Tony's POV

"Nice of you to join us, Cap." I tease as Steve walks into the conference room.

"Where have you been?" Nat asks, crossing her arms over her chest. "I thought we were supposed to figure out this whole Shadow/Night Crawler issue."

Steve goes to speak but I beat him to it. "Oh! He had a breakfast date."

He glares at me and quickly changes the topic. "So what facts do we have on this girl?" He looks through the papers on the table.

"Well we know that she is a woman." Wanda begins, I roll my eyes.

"We also know that she's from Hydra but seems to be working in SHIELD." Bruce speaks up.

"But she hasn't done anything to harm or interfere with us or SHIELD." Bucky points.

"But she can." Nat says. "What if she uses this to blackmail us?"

"That's a good point." Steve speaks up. "We know she's smart, we know she's skilled since she was able to take out four armed agents, and we know she works at night."

I let out a long sigh. "Hey Friday, pull up any SHIELD agents with a Hydra background."

As the computer works, we wait anxiously. "Sir, it seems there are no results for your requested search other than the four from last night's events."

I look around at the others.

"So it had to have been one of them." Sam says.

"No, it couldn't have been one of them. Why would they turn themselves in?" Bruce says.

An argument breaks out between all of us and I hold my head in my hands. Just as I'm about to lose it, an alarm goes off.

"Sir, it seems that the Shadow has left you another tip." Friday speaks, pulling up the message as she shuts off the alarm.

Thanks for the help yesterday, I'm sure you're even more confused with my identity now. I want to let you all know that I mean no harm, just a civilian doing her duty to serve her country. I look forward to working together in the near future. 🌑

"A civilian?" I laugh. I look around the room to find everyone looking at me. "I say we play nice for now, but when we find her I get the first piece for her ruining my ego."

Bucky rolls his eyes and stands to leave the room but I stop him. "Where do you think you're going tin can?" He just glares at me. "You've been awfully quiet. Have any idea if this could be any of your old Hydra buddies?"

"Tony." Steve's voice scolds me.

As I turn my attention to Mr. Spandex, Bucky takes his opportunity and leaves the room.

"What?" I ask as if I'd done nothing wrong.

Alexandra's POV

"Oh hun, this doesn't look good." Hayley shakes her head. "I'm afraid there's not much I can do. Your super soldier serum should slow the process but if you don't get professional help I'm afraid that-"

"I'll be fine." I say, groaning as I sit up.

"Ally.." Hayley stops me as I pull my sweater back on.

"Alright. If it gets worse I'll go see a doctor." I roll my eyes.

"Take care of yourself, I saw the news this morning." She calls after me. "Seems like they've found you."

I wave her off and close her door before putting my beanie and sunglasses on. I walk the dark streets back to my apartment, staying aware of my surroundings. A sudden feeling of anxiety fills me and I whip around, pinning the person that's been following me.

"James?" I ask, looking around for the others. I quickly stand up and pull him into the closest alley. "How did you find me?" I growl.

"It's like you forgot that I used to hunt people for a living." He dusts off his jacket. I cross my arms and raise an eyebrow at him. "I came to warn you. Tony's planning to sabotage whoever the Shadow is."

I furrow my eyebrows. "But I-"

"I know you sent that message. He plans to play nice until they figure out who you are." He explains.

I hear shouting from nearby and push James (Bucky) flush against the wall so that we aren't spotted. I catch a glimpse of unfriendly agents running down the street and snap my head towards James.

"We need to go." I say, pulling him by the arm.

We sneakily make our way through the alleys until we reach my apartment. I make sure nobody was following us and lock all of the locks on my door before letting out a deep sigh.

"What the hell happened in here?" James asks. "It's a mess."

"For your information, I know exactly where everything is. This is how I organize my things." I cross my arms.

We hear gunshots outside and look at eachother. I rush to my closet and grab my suit before pulling my shirt off, my adrenaline overriding my pain.

I notice James staring and furrow my eyebrows. "Can I help you?"

"When did that happen?" He asks, gesturing to my purple torso.

I pull my tight shirt over myself and finish putting on my suit to keep him from questioning any other injuries. "Mind your business." I snap, harsher than I meant to.

Steve's POV

"Buck?" I ask, looking around the compound. "Friday, do you know where Bucky is?"

"It seems he left the compound about an hour ago." The A.I. informs me.

Left the compound? Where did he go?

I overhear the news as I walk by the living room and stop in my tracks. I turn to face the screen and see Bucky fighting a group of other agents. If it weren't for the reflection from his metal arm I never would've guessed it was him.

Without informing the others, I jump on my bike and head towards the action. As the gunshots get louder, I rush straight into the fight. I grab Bucky and throw him onto my bike before getting him out of there.

"What were you thinking?" I yell over the loudness of the engine.

"We have to go back!" He yells, trying to turn my bike. "They'll take her!" His voice begins to shake.

"Take who?" I ask, coming to a stop. "You knew who the Shadow was all this time and didn't say anything?!"

"Steve.." He pleads.

"Who is she?" I clench my jaw. I see the worried look in his eyes and wait for an answer.