Baron von Strucker's echoing footsteps clacked in the empty hallway.

When he'd gotten the call that they'd captured the girl, he was pleased, yes, and he'd told the workers to lock her up. She sat, dark hair mussed and pale hands a'trembling. The glimmering red dancing from her fingertips shone like a trophy, and the trophy case of its twin prize gleamed adjacent, polished and waiting and just begging to be filled.

And only one month later, it was.

As a lesser member of his organization led him through the various accomplishments since the battle at New York, his satisfaction only grew. The Tesseract glowed cerulean power in its golden and silver frame; quite the lovely sight to behold.

The waiting was nearly over; soon, the Infinity Gauntlet would be in their possession.

At last, the Hydra member stopped in front of the glass cage. The girl, now dressed in a cream nightgown, sat against the wall she shared with her brother, who seemingly had lost all control of his power. His gray hair thrashed about with his sporadic movements, and he pushed against the wall in an attempt to break through to his sister.

Quite a ruckus he had caused in the holding cell, the Baron had heard.

"...and we have one more, sir," said the worker. "She seemed the right option. Originally, we thought it would be the father, but he had too much to lose to stay loyal to us."

"Show her to me."

The worker led Strucker to a room where the smell of chemicals hung about in the air. Doctors buzzed around a woman whose striking red-bronze hair screamed its independence from the monochrome gray, black, and white of the furniture. She lay half-dead on the operating table in a plain shirt and shorts.

It was almost a shame to see so many needles and scalpels being dug into her skin, tearing out what was before and cementing inside power and finesse.

"With the asset loose, sir, we needed a... back-up plan, if you will."

Strucker had almost forgotten about the asset. As perturbed as he was that his favorite weapon had run away, he knew it was nothing that could not be fixed with time and patience.

"And the rest?"

"We can do the same for them, sir. This one, Katya Ivanovna Petrovich, was prudent as first choice."

Katya Ivanovna Petrovich. Not that it mattered; she was a weapon now, or possibly a flame-haired coin, minted fresh from the blood of freedom and inscripted at the hands of Thanos himself.

"No," Baron von Strucker said aloud. "It is a miracle. And there is nothing more horrifying than a miracle."

Four hours after the car episode, Ivy was still brooding about the fact that they had resorted to thievery. She was less vocal about it, but she was brooding nonetheless in the form of the silent treatment.

It didn't seem to bother Bucky too much, as he kept steering and speeding along like nobody's business.

Ivy couldn't begrudge him his driving skills. They were better than she'd have expected from somebody from the forties.

"Are we going to have lunch?" Ivy asked.

"No."

"Do we need to have another talk about eating?" Ivy said lightly. This cracked a smile from him. "No? Didn't think so. Pull over at the next town, and we can get something to eat."

"I can't be positive they'll have your McDonald's or your Taco Bell."

"That's alright. I read on my phone just now," here, Ivy briefly lifted her phone to demonstrate. "That Russia's starting to become a magnet for fast food. I think my next project's gonna be getting you to have some Burger King."

"Burger King?"

"Yeah. They have burgers."

"I gathered."

"Oh, shut up!" Ivy smacked him on his arm. The human one, of course; contrary to what he obviously believed, she wasn't stupid. "Anyway, they have some Burger Kings around here, mostly in malls, but I'm alright with other restaurants too."

"We'll see about the food establishments in the next town, but keep in mind that we are in a hurry. If there are none, you'll have no room to be picky."

"Yeah, that's okay. We need to hurry up before they can catch the twins and all that jazz."

"No, they've already caught the twins, or at least one of them. We need to get there before they can utilize them."

"Right, right. I thought they had both."

"Last time I saw, they only had one. The Scarlet Witch, they called her, but her alias is Wanda Maximoff."

"That sounds like a really... normal name. Not what I'd have expected from someone who could potentially destroy the world."

Bucky chuckled. "No, I suppose not."

"Wait, so what about the other twin?"

"Pietro Maximoff. Sometimes Peter, but it's Pietro. I believe Hydra likes to call him Peter."

"Again, really normal. Are they the bad guys?"

"Not necessarily. I suppose you could say that they were dealt the wrong cards."

Ivy didn't ask for him to elaborate. Instead, she asked, "Will they help us?"

"I'm not sure. They may not be the 'bad guys,' but they're not exactly rooting for us, either."

Ivy shifted uncomfortably. "Oh. So it's basically a fifty-fifty chance on whether the world gets saved or destroyed."

"In its simplest form, yes, it is. We're here."

Ivy looked out the window of their car. "So we are."

They were not at the base like she'd wanted, but rather at the next town; there was, indeed, a Burger King.

"Yes!" she cheered as Bucky parked. She scampered out of the car and practically skipped inside. "And we're not getting takeout, by the way."

She ordered two large burgers, one for herself and one for Bucky. Fortunately, the man working the counter didn't seem to piece together that Ivy was the Ivy who was on the news about 24/7 now. Apparently, only a couple of small crimes which she didn't even commit were enough to land her a spot on the worldwide wanted list.

"Eat your burger," she said, picking up her own. "It's just like eating your burrito."

Bucky hadn't liked the burrito. For Ivy to say that eating it was just the same didn't exactly help appease the notion that this burger would be just as unenjoyable. Still, if it would get them on the road sooner...

He ate it, and had to admit that it wasn't as bad as he'd expected it to be. At least he wasn't having a burrito.

Three bites into his food, Bucky heard Ivy ask, "Are you going to eat that?", and he looked up to find that she'd already finished her own burger and was now pointing at the long, gold sticks on his plate. He shook his head; he'd already tried enough today. He wasn't about to risk eating another new food.

Ivy picked up the stick and surveyed it at eye level. "So, are you going to explain the entire Captain America thing to me?"

"What?"

"I mean," she said, leaning forward a bit. "Why you attacked America's golden boy."

"Why are you bringing this up now?"

"I forgot about it on the plane ride, and I obviously couldn't ask you about it when we landed." Ivy winced. "But unfortunately for you, it just now crossed my mind. Care to elaborate?"

Bucky knew he shouldn't withhold information, but at the same time, he didn't want to talk about it. It must have shown on his face, because the light in Ivy's eyes changed.

"Or not. It's obviously still a sore subject. You don't have to talk about it. Do you want to?"

"No."

"Okay, then. Don't, and have a fry." She handed him the golden stick, the 'fry.' He shook his head and opened his mouth to take another bite of his burger when a noise sent adrenaline coursing through his body; Ivy had heard it too, apparently, because she froze mid-fry and turned her gaze to him.

"How?" Ivy asked as the police car pulled up.

"It seems the worker isn't as oblivious as we thought. Get down."

Sure enough, Bucky glanced at the cashier who'd taken their order, and he had obviously called the police of Ivy's and Bucky's whereabouts. He was slowly shrinking back into the kitchen; Bucky had to suppress the urge to shoot at him.

Ivy had done as she was told and was now sitting low in her seat. His metal hand reached into his pocket and slowly fingered a dagger which Ivy had not made him keep in his bag. His other hand cocked a gun hidden away in his jacket.

"Knife," he mouthed to Ivy. She didn't argue like she normally would; instead, she dipped her fingers into the holster he'd given her, and she pulled out the knife. Ivy held it awkwardly, Bucky noted. She didn't seem to be able to tell whether to keep the blade facing towards the outside or inside of her fist. He'd have to teach her about that later.

Bucky pulled off the camouflage sleeve and waited for the police to enter, and another police car pulled up. Four stepped out of the first car and into the building. Catching sight of Bucky, they yelled in Russian and pulled out their guns.

He was ready. He took down the first without any trouble, but the next three were more strategic. He vaguely noted the screaming patrons with their hands clasped over their heads, but the thrill of the fight was already sending him slashing and hacking and shooting, and the next one was subdued only ten seconds after the first.

He'd sent himself to work on the other attackers when a shriek pierced through the air, sharper than the knife he held in his hand. It was a sound Bucky had never heard before, and it was one he hoped he'd never hear again.

Ivy was in trouble.

Two of the policemen had cornered her into her booth and were waving their guns at her. Their fingers twitched over the triggers like the tails of rattlesnakes.

"Your knife, Ivy!"

Ivy had seemingly decided on holding the knife with the blade facing the outside of her fist, not unlike the way Bucky had held his own knife when he'd attacked the man on the bridge. Ivy swung the knife gracelessly at her first assailant, delivering a clean, deep slice on his chin. Only an inch lower and she would have killed him. He stumbled backwards, cupping his hands to catch the blood.

The second was more prepared. As Ivy swung again, he caught her arm and twisted it backwards, releasing a yowl from the girl. With a heavy swing, her attacker's boot swung down with a thud onto her right wrist.

Ivy didn't even have time to scream before the weight on her arm suddenly vanished. She looked up to see Bucky hoisting the man up into the air with his metal arm, ready to crush his windpipe like a paper bag.

"Bucky, stop!"

His glare was directed at her for a few breathless moments. Then, as if by a miracle, his fingers unclenched and the man crumpled to the ground. Ivy wasn't sure why; maybe it was a stroke of luck, or an instinct of his. Maybe it was another reason she couldn't possibly dream up.

Bucky grabbed Ivy's bag and fished the keys out, then all but shoved her out the door. He turned to each of the security cameras and shot at the wires which he knew would send the images to the computer for safekeeping.

The two were gone in a matter of seconds. It was as though they had never been there. For weeks after the incident, people would be wondering just who caused the bloodshed on that day. Was it a gang? Reckless teenagers looking to make an impression? Maybe it was something supernatural. Maybe they were ghosts.

They drove for three towns more before Bucky checked them into a hotel.

"Let me see your hand," he said when they made it up to the room, and Ivy silently held out her arm. He pulled a bandage from his vest and wrapped Ivy's wrist in it. Her pained hiss did not go unnoticed, and he stepped to the fridge and pulled out some ice.

"Hold that there," he said, "and it should heal within three days. Try to keep it elevated."

Ivy lifted her wrist and studied it with a grimace. "They... they weren't policemen, were they?"

"No. Policemen wouldn't be that violent."

"Then they were what?"

"Hydra. They came to look for me."

"And the worker?"

"Chances are he called the police, but Hydra monitors everything. He described you, and Hydra had probably heard about you on television and how you're my accomplice. It isn't that hard to piece together."

"Then why did they attack me if they're looking for you?"

"I don't know."

Ivy squirmed and gingerly rested her wrist on a pillow. "Something's not right."

"You don't say."

"Oh, shut up. Really, though, there's something off about this entire thing."

"How can you tell?"

"Instinct."

A raised eyebrow turned to her direction.

"Bucky, it was instinct which made me come here to Russia with you, it was instinct which told me that Oliver was in trouble, and it's instinct now that's telling me something's wrong."

"I suppose there is something wrong, but maybe we should just leave it be for now."

"Would you let weeds grow in your garden rather than laying down the mulch?"

"I don't understand the reference."

"Fine. I won't explain it. My point still stands; we should just nip this thing in the bud while we're busting out your twins and jewels."

"Ivy," Bucky said with a scowl, "we don't understand what's going on here. We could go on the aggressive, but it would be more prudent to defend. What's your instinct telling you? Is it something big, or is it something small?"

"Something big."

"Then we wait and try to find out what it is. Once we do, we can see if we can take it ourselves or if we need to..."

"To what? Enlist help? Doesn't seem your style," Ivy said with an arched eyebrow and a teasing smirk.

"Yes. You shouldn't be so surprised; I normally work alone, but you're tagging along with me."

"Well, what a wicked pair we make."

He lifted his eyebrow again in amusement. "You do realize that this incident today won't be the last?"

"Duh. I suppose I kinda signed up for it."

"And you do realize you could have been killed?"

"I noticed."

"Yes. And I noticed that your knife-handling skills weren't exactly—"

"Sharp?" Ivy finished, grinning proudly at her pun.

"Refined," he finished. "Guns would be rather helpful in a situation like this, as well." With that, he looked pointedly at her and watched as the realization dawned on her face.

"But—" she began to complain.

"Ivy," he said with a wry smirk, "it's time for you to learn how to fight."

When Ivy said the weed and mulch thing, it wasn't exactly a reference, but more a gardening metaphor. Weeds generally wait underneath the soil, so if you don't disturb the soil and instead lay down mulch to prevent sunlight from getting through, the weeds won't pop up.

I feel so unprofessional throwing Katya in there like that. Oh, well. If Marvel can straight up change Quicksilver's name, I can squeeze my OC into the mid-credits scene.

In case my timeline was confusing (I know that for some people in the last chapter it was), I imagined that the Scarlet Witch was caught approximately a month before Quicksilver and Katya, and that was about the time of the mid-credits scene which we saw.

Review, please!