Elsewhere-
Steve Rogers arrived at Stark Tower, which now served as the Avengers headquarters.
Tony Stark, watching a news segment on ninja interviews, smirked before turning to the door and exclaiming theatrically, "Wow, the fearless warrior who took down S.H.I.E.L.D. himself!"
Unfazed by Tony's sarcasm, Steve responded seriously, "Tony, Hydra hasn't been completely eradicated. I believe it's time to reassemble the Avengers and finish them off for good."
At that moment, Bruce Banner appeared, holding a stylus, and asked, "What?"
"Hydra?"
Seeing Bruce, Steve nodded and said, "Dr. Banner, it's great to see you here."
Tony chimed in, "I just saw the news myself. Turns out Hydra, thought to have been destroyed in WWII, has risen from the ashes inside the S.H.I.E.L.D."
"No wonder Charles refused to join Fury's Avengers Initiative no matter what. Who knows if he sensed something was off or just didn't care for Nick Fury's antics?"
"But none of that matters now. S.H.I.E.L.D. is gone."
Bruce, being straightforward, joked, "Well, that's actually good news."
Noticing Steve's darkening expression, Bruce quickly corrected himself, "Uh, I mean, yes, Hydra definitely needs to be eliminated."
Tony looked at the two and shrugged. "Coincidentally, I've hit a bottleneck in my research lately. A change of scenery might spark some inspiration."
Bruce Banner, reluctant to engage in battles but unwilling to voice his desire to step back, simply asked, "Since S.H.I.E.L.D. has been disbanded, what happens to the Avengers?"
Tony replied confidently, "Well, Stark Tower has already been renamed as Avengers Headquarters. Since that's the case, how about I take charge of this little team?"
Steve quickly objected, "There are only a few of us. I think we should make decisions democratically."
Bruce nodded in agreement, "Democracy sounds like a good idea."
Seeing that even Bruce didn't support him, Tony leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and said, "Alright then, democracy it is."
Steve continued, "Brock Rumlow needs to be removed from the Avengers. He's working for Hydra and is no longer one of us."
Tony nodded, "Fair enough. Let's do that. Also, let's call in Hawkeye. He's probably feeling a bit lost right now."
"Jarvis, call Barton."
"Right away, sir!"
…
Temporary Base in Peru-
The base had been taken over by Clint Barton. With his combat prowess, any attempts by Hydra to stir up trouble were swiftly and decisively crushed.
When he received the call from Tony, he answered immediately.
"Barton, Steve says we're gathering everyone to take down Hydra," Tony said.
Clint nodded: "Hydra's already been dealt with on my end. Where's the meeting?"
Tony responded, "Avengers Headquarters, formerly Stark Tower."
Clint replied, "Got it. I'll be there tomorrow."
…
San Francisco-
At the Sound Ninja Base, Kabuto Yakushi stood across from a woman and said, "Miss Raina, long time no see."
Raina looked at Kabuto and replied, "I once thought I had found a prophet, someone who could lead me to evolution."
"But now, I realize he was just a liar, full of false promises."
"Kabuto, ninjas are the most perfect beings I've ever seen. They possess incredible abilities and even unmatched scientific expertise."
"I want to follow you and seek evolution."
Kabuto, hearing her plea, smirked and said, "The liar you mentioned… it wouldn't happen to be Garrett, the so-called clairvoyant Hydra agent, would it?"
Raina, surprised, asked, "You know about him?"
Kabuto chuckled but chose not to elaborate on Garrett. Instead, he asked, "And what can you offer me in return?"
Raina replied confidently, "I've brought the third-generation Centipede Serum, research on the Deathlok soldiers, intelligence about Coulson's resurrection, and something very intriguing."
Hearing this, Kabuto adjusted his glasses and said, "The method to stabilize the Centipede Serum? I gave that to you."
"Do you think ninjas need something like that?"
"As for the Deathlok soldiers? They're too weak."
"But intelligence on Coulson's resurrection… now that interests me."
"As for the intriguing piece of information you mentioned, I'd like to hear it," Kabuto said, adjusting his glasses.
"If it's valuable, I might consider letting you join us."
Raina opened a small box she had taken out of her bag, revealing nine vials filled with blue liquid.
"This is GH325 from S.H.I.E.L.D. It's the serum that brought Phil Coulson back to life."
"Agent Fitz, who was on the brink of death after being shot twice, also made a miraculous recovery after being injected with this serum," she added.
Kabuto showed some interest in the GH325 but still asked, "Do you have any additional intelligence about it?"
Raina shook her head, "However, I know that a ninja from Kumogakure named Killer Bee obtained a hard drive from Coulson's team. That drive contains a wealth of information about GH325."