The premiere had finally ended.
"The movie wasn't bad."
Tony Stark, ever the proud man, actually took the initiative to approach Anton. "Next week, I'll honor our bet. I'll throw a party for you in Los Angeles."
After saying that, he gave a light snort, turned on his heel, and left.
Anton stood there for a moment, watching Tony's car drive away, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
A bet, huh?
He had nearly forgotten about that little wager between them. But since Tony had brought it up himself, there was no reason to refuse.
"By this time, Tony should've already upgraded his suit to the Mark II… maybe even the Mark III for combat use."
Anton mused silently, recalling the recent news about Gulmira.
If he wasn't mistaken, Iron Man had already been born.
However, Tony Stark clearly hadn't dealt with Obadiah Stane yet—probably didn't even suspect that snake's betrayal. The real drama hadn't played out.
At least for now, the world still had no idea who—or what—Iron Man truly was.
"Anton, the audience response to Cyborg has been phenomenal," Jim's excited voice interrupted his thoughts.
"The novel and comic book versions have been out for a month already and are selling well. The movie's going to blow up, I'm sure of it! Even Tony Stark showing up to the premiere is headline material!"
Jim's enthusiasm was contagious; his decision to join DC Studios seemed more brilliant by the minute.
This was, without a doubt, the proudest move of his career.
"Good. Step up the marketing. I want to see the results by tomorrow."
After giving his order, Anton lost interest in lingering at the venue. He headed back toward New York, with Betty following closely behind.
Inside the car, Betty handed him a folder—several résumés attached, each with a photo.
"These are the applicants for your personal assistant position."
Technically, Betty was supposed to be Anton's assistant. But given how hands-off he'd been with DC's operations, she had essentially become the company's manager in his stead.
Her workload left no time for handling his personal affairs, so they'd agreed to find someone new to fill the role.
Anton flipped through the files casually, then stopped when a particularly beautiful face caught his eye.
After a moment's pause, he smiled.
"She'll do."
He plucked out the résumé and handed it to Betty. "Tell this Natasha woman she can start tomorrow."
Betty's expression didn't change.
She looked at the stunning woman in the photo and sighed inwardly—this was exactly the kind of choice she'd expected from him.
Ever since the night of the Green Goblin incident—when Anton had clashed with Hawkeye and given him a proper beating—he'd been expecting S.H.I.E.L.D. to make their next move.
Sure enough, only a few days later, they did.
And the person they sent was none other than the famed Black Widow herself.
Anton couldn't help but feel slightly amused—and maybe a bit flattered.
Logically, S.H.I.E.L.D. couldn't be completely certain he was Batman, but they had enough evidence to strongly suspect it.
After all, right after the Life Foundation incident, Agent Coulson had personally approached him.
Their conversation back then made it clear S.H.I.E.L.D. already viewed him as Batman.
Although Anton had later tried to muddy the waters—especially after the Batman movie hit six hundred million globally, making it seem more like a fictional persona—he doubted that had erased S.H.I.E.L.D.'s suspicions.
They probably still believed he was Batman… at least ninety percent sure.
But that last ten percent of uncertainty was what kept them cautious.
After all, throughout every interaction with S.H.I.E.L.D.—even during the Kingpin and Green Goblin cases—Anton had never appeared as himself. He had always worn the cowl.
There was an unspoken understanding between them.
And now, S.H.I.E.L.D. sending Black Widow to apply as his "personal assistant" was an obvious attempt to get close to him… maybe even recruit him.
Just like she had once done with Tony Stark.
"One more thing," Betty suddenly said. "Stark Industries' stock is climbing again. We've made a decent profit. Should we sell?"
"Climbing?" Anton asked absentmindedly. "It won't rise much higher yet. Not the right time. Keep holding—it's a long-term play."
"It's already recovered nearly half its losses. You're sure you don't want to sell?" Betty asked skeptically.
She couldn't understand Anton's confidence in Stark Industries.
Everyone who followed the market knew Tony Stark had been sidelined by his own board.
Right now, Obadiah Stane—the company's long-time executive—was running the show.
Without Tony, the company's ceiling was basically where it stood now.
"How did it recover so much?" Anton asked, frowning slightly. "What's Obadiah been up to lately?"
"He announced Stark Industries won't shut down its weapons division. Plus, they've begun investing in renewable energy—partnering with Dr. Olivia Octavius at OckMax Industries to develop a 'synthetic sun.'"
Betty continued, "Dr. Octavius has been researching fusion energy for years. If successful, humanity could move beyond fossil fuels entirely. People are calling it the future of energy."
She paused, then added, "Investors are optimistic. If OckMax succeeds, Stark Industries could dominate the global energy sector—even without its weapons division."
"Dr. Octavius… a synthetic sun?" Anton's expression turned strange.
He never expected those two to team up.
Obadiah Stane and Otto Octavius—what an odd pair.
Wait a minute.
Something clicked in Anton's mind.
In the original timeline, Obadiah had stolen Tony's Mark I armor from the desert, but couldn't power it because he lacked the miniature arc reactor Tony had in his chest.
Now it all made sense.
Obadiah Stane wasn't getting smarter—he was getting desperate.
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