Some Things Never Sleep

by Lucky Strike's alter ego

"You never learn when to quit, Spider-Twerp." She told him. "Spider-Twerp?" Spider-Man questioned in disbelief as he glared. Emma smirked. "Well, you annoyingly seem to get in my way all the time. That and you don't look or sound like a man to me." She explained. "I am a man." He told her angrily. "Somehow I doubt that." The first time Emma and Peter met didn't exactly go well.

82. Chapter Seventy Five

Author's Note: Here's Chapter Seventy Five. I know I've been taking a long time with these past two updates but I've been busy job hunting as well as working on my other stories. I'm going to try and update sooner this time but I'm not making any promises. This chapter has a lot of fluff and humor in the beginning but takes a more serious turn a little before the half way point. A lot of Shuri in this chapter. I think part of the reason this chapter took so long is that there's a certain point I want to reach in this story but I have to get to that point first which made it hard to write this chapter when I really just want to get to that part of the story. I'm not sure if that made any sense or if I'm just mindlessly rambling at this point.

So I know this is really strange as a Marvel fan but I think I'm going to see A Star is Born this weekend rather than Venom which I also want to see. I'm just really obsessed with music and the music in the film is probably music I would listen to in real life. I've also listened to 'Shallows' like a hundred times. It's so addicting and I'm also so excited for the movie. I never used to be a fan of Lady Gaga but her last album was really good and this movie looks amazing. I'll definitely be seeing Venom later though.

Did you guys hear about Loki and Scarlet Witch getting their own shows on Disney's new streaming platform? I'm so excited. Marvel also mentioned a lot of other characters from the MCU getting their own shows too so I hope this means Bucky and Sam will be getting their own shows as well. Nebula getting her own show would be cool too.

I saw the Captain Marvel trailer and I'm super excited for the movie! It looks so great and March could not come sooner. I'm also impatiently waiting for the Avenger's 4 trailer but I have a feeling that's not coming out until December or January. We still don't know the title yet. I'm thinking it'll be something like Avengers: Endgame or Avengers: Eternity War. Only time will tell, I guess.

I also just wanted to add that I'll be updating my other story The Palace next which is a rewrite of Undisclosed Desires. Then I'll be updating One Word From You and definitely this one after that. I'm just really inspired for all three stories right now.

Thank you for all the reviews, follows, and favorites. Let me know what you think of this chapter.

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"What are you doing?" Peter asked as he perched himself on the edge of the conference table, watching Emma stare at one of the holographic screens intensely. He had just returned from the kitchen only to find his girlfriend otherwise distracted. Emma barely glanced up at him from the screen as she fast fowarded through the footage of Steve interrogating Collins. She hadn't found anything of interest yet. Emma wasn't exactly sure what she was looking for but she knew that she would know it when she saw it.

"I'm looking at the interrogation to see if there's anything that might be useful." Emma explained briefly before a confused look came across Peter's face.

"Wouldn't Steve or Natasha have already found something useful though?" Peter asked her and Emma just shook her head.

"Well, they weren't in Hydra. They don't know what to look for." Emma told him. "He might've let something slip by mistake. Something that could've gone over Steve and Natasha's heads."

"That makes sense." Peter said as he watched Emma focus on her work. He curiously observed her serious demeanor as she remained focused on her task and watched the footage from the interrogation. Her jaw was clenched as her ocean blue eyes remained set on the screen. There was also a determined look on her face as she went over the footage. Peter couldn't help but utter the first words that came to mind as he continued to look at her.

"You look like your grandpa." Peter blurted and Emma finally tore her gaze away from the screen to look at him in surprise.

"What?" She questioned, believing that she might've misheard him. Peter blushed before explaining himself.

"You just seem so focused and determined. Like…you're in captain mode like Steve." Peter said with a goofy smile on his face. Emma gave him a disgusted look.

"Ew…gross." Emma said, clearly revolted by Peter's observation. "I don't even know what you're talking about. Steve and I look nothing alike." Peter looked at her in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me? You and Steve look so much alike." Peter informed her, not believing that Emma didn't think she and her grandfather shared any similarities. "You guys could pass as brother and sister."

"Stop being disgusting." Emma said, somehow horrified at the thought that her boyfriend thought she looked like Steve. "Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for Steve's sperm and everything because it eventually led to my existence but I don't think we look anything alike."

"Are you blind?" Peter questioned because the traits she shared with her grandfather were so obvious to him. "The hair, the eyes, and I think you both even kind of smile in the same way. It's actually nice because I've never met someone who looks so much like you."

"Never tell me that I look like Steve again. I swear I'll dump you and then I'll make-out with T'Challa in front you." Emma threatened and Peter playfully glared at her but he knew she was joking deep down. His girlfriend had the strangest sense of humor.

"T'Challa's not even that good looking." Peter retorted, being the mature person he was. Emma just smirked at him.

"Don't worry, Parker. I would totally cheat on him with you behind his back. He might have tons of money but you're way hotter than him." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head but he couldn't help but smile at her although he knew what she was doing. She was trying to change the subject because for some reason she didn't want to think that she and Steve looked alike.

"Maybe when Steve retires, you could be the next Captain America." Peter suggested and Emma wondered if he was trying to piss her off on purpose because it was definitely working. "It would be so cool, Emma. You could have a cool outfit like him and then have an even cooler name. Like, maybe Miss America…or Madam America…or Lady Liberty. Basically anything patriotic."

"I've never thrown up before but if you keep talking like that I think I might." Emma deadpanned as she gave her boyfriend an annoyed look. "I will never be the next Captain America. That's the lamest thing I've ever heard you say and you say a lot of lame and stupid things." Peter rolled his eyes at her.

"What's so lame about Captain America? He's literally the first Avenger. An actual living legend." Peter told her, ignoring the other half of her insulting statement. He was used to that from her by now.

"Geez, Parker, if you love him so much why don't you have sex with Steve instead of me?" Emma said sarcastically. "He really needs to have sex anyways. He's gone over seventy years without it. Steve must be more sexually frustrated than a landowner from the Victorian era." Peter just gave her a knowing look despite her disturbing remark about her grandfather.

"What's this really about, Emma?" Peter asked her, seemingly not as phased by her blunt sarcasm as he usually was. Emma sighed heavily. Why did he know her so well?

"I don't know. I guess I didn't really think about it before since Steve was gone so long but the whole Captain America thing is kind of intimidating." Emma admitted much to Peter's surprise.

"I don't understand." Peter told her, trying to piece together what she was saying.

"He's famous for doing the right thing and having all these morals. He's like you." Emma told him honestly. "I'll never be able to live up to that. A couple years ago I thought I'd probably leave Avengers tower and try to take over the world or something."

"Why would you want to take over the world?" Peter asked, despite himself and Emma looked at him like he was stupid.

"Why wouldn't you want to take over the world? You could do anything you wanted and no one could tell you what to do." Emma explained and Peter was beginning to think his girlfriend was scarily good at deciphering a super-villain's mindset. "I could ban chocolate and Game of Thrones and then watch the world implode."

"You would be the most evil dictator in history. Worse than Loki would've been." Peter said, horrified that anyone would ever think of banning Game of Thrones.

"Thank you." Emma said before smirking. "Don't worry. I would still let you watch Game of Thrones."

"Really?" Peter asked her and she nodded, a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. He decided that he really loved how evil his girlfriend could be. She was really hot when she was being evil and telling him all her evil plans if she ever took over the world.

"Yes…for sexual favors." Emma told him suggestively. Peter swallowed hard as he became momentarily distracted by Emma's suggestive tone. It wasn't until he remembered what they were talking about before that he realized what she was doing.

"Wait a second." Peter said, breaking out of his less than appropriate thoughts about Emma. "You're trying to distract me from what you were talking about before."

"It's not my fault that you have the attention span of a dog." Emma told him uncaringly and Peter just shook his head.

"Wait, what were you saying about not being able to live up to Steve? Is that what this is about?" Peter questioned and Emma sighed, knowing that she couldn't really distract Peter anymore. That was saying something too because Peter was the easiest person to distract. He had a super short attention span.

"I don't know." Emma said as she shrugged. "He's famous for being a little goody two shoes and I'm a former assassin who's murdered a lot of people in cold blood. I don't know what the others will expect from me because I'm never going to be like Steve. I'll never even be half the Avenger he is."

"I don't think that's true." Peter told her softly and Emma looked back at him in surprise. "I think you're going to be an amazing Avenger and I don't think that has anything to do with Steve. You're amazing on your own."

"I don't know. Sometimes I just feel like I'm the black sheep of the family…kind of like he's Thor and I'm Loki." Emma told Peter, still not convinced but Peter was adamant about convincing her that she was a great person. He knew she was more than likely going to have her doubts since Hydra had made their return known. A lot of bad memories were bound to return but Peter didn't want her thinking any less of herself.

"You used to do bad things, that's true, but it was never your fault. They forced you to do those things." Peter told her as he convinced her of what he already knew.

"But I still did it." Emma pointed out but Peter wasn't having it.

"It doesn't matter. You're not a bad person. You're good." Peter told her with a determined look on his face. "I think you're actually one of the strongest people here."

"What?" Emma asked doubtfully and Peter nodded furiously.

"Yes. With everything you've been through and done, you still want to do the right thing. You still want to help people." Peter told her as Emma just watched him silently. "I don't think you're like Loki because Loki did bad things and he didn't care about who he hurt. You're not like that. You care."

"I don't-" Emma started to say but he didn't let her finish.

"You can say how much you don't care all you want but I know you. I know that you care about people and you want to do the right thing." Peter told her and Emma could tell he really believed that. She mentally, and begrudgingly, admitted that he was right although she would never admit that aloud. "I think it says a lot about what kind of person you are…that you were able to come from such a dark place and overcome everything to become the person you are today."

"I guess." Emma said as if she didn't really believe him but it was important to Peter that she knew this about herself.

"You're going to be a great Avenger someday, Emma. I can already see it." Peter told her, looking proud of her but also quite sure of himself. "There's going to be little girls across the world who will look up to you and want to be like you. There probably already are."

"Gross." Emma told him but it was clear that she didn't seem quite as disgusted as she pretended to be. Peter just smiled at her as her gaze then softened. "But thank you."

"You don't need to thank me." Peter told her and Emma shook her head.

"Yes, I do. You always seem to believe in me. You don't think I'll screw up and make a mess of everything." Emma told him and Peter just gently pushed a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, his touch lingering and affectionate.

"If anyone thinks that of you then they clearly don't know you at all." Peter told her softly and Emma smiled back at him, touched and weirdly bashful by how much Peter thought of her. He always saw good in her somehow. Emma used to think no one could ever love her because of all the bad things she had done but here was a boy who knew everything she had done and accepted that part of her. She didn't know what she had done to deserve Peter.

"You're going to be an amazing Avenger too." Emma told him sincerely. There was actually no doubt in her mind that Peter would be a great Avenger. He was inherently good. There was nothing about him that was bad. He was probably the only one out of all the people at the compound that had never taken a life. "I think you'll be a great leader too. Who knows? Maybe you'll even lead the team someday."

"I don't know if that would ever happen." Peter said shyly as he blushed. "I mean, it would be cool and everything but I'm not sure that Mr. Stark or anyone would-" Emma just rolled her eyes at him as she interrupted him.

"Just take the compliment like a man, Parker." Emma told him. "I don't care if I have to put Steve back on ice or break Tony's kneecaps. You'll lead the Avengers someday."

"You would put your grandpa on ice for me?" Peter questioned incredulously and Emma shrugged.

"Not for long. Just long enough for him to be considered missing and for you to be put in charge." Emma told her boyfriend. "Besides…Steve needs to retire anyways. He's almost a hundred, you know. He should do what other old people do like crossword puzzles and chess. Tony's pretty old too. He should start thinking about retirement too."

"Mr. Stark's not old. He's only forty seven." Peter told her and Emma just nodded.

"That is old, Peter." She pointed out and Peter just looked at her in disbelief. "He's really fragile and delicate. I'm always worried about him having a stroke on a mission or something." Emma only briefly paused before continuing.

"How embarrassing what that be if he had a stroke while we were going to head-to-head with Loki?" Emma asked and it was clear she was back to being her regular self as she made fun of Tony. "I'd hate to think what Loki would think of us if that happened. I, for one, want to make a good impression on Loki when I hopefully meet him someday." Peter rolled his eyes.

"Okay, I can tell you're just being mean." Peter said, knowing that Emma was back to being mean towards Tony. It seemed like despite all her and Mr. Stark had overcome in the past, she would never stop giving the older man a hard time. She was probably the only one who had balls enough to tease Tony Stark. "And I also just want to say how disturbing it is that you have this weird fascination with Loki. Especially considering the fact that the guy's dead."

"That's what Loki wants you to think. I'd bet good money that he's alive somewhere ruling over some realm full of morons." Emma told him and Peter just shook his head in disbelief.

"You know most teenage girls have a crush on Harry Styles or Zac Efron yet your crush is on Loki." Peter complained and Emma just smirked at him.

"Well, Harry Styles and Zac Efron wish they were as cool as Loki." Emma said, engaging in the usual banter her and Peter always did. The circumstances they were currently in were dire but it was nice to have a short break from all the drama to just be their normal selves.

"Tell me again how an intergalactic terrorist is a cool person?" Peter asked her and Emma didn't hesitate in answering him.

"He's only the best liar in the whole universe and he plays hilarious tricks on people all the time. Then there's the fact that he always has something up his sleeve and he almost accomplished taking over the world." Emma said as she began to list off all the reasons why she thought Loki was cool. Peter never liked the fact that she thought Loki was cool since she literally thought nothing was cool. Jessica Jones seemed to share that same acclaim on Emma's list of coolness although Peter didn't get that either. Jessica Jones was a thirty something year old alcoholic that was really mean and rude.

"Then there the most important thing of all." Emma continued to say and Peter raised his eyebrows.

"What is that?" Peter questioned.

"Steve and Tony hate him." Emma told him with a mischievous look on her face…a mischievous look that would probably make Loki himself be proud. "They get all angry and annoyed whenever I talk about how much better off we'd be if Loki had taken over the world. It's hilarious."

"You're so weird." Peter told her softly with a gentle smile on his face.

"Thank you." Emma told him, not caring if her boyfriend thought she was weird or not. He already knew how weird she was.

"If Loki ever pops up again, I'm going to make sure you two never end up in the same room together." Peter told her jokingly but also kind of seriously. "I'm not sure if you'd kill each other or fall in love at first sight."

"Probably the first one." Emma told him honestly as she gave Peter an affectionate look. "I only have eyes for you, Spider-Twerp. Besides…Loki's super old. I'm not just talking actual age but he looks old too. He looks like he's Steve's age and that's super gross."

"I believe you." Peter told her, the smile on his face unwavering. He missed this banter he usually shared with Emma. They hadn't had the opportunity to have a lot of these moments lately but he was glad they were able to hang out like this. Even with Hydra on the horizon. It was nice just to feel like things were back to normal…even if it was just for a moment. Peter was then about to say a bunch of other mushy things to his girlfriend when someone unexpectedly walked into the room.

"There you are, Peter. I've been looking for you everywhere." Shuri said in her thick Wakandan accent as she walked into the conference room. Emma and Peter were broken out of the moment as the princess came into the room with a tablet in her hands but it was clear it wasn't Stark Industries issued. It looked far more advanced than Tony. At least there was one reason to like the princess, Emma thought to herself. She made Tony look like an incompetent moron.

"Hey, Shuri." Peter said as he happily greeted the other teenager. They had worked in the lab together quite a bit over the past few days and Peter even liked to consider them to be friends. Not to mention he thought Shuri was probably one of the coolest people he had ever met. Excluding Emma of course. Peter was sure Emma would get mad and withhold making out with him if he said that.

"I was going to give you an update on those spectrometers." Shuri told him before noticing Emma sitting there beside him. She stared at the blonde in surprise for a moment as Emma stared back at her with a blank look on her face. Shuri hadn't expected to see the blonde but she supposed it made sense since apparently Peter and Emma were together. She had to admit that this place was a lot more interesting than back home. There was all kinds of drama going on around here. "Oh…hello, Emma."

"Hi." Emma said, being her usual reserved self when she was around people she didn't know.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked as she looked in between the couple.

"Yes, I was just about to murder Peter and collect his life insurance." Emma deadpanned, which was her way of testing Shuri, and the princess just stared at her, not understanding what she just heard. Peter blushed as he looked from his crazy girlfriend and then saw the confused look on his new friend's face.

"She's kidding." Peter said as he smiled nervously at Shuri before turning back to playfully glare at Emma. "And you couldn't collect my life insurance. We're not married and we're also not related." Emma just shrugged.

"I'd find a way." She told him, sounding unbothered by his reasoning, and Peter just shook his head at her before turning back to a wary looking Shuri.

"Anyways…what's the update on the spectrometers?" Peter asked, trying to get the conversation back on topic. Shuri, still a bit weirded out by Emma's odd statement, looked back down at the holographic tablet as she read off the readings she found down in the lab.

"Uh…right. Well, I actually found something very interesting." Shuri said as she then brought up some kind of chart that was way too science-cy for Emma to even try to understand. Nerds, Emma thought to herself as she then went back to looking at the interrogation footage. "I've detected more levels of gamma radiation from the spectrometers."

"Where?" Peter asked her as he looked at the charts before his eyes widened in surprise when he read the numbers from the holographic screen. "Woah…these are higher than the ones we found in Mexico. You ran the correct the algorithm, right? The one Dr. Selvig used for basic cluster recognition?" Okay, Emma wasn't going to lie. She was a little turned on by her boyfriend saying a bunch of nerdy science stuff. Emma had no idea what he was talking about but it was hot.

"I don't make mistakes. Of course I ran the algorithm." Shuri told him as they continued to analyze the gamma radiation readings.

"So where is this, exactly?" Peter asked as he continued to stare at the screen in fascination. Shuri slowly turned to look at him.

"Here." She said softly and Peter's eyes widened in surprise as he looked from the screen back to Shuri and then back to the screen again.

"Here?" He questioned in disbelief.

"It's probably just gamma radiation from the weapons we confiscated from Hydra." Emma said as she dismissed the oddness of the situation. Shuri immediately shook her head.

"I thought so too but look at the levels of gamma radiation. It's more than what we've seen before." Shuri said as both her and Peter continued to marvel at the numbers they were seeing.

"What could this be? It can't just be the weapons." Peter told Shuri and the princess, for once, didn't really have an answer.

"I'm not sure. Do you know if Stark has a project he's working on with gamma radiation? Did Dr. Banner perhaps leave something behind?" Shuri asked Peter and the teenage boy just shook his head.

"I don't think so. This must be something else." Peter said and it was then Emma found something interesting on the screen. She had to replay the moment in the interrogation video a couple times to know for sure if she had something.

"Hey, nerds, get over here. I have something." Emma said without removing her gaze from the screen. Peter and Shuri finally looked away from the tablet to go look at the holographic screen Emma was looking at. It was then that something finally occurred to Peter.

"Wait a second…these interrogation videos must be on a secure channel. Did you hack into Stark Industries?" Peter asked her, finally realizing how weird it was that Emma was even able to look at those videos in the first place.

"Why are you so shocked? I was in Hydra for nine years." Emma informed him. "When you and Leeds were doing arts and crafts in Kindergarten, I was learning how to infiltrate government databases to bring down nations and inflict chaos."

"I just didn't think you could hack Stark Industries. How did I not know this about my girlfriend?" Peter questioned and Emma rolled her eyes.

"You sound so surprised. It's not like I'm Steve who can't even figure out how to answer his phone." Emma said sarcastically before her tone become more serious. "And I actually couldn't hack Stark Industries until a couple months ago. I told Tony to show me how in case he ever got kidnapped and I had to use the Stark Industries database to save his life."

"Really?" Peter asked in surprise and Emma smirked.

"Yeah…like I would save him if he got kidnapped. Idiot." Emma said but Peter just rolled his eyes. It was amazing how much she denied that she cared about Tony. "He actually bought it so here we are. I knew he'd be useful to me in some way."

"This is exciting." Shuri said despite the blonde's weird comment about Tony Stark. "Sort of like espionage in all those American movies Baba used to watch. Mission Impossible with Tom Cruise." Emma scoffed.

"That short little asshole wishes he was as good as me." Emma told her as her eyes remained focused on the screen.

"So what did you find?" Peter inquired curiously.

"At first, I wasn't sure. Collins really held his own against Steve in the interrogation. I thought he was a sniveling coward but I guess he's just a sniveling idiot." Emma remarked before moving on. "He was very tight lipped until he said something that captured my interest."

Emma then started to replay a clip that caught her attention earlier. It didn't seem like anything at first but something Collins said captured her attention. Peter and Shuri both leaned in closer to look at the video. They could see Emma's grandfather in the footage interrogating the Hydra agent although it was clear that Steve was getting frustrated with the man.

"We know you know where Rumlow is. Make this easier on yourself by telling us the truth." Steve demanded as he glared at the pale, sickly looking man sitting in the chair in front of him.

"What are you going to do to me, Captain? Beat me? Torture me?" The man questioned. "Your psychopath of a granddaughter already did that so you'll have to do better than that."

It was clear that the man's statement pissed Steve off as the super solider clenched his jaw but restrained himself from attacking the man. Peter knew how he felt because he also felt pissed off by the man's statement about Emma. Shuri couldn't help but stare at the man in the video in bewilderment. Not because of what he said but because of the disturbing looking scar on his forehead. A scar that looked incredibly familiar. Hydra's symbol, she realized.

"Tell us where Rumlow's hiding or maybe I'll bring her down here for round two." Steve threatened even though Emma knew he was just bluffing. He didn't want Emma anywhere near Agent Collins or anything to do with Hydra. Steve was keeping her in the dark but Emma wasn't surprised. He had always been that protective of her.

"Oh, Captain, we both know you would never do that." Collins said mockingly. "Nothing that would ever hurt your poor precious little viper…forgetting the fact that she's a killer. God, all that power and you let it go to waste."

"Where the hell is Rumlow?" Steve asked in a heated tone and it was obvious he wasn't messing around anymore but it was also clear that Collins wasn't exactly intimidated by Steve. The man just leaned forward in his seat with a smirk on his face.

"Tell me why you're so adamant about finding Rumlow, Captain." The man asked Steve who just stared back at him. "Is it truly because you want to end Hydra once and for all or is it for something different?Maybe it's not justice you want. Maybe it's just revenge."

"Where is he?" Steve demanded, his eyes narrowed into a glare. Emma could tell it was a struggle for Steve not to lose his temper.

"Maybe the question you should be asking isn't where is he but what is he." Collins told Steve smugly but Steve just continued glare at him as he went on questioning him. Emma thought what Collins said was suspicious so she decided to remember it and come back to it later.

"You know what? I might not bring Emma down here for round two but maybe I'll bring Romanoff…or Barnes." The man's face fell when he heard Steve's threat. Even Emma had to admit that she was surprised at how menacing and threatening her grandfather could be. That was a new one. "They're a lot better at interrogations and they even have a bone to pick with you…especially Barnes. I'm sure you're aware of the close bond between him and Emma."

"I've certainly heard about it." Collins admitted as he swallowed hard.

"Then you should know that he's not so pleased with the fact that Hydra's trying to place their claim on Emma. In fact, he's a little disgruntled by the whole thing." Steve said, the threat clear in his tone. Emma was kind of excited at the prospect of an evil Steve. He was definitely taking a page out of her book. That was for sure. Emma couldn't be more delighted.

"Don't threaten me with the Winter Soldier." Collins hissed, pretending not to be afraid but it was clear that he was. "He was in Hydra for longer than you ever knew."

"Well, he's not anymore." Steve retorted. The man just scoffed, deciding to take a shot at the captain while he still could.

"How does it feel, Captain? How does it feel to think that you had buried Hydra all those years ago only for them to keep popping back up in your life." Collins said as he smirked at the blonde man. "Not only did we kill your son, daughter-in-law, and your friend Stark but we also took your best friend and granddaughter, making them into our own weapons. How does that feel that we did all of this right under your nose?"

"You're not the one asking the questions here." Steve snapped at him and Emma frowned. She wanted to tell Steve not to lose his cool. Not to let his emotions get the better of him. This is what Collins was trying to do. He was trying to provoke him.

"Your son and daughter-in-law never even saw it coming. They were clueless." Collins said, clearly taking delight in pushing Steve's buttons. "The only ones who did see it coming sought to warn them but we took care of that long ago in a so called "accident". You'll find that accidents are a common occurrence in Hydra."

That's when Emma ended the video clip. She had seen this part of the interrogation and knew that it didn't get much more interesting than this. Steve would only glared at the man hatefully before realizing that Collins was never going to give it up. He'd leave the room in anger while Collins would smirk in delight at having officially pissed Steve Rogers off. He might've been successful in pissing Steve off, something that wasn't hard to do in Emma's experience, but Emma was successful in getting something else.

"That last line." Emma said as she looked back at a confused and befuddled Peter and Shuri. They clearly didn't catch the unsettling remark that Collins made but Emma didn't blame them. They weren't as experienced at picking up small little details like she was. Emma liked to think that nothing escaped her notice although sometimes that wasn't true. This time, however, she did catch the telling remark Collins unknowingly made.

"What about it?" Peter questioned, clearly not picking up on the double meaning in Collins' words. He could tell that Emma caught something between the lines of what Collins said but he just didn't know what. Shuri paid close attention to the blonde, feeling more and more like she was part of some kind of spy movie.

"The only ones who did see it coming sought to warn them." Emma said as she repeated what Collins said but Peter still didn't understand. "Peter, he just told Steve that someone tried to warn my parents about Hydra."

"Yeah?" Peter questioned, still confused and Emma took a deep breath before diving deeper into an explanation. She could feel her heart racing in her chest because this was big. This was so incredibly big and she would get Peter to see how big it was too.

"This means that someone knew about Hydra years before Steve and Natasha stumbled upon it. My parents died in 2005 but to my knowledge they had no idea Hydra existed." Emma said as she deeply considered the secret that Collins unknowingly gave them. If Steve hadn't been so pissed off at the time he probably would've pick up on that line too but her grandfather's greatest weakness was his emotions. "This information means that someone somehow discovered Hydra's existence and sought to warn them like Collins said."

"Who were these people then? The people who knew about Hydra?" Peter questioned and Emma just shook her head.

"I have no clue." Emma admitted. She hated admitting that she didn't know something but it was true. She was really stumped. Who could've possibly have known about Hydra? "Hydra must've found out that someone knew about them. Collins said they took care of it and made it look like an accident."

"An accident?" Shuri asked, speaking up for the first time since watching the video. Emma only spared her a brief glance before nodding, a troubled look on her face.

"Meaning that Hydra took them out. You'll find that Hydra's really good at making hits look like accidents." Emma informed her as she kept going over that last line Collins said in her head. "That's what they did with my parents and that's what they did to Tony's parents too."

"So they never were able to warn your parents, after all." Peter determined and Emma shrugged.

"I assume not. Otherwise I probably would've never ended up in Hydra." Emma said as she then thoughtfully considered Collins' odd statement.

An accident…Hydra was good at making accidents happen. Emma knew this but for some reason the word "accident" stuck out in her mind. Accident. Her parent's death had been a so called accident which wasn't too different from Peter's parents death except that Peter's parents death was an actual accident…wait. Emma's eyes widened in realization as she began to consider something that hadn't occurred to her until that moment.

"Your parents." Emma said abruptly as she looked back at her boyfriend who just looked confused at this point.

"What about my parents?" Peter questioned and he wasn't the only one who was confused either. Shuri looked absolutely perplexed by Emma's odd thought process.

"We just found out your parents worked for the CIA, right?" Emma asked even though she knew the answer. "We also found out that at some point our parents met each other."

"Yes…where are you going with this, Emma?" Peter asked her and Emma swallowed hard before answering.

"Think about it, Peter. Your parents secretly worked for the CIA which no one apparently knew, right?" Emma inquired and Peter nodded.

"I asked Aunt May and she was just as confused as I was." Peter responded and Emma nodded before she continued to explain her theory to both Peter and Shuri. It was a new theory but Emma thought she might've been on to something.

"Right. So don't you think it's a little convenient that our parents both died a year apart from each other?" Emma said and suddenly Peter realized what she was saying. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he didn't know how to feel about this. He felt both scared and anxious at the same time. "Your parents worked for the CIA and my parents worked for Shield, Peter. They probably both carried a lot of secrets with them."

"You think their death wasn't an accident? You think Hydra might've had them killed?" Peter questioned, his throat suddenly feeling dry. Emma's gaze softened as she looked back at him, a sympathetic expression on her face as she spotted the tears welling up in his eyes. She immediately got up from her seat to move closer to him, ignoring the fact that Shuri was in the room with them. Emma immediately placed her hands in his as she looked him in the eyes.

"I think it might be a plausible theory, Peter." Emma said as gently as she could. Peter just nodded to himself as he tried to take this new information in.

"Could this not just be a conspiracy theory?" Shuri questioned as she looked from her new friend to his girlfriend. Emma looked back at the princess as she was reminded once more of the girl's presence in the room.

"There's only one way to find out." Emma said as she then glanced back at the holographic screen. "McConaughey?"

"Yes, Miss Rogers?" The AI system responded as Emma took a deep breath before speaking. She cast another concerned look in Peter's direction before returning her attention to the task at hand. If she was right then this whole thing could be a lot bigger than she ever thought.

"Could you look at the report of the plane crash involving Peter's parents?" Emma asked hesitantly. Peter nodded at her that it was okay but she still felt hesitant over the whole thing. In all honesty Peter just wanted to find out if this was true. If his parents' death hadn't actually been a freak accident but an assassination.

"Of course." McConaughey said before the AI system started pulling up various articles involving the plane crash. The three teenagers stared up at the articles upon articles of information.

"It says here that the plane crash was due to engine failure." Shuri pointed out but Emma wasn't buying that.

"Hydra has connections everywhere. They're masters at covering things up. Someone could've sabotaged the plane or maybe a corrupt TSA agent let a suicide bomber through. " Emma told her as she continued stare up at the screen. Peter just looked at the screen silently, not knowing how to feel or react. He felt overwhelmed by everything but he soon found comfort in Emma as she silently slipped her hand into his and gave his hand a comforting squeeze. "McConaughey, cross reference all the data from these articles and see if it matches up with any files Romanoff leaked during Hydragate three years ago."

"Right away, Miss Rogers." McConaughey told her as he went to work. Peter and Shuri glanced over at her curiously so Emma began to explain her actions to them.

"A lot of data was leaked courtesy of Natasha after the first fall of Hydra three years ago." Emma informed them as they listened to her intently. "There's still a lot of Hydra files floating around out there. By cross referencing all the files on the plane crash with Hydra files we might be able to find the link that will piece this thing all together."

"This is insane." Shuri said excitedly as she stared at the blonde in wonder. "You're an actual spy…like a real spy. I mean, my brother's girlfriend Nakia is technically a spy but you really take it to the next level."

"Um…thank you?" Emma said, not sure if Shuri was complimenting her or not.

"It's a compliment." Shuri said reassuringly and despite the situation at hand, Peter allowed himself to feel proud of his girlfriend. He was also trying to distract himself from the thought of his parents. The last thing Peter wanted to believe was that his parents' death wasn't an accident. He didn't even want to think of the possibility their death was caused by Hydra. He couldn't think of that right now.

"Emma's really talented at spy stuff. The best, really." Peter told Shuri and Emma resisted the urge to roll her eyes at how much of a dork her boyfriend could be.

"Anyways…" Emma said loudly as she tried to get Peter and Shuri to focus on the task at hand. "The results should be up here momentarily." Emma was right too. It only took a moment before the results of the search came up on the screen.

"There's a match." Emma said as her eyes focused on the screen before her. Sure enough, McConaughey came up with a match between reference points. Out of all the information collected from the plane crash and Hydra's old data files, there was one connection. Just one but it was enough to strike suspicion in both Emma and Peter.

"Who is that?" Peter questioned as he also looked at the screen. Emma just shook her head as she looked at the picture of a man.

"William Huntington. " McConaughey told them. "He worked as an aide to Senator Leonard Stern from 2002 to his death in 2004 when he died in the plane crash."

"Senator Stern was a known member of Hydra." Emma said quietly as Peter and Shuri looked back up at her. "I never met him personally but I know he took a lot of bribes from Hydra. He helped Hydra maintain their discretion and he got a paycheck in return."

"It makes sense that this man also worked for Hydra since he worked closely with Senator Stern." Shuri observed. Emma just shook her head as she looked at the screen. The man displayed on the screen wasn't very old. He looked to be in his mid twenties with dirty blonde hair and green eyes. Emma didn't know what he was doing in Hydra but she supposed everyone had their reasons. Emma was there because she was kidnapped but she stayed because she wanted to survive. Other people were there because they genuinely believed in Hydra's cause for whatever insane reason.

"He's on file in Hydra's data banks." Emma noted as she pointed at the screen. The file McConaughey was currently showing them was a file that documented all the Hydra agents and spies living in the US. Huntington was seemingly one of the many government spies, his name not too far down from Senator Stern's name.

"So does this mean…" Peter trailed off as he watched the screen in horror. He hadn't really wanted to believe it before. It was too difficult for Peter to even begin to process but he could no longer deny the evidence as he stared up at the screen. The stoic expression fell off Emma's face at Peter's quiet voice. A look full of sympathy and concern came over her face as she turned back to him. She didn't want this to be true either. She wanted to be wrong about this but it didn't seem like she had the luxury of being wrong in this circumstance.

"This means that it wasn't engine failure that caused the plane to crash, Peter." Emma said as gently as possible. Usually she wouldn't be so gentle about something like this. She'd be as blunt as possible but this wasn't just anyone. This was Peter. "It's too much of a coincidence. Your parents were CIA agents and they happened to be on the same plane as a Hydra spy when it crashed."

"Uncle Ben and Aunt May always said they were in a rush when they left." Peter said as he recalled one of the many times his aunt and uncle talked to him about his parents death. He sounded slightly out of it as he spoke, still in a state of shock from this piece of news. "They didn't even tell them where they were going. Something about visiting my mom's family."

"They must've known something." Emma said thoughtfully as she considered everything they learned so far. "They must've stumbled upon something in a mission and realized that something was amiss."

"Maria said that they weren't field agents. Dad was a scientist and mom was a data analyst." Peter tried to tell her but he knew Emma was right deep down. He knew that this was too big of a coincidence for it not to be Hydra.

"They had to of known something. Something that no one, including your uncle or May, would've known about. They kept their jobs secret for a reason." Emma told him as she tried to think of a way they could learn more about this. They now knew that Peter's parents death more than likely wasn't an accident but they still didn't know what they had died for. Emma just knew that his parents must've known something. There was no other explanation.

"How do we find out what Peter's parents knew? They can no longer answer that question themselves." Shuri said, glancing between Emma and Peter. Emma took a deep breath before answering, her eyes cautiously glancing over Peter in concern. He had gone very quiet since this whole revelation came up and Emma knew he obviously had a lot on his mind. She didn't know what he was thinking and that scared her.

"Maybe they left something behind." Emma said as she finally glanced over from Peter and locked eyes with Shuri. Peter also snapped out of whatever trance like state he was in to look at Emma.

"Like what?" Shuri questioned and Emma sighed.

"Think about it. If I had a lot of dangerous intel on my hands and if I was getting on a plane then I would know the risks." Emma said seriously which caused Peter's eyebrows to furrow in confusion.

"What are you saying, exactly?" Peter questioned and Emma didn't hesitate in answering him.

"I'm just saying that maybe your parents had an idea about what they were getting into. Maybe they left something behind in case something ever…happened." Emma finally told him and she fell silent as she allowed both Shuri and Peter to have time to process that information.

"Where would they have left something like that?" Peter questioned in confusion. "Ben and May took me in the second the plane crash happened. I think I lived in an apartment with my parents before but that was years ago." Emma swallowed hard as she looked back at him.

"Does May have any of your mom and dad's things at your apartment?" Emma asked him, her gaze gentle as he locked eyes with her. Peter nodded slowly.

"Uh…yeah. I-I mean that Aunt May kept some things of theirs for me. She thought I might want them someday." Peter explained and Emma nodded as she took this in.

"So you're saying that there could be a box of their things sitting somewhere in your apartment?" Emma questioned carefully, knowing that Peter was still in a delicate state of mind. He was answering her questions but she knew this whole conversation was taking a toll on him. Peter had just learned something both startling and shocking. She was sure that this was incredibly hard for him and she knew she was going to need to talk to him about this later. When they were alone…just to make sure he was okay although she doubted that he was really okay.

"Yes. Somewhere." Peter confirmed and Emma nodded to herself once more. A more determined look then crossed her face when she realized what they needed to do. She was positive that Peter's parents knew something and there was only one way to find out what that something was.

"We need to go to your apartment." Emma said suddenly and both Peter and Shuri looked up at her in surprise.

"What?" Shuri questioned but Emma didn't look fazed.

"We need to go to your apartment, Peter. We need to look through all the things your parents left behind." Emma said as she took command over the situation. It was clear that she needed to because Peter was taken back by the news of the death of his parents. Not that she blamed him. "There might be something there that could give us more insight into this thing with Rumlow. There's no telling what they knew."

"Do you mean that we should get the others to go to the apartment when they get back?" Peter inquired and he had to admit Emma had a point about his parents' things. He had never gone through their things before. Peter wasn't sure why. He barely remembered them. Their faces were blurry to him at best so maybe he didn't feel that connection with them. Or maybe he was just afraid that he would find something out about them that would ruin the picture he had in his mind. Either way, it didn't seem like he had much of a choice anymore.

"No. We need to go now." Emma said as she shook her head. She knew it was a crazy idea with Hydra on the loose out there and she also promised Steve that she wouldn't do anything crazy but she didn't have many options right now. This was an urgent matter. "We can't be wasting anymore time. We just can't. Who knows when Hydra's going to attack next."

"You're saying that we should go alone?" Peter asked incredulously and Emma moved closer to him, her gaze unwavering.

"I believe that your parents left something for someone to find. Where else would they leave that something to find?" Emma explained to Peter. "They wanted to warn my parents. You heard Collins. Your parents left something for my parents to find and now they're all dead. The only people who can find it is us."

"But how are we going to go with your father and everyone else here?" Peter asked her seriously and Emma was just relieved that he was agreeing to her plan. It's not like they were doing anything completely dangerous. Emma only planned on them searching his apartment for something his parents left behind. Although…there was always a danger when it came to Hydra. "McConaughey will rat us out the first step we take outside the compound." Emma realized he had a point.

"Tony only showed me how to hack into the Stark Industries database here at the compound. He never showed me how to hack into the security system." Emma said as she tried to think of a way to bypass the security system. "I guess he's not that stupid."

"I might be able to." Shuri said in a small voice. Emma and Peter both collectively looked back at her. Shuri shifted her weight onto her other foot under their gaze. "I created a lot of the security measures back home in Wakanda. I'm not sure but I don't think the security system here is quite as advanced as the one back home. If it was then Hydra never would've broken in." The princess then smirked before adding a snarky comment.

"If Mr. Stark is nice to me then maybe I'll help him upgrade his dated security system." Shuri said almost smugly and maybe, just maybe, Emma could like this girl. She sure made Tony look like an idiot which was amusing to Emma.

"You really think so?" Peter inquired before frowning. "I don't know if we could ask you to do that, Shuri. I don't want you to get into any trouble because of-" Emma then interrupted her boyfriend.

"Let's not do anything hasty." Emma told Peter before looking back at Shuri. Shuri swallowed hard as the blonde looked at her in an almost calculating way. It unnerved her the way the girl looked at her…almost like the girl was looking through her instead of at her. "What do you want?"

"What?" Shuri questioned in confusion but Emma was unfazed by her confusion.

"I know you're not doing this free. No one does anything for free so I'll clarify." Emma said as she crossed her arms and leaned in closer to the princess. Shuri was tempted to take a step back but she held her ground instead. She was a princess of Wakanda, daughter of King T'Chaka, and it didn't matter if she was standing mere inches away from the famous Viper Assassin. Shuri wasn't going to let herself be afraid. "What. Do. You. Want?" Peter wanted to scold Emma for being so rude to Shuri but the princess didn't let him step in. She held her ground and spoke on her own behalf.

"I just want to help." Shuri admitted as Emma patiently and curiously listened to her. "My brother is the Black Panther and one of most honorable and respected kings that Wakanda's ever had. Okoye is one of the fiercest warriors that's ever graced Wakanda. I just want to do my part."

Emma could kind of understand where Shuri was coming from. While her grandfather was no king, Emma still came from a large family of people who she wasn't sure she could ever make proud. Her grandparents, parents, and maybe even Tony…her godfather. All of them were notorious do-gooders and that was a lot to live up to. She nodded as she reluctantly caved in.

"Okay." Emma said and Shuri looked relieved but not before the serious look on Emma's face morphed into a knowing one. "What else do you want?"

"Huh?" Shuri questioned and Emma shrugged.

"What else is it?" Emma asked her. "Come on. I'm not stupid. Just tell us." Shuri sighed heavily before also divulging the one thing she had been working up the courage into asking.

"I want to come with you guys to the apartment. T'Challa and Okoye never let me go anywhere. I was lucky they even let me come here." Shuri said honestly, seeming slightly annoyed and frustrated by the fact that her brother never let her do anything. Emma smirked.

"So the princess wants to go for a ride along?" Emma said teasingly but Peter didn't look as amused by this. He looked very worried.

"I don't know if that's a good idea." Peter said as he frantically looked between his girlfriend and new friend. "This is already risky enough."

"We're not heading into a fight, Peter. Let her come." Emma said without her eyes leaving Shuri. "Besides…there's no other way we can get out of here without someone bypassing the security system." Peter sighed when he realized she was right.

"Fine. I guess you can come but you can't leave Emma or I's side. Okay?" Peter told Shuri who only rolled her eyes at him.

"You sound just like my brother." Shuri told him before she took a seat in the chair Emma was previously sitting in at the conference table. It was time to get to work on that security system although Shuri didn't think it would take her long to hack into it. Mr. Stark's technology was child's play to her.

"Careful, Peter. You're starting to get as boring and lame as Steve." Emma teased her boyfriend who glared at her. He then crossed his arms as a more serious look came across his face.

"How are we even going to get back into the city? It'll take us a while to get back there." Peter told Emma as they watched Shuri get to work. She seemed too focused on the task at hand to pay them any attention at that point.

"It'll take a couple hours before we even get into the city." Emma told him, already formulating a plan in her head. "We'll take my car. If I really push the speed limit we can cut the travel time in half."

"Breaking the law?" Peter questioned in amusement at her remark about pushing the speed limit. Emma just smirked at him.

"Sometimes you have to break a couple laws to save some lives." Emma told him which was way different logic than what Peter typically thought with. That was the difference between him and Emma. Emma didn't mind breaking laws, never giving the law too much thought, while Peter tended to be more hesitant over the matter.

"Don't you mean that sometimes you've gotta break a few eggs to make an omelette?" Peter asked her with an amused look on his face. Emma's smirk was unwavering.

"No." She deadpanned.

"Well, let's try and not break too many laws today." Peter tried to tell her but he could tell by the mischievous look on her face that she wasn't going to listen. Like always.

"Whatever you say, Spider-Twerp." Emma teased and Peter just shook his head at her in amusement.

"It's also probably going to take a while for us to go through the entire apartment." Peter told her and Emma nodded in response. "I don't know if we'll have enough time before the others realize that we're not here."

"They're probably going to realize it sooner or later." Emma replied, wanting to make Peter know that they more than likely were going to get into trouble for this. "We just need a head start. Hopefully Shuri will give us that head start."

"It's just going to take a while. Aunt May will be at work but I'm not sure if we'll be done by the time she gets home." Peter told her and Emma nodded.

"We might need a little help." Emma said knowingly and Peter immediately caught her meaning.

"Ned and Michelle?" He asked and Emma gave him a short nod.

"I didn't want to involve them in this mess but we need to find whatever it is your parents left behind before the others stop us…or before we catch any unwanted attention." Emma told Peter seriously. "I don't think it's wise for us to spend too long away from the compound."

"I agree." Peter replied even though he was feeling guilty already at the fact that he would be disobeying Emma's grandfather. He already promised the man that he wouldn't let Emma go running off but here he was running off with her. This was needed. He knew that. His parents died for something and Peter deserved to know why. He deserved answers.

"I'll text Michelle. You text Ned." Emma told him and Peter nodded in agreement but before they could pull out their phones, Shuri stopped them. The Wakandan princess turned back around to face them with an excited look on her face.

"I was able to bypass the security system. It didn't take as long as I thought." Shuri said after frowning as a thought popped into her head. "Which really makes me concerned for the state of Mr. Stark's security system."

"How long do we have?" Emma asked.

"Three hours before the security system reboots and the AI system informs the others of our absence." Shuri told them formally. "That is unless they don't go looking for us already although I don't think they will. Okoye thinks I'm in the lab."

"My father will assume that I want some space. I think the coast is clear." Emma said in response before turning to look at Peter. He swallowed hard before nodding once.

"Let's go then."

---

"Steve, you and Nat are in the clear." Sam said through the earpiece as Steve and Natasha approached the mansion in Mexico City from the south side while T'Challa and Maria approached the mansion from the north side. The Avengers had just arrived at the perimeter of the mansion after a short flight on the Quinjet. It was tough to say that the Quinjet ride had been quite awkward. Tony and Steve locked inside a confined space together was no easy task. There was a lot of awkward silences filled with small talk from their teammates but it was difficult to ignore the elephant in the room. An elephant that Steve and Tony still hadn't really addressed.

"T'Challa, you guys are in the clear too." Rhodey said through the earpiece as he flew alongside Sam. Tony and Vision were up in the sky too as they surveyed the mansion to make sure everything was safe. So far, so good. There didn't seem to be hardly any security at Diego Ugalde's mansion. It wasn't completely surprising for a movie actor to not have guards flooding the place. He wasn't Beyonce or anything but everyone still expected there to be a ton of security. Hydra was obviously stashing some of their weapons at this place, after all.

Steve and Natasha halted as they rounded one of the corners of the mansion. The front door was just yards away and they knew once they broke the door down then it was nothing but gunfire from there on. They needed to be prepared which Steve was sure was on T'Challa and Maria's mind as well as they approached the back door of the mansion. Natasha already had her gun out as her body tensed and waited for the signal.

"I'm seeing four hostiles positioned near the front door. Armed with AR-15's." Tony said as Friday picked up on the heat signatures within the mansion. "Be ready when you kick down that front door, Cap."

"There's two guys at the back entrance too. Also armed." Rhodey informed T'Challa and Maria.

"Got it." Steve said through the earpiece as he and Natasha quietly made their way closer to the front door.

"We hear you loud and clear, Rhodes." Maria also said through the earpiece. Natasha looked back at Steve with a stoic expression on her face.

"On your signal, Rogers." Natasha told him and Steve gave her a short nod. A more serious and determined look crossed the captain's face as he went into, what many would call "Captain Mode". The super soldier immediately kicked the door down without much effort but his minimal effort seemed to do the trick.

The door went flying off it's hinges from Steve's super strength and managed to hit one of the guards head on, sending the guard down to the floor under the weight of the guards on the other side of the door didn't hesitate to step into action as they began shooting at Steve and Natasha.

Steve held out the shield in front of Natasha and himself. Natasha fired her glock at one of the men, hitting him without missing, and Steve immediately threw his shield, in a Frisbee like manner, at one of the other men who immediately got knocked to the ground.

The shield had just managed to come back to Steve as the remaining guard in the foyer of the mansion raised his gun up to shoot Steve. Steve caught the shield midair and didn't waste any time in defending himself against the man's impending attack. He dodged a bullet with the shield before catching the man off guard and landing one swift punch to the man's jaw which instantly knocked the guard out cold.

Steve didn't bother putting his shield away after that. There was no telling how many more guards were in the mansion. They needed to be ready for anything. Natasha's stance didn't change either as she walked alongside Steve while they cautiously made their way past the front of the mansion.

"Did you get hit?" Steve asked the platinum blonde haired woman quietly. Natasha shook her head.

"Nope. You?" She inquired and Steve also shook his head before speaking into his earpiece to alert the others in the sky of their status.

"Four guards down. The south side of the mansion is clear." Steve told the others before he took a short amount of time to observe his surroundings. The mansion was large and extravagant as was expected from a famous movie star like Diego Ugalde but it was perhaps the most lavish place Steve had ever seen. It was even more extravagant and ridiculous looking than any of the places Tony owned.

While Tony had his fair share of expensive lodgings like the compound, his previously owned tower in the city, and his now destroyed mansion in Malibu, none of them were quite like this mansion. Tony's lodgings were always high tech and somewhat modern looking but this mansion was…gaudy with all the sculptures and art work adorning the walls. The colors were bright and blinding. The mansion looked something more like the Palace of Versailles than anything Steve had seen before. Not to mention the numerous portraits Ugalde had painted of himself that also adorned almost every wall within the place.

"Two guards down near the back entrance." The Wakandan king informed them as he finally responded to them. "North side is clear."

"I'm getting heat signatures upstairs." Rhodey told them. "They must've heard you because they're coming your way."

"Five guys. All armed." Tony added.

"What's the plan, Cap?" Natasha asked him and it didn't take long for Steve to formulate a plan. This was his calling, after all, and despite the situation, Steve even felt a bit relieved to be back as team leader. He knew this was probably only a temporary thing but still. It was nice to have his old team back even if it was only for a short while.

"The staircase is located in the west wing of the mansion." Steve told her as well as the rest of his teammates through the earpiece. "I say we approach the staircase from our side while T'Challa and Maria approach the staircase from their side. An ambush."

"Sounds great, Cap." Maria told Steve. "We'll see you in a few seconds."

"Good." Steve replied before he and Natasha headed towards the west wing of the mansion. They moved slowly and discreetly as they maneuvered through the now quiet mansion. Steve knew they needed to be careful. They had incoming and only time would tell when the rest of Ugalde's guards decided to attack. Tony and Rhodey mentioned that the men were descending down the stairs so Steve remained focused in the moment. He knew there wasn't much time before a fight broke out again.

Natasha and Steve then ducked behind a couple of marble pillars as they finally reached the grand and lavish looking staircase. Steve peeked his head around the corner of the pillar as he assessed the situation. He spotted T'Challa and Maria rounding the corner on the opposite side of the staircase but Steve motioned for them to stop when he noticed the guards descending the staircase. He quickly formulated a more elaborate plan as the guards started to reach the bottom of the staircase.

"Nat and I will take the three on the far left. You take care of the rest." Steve whispered into the earpiece. He only got a brief nod from both T'Challa and Maria, indicating that they had received his message. The signal for the ambush seemed to come in the form of Steve throwing his shield in the same Frisbee like manner as before. The shield hit one of the men, sending him to the ground, and then it was all out war.

Taking down five low level guards was an easy task for the heroes. It could've been done even sooner had Tony, Rhodey, Sam, and Vision joined them on the ground but that was unnecessary. Steve, Natasha, Maria, and T'Challa were more than enough to ambush these guards.

One of the guards raised his arm to shoot at the direction the shield had come from but T'Challa had already ambushed the man before he could fire the weapon. The Wakandan king took the man down with minimal effort and Maria shot the other man who tried raising his weapon as well.

Natasha ran at one of the other guards and threw one of her widow bites at the unsuspecting guard. The widow bite immediately shocked him with electrical currents and sent him falling to the ground. Steve took care of the remaining guard as he swiftly dodged one of the man's bullets and landed a harsh kick to the man's stomach, sending the man flying into one of the walls before being knocked out cold.

All four of them stood amongst either the dead or knocked out bodies of the guards. That was almost too easy. Steve wondered why Hydra wouldn't give more guards to Ugalde who was obviously stashing Hydra's weapons within the mansion. It was all so strange. Something didn't seem right. Steve didn't know what didn't feel right but he was sure something was off about all this.

"Are there any more hostiles?" Steve said into the earpiece.

"That's a negative, Cap." Rhodey replied right away. "I'm getting a couple heat signatures from one of the rooms upstairs but I'm not detecting any weapons."

"It's probably Ugalde." Sam added and Steve just nodded as he took in this information before turning to face the others.

"We'll go in then." Steve said as he then gave them a more serious look. "Don't let your guard down. Something doesn't feel right about this whole thing."

"I agree." T'Challa told him and Maria gave Steve a questioning look.

"In the mean time we should have Stark, Rhodes, Wilson, and Vision do a sweep of the place for the weapons. Something tells me Ugalde might not be forthcoming with the information." Maria told Steve and the super soldier nodded in agreement before speaking into the earpiece once more.

"Maria's right. You four look for the weapons while we retrieve Ugalde." Steve said, taking command of the situation once more.

"On it, Cap." Rhodey told him as he and the others presumably flew from their collective spots in the sky to investigate the mansion. Natasha raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"Ugalde's probably hidden the weapons really well in this place, Steve." Natasha told him logically. "You want me to lean on him a little bit?" Steve took a deep breath before responding.

"Only if you have to." Steve said, giving her his permission to use more force if necessary. Natasha nodded, a satisfied look on her face as she, Steve, T'Challa, and Maria started making their way up the stairs.

The upstairs portion of the mansion was just as nice as the downstairs portion. Every section of the mansion seemed artfully designed and decorated. Probably by the country's leading interior designers but Steve really wouldn't know anything about that. He was still having a hard time believing that a famous actor was caught up in all of this. Although…he had to admit it was also pretty smart on Hydra's part to involve an actor. No one suspected a famous actor. Maybe it was even kind of ingenious to make a Hollywood actor a weapons dealer.

"The door to your left." Rhodey said into the earpiece as they neared one of the bedrooms in the middle of the long hallway. Supposedly the heat signatures were coming from that room in particular. Steve only spared his teammates a short glance before he braced himself and then kicked the door open. Just like the front door downstairs, the force behind Steve's kick managed to send the door flying off it's hinges. A small yelp could be heard through the room as Steve, Natasha, T'Challa, and Maria infiltrated the large and lavish looking bedroom. Steve's eyes immediately darted over to a massive walk-in closet inside the room. The door was closed but Steve knew what he heard.

They didn't waste any time before heading over to the closet, ignoring the rest of the room. It was obvious where Diego Uglade, the cowardly little weasel, was hiding. Steve narrowed his eyes as he kicked open that door as well. Diego, along with a couple women in the room, screamed in fright at the abrupt and violent action. Steve and the others didn't hesitate in fixing their weapons on the people hiding inside the closet.

Diego Ugalde was a handsome enough man, his looks which probably won him dozens of parts in his life time, with flashy and designer level fashion tastes. People called him the Mexican George Clooney. However, he didn't look to be all smiles like all those magazines would have you believe. Right now he looked scared out of his mind as he sat in a corner, almost curled up into a ball, while he was huddled around four beautiful and scantily clad women who looked just as frightened. Steve was guessing that they must've interrupted something.

"Get off the floor." Steve practically growled as he stomped his way into the walk-in closet. Diego Ugalde's eyes flashed with fright as he frantically shook his head.

"No hablo ingles!" Diego practically cried and Maria scoffed.

"Yeah, right. I saw that movie he did with Matt Damon." She said in annoyance before she turned and glared at the man. "You speak English more than well."

"Get. Off. The. Floor." Steve repeated, his glare furious as he looked down at the man. It was enough to frighten even the bravest of individuals. Natasha thought he looked a lot like Emma in that moment.

"I-I don't know what you want." Diego stuttered as he quickly did what Steve asked and stood up from the floor. Steve's glare was unwavering.

"Maria, take Mr. Ugalde's companions out of the room." Steve said quietly, without looking away from Diego. Maria just nodded as she gestured for the women to get up from the floor. The scared bunch of women wasted no time in following Maria out of the room. Steve waited until Maria and the women left before he started his questioning. The Black Panther and Black Widow positioned on either side of Captain America was a very chilling sight to be seen. Diego gulped as he backed himself up against the wall.

"Where are the weapons?" Steve asked silently and he really hoped the guy answered him at this point because Steve was starting to think his patience was running out. Especially considering the fact that Emma was involved in this.

"W-What weapons?" Diego questioned, playing dumb. Steve stormed over to the man and only stopped inches in front of him.

"Don't play games. We know the weapons are here. Tell us where." Steve demanded.

"Come on, man. They'll kill me if I tell you." Diego whined and Steve growled in frustration. The super soldier hit the wall behind Diego in anger causing the man to whimper.

"If you don't tell us where then you'll be wishing you were back in Hydra's company." Steve threatened and Natasha was surprised by the dark look on Steve's face. She supposed she should've known. This was about Emma, after all. Steve always tended to act protective over the young girl. Everyone did but especially Steve since Emma was all he really had left. He loved her more than life itself and Natasha knew Steve was still hurting from the news of Emma's rape. Steve didn't talk much about it, no one did, but Natasha knew that he had a lot of pain and guilt pent up inside him.

"You wouldn't do that. You're Captain America." Diego spluttered, laughing nervously as he did so.

"There's a lot of things I wouldn't do up until now but Hydra's taken a lot from me. I'm done playing nice." Steve said in the same dark and threatening tone. "So why don't you test me if you're feeling so brave?" Diego seemed to consider this for a moment but there was something in Steve's eyes that convinced him to not push his luck. It was obvious Steve Rogers wasn't in the mood for games.

"If I told you where they were could you promise me safety from Hydra? Protection?" Diego asked quietly with a hopeful look in his eyes. Steve raised his eyebrows at the short man. It really didn't take much for him to turn from Hydra now, did it?

"I can promise you a cell inside Raft." Steve retorted and Diego seemed to really consider that for a moment. He considered it because it was either a prison cell or being killed by Hydra. Sure, Diego would have to say goodbye to his lavish lifestyle but Diego also didn't want to die. Diego considered himself to be a survivor that way. If he got a prison cell inside Raft then at least he'd be free from Hydra's fury. Unlike a lot of Hydra fools, Diego wasn't willing to die for their cause. His business with Hydra was just money to him.

"They're in the basement." Diego told Steve. Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"Really? In plain sight?" Natasha questioned and the actor shook his head.

"They're hidden within the walls of the house. They've never really been used. Not for some time, at least." Diego said as he spilled everything without hesitation. "Hydra only gave me a small supply to keep here. They thought they would be safe here."

"Who thought they would be safe here?" Steve asked him and Diego swallowed hard before answering.

"Alexander Pierce." He finally said. Both Steve and Natasha exchanged a look before returning their attention to Diego. "He's the one who recruited me too."

"Do you know how many weapons are left?" Steve asked him, a serious look in his eyes as he dug for information. However, he was disappointed when Diego shook his head although who knew if this man was even telling the truth half the time.

"Besides the ones here and the ones confiscated in Tanzania? No. I don't know." Diego said honestly as he tried to get on their good side. "I was only in charge of these ones."

"So there's more?" T'Challa questioned, speaking for the first time in the interrogation. Diego nodded.

"There's a lot more. Rumlow keeps them with him. Wherever he goes, the weapons go." Diego said and Steve nostrils flared in anger at Rumlow's name. He clenched his jaw before responding to Diego.

"And where is Rumlow?" Steve asked him and Diego could tell there was no more dancing around the subject of Rumlow. He could see that this was more than just saving humanity for the captain. This was personal. Diego knew why too. He knew what Rumlow had done to the captain's granddaughter. Everyone knew about what Rumlow did at Hydra. The man had a weird and unsettling obsession with the former assassin. It wasn't news to Diego.

"Hydra Headquarters." Diego said quietly and T'Challa furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"And where is that?" T'Challa questioned and Diego shook his head before locking eyes with Steve.

"I meant that he's at the original Hydra Headquarters…in the Swiss Alps." Diego said quietly and Steve's eyes widened, betraying his shock. Natasha turned to look at Steve because she knew why this was surprising news. Diego was talking about the original Hydra Headquarters. The same one Steve, the Howling Commandos, and even Peggy Carter infiltrated all those years ago during the second world war. The same one he fought the Red Skull in before Steve was forced to stop him from inflicting death and chaos upon the entire world…right before Steve crashed the Valkyrie into the ocean and vanished for the next seventy years where he woke up to the love of his life having moved on with her life, a dead son, and a granddaughter who had been tortured and made into a weapon. It was the place where his life had taken a very, very bad turn.

"How is that possible? That base was destroyed years ago." Natasha said, speaking when Steve seemed otherwise occupied with his thoughts.

"Hydra started rebuilding it again in the nineties. Pierce wanted to commemorate Johann Schmidt's devotion to Hydra with the base." Diego explained and Steve must've clenched and unclenched his fists several times before he finally collected his thoughts and composed himself. He swallowed hard before looking back at Diego.

"T'Challa would you please take Ugalde to the Quinjet?" Steve asked quietly. T'Challa just nodded before he did as the captain requested. He could tell Steve needed a moment to himself.

"Of course, Steve." T'Challa said to the troubled looking man before roughly grabbing Diego and shoving him forward. The actor glared at the king.

"Hey, watch it! I already gave myself up." Diego told T'Challa heatedly but he went ignored as T'Challa continued to roughly push the man out of the room until they were both gone from the closet. Natasha turned to Steve, the moment they were alone, with a concerned look on her face.

"Where are you, Steve?" Natasha asked him worriedly as she tried to assess what emotional state her friend was in. Steve just shook his head as he looked at her.

"It's exactly where it all started, Nat." Steve told her, sounding highly disturbed by what he just learned. "I've somehow gone into a complete circle. It's history repeating itself."

"Rumlow's doing this on purpose. He chose that base because he knows what it means to you." Natasha told him, trying to get him to calm down but Steve wasn't listening at this point.

"That was the day I lost everything. Peggy and Steven." Steve said softly as his blue eyes filled with unshed tears and it was clear he was somewhere else…somewhere deep in his thoughts and regrets. "I could've had a nice life after the war with Peggy and our son. Maybe things could've turned out better." Steve only briefly paused before he continued.

"Maybe Steven wouldn't have died and maybe Emma wouldn't have ended up in Hydra. She could've been happy and innocent from this kind of world. Maybe she wouldn't have been…" Steve trailed off as he tried to force himself away from darker thoughts. The memory of Emma's face full of pain and hurt, her cheeks wet with tears as she cried, when she told him the very same secret she had been hiding all these years was a hard memory to push away. Steve shut his eyes as he blinked away the tears.

"Maybe she'd have both her parents and maybe she'd be more worried about her chemistry final rather than Hydra." Natasha said as she crossed her arms and fixed Steve with a hardened gaze. "It still doesn't make a difference. It's already been done and we're here now. We're here to make sure that Hydra stays dead this time and we're here to make sure Emma never falls into their or Rumlow's hands ever again."

"But-" Steve started to say but Natasha just interrupted him.

"We can't undo what's already been done. Yes, something very bad happened to Emma and maybe if you hadn't crashed that plane in the ocean things might've turned out differently." Natasha paused very briefly as she gave Steve her very honest opinion. "But you still can't change what happened, Steve. We can't worry about the past anymore. We've got to focus on the future. Emma's future."

"What we do now is the only thing that can fix her future. Having these regrets and guilt filled thoughts about the past won't do that for her." Natasha said as she finally wrapped up her pep talk. Steve swallowed hard before nodding.

"I know. You're right." Steve said as he smiled at Natasha but the smile didn't quite reach his eyes. "You're always right, Nat." Natasha smirked at him but she was just glad that she managed to get him to stop having those thoughts.

"I know I am." Natasha said teasingly before a more serious look crossed her face. There was obviously a lot they were still processing from that interrogation. There was a lot of new information they needed to take in account and address. "So…what's going to happen next?" The smile fell off Steve's face as he sighed tiredly.

"We're going to need to return to the compound and formulate a new place to infiltrate Hydra Headquarters. I also need to see if we can find some old blueprints of the place." Steve told her and Natasha nodded.

"Sounds like a plan." She replied as they began to leave the walk-in closet. There was definitely a lot of planning they needed to do if they were going infiltrate Hydra Headquarters. There was no telling how many people were at the base and there was also no telling how many weapons Rumlow had at the base either. Maybe another interrogation with Diego would tell them everything they needed to know.

"Cap, we've got those weapons." Tony said through the earpiece. "George Clooney here really seems to have quite the stash. I'm talking about a huge disturbing amount of sex tapes and drugs."

"Good. We've got Ugalde." Steve told him, ignoring the comment about sex tapes and drugs because it was just Tony being Tony. It was so easy to forget all the tension between them in the midst of a mission but Steve was sure they would be going back to the way they were before as soon as they got back on that Quinjet. Things were awkward to say the least. "We're heading back to the Quinjet."

"See you there." Tony replied before cutting out. Steve immediately noticed that he had Natasha's attention as he turned to look at her.

"It's easy, isn't it?" Natasha inquired and Steve didn't know what she meant at first. Not until she said the next thing. "To forget everything that happened since the airport. It's almost like how it was before."

"Yes, it is." Steve agreed and Natasha then turned to look straight ahead of them as they walked down the lengthy upstairs hallway of the mansion.

"How long do you think that's going to last?" She asked him but she didn't say it cynically. No, Natasha almost seemed thoughtful. Steve just swallowed hard as he averted his gaze from her face.

"I don't know."

---

So here's a response to the reviews. There's a lot so I'm not going to answer every single one of them but I have read them all and thank you so much. You guys are the best.

artemis7448: I'm so jealous that you got to see the Aces. I love them so much. Hopefully they go on a tour of their own soon enough so I can see them.

Purplestan: Darcy's weirdly the wise one in this story. I just love her so much. Weirdly enough, someone on a different website I posted this on actually complained about her being in this story. It was so weird. Well, it wasn't so much that she was in the story but it was how she was in it since Darcy and Jane's never interacted with any of the Avengers in movies. I mean, this is fanfiction which is why I didn't understand the complaint. I included a bit of fluff in the beginning of this chapter but I can't promise there will be much more fluff. Not right now, at least. There will be moments here and there but not fluff filled chapters.

glagla60800: Steve Martin's super famous here. He's probably one of my favorite comedians ever. The guy's just naturally funny and never has to try too hard to be funny. I kind of miss his kind of comedy which is really absent in an age of Seth Rogen kind of humor. He's a national treasure here in the states.

Haha. I don't think I'll do the Avengers calendar because it doesn't fit the tone of the story although it would really be funny. I just wrote that as part of Darcy's weird sense of humor. Michelle and Ned will be meeting the Avengers kind of soon but I can also say for sure that they'll be in the next chapter. It's been a while since they were in the story but I just figured that Peter and Emma wouldn't involve them in this mess since it would be unnecessary and they also don't want them getting hurt. It's kind of necessary now though.

Peter has been talking to May on the phone but it was just safer for her to be back home in Queens and it was safer for Peter to be at the compound during all this Hydra business. I haven't decided yet if she'll show up before this Rumlow thing is resolved. I'm still debating that.

emmamagnetised: I love Parks and Rec so much. I'm not going to lie. Some of Emma's humor is partially inspired by April Ludgate's humor. April and Ron Swanson are two of my favorite TV show characters of all time. And Steve Martin can cure anything. That man could probably bring families together.

Athena05: I'm not really going to focus on Bucky and Darcy. It's still a thing but it'll just be happening in the background but they do kind of have a certain chemistry in this story.

I think I might've heard of that song but it's been a while. I'm from Texas so I grew up listening to a lot of country music but I don't listen to country music that much anymore. Mainly just nineties country music although I've always loved Carrie Underwood. She has one heck of a voice.

ThatMysteriousSlime: There's also a comment Peter made in this chapter about a resemblance between her and Steve. It's just that Steve and Bucky are two of the most important people in her life which I wanted to convey. One through actions and one through looks.

I love Vera Blue! I'm so surprised you know of her because you're the only person I've come across that actually knows of her. She's so underrated and I just feel like they should be playing her songs on the radio all the time. I've lost track of the times I've listen to 'We Used To' and 'Magazine'. I love 'Regular Touch' too.

readeratheart8128: I'm flattered that my story could help you through your day. That really means a lot to me. I also cried a tiny bit while incorporating the Steve Martin dialogue into the story because Bucky being a dad always seems to make me emotional. His whole relationship with Emma gives me warm fuzzy feelings. They're just so adorable.

Inheritance1990: That's a really good idea. I've planned out a lot that's going to happen already but I haven't written anything yet. I'm just taking it chapter by chapter. I'm not sure if it'll fit in with where I'm going but I'll see. Maybe I'll use the Peter getting hurt storyline in something else. Thanks so much for the idea! I really appreciate it!

hjp-and-hjp: Glad you liked the chapter! Please don't get fired though. Peter would really hate it if you got fired on his and Emma's behalf although Emma probably wouldn't care. Peter would be fine with that since he cares enough for the both of them.

shiroryuu012: Glad you liked the chapter. I'm always happy to get new readers.

Snapplecrackles: I think you might've misunderstood me a bit when I was talking about STNS and the sequel. Some Things Never Sleep is definitely going to end around December but the sequel isn't going to end in December too. I'm not that fast. The sequel will start immediately after STNS ends and there's going to be another sequel after that. Maybe another sequel after that too. I don't know. I haven't planned that far ahead but the journey of Emma and Peter isn't anywhere close to being over. I'm not going to drag things out or anything but I just love writing them so I'll write their story as long as it makes me happy. I'm glad you liked the chapter.

Guest: Everyone's going to see the videos Darcy took but I don't know when. There's a lot happening right now so maybe when this mess is all over or maybe I'll make a one-shot about it. We'll see.

bonitalito: I never wrote the moment but Emma probably just stole the picture back from Darcy the first chance she could. I can't imagine Emma would let Darcy have the picture that long. She really missed her father, after all. That would be a hilarious moment though if Bucky somehow found the picture in Darcy's possession. Good luck explaining that one, Lewis.

ShySlytherinGirl: I always love getting new readers so I'm glad you're enjoying the story. Reviews like yours always make me happy because I've been writing this story for so long that it's still so incredibly nice to get new fans of the story. It has been taking me a while to update lately because I've been busy with other things but thanks for your understanding. I really appreciate it.

JustJoyce: Okay, so I mistakenly called Broods the wrong name. It's just Broods. Not THE Broods so just drop THE. It's weird that you didn't find Fitness on Spotify because I found them just fine. They're not the first thing that comes up so did you look under the artist section on the page? Yeah, there's a lot of mainstream pop that I don't like but there's still good stuff in there. For instance, I never liked One Direction but I thought Harry Styles debut album was really amazing. It was real, genuine music and just entirely different from his stuff in One Direction. I finally saw him as a real artist instead of a member of a boy band. Lady Gaga too. I was never a fan of her music but she came out with her last album Joanne and I was just blown away by everything about her. I realized how talented she really is.

So I know I also gave you a ton of artists to work with last time but I thought I'd drop a couple names I forgot to mention because it's really been bugging me the past week or so. Other people can check them out too although I'm rushing through this so I'm not going to give a description this time around.

1. Lord Huron

2. Bleachers- This was recommended to me by another reader of this story.

3. Snail Mail

4. Japanese Breakfast

5. The 1975

6. Car Seat Headrest

Okay, okay. I'm officially done...for now.

EmperorTrump: I'm glad you noticed that about Peter. I like writing him standing up for himself because usually he's kind of shy about that kind of thing. I think when he feels passionately about something, he will say something even if it's to Tony who he really loves and admires.

Another random account: There will be a sequel and probably another sequel after that so it's not the end of Emma and Peter. There probably won't be an end to Emma and Peter for as long as I take pleasure from writing stories about them. I'm not sure if I'll ever not enjoy this. This is the first time I've been this motivated to write a story and to continue to do so.

There definitely will be a more flirty Peter in the future. Probably after they have sex or "make love" as Peter likes to say. I just think there's a certain amount of confidence that will come from that so there will definitely be a more flirty Peter soon and even more so in the sequel.

BabyPinkPuppy: I see Elle Fanning as Emma all the time too. Definitely not weird...unless that makes me weird.

I know most guys probably don't just have sex on their minds but Bucky's just super overprotective when it comes to Emma. He just automatically thinks the worst of Peter which is understandable considering what he walked in on. Peter will eventually get Bucky to see that he genuinely loves and cares about Emma although I think Bucky will probably never have a warm, fuzzy relationship with Peter. He'll just eventually accept Peter.

Florence and the Machine is amazing. Florence Welch is one of the best vocalists and songwriters in music right now. There's just something about her music that really touches you. I can't even name a favorite song much less an album. Maybe a different song off every album. 'Blinding' off Lungs, 'What the Water Gave Me' off Ceremonials, 'Which Witch' off How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, and 'The End of Love' off High as Hope. She just has so much good music. There's not a single song she's ever put out that I've disliked.

Thanks again for all the reviews!