Chapter 10
"AAAAAAAAHHH!", Scott screamed as he flew through the portal and crashed down onto a green field. He slowly got up, his face covered with blades of grass.
"Guys? Was there really not a better way of doing this?", he shouted, looking up to the portal above him.
The rest of the heroes hopped down from the hole in the middle of the air, finding themselves in a nice sunny park. They were dressed in casual garb, including hooded jackets, shades, and baseball caps, as the group wanted to keep a low profile.
"There's gotta be a better way of doing this," Scott told Strange, clearly woozy.
"Would you rather comfort or speed?", Strange asked.
"Comfort!," Scott retorted, "Definitely comfort!"
"So, you sure we're in the right place?", Peter asked, looking around.
"Uh, I'm pretty sure that's a damn good sign," Sam scoffed, turning the boy's face so he could see the Washington Monument.
"Oh, perfect!," Peter smiled, "You know, my friend almost got this place blown up once."
"Seriously?," Hope asked.
Peter rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, technically, it was kind of my fault too, but-"
"Alright, people. If our intel's correct, the Kree are here in DC," Sam explained to the others, "Were you able to figure out specifically where in DC they are."
"We were able to triangulate it to this specific area," T'Challa replied, "All we must do is search the area."
"Alright, then. I say we split up and search the area," Sam suggested.
"I'm sorry, wouldn't it make more sense to stick together?", Scott asked, "I mean, we don't know what we're gonna come across. We don't wanna walk into an attack."
"If we split up, we can cover more ground and waste less time," Rhodes agreed with Sam.
"Alright, I say we split up into three teams. One tech-head per team," Sam ordered, "Hope, Valkyrie, Carol, cover downtown."
"Of course," both Carol and Brunnhilde sighed.
"T'Challa, you take Strange and Rhodes. Check out the Southwest Waterfront."
Rhodey turned to the doctor, "You pull any crazy mystical shit like your students, I swear-"
"I make no promises," Stephen smirked.
"Peter, you're with me and Scott. We're hitting Georgetown."
"Sweet! Power team!," Peter flashed a smile.
"Alright, let's split up, gang!", Scott twirled his finger in the air, walking off.
"Did you really make a Scooby Doo joke?," Rhodes asked.
"Did you just get a Scooby Doo joke?," Scott retorted.
"Where are you even going? That's not the right way!", Sam called out.
"Shoot!," Scott ran back, panting.
"We could've taken Hawkeye, but no. 'I have a family that needs me! I wanna retire!' ", Rhodes began mumbling to himself.
…
The Wakandan, the sorcerer, and the colonel walked down the boardwalk, searching the area for anything suspicious. T'Challa looked down at a hologram displayed on the beads on his wrist.
Strange walked next to Rhodey, not making eye contact, "So, how has Stark Industries been?"
"When have you been one for small talk?", Rhodey chuckled, "Everything's going fine. Pepper's been managing things, everything's going smoothly."
"Hm. And the Stark family themselves?," Strange asked.
Rhodes sighed, "They've been doing better. Happy and I have been helping them out, doing favors for them. And Morgan...Man, I never thought I'd be James Rhodes, professional babysitter, but that girl...she really is Tony's kid. Smarter every day. Pepper's even taking some of her suit designs for future reference. It's...incredible, really."
Strange couldn't help but give a small smile at the thought of a mini-Stark. Even before he became Sorcerer Supreme when he was still a bit of a prick, Strange always admired those who sought knowledge and wanted to use their skills for the good of others.
Though Stephen still couldn't escape the tinge of guilt, thinking of a little girl growing up without her father.
"Come on," T'Challa growled, the display on his beads glitching, "Damn."
"What's up, Puss-in-Boots?," Rhodey asked.
"The trace. It's faltering," T'Challa said, "The signal's failing."
"Mind if I take a look at it," the colonel offered, "Sam and Okoye showed these things to me before. Taught me a little bit."
"Be my guest," T'Challa agreed as he held his arm to the soldier.
As Rhodes tinkered with the beads, T'Challa awkwardly coughed, "Speaking of Mr. Wilson, I was hoping to ask you about why he lacks a certain...shield."
"Dude, that's Sam's business. I'm no rat," Rhode chuckled, "Look, you shouldn't worry about him. I think the only thing that should be on your mind outside of a big-ass Kree invasion, is a big-ass engagement."
"Oh goddess," T'Challa groaned.
"Come on, man, couldn't even invite us for a bachelor's party?"
"Colonel, I already have enough to worry about. I don't need to think about this right now," the king frowned.
"Alright, alright," Rhodes shrugged, "Yeah, this thing's not working. Strange, you got anything?"
"Yeah, let me pull out my instant tech-fixing spell and get this thing up and running," Strange sarcastically replied.
"Okay, you could have just said no, man," Rhodes flatly pointed out, "Can summon portals to other dimensions and shit, but that's too much for you."
T'Challa sighed, "Perhaps the other teams are having better luck."
…
"Come on, you stupid screen, work!," Hope growled as she furiously tapped away at the screen mounted on her wrist, "Dammit!"
"So, I'm guessing things aren't going great," Carol commented.
"I lost the damn trace!," Hope angrily turned to the captain.
"You can't fix it?," Brunn asked.
"What do you think I've been trying to do this whole time?," Hope angrily asked.
"Screaming at a screen," Carol shrugged her shoulders.
"C'mon, you're a Kree, you've got to have a way to pick the signal up again!", Hope asked the blonde.
"We were already lucky enough to get a trace in the first place. We're not gonna easily get that again," Carol pointed, "And for the last time, not a Kree."
Hope sighed as the three wandered the area. The scientist, curious, walked closer to the captain.
"So, that stuff you said about being brainwashed," Hope began to say, "That all true?"
"I'm not creative enough to bullshit that," Carol let out a harsh chuckle, "Yeah, when they shot down my plane, the thing I was transporting, the Tesseract, it turned me into this."
"Wait, the Tesseract?", Hope did a double take, "You mean like-?"
"Like the one-sixth of the thing that wiped out half of reality?", Carol finished the sentence, "Yeah. They found me, messed with my memories, turned me into a weapon. Eventually, I bust free, but...the damage was done. I lost years of my life as their puppet. Couldn't even see my own…"
Before she could say anything, she tensed up, shutting her mouth. She sighed, "Point is, we find these guys and we kick their asses. Simple as that."
Hope couldn't help but be curious about what the ex-pilot was about to say. However, before she could say anything, Valkyrie interrupted.
"These Kree you ran with in the past," Valkyrie spoke up, "If you see them again on this mission...you're not gonna freeze up, are you, love?"
Carol smirked, her face getting close to Valkyrie's. In a slightly mocking voice, she whispered, "If I see any of those bastards again, the last thing I'll do is freeze up… 'love'."
Amusement crept across Valkyrie's face, "Alright then. I say we get a move on then."
"Yep," Carol grinned.
After five seconds of the two staring each other down, Hope stepped in between them, "Okay, eyes up, ladies. World to save and all."
"I say I fly over and search the area," Carol said, "We'll cover ground faster that way."
"That would just give our position away," Hope rebutted, "Look, if we're doing this, we're doing it smart, okay?"
"So, I have to stay on the ground, but she gets to run off?", Carol asked.
"What?", Hope turned to see Valkyrie missing, no trace of her in sight, "You gotta be shitting me."
…
"You know, if it wasn't for the whole end of the world thing, this would make a great vacation spot," Scott commented.
"That's really what's going through your mind right now?", Sam asked, incredulous.
"Seriously?," Peter groaned, a phone to his ear, "Crap. Alright, I'll tell him."
"What's up?," Sam asked.
"We got a problem," Peter answered, "I lost the trace on the weapon. Same as the other two groups."
"Can you figure out a way to get the signal back?," Sam inquired.
"I've been trying, but nothing's working," Peter replied.
"Mind if I take a look at it?," Scott offered.
When the ex-con tried to reach for the tablet in Peter's hands, the teen jerked it away, "Um, sorry, Mr. Ant-Man, but Dr. Van Dyne told me not to let you get your hands on this."
"What? C'mon, kid, she wouldn't say that...Okay, yeah, she would, but you don't have to listen to her!," Scott retorted, "Rules are made to be broken!"
"Weren't breaking rules what got you into jail?," Sam pointed out.
Scott wanted to say something back, but he stayed silent.
Sam grinned as he walked down the streets, taking it all in. It's been so long since he's been in his town. He spent years running from the law by escaping the country, spent five years as a pile of dust, and was stuck staying in an old S.H.I.E.L.D. safehouse up in Brooklyn for over a year. He only just found a new apartment here. Sam may have been Harlem-born, but he spent years of his life here. He's made a new life here.
"Ey, Uncle Sam!"
The three turned to see a group of teens walking over, the one leading the pack looking an awful lot like Sam.
A smile spread across Wilson's face, "Well, here I thought I'd finally escaped your ass."
He pulled the teen into a hug while Peter and Scott watched, confused.
"How you been doing, Jim?", Sam asked.
"All good over here, man," the kid replied, "What was life like on the lamb, man?"
"Shit, it got me away from y'all, didn't it?", the ex-pilot joked.
Scott slowly leaned to Peter, his eyes stuck on Sam and this Jim kid, "You've got any clue what's going on?"
Peter let a small smile cross his face, recognizing what was going on, "Uncle and nephew."
For the first time in a while, Sam let his guard down, chatting it up with the teens. They talked about the things they've been up to, how things have been, and all sorts of stuff.
As he did this, Scott turned to Peter, "Alright, so far, we haven't seen anything leading us to the Kree. There's gotta be something we're missing."
"I don't know," Peter shrugged, "Stakeouts are usually a lot easier than this."
Scott snickered, "True that."
Suddenly, Peter felt his phone vibrate. He pulled it out, seeing a text message appear.
"Did they get the signal back up?," Lang asked.
"No, I got a text from my friend, Ned," Parker replied.
The text was an image of an invite to an event occurring tonight. The unveiling of a new Oscorp facility.
"Dude, I scored you an invite!," Ned texted, "You think you can make it?"
Peter sighed, typing away, "I've got something important rn. Superhero stuff."
"Come on, man. Mr. Osborn really wants you to be there," Ned replied, "Said he wanted to talk to u."
Peter sighed. The world was in danger right now and his best friend wanted him to ditch to enjoy some event. But Peter really did want to meet the great Norman Osborn. The man who rose up during the five years after the Snap and almost beat out Stark Industries. The genius behind so many of the newest gizmos from cellphones to military-tech to medicine, a whole load of amaz-
"NO!," Peter thought to himself, "Just put the phone away, Pete. World in danger, remember?"
"So, what brings you back over here, man?," Jim asked, "More superhero stuff?"
"Hey," one of Jim's buddies spoke up, "Is that the Ant dude from Cali?"
Scott swiftly turned around, a great big grin covering his face. Before he could say anything, Sam stepped in front of the Ant-Man, blocking him.
"Nope, that's just some very lonely homeless dude," he answered, quickly turning and signaling Peter to drag Scott away.
"Off we go!," Peter whispered, dragging Lang by the arm around the corner.
"He actually knew who I was!," Scott smiled.
Sam turned back, "If you must know, I've been back for, like, a couple months now. If you actually picked up your phone and called me once in a while, I could have told you that."
"Ey, man, my friend Joey here said something a few weeks ago," Jim said, "Something about you being the new Captain America?"
"Man, I'm telling you! I heard it on the news!," Joey spoke up.
"Bro, no way he's Captain America! He look like Captain America to you?," another teen said.
"Ain't got nothing but those wings, man!," another shouted.
"Hey, man, shut the hell up!," Jim jokingly shouted back, "So, it true, Uncle Sam?"
Sam faltered a little before letting out a cough, "Yeah, I'm..I'm the new Captain America."
The group of kids went wild, shouting and running around. Joey was shouting out, "I told you! I friggin' told y'all!"
"Dude, you got the shield with you?!," Jim asked, grabbing his uncle.
"Not right now, but-"
"Man, you know how cool this?! I'm Captain America's nephew!," Jim yelled to the sky.
Sam was amazed. Someone not only believed that he was Captain America, but they were actually supporting him. They were cheering for him. That was a damn far cry from…
"Mr. Wilson!"
Sam turned to see Peter on the rooftop, beckoning him to follow.
"Alright, it's been real, y'all, but I gotta rush," Sam explained, walking off.
"Hey, Uncle Sam, wait!," Jim grabbed his uncle's arm, "Man, you realize how big this is, right? A guy like you...like us, being goddamn Captain America. It's pretty fu-"
Sam interrupted the boy, "Ah! Ah! Language!"
"OHHHMYGOD!," Jim screamed, "You really are Captain America!"
"Alright, I'm out," Sam rolled his eyes, heading off.
"God, I really am turning into Steve," Sam muttered to himself, horrified.
…
Rhodes was squeamish, "Why the hell do we need to talk in this place?!"
The warped surroundings of the Mirror Dimension freaked Rhodes out as the entire group stood on top of an apartment building.
"Hey, would you rather have a bunch of people noticing us?," Strange retorted.
"Look, so far we've all got jackshit," Sam said, "We lost the trace and we've found nothing all day. But Lang's thought of something."
"Okay, so, we've all lost the trace to the weapon, we haven't spotted anything alien-ish, but we know it's in D.C, right?," Scott asked the others, "Well, I've been thinking. If I were a freaky alien-"
"You mean you're not?," Valkyrie sarcastically quipped.
"Rude, but alright," Scott quickly commented, "If I were an alien in D.C. trying to take over the world, send a message, where would I strike?"
"The Capitol Building?," asked Carol.
"Washington Monument?," asked T'Challa.
"The friggin' White House?," asked Rhodey.
"Exactly! If I was an alien, WHICH I'M NOT...can't believe I have to emphasize that!," Scott emphasized, earning a smirk from Brunn, "If I was an alien wanting to strike D.C." Scott stepped in, "This is where I would attack. Big enough of a crowd to display your power, able to strike fear into the hearts of the people, it's perfect."
The Falcon nodded, "Carol, can you confirm if this would make sense?"
"It would make sense," Carol noted, "Strike the heart and the body will follow."
"Wouldn't that be too big of a power play?," Hope asked, "You'd basically be begging for war."
"Trust me, when they attack a place, they're already ready for war," Carol noted.
"So, what, we're splitting up again?," Peter asked.
"If we split up now, we won't be at our full strength when an attack happens," Strange rebutted, "We divide, they conquer. We've all seen it before."
"We don't know when or where exactly the Kree will strike, but we have to assume these are targets and that their attack is imminent," T'Challa rebutted, raising his voice, "I say we all divide and patrol the entire city. Make sure every corner is covered. If one of us spots anything, alert the others immediately."
"Whoa, King T'Challa, the man with a plan," Rhodes commented, a little surprised by the king's sudden burst of input.
"That would make the most sense," Strange agreed, "I think we can all agree to that idea."
The group nodded, which not only surprised T'Challa, but Sam as well. When Sam, Strange, Rhodes, and Val came up with this team, the idea was that, since Steve ran the first team, Sam would be the leader. But now, everyone was corralling to T'Challa, Sam couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.
However, he knew T'Challa's plan was the right thing to do, "Alright. We're going with your highness's idea. Patrol the area and keep us all updated. Let's move out."