DC HERO AT MARVEL

[I found you!]

Seeing these words, Pierce face changed dramatically.

A single sentence wasn't enough to instill such fear in him.

What truly alarmed him was the other piece of information on the computer screen.

The Batman logo.

"Batman!"

Pierce expression darkened.

As the current leader of Hydra, his identity was undoubtedly one of the highest secrets.

The only people who knew his true identity were high-ranking members of Hydra, all of whom had been brainwashed and were unwaveringly loyal to the organization.

These individuals would rather die than reveal a single word.

Pierce had absolute confidence in this. He had hidden himself exceptionally well.

Even though Hydra was now largely exposed to Nick Fury and others, Pierce himself had never been included among the suspects.

But now, Batman had somehow found him!

How did Batman discover this?

Could it be a bluff?

"Batman, I don't know what you're talking about!"

For a brief moment, panic flickered in Pierce heart, but his face remained impassive. He took a deep breath and feigned anger.

Slamming the table, he stood up abruptly and glared at the computer, speaking in a cold and commanding tone:

"There may indeed be a traitor within S.H.I.E.L.D., but if you continue to smear and slander me, I will immediately have S.H.I.E.L.D. take action against you."

"Hmph!"

On the other end, Cyborg and Anton sneered simultaneously.

"Quite cautious!"

Anton had never expected to get concrete evidence of Pierce true identity this easily.

In other words, the battle between him and Pierce was just beginning.

S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters.

The computer in front of Pierce returned to normal. He suppressed his anger, but his expression remained serious, his gaze growing increasingly dark.

Uncertain whether Batman had truly left his computer, Pierce turned on his heel and left his office.

He took the elevator to a section of S.H.I.E.L.D. underground base, a signal-blocked area containing an absolutely secure chamber.

Inside the chamber was a round table with a chair placed in front of each seat.

Pierce sat in his designated spot and activated the emergency call button.

Swish, swish, swish!

Several virtual projections appeared before him, showing the current heads of Hydra: Daniel Whitehall, Baron Strucker, and Dr. Zola.

"Pierce, what happened?"

"I've heard. The New York operation failed. It seems we need to initiate the alternative plan."

"The nano-warheads have already been moved to New York. They can be deployed at any time."

"We must pinpoint Batman location first. Otherwise, it'll be a wasted effort and could alert him, completely exposing us."

Daniel and Baron Strucker exchanged heated remarks.

Dr. Zola remained silent.

He had just learned that one of his program fragments had been eliminated in New York, and it was clearly related to Batman.

As Hydra nemesis, Dr. Zola was well-versed in information about Batman and the Justice League he had founded.

He knew that the Justice League included a superhero named Cyborg.

Cyborg unique abilities essentially made him an advanced artificial intelligence, one whose capabilities surpassed Zola in many ways.

When facing Cyborg, Dr. Zola did not believe he could gain the upper hand.

His role, when compared to Cyborg, became significantly diminished.

"Enough!"

Each of them was preoccupied with their own thoughts, but Pierce, growing impatient with the bickering between Daniel Whitehall and Baron Strucker, slammed the table and shouted,

"Shut up and listen to me!"

Swish!

The room fell into silence.

Daniel Whitehall and Baron Strucker turned to look at Pierce, their gazes cold as they waited for him to speak.

Their relationship was far from harmonious.

Pierce might appear to be Hydra current leader, but Daniel and Baron Strucker, as founding members of Hydra, had never accepted being bossed around by a newcomer.

They often operated in a way that complied outwardly but defied inwardly.

Dr. Zola, on the other hand, cared little for hierarchy or status.

Having transformed into a digital entity, Zola saw himself as having achieved the secret to immortality.

Apart from Hydra mission, everything else was trivial to him.

"Batman has found me!"

Pierce face was grim as he glared at the projections before him with a fierce expression, enunciating each word:

"He came straight to me, flaunting his presence."

"What?"

Daniel Whitehall and Baron Strucker faces changed.

Even Dr. Zola expression showed surprise.

There was no doubt among them that Alexander Pierce was the least likely person to be exposed.

But now Pierce claimed he had been compromised and that Batman had come directly to him?

How could that be possible?

"I wouldn't joke about something like this," Pierce said coldly.

"Accelerate all plans immediately. We must kill Batman and dismantle the Justice League! Have Cobra expedite their arrangements and move all four nano-worm warheads to New York.

If necessary, let New York fall—it will serve as Hydra declaration of resurgence. He supposed to be a superhero, isn't he? Let see if New York collapse can force him out!"

The room remained silent.

"I support this."

Dr. Zola was the first to respond, his mechanical voice devoid of emotion.

"Agreed."

"I agree as well."

The decision was unanimous.

"Good!"

Pierce snorted and opened a map in front of him, marking the New York area in red. His tone was icy as he declared,

"Operation name: New York Collapse."

The chamber was securely sealed, and the meeting utilized Hydra internal communication channels, preventing any external interception.

Although Anton had Cyborg scour the entire network and could anticipate that Pierce would take action, it was impossible for him to witness the meeting firsthand.

Still, knowing that the enemy wouldn't rest, Anton refused to lower his guard.

"Nano-worm warheads…"

"Since Hydra is targeting Batman, they've likely already moved the nano-worm warheads to New York. These things are indeed dangerous."

Anton stroked his chin as he recalled the G.I. Joe plotline, realizing it was essentially a formulaic narrative where Cobra tried to blow up one place or another while the G.I. Joe team intervened and ultimately won.

Now, with Cobra absorbed into Hydra and their target shifted to Batman under Hydra orders, the storyline had been completely derailed and would definitely not follow its original course.

Based on the information he had, the only certainty was that Cobra members were most likely in New York, hiding alongside the nano-worm warheads.

New York?

Anton expression grew serious.

If Cobra deployed the nano-worm warheads directly in New York, the nano-worms' destructive power could reduce the entire city to nothing in a short time.

Of course, this "reduction to nothing" didn't mean an explosion but rather that all of New York structures, facilities, streetlights, billboards, and objects, big and small, would be devoured and broken down by the nano-worms.

The consequences would be unimaginable.

New York, after all, wasn't just Batman base of operations but also an international metropolis.

Hydra targeting Batman and coming to New York was akin to slapping Batman in the face.

Fortunately, the ones tasked with this mission were members of the Cobra organization.

Anton memory was sharp.

He didn't know every Cobra member, but he was familiar with several key figures.

Conveniently, those key figures weren't difficult to track down.

Before long.

The NYPD and members of the Continental Hotel received an email from Anton.

The email contained two names:

"Anna DeCobray, Baroness!"

"Destro!"

At the Continental Hotel, Winston stared impassively at the screen displaying the two names.

He immediately cross-referenced them with the intelligence system of the High Table and found results.

"Anna DeCobray, Baroness, wife of Daniel DeCobray..."

"Destro, born into a Scottish noble family, CEO of MARS Corporation, a weapons dealer with a penchant for war, whose family has been in the arms trade for generations."

Winston forwarded the information to Anton and issued orders to his subordinates.

"Send people to keep an eye on the DeCobray couple. Be careful not to alert them. Report immediately if anything unusual occurs."

"Understood."

"Daniel DeCobray, Baron, husband of Anna DeCobray, a top French scientist…"

"Destro, born into a Scottish noble family, whose family has provided weapons to those in power for generations.

During the English Civil War in the 17th century, the Destro family supplied arms to both sides of the conflict.

When the scheme was uncovered, the family was condemned to wear an iron mask symbolizing disgrace for all generations…

Now, he is a renowned international arms dealer, a formidable competitor against Stark Industries and Oscorp in the global market."

As an international arms mogul, much of the public information about Destro was easy to investigate.

But what Anton was really interested in wasn't this surface-level data.

Fortunately, the Continental Hotel, as the most dominant underground force in New York, provided the information he truly needed shortly after the basic profile.

"Columbia University, Advanced Technology Exchange Conference."

"Sponsor: Destro!"

"Participants: The DeCobray couple."

"Conference ends today, with a banquet starting at 8 PM. Both the sponsor and participants will be present."

Anton murmured to himself, a sly grin forming at the corner of his lips:

"Come to think of it, it been a while since I attended a banquet. Columbia University probably won't mind an uninvited guest who happens to be a businessman."

He glanced at the time: 8:10 PM.

"Tsk, the banquet already started!"

"Still… Important people always arrive late. It how they establish their presence."

Anton changed into a different outfit, straightened his attire, and hopped into his sports car. With a roar, he sped toward Columbia University.

Located in Manhattan, New York, Columbia University is one of the world top private research universities, a founding member of the Association of American Universities, and part of the Ivy League.

The location was easy to find, and it took about ten minutes for Anton to reach the university from his residence.

He parked his car in front of the banquet hall and was just about to step inside when a security guard stopped him at the door.

"Hey, don't you recognize me?"

Anton faced the guard and casually tossed his car keys to him. "Park my car for me. This banquet needs me."