"Good becomes great, bad becomes worse."
Steve had been relieved to hear that there was no serum left in the world. He remembered how Colonel Phillips had almost had Hodge take the serum, even after what had happened to Red Skull when he took it. Although Bucky had turned out okay he had also been mind controlled for the better part of seventy years, which didn't make a good case either.
He sometimes wondered if he had truly deserved the serum. Steve remembered his promise to Erskine, to always be a good man rather than a perfect soldier, and he knew that was what mattered the most. So without the serum to make a perfect soldier, Captain America only had to be a good man. And in his years with Peggy, he had plenty of time to consider who that would be.
When he finally gave the shield to Sam, he knew that he had made the right decision. Sam had always been a hero, even before they had met, and he trusted Sam to carry on the legacy of Captain America. He was exactly the man that modern America deserved as a symbol. When Sam mentioned that shield felt like it was someone else's, Steve thought about telling him that he knew the feeling. After all, he had been selling bonds before he had been handed the shield (by Howard, as Tony would have reminded him). But he trusted that Sam would understand in time. He had Bucky to help him, just as Steve had, so everything would be okay.
Steve let himself relax, finally, spending his time reflecting on his long life.
But then he watched Sam put the shield away. He was worried, especially because the government could not be trusted, but his word meant a lot to them so they would still be likely to listen to what he decided. If they wanted a symbol in Captain America, they would tell Sam and he would help them because he was a good man. Though Steve wanted it to be Sam's choice, he knew that the method didn't matter as much as the end result in this case.
And then John Walker walked onscreen and Steve let slip a couple of words that would have had Tony yelling out "language" if the man was still alive to reminisce about better times. He watched Walker's interview and wished that he could be with Bucky. His best friend had to be hurting and this couldn't help, especially since he wasn't around anymore. Bucky would blame Sam for this, and to be honest Steve did too, a little bit. But he was old and better off biding his time while he let his friends take care of it. Sam and Bucky could handle it.
But then he got a call from Zemo, of all people, who had apparently escaped prison and been with Sam and Bucky.
"He's taken the serum."
"Who? And how?"
"No time to explain, I have to go before I'm caught. But the world doesn't need more supersoldiers, and certainly not more like Walker."
Steve decided that it couldn't hurt to look around and called in a few favors to get a quinjet so he could intercept whatever Walker was planning. Calling Sharon got him a lead, thankfully, and she gave him directions to where Sam, Bucky, and Walker would be meeting someone named Karli. It seemed that he had missed a lot in his retirement but none of that was important.
"Bad becomes worse," Steve muttered to himself as he wandered through the city. He heard a commotion and saw a gathered crowd, frozen in shock. He ran as fast as he could until his eyes landed on the man laying on the ground covered in blood and his head-
Flashbacks to what had almost happened in Siberia filled Steve's mind and he began to feel nauseous, even with the iron stomach the serum had given him. Walker was standing over him, dressed in the ugly new Captain America outfit and strapping the shield to his arm.
The shield that was soaked in blood, with people filming all around and Walker standing, not reacting, not saying anything to clear his name or calm the crowd. Steve could see Sam and Bucky in his peripheral vision but they weren't important, not in that moment.
His vision filled with a rush of red anger like he'd never felt. How dare this man steal the shield from its rightful owner and disgrace the name of Captain America with his arrogance and idiocy. There was a reason Steve gave Sam that shield, and it was because this never would have happened if Sam was Captain America. John Walker was not a good man.
Before he even realized what he was doing, Steve stormed over to stand in front of Walker.
"What did you do?"
"What I had to," Walker answered without looking up.
"You didn't. There is no excuse for this," Steve said, and something in his voice seemed to get through to Walker. The man looked up, his eyes widening as he made the connection between the old man in front of him and Steve Rogers.
"Captain Rogers! Look, I-" The man's tone was condescending and did not in any way reflect the remorse he should be feeling. Before he could finish, Steve's fist was slamming into his jaw.
"You don't deserve that shield. It wasn't meant for a man like you." Walker was glaring, his hand flying up to his face. While he was distracted, Steve pulled the shield off of his arm and, after taking a moment to take in the familiar weight, threw it to Sam like a frisbee. Sam caught it, thankfully missing the bloodied edge. His jaw dropped when he realized what had happened, and Bucky laughed quietly.
"I told you he'd want you to keep it," Bucky said quietly.
"Oh shut up," Sam answered. "If you want to complain, call your therapist."
Looking around at the crowd, Steve realized that they were still filming.
"Well, that's my cue to leave," he said, hoping no one else had recognized him. He ran back to the quinjet and flew off, laughing to himself as he remembered Walker's face. Hopefully Sam would decide to keep the shield, but even if he didn't Steve knew he would go back to it eventually. After all, the government wouldn't dare to give it to anyone else after that. And with those videos on camera, Walker was done for.