CHAPTER TWO
ii. FLAG SMASHERS

𝐖𝐇𝐄𝐍 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐕 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐗𝐓 𝐃𝐀𝐘 𝐒𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐖 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐂𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐀𝐈𝐍 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀 𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐈𝐑 𝐓𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐖𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖𝐄𝐃 𝐇𝐈𝐌.

“John Walker, first Person in American history to receive three Medals of Honor, ran RS- One missions in counterterrorism and hostage rescue. The government did a study of your body at MIT, and you tested off the charts in every measurable category. Speed, endurance, intelligence”, the blond women told the people who sat in the large stadium. “Look, here's the thing, uh, I'm not Tony Stark. I'm not Doctor Banner, okay? I don't have the flashiest gadgets, I don't have super strength. But what I do have is guts. Something Captain America always had, always needs to have, and I'm gonna need every ounce of it. Because I got big shoes to fill”, the man said as he looked at the people.

Juliet clapped a hand against her forhead as she finally recognized him. John Walker, he had been in the same unit as her brother in the army. She had met him once, John was actually a nice guy, but she couldn't stand the thought of him wearing Steve's stuff.

“Did you know Steve Rogers?”, the blonde women questioned him, “I was two years out of West Point when Steve came back on the scene. I followed his career very closely as an Avenger. Uh— I like to think that I modeled my work after this”, he explained to her friendly. “So you've always wanted to be a hero?”

“I liked that want I was doing would make people feel safe. Steve Rogers was that kind of guy who could do that, he gave me hope. Even thought I never met him, he feels like a brother”, the man answered her as he looked at the camera infront of him.

Juliet scoffed as she turned the TV off, she couldn't believe that guy.

A little later that day the brunette had decided that she would meet Sam today, she already had packed her old and red uniform and her lasso as she grabbed her black jacked. She got into her car, which she didn't used that often and drove to the large military base were Sam's Helicarrier would start.

As she walked into the military base the brunett women immediately spotted Sam, who was standig infront of a very big Captain American poster from John Walker.

He was talking to a younger man that was dressed in an army uniforn. The other man noticed the brunette woman first, but he didn't realized who she was, so he just turned back to the dark skinned man besides him and continued talking.

“Seems like a good guy”, he said to Sam, who had his back still turned towards Juliet.

Juliet took another step towards them and cane to a stand next to her friend as she looked at the large poster, “Don't be fooled, everyone has a dark side.”

The two man turned towards her immediatley. “Jules, nice to finally see you again!”, Sam exclaimed happyly as he hugged her tightly.

“Nice seeing you too”, she smiled surprised that Sam greeted her that friendly. “Why are you here?”, he questioned her curious as he leaned back.

“I thought you had a problem you needed help with”, the woman said as she raised an eyebrow at him.

“Oh, yes, perfect. Is it okay with you when you accompany me on my fly to Munich?”, he asked as they started to walk down the stairs towards the waiting plane.

Juliet nodded at him before she finally introduced herself to the other man. She smiled and streched out her hand for him to take. “Juliet Troy.”

The spanish looking man who walked besides her smiled as well and shook her hand. “Torres.”

The two nodded at each other but suddenly Juliet's attention was drawn towards a very familiar voice.

“Shouldn't have given up the shield”, Bucky said as he approched the group from the side. “Good to see you too, Buck”, Sam said simply as he walked next to Jules.

“This is wrong”, the man told him as he followed them. Sam suddenly stopped walking and turned to face Bucky. “Hey, hey look, We're working, all right? So all this outraged has to wait”, he said as he pointed at Juliet and then at himself.

“You didn't knew that was gonna happen?”, the brunette man questioned him angryly.

“No, of course I didn't know this was going to happen”, Sam argued back at Bucky as they all continued to walk towards the plane.

“You think it didn't break my heart to see them march him out there and calm him the new Captain America?”, Sam questioned him sadly and angry at the same time.

“Steve didn't want this", Bucky said disappointed as he shook his head at Sam.

“Oh my god, do what do you want me to do? Call America and tell'em I changed my mind? Huh?”, there was a long moment of silence between them.

“Yeah, right. It's a great reunion, buddy, be well”, Sam stated  as he clapped Bucky onto the shoulder.

“You had no right to give up the shield, Sam”, Bucky repeated himself still upset. Sam stopped walking again, now seeming very annoyed.

“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”, Sam exclaimed angryly as he pointed his finger at Bucky.

“It's over, Bucky. Besides, I have bigger things to deal with now”, Sam said as he looked at them both. Bucky eyed him with a disbelieving look on his face, “What could be bigger than this?”

Sam held out his phone for him. “This guy, his connections with rebel organizations all over East and Central Europe, and he's strong. Too strong”, he explained to them as he showed a picture of a man with a mask.

“And?”, Bucky asked him expecting clearly more than that. “Well, he's been connected to this online group called the Flag Smashers”, Sam continued to explain him the seriousness of the situation.

“Now, Redwing traced them to a building somewhere outside of Munich”, the dark skinned man told them as his gaze wandered back and forth between Buck and Juliet.

“So that's where we going?", the brunette woman spoke up for the first time as she looked at Sam.

“Yeah”, the man nodded before Bucky spoke up again. “Well, I don't trust Redwing”.

Sam frowned at him confused and maybe a bit offended, “You don't have to trust Redwing, but I'ma go look if he's right.”

“Cause I have a feeling they might be a part of the Big three”, Sam said as he looked at Bucky. “The Big three?”, the brunette man asked him confused.

“The Big three”, Sam answered him like it was totally obvious what he was talking about.

“What Big three?”, Bucky questioned him again. Sam sighed before he answered him, “Androids, Aliens, and Wizards.”

“That's not a thing”, the former winter soldier furrowed his eyebrows at them. “That's definitely a thing", Sam started arguing with the man immediately.

“No, it's not”, Bucky repeated his words from before. 

“Yes, they are. Everytime we fight someone, we fight one of the three”, Sam reasoned as he looked at Juliet for support, who widened her eyes and shrugged at him.

“Who are you fighting now, Gandalf ?”, Bucky questioned him a bit amused. “Wait, how do you know about Gandalf ?”, Juliet looked at him in surprise.

Their eyes met and Bucky was smiling lightly. “I read the Hobbit in 1937 when it first came out”, he explained to them slowly.

“So you see my point?!”, Sam asked him excited. “No, I don't. There are no wizards”, the brunette man still demanded as he eyed Sam.

“Doctor Strange”, Juliet shot at him immediately. “Is a Sorcerer”, Bucky shot back at her confidently.

“Aah!”, Sam exclaimed suddenly. “A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat! Think about it, right?”, Sam smirked at them.

The three exchanged a look. “I'm right. I just came up with that. It's crazy”, Sam said proudly as Juliet gave him a weird glance.

Sam looked back at Bucky. “But that's not the point. These guys aren't magical. They use brutal force like you, the incredibly annoying guy in front of me with the staring problem”, he said before he nodded at Juliet to follow him to the plane.

“Bye, Buck”, Juliet muttered before she quickly followed after Sam, who was nearly by the plane. “I'm coming with you!”, Bucky suddenly shouted after them.

“No, you're not!”, Sam shouted back at him without turning around, but as Juliet glanced over her shoulder smiling, she saw that Bucky was already following after them.

A long couple of hours later Juliet laid on one of the benches, next to Sam waiting for their signal to jump.

There was a very weird silence between the three of them, but finally the bell went off, to signal them that they would soon arrive by their jumping point.

Torres came down the stairs as he shouted at them loudly, “One minute to drop off, Sam!” But the two men continued to stare at each other in silence while Torres walked past them.

Juliet sighed deeply as she got up, the brunette had already changed into her red Starfire suit. She grabbed her golden lasso and prepared herself for the upcoming jump.

“Oh for God's sake just say something to each other”, she finally sighed at them annoyed while she crossed her arms over her chest. 

Sam suddenly got up form his seat and walked towards the door that was just opening up, and so did Bucky.

“So what's our plan?”, Bucky asked him curious as they grabbed their earbuds, but Sam just continued to say nothing.

“Great. So no plan”, Bucky stated as he sat down again.“Thirty seconds!”, Torres shouted to them as he looked out of the door.

“Enjoy your ride, Buck! Come on Jules!”, Sam said as he turned to walk away.

“No, you can't call me that”, Bucky answered him as he still sat on his seat. “Why not? That's what Steve called you”, Sam questioned him very irretaded.

“Steve knew me longer and Steve had a plan!”, the solider answered him simply as he looked away unnerved.

“Fifteen seconds to drop.”

“I have a plan”, Sam told him as he and Juliet approched the door. “Really? What is it?”, Bucky asked him as he stood up again and raised his eyebrows at the dark skinned man.

But Sam just eyed him for a moment before he jumped out of the plane. Followed by Juliet, who looked at Bucky one last time and shrugged before she jumped as well.

When the two had finally landed Sam and Juliet both continued their way north were Redwing tracked the hiding spot of some of the Flag Smashers.

They stood in a big storage Hall as Sam suddenly chuckled to himself, catching Juliet's attention. “I have all of this on camera. You know that, right?”, he questioned as he looked at the little screen on his arm.

Juliet stood next to him as she leaned towards him, to look over his shoulder, seeing Bucky laying on the ground in the middle of the woods.

“Get out off my face, Sam, or I'll break it”, Bucky hissed at Redwing, who backed up immediately.

“Ok, head north. Come on”, Sam instructed him as he smirked.

“Don't be mean Sam”, Jules warned her friend as she let her gaze wander around the hall. Sam looked up from his screen as he tried to assure her, “Oh come on it's just a little joke.”

“It's mean”, she stated quietly, making Sam raise an eyebrow suspiciously as he eyed her.

He looked back down at his screen. “Ohhoho, don't hurt him”, he exclaimed laughing. After a moment Bucky joined the two of them.

“You're doing the staring thing again”, Sam informed him without looking up. Bucky gave him a annoyed look before he glanced at Juliet for a second.

“They're in there”, Sam infromed them as he nodded his head to the hall besides the group. He had sent Redwing inside to see how many people were inside.

“Where's the guy?”, Bucky asked him curious, “I don't know”, Sam shortly answered him.  “It looks like they smuggle weapons”, Juliet stated as she looked at Sam's screen.

“Well, I think you could be right”, Bucky agreed with her, “But there is only one way to find out.”

“I see a clear path. I say we take it”, Bucky said as he started to walk away.
Sam grabbed him by the arm and held him back.

"We're not assassin's”, he told Bucky clearly. The man narrowed his eyes at him immediately. “I'll see you inside— or not”, and with that Bucky walked away.

Sam smiled widely at him. “Hey, come on, man. I'm just messing with you! Come back!”, he whispered while he watched Bucky walk away from them.

“Great”, Juliet sighed as she started to follow after Bucky to make sure he wouldn't do anything stupid.

“Look at you. All stealthy”, Sam chuckled through the earbuds. “A little time in Wakanda and you come out white panther”, the man continued to joke.

“It's actually white wolf”, Bucky muttered as he stepped into the  larger main Hall.

“Huh?”, Sam let out confused.

“All right, I'm inside. Therefore, way ahead of you. It's not great, but very doable”, Bucky stated annoyed to them, not realizing that the two were already standig next to him.

He looked to the side were he finally saw them standig, looking at him. “Huh?”, Bucky let out an irritated noise.

“Hello. How are you ?”, Bucky asked them still irritated. “Good. What did we miss? Nothing!”, Sam replied to him annoyed.

“All right, let's go”, Bucky said as he wanted to leave their hiding spot behind the shelf. “No, wait”, Juliet exclaimed quietly as she grabbed him by the arm.

“I got a vibranium arm. I can take them”, Bucky assured them confident.
Sam looked at him annoyed. “She is practically indestructible and I can fly. Who gives a shit? Wait!”

“I want to see were they are going”, Juliet told the two as she peeked through the shelf again. “There's two people”, Bucky stated annoyed looking over at Sam.

“You only see two?”, the dark skinned man questioned him ironically. “That's what I saw”, Bucky started arguing with him again.

“Let me see what Redwing sees”, Sam said as he tapped something into his little monitor.

“All right”, Bucky aggreed as he leaned over to Juliet to see what's on Sam's screen. Juliet looked at the man that was now closer to her than ever before.

“Oh, look at that. How many people do you see now?”, Sam asked him sarcastical. “One, two—Oh, here it comes again”, Juliet started to count the people on the screen. 

Bucky sighed frustrated while Sam continued counting, “Four, Five.” 

“So they're strong. Whatever”, Bucky said as he continued to watch the people. “All right. Let's go”, he said  but Juliet grabbed him again, “No, no wait!”

They bumped lightly into the shelf and made something fall to the ground very loudly.

“Shit!”, Sam exclaimed as they all ducked quickly. The people on the other side of the hall stopped for a moment. Until a women shouted, “Let's move!”, and they all continued to leave the hall.

Sam quickly scanned the trucks, “There's an eighth person, I think they have a hostage”, Sam explained to them worried.

The three immediately started running as fast as they could, at some point Sam started flying, Bucky jumped on one of the first truck and Juliet jumped on top of the roof.

She watched how Bucky opened the door infont her and entered the truck. “They're stealing medicine. Vaccines”, Bucky informed them as he looked at all the stolen things. “Bucky talk to me! What's going on?”, Sam aksed him as he flew above them.

“Found the hostage”, the solider quickly answered them. For a moment there was silence and then suddenly Bucky flew out of the truck and crashed into the large windshield of the second one.

“SHIT!”, he exclaimed loudly as he grabbed on to the truck. Juliet quickly approached the edge of the roof and  leaned down to help him up.

The man grunted as she pulled him up and suddenly the two stood very close to each other, making Bucky look down at her, smiling lightly, “Thanks.”

The brunette opened her mouth but before she could say anything they were both grabbed by a couple of men.

A girl with a mask jumped on top of the roof and approched them slowly. She punched Bucky into his face, making him grunt before she walked towards Juliet.

Juliet quickly kicked the man behind her onto the foot, which loosened his grip on her arm. She janked her arm back and rammed her elbow in to his face, probably breaking his nose.

The man stubbled backwards as he held his bleeding nose, then she punched the other man in the stomach but he didn't flinched.

The younger girl swung her fist at Juliet but the brunette women avoided the punch by leaning back.

Redwing started to fire at the girl but she just jumped up, grabbed him and broke the machine into pieces. “I always wanted to do that!”, Bucky groaned in pain.

One of the men punched him in the face again, Sam grunted as he kicked the girl away and landed on the roof.

Juliet turned towards the man that still held onto her arm. She punched into his stomach, his chest, his throat and face, which made him stumble back a bit.

“Good of you to join the fight, Sam!”, Bucky shouted at Sam sarcastically, before he started to kick the man that held him back.

The girl threw Sam onto the other truck, where two man catched him. Juliet wanted to help her friend but she was still preoccupied with her own opponent.

The woman was surprised by the strength of these people, mostly the little girl, how could they be so strong?

Juliet then finally grabbed her lasso and threw it around the man's feet making him fall to the ground.

In that moment a large Helicopter flew over them, with the new Captain America on board, who threw his shield at one man immediately. The blond man jumped on top of the roof and started fighting the young girl. 

They all started to fight the Flag Smashers again and for a while it looked really good for them.

“Sam. John Walker, Captain America!”, the man shouted over at dark skinend man, “Lamar Hoskins”, the other man introduced himself. 

“Look like you guys could need some help”, John shouted at them as he watched Juliet, who just kicked a man into his face.

The fight went on and the tables suddenly turned, Bucky was pushed hardly, lost balance and fell of the truck.

“James!”, Juliet screamed immediately, scared for him as she let her gaze trail over the wall of the truck. The brunette woman spotted  him quickly, realizing that he held onto the truck as he was nearly squashed by the wheels.

One of the man continued to kick his metal arm, so he would finally fall, but that didn't worked.

Bucky grunted as he tried to stop the truck by grabbing onto the street, but that didn't work either.

Juliet then threw her lasso at the man that tried to kick Buck off and janked him away, making him fly a couple of meters.

Sam suddenly flew under the truck, grabbed Bucky and they both shot away from the ruck ans rolled down the field that laid next to the street.

Juliet quickly threw her lasso around them and was dragged after the two. At some point she was squashed into the middle of them rolling down the hill.

They all grunted as they finally stopped rolling, Juliet laid next to Sam as Bucky laid on top of her looking down at her face.

They held eye contact for a moment, “Get off of me”, Juliet begged him strained after a moment. The man quickly apologized and rolled down from her.

“Coud've used that shield”, Bucky told Sam as they laid on the ground, breathing heavily. “Those were all super soliders”, Juliet stated as she looked up into the sky, inhaling deeply.

“I know”, Sam said, still a little wrecked. “You're welcome by the way”, he then said as he lifted his head to look at Bucky.

The brunette man remained silent as he stood up, the other two following after him before they walked down to the next street, where they continued their way towards their Helicarrier.

“Sorry about Redwing”, Bucky told Sam as they walked down the street. “No, you're not”, Sam answered him simply.

After a short moment of silence Sam eyed Bucky closely, “What's going on in that big cyborg brain of yours?”

“It' computing”, Bucky answered him still looking forward, making Sam and Juliet chuckled.

“You know what? I can actually see it. I can see the gears turning. Oh they're malfunctioning, shutting down. Yep, they're on fire!”, Sam excalimed a she looked at Bucky.

“We gotta figure out where the serum's coming from”, Juliet spoke up walking in the middle of them.

“Yeah. And how in the hell after 80 years are there eight super Soliders running loose?”, Sam asked them both.

Suddenly a jeep hoonked besides them, “So, that didn't go as planned, huh?”, Walker asked them smiling, he opened the door for them, but all three continued to walk past him.

The Jeep continued to drive next to them, “Look, at least we know what we're up against now, huh? And we're pretty sure it's one of the big three, so—”, Walker continued talking.

“Androids, Aliens and Wizards ?”, Sam asked him surprised. “Pretty sure”, Walker replied to him. “There is no such thing as wizards”, Bucky excalimed as he still looked straight ahead, his grumpy face expression plastered on his face.

“Then it's Aliens or Androids ”, the man corrected himself, “Or Super Soliders", Juliet added as she looked at Walker blankly.

“Shit, super Soliders, for real?", the other man, who stood next to Walker asked her with a surprised look on his face.

“Yeah", she muttered as she looked back ahead. “Wow, all right, well then we gotta work together”, Walker stated as he watched the three walking.

“That's not happening”, Bucky answered him unfriendly. “I think we stand a much better chance if we all just—”, Walker tried to reason but Bucky interrupt him immediately, “Just because you carry that Shield, it doesn't mean you're Captain America!”

“Look, I've done the work, okay?”, Walker said to him annoyed. “You ever jumped on top of a grenade?”, Bucky questioned the blond, looking at him for the first time in the conversation.

Walker looked at him confident, “Yeah, actually. I have, four times” “It's a thing I do with my helmet. It's a reinforced helmet”, Walker explained to them but realized that no one really cared.

“It's a long story, but, any, Look— it's 20 miles to the airport. You guys need a ride.” He looked at them as he opened the door again,“Guys. Gary, stop. Get in”, the three stopped and looked at each other for a moment.

They got one after the other into the jeep, Juliet sitting in the middle of Sam and Bucky while she eyed Walker critical.

“Okay, so we've got eight Super Soliders on a bulk supply run”, Walker stated the obvious. “Why?”, he asked them questiongly.

“They say their mission is to get things back to the way it was during the Blip. Maybe they're just trying to help”, Sam explained to the man infront of him.

“They had a funny way of showing it”, Bucky said grumpyly before he gave Sam a side look. Walker looked at Bucky, “That serum dosen't exactly have a great track record. No offense.”

“We need to figure out were they going”, Juliet spoke up for the first time since they sat in the Jeep.

“How'd you track'em here? The Flag Smashers?”, Sam asked Walker and his friend curiously.

Hoskins looked at him seeming a bit uncomfortable, “Uh, no, we didn't track them, we tracked you, uh, through Redwing.”

Sam looked pretty mad before he questioned them, “You hacked my tech?”

Walker chuckled awkwardly at them before he shrugged smiling a bit, “It's not exactly hacking. It's government property.”

And in that very moment Juliet had the desire to punch him in the face, very hardly. “Kind of the government”, Walker chuckled awkwardly again as he looked at Juliet, who gave him a death glare.

Their was a long silence before Walker spoke up again, his gaze wandering to Bucky, “Does he always just stare like that?”

“You get used to it”, Sam told him simply. Walker cleared his throat awkwardly, “Okay, look, you know, things have gotten kind of, uh— ”, his friend helped him, “Chaotic?”

Walker nodded, “Yeah, The GRC, they're doing the best they can to get things up and running smoothly, post Blip.”

“Reactiving citizenship, social security, healthcare. Basically just managing resources for the refugees who were displaced by the return", Hoskins explained to the group.

“The Global Repatriation Council does all that. I get that. So why exactly are you two here?”, Sam questioned them confused. Hoskins answered him, “Well, they provide the resources and we keep things stable.”

“Yeah, violent revolutionaries aren't usually good for anyone's cause”, Walker told them as he looked at Sam again. Juliet leaned forward as she folded her hands, “Usually said by the people with the resources.”

Walker sighed quietly before he tried to convince them, “We got a lot resources. If you guys, if you joined up with us, we could— ”

“No”, Bucky interrupted the man immediately as he glared at him. “I got mad respect for the three of y'all. But you were getting your asses kicked till we showed up”, Hoskins said with confidence.

Juliet scoffed as she raised an eyebrow at him. “Except for you”, the dark skinned man corrected himself quickly. “Who are you?”, Bucky asked him pissed off.

“Lemar Hoskins.”

“Look, I see a guy hanging out of the helicopter in tactical gear, I need a lot more than Lemar Hoskins”, Sam told the man defensive. Hoskins remained calm as he spoke up again, “I'm Battlestar. John's partner”

“Battlestar?”,Bucky questioned as he looked at Juliet, as if he was questioning if he had misunderstood him. “Stop the car!”, he then suddenly yelled at the driver loudly. 

“Look, I get it, okay? I get the attitude, I do. You didn't think that the shield was gonna end up here. I get it Bucky!”, Walker shouted after the man as he got out of the jeep.

He then looked at Juliet and Sam, who both still sat in the Jeep with them,  “And I'm—I'm not trying to be Steve. I'm not trying to replace Steve. I'm just trying to be the best Captain America I can be.”

There was a moment of silence before Walker looked at Sam again, “It'd be a whole lot easier if I had Cap's wingmen on my side.”

Sam and Juliet both scoffed at the same time. “It's always that last line”, Sam said as he jumped out of the Jeep.

Juliet stood up as well and rolled with her brown eyes. “It was nice seeing you again Juliet”, Walker told her with a small smile.

She jumped out and looked at him, “Wish I could say the same, John.”