Little Street’s Foster Care was a home for many orphans, including Scott Everett. At ten years old he was already a rebellious and chaotic boy, to his caretakers he was a loud mouth pain in the ass and to his fellow kids he was the popular kid who made them laugh. Today was not a normal day though, Scott wasn’t wasn’t talking and running around. He just sat on the backyard swing with his head down.

Scott had trouble finding a family who’d adopt him, usually he’d get as far as an interview and they’d decline afterwards. For a few years he was begrudgingly used to it, but today’s rejection hurt. Scott had a strategy to win over the hearts of his would-be parents, he dressed up nicely and pretended to be a responsible young boy. He even combed his hair! The interview seemed to go well, Scott was sure this was his chance to have a place to call home. This morning Jenny, a caretaker who handled interviews, informed Scott that he would be staying at the Little Street for “just a little longer.”

It was always just a little longer.

“Hey Scott.” A girl’s voice greeted him.

It was Marcie, Scott’s best friend and the girl he secretly had a crush on. “Hey.” He greeted her back.

Marcie was tall for her age, skinny and pale, her hair was black and curly. She wore an ugly polka dot sweater in the cold seasons, Scott could vividly remember the color pattern to this day. Marcie was a tomboy, and like Scott, a trouble maker. The caretakers said that he influenced her, but they both knew she always had a chaotic streak in her. If anything they both brought that side out of each other and loved every second of it. Marcie seemed to be doomed to the same fate of rejection as Scott was until she hit puberty, when she discovered changes that weren’t ordinary for a growing girl. She could understand the emotions of the Foster Care’s dog Mochi, and could even explain ideas to the dog as well. And it wasn’t just dogs either, it was practically any animal. After a blood test, she was declared a mutant and that made her sought after.

“You’re getting adopted, right?” Scott asked, already knowing the answer deep down.

“Yes. I’m guessing you aren’t?”

“Mhm.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not fair.”

“Don’t be.”

There was a moment of quiet between the two of them, Scott didn’t pick his head up until he heard her quietly sniffling.

“What’s wrong?” He asked.

“The only reason they’re picking me is cause I’m a mutant.” Marcie cried, her voice cracking.

“No, that's not true.”

"Yes it is, they don't want me for me." tears ran down her face as she spoke. “Besides I don’t want to say goodbye.”

“You don’t have to. We promised to get married when we grow up, remember?”

Marcie nodded. “But what if I never see you again?”

“You will! Don’t worry.” Scott gave her a hug and reassured her.

“Kids!” A caretaker called, “Come inside, you have a special visitor!”

The two looked at each other and decided they had to see what was going on.

——

All the kids sat on the floor lined up shoulder to shoulder, waiting to see who the caretakers gathered them all to see. Jenny made a speech to the kids.

“As you know we have a very special guest here to visit you today, he’s come all the way from Washington DC and decided to stop by and say hello. Say hello to the one and only Captain America!”

The man himself stepped out of the door, wearing his iconic red white and blue uniform with the vibranium shield on his back. Photos and videos don’t convey the sheer size of this man, he towered over the kids like a giant. The kids cheered at the Avenger, and he beamed a bright smile back at them.

Scott studied and followed the tales of all the great heroes in history, but Captain America was his idol. Seeing the man in person left the boy absolutely stunned. The hero sat down in a chair and took his helmet off, everyone already knew him as the blonde haired blue eyed Boy Scout named Steve Rogers. Though his hair had turned gray after half a century of fighting evil, Steve Rogers has essentially been retired since he turned seventy. The juice they gave him all those years ago has kept his body young, even as an elderly man Rogers had the body of an athletic fifty year old. Scott was intimidated to approach the man he looked up to his whole life, but Steve was patient and spent two hours talking to every kid and giving them his time. Scott was one of the last, and it seemed Cap noticed that. He waved at the boy.

“I won’t bite, the shield is just for show these days.” He joked.

Feeling pins and needles all over his body, Scott stepped forward.

“Hi. I’m your biggest fan.”

“I can see that. What’s your name son?”

“Scott.”

“That’s a strong name for a strong kid, you could be a firefighter when you’re older.”

“But I want to be like you when I grow up.”

“Like me?” Steve chucked, “Being yourself is already good enough.”

Scott felt a rush of excitement and validation whelm inside him. He smiled, “You know, I still need someone to adopt me. I could be like, a son or even a sidekick!”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Jenny gave a nervous, uncomfortable look to Steve and put a hand on Scott’s shoulder to cut him off. Steve raised a hand to tell her not to worry.

“I know you’re excited, but I can’t promise anything. These things take time, and a good family might be waiting around the corner to adopt you before I get around to it. Saving the world makes you a busy man, you know?”

“Yeah, but I can wait.”

And so he did, Scott waited in vain for two years for Steve Rogers to come and adopt him. He envisioned himself like Falcon, a sidekick who accompanied him on adventures; Eagle Boy. The day never came where he’d be whisked away from Little Street by his hero, and he grew resentful that even the great hero in the world didn’t want him.

——

Scott didn’t know how to feel about the death of Captain America, those words didn’t fully register when Darren told him over the phone.

“Oh, that’s a shame.” Scott muttered in a dry tone. “I’ll be home soon, bye.”

He hung up the phone and put it away. “The last hero of the Golden Age is dead.”

The Golden Age refers to the first era of superheroes in recorded history, it begins in 1943 with the birth of Captain America. The greatest scientist of that time, Hank Pym, invented Pym Particles and helped the war as a spy back then. He was killed by a super villain before Scott was born. In the 60s mutants started popping up everywhere, and people still don’t know why exactly that was. At the time mutants were feared and hated, but Professor Charles Xavier formed the team known as The X-Men to do good for humankind and mutantkind, his actions would shape the way we see mutants today.

The 70s marks the start of The Silver Age, where Captain America formed The Avengers and heroes battled villains for the fate of the country (and one time the entire planet). The Silver Age ended in 2000, when Scott was nine years old, and this new era doesn’t have a name just yet. All the great heroes are old now, and they’re dying. Cap was the last of the great originals, and now the Golden Age is officially gone forever.

“But why should I care? Captain America was only my idol when I was a kid because I was naive. I worshiped a man who wore the colors of a country that didn’t care about me - that tossed me away like I was garbage on the street. The truth is that we’re nothing alike, Steve Rogers was America’s Finest; the best this country had to offer. I’m just a reject that got lucky and was given power.

That’s why I can’t waste it though, this is my chance to show everyone who ever doubted me what I can really do. I can make everyone regret saying no to me. Well, everyone except for Cap. Good riddance.”

Scott turned the comms back on, “Phineas?”

“I’m here.” He responded, “You get the device?”

“Yeah. I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“The web shooters, I noticed whatever you made it out of is really strong.”

“That’s by design, it’s made from salicylic acid, carbon tetrachloride -”

“I don’t need to know.” Scott cut him off. “I was wondering if you think it could carry me.”

“I think so, why?”

“I gonna try and web onto buildings and swing in the air. It’ll get me across the city faster.”

“Are you crazy? I didn’t test it for that!”

“Consider this the first test.”

“Scott this is a bad idea, you’re gonna get yourself killed!”

“Ever heard of a leap of faith Phineas? That’s what this is. I trust your tech, and more importantly I trust myself.”

“Lord heaven almighty…” Phineas groveled. “Get back here in one piece.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

Phineas left the comms frustrated. Scott looked down at the street below him and felt a rush of vertigo. “This is a bad idea.” But then Vincent’s words came crashing back into his mind. “You’re not built for this!” Deep down he knew that Vincent was right, Scott let his nerves stop him from doing risky things. “Not this time.” He told himself. Scott took ten paces back and readied himself to make the jump.

“To stupid ideas.” He whispered under his breath.

Scott ran to the ledge and made a powerful jump, sending him into the air. He felt the wind in his face as he entered free fall, a rush of excitement turned into dread as he realized he would fall to his death if he didn’t catch himself. Rapidly plummeting to the ground, Scott aimed and fired a web at a nearby window. Instead of letting the stream of web go he held on to it, as he neared the ground the web caught him and he began to swing mere feet about the traffic.

“Woooo!” Scott cheered.

At the upward swing Scott let go and threw himself into the air again. He lost control of his sense of direction causing his limbs to flail around wildly. Despite the spinning he managed to center himself enough to catch another building with a web. It took another three swings for Scott to gain control of himself in the air, but when he did it was truly magical. He genuinely thought he might die taking that jump, but here he was swinging through the sky like he could fly.

All was great until Scott realized he was flying straight into a billboard. He tried to course correct in mid air but the heat of the moment caused him to panic, he tried to web himself out of the way of the billboard but in the end he webbed himself to it. Scott knew the webs would dissolve after an hour or so, he just had to wait patiently for it. Then he noticed that the billboard was an ad for condoms with the slogan 'For the hard problems'.

Scott let out a frustrated groan.

——

It’s not easy to hide battle wounds from your roommate, especially with a big bruise on your face. Scott thought of ways to avoid making Darren worry, but he wasn’t going to hide the bruise with makeup so the only other option was to confront it. When Scott, now in normal clothes, stumbled into the apartment room Darren immediately got up and rushed over to him.

“Yo what happened? You good?” He asked, concerned.

“Yeah I got beat up. I was at a party, I got drunk.”

“Damn, you know who did it?”

“Nah.”

“Don’t worry we got some frozen peas, will have you feeling good as new. Sit on the couch.”

Scott walked over to the couch and practically fell onto it. He didn’t have the energy to adjust himself so he laid there in an awkward position. Darren grabbed frozen peas from the freezer and placed it on Scott’s cheek.

“Look dude I’m not mad, you don’t have a curfew or nothing. Just give me a text? So I know you’re not dead or something.”

“I’m sorry. It’s been a long couple days.”

“I know. How are you taking the Cap news?”

“How do you think?” Scott mumbled in a groggy tone, “My hero is dead.”