An announcer said over the PA while Wanda and Pietro Maximoff held hands, "Report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. We are under attack." The Avengers were in the process of infiltrating a HYDRA base in Sokovia, making their way through the woods and fighting soldiers.
Tony, flying up to the base in his suit, hit a forcefield and cried, "Shit!"
"Language!" Steve shot back. "JARVIS, what's the view from upstairs?"
"The central building is protected by some kind of energy shield," JARVIS informed. "Strucker's technology is well beyond any."
Natasha knocked out some soldiers before she said, ""At long last" is lasting a little long, boys." She fired her gun.
In another area, Clint and Elliot fired an arrow and ducked behind a tree before the former said, "Yeah. I think we lost the element of surprise."
Soldiers groaned as Iron Man flew around and shot them before he said, "Wait a second. No one else is gonna deal with the fact that Cap just said "Language"?"
Steve rode on his motorcycle as he replied, "I know." He lifted himself over his motorcycle and threw it at the truck, causing the men to grunt and fly in different directions as the truck to land on its side. He sighed before saying, "Just slipped out."
HYDRA RESEARCH BASE, SOKOVIA, EASTERN EUROPE
"Who gave the order to attack?" Strucker asked after he climbed a flight of stairs and entered a room.
"Herr Strucker, it's the Avengers," a fortress soldier informed.
Another fortress soldier said, "They landed in the far woods, the perimeter guard panicked."
Strucker said to List, "They have to be after the scepter." He asked the soldier, "Can we hold them?"
"They're the Avengers!" the first fortress soldier cried.
"Deploy the rest of the tanks."
"Yes, sir."
"Concentrate fire on the weak ones. A hit can make them close ranks." He spoke to Dr. List. "Everything we've accomplished... But we're on the verge of our greatest breakthrough."
"Then let's show them what we've accomplished," Dr. List replied. "Send out the twins."
"It's too soon."
"It's what they signed up for."
"My men can hold them."
---
Tony flew to the HYDRA base to break in and JARVIS informed, "Sir, the city is taking fire."
"Well, we know Strucker's not going to worry about civilian casualties," Tony replied. "Send in the Iron Legion."
The Iron Legion flew in and said to the civilians, "This quadrant is unsafe. Please back away. We are here to help. This quadrant is unsafe. Please back away. Please back away. We wish to avoid collateral damage and will inform you when this current conflict is resolved. We are here to help." As the civilians chanted "Avengers go home," a man threw a bottle of something corrosive at the Iron Legion and it hit one of the bots in the head. "We are here to help."
HYDRA BASE
Strucker said to his soldiers, "We will not yield. The Americans sent their circus freaks to test us. We will send them back in bags. No surrender!"
"No surrender!" the soldiers repeated.
Strucker said quietly to List, "I am going to surrender. If we give the Avengers the weapons, they may not look too far into what we've been-"
"The twins," Dr. List interrupted.
"They are not ready to take on-"
"No, no. I mean..." he pointed to where Pietro and Wanda were standing, but were now gone, "Twins."
---
Pietro sped through the forest. He caught Clint and Elliot's arrows as they shot at the bunker, then circled back around and knocked Clint and Elliot down.
"You didn't see that coming?" Pietro asked, running off before Clint and Elliot could shoot him with an arrow and Clint and Elliot got shot at.
Pietro knocked down Steve as he sped past him.
"We have an enhanced in the field," Steve informed.
"Clint and Elliot are hit!" Natasha cried.
Natasha went over to where Clint and Elliot were lying down and said, "Somebody want to deal with that bunker?" She saw Hulk coming in, and he barreled through the bunker and destroyed it. "Thank you."
Steve said, "Stark, we really need to get inside."
"I'm closing in," Tony replied. "JARVIS, am I... closing in? Do you see a power source for that shield?"
"There's a particle wave below the north tower," JARVIS informed.
"Great, I wanna poke it with something." He blew up the forcefield to the base. "Drawbridge is down, people."
Thor said to Steve, "The enhanced?"
"He's a blur," Steve replied. "All the new players we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't."
"Clint and Elliot are hit pretty bad, guys," Natasha warned. "We're gonna need evac."
Thor glanced to Steve. "I can get the Bartons to the jet. The sooner we're gone the better. You and Stark secure the scepter."
"Copy that," Steve said, hoping his friends would be all right.
Thor, referring to the approaching soldiers in their HYDRA tank, stated, "It looks like they're lining up."
"Well, they're excited," Steve commented as Thor pounded on Steve's shield with his hammer and the resulting wave of force knocked down all the soldiers.
"Find the scepter." He flew off.
"And for gosh sake, watch your language!" Tony added.
Steve let out a sigh. "That's not going away anytime soon."
---
Tony entered the HYDRA base and the soldiers started firing at his Iron Man suit.
"Guys, stop, we gotta talk this through," Tony told them as he shot down the soldiers using rockets from his suit. "It was a good talk."
"No, it wasn't," a fortress soldier retorted.
Tony found List and knocked him out, then stepped out of his Iron Man suit.
"Sentry mode," Tony said as he walked over to the computers. "Okay, JARVIS. You know I want it all. Make sure you copy Hill at HQ."
---
"We're locked down out here," Natasha stated.
"Then get to Banner, time for a lullaby," Steve instructed.
HYDRA BASE
"I know you're hiding more than files," Tony said. "Hey, J, give me an IR scan of the room, real quick."
"The wall to your left... I'm reading steel reinforcement... and an air current," JARVIS informed.
Tony spoke to himself as he walked over to the wall. "Please be a secret door, please be a secret door..." He pushed and the wall opened up. "Yay!" He entered through to a secret passageway.
---
Natasha found Hulk and greeted, "Hey, big guy. The sun's getting real low." Hulk scowled at her. Natasha knelt in front of him and put out her hand. Hulk touched her hand as she stroked his hand and he slowly started to calm down. He stumbled away, changing into Bruce.
HYDRA BASE
Steve found Strucker and said, "Baron Strucker. HYDRA's number one thug."
"Technically, I'm a thug for S.H.I.E.L.D," Strucker corrected.
"Well then technically you're unemployed. Where's Loki's scepter?"
"Don't worry, I know when I'm beat. You'll mention how I cooperated, I hope."
"I'll put it right under human experimentation," Steve told him as Wanda crept up behind him. "How many are there?" Wanda knocked Steve down using her telekinetic powers, then quickly left. "We have a second enhanced. Female. Do not engage." He looked at Strucker.
"You'll have to be faster than-" He was cut off mid-sentence when Steve used his shield to knock him out.
"Guys, I got Strucker."
---
"Yeah, I got... something bigger," Tony replied. Inside the secret passageway, he found a room with a variety of technology, as well as recovered artifacts from the Battle of New York, including a giant Chitauri leviathan and some of his scrapped armor. He spotted the scepter. "Thor, I got eyes on the prize."
Wanda crept up behind him and used her powers on him. Suddenly, the Chitauri corpse came to life and Tony saw the rest of the Avengers team all laying on the floor dead. He went over to Steve's body to check his pulse when Steve suddenly grabbed him.
"You could've saved us," Steve said before dying, but Tony still heard his voice in his head. "Why didn't you do more?" Tony saw that he was in the Chitauri realm, and the Chitauri were invading Earth, when he snapped back to reality.
Wanda and Pietro watched as Tony summoned his suit gauntlet.
"We're just gonna let him take it?" Pietro asked.
Wanda smiled to herself as Tony took the scepter.
---
The Avengers were on an aircraft heading out of Sokovia. Natasha interrupted Bruce who was listening to opera with his headphones.
"Hey, the lullaby worked better than ever," Natasha said.
"Just wasn't expecting the Code Green," Bruce admitted.
"If you hadn't been there, there would've been double the casualties. My best friend would've been a treasured memory."
"You know, sometimes exactly what I want to hear isn't exactly what I want to hear."
"How long before you trust me?"
"It's not you I don't trust."
"Thor, report on the Hulk?"
"The gates of Hel are filled with the screams of his victims," Thor joked. Natasha glared at Thor and Banner groaned in despair. "Uh, but, not the screams of the dead, of course. No no, uh... wounded screams, mainly whimpering, a great deal of complaining and tales of sprained deltoids and, and uh... and gout."
"Hey, Banner, Dr. Cho's on her way in from Seoul, is it okay if she sets up in your lab?" Tony asked.
"Uh, yeah, she knows her way around," Bruce replied.
"Thanks." He spoke to JARVIS. "Tell her to prep everything, Barton and Barton are gonna need the full treatment."
"Very good sir," JARVIS said.
"JARVIS, take the wheel."
"Yes, sir. Approach vector is locked."
Tony turned in his chair to Thor and Steve and said, "It feels good, yeah? I mean, you've been after this thing since S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed. Not that I haven't enjoyed our little raiding parties, but..."
"No, but this... this brings it to a close," Thor finished.
"As soon as we find out what else this has been used for," Steve added. "I don't just mean weapons. Since when is Strucker capable of human enhancement?"
"Banner and I'll give it the once over before it goes back to Asgard," Tony said. "Is that cool with you?" Thor nodded. "I mean, just a few days until the farewell party. You're staying, right?"
"Yes, yes, of course," Thor replied. "A victory should be honored with revels."
"Yeah. Who doesn't love revels? Captain?"
"Hopefully this puts an end to the Chitauri and HYDRA, so, yes, revels," Steve agreed.