Courtrooms are nothing but theaters with bad actors in cheap suits.That was the first piece of advice your father had given you when you told him you wanted to become a lawyer. You were surprised by how true that turned out to be. Not so much the part about the suits being cheap, but the theatrical side of it for sure. You always tried your best not to play into the theatrics, unless it was the last resort.
Sure as hell hope this works. You thought as you shuffled papers at your table. You’d been in the courtroom for almost an hour. It seemed crazy to you that Supreme Court cases were decided so quickly. While corporate trials lasted weeks or sometimes months, the fate of a historic mantle would be decided in less than ninety minutes. You drank a sip of water from the glass in front of you. It was warm and tasted metallic, like someone had filtered it through pennies. You took a measured breath and waited for your turn to speak.
“So, as you can see by the evidence provided,” You began your closing statement. “Captain America’s iconic shield never legally transferred to Captain Steven Rogers. When Howard Stark passed, ownership of the shield was moved to the beneficiary of his estate, Mr. Stark’s only son, Anthony Stark. While under Anthony’s ownership the shield was stored in various facilities including being on loan to S.H.I.E.L.D. for several decades. Sometime in 2011, the shield was then loaned indefinity to Captain Rogers as shown in the asset transfer form submitted to the court. This form was signed by Captain Rogers, Nicholas J Fury and Anthony Stark. However, Captain Rogers terminated any rights to the shield following his refusal to sign the Sokovian Accords, as the original terms of the loan stated the shield would be reclaimed by Mr. Stark in the event the weapon was linked to a known crime in anyway. Therefor it stands to reason that since Captain Rogers had no legal right to the shield, he could not legally gift the shield to Mr. Samuel Wilson. Since Mr. Wilson was also not the legal owner of the shield, he could not legally donate it to the Smithsonian museum, which the government has since claimed the shield from. Rightfully, that shield belongs to the estate of Mr. Anthony Stark.”
“Thank you for those impassioned words, Ms. Stark.” The Chief Justice remarked. His tone was condescending, but you weren’t quite sure if that was intentional. “We thank you for your time as the court knows how personal this case is for you. We must hear our next case now. I expect you’ll have your answer following our next conference.”
With that the trial was over. There was nothing more you could do but wait for the justices to confer and deliver their opinion. You began gathering your things and exiting the court room. You’d presented every shred of evidence you could find. Proof that legally the shield had never transferred fully into Steve’s possession. Proof that Stark Industries still held pattens on all previous versions of the shield as well as several prototypes. Your father’s company or his estate also maintained pattens on every iteration of the Captain America Uniform. You could stop them from creating a new Captain America in everything but name.
You’d barely exited the Supreme Court Building when your phone rang. Sam Wilson’s name scrawled across the screen. You heaved a deep sigh, wishing this whole ordeal was over with already. You ignored Sam’s call, too preoccupied with dodging the press who were swarming around you. You gaze in the distance, relieved when you saw a familiar face. Happy Hogan met you at the base of the steps and helped you int the backseat of the car. You secured your seatbelt as he slipped behind the steering wheel and drove away.
“They were live streaming the courtroom.” He told you, not looking away from the road.
“Of course, they were. Vultures.” You complained, as you watched the reporters get smaller and smaller in the rearview.
“Can you really blame them? The whole country wants to see how this ends.” Happy told you.
“Wish it was over already.” You mumbled from the backseat. You answered a text from Pepper, asking if you were okay. You assured her that you were fine and that you’d been seeing here and Morgan soon. You just had a few things in DC that needed tying up. Again, your phone began to ring. It was Sam. You silenced it before tossing it across the seat.
“You know he’d be proud of you, Kiddo. They both would be.” He assured you.
“If they weren’t both so stubborn, they’d still be here. Not leaving me to fight their battles for them. Which for the record, I stayed away from the tech industry specifically so that I wouldn’t turn into my father and…GAh!” You couldn’t help but let out a small exclamation of frustration. “Here I am throwing around the family name and exploiting thin as ice legal loopholes to get the stupid shield back! A shield that Sam was at best too humble and at worst too stupid to keep. Even if you don’t use it, man, just do the one thing you know Steve would have wanted and keep it away from the government! Aside from the fact that it’s classified as a deadly weapon, the thing’s got enough vibranium to buy you a decent house. Or If you want to give it to a government don’t give it to ours! Bring it to T’challa….”
You phone was now vibrating loudly as it skidded across the car’s leather back seat. You took a brief pause from your rant and finally answered the phone. You didn’t even bother looking at the caller ID. Only one person had been blowing up your phone all morning.
“What, Wilson?” You snapped at him.
“Hey, Baby, nice to hear your voice too. Long time no see.” He cackled from the other side of the line. You pinched the bridge of your nose and exhaled a deep breath.
“Sam, now’s not a good time…” You told him.
“C’mon you’ve been dodging my calls all morning.” His tone finally changed to something serious.
“You didn’t think that was for a reason?” You snapped.
“Oh, I know the reason. You think I’m going to ask you about the trial.” He laughed.
“Aren’t you?” You sighed.
“Nah I saw the whole thing on TV.” He assured you. “You look great by the way, very Stark-like.”
“Yeah, well the hot rod red power suit probably did most of the leg work there.” You sighed. “What do you want Sam? Happy and I are on our way to the hotel.”
“Any chance you want to join me for dinner?” He asked.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to be seen together. I’m suing you remember?” You reminded him.
“So we just make sure no one sees us.” You could practically hear him shrugging. “Besides you’re only technically suing me. Once all the dust settles with the federal case we get to pretend we agreed to something outside of court. Then everything goes back to normal and you don’t have to pretend you’re mad at me anymore.”
“Let me be clear about something, I’m not pretending to be mad at you. I’m furious.” You told him sternly. “This isn’t like the time you bleached my favorite shirt. I’m not just going to get over it. You really messed this one up, Sam. I’m not fighting this fight for you and we’re lucky we didn’t go through with that proposal of yours, because if we were married right now, I’d have no hope at all of getting that shield back.
“It won’t kill you to say that you missed me too, [Y/N].” He said.
“I miss a lot of things Sam.” You told him. “But not all of us have the luxury of walking away from a legacy. Stark out.” You ended the call and tossed your phone again.
Everything’s gonna workout exactly the way it’s supposed to. Your father’s final words echoed in your head as you stare at the window.
“Probably not this time, Old Man.” You whispered to yourself.