Who: Zemo & Bucky Xian Where: First basement, near the sanctum. When: Backdated, 6/29. What: An awkward encounter in the hall. Status: Completed. Warnings: Minor violence.
Zemo had been spending quite a bit of time in the library lately. Reading was a wonderful way to spend his evenings and if he was going to be stuck at the Crown Plaza for a while, he might as well learn a new skill or two. With some new reading material tucked under his arm, the baron made his way back out into the hallway, heading towards the elevators, when something - someone - caught his eye..
Normally, Zemo avoided the corner of the first basement that housed Tony Stark's work lab. After making his presence known upon his arrival at the hotel, Zemo did not see the point in antagonizing Tony needlessly. So, in most cases, he walked by that particular door as quickly as possible..
However, today, Zemo couldn't help but slow his pace. There was a stretch of wall just beyond Stark's lab and though Zemo wasn't sure what was behind it, he was vaguely under the impression that something was there. Something relating to Dr. Strange. Zemo himself had never looked into it too deeply. He was curious, but not so curious that he was willing to encounter the sorcerer..
Bucky, on the other hand, appeared very interested in.. something near that corner of the hall. Zemo found the other man flitting about, as if he had lost something, touching the wall and squinting at the wallpaper. The baron finally stopped just a few feet shy of Bucky, a puzzled expression forming on his face. .
"..is everything alright, James?"
If her curiosity did not get the best of her in the end, then her stubbornness would.
She had heard of this great sorcerer residing here within the walls of the hotel but had yet to actually catch sight of the man. Instead of waiting for him to make an appearance, Xianniang had it in her head to find him herself. Only that proved to be trickier than she imagined. Unlike the Emperor, this sorcerer did not reside in a palace that she could simply fly or walk into. She had stolen the likeness of someone in his little circle but even with another's face, there was still the problem of discovering exactly where the man was.
Xianniang had no intention of harming the man. She only wanted a conversation. She only wanted to meet the competition. But the sorcerer didn't appear to be the sort who liked uninvited guests. Xian had been able to gather that he was hiding somewhere in the basement. However, without asking or any sign or door that made it obvious, she was left to try finding her way in by testing the walls inch by inch.
She was starting to become frustrated, unable to find a secret entrance, when her attention was stolen by a voice behind her.
When he turned, there was a pause as Xian went through her memory to recognize the shorter man. Then, a smile. "Alright enough. What are you up to down here?"
There was something peculiar going on here. Zemo just couldn't put his finger on what. Bucky was smiling at him, but something was not right. There was a lack of warmth in his features when he looked at him, an absence of familiarity. Zemo's eyes suspiciously narrowed as he took a step or two closer.
"Just grabbing some more books from the library on that subject we discussed the other night.."
Gardening, not smut. But surely Bucky would remember that conversation and Zemo would not need to elaborate any further. His attention then lowered from the other man's face, studying his clothes and body language. If anything else was off, Zemo would be sure to notice. "What are you doing?"
‘Bucky’ tapped his fingers along the wall one last time before pushing himself back. She had chosen this form specifically for the reason that the chances of being approached or stopped would be minimal. Yes, she had seen him interact with a few others but they were usually the same people and all with their own agendas that kept them occupied. It was an unfortunate coincidence to be caught by one of them.
Light blue eyes fell to the books under the other man’s arms. The other night….a memory surfaced; the two of them, walking back from the lake. She had taken note at the time the subtle display of affection traded between the two men. Assumptions were made on her part. Assumptions she felt she could now use to her advantage.
“I thought I saw something suspicious.” ‘Bucky’ replied dismissively. He started to walk forward and reached out to tap one of the books, one of his fingers dragging along the spine as he read the title. “I could join you later to continue that discussion, if you’d like.”
Suspicious? That sounded vague.
Now, to be fair, it was possible that Bucky had seen a ghost or something unusual. It had been a good amount of time since the Crown Plaza had last messed with the guests and Zemo was fully aware it was common for the hotel to do things purely to screw with them.
The baron might have actually dropped the matter if it hadn't been for that follow-up statement. Continue their discussion? On what, flower-pressing? Yes, after their five minutes of hip grinding, Bucky had kept their conversation very G-Rated. Which Zemo had been fine with. He just didn't understand why Bucky was trying to make this sound suggestive when it wasn't.
..unless Bucky was referring to the hip-grinding portion of that discussion and if he was, this was very clearly meant to be a distraction. Zemo frowned. "You know there's a room here, don't you? And that it belongs to Dr. Strange?"
Suggestions weren’t working. Perhaps this required a more direct touch.
‘Bucky’ tilted his head. This needed to be handled delicately. How much the other man knew of this Dr Strange and his hidden room was unknown but it was clear that he knew something. Xianniang was curious to know exactly what but asking more risked exposing herself further. So. What to do?
Blue eyes unintentionally narrowed as a plan formed behind them. “I’m aware.” A hand lifted to the bottom of Zemo’s chin as he stepped in close, leaving barely a few inches between them. With his first two fingers, he used the back of his knuckles to force the other man’s focus solely on himself.
Once he had it, he attempted to keep it. He spread his fingers underneath his chin and down his neck, caressing and teasing the soft skin. “I can look around another time.” What ‘he’ was looking for would go unsaid. If Zemo questioned him, well, there were more distractions Xianniang could come up with. “I’m more interested in your room now.”
Zemo allowed the touch, allowed Bucky to lean in, but made no attempt to close that small gap between them. Normally, Zemo would have been thrilled that Bucky was giving him attention in public and even more elated that Bucky was asking to go back to his room. But the baron just could not ignore those glaringly obvious signs that something was off.
He looked and sounded like Bucky, but this was not his soldat. And Zemo was not about to turn a blind eye to whatever the hell was going on.
The baron's harsh expression softened as he decided to (briefly) play along. He smiled, leaning into that touch to his neck in order to get this imposter to let their guard down. "Why bother going back to my room, мой сладкий? Why not continue our discussion here?"
Zemo did not allow 'Bucky' time to answer. He leaned up, pressing a kiss to his lips. And as he did so, he dropped his gardening books to the floor, using all of his body weight to force 'Bucky' against the wall. Zemo then broke the kiss, pressing his forearm into Bucky's neck and forcing him to stay put.
"I am only going to ask this once. Who are you? And what do you want with James?"
Here? This was spinning too far out of her control. She had done many things while keeping her cover before but there was nowhere to escape to if things became complicated. The hotel was a cage. She would only be able to hide for so long. It was hard to formulate her next move when her intended target was doing the moving for them both.
They hit the wall, lips still locked together. Just as she wondered if she should have protested a bit harder, the tender display was replaced with something a bit less so. Caught like a fish on the end of a line, she gaped with surprise as she felt the hard pressure to her neck. At first, she did not move.
She had to choose her next words carefully.
“Your friend is safe. I have done him no harm.” There was a moment of silence as she held his gaze. Sweet ‘James’ smirked. “As long as you remain silent.”
The baron went from puzzled and cautious to angry in an instant. So, he'd been correct. Something was wrong, but he still hadn't completely figured out what. While he had spent a good amount of time studying the Avengers, he still wasn't terribly well-versed in the ways of magic. But, if he had to take a guess, this must have been some form of possession.
Something that, presumably, Bucky had not given permission for.
He dug his forearm further into Bucky's neck, those brown eyes absolutely seething at he looked the other man in the face. "Whoever you are, I do not trust you. Simply giving me your word that you will not harm James in exchange for my silence is not enough. Let me see what you really look like and then I'll consider making a deal with you."
It was a shame. She rather enjoyed this particular form. But there was no chance now that she could continue using it. The little man was angry and the only way to soothe him was to drop the facade. She would oblige because it was the was the best course of action in this predicament. Further enraging him by refusing to answer his questions would be counter-productive. And she was not here to make enemies. Not until she had a good enough reason.
Zemo’s strength was commendable. She admired his protective nature over his friend. But he would need to think twice about threatening her in the future.
Grabbing him by the arm pressed hard into her neck, she sank James’ nails into his skin and then twirled them both until it was Zemo’s back pressed hard into the wall and now it was her hand squeezed around his neck. Like a soft sigh, the rest of the facade shivered away.
But she relaxed her grip and took a gracious step back. “Do I pass for your … consideration?” Xianniang did her best not to sneer, even if her tone was civil at best.
Zemo did not enjoy being treated in a rough manner. The only person allowed to handle him that way was Bucky - the real Bucky - and even that was a special case. He would have put up more of a fight after the tables had been turned, because he wasn't about to just submit to being overpowered, even if the person pushing him around was wearing his sort of-lover's face.
Well. Not anymore, she wasn't.
But he did want to get a good look at her, which would have been difficult to do if he had been struggling. That, and he had no idea what this woman was capable of. Zemo was stubborn, not stupid. He knew which fights were worth the effort and which were not. And currently, trying to overpower this magically-inclined woman sounded like a fruitless idea.
So he didn't try to swat her hand away, nor did he try to run when she took a step back. He simply tilted his head to the side, glancing her over. "I suppose."
Zemo had never seen her before. He didn't know anything about her or why she had chosen Bucky of all people to take the form of, and that alone made her uncomfortably dangerous. "Whatever it is you want, I am sure James has nothing to do with it. Leave him out of this. I never want you to take his likeness again. If you can agree to that, then perhaps I can do more than just agree to keep quiet. What is it you want? The sorcerer?"
She had spent many years denying what she was and the power she had. Not any longer. Her appearance reflected that unwillingness to compromise to, perhaps, a dramatic extent and she wore those colors proudly. She lived by her own rules. No one else’s.
Unless it was a choice in survival.
She could tear this man to bits before he had the chance to even scream. But Xianniang knew first-hand how useless threats were when she was stuck like a stray on the streets. She honestly had no desire to cause harm. To this man or to anyone else. She was not as cruel as she looked. Nor was she all that upset at being caught. Annoyed at the setback? Yes. But she was nothing if not adaptable.
“This is your only condition?” Xian raised an eyebrow but was amused. There were many other forms she could take. It wasn’t unreasonable. So she nodded. “Very well.” Xian hesitated at his next question. She was a hawk left out in open water. Could she trust this man?
Her nose wrinkled. She glanced back to the wall behind them, then to him again. “There are not many sorcerers where I am from. I was curious to meet one that has become so well-known here in this-“ her eyes rolled up to the ceiling. Another nose twitch. Cage. “In a place like this one.” Xian looked again to Zemo. Up and down her eyes went, raking over him as though with a fine comb to see if there was anything about him she had over-looked. “I thought to grant myself an audience.” A little lie. She had meant to sneak inside for a peek. “Do you know him?”
He was almost embarrassed by the amount of relief that rushed through him when the sorceress agreed to his one and only stipulation. Zemo already knew that he cared about Bucky. He just hadn't realized how far he was willing to go to protect him until now. It was unnerving that he had grown so attached to Bucky. But that was a problem for another time.
Right now, his attention was solely focused on the woman in front of him. "He and I have never spoken, but I do know what he looks like. Perhaps, I can help you figure out where he spends his time when he's not here in his room. I could help you arrange a meeting with him. But if that is not something you want, at the very least, I can assure you that I will tell no one of this encounter. Not even James."
Zemo had told Bucky that his business was still his own. And since the woman had agreed to leave Bucky out of this, Zemo felt a little better about keeping his word to the sorceress. "My name is Zemo, by the way. What would you like for me to call you?"
Ah. So he did take her threat seriously. Good. Normally, Xian would not have minded being underestimated. She enjoyed using the surprise of her foes to her advantage. But seeing his relief, yes, it was good to note that for the future if she ever needed to give that threat life. Although, she would only do so as a last resort.
She chuckled quietly at his offer. Dubious, Xian narrowed her eyes. "You would help me? It seems I found something suspicious after all. For what purpose? What would you have to gain?"
He said that she could be sure of his silence. She could have laughed again. What assurances did she have? They had never met before. There was no bond between them that could ensure such a level of trust. Just because he was giving her his name, he thought that was all it would take? Apparently so. "Xian will do."
She regarded him for a long minute. "The last man I trusted attempted to overtake China. I am curious to see what is in your future ...Zemo."
"For what purpose?" Zemo repeated, lifting his brows, "Here, at the Crown Plaza, money means nothing and being indebted to someone means everything. If I do this for you, if I am able to grant you a meeting with Dr. Strange, then you will owe me, and I can then come to you to ask a favor whenever I want."
Zemo gave a nonchalant shrug. "To be clear, I already have everything I want here at the hotel. If I do ask for you to repay your debt, I don't foresee it being much of a burden on you. But maybe, in the future, once we have established an understanding, you and I can work together. Without the need of favors or debt."
Because Zemo very much liked the idea of having a sorcerer on his side. While he still did not approve of those with enhanced abilities, here at the hotel, Zemo saw the benefit in having them as allies. And if he could get Xian to trust him, he'd really be set, wouldn't he? "If it matters I do not wish to overtake anything. But I suppose we will see what is in your future as well, won't we, Xian?"