𝐂𝐑𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 down on the bed with a satisfied sigh. "You were right, this is so much better than the warehouse I had in mind."

"Thought you'd like it." Steve chuckled under his breath. "How was the shower?"

"I think I saw Heaven for a minute," she replied as she stretched and then sat up in thought. "You know... I could draw you a bath in the sink or something if you wanted to clean yourself up too."

Steve shook his head with another chuckle as he imagined every scenario that could possibly do wrong with that suggestion. "I think I'd rather just wait for that antidote."

"Right." She nodded her head and rubbed her hands together. "I'll get started on some of those calculations now."

Steve shook his head again. "Just rest. We can get to work tomorrow."

She raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue as she slowly nodded her head. "Alright..."

She leaned over the bedside table and eagerly snatched up the remote within the first drawer. With the click of a button, the television screen across the room flashed on. She flicked through the channels one by one. A frown formed on her face as most channels were covering the news from the past twenty-four hours. There only seemed to be one channel disinterested with the story of America's Golden Boy turned traitor.

The Disney Channel theme song quickly played before returning to the programmed film. It didn't take long to figure out that the scheduled film series was a throwback as the late 1980's—early 1990's—font and title credits played across the screen.

An unamused look crossed Steve's face as the film's title popped up. Although she'd never seen the movie, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, it was evident that the captain was in no mood to be reminded of his miniature stature. Out of respect, she elected to turn the television off. She didn't notice the look of surprise Steve cast in her direction from the out-of-character decision. Prior to their little shopping spree, she probably would've told him to suck it up while throwing around a few belittling jokes; however, her opinion of the captain had changed. She no longer viewed him through the same eyes as the media or the collection of S.H.I.E.L.D. files; instead, she saw someone who reminded her of herself: an experiment trapped in a cage, too blinded to see the prison that kept him restrained.

A few minutes of silence passed, but each beat was unbearable. Unable to take anymore, Steve interrupted the quiet. "Could I ask you a question?"

"Just one?" she joked. "Shoot."

"Why do you hide your wings?"

She didn't answer.

"Crystal?"

"Sorry," she apologized, took a breath, and shrugged, "They draw unwanted attention."

"Even now?" he asked, referring to the fact that they were still invisible despite having been alone in the room about an hour.

"Habit, I guess." She pushed a few buttons on the piece of tech around her wrist and the pair of wings reappeared on her back.

Now interested in the process since they weren't currently running for their lives, Steve gestured to the tech. "How exactly does that work?"

"I mean they're still there either way, they just can't be seen," she explained, "I modify their molecular structure to reflect the surrounding area as if they weren't there. The larger the figure, the more complex the sequence... My turn."

"To ask a question?"

She nodded her head, but didn't wait to actually receive permission to ask her question. "It's not phrased this way in any history books, but why did you voluntarily become a lab rat?"

"I've never really viewed it that way." Steve shrugged. "I mean sure there were a few tests and needle pokes here and there, but I was too focused on winning the war for any of that to matter. I didn't spend much time in a lab."

"The battlefield was your lab," she contradicted. "They remembered the ways you succeeded and were determined to correct the failures."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"How many other super-soldier experiments have there been over the years?"

Steve froze as he was forced to remember the recent events that had brought S.H.I.E.L.D. to its knees. He and Sam had spent weeks, that turned into months, searching for the Winter Soldier to no avail. He still struggled to believe that Bucky had survived the fall and was out there in the world somewhere. His thoughts then drifted to the other project that attempted to mimic his own abilities: The Red Skull's deteriorated physical complexion, Bruce Banner's gamma radiation experiment, and even the side effects that his sisters experienced from the serum that Howard Stark had tried to recreate and failed.

"Steve?"

He blinked out of his dazed stupor. "Yeah."

A look of concern was reflected on her face. "You alright?"

"Yeah, just got caught up in my thoughts," he explained. "What did you say?"

"I'd said that's probably why Hydra wants to get their hands on you," Crystal repeated. "And then you sort of dazed off."

"Right." He nodded his head. "That's probably accurate... so you've been with S.H.I.E.L.D. since you were ten?"

She nodded her head. "Bounced around in the foster system before that."

"And before that?"

"What do you mean?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Look, I don't always agree with S.H.I.E.L.D.'s methods, but I do know they're not inhumane," Steve replied. "You were being experimented on in some other lab before they recruited you, weren't you?"

She looked away. "You don't know S.H.I.E.L.D. as well as you think you do... but you're right about the other labs."

"Labs, plural?"

"The Labyrinth never stayed in one place for very long." Her voice was a whisper and Steve almost missed what she said.

"What—"

Steve's question was interrupted by a knock at the door. Crystal stood and slowly walked over to the door. "Did you order room service?"

Steve slowly shook his head. "No, did you?"

"Why would I ask you if I did?" Crystal retorted and took a look through the peephole. She swore under her breath and quickly rushed back to the center of the room. "We've got to go! They've found us."

"Who?" Steve craned his neck as if trying to get a look even though he was way too far from the door to even come close. "HYDRA?"

Crystal prepared to reply; however, the door unlocked with a click and creaked open. Her face paled and her eyes frantically flashed around the room as if trying to find some escape.

"Listen, Kid." Steve's head turned toward the door as Tony stepped into the room. "Before you fly the coop. We just want to talk."

———

"You're sure you don't need me to come in with you?" Sam asked through the comm system. It could be assumed that he was either frowning or crossing his arms in a manner of disapproval... maybe both.

Tony rolled his eyes, but opened the comm channel to reply. "Yes. You're here in case she runs. Stay put."

"This is a terrible plan," Natasha noted under her breath as she approached Tony, a card to one of the hotel rooms in hand. "You can't possibly think this is going to end well."

"This will be fine," Tony contradicted as he took the keycard. "And I expect twenty bucks when I'm proven right."

"You're a billionaire." Clint rolled his eyes. "What would you do with twenty dollars that you can't do with the rest of your money?"

"It's really just to appease my ego." Tony shrugged and stepped inside the elevator. "I take it you don't want in?"

"Oh, I want in." Clint scoffed. "An easy chance to take your money? Score."

The doors closed behind the group and within a matter of moments, they'd found the room number they were looking for.

Clint jokingly asked, "What now? We knock and she opens up?"

Tony smirked, took a dramatic step forward, then knocked. "Housekeeping."

Natasha pinched the bridge of her nose and muttered something in Russian under her breath.

Clint didn't hear enough to understand, but he nodded his head in agreement all the same. "So much for keeping a low profile."

Shuffling could be heard inside. Natasha rolled her eyes and took back the key card, inserting it into the slot attached to the door. The lock clicked as if welcoming them into the room. Tony pushed the door open and stepped in first.

"Listen, Kid, before you fly the coop. We just want to talk."

"I'm really not in the mood to talk." The girl's eyes flashed back and forth.

Tony extended his arms as if trying to help her understand that she was trapped. "There's no escape here, Kid—"

"Crystal," the girl snapped before quickly calming herself. "My name is Crystal."

"Hey," Natasha spoke up and the girl's attention was immediately drawn to her. "We're not going to hurt you. We just need you to cooperate with us."

The girl slowly nodded her head, but her posture remained stiff.

"So, where is the Capsicle anyway?" Tony asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

"He's safe." Her tone was tense and brittle, obviously lying.

"Is he now?" Tony asked, but retained little patience.  "Could we get anything more specific than that?"

The girl started to ignore everything that came from his mouth; instead, she tried to defend herself, slowly extending her arms to keep space between herself and her unwanted guests. "I'm not trying to be difficult."

Tony scoffed. "I sort of get the feeling that you are."

"I really do want to help," the girl insisted as she began to back away slowly. "But I've got to fix my mistake..."

"I'm sure if you told us, we could help," Tony made an attempt to coax the girl into giving something up.

She fervently shook her head. "You wouldn't understand."

"Then maybe Fury—"

"I'm not going back!" She turned to run but collided with Barton instead.

He took hold of her arms to help her up. "It's going to be alright. We just want to help."

"You can't help him!" She started to thrash as she panicked. Barton was knocked backward onto the ground as one of her wings collided with him. Natasha stepped in front of the girl to prevent her from sprinting through the front door, but she was also thrown aside. The girl crouched as she checked her shoulder, but finally realized that she was surrounded as Natasha and Clint stood from their fallen positions. Although it seemed like no one else in the room could hear it, Tony frowned as a high-pitched ringing rattled around his head.

Tony winced in irritation. "J.A.R.V.I.S., what is that sound?"

"I could refine it for you, sir, if you would like," the AI replied.

"Anything to make it stop," Tony pleaded.

"Slowing down and lowering the pitch by seventy-five percent."

The voice slowly became clearer and far too familiar for Tony's liking. The pit of his stomach sank, and he quickly began to look around for the source.

"You're scaring her, Tony!" It was impossible to not recognize the voice as belonging to Steve Rogers, the human capsicle.

"Find me the source, J.A.R.V.I.S.," Tony instructed and turned his focus back to the girl who had backed up to the coffee table in the center of the room. "Look, Kid." She frowned. "Crystal, was it?" Her frown grew larger. "This ends one way and I think you know that." She didn't answer.

"The source of the sound can be found on the coffee table," the AI voice broke the silence.

Now that he was looking for it, the flash of red, white and blue waving its arms caught his attention. Tony's jaw just about dropped, and he blinked several times trying to clear the illusion from his mind; however, it only seemed to grow more frustrated.

"They can help, Crystal." Steve's miniature voice sounded strained and tired.

That's when Tony noticed the girl's mouth move ever-so-slightly as if muttering something under her breath. Tony held up his hands to call off Natasha and Clint; however, the girl misinterpreted his motions. She only saw the glowing repulsed on the interior of his gauntlet. She moved too quickly for any one of the three to do anything. The next thing Tony knew, he was staring at an empty coffee table as the window behind him shattered, and a ball of white feathers dove outside.

Natasha and Clint moved closer to Tony as he had rushed over to the windowsill. "Great plan, Tony."

"The plan isn't over yet, Barton," Tony replied and then reached up to his commlink. "Show time, Big Guy."

"Are you sure about this, Tony?" Bruce's voice replied, shaking at the prospect of being brought into the fight.  "I don't want anyone to get hurt."

"I don't have time to debate this right now," Tony shook his head, even though it wouldn't be seen. "She's getting away and only hurting herself in the process."

Bruce sighed and that was the last thing heard over the comms before a tremendous roar shook the city.

———

Sam frowned. He really wished they had discussed the plan beforehand. He'd watched as the girl had thrown herself from the window. He couldn't help by wince, only imagining all the glass cuts that she had earned. He had prepared to speak over the comms; however, he was instructed to follow at a distance before he could ask otherwise.

"Do not engage." Tony had explicitly instructed.

Although the girl was quick, it wasn't enough for her to outrun the growing frustration of the Hulk. The big, green guy continued to tail her despite the various maneuvers through the city she attempted. The girl ran out of options and seemed to come to the realization that height was her only advantage. She made a low swoop before rocketing toward the skies.

However, the chase had provided enough time for Tony to rejoin the fight. Sam frowned and muttered a few choice words under his breath as he thought about also joining the fight. However, he followed his instructions, keeping himself distanced. It was almost a good thing he had too. As Tony was within an arm's reach, he was dragged out of the sky as if an invisible hand had grabbed him. The iron suit strained against the invisible force pulling him back. While Tony was out of the picture, the Hulk took over and soared through the air with a massive jump; however, he was thrown aside by a giant metal beam that had been summoned from a nearby construction site.

A figure clad in black rose into the skies with their arms outstretched. The metal sheet beneath their feet seemed to be the only thing keeping them from splatting down against the pavement below. Sam tapped the side of his goggles and the tech immediately responded to his request, zooming in on the scene.

The girl's eyes had widened either in shock or fear, it was impossible to tell which. The Hulk prepared to lunge again, but he was easily buried and contained within multiplying layers of metal. While the figure was  focused on the Hulk, Tony managed to break free from their hold and fired a few repulsor blasts toward them. The figure turned and closed its hand, forcing Tony's suit to collapse around its creator. Before any interior damage could be done, the figure opened its hand and Tony's suit tore itself apart leaving him exposed. He fell. Without thinking, Sam dove through the air to reach before time ran out.

Meanwhile, the figure turned back toward the girl. She was yanked backward through the air by her wrist, scrambling to remove the tech that served as a magnet. However, it only tightened its grasp. She was knocked unconscious the second she was within the figure's reach.

Sam just barely managed to catch hold of Tony's hand before he collided with the ground. Without waiting for thanks, Sam dropped Tony off and took to the air once more. This time in pursuit. The figure had a good lead thanks to the fact that they had easily overpowered two avengers, but it only took a moment for Sam to find the unique energy signature and follow the trail.

The familiar skyline of New York came into view along with the figure that had begun their descent from the sky. The sheet of metal clanged against the brick walls of the alleyway that it had landed in. The figure approached the end of the alley, and lifted the bottom of their mask before using their teeth to remove the glove on their right hand. They placed it up against a sensor that blended in with the rest of the wall and a doorway opened. As the figure turned their head, checking their surroundings, Sam ducked back behind the corner. After waiting a beat, Sam peeked around the brick wall, but the figure was gone.

"Can I help you?"

Sam jumped as he turned to face the voice that had surprised him. The boy raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms.

Sam quickly shook his head. "No, just looking for something I lost."

"Yeah?" The boy looked unconvinced.

Sam nodded his head, scrambling for a viable excuse. "Yeah, I... misplaced my wallet around here earlier."

"Funny." The boy shook his head and uncrossed his arms. "This is the first time that I've seen you around here."

Sam didn't answer. Better to keep silent until he could figure out a way to discreetly continue his pursuit. He didn't need to drag civilians into this mess. At least that's what he thought until he noticed that the boy only wore just one black glove over his left hand. The boy's eyes hardened and before Sam could react, the boy threw out his hands and Sam was yanked into the alley. With a flick of the boy's wrist, he was thrown against the back wall and his wings were torn from his suit. Sam tried to pull himself down but as he thrashed the boy tore a metal pipe from the wall and knocked it over his head. His eyes immediately rolled up inside his head and he fell unconscious.