"Okay Sam, you're up. Once you've located the payload, stand by," Natasha's said through Sam's comms in his ear. "Got it." Sam Wilson, along with Tony Stark, entered a large open space filled with important political and public figures. Both were dressed in dapper suits for the occasion, a social party for the President's Inauguration. Tony immediately starts a conversation with a Senator, leaving Sam to mingle on his own. He makes his way to the bar for a drink. Once he was served, Sam turns around sees a woman speaking with three men. All four began to laugh at a personal joke. "Found the payload," he whispers to himself.
"Alone?" Natasha asks. "No." "Just stay put but don't lose sight of them." "Understood." The woman, dressed in a slim fitting white dress with an exposed back, looks over at Sam briefly before returning her attention to her companions. She said a few words to them and starts to walk toward his direction. "I think I've been made." The woman comes up to the bar and asks the bartender for champagne. The bartender leaves for the moment. "Having a good time Duchess?" Sam asks. The blonde tilts her head to the side to give him a seductive smile. Her hazel eyes shine like liquid gold. "I am now." Sam extends a hand to her. "Sam Wilson. It's a pleasure Your Grace." She takes it and shakes his hand. "The pleasure is mine. I saw that Stark is here but I didn't think he would bring a friend along." "Pepper would've come but she came down with the flu so I came along," Sam explains. "I see. That's too bad." The bartender returns with a bottle of champagne and pours her a glass. "Thank you," she turns back to Sam, "Pardon me Mr. Wilson. I have to go congratulate the President. But let me share this…" She touches his arm gently. Her gaze never leaves his face. "I appreciate the Avengers' hard work and sacrifice. Thank you for what you do." Sam nods appreciatively. "Thank you, ma'am. We appreciate your support." Her head slightly tilts before sauntering away. Sam couldn't help but take a peek of her backside. But then he noticed as she was leaving the room, three men followed closely behind.
"I think something is happening." "Stay with her," Natasha instructs. Sam pursues the Duchess. He didn't find her right away and searched around other rooms. When he heard glass shattering he followed the noise and kicks the door to the room it was coming from. He found three men on the ground unconscious and the Duchess of Austria standing over them. Her dress tore from her left thigh all the way down to bottom of the dress. Stunned, Sam just blinks at her. She smirks at him and nods. "Mr. Wilson." Something metal breaks through a side window and smoke starts to spray from the metal canister. The pair began to cough. "Sam! Both of you get out of there," Natasha yells in his ear. Sam, while covering his mouth, reaches out for the woman and pulls her to him and tries to steer them out of the room. But he was kicked in the gut by someone with a mask.
The force pushes Sam and the Duchess back against a wall with windows. They were shoved hard enough to break through the glass, pushing them out of the building. Sam, blinded from the burning gas, reaches for his pack that was hidden under his suit and activates it. His wings pop out and he, with the Duchess, were able to fly up before falling to the ground. The woman clutches to his chest as he descends them down safely. Natasha, along with Steve, Tony and Bucky, met up with them. "Everything alright?" the redhead asks. "Yeah, we've been hit with the burning gas," Sam remarks and he lets the Duchess down to her feet and starts to rub his eyes. "Your Grace, allow me," Nat says as she checks her eyes. "I'm alright. Just stings…a lot." "Can you see?" "Not really. My vision is blurry but it'll go away," she says as she swats the woman away. "Your Grace, we can take you back to the compound. The King has asked us to keep you there until we know why Hydra is after you," Steve remarks. He wasn't sure if her pursed lips were due to the pain in her eyes or her being unhappy with the situation. "I suppose if my cousin ordered this, then I have no choice but to comply," she responds. "We've brought a ride. Come with us," Tony says as a black SUV pulls up next to the Avengers. Natasha takes her hand to guide her to the car. Before she got inside, Bucky pulls off his leather jacket and places it over her shoulders. With the fight she had with the men earlier, and from flying out of a window, her dress had torn. One sleeve was practically ripped from her shoulder. She smiles in his direction. "Thank you." Sam curses at himself for not thinking of that.
Eventually, the team and the Duchess arrive at the Avengers' compound. "Let's take you to Bruce," Natasha remarks as she leads Sam and the blonde to Bruce's lab. Tony, Steve, and Bucky went elsewhere. Within minutes Bruce was able to soak their eyes with a solution that healed them. He was finishing dropping some solution into the Duchess' eye when she moans happily. "Thank you. God, I hate it when they do that." "This has happened before?" "A few years back…back then it was pepper spray." Natasha brings the woman some clothes. "We don't have anything that fits you per se, but you'll feel better out of that dress, Your Grace." "Please, I'm off the clock. Heidi is sufficient." Heidi turns to Bruce. "Thank you Dr. Banner for your assistance." "Please, call me Bruce." "I've read your paper regarding the theory on the nuclearmagnetic force of gravity. Impressive." This made Bruce smile. "Thank you, how did you hear about it?" "I have a friend from NASA who is a huge fan of yours. When I say fan I mean she has a major crush on you." Bruce blushes. Natasha smirks amusingly.
She hands Heidi her cell phone. "The King is expecting a phone call I'm sure." Heidi's eyes widen. "Yes. He's probably wondering where I'm at." Once Heidi finishes dressing into a pair of jeans and a simple white shirt, she makes a call to her cousin, the King of Austria, Nat and Sam left Bruce's lab to meet up with Tony and the others. A few minutes later, Heidi joins them in the living quarters with an irritated look and cursing in German under her breath. "Would you like something to drink Duchess?" Tony asks, sensing some tension from her. "Merlot, please." He pours her a glass and hands it to her. She thanks him and sits down on a chair close to the fireplace. She takes a long sip as she tosses her phone on the table. "What did he have to say?" Natasha asks. "My cousin…says I'm to be under your protection until this whole thing with Hydra clears up." "You don't seem too happy about it," Steve points out. "The princess's birthday is this weekend. I was hoping to be home for it." She sighs heavily. "But I'd rather keep the enemy away from home so this will have to suffice." "Heidi…is it okay if we're on first name basis? We have some questions that need answered," Tony starts.
The woman eyes him cautiously. "Regarding what, Tony?" she asks, emphasizing his name. "Why does Hydra want you?" Steve asks, getting to the point. Heidi takes another long sip of wine. "Well…that's a loaded question." "In our defense, we need to know so we can help you," Sam explains. Heidi finishes the glass of wine. "Before I became Duchess I served in the Austrian Armed Forces, combat control. On one of my assignments, I was kidnapped by Hydra." "Why?" Steve asks. Tony presses a few buttons on a computer and a screenshot of a younger Heidi in an army uniform with a shepherd/husky mix dog. The fur was all white except a few black speckles around the legs. It had blue eyes. Heidi could feel the sting of tears coming to her eyes. "It was the dog, wasn't it?" Tony encourages her. She nods. "Tracker was an experiment my grandfather worked on, I was a little girl then." She gestures behind her to Bruce, who decided to join in on the conversation. "As a matter of fact, Bruce knows him…My grandfather worked with his father since they were college roommates." Bruce gave her a confused look. "Dr. Nicoli Yonkovich," she simply said. Bruce glances at the photo with the dog before back at Heidi. "Your dog…was subject 7?" "That's what grandfather called him then, but yes." "What exactly did your grandfather do?" Natasha questions.
"My grandfather wanted to come up with something that would help soldiers during the Afghan War. He came up with the idea that if we can have super soldiers," she gestures to Steve, "then why not super dogs. He made a formula. Tracker was seven times better at sniffing out bombs, gas traps, drugs, you name it. He was more effective than the modern bomb squad dogs could. He was also faster and smarter than an average dog. But he only obeyed Grandpa and me." She was quiet for a moment before continuing.
"He never aged…a side effect I guess, so he grew up with me and eventually worked with me when I joined the military." "Hydra found out about him and decided to investigate?" Tony thought out loud. Heidi nods. "They took the both of us." Flashes of what she saw flooded her head. Things they did to him. To her. Heidi squeezes her eyes shut for a minute but shakes it off. "They somehow were able to extract the formula that made him…super….before they killed him." "And?" Steve asks. Heidi swallows before answering, "They used it on me." The Avengers were alarmed. A few glanced nervously at each other.
"So what exactly happened then?" Bruce questions. "It was a painful process but…they were successful in making me a…super soldier…if you will." Tony presses a few more buttons and more information popped up on the screen. She points at the charts and graphs in the air. "All this, basically, will tell you that I am not only faster and stronger than an average man, but my senses of smell and hearing are heightened as well." "Not to mention your heartrate and metabolism is abnormally fast," Bruce adds. "I also have this thing with animals…they see me as an Alpha and they obey me." "You can what?" Tony asks with a confused expression. Heidi rolls her eyes. She gets up and walks to the nearest window and opens it. She places her arm out and whistles.
A moment later a canary landed on her hand. She makes pucker noises with her lips and the bird hops up her arm to her shoulder. She shows everyone the bird and pets it lightly on the chest with her finger. Satisfied, she releases the bird and shuts the window. "Does the Austrian King know about this?" Bruce asks. "No. Nobody knows what I can do, except one person. I didn't want the media getting into my business." "So how did you escape?" Bucky questions. Heidi shrugs. "I got lucky…after a couple of years being with them I was able to sneak away. They were more distracted on a more important issue. They were trying to find one of their own…they called him the…Winter Soldier or something." The room got quiet. A flash of memory came to Bucky. An image of dragging a woman tied up through the desert. A dog. The woman whimpering, "Please…don't hurt him." Bucky tried to shut it out by closing his eyes. His left hand balled into a fist. Heidi noticed that some of the Avengers shifted their gaze at Bucky and she was going to say something when Steve spoke first, "So now they're trying to get you back. Did you know they were looking for you?"
"They know where to find me. I mean, I'm a public figure but that also might have been the problem. I'm constantly under surveillance so if I disappear, people will know and come looking for me. It's partially why I became Duchess. I was hoping that being in the public eye would protect me. But I still get this feeling that they were watching me…studying me." "They must be getting desperate then if they tried to snag you at the Inauguration party," Natasha said.
"So now we know the truth about you Duchess, the question is…what are we to do with you?" Tony spoke. Heidi stands up and glares at him. "What do you mean 'do with me'?" "Well, with your…gifts you have a few choices," he explains, "You can be considered dangerous and put under SEVERE surveillance and retire as Duchess." Heidi snorts rudely. "Or you can join us and we can work together to put Hydra to the ground," Steve interrupts. He gets up and steps toward Heidi. "And why would I do that Mr. Rogers," Heidi asks in an amused tone. "Because you know who we are. We have a lot in common. A common enemy. A common goal. We even lost those we loved," he says, looking at her with those steely blue eyes. Tracker's face came to her head. "If you want them off your back, then why not help us do that." "Be an Avenger?" she questions with a smile. "We could use the extra help whipping these boys in shape," Nat adds in. Heidi snickers at the statement. Steve opens his hand out to her. Without breaking eye contact, she takes it and shakes it. "You've got a deal."
Right then, Friday announces a visitor and T'Challa enters the room. Heidi smiles at him. "Your Highness!" she exclaims and the two gave each other a big hug. "It's good to see you safe Heidi. How are you feeling?" T'Challa remarks. "I'm fine thanks to Sam's quick thinking," she responds and turns to Sam. The man puffs up like a proud rooster. T'Challa pulls her away to look at her all over. "You're looking as beautiful as ever, if not even more." The girl smiles and squeezes his shoulder. "You're not looking too bad yourself." "I see you've acquainted yourself with the Avengers," he says as he gestures to the team. "You can say that," she responds with a wink. "What brings you here T'Challa?" Steve asks. "Miss Hendricks and I have some matters to settle and I've been told she's to stay with the Avengers for the time being. In fact," he gestures to a few men walking in with suitcases and luggage. "I've brought your personal effects for you." Heidi smiles and hugs T'Challa. "Thank you! Did you bring him too?" she asks with a hopeful look. "Of course I did." He gestures with his fingers and a man comes up with what looks like pet kennel. Heidi kneels over the door and coos. "I'm so sorry dear. I know you hate being locked up." She opens up the door and a snow leopard comes out. He immediately rubs himself all over her lovingly. "Are you bringing a cat into the compound?!" Tony yells. "No pets!" The beast hisses at Tony with contempt. "Alexi always stays with me. He'll obey me," Heidi remarks confidently. Tony rolls his eyes. "I'll lead you to your room then Heidi," Natasha says and the two women leave the room. Heidi clicks her tongue and the cat follows behind.
Within hours, Heidi was able to settle into her own room with an office set up by the labs for political work. Not feeling tired yet, Heidi decides to take a tour around the compound. She was happy to see an entire floor dedicated as a training facility. The kitchen pleased her too. After taking a look at everything she was about to head back to her room when she saw Bucky heading to the training room. "Mr. Barnes," she calls out. He turns to her and tries to smile at her. "Hope you've made yourself comfortable here." "I have…" She couldn't stop staring into his icy blue eyes. There was something about them that seemed familiar. Then she remembered.
"When I was taken to Hydra, they only sent one man. Surprisingly, he took out the rest of my team like it was nothing. When he got close to me, Tracker tried to attack him. The man easily took care of him with a tranquilizer…" Bucky looks down at his feet; he wasn't liking where the conversation was going. "I tried to fight him off but, obviously, he was too strong. He put me out with the tranquilizer as well…" She also remembered that as she was fading, she couldn't help but stare into his eyes. The rest of his face was covered. She couldn't help but think, 'Why does he look so sad?' "I remembered waking up, tied up, and being dragged away from my camp..." Ever since the incident, she always saw him as the monster with the sad eyes. "…It was you, wasn't it? The Winter Soldier." she asks with a strange look in her eyes. He looks away nervously before responding, "I was," in a low voice. Heidi steps up closer to him. "I suppose if weren't for you I would still be under Hydra's control. I guess that makes us even." He didn't say anything but she could hear his heartbeat racing. "Goodnight," she whispers and walks away.