SOLDIER ─ marvel

XXVII. Mandy, The Savior

Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bucky

I feel pretty good watching Zemo cuffed in the chair I was chained to. I can tell Alex is enjoying it as well, but he's not trying to hide it.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," Alex says with a smile. "Remember, I can turn into pretty much every animal on earth. Bears, tigers, wolves, lions, I can turn into whatever it takes to make you talk."

Zemo seems to genuinely be afraid of Alex, I can see it in his eyes. His voice is weak, very quiet as he says; "Sending a message. That's the plan, to send a message to the world."

"What kind of message?" Khari asks.

"One that will ensure that the Avengers can never inflict their will wherever they wish again."

"You better get to the point," I tell him, gesturing to Alex. "My brother in law has a large appetite and he hasn't eaten in hours."

Zemo tightens his jaw, muttering through gritted teeth. "Using the serum Bauer made, we were going to send Wilson and Carter to the United States Pentagon. We will then film them deliver a message; that in only two weeks we managed to infiltrate the government and kill some of it's highest ranking officials, and they couldn't do anything to stop us. It will make sure that the UN tightens it's grip on the world, that the Avengers will never have their freedom again."

"Why did you pick Sam and Sharon?" Alex asks.

"Carter has clearance to get into the pentagon, and Wilson is an Avenger, the only Avenger we could capture without being pulverized."

"Bauer told me he wants to bring HYDRA out of the ashes. How will doing this achieve that?"

Zemo shakes his head, shifting in his seat to let his cuffed hands hang off the edge of the chair. "Bauer knows that even with Carter and Wilson he won't be able to secure power for himself. But he doesn't have to physically bring HYDRA back into power, only secure what HYDRA believed in."

Things start to piece together in my mind as I remember what HYDRA used to fight for. It wasn't just power and dominance they wanted. HYDRA's core belief is that humanity cannot be in charge of their own freedom and must be controlled by a superior power. The government is already trying to take control of the world, but if Bauer and Zemo succeed in their plan, then he's right; the Avengers will never know freedom again.

"And you want all this because of your hatred for the Avengers, right? You're so blinded by vengeance that you don't care who suffers if it means getting what you want."

Zemo lets out a laugh, looking at me like I'm an imbecile. "You don't get to lecture me about morality, your savage bitch already tried that."

I grab onto his shirt with both hands and rip him from the chair, lifting him off the ground and into the air. "If you ever say anything like that about Soroya again then I will paralyze you so when Alex eats you alive you can do nothing but watch."

I drop him back into the chair, his metal cuffs making a loud clang upon impact, making him groan in pain.

"How will Bauer get Sam and Sharon to Washington D.C.?" Khari asks, resting his hand on my shoulder.

"By plane. He should be there by tomorrow afternoon."

I share a look with my brother in laws. "That doesn't give us much time."