It's quiet when we get back. Sam is clearly upset about losing his chance to speak to Karli. Zemo is lying on the couch with a towel across his eyes and a glass of dark liquor in hand. And Bucky is nowhere to be seen. "We brought food." I set the bag on the table and take a seat next to Sam while Peter walks deeper into the house. "Figured I would try to make up for my mistake."

"None of that was your fault." Sam returns as he continues to type. "Walker moved early."

"Because I pushed his buttons." I rest my head against the table. "I know I shouldn't have let him bother me, but he just got under my skin. I hate that guy."

"Even if he's doing what he thinks is right?" Sam counters.

"You have too much faith in people—especially in him." I scoff, which Zemo raises his glass to. "I don't know how you do it."

"I've worked with a lot of people over the years. One thing I've found? Hurt people hurt people. Sometimes you just got to show them there's another way and believe they're capable of better."

The blanket of silence settles back over the room. I trace my fingers over the table's grain and try to see it from Sam's point of view. Except, while I appreciate the sentiment, I've witnessed so much of the opposite. The Reapers and others after me do it for their own enjoyment, profit, or power.

"Were you ever offered it?" Zemo's casual question breaks the silence.

"What?" Sam asks.

"The serum." Zemo clarifies.

"No." Sam's answer is casual. No annoyance or frustration as he turns back to his screen.

But Zemo continues the line of questioning. "If you had been, hypothetically, would you have taken it?"

The question makes me look up at Sam, who doesn't even flinch at the question. Instead, there's not even a second that passes before he answers. "No."

"No hesitation." Zemo voices my own thought. "That's impressive."

It really is, and it's probably one of the many reasons Steve wanted Sam to carry the shield and his legacy. Sam is nothing like Walker. He sees the best in people. When I showed up, he didn't hesitate to believe me—to believe that I wasn't capable of the crimes leveled against me.

"Sam," Zemo continues as he removes the cloth from his eyes. "You can't hold out hope for Karli. No matter what you saw in her. She's gone, and we cannot allow that her and her acolytes become another faction of gods amongst real people. Super soldiers cannot be allowed to exist."

His words churn in my gut. Karli may have chosen to be enhanced with super serum, but that doesn't make her less human. I know Zemo seems to believe that people like me are only a little better, but he still thinks I shouldn't exist either. Who is anyone to decide what life has value? That one is inherently worth more than another?

"Isn't that how gods talk?" Sam argues, and he's right. It's how the giant grape talked before wiping out half the universe for 'balance.' Even in his detachment, he still chose. "And if that's how you feel. What about Bucky?"

Bucky. The guy who signed up to protect his country and was forced to become so much more than just a soldier. He spent decades forced to be someone else—to be a super soldier, and even on the other side of it managed to regain empathy and hope.

"Blood isn't always the solution." Sam states, cinching the argument.

"Something's not right about Walker." Bucky stomps in, clearly frustrated as he sets his jacket on the counter and moves around the kitchen.

"You don't say." Sam replies and levels a look at me.

"Well, I know crazy when I see one. Because I am crazy." The last sentence is mumbled before he calls over his shoulder, "You should've seen the way he treated her. It's like he was couldn't hear anything besides what he wanted to hear. Shouldn't have given him the shield."

"I didn't give him the shield." Sam retorts as he pushes to his feet.

"Well, Steve definitely didn't." Bucky says into his glass of whiskey.

As if speaking his name summoned him, Walker kicks in the door and saunters in. "Alright, that's it. Let's go." He nods at Zemo and I. "I'm now ordering you to turn them over."

"Woah. Slow your roll." Sam steps between them and me. "Shield or no shield, the only thing you're runnin' around her is your mouth."

I look over at Bucky and shrug in agreement. "See, this is why I love you guys." I whisper as I lean on the breakfast bar next to him. "And why I agree he should've kept the shield."

"Now I had Karli, and you overstepped." Sam continues as Bucky and Zemo both stand behind him in support. "They've actually proven themselves useful today. And we're gonna need all hands on deck for whatever's coming next."

I have to bite my tongue to keep from sticking it out at Walker with a childish glee. There's movement in the doorway, and I look up to see Peter. I shake my head ever so slightly and nod for him to back off. The last thing we need is an even more annoyed or cornered Walker.

He's already feeling insulted enough, and his ire drips off his words as he tries to sound threatening. "How do you want the rest of this conversation to go, huh?" It doesn't exactly work as well as he seems to think, but he doubles down anyway. "Should I put down the shield. Make it fair?"

"For him maybe." I whisper under my breath, which makes Bucky nearly choke on his drink as he holds in a laugh. He offers me a glare over the rim of his glass. "What? You and I both know Sam could take him anyway. Shield or not."

There's movement in the doorway ahead of me, and I feel my hear pick up its pace as I see the Dora lifting her spear. "Oh, this is gonna be interesting." I mutter to myself as she launches it at the pillar just inches away from Walker.

More Dora filter in through the door Walker kicked, and Bucky sets down his glass. His gaze drops to the floor as one of the Dora speak to him in Wakandan. I only catch a few words without ARTI here to help translate, but I understand her tone better than anything.

And it's not good.

"Release him to us now." She demands.

Walker, still oblivious to how small his role is in this whole scenario, steps towards her with that easy smile he seems to think could soothe any raw nerve. It doesn't. "Hi. John Walker." There's no pause between before he adds with an undeserved pride, "Captain America."

Nobody moves an inch, which Walker mistakes for a good sign. "Well, let's, uh, put down the pointy sticks and we can talk this through, huh?"

I let my head hang. My expectations of Walker in this kind of situation were horribly low, but he brought a shovel anyway. He doesn't realize that they're basically panthers ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Sam, who has the sense to detect the tension in the situation, intervenes, "Hey, John, take it easy. You might want to fight Bucky or the kid before you tangle with the Dora Milaje."

"Oh, I volunteer." I grin with a raised hand.

Walker just ignores the jab. "The Dora Milaje don't have jurisdiction here." As if he has any authority off American soil.

"The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be." The head Dora retorts and offers Walker a lesson in how to actually be intimidating.

"Okay." He chuckles with a look back at Lamar. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot."

He clamps a hand on her shoulder, and the whole room explodes in chaos. I hop on the counter to watch the show. I mean, he literally could not have made a worse move unless he had also called her 'sweetheart.' Whatever comes next is consequences taking their swing at him.

It just so happens to be in the form of the blunt end of a spear wielded by the Dora Milaje, and in a split second, Walker is already on the floor while Lemar joins in defense of his friend.

"We should do something." Sam states with a look between Bucky and I.

"Yeah, like make popcorn." I mumble and continue to watch.

Bucky on the other hand does do something. "Looking strong, John." He shouts the 'encouragement,' and never in my life have I admired and appreciated him more.

"Bucky," Sam's tone is warning as he nods over to the Dora that has Walker backed up against a table and the sharp end of her spear ready to strike.

Bucky cautiously moves forward, avoiding the other Dora operation against Lamar as he grabs the spear of the one he calls 'Ayo.' "Let's talk about this."

Of course, that's about when Sam and I have to step in with the other two Dora to protect the more tolerable of the opposing pair. I bat away the spear one swings at my head. "Hey, I'm not here to actually fight you. Unlike some people, I know better than to mess with the Dora."

"Then you are as clever as you look." She replies with a rich, thick Wakandan accent and nods.

I barely blink before she's turned and launching her spear over at Walker. Well, in the gaps between his arm and the shield. The spear buries itself in the wood and pins the shield and his arm in place. "Now that was badass."

And a split second later, Ayo does a move that causes Bucky's arm falls to the ground. It hits the floor with a resonance that ripples across the room stopping everyone in place. It seems everyone but the Dora are just as shocked as Bucky looks.

Ayo says something else to him in Wakandan before stepping around him and Walker, who finally frees his arm from the straps of the shield. The Dora I had been in an exchange with removes her spear to let the shield fall to the floor for an instant before stomping on it and catching it on her arm.

Damn. I really gotta stop by Wakanda to see if they'll teach me some of these moves.

"He is gone." Ayo states as she emerges from the bathroom. "Leave it."

It takes a second for my brain to full catch up to her words, and I rush into the bathroom as the others recover. She's right. In the middle of the floor was a manhole sized tile previous hidden under the bathtub that's now moved away. All I can see is the few rungs of a ladder before even that ends in darkness.

"Coward." I call down to the dark. Of course, he would've taken the chance to run. At least up until now he thought he had time and protection. Without that he returned to his natural state of a rat scurrying off into the sewers to hide.

Peter finally returns, walking in the room with wide eyes as he looks between the leaving Dora and the rest of the group. Bucky just putting his arm back on. Sam picking himself up from the floor. Me seething in anger at being so stupid to let Zemo slip away. Walker and Lamar clumped together. The former staring at the floor in a defeated, empty daze.

His voice is hollow. "They weren't even Super Soldiers." His whole world-view now shattered by one minor defeat. Because of course a man like him can't handle being beaten by someone without enhancements. It still doesn't occur to him that power is a burden as much of a privilege, and all it'd ever do is bring out the deepest parts of who you really are.

"Sam tried to warn you." I offer as I pass him to reconvene with Sam, Bucky, and Peter. "Ayo was right. Zemo got away."

"How?" Sam questions, and I nod for him and the others to follow me.

Bucky offers Walker and Lamar a wide berth, but Sam stares Walker down without any attempt to conceal his contempt and disappointment in the man-child. I crouch above the opening and toss a ball of light down. "It's deep. Probably connects to old sewers or drainage, which means it's gonna be a maze down there."

"No point in following then." Sam shakes his head, "I can't believe he pulled an El Chapo."

"I can." Bucky whispers and turns away. "Come on."

I wait until we're far enough away from Walker and Lamar before asking, "Where to next?"

"We're gonna track down Karli." Bucky's voice is as sure as his steps. "Besides. This place isn't exactly secure anymore."

"Story of my life." I sigh and grab my bag from the hallway. This is why I keep it ready.

"Okay. So was that who I thought it was earlier?" Peter whispers as he slings his own bag over his shoulders.

"If you think it was the legendary Dora Milaje, yeah, it was." I can't help the grin that breaks across my face just like it does Peter's. "I wish you could've seen them. They fight like no one I've seen before."

"I do too, but" he drags the syllable out as he unzips a pouch on his bag, "I was coming to tell you, I got a basic repair done on your mask. It might be enough to just connect with the download of ARTI."

My hands accept the offering with reverence. The large crack is now filled in with thick white, and old versions of his Spider lenses are in place of mine. "You—you tore apart your mask?"

"Well, I can't really use it right now, and you'll probably need yours at some point." He shrugs and continues walking as if he just made a comment about the weather.

"Peter Parker, I could kiss you." I gently tuck the mask in my bag before taking his hand. "Thank you."

Sam's voice shifts into panic, "Right. Hold on, hold on." A pause. "I know. I know. Listen pack an overnight bag and take the boys."

My gut churns as Peter and I rush to catch up with them. "What happened?" The words run together in fear. It's clear whatever it was has Sam rattled pretty badly.

His hands shake as he lowers the phone for a second and walks faster. "Karli called Sarah. She threatened my nephews." He raises it back to his ear. "Okay. Go somewhere safe. Only pay cash. All right? Let me know when you get there."

My hands shake. Maybe Karli isn't the person I thought she was if she's lowering herself to threatening children. But then again, I did the same thing not too long ago. Maybe she's just bluffing us into making a move like I was doing then?

Or she's serious. There are Flag Smashers all over the globe. It wouldn't be hard to turn their attention to someone labeled an enemy.

Sam stops and turns to us with the worry written across every line of his face. "Karli wants to meet. She left a contact number." As if on cue, his phone pings with a message I can only assume is from Karli. "She said come alone."

"I'm coming with you." Bucky answers the unspoken question.

"We've got your back, Sam." I add. "We'll stay out of sight until you need us. 'Cause lets be honest, she's not showing up without her entourage."

Sam nods absentmindedly. "Yeah. Let's go."

We make a single stop to suit up. Sam in his wings and tact gear. Bucky in his now classic leather jacket. Peter and I don our own civilian passing outfits over our equipment.

I spot her the moment we walk in. The vibrant red hair makes her easy to spot, but it's the casual way she leans over the railing and watches us that draws my attention most. She doesn't even flinch as Sam shouts her name. All she does is shift and wait until we're all on the balcony level.

Each step seems to only add fuel to Sam's anger. It's a heat radiating off of him that could ignite any second.

I keep Peter and I out of sight. It's enough for her to see Bucky for the moment. The three of us step to the side as Sam stops short, all his anger and focus honed in on Karli as he spits,"You called my sister? That's how we're gonna play this?"

She remains calm, but I can see the twinges of regret in how she holds her arms around her center. No matter how much experience she has facing against the ire of powerful people, there's a tremble in her voice that betrays the struggle to withstand Sam's. "I would never hurt her. I wanted to understand you better." Her frame pushes to her feet, and eyes dart to Bucky, "I see you didn't come alone."

"You have to end this now." Sam responds.

The unspoken ending to that statement hangs in the air between them. Karli's face shifts for just a second as she registers the choice before her. Give up her crusade, or be stopped by someone who she's starting to respect and relate to.

"I don't wanna hurt you." The statement is enough to shift us into a readying stance as he continues, "You're just a tool in the regimes I wanna destroy. You're not hiding behind a shield. If I were to kill you, it'd be meaningless."

My mind runs with the realization of what she means. Sam isn't her target. Was this all a distraction?

She answers my question as she continues, "I was gonna ask you to join me. Or do the world a favor and let me go."

This was set up. She—like Sam—wanted to offer one last opportunity to choose the outcome.

Karli's eyes dart to Bucky for a split second as Sam looks at his wrist. He only needs to say two words as an explanation for why, "Walker."

Bucky jumps down, but Karli launches herself at the same time and slams him into a pillar. I drop the shielding illusion and quickly jump down with Sam and Peter to the ground. The former dodges a punch from Karli before returning her favor to Bucky and slamming her into a pillar.

"I'll send you the location. Go!" He shouts at us before launching himself into the air.

I spare a glance over my shoulder as we leave to see Karli pushing herself to her feet and rushing off too. There's no time to dwell on if she'll be heading elsewhere or after Walker personally. My focus has to remain on running to keep up with Bucky and weaving through people and obstacles—even having to jump a series of balconies as a shortcut. As much as I dislike Walker, I don't want to see anymore blood shed. And Karli knows if she succeeds, it'll send a message no one can continue to ignore.

Bucky is the first through the door, but he's stopped in from of us by another super soldier. The guy seems to think he'll have the upper hand with Bucky in a chokehold, but the latter just frees himself and kicks the assailant down the stairs. "Go ahead. I got this."

I grab Peter's hand and pull him up the stairs and deeper into the building. But much like all these old buildings, the place is another maze of corridors. "Any ideas?"

Bucky's steps thunder up the stairs as Peter pauses for a second before tugging me down a series of twists and turns until we reunite with Sam. I blunder in, ready for a fight until Peter's hand shoots in front of me, stopping a blade two inches from my face.

"Thanks." I whisper and take the blade from him and spin it in my grip. Two more Flag Smasher flank the three of us. Bucky takes one while Peter and I take the other. It's a flurry of impossible dodges and aching knuckles as blows are thrown and exchanged until the man is on the ground unconscious.

The room is still in chaos, and I barely get a chance to register events as they happen. One of the Smasher has Walker pinned against him and a flurry of red hair appears, her blade raised for the killing blow. Peter and I rush to help, but another body appears to tackle her away.

Hoskins makes it to his feet a second after Karli, which she takes opportunity of. Her fist rears back and hits him in the chest with such force he folds in half as he's sent through the air.

The crack that resounds as he hits the stone pillar lingers in my ears as everything slows. The fight dissipates in those drawn out second. The Flag Smashers are dazed and taking shocked steps back. Walker moves like a man outside his body as he stumbles over to his best friend.

I don't need any confirmation to know. Over the past year, I've seen too many emptied bodies to know when someone's left this world. There's a sense of other—of wrong.

Walker still shakes his friend. Still takes his chin in his hand and says his name with increasing panic.

Then there's a shift. The room becomes titled as Walker goes as still as his best friend.

Karli removes her mask with heavy breaths as it also dawns on her what she's just done. She and the other Flag Smashers scatter like roaches in light.

The four of us quickly follow. Both from a desire to catch them, and realization of what is likely about to happen. Glass shatters behind me, and I look back to see Walker's gone. Did he—?

It hits me like the train once hit Peter. There's one simple explanation for why he'd jump out of a window instead of the usual means that we took. He's a man who knows he can. He's now a super soldier.

We catch up to him seconds too late. There's already a crowd gathered around. Cellphones and hands are raised. Everyone too shocked to move or believe what they're seeing. At the base of a statue, Walker stands over a body. Blood drips down the steps as he calmly secures the shield back on his arm.

The shield that's also dripping in blood and gore.

Even as Walker looks around, he looks almost smug.

But there's something else that sends a shiver down my spine. Two people in the crowd outright smiling—and looking directly at me. I know those faces. I memorized the features of anyone who showed up more than once on my travels. It's how I know that they've shown up often enough to not be coincidence.

The Reapers are here.

I try to even my breathing as I tap on Peter's arm and step back. The movement draws the attention of Bucky and Sam too, the former of who turns away from Walker. "I have to go." I whisper against the bile rising in my throat. "I have to leave right now."

"What's going on?" Peter's eyes are as wide as mine as he reaches out to steady me.

"They know. They're here. I have to run." I start backing up on instinct.

Bucky offers an apologetic look as he nods. "Go. Stay safe. Stay alive."

"Let's go." Peter offers as his fingers intwine in mine.

I start walking and hope we look like we're just shaken up bystanders, "You can't, Pete."

"I told you I'm not leaving you. Now, c'mon, we need to put as much distance between us as possible. "Can you hide us?"

My heart picks up with our strides, and I fight to focus beneath the heavy layers of panic. It takes all my current energy to bend the light around us.

We weave our way through a variety of streets, but there's still the lingering feeling of someone at our backs. "We have to split up." Peter opens his mouth to protest, "No, it's not working. I think they found a way to see through my illusion. You know where to meet me. If I'm not there in three days, call Happy."

"No." His voice grows thick with emotion as he grips my arms in desperation. "No, I'm not leaving you."

"You have to. I'll be fine, and if something happens, I know you'll find me." I force myself out of his grasp. "Three days. Okay?"

I don't allow myself to look back. All I can do is move forward. I make it a few blocks before footsteps start to echo behind me. There's a surety to them that reminds me of the cheesy horror films Dad liked to watch on occasion. It's the kind of confidence that knows its prey can run, but it will always catch up.

Still, I run.

I run with the panic pushing me a little bit faster with each stride. The momentum helps me launch myself onto a series of balconies and rooftops. It offers me a split second of hope that maybe—just maybe—I'll be able to make it back to Peter.

That hope dies as a figure appears on a rooftop ahead of me with a strange sort of gun raised. I shift my weight to jump back down to the street, but a sharp noise pierces the air. It echoes through my ears and pulses against my brain. I feel it rattling in my teeth. It spasms through my muscles so violently I bite my tongue as I hit the rooftop.

"Target acquired. Prepare for pickup." A deep voice states from above me. "Just call me the Ghost Buster. Cause I caught me a Phantom."