Tragedies of the Past

05

[The Star-Spangled Man]

Bucky and Katarina sat in their apartment as they watched the reveal of the new Captain America. Bucky had his hands to his knees as he and Katarina stared intently at the TV.

"Did you know Steve Rogers?" the announcer asked.

"I was two years out of West Point when Steve came back on the scene," Walker replied. "I followed his career very closely as an Avenger. I like to think that I modeled my work after his."

Katarina scoffed. "Unbelievable."

"So, you've always wanted to be a hero?" the announcer questioned.

"I liked that what I was doing would make people feel safe. Steve Rogers was the kind of guy and girl who could do that, he gave me hope." Bucky and Katarina tilted their heads, the former with a slightly seething expression. "So, even though I never met him or her, he feels like a brother." Bucky pursed his lips and Katarina's eyes narrowed further.

"Wow."

Katarina and Bucky shared a look and nodded.

---

Sam looked at a poster of the new Captain America which read 'CAP IS BACK - JOHN WALKER'.

"Seems like a good guy," Torres commented. "You met him?"

"No," Sam said. "Thanks for doing this on such short notice."

As the two walked away, Torres replied, "Yeah. No sweat. I'm just, uh, finishing up the checklist. You'll be all good to go once you land in Munich." They walked down the metal stairs.

Bucky and Katarina stalked up to Sam and said, "Shouldn't have given up the shield."

"Good to see you too, Buck, Kata."

"This is wrong."

"Hey, hey, look, I'm working, all right? So all this outrage is gonna have to wait." The three walked toward a plane.

"You didn't know that was gonna happen?" Bucky asked.

"No, of course I didn't know that was gonna happen. You two think it didn't break my heart to see them march him out there and call him the new Captain America?"

"This isn't what Steve wanted," Katarina told him.

"Oh, my God. So, what do you two want me to do? Call America and tell 'em I changed my mind? Huh?" He chuckled. "Yeah, right. It's a great reunion, buddy, Kata, be well."

"You had no right to give up the shield, Sam," Bucky retorted as the three of them stopped.

"Hey. This is what you two are not gonna do. You two aren't gonna come here in your overextended lives and tell me about my rights. It's over, Bucky, Kata. Besides, I have bigger things to deal with now."

"What could be bigger than this?" Katarina shot back.

Sam pulled out his phone and showed them a picture of a masked man, the leader of the Flag Smashers. "This guy. His connections with rebel organizations all over Eastern and Central Europe, and he's strong. Too strong."

"And?" Bucky and Katarina pressed.

"Well, he's been connected to this online group called the Flag Smashers. Now, Redwing traced them to a building somewhere outside of Munich. So that's where I'm going."

"Well, I don't trust Redwing," Bucky said. "I can't speak for Kata on that."

Katarina shrugged, saying nothing, though she looked irritated.

Sam looked between them a moment. "Hold on a minute. You two don't have to trust Redwing, but I'mma go see if he's right. 'Cause I have a feeling they might be part of the Big Three."

"What "Big Three"?" Bucky and Katarina asked.

"The Big Three."

"What Big Three?"

"Androids, aliens and wizards."

"That's not a thing," Bucky told him.

"That's definitely a thing."

"No, it's not," Bucky and Katarina argued.

"Every time we fight, we fight one of the three."

"So, who are you fighting now, Gandalf?" Bucky questioned.

Sam looked between them. "Wh- How do you know about Gandalf?"

"I read The Hobbit in 1937 when it first came out."

Katarina smiled lightly. "It's enjoyable."

"So you two see my point?" Sam said in a questioning tone.

"No, we don't," Bucky answered. "There are no wizards."

"Doctor Strange."

"Is a sorcerer," Katarina said.

"Aah!" He chuckled. "A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat. Think about it. Right? I'm right. I just came up with that. It's crazy. But that's not the point. These guys are magical. All right? They use brute force just like you two, the incredibly annoying guy and Blondie in front of me with the staring problems." He started walking off.

"We're coming with you," Bucky decided as he and Katarina followed after him.

"No, you're not."

Bucky and Katarina continued after Sam.

---

The plane flew to Munich, Germany.

An alarm blared and Torres skipped to where the three Avengers were before saying, "One minute to drop off, Sam." He walked to another area of the plane.

Sam, Katarina and Bucky stared at each other.

Sam leaned forward, then Bucky, and both stood, shortly followed by Katarina, who was fed up with their arguing.

As Sam grabbed his goggles, Bucky asked, "So what's our plan?" Bucky walked away and Sam put in his earpiece without answering.

Bucky sat down and added, "Great. So no plan."

"Thirty seconds!" Torres said, looking out the open door.

"Enjoy your ride, Buck," Sam told them.

"No, you can't call me that," Bucky argued.

"Why not? That's what Steve called you and what Kata calls you."

"Steve and Kata knew me longer, and Steve had a plan and Kata is quick on her feet."

"Fifteen seconds to drop," Torres informed.

"I have a plan," Sam replied as he walked towards the open door.

"Really?" Bucky and Katarina asked, standing. "What is it?"

Sam jumped out, extending his wings and Bucky muttered, "Great." His voice rose. "Where's the chute?"

"We're at 200 feet," Torres replied. "It's too low for a chute."

"We don't need it anyway." He and Katarina walked to the door.

"You two sure about that?"

"Yeah."

Katarina glanced at Bucky, seeing the fear in his eye and took his hand, squeezing it gently.

Bucky offered her a small smile, ripped off his sleeve to expose his Vibranium arm, let go of her hand, and jumped out with a yell.

Katarina put on a parachute, then jumped out of the plane.

Bucky grunted and groaned as he fell to the earth, hitting it with a thud. He let out another groan. Katarina landed beside him and unclasped the parachute from around her before gathering it up.

Falcon said, "I have all of that on camera. You know that, right?"

Bucky stared at Redwing and retorted, "Get out of my face, Sam, or I'll break it."

"Okay, head north. Come on."