December 16th, 1991
From Howard Stark's POV
"And so, I was thinking of putting Tony in charge for a bit," I finished. Maria was leaning on the window, looking bored. I clear my throat.
"Maria? Honey?" She looks up, as if she was coming out of a daze.
"But what would that do for us, Howard?" She asks me. I knew it was coming, she always asks me that question before I do anything. It's one of the things I love about her, she needs to know what the outcome could do for us, instead of being totally forward and doing things she didn't think of beforehand. Maria sticks to the plan, it's one of the many qualities I love about my wife. I focus back on the road, thinking. What would that decision do for us?
"Well, Tony could learn how to run the company for a little bit... and we could get in a few days in Hawaii," I finally answer. I look over at my wife and she smiles off to space, playing with the wedding ring on her hand.
"Focus on the road," she tells me. I turn my head back to the road and smile with her. She's thinking about it, that's good. Suddenly I hear a motorcycle rev up behind us, I look out in my mirrors and furrow my eyebrows.
"Let's see what this baby can do," I say. Maria looks over at me in panic.
"Howard! Stop it! Let the guy pass!" She yells at me. I slow down a little bit and look back into my mirrors again. The guy on the motorcycle was getting closer, soon he would pass. The man pulls up right beside us, for a split second he was hovering there, next to the car. He pulls out a gun and shoots the tire. I skid off to the side of the road and hit a tree, wrecking the car. Maria screams, I taste blood in my mouth. I open the door and stumble out of the car, I see the motorcycle parked on the road, and my trunk open. The man walks out from behind the trunk and pulls me up from the ground by my head. The man had a metal arm, that glinted in the light as he moved. He pulls me up to get a good look at me, and I get a good look at him. I recognize who it is immediately.
"Sergeant Barnes," I say to him. His metal fist is the last thing I saw before the world became forever black.
December 16th, 1991
From Maria Stark's POV
I'm lost in thought, thinking about my conversation with Tony earlier this morning. Leaning against the window of the car, I look up at the starry sky and think hard about my son.
Howard clears his throat and looks away from the road at me. I snap back to reality and turn towards him.
"Maria? Honey?" I stare blankly at him before giving my usual question.
"But what will they do for us, Howard?" I ask him. He stares back at the road, thinking. Finally, his answer crops up.
"Well, Tony could learn how to run the company for a little bit... and we could get a few days in Hawaii," he offers. I turn my head back to the road and smile, playing with my wedding ring.
"Focus on the road," I say to him. He turns his attention to the road and smiles with me. I hear the roar of a motorbike engine behind us and I see Howard furrowing his eyebrows.
"Let's see what this baby can do," he says, speeding up. I look in the mirrors and see a ghostly figure riding on a motorbike, coming closer to us. I look over at Howard frantically.
"Howard! Stop it! Let him pass!" I tell him. He slows down a little bit and checks his mirrors again. The man is right next to us now, just about to pass before he pulls out a gun and shoots the tire. The car skids out of control and Howard crashes into a tree. Moments later, Howard stumbles out of the car, where I see through the open door, the man pulling him up on his knees, hitting him, watching him fall to the ground, dead.
"Howard," I moan. The man picks him up and positions him in the car, head on the steering wheel. This can't be happening, it's not right. What will Tony do? He'll have to take charge of the company, he'll be orphaned, he won't grow up with parents, he'll never see us again. I feel a tear sliding down my cheek, as the man's hands clasp around my throat, choking me. My vision fades, turning as black and starry as the stars.
December 16th, 1991
From Bucky's POV
The first thing I remember was coming out of cyro, for the first time in years. I knew what was coming next, they only use me for the Winter Soldier. I remember the scientist that cowered if fear, hoping that they wouldn't be the next victim. I've done that before, killed one of the scientists I mean, it wasn't my fault either, they just got too comfortable with me. At least that's what Karpov told me when I asked him why, the question also followed with a slap to the cheek.
Well they take me to the brain blender, that's what I call it because that's what it feels like- your brains get blended and mixed in a certain way so that you become incapable of feeling. That's what they thought it did, it truly blended your brains, but it still left me able to feel. I once mentioned it to my handler and within minutes I was on an operation table, getting a heavy dose of amnesia. That's a story for another day, this is about Howard and Maria Stark, not me, not Tony, it's about them.
I'm out of the brain blender, trapped inside my head, someone else has taken over. Someone else has stolen my mind, my body, my friends, my name. They show the Winter Soldier a picture of a happy couple hugging someone, a younger person whose face had been ripped out of the photo.
"Kill them," one of the handlers says, pointing at the older couple. "Kill Howard and Maria Stark" That's when it hit me; I know who that is, I know who I'm supposed to kill, who I'm supposed wipe off the face of the Earth. I knew those people! Don't they know that? Maybe it's a way of torture, not just for the kid whose face had been ripped out, but for me as well.
They load me up with a few pistols and lead me to a motorcycle with a big light on the front. A giant garage door opens, and I speed out into the night, following an invisible path that only the Winter Soldier knows. Soon, we come to an old dirt road in a forest. The Winter Soldier turns and speeds into the shrubbery, finding a place to hide in the dense forest. He turns off the light and waits, for what I don't know, I think no one knows what he truly is waiting for. He might be waiting for the obvious answer, Howard and Maria, but he might also be waiting for a sign that they are near, like a body guard car that he could shoot at.
We finally hear an engine coming up the road, we let the car pass before the Winter Soldier turns on the light and speeds onto the road. The car revs up, going faster, then it slows down. He wants us to pass, I think, hoping the Winter Soldier would listen, hoping the Winter Soldier would let them go. He'd never do that, I've learned that lesson the hard way.
He pulls out a pistol and shoots at the tire, the car skids off the road, crashing into a tree. He turns the motorcycle back around and parks it next to the wrecked car, walking to the trunk and popping it open. The Winter Soldier then notices Howard, who had stumbled out of the car, bloody from the crash. He strides over and picks Howard up by the head to get a good look at him. I cringe in the moment; the Winter Soldier can feel it. That what he uses to torture me, honestly that guy hates my guts. Sadly for him, we share the same guts, and sadly for me, we share the same glory.
"Sergeant Barnes," He stammers. The Winter Soldier got mad at that name, it was his time to shine, not mine. It was never my time, nor will it ever be my time while the Winter Soldier is there. He punched Howard once, twice, thrice, and he fell to the ground. The Winter Soldier drags Howard back into the car and leaves him in the seat, head resting on the steering wheel.
"Howard," Maria whispers at his corpse. I hear her tone, it's desperate, sad. It hurts to hear her voice in the tone she used. The Winter Soldier casually walks over to the passenger side of the car, and without looking into Maria's eyes, his hands clasp around her throat. She makes no sound and soon slumps in her seat. I think the Winter Soldier didn't want to look at her because he didn't want to give in, he didn't want to look at her. That was the one time he showed weakness, the one and only time I felt the Winter Soldier about to tear up.
He walks back to the trunk and takes a black briefcase and loads it onto the motorcycle. He then turns towards the side area of the road where a turnoff for a gate was. He pulls out his pistol and loads it expertly, after all it was the millionth time he'd done a mission like this. The Winter Soldier aims the pistol at a discreet video camera positioned on the corner of the gate and shoots.