Fields of Bone // TFATWS

07

"Look, it's 20 miles to the airport. You guys need a ride." He opened the back door. "Guys. Ma'am. Gary, stop." The three exchanged a look and reluctantly got in. Irina wished it was silent, but John kept talking. "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 Irina said.

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

Irina narrowed her eyes. "Well, 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 Irina. "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."

"Seriously. Shut up," Irina said.

"You're Russian, right? What jurisdiction do you have regarding the United States of America?"

A dark look crossed Irina's face. "Yes, but I'm also an Avenger, which is a hell of a lot more than you are. Just because some men in fancy suits handed you the shield doesn't mean you're Captain America."

The two narrowed their eyes at each other.

Bucky took her hand and she closed her mouth, 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 Irina 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."

Irina 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"."

"I'm Battlestar. John's partner."

""Battlestar"? Stop the car!" Bucky ordered.

Gary stopped the truck, Bucky got out, and John looked between the three as he said, "Look, I... I get it, okay? I get the attitude, I do. You didn't think that the shield was gonna end up here. I get it, Bucky, Rina. And I'm... I'm not trying to be Steve. I'm not trying to replace Steve. I'm just trying to be the best Captain America I can be. That's it."