Chapter Summaries

Coulson's team visited the Nature Guardian, where Skye agreed to stay with Oaks while S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated her identity. Their visit was interrupted by Sif, who warned that the fugitive Lorelei had reached Earth, and Oaks turned to Coulson's team to help find her.

• Oaks showed Coulson's team around the Nature Guardian, and Fitz and Simmons were excited to meet Bruce Banner and the other scientists.
• Coulson reassured Skye that Oaks could help her uncover her past and promised to bring her back to S.H.I.E.L.D. if she still wanted to join once the truth was known.
• Oaks asked Zhang to help Skye settle in while Melinda explored the forest and Ward toured the ark.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters detected a huge energy fluctuation, and Sif arrived by Bifrost with a warning that Earth was in danger.
• Sif told Oaks and Coulson that Lorelei had escaped during the Convergence and traveled to Earth through Loki's Space Passage, and Oaks asked Coulson's team to find her.

Oaks took Skye in as his employee and creditor while revealing that her body differed from an ordinary human, leaving her to consider the risks and mysteries of her origins. After Sif and Coulson returned from capturing Lorelei, Steve approached Oaks with a serious question about whether he could trust him.

• Coulson and Sif left for Eastern California to deal with Lorelei, while Oaks reassured Coulson that Skye would be safe with him.
• Oaks told Skye she would work for him to repay her treatment costs, and explained that he had discovered an unusual difference in her body while healing her.
• Oaks warned Skye that her unusual biology might be connected to her origins and could be a source of danger, then left the choice of investigating it up to her.
• Sif and Coulson captured Lorelei and returned without needing Oaks's help; Coulson called Oaks to ask how Skye was doing.
• Steve entered Oaks's office looking grim and asked whether he could trust Oaks.

Steve visited Oaks after a mission left him doubting S.H.I.E.L.D. and unsure whom to trust. He described the Insight Project, and Oaks agreed its preemptive executions were unjust before realizing Nick Fury was in danger.

• Steve told Oaks that he had tried to adapt to the modern world but no longer knew whom to trust after a S.H.I.E.L.D. mission.
• Steve explained that he had come to Oaks instead of Peggy because he did not want her to worry, and Oaks encouraged him to describe what had happened.
• Steve recounted Nick Fury's disclosure of the Insight Project and condemned the three armed Helicarriers as a threat disguised as protection.
• Oaks said that predicting crimes from DNA and executing people before they acted was an abusive method that whoever controlled the project could exploit.
• Oaks suddenly announced that Nick Fury was in trouble because the air conditioner filter he had given him had exploded.

Nick Fury escaped an assassination attempt and told Oaks that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been compromised over the Insight Project. Oaks agreed to help him fake his death, while Steve traveled to Carter's apartment on the invisible Sky Wolf.

• Nick Fury used Oaks's air conditioner filter and an Acorn to recover from his injuries and flee through the sewers.
• Oaks found Nick Fury and learned that Steve had gone to Brooklyn and that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been spying on Steve and Carter's apartments.
• Nick Fury revealed that agents had tried to kill him after he sought to delay the Insight Project, and he handed Oaks a USB drive containing his plan.
• Oaks agreed to help Nick Fury appear dead and establish an alibi by claiming he had gone to Asgard with Sif.
• Steve arrived at an old Washington apartment on Sky Wolf, marveling at the wolf's speed and invisibility.

Oaks deployed Skoll and Hati to assist Steve and investigate the Mind Stone, while Malorne worked to neutralize S.H.I.E.L.D.’s tracking program. After Nick Fury was shot at Carter’s apartment, Steve pursued the sniper as Skoll appeared on a nearby rooftop.

• Skoll directed Steve to meet Nick Fury and waited outside while Hati secretly boarded a plane bound for Vienna to investigate the Scepter in Sokovia.
• Oaks told Hati to find the Scepter and wait for further instructions, then prepared to contact the Mind Stone and prevent the Insight Helicarriers disaster.
• Malorne identified the USB drive as a S.H.I.E.L.D. tracking device, and Oaks used technological and magical barriers to block its signal.
• Nick Fury showed Steve the warning that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been compromised, then was shot through the window at Carter’s apartment.
• Sharon Carter revealed that she was Agent 13 and had been assigned to help Steve, while Steve moved Fury somewhere safe and chased the killer through the window.
• Skoll appeared on the rooftop across from the apartment as Steve pursued the sniper.

Steve and Skoll stopped the assassin who had attacked Fury, only for Steve to discover that the masked man was his old friend Bucky, who remembered nothing. Oaks took Bucky to safety and sent Steve to act as a diversion while he investigated the data Fury had given him.

• Skoll bit off the assassin’s mechanical arm, and Steve subdued him with his shield.
• Steve unmasked the assassin and recognized Bucky, but Bucky did not recognize him and seemed confused and distressed.
• Steve asked Skoll to take Bucky somewhere safe, and Oaks arrived and brought Bucky through a Portal for safekeeping.
• Oaks told Steve that Bucky had been brainwashed and showed him the USB data Natasha had copied from the ship.
• Oaks explained that the data had a tracking program and asked Steve to draw S.H.I.E.L.D.’s attention while he investigated its destination.
• Oaks transformed into a small bird and left, while Steve prepared to show himself at S.H.I.E.L.D.

Oaks secretly sealed Nick Fury’s vitality, leaving him appearing dead while Hydra believed its poisoned bullets had killed him. Pierce ordered Captain Rogers brought in and planned to silence him if he knew anything about Fury’s death or Hydra’s plans.

• Oaks sealed Nick Fury’s vitality during surgery, and Fury was pronounced dead at 1:03 a.m.
• Sitwell reported Fury’s death to Pierce and said the Recovery Serum had failed to counteract the Winter Soldier’s poison.
• Pierce worried that the Winter Soldier had not returned and suspected his connection to Captain Rogers had disrupted him.
• Pierce ordered Sitwell to find out what Rogers knew, seal off news of Fury’s death, and bring Rogers to headquarters for questioning.
• Pierce warned that if Rogers refused to cooperate, Hydra would frame him as a traitor and use extreme measures to keep him silent.

As Steve helped Natasha evade S.H.I.E.L.D.'s suspicions, Oaks examined Bucky and discovered that a control chip and extensive brainwashing kept him in a confused state. Oaks planned to shield the chip and stabilize Bucky while Steve went into hiding and pursued the information on Fury's flash drive.

• Agent Hill took away Nick Fury's body, and Natasha coached Steve to act confused when S.H.I.E.L.D. questioned him.
• S.H.I.E.L.D. issued a Level One Combat Alert and placed Steve on an internal nationwide wanted list.
• Oaks examined Bucky and learned that Hydra had modified and brainwashed him, implanting a control chip in his brain.
• Malorne explained how the chip received commands, and Oaks planned to use Nature Magic to shield it from Bucky's brain signals.
• Steve told Oaks that Bucky was the Winter Soldier, and Oaks confirmed that Bucky was Sergeant Barnes and recommended keeping him at the laboratory for treatment.
• Oaks told Steve to disappear for a few hours and said he would go to New Jersey after obtaining the flash-drive information.

Pierce pretended to defend Nick Fury while the Council moved to restart the Insight Project. At S.H.I.E.L.D.’s abandoned New Jersey base, Oaks used Soul Projections of Steve and Natasha to question Zola’s AI and learned how Hydra had preserved his mind.

• Pierce argued with the Council that Nick Fury should be considered a martyr, while the Council accused Fury of treason and Pierce of complicity.
• The Council announced that it would immediately restart the Insight Project, and Pierce said he would wait to see who tried to remove him.
• Oaks entered S.H.I.E.L.D.’s original underground basement and used Soul Projections of Steve and Natasha to make contact with Zola’s AI.
• Zola explained that he had preserved his mind in a vast database after his body became terminally ill.
• Natasha’s projection suggested that Hydra had kept Zola confined because they feared his intelligence or believed he would not seek better conditions.

Steve and Natasha exposed the flaws in Zola’s plan and convinced him that Hydra’s leaders might undermine its new world, prompting Zola to seek his own continued existence. Oaks escaped through a Portal just before a missile destroyed the base, while Zola uploaded his consciousness to the internet.

• Steve identified Alexander Pierce as Hydra’s leader, and Natasha revealed that the Insight Project would launch a S.H.I.E.L.D. strike.
• Steve warned Zola that Hydra’s plan would leave Earth vulnerable to greater threats, and Natasha questioned whether Hydra’s leaders could share power.
• Zola reconsidered Hydra’s leadership and concluded that Pierce had concealed data that could doom the plan.
• Malorne warned Oaks that a missile was seconds away, and Zola began backing up his consciousness and uploading it to the internet.
• Oaks opened a Portal and escaped as Zola realized Steve and Natasha were impostors; the missile then destroyed the base.

Oaks learned that Zola had a dormant backup at a Hydra base in Siberia and coordinated with Steve to stop the Insight Project, which was due to launch in sixteen hours. After reviving Nick Fury, Oaks prepared to deal with the threat while Steve and Natasha pursued information about the project.

• Oaks discovered that Zola’s final backup could be activated at the Siberian Hydra base and decided to reach it first.
• Oaks sent Steve recordings of Zola’s information, and Steve told him the Insight Project would launch at noon the next day.
• Steve said he would keep Tony away because learning about his parents’ deaths could make him attack Triskelion and endanger innocent people.
• Oaks agreed with Steve’s plan to bring down both Hydra and S.H.I.E.L.D. and said he would handle Nick Fury and try to stop the Helicarriers from taking off.
• Oaks revived Nick Fury, who complained that Oaks had injured him severely to make his apparent death convincing.

Oaks, Steve, and their allies prepared to stop Hydra’s Insight Project after learning that Hydra had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. The group agreed to destroy both organizations and the Helicarriers, while Nick Fury learned that Oaks had no interest in taking over S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Oaks, Steve, Natasha, and Sam watched footage of Oaks using Soul Projection to interrogate Zola, revealing that Hydra had multiple leaders beyond Pierce.
• Oaks argued that Pierce could not have controlled Hydra worldwide alone without Fury noticing, and Fury reluctantly agreed.
• Hill explained that the three Insight Carriers would become weaponized at 3,000 feet and that their targeting server chips had to be replaced to stop them.
• Steve said they should destroy Hydra, S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Helicarriers rather than try to save the people aboard, and Hill, Natasha, and Sam backed him.
• Oaks mocked Fury’s attempt to enlist his help, refused to take S.H.I.E.L.D., and joked that even Skoll did not want it.

Steve, Skoll, and Sam, Nick Fury and Natasha, and Oaks and Hill divided up their plan to expose Hydra and stop the Insight Project. At Trident Headquarters, Pierce ordered Sitwell to become bait for Captain America and die protecting Hydra’s secrets as the sun rose.

• Steve, Skoll, and Sam planned to find a Hydra officer who could reveal the truth about the Insight Project.
• Nick Fury and Natasha prepared to storm the World Security Council venue and deal with Pierce while protecting the Council members.
• Oaks and Hill planned to infiltrate the Insight Hangar and stop the Helicarriers from taking off, with Oaks ready to replace the chips if necessary.
• Pierce questioned Sitwell about the searches for Captain America and the Winter Soldier, then ordered him to support Rumlow’s sniper operation against Captain Rogers.
• Pierce told Sitwell to serve as a target Captain America would pursue and to guard Hydra’s secrets to the death, and Sitwell accepted the assignment.

Steve abducted Sitwell to learn about Zola’s algorithm, and Skoll and Sam defeated the special operations team sent to rescue him. Sitwell revealed that Hydra’s Insight targets included anyone who could threaten the organization, now or in the future.

• Sitwell waited for Captain America to come for him, expecting Pierce’s plan to draw him out.
• Skoll swallowed Sitwell and spat him onto a rooftop, where Steve confronted him about Zola’s algorithm and the Lemurian Star.
• Sitwell denied knowing about the algorithm, and Steve pushed him off the rooftop with an invisible force.
• Sam hauled Sitwell back onto the roof as Skoll blasted the arriving helicopters with the Sunlight Cannon.
• Sitwell surrendered and explained that Zola’s algorithm selected Hydra’s Insight targets, including Steve, Tony Stark, Oaks Lin, Bruce Banner, Stephen Strange, and others who might threaten Hydra.

Steve and his allies tried to stop Hydra’s Insight Project, which planned to use Zola’s algorithm to kill millions of people. As the launch countdown continued, Oaks infiltrated the underwater hangar, Steve’s broadcast sparked resistance inside the Triskelion, and Natasha revealed herself after disrupting Pierce’s control.

• Sitwell revealed that the Insight Project would use Zola’s algorithm to target tens of millions of people, and Steve sent Skoll to deal with him.
• Oaks transformed into a Harp Seal Pup, melted a hole through the underwater hangar gate, and entered the Insight Hangar.
• Pierce welcomed four Council members to the Triskelion and brought them to the conference room as the Insight Project countdown continued.
• Steve broadcast an appeal to S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and Sharon Carter organized resistance against Hydra while gunfire broke out in the Triskelion.
• Pierce activated the launch sequence, but the system displayed an error; Natasha revealed her disguise and warned that the Insight Carriers would not launch.
• The Holographic Projection displayed a warning that the Insight Hangar was under attack.

During the destruction of the Insight Carriers, Steve learned that Peggy had been abducted, and Oaks raced across Brooklyn to find her. Oaks located Peggy in a modified van on Staten Island, where she used a strange flower’s fragrance to incapacitate her captors.

• Oaks inserted control chips into the Insight Carrier Server Array while Agent Hill took control of all three carriers, and Natasha worked to disable security and leak S.H.I.E.L.D.’s classified information.
• Steve and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents fought their way through the facility as Fury confronted Pierce, and Hill destroyed the three Insight Carriers.
• Steve reported that Peggy had been taken from their home, and Oaks set off to find her while Fury investigated the abduction.
• Oaks used his life-sensing ability to locate Peggy inside a modified van crossing the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge toward Staten Island.
• Peggy noticed a flower bloom beside her and its fragrance put the eight special operations soldiers guarding her to sleep.

Oaks rescued Peggy Carter from a Hydra abduction and told her that Pierce had been killed and S.H.I.E.L.D. was being cleared of Hydra. Peggy and Oaks decided to investigate the attack as a chance to expose another Hydra leader, and they arrived at a research institution directed by Dr. Daniel Whitehall.

• Oaks freed Peggy Carter from her restraints and explained that Steve had taken control of the Triskelion after Pierce's death.
• Peggy asked whether another Hydra leader could be behind her kidnapping, and Oaks agreed that the timing suggested it.
• Peggy accepted S.H.I.E.L.D.'s destruction and joined Oaks in investigating Hydra's remaining leaders.
• Nick Fury apologized to Peggy and confirmed he would stay officially dead while giving younger agents room to act.
• Peggy told Steve she would make one final contribution against Hydra, and Oaks learned that their destination was Dr. Daniel Whitehall's research institution.

Oaks confronted Daniel Whitehall, who had recognized him and revealed his own unnatural longevity as Peggy Carter arrived to face the former Hydra agent. Whitehall offered to disclose a secret about his life-extending method, leaving Oaks to decide whether to hear him out.

• Whitehall learned that his people had returned, but Oaks killed Sunil and severed Whitehall’s gun hand before he could act.
• Whitehall recognized Oaks and accused him of restoring Peggy Carter’s youth through human experimentation.
• Oaks stopped Whitehall from reaching the monitoring station and explained that Whitehall’s vitality appeared to come from humans.
• Peggy Carter entered, recognized Whitehall as Werner Reinhardt, and recalled his connection to the Red Skull and Operation Paperclip.
• Whitehall claimed he had achieved something Oaks had not and offered to reveal an enormous secret.

Oaks revealed that Whitehall had prolonged his life by taking life force from other people, then weakened him until he feared aging again. Peggy Carter uncovered Whitehall’s records and learned that he had gained his longevity by transplanting the organs of the woman who had survived touching the Obelisk.

• Peggy Carter recalled Oaks’s warning that replenishing life force from plants could turn a person into a plant, and learned Whitehall had taken life force from humans.
• Whitehall tried to tempt Peggy with the promise of a longer life, but she rejected him and said she wanted to spend her remaining years with Steve and eliminate Hydra.
• Oaks drained Whitehall’s life force and demanded that he reveal what he knew, terrifying him with the prospect of aging.
• Peggy searched Whitehall’s research records, found the files on the Obelisk, and forced him to submit to an iris scan.
• Whitehall called the Obelisk the Prophet and described how it had turned everyone who touched it to stone except a Chinese woman.
• Whitehall confessed that he found the woman in China HUN Province in 1999 and transplanted her internal organs into himself, prompting Peggy to punch him.

Oaks explained how he could use Nature Force to extend Peggy Carter’s life, and Peggy chose to accept the power so she could keep hunting Hydra. The plan involved infusing her uterus, and Steve supported her decision.

• After S.H.I.E.L.D. collapsed, Nick Fury handed the director position to Coulson and faked his death, while Natasha dealt with the fallout from her exposed identity.
• Peggy Carter told Oaks she had no regrets about refusing vitality gained through suffering and agreed to pay a price for more time and strength to destroy Hydra.
• Steve worried that Peggy’s choice would cost them a chance at a future together, but Peggy said she wanted to live long enough to finish Hydra and spend time with him.
• Oaks explained that infusing Nature Force into an organ that would lose its normal function could extend Peggy’s life, and identified her uterus as the target.