It was just supposed to be another mission.

"This is just another base," Steve told them. "This one is nestled deep in the Appalachian Mountains, at the foot of Algonquin."

"Close to home," Natasha muttered.

"We have reports of advanced weapons that they plan to ship to unknown accomplices." He showed them a slightly fuzzy picture of a metal door. "This is where they're keeping the weapons. We have intel confirming that it is Vibranium. The only way to get in is through fingerprint recognition, and it will only work for top HYDRA officials." Steve said.

"Why can't we just destroy the keypad?" Sam asked. "It would fry the circuits and the door would open."

"In normal cases, yes." Steve said. "But for this door, any excessive use of force will trigger the key pad to alert officials, and reinforce the door."

"What if we lift a fingerprint off something?" Natasha asked. "Then we wouldn't need the operative."

"The scanner is very sensitive. There's no chance we can use a fingerprint without the operative. The only way we're getting in is if we capture a top level HYDRA official. And we have one in mind." He held up a picture of a middle-aged woman. She had short brown hair, and brown eyes.

"This is HYDRA special agent Lauren Maxwell. She lived close to here, and we are going capture her at her house. We only need a small group to complete this. Sam, Nat, Wanda, and Vision will capture her, and deliver her to the Quinjet, which will be waiting to take us to the HYDRA base."

But now, standing in the cement room, surrounded by heavily-armed HYDRA operatives, the mission didn't seem so average.

Ira looked across the room while fighting a soldier. Across from her, the Vibranium door glinted tantalizingly. The capture of Agent Maxwell had gone according to plan, and she was currently tied up in the Quinjet, guarded by Clint. But when they arrived at the base, scores of HYDRA soldiers had attacked them.

Sam, Rhodey, Vision, and Tony were holding them off outside, trying desperately to stop them from overtaking the Quinjet, while Natasha, Steve, Wanda, Pietro, and Ira fought inside the base.

Ira twisted her hands, enveloping the man's body in energy. She shot her hands up, raising him above the ground and then slamming him into the floor. She turned around,  taking out another HYDRA soldier by slamming him into another soldier, knocking them both unconscious.

She turned again, noticing a soldier come up behind Natasha, who was currently fighting another operative. "Nat!" She called. Natasha, sensing something was wrong, grabbed onto the first soldier's neck, and swung onto his shoulders. She used the momentum to slam him into the other soldier, and they fell to the ground. One of the soldiers started to get up, and in one swift movement, Natasha fired a single shot into his head.

A soldier rushed at Ira, and she pushed their leg out from underneath hem with her powers. They fell to the floor, and she lifted them up, slamming them into the wall. She brushed a strand of hair out of her face, panting heavily, and watched as Pietro sped around the room, knocking soldiers to the floor.

He ran into a soldier, sending them barreling towards Ira. She swept her hands to the side, sending the operative flying into the Vibranium door. She continued fighting, until she heard something on the comms.

"Guys! Maxwell's loose!" Came the panicked voice of Rhodey. "She somehow knocked out Clint with a gas, and she's coming towards the base!" Ira turned towards the doors of the base, seeing Wanda standing next to them.

The doors opened, and all at once, disaster struck.

Agent Maxwell ran through the door, surrounded by HYDRA soldiers. Ira ran towards them, calling out for Wanda, while Natasha fired at them. Steve threw his shield, knocking two of them out, but there were still five more.

One of them grabbed Wanda. She struggled, using her powers to pry his hands away, but he hit her over the head, knocking her out. Ira watched with horror as she slumped in his arms. Maxwell ran to the door, pressing her thumb to the pad. It flashed green, and Ira noticed Pietro yell from the other side of the building. He sped towards the door, running faster than Ira had ever seen him run before.

But he was too late.

The soldiers ran inside the door, still carrying Wanda. Ira could see a staircase behind them, as the door started to close. Pietro ran faster, and Steve threw his shield, trying to wedge it in the door before it closed, but it bounced off the wall next to the keypad. They all watched as the door slammed shut.

Fighting with a fury, they quickly finished off the rest of the soldiers. Ira ran over to the door, trying in vain to discover a way in, a hidden weakness that they had missed. But there was nothing.

Alarms blared through the base, and the heavy thud of footsteps pounded throughout the room. "They've got reinforcements!" Natasha called.

"Fall back!" Steve ordered. They ran to the Quinjet, where the rest of the team was ready to take off.

They filed inside, and sat in the seats. "Where's Wanda?" Vision asked.

"They got her." Steve said quietly. The reality of it all sank in. Wanda was gone. They captured her. Who knows what torture she might experience at the hands of HYDRA operatives. Ira glanced over at Pietro. He took the news worst of all. His sister was gone. He sat, slumped in the seat with his head in his hands. Ira gently laid a hand on his arm, trying to comfort him.

The team sat in stunned silence. Ira looked over, surprised to see that Vision was slouched in his seat, staring blankly at the wall across from him. Wanda had meant a lot to him, and he couldn't let her go.

Once they got high enough, Clint set the Quinjet to autopilot and walked back to sit next to them. "I'm sorry." He said quietly. "It's my fault. Maxwell knocked me out, when I should have been more prepared."

"It's not your fault." Natasha told him. "It could have happened to any of us."

Steve addressed the team. "I know we're in a bad spot. We lost someone important to us. But we're going to get her back. We'll capture another operative, and we'll find her."

The Quinjet landed soon after, and Pietro rushed to his room. Ira followed quietly after him. She walked into his room to find him sobbing on his bed. She rushed over to him. He looked up at her with puffy red eyes.

"It's my fault," he whimpered. "I could've saved her. But I wasn't fast enough. It's my fault she's gone."

"Pietro," Ira began gently. "It's not your fault." She placed a hand on his back, but he shrugged her off.

"Yes it is." He said. "But I'm going to get her back." He stood up, and walked to his closet, starting to grab supplies.

"What are you doing?" Ira asked him.

"I'm going to rescue Wanda." Pietro said.

Ira's eyes widened. "Pietro, this isn't going to work. You can't just rush in there without a plan. You're going to get yourself killed!"

"I have to save her!" He yelled. "And I'm going to."

"We will," Ira assured him. "But not like this. We'll capture another operative-"

"It might already be too late!" He yelled. "You don't understand, because you don't know her like I do! She's my sister! I have to save her!"

Ira grew indignant. "She's my best friend! And I know what's best for her right now. And rushing headlong into a heavily-armed HYDRA base is not it!" She raised her voice. "She wouldn't want you to do that."

"I can't let her die." Pietro said, his voice dropping to a whisper.

"We won't let that happen." Ira assured him. "We'll save her."
...............................................................................................................................................
Pietro woke up in middle of the night, determination written on his face. He glanced down at Ira, who slept peacefully beside him. He carefully climbed out of bed, and changed into his uniform.

He grabbed a few supplies that he had stashed in his closet, and stood waiting at the door. He looked back one more time at Ira's peaceful form. "I'm sorry," Pietro whispered.

And with one step he was out the door. "But I can't let her die."
...............................................................................................................................................
A/N:

Wanda's captured.

Ira and Pietro fought.

Pietro left.

And

What will happen next?

I love you three thousand

-E l i z a b e t h