Boom!
The three of them closed the door, moving cautiously as if they were about to do something wrong.
No… we're not doing anything wrong. Why are we sneaking around?
Stark and Steve both snapped out of it. They exchanged a glance and instinctively stood on the same side.
Despite their current differences, a single bill couldn't shake the bond between them. At most, it created temporary friction—like when they first met in New York and couldn't stand each other.
Of course, things were much better now.
"If you've got something to say, say it. My time is valuable," Stark said, dropping onto the sofa without ceremony, his tone as sharp as ever, as if this were his own home.
Steve crossed his arms, frowning slightly as he looked at the composed Renzo. He had a feeling that whatever was coming had everything to do with him.
Renzo ignored Stark. After all, Tony would be the one breaking down soon enough.
He connected the TV and played a video from twenty years ago.
"Oh, don't tell me you dragged us in here just to watch a documentary?" Stark sneered, not recognizing the vehicle on screen, assuming it was some politician's travel footage.
"Tony," Steve cut in quickly, already noticing something off and stopping Stark before he could continue.
Stark fell silent. His eyes slowly widened, and he abruptly stood up.
He had recognized it.
The footage was grainy, but it was unmistakable—the car his parents had been in the night of their accident.
The vehicle lay wrecked by the roadside. A disheveled, masked man opened the door and dragged Howard Stark out, treating him like a discarded corpse, as if the once-proud man were nothing more than livestock awaiting slaughter.
The masked man raised a pistol, aimed it at Howard, and then—
Bang!
Renzo glanced at Tony.
Tony's face had gone pale, his pupils trembling violently as if they might burst from the strain. Veins bulged across his clenched fists, and the hatred boiling inside him felt ready to erupt at any second.
Steve stood frozen as well. As Howard's old friend, grief hit him hard—but even more overwhelming was the shock and disbelief.
Because the man who pulled the trigger…
…was Bucky Barnes.
Bang!
Tony suddenly shook his head, then sank back onto the sofa, covering his eyes as if trying to hold back tears.
On screen, Bucky dumped the bodies by the roadside. A second later, a bullet struck the camera.
The video ended.
Silence filled the room.
No one dared to speak. Whoever broke it first would be stepping directly onto Tony's fraying nerves.
"Tony… I…" Steve began, unable to bear it.
"Shut up!"
Tony shot to his feet, eyes bloodshot and burning, his face flushed with rage as he glared at Steve.
"Your best friend… your brother!"
His trembling finger jabbed toward the frozen screen. His chest heaved violently, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
"Tony, listen to me… Bucky was under HYDRA's control. Otherwise, he wouldn't have—" Steve stopped himself. Tony's mental state was too unstable; pushing further might only make things worse.
A golden glow flickered across Renzo's forehead as the Mind Stone pulsed. Its light brushed over Tony, easing the storm inside him—just enough.
Tony steadied himself, staring straight into Steve's eyes.
"He has to die."
The words fell like a verdict.
Without another glance, Tony turned and slammed the door behind him.
"Tony…"
Steve collapsed onto the sofa, burying his hands in his hair, his face full of anguish. He had no idea what to do.
On one side was his best friend since childhood—the one who had always stood up for him, who had been by his side until the day they enlisted.
On the other was a comrade-in-arms, someone he had fought beside to save the world—and the son of a man he had respected deeply.
There was no right choice. No fair outcome.
The only solution would be for them to let go of the past—but everyone knew that was impossible.
The murder of a parent could never be forgiven.
"It's hard, isn't it?" Renzo sat beside Steve. "Being caught in the middle. I understand that feeling."
"You don't!" Steve snapped, turning on him. "You shouldn't have shown him that! He's going to lose control!"
The sudden upheaval left him grasping for an outlet, and Renzo became the easiest target.
"Would it have been fair to keep it from him?" Renzo replied calmly. "You know the truth can't stay buried forever. As long as Bucky is alive, this secret will come out."
He met Steve's gaze without flinching.
"For Tony, the truth is the only answer."
Silence fell again.
Tony stormed out of the building, ignoring the stunned looks from the others. How had he gone from calm to furious in less than ten minutes?
"Tony…" Rhodey reached out to stop him, but the rage in Tony's bloodshot eyes made him hesitate, his hand freezing midair.
Tony floored the accelerator and arrived at Ross's compound in record time—the same place they had just left after the meeting.
"Well, well, Tony Stark. Made your decision?" Ross smiled slyly, though confusion flickered across his face at Tony's condition.
"I'll sign the Sokovia Accords," Tony said flatly. "And I'll personally design containment cells for enhanced individuals, along with specialized suppression systems and countermeasures."
Ross blinked, momentarily stunned. Had he heard that right?
The arrogant playboy was volunteering to put himself in chains?
"But I have one condition."
There it was.
Ross's guard immediately went up. Of course there was a catch.
"Let's hear it."
"I want you to devote every resource you have to finding someone. Locate him—and report everything to me."
"That's it?" Ross looked at him skeptically, scanning him from head to toe.
Was this man out of his mind?
Trading an entire team of enhanced individuals for something this trivial?
"…Deal."
A slow smile spread across Ross's face.
Tony signed without hesitation.
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