┌──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────┐
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍:
𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴
└──── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────┘
"MOM HELP!" Tommy's voice was heard coming from outside.
Wanda's head shot up, her breath hitching in her throat at the sound of Tommy calling for help downstairs. She opened the bedroom door and rushed downstairs, eyes darting around the room for any sign of him.
"Tommy?" She called out.
"Mom!"
Her gaze landed on the back door, realising it was coming from outside. She quickly made her way over to the door and opened it. "What's going—"
Upon noticing the sight in front of her, a wave of relief washed over Wanda as she noticed the boys stood in the garden together. However, when she noticed Carson lay on his back on the grass, her brows stitched together in confusion.
"What is it?" Wanda asked breathlessly. "Is everything okay?"
Billy pointed at Carson. "I think we killed dad."
"Oh right—" Wanda nodded along, only to freeze when Billy's words registered in her brain. "WHAT?"
Wanda walked over to where Carson was lay and knelt down beside him. She nudged him a few times but he didn't move. At first she thought the twins were joking, but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't starting to get a little worried.
"Baby?" She whispered.
Nothing.
"Dorogoy?"
No reply.
"Carson?"
Billy and Tommy shared a look, each of them trying to stifle a laugh. Wanda moved her hand up and gently brushed his hair out of his face, letting out a breath when she saw his eye twitch.
"Hi dorogoy." Wanda smiled down at him.
Carson opened his eyes and looked at her. "I'm wounded."
"Oh yeah?" Her head tilted in curiosity. "Why's that?"
He pointed over to the football that was on the grass before pointing down to his lower area. Carson looked over at Tommy and narrowed his eyes playfully. "Gremlin number one kicked the ball with his superspeed."
Wanda chuckled and shook her head, holding out her hand for him to take. "Come on you big baby, you're going to get all muddy."
"I don't think I can." Carson faux frowned. "You gotta go on without me Wands. Save yourself."
"So dramatic." Wanda playfully rolled her eyes.
After hearing Wanda's comment, Carson suddenly sprung up and wrapped his arms around her waist. Wanda let out a shriek as Carson pulled her down on top of him, Billy and Tommy both breaking out into a fit of laughter at the sight.
Wanda lifted up her head and shot him a glare, trying to hide her smile. Carson grinned and tucked the stray strands of hair behind her ear.
"What did you say about being dramatic, again?" He chuckled.
Before Wanda had time to reply, Billy and Tommy ran over to them both, ultimately making the decision that this was now a pile on. Carson let out a small groan at the sudden weight of two more bodies on top of him and he looked over at the twins, pulling them both into his grip and tickling them.
"What is it with you two beating me up today, huh?" He smiled at the sight of them both laughing.
"Truce!" Billy managed to get out between laughs. "Truce!"
The twins each raised their hands in surrender and Carson stopped, placing a kiss on both of their heads. Wanda watched the interaction between the three with a warm smile, nothing but pure love in her eyes.
Carson turned to look at Wanda and couldn't help but smile too when he noticed the look on her face. He reached his hand up to her face, using his thumb to wipe away the grass mark that was on her jaw.
He leaned forwards and placed a soft kiss on her lips which Wanda happily reciprocated, however Billy and Tommy's faces contorted at the sight.
"Gross." Tommy fake gagged.
Wanda and Carson both broke apart and looked at the twins with a raised brow.
"Gross?" Wanda asked. "What's gross?"
"You two kissing." Billy's face contorted.
"Well if it's gross then we probably shouldn't do it again." Carson shrugged, glancing back at Wanda with a smirk.
"Oh yeah, definitely." Wanda grinned before grabbing Carson's shirt and pulling him into another kiss, the two of them laughing as they heard the twins protesting again.
"Cover your eyes boys." Carson playfully pushed the boys faces away. He turned back to Wanda and kissed the top of her head. "I love you." He whispered.
Wanda smiled. "I love you too."
And that's when her eyes opened.
Wanda sat up slowly, her smile fading when she realised she was in her and Carson's bedroom. None of it was real. She looked to her side at the empty space next to her and let out a sigh, frowning at the reminder that Carson was still away.
She reached over to the bedside table and picked up her phone, biting down on her lip nervously while she checked to see if there were any new messages from Carson.
No calls.
No texts.
Nothing.
Wanda knew that she couldn't exactly blame him. After all, she did ignore him when he tried to reach out. From what he'd seen, Wanda clearly wasn't in the mood to talk so he respected that.
It was a tough situation really. Because she was so worked up about the whole Maia situation, and the one person that would actually be able to ground her... was part of the reason why she was so pissed off in the first place.
Maybe he was right, maybe she was overreacting. It's not like Carson had actually done anything wrong. Maia showed up out of the blue and was now helping them. That's it. They're strictly co-workers. Nothing more.
She didn't actually know why she was getting so mad. People have tried things with Carson in the past and she could see why. He was charming, outgoing, sweet, handsome, hell if Wanda wasn't already with him she'd probably try it on too.
She'd still jealous of course, she always did. Wanda knew it wasn't exactly one of her best traits, but she couldn't help it. Carson belonged to her. He was hers and she was his. But he'd never look twice at someone else, even when he didn't know Wanda was watching. So why would this time be any different?
What was so special, about Maia Woods?
Wanda let out a huff and pulled the duvet from off her body, already starting to get angry at the thought. She walked over to the dresser at the end of the room and rooted around in the draws, pulling out and throwing all the items on the floor that got in her way as she tried to find what it was that she was after.
The Dark Hold.
Wanda grabbed the book and shut the draw, walking over to the desk and placing it down.
Her eyes quickly scanned over each page as she flicked through the book, a small smirk tugging at the corners of her lips when she landed upon the page she wanted.
"Perfect." Wanda muttered under her breath.
~~ ᗢ ~~
CARSON WAS laid down on the sofa, eyes closed, head comfortably propped up on one of the pillows, feeling himself about to drift off.
Across the room, Sam was sat at the table on his laptop, checking in with Sharon and Maia about John. Bucky was in the other room getting changed and Zemo was lay on the other sofa with a hot towel placed on his head, considering he got hit in the face with the shield earlier.
"Were you ever offered it?" Zemo broke the silence, making Carson jump.
"Jesus." Carson mumbled, wiping his hand over his face as he came around.
"What?" Sam asked.
"The serum."
"No."
"If you had been, hypothetically, that is, would you have taken it?" Zemo asked.
"No." Sam answered.
"No hesitation." Zemo nodded slowly. "That's impressive." He removed the towel from his head, his eyes squinting momentarily as they re-adjusted to the light. "Sam, you can't hold out hope for Karli. No matter what you saw in her, she's gone. And we cannot allow that she and her acolytes become yet another faction of gods amongst real people. Super Soldiers cannot be allowed to exist."
"Isn't that how gods talk? And if that's how you feel, what about Bucky?" Sam countered. "Blood isn't always the solution."
The door opened and Bucky entered the room, heading over to the bar.
"Somethings not right about Walker." Bucky said.
"Really, I didn't notice." Carson remarked sarcastically.
"Well, I know a crazy when I see one." Bucky shrugged. "Because I am crazy."
"Can't argue with that." Sam chuckled.
"Shouldn't have given him the shield." Bucky glanced at Sam before pouring himself a drink.
"I didn't give him the shield." Sam stood up.
"Steve definitely didn't." Bucky continued.
The doors to the apartment were suddenly kicked open, revealing John and Lemar. The two stormed inside and came to a stop once they reached the middle of the room.
Carson lifted up his head to see who it was, rolling his eyes before laying back down. "Seriously John, this is turning into borderline obsession at this point."
"Alright, that's it. Let's go." John started, looking around at them all. "I'm ordering you to turn him over."
"Hey, slow your roll." Sam stopped him. "Let's be clear, shield or no shield, the only thing you're runnin' in here is your mouth." He jabbed. "I had Karli and you overstepped. Zemo's actually proven himself useful today. And we're gonna need all hands on deck for whatever's comin' next."
"How do you want the rest of this conversation to go, huh?" John challenged. Sam didn't reply, earning a small chuckle from the man. "Should I put down the shield? Make it fair?"
Sam scoffed as he watched John place the shield on the ground. As John stood up straight, a spear was thrown at the pillar in between him and Sam, making everyone flinch.
Everyone except from Carson, who already heard the Dora Milaje enter the building.
They all turned around to see one of the female warriors stood in the back corner of the room.
Ayo walked into the apartment with another member of the Dora Milaje at her side. She looked over at Bucky and began to speak to him in Wakandan.
"Even if he is a means to your end... times up." Ayo's gaze flicked between the others before she spoke up once more, this time speaking in English. "Release him to us now."
"Hi. John Walker. Captain America." John held his hand out for Ayo to shake.
Ayo stared at John, not even bothering to look down at his hand. He cleared his throat and moved his hand away after a few seconds, it becoming clear she had no interest in any introductions.
"Well, let's... uh... put down the pointy sticks and we can talk this through, huh?"
"Hey, John?" Carson sat up. "You do know who they are, right?"
John looked over at Carson and remained silent.
"A little word of advice then," Carson began. "Take it easy. You might wanna fight all four of us before you tangle with the Dora Milaje."
"The Dora Milaje don't have jurisdiction here." John turned back to Ayo.
Ayo's eyes narrowed. "The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be."
"Okay..." John sighed. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot."
He reached out to place his hand on Ayo's shoulder, only to be hit in the shin with her spear as soon as his hand made contact. Ayo hit his arm away before adding a blow to the head with the shaft of her spear. She sent a harsh kick to his gut and John flew backwards, his back hitting the spear that was in the pillar and knocking him down to the floor.
John rolled onto his back and grabbed the shield, holding it in front of his body to block the next attack that Ayo sent his way. Ayo removed the spear from the pillar and threw it over to one of the other Dora Milaje women.
Lemar ran over to to help John. Although, they didn't seem to be getting anywhere. At all.
"We should do something." Sam suggested as he watched the scene in front of him.
"Looking strong John!" Bucky shouted.
"Great form!" Carson added, him and Bucky sharing an amused grin.
"Bucky..." Sam tried again.
Bucky huffed and made his way over to Ayo, grabbing hold of her spear to stop her. Ayo quickly retaliated and pulled her spear back, but Bucky held his grip on her weapon, trying to calm her down.
"Ayo!" Bucky tried. "Ayo, let's talk about this."
Sam joined the fight, stopping the warrior who walked in with Ayo from hitting Lemar with her spear. She kept a tight hold on her weapon and pushed the blunt end of the spear against Sam's chest.
Carson watched as the third Dora Milaje warrior began to approach Sam.
"Carson!" Sam called out. "Come on!"
Carson huffed. "Fine." He took a swig of his drink that was on the table before standing up.
Just as she was about to swing to hit the back of Sam's legs, Carson's powers formed a small barrier between the shaft of her spear and Sam's shin, stopping it from making contact.
The woman let out a grunt and charged towards Carson. He wasn't particularly interested in fighting them. The Dora Milaje had been their allies in the past. So he decided to go down a more defensive route, dodging out of the way of the attacks.
Over on the other side of the room, Bucky continued his fight with Ayo. She jabbed her spear against his shoulder but he pushed it away.
Ayo reached out towards Bucky's metal arm with her hand, doing some sort of combination that caused his metal arm to unlock and fall to the floor.
Bucky looked up at Ayo in shock and she simply walked away, heading over to the bathroom and opening the doors. She looked down at the open grid that was on the floor, inhaling sharply when she realised that Zemo had managed to escape.
"He is gone." Ayo turned around and looked at her fellow warriors. "Leave it."
The warrior that was fighting Carson lowered her guard and Carson let go of her spear, stepping to the side and allowing her to get past as she followed Ayo out of the apartment. The third warrior that had picked up the shield dropped it on the ground, holding her glare on John for a moment before following the others.
Carson looked to his right, his eyes travelling down to the metal arm on the ground. He walked over and picked it up, handing it back to Bucky.
"You good?" Carson checked and Bucky gave him a nod in appreciation as a reply.
"Did you know they could do that?" Sam asked.
Bucky reattached his arm and allowed it to sync back up. He looked over at Sam and shook his head. "No."
Lemar got up and approached John. "You alright, man?"
John kept his eyes on the shield, sighing in defeat. "They weren't even Super Soldiers..."
"It's okay... Come on." Lemar helped John up, giving his shoulder a pat.
Carson walked past the two friends, not bothering to acknowledge either of them as he had his gaze fixed on the bathroom.
He came to a stop in the doorway and gripped the bridge of his nose in frustration when he noticed the grid.
"I can't believe he pulled and El Chapo." Sam spoke up from his side.
Bucky joined the two and looked down at the grid, shaking his head at the sight. "I can."
~~ ᗢ ~~
AFTER THE incident with the Dora Milaje and Zemo escaping, Bucky, Sam and Carson left the apartment to search the town for any sign of him. But they were a few hours in and still had no such luck.
And to top it off, Karli had made contact with Sam's sister.
"She said what?" Sam spoke to his sister on the phone. "Right. Hold on, hold on. I know. Listen, pack an overnight bag and take the boys."
The last line of Sam's words seemed to grab Carson's attention and he looked over at him. "What happened?"
"Karli called Sarah." Sam told him. "She threatened my nephews." He raised his phone back up to his ear and continued talking to his sister. "Okay. Go somewhere safe. Only pay cash, alright? Let me know when you get there. I know... Look, I love you. I'll never let anything happen to you and the boys, you know that. Okay. Bye." Sam hung up the phone and put it back in his pocket.
"They're okay?" Carson checked. "No one's hurt right?"
"They're fine. But Karli knows where they are, it's too dangerous for them to stay at the house." Sam sighed. "Karli wants to meet. She left a contact number."
Sam's phone chimed once more and he pulled it out of his pocket, looking down at the notification. Karli sent the location of where she wanted the meeting to take place.
"She said come alone." Sam said as he read the message.
Bucky shook his head.
"We're coming with you."
~~ ᗢ ~~
"KARLI!" Sam shouted as he walked into the courtyard, Bucky and Carson following behind.
Karli walked out onto the second floor, leaning against the railing as she looked down at the three. She gestured over to the set of stairs and they made their way over, walking up to the second floor to speak with her.
"You called my sister?" Sam confronted her. "That's how we're gonna play this?"
"I would never hurt her, Sam." Karli shrugged. "I just wanted to understand you better." She looked between Carson and Bucky. "I see you, um, didn't come alone."
Bucky remained silent and Carson folded his arms across his chest as he leant against the wall.
"You have to end this now." Sam told her sternly.
"I don't wanna hurt you." Karli shook her head. "You're just a tool in the regimes I'm looking to destroy. You're not hiding behind a shield. If I were to kill you, it'd be meaningless." She paused momentarily, clearly thinking about her next words. "I was gonna ask you to join me... or do the world a favour and let me go."
Sam opened his mouth to reply but was cut off when Sharon tuned into his comm system.
"Hey, Sam, new Cap is moving." She informed. "Looks like he's found them... or maybe they found him."
Sam looked over his shoulder at Bucky and Carson. "It's walker."
Bucky and Sam both hurdled over the railings to the floor below and Karli moved to follow. Before she could hit the ground, Carson fired a blast of his powers at her chest before jumping down himself, the impact causing Karli to be fired back into one of the pillars.
Just as Karli started to regain her footing, Sam kicked her back down.
"I'll send you both the location." He told them. "Go!"
And with that, he activated his suit and flew out of the building to head to John. Bucky and Carson exchanged a nod before sprinting out the building too, running side by side through the streets of the town as fast as they could.
After a while of navigating where they needed to go, the two reached the location of where John Walker was at. Once they entered the building, they momentarily split off so they could potentially find John quicker.
As Carson turned the corner, one of the Flag Smashers grabbed him from behind and held him in a headlock.
Carson let out a grunt and retaliated in his hold, using his elbow to punch the man in his side. He placed both of his feet against the wall and forcefully kicked him and the Flag Smasher backwards, slamming the mans back against the wall.
The Flag Smasher groaned and his grip on Carson loosened, allowing him to break free. He turned around and wrapped both of his hands around the mans throat, pushing him up against the wall as he squeezed tighter.
The man squirmed in his grip and tried to pry Carson's hands away from his throat. Carson's jaw clenched tightly as he maintained his hold on him, his teeth gritting together as he pushed him up higher against the wall, the mans feet lifting off the ground.
"Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep." Carson muttered.
The Flag Smashers hands dropped from Carson's and his body stopped squirming, now going limp in Carson's hold. He let out a breath and took his hands away, watching as the man fell to the ground.
A crash was heard further down the room and Carson vaulted over the railings of the stairs to see Bucky standing over another Flag Smashers body.
"Stay there." Bucky said as he looked down at the man.
Carson chuckled and patted his shoulder to grab his attention, motioning for Bucky to follow. By using his enhanced hearing, Carson led himself and Bucky through the hallways until they reached the room where John had grouped up with Sam as they fought another wave of Flag Smashers.
As they stepped into the room, a combat knife being thrown that John had deflected with his shield headed straight for Bucky. Carson stopped the knife mid air air his powers, it halting inches away from Bucky's face.
Bucky grabbed the knife and ran forwards, engaging in combat with one of the gang members.
"You're welcome!" Carson shouted. He rolled his eyes. "So ungrateful."
He looked ahead to see another Flag Smasher charging towards him and before he had time to react, she punched him across the face.
Just as she was about to swing again, Carson caught her fist and twisted her arm. He pulled her arm down as he raised his knee, the impact on the bone causing her arm to bend the other way and break.
She let out a yell and Carson blasted her back with his powers, wincing as he hit into one of the tables.
"Oh." He scratched the back of his head. "Sorry lady!"
Karli ran into the room with a knife at hand, her sights already set on John. While another Flag Smasher held Walkers arms behind his back so he couldn't move, Karli charged towards him and raised the knife.
Before she could attack him, Lemar tackled her out of the way. He quickly got to his feet and engaged in combat with Karli. Lemar swung for her but she dodged his punch before hitting him back with full force.
Carson's breath hitched in his throat as he watched Lemar's body be flung backwards into one of the pillars. The Lemar's head collided hard with the corner of the stone. Extremely hard. He dropped to the floor, his head drooping down, body unresponsive.
Everybody in the room came to a stop and turned their attention towards Lemar, looking ahead to see the blood start to pour from his mouth.
John broke free from the Flag Smasher's grip and ran to Lemar's side. "Hey, hey, hey."
He gripped his face, trying to wake him up.
"Lemar. Look at me, look at me." John tried. He didn't want to expect the worst. He couldn't. He was fine. He had to be. "Lemar!"
Sam, Bucky and Carson all exchanged a look, knowing that John's actions were useless. He was gone. Karli killed him.
The rest of the Flag Smashers, including Karli, all ran out of the room. The trio noticed and ran after them. Before Carson left the room he looked back over his shoulder at John, inhaling sharply at the sight of him kneeling down next to Lemar's lifeless body.
Sure, he didn't like John. And that was a very strong dislike. But he still had sympathy for him. That was his best friend, after all.
John took a deep breath and looked at the window ahead of him. He got to his feet and clenched his jaw, bolting towards the window and jumping through it, the glass smashing upon impact.
He landed on the roof of a car and looked around, eyes narrowing as he saw a Flag Smasher in front of him.
The man bolted at the sight of him, but John was quick to follow.
He couldn't let him get away.
John chased the Flag Smasher through the ginnels. The man grabbed a nearby bin and vaulted it towards John, but he was swift to react. John raised his shield and the bin shattered as it made contact.
"WHERE IS SHE!" John yelled.
As the Flag Smasher turned to continue running, John threw his shield at his back, pushing him out into a public street. John hit the man in the stomach and knocked him down onto the steps of a nearby monument.
He walked over to the Flag Smasher and kicked him back down as he tried to stand up, pushing his foot against his chest harshly.
The man raised his hands in surrender. "It wasn't me!"
John ignored his pleads and gripped the shield with both hands, raising it up into the air.
"IT WASN'T ME!" The man shouted once more.
John let out a yell as he brought the shield down to the mans chest at full force, a few drops of blood spitting up and landing on his face. He brought it back up and repeated the same action.
Over.
And over.
And over again.
He looked down at the now lifeless body below him, stepping back as his eyes travelled over to the blood that had soaked into his shirt.
But he didn't care.
They killed him. They killed Lemar. His best friend was dead because of them.
Carson, Sam and Bucky appeared from around the corner and walked through the group of civilians that had gathered around. They came to a stop once they noticed John, their eyes widening at the sight.
Karli stood within the crowd to blend in, watching in horror. She saw it. She saw everything.
John reattached the shield to his arm and looked over his shoulder, eyes flicking between the crowd and the trio.
Carson looked down at the shield, his jaw locking tightly at the blood that was smeared all over it.
Everything that shield stood for. The symbol that it carried.
Was now gone.
~~ ᗢ ~~
anyways i wonder what wanda's up to...
[Not edited]