[Siberia. The Hydra Facility.]
The truce was fragile, held together by the threat of five super-soldiers. But when the cryo-chamber lights flickered on, the chambers were empty. The soldiers were dead. Shot in their sleep.
"If it's any comfort," Zemo spoke from the safety of the control room. "They died in their sleep."
"Why?" Steve asked, shield lowered.
"Because I didn't want more of them," Zemo sneered. "I wanted to see an empire fall."
He pressed a button. On the massive screen, grainy footage began to play.
DATE: December 16, 1991.
Tony watched. He saw the road. He saw the car crash. He saw his father, Howard Stark, crawl out of the wreckage.
And he saw the motorcycle stop.
He saw the metal arm. The Winter Soldier grabbed Howard by the hair and smashed his face into the car door. Then he walked around and strangled Maria Stark.
Tony watched his parents die.
The screen went black.
Tony turned to Steve. His face was pale, his eyes wide with a terrible, dawning realization.
"Did you know?" Tony whispered.
"I didn't know it was him," Steve lied, looking away.
"Don't bullshit me, Rogers! Did you know?"
Steve looked Tony in the eye. "Yes."
The betrayal hit Tony harder than any punch. The man who stood for truth had been lying to him for years.
Tony stepped back. The faceplate of the Mark 46 slid shut.
The truce ended. The war began.
[The Fight]
It was brutal. It wasn't a superhero battle; it was a brawl.
Tony blasted Bucky. Steve smashed Tony. They fought through the silo, breaking bones and armor.
Tony blew Bucky's metal arm off with the Unibeam. Steve pummeled Tony's helmet, shattering the HUD.
Finally, Steve lifted Bucky onto the ledge. Tony grabbed Steve's ankle.
"He's my friend," Steve gasped.
"So was I," Tony replied.
Steve roared. He lifted his shield high. He brought the edge down—not on Tony's neck, but on the Arc Reactor.
CRUNCH.
The suit died. The lights went out.
Steve stood up, panting. He picked up Bucky. He turned to leave.
"That shield doesn't belong to you," Tony rasped from the floor, his voice broken. "You don't deserve it! My father made that shield!"
Steve stopped. He dropped the shield on the concrete. CLANG.
He walked away into the snow.
[The Silence]
Tony lay in the dead suit. It was freezing. The wind howled through the blown-out roof.
He was alone. No J.A.R.V.I.S. No F.R.I.D.A.Y. No Pepper. No Steve. No parents.
Just the cold.
Click. Click. Click.
Footsteps echoed on the concrete. Not boots. Dress shoes.
Tony didn't turn his head. He couldn't move.
A shadow fell over him.
"You look terrible, Sir," a voice said softly.
Sebastian Michaelis stood over him. He was immaculate. Not a snowflake on his coat.
"You knew," Tony whispered, staring at the ceiling. "Didn't you?"
Sebastian knelt down. He reached out and manually engaged the emergency release on the chest plate. He peeled the ruined armor off Tony like the shell of a dead beetle.
"I suspected," Sebastian admitted quietly. "But suspicion is not truth."
"You let them go," Tony coughed, blood on his lips. "At the airport. You let them leave so I would come here. So I would see this."
Sebastian didn't deny it. He pulled a pristine white handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood from Tony's face.
"Pain is a teacher, Young Master," Sebastian said, his voice devoid of pity but full of dark possessiveness. "It clears the illusions. You thought they were your family. You thought you were a hero among heroes."
Sebastian helped Tony sit up. Tony groaned, clutching his bruised ribs.
"And now?" Sebastian asked. "Who are you now, Anthony Stark?"
Tony looked at the shield lying in the snow. The symbol of Captain America. The symbol of the lie.
"I'm alone," Tony said.
Sebastian smiled. It was genuine this time.
"No, Sir," Sebastian stood up, offering his gloved hand. "You are not alone. You have me."
Tony looked at the hand. The hand of a demon. The only hand left reaching out to him.
He took it.
Sebastian pulled him up effortlessly. He took off his own tailcoat and draped it over Tony's shivering shoulders.
"Come," Sebastian said, guiding him toward the exit. "The jet is waiting. I have taken the liberty of preparing a hot bath and a very strong drink."
"Seb," Tony stopped. He looked back at the empty bunker one last time.
"Burn it," Tony said.
Sebastian's eyes glowed fuchsia in the dark.
"With pleasure."
Sebastian snapped his fingers.
Behind them, the bunker erupted in black, hellish flames. They walked out into the Siberian snow, the fire consuming the past, leaving only the man and his demon walking into the cold future.
[End of Arc 6]
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