Author's note: Sorry I'm late on the update again, but this time I actually have a legitimate excuse. Since I've never been to New York, let alone Grand Central Terminal, I had to do a lot of research to write this chapter. Hopefully, I fudged through enough to make it realistic. If any New Yorkers would like to give me a few hints for the next chapter, that'd be good. Like, what do the actual platforms look like? What kind of battleground would they make? Also, a lot of people thought the Dark Figure was Bucky. This is not the case. In order to make sure there won't be confusion like this any longer, I've decided to write the Winter Soldier into this story after all. Bear in mind, I haven't seen the new movie yet, so I'm basing his character entirely off of Earth's Mightiest Heroes. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

LIST OF NAMES, for clarification.

Clint: Friend: Davon

Thor: Sparky: Paul

Tony: Light: Michael

Loki: Chill: Jasper

Natasha: Red: Ariana

Steve: Reg: Timothy

Bruce: Ghost: John

Hulk: Muscles: Nathan

Although, in this next chapter, they'll be using their Caravan names as code names, as they'll be in battle.

"Text in this form." = Spoken over the radio.


The group was silent as they all sat in the Quinjet. The level of excitement, anxiety, and even fear in the air was practically visible. This was their first mission, after all. They weren't sure exactly what made the Director decide they were ready, or even decide that they weren't HYDRA spies. But whatever the reason, they were now flying over a cityscape of towers reaching the skies. Considering they hadn't really been many places, this view only served to heighten their excitement.

The smoke, however, made it suddenly very serious.

"Are we sure we can do this?" Reg spoke up suddenly, from where he looked out the window, eyes showing his uncertainty.

"Well, Coulson seems to think so," Red said, by far the most calm in the situation.

"Well, yeah, he did," Reg agreed. "But… was he right? I mean, sparring in a SHIELD gym is one thing. This is the real deal."

"That's exactly why I know we can," Light spoke up. "If this didn't matter, if this were just another SHIELD training simulation, I'd be worried. But this is important. So we'll all be sure to stay focused, stay in the game."

"It's not exactly a game, Light," Chill corrected.

"Yeah yeah, I know," Light said with a wave of his hand. "It was just a figure of speech."

"Kinda killed the message," Friend teased. "First you're saying it matters, then you're calling it a game."

"Whatever!" Light huffed, sending a pout at Friend before turning to Ghost. "Besides," he continued. "We'll have Ghost being our conscience, helping us along through our handy-dandy SHIELD issue radios. Really, though, Coulson ought to have let me fix these bad boys up before sending us out with them."

"Radio not staying my ear," Muscles announced in frustration, holding up the offending device with a frown. Right before it was smashed.

"Ohhh," Light groaned. "You held it too hard, Muscles."

Muscles looked the most surprised about the broken equipment, but then huffed. "Muscles don't care," he declared, folding his arms.

"Doesn't care," Light corrected. "Doesn't. Say it, Muscles."

Muscles rolled his eyes. "Muscles doesn't care," he repeated, with more attitude than was necessary.

"Guys," Friend said. "English lessons will have to wait. Light, weren't you just talking about how we need to stay serious?"

"You're right, sorry," Light said. "Just let me grab Muscles a new radio. Won't happen again."

"We'll have to forego the radio," Ghost said with a sigh. "Because it's go time. We're over the drop zone, good luck. I'll do my best with tactical feeding, as soon as we drop you, the jet's turning to wait outside the city, establish a base of operations. Muscles, just stick close to someone the whole time, okay?"

"GOT IT!" Muscles yelled with a grin, throwing his arm around Light's shoulder.

"Great," Light teased. "I get the Green Giant. Oh well, at least I'll be well defended."

"Okay everyone, move out!" Ghost said, as the Quinjet flew low and the door opened. The group saw the roof of a skyscraper beneath them, as the jet hovered about six feet off the ground.

Sparky and Chill jumped first, landing gracefully as a small explosion could be heard in the distance. Muscles, Reg, and Red were right behind them, Muscles landing with a thud, while Red and Reg were slightly less graceful than Sparky and Chill had been.

"Well, see ya later, Jiminy Cricket," Light said with a half-grin, waving at Ghost before turning to the door.

"Hey," Ghost said, looking Light in the eye. "Be careful."

"Don't worry," Friend spoke up. "We've all got each others backs. Whatever happens, you know that much."

Ghost nodded. "You better go," he said. "And good luck."

Light and Friend both nodded, then jumped together. Landing without as much grace as most of the group, but definitely better than Muscles (was that a dent in the roof?) the group all looked around at the city as the quinjet turned and flew back the direction they'd come.

The entire place was burning, there was fire everywhere, and the black smoke rose from all around them as they could hear sirens and screams coming from every which direction. For a moment, the group felt a sense of shock at the sudden change from secure vessel to open warzone. But it was short-lived as another nearby explosion made them snap to attention.

"Can everyone hear me? Check, over." Ghost's voice came over their radios.

One by one, they all put their hands up to the devices in their ears and pressed the buttons, checking in.

"Alright," Ghost said. "According to Iron Patriot, the enemy is currently located in Grand Central Terminal. The Patriot's taken too much damage to his suit, so we're taking over from here. You're on Madison, just follow the street South until you get to 42nd. You'll be there in no time."

"Roger that," Friend said into his earpiece, nodding to everyone as they all moved to head South.

"Careful going in," Ghost continued. "According to intel, whoever this guy is, he's dangerous. All this was him."

Light whistled as Chill hissed slightly. "You mean one guy is responsible for all the damage here?" Reg asked.

"Looks like it," Ghost affirmed. "And guys, he's definitely HYDRA."

The unspoken problem presented itself in everyone's mind. If this guy was HYRDA, he could hold the answers to their past. Light had continued hacking SHIELD and any other database he could find, but hadn't been able to find any teenagers remotely similar to them in the massive missing persons list. Part of this, they contributed to whatever experiments HYDRA had done to them, part of it they contributed to the sheer volume of missing teenagers. According to Coulson, the young and the runaways were what HYDRA looked for most in "recruits." And so the group had disappointedly realized that finding their true identities by sifting through the missing persons reports was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

If they could question a soldier of HYDRA, however…

"It changes nothing," Friend spoke up, reminding himself as much as the others. "Our orders are to protect the civilians, contain the enemy, and neutralize the threat. We go for that first. Personal business can wait."

Everyone nodded, and focused solely on getting to the terminal.

Soon, the building came into view. The ornate walls, dirtied by smoke and heavily damaged, was a sight to behold. The streets were completely clear of civilians, they seemed to have all made their getaways, but there were several police cars gathered on the street outside. The cars themselves were all destroyed, and the officers who had manned them were badly injured.

"Alright, this is bad," Light noted as they ran past them towards the main entrance. "We'll need a med team as soon as this is over, Ghostie."

"Copy," Ghost said. "Have you reached the terminal?"

"Affirmative," Red spoke up. "We're approaching the entrance now."

"Keep your earpieces open," Ghost said. "I want to be able to hear what's happening."

The group all paused for a moment, standing near the door.

"Roger that," Red said.

Friend took a deep breath, then rushed the door, the rest of the group right behind him.

Expecting... Well, at least something, the group all winced, pointing their firearms at different points in the Main Concourse. The cavernous room was mostly silent, with the exception of crackling fire coming from somewhere, and the wail of sirens from outside. There were large piles of rubble from what appeared to be sections of the second floor collapsed in on itself, and the beautiful ceiling was once again black from smoke.

The group all moved quickly, running through the concourse in search of their enemy. But they soon realized that the enemy wasn't in the room.

"Look," Reg whispered sadly, pointing towards the information booth. They all looked, and saw the four-faced brass clock, lying on its side, having crashed from its place. The glass from the faces had all been smashed, and the information booth completely destroyed. They all stood for a moment, staring at the broken clock.

"Okay, I don't know why," Light said. "But that really makes me mad."

"Same here," Reg agreed, though the look on his face was more sorrow than anger.

Chill narrowed his eyes. "There's a staircase," he noted.

"Yeah, it leads to the lower level," Red said.

"Think Bad Guy went down?" Muscles asked, tilting his head as he glared at the staircase.

"I definitely think it's worth investigating," Friend responded.

"I agree," Ghost spoke over the radio. "According to these readouts, there's some massive energy signature coming from down there. It's a safe bet to assume that's where he is."

"Alright," Chill said, turning to face everyone in the group. "Here's the deal: There's a good chance the enemy is down there. But I think we should split into groups, so we can continue searching this floor as well. Also, that energy signature could very well be a trap. Whichever team goes there needs to be careful."

"Good idea," Friend said. "Alright, here's the split: Sparky, Red and Chill will search downstairs. Reg and I will handle the restaurants and stores. Light, you take Muscles and search the platforms. Ghost, you monitor everything, and continue to give us information as we go. Everyone got it?"

Everyone agreed that they'd understood, and Friend nodded. "Right then," he said. "Move out!"


The Dark Figure sat and looked up at the smoke-filled sky that surrounded the terminal, rising and curling, like a venomous snake intent upon choking out all the clean air. Not that the air here was all that great to begin with, but the smoke just made things even worse.

"Hey, you need to get back inside."

The dark figure turned and looked behind him to see his personal watchdog standing and frowning at him in displeasure.

"Technically, I am inside," the dark figure said, indicating the rubble he was perched on. The rubble from the hole in the wall of the terminal. Who needed windows?

"You're an easy target up there," the man stated. "Besides, you're not off the clock yet."

"I already beat up the metal guy," the dark figure argued. "Can't I call it a day?"

"You let him escape," the man started out lowly, the frustration building up as he talked. "And you allowed Stark Tower to make a transmission. You were supposed to take the tower and the Patriot out without drawing SHIELD's attention. Now, we've got reinforcements in the building! So get. Back. Inside!"

The dark figure sighed and jumped down from the pile of rubble. Raising his hands in surrender, he looked at the man questioningly, as if to say: "Okay, I did it. You win."

The man put his hand up to his forehead. "Look," he said. "You're lucky, alright?"

"Lucky?" the dark figure repeated. "How am I lucky?"

"Because you don't remember," the man snarled, beginning to walk angrily towards the dark figure. "You think you have reason for this attitude you've copped, you think you can get away with whining and complaining about this new world, well guess what!? You don't know anything about the hell the rest of us have lived through! You had your memories wiped. You're lucky. You don't know what it is you're destroying. So get a grip, get your head back in focus, and complete your mission! Understood!?"

The dark figure was silent for a moment, avoiding eye contact with the man. He knew that his babysitter was right, he was lucky. He didn't remember what life was like before. He at least was spared the knowledge of the extent of his actions. After a few moments, he looked at the man. "Understood," he said.

The man took a step back and sighed. "Good," he said. "The reinforcements have split into three teams. I'll handle the team in Vanderbilt Hall, you wait here and take out your team when they reach the platforms. You're just lucky I showed up when I did, I doubt even you would be able to handle the whole set by yourself."

"What about the third team?" the dark figure asked. "The one in the basement? Won't they find it?"

"Of course they'll find it," the man said. "But they're not a threat. There's no way they'll be able to handle it in time. That is, as long as you did your job right."

"Don't worry," the dark figure said. "Everything is exactly as it's supposed to be."

The man raised an eyebrow at his statement, but didn't question him. Instead he turned and made his way to a service staircase, heading downstairs.

The dark figure sighed and looked at his watch. He wasn't sure when the reinforcements would arrive. In the meantime, he jumped back up on top of the pile of rubble, and looked up at the smoky sky.


Chill, Sparky and Red walked quickly through the Lower Concourse, eyes peeled for trouble.

"I'm feeling something strange," Chill said suddenly. "It's like… something is drawing me."

"What do you mean?" Sparky asked.

"I'm not sure," Chill said, his skin slowly turning blue, the effect of what they all called the Radiation Fever. "But I definitely feel something strange."

"Well, you're getting pretty close to the energy signature," Ghost said over the intercom. "Maybe you're reacting to it?"

"Possibly," Chill said, a slight frown on his face. "Let's go cautiously, it's not a good feeling."

"Got it," Red said, and they all moved even more cautiously.

Rounding a corner, they stopped.

"Well…" Chill said after a moment. "We found the energy source."

There in front of them, placed in the center of the food court, was a large black box, about the size of a microwave oven. There was an aura surrounding the box, and for an instant, everything in the room was stained with a hue of the brightest blue. But perhaps, that was the dark empty room casting blue shadows from the numbers counting down on the side of the box.

"It…" Sparky said, speaking for all three of them. "It's a bomb!"


Friend felt a chill go down his spine upon hearing Sparky's words through the earpiece. "A bomb?" He repeated, as they walked towards the hall. "Are you sure?"

"It most certainly is a bomb," Chill's voice came through. "And if my instincts are right, the ensuing blast would be enough to take out all the buildings within a mile-long radius."

"That's… not good," Ghost said. "According to the intel, Stark Tower is within that radius, as well as the old Baxter Building."

"The what building?" Reg asked, pointing his gun around the Vanderbilt Hall before the two stepped in and began making their way across to one of the many stores.

"The Baxter Building," Ghost replied. "I guess it was the headquarters for a team known as the Fantastic Four, but HYDRA took them out as fast as possible. Now it's nothing more than a building, but I guess there's a connection there to some sort of… Negative Zone? I'm not sure, this intel isn't making much sense to me. But both buildings are important, and we believe that they were the real target all along."

"So the bomb must be disarmed," Red spoke up. "We'll… we'll figure something out."

"Do you have sight of the enemy?" Friend asked, before Reg held up a hand, stopping him.

Friend followed Reg's gaze, and saw a man approaching them slowly, having entered the room from the side.

"So," the man said. "You're the reinforcements. I must admit, we all thought you were dead. After all, that base in Vienna was decimated."

Wait, decimated? The base in Vienna had been decimated? But it had been fine when they escaped…

But there were other things to think about. The man in front of them gave a bitter chuckle.

"The looks on your faces," he said, watching Reg with a hollow look in his eye. "You're like the poor sap waiting by the tracks, you have no idea what you're into here. Tell me, kid, what did you think of the clock?"

Reg blinked. "Did you do that!?" He demanded.

"No, it was done before I got here," the man said. "It's my understanding that the Patriot got thrown a bit hard, crashed into it. The sight hit me hard, too. I can only imagine how the kid felt."

"Obviously, you know something about us," Friend stated. "Were you deep in Hydra's council?"

"You could say that," the man said. "Really, though, SHIELD took everything they needed. They know just as much as I do. Though I'm not surprised they're keeping it from you. Are you sure you're all on the right team?"

Reg took a deep breath. "SHIELD isn't the one who set those fires outside," he said. "SHIELD isn't the one who injured those policemen and terrorized an innocent civilian population. SHIELD isn't the one about to bomb New York City!"

"I see HYDRA couldn't take away your sense of justice," the man said. "You always were passionate. But you're wrong about SHIELD. Their hands are more red than they would lead you to believe."

"Whether or not SHIELD is trustworthy isn't the point here," Reg pointed out. "As long as you stand between us and the safety of the city, we're bound to be on less than pleasant terms."

The man sighed. "I knew you would say that," he stated. "Very well, if that's how it must be. You know, I'd always hoped to face you one day. I must admit it's a bit disappointing that you don't remember me."

"Why?" Friend asked. "Who are you?"

"It's very simple," the man said. "I'm the Winter Soldier."


"Well, sounds like everyone's got their hands full," Light said quietly, listening to everything through his earpiece. "They found a bomb in the basement," he informed Muscles. "And I guess there's another guy in the Hall. However, he's confirmed that the real enemy is in fact in here somewhere, it's just a matter of finding him."

"You don't seem to be looking too hard," a voice said, causing Light and Muscles to look up. There, sitting in a hole in the wall, surrounded by hazy light drifting through the smoke, was a boy dressed all in black, watching them lazily.

"Why would we bother to look, if you're just gonna announce your presence anyway?" Light asked him. "You, my friend, aren't really good at hide and seek."

"I am when I want to be," the kid said with a shrug before looking back out the hole.

Light exchanged a glance with Muscles. This kid had single-handedly caused all the destruction in the city? He seemed too passive for that.

"So, if you don't mind my asking," Light said. "Why exactly did you decide it would be a good idea to blow up Manhattan?"

"Just following orders," the kid said. "It's not the first place, and it won't be the last."

"Following orders, huh?" Light asked. "Never thought about some angst-filled rebellion? You seem the type."

The kid let out a chuckle, turning back to look at Light, a note of curiosity in his eye. "Do I?" he asked. "It seems more your style."

"That's because I did it," Light said. "Judging by your mannerisms here, you're just like us." He indicated himself and Muscles.

"Yeah?" the kid asked. "How do you figure?"

"Well, we're both HYDRA experiments, too, you know," Light said. "Me and Muscles, and the rest of the team, we're all here in the building. Gonna handle the bomb thing, save New York, you know, the usual."

Muscles grinned and gave a nod, folding his arms.

"The usual, that's a good one," the kid said with a smile. "I've heard about you guys, though. We're not all that much alike after all."

"And how do you figure?" Light asked.

"Because, you guys all escaped before you began the training," the kid said. "And even without the training, I still have enough power to defeat you."

"Granted, your changes to the city are worthy of note," Light said. "But don't underestimate us, SHIELD gave us a bit of training, too."

"I don't think you fully understand the situation here," the kid said. "See, I really do have enough power to defeat you. I was the final experiment. HYDRA didn't just mess with you guys, they collected data, and they studied DNA, and they took blood samples. And it all went to me."

Jumping down from his spot in the window, the kid landed in front of Light and Muscles.

"I can beat you," the kid said. "Because I am you. Every power you all have, every thing that gives you strength, is all rolled up into me."

Light and Muscles watched as the kid closed his eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, the earpiece in Light's ear exploded. "GAH!" he yelled, pulling the sparking equipment from his ear hurriedly.

"Bet you didn't know you can control technology," the kid said. "That is, if you're good with your computer, you can hack into anything and destroy it."

"Yeah, I knew that," Light said. "Well, most of it. I just didn't know you could."

"Well, now you know," the kid said, summoning fire in his hand. "And uh, I've also burnt out the communicators of your team, and there's a HYDRA squad moving to intercept your quinjet. What's your next plan?"

Light thought this through. Winston was safe as long as he didn't connect to any satellite, his system was secure. But he had to warn Ghost about the attack. There was only one way to do that.

"Muscles," he said. "Get to the jet, protect Ghost, tell him what's going on."

"But Light," Muscles started, worry in his eyes.

"Don't worry about me, Big Guy," Light said with a smile. "I can handle the quack here. I'm a genius, remember? I've got Winston running the algorithms now."

Muscles obviously wasn't sure about the truth of Light's statement, but he nodded.

With a roar of anger towards the kid, he took off.

"Now then," Light said. "Do your worst."

"Very brave of you," the kid said, getting into a battle stance. "But I'd rather not break a sweat, if it's all the same to you."

Light took a deep breath. This would be difficult.


"Guys?" Ghost said into the radio, tapping it a few times. All of his computers had suddenly gone down, and he was only getting static through the radio.

"I think we've been made," he alerted the two pilots in the front of the jet. "Be prepared for anything, all radar and technical readouts are down. I can't reach the team, and we're flying blind."

"Got it," the pilot said, and Ghost stood, looking over his shoulder as they piloted their way through the city. "There," the pilot pointed to where three HYDRA ships appeared over the skyline, heading in their direction.

"Strap yourself in, kid," the co-pilot said. "Things are about to get bumpy."

"Guys, I hope you don't need me," Ghost muttered as he made his way to a nearby seat. "Cause I'm gonna be busy for awhile."