The Woman in the Red Dress (Howard and Maria Stark One-Shot-- AU)

Chapter Ten

After three minutes of trying to fight Sergeant Barnes, Howard Stark had to give up. With lack of choice, he just let Steve's childhood best friend hold in him closely, throw him into a room and lock the door behind them. Howard Stark thought he was able to talk his way out of this, like he was able to talk his way out of most things; he was wrong. As soon as he started, Bucky shot him a look, eyes of abyss and mouth in a thin line.

Howard kept silent until the gunshots started. He tried to rush out of the room that was deep within the compound, and Bucky knocked him back.

"Why?" Howard roared. "I need to make sure my wife is all right!"

"She gave me orders to keep you here." Bucky rose his gun and faced the door.

"And she's in danger!"

"She can protect herself better than most people," Bucky responded, taking the safety off his gun. Popping it against his shoulder and eyeing the lock, he waited.

"How are you alive?" Howard's voice was calm and collected, not yet charming but certainly not patient. "Steve said you fell off a train, off a cliff-- splat! Dead. Steve was heartbroken."

Bucky gulped. "Steve is alive."

"Steve is a super soldier. He crashed into ice. I looked and looked for him, and how many years later-- he's still alive." Howard laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. It all sounded so wrong. "How did you survive? You aren't a super soldier... are you?"

He didn't answer.

"Sergeant Barnes, are you? Are you a super soldier?" Howard's thoughts didn't rest there for long. "Did I create you? Did I manage to actually duplicate the serum? I must've." His face lit up in happiness, even with bomb blasts and gunfire from up above. "I actually accomplished it! Can you imagine? I did it. Add it to my list of accomplishments. Oh, this is going to be huge. A genius move! Imagine how many super soldiers we can make?" He didn't even stop to breathe. "The world will be a safer place because of this."

"No," Bucky growled.

"What?"

"No." His bottom lip trembled.

"What does that mean?" Howard asked, trying to get in Bucky's face. He stood between the door and Bucky's gun, pointed directly at Howard's chest, exactly where Bucky didn't want it but refused to move his gun. He wanted Howard moved. However, the elder Stark was unable to see past his own ideas and his own questions. "What does that mean?"

Bucky stared at the door. "I'm trying to protect you. Please move."

"On Maria's orders?"

"Yes, sir."

"What makes her trust you?" Howard wondered. "She didn't know you before the War. There was no possible way. Maria is already too young for me, let alone you. Yet, she trusts my life in your hands-- one of them metal, which is amazing! What is that technology?"

Bucky stared at the door. "Please move." His hand rested on the trigger, ready to pull at the a second's notice of danger.

Howard wasn't paying attention. "I can't. I need answers! The world is burning out there, and if I have a chance to save it, I will. Yes, Maria has the brawns-- she is a hero-- she can save the world at this moment! Hell, she probably is. But my brains with your help will save the world. Give me the answers of the future!" No hesitation and no remorse, Howard had no idea what was coming for him. "We can do it! We can save the future. We can do this together, Bucky. We can save the world now-- take out Thanos before he gets to power. We can save the world before it needs to be saved!"

The door squealed opened; the lock broke upon impact. Bucky threw Howard Stark inside, slapping against the concrete and metal and landing with a thud. Bucky, with his gun raised, had his finger on the trigger and didn't hesitate as the door slammed open. Two bullets flew out of the gun, smacking right into the chestplate of Maria Stark. She arched an eyebrow.

"Sorry." Bucky put the gun at his side. Maria dressed in Thor's outfit, holding Thor's hammer-- none of it surprised him. The day that surprised him was Maria and Howard's death when the hammer didn't come to her-- when she didn't strike him back.

"Ow!" Howard groaned on the floor.

Walking in, Maria bent down beside Howard to check for wounds. "Are you all right?"

"I'll live," he snapped, eyes of fury on Bucky.

"Sorry." Bucky looked at the ground.

"Sergeant Barnes," Maria called, helping her husband to his heels, "thank you." Once again, the genuine kindness came back, seeping into every word. She knew everything; here, she was able to take revenge. "Could you please give us a minute?"

Bucky nodded and left the room.

On a dime, she turned to Howard. "Arc reactor-- how far along with it are you?"

"I barely have the designs."

"You need to finish it now."

He brushed himself off. "I've got more pressing issues to deal with, Maria. The arc reactor will just have to wait."

"You have to finish it now."

Howard's eyes came to his wife, and something was different. "Why? What are you thinking?"

"I think the arc reactor makes the Soul Stone-- the Infinity Stone that Thanos is after-- why the Avengers are here. They think we have it, but in truth, you need to create it." She pulled the engagement ring off her finger. "You gave me this. Remember?"

Slowly, he plucked the ring out of her hand. "Yes." A smile grew on his face. The day was so clear in his mind. He was so nervous. He almost dropped the ring on the ground, almost backed out from asking her. He looked like a fool in front of her. "It was prototype to the arc reactor. I created this." Once again, Howard could be oblivious, yet it hit him like a train this time. "Holy shit. Holy shit!" His eyes grew wide. "I'm a genius!"

"Calm down."

Howard held the ring up to the light, where the right glowed in the light. His grin froze his face ear to ear. Only stopping for a second, he kissed Maria, deep and celebratory-- before he ran from the room with the stone in his hand, running through the hallways of the compound, yelling that he was going to save the world. It was debatable, if he didn't make it worse to begin with, but at least he was trying.

Slamming the door to his laboratory, Howard threw open the old folders and binders in desperate attempt to find his designs. They were around here somewhere. Around the lab he went. Finally, he found the designs he wanted, and he placed them on the table. White pages with black pen marks crossed the pages. Blue printed were unrolled and had old technical books keeping down the edges. He grabbed his pencil and hovered above the designs. The smile on his face faded as he realized his knowledge hadn't changed since the beginning. "Holy shit...."