A major piece of news had shaken up New York City.
Tony Stark, the CEO of Stark Industries, had publicly admitted that he was the one who fought the Iron Monger the previous night.
And he had even given himself a na—Iron Man.
For a while, Tony Stark beca the center of attention, his fa even montarily overshadowing the news of Mason Industries launching hundreds of Starlink satellites into orbit.
"Sir, should I hack into Tony Stark's system and completely disable all his Iron Man suits?"
Skynet's voice echoed through the base.
Gene Mason simply chuckled and shook his head. "There's no need. Stark's suits are far too primitive in my eyes."
To soone with nearly omniscient knowledge, Gene found Stark's Iron Man armor to be nothing more than a child's toy.
The armor's defenses? Lacking. It couldn't withstand high-intensity attacks.
Flight stability? Outdated. Who still relied on foot thrusters in this day and age?
Weapon systems? Outmoded. Still relying on traditional chemical-based firearms? How laughable.
Energy reserves? Insufficient. A power system with so many limitations was hardly worth considering.
Gene had at least a hundred ways to completely shut down Iron Man's suit in an instant.
And another hundred ways to make Stark's own armor kill him.
"Enough about him," Gene said, changing the subject. "Skynet, how's the mutant gene screening going?"
"Sir, through the Starlink Project, we have screened over a hundred million people so far. Among them, 11,235 individuals possess mutant genes," Skynet reported promptly. "We are closely monitoring their daily activities."
"Good. Recruit the valuable ones imdiately and send them to the Hive Base," Gene ordered, a smirk appearing on his lips. "The Mandarin is eager to build up his forces."
The original purpose of the Starlink Project was to create a global communications network, allowing Gene's consciousness to roam freely anywhere in the world.
Global surveillance and gene screening were rely additional benefits.
And since those benefits existed, why not make full use of them?
Gene's goal was simple—use the resurrected Mandarin, combined with the future recruitnt of powerful mutants, to establish total dominance over the world's underground forces.
With the power of the Ten Rings, as long as he avoided opponents on his level, the Mandarin could easily rule the criminal underworld.
Compared to him, Wilson Fisk—the so-called Kingpin of New York—was nothing more than a street thug.
Of course, this plan would take ti to fully unfold. But Gene wasn't in a hurry.
The story had only just begun.
Besides, this world had already deviated from its original course.
Gene stood up, stretching slightly.
"Speaking of which, it's ti to give Motherf*er Man sothing to do."
With a flash of golden light, he vanished from Skynet's base.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters – Triskelion
It was a stormy night.
Nick Fury sat in his office, dealing with an overwhelming stack of paperwork.
Most of it was bureaucratic nonsense—tedious political affairs that irritated him to no end.
Boom!
A sudden clap of thunder roared outside, followed by the heavy downpour of rain hamring against the windows.
Fury stood up, walking over to his floor-to-ceiling window, watching as raindrops slid down the glass.
But then, a strange feeling crept over him.
Sothing was off.
Click.
The lights in his office abruptly went out.
The advanced holographic screens, provided by Mason Industries, flickered and then vanished, leaving behind a suffocating darkness.
Under normal circumstances, the backup power should have kicked in imdiately.
But it didn't.
Outside, Maria Hill and the other agents should have noticed sothing was wrong and rushed in to check on him.
But they didn't.
The room felt like a living beast, waiting to devour him whole.
Instinctively, Fury reached under his desk for his hidden pistol.
"Director Fury," a voice whispered in his ear.
It was cold. chanical. And sent a shiver down his spine.
This voice…
He had heard it before.
Three years ago.
A ghost from the past.
Fury's body tensed as he spun around—only to be t by a pair of glowing, crimson V-shaped eyes staring right at him.
The rain outside had stopped without him noticing.
Under the faint moonlight filtering through the window, Fury could see his visitor clearly.
It was clad in pitch-black armor, its surface absorbing all surrounding light. Ancient, intricate patterns covered its body, shifting like they were alive.
Compared to the humanoid machine from three years ago, this one was vastly different.
"Take a seat, Director Fury," the figure said, gesturing with a hand before calmly settling into a chair itself.
Fury narrowed his eye. "You're Gene Mason? The sa Gene Mason from three years ago?
"You can think of it that way," Gene replied, his voice indifferent. "But it's not entirely accurate."
Fury didn't like that answer.
"And what exactly do you want?"
"A deal."
Gene leaned forward slightly.
"You've been feeling it, haven't you?" he said. "Ever since you beca Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., sothing hasn't felt right."
"There's an invisible hand, lurking within S.H.I.E.L.D. A presence that shouldn't be there."
Fury's expression darkened.
"I ca across so… interesting information when I infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.'s servers three years ago." Gene continued, his voice casual. "Sothing about an organization called HYDRA."
Fury's fingers twitched slightly.
At that mont, Gene's right arm shifted.
The nanotech plating twisted and transford, forming a USB drive at the tip of his fingers.
"This contains everything I found," he said, placing the drive on Fury's desk. "Consider it a gesture of good faith."
Fury eyed it warily.
"So let guess—after I go through this, you'll leave a hotline to contact you when I need more information?" he asked, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Gene let out a chuckle.
"No need," he replied. "Once you truly understand what's inside… I'll co find you."
And just like that, the glowing V-shaped eyes faded into darkness.
The office lights flickered back on.
The holographic displays reignited.
Everything returned to normal.
At that mont, the door burst open.
Maria Hill stord in, followed by a squad of ard S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.
"Director!" Hill called, scanning the room. "Where's the intruder?"
Fury remained silent.
He slowly reached out, picking up the USB drive between his fingers.
His grip tightened.
And his expression turned grim.
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