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The first thing to go was Falcon’s wings. They broke midflight and Sam only survived because Hawkeye shot eight arrows through Sam’s clothes, pinning him to a building.
They went to Wakanda and King T’Challa for repairs.
“This is not something I can do again,” T’Challa said while handing Sam the folded wings.
“Why?” Steve asked, his head tilted in confusion.
“You all are fugitives. Every UN country is looking for you. Some even have taskforces just to capture you. Wakanda is in a delicate position due to my father’s recent death and an influx of illegal mining. Unfavorable UN attention would only add to the instability. I must put my people and country first.”
“I understand, your highness.” Steve shook hands with him, hating politics a little bit more. If people would just allow him to take the actions that were needed then the world would be a safer place.
They were smuggled out of the country that night.
The next thing to go was Clint’s trick arrows.
They contacted Maria Hill about replacements.
“All the storage facilities have been raided by either Hydra or groups that waded through SHIELD’s info dump.”
“Do you think…” Steve didn’t know how to word what he was thinking. Thankfully Maria was good at reading people.
“Stark is… concentrating on Rhodes right now. He has isolated himself from Stark Industries and the rest of the world. If he knew I was in contact with you he would likely fire me. I’m blacklisted. No one else would hire me.”
“Okay.” He pursed his lips, feeling both angry and frustrated.
“I’m sorry, Captain. Stay safe.”
“You stay safe too.”
They ran out of money two months after they split from the Avengers.
Being fugitives meant no funding from the government.
Steve had burned his bridge with Tony when the truth of him knowing that Tony’s parents had come to light. He doubted he’d get a penny from him.
Natasha had been their sole supplier of money, using the funds she had stolen from Hydra directly after the fall of SHIELD.
Traveling the world while undercover in order to take care of threats had whittled away at their money.
They didn’t have enough funds to get the information they needed.
Steve pursed his lips. Like this they would not be able to help anyone.
Clint went back to his family. Natasha decided to go it on her own. Wanda drifted away, changing her appearance and focusing on Sokovia’s recovery. Scott was nearly out of Pym Particles and went back to work for Pym since no one knew his real identity.
Falcon’s wings broke again and he became an average soldier. Steve used the last of their funds to get Sam a new identity and send him back to the US.
Steve was too ashamed of himself, of keeping something so important from Tony to go back.
He began fading away in the world, fighting smaller and smaller groups as time went by until all he had left was his fists and enemies.