Chapter Text
At first, Tony didn't really understand the full implications of what his words meant. He'd been five years old and so excited to have gotten his words that he ran straight to Jarvis, asking the butler to read them for him. They were scrawled across his lower back and while Tony had learned to read over a year ago, he still struggled with reading anything backwards by the reflection of a mirror. Jarvis had paled upon reading the words on Tony's back but maintained his professional stoicism as he took Tony to Howard's office. That was when, before he even knew what the words on his back said, Tony realized that they couldn't mean anything good. Four little words. It was hard to believe they could mean so much.
"I killed your parents."
Howard had been furious, Maria devastated. Both of them had withdrawn from him after that. It'd left Tony confused, but he figured out their reasoning soon enough. Who would want to be close to a kid whose soulmate was going to kill you? Of course they didn't want anything to do with him. Maria threw herself into her fundraisers and charity events while Howard just grew darker and angrier with Tony's very presence. He told his son that no one could know about the words on his back and the boy swore himself to secrecy. Tony tried to be good, to prove that he could be the son they wanted, but nothing seemed to work.
When he was eight, Tony snuck a knife out of the kitchen and attempted to remove the words from his back. Jarvis had stormed into the bathroom before he could get very far and taken the knife from Tony. He'd dropped down on one knee and pulled Tony into his chest, tucking the boy's head under his chin and begging Tony never to try something like that again. It wouldn't have worked anyway. The words came back over the scars. Tony wasn't sure if Jarvis ever told his parents. Neither of them said anything about it.
Howard shipped Tony off to boarding school shortly thereafter. An "accelerated program" was what they advertised. Tony was pretty sure it was just an excuse to get him out of the house. He was home maybe six weeks out of the year after that. He had a whole month back at the mansion before he went off to MIT at fourteen. Howard had gotten him into the summer semester so he could start early. Jarvis had given him a tight hug before he left.
MIT came with Rhodey, the first friend Tony'd had in years. Tony had attached himself to the older student's side like a leech and was soon being invited back to spend the holidays with Rhodey's own family. Mrs. Rhodes doted on Tony like he was the grandson she'd always wanted, fussing over him more than she fussed over Rhodey's girlfriend the one time he brought her home, too. It was like actually having a family again. Still, though, Tony told no one about the words across his back.
When Tony was seventeen, there was a car accident. The police called his cell phone to tell him that Howard and Maria Stark had been driving home from a charity gala when Howard lost control of the car. It'd spun off the road and down a steep incline. They'd died on impact. Tony had hung up on the officer and jumped into his own car, driving four hours to New York and the Stark Offices there. Obie was with a secretary in his own office, but dismissed her at the sight of Tony in his doorway.
"What are you doing here, my boy?"
Obie had always been kind to Tony. He brought him sweets and little gadgets to mess with. He'd even frowned at Howard's constant casual dismissals of the boy. He and Tony had never been exactly close, but he was Howard's business partner. He would have the controlling interest in the company until Tony turned twenty-one. Hell, he might even get custody of Tony himself for the last few months until Tony turned eighteen. He was a powerful man, more powerful than Jarvis was, and that's why Tony had come to him.
"The police called my phone."
Obie's face turned pitying as he crossed the room to pull Tony into a hug.
"I am so sorry you had to hear that way. I asked them not to call you yet. I was going to drive out in the morning to tell you myself. You deserved to find out in person."
"No, Obie. It wasn't an accident."
The skin around the man's eyes twitched before smoothing over as he pulled away.
"What do you mean?"
He sounded cautious.
"The car accident. It wasn't an accident. Someone killed my parents."
"You're mistaken, Tony. The police ruled it an accident. Howard lost control of the car."
"No!" Tony was suddenly desperate for Obie to believe him. "I can prove it! Look!"
He turned around, pulling his shirt up at the same time to expose the words on his back. Silence filled the office for a long moment before Obie spoke again.
"Tony…Does anyone else know about this?"
Tony lowered his shirt and turned around, biting his lip. He thought of Jarvis.
"Dad wanted me to keep it a secret."
Obie nodded and reached for his coat and briefcase.
"Why don't you come stay with me tonight, Tony? And we'll talk about what to do with this information in the morning. It's late. You need your sleep and Lord knows I'm too old to be pulling all-nighters anymore."
The tension seeped out of Tony's shoulders. Yes, Obie believed him. Obie would help him find out who killed his parents and take that bastard down. Soulmate or no, Tony would see his parents' murderer brought to justice. He leaned into Obie's side as they left the office and headed back downstairs.
"Thank you. For believing me. I wasn't sure you would."
Obie smiled down at him.
"I'm glad you came to me, Tony. We'll make sure this is handled the way it should be. Thank you for trusting me."
Obie drove them both back to his house, saying he would send someone for Tony's car later, and showed Tony to one of the guest rooms. It wasn't the Stark Mansion, but it was still a pretty impressive place. The softness of the mattress nor the thread count of the sheets helped Tony sleep though. He was still wide awake a few hours later when he saw three sets of headlights pull up in front of the house. He was at the window instantly, watching as a dozen obviously armed men got out of the black SUV's and headed for the door. What was surprising was the fact that Obie was at the door waiting for them. Maybe they were hired security? It was only a few minutes before a knock came at the door to Tony's guest room.
"Tony? Are you awake?"
Tony almost didn't answer, alarm bells going off in his head. He pushed them aside, going to the door instead and pulling it open.
"Yeah, I couldn't sleep. Who are those men?"
Obie wrapped an arm around his shoulders and guided him out of the room.
"Some friends of mine. They've helped me out of a few tight spots. I thought they might be able to help me out with this one, too."
Tony's brow furrowed.
"I don't think I understand."
Obie just chuckled, showing him into the foyer where the men stood all around. They had Stark Industries weapons, Tony noted, but they were also holding them like they had every intention of using them. Tony tried to stop walking but Obie just hauled him further into the room, depositing him in the middle of it before backing away.
"Oh, Tony…I was afraid when I ordered that hit on your father that I was killing the Golden Goose. My friends here have a way of…encouraging people to cooperate, though. I'm sure you'll be very well taken care of in their hands."
Tony's mind whirled, his head snapping around to look at the armed men before turning back to Obie.
"You…The car accident…"
Obie grinned at him, oil slick and sharp.
"Howard was becoming a problem. I made sure he wouldn't be one any longer. Now be a good boy, Tony, and don't make a fuss. This will only be harder for you if you do."
Tony growled and launched himself at the older man, ignoring the danger to himself. He was glad to get a solid punch in to Obie's jaw before the armed men hit him with some sort of tranquilizer dart. Let them know he was a fighter. Let them know he would not go down easy. Tony would make sure that every one of them burned, including his soulmate, no matter how long it took for him to make it happen.
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Tony groaned as he came back to some sense of wakefulness. His head ached and his mouth tasted like a rat had crawled in it and died. The ground beneath him was hard and cold and his muscles protested loudly as he went to push himself up into a seated position. The lights overhead were fluorescents and did nothing to ease the pounding of his skull. He squinted to avoid the worst of the glare.
"Oh, God, my head…"
Every wall of the room was made of cement, floor and ceiling included. There was a heavy metal door set into one wall and a steel basin that Tony was pretty sure was supposed to a toilet in one corner. A shackle ran from Tony's right ankle to the wall closest to him, but appeared long enough to be able to reach any wall of the cell. Tony scooted back against the wall, glaring at the only other occupant of the room.
The man sat in a metal folding chair, elbows on knees and chin resting on steepled fingers. He glared at Tony from under long black locks of hair that could use a wash. He was clothed entirely in black leather, too, only one arm exposed. The arm was made entirely of metal, a red star painted on the shoulder. He hadn't twitched since Tony'd noticed him, remaining perfectly still except for his steady breaths in and out. It bothered the young genius.
"Are you going to kill me, then?" Tony spat out with all the venom he could muster.
The man didn't react except to slowly lower his hands until they hung from lank wrists, the arms across his knees. His eyes were examining, as if he were assessing Tony for variables.
"I killed your parents."
Anger rushed through Tony's veins. He launched himself at the man in a blind attack, much like his attack on Obie.
"You son of a bitch!"
They both toppled over, tumbling over the back of the chair. The metal clattered loudly as it went sprawling to the side. Tony scrambled to find his balance again, realizing he was astride the man's chest. He grinned viciously as he pulled an arm back to slam his fist home into the man's face. His knuckles ached, but he hardly cared. It took him five blows to realize the man wasn't fighting back. Like, at all. Tony paused. The man wasn't just not fighting back, he was laying there and taking it. There was something just not right going on. He stood, slowly, and started backing away. The man stayed on the ground.
"What…What the Hell is wrong with you?"
Tony wasn't in the least bit ashamed of how his voice shook. He'd been through a lot in the past couple of days. He deserved a bit of a pass, okay?
"The asset is experiencing no known malfunctions."
The words were delivered in an almost dead-sounding voice as the man sat up again. Tony felt sick to his stomach. "Encouraging people to cooperate," Obie had said. God…What had they done to this man? Tony sank down onto his knees, unable to stand on his own any longer.
"What's your name?"
The man seemed confused.
"The asset is only the asset."
The sick feeling intensified and Tony had to fight down the urge to vomit.
"Is there…anything you go by? Other than the asset?"
This was considered for a long moment.
"The asset is occasionally referred to as The Winter Soldier."
It didn't make Tony feel any better, but at least it was somewhat closer to a name.
"Why did you kill my parents?"
"It was my mission."
"Both of them?"
He had to be sure.
"Howard Stark was the main target. Maria Stark was to be eliminated as well."
Tony couldn't be sure if it made it better or worse that his mom wasn't just collateral damage. Obie probably hadn't wanted her getting in the way of whatever his plans were. For all that she had been an inattentive mother, she had never been an inattentive wife. The young genius swallowed roughly.
"Are they going to do the same thing to me that they've done to you?"
Obie had certainly implied it. The Winter Soldier gave him another of those assessing looks.
"The asset does not know."
Well, that was reassuring. Tony nodded to himself as he glanced around the cell, his mind working at hyper speed.
"Alright. Okay. Here's what we're gonna do." He nailed the man with a serious look. "I'm gonna get us the Hell out of here. And you're gonna help me."