Battle Cry // TFATWS

VII

"Look, it's 20 miles to the airport. You guys need a ride." He opened the back door. "Guys. Miss. Gary, stop." The three exchanged a look and reluctantly got in. Adalyn wished it was silent, or that she at least was conversing with the two men she could tolerate talking to, one she loved talking to, but John kept speaking. "Okay, so we've got eight Super Soldiers on a bulk supply run. Why?"

Sam sighed. "They say their mission is to get things back to the way it was during The Blip. Maybe they're just trying to help."

"They had a funny way of showing it," Bucky and Adalyn said.

"That serum doesn't exactly have a great track record," John stated, looking at Bucky and Adalyn. "No offense."

Adalyn narrowed her eyes. "Offense. You know how much of an ass you're being?" Bucky laced his fingers through hers. "Regarding the Super Soldiers, we need to figure out where they're going."

"How'd you track them here?" Sam asked. "The Flag Smashers?"

"Uh, no, we didn't track them, we tracked you, uh, through Redwing," Lemar replied, scratching the back of his head.

"You hacked my tech?"

"Sorry," John said with a chuckle. "It's not exactly hacking. It's government property." He gestured to himself. "Kind of the government." He chuckled, then glanced at Bucky and Adalyn. "Do they always just stare like that?"

"You get used to it."

"Okay, look," he cleared his throat, "you know, things have gotten kind of, uh..."

"Chaotic," Lemar finished, glancing at John.

"Yeah. Well, the GRC, they're doing the best they can to get things up and running smoothly, post Blip."

Adalyn narrowed her eyes. "Aw, someone memorized his speech. Steve never associated with the government. He opposed them when he thought them wrong."

"What jurisdiction do you have regarding the United States of America?"

An annoyed smile crossed Adalyn's face. "I'm an Avenger you ass, which is lot more than you are. Just because some guys in fancy suits handed you the shield doesn't mean I'm calling you Captain America."

The two glared at each other.

Bucky took her hand and she quieted down, still glaring.

Lemar continued. "Reactivating citizenship, social security, health care. Basically just managing resources for the refugees who were displaced by the return."

"The Global Repatriation Council does all that," Sam said. "I get that. So why exactly are you two here?"

"Well, they provide the resources and we keep things stable."

"Yeah, violent revolutionaries aren't usually good for anyone's cause," John added.

Sam smirked lightly. "Usually said by the people with the resources."

"Well we got a lot of resources. If you joined with us, we could..."

"No," Bucky and Adalyn interrupted.

Lemar gestured between the three Avengers. "I got mad respect for each of y'all. But you were getting your asses kicked till we showed up."

Adalyn pulled her hand away from Bucky's and crossed her arms. "Who are you?"

"Lemar Hoskins."

"We saw you hanging out of a helicopter in full-on tactical gear. We're gonna need more than just "Lemar Hoskins"."