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𝑷 𝑶 𝑽
❝ 𝚒'𝚟𝚎 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚙𝚛𝚘𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚎𝚍 ❞

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PREVIOUSLY ━━

ㅤ𝑭𝑰𝑵𝑳𝑬𝒀 𝑮𝑳𝑨𝑵𝑪𝑬𝑫 𝑨𝑻 𝑾𝑯𝑬𝑹𝑬 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑲𝑰𝑫𝑺 𝑾𝑬𝑹𝑬 𝑺𝑨𝑻 and sighed in relief when she saw that they were safely under the table, along with JJ. Will gave her a frightened look as he worried over his wife and son. She turned away and focused her gaze on who she can assume as the ring leader, standing behind Derek's chair, which was directly across from her.

The man gave her a sadistic grin. "Ilya sends his regards."

She couldn't help herself from rolling her eyes. "Give him mine too," she tilted her head. "That is, if you live long enough to see him again."

He scoffed, gesturing to his henchmen, each carrying an assault rifle. They were all dressed in all-black tactical suits. "You're surrounded, my dear. You shouldn't be so smug."

"Oh yeah?" Finley taunted, ignoring Hotch's intense glare that was practically drilling a hole to the side of her face. She casually leaned back against her chair. "Then why don't I introduce you to Severus first, I think you'll like him."

"Who?"

Finley gestured to the floor and the man looked down and frowned in confusion, leaning closer to see what she was talking about, just in time for the saw-scaled viper to strike, biting into his face and fangs buried in his cheek. She smirked sadistically at the sight of him screaming and flailing before standing to her feet and looking at the henchmen who all moved their pointer fingers down to their rifle's trigger.

She grinned, tilting her head as her eyes flickered to amber, resembling that of a snake's. "Are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to fight?"

PRESENT ━━

She never took her eyes off the henchmen—afraid of the reactions the team might have at how her eyes are now a different color—even when she addressed them and said, "You guys better put your guns down. If you want to help me fight, do it hand to hand."

Before anyone could react, she hopped onto the table and propelled herself over to the first henchman and wrapped her legs around his shoulders. She twisted her body and used her arms to grab onto the guy next to him, simultaneously taking them both down when she used her weight to flip them over. Not pausing her a second, she stood up and push-kicked another guy with her full strength, watching as he flew from where he stood and landed on a wall with an audible crack.

She can only guess if the crack was from the wall or from his spine.

She huffed out a breath as she leaned over the ring leader, allowing Severus to slither up her arm. She smiled a little before striking his face, rendering him unconscious. She turned around, eyes flickering back to brown, and saw Derek, Hotch, Emily, and Will all taking on a guy with their bare hands. She didn't stop to ponder where Spencer, Rossi, and Penelope could be, especially when another guy wrapped an arm around her neck and attempted to strangle her. Unfortunately for him, Severus was ready, biting into the guy's eye. He immediately let go.

Snickering, she ran up to another henchman who had his gun raised, and grabbed onto the weapon, pushing it upwards and hitting his nose with it, causing him to groan in pain. While he was distracted, she twisted around to deliver a solid spin-hook kick. Just as he fell, another guy came up to her, but before he could even blink, she looped her arm through his and flipped him over.

Another guy came up to her and grabbed her hair. Since her hair was long, it was somewhat a weakness when it came to fighting, and the guy knew it. He pulled her up and began dragging her away, ignoring her yelp.

"Don't touch my hair!" She screamed at him, turning her body and digging her nails into his slightly exposed wrist, which prompted him to let go. But she continued on clawing him with her right hand while her left elbow was busy delivering hit after hit to his jaw. He collapsed.

She pushed her hair away, glaring at him, before turning around just in time to spot Hotch getting overwhelmed as another guy came up to him from behind. With a hiss, she ran towards the guy, jumping over a chair so she can wrap her legs around his shoulders easier. She twisted her body around, kicking another guy's face in the process, before she flipped them over. She grabbed the guy's rifle and used it to hit another guy in the face.

At this point, she had already taken down ten men on her own, two of which was aided by Severus.

"You have some explaining to do," Hotch told her, nearly growling as his anger grew at both today's sudden revelations, and the men attacking them.

She only rolled her eyes at him. "You're welcome."

She turned around and headed over to where Severus was and allowed him to slither up her arm again. With a grin, her eyes shifted to amber as she fought with Severus acting as an extension of herself, striking every time she extended her arm towards a henchman.

Soon enough, unconscious men littered the floor. As she heaved, she could see a henchman still standing. And just as he was about to point his rifle towards the table, where the children were hiding, she grabbed the pair of kitchen shears used to cut the meat into smaller pieces, and threw it at him, watching as it embedded into his neck.

She ignored how he choked on his blood and rushed towards the kitchen. "Onni?! Onni, odi isso?!" (Onni?! Onni, where are you?!)

A groan was heard from behind one of the stations, and she rushed towards the source. She faltered when she saw Jisoo lying in a pool of her own blood.

"No, no, no, no," she muttered, looking over the woman's body, but somehow can't find a wound. Her eyes flickered back to brown. "Where's all this blood coming from?!"

"Agent..." Jisoo sputtered. "I'll be okay. Just call Rogers and get a clean-up. I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?" She shakily asked.

"Yes, I-I'm sure. Go."

Nodding, she rushed back out into the main area of the restaurant, where everyone's eyes were trained on her. Most of them looked cautious, while a few were furious, but she was glad when she noticed that the kids were still hiding underneath the table.

"What the hell is going on, Finley?" Hotch snapped, glaring at her. She glared back, snarling as her eyes flickered back to amber, just as Severus slithered up her neck and acted as somewhat of a necklace.

"Just shut up, Agent Hotchner, and let me do my job." As much as she didn't want it to, her anger and frustration had gotten the best of her. She didn't mean to snap, so she closed her eyes and reeled her anger back, relaxing as her eyes flickered back to brown. She opened her eyes again and saw how he had taken a step back. "Sorry, just...just let me do my job."

She rushed towards her purse and pulled out her Stark-issued phone. From what the team could tell, it merely looked like a piece of glass. That was until she placed it on the table and spoke.

"FRIDAY, scan."

A burst of light came from the object and encased the whole room before a singular, laser-like blue light replaced it, similar to a barcode reader as it scanned the whole room. A few seconds later, an unfamiliar voice spoke from the device.

"Scan complete," the female voice said, its Irish accent prominent. "There's a tracker in Dr Spencer Reid's satchel."

Spencer's head snapped up, looking at the team in confusion. He began to protest as the girl walked over to his chair where his bag sat, and began rummaging through it, but she only ignored him as she pulled out something that resembled a microchip.

She scoffed, tossing the object to the ground and stomping on it. The team watched as it shattered, before they all turned their attentions back to someone they thought they knew.

Derek clenched his jaw. "Finley, what is going on?"

She continued to ignore their questions and walked back to the table where the phone was situated. "FRIDAY, commence Operation Echis."

"Commencing Operation Echis," the AI echoed, and suddenly four holographic images lit up the room. The team gaped when they realized who they were; Steve Rogers, Erin Strauss, the Director of the FBI, and another woman they didn't recognize.

It was only when the images started talking when they realized it was a conference video call...except it was holographic.

"Cap," she spoke first, staring up at Steve who gave her a small smile in greeting before his expression turned serious. She turned to look at Strauss and the Director. "I've been compromised. They put a tracker on Dr Reid and attacked us here in Agent Park's restaurant. I need medical assistance for her," she turned to Steve again, "and a clean-up crew," she eyed the still-unconscious men, "for them."

Strauss nodded and exchanged a look with the Director before turning her gaze to Hotch. "Agent Hotchner, for this case, you will answer to Agent Chase, and Agent Chase only."

"Who's Agent Chase?" Hotch frowned in confusion. This whole thing was confusing him; from whoever Ilya is and the henchmen who attacked his team, to the emergence of Finley's powers and her connection to the Avengers. "I don't know an Agent Chase."

"I am Agent Chase," the person who he thought was Finley spoke up, but she didn't meet his eyes. She continued looking up at Steve. "I have to take them to the safehouse. I can't brief them here. Not out in the open like this."

Steve nodded. "Clean-up crew and extraction team's on the way. I suggest you have your way with the ring leader first, he may know where Kuznetsov is. I'll send Alina over for medical assistance."

"Alina?" She frowned. "I thought she was in Wakanda?"

"She came back when she found out where you've been," he sighed. "You know how she is."

"Right, of course."

"You should interrogate the ring leader now, tesoro," the other woman, the one the team didn't recognize, spoke up. "And stay safe. I'll call Viktor, let him know you'll have company."

"Grazie, mamma."

"We're counting on you, Agent Chase," the Director spoke up, turning the attention over to him.

"Of course, sir." The call ended, and she turned to face the man who spoke to her directly right before all hell broke loose. She ignored the others as they began bombarding her with questions, instead focusing on pulling the man up. She dragged him to a chair and sat him on it. She scanned his face and scoffed, before biting into his neck. She wiped her lips as she pulled away.

The man began twitching in his seat as her venom rapidly spread through his body. The team seized their questioning, watching silently as this all happened, not knowing what to do at this point; they were in way over their heads. The man eventually stopped twitching and opened his eyes. They were bloodshot.

"Who are you?" Agent Chase spoke up, glaring down at him, her eyes amber.

The man sputtered as he felt the effects of her venom. Drool dripped down his chin as he tried to fight back, but he couldn't, and he soon opened his mouth. "Nigel Hayes," he heaved, twitching a little.

"How do you know Ilya Kuznetsov? And why are you doing his bidding?"

"I," he twitched again, blood trickling down his left nostril. "I met him during a poker game. I..." he coughed, "I owed him money. He gave me the option to do this to repay him. I didn't have the money, so I chose to do this instead."

She clenched her jaw, nodding slowly. "Do you know where he is?"

"...N-No, he only...he only gave me the instructions through the mail. H-He threatened to kill me."

"Alright," she sighed, before she waved her hand in front of his face, and slowly, her venom seeped out from his mouth. He collapsed again, dropping to the floor.

Spencer was about to open his mouth when the doors slammed open, and in came what the team could only assume was the clean-up crew. Among them was a short woman who rushed towards the person they know as Finley. She was around five-foot-one, judging by how she only reached her friend's ear despite how her boots had three-inch heels.

"Gwen," the short woman sighed in relief, wrapping her arms around her best friend.

"Alina," Gwen smiled, hugging her back. "It's good to see you. How was Wakanda?"

"Enlightening," Alina replied, releasing her. "Being with Shuri made me feel kinda stupid but it was worth it in the end; I learned a lot. I was actually supposed to be meeting Dr Cho, before I found out you were in DC all along."

"It's called an undercover mission for a reason, Lina," Gwen rolled her eyes fondly.

"As if I didn't know you went undercover while undercover," she scoffed. "I saw you on TV!"

"Right, well, we can talk about that later," Gwen shook her head. "Agent Park's in the kitchen, come on."

As she dragged her friend towards the back, the team was just standing in shock at the turn of events. JJ had pulled the kids out from underneath the table as soon as the clean-up crew left; they were surprisingly fast at doing their jobs, in and out in less than ten minutes while Finley...Gwen conversed with her friend.

"Gwen, huh?" Rossi broke the silence as he placed his hands in his pockets while looking at Hotch, expression unreadable. "Gwen Chase...I can't believe it."

"Neither can I," Hotch replied, his tone clipped. He gripped Jack's shoulder a little tighter as the boy stood in front of him, acting as somewhat of a tether that reminded him that he was still on earth. "Why do you think she was sent undercover by Captain America," he emphasized, "to the BAU?"

"They keep mentioning an Ilya Kuznetsov," Emily spoke up, crossing her arms. She was a little frustrated at the turn of events, but she knew better than anyone that undercover missions were a serious thing, and a mission of this caliber wouldn't be set up without a good reason. "The name's not at all familiar, so I don't understand."

JJ glanced at Spencer who looked ashen, staring down at his feet. She wanted to speak up, reassure him somehow despite her own inner turmoil, but a single look from Will made close her mouth. He leaned over.

"He's in shock, Jayje," Will shook his head, holding Henry tightly in his arms. "He might lash out. We can't have that right now. We need to think of the kids."

Derek was also silent, arms crossed and brows furrowed. He thought he knew Finley, considered her a younger sister, but now he finds out that he never really knew her at all. This makes him feel angry, disappointed, and most of all, hurt.

Penelope only looked down at her fingers as she fiddled with them. Her eyes were watery as all the adrenaline wore off. She's never been in a situation like this before, nor was she prepared for anything like this, and she was glad that Spencer and Rossi took the initiative to take her somewhere safer while the others fought. Her hands shook as her lower lip trembled; she was terrified, and scared for her life.

The team all stiffened when another set of footsteps entered the room, and they all gaped as a very, very tall man turned to them, followed by two regular sized humans. They can only assume that this was the extraction team.

"Where is Gwen?" The man asked, his heavy Bulgarian accent surprising them a little.

They exchanged looks before Rossi spoke up. "In the kitchen, with...with Alina."

"Thank you."

As the man walked past them, they gaped even more when they realized he was at least seven feet tall. The team all exchanged looks again.

"What the hell," Hotch muttered.

The team were all ushered into non-descript vehicles as soon as Gwen finished what it was that she was doing with Alina. JJ, Henry, Will, Hotch, and Jack were in one vehicle with Gwen, Alina, and the giant man—who served as their driver—while Spencer, Penelope, Emily, Derek, and Rossi were in the other with two of the agents acting as the extraction team.

Both vehicles were dead silent.

Soon enough, they reached the safehouse, or as Gwen liked to call it, her apartment.

She chuckled bitterly as Viktor unlocked the gate of the underground parking with a fingerprint, pin, and iris recognition. "Remember when I told you guys that the only time you'll ever get inside my apartment is if you guys were in mortal danger? Well, this is it." She shook her head as she sighed.

Alina glanced at her friend in pity before turning away.

As soon as both vehicles were parked, Gwen led the team straight to the elevators, while the two agents assigned to watch over them headed over to the stairs and jogged up towards the entrance of the building.

She made eye contact with her giant friend before saying, "FRIDAY, to the penthouse, please."

"Of course," the AI replied.

The awkwardness was palpable, even when they all stepped out of the elevator and straight into the penthouse, where Gwen had been residing for several months. She led them all into the kitchen-slash-dining room area, which fit all of them comfortably.

She glanced towards the kids before looking at their parents. "It would be best if they're not here for the briefing."

JJ shared a look with Will and Hotch before she nodded. "Is there a place we can stay in for the time being?"

Gwen turned to look at Alina. "Would you mind?"

"Not at all," Alina shook her head before giving a kind smile towards JJ and the kids. She led them out while she introduced herself to them. Once they were out of earshot, Gwen turned to look at the remaining members of the team.

"You guys need to sit down for this. I'll explain everything," she shakily told them as her giant friend stood right beside her like a personal bodyguard. She was glad that he decided to stay by her side, as he was the only one that wasn't hostile towards her right now.

The team all followed her instructions and sat at the chairs. Hotch, Emily, Penelope, and Will on one side, and Rossi, Derek, and Spencer on the other. Gwen continued to stand at the head of the table.

"First thing's first," she closed her eyes nervously as she gulped, feeling Severus reassure her by nuzzling her cheek. "I'm Agent Guinevere Chase, but you can call me Gwen. I work with the Avengers, and I was sent here to protect you."

Spencer scoffed, meeting her gaze for the first time. "Guinevere? How fitting. A single woman that destroyed the fellowship of the Knights of the Round Table and eventually the entire kingdom of Camelot. Famous for her betrayal, her treachery--"

"If you don't shut up, little boy, I will pulverize--" The giant cut him off, but was cut off when Gwen placed a comforting hand on his muscled arm.

"Viktor," Gwen shook her head at him before nodding at Spencer with a slight clench of her jaw. "I understand how betrayed you must feel, but right now, personal feelings aren't top priority, not when all of you are being targeted."

"Targeted? What do you mean?" Rossi asked. Though he was angry at first, it all simmered down to one of understanding; he was an old man, he had no time for child's play. Only thing left is curiosity and slight animosity over the situation.

Gwen nodded at him, grateful that he wasn't bursting at the seams like some people, and placed her hands on the table that immediately lit up at her touch. She smiled a little at the child-like wonder on Penelope's face when she realized that the table wasn't just for food, but also served as a holographic projector. Gwen then flicked her hand up, and image popped up.

"Elijah Graves," Emily realized when she examined the photo, eyes widening a little as she slowly put the pieces together. "I remember him. He, uh, he was our last case before you joined the team. Killed seventeen people."

Though he was still angry, Spencer spoke up. "He would carve into his victims the words 'cut off one head, two more shall take his place'. We never understood what he meant by that, but regardless we were able to lock him up. What's he got to do with all this?"

Gwen sighed. "He's got everything to do with this. Your profile was actually pretty accurate. Caucasian male, mid to late 40s, intelligent, a hunter, an LDSK. He was all of that. But what you didn't profile was that he was actually a HYDRA thug. 'Cut off one head, two more shall take his place'?" She clenched her jaw at the mantra and exchanged looks with Viktor. "It's a HYDRA thing. And his victims weren't just random people...they were all agents of SHIELD."

"HYDRA? The Nazi organization?" Rossi asked. "I thought they were a myth for the longest time, until...you know, Captain America exposed them."

Viktor nodded to him. "After the fall of SHIELD, and subsequently HYDRA, many of the ones associated with them returned to the shadows. Sadly, the man you know as Elijah Graves was not one of them."

"His real name is Ilya Kuznetsov," she stated. "He's from Kamchatka, far eastern Russia. He grew up bear hunting, and made a name for himself. Eventually HYDRA heard wind of his capabilities and sought to have him join their ranks. He joined...willingly." She scoffed. "He's a psychopath. He went from killing bears to killing humans, but even so, he treats them equally. He hunts, it's what he does best."

Viktor crossed his arms. "It didn't take him too long to escape the prison you sent him to. HYDRA runs deep in the American government; you don't just flush them out, not as easily as you think, anyway. So of course, he had help."

"As soon as he got out, the Director himself received a personal message from Kuznetsov, stating his desire to hunt down the members of the BAU team that put him behind bars. He...detailed...how he was gonna torture and kill each and every one of you. And at the footnote were two words."

"Hail HYDRA," Viktor supplied, watching as the team exchanged looks of horror. "Most, if not all, members of the government with high positions were explicitly given information on HYDRA when SHIELD fell and Natasha Romanoff released all the files. The government was very quick in confiscating those files from civilians, but a few had gotten out. And Kuznetsov was unfortunately one of the people that ended up with a list of agents."

"He started with the lower ranking ones and he just...went up the list," Gwen clenched her jaw. "And when you guys apprehended him, he switched his focus over to you. Now, he's hellbent on taking all of you down. That's why the Director requested help from SHIELD. Of course, it's not really...SHIELD...anymore, so he was redirected to Steve, and I was sent undercover. Only the Director and Strauss knew of my mission, outside of the Avengers, of course.

"While I worked cases with you guys, I was also working on making sure you stay out of trouble. It was actually quiet at first, and Kuznetsov was in the wind. But a few weeks ago," she swiped her hand in the air, and other images popped up, "we came across these victims."

Emily's breath hitched. "They...they look like us. That's..."

"Exactly," Gwen gave her an apologetic smile. "He made his first move."

"Why weren't we informed of this?" Hotch asked, fury in both his tone and expression. "Not only is my team in danger, so is my kid. Who decided not to tell us? To tell any of us?!"

"I did," she snarked, scoffing at him. "You don't know HYDRA, you don't know how they work, how they function. You think that if you knew what was coming, you'd be more prepared? Well guess what, the more you know, the bigger the chance of you and your son getting killed. This isn't your typical 'unsub,' Hotchner. Ilya Kuznetsov was a monster before he joined HYDRA, and when he did, he became a god. You don't know what you're up against. If you think otherwise, go ahead and leave this building, let's see how long you'll last."

Hotch fell silent at her words, jaw clenching at the fact that she was right. She did know more than he did, and he hated it. He knew his pride was getting in the way of his rationality, so instead of opening his mouth to retort, he just clasped his hands together and placed them on the table. He knew that the only way to ensure his and Jack's safety was to listen.

Derek sighed and uncrossed his arms, leaning his elbows against the table and looked up at her. "So, Gwen, what's the plan?"

author's note:  uhhhhhhhh,,,, cliffhanger part 2 hehehehe

what do you guys think?

anyways, i don't think any of you actually got the reference last chapter. the last line was "Are we going to stand here all day, or are we going to fight?" and it's actually from kingsman!! if you guys know that movie, it's from harry hart/agent galahad, during that awesome bar scene. i just thought it would be fitting because, yknow, finley's real name is actually guinevere and all the agents from kingsman are named after knights of the round table.

i hope y'all are liking the revelations!! there's actually a LOT more in store.

another thing: gwen's apartment was based off of this apartment: (the floor plan, at least. but not all the furniture)

https://youtu.be/JOZQMrb6G1o

ALSO, i finally introduced my upcoming oc!! alina, played by adria arjona, will be paired with hotch!! i hope you guys are interested, because gwen WILL be making appearances. i haven't yet decided on a title, but similar to this book, i will be using a song to describe their love story. probably also ariana grande :)

love y'all so much and thanks for all your support!! please lmk if there are any spelling/grammatical mistakes!! ♡