Troubling
The sky was clear the night that Bucky, Sam, and Torres arrived at the building in which the Power Broker would be present.
“Yep, that looks like the building,” Torres spoke, looking up at the skyscraper covered in reflective blue glass, showing the city lights.
Sam sighed, “If I never come back here, it’ll be too soon.”
“Madripoor’s not that bad,” Torres shared.
“You stayed inside of a hospital while you were here. You haven’t seen why it’s one of the most dangerous cities in the world,” Bucky stated.
“I was just saying,” Torres shrugged.
“Look,” Sam pointed at the entrance of the building.
The group of three spotted a small motorcade approaching the building. Security guards and mercenaries poured out of the outer cars and surrounded the building and the entrance. Finally, a hooded figure emerged from the middle car and entered. Judging by how many guards followed the individual, they had to be the Power Broker.
Sam quietly readied Redwing to fly towards the building and track the Power Broker as they traveled. Once the man had entered a room with no windows, the three knew it was time to act.
***
“Somezing is bozering you,” Kurt pointed out.
“It feels wrong just leaving after everything, Kurt,” Kitty responded before setting down the takeout they had bought.
The two young mutants had finally been given a moment to themselves after Logan decided to go out for a smoke. The two sat in the backseat of the car so they could talk face to face. It had been a day or so since they’d left Sarah’s home in Louisiana and they had just crossed the border of northern Georgia.
“Vell, ve don’t exactly have a choice, Kätzchen,” Kurt replied as he unwrapped his burger.
“I know,” Kitty sighed, removing the small container of fries from the greasy bag.
“It is so strange, considering how zis started, how attached ve have gotten,” Kurt acknowledged, chuckling to himself, “You vere crying in my arms, afraid of both your past und future.”
“It’s weird,” Kitty laughed along with him before plucking a fry from the box.
“So veird,” Kurt repeated.
There was silence for a while as the two consumed the fast food meal, Kurt making the remark that these burgers didn’t even compare to what Logan had made back at the barbecue.
“It has been remarkable, Kätzchen,” Kurt began.
Kitty raised a brow, “What?”
“All of zis,” Kurt explained as he wiped his fingers with the napkins, “Vatching how everyone has changed in such unique circumstances. Remarkable.”
“Ever the poet,” Kitty sighed, “Sounds pretty, but I don’t understand a single word.”
“You need to read more, Kätzchen,” Kurt chuckled.
Kitty rolled her eyes before grabbing the trash and getting out of the car to throw it out.
***
Sam, Bucky, and Torres deliberated the best way to go about their plan, deciding to have Torres stay outside as backup while Bucky and Sam went inside.
Sam and Bucky were quick to take out the guards at the entrance of the building and get inside. They briefly argued over whether they should take the stairs or the elevator. Bucky finally won and convinced Sam to go up the stairs.
Once they entered the stairwell, they found guards stationed at the doors on every floor.
“I told you-” Sam started.
“Be quiet,” Bucky cut him off.
Bucky practically floated up the stairs to the second floor before striking down the first guard. Sam flew up another floor and quickly eliminated the two there.
After repeating the process, going up a couple more floors, they stopped, spotting an unusual amount of guards around the door to the fifth floor. They knew they needed to knock out the guards before they could warn the Power Broker.
Sam and Bucky exchanged another look before charging up the floor and rapidly taking out guards one by one until the door was clear.
Sam struck down the final guard with his shield and then Bucky shoved the doors open, raising his gun. They found an empty floor with a few crates and boxes scattered around. Bucky and Sam decided to split and cautiously search the entire floor.
However, they failed to notice one unconscious guard rise and press the alarm.
***
“Where the fuck are we?” Logan questioned as he stepped out of the car.
Kurt eagerly stepped out of the car and turned on his human disguise before sprinting for a bathroom at a nearby rest stop. Kitty was still passed out in the back of the car, fast asleep after having driven the night before.
Logan grumbled as he got out his phone, trying to pull up directions, only to find that there was no service in the middle of nowhere. He groaned and then hit his forehead on the top of the car.
Kitty lurched awake and looked around before deducing that Logan was the cause of the sound.
She then phased her head through the window, “What?”
Logan lifted his head and looked at her, “Ah, what? Did I interrupt yer beauty sleep?”
“Kinda, yeah,” Kitty nodded, rubbing her eyes, “Why are we stopped exactly?”
“Navigation up and stopped workin’ and Kurt was about to burst,” Logan summarized with a sigh, “If this damned thing doesn’t work, we might just have ta drive north and hope for the best.”
“Give me the phone, Logan,” Kitty rolled her eyes and held out her hand.
Logan reluctantly handed over the phone. Kitty phased back into the car before tampering with his phone.
Kurt reappeared in a puff of purple smoke next to the car before asking, “Vhat did I miss?”
“Phone ain’t workin,’” Logan pointed out and gestured to Kitty in the car.
Kurt tapped on the window to get Kitty’s attention. She looked up and then gave him a thumbs down.
“I vill try my phone,” Kurt volunteered and held up his phone and handed it over to Logan, “I vill sit in ze back.”
Logan entered the address of the mansion into Kurt’s phone and propped it up in the car. Kitty and Kurt switched spots so she was now in the front. Logan started the car back up again and they returned to the road.
Kurt looked contemplatively out the window for an hour as Kitty messed with the radio.
“Vhat vas ze name of ze agent from Madripoor zat Sam und Bucky trusted?” Kurt asked suddenly.
“Sharon Carter,” Kitty answered, “Why?”
“Vhy did she end up in Madripoor? Vas she zere on assignment from SHIELD?” Kurt questioned.
“I don’t think so,” Kitty shook her head.
“Wasn’t she branded a criminal after Cap and Stark had that whole fight in Berlin?” Logan mentioned.
“Oh,” Kitty and Kurt said in unison.
“I didn’t think you’d remember that,” Kitty spoke up.
“I may be old but I ain’t a dementia patient,” Logan huffed as he gripped the steering wheel.
“Why?” Kitty suddenly asked before whipping out her phone.
“Musta helped Cap in some way,” Logan suggested and shrugged.
Kitty waited until asking, “Did Captain America stick with her after she helped him?”
“No clue, but if I had to guess? Pry not,” Logan assumed, “Musta been a long time for her. If it were me, I’d be real bitter.
“Kätzchen,” Kurt abruptly interrupted him.
“What?” Kitty knitted her brow and looked at him in the backseat.
“Find ze date vhen Sharon Carter rejoined ze CIA,” Kurt lightly demanded.
Kitty raised her phone and got to work, frantically searching her phone, “Found it. You don’t think-?”
“Find ze date vhen government leaks started appearing on ze market in Madripoor,” Kurt went on, leaning forward to peer over her shoulder.
Kitty rushed to start looking, tapping away on her phone.
Then she stopped. Kitty looked between Logan and Kurt, “A week later. They started appearing a week later.”
The three mutants all spoke in unison, “Shit.”
***
“You have to be shitting me!” Sam yelled as another wave of mercenaries poured out of the elevator.
The men had successfully made their way into the building and tracked the Power Broker up a few floors. Unfortunately for them, the Power Broker caught on and sent wave after wave of mercenaries and guards to slow them down.
Bucky slammed one mercenary to the ground while Sam’s shield bounced off wall after man, knocking down several men at a time. They heard gunfire outside the windows as Torres evaded the onslaught and continued to scope out the Power Broker a few floors up.
“You know what would be nice?” Sam shouted as he engaged in a fight with a mercenary that charged towards him.
“Don’t say mutants,” Bucky responded as he deflected gunfire with his arm.
“Mutants!” Sam yelled, striking the guy down once and for all.
Bucky raised his voice before grabbing a gun and using it to strike down a couple guards. He then used it to fire back on the next wave of enemies.
Sam hurled his shield and it bounded between a few men, throwing them to the ground. Bucky caught the shield and used it to hit a mercenary headed towards Sam before throwing the shield over to him.
Sam caught it and struck down the final guy with practiced ease.
The elevator dinged and opened again with only three individuals stepping out. The three individuals all had the signature yellow collars around their necks. The first woman opened her hands with metal fingers stretching out suddenly. The second, a man with a strange posture like that of a frog, opened his mouth to reveal a long slimy tongue. The final man was much larger, his body seemingly made out of gray rock.
Sam and Bucky exchanged a look. Bucky scowled at Sam before they both said, “Mutants.”
The woman burst toward Sam and started swiping at the shield when he began to try and shield himself. Once she got close enough, he used the shield to sweep her away. The tongue mutant bounced forward and launched his tongue out to strike Sam. Bucky caught his tongue with his metal hand and tugged him forward, silently dreading having to wipe off his metal hand later.
Bucky wouldn’t have long to dwell on that thought before he was yanked upward by the granite clad mutant, being picked up like a sack of potatoes. Bucky accidentally let go of the tongue and the other mutant scrambled towards Sam.
The granite mutant slammed Bucky to the ground with ease and held him down. Bucky watched helplessly as the mutant he’d let go of used his tongue to grab the shield out of Sam’s hand while the woman engaged him in a fight and quickly threw him to the ground. She and the other mutant restrained him.
Then the elevator dinged and five people stepped out towards them.
Bucky moved his head and spotted the gray and orange watch on the ground nearby. In the heat of battle, he had forgotten about the watch he had packed just in case he needed to contact Kitty, Kurt, and Logan. The watch must have flown off in the midst of the fight.
Bucky tried to maneuver his metal hand just enough so that the mutant holding him down wouldn’t notice him reaching for the watch. Just as his fingertips brushed over the metal, a foot came down and crushed the watch in front of him.
Bucky looked up, locking eyes with an emotionless Sharon.
“Aw, sorry you couldn’t call your backup,” Sharon feigned an apology.
“So it’s you,” Sam brought up, looking at her with slight betrayal.
“It’s always been me,” Sharon stated, walking away from the crushed remains of the watch and over to Sam.
“Why?” Sam questioned.
“I told you back when you first came here, I didn’t have the Avengers to rely on after I saved your asses,” Sharon started, “I had to rebuild my life here of all places and none of you ever appeared. Not you. Not Steve.”
“Steve trusted you,” Bucky spoke up, glowering at her.
“And where is he now?” Sharon tilted her head, before replying bitterly, “Nowhere to be seen. He ran off and left all of us here to pick up the pieces.”
“Do you really think this is what he would have wanted for you?” Sam asked.
“I don’t care what Steve would have wanted for me,” Sharon snapped back, “I am the Power Broker. I have an empire.”
“An empire you’ve built by exploiting people,” Sam used his head to gesture to the mutants holding down him and Bucky.
“Oh please, these things aren’t people,” Sharon scoffed, “They’re abominations. Freaks. They serve no purpose. But me, I’ve given them a purpose to serve.”
“The highest bidder?” Bucky inquired, cutting her off with an accusatory tone, “You sound an awful lot like Hydra.”
“You care about these freaks?” Sharon pointed at the granite mutant holding him down, “They’re violent and unpredictable. Their kind is all the same. I’m doing the world a favor by keeping them restrained.”
“Selling them off to high paying criminals isn’t exactly doing the world a favor,” Bucky responded.
“I don’t just sell to criminals I sell to everybody,” Sharon corrected him, “And I was right, you guys do care about those creatures,” Sharon chuckled bitterly, “Or rather, you got attached to those three you went to the gala with, huh?”
By this time, Sharon had walked back over to Bucky and knelt down beside him. She picked up the watch, “Did they give this to you to contact them?” She asked before answering her own question, “You did. It’s so sweet that you think that they would actually come here. They only care about their own kind.”
“It’s why humans like us need to stick together. Gain the upper hand,” Sharon continued. She then stood back up and strolled back over to Sam, standing above him.
“Then why leak government secrets?” Sam questioned.
“I need to profit to get started,” Sharon answered with a shrug, “And, let’s be honest, nobody really trusts the government. Why not leak a few secrets?”
“People are getting hurt,” Sam argued, “Mutant and human. Can’t you see that all of this is destructive?”
Sharon scoffed, shaking her head once more, “It’s necessary. When all is said and done, I come out on top. And no government officials will ever decide my future again.”
Sharon looked dead serious. It was evident through her tone and malice that she had no intention of letting them go. At least not alive. She had changed for the worst.
Sharon delivered a satisfied smile before going to stand in the space between Sam and Bucky and in front of her armed guards.
“And don’t worry about your flying friend outside,” Sharon brought up Torres’ whereabouts, “We won’t hurt him too badly.”
She looked like she was about to give the order before thunder erupted from outside. Then the sound appeared again with lightning to follow. The mutant with the tongue suddenly looked pale. Through the windows, one could see flashing lights and storm clouds.
Sharon’s satisfaction faded into irritation as she barked at a guard, “What’s going on out there?”
The sound of a crackle and pop usually heard from fireworks erupted from outside before suddenly going silent.
“No word,” The guard responded as he fidgeted with a walkie talkie.
The temperature dropped suddenly, the room was growing ice cold.
“Do either of you have anything to do with this?!” Sharon pointed at Sam and Bucky and yelled. Both men looked stumped.
That was, until they heard the signature noise and a purple plume of smoke appeared behind Sharon.
BAMF!