SOLDIER ─ marvel

VII. Sunrise Serenade

Chapter Seven
Soroya

"I definitely think that Harry Potter would beat Thanos in a fight." I tell Alex, taking another sip of my bourbon.

Alex shakes his head, acting like he's giving a college lecture as he argues; "But the Infinity Stones are much more powerful than a wand."

"Yes, but with a two word spell Thanos would be dead. With the stones he would have to put some more effort into it to kill Harry."

Alex waves me off with his hand as he takes another gulp of beer. "You always think Harry Potter beats everything else."

"Because Harry Potter does beat everything else."

Alex's eyebrows crease as he looks down at his Kimoyo Beads, his expression quickly going from tipsy, to confused, to panicked in a manner of seconds. He looks back up at me and the blood is draining from his face. "A distress signal, from Khari...it's coming from Brooklyn."

Brooklyn? Why is Khari in Brooklyn? I look towards T'Challa and Everett, who both look just as concerned as us.

"I'll get the ship, it's parked a few blocks away." T'Challa says, making a run for it out of the bar.

Alex gets out of his seat and runs a hand through his hair, his breathing growing more rapid. "What the hell is he doing in Brooklyn? Why wouldn't he tell me he left Wakanda? Try calling Bucky, maybe he's with him."

I pull my phone out and press on his number, beginning to feel even more alarmed as time passes and he doesn't answer. He always answers when I call. I pull the phone away from ear and shake my head at Alex, my own breathing growing rapid.

Everett grabs onto both of us and guides us towards the exit, placing a handful of dollar bills on the counter as we pass by the bartender. "I'll come with you, you may need some help."

I nod to my friend, my mind racing so fast I can't even think straight as I reply; "We appreciate that."

I hear the familiar hum of the engines as T'Challa lands the ship in the street, angering some passing cars as they are forced to come to a stop. The three of us rush inside, with Alex making his way towards the co-pilot seat. He taps on his beads and pulls up a map for us to see, with a little red dot indicating where the distress signal came from.

I stare at the dot for a moment before I realize where Khari is. He's at Steve's house. I tell the others as much.

"Why would he be at Steve's this late?" Alex asks, knowing that none of us can give him the answer he wants.

We are all left without answers as T'Challa flies us to Steve's house, which takes about ten minutes. What an agonizing ten minutes it is. Alex sits there the entire time and stares at the red dot, his adrenaline pumping through him, making his heart beat so fast it is like drums. All I can do is place a hand on his shoulder and try to comfort him in anyway I can. But I am just as worried, so my comfort does little.

When T'Challa announces we have arrived, Alex doesn't waste another second before jumping out of his seat and running off the ship. I am right behind him, as are the others.

All of Steve's lights are on, as is his record player. I can hear it from outside as we run towards the open front door. The record player is playing in the living room, so that's where the four of us run to. Alex freezes in place as he enters the living room, and once I get a full look at the room, I feel myself freeze up as well. Steve lies on the floor, his arms and legs tied, his shirt soaked red with blood. There's a bullet wound in his chest. His body is shaking, his breathing very slow, his mouth stained with blood. Khari is on the floor as well, with a bullet wound in his stomach, his hands red from his blood. He is in much better condition than Steve, Khari is able to sit himself up and reach out for Alex, his blood beginning to drip onto the carpet as he attempts to crawl towards us.

Alex falls to his knees and clutches onto Khari's body, adjusting him so he can lean against Alex's chest. Alex places his hand on Khari's wound, which begins to shake from shock. Tears fill Alex's eyes as he looks at his husband, his voice barely above a whisper as he says; "You aren't allowed to die. Do you hear me? I forbid you to die, Khari Roberts-Chikere. You hear me?"

Khari nods, letting out a moan of pain, placing his bloody hand over Alex's. "I hear you."

I want to go to Khari, but Steve needs to be looked after as well. I grab onto Steve and lift him up gently, allowing him to lean against me as Khari is leaning against Alex. Everett and T'Challa both help with his bindings as I inspect his injury. I lift his shirt up and find that the bullet struck him very close to the heart...there's so much blood. I feel my hands begin to shake like Alex's, feel my lungs exhale a sob as tears begin to spill down my face. I look at Steve's face and find him smiling up at me, not an ounce of fear on his face.

"You're going to be okay," I tell him, caressing his face. "We're going to bring you to Shuri, she'll save you."

Steve brings his now free hand to mine and grips it as tightly as he can manage, getting my attention. He speaks in a hushed tone, his wound making it hard for him to speak, but he forces through it. "Zemo...Zemo took Bucky. He wanted-wanted him for something. You-you have to find him."

I glance at Everett, finding him standing up a few feet away from us, giving us some space. He closes his eyes as he hears this information, angry to learn that Zemo has caused such damage in his short time being free. No one is more angry than I am. But I try to put this anger at bay as I focus on my friend, feeling his grip begin to slacken in my hand.

"Take care-care of each other. Be-be happy, b-both of you. Pr-promise."

I nod, feeling another sob escape my lungs as I lean forward and place a kiss on his wrinkled cheek, leaving a few tears behind. As I pull back, I feel his breathing grow even shallower, his shaking begin to fade.

I clear my throat and continue to caress his face, trying to make my voice as clear as I can muster as I begin to sing; "Moon river, w-wider than a mile, I'm crossing you-you in style some day. Oh dream m-maker, you heart breaker. Wherever you're going, I'm g-going your way. Two drifters, off to-to see the world, there's such a lot of-of world to see. We're after the same r-rainbows end. Waiting around the bend, my-my Huckleberry friend, moon river and me."

Steve smiles as he hears me sing the song, the expression becoming frozen on his face as he lets out his final breath, his eyes becoming glazed over, his body limp against mine.

I shut my eyes and lean my head against his, feeling the sobs overtake me, feeling my sorrow rush out of my like a broken damn. I feel a hand rub my back and another grip my shoulder, when I look out of the corner of my eye I see it's Everett, trying his best to comfort me. T'Challa comes around to the other side of me and grabs onto Steve, setting him down onto the ground gently. He then grabs my arms and pulls me away from Steve and towards him. I collapse against his chest, sobbing against him as he cups the back of my head and leans his head on top of mine, with Everett still rubbing my back gently.

"No-no, Steve..." I hear Khari say, his voice cracking as a sob escapes his own lips. He tries to get up, but Alex won't let him. Khari winces from the movement, beginning to cry uncontrollably in Alex's arms, grabbing onto fistfuls of his shirt and burying his head in his chest like I'm doing with T'Challa.

I pull back from T'Challa and Everett, looking over towards my two brothers. I force myself to get up and crawl towards Khari. He sees me move towards him and reaches a hand out for me, clutching onto me tightly. Once I reach him, I place a kiss on his forehead, my lips wobbling as I glance up at Alex.

"We need to get him to Shuri, she can save him."

Alex nods, looking back towards Steve for a movement. "What did he say? Was Bucky here?"

I nod, my voice just above a whisper as I tell him; "Zemo took him. He did all of this."

The sorrow and pain in Alex's eyes is tainted with anger, anger that fuels him to say; "Then lets get my husband back to Wakanda and then hunt that son of a bitch down."

I nod to him, gripping onto Khari tighter as Alex and I begin to lift him, while T'Challa and Everett help with the door. As we carry Khari out of the living room, I glance back at Steve's dead body, hating myself for having to leave him here. But we have no time to waste, I can't lose Khari like I've just lost Steve. I can't, and neither can Alex. I force myself to look away from Steve as we exit the house, with nothing but the sound of Sunrise Serenade by Glenn Miller to fill the void of our despair as we walk towards the ship.