2 chapters will be uploaded on daily basis i.e. 14 Chapters will be uploaded every week apart from the bonus chapters.
1 Bonus Chapter will be uploaded for every 50 Power Stones or 1000 Collections.
All interested readers can read advanced chapters on:
[email protected]/Heroicverse
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High in the sky, the biting cold wind was isolated by Henry's force field.
Next to him, Tony looked at the landscape below, which had been completely reshaped by ice, snow, and explosions, and his brother, who looked calm and composed beside him.
The corners of his mouth twitched uncontrollably under his Armor.
What is this? Going out for a walk?!
Damn Henry!!
"I gotta say," Tony complained weakly.
"You bastard, you're really getting better and better at stealing my thunder with this reckless approach. Do you have any idea how much damage an impact like that would cause to the Earth's fragile tectonic plates?"
"Oh? Really?" Henry glanced at him, then looked down at Bucky, who was still unconscious and encased in his bio-force field. "Do you have any better suggestions, my environmentally conscious brother? For example, stay down there and conduct a zero-distance energy exchange with that exploding base?"
"Of course, I have a better suggestion!" Tony retorted immediately.
"It only takes me less than ten seconds to calculate a perfectly efficient escape route! Unlike you, you're just scurrying around like a drunk rat!"
Henry was amused.
"So does your perfect escape route also include leaving this souvenir that killed our parents down there?"
Tony was speechless for a moment.
He glanced at the unconscious man, and his expression became complicated.
"All right."
After a long while, he grumbled reluctantly.
"You have a point. But this won't happen again! Next time, all actions must obey the command of me, the chief tactical commander!"
"Of course, of course," Henry responded perfunctorily and then gave orders to Jarvis.
"Jarvis, send a plane to pick us up. The coordinates are right above this newly formed lake, right below us. I think the scenery here is quite nice. We could consider developing it into a new tourist attraction. I've even thought of a name: Hydra's Burial Lake."
A few hours later, Stark Industries' private jet was flying smoothly on its route to Europe.
The atmosphere in the cabin was completely different from the relaxed one before.
There was no rock music or whiskey, only silence.
James Buchanan Barnes, the former Winter Soldier.
At this moment, he was tied tightly to a chair.
He was still unconscious, with no expression on his pale face.
Maybe he had no idea what was happening, but either way, his judgment had arrived.
Tony and Henry were not wearing Armor. They were wearing comfortable casual clothes and sat quietly opposite Barnes.
Tony was the first to break the silence, his voice a little hoarse: "So, how are you going to judge him?"
"Me?" Henry raised his eyebrows and turned to look at Tony.
"No, Tony. I'm not going to judge him, I'm just bringing him back."
He paused, then looked at Tony seriously.
"The one who should really judge him is you."
Tony froze, "Me?"
"Yes." Henry nodded.
"You are Tony Stark, Howard Stark's eldest son. So, you have to settle this feud with your own hands. You said that yourself before. I just helped you dig him out of that cold iron coffin. Although I also want to kill him right now."
"Now." Henry stood up and walked to Barnes, reaching out and tapping his watch.
The next second, an invisible special sound wave was instantly released from the watch and slowly wrapped around Barnes' head.
"I used the technique you gave me earlier to awaken his repressed memories," Henry's voice echoed slowly in the silent cabin. "He can now remember everything. Who he is, where he came from, and what he did on the night of December 26, 1991."
As he said this, he took a step back, leaving the entire space to Tony.
"I've handed him over to you. Kill him or not, it's up to you to decide."
Tony quietly looked at the man in front of him, who slowly opened his eyes.
What kind of eyes are those?
No longer empty and numb as before, the blue eyes were filled with pain, struggle, and despair.
He looked at Tony's face, which was somewhat similar to Howard Stark's. His lips trembled as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only uttered a few broken and hoarse syllables.
"...I remember..."
"...sorry..."
Tony just looked at him quietly, with no expression on his face.
Those eyes that were always filled with confidence and arrogance were now calm.
But only he himself knew that a huge rage had already been brewing in his heart.
He remembered his father's always serious face, his mother's always gentle and loving smile, that cold Christmas Eve, and the death report that had been buried for decades.
Anger, sadness, hatred... complex emotions surged wildly in his chest, almost devouring his sanity.
He slowly raised his right hand, and the nano bracelet instantly turned into an iron glove.
The energy cannon in the palm of his hand was aimed at Barnes's face, which was filled with pain and relief.
Time seemed to be stretched infinitely, and the only sound in the cabin was the buzzing sound of the energy cannon charging.
Henry stood quietly by; he did not speak, nor did he make any intervention.
He just watched calmly, watching how his brother, who always used a cynical appearance to cover up his soft heart, made this decision that could change his life.
Certainly.
One second.
Two seconds.
Three seconds.
Tony looked at the tear-stained man in front of him, his eyes filled with remorse and despair.
He suddenly remembered the question he had thought about before.
"What's the point of killing a mindless tool?"
Yeah, what's the point of killing a tool?
Parents will not be resurrected because of this, and the regretful and painful past will not change because of this.
But why?
Why can this murderer be forgiven after regaining his memory and saying sorry?
Who will forgive Howard and Maria, who died in despair on the icy roadside?
Who will heal the torn heart that he has felt in his dreams over the past few decades?
Hatred eventually triumphed over reason, and the overwhelming rage completely burned away the last trace of hesitation in his heart.
"Sorry?" Tony's voice was hoarse.
"Go tell my parents."
Before he finished speaking, a blazing white beam of light instantly burst out from his palm and pierced Barnes's head mercilessly! The only thing left in the cabin was the pungent smell of burning and silence.
Barnes' body slumped down limply, the last look in his blue eyes being one of relief.
Tony slowly lowered his hand, and the energy cannon in his palm went out.
He stared at the corpse in front of him, his face expressionless. His eyes, always confident and arrogant, were now empty. He had taken revenge.
But why wasn't there even a hint of pleasure? Why did it feel like a hollow space had been hollowed out inside me?
Henry stood aside quietly; he didn't say anything.
He still watched calmly, watching how his brother buried his last hesitation with his own hands.
After a long time, Henry slowly walked over, reached out, and gently patted Tony's stiff shoulder.
"It's over." His voice was soft.
Tony didn't look back, but slowly closed his eyes.
"No."
His voice was hoarse and tired.
"It's just the beginning."
The iron glove wrapped around his right hand instantly turned into nanoparticles and turned back into the silver bracelet.
He turned around and walked towards the cockpit step by step.
His back no longer looked lonely, but cold.
Henry glanced at Barnes' body, then said calmly, "Jarvis."
"Yes, sir."
"Get rid of it."
"Yes, sir."
Henry did not stop and turned to walk towards the cockpit.
A few hours later, the plane landed smoothly at an unknown abandoned military airport in Europe.
The atmosphere in the cabin was so oppressive that it was suffocating.
Tony didn't drink, but just looked quietly at the endless darkness outside the window.
Henry sat opposite him, also silent.
After a long time, Tony asked, "Where are we going next?"
His voice was calm, without a trace of emotion.
He could no longer see any hesitation or struggle in Tony's eyes, only determination.
Henry looked up at him.
Henry smiled slowly.
"To uproot the Hydra throughout Europe."
Tony didn't smile, just nodded slowly.
"Okay."