The Truth About The Winter Soldier

"Assassin!"

Upon hearing the word "assassin," Tony's gaze instantly sharpened.

Even though Tony was currently busy inheriting Stark Industries from Howard, he had not forgotten about the assassin who attacked his parents, leading to his mother Maria's death.

Tony, who always believed in seeking revenge, had clearly not let go of that grudge. He had only buried the hatred deep within himself after understanding his father.

It could be expected that once he fully took control of Stark Industries, he would use its resources to search for information on the assassin.

In fact, Reid had been hesitating about whether or not to tell Tony about the Winter Soldier's identity. He wasn't sure whether revealing this would have too serious an impact on the future.

As someone who had transmigrated over into this world, Reid's greatest advantage had always been his future knowledge, especially before the system revealed the Justice League's top heroes to him... Well, he might as well exclude Aquaman from the top heroes, what a disgrace.

Before the system gave him the other major heroes, Reid's biggest advantage was always his ability to predict things.

Although he hadn't figured out exactly which world he had entered, he had a good understanding of the characters' personalities.

It was because of this knowledge that he was able to subtly influence Tony, guiding him to willingly help Reid stabilize Wayne Enterprises.

After all, if Reid hadn't known in advance that Howard truly loved Tony and had a habit of hiding things, how could he have guided the father and son to bridge the gap between them?

If the changes to the future were too drastic, Reid's advantage of future knowledge would be infinitely diminished.

However, in the end, Reid decided to reveal the true identity of the Winter Soldier to Tony.

One reason was that the Winter Soldier's combat abilities were ultimately dispensable. Reid had no intention of going out of his way to approach or recruit the Winter Soldier, a character who wasn't part of the system. Using him to improve Tony's favorability wasn't a loss.

The second reason was that, influenced by the movies from his previous life, Reid wanted to irritate the hypocritical Captain America.

Of course, if the Captain America in this world is the Captain America in the comics, forget the second reason.

"Please wait a moment."

After sharing this information with Tony, Reid went alone to the Wayne Manor study.

Even Tony understood that a study, much like a bedroom, was a private space in someone's home and off limits to guests. Left with no other choice, he remained in the living room, absentmindedly drinking his tea as he waited.

His restless demeanor resembled that of a husband anxiously pacing the hospital corridor while waiting for his wife to deliver.

Reid moved quickly, heading to the study to retrieve the documents he had prepared. By the time he returned, barely a minute had passed.

But in that one minute, all of the tea Reid had made was completely finished by Tony.

"I didn't expect my tea to be so well received by you, Mr. Stark." Reid remarked.

After a little joke, Reid didn't drag things out further. He handed the prepared documents directly to Tony.

Inside were two photos. One was relatively clear and, judging by the background, taken in Gotham.

The central figure in the photo was a man with long hair, wearing long sleeves that seemed out of place on a hot day, walking down a crowded street.

"I can confirm that the man in this photo is the assassin who killed your mother. Ten years ago, he came to Gotham and carried out an assassination. At the time, a local government official was killed." Reid said with a serious expression.

However, only he knew the truth as the photo was entirely fake.

The idea of the Winter Soldier committing a crime in Gotham ten years ago was ridiculous—Gotham had only existed in the Marvel universe for less than a month. Reid had merely leveraged the Wayne family's influence in Gotham to fabricate the photo and discreetly upload it to the police system.

From this moment onward, the photo was as real as it got.

"It's him!"

Staring at the face of the killer, Tony clenched his fists tightly, his nails puncturing the photo.

"Phew!"

After taking a deep breath, Tony finally managed to calm himself.

He understood that rage alone wouldn't help. If this assassin was truly from the organization his father had mentioned, knowing the killer's face was merely the first step toward vengeance.

Tony picked up the second photo. Unlike the first, this one wasn't fabricated—it could easily be found in official records.

It was a group photo of Captain America's Howling Commandos from World War II.

In the image, one man's face had been circled with a ballpoint pen by Reid. That man was none other than Bucky Barnes, Captain America's closest friend.

"Compare them." Reid suggested.

Following the advice, Tony placed the two photos side by side. His eyes widened in shock. Other than the difference in hairstyle—one long, one short—the assassin and Bucky were identical.

But how could that be? These photos were separated by at least 50 years. How could someone remain unchanged over such a long time?

'Unless... this person is a super soldier…'

At this moment, Tony was nearly certain that the assassin was Bucky, Captain America's former comrade.

The final piece of evidence that solidified Tony's conclusion was a third document Reid handed him.

It was yet another official document, recounting the battle in which Bucky disappeared.

According to the record, Bucky had sacrificed himself to cover Captain America's advance on an enemy stronghold. He was presumed dead after falling from a train, his body never recovered.

Tony stared at the files, his hands trembling slightly.

It all fit together.

Bucky wasn't dead. Somehow, he had been turned into the assassin who had shattered his family.

'There was no body found, and no one witnessed his death. The final report stated that Bucky Barnes most likely fell off a cliff.'

Tony was certain now, the one who had killed his mother was definitely Bucky.

He didn't understand why someone who had once been Captain America's teammate would later join Hydra and become an assassin.

However, he didn't care about the reasons either.

No matter the circumstances, one thing was clear; Bucky had killed his mother. It didn't matter whether he had been controlled or had done it willingly.

Tony's only goal was to find the man and make him pay for what he had done.

Of course, the same fate awaited Hydra. That organization wouldn't escape his wrath either.

"Whew…"

Taking a deep breath, Tony forced himself to calm down. His gaze softened with gratitude as he looked at Reid.

"Alfred, I can't thank you enough. Without your help, I have no idea how long it would've taken me to find these clues."

"It's merely a token of our collaboration." Reid said with a calm smile. "You're willing to help me safeguard the young master's inheritance. I'm the one who should be thanking you."

Tony chuckled. At the same time, he truly came to respect Alfred from the bottom of his heart. He resolved to ensure Wayne Enterprises' stability at all costs until the day Alfred's long-awaited young master returned.

"Your young master will come back, and I believe you'll see your wishes fulfilled." Tony said with conviction.

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