The room was in chaos after Mordred ended up slashing the device responsible for the holographic call. I couldn't even fully blame her for it, because she knew she could cut a hologram up without a problem.
Her fault was in hitting the machine under it. Still, Clarent had struck it and broken it well beyond what a quick repair could fix, even with two of the world's smartest people in the room.
Sometimes, Ms. Arts couldn't make up for the effort required.
And while they could make it work quickly enough, or Tony could find another… the moment was gone; it would be beyond awkward to call them back at this point.
"Enough!" I called out, bringing the fighting to an end. "Mordred messed up, yes, but I will not let something so minor ruin today. Remember, you just defeated a mighty foe! Laugh! Be proud! For soon enough, we shall enter another battlefield—that of words—as we claim the prize that is yours."
Everyone stepped back from the table and from Mordred.
"Ha! Wise words, Lady Arthuria!" Thor boomed. "We should celebrate while we can, not fight one another."
"King Arthuria," Galahad corrected, but Thor ignored him as he filled his mouth with food.
"My brother, despite his brutish nature and lack of manners, is right. Now isn't the time to deal with Sir Mordred, but to take a moment to decide what we all want," Loki stepped in and said.
"We want justice, answers, and responsibility," Steve was quick to say.
"Oh, please, is that all you know? This is basically the time you can demand anything, and they can't say no. The whole nation is yours—the whole world, really," Loki continued, his words flowing like honeyed poison.
Yet he wasn't wrong; I would indeed force the heads of this nation to give in to any demand. "This means full pardons for anything done, something you, Clint Barton, and Ben Grimm could use," I said.
"They were under mind control," Natasha was quick to come to Barton's defence.
"We know that, they know we claim that, but when has the truth ever mattered to those in power? Where was the truth when they sent a bomb at their own city—at all of us—despite knowing it would be pointless?" I pointed out.
To that, she had nothing to say, because I was right, and we both knew it.
"There is no shame in using this opportunity to ask for a reward; you have earned it. Whatever it is—money, glory, or power—you can freely claim it, because had it not been for you, this world might have fallen today. This nation owes its continued existence to you, so demand away," I continued.
"That… feels wrong," Steve said. He was never a greedy man; he was almost too kind for his own good.
"What is wrong is not rewarding you for your hard work. You aren't soldiers. You aren't paid to defend this nation. You stepped out because it was the right thing to do, and soldiers are given medals, so you are given rewards. Not to mention, they need to do something to earn our forgiveness—not that it will save them," I spoke.
To that, he didn't have much to say, because even he could see that I wasn't wrong. He wasn't a soldier anymore; he didn't need to fight. He did it because it was the right thing to do. He didn't do it for a reward.
But he understood that heroes should be rewarded, and while he himself was fine without one, he did want the others to get recognized for their efforts. They had put their lives on the line, fought when they could have fled. They weren't soldiers—they were heroes.
And at the very least, he didn't want them in any kind of trouble. So if they could get out of that, then that would be good.
I watched Steve for a moment longer, knowing what he was thinking, and then looked over to Logan. "I think you should get your mentor to join us. It's a rare chance for him to get a stage like this."
Logan snorted. "He isn't my mentor, but I guess I can give Chuck a call. He's been under a lot of pressure lately, ever since you helped Magneto start a war on everyone else."
"Don't speak to Father like that!" Mordred quickly jumped to my defence.
"Mordred, no fighting here," I raised a hand to stop her.
"But Father, he clearly disrespected you!"
"He was just being honest, that's all. He is on the other side of that conflict, despite how foolish I might believe that to be." I truly didn't understand why Charles Xavier remained so stubborn.
I had already shifted things so far into Magneto's favor that Charles' dream was all but impossible.
Not that it ever was possible. The idea of peace between humans and mutants was foolish. It was a nice dream, but just like Avalon, it was one that couldn't be reached. It was forever beyond humanity's grasp.
And I didn't just say that because I knew how a dozen different mutant storylines ended—and it was never well.
Every timeline clearly had mutants suffering; they just couldn't catch a break. And the biggest reason was Charles, he who refused to fight even when not fighting meant death—not just his own, but that of innocent children.
He would protect, but never allow anyone to fight back, always for his dream.
Still, despite knowing that Magneto would gladly have joined the fight, there had been no time to bring him, and so he had no chance to speak here. But at least a few mutants had fought, and that meant they did have a seat at what was to come.
I could only hope that Charles understood the opportunity being handed to him, and that he wouldn't cause any problems with his humans-first approach—that he would give in when he should take.
Because… I wouldn't show any mercy. Not even to him. I didn't want to kill him, but I wouldn't hesitate if he turned against me.
Logan quickly excused himself to make the call. With Nightcrawler around, it would be easy to get Charles here before we left.
"So what're we askin' for, then?" Ben asked. "You know, if we're doin' this whole reward thing."
"New pants," Johnny suggested, flicking a flame between his fingers. "I'm serious, big guy, the ones you're wearing are about to give up."
Ben glared. "Shut it, matchstick."
Tony leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "We should start a list. A very long list. Preferably alphabetized. With subcategories."
"Tony," Steve sighed.
"Oh please, Rogers, even you know we deserve something for surviving this circus. Besides," Tony gestured around, "we've got a literal king, a cosmic prince, fire-surfing knights, and Logan. If ever there was a time to demand the world fix its shit, it's now."
Thor thumped his mug of root beer onto the table loudly enough to make several Asgardian soldiers glance over.
"Aye! Let us claim what is justly earned! Great battles demand great feasts—and great compensation!"
"That is… not exactly the phrasing I would have chosen," Galahad muttered.
Thor ignored him.
"I want them to back off on my suit," Tony continued, thinking aloud. "And for them to pay to fix my tower here… oh, and for them to finally push my reactor through all the red tape."
"And you, Reed Richards, should get a new lab somewhere a bit more remote. Your experiments can be dangerous—more so in a populated city like this," I added, as Tony's ramblings gave me that idea.
Reed blinked, thoughtful. "A secure research facility… independent oversight… adequate shielding… yes, that would actually be ideal."
"Great," Johnny muttered. "Put Stretch somewhere he can't blow up Manhattan again."
"I have never blown up Manhattan," Reed replied.
"Not for lack of trying," Ben said.
Reed opened his mouth, closed it, and conceded with a small nod.
"Fair enough."
Tony snapped his fingers. "See? This is what I'm talking about. We're not asking for thrones or palaces—well, some of us already have those—just practical things. Reasonable things."
"Your definition of reasonable and everyone else's are rarely the same," Natasha said dryly.
"Reasonable-ish," Tony corrected.
"I, for one, think a grand gold statue of me to honour Asgard's help would be a fine place to start—maybe replace that woman with the torch," Loki added, his tone making it impossible to judge whether he was joking or not.
"A grand tournament to fight all the greatest warriors of Earth!" Thor added excitedly.
"Hey, Thor," Sir Kay said, "now that your powers are back, there's pretty much no one left on Earth for you to fight—not outside of Camelot and this room."
That caused Thor to deflate. "…Maybe just a grand feast, then… and a holiday or two."
"A holiday?" Tony raised a brow. "What, like 'Asgard Appreciation Day'? I'm already imagining the merchandising—actually, wait, that might not be terrible."
"You do not get to profit off of Asgardian culture," Loki said immediately.
Tony shrugged. "Watch me."
"Absolutely not," Loki snapped.
"Fight me."
"I will."
"Please do," Mordred whispered, cracking her knuckles.
"Please don't," Steve sighed.
Galahad cleared his throat with the gentle but unmistakable disapproval of a man who intended to personally drag the conversation back to the moral high ground. "Rewards should be dignified, meaningful, and reflective of the sacrifices made today. Not… frivolous."
"Oh spare us," Kay muttered. "A feast is hardly frivolous."
"While a great statue might be frivolous, Asgard is well within their rights to make such demands. And with Loki as Lord Regent, if he wants it, Earth will give it to him," I said. I might not agree with great statues, but Earth needed to learn.
It needed to learn that they couldn't just throw a nuke at the leader of another civilization and not get punished. The fact that Loki wasn't asking to become ruler of the world was already generous—
and a sign of his maturity.
Once more, the room filled with discussion, some more serious than others—arguments for legal rights, for laws that should be passed, discussions on how much to ask for, and what would be too much.
I let them continue until it turned away from productive discussion and into pointless debate.
Then I raised my voice just enough for it to cut through the noise.
"Enough. We must focus."
Conversation stilled almost instantly.
Thor lowered his mug.
Loki straightened.
The Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Knights—every eye turned toward me.
"It is not merely rewards you should consider," I said softly. "Think of what must change to prevent this from happening again."
Steve nodded once—a clear signal that he wanted this part voiced.
And so I continued:
"Those who sent the bomb acted from arrogance. From fear. From the belief that you were expendable. That you were tools to be used until inconvenient. We will change that."
Bruce swallowed, but he didn't look away.
"If they want our cooperation in the future," I said, "they must earn it. They must agree to terms—terms that ensure the safety, dignity, and rights of those who fight to protect this world."
Natasha leaned forward slightly. "You're talking about a political mandate."
"Yes," I answered. "Those who fight for justice shouldn't be held back just because of laws made by those hiding from justice. Fury imagined the Avengers as protectors of Earth, but I ask you—what does Earth need protecting from? Only threats from beyond it, or also threats around Earth itself?"
That silenced them.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Steve was the first to answer. "Both," he said quietly. "If we only fight aliens and ignore the people in power who treat their own like they're expendable… then we're no better than their weapons."
Natasha's gaze flicked toward him, measuring, then toward me. "You realize what you're implying," she said. "If the people in that room decide to pull another stunt like today's, you're not just asking for answers. You're talking about consequences."
"There will already be consequences. They will still answer to me. It is all of you I am doing this for—giving you all a chance to free yourselves from chains before they are forged." I eyed the Avengers, knowing that if nothing was done, one day laws would be written to shackle them, to stop them from doing what was right, just because it wasn't easy.
(End of chapter)
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