Ellie Bishop: No kidding. Yep, Walker is not an anti-hero here but an outright villain with no real remorse for his actions unlike in the show.

Russia

Mid Afternoon

Fury was watching the news, grimly watching footage of Walker murdering Rasputin with his shield. Behind him, still restrained to the chair, Nick watched the screen with a horrified expression.

"I knew he was angry, knew he blamed the Avengers…but this…how could I have been so wrong about him?" Nick asked himself.

"You wouldn't be the first person to be taken in by a psychopath. Don't beat yourself up," Fury told him in surprising kindness.

At that moment, the door opened and Sam, Bucky, Wanda and Sharon walked in, all wearing grim expressions.

"I take it you're caught up to speed," Sharon said dryly, staring at the news report.

"Where's Walker?" Fury asked as he looked over at them.

"We lost him somewhere over East Moscow. He's in the wind," Sam said and there was a moment of silence. "Nick, where would Walker go next?"

"I don't know. He won't go back to our hideout here. He'll know I'm with you now. And I don't know the location of many other bases. I'm sorry," Nick apologized.

"Give us the location of the bases you do know," Bucky told him.

"There's no point," Sam said with a sigh. "I saw Walker. He's angry, fanatical, but he's not stupid. He won't go to any compromised location."

"So what do we do then?" Bucky asked and Sam sighed wearily.

"Only thing we can do. Go home."

Wolfram and Hart

Same time

Angel was in his office, watching the news. He stared grimly at the picture of the man dressed like Captain America murdering a Russian politician.

"It's not him you know," Angel didn't even react as Hamilton walked up behind him. "The Senior Partners confirmed that Steve Rogers was a victim of Thanos months ago."

"I know. What do we know about this new guy?" Angel asked.

"The Senior Partners are looking into it. So far, it seems he's connected to a terrorist group called the Flag Smashers," Hamilton explained. "But either way, it has nothing to do with us."

"…guess not," Angel agreed reluctantly as Faith walked into Angel's office, clutching a paper.

"Angel, can I talk to you? Alone," Faith said pointedly as she looked at Hamilton pointedly.

"Of course. If you'll excuse us," Angel said with a matching look at Hamilton.

"Of course. You're the boss," Hamilton said with an air of someone who had repeated a phase so often it had lost all sincerity.

Angel and Faith both shot him dirty looks as he walked out. Faith closed the door behind him before walking over to Angel.

"You ever seen this before?" Faith asked as she handed h the paper.

Taking it from Faith, Angel looked at what she had given him. On the piece of paper was a drawing of a cloaked figure, surrounded by a circle.

"No. What is it?" Angel asked as he looked back to Faith.

"I don't know. I was looking into the Boretz demon who's been killing people in Funville when…"

Faith was in her office, doing researching into Boretz demons when, suddenly, the text in the book vanished. Faith was sure she was hallucinating when the words 'You're looking in the wrong place' appeared on the page.

"Either I'm crazy or someone's sending me a message," Faith muttered. "But I'll bite. Where is the right place then?"

In answer, a picture of a cloaked figure in a circle appeared on the page. Then, Faith blinked and it was gone.

"I think someone's trying to send us a message," Faith told Angel as he looked down at the picture in thought.

"Lilah. It has to be Lilah," Angel said after a moment. "She's the one who put me onto Lindsey and Eve, which led us to the Stones. She's trying to tell us something."

"Then why can't she just come out and say it?" Faith asked in confusion.

"Non-disclosure agreement, magically binding, even after death," Angel explained as he looked back at the symbol. "Lilah's left us a trail. Let's follow it."

"I've never seen this symbol before, I'm sorry," Willow said later as everyone stood in her office, Willow looking down at the symbol. "And I don't feel comfortable asking any of the mystics about it, not with Hamilton looking our shoulders."

"Yeah, he's been snooping around a lot lately," Spike agreed. "Spying on me and 'Lil Bit's training sessions and what not."

"I catch him watching me in the lab," Fred added, her face showing exactly what she thought of that.

"Eve may have been creepy, but Hamilton seems like he has a vested interest in what we do," Lorne noted. "Which is even creepier."

"Okay, so there's no one in Wolfram and Hart we can trust to look into it. But there's someone else we can go to for answers," Angel said, looking like he'd swallowed a lemon. "Faith, Spike, I need you to do something for me…"

Russia

Not long after

"This is so cool," Nick, untied after Sam had convinced Fury to let him go, was examining Sam's wings. "Must feel amazing to fly like this."

"Yeah, it is," Sam said and paused. "Listen, you made a mistake, joining up with Walker. He knew just the right words to say, right?"

"Yeah," Nick said, unable to look Sam in the eye. "Still can't believe I fell for it."

"Well, Walker knew what he was doing. You did a bad thing. That doesn't make you a bad person. You want redemption? Help Fury and Sharon find Walker," Sam told him. "Because the only way we stop this is by stopping him."

Nick looked away, a thoughtful look on his face as Sam got to his feet, walking over to Fury and Sharon.

"Keep in touch. You get any word on Walker, you call me," Sam told them in a tone that left no room for argument.

"We will. Thanks for all your help in this. I'm sorry this didn't go the way you want," Sharon said and Sam smiled tightly.

"Me to," Sam said as Bucky walked into the room.

"You ready to go?" he asked.

"Depends on our third passenger," Sam said.

Sam then looked over to the corner of the room, where Wanda stood, a bag next to her.

"I'm coming, but I want to make sure you understand I'm not staying. I'll help until we stop Walker. After that, I'm gone. And I don't want you guys to follow me," Wanda said as she looked Sam in the eye.

"If you still feel that way after we stop Walker, I won't stop you," Sam promised and, after a moment, she nodded.

"Then let's go," Wanda said as she grabbed her bag.

As the trio started walking out, Nick realized something.

"Hey, you got forgot your wings!"

"Keep 'em," Sam said not even turning around.

Wolfram and Hart

Night

"Angel, are you sure about this?" Fred as asked as she, Angel, Willow, Dawn and Lorne stood down in Interrogation.

"No. But we don't have much of a choice," Angel said grimly.

Almost before he had finished speaking, the door was pushed open. Spike and Faith walked in, dragging Lindsey, who was in chains.

"Well, don't you guys look like you could use a hug?" Lindsey asked as he held out his arms, as though waiting for a hug.

Quinjet

Same time

It was silent in the Quinjet; save for the roaring of the engine. Sam was piloting it, Bucky in the co-pilot chair as Wanda sat in the back. Bucky glanced over his shoulder, seeing Wanda had fallen asleep during the flight before turning back to Sam.

"So, you left your wings behind," Bucky pointed out.

"Yep," Sam said shortly.

"Are we gonna talk about that?" Bucky asked and Sam sighed.

"Just ask Bucky," Sam said annoyed.

"You're planning on taking up the shield," Sam simply nodded at Bucky's question. "Look, I know I was…okay, I was a jerk about it. But I hope you're not doing it just because I was so…"

"Bullheaded?" Sam supplied, his lips twitching in the beginning of a smile.

"Bullheaded about it," Bucky finished.

"Contrary to popular belief, not everything is about you Bucky," Sam said and paused. "Seeing what Walker did, the shield covered in blood…I know it wasn't the real thing but…"

"It was hard to see," Bucky agreed.

"When I saw that, I thought back to what you said a few days ago, about how we let Steve down. But the thing is Buck, we only let him down if we give up," Sam said, looking over at Bucky before he turned back to see where he was flying. "I thought about Steve, about everything he sacrificed. Not just him, but Nat, Rhodey, Clint, even Thor and Tony. And I thought 'What would be the point of it all if I wasn't willing to stand up and keep fighting?'"

"So, you really are gonna do it," Bucky said, beginning to smile and Sam nodded.

"Not because I want to or because it's what you or Steve would have wanted. I'm doing it because it's the right thing to do," Sam said and it was silent between them for a moment.

"What are we gonna do about Wanda? She still wants to run," Bucky pointed out.

"I know. She won't listen to us. And all the people she might have listened to are gone. But, there is someone out there she might listen to," Sam said and Bucky raised an eyebrow. "I made a call."

Wolfram and Hart

Not long after

"So, what is this Angel?" Lindsey asked as he sat at the table. "I already told you that I don't know where the Stones are."

"This isn't about the Stones Lindsey," Angel said, pulling out the paper Faith had given him earlier and placing in front of Lindsey. "You ever seen this before?"

"Where'd you get that?" Lindsey asked after a moment.

"Doesn't matter. What do you know about it?" Angel demanded.

"So that's what this is about huh? Alright, I'll tell you," Lindsey said and they all watched him intently. "The Coven of the Netherworld."

"The Coven of what?" Lorne asked as they all exchanged confused glances.

"A bunch of spirits of dead witches. Not many know they exist. They're basically the antithesis of the Circle of the Black Thorn, the Senior Partners' elite group of servants. While the Black Thorn works to make sure that the Senior Partners' plans are up and running, the Coven of the Netherworld works to help mankind from beyond the grave. You ever have that feeling that everything is gonna be alright after a dry spell? That feeling that there's some greater power at work? A miracle you can't explain? It's the work of the Coven," Lindsey explained as they all listened. "Not just anyone can get in; only the most virtuous witches are selected to become part of the Coven. I'm not talking saving cats from trees; you would have to literally be a saint to even be considered worthy of being a member. That's why almost no one knows they exist, not many witches fit their criteria."

"But you know about them," Willow noted and he shrugged.

"They've been a thorn in the Senior Partners' sides for centuries. If the Partners had an enemy, the Coven of the Netherworld would be it," Lindsey explained and it was silent for a moment.

"Is there a way we can contact them?" Dawn asked and Lindsey laughed.

"They're dead kid, and they don't exactly leave their number lying around. Only way to contact them is to go to the Netherworld itself. You wanna see the Coven? You have to die first," Lindsey revealed.

Avengers Compound

Not long after

After Sam had landed the Quinjet, the trio walked inside the Compound. Wanda looked around blankly. It felt…strange to be back here after all this time, especially after what happened. A strange wistfulness struck Wanda.

"Your room is exactly as you left it," Sam assured her as he saw how tired Wanda looked.

Wanda nodded before silently beginning to walk down the hall.

"You sure about this Sam?" Bucky asked once Wanda was out of earshot.

"It's the only card we haven't played yet. And at worst, she still leaves after this over," Sam pointed out. "But we'd feel a lot worse about that if we hadn't tried everything to talk some sense into her."

Once Wanda reached her room, she opened the door, flicking the light on. However, as she went to lay on her bed, she stopped short. Someone was already in the room, sitting on her bed.

"Hi," Laura Barton greeted her politely.

Sam has finally decided to take up the shield. I tried to keep it as realistic and in character for Sam as possible, hope I did alright there.

The Coven of the Netherworld is something I've been waiting to introduce since the story first started. It's going to tie in heavily to the remainder of the story's second arc and will play a role into the story's final arc, but I'm getting ahead of myself. There is definitely more to come.