The trio of companions reached the plaza where Karli had instructed Sam to meet her alone. She had gotten his attention by calling his sister, Sarah, and threatening his nephews. Sam wasn't about to let that stand and Bucky wasn't about to let him go in alone. Phoenix was of the same mind where both of them were concerned. She agreed with Sam that Karli wasn't wrong to feel displaced and left behind. The chimera had a lifetime of experience living in such a world and the fact her world was the embodiment of what the Flag-Smashers wished for Earth to go back to after the Blip was reversed. She convinced the men she would be indispensable. It was through no small effort that they gave in and what was one more person to see her for what she really was.
"You know your part. Be careful," Sam told Phoenix. The shifter, in her false form, nodded and followed them only as far as the entryway, reverting to her natural state and waiting for her opening. Her ears consistently flicked around to pick up everything, including what was being said as Sam engaged Karli in conversation. The signal for her to step into the light came when Karli told the Falcon she liked him and wanted him on her side. "And that's where I come in," Phoenix said, stepping into the plaza. She looked up to see a girl with curly red hair. That had to be Karli. She was younger than Phoenix was expecting but on the flip side, everyone in the area was younger than she herself was. Karli was staring at her, amazed. "I can't believe it. I thought someone photoshopped a horse to look like that," she said. "And yet, I'm real. I'm their friend," the chimera said, swinging her head to indicate Sam and Bucky.
"Tell me something...why do you wish for your world to reflect mine?" Phoenix asked. "What do you mean?" Karli responded. "Your notion of 'one world, one people'...it's the same principle that my world operates by. My planet has but one continent and all humans are subjects of the Empire. Many animals are the same with their Nations. I've been to this world many times in the past and from what I understand, your world was never meant to operate like that. The various human groups diverged long ago. I have a general idea of why you think this is necessary. That's not what I'm asking, though. Why do you think what works for my world should work for yours?" Phoenix elaborated. "Because the Blip showed us survivors what this world could be like. We weren't given much of a choice but to give up what we had when everyone came back," Karli explained.
Phoenix took another step into the plaza, her at-rest tail coming into view as a way to show she was just as armed as her companions. "Displacement was a consequence of reversing the loss Thanos caused. I've never experienced such a thing myself as I never had a permanent home until recently. But the sadness...the pain...the deep loss that came from Thanos snapping away half of all life on this planet. I know it all too well," she said. "And who did you lose? According to you, you're not from here. You're some sort of alien," Karli shot back. The chimera was quiet for a moment. "I lost him," she said simply. She pointed her straight horn in Bucky's direction. Karli looked at him but the White Wolf remained quiet.
"I don't understand why the Flag-Smashers seem to regard those who came back as their enemies. No one asked for Thanos to do what he did. No one asked for the pain and sorrow that came with it. But there had to be people who wished for their loved ones' return, despite learning to live with the loss. You humans are adaptable. I'm not saying it was easy for you to adjust to before and after the Snap was reversed. But was violence really the only course of action? I've been around long enough to know that patience is key in many situations. Everyone who was dusted came back all of a sudden. There was no way to plan for that, the Avengers never gave warning, and the world was thrown into chaos as a result," Phoenix continued.
Karli looked down at her, her face unreadable. "About the only thing like the Snap my world faced was the disappearance of the Kirin Nation. No one knows where they went and at this point in time, many are questioning if they ever existed, despite all the evidence to show they did. It's not at the same level but if the kirins suddenly returned, many unicorn herds that took their forests would find themselves in this very situation. I can assure you those herds would not go to the lengths of you Flag-Smashers. They would find another way," the chimera said. Karli just chuckled. "I wouldn't expect a monster to understand. What would you know of humans?" she asked. The chimera simply regarded her for a moment before answering.
"Appearance aside, I'm just an animal. My first instinct is to fear you. But, as you know, there's more to me because I can think, reason, and communicate on your level. You humans are a species I know little about because I've been avoiding your kind for most of my 154 years. One of your own is why I exist in the first place. I have trauma you could never imagine. Humans are savage beings. I have a lifetime of experience to back that up. My species experience hatred on many fronts because we shouldn't exist. But my friends have shown me not all humans are bad. They taught me that hands can be gentle...kind. That even the most blood-stained hands can be washed clean. That not all humans are cut from the same cloth as my creator...or the ones who hunted me for sport or for the crime of simply living. So I'm risking myself on the idea that perhaps there's hope for you. I don't think you're a bad person, Karli. But you are lost," Phoenix responded.
She could tell she was starting to make a connection to Karli, given the redhead seemed to be giving her words some thought. However, the moment was lost when Sam suddenly got word that Walker and Hoskins were closing in. "It's Walker," Sam said. Without another word, Bucky jumped down to her level to intercept Karli who jumped first, aiming at Phoenix who was in the way of her escape. The White Wolf knocked her off course and the two scuffled for a second before breaking free. "I'll send you the coordinates. Go!" Sam ordered before flying off. Bucky ran past Phoenix who looked at the masked girl. She looked back at her. The chimera just reared, letting out a bell-like call as she shifted into her human form and ran after her friends. Bucky was faster than the average human thanks to his enhancement but Phoenix was faster. She caught up and matched his pace. "Your vote of confidence for human beings was pretty backhanded there, Nix," he snarked. "Don't take it personally, my friend. You know enough of my history to know that I only speak from experience," she responded grimly.
They circled back into the plaza building to regroup with Sam. "Bucky!" Phoenix suddenly shouted just before a Flag-Smasher pounced on her friend on the stairs. The shifter hung back, unable to do anything. She didn't have the space to revert back nor the know-how to fight as a human. She jumped to the ground floor when she anticipated the White Wolf's next move which was to kick the other man down the stairs. He jumped the railing and finished his opponent by kicking him through a brick wall, knocking him out. "Stay down," he said before turning to face Phoenix. "You okay?" he asked, closing the distance and setting a hand on her face. "I'm fine. Come on. We have to find Sam," she said, leading the way back up the stairs.
They found Sam and Walker engaging with a group of Flag-Smashers. The shifter dodged a knife aimed at Bucky who caught it and joined the fight. The room was much bigger and Phoenix promptly retook her true form. The humans not in the know of her existence were startled by the presence of the large animal but one reacted by coming at her with a blade. Phoenix dodged nimbly for her size and raised her tail to full-mast. She parried the blade and struck the human with her stinger, keeping her venom sacs closed. She wasn't out to kill anyone but a stab wound was still a stab wound.
Another human unknowingly tried to employ the same trick the Winter Soldier used on Phoenix during their 2014 encounter. He ran at the chimera, grabbed one of her curled horns, and vaulted over her back, aiming to bring her down. "Not this time," Phoenix thought. She followed her head over her back but because of the Winter Soldier, she knew what to expect. She let her front hooves leave the ground and she turned in place. The momentum she built caused the Flag-Smasher to get thrown against the wall. She brought her hooves down and focused on her next target. She struck another Flag-Smasher and slammed another one away from Sam before turning to see Walker being restrained by an unmasked man. A flash of movement then caught her eye. Karli came flying in out of nowhere, knife in hand and aiming to sink it into his chest. That's when Hoskins appeared. He tackled Karli away and she reacted by punching him into a pillar. The man hit the stone pillar and fell to the floor, dead. Time froze. The fighting stopped.
Phoenix's senses went off with an overwhelming sense of impending doom. Walker tore free of the unmasked man and went to his friend. The chimera was rooted to the spot, every instinct screaming for her to run. Her rational mind was overtaken by the sense of danger that started permeating the air. She promptly abandoned Sam and Bucky, shifting into her human form to navigate the stairs. She came out onto the street just in time to see Walker burst out of a window and hit a three-point landing on a van. She hit the breaks and froze. She saw, not a man, but a predator. Walker didn't notice her. His attention was on the man he was chasing. He started going after him. That's when Phoenix snapped out of panic mode. Her base form's penchant to protect others kicked in and she went after them.
She was too late. She reached the square where Walker and his prey ended up just in time to see the shield come down. Walker started caving the man's chest in with the shield, ferally yelling in fury at the loss of his friend. Phoenix watched horrified and instinctively made a move to stop the madman but was stopped by a pair of arms wrapping around her waist and shoulders from behind. Bucky's scent filled her senses as he pulled her back into his chest. There was nothing she could do anyway. The man was dead within two blows of the shield.
When it was over, Walker stood back and looked around at the audience he gained. Those who weren't staring at him were staring at the shield. The edge was covered in blood. Phoenix's eyes started to glow violet as a reaction to the needless killing. Bucky quickly turned her around and crushed her to his chest. It was to keep her from drawing attention to herself and to make her look away from the carnage, despite knowing she had likely seen worse. She clung to him, fingers sunk into his leather coat and her knees almost giving out. The Falcon and the White Wolf could only stare at Walker, who had used the very shield Steve had carried in defense of the helpless to kill someone in cold blood.