Flashback

December 16th, 1991 

It was a Hydra base in the middle of the mountains in Siberia. 

A Hydra solider walked toward a vault, typing in a number into the key pad to open it.

A red ledger with a black star on the cover was revealed inside.

      ✯ 

Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier and Alec Anders / Dark Shadow were locked into two chambers.

Their brains were being rewired to suit their needs, screaming.

The Hydra soldier paced in front of them, reading from the book in Russian. "Longing. Rusted. Seventeen. Daybreak. Furnace. Nine. Benign. Homecoming. One. Freight car." The Hydra agents released the pulses. Bucky and Alec were breathing heavily. The soldier closed his book. "Good morning, soldier."

Bucky and Alec spoke in Russian. "Ready to comply."

The soldier held a file toward Bucky, speaking in Russian. "I have a mission for you. Sanction and extract. No witnesses." He turned to Alec. "I have another mission in mind for you. Assassination."

      ✯     

A car drove down the middle of the road in the middle of the night.

Bucky drove closer on a motorcycle, driving alongside the car, using his metal arm to punch the passenger side, making the car crash into a tree. He turned his motorcycle back, pulling over behind the trunk, getting off the bike, walking toward the car, breaking the trunk open. He found a box inside, opening it to reveal six bags of blue liquid.

      ✯     

In the Hydra base, Bucky took the serum to the soldier.

The soldier spoke in Russian. "Well done, soldier."

Bucky raised his gaze numbly, staring off into space.

      ✯     

Now

Lagos 

It was broad daylight.

The team was putting together a mission.

Wanda Maximoff / Scarlet Witch was sitting at a table outside a cafe, stirring sugar into her coffee, wearing a baseball hat. She looked around, taking a drink.

"All right, what do you see?" Steve asked.

"Standard beat cops," Wanda answered. "Small station. Quiet street. It's a good target."

      ✯     

Steve Rogers / Captain America and Bree Rogers / Star Mistress were standing on a roof above, suited up, watching everything from the distance.

"There's an ATM in the south corner, which means..." Steve trailed off.

"Cameras," Bree finished.

Steve nodded. "Both cross streets are one way."

"So compromise the escape routes," Bree told him.

"Means our guy doesn't care about being seen," Steve told her. "He isn't afraid to make a mess on the way out. You see that ranger over halfway up the block?"

      ✯     

Wanda looked at the ranger. "You mean the red one? It's cute."

Ana Romanoff / Arachne and Tatiana Romanoff / Tarantula, twin sisters, were sitting nearby at their own table, wearing sunglasses.

"It's also bullet proof, which means private security, which means more guns, which means more headaches for somebody, probably us," Tatiana told them.

"You guys know I can move things with my mind, right?" Wanda asked.

Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow was standing on other roof with Sam Wilson / Falcon, both of them suited up. "Looking over your shoulder needs to become a second nature."

"Mom, anybody ever tell you you're a little paranoid?" Ana asked.

"Not to my face," Natasha answered. "Why? Did you hear something?"

"Eyes on target, folks," Steve told them. "It's the best lead we have on Rumlow in six months. I don't want to lose him."

Sam chuckled. "If he sees us coming, that won't be a problem. He kind of hates us."

They saw a garbage truck driving through the crowded street.

"Sam, see that garbage truck?" Bree asked. "Take it."

A small device flew out of the back of Sam's suit, toward the garbage truck, flying up beneath it.

Sam controlled it by a device on his wrist. "Give me X-ray." The device had X-ray vision, allowing Sam to see what it saw through his sunglasses. "The truck's loaded for max weight, and the driver's armed."

"It's a battering ram," Ana told them.

"Go now," Bree told them.

"What?" Wanda asked.

"He's not aiming the police," Bree told them.

Sam dove off his building, flying away.

      ✯ 

The garbage truck drove up to the Institute for Infectious Diseases.

The driver jumped out of the truck, letting it continue to drive toward the Institute.

Guards ran away.

The garbage truck crashed into the gate, flipping up to the concrete wall above, taking it out.

Two semi-trucks drove through the broken gate.

Hydra agents got out of the trucks, firing at the guards outside.

Brock Rumlow walked out of the back of the first truck, wearing hazardous ready equipment, walking toward the building.

The agents shot smoke grenades through the windows, releasing the gas inside.

Brock and other agents walked inside, while other agents stayed outside.

Bree drove closer on her motorcycle from behind Agent 1, running him over.

Other agents tried to shoot Bree.

Bree tilted her motorcycle down to make them miss, hitting a truck into Agent 2, making him fall, throwing her staff into Agent 3, making the hook of her staff impale his shoulder, making him fall. She held her electromagnetic gloved hand toward the staff, bringing it back to her.

Steve ran up another truck toward Agent 4, jumping up, kicking him into the building, making him fall. "Body armor. AR15s." Sam flew closer. "I make seven hostiles."

Sam flew up onto the roof of the institution, using his wings as shields against the two agents there, kicking Agents 5 and 6 down, flipping through the air, landing in a crouch, standing, shooting Agent 5, making him fall to the car below. "I make five."

Wanda used her red energy to fly closer, landing on the ground. 

Agent 7 came out of hiding, trying to shoot Wanda.

Wanda used her red energy as a shield, turning around. "Sam."

Wanda threw Agent 7 up to Sam.

Sam flew closer, tackling Agent 7 to the ground, making him fall unconscious, landing. "Four." He used his device to X-ray scan the building. "Rumlow's on the third floor."

"Wanda, just like we practiced," Steve told her.

"What about the gas?" Wanda asked.

"Get it out," Steve answered.

Wanda used her red energy to push Steve up to the third floor of the building, inside.

Steve broke through the glass, walking inside, using his shield to hit Agent 8 in the face, pulling off his gas mask, kicking him in the stomach, making him fall.

    ✯   

Brock was further in the building, walking along, punching in a door, walking in, toward a man in a red suit, pushing him aside, walking toward a chamber with a biohazard chemical, opening the chamber, looking at an agent. "Pack it up."

      ✯     

In the hallway, Agent 9 was firing his gun at Steve. Steve took cover behind a beam, throwing his shield into Agent 9, hitting him in the head, making him fall unconscious. The shield came back to Steve. Agent 10 ran closer, firing. Steve raised his shield to protect himself, pulling Agent 10's legs out from underneath him, throwing him into the wall, making him fall.

      ✯ 

Wanda used her red energy to pull the gas out of the building, forming it into a funnel cloud.     

Sam turned his back to Agents 11 and 12, setting off a bomb by the device on his wrist.

Brock and two other agents walked out of the building. "They're here."

      ✯     

Inside, Steve walked away from the chamber. "Rumlow has a biological weapon."

      ✯     

Outside, Bree rode closer on her motorcycle. "I'm on it."

Bree jumped off her motorcycle, using it to hit Agents 13 and 14, making them fall.

Natasha ran up to many agents outside a truck, throwing shocking devices into Agent 15, grabbing him, kicking Agent 16 behind him, making him fall, slamming Agent 15 onto the ground.

 Agent 17 tried to get into the truck. 

Ana ran closer, kicking the door into Agent 16, making him fall. Agent 17 tried to shoot Ana. Ana ducked, spinning to kick the gun out of his hands, punching him in the face, turning around, pushing him away. 

Agent 18 ran closer, trying to shoot Ana. Tatiana grabbed Agent 18 from behind, turning around, pushing him away. She threw shocking devices into his hands, shocking him enough to make him drop the gun. 

Ana kicked Agent 19 in the face, making him fall. Agent 19 ran closer. Ana spun to kick the gun out of his hands, kicking him to the ground. Agent 18 stood, running closer. Ana grabbed him, kicking one of his legs out from underneath him, pulling back her leg to pull the other leg out from underneath him in the other direction, making him flip to the ground.

Natasha ran toward the truck, jumping onto the hood. Agent 20 tried to shoot Natasha. Natasha threw shocking devices into his head, making him fall unconscious.  Brock stood on the roof of the truck behind Natasha. He grabbed her by her hair, pulling her up onto the roof of the truck. Natasha elbowed him in the face mask, spinning to kick him, making him let go. Brock tried to punch her. Natasha ducked, punching him in the face. Brock grabbed Natasha by her hair. Natasha tried to shock him with a device to no avail, as the mask and the suit protected him.

"I don't work like that no more," Brock told her, throwing Natasha into the truck where two agents were, dropping in a bomb next to her. "Fire in the hole."

Brock closed the door.

Tatiana jumped onto the roof of the truck, kicking Brock off of the truck to the ground. She tried to open the top hatch, but it was locked from inside. 

Ana ran toward the back of the truck.

Tatiana cartwheeled off the truck, landing in a crotch next to Ana. She stood.

They ran toward the back door of the truck, using their devices to shock and blow the door open.

Natasha dove out of the back of the truck to the ground next to them.

The two agents inside tried to get out.

Tatiana and Ana threw shocking devices into their heads, shocking them unconscious. They ran toward Natasha on the ground.

The bomb exploded, killing the two Agents inside.

      ✯     

Bree saw Brock in a Humvee, running closer. Brock tried to shoot Bree with a missile. Bree ducked, sliding over the ground, standing, running closer.

The missile hit the balcony that Steve was standing on behind Bree, making it explode, making Steve and pieces of the balcony fall down around and on top of Bree, pinning her down.

Brock drove the Humvee away, leaving.

Bree groaned in pain, pushing the pieces of balcony off of her and off of Steve. "Sam, he's in the main Humvee heading north."

      ✯ 

In the Humvee, Brock handed the biochemical to an agent. "Take this to the extract. We're not going to outrun them. Lose the truck."

The agent driving pulled over in the middle of town.

Brock and the agents jumped out of the Humvee.

"Where are you going to meet us?" Agent 21 asked.

"I'm not," Brock answered.

Brock and the agents split up.

Sam flew closer, watching, landing on a roof, using his glasses to log where they were going. "I got four. They're splitting up."

Ana and Tatiana ran after two of the agents.

"We got the two on the left," Tatiana told them.

Bree drove her bike through the town, into two taxis that had crashed into each other, standing, walking over the hoods of the taxis, jumping down, seeing a vest on the ground. "They ditched their gear. It's a shell game now. One of them has the payload."

Brock stepped out of hiding next to Bree, punching her from behind with his big, bulky, metal suit, making her fall. "There you are." He walked closer. "I've been waiting for this!"

Bree stood. 

Brock punched her in the face, making her stumble back into the taxis behind her.

      ✯     

Ana and Tatiana ran through the crowd after the two agents on the left, Agents 21 and 22.

      ✯     

The two agents on the right, Agents 23 and 24 ran away from Steve and Sam.

Steve and Sam caught up to them.

Steve used his shield to hit Agent 23 in the head.

Agent 24 fired his gun at Steve.

Steve raised his shield to protect himself.

Sam ran toward Agent 24, spinning to hit him with his metal wing, making him fall.

Steve hit Agent 23 in the head with the shield, making him fall unconscious.

Sam and Steve went through their belongings.

"They don't have it," Steve told them. "We're empty."

      ✯     

Ana and Tatiana chased Agents 21 and 22, through the crowd. 

"Out of the way!" Ana told them. "Look out!"

Tatiana slid over a table.

Ana flipped over a bike.

They continued to chase.

Ana stepped onto a table, jumping toward Agent 21, tackling him to the ground. They stood. Agent 21 tried to punch her. Ana raised her arms to block the move, kicking him in the stomach.

Agent 22 stopped, turning back for Agent 21.

Tatiana ran toward Agent 22, kicking him in the chest. Agent 22 drew his gun, aiming at Tatiana. Tatiana caught his wrist, elbowing him in the face.

Ana punched Agent 21 in the chest and stomach, repeatedly. Agent 21 drew a gun, aiming at her. Ana picked up a nearby basket, throwing it at Agent 21, sliding over the ground to get closer without getting shot, kicking his legs out from underneath him, making him fall.

Tatiana jumped onto Agent 22, wrapping her legs around his neck, flipping him to the ground, landing in a crouch. Agent 22 stood. Tatiana stood, spinning to kick him in the face, making him fall.

Agent 21 stood. Ana punched him in the chest, kicking him in the leg, flipping him to the ground, rolling to face him, punching him in the face, rolling over him to get to his gun, standing, drawing the gun at Agent 21.

Agent 21 aimed a gun at Tatiana, making her stop from making her next move, and making Ana stop from getting off a shot.

Agent 22 stood, holding the biochemical, looking at Ana. "Drop it. Or I'll drop this. Drop it!"

"He'll do it," Agent 21 told them.

Natasha stood behind Agent 22, shooting him in the head, killing him.

The biochemical started to fall. 

Tatiana slid closer, catching the vial in her hand before it could break against the ground.

Ana shoot Agent 21 in the head, killing him.

Tatiana stood. "Payload secured."

"Thanks, Mom," Ana told her.

Natasha put her gun away, walking closer. "What would my girls do without me?"

Ana tilted her head. "Do I need to remind you that we just saved your life literally five minutes ago?"

"No," Natasha answered.

Tatiana smiled. She looked at the biochemical vial in her hand.

      ✯     

Bree was on the ground. Brock tried to stomp on her. Bree rolled out of the way, standing. Brock tried to kick her. Bree raised her staff to block the move, twirling the staff to hit him in the face. Brock tried to punch her repeatedly. Bree used the staff to block the moves, kicking him in the face, making him back away. 

"Come on!" Brock told her, trying to punch her. Bree raised the staff to block the move. Brock tried to punch her. Bree ducked, using the staff to hit him in the face, making him back away. Brock kicked her back into a building wall, trying to punch her twice. Bree ducked, punching Brock in the stomach. Brock tried to punch her. Bree ducked, kicking him in the side, making him fall into a table, trying to hit him in the face with the staff. Brock caught the other side of the staff, pressing it against her throat to push her against the wall. "This is for dropping a building on my face." A knife protruded from the glove on Brock's hand. He tried to stab Bree. Bree ducked, hitting her stab against Brock's arm, making him groan in pain, using the staff to hit him in the face, making him let go and back away, ripping his glove off of one hand. A knife protruded from Brock's other glove. Brock slashed the knife toward Bree. Bree raised her staff to block the move. Brock tried to stab her in the stomach. Bree backed away enough to make him miss, taking the staff apart in two pieces, using both pieces to hit Brock in the face and the stomach and the arm in a blur of motion, spinning to kick him in the face, sending him falling several feet away. She put the staff back together, walking closer. Brock pulled his mask off to reveal his mutilated face and head. Bree was in shock from seeing it this way for the first time. "I think I look pretty good, all things considered."

Bree pointed the hook of her staff at Brock. "Who's your buyer?"

"We knew he knew you," Brock told her. "Your boy, your fiance, your Bucky."

Bree froze at his name, using the hook of her staff to pull Brock closer threateningly. "What did you say?"

"He remembered you," Brock told her. "I was there. He got all weepy about it. Till they put his brain back in the blender. He said 'I knew her. I couldn't kill her. I need to know why'. He remembered your brother, too. Remembered that you brother, him and your buddy Alec were the best of friends way back in the day. He tried to get Alec to remember. But Alec doesn't have a strong emotional connection like Bucky has with you. Alec's too far gone. But he wanted you to know something. He said to me, 'Please tell them, when you got to go, you got to go'." Bree was in shock, frozen from hearing about Bucky and Alec after so long. Brock knew that this would have been the reaction he would have gotten from her, smirking. "And you're coming with me."

Brock pulled out a bomb, hitting the button. The bomb enveloped Brock, not touching Bree.

Bree looked behind her in confusion.

Wanda was using her red energy to keep the explosion close to Brock, throwing him up into the sky.

The bomb exploded next to a building, taking many people with it.

Wanda realized what happened, horrified with herself, using her hand to cover her mouth.

Bree was in shock. "Oh, my... Steve. We need... fire and rescue, on the south side of the building." Wanda was crying. "We got to get up there."

Wanda fell to her knees, crying in guilt and horror.