"Baron Zemo, I wish I can say it was nice to hear from you again." Captain America greeted as he held Master Roshi's phone awkwardly, not fully knowing how to hold the technological device.
"I can certainly see why. Since the demise of Demon King Piccolo, Hydra has gone through a change of management." Baron Zemo informed. Captain America could tell by the slight hint in Zemo's voice that there was some irritation. It was clear that he did not like the Red Skull taking charge of Hydra once again.
"Is the Turtle Hermit there? I may suggest you go somewhere private and away from prying eyes, this way you can put me on speaker and so I can talk to the two of you freely." Zemo suggested.
"Sure." Captain America said, still maintaining his mistrust. "How do you mute this?"
"I believe Bulma said it was this button." Roshi said, pointing to the device. Of course, what Roshi pressed was the wrong button as the theme song to Roshi's favorite porn movie began to play out loud, turning a lot of heads towards their direction. Most of the women looked at the old man with disgust as some of the men gave a nod of satisfied acknowledgement.
"You two are completely helpless when it comes to the art of technology." Baron Zemo with a deadpanned expression as after five minutes of frantically trying to shut the recognizable song off and mute their end of the phone line.
"Zemo said we should talk somewhere private so we could both hear him." Captain America relayed to his friend.
"Really? I don't think we have the option to quiet around here anymore." Master Roshi said as he looked around, finding that a ton of people were looking at the pair of veterans with the same expressions as before.
"Let's try the rooftop. There would be limited cameras watching us, so it would be less likely that the Red Skull would spy on us." Steve suggested.
"Who's to say that he isn't listening in through this phone call right now?" Master Roshi said as they journeyed to an empty alleyway. From there, it was easy for the two students of the late Master Mutaito to jump up onto the dome roof to the left with ease.
"True." Captain America replied, using his keen eyes and energy sensing ability as he looked around for any drone or sniper who was looking out for him. "Seems like we are in the clear."
"Then what are you waiting for? Put Zemo on speaker." Roshi demanded while waving both of his arms up to his chest before settling them back down.
"I don't really know how to do that either." Captain America admitted.
"That I know how how to do. Here." Roshi said as they pressed the speaker. "You're back on Zemo."
A moment or two had passed in silence, waiting for Zemo to speak. It wasn't until Roshi thought he had lost the connection before he heard the voice of the baron again.
"Seriously, how long does it take to unmute someone." Zemo asked in an annoyed manner.
"Oops, forgot to unmute him. Here." Roshi said as he pressed a button, careful not to play any porn music.
"I thought the speaker and unmute button were the same button." Captain America mentioned.
"One would think." Roshi said, a soft way of admitting that he thought the same thing for a brief moment.
"My faith in you winning in this modern era has lessened." Zemo admitted as Steve and Roshi could here General Blue, Hasky, and Taskmaster arguing in the background.
"Can you shut those three up. I don't think we would be able to talk with all that racket in the background." Roshi said, channeling his old man behavior.
"It's best to keep them bickering amongst themselves. Any prying eyes would want to stand clear from those three and those with ears can't tune them out." Zemo said. Steve and Roshi immediately understood. Zemo had purposely encouraged them to argue just so his conversation could not be heard. A smart tactic to be sure.
"Yeah, if Hasky is anything like her sister Launch, everyone would want to stand clear when she gets angry." Roshi stated with a nod.
"What do you want Zemo? Why have you called us?" Captain America asked, finally getting to the point of the entire conversation.
"You must know by now that the Red Skull is back. Am I correct?" Zemo asked.
"So we have heard." Roshi said, now taking caution.
"Is this the reason why you called? To gloat?" Captain America asked with a disappointed tone.
"Just because a Hydra has multiple heads, doesn't mean all the heads agree with each other." Zemo admitted, using a metaphor the two Z Fighters would understand.
"Forgive me for not believing you. I really don't buy that you and the Red Skull are in league with each other." Cap admitted.
"There is no reason to forgive, given your shared history with my organization in the days of Demon King Piccolo's first reign. You must believe me when I told you when we met that I only wish Hydra to be a peacekeeping force. I don't wish the Red Skull to mutate it back into it's old self, not after I worked so hard to make it otherwise." Baron Zemo said.
"Then give me a reason why we should trust you." Captain America said, gently and not in a threatening way.
"I can give you several, starting with certain information that is highly important to you." Zemo said, taking a pause to do a deep sigh before admitting the truth. "Bucky Barnes is alive."
"I know he was the assassin the Red Skull had sent." Cap said, his anger rising but doing well to hold his temper in place.
"So got the mask off....that's why Sin sounded pissed off." Baron Zemo said.
"Actually, I reckon its because our friend Wong got him a bit too close to the North Pole for his liking. I have no doubt that whenever he comes back to whatever place you're holed up in, his oversized muscles would have been frozen over." Master Roshi said.
"So Doctor Strange's assistant was involved. Surprising, but not out of the realm of possibility, considering that the Sorcerer Supreme has helped against Piccolo as well." Baron Zemo figured.
"It was only a one time thing to have them deal with Hydra. They have other important matters so I don't expect them to help out anytime soon." Captain America said truthfully as he gave a warning look to Roshi, making sure he won't reveal anything else important. Steve wouldn't want Oolong, Puar, Turtle, Fortuneteller Baba or any of her friends getting hurt because of their big mouths. Of course, Roshi gave the peace sign and a nervous smile back as a form of an apology.
"I see...." Baron Zemo said, making the move to trust Steve, despite getting the sense he was onto something. "If the information on the Winter Soldier was not sufficient, know that it was I who supplied Crossbones with the wrong grenades. It was to keep you safer than the surprise attack."
"I kind of figured that, but what else did you know about Bucky? Why did you refer to him as the Winter Soldier?" Cap asked.
"Because that was his alias. Aside from that I do not know much about the Winter Soldier. The Red Skull had kept him hidden from me until last morning. He said it was a secret project my father Heinrich had kept hidden, and when he passed on, Schmitt's daughter Sin took over the project without my knowledge and forsight." Zemo informed.
"Sin?....Wait a minute!? That hot chick Crossbones was dating was the Red Skull's daughter!?" Exclaimed Roshi, not able to fathom how such a skull faced facist could even have sex.
"Yes, the very same." Zemo said, getting uneasy on the subject. "I am afraid that I must cut my call short. Otherwise, Arnim Zola will overhear. Next time we talk Captain America, it will be against each other. I am afraid that me and my Thunderbolts will be locked with you in conflict until the Red Skull is dealt with....permanently." Baron Helmut Zemo stated, with grave regret in his voice.
"You will have control back of Hydra if there is anything left to be saved and turned for the better, however know that I have every intention on sparing the Red Skull however I can. I didn't kill him during his first reign and I won't start now. Every life should have a second chance, no matter how cruel." Captain America said.
"So altruistic. You are more alike Son Goku and Venom than you think. I wish I shared your same mindset." Baron Zemo said with some pride in his voice. "As for you Roshi, make sure you avoid my General Blue as much as possible. As the Ghost Rider, he most effective against people who have sinned the most. Factoring in your little song either, I reckon you won't do well."
"Heha! Still worth all the hellfire and brimstone!" Roshi said.
"Good day gentlemen." Baron Zemo said as he hung up.
"Well that was a pleasant talk." Roshi commented as he put away the phone.
"Yeah, more than I was expecting." Captain America agreed, still questioning a lot of what transpired. How was Bucky alive? How much did Zemo and Peggy know, and most importantly...
"How in Kami's name is Arnim freaking Zola still alive!? He's no Super Soldier and had no value for my herb!" Asked an astonished Roshi after some silence between them.
"I have no clue." Captain America said.
"Better not be a freaking robot. If he put his intelligence in a mechanical body just to come after us with some vendetta, I am going to lose it." Roshi carried on as he jumped off the roof.
"If it is, let's just hope it's the last time that happens." Captain America said with a bit of humor as he jumped down to follow Roshi.
Little did they know that a small bug like drone was following them. Interested in this Arnim Zola, Doctor Gero ordered the bug to follow the two Z Fighters, collecting as much data as possible.