Steve's POV

"All soldiers report to the holding bay, I repeat report to the holding bay." A voice crackled overhead as we stumbled down the hall. Natasha veered right pointing to an air vent in the ceiling.

"All of their forces are going to be mobile now. We can't do much more damage from the inside running through the halls. If we can find a way to the reactor chamber..." Her voice trailed off and she swallowed hard. Glancing worriedly at her from the corner of my eye I leapt punching through the metal grate and pulling it down. Boosting her up I followed suit.

"What about the reactor chamber?" I asked crouching low and studying her features.

"This facility has to run on some sort of power structure. You heard James and Jerry a majority of the compound is underground meaning the energy source is down here somewhere too." She brushed a piece of her red hair out of her face. "If we take it out we can take out the entire facility."

"Explode it? As in, boom?" I asked surprised by the drastic shift in potential plans.

"Yeah, we would have to do it after they leave. After the invasion starts, when most of the compound is empty. I can hack into the data base and cause a self destruct. There'll be time to get out." She noted shakily taking a breath. I noticed how battered she was, how her eyes kept shifting like they were unable to focus on something for the rest that a shadow would reach out and snatch her up.

"Natasha, we would be killing dozens of people." I reasoned. "Everyone that stayed behind would be fried, some of those people are like James."

"So?" She snapped. Her fists balled up so tightly that her knuckles looked like they were going to break her skin.

"So? Natasha you can't do something that irrational. To take their lives would be unreasonable, besides the real threat is out there. Where the invasion starts!" I protested. She shook her head furiously.

"The invasion isn't the threat Steve!" She almost yelled. In a quick motion she turned her back on me and began moving quickly through the cramped space. Frustrated I scrambled after her.

"Natasha. Turn around and talk to me. Natasha!" She ignored me but I grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her back. She kicked out wildly but I kept a firm grip. "The invasion was part of the plan, not this reactor chamber. We are supposed to meet the others at the air field!"

"You don't understand Steve! The reactor chamber is everything!" She cried her eyes were glistening and I could tell she was trying hard not to cry but everything that had happened was overwhelming her. "You can kill every last one of them out there, and they'll still come crawling back. They'll keep rebuilding better and stronger every time. That's how it works!"

"What are you talking about?" I questioned completely baffled.

"You think this is the first time one of their facilities has popped up? You know whose dealt with them every single time? They were small scale operations, my job was to incapacitate them, leave the technology and research behind, so that maybe we could salvage some of it and get the upper hand next time. Well look where that's gotten us. I've been kidnapped, tormented, tortured, harassed, all because I didn't bring them to their knees when I had the chance!"

"Natasha,we have to meet with the others. This wasn't our job." I explained trying to stay calm.

"You're right. That's your job. I promised to make as much internal damage possible. To slow them down. That's what I'm going to do. I'm going to make sure they never come back. So you go find Clint, and Hope. Go stop the invasion, take care of the others, but I'm staying." Her voice was firm but I could hear the slight waver to it.

"Was this your plan the whole time?" I asked softly feeling a twinge of hurt at the thought of it.

"No. But I know what I have to do." She spoke in barely a whisper.

"Why? I thought we were a team."

"We...look, Steve I- you mean alot..." She paused regarding me carefully. She bit her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood and squeezed her eyes shut.

" I just want them to leave me alone!" Her voice cracked as she turned away from me and made her way swiftly through the air shaft leaving me speechless. So much for sticking together. With a deep sigh I turned carefully navigating over the gap we used to enter and began proceeding in the other direction.

As I moved down the tunnel the thunderous sound of dozens of boots slapping the floor became constant. There seemed to be no end to the amount of forces they had here, whether those that were soldiers came willing or not. There was no telling whether or not I was going towards or away from their gathering. I only followed my instinct.

It wasn't long before I came to an end in the air shaft ,and only an exit remained. I listened but heard only the faint sound of marching feet. Hooking my fingers in the metal material I pulled up hard, and with a screech from the bolts the cover ripped off. Grasping my shield I dropped down prepared to be met by gun fire. Not a single bullet was fired. Searching the surrounding area not a single person came into view. Cautious I headed straight following the hall and turned left where a large door awaited me. Glancing through the glass I saw soldiers on either side. Backing up I took two steps and lunged. The door burst open sending the two soldiers flying but again no fire greeted me.

I was on a railed platform overlooking an area I couldn't see. Curious I crept forward until the scene came into view. It was a large room filled to the brim with people. Dozens of rows of soldiers were organized in squads. Others lined the walls in platforms like mine. There were hundreds of them, an entire army in one room. It was intimidating and for a moment I had doubts. How were we supposed to bring them down? This was bigger than the Alien invasion, Hydra, even Ultron. Their uniforms created a sea of roiling black, like a pit of tar ready to swallow me whole if I misstepped. The walls were covered in banners, deep black like the soldier suits. Only these banners had red letters on them. A large R with red slash marks from the bottom right up to the left. The back of the R was a sword. Underneath the R was an L. The L was normal except mirrored on below it was a pistol. Like the L had the reflection of a gun.

All of this overlooked a stage ,a sense of eagerness filling the air. My heart raced in anticipation. A four beat whistle sounded from some sort of speaker system. The room became silent almost immediately. If was terrifying yet mesmerising how in tune they were with one another. Hissing filled the room, it was fierce and violent, the noise pouring from the speakers like an army of snakes were hidden in the walls. It surrounded the entire space sending the hairs on the back of my neck on end. My eyes remained gluied on the stage the hissing almost putting me in a trance. The center of the stage slowly split open a green mist pouring out of the cracks. It covered the stage in a lime green fog, spilling its tendrils over the edges.

The crowd was on edge craning to see what was happening. Moments later a voice broke out from the crowd, until a chant erupted from the hundreds of people clumped together. It was a blender of voices, all of them shouting one thing in unison. "Viper! Viper! Viper! Viper!"

The fog began to clear and a figure emerged from the deep mist raising his hands in the air. Viper stood on stage as the soldier's erupted in a frenzy like they had all been infected with a serum that made you mad. They sounded like rabid animals, hooting and hollering. Viper was wearing his mask, likely disguising his battered face.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Viper roared into the microphone head he held. The maddening noises grew louder until it clouded my senses. Viper smiled coyly basking in their enthusiasm. "Today! We march into this world with glory's fire leaving a trail of victory in our wake!"

Another uprise of voices. "We have worked for years to have this moment! We have been tested again and again, and together we crawled from the ashes of failure! And now we are ready to grace this work with our presence!"

Viper paused dramatically letting the frenzy amongst the soldier's to reach a crescendo. "All of you have climbed the ranks, from mince meat to warriors! You have been selected by the Overseer to carry out this task! In a half hour's time you will begin the march! May you be fierce, may you be wild. Southern into the world and strike! Use your venom to poison those who oppose you!"

"Long live the Red Legion!" Banshee yells rocketed off the walls and the ranks dissolved into chaos as Viper laughed menacingly. The sounds were a horrific cacophony. Turning I exited the room praying that Fury would send help, that SHIELD would help. Only I had no idea how they would arrive on time. Sucking in a deep breath I searched the halls until I came across a map. Scanning it I memorized the location of the air field. Studying it another second I followed the path to the reactor chamber. Glancing at the air vent I weighed my two options, Clint, or Natasha.

Closing my eyes I breathed a deep sigh feeling my heart sink. I began to make my way to the air field, I had a long way to go. Swallowing the lump in my throat I glanced one last time down the hall. "I'm sorry."