Chapter 2: Chapter Two: Taking Control
Wayne Enterprise was a disapointment, a small building barely sticking out. I tell you when I saw it I was quite disapointed at how my father even managed to keep this place floating. The boardroom was exactly as I'd expected—stale air, polished oak table, and a collection of faces that radiated disinterest. Seventeen board members sat around me, some stifling yawns, others scrolling through their phones under the table. To them, I was a formality. A distraction. A child playing CEO.
It was time to change that.
I rose from my seat at the head of the table, straightening my jacket. My gaze swept the room, locking eyes with each person who dared look at me. "Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Bruce Wayne, and as of today, I am taking full control of Wayne Enterprises."
A murmur rippled through the room, half amusement, half irritation.
"Mr. Wayne," sneered a man to my left—Roger Finch, head of corporate strategy, or so his title claimed. His balding head gleamed under the overhead lights. "While it's lovely to see you back after all this time, I think I speak for everyone here when I say we've been doing just fine without you."
I let his words hang in the air before replying. "Fine? Is that what you call a company teetering on the edge of bankruptcy? Owning a dozen failing subsidiaries that haven't turned a profit in years?"
Finch chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "These things are complicated, Mr. Wayne. You wouldn't understand—"
"Spare me," I interrupted sharply, my voice cutting through his condescension. "I understand perfectly. Wayne Enterprises is a sinking ship, and you're all here bailing water with your hands, hoping no one notices the holes you've drilled for yourselves."
That got their attention. The room fell silent, save for the faint hum of the air conditioning.
I pressed on. "Here's how this is going to work. Effective immediately, Wayne Enterprises will undergo a complete restructuring. All failing subsidiaries will be consolidated into two primary divisions: WayneTech and Wayne Industries. WayneTech will focus on groundbreaking consumer technology. New phones, computers, devices that make Vivo and HTC look like relics. Wayne Industries will lead the charge in clean energy, from mechanical fission and fusion power plants to advanced manufacturing. Every factory, every labor unit under our banner, will be optimized for maximum efficiency and profitability."
A woman at the far end of the table, Margaret Lyle, raised an eyebrow. "And where exactly do you think the funding for this magical transformation is going to come from?"
I leaned forward, resting my hands on the table. "Let's start by cutting the dead weight."
My eyes flicked to Roger Finch. "Roger Finch. Embezzled $2.3 million from company funds over the past five years. False invoices, kickbacks, offshore accounts. Should I continue?"
His face went pale. "I—how did you—?"
Ignoring him, I turned to the man beside him. "Anthony Clark. Accepted bribes to delay production on the Quantum Arc reactor project. Cost the company millions."
One by one, I called them out—name, crime, and the exact dollar amount they'd stolen. It wasn't guesswork. I had scanned their minds the moment I walked into the room, their guilty thoughts practically screaming for attention.
By the time I was done, only two board members remained seated, their faces a mixture of shock. The others had either fled the room or sat frozen, too humiliated to speak and were dragged out by their friends.
I straightened, addressing the survivors. "Congratulations. You three have done great work for this company and have proven your loyalty to the orginazation so I think you two shall be rewarded."
"Ah, Sir... there are only two remaining." Alice whispered from my right.
"I said three, Alice take a seat you are being promoted." Alice looked shocked before stiffly moving to an empty chair.
"From this moment forward, Wayne Endustries shall become a staple of the world. We shall start here in New York as our base of location and move out and consume the world. You three shall be promoted and become CEO's of different companies and members of the new Board of Directors. Show any ounce of betrayal and you wont even remember you worked here."
The three looked shocked before responding. "Thank you, Sir. We shall do our best."
"Starting off, Alice. I am going to be taking a backseat as the owner of Wayne Endustries and as my assistant you shall run the company while I am busy with our major projects. That means you shall be the Chairwoman of the board, leading the Board of Directors, is that understoond?"
"Yes, Sir." Alice responded.
I looked between the man and woman left and thought it over, both were perfect for either job and have been doing there best to keep the company running. I turned to the man who looked nervously at the table and jumped when I called his name. "Richard Hall, you have a vast knowledge on technology and robotics, so congrat's you shall become the new CEO of WayneTech."
"Thank you so much, Sir." Richard looked so much more relaxed as I looked at Eleanor Young, a asian woman that had run several failing companies while everyone else just did whatever they wanted. She refused to ever steal it seemed. though that is not what mattered... wasn't Eleanor Young that one lady from Crazy Rich Asians?
"Eleanor Young, you graduated top of your university and is one of the best scientists working for our company, having several degrees. You'll be the CEO of Wayne Industries."
Eleanor thanked me as I continued. "I want you all to gather every worker and run a background test on all of them and bring the results to Alice, she shall go through the results and fire all those that are not a good fit for the company anylonger. Those that keep there jobs shall be trained and made sure that they are the best of the best workers that Wayne enterprise have. Tommorow we shall all meet at the original Wayne Tower, this pathetic workplace does not suit us."
Alice hesitated. "Mr. Wayne, we lost the tower to the bank and we have to pay alot of money that we do not have."
I pulled out my Vivo Xplay5—the latest phone model, alittle to primitive by my standards as I searched up Wayne Tower and frowned. "Do not worry, I am getting back Wayne Tower. I want all of you to be there early, you two are excused to go do your task."
They nodded and filed out, their postures stiff with purpose. Soon, it was just me and Alice.
She leaned against the table, arms crossed. "Sir, how are we going to be able to even do any of this? We are literally going into bankrupt. We don't have the money for—"
I cut her off with a raised hand. "Don't worry I got the money, my father should have never let the bank take it, forcing us to be in this pathetic building. If you doubt me just check the family funds."
She frowned, pulling out her tablet. A few taps later, her eyes widened as she stared at the screen. "Bruce, this is... so much money. Where the hell did this come from?"
"Don't worry about it," I said . "Just go call the back and get our tower back."
She nodded, still stunned, and left the room.
I stood there for a moment, alone with my thoughts. Buying Oscorp will not be a problem, not only will Oscorp Tower become the new Wayne Tower and my base. I do not plan to keep a secret of my identity when I become a hero.
Next step was to rise Wayne Enterprise to a status similar to Stark Industries, all the while I will need to train up this body and test out my Kryptonian powers before I even take on the mantel of a hero and of course I plan to meet the Ancient One and have her teach me the Mythic Arts, all before Tony Stark gets kidnapped in two years and Peter gets bitten by that radioactive spider.
"This is going to be so fun."