Some Things Never Sleep

by MotomamiBizcochito

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

74. Chapter Sixty Eight

Author's Note: I feel like I'm always apologizing for the chapter taking forever but they just end up being so big. I'm always saying that this chapter's not going to be that long but then it just ends up being almost 30,000 words long anyways. I'm hoping the next one won't be as long so I can have it out fast but I'm not going to make any promises since every chapter always becomes longer than I planned. It didn't help that I was getting rid of a bunch of stuff in my room for a garage sale which was super time consuming. I came to make an interesting discovery about myself. I'm a huge book hoarder. I had books that I would never read so I have no idea why I kept them for so long. I'm probably getting rid of over a hundred books and I still have a couple hundred around the house. It's been a real nightmare.

Another reason it took me forever with the chapter because I finally sat down and read two actual books this past week and it's been a while since I've done that. The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce and Circe by Madeline Miller were both amazing. The Music Shop's great if you're a huge fan of music and vinyl like me and just want a really good romance that's not super corny and boring but quirky and sweet with a great ending. Circe's also really good even if you don't know much about Greek mythology. I've never read a book before that spans a thousand years without it being a history book. Both amazing books that I completely devoured and both books that are to blame for the delay of the new chapter.

I also updated the companion piece to this story Dry Bite with a cute chapter about Tony and Peter's first meeting in Civil War from Tony's perspective. I don't know when I'll update next but it's going to be sometime after updating this story again.

Music for this chapter...In case you haven't noticed I really only listen to albums while writing chapters rather than playlists. I rarely listen to playlists unless I make them myself. Anyways, I listened to the album Caer by Twin Shadow while writing this new chapter(Love Twin Shadow! You should really check him out!) and I also listened to the album Cool Like You by Blossoms(the lead singer's voice sounds a lot like Alex Turner but they're not like the Arctic Monkeys at all). Not to mention I'm really obsessed with Florence + The Machine's new song 'Big God' which gives me a ton of hope for the new album. I wasn't a huge fan of the other two singles but I'm in love with this one.

I also feel a need to mention the Seattle Comic Con that happened this past weekend. I think I mentioned a while ago that I kind of wanted to go but I didn't because I thought Sebastian Stan wasn't going to be there and he's the only reason I would really want to go Seattle(Seriously, Seattle used to be nice but it's just gotten really bad lately. It's not a great place to visit right now. There's so many problems there). Anyways...last week I was super disappointed when they announced last minute that both him and Anthony Mackie were going to be there to replace Chris Hemsworth who had to drop out. But I was like fine...I'll just watch it on YouTube because it was too late to get tickets anyways. I was still super jealous because Sebastian, Anthony, and Tom Holland were all doing a panel together which is probably one of the most amazing things to happen at a Comic Con. However, when I watched the panel last night I was glad I didn't go because I was super disgusted by those two teenage girls at the end who, instead of asking Sebastian and Anthony a question, insulted them both for five minutes. They ruined the amazingness of Sebastian, Anthony, and Tom finally doing an interview together and everything had been hilarious up to that point. You should seriously watch Anthony Mackie's entrance by the way. Best entrance ever. I just can't believe some teenagers and especially the disrespectful way they talk to adults. I don't know if they were trying to be funny or what but it just came off as rude and entitled. They claimed to be fans of Marvel but they were just super obsessed with Tom Holland. I like Tom too and I love his portrayal of Peter Parker(although I honestly don't know much about him other than the fact that he's British which is kind of funny since I've been writing a massive Spider-Man fanfic for the past year) but they also went too far with it. Anyways...Sebastian and Anthony really handled it like pros and I felt bad for Tom because he looked super embarrassed. I just thought to mention this because I hope it doesn't mean that Sebastian and Anthony will never return to Seattle Comic Con because I would kill to see them. Sorry for the rambling but I've been dying to vent about this. It was a gift that those two even went there and those girls were just awful to them. Also warning for people if they're going watch the end of that panel...don't watch it if you get super anxious about awkward situations. I was cringing the whole time I watched that last part. You should still see it though if you find Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan roasting Tom Holland as cute and funny as I do. It was really funny other than those two girls.

Favorite quotes from the panel:

"I haven't seen the Falcon movie-oh no...there isn't one. Sorry." -Tom Holland

"I follow no man." -Anthony Mackie

"You have a good time on the internet tonight." -Sebastian Stan

So moving on to this new chapter. I just wanted to really thank Keystone for this chapter because they gave me a lot of advice on a certain aspect of Peter's abilities which shows up in this chapter. I don't want to spoil anything. A few chapters back Keystone was super helpful with a lot of Spider-Man stuff that would've otherwise been really difficult for me to write. If there's any way I can fix or improve this side of Peter's powers please let me know and I'll keep it in mind for future chapters. Yet another reason this chapter was so hard to write was because of all the action bits. I'm not great at writing action and I always find it so difficult so please bear with me.

This chapter is also pretty violent just to let you know.

extremeninja09: I feel like that would be good for a bit of comedy and it would be such an ironic death but I already have his death scene planned out. It's still going to be a short while before we see something like that though.

Wildfarr: I know Part III moved really slow in terms of action but a major part of it was dealing with trauma, PTSD, and Emma's relationships with people which I felt was the most important thing. I also wanted her to feel very comfortable at this stage in her life before Hydra made their return because that was also important to me. This is really the ultimate test for her. Thanks for the long review by the way. I really appreciate it. I love long reviews.

Yusuke Kurosaki: Thanks for letting me know. I was super curious about the Kate Bishop thing which I found weird because how would Fanfiction know that she was going to be in one of the Avengers movies when even we don't know. That would be an interesting future for the MCU. That's for sure. Can't wait until Avenger's 4 and it sucks that we have to wait another year. I heard the Russo brothers aren't announcing the title of it until the end of the year and I'm dying to know.

wonderbitch26: Shuri might be closer than you think. I won't say anything beyond that.

bellaphant: Someone mentioned the similarity to me which is weird since I don't watch Agents of Shield. I used to but I stopped after the first two seasons because I got bored. I mean, I love Agent Carter but I just couldn't get into Agents of Shield. I don't know if that character showed up way back then and I don't remember her or what. I'm not familiar with the actress either so I guess it's just a weird coincidence.

BabyPinkPuppy: Haha. I don't know why Jessica Chastain would be doing an Avenger's movie interview. I think she's in the new X-Men movie but I'm not sure. The thing about Emma and Peter's first time being surrounded by candles and flower petals with music playing in the background was just a joke. I meant for Peter to sound cheesy because he's a cheesy person but it probably won't happen exactly like that. Emma would probably tell him to leave if it did. Lol. When the sex scene eventually happens I'll put a warning in the author's note but it's still not going to happen for a while.

I also just want to make it clear to other readers that will read the scene that I'm not turning this story into one of those fanfics filled with porn because that would be creepy since Emma and Peter are only sixteen. It's going to be tasteful and classy. That's all I have to about that for the moment. I'm even kind of embarrassed just writing this message right here.

I'm glad you mentioned the thing with Ross because that is something that will definitely come up in the next chapter and it'll all be explained in there. There's going to be another huge argument about the accords between the Avengers and Ross so all of that will certainly come up. Not to worry. I'll just let you find out for yourself next chapter which I'm super excited to write although I'm sure you'll see why by the end of this chapter.

Poppin Michelle: I have thought a lot about it although I'm really unsure what to write about it. The longest original piece I wrote was this one hundred and some page unpublished novel but that's about it. I have a lot of ideas floating around inside my head but it's just super hard trying to figure out what to write.

Aleksitupper19: I'm always happy to get new readers for this story and I'm glad people are noticing it through the amazing trailer knarls made me. Your question about Emma being reunited with the others will be answered by the end of the chapter. Emma will also eventually tell the others about the rape but it's going to happen soon although I won't say how soon because I don't want to spoil a whole lot.

Oh my god...my favorite Avenger? That's like asking who your favorite kid is. I mean, I definitely like Wanda too. I love her powers and I love how her character's developed so much over the past couple movies. I kind of want to say Falcon but that's only because I love Anthony Mackie so much but maybe I would love Falcon a lot more if they gave him a larger part in the movies. He had a bigger part in Civil War but I would still love to see more of him. Thor's the one Avenger whose changed my opinion the most. I really used to hate him because of all the Loki stuff but now I kind of feel bad for him because of Loki. Like, he messed up big time in his relationship with Loki and I even think he took his brother for granted but by the time he realized how much he messed up and tried to make amends, it was just too late. I also feel bad for him because no matter what his brother does, he still loves and cares about Loki. In the last movie I felt so touched when Loki finally went back to calling him brother again. I don't remember if he did that in Thor: the Dark World but I just liked how Thor and Loki's relationship slowly started piecing it's way back together in Thor: Ragnarok. Maybe I'd even say the Winter Soldier's my favorite although I don't know if he counts as an Avenger. Let's just say he does since he was in Infinity War and he fought alongside the Avengers. Bucky's definitely my favorite character because he's still just hanging on. He's been through so much unbelievable shit but at the end of the day he's just trying to live a semi normal life like what we saw in Civil War and then the beginning of Infinity War. Poor Bucky. I also love his very dry sense of humor. By the way...my biggest hope for the MCU is if we get a Winter Soldier and Falcon movie. That would be the greatest thing ever!

Well, I guess I don't have a favorite or maybe they're all my favorites. I really don't think there's an Avenger I don't love

plumsforbucky: Thank you! I'm glad for another reader who enjoys the story. I'm always glad. I also just have to say that you have a genius username. Seriously. I wish I had thought of something like that but, of course, Civil War hadn't come out yet when I first started this account.

Snapplecrackles: I know exactly what you mean. The Russo brothers are amazing but they're also kind of cruel. I've never felt that sad after seeing a movie. My mom asked what the hell was wrong with me an hour after we saw the movie and I told her that I was still trying to process everything. It was almost like I was mourning the characters which sounds stupid but it's true. I just needed a long time to unwind after that. I was weirdly quiet for the whole night. I never even felt that sad after watching Marley and Me.

Thanks for taking the time to review the story. I've read every single one but I'm just so anxious to finally update that I didn't get around to answering all of them but if you have additional questions just PM me. Also thanks for all the favorites and follows. We're at 1,000 favorites now too which is crazy.

Sorry for the super long Author's Note but it's been a while.

---

There was nothing but silence in the compound that night. Everyone was sound asleep after the tumultuous meeting the team had earlier that night. Even Tony who rarely ever slept had managed to sleep but mostly thanks to Pepper. Emma and Peter were currently fast asleep in her bedroom. Peter had his arm around her as they spooned. He had finally managed to get her to fall asleep even though this was a very emotional time for her. Peter had just held her as she cried until she finally fell asleep after pure exhaustion. He fell asleep not long after she did although he had a much tougher time falling asleep. Peter was incredibly worried about Emma and it was only after he focused on the pattern of her breathing that he was able to allow himself to fall asleep too. Emma and Peter fell asleep around ten, but it was only four hours later that Peter was awoken abruptly by a strange sensation running through his body.

Peter's eyes shot open and the darkness of the room filled his vision. He blinked a few times as he tried to let his eyes adjust to the darkness before he sat up from his position next to Emma who was still sound asleep. Peter rubbed his eyes tiredly as he looked around the room, feeling weirder than he normally did. The teenager was instantly confused as to what had just woke him up. It wasn't very often that he woke up in the middle of the night like this. Usually he was a very hard sleeper which was something that Emma always teased him about. Speaking of Emma…Peter couldn't help but notice how peaceful she looked as she slept. Her chest rose and fell with every breath she took, and Peter couldn't help but smile softly at her sleeping form. He felt the urge to lean over and brush her hair from off her face when he felt that strange sensation once more.

The feeling was more different than anything he had ever felt before. It was an odd feeling that made Peter almost think he was sick, but he knew it wasn't that. This was different somehow. It was then that Peter raised his arm only to stare mystified as the hairs on his arm stood up. Peter furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as he kept staring at his arm. His heart pounded in his chest as he began hearing something loud. The sound was deafening but Emma didn't seem to hear it as she laid there asleep. Peter was quickly growing even more confused as he glanced around Emma's bedroom only to see that nothing was there.

What was going on with him?

Was this some kind of nightmare?

Was he still sleeping, and all of this was just happening inside his head?

Peter also couldn't help but see everything in Emma's room in more vivid detail than he had before. He didn't know what this was. Usually his eyesight and hearing were more enhanced than average, but this was crazy. Everything was normally dialed to eleven but now everything seemed to be dialed to three times more than that. It was too much. Peter grunted in discomfort as the loud, humming noise continued to fill his ears. Emma finally stirred on the bed as she woke up from the noise Peter made. She turned around on the bed and tiredly looked up at her boyfriend.

"Peter, what's wrong?" She asked him, her voice sounding slightly drowsy from sleep. Peter just shook his head furiously as he tried to wish the noise out of his ears. Emma sobered up the second she saw the look of discomfort on his face. She immediately sat up and gave him a look of concern.

"I don't know. I woke up and everything just feels weird." Peter said, and Emma started getting really worried. This was just so unlike him. She rested her hands on his forearms as she tried to see what was wrong with him.

"Weird? Do you think you're sick or something?" Emma asked, and Peter shook his head again.

"No, this feels different somehow. There's this loud noise in my ears…this humming sound and it won't stop." Peter told her, and it was clear that this noise was bothering him a great deal. Emma didn't understand what was wrong with him, but she desperately wanted to make him feel better. The thought that Peter was hurt or sick deeply troubled her.

"Humming?" Emma questioned, and Peter nodded.

"Yes, it sounds like a…machine or something. I don't know what it is." Peter told her before he swallowed hard. "I don't know what any of this is, Emma. Everything feels wrong and I…don't know. Something just doesn't feel right."

"Do you want me to get you water or something? What about a doctor?" Emma desperately asked him, wanting nothing more than to help him. She didn't know what to do but maybe a doctor could help because Peter was acting strange and it scared her.

"I can wake up Tony if you want. Maybe he can help." Emma told him and suddenly her anger at Tony didn't matter anymore if Peter's wellbeing was in question. Peter just shook his head again.

"No, it's not like that. This feels like…" Peter trailed off as he tried to find the words to describe the sensation he was feeling. Emma gave him another confused look.

"Like what?" Emma asked him, and Peter just stared back at her at a loss for words. However, before either of them could say anything else, a loud dinging could be heard from up above. The room was then lit up with red light which was something Emma had never seen before. Was there some kind of malfunction in McConaughey's system? Why was the room now red? Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she looked at the ceiling.

"Emergency Lockdown." McConaughey announced in a flat tone and both Emma and Peter's eyes widened in surprise as they looked at each other. Emma's heart raced in her chest as she tried to find the courage to speak again. Emergency Lockdown? Was this some kind of drill or something? There had never been an emergency lockdown at the compound before. This was supposed to be the most secure building in the world…or so Tony said.

"McConaughey, what's going on? Why is there an emergency lockdown?" Emma questioned, her voice trembling. It was unlike her to sound so uncalm but after hearing everything she had at the meeting, she was on edge.

"I've detected several intruders approaching the perimeter of the compound. The compound is currently on lockdown." McConaughey said which struck Emma with fear. Dare she think this was Hydra? Of course, it was Hydra. Who else could it be? Peter immediately looked at Emma with wide eyes as he watched the look of fear on her face. He knew what she was thinking. She was thinking this was Hydra and Peter didn't doubt that she was right although he didn't like her being right in this instance.

"Shit." Emma said as she looked away from the ceiling. She immediately got up from the bed and ran for the door, grabbing her grandfather's shield which was propped up against the wall next to the bedroom door. Peter hurriedly followed her as he attempted to stop her. He grabbed onto her wrist to try and calm her down, so she wouldn't do anything irrational. Emma was usually calm and collected but now she seemed slightly hysterical. It was unusual for Peter to be the calm one in their relationship. If Peter was being honest, he didn't want Emma rushing out into the hallway just yet. There was no telling what was going on out there and Peter just didn't want her walking into danger. She was safer in the bedroom and especially if Hydra was somehow involved in this.

"Emma, just hold on for a second." Peter tried to tell her, but Emma just yanked her wrist out of his grip.

"I need to know what's going on." Emma told him firmly before opening the door and walking out into the hallway. Peter just took a deep breath before reluctantly following her. She was really stubborn sometimes. He loved her, but she was too stubborn for her own good. The pair walked into the hallway only to find the others standing in their pajamas outside their rooms with expressions similar to the bewildered ones on Emma and Peter's faces. None of them seemed to find it odd that Emma and Peter had just walked out of the same room. Everyone was a little preoccupied at the moment. The hallway was lit with the same red lighting that was in her bedroom as everyone stood around in a panicked state.

"What's going on? McConaughey says there's been a breach." Emma asked as her eyes wildly searched the expressions on everyone else's faces. Darcy, Jane, and Susan were all huddled close together, all of them with alarmed looks on their faces. Helen Cho and Erik Selvig seemed to be talking in hushed voices off in a corner while Pepper was speaking frantically to Maria. Vision was calmly assessing everyone in the hallway as Tony and Rhodey were locked into a heated discussion. The moment Emma spoke, Tony and Rhodey stopped their discussion as they turned their attention to her. Tony had a look on his face like she was the last person he wanted to talk to right now. Not because he was angry at her but because he hated to tell her that the compound was currently at risk…that she and everyone else were in danger because of an impending attack.

"Emma, it's fine. We've got it under control." Tony tried to reassure her, not wanting to scare her but Rhodey shook his head at him.

"Tony, there's no more time for lies." Rhodey told him solemnly and Tony looked away from his friend before looking back to Emma. He seemed kind of defeated as he looked back at her, his eyes finally meeting hers. She just wanted to know what was going on. Tony swallowed hard.

"There's been a breach. We don't know who it is yet. We've sent out our best guys to check it out and they're reporting that there's unknown assailants in the forest with unidentified weapons. The agents have yet to make contact with them." Tony told her in a dull tone as if he was reading out a report to her. "McConaughey's done a scan of the forest and he's detected massive energy levels."

"Energy levels." Emma repeated breathlessly, and Tony nodded.

"I think it's the same energy levels as the attack in Oklahoma." Tony said in a defeated tone and that seemed to strike fear right in Emma's heart. This confirmed the worst.

"Hydra." Peter said but it wasn't a question. Tony didn't say anything but the grim expression on his face was enough to tell him that he was right. The sensation running through his body was only growing by the minute. The humming was slowly growing louder, and Peter felt like he could feel something in the air…something that wasn't quite right. Emma nodded slowly as she took in everything Tony said and confirmed. Right…so Hydra was finally here at the compound of all places. She didn't know what they wanted. Emma didn't want to be arrogant enough to assume that they wanted her but why else would they come all the way here? It probably wasn't to kidnap Tony or Vision.

"Okay, so what's the plan?" Emma finally asked as she regained her composure.

"The agents are standing by for their signal to engage the intruders." Tony told her seriously and Emma just stared at him silently for a moment. For a minute she actually thought she might've misheard him. When he talked about agents, Emma of course knew he meant the former Shield agents, the none Hydra ones, who now worked at the Avenger's Facility. While Emma knew that all the agents were talented and skilled individuals, that didn't mean she thought they were enough to go up against Hydra.

"What do you mean? Why are your hired help out there and not us? Why are we not suiting up right now?" Emma questioned even though she knew she probably already knew the answer to that question. Tony forced himself not to look away from her sheepishly as he answered her.

"It's going to be fine. They're dealing with the problem right now and they'll have those men apprehended in no time. They're good at their job, Mini Cap." Tony said as he tried to downplay the situation but this time not even Rhodey seemed too happy with his words. Emma started growing more and more furious by the minute. "In the meantime, the safest place for you right now is here. The situation is being handed."

"Goddamn it, Tony!" Emma said in annoyance as she looked at him in disbelief. "Hydra's right at our door with god knows what kind of weapons and we're in Emergency Lockdown yet you still insist that everything's fine. Guess what? It's not. If there was ever a time to go out there and kill a bunch of evil dickheads, it's now. They're right here on our property."

"We can't. The accords-" Tony started to argue and Emma didn't hesitate in interrupting him as she sent him a scathing look.

"I can't believe you're still going on about the fucking accords! Look around you!" Emma yelled at him as she tried to get him to open his eyes to look at what was taking place around him. They were literally in a lockdown, standing around in a red lit room while a loud beeping noise could be heard throughout the entire facility. Everyone looked terrified as they huddled around each other. This was no situation to be trivialized like what he was doing. "We're under attack and you're standing there with a thumb up your ass, waiting for Hydra to kill us all!"

"Guys we really don't need to be arguing right now." Rhodey said as he tried to calm the situation down. Emma glared at Tony while Tony just looked back at her, unsure of what to do. He knew she was right. Deep down he knew she was right about this and that he had been wrong all this time. More importantly, Cap had been right about the accords all along and Tony didn't listen when he should've because he was so goddamn stubborn. Tony took a deep breath before responding.

"You're right. Maybe we should-" Tony started to say but was interrupted by the unexpected.

It all happened in slow motion for Peter as the humming grew louder and louder in his ears until it was all he could hear. Time seemed to move slower for him as the blast from the mysterious weapon hit the compound and he didn't waste any time as he pushed both Emma and Tony to the ground, causing Emma's grandfather's shield to fly from her hands. Peter covered Emma's body with his own as the blast hit the building. He stared determinedly into Emma's wide and frightened blue eyes.

The building trembled from the blast as the explosion was heard in everyone's ears. Peter could tell just from the sound of it that the explosion was on the other side of the building on the first floor. He could hear some of the others screaming in terror through the loudness of the explosion as some parts of the ceiling fell on top of them. They were far from the explosion, but the blast was powerful enough to be felt on this side of the building. The building shaking didn't stop for a couple minutes and when it did everyone was hesitant to move, afraid that the floor might collapse from under them.

"Is everyone okay?!" Tony called out as he slowly stood up from the ground. It was a miracle that second floor hadn't collapsed but the facility was huge, after all. The explosion sounded like it came from the other side of the building anyways. Tony looked around the room as he desperately tried to find Pepper.

"Pepper, where are you?!" Tony called out as he looked around wildly, trying to find her.

"I'm over here, Tony." His fiancé replied as she and Maria got up from the ground. Tony let out a sigh of relief. It seemed like Maria managed to grab ahold of Captain America's shield which she used to cover the both of them.

"We're fine." Maria told him before glancing down at the shield which was still in her hands. She then cast her gaze over in Emma's direction where Peter was just beginning to remove himself from her. Everyone was covered in dust from all the rubble but most of all, everyone still seemed to be shock.

"This shield's not half bad." Maria said to Emma, but the blonde was still in a state of shock and fright as she tried to calm down.

"Thanks." Emma managed to mumble as both she and Peter sat up. Peter looked over her in concern as he tried to detect any possible wounds.

"Are okay? Are you hurt?" He asked her worriedly and Emma immediately shook her head.

"No, I'm fine. I'm just…in shock, I guess." Emma managed to say as she then gave Peter a worried look.

"What about you? You're the one who took the brunt of it." Emma said in concern, but Peter shook his head.

"No, I feel fine." Peter answered, and Emma just managed to nod before deciding to get up from the floor. She still felt like she was in shock, but Hydra just attacked them, and it was most likely that they were edging their way into the facility by now. The other agents positioned outside were more than likely dead, so they needed to make their next move and they needed to make it now. Peter helped her get up from the floor and for the first time, Emma actually let him.

"Is anyone hurt?!" Maria called out as she looked around her at all the rubble. Everyone was slowly starting to get up after the unexpected attack. Emma could see Susan, Darcy, Jane, Helen, and Erik all covered in dust as well as they slowly got up, each of them helping the other. Vision was there too. Emma was relieved to see that they were alright.

"We're fine!" Erik managed to say as he looked at everyone, trying to make sure that everyone was there and thankfully they were.

"Rhodey!" Tony said as he spotted his friend still on the ground, struggling to get back up due, in part, to his paralyzed legs. Tony quickly helped his friend up as Rhodey grunted in pain.

"I'm fine." Rhodey told him as the device Tony created for his paralyzed legs began to stabilize his balance. "The blast just took me by surprise."

"It took everyone by surprise." Tony said as he then focused his attention on Emma and Peter who were now slowly getting up from the ground as well. His eyes rested on them as he tried seeing if they were injured in any way.

"Are you two alright?" Tony asked them and they both nodded although Peter seemed to be the only one able to actually speak at the moment.

"Yeah, I think we're just fine." Peter said but his attention was solely on his girlfriend. Emma looked around in surprise at the second floor of the compound. Bits and pieces of the ceiling rested on the ground along with pictures and artwork that had been hanging on the walls. Emma knew that this wasn't the worst of it. The explosion sounded like it had happened on the other side of the building so Emma expected the damage to be way worse over there. They were just lucky that the floor hadn't caved in from underneath them.

"I'm not getting anything from Murray or Phelps." Maria said as she glanced down at her Stark phone. She was referring to the two team leading agents that had been leading the other agents out to the perimeter of the compound. Emma already knew that it was more than likely that those agents were dead. She doubted that they had managed to make it through the explosion.

"How is it looking out there?" Rhodey asked Tony who was also staring down at his Stark phone with one hand and his other arm was wrapped around Pepper who looked scared out of her mind. The holographic screen displayed heat signatures and Emma had a feeling that those heat signatures weren't a good sign.

"Not good. I'm getting around two dozen heat signatures quickly approaching the compound. The energy levels are off the charts." Tony told them with a worried look on his face. "We need to act fast."

"Suit up?" Rhodey questioned and Tony locked eyes with Emma, realizing that none of them had a choice anymore. Sokovia Accords or not, Hydra was here, and they wanted something. Tony didn't really care what that something was. He just needed to focus on keeping everyone safe for the time being. Suddenly the accords held no meaning for him in that moment. He could go back to worrying about the accords after everyone was safe and the compound was secure again. Tony finally glanced away from Emma who looked both frightened and determined.

"Yes." Tony confirmed before casting his gaze to the others. "First, we need to get everyone else to safety. Hill, you take all the others down to the saferoom in the basement. Rhodey, Vision, and I will-"

"No." Emma interrupted as soon as she realized that he meant to send her and Peter down to the saferoom with the others like they were just as helpless as the rest of them. Tony fixed her with a surprised look although he wasn't really sure why he was so surprised. He should've known that Emma wouldn't be quick to just listen to him and stay out of danger. "Peter and I are going with you."

"Mini Cap, you're insane if you think I'm going to put you and the kid in danger like that." Tony told her, but Emma just crossed her arms as she looked at him defiantly. Peter stood at her side, looking every bit as defiant as her. He knew that he wasn't about to go down to the saferoom either. If there was going to be a fight, then he was going to be there to help.

"Tony, you don't have the luxury to make decisions like that anymore. All you have is Vision and Rhodey. That's not enough." Emma told him, and deep-down Tony knew she was right.

"This is dangerous." Tony told them both as he looked between them.

"I know." Emma said, refusing to back down. Tony just sighed heavily. He couldn't believe he was actually going along with this, but it wasn't like he had a whole lot of options right now anyways. If there was anyone else that could help, then he'd be more than happy to accept their help, but Emma and Peter were some of the only ones left.

"Fine but you two better take the back end of the compound while Vision, Rhodey, and I investigate the explosion site." Tony told them, and Emma was just relieved that he wasn't going to argue with her on this one. Steve would've argued with her for hours if he was here.

"I'll take the others down to the saferoom." Maria announced before glancing back at Emma, holding out Steve's shield which she still had in her possession after the explosion. "You'll probably need this." Emma just stared down at the shield for a short moment before taking it from Maria. She smiled at Maria in thanks.

"Thanks." She said, and Maria just nodded as she then began to round up all the others. Pepper and Darcy, however, looked the most worried out of all the others. Pepper for Tony and Darcy for Emma. Tony just kissed Pepper softly in an attempt to reassure her while Emma smiled at Darcy, secretly telling her that it would be okay although she wasn't sure that it would be. Despite their fear, they still allowed Maria to lead them down the other staircase towards the opposite side of the hallway. It was most likely the exit that had the least amount of damage.

"We need to suit up." Peter said softly to her, but Emma just shook her head.

"There's no time." Emma told him, and it was true. They didn't have time go back into their rooms and search through the rubble for their suits. They could save that for later, but Hydra was most likely inside the compound by now. There was simply no time to get suited up.

"You two good to go?" Tony asked them and despite him letting the two teenagers join them momentarily, he was still concerned for them. If he had any other choice he wouldn't let them assist like this, but Tony didn't have any other choice. He was a little understaffed as it would seem.

"We're fine, Mr. Stark. We'll stick to the back and see what we find." Peter told him, and Tony just nodded.

"Good. Let us know what you find." Tony told them, seeming reluctant to leave them but he knew he had to. "Stay safe." He told them before he finally pressed a button on his signature, highly advanced wrist watch which summoned his Iron Man suit to him. Rhodey pulled an identical move as both he and Tony became suited up in their Iron Man and War Machine suits. Vision, Rhodey, and Tony gave them both a brief nod before heading off towards where all the damage was. Emma and Peter watched them silently as they left until they disappeared off towards the other side of the compound. The pair slowly turned to each other after they realized that they were alone.

"We should um…check out the kitchen on the first floor." Emma finally said after a moment of silence. She knew her and Peter needed to get a move on. "There's only one way in or out of the kitchen so if they make it over there we might be able to surprise them." Emma's words were completely reasonable, but Peter detected the distant tone in her voice. He gave her a look of concern.

"Are you okay?" Peter asked her, and she snapped out of whatever trance like state she was in before she looked over at him. Emma nodded furiously.

"Yes. I'm fine. We should probably start moving." Emma told Peter and he nodded in response.

"Right, of course." Peter said as they started walking towards the same staircase Maria had taken the others down. The only difference was that they weren't going to go all the way down to the basement. Emma and Peter both knew they were looking for the Hydra agents, but they just didn't know if they really wanted to find them. They had only walked a short distance when Emma broke the silence.

"Thank you." She said abruptly, unable to contain herself. Peter gave her a bewildered look, not having a clue as to what she was talking about.

"What?" He questioned, and Emma swallowed hard.

"Thank you for saving me back there. I never saw that blast coming." Emma told him, and Peter just looked back at her, those warm brown eyes locked onto her face.

"You don't need to thank me, Emma. Of course, I'd save you." Peter told her sincerely. "You would've done the same for me…you've actually done the same for me in the past." She stared back at him, her gaze softer than before. Emma then realized that she needed to get a hold of herself. They were in the deadliest of situations and she didn't need to be acting all mushy with Peter now of all times. She needed to think seriously about what was going to happen. She needed to find those Hydra agents.

"Anyways…that explosion was just the beginning. Something tells me that they didn't just come all this way to blow up the Avenger's Facility. They're here for something else." Emma told Peter in a more serious tone.

"Which is why we're looking for them…in our pajamas." Peter said, not sounding entirely confident and Emma smirked at him.

"Well, when I dreamed of finally getting to kick some Hydra ass, I never imagined I'd be in my pajamas. This scenario might actually be better." Emma said jokingly, and Peter smiled at her in amusement despite the situation. They were going to need a little humor with what they were potentially going up against. Peter shook his head at her, clearly amused despite everything, before responding. Yes, some humor was definitely much needed.

"It's a lot better."

---

Emma and Peter finally made it to the first floor of the compound and were both careful to make their footsteps quiet. Emma was an expert at making her footsteps silent, but she knew Peter wasn't as skilled when it came to that. Thankfully, the floors were carpeted much to Emma's relief but that almost made it a tad bit more difficult to detect other people's footsteps. Especially trained people. Emma and Peter made their way across the first floor, checking every room carefully along the way for Hydra agents. So far, they hadn't found any.

"I would feel a lot better if I had a gun." Emma whispered to Peter quietly as they walked silently across the first floor.

"We're fine." Peter told her to try and reassure her, but Emma didn't really feel good about any of this. The entire compound was completely dark since the power had gone out after the explosion and McConaughey's systems were currently down. It wasn't likely that the AI system could be rebooted until Tony got his hands on him. Right now, everyone was a little too preoccupied with the situation to worry about a power outage.

"It's too quiet. I don't like it." Emma said as she cautiously looked across the empty lobby of the building. The lobby seemed like a different place without all the people bustling through it as they rushed to wherever they needed to go. Peter secretly agreed with Emma on the fact that something felt incredibly off. He had that same feeling as before when the explosion hit. The hairs on his arm were standing up again.

"I know." Peter replied as he also carefully scanned the area but there was no one there. It was then that Emma felt her phone buzz in the pocket of her cotton shorts. She took it out before hitting the accept call button.

"What's going on over there, Mini Cap?" Tony asked on the other line and Emma just sighed before she spoke.

"There's nothing over here, Tony. It's just quiet…a little too quiet if you ask us." Emma told him truthfully. "What about you?"

"Aside from the fact that there's a gigantic, expensive looking hole in the side of my building? Nothing. We haven't come across anyone yet." Tony told her, and Emma exchanged a look with Peter before returning her attention back to the phone.

Peter stood there beside Emma, watching as she spoke with Tony but the odd sensation he was feeling was only increasing by the second. The humming sound was back on full blast, but it seemed louder than it had been before. Peter wanted to tell Emma, but he didn't know how. Would she look at him like he was insane? Whatever this was didn't even made sense to him so how was it going to make sense to Emma? Peter could've passed it off as just a bad feeling, but this felt like something more. Of course, he would have a bad feeling at a time like this but somehow this felt more extreme than just a bad feeling.

"They're probably already inside then." Emma told him.

"I can only assume. Listen, let's-" Tony said but was interrupted by a loud noise on the other line. Emma furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Shit! Vision block them off! We can't let them through to the others!"

"Tony, what's going on?!" Emma questioned although she had a pretty good idea as to what just happened.

"Get yourself and the kid to the saferoom! This is way more than we anticipated!" Tony ordered, and Emma was about to respond when the line went dead. Peter gave her a wide-eyed look as he stared at her.

"What's going on?" Peter asked her, and Emma just shook her head as she stuffed her phone back in her pocket.

"They're in the building somewhere. That's for sure." Emma told him, and Peter nervously bit his lip.

"Are we going to do what Tony said? Are we going to the saferoom with the others?" Peter asked, and Emma smirked at him.

"What do you think?" Emma replied, and Peter smiled at her.

"I love you."

"I know." Emma told him but before Peter could say anything the humming noise became even louder. He winced at the high volume and Emma's smirk immediately morphed into a look of concern as she noticed the look of discomfort on his face again. She placed her hand on his arm, forcing him to look at her.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked him, and Peter just shook his head.

"I don't know. I feel like…it's like I have a bad feeling or something." Peter finally told her as he tried to find the right words to describe what he was feeling. The thing was that he didn't even know what he was feeling. Everything just felt so strange. All his senses felt more heightened than usual.

"I've got a bad feeling about this too, Peter. I mean…look around us." Emma told him, but Peter shook his head again.

"No, this is different." Emma was about to respond to his odd statement when everything happened really fast for Emma but very slow for Peter. She watched in a silent state as two odds looking cannisters rolled across the floor and released a smoky substance in the air. Emma recognized the substance. Tear gas.

"They're here." She whispered silently as she backed away from the cannisters slowly. Peter followed her movements as the gas began to waft through the air, making it incredibly hard to see. However, Peter's vision was heightened more than usual in this odd state. He could make out numerous figures in the thick cloud of the tear gas. Peter's eyes watered a bit from the tear gas and his throat felt incredibly dry as he inhaled it, but his gaze was more focused than ever. Emma got herself into a defensive stance as she readied herself for the first attack. She really wished she had a gun or at least a knife right now. Oh, well. Steve's shield was just going to have to do for now.

"Remember! We need the traitor alive!" Emma and Peter heard one of the voices say in the distance. "Kill the other."

Emma narrowed her eyes. She would be damned if any one of these assholes even rested a hand on Peter. She would make sure they regretted it if they did. Peter glared through the cloud of tear gas as he felt a certain rush of adrenaline at the words of the Hydra agent. No one was even going to dare get their hands on Emma. She wasn't going anywhere. The two teenagers exchanged a look with each other before also giving each other a single nod in silence. This was their signal.

It was time.

Without further thought Emma threw the shield at one of the dark figures in the cloud of tear gas. Peter immediately leapt into the air as he also ambushed one of the dark figures. It was like there was something in him that was telling exactly what to do. All time seemed to slow down as he focused on his target and he instantly shoved the man to the ground, causing the man to grunt in surprise. Peter didn't waste any time delivering a punch to the man's side as the man struggled to fight back but Peter was too strong for him. The teenage boy delivered a punch to the man's face which instantly knocked him out. Peter then stood up from the ground and looked around, analyzing the room to see how many individuals were around. There were quite a few. At least twelve.

Emma stalked over to the man who she hit with her shield who was now lying on the ground. She briskly picked the shield up from beside him and as he got up, she didn't hesitate in hitting him again with the shield. Emma watched coldly as he fell to the ground and she found that she really didn't care if she broke her murder promise today. She was sick and tired of dealing with these assholes and she was sure Steve and Peter would be understanding. The tear gas began to clear up through the room and Emma now had a clearer image of all the men and there were way more than she anticipated. Emma expected that these were just half of the men that were attacking the compound. The other half must've been over on the other side of the compound keeping Tony, Vision, and Rhodey distracted. It was a good strategy. It made it easier for them to take her for whatever sick and fucked up reason they had.

"Come with us willingly, Asset, and we'll spare the boy." A British accented voice said, and Emma stared at a man who she didn't recognize. Hydra must've been getting new recruits. He looked to be in his thirties and was very slender. Emma couldn't help but notice how skinny his legs were. Easier to break, Emma thought to herself. She could make those skinny legs of his snap like twigs. Emma gave the man a smug look as Peter glared at him.

"Surrender now and I'll think about not killing you where you stand. It's been a long time since I've been able to give into my homicidal urges. I'm just dying to murder someone and you seem like the right guy." Emma told the man, not seeming even the slightest bit threatened by the man. Lance Collins glared at her and he immediately understood what some of the others meant about the blonde assassin. He could tell that she was going to make this very difficult. However, it made little difference to Lance. He was up for the challenge.

It was then that the humming noise became even louder for Peter. Peter's eyes drifted towards the large weapon in one of the agent's hands. It looked like a gun but highly more advanced, yet Peter didn't think it looked like one of the weapons Toomes had designed either. No, this one was way more complicated looking. Peter didn't fail to notice the ominous blue glow that came from the odd-looking gun. His eyes then widened in realization because he realized that this was where the humming had come from. The humming noise had come from these weapons all along and somehow Peter had heard it. Even earlier when the weapons must've been far away. These weapons were what had caused the attack on the compound and somehow Peter had heard the weapons before they were fired earlier.

"So be it." Lance told her before he signaled for one of the agents to fire. The man lifted the weapon towards Peter and Emma, beginning to power it up and Peter knew what was going to happen next.

"Emma! Move!" Peter shouted, and he immediately pushed her to the ground as the weapon went off again. The blast of blue energy erupted from the weapon and flew over their heads as it hit one of the many conference rooms on the first floor. Emma watched in surprise at the actual power of the weapon before an angry look came across her face.

"That's it. They're dead." Emma stated in a cold tone and this time Peter didn't bother arguing with her. They meant to kidnap Emma and harm her. He had little patience for people like that and maybe for the first time he wouldn't mind if Emma actually killed someone. Especially if it was Rumlow. Peter found that he even wanted to kill Rumlow himself. It was a dark feeling he had within himself, but he knew he'd kill Rumlow to protect Emma. Uncle Ben would understand that…he just had to.

Emma immediately got up from the ground with her shield still in hand as she threw it once more at one of the agents before flying over to the Hydra idiots that dared point that weapon at her and Peter. Peter didn't hesitate to follow as he also launched an attack on the Hydra agents. From then on, it was like full on war between the Hydra agents and Emma and Peter. Time seemed to do that funny thing again as everything slowed down and it was like Peter could almost anticipate every move the Hydra agents made.

"Cool! I'm just like Neo!" Peter said in excitement. He dodged a punch that was thrown his way before responding even faster than normal with a punch of his own. He remembered all the moves Emma taught him in that moment as he fought against their attackers. Peter didn't have his webshooters so he knew he was just going to have to make up for it with all the defensive and offensive strategies Emma had trained him on during the past several months.

"Come on, guys! You're making this way too easy." Peter quipped as he smirked at one of the agents who growled in anger. The man lurched at Peter, but Peter already saw the move coming as he quickly dodged his attack and fought harder.

One of the Hydra agents came at Emma, a distance away from Peter, but she had long anticipated his attack. By now the tear gas had long dissolved from the room so she didn't have any trouble maintaining her focus as the man charged towards her. Emma immediately hit him in the ribs with the shield which caused him to stumble slightly but it didn't knock him down like she thought it would. She suspected he was wearing some kind of armor underneath his clothing. The man growled before he hit her in the face. The force of his punch was strong but nowhere near strong enough to knock her out. Emma allowed him to hit her a couple times before she was able to learn his fight pattern. It seemed like Hydra hadn't changed their training much since she had been there. The next time he threw a punch in her direction, she caught his wrist in her hand. The agent's determined look morphed into one of surprise at the blonde's strength. Emma immediately reared her fist back before punching the agent in the face, catching him off guard. The agent fell to the floor and Emma instantly knocked him in the head a couple times with the shield to make sure that he would stay down. It was then, however, that Emma was taken by surprise.

"What the fuck!" Emma said as she felt someone yank harshly on her hair, pulling her away from the man as they attempted to drag her away. She elbowed them in the chest as hard as she could and brought the shield up to defend herself when she felt a painful sensation in her side, hearing the sound of electrical currents.

A Taser.

Emma grunted in pain as she noticed her attacker had one of Rumlow's favored taser rods. Emma despised the weapon immensely because it was what Rumlow and Karpov used to torture her with or what they liked to call discipling. Emma gave him the death glare as he zapped her with the rod and she immediately grabbed onto his hand as he attempted to try and get her in a choke hold. Emma gripped onto his fingers and squeezed with her full strength, causing the man's fingers to snap like twigs. He screamed in pain and she didn't waste any time grabbing the taser rod before zapping him with it. Let's see how he likes it, Emma thought to herself and was beginning to smirk when she felt two pairs of arms wrap around her.

Two more Hydra agents had grabbed onto her and lifted her up into the air. Emma gritted her teeth as she tried zapping one of them with the taser rod. This only seemed to piss them off more as the two agents retaliated. They threw her roughly to the ground, causing her to drop the taser, and Emma allowed herself to roll a couple times before she landed in an upright position. However, before she could even get up from the ground, they ambushed her with four taser rods of their own. Both men had two taser rods in each hand as they began to attack her with them.

"I'm going to make you fucking pay for this! I swear on my life, you assholes!" Emma growled as they held her down with the taser rods and Emma moaned in pain. She struggled to get up and it was clear to her that the men had ganged up on her. This was probably part of the plan all along and Emma had been stupid enough to fall for it. She had been so caught up in fighting the other guys that she hadn't even been aware of her own surroundings. Even after all these years, she could still make simple mistakes like that.

"Keep shocking her until she gets knocked out!" One of the Hydra agents shouted to the other one as they continued to shock a struggling Emma. "That's the only way we'll be able to take her alive! She's too strong!"

Peter halted in his fight with one of the other Hydra agents as he heard Emma's yelling and the distinct sound of a taser. He kicked the man to the ground one last time and once he was sure that the man was going to stay down, Peter left to go help Emma. He followed the sound of the humming from the taser and spotted Emma on the ground as the men attempted to zap her with the powerful taser rods. It was obvious what they were trying to do. They were going to shock her with those tasers until she fell unconscious which would make their jobs easier. They meant to kidnap her, but Peter was never going to let that happen. He immediately jumped into action.

"Hey! That's my girlfriend!" Peter shouted as he ambushed the men, knocking one of them off his feet as Peter tackled him to the ground. The man let out a surprised yelp as he struggled against Peter.

"You idiots should really never mess with her." Peter quipped as he continued to attack the man. "She's scary when she's mad."

The other man moved in to help his friend, but he seemed to have momentarily forgotten about the deadly Viper Assassin who was just waiting for him to be caught off guard. It seemed like her time had finally come. Emma acted fast, grabbing her shield from the ground before roughly slamming it against the man's legs which knocked him off his feet. Emma then knocked the taser from his grip before pouncing on him. She hit him in the ribs several times with speed that went beyond that of a normal human. Emma could hear his ribs cracking from the impact and the man screaming in pain, but she didn't care. She wanted to make that man realize that she wasn't someone to be messed with. When she finally finished, Emma gave him a very callous look as she looked down at him.

"Asshole." She muttered but she then spotted another Hydra agent approaching her from the corner of her eye. Emma groaned. God, these men were like cockroaches. They just kept coming and coming. She grabbed the shield before she went off to fight the other men. Her boyfriend stood a distance away as he fought the others.

"You guys never know when to quit, huh?" Peter said smugly. He was still fighting the man who had attacked Emma along with another man who carried the same weapon from before. It was then that something else caught Peter's attention.

"Woah…" Peter managed to say. The teenage boy suddenly became more aware of his surroundings than before. He could hear the man move his finger over the trigger of the weapon as the Hydra agent prepared himself to fire the weapon once more. Peter could even see the beads of sweat dripping off the other man's forehead and he knew the man was nervous about what was to come. Without giving it much more thought, Peter rushed towards the man with the weapon, moving faster than he normally moved as he confronted the man. He quickly ripped the weapon from the man's grip and as hard as the man tried, he just couldn't seem to hold onto the weapon with Peter's much stronger grip challenging him.

"This doesn't look safe." Peter said, voicing his thought aloud as he then chucked the weapon across the room and hoped that it wouldn't somehow blow up in the process.

"This is for hurting my girlfriend." Peter said as he grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt. The man's eyes widened in fright before Peter threw him across the room with minimal effort. The man yelped in pain as he hit the wall harshly before falling to the floor. Peter didn't waste any time in fighting the other man as the other Hydra agent charged at him.

"Wow…you look big." Peter said, slightly in awe before he regained his focus. The man was bigger than Peter which seemed slightly scary as they faced each other. The man seemed to read the apprehensive look on Peter's face as he smirked smugly at him. The guy must've been about a foot taller than Peter and was probably German or Swedish. Those guys were always weirdly tall…or at least they were in the movies. Although the man was visibly bigger than Peter, he was still very slow which Peter had counted on. Emma taught him bigger opponents were usually slower and those words seemed true as Peter fought back against the man.

"This is just like that one really old movie. You know…the Indiana Jones one." Peter said to the large looking Hydra agent casually as he dodged a kick from the man.

"You're like that evil Nazi and I'm like Indiana Jones. That's pretty cool, right? Except I think the Nazi got his head shredded in the plane propeller or something." Peter said as an afterthought which seemed to really annoy the Hydra agent. The Hydra agent seemed to find the teenager boy overwhelmingly annoying as they fought. His goal was to finally kill the kid to stop all the constant chatter.

"Lucky for you, there aren't any plane propellers around here." Peter quipped once more, and the Hydra agent growled in both anger and frustration.

Peter was a lot faster than this man and every time the man would go in for a hit, Peter quickly dodged the attack and went in with a hit of his own. Peter finally punched the man in the stomach which caused the Hydra agent to hunch over from the pain. Peter took advantage of his weak state and came back around with a roundhouse kick which Emma had taught him. The man flew back from the kick and fell to the floor with a grunt. Peter smirked in victory. That guy wasn't getting up anytime soon.

It was then, however, that Peter noticed three more Hydra agents ganging up on him. It seemed like Peter couldn't get a break and especially with how much he wanted to help Emma who was currently fighting the other Hydra agents. There was just so many Hydra agents and there was only two of them. Peter hoped that this didn't go on forever because he didn't know how many Hydra agents he was going to be able to fight. Still…Peter knew that he would fight a hundred or even a thousand of them if it meant protecting Emma from them. He sighed heavily before getting into a defensive stance, waiting for the approaching Hydra agents to make the first attack.

"This is just great." Peter muttered sarcastically as one of the Hydra agents moved in for an attack. Emma probably would've helped but she had her hands full herself as she knocked another one of the Hydra agents to the ground. She was starting to feel slightly tired from all of this. Slightly but still somewhat tired.

Emma brushed her hair out of her face as she took down, what she thought was, the last Hydra agent. If someone told her that she would be fighting a small army of Hydra agents dressed in nothing but a pair of cotton shorts and Peter's lame pun t-shirt, Emma would've laughed in their face. Despite everything, Emma thought she was doing pretty well for herself. She finally spotted Peter fighting off three Hydra agents of his own and she narrowed eyes as she prepared herself to run over and assist him. Emma was just about to join in on the action when a lone figure stood in her way.

She recognized him as the same agent from before. The one with the British accent and the one who Emma already hated with a blinding passion. He smirked smugly at her in a way that made Emma's skin crawl. Emma deduced that he must've been the team leader as well as a high-ranking Hydra officer. She could just tell that he was because he had that same arrogant and sadistic air about him. Emma knew what those kinds of Hydra men looked like and he looked just like Karpov or even Rumlow to her. While Emma already held a strong distaste for this man, at the same time she knew that he wasn't stupid. Under no circumstances could she underestimate him.

"Well, well, well…if it isn't the traitor." The man said tauntingly to her and Emma kept a stoic expression on her face.

"You can't be a traitor to a cause you never joined in the first place." Emma replied callously as she began to engage in a simple conversation with the man. Despite her nonchalant attitude with the man, Emma was keeping a careful eye on him. She assessed everything about his appearance and made sure that she watched his movements very carefully. Emma couldn't let her guard down for one minute with this man. She could tell he was very dangerous.

"Don't act like Hydra never gave you a purpose. Don't act like you didn't enjoy killing." He retorted, and Emma rolled her eyes.

"Yes, killing people was so much fun. Washing all the blood and guts out of my hair was a real blast too." Emma said sarcastically which caused the man to glare at her. "Yeah, there were a lot of fun childhood memories there. You guys really know how to show a girl a good time."

"We made you into the deadliest weapon in Hydra history." He hissed at her angrily. "We gave you all the tools you needed to be the best of the best…better than Captain America and better than the Winter Soldier. Smarter, faster, stronger, and better in every way. And what do you do? You waste it all on the Avengers." Emma didn't miss the way he said the Avengers with the upmost disgust in his voice.

"Well, I wasn't into the whole working for someone else's agenda thing. I like being my own boss." Emma said, trying to get a reaction out of the man. He scoffed as he looked at her.

"When will you understand, Asset? You have no right to make those kinds of decisions." The man said as he sneered at her. "You belong to us. Your Hydra's property…not the Avengers, nor your little pet spider's, and not even your beloved Winter Soldier's." Emma glared at the man hatefully.

"And when will you understand, dickhead? I'm no one's puppet's. Not yours and not even the Avengers." Emma told him bitterly as she finally showed her true colors. It was true. Emma had little care for politics or people's agendas. The only agenda Emma followed was her own. She still had a hard time distinguishing right from wrong and sometimes she needed guidance from Peter or Steve, but it was still her decision to follow their guidance. Emma didn't let anyone boss her around anymore…well, she might've let Peter boss her around but that was only because he was kind of cute when he did it. However, the truth was that Emma spent enough time under Hydra's thumb to know that she never wanted to be anyone's puppet ever again. She had been through too much to just allow this asshole to take her back to Hydra…back to Rumlow. Emma would die before she let Rumlow get his disgusting and perverted hands on her again.

"I hate to break it to you but I'm not leaving here without you. You're going to come with me one way or another." He said to her despite the rage he felt at her careless and foolish words. He then smirked evilly at her and in a way that made Emma feel sick to her stomach. "Make this easy on all of us and just surrender now. Rumlow's eager for your return…he has great plans for you." Anger and fear washed over Emma's face at his words about Rumlow. She glared at him as she swallowed down her anger. Emma couldn't let her anger consume her…not now.

"Well, I guess you're not leaving then." Emma finally managed to say, and it was clear that Emma wasn't going to make this easy on him. He narrowed his eyes at her as he quickly pulled out a Ka-Bar knife from his tactical vest. It was a large looking knife, but Emma wasn't afraid by any means. In fact, she was looking forward to a close quarters knife fight because it had been a long time. Emma's angry look then faded into a smug one as she smirked at him.

"That's a pretty knife." Emma complimented as the man got into a defensive stance with his knife in his hand. "I'm going to enjoy taking it from you."

"I'd love to see you try." He then rushed towards her and Emma swiftly dodged him as he swiped his knife at her. She realized that the Hydra agent had the better advantage since he had the knife. Oh well. It looked like Emma was just going to have to take that knife from him, after all.

She swiftly kicked the man in the side in retaliation and he only winced for a short second, but he then lurched forward with another attack. This time Emma got slashed with the knife on her arm, the sharp blade drawing blood. Emma glared at him as she moved forward once again to attack him. She managed to get a couple harsh punches in his ribs before he slashed her with the knife along her stomach. Emma groaned in pain, but she had counted on that because she knew she had to get a couple of punches in just so that she could wound him. Broken ribs were a nasty business and they could even cause internal bleeding. Besides…Emma could heal easily while this idiot couldn't. In a desperate move, the man then wildly slashed his knife low at Emma. She watched his movement carefully and when his arm moved to the side, she could see a weak spot. The blonde instantly hopped on the man, pinning his arms to his side as she tackled him to the ground.

"You fucking bitch!" The man cried out as Emma began punching him in the face. At this point, she had let go of his arms as she attacked him, and his hand wildly reached out for his knife. He grabbed it quickly, trying with all his might to get a good grip on it as Emma punched him. He finally strengthened his hold on the knife and without any hesitance he brought it down harshly into Emma's side. Emma yelped from the flashing pain, becoming distracted by the stabbing. He pulled the knife out and stabbed her until Emma let go of him.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Rumlow and Karpov used to torture her all the time with knives to see how fast she could heal but it had been some time since she felt that kind of pain. Her tolerance of pain might've slightly weakened. Lance withdrew the knife quickly from her side and Emma fell off of him. The blood was quickly pouring out of the wound and onto the floor. She knew it would heal in the end, but it wouldn't heal fast enough for her liking. Lance wiped Emma's blood from the knife callously on his pants as he looked at the injured Viper Assassin. Her pet spider was much too busy with the other agents to even notice her injury, Lance noticed gleefully as he watched the boy known as Spider-Man fight the three Hydra agents. The boy seemed to be doing well so Lance knew he wouldn't have much time to get the Viper Assassin out of there. Hopefully his men could keep the boy distracted long enough.

"You know…from the way Rumlow talks about you, I thought you would be more impressive." Lance said casually as he leaned over the injured girl. Emma eyed him wildly as she kept her hand over her wound which was gushing with blood. Unfortunately, her hand wasn't enough to stop the bleeding because she could feel her blood gushing out from in between her fingers before running down the length of her arm. When was her wound finally going to start healing? Emma felt like it had been forever since she had been stabbed but in reality, it hadn't been that long.

"All the tales of the ruthless Viper Assassin and they turn out to be mere fiction. The tales were always quite horrifying to hear, especially as a father, that a little girl could be such a ruthless killer…A monster."

"All the blood you shed and the suffering you left in your wake." Lance smiled maliciously down at the teenager as he stared down at her and Emma was just trying not to pass out from the blood loss. She knew the instant she fell unconscious that it was over. He would take her back to Hydra and Rumlow then it was game over. Emma just needed to hang on a little longer…just until her wound healed.

"The Viper Assassin sounded something more like the Angel of Death rather than a weapon. Death would come knocking at the door and who would appear but a beautiful little girl with locks of blonde hair and big blue eyes to take those lost souls out of this world." He spoke softly to her and Emma could feel her temper quickly rising. "It sounded all so very poetic…so Edgar Allan Poe…and the stories were very addictive, I assure you." Emma glared hatefully at the man.

"Don't reference Edgar Allan Poe to me." She hissed angrily. "You don't deserve to have read Edgar Allan Poe." The man just chuckled in amusement at her as if she were a sad, pathetic creature. Emma wanted nothing more than to bash the man's head into the floor or maybe even stab him with his own knife to give him a taste of his own medicine.

"You really are quite funny. Rumlow was right about that part at least." Lance told her as he then moved on top of her, his face mere centimeters from hers. Emma wrinkled her nose at the way his hot breath felt against her face. It almost reminded her of the time with Rumlow if it wasn't for the knife the man had pointed at her. "However, now that I've gotten a closer look at you I see you for what you are. A scared and weak little girl. There's nothing terrifying about you at all."

Lance then ran the knife's sharp edge against her face, making a deep cut along her cheekbone in the process. Emma hissed at the stinging sensation. That fucking asshole! She was going to kill him!

"I'm going to take you back to Rumlow now." The man whispered in a low and dangerous tone. "I'm honest when I say that I never liked what he did with you. I'm a father myself, after all, but I think I might turn a blind eye to Rumlow's disgusting fixation with you. Rumlow might make you think twice about betraying us again."

The man smiled sadistically at Emma as he brushed his fingers over the fresh cut on her cheek before smearing the blood over her face. Emma felt the bile rise up in her throat at the thought of returning to Rumlow again. She had barely survived going through that the first time. She didn't think she could survive it a second time.

"I think I might even take your little pet spider with us and make him watch." Lance said cruelly, and Emma's eyes widened in horror. "Rumlow would like that. Maybe then the spider would see what a little whore his girlfriend is. Rumlow's told us all about his time with you…how he fucked your brains out and how addicting you were. I bet you enjoyed it too, didn't you? He probably wasn't even the only one you fucked either. I bet the Winter Soldier also has some great stories to tell too. You two needed all the practice you could get for the future anyways." It was then that something started to change inside Emma as soon as he mentioned her father and Peter. Emma's eyes hardened as she glared up at the smug looking man.

"Shut up!" Emma spat, and the man just chuckled at her again.

"Ooh, did I strike a nerve?" Lance taunted, quickly growing more and more confident as he played games with the Viper Assassin. "Daddy issues too? Not very original for a killer like yourself. Don't worry. After I make your little spider and daddy watch Rumlow take you over and over again, I'll kill them both."

Emma was livid as she watched the man with angry eyes. She started feeling things that she hadn't felt in a long time. Her emotions, which she had fought so hard to suppress, were suddenly overwhelming. Emma tried not to let her emotions control her, but it was too late. Her father wasn't there to calm her down or hold onto her until the feelings passed.

"I'm going to ram this knife through your precious Winter Soldier's heart and then I'm going to slit your little spider's throat. You'll be helpless to stop it. I'm going to love watching the blood pool from their bodies." Lance sadistically threatened, and this was the tipping point for Emma.

"I'm sure Rumlow would love that too but I think I'll save Captain America for him. I know he has something special planned for your grandfather."

It was then that Emma finally snapped. As hard as she fought to remain calm and ignore the man's words, her self-control didn't seem to be functioning. It was like someone had filled a cup of water too full and all the water was overflowing onto the counter. There were just too many emotions, but her anger and fear seemed to be the most powerful. Suddenly it was like Emma was pumped full of adrenaline as she gave into her more aggressive and violent side.

Just like the old days.

The man was so close to Emma as he whispered those ugly and sadistic words into her ear. Her eyes focused on his ear and with a look of pure hate on her face, she leaned forward and bit into him as hard as she could with zero hesitation. Emma's teeth snapped down onto his ear and the man immediately howled in pain. She dug her teeth into his flesh, blood gushing into her mouth, and she didn't hold herself back from using all the strength she could muster. Emma then ripped a chunk of his ear off before subsequently spitting it out onto the floor.

He immediately fell back off of her onto the floor, his knife falling from his hand, as he immediately held his hand to the side of his head. The blood spewed out of what was left of his ear, but Emma didn't care. She gazed coldly at him as she then hopped on top of them, ignoring the searing pain in her side. The blonde unleashed her fury onto the man as she grabbed the knife from the floor. He struggled to defend himself as he tried to knock her off of him, but it was pointless. In the struggle, Emma reared her hand back before stabbing him in the shoulder.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Emma counted as she stabbed him with the same knife he used to stab her and the same knife he threatened to use on Peter and her father. He was going to pay for those threats. She didn't even care that he had stabbed her, but he wasn't going to go anywhere near Peter and her father. Every time she stabbed him, he seemed to wail even louder.

"Stop! Please stop!" He pleaded with her, but Emma didn't stop. Her anger was too blinding for her to snap out of. The people she had been ordered to kill in the past had begged her to stop and she hadn't so why should she stop for this man? A man that was even worse than she was.

Lance Collins then realized that he had made the fatal mistake of underestimating the Viper Assassin. He had seen the blonde hair, blue eyes, and her youthful face which made him think that she was nothing but a weak, defenseless child. It seemed like he had made the same mistake as her other victims had in the past. This mistake, however, might even cost him his life.

Emma then ceased her stabbing as more blood soaked the man's shirt. She couldn't tell which blood was hers and which was his. There was so much of it. Emma punched his face one last time, still not satisfied that she had hurt him enough, and heard a sickening crack as his nose broke. The former assassin was breathing heavily as she looked down at the pathetic, scared looking man who had his eyes clenched shut. It was like he was trying to wish her away or pray that when he opened his eyes, she would be gone. Emma spat out some blood from her mouth onto the floor without looking away from the man. Her emotions were still running high.

"You Hydra assholes try to act tough with your plans of chaos and destruction but you're all just a bunch of cowardly little rats hiding in the sewers." Emma told the man coldly and he whimpered, knowing that whatever she was going to do wasn't going to be good.

"You think you can have your creepy little agendas and still lead a normal life at the end of the way. A wife and a couple kids. Why shouldn't you? That's what the others did. Senator Stern, Pierce, and even Karpov." Emma told him mockingly before continuing. "There were no consequences…no punishments. They got to wear a mask without having to show their true colors."

"I-I'm sorry." He told her in an attempt to fix the situation, but it was too late. The man had already threatened everyone she held dear in her life and Emma wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"I bet you are…but if I let you go now they're just going to put you in Raft prison. Rumlow will probably have you out in a week." Emma said nonchalantly as she balanced his knife in her hand. "No one will know who you are or what you've done. You'll be able to go on your merry way without a care in the world and that's just not fair. People should know who you are." The man watched her with wide eyes because he had no idea what she was going to do.

"Please don't kill me. My wife and kids…" He begged, and Emma gritted her teeth. The man didn't seem like a father or husband a couple minutes ago when he was stabbing her and making all those threats. It was clear to Emma that this man was all talk. Another Hydra coward. Why was she surprised?

"I'm not going to kill you." Emma told him before she brushed the knife's edge along his cheek much like he had done with her a few short minutes ago. "But I am going to make sure people know who you are. Your wife will know, your kids, and everyone who passes you on the street."

"There won't be a soul whose met you who won't know who you are." Emma said in a low and dangerous voice that sent Lance chills up and down his spine.

"You seem to love Hydra so much…why don't I help you honor them."

Lance was confused at first, not knowing what the blonde had meant by her odd statement, as he tried to not think about the pain he was feeling all over his body. His ear, his nose, and even his shoulder. Lance started thinking that he might've finally met his end and at the hands of the Viper Assassin. A part of him even wanted to die because the pain was too much to bear. The Hydra agent didn't realize that the pain was far from over.

Without so much as a warning, Emma dug the edge of the knife into Lance's forehead which immediately made him scream in pain. She began carving a familiar symbol and his screams became so loud that the people in the city could probably even hear him. Emma didn't even hesitate as she continued carving the symbol into his forehead. Her rage and fear were boiling, and she wanted to make him pay. She wanted to make him pay for his threats against the men she loved, she wanted to make him pay for trying to take her back to Hydra, and she even wanted to make him pay for what Rumlow did. The man wasn't there when Rumlow raped her, but she was just so angry that she didn't care. She was hellbent on hurting this man just because Rumlow wasn't there for her to hurt…but this man was.

Peter finally knocked the last Hydra agent to the ground and he was so wrapped up in the fight that he hadn't been able to help Emma. He had heard her cries of pain, but the Hydra agents had done a good job of keeping his hands full. Now that he was finished with them, he was only more eager to help Emma. A part of him was worried that she was hurt badly but he knew he had to focus so that he could help her.

It was only when the teenage boy turned his head that he was finally able to see the circumstance his girlfriend was in. His eyes widened in shock as he spotted Emma sitting on top of the Hydra agent that had spoken to them before. All Peter could see was blood. Emma and the Hydra agent were completely covered in blood while there was also a large pool of blood on the floor. Blood was smeared all around her face and especially around her mouth which scared him. How badly was she hurt? Was the blood hers or his? He couldn't tell whether Emma was the one who was hurt or the man. The man's screams of pain and fear echoed through the empty lobby as Emma dug the knife into his flesh. Where had she even gotten a knife? Peter immediately hurried over to the bloody scene.

"Emma, what are you doing?" He questioned but she only ignored him as she continued to carve something into the man's forehead. Peter watched in shock as the man begged her to stop but Emma wasn't listening to him either. It was almost like Emma was in some kind of trance with the way she moved as she kept the man's head to the ground so that she carve whatever she was carving better.

"Emma, stop. He's finished. He's not getting up." Peter told her, but Emma still ignored him. He really started worrying then as Emma's focus seemed to be completely on the man. It was only when the man passed out from the blood loss that Peter realized that Emma wasn't going to stop. She wasn't going to stop until the man was dead. He needed to do something. Without anymore thinking, Peter quickly moved and grabbed Emma from behind before yanking her off the man and pulling her to her feet. Emma struggled in his arms as her angry gaze remained locked onto the unconscious Hydra agent.

"Let go of me! I wasn't finished!" Emma snapped as she fought against his strong grip. Peter didn't want to tighten his hold on her too much. He didn't know where she was injured, and he didn't want to risk possibly hurting her even more.

"He's unconscious, Emma. He can't hurt you anymore." Peter tried to tell her, but she wasn't listening to him. Her focus was entirely on the badly injured man in front of them as her body heaved with anger.

"I don't care. I want to hurt him." Emma hissed as she tried to get Peter to let her go but his grip wasn't budging. Peter realized that he was going to have to calm her down himself because she wasn't about to do it by herself. Her anger was blinding her, and he needed to snap her out of this. There were a few times he had seen her like this in the past, but it was only when Hydra or Rumlow were involved. Peter grabbed her face harshly and forced her to look at him.

"Calm down." He demanded, and Emma's gaze locked onto his. His own gaze was firm as he stared at her and Emma allowed herself to focus on his brown eyes. The anger and fear within herself began to die down as she was broken out of her rage filled state and brought back into reality. She swallowed hard as her breathing steadied and she looked around the deserted lobby. All the Hydra agents were either knocked out or struggling to get back up. However, none of them looked as bad as the one Emma had lost it over. The one who taunted and threatened her. He had multiple stab wounds, broken ribs, a swollen face, a broken nose, a missing ear, and not to mention the symbol Emma had carved into his forehead. The man looked like he had been mauled by some kind of animal.

Had she really done all of that? It had been a long time since she had lost it like that. The last time was after the injections back in Hydra. Her temper tantrums back then could prove to be fatal. Emma had stabbed Karpov multiple times with a knife when he ordered her father to be put back into the Cyro-Chamber. Strucker had also laughed at her another time so she beat him until they were forced to tranquilize her. There was even a time where her father had pissed her off so much that Emma had bitten a chuck of his arm off. He still had the scars today. Peter then loosened his grip on her once he was certain that Emma had calmed down. She seemed lost as she stared at the man, surprised that she hadn't been able to control her emotions…surprised that she had allowed herself to go that far.

"Are you alright?" Peter asked worriedly as he looked at her blood-soaked form. Emma looked back at him, but she had a haunted look on her face this time instead of the enraged one from before. Peter felt even more worried as he spotted the large cuts on her face and arms. She nodded very slowly.

"I think so. He just got me in the side." Emma said, and she slowly lifted up her shirt to look at the wound. Peter's eyes widened in horror as he saw the large knife wound and the blood still pouring out of it. He angrily glared at the man still lying on the floor bleeding out and a part of him, a darker part, wished that he hadn't stopped Emma. The man had hurt her really bad and Peter only felt guilty that he hadn't been fast enough to stop her from getting hurt.

"We need to get you medical attention." Peter told her, looking both scared and anxious. "He stabbed you." Emma just shook her head.

"I'm fine. The wound's already healing. See?" Emma said, and she was right. Peter could already see the wound beginning to close up although the process seemed to be a little too slow for Peter's liking. "Besides…he's the one who needs medical attention. Not me."

"What about you?" Emma then asked with a concerned look on her face. She tried to spot any wounds on him but all she could see was a few scrapes and the beginning of a nasty looking bruise over his left eye. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just got a little too cocky a couple times." Peter replied, and Emma nodded, relieved that Peter wasn't hurt too badly. She was about to say something else when she heard the others enter the lobby. Tony, Rhodey, and Vision quickly rushed into the abandoned lobby in fear that something bad had happened to the kids, but they never expected to find what they did. Emma and Peter were standing in the middle of the room with unconscious Hydra agents lying around them.

Tony really needed to learn to stop underestimating them.

Emma noticed that all three of them, except for maybe Vision, looked a little worse for wear. Tony and Rhodey both had severe dents and bullet holes in their suits. At first glance she thought it was odd that Hydra had used guns on Tony, Rhodey, and Vision but none on her and Peter unless you counted their weird weapon which did nothing more than blow a hole in one of the walls. It was then that Emma realized something that should've been more obvious to her. They meant to kill the others but take her. The only reason they hadn't used guns on Peter was to ensure that they didn't miss and fatally shoot her instead. This was their plan all along.

Kill the Avengers and take her.

"Are you guys alright?" Tony asked them as the face plate of his suit lifted up. He allowed himself to glance over their bodies for any injuries and he didn't like what he saw on Emma. There was so much blood and Tony was afraid to ask whether it was from her or whoever she was fighting against. She also seemed exhausted as she stood there next to Peter in the midst of all the unconscious and beaten up Hydra agents. They would've come a little sooner but the Hydra agents on the other side of the building were more than enough to keep them all occupied. The only difference between the scene over there and the one here was that they hadn't hesitated to kill. Not that he wanted the kid and Mini Cap to do that, but he didn't want them to be in this position in the first place. It became clear to Tony that he had been alarmingly naïve thinking that he could keep Emma safe at the compound. It would appear that nowhere was really safe.

"Mini Cap, do I need to call for medical assistance? I think Cho might be able to help." Tony said to her, but Emma just shook her head as she slowly walked away from the bloodied and battered Hydra agents she and Peter had fought.

"I'm fine, Tony." Emma said to him as she tried to regain her calm demeanor that she had long lost during all the fighting. Peter followed her as he continued looking over her with a worried expression on his face. "Look, you need to round these guys up and we need to build up a stronger defense before more show up. Something tells me that this is only the beginning."

"Emma…" Tony trailed off, but she ignored his concerned tone.

"This wasn't just an attack on the compound…this was a kidnapping mission. This means that they'll inevitably come back. We just don't know when." Emma told him as she continued to try and stay professional but deep down she was scared. She was scared of the fact that Hydra had gotten so close to successfully kidnapping her like they had obviously planned to do. Tonight, Emma had almost ended up in Rumlow's clutches again for the first time in over three years.

"You're bleeding. You need help." Tony stated as Rhodey and Vision also looked at her in concern. Emma just bit the inside of her cheek before glancing back at the work she had done to that slimy asshole still lying on the floor. She then tore her gaze away from him as she began to walk past the three men.

"I'm already healing. The only person who needs medical attention is the asshole bleeding out into your carpet." Emma said bitterly as she walked past them, reverting to her closed off and defensive self. "He's the team leader so we'll need him. Let's see if we can get anything out of him but I need a shower first."

"Sorry about the mess." Emma mumbled as she then walked away. Peter shot Tony an apologetic look as he followed his girlfriend.

"We're fine, Mr. Stark." Peter said reassuringly. "We're just a little shaken up. I'll make sure she's okay and then we'll come back down to sort through this."

Tony could only nod as Peter then offered him a smile that looked more like a grimace before the teenager hurried over to catch up with Emma. Tony just watched them leave but he was no less worried than he was before. Although she seemed adamant that she was okay, Tony could still tell that she was really shaken up. He had expected her to chew him out about not getting there faster but she did no such thing. She just left the room as soon as she could.

"Tony, you should come see this." Rhodey called out for him and Tony was snapped out of his thoughts. He turned his head and spotted Rhodey and Vision standing a short distance away. Rhodey had a look of shock on his face as he looked down at one of the Hydra agents lying on the floor.

"What is it?" Tony said as he began to walk over. He didn't understand what was so shocking about a bunch of unconscious Hydra agents, but it wasn't until he stood next to them that he saw what the big deal was. This must've been the man Emma said needed medical attention…the team-leader. The man looked to be a sight for sore eyes, looking like he had been mauled by a mountain lion, as he laid on the ground passed out. There were a bunch of stab wounds that littered his arm and shoulder. Most of his ear was missing and Tony spotted where the ear was. It was lying several feet away from the man. His face was beginning to look badly swollen but none of that was what gave Tony some pause. No. It was what he saw on the man's forehead that did.

Tony's breathing hitched as he saw the bloody symbol carved into the man's forehead with so much precision that he could clearly make out what it was. It was the Hydra symbol. The symbol displayed the familiar and eerie image of a skull with octopus tentacles coming out of it. Tony swallowed hard at the gory image in front of him. For some reason he found it very difficult to speak but when he did, he limited himself to very few words.

"Let's get Cho down here…and fast."

---

Emma had taken a rather long shower after the ordeal of the Hydra attack. She needed a long shower just to wash all the blood off of her but also to gather her thoughts…to process what had just happened. Her knife wound had already healed up by now and she was positive that the other assortment of cuts would be gone by morning too. However, it wasn't the wounds that haunted her so much. It was the memory of how she had lost it back in the lobby. How she had attacked the man like she had no control over herself. She was supposed to be better than her emotions. She wasn't supposed to let her emotions rule her actions which was something she had always preached to Peter during their training sessions. It turned out that she was just another hypocrite. The moment the man threatened all the men she held most dear, something inside her snapped. Her anger reached a boiling point and she couldn't help herself.

It wasn't like how it was with Bruce either. Emma didn't have an alter-ego like that. There wasn't some monster that broke out of her that she could cast all her blame on. No, it was just her. She was the monster. Sure, she could make excuses about what she did. That the Hydra agent was just another evil asshole, but Emma didn't really believe in good and evil like Peter and Steve did. She believed that most of the world was filled with assholes who were hellbent on destroying humanity so that they could compensate for their small penis size and then there were people just going about their usual business, not wanting any trouble. That's what Emma believed in so there was really no excuse for what she had done. She had always prided herself on keeping her cool and never letting her emotions affect her. Maybe she wasn't as good at this as she thought she was.

Maybe she wasn't good at trying to be one of the good guys.

Emma came out of the bathroom, dressed in borrowed clothing from Pepper who was nearly the same height as her. Peter was waiting for her on a seat in the lab. The opposite side of the compound, which contained the lab, medical wing, and training facility, was left untouched for the most part. There was still the question of the other side's state. The second floor was probably still steady, but it was more of the fact that the roof had been blown apart that gave them some pause. Emma supposed that they would just have to make their way through all the rubble to assess the real damage tomorrow.

"How are you feeling?" Peter asked her quietly as she walked into the lab. Emma shrugged as she took the seat next to him.

"Better now that I washed all the blood off of me. The wound also closed up. Sorry about your shirt by the way." Emma said, referring his shirt that she had been wearing earlier that had also been soaked in blood and slashed to pieces. Peter shook his head furiously.

"I don't care about the shirt. I'm just glad that you're okay." Peter told her and Emma nodded briefly before a teasing look came over her face as she felt the need to change the subject. She then spoke again in an attempt to lighten the situation or avoid any talk about what happened before. Emma didn't know which.

"You know, you could've joined me…so we could conserve water. I wouldn't have minded." Peter blushed despite the serious situation.

"I'll take one in a bit." Peter managed to say in the midst of Emma's flirting. Usually Peter might've let her go on with her flirting, but he knew what she was trying to do. She was trying to deflect, and Peter couldn't let her do that. He knew he had to let her talk, so she wouldn't keep it all bottled up inside.

"We should probably talk about what happened." Peter said seriously, and the smirk fell off Emma's face as she sighed. This was the last thing she wanted to talk about, but she knew Peter wouldn't take no for an answer.

"Right…" Emma trailed off quietly, but Peter went ahead and pushed her very carefully to speak about what happened.

"Are you alright after everything? It's all so um…well, I can't even wrap my mind around it." Peter said as he tried to think of something to say. "I never expected something like this to happen here. I thought we were…"

"Safe?" Emma finished for him and Peter nodded at her.

"Yes, safe. I never thought that anyone would dare attack the Avenger's Facility." Peter told her. "I guess that's pretty naïve of me, right?" Emma shook her head.

"No, it's not. I think we all thought we were safe here. Even I did but I've been wrong before." Emma admitted because she truthfully believed that deep down. She never would've imagined that someone could attack the compound and for them to be successful. All it took was a bunch of assholes with advanced weaponry and they were left almost defenseless.

"At least everyone's okay. Darcy and Susan came by while you were in the shower and said that everyone's safe. Well, except for the former Shield agents that were outside." Peter told her, seeming to be filled with sorrow over the agents at the facility who had lost their lives. Emma wasn't shocked or anything. A lot of people died by Hydra's hands. It was nothing new to her. "They asked about you. They were very worried."

"Things could've turned out a lot worse." Emma said, ignoring his last comment about Darcy and Susan.

"We're fine, Emma. Everyone's alive and well. The compound took a hit, but Tony probably already has a plan to fix it." Peter said reassuringly, and Emma realized the difference between them. She was very blunt and honest about the hard truth while Peter tended to sugar coat things if he thought it would make her feel better.

"We're not fine, Peter. We barely managed to defeat Hydra back there. They were almost successful in kidnapping me and killing the rest of you." Emma said bitterly as Peter looked back at her. "You think that's the last we're going to see of them? No, they're coming back for more. You heard that British asshole. It was me they wanted. That's the only reason they attacked the compound tonight."

"We're not going to let them take you, Emma. Mr. Stark will never let that happen…I will never let that happen." Emma scoffed as she got up from the seat. Peter just watched her in concern.

"Tony can't even protect the compound. How is he supposed to protect me?" Emma argued before pacing the room which was something Peter had never seen her do before. He had never seen her act so nervous…so on edge. It was extremely troubling to him. "Not that I need his or anyone's protection. It's just that they almost won tonight. They came so close to taking me back and who knows what would've happened then."

"You're scared." Peter said but it wasn't a question. It was a statement. Emma stopped to look at him.

"I'm not scared of anything." Emma snapped and there might've been a time that Peter would've been offended by her cold tone, but he knew her better than that. She was just being defensive. Peter immediately got up from his seat and didn't waste any time going over to her. He wrapped his arms around her, not caring if she tried to push him away but she didn't. She let him wrap her up in his warm embrace and allowed herself to feel comforted by his presence.

"You don't have to lie to me, Emma. You know I'd never judge you for it." Peter said softly to her and Emma felt tears starting to flood her eyes as she stood there with Peter.

"They almost had me, Peter…and they would've killed you and everyone else to get to me." Emma said as she was being honest with both Peter and herself. "We barely managed to come out on top. What are we going to do the next time they come? They've already nearly destroyed the compound and they've proven that we have a lot of weak spots."

"Next time they'll come better prepared…with more men and more gun power. It's only a matter of time. By then, we might not be able to fight them back."

"Don't say that, Emma. I already told you that I would never let anything happen to you." Peter told her firmly before looking slightly regretful as he remembered the fact that he had already failed her. That man back in the lobby had managed to stab Emma which could've proven to be fatal if not for her healing factor. "Next time we'll just have to stick closer together. I made a mistake tonight. I never should've let you leave my side, but I'll do better next time. I promise." Emma just shook her head as she pulled away from him.

"Peter, you're not my protector. My safety shouldn't be your main concern. If you think like that during battle, then you're going to get yourself hurt or worse." Emma told him, trying to make it clear to him that she didn't want him to be concerned with her safety. Just his own. "Please just promise me that you will never do anything stupid because of me. Please, Peter. If anything, ever happened to you, I don't know what I would do." Peter gave her a look of disbelief.

"Do you think I could let anything happen to you either?" Peter questioned as he then shook his head. "I can't make a promise like that, Emma. Not when it comes to you. I would do anything for you."

"I don't you want to." Emma said but she was too tired to be mad at him. She was too tired for a lot of things right now. She sighed as she looked away from him. "I don't understand why I can't be happy for more than five minutes without something taking it all away from me. Everything was more than fine before Hydra decided to make a return." Peter watched her silently and felt his heart clench at the sight of the sad look on her face.

"These past few months have been so nice…the happiest I've been in a long time." Emma stated as she fiddled with the hem of her shirt. "I should've known that it wouldn't last forever. Nothing ever does. Maybe I deserve it."

"Don't say that." Peter told her, and Emma just swallowed hard.

"It's true, Peter. You saw what I did to that man." Emma said and found that she couldn't bring herself to look at him. She was ashamed of what she did. Not because she felt bad for hurting that man but because Peter had seen what she had done. He had managed to capture a glimpse of the Viper Assassin's true ruthless nature which she had never wanted him to see. Emma didn't want him to see the ugly parts of her. "He said one little thing and I snapped. I'm supposed to be better than that…I'm supposed to have control and I always make it seem like I do when in reality, I have none whatsoever. This is just in my nature."

"No, it's not." Peter argued as he placed his hands on either side of her face and forced her to look at him. "You were just scared, and that man hurt you."

"I didn't have to do those things to him. I went too far." Emma confessed, and deep-down Peter knew she went too far as well but he didn't care. That man had hurt her, and he didn't have any compassion for people who wanted to hurt his Emma.

"You think I care about him? He deserved worse." Peter said darkly, and Emma looked up at him in surprise. She never heard Peter talk like that before and for a moment, it might've even scared her. Emma didn't like hearing Peter talk like that. "Anyone who hurts you deserves worse."

"It's not the first time someone hurt me, Peter. It doesn't matter. I can take it." Emma said softly but Peter didn't seem pleased by her statement. "They'll do worse to get to me…Rumlow will do worse to get to me."

"I'll kill him before I let that happen." Peter said bitterly, and Emma could feel her heart racing in her chest from the look on his face but not in a good way. She was scared out of her mind at the look on his face but not for herself. No, she was scared for him because this was so unlike Peter. Emma immediately grabbed his hands, placing them in hers as she locked eyes with him.

"Promise me that you won't do that, Peter." Emma said to him and Peter looked bewildered at the scared expression on her face.

"But Emma-" He started to say but she interrupted him.

"Just promise me, Peter. I know you and I know that killing people isn't a part of you." Emma told him honestly. "I don't care who the person is but just promise me that you won't kill anyone. Not even Rumlow. I couldn't live with myself if you did that to yourself."

Peter throat suddenly felt dry as she kept her gaze on him. Those beautiful ocean blue eyes, that were filled with tears, stared at him pleadingly and Peter's heart ached at the sight. Emma was begging him not to kill anyone even though he knew he wanted to kill Rumlow more badly than he had ever wanted to kill anyone before. He wanted to make him pay for every single thing he had done to Emma. Peter wanted him to feel sorry and beg for her forgiveness only to never receive it. The man was more evil than anyone Peter had ever encountered before. Anyone who harmed Emma was evil in Peter's opinion. However, she was begging him not to kill anyone. How could he deny her of that when she looked so scared and desperate? Emma never begged for anything, yet she was begging him for this one thing right in this instance.

"Okay." He finally said. Peter knew that he couldn't worry or alarm her anymore. She was already in such a terrified and stressed out state that he couldn't help her by arguing with her. Besides…anything Emma wanted, he would give to her. Peter, however, knew that he would still absolutely kill Rumlow if the man ever got his hands on Emma again. There was no doubt about it. Peter couldn't lose Emma and he would rather die than let that monster hurt her again.

"Thank you." Emma murmured softly, and Peter just nodded.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." Peter apologized, and Emma shook her head.

"I'm not scared of you. I just…I know what it's like to kill someone. Good or bad, it's something you carry with you for the rest of your life. You don't need that." Emma told him sincerely and it was times like these that Peter wished that he could somehow go back in time and save Emma from Hydra. He wanted to make it so she never knew pain or suffering…that she never knew what it meant to kill someone. He desperately wished that he could take all that pain away from her.

"You don't need to carry that weight by yourself anymore. I'm not just your boyfriend, Emma…I'm your partner too. You don't have to be alone." Peter told her, and Emma couldn't help but feel grateful to have him in her life. She would never begin to understand why he was still with her after all this. Emma was the definition of high maintenance, yet he was still here with her and he didn't look to be leaving anytime soon.

"I know." Emma chose to say instead of telling him how much she didn't deserve him. She didn't think she did, but he seemed to think so. Peter leaned in and kissed her softly. The kiss was brief, but it was enough to tell her that everything was going to be okay even though it might not be. He pulled away from her after a moment to look back at her.

"Emma, I'm going to make sure everything's alright." Peter told her, sounding very confident despite everything. "We're going fix this and then we're going to find a better way to keep you safe. That's all we need. We just need a plan or something." Emma wanted to argue with him that she didn't need protection, but she just felt too tired at this point. It had been a long day but an even longer night. Things were quickly going downhill and despite Peter's reassurances, she still felt afraid.

"You look tired." Peter said when she didn't answer him, and she shrugged.

"That's because I am tired. Fighting Hydra assholes will do that to you." Emma retorted, and Peter just shook his head.

"You need to get some rest." Peter told her, and Emma looked at him like he was crazy.

"If you think I can actually sleep after all that then you're crazier than I thought, Parker." Emma told him because she honestly didn't think she could sleep right now with the knowledge that Rumlow was coming. She didn't know how or when, but she had a feeling he was coming now that his Hydra agents had failed their mission. But had they failed? Hydra had managed to blow up a part of the compound and infiltrate the base. It was clear that Hydra had already managed to injure the Avengers and Emma didn't know what was going to happen the next time they came. She just knew it was somehow going to be worse.

"Emma, you need to sleep. Maybe even for just a couple of hours." Peter said honestly because he could tell how tired she was. Maybe if she just slept for a couple hours, she would feel better. "If you get some sleep then you can be more awake and alert in the morning. You'll feel better if you get some sleep."

"Where am I even supposed to sleep?" Emma questioned. "Our rooms are probably trashed out right now."

"Tony's got a couch in his office. It's right down the hall. Just sleep for an hour or two and I promise you'll feel better." Peter told her, and Emma bit her lip as she felt herself begin to give in to him. Maybe he was right. An hour or two wouldn't hurt her and Emma really didn't feel like being alone with her thoughts right now. An hour or two of rest would be enough for Emma to unwind for a bit.

"I guess you're right." Emma finally admitted. "I just feel so tired after everything. A part of me doesn't even want to walk the distance to Tony's office." Peter smirked at her, an idea forming in his head.

"Well, I can fix at least one of those things." He told her, and Emma shot him a confused look

"What are you-" She began to say but was taken by surprise when Peter, without a warning, picked her up from the ground as if she weighed nothing and scooped her up into his arms. Emma looked around wildly, still surprised by Peter's sudden action.

"What the hell's gotten into you? Put me down!" Emma said as she glared at him, but Peter didn't seem bothered by her tone. He just gave her that stupid goofy smile of his as he carried her away without another word.

"I don't want you somehow talking yourself out of getting rest." Peter told her as he easily carried Emma out of the lab and down the hall. "But mostly I've just always wanted an excuse to do this."

"If you tell anyone about this I'll kill you, Parker." Emma told him as she continued to glare daggers at her boyfriend. Peter just gave her a teasing look. He had that frustrating smug look on his face that always infuriated Emma. It was the same look he got on his face whenever he sounded so confident about something. Usually he was only that smug when he told her that they were going to get married and live happily ever after like some gross fairytale, but this circumstance was just as annoying.

"No, you won't. You know why? Because you loooove me." Peter teased, and Emma wanted to smack that stupid look off his face even though she knew he was right. Peter was just lucky that she loved him because no one else could get away with something like this. They finally reached Tony's office and it was then that Peter briefly paused before he walked through the doorway.

"You know when the next time I carry you over the threshold will be?" Peter asked with a stupid little smirk on his face. Emma narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't you dare say it." Emma warned but Peter clearly wasn't afraid of her.

"When we're married." Peter practically sang, and Emma didn't know why she put up with him. He was so goddamn annoying sometimes.

"I already told you. I'm not going to marry you and I'm definitely never having your kids. You're already annoying by yourself, so I can only imagine how irritating your little Spider-Brats will be." Emma told him seriously, but Peter didn't look bothered by her statement which only annoyed Emma more. It was like he didn't believe her when she told him she wasn't going to marry him.

"I wonder what we'll have first? Maybe a girl. Oooh…we should name her something Star Wars inspired. Rey! Definitely Rey!" Peter rambled, and Emma gave him a scathing look.

"Don't be disgusting." Emma told him in an annoyed tone. Rey? They weren't going to name their daughter after a character in some nerd movie Peter was obsessed with and especially not after a character who Peter probably masturbated to on occasion. She wouldn't put it past him. Peter had even tried to get her to wear the Rey costume to the Comic Con they went to. Emma knew, from the look in his eyes when he begged her, that it was all part of his little nerdy wet dream. Rey didn't even have a sexy outfit, so she really didn't understand Peter's fascination. Her boyfriend was so weird. What kind of name was Rey anyways? Rey…Emma certainly wasn't going to name their kid Rey. Wait…what was she even thinking? Emma didn't even want kids yet here she was mentally arguing with Peter over a stupid name. Peter really knew how to fuck with her head.

"I love you too, my little snake." Peter said teasingly as he walked them further into Tony's office. Emma glared at him as he carefully deposited her on the couch.

"I hate you, you little asshole." Emma muttered but Peter just smiled at her in that goofy way again. God, he really was a little pest, wasn't he? Well, a pest that Emma begrudgingly loved but still a pest nonetheless. Peter immediately covered her with one of the blankets and made sure she was nestled comfortably against the pillows.

"Are you comfy?" Peter asked her, and she shrugged.

"I guess." Peter took that to mean yes. It was then, however, that Emma remembered something. She looked at Peter with a look of concern. Mostly because she didn't know why she had so easily forgotten about Tony and the others as well as the important discussion they needed to have about the attack that had just taken place.

"Wait…what about Tony? We need to talk him through everything that happened in the lobby." Emma said as she began to sit up, but Peter stopped her.

"I'll talk to him. You just rest." Peter told her, and she gave him a confused look.

"Aren't you going to rest with me?" Emma asked him, and Peter just shook his head.

"I'll come back up and join you in a little while." Peter said as he tried to reassure her.

"Are you sure?" Emma asked hesitantly, and Peter nodded.

"Yes. I'll take care of everything." Peter told her, and Emma finally let herself relax against the pillows on the couch. They were both silent for a moment as Emma laid there, a million thoughts going through her mind. She already felt a bit better than she had before. Fear still lingered within her, but the short amount of time Emma and Peter spent bickering about pointless things, had put her more at ease. Emma felt more comfortable than she had before.

"Thank you." Emma said, seemingly randomly as she looked back at Peter and he shrugged.

"It won't take long to talk to Tony. It's not a big deal." Peter told her, and Emma shook her head.

"Not about that. I just meant thanks for cheering me up. I really needed that." Emma told him, and Peter just smiled softly at her.

"Of course." Peter said before he started to get up to leave. Emma stopped him, however, before he could. She didn't really know what she was feeling right now but she knew that she didn't want him to leave. She didn't want to be alone with herself again. Emma was afraid of what thoughts would encompass her mind again if she was left alone.

"Please don't leave." Emma said and the fear in her eyes gave Peter some pause. Whenever Emma was scared, it made him scared too. She was the strongest person he knew which is why it filled him with sadness and guilt to see her like this.

"I won't." Peter said as he continued to kneel down by the couch. The fear in her eyes slightly wavered once he made it clear he wasn't going to leave just yet.

"Just stay until I fall asleep." Emma said pleadingly, and Peter couldn't help but oblige her. He knew how hard it was for her willingly beg for anything. Her pride would usually prevent her from doing it, but they had already been through so much tonight that it wasn't likely that she cared anymore.

"I promise." Peter said, and Emma relaxed against the pillow once more.

"You'll join me after you talk to Tony?" Emma asked and she never felt more like a child. Despite all the time she spent making sure everyone knew how much smarter she was than them or how much more composed she was, Emma felt fear strike her heart just like when she was the scared little girl that Hydra had stolen. One face to face meeting with Hydra and Emma had been reverted back to being that same little four year old girl who wept for her mommy and daddy who would never come to save her. However, Peter didn't make her feel sorry or pathetic for asking. His gaze was loving and full of promise. Peter nodded quickly.

"I'll be here when you wake up." Peter promised, and Emma smiled softly, satisfied with his answer. His promise was all she needed to finally make her feel safe again. The fact that he would be here when she woke up was enough for her.

"Thank you." Emma whispered, and Peter shook his head.

"Stop thanking me. You know I would do anything for you, Emma…anything." Peter told her and that was what frightened her. She knew only a little too well that he would do anything for her. From their earlier conversation, Peter made it clear that he would kill for her if he had to which wasn't what she wanted for him. He was full of kindness and light. Emma wished that nothing would ever snuff the light out of his heart. Peter was so innocent and untainted by darkness that Emma would never forgive herself if she ever corrupted him that way. However, she said nothing of this as she looked back at him.

"Tell me something." Emma requested as she laid there, forcing herself not to think of anymore dark thoughts. Now was not the time. "Something to make me fall asleep."

"You're full of demands today." Peter said jokingly as his eyes twinkled with amusement, but he did as she asked nonetheless. "What do you want me to tell you about?"

"Anything. I don't care." Emma told him, and it really didn't matter what he told her. She just wanted to sleep peacefully and without any nightmares. "Tell me about one of your nerd movies." Peter usually bickered with her when she called the movies he liked nerd movies, but he didn't this time. He just smiled and did exactly as she asked.

"Well, Ned and I were actually talking about this one theory we formed about the next Star Wars movie…" He said as he started to tell her a theory he had made about one of the characters. Usually Emma would get bored and tell him what a little nerd he was, but she didn't this time. She just listened as he rambled on passionately about Star Wars and slowly the soothing sound of his voice lulled her to sleep.

It took Peter a couple minutes before he realized that she had finally fallen asleep. A smile made its way back onto his face as he looked down at her. It would never cease to amaze him how peaceful and carefree she looked when she was asleep. There was no sign of the pain and suffering she carried upon her shoulders as she slept. For a moment Peter was able to get a glimpse of what she might've looked like as a small child. It was moments like these Peter always cherished. She always seemed older than him even though he was technically older than her. Emma's cynicism and wisdom made her seem far older than she really was but right here in this moment, she looked her age. Emma Rogers looked like a sixteen year old girl who was peacefully sleeping and dreaming…hopefully of places nicer than this one.

Peter then leaned forward and pressed his lips against her forehead, mentally wishing her sweet dreams and everything more. A lot had happened today, but he was bound and determined to make sure that Emma would remain safe. He had promised her that she was safe with him, but he had unintentionally broken that promise when the Hydra agents had almost kidnapped her. However, Peter was never going to let that happen again. He was going to have to find a way to keep Emma safe and he had a small idea on how to do that. It would take a lot of begging and convincing on his part, but Peter was convinced that he could do something that he should've done a long time ago.

There was just one person he had to talk to.

---

"And then you guys showed up." Peter told Tony and the billionaire had a solemn look on his face. It was perhaps one of the rarest moments where Tony Stark had ever appeared to be solemn. The older man had been oddly quiet throughout Peter's entire recollection of Emma and his fight against the Hydra agents. They were the only two in the lab. Vision and Rhodey were carefully guarding the Hydra prisoners and waiting for Ross's men to arrive to take them to Raft Prison. All of them would leave but one. Lance Collins…the one who had injured Emma and the one that Emma made regretful of that action.

"Okay. Everything sounds in order. Thanks a lot, kid." Tony told him, and Peter nodded. He could tell that Tony was deeply troubled. There was no light heartedness to his tone or sarcasm like usual. Peter had a strong feeling that he knew why, and it went way beyond the attack on the compound. Peter seemed hesitant as he asked Tony the next question on his mind. Something he was very curious about but also dreading to hear.

"Is that man going to live?" Peter asked him, and Tony knew exactly who Peter meant. Tony sighed.

"The guy's in critical condition. I mean he's got several stab wounds, a bitten off ear, broken nose, broken ribs, and a whole lot of internal bleeding." Tony told him before continuing. "But Dr. Cho seems to think she can fix him up although he's not going to be getting that ear back. Cho retired the cradle after what happened with Ultron two years ago. Not that he deserves to have an ear anyways."

"What about his forehead?" Peter asked even more hesitantly before. A part of him didn't want to know the answer but another part of him was desperate to know. He didn't dare ask Emma because he knew she wasn't herself when she had done it. That was the angry and scared Emma. It occurred to Peter that, although Emma had gotten mad at him numerous times in the past, she had never really been mad at him. An angry Emma was the one that had come out against the Hydra agent. Peter had pissed his girlfriend off several times in the past, but he still had all his limbs intact.

"What?" Tony questioned, and Peter nervously bit his lip before responding.

"She carved something into his forehead. What was it?" Peter asked curiously, and Tony knew exactly what he meant. The gruesome scene Emma had left behind still flashed in his mind. Not because he was horrified by it but because he felt guilty. Whenever he saw glimpses into Emma's dark past he always felt guilty. Tony felt as though there was more he could've done way back when to prevent Emma from being taken by Hydra…to prevent her parent's death. But he hadn't done anything. All Tony had done back then was make his way through booze and women. He cared for little else. What happened to Emma was on him in a way. She was his responsibility, after all. No just because her dad and grandfather had both made her his responsibility but because Emma was one of the closest things he had left to family. Everyone else was dead.

"Hydra's symbol." Tony finally said as he pushed those thoughts away. Peter gave him a confused look.

"Hydra's symbol? But why would Emma leave Hydra's symbol on him? She hates Hydra more than anyone." Peter said, perplexed at this new information. Tony shrugged, trying not to let those guilty thoughts creep back inside his head.

"I think your girlfriend's been watching too many Quentin Tarantino movies." Tony muttered and at first Peter felt more confused than before.

"I don't understand." Peter said, no closer to understanding Emma's actions than he had before.

"Think about it, kid. Hydra's known for being a bunch of cowardly little weasels who hide within governments. You can't know the difference between your enemy and your friend." Tony informed him as Peter carefully listened to his explanation. "I think Mini Cap saw this as her way of remedying that."

Peter's mind combed through all the Quentin Tarantino movies he had seen but it didn't take long before he remembered one in particular. It was the ending of the Brad Pitt one. The one where Christoph Waltz's evil Nazi character had switched over to the Allies side when he saw the inevitable defeat the Nazis would have ahead of them. He made demands of immunity, money, and the medal of honor, all of which he would receive. No one would know the horrors he had inflicted and how truly evil and heinous he really was. He would walk across the earth untouched and unpunished, the truth of his crimes unknown to all. Well, not until Brad Pitt's character got a hold of him and the rest was history. Peter then understood why Emma had carved the symbol into the man's head. It made more sense to him now but somehow, he didn't feel sorry for the man. Just like he didn't feel sorry for the Nazi in the Quentin Tarantino movie.

"Oh…" Peter finally managed to say but Tony went on.

"It'll scar. That's what Cho said, at least." Tony said quietly and suddenly he seemed distant to Peter again. He had that faraway look in his eyes and Peter felt as though he still didn't completely understand Tony Stark. Tony Stark who was a man who should've been so transparent…who should've held no apprehension about not beating around the bush. Yet Tony still seemed to be a mystery to Peter although in a different way than Emma was. Emma's mysterious nature was no surprise to Peter. Everyday he seemed to be unraveling a different mystery about her and it was something he loved about her. He never stopped learning something new when it came to Emma Rogers. However, it did seem to surprise him that Tony Stark could be mysterious at times too. Peter started to realize that maybe his mentor wasn't so transparent, after all.

"He deserved worse." Peter told him, fully expecting Tony to become angry with him over saying something so dark but he didn't even look annoyed. The billionaire just nodded.

"You're right." Tony admitted, and Peter gave him an apprehensive look.

"You're not angry with Emma over what happened, right?" Peter asked carefully but Tony shook his head.

"No. I'm actually a little proud that she was able to not kill the guy although I definitely wouldn't blame her if she had." Tony told him before a concerned look, that wasn't so discreet, came over his face. "How is she by the way? She seemed…distant earlier." Peter sighed before answering.

"She's asleep right now. I finally got her to get some rest although she wasn't very happy about it at first." Peter told him as Tony listened to him silently. "The stab wound has already healed which is good but that's just part of it. She's terrified. I've never seen her this scared before which also happens to scare me too."

"Right." Tony said quietly as he took in this new information. The word of Emma's fear didn't set well with him. Everything that happened tonight didn't sit well with him. This was all getting incredibly out of hand and Tony was afraid that there was nothing he could do to protect Emma. He had tried to protect her with keeping her at the compound and making Vision keep an eye on her, but it just wasn't enough. He was failing to do the one thing he had promised both Steven and himself to do. Protecting Emma was never going to be an easy feat, but he never expected to fail so much at it.

"Mr. Stark, is Emma right?" Peter asked him abruptly which once again snapped Tony out of his thoughts. He looked back at the teenage boy with a confused expression on his face.

"What?" Tony questioned, and Peter continued.

"Did Hydra really come here tonight to kidnap her?" Peter asked him with a worried look on his face. He was secretly hoping that Emma was wrong even though he knew deep down that she wasn't. Tony sighed.

"I know this is difficult for you to understand but she's right. I think that's the only reason they came here tonight. They didn't come here for me or you, that's for sure." Tony told him, but Peter didn't know why this was happening. He understood that Hydra had seen Emma as a weapon of sorts, but couldn't they make another one? Not that he wanted them too, but he failed to understand why they were so focused on her and only her. Peter figured that Rumlow had a sick obsession with her but why did the rest of Hydra just go blindly along with it?

"They have so many weapons…highly advanced weapons. They don't need her." Peter told him, but Tony shrugged.

"There's a lot of things we don't understand about Mini Cap. All I know is that the serum my father created, the one Hydra injected her with, is allegedly supposed to make her the new and improved super soldier." Tony informed Peter who listened to him intently.

"No one knows what my dad used in the serum he made. I've tried time after time to find any notes or evidence of what he had done but I've found nothing." Tony paused for a brief fleeting moment as he collected his thoughts over the matter. "The other super soldiers that had the serum before her are all dead now, so they can't tell us either. The only way we would know the secrets of that serum is Emma and I'm not going to poke and prod her with needles. She's been through enough."

"You're saying that they want the serum your dad made? Why? I mean…Emma can fly and all but other than that she's not that different from the Winter Soldier and Captain America, right?" Peter questioned as he tried to understand Hydra's reasoning although he didn't think he ever would. "Maybe they could focus on me instead. I'm stronger than Emma…faster even. They would want me more than her if they knew that. They could take me instead."

"Don't say that, kid." Tony said quickly, not liking what Peter was saying. He was already worried enough about Emma without Peter thinking of stupid shit like that. Deep down Tony knew that Hydra probably had their reasons why they wanted Emma so badly, but he didn't want to scare the kid by telling him. Peter was obviously worried enough about Emma without thinking about crap like that.

"I don't want them getting to Emma." Peter argued, and Tony rubbed his eyes tiredly as he tried not to lose his shit with this kid. He had been very stressed out lately which hadn't gone unnoticed by the others, but Peter and Emma were really testing his patience these days.

"Don't do anything stupid." Tony told him sternly and Peter stared back at him. He had never seen Tony act so serious before. Well, technically he had. There was that time when Tony took his and Emma's suits away but that was different. Tony had been mad at them then but now he just seemed scared.

"It's not stupid if it'll save her." Peter told him defiantly. It was then that Peter finally prepared himself to ask the one thing he should've asked a long time ago. Maybe he would've if he hadn't been so scared of upsetting his mentor…the man that Peter admired beyond all others but now it was clear that Emma was in danger. He had no other choice but to ask him the most impossible thing. Peter just hoped that Tony would listen to him this time.

"She was right, you know…she was right about everything." Peter said seriously as Tony looked back at him. "We're not enough to go up against Hydra. We might've won this time but next time they'll come back with more men and we'll lose. We can't hold them off when they have those weapons."

"I'll think of something." Tony said but it wasn't enough for Peter. The teenage boy took a deep breath before finally standing up against Tony Stark. It was something he had seen Emma do loads of time and it seemed easy when she had done it but in reality, it was hard. It was hard because Peter cared about Tony and didn't want to disappoint him, but this went beyond disappointment. This was about Emma and doing not what was just best for her but for the rest of the world too.

"We need the others, Tony." Peter finally said, uttering Tony's name for the first time to the billionaire's face. In other circumstances Tony would've been glad that they had gotten past such formalities but not this time. Peter could feel his heart hammering inside his chest, but he kept his gaze firmly on Tony's, refusing to look away. Tony frowned.

"Kid-" Tony started to say but Peter hurriedly continued. He was afraid if he let Tony speak that he would never be able to get Tony to see his point.

"No, we need to get them back here. Emma was right. We're lacking in a lot of areas right now. Just think about it." Peter told him as he tried to be as confident as Emma was whenever she was standing up against Tony. He had watched her so many times in this very position, but he would never understand how calm and collected she could be because Peter never felt more nervous in his life. "Captain America knows a lot about battle strategies and especially against Hydra. Her father also spent several decades in Hydra, so he's bound to know a lot of stuff. I know he would help too. He loves Emma…they both do."

"They would want to help her if they knew what was going on. The only reason they're not here is because they think she's safe. They deserve to know if she's not." Peter finally finished as he did his best at trying to convince Tony to do what Emma had earlier suggested. However, it became clear from the look on Tony's face that it wasn't working.

"It's not that simple." Tony told him the second Peter stopped speaking. "Look, I understand where you're coming from, but we can't do that. The Accords forbid that from happening. Cap knew what he was doing when he refused to sign the accords. He should've thought about Emma when he was chasing after his old war buddy."

"I understand why the accords were put in place. We learned about it in AP history." Peter said, and Tony wanted to roll his eyes at the kid's answer but Peter just continued speaking. "But there should be exceptions. The truth is that the accords were meant to protect the world but how is it protecting the world by preventing the Avengers from helping? How is that helping anyone?"

"I already told you that it's impossible. Ross will never stand for it and he'll ship everyone back off to Raft the second they land on US soil. It's pointless." Tony told him as he tried to refuse Peter's suggestion just like how he rejected Emma's suggestion. "This isn't just about the Avengers. This is about politics. We can't just do whatever we want. I learned that lesson the hard way. I know you're too young to understand this but-"

Peter immediately interrupted the older man, not liking the feeling of being patronized. He always hated it whenever Tony treated him like a little kid. Peter knew Emma felt the same way as well. There was so much more they could do yet the adults still treated them like they were children. It was seldom they were ever treated like adults. The meeting the night before was the first time in a while.

"I'm not too young to understand! Okay?!" Peter said as he raised his voice and Tony was taken back by the kid's tone. It was rare that the kid ever raised his voice at him. In fact…Tony was sure that Peter had never done it before. At least not like this. "Politics shouldn't have anything to do with it. These are people's lives at stake. People lives shouldn't depend on politics."

Peter allowed himself to calm down a bit as he continued to talk to Tony. He was trying to get him to see some sense…to look past all the past mistakes he had made and the rift between him and Captain America. There were more important things to worry about. Especially now.

"Tony, I get that the accords are you trying to fix whatever mistakes you made in the past. Whether it was Ultron or something else, I don't know…but this is a lot bigger than the accords." Peter said, trying to make Tony understand why they needed the others. Tony just had to understand. There was no other way they could come out of this without the help of the others. Emma was right.

"We have to get the others. There's no other option. You think that you can somehow fix this and make Emma safer but you can't. Not on your own. You've tried to protect her, and you've done the best you can. We all know that. But you can't risk her safety and the rest of the world's safety over a bunch of papers. It's okay to ask for help sometimes, you know." Peter chewed nervously on his bottom lip as he looked down at his hands in his lap. The expression on his face turned more sad as he continued to speak to the now quiet billionaire.

"It's not just about protecting her or stopping Hydra from hurting more people either." Peter admitted as he slowly glanced back up at Tony, meeting his gaze once more. "She's hurting, Tony. She's hurting really bad. I try to help her…to get her through it but I don't think I'm enough. It's not just me she needs." He paused for a brief moment before continuing and Tony just watched him silently.

"Emma needs her father and her grandfather. There's always been a part of her that's sad without them here. Sometimes she can be happy with me. Sometimes she allows herself to forget how much she misses them but at the end of the day they're still gone." Peter took a deep breath as he paused once more before making one last plea to Tony who watched him with an unreadable look on his face. So many thoughts were going on through Tony's mind that he didn't even know where his mind was.

"I'm asking you-no…I'm begging you to please bring them back. I know you must know a way to find them or something." Peter begged, his brown eyes wide with desperation and tears.

Tony felt choked up at the sight. It wasn't just the fact that the kid clearly loved Emma so much that he was begging but it was more of the fact that Tony always had a soft spot for the kid. Tony had always seen Peter as a better version of himself. The person Tony wished he had been at that age and someone who made all the right decisions instead of the wrong ones like Tony. Of course, Peter still made mistakes from time to time, but he always came through in the end.

"Tony, I'll do anything you want but just bring them back to her. She needs them." Peter pleaded, and Tony's throat felt thick with emotion as he forced himself to look away from Peter.

"I can't." Tony said, trying to hide the tears welling up in his eyes. He didn't want Peter or anyone else for that matter to see him so emotional…so weak. Peter just shook his head in disbelief.

"What? Yes you-" Peter started to say but Tony instantly interrupted him

"No…I can't." Tony repeated once again before elaborating. "You guys didn't see how things ended with Cap and me. I don't think things can be okay after everything that we said and did. I don't think I can face him after that and I definitely can't face Barnes either." Peter swallowed hard before replying.

"Yes, you can. That happened over a year ago. Besides…Hydra's coming and it'll all be water under the bridge." Peter told him, but Tony was as stubborn as ever. The billionaire shook his head as he spoke again, but this time Peter had lost all his patience with the man.

"You're asking too much." Tony said without thinking and Peter stared at him in disbelief which soon quickly turned to anger. There was something in those words that pissed Peter off beyond belief. The teenage boy instantly glared angrily at Tony…the man who he thought was braver than this.

"Too much?! I'm asking too much?!" Peter questioned in disbelief and Tony's eyes widened in surprise at the kid's anger. He didn't realize what he said until right then. "Emma's apparently too much now?"

"That's not what I meant." Tony told him, but Peter was already beyond pissed off at the man.

"You're a coward." Peter accused, and Tony's breathing hitched at the furious look on the kid's face. Tony swallowed hard as he tried to calm Peter down.

"Peter, I-" He started to say but Peter didn't let him finish. The teenage boy immediately stood up from his seat, his patience worn down. Peter liked to think he was a patient person…he rarely ever lost his temper. Emma was the only one that usually could do that but not even she made him this mad.

"No. You're a selfish coward. You're too scared to finally face Emma's grandfather because of some superhero drama. She's right…you're putting your ego ahead of people lives but most of all, you're putting your ego in front of Emma's life and I'm not going to put up with that." Peter told the billionaire but this time he didn't feel nervous or scared to stand up to Tony. He was too angry to feel nervous at this point. "I thought you loved her. I thought her life meant something to you."

"It does." Tony said desperately but Peter just shook his head.

"If it did then you would do something for once instead of just standing by and waiting for Hydra to take her." Peter accused as he gave Tony a disappointed look that just caused the older man to feel worse than he already did. "Well, I'm not going to wait for Hydra to come back." Tony shot Peter a confused look as the teenager clenched his jaw while looking threateningly at Tony.

"You're either going to bring them back or I'm taking Emma and leaving." Peter threatened in a voice much darker than what Tony was used to when it came to Peter Parker. Peter Parker who was usually shy and nervous but who now looked furious and dead serious. Tony almost thought he heard the kid wrong.

"What did you just say?" Tony asked in bewilderment and Peter gazed even more defiantly at Tony. He was trying to be calm at this point but deep down he was heaving with anger. Peter was angry that Tony was being so stupid and petty. This was Emma's life for crying aloud yet Tony was trying to gamble with it over some stupid feud.

"I said that you're either going to find the other Avengers and bring them back here or I'm going to leave and take Emma with me." Peter said more clearly, and a look of anger and disbelief came over Tony's face as he glared at the kid. Tony shook his head slowly, his jaw clenched but the kid wasn't backing down. Peter looked just as defiant as he had the moment before.

"Are you actually threatening me?" Tony asked in a low voice even though he obviously knew the answer. "Do I need to remind you that you're the kid and I'm the adult. You don't get to call the shots around here. I do."

"I get to call the shots when you're emotionally compromised." Peter told him strongly even though he barely understood what emotionally compromised was. It was a term Emma had used on several occasions but by the shocked look on Tony's face, he could tell he used the term correctly. "You don't have Emma's best interests at heart anymore, but I do. Being here isn't safe for her if there's only three Avengers left. Hydra wants her badly so she's going to need more than that." Peter swallowed hard as he continued to tell Tony off. Someone had to.

"I won't risk Emma's life over some feud between you and her grandfather. Her safety is a million times more important to me than that."

"If you take her then it's kidnapping." Tony accused as he continued to glare at Peter, angry of what Peter was accusing him of but at the same time he felt guilty because he knew Peter was right in a way. Peter shook his head.

"She'll come with me willingly." Peter said, and he was sure of that. Tony knew Peter was right about that too. Emma would go anywhere with Peter if he asked. "We'll find the others one way or the other…with or without your help but if you refuse to help then I'll be forced to take her and leave. I'll die before I let Hydra get their hands on her again."

Tony sat there as he stared back at Peter who still looked just as defiant and angry as before. In all honesty this was something Tony never expected. He never expected that Peter and Emma would ever become this close when he had first walked into the teenage boy's apartment to recruit him. Now the same boy, who had looked up to him like some kind of role model, was defying him and standing against him. Truthfully, Tony wasn't mad. In a way he was happy that Mini Cap had someone who was looking out for her even when he was too stupid to do the same thing. The kid seemed to be thinking more about Emma's safety than he was.

Where had everything gone so wrong? Tony honestly didn't know. Was he really so afraid of facing Cap again that he had been willing to risk Emma's safety…the rest of the world's safety over some old feud? The kid was right. He was a coward and most of all, he was being an asshole. Yes, Cap and him didn't part on good terms and not to mention Tony didn't know how he was going to feel about seeing Barnes again but the situation was quickly getting worse. The truth of the matter was that Hydra was going to come and they would try to take Emma again. Tony didn't want to think about what they would do to her if they got her. Still…Tony knew that he might not be able to stop them next time they came for her. They couldn't do this on their own. The team had to get back together, and they had to get back together right this instant.

This wasn't going to be easy. Things were going to be tense and Tony doubted that the team would reunite like nothing ever happened. He and Cap weren't going to be binge watching Stranger Things together anytime soon and Tony definitely wasn't going to be pals with Barnes either. But this had to be done. He owed this to Emma. Tony had already failed her so many times before but he didn't want to fail her again. This was going to be difficult on everyone, especially him, but it had to be done…for Emma if no one else's.

She needed this.

"Okay." Tony said quietly.

"I'll just take her and I'll…wait what?" Peter said as he started to argue with Tony but quickly fell short when he realized that Tony wasn't arguing back with him. He gave the billionaire a bewildered look, thinking he had heard him wrong. Tony just sighed before looking up at the teenager.

"I said okay. I'll contact them." Tony said as he finally came to his senses. It took him a while, but he was finally managing to come to terms that they needed the others…that he needed help.

"Really?" Peter asked softly, his eyes wide with surprise. He hadn't actually thought it would work. Peter didn't think Tony would actually listen to him and do what he said. He was really going to take Emma and leave if he had to, but he was glad that it would no longer be necessary. Tony had finally caved in after all this time. Tony nodded.

"Yes. You and Mini Cap are right. We can't do this alone anymore. I was stupid for ever thinking that we could." Tony said, and Peter was completely blown away because it was rare that Tony Stark ever admitted that he was wrong about anything. "I have been a coward."

"I didn't really mean it." Peter tried to say but Tony shook his head.

"You were right. I was willing to risk not just Emma's life but everyone else's just because of my ego. Emma's dad always said that my ego was my greatest downfall and he was right." Tony confessed, and Peter gave him a confused look.

"Her dad? You mean-" Peter started to say but Tony quickly interrupted him.

"I mean her real father. He was always right which drove me insane. Him and Mini Cap have that in common…Steve too. I guess it's a Rogers thing." Tony said with a small smile on his face, but the smile was gone as soon as it had appeared. A more serious look then came across his face.

"You're really going to bring them back?" Peter asked softly, and Tony nodded once more.

"I'll get in touch. I might know a way. Hopefully I'll arrange for them to get here as soon as possible." Tony told him and Peter nodded, feeling successful in his attempt to get Tony to finally listen to what Emma had been saying all along. He felt a wave of relief come over him. This was good. Captain America and the others would come back which meant that Emma might even be safe. Peter was happy.

"Good. I'm glad." Peter said as he significantly calmed down from before. "Do you need any help? Is there anything I can do?" Tony smiled softly before he shook his head.

"No, I'll be fine. I know what I have to do." Tony told him solemnly as he looked back at him. "You go get some sleep. Keep Mini Cap company." Peter smiled back at him.

"Okay, Mr. Stark." Peter said, going back to what he normally called Tony. He then gave the billionaire a grateful look. "Thank you by the way. I know how difficult this must be for you so thank you."

"No problem. I should've done this a long time ago." Tony said, and Peter just nodded as he began to exit the room. However, Tony stopped him before he walked out the door.

"Hey, kid." Tony called out to him and Peter looked back at him with a curious look on his face. Tony flashed him another small smile. "You've got some guts." Peter nodded one last time before he exited the lab to rejoin Emma in Tony's office. He didn't want her to wake up alone and he had already been away for long enough. There was a bit more pep in his step as he walked away because for once there was some good news around here. That good news, in turn, would undoubtedly make Emma happy and safe which was all Peter cared about.

Tony's eyes followed Peter's form until the teenager disappeared around a corner. He tried to process everything that just happened as he then glanced away. It was all so strange. Just a few short hours ago he had completely turned down Emma's suggestion to bring the others back. However, a lot can change in the matter of a few hours. The Avengers were now facing a whole new list of problems after the attack on the compound. They were all out of options and this was the only way out.

Tony knew what had to get done.

The billionaire pulled the flip phone out from his pocket and carefully laid it on the table. In any other circumstance it would've been laughable that Tony Stark even had a flip phone in his possession but there was nothing funny about any of this. He had kept the dated looking phone in the drawer of his desk for the past year, but it wasn't until Hydra started showing back up that he had removed it. He had been carrying it around with him ever since. Sometimes Tony would take it out of his pocket and just hold it in his hands. Other times he would open it and stare at the lone number on the screen. Never had he ever debated about hitting the call button…until now.

Tony must've stared at the phone for fifteen minutes as he tried to muster up the courage to actually pick it up and open it. It wasn't until Tony realized that they really didn't have much time on their hands that he finally picked it up. He quickly flipped it open before he saw the name staring back at him along with the number that went along with it.

Steve Rogers.

Tony chewed anxiously on the inside of his cheek as he quickly hit the call button before he could change his mind. The phone rang three times before anyone picked it up and when they did, he could feel his heart pounding and his throat suddenly feeling incredibly dry.

"Hello?" The familiar voice said, and it was no question that it was who the number said it was. Tony swallowed hard before he replied, trying keep his voice as steady as possible. A rush of nerves came over him at the sound of the voice, but he managed to finally speak.

"Steve…" Tony trailed off as he tried to think of what exactly he was supposed to say. They didn't really part on good terms, so it was awkward trying to find the right thing to say. Hey, Cap, I know we basically beat the shit out of each other the last time we saw each other but do you think you could come back and help us out here? Yeah, trying to find the right words was definitely no easy task but it had to be done…for Emma. There was no other way around it.

"Tony?" Steve said on the other line, sounding surprised to hear from him. Tony imagined it must've been weird since he was probably the last person Steve expected to hear from.

"Yeah, it's me, Cap." Tony said quietly as he kept chewing on the inside of his cheek. He was probably bleeding from it by now, but he didn't care.

"What's going on?" Steve asked, obviously knowing something had to be very wrong in order for Tony to actually call him. Tony sighed heavily before answering, knowing that there was no way to beat around the bush about this.

"It's Emma." Tony finally told him and there was a long pause of silence. Tony was afraid that they might've lost connection or something. It was that silent. He was about to ask Steve if he was still there when he heard Steve's voice again. It hadn't taken much to bring Cap and everyone else back. All it had taken was the suggestion that Emma was in trouble to send Steve running home. Tony just had to mention Emma and Steve would automatically be there. Tony never should've doubted him. Emma was always going to be the one to bring the Avengers back together. He should've known that all along. Without any hesitance, Steve quietly spoke the words that confirmed the return of the Avengers.

"We'll be there in four hours."