Author's Note:

Hey all! Here's the next chapter for Earth's Mightiest Huntsmen! Apologies if anyone missed the notification for chapter 2, I know I put that up really fast after chapter 1. But before we get to it, I've got some brief housekeeping to get to.

First, once again, I will not be taking requests for things you want to see happen in the story. Constructive criticism I will take because that helps me become a better writer. But I won't be taking random requests like, "X should happen" or "you should make this character do this!" Believe me when I say that I have plans for characters already worked out.

Second, as we go through these small story arcs, I will be starting to put together a music playlist of song titles I think would work as themes for each arc, as well as a song that is the overall theme for the story. This is not for any reason other than for pure fun on my part. Expect this playlist of song titles for this first arc and the overall theme on my profile in the next few days or so. You can also find the titles of the various arcs there when I get around to writing them. No spoilers for where we'll be going to after this first arc!

And now to answer some reviews.

hawko2632: No, I can safely say that when we do get to the X-Men, they won't be on Krakoa.

Guest: Age of Ultron has no relation to this story. As I've said, this is not taking place within the MCU. This is taking place in a Marvel Universe more based off the comics and cartoons than the MCU. Though I will say that there will be some MCU elements in the story, and maybe a few MCU related characters.

Thank you all for your support. Now, let's get back to the story.

Avengers Mansion

Ruby slowly opened her eyes, blinking several times from the bright light that was shining directly into her face. With a small groan, she forced herself to sit upright, rubbing her eyes so she could get a better look at her surroundings.

She was lying on a medical bed in the corner of a brightly lit room, hooked up to several monitors, which beeped faintly. It appeared to be some sort of infirmary, but not one that she recognized. This wasn't any medical facility in Beacon or Vale.

She rubbed her head, memories flashing through her head over what had happened. She had been fighting…Ultron…in Vale. Then she had ripped something off him and smashed it…and then…

A door opened near her, and a young man walked in. He appeared to be in his late twenties, with blonde hair and blue eyes. His outfit, however, was one of the strangest that Ruby had ever seen. It was a mix of red, white, and blue, complete with a white star on his chest. On his wrist he carried a circular shield that also was colored red, white, and blue.

"Hello," the man said to her, taking a nearby chair and dragging it next to her bed.

Ruby blinked. "Uh…hello."

The man sat down in the chair. "How are you feeling?"

"Uh…a little tired. Where…where am I?"

"Take it easy. You're in a safe place now. What's your name?"

Ruby tilted her head slightly. "Ru—Ruby. Ruby Rose."

The man smiled slightly. "Hello Ruby. My name is Steve."

"Where…am I?" Ruby asked again. "Somewhere in Vale? Did we beat Ultron?"

Something flickered in Steve's face briefly before he looked down at her. "This may be hard to hear, but…wherever you're from, you're not there anymore."

Ruby was confused. "What do you mean?"

"You're on a planet called Earth. And I don't think you're from around here."

"Another…planet?"

Steve leaned forward slightly. "What is the name of your world?"

Ruby struggled to reply, still trying to process what Steve was trying to say. "Wha—what do you mean, another planet? Isn't this Remnant? Wh—what's going on?"

"I'm afraid this isn't Remnant," Steve told her gently. "I'm sorry."

A million thoughts were running through Ruby's head. "Not Remnant—wait—" Her eyes widened. "Yang! My friends! Are they—"

"I'm sorry," Steve told her. "You're the only one we found."

Ruby's heart began to pound. "No—Yang—Weiss—Blake—" The monitors she was connected to started to beep faster as she tried to comprehend what she had been told.

"Calm down, Ruby." Steve gently put a hand on her shoulder. "If they're out there, we'll find them. I promise."

"But—Ultron—he—"

"Ultron's not here, Ruby. You're safe."

The door opened again, and a young woman with brown hair entered, carrying a medical bag. "Is she hurt?" she asked.

"She's fine, Dr. Foster," Steve told her. "She's just...processing everything."

Dr. Foster pulled a small light from her medical bag and shined it in Ruby's silver eyes, causing her to blink rapidly. "Let me take a look, Steve. I'd like to keep her under observation for a few hours to make sure she's okay."

"No," Ruby insisted, sliding her legs out of the bed. "I'm fine. I need to find my friends." She could already feel her strength returning, her Aura replenished.

"Kid, you're in no condition to—" Dr. Foster started.

"It's all right, Jane," Steve said. "Why don't we take a walk, Ruby? So we can figure out fully what's going on and how you got here."

"But what about my friends?" Ruby asked.

"We'll help you find them. For now, I think it's best that we talk." Steve held out a red gloved hand to her. Ruby hesitated, but eventually reached her hand out to him, letting him pull her on her feet.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Steve?" Dr. Foster asked, still looking concerned over the welfare of her patient.

"I'll let you know if anything happens, Jane," Steve replied. "Walk with me, Ruby."

After a moment of hesitating, Ruby followed the man into the hallway. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that, where you come from, you don't have the means of space travel," Steve guessed.

"N-no," Ruby stuttered. "We have airships and flying machines, but nothing that can go into space."

"Do you know how you got here? What's the last thing you remember?"

Ruby scrunched her eyes in thought. "Well…we were fighting Ultron…he was…taking us down easily. He…he was about to shoot me…but…" Her eyes widened as an image of Yang getting shot by Ultron flashed before her, and she let out a choked cry.

"Hey, hey, it's okay, Ruby," Steve said calmly. "We can talk about it later." He paused. "Why don't I tell you a little bit about Earth first?"

"Earth," Ruby repeated. "Is that really this planet's name?"

"Well, some of the other alien races call it Terra at times, but we humans call it Earth."

"That's still not very imaginative." Ruby then realized what Steve had said. "Wait—other alien races?"

"That's right. There are other alien races out there…and a lot of them are conquering galactic empires. But they mostly leave us alone."

"Why?"

"Well…because of people like me and my team." Steve stopped next to a window and motioned out it. Curious, Ruby poked her head past his shoulder, looking down into the room.

They were overlooking a large training room, with shifting walls and platforms. In the center of the room were three people—two women and a man. They were standing back-to-back, staring down swarms of robots. At first, Ruby tensed, briefly thinking that they were Ultron's drones, but then relaxed at seeing that the robots were far more basic. The people down there, however, were anything but normal.

One of the women jumped into the air and, to Ruby's shock, popped wings out of her back while shrinking dramatically. Now the size of an insect, the woman began to fly around, shooting yellow bolts from her hands at the robots. This was backed up by the other woman, who was firing from special gauntlets around her wrists—although, unlike Yang, her gauntlets fired small, rapid darts.

The man in the purple outfit, on the other hand, was wielding a bow. Each arrow he fired at the robots exploded on contact, and it took Ruby only a second to realize that it was the arrows themselves were exploding.

"Are you guys huntsmen?" she blurted out.

Steve looked down at her. "We're called the Avengers. And we're the ones that protect the world."

"So…you're heroes?"

"Yes…we are. The news media call us 'Earth's Mightiest Heroes.'"

"Do you have Semblances too?"

Steve looked confused. "Semblances?"

"It's like…a special ability people have on Remnant. Just about everyone has one."

Steve nodded. "So that's why you could heal so fast."

"Uh—no—no," Ruby corrected. "That was probably because of my Aura. My Semblance is powered by my Aura."

"Well then," Steve said after a moment. "I guess there's a lot I need to learn about your people too."

"Oh good, you're awake." Ruby looked around rapidly for the sound of the new voice, but there was no one else in the hall. Then a figure in a red and blue outfit dropped down from the ceiling, causing her to yelp slightly and take a step back.

"Sorry!" the figure quickly apologized. From the sound of his voice, he had to be on the younger side of things. "Forgot you probably don't know me. But unlike what my name implies, I don't bite."

"Ruby, this is Spider-Man," Steve introduced. "He's the one that found you."

Ruby hesitated, then reached a hand out, giving Spider-Man a handshake. "It's, uh, nice to meet you, Spider-Man—wait, Spider-Man's your real name?"

"Uh, no," Spider-Man answered. "That's just my hero name. I have a normal name, but I like to keep that private."

"Oh." Ruby chuckled awkwardly.

"Glad to see you're up and walking," Spider-Man told her, not seeming to notice her awkwardness. "You were pretty banged up when I found you. Are you a superhero where you come from?"

"Uh, well…"

"We'll get a full debriefing from her later, Spider-Man," Steve told him. "Once we have everyone here. For now, I'm just trying to get her comfortable with her surroundings. She's a stranger on a strange world, after all."

"Right, sorry." Spider-Man rubbed the back of his head. "Still, that weapon of yours looked really cool."

Ruby's eyes widened. "You guys have Crescent Rose?!"

"That big sniper-scythe of yours? Yeah, Iron Man and Ant-Man are taking a look at it in the lab. They're both very impressed with its construction."

"Where's the lab?!"

"Uh, it's just down the hall—first door on the left."

"Ruby, maybe—" Steve started. But Ruby had already activated her Semblance, propelling down the hall in a burst of rose petals and into the room that Spider-Man had indicated. She instantly saw Crescent Rose, currently in its sniper rifle configuration, laying on a lab table in front of two more men.

She stopped right in front of the table, letting out a happy cry as she picked her beloved weapon up, cradling it tightly.

"Holy—" One of the men, a middle-aged man with dark hair, backed up in surprise at her sudden arrival. The other one, a slightly younger man with brown hair, was reaching for a silver helmet on another nearby table.

"It's all right, everyone!" Steve shouted as he ran in, followed closely by Spider-Man. "I was just showing our guest around the mansion."

"Right, sure," the dark-haired man said. "Let's just let the alien girl fly about the mansion. I'm sure she won't accidentally blow something up."

"All she wanted was her weapon back," Steve told him, looking at Ruby, who was still hugging Crescent Rose. "Apparently it's…very special to her."

"Right. Right, sorry kid." The dark-haired man put a hand out. "The name's Tony Stark, kid. You've got one hell of a weapon there. Who made it, miss.…?"

"Ruby Rose," Ruby introduced herself. "And, uh…I, kind of did."

Tony was taken aback. "Wait—you made it?"

"Uh huh." Ruby beamed with pride.

"I've got to hand it to you, Ruby—you seem to know your weapons."

"Heh heh," Ruby chuckled awkwardly, blushing slightly at the praise.

"Trust me," Spider-Man told her, "Coming from him, that's really high praise."

"Anyway," Tony went on, "I'd like to know more about the ammunition I found in the weapon. Some sort of elemental gunpowder?"

"You mean the Dust?" Ruby asked.

"Right. The Dust. Can you tell me more about it?"

"I think we can save the questions for when everyone's here, Tony," Steve told him. "No need to overwhelm her beforehand."

"Fine. But I do want to know more about the Dust. Especially since it seems to have lost its power."

Ruby paused. "What do you mean?"

"For whatever reason," the second man in the room said, finally choosing this moment to speak, "whatever power it had is gone. It's been rendered inert."

"This is Dr. Hank Pym," Tony introduced his colleague. "One of the brightest minds on the planet."

Ruby held a hand out for him to shake, but Hank didn't return the gesture. His eyes darted away from her, as if he was ashamed about something.

Suddenly, another figure appeared, phasing through a wall and floating about a foot off the ground. This was clearly an android, with a green and yellow torso and a red face. "Excuse the interruption," the android said, "But King T'Challa has just arrived. We may proceed with the meeting whenever you are ready, Captain America."

Ruby instinctively took a step back from the android, flashes of Ultron running through her head. Steve noticed her unease and put a calming hand down on her shoulder. "It's all right, Ruby," he told her. "Vision's one of us." To the android, he said, "Thank you, Vision. We'll convene in the war room."

Vision nodded and floated back out of the room, phasing through the wall. Ruby took a shuddering breath to calm herself down. Even though Steve had vouched for him, seeing a robot like that—that is, with intelligence much like Ultron had shown—still made her uneasy.

"Well, if you're having your top-secret Avengers meeting, I should probably get back to the city," Spider-Man said.

"Stay," Steve told him. "You're a part of this, Spider-Man. You're the only one that saw what happened to Ruby, and I want to know how your stories compare."

He turned back to Ruby. "I know it's a lot to ask of you, especially so soon after it happened," he told her. "But we'd like to know exactly what happened on your world. What the situation is there, when Ultron started attacking…and I guess more about you."

"I…" Ruby was quiet before slowly nodding. "All right. I'll tell you everything you want to know."

Steve gave her a calming smile. "Thank you, Ruby."

Ruby rubbed her hands together, trying to fight back the nervousness that she was feeling with all the strangers staring at her. She never liked being the center of attention, even though she had been getting more used to it. And now she was the focus of every single one of these colorful costumed heroes.

The most intimidating of all of them by far was the one in what could only be described as a black cat suit. The only part of him that was colored was his yellow eyes. This was T'Challa, or, as Steve had called him, Black Panther. Unlike Spider-Man, who seemed more relaxed and friendly, this fully masked hero seemed a lot more serious, and had not taken his eyes of her since she had taken her seat at the table in the war room.

Similarly, the red headed woman with the gauntlets that Ruby had seen earlier, now identified as Black Widow, was also giving her a cold look from the other end of the table, her eyes boring into Ruby's own. This only made Ruby squirm even more.

Fortunately, the rest of the Avengers seemed far friendlier. The purple archer, Hawkeye, gave her a thumbs up. The shrinking woman, Wasp, smiled warmly at her as she rested a hand on Hank's shoulder. And, of course, Steve, Tony, and Spider-Man had all been friendly to her early on. That made her feel a little better, but she was still a little nervous. For the next hour or so, she would be the focus of everyone.

"So, Ruby," Tony spoke first. "You say you're from a world called Remnant?"

Ruby nodded. "Uh huh."

"And everyone there has some sort of special ability?"

"Well, some people haven't unlocked their Semblance," Ruby admitted. "But the best huntsmen and huntresses all have them unlocked."

"Who are these huntsmen?" Steve asked. "You've mentioned them before."

"Well…they're the heroes that protect the world from the Grimm."

"What are the Grimm?" Hawkeye asked.

"Monsters," Ruby explained simply. "They're everywhere in Remnant, always attracted to negative emotions. The huntsmen and huntresses go on missions and kill the Grimm to protect humanity."

"And you're training to be a huntress," Steve guessed.

Ruby nodded. "Yep. I've been training at Beacon Academy, one of the top huntsmen academies in Remnant. I'm the leader of my team, RWBY, with my friends Weiss, Blake, and Yang. She's my sister." Her face fell slightly as she thought about them. "Have you found them yet? Any sign of them?"

"I've scanned the planet three times since your arrival," Vision, the android, reported. "Unfortunately, I did not find any consistencies matching the energy signature that appeared when you arrived."

"Oh…" Ruby hung her head slightly.

"Maybe it would help if you told us what actually happened," Tony suggested. "Take us back to when Ultron first attacked. What happened."

Ruby shuddered slightly. "It started a few days ago. He came during the Vytal Festival. He—he told us that he was going to bring peace by—by killing everyone. And then he took out our communications. We were cut off from the other four kingdoms. He took over the mechs that Atlas brought. He sent waves of drones to wear us down. We were running out of ammunition. People were dying. It was…horrible."

"And the huntsmen?" Steve asked.

"There were a lot in Vale when Ultron attacked…but I don't know how many were still alive when we encountered Ultron."

"You actually fought Ultron?" Hawkeye asked.

Ruby nodded again. "We were looking for some friends of ours that went missing. Ultron—he was waiting for us. We tried to fight…but none of our weapons could even hurt him. He said it was something called…adamantium?"

"The strongest metal in the galaxy," Tony explained. "Once it's hardened, it's practically indestructible."

Ruby looked over at him. "How do you know all this?" she asked. "How do you know about Ultron?"

Hank looked down again as Wasp gripped his shoulder. "This…may be hard to understand, kid," Tony eventually said. "But Ultron…he's from Earth."

Ruby breath caught in her throat. "What do you mean?"

"Ultron…he was built on Earth," Tony explained. "He started here. He tried to conquer Earth. We stopped him…barely. And then he just vanished. We've been trying to find him ever since…but it looks like he found you first. I'm sorry."

"Hey," Ruby told him after a moment. "It's not your fault. Ultron...he's just a monster. Just like the Grimm. You couldn't be responsible for him coming to Remnant."

"Getting back on topic," Steve said, "How did you manage to escape from Ultron?"

Ruby thought back to it. "I managed to take something off Ultron. It was some sort of wristband. I…I smashed it. And then…everyone started glowing with pink light. And then…I woke up here." She looked around the table. "Does that mean anything to anyone?"

The assembled Avengers exchanged looks. "Didn't you say that you saw a flash of pink light when Ruby appeared?" Steve asked Spider-Man.

"That's what I saw," he confirmed. "There was a rumbling sound, and then a flash of light, and then there she was."

"Whatever it was, Ultron was mad I took it," Ruby spoke up. "He sounded furious."

"I guess anyone would be furious if a kid managed to smash their favorite watch," Spider-Man quipped. Ruby snickered slightly, but the rest of the Avengers remained serious.

"Is there anything of value on Remnant that Ultron would want?" Steve asked. "Some sort of weapon or artifacts?"

Ruby shrugged. "I don't know. All that's really special about Remnant is the Dust. A bad man, Roman Torchwick, was stealing a lot of the Dust in Vale so he could blow a hole in the tunnels to let Grimm in the city." She beamed slightly. "We stopped him though."

"Is there anything else you can tell us, Ruby?" Tony asked. "Did Ultron say anything about his future plans? What he's going to do?"

"He…said something about upgrades," she replied. "He's going to upgrade anyone who survives his attacks."

Tony rubbed his bearded chin in thought. "Thank you, Ruby. I think that's enough for today."

"Are you sure?" Ruby asked. "I don't mind talking more."

"You've given us more than enough to think about right now. We're not going to push you too hard. Besides," he added with a smile. "With the way you've been talking about how your people were fighting Ultron, something tells me you haven't had a proper meal in days."

As if to prove his point, Ruby's stomach growled. "Spider-Man, why don't you go take Ruby and get some food from Jarvis?" Steve suggested.

Spider-Man got up from his chair. "Right, I get it. It's time for the Avengers only part of the program. Come on, Ruby. I heard Jarvis makes some great cookies."

Ruby's eyes lit up. "Cookies? Yes!" Her mood improved, she happily followed Spider-Man from the room.

"Poor kid," Janet said quietly once Ruby and Spider-Man had left. "Losing her home and her friends all at once? No one should have to go through that.

Steve couldn't agree more as he looked to Tony. "What do you make of this, Tony?"

"Ultron's clearly up to something," Tony answered. "The question is what."

"Maybe it has something to do with this 'Dust,'" Clint suggested. "I mean, from what you and Hank found out about it, it's some powerful stuff. Maybe he wants to use Dust to upgrade himself."

"Except that, from what we've learned, Dust seems to specifically work only on Remnant," Hank reminded him. "Any advantage that Ultron wants to gain from using Dust would be lost the moment he left the planet."

"Maybe he doesn't know that yet."

"It's Ultron, Clint," Tony told him. "Even if he didn't know, he'll find out pretty quickly. No, there has to be something else." He thought about it for a moment. "Maybe there's some sort of strategic value to him holding Remnant. Maybe he's trying to find a place to build up an army again, far from our reach."

"That's certainly possible," Hank agreed.

"Unfortunately, we cannot determine the authenticity of this theory," Vision noted. "With Ms. Marvel still out of action, and Thor in Asgard, we have no interstellar resources to call upon."

"We could always try to contact the Guardians," Steve suggested.

"The Guardians never answer our calls," Clint pointed out. "Like or not, we don't have any way of finding Remnant."

"I'm more concerned with the culture that Remnant brings out," Black Widow spoke up. "A world filled with monsters and monster hunters, and the youth taught that becoming monster hunters themselves is a good thing without any downside."

"It didn't seem like Ruby minded becoming a huntress," Steve pointed out.

"Because she is naïve," Black Widow argued. "You could see it in her face. She adores the idea of slaying monsters. She talked about nothing but the good she sees in the job—she does not understand how hard it is to be a hero."

"It's not our place to judge people's decisions," said Steve. "All that matters is stopping Ultron and saving her home before he tears it apart."

"She's going to want to help, Tony," Janet warned. "If there's one thing I got off her, it's that she's determined to help out in any way she can."

"I don't like the idea of sending a child like Ruby go up against Ultron," Tony admitted.

"She survived fighting him before," Clint noted.

"Barely. She's lucky to be alive."

Steve looked over at the one person in the room that hadn't spoken a word the entire time. "What do you make of this, T'Challa?" he asked.

T'Challa folded his hands on the table. "What I saw today was a young woman with the heart of a warrior," he said. "I do not think that we would be able to stop her if she decided she wanted to help defeat Ultron once and for all. But I could also see the pain in her eyes. Whether she wants to admit it or not, seeing her home set aflame by an enemy she had no hope of beating was traumatizing. We must be careful with interacting with her."

"What are you recommending?"

"We let her rest tonight. Tomorrow, we see what exactly she's learned."

"Woah, woah, woah," Clint interrupted, putting his hands up. "Are you saying we train her to become an Avenger?"

"No. I am only saying we see how strong she really is, and, if necessary, train her to be better. It may be some time before we can find Remnant. She will not want to sit idly by. Young warriors like her never do."

"You're saying you want to train her to be a superhero?" Tony asked.

"That's not a bad idea," Steve acknowledged. "If she wants to help fight Ultron, she's going to need to be better than she already is. We can teach her to do that. Meanwhile, we need to keep searching for her friends. Ruby said that they were glowing too when she broke that wristband. That makes it likely that they were transported off Remnant along with her. They have to be here somewhere."

"I have already told you, there were no energy signatures matching Miss Rose's at the time of her arrival," Vision insisted.

"Keep scanning," Steve ordered. "Space-time portals have always been tricky. It's possible that they haven't arrived yet."

"Cap," Hank said softly. "What do we tell the girl about Ultron? Do we tell her…who built him in the first place?"

"Might not be a good idea," Tony argued. "If she learns that Ultron is specifically the fault of one of us—hell, if anyone found out that it was Hank's fault—it won't end well. We've already got enough problems with Jameson badmouthing us in the press and Ross trying to put sanctions on us. If word got out that Hank's to blame, it might be the end of the Avengers as we know it."

"I'm afraid I must agree," T'Challa spoke up. "Sometimes, it is best for secrets like this to stay buried."

Steve didn't like it, but he knew that it was probably the right call. "Alright," he decided, "but if she asks questions, we tell her the truth. We don't want her trust in us to be broken."

T'Challa nodded. "That seems acceptable."

"Keep an eye on things, Avengers," Steve told everyone. "Ruby may not be the last visitor from Remnant that we get. Let's hope we can find her friends before they wind up someplace we don't want them to."

S.H.I.E.L.D. Top Secret Research Lab. Location: Classified

A helicopter landed next to the research lab. "We've touched down, Director Fury," the pilot reported.

The only other occupant in the helicopter was another man with dark brown hair and an eyepatch over his left eye. He stood up as two more agents opened the helicopter doors for him, letting him get out. He instantly focused his gaze on the broken-down doors to the research lab.

Another agent, a slim, blonde-haired man, approached him. "Director Fury," he reported with a slight Southern accent.

"Save me the chit chat, Quartermain," Fury interrupted. "Just give me the details and show me the damage."

"Yes sir." Quartermain continued to speak as he led Fury into the entrance of the building. "At approximately 1300 hours local time, this research facility was attacked. They hit the place without warning, giving our men no time to send out a distress signal."

Fury's fists clenched slightly. "Hydra."

"We found the bodies of a few Hydra soldiers when we arrived to secure the area," Quartermain confirmed. "And surveillance footage confirmed that Crossbones was on the scene as well."

"Any survivors on our end?"

"All seven members of the security team were found dead. But Agents Fitz and Simmons managed to get to the safe room in time. They're a little rattled, but alive. Agent May's debriefing them now."

"And the project?"

Quartermain shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir. Hydra managed to get away with it."

Fury cursed. "Then it's probably on its way back to Hydra Island right now. Finding that hideout is our top priority, Quartermain. If Zemo is given too much time to get his little science project up and running, it'll be disastrous for the world."

"I'll get my team on it, Director Fury," Quartermain assured him.

"Good. Find me that island, Quartermain." He turned around, starting to head back to his helicopter.

"Where are you going, sir?" Quartermain asked.

"New York."

"New York?"

Fury stopped, turning his head slightly so his one good eye faced Quartermain. "No one knows more about Zemo than Captain America. And if Hydra's on the rise again, we'll need the Avengers' help to hit Hydra Island when we find it."

Quartermain seemed to accept this. "Yes, sir."

Fury returned to his helicopter. "Where to, sir?" the pilot asked.

"Avengers Mansion," Fury ordered.

"Shall I call ahead to let them know you're coming?"

Fury slid the door to the helicopter shut. "Do we ever?"

Hydra Island. Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

"Get those packages unloaded!" Crossbones ordered as the Hydra soldiers headed into the small plane he had taken to Hydra Island.

"Ah, Crossbones." The mercenary turned to see a man approaching him. He was completely decked out in a purple outfit, including a face mask that covered his entire face. A gold headband sat around his head, and he carried a sword around his belt. "You've arrived."

"Your man at the drop-off point said you wanted me to escort the package here, Zemo," Crossbones told him.

"Yes. I have further need of your services," Zemo told him. "You will be paid in full for this job, however."

"As long as the money keeps coming, I'll do what needs to be done."

"Excellent. Now…let me see it."

Crossbones motioned for a Hydra soldier to bring one of the crates they had taken from S.H.I.E.L.D. to him. The soldier did as he was told, holding the crate so Crossbones could open it.

Zemo's eyes got wider with satisfaction as he saw the crate's contents. "Yes…yes." He picked up one of the vials inside, staring at the whitish contents inside. "My family's legacy…reclaimed at last."

"Yeah, well, enjoy it while you can," Crossbones warned. "Because you know that S.H.I.E.L.D. will call in the Avengers to hunt you down, especially once Captain America knows what was stolen."

Zemo let out a chuckle. "I am counting on it. There will be no better revenge on my foe than to use what he took from us all those years ago on him and his hero friends."

"You really think that thing can stop the Avengers?"

"It does not need to stop all the Avengers," Zemo told him. "It only needs to stop one."

"And it doesn't stop any of them?"

Zemo swung his arm around at their surroundings. "Hydra Island is full of soldiers, weapons, and whatever monsters that Arnim Zola has prepared. If the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. dare to attack us, they will fail. And the world will belong to Hydra."

Crossbones pointed a finger into Zemo's face. "You'd better know what you're doing, Zemo." With that, he left, barking more orders at the soldiers as they took the crates away.

Zemo kept the vial he had taken in his hands, staring with anticipation at the contents. "Come, Captain," he said to himself. "And come quickly. For when you do…you'll be coming to your doom."

Oh no! Zemo has his hands on the secret project! What could it be, and how does it relate to the Zemo family? Those of you who know your comics will probably guess what Zemo's got his hands on now and how bad it could be for the Avengers if he should unleash it. But unfortunately, that's all from me for now. Until next time, this is Guest 1138, signing off.