─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

7. 𝘴𝘱𝘺

Happy dropped me off at home, helping me with the bags I bought for the house.

"Bye Happy, thank you." I waved and entered the home. The kids were at school, we had some agents stay over there, watching and Steve was at work. We hated the idea of leaving but we couldn't stay here forever and Hill, yes, as in Maria Hill, told me that they'll have eyes on us 24/7. I heard movement in the kitchen and I slowly walked up.

"Steve?" I peaked my head in and saw someone sitting on the dinner table. The blonde woman stood up and i reached to get a gun from under a chair and pointed at her but she did the same. I didn't know what came over me and I jumped at her. I kicked her hand, making her drop her gun, then she spun and kicked me, making me land on the floor. I snarled and charged at her, we blocked our hits and when she tossed me to the kitchen, I had it. I pulled a knife of her and cut her. She groans in pain and she grabs my leg and pulls me down. I managed to get the table runner and wrapped it around her neck. I pulled and pulled as her face got red. My eyes turned red and was about to finish it, but her face was familiar. Too familiar. "Liz?"she taps out and I let go, kicking her away from me, panting as I haven't fought like that in years.

"Hello cousin." She coughs. Liz, aunt Kylie, aka Angelika kid. My moms sisters kid. She gets up, reaches out for me to get up. As I took her hand, she looks around. "Nice place." Liz had a thick accent, Russian maybe? She didn't have that when we were kids.

"What are you doing here?"

"How about a hi, how are you, how have you been after-"

"Its been more than 25 years." I cut her off. It really has. She left, no warning, nothing. Now she shows up like nothing?

"Cute family." Liz picks up a photo frame from the table. "Who would've thought, Captain Rogers and the billionaire playboys daughter." She pointed at the kids in the photo. "What's their names?"

"Natalie and Anthony." I followed her every move.

"Ah, yes. Natalie, after Romanoff? Anthony for uncle Tony yeah?"

"Liz-"

"Cute being called after your saviors. " she places the frame down and looks at me. "Sorry about uncle Tony, you should've called." She walks past me, going through the fridge.

"Yeah, let me call you after you left for boarding school." She laughs.

"Is that what she said I went?" She laughs to herself. "That woman is something else." Liz grabs a bowl of grapes and starts eating them, picking them one by one.

"Where have you been all these years?" I crossed my arms.

"Training, see, your aunt sent me away to the red room, training day and night. I wasn't at boarding school." Was I shocked? No. I never thought she would be there, she must've trained by Nat or other members of Nats family.

"Angelika said-"

"You know her real name, about time." She chuckles to herself again. "Im guessing you know that our mothers are Red Skulls granddaughters then." I hated that I'm related to someone so cruel, so awful.

"Im sorry about you being in the red room." I coughed up. I was 10, I didn't know.

"No youre not." Liz drops a grape in the bowl and walks around the island table. "You're too busy saving the world to be sorry."

"What do want?" She didn't say anything, just wondering around the kitchen. "You come here, breaking into my home and-"

"Marco Ward, I know you know him." She stands across from me. My jaw clenched.

"I wish I didn't." I flipped my hair back. Sick to my stomach. Liz pulls out a folder and slides it to me. "Whats this?" I wondered, flipping through the pages.

"After I saw on the news, Crystal Stark almost burned into smithereens,  i took a look at the car."

"You did what?" I set the folder down and looked at her.

"Oh come on, whoever did this has a grudge and well, they'll leave something behind, such as the part of the bomb they used." She flips to the page of the picture of the bomb. "HYDRA made." She taps.

"Liz, i cant." I slide the folder to her again.

"He almost killed your daughter." I faced away from her, shutting my eyes. "If I were you, i would put a end to the man who threatened my family. Just saying."

"Wheres this son of a bitch?"

"Ive heard that he's throwing a party down in Hells Kitchen. I can set you up with an alias and you can go from there."

"Why are you doing this? Why help me?"

"He dragged me down to hell, wiping my memories, making me kill the woman I love." She looks away. "Marco Ward needs to be stopped, you can only stop him."

✩───────✩───────✩

I waited for everyone to go to bed to sneak out. I got into my car and drove to a small warehouse where we kept all my dads fancy cars. I rolled in, getting out of the car, taking my dress and heels to change.

The lights turned on, there was more than 10 cars inside and a dark red corvette caught my attention. I quickly changed, tossing my regular clothes into another car and got in. I grabbed my bag and put on a blonde wig, forgot how good i looked as a blonde. I put on the directions to the warehouse party and made my way.

It was a secret party, only the bad ones knew about. Luckily, Liz pulled some strings and got Crystal into the list. Everyone was waiting to get in as they turned to see the dark red car pull up. The blonde woman steps out, sunglasses at night, red lipstick and a nice dark blue skin tight gown. She strutted her way to the bouncer and she puts down her sunglasses.

"Johnna Masters." Crystal said. The man glanced at her and checked the list. The name made Crystal have goosebumps, Johnna aka Red Skulls name (female version) of course.

"Right this way Ms. Masters, Mr. Ward will be meeting with you shortly." She steps in and saw the dark, neon flashing lights, people dancing. It did bring her back to her partying phase as a teen. When her and Elena would go out. Crystal makes her way to bar, not only to get out of the crowd but to have a drink since this was nerve racking. She hasn't been in a mission for so long, she knew that she'll get rusty. Twist a ankle or pop a hip in that manner.

Crystal waved her hand to tell the bartender that she wanted a drink. He slide her glass over and Crystal scanned the room. Above the party, there was a glass room. She can see men over there with guns and she saw him. Marco. He was looking over the people, leaning back as one of men whispered to his ear. Its time.

I took a chug of my drink and waited. One of his men came down and the bartender pointed at me and made his way.

"You must be Johnna Masters, Richard Pierce." We shook hands. "Im glad you came here, Marco Ward has been wanting to distribute his merchandise for a long time."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." I scrunched my nose.

"Please have more to drink, Mr. Ward will be done in a few." I watched him leave, remembering the code to get in, what doors to go to get in. I slowly walked out of the bar, shoving my way to the door. I typed the code and bam, im in. There was HYDRA agents blocking the room Marco was.

"Hey!" One of the agents stopped me. "How did you get in here?"

"This isn't the woman's bathroom?"

"How did you figure out the code?" He looks behind him. "Call it in." One of the agents reached for the walkie and I threw a fireball at him. The agents raised their guns and i fought. Guns were blazing, but it wasn't from them. I turned around and saw Bucky.

"The Winter Soldier!"

"Shit." I cursed and hid behind the corner. "What are you doing here!" I yelled at him as he came to me.

"Saving your ass!" He started to shoot back.

"I don't need your help, i got it under control."

"Oh yeah, this looks under controlled to me."

"How did you find me?" I sighed.

"After Steve told me that Ward was your ex and I heard that he was here, I figured it out." Of course.

"Let me do this." I ripped my dress on the side so I can have more room to move. I ran up to a agent and started to fight him. He hit me with his gun and took a couple steps back, wiping the blood off my nose. I shrugged my shoulders and charged at him.

Crystal flipped, grabbed the man with legs and bringing him down. She flips her hair back and and ran to the door but more men came. She and Bucky teamed up and started to fight them one by one. One agent had Crystal in a headlock, but she threw her head back and burned his arms. He landed on the ground, groaning in pain, she walks up to him and then kicked him in the face.

Marco watched as he saw Crystal getting closer, he ran up the stairs, going to his jet. Crystal looked up, he was already ahead. She had to try.

"He's getting away!"

"Crystal wait!" It was too late, she was already running up the stairs. Crystal opens the door as sees Marco already gone. She threw her wig off and swore. Bucky comes up a few seconds later.

"Dont." She knew he was going to tell her how risky that was. Crystal and Bucky walked downstairs again and saw everyone gone due to the gunshots. "I had him." Crystal gets in her car and Bucky gets in. She turns away from him.

"Really? What were you doing to do when you had him? Send him to the raft or kill him?" Silence was heard between the two.

✩───────✩───────✩

I arrived at home, all bloody and bruised. I tried to come in quietly but Steve was in the living room, waiting. He stands up, facing me. He wasn't happy.

"I dont have time for this." I tossed the heels to the side and went to kitchen. Steve follows me.

"Well I do." I grabbed a bag of frozen peas from the freezer and placed them over my shoulder. He throws the file across the table of the information that Liz gave me about Marco. "Youre not good at hiding things. That was onto of your desk. You're obsessed Crystal. You were doing so well, leaving all that behind, and now I found out that you working again."

"Im not working again." I grind my teeth. "Im concerned-"

"For yourself or for us?"

"Dont do that." I pointed my finger at him.

"Marco has been in your head and you know that. He has you wrapped around his finger." He was now pointing his finger at me. We never fought like this. Honestly it was terrible.

"You don't know Marco like I do." I shook my head.

"Why can't you just leave it?" He puts his hands on the table.

"How can I leave it?" I put down the bag, squinting my eyes. "He's out there, he's probably waiting for his moment. He's always like that."

"You know what, fine." Steve fakes a smile. "Im sleeping on the couch." He was stepping out of the kitchen until I said something.

"So im supposed to leave it then?" He stops. I turned my head to his his back to me. "Put our kids at risk? Is that what you want Steve?"

"If you just put him away-" he whispers. Rage filled my body. If I just put him away.

"So this my fault?" I pointed to myself. I walked to him. "I was a kid! I was stupid! I thought I was in love! You don't get to say that! Marco isn't your problem, hes mine."

"Hes ours!" He raised his voice at me.

"I have to stop him, Marco is my enemy!" I yelled back.

"And you're my wife!" It took a while what just happened. What I did was bad, but how can i leave it alone if I always get sucked in? "Damn it." He drops his head.

"Take the damn bed, I don't need to sleep." I shoved his shoulder and went to my office and cried. Never in our relationship we yelled like that. What im doing is bad? Is it even worth it anymore?