Thank you so much to everyone who left a review, favorited, or followed after Chapter One! I'm delighted to see that my stuff is still drawing an audience!
I feel like this chapter is pretty conversation heavy, but I tried to make up for that by writing a) good dialogue and b) trying to write action scenes.
(If you recognize dialogue from the show, then good job. I tried to keep in some of the best bits and funniest lines. Obviously I don't own it.)
Chapter Two: It Never Was America To Me
"So, you're really not going to fight this?"
Sam shook his head. "No, Bucky, I'm not going to fight this right now. We have bigger things to worry about."
They stood on the ground floor of the hangar, both dressed in street clothes, facing each other.
"Did you know they were gonna do that?" Bucky asked, still referring to Discount Captain America.
Sam scoffed. "No, I didn't know they were gonna do that! You don't think it breaks my heart to see them parade him around? He's not worth half of Steve."
"Then why don't you do something about it?"
"What am I supposed to do? Call the Department of Defense and tell them they made a mistake? They clearly don't want me. Besides, as I said, we have something bigger on the horizon."
"What could be bigger than this?"
Sam fished in his pocket and pulled out his phone. "This guy. He has connections with rebel organizations all over Central and Eastern Europe, and he's strong. Too strong. He's connected with the Flag Smashers. Remember, the lunatics?"
"And?"
"Redwing traced them to a building somewhere outside of Munich."
"Germany, again?" Bucky scoffed.
Sam turned toward the plane.
"Wait a second, I don't trust Redwing."
"You don't have to trust Redwing. But I'mma go see if he's right. 'Cause I've got a feeling he might be a part of the Big Three."
Bucky frowned. "What Big Three?"
"Aliens, wizards, and androids."
"That's not a thing."
"That's definitely a thing." Sam retorted. "Every time we fight, we always end up fighting one of those."
"So who are you fighting now, Gandalf?"
"At this rate, it's more likely Saruman or Sauron."
"Sam, we haven't fought wizards!"
"Dr. Strange-"
"Is a sorcerer!"
Sam raised his finger, smirking. "A sorcerer is just a wizard without a hat. But that's not the point, the point is, these guys aren't wizards. They use brute force. Your favorite."
"I'm coming with you." Bucky said, hefting the duffle by his side.
"I don't need a partner for this one, Buck."
"Well, too bad. It's my life's mission to drag Captain America's ass out of alleys, I'm not about to stop now."
Sam opened his mouth to speak, but Bucky was already climbing the ladder that led up to the jet.
"Super soldiers…" he muttered."
The jet was quiet and still, except for the ever-present hum of the engines. Bucky bounced against the red rope netting behind him.
Sam snorted. "You look like a five year old."
"Admit it, you're happy I came along."
Sam deigned to answer.
"Two minutes to landing, Sam." Torres said, walking towards the cockpit. Both men stood up and prepared to exit.
"So what's our plan?" Bucky asked.
Sam continued fiddling with his arm-guard, not meeting Bucky's eye.
"Great, so no plan."
Sam smirked. "Enjoy your ride, Buck."
"No, no, you don't get to call me that! Steve called me that, and Steve had a plan!"
"Thirty seconds!" Torres called from the exit door. Sam walked over to standby.
"I do have a plan." he said, before barreling out the exit shaft, grinning like the punk he was.
Bucky groaned. "Where's the 'chute?"
"It's 200 feet-it's too low for a 'chute." Torres said, looking nervously at him.
"...It's fine." Bucky muttered, staring down at the thick pine forest. "I don't need one anyway."
"You sure about that?" Torres asked.
Bucky pasted a fake smile across his face as he ripped off his sleeve, revealing a pure vibranium arm. "Yup. Sure."
Next thing he knew, he was tasting the sweet kiss of air. And then the rough slap of branches, as he careened to the earth.
He thudded into some grass, but not nearly soft enough to break his fall.
A red-and-white drone flew into his dazed field of vision.
"You do know I have all of that on camera, right?" Sam's voice said.
"Get out of my face, Sam, before I break it."
"Okay, okay. Head north."
"There's an eighth person, I think they have a hostage." Sam said.
That was all the encouragement Bucky needed to leap into action. Sam activated his wings and followed close behind-and then ahead.
Bucky ran after the trucks, leaping on the back and throwing open the red metal doors with terrifying speed.
He entered the back and stared blankly at the black coolers stacked in haphazard towers.
'Keep cool…'
"They're stealing medicine, vaccines!" he called through the comm. Just then, a glimmer of movement caught his attention.
A girl's face peeked out from behind one of the crates. She had bright orange hair, with massive, poufy curls and a thickly freckled face. Her hazel eyes stared holes into him, from under her hood.
Bucky spread his hands. "Hi!" he called, trying not to sound threatening.
"Barnes, what's goin' on, talk to me?" Sam called.
"I found the hostage." he replied. "You alright?" he asked the girl. She hadn't moved from her position.
And then, suddenly, she smiled. Her white teeth shone like a warning in the dark car.
Bucky felt himself slam out of the truck before his brain had processed what occurred.
What the hell...how did she do that?
"Enhanced!" he screamed. "Sam, they're enhanced…!"
That was all he had time for, before two masked men hauled him to the top of the truck car.
Bucky kicked and clawed, feeling the difference immediately. With most other people, he could easily get the upper hand. But this was like fighting three Steves.
He was able to land some blows and loosen their grip for a minute or two, but they had caught him by surprise, and they were clearly using that to their advantage.
Sam landed and started to duke it out with the girl, but he could clearly sense the difference as well.
What HYDRA cell did these guys get loose from?
Just when it looked like they were about to lose to a bunch of kids in masks, the whirr of a helicopter flooded their ears, and a familiar looking shield whizzed by.
Discount Cap himself, and another costumed man, dropped down to their aid.
Bucky bit his lip.
Could this day get any freaking worse?
The ultimate indignity of the whole day, Bucky decided, was that they were reduced to walking after a battle.
True, the German countryside scenery was charming, the weather was pleasant, and the birds were chirping nicely, but still!
Walking!
He spared a wistful thought for the long-ago days of Quinjets and Avengers' banter, before mulling over their current problem.
"What's goin' on in that big cyborg brain of yours?" Sam asked, trying to lighten the mood.
"It's computing."
"...you know, I can see it. I can actually see the gears turning. Oh, oh, they're malfunctioning! Now they're on fire!"
"We need to figure out where they got the serum from." Bucky cut in.
Sam nodded. "Yeah, and how the hell there are eight super soldiers running around after eighty years."
A shrill 'beep-beep' cut through the conversation. It was a jeep. A military jeep, carrying none other than Discount Cap and Bogus Bucky.
Both men sighed deeply.
"So that didn't go as planned, huh?" John Walker asked.
Bucky gave a slightly feral growl.
Is this clown actually under the impression that we are in any way working together?
Sam didn't stop walking, so Bucky didn't either. The truck sped up, so that they were forced to look Walker and his companion in the face.
"Look, at least we know what we're up against now, huh? And we're pretty sure it's one of the Big Three, so…"
"Aliens, androids, or wizards." Walker's friend added.
"Right."
Sam raised his eyebrow in Bucky's direction, but said nothing else. Bucky sighed.
Does everyone know that but me?
"There's no such thing as wizards." he muttered.
"Okay, so it's aliens or androids." Walker said.
"Or super soldiers." Sam replied. His voice was even, if a bit stiff.
"Oh, for real?" the black man said. "Damn."
"Alright, then we gotta work together." Walker said.
"That's not happening." Bucky said shortly.
"Look, I've put in the work, and we want the same thing…" Walker was looking desperate now.
"Just because you fling around a shield doesn't make you worthy to be Captain America!" Bucky snarled.
Something ugly (yet also hurt) flashed in Walker's eyes. "Is that what this is about? Look, I've put in the work! And I'm not Captain America, I'm U.S. Agent!"
"Tomato, tomato. Tell me, Mr. Agent, have you ever jumped on a grenade?"
"Yeah, four of them, actually. With my helmet."
"Oh, you had a helmet, how cute…"
"Barnes." Sam's voice cut through like a buzz saw. Bucky stopped, but still kept his trademark 'Winter Soldier Death Glare'.
Walker cleared his throat. "Look, it's...it's twenty miles to the airport, you need a ride. Let's talk, get in the jeep. You need a ride."
Sam stopped. So did Bucky. Together, they climbed up the back of the jeep.
They clambered along in silence for a few minutes.
"So, who are you?" Sam asked, glancing over at the other man. "He called you Lamar."
"Yeah, that's me, Lamar Hoskins. Well-I'm Battlestar, John's partner."
Bucky's face contorted in a pained grimace.
"Battlestar. Alright. So how did you find the Flag Smashers?"
"We, uh...we didn't find them, we tracked you. Through the Drone."
Walker nodded. "Yeah, it's government property and we're...kind of the government?"
"So what are you doing here?" Bucky asked.
"The GRC council was asking for our help with tracking these guys down. They're trying to get resources to their camps. Hostile terrorists generally aren't good for anyone."
Sam looked thoughtful. "So they called on you two to drag them in."
"Exactly. Look...it would be a lot easier if you would work with us."
Lamar nodded, bouncing a bit on the seat. "Yeah, I've got mad respect for both of you, but you were kind of getting your asses kicked back there."
"You try fighting three super soldiers when they grab you from behind." Bucky growled.
"Look, Bucky…" Walker leaned in, overlooking how the man stiffened at the use of his nickname. "I get the attitude, I really do. But I...I'm not trying to replace Steve, or anyone. I'm just trying to do the best job that I can. And it would really help me if I had Cap's wingmen on my side."
Sam's vision was suddenly black. But he heard himself answer:
"Always lose it on the last line…"
Walker clearly had no clue why he yelled for them to stop the jeep. Bucky had half a guess. He followed Sam past the checkpoint, to where their ride back was.
"...so are we teaming up with them?"
"No." Sam answered, voice grim. He snorted. "Cap's wingmen!"
"You have called yourself that before."
"But he must know!" Sam cried. "He can't be that dense! Surely he has some idea of what he's doing to me! Of what...what this looks like." He smashed his fist into the empty air.
Bucky blinked once, twice.
"Operation Screw 'Em All?" he whispered, almost timid.
He was rewarded by a pale ghost of Sam's usual smile, and a deep sigh.
"Not this time, Buck. But thank you."
He looked up, closed his eyes, and mumbled something too low for even Bucky to hear.
Finally, he opened his eyes.
"C'mon. Those Flag Smashers are still out there, and getting further away every second. We need to call in some favors."
"Christy, slow down, you're not making sense!"
Christy took a long, steady breath.
"Dad. In the 1960s, the U.S. government-and HYDRA in the U.S. government-used the serum to do illegal research and experimentation on a guy. His name was Isaiah Bradley. They did experiments on him in prison, for thirty years! But he didn't do anything! They just kept him in freaking jail!"
"What do you mean 'did experiments'?"
Christy furtively glanced at her locked dorm door for the eighth time in fifteen minutes. Her roommate had class-she had triple checked.
Two days ago, Fury had called her with information he had dredged up from some very unwilling corners.
Two days ago, her world had upended. Now she was upending her dad's. She needed to remember that, and go carefully.
But it was hard, when the news burned like a fire under her skin.
"They...they made him a super soldier. Like Uncle Bucky. Like you. He enlisted in the Korean War. They sent him behind enemy lines-he fought Uncle Bucky, as the Winter Soldier."
Steve felt as though his mind was a spinning top.
Another super soldier...another super soldier!
"And how...how did they keep him in jail for so long? Wasn't anyone looking for him? What was his crime-what did they charge him with?"
Christy swallowed. "He...his unit was captured. Other soldiers who had been experimented on with the serum. He went behind enemy lines to get them, and they court-martialed him."
Steve sucked in a breath. "A-alright. But thirty years…"
"He was black." Christy said. "They kept him locked up for thirty years, because he was easy to exploit and hurt. Because he was black. Because half the HYDRA agents didn't think he was human."
Steve couldn't move for a solid half-minute.
"D-dad?"
"...is that all that Nick told you?"
"H-he eventually...they said he was dead. But he faked his death. Uncle Nick says he's living in Maryland now. Baltimore."
Steve glared miserably at the carpet, as though it would open and swallow him whole. Maybe it should have.
"Dad, it's...it's not your fault. You didn't know!"
"Say his name." Steve cut in quietly.
"Isaiah B-Bradley."
"Isaiah Bradley."
Steve's voice was haunted and vague, with a deep note of sorrow that Christy could hear even through the phone.
"Dad...tell Mom, okay? You can tell her. Maybe you should call and talk to Uncle Nick, too. But I thought...I thought you needed to know. And I couldn't keep it to myself, anyway."
Steve cleared his throat. "No, you...you did the right thing, baby."
"...should we tell Sam and Uncle Bucky? I think they should both know…"
"Let me handle them, alright? I'll...I'll figure it out. You leave it to me, understand?"
"...yes, sir."
Steve stopped, giving a rueful chuckle. Christy only answered like that when…
"Did I have my Captain's voice on?"
"You did. But it's okay."
Eventually, they hung up. Sharon was at work, and Jamie was still at pre-school. The apartment rang with faint traffic noises from outside, but nothing else. This was a good apartment.
Steve wondered about Isaiah Bradley. Where did he live? Somewhere safe, he hoped. Somewhere good.
"I'm...I'm sorry." he whispered, feeling the bitter lightness of those words on his tongue.
What could 'I'm sorry' do, to make up for years of mistreatment? What could anything do?
"And now they've gone and made another pastel white boy Discount Captain America." he muttered. "Damn it. Damn it all!"
Shaking, he stood up and fumbled for his keys. There was a little gym three blocks away, specifically designed for former military members who had demons to get out. The punching bags were strong.
Grimly, he thought of Christy's old punching bag, now sitting dormant in her room. It had been a while since anyone had used it.
It's going to take a lot more than loading faces on a punching bag and hitting them a few times to solve this mess…
"Nick, I really think you need to meet with him."
Fury sighed. "And what exactly will our meeting accomplish, Agent? That this was a horrific breach of justice that I cannot believe I didn't know about the entire time I worked in SHIELD, even after HYRDRA was exposed?"
Sharon glanced out the door of her and Steve's bedroom. Jamie was distracting Steve with Thomas the Tank Engine toys. Good. She closed the door quietly and lowered her voice.
"It's not your fault, Nick." she said. "It's not your fault, or Steve's. It was a horrific breach of justice but that doesn't make either of you guilty. What it does is mean you can search for a way to make it right."
There was a long, crackly pause. Sharon wondered just where, exactly, in the world Nick Fury was. But there was no point in asking.
"...so what would you suggest, Agent?"
Sharon took a deep breath. "Meet with Steve. Talk about this-you both are terrible at talking about things. And then, figure out a solution. Some way to get this story out. Some way to honor this man. I don't know, but you're both smart. You'll think of something."
Another long, crackly pause. Then:
"Can I talk to him for a minute."
Sharon grinned triumphantly. "Just a minute."
She glided out of the bedroom and walked over to her husband and son sprawled on the floor maneuvering trains on wooden track.
"Whhhoo-whooo!" Jamie said, mimicking a train whistle. Steve laughed and echoed his son.
"Steve?" Sharon said gently. "Someone wants to talk to you."
Steve's face instantly lost the smile, which made Sharon's heart ache. "W-who?"
"It's Nick...he wants to meet up. Talk about what he sent Christy."
"...alright." Steve stood up and patted Jamie's head. "Be right back, bud. I gotta talk to Uncle Nick about something."
Jamie nodded blithely. He was used to strange, grown-up conversations that had to happen behind closed doors, in whispers. "Tell Uncle Nick I said hi."
Steve gave a half-smile and took the phone. "Rogers." he said, still keeping the habit from when he had first been 'unfrozen'.
"Cap." Fury replied. "Or, should I not call you that anymore?"
Steve sighed. "I meant it when I said I wanted Sam to take up the shield. I didn't want anyone else. I didn't think there was anyone better to handle the legacy. But maybe I was wrong."
"I don't think you were wrong. I like Wilson. He's got a good head. And this information doesn't change any of that."
"...if anything, it makes me think he should be Cap, even more." Steve said quietly.
Fury made a noise that Steve supposed counted as a verbal nod.
"Look, Nick, if I had known any of this…"
"Steve, how do you think I feel?"
Steve swallowed. "Not great, I guess." he said lamely.
"The first African-American director of SHIELD, first in my family to finish college, hobnobbed with all kinds of leaders and statesmen and spies...and I didn't know about a brother who'd been through hell? With the permission of my organization?" Fury heaved a disgusted sigh. "I keep wondering how the hell I didn't find any of this until now. Until your kid had me go digging!"
"...I'm glad she did."
"Me, too. So, I suppose the question is, where do we go from here?"
"We could meet up and talk?" Steve said. "You could come to New York, to our place. Jamie would be happy to see you, I'm sure. He says hi, by the way."
Steve couldn't be sure, but he thought Fury was smiling by his tone of voice. "Tell Cap Jr I need a new eyepatch. And he needs to have better taste than his sister and pseudo-uncle."
"Don't tell me you still have that thing?"
"Tie-dye never goes out of style. You got plans next week?"
"Uh, not that I know of. Will you give me a day's notice?"
"Likely not."
Steve rolled his eyes. "Next week, got it. You need the address?"
"No, I know where you live."
"Of course you do." Steve sighed. "See you next week, Nick."
"Next week. Fury, out."
The phone clicked as the call ended. Steve slumped on the bed.
Sharon poked her head in a few moments later.
"Good talk?" she asked.
Steve nodded slowly. "Yeah...he's gonna come here next week some time. Probably show up at our front door cryptically, as he does."
Sharon sat down next to him, after cracking the door to keep Jamie in her line of sight. "Classic Nick."
Steve glanced down. "I feel so...so dirty." he confessed. "I know I'm not to blame; I know that if I had known, I would have done something, anything! But I didn't. So I didn't."
"You're not to blame. But you want to make it right, somehow." Sharon cupped his cheek. "But some things are too big for one person to make right. And some things take a long time to make right. Some things just never can be gotten back-like time. But what's really eating you?"
Steve looked up, blue eyes painfully earnest. "I can't help but see...they're shunting Sam to the side. And out of all the U.S. special forces, they picked a blonde, blue-eyed, white guy. That couldn't have been a coincidence."
"No. They were deliberately trying to make him look like you."
"But I'm…" Steve frowned, struggling to articulate his thoughts. "But they gotta know that's awful PR."
"Yeah, it is." Sharon shook her head. "But Sam is choosing to do his job, even if no one else wants him too. And look, this Walker guy...I dunno. He strikes me as being a little too tightly wound. Maybe I'm wrong. But I can't help but feel he's gonna crash. And when he does, where will Sam be? Doing his job. And that's good PR."
Steve leaned against her. "Sam's been there almost from the beginning. He's had my back since that first time when Nat and I showed up at his door, and said everyone we knew was trying to kill us. I'm not going to let this go. I won't drop his back when he's never dropped mine."
Sharon kissed his cheek. "And that is why you were Captain America. But the Falcon and the Winter Soldier will be going on a jaunt next week. And...I think I might need to go along."
Steve sat up. "Really? Where to?"
"A place called Madripoor-it's a criminal haven island off the coast of India. Think Tortuga, but instead of pirates, you have...well, pirates, but also hackers, gun smugglers, other smugglers-you get the point."
"And...why exactly are my wife and two best friends going there?"
Sharon bit her lip. "Because they have reason to suspect that some of the Flag Smashers have somehow injected themselves with SR17 serum. Or some kind of knock-off."
Steve groaned. "More serum?!"
"More. It looks like a Dr. Wilfred Nagel created some. He's a former HYDRA doctor."
"Of course...of course."
"Somehow, the Flag Smashers stole some. But Nagel has been traced to Madripoor-you can thank Natasha for finding that out. So we're going after him."
"But...why you?"
Sharon paused, seeming to weight her words.
"I did some...work, in Madripoor. For the CIA. I still technically maintain a property there."
Steve gaped. "You never told me that."
"It, uh...it was need to know?" Sharon sighed. "Look, I warned you that there were going to be things I couldn't tell you, but that I would be honest where I could. What was that thing you used to tell Christy?"
Steve's eyes narrowed, but he recited, "Everything I say will always be true. It will not always be complete."
"Exactly."
"...fine. Go deal with the creepy scientist man. What is this, the fourth creepy European HYDRA doc that we've dealt with? Third, I guess. Zemo wasn't a doctor."
Sharon laughed. "Those German doctors do have a habit of showing up in the darndest places." She leaned over and kissed him on the mouth, which Steve quietly reciprocated.
"Just stay safe, okay?" he said.
"I'll do my best. I always do."
"Then that's enough."
Sharon leaned against him for a moment, before rising to her feet. "I'll let you get back to trains with Jamie. I'm glad you guys have found something to bond over."
Steve stood up as well. "Me, too. He's...he's really my kid. I have to pinch myself, still. But I can see it now."
"Definitely." Sharon whispered.
As Steve returned to the living area to rejoin his son, Sharon took out her phone and opened an ongoing message thread from Natasha.
The boys and I will head to Madripoor on Friday. Steve only knows what he needs to know.
He doesn't know you're the PB? Or that you conspired with a criminal element?
No. You know the CIA gave me that job to keep an eye on the criminals, anyway.
I meant that you hired Nagel to make the stuff. To draw him out.
He doesn't need to know that either. Maybe once Nagel is behind bars.
I think he'd be thrilled.
I hope so. Thanks for tipping me off about his whereabouts in the first place
Always glad to help another double agent.
I'm not a double agent. Besides, I thought you were 'retired'.
A spy never retires. Good luck.
Thanks.
Sharon slipped the phone away and moved towards the kitchen. It was close to 5 o'clock, and it was her night to cook.
I'm sorry I can't tell you everything, Steve. Maybe once this mess is behind us. But I've got to draw out Nagel and get that serum if it's the last thing I do.
They walked through the lot of giant, metal shipping containers, shoulders hunched and faces grim. Smoke and dust hung in the air, giving the whole area a putrid atmosphere. The gray clouds overhead only served to make everything more ominous.
"Man, Madripoor could give New York a run for it's money." Sam muttered. "Why is this guy in a shipping crate?"
"Criminals always hide out in shady places, unless they're too big to take down." Sharon replied, pistol at the ready.
They turned a corner and stopped near a red container. Sharon gestured at it.
"Alright, he's in there, container 4261. I'll keep an eye out while you guys talk to Nagel."
Sam and Bucky slipped into the metal box, expecting anything. Except for silence. The grooved metal walls of the container and bare floor were all that greeted them.
"Hello, anyone home?" Bucky called sarcastically. Sam rolled his eyes and leaned out of the car.
"Hey, Sharon, you sure this is the right one? It's completely empty."
"Positive." Sharon frowned. "It has to be."
Bucky ran his vibranium arm along the side of the car, until he reached the very back. His fingers dipped down, as though there was something behind the metal sheet.
He pushed against the seemingly solid wall, revealing a hidden door and passage.
Sam whistled. "...you were right. I'll radio if there's trouble."
"Got it." Sharon called back.
They walked through the eerie corridor that was filled with medical lab equipment. A sick, blue light gave it the glow of a bad nightclub.
A weedy-looking man was bent over a lab table. A record played music.
Sam nodded, and they moved forward as one. The man must have heard them, for he reached over and abruptly stopped the record.
"Dr. Nagel?" Sam asked quietly.
"Who are you; what do you want?" Nagel asked, striding swiftly over to them. "Get out of my lab."
"We know you created some of the Super Soldier Serum." Sam replied, swiftly blocking his escape and trapping him against a metal grill. Nagel caught sight of Bucky, scowling, and gave a sharp gasp.
"Oh, and you know who he is, right?" Sam snarked. "I suggest you become conversational, real fast."
"How about, instead, a counter proposal? Give me a better offer, and then we'll talk."
Bucky instantly shot the floor next to the scientist. Nagel yelped and leapt sideways. Sam gripped him tighter.
"No deal." Bucky drawled. "Start talking."
"Okay, okay. I was brought on by HYDRA as part of their Winter Soldier program, to pick up where they left off after the five failed test subjects in Siberia. When HYDRA fell, I was recruited by the CIA. They had blood from a subject with semi-stable traces of the serum. After much...labor, I was able to isolate the necessary compounds in his blood."
Sam blinked, a million questions running through his mind.
Do I want to know how and why the CIA had enhanced, super-soldier blood…?
But right now, they had a job to do.
"I was a god." Nagel continued. "I did what no other scientist since Erskine was able to. But, mine was going to be different. No crazy machines, or jacked-up bodies...mine was going to be subtle. Optimized. Perfect."
"How have we never heard of this before?" Sam asked.
"Because before I could complete my work, I turned to dust. When I came back three years later, the program had been abandoned. So, I came here. The Power Broker was more than happy to fund my work."
"Who the hell is the Power Broker?" Sam muttered.
Bucky, meanwhile, moved closer. "Is there any serum in this lab?"
Nagel hesitated. Bucky tapped the cold steel of the pistol against his temple.
"No! No, there isn't."
"That's a shame." came a voice from behind. Sharon stood in the connecting doorway, pistol at the ready. "We need to go, there's some bounty hunters on our tail."
"There's really no serum here?" Bucky said, glaring at Nagel.
"Yes! I made twenty doses. The Flag Smashers stole them all."
Sharon smirked, but there was raw worry behind her eyes. "Yeah, the Power Broker won't be happy about that."
Nagel scoffed. "Why do you-"
He never got to finish his sentence before he slumped to the ground. Sharon smirked, silently thanking Nat for her gift of tranquilizer darts.
"Grab him, and c'mon. There are are some people that are very interested in questioning him."
Bucky obeyed, tossing the man over his shoulder. "We done here? We just gonna leave this place."
"Oh, no, not at all. Run."
Sharon grabbed a flare and tossed it into the lab. It immediately hit several vials and began to burn.
"No one should be making more of that stuff." she said firmly. "Especially not anyone that was with HYDRA."
They dashed out of the shipping crate as fast as humanly (or super-humanly) possible, weaving their way through the sea of other metal crates.
"But who the hell is this Power Broker guy?" Sam asked, frustrated. "Should we be tracking them down, too?"
Sharon grinned. "No, not necessary."
It took a moment, but it clicked.
"You hired this clown?" Bucky howled.
"To draw him out. But I wasn't expecting the Flag Smashers." Sharon grimaced. "For that, I'm sorry. I thought I was keeping a close enough eye on Madripoor. But clearly my informants missed out on a few things."
"So you're still playing double agent with the criminal underworld?" Sam exclaimed. "After all this time?"
Sharon smiled grimly. "Spies don't retire, Sam, they just go into hiding for a while."
They finally managed to get themselves, and Nagel, back to the safe house they had been crashing at. Sharon glared disgustedly at the scientist, before pulling out her phone.
"I gotta make some calls. Make sure he doesn't go anywhere."
"With pleasure." Bucky drawled, leaning back on the plush sofa.
Sam glanced at the scientist, and then up at his friend. "...so we need to track down the Flag Smashers and get that serum back?"
"Sounds like it." Bucky said.
"...Is it insane that I'm wondering whose blood the CIA gave Nagel?"
"Nah, 'cause I'm wondering the same thing. They could have had Steve's. But that's...that's almost too scummy, even for the CIA. Or maybe not."
Sam looked troubled. "Those kids just jabbed themselves with the serum. You realize that, right? I can't believe...that's not something you just do. It amplifies you, right?"
Bucky sighed. "Erskine told Steve that the serum magnifies everything. Including desires and motives. It doesn't add anything, it just makes you more...you."
Sam shook his head. "I never want it. I couldn't. Steve proved he could handle it; he jumped on a grenade to save a bunch of idiots, even if it wasn't necessary. Me...I know myself. It would take things I didn't even know I had and make them all-consuming in my mind-and give me the power to get them. Revenge, glory, fame, you name it. That kind of power is scary."
Bucky gave a slow smile, nodding in quiet respect. "Yeah. It is."
And that's why you're the only Cap there should be, pal.
I can't be the only one who was wildly enthusiastic at the canon confirmation that Bucky was a fantasy nerd, right?
(Or the only one that knew, bone deep, that if Steve knew about Isaiah, there would be hell to pay.)
Also, Zemo is not in my story. I'm not sorry.
As far as the "bad PR" line goes, I definitely believe in meritocracy (people should get jobs they are suited for, and race or gender should not count for or against someone). But I also know that what you show to the world matters, and all I could think while watching the show was "having a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, white man be Cap is only gonna work with the ORIGINAL Cap. What a wasted chance to have a Captain America that reflects more of...AMERICA."
Next chapter: The Poorest Worker Bartered Through the Years-in which Nick Fury faces the past, Sam attempts to reason with Karli Morgenthau, and John Walker shows precisely why he is not fit to be Captain America.