11Took longer than expected, but here it is at last! Enjoy!
But I wish to dedicate this to the memory of my friend Caio. He beta-read the first installment, but passed away last month of internal blooding. May he rest in peace...
November 3, 1936
Brooklyn, New York City, USA
"Sorry, Bucky, I have to go home. My parents really want me to hear the election results."
Steve walked the streets of Brooklyn, seeing many people in suits trying to cross the streets. The sunlight beamed over the poverty-stricken city, and people wearing suits walked across the street. Some of them stepped out to cross despite the cars still roaring their way through. From the corner of Steve's eye, he could see some police officers leading a couple and their kids out of their home, with the family looking solemn and gravely. A haggard young woman pulled an apple out of a trashcan and walked away, taking a bite. And Steve jumped in the air to avoid tripping over the elderly man sleeping right in front of the alley.
The teenage, frail Steve Rogers stopped to catch his breath, and he could see Bucky catching up with him. "I can't believe people are still having to live like this. I really hope FDR gets re-elected, so he can continue to help fix this."
Bucky scoffed, his hands in his pockets. "FDR's re-election is a guarantee. I can't even remember who the heck is running against him? Landon something?"
Steve smiled. "That's a valid point," he said, before that smile faded as quickly as it had appeared. "I really wish I could do something to help these people. Or to give them hope."
"Ha, that'll never happen, you wimp! Don't get any ideas!" a kid shouted from behind.
Steve turned around and looked at the kid. He was a chubby red-haired kid, darting away in the opposite direction. Bucky shouted a few choice words towards the kid, while Steve watched, sighing. If that wasn't how most kids on this block would talk to him, he might've tried to shout some sort of comeback towards the kid. Instead, Steve shook his head. Deep down, he had no idea what he could do to really change the entire world, but he tried to push that thought deep inside the canals of mind.
"Ah, that guy's just a jerk," Bucky said, placing his hand on Steve's shoulder. "Don't listen to morons like that, you hear me?"
Steve looked up at Bucky and smiled. "No duh. Besides, I'm all too used to hearing that from the kids around here."
"Well, Steve, whatever happens to us and our country after election night, know that I'm always with you."
'I'm with you, too, Bucky. I'm with you until the end of the line.'
January 1, 2019
Vanguard Tower, New York City, USA
Steve Rogers paced around in the grand conference room of the Vanguard Tower. No longer were the walls and floors of the Tower a monochromatic gray; they were now a sleek blue-gray color, though the view of the glistening sun and the snow-clad land was the same as it always was. That was not the only change made to the Tower, either. The physical monitor that once stood at the far end of the conference room had been replaced with a gigantic holographic monitor that gleamed and hummed every so quietly.
The annual New Year's meeting for the Vanguard of Justice was to commence shortly, with Cap arriving early for the event. His superhero uniform was mostly the same, with the main change being a darker shade of blue across most of it. After some pacing around the room, Cap leaned onto his seat at the table, placing his hands on it. As the leader of the Vanguard, having been voted in over Superman (a move that the Man of Steel supported), he had to decide on the agenda in regards to the events of the last year and upcoming plans for the New Year. With nothing else to do, he grabbed the small silver remote for the monitor and turned around to face it. The monitor only showed a hologram of the Vanguard Tower, but when Cap pressed the on button, dozens of screens now lit up the monitor. Some of them were regular television networks, but the one that caught Cap's eye was of Lois Lane interviewing Lex Luthor. Lex Luthor, CEO of LexCorp and the richest man in the world; if Cap could recall correctly, this man had twice as much money as Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark put together.
Lois wore a small black jacket over a long red dress, while Luthor wore a standard tux. His face was balding and wrinkled, with a sharp nose; he also had a lean build to him and a constant smirk on his face.
Lois shoved a microphone into Lex's face, both of them sitting down in what appeared to be an opulently decorated office. 'So, Lex, what do you say to the rumors that you've been considering a run for the Oval Office next year?'
Lex chuckled and smirked. 'If only I had a dollar for every time I've been asked this question. Well, I guess I can't avoid it forever. Yes, Mrs. Lane, I will be running for President of the United States in 2020. I believe that this country deserves far better than it's been handed since 1992. Clinton, Bush Jr, Obama, and now Matthew Ellis, I don't believe that any of them used the office to its fullest potential. Now what I believe -'
"I was wondering when Lex was going to reveal his political ambitions publically. Although I expected an announcement sooner than this."
Cap jumped when he heard that. He turned around to see Superman, his arms crossed and a stern expression on his face.
"Clark, when did you get here?"
Superman chuckled. "I only got here right after you turned the monitor on."
Cap looked back at the monitor. "Well, President Lex Luthor. How does that sound?"
That stern expression quickly returned itself to Superman's face. "I don't like it. I've never been able to truly trust Luthor."
Cap turned his attention back to the interview again, and as Lex kept that smirk on his face, the Super Soldier was reminded of one reason why Superman didn't trust him.
'Now, Mr. Luthor,' Lois continued on, pursing her lip. 'You've been quite critical of President Ellis' relations with metahumans in the past few years.'
Lex Luthor scoffed, tilting his head up. 'That is correct, Ms Lane, and I stand by every word. President Ellis has pandered and appeased the metahumans. Now, many, such as Ant-Man, The Wasp, and the Flash, seem to be empowered humans. But Wonder Woman and Thor, they're gods, and Superman…he's an alien! We cannot let these gods and aliens dictate humanity's future! Humanity's path belongs to us and us alone!'
Cap chuckled, shaking his head. "God, he's so full of it."
"That's not all," Superman replied, walking over until he was side-by-side with Cap. "Lois and I have been trying to investigate some rumors about LexCorp performing some…shady activities in third world countries. But Lex seems to be covering it up extremely well. Not even Bruce and Stark's corporate spies have found anything other than basic evidence that something is going on."
Cap sighed at that, and with it in mind, he looked at Lois' face in the interview. When Lex made a joke, she let out a laugh; but her eyes were narrow and her laugh sounded insincere. And when the interview continued on, she seemed to force smiles throughout, seemingly hiding burning rage and hatred within.
"Hey, are you still able to come over to my parents' farm for dinner tonight?" Superman asked.
Cap smiled. "Of course, Clark. I wouldn't want to miss the world famous Kents' cooking."
They stared at the monitor for a few more moments, before the other Vanguardians began reporting that they were now inside the tower for the meeting. And with that, Cap turned the monitor off, and he and Superman took their seats to prepare for the meeting.
Later that day, Steve Rogers was no longer in the Vanguard Tower. Rather, he was at the Kent family's farm in Smallville, Kansas. He wore a brown leather jacket and dark blue jeans, and he had his hands in his jacket packets, feeling the cold but soft breeze of the evening sky. For all that had changed in the world, the comforting feel of the wind on his face was one constant that remained. He gazed around at the seemingly unending field of snow, where the Kents' wheat and grain would normally be. With just this view, Steve smiled. It almost felt like he was back in the 1940s; albeit, not everything was the same. The combine harvester and the tractor in the distance looked much bulkier and sleeker than any from his time did.
"Oh, Steve, someone wants to see you," a voice said from behind.
Steve turned around. It was Lois Lane, now the wife of Clark Kent. And in her arms was their two-year-old son, Jon Kent. He had short black hair atop his head, and he also sported his father's sharp blue eyes. Jon's face lit up with joy when he saw Steve, and he extended his arms out.
"Stevie," Jon cooed in his little baby voice.
Steve chuckled. "Hey, buddy, how are you doing today?" Steve asked as Lois handed Jon over to him.
They went inside the old-fashioned brick house, where Ma and Pa Kent could be seen cooking the meal. Both of them were in their late sixties now, with Jonathan having a square jaw and stock build and Martha having a lean figure, with short graying hair. From the looks of it, Ma and Pa were cooking up a fat, juicy ham for dinner.
"Ma, I can help with the cooking, I swear," Clark stated, standing on the other side of the kitchen with his arms crossed.
Ma smiled, shaking her head. "For the gazillionth time, Clark, no. I like adding my own special touch to the cooking."
"And not everything requires heat vision or freeze breath, honey," Lois added on, walking over to the dark brown kitchen counter and leaning on it.
Steve stood by the mahogany table on the far end of the kitchen, holding his godchild in his arms. As he rocked Baby Jon around, Steve imagined what his own kids might be like. Perhaps he would have cheerful twins running around in the fields in a place like Smallville, or he would have a child or two playing 'Minecraft' or some other videogame in an urban apartment. Jon laughed and smiled, flailing his arms around. He had yet to display most of his father's powers, but if Steve could recall correctly, it took a few years for Clark to develop most of powers.
Well, there was one exception. Steve was remined of this when Jon grabbed at his jacket, and when he pulled at it, around half a foot of it was torn off, making Steve grunt. Jon waved it around, while Lois shook her head.
"Jon, no!" she stated, walking over to her son. "We don't ruin other peoples' clothes, darn it!"
Lois pursed her lip and looked up at Steve. "Sorry, Steve. He hadn't done that in a few weeks, so I assumed he was finally over it."
Steve chuckled. "Oh, it's fine. WayneTech pays me more than enough to buy one."
"Alright, dinner is done!" Pa Kent called out, taking the ham off of the oven.
When Pa Kent began cutting up the ham, Steve walked up to the kitchen counter and grabbed himself a plate of the meat, plus mashed potatoes and corn on the side. After doing so, he walked over to the table and took a seat at the end, next to Clark. Ma Kent sat on the other side of the table, Lois sat next to Clark, and baby Jon sat all the way at the end. Pa Kent was the last person to take a seat, sitting down next to his beloved wife.
Steve wasted no time in digging in. When he took a bite, he let out an audible 'mm'. It was tender, and chewy, and juicy. It was truly one of the better-cooked hams he had eaten in his life. He could only imagine the mashed potatoes and the corn would be just as good.
"So, Captain Rogers," Pa Kent stated, making Steve look up from his plate. "You have no idea how much of an honor it is, whenever you come by and see us."
Steve almost felt himself flustering, and he rubbed his neck. "Please, Jonathan. I've told you to call me Steve. And the honor is all mine."
Pa Kent scoffed. "How could it possibly be ours, Steve?"
"You had a rocketship from space crash onto your land, and you find an alien baby. An alien that looks completely human, but an alien nonetheless. Yet you took this baby in, raising him, without ever raising the government's red flags. And now he's the world's greatest hero. That is a massive accomplishment, and you should be proud of it."
Pa Kent chuckled. "We'll always be proud of Clark, to our dying breath. And my apologies, Steve. Growing up, you were an inspiration. Even when the world thought you dead, we all saw you as a paragon. Often we wondered what the Cold War would've been like if you had been around. And how you would've reacted to Vietnam, Watergate, and so on…"
Steve took a moment to purse his lip. He himself had wondered what he would have done if he been alive to see the political chaos that was Watergate. Would he have tried to help unite the American people in that fractured time, or would he become a nomad? Perhaps it would depend on the people by his side. Jay, Alan, Peggy…possibly even Bucky.
When Bucky came into his mind once more, Steve's stomach sank. He thought of the times he and Bucky ran along in the streets of Brooklyn, trying to find reasons to smile and laugh as the Great Depression raged on. If only he could have seen an elderly Bucky when he thawed out. But what if he could only see him right before he passed away, like he had done with Peggy. To this day, Steve had yet to see a report that confirmed that Bucky's body was even found.
Steve was jolted out of his thoughts when he heard Pa Kent exclaim, "Aw, dangit, we're out of honey mustard!" And immediately afterwards, Pa pointed at Clark. "And don't go super-speeding over to the store and getting any! I'll get some myself tomorrow."
Clark chuckled, raising his finger. "Oh, come on, Pa. It would make your life easier then if you had to leave right now."
"Your powers are meant for fighting invading aliens or superpowered crazies or giant monsters. As for shopping, well, leave that to me, son. Alright, I'm gonna go check on the livestock."
Steve saw Clark smile, shaking his head. He absolutely could have ignored his father's wishes and gone to the store and bought some, and then returned in the span of a minute. Pa Kent could have done nothing to stop him. But Clark did no such thing. Instead, he laughed along to something that Ma Kent had said, and he leaned over to Jon's highseat and tried to get him to eat some corn.
Lois stood up from her seat. "I'll come with you. I want some fresh air," she said, before looking over at Steve. "You wanna come with? There's something in the barn that you should really see."
Behind Lois, Clark was burying his face in his hands. "No, no, don't show him that…"
"Oh, he has to see it, Smallville. You're not winning this argument."
Steve got up from his seat, agreeing to take a walk outside. He walked behind Lois and Pa, and the lattermost held the door for them. Steve thanked Pa, and they headed back outside, with Steve almost immediately feeling that smooth breeze again.
He heard Pa Kent chuckling in front of him. "Steve, I know we were giving Clark a hard time back there, but I promise you, he is the best thing that ever happened to us."
"You and Martha are probably the best parents an alien baby could ever ask for," Steve responded, feeling a few twigs snap beneath his feet. The crunching of the snow echoed through the air as well, and Steve saw Lois inhaling and exhaling sharply.
"You alright, Lois? Are you still angry about your interview with Lex Luthor?"
Steve watched as Lois shook her fists and snarled. "Yes, I am! I promise you, that man is corrupt! Now, okay, let's say I got two tips from somewhere in rural Alabama, where LexCorp has no presence. That could be written off as a bunch of crazy tinfoils."
They were a few feet away from the barn now. Lois stopped in her tracks and raised her hand up to stop Steve as well. "But I've gotten a dozen and a half tips in just these past two months. From all around the world; Metropolis, Houston, London, Paris, even Sydney! And often, the people giving me these tips disappear. That would be a huge red flag, if there weren't so many of them."
Part of Steve couldn't help but be in awe at that. To have people all around the globe go to you, that required a solid, impeccable reputation as a reporter. But Steve's admiration for Lois' journalistic integrity was clouded by the knowledge of LexCorp ruthlessly suppressing any leaks of their criminal activities.
Lois let out a deep sigh, closing her eyes. "I'm sorry, Steve. Alright, to cheer us both up, let me show something Clark considers to be his deepest, most embarrassing secret ."
And with that, Lois opened up the barn doors. It was slightly musty in the barn, and hay and grass covered the building, but all the equipment was organized in a proper, orderly fashion. Lois walked over to the left end of the farm and quickly grabbed a circular object. She showed it right towards Steve, smirking as she did so. It was a cardboard cutout recreation of the Super Soldier's shield, with red, white, and blue paint. There were several rips and cuts through the shield, and much of the paint looked faded. But given how Clark must've used it all the way back as a kid, it seemed to have aged well.
Steve cupped his chin, raising an eyebrow. "Th-that's what made Clark's face go as red as a tomato? That looks pretty darn good!"
Lois chuckled. "It does, I agree. If I recall correctly, he made this all by himself, and used it all the time. But oh no, the red-and-white lines are uneven! Oh no, Captain America must never, ever see this!"
Lois and Steve both laughed at loud. To be so concerned over some of the lines being uneven. Their laughter was joined by the hearty howls of Pa Kent, who walked over until he was about ten feet away from the two. The barn doors were still wide open, and the sunshine gleamed on all three of them.
"I was so happy when Clark started admiring you," Pa Kent said, his hand on his chest. "I mean, Martha and I took a huge risk taking in an alien baby, after all. Part of me was scared of what he might turn out to be. But when he started talking about how awesome you were and how he wanted to be just like you, that's when I knew I was doing right as a father."
Pa waved his hand around the barn area. "Before I was really committed to farming, as a kid I thought about joining the Army. That was after my teachers started talking about you. But I was quickly convinced by my father that this farm would need me one day, and -"
Pa Kent's face sunk gravely, and all the color drained from his face in one instant. Steve and Lois both looked at each other, their mouths agape. Steve looked all over the barn, seeing nothing that looked out of the ordinary. Until he swore he could hear some shuffling on the opposite side of the barn. It was extremely faint; Steve likely would not have heard it had they not been dead quiet, making not so much as a whisper. Pa Kent had been closer to that side.
Pa exhaled. "Okay, guys," he whispered. He tiptoed over to the two, looking around the right side. "Be very – LOIS, NO!"
Before Steve realized what was happening, Pa Kent bolted forward, jumped into the air, and pushed Lois out of the way. Not even a second later, a bullet fired into the air. As quickly as he had jumped into the air, Pa Kent collapsed onto the ground. Blood immediately began seeping out of his body. Lois cried out, placing her hands across her hair, while Steve looked in the direction the bullet had come from. He saw a face, for just one moment. There was a faint blue light, and the face was gone, but now Steve's own face was drained of color. It….it couldn't have been.
Immediately afterwards, Clark sped over to the barn, and when he saw his adoptive father lying on the ground, breathing heavily, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "Dad! Oh no! Oh my God! What happened?!"1
Pa coughed up, while blood still crawled its way out of him. Clark cradled his father into his arms. Pa Kent placed his hand on Clark's shoulder.
"Clark…I just want you to know…you were the….the…the best thing…"
Pa Kent never finished that sentence.
His eyes turned cold with lifelessness. His arm swiftly crashed onto the wooden barn floor. Clark cried bloody murder, tears pouring down from his face. He cradled his father's body even tighter, his neck veins throbbing. Lois was also beginning to cry, collapsing onto the ground. Martha Kent could be seen in the distance, running over with baby Jon in her arms to see what happened. Steve's stomach was twisting and turning in more directions than he could count. All he could do was stand there, watching the Man of Steel bawl his eyes out. And think about the killer's face. He had only seen it for a moment, but he recognized almost every detail. The hair was longer, and there was stubble on the face, but otherwise it was a dead ringer. It couldn't have been, though, Steve tried to tell himself.
That man could not have been Bucky Barnes.
