"You're planning to reform S.H.I.E.L.D. That's the right thing to do, and I support you." As the priest read from the Gospel of Matthew, Tony Stark sat beside Daisy and spoke quietly.
Daisy nodded in thanks.
By now, everyone knew she intended to change S.H.I.E.L.D. It was hardly surprising that Stark had noticed.
Daisy's reforms went far beyond the treatment of fallen agents. In a single day, she submitted nineteen proposals to the World Security Council.
For example, she demanded equal pay for agents performing equal work. Brazilian agents could not be paid three hundred dollars while American agents received five thousand. Regional differences in development were no excuse.
Protective measures also needed adjustment. Agents fighting on the front lines required higher levels of protection, while agents in the rear hardly needed any protective measures at all.
Take Jasper Sitwell, one of Daisy's subordinates. Regulations allowed him to collect a bulletproof vest from the Equipment Division every year. He claimed one annually, then took it straight to the black market and sold it. What purpose did that serve?
The organization preserved inequality where balance was needed, yet insisted on equal distribution where different treatment made sense.
Frontline agents deeply resented the agents in rear command posts. Nick Fury had raised the rank of field agents, which eased the conflict somewhat, but it never corrected the underlying imbalance. Pierce had turned that resentment into a powerful tool for poaching S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel.
Daisy now intended to eliminate those entrenched structural problems. If a global organization could not provide even basic fairness, it was not far from collapse.
The rear command structure and the Science Division were both under her control. With her own prestige, she could suppress their complaints.
Frontline agents, meanwhile, praised her approach. Even setting aside the relatively principled S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, the Hydra members also wanted better treatment. Who would reject the chance to enjoy status and admiration in public? Who would object to receiving honorable recognition after death? No one wanted to rot anonymously in a filthy ditch.
Stark's deliberate visit to declare his support meant the reform was not proceeding smoothly. There was resistance.
Unfavorable comments soon reached Daisy. Many veteran agents were dissatisfied because such benefits had not existed when they were young. They wanted to preserve tradition not because they were conservative or opposed to change, but because of simple resentment: they had never enjoyed these advantages, so why should the younger generation receive them?
Accusations that Daisy was young, impulsive, irrational, irresponsible, and more had begun gaining traction within a small circle and were gradually spreading outward.
Sharon Carter told her that some agents had even traveled to Britain to seek out Peggy Carter, hoping the cofounder would intervene to preserve S.H.I.E.L.D.'s traditions.
It would be a lie to say Daisy felt no pressure, but a handful of old agents carried very little weight in her eyes. She was not afraid of Peggy Carter either. What was a ninety-year-old woman going to do, fly over and challenge her to single combat?
Daisy had originally been ready to launch a S.H.I.E.L.D. pension program, but those spiteful old bastards making a fuss because they could not stand seeing others benefit made her postpone it.
You like tradition, don't you? Fine! I'll wait until you leave S.H.I.E.L.D. before launching the pension plan. Let that infuriate you!
Daisy had never been particularly magnanimous.
After briefly explaining a few reform proposals, she raised another subject. "I heard you plan to use Stark Tower as the Avengers' headquarters. Why refuse S.H.I.E.L.D.'s support?"
Daisy found it regrettable, but the Avengers still intended to separate themselves from S.H.I.E.L.D. Funding, training, recruitment, and operational deployment would all remain independent. Neither side would answer to the other.
One direct consequence of her bringing S.H.I.E.L.D. into the open was that history had changed. Originally, the two sides would have cooperated for some time. Now, senior officials disliked the idea of a team of superpowered individuals operating directly under S.H.I.E.L.D., so they deliberately severed the connection. S.H.I.E.L.D. would remain S.H.I.E.L.D., and the Avengers would remain the Avengers.
"Your good friend Secretary of State Ross came to see me personally. He represents one faction within the government." Stark did not answer directly, but his words made the connection clear.
"Heh. Ross may get confused over small matters, but Secretary Ross understands the important ones perfectly well."
They casually moved past the topic. Stark appeared rebellious and arrogant, but his relationship with senior officials had always been good. Villains and military factions frequently used Stark Industries equipment for all kinds of questionable research, but with J.A.R.V.I.S. monitoring everything, could those people truly steal Stark technology? Stark merely chose to look the other way.
Direct transactions were crude. Stark's clever method was worth learning. Daisy planned to arrange for Kingpin's people to "steal" weapons from Hammer Industries. They could handle the theft however they liked, as long as they carelessly left payment behind at the scene.
The next day, Daisy learned why Stark had come to support her. He had not merely voiced support for the government; he had backed it with action.
New York needed rebuilding, but how it would be rebuilt and who would do the work were crucial questions.
The moment construction was mentioned, everyone brightened. Even a fool understood how much money was at stake and how many vested interests were involved. Real-estate developers showed up at the White House and Congress every day as though clocking in for work, all to secure a larger slice of the pie. Yet when clearing rubble came up, the entire group fell silent.
There was one unavoidable issue: compensating New York's citizens for their losses. The required sum was astronomical.
Insurance companies refused to pay, and even if they wanted to, they could not afford it. The entire insurance industry combined could not cover the damage. If the government pushed too hard, the industry was prepared to withdraw collectively from the American market.
Faced with opposition from an entire industry, the White House did not press too aggressively.
Instead, the White House played dirty. It mobilized the public to demonstrate. Displaced citizens filled the streets, and with a little encouragement, large crowds gathered outside insurance companies to protest.
The demonstrations intensified and gradually spread across the country, then the world. New policy purchases plummeted. Once the industry's reputation collapsed, everyone would suffer. The insurers did not want to abandon the American market, so they had no choice but to compromise.
After repeated negotiations, both sides made major concessions. The insurance industry agreed to bear part of the cost. Exactly how large that "part" would be remained a matter for endless argument.
The government printed money as fast as possible while forcing the insurance industry to share the burden.
It still was not enough. The funding gap remained enormous. Full compensation would leave every remaining year of President Obama's term buried in deficits. Public spending would have to be slashed, government employees laid off en masse, and Obama might even need to rent out the White House and pitch a tent on the lawn.
He certainly would not accept that. After all the effort it took to reach the White House, he was supposed to sleep on the grass outside? He ordered his subordinates to keep searching for someone else to share the financial burden.
That was when a deep-pocketed tycoon appeared.
Tony Stark was willing to fund New York's cleanup together with the government.