Wakanda, August 11, 2016

Steve impatiently waited for the aircraft carrying Shuri, Natasha, and Sam to touch down on the landing platform. It had entered Wakandan airspace a few minutes ago, so they should arrive any moment. He was eager to speak with them. With some luck, they'd stuck around Lucas' place long enough to learn what prompted the reaction he gave during their video call. But that was probably wishful thinking. Lucas knew how to handle people, but more importantly, he knew when they were trying to handle him. It's what had made him the perfect union rep.

"T'Challa, how is he?" Steve contacted Black Panther over the comms to check on Bucky.

"Quiet," replied T'Challa. "He had a few migraine attacks during the night, but it appears to be under control for now."

"I'll send Romanoff to take over once I've spoken with her. She seems to have the best handle on him."

"I will await her arrival."

Steve gave a weary sigh as he ended their connection and rubbed his eyes. It was just one thing after another piling up, threatening to crush him. With every new thing they learned, a new set of questions arose. Not just around Nemesis, but also his sister.

Dammit, Evy, what did ya get yourself into? What happened between you and Bucky? How serious were you two? And since when? Did it start during your time with HYDRA? After? Before? We were so close, and yet I never knew about any of this.

He gazed up at the sun peeking up on the horizon. The sky was aflame with yellow, orange, and red. The warm hues welcoming the new day reminded Steve of Evelyn. Not just because she'd made it a pesky habit of either leaving or entering the house at the crack of dawn, but also because she'd been a comforting ray of sunshine to him even before birth, crazy as that may sound. With Evelyn around, Steve had never felt lonely. Nor weak. Nor little. But since waking up from his icy slumber, that was all the brave and inspiring Captain America felt.
A tear fell from Steve's eye. He had failed her. The one person who had shared everything with him. His pain and happiness, his heart and soul, his entire life. Well, he wouldn't fail her now.

I won't stop until I sort this out, Evy. And if anyone had a hand in your death, I'll make them pay. I'll be your avenger. I swear it.

The humming of the vibranium-powered aircraft broke Steve's chain of thought. He hurriedly brushed his tears away as the pick-shaped craft landed smoothly on the platform. The door opened, the walkway extended, and the passengers were the first to disembark.
For two people who flew back and forth through several time zones in less than twenty-four hours, Natasha and Sam appeared remarkably awake. But as they approached him, Steve noticed theirs concerned expressions. His chest tightened.

"Do I wanna know?" he asked, already dreading their answer.

The pair exchanged a glance and, upon Sam's nod, Natasha handed Steve a picture frame. His eyes widened at the two smiling people in the photo. It couldn't be.

"It was on a side table in Lucas' living room," Natasha explained. "I swiped it after he asked us to leave. We don't really know what to make of it."

"I don't believe this," said Steve. "How the hell do those two know each other?"

Just when he thought things couldn't possibly get even more complicated...

"I am sorry to be the bearer of more ill news, Captain." They all turned their attention to Shuri as she joined them, her trusty tablet in hand. "You asked me to look into a biological connection between our prisoner and Margaret Carter. It took some time before the AI found Agent Carter's information, but I can confirm with a hundred percent certainty they are not genetically related."

"Dammit." Steve groaned. "I mean, thank you for looking into that. I suppose I should be relieved, but it's just another wall we've crashed into."

"No, come on, man, don't be like that," said Sam. "There are still other avenues to pursue here. I mean, let's think about all of this logically for a minute. Who or what is the one constant between you, Bucky, Peggy, and Lucas? What or who connects all of you, both in the past and present?"

Steve furrowed his brow in thought. The past was easy to deduce, but the present? Surely Sam couldn't mean...

"You're suggesting a connection between my sister and Nemesis?"

"Why not?" said Sam. "We know Nemesis spent time in cryostasis, so would it really be that much of a stretch? The test Shuri did said Nemesis shares fifty percent of your DNA, which is the correct ratio for a child versus a parent, but I don't think we should dismiss Evelyn."

"Them being twins doesn't change the statistics, Sam," Natasha joined in the discussion. "Not unless they..."

She fell silent, eyes lingering on Steve. A gasp fell from her lips then.

"Go on, Romanoff," prompted Sam with a sly smirk. "Finish your thought."

"It's incredibly rare, but... it does happen," she mused aloud.

"By Bast." Shuri's eyes widened in excitement. "You are suggesting Captain Rogers and Evelyn are monozygotic twins?"

"We're what now?" The word sounded like something from an alien movie to Steve.

"Identical twins," she elaborated, "conceived from a single egg who share the same genetic information. But such twins are usually of the same gender. The chances of it being a boy and a girl are astronomically small — zero point zero one percent, to be exact. Yet it would explain certain things. The health issues you suffered through as a child, for example. The many diseases, your lack of weight, short stature... Identical twins are identical in genes, but not in gene expressions, and one, if not both, is much more susceptible to certain illnesses and conditions."

"Okay... I still don't understand how that relates to Evelyn and Nemesis."

"It is quite simple, Captain. If you and Evelyn are truly identical twins, your DNA will match hers to practically a full one hundred percent. A child takes half their DNA from the father and half from the mother. If you had a child, that child would not only have that ratio with you but also..."

"Also with my sibling," understood Steve. "Because we're the same."

"Give the man a price, he guessed it." Sam grinned widely at him.

"Yes, but the theory still leaves us with the same problem," said Shuri. "We cannot tell which sibling is a parent to Nemesis because the genetic material is identical. Only the other person she shares DNA with will clarify that conundrum."

"Okay, so we focus on finding out if Evelyn was with someone after she busted out of HYDRA. Even people who fall off the grid leave some sort of trail. And thanks to the picture Romanoff swiped, we know Lucas is involved. We check him out as well, cross reference what we find, and the moment we hit a match, boom! Mystery solved."

Sam made a little fist-pump in the air, celebrating his deductions. But the victory was short-lived. He was forgetting one important thing, which Steve was forced to remind him of. "Coroner's report said Evy didn't have any children, Sam."

"Cap, with everything organizations like the SSR and S.H.I.E.L.D. do, can you honestly tell me we shouldn't even consider the possibility that some, if not all, of that info could have been forged in order to protect the kid? Evelyn's belongings were kept under lock and key by order of Agent Carter and Howard Stark. Nemesis was their top secret project. Am I really the only one who's putting two and two together here?"

Steve let out a deep breath. He hung his head and placed his hands on his hips, pondering his options. The theory was as good as any they'd explored so far. It was also the only one they currently had. What did they have to lose?

"I know you're all probably dead-tired," he said, "but we're gonna have to divide and conquer if we wanna figure this out."

"Never mind that. We can sleep when we're six feet under," said Sam. "Just run the plan by us."

"All right. Shuri, can you try to get a full read on Nemesis's genetics? Run all diagnostics and every test you can think of, and compare everything to me. The slightest difference can be important, so dismiss nothing. Sam, I need you to do a background check on Lucas. Find out everything you can about him from the moment he left Brooklyn. Leave no stone unturned. Romanoff, you keep a watch on Bucky. Make sure he keeps reading Evelyn's journal, even if it hurts. And look at her letters for me, especially the ones she got from Lucas. His reaction to Bucky told us everything and nothing, and you might see something I don't."

"It's not gonna be easy since Evelyn crossed out more than half the sentences on each of those letters, but I know a trick or two," said Natasha. "What about you? What's your move?"

"I'm gonna have another talk with Nemesis," answered Steve.

"You sure you can handle her alone? Last time didn't end so well."

"Maybe not. But I don't plan on letting it go that far. We ready to do this?"

They all nodded in unison and went their separate ways to set about their task. Steve made his way back to his room, the frame clutched tightly in his hand. Despite showing confident determination in front of the others, he was as anxious as back when he went out to search for Bucky and the missing soldier of the 107th in Austria in 1943. The gnawing feeling of looming failure, disappointment, and even danger caused the super-soldier to enter a state of mind he rarely allowed himself to get into. But if he had any hope of beating Nemesis at her game, he had to play his own. She was going to tell him what he wanted to know, one way or another.

***

The moment the Dora Milaje left the room, Nemesis readied herself. If her guards were being ordered to stand down and vacate the premises, it could only mean one of two things — she was about to be challenged... or eliminated.
The young assassin remained seated on her knees, her eyes on the door. She flinched when the lights above her dimmed. The electric blue glow from the containment shield brightened. What were the Wakandans up to?

The door opened. To her astonishment, it wasn't the Crown Prince entering, nor any of his direct subordinates, or his sister. It wasn't Black Widow, the only one who sometimes dispelled the boredom of her imprisonment, either. It was none other than the one and only Captain America in all his glory.
The uniform he hadn't worn since his fight with Iron Man once again adorned his muscled body. Even she had to admit it looked good on him. The only thing missing was his shield. It didn't appear as though the Wakandans had given him a new one. But maybe he didn't need that thing anymore.

Something about his expression put every instinct Nemesis had on high alert. A darkness and raw power she didn't know Rogers could possess radiated from him, similar to that of the Winter Soldier. Until this very moment, Nemesis hadn't once believed it possible that Captain America could knowingly and willingly kill someone out of a battle scenario. Yet the fear that crept inside made her wonder — no, worry — if he was indeed capable of such a thing. Was Erskine's serum not that much different from the HYDRA-serum, after all?
The young woman eyed Rogers cautiously as he halted before her. If the clenched jaw and typical soldier-stance were any indicator, Nemesis would've said he seemed tense. Her eyes caught something at the side of his body — a tablet. She believed she saw an image on it but couldn't be certain. Whatever it was, she couldn't let it shake her. Not again. The chess match had been a serious miscalculation, and she wouldn't allow Captain America to best her. Nothing would keep her from her mission.

"No chess this time?" she taunted. "Or ya got another game in mind? Cards, maybe? It'd be interesting to play with my feet instead of my hands, but not the most difficult thing I've done."

"I think we've played enough games," reacted Rogers. "Time for you to start talkin'. What is your relation to Margaret Carter?"

"This again?" Nemesis tsk-ed in annoyance. "I told you before, name doesn't ring a bell."

"If that were true, you wouldn't have lashed out the way you did when I was last in here."

The assassin pursed her lips. He was trying to coax her into admitting she knew Peggy. Well, it wouldn't work.

"Nothing? Fine, let's try something else," said Rogers. "What's your relation to Howard Stark?"

Her body stiffened at the mention of that name. How deep did his investigation go? What did he have to connect her to Peggy and Howard?

For God's sake, calm down, will ya? Peggy and Howard founded the SSR, which later grew to S.H.I.E.L.D. And Rogers spoke to that little bitch, Sharon. He knows I'm a super-soldier, and that I was put in cryo for years. It doesn't take a genius to come up with an obvious link from that info. There's no way he can know anything else. Everything that leads back to your childhood was destroyed. Just keep your wits together.

"Stark, you say?" Nemesis scrunched her nose. "Any relation to the man you betrayed, maybe?"

The ex-Avenger glowered at her. He might not react to her baiting with words, but his taut body language and expression said plenty. Reminding Rogers of his failures and betrayal was the perfect way to get under his skin. Nemesis was determined to break him long before he could even scratch the surface of the truth she hid. It didn't matter they were blood relatives. As far as she was concerned, he could've remained lost in the ice. She did not, nor would she ever, acknowledge Captain America as her family.

"I didn't wanna do this, but you're leaving me no choice." Rogers turned the tablet in his hand toward her. "What's your relation to this man?"

Nemesis' breath caught. The tablet showed a picture of a young woman dressed in plain old jeans and a white shirt with a well-distinguished elderly gentleman seated together in a movie theater with a bucket of popcorn between them. That outing to the first movie of The Lord of The Rings was the last normal thing Nemesis did before returning to S.H.I.E.L.D. a few days later. But the only person who had that photograph was...

"Where did you get that?" she demanded, head jerking up to face Rogers. "Answer me!"

"Not until you answer me," he said strictly. "Tell me how you know this man."

"Rogers, I swear to God, if you hurt him!" Nemesis jumped up and edged the force field as close as she could without getting tasered.

Calculating eyes narrowed. Rogers stepped up to the barrier separating them. That goddamn thing was the only obstacle in Nemesis' way. Because even restrained in a vibranium-locked straightjacket, she was more than capable of kicking his ass.

"He's family, isn't he?" inquired Rogers.

"None of your goddamn business!" Nemesis spat back at him.

"Maybe not. But if you are family, I regret to inform you Lucas Evans was found dead a few hours ago in his residence in California."

The words hit Nemesis like a thundering stampede — sudden, and with such force, her knees buckled. The ground gave way beneath her feet. Her body threatened to surrender itself to gravity. She stumbled back to the middle of her containment circle, searching for footing and a measure of reality, and stared at Rogers with an open mouth.
This had to be a trick. It couldn't be true. She'd seen Lucas before coming to Europe and had spoken to him over the phone before crossing the border into Wakanda. He couldn't be gone.

"You're lying," she said.

"His housekeeper discovered his body," said Rogers. "He died peacefully in his sleep."

"No, you're lying! He... He can't be dead."

"He was 101 years old, Nemesis. His heart couldn't take it anymore. I'm sorry."

Nemesis shook her head, refusing to believe him. She looked down at the tablet again.

"How did you get the picture?" she asked, voice trembling slightly with repressed anguish.

"The officer who was called to the premises is a Wakandan by birth, a War Dog. They ensure the safety of the nation from outside the kingdom. Your information was released after you were captured to see if anyone had any intel. He recognized you from that and sent us a picture of the frame. Now, once again, what's your relation with Lucas Evans?"

The picture was taken up close. There wasn't enough of the wall behind it to determine if it was truly the living room from the house in California. Last time they spoke, Lucas told her he'd just repainted some of the living room, but she didn't know if he'd used the same color or another. All she had to go on were Rogers' words. But would he truly lie about this? Would he actually sink this low just to get her to talk?
Nemesis pressed her lips together into a thin line. Her first response would have been to call his bluff, but she had no way of knowing how much he already figured out. So the best thing for her to do... was nothing.

Keeping her head hung low, Nemesis sank to the ground to a tailor pose. She closed her eyes and controlled her breathing. In four beats, hold for four, out another four. All the while, she heard Rogers talking. Though she picked up on his frustrated tone, she ignored his words. They didn't matter. He didn't matter. Steve Rogers might've meant something to her and her family once, but not anymore. He was a stubborn echo from the past. But even echoes faded in time.
Footsteps resonated through the space as Captain America finally gave up and left. The Dora Milaje came back in. Nemesis's heightened senses picked up the warmth from the lights above her as they returned to their usual brightness. She dared to open her eyes. A gasp escaped her.

Rogers had left the tablet on the floor in front of Nemesis. The old, wrinkled face of the only person who had provided her with a loving home was staring back at her. She bit her lip to hold down a sob. If it was true, if Lucas really was dead... Nemesis had no one left. Nobody to return to. Nobody to live on for.
The tears that should've been shed never fell. What little remained of her heart shattered. The pieces plummeted down into the darkness, never to be returned and healed by love's light. The serum she carried within her whispered to give into the awesome force she held back and deal with the bane of her existence once and for all. Emotions and memories had kept her from finishing her mission before, but that wouldn't happen again. The Winter Soldier would die at her hands. And she already knew just how to do it.