Berlin, Germany had a charm to it that Phoenix found agreed with her. She and her friends came up to the prison where Helmut Zemo was being held. She kept quiet as they followed a guard down the hall. "He's down that corridor," the guard said as they paused. "All right, give us a second," Bucky said. The guard went ahead while he turned to Sam and Phoenix. "I'll head in alone. He's more likely to talk to me than he is to you," he said. "You sure about this?" Sam asked. "The man's obsessed with HYDRA and you know he and I have a history. It'll be fine," Bucky said. Sam just shrugged before crossing his arms. "I'm not letting you go alone," Phoenix piped up, grabbing his arm as he turned to follow the guard. Her friend looked down at her. "I'd rather you stay here with Sam, Phoenix. This guy isn't like most humans you've met," he said in a low tone.
"Don't give me that, Bucky. Keep underestimating me like this and I'm going to start having second thoughts about whether you trust me or not. According to you, Zemo has a problem with Sam because he's an Avenger. He used you to tear them apart. Do you honestly think I'm going to let you be alone with him knowing what I know? Absolutely not," Phoenix said, sternly. Bucky looked to Sam who just shook his head, silently saying he was staying out of this. The White Wolf looked down the hall before meeting her eyes again. "He'll know about you," he said. "He's going to know unsubstantiated rumors. That's all. Yes, I was apparently photographed when I came back in 2014 but for all he knows, they were doctored. I don't intend on letting him find out about my true nature unless necessary. When we walk in there, all he's going to see is the woman standing before you now. He's not going to connect me to the creature I actually am. Don't break your word to me," she said.
Sam cocked an eyebrow. "What did he promise you?" he spoke up. Phoenix gave him a small smile. "I asked him to not think me weak or fragile," she said, stepping back to look at them both. "Look, I know I'm out of my depth here but I made a promise to myself that I would stick with you until the end. I can't in good conscience let you go in alone. Besides, I need to see this human for myself. The sooner, the better," she said. Bucky turned and started walking. "You win, Phoenix. But this is the last time I'm letting you have your way. Let's go," he said, not breaking his stride. Sam poked Phoenix in the arm. "I'm not going to pretend I understand the sort of bond you have with Bucky but if I can give you my thoughts, perhaps you're the one who doesn't trust him," he said. Phoenix mulled over his words. "Perhaps you're right. But right now, I'm following him because I have this intense compulsion to protect him. I couldn't fight it if I tried. It's probably the influence of my mother's kind. Or perhaps...I want to pick up where Steve left off," she conceded before following her friend.
The guard let the two into the cell, which had a glass partition between them and the rest of the cell. Phoenix stuck to the shadows as Bucky approached the glass. "Longing. Rusted. Furnace," came a voice from the shadows. It was a language the humanshifter couldn't understand but judging from Bucky's slightly stiff shoulders, he could. Phoenix could make out the figure of the man they came to see. "That's not going to work," Bucky said. "Oh, I know. I just figured that old habits would still be ingrained in your head," said the man as he stepped into the light. Phoenix tilted her head, taking him in. Helmut Zemo was handsome in his own right but in a more subtle sense. "This is the human who destroyed the Avengers?" she thought to herself. She stiffened when he suddenly looked at her. "Ah, I see you're not alone," Zemo said. "Leave her out of this," Bucky said. The prisoner just gave him a dry look. "Allow me my curiosity, James Barnes. I know you came here for a reason but I wonder what your fetching princess has to say for herself," he said.
Bucky couldn't help himself as he looked over his shoulder at his companion. Phoenix just shook her head. She wasn't about to engage. "Seems she doesn't want to talk to you, Zemo. She's only here because she wouldn't let me leave her behind," Bucky said, turning back to him. The man just shrugged before turning away. "I'll concede on that point. However, before this visit is up, I'll have my curiosity sated. So why are you here?" he asked.
Phoenix just listened silently as the men exchanged words. Her distrust just kept growing the longer she was in Zemo's presence. His calling her princess was a contradiction of meaning. What was meant to be a sign of respect from anyone else was nothing more than a mockery of her. Phoenix chuckled to herself. Zemo actually wasn't far off in calling her that. Her pair-bond held the title of High King and her mother was a minor Queen, thus making her a princess on two technicalities. One through her pair-bond and the other through blood (even if she was a different species from her mother). When the two started discussing a break-out so Zemo could give them a hand with their mission, it was all Phoenix could do to bite her tongue.
Zemo looked at her again, an insincere smile on his face. Bucky looked back at her. Ignoring the prisoner for the moment, she met his gaze. "Sam's not going to be happy about this, Bucky," she said, simply. "I know. I'm more curious about your lack of protest. Why aren't you trying to stop this?" he asked. "Because it's not my place…and because I trust you know what you're doing," Phoenix responded before leaning forward from her place on the wall. "But let me make this clear. Up to this point, you've never given me a reason to doubt you. I will keep following you until you give me a reason not to. I don't like this idea of yours and I don't like him. But since you say we share a common purpose, I'll go along with it for now," she said.
Looking at Zemo, Phoenix finally stepped into the light and leaned towards the glass. His eyes started taking her in before meeting her own, noting their violet color. "One wrong move and Sam and Bucky won't be the only ones you'll have to worry about," she said with an icy edge. Zemo was quiet for a moment. He knew she was serious. "Oh, don't worry, princess. Super-soldiers go against everything I stand for. I know my word isn't enough for you but that is the truth. I want the serum gone, even if it means helping your friends do it," he said, leaning down a little to her level. Phoenix just glared before pulling back. "We now have a plan to get me out. However, I have a condition. Allow her to accompany me while chaos befalls this place. It will look even better if I'm seen escorting an innocent out of the prison when the riots start," he said.
Bucky felt his heart stop for a moment. Zemo was trying to get Phoenix alone. If he got into her head, it would actually make her even more dangerous than she already was. "I don't think so," he said. Zemo gave him a look. "Does the princess not speak for herself?" he asked. Bucky met Phoenix's eyes. Her gaze softened and she reached out to touch his arm. "Remember your word. Besides, as much as I hate to admit it, Zemo has a point. He has less of a chance of being stopped or discovered if we play at him getting me to safety. This will also allow me to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't pull any dodgy business. All I ask is for you to trust me. You know I can handle myself, especially after everything I've lived through," she explained. Still unsure, the White Wolf looked between them before slowly nodding. "I trust you, Phoenix. Be careful," he said before heading out to warn Sam. His parting shot to their now-ally was a glare, warning him to watch himself.
"Finally alone," Zemo said, getting to work on the glass partition. Phoenix gave him a dry look as he joined her on her side and they went to the heavily armored door to wait for the signal. "I hope this works. I don't trust you as far as I could throw you," she deadpanned. "James called you Phoenix. I assume that's your name," he replied, ignoring her barb. "It is. And what's the deal with calling me princess?" she asked. Zemo just regarded her. "Your bearing has a, shall we say, a noble quality to it. It's a bearing I associate with royalty. Obviously, I have no idea who you are but just from our few minutes, I've already learned a lot about you. Not only do you have a noble bearing but also one that tells me you're far older than you seem. Your eyes have seen much so I'm guessing you've been around at least as long as James himself," Zemo noted. Phoenix cocked an incredulous brow. Was her age that obvious?
His face grew unreadable. "However, the way you two interacted was the most interesting aspect. Allow me to be blunt, if the sexual tension between you and James were any stronger, you could break a bridge in half," he said. Phoenix recoiled a little, unsure what to make of that statement. "You're not wrong by figuring out that I'm older than I appear. If you want an idea of how old, I was two years shy of fifty when Bucky was born." she ground out. "And yet, you look like this. Young. Beautiful. Dare I say...nubile? I've seen the way he looks at you. Are you really so naive despite your apparent age that you never noticed?" Zemo asked. Phoenix's lack of experience dealing with human behavior was getting her into trouble. Was he serious or was he trying to get under her skin? There was no such tension between her and Bucky. She would've picked up on it from his end if that were true and any feelings she had for him were no different than a dog's bond to a master. She even admitted to Bucky that he would be the ideal master if she were an ordinary animal.
The humanshifted chimera re-centered herself. Zemo had no idea what she actually was. He had no reason to suspect that the woman standing in front of him wasn't what she seemed. He had to be messing with her head and she needed to focus. Zemo got closer and Phoenix stiffened. The shifter found she couldn't move. Their eyes were locked and she felt like a deer in headlights (as Sam would say). She felt the barest touch of fingers on her chin but she felt completely powerless. "Don't touch me," she said in a quiet voice, still unable to look away. A smirk was his only reply as his hand slid further up her face to rest on it, his thumb just barely brushing her lower lip. "Why not give him what he wants? Why string him along with ignorance?" he asked. Her heart was pounding in equal amounts of fear and confusion. Since when did she fear humans?
Then Phoenix remembered a time long ago. Back when she was set loose by her creator or escaped (even after a century, she still wasn't sure). It hadn't taken long in her days in the wild before poachers started hunting her. She remembered the fear of being hunted. The way Zemo was regarding her reminded her of those long-ago days when she was first at the mercy of hunters and their dogs. She had only survived that first encounter because her tail flew with little regard. She killed some of the hunting party and injured the rest when her venom was used up. It was only now in this moment that she remembered that humans were predators in their own right and Zemo bringing that fact to bear, whether he knew it or not. "For someone so old...you're certainly easy to destabilize," he then said. He dropped his hand just as he heard the riots break out. Phoenix's knees were knocking but she didn't have much time to dwell on things before she felt her wrist being pulled. "Let's move," Zemo said, pulling her behind him.
It didn't take long for him to knock a guard out and snag his uniform. Now in disguise, he kept a hold of Phoenix's elbow to further the charade. The chaos allowed her to push the things he said to the back of her mind and ignore how her skin was crawling. Once outside, Zemo pulled her into an alley and peered back at the prison to make sure they weren't followed. Phoenix waited a few seconds longer before her hands closed on his uniform shirt and she slammed him against the wall. The man grunted before meeting a pair of angry violets. "The princess has teeth, I see," he said, holding his hands up in a show of nonaggression. "Before we go find my friends, you're going to tell me what the hell that was all about in your cell. Just what were you implying?" she growled.
"That was just something I said to get you into character. Couldn't have you give us away if I didn't get your mindset into one of confusion. You did splendidly, my dear," Zemo explained. That simple explanation made Phoenix pause as it rattled through her brain. She took him off the wall to shove him back into it before letting go. "I hate you," she muttered, rubbing her temples. The son of a bitch got into her head and for what? A more believable show? The way he went about it pushed a line. Phoenix looked back at him and pointed a finger in his face. "I'm going to say this once so pay attention. Pull that stunt again and I'll sock you in the face. I'm letting you off the hook for dragging me along because it was part of the plan but touch me again without permission and I might rearrange your bones. Got it?" she warned. "As the princess commands," Zemo said before pushing off the wall to head further down the alley. "Come. Your friends should be at my compound by now," he said. Phoenix watched him walk off for a moment before sighing roughly and following.
It took about a half-hour before the duo reached Zemo's home. Bucky and Sam were there. The two Avengers took notice that their nonhuman friend seemed unnerved and agitated. She brushed them off without a word and just paced a little distance away. "What did you do?" Bucky asked, turning to him. For his credit, the man just shrugged. "Let's just say your princess has an issue with me and leave it at that. It's not that important," he said. Sam's eyebrows raised his nickname for Phoenix. "Princess?" he asked, incredulously. "Don't ask, Sam! It's taking everything in me not to knock him senseless!" Phoenix called over from where she was still pacing. The Falcon just shared a look with Bucky who shrugged. Zemo had done something to get a rise out of her and it would be better if they didn't get on her case about it with the way she was acting at the moment.
Zemo started going through the various cars, getting things ready for their next stop. He saw Bucky's reflection behind him and just smirked. "Seems your pretty little friend is quite the innocent girl despite her own advanced age," he said. "How did you know?" the White Wolf asked, surprised. "She told me herself. Says she was close to fifty years old when you were born. Seeing as you were born in 1917, it means she's been around since 1869 at the earliest. Besides, James, you should know that just because someone has experienced much in life doesn't mean they know everything. I don't know where you found her or how she's lived as long as she claims but her eyes spoke enough for me to get a general idea of her experiences. She seems ignorant of how people work," said the other man. Bucky just glowered. He wasn't about to let the man know that she was the one who found him in the ravine way back in 1944.
"Speaking of which, I've never seen eyes that color before. Nor have I even seen a woman with hair like that. I don't know what secrets she's hiding but something tells me she's just playacting at being human," Zemo said, moving onto a different car. Looking over to where Phoenix was, Bucky saw she was talking in low tones to Sam. She still looked agitated but to his credit, Sam seemed to be succeeding in talking her down. Bucky decided just to jump the gun and ask Zemo something. "Why did you call her my princess?" he asked. The Sokovian just gave him a knowing look. "As I said, I don't know who or what she is but she has an air of nobility about her. I can't be sure of the nature of your bond but every princess needs a knight. You two seem very close," he explained. If he rolled his eyes any harder, Bucky was sure they'd pop out of his skull. "Hate to break it to you, Zemo, but she's not seen in the best light where she comes from and I'm the furthest from a knight as you can get," he said. The man just shrugged as he carried on with his work, shoving a mask into his bag. "It changes nothing. I only speak of what I see," he said.
A few hours later saw them at an airport heading towards a private jet. Sam and Bucky found it pretty surprising that Zemo was apparently rich. Phoenix stood back, arms crossed. Zemo gave her a look when she didn't make to follow. "You seem hesitant," he said. "I'll find my own way. I'm not getting on that," she said. To her private surprise, Zemo didn't question it. He just shrugged and entered the plane. Bucky closed the distance. "You've never been to Madripoor, have you?" he asked. "I know less than 1% of this entire planet but don't worry. Our connection has been the key to me finding you no matter where you end up. The Road will get me to where I need to be. I promise," she said. Bucky nodded and headed up into the plane. Phoenix waited until it took off before she shifted back to her true form. "I don't trust that human at all. I'll need to keep a close eye on him," she thought. The Road opened and she stepped into it.