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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒

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𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟔
𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐍, 𝐆𝐄𝐑𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐘

A cool breeze hit Annalise's face as she walked down the somewhat busy Berlin street. She had traveled many miles to get to Germany, not all legal ways. But she was more than happy to be far away from Russia. The Jones girl would do anything and everything in her power to ensure that she'd never set foot in that country again. But that meant constantly watching her back wherever she went. If there was one thing she learned from her year spent with HYDRA, it's that you can never tell who worked for them. They all looked like normal people just living their normal lives out in the world. And that terrified Annalise. Because she would never be able to know if they found her until it was too late. Lucky for her, she hadn't had a run-in with them since the accident in Moscow. She just hoped it stayed that way for the rest of her life.

Even though Annalise was happy about her freedom from HYDRA, it had been hard living on her own. There was no safe place to live, which forced her to spend most of her nights in abandoned buildings and open garages. She would've gone to a homeless shelter or similar places, but she didn't want to risk getting caught by HYDRA. However, what was even more difficult was finding food. It had been a while since her last decent meal, about a week or so. Annalise had to steal a fast food bag from a man to get it, which resulted in her accidentally freezing his feet to the ground. The Jones girl had been a lot more careful since then. However, that only got her a few snacks here and there, nothing that truly filled her stomach for very long. Annalise was trying her best to live on her own the right way, but it was getting harder for her to survive. Even though it didn't feel right, she knew she would have to start resorting to stealing again. She just hoped it would turn out better than the first time.

A shaky breath passed over the Jones girl's lips as her eyes scanned the world around her, hoping to find someone with food. It didn't feel good to steal from those around her, but she was prepared to do whatever it took to survive. Annalise walked further down the road until coming to a street that was eerily empty for the time of day. But she didn't focus so much on that part. What she did focus on was a man walking down the street with his eyes focused on his phone. But the best part was what was in his hand. He was carrying a large grocery bag that seemed to carry all different kinds of food. Just staring at the bag made Annalise's mouth water. That much food would last her at least a week, maybe more. The sight of the food made all the guilt the Jones girl was feeling. Now all she felt was determination and excitement. Annalise knew she was going to eat well soon.

Adrenaline rushed through her veins as the Jones girl approached the man with the bag. She followed him for a few blocks, not taking notice of another pair of eyes on her. It wasn't long before Annalise knew she was close enough to him to take action. She pretended to casually walk past him until she was right beside him. Not even a second after that passed when the Jones girl grabbed the bag and pulled it with all her strength. She was surprised that she was able to get it out of his grip with ease, but she was even more surprised when he tightly grabbed her wrist. Panic mixed with the adrenaline flowing through her as she looked up to meet the man's gaze. As soon as their eyes met, Annalise's blood ran ice cold. She had seen him many times on the news every time the world was threatened. Anyone and everyone would know who this man was. But the Jones girl never would have guessed she'd be standing in front of Captain America. Out of all the people she was worried about finding her, she never expected it to be him. And that made everything so much worse.

Panic soon overtook the adrenaline within Annalise as she tried to get out of Steve's grasp, but hopelessly failed. There was only one thing she could think of to get out of her predicament, she just hoped she wouldn't regret it later. A coolness covered every inch of her body before it focused on her free hand. Not even a second after that passed when she wrapped that hand around the Rogers man's wrist. Her actions caused him to gasp before he released his grip around her. Annalise didn't waste a second as she sprinted down the alley beside them, knowing there was a fire escape nearby that would help her get away from the Man Out of Time. She made sure her hands were tightly wrapped around the ladder before she began to climb. She did her best to ignore Steve calling out to her as she got higher and higher.

What felt like an eternity to the Jones girl passed before she finally reached the roof. She only took a second to catch her breath before heading toward the other side of the building, where it would be easy to jump to the other rooftop. However, Annalise never expected a man with wings to land in front of her and block her path. She just stared at him with wide eyes until turning back around, hoping to find another way out of her current situation. But that hope soon vanished when she found Captain America standing behind her with his shield in hand. Where he got it, Annalise didn't know. But it made her even more nervous than before.

"Relax, kid. We don't wanna hurt you," Steve said in a calm tone while holding his free hand out in front of him, "Sam and I are only here to help."

"Well, I don't want your help," Annalise responded before sending a beam of ice in his direction, only for him to easily block it with his shield.

"Don't you dare try that with me, Frosty," Sam told the young girl, drawing her attention toward him, "and you might not want our help, but you definitely need it."

"What are you talking about?" the Jones girl asked while still holding her hands out in front of her. Despite trying to hide the fear and confusion in her voice, she utterly failed. It was obvious to both heroes that she was terrified.

Steve looked over Annalise's head to make eye contact with Sam, who was already staring back at him with uncertainty in his eyes. It wasn't long after that when the Rogers man's attention returned to the young girl in front of him. "S.H.I.E.L.D. found your old HYDRA file. They deemed you a dangerous threat and have agents looking for you. They heard about what you did to that man's feet. They know you're here."

"I just wanted his food," Annalise muttered under her breath without thinking, earning sympathetic looks from the heroes. To their surprise, their expressions earned them an annoyed look in response as the air around them grew colder. The Jones girl just studied them for a moment longer before opening her mouth to speak. "They're right. I am dangerous. So just let me go."

"You're not dangerous. You're a kid. And a terrified one at that," the Wilson man retaliated as he continued to study the scared girl in front of him, "let us help you prove to them that you're not a threat. We can get you the help and the training you need."

Annalise hesitated for a moment as she took in all of the information they were giving her. She was surprised they wanted to help her out of her current predicament. They seemed genuine, which was something she hadn't come across much in her life. And on top of it all, she knew they took down HYDRA a few years ago. A part of her was very skeptical, especially after learning at a very young age that there were very few people she could trust in this world. But a slightly larger part of her wanted to trust them for a reason she couldn't explain. Every part of her was tired of running and she knew this was her only way out of that.

A long sigh soon passed over Annalise's lips as she made the ice in her hands disappear. She waited until the air around them returned to normal before speaking. "If I go with you, can we stop somewhere for food?"

Smiles instantly appeared on the heroes' faces. Sam couldn't help but laugh at her words while Steve opened his mouth to respond. "Yes, we can stop for food."

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𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝟐𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟖
𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐃.𝐂., 𝐔𝐒𝐀

Annalise sat on her couch in her small government-issued apartment with a bowl of chips in her hands. She was flipping through the different channels on her TV, trying to distract herself from what was happening in the world. She was well aware of the aliens attacking and wanted to help, but Sam and Steve were adamant about her not getting involved. It was just like how they were a few years ago when they went into hiding. But the longer the Jones girl sat on her couch, the more eager she was to find her allies and help them defeat the evil aliens. But just as Annalise was about to contact Sam using the special phone he gave her, there was a knock at her front door.

Confusion instantly flowed through the Jones girl's veins as she stared at her door. There were very few people who knew where she resided. And the only people who ever visited her were currently dealing with their alien problems. Annalise just sat there until there was another knock at her door. That caused a sigh to pass over her lips as she got up and approached the door. But she didn't expect to see a certain speedster standing on the other side.

"Pietro? What're you doing here?" the Jones girl questioned, only to receive a small smirk in response. She let out another sigh as she stepped aside to let him come in. As soon as she closed the door, Annalise turned her attention back to the Maximoff boy. "Seriously, what're you doing here? Shouldn't you be off with the rest of them dealing with the alien invasion? Or at least in hiding? The government is still after you."

"As much as I would love to be hiding or fighting aliens, I thought I'd come see how you were doing. And with everything going on, I doubt anyone is looking for me," Pietro responded before plopping down on the couch and placing his feet on the table, "also, Sam asked me to come check on you. He wanted to make sure you weren't planning something reckless."

Annalise couldn't help but scoff as she sat down next to the speedster. "If Sam wanted to keep me from doing something reckless, he should've sent someone else."

Pietro rolled his eyes at the Jones girl before the two of them found a movie to watch together. But they never expected the nice and peaceful moment to end so abruptly.

They were only about halfway through the movie when a strange feeling washed over Annalise, causing a wave of confusion to wash over her. But that confusion soon turned into terror when she saw her fingers on her left hand turning to dust and disappearing before her very eyes. The dust continued to travel up her arm until it reached her elbow, making everything in its path disappear. The Jones girl looked over at Pietro, ready to call out his name. But to her dismay, the same thing was happening to him. The two of them kept their eyes locked on each other as they continued to vanish. A forced smile soon appeared on the Maximoff boy's face as he pulled Annalise in for the best hug he could give with only one arm. The two of them stayed like that until they disappeared completely.

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𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑
𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐓𝐎𝐍 𝐃.𝐂., 𝐔𝐒𝐀

Annalise and Pietro reappeared in the exact same spot they vanished. It was as if no time had passed at all. The only thing they could remember was their bodies turning to dust before everything went black. The two of them just stared at each other for a long moment, unsure of what to make about what just happened. That was until their attention landed on the TV, which was still on. But instead of playing the movie they were watching, it was showing the news. And the date at the bottom threw both of them off entirely. If it was showing the correct day, then five years had passed without either of them living a single day of it. While the Jones girl's mind continued to try to make sense of what was happening, only one thing was clear.

She needed to call Sam.

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