Phoenix, Bucky, Sam, Zemo, and Sharon arrived at the shipping yard. "Wait out here and watch yourself," Bucky told his inhuman companion. "No problem. Be careful, you two," she responded, giving him and Sam a gentle squeeze of the arm. "No luck for me?" Zemo asked, sounding a bit put out. She gave him a look. "You will be fine," she said, causing Sam to chuckle. The Baron just shook his head before heading into the shipping container that supposedly held the lab they traced the super-soldier serum to. Sharon and Phoenix split up to cover the area. When she was alone, Phoenix shifted back into her own skin. She stretched her tail. It was becoming a bit tiring remaining in disguise for such long stretches of time but she wasn't about to let Zemo find out what she really was. She was still a bit unnerved by what he had said at their first meeting.
After about fifteen minutes, Phoenix suddenly heard guns start going off and she immediately started honing in to see where the threat was. Hooves slowly clopping as she made her way closer to danger, figuring Sharon could use a hand, she nearly jumped out of her skin as an explosion rocked the place. "What the!?" came a startled yell. Phoenix's head shot to the side to see a pair of humans who apparently materialized out of nowhere and were staring at her in abject fear. The chimera didn't think. She reacted. Her tail flew and struck one before she dove between a pair of containers. After weaving in and out, she burst into the place where Sharon was currently laying out numerous attackers. Her sudden appearance startled everyone and Phoenix reared, a bell-like call filling the air. Sharon only spared her a surprised glance but her SHIELD training kept her focused on the task. Phoenix kicked out with her front hooves as several humans got too close. She started running, knocking people out of the way and stabbing others with her stinger. At least two drew the unlucky straw as she injected venom into their bodies and left them to die in agony.
Zemo walked across the roof of a shipping container, carrying a handgun and pulling his mask on. He looked down and his eyes widened when he saw the creature. "It's real!?" he thought, his memory immediately jumping to a small encrypted file HYDRA had made about some sort of demon. The creature was a dead ringer for what they described. It was currently trying to hold off two humans so Zemo decided to take the shot. He aimed the gun at the pipe they were near. The creature looked up to see him getting ready to fire the trigger and immediately ran for it, away from him. Zemo blew up the pipe before making his way down to take care of the humans. He then went after the beast, noting it moved with purpose and a near-human intelligence.
Phoenix ran through the shipping containers, trying to focus on her connection to Bucky. Her eyes caught sight of Zemo just behind her but he then ducked out of sight. She decided to save it for later and hoped he didn't try shooting her if they crossed paths again. It didn't seem like he was hunting her in particular. She was closing in on her friends' position when suddenly a human stepped out and was startled by her. The chimera halted as fast as she could and reared in surprise. A gunshot rang out and suddenly...pain. Violet eyes went wide as blood shot out of a wound on the right side of her unarmored chest.
Following the blood burst, blue flames shot out of the entry wound for a split second. An exit wound suddenly opened, ejecting more flames and the bullet. The fur surrounding the two points was scorched. She heard someone shout her name but it was muted. As if in slow motion, Phoenix's hooves came down to earth before she fell and hit the ground on her side. Her head bounced painfully as her horns slammed into the concrete. Her injury set off the Road's influence. It tried to pull her out but she instinctively fought against it until its influence faded.
Bucky, Sam, and Sharon stared as the animal went down. The White Wolf went on autopilot and raced to her side. Phoenix's eyes were partially open and blood was flowing from her wound. "Phoenix!" he shouted, picking her head off the ground. "That's Phoenix!?" Sharon asked in shock. "Yes, Sharon. That's her. The real her," Sam responded before moving to her side as well. Bucky had her horned head in his lap, trying to figure out what to do. Sam came down to inspect the wound as Sharon approached as well.
"Damn. Of all the places for her to get shot, it had to be in an unprotected zone," the Falcon muttered. He then noticed the exit wound just past the gold scales on her shoulder. At least they didn't have to worry about digging the bullet out. Bucky's attention was on Phoenix's face. Her nostrils were flaring as she hyperventilated, her eyes half-closed and glowing. Unbidden, his mind took him back to that forest in 2014 when HYDRA sent him after her. She was protected by a spell but the only time it activated was when he aimed to kill. Bucky suddenly realized the reason it hadn't when he shot her tail off and when she was shot now was because she didn't see the threat coming.
A car's engine roared and the three humans looked up to see Zemo. He saw the beast's head in Bucky's lap and he got out of the car. "So it exists," he said, just taking in the animal. Sharon gave him a warning look to keep his distance. The animal's tail was twitching and curling unpredictably and none of them wanted to get stung. "Guess the cat's out of the bag. Zemo...meet Phoenix. As she truly is," the Falcon said. Zemo's otherwise neutral expression turned to surprise. "This beast...is Phoenix?" he asked, stunned. "Yep," was all the Falcon responded. The Baron brought a hand to his chin as he digested that. "This changes things and it presents a problem. As she is, we can't move her and we don't have the means to stop the bleeding here. Which form is the real one?" he asked. Bucky looked up at him. "What you see is the real one. The woman? A disguise. Meant to hide and protect her when among our kind," he said.
"She's still conscious. Maybe she could transform still?" Sharon wondered, as she slowly knelt down by Phoenix's head. The glow in her eyes was fading in and out at a slow clip but none of them knew what that meant. A hoof scraped the concrete. "Bucky?" she rasped. "I'm here. Stay with me," the White Wolf said, his voice betraying nothing of his fear. He didn't want to think about the possibility of her dying there. He wouldn't be able to take it. "I'm burning… The flames growing inside of me…," the animal said in a low voice. She was relatively lucid but her fear, confusion, and agony were close to doing her in. Sharon and Sam watched as Zemo slowly knelt down and reached out a hand. His wrist was caught by Bucky. "Don't touch her," he warned. "We don't have time for this. Every moment we waste here could have consequences later. We need to get her away from this place and do something about the wounds. If you want to save your friend, don't interfere," the Baron said.
Once his wrist was free, Zemo slowly set a hand on the broad plane of Phoenix's neck. "I have the means to help you but you need to help me in return. You need to concentrate and shift so we can get out of here," he said in a low tone. He watched her eye roll in his direction. "It burns…," she said. "I know, princess. I can make it go away. You just need to retake your human form before I can. Can you do that?" he asked. Eyes closing, Phoenix's horn complex started to glow and it spread across her body. When the shift was complete, she hissed in pain. "Good job, princess. Let us take it from here," Zemo said, standing to his full height. He got back into the car as Sam helped get Phoenix onto her back and into Bucky's arms.
They started driving away from the shipping yard, parting ways with Sharon as they did. Phoenix was going in and out of lucidity, her face in the crook of Bucky's neck as he held her as steady as he could. Her blood was running down her arm and her breathing was still erratic. "The princess is certainly full of surprises. I confess that I wasn't expecting her to be any sort of beast, let alone one that can walk around in the guise of a woman," Zemo said, eyes on the road. "She didn't want you finding out for a reason," Sam said. "I have no doubt of that. However, now that I think about it, I have seen her before. In 2014, when she went viral online. I was doing some research when I came across a photograph. It wasn't the best quality but now that I've seen her in her natural state, I can now say that my doubt of its legitimacy is put to rest," he explained. "HYDRA had a file on her. They got her details from me while they were working me over. Did you find that, too?" Bucky asked.
Zemo gave Phoenix's form a look. "I did. However, I didn't make the connection back then because the report was simultaneously meticulous about her description yet vague on if she was real. Something about the ramblings of a mad man," he said, turning his eyes to the road. "Perhaps you could explain a few things to me so I can better understand. Who is she, really? What is she? And…," he paused, looking back at Bucky. "Where did you find her?" he finished his inquiry. The former Winter Soldier broke eye contact and looked ahead. "Phoenix is a chimera, an artificially created creature. To preempt, no, she wasn't created by HYDRA. She predates them. You guessed right when you pinned her birth year at 1869. I'm not entirely sure where she comes from, only that it's not Earth. And I didn't find her. She found me," he answered. Zemo hummed, piecing it together from there. The HYDRA report was dated 1944. That was the earliest and most logical time they could've met. HYDRA must've found him not long after that initial meeting.
"For what it's worth, James, I will say yours is a bond I have a newfound respect for. It explains much and I knew from our first meeting that she cares deeply about you. I couldn't put my finger on why it seemed different than a usual friendship but now I know. She's like a pet dog, loyally following her master," he said. "Hey, she follows us because we're her friends," Sam said. "I meant no disrespect, of course. I was merely making an observation and something tells me she'd agree with that assessment. Despite her ability to reason and speak, it's plain to me that she's wild. I saw the men she killed with that stinger. It wasn't a pretty sight," Zemo said with a shrug as they arrived at the airport.
They got out of the car but before they climbed the stairs to his plane, the Baron turned to his companions. There was one more question he needed to get to the bottom of. "How was she able to get here in the first place? We left her behind in Berlin but then she appears a third of the world away in Madripoor as if by magic. Then she just happens to appear in our general vicinity after meeting up with Ms. Carter. I want to know how she's able to move so quickly and so far. Now is as good a time as any for that question to be answered," he said. Bucky and Sam exchanged a look before the White Wolf sighed, shifting Phoenix's weight a little. "I don't know how it works but she travels something called the Road. It allows her to move across large distances in time and space. The way she explained it to me was that the Road travels between dimensions and drops her where she's needed. That's how she keeps popping up where I am," he explained.
Zemo hummed before leading the way up the stairs, satisfied with the answer. He privately filed it away to ask Phoenix directly. "Your bond is stronger than I thought. On that note, I hope the princess doesn't gain enough lucidity and spring back to her natural state in a panic while we're in the air. This plane isn't rated for anything weighing a thousand pounds," he said. Bucky and Sam followed him up. Phoenix herself was barely conscious and the wound in her chest was still bleeding steadily. Once they were in the air, Zemo had Bucky sit on the floor in the back while he got some supplies. Phoenix was laid out on her left side, head in his lap. The Baron came over and knelt down.
"Seems she has some form of healing ability. The wound isn't as bad as it was initially but the process isn't a fast one. The odd thing is she was shot by a handgun at near-point-blank range. Because her actual body has more mass than a human, there shouldn't be an exit wound from such a small caliber and the burns are bigger than they should be," Zemo noted, pulling the strap of her silver shirt off her shoulder to get a better look. "I don't think the exit wound was made by the bullet itself. After she was shot, I saw blue flames erupt from the entry wound for a brief second. The exit wound appeared after that, followed by more flames that also only lasted for a second," Sam explained. "That actually makes sense. Phoenix is protected by a spell that activates only if she's in over her head and if she sees the threat coming. I've seen it in action twice. If the exit wound was created by the spell, it must've done it for the purpose of ejecting the bullet," Bucky said. "Fascinating theory. Hopefully, the princess will enlighten us when she recovers," the Baron mused.
Bucky watched as he worked on cleaning the wound. He had to remind himself that Zemo used to be Spec Ops for the Sokovian military before Ultron blew the country to hell. It made sense that he knew his way around dressing wounds. It was almost funny to note that of the four companions, Phoenix was the only one without a military background. Zemo finished patching up the front before he had Bucky shift Phoenix forward so he could take care of the exit wound. "Boy, you're lucky she's barely conscious. Can you imagine the fuss she'd be kicking up right now?" Sam asked, eliciting a small laugh from Bucky.
Zemo just smirked. "I wonder if there's a reason she doesn't like physical contact or if that's just part of Phoenix's nature as a wild animal," he mused. The White Wolf brushed some of her hair out of her face, noting that her eyes were still glowing in a fade pattern. "Let's just say she had a bad experience with humans long ago and leave it at that," he responded. "Fair enough. I've grown to respect her enough to let her keep whatever secrets she still holds. I've had enough surprises for one day," the Baron said as he finished his work. As if on cue, Phoenix's eyes closed entirely and she was gone. Bucky shifted into a more comfortable position and took a deep breath. "I have a feeling she'll be out for a while. We should plan our next move," Sam said. "Good idea," Bucky said.
Zemo moved to put things away and he sat down to observe Bucky and his inhuman companion. It was crystal clear to him by this point how much the Winter Soldier cared about her. It was almost endearing and the Baron decided to occupy himself with thoughts about the past couple of days. Last night in particular. When they were on the way to the bar to meet with Selby, he thought he caught glimpses of a strange animal from time to time along the route. It was always out of the corner of his eye but gone when he went to look. Coupled with Bucky's explanation that she used something called the Road to move from place to place, it explained much. Zemo had to wonder if she could take others through the Road. It would make travel a lot easier. But as it stood now, the chimera was wounded and unconscious. The Baron could only hope for an opportunity to learn more later and for Phoenix's cooperation.