Gotham was destroyed.
In a work of realism, this would be a thrilling opening. Unfortunately, in the world of superheroes, cities are being destroyed every second.
Even so, Gotham manages to flourish in the mundane - or perhaps, thrives in its recklessness. Among all the cities in the superhero world, there are few that are destroyed due to a massive riot by the citizens.
The situation has evolved to take a rather cruel turn, and given the peculiarities in Gotham, it's tough to argue that it's not what the citizens deserve. At least those who stayed till now are amply deserving.
The warfare carried out by the gangs is different from war fought between different countries or regions. They don't target transportation hubs first, nor do they focus on sabotaging or blowing up roads.
On one hand, the gangs rarely possess this sort of strategic vision. For many in the current generation, this is their first war. They are not military strategists but rather reactive. They're more preoccupied with holding on to their territories, too occupied to worry about transportation hubs.
On the other hand, destroying these infrastructures is meaningless as their enemies aren't from outside. No external forces would be sent over, and most of the resources are shipped by sea. Taking over a dock is advantageous, whereas terrestrial transportation is not as critical.
Therefore, most foreigners and locals, afraid of the war in Gotham, hopped on a train and left when the war had just started. Those who stay are outright warmongers. Even when faced with their destroyed bodies, saying they got what they deserved would not be cold-hearted.
While Harley Quinn and Harley were on their way to meet Poison Ivy, the people in the S.H.I.E.L.D. office were able to assess the current situation in the city through their eyes. Initial cursing and exclamation eventually gave way to silence. The atmosphere in the room oscillated between "Did I drink too much last night?" and "I should have drunk more."
"There was no bombing." Magneto said, "A city bombed by bombers wouldn't look like this."
Nick, of course, knew this, so he explained to the younger children, "The wreckage caused by bombs dropped from the sky is completely different from that caused by terrestrial explosions. Even if the explosions are of equal intensity, the bomber's coverage is broader, but the damage caused by terrestrial explosions is greater."
"If they used bombs, grenades, or rocket launchers to reduce the city to this state, how many did they use?"
Stark stood with his hands on his hips next to Jarvis's screen, looking puzzled. He took a step, paused, but continued to the screen. He pointed to the upper half of a building and said, "Look at the burns on this rebar. It doesn't quite look like something a known bomb could do."
"Can you not do it?"
"I haven't researched on such matter." Stark shook his head lightly, "I stopped dealing in armament long ago. Besides, if I invented a bomb that could easily melt standard building rebar, I would be condemned by the international community for humanitarian reasons. Pepper would shout at me for a week 'Stop messing around if you cannot make it work!!!'"
"But common bombs can bring down buildings, right?" Pietro, who was sitting cross-legged on the carpet, asked.
Stark nodded, "That's why I am puzzled. If you are developing a bomb just to have it to destroy buildings in another way, and not even to speed up the process, what's the point?"
Soon, Stark and the others in the room could see the point - it was an arms race.
As we all know, the firepower of the gangs was initially imported from Eastern Europe by Harley Quinn and Harley, the two newly promoted arms dealers. However, while lacking in other aspects, the people of Gotham were full of self-reliance. They thought that relying on imports was unreliable, so they decided to produce their own.
However, the military-industrial production line is not the same as the regular industrial line. Even though Gotham is an important industrial city, it leans more towards the chemical industry, lacking a large part of the production lines and raw materials needed for military-industrial production.
Harley Quinn and Harley did manage to bring in some leftovers from the Soviet era, but most of them were not up to the mark. The ones that were couldn't be imported.
Faced with scattered machines and workshop parts that did not even have control units, the astonishing intelligence and courage of Gotham's citizens allowed them to create a miracle, primarily the latter.
The people of Gotham faced such issues with a mysterious confidence, a belief that although I don't understand the principle, the advantage must lie with me. Even if I cannot make it work, I can still modify it with a screwdriver and an awl to make it run on the press of the accelerator as powerful as to push the Earth.
The extraordinary thing is, although ninety-nine percent of the test machines were damaged and people died, the millions of Gotham citizens managed to find a few prodigies like Jason, who once dislodged the tire of the Batmobile barehanded. After a round of manipulation, their efforts paid off.
However, why would the rain-soaked mad minds of Gotham settle for ordinary arms? Although they understand neither magic nor science, they found it cool to enchant bombs with a Firestorm enhancement. And that's precisely what they did.
Their surprising little inventions were not all practical, like the bomb Stark discovered, which seemed to burn metal specifically but didn't enhance the efficiency of demolishing a building. But the arms race in Gotham was about who was cooler.
If one gang started to roll in the military industry, then the other ninety-nine must keep pace. In Gotham, you could choose not to live, but you couldn't be idle.
The number of territories grabbed, money earned, or men under control were just the early metrics for mob competition. In the end, what mattered was a trendy image.
You have to admit, the godfather image of a black suit, black leather shoes, a poppy pinned to the chest, and the saying "I'll make you an offer you can't refuse" had somehow changed global perception of the Mafia, distinguishing them from street thugs.
The Mafia is not as glamorous as it seems, but once the image gets trendy enough, the stereotype is hard to change.
So, after surviving the initial chaotic period and reaching some strange balance, many gangs entered an era of technical and image advancement. Despite the overly rapid change, there's good reason for it.
Firstly, the two top war-mongers in this city were the former Batman and the former Joker. Since they each formed a team, the term "former" is now questionable.
Batman and Joker always compete on various fronts. They quickly grew tired of the mundane of hitting each other daily, so they went into their most familiar territory - an all-out competition in every known area to humanity, exuding beauty with their disregard for any lives.
As mentioned in Gotham's law, getting wrapped up in all this, it'd eventually lead to some trouble.
"What's that?"
Stark, in front of the screen, keenly noticed something floating in the skyline. So Wanda asked Harley in her mind, but Harley had just returned and didn't understand the current situation, so she turned to ask Harley Quinn.
Harley Quinn shielded her eyes with her hand and said, "Ah, that? I heard it's the base of the famous Naiwei Family."
"Why is it flying in the sky?"
"Probably because it isn't safe on the ground."
"What I meant was, how is it flying in the sky?!" Wanda repeated in Harley's mind. This time, Harley didn't ask Harley Quinn. She seemed puzzled and countered, "What do you mean how is it flying in the sky? It's natural to be in the sky once it's off the ground."
"Ask her about the anti-gravity system," Stark said.
"Is this sky fort using an anti-gravity system? Is it some special technology developed in your universe?" Wanda turned her head to look at Stark as if to confirm there was nothing wrong with her question.
Stark knew about Batman's background and that it might be Batman's universe. However, when dealing with Batman, Stark realized the civilian technology level of that universe was behind theirs, comparable to what it was here a few years earlier without any sky transportation systems or solar system development plans.
So, what's the story with this sky fort made by the gangster family? It's not like they suddenly had an epiphany overnight, right?
"I'm not quite sure, but I know someone from that gangster family. Shall I call him for you?"
Despite her headache, Harley offered to help. She found the voice in her head quite agreeable, and thought it might come in handy if she went to that universe someday. So she was willing to assist this time.
Harley borrowed the phone from Harley Quinn, dialed several numbers, and asked, "Hello, is this Jason? Uh, are you the main or the deputy? I can't quite distinguish your voice..."
"Ah, I get it, you're not the one from my universe. Yes, I'm Harley. I called mainly to ask about your, uh, sky base. What's going on with it?"
"What? Too many devils on the ground? What happened while I was gone... Alright, here's the thing, a friend wants me to ask about some technical issues, about the anti-gravity system and such."
"Oh, you used the same system as the Batplane, right? Hmm, you modified it, Tim drew the blueprint. I never knew he had such skills. Yes, I know you did the actual work. Are you satisfied now?"
Stark waved his hand in front of Wanda, lowered his voice and said, "Ask her how they solved the material issues, especially regarding the metal."
Wanda closed her eyes and began to focus on asking the question. After a while, she opened her eyes in doubt and said.
"He says they used the metal from Gotham's architecture."