Chapter 08

S teve got on his motorcycle and went for a ride across the river into Washington, DC. After wandering around for a while, he found himself in one of his favorite places, the Smithsonian. He loved that museum, but lately it was a little weird going there because the museum had installed an exhibit on him. Steve Rogers, walking historical relic. He felt like the world had passed him by, like everything he’d fought for had been lost because S.H.I.E.L.D. had decided that better weapons trumped better ideas.

He walked by the exhibit as the voiceover played, telling a version of his story.

“A symbol to the nation,” the exhibit voiceover said as Steve walked past a giant mural of him saluting a flag. Captain America, the Living Legend and Symbol of Courage , read the title. “A hero to the world. The story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery, and sacrifice.” Steve paused before a display showing pictures of him before and after he’d volunteered for the Super-Soldier project. “Denied enlistment due to poor health,” the voiceover went on, “Steven Rogers was chosen for a program unique in the annals of American warfare. One that would transform him into the world’s first Super-Soldier.”

A young boy wearing a Captain America T‑shirt noticed him. Recognized him. The boy’s eyes popped. Steve gave him a wink and laid a finger across his lips: Shh. Our little secret.

I guess I really am a museum piece , he thought.

He stopped again, in front of a diorama featuring mannequins wearing the uniform of the Howling Commandos. Steve’s original Captain America suit and shield were there, too. He’d been wearing them when he came out of the ice. “Battle tested, Captain America and his Howling Commandos quickly earned their stripes. Their mission: take down Hydra, the Nazi rogue science division.”

Turning, Steve saw a black-and-white picture of Bucky Barnes under the heading a fallen comrade . “Best friends since childhood, Bucky Barnes and Steven Rogers were inseparable on both schoolyard and battlefield.” A film loop of Steve and Bucky played on a screen set into the display, showing him and Bucky laughing together between missions. “Barnes is the only Howling Commando to give his life in service of his country.”

That’s right , Steve thought. But if Project Insight is where this country is going, what was that sacrifice worth?

Next he went into a film room and sat in the back, watching Peggy Carter being interviewed in 1953. “That was a difficult winter. A blizzard had trapped half our battalion behind the German line. Steve, Captain Rogers, he fought his way through a Hydra blockade that had pinned our allies down for months. He saved over a thousand men. Including the man who would...who would become my husband, as it turned out.”

Lucky guy , Steve thought. While he listened to Peggy’s voice, he took out the compass he’d had in the war, with her picture pasted into the inside of the lid. The same picture he’d watched as the Red Skull’s plane made its final dive toward the ice.

“Even after he died,” Peggy said on the screen, “Steve was still changing my life.”

Now that he was alive again, Steve thought, she was still changing his, too. He needed to see her again.