POV: Third Person
Sam Wilson's House, Washington, D.C.
Just Before Amora's Recruitment
2014
Steve and Natasha certainly didn't have luck on their side. After being branded as traitors by the organization they trusted and worked with, they barely survived an attack on one of their secret bases. The truth about S.H.I.E.L.D. dealt a severe blow to both of them, especially Natasha.
After surviving a missile attack, they had nowhere to go to rest and heal. They didn't know who to trust, and with one of the world's largest spy organizations relentlessly hunting them, they couldn't go anywhere familiar. So, Steve chose a place where no one would expect them to be—the home of a new friend he made, former soldier Sam Wilson.
"I made breakfast if you want to eat," said their host to the two, who had just showered and were now talking in a room. They hadn't eaten for hours after nonstop fleeing from their pursuers.
Of course, they accepted.
"So the question is: Who in S.H.I.E.L.D. could launch a missile?" Natasha asked in Sam's dining room, where the two were sitting at the table after breakfast.
"Pierce," Steve answered.
Alexander Pierce, Secretary of Defense of the World Security Council. An international council formed by politicians from some of the most powerful countries on Earth to oversee S.H.I.E.L.D.
"So, how do we find answers?" Natasha asked again.
"Zola's Algorithm was at the Star of Zemo," Steve recalled.
"Just like Jasper Sitwell," she remembered the bald man who had been abducted.
"So the question is: how do two fugitives kidnap someone from S.H.I.E.L.D. in broad daylight in Washington?" Steve asked.
Steve and Natasha sat in silence, contemplating their next move. Moving openly wasn't an option. If they were captured by even a single security camera, they'd be immediately located.
"I think I might have a solution," Sam said, emerging from the kitchen. He approached Steve and tossed a folder of documents onto the table.
"What's this?" Steve asked.
"A résumé," Sam replied, standing at attention.
Natasha and Steve began examining the photos and documents. Natasha recognized the mission described in the folder.
"This is Bakhmala. Khalid Khandil mission. Was that you?" she asked, a bit impressed.
"Is this Riley?" Steve inquired, pointing to a photo of Sam with another man.
"Yeah, that was him."
"I heard they didn't use helicopters because of the missiles. You used a stealth parachute?" Natasha asked, recalling the mission but not the details.
"No, I used this," Sam said, handing another folder to Steve.
"I thought you were a pilot," Steve said, smiling.
"I never said that," Sam replied, laughing.
"I can't ask you to do this, Sam. You got out for a good reason," Steve said, knowing they couldn't refuse help but still hesitant to involve more people, especially someone who had left the military life.
"Man, Captain America needs my help. There's no better reason to come back," Sam responded.
Steve knew he couldn't change his new friend's mind, so he accepted his help.
"Where can we get one of these?" Steve asked, pointing to an image in the folder.
"The last one is at Fort Meade. Guarded by a 30cm steel wall and security," Sam replied.
Steve looked at Natasha, who nodded in agreement. He turned back to Sam. "That shouldn't be a problem."
"So, since we're looking for help, any news from the Avengers' base?" Steve asked Natasha.
"Still no communication," Natasha answered.
Since discovering the truth about Hydra, they had tried to contact the Avengers' base in Earth's orbit. Unfortunately, every attempt had failed. Natasha deduced that Hydra had somehow sabotaged the base, isolating everyone there. Two of the team's heavy hitters were at the base, effectively removing them from the equation. The only Avenger not at the base was Baldur, but contacting him without being at the base was impossible.
Natasha had even tried to send a message using their weapons, hoping to reach him, but had no success.
"So, it's just us then," Steve said.
"Actually, we might have another option," Natasha replied, a bit uncertain.
"Who?" Steve asked.
"Amora."
It wasn't a secret who she was. The Queen of Genosha, now exiled for plotting against her King and husband. After some time in hiding, she had resurfaced in the country, wandering for a while before settling in a location. S.H.I.E.L.D. had kept an eye on her, choosing only to observe from a distance. This was the woman who had single-handedly sunk all German ships during World War II. A person with such power was best observed from afar.
"She almost certainly won't accept," Steve said, recalling his first encounter with the Queen. To him, she seemed utterly disinterested in the affairs of this world.
"It doesn't hurt to ask," Natasha replied.
Steve knew that even if Amora agreed to help, she wouldn't follow their orders. She might even exacerbate their current predicament.
"Alright, let's ask her," he agreed.
While she might not take orders, Amora could be a far greater headache for Hydra than all of them combined. But first, the Queen had to agree to help.
POV: Third Person
Avengers Base, Orbiting Earth
Simultaneously
"How are things down there, Bruce?"
Anthony Stark had been asking his friend the same question for hours, and the answer was always the same.
{Still nothing,} came Bruce's reply through the communicator.
"Just perfect," Stark muttered.
The new Avengers base, nearly operational, had become a deathtrap for the two of them.
It all began a few hours ago when, without warning, the base lost all power. The two geniuses didn't panic; they assumed it was a minor electrical fault. Large projects like this often had small glitches before final completion.
While Bruce headed to the lower levels to check the electrical systems, Stark tried to activate the backup power. To his surprise, even though the backup systems were functioning perfectly, the base refused to reboot. The situation became more dire when Bruce reported that the entire electrical system had fried due to a massive power surge. On top of that, the life support systems, which should have been independent of the main system, also shut down.
Now, they were without light, air, or artificial gravity, stranded in space.
Any ordinary person would have been frantic, but these two were geniuses, and Stark's arrogance never let him doubt they could find a solution. So, they got to work. Stark focused on restoring power, while Bruce tried to get the life support back online. Yet, after hours of work, even they were starting to worry.
"Wait, I think I've got something here," Stark exclaimed suddenly.
Out of nowhere, the lights in the command room flickered back on, along with the previously dead computers. Stark had connected a long cable from under a desk to the next room.
"Success!" he shouted triumphantly.
{You did it! The lights are back on here too,} Bruce's voice crackled through the communicator.
"Let's see what the problem is," Stark said, heading to the computer screen. As he read the system logs, his expression of joy quickly turned serious.
{So, how are we?} Bruce asked.
"Well, to sum it up, we're screwed."
{Care to elaborate?}
"We were hit by a virus installed directly into the system. It caused the power surge that fried our electrical network. Before that, it reconfigured the settings to block power from the backup systems."
{And the life support?}
"In the same state as our electrical system, completely fried."
{Do we abandon ship?}
Without any way to fix the problem they're facing, this base is no different from a sinking ship. The logical thing to do is simply abandon the base.
{The evacuation modules are operational, right?}
"They're working so well that they've already left without us. In fact, they were launched just before everything happened; we've fallen into a perfect trap here, my friend."
With the power outage, the portal couldn't function. Stark likely anticipated such a situation and prepared several small escape pods for emergencies. Now that they're gone, there's only one way to get out of here.
"Let's go, Bruce. I'll program one of my suits for you, and we'll return to Earth in the most fun way possible."
{Maybe for you.}
"BIP!"
Almost jumping out of his chair, Stark notices a change in the situation. He quickly begins typing on the keyboard.
"Bruce, unfortunately, we won't be able to leave now."
{What happened now?}
"Our friends also predicted that we might try to leave the base using my suit. They programmed a countermeasure into the system, which activates when someone tries to restart it. The base is now on a collision course with Earth."
The Avengers' base was a structure weighing thousands of tons, built with the most resilient metals to withstand reentry into the atmosphere with minimal damage. This effectively turns it into a meteor with the potential to devastate a continent.
{They're crazy!} Bruce shouted.
"It's actually quite brilliant. Now we have two options: we flee and let my new toy crash into Earth, or we stay here for hours trying to prevent it."
{In my opinion, we only have one choice.}
"Yes. But while we're stuck here, our friends, whoever they are, will have plenty of time to carry out their nefarious plans for world domination."
{How much time do we have before the worst happens?}
"We have plenty of time, actually. Over eighteen hours. Whoever did this clearly doesn't want to cause an explosion on Earth; they just want to delay us."
{They certainly went to great lengths to take us out of the game.}
"True."
{Our communications are down, but we still have the communicator Baldur gave us. I'm heading to the vault to call for help.}
"I wouldn't put much hope in that either, my friend. As you said, they went to great lengths to take us out of the game. I doubt they'd leave the biggest player out of their schemes."
Unfortunately, Stark was right once again. The device given to them by Baldur to call for help didn't work. All they could do now was work as quickly as possible to return to Earth and deeply thank the person who set all this up for them.
support me at patreon.com/Lonely_Translator and read chapters in advance