BERLIN - DAY
Traffic rolled around the victory column. A police convoy drove beside the river Spree. Amidst the convoy was a gray armed truck. Inside, Bucky wore restraints inside a prison pod. Three armed guards sat on the other side of the glass-walled pod. A police motorbike stopped traffic and a van driver looked affronted. The convoy turned a corner onto a bridge across the river. In an SUV, T'Challa sat in front of Steve who sat in front of Sam and Michaela.
"So, you like cats?" Sam asked.
"Sam," Steve and Michaela called.
"What? Dude shows up dressed like a cat and you two don't wanna know more?"
"Your suit... it's Vibranium?"
T'Challa's eyes narrowed as he glanced sideways and said, "The Black Panther has been the protector of Wakanda for generations. A mantle, passed from warrior to warrior. And now, because your friend murdered my father, I also wear the mantle of king. So, I ask you... as both warrior and king... how long do you two think you can keep your friend safe from me?" Steve and Michaela were stone-faced as the convoy headed underground.
---
In a light gray walled bunker, Bucky's pod was carried away by a forklift. Nearby, Steve and Michaela got out of the SUV and glanced across at Bucky who didn't spot him. With Sam and T'Challa, Steve and Michaela approached Sharon who was standing with a diminutive, gray-haired man.
"What's gonna happen to him?" Steve and Michaela asked.
"Same thing that ought to happen to you two," Everett Ross replied. "Psychological evaluation and extradition."
"This is Everett Ross, Deputy Task Force Commander," Sharon introduced.
"What about our lawyer?" Steve asked.
"Lawyer," Everett repeated. "That's funny. See their weapons are placed in lockup. Oh, we'll write you a receipt."
"I better not look out the window and see anybody flying around in that," Sam said. As they went, Steve and Michaela looked back and caught Bucky's eye. Bucky and Michaela's gaze lingered on each other a for a short while longer.
COVERED SKY WALK
"You'll be provided with an office instead of a cell," Secretary Ross said. "Now, do me a favor, stay in it?"
"I don't intend on going anywhere," T'Challa retorted.
"For the record, this is what making things worse looks like," Natasha commented.
"He's alive," Steve and Michaela shot back.
Tony, on his phone, said, "No. Romania was not Accords-sanctioned. And, Colonel Rhodes is supervising cleanup."
"Try not to break anything while we fix this," Natasha told them.
"Consequences? You bet there'll be consequences. Obviously you can quote me on that 'cause I just said it. Anything else? Thank you, sir."
"'Consequences'?" Steve and Michaela repeated.
"Secretary Ross wants you each prosecuted. Had to give him something."
"I'm not getting that shield back, am I?" Steve asked.
"Technically, it's the government's property," Natasha replied. "Wings, too."
"That's cold," Sam stated.
"Warmer than jail," Tony shot back.
POWER STATION SURROUNDED BY TREES
YOU ARE READING
This is War
ActionThe man Mick stubbornly refuses to admit her feelings for is alive, much to her and her best friend's delight. But things are about to get much more complicated for the Avengers. Between a civil war and a battle to save the world itself, how will th...
