Washington.
A war without gunfire was erupting in a conference room.
"A reporter?"
A slick-haired, powdered man in an expensive suit studied Lynn with a look that was almost insulting.
Senator Brandt.
He carried the oppressive air of a man long accustomed to power, and every military brass at the table found it distasteful.
"I read the report, Mr. Morris. Before you took over, this project was going nowhere."
"And after you took over, it became a... circus."
He picked up a financial statement, pinching it between two fingers in disgust.
"Astonishing war bond sales, and equally astonishing... event expenses."
"I have no intention of questioning your patriotic fervor, but the Super Soldier Program is a matter of the utmost national secrecy, a sword that can turn the tide of war!"
"Yet now it's an entertainment venture, placed entirely in the hands of a reporter of unknown origins?"
Colonel Davis was about to slam the table and rise, but a general beside him stopped him with a look.
Senator Brandt had enough influence on Capitol Hill to get their military budget slashed by a quarter.
"Senator, Lynn Morris was the person Dr. Erskine trusted most while he was alive. He also discovered Captain America and-"
"That's enough, Colonel."
Brandt interrupted him impatiently, arrogance in his eyes.
"I respect the sacrifices made by soldiers, but that doesn't mean you can do as you please."
"Given the special nature and importance of this project, I propose that all oversight of the Captain America Project be transferred to a Congressional Special Committee."
He had finally shown his hand.
He was determined to claim this prize that laid golden eggs and could bring him endless political prestige.
Lynn watched the senator's performance in silence.
He knew this was no Hydra assassin, nor an enemy on the battlefield.
This was an entirely new species.
An apex predator that wielded power and rules as weapons.
Against a man like this, fists were the most useless thing of all.
The meeting broke up on bad terms.
As soon as Colonel Davis returned to his office, he angrily swept all the papers off his desk and onto the floor.
"Bastard! Politician! Maggot!"
He roared.
"His people are on the appropriations committee! If we so much as dare say no, supplies to the front will be cut off next month! They'll slash them!"
Breathing heavily, he looked helplessly at Lynn.
"Kid, this time... I really can't do anything."
There wasn't a trace of anxiety on Lynn's face.
He even helped Davis pick up the papers scattered across the floor, one by one.
"Colonel, there are two battlefields in this war."
He straightened the papers and set them gently on the desk.
"The one at the front is yours. The one back home is mine."
With that, he turned and left the office, leaving Colonel Davis staring after him in shock.
Night.
Lynn made no attempt to contact any of his military or government connections.
He simply called a star reporter at Stars and Stripes, one he had personally helped rise.
On the phone, Lynn's voice was full of worry and sorrow.
"Yes, I'm very worried about Steve... He's a good man, a soldier. His world is all black and white, right and wrong..."
"I just... I'm just afraid some people will use his innocence to turn him into a tool on the political stage. That would destroy him. He'd become a puppet, reciting speeches he doesn't even believe in himself."
"In the final moment of his life, Dr. Erskine looked in Steve's direction and said... he hoped Steve would always be a good man."
"I'm not asking you to do anything, Tom. I just... as a friend, I needed someone to talk to about what's on my mind. I'm afraid the doctor's dying wish will end up as a joke."
He made no accusations and said nothing inflammatory.
He was simply describing one "friend's" concern for another.
And the tragic final wish of a departed "mentor."
He had perfectly and firmly bound himself, Captain America, and Dr. Erskine together.
He had shaped them into an unbreakable trio of tragic heroes.
And Senator Brandt naturally became the villain trying to destroy it all.
The next day.
An in-depth report titled "Who Wants to Shackle Our Captain with Politics?" appeared on the front page of Stars and Stripes.
The article was written with deep feeling.
It did not attack Senator Brandt directly.
Instead, it portrayed him as a Washington bureaucrat out of touch with the people, who understood nothing but political maneuvering.
"...He came from the narrow alleys of Brooklyn, filled with righteousness and a determination to lay down his life for his country. Dr. Erskine kindled him with the fire of his own life, Mr. Lynn Morris guided him like an older brother, and countless servicemen paved his way with their blood on the front lines..."
"...He was meant to be a flag flying over the battlefield, a hero belonging to all the American people. But now, someone wants to steal his radiance and turn him into a gleaming political medal for a private office."
"...We cannot help but ask: what would Dr. Erskine's spirit in heaven think if he saw this?"
"When our captain is forced to recite speeches at a hypocritical political show, how much anguish must he feel?"
The article exploded like a bombshell in the hearts of the public.
Senator Brandt initially scoffed at it.
The next day.
A newspaper under his control published a counterattack, accusing Stars and Stripes of stirring up populism and implying that "a certain Mr. Morris" was the true mastermind behind the scenes.
That he was using the captain for his own profit.
But the reasoned accusation only added fuel to the fire.
Lynn had anticipated this.
Stars and Stripes published a second report, titled "Look, He's Getting Desperate! Can Cold Accusations Stain a Hero's Burning Heart?"
The report portrayed Brandt's counterattack as the contempt and repression of the people's enthusiasm by a high-and-mighty bureaucrat.
"They don't understand, and they don't care about the tears of a mother seeing her son off. They care only about power and money."
"They accuse the hero's guardian only because the hero's light has not shone on their political careers!"
For a full week, Captain America did not go on tour.
The people who had been eagerly awaiting him complained bitterly.
Throughout that week, the reports in Stars and Stripes and others stirred up by Lynn continued to spread and gain traction.
Public opinion spiraled completely out of control.
A father who worked at a Detroit munitions plant read the reports and slammed his fist angrily on the dining table.
"Those damned Washington bigwigs! What can they do besides steal?!"
A mother who had just sent her son off to war read the articles, tears streaming down her face.
"Don't touch our children! Don't touch our captain!"
The public's sympathy and long-suppressed patriotic fervor were fully ignited.
They took to the streets of their own accord, carrying all kinds of signs.
"Don't let politicians stain our hero!"
"Brandt, get back to your office!"
"Captain America belongs to the American people!"
The march spread from one block to the next, finally swelling into a wave that swept across the country.
Senator Brandt went from a powerful, well-connected figure to a universally reviled "traitor" and "opportunist."
To his horror, he discovered that the political allies who usually called him brother had suddenly distanced themselves from him.
His office phone was ringing off the hook, and telegrams and letters poured in, all demanding that he resign and atone.
He couldn't understand it. He had played by the rules, so why had he lost so badly?
Why would the public rather believe a reporter's story than the "facts" presented by him, a senator?