165 Trick 164: Talking to John Walker

As he was thinking to himself, studying these people in this room, Wakanda's Dora Milaje appeared, fighting basically everyone in the room for Zemo.

John said to the woman, "The Dora Milaje don't have jurisdiction here." The woman looked at him and said "The Dora Milaje have jurisdiction wherever the Dora Milaje find themselves to be."

Ace looked at the woman, he didn't remember Wakandans being so arrogant. They wouldn't have jurisdiction where he was, which was also a point of thought.

The rules and laws of the world, they didn't apply to Ace anymore…

While he was thinking, the Dora Milaje started beating on everyone in the room while Zemo escaped.

What Ace didn't understand was, why were they trying to kill John and his buddy? Weren't they here for Zemo? Ace watched Zemo jump into a drain and escape, so instead of catching him, they lost the opportunity by trying to kill the two.

Curiously, Bucky and Sam stopped them from the mindless killing.

Ace stood up and walked out of the room as the Dora Milaje left after confirming that Zemo was gone.

Outside, Ace stopped them, looking at the leader, who frowned "Step aside." Ace looked at her and asked "You came to capture Zemo?" another woman stabbed at Ace's head with a spear, only for it to stop in front of Ace, who had his hands in his pockets, looking at the leader without flinching.

The leader frowned and said "Who are you?" Ace repeated "You came for Zemo, why the need to kill John Walker and his partner?" the woman pointed her spear at him, saying "I will not ask you again!"

Ace blinked slowly and their spears turned to dust, the three women fell to their knees as the ground under them cracked. Ace looked down and asked again, "Why did you try to kill John Walker."

The leader started sweating as she could barely even lift her head, her entire body trembling, every cell in her body screaming in fear. She struggled to say, "We only want Zemo… They were simply in the way."

Ace looked down at her, asking "Taking a life for simply being in your way? Is that how Wakanda is now? Did T'Challa train you like this?" the women were forced into the ground, smashing their foreheads into the stones with their arms spread out to the side, saying "N-No…"

Ace tilted his head and asked "Then why? How do you determine who lives and dies? Who are you to cast judgment onto others?" the woman shivered as she replied "We… are the D-Dora Milaje!"

Ace nodded softly, asking "If I kill you right now, am I justified as well? You're in my way right now, should I kill you?" the women froze and laid there, their bodies nearly folding in half as the leader struggled, "We are from Wakanda… you canno-"

Ace interrupted her saying "I can't? Would you like to see me do it?" the leader made a great effort to shake her head, feeling that Ace would actually do it. Ace nodded and said "I see. You are arrogant. Arrogance is not a sin deserving of death. However an overabundance of arrogance leads to extreme pridefulness which is a sin. You are not the Judge, Jury, and Executioner simply because you belong to Wakanda. You, John Walker, Bucky, and the rest of Humanity are equal in all rights, do not place yourself above them otherwise you will find yourself to have a very short life."

He looked at the three women shaking on the ground as the stone beneath them cracked and snapped. He released them and disappeared.

The leader looked up to see Ace gone, but their spears in his place, stabbing into the ground.

She helped her two partners up as one of them asked in Wakandan "Who was that?" The leader frowned and shook her head, saying "I don't know. We must report to the King quickly. A threat to Wakanda is nothing good." before they grabbed their spears, leaving.

Next thing Ace knew, he was in a mall, listening to John and his buddy talk. Ace came to find out the buddy's name was Lemar.

Lemar said "Look, man, the Serum and its source are gone. I know it didn't work out the way you wanted it to, but it ain't all bad." a woman walked over and smiled nervously "John Walker? C-Can I get an Autograph?"

John smiled and signed her picture as she held it tightly, smiling excitedly "Thank you!" before leaving with her friend.

Ace watched them go as Lemar said "How long till that gets real annoying?" Ace turned to John and studied his face, he wiped his eyes with one hand, extremely tired as he smirked "You're just mad she didn't ask for yours."

Lemar chuckled and replied "Oh, it's her loss. I even got a little Battlestar logo I draw with it." John snorted in amusement, falling silent for a moment before asking seriously "If you had a chance to take the Serum, would you?"

Ace looked at Lemar, who turned, scoffing with a smirk "Hells, yeah!" Ace tilted his head as John asked "You wouldn't be worried about how it might change you?" Lemar looked away, sighing as he replied "Hey, I mean…" he licked his lips and thought for a moment, before looking at John, saying "Power just makes a person more of themselves, right?" as he held out his hand, adding "Karli Morgenthau." before moving it over, saying "Steve Rogers."

Ace thought to himself about what he said. He didn't quite agree, however there was merit to what Lemar said. He had heard a phrase before 'Absolute Power corrupts absolutely.' Ace didn't agree with this at all, because while people could change, yes, that didn't mean they warped into someone completely different.

They are inherently still the person they were before, however it was simply their goals that changed. You wouldn't find an angel, who became a genocidal maniac given god-like power. They had to have already had these qualities inside themselves.

That being said, he wondered about himself. Who was he to begin with?

A thief? A boy in love with magic? A martyr?

What was it that he was struggling with at the moment?

Who was Ace at his core?

He wanted to know.

John looked at Lemar and asked "And me?" Lemar turned to him, replying "You already have three Medals of Honor. You consistently make the right decisions in the heat of battle." John rubbed his eyes again, replying softly "Yep. Three badges of excellence to make sure I never forget the worst day of my life…"

He looked at Lemar, continuing "We both know that the things we had to do in Afghanistan to be awarded those medals felt a long way from being right. Being Cap is the first time I've actually had a chance to do something that feels right."

Lemar sighed, shaking his head as he said "But God! Imagine how many lives we could have saved that day if we had that Serum." John looked at Lamar before saying "I know…" as he fell silent.

Ace followed John as he went to a safe place before taking out the Serum, looking at it.

Ace revealed himself and said "Will you take it?" John held up his fists, saying "Who?!" Ace stepped out from the shadows, saying "A nobody. I won't say anything, I just want to know… Will you take the Serum knowing that it's wrong to do so?"

John frowned and looked at him, retorting "How is it wrong? You need Super Soldiers to fight Super Soldiers." Ace tilted his head at him, asking "Do you? You are very interesting to me. Zemo has killed innocent people, however he destroyed the Serum upon finding them. You, however, took one for yourself. Why is that?"

He walked around John, continuing "Inferiority? The Burden of the Shield? What drives you to become stronger? What do you hope to achieve with the power you could have? Steve Rogers was a test subject with no idea of what he would become, he used his power to be one of the greatest Heroes ever known to Mankind."

John was silent as Ace asked "What will you be, John Walker? Personally, I don't find you to be all that bad. Short tempered, yes. Ignorant, sure. Arrogant, perhaps a little. However, you are not a bad person, so what drove you to steal the serum?"

John let his hands down, replying "Why should I answer you?" Ace retorted, "Oh, you don't have to. I was simply musing to myself. You can simply pretend I'm not here. I won't stop you or encourage you. I simply wish to know who or what John Walker is."

John looked at the Serum in his hand and said "I thought I could be him, you know? The one everyone else looks up to. The guy who stands at the front of the line. Now… I realize that it's not so simple. Everyone looks to me for answers and I don't have 'em. I just want to be like Steve Rogers, I want to be the light of hope. The guy you can turn to and say 'I know you've got my back.'"

He clenched his fist around the Serum, continuing "But… I can't be that guy if I can't win! I need to win! I need to be stronger to be that person! If I can't make a difference then I'm no different than any other guy!" he looked up at Ace, asking "What would you do?"

Ace looked at him and ignored the question, saying "Vanity has consumed you. You're entrenched in the Sin of Envy. You wish to be Steve Rogers and enjoy the glory he had but didn't care for. You want to be him because you feel it would make you happy. You compare Steve's past to yours and feel inferior, therefore your envy grows. You want people to look at you and see you, not Captain America."

Ace shook his head, adding "Steve Rogers wasn't Captain America because of the Serum. Steve Rogers was a man who never gave up, never quit, and never stopped fighting for what he believed in. What you don't understand is, it's not the Serum or the Power that made Steve what he is. It was always his heart and will. A person once said 'When the mob, the media, and the world tell you to move. Your job is to plant yourself like a tree next to the river of truth and say 'No. You move.'"

Ace tilted his head at John, going on, "Do you understand this? That serum will not make you Captain America and it's a long way away from making you Steve Rogers." John frowned and Ace spoke again, "But that's okay. Because you don't have to be Steve Rogers to be Captain America."

John said "I don't understand…" Ace looked at him and said "If you stand up for what you believe in without taking a step back, you can be Captain America. The Shield doesn't represent a person, it's not an idol, or a title. It's an idea, a hope, a promise. When you pick up the Shield, you become the hope, you aren't a person, you're an idea, a being meant for only one thing, doing what's right no matter the cost."

Ace stretched out his hand and grabbed the air, the Shield appearing in his fingers as he added, "You are the personification of Justice. Not a man. Steve gave up his entire life to dedicate himself to this Shield, making it what it is today. You, John Walker, have the burden of carrying this legacy, trying your absolute best to move it forward in a positive manner. You carry the torch and make sure the embers don't burn out. Don't think of it as a Shield, because it's not. It's a sign of freedom, no matter what country it's in."

John was silent and Ace put the shield down, stabbing it into the ground slightly, making it stand up as he said softly "It means a lot to a lot of people, but it doesn't matter what they think. You decide what the Shield becomes now. Whether it stays as the Symbol of Freedom, or turns into something else… The choice is yours, much like that Serum in your hands. You can take it or not, it doesn't matter. You have the freedom of choice, John Walker."

Ace disappeared and left John to himself, not watching what his choice would be. He would find out sooner or later.