Unknown location
2:13 p.m.
The world was so full of light. It was so secure, so tight, so comforting to know its walls kept out the dark and kept him safe. Sometimes that’s all one had from slipping to insanity: a world to hold onto. For many, a world to them meant family, friends, people who you would love and bleed for through the fire and the storm.
And for Zemo, his world was gone, left by a new one consisting of a large glass prison, one eerily similar to the one a certain James Barnes had punched through a few days ago. Maybe it was the same one to add that extra bit of irony to the situation. Maybe it wasn’t. He didn’t care.
His mission was over.
His pistol was gone, his jacket and boots, as well. Instead, he was gifted with cold, hard shackles wrapped tightly around his ankles. There was a shirt, some pants, no socks, but some shoes to keep his feet warm. The essentials. The last he remembered was hearing the crack of the pistol firing off beneath his chin, a flash of black, and then he woke up here. In the prison.
He was not granted time to view the television, or given the opportunity to read any newspapers. No one even spoke to him. There was no way in heaven or hell that he could have known if his plan had come to fruition. Maybe it was better that way. Maybe you just needed to relish in the thought that the damage had been done and the people on the outside had to deal with it. As for the Avengers…
Only time will tell. But he did have a feeling.
The door opened, Zemo opening his eyes to see Everett Ross stroll inside. His smile was wide and cocky, his eyes even more so. Zemo played along.
“Meals are eight to five!” Ross called, approaching the glass. “Toilet privileges twice a day! Raise your voice at me or anyone else here… zap! Attempt to escape or even touch the glass… zap! Do anything other than sit there and think about your worthless life… guess what happens?”
Zemo said nothing. Just stared blankly at him, a small dosage of malicious intent hidden behind his gaze. Ross picked up on it, sneering on the other side.
“Exactly. You don’t guess. You live, think, and breathe if we tell you to. That’s the kind of world you live in now, Colonel. Better get used to it.”
He leaned back, his arms crossed, his smirk still present. Zemo watched him like a predator behind the cage.
Ross said, “You got quite some time to get used to it. Maybe think about all those innocent people you killed, not even counting how many lives you threatened. If Princess Twilight had died in that explosion…” he leaned forward, head almost pressed to the glass, eyes beyond the point of serious, “you would have started a war between two different worlds. How the hell does that sound?”
Zemo exhaled through his nose, closing his eyes and breathing in a fresh breath of contained air. Trapped air. It was the best breath of air he’d ever taken. “Princess Twilight had died long before Vienna,” he whispered in ecstasy.
“You’re insane.” Ross shook his head, seeing the smile on Zemo’s lips. “But you lost, didn’t you? After so long, losing so much, I can’t even imagine your mental state. Especially since it was worth nothing. Tony Stark… and Steve Rogers… even Princess Twilight… are all still alive and well. The Avengers are still alive… and here you are. Trapped.”
The man behind the glass said nothing for a moment, allowing Ross to lean back and drop his arms. He watched as Zemo opened his eyes. He almost swore he saw someone else in those pupils. “I am freer than they will ever be,” he hissed.
“Keep telling yourself that.”
He left him to rot the rest of his days in that cell. He didn’t look back. He didn’t need to with what Zemo began saying.
“Let the dust settle. Let it all rest. It’s only a matter of time.”
Even Everett Ross, the hard-ass he was, lingered a bit as he locked the door behind him.
Resists the urge to send Ross flying into a bulkhead.
Well I can't comment on Cap's team but Tony looks pretty free and happy in Homecoming and the previews for Infinity War. Either that or freedom means something else in Sokovian.
Nobody likes you, Ross.
Is he just being a dick?
I like to imagine Thanos has alien spies on Earth, and he hears this through them, and he's just like "You have no idea." Unlikely, but cool to imagine.
The falling action happens. The avengers are disunited. The ponies are unsure of their position with humanity. Those are the fortunes of war.
The only time I liked Everett Ross being a Dick to the right person
Zemo's suicide attempt may have been foiled with being left to rot in a cell for the rest of his life as his punishment instead of an easy escape through death. But he doesn't care. He has served his purpose. He has successfully disassembled the Avengers and put a strain on the ponies' friendship with them and each other. All he can do now is sit back, bask in his bitter victory and watch how the aftermath of his actions will lead up to. For it is only a matter of time before the true war has yet to begin.
Don't get too cocky, Ross. They may be alive, but they are all broken and divided. And by the time they all do somehow get fixed, it may already be too late.
(sigh) He still won though. Being in a jail cell doesn't change that.
With this...
I hope Zemo BURNS A ****ING HORRIFIC DEATH IN THE FIERY PITS OF HELL!!!
And I hate Thanos for his actions direct or indirect in separating the Avengers!!!
8349766 But Tony has to live with the burden of running the Avengers, as well as being the first line of defense when the big purple guy eventually shows up. That would suck.
8349799 Being a dick? Or is he right?
8349810 And we're forced to live with them.
8349976 Same.
8350325 The aftermath was something that none of them were prepared for, and hopelessly needing a solution to mend it.
8351460 I guess we'll see if Thanos is truly behind everything soon enough.
This is why Zemo is such a noteworthy villain in the MCU. He actually succeeded in his goal. Guys like Loki and Ultron thought too big, they sought global control and genocide, Zemo just wanted to destroy the Avengers' family bond.
Zemo is a despicable one. ;)
No she didn't. She lost herself for a little bit, but she was still able to be true to herself in the end.
Maybe for now. Heck you might have succeeded for now, but the ponies will definitely get back together even if thier friendship was damaged here and when the chips are down the Avengers will get back together to stop the threat. Then when that happens everything you did and all those people you killed would have been for nothing.
I sure hope there’s quite some time for the ponies to gather themselves before the next threat. Celestia knows they need it. As for the Avengers...
Would it make sense that Zemo both won and lost at the same time? True, The Avengers are still alive... But let's be frank Zemo wanted to prove a point. He needed to demonstrate that even the mighty, powerful Gods whom represent both Avengers and Ponies alike can be flawed. Their actions led to the accidental death of his family (Even though it was MOSTLY the Avengers), just as their actions nearly destroyed their friendship all together. Even though most of them are alive, although the scars of battle will still be there, can they ever truly be on good terms again? The worst thing about it... They could've stopped this at any time, 'any' time... But they didn't.
And from here on out, they have to accept what they did was wrong and live with it even if they don't want to remember it. If anyone can know what kind of feeling this is like... Bucky would know the feeling. Funny when you think about it... Bucky is what brought the two groups together and drove them apart just like one of the last episodes of 'Flight 29 Down'.
Zemo is the first MCU villain to truly accomplish his goal and win in the end. He knew he could never kill the Avengers himself, so he did the next best thing and successfully got them to turn on each other. All by using what few resources he had and successfully manipulating events to work in his favor. He managed to do even more damage here by dragging the ponies into it and potentially destroying their friendships too. He proves that you don’t need powers or magic to be a dangerous villain.
The only things stopping him from being completely victorious here is that he failed to commit suicide thanks to Black Panther, meaning he must pay for his crimes instead of taking the easy way out, and none of the Avengers actually died in the conflict, meaning it is possible, no matter how slim, for them to come back together. But regardless, he did manage to disband the Avengers, which consequently meant the Earth was unprepared for Thanos.
When I think about how Zemo divided everyone and left them unprepared to the coming threat, I think back to a song called “Divide” from RWBY, especially towards the end when it talks about tearing apart friendships and allegiances.