Site-19 was one of the Foundation's most important facilities on Earth. Located in New York, it sat at the center of what O5 Command had begun calling the "Marvel Nexus." Far too many important events happened around this city. Tony Stark lived here. Stark Industries operated here. SHIELD maintained major facilities nearby. The future Avengers would eventually form here. The Chitauri invasion would happen here. From the Foundation's perspective, New York was practically a containment breach waiting to happen.
That was why three Overseers currently occupied the facility.
Julius sat at the head of a conference table studying reports while Lincoln reviewed political documents and intelligence gathered from Washington. Across from them, one of my Herta puppets lazily sipped tea while scrolling through hundreds of holographic screens simultaneously.
The Foundation was rich.
Absurdly rich.
It practically had to be.
The amount of money required to operate the organization was enough to bankrupt most nations. Millions of employees. Thousands of facilities. Countless containment projects. Research divisions. Mobile Task Forces. Construction programs. Space stations. Colonies on Mars. Salaries. Insurance. Family compensation programs. Equipment procurement. Logistics.
The list never ended.
Every year billions vanished.
Some years trillions vanished.
Fortunately, the Foundation made even more.
Front companies generated unimaginable profits. Michael's business empire alone rivaled entire nations. Omar continuously optimized finances with superhuman efficiency. The Foundation owned stock in thousands of corporations across the globe.
Including Stark Industries.
Not enough to control the company.
But enough to influence it.
Tony Stark remained the largest shareholder.
Obadiah Stane remained second.
The Foundation quietly occupied third through a network of shell corporations and intermediaries, represented on the board by Amelia Michaels.
Not enough to raise suspicion.
Enough to watch.
Always enough to watch.
Lincoln finished reading a report before setting it down.
"Nick Fury has been moving assets again."
Julius looked up.
"Problematic?"
"No. Competent."
That was somehow more concerning.
Nick Fury wasn't an enemy.
The Foundation didn't want him as an enemy.
The issue was that Fury was smart.
Very smart.
People that intelligent tended to notice things.
Fortunately, SHIELD remained significantly smaller than the Foundation. Even at its peak, SHIELD simply lacked the resources to compete with an organization that had spent thousands of years accumulating wealth, technology, anomalous artifacts, and influence.
Still, Fury's growing interest in unusual phenomena was becoming inconvenient.
My puppet glanced up from her tea.
"How close is SHIELD to discovering the extent of Hydra infiltration?"
Lincoln shrugged.
"Not close enough."
Julius smirked.
"Good."
Hydra remained an interesting situation.
The Chaos Insurgency had swallowed a massive portion of the organization after World War II. Many Hydra leaders now unknowingly worked for Foundation interests.
Not all of them.
But enough.
Enough that Hydra had become more useful alive than destroyed.
For now.
The holographic display shifted.
A glowing blue cube appeared.
The Tesseract.
The Cosmic Cube.
The Space Stone.
One of the most important objects currently on Earth.
Julius stared at it for several moments.
"Still think we should leave it with SHIELD?"
My puppet nodded.
"Yes."
Lincoln nodded as well.
The plan had already been approved.
The Foundation could seize the Tesseract whenever it wanted.
That wasn't difficult.
The difficult part was obtaining the Mind Stone.
Loki.
The Chitauri.
The Battle of New York.
Those events needed to happen.
Not because the Foundation couldn't stop them.
Because allowing them to happen would place the Mind Stone directly into Foundation hands.
A temporary disaster.
For a permanent gain.
Cold logic.
The kind the Foundation used every day.
"Five stones," Julius said quietly.
"Eventually," I replied through the puppet.
The room grew thoughtful.
The Power Stone was secured.
The Reality Stone was secured.
The Ancient One effectively represented access to the Time Stone.
The Space Stone would eventually be acquired.
The Mind Stone would follow.
Only the Soul Stone remained beyond reach.
Even O5 Command didn't know where Vormir was located.
Without SCP-343's assistance, locating it among billions of worlds would be nearly impossible.
Fortunately, five Infinity Stones were already enough to alter the balance of power in the universe.
My puppet closed several holographic screens.
Then opened one displaying a familiar face.
Tony Stark.
Genius.
Inventor.
Future Avenger.
Future problem.
Future asset.
The Foundation had spent years observing him.
His intelligence was undeniable.
His recklessness equally so.
If properly guided, Tony Stark could become one of humanity's greatest defenders.
If left unchecked...
Well.
History had already demonstrated what happened when geniuses lacked supervision.
Alex remained a constant reminder of that.
Julius noticed the image.
"Still trying to recruit him?"
"Eventually."
"Think it'll work?"
My puppet smiled.
"Everyone joins the Foundation eventually."
Lincoln laughed.
"That's probably the most concerning thing you've said today."
The three Overseers continued discussing plans as New York bustled beyond the facility walls. None of them noticed how close the future was beginning to move.
Tony Stark was approaching the cave that would change his life.
Nick Fury was climbing higher within SHIELD.
Loki was beginning to move pieces from afar.
And somewhere in the universe, Thanos was watching.
The game board was almost ready.