"Bucky, what's happening? What are they doing? Sam?"
"Phoenix. Phoenix, look at me. It's going to be okay. Take care of her, Sam."
Phoenix leaned against the wall outside the police station. She thought about what led her there. She and her companions had gone to Baltimore to meet a guy that Bucky knew. Her heart was pained from what she had learned about Isaiah Bradley's past. She had stayed outside on the porch during the entire encounter but it wasn't like Bradley was being very quiet about things. Even then, her hearing was sharper than a human's. She would've overheard regardless. His story got her thinking that she found someone else she could identify with. She, Bucky, and Bradley were all victims of experiments and imprisonment. Of them all, Phoenix probably spent the least amount of time as a hostage to her creator but it hadn't been easy for her regardless. She did, after all, associate human hands with pain. That's all she ever had to tell others when asked about her past. She had wordlessly followed her friends when they left the house and just listened to them argue. That's when the cops came.
The humanshifted chimera closed her eyes as residual anxiety spiked. When Bucky was arrested for missing his court-ordered therapy sessions, she felt the same kind of terror she felt when faced with a predator. She had no idea what was happening. She watched as he was driven off, leaving her and Sam in the street. The Falcon then had to spend some time talking her down from a near panic attack and assuring her Bucky was going to be just fine. They would go to the station and wait to see what would happen. Odds are, Bucky's therapist would come to have him released. He hadn't committed a crime. He just made a mistake.
It was moments like this that hammered it home that Phoenix came from a completely different world and had limited experience with people as it was. She wasn't sure how things were handled in the Empire because she generally avoided human populations as a matter of principle. If she wasn't with Seiryu, she was wandering the Wilds outside the mountains where his Castle was located. One good thing that came from this situation was that her trust in the Falcon increased with his handling of the situation. He knew what he was doing and he explained as they walked that he used to work for the VA helping combat veterans deal with their trauma. He commended her for fighting her instinct to defend Bucky with the kind of force expected from a loyal animal and Phoenix was grateful for his reassurance things would be fine.
Sam had been right about most of what had occurred but it came as a surprise to him, Phoenix, and Dr. Raynor when John Walker arrived and had revealed he posted Bucky's bail. He wanted to talk to them when they were done. Phoenix was too distracted waiting for Bucky to pay much attention. When the man in question was let out, the humanshifted chimera threw all care out the window. She closed the distance and threw her arms around his neck. Bucky, surprised by the embrace, returned it before looking at Dr. Raynor and Walker. After ascertaining he was fine, Phoenix pulled away before standing back to calm herself down a little. She was still a bit unnerved by what happened and the stifling feeling she was getting from being indoors. Even the Castle was a bit roomier, expected since it belonged to a dragon that was about 30 feet long. The doctor had Sam and Bucky follow her back for the session while Walker had gone outside to wait for them. Phoenix followed a couple of minutes later and that led her to this moment.
"Hey, Little Lady, you seem awfully familiar with Bucky. What's your story?" came Walker's voice. He and Hoskins were leaning against a car watching her. Phoenix had no interest in talking to them but she, unfortunately, needed the distraction. Who knew how long Bucky and Sam would take in there. "I'm not surprised that you don't recognize me," she responded. She stepped into the light of a streetlamp and pointed to the wall where her shadow was thrown. Walker and Hoskins looked and balked. Her shadow clearly didn't look human. "Wait...you're that creature we saw with Sam and Bucky in Europe?" Hoskins asked. "Shadows never lie," was all she replied. The humans exchanged a look, deciding that her apparent ability to change into a woman wasn't that crazy compared to the Big Three. "Okay, let's do this again. Phoenix, was it? You doing okay? You seemed pretty upset in there," Walker said.
Wondering what his angle was, the shifter stepped back to lean against the wall. "I'm doing well, for the most part. I...I had no idea what was happening. It's a good thing Sam was there to keep me grounded. Otherwise, I may have lost it," Phoenix replied. Walker walked over but stopped when she threw him a look, wordlessly telling him to keep his distance. "I wonder what your story is. How did you ever meet James Buchanan Barnes?" he mused. Violet eyes leaving his face to watch the door, Phoenix crossed her arms. "Forgive me if I come off as rude, human, but none of that is your business. All you need to know is that I'm his friend and on his side," she said, stiffly. "Fair enough. Look, Nixxie, talk to Bucky for me. I am on his side too. I didn't ASK to be Cap but I could use his support. You know he can use the support too," Walker said.
Phoenix threw him an angry look. "Listen here, you. There are three things you need to know. First thing's first. I'm 154 years old. I know when I'm being patronized. Second, if you think you can charm me into helping you convince my friends to give you a hand in legitimizing the mantle you were given, you best forget about it. I'm staying out of that mess. I'm here to support Bucky and Sam in their mission. That's it. Thirdly, call me that name again and I'll have no qualms about showing you what my tail is capable of. You have no right to be that familiar with me. So back off," she snapped. Walker's face was like stone. "You threatening me?" he asked, with a hard edge. The humanshifted chimera gave him a dry look. She didn't find him the least bit intimidating. Part of her figured it had to do with the rough day she had. Plus she felt protected from any kind of retaliation because there were other humans around.
"It's basic logic: don't poke the bear unless you're looking to get mauled. I can think and verbalize like a human but I'm still very much an animal with animal instincts. So no, I don't threaten but I will defend myself by any means necessary if provoked," she said. Walker and Hoskins exchanged a look. Phoenix shifted her weight from one foot to another. "If you want a crack at convincing them to join you, you're on your own. And for the record, I may have the tail of one but unlike scorpions, I can control if I envenomate someone. All you'd get is a puncture wound and one hell of a bruise since I only use my venom if absolutely necessary," she said, looking back towards the door. Walker just gave an exasperated sigh, holding up his hands. "You win, Little Lady. Though you should be thanking me. Not only did I bail your buddy out but I scrubbed footage of you off Redwing's database before it was destroyed. You owe me for that much," he said.
Phoenix just rolled her eyes. "From where I'm standing, I owe you nothing at all. Your government, if they decide to come after me, would be hard-pressed to find me since they'll be looking for something they'd either classify as an alien or supernatural horse," she said. "Not unless I tell them about your little parlor trick. Not many women around who stripe their hair for a dye job," Walker said, motioning at her body. He noticed something over her shoulder and went back to his car to hit the siren. Phoenix froze at Walker's veiled threat at revealing her humanshifting ability to his superiors. Even as a human, she stuck out like a sore thumb and her magic didn't allow her to alter her appearance beyond what she had. The Masters could alter their human forms to their hearts' content but generally stuck with a particular look.
Sam and Bucky came out to see Phoenix standing with Walker after he got their attention. They could tell she was on edge. After telling him to step off when he attempted to get into their good graces again, Bucky turned to Phoenix. Reaching out and taking her hands, the White Wolf gently tugged them to get her attention. "You okay?" he asked. She looked up at him, her hands taking hold of his in kind, before looking at Sam. "I need to get out of this body. I'm starting to feel trapped," was all she said. Bucky just nodded before wrapping an arm around her shoulder to support her and the three started walking. Sam filled him in on what happened to her after he was taken in and they both agreed Walker must've said something to further upset her. They decided to save the questions for later. Phoenix clearly just wanted to find someplace to hide.
After a while, the trio came to an abandoned warehouse. Bucky broke the lock and opened the door, keeping an eye out while Sam and Phoenix got inside. Closing the door behind them, the Falcon and the White Wolf watched as their companion took the first opportunity to spring back to her true form. Her hooves clopped a couple of times and she already seemed less on edge. Bucky approached and she let him take her head in hand. "You okay?" he asked again. "I feel a bit better now. Especially now that I'm back in my own skin. Today's been a rough day," she admitted. She raised her head and set it on his shoulder. Bucky just grinned and ran his hand along her neck. "Thank you, Sam. You really helped me out there," she then said. "Glad to be of help," he responded with a smile. Phoenix returned it before taking her head off Bucky's shoulder. She closed the distance and nudged the Falcon's arm. Taking that as permission, Sam rubbed her nose and face.
"So what's going to happen now?" she asked. "We'll sleep here tonight but tomorrow, we need to go to Germany," Bucky responded. "What's in Germany?" came the inquiry. "Someone who can hopefully help us get answers about the Flag-Smashers," Sam replied. Phoenix could sense the unease hanging over her companions. "Something tells me you wouldn't go to this person if you had any other option," she stated. Bucky turned on his heel to go sit down against the wall. "Helmut Zemo. He tore the Avengers apart in 2016...and he used me to do it," he said. He went on to explain how Zemo had been after a mission report from 1991, a mission the Winter Soldier had carried out. His use of a truck bomb and a facial device to frame Bucky for the bombing led to his capture in Bucharest. Zemo then infiltrated the building where he was being held. An EMP shorted out the electricity long enough for him to activate Bucky's old programming and get the report he was after.
Phoenix's horror grew the more she learned. Bucky finished his story by saying that Zemo had drawn him, Steve, and Tony Stark to Siberia where other Winter Soldiers had been kept and his mission was complete. He revealed the truth to Stark that Bucky had murdered his parents, leading to an all-out fight between the three of them while Zemo slipped out. It was only Steve's tenacity and incredible drive to protect his best friend that led him to win the fight in the end. "But why? Why would he...do all that?" Phoenix asked. Bucky looked up at her. "Zemo is a native of Sokovia, a country that was practically destroyed by Ultron in 2015. He lost his family in that attack and he blamed the Avengers for it," he responded. "So it was petty revenge? Why are we going to him?" the chimera ground out.
"Because he'll likely know something about the Power Broker, the one who might be behind the Flag-Smashers. You said yourself that Bucky and I wouldn't consider asking him for help if we had any other choice. But we don't, Phoenix. We have no other choice," Sam said. Phoenix turned away and began to pace a little, absorbing everything she learned. She had never laid eyes on Zemo but she already felt an intense hatred burning in her soul. This human not only tore the Avengers apart but he victimized Bucky to do so. Phoenix had been in this world during that year but it sounded like the entire affair had happened after she left that time.
"I should've been there," she said, coming to a halt. "Doesn't matter if you believe me or not, but I'm glad you weren't," Bucky said. Swinging her head to look at him, Phoenix gave him a questioning look. "The way I see it...if you had been in Siberia...there's no way in hell Stark would've held back on you if you interfered, either as an animal or as a woman. He was out to kill me and he would've gone through you to do it. He took my arm. Stands to reason that if he didn't take your tail off, he probably would've blown a hole right through you. Trust me on this. I don't want to think about some alternate future where you die for me," he explained. The chimera had to admit he was right. When she arrived in Wakanda looking for him, King T'Challa had explained the gist of what had happened. It hadn't crossed her mind until now just how bad it had been nor did she consider the consequences of interfering if she had known what was happening back then.
Sam watched her head swing back to face forward, the dim lights from outside just enough for them to see a thoughtful look on her face. Bucky had dropped his own gaze to the floor. Over the course of the time Phoenix had traveled with them, it was plain to the Falcon that they had one hell of a bond. Probably the only bond tighter than them was the bond Bucky had had with Steve. He thought of his old friend and wingman, Riley. They had had a tight bond as well up until Riley was shot out of the sky. It was becoming clear to him that Phoenix would do everything in her power to keep Bucky from harm if she could. She reminded him of Steve. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing remained to be seen.
"We should get some sleep. We have a long day tomorrow," Bucky said, shifting so he was lying on his side, back to the wall. Sam followed suit. Phoenix remained standing, her eyes rising to the skylights overhead. "Good night, you two. I'm going to stay up a little longer. I have a lot to think about," she said. "Don't stay up too late," was all Bucky said before he closed his eyes to try sleeping. Phoenix just snorted in laughter before she went quiet. Up until this point in time, she never really stopped to think about what bonding with Bucky as tightly as she had would entail. Was she that single-minded? Would she really consider laying her life down for this human? Her eyes drifted over to her companions. After the Snap, she had claimed Bucky as a friend. Now she knew that it was more than that. She saw him as her best friend. Given what she was, Phoenix didn't have much in the way of friends in general. She was bonded to a dragon in something akin to a human marriage and she had struck up a friendship with her mother but that was about it.
Phoenix started wondering if enough time had passed for her to say Bucky was her best friend. Up to this point, time spent in each other's company had been a few hours at most. She then shrugged to herself as she dropped to her knees and lowered her hindquarters to lie down. Did it really matter? It didn't take much for animals to bond with humans and at the end of the day, an animal was what she was. Her sapience and shared experience simply gave her more of an edge over otherwise mundane animals, even in her own world. Bucky's influence also helped her befriend Sam more easily than she would have otherwise. She decided to stop overthinking things and simply let things go as they were. The trio had a job to do and she needed to be prepared for her first encounter with Helmut Zemo. Phoenix lay her head down and her eyes slowly closed. With a single flick of her tail, she surrendered to sleep.
When he heard her breathing even out in sleep, Bucky opened his eyes to watch the chimera. What he told Sam back at the station played in his mind. When he let out his greatest fear stemming from Sam giving up the shield. "And if he was wrong about you, then he was wrong about me!" he had said. There was an unspoken addition to that statement. One he didn't need to spell out for Sam because he knew damn well who else was inferred by that loaded statement. Now that things had calmed down a bit, Bucky started to wonder if Phoenix was naive to trust him without question. She was almost fifty years older than him and had her own trauma. Deep down, he felt it should've taken a bit longer for her to trust him enough to touch her. She outright admitted that she associated human hands with pain and with her history, he had no reason to doubt that. The White Wolf decided to let it lie. What's done was done and she had made her decision to trust and stick with him. Still, the underlying fear kept nagging at the back of his mind.
"If Steve was wrong about me, then so is Phoenix."