Seatbelts on my luvs, this chapter is a whopper.

———

CARSON MANAGED to make his way out of the compound without being spotted, grabbing some extra weapons and equipment on the way. Just in case. He closed the back door behind him and started making his way over to one of the helicopters that was stationed on one of the helipads in the back.

Little did he know, someone also had the same idea as him.

Tony was currently making his way to the same helicopter with his phone in hand, already getting FRIDAY to gather info about the infamous Helmut Zemo, the man who turned the Avengers world upside down so easily.

The pair of them both got closer and closer to the chopper, each of them coming from different sides. They both reached the helicopter at the same time and ended up opening the doors to their side simultaneously, meeting each other in the middle which took them by surprise.

"JESUS—" Both of them jumped back in shock and Tony gripped his chest as he groaned dramatically trying to catch his breath again.

"You scared the shit out of me— wait.. what are you doing here?"

"Me... I'm uh, just checking over things, y'know making sure the old chopper is still working correctly." Carson cleared his throat and leant against the helicopter, looking around the inside to pretend he was checking over everything. "So, what are you doing here?"

Tony paused for a moment before fiddling with the handle on the door. "Same as you. I came here to check the... handle..."

"I've managed to find more information on Zemo." FRIDAY spoke up through Tony's phone and he quickly pulled it out of his pocket, almost dropping it as he tapped the screen multiple times to get FRIDAY to stop talking.

Carson stifled a laugh. "Just checking the handle huh?"

"Alright, alright." Tony huffed and looked around as he tried to think of something to say. "So I'm doing a little research. There's been some light shed on this situation thanks to Romanoff and I need to find out if this is true then I need to go talk to the others."

He looked down, noticing the paper that was in Carson's hand and gave him a confused look.

"What's that?" He asked.

There was no point in lying. Not now that Tony knew about Zemo.

"I've been doing a little research too." Carson replied.

Although Tony knew that Natasha had been looking into Zemo, Carson wasn't sure if Tony knew that she had also told him about where the others were being held. So he figured it was best to leave that part out. He didn't want to throw her under the bus.

"What about?" Tony raised a brow.

"I know where Wanda and the others are." Carson answered. "And I'm going there, right now." He climbed into the helicopter and sat down.

Tony joined him, sitting down across from him. "Well that makes two of us then."

"You coming to talk to your best friend in the whole wide world Ross?" Carson taunted making Tony scoff as he pressed a few buttons on the control pad, the helicopter now starting up with auto pilot on.

"No actually." Tony gave him a tight smile. "I want to fix the mess that I got everyone into... I didn't know that they'd be locked up in the Raft, I really didn't. I'm going so I can talk to Sam, figure out where Rogers and Barnes are going to I can help them."

Carson sat up straighter as he listened to Tony explain himself, watching him carefully and studying his features to see if there was any lies to his words. But he really was telling the truth.

"If you want to get to Wanda then you cannot be spotted and once you're out they can't find her either. She'll be a fugitive." Tony said, giving Carson a small smile to let him know that he wasn't going to stop him. "If anybody sees you, then you'll become wanted too..."

"Tony I—"

"Nobody can know that you're with me." He continued. "Once we get there, I'll leave first and distract Ross. As I'm walking through, I'll pass the security room and get FRIDAY to tap into the cameras and mess with their feed so they're seeing the same footage on a loop. I won't be able to hold it for long before they notice so you'll have to be quick about it."

"Tony I don't know what to... thank you." Carson smiled and Tony leant forward, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry about before, back at the airport."

"I'm sorry too bud." Tony replied pulling Carson into a hug, squeezing him surprisingly hard. But neither of them seemed to care too much, who knew would could happen once they got to the Raft. This could possibly be the last time they'd see each other for a while.

When they pulled away, Carson noticed the sadness behind Tony's eyes but he decided not to comment on it, even though Tony quickly covered it up by wiping a hand over his face and clearing his throat.

"As soon as you have Wanda you get both your asses back to the helicopter and leave straight away, alright?"

"What about you? How are you going to leave?" Carson asked.

"I have my suit." Tony informed him.

"And the others? I can help them too—"

"No, it's too risky moving that many people out at once. You get Wanda, I'll deal with the rest."

Carson nodded, taking in all the information and instructions that Tony had given him.

"Carson just... you'll be careful, right?" Tony began. "You cannot go in there all guns blazing, it won't work. You have to be smart about this, sneaky, quiet. Once you're out and safe, contact me to let me know where you're going and what you're doing."

"I will." Carson nodded. "Promise."

"Good." Tony smiled. "Because if you get arrested, or die, then you're so grounded."

"You know you can't ground me anymore right?"

"We'll see about that."

Carson chuckled and shook his head. "Sure thing old man."

~~ ᗢ ~~

"SO? YOU GOT THE FILES?" Carson heard Tony ask Ross as he stepped out of the helicopter, making sure to close the door behind him to make sure there was no way that Carson would be spotted, even though he was already hiding underneath the seats with a coat covering the gap.

It wasn't exactly comfortable but it did the job well enough.

"Let's reroute the satellites, start facial scanning for this Zemo guy." He continued.

"You seriously think I'm going to listen to you after that fiasco in Leipzig?" Ross scoffed. "You're lucky that you're not in one of those cells. Along with that boy of yours."

Carson rolled his eyes and mumbled some insult under his breath toward Ross.

"As a matter of fact, I'm quite shocked he's not joined you here today." Ross carried on. "Especially after all the fuss he caused over the little witch. I thought he'd jump at the chance to visit."

"Her name is Wanda." Tony stared at Ross, who just shrugged not seeming to care. "And Carson is back at the compound thinking about his actions."

"You sound like a father putting a child in a time out or something." Ross quipped.

Tony smiled to himself at the comment and glanced over his shoulder back at the helicopter discreetly before turning his attention back to Ross. "Yeah, I guess I do sound like that."

"Anyway, follow me. We can talk about this information about this so called 'fake doctor' you're talking about."

Ross, Tony and the remaining guards in the area all walked out of the room and through some doors. After listening to make sure the coast was clear,
Carson slid from underneath the seats and quietly exited the helicopter, slipping out of the room before anyone else could walk in.

He wandered through the halls, looking around to see if there was any signs to indicate which room was which or at least where the cells were located.

As he turned the corner, he came to a sudden stop once the sound of footsteps coming towards him filled his ears. He quickly moved back round to the other side, leaning with his back against the wall as he listened to the footsteps so hear which way the person was going.

And what a surprise, they seemed to be walking down the hall towards him.

Great.

He quickly looked at his surroundings to figure out his next move, taking a deep breath as he prepared and waited for the person to come to the end of the hallway.

Just as the person reached the end of the hallway, Carson sprung out from his spot against the wall and grabbed the now identified guard and dragged him into a nearby room, covering the mans mouth with his hand so he couldn't speak call for help.

At first, the man struggled as he tried to break free from Carson's grip. But Carson wouldn't budge and moved his hands around the mans neck, pulling him up into a head lock, squeezing his arms tighter around him.

"Stop struggling." Carson whispered. "You'll only make things worse."

The man didn't listen and carried in trying to wriggle out of Carson's arms, his yells being muffled by Carson's hand. He kept the same amount of pressure until the mans body went limp, rending him unconscious.

"There you go buddy, go to sleep." Carson said while lowering him to the ground.

After double checking that the guard was out cold, Carson walked back over to the door but just before he opened it he paused, an idea coming into his head. He turned around and looked at the guard, his eyes skimming over the mans uniform.

Carson fumbled around in his pockets as he rooted around to find one of the pieces of equipment that he remembered he'd brought with him.

A prototype facial prosthesis mask.

Courtesy of a random shelf in Tony's lab that he happened to stumble across while he was looking for his knives.

Carson crouched down next to the man and scanned his face with the mask so it would replicate his features. Once it had finished Carson placed it on his face, looking at himself through the reflection on the door handle to see if it had worked. Which it did. Freakishly well.

"Woah... this is scary." Carson mumbled while touching his face. He looked back over at the guard who was still out like a light and sighed. "I'm gonna need to borrow your clothes. Sorry mate."

~~ ᗢ ~~

CARSON QUICKLY SLIPPED out of the room and closed the door behind him, fidgeting uncomfortably in the new clothing that he had on.

"Why are these pants so fucking itchy—"

"Why aren't you at your post?" Another voice was heard and Carson turned his head to see a rather annoyed looking guard walking towards him.

"Oh, yeah sorry." Carson responded. "Just needed a breather y'know."

The mans face didn't seem to shift from his ticked off expression.

"Alright then..." Carson stood up straight and began walking down the hall. "I should go. Guarding to do and what not."

"Wait a minute!" The man called out and Carson turned around slowly.

"Uh, yeah?"

The man gestured to Carson's hand. "Keep your weapons away. They're for code red situations only, remember?"

Carson furrowed his brows as he looked down, noticing the combat knife he was holding onto. He didn't even realise that he didn't put it away.

"Sorry." He apologised before turning back around and waking away down the hall. A small smirk grew on his face as he turned around the corner, being greeted by a set of double doors with a plaque next to it reading:

Maximum security, Cell block A.

Carson took the guards key card from out of the pocket on the uniform and scanned it so the doors would open. Tony would've tapped into the camera by now so this was the perfect time to go through with it, who knows how much longer he could keep his hold on the cameras for.

He closed the doors behind him and turned around, a smug grin forming on his lips when he heard the familiar voice of Sam shouting something over to him, thinking he was a guard considering he still had the mask activated.

"Oh great!" Sam said in a sarcastic tone as he walked up to the glass of the cell.

Carson chuckled and started to walk around to Sam's cell, looking in the other ones as he walked past in search of Wanda. On the way, he passed Clint who was sat with his back against the glass and Scott who was tapping some random beat against the surface of the sink that was in his cell to keep himself entertained.

"So you come here to taunt us all again? Remind us of our situation?" Sam said through gritted teeth while Carson approached the front of his cell.

Well he still wasn't aware it was Carson he was actually talking to.

"Now, now." Carson shook his head. "Here I was about to help you but, when you speak to me like that..."

Sam furrowed his brows and paused, his face scrunching up in confusion. "Wait what did you s—"

Carson stepped closer to the glass of the cell and allowed his eyes to flicked red momentarily, giving Sam an extra nudge in the right direction to figuring out what was truly happening.

"Carson?"

Carson placed a finger to his lips telling Sam to keep quiet before returning his eyes back to normal and continuing to walk through the room, coming to a stop once he came to a more secure looking cell. A small smile forming once he saw a certain someone inside.

Wanda was sat on the floor in the corner of the room, hugging her knees up to her chest as she leant her head against the wall, eyes locked on a random spot on the floor.

She was in a blue jumpsuit that at first glance seemed to be like the others but he noticed hers was actually like a straight jacket that kept her from being able to move her hands. She still had the same collar around her neck that was placed on her back at the airport, along with a single cuff around one of her ankles that looked like some sort of tracker.

He shook his head as he looked at her. How could they treat people like this? Especially them. This was the thanks they got for everything they've done for the world?

"What do you want?" She spoke from her spot on the floor, not bothering to look up. Her voice was croaky, weak, she sounded exhausted. "Haven't you done enough already? Leave me alone."

"Now why on earth would I do that Wands?" Carson replied as he made his way over to the control panel of the cell.

Wanda's head snapped up at the nickname. "What did you just say?"

"Oh, nothing, nothing." Carson smirked and opened the door to Wanda's cell, slowly making his way inside.

Wanda narrowed her eyes at him, her head tilting slightly in the process. She still had no idea that it was him so he understood why she was looking at him like that but Jesus christ, he'd never get used that that head tilt.

"I must say..." He mumbled, pressing a button on the side of the mask to turn it off. "I'm kinda shocked you don't even recognise your own boyfriend."

Carson smiled as he watched the way Wanda's eyes lit up at the sight of him once the masks had shut down, her whole demeanour changing.

"You're h-here..." Her eyes started to fill up.

He crouched down in front of Wanda and cupped her face, gently kissing her forehead before pulling back and using his thumbs to wipe away the tears that ran down her cheeks.

"I'm here." He nodded. "Now come on, we're leaving."

Carson reached into his pocket and picked out a device that deactivated the collar and cuff that was around her neck and ankle. They both powered down and fell to the ground. Wanda let out a sigh of relief, rolling her neck.

He moved his hands over to the zip that was on Wanda's straight jacket but before he could undo it, she shook her head earning a confused look from him.

"What is it?" He asked and she giggled.

"I don't think it's the best idea for me to be running around in a bra, love."

"Oh shit. Good point." Carson thought for a moment before an idea popped into his brain. He gripped the sleeves and ripped them off so it now just looked like a regular jumpsuit.

Wanda wriggled her hands out of the fabric and stretched out her arms.

He helped her up and gave her a moment to get her footing.

She looked down at the jumpsuit and raised a brow at it's change in appearance. "Hm, this actually looks pretty good."

Carson chuckled and shook his head as he took her hand to lead her out of the cell. The rest of the team now all stood near the glass of their cells, their eyes widening when they saw Carson.

He looked around at them all and gave them a nod as he made his way back over to Sam's cell, opening the hatch where the guards would normally slide their food tray in.

"Listen, moving all of you out at once would alert the guards so I can't get you out now." Carson explained to Sam. "But I can give you this..."

He slid in a gun, the device that deactivated their cuffs and the keycard that he managed to swipe earlier from the moody guard.

"The cameras are off right now but I don't know how much longer that will last so find a place to keep these hidden. You'll know when to use them."

Sam gave Carson an appreciative smile. As much as he wanted to get out of there, he understood where Carson was coming from. All of them leaving at once would be way too risky and would just put them all in more danger.

He knew they'd all get out of there. But just not now, not yet.

"Tony is coming down soon to talk to you. We know about Zemo, he's here to help."

Sam nodded. "Thank you Carson, really. I was starting to think we'd be in this underwater tin can for a while. You two be careful and take care of yourselves."

"We will." Wanda replied, interlocking her fingers with Carson's.

Carson quickly reactivated the facial prosthesis mask as he lead Wanda out of the room. They both hurried down the halls, not wanting to waste anymore time.

"It's not much further now." Carson looked down at Wanda. "There's a helicopter through th—"

"What's going on here?" A voice came from behind them.

The pair both stopped in their tracks and slowly turned around. Wanda subtly moved her hands behind her back and Carson gripped a hold of her wrist to make it look like he was escorting her somewhere else.

"She's being moved to cell block B." Carson replied, letting out a small huff of annoyance when the guard continued to walk over.

"How come?" The guard questioned as he glanced at Wanda who just glared at him. "Wait... what happened to her clothes?"

"She managed to break out of the straight jacket, had to put some cuffs on her wrists instead."

"Hm, they really are little shits aren't they?" The guard mocked as he gave Wanda a once over. "You don't speak much do you, witch?"

Wanda narrowed her eyes at the man and Carson took a deep breath as his jaw clenched tightly. As much as he wanted to react, he knew that he couldn't. He'd have to bite his tongue if they wanted to get out of this interaction safely.

"Well, I need to get this one locked up again, so." Carson said.

"Of course." The man nodded.

They both turned around and started to walk down the hall again, their pace slowing down as they now had eyes on them.

"Wait hold on a sec." The man called out to them.

"Mhm?" Carson replied over his shoulder as he stopped. Again.

"You said cell block B?"

"Uh, Yeah." Carson nodded slowly.

The main furrowed his brows and pointed behind him. "Cell block B is that way."

"I was just..." Carson and Wanda glanced at each other and he slowly let go of her wrist, preparing for the worst. He turned his attention back to the man and inhaled sharply. "Taking the scenic route?"

He and the guard stared at each other for what felt like forever, both of them waiting to see how the other would react. Carson knew that the guard thought something was off, the mans heart rate was starting to pick up. He was just figuring out how to play it. The man attempted to discreetly move his hand down to his holster but both Wanda and Carson noticed.

"Shit." Carson mumbled.

Before the guard could take out his gun, Carson raised his hand and used his powers the pull him into his grip then proceeded to slam him into the wall.

He dropped the man to the ground and looked at Wanda who had her arms crossed, giving him a 'Really?' look.

"What?" He shrugged.

"Taking the scenic route? That's the best you've got?" She raised a brow.

"I could easily take you back to that cell y'know."

Wanda smirked and patted his shoulder and she walked past him. "We both know you wouldn't do that love."

"Touché." He mumbled before catching up to her.

After making their way down a few more halls, definitely not getting confused on the way, they finally found their way to the room where the helicopter was. But of course, knowing their luck, they wasn't alone.

They didn't even give the guards a chance to turn around before they both started attacking them. Wanda focused on the two that were stationed to her left while Carson focused on the ones to his right.

During the fighting they both ended up walking backwards, meeting in the middle with their backs touching. Once they judged the coast as being clear, the pair both let out a breath and leant against each other as they relaxed.

"Alright, let's go—"

Carson was interrupted by Wanda raising her hand and aiming to her right, using her powers to launch a guard across that room that still seemed to be awake. Poor fella.

"Okay, Now we can go." Wanda ran a hand through her hair and leant up from off him.

Carson raised a brow as he watched Wanda walk towards the helicopter, smirking to himself as he watched her step over the unconscious guards. Wanda opened the door and turned to look back at Carson with a grin.

"You coming or you just gonna stare at me all day?"

"Hm? What did you say?"

Wanda playfully rolled her eyes and held out her hand for Carson to take it and get in the helicopter with her. "Come on idiot."

Carson laughed and took a hold of Wanda's hand, both of them getting the the helicopter and sitting down.

"So," He said, pulling up the map and looking over at Wanda. "Where to, Maximoff?"

~~ ᗢ ~~

— END OF ACT THREE —

see you in the next one 😏

[Not edited.]