John Walker couldn't stop fidgeting and pacing around. Lorna didn't know someone could be so annoying without even opening their mouth, but the man in the suit was there to prove it wrong.
"Uh-uh. No, no, no. This is a bad idea," John muttered to himself.
"It hasn't been ten minutes, John." Bucky pointed out. "Just sit tight."
"Don't do that. Don't patronize me."
"He knows what he's doing."
"I'm going in," the one who thought to be the new Captain America decided, causing Lorna and Zemo to exchange a look. John strode towards the door from where Sam went through to reach Karli, but Bucky got in his way. "This is all really easy for you, isn't it? All that serum running through your veins." Jealousy bled out from his mouth. "Barnes, your partner needs backup in there. Do you really want his blood on your hands?"
One should never underestimate how much a man with too much testosterone who had to prove his masculinity and dominance could be persistent when he wanted something. Eventually, John managed to pass through Bucky, who chased the man alongside his partner Lemar. Not only was John an impatient man, but also someone who couldn't keep his word. How surprising.
"He has a way to get under your skin," Zemo commented.
"Like an itch," she agreed. Lorna looked down at the cuff on her wrist. In a blink of an eye, it fell off. She did the same to Zemo, who nodded in gratitude. "I probably shouldn't have done that," she observed. "But I kinda like you too."
"No one will hear a word from me," Zemo swore to secrecy, massaging his sore wrist.
"I only did that because the one who handcuffed you was John," she clarified.
"I cannot say it surprises me."
She shrugged before proceeding to where she could sense Bucky's Vibranium arm. The young Sokovian tried to locate herself in the maze that was the building, having already deduced that Bucky chased after Karli. She found him and Sam in a room where John Walker stood next to an unconscious Zemo.
"How did you get out from the cuffs?" Sam inquired.
"If you believe that thing would contain me, then you're as stupid as the one who put me on them."
The Black hero adopted an offended look.
🐺
Back at Helmut's Latvian Residence, the criminal mastermind rested on the couch after getting knocked out by the Vibranium shield. He had a cold towel covering his eyes as Sam worked on his laptop from the table. Lorna occupied the other couch.
"Were you ever offered it?" The nobleman suddenly asked, breaking the silence.
"What?" Sam turned his head to face the other man.
"The serum."
"No."
"If you had been - hypothetically, that is - would you have taken it?"
"No."
Lorna smiled.
"No hesitation. That's impressive." He took the blue towel from his face. "Sam, you can't hold out hope for Karli. No matter what you saw in her, she's gone. And we cannot allow her and her acolytes to become yet another faction of gods amongst real people. Super Soldiers cannot be allowed to exist."
"Isn't that how gods talk?" Sam rebutted. "And if that's how you feel, what about Bucky?" He paused before concluding. "Blood isn't always the solution."
That moment, Bucky returned from wherever he had gone, his standard pissed expression adorning his handsome features.
"Something's not right about Walker," he commented, taking off his jacket and displaying his fit abs and Vibranium arm.
Jesus, that man was the hottest thing Lorna'd ever seen.
"You don't say," Sam smiled amusedly.
"Well, I know a crazy one when I see one," he continued, opening the fridge to grab a drink. "Because I am crazy."
"Cannot argue with that."
"Shouldn't have given him the shield."
Lorna rolled her eyes. That argument was getting old too quickly.
"I didn't give him the shield," Sam rose from his seat to face Bucky.
"Well, Steve definitely didn't."
"You're awfully quiet, Ms. Maximoff," Zemo addressed the only female in the room. "I'm curious about what's going on in that gorgeous head of yours."
The former Winter Soldier squinted his eyes at the Baron's choice of words. Since when were the two Sokovians flirting with each other?
"I'm running a scenario in my head."
"About what?" The Falcon frowned.
"About Zemo not destroying all the serums."
That earned the undivided attention of the men.
"What do you mean?" Zemo lowered his voice to a grave tone.
"The serum only enhances the type of person you are. Steve was a one-in-a-million case because only one in a million people don't let themselves get greedy and arrogant with power," was Lorna's insight. "Super Soldiers aren't necessarily corrupt. They were already corrupt before turning into Super Soldiers. That's why Bucky had to get brainwashed to kill for HYDRA. Because he wouldn't choose that path willingly." She paused to take a breath before continuing. "I don't believe John Walker shares the same opinion as Sam about taking or not taking the serum. And I don't like the scenario in which Walker becomes a Super Soldier."
Sam contemplated her words in astonishment. It surprised him every time she voiced her beliefs like that. She looked so young that he had to remind himself she aged five years when he had turned into dust. He examined Bucky's reaction and got shocked to identify a glint in his blue eyes that he could only interpret as the man with a staring problem getting deeply moved by her speech.
"You put a lot of thought into it," Zemo observed, impressed. "But I'm sure I destroyed all of them," he confirmed.
"But are you sure you spotted all the vials before getting knocked out?"
Before he could reply, the entrance doors busted open, followed by an arrogant John Walked parading in that stupid uniform that definitely wasn't a Captain America uniform. Behind him was his ever-present partner, Battlestar.
"All right. That's it. Let's go. I'm now ordering you to turn him over." He demanded.
"Hey, slow your roll." Sam stopped the duo. "Let's be clear. Shield or no shield, the only thing you're running in here is your mouth. Now, I had Karli, and you overstepped. Zemo had actually proven himself useful today, and we're gonna need all hands on deck for whatever's coming next."
"I'd trust my life more in his hands than yours," Lorna stated from the couch, receiving a glare in return.
"Thank you," Zemo said appreciatively.
"How do you want the rest of this conversation to go?" John smirked once Sam kept quiet. "Should I put down the shield? Make it fair?"
Sam scoffed.
"Well, the shield is clearly the only thing of worth on you," the woman murmured.
Once John put the shield against a concrete pillar, a spear embedded itself right where his head was, startling everyone but Lorna, who had already sensed the women's presence in the building. She bent down to grab the glass of whiskey that previously belonged to Zemo and sipped it while watching the scene unfold.
From the entrance, Ayo and another Dora Milaje, Yama, entered.
"Even if he is a means to your end... Time's up," the second-in-command warned in Wakandan. "Release him to us now."
"Hi. John Walker. Captain America," John introduced himself to the Dora Milaje as if he was of any importance. "Well, let's put down the pointy sticks, and we can talk this through, huh?" He suggested once he met silence.
Lorna shook her head with second-handed embarrassment.
"Hey, John, take it easy. You might wanna fight Bucky before you tangle with the Dora Milaje," Sam's smirk proved that Lorna wasn't the only one amused.
"The Dora Milaje don't have the jurisdiction here."
"The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be," Ayo warned with a glare.
"Go, Ayo!" Lorna cheered quietly.
"Okay," John chuckled awkwardly. "Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot." He made the mistake of putting a hand on her shoulder, which prompted a reaction.
Ayo struck the new Captain America with her Vibranium spear, hitting him on the arm, knee, and chin before kicking him against the spear embedded in the pillar behind him. He used his fall to grab the shield and protect himself, as that was the only thing he could do against the Wakandan warriors. Battlestar, always the loyal sidekick, quickly joined the fight against the three women to assist his friend.
Zemo prepared another drink once he noticed his other one got stolen by Lorna, and Sam and Bucky stood close to her while watching the fight.
"We should do something," Sam commented half-heartedly.
"Looking strong, John!" Bucky encouraged sarcastically, making Lorna chuckle.
"Bucky, Lorna," Sam urged them to prevent the Dora Milaje from killing Walker.
Lorna remained where she was, not being stupid enough to get herself in the way of the Dora Milaje. Bucky, on the other hand, used his vibranium arm to stop Ayo's spear from striking John.
"Ayo, let's talk about this," he struggled to stop her.
Sam tried to help Lemar, who faced two warriors at once. But, of course, he was no match for Nomble. They were all engaged in their own fighting that they failed to notice Zemo's smooth escape from the bathroom.
Lorna spotted him from the corner of her eye but let him go.
The altercation came to a close once Yama threw her spear and got the shield stuck to the table, and Ayo detached Bucky's Vibranium arm from his body, letting it fall on the floor.
The second-in-command left the slaw-jawed Bucky behind and verified the bathroom where Zemo closed himself in.
"He's gone," she said. "Leave it," Ayo nodded to the shield on Yama's hands and left, the other two women following suit.
"Did you know they could do that?" Sam asked Bucky upon seeing him grabbing the fallen limb in astonishment and reattaching it to his shoulder.
"No," he grumbled.
"I did," Lorna said, joining them.
"Of course you did," Bucky scoffed. "And thank you for the help."
"I'm not crazy to fight a Dora Milaje unless it is for training," she explained to the former assassin without taking her eyes off John Walker. She couldn't feel anything good coming from his defeat against the Wakandan women. "And it was Shuri's idea."
Sam passed John, giving him a disapproving look before reaching the bathroom. Bucky and Lorna joined him.
"I can't believe he pulled an El Chapo," the Black man commented, seeing that Zemo had escaped through a hidden hole in the floor.
"I can," Bucky replied before leaving the building.
"By the way," Sam directed his next question to Lorna, who walked beside Bucky. "What makes you believe Zemo didn't destroy all the serums?"
"Just the possibility," she shrugged. "John has this psychopath's look that I wouldn't put it past him injecting in himself the serum if he got his hands on it. How do you think he felt after getting beaten by the Dora Milaje?"
"It doesn't mean he has the serum in his possession," Bucky argued.
"I just wanna be prepared for anything."
🐺
Back on the street, the trio walked through the city until Sam received a call from Sarah. Whatever she told him, it made him worried and frantic, resulting in him telling his sister to pack an overnight bag and take her sons.
"What happened?" Bucky asked with a frown.
"Are AJ and Cass okay?" Lorna questioned.
"Karli called Sarah. She threatened my nephews."
Lorna locked her jaw and got a murderous glint in her eyes. If there was a moment when she believed Sam could help Karli, then those beliefs vanished now. As much as she hated to admit it, maybe Zemo was right. Maybe Karli was beyond salvation.
Sam put the phone back on his ear. "Okay. Go somewhere safe. Only pay cash. All right? Let me know when you arrive." He paused. "I know. Look, I love you. I'll never let anything happen to you and the boys. You know that. And Lori looks like she's about to kill someone."
"I am," she confirmed before Sam ended the call.
"Karli wants to meet," he told the two roommates. "She left a contact number."
"You know this is Walker's fault, right?" Lorna argued.
"It doesn't matter whose fault it is," Sam said.
"It does if it tells me who I should hit first." She countered.
Before she could get a response, Sam's phone chimed with a new text telling him where to meet her. "She said to come alone."
"I'm coming with you," Bucky and Lorna said in unison, leaving no room for argument.