The Spider Family

Epilog

Now, we reach a healthy epilog

As the last echoes of the explosions faded from the now-ruined HYDRA base, Fury stood in the aftermath, scanning the faces of the gathered Avengers and Spiders. “Is everyone accounted for?” he asked, his tone steady but revealing a flicker of concern.

The Avengers nodded, their expressions a mix of relief and tension, while the Spiders did the same. Petra’s eyes, however, sought out Jessica, who stood with her jaw clenched, frustration radiating off her. “You’re okay, right?” Petra asked softly, knowing her sister was grappling with the anger of losing Viper and Strucker.

“I’m fine,” Jessica snapped, though the fury in her voice betrayed her emotions. She wasn’t fine—not when their enemies had escaped yet again.

Fury’s gaze shifted to the group of agents he had left to secure Crossbones and Taskmaster. As he took stock, his heart sank; barely half of them had made it back. “What happened?” he demanded, his voice sharp.

An agent stepped forward, visibly shaken. “After you left with the others to capture Viper and Strucker, they woke up. We thought the restraints would hold, but… we were wrong.”

Fury’s expression hardened as he listened. “What do you mean they woke up?”

“They broke free. Some agents tried to hold them off while I ordered others to relocate Ms. Parker to a different part of the base. Then the explosions started.”

Fury could piece together the chain of events in his mind. “And I can guess the rest,” he said, frustration creeping into his tone. “You lost agents in the chaos.”

“Three are still unaccounted for,” the agent admitted, shame heavy in his voice. “We did everything we could, but—”

“No more excuses,” Fury cut him off, his frustration boiling over. “We regroup, reassess, and go after Viper and Strucker. We can’t let them regroup after this.”

As the agent stepped back, Fury sighed heavily, knowing there was little more he could do at that moment. He hoped that Crossbones or Taskmaster would turn up again, but the reality of their failure loomed large. They had come here with two objectives: to save May Parker and to capture HYDRA's leaders.

While they had succeeded in the first objective, Fury’s gaze fell upon the siblings who were now checking on their aunt, embracing her tightly. He couldn’t help but feel the weight of their failure in the second objective. Viper, Taskmaster, Crossbones, and the Baron had all slipped through their fingers once more. Crossbones had escaped twice now—once here and once back at the tower.

Fury had to admit that while they might have gathered some valuable data or files from the destruction of the base, it felt like a hollow victory. “Was this operation even a success?” he thought to himself, grappling with the implications of their losses.

He watched as Jessica and her siblings clung to Aunt May, the relief on their faces palpable, but he also saw the shadows of frustration and anger clouding Jessica’s eyes. Fury knew they had to regroup soon, but first, he would let the family have their moment. They had fought hard, and even if this operation hadn’t gone as planned, they had saved someone important.

With a determined sigh, Fury steeled himself. They would need to regroup and analyze the data they had acquired. They would track down their enemies again, and next time, they wouldn’t let them escape. The fight against HYDRA was far from over, and he wouldn’t rest until they brought them down for good.

But with the chaos of the battle behind them, the team boarded the Quinjet, the atmosphere heavy with the weight of their recent failures and the relief of having saved May. As the engines roared to life, the cabin filled with an uneasy silence, each member lost in their thoughts.