A man in a black uniform stares out the window, looking out onto the Germany countryside.
"Are you prepared for the mission at hand?" He questions the slight figure standing across the room. "There will be no extractions, no covering for you should the mission go south, is that understood?"
"Yes sir."
The man nods in approval before vaguely gesturing to the guards by the doors, and they spring into action carrying the figure away. When they are gone, the man turns from his view and faces the door with his eyes flashing green," It has begun."
Three Weeks Later
On a bright, sunny morning in the Avengers Tower, Tony Stark finds himself in his lab working on his newest upgrades to his suit. Metallica is blasting in the background, just the way he likes it, and he is elbow deep in grease and soot. When his music is suddenly shut off, Tony frowns in annoyance.
"Jarvis, what did I tell you about disturbing my work?"
"I apologize, sir, but there is an incoming call for the Avengers."
Tony rolls his eyes and continues his work," Tell Fury that we're busy. Have him clean up his own mess for once."
"The caller is not Director Fury, I'm afraid." Jarvis replies. There is a hesitance in the AI's voice," This call is not from anyone that has previously interacted with the Avengers, sir."
Tony doesn't miss a beat before stating," I thought I programmed you to ignore fan calls."
"Sir, they called on the Avengers' frequency."
This stops Tony in his tracks; no one except the Avengers and Fury are supposed to have that frequency. Either someone hacked SHIELD, or someone gave it out; neither of which sounds like a good option.
"How?" Tony demands, his mind racing ahead.
"Of that, I am unsure," The AI reports," However, the caller does seem to be in a state of distress."
After a quick moment of deliberation, Tony has Jarvis put the caller through.
"Listen, pal, I don't know who you are or what you want, but you're interrupting a genius at work so this better be good."
A terrified, high pitched feminine voice responds," I need to meet with Captain Rogers. I have some information that could be useful for him and his Avengers."
Tony scoffs at the wording and starts tracing the call. If this woman was expecting him to help her, this was not the way to do it.
"Unless I have proof that you aren't just trying to get him to come to your kid's birthday party, all you are going to meet is the dial tone."
"Don't hang up!" The woman cries desperately," I just sent a picture of what I am holding. I don't have much time; if you want more information, you will have Captain Rogers meet me in Sydney, Nova Scotia alone tomorrow at seven p.m. I will be wearing a red hat and a blue scarf while sitting on a bench in the park. If he is not alone, I will not give him the information."
"If you think you can just order the Avengers around like that- "Tony starts. He is cut off by the dial tone, and Tony almost disregards the entire conversation just because of it. What kind of idiot does this woman think he is? No one orders him around, and he huffs as he turns back to his work.
"Sir, I have the photograph she sent, but I was unable to trace the call in time." Jarvis comments.
Against his better judgement, Tony rolls over to his holographic table in his chair and allows the photo to be shown. The photo is not at all what he was expecting.
"Jarvis, have everyone meet on the main floor," Tony orders urgently. He quickly wipes his hands-on nearby towel, which he would later learn is a shirt, and hurries to the elevator. The ride up takes forever, and he fidgets impatiently as the numbers slowly tick up. After an eternity, the doors open and he proceeds to the main room, and he is pleased to find everyone here.
"What do you want, Stark?" Clint complains. His hair is ruffled, and his clothes look like they were thrown on in a hurry. "Some of us were getting our beauty sleep."
Steve sends Clint a serious look, and Clint sobers up quickly. Tony nods his thanks and pulls up the photo they had just been sent.
"I got this call just a minute ago; this lady was asking to meet you, Cap." Tony starts looking to the Captain. "She sounded like she was in danger, but she wouldn't say where she was, only where she was going."
Jarvis plays back the entire call, and the tension in the air grows: Steve's face darkens, Clint and Thor seem confused, Natasha is silent, and Bruce leans closer to study the photo. The picture in question is that of a journal with the Hydra insignia in the middle of the cover.
"It could be an old journal," Natasha comments doubtfully, but the lack of damage on the cover makes her unsure. "For all we know, this could have been faked."
"Jarvis picked the picture apart piece by piece; this is legitimate." Tony replies.
Thor looks around incredulously," I do not understand, did Captain Rogers not vanquish these foes 70 of your years ago?"
Steve clenches his jaw," I thought I did. I guess not all the rats went down with the ship."
A few sympathetic glances are thrown Steve's way, but his gaze is locked onto the picture in front of him.
"I need to meet her," Steve starts. Before he can get another word out, shouts of protest are heard.
"Like hell you are!"
"Steve, we should think about this."
"I agree, Captain."
"I'm not so sure that's a good idea, Cap."
Steve raises his hand for silence, and the others oblige," I said I should meet her, not meet her alone. I know better than that."
"Steve," Natasha warns," even with us there, it could still be dangerous. You can't honestly tell me this doesn't smell like a trap."
Clint nods in agreement," In order for her not to see us, the rest of us would have to be far enough away that we might not be of any help if something went down."
"Then what would you want me to do? Would you like me to sit around and wait for Hydra to surface on their own?" Steve questions as he crosses his arms. The rest of the team knew there was a small chance at changing his mind, but they still decided to try.
"Cap, we don't know if Hydra is still kicking," Tony points out," and if they are, we'll be here to stop them. None of us want to risk you getting hurt for some false lead."
Thor speaks up for the first time in a while," Man of Iron, I understand your concern for Steven, but how are we to know if these foes still exist if we are not willing to get the information at hand?"
"We'll find some other way," Tony states confidently.
Steve frowns and sighs," Tony, you don't understand; Hydra is like a parasite. It will grow and grow until, eventually, they will be unstoppable. If we don't step in now, even if this is a trap, people will die."
Tony runs a hand through his hair and looks at Bruce," What do you think of all this?"
All eyes go to Bruce, and Bruce is suddenly engulfed with the pressure of deciding. On one hand, he understands the dangers of sending Steve into an unknown situation, but he also knows that even if there is a small chance that the information is real, they must get their hands on it before Hydra reclaims it.
Making his decision, Bruce lifts his chin to Steve," I think you should go. While it'll be dangerous, if there's even a chance that the information is legitimate, we have to try and get our hands on it. Like Steve said, we can't risk losing innocent lives."
Silently, everyone who was opposed backs down, and Steve takes the opportunity to lay out the battleplan:
"Alright then. Clint, we'll scope out the area and see if there is somewhere you can perch. You'll call out any suspicious activity or irregular patterns that you see. Natasha, I'll need you walking around the park in disguise as my backup, but make sure you don't get too close. We don't know how skilled this person is, so keep your distance. Thor, you and Tony will be my eyes in the sky, alright? Stay out of sight but watch for anything unusual. Bruce, you will stay in the Quinjet. I don't think we'll need the Hulk for this mission."
Everyone nods at their given assignments and starts to disperse. Just as Steve starts to head out, Tony grabs his shoulder and makes sure Steve is facing him.
"If anything seems even remotely out of place," Tony says lowly," we're pulling you; with or without the information."
Steve takes in Tony's unnaturally serious expression and nods.
"It'll be fine." Steve promises with a reassuring smile. He could not have been more wrong.