Images flickered in front of the Cap's eyes from behind the sunglasses as Director Fury's voice spoke through the ear piece Astrid had given him. He informed them of their new assignment; a rescue operation involving a large group of people that included six S.H.I.E.L.D agents. They also had to destroy the Sandbox which what Steve remembered was some sort of classified government facility. It all sounded simple enough, but he knew never to underestimate any operation. The message ended as quickly as it started and he could again see Astrid sitting incredibly close to him, her bright blue eyes staring directly into his own. Heat rose up in his cheeks once more but it disappeared in an instant when she urged him out of the booth. Her continuous giggling meant she was still keeping up the charade as she leaned over and kissed him on his reddened cheek. He almost couldn't hear the emergency code she was whispering over the sound of his rising heart beat. Thankfully Steve heard enough and stayed silent as he watched her throw some money on the table and leave out the front door. 

It took Steve a few minutes to make his next decision but he finally chose to sit down and eat the cold meal Astrid had ordered for him hours ago. It was the polite thing to do after all. He finished the meal in record time then headed out to get himself ready for the upcoming mission. When HYDRA first rose back to power in S.H.I.E.L.D, Steve had to do a complete overhaul on his living quarters, having lived in a government-funded building ever since he was awaken from his frozen sleep. Luckily, Natasha found him an apartment in no time flat. It was located in a pretty safe neighborhood and had more than enough breathing room but Steve never found the time to really decorate. Even now as he entered his home later that afternoon, the few pieces of furniture he owned looked spick and span, not from cleaning but from lack of use. Steve dropped his helmet and jacket on the couch as he headed for the only room he actually used.

His bedroom was a lot messier than the rest of his apartment, only because his sheets weren't made and there were a few pieces of clothes draped over a chair. Steve made a mental note to put those away as he pushed over his large dresser with ease where a large, metal door was hidden. His fingers flew over the keypad beside the door and it soon opened to reveal his Captain America uniform and shield. He had the safe installed just a few days after he moved into the apartment and although it wasn’t the best place to keep his uniform, it was all he could muster up in such a short amount of time. And it’s not like he had a secret identity anyway. 

It took him several minutes to change and pack extra clothes in a separate bag. He then strapped his signature shield onto his back and slung his bag over his shoulder before leaving his apartment a different way then he came in before and was once more driving down the streets of New York on his Harley Davidson. 

The sun had begun to set by the time Steve reached an expansive estate located in the middle of nowhere. It had all the works and more; large mansion, elaborate metal gates, huge water fountain, expensive sports car, and a giant jet. Actually, the jet looked more government-funded than trust-funded. He parked his bike next to the red Bugatti and headed into the open back of the jet only to be greeted by the blaring sounds of rock music. Stepping further inside, the Cap followed the source of the music inside the cockpit where, sure enough, Astrid was residing. From the reflection on the windshield, he could see that she had changed from jeans and a jacket to a white catsuit reminiscent of Natasha’s. She didn’t seem to notice him just yet; much too engrossed with her drawings.

Steve gently set the bag down at the entryway of the cockpit before quietly walking inside. He glanced over Astrid’s shoulder once he was close enough and was surprised to see her sketching a picture of him. And a rather good one in fact.

“My chin’s a little more angular than that.” He decided to point out, a small smirk gracing his face.

---

Once nighttime fell over the New York City skyline, Amelia was more than ready to suit up and start her self-appointed mission. The gloves were repaired to its maximum efficiency levels and her boots had enough juice to reach her destination if she timed them right. Once those pieces of clothing were put into place, Amelia pulled out a pair of goggles and set of metallic earbuds from a worn out leather knapsack. She slipped them on as she walked out of the warehouse, her sight replaced with night vision. Through her goggles, she could see a few workers finally calling it a day just a few blocks over in the next warehouse as she tucked her tied up brown hair into her black hood. She waited until there were no more red bodies in her line of vision before switching to normal view. With a quick heel kick, the wires on her boots lit up and a blaze ignited underneath her soles. She shot up into the air in a large arch only to have the flames die out in a matter of seconds. Yet Amelia showed no signs of panic as she landed gracefully on a nearby roof. She kicked her heels again and the flames reignited to give her another extra boost. She repeated the process numerous times as she travelled across the rooftops of the city. When she first created her rocket boots, Amelia loved the feeling of flying through the air for a few short moments before crashing into whatever was the softest landing she could find. Her limited supplies and money made it hard to keep a steady supply of power. So she had to resort to leaping from building to building which wasn’t so bad except it took a lot longer to get to places.

It was around 10 o’clock when Amelia finally reached her destination. The brunette landed on the rooftop of the neighboring building while switching over to night vision. As expected, the lab she was scanning was filled with a lot more guards than usual. It didn’t come to much of a surprise since she had been hitting up the place several times the past few months. However, she didn’t think Tony Stark would care so much. It was just one lab out of many he owned. And he had more than enough money to spare in replacing the few parts she took. In fact, he should be grateful someone was using them to help the citizens he had neglected over his long absence. Thinking of the famous billionaire genius made her teeth grit. People given everything on a silver platter were the scum of the earth in Amelia’s eyes. But she swallowed her anger down and decided to focus on the mission at hand.

Looking over Stark Industry and it’s outlying perimeter once more, she took a few minutes to map out the best possible route before jumping off the roof. Her boots cushioned her fall inside the gated area with a short burst of flames, she sprinted down to the edge of the building while keeping a lookout for guards. The moment she was close enough, she pressed herself against the walls and stayed in the shadows while sneaking down the wall to the closet door. She stopped short of the ray of light that illuminated the first door she saw, noticing the newly installed security camera right next to the lamp. Not a problem.

Amelia lightly tapped her right knuckle covered in glove, activating the sonic emitter on wired to her glove. The circular device in her palm softly vibrated, giving off a high-pitched sound. She then aimed her palm at the lamp and simply waited. At first, nothing seemed to be happening but soon the glass of the light bulb began to vibrate with the sound. In a matter of seconds, the light shattered, washing the small area in darkness. Amelia quickly made her way to the door and pulled out a key she had stolen when she first broke into the laboratory. The key slid in with ease and she unlocked the door without much trouble.

Amelia stepped into the room while turning off her sonic emitters, not wanting to catch the attention of any guards. Luckily this door opened to the locker room where no guard dared to be in while on their rounds. She slipped out of that room and started for the main laboratory with ease, having memorized the layout of the building weeks ago. There were no guards in this hall or the next until she reached the end of the second corridor. Peeking around the next corner, she saw three guards standing in front of a set of double doors leading to the main labs. Again, nothing the brunette couldn’t handle.

Pressing her back against the wall again, she took in a deep breath before tapping the top of her glove once more. The sonic emitter vibrated more intensely than before, tickling her palm. However, she ignored the sensation and jumped out of her hiding spot with her palm facing the guards. Even with her specially made earbuds, she could still hear some of the high pitched scream coming from her hand. Thankfully it had no effect on her but she couldn’t say the same for the guards. It took only a second for the three large men to drop their weapons to cover their ears. After a few minutes, the guards dropped to their knees in agony, allowing Amelia to get closer. She walked over to the first guard and gave a swift kick to his abdomen, easily knocking him out. She did the same thing to the other two and made sure they were completely unconscious before turning off her emitter. Rummaging through the pockets of the first guard, Amelia found a key card then turned to the two doors. She swiped the front of the card on the motion-sensor on her left and the red lights above the doorway turned green. 

Excitement and anticipation always bubbled up inside of her whenever she got this far; not from the thrill of breaking in, but what was about to come. Amelia opened the double doors wide open and gazed in awe at the state-of-the-art lab that lay before her. Although it was nighttime, the emergency lights were still on, allowing her to see the shiny equipment without switching to night vision. [i]This[/i] was her candy store and she could hardly wait to see what new things Mr. Stark had recently installed. It would make stealing them that much more rewarding.