I always feel a bit bad for not being able to update a lot lately. Sorry! Enjoy the chapter!

As the elevator came to a stop, Peter felt a tug in his chest that came from the dried blood he could still feel coating his arms. He squeezed his eyes quickly shut beneath the mask, the visors following suit, before he quickly opened them again and resumed a neutral stance. He needed to keep a brave face. So, when the doors opened, he stepped out, feeling a mounting pressure building in his head at whatever his handlers might have him do next. He got the feeling it wouldn't be good, whatever it was.

His eyes immediately caught on to the last of his handlers. Scrappy seemed to be on the phone, talking with someone. Hornet was tweaking with the despicable whistle. Ace was thumbing through the leftover gear, seemingly searching them for imperfections. At the sound of the elevator stopping, all three turned to stare at him. Scrappy grinned, ending the call, then destroying the burner phone. "Ah, there ya are. 'Was wonderin' when ya would return," he rubbed his hands together. "Just got word ya completed the task like asked."

Ace gave a nod to that, before quirking a brow. "Seeing as you have no one accompanying you, I assume you handled the protocol well," he said smoothly, adjusting his tie. Gesturing to a white board that sat off to the side and a dry erase marker, he remarked, "I hope you found where the folders went? You may let us know."

Taking his queue and noting that they were granting him permission to temporarily break the vow, he carefully grabbed the white board, before taking the cap off of the marker. He quickly and efficiently wrote, 'Omen and Coin were compromised. Omen is deceased, Coin is missing.' Then he capped the marker, setting it down on the table with the white board, before stepping back and standing at attention.

They took a few moments to look it over, before nodding. Hornet picked up the white board, erased the words, then set it aside in an incinerator. The scent of burning plastic filled the room momentarily. Hornet wiped his gloves off, before pulling the whistle he'd pocketed back out, then glanced at Ace, silently questioning if they needed to use the whistle. The head handler simply shook his head. The dreaded whistle was put away, to Peter's relief. Hornet instead put his hands in his pockets, shifting so he was leaning against the wall, almost looking like he itched to light a cigarette but wouldn't dare do so down here. "So, that answers that, then," he murmured gruffly.

Ace stroked his chin, nodding. "I assume Omen and Coin's associates were also killed," he let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose, before slamming the other fist on the table, startling the two other handlers but getting no reaction from the assassin. "Dammit. He likely went to the Avengers with that information."

Scrappy's nose scrunched in distaste. "Those damn supaheroes can't get their grubby noses outta HYDRA business, can they?" he shuffled on his feet, beginning to pace as he ran a hand through his mussy hair. "What'a we gon' do? They a'ready got us once. They a'ready got our otha asset. We worked too hard ta lose this 'ne, too."

Hornet nodded, huffing a breath. "We haven't been able to recover from the whole mess with the Triskelion yet, either. Clearly we weren't the only ones with embedded spies. Damn SHIELD and Fury for covering their tracks," clicking his tongue, he stuck a match end in his mouth instead of a cigar. "Coin blabs our asset to the heroes and we lose any chance of getting rid of them and being able to grow from the chaos."

Ace sighed, perching on the edge of the table. "What a mess. Who knows what he'll alert them to? He's got as many of the files as he could get his hands on." Grunting, he rolled his eyes. "They'll know of the hit..." his eyes suddenly brightened as he seemed to have an epiphany. A dark grin crossed his face. "...but maybe that's exactly what we need."

The other two perked up, and Peter felt curiosity bloom in his chest. He wondered what his head handler had realized, and with a bit of tension, he realized he genuinely couldn't tell. He'd learned how to read faces, how to pick up on inflections, could tell if someone was lying easily, could know what they were thinking by what expression they wore. But his handlers had always been wild cards, and Ace was the worst of them. He could never tell what the man was thinking. It always unnerved him to no end that his abilities were practically useless against his captors.

Scrappy's crazed eyes looked delighted at the news as he clapped his hands together. "I never doubted ya for a sec, Ace," he crowed, and Peter had to stop from rolling his eyes at how the rat-like man was always ready to kiss ass. "Would ya care ta enlighten us ta ya'r plans?"

Ace stood, a confident and smug look on his features. Adjusting the cufflinks of his suit and turning them to a more favorable position, he flashed them a coy grin. "Them knowing will work in our favors. The files speak nothing of our asset's true identity, nor the full extent of his abilities- though the latter is more simply because even we don't know the fullest of his capabilities," he stared at the file for the Avengers that was still sitting on the desk, opening it to stare daggers at the image. "If they're made aware of the hit, and of the things Weaver has accomplished... they might try to 'rescue' him," with a malicious smile, he snagged a spare knife and stabbed it down into the image with triumph. "That's where we'll get them."

Hornet quirked a brow. "So, we go through with the hit anyways, and let him get caught?"

"Of course," Ace said, straightening and turning to face the others. "They'll try doing what they did with our other asset. Unfortunately for them, there's nothing left for them to rescue. He's not who he used to be; he's been our unerring asset for years now. There's no way they can fix what's been so... thoroughly broken. We've made sure of that."

The old Peter might've laughed at the irony, but the old Peter wasn't supposed to exist. What they didn't know wouldn't hurt them. He'd been keeping his little spot of freedom in his mind secret for years, now; the mutant wasn't about to prove them wrong and give them reason to do the last bit of tweaking they would need to in order to fully get rid of his little bit of agency. They weren't entirely wrong; he definitely was not who he used to be, he'd been doing what they wanted for years, and he was terribly broken. He didn't think he'd even be able to trust any help. Not when he'd been devoid of such a pleasure for so long.

Scrappy cupped a hand to his chin, before nodding. "I see. Ya're gonna have Weaver here go ahead with the hit anyways, then use him from the inside ta catch 'em off guard."

The head handler hummed in agreement. "All Weaver would need to do after his hit goes purposefully awry would be to use Protocol Veil to signal when their guard is down. Then, we strike with the leftover Winter Soldiers. Lucky for us that we managed to get our hands on them before the Avengers could fully do away with them. They're still pretty banged up, though... they're not the best option. However, I'm sure even broken Winter Soldiers will provide enough of a distraction." Ace furrowed his brow, clicking his tongue. "There's always the chance it could go wrong, but that's always the inevitable. If anything, we lose another asset that they cannot do anything with that has orders to take them out whenever he can," he shrugged. "And at best, we have six super soldiers that should be more than enough to do them in."

Hornet let out a laugh at that. "Impressive, Ace. This is why you've been able to keep him in the wood works for so long."

Ace smirked at that. "Thank you," his cold gaze turned to Weaver, and the smile dropped. "Let's input the commands, then."

With a nod, Hornet fished the whistle from his pocket. Peter had only a second to brace himself for the piercing agony that the instrument rattled into his head, and he felt himself slacking, face growing impassive. The agonizing noise dwindled after a few seconds more, and he straightened, ready to comply. Noting this, the whistle moved from Hornet's lips, and Ace grinned. "Weaver, you are to continue with the assigned hit on the Avengers. If you succeed, that will be fantastic. However, if you fail, you are to be on standby. When you see that their defenses are down, you will alert us through Protocol Veil. The other Winter Soldiers will then break in, and all of you are to cooperate on taking down the Avengers or die trying. If you live, you will return here for orders." Then, he stepped away, signalling to Hornet that no more needed to be added. The whistle blew in two quick bursts, releasing Peter from its spell.

Scrappy let out a snicker as he eyed the photo hungrily. "Those bastards don't know what's comin' ta them. We'll show 'em what 'appens when ya mess with HYDRA."

Hornet grinned. "This'll certainly be interesting."

Ace nodded, walking closer to the door. "This should be rather eventful. You're free to leave, Weaver," he turned to his companions. "I suppose we better go deal with the aftermath of the purge. Hail HYDRA."

The two remarked, "Hail HYDRA!" then followed the head handler out.

When they left, Peter felt like he could breathe again. He stumbled a bit, hand instinctively going to cup his temple while the other caught on the table, propping himself up. His breath rattled in his lungs as he comprehended the input, eyes squinted beneath the mask. Looks like he didn't really have much of a choice, huh? With a silent groan, he stared at his gear, before putting it together and on his person. Regret bubbled beneath his skin as his eyes flashed to Carmen's face. I'm sorry, Carmen, he lamented, letting out a breath. Unless there's some magical way to break free of the command... I won't even get the chance to even consider the opportunity.

As he left up the elevator, donned in supplies to go do the hit, he couldn't help but feel a resigned sadness filling his being. The situation was out of his hands; the only way this ended for him was either if he succeeded in the hit with the other soldiers, or perished in the onslaught... unless there was a way he could work beyond the programming to either stop himself from spilling, or somehow thwart their plans and let the Avengers know the soldiers were coming. Though, considering he had yet to actually succeed at fully breaking their commands, he doubted he would get lucky enough to gain that opportunity. Then again, he didn't really know what the superhero team was capable of. Peter could only hope there would be some form of out that would result in some happy ending. Even if said happy ending ended with him bleeding his life out on the ground.

They all sat around the table, the larger group huddling on the couches to all fit. It was a bit of a tight fit, but they managed to make it work with Clint and Scott sitting on the arm rests at the ends. Tony could practically taste the tension in the air, and it wasn't made better by him sitting sandwiched between Steve and Natasha. He couldn't remember the last time he'd such a serious look on the ex-assassin's face, and there was something in Steve's eyes that made Tony hesitant to hear what the embedded agent had to offer. He had a sinking feeling that whatever they were about to learn would be something the leader would want to blame on himself, if Tony didn't blame himself first. The engineer clasped his hands together, urging them to stop shaking so his nervousness wouldn't be nearly as notable.

Bruce returned to the group, carrying a coffee and a coaster for their guests that were sitting on chairs facing the opposite of the long couch, setting both carefully on the table. "You looked exhausted, so I figured this would perk you up. I found it works wonders for most of us here." The scientist explained with an anxious smile, tugging at the ends of his sleeves before taking the last available spot on the end of the couch, squeezing in between Scott and Sam.

"Thank you," Agent Faulers said, blowing on it before taking a gracious sip. With a breath, he set the mug on the coaster, raising a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose with the hand not shackled to the suitcase that was now sitting at his side. "You're not wrong. I've been up for just over thirty-two hours now," he cast a glance to the suitcase. "I couldn't rest when I had such a small operating time. As soon as I took these out of their hands, it was only a matter of time before they discovered they were gone. I traveled 5,471 miles to ensure this information got into your possession."

Sam quirked a brow in surprise at that. "That's some serious dedication to a mission," he remarked, placing his elbows on his knees and propping his head on his folded hands. "You came from overseas?"

FRIDAY chimed, "From my estimates, he traveled here from Siberia, Russia."

The double agent seemed momentarily surprised, before he gave a nod. "Yep, your AI's correct," he ran his free hand through his hair, collapsing back into the couch cushions tiredly. "It would've been the normal 10 hour flight if Fury hadn't been able to send a nearby Quinjet to my aid. It's a wonder of technology, really. It was definitely annoying to have to fly there to grab the folders, though. Would've been easier if they kept everything in one place."

Tony felt a flicker of annoyance spike through him. "You're getting off-topic," he leaned forward, pointing at the suitcase and raising an eyebrow. "I feel talking about 'HYDRA's deadliest asset' is more important to us than what your last few hours were like, 007."

Faulers let out a small chuckle. "I wouldn't dare think myself to be James Bond, Mr. Stark," he remarked, though his face once more grew serious as he seemingly materialized a key from out of nowhere. With a tentative frown, he remarked, "Can you have your AI get rid of any and all natural light?" then, when there was a notable pause, he added, "The ink we used to write this information dissolves in direct contact with sunlight. Unless you want to lose it all, it might be best to close whatever blinds you have. For that matter, we'll want to keep liquids away from these, too."

Tony let out a sigh, raising a hand and waving it at the ceiling. "You catch that, FRI?"

"On it, boss." FRIDAY chirped. Big, heavy blinds closed over all of the windows, completely blocking all natural light. The lights brightened to accommodate such a change.

Giving a satisfied nod, the agent carefully opened the suitcase. Inside was a plethora of carefully kept folders, dating back nearly ten and a half years. The scripted words were careful and easy to read, but seemingly illegible due to the letters all being mixed up. Holding up one that was titled, 'HLNGLD 003 - UPNZRBPKZML KY JLIGIYIRW,' he tipped his head, scanning the words. "Did you use a cipher?"

The agent nodded. "These were originally kept in a fictional language, but when it became too difficult to record all of the information in that language, they opted to a cipher on my suggestion instead. I translated all of the information into this cipher with my partner, Agent Kahale. She went by 'Omen' in their presence," with a sudden frown, he added, "...though I imagine Agent Kahale and Agent Last are compromised. It's a shame... they both worked hard to help me accomplish this very thing."

Nick placed a hand on the man's shoulder. "When we take them down, we'll hold a memorial in their memories."

Faulers gave a nod, a sad glint in his eyes. "It's now in Bellaso Cipher. Keyword was SPIDER, the full English alphabet was used, 5 alphabets were used, the shift between each was 2, and the key to the alphabets was ASSET," he gave a wry smile. "We didn't want to make it terribly complex for us to crack once we were able to get it out to someone else. It had to be enough to fool them that it was encrypted enough, though."

Steve gave a nod. "FRIDAY, would you be able to scan each of the files and decrypt them?"

"Of course," the AI remarked, and a near invisible blue light landed on the pile of folders. A few moments passed before a beep alerted them that FRIDAY was finished. "Scrambling," she stated, and after another minute, a directory of folders displayed in a hologram. "Here you are. The files have been decrypted."

"Ah, that's a lot easier than going through each of them by hand, I suppose," the agent remarked, placing the stray folders back in the suitcase. He stood, walking over to the sink. "I'll dispose of these real quick. They dissolve in water, so it should only take a moment." The sink turned on, and the man proceeded to dump each of the carefully written folders in the sink. They began to shrivel up and dissipate, until there was eventually nothing left. Turning the water off, he set the suitcase on the counter, then returned to the chair.

Tony stared at the folder that had appeared in front of him, which, doing a quick check, happened to be the one he had grabbed. A sick feeling twisted in his stomach as he read the unscrambled title of, 'WEAVER 003 - CALIBRATION OF PROTOCOLS.' Clicking his tongue, he quickly began to speed-read through the information. The more he learned, the darker the feeling in his gut got. "What... what is all of this?" he asked rhetorically, feeling at a loss for words as he read over all of the assigned keywords and their meanings. One that had him especially sickened was one named, 'Protocol Raze', which had the input, 'When protocol is issued, subject will use given tools to destroy everything within specifications.' The mechanic could only wonder what they would use such a thing for, and hoped it had never been used. That type of command could enable Weaver to do a complete homicide and destroy anything else that might've been in the way. It was scary to think that they'd programmed such an inevitability.

Faulers let out a quiet sigh as he watched each of the Avengers snag a hologram of a folder, glancing through it. Their growing looks of horror felt rather nostalgic to when he, Kahale, and Last had first gotten their hands on this information, as well. He stood, taking a casual glance at wherever the hero was on the file to tell which one they were looking at. "Let's see... Scott's looking at the 'Creation Logs', Bruce is examining the 'Medical Records', Sam's studying the 'Hits Catalog', Wanda's staring at the 'Abilities' file, Vision's viewing the 'Tweaking Accommodations List', Barnes's got his hands on the 'Modifications', Natasha's snagged the 'Programming Log', Tony's taken the 'Calibration of Protocols', Steve has the 'General' file, Rhodes's glancing at the 'Subject Logs' file, and Clint's handling the 'Test Procedures' document," the man listed, pursing his lips. "You don't need to read through it all right now if your AI already has it in the database. Right now, we should focus on some of the more, ah... vital information."

Steve paused from his reading, looking like he was torn between a grimace and a frown. With a sigh, he waved the hologram over to the agent. "Very well. We'll... peruse these in more detail later.

At that, the others all paused from their own files to send it over to the agent, who caught them and seemed to organize them by their numbers. "You've already caught a glimpse of how, ah... disturbing these could be. I'll spare a lot more of the crude information for your own discretionary reading," he enlarged the first folder, titled, 'WEAVER 001 - GENERAL INFORMATION'. He stared at the listed information for a few moments before saying, "Most of the information on this document was redacted before we even got our hands on it, and it appeared to have been rewritten numerous times," he pursed his lips, pointing to the various lines on the file. "It seems like when he originally came here, they had written his actual name, age, relations, and place of residence, but they've all since been disposed," with a frown, he added, "which leads me to believe that this was re-purposed. Chances are this used to be the file they used when planning on obtaining their asset in the first place; otherwise, the information wouldn't have needed to be redacted, since it wouldn't have been written in the first place. But some things can be assumed from it. Considering how long he's been in their grasp, he's either someone proclaimed dead or missing, with either no relatives left alive or uncaring of what happened to him. From what I saw of him, and how long he's been with them, he can't be any older than eighteen, if I'm being generous."

Tony glanced at the information with a curious eye, noting how much had been taken away. With a frown, he gestured to the Blood Type line. "The information there seems confused," he said, pointing to the two types listed. "Why was the O- changed to an AB-?"

Faulers clicked his tongue, gaze turned away. "Because at birth that's all the hospital was able to identify, and the mutant gene changed how his blood functioned. I imagine it isn't actually AB-, but was identified as such thanks to the mutagenic changes his body underwent," he seemed to stare at another file momentarily. "I believe the covered the information in the Medical Records, so it might be better to answer it in further depth there."

Bruce seemed to perk up slightly. "I already read that," he said, shuffling in his seat. "It seems they changed it to AB- because they determined the change at the molecular level changed his blood cells as well, so he was unable to receive or give blood without... disastrous results," he turned to stare at the floor. "According to the record, when he lost a lot of blood and they attempted a transfusion, the body violently rejected it, though it shouldn't have, since it was another O-. They got curious after that, and when he was healed, they gave another person his blood. All it said on mine was that the other patient didn't survive."

Clint raised his hand for a few seconds. "The rest of that was listed in mine," he frowned. "The poor guy's body didn't take well to it. It was like a virus. Ate up the guy's blood cells and caused the other guy to also get spider powers momentarily, before his entire body short-circuited and died."

"That's grim," Scott remarked, scrunching his nose.

Faulers pursed his lips, rubbing an arm. "It wasn't pretty," he said in a tone that told them it was the end of the discussion. "All you really need to be aware of from 'General Information' is that his code-name is Weaver, and he's been with them for nearly ten and a half years."

Wanda seemed to shudder, casting a glance at Bucky. "Being with HYDRA for even a short time was bad for me, and I can't imagine what it was like for you," she murmured to the former Winter Soldier, who simply responded with a sad, knowing smile. "I can't imagine what it would be like to... to be with them for so long."

Bucky's eyes turned dark, his sad smile morphing into a frown. He absentmindedly rubbed at the prosthetic arm. "...Not fun, I can definitely say that. The things they can do to a human mind and body are... horrendous."

Faulers let out a grim laugh at that, nodding. "I've read the files they had on you while I was there, Bucky," he murmured, and a dark, sad look crossed his eyes. "They learned from their mistakes with you."

Tony and Steve exchanged a look, before the latter leaned forward. "What do you mean by that?"

Clicking his tongue, the agent pulled up several of the files at once, displaying them. "They didn't need to keep him in cryostasis, for one. He was born a mutant as well, so all they had to do was train the abilities already there," he brought up one titled, 'WEAVER 007 - SUBJECT LOGS', before enlarging it, scrolling until he found what he was looking for, highlighting it. "They were... a lot more thorough with him when the realized the holes in their other assets," he glanced at the group. "Any time he messed up, even a bit, they would rectify his mistake with a punishment. They also wouldn't allow him to speak since they realized cooperation didn't need words, but action. They likely got rid of anything and everything connected to him outside of HYDRA. They made sure there were as little loose ends as they could," he let out a sigh at that. "...which means the chances of there even being something left to rescue are... a bit slimmer than would be preferable. But I'm... I'm optimistic. We won't know until we try."

Natasha nodded a bit at that, before shooting a soft glance at Bucky. "Well, it already worked with one of them," she said, lightly punching his shoulder. "It wouldn't hurt us to try."

The agent grinned softly at that. "I hoped you would say that," his face grew serious as he added, "The hit was ordered late yesterday, so... there's still a bit of time before Weaver arrives," he stared at the holographic files a moment before adding, "And you're going to need all the information you can get on him."

Scott tilted his head curiously. "So... how deadly is this kid?"

With an almost amused look, Faulers pulled up the next file, titled, 'Hits Catalog'. "You were looking at this earlier, Sam, so I'm sure you've already gotten a little look at what the outlook is?"

The said man frowned, eyebrows scrunched. "We saw some of the footage from the hit yesterday, but not much," a deep sigh left his chest as he settled further against the couch cushions. "What I did see from that file, though, wasn't exactly ensuring."

Faulers nodded, enlarging the file and highlighting some of it. "He has performed over 2,000 hits in the ten and a half years he's been with them," he murmured, slowly beginning to scroll down the list so they could see. "The first twenty-one, which were spaced out in the first three years, resulted in either mistakes or failures as they were 'polishing' their 'weapon'," he said, a slight frown on his face. "And nine of the hits were against one or more enhanced." The agent cleared his throat, before gesturing to the check-mark next to the item listing. "All of which were eventually rectified."

The few ex-assassins in the room leaned forward, morbid curiosity getting the better of them. Natasha's arms were folded on her lap, and her head was lightly lilted to the side. "If it weren't logged and recorded, I would think you were joking about that kill count."

Tony brushed his fingers along his stubbled jaw, a frown on his features. "He's been with them roughly 3,786 days and the kill count is over 2,000?" the inventor asked incredulously. "That's, what, one person killed every two days or so?"

The double agent blinked curiously. "Oh, no, the kill count is higher than that," he said, a hint of amusement on his features. "Most of the hits as time went on gained more and more people. The largest he took was a hit on a mafioso group that got in the way of HYDRA operations and pissed them off because they went back on a deal the two groups had struck up. By the time the cops arrived, twenty-three armed men were found in a maelstrom of blood and destruction." To emphasize his point, he scrolled until he found said hit and brought it up. "And that was two years ago."

The look the team shared was one of barely masked worry. Rhodey leaned forward. "And you're saying someone you think is a kid did all that?"

The man the question was directed to simply nodded. "I kept track of all of his hits once I joined, and they made it policy that he always brought proof from each of the required targets that the job was done."

Scott pursed his lips. "That's terrifying. If he's as young as you think he is, or even younger, and was born with those abilities... it's unnerving to think of how strong a weapon he could become as a fully grown adult."

The group paused at that thought, and Fury, who had been quiet the entire time, finally added, "I imagine it might be similar to Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Barnes, at minimum. At worst... let's just say that him staying in their hands would be disastrous for any longer than it's gone on," he stood, fixing his one-eyed gaze on the team. "The potential threat this asset gives can have disastrous repercussions in the future, especially considering said asset is under HYDRA, who we thought to be fully gone and wiped out," he let out a small sigh, standing tall and rigid, arms folded behind his back. "Which is why getting Weaver away from HYDRA is a top priority. Once he's in our custody, we can deal with the smaller things later. But, regardless of what happens..." he paused, as though contemplating what he wanted to say and whether it would be received well. "Once retrieved, he cannot fall back into the grasp. No matter the cost."

Frowning, Vision remarked, "Pardon me, sir," he said politely, a curious look on his face. "Am I correct in my assumption that those costs would even include killing the asset?"

"It would be unfortunate if it ever came to that, but... it would be a mercy to both us and him in the long run to let him die than let him go back into HYDRA's hands. At least, in death, he cannot be used as a weapon any longer."

Wanda frowned at that, knitting her hands together. "So if we had no choice, you want us to kill what could possibly be a minor," she said, voice flat, thinking of her dead twin brother and the pang of grief that shot through her at the remembrance of the young life lost.

"I never said it would be easy," Fury added, though he, too, had a frown on. "Nor painless. And I hope that it is something that doesn't need to be used," his resolved gaze fixed each of his Avengers in turn. "But if it comes down to it and there is no other option left, it will need to be done. Is that clear?"

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group as they contemplated the order. Would they really have to resort to killing someone who likely had no will in what he was doing just for the sake of everyone else's lives? It was unfair that that could possibly be the cost. Lives shouldn't be traded, and saving as many people as they could was always a top priority for the superhero team. But they knew the likelihood of having to kill HYDRA's asset was likely. After all, they had two ex-assassins on the team, one of which had been a former HYDRA asset and had been hard to fix. If what was stated happened to be true, and they had done even more things to Weaver, was there even the possibility of them being able to save someone that could be too far gone?

Finally, though, the group finally gave a begrudging nod, though they all silently vowed that it would be a last-minute resort only. They would try their damnedest to keep Weaver out of HYDRA's hands once they got him and try to fix him just as they did Bucky. They wouldn't give up until there was nothing left to do. They owed it to the poor soul they couldn't be around to save before. How could they call themselves Avengers if they didn't avenge this injustice?

Seeing their determination, the former SHIELD director had a ghost of a smile. "Glad to see you are all determined to give this kid a second chance and beat HYDRA at their own game again, then," he mused. "Good. He's bound to be coming any day now, and is likely aware we know. We need to remain vigilant. We underestimated them before; HYDRA was a subversion. Be prepared for anything to happen," his eye seemed filled with a quiet pride despite the words leaving his lips. "If they know we know and want to try planting him as a sleeper agent until they can come strike us when we're unprepared, we'll let them. We can play at their game as long as it takes to take their assassin from their grasp... and hopefully fix what they broke." Fury cracked his knuckles. "I believe we've got a long road ahead of us. But if we play our cards right, we might land a new member of the team. So..." he tipped his head. "Are you stepping up, or not?"

A... bit of a longer break than I wanted, but the business is still here! Most of it will go away after this next Monday, though, so that's nice!

Thebookworm33- Thanks! Honestly, I don't really have many criterias for reading a story. I've learned to give the media I consume some time to actually get somewhere. After all, I've watched Steven Universe, and it definitely didn't pick up much steam until the end of season one and turned out really great. I've found that I've tended to find things I liked more by sticking around for it to the end than deciding its quality by the beginning. I mean, I've seen both sides of the spectrum; I've seen media that started out great and turned horrible (coughs at Voltron: Legendary Defenders) and I've seen media that started out a bit rough but turned out great (coughs at Full Metal Alchemist), so... I've tried not to assume things, haha. Thanks for the new suggestion though, I ended up reading it all. :D

Krakengirl- And will continue to thicken a lot! We'll just have to see how it goes! (Though, I will say that given his circumstances, he probably doesn't trust anyone, even if they're famous superheroes. I mean, you'd learn to trust little of anything if you'd been in a torturous situation against your will for about 3/4ths of your life.) Thanks! I'll be submitting the pieces Monday and will get the results Tuesday! I might post info on it on the tumblr! :D

Wisdom and Sea- Honestly I didn't plan on getting so sentimental and heartbreaking with the last chapter, if I'm honest. But that's the way it naturally turned out, and I'm happy with the end result. Besides, it could lead to some... interesting things!

Heir of ice- Thanks! I'm hoping to keep the structure going as well as I can.

A few words!

1) Letting you guys know that this will actually be part of a series because I realized rewriting the entirety of Phase 3 of the MCU in this AU is probably gonna go longer than just one story, so... only Captain America: Civil War and Spider-Man: Homecoming (possibly Doctor Strange and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 depending on how this goes as well) will be nested under this particular title. Depending on how the rest of it goes, the sequel will definitely be composed of at least Avengers: Infinity War, and might have Thor: Ragnarok and Black Panther depending on how it goes. If the sequel goes on a bit long, then Ant-Man and the Wasp, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Endgame, and Spider-Man: Far From Home might be in a third one. Honestly, it'll all depend on where this AU goes and what I decide to change!

2) I'm open to suggestions for what you guys want to see going forward for this story! My writing style is akin to storyboarding, which means that my narrative allows me to take in suggestions from others and find a way to incorporate them! I won't be adding all, of course, though, but I will try working in everything I can!

3) Reminder that there's now a tumblr where I'll be posting updates! However, if you guys would want more frequent updates, would you guys want a Discord server? And if so, would you want it to be a general server (so one with both SOTR and this story) or one for just OWOW?

Next time on OWOW: The inevitable fight breaks out.