Chapter Text
You were in Selby’s lounge room, where she always kept you when expecting visitors. You waited for said visitors in your corner. Selby never let you use the good furniture. Hands clasped in front of you and your eyes straight ahead, you awaited the no doubt untrustworthy guests. She only ever had you in the lounge when she needed your lie detection. Your head bowed and your eyes locked on to the floor when the door opened. Three men enter the room, first a man in an expensive coat that took a seat with the confidence of an old friend. The second man, dressed in tactical gear walked around the couch to stand off to the side, expression carefully blank. The last visitor to enter was dressed in a multicolored suit, he took a seat next to the first man, though he was much less comfortable. Once everyone was in the room, the armed guards settled into their posts as well.
Selby released a sigh and warned “You should know, Baron, people don’t just come into my bar and make demands.”
The man in the coat, evidently ‘Baron’ replied with a smirk, “Not a demand. An offer.”
Selby eyed the man that did not sit, “A lot has changed since you were here last. By the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison. How did you escape?”
The Baron, giving nothing away, retorted, “People like us always find a way, don’t we? I’m sure you’ve already figured out what I’m here for.”
Selby pointed to the man in the suit, ignoring the Baron, “You’re taller than I’d heard, Smiling Tiger,” she released a small growl and clawed playfully at the ‘Tiger’s’ lack of reaction. “What’s the offer?”
The Baron got up from his seat and walked around to the man in tactical gear, answering with “Tell us what you know about the super-soldier serum,” a pause when he reached the other man followed by “and I’ll give you him, along with the code words to control him, of course.” He played with the man's chin in an unsettling manner as he finished with “He will do anything you want.”
LIE. You knew he was lying, but Selby had trained you to never interrupt unless she asked if someone was lying.
Selby seemed pleased with the idea when she replied “Now that’s the Zemo I remember.”
What the hell is a ‘Zemo’ you thought to yourself.
Selby continued, “I’m glad I decided not to kill you immediately. Yeah, you were right to come to me. Arrogant, but right.” She adjusted her position on the couch, giving the Baron the answer he was looking for, “The super-soldier serum is here in Madripoor. Dr. Wilfred Nagel is the man you wanna thank-- or condemn, depending on what side of this you’re on. The Power Broker had him working on the serum, but,” a dramatic pause, “it didn’t go as planned.”
The Baron was very intrigued, quickly asking “Is Nagel still in Madripoor?”
Selby tsked then said “Oh the bread crumbs you can have for free, but the bakery is gonna cost you, Baron.”
Why must she always use such godawful metaphors?
“And before you get all cute, don’t think you can find Nagel without me,” she warned.
Before the negotiations could continue, the Tiger’s phone rang. “Answer it. On speaker,” Selby said in an irritated tone.
The Tiger answered his phone with an unexpected amount of concealed anxiety, “Hello?”
The person on the other line replied quickly with “Hey, um, we need to talk about this situation. It’s been drivin’ me nuts.”
The tiger was covering his anxiety with feigned bored impatience, demanding specificity, “What situation exactly are you talkin’ about?”
“Are you high? You know what situation, it’s the only situation me and you have,” the woman on the phone was not feigning her impatience.
“What situation, Sarah? Say it,” the Tiger growled at the phone.
A false start at a reply from Sarah followed by “The damn boat. And watch your tone. Okay? I let you slide at the bank.”
The Tiger scoffed and gave an unconvincing boast, “The bank. Yeah. Laundered so much…” he let the sentence fall incomplete.
LIE
He continued his bad acting with “Yeah, they’ll come around.”
“If that was the case, then why’d they dog you out, Big Time?” Sarah retorted.
The tiger looked to his partners nervously, saying “Yeah, you damn right I’m Big Time. You’ll see when I have that banker killed.”
LIE
Why did Selby have you here if she wasn’t going to use you? You were getting irritated and made the mistake of interrupting with a quiet “lie.”
Selby’s head snapped to you as the woman spoke again. “Cass! What’d I tell you about the Cheerios? I don’t have time for this! Sam, I’m sorry. I’ll call you back.”
Selby’s attention switched back to the Tiger, half yelling “‘Sam’? Who’s Sam? Kill them.” She locked her eyes on you and repeating something you had heard many times, though not recently, “Now, you know not to interru-”
A gunshot sounded through the room, the cause of which piercing Selby through the chest. She hit the ground with a weak thud. The guards aimed for the three men as you pushed yourself into the corner and covered your ears, eyes locked on the blood stain emanating from Selby’s corpse. You could hear that the Tiger, though he was apparently a man by the name of ‘Sam’ instead, was talking, but you couldn’t make the words make sense in the haze of overstimulation.
The Baron composed himself, giving instructions to the other two, though you were still unable to process the words. They all turned your direction, but you didn’t look at them, your eyes still glued to the floor. They spoke to each other, what you could stitch together amounted to a debate on what to do with you. Sam was skeptical, the man in tactical gear more so, the Baron, ignoring them, crouched down into your field of view.
He brushed his gloved hand over your arm by way of asking you to uncover your ears. You complied cautiously. He gestured to the three of them and explained “We will not harm you, so long as you do not pose a threat to us. What is yo-”
A guard slammed through the door, gun trained on the men. You reacted from instinct and flung your arm out to him, black wisps turning red as they got farther from your hand, pushing the ill prepared guard against the far wall, rendering him harmless. You pulled your hand to your chest, shocked that you had used your power so thoughtlessly, and in front of others. You had learned at a young age to keep it hidden.
The Baron looked to his partners, who both shrugged. He turned back to you offering a hand to you. “If you help us out of this mess, we can help you,” it was an intriguing offer, one that you hadn’t been given in all eight years in Selby’s service.
You took his hand and followed directly behind him the whole way out of the bar. You felt unusually safe in his presence. Phones were going off all around you. The Baron stated the obvious, only seconds before shots were fired. He placed his hand on the center of your back guiding the two of you in the opposite direction of the other two men. He procured a pistol from an unfortunate bounty hunter and led you back to the others just in time to see a man hit the ground from a shot not fired by anyone in your eyeline. Two bikers heading your way met the same fate.
“You seem to have a guardian angel,” the Baron said, turning to you, likely to ask of your well-being, but was interrupted when a new voice cut in.
“Well this is too perfect. Drop it, Zemo,” the new woman said.
The wisps gathered around your hands ready to protect your saviors, one of them spoke but you weren’t listening. However the Baron gently grabbed your wrist. You looked up at him, concern written across your face. He shook his head and dropped his gun, turning around and stopping in front of you. You fought the wisps back in, willing yourself to calm down. The woman took several steps forward, the man before you keeping the distance, causing you to follow suit. The woman kicked the gun to the side, taking another step toward the Baron. Zemo. Not the Baron, his name was Zemo.
The woman had her own weapon aimed at Zemo. She spoke again, “You cost me everything.” She raised her gun to Zemo’s head.
Sam tried to reason with her, getting in front of Zemo and saying “Sharon, wait. Someone recreated the super-soldier serum and Zemo had a lead.”
You had hidden yourself behind Zemo’s coat, breath becoming uneven. He stepped to the side and brushed his foot against yours, knowing that lowering his hands wouldn’t end well.
Sharon seemed convinced but not pleased, sighing “That explains why you’re here. And Selby’s dead.”
The man in tactical gear asked “So what are you doing here?”
Sharon replied, irritated “I stole Steve’s shield, remember? I also took the wings for your ass, so that you could save his ass,” she gestures to the man that asked the question, “from his ass.” returning the gun’s aim to Zemo, then dropping it to her side.. “Though, your ass is new,” she added, eyeing you like a predator. “I didn’t have the Avengers to back me up. So I’m off the grid in Madripoor,” she explained.
LIE
She most definitely was not off the grid.
Sam was apparently offended, retorting with “Don’t blow smoke my way. I was on the run too.”
It was Sharon's turn to be offended, quickly supplying “Was. Is. Big difference. I don’t speak to my family anymore. I can’t. My own father doesn’t know where I am.”
The dark haired man to your left sighed, getting a little desperate and said “Listen… Sharon, we need your help,” she chuckled. He gave his final offer, “... please.”
She wasn’t happy about it but gave in. “This isn’t over,” meant for Zemo, then to the group, “I have a place in High Town. You’ll be safe there for a while. On the way you can tell me who the hell your new pet is.”
She led the four of you to a large black SUV telling Zemo to get in the very back. Not wanting to be crowded into the middle seat, you shared the back seat. The other two men took the middle row, and Sharon took shotgun while her driver headed to the next destination. You were too nervous to speak so you sent a wisp Zemo’s way, relaying a message of “why are we trusting her, she tried to shoot you?”
Zemo turned to you, looking confused, and in a quiet voice asked “Do you have telepathy?”
You were still uncomfortable so you sent another wisp, this one glowing and making a show of heading for his ear, with the message “Not in the way you’re thinking, the wisps can move things or relay thoughts.”
He smirked and asked what to call you, you sent a wisp telling him that Selby never called you a name that wasn’t an insult, but that your family had called you Wisp before you were in Selby’s ‘care’.
Sharon spoke up before Zemo could reply, “So what's the deal with the newbie?”
You made a face and decided that you didn’t like her. Zemo spoke before anyone else, projecting his voice to the front of the vehicle, “They saved us more than a few times tonight, and they have proven helpful.” The man dressed like a gay-bar bouncer, whose name you had learned was Bucky, inquired after your name, to which Zemo informed them that you were to be called Wisp until you saw fit to give them your real name. Zemo offered a comforting smile, which you returned.
When you arrived at the castle that only a rich person would call a mansion, the lot of you headed straight to a sitting room. Zemo stayed slightly ahead of you the whole way through the ‘house’. You passed a display room full of famous art pieces. It was becoming evident that this was what the discrepancy in Sharon's story was.
Sam seemed to disapprove of the pieces, commenting “Looks like breaking all those laws is treating you well.”
To which Sharon, who was rather proud of her status, replied with “I thought if I had to hustle, might as well enjoy the life of a real hustler. You know how much you can get for a real Monet?”
Sam didn’t believe her statement, Zemo and Bucky supplied him with information to the contrary and continued the journey through the maze-like interior.
Once in the designated room, Sharon had a large clothing rack brought in and Bucky and Sam picked out fresh clothes and began going over the next steps. Zemo walked over to a bottle of amber alcohol and poured himself a glass. You eyed the clothes from across the room, wanting to change from your tattered ill-fitting clothes, but not willing to change in front of the strangers. Zemo, seeing your discomfort interjected into the conversation across the room, inquiring about a separate room for you to change in. Sharon gave him directions and he escorted you to the clothing rack, and to the other room. He waited in the hall for you to finish dressing to bring you back to the group. When the two of you returned to the group, Zemo refilled his glass and the terms for Sharon's assistance were being set.
When you zone back into the conversation, Sharon was saying “- connected people. Lay low, blend in, enjoy the party. Try to stay out of trouble. I’ll see what I can find.”
Zemo adds from his seat next to you, “Trouble.” You were the only one to find it funny enough to chuckle.
You felt bad for following Zemo all over the party, but he was the one you trusted the most and he didn’t seem to mind. He got you a drink, but you only sipped at it when he was looking.
He picked up on this quickly, chuckling and telling you “You don’t have to drink it if you don’t like it.”
You handed him the glass and leaned in to tell him “Selby never let me drink, so I never got the taste for it.”
Zemo nodded and explained “I’ve been in prison until recently, so I miss things like this dearly.” His head turned towards the DJ and he gestured to the pulsating crowd in front of the large screens. He looked back to you, extended his hand and asked as if it were a ball and not on the verge of a rave, “May I have this dance?”
You couldn’t hold back the monosyllabic laugh that rushed past your lips at the offer. “Of course,” you said in a volume he almost couldn’t hear over the music as you took his hand.
He led you to a gap in the crowd, still holding your hand. He turned to face you fully and began to bounce to the music. You joined in, although in a much shyr manner. You quickly loosened up upon seeing the goofy grin on his face. The two of you ‘danced’ in circles, not trying to show off but trying to get the other to laugh. He won this game by doing a very dad-like fist pump. You laughed so hard, you had your head thrown back.
Just as you regained eye contact with him, someone bumped into you, causing you to stumble forward into him. Zemo, ever the gentleman, caught you by the hips. You looked up at him, your body in full contact with his own. He gazed at you with a gentle smile and added a soft pressure to your hips. You were intoxicated by his scent alone. He leaned down ever so slightly brushing his lips against yours. Your breath hitched in the back of your throat. You stretched your neck up to meet his thin lips again. He grinned into the kiss, pulling you closer to him. He moved his lips against yours in a way that was desperate but not asking for more than this.
He pulled back and moved his right hand up to your cheek, thumb brushing along your cheekbone gently. Leaning in to speak into your ear, “We should rejoin the others.”
You nod in agreement, more focused on the ghost of his lips on yours than the words he spoke.
He took your hand in his and led you to regroup with Bucky and Sam who were admiring a painting. Zemo didn’t release your hand until Sharon approached the four of you.
“Hey guys, we found him,” she said, and immediately headed for the door.
Sam added a “Here we go” as you all followed Sharon.
Sam was feeling the aftermath of the party quite a bit more than everyone else. While walking through the seemingly endless maze of shipping containers, he said “Madripoor could give New York a run for its money.”
Zemo looked at you when he said “They know how to party.” The blush that took control of your cheeks made you happy to be in the back of the herd.
Sharon redirected the conversation to the task at hand, “With that bounty on your heads, the longer you’re in Madripoor, the less likely you’re ever leaving. Alright, he’s in there. Container four-two-six-one.” She stopped and stuck her hand out, an earpiece for everyone in her hand. You all took one as she finished. “I’ll keep an eye out while you guys talk to Nagel, but hurry, we’re on borrowed time.”
Zemo motioned for you to stay close, not that you had planned on separating from him. Sam opened the door to the container, but didn’t go in. He asked Sharon if she was sure because the container looked empty. She replied through the earpiece that she was in fact positive. Zemo walked to the back of the container, heading for the far corner. He pressed on the back of the container and it revealed itself to be a false back. Sam and Bucky drew their weapons as Sam led the way into the secret stairway, you and Zemo in the middle, followed by Bucky.
Music was playing throughout the lab, coupled with a quiet voice singing along. Bucky and Sam took the lead once everyone was in the lab. You stayed behind Zemo as he scanned the room, appearing deeply disturbed. When the man singing along to the record was in sight, Zemo didn’t take his eyes off of him.
Sam took the needle off the record, making the man jump. “Dr. Nagel?”
In a shaky voice, the man only answered with “Who are you? What do you want?”
“We know you created the super-soldier serum.”
The man began to walk away, “Get. Out. Of my lab.” He stopped when he saw Bucky.
Sam grabbed his arm, “You know who he is right?” He turned Nagel towards where you and Zemo were, “This is Baron Zemo, I know you’ve heard of him too, right? The one behind him you haven’t heard of, but they will still do damage. You seem like a pretty smart guy,” he pushed Nagel into a wall, “so you better become conversational real quick.”
“How ‘bout a counter proposal. Make me a better offer and I’ll talk.” Nagel had a lot of confidence for someone so outnumbered.
Sharon warned against incoming bounty hunters. Bucky threw Nagel in a chair and put a gun to his head.
He got a lot more talkative when Bucky fired a warning shot inches behind Nagel’s head. “Ok, ok. I was brought into HYDRA’s Winter Soldier program to pick up their work after the five failed test subjects in Siberia. When HYDRA fell, I was recruited by the CIA. They had blood samples from an American test subject with semi-stable traces of serum in his system. After much labor, I was able to isolate the necessary compounds in his blood. I was a god. I did what no other scientist since Erskine was able to do.” Zemo paced around to the other side of the table. “But mine was going to be different. No clunky machines or jacked up bodies. Mine was going to be subtle, optimized, perfect.”
None of what he was saying was sparking your ‘lie detector.’
Sam asked in disbelief, “How have we never heard about this?”
“Because…” Nagel got a far off look for a moment. “Before I was able to complete my work, I turned to dust. Then when I returned, it was five years later, the program had been abandoned, so I came here. The Power Broker was more than happy to fund the recreation of my work.”
Sam asked, “How many vials did you make?”
“Twenty. Karli Morgenthau stole those, so… I can only imagine what the Power Broker has planned for that poor girl.”
Zemo was feeling under the table. Sam continued grilling Nagel but you had stopped listening in favor of sending a wisp to ask Zemo what he was doing. He didn’t reply as he had found what he was looking for, a gun. He hid it behind his back and rejoined the others.
“-not my farm,” was all you caught from Nagel.
It was Bucky’s turn to ask the questions, “Is there any serum in this lab?”
At Nagels hesitation, the gun was returned to his temple. “No.”
Bucky dropped the gun again, “Now what.”
Sharon entered the lab, out of breath. “Guys we are seriously out of time here.”
While the others were looking at Sharon, Zemo fired his gun at Nagel. Sam shouted and pinned Zemo to the wall, Sharon trying to work the gun out of his hand. You didn’t like the way that they were holding him, the wisps reappearing around your hands. Zemo shook his head at you and you back down only slightly.
Then half the lab exploded. Zemo threw himself in front of you, the force of the explosion forcing everyone to the ground. He rolled off of you and helped you up. He led you out of the lab. Seconds later another explosion erupted from the lab, knocking crates crooked and blowing others apart. You followed Zemo to the top of a container stack. A man had followed you up as well. Upon hearing his heavy boots hit the metal, you had flung him off the container before Zemo had finished turning around.
“Nicely done,” he praised as he pulled on a ribbed purple mask. He turned around again and shot a pipe, taking out a sizable number of bounty hunters. He leapt down from the containers, you followed him down, albeit less gracefully.
He took out four guys on his own, the fifth man was taken down by you by wrapping your wisps around his neck and squeezing until he hit the ground. He offered his hand to you, a habit of his that had formed in the day you had known him. You took it, a habit you had formed following the same parameters. He led the two of you through the maze, looking for an improvisational exit. He came to a stop at a green container with its door ajar.
“Hello,” he mumbled before removing the mask he wore. “Hop in, Wisp,” he instructed as he made for the driver’s seat of a sporty convertible.
You obliged, taking shotgun. He drove through the shipping yard, looking for the others. He had just rounded a corner when you saw them exit a light blue container. He made a clean but screechy halt in front of them, shrugging he said, “Supercharged,” making you chuckle a little.
Sam had on a serious face and a matching tone when he said, “You’re going back to jail.”
Zemo was impatient in his reply, “Do you want to find Karli or not?”
“He’s right,” began Bucky, “We need him. There’s two of us, and at least twenty of them, c’mon.” He stood next to the passenger door, as if waiting for you to move. When you didn’t he stepped over the door into the back seat.
Sam hesitated before giving in, warning Zemo, “Fine. but if you try that shit again-”
Zemo cut his warning short with, “Wouldn’t dream of it.”
Sharon made a snide comment but you once again ignored her. This time in favor of focusing on Zemo’s hand softly examining the scrapes on your arm and knuckles, likely from the first explosion. He asked if you were alright, you made a noise of agreement and nodded. He gave your hand a reassuring squeeze before shifting the car's gear and driving out of the shipping yard. He drove to an airport where his private jet and butler/pilot was waiting.
Once you were all on the plane, he had his butler-pilot, Oeznik, make you a plate and bring you a glass of water, you thanked him shyly. After Sam and Bucky finished their conversation about ‘the shield’, whatever that meant, Zemo handed them each a plate of lesser quality food than your own. He sat with his knuckles on his mouth and his thumb under his chin.
Sam informed the group of the contents of his most recent phone call. Zemo responded with, “I have a place we can go. I, for one, am looking forward to coming face to face with Karli.” He switched his attention forward and said, “Oeznik, we’re changing course.”
You sent a wisp toward him asking, Am I coming with you?
He replied out loud, disregarding the fact that neither Sam nor Bucky had heard your question, “Do you want to?”
Sam looked at Bucky confused, then between the two of you, just in time to see your next wisp flow into Zemo’s left ear. It said I don’t want to be alone.
Zemo leaned forward and reassured you that, “You are not alone anymore, and you may stay as long as you please.” You smiled bashfully and went back to your meal.
Sam, sick of not knowing, asked, “What the hell was that? Can they talk through those little black and red things?” Bucky had paused in polishing his hand to listen in.
You spoke to them directly for the first time, saying, “It’s like telepathy, but one way and it needs a medium...” The proud look on Zemo’s face made the anxiety of using your voice worth it.
Sam turned his seat back to its resting position, and mumbled, “Creepy,” earning a glare from both you and Zemo.
Bucky eventually moved back to a seat when everyone started getting tired. Zemo had quietly offered the couch behind his seat to you so that you could get a better rest in. You accepted if only to be nearer to him. He pressed a gentle kiss to your forehead as you fell asleep.
You awoke to him stroking the side of your head and saying that the plane was about to land so you should take a real seat. After you all had landed safely, Zemo led the way to the safehouse he had in Latvia. While he was talking about what had happened to his home country, Bucky stated he was going for a walk just as you arrived at the door. Zemo wasted no time and led you and Sam inside.