[b]IC: Captain America[/b]

Steph trugged up the Quinjet's ramp and tossed her pack down next to two black SUVs parked on the lowest level of the new aircraft. Behind them was the armory where Steph inspected her uniform and shield before going down the checklist to make sure everything was aboard. She wasn't nervous for the mission. No, the time for nerves ended long ago in the struggle against Red Skull and his thugs. Fury had given her and her team this plane and the mission to stop the Skull. She was the advance guard now that SIELD had to focus on rebuilding itself. It was all on the team now, but Stephanie was worried the Skull had them right where he wanted them. If that was the case, no fancy aircraft or mobile command station would help.

"Fancy new digs Fury got us, huh?" Falcon smiled as he packed his wing suit into its case. "The Skull won't know what hit him."

"Hopefully," Steph answered, not looking up from the checklist. "So far he's seemed to know an awful lot."

"He's got lucky so far," Mockingbird chimed in angrily. "We're gonna take the bastard down. One way or another, we'll do it. And I'm not gonna rest until he's in the ground."

"Take off's in five," Maria Hill's voice echoed from the loudspeaker abover them. "Wilson, gonna need you to co-pilot this beast."

The three of them went up to the aircraft's second deck, which included their bunks, a common area, a lab, and a galley. Sam went up to the cockpit, while the two women strapped themselves into chairs in the common area. Morse and Cap hadn't always seen eye-to-eye in her time at SHIELD, but they were quickly becoming fast friends in the fight against the Fourth Reich. Bobbi had been ShIELD's golden girl until Steph joined up, and a petty rivalry initially hampered their team. But they had finally found common ground, and were now fully on the same page.

Steph keyed a few commands into the holographic table in front of them, bringing up the schematics of the Crossbones facility, which was located outside of Boston, "Three floors above ground with a subterranean bunker below. It went dark shortly before the attack, and hasn't come up since. We're getting eyes on it now, but I'm assuming it's either been destroyed or compromised."

"Let's hope it's been compromised," Mockingbird smiled. "More people to talk that way."

"You're not wrong," Steph nodded. "You have any experience with ShIELD bunkers?"

"Most of the newer ones are nearly impenatrable," she explained. "But most of them were used in high profile target areas. Crossbones was mostly dealing with mob and domsestic threats, usually not the kind of people that would be able to bust a bunker. If it's an older SHIELD era construction, it's walls will be strong. That being said, a controlled explosion could weaken the doors. We've seen it work before."

"Well, I guess that's how we're getting in then," Cap nodded.

Just then, the plan began to move, and Hill's voice came over the comm, "We're obviously ready for takeoff, but I'm patching a signal through to you guys. Skull just sent a broadcast out."

The image of the Crossbones facility faded out, distorting into the hideous visage of the Red Skull. Almost immediately, he began talking, and his voice was like the southern plantation owner from Hell, "Good afternoon, America. As most of you already know, SHIELD's island fortress know as the Triskelion has been destroyed by a supreme and ultimate act of vengeance. My Fourth Reich and I were the ones who perpetrated this divine act of cleansing. I warned you. SHIELD harbors and employees abominations before god and country, and I told you and them they needed to be stopped. I am sure they're sending their lap dog Captain America out yet again to find me. I now speak directly to her. Captain, you and I both know where this chase will lead. You will lay dead at my feet, along with your friends. You think you serve the people of this country, but in reality you serve the degenerates and freaks that have drug this great eagle down from the skies. Once I am done with you and those you protect, America will be great once again, and the eagle will once again soar on the wings of the Fourth Reich."

Steph slammed down on the off button, shutting the table off. She opened up the comm, "Hill, get us to Boston as fast as you can. This bastard has pissed me off for the last time."