Sorcerer in the Marvel Universe

Umbrella Corporation. Chief of Security. Gillian Valentine.

The moment Justin Hammer heard Jack read that name aloud, the smug satisfaction vanished from his face.

His smile disappeared.

The muscle beneath one eye twitched involuntarily.

Not from anger.

From fear.

To understand why, it helped to go back two weeks.

Two weeks earlier, Justin Hammer had been convinced fate had declared war on him.

Tony Stark had somehow managed to accomplish everything Hammer had spent his life chasing.

He’d created the revolutionary Iron Man armor.

He’d become a celebrated superhero.

He’d transformed himself into a global icon.

Standing beside Tony’s brilliance, Justin couldn’t shake the feeling that he was little more than an overlooked imitation.

Then came the call from the Department of Defense.

They wanted him to serve as the public face of the campaign against Iron Man at the upcoming Senate hearing.

His job was simple.

Argue that such powerful technology should never remain in private hands.

Pressure Tony into surrendering it to the military.

Refuse...

And Hammer Industries would lose government contracts.

Justin didn’t object because he disliked Tony.

Quite the opposite.

He relished the chance to see Stark embarrassed.

The problem was that everyone knew the legal argument was weak. America’s constitutional protections for private property made the government’s position difficult to justify.

Still...

Without Washington’s support, Hammer Industries was finished.

So he swallowed his doubts and played his assigned role.

As though that weren’t enough, he’d later been humiliated over an expensive sports car by some backwater charm salesman who’d mocked him for living in Tony Stark’s shadow.

To make matters worse, the police had taken the other man’s side.

Justin, a businessman whose fortune had been built through questionable international arms deals, actually found himself thinking the system looked hopelessly corrupt.

The irony escaped him completely.

Two days later came the real nightmare.

S.H.I.E.L.D. investigated two separate Liberian shipments connected to Hammer Industries.

Justin nearly jumped out the window of his sixteenth-floor office.

The financial losses barely registered.

What terrified him was the possibility that S.H.I.E.L.D. had finally started pulling at the loose threads behind his empire.

If they kept digging...

He wouldn’t be the only person to fall.

He had already begun wondering how to divide his estate.

Whether his mistress deserved anything in the will.

Then, as abruptly as it had begun, the investigation stopped.

Confused, Justin quietly reached out through his contacts.

Eventually someone in the Department of Defense gave him a simple piece of advice.

Keep your head down.

Stay out of trouble.

Perform well at the hearing.

If they still expected him to attend the hearing, then he still had value.

For the moment...

He was safe.

Or so he thought.

One afternoon, Justin sat in his office with his feet on the desk, debating whether his recent streak of disasters required a priest, a therapist, or an exorcist.

The office door burst open.

Jack hurried inside, clutching a cellphone.

"I’m not taking calls," Justin snapped without looking up.

"Tell whoever it is I’m busy."

Jack didn’t move.

Sweat dotted his forehead as he covered the phone’s microphone with one hand.

"Sir..."

"It’s Daniel Whitehall."

Justin shot upright so quickly that his chair tipped backward.

He crashed onto the floor.

Ignoring the pain, he scrambled to his feet, snatched the phone from Jack, and instantly replaced panic with a perfectly rehearsed smile.

"Mr. Whitehall!"

"What an honor to receive your call."

Most people had never heard Daniel Whitehall’s name.

Those who had...

Understood exactly what it meant.

Cabinet officials.

Military generals.

Influential senators.

Even the most powerful figures in Washington treated the reclusive man with unmistakable respect.

Justin had once seen the senator responsible for launching the Iron Man hearing speaking to Whitehall.

The senator had looked less like a senior politician than a nervous junior employee meeting the company’s owner.

From that moment onward, Justin decided one thing.

Stay as far away from Daniel Whitehall as possible.

Getting close offered uncertain rewards.

Offending him promised certain ruin.

Now that very man had called him personally.

Every instinct screamed that he should tread carefully.

"Justin."

Whitehall’s warm voice drifted through the receiver.

"My young friend."

"I’ve heard things haven’t been going particularly well for you lately."

Justin almost felt flattered.

Almost.

People like Daniel Whitehall never called simply to exchange pleasantries.

"Thank you for your concern, sir."

"I’ve... managed."

He hesitated.

"Is there anything I can do for you?"

Whitehall chuckled softly.

"Nothing so dramatic."

"I have an influential business partner."

"They’re looking for someone new."

"I recommended you."

Justin blinked.

"...Me?"

Someone important enough for Whitehall to describe as an equal?

Why would they be interested in Hammer Industries?

Justin knew exactly where he stood in the food chain.

He wasn’t one of the people who shaped history.

He was one of the people powerful men used to accomplish unpleasant tasks.

Then Whitehall delivered the bait.

"If this partnership succeeds..."

"You may find yourself standing above Tony Stark."

Justin’s heartbeat quickened.

Then came the hook.

"If it fails..."

Whitehall’s tone never changed.

"I’ll probably have someone retrieve your body from the river outside the city."

The excitement evaporated instantly.

Justin swallowed hard.

Success meant unimaginable wealth.

Failure meant death.

His instincts screamed at him to refuse.

If someone had told him wearing red underwear over his suit would let him defeat Tony Stark, he’d have dressed like a comic-book superhero without hesitation.

Risking his life?

That was another matter entirely.

"Mr. Whitehall..."

He forced a nervous smile.

"I’m deeply grateful for your generosity."

"But recent circumstances make accepting something like this rather difficult..."

"You can’t refuse my generosity."

Whitehall interrupted him.

His voice remained calm.

Almost gentle.

Yet beneath that calm lay something cold enough to freeze Justin’s blood.

There was no room for negotiation.

Justin shivered.

"...Yes, sir."

"I understand."

"I’ll do it."

"I won’t disappoint you."

"Good."

"The representative’s name is Gillian Valentine."

"Chief of Security for Umbrella Corporation."

"She’ll contact you soon."

"Handle this business well."

"You won’t regret it."

The line went dead.

Justin spent the next two weeks living in nervous anticipation.

He investigated Umbrella Corporation from every angle.

Nothing.

No public records.

No corporate history.

No credible information.

Which only made it more frightening.

A company that left no trace wasn’t imaginary.

It was hidden.

And organizations powerful enough to remain hidden were usually best avoided.

Still...

Whitehall’s warning echoed constantly in his mind.

He couldn’t refuse.

So he chose the only path available.

Wait.

Hope.

Pray everything worked out.

Now the wait was over.

The representative had arrived.

Justin hurried toward the executive reception room with Jack close behind.

He had expected an entourage.

Armed bodyguards.

Stone-faced assistants.

Lawyers.

Instead...

Only one woman waited inside.

She stood with her back to the door, studying the city skyline through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

A tailored purple trench coat draped over her shoulders.

Long blonde hair was tied neatly into a ponytail.

When she turned around, Justin saw the sleek violet tactical suit beneath the coat and polished black boots.

She wasn’t breathtaking in the conventional sense.

Her features were sharp.

Controlled.

Cold.

More striking than beautiful.

Her eyes conveyed only two things.

Indifference.

Authority.

"Justin Hammer?"

Her voice carried neither warmth nor hostility.

"I assume Whitehall explained who I am."

"Yes, Ms. Valentine."

Justin bowed his head slightly.

He couldn’t help noticing that she referred to Whitehall by name.

Not "Mr. Whitehall."

Not "Sir."

Simply...

Whitehall.

Someone willing to do that either possessed extraordinary confidence...

Or extraordinary backing.

"An honor to meet you."

He smiled politely.

"If you’d allow me, I’d like to introduce Hammer Industries before we discuss..."

"No need."

She cut him off.

"We already know everything about you."

Oddly enough, Justin wasn’t offended.

People like him often reacted strangely to power.

Someone only slightly more successful inspired jealousy.

Someone unimaginably superior inspired unquestioning admiration.

If Gillian Valentine dismissed formalities...

There had to be a reason.

"I’ve heard the Department of Defense expects you to produce something capable of rivaling Iron Man."

She sat down without waiting for an invitation.

"And you’ve convinced yourself you’ll surpass Tony Stark."

Justin nodded cautiously.

"That’s certainly the goal."

"Umbrella Corporation can make that happen."

"I appreciate the offer."

He chose his words carefully.

"But I’ve recently recruited a very talented scientist."

"I believe we’re already making progress."

Truthfully, he remained reluctant.

Working with mysterious organizations rarely ended well.

And Ivan Vanko had already given him hope.

"Ivan Vanko?"

Gillian asked.

Justin froze.

"...Yes."

"So you really do know everything."

She gave a dismissive shake of her head.

"He’s talented."

"I’ll even admit he could eventually build armor comparable to Iron Man."

"So what?"

Justin frowned.

"So..."

"You’re still copying Tony Stark."

"No matter how impressive the suit becomes, the world will only see an imitation."

"You’ll spend your entire career standing in his shadow."

She leaned forward slightly.

"At best, history remembers you as the man who copied Iron Man."

The words landed harder than Justin expected.

She wasn’t attacking his engineering.

She was attacking his legacy.

He’d spent years trying to escape comparisons with Tony.

Would another armored suit really accomplish that?

Probably not.

"What exactly is Umbrella Corporation offering?"

Justin asked quietly.

"A completely different class of weapon."

She answered without hesitation.

"And one the Department of Defense will find irresistible."

Justin couldn’t hide his curiosity.

"What kind of weapon?"

Gillian smiled for the first time.

It wasn’t a friendly smile.

"Bio-weapons."

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