With a bang. Nick's desk jumped in place, and everything on it scattered to the ground. Only at times like this do the agents remember that Nick Fury, the former S.H.I.E.L.D Director and King of Special Agents, is actually a cyborg, and he possesses extraordinary strength.
Nick pinched his temples tightly with his thumb and middle finger, his face dark as could be. He sat back down at his desk, head deeply bowed, saying nothing. The entire office atmosphere was unbearably oppressive.
"The articles have been released, the effect isn't great. Aside from talking about the Rebirth Alliance's abuse of power, they're all sympathizing with Tony Stark." Eddie, who was sitting on the other side of the desk, stared at his laptop as he spoke, "I have to say, when it comes to manipulating public opinion, he's a pro. Originally, he was a fugitive who escaped trial by luck, but now he's turned into a victim of the Rebirth Alliance's incompetence."
"How effective is the press release saying he deliberately used mental illness to exonerate himself?" Natasha, standing at the side of the table with her hands resting on it, asked.
"No effect at all," Eddie said. "You have to understand, pretending to have a mental illness, for Stark, comes at too high a cost. Stark Group's stock has already plummeted, we're talking losses in the billions, who would pay such a high price to lie?"
"Tony really learned a thing or two." Nick said in a lowered voice, "Once Stark Group's stock drops, everyone thinks he was forced to tell the truth to the public, or that he accidentally let it slip."
"Superheroes letting things slip is common." Eddie said, "He precisely used this psychology of people, making others think he threw away the PR draft from Stark Group, rambled on, and accidentally told the truth, leading to the current situation."
"It's like, if you want others to believe what you're saying is true, it's best to appear to let it slip while drunk or mentally unstable, and there should be something harmful to you in it, that way no one will believe you didn't let the truth slip."
"Is he really not worried we'll take him to court?" Natasha asked with a frown, "He confessed himself; once it goes to court, he'd certainly be convicted."
"That's precisely what puzzles me," Eddie said, looking at the computer screen. "He seems certain you won't do that."
"It's not that he's sure; he must have a backup plan." Nick took a deep breath.
Shortly after he finished speaking, an agent rushed in and said, "Boss, bad news, Stark Group is pulling their investments!"
"What?!" Nick stood up abruptly.
"The CEO of Stark Group called, saying the current business condition is poor, and they can no longer provide financial support to the Rebirth Alliance, especially with the recent expenses of hosting multiverse visitors, they can't afford it anymore, now they want to withdraw all investments."
"Damn it!" Nick slammed his phone down, stood behind the table, and took a few deep breaths, "That's exactly what he's planning!!!"
Eddie, however, showed a look of understanding. No wonder he's bold enough to confess, it's because he planned to pressure the Rebirth Alliance by withdrawing investment. Considering the Rebirth Alliance's importance on this multiverse visitor event, he really hit the weak spot.
Eddie reviewed the whole process in his mind, the overall strategy is to retreat in order to advance. Directly confessing to crimes during the civil war, confirming the previous rumors of mental illness. Meanwhile, attributing the cause of the mental illness to a guilty conscience for having erred, creating a good person persona.
Next, subtly pointed out the Rebirth Alliance's incompetence, seeking a secure situation, without going to public trial, instead pinning his mental illness cause on the Rebirth Alliance, while also appearing as a victim.
Stark Group's leader develops mental illness and cannot work in the short term, bound to affect stock prices, possibly pushing Stark Group into extreme tension. For business reasons, it's very likely they'll withdraw investments from the Rebirth Alliance.
And the Rebirth Alliance happens to be at a critical stage of hosting multiverse visitors, once Stark Group withdraws investments, the budget will surely be squeezed, subsequent work will be difficult to carry out, which the Rebirth Alliance absolutely cannot accept.
For the greater good, the Rebirth Alliance will certainly try to have Stark Group reverse their investment withdrawal decision, putting the initiative in Iron Man's hands. Forget going to court, the Rebirth Alliance might even have to apologize to him.
Nick and Natasha obviously also figured it out, but as employees of the Rebirth Alliance, they are more aware that Stark Group's funding is indeed crucial to the Rebirth Alliance.
The Rebirth Alliance is basically composed of two parts, one being the Justice League, the other being The Avengers. The Justice League's funding comes from Wayne Enterprises, while The Avengers' funding comes from Stark Group.
But the problem is, before Thomas came, Wayne Enterprises' business condition wasn't great, the funding they could provide wasn't much, far less than Stark Group, which led to Stark Group holding the lifeline of the Rebirth Alliance.
The real reason for not putting Iron Man on trial before, and even giving him a position, was this reason - when you accept favor from someone, you're in their debt.
To be honest, Nick really doesn't know what more Iron Man wants. He wasn't put on trial, wasn't truly imprisoned, was even given a very important department. Everyone, despite some unresolved issues, are decent people here; you aren't isolated or bullied, normal interactions are still there, what more do you want?
Anger is one thing, but a solution must be found. Nick told the agent, "Go and ask the Stark Group what exactly they want. As long as it's not excessive, agree to their demands."
Natasha looked up at Nick, and Nick glanced at her, "If the multiverse guests hadn't arrived, there'd still be room to ease this situation. But now that they're here, if we don't continue with the event or if it ends up being anticlimactic, everything is doomed."
Natasha sighed too; it's a situation that can't be delayed any longer. If the hospitality standards were low at the beginning, it could still be overlooked; however, with the standards set so high, and having claimed that the budget was unlimited and everything would be executed to the highest specifications, urgently lowering the standards now would undoubtedly lead the guests to complain about the poor hospitality once they return home, even if they don't say anything to our faces.
That would be like trying to make a grand impression in the multiverse but ending up embarrassing ourselves. The money spent won't achieve the desired promotional effect and instead leaves a negative impression. We definitely can't handle things this way.
So, Nick could only allow the Stark Group to make their demands. Of course, Nick kept a keen eye on things and specifically asked what the Stark Group's requirements were, not Iron Man's.
He couldn't believe that with Iron Man delivering such a significant blow to the Stark Group, the other shareholders and managers wouldn't have any objections.
Although it's called the Stark Group, and Tony Stark has significant control over it, that doesn't mean there aren't other voices. Moreover, Pepper, Stark's right-hand woman, is at odds with him now.
Thinking of this, Nick immediately said, "Get me Ms. Bozi."
Natasha went to make the call, and once connected, she handed it over to Nick. Nick barely managed to stand straight, one hand on his waist, the other holding the phone, said, "It's me, Pepper."
"I know what you want to say," Pepper's voice was somewhat cold. "He has threatened more than just you, or rather, he went to great lengths just to get back at me."
Nick's eyes widened slightly; the Iron Man these days isn't the benevolent man who repays grievances with virtue, or rather, he is not moral and is quite petty.
Pepper dumped him, so how could he easily let it go? If he were the kind Iron Man, he might just walk away sadly even if he were unhappy. However, this evil Iron Man would not let matters rest without a harsh retaliation.
This is why people say, it's better to find a good person rather than someone who treats you well. When things are going well, sweet words come easy for anyone, but for a bad person, his true nature is only revealed when things don't go his way. A bad person may have genuine intentions, but they are always accompanied by extremes, like a knife coated with honey, which isn't something everyone can handle.
"He's threatening me; the situation at Stark Group is already bad, and without a convincing reason for him to return, things will only get worse. I either have to bow down to him or watch my life's work be destroyed." Pepper's voice brimmed with suppressed anger.
Nick started rubbing his forehead again, "A very effective threat."
Everyone knows that the core of Stark Group is Stark himself. It's his technology and inventions that keep Stark Group leagues ahead of other business organizations. Now, with Stark taking a break from the company, the stock prices are merely fluctuating, but long-term, a technological hiatus would render the whole Stark Group mediocre, no longer a commercial giant.
Eddie sighed again; he somewhat understood. Pepper, for whatever reason, not only broke up with Iron Man but also quickly married a bodyguard. Iron Man seemed to have gone mad, wanting what he couldn't have even more, willing to destroy the Stark Group just to take revenge on Pepper—a pair of madman and madwoman indeed.
But Eddie had to admit, Iron Man played this move beautifully, not only turning the tables through retreat, pinning down the Rebirth Alliance, making it impossible for them to advance or retreat, and managing to exit the scene perfectly, he even avenged his ex.
"What do you think?" Nick knew this matter couldn't be forced; if Pepper wasn't willing, no one could make her.
"I have a husband," Pepper said.
"I don't think he cares," Nick replied frankly, "so although I hope you'd talk things out with him, I must also remind you to avoid being alone with him. He's capable of anything."
"I understand. I'll do my best," Pepper said, "but I can see he's determined to make me choose between my husband and my career."
After hanging up with Pepper, Nick heaved a long sigh, staring at the desk for a long moment before finally expressing: "Why do I feel like after merging with Gotham, there are Batmans and Jokers everywhere?"
Natasha stopped what she was doing: "Perhaps that's Gotham's curse."
They both spoke without much thought, but Eddie had been listening intently. After leaving the Rebirth Alliance Headquarters, he stood in front of the Schiller Hotel room and knocked on the door.
"Professor, do you have a moment? I'd like to talk."