THE GRC OFFICIALS were conducting a vote that dealt with the displaced persons affected by the Blip. Stopping the vote was Karli and the Flag-Smashers' endgame, and for Karli...that meant killing them if that's what it took.
The terrorists had already infiltrated the building and the authorities were setting up the perimeter. Bucky walked with Natasha, both in their respective attire, to the blockade while they communicated with Sam and Y/N via the comms.
"We're almost there." Y/N said.
"What's the plan?" Bucky asked.
"Karli's gotta be close. Keep your eyes open."
Natasha glanced around. "Well, it could be anybody."
The two went through the blockade. An officer greeted Bucky and Natasha.
"Sergeant Barnes. Agent Romanoff."
Bucky gave a nod and they continued through. Sam spoke through the comms next.
"Hey, by the way. I called in some backup."
An older man went up to Bucky and Natasha and called out to them. "Excuse me. Are you supposed to be here?"
They looked back, but before they can question him the man peeled off the tech that masked their true face, revealing themselves as Sharon Carter.
"It's me."
It's been quite a while since Natasha has seen the blonde. "Sharon?"
"Hey, Nat. Long time no see."
"What the hell are you doing here?" Bucky asked her.
"Relax. No one's looking for me here."
They decided to walk together toward the evacuated building. Y/N spoke through the radio.
"Is Sharon there?"
"Unfortunately." Bucky replied.
"Hey, guys. I thought I'd get the band back together." Sharon said.
"Thank you. You're risking a lot coming here." Sam chimed in.
"I hear pardons aren't all they're cracked up to be."
"Depends on the therapist." Bucky interjected.
"They'll move on the building soon. Be ready." Y/N told them.
Bucky looked up into the sky upon hearing a loud whooshing sound. He saw a winged figure carrying somebody, and he knew his colleagues were on the move.
A Flag-Smasher disguised as a GRC official put on his mask and threw a smoke canister into the room. The officials panicked and began to scramble out of the area toward the exits, but another one of the terrorists got in front of them.
Suddenly, a shield crashed through the window and hit the Flag-Smasher in the chest, taking him down. It flew back into the hands of its thrower as he dove through the broken window and rolled into the same floor.
He stood up and got in a stance, looking around as he held the shield in his left arm.
A/N: I recolored the concept art for one of the earlier uniforms but I pretty much based it on Bucky's Cap suit from the comics. You could imagine either one.
It was Y/N Carter.
Captain America.
Y/N walked over to the defeated Flag-Smasher and removed their mask. It wasn't Karli. He got back up and latched the shield onto his back.
"Thanks for the lift, Sam." Y/N spoke into the comms.
"Not a problem. I'd suggest you cut down on the pizza for a bit though."
He chuckled before speaking to the rest over the radio. "What's going on on your end, Buck?"
"Nothing. All quiet."
Y/N walked through the room, passing by one of the officials. He looked at the super-soldier and arched a brow.
"I'm sorry, wait. Who are you?" He asked Y/N.
"I'm Captain America."
The man was still bewildered. He called out to Y/N as he walked away. "I thought Captain America was on the Moon."
"No one's coming towards the building." Natasha spoke through the radio.
"Karli's not coming in. She's trying to force everybody out." Y/N told them. He looked at a security guard who was helping the politicians evacuate. "It's a misdirect. We gotta keep everybody inside!"
Suddenly, a man in a Flag-Smasher mask leaped in and kicked Y/N down. The super-soldier rolled into the dilapidated conference room, but immediately got to his feet and faced his assailant.
"Mon, mon...(My, my...)" Batroc spoke as he removed his mask. "If it isn't the son of the flag-waver."
"Georges." Y/N greeted as he raised his fists. "It's been what? Ten years since we've last seen each other?"
"And still bearing a star." He scoffed. "I couldn't kill the captain, but I won't make that mistake twice."
"Come on, man. What did I ever do to you?"
"Any partner of Rogers or Wilson is my enemy."
Batroc quickly ran up to Y/N, with the French leaper and Captain America engaging in combat once again.
"You guys are gonna have to do something." Y/N informed the three colleagues on the ground. "Don't let them out of the building."
They walked through the metal detector. Natasha looked to her right, noticing a large man that looked out of place as a uniformed evac agent.
"Here's one of them." She stated and started to walk away. "I'll get the evac."
"I'll take the East stairwell." Sharon told her and went off as well.
Suddenly, a woman walked up to Bucky. She handed him a cell phone.
"Mr. Barnes, it's Karli."
He grabbed it and looked at the screen before putting it to his ear. "Karli?"
"Aren't you tired of fighting for the wrong side, Mr. Barnes?"
He scoffed as he walked down the stairs. "I've done this before, kid. I know who it ends."
"It doesn't matter if I don't survive this. I'm fighting for something bigger than myself. With all the bodies you've collected, have you been able to say the same?"
"You don't think I ever fought for something bigger than myself? That's all I ever tried to do. And I failed twice."
He continued. "You think your cause justifies all this death but in the end, the nightmares won't go away. You're gonna remember all the ones you killed. Trust me. Don't do this. Don't go down this path."
"If that's how you feel, you should sit this one out."
"Come on, you know I ain't gonna do that."
"Well, thank you. I'm glad you took my call. You've been a big help."
She immediately hung up. Bucky quickly realized Karli was stalling him so he wouldn't be able to stop the faux-evacuation below.
"Damn it!" He exclaimed before running off.
Natasha and Sharon were in the parking structure on the lower level waiting for Bucky. The trucks were departing, and after they tried to contact Barnes to no avail, Natasha decided to act.
She waited for the first truck to drive by before quickly running towards the second and leaping onto the back. Natasha held on as they left the parking garage.
"What's Plan B? I'm kinda winging it here." She spoke through the comms as they drove down the street.
Sharon shook her head, taking cover behind a wall. "Seriously, Bucky, you had one job."
Bucky had arrived at that moment. He quickly saw an unattended motorcycle and mounted it.
"You worry about your guy." He said as he revved the engine. "Nat, I'm gonna pursue."
Barnes zoomed out of the garage and drove down the street. Sharon had taken down the evac officer she was tailing and walked out of the building. There, she saw a helicopter on the roof preparing to depart. She knew it was a part of the Flag-Smashers' plan.
"Chopper's about to take off." Sharon informed them.
Y/N spoke through the comms. "You got it covered, Sam?"
"I'm on it." He replied.
"Moving to the rendezvous, about ten minutes out." The Flag-Smasher spoke into his headset.
Several politicians were inside the chopper, unbeknownst to the fact that their pilot was one of the terrorists. As he was ascending, he heard what sounded like a jet flying by. He looked to his left and saw the Falcon.
A/N: Again, I recolored some concept art to represent Sam's upgraded suit. I based it off his updated look in the comics so, as I said before, you can imagine either one.
The helicopter dipped and flew down the side of the building in an attempt to lose the Falcon. Sam looked downward before shooting down toward it.
It flew back up and toward the river. Sam was still on its tail as it traversed over the water. He was able to reach the aircraft and grab onto the side, but the Flag-Smasher took out his submachine gun and fired.
Sam deflected the gunfire with the side of his wings and let go. The chopper made some distance but Falcon followed close behind.
"Redwing." Sam spoke. "Check to see if anybody in there has flight training."
The drone popped out of his pack and flew toward the chopper. It scanned the faces of the occupants inside until it finally spotted the woman who was an experienced pilot.
The Flag-Smasher noticed the drone and tried to shoot it down, but Redwing evaded the gunfire and returned to Sam. He had already seen what Redwing saw via his HUD.
"Bingo."
Batroc swung but Y/N stepped back and evaded it. He kicked the Frenchman in the chest before spinning back around and landing two quick punts.
Y/N followed with a push-kick that sent Batroc stumbling back. He grabbed the shield from his back and threw it, but Batroc raised his forearms to protect his face. It flew back into Y/N's hands and he threw it again.
Batroc kicked up a chair that went into the path of the shield. They collided and the disc fell to the floor.
He sprang up and tried to sweep Captain America's feet, but Y/N stepped back and evaded his legs. He blocked Batroc's punch and pushed him away. Batroc kept coming and tried to land a kick, but Y/N parried the attack and landed a right hook across his face.
Y/N threw another punch but Batroc countered by locking his arm. He escaped the grapple and kicked him away, stepping back as he held his guard up.
Batroc swung once more, but Y/N quickly kicked up the shield that was on the floor. It hit the Frenchman in the face before Y/N retrieved it.
Captain America landed a blow to his face with the shield and Batroc stumbled back. Y/N sprinted forward and rammed the enemy with the disc, where Batroc flew into the next room.
"Just like the Captain before..." He breathed as he got up. "Rien de plus qu'un homme avec un bouclier (Nothing more than a man with a shield)."
Y/N panted, looking straight at Batroc as he placed the shield on his back. He undid the straps of his headpiece and dropped it onto the floor.
"On va voir (Let's see)."
Batroc grunted as he leaped toward Y/N. He landed three successive kicks that the Captain was able to parry. Y/N countered with a jab at his face and then an elbow. Batroc responded with a long swing of his arm but it was blocked too.
Y/N kicked him in the shin and then followed with his push-kick to his chest. The super-soldier initiated a back-flip kick to finish off Batroc, just like Steve did years ago, but this time the Frenchman knew to evade.
Batroc chuckled. "Prévisible! (Predictable!) You thought you could—"
Y/N quickly extended his arm and a grappling hook shot out of his wrist. It latched onto Batroc's chest and Y/N pulled him in. He landed a hard clean punch to the man's face, knocking him out cold.
"Sorry." Y/N breathed out. "Forgot to mention I have more than just a shield."
He picked up his headpiece from the floor and strapped it back on. Sharon began to speak to him through the comms.
"Y/N. I've just got word from the SWAT outside that some of Batroc's loyalists have hostages on the fifth floor."
He sighed. "So we're not just dealing with Karli's people, huh?"
"The girl had connections."
"All right. I'll take care of it."
Captain America left the defeated Batroc on the seventh floor and ran toward a window. He crashed through it, free-falling into he was close to his destination. Using the grappling mechanism he used earlier, he latched onto the wall and swung through another window into the fifth floor.
He rolled back onto his feet and kept walking. Y/N spoke to himself. "Some more practice and I can give Peter a run for his money."
The Falcon was on the helicopter's tail as it flew over the East River. It steered under a bridge to try and lose Sam, but it wasn't successful. The pilot maneuvered back up and spotted an incoming police chopper.
He was desperate to lose the Avenger, so he flew close to the NYPD helicopter before quickly pivoting away. The rotor blades scraped the police's and it began to spin out of control.
Sam quickly flipped back around and accelerated toward the descending chopper.
Redwing ejected out of Falcon's pack and flew close to the aircraft. It used a grapple to tear off the door before pulling out the first pilot. Sam went on the other side and grabbed the second pilot, then landed on the bridge to bring him down.
He looked up and saw the falling chopper coming toward them. He crouched down with the pilot and used his vibranium wings to cocoon themselves. The tail of the chopper impacted with the wings before falling into the water.
Redwing let the first pilot down. Falcon got back up and spread his wings, looking on at the bystanders on the bridge. They cheered at the heroism of the Falcon.
"Yeah, man!"
"Go, Falcon!"
"Whoo!"
Sam turned to the pilot he saved and gave a nod. He then thrust upward and flew into the sky, on his way to save the hostages.
Captain America sprinted through the corridor. Ahead was one of Batroc's soldiers, who spotted the Avenger and raised his rifle.
He fired, but Y/N deflected the bullets with his shield before ramming the gunman with it. The man was hurled into the wall, where it dented before he fell to the floor.
Two men ran down the adjacent hallway toward the Captain, but he quickly threw his shield at the wall where it rebounded against the two walls before hitting them.
One goon groaned as he got back up, seeing that the shield dropped in front of him. Out of instinct, he went for it, but Y/N had run down the hallway engaged him. He stepped off the wall and used the momentum and land harder a punch across the man's face.
"That's mine." Y/N said as he picked the metal saucer back up.
Captain America ran into a room and saw Batroc's men with a few of the building's workers. One of the criminals pointed at the Avenger.
"C'est l'ondeur du drapeau! (It's the flag-waver!)"
Three men stayed in the room as one of them forced the hostages through a door. He cleared out immediately after and left his colleagues to deal with the soldier.
One enemy had a baton for a melee weapon and attacked Captain America. He deflected the hit with the shield and countered with a punch to his stomach. Y/N hit him in the side of the head with the shield before kicking him into a desk.
The second goon fired his pistol but the super-soldier deflected the bullets. It ricocheted off the shield and hit the third man in the shoulder. Y/N meant to do that.
Y/N engaged the shooter and grabbed the hand that held the pistol. He disarmed him by twisting his wrist, where he let him stumble back as he writhed in pain.
Before the man could recover, the super-soldier put the shield by his face and punched the back of it. The impact knocked the goon down.
Suddenly, the man that was shot in the shoulder had gotten up and run to Y/N. He unsheathed his switchblade and stabbed it into his side. To his surprise, the flimsily metal bent and didn't pierce his suit.
"Vibranium stitching." Y/N said with a smirk before grabbing the man's neck and head butting him.
The man fell to the floor. Captain America latched the shield onto his back and ran out of the room to find the hostages. He ran down the hallway and after some time he finally spotted them.
They were by the window sitting against the wall. In front of them was the last of Batroc's men with a gun aimed at them. He looked at Captain America.
"Regardez votre peuple mourir, soldat (Watch as your people die, soldier)."
He brandished a grenade in his left hand and pulled the pin. He let it drop in front of the hostages before running off into the other room.
Y/N dashed toward the hostages as the grenade continued to cook. He placed the shield on top of it and held it down with his foot as hard as he can. After a second, the explosive went off but it was contained within the disk. The hostages that had feared their demise looked on in awe and relief.
The last goon was in the other room, watching the scene with an expression of shock. Y/N looked through the open door and saw the man, who quickly started to flee.
Captain America gave chase. The enhanced speed of the super-soldier prevailed as he grabbed the man from the back and threw him against the wall. He hurled against the window next where it cracked. The soldier pinned him against it.
"Encore une poussée et le verre donnera. Es-tu prêt à mourir, soldat? (One more push and the glass will give. Are you ready to die, soldier?)"
"Non! Non! (No! No!)" He pleaded.
Y/N threw him onto the floor where he immediately kicked the man in the face, knocking him out. He panted as he looked on at the hostages, who were helping one another to their feet. He went over to the group.
"Is everybody all right?" Y/N asked them.
"Thank you so much, Captain!" One man exclaimed as he frantically shook his hand.
A woman picked up the shield that was on the floor and handed it to him. Y/N nodded in appreciation before placing it on his back.
"Let's get you guys out of here. Follow me."
The trucks stopped at a barricade put up by the Flag-Smashers. The terrorists launched their ambush, with Karli assaulting one of the drivers and pulling him out of the truck. Another Flag-Smasher did the same with the other vehicle.
Natasha jumped off the back of the truck she was hanging onto and went over to the driver's side. She electrocuted the Flag-Smasher inside and pulled him out, then kicked him while he was on the floor. He tried to get up but the Widow shot him with her Widow's bites.
Bucky arrived just in time to assist Natasha. He leaped off of his motorcycle and launched himself into a Flag-Smasher, tackling him.
The soldier and the operative combatted the group of Flag-Smashers in the area. Karli looked on and let out a frustrated grunt at the sight of the heroes.
"We need a diversion." Karli told her people as she left the truck. "Give them someone to rescue."
"What do you mean?" Her colleague asked.
"Light it up."
Natasha used mostly evasive tactics when dealing with the Flag-Smashers. One of them swung at the Widow which she ducked. The terrorist attempted a leg-sweep, but she moved away with a quick back handspring.
She shot him with her Widow's bites and he writhed in discomfort. Natasha quickly pulled out her garrote wire and flipped over the man. She landed behind him, choking the terrorist before slamming him into the ground.
Suddenly, a truck holding a group of politicians had engulfed in flames. Bucky took down his opponent and looked on, before sprinting toward it to help the people out.
Karli was prepared to leave after the successful diversion. Suddenly, she heard a shout.
"Morgenthau!"
She looked back and saw John Walker. He wore his government-issued Captain America attire and held a makeshift shield.
"Let's finish this." John called out angrily.
"I didn't mean to kill your friend." Karli said. "I don't wanna hurt people that don't matter."
John stopped, seething his teeth as he titled his head.
"You don't think Lemar's life mattered?"
"Not to my fight. I just want the people in that truck."
John bellowed, tossing his shield at Karli. The super-powered teenager simply kicked it away and put on her mask. The Flag-Smashers beside her charged at Walker and started to fight him.
John retrieved his shield and blocked one of the terrorist's punches, where it dented the metal. Two more Flag-Smashers ran up and ambushed John. The barrage of hits sent the soldier to the floor.
They pummeled John as he held up his shield to try and block as many hits as he could. But it wouldn't be long until the makeshift shield gave out. Suddenly, a Flag-Smasher ripped a parking meter from the sidewalk. He lifted the object to attack Walker, but Bucky ran in and tackled the man.
Having just helped the politicians out of the burning truck, Barnes decided to assist John in fighting the Flag-Smashers. It wasn't long until Karli decided to engage the two.
Bucky dodged her swing. He quickly picked up a metal chain resting on a barrier and hit Karli across the face with it.
As John was occupied, another Flag-Smasher ran up and grabbed Bucky. Karli landed a couple of hits on the grappled soldier but was immediately ambushed by Natasha. She did her signature scissor-leg takedown and brought her to the floor. Bucky took the chance to escape from the hold and punch the Flag-Smasher into the fence.
Another terrorist ran in to assist Kari and pulled Natasha off of her. Karli fled and let her colleague deal with her. Natasha evaded his attacks and gave time for Bucky to join in. The two fought the Flag-Smasher, but Barnes was ultimately kicked into the construction site below.
"Barnes!" Natasha exclaimed.
The Flag-Smasher ignored the Widow, leaving her and dropping down to fight the soldier. Natasha quickly leaped off and used her grappling hook to rappel down.
Once she was close to the two. She let go of the wire and fell onto the Flag-Smasher. He fell to the floor and groaned before Bucky ultimately kicked him in the face and knocked him out.
"Never leave a girl hanging." Natasha told the downed Flag-Smasher.
Bucky chuckled. "He learned the hard way"
Out of nowhere, a truck containing the GRC politicians drove onto the scaffolding above. It teetered off the edge and was close to falling into the construction site.
"Shit..." Natasha muttered.
Bucky was in awe too. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to catch it without seriously hurting himself and the people inside. If it came to that though, he'd have to try.
A dented and broken shield dropped onto the dirt near them. They looked up and saw that John Walker was trying to pull the truck back onto the road.
Unfortunately, Karli and a couple of Flag-Smashers attacked him. They grabbed onto the super-soldier and pulled him away, where they all fell into the site below.
The people inside the vehicle cried out as the truck tipped over. It started to fall and bystanders around watched in horror.
Suddenly, the truck's plummet was halted. The people inside were toppled over one another, each of them wondering what was going on.
On the road was Y/N, who shot both his grappling hooks from his wrists onto the back of the truck. He tried to pull them back up, grunting while doing so. This would be a tough task to do alone...and thankfully he wasn't.
Sam was at the front of the truck trying to push it up. He wasn't super-powered but still used as much as his natural strength to keep it from falling further. He deployed Redwing and two other small drones which stuck to the front, where it activated their thrusters and pushed the vehicle back up.
Y/N continued pulling. With the help of Sam, they were able to bring the truck to safety and place it by the edge of the road. The wires retracted back into Y/N's gauntlets, and he let out a breath as he looked around.
The crowd standing by cheered at the sight of Captain America and the hovering Falcon. Many of them held up their devices and recorded the event.
"Hell, yeah! That's Captain America!" A young man exclaimed.
"And the Black Falcon!" The elder man beside him added.
The young man chuckled as he looked at him. "It's just the Falcon, man."
Back in the construction site, a desperate Karli picked up a metal rod and threw it at Bucky. The soldier caught it with ease before it can impale him.
The teenager grunted as she ran at Bucky, Natasha, and John. Suddenly, she was hit in the chest with a shield. It bounced off a metal beam and hit a couple of more terrorists before returning into the hands of a rappelling Y/N. He landed beside his colleagues and was soon joined by Sam.
Karli looked at Y/N, disgusted at the sight of the stars and stripes he was wearing.
"You bought into all that bullshit?" She asked.
"I thought it'd be nice to turn over a new leaf. How about you do the same?" He replied.
Smoke canisters were suddenly shot into the area. Batroc was above firing them his launcher and the Flag-Smashers took the diversion as a chance to escape. Sam toggled the infrared on his googles and saw their heat signatures through the smoke.
"I got 'em. This way." He told the four.
They ran into the tunnels and roamed the corridors. Bucky pressed his finger to his ear and spoke to Sharon.
"Hey, Sharon. We're underground. We entered the tunnel on William. Heading south."
Sam spotted footprints through his goggles. "Looks like they split up. Here."
John quickly went the other way without saying a word. Bucky chose to follow him.
"I got it." He said.
Y/N, Sam, and Natasha continued down the path as Sam watched the footprints. They split up again down two corridors.
"They went two ways." Sam informed them.
"I'll go straight ahead." Y/N replied. "You two go right."
"You sure?" Natasha asked.
"Yeah, I got it." He reassured them. "I'll holler in case of anything."
They nodded and went the other way. Y/N tightened the straps of his shield and moved forward.
Karli walked into the room, having heard whistling from an unknown source. She held her gun to her side as she eased in.
"Dovich, is that you?" She whispered.
Sharon got up from cover and aimed her gun at Karli. "Drop your weapon, Karli."
Karli didn't listen and aimed her pistol at the blonde. Sharon stepped closer.
"I said drop it."
Karli looked directly at her. "I'm disappointed in you."
"That's what I was gonna say." Sharon raised her hands before lowering her gun. She started to pace around as she spoke.
"You know, when you came to Madripoor, you reminded me of a young me. I took you in, gave you an opportunity, and you betrayed me."
"Because you wanted to control a world that hurt you. But I wanted to change it. I'm not interested in power or an empire. I have bigger dreams."
"Like this?" Sharon opened her arms and scoffed. "Come back and work for me again. All of you. We can make a difference together."
"You just want me because you need your muscle back." Karli shot back. "Without us Super Soldiers, how much power does the Power Broker really have?"
Sharon shrugged. "More than you."
Batroc came into the room, overhearing the two ladies' conversation. He stepped up to them.
"So, you're the Power Broker." Batroc told Sharon.
Karli glanced at the man before looking back at the blonde. "You hired Batroc to spy on me."
"Karli, you know I'm always prepared."
"Get outta my way."
Batroc took the pistol out from his waistband and aimed it at Karli.
"I'm done with these games." He said before speaking in French. "Maintenant Power Broker... vous me paierez quatre fois ce que vous avez dit que vous le feriez. Ou je dirai au monde entier qui vous êtes (Now Power Broker...you will pay me four times what you said you would. Or I'll tell the whole world who you are). Okay?"
Sharon paused for a moment before replying. "I don't do blackmail."
She quickly shot Batroc in the chest. Out of instinct, Karli shot at Sharon and the bullet hit her in the side of the abdomen. Batroc fell to the ground, dead, while Sharon did so too, albeit only injured.
Karli still had her gun aimed at Sharon. She heard footsteps and looked to her right, seeing that Y/N had shown up.
"Y/N, stay back." She called out.
He latched the shield onto his back and started stepping forward, slowly.
"So, what's next, huh?" Y/N asked. "You kill ten this time, then, what, a hundred? Where does it end?"
Karli didn't say a word, simply looking between him and Sharon. Y/N kept easing closer.
"Please, let me help you." He said.
"You think you can help me but you can't." She replied. "Don't try and manipulate me."
Karli held her gun up at Sharon and was prepared to fire. Y/N sprang into action and tackled the teenager. They both rolled on the floor before Karli got up and grabbed a cinderblock. She threw it at Y/N, who broke it apart with his shield.
The redhead charged at Captain America and attacked. Y/N didn't want to combat the teenager, only choosing to evade her attacks instead of landing punches.
"I'm not gonna fight you!" He exclaimed as he vaulted over a railing.
Kari followed and threw a flurry of punches. Y/N ducked under her attack and held up his shield to block the next punch.
"Karli..." He panted.
She shoved him back and continued fighting the Avenger. Karli initiated a combination of punches and kicks that Y/N was able to weave using jumps and flips.
As he landed from one of his flips, the Flag-Smasher grabbed a metal beam from the floor and hit the man with it. He wasn't prepared for such an attack and was hurled into the side of a pillar.
"Stay down!" Karli shouted.
He got back up on his feet, still holding the shield and looking directly at the redhead. Like his father before him, he knew never to stay down.
"No." Y/N said. "I can do this all day."
Karli glared, dropping the metal beam before engaging Captain America again.
The fleeing Flag-Smashers made it out of the construction site. The woman looked at her phone to double-check if the meeting place was correct.
"The app says it's this way." She informed them. "Let's go."
They followed her and made their way down the path. Suddenly, four figures came out from behind a wall and got in front of them.
"Mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice." John quoted.
Bucky showed them the phone he was holding. Thanks to Natasha, he was able to use it to trick the Flag-Smashers into thinking it was Karli that sent them the location.
"It's a great app." Bucky told the terrorists.
SWAT team officers arrived at the scene and aimed their rifles at the Flag-Smashers. They knew there was nowhere to go, so they let themselves get apprehended. Bucky, Sam, Natasha, and John left the authorities to their business and walked away.
"Lincoln, really?" Natasha asked John, knowing the quote he was reciting.
He nodded. "Great man. Great quote."
"Not when you say it." Sam replied.
Captain America held his shield up as Karli landed a succession of punches onto it.
"Fight back!"
She kept hitting it until Y/N found an opening to grab her. He pushed the teenager to a column and pinned her against it.
"Stop it!" He exclaimed.
Karli immediately grabbed the man by the chest and threw him up onto the ceiling. He hit it and fell back down, but quickly got to his feet and continued blocking Karli's haymakers.
"Fight me! Fight back!"
Y/N blocked another hit then dodged another before getting behind her and putting her in a hold. He spoke to her as he held her.
"Karli!"
The Flag-Smasher yelled as she tried to get out of his hold. She got a hand free and grabbed onto his headpiece, ripping it off and throwing it onto the floor. Karli quickly head-butted the soldier and broke free.
As Y/N stumbled back, she push-kicked him into a beam. He let out a grunt upon impact and the shield was flung aside. Karli ran up to attack him again, but Y/N grabbed her hands before she can.
He shoved her and the redhead was thrown back several yards. She hit the side of a crate and landed on the ground.
"You have to stop this, Karli." The unmasked Y/N called out.
Karli didn't even look at the Captain. Beside her was the gun she had dropped before, so she went for it. She picked it up and aimed at Y/N, but before she could pull the trigger, she was shot twice.
Y/N looked to his right, seeing Sharon leaning against the wall gripping her pistol. The Captain immediately went over to the downed Karli, kneeling beside her and holding her head up.
Karli clutched the pendant that Donya had given her. She looked up at Y/N, a genuine expression of remorse on her face.
"I'm sorry." She whispered with a sob.
Y/N looked down as she let out weak breaths. Her arm fell to her side and the rest of her body went limp. The redhead shut her eyes and ultimately died.
The super-soldier looked up at Sharon, who was holding her side and looking on at them. The blonde had potentially saved him, but it hurt that doing so cost the life of the teenager. Y/N let out a sigh before picking up Karli's body bridal style and started walking out of the room.
Onlookers watched behind barricades as the authorities surrounded the area. GRC politicians spoke to each other and police within the blockade. Suddenly, they saw somebody coming through with a body in their arms.
Y/N walked up to the incoming EMTs and placed Karli's body onto the gurney. They took her away and he watched as they did. Nearby, Sam, Bucky, Natasha, and John looked on as the moment passed. Y/N walked up to the politicians standing by as news reporters tried to speak to him.
"What happened to the Flag-Smashers?"
"When did the government make you Captain America?"
"What do we call you?"
"Did you get promoted?"
"Are you Lieutenant America?"
Y/N tuned out the chatter and made his way to the officials. A woman spoke to the super-soldier as her colleagues stood beside her.
"Mr. Carter, thank you so much, from all of us." She said.
The senator, the same one who thanked him over a week ago for giving the shield to the Smithsonian, also spoke to Y/N.
"Sincerely. You did your part in dealing with those terrorists, now we'll do ours." He added.
"Are you still going forward with resetting the borders?" Y/N asked.
Another woman answered. "Our peacekeeping troops will begin relocating people soon. The terrorists only set us back a bit."
Y/N shook his head. After his experience with them the last week and the words shared with Karli, he didn't want them to be referred that way anymore.
"You have to stop calling them terrorists."
"What else would we call them?" The senator shot back.
Y/N turned to him. "Your peacekeeping troops carrying weapons are forcing millions of people into settlements around the world, right? What do you think those people are gonna call you?"
He didn't know how to respond. The Captain kept talking.
"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?" The woman asked.
"Yes."
"And the people who reappeared only to find someone else living in their family home, they just end up homeless?" The senator asked. "Look, I get it. But you have no idea how complicated this situation is."
He was about to walk away, but Y/N turned to him and spoke up.
"You know what? You're right. And that's a good thing." He said. "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."
Y/N continued. "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 decisions, Senator."
"You just don't understand." He responded.
Y/N let out a scoff. "I'm almost double your age, young man. I've fought, both in the past and the present, for the people in this country. What don't I understand?"
The senator sighed and looked down. Y/N turned to the other officials and kept speaking.
"I know things are hard. You don't believe things can be done efficiently enough to maintain the people, especially with how things are now. But I believe it can. I believe we can do better." He said. "We can't demand that people step up if we don't meet them halfway. You control the banks, move borders, hell, you can tear down a forest with an email and feed a million people with a simple phone call. But the question is, who's in the room with you when you make those decisions? Is it the people you're gonna impact? Or is it just more people like you?"
The woman looked down, not knowing what to say. Onlookers, officers, and media people listened in on the soldier's words. News crews were filming the confrontation. His wife, two friends, and John Walker were also watching.
"During the last five years, people were supporting each other, communities were joined together, alliances were formed during the troubled times. And now in this new world, we're fractured. There's distrust...mistreatment...adversity between those who used to be allied. That isn't the world we're supposed to be living in. It isn't the world Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and Pietro Maximoff would want, especially after their sacrifices."
Y/N looked over at the ambulance that had Karli's body. He continued.
"I mean, this girl died trying to stop you, and no one has stopped for one second to ask why." He turned to the senator and raised his voice. "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." He calmed himself and spoke to the rest. "People believed in her cause so much that they helped her defy the strongest governments in the world. Why do you think that is?"
Once again, the politicians had no words for the Captain.
Captain America gave one finally statement. "Look, you people have just as much power as an insane god or a misguided teenager. The question you have to ask yourself is...how are you going to use it?"
He walked away, leaving the politicians to their thoughts. The people started to disperse as the authorities began to clear out the area. Y/N walked by John and the two exchanged nods before the former army Captain walked away.
Y/N reunited with Bucky, who was standing beside the ambulance. He looked ahead and saw Sam and Natasha with Sharon. The soldier started walking with his uncle figure.
"Sorry, I was, uh, I was texting and so, all I heard was when you called that guy young man."
They both chuckled. Bucky looked at his nephew and smiled.
"Nice job, Cap."
"Thanks."
Bucky pat the shield on Y/N's back as they walked toward their colleagues. Sharon held a bundle of gauze to her wound as Natasha and Sam stood with her.
"Sharon?" Y/N called out.
"Blocking my light." She remarked.
"Come on, we gotta get you to a hospital." Sam said.
"She's not gonna listen." Natasha replied with a chuckle.
"Want me to fly you there?" Sam asked.
"God, no." Sharon replied. "Besides, it's not the worst thing that's happened to me all week."
"Uh, Cap?" A man called out to Y/N.
Natasha crossed her arms and smirked. "I think he's talking to you."
Y/N smiled back and nodded. He wanted to make sure Sharon and everybody else was fine before seeing what they needed from him.
"Look, I'm sorry for how things ended down there." Sharon apologized about Karli. "For what it's worth, the suit looks good on you."
He chuckled. "Thanks."
"All right. Look, can we get out of here please?" Bucky asked her.
Sharon nodded and started to walk away with Bucky and Sam. Y/N called out to the blonde.
"I won't forget about that pardon."
Sharon gave a smile and continued walking. Natasha went up to Y/N and kissed him on the cheek.
"I'll go with them. Go see what they need, Captain."
"That sounds pretty hot coming from you." Y/N replied.
"Prepare to hear that all the time."
Y/N chuckled as Natasha walked away. He turned around and went to the official. It was the same man he encountered in the building when he first arrived as Captain America.
"What's up?" Y/N asked.
"Our feed picked up some of Batroc's stragglers in the area, mostly the ones you took down earlier. They're not armed. Can you help secure them?"
The Captain smiled and pat the man on the arm. "Of course."
Y/N walked off as the man did as well. Suddenly, he heard a familiar sound above. A thwip. He turned back around, looking up to see the web-slinger swinging into the area.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Peter called out as he landed on the street.
The teenager wore his Iron-Spider armor. He looked around, seeing the ambulances leaving and officers taking down the blockade. He sighed, realizing he'd missed everything.
"Ah. Spider-Man." Y/N greeted.
Peter looked at him through his mask. He didn't recognize the soldier at first in his new uniform, but the realization hit him.
"Y/N, is that you? Woah. I must've missed a lot."
"Yeah."
"Sorry. I had homework to catch up on. You know how I had to start my junior year all over again."
"I get it." He chuckled. "I could use some help on something, though. Come. Follow."
The two heroes went down the road. Peter turned to him and spoke.
"So...you're Captain Fighter?"
Y/N chuckled. "Really?"
"Lieutenant America?"
"No."
"Freedom...Warrior."
"I know you're just playing."
"It's for making fun of my name back then." Peter replied.
"Touché, Spider-Man." Y/N said with a chuckle. "So, ready to arrest some French goons?"
Peter chucked as well. "As I'll ever be, Cap."