“Sorry, sir. Do you have an appointment?”
Batman, wearing a plaid shirt and posing as Peter Parker, was stopped by security personnel in the lobby of Stark Industries' building, also located in Manhattan.
“I don’t have an appointment, but if you’re willing to take me to Mr. Stark, I guarantee that starting today, you’ll be more than just a security Captain.”
“Because I’ve brought technology that could double Stark Industries’ market value.”
Batman said, looking at the security Captain, Happy Hogan, who stood in front of him.
Happy Hogan opened his mouth, unsure how to handle this guy who looked like a college student but whose tone and demeanor completely belied his age.
But professional instinct made him look down at the case Batman was carrying:
“May I inspect what’s inside?”
“Of course, it’s just a computer.” Batman opened the case he was holding. “It’s not a weapon, but the technology I mentioned.”
“Alright, no matter what my boss thinks, I’m convinced.” After a few seconds of hesitation, Happy led Batman to the elevator and pressed the button for him. “Good luck.”
The elevator ascended smoothly and quickly from the first floor directly to the top floor, which Tony Stark used as both his residence and office.
A private party was being held there, and the host was undoubtedly Tony Stark.
Similar to the image Batman had found in his prior research, Tony Stark was the epitome of a playboy living a life of indulgence.
He held a glass of champagne, had a model in his arms, and wore a bathrobe.
Although his physique was still well-proportioned, his dark circles and puffy muscles immediately told Batman that his body had long been depleted.
“I remember telling everyone not to disturb me during work or non-work hours. Who are you?” Tony Stark asked loudly.
“Tony Stark, although you became the World’s richest man as CEO and Chairman of Stark Industries, with a net worth of hundreds of billions…”
Batman looked expressionlessly at Tony Stark, who was feeding wine mouth-to-mouth to the model in his arms:
“But as far as I know, you haven’t fully taken control of the assets your father left behind. The board has isolated you and could expel you from Stark Industries at any time.”
“In other words, you’re just a puppet being used.”
Stark put down his champagne and picked up the phone beside him:
“Happy? Come to the top floor and kick this lunatic standing in front of me out.”
“Happy?”
Batman found a seat for himself:
“From the moment I stepped out of the elevator, the entire floor’s security protocols were breached. You can’t contact the outside World, and the outside World can’t contact you.”
This statement made Tony Stark pause. He no longer embraced the model and got up to furiously type on the keyboard at his workstation. After confirming Batman’s words, he clapped his hands and shouted to the models:
“Girls, you’re off. You have one minute to leave.”
Once the entire floor was empty except for the two of them, Tony Stark looked intently at Batman:
“Who are you? What do you want? If you’re trying to extort me, there’s a stack of bank cards in the cabinet behind you. Take one or take them all; the passwords are all written on them.”
“I am Peter Parker. I’m here to show you this.” Batman opened the briefcase he had been carrying.
Inside was the custom-built computer hardware, which now served as an encrypted container for certain data.
Tony Stark pointed to the television in the hall, indicating that the computer could be connected to the large screen.
“Is this… some kind of digital model?” Tony asked, looking at the series of data on the screen.
“An AI model,” Batman said. “I know you can’t sleep at night, Stark. Your mind moves too fast, and the World is too slow.”
“This is a common ailment among intelligent people, and this AI is the only thing that can keep up with your thought process. It won’t say ‘no’ to you; it will only say ‘there’s another solution’.”
The current year was 2006. AI, artificial intelligence, was still just a concept, and no company had a product yet.
Batman believed Tony Stark would see the value in his AI model.
This model was just a basic version adapted from the batmobile’s intelligent obstacle avoidance system, but its function was far more than just obstacle avoidance.
Its true purpose was to enable the AI to clearly distinguish human commands and execute them precisely.
“You’ve come at just the right time. If you had come two months later, I wouldn’t need this technology,” Tony Stark said, somehow holding a glass of whiskey again. “I’m also developing an AI program, and perhaps your AI model could save me a lot of time.”
Tony Stark was also developing AI?
Batman frowned. This was information he hadn’t known before coming, but he was quite confident in his model.
“Jarvis?”
Tony Stark called out into the air.
“How may I help you, sir?” The voice of the AI named Jarvis echoed in the hall.
“Pour this guest a whiskey,” Tony Stark said.
“I’m sorry, sir, I can’t do that yet,” Jarvis said.
“Jarvis is my self-designed artificial intelligence… Actually, he’s more like a talking Wikipedia right now. If I ask him to pour me a cup of coffee, he’ll spill it everywhere.”
Tony Stark said, pouring a drink for Batman himself.
Batman took it but didn’t drink, placing it back on the table.
“What are your plans? Are you selling this technology to me as a package, or collaborating with me under the name of some company?” Tony Stark asked.
“I’m not selling it. But I can leave this computer here. If you can crack the source code and replicate the core algorithm within a day, it’s yours.”
Batman’s words surprised Tony Stark, and the playboy, whose dark circles made him look like a panda, immediately became interested:
“What if I don’t crack it?”
“You’ll need to hire my company as a technical consultant and pay a consulting fee,” Batman said.
“You’re very confident.” Tony Stark drained his whiskey. “So am I.”
Batman had achieved his objective at Stark Tower and wasn’t planning to mention the other party’s father or the Tesseract during their first meeting.
This matter couldn’t be rushed.
“Whether Tony can crack it or not, it will be part of my second step plan.” Leaving Stark Industries, Batman sat in the back of a taxi. “But I can’t put all my hopes for funding on him.”
Back at the Abandoned Shipyard, Batman used the industrial equipment there to train himself until the Sun disappeared below the horizon.
As night fell, Batman put on his Batsuit and headed straight for the Osborn Group.
Yesterday, there had been no movement from the Osborn Group. Batman had staked it out for most of the night without any activity, which was clearly abnormal.
With the Military’s protection, conventional exposure methods wouldn’t work. Batman needed a more direct and forceful way to expose their human experimentation to the public.
