Everett, Bucky, and Kashim walked the streets of Riga with Sam as he frantically talked to his sister on the phone. Everett had never met Sarah, but she had been the one to call Everett about the new Captain America. Sam had two nephews as well, and Everett would sooner die than let Karli get anywhere near those boys.
Bucky looked at Sam in confusion. "What happened?"
Sam sighed, his shoulders tight. "Karli called Sarah, she threatened my nephews."
"Shit," Kashim muttered softly. Everett turned her gaze to him and saw his eyebrows furrowed. "Sam, do you need to me to go there? I can protect them, be your eyes and ears over there."
Everett's eyes widened at his offer, and she felt her heart swell. Kashim barely knew Sam, and he was willing to go halfway across the world to protect his family.
Everett didn't know much about it, but she could swear she was falling in love with this man.
Sam shook his head. "No, Kash, but thank you. We need you here, Ev needs you here."
Kashim looked at Everett and noticed the soft blush coating her cheeks. But then his gaze drifted to her hands, and his heart dropped.
She had been picking at them again. Her nail beds were an angry red, sensitive, and raw. There were scratches down her hands, and she kept tugging on her fingers. He cursed silently at himself for not noticing how bad it had gotten. He quickly took one of her hands in his and pressed a soft kiss to the inside of her palm. Her sharp green eyes shifted to him again, and she took notice of her hand in his. Her gaze dropped to the floor and Kashim dropped his arm while keeping her hand in his. He leaned closer to her to whisper in her ear.
"It's okay, Ev, I'm just worried about you."
His soft voice flowed through her and calmed her racing thoughts. She nodded softly, continuing to follow the two men in front of them. Sam ended the call, and their pace slowed.
"Karli wants to meet. She left a contact number."
The second Sam spoke those words, his phone chimed. All four pairs of eyes snapped to his cell. Karli provided instructions on where to meet, and Everett desperately tried to control the sinking feeling in her chest.
Sam looked at Bucky. "She said come alone." Everett scoffed, skeptical.
"There's no way in hell that we're letting you do this alone, Sam. No fucking way." Everett's voice left no room for argument.
Here we go.
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They had suited up and entered the space Karli had designated for their meet-up. Everett had kept the suit that Tony had made for her all those years ago, grateful that she did. She had also had Tony's protégé, Peter, help her keep up with maintenance and updates on the suit. She had braided her dark hair back and twisted it into a low bun, all the way out of her face. It was one of the many things that Natasha had taught her in there time as fugitives.
"Karli!" Sam's voice was angry, and it echoed around the walls. All four of them stalked into the space, looking around for the redheaded girl. Sam's eyes caught her first.
"She's up on the second level," Everett spoke softly. Their group made their way towards her, and Everett couldn't help but notice as the sinking feeling in her chest got worse.
Sam stalked towards Karli, fury in every step. If Everett knew one thing about Sam Wilson, it was that he didn't play when it came to his family.
"You called my sister? That's how we're gonna play this?"
Karli turned towards Sam and spoke softly. "Sam, I would never hurt her. I just wanted to understand you better."
Karli pushes herself off the railing and walks closer to Sam. Everett goes to take a step forward, but Kashim wraps his hand around her wrist and pulls her back. She glances at him, and sees his eyes locked onto Karli.
He's terrified.
"I see you, um, didn't come alone." There's a smirk on Karli's face, and it bleeds through her voice.
"Yeah, because he's not fucking stupid, Karli. Threatening his family? Are you crazy? Those are kids, for Christ's sake. They have nothing to do with this." Kashim's words fire out before he could stop himself. His chest heaves for breath as Everett wraps her hand around his arm.
Karli looks at Kashim, eyes narrowing. "Hello, Kashim. It's good to see you. Have you thought about what I said?"
Everett's eyes dart to Kashim as his entire body stiffens. She can feel the anger bleeding out of him as he takes a step forward. "No. Because it's mental. There's no way I'm putting her in danger. Not now, not ever. She is everything to me, and I would rather die than lose her again."
Everett felt her breath get caught in her throat. Who was he talking about? What had Karli said to him? She looked at Karli, who was staring directly at her. Everett's eyes narrowed.
Sam looked between them and sighed. "You have to end this now."
"I don't wanna hurt you. You're just a tool in the regimes I want to destroy. You're not hiding behind a shield. If I were to kill you, it'd be meaningless."
Everett felt Karli's words hit the floor like bricks. She sounded exactly like Zemo, and that might have been the scariest part of all of this.
"I was gonna ask you to join me. Or do the world a favor and let me go."
Static sounded through their comm links as a woman's voice filled their ears. "Hey, Sam, new Cap is moving. Looks like he's found them, or maybe they found him."
Sam's eyes dart to Bucky.
"It's Walker."
Bucky moved to leap off the balcony, and Karli slammed him into the concrete wall behind him. He hit the floor with a sickening crack, and Everett couldn't hide the scream that left her mouth. Kashim grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards the stairs, but Everett tugged away and ran to the edge. Sam and Karli were fighting, and Bucky was back on his feet. The fear drained from her, but it was replaced by dread.
This would not end well.
"Ev! We have to go. Walker's on his way, shit's about to get real." Kashim tugged her arm again, and they darted down the stairs and after Bucky.
Everett shuffled through the possibilities in her head as her and Kashim ran through the streets, but there was no version of this that ended well.
They arrived at the location that Sharon had shared, and Bucky nodded to his left. "You two go that way, try to meet us on the other side. I'm gonna go right."
Everett nodded, trying to stop her heart from beating out of her chest. As soon as Bucky disappeared inside the building, Everett's legs started to give out. A haze swam over her vision as she gripped Kashim's arms.
"Woah- Shit, Ev. What-?"
Everett slid to the floor, lowering her head into his chest. Her own fell and rose rapidly, and she didn't know how to calm down. Her thoughts were racing through her head, but one kept coming back again and again.
"Where is Steve?"
Kashim's brow furrowed at her broken words. "What do you mean, Evie?"
Everett shook her head, desperately trying to breathe. "Steve promised that everything would be okay. He said those words to me. But it's not. It's not okay. Nothing is okay, everything is awful, this is all my fault."
Kashim's heart nearly shattered at the words that fell from her lips as she started to cry. He pulled her closer to him and kissed the side of her head softly.
"Evie, look at me."
Her head stayed firmly planted in his chest. Her body rose and fell shakily, and he was worried she was gonna drive herself into a panic attack.
"Ev, baby, please. Look at me."
The new name that fell from Kashim's lips startled him, but it caused Everett's soft green eyes to raise to his.
He softly brushed away the tears from her face as he looked at her. "Evie, this isn't your fault. None of it is. And I promise, we're gonna make it okay. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but we're gonna fix this. We're gonna be okay."
Everett looked up at him, and in that moment realized that she never wanted to be without him. She slowly lifted a hand towards his face and rested hers on his cheek. He leaned into her, and her breathing slowly calmed.
But, of course, nothing could ever last.
"Ev, Kash, we need you! Where are you?"
Sam's words echoed through their comms, and they both got to their feet and followed the sounds of the fight.
The pair entered an atrium to see Bucky, Sam, and John Walker all fighting members of the Flag Smashers. Kashim froze as he laid eyes upon people who had once stood at his side. Everett looked at him softly.
"I'll try not to hurt them, if that's what you want."
Even if the middle of a battle, she was still trying to protect him, but he shook his head.
"There's not a way this ends with no one getting hurt."
Everett nodded. She knew that, but the look of fear and guilt on his face had been so full. But before they could do anything, Karli ran towards Walker, Lemar intercepted her, and Karli threw Lemar against a stone column.
Everett heard his neck snap.
She watched his head droop forward and the blood drip from his lips, and she was assaulted with all of the times she had done the same thing. Over and over again, replaying in her mind.
Silence echoed.
Walker ran to his partner, desperately trying to get Lemar to wake up. Patting his chest, pulling him up. The scene reminded Everett so harshly of Tony's death, she could smell the smoke of the battlefield.
Everett slowly crept up behind Walker and knelt on the other side of him. Walker's blue eyes met hers, and then drifted out towards the window.
Everett looked at Lemar's closed eyes, the blood continuing to drip from his mouth. She summoned her powers into her hand and desperately worked them into Lemar. She frantically tried to repair the broken bones, to fix the damage that had been done. All she could see was Tony. His broken body lying lifelessly in front of her, and all surrounded by the fact that she had failed to save him.
She would not do that again.
"Lemar, come on. You've gotta wake up. Please. Don't make me deal with Walker's psychotic ass alone. Come on. Lemar. Lemar, please-"
Kashim watched as Everett's frantic words and movements became more nonsensical, and he quickly realized that if she didn't stop soon, she would only end up hurting herself. So he walked towards her, wrapped his arms around her, and pulled her to her feet. She tried to push away from him, tried to get back to Lemar's broken body, but he wouldn't let her.
"Kashim! Kash, please! I can help him, I know I can. Please, I can't fail again, I can't." Her words were drowned out by her own cries, and he had no idea if she even knew where she was right now.
But he knew he had to get her out of here. He tracked Sam and Bucky, and tried to get Everett to move with him, but she was still trying to make her way back to Lemar.
"Evie, I know, I'm sorry, but we have to leave. We have to find Sam and Bucky," he whispered softly. Their names seemed to jolt Everett out of her daze as she looked at him. She looked back at Lemar and sucked in a sharp breath.
"Oh, my god. Kash, it was so real. I thought he was Tony. Oh, god, I'm losing it. He was right there. Jesus, I thought I could save him." Her body started to tremble again, and Kashim pulled her tighter against him.
"You're not losing it, baby. I promise. You just saw a man die, it's okay." His words echoed through her head, trying to convince herself that she wasn't going crazy. "You're not crazy, Evie, I promise."
Everett nodded against him, then pulled away. "We've gotta find Sam and Bucky."
Kashim nodded, and followed Everett as she ran out of the building. A crowd had started to gather as Walker stood above a Flag Smasher. Everett and Kashim walked closer as the crowd watched on in horror.
And this was the moment that Everett died.
John Walker raised the shield above his head and used it to kill a man.
Strike after strike after strike.
Blood covered the shield.
Blood.
There was blood everywhere.
It was all Everett could see.
The only thought running through her head was this:
This never would've happened if Steve was still here.
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watching this moment in the show for the first time was actually insane
BUT HERE WE ARE WE DID IT
and everything goes downhill from here
OKAY LOVE YA LMK WHAT YOU THINK