TWO MINUTES.

Eris hadn't actually expected this was how she was going to die.

Steve went rigid and pressed his comms again, trying to reach the others. But Natasha, wherever she was, seemed the only one out of range of the muffling. He swore and turned in a circle, searching the room.

"Nat, can you get out?"

"Well, there's a window. Judging that it's not booby-trapped too, that's one way. But I'm a good five floors up."

Steve's brows furrowed together as he thought. Eris was tempted to just make a run for the door. She hadn't come here, after all, to die.

The others weren't her problem.

"Whatever way you can get out, go. We'll find the others."

She gave Steve a sharp look. But the words were already said and he started toward the door, not giving her a second look. Swearing, Eris started after him.

"I'm not dying here, Spangles."

"That is the plan."

They reached the living room and he glanced between the hallway left and right. His blue eyes flicked to hers. "Take the right."

Eris raised a brow. "I actually get to go alone?"

"Go, Eris." There was no room for amusement in his tone. But she was surprised to hear concern. "If you find the others, get them out. But make sure you get out too."

Her own amusement faded. Eris gazed at him for a long moment before nodding, turning on her heel and starting down the hall. The air seemed to be getting warmer, but maybe it was just her panic. She could hear the ticking louder now. 

Like the house itself was the bomb.

She turned the corner and barely stumbled back as something clicked. But it was no gunshot this time— double blades cut inches before her face, swinging from the ceiling on a thin string.

Eris's heart leaped into her throat.

Two minutes.

It was probably one now.

She ducked around the blades and scanned the room. It was a bedroom of sorts, with a metal bed pushed into the corner. There was a pair of handcuffs attached to the frame, covered in blood. That was enough to make her tense.

Even so, Eris took another step forward. Next to the bed, another book lay on the floor.

A picture book.

She gazed at the open page, seeing a photo of ballerinas. Their hands were pirouetted above their heads, eyes gazing blankly forward. Eris knelt down, running her fingers down the page.

She couldn't understand her pull toward the picture.

Suddenly, the ticking stopped.

Eris shot to her feet.

Then, the music began to play.

It was a quiet, haunting tune, that filled the air. One she didn't recognize but froze as it reached her ears. The opposite wall flickered and behind her, there was a whirring. 

Eris whirled around to see a projector trying to shine around her back. Blinking in confusion, she moved to the side.

Images began to play on the dark wall. Or, not images... a movie. One she recognized.

The Adventures of Captain America.

Pictures of the blond patriot flickered and moved as he was shown during World War II, fighting alongside a man with brown hair and a group of rugged others. But his eyes were crossed out and the background flickered between colors of grey and black. It was haunting, seeing the man with black eyes.

The movie skipped— the image changed.

In front of her stood the Red Skull. He sneered and barked an order in German, and the slideshow changed again. To the HYDRA symbol, this time.

Then Eris was gazing at her own face. She stood in a boxing ring, facing off against her childhood trainer. Her fists were bloodied, posture rigid.

'ERIS SCHMIDT, THE EXPERIMENT' the letters above the image read.

The photo flickered and went out.

Another appeared.

This time, it was of a red-headed woman, smiling wickedly at the camera. She held two daggers in her hands, mouth colored bright red from lipstick. There were letters above her photo too.

'SINTHEA SCHMIDT, THE SUCCESS'

Eris stumbled a step back. The whirring behind her grew louder and the image changed.

A woman stood in the lense's vision, this time though, her back was to the camera. There was a rifle slung across her shoulders and a series of knives strapped down her legs. A man stood at her side, just as taunt. He held a rifle in his hands.

He had a metal arm.

Eris recognized the woman. Of course, she recognized herself.

But she didn't recognize her surroundings.

Or the man beside her.

Suddenly, the whirring died and the room plunged to black. Then the lights overhead flickered on and there were words written on the wall. Words that made Eris's heart stop.

Hello, big sis

A scream filled the air. 

Eris whirled around— but the room was empty. The door was still wide open and light from the hallway flooded in. Silence fell over the air again. Then slowly, the ticking restarted.

Faster, this time.

"Eris!"

She started at the voice in her ear. Bringing a hand against her comms, Eris struggled to find words for a moment. "S... Steve?"

"I've found the others, you need to get out! This place is coming down!"

Her mind was spinning too fast for her to fully comprehend his words. But the urgency in the man's voice brought her back to reality a little more. Eris blinked once, twice. She turned, but the image on the wall was gone.

Only the words were left.

Suddenly, there was a faint explosion. The entire house rocked and Eris stumbled, nearly losing her balance. There was the sound of glass shattering and then another explosion. Closer, this time.

She finally snapped back to the real world.

Eris shoved herself forward and raced from the room, right as another scream shattered the air. She heard the sound of a blast behind her. Felt the heat and flames at her heels.

She raced toward the nearest window.

And threw herself forward, covering her head and crashing straight through the glass. She hit the lawn beyond, pain cracking through her entire body on impact. Not a second later, a deafening boom filled the air. Loud enough to make her brain feel like it had exploded too, head buried in her arms. 

Heat licked at Eris's legs and she huddled into herself. She felt something warm trickle from her ear.

Blood.

Then there was a shout and Eris felt hands pulling her back. They grabbed under her armpits and pulled her away from the flames, but her eyes were squeezed tightly shut and she didn't open her eyes. She kept seeing the images over and over again. Kept seeing the red-haired woman.

Eris thought she heard her name. Thought she heard Steve's voice.

But she didn't open her eyes. One sentence kept spinning through her mind over and over again, overwhelming everything else.

Hello, big sis.

~ ~ ~

The quinjet ride back to the compound was silent.

Eris stared at the floor, not saying a word when Steve tried to press. She ignored Sam and even Natasha, feeling she might explode if she said a word. So she kept her eyes down and mouth shut.

She could feel Wanda's curious gaze.

But everything was moving slowly.

Eris didn't understand what she'd seen. She didn't understand the words written in blood, the pictures on the wall. Because she was an only child. A failure to her father, a forgotten soldier when the war had been lost. The red-haired woman... she didn't know her.

Hello, big sis.

It couldn't be possible. Sinthea Schmidt was a name foreign on her tongue.

Eris clenched her fists tightly.

The lights overhead flickered. The jet made a strange noise and wobbled from side to side, and across from her, Steve sat straight up.

"Eris."

In a rush of anger, she looked up.

But seeing his concerned gaze, Eris came back to reality and blinked, unclenching her fists. The lights brightened instantly, and the engine went quiet. Her heart climbed into her throat. "S-sorry."

"Something happened back there."

She glanced around at the others, all watching, and said nothing.

"Pandora's Box. Do you know what that means?"

Eris gazed blankly at him. The super-soldier's eyes flickered in rising irritation.

"Eris."

"Spangles."

Sam smothered what sounded like a snort, pushing himself up and moving to the front of the jet where Natasha piloted. Wanda quickly followed.

"What happened back there?"

"The mansion exploded."

Steve narrowed his eyes. "For once, I'd like to get a real answer out of you."

"And I'd like a day to pass where I don't wanna strangle anyone. Guess we all have hopeless dreams."

"You went off alone. Did you see someone?"

"Pretty sure the mansion was empty. Either that, or some poor soul was recently blown to bits."

The man stood, irritation morphing into anger. In retaliation, Eris was on her feet too, gazing just as angrily back. Everything was crashing around her and she was more than willing to take it out on him. 

Chest to chest, she tilted her head up and smirked wickedly. "Got something to say, Spangles?"

His hands turned into fists. She scoffed.

"Try something, Cap. I've been itching for a good fight." And she didn't have anything else to lose.

"I wouldn't attack a teammate."

"And if I attacked you first?"

Steve narrowed his eyes. Eris arched a cold brow. "Problem?"

But to her mild disappointment, he only shook his head and stepped back. "We'll brief when we get back. Rumlow wasn't there but clearly, he had been. Which means we're getting closer."

"Why are you so keen on finding him?"

Something in the man's eyes changed. Some sort of... grief? "He— hurt a friend of mine."

Eris felt her own anger dissipating, replaced by a curious bite of sympathy. She clenched her jaw and started to turn away, only to hesitate. Her feet weren't responding. A long second passed and she turned back. "Who?"

"His name was Bucky."

"Rumlow... hurt him?"

"HYDRA did."

She smothered a flinch. "Bucky fought beside you?"

Steve looked down, shaking his head. In every different way she'd seen the super-soldier, this sort of fragility was a new one. Eris didn't know how to comprehend it. "Against me. During the fall of the Triskelion."

The quinjet was quiet and she glanced forward to see Sam and Wanda watching. But they looked away at her gaze. She chewed on the inside of her cheek, realizing exactly what his words met, and gazed back.

"He was HYDRA?"

"No."

Eris arched a brow. Steve met her gaze, eyes filled with a dozen emotions that she didn't know how to categorize.

"The Winter Soldier was... But Bucky wasn't."

"The Winter Soldier?"

"HYDRA's asset," he said softly. "A man with a metal arm."

~ ~ ~

References:

Sinthea Schmidt: Comic book canon character, the daughter of the Red Skull. Crazy, badass, super psychotic.

"The Adventures of Captain America": the film that was based on Steve's life during WW2

A/N: AHHH, I still don't know where this is going. But I'm having fun! Thoughts so far? What do you guys think? ALSO, SHOUTOUT TO Silmarilz1701 FOR THE EPIC IDEA TO USE SINTHEA IN THIS FIC.