＊＊＊
Ivan Vanko looked over the blueprint that one of the Hammer industries research drones had sent him, grunting in amusement - the reward for good work was only more work, it seemed.
He had dozens of different projects already, thankfully the research division wasn't entirely incompetent, even to his standards, so much of the work could be offloaded onto them after he proved the viability of any given project. Hammer just kept asking for more and more though - thinking Ivan an unlimited well of innovation.
Which was flattering in a way, and very annoying at times. Ivan had hardly had time to take Whiplash for a spin lately. He was insanely jealous that Vulture and Scorpion got to kill some fools while he'd been busy tinkering. He didn't begrudge Hammer the situation too much, the man had revealed the previous alien incursion, so Ivan understood the hurry.
No one wanted some aliens to come down while humanity still wielded sticks.
It was simply straining him, that once he finished something, anything. Hammer had something else for him.
Tech to prevent mind reading for example, Ivan wouldn't even have known where to start if not for his father, who knew details of old Soviet projects that had included such research.
Hammer wanted it soon, but he also wanted the other projects soon too, which limited Ivan's capabilities in delivering on them by cutting his focus. He chugged down the last remainder of a bottle of vodka, ignoring the pinched expression of his assistants - that nagged at him constantly that bottles of alcohol were not a safe thing to hold - while utilizing a blow torch, and other such silly beliefs.
Americans were really too sensitive.
He needed more Russians on the team. Proper men. As it was, he was drinking half as much as he used to just to avoid his assistants looking more pathetic than usual.
The requests from Hammer was beginning to stack up now, as more and more work came in, he didn't even know where to start on some of them - he hated to admit it, but he needed more people of the extraordinary kind. Hansen and Cho were good, but not really in his field.
"Ivan, are you slacking off again?" A bellow came from the other end of the workshop. Followed by an almighty crash of machinery and loud cursing in Russian.
Ivan rolled his eyes as the assistants panicked and rushed over, whimpering about safety standards or something. If his father had the breath to curse, he was fine. 'Drinking isn't slacking off!" He shouted back in Russian, a grin on his face.
Arguing with his father again, it eased his heart like it hadn't in years.
"And you're not sharing? I've raised a neglectful son…" Anton Vanko grumbled, his mechanics overalls covered in soot and oil as he walked over, looking as healthy as ever, his skin a good color - life in his eyes and surety in his steps. A far cry from the weak, thin, sickly man he'd been.
Ivan might not be much of a follower normally, but for giving him his father back, he'd build whatever Hammer wanted, he'd watched his father slowly die, painfully, without any assistance - any money to help - because Stark had stolen from them by stealing his father's creation.
Now… Now Ivan had more money than he knew what to do with, a likely Nobel prize coming of all things - and his name on the arc reactor. Not Stark's. Even if he had to share it with Hammer, it was still worth it. He only wished he could see Stark's face, could see him find out that the Vanko's had returned to claim what was theirs. A pity that Hammer likely did away with the man.
He'd protested of course, claimed innocence, but Ivan wasn't stupid. They'd waited precisely for the man's disappearance, Hammer had it all planned out from the start. It was obvious. If anything Ivan respected the man's ruthlessness and patience, waiting so long, preparing, and then pulling the trigger at the exact time where everything aligned perfectly for him.
Ivan would have preferred to do it himself, but if Hammer did away with Stark, he could be satisfied with that outcome too. Not as satisfying as spitting in his face, but Ivan soaring sky high while Stark ate dirt, worked as well.
Ivan scoffed at his father as the man came closer, waving at the well stocked bar at the edge of the lab. "You're just angry that I thought of having a bar in the lab and you had to walk fifty miles through knee high snow, uphill, both ways, before getting a drink after work, old man." He mocked, gesturing with the empty vodka bottle.
Anton smirked, gently smashing Ivan over the head with a wrench, "70 miles, Ivan! Get it right." He grumbled, as Ivan rubbed his head, laughter bubbling up through his chest.
"Is my son too lazy to help his old man figure out this damn project?" Anton asked, gesturing to the still smoking pile of machinery at the far end of the mechanical lab.
"Yes." Ivan said cheekily, rolling back on his little rolling stool before he could take another whack from the wrench, "But I'll help you anyway, since you can't figure it out." His grin widened as his father grumbled some more.
It felt good to shoot the shit with his father again, even the bump from the wrench felt like home, familiar.
Their assistants fluttered around nervously, as they always did when Ivan and Anton only spoke in Russian. They really should learn the language, Ivan wasn't about to cut them any slack. He was the genius here, they should adapt to him, it only made sense.
He rolled over to the bar, grabbing another bottle of vodka. They'd do better work while a bit wasted anyway - out of the box thinking came easier, and if they were to deliver Hammer's improved concrete they'd need to drink a lot of vodka.
Negotiating a lifetime's supply of free vodka into his contract might have been the best clause in his contract behind curing his father. He could afford as much as he wanted anyway now, Hammer paid very well, but free Vodka always tasted the best. Vodka would lubricate their minds so they could deliver the next innovation for Hammer.
Neither Ivan or Anton knew a single thing about building roads or buildings, so they were operating on guesswork and whatever their assistants could provide them to make improvements to concrete and asphalt for sturdier, more long lasting material - and with a great bonus if they could pull it off cheaper too.
So far they'd only managed to break a lot of things.
Which was fine.
Hammer was good for it.
＊＊＊
Johannesburg, Africa, Private jet belonging to Justin Hammer.
Yelena used every lesson she'd ever had in the red room to maintain her facade instead of hyperventilating in a panic. Smiling weakly at the employee that was controlling the cradle she was still ensconced in, Hammer's jet was the only place in Africa able to administer the treatment at this early point of the rollout - so after landing, she'd remained, waiting on the staff to administer her treatment as a new employee of Hammer industries.
It had been optional, but she hadn't wanted to stand out by completely refusing, her orders clear, so she'd accepted the lowest dose as necessary for her cover.
Yelena, going by Elena, they'd hardly even bothered with her cover, really, that was just ridiculous! Had been given the lowest level Panacea, all going as planned, immunity to a cold or flu not anything that would threaten her mission. Yelena had been under the red rooms control of course, so she couldn't have opted for the more extensive treatments anyway - even if Hammer offered them as a matter of course. Her orders made it impossible for her to do something that might affect her conditioning or flush the drug out of her system.
So Yelena had easily charmed the staff, flirted a little, while avoiding any mentions of taking any other shots, happy with simply receiving Panacea - 1 and maintaining cover. She had done her job a little too well though, her red room training finally leading to a mistake that had allowed her to become free of the haze. The tech working the cradle had noticed her missing uterus when she was scanned, and with her having utterly charmed the men, they inserted the heaviest treatment, Panacea - 3, without letting her know, thinking they were doing her a favor.
Which in the end they had. But not the red room controlled Elena. They'd freed Yelena instead.
The treatment that was able to regrow lost limbs… Or organs… And the treatment her conditioning would not allow her to take because of the possibility it could cure the drug running through her system. And she'd lucked out and received it anyway.
It had been a complete rejection of medical standards - they weren't doctors so maybe they hadn't understood it? But this one mistake Yelena could only be thankful for, as she tried to not break down and break her cover. Because now was not the time to fall apart. She couldn't let anyone know, couldn't let Dreykov know that she was free.
It was like she'd been born again, slipping out of a miasma of not her, of something else controlling her actions, not even her thoughts free as she faithfully carried out orders.
The red room had been hired to get close to Justin Hammer, a wealthy industrialist that had begun making moves that would likely make him the world's first trillionaire. Yelena had been tapped by Dreykov, been personally instructed to do anything to get close - to do nothing to harm Hammer, in fact she was to protect him if necessary, to be able to get close and get any and all information on him, his allies, and company.
She'd been briefed on what the red room had on the mercenary Domino, and it was their belief that as long as Yelena was looking to protect Hammer, her powers would not kick in and reveal her at an inopportune moment, even if she was also spying.
Yelena had followed orders, even if it was insane to count on something so flimsy. Insane until it worked.
It had gone beyond their wildest assessments, when Domino had hired her after their first meeting, they'd planned on the operation to take at least three months before she could get inside the company. Arranging her position at Ford, pushing for further meetings using her looks to entice Hammer, that had been the original plan, which Domino had upended in one conversation. (It also helped that Hammer was apparently such a horndog that he fell in one meeting.)
Yelena had used everything they knew about the woman to be appealing to her, personality wise - which had worked far better than she'd ever imagined. Then even better, Hammer had been infatuated enough to sleep with her. Further tying her closer.
Yelena made a face, as she climbed out of the cradle, funny how she was completely fine with that only hours ago - and now she felt very uncomfortable at having used her body for such with Hammer.
It was just skin, nothing to get emotional about, but she felt a slight tension at having manipulated someone she now owed so much to.
He'd technically saved her, even if by proxy, and she'd used him to get close, all with the aim to ferret out his secrets and weaknesses for whoever had hired the red room. She hid the slight shaking of her hands by sticking them in her pockets, smiling at the medical staff, staying polite and attentive while she just wanted to go hide in a corner and scream for a minute.
Everything had changed. Everything. If Panacea could cure mind control…
She had been saved, liberated.
And now, she could liberate everyone else.
The plan to get close to Hammer still remained. Not only for cover to ensure the red room didn't attempt to eliminate her or recapture her - as they surely would if she ran - but now for another reason.
If she proved useful enough…
Hammer might help her save all of her sisters. Bring down the red room.
She'd have to be careful, get his measure first.
There wouldn't be a point in getting out from under the yoke of the red room just to be leashed by a man cut of the same cloth.
If Hammer was a decent man…
Then every dream Yelena had ever held could possibly come true.
She wiped at her eyes as she stepped off the plane, hold it together, she scolded herself, bringing back the facade. She didn't only have this option, she could also find Natasha…
Her steps faltered, in her distraction at the events of her awakening, she'd forgotten… She put her sister out of her mind, her focus going completely business like as her training took over.
She returned inside the plane.
She needed to convince the men to not share her missing uterus with anyone up the chain - and ideally they'd know how to remove the procedure happening from the cradle - if it kept a scanning history in the first place.
Her plot would not work if Hammer had any knowledge on Black Widows and heard of this. Even if he didn't know, one of his guards might. Both Domino and Phantazia were mercenaries with contacts on the darker side of the world.
One sob story coming up, she thought with a mental sigh, hoping it would work.
It was preferable to the alternative.
＊＊＊
Alexander Pierce scowled as he slowly put his phone down. It wouldn't do to smash it, having another built with the proper security would be a pain.
It almost made him wish for a landline so he could so satisfyingly slam it to end a call, but the security measures they operated under would never allow that.
The other HYDRA heads were being foolish again, shaken up by the throes of change the world was undergoing. Too used to old trusted ways, to see the opportunity for what it was.
A world in chaos would cry out for order. Project Insight was years away from completion, but even without it, HYDRA could capitalize on the winds of change. If they weren't so foolish as to clip the wings of the agent of chaos…
The knee jerk reaction of sending a HYDRA team after Hammer had been foolish and hasty. It was a pity that Sunil Bakshi had turned out to be more loyal to Hammer than HYDRA, but at least the failed attempt revealed that much, if nothing else. There just hadn't been any need to attempt it in the first place in his opinion. The man's secrets weren't more important than the effect he had on the world, and he'd sell his innovations to all comers anyway, so they hardly suffered from letting him churn out more.
As far as his read on the man was, Hammer would sell his weapons whether it was HYDRA in charge, a democratic government, a tin pot dictator - or any other form of governance. Egoistic money hungry billionaires weren't that hard to figure out.
He was already technically selling to HYDRA, after all.
Alexander always did get a chuckle out of spending SHIELD budgetary allocations on stocking up HYDRA with more weapons and tech, even if it took some doing to keep such things hidden from Nicholas. Who was becoming a little too ornery lately.
It might be time for a change, to usher in a new world required sacrifices in the end…
Alexander scowled again as he stood up gingerly, walking over to the window to stare at the thunderous night sky, his hands behind his back as he discarded the thought, Nicholas was too useful at the moment. With all the issues he's having with the other HYDRA heads, he couldn't afford to make SHIELD go through a regime change right now.
That fool Gideon… He thought, clenching his teeth in anger. He'd tried to reason with the man, but he was dead set on getting someone close to Hammer, to spy and ferret out weaknesses and avenues to exploit. In fact, Alexander had a suspicion that the man had already set something in motion with how evasive he'd been.
Gideon's assets were not fully known to him, but he doubted he had anyone that could succeed where everyone else - including the Black Widow - had failed.
So likely outside contractors. Even more foolish of his fellow head, Gideon would get information only through the sieve of whatever the contracted party felt like sharing - if they succeeded. The last thing they needed was for Hammer to suss out another HYDRA attack, they didn't want the man focused on rooting them out.
He already knew far too much through whatever Bakshi knew. He hadn't had much access, but if he'd fooled his handler and station chief so easily, he could have also been privy to information he shouldn't have had. Those two men had - of course - already been liquidated for such a momentous failure, they'd failed too significantly by allowing Hammer to gain knowledge on HYDRA by flipping one of their people unhindered.
It also spoke more than anything of arrogance, Bakshi should have been on a tighter leash, they'd dropped the ball there. Gideon shouldn't even have had his hands into that branch, and yet he'd meddled, and fucked up… And now he was angling to compound that mistake by doubling down.
If Gideon set Hammer against them right now… If he set them in the crosshairs over misbegotten fears…
Gideon really was becoming a thorn in his side at such a critical juncture, Alexander thought.
Times like these were when the Winter Soldier would have been useful… Even if 'taking care' of another HYDRA head without permission was liable to create its own set of issues. Gideon had argued Hammer was behind that catastrophe as well, and while Alexander wasn't ruling anything out in regard to the expertly performed attack that deprived them of their Winter soldiers, he had also been in the game long enough to not fall into recency bias - believing the current 'enemy' was behind everything that happened.
Overestimating an enemy was just as damaging as underestimating them. They would do themselves a disservice if they looked at Hammer for every ill that fell on them.
HYDRA had plenty of enemies, albeit most of them were unlikely to have the knowledge and access to find out about the Winter Soldier's whereabouts. It was still possible, however.
He believed it more likely someone else in HYDRA had decided to make the Winter Soldier their asset solely. Once he'd pop up for missions again, he'd have his answer. He hoped it was Gideon. It would remove the necessity to have to explain to the other heads why he killed him.
He put the aggravating coward out of his mind, switching back to Hammer, and the attack against him that had thrown the world into war.
Not since 9/11 had America seen such a brazen attack on its soil - and just as then - it was proving a boon to HYDRA. Already those with the right connections could see the shift, the slide towards authoritarianism in the government. Congress was crying out for more stringent laws on communication, border control, easier thresholds for seizures and detainments and a bevy of other measures to 'defend' the country.
Alexander was quietly pushing this along, for once with the conjunction of the other heads. All their political assets in America and abroad making the same moves, slowly cutting away at rights. It would simplify things once the world begged for HYDRA's protection.
Hammer had brought it all on with his hamfisted releases, galvanizing the enemies of progress into one block, forcing them into the open. It would serve HYDRA well, to cull some of these actors, or at least, it would serve Alexander well.
The further along Hammer could push the world, the more chaos would ensue, the more the foolish sheep of the world would cry out for a steady hand - for order to soothe their easily confused minds - for Alexander to lead them.
It was for the best that no other head spoke up about recruiting Hammer. Alexander would not suffer a rival, let the man continue to seed the world with tech, to send it into turmoil.
Alexander would be the one to benefit in the end.
A small smug smirk grew on his face as he stared at the night sky.
And the next time aliens descended to his planet, he'd send them packing. Hammer's advancements of course, but him leading them, him taking the credit.
He only needed Wakanda to not do something too foolish, and his people could slip into the very highest echelons of the military and Congress. They just needed to remain a distant threat, sharpening fears as his people worked behind the scenes to grasp more power.
Once project Insight did become operational, Alexander would already be primed to reluctantly, for the good of the world of course, take hold, and usher them into a world of order.
Hail HYDRA!
Hail… Alexander Pierce!
＊＊＊
Johannesburg, Africa.
Justin truly detested politicians, he'd been in Johannesburg for three days now, and they were still squabbling. Oh, in essence most of them agreed they should take Justin's offer, in fact many of them were quite eager to do so.
They all drooled at the opportunity for unlimited cheap energy and what that would do to their industry sector - the clean water and the desert reclamation projects he'd suggested, practically sending the AU into a collective orgasm on the spot.
The way all these things would revitalize Africa as a whole was really an impossible deal to turn down, not even the dictators were saying no - it was just too good, a dream come true.
Yet… Even with every politician here wanting what he was selling, down to their very souls, willing to sell their firstborns for the opportunity. They still hadn't come to an agreement.
When it came down to it, there were too many factions when you had 55 member nations all with their own special interests and history with each other. There had been a lot of petty infighting so far more than anything concrete discussed.
Some of that had been Justin's own fault, admittedly. The African Unions actual headquarters was in Ethiopia, in Addis Ababa. So that would have been a fairly safe, neutralish meeting ground, all things considered. No one could complain if he'd gone to the seat of the African Union, correct?
Justin, and Bakshi for that matter as well, had made a small error when they'd requested a meeting at the union's 'earliest convenience'.
They'd put down a location in that message, Johannesburg, because Justin had found it amusing, remembering Hulk's rampage through the city and now it would be holding a historic meeting for the continent's future. With how massive his proposal was, and his outsized effect on world economics in the last few weeks. The African Union hadn't seen much point in arguing with him on the location.
Now that he was here though… They'd spent most of the first day, after Justin laid out what he wanted to do in Africa to all the member nations - arguing about petty procedural issues. Ethiopia was none too pleased that South Africa would be getting the lionshare of attention in any announcements of a potential agreement.
Likewise there were many countries who weren't too fond of South Africa and supported Ethiopia. Just as there were many who did the opposite, arguing that all that mattered was where they were now, and that South Africa was more well known abroad anyway and would be perfect for the announcement.
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Politicians… They hadn't signed anything, yet they were arguing about the details of announcing the results. It… Hadn't really gotten much better once they solved that issue either…( basically, Ethiopia could suck it.) Now the countries who lost that argument were picking at everything, delaying any kind of agreement.
Justin had taken a moment to himself, leaving the room to the career arguers, since his presence was hardly beneficial at the moment, and gone to stand outside the grand meeting hall, looking out the window, down at the rioting commoners that still raged on.
It wasn't as prevalent as it was in the western world, but here as well, protests and riots continued apace as the media continued to rile people up with worst case scenarios - the common man not quite cottoned on yet that oil and its industry were hardly going to be gone by next year. Or next decade for that matter.
As for healthcare… Well, Justin didn't care if everyone but plastic surgeons and other jobs on the periphery of health care lost their jobs there, Panacea would do a better job for anyone sick (while paying only him). Logically, ambulances and ER's would still be around as well, if nothing else, just to stabilize people before they could get a Panacea shot - as Justin refused to outsource his treatments outside his clinics. Most healthcare systems were horribly inefficient anyway and ranged in cost from 5-15 percent of the total GDP in most countries.
All these protesting idiots didn't realize how much their social programs, infrastructure, law enforcement, education and the like - would improve with the death of the health industry looming, opening up massive investment elsewhere as that heavy drain eased off.
Either that or there would be massive income tax cuts, depending on the country and their priorities, or if they were in an election year…
"Sir, I have the latest reports if you wish." Sunil said, coming up to stand next to him, impeccable as always in a dark suit, with a pale pink shirt underneath, he idly noted again that Bakshi was a very attractive man. He'd called Bakshi in to join him in Johannesburg when it became obvious this mess would not resolve itself quickly, sometimes a personal touch was needed and Bakshi was very good at ingratiating himself with people.
Justin stepped away from the window, wincing slightly at Phantazia's flaring nostrils as the woman glared at him, coming around the bend of the hallway. As overall security coordinator, she wasn't always by his side anymore. His security team must have called her. He sent Domino a betrayed look, the woman blowing him a kiss in return, completely unaffected.
"I'm perfectly safe." He defended himself with, as the woman in charge of his entire security stomped over to him and Bakshi.
Sunil, the traitor, didn't even hide his grin as he took a measured step away. Justin would fire him, if he wouldn't drown in paperwork within the day without him.
"You're standing in front of a window, with at least five different buildings nearby with enough sight to take you out from even a half assed sniper." Phantazia said flatly, "I left you alone for ten minutes, to go to the bathroom, and you find the only spot in the building where security won't do you shit!"
"To be fair, I didn't think of it, and I probably would survive a sniper bullet anyway." Justin tried to reason with her, he was her boss in the end, but when it came to security he'd given her carte blanche - something which he frequently regretted already.
"I told you not to, when you asked why, I told you that too." Domino said casually, winking at Bakshi as the man coughed to try and hide a chuckle. The rest of the security team was looking away in the manner of men attentively eavesdropping.
"You're fired." Justin shot at Domino with a playful glare, wagging a finger at her, Phantazia rubbing her forehead at his antics as she pulled Justin fully away from the window, none too gently.
Domino outright laughed at him, her arms around her midriff as she laughed and laughed, seemingly finding endless amusement at that - finally managing an answer once she caught her breath, "Oh, I really don't think you'd survive a day without me, boss!" She quipped.
Justin huffed, slightly amused himself despite it all, he turned to Phantazia, acknowledging her with a slightly bowed head, "I will try and avoid windows when possible." He agreed, not willing to promise anything more than that. He had agreed to more stringent security measures but he wasn't going to go live in a bunker - this second life was meant to be an enjoyment.
Phantazia snorted, looking tired, "I'll take it I guess, it's better then nothing, besides, there's no enemy snipers in those buildings anyway, because my snipers are in those buildings." She said matter of factly.
"Then why are you busting my balls?" Justin couldn't help but ask, as he took a seat on one of the benches by the massive doors to the meeting hall. Bakshi joined him at his side, a tablet in his hands that he was tapping away on, briefly leaning over to let Justin look.
The European Union is sticking firm on antitrust laws so far, the union president returned my request for a meeting with a negative, claiming any negotiation with an 'American company' of our stature, would have to take place with the commission, not her solely. They're digging in their heels.
Justin sighed, feeling aggrieved at the constant poor decisions of politicians, so many of his wares were part of a monopoly, so what? They still improved lives to such an extent that it was worth it, surely? Bush had soured the European Union on anything American it seemed. Their anti-corruption and anti-monopoly laws proving a hassle - and in many cases specifically geared towards companies with a heavy American presence.
Although with the likes of Roxxon, Oscorp and even Stark industries - they'd likely not helped the image of American corporations in Europe. Many European countries were of a more pacifistic bent and held heavy distaste towards weapon companies like his own or SI.
"Because busting your balls is how to teach you to stop doing it." Phantazia said flatly, arms crossed, her mood settling down as she gave the security team one of her patented glares, "Don't let it happen again, your job is to protect him, not do as he says." She ordered.
Justin raised an eyebrow incredulously, "I think there's something wrong with that logic, I pay their salary." He pointed out, before tapping Bakshi's tablet, bringing out the profile on the British Prime Minister, tapping it pointedly.
Bakshi nodded his head, and began composing a message immediately, Justin would have a look over before it was sent, but Bakshi was practically a mind reader, he doubted he'd have to change anything. If the EU wasn't going to play ball, he'd go to a single member country and make a deal so beneficial they'd tell the EU to fuck off. The UK had his international headquarters at the moment anyway, so he'd start there.
Besides… They weren't the fondest of the EU to begin with. If he remembered correctly from his own world, 2008-09 was the debt crisis in the EU or thereabouts, and the beginning of recession - he'd get his companies in soon enough in that case. The fools would fold, whether sooner or later - they couldn't afford to be left behind by literally everyone else on the planet. And nothing galvanized politicians better than being able to announce more investments and jobs when the threat of recession hung over their political future.
Whether their policies created it or not, the governing party always received the blame when a recession hit and people lost jobs in the thousands. He didn't foresee much difficulty in seducing the British PM to his way of thinking, they were simpler than the EU on a whole.
"She's scarier." Domino said jokingly, pointing at Phantazia, but with the serious nods from the security team that comment received - it didn't look like they were joking. Justin didn't really mind too much, the attack at his New York headquarters had been illuminating after all.
Showing him that he wasn't nearly as safe as he had thought.
The doors to the meeting hall opened with a slow creak, his security team immediately stepping in-between him and the door, hands on their weapons.
The master of ceremonies, an old bald headed man with enough wrinkles to remind him of a bulldog, blinked owlishly at the multitude of armed men and women, before focusing on Justin, bowing his head.
"Mister Hammer, they need you inside." He said politely in a tired, yet reverential tone.
Justin perked up, seeing light at the end of the tunnel, "They've come to an agreement?" He asked hopefully.
The man looked pained, "Not quite, Mister Hammer. There is a bit of an argument between the honored representative of Ethiopia and the honored representative of South Africa - and the honored representative of Nigeria sent me to ask you to intervene before it escalates."
"Again?" Justin asked, starting to wonder if he needed to have Domino go sit in their laps to push some luck through - to just have someone, anyone, win the endless arguments. Justin honestly didn't care which section of the union came out on top - he just wanted it done with.
"Before you go, sir. There's also the report from back home, the two… Special operations if you will." Bakshi said calmly, handing Justin the tablet, the necessary information already pulled up to approve the next steps. "They need to move onto the next stage and only you can approve the funding."
Justin's glasses shone with the reflection of good news as he tapped into the report on his glasses display while he typed authorizations onto Bakshi's tablet. Progress was being made in both Project Kilgrave and Project Killmonger.
Good… Killmonger hasn't blown up yet…
"Tell them to push forward." He ordered, rising up to join the endless bickering again, Domino groaning as she cracked her neck, ready to follow him in yet again.
"I can literally feel myself aging in there." She muttered, "When I took this job I didn't realize how much of it was going to be spent listening to old men talk…"
Justin sighed, patting her on the shoulder, "If we go past five days, I'll let you shoot one."
Domino perked right up at that.
It said something about the endless arguments that the aged master of ceremonies did not look opposed to that solution as he ushered them back inside.
Fucking politicians… Justin thought, putting a practiced fake smile on as he headed towards the commotion of two grown men hurling accusations at each other, looking ready to throw down.
And I thought American politics was dysfunctional…
＊＊＊
Hammer industries, Project Kilgrave site, America.
Helen Cho concentrated as she slowly moved the samples into the petri dish and ever so slowly moved the dish under the scope of the microscope, a trickle of sweat on her brow as her hands kept steady for the difficult job, not wanting to lose another sample due to inattentiveness.
When Mister Hammer had said he had a genetics experiment that was kind of out there, for her to take lead on - she hadn't quite expected this. Even as she'd jumped on it before he could even finish the sentence.
She'd never imagined the kind of things she could do, until Mister Hammer had shown her what was possible out there.
She was the sole occupant of the research bunker except for the test subject. The entire bunker was insanely advanced in robotics, the test subject within a closed room that Helen couldn't access even if she wanted to - all sample taking and tests on the comatose subject done through robotic arms, hands and devices, the samples transported out of the room through a slot in the wall into the adjacent lab.
That research lab - where she tested the samples and studied them thoroughly - was also out of her reach. There as well, she watched through cameras from her control area - as she maneuvered robotic limbs with almost human-like hands, and performed tests - all state of the art equipment around her, all remotely controlled, the lab not even having doors to access them from her area of the bunker. The microscope she looked through? A camera was watching through the microscope, it wasn't the ideal setting for research, but it somehow worked still.
She even had access to different animals for testing, again all done through robotics, the animals kept in another room she held no personal access to.
She removed her hands from the control mechanisms for the robotic limbs, bringing up her notepad into her hands as she watched how the sample interacted with her latest attempt to tease out the root cause of the mind controlling pheromones.
She wished they'd managed to find his parents and their notes, but they were either dead or gone without a trace, since he was their experiment in the first place, they would have been invaluable.
Normally she would be adverse to such a comatose test subject - especially one that so obviously did not volunteer, as it seemed… Too ethically dubious… To do such things as performing surgeries and tests on him, not to mention all the samples she'd extracted that would be quite painful. But she'd been read in on what kind of man Kilgrave was…
A man like Justin Hammer saw power and he shared it with the world, bettering humankind - A man like Kilgrave, only saw their own gratification, using and abusing power and leaving no positive benefit for the world behind.
Until now. When this pathetic excuse for a man could finally help humanity, by helping Mister Hammer.
She'd found that she didn't have any moral issues with what she was doing any longer after reading about Kilgrave and his exploits - instead she saw only the possibilities, how much she could help Mister Hammer if she got everything to work.
Maybe he'd… Thank her again? She shook her head rapidly, her ponytail swishing back and forth, No, Helen, science time! Not… That!
Her eyes focused back on the camera for the microscope, as she watched a virus attack the cell sample, trying to see how the Kilgrave mutation would respond, if at all. Her hands scribbled notes furiously in her notebook as she watched.
She couldn't wait until she got the Nobel Prize, even if she had to share it with Maya and perhaps even Vanko… Maybe if Mister Hammer saw her up on stage he'd want to… Focus, Helen! She shook her head again, the problem with being alone in a bunker was that her mind tended to wander…
She had a lot of alone time.
It had taken some time to get used to doing everything remotely, and she'd flubbed quite a few tests in the beginning. It was lonely work as well, her only contact with the outside world was through video calls, and even then, she wasn't allowed to do so to anyone outside Hammer industries until Project Kilgrave was either finished, or terminated.
Not that she could reach anyone outside Hammer industries as she could only accept video calls.
She understood the idea of it, if somehow Kilgrave managed to put her under his thrall, she didn't even have access to his room, the lab, or any way to let him out, or to escape herself to find him help. She couldn't even make phone calls or video calls, she could only accept them. Safety truly did come first with this site.
She knew there was a secondary bunker around hers, where the security team watched the going ons of her lab, including - she suspected - watching her. It felt… Invasive. But Mister Hammer was counting on her… She felt her cheeks reddening and she put her hands on them to cool them down. Letting go after a minute, as she collected herself again.
He'd chosen her, for this project of utmost importance. Her! Not Maya, her! So the least Helen could do was to swallow any uncomfortable feelings about being watched 24/7 and get on with doing what she loved. Playing with genetics and figuring out problems and fixing them, and…
Then she'd be able to see Justin again. Or was calling him Justin too soon? Should she still call him Mister Hammer? After what they did?
She didn't notice as she scribbled down Doctor Justin and Helen Hammer on her notepad, surrounding it with little hearts, as she watched through the cameras as her latest experiment showed slight improvements.
＊＊＊
African Union gathering, Johannesburg, South Africa,
Late evening, fourth day of negotiations.
The Victorian style building they were in created a great atmosphere for the bunch of politicians that hated each other - to mingle, dance and drink, and allowed them to pretend they were all good friends in the end.
Justin hated it.
"Justin! Just the man I wanted to see!" Came the obnoxiously loud greeting that reverberated around the room.
"Oh, great. This guy." Justin said lowly, to Domino, who was his 'date' to the soiree, since they didn't allow a full security team to follow around the attendees for some reason.
Domino had very much not wanted to attend. Having seen enough of everyone in this room over the last few days. But Phantazia had insisted that it had to be her, her probability power much more useful than any other guard, including herself, in such a social setting.
Bulldozing his way through delegates without care, was the vice-president of the research and special operations division of Roxxon, which he supposed he should have known would show up here. With the whole Wakanda issue, it was no wonder Roxxon research and operations would be sniffing around. Roxxon did have a lot of business in Africa. For a given value of the term business.
Unrelatedly, environmental hazards in Africa have climbed up steadily in every region Roxxon had settled in. At least unrelated according to Roxxon.
Justin could handle evil. He wasn't exactly Mother Teresa himself.
What he couldn't handle was stupid evil. Chasing short term profit by exchanging it for long term antagonism of everyone. What were they saving on skimping on environmental regs? Even if it was 100 million, even if it was billions, they'd still spend more over time on pointless lawsuits, killing whistleblowers, bribing politicians, etc, etc.
Like he said. Stupid evil.
His enmity with the Avengers didn't count… They were just six people… It was fine to only antagonize six people, he told himself firmly.
Simon Krieger was a fairly well built man, with short blonde hair and an honest looking face - with an all too easy grin regularly plastered on said face, hiding unscrupulousness and avarice under a veneer of cheer and affability.
"Simon." Justin responded shortly, Domino melting into his side with a coquettish smile, which Justin figured hid her reaching for a weapon of some sort.
Roxxon had recently tried to kill him after all, and amongst the many companies who'd be hurt by his ventures - Roxxon was a major one. Unfortunately they were too large to fall, and if anything would monopolize the oil market like he was doing the energy market, eventually likely buying up all smaller competitors that Justin knocked down. It wouldn't be as profitable as it was even a year ago - but they would remain.
"Enjoying the shindig? All in your honor basically, right? Hahaha! Great to see you, man!" Simon clapped him on the shoulder, his grin almost unnaturally wide, before he focused on Domino, eyes widening, stepping back dramatically, gasping, "What a vision of beauty, I'm in awe, you got to leave something for the rest of us, Justin!" He joked, stepping into his personal space and attempting to lightly elbow Justin, while winking.
Or he tried anyways, Domino had lightly tugged on Justin's arm right before that moment, getting Justin to step away just enough that Simon just elbowed air, the man looking slightly sheepish for a second, before he went on like nothing happened.
Domino hung off Justin's shoulder, playing at nibbling his ear, while in fact whispering to him, "I will work a whole month for free if you let me hit him."
Obviously her frustrations at dealing with a bunch of snakes wearing old men costumes was wearing her down, she wasn't usually that eager for a bit of violence.
Justin admitted to himself that it was very tempting to do just that, as Simon prattled on, talking about Roxxons latest achievements. (No one asked) and specifically talking himself up, loudly and persistently. (Really, absolutely no one asked!)
"Is this… His idea of attempting to suck up to you for a job?" Domino whispered into his ear, her tone incredulous.
Justin shook his head, muttering lowly, "No, he's just like this." Simon, still too busy talking to notice that he'd said anything, his head on a swivel to see if any of the nearby delegates was paying attention and ultimately - preening at those who did.
Justin couldn't stand the guy, for all that he'd only met him twice. He was an attention seeking social butterfly (Or attempting to be) and for all that he came off as a bit of an idiot, he was actually fairly competent at his job. You didn't rise up within research divisions in this business without having the chops.
Let alone the kind of research and special operations a company like Roxxon dabbled in.
Well, he matched whatever an evil corporation considered competent anyway. He wouldn't last two seconds in Hammer industries or SI. Not in research anyway - perhaps in PR… If he ever talked about anything except himself.
"Was there a reason you approached me, Simon?" Justin asked coldly, interrupting the man, just as he was telling a story about single handedly saving the company. An obvious lie, like much of anything that he would say at any given time.
Something ugly glinted in Simon's eyes for a second, but as he went to answer, a waiter, by happenstance, slipped on nothing nearby, dumping an entire tray of hors d'oeuvres onto the man. Unfortunately for the man, they were shellfish. How unlucky for him. The man happened to be allergic, as they'd just heard mentioned several times during his brief monologue about a Roxxon event.
"I'M ALLERGIC!" Simon blasted the poor waiter at full volume, his face reddening, "You fucking imbecile, my suit is worth more then your entire family down to your god damn progenitors picking fleas of each other's back in the jungle! Do you people even have proper medical facilities to treat me!? You ignorant, stupid, trash!" He cursed, cleaning off his suit, before seemingly remembering again that he's allergic, removing his hands quickly, before sending one last look towards Justin, seemingly hesitating on something, before finally rushing off to seek medical attention. Cursing out the poor waiter the entire way.
Justin casually slid a business card into the shocked looking waiter's hand, "Always looking out for people that do me a favor, call that number, we'll find you a place at Hammer industries." He said, if anything, only shocking the young man further, as he hurriedly scurried off, undoubtedly to find something to clean up the mess with.
"God he was annoying, guess we're lucky, heh." Domino practically purred out, hiding her words and her grin, behind one hand. Her other hand slipped down to let go of his shoulder, pausing for a second as her smirk disappeared off her face, Domino palming something before sliding her hand off his shoulder, Justin turning, giving her an inquisitive look.
"Don't know what it is, something he put on your shoulder during that pat, doesn't look like a tracker." Domino said, now more serious, as she stared after Simon Krieger. She tilted her head slightly, which Justin knew meant she was listening to Phantazia through coms.
"Eileen is asking for permission to take him." She whispered to Justin, Domino's eyes going across the room, watching for any other threat, the device already dropped into a glass of wine as a waiter passed by. "She also wants us to leave, she's alerted the AU security to the device."
Justin watched as a multitude of whispers spread amongst the delegates as security personnel began slipping into the room, "Hmm, well at least we got out of this party…" He muttered.
He wondered what on earth Simon could have been thinking, what had that device been? Surely they hadn't expected it to go unnoticed for long? He'd planted it straight onto Justin's shoulder. They would have noticed soon enough if Domino hadn't had the luck to run into it with her hand. He also considered the loud scene caused by Krieger… Perhaps the waiter slipping hadn't been Domino, but part of a set up? Krieger's allergies and his tantrum - was a good excuse to leave immediately, and to make it less likely for Justin to notice whatever he put on his shoulder as he drew attention to himself.
He only took a moment to consider it, as Domino led him out of the room, "Take him." He ordered darkly. They'd find out either way. He held no love for Roxxon and they none for him - they were already trying to kill him, what would this kidnapping change? Nothing.
They should have kept the device to explore what it was, but Phantazia wouldn't allow an unknown device to leave with them anyway so it wasn't worth the argument. So… He guessed they'll just have to play a game of - Simon says.
As a prelude to the game - Simon stops talking.
He had a feeling Domino would be very good at that game.
＊＊＊
Wakanda,
T'Challa watched with mixed feelings as several aircraft took off, immediately falling into stealth.
His father had authorized the council's wishes for a pre-emptive strike. T'Challa was not so sure that was the right choice anymore. All they'd bring was more death. How could they hope to win? Even with Vibranium, even with the Black Panthers…
He'd been approached by some like minded Wakandans, his recent reluctance of the coming war having been noticed amongst some, especially the younger generations.
He wasn't sure what to do. But he couldn't go against his father. He would not challenge for the throne as the people that approached him had asked.
Bast… He prayed as the last aircraft disappeared, What am I meant to do? What is the right choice?
＊＊＊
Shortly before noon, American time, the fifth day of the African Union negotiations.
Washington D.C.
A group of men and women sit solemnly together, heads bowed. They all know they're not coming back from this.
For Wakanda, they roared inside their hearts as they took action, as they would show the world that they can not simply take from Wakanda.
New York,
The War dogs, more than any Wakandan, knew that all out war with the outside world would mean the end of Wakanda. That is why they were all willing to die, rather than reveal Wakanda - the mission for Hammer's head, somehow, for the first time, failing at keeping the secret.
The War dogs had infiltrated the world, learned its ways, learned to blend in. But they were still Wakandan, always Wakandan, and when the order came - they still obeyed.
One by one, from across America they arrived, slowly working their way through a city still reeling, but not yet understanding the threat. Their brothers and sisters that had access to aircraft would strike elsewhere across the world. They had their own targets.
The UN building in New York stood proud and tall, looming over the skyline.
Across the world, War Dogs and the arial capabilities of Wakanda approached their targets, set to inflict such a cost on their enemies that they'd realize the folly of attacking Wakanda.
And if nothing else, the world would pay for coming after them, Wakanda would be remembered for eternity.
＊＊＊
Johannesburg, Africa. Around noon, American time.
Elena handed him a drink, Justin giving his new personal assistant a grateful smile, before she took a spot behind him, waiting attentively to see to his needs, not that he had many at the moment.
Only thing he really wanted was to kill a bunch of useless African politicians, so not a job for Elena. She was frightfully clever, but not assassin material.
They'd appropriated an office not too far from the meeting hall, Justin refusing to go too far from the fools, lest they stop everything on another stupid argument he could potentially nip in the bud.
"So… Simon is an out and out fool, then?" He said, letting out a sigh, he'd really hoped they'd get something good from a friendly chat with their Roxxon friend.
Phantazia and Domino both looked disgruntled, they'd spent hours interrogating the man, and had even finagled the device out of the hands of AU security - and it had all been something innocuous in the end.
The device was simply a means of giving Justin information on the sly. Given to him in the most idiotic manner. Simon Krieger was apparently hedging his bets, trying to inform Justin of possible Roxxon attacks, while also still remaining in the company in case they succeed at taking Justin out.
He'd sung like a canary, and Domino and Phantazia had continued on far past the point where there was any real chance he was making it up.
They hadn't been completely clear on the details, as Elena was too new to induct into the unpleasantness of some of the things they did. Poor woman would be undoubtedly shocked if she wasn't eased into her new reality. Most human beings, even corporate one's with no soul - generally balked at torture.
The information had been useful, it would allow Justin to counter the attempts, not that they'd looked terribly likely to succeed anyway. Now he faced the problem of what to do with Simon Krieger. Return him to Roxxon? Hire him by force? Retire him?
Each choice came with benefits and disadvantages. Unfortunately the torture would likely mean Simon would hold a grudge, meaning sending him back to Roxxon would just ensure he'd be gunning for him at some point, not to mention the likelihood he'd tell Roxxon Justin was now aware of the attacks and they'd switch to other plans - ones he'd know nothing about.
Hiring him was just… No.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Killing him would be the easiest solution, except for the fact he'd been last seen talking to Justin - so Roxxon would likely change their plans anyway.
"Let him go, treat him, offer your sincere apologies for the misunderstanding." He ordered, with distaste.
If Roxxon was going to change their plans either way, they might as well let him go back with even the slightest chance he'd still continue to hedge his bets.
Domino's mouth dropped open, "You can't be serious, boss!?" She squawked.
"It's the best solution to this conundrum." Justin said firmly, giving her an even stare, "Simon was a damn fool in the way he delivered it, that's all."
Such a multitude of ways he could have passed him information, including simply paying a waiter to pass him something. And Krieger had gone for the extremely public and attention grabbing avenue. Justin shook his head, taking a sip of his drink, even if he could hardly get drunk anymore, the taste soothed him, "Let him be Roxxon's issue." He waited until Domino and Phantazia nodded, one reluctantly, the other professionally.
Justin was still suspicious about the whole thing, so letting him go back was probably the right choice. He couldn't shake the feeling something more was going on with this whole thing though.
He didn't think it was Roxxon, they weren't this incompetent in their handlings. He wouldn't even have suspected Krieger of being this stupid - which meant if something else was going on, Krieger had managed to keep it quiet through torture…
Perhaps he was simply overthinking things. Other than Roxxon, Oscorp, HYDRA, SHIELD, he didn't have too many other enemies… He winced, internally, except every oil company, healthcare company, insurance company, and all their owners and investors…
"Elena go assist Bakshi will you, he's been drowning in work, I don't really need anything right now." Justin ordered, swirling his glass, watching the ice cubes collide."He'll be able to fill you in on more of the company protocols as well, get you up to speed nice and proper, because we usually don't relax in one place for as long as we have here."
Elena murmured her assent, giving him a quick smile before exiting the room, Phantazia begging her leave as well, to go deal with Krieger. Justin wondered again if he was making the right choice. But death was very final, and he wanted to keep an eye on the man - see if he was truly just an idiot, or if someone was behind him pulling strings.
"You should just kill him." Domino complained as soon as they were alone, "I have a bad feeling about him." She warned, her nose wrinkled as she thought about the unpleasant man.
Justin pursed his lips in thought, "Is this your power at work, or your dislike of the man, compounded with your annoyance at all the meetings lately?" He asked pointedly. Feeling he had the right idea of it by the way she acted.
Domino pouted, leaning back against the wall, "Does it matter?" She fired off sullenly. Pretty much confirming his thoughts.
"Yes." Justin answered simply. "If I killed every man that annoyed me, there would be very few men left alive."
"But you still plan to kill Klaue just because he annoys you." Domino accused triumphantly, a smirk growing on her face as Justin couldn't refute her.
"Well, that's different." Justin said with some irritation after a minute.
Domino raised a skeptical eyebrow, smirk still in place, "I'm sure it is." She drawled sarcastically.
A knock came at the door, one of their security personnel sticking their head in after Domino's acknowledgement.
"Sir, there's someone here to meet you, says he's the private negotiator that's been trying to broker peace with Wakanda."
Justin ran a hand through his hair, Talk about fighting for a lost cause. He thought with some amusement. "Fine, who is it?" He asked flippantly. He'd been somewhat curious who on earth would even champion such a doomed peace initiative.
"Says his name is Charles Xavier." The guard responded, Domino immediately looking more aware, her eyes flickering to Justin's as he froze.
"Let him in…" He said reluctantly, wetting his lips.
This close he could probably read him easily anyway, so he might as well see what this is really about.
And then… He'd really need to prioritize the protection against telepaths immediately.
Thank god he wasn't actually a proper supervillain or had any plans to use mutants for anything too dastardly.
His plans all actually included normalizing mutants, so Xavier shouldn't be totally against him.
If you're in my mind right now… Fuck you, you pervert. He grumbled mentally, while steeling himself for the meeting.
＊＊＊
Washington D.C.
Ross screamed himself hoarse as soldiers ran around in frantic activity around him, those Wakandans had shown up from nowhere, half the Pentagon was just gone, and he was receiving reports in the half that still existed - showing that it hadn't been the only strike.
The White House hadn't been hit, likely because the President wasn't in residence at the moment, but Congress had been in the middle of a marathon legislative session - Congress no longer existed. The capitol building was gone, violent explosions tearing through it - they wanted to leave a mess this time, they were sending a message. No implosion bombs…
The only good news had been that they'd managed to shoot down several Wakandan craft after they bombed the Pentagon, fighter jets and anti aircraft weaponry able to locate their general vicinity when they'd dropped their loads and filling the sky with flak and missiles.
This was the darkest day in American history, and it was all falling in Ross's lap while they tried to figure out if anyone with higher authority was even alive. At least the President had been on Air Force One and not attacked as of yet, half the United States Air Force was covering him right now.
When the report came in that the UN building in New York was crashing to the ground, reminiscent of 9/11, Ross sank back into his seat, hissing between clenched teeth, his aides going pale as they got off the phone. "What else?" He barked, never having been angrier. Never felt defeat so keenly, they weren't supposed to be hit like this. This was unprecedented - they needed to fight back, to prevent another attack.
"It's the president. He's ordering full mobilization, DEFCON 1, full nuclear readiness." The aide said, his voice breaking slightly, but managing.
Ross nodded, agreeing with the move. Only regretting that they hadn't taken the threat more seriously. They'd never suspected the Wakandans would be so foolish - or so dangerous.
"We are in DEFCON 1, pass it along, get every goddamn soldier with working eyes watching the sky, report any sightings of anything above a god damn bird and shoot it out of the sky."
"Commercial flights, sir?"
Ross grimaced, normally they'd have a whole chain of command for these sorts of things, "Ground them all." He said firmly - it was more important to be decisive right now than to wonder about who could do what, "Pass it on to Air Force One for the President's approval."
There won't be a spot of dirt left of your country once I'm done with you…" Ross thought, swearing his vengeance on Wakanda.
＊＊＊
At sea,
The Chinese fleet that had been on its way to Kenya to begin building a military base and start preparing for the coming war, disappeared suddenly, losing all communication with the homeland, at the same time word was reaching China of attacks worldwide.
The communist party declared the fleet lost, and ordered their nuclear deterrent to mobilize fully. Anyone able to take out over twenty navy vessels in a surprise attack needed nothing short of a full response in return.
When a Wakandan ship attempted to drop bombs on the forbidden city, it was cut to shreds as the first bomb fell out of its hold, the Chinese indiscriminately firing into the sky over Beijing, also taking down a commercial airliner who hadn't been able to get out of the no fly zone soon enough.
All around China the air lit up as the Chinese fired at the sky, not willing to take any chances.
Unknown to them, the other three craft were all destroyed thanks to this effort, and no further strike hit China - at the cost of losing several commercial airliners and everyone aboard that couldn't get out of the fire quick enough.
Kenya,
The Kenyan government had been pressured heavily by China to allow for their presence on their soil for the coming war against Wakanda.
They hadn't suspected this would come…
The people were shell shocked, stumbling down the dust covered streets, dead and dying everywhere, the emergency services taxed to the max, the Kenyan Senate, the National Assembly, the office of the President. They were all gone. The entire government of Kenya decapitated in one strike.
The rest of the world was, in a way, lucky. Wakanda striking naval bases in the Mediterranean, military bases in Europe and the Middle east - not going for civilian targets.
America and Kenya were hit the hardest when counting civilian casualties. The EU by comparison suffered the least, none of their major cities hit at all.
Russia was the only European country to be hit more than once, losing several military bases and taking damage to their black sea fleet.
But Wakanda wasn't done. It wasn't enough to hit the militaries that would face them, not enough to strike out at the leadership that chose to fight against them.
At the same time as the world froze in horror at the news spreading across the globe..
Wakandan War Dogs boarded freighters entering the Suez canal. They were super freighters, filled to the max and gigantic in size.
The port authority was completely unaware the ships had been hijacked - everyone onboard held hostage and acting as normal as they could with Wakandan weapons pointed at them.
At the same time as news hit the world of Wakanda's actions, several ships in the canal started blowing up, the massive super freighters beginning to sink, blocking both entrances, others just behind them, sinking as well, ensuring there would be no leeway to pass through.
Every ship currently passing through the canal was sinking, creating an impossible mess.
The Suez Canal was officially out of business.
＊＊＊