Months later, the Hero Association finally began operating smoothly.
The success in the United States allowed the Hero Association to expand into various other countries. Each nation now had its own branch of the association, with local presidents appointed by their respective governnts, while coordinating with the main president, Nick Fury, based in Arica.
As for how Fury would manage all the branch presidents under his authority, that was his problem to solve. Reid had no need to concern himself with it. When it ca to strictness in hero selection, the one-eyed man’s standards were far higher than his own.
* * *
anwhile, Superman completely made a na for himself across the world.
Especially in Los Angeles, where the whole city had survived thanks to his rescue.
With the combined efforts of the White House, LexCorp, and the Los Angeles city governnt, the city was successfully renad to sothing familiar to everyone.
tropolis.
Gotham had Batman, so obviously Superman had to live in tropolis.
The only difference was that even though tropolis now had Superman, LexCorp still remained in New York.
This also prevented too many heroes from gathering in one city.
Movies might love blowing up New York for every little thing, but now that Reid practically controlled the entire United States, he wasn’t about to let every superpowered criminal target the sa city. That would cause too much damage to its developnt.
Not every city could be like Gotham, where cri hardly affected economic growth.
But the rise of one person often ca with the fall of another.
After the Hydra incident, Captain Arica, Steve Rogers, vanished from the public eye. Vought made no special announcents about it either.
Superman’s appearance also conveniently shifted the attention of those fans who used to follow Steve, so no one really cared anymore.
Until today.
* * *
In a hospital in New York.
Luthor stood outside the operating room, frowning as he thought about LexCorp’s next move. Should they start expanding into foreign markets now, or focus on having complete control over Arica first? That was the pressing question.
Compared to that, the woman in the delivery room giving birth didn’t seem that important... or so it might appear.
But that wasn’t true.
Luthor was rational, but not heartless. If Susan and the child about to be born didn’t matter, he wouldn’t even be here.
Thinking about business was just a way to distract himself.
At this ti, a woman with short black hair walked up to him.
rcy Graves. In the comics, she was his true assistant and bodyguard, and she also carried Amazonian blood. Not long ago, Reid had exchanged for her as a Follower Card, since he himself was no longer suitable for the role of Luthor’s assistant. Naturally, the man needed a new right hand.
LexCorp had grown far too large for Luthor to handle everything alone.
"What is it?" He asked without looking up, noticing her arrival.
"I think you need sothing to take your mind off things. Instead of worrying about whether to extend your left hand first or your right hand, this news piece might be more fitting for the current situation."
To rcy, and even to Luthor, the difference between expanding internationally first or securing dostic control was about as trivial as choosing which hand to extend first.
He took the newspaper from her and glanced over it. A mont later, a smile appeared on his face.
She was right. This was perfect for distracting him at a ti like this.
"I didn’t expect this. I thought he’d quietly fade from the public eye, but instead, this happens?"
The headline was simple: a conspiracy theory article about Captain Arica during the Hydra attack.
The article listed several pieces of evidence. It included interviews with Vought employees, Steve’s visit to Gotham before the Hydra incident to look for the Joker, and the possibility that he had worked with S.H.I.E.L.D., which at the ti had already been infiltrated by Hydra.
Using a mix of pseudo-analysis and emotional undertones, the report painted Steve as the cause of the Hydra crisis and even hinted that he might still be an undiscovered Hydra agent.
Calling Arica’s golden boy a Hydra operative was certainly attention-grabbing.
Of course, Luthor knew no one would truly believe such a claim. But Steve’s reputation would definitely take a hit, and that would only make Superman’s position stronger.
After all, the man had unilaterally cut ties with Vought. That was a fact.
Satisfied, Luthor set the newspaper aside and sank into a chair by the hallway.
"But now, Steve should be looking for Tony. If he keeps dragging his feet, Tony’s going to co for him."
Right then, the light above the operating room turned off, and a female doctor walked out.
"Is Mr. Luthor here? The mother and baby are both healthy..."
* * *
Los Angeles. A group of students from LexTech Elentary School were on a tour of one of the world’s leading technology companies.
Among them were two very familiar nas.
Peter Parker and Harry Osborn.
Reid hadn’t interfered, but fate had its way. These two friends still t, and at such a young age, in elentary school.
When a Stark Industries researcher acting as a tour guide asked a question, both Peter and Harry raised their hands at the sa ti, each giving the correct answer but from different perspectives.
This was their first real interaction. Before this, though they attended the sa school, they had never spoken to each other.
"Hi, I’m Harry Osborn."
"Peter Parker. Nice to et you."
But these two kids were clearly not the focus of the day.
In another corner, two n stepped into the elevator leading to the chairman’s office.
They were Steve, who had been missing for months, and Bucky, the man intercepted from Hydra’s grasp.
Over the past few months, they had been in hiding with Hank’s help. It wasn’t enough to fool LexCorp, but at least Tony hadn’t managed to find them.
During that ti, Bucky had broken free from Hydra’s brainwashing with Hank’s assistance. He regained his sanity and learned of the terrible things he’d done under Hydra’s control.
Now, they were here for one reason, to make ands.
They wanted Tony’s forgiveness.
The mont they entered the office, a pulse blast shot past Steve’s face and slamd into the wall behind him, shattering it.
Tony stood up from his chair, his expression ice-cold. Only his arms were covered in an unfinished Iron Man suit, but even in that state, it could still unleash deadly force.
"I didn’t think you’d have the guts to show your face in front of again, Steve."
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