Sam Wilson couldn't help the pained groan he let out as he leaned his still very bruised back against his wonderfully heated seat of the jet. Time's like these he found himself envying many of his new friends and their ability to bounce right back after a fight.

"You doing alright there?" Sam heard to his left. He sighed as he cracked open an eye to look at at his red haired friend.

"I will be when we get him back." he told Natasha honestly. He knows he shouldn't but he just hasn't been able to stop blaming himself since Steve had been taken. If he'd just act a little sooner, if he'd just been a little quicker, if he just-

He's been trying to get snap head out of that line of thought since to moment he came to on that slightly charred roof top. He knew if he lingered on them too long they might dig up old ones, and he didn't have time for them right now. Because Steve was still alive, and he was going to get him back.

He could also tell by the look in Natasha's eyes he was not alone in this. Which was exactly why she called in some of their friends for a little help.

And said 'little' help came in the form of the entirety of the Avengers and Starks finances to back them up.

"We should be arriving at the source of that power surge in about 20 minutes." he heard Tony call from up front of the jet, the Avengers jet he should specifie. "I recommend everyone suit up if you haven't yet! This one could be a clusterfuck." he warned before leaning back over the pilot's chair to continue whatever conversation he had be having with Coronal Rhodes who was flying the jet and Ms. Pepper Potts who sat aside him.

"Yeah, no kidding." Clint said as he sorted through his arrows, making sure he'll have any and all he might need for the full on frontal assault they were planing. "Before those bastards that took Cap turned out to be Hydra they were some of the best agents S.H.I.E.L.D had. And the

asshole who knocked you out with that rocket launcher? That guy still owes me 80 bucks." he told Sam making him snort.

"I'll be sure to collect that for you." Sam grinned at him. One of the drawbacks Hydra had with attacking Sam and Steve in a public place: in this day and age security cameras are everywhere. Which made figuring out who exactly they were up against a whole lot easier.

"Is there anymore information you might have on these foes before we face them in battle?" Thor, the god damn Mighty God of Thunder himself asked him with interest as he slipped the Stark phone he had been talking to Dr. Foster on moments before into his pocket.

"We know this Hydra division is much bigger than the smaller groups we've been hunting down since the fall of shield." Sam explained. "We're thinking a number of them might be some highly specialized mercenaries Hydras hiring to protect what they have left. Were talking former mafia, ex military, some ninjas apparently, whatever they can afford, and by the looks of it they can afford allot."

"We also think they might be made up of the Hydra side of S.H.I.E.L.D's advanced weapons research lab. We're talking some of the same guys who thought up and created 'Project Insite'." Natasha continued making Sam's eyes glanced at hers for a brief moment.

It was very likely these were also the same mad scientist who worked on The Winter Soldier as well. And if they had as many people working for them as they thought, who knew how many aces they might have up their sleeves. If she did think that as well she didn't let that show, so it was very likely that she did.

"So that's the reason we brought our big green guns." Clint smirked toward the front of the jet where Dr. Banner sat quietly in his seat as he read from the tablet he held. Whatever the stats showed he didn't seem to like as he was worrying his lip as he read further into the events of the last two hours around the area they were on course for.

"Something the matter there big guy?" Tony asked as he collapsed in the seat next to his fellow scientist.

"hmm? Oh, I'm not sure." He admitted as he looke up at tony and then the rest of the team "I mean between Natasha's connections and Jarvis we know this old cold war military base is where they took him but the power readings were just so unusually high before that surge struck and knocked out all the local systems. I'm thinking they might be on there own grid now and if so we might be dealing with some force field tech or something equally as troublesome." he sighed as he took off his glasses to rub his eyes.

"We really are gonna need a code Green for this aren't we?" he asked tiredly.

"Have no fear my friend, between my strength and Starks siren call, your other side will be subdued, I assure you!" Thor smiled kindly at the doctor.

A very loud snort could be heard from the pilot seat as well as a giggle from Ms. Potts to which Tony gave both a betrayed glare "Ok, first of all," he defended "I pretty sure we all agreed it was to be called the Lullabye, and secondly-"

"And secondly," Pepper interrupted him from her spot on the other side of Banner "he won't be doing it alone." She smiled at Dr. Banner and he gratefully smiled back.

"Not that that I couldn't do it on my own, you know." Tony shrugged as he nervously looked away from Pepper. "I mean with all the number of times that we practice it! Plus if it were by some tiny percentage to go wrong I could always just call Veronica an-"

"Tony," Pepper began warningly as she fixed him with that look of hers. "We all agreed on that if you were going out in that suit again you were not going out there alone." She told him as the fiery glow of extremis sparked to life in her eyes.

"Damn right." Rhodes added without even looking up from his flight controls.

Tony turns to Bruce for some kind of support only to find him nodding along with the other two. He sighs, "Alright, I got it…" Tony admitted before turning to look back at Pepper "But just so you know, I do have a third suit on board ready to be activated at any moment if you need it! I know you won't! But just in case you do I-"

Pepper smiled at Tony as she put her hand up to stop him, "Between all the months of training with Nat, Maria and Thor I know I'm ready for this." She assured "And it's not like I'm taking the whole base head on alone, I'll have you and Rhodney and everyone else here looking out for me too, even the other guy." She smiled at Bruce who gave an awkward shrug.

"Ya know she's got a point, pretty sure the big guys got a crush on her." Natasha smirked at Tony, getting another snort from the pilot and a blush from Bruce. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Alright everyone, we are now dropping under the clouds so should have a visual of our destination any minute now." Colonel Rhodes told them all as he flipped a few switches on the controls to prepare the jet for a landing.

Tony nodded and gave Pepper's shoulder a reassuring squeeze before standing again and calling everyone's attention. "OK! So as we are mere minutes away from rescuing our dear Captain from ye yonder castle, I say we go over the plan again! Take it away Widow!" the Stark declared with a dramatic wave of his hand.

Natasha, unfazed by Tony's theatrics nodded as she powered up her gauntlets.

"Sam, Thor, Stark and Rhodes will take to the sky and be our first wave of attack. You'll need to hit that building as hard as you can to test just how strong their field is. Jarvis will run diagnostics and determine its weak point if we can't knock it out manually. Pepper, Clint and I will take the jeep in and hit them on the ground, but if the enemy is too much we could really use the big guy for back up." she explained as she glanced over at who had nodded and was currently putting his glasses into their case.

"From then on, once the shield is down, it'll be a search and rescue mission. Clint and I searching from the bottom up and Sam and Stark from the top down. Thor, Rhodes, Pepper and the Hulk will stand guard outside unless asked otherwise." She finished.

By now nearly the whole team was ready to go. Sam had gotten up and put on his new and improved wings, Clint had loaded all his arrows, Thor was, well, Thor, Pepper was already prepared as always, and Tony and colonel Rhodes merely needed to step into their suits that stood open and at the ready in front of the back.

The Avengers were Assembled and they were ready to kick Hydra's ass for taking their Captain.

…..except….

"Uhh, guys? We now have a visual…" Rhodney called back to them in an uneasy voice. "And I really think you should all see it..."

They all exchanged a confused look before approaching the pitot seat to look out the windshield at what they were expecting to be a Hydra base armed to the teeth.

And what they saw? Oh god, what they saw….

Smoke and fire, destruction and chaos. Bodies of agents and mercenaries littered the front grounds of the base, and not a single one still moving. Angry flames engulfing the charred metal of two desmated tanks as well as a crashed helicopter that had collided with the building itself.

Said building still stood, for the most part, as for if anyone was still alive in there? Well…

The Avengers all shared the same worried look as they all recognized the pattern of the battle field. What happen they could tell that Hydra was trying to keep something out, not keep someone in.

Natasha and Sam shared a quiet glance as the rest still looked on in worry.