Kayla dove toward Peter as he fell, hitting the floor hard on his back. "Peter!" Kayla slid to a stop and knelt down, yanking off the mask harshly to see the man's face. "Peter, wake up!"

Steve stared at Tony anxiously, trying to gauge the billionaire's reaction as Kayla shook the man awake. In the late hours of the night when Steve and Kayla would bring the kids to the lake, Tony would pour out his life's regrets. The top of that list was always Peter Parker, and how he hadn't admitted to his young protege that he was alive. Tony watched with bated breath, wishing he could be there to help. "Come on kid, wake up."

Kayla pressed two fingers to his neck and sighed, "He's breathing, but he's been hit. Hydra's got some powerful weapons." She ran her fingers along his side, which smelt like burnt skin and scorched fabric, "I'm not going to leave him."

Without warning, a loud crack was heard from the ceiling above. Kayla snapped her head up as another shot was sent toward the beams. They meant to bring down the building on the Avengers. The comm that was stuck to Kayla's dress crackled before Sam's voice broke through, warning everyone to retreat. The noise startled Peter awake, and he quickly realized a strange woman was holding him and he wasn't wearing his mask. "Who are you?" Peter quickly pushed the woman onto her back so he had the upper hand, and Kayla laughed despite her position.

"It's good to see you too Peter Parker." She chuckled before reaching up to turn off her photostatic veil. As her face reappeared, Peter stumbled back onto his feet, staring down at the woman in amazement. Kayla pushed herself onto her elbows and smiled, nodding to herself as she took in the young man, "Look at you Spiderman. You're all grown up." She used one of her hands to adjust her choker, making sure it was facing forward so her team could see who it was. She knew somebody back in New York would want to see what Spiderman became.

"You're supposed to be dead." Peter spat out, looking up quickly as another shot it the roof, "You were executed-"

"Peter I think we have bigger problems than whether or not I deserved the death penalty, we have to get out of here," Kayla grunted as Peter easily pulled her to her feet. "We need to kill the Red Skull."

Peter shot a web toward the ceiling and grabbed Kayla, swinging her across the hall back toward the ballroom. Tessa's jaw was slack as she watched the camera soar through the air, projected over Tony Stark's kitchen table. Tony Stark himself had his hand to his mouth and tears in his eyes as he watched the events unfold.

"This... this is insane. This is too much..." Tessa's voice was barely above a whisper as she backed away from the table, making a beeline for the front door. "I have to go."

Tessa stopped dead in her tracks as her hand reached for the knob, looking over her shoulder one more time as the camera steadied, Kayla being placed onto the ground. Tessa's heart pulled in her chest as her three years as Katie Carter's best friend came flooding back. All the wine nights and lazy afternoons. All the laughter and tears. If Tessa walked out that door, she'd never know what happened next.

With a loud groan, Tessa let go of the doorknob and stomped back into the kitchen, standing between Tony Stark and Steve Rogers. They looked at her questioningly, "I can't turn my back on my best friend."

"Plus, things are just about to get good," Tony mumbled, and Tessa caught on to his sarcasm. The man looked worried. Steve looked uneasy. Tony looked to the brunette and gave her a grim smile, "You might not want to see what happens next."

Kayla stood behind Peter as he took his place next to the other Avengers. When Kate Bishop aimed her bow toward the raven-haired woman, Peter put his arm up to stop her, "She's with us."

Sam gave Kayla a friendly nod as Captain America retracted his wings and took the lead, plowing forward toward where Johann Schmidt stood waiting for them at the base of the ballroom stage. Bucky brought up the rear, gun raised at the ready in case there were any other Hydra agents lurking in the shadows. Kayla looked around frantically, looking for Natasha, but she couldn't find the blonde disguise anywhere. She turned her photostatic veil back on and followed closely behind a maskless Spiderman as they approached the Red Skull.

Johann Schmidt laughed loudly as they approached, offering a wicked smile as he addressed Sam, "Captain America! We meet again. It's been, so long since we last saw each other. Of all the souls I took that evening, your girlfriend's was the one I feasted on most."

Sam shook in his red boots, but it was Kayla who lunged forward, her jaw set furiously as she tried to claw her way past Spiderman to the red monster before them. The Red Skull took a step forward, peering around Sam and Peter to the unfamiliar woman behind them. His eyes glowed gold and his mouth broke apart into a toothy grin, "Mrs. Rogers."

Kayla pulled off the photostatic veil and discarded her wig, facing off with the Red Skull as herself in a skin-tight black dress. She didn't answer as she took a step around Peter to stand next to Sam. "You'll pay for that."

"For what?" Schmidt taunted, cracking his bony jaw as he smiled at her.

Kayla's whole body shook as she clenched her fists, "You know."

The Red Skull shrugged and turned away from the group, "No matter how many souls I harvest, I can't seem to unlock the power of the Soul Stone. So many years spent searching for answers here, and across the galaxy. But then it hit me." Schmidt turned and faced Kayla, his eyes burning into hers, "The stone requires a sacrifice. A soul for a soul. An everlasting exchange. And you undid that exchange."

Kayla raised her head defiantly as she scoffed at her enemy, "Oops."

"I figured you wouldn't be too sorry for your actions, but my plan worked nonetheless... here you all are." Schmidt gestured toward the Avengers in front of him. "But I'm not here to fight Captain America and the Avengers. I'm here to collect the soul I've been denied." Schmidt yanked his fist toward him and suddenly Kayla turned and found all the Avenger's glowing orange souls floating just beyond their bodies. Kayla gasped as she looked around, knowing she wasn't strong enough or powerful enough to stop Schmidt. He'd kill them all, then he'd kill her.

As Kayla turned the camera around to the Avengers, Tessa screamed and lunged toward the holograph. Steve grabbed her and spun her around, protecting her from the image displayed, "Shhh, Tess, it's okay."

"How can you say that? He's your best friend, that's your wife! It's not okay! It's not okay!" She screeched, pulling against Steve as he held her close, looking over his own shoulder to see what was happening. Tessa cried as she clenched Steve's shirt tightly. She didn't sign up for this.

Kayla slowly approached the Red Skull, passing by Sam's soul as it hung in front of the rest. Kayla felt a weight in her chest as she turned to the monster, "What do you want?"

"I want Natalia Alianova Romanova. The Black Widow. The soul you revived. With her, I'll unlock the power of the Soul Stone, and I'll be unstoppable. As we speak, Hydra is getting everything they need to take over the world. But knowing you're alive gives me a new purpose- to kill Steve Rogers."

Kayla shook her head back and forth slightly, "No. She's not here. She's not with the Avengers-"

"She didn't come with the Avengers, but she came with you. Her soul for theirs." Schmidt screamed at Kayla, and the redhead stood her ground as her whole body quaked in his sights. Kayla heard the gun cock with her enhanced hearing, but so did Schmidt, and he smiled at Kayla before turning to face the assassin behind him. "Natasha Romanoff."

"Red Skull." Natasha answered as she crept forward, gun ready. "I've waited a long time for this."

"So have I."

Schmidt threw his hand out toward Natasha just as one of his Hydra agents shot at the beams above the ballroom, causing the whole ceiling to collapse. Kayla covered her head, preparing to be smushed, but realized that nothing was falling. She looked up in time to see a red bubble around the Avengers with Wanda Maximoff in the middle holding it up. "Wanda?"

The Scarlet Witch turned to Kayla as a tear fell from her eye, "I thought you were dead."

Kayla beamed at her friend as she focused all of her powers on pushing the ceiling away from the team, who were now lying about on the ground from having their souls ripped from their chests. Peter pushed himself up first and went to wake up Cap, who in turn worked on stirring the two girls as Wanda kept them shielded. Kayla knelt down to Bucky and began shaking him until his steely blue eyes opened up and smiled at her.

"He's alive? HE'S ALIVE!" Tessa screeched loudly in Steve's ear and her voice cut through Kayla's comm, causing the woman to look at Bucky in confusion.

"Is Tessa there?" She asked as she held her hand to her ear, hearing the cheering on the other side. Then Kayla turned to the Winter Soldier, "Are you and Tessa?..."

A loud crack was heard from outside Wanda's shield, and a force of glowing yellow knocked the woman off her feet, causing the rubble to fall onto the Avengers. For a moment, the dust settled, and the room was still. Tessa, Steve, and Tony waited impatiently as the camera feed went out, signaling that Kayla and Bucky were under a pile of rubble.

"Come on... come on, please. Get up." Tessa prayed, clenching Steve as tightly as she could. The soldier couldn't speak. He couldn't even breathe.

Come on Kay. You can do this. I know you can do this.

Suddenly, the camera began to shift and then move, causing a stream of light to illuminate the hologram as Kayla stood in the bright lights of the police cars that surrounded the now-destroyed building. She looked around, taking her husband and friends with her via her necklace. "Kayla." Steve released her name like it was a priceless jewel, "Baby, you have to get out of there."

Kayla stumbled to her feet, unable to respond or act on her husband's words. Her head lulled to the side, seeing Bucky pushing himself through the rubble to stand beside her. He quickly went to work pulling rocks aside to free Kate and Cassie as Sam pushed himself out of the debris. Captain America stood and helped up Wanda before facing their savior. "You're late, Captain."

"You're welcome. Schmidt's dead." Carol Danvers tossed her head toward the black leather jacket a few feet away. "At least he's knocked out cold."

While Sam and Carol decided how to deal with Red Skull, Kayla knelt down and cradled Spiderman, who had taken the brunt of the debris to protect Cassie and Kate Bishop. "Come on Parker. Wake up." She tapped his face lightly and he choked a little, shaking his head. Kayla caressed her collarbone, contemplating whether or not she was about to make a bad decision. Kayla gently pulled the sticker speaker out of her own ear and placed it in Peter's. She tapped the camera, "Say hello."

Steve took off the headset and handed it to Stark, who tentatively took it. He could stay silent. He could say nothing and stay in the shadows. Or he could speak to the man he considered his son. "Hey, Kid. I'm gonna need you to get up, okay?"

Peter's eyes flickered open at Stark's words, and he looked at Kayla with wide, disbelieving eyes, "Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, it's me Kid. Get up. Finish the job... and Peter?"

"Yeah?" Spiderman choked out, feeling tears begin to well in his eyes. "Yeah, Mr. Stark?"

"I'm so proud of you."

Peter dropped his head as he laughed, "Thank you Mr. Stark. Thank you."

"Kay!" Sam called over to Kayla and the woman rose to her feet, leaving the earpiece with Peter as she stumbled over rocks to where Sam was standing. His face was sullen as Kayla reached him, and he sucked in a sob as Kayla realized what he was standing over.

Grey, lifeless Natasha Romanoff with no rubble around her. She wasn't killed by the building. She was killed by the Red Skull.

Kayla fell to her side and cradled her friend's body as tears fell freely from her green eyes and landed on Nat's pale cheek. "No. No please, please no. All this was for you, everything was for you... and he took you back." Kayla wailed, pressing her face against her friend's chest. Her sobs attracted the attention of everyone else, and they hung their heads in shame. Red Skull had won, and it was the last thing he did.

"We'll take Schmidt back to the compound. Put him on ice. See if we can figure out anything about the Soul Stone. With him inactive, Hydra will fall." Carol told everyone. Sam was too broken to give direction to his team. Natasha had spent four years undercover for this moment, and it ended as she'd hoped: with the end of the Red Skull.

"Kayla, we have to go. I'm gonna take you home." Sam said as he gently pried Kayla away from Nat, the woman sobbing uncontrollably. "Come on, Kay."

Suddenly Sam's comm erupted with yelling from Bruce Banner. "Cap! Cap, can you hear me?"

Yeah, what is it, Bruce?" Sam asked quietly, knowing the death of Natasha Romanoff would hurt him as much as Kayla.

There was a beat before Bruce answered, "I've been trying to call you for the past hour Sam. We all have. You need to look at the news."

Sam tapped away on his arm, bringing up a hologram of the news. A solemn-looking woman addressed the camera with terrified eyes, "News from Seattle reports that the Avengers have subdued and possibly killed the Red Skull, leader of Hydra. This, however, comes after the news of the decimation of the African nation of Wakanda."