Heads up readers there are many gifs in this chapter.....but then again it's the first scene....you can't blame me XD

"Okay, guys I think we've gotten their attention," I say, shooting another explosive arrow into a bunker on my left.

"Yeah? No kidding," Clint responds firing arrows as quickly as he can. I kick a grenade away and shoot down some flying robot suited-soldiers. Tony flies above us, firing his repulsors whenever necessary and Thor jumps on the truck behind us, getting them off of our tail. My heart hammers at the excitement as I do my best not to fall off the back of the jeep. Connor fires a couple rounds beside me as Natasha swerves in and out of fire until we end up alongside the rest of the team.

Natasha notices a fence ahead of us and only speeds up the car and we get in position to jump. Then at the right moment, we leap out of the car and the eight of us sail over the fence together.

Gods, I wish I got a picture.

I throw an ice slide down as I land on the snow so my momentum isn't lost and I skate around before tackling a HYDRA agent aiming a gun a little too close at Connor for comfort.

Tony blasts ahead into the distance and for a moment we don't hear anything other that the punching and occasionally clanging of metal and ice.

And then....."Shit!"

"Language!" Steve automatically responds to Tony's outburst and I snort. "JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"

"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield," He responds in our earpieces. "Strucker's technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we've taken."

"Loki's scepter must be here. Strucker, couldn't mount this defense without it. At long last." Thor remarks as I throw a blast of water at an incoming HYDRA agent in a jet suit.

"At long last is lasting a little long, boys," Natasha remarks. 

"Lexi was right, I think we lost the element of surprise." He replies.

"Wait, a second," Tony says, cutting off Clint. "No one else is going to deal with the fact that Cap just said language?"

"I know," Steve sighs as I finally knock the HYDRA agents around me to the ground and run up to where he is to witness him chuck his motorcycle right over his head at an incoming truck.

"It slipped out."

"Did that slip out too?" I ask and he gives me an amused glance.

"Stick with me," He orders and I nod. "The sooner we make it in, the sooner we can find your brother."

I'm about to reply when something....or rather someone.....bright blue and silver speeds past us throwing Steve and I off of our feet.

Steve's lucky enough to land on his feet........while I decided to land on my face.

I pull myself up just soon enough to spot the source of the blur before he disappears into the forest.  

I may have a boyfriend that I love dearly....but damn.

"We have an enhanced in the field," Steve says into the comms, before lending a hand down to me and pulls me up. "There's only one of him, split up and meet back at the base."

"Roger that," I tease before throwing down an ice path and skating off as the rest of the team continues talking.

"Clint's hit! Does someone want to deal with that bunker?" Natasha says as I swerve around tree after tree, slowly picking up speed. "Thank you!"

"How's the damage?" I ask, flying over a hill and somehow landing on my feet.

"Uhh..." Connor says, most likely on the scene. "Third degree burns on the perimeter of the wound some pretty bad bleeding, but they missed his organs thank gods."

"Stark," Steve says, breathing heavily since he's most likely still fighting. "We really need to get inside."

"I'm closing in!" Tony responds as I skid to a stop and start fighting more agents. I duck most of their punches, kick a couple down and grab the rest of them in a glob of water and chucking them aside.

"Drawbridge is down, people!" Tony calls as I will out my bow and quiver and shoot an explosive arrow at a truck coming in.

"Clint's hit pretty bad, guys. We're gonna need evac." Natasha says over the comms.

"I can get Barton to the jet," Thor suggests. "The sooner we're gone the better. You, Alexis and Stark secure the scepter."

"Roger that," Steve says before Tony cuts him off.

"And for gosh sakes watch your language!" He says and I snicker, blowing down the gated entrance to the HYDRA base.

"That's not going away anytime soon," Steve sighs, and I duck as he throws his shield over my head, taking out an agent I didn't spot.

"I sure hope not," I reply with a smile as the two of us make our way into the base as it slowly starts to clear out, punching  any stray HYDRA agents when necessary. "I would hate to lose a joke that golden."

I can almost see Steve roll his eyes at me in my peripheral vision and I chuckle, busting down one final door to reveal the man who kidnapped my brother.

"Baron Strucker," Steve coldly remarks. "HYDRA's number one thug."

"Technically, I'm a thug for SHIELD," He says, trying to buy time.

"Well, then it looks like you've been left unemployed," I sneer. "Where's Loki's scepter?"

"Not even a question about the boy?" Strucker asks and I narrow my eyes at him. "Don't worry, I know when I'm beat. You'll mention how I cooperated, I hope."

"I'll put it right under illegal human experimentation," Steve responds. "How many are there?"

Before Strucker can answer a wisp of red light shoves Steve and I down the stairs and once again I fall flat on my face. "Apparently one more than we thought," I groan, pain flaring up in my neck and forehead.

What even is my life.

I look back up and watch the source of the light, walk right out the door she came from before it slams shut. 

"We have a second enhanced," Steve says as the two of us stagger up from our sudden fall. "Female. Do not engage."

Strucker, at the top of the steps, smirks. "You'll have to be faster than-" He starts saying before Steve's clearly had enough of him and chucks his shield right at his face.

"Oh, I'm sorry what were you saying?" I sass, holding back a snort and Steve throws me a "seriously" look.

"Are you alright?" He asks with a chuckle. "That was quite the faceplant."

"Okay, you know what Rogers?!" I deadpan, trying to hold in a laugh.

As you might have noticed, I've grown close to Steve over the last year. I wouldn't really know how to classify the friendship, but if anything he's become somthing close to a protective older brother. But I know I wouldn't say father figure because Clint's got that role covered.

"Guys, we got Strucker," Steve says into the comms.

"Well....technically you did," I add, swiping Strucker's security badge and ID card. "I just watched on supportively and got chucked down a stairwell."

"Yeah, I got...something bigger," Tony says as Steve and I share a look. 

"Go find him," He advises. "I'll get Strucker back to the quinjet."

I nod before heading down a hallway and taking a left.

"Ms. Carson......." JARVIS says in my ear.

"I'm going the wrong way aren't I........"

"Indeed ma'am," He replies and I sigh, before running back in the other direction. The natural light that filtered into the base slowly gets dimmer and dimmer as I follow JARVIS's instructions down to Tony's location.

"Guys, I got eyes on the prize," Tony says before the line goes silent.

"Great, I'm on my way down to you." I respond, cringing as I realize a "Making my way Downtown" joke is about to come.

But it doesn't.

And Tony remains silent.

"JARVIS?" I ask, my initial brisk walk turning into a sprint.

"I'm afraid he's not responding to my efforts as well."

I quietly swear under my breath in greek, forming a sphere of water in my hand as I sprint past Tony's armor in sentry mode.

"Tony! Where...." I start to yell out when my words catch in my throat at the giant room that's revealed itself. The ball of water in my hand falls and re-absorbs into my clothing but I'm too stunned at my surroundings that I hardly notice. A large Leviathan carcass hangs from the ceiling and right near its mouth...stands a very stationary and uncharacteristically quiet Tony Stark.....his head slumped over like he's asleep.

"Stark...." I ask, cautiously walking in front of him....to see his eyes and head surrounded by this bright crimson energy.

The same crimson energy that coincidentally sent me flying down the stairs. "Gods not again," I murmur, thinking back to fighting Connor in the helicarriers almost two years ago and let me tell you, I am in no mood to fight another brainwashed Avenger.

"Tony!" I say, trying to snap him out of it. Before I roughly grab his shoulders and shake him. "Tony! Anthony Edward Stark do not make me blast ice at you in this weather!"

He jolts up, the red energy immediately disappearing and Tony blinks around, almost like he was teleported somewhere else. But his face is pale and I can see the guilt etched into his expression.

"Hey, you alright?" I ask, pulling up my mask like a headband to push the stray hairs from my braid out of my face. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Uh..em..Something along those lines," He responds, clearing his throat, obviously not wanting to talk about it and I'm tempted to push until a painstakingly familiar voice catches my attention.

"Lexi?"

I sigh in relief, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth as jogging toward the sound. "The one and only. You just can't seem to get a break, can you Jackson?"

"It's the simple struggles of being that awesome Carson," He jokes back as I unlock the cell with the ID card I grabbed off of Strucker and Percy engulfs me in a hug. He's noticeably skinner than I last remember and HYDRA's to blame for that. Him being here. Him being freaking captured in the first place. I guess that's what happens to a stray New Yorker hangs out in Boston.

"Gods, did you actually get a little taller?" He teases and I huff.

"And stronger. You know Percy,  I could just leave you here," I suggest pulling away and slapping his arm. "Might save Annabeth the sass and the headache."

"Yeah, but you're an Avenger...." He teases. "You'd feel too guilty."

I roll my eyes before looping his hand around my shoulders for support and lead him out of this wretched hell hole.

"Unfortunately," I reply looking towards Tony who's grabbed Loki's scepter and regained his signature charisma that might fool me if I hadn't known him.

"You know I kinda expected you to be a little faster. We're kinda on a clock Carson," Tony jokes while Percy just looks at him with an eyebrow raised. "You're about as sarcastic as everyone says......and a little shorter."

"It's the suit," Tony responds. "Makes me look a lot more flattering from a distance." 

"That's debatable," I mutter and Percy snorts. 

We make our way back to the other room where Tony's suit opens up and closes around him, Iron Man once again ready to fly.

"You want me to take Persassy back to the quinjet?" He asks and before Percy can say anything I nod and he grabs him and soars out the window Tony must have busted through.

There's some distant screaming and I do my best to hide my laughter as I race out of the base.

"JARVIS create a private feed between Stark and I please?"

"Of course," JARVIS replies before 

"What do you need a ride too?"

"I'm not that helpless." I snark back. "But when we get back to the tower, you and I are going to have a talk about what the hell happened back there."

"Can't make me."

"I could always freeze you to a wall again."

"Fine. Just worry about getting back to the quinjet first."

I chuckle peering across the balcony I've run into at the quinjet, it's hanger door open at least twenty feet away from the edge. "Just like we practiced right?"

I back up for a running start and swallow, before sprinting to the edge and jumping, channeling the leftover water absorbed in my suit out through my hands as steam, and for the first time in my life, I feel like how Jason does when he flies.

And its absolutely incredible.

That is...until you stop flying and start falling........that's when things get a little awkward.