Aftermath

Everything had settled into place.

Nick Fury stood before the floor-to-ceiling window, looking down at Pierce on the ground.

Pierce lay sprawled on the floor, glancing sideways at Nick Fury.

"Nick—"

A rasping sound came from Pierce's throat, each word seeming to squeeze out through clenched teeth. "You—you think you've won?"

"No matter how many heads you grow, I'll cut them off. That's my job!"

Fury took a deep breath and spoke to Pierce.

Behind him, agents stepped forward and dragged the immobile Pierce away.

With Pierce and the Hydra agents embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D. under arrest, a global purge officially began.

Thanks to the ironclad support of federal president Osborn, the FBI and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents loyal to Fury launched a joint operation, carrying out comprehensive arrests of the Hydra members on the list under charges of "endangering national security."

From senators on Capitol Hill to Wall Street tycoons, from directors of tech companies to editors-in-chief serving as media mouthpieces, faces that had once appeared so glamorous were now filled with terror and disbelief.

The federal machinery of power began operating at unprecedented speed.

The tangled, deeply entrenched interest groups that had once seemed impossible to shake were gradually uprooted with the precise list provided by Harry Osborn.

A sweeping transformation capable of overturning the nation was completed silently, without even causing much of a stir among the public.

Citizens continued living their lives, only seeing a few brief reports in the following morning's news about "certain government officials and business figures being investigated on suspicion of major economic crimes and treason."

However, inside the conference room of Avengers Tower, the atmosphere was far from as calm as it was outside.

"You can't do this, Tony!"

Steve Rogers spread his arms and stood in front of Tony Stark, his eyes