Chapter 14 - Mission Report. December 16, 1991
Cleveland, Ohio
6:26 p.m.
Vasily Karpov spent most of his evenings doing the same routine: eat soup with stale bread, read the newspaper, and have a sickly brown cup of coffee at the ready. It had grown so mundane that he hardly paid much attention to the dipping sunlight, indications to the approaching night. Sometimes he couldn’t even tell what time of day it was anymore.
Maybe it was because he hadn’t gone outside for over a week. The last time he had he went to get groceries, the necessities for living, paid for by the simple earnings he made working at a nearby drugstore. It was all he could manage, all he could really look forward to. Go to work, get paid, get home, eat, sleep, wake up, get groceries, and do it all over again.
It was mundane, that he knew. But it was far safer living the way he did than how he used to.
And so, the days went on, Karpov going through the same daily routine. Living his life as his days slipped away, living as every other average guy. He read his newspaper, sipped his soup, and reached for his coffee. Then he heard it.
A vehicle crashing. Right outside his window.
Leaning upward, Karpov dropped his spoon and stood up out of his chair. He approached the blinds, almost every one of his windows covered, and took a quick peek to the outside world and the blinding sunlight. There, a young man most likely in his thirties stepped out of his vehicle, the bumper lodged into Karpov’s own car.
Hot steam blew out from the car’s engine, the young man’s hands rising to rest behind his head. He seemed in shock, almost distraught at what he had done. Karpov continued to watch him. He only closed the blinds once the young man spun around, his eyes trained on Karpov’s home.
“Hello?” the young man said, beginning his approach. Karpov backed away from the window, uncertain of what he should do. He waited silently, listened to see what he would say next.
“Is this your car out front?”
Karpov’s eyes followed the young man’s shadow as he walked closer and closer to his front door. He said, “I jumped the curb. Maybe we could… take care of it ourselves.”
As he said that, Karpov’s eyes shifted to the lone pistol resting on a pile of newspapers, remaining by the front door. Just in case. He remained silent.
The young man said, “If you wanna call the cops, that’s okay, too, I guess.”
His head shot up, his moment of silence broken. “No,” Karpov stated loudly and clearly. “No cops.” His life had just begun to remain normal. He didn’t need law enforcement involved in any way, shape, or form. Might as well just take care of it themselves.
“Thank you,” the young man said from beyond the front door, and as Karpov opened that door he was met with a wooden plank being slammed over his head.
The pulsating thump in his forehead grew more and more tiresome. It didn’t help to feel the screams of a running faucet right next to his ear, or the banging of a sledgehammer against solid wall. Karpov slowly opened his eyes, seeing the world in a new perspective, and seeing these things transpire before him.
A wetness at the top of his head shook away any and all remaining weariness from his mind, his body slowly regaining its senses, feeling its environment. Instantly, he felt the strains of the rope tied tightly around his wrists and ankles, the rope rubbing hard against his bare skin every time he moved. He looked up and noticed the rising water slowly enveloping his forehead.
Another strike from a sledgehammer, prompting Karpov’s eyes forward. The world was tilted upside down, the young man—the intruder—hammering away at his basement wall. Several other holes pockmarked the walls. Karpov wondered how long he had been out, or just how long the intruder had been breaking down his property.
His property. His secret. He tried to scream out, but the pulsating migraine in his forehead continued to flow. It had been so long since he had remained in the shadows, away from his past life. And this… this… intruder coming from nowhere, seeking something he had already found.
He swiveled his head back to Karpov, setting down the sledgehammer and retrieving his prize.
His prize consisted of a black cardboard box, and Karpov’s past. The intruder proceeded to dump the box’s contents onto the nearest workbench, revealing documents, torn papers, and a little red book, a silver star adorned on the front cover.
The intruder grabbed the book first, much to Karpov’s dismay as evident by his continued struggling with his bonds. He saw as the intruder placed the book to the side, picking up a single document and opening it, revealing a picture of a younger Karpov dressed in full military wear. The intruder nodded, and turned his eyes backed to the strained man.
“You have kept your looks, Colonel,” the intruder said, smiling something venomous at that. “Congratulations.”
Karpov could feel the coolness of the faucet water pouring against his shoulder, all emptying into the clogged sink underneath him. The intruder continued, saying, “Mission report. December 16, 1991.”
Karpov knew the date. It had been seared into his memory for as long as he could remember, and he didn’t want to. He asked, “Who are you? What do you want?”
The intruder lowered the document, staring fully at Karpov. “My name is Zemo,” he answered. “I will repeat my question. Mission report. December 16, 1991.”
The intruder, now known as Zemo, wanted the information he had sworn never to reveal in his lifetime. So many misleading reports, so many cover-ups, and it apparently was for nothing. Karpov had imagined it would be the American government or perhaps remaining forces of S.H.I.E.L.D. to be the ones to track his whereabouts and scratch him out.
No, it was simply some drifter, some… man who called himself “Zemo”.
Some man…
“How did you find me?” Karpov asked, the water dangerously rising to cover his eyebrows.
Zemo continued to study the documents. He said, “When S.H.I.E.L.D. fell, Black Widow released HYDRA files to the public. Millions of pages. Much of it encrypted. Not easy to decipher. But… I have experience… and patience. A man can do anything if he has those.”
He eyed the man dangling, his eyes cold, without mercy. Karpov gulped.
“I have seen your file, Colonel,” Zemo stated, laying down the documents. “I know who you are, what you have done. There is a specific date and time that would prove… useful to me. Tell me, Colonel, what happened that day. December 16, 1991.”
Karpov sneered. “Go… to… hell!” he practically dribbled with anger, refusing to reveal what should be forgotten.
The man, Zemo, slowly approached Karpov. Once he stood directly over him, the relentlessness burning furiously in his eyes, like a man with no end in sight, he simply stared at Karpov. Vasily breathed his soon-to-be last breath as Zemo reached forward… and turned off the faucet.
The dim lighting to the basement gave Zemo a haunting shadow, its darkness cascading across Karpov, allowing him to see nothing but the outline of the man who held his life. Even then, he would gladly throw it—and the information—away so that none, especially the lunatic before him, would get it.
Zemo shook his head, staring straight into the water surrounding Karpov’s head. The dark waves shook as his hands did, the patience he had spoken of earlier slowly beginning to wane. He had felt that many times, far too many times. Now he had the book, now he had become closer to achieving his mission. He didn’t need the pathetic waste of skin beneath him to keep him away from that.
“We can make this… so much easier if you were willing to cooperate,” Zemo said. “The man you once worked with can lead us closer to bringing down the Avengers. But you don’t. You will die for nothing, like a dog. With the book, I can achieve what HYDRA had failed to do for years. There is no obstacle, no challenge too great that I haven’t already endeared. I will see this through.”
Karpov gulped. “What do you want with HYDRA—?”
“HYDRA deserves its place on the ash heap,” Zemo responded. “So, your death would not bother me. But I’d have to use this book, and other… bloodier methods to find what I need. I don’t look forward to that. You’d only be dying for… your pride.”
Given that final statement, Karpov remained silent, staring straight ahead. He didn’t speak, and the longer he did so, Zemo’s fierce glare continued to burn through the man’s iron skull. He simply had enough of the silence and turned the faucet back on, letting the world follow through.
And as the water covered his eyes, all Karpov said was, “Hail HYDRA.”
Zemo had what he had come for, the little red book that would give him everything he needed to see his plan follow through. The path the trailed him mattered little, the lives that needed to be taken would be forgotten, and the journey ahead continued to become more and more clear. With the little red book, all will follow through.
He gripped it tightly as he left Vasily Karpov drowning to death in his own basement. Another life taken, and another forgotten. Soon, more lives would need to be taken. More would need to follow. It simply must.
With the little red book, all will follow through.
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While it's a good written version of the movie scene... I am not sure about it if nothing is changed or added for the fanfic itself...
Such an underrated villain. Just because he doesn't have superpowers or an army or weapons doesn't mean he isn't effective. He's the first MCU villain to actually win. Just a man driven not by lust for power or money but by revenge. A single man who tore the Avengers apart.
7888821 "Fluttershy after watching Wicker Man"
NOT THE BEES!
7888841 XD Did that happen?
7888869 No. I was making a NOT THE BEES joke when you said NOT THE BOOK! As if the Avengers will let Fluttershy watch that terrible remake.
UH OH....Things aren't looking good!!!
Cant wait to see whats next!!!
7888946 Oh.
Zemo... the only non-superpowered villain in MCU who could do what the other villains could not. Break apart, divide the Avengers and win. He does this not for the thought of ruling or destroying the world, but only for the driven and dedicated need for revenge against the Avengers from the moment he lost his family in Sokovia. He may not like his methods to achieve his revenge, but it is all he has left now. And he will not stop until, as he puts it, "sees an empire fall".
7889035 ......Why do you write these things as if you're reading for the ending to an episode of Dragon Ball Z?
7889081 I just like to summarise my whole initial thoughts after reading a chapter on a story I find enjoyable to read.
You know say what you will about HYDRA (and I say "Hail HYDRA!") but they've got really loyal servants. And now the full impact of Black Widow's folly will be unleashed upon the world
7889099 Ok, fair enough.
Oh bollocks, not Zemo!
BAD ZEMO! BAD ZEMO!
What I'm curious about is how much the involvement of the ponies will force him to change his plans.
I mean, this was KIND OF needed to set up that Zemo is still a driving force in this adaptation, but aside from a few lines of dialogue, nothing really was changed from the movie version. Maybe a reference to the ponies or something would have made it a LITTLE different.
7890063
I personally think one or two lines about Zemo leaving a house and a man tied upside down and drowning would have been sufficient to set the event in the fic. Then the focus would have gone back to the Equestrians and the Avengers. But that is just my opinion.
I can't wait to read the next part!
This is a pretty fascinating throwback chapter.
7888815 It's just an intro to Zemo. Didn't really need to add or change much. Other chapters in the future that focus on him will reference the ponies or be different from the film in various aspects.
7888837 Exactly.
7889035 He will tear them apart much more than we could ever imagine... even more so with the ponies.
7889189 It all unfolds.
7890063 Future chapters with him will be different from the movie in various aspects.
7891239 Thank you!
7891352
The trepidation rises!
7891352 Yeah, I gather that.
You know Zemo is an MCU villain that you really gotta give props to. I mean he wasn't some alien with an obsession to rule, or a being who wanted to remake the world in his own image by destroying it, no he was just a sad depraved man who wanted revenge for what happened to his family. And he somewhat succeeded. Where guys like Loki, HYDRA, and Ultron tried to attack them head on Zemo just twisted events to his own will so that the Avengers would be taken down from the inside. He didn't kill them, true, but that was t his endgame.
7891352 Anytime. :)
Ah, Zemo. Imo, he's one of the better MCU movie villains, right up there with Loki. Mainly because he's not just evil for the sake of it (though that's not a bad thing) and we see his plan fleshed out, even if it is a little complex.
But unlike the movie, he has Avengers, ponies, and perhaps a few vigilantes to deal with. Though, I like how he was still primarily a Captain America foe despite the number of characters.
Hail HYDRA...
Great chapter
Just curious but will Tony tell any the ponies about his parents or will that only be revealed as a bombshell at the end?
7897662
Shrouded by the Dark Side, the future is...
7898888 understood that reference, I did
i.imgur.com/XS5LK.gif
Nice Yoda channeling there
68.media.tumblr.com/151176ff0e67db42e80b8f52768765e2/tumblr_nydwvlSK0I1umvpr8o4_500.gif
The Darkness is coming
7894765
Except for Spider-Man, Vulture is created because of all of the uptake in heroes. In fact, the international trailer has him say this line;
Welp.... not much to say here Zemo's plan is happening with or without the ponies.
I’m curious to see what interactions Zemo will have between the ponies.
This mysterious individual definitely has big plans in mind involving that one mission report. I shudder to think of the plans he has in mind that would not only affect The Avengers, but perhaps the ponies' trust in their friends as well (Even after everything they've been through together).
Enter Zemo. Despite being just a regular man with no superpowers, he is perhaps one of the greatest MCU villains, simply for doing what more powerful villains have failed to do, defeat the Avengers.