War of Change // TFATWS

XVIII

As they walked, Bucky asked, "Are you okay, Mick?"

Michaela nodded, then sighed. "I don't know what I am. Seeing blood on that shield..."

"I know. How are you holding up? Landing like you did can't have been good."

"No, I think I'm okay. Buck, we need to keep it from getting into Walker's hands again."

"And we will, Michaela. We've gone up against worse foes before and have won. What's one more?"

The two made their way to the Sokovia Memorial and found Zemo standing in front of the statue.

"I thought you'd both be here sooner," Zemo told them, turning back to the statue and sniffed. "Don't worry. I've decided I'm not going to kill either of you."

Bucky shrugged. "Imagine my relief. Our relief." A gun clicked and he pushed Michaela behind him.

"The girl has been radicalized beyond salvation. I warned Sam, but he didn't listen to me. He's as stubborn as Steve Rogers before him. As are you, Michaela Evans." He focused on Bucky. "But you... They literally programmed you to kill. James, do what needs to be done."

"Why do we have to kill her?" Michaela asked. "We shouldn't be killing anyone."

"Now I see where you and Steve are similar. Karli has people everywhere, and there's only one way to make sure she cannot continue her mission."

"That's where you're wrong. All she wanted to do was help displaced people. While she may be going about it the wrong way, that's all she ever wanted to do."

Bucky sighed, keeping his eyes on Zemo. "I appreciate the advice. But we're gonna do it our own way."

Zemo chuckled softly. "Yeah. I was afraid you'd say that."

Bucky pulled a gun from his pocket and turned off the safety. He raised the gun with his right hand and held it up to Zemo who looked down the barrel peacefully.

Michaela, as much as she wanted to stop whatever he was doing, chose to trust that Bucky had a plan.

Bucky pulled the trigger, but nothing happened. He pulled the trigger again, then lifted his left hand and let the bullets fall to the floor with a clank.

Michaela looked up to see the Dora Milaje walking up behind Zemo. Two stood beside him and one behind him.

Zemo glanced around at the Dora before saying, "Ladies..." He took a deep breath and turned back to Bucky. "I took the liberty of crossing off my name in your list. I hold no grudges for what you thought you had to do. Goodbye, James." He looked to the blonde. "You take care of him, as you've done so far. Goodbye, Michaela."

Two Dora Milaje escorted Zemo to the aircraft they'd come on. Ayo, who remained back with Bucky and Michaela, said, "We will take him back to the Raft... Where he will live out his days. It would be prudent to make yourself scarce in Wakanda for the time being, White Wolf. The same would be wise for you as well, Blue Angel."

"Fair enough," Bucky agreed with a nod.

Michaela nodded. "Understandable."

As Ayo began walking away, Bucky said, "Hey! I may have another favor to ask of you."

Michaela glanced at Bucky. "What favor would that be?"

Bucky turned to her with a smile, but didn't answer.

---

Sam flew to Baltimore to see Isaiah. When he landed, it was dark outside.

Eli, Isaiah's grandson, tried to stop Sam. "Come on. Whoa, whoa, whoa. What are you doing, man? Where you goin'?"

"I'm goin' to see your grandfather," Sam replied.

Eli paused, debating whether or not to tell him, then decided to say, "All right, he in the back."

"Thanks."

"I'll be back there."

"Yeah."

The boys continued their game.

Sam walked up to the Bradley home and his confident demeanor dissipated, leaving him nervous.

He walked up to the light in the back. Isaiah was watering plants, looking up at him.

"That what I think it is?" Isaiah asked. Sam began uncovering the shield, but Isaiah protested. "Mmm-mmm. Leave it covered. Them stars and stripes don't mean nothin' good to me." He went back to watering his plants.

Sam put the shield back at his side and said, "I need to understand."

Isaiah put the hose down. "You understand." He bent over and picked up a bag of soil. "Every black man does. Whether you wanna deny it or not..."

"Don't do that bitter, old man thing with me."

"If you ain't bitter, you're blind."

"I don't get it, okay? What went wrong?"

"I used to be like you, until I opened my eyes, until I saw men in the Red Tails, the famous 332 fight for this country, only to come home to find crosses burned on their lawn."

"I'm from the south. I get that. But you were a Super Soldier like Steve. And like Mick. You could've been the next..."

"The next? What? Huh? Blond hair, blue eyes, stars and stripes? Blonde hair, green eyes, a kind heart and soul? The world's been chasing that great white hope since he first got dosed and she got nicked with that serum."

"Steve and Michaela did not put you in jail."

They walked inside and Isaiah led Sam to the living room. Sam sat on the couch while Isaiah grabbed a picture off the shelf and sat in a chair across from Sam.

Isaiah handed Sam a photo of a woman and said, "She died while I was in jail. They, uh, never let a single one of her letters get to me." He put a hand on the box he'd grabbed and opened it. "They locked 'em in this box. They told her I was dead. Yeah, and after awhile, she was gone, and, uh..." He inhaled deeply. "Sorry."

After a moment, he continued. "You wanted to know what went wrong?" Sam nodded. "A handful of us got shot up with different versions of that serum, but they don't tell us what it is. They tell us it's tetanus. They sent us on missions, even though the others weren't stable. Some of us started dying off. Then a couple of the boys get captured on a mission. I heard the brass talkin' about blowing the POW camp to hell to hide the evidence. But those were my men. My brothers. Not evidence. So I bust out of the facility and I brought them boys back. Not that it made a damn bit of difference. It wasn't long before it was only me left. And what did I get for saving their lives? For the next 30 years, they experimented on me, trying to figure out why the serum worked." He lifted his shirt, showing a large scar on the right side of his torso. "There was a nurse. She took pity on me. Wrote up some fake reports, something. She had me declared dead. That's who gave me this. My God!" His breath trembled. "Sam, I loved her so much."

"Mr. Bradley, um..." He shook his head. "We gotta do something. We gotta tell somebody."

"No, leave me dead. My name is buried."

"But the world's different now. I know people."

Isaiah scoffed. "Man, that's why you're here? You think things are different? You think times are different? You think I wouldn't be dead in a day if you brought me out? You wanna believe jail was my fault because you got that white man's shield. They were worried my story might get out. So, they erased me. My history. But they've been doing that for 500 years." He chuckled. "Pledge allegiance to that, my brother. They will never let a black man be Captain America. And even if they did, no self-respecting black man would ever wanna be."

Sam left the house, grabbed the shield and said into his phone, "Sarah, I'm comin' home."