Iowa

Another bale of hay lands on the truck.  The farm hand who just tossed it returns for another and catches Piper, the farmer's daughter, watching him.

"I could use a hand, you know," he says, hurling the next one onto the truck.

"I quite like the view, thanks," she says with a laugh.

He sighs.  "Well, thank you.  But I really do need a hand.  Can you move the truck?"

"Oh, yeah, sure." Piper jumps into the truck and pulls it forward so he can toss the next few bales in. "Is that alright?" He doesn't respond. "Rick?"

He puts down his bottle, water stuck to his mustache. "Yeah, that's great. Thanks, Piper."

She kills the engine and drops back down out of the truck.

After a few more bales, the blond farm hand reaches for his water again. As he tips it back, something hits his arm.  Water splashes all down his front and soaks his beard.

Bewildered, he looks up.  A tiny airplane-like thing is hovering in front of him.

"Redwing?"

"What is that?" Piper asks.

"It's Redwing!"  A man walks out from behind the hay bales.  "Steve, we need you."

"Steve?" Piper asks in disbelief. She squints at his face. "That's Falcon? Right?  So you're Steve Rogers? As in Captain America Steve Rogers?"

Steve sighs. "When did Tony let you out?"

"Today." Sam Wilson shrugs. "I guess he wanted to use the prison for something else other than former teammates."

"Where are everyone else?"

"Well, Wanda and Scott are in the car. Tony and Parker are off on some adventure. Same with Nat, Rhodes, and T'Challa. Clint's probably at home, and Banner is nowhere to be found." Redwing attaches itself back to Sam's wings.

"Where's Bucky? Is he still in Wakanda?" Steve asks.

"That's the difficult part. He's gone, and I'm pretty sure Tony's out for revenge."

Steve curses, and Sam opens his mouth to chastise him. "Don't even."

"So you are the Captain America, right?" Piper asks again.

"Yes, Piper."

"Dear God," she exclaims, touching her lips. "I've made out with Captain America."

"I've given up that title," he says quietly.

She doesn't hear. "How come you don't have your shield?"

"I gave it up, with the title."

She doesn't hear that either. "This does explain the extreme strength."

Steve looks to Sam. "I'm going to go pack. Meet me at the farmhouse in ten."

"Roger that." His remark earns him a glare and he chuckles as he leaves.

The former Captain runs down the lane to the farmhouse, gives the farmer notice that he has to leave. "Family emergency," he rushes, before packing as quickly as he can.

Wanda has the shotgun seat, so Steve climbs in the back, next to Scott. Apparently, his six months in prison did not dampen his excitement over knowing the man who pinched Hitler in the face a few hundred times personally. He grabs Steve's shoulder and shakes it in an attempt at familiarity.

The blond forces a smile.

"What's with the beard?" Wanda asks, peering at him through the mirror on the back of her shade.

"Easy disguise."

"It worked pretty well," Sam lauds. "If I hadn't known you for so long, I wouldn't have been able to recognize you at all."

"That was the idea." He shifts in his seat. "So why isn't Vision off with Tony? Or here, since he's so infatuated with Wanda?"

"You've become pretty bitter," Sam warns.

"That's what happens when most of your friends are in an underwater prison and one is in cryo. Or was, anyway."

"Vision, from what I've overheard, was banned from missions because of what he did to Rhodey." Sam pauses. "Too much of a liability."

Steve doesn't say what he wants to say, that he's glad that out of the two, Rhodey had been hit, because his suit protected him better than Sam's ever would. Instead, he nods. "Makes sense. You can't really shoot a teammate out of the air, accident or not, and expect to not have repercussions."

Wanda looks out the window.  Sam focuses on the road.  Scott fiddles with his hands.

"So where is Bucky then?" Steve asks.

"All that Tony told us when he had us released was that HYDRA took him, and that he and Parker were off to track him down," Sam explains.

"He's going to kill him, isn't he?"

"Probably."  The Falcon looks in the rear view mirror at his friend's face.

Then he turns sharply to the left, towards New York.

"Where are we going?" Wanda asks, nursing her bumped head.

"We're going to get Steve's shield."

Steve smiles for the first time.

"Does that mean I get my suit back?" Scott asks.

"I don't know. Tony might have dissected it for science."

The Ant Man curses under his breath.

"Language," Steve quips.

Sam bursts out laughing.  "There he is!"

The blond snorts and lays his head back on the seat, trying to get a bit of sleep in on the many-hour drive.