Captain America

Steve Rogers sat alone in a prison cell deep within the superhuman detention facility known as the Vault. For the first time in ages, he wasn’t armored up. He wasn’t carrying his shield. He wasn’t leading a team of cross-dimensional heroes. But even so, Captain America was still locked in battle. This time, for the soul of a fellow prisoner.

“You still there, Captain?” a voice asked from the cell next to his.

“I’m here,” Steve replied calmly. “I requested this cell, until you’re ready to talk.”

Not long ago, in response to Mayor Fisk's Super Hero Ban, Captain America had voluntarily surrendered to New York City authorities, an unexpected move that took everyone by surprise. For Steve, however, the decision was clear: a joint warning from S.H.I.E.L.D., Tiger Division, and other intelligence agencies worldwide had made him realize that only by cooperating with the government could he mitigate the damage being caused to reality by heroes frequently traveling between timelines. Steve hadn’t come back from the year 2099 to accidentally destroy the past, after all.

But New York Mayor Wilson Fisk had other plans for the legendary hero, locking him away in the Vault with no trial and no contact with the outside world, as if he were nothing more than a common criminal. Unfortunately, the Vault also happened to be full of those. And Captain America — or at least this timeline’s version of him — had put many of them behind these bars.

One inmate in particular, a young man named Parker Robbins, showed his disdain by assaulting Steve in the prison cafeteria. So Parker was more than a little surprised when, later that night, he discovered that the star-spangled Super-Soldier had been transferred into the cell next to his.

“Tell me how you get it,” Parker said.

“What?” Steve asked.

“The power, Cap,” Parker replied. “Tell me how you get the power.”

“I… I’m not sure what you —”

“Powerless,” Parker continued. “That’s how most people see themselves. But it isn’t true. That’s what you said. That’s what you told me. Not... you. But the ‘you’ from this world.”

Steve began to realize that words spoken by his counterpart from this reality — a Captain America who had fallen in battle long ago — must have rung true with Parker at one point in the young man’s life. And maybe, he thought, his own words could do the same now.

“And I was right,” Steve replied.

“But you only want us to have the right kind of power,” Parker snapped back. “The power to vote. To organize. Not the power to fight. Not the power to take. Not the power to destroy the system and build a new one in its place.”

“I don’t think any individual should have that kind of power,” Steve said, disturbed by the growing anger in Parker’s voice.

Parker couldn’t help but laugh at the hero’s response.

“What’s so funny, son?” Steve asked.

“My father once told me that your America isn’t our America,” Parker replied. “He died in prison because the system was stacked against him. And the people with the real power — people like you — didn’t care. That’s what makes your America different. The power ‘no individual should have.’”

Captain America listened intently to the young man’s impassioned speech, trying to understand.

“You have it, Cap,” Parker said. “You superheroes — you could do anything. Take down any corrupt CEO. Overthrow the government. Change the whole system. Give us some of your power. But you don’t. Because the system serves you. So, you make us wait... you make us wait to be saved. But I don’t want to be saved by Captain America’s power and might. I want my own.”

The fire in the young man’s voice instantly seemed familiar to Steve. It reminded him of Bucky, back during the war. Steve had witnessed how passion that strong could be twisted by the wrong influence, leading a good soldier down a dark path. He didn’t want to see that happen to Parker. After a long moment of reflection, Captain America finally spoke again. And what he said were the last words Parker Robbins would have expected.

“You’re right, Parker,” Steve said.

“...what?” Parker replied, genuinely surprised.

“I said you’re right,” Steve continued. “I do have powers that no one individual should wield. I think about that every day. And I could change things by force. I could have released your father from prison. Compelled the state to put your mother in a better eldercare facility.”

“You know about —” a shocked Parker interjected.

“Yeah. Well... being slammed in the face with a cafeteria tray is pretty good motivation to ask a kind-hearted guard for a background check,” Steve explained. “We... those of us with extraordinary powers... we can knock down any man-made wall. Crash through any barrier. I could change things by force. I could create what some people would call a better world. I’ve seen people try that before. And I didn’t like the results.”

Steve stood up, placing his hand against the wall separating his cell from Parker’s.

“Besides, son...” he added, “…there are different kinds of power. Restraint is a power. The power to not lash out, to not force your will upon others. Empathy is a power. Kindness is a power. Resolve is perhaps the greatest power I know. The willingness to stand up for what you believe in. Regardless of the consequences.”

Captain America’s speech was beginning to stir something in Parker Robbins. Something Parker hadn’t felt since he was a boy. Since before everything fell apart.

Hope.

“And if all my other powers fell away...” Steve concluded, “…my strength and my influence and my place in society... I would still have empathy. I would still have kindness. I would still have resolve.”

For a moment, Parker felt as if he had returned to the days of listening to Captain's speeches on campus. But then he remembered the grim reality of where he was, how he got there, and what he lost along the way…

“Yeah, well...” Parker said, “...my Dad had all of those things, too. And he’s still dead. So I’ll take strength. And I’ll take might.”

Captain America took a deep breath, unsure of how to respond to Parker’s words. The boy didn’t need more inspirational speeches. He needed to feel seen. Understood. But before Steve could speak, an explosion unexpectedly rocked the Vault.

“Prison break!” A guard yelled, as alarms began to blare.

As the power grid in the prison failed, Steve felt the inhibitor collar around his neck — the device keeping his super-strength in check — suddenly power down. He tested his cell door to see if the electronic locking mechanism was still online. It wasn’t, so all it took was one strong tug to rip the cell door off its hinges. He stepped out into the smoky corridor, getting a good look at the chaos erupting all around him. He knew he had to try to calm things down before they got completely out of control. Before someone got hurt.

But there was something else Captain America needed to do first. He turned to the door of the cell adjacent to his own and pulled it open. Inside, Parker Robbins looked at the hero in astonishment. Clearly, he had not anticipated this. Steve grabbed the young man gently by the arm and started to lead him down the smoky corridor.

“Come on, Parker!” Steve said.

“You’re escaping?” Parker asked, surprised that an obedient soldier like Captain America could possibly be bending the rules.

“We’re surviving,” Steve replied. “And we’re helping everyone else survive.”

As they turned the corner, they could see a fellow inmate assaulting an unconscious guard. Steve grabbed hold of the prisoner’s makeshift weapon.

“I can’t let you do that,” he said, disapprovingly.

As the prisoner fled, Parker watched in disgust as Captain America helped the defenseless guard.

“Knew you were on our side, Cap…” the relieved guard said. “Glad you turned yourself in.”

The guard's words sent Parker over the edge.

“You came here willingly? You can’t even let him kill a guard?” he snapped. “A guard who would throw you in a dark hole and then laugh about it while he’s kissing his girl? The guy's in Kingpin's pocket!”

Parker shook his head and started to walk away.

“So weak,” Parker muttered. “How did I ever not see just how weak you —”

Before he could finish his sentence, the floor beneath Parker suddenly collapsed, pulling him downward along with a cascade of rubble.

“Parker!” Steve yelled, watching as the young man disappeared, swallowed by the darkness below.

Captain America instinctively leapt down after Parker, locating him half-buried in a pile of concrete.

“Parker!” Steve yelled again. “Parker, can you hear me?”

“Yeah, I hear you, Cap,” Parker replied as Steve helped him remove the heavy chunks of debris covering his lower body. Once he was free and on his feet again, the wounded prisoner began to limp away from his heroic companion. “And I’m walking away.”

Captain America wanted to try to talk some sense into his young companion, but it was too late. Parker had already wandered down another hallway leading further into the depths of the prison. And there were others who needed his help just as much. Steve turned his attention to a group of guards and prisoners gathered nearby, helping to guide them safely through a hole in the wall that led outside.

Much to his surprise, when Captain America emerged from the prison, he saw who was behind the escape attempt. His ally, Spider-Man, was inside a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport vehicle, leaning out the passenger side window and waving excitedly.

“Cap! Buddy!” Spider-Man yelled, thrilled to see his friend. “You don’t call, you don’t write, you don’t leave the prison when we punch a couple of holes in the wall for you!”

“You shouldn’t have done this, Spider-Man,” Steve said, clearly frustrated by the webslinger’s reckless actions.

“Well...” Spider-Man said with a shrug. “I did!”

Spider-Man and his fellow heroes quickly ushered Captain America inside the S.H.I.E.L.D. transport so they could make their escape. As they drove away, Steve couldn’t help but look back and think of Parker.

“I’m sorry,” he said under his breath. “I’m sorry I failed you, son.”

But little did Captain America realize that, deep inside the Vault, Parker Robbins had finally found the power that he had been searching for…