It was silent in the undercarriage. Too silent.

Adeline felt her skin prickle, as she crept forwards.

It was Steve's sharp intake of breath that made her jump, made her turn to face him. He was staring, wide-eyed. She followed his gaze.

The large bombs painted with bubble-writing should have been comical in their colourfulness. But Adeline could only see death. Chicago. Boston. New York. Countless names. Countless lives.

Resolve made her hands shake.

They had to do it.

She could hear them before Steve – senses just that little bit more on edge – and turned motioning him to silence. He nodded, eyes darting to the bomb one last time before he pulled himself up and out of sight. Adeline followed his lead, ducking under the balustrade and balancing on a beam below the catwalk. Seconds later, a group of armoured men jogged past them.

Steve struck first, swinging out from his hiding spot to catch a man in the head. He fell heavily, and didn't move. Adeline took advantage of their confusion to run forwards, around and behind them. They fought stupidly, and Steve had two of them out before her feet landed back on his level. She made no sound as she approached one from behind – snapping his neck before he realised her hands were on him. The thump of his body hitting the ground, however, drew the attention of the others.

As Steve wrestled with three others, Adeline engaged the others.

These men knew who she was.

They pulled out Taser sticks, and she snarled – too many memories of the uncomfortable feeling to count – and jumped. Not at them, but at the pillar beside them, catching the smooth surface and twisting her body around it to be behind them again. She didn't give them anymore warning, and attacked them, savagely.

It was the sudden suction and rush of air that gave the helmeted men enough of an edge against her surprise to fall upon her. She lashed out with her hands, and in her motion, she watched in sick fascination – as her claws extended involuntarily – silver slicing neatly through the chest plate of the man in front of her.

There was something bittersweet about using them against the people that had given them to her.

They disgusted her and intrigued her.

And yet – they were the perfect tool for her – considering how much time she spent fighting hand-to-hand. They were a weapon that couldn't be taken off her. She hacked at the men, losing her finesse to gain ground, wanting them to back up so she could take them out systematically. It was her distraction that cost her reaction.

The second explosion of air and wind made her turn – turn in time to see Steve leap atop the bomb, in time to see another man jump on him, making him drop his shield, in time to see the second he dropped from her view, the bomb, the men, and her Steve – falling from the ship.

The strangled scream she let out was more animal than human, and she lurched forwards before she could stop herself – ignorant to the sudden pain in her side. But then there were hands on her, a knife in her back, and a pair of heavy looking cuffs descending on her.

She struggled, fear and horror and shock making her wild. She bucked and twisted like a wild thing – and she was stronger now, and in her distress she could free herself, tossing them aside like toys.

She jumped the railing before she could think – heading for the gap, and searching the sky desperately. She could hear them descending after her, their yelling fading into inconsequence as she looked for him.

Please. Please. Please. Please-

A glimpse of the bomb, flying somehow – but a flash of blue in the cockpit that could only mean.

"Steve." She whispered.

The first of the men reached her position. This time, she met them with confidence, with focus. Because he was alive, and still fighting, and so was she. She punched the first one back with enough strength to knock him down, rushing the next, and throwing him over her shoulder, his muted scream drowned out by the wind swallowing him up.

She jumped, kicking and clawing, and using every bit of training they had given her to hurt them. They were relentless, keeping her at bay as best they could with their guns and blasters. Her eyes fell upon another bit of blue, red and white and strange against the grey metal. She dove for it.

There was a moment, a moment of time standing still as she rose, holding Steve's shield.

There was a breath, a sudden realisation from the men. That now, they were fucked.

She smiled slowly, as one of them took a tentative step back.

With an accuracy that surprised her – she threw the shield, just as she'd seen Steve do before – resounding it off two of them, sending them flying. She caught it mid-swing, using it as the force of her blow to crack a man's helmet. She rolled past the next, cushioning herself with the smooth shield, and used her free hand to claw at the back of his neck.

The last of them, the one who had taken a step back from her, let out a faint whimper. She paused, and gave him a deliberate look – glancing from him to the open hole in the floor. He jumped.

The sudden crash of the returning bomb made her startle – shield coming up automatically.

Steve slid the cockpit open, eyes finding her figure with something like surprise. His mouth hung open, taking in the shield in her grip, and the men around her like fallen leaves. Adeline resisted the insane urge to smile. "It's lighter than I thought." She said casually, as he swung himself to the ground, landing with a light grace that made her proud.

He blinked. "Um. It looks good on you." He said faintly.

Adeline felt her cheeks burn bizarrely. "Sure." She threw it towards him, Steve catching it with characteristic ease. "It doesn't coordinate with my outfit."

The odd spot of relief and humour faded as they approached the cockpit.

Steve edged the door open first, leading the way into the apparently empty room. Adeline was uneasy. Schmidt should have been there.

She kept her knife out, the one that had been embedded into her shoulder not ten minutes earlier, twisting it between her fingers. Steve crept further forwards, head tilted slightly, trying to see around the edge of the large chair. Adeline was distracted, eyeing the glowing blue of the contraption next to her. It looked so similar to the glow of the weapons, and the energy that Howard had looked at back at the labs-

The whine of a weapon from behind her was all the warning she got, and she dropped to the ground as a reflected bolt of energy from Steve's shield went flying overhead – shattering the windshield. The sudden rush of snow and wind was disorientating.

"You don't give up, do you?" Schmidt snarled.

Steve squared his jaw, and met her gaze. "Sure don't."

Together.

They rushed him side by side, Steve deflecting the bolts of energy Schmidt fired at them, Adeline dropping to her knees to skid the final foot – slashing out with the knife as she went, making Schmidt buckle and howl – dropping into Steve's upwards swing.

The man recovered quickly, and dodged Steve's shield, backhanding Adeline solidly, and sending her backwards. He was stronger than she thought, and she desperately reassessed her attack as he tackled Steve to the ground, the shield and Schmidt's blaster falling from their respective grips. As he loomed over Steve, she attacked again – matching him blow for blow, even as he forced her back against the railing – raining down punches until she was gasping for breath, bruising and bleeding. Steve's hands appeared from nowhere, grabbing Schmidt by his shoulders and tossing him like a rag doll.

Adeline panted for a moment longer, as Steve grappled with the man. Using a discarded crate, Steve slammed the man's head around, but Schmidt still got to his feet, and even as Steve got his arm around his throat – still had the strength to throw himself back, crushing Steve between his body and the hard metal contraption. Adeline jumped back into it, picking up Steve's shield to swing.

A mistake.

Schmidt caught the edge of it, and she swallowed nervously, as his sheer strength made her arms tremble. Then, with a jerk – he forced the hard metal back into her face, making her vision swim, nose break and reflexively lose her grip on it. Schmidt punted her back with it, flipping her over the contraption and making her crash painfully against the railing, before using it against Steve.

Steve went crashing against the controls, and before she knew it – gravity took a hold of her as the ship plummeted violently towards the earth. She hit the metal ceiling hard, and choked out a pained whine as something snapped in her side. Schmidt and Steve fought on, but Adeline could see him tiring, bleeding from a wound on his face, screwed up with the effort to keep on going.

Schmidt shoved him back, and turned, crawling for the controls. He flipped a switch, and the plane levelled out, sending Steve and Adeline falling back onto the metal grating. Adeline groaned, rolling painfully onto her back.

Schmidt was panting, face twisted with rage. "You could have the power of the gods!" he pulled out his pistol, firing at the opposite wall. Adeline just made out Steve ducking behind a pillar. "Yet you wear a flag on your chest, and think you fight a battle of nations!" Schmidt fired again and again, and Adeline dragged herself closer to the edge, fingers grasping at the metal railing. "I have seen the future, Captain. There are no flags."

"Not my future!" Steve yelled back, and took a running jump out of hiding. But it wasn't enough, Schmidt's fire keeping him pressed up against the wall, reaching for his shield. A shot clipped Steve's thigh, and he let out a groan, falling backwards.

Adeline pulled herself over the railing and towards Schmidt, with a strength she didn't know she had left. He turned as she leapt, pistol coming up to fire. It hit her in the chest, and the all-consuming pain made her scream. He caught her by the throat, catching her still like a bug on flypaper. She dangled, hands coming up to claw at his grip as he squeezed.

"And you. You could have been my queen. We are the only ones alike, you and I. He is too weakened by his humanity." Schmidt sounded crazed, staring into her eyes with an intensity that frightened her. "Don't you see, pet? I am the only one who understands."

Adeline felt rage rise inside her.

Faces, so many faces. Death – by her, for her, because of her. pain and suffering and damnation. All because of him.

"I-am… noth-ing… like you!" she choked out, eyes bulging, vision blurring at the edges. His face twisted, and he turned with her in his grip, slamming her down against the contraption so hard it made a creaking noise, her skull cracking painfully. He pushed her back, so close that she could feel the heat of whatever was inside.

"You." He slammed her back again. She let out a gurgling noise, "Are." Again, and the machine creaked again – and Adeline felt a different energy on her back, saw a leaping shimmer of blue. "Mine."

Adeline met Steve's eyes over Schmidt's shoulder – and the raw desperation on his face took her breath away. Her vision went black for a second, but when it cleared, Schmidt's face still inches from hers, Steve still struggling to stand, the world still ending, she snapped.

Look past the pain to the source. Target the injury. Focus. Breathe.

He was the source. The source of everything. And she was the result. She was the injury.

She reached out, snatching at the pistol in his lax grip, and turned it on herself. His eyes tracked the movement, obviously confused. With a snarl, she pulled the trigger, feeling the bolt pass through her – and into the weakened contraption.

The reaction was instant.

The contraption shuddered, and blue energy spiralled from the crack she had opened, Schmidt dropping his grip on her and stumbling upright, eyes widening in fear.

"What have you done?" Schmidt cried, reaching for a glowing blue cube. Adeline could feel the energy pulsing from it, making her eyes dry, her body ache. Steve had gotten to his feet, just as Schmidt picked up the cube.

He was staring at it, unseeingly.

Adeline couldn't feel her body healing.

But, it didn't scare her. Now – she knew what she had to do.

As the cube began to glow, pulsating with more energy, rocking the ship, making the metal hull creak worryingly, Adeline pushed herself to her feet. The glow was getting brighter, and yet Schmidt was unable to look away. He was crying. Adeline took a step towards him, pain sharpening her focus. "I don't- I don't understand!" Schmidt yelled at the cube. "I did everything right! I harnessed your power – please!"

"ADELINE!" she could hear Steve behind her. The plane shuddered again as energy released. She didn't look back at him. Her body was failing, her vision was darkening – but if she stopped moving, Steve would die.

If she didn't get it off the ship, it would kill them all.

And she couldn't live with that.

With a strangled cry, she charged Schmidt. He was burning, glowing blue and white and million facets of colour as she pushed them both towards to broken cockpit window. He seemed boneless, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Steve was screaming behind her, and she could hear him start to run, limping with the wound on his leg. She pushed harder, towards the gap, moving with the pull of the wind. Schmidt had started screaming, and she could feel it, burning and devouring him, his limbs lighting up.

With a desperate cry, she pushed him, lurching dangerously after him. She caught herself on the lip of glass, cutting deep into her palm. There was a weight around her leg, fingers clutching at her, burning up her body. She was dying. She was dying.

She turned, swaying. Steve was staring at her in horror.

"Please…" he said, voice raw, as he took another shuddering, painful step towards her. "Hold on, please." She could see the glow building in her peripheries, felt herself slip back as her strength waned. "If you fall, I can't – I won't – I need you."

Adeline closed her eyes for a moment, struggling to open them. She slipped, and he jumped for her, catching her cut hand and bracing himself against the pilot's chair as she dangled. Their faces were close, and Steve was crying again. "The world needs you more. Stop the plane. Finish this."

"NO! I can hold you, I can pull you up just give me a second to catch my breath-" Steve was panting, desperate unable to let go of her hand or the chair.

"We don't have time." Adeline interrupted him. She smiled. Steve caught his breath. "I love you, Just-Steve." Adeline's hand, slick with blood from her open wound, slipped from his grip.

Her last image of him, as she tumbled in dizzying free-fall, was one of familiarity. He had been wearing the same wide-eyed shock, innocent and pure, the day they had met.

He had been an awful lot smaller then. But his heart had been just as big.

The explosion from Schmidt's consumed form hit her as she fell, the shockwaves ripping her further apart. She was lost to the world before she hit the water.

Adeline Wolfe sunk into the cold sea, as Steve Rogers saved the world.