Never Back Down // TFATWS

23

Karli charged Sam and Reya and continued to throw punches, all of which they blocked or dodged as Karli yelled, "Fight back!"

Sam managed to grab Karli by the waist and pushed her back before saying, "Stop it!"

He jumped back, but Karli continued coming for him as she cried, "Fight me! Fight back!"

Karli landed a good punch on Sam, knocking him to the ground. When he looked up, Karli had a gun on him. Sam stood and put his hands up, ready to take the bullet as he moved in front of Reya.

Sharon raised her gun and shot Karli. Sam rushed to Karli and held her head in his lap.

Reya stared in horror, then looked to Sharon. "What have you done?"

Karli looked up and shook her head as she whispered, "I'm sorry." She let out a sob and moments later, her her eyes closed for the final time and her head fell to the right.

Sam silently picked Karli's body up and left. Reya followed, ignoring Sharon.

Sam flew with Karli in his arms. He landed, trying to maintain a strong, stoic expression.

Once he'd placed Karli's body on a gurney, he began making his way towards Bucky, John and Jessie, but was swarmed by reporters. He pushed Reya towards the others, trying to get her out of the way of reporters.

"What happened to the Flag Smashers?" the first reporter asked.

"When did the government make you Captain America?" another reporter questioned.

"Is is still Falcon?"

"Or is it Captain Falcon?"

"Sam, thank you so much, from all of us," Ayla said.

The Senator nodded. "Sincerely. You did your part in dealing with those terrorists, now we'll do ours."

Sam took a deep breath before asking, "Are you still going forward with resetting the borders?"

The second woman working with the GRC, Ayla, and the senator nodded before saying, "Our peacekeeping troops will begin relocating people soon. The terrorists only set us back a bit."

Sam shook his head. "You have to stop calling them terrorists."

"What else would we call them?" the Senator wondered, shaking his head.

"Your peacekeeping troops carrying weapons are forcing millions of people into settlements around the world, right? What do you think those people are gonna call you? These labels, "terrorists", "refugee", "thug", they're often used to get around the question, why?"

Lacont said, "Those settlements that happened five years ago, do you think it is fair for governments to have to support them?"

Sam, slightly take aback, replied, "Yes."

The Senator let out a sigh and said, "And the people who appeared only to find someone else living in their family home, they just end up homeless? Look, I get it. But you have no idea how complicated this situation is." He started walking away.

"You know what? You're right." The senator stopped and turned back to Sam. "And that's a good thing. We finally have a common struggle now. Think about that. For once, all the people who've been begging, and I mean, literally begging for you to feel how hard any given day is... Now you know. How did it feel to be helpless? Now if you could remember what it was like to be helpless and face a force so powerful it could erase half the planet, you would know that you're about to have the exact same impact. This isn't about easy decisions, Senator."

"You just don't understand."

Sam scoffed. "I'm a black man carrying the stars and stripes. What don't I understand? Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people out there who are gonna hate me for it. Even now, here..." Isaiah Bradley and his son Eli watched. "I feel it. The stares, the judgment. And there's nothin' I can do to change it. Yet, I'm still here. No super serum, no blond hair, or blue eyes. The only power that I have is that I believe we can do better. We can't demand that people step up if we don't meet them halfway. Look, you control the banks. Shit, you can move the borders! You can knock down a forest with an email," Torres watched, "you can feed a million people with a phone call. But the question is, who's in the room with you when you're making those decisions?" Sarah watched. "Hmm? Is it the people you're gonna impact? Or is it just more people like you?" He took a deep breath and looked around the group. "I mean, this girl died trying to stop you, and no one has stopped for a second to ask why. You gotta do better, Senator. You gotta step up. Because if you don't, the next Karli will. And you don't wanna see 2.0. People believed in her cause so much that they helped her defy the strongest governments in the world. Why do you think that is." The Senator and the two women shook their heads as Sam continued. "Look, you people have just as much power as an insane god or a misguided teenager. The question you have to ask yourself is, "How are you going to use it?""

Reya smiled proudly, having heard Sam's speech. He certainly deserved the mantle he'd been given.

Sam walked up, passing John who nodded and left, and Bucky said, "Sorry, I was, uh, I was texting and all I heard was, um, "a black guy in stars and stripes"." Jessie, Reya and Sam chuckled. "Nice job, Cap."

"Thanks."

Reya smiled. "Well done, Cap." She took Sam's hand, giving it a light squeeze.

"Thanks, Rey."

The three walked away. Jessie, after a moment, decided to follow.

As soon as they passed the ambulances, they walked up to Sharon who was treating her wound and she said, "You're blocking my light."

"You should get to a hospital," Sam told her.

Bucky and Jessie shook their heads. "She's not gonna listen."

Sharon panted as she said, "It's not the worst thing that's happened to me all week."

"Told you," Bucky said.

A man called, "Uh, Cap?"

Sharon, breathing heavily, said, "I think he's talking to you. Look, I'm sorry for how things ended there. For what it's worth, suit looks good on you."

Sam chuckled and replied, "Thanks."

Bucky asked, "All right, look, can we get out of here, please?" He, Reya and Jessie began walking away, Sharon ahead of them.

"I didn't forget my promise." Bucky glanced back at him.

Sam turned to the man who'd called out to him and asked, "What's up?"

"So, we got eyes on the last Flag Smasher that fell into the Hudson," the man said. "He's hurt but not down. Can you help?"

"Always." Sam clapped his shoulder and flew off.