Steve was in a free fall position before he switched into more of a divers pose. A couple of feet before he was due to hit the water, he switched himself into a position that braced him for the water.

Moments later, Steve could be found scaling the anchors chain.

"That boat is gigantic." Neville said in awe.

Steve silently pulled himself over the railing, right behind an armed guard. His boots made a soft thud, but the guard kept walking. Steve snuck up behind him and yanked him into a choke hold. The man struggled, but it was too late. Steve managed to incapacitate him. The moment the man was down, Steve took off into a silent run.

"How are you so silent?" Amanda asked him.

"He's been training with Natasha." Rose spoke up before he had a chance to. Nat glared at the innocent expression on her face. Nat knew better.

"Private lessons?" Kai asked her slyly.

Rose hummed in agreement. It took everything in her not to laugh at Steve's red face.

Steve ran over towards where two guards stood. Steve tossed his shield at one guy. The man gave a loud cry at the shield to the chest. The shield bounced off of the man's chest and hit the side of the boat, where it bounced off and knocked the guard to the ground. Steve slid under the ropes and caught his shield as it bounced off the second guard. He got back on his feet and hit the hostile with it for good measure. The man gave a loud cry, while Steve caught his shield, and took off running.

He ran all the way to the other side of the boat. He came across two guards. One of them turned around only to be met by Caps boot. The man fell with a loud cry that caught the attention of the other guard. Steve went down and sweeped the man from his feet. The last guard was grabbed by the arm and body slammed to the ground. Steve finished off with a kick to the remaining guard.

"It's like watching Sonic the hedgehog." Andrew mumbled to his friends.

"It doesn't help that he's wearing blue." Alec replied.

Steve ran his way to another part of the boat. One unfortunate guard got knocked off the boat before he even realized what was happening. Steve tucked and rolled to punch one guard and leapt up to kick another. Steve turned back around to the first guard, only to see him pull out a knife. Steve jumped back from it, caught the man's hand and flipped him to the ground.

The second guard used his uninjured arm to reach up and pull the fire alarm. Steve took the blade he stole from the other guard and threw it. The knife landed into the guard's hand, causing him to cry out. Steve swiftly kicked him in the head, making the man black out.

Many winced at this.

"That was lovely." Rose clapped.

"Ten out of ten." Sonya gave him a thumbs up.

"I'm starting to see why they're best friends." Bucky whispered to Sam.

Steve was on the go again. He leapt over a railing that sent him onto a lower deck. He landed right in the middle of a large group of guards. He tightened his hold on the shield before playing ping pong with their heads. They all collapsed into a pile. A guard from the other side walked over to see the commotion. He barely took a couple of steps before Steve sent his shield flying into him.

Another guard got up from the pile and tried to get a hit in on Steve. Steve smashed the man's head with his knee before dropping him. The shield made its way back to Steve. He caught it and went after two other guards. The moment he finished the last guard. A gun was cocked and pointed at his head.

"Don't move!"

Steve didn't even have to do anything, because the man was taken out with a shot. Rumlow could be seen coming down in a parachute. Steve turned towards him with a thankful smile.

"Thanks."

"Yeah. You seemed pretty helpless without me." Rumlow said sarcastically.

Rose pouted. "I miss the Rumlow that wasn't a homicidal maniac." She told clint lowly so no one else could hear.

"He was always a homicidal maniac, love."

"Fine, I miss the Rumlow that I thought wasn't a homicidal maniac." She emphasized the word 'thought'. "He was a pretty cool dude...Or so I thought."

The rest of the STRIKE team came down along with the Romanoff sisters. Natasha and Kitty immediately began their walk alongside Steve. Kitty and Natasha walked with the same speed and the same stride.

"You guys really do pass for twins. Maybe not identical, but..." Lily said.

"We get that a lot." Natasha smiled at her.

"So what about the nurse that lives across the hall from you? I think her name is Katie." Natasha suggested to Steve.

"Really?" Ginny laughed.

"Kate." Kitty reminded her before jumping off the railing.

"You two are hopeless." Sonya shook her head at the sisters.

Natasha snapped her fingers as if to say 'that's the one'. "Kate!"

"Secure the engine room, then find me a date." Steve humored her.

"I'm multitasking." Natasha followed Kitty off the railing.

"Did you know that you can't actually multitask? Your brain just switches between activities. Kinda like you can't actually listen to music and read at the same time. Your mind just shuts the music out while you focus on the book." Wren finished her rant.

Everyone was staring at her with amused or astonished looks on their faces.

"What?" She asks.

"That was adorable, Birdie."

In the kitchen the SHIELD agents were tied up.

"I told Batroc if we want to make SHIELD pay us, start sending them bodies. Now. I have a bullet for someone." One of the guards says in french. "You want a bullet in your head?" The same guard yelled in one of the agents' faces. He kicked another agent in the foot while repeating the question in french.

"Trigger happy moron." Audrey rolled her eyes.

Back outside with Steve.

Steve charged toward some stares and used the wall to brace his foot. He jumped high and grabbed onto the railing. He pulled himself up level by level and landed on the highest level in less than ten seconds. He stood on the railing and shot a listening device onto a window.

Inside that very room was Batroc. He was posted up in the control room with one of his men.

"I don't like waiting. Call Durand. I want this ship ready to move when the ransom comes." Batroc told the guard.

The guard did exactly as he was told. He informed their men to start the engine.

Durand down at the engine room hung up the phone and turned around to do as he was ordered. The last thing he expected was to see Natasha standing there.

"Aunt Nat!" Olly hollered in excitement at her sudden appearance.

That got coos from many.

"Hey, sailor." She smirked at him right before kicking his leg out of place.

The man went down screaming in pain. She took her personal grappling hook from her belt and wrapped it around his neck. She used his choking body as an anchor as she leapt gracefully over the railing.

"Well, alright then." Remus blinked.

"Proper way to treat a man. They're all tools anyway. Might as well treat them like one." Ginny cheered.

James eyes widened at his future daughter-in-law. "Harry! Blink twice if you need help."

Lily leaned over her seat and smacked him in the back of the head.

She descended down the stairwell and shot at every guard she came across. Her body landed the last platform right over a dead guard. The sound of bodies falling made the guards look up.

In their distraction they failed to see another woman enter the room. She shot them both quickly and looked up at the platform. She saw her sister peek her head out from above the dead body.

"Mommy!" Olly yelled again.

"Took you long enough." Kitty rolled her eyes and walked away. She stepped over a few more guards that she took out before Natasha got there.

"Queen shit." Takara nodded in respect.

In the kitchen, where the hostages were, the man was still running his mouth. "You want to be a hero? Is that it?" he yelled in french. He looked the group over again before deciding he was over taunting them. "Alright, I've waited long enough." He marched over to the door and banged on it. "Hey! Find Batroc...If I don't hear anything from him in two minutes...I start killing them."

On the other side of the door a man leaned his ear to it. "I'll find him." The man went to find Batroc but he was met with a taser baton to the head.

Rumlow, the one who tased him, grabbed the unconscious man by the shirt before he began to fall. He began to silently and gently ease the man to the ground, so as not to alert any of the pirates in the room.

On the side of the boat, some of the STRIKE team were hooked to harnesses as they walked stealthily and jumped off the side. They stopped themselves near the lower level of the boat and waited for their cue.

"Always jumping off of things. Why?" Euphemia shook her head.

Rumlow's second in command stooped down to unload the device in his bag. Rumlow stood guard at the door. The man took the suction device and silently placed it on the middle of the door and activated it.

Steve found himself ducked off into a corner spying up at where he could see Batroc and one of his men. He listened in on their conversation.

"Radio silence from SHIELD, Batroc." Batroc's guard informed him.

One of the Black ops from the STRIKE team had their gun pointed at the window of the hostages location.

"Targets acquired." He informed them.

"STRIKE in position." Rumlow informed Steve.

"Natasha, Nikita, what's your status?"

Kitty and Natasha could be seen dropping out of an air vent. Natasha swiftly approached one of the pirates while Kitty went after the other one.

"Status, ladies."

"Always so impatient." Natasha rolled her eyes fondly.

Rose poked Nat in the side with a smirk.

Natasha swatted her hand away.

"Hang on!" Nat yelled in frustration at Steve. She then used the wall as leverage to get her legs around the man's neck. He yelped after she shocked him with her widow bites.

Kitty used Nat as a distraction. Her guy turned at the commotion allowing Kitty to come up behind him and leap onto his back. She expertly put him into a sleeper hold. His eyes rolled back in a matter of seconds. She jumped off and allowed him to fall to the ground.

She allowed Natasha to handle the man who came around the corner. However another man followed, forcing her to deal with him. She kicked him in the stomach and forced the gun out of his hand. She then used the gun to bash him in the face with it.

The man was persistent. She jumped up and grabbed the pipe to use as leverage, so she could wrap her legs around his throat. She twisted her body in a way that forced him to the ground where he hit his head hard enough to go unconscious. She saw a man sit up for another fight but let Natasha handle it with a random metal pipe.

Most winced at the hit.

"Ouch." James muttered.

"Engine room secure." Kitty updated.

Sitwell discreetly made eye contact with the STRIKE member outside the window. He looked up at the pirate in charge when the man announced the time being up. The man came around to where the door was. He was now perfectly in line with Rumlow's gun.

"On my mark." Steve told them. "Three... Two... One."

Shots rang around the room as glass broke and pirates went down. Rumlow and his man took out the door and charged into the room. Rumlow shot the leader before he could even raise his gun.

"I told you, SHIELD doesn't negotiate." Sitwell told the unresponsive body.

"He's a little occupied being dead. Saying 'told you so' probably wasn't necessary." Kai shook his head.

Batroc's guard tried radioing the pirates in the hostage room, but received no response.

"The line went dead." he told Batroc.

Batroc paused his pacing by the window as he sensed something. He turned to look out the window, but ducked quickly as he saw something heading straight for his head. Cap's shield flew over his head, hitting his guard and lodging itself into the wall of lockers.

"Dramatic entrance. Check." Rose used her finger to draw a check in the air. "Taking a page out of Tone's book."

Steve jumped through the broken window, thinking he managed to knock Batroc out. Batroc made his presence known by kicking Steve as soon as he made it into the room. He then stood up and ran away from Steve.

Steve followed in pursuit, but not before yanking his shield from the lockers.

Rumlow and his man led the hostages throughout the halls of the ship. "Hostages en route to extraction." He updated Steve on their next move.

Steve left from inside the ship and went down some steps that led to him being further on deck.

"Romanoff sisters missed the rendezvous point, Cap. Hostiles are still in play." Rumlow continued his report.

"Snitch." Rose huffed.

Clint shook his head at her.

"Natasha, Nikita, Batroc's on the move. Circle back to Rumlow and protect the hostages." Steve instructed. He continuously checked his surroundings for Batroc.

"I'm on it." Kitty radioed back.

"Where's Natasha?" Steve asked the younger sister. He only received silence. "Kitty!" He whisper yelled.

"Where were you?" Petunia asked curiously.

"Handling some business." Natasha told her vaguely.

Steve snorted and crossed his arms.

Before he could round the corner, Batroc came in with a kick. Steve barely managed to block it with his shield. He rolled back into a kneeling position in time enough to block another kick. He fell back on his but.

Batroc did a handspring and landed hard enough that if his foot had connected in between Steve's legs it would have done some serious damage. Luckily for Steve he backed away in time.

Every man in the room grimaced at the thought of what could've happened.

They both jumped to their feet, but Batroc was quick to kick Steve again. Cap wasn't so lucky this time. He went down, but he managed to tuck and roll out of the way. Batroc landed gracefully from his flip and continued his attack.

Steve managed to find the upper hand and used his shield to send Batroc flying. Batroc did a kip up to get back on his feet. He went after Steve over and over again with constant kicks. Steve only continued to back up and block. He eventually found his opening when Batroc got to close. He grabbed Batroc and kneed him in the stomach, before attempting to flip him to the ground. Batroc didn't go down, instead he did a series of flips until he was facing

Cap almost ten feet away.

"Regular gymnast isn't he." Sam mocked.

A few chuckles rang around the room.

"That was the most extra thing I've ever seen in my life." Nadia shook her head.

"Have you seen you fight?" Amanda asked her.

Nadia flipped her off and scowled at her.

"I thought you were more than just your shield." Batroc told him in French.

Steve stood up straight and loosened his hold on the shield. He meaningfully placed the thing on his back and unlatched his helmet. He took the helmet off and threw it to the ground.

Bucky couldn't do anything but roll his eyes fondly.

"Brings back memories doesn't it?" Alec asked Bucky.

"You have no idea." Bucky responded.

"Let's see." Steve replied back in french.

"Since when do you speak French?" Dorcas throws her hands up in confusion.

"Lots of free time." Steve shrugged.

Their fight began again. Steve seemed to be holding his own alot better without the shield.

"I think the shield limits your fighting ability." Sonya informed him.

Steve nodded in thought. "Probably."

Steve kicked Batroc in the knee and then did an aerial kick to the head. Batroc got up slowly trying to shake away the dizziness. Cap didn't give him time to adjust before tackling him into a door. They both landed on the ground as the door had broken off its hinges. Steve then delivered a final blow that knocked Batroc unconscious. Steve took a moment to himself to calm his labored breathing, when a voice interrupted.

"Well, this is awkward."

"Why are you there?" Ron tilted his head in confusion.

"We're about to find out." Hermione shushed him.

Steve looked over to where Natasha was. She smirked his way before going back to her work on the computer. Steve stood up and approached her.

"What are you doing?" He asked the spy.

"Backing up the hard drive. It's a good habit to get into." She told him easily.

"Did you even know what a hard drive was?" Sirius asked Steve with a slight laugh.

"Do you?" Steve asked back.

Sirius blinked before turning back around in his seat. Regulus chuckled and patted him on the back.

"Rumlow needed your help. What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded answers.

"Hey! Was I not good enough back up? Huh, Cap?"

"That's why I sent Nikki." She simply told him.

"Exactly!"

Clint patted her thigh to calm her.

Steve watched what was happening on the big monitor. "Your saving SHIELD intel."

"Whatever I can get my hands on." She answered honestly.

"Our mission is to rescue hostages." Steve said harshly.

"No, that was your mission..." She finished up before taking out the hard drive. She got close to Steve before whispering softly. "And you've done it beautifully."

"Oop." Sonya said with a smirk.

Bucky and Sonya shared a look.

She went to leave, but Steve grabbed her arm firmly. Steve however didn't expect a hand to be firmly slapped onto his shoulder.

"Always the overprotective sister." Peter smiled.

Rose smiled softly at him even though he was still looking at the screen.

Tia looked at her mom with a light smile.

"Remove it before I make you." Steve slowly followed Kitty's request. "Hostages are secure. Can we go now?" She asked them.

Steve's jaw ticked, but before he could say anything Batroc was back on his feet. He unclipped a grenade and tossed it their way and ran out of the room.

Kitty reflexively used her telekinesis to throw it away from them. Since she wasn't actually aiming when she did it, the grenade didn't go far.

"Quick reflexes." Harry nodded in appreciation.

"Down!" She yelled at them both. Steve grabbed them both and yanked them behind a desk where they crouched on the ground. Kitty banged her hands on the floor and a translucent dome of silver came over all three of them. It happened just in time for the grenade to go off.

Fleamont whistled, impressed at her magical prowess.

Natasha and Steve lowered their arms from their faces once they realized they weren't being burned alive. They looked around inside the shield she created in awe.

It was a short lived reaction though as Steve sent an accusatory look towards Natasha.

"Someone is in trouble." Marlene muttered to Dorcas.

"Okay, so maybe that was our fault." Natasha admitted.

"Our fault?" Kitty asked in confusion.

"We had the same mission Nikki." Natasha scowled at her. Kitty scoffed but didn't deny it.

Steve just glared at them both.

Authors Note:

Happy 2023!!!

Let's all hope and pray (if you're into that), that it's better than the last three years of hell.

Love y'all!