Snow

“Feels weird… Picking it up again.” Said Sam catching the shield mid-flight before throwing it back, it then bounced off two trees covered in mattresses before being caught by Bucky.

“The legacy of that shield is complicated, to say the least.” says Sam to finish.

Sam and Bucky continued to practice with the shield; while Sam still feels weird picking up the shield due to its complicated legacy, Bucky reveals that when Steve planned to hand over his shield to Sam, neither of them understood what it could be for a Black man to be handed the shield, and that he owes Sam an apology. 

Offering the olive branch, he told Sam he knows John Walker being made Captain America wasn’t Sam’s fault and handed him back the shield.

“It’s just, that shield’s the closest thing I’ve got left to a family with Aspen, so when you retired it, it made me feel like I had nothing left. Made me question everything. You, Steve, Aspen, me. You know, I’ve got his, uh… I’ve got his book. And, uh… I just figured if it worked for him, then it’d work for me.” he said, fiddling with the little brown notebook in his hands.

Sam looked at him carefully, “I understand, man. But Steve is gone.” At those words, Bucky realized it once more and exhaled heavily through his nose, nodding his head.

“And this might be a surprise, but it doesn’t matter what Steve thought.” he said as he throwed the shield and caught it back, “You gotta stop looking to other people to tell you who you are.” and again, he throwed it, bouncing against two trees and caught by Bucky, who looked down at the shield in his hand. “Let me ask you,” it grabbed Bucky’s attention upward and looked at Sam who stood in front of him, “You still having those nightmares ?”

While Bucky confirmed to him that this was always the case, all the time, and that it meant he was constantly reminded of all the atrocities he may have committed, Aspen was inside the house.

She was in the bathroom more precisely, facing the mirror. Facing her reflection. She had taken advantage of the boys being busy training outside to have some time to herself. She used this time to unwrap Tony's present, a present she hadn't dared to touch until now.

And as she unpacked the package and found out what it was, she couldn't hold back the few tears that slid down her cheeks.

She didn't think Tony would have remembered that talk they had together many years ago and where he replied in a joking tone. And yet, the proof that he had listened was there, on her, she was wearing it.

She was wearing the suit Tony had made especially for her. A suit that represented the complete opposite of the one Hydra forced her to put on.

While her old one was completely black and sometimes even took up her entire face, hiding her identity, the one made by Tony was, admittedly based on a close-fitting black full suit, so that she was free of her moves, this jumpsuit there protected her with metallic protection similar to Tony's armor, except that these metallic pieces here were white, to remind of course the color of Aspen's hair. The suit was less loaded and less heavy than Tony's armor and therefore the most important parts were covered such as her chest, her arms, her hands and her fingers but also her shoulders, her chest, her hips and the outside of her thighs. The armor featured the same nanotechnology as Tony's latest armors and therefore removed with a single squeeze of the wrist. 

In order to increase her powers, Tony had even added icy charge points to the suit in which Aspen could draw, these places illuminating the same color as the eyes of Aspen at the level of the collar, the shoulders, along her arms and upper chest.

Aspen thought the armor was gorgeous and it represented her well. She was protected. Because as Tony so often thought, if he couldn't put armors around the world then he would put armor around his world, in other words Pepper, Morgan and henceforth, Aspen.

She had also found with the package yet another letter from Tony, explaining to her that if he couldn't protect the world he would then protect his and that she was part of it. This letter also said that he should have made this armor for her much earlier and that he regretted not having done it before.

But most importantly, he reminded her how exceptional she was, how loved she was and how much she deserved to move on and let go of the past. It was as if Tony had guessed in advance that she would not be opening her present at the same time as her first letter.

And as she looked at herself in the bathroom mirror, admiring Tony's work, she didn't hold back her tears again, except here that they were tears of joy. After a while she had the armor removed which closed in a simple bracelet around her wrist, then, she came back downstairs to find the boys shaking hands outside the house.

“And, uh, we’re partners.” “Co-workers”

As she joined them, bag in hand Sam spoke, “Thanks for the help. Meant a lot.”

“Of course” Answered Bucky whereas Aspen said “Anytime” then Bucky patted Sam on the shoulder before taking Aspen's hand and leaving.

After leaving Louisiana and Sam, Bucky and Aspen went back to Brooklyn to her apartment.

They both agreed to go to her apartment and he was contemptuous with that decision because he was ashamed of his apartment, ashamed of the way he left it. Besides, hers was a bit bigger than his, and he used to be accustomed to living in her apartment, even if it held some bad memories.

To his surprise, nothing had changed since the night he left. The sofa cushions were still in the same place, the dead plant was still there too, near the window, as well as a large part of his things that he had left there.

In a way, they both were a bit shy to find themselves alone after so much time of being apart.

But eventually, after a little take out food, beers and some stolen kisses here and there which turned into a long embrace that led them to cuddle first on the sofa and then in the bedroom until one by one each of their clothes were removed and thrown into the room, until all they had left were their underwear.

Aspen broke away from Bucky's embrace, “just give me two minutes” she said breathlessly before standing up and going into the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

If things were going further, it would be for her like a real first time. In a way it would, because she never had sex with someone she loved. It would be the first time she wouldn’t be forced to do it, so she was anxious. She cared for Bucky, deeply, and she didn’t want to mess things up between them.

Kissing Bucky was a thing. She had done it in the past, in Wakanda and she liked it and got used to those feelings.

But now.

Being so intimate with him. Being that close. And not fully clothed. It was all new.

And she was ashamed. Ashamed of her body, of her scars, of what made her herself.

As she looked at her reflection in the mirror of her bathroom while Bucky was in the bedroom, she found herself reluctant to go back to him.

Her scars reminded her too much of what happened, of who she used to be during Hydra, of what she had been through. Over time she started to learn to love herself, but she never had been able to do it fully and completely, and now. Now she was supposed to show herself to Bucky, which she wanted more than anything, but found herself frozen in place.

Unable to move, unable to breathe.

After several minutes, she stopped overthinking and went to grab the handle of the door. As she started to turn it the door opened and revealed Bucky standing in the doorway. 

As he came closer to her, his hands brushing the skin of her arms, he couldn’t not notice the things she had around her neck. He had never noticed them because they were always hidden under her top. But now, she had nothing on apart from her bra and her panties.

“I knew it,” he said in an almost inaudible whisper. She tilted her head to the side and had a questioning look on her face when he reached for the dog tags she wore, grabbing one of the plate, before speaking again, “I knew you would take good care of it”

She understood what it was about when he had reached for it. Bucky’s words were slow and calm. It brought her red to her cheeks, burning inside her chest and butterflies inside her stomach. 

He noticed her steady breathing and shifty gaze. He then gently lifted her chin for her to look at him. Then he whispered to her, as if he didn't want to scare her, “I won’t force you into anything that makes you uncomfortable”.

Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest. She had never felt this nervous around Bucky before. And she thought, not for the first time, that she might drown in the blue of his eyes.

“I’m sorry” “No. Don’t be” he stopped her, “that is in no way your fault, everything’s going to be fine. We don’t need to be so fast, you choose the pace alright ?” said Bucky as he cupped her face and she nodded.

They both went back to bed, cuddling against each other. Aspen buried her face into his chest and let herself drift to sleep while Bucky stroked her hair and fell asleep not much longer after her.

“What made you choose to come here, Aspen ?“

The question Dr. Raynor asked her brought her out of her thoughts. She took in every word she said and thought about it for a minute or two.

She finally decided to talk the truth, seeing no point in lying to the one who was here to help her. She also didn’t want to disappoint Bucky, who was trying to help her and had recommended Doctor Raynor.

“I decided I wanted to heal, to be better and to leave the past behind me” she finally answered.

In turn, Dr. Raynor considered what Aspen had said, she also wrote things down in her notebook before continuing, “What do you want to change ?”

So many things came to her mind when she had heard the question, she listed them inside her head before reciting it out loud.

“Maybe the way I-” she paused, her voice fragile, unsure almost. She cleared her throat and carried on, “the way I deal with my emotions, the way I see myself, and… learning to forget what happened” she finally admitted.

Dr. Raynor nodded her head as Aspen spoke, before closing her notebook and putting it on the end table near her. “Aspen,” she started, her voice above a whisper, speaking so calmly, “you can’t forget the past, it made you who you are today.” she said, and she saw how perplexed Aspen was, “You can’t forget but you can learn to forgive what happened” she added.

“How do I do that ?” Aspen asked, desperate to know more, pleading with her eyes.

“I want you to do something, see it as some sort of homework. What I want you to do is to write a letter to your past self.”

“What do I say to her ?” Aspen asked, lost in the process.

“I can’t tell you. You have to discover this yourself,” she paused, “once you do, and only then, you can take another appointment if you wish.” And as she spoke the end of session came and Aspen made her way toward the door, thanking Dr. Raynor before leaving the place and going back to her apartment and to Bucky.

On her way back, she thought about the past hour, about what Raynor had said, about what she had to do. She thought about what she had to write, having no actual idea of what to say to her past self in that letter.

When she came home, she could hear flowing water coming from the bathroom, which she guessed was Bucky taking a shower after his daily run.

She directed herself towards the sofa and curled into the heap of blankets she had created. Bucky’s phone was resting in her lap as she placed her earbuds into her ears. She entered his password and quickly found his music.

It was both surprising and not so when the tunes sang their melodies. Most were thoughtful or sad, but some had a bit of hope to them. She recognized the majority of them and let the familiarity lull her into calm.

She laid her head back into the pillows, eyes closing and breath slowing until she felt the bed shift with a new weight. “And what do you think you're doing ?” Bucky smiled, it was reserved but refreshingly playful.

“Listening to your music, to see your tastes ?” She answered, turning down the music enough to hear him. Bucky hummed, positioning himself closer, “I’d say you know me pretty well, darling.”

She shrugged, fidgeting with his headphone wire. “You don’t mind ?” Bucky inhaled in thought, before shaking his head. “No, I don’t. What’s mine is yours, Snowflake.”

She smiles and leans into him, lifting her face for a kiss which he happily gives. It’s sweet and slow, and during so he pulls one earbud from her and places it in his ear, smiling at the song playing.

She opened a spot in her cocoon for him, to which he gave her a look, “I’ll overheat in that.” She laughed, “Humor me, Buck ?”

He kissed her again before crawling in and allowing her to lay on his chest. His metal hand rested on her waist while his right was curled up behind a pillow. She took the opportunity to say, “Never took you for a Halsey guy.”

Bucky laughed, charmingly off guard. “What do you want me to say ? I like beautiful people.”

Over several days, she found herself standing in front of the blank white piece of paper, pen in her hand. But she was blocked, she had no idea of what to write. She was lost.

As usual, she left it aside in a corner of her head, and went to do something different, went to busy her head to not think about it, went to spend time with Bucky. Because it was what brought her joy and happiness.

On a sunny afternoon, she decided to go for a walk, to breathe in the warm air outside and went to Prospect park. She had her bag with her, which carried that same blank piece of paper she was stuck with for the past few days since her appointment with Dr. Raynor.

The park wasn’t far away from where she lived and after walking for a while in it, taking in the beautiful view and the beauty of the nature that surrounded her, she had found the perfect place to sit down in the grass.

She took out that piece of paper and her pen and started writing as things came to her mind.

After a while, many pauses to look at the view she had in front of her, and even if the nature here was far less beautiful than the one she loved in Wakanda, she had finally written the letter to her past self.

“My dear younger self…

There’s so much I want to tell you but where to start ?

I don't understand what has happened to me and whatever it is, I hate it.

I miss the girl with light in her eyes, the one excited to wake up each morning, the one who had a mind full of dreams and would never stop talking and never fearing the outside world.

I know if you could see me now, you wouldn't believe it was true.

You didn't deserve to be treated the way you were.

They put you through the most difficult situations that you never in a million years would have imagined having to deal with, but you will.

Even though it will be challenging, you will find a way to get through it.

You have my admiration, and pay attention to what I say :

I can assure you that despite everything, you are still capable of receiving and giving love. I swear there are individuals out there who will understand the way you love and know your heart. I promise that your emotions nor your past will be a burden to the people who truly care about you.

Those people will be understanding of what you have gone through. They will give you the time and space to heal.

I hope you will realize what took me a lot of time to realize, which is how deserving you are of all the good things, sincere love, close relationships, and true happiness.

I wish you could take a brief break and see everything you deserve because once you do, you won't be able to reject its reality. I wish it took me sooner to realize that, even if what we went through was horrible, terrifying and unfair, I finally came to accept who we are and our gift.  

But let me tell you one thing.

Good will also happen, even after everything we went through.

This good, they have names. You will discover them over time so I won’t tell you who they are but let me tell you one more thing :

I never thought I would find myself the strength to overcome this. This strength, I got it from someone, again I won't tell you who, because part of life is to discover yourself but I never thought I would find myself completely and utterly consumed by someone like him. He took my hand and let me out of the darkness and showed me that, whatever our souls were made of, his and ours are the same.

There are people out there who would go to the end of the earth for you. There are people out there who would care about you so much if they were ever given a chance to get to know your kind heart. There are people out there who will promise you the world and actually deliver it. There are people out there who genuinely want the absolute best for you.

I know you have been hurt in the past, but please remember there are good souls out there who will love you with every beat of their heart. 

Good people find good people, and there is still so much good in this world to discover. I hope you have the courage to let go of your fears and stay open enough to let all the good things flow right in.

I can’t wait for you to meet them. I can’t wait for you to meet all of them. Your family.

Our family.

I made it through what I thought I wouldn’t before. You will make it through this, too. One breath at a time.

And like a dear friend of mine once said, or should I say a sister : pain only makes us stronger.

You are stronger than you believe, stop doubting yourself. Fear is not a choice, what you do with it is and there is no courage without fear.

- Aspen”

As she closed her pen and put it aside, tears streamed along her face and past her chin to fall on the green grass that surrounded her.

Writing this letter was like lifting a weight she didn’t know she carried since day one. Writing this letter was like finally being able to fully breathe again, finally being able to fully appreciate the world that surrounded her. 

While she was rereading again and again what she had just written, a hand came to rest on her shoulder and she immediately looked up at the figure to find Bucky standing over her and sitting down next to her. She immediately beamed at him.

Neither of them spoke, they simply stayed sited, their gaze on the horizon while the traces left by the tears dried on her face. She let out some sobs while he rubbed her back with his flesh hand, never stopping to look at the sun who was setting.

She rested her head on his shoulder as he continued to comfort her.

“Thank you” she breathed. “For what ?”

“For being the shoulder I can lean on, you’re always there when I need you, you dry my tears and make me smile.”

“I’m so proud of you Snow.”

That evening was also the one where Bucky got a call from Sam, telling him about Karli’s latest move. So they both geared up, Aspen putting on her Tony-made suit for the first time since trying it on at Sam's while Bucky was seeing it for the very first time. He couldn't help looking at her and marveling. 

They both got to the GRC building on Bucky’s motorbike.

A streak of red, white, and blue flies across the night sky as Sam Wilson enters in his new Captain America suit, gifted from the Wakandans. He threw the shield through a broken window, bounced off a masked man before returning to Sam who rolled through the window.

“Bucky, what’s going on on your ends ?” “Nothing. All quiet.”

As Captain America warns the agents and evac teams that this is all a misdirect, he’s attacked by a Flag Smasher supporter, who removes his mask, revealing him to be George Batroc.

“You cost me a lot of money. I wonder how much I can get for your new bird costume.”

Sam alerts Bucky and Sharon they have to do something to prevent the GRC council from evacuating the building as he now has his hands full with this nuisance, “Don’t let ’em out of the building.”

Sharon parted ways with Bucky and Aspen to join Sam and help him.

“This is an emergency evacuation. Please proceed to your transports. Groups one and two will leave from secure vehicles in the basement. Group three will leave via air support on the roof.”

Bucky spots a Flag Smasher, but before he can pursue them down a stairwell, a supporter approaches Bucky and hands him a phone, “Mr. Barnes, it’s Karli.” She held out her phone.

Bucky grabs the phone and turns around to look at Aspen.

The woman walked away, while the Flag Smasher symbol lit up the screen, “Karli ?” 

Karli spoke and Aspen heard her through the coms, “Aren’t you tired of fighting for the wrong side, Mr. Barnes ?” Bucky headed down the stairs with Aspen following, “I’ve done this before, kid. I know how it ends.”

“It doesn’t matter if I don’t survive this. I’m fighting for something bigger than myself. With all the bodies you’ve collected, have you been able to say the same ?”

Bucky had a flash of hurt and anger move across his features, “You don’t think I ever fought for something bigger than myself ? That’s all I ever tried to do. And I failed twice.” 

He paused, looking at Aspen “You think your cause justifies all this death, but in the end, the nightmares won’t go away. You’re going to remember all the ones you killed. Trust me. Don’t do this. Don’t go down this path.” Karli sounded almost sympathetic, “if that’s how you feel, you should sit this one out.” 

“Come on. You know I ain’t gonna do that.” Bucky tried to reason with her, as she answered “I figured you would say that”

His eyes locked on hers, wide and wild, and his nostrils flared. Shock- pure shock flashed across his features at whatever he saw on her face, and he stumbled back a step. Actually stumbled.

"What is-" she began. She had a red laser dot on her forehead. In a fraction of a second the glass that separated them from the street shattered by the impact of the bullet, while Bucky had rushed at her, dropping the phone, knocking her to the ground with him in order to protect her from the sniper. 

He was on top of her when he quickly came to his senses and sat up to check on Aspen. No blood, no wounds, just a bullet hole on the ground.

He stood up and offered her his hand, she accepted it and stood up as Bucky picked up the phone again and brought it to his ear again.

Karli sounded almost innocently sweet when she next spoke, “Well, thank you, I’m glad you took my call. You’ve been a big help.”

The call immediately ended and Bucky couldn't say more. He growled in frustration and ran off towards the doors, with Aspen following behind. Sharon spoke in the comms sounding fed up, “Seriously Bucky. You had one job.”

Realizing the hostages were being split up, Aspen and Bucky headed down to the garage where several council members were loaded up in armored trucks and sealed inside. Bucky takes off after the trucks on his motorcycle with Aspen behind him as Sharon neutralizes a Flag Smasher with mercury vapor.

As Sam continued to fight Batroc, the helicopter began to take off with the hostages on board. From the street, Sharon noticed it and pointed it out to Sam, “You better speed things up Sam. The chopper’s about to take off.” And as he pushed Batroc away with a kick that made him grunt, Sam said “Bucky !”

While on his motorcycle Bucky answers “I don’t fly, man. That’s your thing.” “and I risk doing even more damage,” said Aspen.

Sam then pushed back, using his shield and thruster, Batroc who flew across the room then threw his shield through a window and flew towards the helicopter. 

The chopper swooped down towards the ground just as Sam was chasing it before straightening up and moving away towards the sea.

As Aspen and Bucky approached their objective, their path was blocked by large concrete blocks preventing access to any wheeled vehicle.

Firmly determined to override, Bucky accelerated then braked at the last moment and threw the motorcycle against the concrete blocks which propelled him against a flag smasher. As Aspen, who was also thrown into the air, created wave-like ice and slid through it landing on her feet before joining Bucky and his opponent who had just set fire to the truck which was holding the hostages. She blocked her opponent in ice then headed for the truck.

While the hostages screamed for help from inside the burning truck, Bucky used his arm made of vibranium to destroy the mechanism that blocked the doors. Aspen steps in and ices the mechanism before letting Bucky deliver a final blow which immediately destroys it and opens the truck doors. 

As the hostages came out one by one, the last one to come out grabbed Bucky and Aspen's arms and shook them, “Thank you, for saving us.”

Bucky stared at him as he replied, “You’re welcome”.

As she helped the last hostages to flee, there was a shout. It halted her. “Morgenthau! Let's finish this!” It was Walker, Karli stepped forwards and faced him, “I didn't mean to kill your friend. I don't want to hurt people that don't matter.” 

Walker looked hurt at her reply, “You don't think Lemar's life mattered ?” He threw the shield at her, and she kicked it away. Walker was quickly surrounded and against all odds Bucky and Aspen intervened to help him.

Karli fought Walker while Aspen fought another two Flag Smashers, Bucky had his own battle. One of them charged towards her with a pipe in their hands, as he prepared to hit her with it she completely covered it with ice by extending her hand in its direction and then destroyed it. At the same time, the two opponents charged in her direction and she drew on the sources of ice from her armor to create two large ice soldiers equipped with swords and at least 3 meters high and gave them life.

Being smaller and more frail made her faster than anyone and used this element to her advantage to freeze the ground in her path in order to slide on it and take back the two flag smashers who were attacking her ice soldiers

She then absorbed all the ice she could from her armor, before sending her own ice wave back through and knocked down her opponents as well as destroying the next transformer cutting power to the surrounding area. 

As Bucky continued to fight behind her, he was thrown backwards and fell into a construction area. 

Sam was still dealing with his helicopter, Walker chased Karli and fought in the scaffolding when Karli knocked him out and managed to gain control of the NYPD holding the hostages.

She then started the truck and dropped, leaving the truck drifting towards the scaffolding, which drew Bucky's attention upwards, since he was underneath.

People gathered around the area watching as the weight of the truck started to drag him down towards the edge.

Bucky, who was watching the scene from below, saw Walker’s homemade shield fly towards the ground before the truck itself started to move back. Walker was trying to back him off while fending off the flag smashers and began to be quickly surrounded. Aspen came to his help with her iced soldiers and got rid of a few of them before being pushed back and thrown down the work area where Bucky was. The ice soldiers were immediately reduced to lumps of snow as she passed out upon hitting the ground.

Walker was also ousted and pushed back by Karli who threw herself against him, dragging him down with him and leaving the truck sinking forward again.

When only a few pieces of metal held the truck down and started to give way, Sam came to the rescue and positioned himself at the front of the truck which was almost upright and tried somehow to prevent it from falling any further and crashing. 

The weight of the truck being so important that the unique propellant of Sam's suit was not enough and it was then that two small drones similar to Red Wing came out of his back and came to help him put the truck back on solid ground. All while Bucky helped Aspen up and then pushed Walker out of the truck's possible crash zone. Bucky and Aspen were both happy that Sam managed to save the hostages from the truck. They were quickly freed thanks to a laser beam from one of the drones which destroyed the mechanism in the shape of a large spider which blocked the doors of the truck.

The hostages are saved as a crowd of spectators cheered. An onlooker shouts, “Hell yeah ! That’s Black Falcon right there,” but his friend corrects him, “No, that’s Captain America.”

While the citizens around rejoiced at the scene, Karli took advantage of everyone's inattention to throw a metal rod in Bucky's direction.

He catches it mid-air before Sam intervened again, throwing his bouncing shield at several members of the flagsmashers in a row who fell to the ground before landing next to Aspen and Bucky.

“You of all people bought into that bullshit  ?” Karli said and quickly cut short by Sam, “I’m trying something different. Maybe you should do the same.”

But before things could go further, an explosion rings out along with a gunshot and screams.

Smoke bombs were thrown all around them, blurring everyone's vision and allowing Karli to flee. Sam, thanks to his glasses, showed them the way, “This way.” he said while replacing the shield on his back and running on Karli’s track. “Looks like they split up. Here.”

“I got it.” said Bucky and then they separated in order to cover more ground. Bucky followed Walker whereas Aspen and Sam each took a different path.

The undergrounds were silent and only the sound of footsteps echoed. The plastic sheeting lifted, adding noise and made Aspen turn around, thinking she had found someone, turns out it was only the whistling of the light wind who ruffled the plastic sheets. She continued on her way, trying to ignore the disturbing noises and concentrate before coming face to face with Sharon.

As she came face to face with Sharon, she felt relieved. Relieved to see a familiar face in the chaos that had erupted. She was going to call her when Sharon raised her gun at her. 

Aspen had no idea of what was happening, why was she aiming at her ? 

That’s when she realized it. 

“It’s you. You’re Power Broker aren’t you ?” she asked Sharon. It wasn’t really a question as she already knew the answer just by looking at Sharon. 

“I- I don’t understand… Why ?” Asked Aspen. 

Sharon scoffed at her question, her gun still aimed toward Aspen. “You want to know why ? I’ll tell you,” she started and then paused, to walk closer toward Aspen, still gun raised at her. “You’ve all been forgiven, everyone, except me ! You have all been acclaimed, adored and respected while I was being a fugitive, forced to live far from everything I knew !” she yelled. 

Aspen held up her hands in defense, “I’m sorry you had to live that way, but the choice you made back then was a good one. I’m sorry the government didn’t saw it that way and i’m sorry you had to be separated from your family but-” 

She was cut by Sharon, “It was all easy for you, all those powers, being an Avenger, Tony's protege…”

“You have no idea of what I had to go through to get to where I am now” said Aspen through greeted teeth, her patience beginning to run out. 

“You want me to believe that you don't appreciate all those powers ?”

Aspen decided to ignore her question, she carried on, trying to resonate with Sharon, “You choose Steve’s side during the Accords, you choose freedom, you believed in Steve. I know the government did you wrong, I understand that, I know how humans can be rotten, but…” she paused, taking a breath, “Sam said he was going to get you forgiven. Why blow everything now ? You can choose to do good again, you can choose not to shoot, you can choose Captain America’s side again.”

Sharon listened to what she had said, she thought about it. To prove her trust, Aspen put down her hands while the gun was still aimed towards her. 

Sharon leveled down her gun and the pressure evaporated from both. At least for a minute.

Until Karli erupted in the room and Sharon instantly shot her.

Aspen stood still for a few seconds as she knelt beside Karli, numb on the floor. She laid in her arms, blood blossoming on the white pieces of her armor. With a sigh, Karli whispered to Aspen, "I'm sorry."

“What did you do ?!” she said standing up and as she lifted her head towards Sharon, her eyes were shining an icy blue, steam was billowing from her hands and the air turned freezing as she screamed. She got up slowly, her armor once equipped with pieces of white metal were now tinted blood red, Karli’s.

Sharon aimed her gun directly at Aspen as a man approached. “So, you’re the Power Broker.” Said Batroc as he approached them, “Tu vas devoir me payer… Quatre fois ce que tu me devais ! Je vais dire au monde entier qui tu es vraiment.” he says in French while Sharon reacts immediately “I don’t do blackmail.” and she shoots him, killing him instantly with a single bullet.

The shot rang out and alerted Sam who was nearby, he then walked towards him and found Aspen, held at gunpoint by Sharon.

“Sam, stay back” warned Aspen, trying to make sure he doesn't come any closer. He then addressed himself to Sharon, “So, what’s next, huh ? You kill her, then, what ? Where does it end ? What about your pardon ?”

“Don’t try and manipulate me.” warned Sharon. “Sharon, don’t !” exclaimed Sam.

“I’m not gonna fight you ! Sharon…” said Aspen, “it was an accident !” said Sharon, “I didn’t intend to kill Karli.”

“I know” reassured Aspen as she slowly approached Sharon, “Stay put !” Sharon then shouted.

At another end of the tunnel, John and Bucky lure the remaining Flag Smashers to the authorities by pretending to be allies on the Flag Smasher app, “The app says it’s this way. Let’s go.” and as they closed in and found two fleeing members of the flag smasher, Walker spoke out, “Mercy bears richer fruit than strict justice.” and after handing the remaining member of the Flag Smashers, Walker and Bucky both walked towards the police force while John lightly patted Bucky on the back before he spoke, “Lincoln, really ?”

“Great man. Great quote.” he explained, unconvinced Bucky answered him then “Not when you say it.”

“Forgiveness is always relevant, Sharon.” said Sam, grabbing her attention towards himself, “You only have to tell the truth about this incident to the police and that’s all” he added.

Sharon let out a deep sigh of relief and dropped down the gun, Aspen went to grab it carefully and took it apart removing all the bullets.

Defeated, Sharon left on foot towards the exit of the building followed by Aspen while Sam approached the cold body of Karli. 

Very quickly, Aspen joined Bucky’s side who widened his eyes at the sight of her blood red armor. He started to inspect her with his eyes as she placed the palm of her hand on his chest, “It’s not mine…” she said as she looked at him tenderly.

What little conversation they had was cut short when Sam emerges from the tunnels and swoops down among the circus of news crews, first responders, police, and GRC members with Karli’s lifeless bodies in his arms. 

As he landed, two paramedics approached with a stretcher as Bucky saw the grim news and Aspen felt her heart sink at the sight of Karli's body in Sam's arms. Sam gently placed Karli’s body on the stretcher and the paramedics took her away while Bucky, Aspen and John got closer to Sam. 

As he followed the stretcher, reporters swarmed Sam and bombarded him with questions :

“What happened to the Flag Smashers ? When did the government make you Captain America ?” 

“Is it still Falcon?” 

“Or is it Captain Falcon?”

But Sam ignored them, Sam walked past the reporters and approached the GRC council, “Sam, thank you so much, from all of us.” said Ayla as the senator followed “Sincerely. You did your part in dealing with those terrorists, now we’ll do ours.”

Sam looked at each in turn and answered “Are you still going forward with resetting the borders ?”

“Our peacekeeping troops will begin relocating people soon. The terrorists only set us back a bit.” said Prime Minister Lacont but Sam didn't look completely unconvinced and he shook his head in disapproval before speaking out, “You have to stop calling them terrorists.”

The senator intervened, “What else would we call them ?”

Sam spoke up, “Your peacekeeping troops carrying weapons are forcing millions of people into settlements around the world, right ?” he paused while the senator nodded his head,  “What do you think those people are gonna call you ?” he paused again while everyone looked at the people next to them, John exchanged a brief glance with Aspen before looking at Bucky who was focusing his attention only on Sam while he was leaning against the ambulance. 

In an impassioned plea, captured by local news crews and broadcasted everywhere, Sam states “These labels, ‘terrorists’, ‘refugee’, ‘thug’, they’re often used to get around the question, why ?” asked Sam, whereas Lacont tried to make a point, “Those settlements that happened five years ago, do you think it is fair for governments to have to support them ?”

“Yes” Sam answered frankly, “And the people who reappeared only to find someone else living in their family home, they just end up homeless ?” he paused while Sam swallowed what he was saying, “Look, I get it. But you have no idea how complicated this situation is.” said the Senator as he started to leave. 

Sam looked at him sideways and spoke “You know what ? You’re right.” which grabbed the senator’s attention and turned around to face Sam, “And that’s a good thing.” the senator moved closer again as Sam continued, “We finally have a common struggle now. Think about that. For once, all the people who’ve been begging, and I mean, literally begging for you to feel how hard any given day is… Now you know.” Aspen and Bucky exchanged a look before returning their attention to their friends. 

“How did it feel to be helpless ? Now if you could remember what it was like to be helpless and face a force so powerful it could erase half the planet, you would know that you’re about to have the exact same impact.” and as Sam continued to speak, everyone around who witnessed the scene, whether they were citizens, journalists or even the police force, all recognized Sam's words, thought about them and realized the importance of the situation. 

Elsewhere, Isaiah and Eli Bradley, Joaquin Torres, and Sarah Wilson all watch the live broadcast in their respective locations, touched by Sam’s message.

“This isn’t about easy decisions, Senator.” The senator cut him off and said “You don’t understand.” as he was trying to reason with Sam but it only made him scoff and he continued to talk, “I’m a Black man carrying the stars and stripes. What don’t I understand ?” Neither John nor Bucky or Aspen came to intervene and let Sam speak, have his real Captain America speech again, feeling that he was finally ready.

“Every time I pick this thing up, I know there are millions of people who are gonna hate me for it.” At those words, John looked down at the floor, feeling guilty for thinking about it.

“Even now, here… I feel it. The stares, the judgment. And there’s nothin’ I can do to change it. Yet, I’m still here. No super serum, no blond hair, or blue eyes. The only power I have is that I believe we can do better.” he said, articulating as well as possible, Bucky looked at him from a distance, as did Aspen, both proud that their friends spoke up, affirming his position as a black Captain America.

“We can’t demand that people step up if we don’t meet them halfway. Look, you control the banks. Shit, you can move borders ! You can knock down a forest with an email, you can feed a million people with a phone call. But the question is, who’s in the room when you make those decisions ? Hmm ? Is it the people you’re gonna impact ? Or is it just more people like you ?” Sam took a breath before continuing, “I mean, this girl died trying to stop you, and no one has stopped for one second to ask why.” he then turned towards the senator, pointing at him, “You’ve gotta do better, Senator. You’ve gotta step up. Because if you don’t, the next Karli will. And you don’t wanna see 2.0. People believed in her cause so much that they helped her defy the strongest governments in the world. Why do you think that is ? Look, you people have just as much power as an insane god or a misguided teenager. The question you have to ask yourself is, “How are you going to use it ?”

Sam turned leaving the stunned Senators staring at the shield on his back while he directed himself towards Bucky and Aspen.

He straightened himself before speaking, “Sorry, I was, uh, I was texting and so, all I heard was, um, ‘a Black guy in stars and stripes.’ ” said Bucky as Aspen ran into Sam’s arms and hugged him, "I'm so proud of you Sam, for speaking up your voice".

Sam chuckled at his both friends, “Nice job, Cap.” said Bucky, which Sam thanked.