𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄.
❝ a family vacation! ❞

"DID YOU KNOW STEVE ROGERS?"

They've been glued to the television screen for a straight twenty—four hours now, watching with bated breath. Everything else has been pushed aside and forgotten; her parents' date, their morning run, the nightmares. Everything is about this now, about this man on screen in her uncle Steve's uniform, wearing her uncle Sam's red, white, and blue shield on his arm.

Svetlana sits with her back perfectly straight, posture rigid and knees pulled to her chest. Her father is very still at her side, shoulders hunched and brows furrowed as he tries to understand, tries to process what they're seeing. Sandwich lies between them, his head low on Bucky's knee, tail and ears down, growling occasionally at the flat screen.

"I was two years out of West Point when Steve came back on the scene." The man called John Walker is telling the newswoman, sitting in a spotlight that shouldn't be his, "I followed his career very closely as an Avenger. Uh, I like to think that I modeled my work after his..."

Natasha scoffs from her spot leaning on the wall, a beer in hand and a scowl on her face.

The newswoman quickly asks, "So, you've always wanted to be a hero?"

"I liked that what I was doing would make people feel safe."

Unable to listen to another word, Natasha shakes her head and leaves the room while Svetlana carefully peeks over to watch her papa closely, biting onto her thumbnail. Eyes squinted, Bucky's jaw juts out and his thin lips part.

Walker's voice fills their empty living room, "Steve Rogers was the kind of guy who could do that. He gave me hope..."

As his head rolls back, Bucky's eyes skate off the screen and his chest shakes with an exhale like some sort of pained disbelief. Expression flinching with something she can't decipher, her papa's lips roll in so his teeth can scrape over the soft peach skin.

There's nothing to say, and Svetlana doesn't even try.

She just picks up her father's hand and tries not to realize how she didn't know that vibranium could tremble. Listening to his low unsteady breaths, she intertwines her warm fingers with his cold ones and buries her face into his stiff shoulder.

"Even though I never met him," John Walker goes on, "He feels like a brother..."

━━━━━━

"SHOULDN'T HAVE GIVEN UP THE SHIELD!"

Bucky's voice echoes in the spacious air hangar, and Svetlana jogs to keep up. She's trying out a yellow sundress and white converses today, a small pack hanging from one shoulder. The pounding of her mini backpack against her spine matches that of her rapidly beating heart, her eyes nervously glancing between the two men.

"Good to see you too, Buck." Her uncle Sam replies nonchalantly, passing them with a casual glance, "Hey, Slugger, how you doin'?"

The slender redhead tensely slips around her father, "Um, not so good..."

"This is wrong," Bucky quickly insists, voice low and eyes narrowed in on Sam's flat expression.

"Hey, hey, look, I'm working, all right?" Not pausing a second, he keeps trudging on towards the airfield, "So all this outrage is gonna have to wait."

Bucky angrily points to the colorful posters on the walls, "You didn't know that was gonna happen?"

"No, of course I didn't know that was gonna happen!" Sam snaps back incredulously, "You think it didn't break my heart to see them march him out there and call him the 'New Captain America'?!"

Svet's expression falls for her uncle, knowing that he's been duped just as much as the rest of them.

"This isn't what Steve wanted," Bucky insists again, the pain clear in his voice.

"Oh, my God. So, what do you want me to do? Call America and tell 'em I changed my mind? Huh?" Sam scoffs out a sarcastic chuckle, smacking her papa's back, "Yeah, right. It's a great reunion, buddy, be well. Svet, tell your mom I said hi."

"Oh, eh yes, I will—,"

Bucky doesn't let up, still walking at his side, "You had no right to give up the shield, Sam."

"Hey. This is what you're not gonna do." Sam pulls to a sudden stop, jabbing a finger towards the other man, "You're not gonna come here in your overextended life and tell me about my rights. It's over, Bucky!"

Her papa just looks away.

"It's not over..." Svetlana softly speaks up, eyes hesitantly meeting his dark ones, "If you don't want it to be?"

Sam softens just a bit, shaking his head at her, "I'm sorry, Slugger, but I have bigger things to deal with now."

Bucky rasps out quietly, "What could be bigger than this?"

"This guy."

Sam digs into his back pocket and pulls out his phone to display a strange looking man with a black mask and red hand on his face. Svet carefully takes the phone from his hand, feeling a strange feeling well up just beneath her sternum as she stares down at the image. There's something... something familiar in all of this.

"His connections are with rebel organizations all over Eastern and Central Europe." Sam is explaining rather distantly, "And he's strong. Too strong."

Svet reluctantly hands the phone back to her uncle as Bucky raises his brows, "And...?"

"Well, he's been connected to this online group called the Flag Smashers."

The girl makes a face. As far as made up names go, that one is pretty lame.

"Now, Redwing traced them to a building somewhere outside of Munich. So that's where I'm going."

Sam suddenly turns and begins striding away once again, only stopping when Bucky calls out, "Well, I don't trust Redwing! Hold on a minute—!"

"You don't have to trust Redwing, but I'mma go see if he's right!" Sam retorts, pulling to yet another stop, "'Cause I have a feeling they might be a part of the Big Three."

"Oooh." Svet nods sagely, clasping her hands behind her back, "The Big Three."

Not liking this at all, Bucky's confused eyes dart quickly between the two, "What 'Big Three'?"

"The Big Three," Sam repeats with wide eyes.

"What Big Three?" Bucky shakes his head, still feeling very lost.

"Androids, aliens, and wizards," Svet happily informs him, ticking them off on her small fingers.

Bucky rounds on her with squinted eyes and parted lips.

"See!" Sam is almost gleeful when he throws a hand her way, "The Slugger knows."

Svetlana proudly blushes, but Bucky looks at her with the utmost betrayal, "That's not a thing."

"That's definitely a thing."

"Kind of a thing," Svet agrees with a sheepish shrug.

"No, it's not."

Her uncle's voice rises higher as he points out, "Every time we fight, we fight one of the three!"

Bucky steps forward, face deadpanned and eyes wide, "So, who are you fighting now — Gandalf?"

About to argue, Sam suddenly freezes and he makes a face, "How do you know about Gandalf?"

"I read The Hobbit..." Bucky feels almost offended at being thought uncultured, "In 1937... when it first came out."

"I didn't know you could read."

Svet puffs her cheeks and slips her hands in her pockets, awkwardly glancing around the hangar. She just wants to make sure there are any other witnesses in case... something were to go down.

It's too bad Natasha is still retired; if anyone can keep them in line, it's her mamulya.

As it happens, Bucky looks nearly ready to hit him but instead sucks in a deep long breath, "There are no wizards!"

"Doctor Strange."

"—Is a sorcerer."

"Aah!" Sam cries out and chuckles to himself, grinning like a madman and pointing a finger into Bucky's chest, "A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat. Think about it! Right? I'm right. I just came up with that. It's crazy."

Bucky looks off to the side and Svet cocks her head, both trying to process this theory before Sam hurriedly shakes his head and moves on.

"Look, look, that's not the point. These guys aren't magical! They use brute force like you guys, the incredibly annoying guy and his adorable daughter in front of me with the staring problems."

Svet's eyes grow distant for a moment, picturing the person in the black mask again. There's something wrong with this, something she can't quite put her finger on. The familiarity, the fear... Whatever it is, it's enough to convince that she has to be involved in this. No matter how much she doesn't want to be.

With a nod of finality, Sam again turns and moves towards the plane waiting for him out on the airstrip. Her papa swallows a sigh, squeezes her shoulder, and then quickly begins following him.

"Well, I'm coming with you!"

"He means we're coming with you—!"

"No, you're not," Sam and Bucky say at the same time, each of them rounding on the person behind them.

Sam frowns back at Bucky while Bucky frowns back at Svet.

"Ah, please!" The girl begs, dancing towards him and grabbing onto his vibranium hand, "Nothing illegal and/or violent, Papa, I pinky promise it. Only let me join... I think I'm ready now. Maybe."

She's not, they both know she's not. That's the only reason he's putting up a fight like this. But it's not technically a mission, it's more like... a family vacation?

Her very first!

Knowing she's fighting a losing battle, she quickly points at the man further down the tarmac, "Uncle Sam would let me come, wouldn't you, Uncle Sam?"

"Hey!" Bucky gapes at her, incredulity clear in his ocean eyes.

Far ahead Sam groans in fond annoyance, slinging his bag back over his shoulder when he swivels and strides away, "Let's go!"

Neither Bucky nor Svet move, just staring at each other.

Her eyebrows scrunch and lips pucker, giving him those puppy dog eyes she hasn't used in years, "Pozhaluysta Papa?" Please Papa?

He's struggling now, that much is clear, teetering dangerously on the edge of giving in. Eyes carefully narrowed, he watches her with a clear sense of worry, "Ty budesh' v poryadke?" Are you going to be okay?

She won't lie to him. She's not the kind to keep secrets from him, not now, not ever.

Bucky can't help but think it's a shame that doesn't go both ways.

"I can... I can try to be okay." His daughter smiles a little half—heartedly before suddenly gasping as if a thought just occurred to her, "Only... don't tell Mamulya."

With that, Svetlana winks and hurriedly jogs past him, already yelling for Sam to wait for them.

Bucky has a really bad feeling about this.

━━━━━━

SVETLANA'S VERY FIRST FAMILY VACATION IS OFF TO A GREAT START.

More or less.

As an alarm blares overhead, the militarized cargo plane around them rumbles with turbulence.

The flight to Munich is painfully long, especially considering the fact that Sam and Bucky are still engaged in the strangest stare off Svetlana has ever witnessed. But at least that's distracted her papa from noticing the way Svet's been staring at the nice looking man in a military uniform currently jogging by.

"One minute to drop off, Sam!"

She's been peeking at him only very occasionally, blushing every time he talks to them. Sam introduced the military man as First Lieutenant Torres, explaining that he's his liaison and intel officer. Whatever he is, Svet doesn't really care. All she knows is that he's... well, pretty. And he's definitely not interested in her, she knows that, of course. She's barely eighteen, she's painfully inexperienced, her father is an actual assassin and her mother is a spy. Still... he said she could call him Joaquin, and she feels the strangest urge to fix her hair and sit up straight whenever he walks by.

After another round of uncomfortable staring, Sam suddenly stands, slides his goggles over his eyes, and makes for the door now open on the side of the plane.

"Um, Uncle Sam." Svet's voice seems funny to her suddenly, not at all like her own, "What is the plan?"

Sam puts in his commlink, glancing at them with a pleasant expression.

Svet raises an eyebrow.

"Great." Bucky irritatedly quips, "So no plan."

"Thirty seconds!" Torres calls over the raging wind, glancing at his watch.

"See you down there, Slugger." Sam gives them a sweet smile, "Oh, and enjoy your ride, Buck."

"No." His expression pinches, "You can't call me that."

"Why not?" Sam makes a face, looking more confused than hurt, "That's what Steve called you."

"Steve knew me longer, and Steve had a plan."

"Only sometimes." Svet points out from her place criss—crossed on the floor, shaking her head in dismay.

Now, to be clear: she does adore her uncle Steve, of course, but for the Star Spangled Man with a Plan... he didn't often have a plan. The time he jumped the two of them out of the elevator window at the SHIELD Headquarters does come to mind as an example. 

"Fifteen seconds to drop!"

Looking annoyed, Sam is striding towards the open door when he announces, "I have a plan."

"Really?!" Bucky sharply pushes himself up and extends his hands, "What is it?"

Then, without another word or glance, Sam suddenly drops out of sight.

"Great." Bucky scoffs, halfway to the door when he glances around, "Where's the 'chute?"

"We're at two hundred feet." Torres informs them, "It's too low for a 'chute."

"What do you think, Svetla?"

Bucky's lips twitch into a frown when he glances over for her opinion, but the girl just stands there, eyes flashing to Torres and lips quickly parting... only for nothing to come out. Her papa's expression turns strange — perplexed almost, glancing between his daughter and the military man before his eyes suddenly widen and his jaw tightens.

"My day just keeps gettin' better..." He grumbles, expression suddenly darker, "We don't need 'chutes anyway."

Completely unaware of the awkward situation, Torres glances between the world flying by down below and then up at her father, "You sure about that?"

Bucky, in fact, doesn't look so sure about that.

Hissing quietly to himself, he blinks quickly and tries to resist the urge to scowl at the young man, "Yeah."

Torres then quickly looks at Svet who looks even less sure about that. Seeing him look her way, she makes a so—so gesture with her hand. The lieutenant smirks, starting to like this kid.

And then, her papa rips off his sleeve and proceeds to hurl himself right out of the airplane.

In one motion, both Torres and Svet slowly lean out to watch as he plummets towards the forest below with a long scream.

Svetlana fondly sighs and rolls her eyes, "Bozhe moi."

The redhead zips together the material hanging from her sides and beneath her arms, creating the gliders that Mr. Stark made for her a while ago. He knew she wasn't going on missions anymore when he made her an updated suit, but he thought... just in case.

"That's pretty cool."

Svetlana freezes, eyes blowing wide as she snaps over to stare at Torres. She opens her mouth but still nothing comes out, and even if something could, there's nothing she can even think of anyway. She just blinks at him, floundering like a fish.

Torres, or Joaquin, raises an eyebrow.

Svetlana just stands there, wind blowing through her hair, lashes fluttering in a panic. She flashes a stressed uncomfortable smile and then, unable to handle the embarrassment for another moment, throws herself out of the plane right after him.

Her flight is, at least, a little more graceful, the gliders on her sides allowing her to cut through the air and make a running landing in the grass amongst the forest below.

After her groaning father has been located and Sam mocks him via Redwing, Svet hauls Bucky back to his feet and they're finally back on their way. They jog on through the thick green woods until Redwing leads them towards an old graffitied warehouse, only very occasionally diving in towards Bucky's head.

Svetlana suspects that this has more to do with Sam trying to annoy her papa more than anything else.

"Oh—ho—ho!" When Bucky makes a swipe, Redwing hurriedly jerks out of the way, "Don't hurt him!"

"Be nice to Redwing." Svet scolds, gently petting the metal robot that rubs against her arm like a dog would, "He and Sandwich are friends!"

Bucky just heaves a sigh before glancing awkwardly at the side of her face, "So... Are we going to talk about the whole...?"

Svet's feet fumble and she nervously bites her lip, "No, no, we can't! I can't cope. I might actually die, Papa, please let's never talk about it."

Bucky's hands raise in surrender before he gives her another lingering glance.

He shakes his head the slightest bit, wondering to himself how anyone could take a look at her and think anything other than what he sees. In his eyes, she's still a kid, still his baby. She keeps their little family together, and without her, he would probably spend the rest of his days without purpose, without meaning.

She keeps him sane. She keeps him whole.

"Not yet, Svetka, yeah?" Bucky's voice is low, his eyes soft on hers, "Just for a little longer."

The girl falters entirely, pausing in the mouth of the warehouse to fully look at him with wide shocked eyes.

Svet finally smiles a little, if a bit embarrassingly, "A little longer, Papa, I promise it."

She has her mother's smile, and it's impossible not to smile back.

Through the blue flickering light, Svetlana finally spots Sam by a half wall with his eyes focused on the holo latched around his wrist. He's actually been waiting for them rather patiently and he doesn't say anything when they arrive. Bucky and Svetlana stare past him, expressions so still and cold and eerily similar that Sam can't help but comment.

"You're both doing the staring thing again."

Svet rapidly blinks and then blinks again, suddenly realizing how dry her eyes were, having focused in on what was going on around them. She forgot what her mama said; staring is rude. For his part, Bucky just shoots an annoyed glance Sam's way.

He either doesn't notice or doesn't care, "They're in there."

Bucky glances around, "Where's the guy?"

"I don't know. I think they're smuggling weapons, though."

"Well, I think you could be right. But there's only one way to find out. I see a clear path, I say we take it."

When Bucky moves forward, Sam quickly makes him stop, "We're not assassins."

The previous assassins just look at him, and Sam visibly winces when he sees that even the Slugger is unamused.

"We'll see you inside..." Bucky's gravelled voice has lowered into a near growl, "Or not."

With that, Bucky takes Svet's hand and leads her stiffly away.

"Hey, come on, guys!" Sam weakly calls, "I'm just messing with you. Come back!"

The father and daughter carefully creep deeper into the dark warehouse, boots silent over the damp concrete, their movements perfectly in sync even after all these years.

"Look at you, Buck. All stealthy." Sam chuckles over their comms, "A little time in Wakanda and you come out White Panther!"

"It's actually White Wolf."

"Huh?"

Svet pulls them to a stop behind a rack of shelving, staring at the two men and one woman chatting and moving cargo boxes near two massive trucks that wait outside.

"All right, we're inside. Therefore, way ahead of you." Her papa snarkily tells Sam, making Svet giggle, "It's not great, but very doable."

And then all of the sudden, Sam's right there, just on the other side of Svet peering through the shelving as well. Bucky jerks back, looking first over his shoulder and then back at his face, shocked at his stealthiness.

"Hello." Her papa hisses, learning closer with a sneer, "How are you?!"

"Good! What'd I miss? Nothing."

Already exhausted, Svet heaves a sigh, "I now understand why Mama never wants to go on missions with you two."

"Sveta! Hurtful."

"Just mean—spirited."

Bucky waves her on, "All right, Svetka, let's go."

"No, wait—,"

"I got a vibranium arm." Bucky raises his fist and jerks a thumb towards the girl who awkwardly waves, "Svet's got the serum. We can take them."

"And I can fly! Who gives a sh—t?" Sam snaps back, "Wait. I want to see where they're going."

The girl puts her cheek on her fist and boredly shakes her head.

"There's two people."

"You only see two?"

"That's what I saw. "

Svetlana nearly groans, rubbing at the space between her brows where an ache is forming.

"Let me see what Redwing sees." Sam taps at the holo on his arm, "All right. Let's see what Redwing sees!"

Bucky rolls his eyes and turns quickly to his daughter, "Sveta, how many can you sense?"

"Me?" She straightens to attention, bites her lip, and squeezes her eyes closed. She draws in a slow deep breath, focusing in on the sounds, smells, and movements in the surrounding warehouse. Finally, "There's six others... or seven?"

"All right." Of course Bucky doesn't mind the correction when it comes from Svet, "So, six or seven."

"Yeah, well, from what Redwing is showing us, it looks like eight—,"

"Well, Sveta can sense that—,"

"Please stop making me compete with Redwing!" The slender redhead suddenly exclaims, glancing between them with wide eyes.

Their mouths immediately clamp shut, having the right mind to look at least a little guilty as they sigh and their shoulders droop.

The trucks' engines rumble to a start, tires scraping against the road as they pull away.

"There's an eighth person." Sam suddenly murmurs, staring down at the holo display on his arm, "I think they have a hostage."

Bucky moves immediately.

Sam and Svetlana barely have time to share a look before they're rushing after him, Sam taking to the air as Svet breaks into a sprint.

It turns out all those midnight runs on the orange—lit streets were helpful as they both sprint from the warehouse, racing through the backroads and after the heavy truck. Bucky grins at Svet as she pulls just a little ahead of him and then makes that final leap onto the back of the truck. She lands gracefully and turns back with an outstretched hand, easily pulling him up after her.

"Nice jump," he tells her with a small but proud smile.

She blushes and she doesn't have time to thank him before he's unlatching the right door off the back of the moving truck.

"Lana, you wanna—,"

"Stay here. Keep an eye out." Svetlana nods dutifully and at his appraising look, she smirks and winks, "I remember protocol, Papa."

His smile fades a little and he barely nods before slipping around and disappearing into the interior of the truck.

"They're stealing medicine." Her papa's voice crackles in her ear, "Vaccines."

Svet glances warily at the truck behind, knowing they would have a minute or less before they alerted the drivers in the first truck.

There's a bit of static before Sam responds, "Bucky, talk to us. What's goin' on?"

"Found the hostage..."

And all of the sudden her papa is hurtling out of the truck, smashing into the door she's clinging to and whipping her body around. Svetlana shrieks and just manages to stay hanging on, looking back as Bucky's body collides into the windshield of the truck behind, glass shattering at the massive impact.

He barely manages to catch himself, face twisting as he yells, "Sh—t!"

The girl grapples desperately for balance while the door flails wildly in the wind, her feet scrambling for purchase as it groans and careens back towards the truck.

"Svetlana!" Her father shouts in a wide—eyed panic, "Watch it—!"

Assailants on top of the truck behind grab his arm and yank him up out of sight just as Svet whips around just in time to come face—to—face with another redhead. As the other girl slowly pulls on a black mask with a red handprint, Svet swallows hard and forces her best smile.

"Um. Hi there?"

And then, without a second of hesitation, the girls immediately dive for one another, the older tackling Svet into the already busted windshield behind.

Each struggling for control, they throw themselves onto the top, fists and feet flying. Two Flag Smashers have roughly overpowered Bucky, restraining him between them.

"So much for nothing illegal and/or violent, yes?!"

Bucky just shoots her a look.

Svetlana snaps out a baton that immediately flickers with electricity, screaming as she brings it down onto her attacker's body. The other redhead tosses her away, flipping Svet head over heels before she seamlessly rolls back up to her feet just as Redwing swoops in from above.

And then, in an absolute tragic turn of events, the Flag Smasher snatches Redwing out of the air and smashes him over her knee.

"Ah no!" Svet gasps just as Bucky happily grins, "I always wanted to do that!"

They respond with a well—placed punch across her papa's face.

Sam sails into view, wings extended and booted feet out to kick their red—headed attacker away.

"Good of you to join the fight, Sam!"

As Bucky fights to break free and the redhead tosses Sam onto the opposite truck, one footsoldier launches through the air with a monstrous fist raised, but Svet easily slides to dodge it. With a loud shout, Bucky yanks the footsoldier away from Svet and Sam groans as he's violently pinned onto the top of white roof.

And then suddenly a red, white, and blue shield is snapping into view.

"Sam." A man in her uncle's uniform leaps down from a helicopter, taking the red—headed soldier down, "John Walker, Captain America."

Another man glides in, kicking the soldier to the opposite truck before he introduces himself, "Lemar Hoskins!"

Svet leaps to Sam's side, hand on his arm as she carefully pulls him back up. Bucky meets their eyes from across the gap, expression equally disdained.

John Walker beams between them, "Looks like you guys can use some help!"

The teen gives them one disgusted glance over before she shouts, "No, thank you!"

With that, Svetlana whirls around, throws a brutal fist into another Flag Smasher, and launches him off the back of the truck.

She tries not to watch as this false Captain America throws the shield, smacking the vibranium into the others crowding them.

Bucky catches it midair, jaw tightening before he reluctantly gives it back.

One Flag Smasher charges at her and she backhands him away, ducking underneath Sam's wings while Bucky leaps to tackle another away from them. Meanwhile, her uncle is taking on three assailants by himself. He punches one, then spins and kicks another in the neck. The fight continues along the roofs of the trucks, bodies hurling back and forth as punches are thrown.

Svet can't help but notice that fight is even.

Too even.

Something's very familiar and very, very wrong.

Accidentally smacked by the edge of Sam's metal wing, Bucky topples over the edge of the truck, vibranium arm digging into the metal siding, desperately trying to catch himself. Svetlana sprints forward, watching with wide panicked eyes as her papa screams, looking far too close to the dangerously spinning tires.

"Papa—!"

Svet watches in horror as a Flag Smasher tries kicking at her father's arm, trying to break his already weakening grip. Car horns blaring all around them, the girl drops onto her stomach and strains to reach. Her fingers grasp desperately at empty air before she yells in frustration.

"Uncle Sam, I can't reach him!"

She whips around, but her eyes widen when she sees Sam being shoved straight over the side.

She's all alone now.

Out of nowhere, another Flag Smasher attacks and slams a boot into her ribcage, sending her sprawling across the roof. The teen grasps her aching abdomen, coughing and gasping as the other redhead kicks Walker over her head and off the back of the truck. Svet's still trying to catch her breath when the other redhead pounces onto her, knees crushing her into shoulders and hands pulling her up just to crash her down again.

Svet's head snaps into the metal roof, pain immediately bursting in the back of her mind. Vision swirling, Svet struggles to see her attacker launch towards her, but Svet's hand flies up just in time to catch her fist mid—flight.

Through the black mask, the woman's eyes look sharply her way.

Svet grins.

Flying alongside the truck, Sam wears a massive grin, "That little girl kicked your a—!"

Bucky just screams.

In one foul swoop, Sam sweeps under the cars and tackles Bucky straight out midair, smacking into the hard earth as they tumble and roll. Still on top of the truck, Svet spins around to gasp and watch them sail out of view.

The last remaining Flag Smashers back her onto the very edge of the truck roof, her feet slipping back until there's no more room to go. Walker and his partner, Hoskins, are all but useless to her. She's really all alone now... Her boots teeter dangerously on the edge, the sensation shooting a frigid chill up her spine.

The memories come back full force, flashes of it spreading across her blurring vision.

The urge to jump was far too strong.

There was something so hypnotizing about standing on the edge of the world, the weighty scale between life and death, that tantalizing temptation to fall. To feel weightless, to feel all that terrible guilt lift from her shoulders until her spine hit the ground with a vicious snap. 

"Let me go."

Svetlana makes a wild sloppy swing with her baton but a footsoldier grabs her thrown fist, wrenches it painfully to the side, and then slams a boot straight into the center of her chest, launching her violently off the back of the truck. The girl shrieks as she soars through the air, only for her spine to hit the ground with a vicious snap. Skidding along the rough black concrete, the girl finally rolls to a painful halt.

The trucks scream forward in the distance, driving away with no chance at being stopped now.

Not if it's left in the hands of this 'New Captain America', anyway.

They failed.

Groaning, Svetlana rolls onto her stomach and shakes the dizziness from her head. Red hair falls into her face and she huffs, blowing it from her eyes in annoyance. Painfully propping herself up, she forces her body into a jog back down the road until she can spot her father and uncle having rolled on top of one another in the middle of some pretty meadow.

"Hey, hey!" Svet jogs towards them, "This is no time for the cuddling!"

Their glares are so filled with rage that she's surprised she doesn't fall down dead on the spot.

Svetlana tries not to giggle.

━━━━━━

"SORRY ABOUT REDWING."

Svetlana walks between her two men, hands buried dejectedly in her pockets. The loss of Redwing is almost as sad as losing those supersoldiers. After they picked themselves out of the dirt, they figured they had no other choice but to just make their way to the airstrip to meet Torres. Turns out, it's a much longer walk than any of them expected.

"No, you're not." Sam is too smart to believe the lie, "Slugger, do me a favor, tell me what's going on in that big cyborg brain of his."

Sam's just trying to cheer her up, she can tell. They all know that she gets attached to things easily, and losing anything with any type of meaning hurts more than it rightfully should. Svet supposes that having grown up with nothing means that everything she has now just means twice as much.

Svet cracks a smile and Bucky just deadpans, "It's computing."

"You know what? I can actually see it!" Sam chuckles, bumping the teen with his hip, "I can see the gears turning. Oh, they're malfunctioning, shutting down. Yep, they're on fire—!"

Despite everything, the girl finds herself actually giggling, "I missed you, Uncle Sam."

"Aw, well, I missed you too, Slugger."

"We gotta figure out where the serum's coming from."

"Yeah." Sam agrees, voice growing sharp at the overall situation, "And how in the h—ll after eighty years are there eight supersoldiers runnin' loose?"

Svetlana's legs stop working. They freeze up without warning and she's left nearly falling over at the sudden halt, her feet refusing to take another step. It's only a few steps later that the men realize she's stopped, both turning to give her looks of confusion. 

"Lana?" Bucky takes a step closer, "Darlin', hey, you okay?"

She just looks between them, her throat impossibly tight. Her lips open but nothing will work it's way out, the words caught somewhere between her brain and her mouth. Unable to stand another second of their stares that are growing more concerned with each passing second, she looks down at her scarred pale hands fumbling in front of her.

The fight was so equally matched, their skills all so familiar. It had felt so strange to be combatting people who seemed to know her moves before she made them, who could fight at her level.

The serum... her serum... what if—

"I think I know—,"

With a honk of a horn, a green military truck suddenly pulls up ahead of them and glides to a stop. None other than John Walker and his partner sit in the back of the truck, grinning back at them.

"So." Walker starts, opening the back door for them to hop in, "That didn't go as planned, huh?"

Sam and Bucky start walking without sparing him a singular glance. Svet, on the other hand, gives him her most withering stare before lifting her chin and continuing on between her father and uncle.

"Okay. Let's keep going." Walker awkwardly shuts the back door once again and the truck keeps rolling alongside them, "Look, at least we know what we're up against now, huh? And we're pretty sure it's one of the Big Three, so..."

"Aliens, androids, or wizards?"

"That's not a thing!" Svet suddenly cuts in, completely changing her story from when she agreed with her uncle not two hours ago.

Svetlana would literally rather have her fingernails pulled than agree with the likes of John Walker. Which is convenient because she has actually had her fingernails pulled before. She blinks quickly and refocuses on the conversation, finding none other than the man himself still talking.

"All right, well." Walker is sighing and shrugging, "Then we gotta work together!"

"That's not happening," Bucky replies flatly.

He didn't give up, "I think we stand a much better chance if we all just—,"

"Just 'cause you carry that shield, it doesn't mean you're Captain America!"

"Look, I've done the work, okay?"

Painfully unimpressed, Svetlana raises a skeptical brow, "Save the universe at least two times, then come speak to us, yes?"

Walker looks shocked for a second, "Excuse me?"

"You're excused," she tells him sweetly.

Bucky smirks and squints at the man, "You ever jump on top of a grenade?"

"Yeah. Actually, I have. Four times. It's a thing I do with my helmet, it's a reinforced helmet, it's a long story, but, anyway..." Walker's smirk falls so that he can heave a sigh, "Look, it's twenty miles to the airport. You guys need a ride!"

With a bit more grumbling, they eventually seat themselves into the back of the truck. Svet finds herself squished between her father and uncle on either side, legs bunched up and arms grouchily crossed over her chest. Bucky has a hand resting on the top of her knee, looking almost protective in the face of these strangers.

They've come to that agreement again, the one where they won't speak unless necessary. It's what always happens when met with potential threats; another protocol, another lesson learned.

"Okay." Walker begins seriously, acting as if he's the one in charge, "So, we've got eight supersoldiers on a bulk supply run... Why?"

Unlike the father and daughter at his side, Sam allows himself to actually engage, "They say their mission is to get things back to the way it was during The Blip. Maybe they're just trying to help?"

"They got a funny way of showing it," Bucky grumbles.

She shoots a half—smile his way, but she can't help but wonder if Uncle Sam has a point...

"That serum doesn't exactly have a great track record." Walker's eyes dart to Bucky, nonchalant when he shrugs, "No offense."

Svetlana's expression turns cold and hard, that deadly look that her therapist warned her about flooding back her pale blue eyes. John Walker, she refuses to call him anything even close to Captain America, begins to look a bit uncomfortable under the unrelenting stare of the eighteen year old girl.

Without looking away, she asks, "Ty khochesh', chtoby ya izbil etogo cheloveka radi tebya?" Do you want me to beat up this man for you?

Her father smirks but stays silent.

"Uh." Walker raises a brow, "What's she saying?"

Svet was teaching Sam a bit of Russian while on the run all those years ago, and so it would be quite easy for him to give a translation.

And yet, "Well, why don't you ask her yourself?" Her uncle raises an eyebrow, "Pretty sure she knows how to speak for herself."

John Walker glances at her from the corner of his eye. Svetlana's icy expression doesn't change.

"Why's a kid involved in something like this, anyway?" Walker's narrowed gaze dart towards Bucky, a tinge of judgement flashing across his face, "Shouldn't she (of all people) be away from stuff like this now?"

Something violent stirs in Bucky's ocean eyes, "Talk about how to raise my kid again."

Sam blinks, Svetlana's eyes widen, and Hoskins awkwardly whistles.

"Okay, then..." Walker clears his throat, shifting uncomfortably, "Well, we need to figure out where they're going."

"How'd you track 'em here? The Flag Smashers?"

"Uh, no." Hoskins looks almost apologetic, awkwardly squinting and scratching the back of his neck, "We didn't track them, we tracked you, uh, through Redwing."

Svet has decided that she doesn't mind Lemar Hoskins so much; he seems reasonable and he has a level head, although a bad taste in friends.

Unfortunately, Sam doesn't share her sentiment at the moment, "You hacked my tech?!"

"Sorry. It's not exactly hacking. It's government property." Walker chuckles a little, motioning towards himself with a pleased smirk, "Kind of the government."

Still not looking away, Svet hisses, "Potomu chto ya polnost'yu pob'yu etogo cheloveka dlya tebya." Because I will totally beat up this man for you.

Her father lowly warns, "Ne soblaznyay menya." Don't tempt me.

"Do they always just stare like that?"

Neither Bucky nor Svet look away.

"You get used to it," Sam replies defensively, uncomfortable with the idea of anyone but himself making fun of the Barnes.

"Okay, look." Walker clears his throat and eventually , "You know, things have gotten kind of, uh..."

"Chaotic," his partner offers with an assured nod.

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

"Reactivating citizenship, social security, healthcare. Basically just managing resources for the refugees who were displaced by the return."

"The Global Repatriation Council does all that. I get that." Sam cuts in with a sturdy voice, "So why exactly are you two here?"

"Well, they provide the resources and we keep things stable."

"Yeah," Walker agrees, "Violent revolutionaries aren't usually good for anyone's cause."

"Usually said by the people with the resources," Sam points out, glancing Svet and Bucky's way.

"Well, we got a lot of resources. If you guys, if you joined up with us, we could—,"

"No." Bucky's voice is stern, leaving no room for argument.

"I got mad respect for all of y'all. But you were gettin' your a—es kicked 'til we showed up."

Bucky squints at him, "Who are you?"

Svet leans over, whispering, "He said he's Lemar Hoskins, Papa."

Sam is unimpressed, "Look, I see a guy hanging out of a helicopter in tactical gear, I need a lot more than Lemar Hoskins."

"I'm Battlestar." Hoskins replies simply, "John's partner."

"'Battlestar'?" Bucky repeats in absolute disbelief.

Svet shakes her head in dismay. Another lame made up name.

"Stop the car!" Her father suddenly roars.

Before the truck has fully even rolled to a stop, he hops out before turning around and setting his hands on Svet's hips to help her out after him. When her boots hit the solid pavement, they immediately start down the side path towards the airstrip.

"Look, I... I get it, okay? I get the attitude, I do." Walker calls at their turned backs, voice growing louder with each word, "You didn't think that the shield was gonna end up here! I get it, Bucky!"

"You don't call him that!" Svet suddenly snaps, feeling a little petulant as she jabs a finger towards him.

Bucky simply puts an arm around her shoulders and pulls her into his side.

"I'm... I'm not trying to be Steve. I'm not trying to replace Steve. I'm just trying to be the best Captain America I can be. That's it." Walker turns and meets Sam's eyes, brows curving up, "It'd be a whole lot easier if I had Cap's wingmen (and uh, wing—girl?) on my side."

Svetlana whirls around and shakes a tiny fist in his direction, "Why I oughta..."

"All right, all right," Bucky gently takes her hand and leads her onward, refusing to look back.

Even Sam has had more than enough, standing with an annoyed scoff, "It's always that last line."

And then they turn their backs on the 'New Captain America' and they walk away.

━━━━━━ annie speaks ━━━━━━

okay, okay, so i had big plans to do the entirety of episode two in this chapter, BUT then it would've literally been 12,000 words and that's just illegal. ANYWAY,, Wowowow hopefully this one isn't toooo boring, the next one has SO MUCH EMOTION and this one is mostly action. still, svet, bucky, and sam are THE chaotic trio until natasha arrives to supervise... which will happen soon (hehehe so excited!!)

(also, don't fret about torres and svetti, she just has a lil baby crush mostly because i kinda wanted to show that she likes peter more than just because of a lack of options lol, don't worry, sveter is totally endgame)

anyway, i don't have much else to say but here are some questions for you: notice the hints? the foreshadowing? any theories? worries?

NOW STAY TUNED FOR AN UDPATE LATER THIS WEEK featuring one awkward therapy session, a natasha romanoff roast session (lol john walker sucks), and lots of sad moments — hooray!!

now, funny thingamabob time: