The next day arrived, and I learned that Peggy had gone to visit Steve at the pub. There was no report from him, even though he was supposed to file one every time he met with Kyralia. The absence of it brought a small, satisfied smile to my face.

Phillips called a meeting with everyone at the SSR. This was the final mission that could help us eliminate Hydra once and for all. I sat next to Peggy, with Dum Dum seated on my other side.

"Johann Schmidt belongs in a bughouse. He thinks he's a god, and he's willing to blow up half the world to prove it, starting with the USA," Phillips stated, pacing in front of the table.

"Schmidt's working with powers beyond our capabilities," Stark's voice came into play, as he came across the floor and took his seat. Stark added, striding in and taking a seat. "He gets across the Atlantic, he will wipe out the entire Eastern Seaboard in an hour." His concern was evident—if that plane took off and made it across the ocean, millions would be lost. All eyes turned to Steve at the other end of the table, where he was finishing the report.

"How long do we have?" I asked, my gaze snapping back to Phillips, whose eyes met mine immediately.

"According to my new best friend, under twenty-four hours," Phillips answered. They'd captured Zola from the train, and in a few minutes alone with me, he would have spilled all his secrets.

"Where is he now?" someone asked, though I didn't catch who.

"Hydra's last base is here," Phillips said, holding up a black-and-white photo of the Alps. "In the Alps, five hundred feet below the surface,"  He dropped the photos onto the table, allowing everyone to view them.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Jim Morita began, wanting to know what the game plan was. "I mean, it's not like we can just knock on the front door,"  A frontal attack would be dangerous, and we couldn't afford to lose more men.

"Why not?" Steve finally spoke up, his voice steady. Everyone at the table looked at him, heads tilting in confusion. "That's exactly what we're going to do," he said, his words almost daring us to disagree. I couldn't help but think Steve might be tempting fate with this plan.

After a lengthy discussion, we finalized a plan—a risky one, but if everything went according to it, we'd succeed. People started leaving the table to prepare for the mission ahead. I pushed my chair back with my legs and stood, but I felt it—the gaze of blue eyes on me. I hadn't spoken to him about what happened with James, nor did I want to.

I weaved through the crowd of men, making my way toward the nearby door, but Steve was right behind me, determined not to let me slip away. Just as I reached the door, I managed to slip through, only to feel a strong grip latch onto my arm. Before I could react, I was spun around, my gaze locking with his piercing blue eyes.

"I know you've been avoiding me," he said, his tone firm, yet he released my arm, leaving me to face him.

"I'm fine, truly," I replied, though my voice betrayed the weight of the words. Just because I hadn't shown any emotion over Barnes' death didn't mean it hadn't affected me. But I had a feeling Steve assumed either that I didn't care or that I was burying it all deep inside.

"You need to grieve," Steve said, and in that moment, I understood what he was thinking. "He never shut up about you during our missions," he added, his voice softening. I knew exactly what he meant. Even though I was the Golden Lady, Barnes had always spoken about me—talking about her, even calling me by name. "And it's ok to be hurt,"

"I am hurt, Steve," I snapped, the words spilling out before I could stop them as if the weight of everything had suddenly caught up with me. "We wrote to each other all the time while he was out on missions with you," I admitted. "I liked him, but... I can't change what happened. All I can do now is help you fight the Hydra scum, so his death won't be in vain."

His eyes searched my face, hoping to find a flicker of emotion—something to confirm that I was still grieving. But there was nothing. I had long since learned how to cope with loss, how to keep moving forward despite the ache left behind by those I'd lost.

I held his gaze for a moment before turning away, my steps steady as I walked off. Even as I moved, I could still feel the weight of his eyes on me, unwilling to look away.

.............................

Colonel Phillips, Peggy, and I stood at the edge of the treeline, just below the towering Alps, surrounded by a few hundred men from the Assault Team. We waited in tense silence for word from the breach team. Captain Rogers' plan was bold—risky, even—but he was confident it would work.

Each of us had a role to play, and it was coming along nicely. I was ready to tear through Hydra myself. I was stationed with the assault team, biding my time. Still, our moment in battle would come soon enough. When the signal was given, we'd charge head-on, forcing Hydra's forces into retreat, pushing them straight into the chaos Rogers had planned.

Steve expected the Golden Lady to stand beside Captain America in the assault on Hydra's final stronghold. And I had every intention of keeping that promise. I had already devised a plan to ensure that both Karla and Kyraila could be present on the battlefield simultaneously.

"Move out!" Phillips bellowed the command we had all been waiting for. Peggy and I locked eyes for a brief moment, unspoken understanding passing between us. We were both ready to do whatever it took—ready to lay down our lives if necessary—to stop Hydra's assault on New York before it could claim millions.

Around us, men surged forward, weapons at the ready. Phillips took the lead, his presence steady and commanding. Without hesitation, Peggy and I fell in behind him, rifles raised, prepared to fight.

In the span of a heartbeat, the earth was no longer beneath my feet. I now stood perched on a sturdy tree branch, elevated above the chaos. I was already clad in my armour, the familiar weight settling against my frame, and my sword rested firmly in my grasp.

From my vantage point, my gaze swept over the battlefield—and then landed on a striking sight in the distance. There, side by side, were Peggy and myself, both charging forward, weapons drawn, ready to throw ourselves into the fight.

I was casting an incredibly powerful illusion spell—one meticulously inscribed within the pages of my Grimoire. Thousands of spells lay etched into its parchment. This one in particular was proving useful.

I twirled my sword effortlessly in my grip before stepping off the branch and plunging into free fall. The wind rushed past me, but before I could touch the ground, my descent slowed as if the air itself cradled me. I landed gracefully, my feet touching the earth as lightly as if I had merely taken a step forward.

The distant crackle of gunfire and the thunderous boom of explosions echoed through the forest. Wasting no time, I bent my knees and launched myself into the air, soaring high above the treetops. From my aerial vantage point, I spotted the assault team locked in battle, exchanging relentless fire with Hydra soldiers. Amidst the chaos, I caught sight of Peggy and the illusion of myself weaving through the storm of bullets, dodging with precision and returning fire without hesitation.

I began to descend rapidly, crashing right into the heart of the battle. For a split second, both sides paused, eyes locked on me. I didn't let the moment of hesitation faze me. In a flash, I darted toward the nearest Hydra soldier, drawing my sword as I closed the distance. They immediately opened fire, but I effortlessly deflected the bullets with my blade or evaded them at lightning speed. With a swift, calculated strike, I cut through their defences and disarmed them, sending their weapons flying to the ground. The US Army wouldn't lose any more men today.

I surged forward, my body moving with purpose and speed as I dove straight into the fray, cutting a path through the battlefield. The Hydra soldiers, taken aback by my sudden appearance, hesitated for only a moment—long enough for me to make my move. I twisted and spun, my sword a deadly extension of my arm as I cut through their defences with precision. Every strike was calculated with every movement fluid.

The first Hydra soldier raised his rifle, aiming it directly at me. Without missing a beat, I dropped low, sliding under the barrel of the gun as I swept my sword up in a swift arc, knocking the weapon from his hands. In a seamless motion, I followed up with a thrust that sent him sprawling to the ground.

More soldiers charged at me, but I was already in motion. I pivoted on my heel, ducking under another barrage of gunfire. The bullets whizzed past me, but I wasn't there to be hit. I was everywhere at once—fast, unpredictable, a blur of steel.

Another Hydra soldier rushed me, but I was already airborne, leaping into the air, and flipping over his head as he turned to fire at me. As I descended, I landed in a crouch behind him, spinning with the momentum to deliver a powerful strike to his legs. He crumpled to the ground, and before he could recover, I had disarmed him and was back on my feet, ready for the next fight.

The chaos around me was relentless. Hydra soldiers came from every direction, but I was a force to be reckoned with, cutting down every one of them in my path. They couldn't keep up—my movements were too quick, too calculated. Each strike was deliberate and precise, breaking through their defenses, and incapacitating them without hesitation.

I grabbed one of their rifles, swinging it around to knock a soldier off balance. In the same motion, I tossed it aside and hurled my sword into the chest of another soldier charging at me. His body dropped, and before I even blinked, I was locking eyes with yet another Hydra operative aiming his gun at me.

With a surge of power, I raced toward him, grabbing his rifle mid-fire, twisting it from his grip, and slamming him to the ground with a devastating blow. The rest of his team hesitated, momentarily stunned by the efficiency of my attack. That hesitation was all I needed. I took full advantage, swinging my sword in a wide arc that took out three more of them in one fell swoop.

I spun around with a fluidity that felt almost like a dance, every movement precise and graceful, as if the battlefield itself were my dance floor. My eyes locked on a Hydra soldier aiming a gun directly at me, and in a heartbeat, I was on him. With a swift, practised motion, I wrenched the gun from his hand, twisting it free and using the hilt of my sword to strike him across the face. The impact shattered his protective mask, sending him tumbling to the ground like a rag doll, his body crumpling with a sickening thud.

The battlefield around me began to quiet, the last of the Hydra forces retreating into their base, broken and defeated. I stood still for a moment, scanning the area as the chaos started to subside. My breath was steady, my grip tight on my sword, but there was a sense of accomplishment as I watched the soldiers of Hydra fall back, leaving the field open for the US troops to advance. The fight wasn't over.

I spun on my heels, watching as the US troops rushed past me, their focus solely on the mission ahead. For just a brief moment, some of them shot me a look, but they quickly refocused, continuing their charge toward the base. Among the advancing soldiers, I spotted Peggy, Phillips, and the illusion of myself, all frozen in place, their eyes fixed on me. I could see the shock in their expressions, mouths slightly agape, as they tried to process what was happening before them.

Reading about me on paper was one thing, but seeing me in action was an entirely different experience—and it clearly took them by surprise. I gave a slight nod to the group, a silent acknowledgement that we were all on the same side.

Without waiting for a response, I spun on my heels and darted through the chaos of the battlefield, heading straight for the base entrance. As I moved, my sword cut through the Hydra soldiers, blocking my path and clearing a way through the tunnels with precision and speed.

I pushed forward through the facility, the US soldiers bombing their way through the hallways. Hydra soldiers opened fire, their bullets flying toward me, but I deflected them effortlessly with my sword or my gauntlet, which absorbed the shots with ease. Each move was a strike, disarming and breaking their weapons as I moved, clearing the corridor with swift precision.

As soon as the path was cleared, I darted around a corner and spotted Steve. His blue uniform stood out, and I saw his arm recoil after he threw his shield. It clearly didn't hit its target. He quickly surged forward but froze as flames erupted from a Hydra flamethrower. The fire pushed him back, and he ducked into a nearby doorway, the smell of burning metal and smoke reminding me of the first time I'd witnessed the devastation of fire. The flames barely missed him, but I wasn't deterred.

Without hesitation, I ran straight toward the flamethrower, the soldier behind it turning slightly to notice me. I didn't waste a second; I stopped just beside Steve, aware of his eyes on me, but my focus remained sharp on the soldier. The flamethrower ignited again, spewing a torrent of fire in my direction. I raised my sword sideways, its gleaming blade acting as a shield against the flames. They collided with the metal, bouncing off, while I felt the heat rise around me. But I didn't waver. I gripped the hilt tighter and pushed forward.

I closed the distance quickly, my boots thudding against the floor as I charged toward the soldier. In a split-second movement, I veered to the right, my sword cutting through the tank that fueled the flames. The acrid smell of leaking gas filled the air, and just as I was about to react, I heard shots to the left. Peggy's precision was unmistakable—she was shooting at the tank. A few well-placed bullets and the tank combusted, sending a small explosion that ignited the soldier in flames.

She appeared at the end of the hallway with the illusion of me trailing behind, but I had already sprinted down the corridor, ducking to avoid Steve's shield as it was lodged into the door.

I sprinted through the hangar, eyes scanning for the soldiers guarding the massive ship inside, its engines rumbling as it powered up, ready to take off. If that jet got off the ground, New York would be in jeopardy, millions of lives at risk—and that wasn't going to happen under my watch. The soldiers quickly took notice of me, fanning out into a half-circle. But I didn't have the time to engage in a one-on-one fight.

With a fluid motion, I swung my sword in a wide arc above my head, channelling energy through it. Green energy coiled around the blade, racing toward the tip. As I slammed the tip into the ground, the energy erupted in a burst of raw power. A shockwave rippled outward, sending Hydra soldiers crashing backwards, throwing them off their feet before they slammed back into the ground.

I quickly scanned the hangar again. The jet was already starting to take off, and gunfire from Hydra forces rained down upon me and the U.S. soldiers who now appeared through the doors. Each shot I deflected sent a shiver down my spine, and the jet was slipping further out of reach. The Hydra forces were relentless, and I knew I couldn't hold them off for long.

Just as I was preparing to act, Steve charged into the fray, joining the fight. But as the battle raged on, I saw him break off, dashing toward the accelerating jet, intent on stopping it before it was too late.

My eyes followed his every movement as he sprinted, faster than any human should be able to, pushing himself to keep up with the jet. Yet no matter how hard he ran, it continued to pull away, just out of reach.

Suddenly, a car sped past, its engine roaring as it headed straight for Steve. I recognized it immediately—it was Johann Schmidt's car, with Peggy in the backseat and Phillips behind the wheel, driving fast. My gaze shifted back to the battlefield, where the gunfire was relentless. The Hydra soldiers, clearly realizing they were losing, began to fall back or surrender. Meanwhile, a group of U.S. soldiers pressed forward, taking control of the situation.

Amidst the chaos, Karla stood — the illusion of myself, her eyes locked onto mine with a piercing intensity. Through the turmoil of the battlefield, she gave me a smile. At that moment, green smoke began to swirl around me, rising from the ground and enveloping my figure in a thick, swirling haze.

As I left the battlefield behind...

*********