Adam left his hand inside Pierce's frozen mouth and turned toward the council members.
"Now tell me," Adam said. "What do you think?"
The council members remained near the table. No one looked willing to answer first.
Pierce tried to speak, but the ice around his lips turned every word into a low sound. His hand passed through Adam's arm again.
Adam waited.
An older council member finally looked at him.
"I think you should not kill Pierce," the man said. "He should-"
"Yes," Adam said, cutting him off. "Remember this before you finish."
The man stopped speaking.
Adam slowly pulled his hand away from Pierce's mouth. The ice remained in place, keeping Pierce silent.
"I will look at every person who tries to save him with suspicion," Adam said. "Pierce led HYDRA from inside S.H.I.E.L.D. If someone still wants to protect him after seeing what he did today, how am I supposed to know that person is not part of HYDRA too?"
The older member's face changed.
"That is not what I meant."
"Then tell me what you meant."
The man looked toward the others instead of answering Adam.
Adam let the silence remain. The cold around Pierce's face continued to hold him in place while his breathing came through his nose.
One council member moved away from the table.
"I do not care what you do with Pierce," he said. "My name will not be connected to this."
Another member looked at him, then at Adam.
"The same applies to me," she said. "What happens to Pierce is not my concern."
The older man who had tried to object looked at Fury. Fury did not give him an answer.
Adam kept watching him.
The man lowered his eyes. "I will not interfere. But none of this can be placed on the Council."
The remaining members gave the same answer one after another. None of them asked Adam to release Pierce. They only wanted their names kept away from what was about to happen.
Pierce stared at them.
The ice stopped him from speaking, but the anger in his eyes was enough. These were the same people who had sat beside him while he controlled S.H.I.E.L.D. Now they were ready to leave him because Adam had mentioned their reputations.
Adam stepped aside. "Then you can go."
The first council member moved toward the exit. The others followed him. They kept their distance from Pierce as they passed. One of them looked back once and stayed quiet. The choice had already been made in front of everyone.
Fury raised his voice. "I said stop!"
Adam moved before Fury could go after him. He flew straight toward Pierce.
Fury turned back. "Adam, no!"
Adam placed both hands against Pierce's face. His fingers became intangible and passed through the frozen skin without resistance.
Pierce's eyes opened wide.
Adam pushed both hands deeper until they had passed through each side of his face. Then he stopped using his freezing ability.
The ice inside Pierce lost the power holding it in place. At the same time, Adam made his arms solid and pulled both hands outward.
Pierce's face tore apart.
His body dropped beside the table and did not move again.
Fury stopped where he was.
The council members had already reached the exit. None of them turned back after hearing Pierce fall.
Adam looked down at the body.
He had decided this long ago.
Pierce had sent agents after him more than once. He had tried to capture Adam while pretending that S.H.I.E.L.D. was only protecting the world. Even after those attempts failed, Pierce had continued treating Adam like a weapon that could be taken and controlled.
Adam had never liked him.
From the moment Adam understood that Pierce was behind the attacks, he had decided that the man would die by his hands.
Fury walked closer and looked at Pierce's body.
"You had no right to do that," he said.
Adam turned toward him but did not answer.
Natasha left the computer and came closer. Her eyes moved from Pierce to Adam's hands.
"If I had done that, it would have been fine," Natasha said. "You should not have dirtied your hands."
Adam smiled at her.
Some time later, Natasha sat alone before a Senate committee.
The room was filled with officials who wanted answers about the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. A microphone stood in front of her while cameras recorded the hearing.
A man asked her to swear that she would tell the truth. Natasha agreed without changing her expression.
One committee member leaned toward his microphone.
"Why have we not heard from Captain Rogers?"
"I do not know what else he needs to say," Natasha replied. "What happened at the Triskelion already made his position clear."
Another member looked down at the papers in front of him.
"Captain Rogers helped destroy the intelligence system that protected this country. You helped him. How do you expect us to maintain national security after that?"
"HYDRA was not giving you intelligence," Natasha said. "It was feeding you lies."
The next question came from a man sitting farther along the table.
"Some of those files also exposed your own record," he said. "Did you expect this committee to ignore that?"
Natasha looked at him calmly. "No. I expected you to read it."
"You helped spread some of those lies yourself, Agent Romanoff. There are people here who believe your past should place you in prison instead of this hearing."
Natasha looked directly at him.
"You are not going to put me in prison."
"And why is that?"
"Because you still need people who can protect this world," Natasha said. "You know where to find me if you decide otherwise."
The committee members watched her while the next question was prepared. Natasha remained in her seat and continued answering them as the cameras kept recording the room.