(A/N): Can you believe it? This is the end! It's been quite the ride over more than a year, but we're super excited to bring you this epilogue. And look out for the third book in this trilogy, "Death is Not the End," two weeks from now after we take a short sanity break ;)

Thank you to all of the writers who reviewed and for your boundless enthusiasm. You guys are what it's all about :D And thank you to Slim Summers2002 for being awesome as always.

Without any further ado... TA DA!

Epilogue: Shots Fired

Written by Canucklehead Cowgirl and robbiepoo2341

Ophelia Sarkissian, 20th Victor of the Avenger Games

The Princess Bar, The Capitol

The Dawn After the Revolution Began

You can draw any kind of picture you want on a clean slate and indulge your every whim in the wilderness in laying out a New Delhi, Canberra, or Brasilia, but when you operate in an overbuilt metropolis, you have to hack your way with a meat ax. — Robert Moses

Viper smiled as she almost lazily traced the rim of her martini glass with one finger, watching as what was left of the cabal found their way to their seats in Viper's private balcony at the Princess Bar in the seediest part of the Capitol. The empty chairs were taken by a few newcomers — powerful allies and victors — but the absences were still notable.

Lorelai hadn't made it out of the Capitol, and for that, Viper was pleased. For as much as she appreciated another woman's voice in the sea of men too pleased with themselves, Lorelai had an infatuation with herself and delusions of grandeur that set themselves against Viper's own plans for glory. And that, of course, would never have been allowed to stand. The only drawback was that Viper would have enjoyed killing the girl herself had she survived the initial onslaught of the revolution.

And Alexander Pierce was dead. It was clear Nick Fury had somehow caught on to Hydra's plans, and Pierce had paid the price for his own sloppiness. But considering his inability to keep SHIELD from stepping up their timetable with no warning and his disappointing lack of insight into the full extent of the Tahiti program… it was no real loss.

Not like Nathaniel Essex's absence. That one was, in fact, an issue for Hydra. He had been sent ahead to what was supposed to be a hidden-away base of operations in Seven, to begin setting up a lab for himself and the other scientists in Hydra's control. Seven, with the dangers of logging, had a high number of orphans, perfect for testing Hydra's theories of immortality, of the limits of blood memory, of the effects of other methods of reincarnation, especially on brainwashing. Something perhaps more elegant than Whitehall had used.

Schmidt hadn't been happy about what had happened in Seven, and Viper was sure that he would find recompense as soon as he had consolidated his power here. She knew the Skull well; he wanted immortality, eternal power. Those that stood in his way or challenged that power were crushed.

And on occasions like this, she often administered death on his behalf. It was, after all, the reason she was drawn to him. Where else could she find such a like mind — and opportunities to experiment with her own measures?

But for now, she simply watched as the rest of their cabal dragged themselves into the meeting. Ra's seemed almost unfocused as he sat at the head of the table — a place that would not be his for long. Only one daughter, Talia, stood behind him. The other was dead on the streets of the Capitol, victim to the brats in Tahiti that were still enough to outclass the so-called Demon Head's own children.

Not that Nyssa was Hydra's only casualty. Viper had been waiting and watching for the three girls that she had working in tandem to report back to her, but so far, there had been no sign of them. It was disappointing, especially because Viper knew it would likely lead Schmidt to lean even further on the boy from Six that he had trained.

To Viper's irritation, however, both Lex Luthor and Vandal Savage had survived the initial onslaught in the Capitol, despite the fact that it was earlier than expected. She had hoped that they would be felled by SHIELD or even by Nova Corps, but instead, it seemed they had survived.

Pity.

Selene and Zazzala both seemed worse for the wear, though Zazzala was far more pleased with herself, considering the death of Amanda Waller. Not that they were the only ones who had only just escaped with their lives. The eggheaded scientists, particularly Strange and Octavius, were lucky to have escaped at all. And the spoiled pseudo-prince Victor Von Doom had a long and jagged scar down his face, still pink and healing.

Unsurprisingly, there were a few unbothered faces around the room. Shaw and Shishido gave no indication that this was any different than another day. Tony Masters seemed to be perfectly at home, having sided with Hydra in the end, though his loyalty was still, to Viper's mind, in serious question. And, of course, the Skull himself looked pleased looking over the group. Even with the loss of Essex and his research, he knew what Viper knew — that this meeting would end in their favor.

"I'd like to know where we stand with our asset acquisitions," Ra's said, watching the table carefully.

Cornelius tipped his head slightly. "Unfortunately, it seems the children Fury resurrected chose to destroy the equipment that gave them life. But—" He looked around the room, making it clear that there was at least some good news before anyone could criticize him. "—we were able to bring a few Tahiti operatives into our program, including Anthony Stark, who worked on much of the equipment himself. Knowledge is, after all, power."

"A bit of good news then," Ra's replied. "How much persuasion will you need to use on him, or is he smart enough to be reasonable?"

"It may be too early to tell," Strange said, a small smile tugging at his expression. "He is still a bit defiant now. He's being dealt with, but he may also still harbor the hope of a quick rescue."

"Let him see how hopeless that idea is and he may be reasonable," Savage agreed. "Hopelessness is itself an excellent convincing method."

Ra's nodded his agreement. "Did we kill any of Fury's chosen ones?"

It was Jessica Drew, at Viper's side, who spoke up at that. "Unfortunately, Thanos was the only one with a kill count in the group of victors. He killed Drax in combat."

"Has the gauntlet been found yet?" Ra's asked. "That would help with convincing the public."

"Not yet," Jessica said. "It wasn't in the palace, according to my contacts. It's possible one of his children took it — Gamora was seen with Peter Quill."

"Which brings me to another point," Ra's said, turning toward Selene. "You'll need to stake your claim and collect on the debt. Sooner rather than later."

Selene fell short of glaring back at him, her chin tipped up, but she didn't speak up, prompting Jessica to lean forward with a gleam in her eye. "Go on, Selene. Tell us how you let Logan slip through your fingers during the initial battle. Or did you think no one saw him protecting you?"

"It doesn't matter," Selene said with a wave. "I can do Hydra more good alive than dead. I'll get him eventually."

"Yes, and owe him another life debt, no doubt," Savage sneered.

"I owe him nothing," she hissed back. "But I will bring him to Hydra one way or another." She turned toward Ra's. "Unless Hydra doesn't appreciate my good work. Then I'll do as I please."

Ra's met her gaze for a long moment before he looked around the table. "There have been many missteps at the start of our path to ruling. Rectify them — and do not repeat them."

Selene didn't reply, but she was sure to turn and glare at Jessica and Viper accusingly. Viper smirked at the display before she tipped her head to Schmidt and finally picked up her glass to toast him. "And to those of us who did not misstep… we will continue to hold up the rest," she said, not breaking eye contact with Selene as she took a drink.

"Yes, I'm sure it was trying hiding behind your personal guards," Selene replied, though she did not touch her glass.

"It must be difficult not having such loyalty in your own men," Viper replied easily.

Selene smirked and glanded to Schmidt. "It's not only the men that need to show loyalty."

Viper narrowed her eyes as Tony Masters chuckled outright. "Got you there, Sarkissian."

"I would take care, Masters," Viper said in a venomous tone, "not to involve yourself in a discussion of loyalty when yours is still so tenuous."

"Well, I sure won't show it the way you do, sweetheart."

"Apparently, Ophelia isn't as charming as she thought," Selene said, smirking wider.

As Masters opened his mouth to confirm it, Ra's cut him off. "Enough," he said sharply. "This is a war, not a petty rivalry. Keep your squabbles away from more important considerations."

"We need to find the gauntlet," Schmidt said, not looking at either woman and certainly furious.

"We need to consolidate our power throughout the districts," Luthor argued. "Symbols are powerful, but actual might is more important."

"Six is in our control," Schmidt said. "We should move to secure the rest of the Capitol and the inner districts first." He met Ra's gaze and rose to his feet. "I want any victors that have chosen not to side with us to be handled publicly. Make an example of them and show the districts what happens to those that stand against Hydra."

"Agreed," Savage said — which was a surprise to much of the cabal, when the two men rarely agreed on anything. "The victors carry power. If the gauntlet is so important, so is their symbolism."

Ra's nodded. "Then we will make our power clear. It would be prudent to see what victors we can persuade to our side as well before their execution. A converted symbol holds power too."

"It would be wise to see what trouble they bring for us first," Schmidt said. "If they are backing SHIELD too loudly, they should not be given the opportunity."

"We will see," Ra's said simply and in a tone that said he thought this was the end of the argument.

Viper smirked and leaned back, sipping her own drink as she watched the others around the table. The poison she had laced the rims of some of the glasses with would take a few moments to take effect, so there would be no immediate tip off, no reason for the rest of the people there to suspect any foul play or to think their own drinks were unsafe.

It was no surprise that Otto Octavius was the first to feel the effects — the man was notorious for his drinking habit in Four. He kept running a finger over his lips, clearly feeling the numbing effect of the toxin, but a drunkard wouldn't think too terribly much of that.

It was Savage, whose sudden shortness of breath tipped him off, that realized what had happened first, and he got to his feet, chest heaving with his breath, his eyes narrowed toward Schmidt. "You laced the wine," he said. It wasn't an accusation, more a statement of fact with the full force of his anger behind it.

"Don't be foolish," Viper purred out. "If that was the case, then everyone would be having trouble."

At that, Cornelius leaned forward. He wasn't feeling the effects, but it was clear he was intrigued by those he noticed were showing them. "The glasses, then," he mused aloud.

"A lady never tells," Viper said with a self-satisfied grin, her focus shifting subtly to Ra's.

At that, Talia stepped forward from where she had been standing behind her father — sadly not taking any food or drink for herself — and rested a hand on her father's shoulder. But he seemed hardly to acknowledge her concerned motion, instead keeping his gaze fixed on Schmidt as he got to his feet.

"Traitor," he all but breathed out as he did so.

"That would imply that there was loyalty to begin with," Schmidt replied coolly.

Ra's narrowed his eyes as Talia put her hand on his arm. "Come, Father; we need to get you—"

"By all means, try," Viper said with a wave. "But there is no antidote to my mixes. Even if you were to get lucky and isolate one — the others would make you wish it had killed you sooner."

The sound of a blade being unsheathed brought their attention to Masters, whose chest was also heaving. "You brought us all here to kill us?" he asked in disbelief.

"Only those that show no loyalty to Hydra," Schmidt replied. "Do not pretend that you were ever here for any reason other than to avoid SHIELD."

By that time, Octavius was by far the furthest along in his progression, clearly unable to catch a breath right and in obvious distress. Selene beside him was getting to her feet as Shaw, on the other side of her, started to gasp as well.

Selene's drink was untouched. Though, Viper supposed, two out of three wasn't bad.

"Such a pity," Viper said. "So close to all three in a row."

Selene simply met Viper's gaze, but she knew that the tides had turned against her, and she quickly left the room, leaving the five men who had been poisoned to their fates, with Octavius first to fall where he still sat. Savage was not far behind, his larger frame depressing his breathing as well.

"I could still hit her with a dart," Viper chuckled. "But I'd rather watch her flee. No allies? No influence? Beautiful."

Luthor shook his head, clearly shaken but slowly realizing that, for the moment, he was still alive — even as Talia ushered her father toward desperate help and Victor Von Doom easily disarmed Masters before he could make use of his blade in his own bid for revenge. "Isn't it a bit premature to kill allies before we've consolidated our power?" Luthor held up one hand. "I understand it, of course. I'd do the same if I had more power of my own. But they had their own followers."

"If they cannot pledge themselves to Hydra, then they too, will fall," Schmidt replied. "Perhaps Miss Sarkissian should have been a bit more liberal in her applications."

Luthor laughed lightly and shook his head. "You know Hydra has my loyalty. It was only a question, Schmidt. Learn to deal with them without extremes or you will kill all your true friends with any intelligence."

"Don't sound so nervous," Viper said, smiling still as she once again lifted her glass to her lips. "If your loyalty was in question, you wouldn't be breathing."

"It is a fascinating question," Strange said, leaning forward, eyes bright behind his glasses. "The determination of loyalty… and even more interesting is the reaction of the disloyal when they are uncovered." His gaze was on Shaw as he slipped from his seat. "To know what is coming…"

"Do not mistake," Schmidt said. "Your usefulness was also factored in to this equation."

"That much was obvious when you spared your science division," Zola said. "But then, with Essex dead, we have ground to cover."

"Essex had his own agenda," Viper said. "It's no great loss."

"He understood the Tahiti process better than any of us," Strange said. "Let's be honest about the losses we've suffered so that we can be realistic about what lies ahead."

"Yes, yes," she said. "But as it was stated: we have the brains to continue the process. Perhaps even improve it further."

Cornelius smiled at that and toasted her with his own drink. "Then here is to a new era — and Hydra's impending rule."

Alfred Pennyworth

Wayne Manor, District Seven

Dawn After the Revolution

"Older men declare war. But it is the youth that must fight and die." -Herbert Hoover

Alfred had his hands full with the children in his care.

Since Bruce had returned to the Capitol, Alfred had endured a deluge of questions concerning his whereabouts, but now, that was well and truly answered, with Bruce and Helena reunited briefly before the Capitol cut the feed of the Games footage.

There had been only enough time for Alfred and the others watching to hear the two Waynes agreeing to turn against the Capitol. But Nicholas Fury's pre-recorded call to arms across the district was far more direct and left nothing to doubt. This was a revolution, not a quest for vengeance.

And for many of the older children sheltering in the manor, the prospect of a fight was exciting. Alfred could hear several young voices shouting to each other that they were going to fight more Sentinels, even take on Thanos himself.

It was the unbridled enthusiasm of children too young to fight, but Alfred found himself more concerned with those who were more likely to find themselves in danger. He had, for example, heard absolutely nothing from Bruce or Helena since the broadcast, and they had made such targets of themselves that it was unlikely they would be able to hide from the consequences.

"We'd know if they'd been captured," Barbara said softly, and Alfred looked up from working up something for the kids to eat to see her standing in the doorway with her arms crossed. She had been rather quiet since the broadcast of Dick's murder, but she had also been immensely helpful since the announcement went out. There hadn't been time to mourn, and Alfred was grateful for how busy he had been.

After all, many of the Sentinels in Seven had befriended the citizens. The Hudsons, the Gordons — both families were now among the many taking refuge in the manor. It was getting crowded.

Alfred smiled lightly at Barbara and nodded. "Yes, I believe we would," he said.

Barbara tucked her hair behind her ear. "Can I help?" she asked. "I don't have anything to do…"

Alfred somehow doubted that was the case. More than likely, she meant that she had nothing to occupy her mind from worry, grief, or any of the other warring emotions he was also struggling with. "Wash your hands first," he said with a nod.

Barbara smiled gratefully before she went to the sink to do just that, though they had only just gotten dinner in the oven when the doorbell rang, and Alfred let out a sigh as he wiped his hands on the towel hanging from the oven door. There was no telling who might be at the door lately — Sentinels, people wishing the family well after their loss, one of the children playing outside ringing the bell just because it was fun…

But of the several possibilities, Alfred was surprised to find instead a motley group on the doorstep, led by two tall Black men in SHIELD uniforms.

"Sorry; we would have called ahead if our tech hadn't been fried," said one of the agents. "I'm Tripp; this is Mac."

"It's good to meet you," Alfred said. "I'm afraid if you are looking for Master Bruce—"

"No, no," Tripp said, shaking his head with an easy smile. He gestured to the group behind him — none of whom could have been older than nineteen at most. They were all teenagers, and they all smelled like smoke. "We were actually hoping to find a place to regroup."

"We were fighting Sentinels and the Capitol," said one of the girls in the group, a girl with dark brown hair and similarly brown skin and a smudge of black soot across her nose that only made her grin look wider. "But after we blew up the power plant, they sort of … blew up our headquarters."

Alfred raised an eyebrow at that. "I see."

"SHIELD has been keeping an eye on groups in the districts that have been fighting against the Capitol," explained another girl, tall with short, dark hair. Her allegiance to SHIELD had been harder to see; her uniform was of a different design, in darker colors, possibly for infiltration. "So when the revolution hit, we made sure those groups had our support."

"Which is good, because we would have been wiped out if SHIELD hadn't stepped in," said another girl with curly, dark hair. "Hydra sent in forces to devastate the district. We were coming up from Four when we got their distress call..." She glanced toward the last girl in the group, who was unarguably Kara Danvers from this week's Games... and who was supporting, with the help of one of the boys in the group, her unconscious cousin. "SHIELD isn't the only one bringing people back from the dead."

Alfred nodded slowly as he listened to all of them before he let his shoulders drop and smiled tightly. "Far be it from me to turn away refugees of war," he said at last. "But I should warn you — if you stay here, there are several small children, and I'll expect you to help."

"Of course," said the curly-haired girl. "We wouldn't ask you to babysit us." She smirked lightly and then held her hand out to Alfred to shake. "I'm Peggy Carter, by the way. Jimmy Olsen and Kamala Khan are on my team — we're the ones who got out, anyway." She tipped her head toward Kara. "And these are the Danvers sisters."

"A pleasure to meet you all," Alfred said with a slightly warmer smile before he waved them inside. "You're just in time for dinner."

Phil Coulson

SHIELD Base One, District Twelve

The Day After the Revolution Began

"We make war that we may live in peace." - Aristotle

The meeting room was only slightly bigger than the one where Director Fury used to gather up his most trusted for both his official and secret meetings. The scent of coffee filled the room — one of the few things of normalcy that was waiting for the people that had been invited to this very special meeting. Every one of Fury's most trusted agents that had survived the initial uprising was there — with quite a few notable additions.

Every single victor that either stood with SHIELD or at the least opposed the Capitol was in attendance. Most of them were banged up from escaping the Capitol, some more than others, but if they weren't mortally wounded — they too were joining Fury's old council of Abigail Brand, Karima Shapandar, Maria Hill, and Coulson himself. Irani Rael had unfortunately been caught under fire and did not survive the initial strike.

The medical wing was finally at a low buzz of activity instead of the angry beehive that it had been the night before. And the doctors' good work showed as Coulson looked around the table while the final requested people filed in — bandaged and bruised but looking fairly well rested. They were left with standing room only in the large board room.

It had taken some time to get a head count — and very little more time than that before he and Hill had started gathering up the required people to discuss how to move forward. So it was still rather early by their usual standards — several time zones ahead of the Capitol. It felt more like late morning to most of the officials in the room.

It was almost surreal as Coulson looked down the line of victors from his spot at the table. The entire Fantastic Four from One, James Rhodes, Bobbi Morse, Peter Quill, and Blackagar Boltagon — who looked perfectly pleased that they were taking shelter in his district. Then, Henry McCoy, Charles Xavier, and Erik Lensherr were, as always, chatting — but this time, Odin was paying attention openly to what they were sharing.

And last in, Logan had come in far later than the others and was standing against the wall near Bruce Wayne, the three girls that had survived the arena sane, and the group that Logan had left the Capitol with. The last crowned victor was looking far paler than usual which was really saying something. Coulson frowned slightly as he watched him. He knew that Logan had been through surgery for the injuries he'd gotten leaving the Capitol, so by rights, he should have been recovering in bed rather than attending the security meeting.

On top of that, Logan had yet to debrief properly, considering he came in almost unresponsive. Coulson was intent on doing that as soon as this little meeting was over. Especially considering what little Kurt Wagner had told him while Logan was being worked on. Not only the fact that Kate Bishop was alive and working with Hydra but the fact that the little campfire crew had been there when director Fury had died.

Which was all the more reason that Coulson thought Hill was being a little premature in calling this meeting.

None of the people in the room quite knew what was going on as Assistant Director Hill cleared her throat and caught everyone's attention. "I'm glad you all made it," she said as she looked toward the victors lined down one side of the table.

"I hope that we can build up a working relationship quickly to help unite the country. Any support you'd like to give will be appreciated, but I needed to clarify to you that as your district's people look to you for leadership, we understand that you need to think about them first and foremost. Additionally, I'd like to be clear that though we would appreciate any and all help you or your districts might offer, we're not holding a gun to your heads.

"This decision has to be yours to make — along with the other established and trusted leadership already in place naturally in the districts. Let me reiterate: you don't have to back SHIELD if you truly believe that we're not going to help liberate the country. SHIELD isn't operating under the Capitol's rule or their heavy-handed method of punishment. We fully expect you to make your own decision on what you believe is right, and should you choose to aid our efforts to make Marvel free, we will absolutely help you defend your borders and give help to your people."

She gave them all a tight sort of toothless smile and then closed her eyes for a moment, but before she could speak, someone else took control of the direction of the meeting.

"Where is Nicholas Fury?" Odin asked in an almost curious tone, cutting over her statement and obviously testing her as the room fell silent at his question.

Hill held her breath and turned to meet his gaze, looking for a moment almost as if she was a child answering to her teacher. "That is actually what I needed to talk about first. Unfortunately, Director Fury did not make it through the initial assault in the Capitol." She gestured around the table. "Which is in part why I asked you all to be here. Fury had considered several options as his replacement."

"Not his Assistant Director?" Odin asked, frowning slightly as he watched her reaction.

Coulson looked to the victors - skipping over most of his fellow SHIELD agents. He and Hill knew what Fury had planned. It wasn't supposed to happen so early, and at this stage of the game, the wrong appointment could make or break the entire revolution. The victors' reactions would be as good of a gauge as any for how well Fury had chosen.

"No," Hill replied with no indication of how she personally felt about how Fury had chosen. "Believe it or not, wartime isn't where my training lies. Fury had the foresight to name a replacement, but without a device that Fury carried on his person, that particular assignment may have to wait until we recover the device." Every word was in an evenly metered tone that had all the SHIELD agents involved watching everyone in the room a little closer.

By that time, Coulson had let his gaze rest on Logan, who had tipped his chin nearly to his chest as he watched the gathered crowd. It was immediately apparent his companions were ready to push him into the spotlight if he didn't step forward on his own. A few moments passed as Hill shuffled her papers when Kurt Wagner gave Logan a look with his head tipped to the side, obviously waiting for Logan to say … something. But when he didn't immediately speak up, Kurt elbowed him in the side, which had Logan letting out a little noise of pain as he flinched — nearly bumping into Bruce Wayne in the process.

It was enough to draw all eyes on the room to Logan. He locked his jaw and straightened up a bit more, tipping his chin up almost defiantly for a moment before he reached into his pocket to produce the graphite-colored cube and took several steps forward away from his little circle of protection. Of course, only the highest ranking SHIELD agents had clue one as to what it was, and they were all staring at him openly as Coulson smirked.

Hill in particular had her eyebrows raised and lips parted. "Did … Fury have time to do the transfer?"

"He did," Logan said, which had Hill's shoulders dropping slightly in obvious relief.

"Good," she said, taking a moment to clear her throat. "What did he manage to transfer — and was it completed? It will make a difference on what kind of information we can access on the cube."

"Alpha and omega clearance," Logan replied, easily slipping the cube back into his pocket as Hill kept her reaction even, nodding to herself with a pleased-looking smirk. "But I haven't had time to take a look at it," Logan said before he finally looked up and down the faces staring back at him with varying levels of confusion.

"No one from Fury's board is untrustworthy," Hill replied. "Everyone here was hand-picked."

"Yeah, but I don't know 'em," Logan argued, though he kept an even tone. "And I don't think your board is complete."

Hill bit her lip and nodded quickly as she took a step back and gestured to the gathered group. "Then … make your appointments, director."

Logan seemed to take a moment, frowning as several of the victors at the table simply smirked, nodding to themselves — and Odin looked as if he was waiting for something to happen. "For now," Logan said slowly, weighing each word, "Every victor here. Including the three that got out of the last Games. In addition to the SHIELD agents here, and Bruce Wayne."

That had more than a few heads coming up — particularly the three girls that had made it out of the arena without needing to be locked up like Ivy. Helena had raised an eyebrow at Logan in a clear sign that she wasn't sure he had thought this through, while Kory was slightly distracted by Dick whispering something about how much she was out of his league now — but it was Diana who shook her head seriously.

"I'll not have a title I did not earn," she insisted.

"You earned it," Logan said, turning her way. "By how you acted in there. All three of you did. You put yourselves at risk for your alliances and acted for the benefit of all of them — not just for yourself."

"But does that make us leaders or only loyal?" Kory put in — which had Helena shooting her a sort of approving nod.

"If you want a rundown of what I think makes each one of you a leader, we can do that after this privately," Logan said. "I'm not wrong."

"People saw what you did in the Games," Sam said, meeting Diana's gaze in particular. "I guarantee they'll remember how you acted in the Games. That makes you a leader, like it or not."

"And I'm sure that Hill can arrange to have unedited sections of the Games aired to fix whatever they cut out in editing to make you look more ruthless," Logan said. "Which they did to everyone."

Hill was smirking as she nodded. "It would be good for us anyway — to show that we're undoing what the Capitol tried to do. It's a good move to earn public trust on multiple fronts."

"I don't give a crap about earning points," Logan clarified. "I want the truth out."

"That's all well and good," Erik said, leaning forward slightly. "But you're still assuming leadership. We're supposed to accept that Director Fury appointed the newest victor, the youngest and least experienced of all of us here, to a position to lead a revolution that has been in the making since before he was born," he said, his tone ringing with exactly what he thought of that.

"If you don't like it, you know where the door is," Logan said.

"And if that's true of more than myself? Are you prepared to lose so much at only the start?"

"What's the point of doing what we're doing if we're fractured to start? You might not agree with me, but I don't really care who likes me. Fury picked me for the way I think. Not who I am."

"And yet you are not the only choice for leadership, whatever Fury thought. In the sphere limited by the Capitol, I have plenty who see the world in my way," Erik said evenly.

"He knew you for years. If he thought you could pull everyone together, you'd be running it, and I'd probably be having the same questions you are. What I'm telling you now is that, as far as I'm concerned, you're not limited anymore — and the revolution is on. So get your people fired up," Logan replied. "I'm not gonna be anything like Fury. Get your group; raise some hell. When this is all said and done, and Hydra's as torched as Thanos' idiots, it should be up to the districts on who runs what."

Erik didn't bother to temper his expression as he raised both eyebrows his way. "Of course I will do my part to free Marvel — I'm only questioning the leadership, the centralization. We all have something to contribute; what is it that makes you fit to fill Fury's shoes?"

"Director Fury had been preparing him for this since his victory tour," Coulson said. "This decision wasn't made lightly."

Logan looked irritated for a moment. "Tell ya what — stick around for a while and then tell me if it was a mistake. I'm not afraid to get dirty to win this war. Losing isn't an option."

"There's no reason to waste our time and energy bickering over a title," Charles said, obviously directing his comment to Erik. He turned to Logan. "Am I correct in thinking you'll do more than Fury to keep us involved?" he asked pointedly.

"Yes," Logan replied. "If you're gonna back SHIELD for this fight, you deserve to be in on the strategy. That's why I want you all on the council." He was looking down the table at the other victors. "These agents can plan and plot all they want, but no one knows your districts like you do. That puts you ahead of them every time."

"That will help to unite the districts in the fight," Hank put in.

"It will be hard to overcome the divisions enforced by the Capitol," Charles mused. "But a common enemy is a powerful unifying force."

"I'd like Bruce Wayne on that council for my district," Logan added. "He's the one most qualified to make the calls for Seven." He glanced over his shoulder at the group he'd been standing with. "And as of right now, Tahiti is done. It's over."

The reactions to that revelation were varied. Odin seemed to lean forward with more interest, but the SHIELD agents in particular were outright surprised. "The Tahiti program has been in place for years. It's a good way to ensure our leaders aren't destroyed," Hill argued.

Logan shook his head at that. "That's not how the world works," he argued. "If the program was that great of an idea, why don't you explain to me and everyone else why Fury didn't have the device in his arm so you could bring him back?" He seemed to be picking up steam as he made it the rest of the way to the table. "One of your agents was with us when Fury died. He tried to find the ampule in Fury's arm. It wasn't there."

"We wouldn't be where we are now without the advances we've made with the program in place," Hill said, her temper rising.

"And it's time for it to end. Don't get me wrong; it's not that I'm not glad to see the ones you've brought back," Logan said evenly, holding her gaze. "But the program is a major liability. You've been able to do a lot with information gathered that would have been lost, but if your operatives had been captured? Then what? That's why Fury didn't have one for himself. He knew the chances of capture were high — and it's only gonna go up from here. I don't care what your reasoning is to keep it," Logan replied, though he didn't sound as if Hill was bothering him in the least. He turned toward Hill and the SHIELD agents near her. "If you want Tahiti to continue, then the only way you can convince me to keep it alive is with a unanimous agreement from everyone that's been through it."

"Which is unlikely," Kurt said softly.

Odin nodded. "You will find no children of Four agreeing to such a thing."

Erik nodded slowly and finally leaned back, dropping the harsher look for a more searching one Charles' way. He let out a breath. "That … is the most reasonable proposition I've heard from any director in my lifetime."

"We'll discuss this further later," Hill said quietly before the group could get away from them, clearly sensing the mood of the room had turned against her, "As you can imagine, several of your fellow victors will be unable to return to their home districts. Several are still under Capitol control or, believe it or not, Hydra has made a resurgence and has also made it clear that they intend to take over where Thanos left off."

"In the event that any of you don't want to join our rebellion, I'd like to ask all of you to consider helping your fellow victors seeking refuge away from their home districts," Coulson said, finally speaking up. "In particular, our victors from One and Two would be at risk should they try to return to their homes. One is under Capitol control already. Two—"

"Would not be kind to anyone that left with SHIELD," Bobbi Morse finished for him. "But I'm planning to stay and fight, so I'm not concerned."

"The citizens of Four won't tolerate those that would threaten the well-being of a child," Odin said as he watched Reed and Sue with their infant son. "I'm sure my people will welcome my fellow victors that might seek sanctuary from the capitol or Hydra."

Sue gave Odin a grateful smile. "Thank you," she said. "We'd really appreciate that."

There was a knock at the door, and all eyes turned toward it as Clay Quartermain made his way in with a very bandaged and pale-looking operative clutching a bloody bag to his chest. "I'd have been here sooner, but Wilson here insisted on coming along," Quartermain said with a little smirk. "He heard there was a meeting and insisted on breaking out of medical."

"What was so important that you had to interrupt us, Mr. Wilson?" Hill asked, looking as if she was already nursing a headache. "And what exactly is that disgusting mess that's dripping on the carpet?"

"I got something for the director," Wade said — and as soon as he spoke, Reed Richards' head turned, and he rose to his feet on seeing what his old tribute looked like before the burns. Wade looked up at Richards and lit up like a Christmas tree. "Oh, that's fantastic. Are you the new Fury?"

"No," Reed said, frowning more at the bundle he was clutching so tightly. "Logan ... this … this is all yours."

As Logan turned toward him, Wade let go of Quartermain and hopped over, holding the bundle like a football until he got to Logan. He more or less shoved it into Logan's hands and then threw both arms around Logan's shoulders and kissed his cheek. "We're going to have so much fun in this war, sorority brother," Wade whispered loud enough for those closest to hear as Logan tried to shrug him off.

"Wilson..." Hill said, obviously ready to reprimand him. "You can't just … This isn't the time…!"

Logan had taken the bundle to the conference table and simply started to unwrap it, frowning until the bloody cloths gave way to a very bloodied but still shining infinity gauntlet — still wrapped around Thanos' left hand. Little murmurs rose up around the table as the apparent confirmation of Thanos' death laid before them covered in partially dried blood.

"I mean … it wasn't part of my mission or anything, but I thought to myself; 'self, our director would like a little proof that the purple party pooper was pooped out'," Wade said. "And I thought, you know what? He would. Of course … that … might have been before we had a new director? And this … admittedly might be a little over the top for congratulations. If I'd have known, I would have started with a cookie bouquet or some flowers … maybe a bottle of wine …"

"Wade." Coulson cut in. "No." It certainly wasn't the time to play his insane games — and not with the people in the room all being ones that were to run the revolution. The fact that he was pulling his stunts in front of Odin and Lensherr, in particular, was more than Coulson was willing to deal with.

Coulson gave Quartermain a look, and as Quartermain took a few steps forward to collect Wade, Coulson noticed the expression on Logan's face as he studied the gauntlet. Before Wade could step back from the table, Logan turned to Wade and took the knife off of his belt, then went to work popping the colored gems off and collecting them up.

All of them were watching the show, wondering what exactly he was up to as he looked at the bloodied stones in his hand. After a moment, Logan picked up the green gem and offered it to Odin, holding it out until Odin picked it up. "No one should have all of them. Even if it's just symbolic, it should be something that's shared. Something that you can show to the districts to prove it's not the way it was before." As he spoke, he began to walk, handing them out to a few people through the room. Hill was handed the red, Blackagar Boltagon silently took purple with a muted smirk. Logan then handed the blue gem to Charles Xavier, pocketed the yellow for himself, and then finally, he made his way over to the wall where most of his friends were standing and watching silently and held the final stone out to Bruce Wayne.

"You've got our backing," Bruce said as he took the orange stone, an almost proud smirk at the corner of his mouth as he added, "Thus far, I already like this new direction more than Fury's secrets."

Logan had a little smirk for just a moment before he turned back to the rest of them. "Anybody got a problem with this?" He started back toward the board room table and turned purposefully toward Erik. "That doesn't mean I don't want your input. Just means I only had six." He let out a breath and turned to Hill, who still looked in shock that Logan had included her in his little display.

Hill straightened up after a moment and nodded. "Right. Well. We need to get moving. The districts are fighting against the Sentinels, but that isn't an automatic guarantee that they're free…"

Logan nodded. "Inner districts are untouchable right now," he muttered to himself, his eyes narrowed as he looked down at the map. "Gotta secure Five and Eleven — cut 'em off at the pass."

Peter cleared his throat as he looked over Logan's shoulder. "Umm… not to be too focused on my district or anything, but with Normykins and Jessica Drew on the bad guys' side, that's gonna be an issue with Eight."

Logan nodded at that. "How does Ten look?"

Hank let out a sigh and spread his hands. "Scattered," he admitted. "There is not much unity beyond neighbors."

"So pull 'em together — go to Eight to kick out Hydra and the Capitol once we have Five and Eleven set. Cut their route off to Six, they'll have a helluva time keeping it — or anyone around it."

"And then we can look toward the inner districts," Rhodey said with a nod.

"First things first," Logan said as he straightened up. "We're gonna go get whoever was captured and nail 'em while they're regrouping." He looked over to the wall again. "I gotta find a few people right away."

.

"Personally?" Erik asked, both eyebrows high.

Logan turned back toward him. "All the other side knows is that Fury's dead. They don't know who's taken over on our side. If I'm gonna be useful at all to the actual fight, best to hit it now before that leaks." He tipped his chin up slightly. "And I'm not gonna hide behind a screen. I won't ask anyone to do what I wouldn't put myself into. That includes the fights."

Erik hummed, but Bobbi grinned outright at Logan. "Great. When do we start?"

"Why not now?" Logan said, meeting her gaze. "We've got the intel, the people lined up — and a war to win. So let's get moving. Anyone that doesn't want in — now's the time to leave."

He took the cube out and stared at it for just a moment before he carefully placed his fingers as he'd seen Fury do — and a moment later, the cube projected out maps and notes that Fury had collected in the center of the board room table, drawing in Bruce Wayne and several of the others that were still lining the walls as they started to plot out their initial attacks.

Note: This is the last chapter of this second installment of our series. We're going to take a quick break in our posting so that we can let this story stand on its own and so that we can have a small sanity break after 130+ chapters straight ;) Look out for "Death is Not the End," the final book of this trilogy, to start posting on September 18th!

Credits

Founder

Nickenny

Editors and Captains at the Helm

robbiepoo2341 and Canucklehead Cowgirl

Cast

Director Fury, Agent Phil Coulson, Various Capitol Characters - Canucklehead Cowgirl and robbiepoo2341

Slade Wilson - robbiepoo2341 and Canucklehead Cowgirl

Thea Queen - BandGeek24601

Harvey Dent - Seas and Shadows

Harper Row - pekuxumi

Cisco Ramon - Ophelia Claire

Caitlin Snow - Zutarashipper

Kaldur Ahm - robbiepoo2341

Diana Prince - InDeepDarkWood

Clark Kent - Aliit Vodeson

Kara Danvers - Ophelia Claire

Jason Todd - Savy160

Angela Hawkins III - Silmarilz1701

Richard Grayson - robbiepoo2341

Helena Wayne - Miran Anders

Jack Hamill - abrokencastiel

Harleen Quinzel - Canucklehead Cowgirl

Jervis Tetch - NicKenny

Rachel Roth - Silmarilz1701

Garfield Logan - abrokencastiel

Jade Nguyen - tvfan69

Jonathan Crane - InDeepDarkWood

Pamela Isley - Abby Well

John Constantine - Bstnstrng13

Kory Anders - Unlucky Alis

Vicki Vale - abrokencastiel

Authors reprising characters from 'In The End You Always Kneel'

James 'Logan' Howlett - Canucklehead Cowgirl

Kate Bishop - robbiepoo2341

Kurt Wagner - Ophelia Claire

Peter Parker - abrokencastiel

Sinthea Schmidt - Silmarilz1701

Bruce Banner - Miran Anders

Ororo Munroe - InDeepDarkWood