Disclaimer: I don't own the Marvel Cinema Universe.
This story is the second part to my other story "When 2 Shield-Agents talk. It is an AU with the premise that Tony Stark is Hydra but I hold it close to canon. It is Anti-Accords and not Tony-Stark-friendly, so if you like him that story is not for you.
I found the trope of "benevolent evil overlord Tony Stark" who only went evil because all were so "mean" to him so annoying and full of bullshit that I wrote this. Somebody with an ego like this don't goes evil because he was pressed, he goes evil because he wants to, because he is weak.
Truth always comes out
Chapter 1
As usual since Clint came back from his meeting with Sharon Carter was their breakfast ready as the Avengers came in the common kitchen.
And as usual sat Clint on the breakfast table, his laptop before him and total concentrated on his task.
Steve had Laura asked if she knew what Clint was doing but even she didn't knew what Clint was researching. He had asked Clint too but the only thing Clint had answered was that he was at the moment not comfortable to share it.
Steve was for the time content to wait because Clint was not prone to rash and stupid behaviour like Tony Stark.
He and the others sat down and began to eat but everyone looked from time to time to Clint and the curiosity was in everyone's eyes.
"That treacherous son of a worthless Hydra bitch." The sudden outburst from Clint took everyone by surprise.
"Clint", reprimanded Laura and looked at Cooper and Lila who watched their daddy with big eyes.
"Sorry, Laura. Sorry, kids. Please forget what I said", asked Clint his family. "And don't repeat this words in your schools."
"What's the matter, Clint?" asked Steve concerned.
"Not now, Steve! First we must contact T'Challa and ask him to let Fury and Natasha come to us, we will need them for a meeting. T'Challa must be in this meeting too, I want to do this only once. If I am right with my suspicion than is the world again in peril from Hydra and this time we caught it early so that it can't fester for years like it did in SHIELD."
"Okay, I will contact T'Challa", said Steve hesitant. He left the kitchen.
Fifteen minutes later Steve was back and T'Challa was with him.
"I don't feel good to let someone like Fury in my country."
"I can understand that, King T'Challa, but it is possible that he has information that we will need. And more importantly, Fury is the ultimate spy. We will need him, his resources and his contacts to smoke out Hydra. This time it goes to the highest circles, I talk about government here, and what is more important, this conspiracy goes back 20 years and it is concerning the Avengers too."
"What is with Bucky?" asked Steve.
"He could know a few things too but I'm not sure what he remembers if it happened the way I think it did."
T'Challa frowned. "I will need more information than that."
Clint hesitated and looked at his friends and family before he turned to T'Challa. "I will explain but at first only to you. You will understand after I tell you. You will all understand after I tell you but in this moment I can only ask that you trust me in this."
One after the other nodded Wanda, Sam, Scott, Laura and the kids.
Steve did wait before all gave their consent before he said, "You have never given me reason to doubt your judgement. I will wait!"
"Then come please with me in my office, Mr. Barton, there we won't be disturbed", said T'Challa.
Clint took his laptop and followed the king of Wakanda. One hour later he and T'Challa came back. T'Challa did look more than a little disturbed.
"I have contacted Fury and Romanov, they will be here as fast as they can. And I think it would be a very good idea to wake Mr. Barnes, Mr. Rogers."
"Of course if you think it is necessary."
5 days later
The true Avengers who were in exile, Laura Barton, Bucky Barnes, Nick Fury and Natasha were meeting in the office of King T'Challa. With them were two members of the Dora Milaje to protect their king, not that they believed it was necessary, because all of them had met the avengers one time or the other and for them they were all trustworthy. The only ones they didn't know were Fury and Romanov and so dangerous both of them were it was unlikely they would attack the king in the presence of their friends and colleagues.
Clint sat on the top of the table, his laptop before him which was connected to a beamer. At first he talked about his meeting with Sharon Carter and repeated his conversation with her for those who didn't know about it.
"What till now I didn't tell you about was a joke from Sharon Carter in response to a remark from me. I speculated that Ross was Hydra and she joked, that Stark could be a member of Hydra too. At that moment it was a joke for me too but on my way back I started to think. There were a few things which never added up to me in regard to Stark.
After I was back in Wakanda I started researching, not only in the present but the past too and my sources were newspapers, SHIELD's databanks and one source I had all but forgotten about. I will not say that it is ironclad evidence but it is enough that I'm very worried. I want to show it to you so you have the opportunity to make your own decision about it. And if you think I'm wrong you can say that too. I'm strong enough to take it." Clint smiled at his wife.
"It was enough for me to be worried too", said T'Challa serious.
"How can you believe that, Clint? I mean, I understand that you are angry with Tony because he betrayed your family to Ross, but that?!" asked Steve unbelieving.
Laura's face turned dark at the reminder of Tony's ingratitude after she had let him stay on their farm. His betrayal of her and her kids to Ross was something she would make him pay for dearly.
"Let's be honest here, Steve, the best-case-scenario in this is that Stark is a sociopath with narcissistic tendencies. He is not happy, if the world does not revolve around him and if it does not, he does everything in his power to get attention. The most glaring examples are Ultron and the accords but that aren't the only dubious or stupid things he did to be at the centre of everything.
Steve, how often did he have a go at you because you are our leader? He was jealous because he knew we would never follow him as a leader into battle, no matter how rich or influential he is.
If all of you are honest with yourself and think about it, it was because we all did feel that he didn't care about us, that he would forsake us if it came down to us or him. Not to mention that his only tactical strategy is always attack. Good for him, but not all of us are protected through a suit of armour.
He has never given any sign that 'normal' people matter to him, for him they are collateral damage while he now plays the superhero the same way he played the playboy for the last twenty years.
He mocked every one of us by the one or other occasion and looked down on all of us so that he could feel superior. He is nothing but a bully!
Tony Stark has not a strong character with weak moments, he has a weak character with a few strong moments.
And if you examine these moments carefully they were all motivated from self-interest and his own survival."
"And you call this the best-case-scenario?" asked Steve dryly. He watched the faces of his friends but all of them were looking contemplative and not one of them contradicted Clint's analysis of Stark's character.
"Do you want to hear the worst-case-scenario?" replied Clint seriously.
"Not really but go on", answered Steve with a quiet voice.
"Tony Stark is a member of HYDRA through his mother, Maria Stark", said Clint without a doubt.
Chapter 2
"Are you kidding me?" asked Steve unbelieving.
"You know that there a two branches of Hydra, right? The first branch goes back to Red Skull and is the branch which we did fight the most, members were for example Strucker, Rumlow, Pierce, Garrett and Ward." Clint did look at Fury as he mentioned the last two names und Fury couldn't hide a little flinch. Natasha saw it too and her eyes narrowed. "They wanted money, power and control.
The second branch goes back thousands of years. His primary goal was it to free the first created inhuman from another world it was banned to. To it belonged families with power, political might, money and influence. One of this families were the family from Maria Stark. I think her father gave her the order to seduce and marry Howard Stark."
"How do you know that?" asked Wanda.
"The head of the second branch, Gideon Malick was very forthcoming with information about the families who were part of the second branch", answered Fury laconic. "And he did know many things about the first branch. How do you think we could dismantle Hydra so fast and so full-scale?"
"And how did you get this information from him?" asked T'Challa suspicious.
"I assure you, King T'Challa, he gave this information absolutely voluntarily to us", answered Fury honestly. "The first inhuman killed his only daughter before his eyes as a 'reward' for his rescue from the other world. And like the agent, who worked the case said, you mess with the family of somebody, all bets are off."
"You can say that again", said Clint and smiled with too much teeth and all but Fury, Natasha and Laura shuddered.
"Have the two branches connections to each other?" asked Steve.
"When, then only the second branch to the first branch. Malick knew all about the first branch too. About the second branch we only learned a few weeks ago", answered Fury.
"I found a confirmation for one connection and I found it very fascinating", said Clint and activated the beamer. A picture out of a newspaper was projected on the wall with two men and a woman in it, with the woman in the middle and she did seem to know the men very well as both men had linked arms with her.
"The woman is Maria Stark, the first man is Malick and I don't think I have to say who the second man is?"
"Alexander Pierce", said Fury with hate in his voice.
"Believe me, it comes even better. I enlarge the background of the picture a little bit." On the picture was Bucky Barnes in a suit. "This picture was taken a week before the murder of Howard Stark. I found a guest list but Malick and Pierce are not mentioned on it. On the guest list is only Maria Stark and 3 guests from her.
Then I tried to find the photographer to ask him if he has more pictures of the reception. One day after the picture was posted he was killed in a break-in. The burglar was very systematic, to destroy the evidence of the murder and the break-in a fire was lit. Do I need to tell you that every picture and negative of every picture ever taken was destroyed?"
Fury had his eyes narrowed und looked furious. "I have never seen this picture. I had the standing order to show me every picture that was taken from the Starks."
"I know that. By my research I found the name of the man who was in this week your adjutant, it was Garrett", said Clint.
"What a coincidence", said Fury dryly.
"You want to hear more coincidences?" asked Clint even more dryly. "This reception was sponsored for twenty years by Howard Stark who did make an appearance a few times but it was the first time Maria Stark was a guest."
"Why is that not a fluke?" asked Wanda curios. "I mean perhaps it was the first time she had time for this reception."
Fury snorted. "Maria Stark had always time for a reception if there were many famous people. She loved it to stand in the centre of the attention. Hm, who does she me remind of?"
"Yes, both are attention whores and never did have to work to build something up. Maria Stark loved to spend the money Howard did make with his hard work. She never did a stroke of work for the charity foundations that were named after her, that did all Howard for her.
The newspaper is from a little suburb with an edition von 100 issues. The reception was for a soup kitchen for homeless people, not something she would normally waste her attention on. Before the photographer could sell the photos to a bigger newspaper he was killed or should I say murdered."
"So we have Maria Stark, 2 members of Hydra and the Winter Soldier, one week before the murder of Howard, on a reception she had never attended before because it was always beneath her vanity. We have a murder and a deception through Garrett who was a member of Hydra at this time. That is a conspiracy for my taste", said Natasha hard.
"Not only for your taste", said Steve laconic. "What I don't understand is why Maria Stark is dead too. She worked for Hydra, if she hat lived Hydra would have absolute control over Stark Industries through her. It seems a waste to kill her from a tactical point of view."
"I have an answer for that or let me say a guess. But first a question to you, Barnes. Do you remember the murders or should I say do you remember them the same way?"
Barnes flinched at Clint's direct question. "Yes I remember both, but as I killed Maria Stark there were more colours. All my kills as Winter Soldier were grey, she is the only exception."
"Like I thought." Clint balled his hands to fists and swallowed hard. "The murders and actions I did under Loki's mind control were all blue. I think that Howard Stark was killed from the Winter Soldier and through the shock of killing your friend you woke up for a moment, Barnes. You saw Maria Stark and recognised her from the meeting one week earlier. You know she was Hydra and so you killed her for her participation at the murder of Howard Stark."
"Huh, I have always wondered why Tony did say 'You murdered my mother', not 'You murdered my parents'. I mean he was estranged from his father, okay, but it would be have been more normal to say parents in this circumstances", said Steve quietly.
"Yes, Stark knew that Hydra was responsible for the murder of Howard and he didn't care about that but the killing of his mother through Barnes was a surprise for him in this moment. And he must have known that no kill order for his mother was given." Clint shrugged. "Not that I care much about the killing of Maria Stark, she was a hydra member and did give the kill order for her husband, so no great loss."
"I have no objection to that", said T'Challa hard, he didn't like fascists.
"It was still a murder I did commit but if she was Hydra and responsible for the murder from Howard I can very good live with this murder", said Barnes quietly. "I remember the reception and the kill order but I don't remember who gave the order."
"Perhaps you will remember one day, Bucky", said Steve consoling.
"Do you know since when Tony Stark is Hydra?" asked Fury to bring the meeting back on topic that interested him the most at this moment.
"I think it was after Natasha did write her report that Tony Stark is because of his numerous character flaws not suitable for the Avengers. I know you gave Stark information about his father and notes he did make. Can it be that Howard Stark was suspicious about Maria Stark and hid information about it in his notes?
I mean the report from Natasha, that he was not good enough for the Avengers, was a blow for his already too big ego. Combine that with the revelation that his mother was a Hydra member and the way he always put her on a pedestal would have been enough. Stark is not known for logic and well thought-out decisions or actions as we all could see. He is long not so clever than he thinks he is."
"I always said you were one of the smartest men I know", said Fury smiling, proud of his former agent and the way he had put together the information on Maria Stark and her connection to Hydra.
"Thank you, boss. After this point of time Stark changed his relationship with SHIELD, he helped with the helicarrier and as a consultant. One of this consultations was with Ross, proposed through Sitwell, a fascinating connection if you think about it."
"But he didn't know about the Phase 2 weapons", objected Steve, "he let Jarvis search for it in the databanks from SHIELD."
"Did he really?" said Clint seriously. "What if I can give you an evidence that Jarvis never searched for information about Phase 2 but knew all about it beforehand?"