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𝑷 𝑶 𝑽
❝ 𝚒 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚗 𝚎𝚡𝚙𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚝𝚘𝚘 ❞

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TW: torture, violence; read at your own risk ━━

ㅤ"𝐒𝐇𝐄...𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐀𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓, didn't she?" Spencer asked rhetorically, his voice shaking as he stared up at the black screen. His hands were trembling, the ends of his fingertips tingling as he imagined what Gwen might be going through right at this moment. "She felt herself get...beheaded," he nearly collapsed at the thought if not for Bucky holding him up. "If...If I find that son of a bitch, I'll kill him."

"I'll make sure you do," Bucky assured him as the metal-armed man grasped his arm with his flesh hand.

Penelope had walked away and over to the corner of the room where a trash can sat and leaned over, heaving a little, before throwing up. She took a few breaths and said, "I can't...I can't watch her anymore...please."

"Penelope..." Derek walked over and placed a comforting hand on her back while looking at everyone. They were all still stoically silent, but most of them have resorted to looking down at their feet. It didn't take a profiler to see that they were all in shock. He looked back down at the tech analyst. "Babygirl, just think of this as a regular case--"

"But this isn't," Penelope weakly protested. "This isn't just any victim, this is Gwen. How can you pretend that this isn't our friend, our sister...I..."

Derek sighed, gently pulling her up and guiding her out of the room. Before he stepped out, he said, "Let me know if she appears again." And walked away with a sobbing Penelope in his arms.

Mila sighed and sat down on one of the chairs surrounding the table, right beside Rossi. "This is only gonna get worse," she said to no one in particular. "Knowing Kuznetsov, knowing HYDRA...we're running out of time here."

"FRIDAY, pull up the recorded footage again," Tony spoke up, determination clear in his voice. "And, uh, turn up the volume." Spencer clenched his jaw at this, crossing his arms, nodding at Bucky in thanks as he steadied himself.

The AI pulled up the footage and..."He's walking on metal," Hotch realized, head tilting as he heard Ilya's footsteps. "And it's echoing too...the entire room's metal."

"That could still be a bunch of places though," Emily tutted.

"Well, what place do you know that's about eight feet, completely made of metal?"

"A shipping container," Rossi realized.

Almost immediately, Natasha and Mila stiffened.

"What is it?" The Italian man asked.

Natasha shifted her stance a little before answering. "Gwen came into America illegally when she was sixteen after escaping Russia. Because of her...status, she had to hitchhike on shipping vessels. Slept in shipping containers...Ilya somehow knew this."

"There's only one way Ilya could've known that, Nat," Mila told her, gaze hardening as Natasha nodded.

"He came into contact with the person who destroyed her life."

"When Gwen was nine, she was kidnapped," Natasha began, ignoring Tony's glare at her. He was adamant that the BAU needn't to know anymore about Gwen's history, but Mila insisted upon it. "From what she's told us, she was at a park with her biological parents, and the next thing she knew, she woke up in a trunk of a car. She passed out."

"The next time she woke up, she remembered hearing voices that spoke a different language," Mila continued. "German. All of them were speaking German. And she wasn't in a trunk anymore...she was tied up, strapped to a chair, being showcased."

Hotch stiffened. "Human trafficking."

"Exactly," Natasha shook her head. "She was eventually sold to HYDRA, taken to Germany, and that's when the experiments started. They passed her around, trying to get her to...work...like some sort of...toy." She took a deep breath. "None of them ever worked, until she met Dr Leonard Wagner. He's a herpetologist and a toxicologist that specializes in snakes, and snake venom."

"There were rumors that he...idolized Josef Mengele," Mila sighed.

"The Angel of Death," Rossi realized, before cursing in Italian under his breath.

"You can imagine what Gwen, and all the other subjects, went through," Viktor spoke up, crossing his arms, Bulgarian accent thick with emotion. "She was the only survivor. If I remember correctly, there were twenty-five. Gwen was the second youngest at ten. I...I was her guard. That's how the two of us met...she was so young. I wanted to help her but..." He took a deep breath. "I was an experiment too. A successful one, so of course I had to work for them. When I didn't want to, they would...they put a shock collar on me."

JJ felt a tear slip from one eye as she imagined what horrors both Gwen and Viktor went through.

"I kept her safe as much as I could, you know?" He cleared his throat. "I was already twenty-three by then. She just...she was like a younger sister. I slipped her extra food and water..."

Mila gave him a sympathetic look before cutting him off. "The point is, the only way Ilya could've known about the shipping containers is through Wagner. Because after all that he did to Gwen, he escaped to America. And the reason that Gwen came here in the first place was to kill him."

"SHIELD apprehended her before she could," Clint spoke up for the first time. "And the rest was supposed to be history."

"This is bad," Tony shook his head. "Wagner's the one that gave Gwen her powers. And he's the only one who knows how to disable it."

Before anyone could speak, the screen lit up again.

"FRIDAY," Tony called.

"Already on it, sir."

"Someone call Derek," Hotch instructed, and Emily went ahead and did as he asked.

On the screen was Gwen, slumped against the chair, unconscious. Her head was lulled to the side, the needles protruding from her fingertips still there. She was clearly sweating profusely, and a very angry red spot was visible even to the watchers.

Ilya then came into view, just in time for Derek and Emily to join everyone again.

"I wonder how it felt like to be beheaded," he said, facing the camera, holding up Severus' severed head. He tutted before throwing it to the side like it was nothing. "That will show her, huh?" He stepped out the frame again, his footsteps echoing, before walking back with a syringe in hand. He waved it to the camera. "This one is apparently filled with something that...turns her off. It's an antivenom, and it's like poison to her." He grinned. "I only put a little. She's not gonna be able to use her powers for a while." He gently laid it on the tray that was still on top of the cart. "Anyway, let's get started."

Steve sighed, glancing down at Medusa who was peering up at him. "With her incapacitated, she can't transfer to Medusa. She'll...she'll feel everything."

That's when they noticed the wires all wrapped around the chair's feet.

Ilya stepped back from the tray, now holding a little switch. He moved out of frame, before he switched it on.

Gwen immediately woke up screaming as volts of electricity suddenly coursed through her body. When he turned it off, she slumped back into the chair and stared up at the camera, making eye contact with everyone on the other side. She was about to speak, when Ilya turned the electricity on again, and she instantly shut her mouth, grunting as she tried to hold her screams back.

Ilya tsked. "Aw, don't be like that," the team could tell he was pouting in the way he spoke, his Russian accent thick. "Let them hear you scream." He laughed maniacally as he let the electricity do it's thing, even stumbling back in excitement. He switched it off when he accidentally hit the camera, which ended up revealing more to the profilers.

"He soundproofed the container," Derek pointed out. "He's somewhere public."

"A shipping yard," Sam realized.

"Yeah? But which one?"

"Okay, so, we have to understand that at this point, Kuznetsov's devolving," Rossi began. "His original plan was rendered useless. Instead of being a hunter and 'hunting', he's resorted to torture because he knows it's the only thing he can do now to satisfy his cravings."

"Ilya knows this is the last stand," Hotch joined in. "This is his endgame. After he figured out that he couldn't get to us, he set his sights on Gwen. She is now primary target. And he wants her to suffer. That includes taking her to a location that negatively affects her the most. Which port brings bad memories to Gwen?"

"The Port of Wilmington in North Carolina," Clint answered. "When Leonard came to the US, he forged a new identity but sort of kept his credentials. With his expertise, he was able to get a job at the North Carolina State University as a PhD advisor. He changed his name and all, but a sixteen-year-old Gwen was still able to track him down."

"And that's where she tracked him to," Emily nodded slowly. "But then you guys caught her, so she associates the place as somewhere she feels like she failed."

"And she's about to fail again, in the same place," Spencer sighed. "Are you sure that's where she is?"

"Has to be," Clint crossed his arms. "It's the only place that seems to match your profile, and I trust your profile."

Hotch regarded him for a moment before nodding. "Alright, how fast can we get to Port of Wilmington?"

"Less than an hour," Tony told him, already moving to suit up. "Let's go."

Spencer glanced back at the screen one more time and saw that Ilya's fixed the camera angle and was once again electrocuting Gwen. He watched as Ilya turned the face the camera again.

"You won't get here in time," Ilya boasted.

"Spencer, let's go!" Bucky called, tearing the genius' gaze away from the screen. "Let's go!"

Spencer swallowed his nerves, and nodded with determination.

Hold on, Gwen, he thought to himself, before running after everyone.

After realizing where Gwen was being kept, the BAU team immediately informed Strauss and the Director, who both agreed to letting the team officially work with the Avengers on this mission.

Clint and Natasha were flying the quinjet. The only people that came were Tony and Sam—who were both outside flying on their own—Steve, Bucky, Viktor, Emily, Hotch, Derek, and Spencer, so they all fit in just one quinjet. There may be only a few of them, but they were enough. With two super soldiers, an archer, a master assassin, a man with incredible strength, an Iron Man, and four FBI agents, they could easily bring down all the bad guys.

Especially if they were all fueled with strong emotions.

Bucky sighed, leaning back against the wall of the quinjet while staring down at Spencer, who was sat down on one of the seats. He himself was standing up; with everything that's happening, all the nerves he was feeling, he couldn't sit down. He was too antsy.

He gently placed his flesh hand on the genius' shoulder. "We're gonna get her."

Spencer clenched his jaw. "I hope so."

Bucky lifted his hand away and shook his head. He didn't know what else to say. Instead, he looked right out of the front of the jet and watched as buildings and places, all of that, passed by. He was trying to keep his mind away from the face that at this moment, there's still a high possibility that Gwen was still being tortured.

He ran a hand through his shoulder-length hair and sighed again. Hold on, Gwen.

Immediately after they landed, everyone geared up. Tony was the first to set into action, having FRIDAY figure out where the signal was coming from amongst all the different shipping containers in the port. There were just too many for it to get pinpointed easily.

They all stealthily weaved through the containers. The ones who carried guns all turned their safeties off and had it pointed forward, dead-set on shooting anyone associated with Kuznetsov and HYDRA. Natasha was already ready to give the kill-shot.

As they moved, they all waited for Tony to speak to them through the comms they were each given to maintain a steady communication. The BAU team was a little surprised at how they didn't need any wire whatsoever, but that's the norm if you work with Tony Stark.

"In here," Tony called out. "Blue shipping container, registration number 181195. North east."

They all easily followed his instructions and found themselves face to face with several assailants.

"Here we go," Natasha smirked before holstering her gun and running towards the first guy.

Clint was on top of another shipping container, shooting down at whoever came close to the area, and Tony was in the air helping him. Viktor was easily throwing men left and right, with his height and super strength, no one could get through to him. Bucky was just as easily taking men down, using his arm as a shield whenever someone tries to shoot at him, while Steve and Sam were helping shield the BAU team and they tried to sneak into the container.

Spencer was the first one in. "Hands in the air, Ilya Kuznetsov." His gun was pointed directly at Ilya's forehead. The Russian man grinned at him, pressing a knife against the neck of a very weak Gwen, who looked like she couldn't even move, but she tried her hardest to smile at him. He felt himself tear up before locking eyes with Ilya. "Let her go, or I swear to God I'll put a bullet through your skull."

"Spencer," Hotch silently scolded, which prompted laughter from Ilya.

"You should listen to your boss," Ilya laughed. "You don't look like much, little boy. You're a twig."

"He can still put a bullet through your skull," Hotch told him. "I just don't want any blood in his hands."

"Aww, how sweet--"

He was cut off when Spencer did exactly as he said and shot the straight through Ilya Kuznetsov forehead. He collapsed, but Spencer paid him no mind as he holstered his gun and rushed towards a relieved Gwen.

"You saved me," Gwen whispered to him as he tried to find a way to cut the metal wires.

Spencer sighed in relief, pausing for a second the cup her face, when her eyes started drooping. "God, Gwen, I...Gwen? Gwen?! Come on, open your eyes for me, baby. Come on. Gwen...Gwen!"

author's note: so that was a lot,,

anywho i'm loving all your reactions lmfao it's so funny

point out any spelling/grammatical mistakes for me!! and thank you all for reading!! we're nearing 50k reads and 3k votes djakjdsjda we've also reached 2k comments aaaaaa thank yall sm <3