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The rain started falling the moment Steve Rogers put his one hand on the good book and the other up in the air in allegiance. He stood with the priest at the balcony of the Capitol Building surrounded by his peers in the superhero community. The Inhuman royalty, in all their mystique and shallow apathy stood behind him. His closest allies T’challa, king of Wakanda; Vision, the synthezoid Avenger; Sharon Carter, fellow SHIELD associate and lover; Carol Danvers, Earth’s mightiest hero Captain Marvel and the figurehead of the side that stood for preemptive justice during the second super hero civil war; and Sam Wilson, his successor of the shield, were all in attendance as well. All of them had great power and high positions of authority in their respected spheres, but if you were to ask Steve which attendants made him the most nervous or the most confused, he would say they were the five youngsters of the six member group called the Champions standing several steps above him. Steve remembered being told that they were invited because of decorum since most of them quit the prestigious Avengers of all teams as well as their newfound popularity from their acts of charity and humanitarian work across the globe. Steve reckoned with them because they showed the same determination in their superhero work that he had when he first joined HYDRA and the war effort in the second World War, and he respected determination.
He didn’t give as much thought toward the spectators in the fields across from the balcony, but they certainly gave a lot of their hopes, thoughts, and admiration to him. Most of the superheroes didn’t care, but a great majority of the mortal folk down there witnessed the end of that second civil war. They saw the mighty Captain Marvel and the invincible Iron Man do battle in the clear blue skies above and wreak destruction across Washington D.C. at the residents below. They saw two superheroes, beloved by many, fight and instead of hope, the one feeling that dominated their minds on that day and the days after that, which then morphed into hatred for the The black mass that made up the non-superhero crowd below looked up to Steve Rogers through the gloom. They couldn’t tell He was their chosen hero since the beginning of their childhoods, meant to take charge and lead on from the mistakes elites like Tony Stark and Carol Danvers made. The mistakes elites, who thought they knew how to protect humanity better than anyone else, made that led to the second superhero civil war.
The scene felt cinematic with its tragedy, even heroic if seen through a more twisted perspective considering the circumstances. It was tragic due to the sacrifices made to get to this moment as Rhodey’s death and Tony’s almost permanent comatose state put everyone in a gloomy mood, but it was heroic in the sense that while the present was rainy and melancholic now, the future would be clear and bright now that the original Captain America, sentinel standing for everything patriotic and good, was in charge of things. Right?
The Champions, who more or less represented the future, hesitantly thought so.
So the Human Rocket Sam Alexander, propelled by his instincts rather than common etiquette despite the persistence of his mother and most of his friends, did what he always compelled himself to do during moments like these. He took out his phone and prepared to take a photo, squinting to get the right angle.
“What are you doing?” Kamala sharply asked him right before he could touch the button.
“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m taking a photo,” Sam held the phone to his chest.
“Why are you doing that? Do you know how that looks?”
“I don’t know about you but I definitely know all of us look great.”
Sam wore a suit and tie, which managed to surprise everyone on the team, even him, that he was capable of doing such a thing. That didn’t mean there was no struggle to get him in it. First, Kamala had to convince him to come to Steve’s Inauguration, which he initially refused since he and the Spider-man Miles Morales were in less than favorable with the adult superheroes since bailing on the Avengers. Sam said he would attend only if Miles came, but that couldn't happen considering Miles’s residual fear of being near Steve Rogers meant that he had to keep his distance. Sam still accepted out of Miles’s insistence. Then, he had to borrow a suit from Amadeus because the Alexander family couldn’t afford any in his size and learn how to tie a tie for the first time of his life, with the help of his mother of course. The only thing that denoted that he was indeed a superhero, besides the slightly smug attitude and crippling insecurity, was the Nova helmet he had on his head, which was another oddity on its own. Usually when Sam put on the helmet, he was imbued with the cosmic Nova Force and all of his clothes would be covered up in armor, but this time nothing cosmic or armory covered his suit at all. Sam said that he had the ability to turn the helmet “off” even though he never showed he could do that before, but the others decided not to question it.
Meanwhile, Kamala wore a formal blue dress with her signature mask and scarf. In fact, she dressed in a way similar to her regular superhero self, which not only spoke to her versatility but to her own symbolism as well. Whether she was fighting bad guys or attending ceremonies, Ms. Marvel was Kamala Khan through and through, no matter what kind of situation she was in. No need to hide behind any sort of mask, except to protect her identity of course.
She also wanted to maintain a certain Champions image for this event.
“I ask again, why are you doing that?” she quietly questioned all flustered. “We are in the middle of Steve’s pledge.”
“So I can have something to take back home. Do you know how many chances a kid from Arizona has to do this? Kaelynn is gonna freak and Mom is gonna be so proud.” Sam paused for moment. “And to show Miles what he missed because, you know, he couldn’t make it.”
“Okay, I definitely understand why Sam but you need to think about what kind of message taking a photo in the middle of an inauguration has. Haven’t you seen the news? What those anchormen are saying about us? Next thing you know, once all of this blows over, their headlines and rants are gonna be about how ‘disrespectful kids obsess over their phones rather than pay attention to their elders.’”
“Wait, they actually say that?” Sam asked Kamala with a completely confused look.
“Yeah don’t you pay attention to that stuff?”
Sam winced. “Nah, I kinda don’t check any of that that often. Don’t really care what those guys say.”
“Oh come—“
A shrill robotic voice from behind interrupted her.
“If I may add to this argument while the captain is still giving his pledge,” Viv Vision interjected, “I have statistics and analysis to give that can lead to equally satisfying outcomes for both sides without making more of an unnecessary scene.”
Unlike Kamala, Viv didn’t wear a dress, but rather a black suit and tie similar to what her father the Vision was wearing. She was capable of materializing various clothes for various situations, and for this particular moment, she looked perfect. Her robotic figure and posture complemented the suit incredibly well, making her look domineering and chillingly striking, and wearing all of her hair down in such a professional manner made her look older and more composed than all the other Champions put together. Despite what a history of awkward looking sweaters in an attempt to look casually super-heroic might suggest, this synthezoid had impeccable fashion sense.
“Proceed, Viv,” Kamala sighed.
“Alright, Kamala,” she turned her white, pupil-less eyes towards Sam. “Obviously Sam as an emotional being has sentimental reasons for taking a photo, no matter the impoliteness of doing so, because he in part feels guilty that he is the only one of his family able to physically attend such a historic event in the nation’s capital and that his still-lost father is unable to witness his son in such an event. Sam is also guilty that Miles cannot attend due to conditions he cannot alleviate and emotional baggage he cannot give comfort to. In that I, and hopefully you, can understand. However, Sam as Nova is known throughout our social media spaces and the world at large as the hot-headed speed demon, motivated by the heat of the moment and the thrill of action, so taking a photo during an inauguration would be in-character for him. While the men on television, only communicating with people much older and ideologically different from us, may find this egregious, the main base of our following on social media, our most effective form of communication where mostly people our age reside, would love it because it allows a moment of levity in a dreary atmosphere and makes them laugh at the level you’d call ‘giggling.’ You may think this course of action may damage our reputation somewhat Kamala, but there is actually little consequence of him taking a picture in the middle of an inauguration because this kind of behavior, for better or worse, is very much expected of him from people who either adore him or abhor him.”
Kamala, mildly shocked by Viv’s analysis but nonetheless recognizing she was mostly right, conceded to Sam. She worked with him for so long and knew that his family was incredibly important to him, but sometimes she forgot just how much he cared. Sam’s abundant confidence and sarcasm masked so much of what he felt and even when he was emotionally vulnerable he wouldn’t let anyone know about it, flying away when people were able to ask him. She imagined her own older brother in his situation, bearing so much responsibility without a father and with a single mother and a little sister. Kamala was also aware of how terrible Sam felt about Miles staying behind. He thought by accepting her invitation and bringing Miles with him he could help him get over the fear and trauma the second civil war left them, but Miles couldn’t take it and still had to convince Sam to go.
She thought to herself how professionalism and the social pressure of being near adult superheroes again could blind her and make her so insecure. This has been the closest she’s been to her idol Carol Danvers since their falling out in the war. She remembered being disappointed in her and the rest of the Avengers for their squabbling and obsession on the ends and ignorance of the consequences. Kamala thought about how those feelings motivated her to quit the Avengers, bring Sam and Miles back together, and create her own team, separate from everything else that came before her. She didn’t need to care what these people thought of them. They were their own team now. They were the Champions. They didn’t need them.
“Alright, take the photo Sam.”
“Um, I actually feel bad about taking now, actually.” Sam fiddled with his thumbs with his head down and an embarrassed look on his face. He whispered to himself, “Man, Viv I am so sorry you had to say that.”
“No, Sam. I’m sorry. I take it back. Please take the photo for your family and for all of us.”
With Kamala’s approval, Sam looked around him, took out his phone again, and pressed the button at the bottom of screen as quickly as he could. A little flash sound confirmed that the picture had been taken.
He gazed at the photo and looked over how the cloudy, rainy sky and the faceless masses of the people below contrasted with bright red, white, and blue of Steve Roger’s Captain America uniform and shield. “Sweet.”
Kamala, noticing how pleased Sam was, smirked. “How about we all take a selfie once the ceremony is completed? That way you’ll have another photo to show your family and we can show Miles more of what we did.”
Sam smiled back at her. “That sounds awesome, thanks Kamala.” He turned to Viv behind him. “Thanks for your input Viv.”
“You are very welcome, Samuel.” Now it was Viv’s turn to smile, but only a little bit. “I am very glad I can be of assistance to alleviating your anxiety during such a significant moment with such dreadful weather.”
Sam and Kamala sat back down and settled in for the rest of the inauguration ceremony, hoping for the future.