Sharon's POV

"Oh no." Maria mumbled a string of curses under her breath.

"That doesn't sound good." Peter said.

"Has something happened?" Vision asked concern in his voice.

"Nope everything is perfectly fine." Maria replied, having been assigned as our pilot. While the boys may have been fooled by her level tone of voice, I wasn't.

"What's the blinking red light mean?" Peter asked walking over and sitting in the co pilot seat.

"It's just...letting me know we're low on fuel." Maria lied, her grip tightening as she steered the jet.

"What? No way we topped off back at the tower." Peter said looking at the light. "I'm gonna touch it."

"Are you kidding me?" Maria glared at him as his finger hovered over the red flashing light. Looking like a child caught in the middle of stealing cookies Peter retracted his hand.

"We lost a jet didn't we?" I asked.

"Yes." Maria replied reluctantly. "Sam's."

"Who was on Sam's plane?" Vision asked curiously.

"Bucky, Thor, and Natasha." Maria replied her voice tight with pent up frustration.

"That's not good. Are they okay? Do you know if they're alive? Can we help them?" Peter asked urgently his questions shooting out like bullets.

"Fury says no detours. I need to drop you at your drop sight." Maria said shifting the plane to the left a bit.

"Maria no one gives a crap about the drop sight of people are in trouble." Peter argued reaching for the steering device.

"She's right Peter." I pulled him back before he could distract her.

"What? How?" Peter asked eyes wide like a scared infant. "They may need help. Or they might be hurt!"

"They can handle themselves. Thor is a god, and the other two are ex assassins." I argued.

"Yeah well what about Sam. What's he got?" Peter asked his voice cracking slightly. "Come on."

"Sam has..." Maria attempted to come up with something but she couldn't.

"I'll make a deal. Peter you and Vision continue with the mission. Maria would we have enough fuel to make it to their drop zone?" I asked.

"We'd be cutting it close and there's no way we'd make it back to the tower." Maria replied glancing at me with a curious expression.

"Okay. Then we drop the boys off and go to Bucky." Peter gave me an incredulous look.

"No way! I'm coming with you and that's final!" He growled crossing his arms defiantly.

"No you're not kid. Vision keep an eye on him. Go on with the plan. Our job is to secure the beacon." Vision nodded and looked at Peter with a pointed look.

"I'm in charge." He said flatly.

"Ugh!" Peter stamped his foot strongly resembling a child throwing a tantrum. "No one ever lets me do anything. The only person who does is Scarlet."

"Well she's not here." Maria mumbled. "Drop zone. Get ready."

"Time for a lift." Vision said picking Peter up and carrying him to the back ramp that lowered a slight amount. Jumping out the two boys disappeared from sight.

"U-turn this thing around and make it fast. I didn't want to worry the boys but this could be serious." Maria nodded as I took the co-pilot seat and buckled up.

The time passed horribly slow and it was clear a million thoughts were racing around in Maria's head. She seemed to go into an almost robotic state, eyes staring blankly at the horizon, hands mechanically guiding the plane.

"I'm sure they'll be okay. If anything the jet just needs a quick repair." Maria gave me a look that said she didn't believe my words, but not only that, that I didn't believe my words either. She was right of course. Sam was an incredible pilot the chances of him getting the plane damaged were extremely low. He was especially good at maneuvering, which meant whatever took them out of the sky, was horribly accurate.

"How can something go bad so quickly?" Maria wondered allowed.

"Evil leaves no rest for the good." I replied flatly.

"You sound like a fortune cookie." Maria smiled playfully. Rolling my eyes I kept my thoughts from wandering by focusing on the horizon.

"Holy shit. That's not good." I was snapped out of my daze by Maria's awe struck words. Having snapped back to reality I followed her gaze to where large chunks of metal lay steaming with tongues of fire licking at the wreckage of a plane. The symbol of shield was half scorched and an entire half of a wing stood straight up like a sign. A large gash rested in the side of the plane's body.

"Land the jet. Now." Unclipping the seat belt I stood already making my way to the ramp. Pulling a handgun from one of my holsters I waited as the ramp lowered at a painstakingly slow pace.

"Let's go." Maria ran past me having eased the plane to a rest on the ground. She rushed through the dirt, clouds puffing up behind her feet as she sprayed sand behind her after each stride.

Glancing around in case of a nearby threat I soon followed quickly catching up. Maria disappeared inside the large gash of metal, smoke wafted from the hole in a steady thick stream.

"Whoever shot them down is gonna be able to spot the crash from miles away." Ducking inside the remains of the jet my eyes stung from the black smoke. Maria managed to make her way to the cockpit.

"No ones here. Everything useful was taken, even the first aid. My guess is they managed to get out. The question is where did they go?" Maria and I stumbled back outside and scanned the surrounding area.

"Buildings. If anything they'd find shelter." I pointed to where I saw an odd shaped shack in the near distance.

"Tire tracks." Maria mumbled walking through the dirt to where divots in the dirt stood out amongst the soupy granules of sand. "They headed that way."

She gestured past the shack to the horizon where a mountain range rested nearby.

"You think they went there?" I asked, it didn't seem plausible given the circumstances.

"Maybe someone helped them." Maria suggested following the path of the tracks as far as she could see. "If not, they were captured, either way we'll find them."

"True enough. We should hurry though. I've got a bad feeling." Maria nodded in agreement and the two of us began our long journey to the mountain range through the piping hot dirt and under the harsh gaze of the sun.

The tracks faded out at certain areas and the two of us were forced to split up to relocate them. I wasn't sure how much time passed before we finally made it to the base of the mountain range but I was sure that I would have a major sunburn.

"Now what?" I questioned looking around for any indication that someone inhabited these mountains. Maria shrugged and gazed up at the tall rock formation with a curious expression. Sighing I studied the ground and followed the base of the mountain searching for anything out of the ordinary.

At last I spotted the slight indentation of footprints. "Maria over here."

She jogged over to where I was and smiled lightly. "They stop here. Meaning that the mountain is a disguise for most likely a base. And the entrance is around here, we just need to figure out how to open it."

"Maybe you push on a rock or something." I suggested. Maria gave me a look that clearly meant the idea was ridiculous but never the less the two of us began to scrounge over the terrain in search of a mechanism to reveal the entrance.

"Waoh!" Glancing up I saw Maria disappear behind a bush. Scrambling over the rocks I paused when I saw that she'd fallen through a covered trap door.

"You okay?" I called unable to see how far down the fall was. Feeling around I located the ladder and with a sigh slipped through the hole and began my descent.

"Found it." Maria breathed laying flat on her back.

"Gee I couldn't tell." Grabbing her hand I tugged her to her feet and glanced about. Faint light came from small lights plastered onto the walls. A tunnel extended in front of us. "After you."

Maria rolled her eyes and pulled the handgun from her leg holster turning the flash light on. We walked slowly the both of us knowing it was rather dumb to rush head first down a rather dark tunnel. If anything we'd run head first into a dozen armed people and shot down in an instant.

The only sound was that of our shoes padding ever so lightly on the ground. Maria's shoulders were hunched arm muscles taut. "Looks like the tunnel ends up here."

Nodding she crept up to the mouth of the tunnel and knelt peeking very carefully around the corner to the left while I glanced around the corner to the right.

"Clear to the right." I whispered.

"Clear left." Maria stood once more and stepped hesitantly out into the open. The tunnel had opened up into a rather large chamber the walls were covered with smooth metal paneling and dim emergency lights hung over head.

"Think there's a light switch?" Maria asked scanning the walls.

"Probably. Let's look." Turning to the right I jogged along the length of the wall feeling up and down with my hand. It was a long while before my palm connected with anything but once it did I smiled. Pausing in my tracks I lifted the glass cover and tugged down on the lever beneath it.

Sure enough the hum of electricity greeted my ears and a few seconds later the chamber was bathed in a warm light. Multiple entrances and exits branched off from this room sort of like how I'd imagine a nest ants had built would look.

"This is the complicated part. Which tunnel?" Maria asked jogging over to me once more.

"Not sure. Though I'm assuming by how bad the crash was they must be injured. Maybe a trail of blood." Studying the floor my eyes flicked about trying to pick up the faintest hint of rusty red. I noted a faint hint of color at the other end of the room before the last exit. It was maybe a centimeter wide big enough for a simple drop of blood. "There."

Maria followed my gaze her eyes narrowed sort of like binocular lenses and she nodded in agreement. "Come on."

The two of us made our way to the designated tunnel and began our journey through its long expanse. All sorts of doors leading to who knew what lined its insides.

Still Maria and I kept an eye on the ground for any other indication that we were still on the right track. Every now and then a spatter of blood indicated that we were still where we needed to be.

After what felt like ages we made it to the end of the trail. It stopped at a door to the left. Maria crouched low and tested the handle making sure to keep quiet. It was unlocked. With a nod I swung it open and she darted in gun raised just in case.

"What in the actual hell?" A voice shouted that was all to familiar.

"Sam?" Maria asked immediately lowering her weapon.

"You don't just point guns at people and kick down doors I swear I'm going to die from a heart attack." The beeping of a heart monitor signaled Sam's elevated heart rate. Stepping inside I shut the door just to make sure no unwanted visitors would sneak up behind us.

I was surprised to see how bad Sam's condition was. A good part of his head was bandaged with blood soaked cloth. He had dozens of mild lacerations but it was clear he'd suffered some pretty bad head trauma.

"What are you two doing here anyway?" Sam asked having calmed down a bit.

"Your plane. It got shot down. We came to make sure you guys were okay." Maria explained.

"Yeah we're fine for the most part. Some guy found us and took us here. He's been fixing us up." Sam said trying to sit up more but looking as if he were going to puke.

"Easy." Maria said frowning. "Head trauma like that doesn't just heal instantly. No major movements for a while. It'll just make you sick or the pain will get worse."

"I could diagnose that for my self." Sam grunted laying back down.

"Where are the others?" I questioned.

"Somewhere around here as well." Sam explained.

"Go find them I'll stay here and keep an eye on bird boy." Maria gave Sam a pointed look. Nodding I opened the door less cautiously, clearly whoever had taken them in was friendly.

I made my way from door to door peering in to find that most of them were empty. On my sixth try I discovered Thor.

"Hey big guy." I greeted to which he smiled brightly.

"Agent. What are you doing here?" Thor seemed a whole lot better off than Sam. Perfectly fine actually, whatever injuries he had sustained must have been small and had healed quickly. He sat on the edge of a cot much like Sam's.

"Came to help. Do you know where the others are?" I asked hoping I wouldn't have to go through numerous other doors. Thor nodded getting to his feet. He was so tall I was afraid his head might hit the low ceiling.

"I'll show you." Stepping aside I let Thor leave his quarters behind and followed him down two or three doors. He gestured to the correct one before excusing himself to go check on Sam.

The door was also unlocked and I pushed it open surprised to see not one but two people. Nat and Bucky. I barely dodged in time, all I saw was a flash of metal glint in the light, and the sound of a loud crack as his metal fist met the wall.

"Sharon?" Bucky's eyes widened before narrowing. "You of all people should know not to sneak up on assassins."

"What the hell...how are you even here?" Nat asked being somewhat more friendly than Bucky. At least she hadn't tried to punch me.

"Rescue operation. Now come on we have to figure out how we're getting you guys out of here." Bucky glanced at Natasha as if he wasn't sure I was even telling the truth.

Bucky turned back to me and was about to say something when the sound of a speaker crackling caught his attention.

"My friends and new arrivals it appears we have trouble coming our way. Please meet me in the Buggy Bay. That's two rights and a left from where you are." The voice was unfamiliar to me but it was clear both Bucky and Natasha recognized it.

"Figures whoever shot us down would figure out where we were...." His sentence trailed off and his gaze settled back on me. "They followed you."

"What?" I asked defensively.

"Shit. Come on we gotta go." Bucky pushed past me and ran down to where Sam, Thor, and Maria were.

"How in the world did I ever think life was boring?" Nat grumbled standing up and glancing down the hall before grabbing my arm and tugging me in the given direction. The sound of pounding feet behind us came from the others.

Our entire group was racing towards our destination which was a large room full of jeep cars made to drive easily through the terrain. A man stood waiting for us. "Grab firearms my friends, we'll most likely need them."

He gestured to a large crate off to the side. I studied our group finding it almost humorous that Bucky was piggy backing Sam. Maria and Natasha didn't hesitate to grab as many guns as they could looking like kids opening Christmas presents.

Grabbing weapons of my own I could feel adrenaline pulsing through my veins.

"Two cars. Select your other driver." The man said starting the engine to the one he'd selected sitting in the driver's seat. Bucky had rested Sam in the back seat while Thor sat shotgun and he sat in the back with Sam.

"I'll drive." Maria said cracking her knuckles.

"Great. We'll shoot." I smiled cocking my gun. Maria ran over to the second jeep not even opening the door but simply jumping through the open window and into the driver's seat. Nat and I took the back seat both perched and ready for action.

Bucky in the first car stood facing backwards his head poking through the top opening rifle poised and ready. The man I did not know but who was our ally pressed a button and a loud clang signaled the opening of the exit.

It was like a large metal garage door opening up to the sandy and hot land before us. Straight out the back side of the mountain. Maria punched the gas the car lurching forward. Not more than a second of being out in the open the sound of plane engines roaring over head greeted my ears. Glancing up I saw rather rudimentary jets racing over head.

"This will be fun." I grumbled standing and aiming at the first plane. "Just like duck hunting."

"Yeah ducks with guns." Natasha said firing the first shot. Gunfire opened up like bullets raining from heaven. It would be a miracle if we didn't get flayed open like fish.