"Are you Marcus… or his brother?" Captain America lifted his shield, bracing himself. The man before him looked exactly like the one who had once fought at his side—and the same one who later nearly destroyed everything. Whether as an ally or an enemy, Marcus had left an unforgettable mark. Though the truth was that there had never been two of them, Steve Rogers still didn't know that.
"It's me," Marcus said calmly, pulling a small metallic card from his pocket—his Avengers identification and security clearance, glowing faintly in the dim light.
Still, Steve didn't relax. After the government's betrayal, blind trust was a luxury he no longer allowed himself. Keeping his shield raised to cover Blink behind him, he demanded, "How did you know I was here?"
Marcus pointed to his ear and gave a faint smile. The meaning was obvious—the S.H.I.E.L.D. communicator implanted within. With its built-in GPS tracking, anyone with top-level clearance could locate him easily.
Under normal circumstances, Steve would have believed him. But after everything that had happened—the lies, the manipulation—his instincts screamed caution. So he set one final test.
"Then answer me this," he said coldly. "When we first met, where was it, who was there, and what were the first words I said to you?"
Marcus sighed, clearly unimpressed by the questioning, yet he answered anyway: "The first time we met was at a small safehouse on the outskirts of New York. You, Tony, Nick, and I were all there. And the first thing you said to me was, 'You're the one who escaped from the Hydra base?' Does that satisfy you, Captain?"
Steve froze for half a second, then suddenly stepped forward and embraced him tightly. "Marcus—it really is you! I thought everyone was gone… I thought the nuke took you too!"
"Not quite," Marcus replied smoothly. "Right before the launch, Nick ejected my containment pod from the helicarrier. That cell was built to imprison high-level threats—it's tougher than anything I've ever seen. It sank deep into the ocean before the blast hit. Took me a long time to get out."
"I see…" Steve murmured. His eyes hardened. "So Nick didn't make it. Then tell me—who hijacked the helicarrier systems? Who launched those nukes at our own fleet?"
Marcus couldn't very well say me, so he opted for the kind of lie that could never be disproved. "I was locked in the containment cell the entire time. When Nick dropped me, there was no time to explain. But from what I saw before—Hydra commandos had breached the lower decks, and… I think some of the infected from Queens made it onboard too."
A half-truth—just enough to sound real. With the carrier now silent and unreachable, no one could prove otherwise. Steve frowned but didn't press further.
"Alright," Marcus said lightly, brushing imaginary dust from his coat. "Enough questions, Captain. You have bigger things to deal with than me."
Steve's eyes widened as he suddenly remembered. "You're right! We have to tell the American people the truth about New York—before Cyclops and Magneto make their move against the government. If mutants and humans go to war, there'll be no coming back from it! It won't be just a few nukes next time—it'll be the end of everything!"
Marcus sighed deeply, shaking his head as if disappointed in a naïve student. "Captain… do you even realize what you're saying?"
"What do you mean?" Steve asked, confused. "I'm trying to stop a war, not start one."
Marcus smiled faintly, though his eyes were cold. "If you tell the world the truth, what happens next? The people will realize the government lied. They'll see that the so-called rebellion was fabricated. And when that happens, the people will turn against their leaders."
Steve nodded. "Good! They deserve the truth!"
Marcus chuckled softly. "And what about the military? The soldiers still loyal to the flag? You think they'll just let the truth slide? No, they'll be ordered to silence you—and the government will double down. Congress won't admit to lying, and they'll never repeal the Superhero Registration Act. They'll just tighten control."
Steve's expression darkened. "…You're saying they'd rather destroy the country than admit fault."
"Exactly," Marcus said, stepping closer. "So tell me, Captain: when the government collapses under its own deceit, and the people riot in the streets—who do you think steps in to 'restore order'? Magneto? The mutants? The ones the public already fears?"
Steve's silence was answer enough. He understood immediately. If mutants were the ones to overthrow the U.S. government, it wouldn't be liberation—it would be tyranny. Humanity would never accept it.
"Then what do we do?" Steve asked quietly. "If the truth will only tear the nation apart… how do we save it?"
Marcus smiled—the kind of smile that never reached his eyes. "To stabilize America, we need a government the people can trust—someone who stands above the corruption, who embodies what the country should be. Someone both humans and mutants can believe in."
Steve frowned. "And who would that be?"
Marcus stepped forward and gently tapped a finger against Steve's forehead.
"You, of course," he said softly. "The next President of the United States—President Captain America."
_____
T/N:
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