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MISADVENTURES IN PARADISE
xiv. JOHN WALKER

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   THIS WAS NOT WHAT Riley was expecting from the season of new beginnings.

   To be fair, she didn't know what she was expecting in the first place, but it certainly wasn't some ex-military nobody named John Walker taking over for Captain America. That, she could say with absolute confidence.

   She spent the rest of her evening trying to understand why. Why John Walker? Why give him, of all people, the shield? Why now? Why would they allow Sam to donate the shield to the Smithsonian, just to take it out and hand it over to a stranger? Why didn't anyone tell her about this beforehand? That last question tore her apart. Why was she, the goddamn leader of the Avengers, kept out of the loop?

   In all honesty, Riley could guess why. They knew she would have fought this decision. It was too obvious. With her undying loyalty to Steve and her reputable status as Valor, she would have had this entire operation shut down before John could even look at the shield.

   Riley loved Steve and everything he stood for. One of her greatest achievements in life was earning his respect and taking on his leadership role. It was the highest honor she'd ever accepted, and she thought Sam would have felt the same when Steve offered him the shield. He was the only person she would have accepted as the next Captain America. Sam understood the weight of the shield, maybe as much as Steve did.

   At this point, she didn't give a damn why Sam gave up the shield. She just wanted to know why John Walker deserved to become the next Captain America. What about him was so special that he could easily replace Steve or even Sam? It just seemed like they were disrespecting Steve's legacy. The shield shouldn't be passed around so simply, in her opinion.

   Maybe she was being unfair. Maybe he wasn't so bad. She always believed in giving people the benefit of the doubt, giving them the chance to prove themselves. She nearly called Steve, but she knew what he would say: Give the guy a chance, Manhattan. Let him prove himself.

   Riley could understand that sentiment. She knew how difficult it could be having to prove yourself to people, especially the entire world. But she just couldn't wrap her head around why they picked John. Why did they need him anyway? Wasn't Valor enough?

   She tried calling Sam, but of course, he didn't answer. They didn't talk much these days, and when they did, it was always work-related. She tried calling Bucky, too, but she was sent straight to voicemail every time. She didn't know what she wanted to say to them or what she wanted to hear. She supposed she just wanted to talk to them about the news. Tony (who, by the way, was extremely bewildered by the news) kept telling her they weren't going to answer, and in the end, he was right.

   So, the next morning, she decided to confront Sam in person.

   The U.S. Air Force base wasn't a place Riley often visited, but it was the only place she knew Sam would be. It was vacant for the most part, maybe because it was far too early for any sane person to be walking around willingly. Her footsteps practically echoed. She paused in her path when she came across a poster of John Walker plastered on the wall. Blonde hair, blue eyes, dressed in the Captain America uniform. In bold letters, the poster read: CAP IS BACK! It made Riley roll her eyes.

   "What are you doing here?" Sam Wilson's voice came from behind her. He stood with his hands stuffed in his jacket. This was the first time she'd seen him face-to-face in... a while.

   "Just thought I'd catch up with an old friend."

   It wasn't entirely bullshit.

   "I'm a little busy at the moment."

   "Aren't we always?" she dismissed. Their attention fell back to the poster. It reminded her of all those vintage posters of Steve from back in the day. She remembered how much Steve hated those posters. He always loathed it when Cap was commercialized. She could tell John Walker didn't feel the same as him, considering how many press interviews and posters of him popped up overnight. "You have any idea where he came from?"

   Sam didn't respond.

   "Yeah, me neither. I guess I missed that email," she said. "We should probably give him a chance, right? I don't really want to if I'm being honest. Maybe I'm just a little bitter these days."

   Sam's gaze flickered to the teenager, but she was busily studying the poster. He knew she was waiting for him to say something though, feigning focus.

   "Look, I'm sorry I ignored your calls—"

   "Good." Riley forced a little smile. It was sweet and innocent, yet seemed to scare the shit out of everyone she used it on. "Ignore me again, and I'll show up at your house in the middle of the night, Nick Fury style."

   A man soon approached them. His black hair was short, and he was dressed in camouflage — a standard uniform for a soldier. When he noticed what they were staring at, he asked Sam, "Seems like a good guy. You met him?"

   "No," Sam answered. That was all he cared to say about the matter, for they already began to walk. Riley curiously followed them. "Thanks for doing this on such short notice."

   "Yeah, no sweat. I'm just finishing up the checklist. You'll be all good to go once you land in Munich," the soldier reported as they headed further into the terminal.

   "Munich?" Riley echoed. "What's in Munich?"

   "Nothing—" Sam tried.

   "You can't keep shit from me, Samuel. Don't test me," she warned.

   The unnamed soldier peered back at her, only now realizing who she was. His eyes widened. "Oh, wow. I'm sorry, I didn't realize you were... uh... Hi. I'm Lieutenant Joaquin Torres," he introduced. His smile was friendly and suited him well. He quickly bowed his head. "It's seriously an honor to meet you, Valor."

   "Don't bow, man," Sam groaned. "Her head's big enough as is."

   Ignoring him, Riley shook the soldier's hand. "Nice to meet you, Lieutenant. So, what's in Munich?"

   Before either of them could answer, Bucky Barnes appeared seemingly out of nowhere. He marched across the terminal with an intense glare, metal arm concealed by his leather jackets. He must've come here to confront Sam, too.

   "Shouldn't have given up the shield," Bucky fiercely said.

   "Good to see you, too, Buck," Sam retorted, refraining from rolling his eyes. He didn't stop to greet him, simply continuing on his way.

   "What a great reunion this is," Riley said.

   "This is wrong," Bucky went on.

   "Hey, hey, look. I'm working, alright? So all this outrage is gonna have to wait," Sam ordered.

   Bucky didn't care. "You didn't know that was gonna happen? Either of you had any clue?"

   "No, of course, I didn't know that was gonna happen!" Sam hissed. "You think it didn't break my heart to see them march him out there and call him the new Captain America?"

   "That's kinda relieving. I thought I was the only one out of the loop," Riley confessed. "It makes sense they didn't tell us. They knew we'd try to fight this. This Walker dude has no right calling himself Cap."

   "Steve didn't want this," Bucky agreed.

   "Oh my God. So what do you two want me to do? Call America and tell 'em I changed my mind? Huh?" Sam bitterly chuckled. "Yeah, right. It's been a great reunion, guys. Be well."

   He tried to walk away from them, but Bucky was quick to snap, "You had no right to give up the shield, Sam."

   Sam finally stopped in his tracks and scolded, "Hey. This is what you're not gonna do. You're not gonna come here in your overextended life and tell me about my rights. It's over, Bucky. Neither of you should've come here. Besides, I have bigger things to deal with now."

   "What could be bigger than this?" demanded Bucky.

   Reluctantly, Sam took out his phone and showed them an image of a man adorned in a strange black and red mask. "This guy, his connections with rebel organizations all over Eastern and Central Europe. And he's strong. Too strong."

   "I fought an evil witch last fall, and you're telling me your huge problem is this guy? A loser with a stupid mask?" Riley asked.

   "That's... one way to put it. He's been connected to this online group called the Flag Smashers. Now, Redwing traced them to a building somewhere outside of Munich. So that's where I'm going," Sam reported. He began to walk again, but the two just followed along persistently.

   "Well, I don't trust Redwing," Bucky stubbornly told. "Hold on a minute."

   "You don't have to trust Redwing," Sam dismissed. "But Imma go see if he's right. 'Cause I have a feeling they might be part of the Big Three."

   "What "Big Three"?" Bucky demanded.

   "The Big Three."

   "What Big Three?"

   "Androids, aliens, and wizards," Sam said matter-of-factly.

   "Since when is that a thing?" Riley interrogated while Bucky stubbornly insisted, "That's not a thing."

   "That's definitely a thing," Sam asserted. "Every time we fight, it's one of the big three."

   "So who are you fighting now? Gandalf?" Bucky ridiculed.

   Sam's eyebrows furrowed. "How do you know about Gandalf?"

   "I read The Hobbit," Bucky assured, an irked edge to his voice, "in 1937 when it first came out."

   "So you see my point!"

   "No, I don't. There are no wizards."

   "Doctor Strange—"

   "Is a sorcerer," Bucky declared.

   "Aah!" Sam laughed, holding up a finger. "A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat. Think about it. Right? I'm right. I just came up with that, it's crazy."

   "Okay, okay, both of you shut up. Please. Jesus, you guys are seriously breaking my balls here," Riley snapped. "Your point doesn't even make sense. The Flag Smashers aren't magical or supernatural. They're regular humans." Sam and Bucky shot her suspicious glances. "What? I know who the Flag Smashers are!"

   "Since when?" Sam doubted.

   "Hey, I always do my homework, Samuel. I'll have you know that I have connections with extremely respectable colleagues that get me all kinds of information when I need it. I've been researching the Flag Smashers for a personal project I've been investigating, thank you very much," Riley proclaimed.

   That was a funny way to say, Uh, a high schooler read about them online and told me about it while throwing paper airplanes at my head.

   Sam didn't question it though, only agreeing, "Well, you're right. They use brute force. Just like Bucky, the incredibly annoying guy in front of me with a staring problem." With that, he pivoted on his heel and headed for the aircraft awaiting him.

   "I'm coming with you!" Bucky called.

   "No, you're not!"

   Riley watched the two as they walked away before loudly sighing. "Guess that means I'm coming, too."

   The flight to Munich, Germany was quiet.

   Sam and Bucky sat on opposite ends of the aircraft — silent and intensely staring at each other. It was hard to believe they were ever teammates. But that was the Avengers charm. They might dislike each other some days, but they always had each other's backs. It was an unusual relationship, but it was one Riley grew up knowing better than herself.

   Riley accompanied Lieutenant Torres throughout the flight. She decided she liked him. He reminded her much of a Golden Retriever: kind, humorous, loyal, and surprisingly energetic. He originally wasn't supposed to tell her much about Sam's objective, but he must've gotten intimidated by her because he ended up revealing everything he knew about the Flag Smashers. It wasn't much, but he did show her a video from when he recently attempted to investigate them, which showed one of the Flag Smashers fighting off an officer with superhuman force.

   As unusual as it was, it only led her further from the belief that the Flag Smashers had anything to do with New York's power outage crisis. No "bad guy" with superhuman strength would toy with the state like that. It was like Sam said: they would use brute force.

   Now that she was sure they weren't the threat she was looking for, she figured she didn't have to follow Sam into whatever he was getting himself into. But, hey, she was already here. Might as well help him out.

   At one minute until drop-off, Riley decided to check in on Sam and Bucky again. When she found them, they were back to bickering.

   "THIRTY SECONDS!" Torres announced. He turned to Riley as her suit casually spread across her skin. Bucky kept asking Sam about how they were going to ambush the Flag Smashers. Rather than telling him the plan, Sam extended his Falcon wings and dove off the aircraft. "Do they do this a lot?"

   "Unfortunately," said Riley.

   "You don't seem too concerned though," Torres pointed out. "Guess that's just an Avengers thing, huh?"

   "Patience? Oh, yeah. It's like a second superpower," she mused.

   Meanwhile, Bucky marched over to them. "Where's the chute?"

   "We're at 200 feet. It's too low for a chute," Torres explained.

   Bucky peered down at the world below. It was a long fall, but he'd survived worse. "I don't need one anyway," he grumbled. He ripped off his jacket sleeve, revealing his vibranium arm.

   "Bucky, wait—" Riley tried, but he already jumped out of the aircraft, his frightful yells echoing as he fell. She scoffed. "I'll tell you my secret to leading these morons, Torres. Never let 'em see you sweat. Now, if you'll excuse me."

   "Wait, what are you doing?" Torres worried. This was clearly his first time seeing Valor in action up-close.

   Riley simply saluted him before leaning backward and falling out of the jet. Halfway down, she caught herself with a forcefield and flew the rest of the way to the ground, where she watched Bucky tumble through trees and land with a hard SMACK! She hovered above the groaning soldier, giggling hysterically. Redwing joined her side.

   "I have all of that on camera. You know that, right?" Falcon said in their comms.

   "Get out of my face, Sam, or I'll break it," Bucky weakly threatened. He laid flat, his limbs sprawled out awkwardly.

   "Uh-huh, okay, head north. Come on."

   "You know," Riley chirped, "Steve and I had this party-trick we used to do all the time. When we'd jump out of planes, I always caught us in a forcefield. Eventually, we stopped using chutes altogether—"

   "And you didn't think to catch me?" Bucky complained.

   "Oh, I thought about it. But you've been ignoring my calls, so... I hope you learned your lesson about communication," Riley teased. "C'mon, cyborg. Let's go."

   She scooped him up with another forcefield, and they took off after Redwing at lightspeed.

   They reconvened with Sam in an abandoned factory. All there was inside were dust and broken boxes. There were tall "windows" that brought in shafts of light, but other than that, it was cold and lifeless.

   "Yep, this is exactly the kinda place I'd hang around if I was a radical terrorist group," Riley muttered. "So, where's your guy?"

   Sam eyed the screen in his suit. "Not sure. I think they're smuggling weapons though."

   "I think you could be right. But there's only one way to find out," Bucky said. He nodded to the open doors — the only other place the Flag Smashers could be. "I see a clear path. I say we take it."

   He tried to move ahead, but Sam stopped him. "We're not assassins."

   This was an unusual group, Riley was realizing. Bucky might've had more years of fighting than them, but he was used to using brute force and aggression. He was an assassin at heart. Sam was more of a soldier, making and following plans and strategizing based on what he could bring to the table. Riley, on the other hand, was arguably the most experienced. She was always able to adapt and adjust, using her powers for both, offense and defense. But her weakness always stemmed down to her worry for others and her inability to let her teammates take initiative. She wanted to do things herself, to keep her team out of harm's way.

   She couldn't see this group working well together. They all thought too differently, and Riley had a feeling she was the only one taking that into consideration.

   Bucky blankly stared at him. "I'll see you inside. Or not." He didn't wait for a response, walking away without another word.

   Sam cracked a smile. "Hey, come on, man. I'm just messing with you. Come back!"

   Riley rolled her eyes, turning invisible. She didn't have to speak for Bucky to know she was behind him. She was a shadow, blending in enough to only be noticed if you're paying attention. To someone like him, he could identify her based on her quiet breaths alone.

   That, and her side-comments.

   "Это действительно твой план? Так беспечно входишь?" Riley teased in Russian. Is this really your plan? Entering so carelessly?

   "Насколько плохо это может быть?" Bucky grumbled. How bad could it be?

   "Знаменитые последние слова." Famous last words.

   "Hello, Soviet Union. Mind translating all that?" Sam chuckled. He hadn't followed them, allowing Redwing to trail ahead. "Look at you, Barnes. All stealthy. A little time in Wakanda and you come out White Panther."

   "It's actually White Wolf."

   "Huh?"

   Ignoring him, they inched into the next area of the factory. They hid behind some old infrastructure, peeking through to see some people in the distance. Must be the Flag Smashers.

   Bucky reported, "Alright, I'm inside. Therefore, way ahead of you. It's not great, but very doable." He glanced aside, suddenly flinching when he realized Sam had joined them. He glared and sarcastically said, "Gah, hello. How are you?"

   "Good. What did I miss? Nothing," Sam taunted.

   Bucky rolled his eyes. "Alright, let's go—"

   "No, wait—"

   "I got a vibranium arm," Bucky argued. "I can take them."

   "And I can fly. Who gives a shit?" Sam retorted. "I want to see where they're going."

   "I feel like both of you forgot that I'm literally the perfect person for this," Riley said. "Stay here. I'll go see what they're doing."

   "You have the patience of a small child."

   "Please, I have the patience of at least a normal-sized child," she fired back. "I don't know what kind of plan you have in mind, Samuel, but I'm gonna go do what I do best."

   "Be a pain in my ass?" Bucky remarked.

   "Be the best Avenger, actually. But yeah, sure. Enjoy gazing into each other's eyes or whatever the hell you two do," Riley dismissed. She stepped away from them, ignoring their continued bickering in her comms.

   It was nice being able to go solo every now and then. Sometimes, she got frustrated having to depend on other people, especially when she knew she was more than capable of handling certain tasks alone. Like this, for example. She could easily sneak up on the Flag Smashers and try to figure out their objective, and she could probably figure out more if she wasn't being weighed down by two extra people. She just wasn't used to leading people yet.

   There were seven Flag Smashers, each adorning those bizarre masks. They were lifting copious amounts of cargo with ease. They were all freakishly strong. As in, superhuman strong. Definitely not your average bodybuilders.

   Riley originally guessed that only a few of them would have superhuman strength, sorta like an unspoken hierarchy within the group. But now, she could see they were all one and the same. How did they get like this?

   Two moving trucks were parked outside, and it was silent for the most part. Apparently, small-talk wasn't their thing, which meant eavesdropping was out of the question.

   "Hold on, Redwing's picking something up. There's an eighth person. I think they have a hostage," Sam whispered. "Might wanna check out that first truck, Val. We're right behind you."

   Riley sped ahead, sneaking onto the back of the truck before the doors slammed shut. The engines revved, and the trucks took off in a hurry. She took a second to examine the cargo, only to realize they weren't smuggling weapons, as Sam thought. They were stealing vaccines.

   BANG! The truck doors split open, allowing Bucky to enter. He hadn't even broken a sweat after running after the trucks and jumping on at the last possible second.

   "Very graceful, Barnes. Solid 4 out of 5," Riley commented, not bothering to disguise the slight annoyance in her tone. "Stealth is definitely not your thing. By the way, they're stealing vaccines. No weapons in sight."

   "She's right," Bucky confirmed.

   "Yes, thank you for the confirmation. My hero."

   Ignoring her, Bucky asked, "Any idea why?"

   "These guys are all about dissolving borders and helping the people who got booted out of America post-Blip, right? Maybe it's for them," Riley guessed. "Why else would someone steal medicine?"

   Bucky would have replied, but it was then that they noticed a girl hiding in the corner of the truck. She was pale, freckles littering her face, with curly red hair and brown eyes. She was young, not too much older than Riley. She couldn't see Riley, only Bucky, but once she made eye contact with them, she hid behind the cargo.

   "Hi," Bucky called. The girl poked her head out before slowly inching forward. "Found the hostage. You okay?"

   Riley narrowed her eyes at the girl. Her body language was... strange. She stood tall, shoulders relaxed. What kind of hostage was calm in a kidnapping scenario? Unless...

   "Bucky, wait—"

   The girl suddenly kicked out her leg, sending Bucky flying. The impact sent him breaking through the doors, sending him crashing onto the windshield of the second truck. The glass cracked beneath him as he hung onto the roof with his metal arm.

   "SHIT!" Bucky shouted.

   The girl withdrew a mask from her jacket — the same black and red mask from the videos. She wasn't a hostage. She was one of the Flag Smashers.

   Two more Flag Smashers emerged onto the roof of the second truck, each one wearing a mask. They pulled Bucky upward, restraining him from moving as they held him with a tight grip. Meanwhile, the "hostage" sprinted past the invisible hero and leaped after Bucky.

   Valor was quick to act. She pushed herself upward with a forcefield, swiftly landing on the truck. She turned visible again, causing the three Flag Smashers to halt, surprised. Valor's reputation preceded her, and she knew it, which is why she took it upon herself to greet them in the most Riley fashion she could think of:

   "Huh, this does not look like the tourist bus we booked!"

   The redhead charged at her, swinging her fist aggressively. Valor dodged with ease, grabbing her forearm and twisting it backward before driving her knee into her gut. The redhead cowered, kicking back at her once... twice... thrice...

   Truthfully, Riley didn't want to hurt them. They still needed to learn what exactly they wanted and what kind of threat they were imposing. There were steps to these things. She wouldn't be a decent hero or leader if she blindly attacked and went straight for the kill. That wasn't how it worked.

   The Flag Smashers were a lot tougher than Valor wanted to give them credit for. As skilled as she was, she couldn't say she recovered from their hits as easily as she would have normally. Her endurance was incredible, so she wasn't worried about herself. Her mind kept wandering back to Bucky and Sam. How long could they fight for?

   "You know, you're a halfway decent fighter," Riley taunted. As she did, Bucky fought against the other two men. "But you rely way too much on your strength. Can't blame ya. What kinda steroids are they giving the kids these days, hm? Who's your dealer?"

   "Are you seriously trying to make conversation right now?" Bucky snapped.

   Riley shrugged, charging her fists and blasting UV energy at her attacker. The redhead hissed at the impact of the first blast, the light burning through her jacket. She barely managed to duck when the second blast was thrown. The energy flew skyward and crashed into Redwing. BOOM!

   "Whoops. Bill me!" Riley exclaimed.

   "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that," Bucky called.

   Finally, Sam flew onto the truck as more Flag Smashers joined the fight. The two trucks now drove side-by-side, expanding the field by a mere fraction. Riley knew Sam wanted to say something snarky, but he wasn't the kind of person who enjoyed talking during fights. Bucky was the same. Back in the day, Riley was, too. But that was before she fell for Peter.

   Valor caught herself multitasking, raising forcefields every time Bucky neared too close to the edge or Sam was about to get struck from behind. Her main focus was still on the redhead, who couldn't shake the Avenger. Punches and kicks were thrown, but that didn't stop either of them for even a second.

   They needed to stop the Flag Smashers, restrain them, and interrogate them, which sounded easier in theory than in practice. Even with her strength and powers, it would take strategy and cooperation to succeed. Judging how she, Sam, and Bucky were getting along today, that sounded more and more like a pipe-dream.

   As Valor was about to take another hit, there was a sudden flash of red, white, and blue. A shield glided between them, colliding with Riley's attacker and pushing her back. Normally, she would have continued fighting and silently thanked the gods for Steve Rogers. But she quickly remembered that Steve was retired and the shield no longer belonged to him.

   A helicopter flew overhead, allowing two figures to jump out to join the fight. One of them was Captain America.

   Correction: One of them was a Captain America knock-off.

   "Sam, Valor! John Walker, Captain America," he introduced. He donned a wide, giddy smile, which was off-putting to the teenager. It was his first time being out in the field as Cap, clearly.

   "Lemar Hoskins!" his partner, a dark-skinned man wearing a navy blue uniform, chimed in.

   "Looks like you guys can use some help!" John added.

   Riley didn't reply. She tried to focus on fighting, but her eyes kept flickering back to John. She could automatically note the differences between Steve and John's fighting styles. Steve's movements were always fluid and strategic. John's were sharp and rehearsed, leaving no room for improvisation. Even the way they flung the shield was completely different.

   Valor grunted as a fist collided with her cheek. Two Flag Smashers were targeting her now. She blasted at their legs, stealing their balance and sending them tumbling into each other. The shield went flying past her again, barreling into another.

   "That little girl kicked your ass!" Sam laughed at Bucky. Riley glanced aside, spotting the former flying low beside the truck, where she presumed Bucky was hanging... for whatever reason. She was so distracted by John's mere presence that she hadn't even noticed him fall off the truck.

   Every time she looked back at John, she thought he was Steve. It was starting to piss her off.

   On the other truck, Lemar was getting choked by one of the Flag Smashers. "JOHN, WHERE YOU AT, MAN?" he called.

   John, who had been fighting the redhead from before, quickly withdrew his gun. He was about to fire at the Flag Smasher, prepared to kill, but Valor stopped him with a forcefield. She blasted at the attacker instead, freeing Lemar.

   But in the moments she was focusing on her teammates, a Flag Smasher grabbed her by the neck and threw her overboard. Instinctively, she surrounded herself with a forcefield and let herself crash into the cement. The impact of her shield was so intense that it created a small crater in the street.

   "Yeah... Those are Super Soldiers, alright," Riley groaned.

   "Need a hand?"

   A man in that familiar blue suit stood above her, arm extended. Brain still rattling, Riley muttered, "Steve...?"

   But it wasn't him.

   Of course, it wasn't him.

   John Walker chuckled, still huffing and puffing after the fight. "Think you might've hit your head back there, Val," he said.

   Riley didn't take his hand, propping herself up. Her mask slid off her face, revealing the premature bruising on her neck. From the looks of things, he and Lemar must've gotten thrown from the trucks, too. And considering Sam and Bucky were back to arguing in her ear again, they must've been grounded, too.

   So... the Flag Smashers got away.

   Riley was right. This was a terrible team. Too bad it was the only one she had.

   Was this how Fury felt when he was recruiting the Avengers for the first time?

   "Come on, it won't bite," John tiredly encouraged, still smiling. He waved his hand a bit. "You got thrown pretty hard."

   "I'm fine," she stiffly said. "I don't need your help."

   She rose to her feet and dusted herself off before walking away to find Sam and Bucky. John Walker tried to call for her, but she ignored him.

   He wasn't Steve.

   He never would be.