Chapter 228: Siberia
The light of the All-Seeing Eye flickered deep within Lynn’s pupils.
He had already anticipated this.
Tony’s trip to Siberia would not end in a peaceful reconciliation.
It would become an abyss.
An abyss deep enough to bury the name Avengers forever.
Lynn had no intention of stopping him.
He knew Tony Stark too well.
A rational, composed Tony would never pay the ultimate price for another person’s sins.
Only after his beliefs shattered and his emotions were pushed to the breaking point would his true value emerge.
A faint smile appeared on Lynn’s lips.
…
The Siberian blizzard howled like a pack of white beasts.
Tony descended before the entrance to an abandoned HYDRA facility half-buried beneath ice and snow.
This was where Steve had gone.
“FRIDAY, scan the interior.”
“Sir, the facility extends deep underground. Multiple reinforced levels and shielding layers are interfering with sensor penetration.”
A pause.
“However, I am detecting at least two weak human life-signatures.”
Tony took a breath.
The armor’s searchlight cut through the darkness as he entered the underground passage.
The air smelled of rust, dust, and decades-old machinery.
Cold seeped through the corridors.
As Tony rounded a corner, a circular shadow suddenly swept from the darkness.
He reacted instantly.
“Clang!”
His armored forearm intercepted Captain America’s vibranium shield.
Steve stepped from the shadows.
Bucky stood behind him, equally tense.
“Tony?”
Steve’s voice was wary.
“What are you doing here?”
Tony didn’t answer immediately.
His faceplate retracted.
His exhausted face was exposed.
“I found out the truth.”
Steve’s posture changed slightly.
Tony continued.
“Zemo framed Barnes.”
“He killed the real psychiatrist, impersonated him, and used the HYDRA trigger words to reactivate Bucky.”
Bucky’s expression tightened.
Tony looked directly at Steve.
“I was wrong.”
The words clearly cost him something.
“I’m not here to arrest either of you.”
He paused.
“I’m here to help.”
Then, quieter:
“As a friend.”
Steve remained silent.
For several seconds, none of them moved.
Finally, Steve lowered his shield.
“Tony…”
He nodded.
“Thank you.”
The tension eased.
For the moment, the three men stood together again.
Their alliance was fragile.
But it existed.
They moved deeper into the facility.
According to Bucky, HYDRA had once kept several enhanced assassins here—other Winter Soldiers, created using a variation of the Super-Soldier Serum and trained for covert operations.
Unlike Bucky, they had never regained any meaningful independence.
Weapons ready, the three advanced carefully through the silent corridors.
The entire complex felt like a steel tomb.
Eventually, they reached the cryogenic chamber.
Rows of hibernation pods stood inside.
But something was wrong.
No machinery was operating.
No alarms.
No awakening sequence.
Each pod had already been opened.
And inside…
The other Winter Soldiers were dead.
Each corpse remained dressed in tactical gear.
Each had a single gunshot wound through the forehead.
Executed while still in cryogenic suspension.
Tony stared at the bodies.
“What the hell…”
Steve’s expression hardened.
Bucky said nothing.
Then a voice came through the facility’s speakers.
“Looking for them?”
All three turned.
Behind thick reinforced glass, Helmut Zemo sat inside a control room.
Calm.
Waiting.
“I apologize for making you travel so far.”
Zemo’s voice was quiet.
“But I never intended to release them.”
Steve raised his shield.
“Zemo.”
“What do you want?”
Zemo gave a bitter smile.
“What do I want?”
“I’m an ordinary man.”
“A man who lost his wife.”
“His son.”
“His father.”
“Everything.”
His voice echoed through the chamber.
“All because gods decided to fight above our heads.”
Tony’s expression darkened.
Zemo stood.
“I studied you.”
“All of you.”
“Captain America.”
“Iron Man.”
“The Avengers.”
He approached the glass.
“Men powerful enough to topple armies.”
“Kill one of you, another takes his place.”
“Fight you directly, and I lose.”
“So I chose another method.”
His eyes hardened.
“I would make you destroy yourselves.”
Steve’s grip tightened around his shield.
Tony slowly realized that the dead Winter Soldiers had never been Zemo’s true objective.
The entire journey to Siberia had been bait.
Zemo turned toward an old monitor.
Then pressed a button.
Static filled the screen.
The image stabilized.
A timestamp appeared:
DECEMBER 16, 1991
Tony froze.
The grainy footage showed a lonely road.
A car sat damaged beside it.
White smoke rose from the hood.
A motorcycle approached and stopped.
The rider dismounted.
Black tactical clothing.
Goggles.
Face partly concealed.
And a metallic left arm reflecting the faint light.
Bucky.
The Winter Soldier approached the car.
A man climbed out.
Tony’s breathing stopped.
Even through the distorted surveillance footage, he recognized him immediately.
Howard Stark.
His father.
The recording had no audio.
It didn’t need any.