At a press conference in Washington D.C., Captain America John Walker officially resigns and hands the shield back to his predecessor Steve Rogers. Suddenly Walker is shot by a member of the Watchdogs vigilante group; Steve pursues the villain only to see him gunned down by Scourge of the Underworld….
Returning to work in the wake of the tragedy, Cap discovers from reports that Nick Fury has been accused of treason. He meets with Peggy Carter near SHIELD’s Manhattan headquarters. They see Fury’s car go by and follow it through the secret entrance to discover Nick Fury, Dum Dum Dugan, and Gabe Jones. Fury explains how SHIELD is riddled with corruption and he and his team have gone underground and are erasing secret files from all their facilities. Cap and Fury go to dispose of the weapons and after they leave the room, Peggy, Gabe, and Dum Dum are felled by gas. Fury is locked in the atomic furnace and apparently disintegrated while Cap is attacked by all the deadly machines suddenly coming to life. Fury turns out to have escaped though a blast shutter and they blast their way out, rescuing their comrades on the way. Cap suspects his old enemy Machinesmith….
Epilogue: Valerie Cooper and Battlestar go to retrieve John Walker’s body from the hospital morgue but find the drawer empty….