CIVIL WAR AFTERMATH
by Gunman

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Summary: A conversation between General Ross and a mysterious individual leads to a startling revelation.

Authors Notes: This is my interpretation on how things might go in the aftermath of Civil War between Captain America and Iron Man. This is based on the comics and how the direction of the movies thus far have gone.

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SLAP!

General Ross just reeled as the impact hit him.

He had no idea where he was or what had happened to him. He looked around, seeing that he was not in his home or office. He was tied to a chair with a man wearing a strange green outfit, and a mask, standing over him.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Ross asked the man.

"I just wanted to thank you, general. It helps when you are actually awake." the man said.

"Thank me? For what?"

"For helping to create... a better world."

Ross just grimaced as he said that.

Within the last 36 hours, the world had gone to hell.

The United Nations Headquarters, with over 180 international ambassadors, had been blown up by an unknown force.

The White House was attacked and the President was in hiding. Safe, but in hiding.

Two major military bases had been wiped out by an unknown orbiting laser satellite system.

And several groups, each with their own superhuman and even Inhuman contingent, were being reported all over the world.

"The United States won't be intimidated by your actions." Ross said, defiantly.

"Intimidated? You make it sound like I'm trying to hurt you and America. That's foolish. Why would I want to hurt my greatest allies?" the man said.

"Greatest allies? What are you talking about?" Ross spat.

"Many years ago, HYDRA easily and successfully infiltrated SHIELD. They corrupted and subverted the very agency created to stop threats like us. And all because they were invited by your politicians. They gave HYDRA a second chance to reclaim our destiny. And once again, the politicians have served us well." the man said.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Ross replied.

"Oh? You really don't know? I was talking about the Sokovia Accords."

"That document was meant to give accountability to peoples with incredible powers and abilities. To keep them from roaming free and doing whatever they felt like. It reassures the public that they are safe."

"Safe? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the man laughed. "Yes, I'm sure that's what you tell yourselves and the public. But the truth of the matter is that you are scared, powerless children, and you don't like that. You don't like feeling weak, while letting other people do incredible and amazing things, as you are left behind to deal with the clean up. You truly don't realize what you have done, general. When you take away someones freedom, you limit what they can do. You essentially wanted to put chains and collars on those you are superior to yourselves. And you start with The Avengers, the only ones who could have stopped peoples like me."

Ross seemed to regard that statement. But again, it sounded like this guy was just rambling on.

"You and your political associates have done wonders for HYDRA. I'm sure we could find a place for you in our growing new world order."

"Me? Join you? Never!" Ross spat again.

"Why not? HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with it's own freedom. Because freedom, while it might seem like a double-edged sword, is power. To go wherever you want, do whatever you want, take whatever you want. To BE whomever you want. That is the true strength behind organizations like HYDRA and the Avengers. No limitations. And rather than trying to stop us, you try to stop your own allies. Your heroes. The Avengers are heroes, because without them, the world would have been conquered by maniacal gods and alien invaders. It would have been forced under the heel of HYDRA itself. Or simply wiped out by autonomous monsters. And how do you choose to reward these heroes? You make them weak. You and your ilk, have helped us to achieve the very thing we wanted. A world without heroes. Without The Avengers. Whom, if I am not mistaken, are now fugitives."

Ross couldn't answer that.

"America has become the very thing that the Nazis tried so hard to become. An Empire with total control of it's population, and in turn, the world."

"America is nothing like that!" Ross shouted.

"Oh really? Turn on your television, general, and you'll see what I am talking about. Regulations, rules, laws. All created by people in power in order to make the population bend to their will. And those people can be bought, easily enough. Bigotry, racism, prejudice and intolerance run rampant in a country said to be great, and your government does nothing about it. Washington DC is a popular joke on Facebook. Your leaders are mocked, while Hollywood celebrities are idolized. Every city in America has crime and poverty. Apathy runs rampant. Your precious country infiltrated by so many unfriendly powers that you and your government force sanctions and limits on every mode of travel imaginable, even to that of your own people. No one is exempt, because you don't know who is the real guilty party. It is a country built on the blood, sweat and tears of immigrants and slaves, centuries before the Nazis came to power. The country is rotted from the inside out, and you stand upon it like it's a pedestal made of gold. And to ensure you don't get toppled from that pedestal, you forcefully impose regulations upon those who are superior to yourselves, those who are different, because you are sick and tired of others being better than you."

"That still doesn't make your statements about America being the new Third Reich true." Ross said.

"Oh, do not worry. In time, your country will see that the old Nazi way of doing things, was right. And HYDRA will rule this world, as it should. All we need to be... is patient."

It was then that Ross looked behind the man, and gasped when he noticed several things.

Captain America's shield, the Falcons wings, and a certain metal arm, hanging on the back wall. Like spoils of war.

"Do you like my trophy room? I decorated it myself." the man said.

"That shield. Those wings. The arm." Ross said.

"Yes. Difficult to get away from The Captain and his allies, but not from the government." the man said again.

"No... how... how did you...?"

"A payoff here, a bribe there, a little blackmail here. I'm looking to add The Black Panthers suit, War Machines armor, The Hawks bow and arrows, and The Black Widows own weapons. I might even have Iron Man's suit and the hammer of Thor put up here. Wouldn't that be just wonderful?"

"You're insane." Ross stated.

"It's a mad world we live in. A world where the powerful are meant to rule. And to be powerful, you must not have limits. Limits... like your precious Sokovia Accords."

"This is about the Accords?" Ross asked.

"No. Your Accords were very useful to us. You have pushed apart the only ones who could have stopped us. Isolated them, made them weak. And in their weakness, we grow strong!" he said.

Ross hung his head, feeling the heavy weight of his actions upon him.

He had believed that what he was doing was the right thing. But this man had a point. In the past couple of years, he and those like him had been taken a back seat to people like Stark and Rogers. People with godly power, skills and weapons superior to anyone else. The military, the government, they were all weak and powerless. And they didn't like it.

Despite how it was worded, despite it's official intentions, The Sokovia Accords were nothing but a means to exert their will over those who were stronger than themselves.

A petty means of controlling people with power.

The Avengers were all but disbanded, some even on the run. People with power and advanced tech were roaming free and unchecked, a clear threat to people like Ross. The world was filling up with people who couldn't be matched by ordinary people like Ross and his kind.

And their latest reports had confirmed that HYDRA not only had access to advanced technology and weapons, but also they had access to the same super-soldier serum that had created Captain America.

A grim thought, that.

The United States had been spending so much time and effort to recreate the super-soldier project since WWII, and had failed time and time again. Ross's own attempt to create one, using a battle maniac like Emil Blonsky of all people, had backfired tremendously.

He knew that the Captain's faith had been broken in recent years. Steve Rogers loved his country, but now... it was a country he couldn't fight for anymore, because it had basically betrayed him.

He also knew that while Tony Stark supported the Accords, his faith in doing the right thing had also been shattered because of what had happened between him and Rogers. Plus he knew that he would never give the government his tech again.

The US didn't have an army of super soldiers, a battalion of armored warriors, and people with super powers weren't exactly lining up to enlist in the military and serve their country. Not with the way the public was condemning them as freaks and such.

It actually made the general cringe at how weak and powerless he and his own really were.

"But take heart, general. A better world is coming." the man said as he nodded to someone behind him.

Ross then felt someone cover his face with a rag, and the smell of chloroform carried him to dream land.

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Authors Notes:

This is something I've actually wanted to say for a while.

This isn't meant to be light-hearted or to give a happy ending to some of my favorite genres or movies or characters. The direction of the most recent movies is obvious to me. It's heading down a darker path than what we want.

And that's understandable.

So many of the best movies you watch are filled with overwhelming danger and darkness and it's such an incredible feeling to watch heroes overcome that, when the odds are stacked against them a thousand or a million to one.

Especially in the comics, it's like the bad guys are going to win, and the good guys fall trying to stop them.

This isn't just me rambling on and on about the problems in the world and no one does anything about it. This is me just trying to get the darkness off my chest that I feel has taken over so many of my favorite movies and such.

People love drama, and what's more dramatic than the bad guys about to win?

Thor The Dark World: Loki is on the throne and Odin is missing.
Ant Man: The Yellowjacket serum was taken by that Mitchell Carson guy, so it's still out there.
Captain America The Winter Soldier: SHIELD is gone, HYDRA might still exist in some way.
Avengers Age of Ultron: Thanos has the Gauntlet and knows where four of the six Infinity Stones are. Maybe the other two as well, we don't know.

It's like the bad guys are being given a chance to succeed.

You can see it coming. So much devastation, so much loss, and in the end, the heroes have only the slightest idea of what is to come and no prep time to stop it.

But please... feedback is welcome. Please read and review.