1991

Cassandra sat in her office, eating a cookie. Cookies were good. Very tasty. Someone knocked on her door, sticking their head in.

"Don't you have a home you can go back to?" Howard Stark asked.

"No, I live in the broom closet down the hall," she said with a smile. "You taking Maria anywhere?"

"The Bahamas, actually. Leaving Tony at home may not be the best idea, but," the man paused.

"I can stay with him if you'd like," she suggested.

"No, he's an adult, I should trust him more."

Cassandra reached for her cookie, but Howard snatched it away from her. She stuck her tongue out at him as he finished it off.

"Be glad I have three more, or I would've trapped you in the broom closet down the hall, and gone to the Bahamas with Maria."

Howard tousled her hair, and she swatted at his hand.

"No, but do you actually have somewhere to be for Christmas?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm going to Peg's."

"Good. Wouldn't want you to be lonely."

Cassandra stood up and gave her friend a hug. She waved back to him, and sat in her office chair, looking for her cookies. She sighed angrily, and opened her door. Howard was already gone, and she could no doubt catch up with him, but she decided to be nice this year. Next year, Howard would not be so lucky.

•••••••••••••••

Cassandra unlocked the door to her small apartment. She switched on the light, and set her keys in the bowl next to the coat rack. She hung her coat up, and flopped onto her couch. She didn't feel hungry because she had just eaten a power-up bagel, something she did when she worked late, so she went to her room.

Her room was a medium sized room. She had a bed, closet, and a bathroom. She decorated her room with photos of her and her friends, Peggy's kids, who were her niece and nephew. She had a desk as well, and on it were a few books and and a vase of flowers.

She slipped her shoes off her feet, popping her toes on the hardwood floor. She picked a framed photo of her and James. Cassandra kissed the glass, right where her brother's head was. She'd never forgotten about him, even after all those years. Hydra had no doubt brainwashed him into forgetting her, but if she ever saw him again, she'd tell him how much she loved him, no matter what he did.

She took off her work jacket, and laid down in her bed. Cassandra closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

She woke up, swinging her feet off the bed and standing up. The floor was cold, and she tiredly shuffled to her closet to get socks. She then walked to her kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Cassandra opened her front door and grabbed the newspaper sitting on her door mat.

She set her mug on the counter top, and tore the orange plastic wrapping off the paper, and lifted her mug to her mouth. She saw Howard's face on the front page and she sighed. She didn't know what he'd invented, or destroyed, this time.

It took Cassandra a moment for the headline to catch up with her.

HOWARD AND MARIA STARK KILLED IN CAR CRASH

Her hand covered her mouth, and her mug went falling to the floor, shattering and spilling coffee everywhere.

"Howard," she whimpered.

The room felt like it was closing in. She stumbled to the window, and slid her back down the wall, landing on the floor. She pulled her knees to her chest, burying her head between them. She drew in short breaths, she felt as though she couldn't breathe.

Cassandra hit her head against the wall. Hot tears fell down her face, soaking into her pants. She pulled the phone out of the holder on the wall, and dialed Peggy's work phone number.

"Hello?" Peggy's voice sounded choked up over the phone.

"Peggy, it's Cassandra Barnes, I'm gonna have to, to call in sick today," she said, trying to sound as professional as she could.

"Oh Cassandra, Howard, he," the woman's voice disappeared, only to be replaced by crying.

Cassandra slowly hung up on her boss, promising that she would go make sure Howard's son Tony, was alright. It took her a while to find the motivation to stand up, and change clothes, and brush her hair.

She knocked on the door after driving almost three hours the Stark's house, except, it was more like a small mansion. The door opened, and a young man, who looked around nineteen or twenty years old.

"Aunt Cassandra," he said, swiping a hand over his eyes.

"Tony, how are y-" Tony wrapped Cassandra in a big hug.

She patted the boy's back, resting her chin on his shoulder. Tony let go of her, and her heart broke at the sight his bloodshot, tear filled eyes.

"I'm so sorry Tony," she said, with tears clogging her throat.

"It's not your fault," he said sadly, looking down at his hands.

Cassandra left soon afterward, she didn't want to leave her nephew alone, but she didn't feel like she could be trusted with people at the moment.

She was about to turn off the exit to her apartment, but changed her mind. She drove to the S.H.I.E.L.D complex instead.

Howard could never die in a car crash, it was almost impossible. Especially if he had someone he loved in the car with him. His butler, Edwin Jarvis, wasn't in the car with him, it would've said so. She'd been in the car with Mr. Jarvis a few times, and he drove too carefully to be able to even run into the curb. Something wasn't right.

She pulled up to the gate, and a pressed her thumb into the thumb-print scanner.

"Name?" The robotic voice asked.

"Agent. Barnes, Cassandra, O."

The gate opened, and she drove through quickly. She parked in the garage, and ran to the elavator. She hoped Peggy was in her office as she briskly walked through the halls.

She knocked on the door, but didn't wait for a response, instead just opened the door and walled in.

"Peggy."

Peggy looked up at her, evidently suprised to see her.

"Cassandra, I thought you took the day off," she said.

"Well, I did, and I went to go check on Tony, he seemed alright. But anyways, something isn't right. Howard is Howard Stark, there is no way he could've died in a car crash. Especially with someone he deeply loved and cared about in the car with him. It doesn't make any sense. So I was wondering,"

"If we have the bodies." Peggy finished for her.

"Exactly."

Peggy stood up, and went past Cassandra and out of her office. Cassandra followed quickly, closing the door behind her.

Peggy and Cassandra opened the door to the warehouse like room where they did autopsies and things like that. Peggy showed Cassandra to the table where Howard and Maria's bodies were. Cassandra looked down at her feet, taking a deep breath to relax herself, and looked up.

Peggy carefully pulled the blanket off of the body she was standing next to. Cassandra still put a hand over her mouth, biting the flesh of her palm. Blood dripped down the side of Howard's face, it was covered in dirt, and more blood. She pointed to the bruises on his neck.

"Peggy, look. That could never be the result of a car accident. Somebody choked him to death. Do you have the footage of what happened?"

"I think so. I'll go find it."

Peggy left, leaving Cassandra alone with the body of her best friend. She couldn't take her eyes off Howard's bloody, bruised face.

How could he have died? Nobody knew he was transporting serum. Unless it was,

The door opened again, interrupting her thoughts. Peggy held up a tape, and Cassandra ran after her, not before putting the blanket back over Howard's face. Peggy and Cassandra ran back to her office. Cassandra shut and locked the door, and stood behind Peggy.

After she watched the footage, she knew who it was.

"Peggy. I know who killed them."

"Who?"

"My brother, James Barnes, the Winter Solider."

holy cow. this chapter was crappy.

but in any case, this took me a long time to make, so i am not starting over, but that doesn't mean i still don't like it.

anyways, you'rewon't take like three days to make!!

love you guys-