HEROES ─ fallen warriors series one shots

19| Knight In Shining Armor

(Takes place during "Legacy")

Liam

Most days at the F.E.P base are slow despite housing dozens of rebels. Rally days are exciting, but other than, it's a lot of guard duty shifts, crappy food, and feeling suffocated by the compacted living situation. But the days here have been getting increasingly more interesting, especially today. Today was the day the Winter Soldier arrived with his son and niece, who up until recently, were kept secret from the world. The moment they arrived, everyone crowded around to catch a glimpse of them; of the legend and the offspring of legends. I hadn't been on the main floor when they arrived, I was a couple floors up, staring down at them from the railing. But even from up high I got a good look at them.

The Winter Soldier looked just like he did in every picture or video I was shown of him throughout my life. Intimidating, stoic, badass, honorable, strong, incredible. I felt my breath catch as I watched him pass under me, unable to comprehend that I was seeing him for real. The shock continued when I got a glimpse of the son and niece. Both are much younger than I expected. Josephine, the niece, looked no older than fifteen, which is insane given that now she's leader of the Jabari tribe. The son, Steven, looked a little older than Josephine, but younger than me. Josephine had a similar expression as the Winter Soldier, but Steven looked filled with wonder and happiness, the kind I haven't seen since I came to the F.E.P. His amazement was almost childlike. It was this expression that kept me captivated the entire time they were paraded around the main floor. That and also how attractive Steven is.

The other rebels have been talking about them all day. How cool they look, how incredible it is that they're joining the cause, how things will start to change for the better soon. It's amazing to me how people who have been beaten and broken by the world can still find hope, especially when the odds are stacked against them. And believe me, the odds are definitely stacked against us. Even if we get help from these three, we won't make any real change. We won't make the governments of the world see us as people, not mistakes that need to be rectified. Why do they think Josephine and Steven were hidden all these years? Because the Winter Soldier and the Savage know what we do; that the world doesn't accepted enhanced people. Probably never will.

If we want to make a real difference, we need an army, not three additional enhanced, even if one of them is an Avenger. I'm not the only one who thinks so. The other rebels aren't happy with what Naomi, Matthew, and Johnathon told us today; that the king of Wakanda is working on a way to fix our situation that will avoid bloodshed, will avoid war. That the reason why we have no army and why those three arrived here today, are to ensure a peaceful solution. Some are happy we may be able to avoid a war. Most are pissed. I'm somewhere in between.

War has already started. It started the moment the UN decided to experiment on people against their will. I want retribution for all enhanced people. I want us to be free. If war is what it takes to get that, then so be it.

"Knight," Ronald Prime appears behind me, pulling me from my thoughts. "You're off duty now."

Guard duty at the base is volunteers only, and I've been doing it everyday since I arrived here. It helps me being outside, makes me feel less antsy and my powers less bottled up. While I'm out here I usually mess around with the grass and whatever plants are around, but I didn't today. I was too distracted. I'll be paying for that later. Being in such close quarters in a large building for hours on end makes my powers go insane. Thankfully I have some potted plants in my room, but nothing beats being outside with naturally growing plants.