Poland, Suburbs of Warsaw
Nick Fury and his team sat on the grass outside the Quinjet.
They were gathered around, watching the online projection of the Superman video.
It had been nearly an hour since the nuclear blast, and cheers had been echoing through the city ever since.
This usually peaceful city suddenly felt like Rio de Janeiro during Carnival, buzzing with excitement that left no room for even a hint of negativity.
Yet, no amount of celebratory atmosphere could shake the enormous weight that now sat on Nick Fury's heart.
He couldn't accept that he had only now discovered the full scope of events—and from viral posts, no less.
Even harder to accept was that Hydra, his nemesis against whom he'd been willing to risk everything, had been taken down so easily and inexplicably.
Of course, the hardest thing for him to accept was the reality of Superman.
He'd watched the video of that man flying out of the nuclear blast and dispersing the mushroom cloud dozens of times.
He simply couldn't understand how someone so powerful could exist on Earth.
Not even his greatest asset, Captain Marvel, could punch with the force of ten nuclear blasts.
It now seemed even less likely that anything could pose a fatal threat to Superman.
The only bit of comfort Fury found was in Tony Stark successfully taking down one of the helicarriers.
It gave Fury a faint sense of participation.
He sat silently on the lawn, deeply pensive.
His palm kept rubbing over his old pager, as if trying to polish the worn device to a shine.
Hawkeye didn't fully understand Fury's mood.
In fact, he seemed quite cheerful.
"How many times have we watched this Superman video? A hundred? Why are we still replaying it?"
"Isn't it a good thing Hydra's conspiracy was foiled? Lighten up, Fury, the crisis is over, and this isn't work time right now."
He pointed toward Warsaw in the distance.
"Anyone up for joining the celebration? Isn't unwinding after a global crisis the right thing to do?"
Coulson raised his hand. "If it's an option, I'd love a Polish vodka myself."
"No!" Fury stood abruptly.
He tucked the pager back into his pocket. "No vodka, and no celebration."
"We have a mess to clean up. Hill, contact whoever you trust; we're taking back S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
Nick Fury's dark face looked solemn against the evening sunset.
It was as if he were about to embark on a mission that would decide the fate of the entire world.
However, Hill, sitting on the ground, passed him a tablet. "Fury, you were so focused on studying Superman earlier that I didn't mention it."
"Half an hour ago, the Rising Tide organization obtained all S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel files through an unknown source—and published everything online."
"Since the majority of our agents are Hydra, and most of the remaining agents have been involved in some questionable activities…"
"That information has caused a huge public outcry online."
"Just now, the Security Council issued a notice: they plan to detain us and officially disband S.H.I.E.L.D."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. no longer exists, Fury."
Hill's expression was as calm as if she were discussing switching jobs to another company tomorrow.
"What did you say? How could S.H.I.E.L.D. be…" Fury was in disbelief.
He raised his voice. "Do you know it would take at least two Alpha-level personnel with simultaneous iris scans to pull all the member files?"
Hill raised an eyebrow. "I know, but… S.H.I.E.L.D. really is gone."
"As for how Rising Tide obtained those files—maybe you can investigate it slowly after our detention is over."
Fury, stunned, took the tablet and realized that the situation had truly spiraled beyond recovery.
"Motherfucker—…"
…
Three days passed without notice.
These three days marked the greatest shift in world affairs in the last decade.
First, S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded.
Then, all members of the UN Security Council underwent an early rotation.
Following that, the U.S. swiftly withdrew all remaining troops from Asia overnight.
—Previously, they had exploited a loophole to only remove troops stationed in Afghanistan from Asia.
Since Lyon had been busy with cross-dimensional travels and managing the MIB operatives, he put off any retribution until after dealing with Hydra.
Now, seeing that the U.S. was trying to make amends, he thought it over and still decided to take the time to sink an aircraft carrier.
The U.S. military convened an emergency meeting, where, after much deliberation, they ultimately cited the lack of casualties to dismiss the incident.
The next day, they quietly held a press conference, stating that the carrier's sinking was due to an exercise mishap.
Afterward, the global manhunt for Hydra officially began.
No one could tolerate a group of lunatics roaming nearby with nukes, itching to take the entire world down with them.
And during the hunt...
The most eye-catching figures in the scene were a group of women always dressed in black suits and, of course, Iron Man, who frequently flew high-profile through the skies.
The former, in particular, stood out.
They had previously intercepted a helicarrier, captured Pierce, and rescued representatives from various countries.
During the pursuit of Hydra, they appeared and disappeared like ghosts, often destroying a Hydra base as soon as they showed up.
Even when major international organizations launched investigations, they couldn't uncover a single clue about them.
Or perhaps, after uncovering a glimpse of the truth, they stopped their inquiries, tacitly accepting the existence of these Black-Clad figures.
Some said the Black-Clad women were Tony Stark's "Iron Lace Squad," because they possessed unique armor resembling Iron Man's.
Others claimed they were a group of people persecuted by Hydra, who banded together for revenge.
This theory seemed plausible, as their first appearance had targeted Hydra, as though driven by a blood feud.
But regardless of how wild the speculations became, the fact remained that the Black-Clad women and Iron Man had gained worldwide renown.
In addition to this, another name, "Rising Tide," also spread globally amidst the Hydra incident.
Now, this organization's information had been thoroughly scrutinized by various nations.
Members were either recruited or imprisoned, and the few who remained hidden had stopped making any claims about "freedom of speech."
Their exposure during the Hydra incident became their "swan song."
Of course, it was a swan song they'd boast about for a lifetime.
However, the true global shock from this incident came solely from Superman.
After the Hydra incident, there were millions of new online entries about Superman each day.
His impact on the world, from official entities to everyday refugees, had only just begun to take root.
Online communities had even split into dozens of factions because of him.
The largest of these were the Supporters and the Opposition.
The Supporters considered themselves Superman's advocates, many of whom had once been rescued by him.
The Opposition, on the other hand, was a mix of people with all kinds of motivations.
In just three days, both factions had clashed online more than a hundred times.
The aftermath of these battles was so intense that bystanders described it as almost obliterating the entire online world—a clash of the century!
The other factions were essentially subgroups of these two primary camps.
There were factions like the Descendants, the Rescuers, the Supreme God Faction, as well as those like the Original Sin, Dictatorship, and Annihilation Factions.
After three days of heated debates, the supporters had gained a decisive upper hand.
One reason was their sheer numbers.
Another reason was the rumor that some survivors of the Warsaw nuclear explosion, during the argument, directly hacked into the Opposition's computers, flew across borders, and challenged them to face-to-face duels.
The opposition members who were challenged soon posted, "I will always support Superman," with their IP addresses tracing back to a local hospital.
And so, the opposition lowered their flags and ceased their protests, at least for the time being.
________
Read 15 Chapters ahead:
Patreon.com/LiveLifeLove