A Super-Soldier for the Modern World
Twenty
"You know you don't have to do this," Amanda told Steve anxiously.
She was watching Steve Rogers get dressed into his Captain America uniform. He was getting ready to turn himself in and the police escort was going to be here in the next half an hour.
He stopped and looked at her. Steve smiled a disarming smile. "You know I do have to do this."
"No. You don't," Amanda said more adamantly.
"Well, I can't stay inside hiding. That's not me," Steve told her.
He sat down on the edge of the bed and Amanda moved to be closer to him.
"I just can't stand to think that they are going to put you in jail," Amanda told him.
"I don't imagine that it's going to be pleasant, but…"
"But what?" Amanda asked. "The American government, the same government that made you a so-called superhero, is putting you into a maximum security prison."
"We've been through everything," Steve said. "Legally, this is sound."
And they had been through everything. The last forty-seven and a half hours had been spent fighting, crying, making up and researching all of the fine details to declare the Registration acts as unconstitutional."
…47 ½ hours ago…
Amanda Carter tore out of the restaurant, not caring that she had left Tony Stark sitting there. She couldn't believe what Natasha had just told her.
The Registration Acts, both Superhero and Mutant, were both passed by both the House and Senate. It just wasn't fair.
Natasha had also informed her that Steve had put his fist through one of the solid concrete walls in the SHIELD facilities, but he was fine aside from that.
Arriving back at SHIELD HQ, she found the hole in the wall before she found Natasha and Clint trying to talk Steve down.
"What the hell?" Amanda asked.
"He hulked-out. And smashed," Hawkeye said.
"I'm okay now," Steve said. "I'm sorry," he apologized to Nat and Clint.
"There has to be something. Anything that can get them to overturn the acts," Amanda said.
Natasha shook her head. "I don't know."
"Yeah, Manda. They seem pretty solid," Clint told her.
"Well, SHIELD should do something!" Amanda shouted. "Where the hell is Nick Fury during all of this? He should be here. He should be helping Steve and SHIELD."
"Amanda," Steve said. "It's okay."
Amanda saw the sad look on Steve's face and almost burst into tears.
"It's not okay," Amanda shook her head.
There was a knock on the door and all four faces turned. It was Agent Coulson and Melinda May.
"We just heard," Melinda said.
"I'm sorry, Cap," Coulson said.
"It's okay," he said to the both of them. "I'm going to turn myself in at the end of the forty-eight hours. I will not be bullied into this," he said adamantly. "I can't."
Coulson nodded.
"We'll be there."
Steve nodded and extended his hand to shake Coulson's. "Thank you."
"What about the rest of your team?" Nat asked.
"Ward can babysit. It's just FitzSimmons and Skye," Coulson said. "They can just stay on the bus."
Clint nodded. "Ward can probably handle it, so long as Ward isn't too busy with Skye…"
"You got that feeling, too?" Natasha asked.
"It was hard not to. They flirt more than we do."
The group continued to converse, but Amanda saw Steve withdrawing. It was quiet. She knew for each time he said it was fine, he was becoming less and less sure of himself.
Amanda moved and pulled him away.
"Let's get out of here," she whispered. "Unless you want to stay…"
"No," he shook his head. "Let's go. Thanks, everyone," he said. Steve wasn't sure what else to say. This was the closest thing he'd had to a family in a very long time. But they simply nodded, there wasn't a need for any big speeches. They understood.
Once Amanda and Steve returned home to the apartment, they looked at each other in silence.
"What do you want to do?" he asked her.
"I feel like I should be asking you that question," Amanda replied.
"I want to spend as much time with you that I can," he said as he caressed her cheek. "I'm likely going away for a while."
She'd been holding it together fairly well, but those words made her come undone. She had tears streaming down her face a minute later.
"Come on," he said. "Don't cry," Steve told her. "Let's not cry over what we cannot change. Everything happens for a reason."
Amanda squeezed her eyes closed as Steve's words touched her heart.
"You cannot be this calm," Amanda said.
"I already punched the wall," Steve pointed out.
Amanda laughed despite herself and then pushed Steve slightly.
"Hey," Steve said before pulling her to him. "I know what I want to do first," he said as he picked her up off of the floor and started to carry her to the bedroom.
…36 Hours Ago…
Steve woke up to Amanda furiously typing on her computer. She was wrapped in one of his flannel sheets at the desk.
"I'm sorry, did I wake you?" she asked when he moved to kiss her bare shoulder.
"No," he lied. "What are you doing?"
"Looking up the appeal process for this mess," Amanda told Steve. "And this is a mess."
"I think we should enjoy our time together instead of worrying about this," Steve told her.
"I realize that you want to be optimistic about this, and I want to be optimistic, too. But we need to have some kind of plan b."
"I do have a plan b. I'm going to turn myself fin. I don't know what is going to happen after that, but that'll be up to our judicial system."
"These Registration Acts are unconstitutional. Criminalizing members of our world because they have a couple extra abilities can only affect society negatively. They are saying that being special is against the law."
"That's not really…"
"Basically!" Amanda shouted. "You can't just let them…"
"I'm not letting them!" Steve shouted back. Steve understood that Amanda was upset, but she needed to understand him, too. "I'm not signing anything. I'm going to jail because I won't sign the acts. I am not going to register myself and let them send me out on duty. I will serve this country, but it's my choice, not theirs."
Amanda wasn't sure what to say to him. He'd finally shown some more emotion.
"I love you, Amanda. And I don't want to leave you, but you know I have to do this."
Amanda nodded, but she started to tear up again. She wiped the tears away quickly.
"I'm going to keep looking up info," Amanda told him.
"If you want to," Steve said.
"I do," Amanda told him. "I love you, too."
Steve smiled. "I'm going to take a shower. Then breakfast?"
…18 Hours Ago…
"You don't get it!" Amanda shouted. "I'm not going to date someone else because you're in prison!"
"I don't want you to sit around and wait for me!" he shouted back.
"Isn't it enough that you're doing this martyr shit for the greater good? Why do you have to stand there and be all calm and collected and basically break up with me less than 24 hours before you go away? That's so shitty, Steve!" she yelled.
"Excuse me for wanting you to be happy!" he yelled back.
They'd been shouting for 20 minutes and they were getting nowhere. They'd been holed up, alone, since coming home and a day and a half ago and clearly the proximity combined with the stress was wearing on them.
"Right, because it's totally normal for a fiancé to give up when her future husband goes to prison."
"I don't know how long I'll be in there. It could be years! You're telling me that you'll just be totally content to wait? Who'd be playing the martyr then?" he yelled back.
"I just don't understand! Why would you tell me that? You think I'd be happy telling you were on your own? Bye! Because things aren't easy? What kind of person do you think I am, Steve?"
Steve looked at her sadly. "I am just trying to make everyone happy?"
"What about you? Are you happy? I don't think so," Amanda said to him. "What do you really want?"
"I really want you to not give up on me."
Amanda looked up into his sad eyes. "I would never do that. What else do you want?"
"What do you mean?" he asked her.
"What do you want? What about this pisses you off?"
"Everything," he said simply. "I'm a soldier. I signed up to defend my country. And I was given a lot of opportunities because of that choice. But now everything is different. I wanted to marry you and hopefully start a family. And no matter what I do, I can't do that."
…1 Hour Ago…
Steve held Amanda close to his chest. He'd lost track of how many times they had made love in the last 2 days. It didn't matter. He just liked to share that time with Amanda.
Upon deciding that he was going to turn himself in, he had originally thought of finding a justice of the peace and getting married. But he didn't think that was fair to Amanda.
He'd changed his mind and told her that he was okay to find someone else and that had caused one of the worst arguments they'd ever had.
He glanced at the clock. He needed to shower and get cleaned up. The police escort would be there in about an hour and a half. If they started moving now, they might even have time for some food.
Amanda only stirred slightly when Steve moved out of the bed. He smiled back down at her before moving to the bathroom.
…Present…
Steve turned around and stood up. "It's almost time to go. You aren't going to just wear a bra, right?" he asked her.
"Fine. If you insist that I get dressed…" Amanda tried to smile.
"I don't want the rest of the world to see what you've got under your suit," he told her while she pulled up her white SHIELD suit.
Steve's hands found the zipper and he pulled it up from her belly button up to her chin.
"Mine."
"Yours," she replied with a kiss.
A second later, a pounding on the door interrupting them.
"Must be time to go," Steve told her.
"They're early," Amanda replied as she checked the time. "Figures."
Amanda opened the door and they asked Steve to step out. There was a team of 6 men who looked absolutely terrified to be doing what they were doing.
"We gotta cuff you, Captain Rogers," the front man in the group said.
"I know," Steve replied.
"You're kidding," Amanda said dryly. "He's turning himself in; he won't fight back."
"It's procedure, ma'am."
"I don't give a shit about your procedure."
Steve had his hands behind his back and they clapped the handcuffs on his wrists.
He shuddered in pain.
"What?" Amanda asked. "What's wrong?"
"Strength dampening cuffs," Steve said.
Amanda looked back at the man who had just handcuffed Captain America. "Seriously?"
"He'd be able to break out of normal handcuffs, ma'am."
"It's all right, Amanda," Steve said. "I'm fine."
"You keep saying that…"
"Because it's true," Steve replied.
"I'm sorry, Cap," one of the police officers said.
"It's not your fault. But you gotta do your job," he said. "Can't blame anyone for doing their job."
"My kid dressed as you for Halloween," another officer said as they walked out of the apartment building.
"That's…great…" Steve replied.
Amanda wasn't allowed to ride with Steve to the jail where Steve Rogers was to be booked. So, she followed behind the caravan and parked a ways back while the group of police officers figured everything out.
Amanda was out in the crowd, attempting not to cry when they finally led Steve out for everyone to see.
There had to been at least 300 people waiting. Some had 'Free Captain America' signs while others were calling for his immediate incarceration. But the one thing everyone could agree on was the silence when Steve was led out in his full suit and handcuffs. It was quite the sight.
Amanda was only a few steps away when one of the police men came to get her.
Tears were finally rolling down her cheeks when she stood next to Steve.
"I thought I told you not to cry," Steve told her. "All these people…"
"I don't care. I'm going to work on getting you out. You are the last person who deserves to be in jail," Amanda told him.
"I love you," he smiled.
"I love you, too, Steve. And I can't wait to marry you."
Steve bent slightly to kiss her when the shots rang out. Steve tried to maneuver her out of the way, but without the use of his arms, he was limited, and it was too late. Amanda collapsed into a heap at his feet. For a second, Steve simply thought that she'd fallen, but then he realized the red that was staining her white uniform and the cement steps at his feet.
"Someone call an ambulance! And get these off of me!"
He was fighting against his restraints, but it was no use. He couldn't get them to budge. He felt useless while Amanda was fading.
"Amanda!" he shouted as he kneeled down at her side. "Amanda!"
…
To Be Continued…
Author's Note: Let me know what you think!