[ WP ] After years of battles hard fought , at the close of a Civil War , Steve Rogers retires from the Avengers . Hanging up his shield and uniform , he settles down in a quiet little neighborhood , where he is known as simply as Mr. Rogers .

`` Rag head!'' 
 `` Terrorist!'' 
 The men showed no hesitation while they shouted at the mother and daughter passing them on the sidewalk. The woman, wrapped in garb except for her face, hurried her small child along by the hand. 
 Thankfully the men kept walking. They always kept walking but every time it felt like they might not. Every time she feared desperately for the safety of her child. Allah, keep them safe. Her daughter glanced back at the men. 
 `` Look ahead,'' her mother commanded her in a desert language. 
 Her daughter's curiosity begged her to look one second longer, then she turned her eyse back to the sidewalk before them. Some grown-up's are mean and shout for no reason. It's hard to know which of them will do it and which won't- they all look so different from each other. 
 
 `` How un-American.'' 
 The men turned their head to see a solitary man walking his dog. The man continued: 
 `` Land of the free, is it not, gentlemen?'' 
 The man did n't make eye contact as he bent down to pick up his dog's dung with a plastic bag. 
 The three men broke their gate one at a time and looked at one another in confusion. 
 `` You talking to us, man?'' 
 `` Yeah, man.'' 
 The solitary man stood upright and looked the speaker in the eye. 
 `` I'm talking to you.'' 
 Another man in the group stepped forward: 
 `` Do n't tell us about freedom, asshole. My brother died over there. I outta fuck you up.'' 
 `` The Nazi's were the problem, then. The Nazi's were the evil. It threatened to devour the earth. They were hatred, they were fear. They were Germans. I bet at least one of you boys is part German. And there were the Japanese. They came at us with planes first. A heck of a lot more planes, then.'' 
 `` Oh shut up, that was a long time ago. Say one more word.'' 
 The second man of the group took yet another step toward the solitary walker. The dog growled at him. *BARK! BARK! * The walker shortened the leash. The third man in the group, the largest, put his hands on his two friends and gave them a tug, *let's go*. 
 The three of them began to move away. 
 `` And I'm sorry for your loss. May he rest in peace.'' 
 The second man just glanced back in silence. The first man, the most animated of the group, spun around and spat at the walker and his dog. 
 
 The mother opened the door of the small grocery store and the girl darted out, around the corner, and stopped. Her mother turned and stopped, herself. 
 
 The three men stood there, the smallest of them holding a plastic bag. A moment passed before the second of them spoke: 
 `` My brother was in the Marines. He died.'' 
 The mother stood still, not sure whether she should scream for help. The weight of the grocery bags in her hands readied itself to be released. 
 The largest of the men stood in silence, looking at the little girl. The little girl looked back. 
 `` Little girl,'' the smallest man spoke- `` Wan na see...'' He stopped himself and looked across the street. He took a moment and looked back at the little girl. 
 `` Want to see me eat dog poop?'' 
 
 The mother still stared, afraid. The little girl cracked a smile. She began to laugh. The large man smiled back and remarkably, the second man did, too. 
 
 `` Gross!'' 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

