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THE FLAG SMASHERS AND
THE SHIELD HOLDER

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"How do you know he's here?" Czarina yawned, scratching her watering eyes. The cab parked in front of a military base airport, she climbed down the ride and trailed after his dad who's headed straight to the hangar area. "Hey, are you sure about this?" She asked again as another yawn escaped her lips.

"I told you not to stay up so late," Bucky sighed. "I'm sure because this is the one place he goes to during missions, it's on his texts"

"Sam texts you?" Her pace quickened to keep up with the man. Bucky only remained silent and didn't entertain the question. Earlier this morning Czarina woke up to her dad preparing to leave the house, she was convinced to go back to sleep until she learned that he's meeting Sam. It's obvious that it has something to do with the news yesterday but for Czarina she just really wants to see Sam again after months of being away.

Men in green and grey fatigue scattered in groups all over the place, they paid no attention to the two civilians except for a few who seemed to recognise Bucky and nodded at them. It's good to see that the pardon given by the government has an effect on the authorities so they aren't seen as a threat all the time. It'll be tiring to be tailed by police or national guards all the time.

Czarina didn't have the opportunity to greet Sam on her own when Bucky addressed the man with an obnoxious remark as soon as they spotted him. "You shouldn't have given up the shield, Sam."

"Good to see you too, Buck." Sam answered in a less thrilled tone, he walked past the newly arrived man without noticing the girl. But there was another person who saw her, a boy in a green fatigue standing by Sam's side. He seems to be in early twenties with dark wavy hair and an olive complexion. He held up a soft gaze at her with his bright brown eyes. The girl couldn't help but return a small wave at him.

"Hi." He nodded at her with a growing smile.

Distracted by the boy's greeting and what to do about it, Czarina didn't realise Bucky and Sam had already walked away far from the spot. "Oh, hi? I.. I'm with them...," she stuttered and stifled her shoulders.

"Oh, yeah. Me too. I'm with Sam." He answered, gazing at the man who's now standing and talking to Bucky near the exit of the hangar bay.

"Joaquin Torres." He offered his hand to shake. Czarina eagerly accepted it and clasped her hand against his. "Czarina Barnes."

Upon hearing her name realisation seem to hit Joaquin hard, a tiny gasp sounded from him. "Oh," his attention turned to Bucky and then back to the girl. "Yeah... oh that's you, you're Sergeant Barnes... kid."

"Yeah...," she nodded slowly in confirmation. Silence reigned between them for the next few seconds, Czarina thought of going after Bucky and Sam. Who now seems to be in a bickering argument but she doesn't know what to say to Joaquin to break the awkward moment. Lately she's been like this around new people, even with the neighbours in their building like her dad's friends Yori and Allen. It felt like it became harder for her to form simple social interaction with others. Putting people who try to talk to her in an uncomfortable situation. Damn it. She thought.

"So, Sam's out for a mission today, huh?" Czarina finally spoke again. She pocketed her hands inside her sweater.

"Yes, we're leaving this hour." Joaquin admitted.

Czarina's eyes remained at the two men until Sam turned in her direction, finally noticing the girl's presence. He waved back at her, which she gladly returned with a huge smile on her face. "Guess today's not a good time for a visit then."

"Oh he might be back overnight. The mission might not be that long."

She was about to ask the boy more about where they are going but Bucky started walking away from Sam with a deadpan look on his face. She quickly jogged towards him halfway. "Hey, what's going on?"

"Come on, I'll drop you off back at Brooklyn. I'm leaving with Sam."

"What? Why? Where are you two going? What's the mission about?" Czarina grabbed on Bucky's wrist in an attempt to halt him.

"We're going to Munich. He has an intel about this Flag Smashers group camping in the area."

"What?!"

The man effectively stops on his tracks, looking startled by his daughter's extreme expression. Czarina had to hold back herself so she won't be a muttering mess the second she talks again. "The Flag Smashers? Sam is working a case about Flag Smashers?"

She tried to sound less eager but Bucky seemed to catch the evident interest of her to the mission and the group. "How do you know about them?"

"It's in the news...," Czarina crossed her arms against her chest. "You heard of them too, right?"

"I've heard some of it." Bucky confirmed idly, his eyes squinting at Czarina. "Yeah, you're going home."

The man draped his arm around her and motioned to her to continue walking but Czarina remained still on her feet. Determined to stay for the mission. "No, I'm going with Sam too!"

"What? What are you gonna do there?" Bucky questioned with such confusion on his tone. "No, you're not. You're going home and I'm leaving."

"Papa, please. Come on!" Czarina's demand started to sound more like a pleading but she didn't care. If she has to beg or plead to join this mission she would. After all that she had read about the Flag Smashers last night there's no way she's gonna let a chance of meeting a member of the group slip from her hands. If Sam is planning on arresting or taking down a faction in Munich, she might as well be there.

"If you have heard about them, then you know what they are capable of. It's not safe." Bucky countered back, sounding more concerned than angry. "I don't know what you want from them but Czarina, please, stay at home."

Czarina hung her head low, contemplating to tell the truth of her reason. If she tells him what this is about he'll know that she's been up to. But if she doesn't, she might never got a chance like this again. "I can't. If there is a faction of Flag Smashers in Munich then I need to see them. With my own eyes."

"For what?"

"It's Levi." Czarina finally admitted. Bucky shook his head and pressed his hand against his temples. "No. You're just listening too much to the news. That's all just rumors, and stories."

"I'm hoping it is," Czarina replied. "But this Levi we're talking about. Dad, he's gone. So are most of the Avengers. I can't just sit there and watch the whole world turn him into something he's not. I want to clear his name."

Bucky stared at her with a pitiful look on his eyes. Czarina wouldn't be this hellbent on the whole thing if it's not big of a deal. She can just let the authorities handle it. But based on everything she learned last night she's convinced that this is turning into something more serious. Various intelligence communities had concluded Levi to have a strong connection and influence to the group since its creation, it's everywhere in their investigations. She saw how deep the blame to him runs. It's only a matter of time until the government is gonna frame him as the creator of the movement. The rampant spread of his symbol among the members and factions these days isn't helping either.

"Okay." Bucky agreed, an obvious reluctance present in his voice. "Come on, we only got half an hour to prepare."

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Czarina sat inside the plane in silence, her elbows resting at the top of her knees as she stared blankly on the floor. She wanted to clear her mind before the actual mission starts, it felt so long since the last time she's been on the field it worries her. Given how important this mission is to her she doesn't want to be a dead weight among the team. She has to show them they weren't crazy for letting a nineteen year old join them in Munich.

"One minute to drop off, Sam." Joaquin climbed down from the upper level to inform them. He threw a small nod at Czarina before walking past them to the cockpit.

She turned her attention to the older men beside her to see if they were preparing for drop off only to see the two staring intently to each other's eyes. Czarina only shook her head. Ever since they saw each other again it seems to be they are competing who's gonna get into the other's nerves first. The tension must have been from the fact they had a new Captain America now and Bucky, partly, sees it as Sam's fault for giving up the shield. As for Czarina she doesn't see it that way. Sam must have only done it because he thought too that the government will honor Steve's legacy by preserving it.

Eventually they both stood up from their seats, still carrying the intense stare. Czarina tailed after them. She exhaled sharply as she picked up an earpiece from the pack.

"So what's our plan?" Bucky questioned, sitting back at the bench. "Great. So no plan!"

"Thirty seconds!" Joaquin shouted from the opened doors of the plane.

"I'll take Czarina," Sam motioned at her to join him. Czarina's eyes widened, does he mean she'll be flying down with him all the way to the ground? "Can't I just use a chute?" she hopefully suggests.

"It's too low for a chute. Come on, it's just 200 feet, it won't be too scary." Sam assured with a smile.

The girl reluctantly walks towards Sam, still nervous on her feet she looks back at her dad to see if it's alright to him. Bucky only nodded in a sign of agreement. "Enjoy your ride, Buck."

"No, you can't call me that." Bucky answered with a distaste.

"Why not? That's what Steve called you." Sam wondered.

"Steve knew me longer, and Steve had a plan."

"Fifteen seconds to drop!" Sam throws one last look at Bucky before Czarina and him walk towards the wide open doors of the plane. Strong winds gushed inside making the girl more nauseous, she swallowed thickly as she got closer to Sam.

"Put this on." He handed her a pair of spare black goggles.

"Are you sure about this?"

"We've done this back at '14 and '18 right?" The man asked loudly. Czarina nodded in recalling those times, she comfortably put her left arm around Sam's nape and hopped on his arm with the other supporting the girl's back. She tilted her head at Joaquin who's standing by their side to give the boy one last smile.

"I have a plan." Sam spoke.

"Yeah, what is it?" Bucky called out. But it was too late the two of them had already jumped out of the ride. EXO Falcon's wings sprout automatically upon soaring high in the high sky. Czarina is currently curled into a fetal position like a small child, she didn't dare to look at the view around her, instead her head remained tucked on Sam's chest. The air whistled against her ears as the altitude lowers. She has done this before like what Sam said. Back to the Battle of Triskelion and the Battle of Wakanda, yet the fear and chills are still there. Which makes her wonder how Sam manages it.

Eventually their speed slowed down and the man's stance turned into a flight position to a standing up. They carefully landed right inside an abandoned building with greying walls and collapsed ceiling. All green woods stretch endlessly around it. She hopped down from Sam's arms and lifted the goggles on her head to get a clearer view.

"Thanks, Sam." Czarina pats his shoulder and roams her eyes around the place. There isn't a single sign of her father around. "Where's Dad?"

"Over there." Sam pointed at the left of Czarina. When she turned around something has fallen in the woods a few meters away from their spot.

"I have all of that on camera. You know that, right?" The airman teased the comms. Czarina just chuckled when she realised that RedWing took footage of Bucky's entire jump. She sucked a breath with her teeth. "Uh, that definitely hurt, Dad."

"No, not at all." He answered. "Get out of my face, Sam, or I'll break it."

"Okay, head north. Come on." Sam instructed.

After that comms went silent again, while waiting for Bucky to reach the building the other two decided to walk further to follow the exact pinpointed location of the members.

"We're close. It says they're here." Sam informed her in a low voice while looking at the pad on his forearm.

"All of them?" The girl pondered.

"Yeah, that's what RedWing says."

"Well, I trust RedWing." Czarina nodded. A smile curved on the sides of Sam's mouth. "Thank you! Your dad hates him."

She still can't say any movement around but if they are close it's better she's prepared for a coming fight. She touched Eskrima sticking on her back and her dual knives attached at the belt.

"Oh-ho-ho. Don't hurt him." Sam chided as Bucky attempts to punch RedWing out of the air. The two of them arrived together at the spot.

"You alright?"

Bucky didn't speak but nodded for an answer. He has an extremely agitated look on his eyes. Perhaps from the fall or it's just RedWing at all.

"You're doing the staring thing again." Sam pointed out. "They're in there."

"Where's the guy?" He inquired, probably pertaining to someone he and Sam talked about.

"I don't know. I think they're smuggling weapons, though."

Suddenly Czarina was reminded of the reports about the Flag Smashers activities. "Or goods, supplies from GRC offices they attacked."

Both of the men stared at her with a puzzled look. "How do you know that?" Bucky questioned. At this point there's no use of lying to either of the two, she might as well just tell everything she knows about the group that might help them.

"I read about the reports of their attack on the area about three days ago. This must be where they kept all their loot. There was nothing left in the Munich GRC office." She explained.

The two men look at each other with quite an awe. "And what if it's weapons?"

"Well, that's what you two are here for." Czarina raised a brow at the two of them.

"There's only one way to find out. I see a clear path. I say we'll take it." Bucky firmly suggests.

"We're not assassins." Sam argued back jokingly. But the other man seems to take the remark in full offense.

"I'll see you inside," he said coldly. "Or not."

"Hey, come on, man." Sam tried to call out. "I'm just messing with you. Come back."

Czarina preferred to stay with Sam instead of following her dad, she peered over the video on his arm piece of what's happening at the other side.

"Look at you. All stealthy." Sam teased while watching Bucky glide on the hall carefully. "A little time in Wakanda and you come out White Panther."

"It's actually White Wolf." He corrected him.

"Huh?"

Czarina glanced at Sam and raised her shoulders. "That's his title back there."

"All right, I'm inside. Therefore, way ahead of you. It's not great, but very doable." Bucky quipped on their comms. But the other two appeared by his side just a few seconds later.

"Huh?" The man looked at them with confusion. "Hello. How are you?"

"Good. What did I miss? Nothing." Sam replied in a sarcastic manner.

Czarina couldn't help but sigh and slap her palm on her forehead. "Are you two really arguing at this point?"

"All right, let's go." Bucky declared and motioned to go out of their hiding place. Czarina was about to do the same when Sam stopped her.

"No, wait." The man pulled back. "Czarina just stay with me in this one."

"I got a vibranium arm," Bucky leveled his metal arm on Sam's face. "Rina has her stick. We can take them."

"It's not a stick!" Czarina protested. "It's a nano vibranium electroshock baton."

"And I can fly." Sam rolled his eyes at Bucky. "Wait. I want to see where they're going."

"There's two people." He pointed out.

"You only see two?"

Czarina tiptoed on her feet. "I can't see anything."

"That's what I saw." Bucky replied.

"Let me see what Redwing sees." Sam clicked on his tab to see the drone's live footage.

"All right."

The girl began fidgeting at her place once again, anticipating the action to come. She took a deep breath and tried to focus her mind on the mission. Intercept the vehicles, stop the faction from leaving, track down all their possible allies around the area. And most importantly interrogate every last one of them on what they know about the Wolf Spider.

"Let's see what Redwing...," the man by her left shoulder said, Czarina glanced at his arm piece. Signature movements of exactly six people are displayed on the screen. "Oh, look at that. How many people do you see now?"

"One, two...," Sam began counting, Czarina squeezed herself more between them to see the incoming. "Oh, here it comes again."

"Four. Five. Six."

"Yeah, six. Yeah." Bucky sighed. The group of six aren't scary or special looking compared to civilians. They all look like common people you can see on streets everyday, you'll pass by them on the street and ride with them on the bus but you'll never pay attention to them. Except they are all visibly strong. One guy carries a crate of oxygen tanks all by himself, another two lifted a stack of metal boxes together. Czarina shrugged uncomfortably.

"Sam, do you know they are this strong?" She turned to the airforce man who seemed to be quite shocked too seeing how capable those people are.

"Joaquin told me the guy was strong. I didn't know there were a lot of 'em."

"So they're strong. Whatever." Bucky remarks, unimpressed with what they just saw. "All right, let's go."

"No, no, wait." Sam halted the other guy once more, the altercation between the two caused a mild clattering on their hiding spot. The team all turned around in their direction.

"Shit." Czarina quickly ducked to hide.

"All right," a woman's voice said. "Let's move."

"Let's move. Yeah." The others agreed and continued loading in the trucks until they were all inside and the vehicles started moving.

"Should we go now?" She whispered.

"Wait. There's an eighth and nine person, on each of the trucks." Sam informed them. "I think they have hostages."

As soon as he said it the three of them sprinted on their feet. Sam takes off on his way while Bucky and Czarina run as fast as they could to get out of the building. She put down the goggles on her eyes and clicked the metal piece behind her ear. A nanotech mask immediately crawled at half of Czarina's face.

"Where the hell did that come from?!" Bucky asked in surprise.

"Last time I saw Shuri she gave me a piece of my updated suit!" She replied under the mask. "I got this one, take the first truck."

She bounded a leap at the doors of the truck in front of her while her dad chased after the first one in the line. Czarina firmly grabbed at the metal handles and began unscrewing the locks. The left door swung open, she entered the truck with a watchful eye.

There are loads of crates stacked together inside but it was only half filled. It's still spacious on the opening of the truck. The ones on the left are labeled goods and supplies. She was right. It was from the GRC office storage. "It's food and supplies here!" she spoke on the comms.

"Here they're stealing medicine. Vaccines." Bucky answered from his truck.

"At least now we know they don't have deadly weapons."

Czarina walked stealthy in a prepared stance. She noticed a movement of a shadow behind the third row of crates.

"You alright in there? It's okay, you come out." She tried to sound as friendly as possible.

"Rei. Bucky, talk to me." Sam came into the line. "What's goin' on?

"Found the hostage."

"So did I." The hidden person eventually came out of the dark and slowly approached her, it was a young man, probably in his early 20s. He's wearing a dirtied, grey university sweater.

"I'm here to help." Czarina offered her hand. All of the sudden the man's blank face morphed into a hardened expression.

"No you're not." He hissed and turned the hidden mask from the back of his head to cover his face. The logo of Flag Smashers painted on it. "Oy yebat." Oh fuck.

A punch flew past her face as she dodged the attack and pinned herself on the wall of the truck. "Please I don't wanna hurt you."

But he only growled and threw another full punch on the girl, she slid away from the spot right in time so the boy's left fist landed on the wall behind her. Czarina's eyes widened seeing the dent he made on the metal surface. Once again they are in a face to face position, and this time she didn't think twice on sending a hard smack on his face. The first one landed straight on his right cheekbone, the next was on his left and the third to his jaw. Unfortunately the fourth and the hardest one was caught by the man using his arm.

Czarina was stunned with the strength he had. It wasn't a normal human one. She gritted her teeth and tried with her left hand but again he caught it too. The two are now locked in battle for control, he's obviously surprised too on how her strength matches his. She grunted as he tried to bring down her arms on the side, when he saw she cannot easily be forced he didn't hesitate to bash his head against her face. Czarina felt her blood gush down her nose.

"Okay fine." She grinned and bashed her head back at him. It was strong enough for the man to be shaken on his position, he lost the grip on her arms and stumbled backwards groggily. Czarina can hear the commotion happening outside and above the truck, she can hear her father and Sam conversing between the grunts and punches. But right now she can't focus on that. She still has a thug to fight over here.

He attempted to throw a high kick on her but she slid under him to the other side. Before he could even attack again Czarina sent a solid flying kick on his stomach and as the man kneel to the ground another punch from the girl landed right to his face. And then followed by a final one. The man crumpled at the ground at last, unconscious but still breathing.

"Are you two okay?!" Czarina shouted and pressed the earpiece.

"Not! Okay!" Sam mumbled. She catches her breath before skidding away from the knocked out man at her feet. Helicopter blades can be heard outside, she kicked open the two doors of the truck to climb out. Above them is a military helicopter with a person standing by the open door. She squinted her eyes to see who it was but there was no luck.

Suddenly a strong hand grabbed by her suit and threw her straight at the roof of the truck, she coughed painfully as her back and head hit the surface. By her head is a man in a familiar blue suit with a shield, fighting another member of the team. Her mouth gaped open in recognition. "John Walker?!"

"Rina! Look out!" Sam called out from the other truck roof. She immediately turned to see the person walking towards her, Czarina pressed her upside down palms against the surface and pushed all her strength on her lower body to lift herself from the ground. She successfully landed right on her feet again.

The girl huffed, she planted her feet firmly on the spot and lifted her bald fists. She can hear Walker introduce himself to the other two after taking down some of the Flag Smashers holding them down. He was also followed by the person at the helicopter, who introduced himself as Lemar Hoskins.

As the fight around her ensues, Czarina has her own another thug to deal with. This time it's a woman, a bit taller than her but thinner. Her enemy being on the edge of the truck already gave her an advantage which she didn't think twice of using. She pulled out Eskrima from her back.

Seeing this the Flag Smasher lunged a punch at her, Czarina ducked under her arm and swung the left baton but the woman blocked it with her forearm. Which leaves her to attack with the other baton on her right hand, but once more she dodged it. This one looks more trained. Czarina thought.

The girl tried to land a punch to her and she perfectly blocked it with both hands. Seeing the opening she went for a left hook. Her fist connected straight to the woman's cheek. Czarina turned three hundred and sixty degrees and quickly followed her attack with a swift whip of the baton. It visibly pained the Flag Smasher. She didn't give her a chance to recover and jabbed both Eskrima into her neck. It glowed purple as electricity flowed through it.

The woman fell to her feet, first face on the ground.

Czarina pant loudly, she jammed her batons on the pouch at her back. Her hands cuffed at her knees as she caught her breath. Because of this she didn't notice another member was going for her, John Walker tackled her on the side but it was too hard she slipped down from the truck and landed at the passing car on the highway. Her whole body slammed hard against its roof. A pained yelp escaped her lips.

"Czarina!" Her father screamed in the midst of his fight.

At that point it was already too uncomfortable to move, she could no longer carry her weight so she began sliding down the car. It left her no choice but to double press the side of her mask. It morphed into a helmet that fully covered her head right in time before she rolled down on the green field at the roadside.

She can feel the sharp bushes and plants brush all over her, if it wasn't for the fully covered Kevlar suit she's wearing she'd be scarred at the moment. Czarina eventually landed on the bottom of the field, safe but feeling dizzy.

"Rei, are you there? Are you alright?" Sam asked, sounding really concerned.

She opened the helmet and took off her goggles to breathe properly. "I'm here, at the field. I'm okay."

"Just stay there, we'll--," Bucky was cut off mid sentence and followed by a scream on the other line.

"Dad?!" Czarina panicked, sitting up straight from her place. She felt a sharp sting on her back. "Sam, you got eyes on Bucky?"

"He's okay! He just slipped off the truck, he's on the side!"

"Do you need help there? I can go back." The blonde offered.

"No. You're done, you've already taken down two," he replied. "Just stay there! I got this, and your dad."

As soon as the line went quiet after Sam's reply, Czarina stood from where she was sitting and started walking to look for a flat surface to rest on. She found a spot with no tall grass and bush plants at her left.

"Ow." She groaned as she stretched her legs. Staring at the opposite direction of the fight made her feel calm somehow, her eyes roamed at the endless green and yellow field that surrounded her. If she'll just forget what's currently happening on the road and close her eyes she can pretend she's back at that field in Ohio. Peacefully alone with her mind.

The silent moment was quickly disturbed when two bodies rolled down the field just like how she did. They went past beside her and landed a few feet from where she was. Bucky's body was above Sam's when their momentum finally stopped. The other man pushed her dad aside.

Czarina approached the two who's now both laying on the ground on their backs. She gladly offered her two hands to them.

"Those are all super soldiers, Sam." Bucky concluded. It's the same thing that's on Czarina's mind at the moment.

"I know that." Sam's hand falls back on Bucky's shoulder. "You're welcome by the way."

"Come on you two, let's get out of here." She stretched out her arm at them. The two gladly accepted it and Czarina pulled up both men with an ease.

"I'm starting to wish they were just what we thought they were."