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CHAPTER FIFTEEN
international super spy
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(episode three - power broker pt.1)

DIANA DOESN'T THINK she'll ever be in Germany for a good reason. The first time she ever left the country and she had to fight a god who was throwing a temper tantrum, the next time, she's escaping imprisonment, and now she has to see the person who tore her family apart like cotton candy. Diana didn't want to be here and Sam and Bucky knew that. It's why they avoided her burning gaze now, because everytime they looked at her she swore they looked guilty.

"He's just through that corridor," The guard spoke up, looking back at the three of them, he gave them a calculated stare. Diana understood the confusion. It made no sense for three avengers to be visiting someone that was probably the most detrimental to them other than Thanos.

"Alright," Bucky replied to the guard, "give us a sec."

The guard nodded and turned to walk over to the door. Diana adjusted her stance, preparing herself mentally to face Zemo, her hands shook, whether because she was nervous or because of the burning hatred within her, she didn't know.

"I'm gonna go in alone." Bucky said, his face looked like he was already prepared for the backlash. Diana's mind was racing, wondering what the hell Bucky was thinking.

"Why?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, Buck, why the hell would you do that?" Diana followed up, standing up straighter as she tilted her head.

"Cause you're an Avenger, you know how he feels about that," Bucky said to Sam, then turned to Diana, "And you were in Sokovia when it fell, you know he's putting part of the blame for you on that one."

"It's not like you two were known for frolickin' in the sun together," Sam countered.

"He was obsessed with HYDRA," The way Bucky spoke, he meant for his words to be final, "We have a history together trust me I got it."

Diana sighed, crossing her arms as she reluctantly nodded. She couldn't say that she doesn't trust Bucky, she knows that Zemo cant hurt him, nor can he make Bucky do anything he doesn't want. Those two years in Wakanda didn't just fix her foot, it saved Bucky. She remembered when he came to her hut in tears and practically begged Diana to recite the words. She did, and when the Soldier didn't come out, that's when she knew he was free.

Remembering that made her feel better watching him walk away, trailing her eyes down his backside helped too.

"So when are y'all gonna admit it?" Sam asked when Bucky disappeared behind the door.

Diana looked over at him, noting the smirk on his face and the glint in his eye that made him look like he knew all her secrets. Was there a secret that she and Bucky have? She couldn't think of any. But the way Sam was looking at her, made her rethink every interaction she's had with her older friend.

"Admit what?" Diana asked, she was genuinely confused now.

"Oh come on, it's obvious you two like each other," Sam pointed at her and the door, referring to their common friend.

The dots connected and before the heat on her face became obvious, she forced her most believable laugh, something she tried learning from Natasha when they lived together in the compound. But from the deadpan stare she was getting from Sam, she realized it wasn't working.

"Oh, Sam, I don't like him like that, the flirting and stuff is to just... assert... dominance and stuff," Diana tried, because for the most part it was true, her flirting and advances on Loki saved her spine a couple of times, and she knows that it definitely confused the Winter Soldier on the bridge, those crucial moments saved her from asphyxiation.

"You literally just checked out his butt."

"I check out a lot of butts! I'm kind of an ass girl!"

"No, because I remember Christmas 2015 where you were drunk off your ass begging to touch that woman's boobs."

"She had a tattoo of the sun between them, Sam! You expect my drunk self to not want to touch them?"

"Don't change the subject, you like him!"

"You're the one who brought up the beautiful woman's boobs, Sam! And no! I don't, you know how it works with me—"

"You only like people who are trying to kill you but let me counter you with this! I bet you never stopped liking him because one: he did try to kill you, multiple times might I add, and two: you know that he could kill you with either hand!"

"Shut up, Sam, he's harmless, therefore, the attraction is gone, he's a really good friend who happens to have a really nice face, all my friends are hot, it doesn't mean I want to kiss them all!"

"You think I'm hot?"

"Yes, Sam, you are drop dead gorgeous, now maybe focus on the fact that our friend just walked in to meet with someone who brainwashed him to attack us!"

Diana, now flustered, pushed the hair up out of her face and tied the top half in a bun, huffing as she stared the door down. If she wasn't flustered before, she is now. She pushed the idea of a relationship with Bucky out of her head, stuffing her hands in her pockets as she leaned against the wall, growing impatient.

"Look, I just want you to be happy but that doesn't matter," Sam finally spoke, Diana looked over at him, confused by what he meant but he just raised a hand, telling her to wait, "everyone in the world could want you to be happy but that won't happen until you want yourself to be happy."

Diana opened her mouth to say something, anything, but she couldn't find an argument,she couldn't find anything to say at all.

"Thank you, Sam, but if I'm gonna find happiness, I want it to be in myself," Diana gave him a genuine smile this time, no faking.

"I know, but that doesn't mean he can't help you with that," Sam was leaning against the wall next to her now, "Di, you don't have to find this happiness within you on your own, you're allowed to have help."

Diana only nodded now, she bumped her side into Sam now with a small smile. She opened her mouth to thank Sam but when Bucky came back through the door with the intensity of the sun, the time for conversation was over. She looked back up to Sam mouthing her thanks.

Sam nodded.

• • •

THE DARK BUILDING was cold and dry and Diana was grateful for Bucky letting her keep the jacket. Though she actually wished that he would tell her where he's leading her and Sam, ever since he left his visitation with Zemo he's been dead silent except for when he told them to follow him. It worried her, yes, Bucky was quieter than most people, but he was dead silent the whole trip to the building. Diana could swear that even his footsteps were silent.

It was when they entered the building, that Bucky finally opened his mouth and told them what he was thinking. Diana had never heard a crazier idea in her life.

"What are you talking about, you wanna break Zemo out of jail?" Sam exploded into a flurry of questions after Bucky made his proposal, "where the hell are we, Buck? Have you lost your mind?"

Diana wasn't sure if the questions would ever stop but she was definitely agreeing with Sam, there was no way in hell she would be okay with breaking Zemo out of jail. He could rot in that cell for the rest of his life and Diana would have no qualms about it. Any man as dangerous as him should never be let out of containment. And Diana didn't like him.

"We have no leads, no moves, no nothing," Bucky tried reasoning, moving her flash light around searching for a light switch in the building that was large and for the most part empty. Diana only knew this from how their voices echoed every time they spoke.

"What we have is one of the most dangerous men in the world behind bars," Sam shut him down.

"Also, Wanda's super powerful, I'm sure that she can use her powers to track the soldiers down, it's how she found me in Sokovia," Diana pointed out, "so getting the real war criminal involved in this does nothing good for us."

"When was the last time you were able to get a hold of Wanda after Westview?" Bucky asked Diana, his flashlight pointed toward the roof now, the light was bright enough that it illuminated his face just enough for Diana to see him, "Diana, I know you care about her but she dropped off the face of the Earth months ago, we can't rely on her to come out of hiding, we have eight Super Soldiers that are loose."

Bucky turned and pointed his light in front of him, continuing his search for the light switch.

"Zemo's gonna mess with our minds, especially yours, no offense," Sam argued, pulling the conversation back to the man.

Bucky found the light switch, turning the power on, eliminating the needs for the flashlights Diana made. Once the men turned off their devices, Diana turned them back into stones and put them in her pocket. She sent a sharp stare to Sam due to the comment, he knows better than to throw that time in his face.

"Offense," Bucky frowned.

"Sam you know that he can't be manipulated like that anymore, you can say the code words now, that other guy isn't coming out," Diana reminded, she didn't like how easily Sam thought Princess Shuri's work would be reversed.

Sam's expression changed into one of remorse and shock as she shook his head. His hands waved in front of him. Diana realized that he didn't use his words correctly, and that was understandable, but she hoped that his next words were an apology.

"I didn't mean manipulated like that, I meant how any person could get manipulated, I should've said gaslight or something," Sam corrected, he looked to Bucky, "I'm sorry man I really didn't mean it in that way, but still, Zemo needs to stay where he is."

"Super soldiers go against everything he believes in," Bucky said, "he is crazy, but he still has a code."

"His code is murder, Buck, I'm only tagging along to stop Karli and the Flagsmashers, not wipe them from existence!" Diana jumped in, "you saw her face— she's a kid, can't even be older than twenty, and I have a strong feeling that the rest of those guys are young too, I'm not about to get that psycho involved so he can kill a group of kids, enhanced or not, he's the one with blood on his hands, not them."

"And don't forget, Diana and I have been on the wrong side of that code, Bucky, and so have you," Sam reminded, "he blew up the UN, he killed King T'Chaka and framed you for it, did you forget that? You think the Wakandans forgot about it? It's a rhetorical question, they didn't! I know why this matters to you, but come on, it's pushing you off the deep end."

"Guys come on we don't know how they're gettin' the serum!" Bucky's voice was getting louder, it wasn't yelling so far, but if this conversation continued on this path, it would definitely get to that point, "we don't even know how many there are! Look, let me just walk you guys through a hypothetical, can I walk you through a hypothetical?"

Diana's eyes narrowed, the way he tried animating himself with his words, it was all too much at the same time. Something had been off about him all afternoon after meeting with Zemo and she had a feeling that she wasn't going to like this hypothetical, or the consequences of it.

"What did you do?" Sam asked slowly, almost as if he was afraid of what Bucky might say.

"I didn't... do anything," Bucky stammered, it was obvious now that he was lying, Diana just hoped that he wasn't lying about what she thinks he's lying about. For a man who was supposed to be trained in espionage and assassinations, he was bad at lying.

Diana crossed her arms as she watched him fumble through his "hypothetical". She watched as he shifted his stance, pointedly avoiding Diana's gaze as he thought of what he was going to say.

"The weakest point in any system, isn't the software, the hardware, it's the meatware, the human element-"

Diana snorted, "Meatware."

Bucky sent a glare her way before going on with his story.

"Now in this lockup, it's nine to one, prisoners to guards, and if two prisoners start fighting, then the protocol says four guards have to respond-"

"So why would two prisoners randomly start fighting at that moment?"

"Who knows? There could be many reasons..." Bucky answered, though it was certain that he did something to instigate this "hypothetical" fight, "but the point is: these things escalate, lockdown procedures would have to be initiated, and with all those bodies flying around left and right, wouldn't be hard to slip down a hallway or two, and if the fire alarm got tripped while the prisoners were being separated, someone could use the chaos to their advantage."

"I don't like how casual you're being about this," Sam frowned.

The way Bucky went into such specific detail on top of the guilty behavior. The pieces clicked together for Diana and her jaw dropped as she looked around, her eyes wide. She probably looked like she was going into a crazed state to them. She was gaped like a fish and she pointed to certain areas, anger shot into her bloodstream and she curled her fists, straining to keep them at her sides.

"It's because he already broke him out, Bucky where the fuck his he now? Is this the rendezvous point?" Diana asked.

Sam's eyes widened to saucers at the revelation, and before anyone could say anything, another door opened and closed, the trio looked for the source of the sound and behind a wall of semi-clear, plastic blinds, a shadowed figure approached. Diana looked over at Bucky, her frown worsening as she shook her head.

Zemo pushed through the blinds wearing a guards uniform, confirming Diana's worst fears, her sleeves were pushed up and her fists were balled, surrounded by coils of tight energy.

"Whoa," Sam pointed at Zemo, beginning to charge at him, Diana was right behind him, "whoa, whoa, hey! What're you doing here?"

Bucky grabbed Diana with his metal hand, a precaution to not explode from contact with the energy. His flesh hand was used to hold Sam back. Eventually, after struggling enough to break free, Diana and Sam finally stopped to hear Bucky out.

"I didn't wanna tell you guys because I knew you wouldn't let this happen!" Bucky yelled over Sam, trying to get him to listen.

"No shit, Bucky, what the fuck were you thinking?" Diana yelled, "Sam and I just gave you a thousand and one reasons on why this shouldn't have happened!"

"What did you do?" Sam asked, it was clear his mind was still processing this.

"We need him!" Bucky tried, but the two weren't having it anymore.

Diana looked up at him, she couldn't help but feel betrayed. Why did he go off the rails like this? There were a hundred different ways to get the information they needed out of Zemo differently. Bucky just decided to make a unanimous decision for the rest of them. If they got caught, it was guaranteed that she would never see her freedom and this time, she wouldn't have Wakanda to go to. She stared at Bucky, her mouth planted in a firm frown as she shook her head.

"You're going back to prison!" Sam yelled out, voicing Diana's thoughts exactly.

"If I may—"

"NO!" The trio yelled as they looked over at Zemo, silencing him before resuming their conversation.

"Apologies," Diana could hear Zemo mumble, she only rolled her eyes.

"When Steve refused to sign the Sokovia Accords, you guys backed him, you broke the law and you stuck your necks out for me," Bucky spoke quietly now, probably so Zemo couldn't hear them, Diana's racing heart was starting to slow down with the change in the conversations tempo, but her fists were still tightly clenched, shaking from the force of how tightly they were balled up, if her painted fingernails weren't already chewed to shit, they probably would've drew blood, "I'm asking you to do it again."

"I really think I'm invaluable—"

"Shut up," Sam scolded like he would to a dog, Diana refused to speak, afraid of the words that might come out.

After that, Sam grabbed Diana by the crook of her arm and pulled her away from Bucky, wanting just the two of them to discuss this. Diana finally relaxed her fists to rub her face, her scar making an unusual texture under her finger tips.

"Jesus fucking Christ Sam I think I'm gonna put my head through a wall," Diana finally muttered when she found herself calm enough.

"I know, I know, and I really hate to say this but he's making sense, I really wish we could call Wanda, I miss seeing her too, but he's right, she's still on a self reflection retreat in the middle of god knows where, and Zemo did do his research," Sam spoke in a calmer tone, "I hate that he did this without seeing how we felt but the damage is done and he could get us on a trail to the Flagsmashers."

Diana looked over at Zemo who stood silently and awkwardly, fumbling with the guard's hat in his hands. Her anger began to rebuild as she remembered the pain of her foot being shattered when she fought to protect Bucky. She remembered being unable to reach her family because she would put them in danger if she did. Diana's anger was feeding off the pain of her past and it made it harder and harder to control her impulses. She wanted to wrap her hands around Zemo's throat and squeeze until the light left his eyes. She groaned and turned, energizing her fist and punching a wall. The creaking and groaning of the metal had everyone watching as the red hot outline of her fist that went through the metal slowly turned into a shadowy grey.

"Fine, but I'm not speaking to either of them I don't care if I'm 33, I'm fucking angry," Diana spoke, some of her pent up anger gone for her to make a decision.

The two of them walked back to Bucky, Diana met his sea blue eyes and scowled at how quickly her resolve wanted to wash away. She hated how her friendship with him could do that so easily but when her gaze cut to Zemo, that anger slowly built itself up again.

"Fine," Sam relented, after that, he looked at Zemo, "But if we do this, you don't make a move without our permission."

"Fair."

There was a pause in the conversation as Diana shed her jacket, folding it over her arm. As she stared Zemo down. She ignored the way Bucky shifted at the action and she ignored the burning gaze and how the air seemed freezing now. Diana knows that she's stubborn, but it was well within her rights at this moment.

"Okay Zemo," Sam said, "Where do we start?"

A sly smile slid across Zemos face and they immediately got to work. They were led to another room in the large and mysterious building, the lights turned on by Zemo who seemed to already know where the switch was. Diana felt her eyes go wide when the fluorescents illuminated the rows upon rows of vintage cars.

"So our first move is grand theft auto?" Sam asked.

"These are mine," Zemo explained, "Collected by family over the generations."

Zemo was looking for something. Every car he would stop at, he would open the door, look inside, and then when he couldn't find whatever it was, he would move to the trunk. When it wasn't there, he would move on. Diana couldn't help but marvel at them all, her hands behind her back as she gripped onto the jacket, leaning her head into some of the windows to admire the interiors, she missed her car back at home, but looking at these beauties helped a little bit.

"I spent years hunting people HYDRA recruited to recreate the serum," Zemo said as he approached a yellow convertible, opening a secret door to a compartment near the trunk, a smile grew on his face, he found what he was looking for, "Because once it's out there, someone can create an army of people, like the Avengers."

Diana's lips curled in disgust at the comment, she hated this man. The Avengers were never built for that purpose. She was recruited to do better. Zemo throwing her guilt in her face didn't do anything but send a pang to her chest that had her turning around, putting her back to Zemo as she leaned against Sam, his posture made him to be sturdy enough to support her and still keep him from falling over.

"I ended the Winter Soldier program once before," Zemo said as he packed his duffel and stood upright, getting ready to close the compartment in the car, "I have no intention to leave my work unfinished, to do this, we'll have to scale a ladder of lowlifes."

"Well join the party, we've already started," Sam said.

Diana snorted and elbowed him, muttering "good one" before watching as Zemo strided past her. He acted as if the comment was never made, his destination appeared to be the only thing on his mind.

"First stop is a woman named Selby, mid-level fence I still have a line on, from there, we climb."

• • •

THE PRIVATE JET was the last thing Diana thought Zemo would have in his back pocket, and the butler waiting at the bottom of the stairs was just a slap to her face. If she didn't need Zemo to get to the Flagsmashers, she would've slapped the jet and turned it into a giant rock. But instead she gave Sam an incredulous look.

"So all this time, you've been rich?" Sam asked, also taken away by the display of money.

"I'm a Baron, Sam, my family was royalty until your friends destroyed my country," Zemo sent a passive glare at Diana.

It was like something in her snapped as she took a deep breath. Something about the snide comment pushed her over the edge and she had to do something before she murdered him. Sam had put a hand on her arm, preparing to hold her back but she just ripped herself at her grip. She shoved a finger into the Baron's chest when he decided to face her anger head on.

"You know fucking what, Baron? I spent months in that place before I was captured and not to speak ill of the dead, but it was a hell hole, all this money you have everywhere in your cars and your planes and none of it could've been funded to help your country?" Diana spat, "The Avengers didn't help by a longshot, and yeah, we made it worse, but don't act like it was paradise when people were dying on the streets, with only HYDRA there taking advantage of them under the guise of help!"

The three men seemed to be stunned as Diana huffed, marching up the stairs and sitting in the first seat she found. Crossing her arms and her legs, she stared out the window to her right, already wanting the plane ride to be over even though it hadn't even taken off. The three men got settled in their seats and as it so happened, Zemo was across from her as Bucky sat in the chair across the aisle from her, Sam was across from Bucky. When everyone was settled, the plane took off, if it weren't for the jet engine being loud, the silence would have been deafening.

"Diana," Zemo started. The woman jerked her attention toward the man, a withering glare sent in his direction causing him to raise his hands in surrender, "Some other time, then."

"Just save it, Zemo, I'm sorry about your family, and I'm sorry about Sokovia, if time travel worked the way I wanted it to, I would've made things different but I can't so just save it for someone who wants to hear it." Diana wasn't as venomous with her words as she was earlier, her rant took most of her energy out of her, she wished she brought a book to keep her distracted from the tension, but she had to face it head on.

She hated the results of her battle with Ultron, and she hated that Zemo kept throwing it in her face every five seconds. One or two comments was acceptable, especially because of what the inadvertent effects of her actions did to his family, but she couldn't take it anymore. The tension was broken by the butler coming in, a glass of champagne on a silver platter he carried.

"Apologies if that's a little warm," The butler said, "The fridge is out, but I will see if there is good food in the galley."

What Zemo said in response was in Sokovian so Diana couldn't decipher it, Wanda tried teaching her the language a long time ago, but just when things started to actually catch on, the Lagos mission happened. Diana thought back on the events that unfolded, she still was so confused about what Strucker was saying to Steve, almost none of it made sense to her.

The butler chuckled at whatever Zemo said, waving his hand at the man.

"It's good to have you back, sir," he said as he walked away, laughter still rumbling in his chest.

Zemo raised his glass to them.

"You don't know what it was like to be locked in a cell," Zemo defended himself after noticing an accusatory glace sent by Sam. A deadpanned one from Diana had him realizing his mistake, "Oh, that's right, you all do."

"Why don't you tell us about where we're going?" Sam asked, not wanting to talk about that time anymore.

Zemo, who replaced his champagne with a book, was acting nonchalant as he flipped through the pages. It was odd though, Diana narrowed her gaze as she watched how the pages of the actual book didn't move but the rustling was there. Whatever he was actually reading was being concealed.

"I'm sorry, I was just fascinated by this," Zemo said, "I don't know what to call it but this part seems to be important, who is... Nakajima?"

Diana recognized the name and more importantly, she recognized the book he held up, it was the same one she gave Steve for his birthday in 2012, just a few weeks after they met and only a few days after they agreed to be roommates, she wondered if the small letter she wrote to Steve on the first page was there. No words could be spoken, no actions could be taken before Bucky was out of his seat, his metal hand firmly wrapped around Zemo's throat.

"If you touch that again, I'll kill you," Bucky's words were quiet, yet harsh. Diana watched the interaction with wide eyes, her stomach twisting, almost as if it was flipping.

She blamed her heart racing and her face flushing on the fact that she remembered what it was like to feel that hand around her neck, only this time, Bucky wasn't dangling Zemo over a bridge by his neck. A simple nod from Zemo who visibly looked like he regretted his actions was all Bucky got before he returned to his seat with the notebook. It made sense for Steve to give it to Bucky, Diana wasn't mad about it, every missing piece from catching up on the 21rst century was there in that book, and a couple of grocery lists, but that didn't matter.

"I'm sorry," Zemo said softly, "I understand that list of names— people you've wronged as the Winter Soldier..."

"Don't push it," Bucky warned, though it was clearly too late for that.

"I've seen that book, it was Steve's, when he came out of the ice he said Diana gave it to him, I told him about Trouble Man, he wrote it in that book, did you hear it?" Sam asked, "What'd you think?"

"I like 40's music, so..."

"You didn't like it?"

"I liked it."

"It is a masterpiece, James, complete, comprehensive, it captures the African-American experience," Zemo interjected.

"He's out of line, but he's right, it's great!" Sam said, "Everybody loves Marvin Gaye."

"I like Marvin Gaye."

"Steve adored Marvin Gaye!"

"You must have really looked up to Steve, but I realized something when I met him," Zemo started again, he seemed to have his target on Bucky now that Diana's yelled at him enough for the Avengers comments, "The danger with people like him, America's Super Soldiers, is that we put them on pedestals..."

"Watch your step, Zemo," Sam warned him.

"They become symbols, icons, and then we start to forget about their flaws, from there, cities fly, innocent people die, movements are formed, wars are fought," Zemo droned on, Diana clenched her jaw, fighting the urge to lean over and break his glass of champagne over his head she watched as he focused his words on Bucky, "you remember that, right? As a young soldier, sent to Germany to stop a mad icon. Do we want to live in a world full of people like the Red Skull? That is why we are going to Madripoor."

"What's up with Madripoor?" Sam questioned, "You guys talk about it like it's Skull Island."

"It's an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago, it was a pirate sanctuary back in the 1800's," Bucky explained to him, though from the way he looked explaining it, it seems that he has history there, and that couldn't mean anything good.

"It's kept its lawless ways, but we cannot exactly walk in as ourselves, James," Zemo addressed Bucky, the Sokovian man using his real name had made Diana's skin crawl, "you will have to become someone you claim is gone."

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THE SCRAPING OF her heels on the pavement were the least of Diana's worries as she walked in stride with the three men she accompanied. The dress she wore, which albeit was gorgeous, was so far from Diana's style. She couldn't wait to get back into her real clothes. When Zemo first had given her this outfit, she wanted to punch him in the face. But after seeing Bucky forcing himself into the façade that he was the Soldier, she felt that she could suck it up for one night, even if she was still pissed at her friend.

"We have to fix this, I'm the only one who looks like a pimp," Sam complained.

"At least you don't have to wear a thong," Diana chided, her voice wasn't her own, "I feel like I'm back in highschool getting wedgies."

"Girls did that to each other?"

"Oh yeah, and sometimes they wouldn't stop until they heard ripping."

"Ouch."

"Only an American would assume a fashion-forward Black man looks like a pimp," Zemo commented, "you look exactly like the man you're supposed to be playing, the sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack, aka, the Smiling Tiger."

Zemo reached into his black trenchcoat and pulled something out of the pocket near the opening.

"He even has a bad nickname," Sam complained, "hell, he does look like me though, and who is this woman in the photo and why did Diana have to use her nano mask to look like her."

"That is Felicity Mack, his wife, a French Duchess and also his bodyguard," Zemo answered, "It is a good thing Diana still had the Widows gear, otherwise her face and scar would have jeopardized this mission, remember this, Felicity doesn't talk to anyone that isn't her husband, if someone asks her a question, she will say it to Conrad for him to relay."

"Is it really that noticeable? And how am I supposed to guard anyone in this?" Diana gestured to her dress— a black maxi dress with a halter top, though the sides cut out at her ribs. Silver, sequined stripes connected the front and back flaps to her hips, meaning that she could only wear a thong underneath to give herself any sense of privacy.

"Felicity promotes body positivity, you look fine, Diana," Zemo assured her, "now put on the necklace and wedding ring I gave you, it's a replica of the diamond necklace that the Smiling Tiger gave Felicity after she jumped in front of a bullet for him, and of course, you must look like you're in love."

"Okay, that's kinda romantic, in a violent way," Diana admitted as she pulled the necklace out of Sam's pocket, it's also where she kept her emergency rocks and her phone.

The necklace was large and had some weight to it. The diamond chain pattern made the necklace have a flowery look to it, and it had seven emeralds dangling in a symmetrical pattern, all coming down to a large emerald that pointed down her chest. It was beautiful, large and when Zemo said it was a replica, she assumed that with his money, he got it made with real jewels.

"You smell this?" Zemo asked, pointing out something that Diana had been trying to ignore since they started walking down the bridge. Her nose scrunched, as if the smell intensified now that others were aware of it.

"Yeah, what is that, acid?"

"Madripoor." Zemo spoke grimly, Diana finally looked over at him and though he was a master of maintaining a façade, she could still see that he was nervous, his hands shook and his breathing was erratic. She guessed that everyone has to have a fear of something, "no matter what happens, we have to stay in character, our lives depend on it there's no margin for error."

A car had pulled up for them, Diana was grateful that Zemo had this so well thought out, the black heels were gorgeous, it was made to look like a pump with a sheer lace on the sides, studded with diamonds to make the heels have the look of a starry night sky. They were already killing Diana's feet.

"High Towns that way, not a bad place if you want to visit," Zemo spoke, pointing to their left towards the tall lavish buildings, but then he pointed towards their right, where the buildings were tall, but exuded danger, "but Low Towns the other way."

"Let me guess, we don't have any friends in High Town," Sam said before opening the door for Diana, allowing her to get in and sit in the middle of the car.

With Sam on her left, and Bucky on her right, Diana had to find a way to sit that wouldn't expose everything to everyone in the car. Luckily, Sam had taken off his jacket for the ride and set it across her legs. Warmth spread throughout her extremities as her feet rested, preparing herself to become a woman who wore stuff like this everyday.

Diana thought back to every lesson Natasha ever gave her, how to walk in heels, how to fake an accent. Natasha had shown Diana how to turn into a whole new person in case she was ever on a mission like this, or if she needed to disappear for a while, or for forever. If only her friend could see her now.

A pair of lights on either side of the car had Diana looking around, now noticing the gang of people on bikes as they accompanied the car. She reached for Sam's hand and squeezed, unsure if they were friend or foe, her eyes narrowed as she stared them down, analyzing them.

Eventually it got to a point where the car could no longer drive on the already narrow streets, and it veered off into a parking garage. Diana cursed herself for getting too comfortable. With Sam's help, she got out of the car without making a display of herself and he got his jacket back, his hand now holding hers as other people in the parking garage noticed them.

When they finally hit the city, Diana couldn't help but look around in amazement, the neon lights illuminated everything in fantastic colors, she no longer felt out of place in her clothes, and found it easier to proudly hold Sam's hand as they were led through the town by Zemo. He led them past vendors and so many armed people, all openly carrying their guns as they surveyed the street, no doubt protecting the vendors.

The bar they were led into had the logo of a snarling ape, and inside, monkey skulls were used as decorations, even in the fish tanks, they resided. The owner of this bar— Selby, had an odd taste in bar design.

"готов подчиниться, зимний солдат?" Zemo asked, Diana tried racking her brain of every Russian word she's ever heard, though the only thing she recognized was зимний солдат— Winter Soldier.

A few passerby's heard him, Diana could hear them whispering amongst themselves about Bucky's presence. She lifted her chin as Sam pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arm around her waist. They approached the bar where she was able to put some of her weight against the counter.

"Hello gentlemen," the bartender greeted, when his calculating eyes met Diana and Sam, she felt her heart skip a beat, "Wasn't expecting you, Smiling Tiger."

"He and his wife's plans changed," Zemo explained for the two, "we have business to do with Selby."

The bartender looked back over at Sam, his stare stilling cold and calculating, like he knew something was up.

"The usual?" He asked.

Sam only nodded. He wasn't as good as imitating an African rake like Diana was as a French woman. She watched carefully as the bartender moved to a bar behind him. When he opened it and pulled out a snake, Diana's stomach twisted. This couldn't be anything good. The bartender laid the snake out, its belly up as he cut into it, pulling an organ out of the dead animal and putting it in a glass with what appeared to be gin.

"I'm sorry, Duchess," the bartender was sincere with his words now, "I know you hate this one."

Diana gave him a curt nod as she accepted his glass. She guessed that she has to test everything before he drinks it as her guard, she was starting to hate being married to Sam. She shook her head as she looked over at Sam. A genuine scowl was on her face now as she held the drink up for him to see.

"I don't know why you love this shit," Diana gave her best French accent, her nano suit taking over and giving her the voice of the French woman. She lifted the glass to her lips and sipped, hiding her disgust with the drink.

After a few moments, they waited to see if she would die as the bitter and disgusting drink ran through her. She didn't, and now it was Sam's turn to live up to his role.

"I love these," Sam spoke, his accent now cleaner, as he accepted the drink from Diana.

"Cheers, Conrad," Zemo spoke, his smugness clear to only them as they toasted their glasses.

Sam hesitated as he planned his best way to approach the drink .He finally decided on treating it like a shot, swallowing the whole thing before he thought too much into it. He made a humming noise, as if he loved the drink, but it was clearly forced, and it sounded like Sam struggled to keep it up. The bartender seemed to approve of this, as if his personal suspicions were squashed and he knew that he was looking at Conrad and Felicity. The bartender walked off, maybe to go find Selby and let her know that she has visitors. Sam grabbed Diana by her hand and pulled her close, his mouth now near her ear.

"That was so disgusting, how did you not cringe?" Sam whispered.

Diana smiled, but before she could answer, a bald man had walked up, getting a little too close to Zemo for anyone's comfort. He wore all black clothing and had a reddish-brown beard and he didn't seem too happy to see Zemo there. Zemo had turned around now as the three of them went alert.

"I got word from on high," The man said, his gruff voice matched his face, "You ain't welcome here."

"I have no business with the Power Broker," Zemo replied cordially, "but if he insists, he can either come and talk to me..."

A simple gesture to Bucky said it all. To a stranger, he seemed all the more intimidating even without the mask. But Diana couldn't see the Soldier, that was a whole different man wearing her friend's face. She could only see Bucky playing pretend. The man who worked for this Power Broker couldn't tell as he looked Bucky up and down.

"New haircut?" He asked. Wait— did he know Bucky? Or was he recalling the things he'd seen on TV?

"Or bring Selby for a chat," Zemo brought up.

The man spared a glance to Diana and Sam and walked off, hopefully bringing Selby back with him. Did she work for the Power Broker too?

"A Power Broker, really?" Bucky asked quietly when others were out of earshot.

"Every kingdom needs its king," Zemo explained, "Let's just pray we stay under his radar."

"Do you know him?" Sam asked, scooting him and Diana closer to Zemo to keep in with the quiet conversation.

"Only by reputation, in Madripoor he is judge, jury, and executioner," Zemo informed them after he answered Sam's question, another man who seemed to have ill intentions with Zemo began to approach, he was shorter than the first guy, similar clothing, but he wore a beanie and had darker facial hair, Zemo turned around, facing Bucky, "Зимний Солдат, атака"

The second the man put his hand on Zemp, Bucky snatched it with his metal one, pushing him back and away from Zemo. The crowd instantly cleared out of the way from the commotion, shock was a common theme amongst the watchers. As the man cried out, Bucky used his flesh hand to break the stranger's collarbone and slam him into the ground. The man didn't get up, he was too busy holding his shoulder and hollering in pain. Phone's were starting to be pulled up, camera lights turning on and Diana's heart sank at the realization that if this got onto the internet, Bucky's already shaky reputation might get further tarnished. At least they wouldn't get arrested here. Even worse though, they could get killed instead.

More men who thought they could fight the Winter Soldier began to attack Bucky, but it didn't work. With one powerful kick, he was able to send three men flying back, knocking each other down like dominoes. Diana grabbed ahold of Sam's hand, squeezing tightly as she was forced to watch him do this. Someone tried attacking Bucky from behind but only got kicked back into a table, crashing to the floor when the furniture couldn't withstand the impact. More and more men charged at him and failed and soon, Diana lost track of how many Bucky put down.

"Didn't take much for him to fall back into form," Zemo smirked.

Diana sent a disgusted look his way. She would've said something to him directly, but she felt eyes on her. She turned her head to Sam's ear, it looked like he knew what she was doing.

"Tell him he's getting his ass kicked by me personally when we get out of this," Diana hissed as she glared at Zemo once more.

Sam didn't get that chance. After Bucky choke-slammed a man onto the bar's counter, a familiar sound went around the room. Everyone who had a gun had it put out and cocked, aiming it at their person of choice. Diana didn't hesitate to stand in front of Sam as she looked around the room, she noticed that though a few guns were pointed at her and Sam, most of them were on Zemo and Bucky. Panic was rising in her chest as she tried thinking up an escape plan. She could try sending out beams of energy again, but she might have to get carried out after, which would only slow them down.

"Stay in character or the whole bar turns on us," Zemo whispered to Sam who seemed to be wanting to veer off from the plan as he fidgeted behind her. Zemo looked to Bucky now who still held the man by the throat against the counter, "Молодец, Солдат."

"Selby will see you now," the bartender was Diana's saving grace as she looked over her shoulder at the man.

"Thank you," Zemo nodded. Diana looked back out at the crowd, assessing them one more time as they lowered their weapons.

"You good?" She heard Sam ask, she looked back to see he was asking Bucky. He didn't talk, aware of the people watching him. He was clearly upset, but only nodded before following Zemo.

Diana grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him away with her to go along with the two men. They had passed just about everything that could be deemed illegal in America as they walked through different rooms and hallways. Diana wondered if the people who built this bar had also built buildings for HYDRA.

"You should know, Baron," A woman spoke up from the room they were about to enter, "people don't just come into my bar and make demands."

"Not a demand," Zemo was the first to enter the room, and the first to sit down, "an offer."

Diana found a cushioned chair to sit in, finding that Sam was instantly by her side. He rested his hand on her shoulder and she reached up, wrapping her hand around his as best as she could.

"A lot has changed since you were here last," Selby smirked as she looked over Diana and Sam, finally noticing Bucky as he stepped halfway out of the shadows, "by the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison, how did you escape?"

"People like us always find a way, don't we?" Zemo had an airy chuckle to his words, "I'm sure you've already figured out what I'm here for."

Selby didn't immediately answer Zemo's request, instead, she pointed at Sam. Diana's heart skipped a beat but she didn't immediately move, worried that the wrong shift in her seat would expose parts of her she didn't want others to see.

"You're taller than I'd heard, Smiling Tiger," Selby smiled as she looked over at the two of them, "and you've got less scars than I realized, Duchess."

Diana wondered what type of life Felicity was living as she glanced down at all the scars she had on display, though only one was hidden by the flap that covered most of her butt, one given to her by the Winter Soldier.

When Selby purred at Sam, Diana straightened up, a scowl crossing her face.

"What's the offer," Selby redirected her attention to Zemo, now excited about what he may have for her.

"Tell us what you know about the super-soldier serum," Zemo stood up, stepping over to Bucky who was still standing at attention, as if he was actually waiting for an order from Zemo, "and I give you him, along with the code words to control him, of course, he will do anything you want."

Diana glanced up at Sam, a squeeze on his hand to tell him she was worried. Did Zemo plan on having Bucky escape or would he have to do that himself? Sam squeezed back, acknowledging her worry.

"Now that's the Zemo I remember," Selby smiled, Zemo nodded, a smirk on his face at the approval, "I'm glad I decided not to kill you immediately, yeah, you were right to come to me. Arrogant, but right."

Zemo took a seat for this, his eyes locked onto Selby as he made his way to the couch.

"The super soldier serum is here in Madripoor, Dr. Wilfred Nagel is the man you wanna thank, or..." She winced, "condemn, depending on what side of this you're on. The power broker had him working on the serum, but things didn't go as planned."

"Is Nagel still in Madripoor?" Zemo asked.

"Oh, the breadcrumbs you can have for free, but the Bakery is gonna cost you, Baron," Selby cooed as she stood up, "and before you get all cute, don't think you can find Nagel without me."

A buzzing from Sam's pocket made Diana's heart stop and her stomach twist. She looked up at him, her eyes wide. Why was his phone even on? Sam pulled his phone out, Diana only got a glimpse of his caller id but it was enough to know that this conversation was going to ruin everything.

"Answer it," Selby got smug, "on speaker!"

Bucky had flanked Selby's back, ready to pounce at the right moment, but when Diana stood up, one of Selby's men had stepped closer to him, his eyes trained on her.

Sam answered it, tapping the speaker button quickly.

"Hello," Sam spoke.

Diana wondered if everyone could hear her hammering heart.

"Hey um, we need to talk about this situation, it's been drivin' me nuts."

"What situation exactly are you talkin' about?"

"Are you high? You know what situation, it's the only situation me and you have."

"What situation, Sarah? Say it."

"The damn boat, and watch your time, okay? I let you slide at the bank."

"The bank, yeah," Sam scoffed, "laundered so much money, yeah, they'll come around."

"If that was the case, then why'd they dog you out, Big Time?"

"Yeah, you damn right I'm Big Time, you'll see when I have that banker killed."

"Cas! What'd I tell you about the Cheerios? I don't have time for this, Sam, I'm sorry, lemme call you back?"

"Sam?" Selby asked. Diana's heart dropped as she clenched her fists. She hopes that Sam will toss a rock her way, otherwise, she's going to have to grab the coaster off of Selby's table, "who's Sam? Kill them!"

Gunfire immediately sounded out, but the only person who dropped was Selby. Her blood splattered out around the room. Diana jumped back to avoid the spray and lifted her fist, energizing it and blasting at the man behind Sam. He flew back and hit the wall, knocked unconscious by the force.

Sam, Zemo and Bucky spread out, taking down the other men in the room while Diana made sure that no one snuck up on them or entered the room to investigate the commotion.

"They're gonna pin this on us," Sam said when the room was clear, Diana grabbed a coaster, turning it into her spear as she joined the men.

"We have a real problem now," Zemo sighed, "so leave your weapons and follow my lead."

Diana frowned at his words, but she knew that he would be the only one to get her out of this situation. She turned it back into a coaster and dropped it on the table and walked out of the door with the three of them.

They were on the street just a door down from the bar entrance, meaning they didn't have to go through a crowd of Selby's men. Diana couldn't help but notice how every other person's phone rang with a notification of some sort, some even looked up at them after reading it. Was a hit on them already sent out? Who the hell works that fast?

When some of the overhead lights shut out, a round of gunfire behind them had the group running. Diana cursed her heels as she made long strides on the uneven road. They had turned down an alley, which probably wasn't the best idea but they had more gunfire in front of them and they needed to get to cover.

"I can't run in these heels!" Sam yelled out as Diana looked over her shoulder. It was the same biker gang from before, clearly they had been preying on the car since they arrived, and they weren't friendly either as bullets whizzed over Diana's head.

"Me either!" She yelled back over the gunfire, grabbing onto the flap of her dress to make sure it didn't trip her over.

The sound of the bikes was growing louder and Diana sent a few unaimed blasts back, hoping to hit something and trip them up but she didn't hear the sound of crashing motorcycles. When they turned down another alley, there was more gunfire in front of them. Diana ducked, trying to dive to be against the wall but the bikers behind them started to crash.

The bikers stopped coming, and Diana wasn't full of holes, neither was Sam or Bucky. She looked over at Zemo, assessing him to see that he was perfectly fine. Who the hell just saved them?

"You seem to have a guardian angel," Zemo spoke up.

"Well this is too perfect."

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8.9k words

When discussing Sam and Diana's conversation at the prison, stilestastic gave me this gem, so you guys can thank her.

Did you guys see the subtle reference I made to her character, Ceres? You can read about that Sexy woman in "Sick of Losing Soulmates" or SOLS for short. It's a Steve fic for you curious gals and dear god I would die for Ceres AND her best friend Ilyas so GO READ THAT!!

I'm sO EXCITED for these Madripoor scenes bc I have a very fun surprise for you all and I'm so excited to finally write it!!!

I really want to thank you all for reading so far, I don't want to end Diana's story here with tfatws so I'm seriously hoping that we see some project with Sam and Bucky together bc it doesn't feel right to not have Sam and Diana interacting, so fingers crossed. I know I've said it before but I'm hoping with enough manifestation, I get what I want.

(I'm watching you Kevin, you better not fail me...)

anyways, thank you all for reading and I seriously hope to see you at the next chapter.

— greta