“I want you to wake up, America! Wake up and just look around you! Okay? Just look at what’s happening to this country!”

Todd Keller, the slightly plump man with very short blond hair, stepped to the side as a chalkboard was wheeled onto his set by his staff. They quickly retreated and Keller stepped up to the board, picking up a piece of chalk. On the board were pictures of various figures.

“First, I want you to look at this picture, okay? This is what a true patriot looks like!” The photo he pointed to was of Steve Rogers, the most well-known of all the men who took on the identity of Captain America. “Steve Rogers died—the victim of a violent invasion in his own home. And isn’t the timing convenient? Because not only did he die in his own home, but he died just shortly after he ‘voluntarily’ turned over his shield to the son of the ‘first’ Captain America.”

Keller emphasized the words “voluntarily” and “first” by enclosing them in scare quotes with his fingers.

“Not long after a ‘historic’ election, the white, blond-haired, blue-eyed Christian Captain America—who was good enough to fight the Nazis—agrees to ‘step down’ and promotes this man?”

Keller drew a line from Rogers to Josiah X, the present Captain America and drew a question mark over that line. “An affirmative action Captain America, who also happens to be a Muslim priest? And what is this about there being a black Captain America who came before Steve Rogers? Let me tell you how this all started.

“There’s an old urban legend in the black community. One that says the Super Soldier Serum that transformed Steve Rogers into Captain America was imperfect and was first tested on black soldiers. And there was one successful test subject, the rest all died. This subject, Isaiah Bradley, apparently went behind enemy lines as Captain America during the War and was captured by German forces. Once he was freed, he eventually received a pardon from President Eisenhower.”

Keller scoffed. “I know, I know what you’re thinking. This is absolutely…insane! There is absolutely no record of a black Captain America—absolutely none. The Department of Defense and the Commission on Superhuman Activities have both refused to comment because it’s ‘classified’ information. All our fact-checkers have been able to dig up is rumors and conjecture—one of which that says Spike Lee once planned to direct a film called The Truth with Denzel Washington playing Bradley. Then they decided Malcolm X was a better project.

“So what’s really going on here? Shortly after a black President with a deep-seeded hatred for white people gets elected—a President of questionable religious background—the white Captain America decides to step down and appoint a Muslim to replace him? But it’s okay, because this guy’s father was apparently Captain America beforeSteve Rogers? And then what happens? Steve Rogers is found dead in his home, that’s what! And this new Captain America is violently knocking down doors and beating people to bloody pulps! Getting implicated in…in international incidents! And what happened to the Avengers? Well now, they’ve got a new team—one that’s brought on not only Captain Affirmative Action, but also two mutants who have questionable ties to a mutant terrorist organization! And leading this team? It’s no longer Steve Rogers—it’s Tony Stark. Alcoholic playboy Tony Stark, who is so anti-American that he absolutely refused to give the United States government access to Iron Man technology that could have saved thousands of American lives in Iraq and Afghanistan!”

Keller held up his hands in a defensive stance. “Now look, I’m not saying the President forcibly replaced Steve Rogers with an affirmative action Captain America and then had Rogers killed to silence him. And I’m not saying that Tony Stark had something to do with it…but isn’t it interesting that I’m the only one asking these questions?”

Keller walked right up to the camera and pointed his finger into the lens. “Wake up, America! Because soon, Captain Affirmative Action may decide that you are the new threat.”

ELEMENTS OF CONTROL

Part I

By Scott Redmond and Dino Pollard

Princeton Walk

Gyrich turned off the television set. He crossed his arms and faced the people gathered in Josiah X’s living room. “Now you see our problem.”

Sam Wilson was the first to offer his opinion: “Who gives a crap? Todd Keller’s just some blowhard pundit. In a few days, he’ll probably be ranting about how Daredevil’s costume makes him a communist.”

“People like this could potentially be dangerous—there’s been a rise in violence inspired by blowhards on both the left and right,” said Gyrich. “Carter, tell me you’ll at least back me up on this.”

Sharon Carter nodded. “As much as I hate to admit it, Gyrich’s got a point. But how are we going to counter this?”

“That’s simple,” said Josiah, turning towards Gyrich. “Declassify the documents regarding Operation: REBIRTH. Show them the truth about my father.”

“Yeah, and open the U.S. government to countless lawsuits from the descendants of the soldiers the project’s people experimented on. Nuh-uh, that’s not even close to being an option and that comes directly from the President himself.”

“You’re telling me he won’t allow the truth of what happened to come to light?” asked Josiah.

“That’s ridiculous!” said Sam. “He of all people should know how important this—”

“The documents stay classified. So let’s keep thinking,” said Gyrich. “What we really need is a public relations boost.” He faced Sharon. “Anything SHIELD can do to help us out on that front? Any missions?”

“Gyrich, SHIELD is an international peace-keeping agency, not a PR firm,” said Sharon. “And let’s not forget, this isn’t the first time the political climate hasn’t been friendly. Steve even resigned a few times because of it.”

“We do nothing,” said Josiah.

“Are you crazy?” asked Gyrich.

“No one would love to break Keller’s jaw more than me, but we have to be smart,” said Josiah. “Any sort of retaliation we give him is just going to acknowledge his existence. And he’s just going to use that to fuel his fire. He’s a ratings hog, nothing more. We ignore him and focus on what’s really important.”

“This is important—the climate is becoming very dangerous right now,” said Gyrich. “People are pretty fiercely divided over the new Captain America. What we need—”

“What you need is to do your job, Henry. Which you’ve been a bit lax at lately.”

Gyrich narrowed his eyes. “You wanna run that by me again? I’ve bent over backwards for you.”

“And it’s not good enough.” Josiah rose from his seat. “A call came in to the hotline recently. From Randall Crowne.”

“The Senator?” asked Sam.

Josiah nodded. “He has information for me. Said something about shadow operatives and that he needs to be picked up ASAP from Washington.”

“Control?” asked Sharon.

“That’s what I think,” said Josiah. “Sharon, I want you to talk to Fury, arrange for a safe house.” He turned to Sam. “I may need some back-up. You ready to get back in the game?”

Sam nodded. “Consider your back watched.”

“Good. Sharon, can you get us a transport?”

Sharon stood and removed a smart phone from her belt pouch. “I’ll send for one now.”

“Thanks Sharon. Sam, suit up and wait for the transport with her. Gyrich and I need to have a little talk in private.”

Both Sam Wilson and Sharon Carter left the room. Once the door closed behind them, Josiah strode over to the chair Gyrich sat in, his massive form towering over the government agent.

“You should have known about this.”

“About what? About Crowne?” asked Gyrich. “How do you figure that?”

“You’re supposed to be my mole inside their organization. What good are you if you can’t feed me the intel I need?”

“And what makes you think I’m some high-level operative? They contacted me, okay? But they haven’t told me anything. Not yet anyway. I’m doing the best I can with what little I’ve got to work on. I don’t know who’s involved with them—anyone I’ve met with face-to-face, I don’t recognize. I had no idea Crowne was involved with them.”

“How can I be sure you’re not working with them instead of me?” asked Josiah.

Gyrich rose to his feet. “Now you listen to me—I may not trust you capes, I may not run around in my old man’s tights, and yeah, sometimes I can be an asshole. But that doesn’t make me a traitor. And what these people are doing goes against everything this country stands for. So you can badmouth me all you want but don’t ever question my patriotism.”

Josiah smirked. “You practiced that speech, didn’t you?”

“I knew you were going to ask me about it eventually.”

“Just keep your eyes open, Gyrich. I don’t like surprises, especially where Control is concerned,” said Josiah. “Get whatever you can out of them. And get it fast.”

“It’s not going to be easy.”

“Never said it would be.”

Washington, D.C.

The SHIELD transport came to a hover over the north wing of the Capitol. Inside the transport, Captain America tied the red bandanna that served as a mask over his eyes and slid the adamantium/vibranium shield onto his back. A few feet away, the Falcon activated his harness, testing out the costume’s holographic hard light wings.

“What’s the plan?” asked the Falcon.

“You and your birds provide recon from the air, I’ll go inside and meet with Crowne,” said Captain America.

The Falcon nodded and moved to the hatch. He opened it and jumped into the air, the magnetic drive in his costume propelling him forward and his wings catching the drift. Captain America jumped next from the transport and went into free fall. He directed his body and grabbed onto a flagpole, swinging around it and springing forth. He flipped in the air and landed in a crouch at the front steps of the Capitol in front of a tour group who stared in amazement.

Captain America stood and smiled as the tourists began snapping photographs of him. He calmly walked up the steps of the Capitol.

“Cap, watch out!”

The Falcon’s voice echoed through the transmitter plugged into Captain America’s ear. He jumped back as gunfire broke out. He brought the shield forward and deflected some of the bullets. Armed forces dressed from head to toe in black emerged almost from nowhere. One of them signaled and a few went inside the Capitol.

“Falcon, y’know that back-up I mentioned…?”

“Relax. Like I said—”

Dozens of birds descended from the air on the strike team. And the Falcon dove straight in, feet-first, into one of them. He looked up at Captain America and finished his sentence: “—consider your back watched.”

The Falcon threw out his arm and his grappling hook talon shot out from the gauntlet, gripping the rifle of one of the strike team and disarming him. He then lunged forward and drove his elbow into the soldier’s face.

Captain America threw a kick at one of the strike team and dove into another, using his shield as a ram. Josiah rolled on the ground and sprung up, hurling the shield at a third soldier. Once it came back, he felt a bit of recoil as he caught it.

“You’re getting better with that thing,” said Falcon.

“Still not as good as I could be,” said Captain America.

“Think these guys are here for our friend?”

“Depends. Do you believe in coincidences?”

“Hell no,” said the Falcon.

“Me neither.” Captain America moved up the steps now that he had an opening. “You take care of the clean-up out here, I’ll go after Crowne.”

“Good, more jackasses for me to hit,” said the Falcon.

Senator Randall Crowne found himself backed into a corner in his office. “L-look, I swear I haven’t said a word! Not to anyone!”

“They don’t see it that way,” said the soldier as he raised his gun. “Goodbye, Sena—”

The door shattered, sending splinters everywhere as Captain America charged in. The would-be assassin turned and opened fire, but the shield took care of that. Once Captain America came within range, his fist took care of the rest, shattering the soldier’s jaw. The Sentinel of Liberty followed that strike by bringing his shield up and around in a wide arc, ending on the man’s head and knocking him out cold.

Captain America rose to his feet and faced the elder man. “Senator Crowne, I presume?”

Crowne nodded and Josiah grabbed his arm, pulling him towards the window and peering out it. “I’m Captain America, I got your message.”

“I can see that, but how are we getting out of here?” asked Crowne. “They’ve got the building surrounded!”

“Only the exits.”

“Exactly, so how are we getting out of here?”

“We make a new exit.” Captain America stood in front of the window and slammed the shield against it. The glass shattered. “Falcon, I need someone to catch a foul ball.”

“GPS is locked onto your location, I’m in the air now. Sharon came through with some SHIELD reinforcements, so the strike team is busy with them.”

“Good, just say the word.”

“Ready.”

Josiah grabbed Crowne’s arm and pulled him forward, lifting him off the ground. “Wh-what the hell are you doing?!” demanded the Senator.

“It’s called saving your life,” said Captain America. He threw the Senator from the window and Crowne screamed as he went into the air, only to find himself caught by the Falcon, who jerked a bit on the impact.

“Gotta ease up on those campaign dinners, Senator,” said the Falcon. He carried the Senator towards the transport, which was in the air and approaching them. Once they were inside, the transport came closer to the Senator’s office and Josiah went to the other end of the room. He ran forward and sprung through the broken window, landing hard on the ship’s hull. Gripping onto it, he pulled himself into the open hatch and the Falcon was waiting, closing it up behind him.

“Sharon, we’re set!” said Captain America.

“Got it,” said Sharon from the pilot’s seat. “Hang on, Fury’s got a place waiting.”

“…okay, I got it,” said Gyrich into his cell phone. “Stay there, I’ll see what sort of strings I can pull to get some additional security for Crowne.”

He disconnected the call with Josiah and then dialed another number. A beep came on and Gyrich entered the numbers 1-9-6-1 and pressed the pound key, then disconnected. A few moments later, his phone rang.

“Mr. Gyrich, so good to hear from you again.”

“I know where you can find Crowne. But you’ll need something better than armed soldiers.”

“We have just the thing. Thank you for your assistance, Mr. Gyrich. Control won’t forget this.”

At the safe house, Crowne sat at a table sipping water from a bottle. On the other side of the table stood Captain America, Sharon Carter and the Falcon. All three of them anxious to hear what the Senator had to say.

“Are you okay?” asked Josiah.

Crowne nodded. “Yes, thanks to you.”

“Good. Now maybe you can tell us what this is all about.”

“First, I should ask how much you know.”

“We know there’s a secret cabal that’s been in existence for decades known as Control,” said Sharon. “They’ve got connections with organizations who are known for creating unauthorized persons of mass destruction. And we know they’re planning something big.”

“Seems like you know a lot,” said Crowne.

“We’ve been following them for some time,” said Josiah. “Now what’s your connection?”

Crowne sighed. “Control approached me during my re-election campaign. I wasn’t doing too good and my challenger was gaining in the polls. Control told me they could get me elected, provided I helped them out in my position on the Superhuman Activity Committee.”

“What kind of help?” asked Sam.

“They wanted me to bring forward a revised version of Senator Kelly’s defeated Mutant Registration Act,” said Crowne. “Except this time, they wanted an expansion—a Superhuman Registration Act.”

“What exactly woud it entail?” asked Josiah.

“The SHRA would require all superhumans to register with the federal government if they wished to remain in operation,” said Crowne. “Basically, it would bring superheroes under the jurisdiction of the United States government and the Department of Defense.”

“And that means the government could utilize superhumans for their own interests,” said Sharon.

“More than that, it’d give them the identities of anyone who tried to oppose their agenda,” said Josiah. “Or should I say Control’s agenda?”

Crowne nodded. “And it would also allow Control’s Weapon Plus division to provide more superhumans. But there’s more.”

“We’re listening,” said Josiah.

“No, not here,” said Crowne.

“This is a highly-classified SHIELD safe house. You’ll be okay here,” said Sharon.

“I’m not saying another word until I’m out of the country and face-to-face with Nick Fury himself,” said Crowne.

“Sharon?” asked Josiah.

“It’ll take some time to arrange that. Fury’s meeting with the UN Security Council at the moment.”

“Then we wait and you make sure I’m kept alive until I can speak to him,” said Crowne. He looked at the Falcon and scoffed. “I can’t believe you only brought Bird-Man with. I need the real Avengers, not third-string has-beens.”

“We took a big hit after the Kansas attack, many of them are incapacitated so you have to make due with us,” said Josiah. “And that ‘Bird-Man’? His name’s the Falcon. If not for him, you wouldn’t even be breathing right now, so I’d advise you to show him the respect he’s earned.”

At that moment, an alarm began sounding in the safe house. Sharon went to the control panel to try and discover what the cause was. She brought it up on the screen. “Uhh guys, I think we may have a problem…”

“What is it?” asked Josiah, coming up behind her.

On the screen, the security cameras showed the base surrounded by a large contingent of soldiers, the same ones who attacked the Capitol. But more than that was the large man who seemed to be leading the charge. He was dressed as a police officer but with a full face mask and several weapons strapped to his body. The man came towards the front doors of the safe house and pried them open with his bare hands, despite their powerful reinforcement.

“He just destroyed the locks on the outer door,” said Sharon.

“I recognize that guy, Steve went up against him once,” said the Falcon.

“Who is he?” asked Josiah.

“Calls himself Americop, a Punisher wannabe,” said Falcon. “Steve said he was tough, but nothing like this.”

“Control must’ve done something to him,” said Josiah.

“I told you I needed the Avengers…” muttered Crowne.