Chapter 229: A Fight to the Death
The assassin with the metal arm dragged Howard Stark from the car.
Howard tried to fight back, but the Winter Soldier struck him repeatedly, finally crushing him against the side of the vehicle.
Tony’s breath caught in his throat.
He watched helplessly as his father was murdered.
But it wasn’t over.
The Winter Soldier walked around to the passenger side.
Maria Stark was still inside the damaged car, injured but conscious.
She looked toward her husband in horror.
The Winter Soldier opened the door.
Maria struggled weakly.
Then his hands closed around her throat.
She fought desperately, but the assassin’s grip never loosened.
Slowly, her movements stopped.
Tony’s mother.
Murdered only seconds after his father.
The Winter Soldier stepped away from the vehicle.
He looked toward the roadside surveillance camera.
For an instant, the face beneath the goggles and mask became visible.
Young.
Cold.
Expressionless.
James Buchanan Barnes.
The footage ended.
Static filled the screen.
The entire Siberian bunker fell silent.
Tony Stark didn’t move.
His faceplate was still open, exposing his pale expression.
His breathing became rapid and uneven.
Steve stood beside him, his face equally pale.
He looked at Bucky.
Then at Tony.
The worst possible truth had finally surfaced.
Bucky stared at his cybernetic left arm.
Fragments of memories buried beneath decades of HYDRA conditioning returned.
Howard Stark.
Maria Stark.
The road.
The mission.
His body trembled.
“I remember…”
His voice was barely audible.
Tony slowly turned toward Steve.
His expression was almost frighteningly calm.
“You knew?”
Steve froze.
Tony stared at him.
“Did you know?”
Steve struggled to answer.
“I didn’t know it was Bucky.”
Tony’s jaw tightened.
Steve forced himself to continue.
“But yes.”
“I knew HYDRA was responsible for your parents’ deaths.”
That was enough.
Something inside Tony snapped.
His faceplate slammed shut.
The repulsor in his palm charged instantly.
“Tony—”
The blast struck Steve squarely in the chest.
Steve was hurled backward and crashed into the wall.
“Tony! Stop!”
Tony no longer listened.
His attention fixed entirely on Bucky.
The man who had killed his parents.
Every weapon system in the armor activated.
Bucky barely had time to move.
Repulsor fire tore across the chamber.
Steve threw himself back into the fight, raising his vibranium shield between them.
“Tony!”
“This wasn’t Bucky’s choice!”
Tony fired again.
“He killed my mother!”
The words came out like a roar.
Behind reinforced glass, Helmut Zemo watched.
He didn’t smile broadly.
He simply stood there, watching the Avengers destroy themselves exactly as he had intended.
He had never needed the other Winter Soldiers.
He had needed only the truth.
…
Far away in New York, Lynn watched the battle through the data feed.
Tony’s heart rate had spiked dangerously.
Adrenaline and cortisol levels were climbing.
His armor’s combat output was increasing as restraint disappeared.
Lynn lifted his black tea and took a slow sip.
His expression remained unchanged.
…
The underground HYDRA facility became a battlefield.
Tony had abandoned almost all restraint.
Repulsor blasts tore chunks from the reinforced walls.
Micro-missiles screamed through the corridors.
Bucky dodged desperately, using every bit of Winter Soldier training he possessed.
“I’m going to kill you!”
Tony’s voice, distorted through the armor, sounded more like that of a wounded animal than the controlled voice of Iron Man.
Bucky fought back only when necessary.
He knew explaining wouldn’t matter.
Not now.
Steve repeatedly placed himself between them.
His shield absorbed repulsor blasts meant for Bucky.
Each impact forced him backward.
“Tony! Listen to me!”
“Bucky was brainwashed!”
“He didn’t choose any of it!”
Tony’s answer came instantly.
“He killed my mother!”
There was nothing rational left to argue with.
The fight tore through the lower levels of the base and eventually reached the enormous abandoned missile silo.
Metal platforms circled the vast vertical chamber.
Pipes and support structures crisscrossed the walls.
The three men crashed through one level after another.
Bucky finally found an opening.
He lunged.
His cybernetic left hand locked onto the chest of Tony’s armor.
His fingers dug into the plating surrounding the armor’s power unit.
Tony realized what he was trying to do.
“Not happening!”
The armor’s chest-mounted repulsor charged.
At point-blank range—
It fired.
A blinding beam struck Bucky’s cybernetic arm.
The HYDRA-built prosthetic was incredibly durable, but it was not made of vibranium. Against the concentrated output of Iron Man’s chest repulsor at such close range, the metal couldn’t withstand the blast.
“Screeech—!”
The arm ruptured.
Metal plating tore apart.
Internal mechanisms exploded in a shower of sparks.
The cybernetic limb was severed above the elbow.
“AHHHH!”
Bucky screamed.
The force hurled him backward.
He slammed into the floor.
Sparks crackled violently from the remains of his severed arm.