III: The Soldier and the Fairy Queen: Red Eve

XXVII: Rainy Days

March 8th, 2017- 22 days after Sunny's abduction
___________________________________________________________________________

Steve looked up at the map on the wall. They'd all elected to put it in the living room. Rain came down in torrents outside. He scratched another star off the map. There was only three more old HYDRA facilities to go. Zemo had come up with a fairly suitable plan after they broke him out. If LAZARUS had wiped Sunny and Bucky, then they must have access to one of the twenty machines located in abandoned HYDRA bases around the world.

They'd destroyed seventeen of the functional bases. Ones in California, France, Germany, Iceland, Spain, Eygpt, Iran, Thailand, and Mongolia. They were all empty. The last three were in Canada, Russia, and Missouri. Steve turned around when he heard someone come in.

Zemo sat down in an armchair, setting a tray with two teacups on the coffee table. He stared at the map, "Are you aware that there may be several undocumented bases?"

Zemo hadn't tried escaping yet, or even leaving the house, so Steve had let him have a little leeway. Steve was still wary of him. "Yes, but we're focusing on the ones we do know about right now," Steve spoke firmly.

Sam walked in, his computer under his arm, "I checked the cameras. Nobody's gone to any of the bases we've blown-up. Not even the Feds."

Zemo folded his hands, "Tea?"

Sam frowned, "I drink coffee."

Zemo shrugged and poured himself a cup, "LAZARUS most likely has the government in their back pocket."

"What makes you think that?" Steve asked, listening to the pitter-pattering of the rain on the window.

Zemo shrugged again, "Well, maybe not all of the government, but at least a couple well-placed officials. That's how power works. One power starts out strong, but becomes corrupt and crumbles. The next great power swallows it bit by bit until it is taken right from underneath the people's noses."

Natasha joined the group, her nose scrunching in disdain when she saw Zemo. "I know you guys are hoping that they're in one of the bases, but if we get rid of them all and..." she trailed off to avoid stating the obvious.

Steve's stomach clenched, and he opened his mouth to reaffirm his belief that they were going to find them. Zemo spoke before he did.

"Then we will have to wait for James and the Soldier to strike again and capture them," Zemo said, blowing on his tea.

Sam scoffed, "Sorry, Zemo, but in case you haven't heard, we tried catching Becky. Several times. And we haven't even seen Bucky yet."

"Becky? That is what you call her?" Zemo's brow furrowed.

Sam crossed his arms, "Yeah, that's what we call her. I do, anyway. They call her Sunny. Why do you even care, Zemo? What are they to you?"

Steve looked at Zemo, trying to discern his reaction. "Hey, let's calm down," Steve said, trying to disperse the tension.

Zemo shook his head, his face expressionless, "No, Captain, he raises a good question. How much do you all truly know about the Soldier's childhood?"

Wanda joined the conversation, sitting on the floor beside the window, "Which one?"

"'Sunny'," Zemo pursed his lips as if he'd tasted something sour.

Sam's brow furrowed, "What do you know?"

Zemo stirred his tea with a little spoon, "When HYDRA first discovered a malnourished eleven-year-old girl who tested positive for the super soldier serum in an abandoned LAZARUS facility, they did extensive research into her history and family to see if she would be an effective assassin. It took much calculated guessing considering the girl wouldn't talk about it at all." Zemo leaned back and sipped his tea.

"So?" Natasha prompted.

Steve capped the marker and sat in the only empty chair. He watched Zemo as he started speaking.

"Titania Ivanova was born in-- approximately-- 1932 in Siberia. She was the firstborn of Vladimir and Levina Ivanov. By the age of four, she was living on the street and hauling carts of uranium to support herself and her younger brother. When the Germans invaded in 1939, her mother sold her to LAZARUS for 350 roubles." Zemo frowned, "Just enough money to cover boat fare to America for Levina and Titania's brother."

Sam whistled, "That's... wrong."

Steve waited for Zemo to continue.

"LAZARUS had, at that point, been trying for over sixty years to create a real super soldier. They had experimented with six individuals, with no success. Titania was a last straw. From 1940 until 1943, Titania was 'Item 9856'. She was the first successful super soldier ever created, not to mention the youngest. She was followed by the Red Skull, then Captain Rogers," Zemo motioned to Steve.

Steve frowned, "Why did nobody know about her?"

Zemo set his cup on the coffee table, "Shortly after LAZARUS deemed her a success, they had to abandon her to advancing HYDRA troops in Norway. The Red Skull wanted to keep her existence virtually unknown until Zola and Erskine could recreate the serum from her blood. They did and, through much threatening, Red Skull took the serum. His DNA was not compatible, hence the 'red skull'. Erskine escaped, and took his serum with him, so Titania and Zola created their own based off of her blood and what they could remember from Erskine's formula. After that, HYDRA forces captured the 107th in Italy. Zola was granted permission to experiment on James due to Titania's-- she had become his partner of sorts-- special interest in him." He stopped and silence permeated the room.

"You're saying it's Sunny's fault that Bucky is..." Wanda made a vague gesture.

Zemo held up his finger, "Not exactly. The defining variable in the equation was that James is Titania's cousin. Since they share the majority of the same DNA, the idea was that the serum would also be stable enough in his blood."

Sam frowned, "Is it a bad thing that them being related makes so much sense?"

Zemo glared at Sam, "Fortunately, Zola and Titania were not able to finish the experiment due to the Captain destroying the compound in Azzano. Two years later, James fell off the train in <Switzerland???>, losing his arm in the process. He was found a couple hours later by a HYDRA soldier, who took him back to Titania in the Swiss HYDRA compound."

"That's impossible. If he lost his arm when he fell, he would have bled to death in minutes, with or without the serum," Nat stated, staring out at the rain.

Zemo sighed, "Do you really want to hear this or are you going to keep interrupting me?"

Steve leaned forward, "Yes, we do. Keep talking."

"As I was saying, the HYDRA officials left in the compound wanted to execute him immediately, but Titania advocated for his life, arguing that they could use him. He lived and was placed in Titania's care and training. In 1946, the surviving HYDRA members moved closer to where Zola was being held. He had been leading HYDRA from there since he was captured. He sent both of the Soldiers on missions, and Titania gained six hundred thirteen kills, whereas James gained twelve. Titania tried to help James escape, failing fifteen times in fifteen different places.

"In November of 1949, Zola found that Titania had discovered a way to lock some of James' memories and was tampering with his mind. When he asked her how, she refused to tell. James executed her on New Year's Eve. Zola tried to recreate the serum again, but Titania had burned all of her notes and her body went missing in 1951, therefore, HYDRA had to wait until Howard Stark recreated Erskine's serum in 1991 to create the Winter Soldiers." Zemo picked up his tea again, "The end."

"That's it? Really? You're going to leave us hangin' like that?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Where did her body go?" Nat inquired, her face betraying her skepticism.

Wanda yawned slightly, "How is she alive now?"

Steve crossed his arms, "How do you know all this?"

Zemo shrugged, "I had many hours to while away before you came to Siberia. And the Soldier has visited me many times in the Raft. As for the other questions, you will have to ask her."