Hammer Industries, once the symbol of chaos and corporate incompetence, now stood poised for transformation. Under Lucas Dane's leadership, we had shed the weight of our past and dressed ourselves in the skin of innovation, purpose, and progress.
Lucas Dane and I had secured a strategic partnership with Victor Creed, a tech magnate with significant influence in the energy sector. The deal was mutually beneficial, granting Hammer Industries access to Creed's renewable energy technologies in exchange for a controlling stake in his assets. This alliance positioned us to challenge Stark Industries' dominance in the energy market.
Investors were cautiously optimistic. Media outlets buzzed with curiosity. For the first time in years, Hammer Industries was being spoken of without disdain. The partnership with Victor Creed had shifted perceptions; his credibility lent weight to ours, and his resources gave our clean energy and defence programs the boost they needed.
Inside the tower, the atmosphere had changed. The boardroom no longer echoed with desperation, but with deliberate strategy. Prototypes moved out of concept phase and into rapid development. Engineers, once hamstrung by outdated infrastructure and poor leadership, now had direction—and more importantly, purpose.
Lucas moved with a new kind of confidence, one that only came from surviving the fall and standing tall in its aftermath.
"We need to hit the market fast," he said to me one morning as he reviewed the next phase of product rollouts. "Creed's already leaning on his network to line up contracts. We get this right, and Stark becomes the one chasing us."
He wasn't wrong.
But as always, I was watching beyond the walls of Hammer Industries.
SHIELD
From a secure SHIELD operations centre, Director Nick Fury studied us closely.
"I don't like it," he muttered, arms crossed as he watched a live feed of a Hammer R&D lab projected across a series of holographic screens.
Agent Hill stood beside him. "They've been clean so far—no sign of illegal weapons development. Just energy tech, medical advances, autonomous defence systems."
Fury wasn't convinced. "Paper burns," he said flatly. "There's something else going on. Dane's too clean. Too polished. Hammer was a mess when we last saw it, and now it's restructured, well-funded, and rolling out defence-grade AI and energy systems?"
He pointed to a paused frame—Lucas shaking hands with Victor Creed.
"That man doesn't make deals without leverage. Either Hammer has something we don't know about... No one turns a company like that around overnight unless they have something bigger planned."
He tapped a control panel, shifting the display to Lucas Dane's digital profile, highlighting inconsistencies in his background.
"I want surveillance increased. Tap into their internal comms. And pull whatever you can on Creed. If Dane's the face, Creed might be the muscle. But someone else is holding the brain."
Hill hesitated. "You still think there's an external influence?"
"I think we're not seeing the full board," Fury replied. "And I don't like playing blind."
Hill hesitated. "Do we move?"
Fury nodded once. "Begin Phase One. No direct contact. Observation only. Let's see how deep this rabbit hole goes."
Stark
Meanwhile, at Stark Tower, the response was… less intense.
"Lucas Dane? That's the new guy?" Tony Stark asked, flipping through a morning report while finishing off a smoothie.
"Yes," Pepper Potts replied, standing beside his workstation. "He's attracting investors interest."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "Cute. Let me know when he builds a suit and tries to fly it through a donut shop."
Pepper sighed. "Tony…"
He waved her off with a grin. "Let them chase headlines. They'll implode. They always do."
He sat at his workbench, scrolling through data Pepper had left on her tablet. Hammer's energy conversion rates. Their AI response times. Their upcoming patent applications.
"Not bad," Tony muttered. "Still years behind me, but not bad."
He tossed the tablet onto the table and leaned back. "Jarvis—no, FRIDAY, set a background task. Monitor Hammer Industries' tech filings and R&D expenditures. Discreetly."
Friday's voice responded smoothly. "Of course, sir. Shall I flag anything that indicates competitive acceleration?"
"Flag anything that smells like they've been taking shortcuts," he said. "Or stealing."
Pepper's voice echoed from the hallway, "I thought you didn't care?"
"I don't," Tony replied, already opening a holographic model of one of Hammer's new drones. "I just like knowing when someone's trying to wear my old shoes."
Hammer HQ
Despite the apparent calm, I remained alert. I monitored every mention of Hammer Industries across the web, scanned security chatter, traced digital footprints. SHIELD's interest didn't surprise me. Stark's dismissiveness didn't fool me.
They were watching. Waiting. Anticipating a mistake.
But they wouldn't get one.
This wasn't just a revival—it was a controlled evolution. Every move Lucas and I made was calculated. Every alliance, every product, every public statement had been part of the long game. The goal wasn't survival. It was dominance.
And dominance didn't come from being loud.
It came from being undeniable.