She had decided to move from her Madrid and London flats and into the family's summer country home. It was in the middle of England's no where countryside with a decent size house Bea had spent several summers in. Apparently, it had been a gift from Howard Stark to Uncle Edwin for his faithful service through the years, to which Uncle Edwin had been kind enough to share it with the family as he and his wife Ana couldn't have children of their own. Bea only had fleeting memories of Uncle Jarvis and Auntie Ana from summer holidays here when she was three and four, but there were good memories here. So, with her being the last surviving member of her family, the cottage made for an ideal safe house. Her former captors thought she was dead, and she intended to keep it that way.
It took her a couple of days to figure out her new ability, but once she seemed to have it down to a manageable state of mind, it made living in the middle of no where much easier. She didn't have to worry about leaving a physical trail if anyone got curious and decided to follow her, and it certainly helped when she brought her personal possessions to her hidden new home, or when she decided to get groceries. Though difficult, she figured that along as she was never found by those villains, she could live like this.
As Bea discovered, distance was no problem when it came to her new ability. So, it was today she decided to go on an afternoon trip to Washington DC in North America. She had never left her side of the world, so to now be here in the blink of an eye was incredible. All she had ever seen of this place were in photos and the occasional news report. However, with the emergence of the Avengers in recent years, America had been in the news more so than ever. For the next while however, she'd like to avoid the Avengers, apparently based in New York city, and figure out as well come to terms with her current situation on her own.
Lunch had been wonderful an hour before, however now Bea enjoyed a walk through the National Mall. As the warm breeze ruffled through her now short hair, she couldn't help but think of Pietro and Wanda; they'd enjoy it here. There was so much to see and do, it helped to soothe some of the lingering uneasiness from being imprisoned in a cold castle. As she pushed a stray short curl behind her ear, a part of her wondered what Pietro would think of her hair. After returning to her home, she had cut it so that the curls sat brushing the tops of her shoulders. While in Sokovia, without the proper tools, her waist length hair was a lost matted cause when she was finally free. Wanda would probably cry at the sight of the short locks, however Pietro… well, he could be unpredictable. Bea hoped that if she ever saw him again, he'd like it. It was nice, lighter, leaving her feeling as though nothing could bring her down.
Suddenly all around her, gasps erupted from almost everyone in the park as their attention was drawn to the sky in the distance, ripping her from her thoughts. Turning around to see what was causing the commotion around, Bea's mouth dropped open wide at the 3 large, battleship looking things rising high into the sky. Around her people murmured in marvel and wonder at the metal contraptions, though she was left with a sick feeling in her stomach. After her recent experience in Sokovia, and not to mention Earth's record the past several years, this couldn't mean anything good. Her gut proved right as something small began to weave in and around the ships, causing them to open fire, the sound of cannons accompanied by civilian screams echoing throughout the city. Throwing the hood of her sweater on, she looked around in horror as some people stood watching the spectacle in the sky, some recording the events on their phone, and others running. Seeing an old man fall in a crowd of running bystanders, Bea instantly teleported to his side, quickly but gently helping him to his feet.
"Here, let me help you. I've got you." She promised as she helped him up.
When he looked up to meet her eye, she felt her heart stop momentarily as he helplessly looked at her. "Please help me." He croaked.
Realizing what she could do, she squeezed his hand. "I will, but you mustn't tell anyone." She begged him before looking around. Spotting a large white domed building nearby, she looked at the long set of stairs there before reappearing amidst the crowd running out of the building to get a look at the commotion above. Turning back to the elderly man, she squeezed his hand once more when she caught the look of shock on his face. "Please, don't tell anyone." She begged lowly.
A look of understanding washed over him as he nodded, patting her hands where they rested over top of his. "I understand, my dear." He promised. "No, go help others."
"Find yourself some help." She smiled at him sadly before turning to run down the stairs.
As she hurried down towards the street, around her she could hear people talk about what was going on, for evidently, there was more happening than what was suddenly silenced high above the island. Stopping at the bottom stairs, she took out her phone to see the news apps going wild at the millions of previously top secret files that were dumped onto the internet and made public. What sent a chill through her bones however, was at the top of the information that had been released was what was thought to formerly be a ghost had come with a vengeance.
HYDRA.
HYDRA had survived World War Two, going underground and continuing to grow before making themselves known once more.
What terrified her however, was the realization that it must have been HYDRA that kidnapped her, and that they were knocking on a potentially dangerous door.
"It's over." Standing before Strucker, Dr. List hid his hands in his pocket, though his disgust for what had just happened was in plain view. "Fury has released everything to the public."
Strucker however, was much more calm and collected, simply inhaling as he said "Everything he knows about."
"Herr Strucker, if they get word of our work here, if they find out we serve HYDRA-" List began to protest.
"HYDRA, SHIELD… Two sides of a coin that's no longer currency." Strucker said as he walked past the Doctor to make his way through the various computer stations, containing all documents regarding their work in Sokovia. It wasn't until they were in front of the glowing sceptre did they stop. "What we have is worth more than any of them ever knew. We've only scratched the surface and already…" Looking back to his comrade, he led the way out of the observation room and into the main work area of the castle where weapons and bodies covered on cots were strewn about. "There are other facilities doing HYDRA's good work around the world, we'll feed them to Captain America and his colourful friends, keep them off our scent."
"What about the volunteers?" List asked as they passed a cot holding a body they had not yet disposed of yet.
"The dead will be buried so deep their ghosts won't be able to find them." Strucker began to smile as they passed two armed guards to observe the glass observation cells at the end of the room.
"And the survivors?" List nodded towards the two occupants in the cells.
"The twins…" Strucker breathed happily as he watched his prized pupils. In her cell, Wanda sat in an almost child like state, making a small set of wooden blocks float in the air before her. Next door, Pietro rushed about the confining room, yelling in anger and pain, trying to calm his heightened senses. "Sooner or later, they will meet the twins. It's a shame their friend could not join them, she would have been an interesting addition." The HYDRA Baron said. "It's not a world of spies anymore, not even a world of heroes. This, is the age of miracles, Doctor. There is nothing more horrifying than a miracle."
In their cells, Pietro froze, catching only the muffled mention of Beatrix, causing him to shake. On the other side of the wall, Wanda was far too engaged with the beauty of her power, causing two wooden blocks to collide with each other and splinter.