"The question is, what to do with Kate?" Steve asks Nat quietly, but Kate is close enough to overhear.

She sighs. "I'm right here, Rogers."

"Sorry," he replies. "It's just, you know... you're injured."

"You're also bad at lying, so putting you with me could be a risk," Nat adds.

"But you're also, obviously, a valuable asset."

"Send her with me," Hill says. "Probably less combat, but if there is, she'll burn 'em up. And she'll be close if you need back up."

"Can't fight a hydra without fire," Fury comments, the corner of his lips turning up at Kate, who shakes her head.

"Alright, the ugly stepchild no one knows what to do with will accept this plan. Let's take 'em down, I guess." She raises her good arm in a fist half-heartedly.

"Great pep talk," Sam comments.

Preparation doesn't take too long, Nat leaving first in order to go undercover within the council so she can get to Pierce, and Fury secures a helicopter with the help of other agents. Steve stops at the Smithsonian for his suit, and then he, Hill, Sam, and Kate approach the Triskelion from the woods. Sneaking into the building is remarkably easy, most resources focusing on the launch itself. They make it to tech, where Kate sends a jolt through all the earpieces by lightly frying the main frame. It often glitches, she's heard.

They wait outside the door, Sam and Hill with guns raised, Kate with a small flame. A tech opens the door, a shocked look on his face.

"Excuse us," Steve says. The guy, smartly, puts his hands up and gets out of the way.

Steve makes a beeline for the PA. His voice echoes over the speakers, the source still right in Kate's ears, too. "Attention, all SHIELD agents. This is Steve Rogers. You've heard a lot about me over the last few days. Some of you were even ordered to hunt me down. But I think it's time you know the truth... SHIELD is not what we thought it was; it's been taken over by HYDRA. Alexander Pierce is their leader... The STRIKE and Insight crew are HYDRA as well. I don't know how many more, but I know they're in the building. They could be standing right next to you.

"They almost have what they want: absolute control. They shot Nick Fury, and it won't end there. If you launch those Helicarriers today, HYDRA will be able to kill anyone that stands in their way — unless we stop them. And I know I'm asking a lot, but the price of freedom is high. It always has been, and it's a price I'm willing to pay. And if I'm the only one, then so be it. But I'm willing to bet that I'm not."

He stands straight, and Sam asks, "Did you write that down first, or was it off the top of your head?"

"Probably off the top of his head," Kate replies. "He's got a gift." Steve chuckles as he and Sam leave, while Kate and Hill quickly set up shop.

Minutes later, Hill says on comms, "They're initiating launch."

Kate switches her gaze from the computer screen monitoring everything to out the window, where there's spatters of gunfire and a small Sam Wilson flying about. He gets above a carrier, which has a large set of guns — guns Kate didn't think about before, not when she was designing the labs. They fire at him.

"Hey, Cap, I found those bad guys you were talking about," he says on comms.

"You okay?" Steve asks.

"I'm not dead yet."

A few minutes later, they hear a SHIELD agent over comms. "Satellites in range at three thousand feet."

"Falcon, status?" Hill asks.

"Engaging!" he replies. The carrier is still firing into the air, a dot dodging the blows. Finally, they stop. "Alright, Cap, I'm in." But then there's more firing, a Quinjet takes off, and Sam is in the air again.

"I'm assuming you didn't mean for that to happen?" Kate says.

"Yeah, not exactly, hot head!"

"Don't get mad at me just because somebody else is firing at you."

"Yeah, yeah, sure."

Hill raises a brow at Kate. "What, are you, like, flirting with this guy now?"

"Seriously?!" Kate replies, exasperated. "You were in the clear, Hill! And if you think that was flirting, you have a serious misconception about relationships."

Hill shrugs. "I don't know, Kate..."

She groans. "My love life is dead, so can you people just leave it alone? Let it rest in peace."

Hill just shakes her head, and they go back to monitoring for a minute or so until she warns, "Eight minutes, Cap."

"Working on it," he replies. A minute or so later, he follows up with, "Alpha locked."

"Sam, where are you now?" Kate asks.

"Had to take a detour!" he replies. Kate can't see him anymore, so it's hard to tell what's going on with him. But it doesn't take long for him to confirm, "I'm in. Bravo locked."

Hill starts to smile. "Two down, one to go." The smile doesn't last too long, though. "Charlie Carrier's forty-five degrees off the port bow," Hill warns. Kate glances up at the security camera of the outside hall, spots two HYDRA agents opening the door. She nudges Hill, who sighs, grabbing her gun as she rolls her chair back.

"Six minutes," Kate continues as Hill fires two shots. She rolls her chair back up.

"Hey, Sam, I'm gonna need a ride," Steve says on comms.

"Roger!" Sam replies. "Let me know when you're ready."

"I just did!"

A minute later, Sam's back on comms. "Cap! Cap, come in! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm here!" he replies. "I'm still on the Helicarrier. Where are you?"

"I'm grounded, the suit's down. Sorry, Cap."

"Don't worry, I got it."

"What happened?" Kate asks, brows furrowed in concern.

"Your buddy Barnes."

"You need back up, Steve?" Hill asks.

"Not yet. I can do it," he replies.

Kate sighs, then flipping through security cams, checking up on the rest of the building, including Nat. She spots something she definitely doesn't like — Rumlow, with a gun, heading up the stairs. "Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Rumlow's headed for the Council."

"I'm on it."

~_~_~_~_~

It was easy, getting up here. A matter of taking out all their planes but one, flying it up, waiting on the deck. They showed up — one guy with wings, the other in his blue suit, with his shield. He knocked him away, threw the guy with wings off. The other one held on, and he knew where he was headed.

He beat him here.

He didn't wait long, standing in front of that port he's supposed to protect from this guy — his mission. They're both standing there. He's waiting for the other guy to make the first move.

He doesn't move, though. He speaks. "People are gonna die, Buck." Buck? "I can't let that happen... Please don't make me do this."

He's going to fight. Well, then, he's prepared. It's his mission.

The other guy throws the shield, so he blocks it, a clang of metal on metal. He moves efficiently, training kicking in, grabbing his gun and firing. He grazes the other guy's side, moves to attack further, but he's hit back by the shield, pain going through his face first, then back. His gun falls off the platform, so he grabs a knife instead, swinging, kicking, dodging. He gets knocked back, giving the other guy the opportunity to mess with the port. This won't be an easy mission, but he'll complete it. He has to.

The other guy takes the knife, forces the shield toward him, and he pushes back, gritting his teeth. He gets knocked back, and the other guy turns back to the port again, taking out a chip to put into it. But he's ready, throwing a punch. It's muscle memory as his mind tries to think, strategize. He got way too close.

So, he tackles him over the railing.

They hit a lower, sloped platform, and the other guy slides to the bottom, his shield falling away, the chip stopping next to him. He follows, getting to his feet. In a moment, he's on the ground, and the other guy kicks him off the platform.

He finds the shield, grabbing it and running off, finding the other guy at the same level now, heading for the chip. He throws the shield, hitting him. His gun is down here, so he takes the time to grab it instead, discarding the shield he isn't used to. The other guy grabs it, blocking his fire. He walks forward, and the other guy throws the shield, so he blocks it, knocks it away, and grabs his knife again. He lands a hit in the other guy's bicep, but not without a price.

He head butts him, but he spots the chip again, so he pushes the other guy and grabs it. But the other guy grabs him by the neck, lifting him off his feet. Air escapes him, just before the other guy swings down and slams him into the ground.

The other guy locks his arm around his, pushing his face with his other hand. But he hangs on to that chip, on to his mission. He can't fail.

"Drop it!" the other guy shouts. He swings up, can't reach. "Drop it!" He presses his hand into his neck, causes him to cry out, but he manages to twist and lands on top of the other guy, on his back. It only serves to get himself into a chokehold. Panic sets in as he writhes, air leaving again as he grabs at the other guy's hands, pries one off. The other guy locks his arm under his leg, preventing movement.

Maybe this is where he fails. Maybe it's over. But then what happens?

Darkness creeps in, first red, then black. He kicks, but it does no good. The world begins to fade. What happens to it when he's gone? Is this what dying feels like? His chest burns, his lungs screaming for air, but it's not as painful as he thought it would be. It's all fading. Into nothing.

He gives into it.

~_~_~_~_~

Kate watches the time tick down, hearing nothing from Steve or Sam or Nat or Fury or... well, anyone.

"You sure you don't need back up, Steve?" He doesn't reply. She wants to leave, to go help, but she has no way of getting up to that carrier, definitely not in time. If only she could fly.

"One minute," Hill warns, receiving no response. "Thirty seconds, Cap!"

"Stand by," Steve replies.

Stand by? For how long?

"Steve," Kate says. The time ticks down, no response coming, nothing changing. Targets locking. Heavily, it hits one.

And then zero.

"Charlie locked," Steve confirms.

Kate sighs in relief, watching the targets go away. They've done it. Now to destroy those carriers. Hill redirects their targets to each other. "Okay, Cap, get out of there."

Steve sounds out of breath. Injured. "Fire now."

Kate shakes her head. "But, Steve-"

"Do it! Do it now!"

Kate looks at the screen in front of her, wanting to wait just one more second, give him more time. How could she kill her hero? Better yet, how can she kill her friend? This was never a choice she signed up to make, never a choice she could make.

Instead, she makes a different one.

She gets to her feet, her chair flinging back as she sprints out of the room, over the HYDRA agents. Hill shouts after her. "What are you going to do?!"

"Find Steve!"

"Hill, Kate, do it now!" Steve shouts as Kate makes it to the elevators, to her left, she sees it happening out the window.

The carriers turn on each other, hitting with everything they have.

She keeps running, finding the stairs. If she can make it to the roof, just maybe, she can do something.

When she hits the roof, shoulder aching and breathing hard, her heart drops. Two carriers are going down, hitting the water, the hanger they were hidden in. Those aren't the one Steve's on, she's sure. At least mostly. It's the only hope she has right now, besides.

Charlie, one engine still going, decides to crash into the building, clear on the other side of where Kate is. She runs for it.

"Please tell me you got that chopper in the air!" Sam screams.

"Sam, where are you?" Nat replies.

"41st floor, north-west corner!"

"We're on it, stay where you are."

"Not an option!"

In front of Kate, the whole side of the building begins to crumble as Charlie continues its descent, rumbling and breaking down. The helicopter flies down, then tilts as a spec — Sam — jumps into it. It rights itself, then flies higher. Kate keeps running towards Charlie, still high above the water as it catches on the destroyed Triskelion, if only for a few minutes.

"Hill, Kate, where's Steve?" Nat asks. "You got a location on Rogers?"

Kate takes a shaky breath, heart pounding as she runs towards the destruction. "On the Hellicarrier."

"You're kidding," Nat mutters. A second later, her voice raises. "And where are you, exactly?!"

"Heading for Steve."

"Absolutely not." The helicopter flies lower, dipping towards the roof until the wind whips Kate's hair clear out of its ponytail. They have to speak over comms to hear each other. "Get in."

"But Steve-"

"Kate, there's nothing you can do. Hurry up and get in."

"Do it, Kate," Hill says.

Sam's hand extends down, and she looks to the Helicarrier. That thing she helped create, meeting the only fate it deserves.

The equipment is surely broken. No one will ever use that lab, not even her. Not for good, not for evil. The sprinklers will never go off, the fire extinguisher will never be needed. It will never be flown, not again. It will crumble, and it will break, and it will fall into the water and stay there until crews come to pull it out. And still pieces will be left at the bottom. Maybe small and minuscule, but they will sit down there for ages.

And Steve will not be among them.

"Kate, come on!" Sam shouts. "He can survive crashing the plane himself, he can survive this! He'll be okay! Come on!"

Kate tears her eyes away from the carrier and faces Sam. His eyes are practically pleading. Fury's shouting, Nat's shouting. If she goes to find Steve, she might make things worse. She might find him already dead.

She might die.

With a pang of guilt, she takes Sam's hand.