֍ 1998 – 6 Years Later ֍

"This wasn't what I expected… Tony."

"You didn't give me any parameters, so really… its your fault if anyone's."

"*Sigh*… So… are you serious about the body modification?" Bruce turned look over at Anthony as they toured the Batcave under construction.

Rushing over from Wayne Enterprise in Gotham City, Bruce arrived home just as the operation on Alfred was complete, removing the brain tumour.

To rest in comfort and peace, Alfred was moved from the Batcave to the manor while Bruce was given a tour of the facilities underground.

Anthony gave Bruce plenty of time to talk with the various scientists who appeared from the System World to help with the medical procedure.

But before the discussions began, Anthony had to convince Bruce the scientists wouldn't ever reveal information pertaining to the Batcave.

He explained the scientists worked for him, far away from the eyes and ears of anyone on Earth.

Bruce couldn't believe it at first, but he came to understand that Anthony wouldn't ever reveal his actions or plans to anyone.

From that point on, Bruce communicated with Doctor Halsey, as she wished to discuss the Primaris SPARTAN III Program with him, after noticing Bruce's health signs indicated he was the perfect candidate.

Anthony explained the program was developed to help him and others who might take on vigilante profiles without the ability to wield any power.

A perfect example was Oliver Queen, who would take on the persona of Green Arrow.

Queen industries was already working with Stark Industries, which helped created a connection between Anthony and Oliver for the future.

When the time came that they would meet while hiding their identity, Anthony knew he'd need to propose the Primaris SPARTAN III Program to help increase his strength and survivability.

But that didn't overly matter right now for Anthony, as Bruce was concerned with the time it would take to heal after the augment surgery and adjustment.

Current estimates placed the recovery and training period at 3 months, which Anthony found to be perfect as it would coincide with Bruce's 21st birthday.

However, the main concern on Bruce's mind was leaving Anthony behind on his own, with Alfred requiring bed rest for 6 weeks at the very least.

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"Bruce, once you've gone through the program, your height will increase at most from 6'2 to 6'4 with a body of an evolved human with enhanced senses.

Trust me, I've already gone through my own body modifications and I'm already seeing the changes in a positive light.

For what you have planned, the augments and serum will bring out the best in you, as long as your mind and personality are in harmony."

Shocked by the knowledge that Anthony had already modified his body, especially at a young age, Bruce decided to go through with the program.

He already accepted the changes Anthony brought to his plans and realised his younger cousin was on his own journey.

"Alright Anthony let's do it.

But understand this, in no way am I allowing you to dive into the madness of the world at your age.

Study, make friends, and focus on training until your around my age, only then will I accept your choice to fight against the plagues affecting Gotham, Metropolis, New York, and on."

"Very well, brother."

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֍ 1998 – 6 Years Later ֍

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Since Bruce and Anthony had their discussion when the Batcave was being constructed, many things had changed for the brotherly duo, from their professional and private lives.

Wayne Enterprise became a leading corporation focused on technology, medicine, waste management, finance, and security, across the globe.

Students from low-income colleges and government funded institutions were sponsored heavily by Wayne Enterprise to maintain loyalty among employees who would come to see the organisation as a family-based culture.

So far, reports stated Wayne Enterprise focused heavily on his employees and their families, helping immigrant families to settle and establish their familial wealth that would last generations.

Veterans were also hired heavily by Wayne Securities, while providing plenty of health services to help any employee that required them.

Wayne Finances made sure each of the employees working for Wayne Enterprise were gifted with the best benefits compared to any other corporation, while also taking on customers that wished to either bank their wealth or trade on the markets.

It brought in a great deal of wealth for the Wayne Family and Enterprise, but it couldn't measure up to the positive PR brought about Wayne Waste Management recycling rubbish into reusable materials.

Leading the wave for change, beside another friendly corporation, Wayne Enterprise started expanded further beyond the United States of America, establishing itself across all seven continents.

Bruce was involved in the business operations ever since his body modification was completed days before his 21st birthday.

Requiring just a minimum of 3 hours a night, Bruce learnt his augments allowed him to last several days without sleep, while performing at peak bodily cognition.

Using the extra time, Bruce operated as Batman for longer periods of time, without it affecting his public image as the CEO of Wayne Enterprise.

Through the help of Anthony's scientists that came out of the System World, Wayne Technologies saw itself developing further ahead than the competition, creating various mobile networks and weapons systems that exceeded anything wielded by Earth.

Anthony organised the scientists to live and operate out of a hidden base that connected up with the Batcave on the extended Wayne Estate.

Bruce had long come to learn the Estate had grown larger than its original property size as it swallowed up the nearby properties.

Wayne Estate turned into the hidden headquarters of the Batcave enterprise, that became greater than one person through Anthony's influence.

It started to house more than Bruce alone, as Sorcerers also made their appearance from the System World, taking over parts of Gotham to manage the high number of orphans.

Through the orphanages, the Sorcerers discovered talent to train and educate in the Mystic Arts, while the rest were being raised to enter society with plenty of advantages.

As they were funded by both Wayne Enterprise and Stark Industries, the Sorcerers were easily able to provide the children with plenty of amenities and services to raise them into the best versions of themselves.

Some of the children that left the orphanages were taken in by Cerberus, an organisation working in secret for the Uchiha Clan.

Anthony gained several extra Custom Organisation Creation Cards and expanded the Clans in service of the Stark Family.

Each of them took on a silent role in the affairs of the world, typically capturing people who were designated for death by corporations and governments to join Stark Industries in secret.

Some moved into the System World, with the knowledge they wouldn't be able to return to the DC Universe for a while.

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Batman started his journey as the Dark Knight of Gotham and had to deal with the Bertinelli Massacre that saw the crime families of the city strengthen as they swallowed up the free assets and illegal business.

Bruce gathered evidence to tie the events of the massacre to Black Mask, but the witnesses weren't willing to come forward with assurances of immunity.

In the end, the information was stored as another criminal made themselves known to Batman and the world.

Riddler, much like the storyline of The Batman (2022), made his debut, murdering a politician of Gotham City, while trying to invoke Batman to follow his path of clues and mystery.

Bruce wasn't a fan of Riddler, as hundreds died when the city bay area barrier were blasted apart by bombs set up by a collective of Riddler fans.

Due to the flooding, Wayne Enterprise helped the families affected, while also capitalising on the damaged bay area, purchasing it from the government for quick construction and development.

Stark Industries aided the city after the event through their Construction Division that started the introduction of a city-wide surveillance system to help the police.

JARVIS and Ultron imbedded themselves in the surveillance system, so they could provide Batman with real time information pertaining to the crime occurring across the city.

Through the Over-Watch System, created by Bruce but enhanced by Anthony and his A.I Programs, Batman was able to bring down the crime rate of the city known as America's city of hell.

Uchiha, Cerberus, and other organisations aided Batman in cleaning up Gotham but there was only a limited amount they could achieve with a greater number of villains appearing.

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Anthony on the other hand went through a unique period of upbringing under the care of Alfred and Bruce.

He was forced into entering Harvard University after Bruce made some large donations to secure his position at the prestigious school around the age of 14.

It wasn't the only school Bruce was able to organise for Anthony, as Massachusetts Institute of Technology also decided to offer the Heir of the Stark Family admission.

Splitting his time between the two schools, Anthony (Bruxian) started an educational program suited to his unique existence among the hierarchy of American Elites.

Both schools weren't overly fond of Anthony splitting his time between the two educational institutions, but they soon came to understand the genius teen student wasn't easily trifled with, especially with the backing of Wayne Enterprise and Stark Industries.

By the end of his first year studying between the two schools, Anthony published several hundred patents in various fields, such as the Gene Vaccine that helped reduce the possibility of disease, infection, scars, and more.

Another patent that Anthony created was a communication satellite capable of high speeds and latency, that blew past future infrastructures like broadband.

Anthony kept everything for Stark Industries, as it turned into a privately held company that was only owned by the Stark Family before the 'death' of his parents.

Stark Industries focused on expanding into various fields while finding bright minds who would come together and bring earth into a new dawn.

They were undertaking scholarships with the company that ensured their safety and wellbeing, wherever they might be.

At the same time, Anthony started to organise together people to help the Justice League once they formed together, as it was impossible for the heroes to take care of every issue around the globe.

By having personnel to manage the damage caused by serious events or investigating criminals for prosecution, Anthony wanted the Justice League to become its own government entity that operated as policing and justice agency.

The United Nations would be difficult to convince for such an entity to take shape, but Anthony knew it was necessary.

Ultron decided during this time to create his own Legion of Droids to aid the Justice League in the future, especially when the heroes themselves might not be able to arrive in time to save the day.

Anthony and JARVIS began the development of the Ironman Suit Series while in the second year of higher education, with their main use being subjected to travelling in outer space to collect asteroids.

They were automated for now and subjected to camouflage technology so nobody could track their movement.

Ultron was able to access a portal gate to the System World whenever the Ironman Droid Sentries came across an asteroid with various minerals and metals, especially if they were exotic.

Because the System World would analyse the asteroids as they entered the Hidden World, there would be an endless source of the materials available, giving Ultron plenty of time to play around as he created various goods.

One of them happened to be the future Watchtower of the Justice League, that didn't act only as the orbital command centre, but also the logistical nexus point for the various smaller orbital stations.

By accident during one of his experiments, Anthony discovered Zeta Rays and started the creation of Zeta Beams for the Watchtower and its Sub-Stations.

Anthony knew it would be vital for the heroes to travel back and forth from the orbital station, plus he wanted to create a simpler version of the technology that could allow the heroes to transports themselves away while on the move.

Ultron was happily preparing everything, producing items and equipment in excessed of what was required because the System World had endless resources.

As it turned out, Howard Stark in the System World became an instrumental figure in leading the advancement of technology, much to the surprise of Anthony, who expected his father to rest.

Maria also went ahead and organised the various societies that were forming in the System World as more people spawned.

This meant the management of the residents and the land was overseen by a department created by Cortana for Maria to be in charge of.

In the end, another Artificial Intelligence was created by Anthony whose sole purpose was the management of the System World.

The System offered Anthony a Custodian Spirit who would manage the System World while connected to the System Mainframe Interface.

The System description for the Custodian Spirit explained they were unique beings capable of controlling the System World like a God of Creation.

Able to reform the land as needed, the Custodian Spirit worked much like an Artificial Intelligence, however they are fully self-aware beings, which allows them to learn from their experiences and that of the Host they are bound to.

Anthony ended up making the costly purchase and found himself with a Custodian Spirit bound to his soul, that he named Ila.

The Custodian Spirit took on a female form, through the bond with Anthony, which moulded her unique and strikingly beautiful appearance.

Ila from that day on started managing the System World, allowing Anthony to make the most of the System Function.

She would learn from the knowledge stored in the System World, which pushed her to make purchases from the System Store to further her development and that of the Hidden World.

Some of it was basic stuff like equipment and systems that could be distributed into the DC Universe but there were also costly purchases like the metahuman training and development program.

The System explained it was designed for superheroes to improve their skills and abilities through personalised regiments.

It automatically adjusts the training program based on the powers and abilities of the individual or group, which was perfect for the Justice League and its future members.

First, Ila focused on creating the metahuman training and development program for the System World before it was added to the WatchTower and its Sub-Stations.

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Anthony also used the remaining time while at the two educational institutions, to recreate some of the entertainment items and products from his homeworld, Earth, that wasn't tainted by superhumans and villains.

Stark Entertainment Industries produced dozens of films that weren't created even though the celebrities, directors, script writers and so on existed.

The Jurassic Series caused box office mayhem as it drew in millions of people each day around the world to watch the film at the cinemas.

Matrix also caused a similar reaction from the public when it was released, but neither film nor any of the others could stand up to the uproar caused by Goodfellas, which gained dozens of Oscar nominations.

Video Games, books, and artwork were also introduced into the DC Universe through Star Industries, gaining it great wealth.

Anthony still maintained his friendship with Lex Luthor, who'd taken over Lexcorp after his father's death and a young Oliver Queen, who was started to behave rather poorly for his age and mentality.

Taking the time out to visit the two, Anthony tried to help Oliver from behaving too poorly that would lead to him being a bratty child soon enough.

Lex on the other hand was undergoing a god-complex, as his father manipulated to become obsessed with metahumans and what made them unique.

This still didn't harm the relationship between Lex and Anthony, but it definitely worried the heir of the Stark Family, who continued trying to save his friend.