"Tony, I'm sorry!"
Captain America still stood firmly in front of Iron Man, unmoving like a door god, "Even killing Bucky won't change what has already happened."
"Get out of the way!"
Iron Man, however, had completely lost patience with Captain America and abruptly pushed him aside with a forceful shove, striding forward.
"Tony, I have to do this!"
Captain America also stopped talking nonsense, grabbing his shield and throwing it at Iron Man.
Clang!
The shield struck Iron Man's back with a heavy thud, knocking him to the ground.
Whoosh!
The shield then bounced back, as if guided by an unseen force, and flew back into Captain America's hand.
Captain America caught the shield and charged towards Iron Man.
Iron Man was no slouch either, raising his hands and firing repulsor blasts at Captain America with a series of hisses.
The result was, of course, no surprise; Captain America blocked all of them with his shield, and he charged right up to Iron Man, shield raised.
Iron Man swung his fist, aiming a powerful blow at Captain America.
Clang!
A prolonged metallic reverberation sounded, and without a doubt, it was blocked by Captain America again.
Clink-clank!
Captain America engaged Iron Man in close-quarters combat.
In the confined space of the laboratory, it was very disadvantageous for Iron Man's performance, and Captain America actually managed to temporarily suppress him.
After all, Iron Man's flight and some of his other weapons were restricted in such an environment.
"T1000, stop him!"
But it didn't matter; Iron Man wasn't alone, and he quickly gave T1000 the order.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
T1000, also clad in an Iron Man suit, rumbled towards Captain America, kicking him over while he was battling Iron Man.
However, Captain America was a super soldier after all, and he immediately got back up from the ground, completely unaffected.
He continued to charge at Iron Man with his shield, but was blocked by T1000.
"Stark! Stark!"
Captain America's face showed extreme anxiety as he used all his strength to try and defeat T1000 to stop Iron Man.
But it was useless; he was completely pinned down by T1000, only able to shout helplessly at Iron Man.
But Iron Man paid no attention to Captain America.
He quickly reached the end of the passage and flew away with a whoosh, leaving behind only a dazzling afterglow of high-intensity flames.
"Stark, it was Hydra! Hydra is responsible for this! Bucky is also a victim!" Captain America's helpless voice echoed far and wide within the base.
But by then, Iron Man had already flown out of sight.
And with Captain America held back by T1000, he couldn't rush back to help for the time being.
"Damn it!"
Captain America couldn't help but curse under his breath, immediately pulling out his phone and contacting Bucky.
"Steve, saved the world yet?" Bucky's relaxed, teasing voice immediately sounded from the receiver.
The man was currently at the base training, unaware that the outside world had already changed dramatically.
"Bucky, Stark is coming for you! He knows the base's location, he should be here soon!" Captain America urgently shouted at Bucky in a deep voice.
"Steve, I don't understand, what's going on?" Bucky was completely bewildered.
"Stark knows that Hydra used you to kill Howard! He's coming for revenge now!"
Captain America said to Bucky in a deep voice.
Bucky's expression immediately changed, and his face began to grow serious.
Now he no longer had time to wonder why this matter, which he had never told anyone, had suddenly been exposed. Now, he faced an even more severe problem: how to fight Iron Man.
That metal contraption was something he couldn't deal with.
"Bucky, I'm tied up right now, I can't come back to help..." Captain America's anxious voice sounded again.
"Steve, what a man does will eventually catch up to him. Promise me, don't get involved," Bucky said to Captain America before abruptly ending the call.
"Don't do anything foolish..."
"Beep beep beep!"
After putting away his phone, Bucky's face once again showed that incredibly cold expression, and he calmly and unhurriedly walked to the base's armory.
He took out suitable weapons, one after another, systematically checking and loading them.
To greet Iron Man's arrival.
Even facing Iron Man, Bucky wouldn't back down!
Clang!
When everything was almost ready, a faint sound of a heavy object falling to the ground suddenly echoed from the base entrance.
Bucky glanced at the monitor and, sure enough, saw a metal contraption had descended from the sky outside the base's large iron gate; it was undoubtedly Iron Man.
Bucky said nothing, pulled out a grenade launcher, and walked towards the base's main entrance.
Hiss!
A crimson ball of high-energy shot out, cutting through the steel plate of the large iron gate. Soon, a square opening was cut out.
Bang!
Iron Man then flew up and kicked, sending a steel plate flying out, and his figure appeared before Bucky.
Whoosh!
Bucky's timing was perfect; a grenade shot out towards Iron Man, hitting him squarely in the chest.
Iron Man was immediately blown away, tumbling backward violently on the ground.
Bucky pressed his advantage, taking a step forward and firing another grenade at Iron Man.
Hiss... bang!
Iron Man, however, fired a repulsor blast from his hand, hitting the grenade squarely, and the grenade exploded in mid-air with a boom.
The violent shockwave rippled outwards, knocking Bucky off his feet.
The ground also took the brunt of the violent explosion, and a cloud of dust instantly rose, obscuring Bucky's vision.
When Bucky struggled to get up from the ground, he saw a faint shadow appearing within the dust.
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Without a word, Bucky raised the assault rifle in his hand and fiercely pulled the trigger on that shadow.
Countless bullets immediately poured out, flying towards the shadow.
Clink-clank.
A dense, rain-like sound of metal striking immediately rang out.
But soon, a shadow shot out from the dust with a whoosh, moving at extreme speed.
Iron Man was seen flying through the air, rolling and crushing his way forward, kicking Bucky in the chest.
Bucky's body violently shook, and he was directly kicked away, slamming hard into the wall behind him, leaving him dizzy and his bones nearly dislocated.
He couldn't even hold onto his gun, which fell to the ground.
Iron Man walked towards Bucky, step by step.
Bucky quickly recovered and hurried to pick up the gun on the ground, but before he could even move, he was shot down by one of Iron Man's repulsor blasts.
Whoosh!
Iron Man then flew in again, raising his armored right foot and stepping on Bucky's chest.
"Do you even remember them?" Iron Man looked down at the man who had killed his parents, his voice filled with hatred, as he demanded in a deep voice.
"I remember every single one of them!" Bucky squeezed out these words from his throat; he naturally knew who Iron Man was referring to.
"Good, then you'll know why you're dying now!" Iron Man said, then kicked Bucky hard in the chest.
He knocked Bucky down once again.
From the moment Iron Man broke in until now, Bucky had suffered several heavy blows. Even as a super soldier, he could no longer bear it.
Now, he was severely injured by Iron Man, unable to even stand up.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Iron Man, however, continued to brutally abuse Bucky. Soon, Bucky was in a pathetic state, lying on the ground in a horrifying condition.
He didn't even have the strength to move.
"Jarvis, activate the plasma lightsaber!"
Finally, Iron Man gripped Bucky's neck with one hand, pressing him against the wall, while a blade of energy light instantly condensed in his other hand.
"This is for my parents!"
Iron Man said in a deep voice, then swung the lightsaber down fiercely at Bucky.
Swish!
A dazzling light flashed.
Thud!
Bucky's body fell to the ground.
Whoosh!
At this moment, a figure flew in from high above outside, crashing heavily to the ground; it was Captain America, wearing Falcon's wings.
— The Falcon wings were borrowed by Captain America from Nick Fury. Nick Fury had produced quite a few of these things during that year.
After Iron Man left, T1000's mission was complete, and it no longer blocked Captain America. Captain America immediately borrowed one of these and rushed over in a hurry.
He didn't expect to still be a step too late.
"Bucky!"
As soon as he landed, the smoke and mess on the ground came into view, and Captain America's heart sank.
He let out a low cry and rushed into the base. A figure lying on the ground was so striking, making Captain America's heart sink even further into despair.
"From now on... don't let me see him!"
Iron Man glanced at Captain America, then, expressionless, dropped these words and strode out of the base without looking back.
He then transformed into a streak of light, flying into the sky and disappearing.
Captain America rushed to Bucky's side, only to find that Bucky was not dead. Only his metal arm had been severed by Iron Man.
Of course, he was also badly beaten, looking like a pig's head, with blood all over his face.
But no matter what, he wasn't dead.
That's right, Iron Man didn't kill Bucky this time.
After all, from the moment he learned the truth about his parents' murder until the end of the quiz, there was a significant amount of time for him to cool down.
Iron Man's emotions had calmed and stabilized to a certain extent.
His actions were naturally more restrained than what was shown in the original footage.
"Phew!"
Captain America's heart, which had been hanging, finally settled down, and he couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.
This matter should be considered over.
Iron Man severing the hand Bucky used to kill his parents was very telling.
"Nick Fury, I need a medical team!"
Captain America immediately contacted Nick Fury, asking for help.
"Rogers, what's the situation? Has Stark left? How's Bucky?" Director Fury immediately asked with great concern.
"Stark has left, Bucky's fine, just a little injured," Captain America simply explained the situation at the scene to Nick Fury.
Nick Fury heard this and likewise breathed a sigh of relief.
Since Stark had vented his anger and severed the arm Bucky used to commit the crime, it was considered a form of closure for Howard.
This matter was considered settled.
The civil war foreshadowed in the footage would naturally not happen now, which was a good thing.
Nick Fury naturally had no more to say and immediately dispatched a medical team to provide medical assistance to Bucky.
"Rogers, Thor is here. Once you're done there, come over!"
Soon, Nick Fury conveyed this message to Captain America.
Captain America had nothing to say. After dealing with the mess at hand, he headed to the base where they, the "Quiz Takers Alliance," were meeting.
When Captain America arrived, all the other quiz takers were already there, not one missing; only he was left.
"Rogers, long time no see!" Thor greeted Captain America first, a smile on his face.
Now, Thor and Captain America's relationship was much better than before.
Regardless, these two had a history of "hammer affection."
Captain America could be said to have helped a lot in Thor being able to wield his hammer again.
"Thor!" Captain America simply greeted Thor, then walked up to Tony Stark.
He sincerely said to Tony Stark, "Stark, thank you! I'm very grateful that you spared his life."
"Perhaps you're right; to a certain extent, Bucky is also a victim," Tony Stark nodded. He had now regained his composure. "The one I truly need to get revenge on is Hydra."
"In this matter, whatever you need from me, I will fully assist you," Captain America solemnly promised Iron Man.
Tony Stark had spared Bucky's life, and Captain America wanted to reciprocate.
Now this was good. Hydra was already the target of Captain America and S.H.I.E.L.D., and now they had another person to deal with them: Tony Stark.
Their fate was predictable.
"Alright, Rogers is here. Everyone, let's discuss our next plans," Nick Fury cleared his throat, seeing that Captain America and Tony Stark had finished talking, and addressed everyone.
...
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