Oh boy...
A thousand apologies for the abrupt month and a half hiatus. My job and my personal life simultaneously got very busy, and I didn't have much mental and emotional space to sit and write. But I was determined to finish this story, and so I did. I hope you enjoy.
If you recognize it from the show, it's from the show, and I don't own it. If not, it's mine.
Chapter Five: The Land that Never Yet Has Been
"Batroc? I have a job for you."
The heavy barrage of French was almost too fast for Sharon to keep up with. But she did catch several threats against her life and several assertions about her sexual status.
"Oh, please. If it weren't for me, you'd still be rotting in that Algerian prison."
At that, the French escalated, both in tone and threat level. Sharon moved the phone away from her ear and sighed deeply.
"Finished?" she asked, after a minute.
He was not.
"I can give you double this time. I promise you won't regret saying yes. So what's it gonna be?"
There was a long pause. Finally, Batroc muttered, in English:
"I'm listening."
Karli Morgenthau sat on a park bench, a cheap to-go cup of coffee in her hands. It had long gone cold.
Dovich, her associate, paced nervously. "What are we doing here?" he asked.
Karli looked up and smiled. "I got some help, to even the odds." she nodded at a broad-shouldered man in a purplish jacket, who was moving their way. "Sam screwed him out of a small fortune not too long ago. He's been dying to get payback ever since."
The man reached them and nodded a greeting. "Bonjour." he said, placing a solid black case on the wooden bench. He opened it, revealing a variety of weapons.
Dovich reached over and casually shut the case, looking angrily at Karli. They couldn't afford to draw this much attention to themselves.
"So, we're working with criminals, now?" he asked heatedly.
Karli was still grinning. "Haven't you heard? We are criminals. Georges gets his payback, and we get a killer. It's a bargain on both sides."
Dovich still looked unsure. But Batroc rocked on his heels, looking very eager.
"So, you invite me here for a picnic, or what?"
"A test, of sorts." Karli replied, dropping into French. "We're everywhere, and nowhere. That's why we'll win."
A soft 'ping' came from her phone, as she summoned a silent army of people from across the park. Dozens stood up and moved towards them.
"We're going to make sure that GRC vote never happens." she said, switching back to English.
"Hey…" Batroc cut in. "I'm not here to join the movement. I'm just here to kill the Falcon. Maybe the Winter Soldier, too."
"You'll get your chance." Karli assured. She gazed out over the throng of people in silent pride. This was their moment-where the whole world would have its eyes on her cause.
"Tonight, we go to battle."
"I think I've finally figured it out."
Sam nodded at Natasha's face in the tiny camera window. "Go on."
"These pings, or whatever you want to call them, they always occur right before the Flag Smashers strike. Obviously, they're all over Europe. Well, today we had one from New York."
Sam sucked in a deep breath. "I see."
"Now, I can't prove that these guys aren't using a VPN or something, but…"
"Yeah, I get it. Thanks, Nat."
"All I'm saying is, you might need to get your ass home."
"I am home."
"Your other home. With the people you love, too." Natasha cocked one eyebrow. "I know you've been thinking about a lot. Steve told me some of the details. But he also said you were in now."
Sam nodded. "I am. Just...wanted to spend some time down here."
"Get up your courage before you go be the Cap we all need and don't deserve?"
"Nat…"
"I mean it." Natasha glanced aside. "Steve is a starry-eyed golden retriever who will believe for the best in everyone and push them towards that ideal, but he...he was always the Man Out of Time. Always will be. It's not his fault. But this is your time. You know it. Come show the world what it can and should be."
"...I will. I'll start packing. Call Bucky, will ya? And Sharon-even though she probably knows."
"She absolutely does. She already has a pawn on the inside."
Sam groaned. "Dare I ask who?"
"Oh, just your old friend Batroc."
"Batroc? What the hell? I got him locked up! Did she just let him out of prison?"
"It's Sharon; she's playing 4-D chess. She knows Batroc hates your guts, so he was willing to go track down the Flag-Smashers and fight you, in exchange for some cash. But this way, Sharon was able to keep tabs on the Flag-Smasher's whereabouts. She told me, and I put two and two together about the pings."
Sam shook his head. "You two are terrible. I should be glad you're at least...pretending to be good?"
"We're on your side, at least." Natasha smiled ferally. "Give Batroc a kick in the groin for me when you see him, won't you?"
"With pleasure. Right after I find Karli and finish the chat that Walker rudely interrupted."
Bucky walked the edge of the military barrier around the GRC building, listening to the wailing of sirens and trying not to be overwhelmed by flashing lights.
"I'm almost there." Sam said, over their comm. "About to touch down on the city. It's nice to be back in wings again."
Bucky smiled, slightly. "So, what's the plan?" he asked. "Is Sharon coming?"
"I think so. She said something about 'having to pick something up'. I have a bad feeling she means 'someone'."
Bucky frowned. "Is Steve getting involved?"
"Think younger."
Bucky growled. "Aw, f-"
"Language!"
"Dammit, Wilson, you're a grown man, don't you 'language' me!"
Sam laughed, cutting through the tension that hung like a heavy fog in the air.
"But seriously, what is the plan?"
"Karli is bound to be close. Just stay where you are and keep your eyes open. She could be anywhere."
Bucky nodded. "Acknowledged."
He kept up his pace along the perimeter, until a voice stopped him, "Excuse me, are you supposed to be here?"
Bucky looked back, incredulous, at two men behind him. And then, one of the men started scratching at his face, revealing Sharon underneath. A moment later, her companion turned into Christy.
"Sharon, what the hell?"
Christy sighed. "I fought during the literal apocalypse, and you're worried about me fighting wannabe fascists?"
"Are they there?" Sam asked through the comm.
"Unfortunately." Bucky mumbled.
"Christy, you stay with Sharon, understand? Does Steve know?"
"He knows." Sharon assured. "He's relaxed slightly on the whole 'Christy fighting' thing. Ever since she started training with Peter and the rest of them."
"I won't do anything stupid, like jump on a grenade, or jump off a plane without a parachute." Christy said sarcastically.
Bucky rolled his eyes, mumbling about looking for gray hairs after the fight was over.
There was a slight thudding sound through the comms, as Sam apparently touched down.
"I'm on the roof, I'm going to try and figure out what's happening. Keep me pos-"
Suddenly, the GRC building was enveloped in a threatening red light, with gas pouring out from every entrance.
"Is anyone trying to get in from your end?" Sam asked
"No, it looks the same." Bucky replied, as the three of them strode into the building.
"Karli must be trying to force everyone out-you've got to keep people in the building-!"
They could hear another voice over Sam's comm link, garbled and accented. Sharon sighed.
"I think Batroc found him. C'mon-let's get to work."
"Mr. Barnes. It's Karli."
Bucky took the pro-offered cell phone almost without thinking.
Don't question too deeply why she has the terrorist on the phone, don't question it, Barnes…
"Karli?" he asked softly.
"Aren't you tired of fightin' for the wrong side, Mr. Barnes?"
Bucky scoffed lightly. "Been there, done that, kid. And I could say the same to you. Pretty soon, this nightmare is gonna bite you in the ass."
"I'm not afraid to die. Even if I'm gone, the fight will continue. I'm fighting for something bigger than myself. And with all the bodies you've racked up, can you say the same?"
"You think I've never fought for something bigger than myself?" Bucky asked incredulously. The sheer lack of logic and overdose of rhetoric coming from Karli reminded Bucky that this was a kid-a kid not much older than Christy, a kid who was firmly convinced of her own rightness.
A kid who was angry at the world for being unfair.
He could relate.
"That's all I ever tried to do." he continued. "And I failed. Hard. Got beat up and turned into a monster, and had to claw my way back. You think your cause justifies all this death, but in the end, the nightmares won't go away. You're gonna remember all the ones you killed."
He paused, feeling a burning weight in his chest.
"Don't do this. Don't go down this path."
"You should sit this one out if you feel that way."
"You know I won't."
"Well, thank you for your time. You've been a big help."
Karli's voice shifted tone, and Bucky suddenly realized what he should have known all along. He threw down the phone.
"Dammit!"
"Daddy? Where's Mommy?"
Steve blinked back to reality, quickly muting the TV at the sound of his son's voice. "Hey, bud, aren't you supposed to be asleep?"
"Can't sleep. I can hear the screaming cars."
"Screaming...the sirens? The police sirens?"
Jamie nodded. "They're too loud. Why aren't they asleep?"
Steve sighed, and turned off the TV altogether. No sense in scaring Jamie any more.
"Well, bud...some people are out doing bad things tonight. That's why Mommy's out late. With Christy."
"Oh. Are they going to fight the bad people again?"
"...yeah. They are, buddy."
Jamie crawled onto the couch and nestled against Steve's chest. "When I get big, I want to fight bad people, too."
A lump caught in Steve's throat. "Your sister always said that. And now she is big."
"Are you scared, Daddy?"
Steve hugged Jamie closer. "A little bit."
"It'll be okay, Daddy. It's not aliens. It's just people. Mommy an' Christy an' Uncle Bucky an' Uncle Sam are big enough for just people."
Steve gave a half-laugh, half-sob. "I-I guess you're right. They are big enough for just people."
He closed his eyes and tried to block out the 'screaming cars' that were grating on his enhanced ears.
"Why don't we go in my bed, huh, buddy? We can watch something until you fall asleep. Something nice."
Jamie nodded. "Nice like Bug's Life?"
Steve nodded back, fervently.
"Sure, buddy. Bug's Life it is."
"With hot chocolate?"
Steve started to reply that it was too late for hot chocolate. But Jamie's eyes were big and pleading, and truth be told, he didn't have the heart for it tonight.
"Of course. Hot chocolate for the end of the world, like always."
Bucky raced after the armored truck with the hostages, kicking himself for not realizing earlier that Karli's call was one big distraction.
You're getting soft in your old age, Barnes.
Maybe Sam was getting to him, or maybe he was getting old, but all he could see in Karli was a little girl, cut and bleeding, lashing back at a world that had given her blow after blow. She needed therapy, not death.
The problem was, she might not let herself live long enough to get therapy.
"You better speed things up, Sam." he heard Sharon say through the comms. "That chopper is getting ready to fly."
"Bucky…" Sam's voice sounded strained. Clearly he was still trying to kick Batroc down-and not exactly winning.
"I don't fly, man, that's your thing." Bucky replied, revving his engine and speeding down the street.
He kept going until he reached a blockaded section of street, with two armored trucks surrounded by the Flag-Smashers.
Bingo.
Careening forward, he flipped his bike and himself over the concrete barrier, and launched himself at a masked Flag-Smasher. He tackled the man to the ground.
A few minutes into the fight, he heard a dim popping sound, and realized that they had set one of the trucks on fire.
This time, he recognized the trick immediately. But what else could he do? There were civilians in that truck-and though he would never describe a politician as 'innocent', they didn't deserve to die.
He walked to the truck at a clipped pace, the screams of the hostages echoing in his ears as he got closer. The truck was locked with some sort of specialty lock that looked like a spider.
"Hold on!" he yelled, trying to figure out the quickest way to break the door down. He tugged at the doors with all of his strength, but nothing loosened. He needed a better angle.
Suddenly, a deep cry split the night air.
"Morgenthau!"
It was Walker. He was wearing his US Agent get-up, and carried an odd shield. It lacked the star in the middle, and the color scheme was more muted and subtle.
The look on his face was anything but.
"Let's finish this!"
Bucky could hear Karli's voice behind him, dimly.
"I didn't mean to kill your friend. I don't want to hurt people that don't matter."
Bucky winced internally. Oh, that's not going to end well…
"You don't think Lemar's life mattered?"
"Not to my fight."
John tossed his shield at Karli, but she deflected it with a sharp kick, sending it spinning a few feet away. She slipped her mask back on, smiling smugly. John growled, and went in for the kill.
Meanwhile, Bucky had switched to raining punches on the lock, hoping to weaken the metal. Finally, he re-grabbed the handles and pulled again with every ounce of strength. The door finally gave way.
The hostages rushed out of the truck.
"Go, go!" Bucky cried, gesturing vaguely away from the carnage.
One man stopped, briefly. "Thank you for saving us." he said, eyes wide with adrenaline.
It had been a long time since Bucky had heard those words. He nodded.
"You're welcome. Now get out of here!"
He turned to the fight behind him. John was on the ground and using his shield for protection. Just before he could get the crap kicked out of him, Bucky leaped forward and joined the fray.
"Nice shield!" he called, before landing a punch.
John grunted. "Thanks. Made it myself."
"Those kind are always the best. Then you know its history. No expectations to live up to but your own."
"You talk too much, Barnes."
Bucky gasped out a quick laugh. "Didn't barely talk for seventy years. Gotta get my quips in now. Besides, I can talk while fighting. Can you?"
Sam flew alongside the helicopter with the hostages, trying to stay out of the pilot's line of sight. Thanks to Redwing, he knew that one of the representatives, Ayla Perez, had flight training.
He had hacked her phone to send a message, and now watched to see if she would put in her headphones like he had requested.
Unfortunately, the pilot caught sight of him and let out a barrage of gunfire. Sam quickly flew away, trying to get out of reach from the fire.
Dammit, dammit, dammit!
He couldn't avoid the 'copter's wings and was spun into a collection of cement tubing. The force of it sent him down into the river, with just enough time to take a breath before he went under.
In a moment, he was back above the water, spitting mad.
"Boy, you just earned this ass whoopin'!" he yelled, zooming back to where he could see the window.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ayla slip in her headphones.
Showtime.
"A little birdie told me you know how to fly a plane. Now listen. What we're gonna do requires careful planning. We're gonna count down from five. When we get to one, we're gonna grab the control, okay?"
He could see Ayla shift forward, eyes already on the control stick.
At the count of two, Sam sent the shield through the window, knocking the pilot into the air. At the count of one, Ayla took control of the helicopter.
Sam watched as the man plummeted into the river, feeling vaguely sorry. These were dangerous terrorists, but that one was a kid. So many of them were kids.
He spared a thought for Christy, somewhere in the madness with Sharon. He was very glad that she had never turned so bitter.
Thinking of Christy made him think of Karli.
He still wanted to finish that talk.
The truck was going to fall.
John had tried to keep Karli separate from the truck, but he had failed. And now it was going to fall.
Unless he grabbed it.
But if he grabbed the truck, then Karli would get away.
He blinked once, twice. He lowered his head to his hands.
"We're public figures, accountable to the public above all else. If you want to represent anything, anyone, you have to consider how it's going to look to the world. This isn't a Black-Ops job-this is theater. Brutal, real theater-but theater."
For just a moment, he could see Lemar's face. And then, he let his homemade shield fall to the ground below.
He grabbed the truck and held it back with all of his strength. He could feel the difference in his muscles from before. It still ached, but it was possible.
He knew that the watching public would approve. Steve would approve. Lemar would approve.
That was all that really mattered. The country be damned, as long as he could face Lemar's grave with a clear conscience.
He started to drag the truck back onto the metal scaffolding. For a moment, it looked like everything would be alright.
But then, Karli and one of her flunkies jumped him from behind. They sent him falling to the ground, like his shield before him. The truck lurched forward.
It was Bucky who pulled him up.
"We gotta catch-"
The words died on his lips. There, in all his costumed, shielded, and winged glory, was Sam, holding the truck on the edge.
With a burst of all his strength, Sam pushed the truck to a safe position.
"Is he…?" John asked.
Bucky shook his head, beaming with pride. "Nah. No drugs, no serum. Just Sam."
"You're getting this on film, right?" Sharon asked, nose pressed against the chain-link fence.
"Yup!" Christy said, her voice leaking with palpable excitement. "Jamie's gonna lose his mind!"
They could see Sam swoop down, and say something to Karli, before white smoke filled the air.
"Batroc?" Christy asked.
Sharon nodded, looking grim. "C'mon. We gotta go. They're gonna need back-up, and we both have unfinished business with Karli Morgenthau."
Both of them suddenly heard static through their earbuds. It was Sam.
"They headed underground. We're in the tunnel on William's. Get there as soon as you can."
Sharon gave Christy a sharp nod. "Follow me."
Together, they entered the cavernous maze of piping under the city streets. Sharon was tracking Karli on her phone.
"Back here." she murmured finally, pulling Christy into a corner, behind some piping.
A moment later, they heard a whistle, and then Karli's voice.
"Dovich? Dovich, is that you?"
In one fluid motion, Sharon stood up, pistol at the ready. Christy stood up beside her.
"Drop your weapon, Karli." Sharon said, eyes fierce.
In answer, Karli raised her own pistol.
"I said drop it."
Christy stayed behind her stepmother, pistol also at the ready. "Karli. We never finished our talk."
Karli looked momentarily thrown. "You! With her!"
"Her who?"
Karli smirked. "With the Power Broker. You didn't know?"
"Oh, yeah, I knew that."
Glancing at Sharon, Christy slowly spread her hands and lowered her pistol. Sharon did the same.
Karli reluctantly followed.
"Christy told me that last time you two spoke, that didn't go so well." Sharon said. "You got interrupted."
Karli frowned. "By Walker."
"Yeah, by Walker." Christy walked a few steps to the left. "Karli, what are you trying to do?"
"Change the world."
"By blowing up people and taking hostages?"
"I'm fighting for something bigger than myself! You just take advantage of a system that already leaves you privileged."
"Privileged!" Christy took a deep breath. "Yeah, I am privileged. Or lucky. Still not sure which. But I get it. My entire family died before I was eight. I was in foster care. I got adopted, but that just made my life more complicated. I've watched everyone I loved be hurt, and sometimes die. So don't think you're the only one that's been bitter at the world!"
Karli glared. "You! You've never been hungry or cold or on the run! You're just a spoiled child! You're going to stay stuck in the path that's been laid out for you, ignoring the real problems of the world. But that's where I'm different."
Sharon cleared her throat, giving Christy a moment to collect herself.
"You know, when I first met you in Madripoor, you reminded me of a young me. Angry. Bitter. Knowing too much. Convinced their way was right."
"I am right."
Sharon shook her head. "Come work with me, all of you. I can get you jobs. We can actually change the world, starting ground up. Blowing up banks and taking government workers hostage will not change the world in any meaningful way. It just makes more chaos."
"You're just scared." Karli smiled again, in her trademark unnerving smirk.
"You don't have a plan." Christy said, voice quiet. "You can shout 'one world, one people' 'till you're blue in the face, but that doesn't change the fact that we are not one people. We're all human, but we have differences. And historically, nothing good comes from trying to shove together too many different people without something to bind them all together."
Karli laughed. "You're lecturing me on history now?"
"Well, clearly someone needs to." Christy muttered.
Karli tipped her head to the side. "You just want me back because you need your muscle. Without us super soldiers, how much power does the Power Broker really have?"
Sharon shrugged. "More than you."
All three women turned as a voice sounded from around the corner. It was Batroc.
"So, you're the Power Broker."
Sharon instantly shoved Christy behind her, as Karli said, "You hired Batroc to spy on me?"
"Oh, Karli. You know I always come prepared."
Batroc smiled nastily. "And now, Power Broker, you will pay me four times what you promised. Or I will tell the whole world who you are."
Sharon kept her pleasant smile.
"I don't really do blackmail."
Three shots rang out. Christy slumped to the ground. Then, a fourth shot sent Batroc slumping to the ground, dead as a doornail. Sharon's angry face was enough to kill him twice.
Christy was breathing in and out shallowly. The bullet had grazed her leg and she looked to be going into shock.
"M-mom, I'm sorry…" she gasped.
"No, no, it's okay honey, it's okay, it's not your fault, he's dead now." Sharon re-assured, keeping her pistol trained on Karli while she smoothed her daughter's hair. "Just keep breathing, I know it hurts…"
Sam ran around the corner and took in the scene, eyes wide.
"Get her back a ways." he said to Sharon firmly, before looking back at Karli, who had her pistol raised once more.
"Stay back, Sam." she warned.
Sam stood his ground.
"So, what's it gonna be?" he asked. "You kill ten this time, what's next, a hundred? When does it end? Please, let me help you."
"Don't try and manipulate me." Karli said, shaking her head. She lunged forward, and Sam raised the Shield to defend himself. But only for that.
"I'm not gonna fight you!" he yelled, blocking Karli's punches and kicks. He dug his wings into the concrete, but Karli managed to knock him down for a moment.
"Stay down!" she yelled.
For a split second, Sam had a sense of destiny and deja vu all wrapped into one.
He stood up.
"No."
Meanwhile, Sharon was hastily administering first aid to Christy's leg and trying to keep her awake.
"Will Dad be mad?" Christy asked weakly.
"Probably at me, but not at you. Don't worry about your classes, that's what Fall Breaks are for-if you need an extra couple of days, you can always make up work."
"H-how am I gonna explain a bullet wound?"
"Leave that to me and your dad, we'll think of something."
They could hear the sounds of the fight, could hear Karli's screams of "fight back!", and at last, could hear the sound of a shield clattering to the ground.
Christy gasped, and grabbed her pistol without thinking. "Sam, no!"
"Christy, sit back!"
But it was too late. Karli stood, pistol pointed at her beloved uncle's chest. And Christy moved without thinking.
"He aims his pistol to the sky…"
Karli slumped to the ground.
Sharon gasped. Her trained eye took in that Christy's shot had been true-and likely fatal.
Quickly, before anyone else could process it, she followed her daughter's shot with one of her own.
Your first not-battle kill is always hard enough...maybe I can ease the guilt.
Christy's eyes were huge, and she dragged herself across the floor. Sam was holding Karli's bleeding body in his hands.
"I'm sorry!" Christy yelled. "Why did you make me kill you?! Dammit! Why didn't you stop?!"
Sharon held her back.
"Sam…" Karli whispered. "I'm sorry…"
Sam nodded. "I know…"
In a minute, Karli was gone. Christy looked ready to pass out.
"Sam…" Sharon said, a note of warning in her voice.
Sam turned to attend to his niece, cupping her face in his hands. "Christy...hey, Christy, look at me."
Christy sniffled, eyes unfocused and shocked. "I-I...Sam, I killed her. I killed her!"
"You saved my life." Sam corrected. "Don't you ever forget that."
"B-but she...but I…"
"Shhh...I know. I know. We wanted to talk to her. To show her a better way. But she didn't wanna see it. Couldn't understand it."
Christy dissolved into hiccuping sobs. Sam held her fast against him, as the lights reflected dimly off the Shield.
"You did exactly what you've been trained to do." he whispered. "You did it well. But it don't feel good, and now you know why guns are always the last resort, even more than before."
At last Christy looked up. Their eyes locked for a moment, and a bond of understanding forged between them.
"You and me, we're a lot alike." Sam whispered. "Thanks for being my wingman, Mini-Cap."
Christy nodded. "A-always."
Sam and Sharon looked at each other and wordlessly decided on a plan. Sharon lifted Christy into her arms. Sam took Karli's body.
"I'm going to get her medical attention." Sharon said. "You go deal with the press. Find Bucky and Walker."
Sam nodded, and together, they exited the tunnel.
He found John and Bucky surrounded by press and arrested Flag-Smashers. Wordlessly, he held up Karli's body to the cameras.
Bucky caught his eye. "Where's Sharon and Mini-Cap?" he asked quietly.
Sam sighed. "Karli tried to shoot me, and the kid shot back. Killed her. She got a leg wound. Sharon took her to get patched up."
Bucky drew in a sharp breath. "Damn…"
"Tell me about it."
"She's gonna need another round of therapy."
"Won't we all?"
Press lights started to flash as Sam set down the body.
"So what happened to the Flag Smashers?"
"When did the government make you Captain America?"
"Or is it still the Falcon? Captain Falcon?"
Sam ignored the flashing lights and walked toward three of the ex-hostages.
"Thank you." said Ayla. "Thank you for saving us."
"You did your part in dealing with those terrorists, now we'll do ours."
Sam sighed. "Are you still going forward with the re-settlement?"
Another representative nodded. "Our peacekeeping troops will begin moving people soon. The terrorists only set us back a little bit."
In his mind, Sam could still see the light fading from Karli's eyes.
"Please reconsider." he heard himself say.
"Are you serious?"
He took a deep breath.
"Look, these guys didn't get a following for nothing. We need to do better. We need to find a solution that isn't 'shove people in camps for years'. I'm not a politician. I don't know what the answer is. But there's got to be a better one. And in the meantime, let's make sure funds get where they need to. Sending in 'peacekeeping troops' with weapons never ends well-and it doesn't look well, either."
Some of the representatives still looked angry and bewildered, but some were nodding.
"I said myself that the resettlement camps were not well equipped!" one woman argued. "Could we not wait a few months to see that supplies are sent, and more volunteers are in place? What is so special about now?"
Sam nodded. "Karli Morgenthau was all wrong. But her ideas didn't come from nowhere. The world is broken and we all have to use what power we have to make sure it gets actively better, not worse."
One senator frowned. "And the people who came back to find someone else living in their family home, they just end up homeless now? Look, I get it, but you have no idea how complicated this situation is!"
Sam leaned in. "Senator, please. Don't waste this moment. For once, we all have a common struggle. Our lives were all upended by the Blip. Can you remember what it was like to be helpless before a power that you couldn't fight? You're about to have that same effect on millions of people."
"You just don't understand…"
"I'm a Black man carrying the Stars and Stripes! What don't I understand? Even now, I can feel the stares, the judgement. I know that some people will be against me no matter what I do, and I can't do anything to change that. But I'm still here. No blonde hair, no blue eyes, no super-serum. My only power is the belief that we can do better."
He took a deep breath. A thousand faces flashed before his eyes. Sarah. Cass and AJ. His parents. His community. Steve. Bucky. Christy. Sharon. Nat. His people; his world.
"You people have just as much power as an insane god, or a misguided teenager. The question is, 'what are you going to do with it'? Because if you don't step up, the next Karli will. And you don't wanna see 2.0. This girl died trying to stop you! Think about that! What are you doing-or not doing-that made her this full of rage? Evaluate yourselves! Because that's where the change starts-look at yourself, and then at the people you'll impact. And then keep them in your mind. It's not about what's easier. The right answer is never easy-and we all know that."
At that, he left the representatives to think. He had said his piece. He walked to where Bucky and John stood.
Bucky smiled. "I, uh, was texting, so all I heard was 'a Black guy in Stars and Stripes'..."
Sam snorted. Bucky clapped him gently on the back.
"Nice job, Cap."
"Thanks."
John cleared his throat. "Sam? I...I'm sorry."
The two men locked eyes for a moment. Sam nodded.
"Forgiven." he said, feeling a weight drop from his chest.
"...suit looks good." John mumbled. "Shield, too."
"So does yours." Sam said gently. "Hope to see you the next time things go sideways."
"...thanks."
Bucky sighed. "Can we go home now?"
Three Months Later
The Smithsonian American History Museum was familiar ground to Christy by now. She could almost walk the place blindfolded. But she kept her eyes open, since the display they were going to see was very new.
Her leg had healed, even if her heart would never completely heal. Everyone told her that killing people in a one-on-one fight was always more emotionally scarring than in a giant melee, so she gave herself permission to hurt. In some ways, Karli remained in her heart like a dark mirror-the ghost of who she could become, if she ever became so convinced of her own rightness that she ignored everyone else's advice.
She supposed Karli was to blame for her newest venture- investing some of her inheritance from Uncle Tony into funding a school in one of the resettlement camps. In the summer, she would be going there to volunteer.
Until then, she was obediently back in therapy, working to make sure her own mind was steady, before she worked to steady others.
She held Jamie's hand carefully. Her dad held the other one. Sharon walked to his other side.
As they rounded a corner, they found the exhibit they were looking for. And they weren't alone.
Sam stood in front of the statue, next to an older Black man and a teenage boy. The man had tears in his eyes.
Steve stiffened. Sharon reached over and took his hand, murmuring something low in his ear.
The man saw them and narrowed his eyes.
Steve stood to attention. "Mr. Bradley?"
Isaiah Bradley gave a curt nod.
Steve clicked his heels and gave the finest salute he could offer, standing stock-still after.
It took a moment, but Isaiah shakily returned the gesture.
Steve nodded his head in respect, before moving his family to the other side of the display.
Sam breathed a sigh of relief as Isaiah's steely glare softened just a bit.
"Look at the statue, Jamie." Steve said quietly. "Isn't it nice?"
"Yeah, Daddy." Jamie said. But it was clear he was more interested in the man the statue portrayed. "Daddy, who's that?"
He pointed with his little finger. Sharon quickly took his hand.
"Jamie, it's not nice to point…"
"But who's the man, Daddy?"
Steve cleared his throat. "That's a hero, son. His name's Isaiah Bradley."
"A hero like Uncle Bucky an' Uncle Sam an' you?"
"Even more."
"Even more?! Did he fight Nazis, too?"
Steve took a deep breath, and moved to the first panel of the display. "Well, sort of. He didn't fight the Nazis. But he had to fight people who thought like them. And they didn't even know it."
Sam gave a bittersweet smile as Jamie stood, taking in every word.
Change wouldn't come overnight. It might not even come in his lifetime. But it would come.
And until it did, he would take his stand.
And that's all she wrote :) At least for this tale. I hope I have wrangled Falcon (Captain America) and the Winter Soldier into something that meshes with my 'verse and also is emotionally satisfying.
What's next?
Well, I'm currently working-very slowly-on original writing. And I'm determined to make some headway. So I might not post for a while. But next on my plan is "Love, Persevering"-the ChristyVerse take on WandaVision. WandaVision is a show that I enjoyed thoroughly, even more so than Falcon and the Winter Soldier, so I'm looking forward to playing around with the events of it. I can't give a timeline for beginning right now, so follow me to see any updates when they come.
Until then, drop a review to let me know I didn't type almost 6000 words in vain. Thanks for the support, and I'll see you next time.