• • •

PRESENT DAY

• • •

SWEAT TRICKLED DOWN Y/N's face as he finished his last set of push-ups. He got back on his feet, taking quick breaths as he looked up at the sky from his backyard.

The bright sun shined down onto him and reflected off the moisture on his bare torso. Y/N walked over to the porch and grabbed the towel from the deck railing, wiping his face and chest with it.

He entered the house through the back sliding doors, closing them as he spoke.

"Mind getting me a water from the—"

As he turned around, a water bottle was thrown in his direction. He quickly caught it before it hit him, and he looked ahead to see Wanda smiling. She held a bowl of fruit as she walked back into the living room.

"What's next? You're going to telekinetically throw a knife at me when I ask for it to cut vegetables?" Y/N jested as he opened the bottle.

"Since when do you prep food?" Wanda rebutted as she sat on the couch.

Y/N went near the couch and flung the towel over his shoulder. He took a sip of water.

"I've done it plenty of times. Come on, I'm not useless."

"You're not useless, miláčik." She replied as she ate a cube of watermelon. "You do...plenty of things."

He chuckled, "So you're mastering sorcery and sarcasm? If only Tony can see you now."

Wanda gave a light laugh back before changing the channel on the television. Y/N sat beside her on the sofa.

"So, how was training today?" He asked while looking at the screen.

Earlier in the day while Y/N was venturing Chicago, Wanda was in the New York Sanctum working with Doctor Strange.

"Well...we discussed a lot more spells. He gave a lesson about the multiverse...which was very minimal." Wanda explained, "I found out Wong never had pizza, so I bought him a slice."

"Never had pizza? Man, those wizards have it hard." Y/N remarked.

"I'm going back again tomorrow. Strange is going to demonstrate how to conjure portals."

The man nodded.

"The Doctor is taking my lady again? I may not be a master in the mystic arts but I can give him some trouble." He joked.

Wanda laughed, "I'm sure you can, baby. Besides, he already has a true love."

Y/N raised a brow, intrigued at the revelation. "And how do you know?"

"I looked inside his mind. She's a surgeon at the hospital he used to work at."

"You menace." Y/N chuckled, "Stop reading people's minds."

"It's very beneficial at times. How do you think I always know when you're in the mood?"

"You are something else." Y/N smirked back, then put an arm around her. He looked at her for a moment before speaking again, "The Scarlet Witch, huh?"

"Yes?" She replied.

"That's pretty hot."

"Really?"

"Well, it's not as good as the name I gave you."

"The Crimson Sorceress? I can't believe you told people that was my name."

"It didn't stick for that long, though."

"Because it was terrible."

"Point taken."

Y/N pecked Wanda on the lips before taking a piece of melon and eating one himself. Suddenly, the program they were watching was interrupted by a news broadcast.

"Unrest, in the wake of recent events has left us vulnerable." The senator spoke on the podium, "Every day Americans feel it."

Y/N and Wanda listened in, wondering what this was about.

"While we love heroes who put their lives on the line to defend Earth, we also need a hero to defend this country. We need a real person who embodies America's greatest values. We need someone to inspire us again, someone who can be a symbol for all of us."

Y/N leaned forward towards the television, writhing his hands.

"So, on behalf of the Department of Defense and our Commander-in-Chief, it is with great honor that we announce here today that the United States of America has a new hero." The senator stated, then extended his hand towards the doors behind him.

"Join me in welcoming your new Captain America."

A man in a blue and red uniform walked out of them holding the shield.

Steve Rogers's shield.

The shield Sam Wilson was given.

John Walker shook hands with the senator before standing in front of the podium and waving at the photographers. He lowered his shield and winked at the camera filming the broadcast.

Y/N rubbed his face trying to process what was happening, "I don't understand..."

"Rogers gave Sam the shield. Why does this man have it?" Wanda also questioned.

"I don't know..."

Y/N last spoke with Sam a month ago when he still had the shield. But he also remembered how Sam was pretty hesitant about accepting the mantle of Captain America that time he talked to him.

Wanda glared at the screen. Like Y/N, she thought that Sam would be the new Captain America and be the symbol of hope that Steve Rogers used to be. She wondered why they chose a different man instead.

Her Sokovian accent reemerged as she spoke, "I'd like to know why Sam isn't on that podium right now. What agenda is the government trying to push?"

Y/N had a sense of what she was inferring. He shook his head.

"I'll talk to Sam and figure out what happened." Y/N got the remote and changed the channel, "I don't want to see that fraud on the screen."

He got up from the couch and started walking towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Wanda reverted back to her American accent.

"I'm going to take a shower." He answered, then thought of an idea and contemplated whether to say it.

"I'll join you in a bit." Wanda smirked as she ate a piece of fruit.

Y/N chuckled as he rested his hand on the bannister. She was always going to use her telepathy to her advantage.

"Menace." Y/N reiterated his joke from before, then walked up the stairs to their room.

• • •

THE DOOR BELL rung, which alerted Wanda who was by the stairs. She walked over to answer it, and was surprised to see Sam Wilson.

Wanda smiled, "Sam? It's great to see you again."

"Hey, Wanda." He greeted with a friendly hug. They parted and she let him inside the house.

"You've really lightened up the place." Sam remarked as he looked around the living room holding a folder. The last time Sam was here was four months ago when he found out Y/N was alive.

"We've been trying to put a more modern touch." Wanda replied.

"Never really saw Y/N as a home decor type of guy."

"He watches a lot of HGTV."

Sam chuckled as the two walked through the room. He spotted Y/N outside in the backyard through the sliding glass doors.

"What brings you here?" Wanda asked him.

"I have to talk to Y/N. I kind of need his help with something." He answered.

Outside, Y/N was tending to the garden him and Wanda decided to grow. She joked yesterday that he barely cooked, but he surely keeps an eye on the fruit and vegetables they have.

The sliding doors opened, and he saw Wanda walked out with a familiar looking man. It was Sam.

Y/N smiled as he took off his gloves and threw them aside. He walked over to the two.

"Sam." Y/N greeted.

"Am I interrupting Farmer Y/N time?" Sam replied.

He laughed, "I just got done." He then motioned his arm towards the house, "It's pretty hot out. Let's get inside."

The three walked back inside the house and Sam sat on the sofa.

"Would you like some tea or something?" Y/N asked.

"Tea? Who made it?" He asked.

"Wanda did."

"Oh, then yes. I'd be happy to have some."

Y/N scoffed as Wanda walked into the kitchen with a grin. He remembered the times back at the compound where his attempts to brew tea were fruitless.

"Tea is something I can do right now, Wilson." Y/N said.

"I'm trying to be safe. I already lost five years, I don't want to lose any more." He joked.

Y/N shook his head and sat in the seat across from Sam, "I meant to call you later today about—"

The fellow Avenger proceeded to place his folder on the table, stopping him.

"What's this?" Y/N asked.

"A contact of mine was in Switzerland last night tracking an organization, they call themselves the Flag Smashers. They orchestrated a bank robbery, and one man seemed to stand out from the rest." He explained.

Sam opened the folder and showed a picture of a muscular man wearing a black mask with three orange lines across it. Another photo showed Sam's contact, Joaquin Torres, with a bruised face.

"Geez, did they beat the poor kid?" He remarked.

"Not too bad. He's honestly very lucky." Sam answered.

"So what's your angle? Why are you trying to go after these guys?"

Wanda walked back into the living room and placed Sam's tea on the coffee table. He nodded in appreciation before looking back at Y/N.

"I think this guy..." He pointed at the picture of the muscular man, "...has some form of the super soldier serum."

Y/N raised a brow, along with Wanda who sat on the nearby seat intrigued as well.

"I thought that didn't exist anymore." Y/N said, "Steve and Bucky are the only people I know that have it."

"I thought so too. But from what Torres described and the footage he captured...I'm almost sure that guy had it." Sam replied.

Y/N sighed as he looked at the pictures and writhed his hands.

"I'm going to need help in stopping this guy and his group. Before more of them get the serum." Sam added.

"Why me?" Y/N abruptly asked. He assumed him and Wanda would be somewhat retired from hero work for a bit.

"You're the first person I thought of. You have the skills and wits to do this with me."

"But I don't have my powers anymore."

Sam chuckled, "Did you have powers when Loki attacked New York? When you helped stop Project Insight in D.C? Ultron in Sokovia?"

Y/N nodded and looked down.

"You were a damn good Avenger even before you were able to turn invisible and shoot beams through your hands." Sam continued.

"All right, all right." Y/N smiled and got up from his seat, "With all these complements I'm half expecting you to invite me to dinner."

Sam smiled back and got up too. Y/N extended his arm, "Let's do this, Wilson."

He shook his hand, and Y/N looked over at Wanda.

"We might need all then help we can get..." He walked over to her, who got up from the seat, "...you up for this too?"

Wanda looked at the two men and thought about it. A part of her would like to assist her boyfriend and Sam on this mission...but she still felt a form of guilt within her.

Westview.

The people she hurt.

Agatha's words.

Heroes don't torture people.

Is she a villain? Was she destined to be? Is her fate of being the Scarlet Witch leading her in that path?

She still needed time to further understand. Once she does, then she can do things the correct way.

Like finding their children.

Wanda spoke in her Sokovian accent, "Not now, Y/N. I....I..." she held his hand and tried to explain more.

He had an inkling of what caused her hesitation. They both went through a lot, and he didn't want her to dwell too much on it.

"It's okay...I'm sorry." He held her hand tighter, "Besides, I forgot you have another lesson with Strange."

Wanda suddenly remembered that too. He kissed her, "I'll make sure to call. And with Specter and Falcon, this should go by without a hitch."

She smiled and Sam chuckled. He then remembered Y/N's mention of Doctor Strange moments ago and looked at Wanda.

"Modern day Gandalf is teaching you more magic? That shit is crazy." Sam remarked.

• • •

SPECTER HELD HIS duffel bag containing his tactical suit and equipment. He walked through the hangar and met up with Sam, who was looking directly at a poster of John Walker as Captain America.

Y/N still hadn't brought up that topic, even during their drive there. He wanted an appropriate time to do so.

"Seems like a good guy. You met him?" Joaquin Torres, Sam's contact, asked as he walked up to the two.

"No." Sam sternly answered.

Joaquin then looked at Y/N and he smiled, "Y/N L/N. It's an honor to meet you."

"An honor? Really?" Y/N shook his hand.

"The armed forces see you as the best of the best. Enlisting young and doing so much at that age. And then there's the other things." He explained.

Y/N gave a smile as the three started walking.

"Thanks for doing this on such short notice." Sam told him.

"Yeah. No sweat. I'm just finishing up the checklist." Joaquin replied, "You'll be all good to go once you land in Munich."

They walked down the steps when a booming voice below suddenly got their attention.

"Shouldn't have given up the shield." Bucky spoke.

"Good to see you too, Buck." Sam responded as they met on the ground floor.

"Barnes. I like the new haircut." Y/N greeted as well.

Bucky simply nodded in response. They've reunited before with Y/N going to Brooklyn months ago. Bucky was happy to see him that time, but couldn't muster a proper greeting now because of how annoyed he was about Sam's decision to give up Steve's shield.

"This is wrong." Bucky told Sam.

"Hey, hey, look. We're working, all right? So all this outrage is gonna have to wait."

"You didn't know that was gonna happen?"

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

Bucky looked over at Y/N, "Can you believe this guy?" He looked back at Sam, "This isn't what Steve wanted."

"Oh, my God. What do you want me to do? Call America and tell them I changed my mind? Huh?" Sam scoffed, then chuckled, "Yeah, right. It's a great reunion, buddy, be well. Y/N and I got work to do."

"You had no right to give up the shield, Sam." Bucky reiterated.

Sam stopped walking and faced him, "Hey. This is what you're not gonna do. You're not gonna come here in your overextended life and tell me about my rights. It's over, Bucky."

Bucky stayed quiet as Y/N stood idly by.

"Besides, I have bigger things to deal with now." Sam continued.

"What can be bigger than this?" Bucky asked.

Sam pulled out his phone and showed him the photo of the Flag Smasher, "This guy. His connections with rebel organizations all over Eastern and Central Europe."

"And he's strong." Y/N chimed in, "Too strong."

"And?" Bucky asked.

"Well, he's been connected to this online group called the Flag Smashers." Sam answered, "Now, Redwing traced them to a building somewhere outside of Munich. So that's where we're going."

"Well, I don't trust Redwing." Bucky said as the three started walking again.

"You don't have to trust Redwing but I'mma go see if he's right. Because I have a feeling they might be a part of the Big Three."

"Big Three?" Y/N asked.

"What Big Three?" Bucky questioned as well.

"The Big Three." Sam reiterated, "Androids, aliens, and wizards."

"That's not a thing."

"That's definitely a thing."

"No, it's not."

"Every time we fight, it's one of the three."

"So what was Loki? A wizard?" Y/N asked.

Bucky chuckled, "You're saying he was Gandalf?"

"How do you know about Gandalf?" Sam asked him.

"I read The Hobbit in 1937 when it first came out." He answered.

"So you see my point."

"No, I don't. There are no wizards."

"Doctor Strange."

"Is a sorcerer."

Y/N nodded at Bucky's rebuttal.

"Aah!" Sam chuckled, "A sorcerer is a wizard without a hat. Think about it. I'm right. I just came up with that. It's crazy." He laughed again before speaking again, "But that's not the point. These guys aren't magical. They use brute force like you, the incredibly annoying guy in front of me with the staring problem."

Sam tapped Y/N's shoulder and continued to walk with him towards the plane. Bucky started to follow.

"I'm coming with you." Bucky spoke.

"No, you're not." Sam rebutted.

Bucky ended up coming with them, despite Sam's objections.