┏━━━✦❘༻✶༺❘✦━━━┓
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
supernova
┗━━━✦❘༻✶༺❘✦━━━┛

━━✦❘༻✶༺❘✦━━

(episode four - the whole world is watching pt. 2)

THE BED WASN'T warm. Diana tossed and turned but each position pointed out a new flaw. She couldn't identify a good spot to lie on, nor find a way to hold herself that would allow her to get some good sleep. It was starting to become pointless. The closest she would get to rest for the next few hours is just going to be her laying on the mattress and closing her eyes. Diana huffed at the conclusion she came to with herself and lied still on her back, a frown settling deep on her face, the muscles pulled so tight by the expression, she worried that it might actually stay like that forever despite what science and common sense tells her.

Thoughts of the funeral and its complete disaster were now at the forefront of her mind. There are going to be no leads for a while unless Sharon still had tricks and informants up her sleeve. It'd be hard to think that no one in Madripoor would know nothing about the Flagsmashers besides Selby or Nagel. Diana's frown made itself deeper with the memory of their blood spraying on or near her. She still needs to deck Zemo for that.

She pulled out her phone, checking the time and the group chat with the Andersons. There were a couple questions there about dinner and who would be home for what, nothing that had to do with Diana for the moment. Until a new question popped in.

Charlie
Aunt D, when are you going to be in New York again?

Diana
I think I'm out of leads at the moment, so probably soon, I still have a few unturned stones so when that's taken care of, I'll let you guys know. You guys are locking down the house before bed though, right? Tony's security system is still installed.

Charles
Yes, it's a part of the routine, and please be careful out there with those super soldiers, I don't want to have to fly out there and show those assholes not to mess with my sister.

Tonya
Yeah I know damn well no one wants to watch you throw your damn back out when you step out of the terminal, you might just unite the damn UN with that shit, Charles.

Charles
Shut up, Tonya

Diana snorted after that, rolling her eyes as the two siblings fought. She sat up, getting ready to shut it down, but a slam of the doors being broken in made her jump, her phone flying out of her hands to the other side of the mattress. Diana jumped out of the bed, barely pulling on her shoes before running out of the bedroom to the living room where there was more commotion.

"Hey slow your roll," Diana heard Sam say when she was finally within earshot. Zemo was getting up from the couch as John and Lemar were walking into the room, looking prepared for a fight, Bucky was a few feet from the island counter with a glass of whiskey in his hand, "let's be clear: shield or no shield, the only thing you're running in here is your mouth. Now I had Karli and you overstepped, he's actually proven himself useful today and we're gonna need all hands on deck for whatever's coming next."

"How do you want the rest of this conversation to go, Sam, huh?" John asked.

"With you and your sidekick leaving, and putting the doors back on the hinges as you go," Diana spoke up, rubbing some of the tiredness from her eye; so much for resting up.

"Yeah," John gave an airy, humorless chuckle, "Should I put down the shield? Make it fair?"

Diana balled her fists, letting some of the energy overtake it as she watched John, if he so much as blinked in a way to strike Sam, she would lay him out in the next heartbeat his chest thumps out. She watched intently as he set the shield down against a pillar that supported the roof. She raised her fist up at him as she watched how he was going to go for a strike as he came up. The whole room stopped as a spear lodged itself into the pillar, making a barrier between the two men. Diana's energy dissipated as she looked over to see who the hell threw it.

The Dora Milaje warrior stood tall now as Ayo stepped out of the shadows, flanked by some of her fellow sisters in uniform. Guilt wracked through Diana as they eyed her figure and Zemo's, there would have to be a lot of groveling to earn their trust back, Diana can see it. She nervously eyed the spears before looking back at Bucky. There was guilt on his own face and Diana saw for the first time in a long time that broken man reappearing, she realized then that he had been warring with himself about the decision of releasing Zemo. any ounce of resentment she had for Bucky about that decision dissolved within her.

"Eokuba uyindlela yesiphelo sakho, ixesha liphelile," Ayo spoke, and there was no arguing with her, Diana was getting ready to make handcuffs that Zemo won't break out of this time, "Release him to us now."

Diana nodded to Ayo, regarding the rest of the Dora warriors before she looked back at Zemo, getting ready to approach him. He gave her an incredulous look but she only shrugged. He killed a king and broke her family, seeing him in handcuffs would be the least violent outcome Diana wants to see for him.

"Hi, John Walker, Captain America," The words stopped her in her tracks as she looked over at the man who now faced the woman. She gave no response as she stared John down, Ayo was never one to mess around, always focused, it obviously was why she was leading the mission for Zemo now, "Well, let's uh, put down the pointy sticks and we can talk this through, huh?"

"Hey John," Sam chuckled, "take it easy, you might wanna fight Bucky before you tangle with the Dora Milaje."

"The Dora Milaje don't have jurisdiction here—"

"The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje finds themselves to be," Ayo interrupted John, and in turn seemed to verbally knock himself off his high horse.

"Look," John chuckled, "I think we've got off the wrong foot–"

Watching John put his hand on Ayo's shoulder was like watching him in slow motion, and even though Diana knew she could've stopped him from making the mistake, she didn't want to. She knew the woman could hold her own, they all could, which is another reason why she didn't put up a fight for Zemo, even if she did want to keep him around, just one of the warriors could put her on her ass in less than 2 seconds, there was no way she would fight a squad of them, even with Bucky and Sam as backup.

Ayo was quick to knock John's hand off her shoulder and in the same move, hit him in the head with the long arm of the spear. After he was inebriated, she kicked him back, sending him flying back into the vibranium spear still stuck in the pillar. John was on the floor now and the sudden fight had Diana gravitating to Bucky's side. They both knew the best way to not get their asses kicked is to not get in their way. Plus, it was funny to watch the women wipe the floor with John like he was a mop.

Lemar, of course, had to join in on the fight, but that only left him in a chokehold by one of the women while the other beat on him. Diana shook her head, tutting at his method of fight. She and Bucky walked over to where Sam was by the couch, the fight all around them now as they watched.

"We should do something," Sam said, though he didn't seem too eager to follow through.

"I can make popcorn," Diana suggested as she looked around, "Entertainment should always be accompanied by a snack."

Bucky nodded, crossing his arms. He lifted his chin, regarding John. His black t-shirt tightened around his back with the motion. She carefully eyed him, watching the way his muscles moved underneath the fabric.

"Looking strong, John!" He goaded. The fight continued to get worse as John seemed to lose more and more of his resolve.

"Bucky, Di..." Sam spoke, his tone more of a warning than a suggestion now.

It was clear now that Ayo and the rest of them were not coming for prisoners, nor were they sparing strangers. Diana and Sam rushed for Lemar as Bucky went for Ayo. Sam stopped one of the warriors from killing Lemar while Diana stopped the other.

Diana surprisingly was able to land a hit on the woman, which was enough for an incredulous stare to be given to the blonde. It was clear Diana caught the warrior by surprise, and it was clear that she would never get a chance like that again. She had to try though.

Her head on charge was immediately countered by a strike to her side with the woman's vibranium spear. There was no way she would be able to fight the warrior while she was armed and was quick to steal one from the ground. She knew she was breaking another one of Wakanda's rules but she really didn't want to turn into a kebab in Zemo's living room either. It was no use anyways. Diana tried her hardest to not get hit or disarmed but both ended up happening anyways. The woman was quick and hard with her strikes, leaving no part of Diana's body safe, even when trying to block or dodge the encounters. She was so glad that none of her students saw her like this, she'd lose her whole class.

The spear clattered to the ground and Diana right next to it, coughing and wheezing for air as she laid out on the floor.

An abnormal and heavy thud sounded out on the ground, making Diana furrow her eyebrows as she slowly sat up, looking past the couch to see Bucky armless. A hand in her vision had her looking up to see Lemar, a crooked nose and a bloody lip adorning his face and Diana almost felt bad for fucking it up earlier. She reluctantly accepted the help, a small nod sent his way before she headed over to Bucky, his face still in shock as Ayo walked away.

The pair watched as Ayo walked over to the bathroom, opening it to find that Zemo was gone. The girl she walked in with and that had kicked Sam's ass had taken her spear and the shield which had been planted into the table.

"He is gone," Ayo looked at the shield, "Leave it."

Diana looked down at Bucky's disabled arm. She crouched down and grabbed it. Still close to the floor, she looked up at her... friend and rose to meet his eye as best as she could with their height difference. Something told her it wasn't the time for joking but the air of defeat was suffocating them all and it was clear that taking his arm off was really affecting Bucky.

"Need a hand?" Diana tried to ask with the most serious face but even she couldn't hold her resolve and snorted as she made the joke. Bucky just gave her a deadpan look as he took his arm back.

She pushed up his sleeve around where the arm would connect to his shoulder. The arm seemed to be reactivating when in close proximity to Bucky and Diana stepped back. Her eyes raking him over to see if he was left with any significant injuries.

"Did you know they could do that?" Sam asked, referring to the arm being taken off. Diana didn't even see how it happened since she was busy getting sent to the ground.

"No," Bucky frowned as he shook his head. The arm, now attached, did a full circular motion before residing back to its normal spot. Bucky, now moving his fingers as he affirmed himself with his arm being back.

The three of them passed John and Lemar, the words, "Stay out of my way" fought on Diana's tongue but she bit it, a hard, withering glare sent towards John would have to suffice, since she didn't want to have to deal with the fight she'll have to end with him later because of it. Besides, it was clear his ego was hurt enough by Ayo and the rest of the Dora Milaje, it would be no fun to fight a crippled man. They continued their walk where it was the last that anyone saw Zemo, a groan sounded out from Diana's lips now at the hole in the ground where the toilet used to sit.

"I can't believe he pulled an El Chapo," Sam said, also trying to lift the mood now that the psycho is loose.

"I can," Bucky replied, putting his metal hand hesitantly on Diana's bruising arm, "Come on."

━━✦❘༻✶༺❘✦━━

AFTER A HUMILIATING fight, Diana appreciates the fact that Bucky and Sam managed to find a breakfast café nearby. It was small, quiet, and smelled amazing inside. Diana felt bad toting the guys around Latvia but she's never been there before and she figured she might see the place before they leave for whatever country Karli might sneak off to next. It did feel odd having three baristas stare at her while making her order through an angry man since he was the only one who knew the language.

Diana found herself watching traffic while they waited for their order to be brought to them. It was odd. They were in Latvia, the signs were in Latvian, the people spoke the language. Yet she found herself constantly thinking she was in that damn bakery in New York. Fodante's Inferno was frequented by Diana during those wretched five years where all she could do was think about every mistake she ever made.

"Diana," Sam brought her attention back to the table where her fragrant coffee and chocolate croissant sat untouched.

"Sorry," Diana muttered before taking a sip of her coffee, she glanced up at the men to see they both watched her intently, "just thinking of, the Blip I guess."

"Is there anything you want to talk about?" Sam asked, "Steve said you might bottle up about that time."

"What the hell did Steve say?" Diana asked, tilting her head, her eyebrows furrowing at the admission.

"Diana," Bucky said, "He left us but he wanted to make sure that we would be okay."

"And why should I be?" Diana asked, "Natasha died and that put me on my knees, Tony died and I was ready to dive into that lake at his funeral, so why in the hell should I be okay after Steve left like that? After all we went through he goes back to that woman like we meant nothing, did he even feel bad about it? If he knew it would hurt like hell to leave me, why would he do it anyways?"

Sam and Bucky were silent, Diana huffed before taking a swig of her coffee. It was hot but not unbearable. She could feel the pair stare at her as she did. It was a lot of information for them, but the anger Diana felt about Steve lessened after she said it. She even felt... relief after unloading that information.

"You know what?" Bucky asked, "Yeah, I agree with you, he put you guys through hell to save me and clear my name and when there's finally a moment of calm, he just leaves? Till the end of line my ass."

Diana nodded, a comforting hand on his arm as he took a sip of his own coffee.

"I don't like how it felt like he dumped that shield on me," Sam blurted, "it doesn't feel right, me having it, and I can't change that, I want to for your guy's sake, I know it's killing you to see Walker with it, because it kills me too."

"I get that, Sam," Diana frowned, "That asshole thinks that just because he's old I wouldn't beat his ass for doing some of the most idiotic shit ever, how is he going to get mad at me for jumping in the way of an explosion but then like, three days later, we're in Romania and he's stealing fucking cars and blowing up bridges."

"Yeah, he yelled at me for paying you to jump off the roof, as if you haven't jumped off bridges before," Sam huffed, "Asshole."

"You know, the mission that had me pronounced killed in action, he started off with us ziplining through the Alps onto a train?" Bucky crossed his arms, "Not to mention he jumped out of a plane into a Nazi camp just to get me and the rest of my platoon out with no backup? But all of a sudden I have to be careful? I already lost my damn arm, what does he think is going to happen?"

Diana snorted and leaned against his side, shaking her head as she looked out the window once more.

"I'm sure this Flag Smasher business would be resolved by now if he was here," Diana admitted, she looked back at Sam now, "You two would've probably been able to talk her down before that building was even bombed, and we probably wouldn't have had to rip open that Zemo associated wound."

The guys nodded, their breakfast was almost complete now. Diana found herself finishing her croissant, followed by the rest of her coffee. The coffee shop no longer reminded her of Fodante's Inferno, rather the quiet mornings Diana and Steve had the day off from SHIELD, when they could catch Steve up and he would tell her about the 1940's.

"One good thing came of it all though," Diana raised her eyebrows as she straightened up in her chair, "I got you two dumbasses."

Sam sucked his teeth as he smiled, Bucky nudging her in return. Diana let out a chuckle as she looked at her friends. Yeah, Steve left them, but it looked like he always knew they would take care of each other, even if some of them bicker like an old married couple. The Steve Rogers support group could probably be considered a success, maybe not through the eyes of a stranger, but Diana wasn't so bitter, that was a plus.

The three of them stood up, a small fight over who would pay and finally, they left, heading back to the safehouse Zemo left them in. Diana didn't want to crawl through sewers, so hopefully she's able to hack into some sort of Zoning database and see if they can get access to the pipelines that run through Latvia, Zemo would have to get spit out somewhere, Diana would just need to find it.

The chilly air made Diana's cheeks go flush as they turned onto a particularly windy street, about to complain about the weather, they were interrupted by Sam's ringing phone. From the look on his face when he saw the caller id, she assumed it was Sarah calling. Maybe trying to resolve whatever thing they were fighting about earlier, something about a boat. The night Sarah's call interrupted their undercover work blended into the next day when they were in the shipping docks getting blown up and shot at.

"She said what?" Sam asked, bringing Diana back from the memories of that wretched thong she wore, "Alright hold on hold on, I know I know, listen: pack an overnight bag and take the boys-"

"What happened?" Bucky asked, concern was the shared emotion among the three of them.

Sam lowered the phone from his ear to regard the two of them.

"Karli called Sarah, she threatened my nephews," Sam relayed, returning the phone to his ear, he took a breath, trying to clear his mind so they wouldn't make a mistake, "Okay, go somewhere safe, only pay cash, alright? Let me know when you get there, I know, look, I love you, I'll never let anything happen to you and the boys, you know that, okay, bye."

Anger washed over Diana in unrelenting waves as she thought more and more about what Karli just did, Sam slowed down, so she did too. She waited to see what he wanted his next move to be. She can understand Karli's pain and her cause, but she'll never forgive her for bringing Sam's family into it. She hasn't even met Sarah and her sons, but she understands how she would feel if it were her brother and sister being threatened, and she would be murderous if it was Charlie's life being threatened.

She found herself clenching and unclenching her fists as she slowed down with Sam and Bucky. She looked up at Sam, her jaw now set. She was ready to follow him wherever they needed to go.

"Karli wants to meet, she left a contact number," Sam was fixated on the phone now, a text from Sarah had the three of them waiting in anticipation. Sam was the only one with a clear view of the screen and he didn't like what he saw, "She said come alone."

"I'm coming with you," Bucky spoke without hesitation.

"We both are," Diana added on, a smirk crept its way onto her face as she glanced at Bucky before bringing her eyes back to Sam, "With ya' till the end of the line, and all that other stuff."

Bucky lightly shoved Diana for that one, which she figured would happen since he let her get away with the hand joke yesterday. He shook his head as he looked at her, a small chuckle escaped his lips that even had Sam look at him like he was crazy.

"End of the line, that's funny," Bucky muttered before turning to walk off, "We need to get ready."

"Bet you guys wish you had cool nanotechnology now." Diana chided as she and Sam joined Bucky's stride.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Sam nudged her as they walked.

• • •

THE BUILDING WAS similar to the one Diana helped fixed shoes in, only this one was barren and the stairs were visible from the front door. Now, with everyone suited up, Sam rushed in, looking around and finally up. Karli was leaning against the railing of the open upper floor of the building, a smirk rested on her face. It made Diana want to wring the smugness out of her by her neck.

"KARLI!" Sam yelled, definitely still pissed off by the young girl's threats.

The three of them ran for the stairs, quickly making their way up to the second floor where she waited. Sam was the one to approach while Bucky and Diana hung back, staying by the stairs where they could keep an eye on the two while they talked and other places where Sam could possibly be ambushed.

"You called my sister?" Sam asked, "That's how we're gonna play this?"

"Sam, I would never hurt her, I just wanted to understand you better," Karli denied, "I see um, you didn't come alone."

"Yeah, well, we're a package deal!" Diana spoke up. She crossed her arms after, leaning against Bucky who was now leaning against the railing, her anger still simmering underneath.

"You have to end this now," Sam spoke softer now, it changed the way the air sat between him and Karli, less tense. It would make it easier to try and salvage the attempt to talk her down.

Diana could see that the chance of doing that was slim. There was something different about Karli now, it was evident. She looked more... unhinged than the last time she saw the girl. It left an uneasy twist in her stomach as she watched the conversation unfold.

"I don't wanna hurt you, you're just a tool in a regime I want to destroy," Karli frowned, "You're not hiding behind a shield, if I were to kill you, it'd be meaningless, I was gonna ask you to join me or do the world a favor and let me go."

Sam stopped, he looked down at his wrist device, putting the conversation to a standstill. A few seconds later, he looked back at the two of them.

"It's Walker," It was all Sam had to say before Bucky sprang into action and wrapped an arm around Diana before jumping over the railing down to the first floor's courtyard.

Though they didn't get the luxury of a nice landing considering Karli jumped and met them halfway, knocking them back into a wall. Gasping for air, Diana rolled out of Bucky's hold and slowly made her way to her knees. Her eyes stung as tears brimmed them, it was like her lungs were relearning their biological job. Bucky helped her off her knees as Sam kicked Karli back into a different wall. By then, Diana was able to breathe properly.

"I'll send you the location, go!" Sam instructed them. A quick nod from the pair and Diana was using her energy to power up her legs to super soldier speed, keeping up with Bucky's fast pace as they ran for John.

The two went from running through buildings to jumping off second stories onto the street, the open road giving the perfect path to John and Lemar who was no doubt with him. People on the sidewalk yelled in alarm when they watched the two breeze past them at the speed of a fast moving truck. It wasn't everyday you see two Avengers running through your town. The location was sent to Bucky who pointed to a building that was a block down, it didn't matter, they'd get there in less than a minute.

With Bucky leading her, they ran inside the building, scanning and clearing rooms only moments after entering them. They made it to a stairwell where more commotion could be heard. The two didn't hesitate to go up, but it didn't come without resistance. Diana could see the Flagsmasher coming from a mile away and shoved Bucky forward, putting space between the two and a pocket for the hostile fighter to land in. Now with him facing Diana and Bucky flanking him, the guy saw his mistake and saw there was no way out.

Diana pulled out her pipe like the last time she fought someone in a stairwell. The cement at the end gave the perfect weight for momentum to take over with her swing. She heard herself yell out as she added all her strength into the blow, the cracking of the pipe hitting his skull rang through her ears. The man stumbled to the side where Bucky stepped in, sending a punch to the same spot Diana hit him in. She stepped back when he got his arms around Bucky, shoving him into the wall. She tried aiming a blast at him but the two were moving too quickly for her to get a good aim. She didn't want Bucky inebriated.

He was quick to take care of himself as he pushed the man back and into a pillar, getting the guy off of him with enough time to turn around and kick him down the stairs. While Diana decided to go back down them, Bucky took a more direct approach and jumped, meeting the man within seconds to kick him through a wall. The two met at the hole it created to inspect him. He was squirming, a small groan could be heard coming from the ground.

"Stay there," Bucky commanded, making Diana snort and grab him arm to pull him back up the stairs to continue their journey to find Sam, or John.

More commotion could be heard above them, putting more urgency into their pace. They resorted to leaping up flights of stairs and eventually made it to an open room with a glass ceiling shining daylight onto the fight before them. It was clear to Diana now that they intercepted an ambush, and Karli was trying to distract them. But it only made her wonder if this was still a part of the plan.

Diana was shoved behind Bucky who had also caught a stray flying knife. He looked over to see another Flagsmasher, who Diana recognized to be the one who threw Torres around in Germany in that video she was shown. She patted Bucky's back, she knew he could handle that guy, she needed to find a fight of her own.

She found that easily. Not even two steps away and another Flagsmasher is charging at her. Their battle cry was all Diana could focus on as she charged up her fist. She dodged their punches and blocked their kicks and soon enough she felt like her fist would explode if she didn't punch the idiot so she did, sending them flying back over a table to roll and roll until they were laid up against the wall. Diana huffed after that, turning to see that John was being held down and Karli was charging at him, knife in hand. The plan was getting clearer now that almost everyone in the room, and with Lemar charging in, it was clear.

The plan was to kill John Walker.

Lemar intercepted Karli's charge, causing the two to roll but they both recovered.

When Diana remembers how someone dies, it's always replayed in slow motion in her mind. But Lemar was punched back into that stone pillar so quickly, Diana felt that if she had blinked, she wouldn't have seen the way the life left his body as soon as he made impact. Her breath was taken away for the hundredth time but no one laid a finger on her for it. Her wide eyes watched as Lemar slumped onto the ground and they watched as the shock settled onto everyone in the room.

Karli paused, clearly, that wasn't a part of the plan.

John broke free of the hold he was in, panting as he walked over to Lemar's lifeless body. He did everything he could to wake Lemar up, trying his best to not think the worst, but they all saw, and John knew. Diana could see the way something had snapped in John, but she also saw Karli and the remaining fighters getting away. She ran after them with Sam and Bucky, leaving John behind with Lemar's body. Someone would have to retrieve him after this.

Crashing could be heard from above and Diana wondered what the hell was going on up there. Another crash sounded out but it was from outside, like a car being smashed, she only knew what it sounded like since she's been around a lot of vehicles being destroyed. Did John jump out of a window? And SInce when was he strong enough to survive a fall like that.

There was no time to turn around and inspect now, whatever happened to him will have to be circled back to, Karli was right there, and once again she was getting away. The three of them ran out to see a smashed-in van, and when Diana looked up, she could see the destroyed window from the floor where everyone had just been. How the hell did John get that strong? Did Zemo miss a vial of serum? Did John use it?

"What the fuck is going on?" Diana asked, only to be answered by screams. She could see people running past the street they were on, phones on, horror on their faces.

The faint sound of a warbled holler was cut off by metal hitting stone.

Diana didn't hesitate to run toward the noise to see a crowd forming around a commemorative statue in the square, and when she pushed past it to see what the people were gawking at, she immediately had to turn away to relieve herself of the contents of her empty stomach. Her stomach twisted into desperate knots as she felt Bucky's cool hand pull her hair back, the only soothing thing she felt.

The sight of John Walker standing over a beheaded body will be burned into her brain for the rest of her life, and there will never be a day she won't be sickened by the sight of the blood that dripped off of what use to be a symbol of protection, and one of the last things Diana used to remind herself of a friendship that was now long lost.

━━✦❘༻✶༺❘✦━━

5.3k words

Nokuba uyindlela yesiphelo sakho, ixesha liphelile (xhosa): Even if he's a means to your end, times up.

John and Lemar: getting their asses handed to them

Diana:

Lamar "Battlestar" Hoskins dying... call that a supernova...

yes the title of this chapter is a death pun what are you gonna do about it. It sucks that he died tho rip Lamar.

I'm so excited to show you guys this chapter, it sucked that I had to write the Steve hate but that dumbass man deserved it for what he put his friends through, like, damn, Diana even bought you a fuckin sweater. Wtf.

this book is coming to its end but not without a couple more surprises for you guys so get ready for that, things are about to get fucking crazy and I'm just so excited so I'll shut up and post the chapter now AKFJSJFNSJ

See you at the next update!
—greta!