The final chapter! (Sort of - see endnote for more info.) I worked hard to streamline the final confrontation, so you'll have to tell me how I did.

Trigger warning: Red Skull and Stevie face off in this chapter, so if violence against women is problematic for you - especially choking and hair-pulling - you may want to skim it.

Chapter 27

March 4, 1945 - Hydra Headquarters, The Austrian Alps

A party of eight guards hustled Stevie through the corridors; the two largest holding her arms, a third carrying her shield. As they shoved her along she memorized each turn, matching the reality with Zola's sketched maps.

The first stage of the plan had worked flawlessly. She'd jumped her motorcycle right over the outer wall, blown up the gate with a self-destruct feature that Stark had added to the bike the night before. She'd fought just hard enough to make the assault credible, but surrendered as soon as they brought out the big guns. Now she just had to trust that her men would execute the rest of the plan with their usual flawless timing.

The guards took Stevie up one more flight of steps to a set of steel doors.

Finally.

The ceiling of Schmidt's office curve overhead into a smooth arch, walls paneled with strange, hexagonal tiles. Stevie scanned the room, noting every detail. Multi-armed, insectile machines hung from the ceiling. A polished mahogany desk sat in front of tall windows, looking out on the sharp, snow-covered peaks. And there, off to the right, a cube the size of a regulation baseball floated in a cylindrical chamber - the Tesseract.

Stevie had seen it at Runestone, the last time she had seen Schmidt in person. There, he'd tried to use it to bring the castle down on top of her. The blue cube floated inside its bell jar, beautiful and ethereal. There was a smell in the room - like ozone and electricity. It set her teeth on edge.

Schmidt walked out of the shadows at the edge of the room, hands behind his back. At the sight of him, Stevie's whole body tensed with anger.

"Arrogance may not be a uniquely American trait," he said. "But I must say, you do it better than anyone."

Schmidt stopped in front of her and looked her up and down - the contemptuous sneer on his face an exact copy of the one he'd worn the first time they had met in Kreischberg. Stevie felt hatred rise like acid in her throat.

Not yet.

She looked back at him with equal disdain. Schmidt gave a little chuckle, teeth white and perfect behind his red, withered lips.

"There are limits to what even you can do, Captain. Or did Erskine tell you otherwise?"

"He told me you were insane," she replied.

"Ah." Schmidt shook his head. "He resented my genius, and tried to deny me what was rightfully mine. But he gave you everything."

He raised one gloved hand, ran a finger down her cheek. Stevie's hands itched. She wanted to hit him, tear him, make him hurt. She clenched her fists until her own gloves dug into her palms. He stroked her braid. She gritted her teeth.

Not yet.

"What made you so special?" he asked.

"Nothing," Stevie responded. "I'm just a girl from Brooklyn."

Schmidt slapped her hard across the face, so hard she might have fallen if the guards weren't still holding her arms. The pain came a moment later, left cheek throbbing like a second heartbeat. She spat blood onto the floor...and that was when she noticed it. A tiny red light on the window, blinking.

Stevie couldn't help it. She laughed.

"What…."

Schmidt didn't get to finish the question. The windows exploded, and four men smashed into the room - Dugan, Jones, Morita and Dernier. Stevie tore free of the guards, but in the few seconds it took for her to throw them across the room, Schmidt had seized the Tesseract and fled. And Stevie knew exactly where he was going.

The Valkyrie.

"Captain!" Jones tossed her shield to her. "Go get him! We'll catch up!"

She couldn't give him more than a smile before she ran off in pursuit.

Cries and gunfire echoed around her as she sprinted through the corridors. Peggy, Falsworth and Phillips must have been leading the frontal assault - but Stevie didn't have the time to worry about them. Schmidt was just ahead of her - a flash of red, a black coat, always out of reach. The only thing that mattered was getting to him, stopping him before he could reach the Valkyrie.

Stevie turned a corner and burst into a cavernous room. The Valkyrie was even more massive than she'd expected - a solid, wing-shaped shadow the size of a football field. As she skidded through the door, the plane was already rolling ponderously toward the mouth of the hangar.

Stevie was sprinting almost before her brain could register the situation, faster than she had ever run before, until the world was a blur around her, the only thing in her vision the huge aircraft pulling away ahead of her.

Faster.

She had outrun a car. She had caught a submarine.

Faster.

Everyone was counting on her. She was their last chance, and she couldn't be too late. She couldn't. She couldn't.

Faster!

Her legs were burning, lungs heaving, vision narrowing to a tunnel. Still, the Valkyrie was outpacing her. All her strength, all her determination, everything she'd fought through to get here...it wouldn't be enough.

No. Stevie clenched her jaw. I'll chase that thing right off the cliff if I have to!

That was when she heard the roar of a car pulling up beside her.

"Get in!"

It was Peggy, matching her speed in a black convertible that looked like a nightmare on wheels. Colonel Phillips sat in the passenger seat, wind ruffling his thinning hair.

"We don't have all day, Rodgers!" He called over the noise of the engine.

Stevie vaulted the door, and had barely landed before Peggy gunned the engine and sent her tumbling into the back seat.

The hangar opened onto a sheer drop, where the plane would soar over the valley. Stevie pulled herself up using Colonel Phillips' headrest. She would have to jump, catch the Valkyrie's landing gear before they all fell over the edge, and climb into the bomb bay. She braced one foot on top of the door, wind in her face - then looked back at Peggy. Her brown hair was flying, brow furrowed in concentration. Stevie felt a sudden shiver, a premonition. Like she'd never see her friend again.

"Now or never Rodgers!" The Colonel shouted, snapping her out of her momentary reverie.

Stevie leaned down impulsively and kissed the old man on the cheek.

"Thanks for the ride!" she shouted.

And then she launched herself at the plane, catching the wheel column in a bear hug as Peggy wrenched the car into a bootlegger's turn. Stevie had a glimpse of the car skidding to a stop at the edge of the cliff, and then she was lifted into the dark belly of the Valkyrie.

The crew saw her, but not soon enough. Stevie had already clawed her way up over the struts and cables of the wheel assembly into the bay, where eight miniature bombers waited to drop their payloads on cities all along the East Coast. She dodged around the small planes and slipped through the main door just ahead of the pilots, ripping off the control panel and stabbing Stark's device into the wires behind it. Sparks fizzled and Stevie smelled burnt rubber.

Does that mean it worked?

There was a heavy thud from the other side of the door. Stevie backed away to give herself room to maneuver, but despite the sound of more impacts and indistinct shouts, the door held.

"Good work, Howard," she said with a smile.

Stevie found herself in a wide corridor with another sealed door at the end, brushed steel ribs arcing overhead. According to Zola's sketches, the second door would lead to the cockpit. As she started toward it, the door was forced open with a shriek of protesting metal, and four Hydra guards shoved their way through. The flight crew, probably, sent out by Schmidt to stop her - as if they could. Stevie sighed.

I do not have time for this.

She feinted high, then threw low, striking the first man in the knees with the edge of her shield. He crumpled, screaming in pain. Stevie caught the shield on the rebound and leapt over the stricken man, catching one of the ceiling's metal ribs. She used the momentum to kick the second soldier in the face with both feet. He flew backwards, taking down one of his comrades in a tangle of limbs. The fourth man was waiting when she landed. He took a swing at her, but she grabbed his arm and flung him into the wall. He slid bonelessly to the floor and did not move.

Stevie squeezed through the half-open door. The Valkyrie's cockpit was enormous, more like a ship's bridge than anything Stevie would have expected to find on a plane - broad metal beams held up the high ceiling, and a huge bank of windows looked out on a dark ocean. There were four control stations not counting the pilot's, with their own seats and banks of instruments, and in the center of the room, the Tesseract floated in another containment chamber, cables running from it to every part of the plane.

Schmidt had been at the pilot's station, but when he heard Stevie enter he whirled, firing at her with his sidearm. Blue bolts of energy earthed themselves in the walls, sending white sparks flying in jets all around her. Stevie braced her shield and charged with a wordless cry of rage.

As she reached him, Stevie swung the shield in a great, backhanded blow, knocking the gun from his grip. Schmidt staggered back, but as Stevie closed to strike him, he surprised her with a punch to the gut that doubled her over. She dropped her shield, gasping for breath. Suddenly beside her, Schmidt seized her braid and yanked her head back.

"You don't give up, do you?" he hissed.

His other hand found her throat and squeezed. Stevie coughed, clawing at his arm, but couldn't do any damage through the leather of his sleeve.

"You could have the power of the gods!"

Schmidt's hand closed tighter, implacable. Bright starbursts filled Stevie's vision.

"But instead you wear a flag on your chest and think we fight a battle of nations. I have seen the future, Captain." His breath was hot on her cheek. "There are no flags."

"Nnn...ng…" Stevie croaked. Everything was swimming, sounds fading in and out.

Then, finally, she found purchase on the hand around her throat. She seized Schmidt's thumb and wrenched it back until she heard something pop. He cried out in pain. She tore free of his grip and slammed her strongest haymaker right into his jaw.

Schmidt fell backward onto the controls and suddenly they were both in the air, as the Valkyrie dove toward the sea. They slammed into the ceiling side by side, fight temporarily forgotten as they scrambled to climb down. Stevie reclaimed her shield, then pulled herself down a support beam to the navigator's station. Hidden by map panels as tall as a man, she took painful gasps, trying to slow her breathing as Schmidt brought the plane back to altitude. She felt a sharp pain in her scalp, and when she touched the spot, her glove came away bloody. The bastard had ripped out a hunk of her hair.

We could slug each other all day and get nowhere, she thought. All he has to do is play for time, and he'll win. I have to end this now.

Stevie took a quick look out from behind the bulkhead. Blue bolts immediately sizzled through the air around her and she jerked back - Schmidt must have found his gun. She'd seen what she needed to - the cylindrical containment chamber, with the Tesseract floating inside. Schmidt was standing right in front of it, and that gave Stevie an idea. She would only have one shot, but it just might work.

"You want to know why Erskine didn't choose you?" she called, voice hoarse and painful. She had to keep him angry, so he wouldn't realize what she was doing.

"He was a coward!" Schmidt shouted in return. "Afraid of the future!"

Stevie crouched, muscles tight. When she emerged, she'd have to do it in one quick move.

"He knew you were a failure! And you've proven him right haven't you? Letting a woman beat you at every turn! How many of your bases did I burn, Schmidt?"

He snarled, anger terrible on his ruined face.

"I..will..beat...you...now!" Every word was punctuated with a blast from his gun. "Your city will be a smoking ruin, and your country a leaderless…"

Stevie stepped out of hiding and hurled her shield as hard as she could. Schmidt's last shot went wide as he dodged, and the shield hit the control mechanism on Tesseract's containment chamber.

There was a burst of white light and force that knocked them both to the floor. Stevie rolled to her feet, bright afterimages clouding her vision. The blue cube had fallen to the floor. Where was it? She sprang forward, but Schmidt was faster. The cube was already in his hand, his horrible face lit with its unearthly light. For a moment, Stevie thought he meant to strike her with it. Then, it flared a blinding blue-white.

"No," Schmidt whispered, looking down at the cube in horror. Light was pouring off the Tesseract like water. Stevie felt the light wash over her - saw unimaginable shapes, colors without names. Then, reality tore open.

There was a hole in the air above them - terrible and impossible. Stevie could see strange constellations, dark nebulae, unfathomable shadows moving between the stars. She felt the vestigial terror of prey before the hunter, rooted to the spot, unable to move even though she longed to flee.

"No!" Schmidt screamed.

Stevie managed to look away from the hole in the air and saw, to her horror, that Schmidt was fading, flickering like a picture on a broken television. He wailed, voice growing softer and softer, like he was moving farther and farther away. As Stevie watched, the tear in space pulled Schmidt into itself and closed as if it had never been. The Tesseract fell to the floor, glowing white, and burned a hole through the metal until it dropped out of sight. Stevie stood silently in the giant, empty cockpit, heart pounding. Then she heard the alarms.

There was no time to think about what she'd seen. The Valkyrie was going down. Stevie slipped into the pilot's seat. The huge plane was nowhere near as responsive as Raisa's bomber, but she heaved back on the wheel and managed to bring the nose up. She activated the radio.

"This is Captain Rogers, do you read me?" If the Commandos have the base…

"We read you, Captain." Morita's voice crackled from the speaker. Stevie had never felt so glad to hear him. "How are things in the air?"

"Not great." Stevie checked her instruments. "Schmidt's...gone, but without the Tesseract I'm not sure I'll be able to keep the plane up long enough to reach land…"

Among the instruments, she noticed a map of the East Coast with a glowing indicator.

"Oh, no…"

There was a brief shuffling noise and then Peggy's crisp alto.

"What is it, Stevie?"

"We're almost in range. The bombers are completely undamaged. If the pilots manage to open the bay doors manually…."

Another indicator blinked. Stevie cursed.

"And they just did."

"Can you reseal the door?" Peggy asked. "Should I get Howard? He could walk you through some field modifications."

"There's no time. I'm losing power and control functions. The Tesseract must have fried the plane when it went off."

More indicators, red lights flashing.

"Soon I won't even be able to steer."

Stevie looked at the map. The eight little dots, one of which was home. There was still something she could do.

"I'm sorry, Peggy," she said. "We won't be getting that apartment together after all."

"You're not thinking of…" Peggy's voice was incredulous. "No. There has to be another way. Set the autopilot and..."

"It's out of commission. Manual only."

There was a moment of silence.

"I'm sorry, Stevie," Peggy said at last. "I can't think of anything else."

"That's alright," she said. Swallowed to clear her throat, keep her voice steady. "Who's with you?"

"Corporal Morita and Lieutenant Falsworth."

"I'd like to talk to them."

Morita was the first to take the mike. "Captain," he said, voice wavering.

"Corporal," she replied. "Thanks for coming along."

"It's been...it's…"

To Stevie's surprise, the normally sarcastic medic broke down into sobs. Falsworth's mellow baritone cut in.

"What I'm sure the Corporal means, Captain, is that it has been an honor to serve in your company."

"The honor is all mine," she said, feeling tears come to her own eyes. "Peggy?"

"I'm here." The other woman's voice trembled, ever so slightly.

What could she say to the first person besides Bucky who'd ever really believed in her?

"Thank you," Stevie said. "Thank you for everything. Tell the others…"

But the radio had cut out, only the soft hiss of static coming through the cockpit speakers. Beneath the plane, the ocean raced by. It was time. She might not be the greatest pilot, but this she could do. Stevie pushed the wheel down as far as it would go. The plane plunged toward the sea. An alarm started to blare as the altimeter spun.

Now that the decision was made, Stevie didn't feel any fear. She felt...relief. Red Skull was dead. Hydra and the Nazis were both falling apart. The bombs would never reach Brooklyn, or Jersey, or Washington. After all the pain, after all the loss, after everything - it was over. She could rest.

The ocean filled her view, white ice on fathomless blue. There was no sky. Stevie closed her eyes.

Mom. Dad. Bucky. I'm coming.

The windows burst, and wall of water hit her like a train. After that, there was only darkness.

Before anyone freaks out, there will be an epilogue. i considered leaving it with Stevie's "death", but thought that would be too cruel. The epilogue will deviate from cinematic continuity and introduce a favorite Marvel character early. Can you guess who it is? ;-)