"… I hope you and I will never again meet face to face bitter enemies on the Battlefield but if such should be the case You have but to discharge your duty for your cause for I can assure you I will strive to discharge my duty to my country and my cause." – Lt. James Campbell, to his brother Alexander

It wasn't a new team as much as it was a gifted education program, for lack of a better term. Yet when Director Tony Stark pushed for the project and Dr. Pym approved, it was only a matter of time before A-Next got the green light.

Top recruits of their batch, each handpicked by the Mighty Avengers themselves. A brand new, government-sponsored team of young heroes.

Of Young Avengers.

Unfortunately, in order to take up that torch, they had to force it from the hands of the ones still latched onto it for dear life. But they were trained, and they were confident. They knew it could be done – and they knew they were the ones to do it.

Lady Fate herself was on their side, that night when they found Hulkling.

He was alone and in civilian disguise, headed toward the subway before they spotted him. When he could not lose them in the crowd, he gave up pretenses and actually took off flying over the buildings. Maybe he had a lot on his mind and just wasn't thinking straight, but it was still a very stupid move.

After all, that was all Mainframe needed to catch up with him, before the armor-clad youth dropped his teammate Wild Thing over the shapeshifter's head. The girl attacked him mercilessly with her metal-tipped claws, shredding the membrane of his wings as he screamed in pain.

And then they fell, landing in the street with a shower of asphalt and concrete. Healing factor or no, both the attacker and the attacked were stunned by the fall, and Wild Thing rolled off and onto the pavement in a daze.

Hulkling was the one to recover faster, and he struggled to his feet before running blindly down the street.

Weakened. Vulnerable. Ready for capture.

All it took was to just reach forward… to just get her hand over him.

It honestly wasn't that hard.

It really wasn't.

"… Mainframe, see to Wild Thing. Everyone else, we're going after him."

"On it!"

It was the Juggernaut wannabe who reached Hulkling first. They both had super-strength and enhanced endurance, but J2 wasn't winded.

Hulking, on the other hand, wasn't the one fresh out of "hero" school.

She had half-expected the maneuver – had seen him use it countless times before – and easily shrank out of the way when her bulky teammate flew overhead and collided with someone else a step behind. The resulting chaos was all their target needed to gain that extra distance.

But she knew him. She knew what he would do and where he would go.

Just like that, in the end, when he finally staggered to a halt and caught his breath in the sewers under the city, she was the one to find him.

He looked up, at first with a glare of anger, and then he paused. Any determination he had to fight until the bitter end was lost, replaced so very quickly by his shock.

"… Cassie?"

He knew it was her. Even with the new helmet and the new costume, he knew her. No matter how she hoped, deep down she had not expected otherwise.

[Stinger!] Mainframe called to her from the communicator on her belt – she forgot, she still had it on. [A-Next leader, come in! What is your status? … Stinger! I repeat, come in!]

She never looked away from him. In those blue eyes she could see the look of dread. They both knew what was coming.

"I'm taking you in, Hulkling." That was what she was meant to say.

And yet she said nothing.

"Cassie … Cass, don't do this," Hulkling – Teddy was pleading with her.

You don't have to do this. Please don't do this.

[Stinger, do you copy? Please respond!]

She could see his wings mending, the long and painful tears closing and sealing as though they had never been. Hulkling had stopped breathing heavily and was preparing for a sudden burst of speed.

Five seconds.

Five seconds were what Hulkling needed to escape.

Five seconds were what Teddy needed to get away from here.

In two seconds, she could have said four words:

"You are under arrest."

"Get out of here."

Three seconds passed.

Her communicator had fallen silent.

Four seconds.

Neither moved.

Neither spoke.

The five second mark.

All she saw was Hulkling's wings arch ever so slightly, and then murky water was crashing in waves about her as he shot down the tunnel and disappeared around the corner.

She choked on the breath she let out, and immediately she reached for the helmet on her head and tugged it off.

Silver, shining as new things tended to do, molded in the shape of an ant's head. Just like her father's had been.

There it was – the moment of truth.

She had let her friend go.

She had failed.

I'm so sorry, Dad.

The helmet was hugged to her chest, leaving her face exposed to the dark, dank surroundings about her. For just a little while, she didn't want to care.

Further down the tunnel, a distance behind her, the armored "youth" known simply as "Mainframe" watched her slumped form impassively. His eyes glowed red…

… and somewhere aboard a S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Director Stark took in all that had transpired through the live feed he was receiving.

"… Mainframe, regroup with A-Next and return to Camp Hammond immediately."

The focus shifted in motion blur, indicating the other's effective response to his commands. Cutting the feed, Director Stark leaned back in his chair.

"… To Dr. Henry Pym," he spoke aloud to a wireless receiver, "reassess recruit Cassandra Lang for her eligibility to graduate Camp Hammond, as well as her leadership position in team A-Next…"

He was a businessman, and he knew a failed investment when he saw one.