Maya Stark

Chapter 80: Another trip

We were back in the place where the memorial was held. Not exactly giving off good vibes. Police were everywhere and a bunch of shit was happening. I sat on a table as a medic cleaned the dried blood off my forehead and eye. She put a butterfly closure bandage on the cut instead of stitches. It apparently wasn't deep enough for stitches. Sam was standing next to me and Bucky was brooding in the corner.

'The GRC is conducting raids to try and find Karli, but so far they've only found her followers,' Sam was saying. 'They've searched this camp, and just like the last camp, nothing. She's gone. We'll never find her.'

I smiled my thanks at the medic when she handed me an ice pack and walked off. I put the icepack on my forehead when Torres walked over.

'Hey, you got your sleeve back,' he said, pointing to Bucky.

Bucky rolled his eyes and started walking towards the exit.

'Are you off to take care of Zemo?' Sam asks. Bucky turns to look at us but doesn't say anything and continues to walk out of the building.

'Alright, good to know you survived,' Torres calls after him.

Both him and Sam sigh as I stare at the ground.

'What's our next steps, Torres?' Sam asks.

'Captain America killing a foreign national in public, it's kinda like a big deal,' Torres says. 'Like international incident big. Folks, uh, higher up on the payroll are all over it now. So, unfortunately—'

'They're taking jurisdiction,' Sam finished.

Torres points at Sam and nods. I sigh and lower my icepack to my lap.

'What happened to these?' Torres asks, picking up the bag with Sam's broken suit and setting it on the table next to me.

'So, is there anything we can do?' Sam asks, ignoring Torres's question.

'Not really,' Torres says, messing with the suit. 'As you can see, they've cordoned off the whole camp, and Karli's a ghost. After what went down, she is laying extra low. Like, under-underground.'

'And that's why it makes sense for us to get involved,' Sam said with a sigh. 'The longer we let her regroup, the harder it's gonna be to find her.'

'She's got people helping her from all over the world, on all platforms. She's really, really, good at this thing.'

'Yeah.'

'How'd these break?'

Sam sighs and Torres looks at me. I shake my head lightly, trying not to move too much.

'Anyway, all we can do now is sit tight and just chill. Sometimes, there's nothing to do until there's something to do.'

'That's bizarrely wise,' Sam said.

Torres chuckles. 'Well, I'm a bizarrely wise man, Sam.'

'Yeah, alright.' Sam grabs the shield and slips it onto his arm. 'Maya?' My head goes up and I turn to look at him.

'Hm?'

'You up for a trip or do you want me to get someone to take you home?'

'I don't want to go home yet,' I say quickly.

'Are you sure?' Sam asks. 'You're already hurt.'

'This is nothing. I don't even have a concussion and I didn't even need any stitches.'

'Okay then, let's go,' Sam said.

I looked at the wings. 'Are we taking the wings?'

'No.'

'But I could—'

'Maya.'

'It's just that—'

'Leave them.'

'But, Sam, they're bro—'

'Torres here can keep them,' Sam said. 'Come on.'

I sigh but nod while standing up. 'Nice to see you again, Torres. Always a pleasure.'

He nods slightly in return. I think he may be mildly scared of me. I follow Sam out into the chaos. The sunlight shines brightly into my eyes as we process all that has happened.