Never Back Down // TFATWS

07

"Look, it's 20 miles to the airport. You guys need a ride." He opened the back door. "Guys. Gary, stop." Sam, Reya and Bucky exchanged a look and reluctantly got in."Okay, so we've got eight Super Soldiers on a bulk supply run. Why?"

Sam let out a sigh. "They say their mission is to get things back to the way it was during The Blip. Maybe they're just trying to help."

"They had a funny way of showing it," Bucky said.

"That serum doesn't exactly have a great track record," John stated, looking at Bucky. "No offense."

Jessie shot him a looked. "Saying no offense doesn't make it any less offensive."

"Shut up."

"Well, we need to figure out where they're going," Sam said. "How'd you track them here? The Flag Smashers?"

"Uh, no, we didn't track them, we tracked you, uh, through Redwing," Lemar replied, scratching the back of his head.

"You hacked my tech?"

"Sorry," John said with a chuckle. "It's not exactly hacking. It's government property." He gestured to himself. "Kind of the government." He chuckled, then glanced at Bucky. "Does he always just stare like that?"

"You get used to it."

"Okay, look," he cleared his throat, "you know, things have gotten kind of, uh..."

"Chaotic," Lemar finished, glancing at John.

"Yeah. Well, the GRC, they're doing the best they can to get things up and running smoothly, post Blip."

Lemar continued. "Reactivating citizenship, social security, health care. Basically just managing resources for the refugees who were displaced by the return."

"The Global Repatriation Council does all that," Sam said. "I get that. So why exactly are you two here?"

"Well, they provide the resources and we keep things stable."

"Yeah, violent revolutionaries aren't usually good for anyone's cause," John added.

Sam smirked lightly. "Usually said by the people with the resources."

"We got a lot of resources. If you joined with us, we could..."

"No," Bucky interrupted.

Lemar gestured between the three Avengers. "I got mad respect for each of y'all. But you were getting your asses kicked till we showed up."

Reya tilted her head. "Who are you?"

"Lemar Hoskins."

"We just saw you hanging out of a helicopter in full-on tactical gear," Sam said. "We're gonna need more than just "Lemar Hoskins"."

"I'm Battlestar. John's partner."

""Battlestar"? Stop the car!" Bucky ordered.

Gary stopped the truck, Bucky got out, and John looked between the three as he said, "Look, I... I get it, okay? I get the attitude, I do. You didn't think that the shield was gonna end up here. I get it, Bucky. And I'm... I'm not trying to be Steve. I'm not trying to replace Steve. I'm just trying to be the best Captain America I can be. That's it."

John frowned. "It'd be a lot easier if I had Cap's wingmen on my side."

Sam scoffed. "It's always that last line." He and Reya climbed out of the truck and followed after Bucky.

John told Gary, "Let's go." He noticed his sister climbing out. "What are you doing?"

"If you're going to behave like a jerk, I don't want to be around you. Gary, let me out and go on once I've left."