"Pepper," the former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent almost whispered as she stepped over shattered glass and passed body bags. The floor was matted with dried blood and police tape, federal agents from various alphabet agencies took samples and spoke to witnesses, and Pepper just stood there trying to blink back tears.

"Natasha," she said as she hugged her old friend, maybe a little too tightly.

"I'm so sorry," the former agent said as she looked over the ruins of Stark Tower. "Do you have any idea who did it?"

"Hydra," Pepper muttered, glaring at the ruined lobby around her.

Before Natasha could pursue her question, a large metal man landed on the sidewalk outside. The suit was identical to the kind Tony Stark had, aside from a blue color scheme and a shoulder-mounted minigun. He walked through the door-less doorway and into the crime scene and his mask fell back to reveal his face.

"Agent Romanoff, Ms. Potts," he said with a nod. As a military man he was used to seeing his friends die, so he'd learned to hide his pain when protecting others.

"Rhodie," Pepper replied. "It's good to see you."

"I came as soon as I heard. I've been ordered to keep you safe for the time being." What he really meant was that he decided to stay by her side whether or not he had other orders. "Let's go upstairs."

War Machine, Black Widow, and Pepper Potts all somehow managed to fit in one elevator and took it all the way to the Penthouse where the war criminal Loki was famously captured. "Do you know what they took?" Romanoff asked as Pepper took a seat on the couch.

"So far it looks like they got everything related to the Chitauri and the Dark Elves," Pepper replied. She was referring to the weapons and technology given to Stark Industries after S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded. The government hoped that researching alien technology would unlock secrets of things like sustainable energy, interstellar travel, and of course, advanced weapons.

"Hydra's gotten pretty bold if they killed Captain America and Iron Man in one day," Rhodie commented.

"The sniper was only a distraction," Romanoff replied. "With half the police force and an Avenger busy, taking the Tower was child's play."

They were interrupted by a knock at the window. Hanging upside down from a web, was a borderline mythic hero. "Pepper, did you invite Spiderman?"

"No," she replied, somewhat taken aback. "Jarvis please let him in."

The window opened and the spider jumped through. He carried Captain America's shield under his arm. "Uh, hi. Is Mr. Stark here?"

It was a long day at 10 a.m., and that comment pushed it over the edge. Pepper just walked away, blinking back tears for the umpteenth time. When she was gone, Romanoff explained. "He was killed today. Hydra got him."

Through his mask, she could almost see his frown. Clearly the boy was a fan, and none too pleased about losing too heroes in one day.

"Mr. Rogers, he told me to, uh, to give this to Mr. Stark," Spiderman replied, handing the shield to Romanoff. "I'll just go now."

"Wait," she said before he could jump out of the window. "We might need you. Hydra's still out there."

"Hydra isn't who you need to be worrying about," a young girl's voice said. Its owner revealed herself from behind the bar. She wasn't much older than Peter, and she certainly looked it. She was short and had short brown hair, half hidden beneath a baseball cap. She was wearing a jacket despite the balmy summer weather, indicating that she was carrying either weapons or supplies, possibly both.

"Who are you?" Romanoff asked with her hand on her pistol, bewildered that someone had managed to sneak up on her.

"My name's Ella," she replied. Ella was somehow clearly shy, yet obviously confident in a way that confused everyone in the room. Perhaps she was shy about meeting superheroes but confident about her ability to sneak around. In the end it didn't really matter.

"And what are you doing here, Ella?" Romanoff asked as she removed her hand from her gun.

"The way I see it, you guys need my help and I need your help."

"Help with what?" Rhodie asked.

"You guys are kinda clueless with this. Does it really seem like Hydra's style to shout 'Hail Hydra!' before killing random civilians?"

"The girl has a point," Spiderman replied.

"So what are you saying?" Romanoff asked.

"It wasn't Hydra. It was a group called Rising Tide. They pretended it was Hydra to distract you."

"How do you know all this?" Rhodie asked.

She didn't want to reply right away, but the more everyone looked at her the more compelled she felt to answer. "My father was the sniper that killed all those people. His name is Michael Turner. They all call him Sharpshooter."

"Wait a second," Romanoff interrupted. "Rising Tide is a hacktivist group. They shut down website and leak documents. They don't kill people."

"That's just a front," she replied. "Who would expect a bunch of hackers in their basements to be killing off Avengers?"

"And how exactly did they manage to kill two Avengers?" Spiderman interjected. "How do ordinary people kill Iron Man and Captain America?"

"My dad, he's not ordinary," Ella started to explain. "When he gets a rush of adrenaline, time slows down in his mind. He can take in a situation as a whole and figure out how to get out of it, all before pulling a trigger. I can do it too."

"And Tony?" Rhodie asked. "How'd they kill him?"

"I don't know for sure, but I'd guess they either sent a team with Dark Elf weapons or unleashed Blonsky. Based on the fact that the building is still intact, I'll say it was the team."

"Blonsky? He's supposed to be in prison," Romanoff commented.

"Yeah, he's supposed to be."

"Are you saying Rising Tide has him?"

"Rising Tide has had him for months. S.H.I.E.L.D. threw him in cryo-stasis and never bothered to check on him again."

"Hey, guys," Spiderman interrupted. "I love this group discussion and I'm really learning a lot, but are we going to discuss what we do from here? Ella, you mentioned before that we could help you. What can we help you with?"

"My dad, the guy who killed Captain America," she replied. "I'm going to put a bullet in his head."

Natasha looked to Rhodie and simply said, "I like this one."