Obligatory Disclaimer : I do not own anything (except maybe OC characters) all characters, places, worlds, universes…etc mentioned here belong to their respective owners and/or companies.

This is purely a work of fiction. Not meant to offend or incite, but to entertain and (maybe) inspire.

THE DEVIL'S DUE

“Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in welcoming the man of the year, inventor extraordinaire,

sole CEO of Hammer Industries, Justin Hammer!” The stunningly dressed presenter said with a tone of glee as she gestured, amid the loud applause, towards the black haired man confidently walking onto the stage.

She smiled, shook his hands with added enthusiasm and offered him a seat to her left. She took hers, and for a moment she was lost in a vision of her future and what was to come. This scoop today would rocket her career to brand new peaks. It could cement her amongst the greats, she would stand on the same stage as the ones she once looked up to.

She, Cindy Allen Rose, was ready for action. Her eyes refocused with added zeal, looking straight at the man who sat across her. Short black hair faded at the sides that drew out his already pronounced masculine features, complimented by clear black eyes that stared back at her with slight amusement and sharp confidence. She was expecting his eyes to trail down her cleavage – they did, she just never noticed it – but instead found them looking into hers. She took that as her cue to begin “So, Mr. Hammer, as we all know, you are on ever cover of every significant magazine. Your company is making phenomenal waves throughout the planet, all the while bagging a multitude of awards, in fact just yesterday you won the Nobel prize in both categories of Physics and Chemistry and you’re the first weapons manufacturer in history to nominated for the peace prize….It must be really good to be you right now?” She joked at the end. Earning her a chuckle from the man and mild laughter from the audience.

He shifted in his seat to take a more comfortable posture.“What can I say? I put the work in and the results followed” He answered with a smile. “Its as simple as that”

“And so did the money. You’re number two in the top ten list of billionaires now. Tony Stark still sits at the top, and you’re some millions of dollars away from taking that too?” she questioned with a raised brow, turning to the audience she made an exaggerated expression of shock “Oh, yes people, you didn’t know? Hammer Industries has gone on to surpass Stark Industries in the market for technology, and that’s not even limited to consumer tech.

“The tipping point happened two weeks ago when this man seated here had his presentation at the Stark Expo. He unveiled an assortment of very advanced technology made readily available for the general public, among those the most sensational to being the Hover Line range of vehicles and the E-Scape Fully-Immersive Virtual Reality visors, that has been driving everyone crazy!” She concluded energetically, the same way the audience responded with a loud applause and uproarious cheers. Calming the voices, she once again continued.

“You’re the bad guy aren’t you? There’s a lot of speculation going around that you did that on purpose – waiting for that moment just so you could steal another man’s own show?”

“Haha,” he laughed, leaning deeper into the seat. “No, those are all false. I would never do such, the timing was all just a coincidence. The products were ready and I had a platform for it, I just made use of that platform. I am definitely the good guy.” He clarified, sending a small wink at the camera, causing the audience to burst out in laughter.

Cindy raised her arms in surrender “Ok, I believe you” she said. “But some people don’t. They say one minute you send a message that humans should unite in peace to further the advancement of our race, but the next you make weapons to spread bloodshed and wars. Why not follow Stark’s example if you really want to make the world a better place?”

“The weapons I make are for protection. The protection of lives. That’s what they were ideally made for, but this isn’t an ideal world is it? There are many gray areas and lines that aren’t all straight. My weapons are all strictly monitored and regulated and under stringent requirements, that no other gun-makers on the planet even employ. I know exactly who I sell them to, who uses them, and where its being used. I ensure that they are used for protection. And if you’re talking about making the world a better place, I believe I’m doing my part.” He brought out a slick black device from the breast pocket of his coat, tapping on the screen, various full color holograms began to be projected out from the phone’s screen.

“These are all places all over the globe benefiting from the altered crops and the fluid generators” he pointed at images of once deserted, arid regions that now contained a lush forest of crops and pools of water. He gestured to the next “These are all the mobile labs deployed to every single continent, but mostly concentrated in various African nations and here in the states. These labs provide adequate hands on training for anyone interested, training – focused more on technology – that doesn’t lose out to what we have here, enabling them to receive whatever jobs they might so desire. Working in tandem with the various Hammer institutions of free study where the younger individuals not only receive free education on an international standard, but various other necessities. These are a few of the many ongoing projects. And I don’t think I’ve to even mention all the jobs my various branches have provided for the world’s populace, just look at the numbers, they don’t lie.” He finished amidst the loud applause, reclining back to his new sweet spot on the lushly cushioned chair.

“...Wow” Cindy exclaimed. “And we haven’t even got to the revolutions you made to space travel— the new manned-moon exploration mission planned for 2013. The various probes that have already made touchdown, and the mining projects that you’ve been talking about.” she flipped through a list of papers “We won’t have enough time to cover everything on this list. So, Justin. Tell us something we don’t know.” She said, leaning forward, placing both elbows on her desk supporting her face on open palms.

“Well, actually. I’ll be taking a break from everything that has to do with the company life. I’m going on vacation – and it won’t be a very long one, but I just need from rest from all the lights and attention, I need to heal my spirit. I deserve it don’t I?”

“You most certainly do. I don’t believe there’s any special woman or man in your life, is there?”

“Oh, sadly, I’m still single.” he replied with a sigh, earning himself loud wolf whistles.

“But is there a special someone you’re after? Someone you have a crush on?”

The man laughed and gestured her forward, while he leaned in, his scent almost intoxicated her “I’m going to tell you, but you’ll have to keep it a secret.” he said, as he leaned in even closer. She could feel his warm breath on her nape, sending shivers down her spine and giving her goosebumps. And then he whispered something to her.

He reclined back to his seat with an innocent smile. Cindy slowly peeled her gaze away from him, and with her flushed face she turned to the camera. “People of Earth, Justin Hammer, has a crush on Halle Berry!!”

“WwHhhOooOO!!!” the audience screamed.

“Hey!” he cried, “That was a secret” to no effect.

________________________________________________________________________________________

“Could someone please tell me when the world stopped making sense” Anthony Stark quipped as he switched the channel to the next. He groaned when they all aired the same broadcast of Justin Hammer’s interview. One moment, his company was the world’s first and best when it came to technology. And the next, that spot is being taken by what used to be a pale imitation of his.

“What are you? Jealous” His trusted secretary, lovely partner-in-crime and the one and only most important woman in his life joked as she brought him a stack of files and papers. He silently groaned again, ‘I hate this part the most’ he hated sitting around to read over and sign papers, not when he had things he needed to urgently work on, things to build, especially now when the competition was already about to surpass him. That was why he was going to delegate it all to Pepper. After all this was the field she most excelled in. She was so good with managing the company that he was going to be making her the CEO soon. He initially considered it due to the palladium poisoning – when his life was on a timer but now he knew it was the right decision to make. With SHIELD’s help he was able to prolong that timer, adding on the fact that he received an untraceable email that sent him the incomplete blueprints of an unknown element, that pushed him in the direction he needed to go, when he looked over his dad’s files and extracted the hidden blueprint in the model, he combined the data, enabling him to deduce the atomic structure for his new element, Starkium. The element that changed it all for him. Thanks to that he was still alive.

He knew nothing came for free, he was expecting the blueprint’s sender to reach out to him again. Either now stating their identity and purpose or a price. But no, there’s zero contact ever since he received the email. And no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t find the sender. It was almost like the sender didn’t even exist, the only proof being the contents of the email that he kept secured on a separate drive.

“Of course I’m not jealous” He answered her, maybe a bit too fast. He wasn’t jealous. Maybe he wanted to be the one making all these waves before anyone did, but that didn’t mean he was jealous. He was a futurist, he expected something like this happening eventually. But that was way down the line. What blindsided him, was the fact that it was Justin Hammer!

How did that even happen!?

Pepper shook her head with a slight smile. She could tell tony was already drawing up ways to build something new. She could see in his eyes, his new found fire and focus. The burning passion that caused him to constantly tap his fingers across the console drawing up plans and formulas with JARVIS. Maybe this was good for him, this competition with a new rival. Someone who wasn’t trying to kill him or steal his company. She mentally sighed, relieved. She approached Tony, caressing his shoulders as she spoke “Tony, you need to relax. don’t overwork yourself.”

“No, what I need is to finish this and shove it in that guy’s face” he pointed at the TV. “Did you see that! He winked at me, I swear he’s doing this on purpose”

She shook her head, the lack of sleep must be driving him delirious she thought. “And while we’re on the things you need, a shower should come first” She visibly held her nose. They laughed together “Okay, okay, you win. JARVIS you take it from here.” Tony said, stretching as he rose from his seat. Catching a whiff of his scent, I really do need a shower. He agreed.

“Like I always do sir” his best friend and second partner-in-crime quipped in reply which Tony ignored, instead focusing on Pepper who was dragging him by the hand towards the bathroom. He was going to enjoy this very, very much.