The chapter I was waiting to write even more than the staircase fight.

Chapter 156: Doppel-Rogers Part Five

Sue's Roadside Diner, Tennessee - 9:39 AM

Doppel-Angela and Doppel-Xavier, now known as former SHIELD convicts, Katherine Harding and Carlton Brewster respectively, walk into the empty diner still wearing their disguises. It was silent, not even the sound of the kitchen staff in the back was present. It was weird that a roadside diner located on a busy intersection where truckers pass en route would be empty at a reasonable breakfast time. There was no fryer scent steaming in the air or even a fresh pot of coffee on the burner.

"Check the back," Katherine says to Carlton as she waits at the bar. She should've known something was up when she got a message to meet here, of all places. For a moment, she thought the real Angela and Xavier would be here to kill them.

She turns around as the bell at the door jingles. Her hand hovers over the gun at her waist as she turns to see Agent Peggy Carter, the twins' mother, rush inside, relieved to see a girl whom she believes to be her daughter because of her face. It makes sense that their parents would help their kids. She and Carlton need to get out of here. At least they're still wearing Angela and Xavier's faces.

"Where's your brother?" Peggy asks as she sits next to Katherine at the bar.

"Checking the back," Katherine responds, being so grateful that the updated holographic mask technology also changed her voice to sound like Angela's. God, the girl's Brooklyn accent is weird. "I'm staying on watch here."

"What about the frauds?"

Katherine doesn't bat a lash. "Last we checked, the frauds were on the run."

"Oh good, Steve and I like them to be scared."

Katherine swallows. "He - he's here too?"

Peggy nods, putting a hand on her shoulder (Katherine tries not to tense at her touch but she isn't sure if it was enough). "Don't worry, darling, you know we'll always protect you and your brother. Just, first things first."

"What?"

Peggy leans in closer to Katherine's ear. "I know which twin gave me which stretch mark. Tell your partner that Steve and I didn't give you or him those faces."

Katherine's eyes flicker down to Peggy's who's glaring at her. She knows. Keeping eye contact with Peggy, Katherine grabs a steak knife from the bar counter and juts it forward. She tries to stab Peggy to distract her but Peggy kicks her stool, knocking her back.

-o-

Carlton didn't see anyone in the kitchen, not even in the pantry. He turns his head back to where he entered at the sound of the bell above the customer's door ringing, and footsteps rushing inside. He holds his breath as he steps towards the stovetop, silently gripping on a knife despite being armed with his own weapons. He hears metal stools sliding across the linoleum floors before hushed voices. One is Katherine's as Angela and the other is suspiciously British.

He grips the knife tighter as a fight starts outside. Metal clanging against the ground with grunts and punches. Ambush. They walked into a trap. He skeptically walks towards the front, peering through the service window but stops when the hairs on the back of his neck rise. He whips the knife behind him before turning around.

He missed, but there's only a prep table separating him and an angry Captain America. A man who doesn't see his son despite looking at his face.

Neither of them moves, not even to the rhythm of the fight in the dining area. Their eyes are locked, each man waiting for the other to act first.

"Xavier throws with his left," Steve grumbles.

Before Carlton could react, instead of leaping over the prep table to attack, Steve knee-kicks the prep table to uppercut Carlton. He jumps back, grabbing a tablecloth from the prep station behind him. When the table hits the ground, Carlton pounces across it, wrapping Steve tightly with it as he stands his ground again.

Steve tears through it, losing sight of Carlton until something whips the back of his thigh. There's a gash in his uniform as he buckles onto his good knee, feeling like a wild animal just sampled him. His vision reddens as he glances out the window and hides his smirk.

He holds up his arm as his old shield crashes through the window.

Once he catches it, Steve bashes Carlton back as he gets up on his feet and Xavier runs through the kitchen's staff door, oddly wearing a patterned jean jacket on top of his specialist uniform. Xavier doesn't look at his dad. Instead, he pounces onto Carlton's back and twists to his side to send them both down. Classic left tackle. Boy does everything with his left.

They scramble back to their feet and Xavier catches the shield again. He holds it in front of him and Carlton tries to get ahold of it, but Xavier keeps his grip. He twists it so Carlton loses his footing.

-o-

Peggy slides off her stool as Katherine stands back up just to slam her against the counter. Peggy kicks Katherine's leg and when she hunches over, Peggy hooks her leg on Katherine's shoulder and jumps on. She swings them downwards until she presses Katherine to the ground. Her knee is in her back and Katherine still has the knife in her hand.

Peggy loosens her grip on Katherine and pulls back. Before Katherine attacks, she realizes why Peggy went easy.

The bell on the customer's door opens and Angela runs in with her white specialist suit and a bright jean jacket. Katherine fires her gun at Angela who leaps on a table and grabs the blade of a ceiling fan to launch herself over. She lands on her feet as Katherine stands again.

"Dine-in or take-out?" Angela quips as she stares at herself, or her fraud.

Peggy pitches a chair at Angela. She catches it like a baseball as she kicks forward at Katherine. Angela sets the chair down and swings around it to kick her over again. Peggy catches Katherine from behind and restrains her arms.

Katherine leaps back, forcing her weight forward to flip Peggy over her. She's about to kick up to further deter Peggy but Angela grabs her leg. Katherine uses the leverage to swing herself around to kick Angela with her free leg. Katherine mounts on Peggy's back and tries to whip her around. Peggy regains her footing and ducks her head forward as Angela gets into a handstand. She latches her ankles around Katherine's neck and pries her off. Katherine stumbles as Angela bodychecks her to the ground.

-o-

While they were in the Academy, Angela and Xavier were always told by their profs that their only real matches would be each other. In hindsight, they also meant that only they could fight themselves. For most of their four years in school, they trained with each other. It helped them when they were on the field and could let go. When they burst into the diner, they knew they'd be fighting frauds of themselves, but it was still trippy to kick your reflection across the face.

When Carlton runs back out to the dining area, Xavier leaps over the service window and the bar like a puddle on the sidewalk to catch him, tackling him to the ground. Xavier grabs Carlton's head, tearing the holographic mask just in time.

Angela tightens her grip on Katherine, ripping her mask and the wig off too. She throws Katherine on Carlton once he's back on his feet, knocking them both down. Before they could get back, they're surrounded by the Rogers family.

With their real faces out in the open and SHIELD sirens approaching from the distance, they raise their hands in surrender.

Angela and Xavier exhale gratefully as they hug their parents, keeping an eye on their frauds as Brody and his swat team bust in.