Diclaimer: If you recognise it from the MCU or from the show, Hogan's Heroes, it belongs to the respective copyright owners.

It started after the Falcon and the Winter Soldier had gone after the new Captain America. The poor guy was in hospital and had barely managed to survive. But, of course, Sam and Bucky had vanished off as soon as they were done. It was just lucky that Cap's real shield, which had originally been a loaner from Howard Stark, had been returned on the grounds that John Walker had been uncomfortable handling something so valuable.

He'd said he was paranoid about it being snatched and him being liable for the loss of an artefact worth a fortune.

Walker was arrogant, but he was still painfully aware of the sheer value of the shield in his hands. And he was painfully aware of the consequences if he were to ever lose it. Especially considering it was still an SI property.

So, the shield that'd been taken from him by the Falcon and the Winter Solider had been a mechanical copy.

Pepper expected it wouldn't take them long to work that one out, and they'd come looking for the real McCoy – which was currently under lock and key in storage. But, clearly, they weren't willing to let anyone else step into the role of "Captain America". Never mind that he was originally just an advertising gimmick for World War II. As far as they were concerned, Steve Rogers was irreplaceable as Cap.

Morgan was watching the news on the attack with her, and turned to her. 'Why don't they just pick out another hero from World War II altogether and use him as an icon?'

It was brilliant.

Cap had been declared "the" hero of World War II for so long that he'd been practically deified. That was why he'd gotten away with everything he had. A cult of personality had been built up around him and now he was untouchable. The only way to bring that to an end would be to point to someone else.

But, Sam and Barnes would probably take exception to that too…so it had to be someone out of reach. Preferably someone who was dead, but had done something amazing. And someone who had absolutely nothing to do with, and never had any contact with, Steve Rogers. The problem was that Peggy Carter had abhorred anyone who challenged her boyfriend's place as The Hero. So…it would take a bit of digging.

A call to Rhodey and then a meeting with the brass of all three factions of the military got the ball rolling.

As she thought, FRIDAY took note of Wilson and Barnes looking for the real shield after they smashed the replica. They'd be too distracted with that to notice this search. The Army, Navy, and Air Force combed through their World War II records and they came back with several candidates each. They needed the right personality, the right impact, and they needed something that would make what Rogers did look easy.

Many candidates either didn't do anything significant enough, or lacked some of the virtues they were looking for.

Then…they found him.

…In the Air Force records.

All Pepper had to do was to fly across to Paris for a meeting.

After that, a nationwide launching event presented this man to the public. Given the recent controversy around Captain America, the American public just gobbled it all up. They needed a new hero. Enlistment into the Air Force hit an all-time high. Bomber jackets came into fashion very quickly, as well as the tendency to wear hats slanted backwards on the head.

If not for the fact that he died decades ago, Pepper would call him a modern celebrity.

He quickly overshadowed Captain America. People were very quick to point out that what he did was a lot braver than what Rogers did. And, of course, other comparisons were drawn. It was the first time people outwardly said that Rogers' crash was actually a suicide dive. And it was the first time people openly stated that Rogers didn't finish boot camp, whereas this other guy had earned his rank of "colonel".

And he was respected, trusted, and obeyed by a man who was anti-authoritarian.

His right-hand man was of African descent…in the 1940s. The phrase "ahead of his time" was frequently used.

So, yes, this Air Force Colonel was quickly overshadowing Captain America.

Pepper was counting the days. She wasn't surprised that it happened when the Captain America exhibit at the Smithsonian was taken down to make way for the Hogan's Heroes Exhibit.

That was when Wilson and Barnes came storming into her office building.

But Pepper was not unprepared.

When they stormed into her office (after she'd had the hallways evacuated for fear of them hurting her employees), they found themselves facing two legions on either side of her desk.

'I'm sure you gentlemen have a good reason for such barbaric behaviour,' Pepper said sharply.

'Why was Steve's exhibit taken down?' Barnes asked.

'I have no control over the Smithsonian,' Pepper said. 'But I imagine that, given the controversy in recent years attached to Captain America, they opted for a safer World War II hero.'

'What controversy?' Wilson demanded incredulously.

Pepper raised her eyebrows. 'You want me to sit here and list it? Well, for starters, how do you think it looks when the woman he vouches for takes control of a whole town to live in her own personal fantasy world, and then two of his best friends beat the stuffing out of the man the Army chose to wear the suit?'

Wilson and Barnes looked at each other.

At the very least, they seemed to realise that not liking the guy was not a good reason to beat the stuffing out of him. And what Wanda had done, even if she was grieving, was all kinds of "not good". Wilson tried to deflect. 'And who've they put up then? It's just a temporary replacement, right?'

'I doubt it,' Pepper said. 'Colonel Robert E. Hogan was a highly decorated bomber pilot. He ran a spy and sabotage operation from inside a Nazi POW Camp. That operation allowed for the success of missions like D-Day. The only reason he was unknown until now was because Peggy Carter suppressed public knowledge of him and people like him.'

Wilson frowned sceptically. 'Oh, yeah? And why would she do that?'

Pepper raised an eyebrow. 'Why are you upset that he and his men have replaced Captain America in the minds of Americans?'

'Replaced?' Barnes demanded.

'Yes, Barnes,' Pepper said. 'Replaced. Tell me the truth. Have you ever been seriously hurt by a bullet?'

Barnes jerked back like he'd been slapped.

Pepper raised her eyebrows pointedly.

Barnes said nothing.

'I thought not,' Pepper said. 'The Geneva Convention protected POWs, even in the Nazi camps. However, if Hogan's operation was discovered, they would have lost that protection. They would have been shot or hanged if they were discovered, and they all knew it. They still did it, and they gave the allies vital intelligence in doing so. That's more impressive than anything Rogers ever did.'

'Steve punched Hitler in the face!' Wilson insisted.

Barnes suddenly looked uncomfortable.

Pepper ignored it. 'You haven't read their files, have you? Hogan's Heroes impersonated Hitler on a regular basis, and he never found out.'

Wilson jerked back. He fished around for a moment. 'Steve beat the Red Skull!'

'The Red Skull picked up the Tesseract with his bare hands and was transported to Vormir. Or weren't you told what happened when Barton and Romanoff went to get the Soul Stone?'

'Steve saved New York!' Wilson grasped the final straw.

'So have half of the superheroes in New York,' Pepper said. 'It's not a thing he exclusively did. Why don't you just admit that Steve Rogers had more than enough time in the spotlight and it's time we honoured the other American heroes of the War.'

'Where did you even find this guy?' Wilson demanded.

'I didn't,' Pepper said. 'The Air Force did. After the problems surrounding Maximoff and your beating of Walker, the American Military decided it was time to pull out a new War Hero and they found Hogan.'

Wilson scowled. 'What's so good about him?'

Pepper shook her head. 'You really haven't seen the exhibit.' She sighed. 'Well, for one, he didn't ever call himself a hero. Other people did. His children, in fact, had no idea that their dad was ever more than an airman until they were approached and asked if he could be used as the new American World War II hero.'

Barnes blinked. 'He had kids?'

'Four,' Pepper said. No need to mention that she had been the one to approach Denis, Rose, Simon, and Ida to ask to use their dad's story to replace Captain America's legend. She'd been the one to see their surprise at the revelation that their father was anything more than an airman.

'Hang on,' Barnes said. 'When the Nazis lost the war, they shot all their POWs.'

'Not all,' Pepper said. 'Col. Hogan had the Germans in charge of Stalag 13 wrapped around his little finger and they told him about the orders. He got the soldiers under his command out.' In the meantime, though, he'd caught a bullet in the back of his knee. It'd gone right through but chipped his kneecap and left him with a permanent painful limp that had eventually developed complications and ended his life.

'And he never complained about being…' Wilson scoffed. '…brushed under the rug?'

'I just told you that he didn't even tell his children what he did in that camp,' Pepper said. 'It's clear that he wasn't the kind of man who clung to his glory days.' She closed her eyes and shook her head. 'And, even if he was, he may not have been aware of it. He married a French Resistance leader and he stayed in France with her.'

'Why do you know this?' Barnes asked.

'It's all there in the exhibit,' Pepper said innocently. 'My daughter wanted to see a hero who used brains over brawn. You know, when she heard about it. It's a nice change to be honest.'

Pepper knew that she was playing with fire, but she had experience in that area.

Both Wilson and Barnes scowled and stepped forward.

'What's that supposed to mean?' Barnes demanded.

'Let's be honest, breaking into a building like this isn't exactly the brightest idea you've ever had.' As soon as she stopped talking, the door behind the two "heroes" swung open and the team that swarmed quickly surrounded them.

Barnes and Wilson spun around. Before they could engage, though, the two legions – lovingly maintained by the daughter of Tony Stark (under the watchful eyes of FRIDAY, Happy, and Rhodey) – moved forward and made short work of pinning them to the ground. Barnes ground his teeth as he was subdued.

Wilson glared back at her. 'Where'd you really find Hogan? Is he related to your daughter's bodyguard or something? I did notice they have the same last name.'

'So do thousands of other people,' Pepper said. 'Don't know if you noticed, Wilson, but "Hogan" is a pretty common name in this country.'

Paris, France

Sitting at her laptop, Ida re-read her father's service record – especially during World War II.

Her mind flashed back to her father. While she flew recreationally, it was her papa who'd gotten her interested in the first place. As a little girl, she'd always been excited whenever papa offered to take her and her siblings up in his chopper. They weren't allowed to touch the controls, of course. As for why he had a chopper, well, his job was answer enough.

Ida smiled idly to herself as she remembered one time when she came home from school, she'd run into the garage where she could hear papa going at it with his drum set. She knew he had a bum leg, but he always just called it an old war wound. She'd eagerly run out, calling for him, 'Papa! Papa!'

As she'd run out into the garage, her father stilled the cymbals and swept his hair back. 'Hi, sweet pea. What'd got you running out here in such a rush?'

'We got a project at school, papa,' Ida told him, running over to grab onto his good knee and lean up. 'We're supposed to ask our parents what they did during the war.'

'Really, now?' Her father had smiled and brushed a hand over her hair. 'Well, I was just an airman. You want some really good stories, you better ask mama. She was one of the leaders of the French Resistance.'

'Really?' Ida asked, eyes widening in excitement.

'Really.' He patted her back. 'She even saved papa's life once or twice. Off you go, now.'

Excited, Ida had let go of her father's knee and rushed back into the house to find her mother.

Ida leaned back.

'I don't get it,' her sister, Rose, said from beside her. 'Why didn't papa ever tell us about Stalag 13?'

'When we were kids?' Ida responded. 'The answer's simple.'

Rose nodded. 'Back in those days, they'd have thought we were telling tall tales. Papa was fully aware of the mockery we'd get from that. So he just sent us to mama.'

'You too, huh?' Ida asked.

'Of course.' Rose chuckled. 'Denis and Simon as well. There were enough kids in our generation with parents in the French Resistance for everyone to just go "yeah, pretty normal". Or were just ordinary civilians trying to get by in an occupied land.'

'You felt really bad for the kids in class whose parents were part of the Vichy,' Ida remarked.

'And you could always tell them,' Rose added. 'Especially when those "what did your parents do during the war" assignments were given out.'

Ida snorted.

'I just don't understand why he didn't tell us when we got older,' Rose said.

'Maybe we just never asked,' Ida suggested. 'I know I didn't.'

'Maybe,' Rose said. 'Or maybe Mrs. Stark was right. He'd put his glory days behind him and he didn't want to put any pressure on us to live up to what he'd done.'

'Pressure?' Ida asked. 'By telling us what he did during the war? And how he got that bullet through his knee?'

Rose shrugged. 'Remember what I do for a living? Children can very easily feel pressure to live up to their parents, without their parents ever putting that pressure on them. And we all learned to know how the human mind worked from papa. He would've been aware of that. So he probably just put it behind him and bore no more consideration upon it.'

Ida nodded in acquiescence. 'Of course, it puts things into perspective.'

Rose looked at her in confusion.

'Mama, remember?' Ida frowned. 'When she had Alzheimer's, we could always tell when her head was in World War II. She never called papa anything but her pet name for him and "Col. Hogan". And she constantly expressed concern for his safety. If he was running a spy and sabotage operation out of a Nazi POW camp, her remarks on those days make a lot more sense.'

Rose looked thoughtful. 'Do you suppose that "Papa Bear" was papa's codename during the war?'

Ida nodded. 'That would make sense. In the same logic, we could assume that mama's codename was "Tiger". That would explain where they got the pet names.'

The two sisters were silent for a moment.

Rose turned with a grin. 'Are you going to respond to those film companies who want to make documentaries about papa?'

'Oh, certainly.' Ida smiled and leaned back. 'Just think. Papa spent four years pulling the wool over Nazis' eyes, ran a POW camp that he was supposed to be a prisoner at, and then he got all of his men out in one piece.'

'Amazing,' Rose remarked with a grin.

Ida smiled. 'I've never been prouder.'

AN: Flaming will be reported, and then soundly ignored.