Steve and Johann paced through the halls together as they went looking for answers for their silent questions. Johann's mind toiled with the idea that Loki, who was nothing as he imagined him to look if he truly was the God from Asgard. Seeing the power of the sceptre, the tesseract out there calling to him, it was all very aggravating. When he first held the cube in his hand and saw its power it almost felt like he was being whispered to, that something greater was out there for him to seize. Even thinking about it stirred something in his soul, as if he was possessed by it and it made him yearn for a higher calling he did not know nor did he understand. It clouded his mind as he aimlessly walked through these hallways that all began to blend together. If only he had the tesseract now, then all his problems would be over. The sceptre, he realised that the energy from the sceptre felt like the tesseract, I'll just take that instead, and I'll never let them forget who I truly am. Steve, however, was far more aware of their surroundings. He looked around corners and checked behind them occasionally. He had a sick feeling deep in his stomach like people were watching them that people knew that Johann was, well, Johann. He couldn't stop thinking about what Loki said, there was something he wasn't telling us, why would he surrender so easily? It doesn't make sense. His mind was a buzz but he didn't vocalise it.

As they were nearing the storage units, they both looked at each other briefly before noticing they were marching down the hallways with the exact same pace and stride. It was an eerie sight that caused them both to falter and stop moving. Soldiers, walking side by side, matching each other's strides. Johann made a face of disgust, it was clear he hated to conform and walking exactly as his foe walked is close enough to be made to march for Hitler. Steve's gaze shifted away from the man, a solemn expression clouding his face, you're not in the army anymore Steve. "Shall we?" He awkwardly suggested as he gestured at the door.

"What harm could it do," Johann spoke in a dull tone as he opened the door and stepped in. Boxes on top of crates crowded the room that was lit dimly. There was a second level to the storage unit with even more boxes.

"Let's get to work," Steve said moving past Johann and heading straight for the first pile of crates, examining the labels and opening them. Johann glanced up at the second level and with a jump managed to grab hold of the railing and swing himself over so that he could begin his own search. The two went through crates together with intense curiosity. Whether the two were looking for the same thing was unknown, but they were looking just as desperately for something to cling to. Steve found a crate full of old SSR files and he sifted through them looking at the information they possessed. His eyes landed upon information about them going around and rounding up the last of HYDRA and their military. As he scanned through the document a small gasp escaped his lips as he saw a picture and the name of the woman he once loved, Peggy Carter. He closed the file for a moment, memories of their last moment together flooded back into his mind. The car was racing along the runway after Schmidt and before he leapt after the villain he had kissed her. He held the file closer to him as he realised he never truly got to say goodbye. After Johann had grabbed the tesseract the blinding light that shot out from it knocked them both unconscious and severed all power on the plane, which then crashed into the icy ocean.

It was gone now, all of it, everyone he ever knew or cared about. All that was left of his old life was the very man who took it away. Anger clawed at his heart as he opened his eyes to get one long look at that man in question. His anger couldn't hold as he watched Johann innocently search through crates unaware of the gaze he was receiving. Something about him, maybe it was the time they spent together, maybe his brain was still fried from being asleep for 70 years, but he couldn't bring himself to despise him, to want to destroy him again. Steve placed the file gently back into the crate, closing it slowly, perhaps it was seeing that his enemy was human as well that made it impossible. The emotions were difficult to handle, and now he knew how Johann felt being thrust back into a world where no one feared him, where he had no power and was made to act like a normal person. It was overwhelming, and it was like he was drowning in an ocean he couldn't see.

"You know, I still can't believe they made us train with other agents. I mean, what was the point in that? Perhaps it was a strange trust-building exercise that clearly hasn't worked. Why hasn't Fury told us anything about that supposed spy or whatever it was that is in SHIELD?" Johann's voice broke the silence as he began to ramble about the past few months they had spent together. It was no secret to Steve that Johann had begun to get annoyed at the secrecy, it must have pained him to not know everything. Steve sighed in response to Johann's ramblings as he continued to thumb through files and documents, he really didn't want to entertain the German's rambles today. Johann stopped confused as to why he wasn't answered. This would usually be the time where Steve would have something to say, he would stand up for his country or some other defensive dribble.

He stepped away from the box he was sifting through to stand against the railing, a confused and annoyed expression across his face. "Are you even listening down there? You normally have something to say, some defensive strike against my person." Steve didn't reply, he instead turned his back fully to Johann and continued. "Excuse me? Didn't you just say a few moments ago that we should begin to work together? Now you won't talk to me?"

"Because every time there is silence in the room you feel the need to fill it. Normally in a way that is set to cause an argument between us. So no, I am not talking to you Schmidt, I think it'd be better for our partnership that way."

Johann's face contorted to one of offence, "wha- I do not feel the need to fill the silence. I was simply striking up a conversation, I thought you American's liked to talk but I assume I must be wrong."

"Yeah, you're wrong," Steve said nonchalantly but he couldn't help a small smile on his face at imagining the shocked expression that Johann must have now.

"Oh, I see. You must have found something that has hurt your empathetic nature in one of these boxes. I guess I will have to leave you alone, wouldn't want you upset," Johann's voice turned to one that seethed with condescending attitudes. Steve wasn't wrong, he always felt compelled to speak, to fill the void that was left in silence. He also was argumentative and tended to take a jab at people around him for an excuse to belittle or argue with them.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He paused for a moment before recalling a certain dinner with Fury at the SHIELD base "but, at least I didn't faint due to my uncontrollable temper," Steve said before turning his head so that his gaze met with Johann's, "during a nice calm dinner."

Johann smirked now that Steve finally responded to his nagging, but was stunned into silence at what he had said. Normally Steve would diffuse a situation with some self-righteous rhetoric. Instead, he retaliated against Johann's words with a snarky remark of his own. He was bewildered at this sudden change. He paused for a brief moment before a smile etched at his lips. "My, it seems we really are becoming partners now." With that, he turned away from him and continued searching through the crates. Steve watched him for a moment go back to his work and a small chuckle escaped him.

"I guess we are," he whispered to himself. There was silence, for the first time in a long while, and for once it wasn't after an argument. Pure content and productive silence. The silence lasted for a few moments before it was broken by the bemused voice of Johann.

"Perhaps the rat we are looking for is right in front of us Rogers," the man in question looked up to see Johann holding a file with a large HYDRA symbol stamped onto it. His eyes widened before Johann reached back into the box and pulled out one of his many rifles that used the power of the tesseract as its ammunition. "Maybe the rat is SHIELD all along, using their enemies as a way to grab more power for themselves. After all, why else would they have kept and documented the very weapons I had that utilised the power of the Tesseract."

"I have no idea," Steve said coldly as anger rose in his chest, "but we're going to find out." Johann tossed a gun down to Steve before grabbing one for himself.

Tony sat on the bench beside the sceptre comfortably as his probe into SHIELD's files was nearly complete. He tapped a small tune on his legs as he waited for something to happen. Banner on the other hand was minding a screen that would hopefully pinpoint where the tesseract was. An amused expression stretched across Tony's face as he heard the angry stepping of boots on metal. "Get the lights, Bruce, the show's about to begin."

Fury strode furiously into the lab, marching straight to Tony.

"What are you doing Mr Stark?"

"Uh, funny you should mention that because I was wondering the same thing about you."

"You're supposed to be locating the tesseract," for a brief moment Fury's face held an expression of regret. He began to wonder if he had made a mistake bringing the team together, and the news Natasha just bought to him about Loki's plans with the Hulk were not helping.

"We are, the model's locked and we're sweeping through the signature now. When we get a hit, we'll have the location within half a mile," Banner said timidly as he walked around to stand on the other side of the table Tony was sitting on.

"Yeah, you get your Cube back no muss, no fuss. What even is Phase 2?" Tony said with a tilt of his head as he narrowed in on the screen in front of him. Almost as if on cue Steve and Johann entered the room and slammed their weapons down on the table in the middle of the room.

"Phase 2 is that SHIELD uses the Cube to make weapons," Steve said defiantly as he glanced between the three of them.

"Apologies, the computer was moving a little too slowly for us," Johann added with an extra glare towards Stark who responded to the gaze with a small smile. He wasn't intimidated by the Agent now, he knew exactly who he was. He just needed to know what he was up to.

"We had to gather everything related to the tesseract, this does not mean-" Fury attempted to remedy the situation before Stark interjected twisting the screen to face everyone.

"I'm sorry, Nick. What, were you lying?"

"I was the wrong Director. This world hasn't changed a bit," Steve spoke bitterly as the emotions that he reminisced on before began to build back up inside him. The pain, the loss and all of what he fought were, it didn't matter. People were still greedy, power-hungry and itching for war. Johann's mind drifted from the conversation, he knew Steve could handle the talking from here. What he was more interested in was the sceptre that lay in front of him. Its power called to him in a siren-like drone that pierced his mind. Could no one else hear it?

Natasha and Thor had arrived with comments being shared between her and Banner.

"I was in Calcutta. I was pretty well removed," Banner retorted with a bemused tone.

"Loki is manipulating you," Natasha said with urgency and care as she stepped closer to him. He moved away from the table slowly and stood on the other side of Tony away from her.

"And you've been doing what, exactly?"

"You didn't come here because I bat my eyelashes at you."

"Yes, and I'm not leaving because suddenly you get a little twitchy," Banner responded adamantly before grabbing a hold of the screen with one hand so that he could present it to the room. "I'd like to know why SHIELD is using the Tesseract to build weapons of mass destruction," anger evidently in his voice as he directed the question to Fury.

Fury began a spiel that the reason for the weapons was because of Thor, and beings like him. Aliens that had power beyond what Earth could muster to defend themselves. Steve listened to it, anger radiating inside his mind. To him, it was not a good enough excuse, for the numerous innocent lives that have and will continue to be taken.

Johann couldn't care less should the world blow up today or tomorrow, not while the power of the sceptre whispered to him. Ever since he first retrieved the tesseract all those years ago it had changed something within him. While his mind was dominated by the need to control and conquer his dreams were plagued with futures he could not comprehend. Destinies he was yet to pursue or understand. When he held the tesseract in his hand, on that fateful plane trip, he felt his body being pulled into what felt like an eternal abyss. For a moment it was calming, a delusional peace washed over him, as surfaces of the cube began to spin pictures that resembled that of a golden sunset. Then an incredible and searing pain shot through his body as the pulling towards nothing began to rupture his physical body. It took everything in his power to not be dragged towards the uncertain void. The pain was deafening and in a brief flash of light he woke up in a cell, in America, in the future. None of that mattered now, what mattered was the dark whispers that called to him from Loki's sceptre. The voice was not distinct, it did not speak clear words, yet Johann felt he understood what it was saying to him.

Kill them. Take what is yours.

The arguing voices blended together as they began to circle the room. He absentmindedly moved towards the sceptre staring at it, completely consumed by its voice. Images of power, notoriety, control and freedom danced through his mind as the whispering grew louder. Without warning, a shocking pain slashed through his head and the whispering of the sceptre ceased. It felt as though physical barriers were placed around his thoughts and suddenly the trance was broken. The arguing became clearer but Johann's shock was still present as he stared down at the sceptre in front of him confused, conflicted and cold A deep sadness settled in his chest as the feeling of power faded from him. He longed to be the one in charge again, he longed for the strength to cause his enemies to tremble in fear at the mere mention of his name. It all seemed foolish now, but that feeling, that feeling of being worth something, it was what he truly desired.

"You may not be a threat Stark, but you better stop pretending to be a hero." Steve's voice rang through his mind as the sound of the helicarrier and the mechanical tinkering of the lab reminded Johann of where he was. A small scoff escaped the mouth of Stark as his moment to reveal the truth had arrived perfectly on a silver platter.

"A hero?" Stark paused for a moment his eyes narrowing in on Steve who raised a brow to his query. "What like him?" Stark's head turned quickly as his eyes landed on the back of Johann's head who felt the eyes of the room fall on him. Everyone, except Thor, knew exactly who he was and that confirmation made Fury incredibly tense. Johann smiled as he slowly turned around glancing at each gawking eye before finally finishing his turn facing Stark. He wasn't sure when exactly everyone realised who he truly was, not like it wasn't obvious enough, but perhaps Stark found something in his files that confirmed it.

"Like me?" Johann questioned with feigned innocence as if mocking a child being caught in a lie. "Don't be so confident Stark, you look foolish. I know you know who I am, you all do, and you have for quite some time now." Johann sneered coldly, his piercing blue eyes staring directly at Tony, who, for a brief moment, took a step back. The air in the room was tense with mistrust Natasha was one of the first to slowly move her hand to rest on her weapon.

"Agent, it's a pretty uncreative alias," Stark retaliated in an attempt to regain his composure and position of superiority. "You follow Captain America around like you're attached to him at the hip. Your remark to me on the bridge earlier, and that accent I mean come on," he waved his hand at him as if he just pointed out the fact that the sky was blue. In the pause that follow he curtly tilted his head towards Fury. "However, it got me thinking. If you're being this obvious about it, then you certainly aren't hiding for some secret plot. Unless you're terrible at covert missions, which I have no idea about, never cared for history."

Johann's lips curled into a sinister smile, "perhaps there is no need to covert Mr Stark. Like your father, you are arrogant, it's a shame really. You'd hope that by now the Stark bloodline would have grown some sort of conscious." Stark's eyes could kill at the mention of his father's name. The daggers he glared at could cut even the strongest of materials.

A sudden ringing of the tesseract alert rang out from the computer and the meek Dr Banner scampered over to it. No eyes left Johann who stood confidently in front of the sceptre as if at any moment he would grab it and run. His eyes narrowed as he noticed the sinister look on their faces, something that was not there before. His gaze turned back to the sceptre behind him and the sound of guns clicking sounded throughout the room. 'It's controlling them. It was influencing me… But why did it stop?' As he turned back to face them he saw that Fury and Natasha's guns were drawn. His eyes landed on Steve, who he thought would be reasonable in this situation, but his eyes shared the same malice that resonated from the sceptre. A sharp emotional pang hit Johann's chest as he quickly looked away and up at Bruce instead.

Bruce slowly looked up from the screen his eyes wide with shock. "Oh my god."