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CHAPTER TEN — broken bonds
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WHEN THE TWO LANDED the door the the Hydra base was already opened and the jet that Steve had stolen was already freezing over. Tony looked over at Talia, "You cold?" he asked in concern. She looked over at him and shook her head, "Not one bit," she replied. The internal fire that she possessed prevented her from freezing. They both walked in with caution but they saw the elevator was waiting for them. They stepped in and waited for it to hit the bottom. Once it did, the door got stuck, "Really?" she asked rolling her eyes. Tony looked at her, he knew she could get the doors open effortlessly compared to him. She held her hand up as her power floated around her hands.
Steve and Bucky heard the doors behind them being pried open. They turned around with their guns in hand, aiming at the doors. Steve was shocked seeing Tony and Talia together behind those doors. Talia put her hand down as they both began to walk towards Steve and Bucky. Tony's mask retracted back revealing his face, "You seem a little defensive," he said. Bucky kept his gun up while Steve walked to meet Tony with his shield covering his body, "It's been a long day," he said. Tony looked up at Bucky, "At ease, Soldier. We're not currently after you," he said. Bucky looked between the two, his eyes lingered on Talia for a little too long, "Then why are you here?" Steve asked. Tony shrugged and looked at Talia then back at Steve, "Could be your story's not so crazy. Maybe. Ross has no idea we're here. I'd like to keep it that way. Otherwise, I gotta arrest Talia and me," he said leaning up against a concrete wall. Steve lowered his shield, "Well, that sounds like a lot of paperwork. It's good to see you, Tony," he said. Talia smirked and looked down at the two men making amends, "You too, Cap," Tony said. He looked up at Bucky again, "Hey, Manchurian Candidate, you're killing me. There's a truce here. You can drop..." he said motioning at his gun that was still pointed at his head. Steve turned around and gave Bucky a signal to put the weapon down.
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THE FOUR OF THEM cautiously walk along a corridor. With his helmet and face plate reengaged Tony leads the three towards the enormous chamber with the capsules standing in it. "I got heat signatures," he said with his blaster out. Steve walked in front of Talia and Bucky, "How many?" he asked. Talia looked ahead and felt that someone was already there, "Uh, one," Tony said. Bucky stepped in front of Talia with the gun he had in hand pointed forward. As they enter the vast chamber the lights come on. A hazy, yellow mist descends within the capsules. Each one contains an enhanced soldier from the 1991 experiment. Steve and the others look around, bewildered, "If it's any comfort, they died in their sleep," a voice said coming through the speakers. Talia looked closer and saw that all of the enhanced soldiers had been shot in the head, "Did you really think I wanted more of you?" the voice asked. Bucky stopped and looked at one of the dead soldiers, "What the hell?" he whispered. The four of them continued forward, "I'm grateful to them, though. They brought you here," the voice said once more. Zemo appeared in a control room. Steve hurled his shield but it flew back, "Please, Captain. The Soviets built this chamber to withstand the launch blast of UR-100 rockets," he said. Tony scoffed, "I'm betting Talia could beat that," he said. Talia looked over at him with surprise because he mentioned her name, she didn't actually know how far her powers could be pushed, "Oh, I'm sure she could, Mr. Stark. She could annihilate this entire place if she wanted to. Given time. But then you'd never know why you came," Zemo said.
Steve and Tony walked around the torture chair on the right side while Talia and Bucky circled around it on the left side. She didn't know Bucky that well to fight alongside him, but she knew she trusted him. She knew what was in his mind. Talia's hand touched one of the railings. Her mind was plagued with images of Bucky being tortured in the chair they stood not even ten feet from. Once she heard the terrified scream that belonged to Bucky, she pulled her hand away. This was his house of torture, while hers was in Sokovia. She exhaled quickly trying to shake the thoughts away, "You killed innocent people in Vienna just to bring us here?" Steve asked. Steve looked at Zemo through the window, "I thought about nothing else for over a year. I studied you. I followed you. But now that you're standing here, I just realized...there's a bit of green in the blue of your eyes. How nice to find a flaw," Zemo said. Steve exhaled when he realized, "You're Sokovian. Is that what this is about?" he asked. Zemo shook his head, "Sokovia was a failed state long before you blew it to hell. No. I'm here because I made a promise," he said. Steve looked down at him and then back up at his eyes, "You lost someone?" he asked after he studied him. Zemo looks grave, clicks his tongue, "I lost everyone. And so will you," he said. Zemo looked down and clicked the button next to him playing the surveillance footage from December 16th, 1991. Steve steps over to the screen. Zemo watched as the four walked over to the TV, "An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again. But one which crumples from within? That's dead... forever," he said. Talia could feel what was about to happen, something that wasn't good at all. Tony looked at the freeze frame of a secluded road and the date, December 16, 1991. His eyes rove, anxiously, "I know that road. What is this?" he asked looking over at Zemo.
The video plays. That car that the Winter Soldier forced off the road crashes into a tree. Tony watches intently as the Winter Soldier rides up and gets off his motorbike. Steve watches Tony's increasing unease. The driver lies on the ground beside the car. Talia realizes who it is. It's Tony's father, Howard, "Help my wife. Please. Help," he pleaded on the tape. The Winter Soldier walks over and hoists him up by his hair. He stares at Howard's bloody face. Howard stares back pleadingly, "Sergeant Barnes?" he asked. Talia knew that this wasn't Bucky, but it was still so hard to watch, "Howard!" Maria yelled. Tony glares at Bucky. Talia looked over at him too, but not with hatred. Something Bucky hadn't seen in a long time. Something few people had ever given him, sympathy. In the video, the Winter Soldier pounds Howard hard in the face with his metal fist, "Howard!" Maria called out again. In grief, Tony closes his eyes for a moment. On-screen, his father slumps dead. The Winter Soldier puts him in the driver's seat with his face against the steering wheel. Tony stares in horror. Maria's in the passenger seat with blood streaked down her face. The Winter Soldier walks around and grips her throat. Expressionless he strangles Maria. Tony watches the screen stunned. The Winter Soldier walks up and aims a gun at the surveillance camera. Steve watches Tony anxiously. Tony lunges toward Bucky, but Steve and Talia stop him, "Wait. No, Tony," Steve said. Talia looked over at Bucky again, his eyes were tearful. Regret, pain, and sorrow were what she saw in those crystal blue eyes. Consumed with grief and tears glistening in his eyes Tony turns and looks at Steve, "Did you know?" he asked. Steve exhaled, "I didn't know it was him," he said. Tony got angry,"Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know?" he asked again. Steve took a moment of silence, "Yes," he said. Talia was ready to side with Steve, but this was something else. Not knowing and finding out now, is one thing. But keeping the secret that your best friend killed your other friend's parents was another. If Steve hurt Tony, she would be devastated. If Tony hurt Steve, she would feel the same way. It felt as though she was being ripped apart, trying to figure this out. But then she realized, she didn't have to choose. Talia sided with nobody.
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