the bar and leaned against it, picking up a stack and gesturing at Tony, "Is there a reason you've been ignoring the mail?"

"We are the Avengers, we have more important things to do than answer fan mail."

"Tony..." Steve moaned, unwrapping the rubber band of the nearest pile, "C'mon, that's important to people. Kids write to us, we give them hope." Steve leaned over the bar and grabbed a knife, then used it to slice open the first letter. He pulled out a long, scrawling letter with a photo of a little kid dressed in a Thor costume attached, "We could use a little hope."

Steve scanned the letter, smiling to himself before setting it to the side and picking up the next one. Anything that looked like a bill he handed back to Tony, taking the opportunity to read the letters people wrote to him and his team. The fifth or sixth letter featured a drawing of the Avengers by a talented young artist. Steve ran his fingers over his own image, glad he'd finally found the courage to shave and trim his hair and feel like himself again. It had been a long couple of months, but the more he fought, the more he realized Kayla was gone.

If Kayla was alive somewhere out there in the world, she would have found a way to send him some kind of sign by now, and he knew that. Even still, he wore that ring around his neck day and night as a reminder of why he was fighting. Making the world safer wasn't nearly enough, Steve tore Hydra down base by base to Avenge the woman he'd loved.

Steve continued to read through all the personal letters, sorting them into letters from adults and letters clearly written by children, while Tony opened the bills, then tossed them away without looking at them. Bruce was slower than Steve, but he'd pick open a letter and scan it carefully, taking his time before passing it over to the soldier, or over to Tony if it was an unsavory complaint.

Suddenly, Bruce opened a letter that caught his attention, and he flipped it over, finding it mostly blank, "This just says Novi Grad. Novi Grad, that sounds familiar..."

"It's the capitol of Sokovia. There's a sleepy little SHIELD, or, most likely, Hydra base there. Hasn't gotten much attention. It's why we haven't looked into it yet." Tony said quickly, plucking the letter from Bruce's hand.

"Well, maybe we should if somebody took the time to write us this." Steve reached over and grabbed the letter from Tony, freezing when he saw it. He studied it for a moment, flipping it over and then scrambling for the envelope. There was no return address. "Stark, you said there's a Hydra base here?"

"Yeah, why, you thinking we should pay them a visit?" Tony asked as he threw another bill into the trash.

Steve held the letter with shaky hands, breathing slowly as he brought one hand to rest on his mouth. "I recognize this writing."

Bruce and Tony turned to Steve expectantly, seeing how shaken the soldier was. Bruce's eyes widened and he looked at Tony accusingly, "How long ago was this delivered?"

"I don't know, sometime after Thanksgiving I'd guess."

"This is Bucky's handwriting, I'd know it anywhere, and he sent this here. This is where he's got her." Steve said as he folded the paper and shoved it into his pocket, "Collect the team, we leave in fifteen minutes."

"Cap..." Bruce sighed, taking off his glasses and setting them on the bar top, "You sure you want to go down this road again? This letter was sent months ago, even if she was there, that doesn't mean she still is now, and just because your friend sent you this location doesn't mean she's alive."

"We won't know until we go." Steve commanded, storming out of the room, "Fifteen minutes!"

With Steve gone, Bruce turned to Tony, who just massaged his jaw thoughtfully, "Huh."

"What's huh?" Bruce questioned, opening up another letter.

"Why would the Winter Soldier send Steve Rogers a message with his location if he's wanted to keep Kayla hidden?"

Bruce considered this for a moment, looking over a crayon drawing of Iron Man. "Could be a trap. Not a good place to have Cap running in distracted."

"Then we'll bring our A-game. JARVIS!" Tony called, "Get Maria Hill down here, I want to know exactly what we're up against."

"Yes Sir." JARVIS answered and Tony pushed away from the bar, waving Bruce to follow him as the elevator doors opened to reveal Maria Hill.

"Stark."

"Hill, what do you got for me about this Novi Grad place in Sokovia?" Tony said as they walked up the stairs to a small conference room. "Cap got a letter from his old war pal, the Winter Soldier. Guy who took Ellis last year. All it said was Novi Grad, and as expected, Cap has lost it again."

Maria sighed, taking a seat and picking up a tablet to pull up what intel she had on Sokovia, "Thought he'd moved past this."

"He had, until now." Bruce mumbled as he sat across from Maria while Stark paced behind him. "He's assembling the team, are we walking into a trap?"

"Well, the Sokovia base is headed by a man named Wolfgang von Strucker. His associate, Doctor List, just escaped custody. I was going to suggest we make Sokovia our next stop. When List escaped I did some deep digging, and what I found isn't pretty." Hill explained, pushing the tablet toward Bruce.

"Human experimentation."

"Yeah. Not sure how." Maria breathed, sliding her finger along the screen to show Baron von Strucker, "He's convincing the protestors to volunteer for his experiments. That's all we know."

"Any success?" Bruce asked, and Maria shrugged.

"Not sure."

"Do you think he has Loki's scepter?" Stark said bluntly, causing Maria and Bruce to look up at him, "The Winter Soldier sent a note saying Novi Grad to Avengers Tower, this is clearly a trap, but why would they want us to come if they are trying to hide?"

"Maybe it isn't a trap, maybe its a warning?" Banner suggested and Tony shook his head.

"Strucker and List have been awfully quiet since last year, we didn't even realize they were still around until List got away." Hill stated, swiping to the next screen showing Doctor List, "Tony's right. This isn't a trap. Strucker won't want the Avengers there."

"So why would Barnes send us there? To throw us off his trail?" Banner asked and Tony swallowed, a little smile growing on his face.

"Maybe Rogers is right. Maybe Barnes wants him to come get Ellis."

"No. Not you, too, don't say that." Bruce warned, standing quickly and backing away from Tony as he rounded the table, "Do you have any idea how unhealthy this is for Steve? No, I'm not even considering that. For his sake, we need to treat this as an Avengers mission. We are looking for the scepter. It's one of the last bases, this is why we're going. The letter is a coincidence, it may not even be from Barnes. It could be from Hydra to mess with him."

"Still doesn't explain why a top secret Hydra facility wants the Avengers to show up and kick their ass, but we will." Tony answered, meeting Bruce's gaze, "We're down to five minutes. You ready?"

"I guess." Bruce rolled his eyes, turning to Maria, "Anything else we need to know?"

"Just know if you can take down Strucker and List, then Hydra is as good as dead." Maria answered with a grin, "Good luck gentlemen."

Steve was the last one on the jet, despite being the one who called for the team to assemble. They all stopped talking and looked at him as he pulled out the note. His breath was heavy as he read the words over and over again, both terrified and hopeful over what the city might mean for him. When he realized everyone was silent, he looked up to see Clint at the wheel, "Well, let's get moving."

The ride to Sokovia was terribly long and quiet. Clint and Tony made small talk while Thor attempted to speak with Steve, but the soldier was more quiet than polite.

Finally, as they neared the European nation, Steve looked up at Thor, "I'm sorry, I'm just a little out of it. I'm trying to get out of my head before we get there."

"If Loki's scepter really is here, this will put an end to all our troubles." Thor warned and Steve nodded, looking down at his gloved hands. Thor nodded a little to himself, "I know you've struggled with losing your girlfriend, Captain. But we need you today. Do not dwell on what you cannot change. There are bigger things at stake."

"I know." Steve said sadly, looking out the front of the quinjet as Barton began to take them down. Steve furrowed his brows and stood, hitting a button near the back of the jet that opened up the floorboards, revealing two motorcycles, one for Natasha, and one for himself. "Let's finish this."

Before the quinjet hit the ground, Steve dropped through the bottom and went zooming through the forest toward the massive Hydra compound on the side of the mountain. The snow blew up around his face, but he focused on getting to his destination, racing forward in a blind rage until he ran into several bunkers. Passing between them, the guns started firing at him and yelling erupted. He made a perfect distraction as the rest of the team moved in, but the element of surprise was gone. The Avengers had arrived.

Meanwhile, inside the base, Wanda and Pietro hovered in the doorway of the communications center as Strucker's workers began to panic at the arrival of the Avengers.

"How did they find us?"

"It was only a matter of time." Strucker said, looking out the window at the front of the room, "Who gave the order to attack?"

"They landed in the far woods, Captain America came racing by and the perimeter guard panicked."

Strucker turned to List, who gazed around the room in panic, "They must be after the scepter."

"Or the girl." List said, looking toward Pietro and Wanda as their scientist Katiana appeared, her long black hair pulled into a tight braid to stay out of her eyes. She was dressed for combat, and she held Wanda's arm protectively. "Do you think he knows she's here?"

"If he did, he would have been here long ago. She'll take care of Captain America." Strucker told List quietly, then turned his attention back to the soldier he'd been speaking with, "Can we hold them?"

"They are the Avengers!" The man cried out in terror and Strucker sighed as Katiana appeared beside him.

Strucker looked to Katiana as she whispered with List, clearing his throat to get her attention. Katiana shot List a dirty look before staring at Strucker, "He wants to send the twins." She said with a heavy accent from working in Sokovia the past ten months, "I won't have it. They aren't ready."

"It's what they signed up for!" List argued, but Katiana hissed back, "I said no."

"My men can hold them." Strucker said, ending the argument. Katiana smirked proudly at Doctor List and turned her attention back to the Maximoffs, flipping her braid over her shoulder as her thick knee-high boots clicked across the floor. She didn't turn around as Strucker engaged his soldiers in an attempt to raise their morale, "We will not yield! The Americans sent their circus freaks to test us. We will send them back in bags! No surrender!"

"No surrender!" The soldiers yelled back and Katiana smiled at the twins, gesturing around.

"See, nothing to worry about."

"But it's the Avengers. They can't take them." Pietro reached out and stroked Katiana's arm and she rolled her eyes, shaking her head at his sister knowingly, "Let us go. We've grown. We've practiced. You're happy with us, are you not?"

"Pietro-" Wanda started, but he kept his eyes trained on the scientist, waiting for her answer.

"You two are perfect." Katiana whispered, daringly running her fingers through Pietro's bleached hair before cupping Wanda's cheek with her free hand, "There were meant to be more of you."

"They've just broken through the barrier!" One of the soldiers yelled and Katiana turned with wide green eyes, surging forward to check the computer and see that he was right.

"Shit!" She yelled out, seeing Strucker and List looking toward the doorway where Pietro and Wanda had been. Katiana's jaw quivered as she pushed past them, "Shit."

"They'll be okay, they've trained for this. They know how to use their powers." List insisted, but Katiana turned on him and pointed with her jaw stiff.

She looked like she was going to say something, but she just growled loudly and stormed through the doorway to find the twins.

Strucker put up his hand to stop Doctor List from following, "Let her go. The Avengers will overtake us. Let her fulfill her most basic purpose. She's done all she can, now let her destroy them. She'll protect the twins, she's fond of them. They are her family now."

"We're locked down out here." Natasha said over the comm as they held the rest of the security guards at gunpoint. "We've lost the enhanced though."

"Then get to Banner, time for a lullaby." Steve ordered as he hopped up the stairs to the entrance to the Hydra base. Tony was already inside gathering up all of Hydra's dirty secrets. Natasha had the Hulk under control. All Steve had to do was find the scepter or Strucker and get his answer once and for all. He took a deep breath and kicked open the wooden doors, sending them flying backward as he entered the dark building. He looked around, seeing a guard running toward him, but brought up his shield to knock the man through the doorway.

Steve walked past the doorway to see Baron von Strucker standing in front of him. Steve smirked, looking the man up and down as he approached slowly, "Baron Strucker. Hydra's number one thug."

"Technically, I'm a thug for SHIELD." Strucker taunted and Steve had to remind himself he had questions for the Baron before he crushed his windpipe.

"Well, then technically, you're unemployed." Steve replied as they circled each other, until Steve stood between Strucker and the stairs leading out of the compound. "Where's Loki's scepter?"

"Don't worry, I know when I'm beat. You'll tell them I cooperated, I hope." Strucker said as his eyes landed behind Steve, but the soldier was too focused on his interrogation to realize he was about to be ambushed.

Steve almost smiled, "I'll put it right under illegal human experimentation. How many are there?"

By the time Steve realized there was a woman beside him, she thrust her hand toward him and sent him hurtling down the stairs without laying a hand on him. He rolled down the steps and landed on his feet, climbing the stairs quickly in an effort to get to the girl, but when he reached the top, she was gone. As he reached the top, he looked around, muttering into his comm, "We have a second enhanced. Female. Do not engage."

Strucker chuckled, "You'll have to be faster than-"

Before he could finish, Steve stepped on his shield so it would fly up to him, and he kicked it into Strucker's chest, knocking the man out. Steve grabbed his shield as it bounced back, watching as Strucker fell to the ground and his monocle popped out. He raised his hand to his ear and panted, "Guys, I've got Strucker."

"Well, I've got something bigger." Tony replied, before adding, "Thor, I've got eyes on the prize."

Unbeknownst to Stark, Wanda was slowly sneaking up behind him with her hands raised to his head and red wisps glowing from her fingertips. Katiana entered the room, but Pietro appeared and grabbed her wrist, holding her back as Wanda joined them.

Pietro started to step toward Wanda, but she raised her arm to stop him, looking over her shoulder as he glared down at her. Katiana grabbed onto Wanda, watching as Tony Stark's gauntlet latched onto his hand and he prepared to take the scepter.

"We're just gonna let him take it?" Pietro hissed and Wanda just grinned devilishly as Katiana lifted her head, hearing something upstairs.

"We have to go, now." Katiana tugged Pietro's arm and he looked up while Wanda continued to watch Tony Stark, "Wanda, let's go." Finally the girl followed her brother and friend. Pietro sped ahead and Katiana and Wanda moved slowly, occasionally looking back until they saw Stark exit out the secret wall he'd come through. Katiana pushed open a door to the outside world and looked to the eighteen year old, "We go back to town. We'll hide there until the Avengers are gone."

Katiana threw her hand up in front of Wanda and stopped dead in her tracks, backing into the building as Wanda pushed past her, "I'll be fine, Kat, you don't have to worry about me, I can protect myself..." Wanda trailed off when she looked up, seeing Captain America walking dejectedly around the building, as if looking for something. Wanda narrowed her glowing red eyes and took a step forward, raising her hand toward the man as he turned toward her, getting a good look at the girl for the first time.

"Guys, I have the female enhanced here." Steve said quietly into his comm as the woman approached him, red dancing around her fingers. "I don't want to hurt you."

"I wouldn't be too worried about it." Wanda slurred as she raised her hand, but Steve raised his shield, only to be knocked off his feet by the enhanced male, too fast to see coming, but strong enough to send Steve to the ground.

He put his hands behind his head and pushed himself back to his feet, looking around for the two enhanced, but both were gone. "I lost them."

"That's fine, Cap. We've got what we came for. Let's go." Natasha said through Steve's comm and he sighed, not ready to leave. He had hoped against hope she'd be here. He'd hoped the note from Bucky had meant something, but Bucky nor Kayla were nowhere to be found. He was too late.

Steve turned to look at the compound one last time, only to realize a dark haired Hydra agent stood three feet behind him with daggers in both hands. It took a moment, but despite the dark hair and ugly glare, Steve knew who was in front of him. "Kayla?"

She yelled out and leapt at him, and he stumbled back a step as she tried to dig one of her daggers into his shoulder. Steve reached out for her in a daze, and she kicked him in the stomach, but he didn't flinch. "Kay, it's me. It's Steve."

"I know who you are. And you'll never hurt my family again." She snarled as she whipped around, changing her tactic and hurtling the knife into Steve's chest. He gasped and pulled the knife out quickly, feeling the pain radiate through his body as it pierced his thick suit. Had he not been suited up, the knife would have pierced his heart. She slid the other knife into the thigh holster around her leg as Steve collapsed onto his ass, too shocked to fight back or retreat.

"Kayla..." Steve gasped as she stood over him, staring down at him like she'd never seen him before, "Baby, what happened to you?"

She quickly drew a gun and pointed it at Steve's head, "Call me Baby again and it'll be the last thing you ever say."

He stared up at Kayla, realizing she had no clue who he was. Her hair was black as night and her eyes were rimmed with thick liner. She looked well fed and muscular, she had been well taken care of, but she wasn't his Kayla anymore. He had to figure out some way to get through to her. "Please, you know me."

"I know you and the Avengers are causing destruction around the world. We will stop you." She snarled, pushing the barrel of the gun against Steve's head as he breathed heavily, unsure what to do. He couldn't hurt her.

"Rogers!"

Kayla looked up at the sound of Nat's voice, realizing the woman was approaching to help. Before Kataina could act, Pietro appeared and scooped her up, taking her far away from the dazed Captain America.

Natasha ran into the clearing and saw Steve sitting in the snow with his hand over his chest. She picked up speed and slid to a stop in front of him, cradling his face as he looked past her, "Steve? What happened?"

"Kay. She appeared out of nowhere. She attacked me. She stabbed me and tried to shoot me. The enhanced took her, I gotta go after her!" Steve started to stand but Natasha leaned against him, holding him back as Thor appeared from the sky above.

"No. No we need you to get looked at too, you're really hurt Steve." Natasha said, looking to Thor for help. "Steve, she isn't here."

"Yes she was, I swear on my life, it was her." Steve argued, taking a step away, but Thor placed his hand on Steve's shoulder to hold him back as he gazed off toward the compound. "I know it was Kay."

"Then why did she try to kill you?" Natasha pressed, "Are you sure it isn't the enhanced messing with you?"

"She didn't remember me. She had no idea who I was."

"It could have been the enhanced, you said you saw her and then you thought you saw Kayla, right? We don't know the extent of her powers. Thor?" Natasha asked for help and the demi-god shrugged.

"Captain, you are wounded, you need help."

"No. I'm not leaving until I know if that was her. Bucky sent me a letter saying she was here, maybe he sent it because she was captured by- Hydra." Steve said slowly, realizing what had happened to his love. "They brainwashed her, just like Bucky. They wiped me out."

"Steve, you need medical attention, now." Natasha snarled, motioning for Thor to pull Steve back to the jet.

"I'm not leaving." Steve argued, "She's here and I have to save her!"

"You can come back Steve, but right now, let's go." Natasha finally snapped and Steve looked to her, then toward the compound one last time. Tony had all of Hydra's information, perhaps there would be information on what happened to Kayla. Steve nodded without a word and hung his head, feeling terrible for leaving Kayla behind. Again.