Chapter Summaries

Captain America boarded the ship and fought Akiyama Noriko, the assassin who had killed its pirates. Rumlow shot and killed her at the critical moment, rescuing Captain America as their mission continued.

• Captain America searched the ship and was ambushed by Akiyama Noriko, who attacked with a hidden arrow and a short blade.
• Akiyama Noriko admitted she had killed the pirates but refused to reveal who she worked for or why she had boarded the ship.
• Akiyama Noriko attacked Captain America with shuriken and her swords, and the two fought across the deck.
• Akiyama Noriko gained the advantage and knocked Captain America's shield aside, but Rumlow parachuted down and shot her dead.
• Captain America thanked Rumlow and said Akiyama Noriko's assassination techniques and swordsmanship had nearly overwhelmed him.

Captain America’s team rescued the S.H.I.E.L.D. hostages while Natasha Romanoff confronted Sarah, disguised as Jill Valentine, in the ship’s information center. Akiyama Noriko revived after her apparent death and killed the two agents guarding her body.

• Captain America ordered Rumlow to identify Akiyama Noriko’s body and led the task force toward the hostages in three-person teams.
• Sitwell persuaded the hostages to stay put, but Captain America’s team breached the kitchen door and incapacitated them with flashbangs before confirming their identities.
• Captain America discovered Natasha was missing, then heard her respond over the communicator.
• Natasha encountered Sarah, posing as Jill Valentine, in the information center and rejected her advances, saying she already had a girlfriend.
• Akiyama Noriko revived through Dragon’s Heritage Revival, killed the two guards with kunai, and drank red medicine from her gourd.

The Eredar Twins had modified Dragon's Heritage, allowing Akiyama Noriko to retain stolen life force and revive. Akiyama escaped S.H.I.E.L.D.'s ship during a fight with Captain America, and the team prepared to evacuate as a storm approached.

• The chapter explained how the Eredar Twins had restored and improved Dragon's Heritage, enabling Akiyama Noriko to revive and keep all the life force she drained.
• Natasha accused Sarah of stealing S.H.I.E.L.D.'s intelligence, but Sarah escaped through a broken window after Natasha stalled her.
• Captain America discovered Akiyama Noriko on the deck, where she attacked him with an explosive Fuma Shuriken and a lightning-charged sword.
• Akiyama Noriko evaded Captain America and Rumlow's team by creating false clones, then escaped underwater as the storm gathered.
• Captain America ordered the team to evacuate, and Rumlow wondered how Akiyama Noriko had survived after appearing to die.

After Natasha reported the Star of Moria mission, Nick Fury and Alexander Pierce separately tried to determine how Umbrella Corporation had learned about Project Insight. Pierce feared Nick Fury had begun to suspect him and ordered Hydra’s plan accelerated toward its final phase.

• Natasha reported the mission to Nick Fury, then gave him her full account and the intelligence USB drive after returning to headquarters.
• Nick Fury considered who could have exposed Project Insight and began to suspect that someone close to him might be responsible.
• Rumlow told Pierce that Sato Noriko had died and returned to life, while Sitwell linked her recruitment history to John Garrett.
• Sitwell reasoned that John Garrett may have tipped off Umbrella Corporation about the Star of Moria, while Rumlow suggested Nick Fury might have arranged the operation as a trap.
• Pierce realized Nick Fury could suspect him if he had not orchestrated the incident, confirmed Zola's Algorithm was intact, and ordered the plan accelerated.

Nick Fury took Captain America and Evenson Richter to see Project Insight while trying to explain his secretive management and investigate Umbrella Corporation’s breach. Captain America warned that the carriers threatened freedom, and Evenson jokingly invoked Hydra, leaving Fury irritated and the danger unresolved.

• Captain America confronted Nick Fury over Natasha’s secret mission and Peggy Carter’s whereabouts, while Fury defended compartmentalized management and admitted that past betrayal had destroyed his trust.
• Nick Fury led Captain America and Evenson Richter to the Insight Hangar after Evenson demanded an advance on his wages, then agreed to approve a payment slip.
• Nick Fury revealed that Project Insight’s three Helicarriers used satellite targeting, and Captain America and Evenson questioned the plan’s security after Umbrella Corporation had boarded the satellite-launching ship.
• Evenson warned that a group of insiders might have assembled the leaked information from separate fragments, while Nick Fury insisted he would find the source of the breach.
• Captain America objected to launching weapons the enemy had touched and called the plan a threat to freedom, and Evenson said, “Heil, Hydra,” prompting Nick Fury to cancel his pay slip.

Nick Fury discovered that Project Insight’s sealed files and S.H.I.E.L.D.’s corruption pointed to Alexander Pierce, and he tried to delay the program while secretly preparing to investigate him. As Fury realized Pierce might no longer fear what he said, a police cruiser rammed his car.

• Evenson left after failing to get his money, and Captain America rode his motorcycle home.
• Nick Fury found that the USB drive’s files had been sealed under an order issued in his own name, then suspected someone inside S.H.I.E.L.D. had forged his authorization.
• Nick Fury asked Alexander Pierce to delay Project Insight, warning that Umbrella Corporation might use its DNA-targeting satellites to carry out a mass purge.
• Pierce agreed to delay the program on the condition that Nick Fury bring Iron Man and Evenson to his niece’s birthday party.
• Nick Fury contacted Maria Hill and concluded that Pierce was Hydra’s highest-ranking hidden commander within S.H.I.E.L.D. and might be Umbrella Corporation’s mole.
• Nick Fury realized Pierce might believe the delay no longer mattered, and a police cruiser slammed into his car.

Nick Fury survived an attack by fake police and a metal-armed assailant, while Evenson and the Eredar Twins used Umbrella Corporation’s satellite launch to demonstrate Dest’s extraordinary surveillance abilities. The demonstration ended with Mord DuPont spotting his wife with his personal trainer—and insisting the real betrayal was that she had seduced his Jack.

• Fake police and SWAT attackers pinned Nick Fury’s armored car and battered it with gunfire and a breaching ram, but Nick fought back with mounted weapons and escaped.
• Nick Fury suspected Hydra agents inside S.H.I.E.L.D. had organized the attack, then a metal-armed man attached a magnetic mine to his car and flipped it over.
• Nick Fury escaped the wreck before the assailant could reach him, while videos of the Washington, D.C. gunfight spread online.
• Evenson called the Eredar Twins and told them to convene Umbrella Corporation’s board meeting as the company prepared to launch its Far Sight satellite.
• The Eredar Twins revealed that Dest, a beholder hidden inside the hollow satellite, provided the satellite’s surveillance feed, which showed people on Earth in remarkable detail.
• Mord DuPont used the satellite to find his wife with his personal trainer and angrily declared that she had seduced his Jack.

The Eredar Twins presented their satellite to the three families and arranged for the Morgan and Rockefeller families to support its components and future rockets. Gideon Malick then revealed that Nick Fury was presumed dead and claimed S.H.I.E.L.D. had secretly become Hydra’s Serpent Shield, leaving the room to face the implications.

• Elizabeth Morgan praised the satellite’s reconnaissance capabilities, and Aurelles said it could guide strikes using Gawain components that the Morgan Financial Group would produce.
• Saloras secured Zola Rockefeller’s support for rocket materials, while Aurelles valued the satellite at two hundred million dollars and proposed leasing it to the US government for two billion dollars a year.
• The Eredar Twins showed the families a video of the attack on Nick Fury, whom Saloras said was missing and presumed dead.
• Aurelles introduced Gideon Malick, who said he had helped create the Black Badge Division to investigate S.H.I.E.L.D.
• Malick revealed that S.H.I.E.L.D. had taken in Hydra scientists through Operation Paperclip and had become Serpent Shield years earlier.

Malik revealed that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. and planned to use Project Insight to purge hundreds of millions of people. He promised the Black Badge Division would stop the plan, then made clear that he wanted it to replace S.H.I.E.L.D. with support from the gathered families.

• Malik told Elizabeth and the others that Hydra had secretly taken over S.H.I.E.L.D., while Nick Fury had remained unaware.
• Elizabeth reasoned that Hydra had tried to kill Nick Fury because he had obstructed an imminent major move, and Malik confirmed her analysis.
• Malik explained that Project Insight used three airborne carriers and a predictive algorithm to identify and kill people Hydra considered potential opponents.
• Aurelles warned that Hydra intended to purge an estimated ten percent of the world's population and seize the assets of powerful families.
• Malik promised that the Black Badge Division would prevent Project Insight from succeeding, then warned that Hydra's destruction would leave a power vacuum.
• Elizabeth recognized that Malik and the Eredar Twins wanted the gathered families to support the Black Badge Division as S.H.I.E.L.D.'s successor in the United States.

Elizabeth questioned the Eredar Twins’ plan to take over S.H.I.E.L.D.’s assets, and Aurelles proposed turning them into a private security and strategic consulting company. Elizabeth saw potential in the plan but doubted the Twins could finance it, and Aurelles hinted that they had another source of wealth.

• Elizabeth warned that the CIA and FBI would compete for S.H.I.E.L.D.’s assets and challenged the Eredar Twins to explain why her families should help them.
• Saloras argued that the CIA and FBI would face public backlash and tighter oversight after S.H.I.E.L.D.’s collapse.
• Aurelles clarified that the Twins wanted to build a private security company from S.H.I.E.L.D.’s assets, using the Black Badge Division’s experience to win government contracts.
• The Eredar Twins offered the three families company shares and security services, while Elizabeth considered whether they had planned for Hydra’s downfall in advance.
• Elizabeth warned that operating S.H.I.E.L.D.’s infrastructure would require tens of billions of dollars, and Aurelles replied that they might have the money.
• Malik wondered how the Twins could afford the funds, recalling that Evenson had claimed the Wolf Den 2 treasure was nearly exhausted.

Alexander Pierce learned that Nick Fury had supposedly died and prepared to launch Project Insight, while Fury sought refuge with Captain America and was shot before he could reveal the full extent of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s betrayal. Captain America chased the metal-armed assassin but lost him, and Fury was declared dead as Pierce ordered the news sealed until Insight was ready.

• Alexander Pierce heard Sitwell report Nick Fury's death, mourned him briefly, and questioned how doctors had confirmed it.
• Captain America returned to his apartment, found Nick Fury hiding there, and learned through a phone message that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been compromised.
• A sniper shot Nick Fury through the wall, and Fury handed Captain America a silver USB drive while warning him not to trust anyone.
• Sharon Carter called for help as Captain America pursued the assassin, whose metal arm caught and returned his shield before he escaped.
• Natasha and Maria Hill arrived at the hospital, where doctors announced Nick Fury's death after surgery.
• Alexander Pierce ordered Fury's death kept secret until Project Insight was ready and told Sitwell to release the code.

Pierce’s attempt to force Captain America to reveal what Nick Fury told him failed, and Captain America escaped a series of Hydra attacks. Hydra then launched its global purge, while Coulson’s team turned on Melinda and Evenson took control of Skye to intervene.

• Pierce questioned Captain America about his last meeting with Nick Fury, but Captain America said Fury had warned him not to trust anyone and left without revealing the USB drive.
• Pierce activated his ambush, but Captain America defeated Rumlow’s team, escaped through the observation elevator, and damaged a Quinjet before fleeing on his motorcycle.
• With Pierce’s approval, Hydra revealed itself and began seizing control and purging S.H.I.E.L.D. branches, facilities, and research centers around the world.
• Coulson’s team suspected Melinda after Fitz found her secret communications line, and Coulson confronted her while the Air Bus followed an unknown route.
• Evenson spoke through Skye, ordered Coulson to lower his gun and release Melinda, then threatened to use Skye’s exoskeleton against her if he refused.

Evenson remotely controlled Skye’s exoskeleton to negotiate with Coulson, then summoned Melinda to return to Ra as Hydra came under attack. He completed Melinda’s enhancement and equipped her with magical armor before releasing Skye from his control.

• Evenson used Skye’s exoskeleton to threaten Coulson, who surrendered his tranquilizer pistol and agreed to let Melinda go with him.
• Evenson told Melinda that Hydra was in trouble, Nick Fury was responsible, and Captain America had been sent to Ra, then directed her to return and assess the situation.
• Melinda found and drank the green liquid that completed her enhancement, then activated a necklace that covered her in dark-purple armor.
• Evenson ended his remote control of Skye and returned to New York, where the Eredar Twins teased him about controlling the armor while he tended to his bleeding forehead.
• Skye woke up confused about what had happened, and Coulson explained that Evenson had controlled her exoskeleton, prompting him to tell Fitz to remove it.

Coulson learned that Melinda had secretly led his team under Nick Fury’s orders, but Melinda revealed that Fury was dead and left to carry out his final instructions. As Garrett was pursued by S.H.I.E.L.D. drones, an armored figure destroyed them, while Sitwell revealed that Hydra had taken control of the command center.

• Coulson struggled to decipher Evenson and Melinda’s Chinese conversation, then confronted Melinda about her secrecy and learned she was a Level 9 Agent who had formed his team to help him recover from Tahiti.
• Melinda told Coulson that Nick Fury was dead and refused to let him join her, warning him not to trust anyone.
• Garrett radioed Coulson while S.H.I.E.L.D. drones pursued him, and an armored figure leaped onto a drone, destroyed the attackers, and flew away on it.
• Sitwell ordered the agents at the S.H.I.E.L.D. command center to wait until Coulson and Garrett landed, then shot an agent who objected to killing their former allies.
• The command-center agents pledged allegiance to Hydra, and Sitwell declared that Garrett had betrayed the organization.

Captain America recovered Nick Fury’s USB drive from Natasha and learned that she had encountered the Winter Soldier. Pierce manipulated the committee into approving Project Insight’s immediate launch, while Victoria Hand revealed to Evenson that Hydra had sent its message and no longer needed to hide.

• Captain America returned to the hospital for Fury’s USB drive, found Natasha waiting with it, and took it back after she told him about the Winter Soldier.
• Pierce misled the committee by blaming Umbrella Corporation for Fury’s death and portraying the organization as a threat tied to Project Insight.
• The committee voted to launch Project Insight immediately, with three members approving and one abstaining.
• Evenson prepared to search for Captain America, but Victoria Hand and armed agents arrived at his shop.
• Victoria Hand told Evenson that Hydra no longer needed to hide and declared, “Hail Hydra,” leaving him stunned.

Evenson Richter confronted Agent Hand, who mistook him for a Hydra Sorcerer and tried to stop him with Nova Six. After proving he was not Hydra, Evenson left to stop Hydra, while Hand accepted his warning about keeping a trump card.

• Evenson returned to his New York curio shop while preparing to go to Washington, and Agent Hand confronted him with her team.
• Hand claimed that Nick Fury was dead and Hydra’s cause was succeeding, then accused Evenson of being a Hydra Sorcerer.
• Evenson used the shop’s magical traps to restrain Hand and her team, proving his power and insisting that he was not Hydra.
• Hand revealed that her team carried Nova Six and said they had planned to die if it meant eliminating Evenson, but he explained that the nerve gas could not harm him.
• Evenson told Hand he was going to stop Hydra, sold her a talisman, and advised her to keep a weapon in her own hands; Hand agreed to remember the warning.

Captain America and Black Widow used the USB drive to locate a lead in New Jersey, then escaped a S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team at a computer mall. Akiyama Noriko’s false terrorist report brought the police and SWAT to the mall, leaving Rumlow and his team surrounded as Captain America and Black Widow got away.

• Natasha used the USB drive’s tracking program to locate its source in New Jersey, while a computer mall clerk failed to recognize Captain America.
• Captain America and Natasha evaded the strike team by pretending to be a couple, as Peggy Carter watched from a car and Sarah stopped her from charging into the mall.
• Sarah sent Akiyama Noriko to distract the police, and Noriko knocked out an officer, stole his police car, and reported armed terrorists inside the mall.
• Police surrounded Rumlow and his team while Captain America and Natasha slipped away through the crowd.
• SWAT officers arrived, and police shot one of Rumlow’s teammates when he reached for his S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials.

Captain America and Natasha headed for New Jersey with the USB drive, but Evenson blocked their way before Sarah and Peggy Carter joined them. The unlikely group set off together to investigate the secret, while Evenson rode in the truck bed and Hubbs drove his car.

• Captain America and Natasha drove toward New Jersey in a borrowed pickup truck and joked about his car-stealing skills and her teasing him.
• Evenson blocked the road in his car, prompting Captain America to prepare to flee and send Natasha away with the USB drive.
• A highway patrol officer ticketed Evenson for illegal parking, and Sarah arrived to reconcile with Natasha.
• Peggy Carter joined Captain America and explained that she and Evenson were investigating the same matter as he was.
• Evenson explained that his car was too conspicuous, so Hubbs drove it while the others told Evenson to ride in the truck bed.

The group reached Captain America's old recruit training base and discovered a hidden S.H.I.E.L.D. archive containing Arnim Zola's digitized mind. Zola introduced himself as a loyal Hydra employee, leaving the group facing the revelation that Hydra's intelligence had survived inside the base.

• Peggy Carter teased Natasha about how she and Captain America had planned to escape Rumlow, and Sarah kissed Natasha to demonstrate how public affection could distract onlookers.
• Captain America arrived at his former training base and recalled his first meeting with Peggy Carter, while Evenson fell asleep in the truck bed and was jolted awake.
• Natasha found no signal or thermal activity, but Captain America spotted that an apparent ammunition depot violated military regulations, and Peggy Carter led the group inside a concealed Strategic Scientific Reserve base.
• Evenson noticed the abandoned base still had electricity, and Peggy Carter revealed an elevator hidden behind a shelf in the office bearing her photograph.
• Natasha activated the underground archive with a USB drive, and the computer introduced itself as Arnim Zola, whose mind had been transferred onto magnetic tape.
• Evenson questioned Zola's outdated hardware and working conditions, but Zola insisted that he loved serving Hydra without wages or benefits.

Evenson debated Hydra’s ideology with Zola and convinced him that Project Insight would destroy humanity rather than secure it. Zola classified the project as a virus and directed the group to execute an antivirus program, but Hydra missiles were already approaching.

• Zola revealed that Hydra had manipulated decades of crises and assassinated people who discovered its operations.
• Evenson argued that freedom and self-will made humanity unstable, then challenged Captain America and the others to consider Hydra’s desire for order.
• Evenson explained that human rulers could not share the Zerg Overmind’s complete unity, so Hydra’s authoritarian system would become corrupt and provoke rebellion.
• Zola calculated that Project Insight would bring war, destroy humanity’s future, and leave humanity with no chance of achieving security.
• Zola opened the exit, warned that Hydra missiles would arrive in one minute and twenty seconds, and shut down after ordering the group to execute the antivirus program.