＊＊＊
Johannesburg, Africa.
Charles Xavier rolled into Justin's temporary office in a futuristic looking wheelchair, the wheels displaying the necessary X of course - he wore a genial smile on his face, and just like Erik Lensherr had, he looked much younger than a man his age should.
Someone tried to follow him in and was stopped by Elena suddenly interposing herself in the door, "Excuse me, but I don't remember hearing Xavier and guest? Please step away from the door." All said in a cold polite tone that brokered no arguments, his PA had some fire in there, Justin thought with approval, although he was somewhat confused why his PA was still outside his door with his security team. She had been on her way out of the office after all.
"Who's the bodyguard?" Justin asked Xavier, nodding towards the door, knowing his mind was likely being trawled through, but not able to do much about it. Least he could do was to find out which X-Men tag-along he had to contend with.
Xavier raised a hand, looking completely at ease, "It's alright my friend, I'm perfectly safe here, feel free to peruse the magazines, I've been curious to find out what new spring colors are in fashion this year." He called out, his voice slightly raised for the bodyguards benefit, before he looked towards Justin, smiling affably, "You'll have to excuse Mimic, he gets a tad overprotective when I'm so far abroad."
Yep, definitely read my mind, otherwise why the superhero name, he'd just have called him John or something… Justin thought. The challenge of speaking with a telepath really made him wish he'd worked on a fix long before now.
Vanko was about to get an improved budget and any helper he wanted… And a larger Vodka budget.
Justin scoffed lightly in response to Xavier, waving for Elena to close the door. He didn't recognize Mimic - the name didn't ring a bell, but Domino could undoubtedly handle him, not that it was needed, because Professor X could easily take them all down. "I'm sure you're here for a reason, so we can skip the pleasantries." Justin said coldly, meeting Xavier's eyes, "What exactly did you come to get out of my head?"
Xavier's eyes slid to Domino, a raised eyebrow asking his question for him.
"I trust Domino with my life, my secrets rank far lower on that list." Justin said a kernel of anger burning in his core, he was not pleased to have been met with both leaders of the mutant faction without as much as a goddamn courtesy call! "Dispense with the pleasantries, what do you want!?"
Domino had looked briefly touched at Justin's words, but she was also fully attentive, her eyes never leaving Xavier's, probably wondering, exactly as Justin was, if her power could even do anything 'lucky' against the kind of things Xavier could do. Justin had prepared a dossier on those few people he remembered after the Magneto ambush, so Domino was well acquainted with his skills, having only known him from reputation before.
"I understand your anger, Mister Hammer, but it is necessary, I am not your enemy." Xavier said calmly, his hands folded in his lap. He nodded towards Domino, "Nor yours young lady, no need to be tense, your master will not be harmed today." He sighed slightly as Domino did not waver for an instant, ready to attack at the slightest warning.
"Do you usually read the minds of your friends?" Justin asked cooly, not willing to be outright antagonistic, but neither was he willing to roll over and offer the red carpet.
"Depends on the friend." Xavier said with some humor, shaking his head slightly, "Lest I be diverted too much, let me get to the point then…" Xavier met Justin's eyes, before sighing deeply, "After a slight detour first… I must admit I came here on the advice of an old friend…"
"Erik… Or Raven…?" Justin asked, feeling quite annoyed, what was the point of a mutant civil war if they're just going to go behind the barn and gossip at the annual hoedown?
Xavier's lips twitched a little, "Oh you do know them both that well, I wasn't sure, splendid. Erik actually was the one to ask me to double check your intentions."
It's annoying that I don't know if he didn't read that from my mind and is honestly surprised… Or whether he's fucking with me to make me think he didn't pluck everything he could… Justin thought, purposely thinking of some of his fun time with Raven - or Mystique as he called her, as she hadn't actually introduced herself otherwise yet - the thoughts as filthy as he could make them and all real - to see if he could make the old man flinch.
"And what about my intentions then?" Justin asked sharply, a pleased smirk on his face, because he'd caught Xavier in a small lie, because he was in his mind, the slight flinch when he'd focused on Mystique sexy time proved it - which meant he knew exactly how much Justin knew about Erik and Raven.
… Or he purposely flinched to make Justin feel more self assured.. God damn he hated telepathy!
Xavier was quiet for a moment, seemingly gathering his thoughts, before he spoke up, an honest smile on his face, "I know your intentions for mutant kind matches for the most part with my own, which is a great relief, and although I can't say I approve of everything you do, it is not my place to judge you or yours either."
"But I'm about to hear what you don't approve of, am I right?" Justin drawled, feeling some relief that he wasn't diametrically opposed to a telepath of Xavier's power, but having a good feeling about what he was going to hear next.
"The unethical testing of… Extremis?" Xavier made a face, "A smart choice to rebrand that," He muttered, "Using mutant test subjects against their will is not something I can abide, Mister Hammer." He finished reprovingly.
Justin looked into the eyes of the greatest telepath in the world, a man that could scramble his head with a thought, and spoke, "Tough! Why should I care?" He said coldly, drawing a start out of Domino who gave him a look that clearly said - what the fuck are you doing?
It's called negotiation, darling!
Xavier seemed disheartened, "Common decency isn't enough?" He queried, despite already knowing the answer. Really? He truly lived in a world of rainbows and bubblegum - he came to meet a billionaire expecting compassion?
Delusional.
Justin snorted, giving him an askance look, "Show me the market where I can buy something with common decency, and I'll think about it." He cricked his neck, staring Xavier down, "I run a business. I'll save mutant kind. Not because I'm kind, not because I'm looking out for the children," He mocked lightly, "But because it makes sense, for world security and most importantly, financially!"
Justin smacked a hand on his desk for emphasis as he began to lecture the so-called leader of Mutantkind. "I'm not even going to get into Magneto's misguided nonsense - but you're no better! You shouldn't be building a team to duke it out with him, like your regular redneck is going to see a fucking difference between the Brotherhood and the X-Men! You should have gone commercial, touted the usefulness in abilities in business and improvements to everyday life. Yes, a lizard looking mutant might not be much up top - but if they have even a simple night vision and tough enough system - every company digging below ground, every mining consortium, subway, sewer, and a hundred other things I can't even think of right now, would be a perfect fit! They'd pay heavily for it, and no one would begrudge them the work, as no normal human could do it the same!"
"Easier said than implemented, not many would take well to those of us of a more concerning outwards appearance." Xavier fired back, a slight grin on his face.
Fucker was enjoying this… Justin thought with annoyance.
Justin scoffed, "You underestimate how much things change when money comes into it. People make money off mutants, their job becomes easier maybe, less dangerous, maybe mutants can do something that can't be done outside their powers, perhaps making a process cheaper, fixing a natural hazard, cleaning up a landfill? The whole country or state benefits, which means more money again. And best of all, there's not enough mutants to take everyone's job!" Justin gestured measuredly as he spoke, having been sitting on these thoughts for a while. "Politicians will do what benefits them financially, so that's one hurdle cleared, people will see mutants working regularly - which makes them not so different - not like if they were, oh, let's say - flying around breaking buildings while wearing spandex!"
Justin paused for a moment, gathering his thoughts, "Now a team of mutants to defend earth as a whole, wouldn't be as much of an issue, as that again builds goodwill, have them fly around and help with natural disasters and relief efforts when there isn't any alien invasions to worry about…"
"Quite right." Xavier agreed, which threw Justin enough to break off any further ranting, as he peered suspiciously at the man.
"You've known since you wheeled in here that I thought this way." Justin said resignedly, "You're here to deal, now, aren't you?" Again, dealing with telepathy takes all the fun out of a negotiation…
Xavier nodded, looking as pleased as the cat that got the canary, "Your theory is quite likely correct, and would be the easiest way to allow mutant kind a mostly normal life, without too much overt racism or the chance for stringent restrictive laws against us."
"Except for the religious people." Justin deadpanned, while his mind went over this whole conversation, wondering if he was imagining Charles Xavier agreeing with him on his policies.
Xavier winced, "Ah, yes, I fear we'll never reach the most radical there." He said politely.
"So you agree that in defense of the planet as a whole, and with the commercialization of their abilities - that would be the safest bet?" Justin said carefully, not looking at Domino - he couldn't even imagine what her thoughts would be like right now.
Two guys just affably discussing the fate of all mutant kind, based on how best to market them.
Xavier nodded slowly, "Although it would face many pitfalls unless it was under the aegis of an entity hard to tear down." He said pointedly. "Someone who could legally protect them all without facing the backlash of the government or the people…"
Justin chuckled darkly, spreading his arms out in a welcoming gesture, "Me, that is my plan, that's true, but I'm surprised you're willing to play along."
Xavier smiled wryly, "That is why I've sought you out while I am here, Mister Hammer, so I could get a feel for you myself. You're not a good man, in the normal definition of such, but you'll fiercely protect what is yours, and you're trying extremely hard to protect the world, I do not find umbrage with these things."
"But you do find umbrage with something." Justin said knowingly, circling back to the beginning. "The mutant testing for Extremis."
"Yes, that is concerning to me." Xavier said, face firm, "I can not do anything for those already lost, and punishing you for that would just cause more suffering, so holding you to a better standard will be my cross to bear."
"How nice of you." Justin drawled, tapping his fingers on the desk, "I still need to figure out how the X-gene interacts with Extremis," He pointed out. "It's not something I'm willing to leave on the table."
Domino and Phantazia had been too loyal, working too many long hours, days, weeks, months, without days off, regeneration was the least they deserved.
Xavier breathed out slowly, "So use volunteers for the testing after exhausting everything else, and use experts, I happen to know several mutants that have studied the X-gene extensively…" Xavier offered, lightly asking, "If they could get a sample..?"
"No." Justin immediately rebutted, "If you want this deal, if you want me to employ and assist mutant kind everywhere, then they can come work for me and run this testing - will that help your sensibilities?"
Xavier watched Justin for a moment, before smiling, "Certainly, that will do well, Dr. McCoy has been pondering stretching his legs recently."
Justin was well aware he'd be letting a spy into his company, and he knew Xavier knew he knew. But as long as the goal was the same… Fine. It was worth the risk.
No doubt he'd get several X-Men supervising in his different divisions to ensure the mutants he employed were all treated well, but they were competent people, so it didn't really harm him to get them for free so to speak. The things he could achieve here in Africa with Storm for example…
Good luck calling her a freak after she saves a couple million people from droughts… Especially backed by the support of Hammer industries who's bringing clean water and power to the masses…
And obviously even if he managed to protect his mind eventually, Xavier would obviously be poking his head into his company to ensure Justin didn't fuck mutants over. Not ideal, but Xavier would have to let everything else Justin did go, as long as mutant kind was benefiting, because Justin did believe this was the only way forward where mutants might become accepted. One team, like the Avengers, helping with disasters, the rest, building, crafting, healing, doing normal jobs, utilizing their abilities.
He'd always have Xavier and the X-Men poking about, but he could insulate himself from those divisions somewhat, and besides, it might not be a bad thing to know he couldn't go too darkside… Xavier apparently wouldn't care if Hammer industries became the mega corporation of Earth, impossible to ignore, or remove. Not as long as mutants were equal to everyone else in the process.
Magneto… Was going to be an issue unless they could convince him…
Before they could conclude any specifics, there was shouting from the hall, Xavier's face turning absolutely chalk white as he reached out and no doubt plucked news out of someone's head. Hero my ass, Justin thought, giving him a look.
Justin might be an asshole through and through, but at least he didn't claim to be heroic while happily mindraping people 'for the greater good'.
Justin owned his own villainous bent.
The door slammed open, Bakshi, looking disheveled and like he'd run to get there, standing in the doorway, breathing out harshly, "Did you turn off your phone!?" He demanded of Justin.
Mimic following him in to check on Xavier, who looked physically ill, a hand covering his mouth, as he sagged into his wheelchair.
"What's going on?" Justin asked, worst case scenarios flitting through his mind. With Xavier there, his immediate thought was on Magneto, please tell me that moronic plot with rogue didn't just kick off while we were here!?
Bakshi looked ill as he reported, "Wakanda has struck, Congress is gone, the Americas are at Defcon 1, China lost most of their fleet with unconfirmed reports the forbidden city was struck, reports are saying imminent nuclear strike from China, America making ready to respond as well!"
Justin grabbed his phone, cursing up a storm, of all the days to put it on silent! He ignored all the missed calls and messages from the last few minutes and dialed one number. Don't your fucking dare you mouth breathing, barely literate, neanderthals! He cursed the world leaders out in his mind.
He briefly wondered why the African Union hadn't been struck, since he was sitting here as well as a nice fat target..
The call took forever to pick up, as Justin nervously paced around the office, Mimic having already escorted Xavier away by the time the phone was finally picked up.
"Not a good time, Hammer!" President Ellis barked into the phone, Justin having a direct line to his personal phone.
Not a good time might be the understatement of the century…
Justin raked through his hair, full of nervous energy, "Listen, I don't care! Get on the fucking phone to Beijing and get them to call it off, Wakanda has a force field, you'll probably just contaminate the surrounding area, or more importantly the fucking Vibranium!"
He had no idea if the force shield would withstand a strike or two, no idea if the Vibranium would be affected by radiation whether the strike succeeded or failed - either way, he wasn't willing to risk earth's entire cache (excepting his stash) of Vibranium potentially becoming radioactive.
Also he needs Africa, so don't be a douche and irradiate it right now…
"They wiped out Congress, we can't not respond, Hammer. Same thing for the Chinese. They've razed NATO from the Mediterranean, razed every naval base in Europe and killed off the Suez canal, we have to respond!" Ellis argued back, sounding on the verge of a breakdown.
Justin didn't care, he'd worked too hard to have it all go up in nuclear fucking fallout now, "I don't care! Respond with a full declaration of war together with NATO instead! Promise the Chinese some free arc reactors from me or something, but get them to BACK THE FUCK OFF!" He shouted into the phone, "We're on the cusp of elevating mankind and you want to start world war three? Launching nukes is not going to stop at just you two! Everyone will get in on the game, what if Wakanda has some tech that can intercept or redirect one!"
With their bullshit and how confidently they were striking out at the world, Justin didn't want to consider anything as impossible.
He was in fucking Africa, now was not the time to start dropping nukes on it!
Ellis was silent for a moment, before he sighed, "I'll try, but I can't promise the Chinese anything from us, in this situation it would be political suicide to be seen backing down to the Chinese, if they back down, we will," He warned, "So you better be ready to pay the price for your peace, Hammer." And then he hung up.
Justin threw the phone at the wall, breathing heavily. Fucking nuclear war? That's what their first response is?
"Bakshi…" He said after calming down minutely, "Use whatever contacts you have, promise them anything, suck them off if you have to, but get a message through to the president of the Communist party outlining everything I just told Ellis." Justin snorted in disgust, "I can't trust he'll negotiate his way out of a wet paper bag, so I want assurances the Chinese get my message, you have ten minutes, then I want that message in his fucking hands." He was about to let him go when another thought hit him, "Tell the Chinese I can open the Suez canal again soon, but not if they start firing nukes."
Hopefully I can actually keep that promise.
Bakshi ran off, madly tapping at his phone, as Justin turned to Domino and Elena, who'd thankfully stuck around thanks to Xavier arriving, "Get Phantazia to fuel up the jet and find us a way there, I'm needed back in America."
And the fuck away from here right now…. Before Wakanda strikes at me as well. Not that distance apparently matters…
"Give me your phone." He ordered of one of the security team as they began moving, snapping it out of his hand as it was offered, dialing a number immediately, "Hope," He said rapidly beginning to talk, blowing past her answer, "I need you, no… The world needs you…"
＊＊＊
Private jet, airspace over Africa.
The plane was a hive of activity as Elena dealt with communications to the rest of the company, facing a real litmus test as both Justin and Bakshi were unavailable, dealing with governments instead of the company.
Elena was in one corner, frantically typing emails with one hand while harshly dictating orders to Hammer Industries factory chief's, PR teams, and the like - who all had never heard of her before the last few days.
Bakshi across from Justin, tie loose for the first time Justin had ever seen, his hair disheveled, as he yelled at different functionaries from different governments, bullying his way forward, pausing briefly to hand his phone to Justin once he got through, while immediately grabbing another phone and starting another chain.
Phantazia was up with the pilots, hoping to be able to interrupt the mechanics of any missile or flight in her vision - that hopefully would not be arriving. While Domino stood by a white board nearby the hive of activity, listing countries crossed off as talked to, labeled in columns of safe, undecided and stupid.
Both China and USA were listed in the stupid column, Ellis not having gotten back to them yet since the phone call forty five minutes ago.
Justin argued quietly on the phone, gritting his teeth at having to deal with the idiots in charge of nations in such a slapdash manner, these were the kind of fools you had to wine and dine a little, play a bit of give and take with. Everything was much harder when you're cold calling them to tell them to not be idiots.
No one wanted nuclear war, but no one wanted to be the next one struck by Wakanda's invisible aircraft either.
Justin was arguing until he was blue in the face, trying to explain that Wakanda didn't have unlimited pilots and resources, for all the Vibranium they had, they couldn't just whip up a new plane in hours and train a pilot. They couldn't strike again to the same extent, he had enough connections to get the same estimate the Pentagon received right after they received it, and Wakanda had lost an estimated 18 aircraft today (And that was without any news of how many China might have gotten) - but it was like pulling teeth to get world leaders to listen, they were all screaming about retaliation, which Justin was perfectly fine with - buy his weapons and retaliate - don't open Pandora's box of nuclear goodies.
For God's sake, Wakanda might be isolated, but even they can't have missed world war two, if they didn't have a defense against nuclear strikes, Justin would kiss fucking Tony Stark. And the problem with an unknown like Wakanda… Was the shield the solution? Capable of holding back nuclear strikes? Or did they have a way of redirecting a nuclear missile? A way to detonate it early? A way to shoot it down?
They didn't know, which to any logical person - apparently only Justin - meant don't fire nukes at them!
Especially as they didn't want to escalate only to find out Wakanda also has nukes…
With a sigh he finished his conversation on the phone, he dropped the phone on the couch, letting out a short scream, just letting everything out there, before straightening his tie as he leaned forward, letting out a breath he'd probably been holding in for the last forty five minutes, "Put China in safe, for now… And with that, put America on the safe list as well." China was furious, and refused to look weak, so Justin had been forced to do some very fast talking there, Ellis it turned out - had not managed to convince them of shit.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Really… Having the president of the United States in your pocket and Justin still had to do all the work, Ellis how the fuck did you get elected? Oh, yeah, with my money…
Bakshi murmured something into his phone, before putting it on mute, leaning over, "Pentagon is moving to Defcon 2, my source is informing me."
Justin felt like he'd lost half his body weight in sweat as he sunk back into the couch, a relieved smile on his face, "Well, not ideal still, but no nukes. Can't complain about no nukes!"
Elena leaned out from behind her corner, only her head visible around the large comfortable luxury seats, a small smile on her face, "If you want some good news, sir, I've received an email from a representative of the African Union, addressed to you, it seems in light of recent circumstances, they signed the agreement. All of them."
"Thank fuck!" Justin said with emphasis, not at all wanting to go back to Johannesburg and continue arguing. In fact, he wanted a full vacation from arguing right now. "Everyone take five, just… Drink something, wrap your heads back around to normal, let's just take five."
Bakshi suddenly froze, while everyone else began moving to refresh themselves, his phone slowly lowering from his ear, Justin met his eyes, already dreading it, "Missile launch detected by the Pentagon…" He said numbly.
Justin slowly sank his head into his hands, what a fucking shit show… "Who? What fucking idiot did we miss?"
He'd called every nuclear capable country and gotten assurances! He didn't think any of them would…
What the everliving Fu-
＊＊＊
SHIELD helicarrier over the Atlantic,
-ck is going on here!?
Nick Fury watched the frenetic activity on the bridge as every alarm he hoped to never hear went blaring off, "Who?" He shouted, moving to the center of the bridge so he could look around at every screen, "Who fired that damn missile, and can we stop it?"
"Triangulating now, sir."
"Well triangulate faster, see if we can't fire a good ol' regular missile back at whatever motherfucker decided to try and kickstart world war 3!" Fury ordered, feeling tense as he stood and waited, SHIELD unable to do much more than wait. "Find me the trajectory and any assets we have to intercept in case it's not going for Wakanda!"
Wakanda's strike was another black mark against them, putting aside the fact no one knew what their capabilities were - SHIELD had not been prepared, the world had not been prepared.
SHIELD hadn't lost a single base, something Fury was sure was going to turn things quite sour once the nations of the world took stock, and started looking at SHIELD for their continued intelligence failure.
"Sir! I've got it! It's…. Sir, it's us!?" The radar tech stared at her screen in shock, Fury rushing over, one eye wide.
What the everliving Fu-
＊＊＊
Washington D.C, White House.
-ck is going on here!?
Alexander Pierce growled into the phone, outrage battling with bafflement. "What the hell do you mean we launched a nuke!?" He whisper-yelled.
He waved a hand to his security detail, stepping inside an empty room, some office belonging to White House staff, his detail waiting outside and ensuring his privacy. "Tell me again, and this time in a way that I can understand…?" He bit out, "SHIELD fired a nuke? Or… We did?"
If a fellow HYDRA head had done this… He was going to boil them alive. For starters.
The flustered voice on the other hand quibbled for a moment, other voices in the background, panicked voices, "We do not know sir, it doesn't appear to be them, or us, but it came from us, that's clear."
Alexander slammed a hand into the wall, leaning over with his phone pressed into his ear, "What part of that is clear? Did we or didn't we!?"
"I mean… Sir… The launch came from the Iliad…"
Alexander Pierce scowled, "The Iliad does not carry ICBMs, it's a SHIELD aircraft carrier!" What the fuck is going on!?
There's a stutter on the line, the operator sounding as baffled as Alexander felt. "We know sir… But that's what it's showing us as the starting point." It was said defensively, but Alexander knew these people didn't get their positions without knowing their stuff. If they say the Iliad fired a nuke, then it happened.
How… Would be a very important thing to find out.
"Get me the Iliad!" Alexander barked into the phone, he was meeting the Vice-president, he needed to know what happened before he was asked point blank if SHIELD had gone rogue.
"We're trying, there's no response…"
What the everliving Fuck!
＊＊＊
Private jet, in airspace over Atlantic ocean.
The jet was silent as they all waited for news. Elena and Bakshi silently continued their work as Justin and Domino just sat and waited, The bodyguard raking her hand through his hair as he leaned his head back, letting the soothing motion soothe his migraine.
"Sir… Got a report, preliminary, put into the classified eyes only net in the Pentagon, not everything is confirmed yet, do you want it?" Bakshi asked quietly, well put together again, as he sat across from Justin and Domino.
Justin scowled, enjoying Domino's ministrations, he waved a hand, not bothering to open his eyes, "Go ahead, let's find out what the damage is."
Bakshi cleared his throat, "Wakanda intercepted the nuclear missile well before it even entered their airspace, a kinetic projectile destroying it, fired from within Wakanda as far as we've been able to ascertain - we do not yet know if they needed to lower their shield to do so."
Justin hummed in thought, "Well not as bad as it could be." He acknowledged, he opened one eye to stare at Bakshi, "So what's the bad news?"
"Well the nuclear missile did not detonate, so there is no fallout falling down onto African soil, so far. Also, seeing Wakandan capabilities for defending against nuclear strikes, the nations of the world has cooled down slightly, America has moved to Defcon 3 in response."
"You see…" Justin said, closing his eyes again, just letting his body go lax, "When I say tell me the bad news, and you give me more good news, it means the bad news is going to really suck!" He finished with feeling.
Bakshi sighed, "As always, you are right, sir." He acknowledged.
"So, what fucked up?" Domino asked Bakshi, before leaning up against Justin, tapping his forehead, "This was a one time favor, I'm not your masseuse."
Justin opened an eye in her direction, "Ten more minutes and I'll get you a Bahamas vacation with Erik Stevens as your bodyguard. Clothing optional beaches." He tempted.
Domino opened her mouth for a rebuttal, before striking a thinking pose, eventually letting her hand fall back to raking her fingers through his scalp, "You've got a deal, bossman!"
Bakshi smiled at their byplay, the expression quickly falling as he continued reporting. "What went wrong… It appears that the Iliad, a SHIELD aircraft carrier in the Atlantic Ocean, last reported somewhere off the north east coast of South America, fired the ICBM." Bakshi read of his tablet, tapping the screen, "What's more, the Iliad is not supposed to have that capability."
"Your old buddies tell you that?" Justin asked, trying to verify where the information came from, because what the fuck, SHIELD!?
"Partly," Bakshi admitted, "They're as baffled as us, it wasn't them, and as far as they can tell, it wasn't SHIELD either."
Justin opened both eyes, giving him a skeptical look, "The SHIELD aircraft carrier fired a nuclear missile without them knowing about it?" He snorted, "Fury is so fired." He muttered to himself, not sure how he felt about that.
Bakshi grimaced, "It gets worse, sir." He said simply, getting a long drawn out sigh from Justin.
"Of course it does… Hit me."
"They've lost the Iliad."
Justin sat up fully, losing Domino's hand in the process, but more concerned with what he was hearing. "How do you lose an aircraft carrier!?" He demanded.
Especially one firing nukes! Who would even put nuclear missile capabilities on an aircraft carrier anyway? It made no sense!?
Bakshi looked as baffled as Justin, "I can't really say, sir. But according to reports, shortly after firing a missile they shouldn't be in possession of, or have the capability to fire, they disappeared completely off the grid, no satellite has been able to locate them, and according to my sources, everyone is looking."
Justin took off his glasses, pinching the bridge of his nose, "So you're telling me, that to go with the whole Wakandan issue, we have a rogue aircraft carrier capable of firing ICBMs, that can either turn invisible or something else horrible that we have absolutely no idea about whatsoever, just… Going around the world, able to pop up and nuke someone at any time and no one knows who's behind it?"
"Essentially… Yes, sir." Bakshi said with an uncomfortable look on his face.
Justin sank back into the couch, "Just great…"
Maybe he should have just been happy with his fortune and being second best, spent his life on models and beach vacations until the universe got decimated.
Because the butterflies in this universe were getting preeettttyyy big…
＊＊＊
Washington D.C, several hours later.
If Justin thought he was going to get any rest, he was swiftly dissuaded on landing in D.C, as he was met by a military escort upon landing, and immediately brought to the White House. Who needs sleep anyway?
The President was still not in residence, having been moved to a secure location while the Vice-President remained at the White House to instill some sense of normalcy.
As normal as things could be when dealing with the complete destruction of one branch of government, and the gutting of military leadership that occured in halfway destroying the Pentagon.
He was meeting neither though, marched as he was into the bowels of the White House, and brought through several checkpoints, eventually even having to divest himself of Domino, the security only allowing him onwards, no ifs and buts.
Finally he was brought into a dark room which held nothing but a chair, several large screens, and Alexander Pierce, secret head of HYDRA, but mostly known as the Secretary of the World Security Council to those in the know. A former Secretary of Defense to those less informed.
Technically speaking Justin should probably belong to the second category. At least he had Bakshi to use as a convenient excuse for any extra knowledge.
"Mister Secretary." Justin said shortly, shaking the man's hand, curious and apprehensive at what could be going on. He'd been fine leaving Domino behind, as it was the White House, but hadn't expected a HYDRA head…
"Mister Hammer." Pierce said charmingly, shaking his hand firmly but vigorously, "A pleasure to meet you, thank you for what you're doing for the world, your innovative accomplishments will bring a much needed change to the world."
"I do what I can, Mister Secretary, what can I do for the World Security Council today?" Justin asked, glancing at the screens, because what else could they be for?
Pierce smirked, seemingly very pleased about something, which put Justin's hackles up, "Ah, to be cliche, Mister Hammer, it's more what the Security Council can do for and with you."
Justin glanced at the sole chair in the middle of the room, and the screens, his eyebrows raised high, "Am I to take this to mean that I'm being invited to the World Security Council, just like that?" He asked incredulously. And with this set up, someone in the White House is always on the council… Good to know…
Pierce walked over to the chair, running his hand over the top of it, seemingly smug about something, "That is exactly it, normally there's a whole process, but with the way the world is at the moment, your obvious expertise in many areas, and usefulness to the security of the world, it made you a shoe-in to some councilors."
"From the way you're speaking, Mister Secretary, did you advocate for me to get this position?" Justin asked wryly, studying the set up further, some sort of holo projector on the floor, likely to project whoever the council was meeting, if anyone, at any time, the screens would obviously be the rest of the council…
Pierce chuckled with easy camaraderie, coming over and putting a hand on Justin's shoulder, "Son, it was my absolute pleasure to argue for your inclusion." He gestured to the seat, "We do have something that needs to be dealt with at the moment, they're waiting for your arrival."
Justin raised an eyebrow, "Not very efficient to wait for me to deal with the chaos out there right now." He pointed out, somewhat sharply. World Security should not be by committee just for these kinds of reasons.
Pierce walked over to the side, where Justin just noticed another floor holo projector was inserted into the floor, the HYDRA head coming to stand right on top of it, "This case isn't an emergency issue, although it does need to be decided speedily, for clarity's sake."
"If you accept, take a seat, all the paperwork and being sworn in business - will be handled after the vote." Pierce said, gesturing to the chair again, his eyes expectant.
Justin sighed, eying the chair as if it was a live snake, but in the end, it was better to have a seat and get first hand information, than to have someone else, less qualified, making decisions impacting him. He took the seat.
A hum ran through the room, a new screen raising up from the floor in front of Justin, featuring live information from SHIELD, the Pentagon, CIA and a dozen other agencies on a live feed. He glanced up, seeing Pierce appearing as a hologram on the floor in front of him, even as he still stood not far away from him, Nick Fury also appearing from elsewhere, his hands behind his back as he looked up at Justin like he was on a screen above him.
"All World Security Councilors have their image and voice scrambled, he does not know your identity, nor will he find out through this system." Pierce supplied quietly.
Seconds later the other screens came alive, the screens not blurred to him, although he didn't recognize any of the faces.
The only woman spoke up immediately, "We are here today to determine whether to replace Nicholas J Fury as the Director of SHIELD due to his recent failures."
Justin was taken aback, he'd joked about Fury getting fired, but he hadn't really been serious. Although if he thought about it, it made a certain amount of sense. SHIELD had failed in the Wakandan situation, looking impotent to the world, then a SHIELD aircraft carrier fired a nuke, and disappeared, and SHIELD had no idea about any of it.
A dignified older man with a receding hairline, spoke up next, "Director Fury, do you have any defense regarding recent failures? Or anything to say in defense of keeping your post?"
Holo Fury looked up at the screen, his lips twisted in distaste,"My career speaks for itself, councilors, you'd be fools to bring in someone new to the job in light of recent circumstances."
An Indian man frowned minutely, cutting off the American with the receding hairline, "I would not suggest such a cavalier attitude Director, it's due to recent circumstances that you are in this situation."
Justin tapped his fingers on his chair, thinking furiously, getting rid of Fury… Would that cancel out the Avengers? Would a HYDRA plant take over? He didn't like Fury much, he honestly seemed like an incompetent leader, and a paranoid man incapable of making the right decision due to worrying about things he shouldn't even care about.
The world was changing rapidly, he couldn't afford SHIELD becoming a total unknown too, he looked over the chair, finding the mechanism for turning on his own microphone, cutting off one of the others in the middle of another tongue lashing. "In my opinion, this is the last thing we should be focusing on."
Pierce, who'd been standing silent, smiled at him, before speaking up himself, his holo moving to stand next to Fury, "Councilors, I agree with our newest member, you don't change your horse in the middle of the race."
Justin spoke up again, before Pierce could monopolize their attention and try and manage the discussion in a different direction than Justin wanted, "It's a normal reaction to look for a scapegoat during tough times, but it is also, very clearly the wrong reaction this time."
"And what makes you say that, councilor?" The receding hairline guy, who's name he really needed to figure out, said snidely."
"It is my understanding that no one knew about Wakanda, so to lay that at the feet of Director Fury is both unfair and pointless." Justin said, eyes on the impassive holo of Fury, silently listening to people debating his future. "And while no one knowing about the Iliad is under the aegis of SHIELD…" Justin's voice turned sharper as he made his point, "The problem there is that the Iliad was under the aegis of SHIELD…"
"I fail to see your point, councilor." The Indian said dryly, "I hope you have one…"
"An aircraft carrier has disappeared, unless you think Fury did that? To release him from his duties, and choose anyone else, is folly. This incident made Fury out to be incompetent, he is unlikely to be behind it. But someone hid all of this from SHIELD, from the World Security Council… And they've done so successfully, likely expecting his dismissal, how sure are you that your replacement candidate is not the one behind all of this?"
Justin felt a certain amount of pleasure at calling Fury incompetent to his face, in a manner of speaking, and him just having to stand there and take it.
Pierce cleared his throat, "The Iliad being anything but an inside job seems unlikely." He added, agreeing with Justin, without coming right out and saying it. Although he and Fury were supposed to be somewhat close, the council likely expected his support for the Director.
Justin's support was out of the blue, he glanced at the Secretary, he'd been inducted very speedily, was Pierce putting him through to keep Fury in his post?
"The argument is sound. There are severe risks in counting on a new candidate." The female councilor mused out loud.
Justin was glad for his glasses and their record function, he'd be able to look up these people and get names for next time. Score one for proprietary tech no one knows he has.
"You can't be serious, he's led us into the biggest intelligence failure of the century, twice!" Receding hairline spluttered.
"God himself would have failed that job in the last few weeks." Justin interjected, somewhat amusedly, because he was entirely responsible for most of it. "Fury has kept SHIELD together at the very least, and not made any stupid knee jerk moves to worsen the situation, give him time to react to the chaos, and don't invite more by changing leaders."
One by one the other councilors voted, Fury would keep his job, only one councilor voting against him. Fury himself not saying as much as a thank you as he disappeared, going back to work, no doubt.
The screens all flickered off, one by one, leaving Justin with just Pierce, who clapped his hands together and rubbed them, a smarmy smirk on his face, "Well now, that was an interesting first meeting. Well done."
Justin just wanted to go to bed. At least the meeting has been blessedly quick, then again, they all had important things to do right now.
Fucking hell… Fury owed him his job.
What was his life even anymore?
＊＊＊
At the hotel, hours of paperwork later, Washington D.C.
Justin walked into the penthouse suit, just feeling his bed calling for him, sweet sweet sleep, oblivion, where no one tried to nuke each other. Where he didn't need to figure out how to clear the Suez canal, just simple sleep.
Justin noticed Domino and Elena flipping through folders sitting at the coffee table, he stretched, letting out a yawn, he hadn't gotten much sleep with everything going on and he wanted to make it clear to everyone that there was no point in doing anymore work. He sauntered over to the two women, intending to get them to take a break too.
"What are you working on?" He asked, barely suppressing another yawn.
Domino flipped open a file, showcasing Natasha Romanoff, "Threat assessments, as your PA, she needs to know what people are for sure gunning for you, that way if she sees something out of place she has all the information to connect the dots if it's one of them." Domino explained, looking disgustingly fresh and energetic, how did that work? Justin was the one with regeneration!
Elean looked uncomfortable staring down at the picture of the Black Widow, so Justin laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. She must be more scared then I thought, she's super tense, he noticed. Of course, for most normal people, super assassin's were pretty scary.
For Justin, it was becoming Tuesday.
"Don't worry Elena, no Black Widow is ever going to come within a hundred feet of me ever again, I promise." Justin reassured his personal assistant, not wanting her to start worrying about Black Widows of all things.
Domino snorted, "And if they do, he'll probably just sleep with them, like he did with this one." She joked, holding out Natasha's folder, earning a start out of Elena.
Justin gave her an affronted look, one hand still on Elena's shoulder, "Hey… I do not sleep with every Black Widow I meet!" He argued. "Elena? You believe me right?"
Elena slipped out from under his hand, excusing herself, claiming a need for coffee if she was to continue working. Avoiding the question, he supposed it wasn't fair to put her on the spot anyway, she was still fairly new.
Justin frowned though, looking at her walking away, it had almost looked like she was holding back laughter, that couldn't be right, probably the sleep deprivation talking. "Domino… Now you have her thinking I'm some kind of deviant." He chided.
"Yes. Me. It's all me." Domino said dryly, flipping through folders.
When Elena returned she was more composed, and they all continued working, Justin not able to convince himself to go rest while his employees were putting in the extra hours.
＊＊＊
The next day.
With his New York offices thoroughly destroyed, he found an empty small office building to rent in Washington, well, Elena found it for him, but he paid for it.
It wasn't much, but he needed something other than the hotel to meet people in, and he wasn't quite ready to leave Washington with everything going on.
Added to the list of future purchases was a proper Washington office. He mostly had research labs and testing sites for the military in the vicinity of Washington.
Currently he was meeting with Phantazia and Domino, going over their concerns and talking about recruitment.
"If you really have Xavier onboard, it opens you up to recruit some good people, me and Domino are running pretty thin on the ground here." Eileen said primly, "Xavier's approval means a lot in certain circles, even amongst mercenaries, it means you're trusted."
Justin huffed, looking annoyed, "We don't technically have an agreement yet, we were interrupted." He pointed out.
Although he felt it likely, he'd already sent the order to stop mutant testing for Extremis for now, doing his part. He'd never be palatable for Xavier, likely. But he just needed to be good enough, as long as he looked after mutants and ensured equality, which was just a no brainer - he'd have Xavier at minimum neutral.
And it really was a no brainer. With aliens and shit like Dormammu, Earth did not need a race war to go with everything else. Mutants would be very useful too, for planetary defense and his company both.
Maybe he could get one of them on his HAMMER team?
Vanko was already working overtime on something for next time he'd meet the wheelchair bound hero. Who probably held as much interest if not more than Justin - in a mutant compatible extremis.
"I wouldn't mind some time off, so new hires sound good, I have a Bahamas vacation to look forward to." Domino said cheekily, winking at Justin.
Justin smirked, sighing dramatically, "You could have always gone with me…" He suggested, waggling his eyebrows.
Domino laughed even as Eileen rolled her eyes, "Nah, you're seven out of ten remember." She teased, putting both hands together and then letting them get far, far away from each other, her grin going saucy. "Stevens is prime meat, 10 out of 10!"
"God, the two of you are the worst." Eileen muttered as Justin and Domino both laughed.
"Need to find her a boyfriend." Domino said conspiratorially to Justin.
Justin practically giggled at Eileen's disgusted look, "Or a girlfriend?" He suggested.
"I hope you die the first day I go on vacation." Eileen said in annoyance. Before placing a folder in front of them. "Do work. Pick someone." She demanded.
Fun time was over.
Work, work, work.
＊＊＊
Several days later..
Elena knocked on the door to his office softly, sticking her head through the open space, "Sir, I know you asked not to be disturbed, but there is someone here that claims to be the liaison between the United States military and Hammer industries."
Justin huffed in irritation, glancing up at Elena, reluctantly closing his laptop to concentrate on this new situation, he couldn't ignore this. "How nice of them to let me know only when at my door." He drawled, uncaring if the military stooge on the other side could hear it, "Fine, let him in, hold my calls until we're done, unless it's of world ending importance."
Which sadly was an actual possibility for the next decade at least, more so now then it was before.
Elena nodded quickly, "Yes, sir." And disappeared from view, Justin could hear her voice, much more chilled, as she dressed down whoever was on the other side for their unscheduled appearance, before allowing them through with a warning to be on their best behavior.
She was a good hire… Justin thought, a tiny smirk on his face, he glanced at Domino, sitting on a couch in the office, cleaning her guns, I'll have to reward her for taking the initiative to hire her.
The smirk disappeared off his face as he became lost for words when his military attache stepped inside.
Colonel James 'Rhodey' Rhodes stepped through into his office in full dress uniform, looking exhausted - carrying a certain tension to him that showcased he wasn't thrilled to be there.
Justin wasn't thrilled either. Why the fuck aren't you in Afghanistan!?
Domino, picking up on Justin's heightened emotional state, rose up, one of her guns held lightly in her hand, "Boss?" She queried, eyeing Rhodes suspiciously.
"Colonel Rhodes… What an unexpected surprise…" Justin managed to get out, sounding slightly choked despite attempting to play it cool, he waved Domino down as he did, Rhodes eyeing their interaction with some wariness.
A soldier recognizing his own ilk, and cataloging the threat.
Colonel Rhodes, future war machine, best friend and more importantly savior of Tony Stark… Why the fuck is he here!? Justin wanted to yell out. But he already had a pretty good idea… God dammit! Even as Wakanda gave to Justin with one hand - they took from him with the other.
Fucking prideful stubborn suicidal bastards!
Domino sat back down, but she was much more attentive now, and her gun didn't leave her hand, even if she made sure to point it away from Rhodes at the moment.
"This wasn't my idea either." Rhodes stated bluntly, eyeing Justin with some rancor barely hidden under the professionalism. "Apparently my 'experience' in liaising with a similar company made me the ideal candidate."
He managed to not sound sarcastic and still perfectly portray sarcasm at the same time - Justin figured he'd learned that after spending too much time talking to military brass.
Justin needed to remember that for all that he was a dumb soldier - of all things to do with his life - this was a man that could keep up with Tony Stark to a certain extent. He was far from unintelligent.
"But… They'd only do that if…" Justin wanted to smash his head on the desk as he clued in, This was just great… "They've given up on Stark, haven't they?" He said in a pained tone of voice, something which seemed to catch Colonel Rhodes off guard.
They'd only switch Rhodes away from Stark Industries if they believed it wasn't worth searching for Stark anymore. And likely someone up top had the genius idea - that if he got along with one eccentric billionaire, why not send him to the next one - completely disregarding the issues with that.
Top politicians or top military personnel, Justin had a hard time deciding which ones were more delusional in their worldview.
"Yes…" Rhodes said carefully, looking slightly constipated as he eyed Justin oddly, "My superiors have decided that in light of current circumstances, the effort and cost in searching empty desert was not in the best interest of the United States armed forces." Rhodes smiled mirthlessly, "I had the choice between a discharge and coming here after I… Vigorously protested."
Justin wanted to shake the man, and shout in his face, You should have taken the damn discharge you disloyal piece of shit! We need Tony Stark alive!
In case everything else failed, his plans failed, Earth's defense failed. Tony Stark still needed to sacrifice himself against Thanos, so Justin could go on with life.
Rhodes straightened up, going into a full military stance as he looked Justin straight in the eyes, "I'm not here to be your liaison, Hammer." He said harshly, "I'm here to ask you to fund me going back and continuing the search for Tony, or I'll go do it by myself, if necessary."
He has some balls on him… Justin thought, shaking his head in admiration of the audacity. I guess I jumped the gun on declaring him disloyal, should have figured even giving up his career was worth it for his best friend - if push came to shove…
What to do, what to do? He couldn't risk Tony dying in the desert without removing a very valuable piece for humanity from the board - but things had already changed, what guarantee was there that Rhodes would arrive in the same spot, at the same time?
None. It was a changed world.
Yet… He had to at least try.
Domino's head was tilted as she gave the Colonel a curious look, "Huh, I would have pegged you for one of those perfect tin soldiers that would never betray their oath." She admitted.
Rhodes, glanced her way, showing his teeth in a rictus of a smile, his exhaustion shining through, "They betrayed their oath, I am not betraying mine, I'm keeping it, never give up, never leave someone behind!" He snapped out, hurt and anger bleeding through his reply, as Rhodes turned back to Justin. Giving him a challenging look, "You're rivals, I get that, god knows Tony always bitched enough about you, but he'll never see your new innovations if he never makes it out of Afghanistan." Rhodes attempted to cajole him, unaware Justin had already made his decision.
He must think Justin was a simpleton, even after all this time… Well… It suited his goals here for now. Justin thought. One last thing before then though…
"A lot of people think I'm behind his disappearance…" Justin said, raising a challenging eyebrow to the Colonel, purposefully looking smug, wanting to see his reaction.
Rhodes growled lowly in his throat, his gaze intense as he stared straight at Justin. "I've heard that theory too…" He said seriously, letting the silence build as he stared at Justin, "I don't think I've read you wrong though, you want to beat Tony, show him how much better you are, you can't do that if he's dead. No, this wasn't you." His lips thinned as he grimaced, "Doubt it was Wakanda either." The palpable disgust in his voice when he spoke of Wakanda surprised Justin.
"If… I do this…" Justin began slowly, taking note of how on edge the good colonel looked, there was an advantage to gain there… "You'll owe me a favor. One time, no questions asked, coming to my aid, doing as I ask." Justin intended to fund his rescue operation either way, he wanted Tony to make it, but why not benefit on the side as well? "You'll also be contractually obligated to never speak badly about Hammer industries or its tech, or me personally, in public again." He tacked on, because why not?
Such a small thing to add on, but Tony's best friend keeping politely quiet everytime in the future that Tony would rant about his stuff in public? Pure gold. Probably wouldn't happen often, but Justin would enjoy the fact that his honor would force him to comply.
And it would cheese Tony off something fierce that his 'Rhodey' was forced into the circumstances in the first place.
Rhodes looked like he'd tasted something foul, but a lot of the tension in his frame seemed to ease - as he realized he would be getting that assistance after all, "As long as that favor does not go against the interest of the United States government, is for something illegal, or against Tony and his company." He stated firmly.
Justin coughed lightly, fixing his glasses in place with one hand as he gave the Colonel a dry look, "Considering anything I do is against the best interests of Stark industries or Stark, how about we change that to not asking you to work directly against his company or him personally." He suggested, not willing to let the Colonel skate by on his commitments through technicalities.
Besides, it would be delicious to call on the War Machine and watch Rhodes fly away from Tony to go do Justin's bidding. Also, I won't have to pay him 100 million for finding Stark and 'rescuing' him, since I'm basically paying for him to do it. Good for PR for me as well. He thought.
He almost wanted to blow the favor by doing a promo with War Machine for the Superbowl, Tony Stark's best friend shilling Hammer products. But it would be a waste of something so delicious.
This could work out well for him. As long as Rhodes still found Tony… He might need to invest in some tech to look more closely at Afghanistan.
Rhodes stepped forward, putting his hand out to shake on it, "You've got a deal, Hammer." He said gruffly. If he was grateful, he sure hid it well under his absolute distaste to be striking a deal with Justin to begin with. Although maybe it was hard to tell because of the stink of desperation and exhaustion.
Justin smiled, clasping his hands over Rhodes, "I'm sure this is the start of a beautiful friendship, Colonel." He said brightly. His smile widening at the skeptical look he received from Tony Stark's best friend.
Oh, I'm sure I can make something out of this…
Just don't fuck up saving Tony, you second rate hero…
Although… War Machine being discharged… Gonna change things up…
… Now how to use that…
＊＊＊