POV: Bucky

By the time I react, the doors are already closed. I swear, hitting the elevator wall. I consider going back so we don't leave without her, but she's right. I have to get our son to a safe place before coming back for her.

Her sacrifice must not be in vain.

"I want mama..."

"Your mama is amazing, buddy. I'm not gonna let her in there, I promise." I take off my glove and run my thumb under his eyes to wipe away his tears. "It'll be over soon." I kiss his forehead. "No one will hurt you anymore."

The elevator halts its ascent and the doors open two floors too early. Three men burst inside. I quickly disarm them and send one flying out before the doors close again.

I hold my son firmly against me, shielding him with one arm and fighting with the other. The fear of hurting him slows my reactivity and my moves, but I manage to knock one of them out.

"What the-" A voice exclaims behind me.

I glance over my shoulder to see a sight as surprising as it is unexpected. My little boy is holding off the remaining attacker, both hands on his face. Two of his fingers have slipped into a nostril and two more into an eye, while his other hand is clutching the mouth. The poor man tries unsuccessfully to get him to let go.

"Stop, bad man!" My son cries with his childlike voice.

"You, stop!" The mobster complains painfully.

"I'll take it from here, thanks kiddo."

I grab the man by the collar and slam him against the wall.

"Dude, what kind of kid is this?" He groans in Russian, rubbing his jaw.

"My kid." I reply with a touch of pride before sending him off to join his mate on the floor.

I shift their unconscious bodies with the tip of my foot, careful to keep them out of my little boy's sight.

"I wonder how I'm going to tell your mom about this." I say, ruffling his hair. "Well done, buddy."

I'm impressed by his courage. No wonder he gave Sharon's men a hard time. I can only hope he won't fight like that with his mother and me if he doesn't agree with his bath or bedtime.

Once we reach the top floor, I find my way to the roof. I roll my eyes at the bodies Zemo has undoubtedly left in his wake. I take a quick scan of the surrounding area and consider the possible ways out. My options are rather limited. With my baby in my arms, I can't just jump without thinking.

I feel a shadow fall behind me and turn around. A giant starry bird has just landed a few feet from us.

"Sam!"

"I was just coming to get you. How did you manage to sneak out?"

"Believe it or not, Zemo helped us. I don't know what she said to him, but this was definitely out of character."

"Isn't the guy supposed to be in prison? And where is..."

"She's still in there. She sacrificed herself for him—for us. This woman is amazing, but stubborn as hell."

"It does sound like her." He sighs, running a hand over his face.

"Sharon..."

"I know. She came back and put on quite an act, but I had a feeling something wasn't quite right. I still don't know how long she's been playing both sides and why she joined them, but she'd better have-"

"Actually, she didn't join them. She hired them. She's the one who runs everything." I clench my teeth, still trying to swallow it. "She's the Power Broker."

"The Power Brok-" Sam's eyes widen as he processes the news. "I can't believe it! We got her a pardon, only for her to continue her criminal activities and attack your family?"

"You have no idea how much I'm dying to discuss this with you, but we should get going before more of her men show up."

I entrust his godson to Sam and let him take the skyway while I climb down the facade. I catch up with them without too much trouble on the other side of the surrounding wall, and we then head for the compound. It's going to be a long night.

I update Sam on the latest events and we come to the same conclusion: it's both pointless and reckless to try anything on our own. We need backup.

"Let me do the assembling job." Sam tells me. "You should use this time to get some rest, I'll let you know when they get here."

"Are you sure?"

"Look at this little guy. You'd better follow his example."

I glance at my son, who's dozing on my shoulder. I couldn't bring myself to let go of him. It's not like he would have let me put him down anyway.

I sit on a couch and rest my head on the backrest. I stare at the ceiling, unable to close my eyes. How could I allow myself a moment of rest when she's still out there, on her own, in the hands of Sharon and her minions?

An all-too-familiar feeling of guilt threatens to resurface. I sweep away this old companion as I look down at my little boy. Though his features are relaxed and his sleep seems peaceful, his hand is still clutching my collar. I wrap my arms around him, resting my hand on his head to make him feel safe. Before I know it, my breathing matches his.

"Um, Buck? You've got some visitors." I vaguely hear Sam's voice.

I look up at him and realize I've dozed off. As my eyes adjust, the shapes against the light sharpen. Are those spears?

Great. The Dora Milaje.

I doubt they've come to offer their help or to pay a courtesy call. I adjust my position, taking care not to wake up my son.

"Nice to see you, Ayo."

"Zemo has escaped. Again." She says coldly, without any formality.

"Don't look at me like that, I have nothing to do with it—this time. I mean, not exactly."

"What do you know?"

"I've got an idea where you might find him. Our interests may be aligned on this one. I don't suppose you've brought Black Panther with you?"

Just because Zemo spared my family's life in an act of kindness doesn't mean I have to protect him. He's still a terrorist who belongs in prison.

We hear a small cough and turn our heads towards the door.

"Everyone has arrived." Sam shyly tells us from the doorway.

"Perfect, let's get started. Ladies, please." I stand up and invite them to go first, not without receiving a glare from Ayo.

We follow Sam to another meeting room. I'm surprised he's chosen the most spacious one—until I hear the noise coming from it.

I pause on the doorstep. There are far more people than I expected.

"You good?" Sam asks.

"Who are all these folks?"

"In addition to Hawkeye, Tic-Tac and the Wasp who've recovered from yesterday, you have Hawkeye junior, Cassandra Lang, Thor who's come with his daughter and his buddy Valkyrie, Daredevil and Luke Cage, Hulk who's also brought his kid and his cousin with him (the tall green one next to the window flirting with Daredevil), Peter Quill and Rocket his raccoon (they told me to excuse the other former guardians who are somewhere in space), Kamala Khan and Monica Rambeau (some kind of Captain Marvel students, if I understood correctly) and Spiderman. Oh, and Fury and Maria Hill are sending us a team over there. If you think you can convince your Wakandan friends to join us, that'll complete the crew."

"Wow. That's a lot of people. But why..."

"We heroes look after our own." Sam answers before I can find my words. "Although I didn't expect that many of them would bring their friends and family."

I scan the room, touched to see how many people have come. "Let's hope they won't get bored."

"Don't worry, I think there'll be enough bad guys to keep everyone busy. I also asked Pepper and Happy if they were up for a bit of babysitting."

"If it were up to me, I wouldn't let him out of my sight for a single minute. But what kind of father would I be if I took him into the fight?"

"Guess we won't talk about Thor, Bruce or Tic-Tac. You'll see if you can stop him when your boy turns into a teenager."

"Given his performance in the elevator, I'm afraid he won't wait that long. Can't say I'm looking forward to it. It's hard enough to keep them alive, now they have to make it even harder for us."

Sam lets out a laugh and smacks my shoulder before walking in. I step in after him, feeling a surge of hope as I make my way through this unique assembly. The room falls silent and Sam lets me start.

"Thank you all for coming. For those who don't know me, I'm Bucky Barnes. I'm an old friend of Captain Steve Rogers. If we need you today, it's for more than just a rescue mission. What's at stake here is much bigger, because the Power Broker is involved. She kidnapped my wife and my son in order to recreate the super-soldier serum and sell it to the highest bidder. Not only is this our chance to arrest her, it's also our chance to stop any other criminals who might be out there."

"Did you say she?" Clint remarks.

My son wakes up on my shoulder and starts wriggling. I'm surprised he's slept this long; he must have been really exhausted. He inspects the room with his now wide-open eyes, tightening his grip on my arm as he looks at the crowd. I motion to Sam to take over the speech while I gently rock him.

"The Power Broker could be Sharon Carter, a former SHIELD agent now working for the CIA. The full extent of her betrayal is not yet known, but she will have to answer for her actions."

Shocked whispers echo Sam's revelations.

"We'll have to deal not only with her men but also with the Russian mobsters she's hired. Some of our old enemies may be there too. While we can anticipate the Russians' methods thanks to those of you who have already confronted them, we have no precise estimate of the number of men employed by Sharon and their modus operandi."

A cry of protest interrupts Sam, drawing all attention to the little one squirming in my arms. He's obviously recovered all his energy and now wants to stretch his legs.

"Sorry." I apologize, having no choice but to release him.

"We cannot let her get away." Sam concludes with a smirk.

A murmur of approval spreads across the room. Keeping an eye on my little boy as he wanders around the room, I explain the rest of the plan and the technical details.

By the time we finish, I find him melting the hearts of a group of young girls.

"Aw, he's so cute! Have you seen those eyes?"

"He has his father's eyes, they're so beautiful!"

"You want to grab my hand? Ow, my finger! Well, that's some strength!"

Sam nudges me. "This little guy knows how to charm the ladies. I wonder who he gets that from."

I shrug at his wink and step forward to catch my son before he hurts one of our young heroines.

"Looks like it's time for a diaper change, buddy. Ladies."

"You knew dads could be that attractive?" One of them whispers to her friends as I walk away.

That damn overdeveloped hearing can definitely be a hell of a curse. Of course, Sam, chatting with Thor right next to the group, didn't miss the confidence either. He laughs at the look on my face and a 'told ya' forms on his lips.

Once changed and cleaned up, I entrust my son to Pepper and Happy, not without a twinge of anxiety. I trust them, of course, but keeping him away from me doesn't cost me any less. Separation seems just as difficult for him. Perhaps I should have advised Pepper to wear her armor.

One last kiss and cuddle later, I go back to Sam, who's supervising the boarding of the ships.

"Thank you, Sam." I say, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Steve would be proud of you."

"Just like he'd be proud of you."

"By the way, keep this to yourself for now, but I'm going to be a dad for the second time."

Before he has time to react, I get into one of the craft ready for take-off. I watch him shake his head with a little grin as he steps onto the ramp of the other one.

No sooner have I taken my seat on board than a familiar raccoon sits next to me.

"Hi, old man. I never thanked you for the arm."

"So that was you? Do you have any idea how hard it was to replace it after you stole it?"

"Don't give a damn. It was a hell of a Christmas present."