DISCLAIMER: ALL CHARACTERS BELONG TO MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE.

The rating of this story has CHANGED from T to M now, due to sexual content. Please bare this warning in mind if you decide to continue reading.

This chapter takes place a few months after the events of Age of Ultron.

~0~0~0~0~0~

In the next few months, the new Avengers shaped themselves into a formidable team.

Vision's abilities exceeded into things greater than anyone could have ever imagined. Sam, working alongside Stark, had managed to adapt the Falcon suit to have all kinds of hidden weapons and tricks. Rhodey had returned to his day job, and had become a liaison officer between the government, the Council, and the team. Wanda had cracked down in training, a new determination surging through her, and Natasha was more than happy with her process.

They'd had one tiny blip over the past few weeks. Natasha had known that she had been pushing Wanda too hard, but she had been so determined for the young girl to progress that she hadn't taken into account just how sensitive Wanda was. Wanda's powers had collected at her hands, and the room had started to shake. When Steve had burst into the training room moments later, Wanda snapped out of it instantly. Unflinching, Natasha remained with her chin raised, despite how her insides had tightened painfully at the sight of those red sparks. All she had done was told Wanda that they would be practising for another hour, and Wanda had grumbled something, but had tried harder. Steve had stayed for a little while, hovering in the doorway, just to be sure.

She and Steve continued to keep their relationship private. They lived at the Facility, with the rest of the team, eating with them and training, spending some nights watching movies with Sam and Wanda. Then, Natasha would go to Steve's living area, and they'd spend the night together without being caught.

But, the secrecy of their relationship and the pressure to shape this new team was weighing down on both of them. Natasha spent every hour of the day on the training mats, either with Wanda, Sam or Vision. Steve spent his waking hours searching for Rumlow, conferring with Sharon Carter on the case.

Natasha hadn't been thrilled about this newly-formed partnership. She had tried to forget that party at the tower, because Sharon didn't know about their relationship, so it had been harmless flirting on her part. But, what probably unsettled Natasha the most was the fact that Sharon had a mutual link, through Peggy, and no matter how many times Steve had told Natasha that he loved her, that Peggy would always be special to him but it was Natasha Romanoff who he had fallen in love with, she couldn't seem to relax about the thought of him working with Sharon.

So, they didn't speak about it.

That created an unwelcome void in their relationship.

Their love-making had gone from every night, to every now and then. Natasha would be tired from training, and Steve would often return back to bed late. He'd wash and slip into bed soundlessly, always telling her he loved her before turning off the bedside lamp and going to bed. Natasha would always be awake when he returned, but had curled up amongst the blankets and pretended to be asleep.

Things had only gotten worse when they started being called onto separate missions.

They'd spend weeks apart, at times. While Steve was sent across the world with Sam at his side to track leads on Rumlow, Natasha was ordered to stay behind at the Facility to train Wanda, who was deemed unfit for the field. She'd busied herself, working even longer days, all to try to ignore the worry she felt at the thought of her boyfriend halfway across the world, facing a man who wanted both of them dead.

Whenever Steve returned, he didn't say much, just that it had been pointless going, because the trail had been cold. No sign of Rumlow anywhere. No suggestions of where he could be, or hints at what he was planning. They were flying blind, and that caused Steve to become easily irritated, restless.

Then, one night, Natasha had found something in Steve's room, lying on the desk. A planner, with scribbled notes and a rough timeline written inside it.

Only, this had nothing to do with finding Rumlow, and something heavy landed in her chest.

She'd practically thrown the planner at Steve as he returned that night. "When were you going to tell me?"

With his fast reflexes, he had caught the planner before it struck him directly in the face. He didn't open it, he just lay it down on the small desk. "I was going to tell you, but we've just been too busy-"

"Too busy?" She repeated in disbelief, laughing at the word even though she found no humour in this situation whatsoever. But, it was all she could think of to do, to mask the hurt that was bubbling up inside her. "Do not stand there and try to feed me that bullshit, Steve. We agreed that we would look for him together."

"And where has that gotten us, Nat? We've not even so much as had the time to sit down and even discuss Bucky, let alone look for him." Steve's voice was far too steady, the calm before a storm that was fast approaching, no matter how hard he tried to hold it back. Restless nights and long days were catching up with him. "You've been too busy training, and I didn't want to burden you with more work, so-"

"So you looked for him behind my back." She snapped. "While you were off chasing Rumlow with Sam, you looked for Bucky as well, didn't you?" She already knew the answer, could see it on his face as his eyes flickered. "You kept this from me, even though you knew I would help you." She stiffened suddenly. "Is that what she's been helping you with?"

Steve sighed. "Sharon does not know why I am tracking him. She thinks I'm still searching for the Winter Soldier. I haven't even told her who Bucky is - Natasha, just listen to me-" He moved to reach for her.

Natasha stepped away from him, and tried not to wince at the pain that flashed in his eyes. "I think tonight, it's best that I make use of my unused room." She gritted out. Her hands were clenched so tightly that her palms screeched for her to ease the pressure from her nails, but she ignored it, needing that physical anchor before she lost herself to her mind.

"Natasha, please." He pleaded with her. "Just, let me explain."

She threw her hands in the air. "Explain what, Steve? That you decided to do this without me, because some part of you still doesn't trust me, and probably never will?"

He stiffened, clearly stung by her words. "I trust you with my life, Natasha."

"But not with this?" She demanded, her eyes glaring into his so powerfully that it was a wonder he wasn't scolded from the heat inside them. "Did you even find anything?"

A glimmer of sadness crossed his face, and it almost broke her, enough to make her almost wrap her arms around him and hold him. Guilt stabbed at her, especially when she saw him flinch at her words. But, then she remembered what they were arguing about, and the stubborn pride inside her refused her to move a single inch towards him.

"We missed him by an hour. In Prague." Steve answered.

"You think going round putting yourself - putting Sam - at risk is really worth it?" The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them, before she could realise just how hurtful they really were. She knew what Bucky meant to him. They'd spent countless nights talking about him, with Steve sharing his favourite memories that he shared with his best friend. She knew the influence that Bucky had had on Steve, how his friendship had been the most important thing to her boyfriend for so long.

God, Natasha, you really are a bitch.

Steve recoiled away from her, as if struck by an invisible arrow she'd aimed at him. "It is worth everything."

His words resonated with her, turning her blood cold. "Even lying to me?"

"I didn't do it to hurt you, Nat." He whispered, clearly torn.

She closed her eyes and inhaled, breathing out slowly, soothing her temper before it got to the point of no return. "I think," She looked back at his face, and her heart clenched at the sadness and guilt that covered his handsome features. "That I'm going to sleep in my own bed tonight." The bed she hadn't even slept in yet, after all these months of living at the Facility.

Instantly, he protested, "Nat, no-"

"I need space, Steve." She said, firmly, but inside she was trembling at the idea of spending a night away from him. Years ago, she had been independent, and she hadn't even wanted someone to see her as vulnerable. But with Steve, all that armour hadn't been needed. Now, she put those walls back up, hoping to block him out of seeing just how upset she really was.

"For how long?" They both knew he wasn't referring to just sleeping in the same bed. He meant their entire relationship. But, Steve wouldn't stop her from going, because he knew that she wouldn't have said it if she hadn't meant it. He'd never force her to do anything.

She sighed. "I'm not sure. Tonight, for sure." She grabbed an old shirt of his, one of her favourites, before heading for the door. As she brushed past him, she stopped at his side, her hand grazing his lower arm, ghosting over his open hand. "Goodnight, Steve."

His eyes were dark with sadness as he looked down at her. "Goodnight, Natasha."

That night, even with the smell of him clinging to his old shirt, Natasha couldn't sleep. Without Steve's arms encircling her, and his heartbeat pounding softly against her back, her nightmares found her.

~0~0~0~0~0~

"Get on your feet."

Wanda glared up from the mat, but she rolled onto her side and stood up, wincing slightly. She had hit the mat pretty hard, but Natasha wasn't feeling particularly patient.

"You can't keep taking your frustration out on me." Wanda snapped in annoyance, as they faced each other again.

Natasha's jaw locked. Her entire body was tired; they'd been going at it all morning, without a single break. She'd left her room before the sun had even risen, feeling drained from hours of restless and broken sleep, and sent Wanda a curt message to meet her at the training room by seven o'clock. "I'm fine."

Wanda scoffed. "You're angry, and it has something to do with Steve." She always addressed their leader as Steve, while Natasha had always been called Agent Romanoff, to everyone apart from Sam. They viewed her boyfriend as a friend, a confidant, while she was just their boss. She had no idea why that thought upset her slightly.

"You have no idea what you are talking about." Natasha snarled. Red mist swarmed at Wanda's fingertips, and Natasha bristled. "Don't go rummaging inside my head, because you won't like what you find."

The mist faded, but Wanda's defiant expression remained. "Talking helps," She pointed out.

"You're a fine one to be having out that sort of advice."

"I'm not going to stand here and be your personal punching bag." Wanda told her, and it was the most aggravated that Natasha had ever seen her.

Natasha rolled her eyes. "I'm a professional, I know better than to let my emotions get in the way. I'm trying to train you, so if we could stop with this heart-to-heart chat, we could-"

"Agent Romanoff," Vision was at the doorway, eyes flickering from one woman to the other. "Director Fury wishes to speak with you. He's on his way now." The Director was coming here? He'd never stepped foot in the Facility before. He'd even sent Hill to do the final checks before allowing it to become a base for her, Steve and the new Avengers team.

Natasha nodded, looking back to Wanda. "Find Sam, and work through some moves with him." She ordered, before heading towards the changing rooms.

The hot water did nothing to relax her body, and as the steam surrounded her, she glanced up at the mirror.

Can you wipe out that much red? Loki's voice, so cruel and quiet, whispered in her ear as she stood leaning onto the sink, her arms trembling from the effort of keeping herself up. Your ledger is dripping, it's gushing red…

As her eyes clenched shut, horrible images returned to the forefront of her mind. Screaming, begging, crying, pleading, whimpering…those sounds rang through her ears, enough to make her head feel as if it was about to split. A hundred different pairs of eyes flashed through mind, all with the same look; scared, begging for their lives. Some were cold, belonging to cruel monsters which she had gladly wiped off the face of the Earth without a second thought as she snapped their necks, or their blood coated her hands.

Not everyone one, though, had been guilty of horrible crimes. Some had been victims, prey, simply caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. They had been needed to be wiped out, simply because they may have seen something without even realising what they had seen. No weak links. No witnessess. She had hunted them down regardless of their innocence, their deaths proving her worth to those higher up, those who had trained her so hard until her body had laid broken on those training mats.

It was their blood, the innocent men, women and children, which haunted her. The taste of that iron-scented blood contaminated her mouth, making her gag.

You never fail, Madame B had told her, praised her. It was true. She had never turned down an assignment, not after that first one never said no, even when she knew deep down that what she was doing wasn't right. It was as if she'd turned her humanity off, shoved it away so deep inside her that it had taken years to discover it again.

Then, Steve's voice sounded against her ear, distant and cold, It's hard to trust someone when you don't know who that person really is.

Steve had met Agent Natasha Romanof, dedicated to working with SHIELD, Fury's protegee. Someone who would have given her life in New York to protect thousands of lives. He'd never met Natalia Romanova, a young girl bred to be a cold-hearted killer, who'd sliced the throat of women while they begged for their lives, who had been responsible for so much death, so much horror, and had slept soundly every night, until one day, it had all caught up to her like a cold shower.

Her hands gripped onto the sink, tight enough that it seemed to groan from the pressure. Inside her chest, her heart was gripped with guilt and grief, but also a horrible sinking feeling; Steve didn't trust her, and she didn't deserve him.

Love is for children, she had once told Loki. She had once believed those words. But, she had never intended on falling in love with Steve. Her feelings for him had been out of her control, as if she was a magnet that couldn't have helped being gravitated towards him. It had felt as if her entire life had been spent waiting for him, and once she had started falling, she hadn't been able to stop. She hadn't wanted to stop.

But, even though he claimed to love her, his recent actions claimed otherwise. She trusted him, and she'd spilled her deepest secrets with him over their years together. Yet, he had done this behind her back, and she couldn't help but come to the conclusion that it was because he didn't trust her at all.

I have no place in the world.

As her own words struck her, Natasha looked up, and stared at the reflection looking back at her. Right now, it wasn't Natasha Romanoff, the woman she had tried so hard to become, that was staring back at her.

It was the Black Widow.

Cold-hearted. Ruthless. Merciless.

Without even taking her actions into account, her fist collided with the mirror, shattering it into a hundred tiny pieces.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Steve paced, simply because he had to do something to stop himself going crazy.

He'd been in one of the facility's many gyms, when Sam had found him. His friend had taken a seat in the corner, watching as Steve struck out at another punching bag. After a few minutes, Sam had told him that Fury wished to speak with him, and that the Director had sounded pretty urgent.

But, when Steve had gotten himself to the designated meeting room, it had been empty.

So, he paced. Paced until he was convinced he was about to burn a trail through the carpet.

After a few more minutes passed, Steve was just about to leave when the door flung open, and Natasha walked in.

He froze, taking in the sight of her. He hadn't seen her all morning. As soon as he'd gotten up, he had debated whether to go to her room and speak with her. It was only because he knew her so well, and knew that she would come to him when she was ready to talk, that stopped him from going. But, even though it had only been half a day since he'd spoken with her, he missed her. There was a dull ache in his chest when he saw her now.

His hands scanned her face, but something caught his attention. Red. Her hand was covered in small cuts, some still oozing a little blood.

"What happened?" He demanded, crossing the room and picking up her hand with both of his, turning it slowly. He tried not to let it sting when she snatched her hand away from him. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing." Her green eyes met his gaze, a distance in them that he hated. Why did she have to always be so defiant? Could she not see that he was sorry?

The door swung open, revealing the Director of SHIELD, and Steve took a reluctant step away from his girlfriend.

"Good, you're both here." Fury said, gesturing to the table. "Let's get comfortable, shall we?"

Throughout the meeting, where Steve and Natasha both gave reports on how the rest of the team were coming along, the tension between them was noticeably painful. They sat across from one another, but occasionally, their eyes would meet across the table, snapped away from each other whenever Fury would ask them another question. By the end of it, Steve's heart felt painfully heavy in his chest.

"How ready would you say your team is to go on the field?" Fury asked, catching them both off guard.

Steve cleared his throat. "They still have a lot to learn about working together."

"Nowhere better than the field," Fury pointed out. "I need you, all of you. We have a good lead on Rumlow, and whatever he's up to, he won't wait until your team is at perfect harmony with one another."

Steve's jaw tensed, but he said nothing. Even Natasha remained quiet. Both of them had been waiting on a possible lead on Rumlow for too long to turn this one away.

"I suggest you and the team iron out any differences tonight." Fury said, rising to his feet, his gaze sweeping from the soldier to the spy. "You leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"Where to?" Natasha asked.

Fury smirked at her. "Lagos. Better pack for the climate." He remarked, before leaving them alone in the meeting room without another word.

Steve turned his gaze back to his girlfriend, who was watching him closely. "Please, tell me what you are thinking." He whispered. For Nat, he'd get down on his hands and knees and beg, if he had to. Anything to fix this.

She sighed, sluming in her seat. "I think...that this mission isn't going to work with us like this, Steve."

He didn't allow himself an inch of hope, not until their conversation was over. "I'm sorry, Nat."

"I know." Her voice was quiet, and she was too far away from him, but he made no move to get closer to her. "I'm sorry too." When he opened his mouth to speak again, she cut him off, "Steve, this mission is too important. We've waited six months, and we haven't even come close to finding this guy."

He dipped his head. "I get that, Nat, but-"

"No." She said firmly. "We haven't got time to sort this out. Not when we have half a day to prepare our team for something that I'm not sure they are ready for. Our relationship has to take a back seat on this, Steve."

He flinched, but he knew she was right. He could see how conflicted she was, there was a sad gleam to her eyes. They couldn't risk the distraction, not when they only had hours before they went after Rumlow. But, that didn't mean that his heart wasn't breaking in his chest.

"I love you, Nat. I never did it to hurt you."

She softened, slightly. Then, her eyes glazed over once again, an impenetrable sheet of green ice, and her wall was up. "I'll go and speak with Vision and Sam, see if there's anyway they can come with us tomorrow. Rhodes is far too busy. Wanda could do with one of your pep-talks." She said, before exiting the room.

Steve could only stare at the door as it closed shut.

~0~0~0~0~0~

As Natasha sat stirring the coffee in front of her, she tried to push away that sickening feeling of dread in her stomach that she hadn't experienced in a long time. She pulled her tan jacket around her tightly, the one that had been a gift from Steve last Christmas. He'd joked about how he'd promised to buy her another one, during the battle in Sokovia, and she'd laughed so loud that everyone else around them seemed shocked that she could do such a thing.

"Alright, what do you see?" Steve's voice sounded in her earpiece, but it wasn't directed to her.

Wanda, sat across the outside sitting area of the small Lagos cafe, was the one who answered, "Standard beat cops. Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target."

"There's an ATM on the south corner, which means?" Steve pressed. He was somewhere above them, using an abandoned hotel as an advantage point as he scanned the town from above.

"Cameras," Wanda responded.

"Both cross streets are one way," Steve informed.

Around the cafe, Natasha watched as the local people passed by, seemingly unaware of what was about to potentially unfolded. She wished there was a way to warn them, as she watched the children playing football nearby. But, then her eyes caught hold of a vehicle parked nearby, with blackened out windows. Out of place.

"So, compromised escape routes." Wanda realised, keeping her voice low.

"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen." Steve confirmed. He was on edge, how he'd been from the minute he stepped onto the jet. He hadn't even looked at her as she had taken the seat behind the controls, and she hadn't worked out if that had been a good thing or not. No distractions. "He isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. See that Range Rover halfway up the block?" So, he'd seen it too.

Wanda's response, however, was disappointing, "Yeah, the red one? It's cute."

Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Natasha rolled her eyes. "It's also bulletproof, which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody. Probably us." She'd clocked onto it the second she'd sat down and had pretended to scan the cafe menu.

"You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?"

Natasha almost chucked her coffee cup across the space between them. "Looking over your shoulder needs to become second nature," She reminded the younger agent, somewhat coldly.

Sam, the fourth and last member of the team on this particular message, commented through the comms, "Anyone ever tell you you're a little paranoid?"

Natasha took another sip of her coffee, which by now, had started to go cold. "Not to my face, why? Did you hear something?" She said sarcastically.

"Eyes on targets, folks." Steve reminded them, his tone dead serious. "This is the best lead we've had on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him."

Sam snorted. "If he sees us coming, that won't be a problem. He kind of hates us."

Their attention was snapped once again by Steve, pointing out a garbage truck that was making its way through the city, shoving anything out of its way and drawing attention to itself. Sam tagged it immediately, practically giddy to show off the newest advancements to his Falcon suit, courtesy of Tony Stark himself.

"That truck's loaded for max weight," Sam reported. "And the drivers armed,"

"It's a battering ram." Natasha stated, lowering her cup back down onto the saucer on the table. She was up on her feet before Steve gave the order for them to go. The truck wasn't aiming for the police that they had been watching, but rather the Institute for Infectious Diseases, close to the city.

Seconds later, the sound of the truck smashing through the stone wall of the Institute rumbled through the city. Natasha ran faster.

Waiting for her were two trucks, where several men dressed up in protective gear and face shields were waving around massive guns, firing at anything and everything in their sight. Some of them lined up facing the building, firing in grenades. Seconds later, a strange green smoke filled the building. Gas.

Steve arrived first, sending one of the lorries flying as he kicked it at the firing men, his shield sailing through the air and knocking them to the ground. "Body-armour, AR-15's, I make seven hostiles." He reported to them, as Natasha scaled the tall stone wall surrounding the building with ease.

Sam took to the roof, where he tackled one hostile and sent another flying off the side of the building. He shot down, and then commented, "I make five." Wanda's red force-field sent another one directly at him, which he easily dispatched off. "Make that four. Cap, Rumlow is on the third floor."

Natasha struck, just as Steve was propelled into the building by Wanda, making a comment that suggested they had a plan. She didn't have time to be annoyed that they had plotted together without informing her. Instead, she took her annoyance out on the men with the guns, easily disarming one of them and kicking his legs out from underneath him.

Then, she rolled to the side, just outside the gates. She used the bushes as cover while shots ran out around her. Glancing around her surroundings, she grinned as she spotted a motorbike leaning against the now dismantled guards tower, the key still inside.

"Rumlow has a biological weapon," Steve's voice came to her ear again. He was still inside the building, and she could see a blume of green smoke surrounding it. It was being guided up to the sky by a red force. Wanda. "Someone get to him. Now."

"I'm on it." She kicked the bike to life, heading straight back inside the compound, towards a large truck. A gun was aimed straight at her, but she jumped off the bike and used it as a battering ram to send the man flying. She then tackled the two guards, ducking out of the way from their bullets and winding them with a kick to the chest each. As the driver tried to scramble inside, she knocked him down using the truck door.

It had been a while since she'd been on the field, but her kicks were swift and perfectly aimed, and even though these men had guns, they were useless when it came to fighting her.

But, just as she shocked one of them using the gadget strapped to her wrist, something grabbed her round the back of her neck, hard. "Ah, I wondered when you'd show up." An all too familiar voice growled into her ear as she was shoved down onto the roof of the truck. "Tell me, have you finally decided to spread your legs for the great Captain America? Or, does the righteous soldier not want someone so tainted?"

Rumlow.

She sprang to her feet, hitting hard enough to make her fists feel like they were colliding with a boulder. She kicked out at the back of his leg, at his waist, at his head, but he blocked every single move and gripped her hair, shoving her back as she punched him directly in the face.

With her bracelet, she wedged it between his neck and shoulder blade, shocking him.

But, Rumlow did not so much as even stagger. Instead, he laughed, a sickening, horrible laugh. "I don't work like that no more." He said, yanking her down and throwing her through the hole in the roof, down into whatever was in the back of the truck.

She groaned as she hit the hard landing, where two aimed guards were waiting for her. Spitting, she glared up at Rumlow, who under his mask, she imagined was wearing a very smug grin.

"Fire in the hole," He said, dropping a grenade. It bounced at her feet, ticking.

Instantly, as one of the guards made a move for her, she rolled up onto her back and kicked up, flinging him into the room. As the other one attempted to grab her, she twisted his arm back and used him to shove the door open. When she landed on the grass, the truck behind her exploded.

"Nat?" Steve shouted down the comms, and a second later, he appeared on one of the Institute's balconies, looking around frantically for her.

Rolling onto her side, Natasha shoved the now unconscious guard off her, coughing from the fumes of the grenade. "I'm going to kill that son of a bitch myself." She growled, and she was sure she heard Steve's sigh of relief through the comms.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Rumlow had taken their fight to the street, splitting the team up as they raced to get the weapon that Rumlow now processed. While Sam and Natasha had chased down the men on foot, Steve had gone head to head against Rumlow. Natasha had managed to track down the one carrying the payload and secure it, with help from Sam's newest gadget. Rolling her eyes as her team-mate tried to get her to address it as 'Redwing', Natasha rushed back to the centre of the market.

Steve was battered and bloody, but Rumlow was definitely in worse shape. That was, to be fair, to be expected, after having a building dropped on his face. But, that wasn't what made Natasha freeze.

Steve was kneeling over Rumlow, holding him up, as the man spoke to him quietly. Whatever Rumlow was saying had taken Steve off guard, and Natasha wanted to scream across to him to get it over with, to kill that man before she launched herself at him herself.

But, Steve just stared down at him, looking as if his world had just shattered right in front of him.

He didn't see Rumlow's hand hovering over a small button until it was almost too late. The bomb strapped to Rumlow burst, and Natasha screamed Steve's name, a scream that made her throat feel as if it was bleeding.

But, Rumlow and the explosion were suddenly surrounded, trapped behind a ball of red mist. The ground parted to let Wanda threw, her hands sparking with scarlet fire as she lifted Rumlow up, away from Steve, and into the air.

Without a second thought, Natasha ran across the clearing, just as Steve fell to his knees in exhaustion. She wrapped her arms around him, catching him and pulling him against her. Cradling his head with her hand, she held him tightly, her breathing just as heavy as his as she realised how close he had just come to dying. Dying right in front of her. Dying, as in gone. As in, she'd never see him again...

The flaming ball that was now Rumlow powered through the air, and Wanda was shaking at the effect it took her to use her powers in such a way.

"Wanda-" Sam called for her, landing with a loud crash beside a market stand, but it was too late. The ball containing Runlow and the bomb vest exploded into a building, and burst.

Wanda's hand covered her mouth as she realised exactly what she had done. By saving Steve, she'd turned Rumlow's explosion to a civilian building, where there had been people inside. They could only watch as floor after floor of the building took the hit from the bomb, and screams were cut off.

~0~0~0~0~0~

Time to start Civil War!

- E x