"So, you call this a plan?" Tony Stark sneered, clutching his chest. "Turning yourself into a wreck of an old man, almost getting buried alive, and then running off after a few clever words? That's the 'drama' you talked about? I almost thought you were planning your own funeral."
Steve Rogers frowned and cut him off. "Tony, now's not the time for this. Lin Huai asked us to trust him. He said that pair of twins... are also victims."
"Exactly," Tony's voice rose a few notes, "so we have to find them again. I don't like owing people favors."
"Alright, enough. Get ready, you all. I don't have much time to waste on this. Banner's almost at his limit." Lin Huai waved his hand dismissively. "Bucky, to solve this completely, we'll need your empathy, Bucky. Because you were both weapons once controlled by HYDRA."
Lin Huai turned his head. "Tony, as the protagonist, what are your thoughts? If they still refuse to stop, what will you do? They're currently in the east of the city, in that old Monastery HYDRA is using as a field hospital."
Everyone's gaze fell on Bucky in the corner and the still-recovering Stark.
"Good." Tony immediately marked the location on the map. "Jarvis, deploy Drones. Monitor that location. I'm going now..."
"Wait, Tony!" Steve stopped him. "We can't use force again. That will only deepen their hatred."
Steve turned to Bucky. "You... are you willing to come with me to see them?"
Tony acted as if he'd heard the biggest joke. "Captain, I'm not stupid. She spared my life. I know what to do. But you, what do you want him to do? Let this one-armed old man get captured again?"
"I know." Steve looked directly at Tony, his tone unusually serious. "But only he can show that brother and sister what HYDRA's true evil really looks like."
He walked up to Bucky and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Bucky, I know this is cruel. But your experience can wake up those blinded by hatred, make them see HYDRA's crimes clearly."
Bucky looked at Steve, then at the screen showing footage of himself under control. Finally, he slowly nodded.
"Let's go. I'll go with you." Tony spoke up, surprisingly.
He looked at Steve and Bucky, the usual mockery gone from his face, replaced only by exhaustion.
"Lin Huai is right. If my existence is the source of their hatred, then I'll face that hatred head-on. In my own way."
* * *
The next day.
The Monastery's Underground Room was dimly lit.
Wanda and Pietro were warily watching Lin Huai.
"Why are you here again? We already let him go."
"So, have you made up your minds?" Lin Huai asked.
Wariness still filled Wanda's eyes, crimson energy dancing at her fingertips. "What do you really want?"
"I told you, I'm just a director who doesn't like bad scripts." Lin Huai spread his hands. "Now, it's time to meet the other actors. Then we can finish this act. I have another set to rush to."
As soon as he finished speaking, the Underground Room's door was pushed open.
Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, and... Bucky Barnes walked in.
The moment he saw Tony, Pietro's face darkened.
"Stark." Pietro's figure turned into a streak of silver light, shooting straight for Tony.
But this time, Steve was prepared. He accurately predicted Pietro's path and slammed his shield into the ground.
"Clang!"
A loud bang. The Impact wave from the vibranium shield striking the ground forcibly interrupted Pietro's high-speed movement, sending him stumbling back several steps.
"We're not here to fight," Steve said gravely.
"Then get out of our country!" Wanda roared, a powerful psychic blast aimed directly at Tony.
Tony grunted, the void of the Universe and endless cold flashing before his eyes again. But this time, gritting his teeth against the vertigo, he forced out, "I'm not going anywhere until we flush those HYDRA rats out of your home."
His words caused a momentary pause in Wanda's psychic assault.
At this tense moment, Bucky, who had been silent, slowly, word by word, recited a string of Russian words.
"Longing... rust... seventeen... daybreak..."
Bucky lifted his head and looked at them. "These are the commands HYDRA used to control me. They turned a living person into a weapon, a blade. After use, they'd throw it into the freezer until the next time it was needed."
"I've had your hatred too. I've lost my family too. But the real mastermind isn't him." Bucky looked at Tony. "It's that organization, guilty of heinous crimes."
Suddenly, the entire Monastery shook violently. Explosions and screams came from outside.
An urgent alarm from Jarvis sounded in Tony's communicator. "Sir, detecting large-scale armed mobilization. Remaining HYDRA forces in the city are launching indiscriminate attacks on civilian districts."
"Looks like we're out of time for a slow talk." Tony suited up in his armor and looked at the silent twins. "Do you want to keep wasting time here with me, watching your home get destroyed, or come with us and slaughter those bastards?"
Wanda and Pietro exchanged a look, then nodded.
And so, a team of complex composition charged into the battlefield engulfed in artillery fire.
Three days later.
HYDRA Base command room.
"Sir, Area A has fallen! It's Iron Man!"
"Area C defense line breached! It's Captain America and the Winter Soldier!"
"Damn it! Our Drone array was completely destroyed by those two traitors!"
Listening to his subordinates' panicked reports, Baron Strucker's face turned deathly pale.
"I will never... fall into your hands!" He grabbed a syringe filled with an unknown blue liquid beside him and, with a ferocious expression, jabbed it towards his own neck.
However, just as his hand rose, the alloy door was violently smashed open by a tremendous force.
Steve, Tony, Bucky, Wanda, and Pietro appeared at the entrance, blocking all his escape routes.
Baron Strucker looked at the group and suddenly laughed, the sound filled with madness. He frantically pressed a red button beside him.
"If I can't live, then we all die together."
A piercing alarm sounded. The countdown: only five seconds.
"No time!" Tony shouted. At this distance, his armor couldn't block it.
Steve immediately raised his shield, preparing to protect everyone.
At this critical moment, Bucky moved.
Without the slightest hesitation, he used his good arm to shove Tony aside, who was blocking the way, then pressed his own metal left arm firmly against the bomb core that was releasing poisonous gas.
"Sssss—!"
A sharp corrosion sound rang out. The Vibranium arm rapidly melted in the gas, revealing the complex circuitry inside, electrical sparks crackling.
Bucky let out a pained grunt, but he pressed down on the core, not loosening his grip in the slightest.
Everyone was stunned.
Tony stared at Bucky's nearly destroyed arm, then looked at his own intact armor, his mind blank.
"...I still owe your Stark family."
The gas exhausted, only a bare framework remained of Bucky's metal arm. He lifted his head and looked at Tony, speaking hoarsely.
Tony looked at him, saying nothing.
* * *
The battle was over.
At the Sokovia Temporary Base, a huge Hot Pot sat in the center, red oil bubbling, aroma overflowing.
"Hey, let go, that Tripe was mine first!" Tony glared at Pietro as the two engaged in an offensive and defensive battle over a piece of Tripe.
On the other side, Wanda used a barely perceptible strand of red energy to quietly nudge a just-dropped Beef Ball onto her chopsticks.
"Strange." Tony swallowed a big mouthful of Brain Flower he'd just fished out and frowned. "This stuff looks so spicy, but why does it taste... completely bland? Lin, did you buy fake broth?"
"You feel it too?" Wanda put down her chopsticks. "I thought it was just me."
Bucky nodded silently. The Dipping Sauce in front of him tasted like plain water.
Steve took a bite and gasped from the spiciness. "Hiss!!! How come? It's very spicy, very fragrant."
Just as everyone was puzzled, a gentle yet slightly teasing voice abruptly sounded behind them.
"How interesting. The taste of hatred is bitter and astringent, like unsteeped tea leaves. The taste of confusion is like unsalted plain water. As for redemption and forgiveness... hmm, a bit like bitter coffee with too much sugar. The aftertaste is strong. I don't like it."
Everyone spun around sharply.
Standing behind them, watching Tony, Wanda, and Bucky at the table with interest, was a young man in a black retro suit and a crystal monocle. No one knew when he had arrived.
"Hello there. What you're eating is very delicious. I helped myself to a taste." A simple smile curled at Amon's lips as he asked curiously, "But I don't understand (in Fenghua accent) why people who wanted each other dead just a few days ago can now celebrate together?"
"Why is that?"