Pierce had been extremely busy lately. The work occupying most of his time was not something simple or straightforward, but a massive and complicated project that required careful coordination across multiple systems. Quietly and gradually, personnel, equipment, and even entire facilities within the S.H.I.E.L.D. network began disappearing without drawing much attention.
At the same time, a brand-new organization began to appear in the shadows.
It was called the Earth Defense Bureau.
To the outside world, it looked like a rapidly growing international security organization that had suddenly emerged to address global threats. According to official information, the Earth Defense Bureau had established sixteen enormous secret bases scattered across the planet.
However, insiders knew the truth.
Those so-called sixteen bases were not separate facilities at all. They were actually sixteen different access points that led to a single location. Hidden beyond ordinary space, in a separate dimensional layer, there existed one colossal headquarters.
The real base was enormous.
Inside this hidden dimension, the Earth Defense Bureau had built a massive operational complex capable of housing an enormous workforce. In less than half a month, the number of personnel stationed inside the headquarters had already exceeded one hundred thousand.
The organization expanded at a breathtaking speed.
Departments were established one after another as new employees arrived daily. The structure included research divisions, administrative management offices, logistics groups, and operational command units. In addition, two particularly important branches were created: the Outer Space Department and the War Department.
Many of the people joining this new organization came directly from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Others, however, had very different backgrounds.
Some employees appeared to be equally experienced intelligence professionals, but there was something subtly different about them. Their behavior was colder, more ruthless, and they seemed strangely unwilling to discuss anything about their past lives.
No one asked too many questions.
Once someone entered the headquarters of the Earth Defense Bureau, they quickly became part of the collective. Every person working there radiated an unusual sense of determination and enthusiasm. It was as if the entire organization shared a powerful belief that they were preparing for something much larger than ordinary intelligence work.
Alongside the construction of the sixteen dimensional gateways, the Earth Defense Bureau quietly absorbed a large number of secret installations previously operated by S.H.I.E.L.D. Many of those facilities had been abandoned or hidden for years, making them perfect for repurposing.
They also took control of several bases left behind during World War II.
Some of those installations had originally belonged to the Axis forces or Hydra. Others had once been seized and reused by Allied intelligence agencies. Over the decades, they had become forgotten relics buried beneath layers of secrecy.
Now they were active once again.
Under Vane's guidance, the remnants of Hydra and the resources of S.H.I.E.L.D. were finally merged together completely. What had once been rival organizations operating in the shadows were now components of a single structure.
While that transformation was unfolding quietly, another explosive piece of news began spreading across the world.
Former S.H.I.E.L.D. director Nick Fury was suddenly accused of a long list of serious crimes committed during his years in power. One scandal after another erupted in rapid succession, each more shocking than the last.
The first accusation claimed that Fury had embezzled hundreds of millions of dollars in government assets. According to the reports, he had secretly used those funds to construct personal safe houses around the world and stockpile large quantities of military-grade weapons.
Even more troubling was the fact that his current location was unknown. Many officials argued that an individual with access to such resources could pose a major threat to global security.
The second accusation was even more alarming.
It claimed that Fury had secretly overseen the development of experimental weapons based on alien technology. Those weapons programs were allegedly responsible for triggering the alien invasion that devastated New York. The story concluded by praising the Justice League for risking their lives to save humanity from a disaster caused by Fury's reckless actions.
The third charge described him as a manipulative bureaucrat who engaged in internal power struggles within S.H.I.E.L.D. According to the reports, he had deliberately built political factions, promoted loyal followers, and suppressed capable individuals who refused to support his authority.
The fourth accusation involved workplace misconduct.
Several female agents claimed that Fury had threatened them or behaved inappropriately toward them during their time in the agency. One report even alleged that he had once made obscene gestures during a video call with a subordinate while intoxicated.
The fifth accusation was even stranger.
It claimed that Fury frequently visited male strip clubs and had participated in several questionable "Boy Scout activities," though the details of those allegations were intentionally vague.
The list continued.
Sixth: abuse of authority to engage in human trafficking and illegal organ trade.
Seventh: abuse of power to participate in narcotics trafficking.
Eighth: secret plans motivated by racial prejudice that involved eliminating certain minority populations.
Whether people actually believed these accusations was difficult to say.
Vane himself certainly knew the truth behind most of them.
However, what mattered far more was perception.
The White House believed it.
Pierce believed it.
The international security council believed it.
And once those institutions accepted the narrative, the public had little choice but to believe it as well.
Through coordinated pressure from multiple governments and agencies, an unprecedented global arrest warrant was issued. The warrant carried a six-star classification, which placed it one level above the standard five-star international alert.
But this was only the first step.
The second step arrived quickly and connected directly to the ongoing Wakanda crisis.
While King T'Chaka was once again participating in a heated debate at the United Nations, an explosion suddenly erupted inside the assembly hall.
The moment was chaotic.
For a brief instant, the American president believed he was about to die. The explosion had occurred close enough to the Wakandan delegation that he suspected T'Chaka might have been launching some desperate retaliatory attack.
But when the smoke cleared, the truth became visible.
T'Chaka had been struck by the blast.
The king collapsed to the ground, clutching his injured leg as security personnel rushed toward him. Before anyone could fully understand what was happening, a group of armed terrorists stormed into the chamber.
They began firing wildly while shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Long live Wakanda!"
"Long live Wakanda!"
The entire assembly hall erupted into panic. Delegates scrambled for cover while security forces moved quickly to neutralize the attackers. Within minutes, the terrorists were subdued.
When the chaos finally settled, the scene inside the chamber was grim.
T'Challa knelt beside his father's body, holding him tightly while tears streamed down his face. Around them, surviving delegates stared with suspicion and hostility.
This single attack pushed the world to its most dangerous geopolitical moment since World War II.
Investigations began immediately, and thanks to intense international cooperation, the identities of the attackers were quickly uncovered.
They were agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
The revelation stunned the world.
Public outrage exploded almost instantly as protests erupted in multiple countries. The idea that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had assassinated a foreign leader during a United Nations meeting was enough to destroy the organization's credibility overnight.
Pierce and Coulson suddenly found themselves facing enormous political pressure.
For a moment, it seemed possible that they might actually pay for the incident with their lives.
Then the investigation uncovered another layer of the story.
The attackers were not ordinary S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
They were Hydra operatives who had infiltrated the organization.
And they had been hiding there for nearly ten years.
The world was shocked again.
Hydra, the infamous organization that originated during World War II, was supposed to have been destroyed decades ago. Yet somehow it had survived, secretly embedding hundreds of agents inside one of the most powerful intelligence agencies on Earth.
The deeper investigators looked, the worse the situation became.
Hundreds of Hydra agents were discovered within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Almost all of them had joined during Nick Fury's tenure as director.
Even worse, many of those individuals had entered the agency through Fury's own recommendations or evaluations.
To the public, the conclusion seemed obvious.
Nick Fury had been a double agent all along.
Suddenly, the earlier accusations against him no longer sounded like wild rumors. Instead, they appeared to fit perfectly into a much larger conspiracy.
The reaction was explosive.
Black communities around the world were furious.
Jewish communities were furious.
Polish citizens were furious.
People across the entire planet expressed outrage and disbelief.
Even members of the Justice League were shaken.
Captain America, Black Widow, and Hawkeye all began questioning Fury's legacy after reviewing the evidence presented against him. Much of the material looked disturbingly convincing.
Eventually, they joined the global effort to capture him.
But this was still only the second step.
The third step arrived almost immediately.
Vane never liked giving his enemies time to recover or respond, so the most decisive move came quickly. This time, the center of the storm was S.H.I.E.L.D. itself.
Project Insight was officially revealed to the public.
Alongside the announcement came an enormous list of names.
Thousands of individuals appeared on "elimination lists," while tens of thousands more were placed on surveillance lists. The document spread across the internet within hours, igniting a worldwide uproar.
Tony Stark was among the first people to react publicly.
Standing in front of reporters, he stared at the document in disbelief before swearing loudly.
"Are you kidding me?" he shouted. "I'm on the watch list too?"
He shook his head angrily.
"Has S.H.I.E.L.D. completely lost its mind?"
The American president was equally outraged.
His name appeared on the list as well.
In fact, a huge number of powerful figures around the world were included. Political leaders, military officers, business executives, and influential scientists all found themselves labeled as potential threats.
The document was confirmed to have been compiled by Nick Fury himself.
In contrast, the version prepared by Pierce contained only a much smaller elimination list targeting several thousand individuals. That version did not include the massive surveillance network described in Fury's file.
The announcement sent shockwaves across the world.
People everywhere began questioning S.H.I.E.L.D.'s authority.
Even national police forces did not possess the power to secretly monitor and judge the entire global population. Yet S.H.I.E.L.D. had apparently attempted exactly that.
How could an organization claiming to defend freedom justify such control?
Just when the outrage reached its peak, another document was leaked.
At the top of the page were several bold words.
"Hydra Internal List – Drafted by Nick Fury."
The world fell silent for a moment.
Then the backlash exploded.
Calls for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s dissolution appeared everywhere. Governments demanded investigations, citizens protested in the streets, and international institutions condemned the agency.
Under overwhelming pressure, S.H.I.E.L.D. stood on the edge of complete collapse.
During these chaotic days, Vane himself had not been particularly relaxed.
He remained constantly alert.
At any moment, some unknown cosmic hero might suddenly appear and attack him. He occasionally imagined a glowing figure descending from the sky and smashing into him with unstoppable force.
Strangely enough, he almost hoped something like that would happen.
But it never did.
Even as S.H.I.E.L.D. officially disbanded, no such confrontation arrived.
Nick Fury never appeared either.
However, the situation surrounding him continued to deteriorate rapidly. One safe house after another was discovered and raided. Many of his former allies surrendered to authorities as the investigation intensified.
Most of the people who had followed him after his resignation were gone.
According to information Vane received from the Skrulls, Fury might no longer even be on Earth.
In the end, the outcome became official.
S.H.I.E.L.D. was disbanded.
The Earth Defense Bureau was established.
.....
Join my p@treon and read ahead by more than 60+ chapters.
Link : [email protected]/InfinityWeaver
Free members can read the next two chapters for free on my p@treon