☀︎☀︎☀︎

Steve lifted his head, occasionally eyeing Stark Tower as he drew the huge building in the upper corner of his little notebook. He was so concentrated on his work that he hadn't noticed the man standing behind the chair opposite him.

"Uh, hey."

He looked up.

"Hi," Steve said, a little confused at his presence as he grinned and took the seat across from him.

"I'm Sam Wilson."

"Steve Rogers."

He reached for his outstretched hand and shook it.

"I'm friends with your sister, Willow?"

"Really?"

He was a little taken aback—Willow wasn't exactly what one would call a social butterfly, but the man had a cheerful disposition despite meeting him for the first time. He could see why they would get along.

"How do you know her?"

"VA meeting down here. Been in contact with her ever since. She's fun to work with," he chuckled.

Steve smiled.

"The VA, huh? What unit you with?"

"58, Pararescue. But, I went a different way."

"How long?"

"Two tours."

"And Willow..."

"She's been through a lot. So have you."

Sam was looking at him knowingly and Steve narrowed his eyes.

"You know where she is."

"I know she's doing what she thinks is right. She wanted me to give you this."

He handed him a small package, making Steve's heart thump against his rib cage.

"You've seen her?" He asked, glancing back up.

The man shook his head.

"Not lately. She just called in a favor."

"Thank you, Sam."

"No problem, man. And hey," he stood with a half-smile, "if you ever need anything, I'll be around."

"Sure thing."

Steve watched as the man walked away before holding up the tag around his neck.

WILLOW D. ROGERS

Admittedly, he was angry at himself for not trusting her to begin with, for not trying to find a way to work it out like they always did together because Steve's confidence in her judgment had never wavered before and although Loki had a rap sheet a mile long, she saw something in him no one else could see, not even his own brother.

With a busy mind, the super soldier made his way back to the Tower for the meeting he'd scheduled with the team. Thor's absence couldn't be helped as they gathered in a conference room with Fury and Agent Hill.

"Inform us, Cap," he said, gesturing to the man.

Steve glanced at Tony for any kind of confirmation that he was okay after the devastating discovery of his parent's death, especially because they hadn't spoken nor seen each other since then. The billionaire nodded once and Steve returned it before speaking. 

"The scepter is being used in a remote location for illegal human experimentation. So far, they've managed to successfully create two enhanced beings."

He threw a few copies on the table of a file that he had swiped from the HYDRA lab before they left.

"Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. Twins. Orphaned at ten when a shell collapsed their apartment building," Natasha read aloud.

"Their abilities?"

"He's got increased metabolism and improved thermal homeostasis. Her thing is neural electric interfacing, telekinesis, mental manipulation."

Clint gave Maria a blank look.

"He's fast and she's weird."

"File says they volunteered for Strucker's experiments," she continued, "it's nuts."

"Right. What kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country?"

"We're not at war, Captain."

"They are," he said with a raised brow.

"They've gone through hundreds of people until they finally reached their goal with the twins and we need to take back the scepter before they hurt anyone else."

"Where is it located?"

"A HYDRA base in Sokovia, run by Dr. List and Wolfgang von Strucker. We also have Project Insight which is a front for HYDRA—they mean to use it as an elimination process for present and potential threats and they're gonna use it soon."

"How soon?" Fury demanded.

"Two days. We need to put together a game plan."

"Speaking of," Hill interrupted, "we have our own chips. Our specialists had it made as a break-in-case-of-emergency type of thing. Once the Helicarriers reach three thousand feet, they'll triangulate with Insight satellites becoming fully weaponized. If we want to stop them, we need to breach those carriers and replace their targeting blades with our own. All three carriers need to be linked for it to work because if even one of those ships remains operational, a whole lot of people are gonna die."

"So, we get past them and insert the server blades without them noticing," Clint said plainly. "There's no reason for us to wait around until they're up in the air, right?"

"Barton and I can easily handle the first two. Anyone up for the third chip?"

"I'll do it."

"A blow to the face of HYDRA by Captain America himself. Just like old times," Tony declared around a mouthful of dry Cheerios.

"We'll have a briefing tomorrow morning before the mission."

Natasha gave Steve a wide-eyed look as Fury got to his feet and the super soldier quickly cleared his throat, making him pause.

"Sir, if I may, I have something to say concerning Willow and Loki."

"What is it?"

"I want to call off the search."

If he was shocked, he didn't let on, only peering at Steve as though he had heard him wrong.

"You want to let them run free?"

"There's a difference."

"Are you getting smart with me, Rogers? I don't think you wanna be getting smart with me right now."

"He's a criminal, I know that. We all know that. Willow knows  that and she went to another planet to get him because she believes he's innocent."

"The STRIKE team has been withdrawn, but we're not calling off anything because of some insane belief she has. That's bullshit."

"She watched Loki murder Agent Coulson right in front of her eyes!" Steve argued, raising his voice to get everyone to listen.

"She was dropped out of the sky in a glass cage, the consequences of you sending her in there! She was on that battlefield when New York was being attacked, she saw what Loki was doing and she still chose to help him! So whether you think it's bullshit or not, you don't get to tell me what I can or can't do and you definitely don't get to tell me that my sister is a traitor to this country when she fought for it before any of you saw the light of day!"

"Whoa, no need to drag us into it," Clint mumbled.

"You have no delegation over us anymore, Director."

"Are you breaking up with us?" Tony demanded.

"I'm saying that this was a program started by S.H.I.E.L.D. with the intent for us to help them protect others, but you were never just S.H.I.E.L.D. and when you're gone, we become a separate institution."

"Anyone else care to get something off their chest?" Fury snapped.

"Crazy as it may be, it makes sense," the billionaire continued as if he had asked him the question personally.

"She went to great lengths to bring him back and we haven't heard anything apart from the D.C. incident. They're laying low, but they're not hurting anyone. That's what we thought Loki's M.O. was and what's the point of him being here if not to accomplish his previous goal?"

"Hm."

Fury whirled on Bruce.

"You agree?"

"In not so many words."

"Be that as it may, we can't stop the U.S. government from tracking them down."

"We don't have to. Their incompetence will be enough to do the job for them," Natasha said breezily.

"Clint?"

"If I don't have to see his face anymore, that's fine by me, but if I do, I have an arrow with his name on it," the man grumbled.

"I can see I'm overruled on this," Fury said after a moment of silence, "and with S.H.I.E.L.D. on the rocks and your apparent votes on calling it off, you'll be leaving their fate in the hands of the government though none of you seem to be bothered by that."

"Thor won't like it, but we don't know when he's coming back. If we can't talk him into coming round, we'll resume the search on our own. For now—"

"Captain."

Hill's voice had taken a serious note and a flash of panic showed in her eyes when she looked at Steve.

"The timetable for Project Insight was just moved up."

"How long?"

"Six hours."

"Shit," Tony breathed.

The silence was almost deafening as they realized that all the time they thought they had was gone, replaced by a feeling of impossibility at their sudden prospects.

Fury shook his head.

"He knows."

Steve glanced at Natasha.

"Change of plans. Guess we're getting that fight, after all."

——————

"Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. It's time you know the truth. SHIELD is not what we thought it was, it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader. The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you. They almost have what they want: absolute control. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way, unless we stop them. I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high, it always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet I'm not."

"You write that yourself or do patriotic speeches just pop into your head when you need them?"

"It comes with the title," Tony answered Clint's question through the comms, making Steve snort as he made his way through the halls of the Triskelion.

Shortly after the meeting, they'd suited up and thrown together as much of a strategy as they could before flying to Washington where the inevitable demise of S.H.I.E.L.D. would come about, something Steve could feel coming in the very depths of his heart.

"They're initiating launch, Cap," Hill's voice crackled in his ear.

"Everyone get ready. We have a narrow window, let's get it done."

Steve's speech had not only stirred S.H.I.E.L.D. agents into action, but those loyal to HYDRA were jumping for any kind of advantage as well, resulting in exactly what he was hoping they would avoid. He had to cut a path to the Helicarrier bay through a number of HYDRA agents who were eager to take down Captain America and as he ran onto the platform, he watched as all three ships rose steadily into the air.

"Tony, where are you now?"

"Trying to get these goons off my tail—hey, cutting it close there, Barton!"

Stark was speeding through the sky with two jets close behind him, detonating two small missiles that took out the first one.

From somewhere on one of the Helicarriers, Clint fired an arrow that latched onto the second jet, causing it to immediately spiral into the Potomac.

"You swerved into my vision, beat it."

"I'll beat you."

"Any guards on deck?" Steve asked.

"Taken care of. You're late to the party."

"Care to give a pal a ride?"

"Pal, huh?" Tony swooped down beside Steve, grabbing ahold of him before shooting up to the third Helicarrier and releasing him. The super soldier hit the ground running, zigzagging his way across the deck and to the control center.

Once he was in position, he slid the chip into the instrument panel.

"Alpha locked," he confirmed to Bruce.

"Bravo locked," Clint echoed.

"Charlie locked."

A Quinjet suddenly appeared and hovered in midair, dropping its ramp onto the Helicarrier's deck. Agent Hill sat in the pilot's seat, waving over her shoulder, and Steve hurried into the Quinjet. She carefully swerved around the second Helicarrier with the ramp open just as Clint jumped off and rolled into the hangar.

"Is everyone clear?" Bruce called.

"Barton?"

"Clear."

"Does anyone have eyes on Pierce?"

"The Council."

"Drop me at bay."

"The Helicarriers still need to reach three thousand feet."

"We'll keep an eye out from the air," Hill responded to Bruce as she landed on the platform.

Steve sprinted out of the jet and into the Triskelion as three HYDRA jets appeared, training their sights on him. Tony quickly took two of them down and Clint snagged the last one, the billionaire sighing exaggeratedly.

"Is anyone else hungry?"

"Nat, come in. Nat," Steve called over the comms as he hurried through the building.

"She's offline, Cap. You gotta move quick."

The super soldier took a deep breath before he burst into the room where four HYDRA agents and Secretary Pierce surrounded the World Council. He'd never seen them before, but the look of relief on their faces was something he decided to get a kick out of for a second—here were the people that hadn't even trusted his team to protect New York and sent in a missile to get the job done instead, eager to see him.

"Ah," Pierce crowed, "and there he is. The man himself—too proud to be a double agent yet always looking for a fight."

"How did you know?" Steve questioned, playing for time as the agents held him at gunpoint.

"The moment you expressed the slightest reluctance of dealing with your sister, I knew. What power, what liberation HYDRA can bring to the world is worth far more than any mere relationship," the man snarled.

He had a crazed look in his eye, the glint of madness shining through the facade of perfect professionalism.

"Such notions don't exist in the very fabric of our organization. Sacrifice for the greater good."

"That's exactly why you won't win. You think people are expendable—it doesn't matter how many lives are lost to get to your goal as long as you get there. The world is better than that."

"Is it?"

"We can be better," Steve insisted.

"Humanity has enjoyed their freedom for decades. I feel it's time to bring that to an end."

The super soldier had barely begun to take a step towards the first HYDRA agent when one of the council members suddenly shifted across the room—she moved with incredible speed and within a few seconds, the men were disarmed and unconscious, the woman pausing in front of Pierce with a gun trained on his forehead. Steve watched in amazement as she reached up and began to take off what looked like a digital mask over her face to reveal Natasha with a little smirk.

"I'm sorry," she said, amused, "did I step on your moment?"

She gave the man no time to answer, making a beeline for one of the computer monitors and waving Steve over to her side.

"It's time for the regime to come toppling down," she muttered, her fingers flying over the keyboard.

"What are you doing?" One of the councilmen asked.

"She's disabling security protocols and dumping all the secrets onto the Internet," Pierce answered.

"Including HYDRA's."

"And S.H.I.E.L.D.'s," he took a step towards them and Natasha lifted her gun threateningly, "if you do this, none of your past is gonna remain hidden. Are you sure you're ready for the world to see you as you really are?"

The assassin eyed him in disgust.

"Are you?"

"Disabling the encryption is an executive order, it takes two Alpha Level members."

"Don't worry, company's coming."

As soon as the words had left her mouth, the door opened and Fury walked in with a stone cold expression. He slowly made his way over to Pierce whose mouth twisted in a reluctant smile.

"I'm glad you're here, Nick."

"You have a funny way of showing it," he said stiffly.

The older man shrugged.

"You know how the game works."

"So why make me head of S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Cause you were the best and the most ruthless person I ever met."

"I did what I did to protect people."

"Our enemies are your enemies, Nick. You didn't ask, you just did what had to be done. I can bring order to the lives of seven billion people by sacrificing twenty million. It's the next step, Nick, if you have the courage to take it."

"No," Fury grabbed his arm and hauled him over to the retinal scanner, "I have the courage not to."

[RETINAL SCANNER ACTIVE]

"You don't think we wiped your clearance from the system?" He sneered.

"I know you erased my password, probably deleted my retinal scan, but if you want to stay ahead of me, Mr. Secretary," Fury removed his eyepatch to reveal his scarred, dead eye, "you need to keep both eyes open."

[ALPHA LEVEL CONFIRMED. ENCRYPTION CODE ACCEPTED. SAFEGUARDS REMOVED]

Natasha peered at her phone.

"Done," she confirmed before looking up with a slight smile, "and it's trending."

"It's over, Pierce," Steve said.

"This is merely the beginning of a new era—the rise of HYDRA. What can you do except watch the world burn? It's a shame."

The council members suddenly cried out in alarm and the trio watched in shock as holes were burnt into their chests, all of them collapsing to the floor. Fury and Natasha were quick to point their guns at the Secretary and he held up a small device.

"Unless you want a two inch hole in your sternum," he gestured to the pin on Natasha's lapel, "I'd put that gun down."

They glanced at each other before reluctantly lowering their weapons. Steve moved towards Pierce who brandished his own gun at the super soldier.

"Somehow, I knew it was too good to be true and now, here we are."

"Nobody has to die," Steve said slowly.

"A martyr, a traitor, it doesn't matter what you call it," Pierce spat, "someone always dies for the good of whatever they believe in."

Click!

Natasha quickly lifted her gun back up, but the man was fixated on Steve with an almost delusional expression on his face.

"I'm willing to. Are you?"

"Put the gun down, Mr. Secretary."

"I'd be careful with where you point that, Agent Romanoff. There's still a ball I have in my court and I think you both know exactly what that is."

Steve froze.

"Ah. So, you do."

"Where is he?"

"Where do you think?"

"Steve," Natasha warned, but the super soldier was beyond listening to anyone, his primary focus at this point being the information he desperately needed to find his best friend.

"Where...is he?" His voice had a slight tremble and he clenched his fists as Pierce tilted his head in a thoughtful way.

"Have you spoken to your sister lately?"

Steve said nothing.

"The asset is hardwired to finish his mission. His inherent structure has been cultivated from years of molding the perfect weapon and the last assignment given...was to kill Willow Rogers. Cut off one head, two more grow back. You'll never—"

Bam!

His body went limp and Steve, breaking free from the stupor of anger, stumbled back in surprise as he slid to the floor.

Blood bloomed from the bullet hole right over his heart and his eyes were glassy, lifeless.

"I hope you weren't planning on listening to him all day," Natasha said flatly, lowering her weapon.

"You heard what he said," Steve snapped, "Bucky's not gonna stop until he finds and kills her. I'm going after him."

"You want to find two super soldiers, both of whom are so good at staying off the grid that it's like they don't exist."

"No. Just one. The least I can do for Willow now is keep her from getting killed."

He glanced at Fury.

"Any concerns with that?"

When the man didn't respond, he looked away.

"That's what I thought."

"Target saturation reached, Cap," Bruce said.

"Fire in five."

"We'll meet you on the platform," Hill echoed.

Natasha and Fury hurried out of the room.

Steve, who was still staring at Pierce's body, slowly took out the burner phone Sam had given him, staring at it almost defiantly before flipping it open and pressing the number on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Willow?"

——————

Was Willow regretting the idea of playing "I Spy?"

Yes. Yes she was.

Loki would practically jump out of his seat every time she called out an object or color.

When she could tell he was on the verge of blowing something up at the fact that he'd just lost a game she didn't know you could lose three times in a row, she decided to turn on the radio, making him recoil against the window in disgust.

"What is that?" He said, poking at the speaker.

"Music...I think," she peered at the radio as a rap song blasted through the car.

"This is what you people consider music?"

"I wouldn't know," she changed the station, the smooth tune of an R&B song satisfying them for the moment, "it's definitely changed from my time."

"It's like this world is as much yours as it is mine."

"It's just different is all. Trying to make sense of it and knowing everything you knew was gone...it's scary."

"Would you go back?" He said curiously.

"No."

Willow pulled into a spot near a few souvenir shops that were closed down on the outskirts of the airport, the roads empty save a single minivan that was idly making its way to the exit. She had parked in near darkness, hiding them from anyone passing by, and as she climbed out of the car, the wheels in Loki's brain were turning and trying to find a suitable excuse countering a sudden urgency that made him reluctant to follow.

He knew she wouldn't be happy with his decision, but how else could he escape her?

No...not her.

His thoughts, maybe, that was an inescapable prison of continuity when it came to her.

"Okay, remember," her voice broke through and he glanced at the young woman, "we're supposed to be inconspicuous. Keep your head down and don't strut. You like to do that."

She slapped a baseball cap over his head with a satisfied nod before walking towards the airport. His absence became apparent when she realized that only one set of shoes were crunching along the gravel and she turned back around to see that Loki hadn't moved a single step.

"What are you doing?" She made her way back to him, unable to read his face as she got closer.

Her slight smile at the sight of his unruly hair poking out from underneath his cap faded at the distraught look on his face.

"I don't think you should come with me."

Whatever she had been expecting, that certainly wasn't it and her expression must've voiced exactly how she was feeling by tenfold because he was reaching out to her, his brows slightly furrowed. She immediately recoiled from his touch and his hands swung awkwardly back to his sides.

"What are you talking about?" She said sharply.

"You know what I'm talking about."

She scoffed, but Loki grabbed her arm before she could turn away, determined to make her listen.

"I know how much your brother means to you, as boring and tedious as he may be," she bit back the grin that was fighting for visibility as she tried to stay angry with the god of mischief, "but the last thing you did was threaten him."

"I did that so we could escape!"

"You've constantly put yourself in danger for me. Your death on my conscience is the last thing I need," he snapped.

"I didn't know you had one," she snapped back.

"And what makes you so sure I'm gonna be the one dying? What if it's you?"

A crooked grin.

"I don't think you could handle it, love."

She shook her head.

"We've come this far together. I'm not giving up on you now."

"I'm not asking you to give up on me. I'm asking you to go home."

"That's the same thing, stupid," she muttered.

"Name-calling is highly unnecessary," he shot back.

"Not when you're acting stupid. You can't just expect me to leave you!" Her voice was rising, louder than she would've liked, but she couldn't help it. She had a right to be angry with him and she didn't care who heard her, even if there was a hint of panic there that she was struggling to repress.

"You should, if only for my peace of mind," was his plain response.

"At the very least, I'd know you were safe."

"Careful, it's starting to sound like you actually care," she said sarcastically.

"Don't flatter yourself," the god of mischief replied with a bitter tone.

They exchanged dirty looks with each other before he continued.

"I simply do not want you sacrificing anything more for me."

"What if I want to?" She said, the words falling from her mouth before she could stop them.

Willow swallowed hard before whispering to him.

"Don't you trust me to keep you safe?"

It was truly a moment for Loki to see more of Willow, more than she had ever been willing to show as she looked up at him. It went beyond the forced vulnerability of their past environment. There was a need in her eyes, almost unexplainable yet he could understand exactly what she was asking of him. He could tell that waiting for his answer was killing her, a breath she would hold forever if it went awry and a blow to the careful pride she held on her shoulders. When he said nothing, she tucked her bottom lip under her teeth and turned away, eager to escape his relentless gaze, and even as she did so, Loki continued to look at her. Her carefully-weaved braids were pale in the night like spun silk and as she reluctantly glanced at him with eyes of the most brilliant blue, he finally spoke.

"Darling," he murmured with a voice so soft and an expression of such tenderness that Willow hardly recognized him, "you're the only one I could ever trust to keep me safe. And the god of mischief trusts no one."

"Frigga said the same thing," she readily ignored the spring that coiled in her stomach at his words and focused instead on her sudden recollection.

"You spoke to my mother?" He looked taken aback.

"She helped me break you out. She told me to tell you that she loves you," the young woman mumbled, not noticing how the revelation brought a slight fog to Loki's eyes that he quickly blinked away.

Even more determined than before, he took a step back.

"You have a life here," he demanded, "and my actions have reaped its consequences. Do not mistake my words for ingratitude. I am forever indebted to you for giving me another chance, but you deserve to have one as well."

"And you think they're just gonna give it to me?" She snapped.

"You are of their people. Spin a tall tale, create the monster they want me to be. Make things right with your brother...as I should have done."

"I'm not gonna lie, Loki, not about you. And I'm not going anywhere."

"Willow—"

"I'm not," she interrupted in an irritated manner, taking a step closer to close the gap between them, "and you can't make me."

They stared at each other in defiance, blue sapphires piercing that of the finest green emeralds, both lit with a fire undaunted and unhesitating. Neither of them were willing to back down and they spent a few minutes in that empty parking lot trying to out-intimidate the other with absolutely no success on either side when Loki finally lifted his hand as a peace offering. The moonlight ribboned around them like an unsung masterpiece, softening their gazes and easing it into a private understanding between them as Willow returned the gesture.

"I fear I may be stuck with you for awhile," he murmured, grinning faintly with their pinkies interlocked.

"I guess you are."

——————
☀︎ celine's corner ☀︎

i was this close —👌🏽— to 5000 words.
i regret nothing and i love you all.