For the Civil War episode (actually a three parter) Steve calls on Sam, a childhood friend who, in his spare time between classes at a neighboring university and ROTC, is a reenactor, and is happy to let them film the Battle of Gettysburg, as well as a few civilian life scenes starring the Captain. Captain America has become a temporary time traveler for this one, which makes Bruce grit his teeth, but Clint is happy to stand in for the mad scientist from the future intent on changing history so that everyone's textbooks will become inaccurate and he can corner the market. Bruce gives Darcy an almost horrified look when she suggests giving the episode a plot, especially such an illogical one, but she raises an eyebrow and argues that he doesn't know how time travel works, maybe her theory is the more accurate one. This causes Bruce to start to explain string theory with a quiet intensity that makes Darcy laugh, tweak his nose, and tell him to lighten up. Bruce spends the rest of the day sulking, but in the end he agrees that it makes for an interesting hook.

"Not that you should need a hook," he mutters. "History is interesting for its own sake."

"Dude, why didn't you just major in history?" Darcy asks him impatiently. He stares at her.

"History isn't a job, it's a passion," he says, as though it's obvious. Darcy spreads her arms wide to encompass the entire studio, including Steve, who is busy sewing the mad scientist's costume and smiling gently to himself.

"This is your job," she says, and they stare at each other like the other one has completely lost it.

"Should the shoulder pads be black felt or purple satin?" Steve asks, and they break away from their mutual death glares to argue with him about which fabric would best convey evil.

Clint finds a little too much glee in his mustache twirling, and Steve has a hard time not laughing through their takes together. He frowns deeply when Clint flirts with Darcy, but Darcy just laughs and gives him horrible pick up lines right back as though they are trading jokes, and eventually he gives up and just has a normal conversation with her, which seems to be a novelty for him.

Hawkeye the Horrible is in instant hit with the viewership, who demand to see more of him. Bruce flatly refuses to turn his historical education show into a time travel show, but Darcy continues to point out that technically Captain America is a time traveler already, so he might as well. Bruce continues to studiously ignore her every time she does. Steve is pretty sure he'll give in eventually, especially once it's clear that the episode is popular enough to get them national attention. Articles start running in newspapers that aren't even based in their town, and the number of contraband YouTube videos of their show are enough to prompt Darcy to start up their own channel and begin posting episodes. They reach 10,000 subscribers by the end of the week.

"We should start selling t-shirts," Darcy muses out loud as they lounge on the studio couch after sending off the latest episode to the television station. Their post-send off ritual (vegging out on the couch with pizza and soda) is now extremely well attended. Nat is there today, and Tony makes it every time. Lately he's been bringing around a girl he claims to be dating, and Steve is verbally skeptical behind his back until Bruce looks at him oddly and tells him Tony is bisexual. Even Clint shows up most of the time, having become something of a groupie. They usually get him to hold booms or adjust lighting equipment when he's there, so at least he earns his keep, sort of. Mostly he proves his worth by bringing food, none of it healthy.

"That's a good idea," Steve says. Bruce groans from under the magazine perched over his face.

"This is not a commercial enterprise," he protests, but they can all tell it's one of his token protests in defense of the purity of children's education, and they all ignore it.

"I'll do some research," Tony says, whipping out his smart phone and typing away. "Pep, what do you think?"

Pepper (Steve isn't sure if that's her real name or just what Tony calls her) started her own business at age nine, and sold it for $100,000 when she was thirteen to start another one, which she is thinking about selling again now that it's bringing in almost a million a year. She and Tony had apparently met at boarding school. Steve thinks being rich must be like living on another planet.

"Definitely," she says, also tapping at her smart phone. "Someone's already made up shirts with a picture of the shield on them, and they're selling for twenty bucks a pop."

"They can't do that!" Steve exclaims, sitting up from his post-pizza doze. Natasha gives him an amused look, which he ignores. "Who's doing that?"

"A fan, it looks like," Pepper says without looking up from her phone. "You should email them and ask them to stop."

"On it," Darcy says, pulling out her laptop. "What's the URL?"

"We're not selling t-shirts," Bruce protests again. Tony rolls his eyes.

"Why not? Wouldn't it be cool if you guys were self-sustaining?"

"I'll buy one," Clint says, flinging rubber bands at various targets. Steve has noticed that he almost always hits what he's aiming at.

"I'll buy one if it's American Apparel," Nat says, picking up a stray Cheeto from the couch next to her and flicking it away.

"You should make sure they come in kid sizes," Pepper reminds them.

"I will not be party to this," Bruce announces, and gets up and goes over to the sound booth, where he shuts himself in.

"We'll make sure to get a green one for him," Tony says.

The t-shirts make a decent profit, though definitely not enough for them to stop needing Tony's help. Steve starts getting a paycheck again and he celebrates by donating a large chunk of it to the USO. Bucky thanks him sarcastically for the free toothbrushes in the latest airport USO office he flew through, though Steve can tell he really means to scold him for wasting his money. He points Bucky to the YouTube channel, and Bucky sends him a link to a website full of gifsets and fanart of Captain America, most of it quite flattering, some of it downright pornographic. He blushes and vows never to let anyone he knows see it.

Steve recommends Thor's moving company to a guy on his floor who's getting married and just got an apartment with his fiance. He's surprised when Thor calls him up to thank him, and he almost hangs up before he remembers the Paul Bunyan episode.

"Hey, Thor!" he blurts. "Wanna be on the show?"

He can hear the grin in Thor's voice when he accepts.

Clint finds some guy named Luke to be John Henry, and when he shows up at the studio trailing menacingly behind Clint, Steve can tell he's bad news.

"Hey, guys, this is Power Man," Clint says, and Luke turns and scowls at him.

"What did you just call me?"

"It's his rapper name," Clint stage-whispers to them, and "Power Man" looks like he's about to pop a blood vessel.

"What's my rapper name?" another guys asks, popping up behind Luke and Clint. He's tall and skinny and blond, and extremely well-dressed, but Luke, a guy with an honest-to-goodness chain holding his pants up, softens his expression when he turns to him.

"You're the Iron Fist!" Clint declares, pumping his own in the air.

"Why?" the man asks curiously.

"Because... you know kung fu?" Clint says tentatively. Luke shakes his head.

"Danny would make a terrible rapper."

"So would you," Danny teases, and Luke cracks a smile.

Steve's pretty sure he's never actually met someone taller than Thor in real life, but Luke has a solid, angry presence to him that makes him seem almost as big. In their costumes, they look like the legends come to life, and Steve, who is playing a new myth among old ones, can't help but feel a little intimidated.

"Hey, fellas," Captain America says, pulling out a chair from a table where sit two large men, one in plaid and a knitted cap, the other in denim and suspenders. "I'm new around here, and I was wondering if you could show me the ropes."

Paul Bunyan waves him into the chair with a wide, friendly smile. John Henry is suspicious but polite. On the other side of the table from Captain America, in plain view of the camera, are a large axe and an even bigger hammer leaning innocuously against the table.

"Certainly, friend!" he booms. "What's your tale?"

"I'm just a small time legend, nothing like you fellas. I help teach my friends here about our history." The Captain gestures to the camera, and Darcy makes a face at Steve, who keeps his own steady as best he can. "Say, you're Paul Bunyan, aren't you? And you're John Henry."

"S'right," John Henry says, folding his arms over his chest. "And your name is?"

"I'm Captain America."

"Welcome, Captain," booms Paul Bunyan, slapping him on the back, "welcome! It's good to have you with us."

"I was hoping you could tell my friends a little bit about yourselves. Why don't you start, Paul?"

Thor launches expressively into the tale of Paul Bunyan, and they cut after a few lines. He'll dub the rest over an animated sequence Steve's been hard at work on. They start up again with John Henry's turn, and Luke does admirably, just the right blend of hardened railroad worker and proud national hero. He gets an animated sequence too, and Steve, who wants to be a portrait artist, not an animator, hopes he never has to use Flash again. At least Darcy is helping him.

The spot ends with Paul Bunyan and John Henry getting into an argument about who's the bigger legend, and Captain America breaking them up and reminding them of the value of cooperation, a founding principle of the country they all love. Thor and Luke (who have been sizing each other up all day) get a little too into it, and Steve has to physically pull at them a little harder than they practiced to remind them they're just actors on a set and not two American legends ready to wrestle up a new mountain range.

Paul Bunyan and John Henry vow to work together and be friends, and as they shake hands the camera zooms in until the entire shot is their multicolored clasped hands, framed by Captain America's shield. Steve can feel the pride radiating throughout the studio as Darcy calls cut, and they all turn to each other and grin a little wider than they normally do. It's a feeling Steve has experienced many times throughout his stint on the show. There's something about standing in front of a camera wearing the colors of the flag trying really hard to mean lines like "America is great because the people who founded it wanted everyone to work together" that makes him stand up a little straighter and try to be a little better even after the camera stops rolling, and he can see the same feeling today in everyone's eyes. Thor and Luke compliment each other awkwardly, and Danny comes and punches Luke on the shoulder affectionately. Bruce looks contemplative, but in a good way.

"What'd you think?" Steve asks quietly, coming to stand next to him. Bruce smiles a little.

"I think we're doing a good thing here, Steve," he says, and all Steve can do is nod.