Chapter 100: THE FEARSOME FIVE (lmao)
A/N: Wow! Chapter 100! I think this is the first time a story of mine has gone past a hundred chapters. Clearly, the only proper way to celebrate such a milestone is with a POV of the greatest threat to all of Tony's plans. No, not Thanos. He's small potatoes in comparison to... THE FEARSOME FIVE!
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As the last of them connects to the five-way call, Justin Hammer puts a smile on his face and claps his hands together.
“Alright, looks like we’re all here everyone. How about we go around and talk about our efforts towards toppling Stark Industries.”
The looks he gets back from the men he’s assembled to be part of his conspiracy make it clear they aren’t amused or entertained by his attitude. But frankly, Justin doesn’t know what else to do. It’s a testament to how his initial plans have fallen apart that they don’t even meet in person anymore. Not that it would have been possible for them to do so, since they’ve welcomed the currently imprisoned Wilson Fisk back into the fold.
Justin had honestly been a little happy when Fisk first went to jail. Sure, it was a setback, but the man was decidedly dangerous and he hadn’t really felt very safe around him if he was being honest. For all that Fisk claimed he was a businessman, he always seemed more like a thug… and like he was one step away from ruining that white suit of his by smashing one of their heads in.
Of course, now he was wearing a white jumpsuit and he was behind bars, locked up on Ryker’s Island. Not that that seemed to matter, however. By this point, Fisk was king of Ryker’s Island. He’d turned his prison into a fortress that he was currently ruling from as he plotted his eventual release and return to New York City.
When he’d made contact again, Justin had no choice but to welcome Fisk back to their proverbial table. Fortunately, Justin’s suppliers had not only been able to provide him with completely secure long-distance communications for him and his co-conspirators, they’d also been able to easily sneak a device into Ryker’s for Fisk.
Justin knew that the ease with which that had happened earned him some small amount of respect with Wilson Fisk, even though he’d actually had nothing to do with it. Still, at least he could rely on somebody in this damn conspiracy, even if it was just the people who were helping him keep his communications with his fellow businessmen secure.
That said, Justin doesn’t back down even in the face of all of their glares. He just keeps smiling and points at Darren Cross.
“Why don’t we start with you, Darren. You’ve had enough time to settle in as CEO of Pym Technologies by now, right?”
“… Yes, though I’m thinking of changing the name to Cross Technologies. But in order to do that, I need to be able to show progress, to show growth. So far, the company hasn’t been able to do anything but maintain the status quo since we kicked Hank Pym to the curb. And that’s all because of fucking Stark!”
Justin raises an eyebrow as Darren gets more and more worked up.
“He’s filched all of the best scientists! Every single damn scientist in the world these days is working for him either directly or indirectly. Stark Industries has the cream of the crop, but even those who aren’t affiliated with any company are usually performing their research based on grants that he’s giving out! It’s impossible to recruit the sort of brilliant minds I need to be able to recreate Pym Particles!”
Ah yes. Darren’s primary focus was on stealing his predecessor’s greatest work. Unfortunately, despite having the man’s own daughter on his side, he had completely failed to do so at this point. Embarrassing. Shaking his head, Justin looks to Peter Scarborough next.
“How are things going with Roxxon, Peter?”
The Chief Executive of Risk Management for the Roxxon Corporation scoffs.
“Terrible. August is breathing down my neck. Apparently, Stark Industries is tearing more and more chunks out of us with each passing month. He seems to be under the impression that it’s my fault as well. He’s told me I have the next few weeks to fix it or I’m out on my ass, so we better have a pretty good fucking idea of how we’re going to turn this ship around today, or I’m done.”
Ah. August D’Angelo, the CEO of Roxxon. Justin had tried to get the older man involved from the start of this enterprise, but Roxxon was bigger than Hammer Industries by a large margin. In the end, Peter was the best Justin could manage. And now it sounded like even his job was in jeopardy. It couldn’t actually be because of their conspiracy though of course. They were just taking it out on poor Peter because Roxxon was losing on every front to Stark Industries.
“And what about you, Mister Meachum?”
Ward Meachum looks up from whatever he’d been working on, seeming almost bored with all of this.
“Rand Enterprises is doing just fine. Unfortunately, we cannot commit anymore of our resources at this time.”
The man sounds like he’s reading a prepared script, almost. If Justin didn’t know Ward was the CEO, he would think he’d been given his damn marching orders from some higher power. Bristling, the CEO of Hammer Industries prepares to get into it with Meachum, ready to try and focus the younger man back on the damn mission. But before he can…
“And what about you, Mr. Hammer? How fares Hammer Industries?”
Everyone, even Ward, pays attention then as Wilson Fisk’s deceptively soft voice comes over the comms. The imprisoned man leans forward as he peers at Justin through the screens they’re all looking at one another through. Justin stiffens, frowning.
“… We’re doing just fine, Mr. Fisk.”
“Are you? Because I have it on good authority that you’re not. And of course not. Out of all of us, you’ve put the most into this endeavor. You’ve fought the hardest to try and bring Stark Industries down. And you’ve suffered the most losses for it. Hammer Industries is on the verge of bankruptcy.”
Justin’s face goes red as all of the other men look at him in surprise. They hadn’t known that of course… no one did. No one should have. He’d had his best men cooking the books to make it seem like business as usual for the past few months. But Fisk was right. Hammer Industries had been on the frontline of this little shadow war with Stark Industries, and it had taken quite the beating. At this point, he and his company were hanging on by a thread. He hadn’t wanted these fucking sharks to know that though, of course.
“Tch. Why are we even here?”
Before Ward can end the call, however, Fisk raises a hand.
“We are here to solve our shared problem, just as we always have been, Mister Meachum. And just because Mister Hammer is down for the count does not mean we are defeated. It simply means we need to step up our game… and finally start exploring alternatives to our current tactics.”
Coming from a man convicted of a laundry list of crimes, from white collar to way worse than that, Justin doesn’t like hearing it. He feels a shiver run down his spine, even as the others in the call look curious. Darren clears his throat, nodding to Fisk.
“And what do you have in mind, Mister Fisk?”
“Simple. We stop playing nice. You, Mister Cross, require brilliant minds to complete your research. You, Mister Scarborough, need to show your CEO that Roxxon can in fact stand toe to toe with Stark Industries on the global stage. And you, Mister Hammer, need financial relief. Fortunately for all of you, there is someone in this call who can help you with your problems.”
Ward Meachum, the only one Fisk hadn’t mentioned by name just then, scoffs and rolls his eyes.
“And I suppose that would be you, Mister Fisk.”
But the imprisoned man just smiles and shakes his head.
“No, Mister Meachum. That would be you.”
A jolt runs through Ward, even as the others, Justin included, look at him curiously.
“Excuse me? I already told you-!”
“Well, not quite you. Rather, your father and his benefactors.”
Here, Ward Meachum goes white.
“My… my father is dead.”
Justin had thought so too… but there’s absolutely nothing believable about Ward Meachum’s delivery of those words. Did that mean…
“No he’s not, Mister Meachum. Your father Harold Meachum is alive… thanks to his benefactors, and people I’ve done work with in the past. The Hand.”
Ward Meachum all but collapses back in his chair, looking shaken and horrified by the depths of Fisk’s knowledge. In turn, Fisk looks to the rest of them, explaining things rather succinctly.
“The Hand are an ancient and powerful organization. They are proof that this world is not always what it seems. Not just aliens like we saw in New York, or Norse Gods and Goddesses like we saw with Thor and Loki. No, the Hand are from Earth itself and have been around for centuries… and their leaders have remained the same for all that time as well. This is because the Hand has uncovered the secrets of eternal life.”
If Fisk had tried to pull this shit a decade ago, Justin would never have believed it. But the world had stopped making sense several years back at this point. In the face of alien invasions and Norse Gods being real, what was some mystical immortal crime syndicate, really?
“They have resurrected Harold Meachum from death because it benefits them to use him and Rand Enterprises to their benefit. They also worked with me originally to help me take over the New York Underworld in exchange for certain favors.”
Wilson Fisk pauses for effect here, his gaze sweeping across all of them.
“My suggestion is simple. We pool our resources and hire the Hand to take care of our problems for us. In the case of Mister Cross, the Hand can procure the scientists he needs to reverse engineer his predecessor’s invention… by force if necessary. As for the rest of us… I would suggest we have the Hand kidnap one other individual as well… Morgan Stark.”
Eyes widen and they shuffle in their seats at that. Tony and Pepper Stark’s four year old daughter. Not much was known about her. She was kept largely out of the limelight compared to her very public, practically celebrity parents. And yet…
“Through Morgan Stark, we can control her parents. They will be forced to bend to our will if they wish to see her live another day. Once we have their daughter, we won’t need to dismantle Stark Industries… they’ll do it for us just in the hopes of getting her back.”
Diabolical. Insidious. Evil. The very idea crossed so many lines. Rejecting Fisk’s plan is on the tip of his tongue when Justin Hammer takes a look around at the faces of the others on the call… and sees not a single iota of disgust or horror in any of their eyes. Instead, Darren Cross, Peter Scarborough, and even Ward Meachum all look contemplative, like they’re actually considering it.
Seeming to sense he has them right where he wants them, Wilson Fisk leans back and clasps his hands over his large stomach as he looks at them all through the device.
“We have tried it through both legal and legally grey channels, gentlemen. We have been stymied at every turn. Now is the time to take fate into our own hands. With this, we can see Stark Industries destroyed. The economic stranglehold they have on the world will be gone. And we shall be free to divvy up the markets between us.”
Justin can see in that moment that Fisk has all the others. And with desperation fooling him, the CEO of Hammer Industries knows he can’t be the lone dissenting voice. Not and risk being left behind or worse, silenced as they move forward with their plans. For better or worse… this is the wagon he’s hitched himself to.
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Pepper Stark’s office is silent as the five businessmen finish up their conversation, all of them agreeing to pool their resources so they can contact the Hand and purchase the ancient organization’s resources for their own nefarious purposes.
Even now, none of the men have realized that Justin’s supplier of completely secure communication methods is in fact Pepper Stark herself. Even now, none of them have realized that every single word of their conspiracy has been transmitted to her for her to watch and listen in on.
But then to be fair, Pepper hasn’t acted strongly on their plans until this point. She’s simply nudged things here and there to make sure all of their plans fall through and fail. Nothing so blatant that they’ll realize she hears and sees everything they talk about, merely enough that they don’t actually manage to get anywhere.
Now though…
“Surely you must kill them all now. Unleash me and I will slaughter them for you.”
Pepper looks at Hela, her reluctant and very murderous secretary. The Goddess of Death has been Pepper’s temporary PA for a few months now while Darcy has been out of the office. By this point, Darcy has given birth to a beautiful baby girl named Lila, but she’s also still on maternity leave, taking every moment she can to spend it with Lila.
Obviously, Pepper doesn’t begrudge Darcy that time. In fact, she’s extended maternity leave for all Stark Employees to six months minimum, if they want it. Not all make use of it, but some do and that’s good enough.
Still, in comparison to Darcy, Hela isn’t exactly PA material. But that’s fine because Pepper has JARVIS to take care of the actual things a PA would normally do. Instead, Hela has mostly just been following Pepper around and learning from her. They hadn’t framed it that way for obvious reasons though, to keep the Goddess of Death from realizing what was happening.
Still, as a result, Hela had seen a lot… and Pepper liked to think that the exiled Asgardian Princess had taken something of a shine to her for her ruthless attitude when it came to business. She KNEW that the Goddess of Death had taken a shine to Morgan the handful of times Pepper had allowed Hela in proximity to her and Tony’s daughter.
At four years old, Morgan was at that precocious age it would seem. Meaning she had taken to wearing the solid gold, bejeweled tiara that Thor had gifted her all the way back at her birth all over the place. Pepper had initially been worried that Hela would take offense to Morgan wearing something crafted by Asgardian hands, but if anything it only seemed to endear her more.
Considering the enraged mortal Goddess for a moment, Pepper finally lets a cold smile spread across her lips.
“I will allow you to kill one of them for me.”
Hela perks up at that.
“Which one?”
“Wilson Fisk. But be warned, he has turned his prison into his castle. It will not be easily assailed, especially as weak as you are. Nor will I or Tony give you your powers for such a mission. You might even die.”
In the face of this, Hela lifts herself to her full height and scoffs.
“I ask for no aid save for a single blade to do the deed. If I die, I die. It would be my pleasure to kill the fat man who dared suggest kidnapping your daughter.”
Alright then.
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A/N: Next time, two characters meet for what's probably the first time and last time they will ever meet, even in fanfiction. Hela Odinsdottir... and Wilson Fisk.