Inside the Triskelion Building, Fury's office.
"Coulson, what's the situation in Gotham?"
The question carried weight, and with good reason. In just a single month, Gotham City had endured one catastrophe after another.
There had been violent mutant attacks, the public exposure of the secretive Court of Owls, Magneto's direct involvement in the chaos, a devastating tsunami that submerged the city, and the shocking emergence of Atlantis—an ancient civilization from the ocean depths.
Through all of this, S.H.I.E.L.D. had remained on the sidelines. Because even though Fury had not yet become the director, they were well aware of one thing: until Carol returned to Earth, they had no right to get involved in something of this scale.
But once the dust settled and reconstruction efforts began, things changed.
Gotham had always been a stagnant city. Its residents were reluctant to leave, and outsiders were just as unwilling to enter. But this rebuilding was like tossing a stone into still water.
The influx of humanitarian aid, workers, and private contractors provided the perfect cover for agents to infiltrate. It wasn't just S.H.I.E.L.D. Even the U.S. government had sent FBI agents to blend in and try to bring this rich but dark city under their control.
At first, they thought this would be an easy win. After everything Gotham had gone through, they assumed the local forces had lost much of their grip on the city.
But reality proved them wrong. They had completely underestimated the influence that local families, led by the Waynes, had over every part of Gotham.
Take the Wayne family, for example. The workers rebuilding the city were mostly fixing properties that the Wayne family partially or entirely owned. The meals eaten by workers came from Wayne-owned food service companies. The concrete and steel? Supplied by subsidiaries under the Wayne banner. Even logistics and transportation were routed through Wayne-affiliated firms.
The Wayne Enterprises did spend a lot of money to help rebuild Gotham, but that money never really left the city. It just flowed through different sectors and eventually circled back into their hands.
Even the government funding, the moment it entered the city, was split up and swallowed by its dominant players. The destruction of Gotham didn't damage these elite families; it actually gave them an even stronger hold over the city.
Now, saying that every breath you take in Gotham is taxed by the Wayne family isn't an exaggeration.
"There's nothing we can do, sir," Coulson replied grimly. "Even if our agents want to buy a bottle of water in Gotham, the vendor is somehow connected to one of the city's major families. Unless the government officially gives up on rebuilding, this won't change."
"Give up on rebuilding?" Fury muttered, rubbing his temple. "That's impossible…"
Even he felt a headache coming on. Aside from a few Skrulls he still didn't fully trust, ordinary agents had no chance of infiltrating Gotham, even if the city was now in ruins.
And abandoning the reconstruction wasn't an option. It wasn't just about the tax revenue Gotham used to provide the federal government each year. The sheer chaos caused by its massive assets suddenly flowing into neighboring cities was something the government simply couldn't afford to deal with.
"Besides," Coulson added, "both LexCorp and Stark Industries are involved in the reconstruction."
One had growing political influence with global reach. And the other was currently the largest conglomerate in America. Even if those two companies claimed to be helping only through charity, the government wouldn't dare act rashly. The current president was still counting on their support to secure his reelection.
"Forget it. Let's leave it at that. Gotham isn't a place we should be meddling in. As for the Skrulls, there's no need for constant contact. Just make sure they're still alive. That's enough."
Fury finally gave up on his plans for Gotham.
There was also one more important reason behind his withdrawal: the failure of the mutants.
Though Magneto's death looked like a tragic coincidence during a war between two races, Fury had never believed in coincidences. His instincts told him something deeper was at play. That alone meant it had to be approached with caution.
...
The reconstruction of Gotham took an entire year to complete.
Through this opportunity, the Wayne family became the undisputed power behind the city.
Under normal circumstances, the federal government would never allow such a thing to happen. But 'Bruce' played his part well. He was a playboy, but not the capable kind like Tony. Despite controlling nearly all of Gotham's wealth, he didn't show any interest in getting involved with politics.
On the contrary, the one running for mayor now was someone from the nearly crippled Cobblepot family.
This gave the government hope for balance. With their encouragement, Oswald Cobblepot—the Penguin—was practically guaranteed to become Gotham's next mayor.
While they dreamed of balancing power between the two sides, they had no idea that after the fall of the Court of Owls, the so-called four great families were no longer truly in power. Gotham was now ruled by one family alone—the Waynes.
Inside Wayne Manor, Oswald stood respectfully before 'Bruce.'
"Mr. Wayne, everything is proceeding according to plan."
The federal government would never have imagined that Oswald, the man they expected to challenge the Waynes, would bow and speak to 'Bruce Wayne' with the manners of a servant.
"Be a good mayor," 'Bruce' said calmly. "And wait for word from New York."
...
While nearly all eyes were focused on Gotham City and the newly revealed underwater civilization, something else was happening deep beneath the LexCorp building in New York.
Reid stepped out once again, waiting for someone's arrival.
The reason he had to personally handle this wasn't complicated—Luthor was simply too busy. So, he passed off a few less critical matters to Reid.
This current task, one that could trap the mutants, just happened to align with Reid's own goals.
He wasn't willing to gamble everything on the virus he left in Jean's body being enough to destroy the already weakened mutants completely. So after securing full control of Gotham, his sights shifted back to the mutants.
He wouldn't feel at ease until they were eliminated before the Fantastic Four's story played out. A race as unpredictable as the mutants, once cornered, could easily produce an Omega-level threat out of nowhere.
That's why he had to act while they were still vulnerable. He had to seize the moment and wipe out the crippled mutant population.
Even if he couldn't exterminate all of them, he had to destroy the X-Men—the ones who still held significant influence over the rest. Only then could he make sure the mutants would never rise again.
"Mr. Pennyworth, the guest has arrived."
A lab assistant entered briefly to deliver the message, then disappeared.
Shortly after, a man stepped into the room.
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