The Hydra Chronicles 1: Hunting Diana

Chapter 6: Avengers POV, Kidnapped

(Author's Note:

Sorry for the delays, I have been super, super busy. I got a second job, and soon I will be taking CCMA classes, which stands for Certified Clinical Medical Assistant. 

I'm picking up where I left off, but I'm not sure how fast I'll be able to update. 

Thanks for understanding. 

Now, on to the story.) 

Stuttgart, Germany 

The Avengers were sitting on the floor of the abandoned building, about to binge on chips and Netflix. Neither Zeke or Diana were there and Steve was starting to get concerned. 

When he first laid eyes on Zeke, something in his gut told him that Zeke was not to be trusted. There was something off about the guy. He had appeared distant and cold, not to mention the fact that he had been staring at Diana the entire time since they met. Steve was quickly growing suspicious. 

Steve decided he couldn't wait so standing up, he made his way down the hall to where Diana was temporarily staying. Just as he prepared to stick his head in, he noticed a red liquid on the floor. Upon further inspection, he realized it was blood, and fresh by the looks of it. Fear exploded and spread throughout his body. 

After checking every single room, he rushed back to the main room, hysteria bubbling up in his throat. "Diana's gone!" he choked out frantically. 

They all looked up at him in confusion. 

"What do you mean she's gone?" Tony asked. "She was here in this room about ten minutes ago."He looked around but saw no trace of the demi-goddess. 

"She probably went outside for some fresh air." Clint's face scrunched up in concentration as he struggled to focus on the movie. 

"That doesn't explain the puddle of blood I found on the floor." Steve ran his hand through his hair in frustration as every single head turned in his direction. Natasha immediately stood up. 

"Blood? Were there signs of a struggle?" She asked, dread slowly rising up within her. When Steve nodded, the red head let out a long, loud string of swears in Russian. 

"Where's Zeke?" Sam spoke up, looking from Natasha to Steve. 

"Gone too. I didn't see him back there." Steve raised an eyebrow when he saw Nat and Wanda exchange a dark look. 

"What is it?" he addressed the two women. Natasha squared her shoulders and looked Steve straight in the eyes. 

"It was Zeke. Both Wanda and I observed him staring at her, almost as if he was studying her. He's been doing it since we met with Fury." 

"Not to mention he barely said a word to any of us." Wanda added. "He was only focused on her.  He was waiting for the perfect moment to strike." 

"What do you mean, Wanda?" Clint asked, tense. Everyone was. One of their own had been taken right from under their nose and worse yet, Zeke may have done the deed. 

"I'm saying he knew when and where to strike because he's a spy. He is most likely HYDRA. HYDRA must have found out about Diana and want her for something. Something big. So either Zeke was originally SHIELD but turned traitor or HYDRA has infiltrated SHIELD. Again." 

Steve growled low in his throat as he ran his hand through his hair again. He looked over at Tony who'd been silent throughout the entire exchange. The billionaire was staring at his Starkpad, shifting through files, face grim. 

"Stark?" he asked frowning. "You found something?" 

"It appears Wanda is right. HYDRA has infiltrated us again. All our files are compromised." He scowled. 

"What files?" 

"All the ones on us. Our backgrounds, our sensitive information. They're compromised." 

Bruce furrowed his brow in confusion. "How the hell are our files compromised? They're encrypted; no one has access to them besides us and SHIELD higher ups." 

"Zeke is working under Maria Hill, who's Deputy Director of SHIELD. Since she's Level 9 clearance, he probably have access to what she does." Tony cast aside the Starkpad in frustration. 

"How do you know the files are compromised?" Scott piped up. 

"They're gone. Completely wiped. Zeke must have made copies of our files and then wiped the originals off the server." Tony ran his hand through his goatee. "I don't know how he managed to wipe them. I have a security program built into the server that prevents files being wiped unless I authorize it. And as of late I have not authorized anything." 

"That's how HYDRA knows of Diana. Zeke sent them our files and wiped the server. But what use does Diana have to them?" Clint asked. 

"I don't know, but we can't stand here asking questions. We have to go rescue her." Steve readied his gear. 

"We can't just waltz into a Hydra facility Steve, are you crazy? We need a plan!" Tony glared at the Super Soldier who glared right back. 

"Right now, I don't give two fucks about a plan. Diana's been kidnapped and all we've been doing is standing here talking and not doing anything about it!" 

"You're being impulsive, Rogers! You're going to put yourself and the rest of us in danger! We can't risk going in there without a plan. They could kill her the second they find out we're there!" 

"They could kill her now! What difference does it make if we have a plan or not?" 

Stark inched his way closer to Steve. "I think you are incapable of making rational decisions because you're letting your little crush cloud your judgement! Emotion should not play a factor in making major decisions that could end up in disaster! That is the exact kind of behavior that led to the Accords and the entire fiasco in Germany! If you want to get yourself killed, go right ahead but don't drag the rest of us with you!" 

Steve clenched his fists in anger. "And what about all the stupid stuff you pulled? You aren't exactly in the clear here! The Battle of New York, you put yourself in danger  by flying that nuke into the wormhole in an impulsive, misguided attempt to play hero! Or making that stupid murder robot as a way to absolve yourself of any guilt of all of your wrong doings!" 

Tony's face twisted in rage. "Ultron was a mistake!" he hissed. "It was never supposed to go off the rail like that! I was trying to bring peace to the world, an attempt to fix my failures and mistakes! What's your excuse? You're all about atonement and righting wrongs, as long as you're not the one doing it! And here am I, once again trying to clean up after you while you rush into the same shit that got you sent to the Raft last time!" 

"I was trying to help a friend, like I am trying to do for Diana! We're not accomplishing anything yelling at each other!" 

Tony scoffed. 

"Rogers, your problem is that you're stuck in the past. You're used to making rash decisions because you got away with them in the 40's. News flash: This is a new century. Things have changed. You can't be so impulsive anymore. We need you here, in the present." 

Tony walked right up to Steve and looked him dead in the eyes. 

"Diana isn't Peggy." was all he said before he walked away, leaving Steve to wallow in his grief.