"Lincoln, really?" Bucky asked as he looked at John while Hestia chuckled.
"Great man. Great quote."
"Not when you say it."
━━━━━━━
Hestia watched Sam fly down, Karli limp in his arms. She gripped Bucky's hand, her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
Sam walked toward the crowd as several reporters kept asking questions. Hestia watched as several politicians thanked Sam for his effort and for saving them.
Her ears perked up as Sam started talking about the Flag Smashers and she smirked slightly when she felt a speech coming.
"These labels, 'terrorists', 'refugee', 'thug', they're often used to get around the question, why?"
"Those settlements that happened five years ago, do you think it is fair for governments to have to support them?"
"Yes."
"And the people who reappeared only to find someone else living in their family home, they just end up homeless? Look, I get it. But you have no idea how complicated this situation is."
"You know what? You're right." Sam stated. "And that's a good thing. We finally have a common struggle now. Think about that. For once, all the people who've been begging, and I mean, literally begging for you to feel how hard any given day is, now you know. How did it feel to be helpless? Now if you could remember what it was like to be helpless and face a force so powerful it could erase half the planet, you would know that you're about to have the exact same impact. This isn't about easy decision, Senator."
"You just don't understand!" the Senator shook his head.
Sam scoffed. "I'm a black man carrying the stars and stripes. What don't I understand? Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people who are gonna hate me for it. Even now, here, I feel it. The stares, the judgement. And there's nothing I can do to change it. Yet, I'm still here. No super serum, no blond hair, or blue eyes. The only power I have is that I believe we can do better. We can't demand that people step up if we don't meet them halfway."
"Look, you control the banks! Shit, you can move borders! You can knock down a forest with an email, you can feed a million people with a phone call. But the question is, who's in the room when you're making those decisions? Is it the people you're gonna impact? Or is it just more people like you?"
Sam looked at the ambulance Karli's body was in. "I mean, this girl died trying to stop you, and no one has stopped for one second to ask why. You've gotta do better, Senator. You've gotta step up. Because if you don't, the next Karli will. And you don't wanna see 2.0. People believed in her cause so much that they helped her defy the strongest governments in the world. Why do you think that is?"
"Look, you people have just as much power as an insane god or a misguided teenager. Question you have to ask yourself is, 'How are you gonna use it?'"
Sam walked away from the scene and went towards Hestia and Bucky, but not before giving John a grateful nod.
"Sorry, we were making out-" Bucky smirked as he put his arm around Hestia's waist. "So all I heard was 'a black guy in stars and stripes'"
𝒔𝒊𝒙 ━━━ new cap, who this?
Start from the beginning
