Henry looked at his serious expression and raised an eyebrow.
"Oh? Is that so?" he mocked.
"Are you about to give a superhero inauguration speech? Or are you running for the next US President? I should remind you that your private life can't withstand that much scrutiny from reporters, even though everyone already knows everything."
Henry understood that he wasn't good at expressing his emotions either. Seeing Tony like this, he knew his older brother definitely wanted to talk about something important.
His older brother had grown a lot during his time in the Afghan cave, even if Henry, as his younger brother, still saw him as arrogant.
Perhaps it was that damned competitive spirit. But even knowing this, Henry wouldn't say anything sentimental to Tony; it wasn't his style.
His current plan was to solve the Arc Reactor problem in Tony's chest within the next few days. His inexpensive older brother couldn't die like this. Therefore, a trip to S.H.I.E.L.D. was necessary.
The new element was inside the Stark Expo model, and Henry planned to go and take it directly. And since Nick Fury knew about the element but didn't tell them, Henry intended to give the Egghead a little reminder about who was boss.
Now with the Super-Soldier Serum, Tony's poisoning problem was less severe, so Henry planned to perform surgery on Tony in the next two days to remove the shrapnel and then create a new, non-toxic Arc Reactor. Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. were also part of his plan; he had already planned everything in his mind.
Ethan also looked over curiously.
Tony ignored his teasing and walked to the lounge area. He took a bottle of red wine from the wine cabinet and poured three glasses, handing one to Henry, one to Ethan, and keeping one for himself. He walked over and sat down on the sofa, taking a deep breath, seemingly preparing to say something extremely important.
"Come on, let's talk properly."
Henry looked at his serious expression and dropped his playful demeanor. He walked to the sofa opposite him, crossed his legs, and sat down, holding his wine glass, an expression that implied, I'm all ears.
"Go ahead, your superhero speech can start now. Make sure it's inspiring, preferably moving enough to make me shed a few tears."
Tony clenched his fist, feeling the surging power that made him feel like he could crush steel. He looked at Henry, his eyes complex.
"Henry," he began, his voice low.
"I have to admit, this feeling is captivating. I feel... like Superman, as you said. I can't imagine how you must feel, being so much stronger than me."
"So, what are you thinking?" He looked directly into Henry's eyes.
"I mean, about the future. What is our plan, our goal? We talked about doing some superhero work as a hobby after the Mark Armor was fully developed, but that was just a pastime."
Tony paused and shrugged. "Before this, we were already saviors."
Henry rolled his eyes but didn't deny it. Although Tony had now closed the weapons division, before the kidnapping, he genuinely believed that the weapons he developed protected the world. The superhero plans were just a game they decided to play when they were bored.
After thinking for a moment, Henry finished the wine in his glass and slowly spoke.
"I've always had a plan," he said, looking at Tony, his eyes calm.
"I just never told you."
"Oh? Is that so?" Tony raised an eyebrow.
"What grand plan do you have that you wouldn't tell your older brother? Are you secretly plotting something behind my back? Like selling Stark Industries and exchanging it for a lifetime supply of cheeseburgers?"
"That's not a bad idea," Henry countered.
"At least my plan is more reliable than your plan to open a party filled with models."
He put down his glass, took a deep breath, and looked at Tony and Ethan, his expression turning serious, even bearing a hint of malice.
"My plan is simple," he said. "The goal for the current phase is revenge. Uncompromising revenge."
"I'm going to take down Hydra, making sure they can never grow another head. And then, I'm going to find the murderer who killed our parents."
Tony's face instantly froze. His eyes looked a little lost, as if he hadn't fully processed the massive amount of information in Henry's words.
"Murderer? Take down Hydra?" he murmured.
"What are you talking about? Mom and Dad... they died in a car crash, didn't they?"
Deep in his heart, the memories of his parents began to surface. He remembered his father, Howard Stark, who was always strict with him, rarely affirmed him, and whom he always felt distant from. His irresponsible father always chose work over family.
He always thought his father didn't love him, only seeing him as an heir. He even resented him sometimes, resented that he left him only a troubled business empire and constant pressure, and loneliness. If it weren't for Henry, Tony felt he might have been even more extreme.
"A car crash?" Henry shook his head.
"Tony, I don't believe it. Do you really think a person like Dad, one of the founders of a mysterious organization that can change the world's dynamics, would die in a simple car crash?"
He finished the wine in his glass, looking at Tony, and spoke clearly, one word at a time: "Brother, I need to tell you a truth you don't know. Mom and Dad's death wasn't an accident; it was a cold-blooded murder. A long-planned murder orchestrated by Hydra. Do you remember that organization I just mentioned that recruited many Hydra scientists?"
Tony's body violently shook! He instantly sat up straight, nearly dropping the wine glass in his hand. He was stunned, his mind blank. Then, anger, like a volcanic eruption, surged from the depths of his heart!
"Who was it?!" he squeezed out the words between clenched teeth.
But he quickly figured it out. Of course. His father was in a high position, possessed too many secrets, and was loyal to America. To a parasite like Hydra, which was embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D., Howard Stark was undoubtedly their biggest obstacle!
Henry planned to find a reason to tell Tony the truth now. He hadn't told him before because they were young and didn't have the power to confront Hydra. Now, things were different; the tables had turned.
Henry looked at him and slowly said, "I pried this information from a dying old man in that Hydra base. The person who killed Mom and Dad is codenamed the Winter Soldier. His real identity is Bucky Barnes, Captain America's best friend, and also a good friend of Dad and Aunt Peggy."
"Seventy years ago, he fell off a speeding train with Captain America while on a mission. Everyone thought he had died, but he was found by Hydra. They saved him, gave him a metal arm, wiped his memory, and brainwashed him into an emotionless killing machine who only follows orders."
Henry took a deep breath, his eyes turning cold again.
"But I don't care if he was brainwashed, and I don't care who his friends were."
"He killed our parents. Therefore, I must kill him! That can't be changed!"
Yes, as Howard's son, regardless of Bucky's innocence, he had to die. Revenge for the murder of a parent was an unforgivable sin.
This was his fundamental boundary.
He didn't care what Captain America would think. If that old popsicle wanted revenge for his friend, then Henry would deal with him, too.
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