"Alright, here we go." Sam said excitedly as the Quinjet left the ground, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, and Elysia watched from the window as they left the Avengers Compound behind, the massive building shrinking further and further the higher from the ground they soared. "Let's go kick some HYDRA ass."
"Alright everyone, just a recap." Tony announced, pulling up a hologram from the onboard monitor, the images shimmering in front of their faces as each member began to gear up for the trip ahead, and the fateful mission once they'd reach their destination. "Sparky, you and Vision are on power duty. Get in, take out the lines, and get out of there. Maximoff, Romanoff, Cap, that's your cue to go in and grab Barnes. Wilson, you're with me on defense as our eyes in the sky. We have to make sure nobody gets into that building while they're bringing out our guy. Everybody clear?"
"Sir, yes sir," Elysia replied with a salute.
"Just remember everyone, this is HYDRA we're dealing with." Steve reminded the group. "If they're given the option, they will not hesitate to kill you. Eyes up."
The group settled into silence as everyone processed Steve's words, Elysia's gaze still trained at the window to her right. Despite it being the middle of the night, she'd never felt more awake, the electric buzz beginning to feel like a second skin as she grew more and more used to the feeling, though she'd be lying if she said she wasn't itching to get back home as soon as possible, back to the way she had left things before Tony had broken into her apartment to recruit her. Although, after tonight, the Winter Soldier would be theirs, and she'd be on the first flight back to Tempe to forget this trip had ever happened.
She finally looked over to see Steve sitting alone, staring pensively outside of a window of his own, and Elysia rose from her seat, walking over and sitting next to the super soldier. At the feeling of someone sitting next to him, Steve looked over, a strained but still friendly smile crossing his face.
"Hey, Sparks," he said.
"Are you ready for this?" she asked, voice low enough not to be overheard by the other members of the team.
"You know, I've replayed any possible outcome of tonight in my head about a thousand times, but none of it feels real." Steve admitted. "If we'll get him, if he'd ever remember me otherwise. We came close, the last time we saw him, but I'd be naive to think there's a chance they didn't brainwash it right back out of him."
"This is going to work, Steve." Elysia assured him. "We're going to get your friend out of there, and you're going to save him."
The strained smile returned to his face as he nodded gratefully. "I don't think I can ever repay you for helping us with this." he said then.
"You don't have to repay me." she assured him, an agenda of her own on her mind that she wasn't too keen to admit to Steve that, once she was done with this mission, she looked forward to them never needing to cash in favors of her ever again.
"Alright, everyone, this is us." Tony announced finally, pulling everyone's attention back to him as the back door of the Quinjet slowly opened, revealing the night sky beneath them. "Vision, Sparky, you two are up."
"Miss Sparks, are you ready?" the mechanical voice of Vision sounded to her left as she rose to her feet, nodding.
"Ready," she confirmed, exchanging one last glance with a nervous looking Steve, and nodding in his direction before turning back to Vision.
Vision picked Elysia up bridal style and stepped towards the edge of the open Quinjet door, jumping from the aircraft as they began to hurtle towards the ground. Out of instinct, she braced herself for impact, tightening her arms around his neck and hiding her face before the descent slowed, and they instead appeared to be floating rather than falling as the wind slowed around her body. She finally looked back at the scene in front of her, at where they hovered near a massive power grid, which hummed loudly from the sheer force of the electricity that powered the massive expanse of a complex in front of them.
At first glance, it resembled the Avengers Campus, a sprawling building in the middle of nowhere. Snow fell peacefully around them, almost in contrast to the terror of what the night would bring them, and as Vision lowered Elysia above the grid, he let her go, the pink-haired woman dropping through the buzzing electrical field and landing in a crouch in front of the generator. She slowly rose to her feet, dusting herself off as she stepped closer to the machine in the center. Elysia studied the mechanics around her, though she didn't dare touch it before waiting for Tony's signal.
"All clear from this side." Tony's voice came through her earpiece. "Everyone sound off."
"We're clear over here." Natasha's voice followed.
"We're here." Elysia confirmed.
"I have eyes on Voltage and Vision." Sam said.
"Alright Sparky, then it's your move." Tony instructed, and Elysia looked up, exchanging a brief look with Vision before turning back to the generator.
Elysia took a deep breath, looking back to the source of the buzzing electricity, and she put her hands on the machine, gritting her teeth as the buzzing began to flow into her hands, mixing with the already-flowing currents. She could feel the power resonating within it, powering every room of the massive building, now becoming a part of her, responding to every move as if it were her own, igniting a feeling of belonging that began to take over the fear still inside her and instead turning it into pure instinct.
Welcome home, it seemed to say to her.
"Alright, here we go," she spoke into the earpiece, continuing to draw the electricity inside herself, and away from the generator. "Killing the power in three... two..."
A powerful spark of electricity zapped through her hands as Elysia forced the power back through the generator, overriding the systems as the buzzing cut short, the grid surrounding her fading to nothing along with the surrounding lampposts as the compound was bathed in pitch darkness. Shouts of alarm from the men patrolling the building from inside sounded through the walls, and Elysia could only hope her new friends had made it in safely amidst the chaos.
"Alright, night vision on," she mumbled, pulling on the night vision goggles Tony had entrusted her with before they left and walked out from where the grid had once stood, to where Vision now waited on the ground for her. Although, as she reached him, she could just make out in the darkness where a guard now ran towards Vision, armed and aiming straight for the android.
"Vision, behind you!" Elysia shrieked, causing him to turn suddenly, an amber colored beam of light emitting from the gem in the middle of his forehead hitting the man mid-run, causing him to fall flat on the ground.
"Quick, Miss Sparks, jump on." Vision instructed, allowing the girl to hop onto his back as he stepped off the ground, hovering in the air once more. However, as he began to fly off, Elysia felt a sharp pull at her foot, yanking her down from Vision's grasp and sending her falling as she hit the hard ground on her back, the dusting of snow barely cushioning her fall as the air was instantly pushed from her lungs.
Elysia opened her eyes with a groan to see a gun pointed between her eyes, one of the HYDRA soldiers shouting something in a language she couldn't understand, though from the other shouts cutting through the air, she knew his help wasn't far behind. Without another word, her foot shot out, hitting the man in the groin with her leg while she punched him in the arm, changing the direction of the bullet as the gun went off, hitting the tree to her right. Elysia quickly rolled out of the way and shot to her feet, taking off in a run as the tree began to fall, the HYDRA soldier being crushed in its path.
"Vision!" she called, seeing the android hovering near her once again as she jumped onto his back again, the pair flying off before any of the other soldiers could approach them, though she instinctively ducked as the sound of bullets came piercing through the air, much too close for comfort.
"Are you alright?" he asked, concern lacing his tone.
"I'm fine," she assured him, finally catching her breath.
"Mr. Stark wants our assistance near the front door. We need to keep it open so the others can get out." Vision explained, and she saw Tony come into view as they neared the entrance to the compound.
"Alright Cap, what's the update?" Tony's voice once again sounded through her earpiece as Elysia dropped from Vision's back next to her former mentor and friend, watching as he blasted away two HYDRA soldiers.
"We've got him!" Natasha shouted. "Can anybody help us get to the door?"
"Vision, Sparky, that's you." Tony ordered, and Elysia nodded, the adrenaline racing through her body and mixing with the lingering electricity as instinct took over, and she took off running into the compound.
Inside the building, chaos erupted as several HYDRA agents ran through the building, and Elysia caught sight of her friends as they ran, dodging the attacks coming at them from all sides in the pitch dark atrium. Wanda's eyes were glowing red, her focus on the unconscious fourth figure draped over Steve's shoulder as he carried his friend through the building. On their other side, Natasha ran alongside them, taking out anyone who dared get too close to the small group of Avengers.
"Let's go!" Elysia shouted as Vision sent out another blast from his gem, plowing down the soldiers still standing between them and the doorway and allowing the rest of them to escape, to where Sam now waited outside the complex with the Quinjet.
"Fancy meeting you here," Sam greeted them sarcastically from the foot of the Quinjet. "Come on, let's get him in."
Elysia watched as Steve hauled the Winter Soldier onto the Quinjet, and Tony motioned for the rest of them to join him before he brought up the rear of the group, the bird instantly taking off from the ground and the door closing to lead them to safety from the HYDRA base. Steve laid his unconscious friend on the floor, Wanda seated nearby to keep him sedated under her magic, never once breaking her focus on the man.
"Everyone in one piece?" Tony asked hopefully, inspecting the team for any signs of damage.
Natasha was nursing a cut lip and Steve still stared at Barnes as if he were looking at a ghost, but except for Elysia still in shock from the sight of the barrel of a gun aimed between her eyebrows and an aching pain in her ribs, they all seemed to be doing okay. She finally let loose a deep breath as she slumped over in the chair next to Steve.
"You alright there, kid?" Steve asked, and Elysia nodded.
"Yeah," she said, "I'm alright."
"Good," Tony said. "Let's go home."