The Pink Ghost

One

It was as if she was watching it happen in slow motion. The man stalking towards her in a terrifying predatory way glared at her over the mask covering the bottom half of his face. His stare was cold, void of emotion. The only thing she could see in his eyes was determination—determined to complete his mission-- to kill her and anyone else that would stand in his way.

They chased him through the S.H.I.E.L.D lab. He broke in and stole the serum Bruce and Tony were working to enhance. Hydra would forever be after any kind of serum Stark works on and Bruce told him that when they started this experiment.

In their notes, they state the serum is unstable and too dangerous to use. This was their way of hoping no one would want to come after it. When Hydra caught wind of it, they didn't care that it was unstable, they wanted it anyway.

She watched as Natasha picked herself up off the ground. The masked man threw her down like she was weightless.

Behind her, the guy jumped from the bridge and charged for Steve.

Gwen stepped in front of him, preventing him from getting to Steve, who was currently struggling to climb to his feet after being tossed around by this man like a rag doll.

As he stood toe to toe with her, his glare hardened, "двигаться."

His Russian accent was thick, but it wasn't authentic. Tilting her head to the side curiously, she oddly felt calm. She didn't fear the man everyone around her was trying to kill. His eyes were hard and cold, but familiar. Wanting to know why, she tried speaking to him.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak Russian."

Shoving her roughly out of his way, he declared, "It means move. You are not my mission, but I won't hesitate to kill you."

She didn't understand why, but he intrigued her. Without thinking, she stepped aside earning a look of bemusement from the man.

"Gwen, what the hell are you doing?" Steve demanded as he ran towards her, shield out in front of him.

Gwen watched as Steve used his shield and the full force of his body to knock down their assailant. Bullets spraying from the gun the man carried, scattered to the ground causing her to duck for cover.

A hand fell on her shoulder, "You had him right in front of you and you let him walk, why?" Natasha questioned.

Gwen looked to her friend, "I don't know."

Natasha studied Gwen's eyes; she noted the distance in them as if she wasn't completely in the present. She tapped her ear lightly and spoke, "Barton, I need someone to come extract Gwen."

"Is she hurt?" Clint inquired.

"No, but she's not completely with us either. The soldier did something that stunned her."

Gwen's eyes shot to Natasha's, "Soldier?"

"Gwen, he's The Winter Soldier. You know, the whole reason we're out here. We're supposed to stop him and bring him in, dead or alive. We have to find out what he took from S.H.I.E.L.D."

Gwen couldn't help the tinge of fear trickling up her spine. She knows that man, he can't be who they claim he is. She just doesn't know how or where she knows him from. The instinct to protect him at all costs kicked in, taking over.

Shots ringing out pulled both of the women's attention to the battle between Captain America and The Winter Soldier in front of them. The soldier pinned Steve to the ground using his shield, holding a knife to his throat.

Gwen jumped to her feet, racing towards the two. Using her shoulder, she threw the weight of her body against the soldier's body, removing him from Steve's chest. Helping Steve to his feet, Gwen was forced to push Steve out of the way as the soldier ran at him with a knife.