Obadiah Stane roared in fury, his voice warping into a jagged snarl.
He had paid a staggering price to grease the palms of those terrorists in Afghanistan, all to ensure that Tony Stark would be nothing more than bleached bones in the desert.
And yet, Tony Stark had walked back into the world alive.
It made every cent of Obadiah's investment look like a punchline to a bad joke. Worse, he knew Tony.
With that genius brain of his, Tony wouldn't just write this off as a random kidnapping. The chess match between them had officially entered the "Sudden Death" round.
Obadiah turned and strode toward a hidden door in his office. It slid open to reveal a sprawling underground laboratory where a team of scientists was frantically working on blueprints for a massive mechanical suit.
This was his counter-move. Using surveillance footage leaked from the Ten Rings, he had seen the birth of the Mark I.
Even though Peter had "sacrificed" the physical suit, the data lived on in Obadiah's greed. Watching the "Iron Monger" take shape, a look of intoxicated obsession washed over his face.
"Since the Ten Rings are nothing but unreliable gutter trash..." he murmured, his eyes cold and predatory. "I'll handle this personally."
Tony, if those cave-dwellers couldn't kill you... Then let your 'Good Uncle' send you to hell with his own two hands!
But first, he needed to solve the riddle: how was the boy powering a machine that size?
Under the same night sky, Obadiah wasn't the only one reaching a breaking point.
Because of Electro's rampage, Hell's Kitchen had been plunged into a multi-hour blackout. Darkness is the richest soil for sin.
The sudden loss of light had prompted the hyenas under Kingpin's command to abandon their posts and flood the streets for a "looting festival."
Then... Electro died. The power snapped back on. And the NYPD—who had been waiting for the lights to return—rounded up Kingpin's goons like pigs in a pen.
On the top floor of the Fisk Tower, Wilson Fisk stared at his secretary. "Continue. What is the total damage for tonight?"
At his feet, the male secretary trembled, sweating through his expensive suit. "Preliminary reports... over 200 men arrested. The feds raided three enhancement serum labs and two human trafficking warehouses. Combined losses... exceed two hundred million dollars."
Crrrk!
Kingpin's massive hand tightened on the corner of his solid granite coffee table, snapping off a chunk of stone. Dust filtered through his fingers. "I see. Leave us."
The secretary didn't wait. He scrambled out of the office as fast as his legs would carry him. Seconds later, the sound of crashing furniture and shattering glass echoed through the hallway. Only after the office was a wreck did Fisk feel the fire in his chest cool to a simmer.
He sank into his custom-reinforced sofa, reflecting on the disastrous month he'd had. First, a "Dockside Butcher" had slaughtered his men and ruined his ties with the Hand and the Russians.
Last week, a mysterious figure on a high-tech glider had used heavy machine guns and laser weaponry to turn his largest drug lab into a slaughterhouse.
And tonight, an "Electro" had indirectly cost him two hundred million.
The King of the Underworld smelled a change in the wind. The era where guns and money maintained order was dying. "Super-humans" could now dismantle a criminal empire with casual ease.
If he didn't secure a paranormal force of his own, the Fisk Empire would be swallowed by the tide. Or worse—become prey for something stronger.
"Bullseye," Fisk said into the shadows. The assassin materialized instantly. "Kidnap the world's leading biologists, geneticists, and mechanical engineers. I want my own legion of super-criminals."
"Also, contact Obadiah Stane at Stark Industries. Ask him if he's interested in a partnership. If Stark is willing to provide the heavy hardware, Kingpin is happy to handle the wet-work he can't touch."
Back on the Empire State Building spire.
Peter had finished explaining "Parker Tech" and his secret agreement with SHIELD to Gwen. She sat in stunned silence. She thought her becoming Ghost-Spider was a big deal, but Peter was playing a game on a whole different level.
"Gwen, you've seen it. The world is getting more dangerous," Peter said, revealing the blueprint of his inner thoughts. "Sandman, Electro... they're just the beginning. And SHIELD? Their methods are dirty. I don't trust them."
"So, I'm making a three-pronged move."
"While I cooperate with SHIELD on the surface, we are going to form two elite organizations of our own."
"The first is The Eye of Twilight. It will absorb masked heroes who have already been seen by the media—like you and Nightingale. You'll be the shield, the guardians of New York."
"The second group will consist of reformed 'villains' like Dr. Connors, Herman, and William. They'll work at Parker Tech under their real names.
But if the Eye of Twilight is overwhelmed, or if the government tries to tie your hands, I'll deploy them as a hidden strike force for the jobs the 'heroes' can't be seen doing."
"This team... I call them The Fist of Shadow."
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