| The Legend Lives On |
[11 Feb 2008|06:44pm] |
WHO: James Buchanan Barnes and Tony Stark
WHERE: Stark Tower
WHEN: Monday night
It had been a dark time for The Avengers, along with America itself.
A little over a year ago, it had happened. A blatant wad of spit in the face of the American public. Captain America, the greatest hero the world had ever known, a beacon of hope and light during the darkest of our times, was gunned down on national television, during a peaceful news piece about the legends of The Avengers. Nobody had known how anyone could have been talented or stealthy enough to get through Stark Tower defenses, no less enough so to actually use one solitary shot to pierce the heart of not only Steve Rogers, but of America itself.
What made it worse was that not only could nobody find even the slightest clue to the identity of the killer, but that the country seemed to become a darker place, almost by default. From the moment Cap's body was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody to be placed in stasis, it felt as though every criminal in the free world was invigorated by the murder, as though suddenly they felt a surge of hope that if someone could kill Captain America, then maybe their efforts to rule, kill, or steal weren't in vain.
Tony Stark, the Avenger called Iron Man, knew what Steve wanted: he wanted his long-thought-dead protege to take over the mantle of Cap if anything were to happen to him. He wanted James Buchanan "Bucky" Barnes, formerly the vigilante called The Winter Soldier, to pick up the pieces.
The problem was... Barnes wanted no part of it. He had been too full of guilt... guilt for not being able to save Steve. Guilt for his past as an assassin under the brainwashed thrall of the Soviet Union. Guilt for being, in his own mind only, not the man Steve would have wanted him to be.
A year had gone by now. An entire year since the death of Captain America. In that year, not one suspect was found. Not one lead. That is... not one lead that was revealed to the public.
After an extensive investigation by the greatest minds of both The Avengers and The Justice League... it was determined that only one man could have the ability to get past Stark's defenses, sneak into a public event filled with almost every living member of The Avengers, and find a way to put one bullet into the Sentinel of Liberty and actually make it count. Stark had suspected it from day one, but now, studies had proven it. Now... now that the killer was known, now that there was someone to bring to justice... NOW James Buchanan Barnes had something to fight for. Something worth donning the shield of Captain America for.
After weeks of training, Barnes now stood on the top floor of Stark Tower, clad in a new version of the classic Captain America costume, the star-spangled shield once used by his best friend strapped to his arm. A cold, emotionless glare was fixed on his face, as the wind blew through his short brown hair. He barely felt the cold chill of the wind against his face, he was so fixated on the task before him.
Stark, now in all of his armor save for his helmet, approached the young man, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"James... you know Steve wanted you to be Captain America. He wanted you to lead the Avengers. He wanted you to do what HE did: be a symbol of liberty and hope for this country. Are you sure you're ready to do that? When I look at you... I see a man capable of all of those... but one who only WANTS revenge."
Barnes slowly turned his head, looking at Stark for a long, hard moment. Finally, he spoke. "Look... I am going to keep Steve's legacy alive. I'm gonna somehow become a leader to the other Avengers. I'll keep hope and liberty alive."
Then... he pulled his mask over his head, and revealed the small handguns and the long hunting knife he had strapped to his belt and thigh.
"But I'm doing it MY way. Hope will only survive if people see that nobody can get away with blatant crime. That murder will not go unpunished. That the man who killed Steve will NOT get away with it."
He paused again, to (with frightening speed and efficiency) make sure that the guns were loaded and the knife sharpened. He took a few steps toward the elevator, preparing to leave Stark Tower and hit the streets, for the first time, as Captain America.
"For hope to truly live.... Slade Wilson must be brought to justice."
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