"It over!"
At the military base, as the space portal closed, John Keller, Colton, and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Moments later, they saw fighter jets arriving on the battlefield.
Before long, with everyone combined efforts, the remaining alien soldiers on Earth were pushed back.
However, something bizarre suddenly happened—the alien soldiers seemed to lose all power, collapsing lifelessly to the ground, their bodies turning into mere corpses.
Even the bio-warships plummeted straight down, as if completely disabled.
Everyone immediately guessed that this was Batman doing.
Before the portal closed, Cyborg had charged into the other side of the universe, carrying some unknown device.
There was no doubt that this had something to do with the sudden death of the aliens.
"You all saw it—Batman understands these extraterrestrials better than any of us. He was prepared for this."
Colton spoke slowly, "So now, let resume our earlier discussion—tying Anton to the military and making him the leader of a new department.This way, Batman will be working for us."
"Seconded."
"I agree."
The motion passed unanimously.
John Keller suppressed his excitement and stood up. "Then I will immediately submit an application to the President.
Once he signs off on it, I'll personally approach Anton and persuade him to join us."
"Good. We'll leave that to you."
Colton nodded. "Next, we need to discuss S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers."
At these words, the expressions of everyone in the room grew serious.
This was the real challenge.
Recruiting Batman was merely a strategic move. Dealing with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers, however, would inevitably involve the World Security Council.
And the five permanent members of the Council were not easy to deal with.
The End of the Battle of New York
The conclusion of the Battle of New York sparked intense discussions not only within the domestic military but also among major global powers, all of whom meticulously documented every individual involved in the conflict.
During this battle, four distinct factions emerged on Earth side:
The Justice League, led by Batman.
The Avengers, represented by Captain America.
The Special Forces, commanded by Hawke.
The NYPD Task Force, led by George.
The Task Force, despite their efforts, played a relatively minor role—essentially cleaning up the battlefield after the fight, collecting what could either be called "trash" or "spoils of war."
Their bravery and determination in protecting the city were widely admired, but their combat effectiveness was not a subject of much scrutiny.
The Special Forces consisted of operatives from multiple nations and were not a classified unit on the international stage.
Seeing their combat capabilities, several world leaders and military officials began formulating their own plans.
But that was not the main concern.
The real focus was on the first two factions—the Justice League and the Avengers.
It was the Justice League that ultimately resolved the crisis.
The Avengers, by comparison, played more of a supporting role, almost like secondary characters who occasionally made things more complicated.
Even so, the Avengers could not be ignored. Intelligence reports indicated that the origin of this entire battle stemmed from a S.H.I.E.L.D. operation.
And the World Security Council had the authority to investigate.
While some nations remained uninformed, the five permanent members of the Security Council—as the key decision-makers—had already pieced together most of the truth.
They all came to the same conclusion: S.H.I.E.L.D. needed to be restrained, if not outright dismantled, and its authority revoked.
Otherwise, there was no guarantee that S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't make another catastrophic mistake.
From the Battle of Washington, D.C., months ago to the Battle of New York, every world-shaking event had been linked to S.H.I.E.L.D. in some way.
The World Security Council could no longer ignore the growing threat posed by S.H.I.E.L.D. unchecked power.
In a rare display of unity, the five permanent members, despite their usual political maneuvering, all agreed on this matter.
Of course, if dismantling S.H.I.E.L.D. was the price to reclaim its authority, then the Avengers would inevitably face dissolution as well.
The Security Council had no objections to this.
The Avengers were far from easy to control. No matter how powerful its members were as individuals, if they couldn't be kept in check, they were effectively worthless.
Soon, a decision was made:
The World Security Council unanimously voted to strip S.H.I.E.L.D. of its authority.
If Maria Hill, Nick Fury, or the others resisted, then S.H.I.E.L.D. would be outright disbanded, leaving Fury and his team to fend for themselves.
In short, the Security Council was done dealing with them.
But without S.H.I.E.L.D., the Security Council had to consider establishing a replacement organization with similar functions.
They quickly thought of Anton, who had an extremely close relationship with Batman, almost as if they were working in complete unison.
"Batman is elusive—no one can track him down. Actively reaching out to him is almost impossible.
Moreover, Anton Wayne Corporation has already established a partnership with the U.S. military, with military investment involved.
We must be wary of the Justice League fully aligning with a single nation!"
The China representative spoke in a calm tone.
It was clear his words were directed at the American representative.
The U.S. representative responded, "Let me emphasize this—the Justice League is affiliated with our military as a subordinate institution.
Batman might very well be one of our citizens. How can you say the Justice League is aligning with a specific country? It is, in essence, an American organization!"
The China smirked. "Hmph, why don't you go and tell Batman that yourself? Would he acknowledge it?"
The American countered, "Why don't you try finding him?"
The China scoffed. "Can you even get past Anton Jameson?"
"Enough!"
The Russian representative interrupted their argument. "We all know that none of us can truly control the Justice League."
He glanced at the American representative and added, "Even if you try to bind it to your military, Batman will never truly work for you."
"I've heard that the U.S. military plans to establish a new organization to deal with the increasing extraterrestrial threats in recent years."
The China representative gaze flickered.
"Our position is that such an organization should not be exclusive to any one country rather, it should represent all nations and people of the world.
Therefore, I propose that this organization be established under the authority of the World Security Council."
"Agreed."
"Seconded."
Of the five permanent members of the Security Council, four nations immediately supported the proposal, leaving only the American representative with a furrowed brow.
Though the U.S. had the power to veto, doing so at this moment would be meaningless.
If they rejected the proposal, the other four nations could simply form the organization on their own, excluding the U.S., which would ultimately put America in a disadvantageous position.
"...I can agree," the U.S. representative finally said.
"But only if one of our people leads this department."
"Who do you propose?" the China representative asked.
"Anton Jameson. As Batman representative, he is the most suitable candidate."
The American representative did not hesitate.
This had already been decided internally, with the President himself signing off on it.
They were merely waiting for John Keller to convince Anton to take the position.
The other representatives exchanged glances but did not argue.
They nodded in agreement.
"Approved."