Captain America

Sharon Carter

Harlem

“Long time, no see, Kamikaze?” Captain America said, as he greeted his old friend in an alleyway in the drug-infested district of Harlem. “I heard that you've been looking for me. And that you left Alpha Flight recently and want to move from being a Japanese-Canadian superhero to an American one.”

Harada took off his mask, revealing his face underneath. “Yes, it has been a long time, Cap. Last time we met, I was just a child while my father, the first Kamikaze, was a ninja assassin/kamikaze pilot during the days of Pearl Harbor and the beginning days of WWII. You fought him, back then.”

“So, what do you want with me, Kam?” Cap asked.

“I just want some closure. To find out the kind of man my father was and how I can be a better man than he. I tried to be the super villain that my father was. It didn't work out. I guess my heart just wasn't in it. I don't know if I was a coward or what, but I wasn't very successful at it. Now, I'm a hero. A super hero. But my team, Alpha Flight, is not ready to accept me. Especially Madison Jeffries, the husband of the woman who tried to reform me properly.”

“That would be Diamond Lil, right?”

“Hai. She is some woman.” That garnered a smile on Harada's lips. Cap caught the smile and knew exactly what it meant.

“I hope your emotions aren't taking over. Sometimes love can get in the way of your emotions. Being on the Avengers for most of my adult life taught me that to properly be on a team, sometimes you have to guard the love you have for members of the opposite sex.”

Cap put on his helmet and the two men mounted the motorcycle, making the long trek from Harlem to Brooklyn . Kamikaze had never been on a vehicle of this kind and size before, but it was a thrill a minute ride.

“Do you think that I am in love with Lillian? Because you couldn't be further from the truth.”

“Don't lie to me, Kam. Guardian keeps me informed on the personal struggles of Alpha Flight. And he happened to mention the kiss you gave to Lil many months ago. That wasn't very appropriate and it must have caused tension between husband and wife.”

The conversation lasted until an hour or two later, after standing in gridiron traffic for the longest time, they arrived at Steve Rogers' apartment in Brooklyn . Cap parked the cycle in the rack, tied it up with a lock and chain, took off his helmet, and walked Kamikaze up the stairs to his apartment.

Cap opened the door to his apartment and bade Kamikaze to enter. “Honey, I'm back,” Cap said to his live-in partner and girlfriend. “I brought a guest.”

Covering his mouth with a hand, Harada whispered to his old friend, “I hope I'm not intruding or imposing.”

“Not at all. Relax on the couch. I'll make us some coffee.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Harada saw a perky, young girl come racing out of her room to embrace Cap. He had heard that Rogers had adopted a girl who had lost her parents. It was all over the news.

“Daddy, I'm so glad you're home. I missed you so much,” Maria said, giddy as a school girl. “Did you bring Auntie Sharon with you?”

Cap removed his mask, revealing his handsome face underneath. He was Steve Rogers again. “Where is Aunt Sharon? Don't tell me that she left you all alone in the apartment without a sitter.”

Maria giggled again. “She said she went shopping. To get me some food. I thought you were there with her.”

“Its okay, Steve. I'm here,” Agent Deborah Walker said, exiting the room that Maria was playing in.

“That's a relief,” Steve said, with a sigh. “Now, where could Sharon be?”

Suddenly, the door opened and a familiar blonde-haired woman entered with both hands full of groceries. It was Sharon Carter, Agent 13 of SHIELD.

“Auntie! You're home! What did you get me?” Maria asked, embracing her surrogate mother.

“I bought you plenty of ice cream. Vanilla, like you like it,” she answered, with a smile on her pretty face.

“Oh, there you are,” Steve said. “I was wondering when you'd get home.”

“Help me with the packages,” Sharon offered. “And then, you can tell us who you're guest is and what he's doing here.”

“If you don't mind, Harada…” Cap said.

“This would be different,” Kamikaze answered.

After the packages were put in their proper receptacles, Steve Rogers sat with Kamikaze and Sharon Carter. Debbie Walker played with Maria in her room with the door closed so that they could have some privacy. Kamikaze had by now taken off his mask, pocketed it, and Captain America had removed his costume and changed into his civvies.

“So, Harada,' Steve said, staring into Kamikaze's forlorn eyes. “Tell me what you need to know.”

“I'll tell you what I already know about my father.” Suddenly, Harada donned his mask and stood up. “You killed my father, murderer!” He launched into attack mode, hurling Chinese Throwing Stars at Steve's prone form.

Steve used his shield which was by his side to block the stars dropping them to the floor. Sharon had taken out her service revolver and shot Kamikaze in the chest. Lucky for him he was wearing a bullet proof vest.

Steve had thrown his shield, grazing Harada on the forehead. But that only stunned him for the moment. Kamikaze was known for his resourcefulness and ability to bounce back from any attack. He wasn't known for capturing Alpha Flight for nothing.

Kamikaze was burning with rage. He wanted nothing more than to kill Captain America , or in this case Steve Rogers, because he was the one who killed his father back in the days of WWII.

Steve Rogers tore off his shirt, revealing his costume underneath. He donned his mask. Now he was Captain America . “I don't know what got into you, Kam, but I'm going to take you down now.”

“Why did you kill him?” Kamikaze screamed. “He was the only person I ever loved.” He unsheathed his samurai sword and swung at Cap's hurtling form, only hitting his shield instead.

“I had to kill him. He was threatening everything that America stood for. He was one of the few Japanese kamikaze pilots that survived the attack on Pearl Harbor . I was new at the game. I thought I couldn't bring him in peacefully. I'm sorry, he's dead, but there's nothing I can do to turn back time.”

Then, Cap saw it. A hypno disc attached to Harada's neck. The Red Skull must have gotten to him as he made his long trek to America . Before Kamikaze could end the fight, Cap ripped the disc off of him, making the ninja wail in pain.

“What happened?” Kamikaze asked, a little woozy. He seemed like himself again.

Captain America helped Kamikaze up. “Tell me the last thing you remember.”

The ninja touched his head, for that was what hurt the most. “Last thing…? I had hitch hiked all the way to America . When I arrived in New York , a man calling himself the Captain approached me. He said that he was your sidekick. A man learning from you. Then, everything went black. “

Cap extended a hand. “I'm sorry, Kam, that you had to be at the losing end of that. It seems that the Captain is my clone, manufactured by one of my old enemies, the Red Skull. He has a habit of using either people I don't know, like Afrika, or people I haven't seen in awhile, like you, to attack me. I have to put an end to it all.”

Kamikaze shook his hand. “Thank you, Cap. I don't know why I came to seek you. But my vaguest memory is of attacking a cyborg and a giant.”

“Maybe its better you don't know. I think that you should go back to Canada and forget about being an American super hero. You belong in Canada . You belong among your friends.”

“Thank you, Cap. Good luck in fighting this Skull guy. Wish I could help.”

The door to Maria's room opened slightly and the two who had been in there exited it. When they walked out, Kamikaze had been long gone.

“What was that all about?” Debbie asked.

“Nothing to concern you with,” Cap answered. “Just a slight misunderstanding. Right now, Sharon and I have to figure how to take down the Skull.”

The Skull's HQ

“You have failed me too many times, Captain,” The Red Skull screamed at his associate, the clone of Steve Rogers. “I told you to recruit those two new super heroes and you failed in that, too. Your first failure was in killing Captain America in his apartment.”

“It wasn't my fault, Skull. There must have been a malfunction in the hypno discs. They were fool proof.”

The Skull rubbed his chin. “Perhaps you are right. Now, I will employ real villains; the Red Skull Gang, the Thunder Gods Gang, and Kraven the Hunter. And if they fail, I may be forced to kill Steve Rogers myself.”