ZEMO LAID ON the couch with a wet rag over his head. He was still recovering from the hit with the shield by John. Y/N had served himself a glass of wine and sat on the other sofa nearby as he enjoyed it. Sam was at a table by the bar on his laptop, communicating with Sharon back in Madripoor via messaging.

"Were you ever offered it?" Zemo suddenly asked Sam.

He turned around. "What?"

"The serum."

"No."

"If you had been, hypothetically, that is, would you have taken it?"

"No." Sam quickly declined.

"No hesitation. That's impressive." Zemo said as he removed the rag from his face and sat up, before looking at Y/N.

"Is there something you want to say?" Y/N asked after Zemo stared at him for quite some time.

"Let's say you were born without an ounce of the serum in your blood. Would you have taken it if offered the chance? Like Erskine offered Rogers?"

Y/N took a moment to think as he looked directly at Zemo. "I've had it in me my whole life. Some of it unknowingly. But if I was offered it, like Steve, I would. To do good like he did."

"Do good." He repeated. "And what good have you done?"

Y/N scoffed and got up from the sofa, going over the bar to put away his glass. Zemo continued to push at his buttons.

"Caused casualties in New York, worked for HYDRA unknowingly, and destroyed my country. It's good to forget, I suppose. At least you did it all while spending time with your father and the Widow."

"Zemo." Sam spoke up rather sternly.

He ignored him and kept talking. "While other families were lost, you got to build one...with children who are forced to look up to parents who were made to be killers."

Before Y/N could properly put away his glass, he slammed it on the counter and shattered it. He spun around and looked directly at Zemo with a glare.

"You want to talk about killers? Look in the damn mirror, Helmut." He scolded. "The people in Vienna...King T'Chaka. I could avenge him right now and the Wakandans will thank me for it."

Zemo nodded with eyes staring at Y/N. He smirked. "Was that wrath always a part of you or a byproduct of your protocol?"

Y/N huffed and turned back around. He composed himself before he could let his anger get the best of him and hurt Zemo.

With the conversation with Y/N concluded, Zemo decided to talk about Karli.

"You can't hold out hope for Karli. No matter what you saw in her, she's gone. And we cannot allow that she and her acolytes become yet another faction of gods amongst real people." He told them. "Super Soldiers cannot be allowed to exist."

"Isn't that how gods talk?" Sam asked. "Is that how you feel about Y/N and Bucky?"

Zemo glanced at Y/N, who was cleaning the counter and picking up the pieces of glass. Despite the spat he had with the young man moments ago, he didn't know how to answer Sam's question.

"Blood isn't always the solution." Sam added.

Bucky walked in some time later. He took off his jacket and tossed it on the sofa. "Something's not right about Walker."

"Yeah. I've known." Y/N replied.

"I know crazy when I see one. Because I am crazy."

"Can't argue with that." Sam said.

Bucky went over to the bar and poured himself a drink. He ignored the shattered glass and wine puddles.

"Shouldn't have given him the shield." He told Y/N.

Y/N rolled his eyes as he cleaned. "I didn't give it to him."

"Well, Steve definitely didn't." He shot back before drinking from his glass.

Suddenly, the doors of the room were kicked open. John and Lemar came in, still in their uniforms.

"All right. That's it. Let's go. I'm ordering you to turn him over." Walker ordered as he looked at Zemo.

"Hey, slow your roll." Sam said.

Y/N put down the rag and walked over to them. He stood beside Sam, crossing his arms as he looked at the two soldiers.

"Shield or no shield, John, the only thing you're running in here is your mouth." Sam chose to speak his mind.

"Look, I had Karli and you overstepped. I hate to admit it, but Zemo's actually proven useful today." Y/N told John. "We'll need all hands on deck for whatever's coming next."

John stared directly at Y/N. He didn't like how the Lieutenant was speaking to him. Walker wanted to be the one with authority.

"How do you want the rest of this conversation to go, huh?" John asked, then chuckled. "Yeah. Wanna do this with or without the shield?"

Y/N scoffed. Bucky stood by the bar watching the conversation unfold. Sam shook his head and chuckled at John's antics.

"You're seriously challenging Y/N? A super-soldier? The man can copy your move set like an arcade cheat code." Sam remarked.

John didn't seem to care, wanting to prove his courage and authority in some way. He put down the shield but suddenly, a vibranium spear was thrown into the wall beside him.

They turned around and saw a Dora Milaje warrior in the back of the room. Seconds later, Ayo and another warrior came in through the front door.

"Nokuba uyindlela yokufikelela kwisiphelo sakho...ixesha liphelile (Even if he is a means to your end...time's up)." Ayo spoke to Bucky. "Release Zemo to us now."

John faced Ayo. "Hi. John Walker. Captain America. How about we put the pointy sticks down and we can talk this through, huh?"

Y/N laughed as he looked at Walker. "Hey, John, take it easy. You might have a better chance fighting me and Bucky than the Dora Milaje."

"They don't have jurisdiction here." He shot back.

"The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be." Ayo told him.

Unfortunately, John didn't choose to take her seriously. He chuckled and got close to her.

"Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot." He placed his hand on her shoulder and Ayo immediately hit him in the shin with her staff. She added a jab to his arm and face before kicking him against the spear sticking to the wall.

John got back up and grabbed the shield. With Lemar's help, they tried to fight the Dora Milaje but were quickly outmatched.

The three friends watched it unfold while Zemo stood on the sidelines drinking from his glass.

"We should do something." Sam told them.

Bucky and Y/N didn't mind seeing them get beat up, especially John. Bucky crossed his arms and called out to the so-called Captain America.

"Looking strong, John."

Sam looked at him. "Bucky..."

Bucky exhaled and quickly ran over to stop Ayo from stabbing Walker. Close by, another Dora Milaje warrior hurled Lemar to the floor, preparing to land a lethal blow, but Sam grabbed the spear before she could.

The warrior engaged Sam and dealt a flurry of attacks with her staff. The man tried to parry the hits with his forearms but was quickly thrown down.

A third Dora Milaje fighter brought her spear down at Y/N, but he swiftly evaded it and grabbed in between the stick. Y/N swept her legs out from under her and brought her to the ground. Another warrior tried subduing Y/N from behind by putting him in a chokehold with her staff, but he quickly got the upper hand and flipped her over his shoulder.

Ayo was able to detach Bucky's vibranium arm during their fight. She noticed how Y/N was handling her companions, and she knew that the Lieutenant's skills and mirroring abilities were something the Dora Milaje had trouble with. Ayo knew what to do.

Y/N continued combatting the two warriors. He saw Ayo in his peripheral vision and expected her to join the fight. Instead, she stopped a couple of feet away and spoke.

"lixesha lokuma ngoku, joni (The time is now to halt, soldier)."

Suddenly, Y/N felt a thumping pain in his head. He fell to his knees as the aching continued, but it ultimately subsided after a few long seconds. It was enough to disorient him and stop him from fighting.

The Dora Milaje warriors that were combatting Y/N picked up their spears and stood beside Ayo. The leading woman looked down at the soldier as he caught his breath and gazed up at her.

"Ayo...?" He panted. "What was that?"

"A safeguard implemented when we were removing your protocol." She replied. "Bast damn you, Y/N. I never thought I'd have to use it."

The removal of Bucky's arm came as a shock to Barnes and stopped him from fighting. It was the same case for Y/N. As a Russian sentence once was able to activate him, their Xhosan words were able to deactivate him in a sense, momentarily.

As they were down, Ayo went to look for Zemo in the bathroom but he wasn't there. She walked over to her colleague, who was holding the shield as she stood over John Walker.

"He's not here. Leave it." Ayo told her.

She handed it back to John before leaving the room with the rest of the Dora Milaje. Bucky went over to his vibranium arm that was on the floor and picked it up. Y/N shook his head as he recovered from the disorientation and walked over to them.

"Did you know they can do that?" Sam asked Bucky.

Bucky reattached his arm. He flexed his fingers as the metal let out a screeching sound.

"No." He answered, then looked at Y/N. "Did you know they can do that?"

The young super soldier sighed. "Now I do."

Bucky had an understanding of why the Wakandans had safeguards for the two. Removing their programmings was a dangerous game, so they had to implement such measures in case they were to turn on them...even after the removal.

Lemar walked over to John. "You all right, man?"

John looked down at the floor. He was on his knees and let out breaths of exhaustion as he recovered from the beat down.

"They weren't even Super Soldiers..."

• • •

NATASHA WALKED INTO the house to get water for herself and the kids who were still outside. As she grabbed the bottles from the fridge, her cell phone rang. She pulled it out and saw that the call was from an unknown number. Still, she answered it.

"Hello?"

"Natasha Romanoff?"

"Who is this?"

"My name is Karli Morgenthau."

Natasha immediately realized she was on the phone with the leader of the Flag-Smashers.

"Hey, Karli. I've seen you on the news."

"That's good to hear. I hope you love the work I'm doing."

"Love isn't what I'd use."

"You've toppled regimes before. Some drastic things for a cause. I thought you'd like it."

"Is there a reason you're calling me?"

"I'm thinking about what to do with your husband."

That caught Natasha by surprise, but she kept her composure as he spoke to Karli.

"Really?"

"I thought I could trust him. I assumed we had some things in common, but it turns out he's working for the new Captain America."

"Oh, trust me, Y/N despises that guy. We didn't choose him."

"And who would you have chosen instead?"

"My husband."

"Not surprising. You want him to carry on the legacy of his old man."

Natasha chuckled. "What is this? You're calling me to discuss my opinion on that matter?"

"I want Y/N to stop. I want you to tell him to end this crusade. Or else..."

"Or else what? You know who you are talking to right?"

Natasha scoffed. She expected the young lady to use the whole I'll come after you and the children threat which was all too predictable.

"Oh, I know. The Black Widow. Assassin. Avenger. Wife. Mother." She replied. "I was going to say or else I'd kill him."

Natasha didn't reposed and kept listening to the Flag-Smasher leader as she continued.

"I don't want to hurt him. But I'll do what I have to. Sure, he's a super-soldier, but there are many more of us. He will surely be outmatched and he will be put in the dirt...just like his father, Rogers, and his friend, Pietro Maximoff. Your children will be left with no dad and you will be a widow...well...a literal one anyways."

Natasha immediately hung up the call and put her phone on the counter along with the bottles she was holding. She took a breath and put her head down as she composed herself.

She didn't expect such threats to sting, but it did. Fortunately, having Karli on the call speaking for as long as she did gave Natasha the time to pinpoint her exact location. She looked at the laptop that was synched to her phone and saw the coordinates.

Before she can inform Y/N about the call and Karli's location, she looked out the window and saw her children in the backyard. Natasha wanted to finally help her husband, so she had a plan.

Natasha dialed the number on her phone and waited for an answer. It wasn't long until she picked up.

"Hey, May." She greeted. "Yeah, we're fine over here. Listen, can I ask you for a favor?"

• • •

Y/N WAS INFORMED of what transpired back home. Karli called Natasha with threats to both him and his family, and he didn't like that. Thankfully, his wife was able to give him the location of where the terrorist could be.

Bucky and Sam joined their friend. They wore their respective attire as the Winter Soldier, the Falcon, and Freedom Fighter.

They entered the building and walked into the courtyard. Y/N surveyed the area and called out to the teenager.

"Karli!"

They saw her on the second floor by the balustrade. The trio walked upstairs and met her in the foyer.

"That's how we're playing this now, Karli?" Y/N stared at her. "Calling my family?"

"I would never hurt them. I just wanted you to understand."

"You have to end this now."

"I don't want to hurt you. You're a tool in the regimes I want to destroy. You're not hiding behind a shield. If I were to kill you, it'd be meaningless." She replied. "Either join us or let me go."

During their conversation, Sharon spoke to Sam through the comms.

"Hey, Sam, new Cap is moving, looks like he's found them, or maybe they found him."

Sam looked at the display on his wrist and saw a bird's eye view of Walker moving into a building.

"It's Walker." He told Y/N and Bucky.

Barnes quickly vaulted over the railing. Karli put on her mask and launched herself towards him, slamming him against the wall. Y/N and Sam engaged the Flag-Smasher.

Y/N parried Karli's hits and easily dodged them, watching her movements as he stepped back. Sam ultimately initiated a spinning back kick and hurled the distracted teenager into the wall.

Bucky got back on his feet and brushed himself off. Sam looked at each of his teammates and shouted.

"I'll send you the location. Go!"

Falcon activated his wings and flew into the sky. Freedom Fighter and Winter Soldier ran out of the building and through the street.

The location Sam sent them was for a warehouse nearby. It wasn't long until Bucky and Y/N made it, but Kari was following close behind.

Bucky sprinted ahead and Y/N was on his heels, but he was quickly attacked by a Flag-Smasher that appeared out of a doorway. Y/N ducked and the man punched the wall behind him.

Y/N kneed the attacker's stomach and quickly twisted his arm behind his back. He slammed him against two walls and threw him back into the room he came from. He quickly ran off to regroup with Bucky.

Sam ended up joining John Walker to find Lemar, as John suspected that he was taken by the Flag-Smashers. The two walked into the room and were suddenly ambushed by a couple of terrorists.

John tossed the shield which bounced off the wall and hit one of them square in the back. Sam flew at a woman and hit her across the face with the tip of his wings.

The second terrorist hit the shield John was holding before taking out a knife. John rolled his eyes.

"What's with all the knives?"

The female Flag-Smasher tried to attack the Falcon, but he flew back and landed on a table.

Two more members of the Flag-Smashers arrived to join the fight, but Y/N and Bucky had come in at the same time. John evaded a thrust from a terrorist's blade and threw it aside. Bucky quickly grabbed the knife while it was in midair.

Bucky combatted one Flag-Smasher that chose to engage him. Y/N was close by face to face with another terrorist. The man had a knife of his own.

Y/N took out his baton, extended it, and then broke it into two. The Flag-Smasher ran toward Y/N and attacked. Y/N blocked the swipes of the man's knife with his batons and ultimately disarmed him. He finished him off with a push-kick that hurled him into a column.

Another terrorist was going after him. Y/N quickly threw one of his batons at a pillar nearby, which bounced off and knocked down the incoming attacker. It returned to Y/N's grasp and he immediately electrocuted the downed Flag-Smasher with the tip.

Close by, John was grabbed by two Flag-Smashers. Karli ran in with a knife to stab Walker, but Lemar intercepted her and tackled Morgenthau.

A struggle ensued on the ground but Karli ultimately got up. Lemar did as well but the redhead immediately punched him and the sheer force of it hurled him towards a pillar.

Lemar slammed against the concrete and his body went limp. Blood immediately started spilling from his nose and mouth as he dropped his head.

Everybody stopped and looked on at Lemar, including the Flag-Smashers they were fighting. They all knew what happened. John ran up to his unresponsive friend and knelt beside him.

"Hey. Hey. Hey." He tried to wake him. "Lemar. Lemar."

It was no use. Lemar Hoskins was dead. A part of John already knew that, but he didn't want to believe that his best friend was gone.

The terrorists began to scatter along with Morgenthau. Bucky, Sam, and Y/N noticed them leaving and decided to chase after them, leaving John alone with the body of his colleague.

All Walker could see was red. His ears rang and his blood felt like it was boiling. His now serum-infused blood. He felt like he had failed Lemar...but now he was going to avenge him.

In a blind rage, John ran toward a window and crashed through it, landing on top of a van that was parked outside.

He looked ahead and saw one of the Flag-Smashers running. John wasn't going to let him escape. They killed Lemar. And he wanted to kill every last one of them.

John chased after the man. He picked up a concrete trash bin and tossed it back toward John, but the super-soldier easily broke it apart with the shield.

"Where is she?" John exclaimed.

The man ran out onto the main street but John threw the shield and hit him in the back. It flew back into his hands and John threw it again, hitting the terrorist in the chest. The man fell onto the steps of the monument.

He tried to get up, but John hit him again with the shield before pinning him against the steps with his foot.

"It wasn't me!" The man pleaded.

John didn't hear a thing the man said, just white noise and ringing as he stared at the man in anger. He raised his shield over his head, ready to land a blow.

"It wasn't me!" The man yelled again.

John bellowed and brought the edge of the shield down at the man's chest. He kept slamming it down, surely breaking ribs and opening his chest cavity. Blood spilled onto the steps and stained the vibranium disc.

Bystanders looked on in horror at the act of murder happening in front of them. Some had their devices out, broadcasting the event to the entire world. Y/N, Sam, and Bucky arrived at the scene and witnessed it all.

A/N: The text in the gif 😭

Karli was also hidden within the crowd, in awe that one of her close friends and colleague was killed by Captain America.

John got up and strapped the bloodied shield to his arm. He looked down at the body, then gazed at the crowd around him as blood dripped from the disc.

He heard no voices...no sounds...just white noise.

Y/N, Bucky, and Sam found John Walker in a warehouse, where he was on his knees resting his head against the shield. They knew he was still grieving his friend.

"Time to go to work." He muttered to himself before walking up to the trio.

"Walker." Sam said. "You should see a medic, you don't look so good."

John ignored him and started to walk the other way. Y/N just looked at Walker. He wasn't fond of him before, but now he despised him. Seeing his father's shield stained with blood irked him.

"John, stop." Y/N called out sternly.

"What?" He turned back around. "You saw what happened. You know what I had to do. I killed him because I had to! He killed Lemar!"

"He didn't kill Lemar, John." Bucky replied. "Don't go down that road. Believe me, it doesn't end well."

"I'm not like you." John shot back.

Sam tried to offer consolation. "Listen, it was the heat of the battle. Okay? If you explain what happened, they may consider your record. We don't want anyone else to get hurt. John...you gotta give us the shield, man."

John looked back up at him upon hearing those words. He titled his head and looked at each of them.

"Oh, so that's what this is. You almost got me."

"Hand over the damn shield, John." Y/N commanded.

"You don't want to do this." He threatened.

There was silence. Bucky looked down before staring back at John.

"Yeah, we do."

Bucky charged at Walker with Y/N and Sam joining him immediately afterward. Barnes landed a hit across his face and Y/N tried to land a roundhouse kick, but John was able to dodge it.

John hit Sam across the face with the shield, knocking him aside. Y/N grabbed Walker from behind and put him in a chokehold, allowing Bucky to land a couple of hits at his torso before John ultimately escaped the hold.

He hit Y/N in the stomach with the edge of the shield and push-kicked him away. Bucky engaged the super-soldier, attempting to take the shield from him. A struggle ensued and Bucky tried to grab the gun from John's holster, but he elbowed Barnes.

John raised his shield to hit Bucky but Sam quickly recovered and back-flip kicked his arm, stopping the attack before it happened.

Y/N got up and rejoined his colleagues in fighting John Walker. He kept attacking the three with his shield, but they ended up evading the attacks by jumping and ducking.

John swept Sam's legs and brought him to the floor. Y/N engaged the super-soldier, replicating most of his attacks. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to react fast enough when John threw the shield at the wall behind him where it ricocheted into Y/N's back, knocking him down.

Walker quickly turned around and threw the shield at Bucky. He caught it but the sheer force of the throw pushed him backward. John immediately ran up to Barnes and grabbed him.

"Why are you making me do this?" John yelled before using his strength to hurl Bucky into the side of a forklift. He fell to the floor as sparks flew around him and his metal arm malfunctioned.

Sam got up and engaged John. The two faced each other.

"This isn't you, John." Sam pleaded.

"We could've been a team." John breathed out.

Sam activated his wings and ran toward John. He flew a few feet up and shot a tether at the shield John was holding. He started flying through the warehouse, dragging John with him.

John held on to a nearby forklift as Sam tried to pull the shield away. The super-soldier ultimately brought him down and Sam landed on the ground. Fortunately, the shield unstrapped itself from John's arm and it landed in between them.

Before Sam could go after it, John tackled him. He activated his wings and tried to fly away, but John pulled him back down and pinned him to the floor. John took off his headpiece amidst the struggle and started to scream. He grabbed onto Sam's mechanical wings and ripped them off his pack.

John grabbed the shield beside him and lifted it over his head, ready to land a lethal blow on Sam. Before he could, a pair of legs wrapped around his neck and started punching him. He got up during the struggle as the woman remained on top of him.

It was the Black Widow.

She activated her Widow's bites and jabbed it against his neck, electrocuting him. Y/N got on a knee and looked up to see his wife fighting Walker.

"Natasha...?" He breathed out.

She got off of John as he writhed in pain from the shock. He looked at the woman and glared upon realizing who she was. The glare was then joined by a smirk.

"Well, would you look at that?" He said. "You think you can take me?"

"I've dealt with worse." Natasha shot back and extended her baton.

She engaged Walker with the two exchanging hits and evasive maneuvers. Natasha landed a hit across the man's face but he blocked the next with the shield. He dodged the next hit and grabbed her by the neck. She shocked him again with her Widow's bites, but he ended up taking it better than the previous time. Natasha didn't know he was a super-soldier now but was starting to realize.

John lifted Natasha and slammed her against a metal beam. He then threw her to the floor and stood over her, preparing to attack again. Before he could, Y/N tackled Walker and they rolled on the floor.

"You take some of the serum and now you think you can put your hands on my wife?" Y/N grunted as he grabbed John by the collar and punched him. "You're no Captain America!"

He wailed a few more punches on John before he grabbed Y/N by the neck and head-butted him. John landed a right hook afterward before pushing Y/N aside and pinning him down. He wrapped his hands around his neck and started to choke him.

"I...am...Captain America!" He shouted.

Bucky quickly ran in and tackled Walker before he can hurt Y/N further. He engaged John with the help of Sam, who had just recovered as well.

They took on the super-soldier as Y/N got up, coughing in the process. He went over to Natasha who was still on the floor.

"Tasha." He called out as he crouched over her.

"I'm fine. He's pretty weak for a super-soldier." She reassured him, groaning as she sat up. She looked ahead at Bucky and Sam fighting Walker. "Let's go finish kicking his ass."

Y/N and Natasha joined Bucky and Sam in fighting the lone super-soldier. He was getting outmatched and John knew that, but he didn't care. His blind rage was getting the best of him.

John parried a hit by Sam before hurling him away with a push-kick. Natasha engaged the super-soldier, but John spun around and hit her across the face with the shield, knocking her down.

Y/N charged at John and he lifted his shield to block the man's punch, but the sheer force caused Walker to get on his knees. He tried to grab the shield, but John kept it away.

He got back on his feet and combatted Y/N, who was then joined by Bucky. The two men-out-of-time evaded the soldier's attacks with the disc until Barnes got a hold of John and pinned him against a beam. Y/N grabbed the arm the shield was strapped to.

"Hand it over, Walker!" Y/N grunted.

"Go to hell!"

The two held John down and Y/N started to add more torque as he bent the soldier's arm back past the beam. His super-strength prevailed over Walker's durability and ultimately broke his arm.

He shouted in agony as the shield dropped to the floor. Amidst the pain, John kicked Y/N in the stomach and hurled him back, then followed by head butting Bucky which got him free. John got on a knee and groaned.

Bucky stumbled back, spitting out blood as he stood beside Y/N. John got back up and faced the two men. He didn't mind the pain anymore as his healing factor was kicking in. The shield was still on the floor nearby.

"It's mine." John said with a glare.

"It's over, John." Y/N breathed out.

"It's mine!"

Walker swung at Y/N, who blocked his punch and hit John in the face. Bucky quickly grabbed him by the waist and carried him. Sam joined in and picked up the shield, then used his thrusters to fly upwards and hit John in the back with the metal disc.

The three fell to the floor. Bucky and Sam started to get up, leaving the defeated John Walker on the floor groaning in pain. Y/N stumbled over to Natasha, who was leaning against a crate catching her breath.

"Hey..." Y/N panted and knelt beside her. She had a black eye from John's hit with the shield and it pained him to see such an injury. "Nat..."

"Nothing a little makeup won't fix." She said as she held her side.

Y/N kissed her softly by her injury and ran his fingers through her red hair. It was like her to reassure him with those light-hearted statements.

As they talked with one another, Bucky went over to Y/N and dropped the shield by their feet. He looked up at the cut and bruised Barnes as the man huffed.

He walked off, leaving Y/N with Natasha and the shield on the ground beside him. He picked it up and ran his hands along the edge of it, trying to wipe the bloodstains off.

Y/N made the mistake of giving it away, thinking it would be in good hands...but he was wrong. Now the symbol he looked up to, both as a child and as an adult, was stained and had been used to commit murder. Now, he knew who's hands it would be better off in. It was something he should've realized since the beginning...

His own.