Confession of the Truth

"Sorry, I don't quite understand what you mean, Stark. Bucky died seventy years ago. What do you mean when you say you killed him?"

Some neighborhood in Brooklyn.

An underground gym with poor lighting, its dilapidated walls exposing bare bricks.

Tony found Captain America working out shirtless and confessed Bucky's death and the reason behind it.

Steve frowned deeply, thinking Stark was pulling his leg.

Honestly.

He had looked into some of the experiences of the man before him, his old friend's son and current superior.

He also knew the other man could be somewhat frivolous.

But he had not expected him to be frivolous to this extent.

"Do you think I'm joking?" Tony shook his head.

"Well, you should think that, because it sounds too absurd. Coming back from the dead only to be killed again—God, it really sounds like the most disgusting joke... but I'm serious."

Tony took a few steps, refusing to look at Steve's expression.

"Bucky didn't die. Hydra froze him, and he lived all the way into the modern era."

"You know Hydra revived within the Strategic Scientific Reserve, which is S.H.I.E.L.D."

"And Bucky was one of them," Tony said.

"Impossible! No matter how much Bucky suffered, he could never have joined Hydra!" Steve stared fixedly at Tony.

"Of course, you're right. He didn't join them. He was brainwashed."

"Look at this." Tony tossed a thumb-sized projected "phone" to Captain America.

It was a compact, crystal-textured square device, the latest smartphone recently released by Stark Electronics Technology.

It projected a translucent screen from Steve's hand.

Files related to the Winter Soldier and Hydra popped up across the display.

Steve took only one look before his expression turned grave.

He rapidly scanned through all the information.

The files meticulously documented Bucky's journey from being recovered by