"War always comes with sacrifice. It's inevitable."Facing Clark's questioning, General Ross still remained calm. He believed that with so many people present—representatives from all over the world—the Avengers wouldn't dare resort to violence.
"Oh right. And you thought two nuclear warheads could destroy all of Manhattan?"Clark narrowed his eyes. "You're sure the blast radius beyond the nuclear fireball could even hurt the Chitauri in their alien armor?"
"No, you're not sure. But I am sure of this—if those nukes had dropped on Manhattan, the Avengers would have suffered massive casualties."
Clark said, coldly glaring at General Ross from the stage."So next time, will someone throw an even stronger bomb at our backs, just to be sure? That's why the cleanup of the New York battlefield will now be handled by me, on behalf of the Avengers."
Since the Avengers didn't belong to any country or to S.H.I.E.L.D., the team operated independently. And with support from Diana, Tony, Banner, and Thor, Clark—Superman—now held the majority vote in the Avengers, and could officially speak on their behalf.
Naturally, Clark's bold declaration stirred a flurry of discussion among the representatives. But no matter how firm he sounded, they weren't about to give up the idea of seizing Chitauri tech. The people behind them would never allow that.
"So you Avengers are just planning to monopolize the alien tech?"Ross immediately stood up and tried to put pressure on Clark.
"Please don't change the subject," Clark replied sharply."I'll just say this: if you didn't show up when the world was at war, don't show up now just because you're greedy. Unless you'd prefer the next alien invasion be led by me.
Oh—and General Ross, I remember the base you're responsible for is in New Mexico, right?"Clark flashed him a friendly smile, though everyone could feel the threat behind it.
"Are you threatening me?" Ross asked.
"How could I be?" Clark chuckled. "I'm just curious. If a military base were suddenly destroyed by a meteor strike, what would happen to the commander responsible for that base? Do you know, General Ross?"
Clark smiled as he spoke. But in his mind, he wondered—if Ross really was that clueless, maybe that base really would be gone by tonight.
"You…"Ross felt strangely wronged and unsure. He doubted Clark would actually do something like that, but he wasn't willing to take the risk.
Especially after the Battle of New York, Ross knew that if Clark did destroy his base, he would be the only one who suffered—not Superman. The politicians might try to mess with Clark later, but it wouldn't work. You couldn't strong-arm someone like Clark.
"I think it's time we vote," Tony said, now that Ross—the loudest opponent—was silent. He turned to the moderator. "Let's vote on my proposal."
"Oh, right."Snapped out of his daze by Tony's reminder, the moderator glanced at the crowd, then at Clark and Tony beside him. Perhaps he had already weighed the pros and cons in his mind, but after meeting Clark's gaze, he spoke:
"Now we will vote on Tony Stark's proposal to grant cleanup rights to Stark Industries. Please raise your hand if you are in favor."
A wave of discussion immediately filled the room, but soon after, representatives from the nations Tony had courted in advance began raising their hands one after another.
"General Ross, what do you think? I heard there's going to be a meteor shower tonight."Clark looked at the silent general and spoke again. Despite his fury at this man, Clark couldn't act on it. Oddly, that made him feel even more powerful.
Ross sat in silence, tortured by Clark's gaze. Finally, he raised his hand to support Tony's proposal. After all, compared to losing a military base, surrendering the cleanup rights was acceptable. He wouldn't gain much from the cleanup anyway.
As for how he would explain this to the big shots back home… Ross figured maybe just saying Clark's name would be enough to get by.
"Final tally: 102 votes in favor, 11 against, 17 abstentions."The moderator read the results, his voice tinged with disbelief. Tony Stark had somehow beaten the entire world with his proposal. It was truly unbelievable.
"I'm very pleased to have won the cleanup contract for the New York battlefield. Thank you, everyone."With the vote going just as he'd predicted, Tony flashed a confident, proud smile.
"Hmph."From the audience, Ross scowled at Tony, got to his feet, and left the room. He had expected Tony might win—but not by that much. He was surprised how many countries had sided with him.
Still, whatever the result, Ross needed to publicly distance himself. After all, he'd only supported Tony because of Clark's threat.
"Congratulations."After the meeting, Killian approached Tony. "I didn't think you'd use that method to win control of the cleanup operation."
"Thanks. I'll take that as a compliment."Tony smiled, half proud of his victory, half mocking Killian—who had ended up with nothing.
"Still just as arrogant."Killian scoffed, then turned to Pepper. "Pepper, I'd like to head back now."
"Alright, take care, Killian."Pepper said goodbye.
"Call me Aldrich, Pepper. I'll see you soon."Killian leaned in, and in front of a stunned Tony, kissed Pepper on the cheek.
"Hey!"Tony shouted at the sight.
"Goodbye."Killian ignored him, smiling as he turned and walked away.
"Were you two always this close?"Tony asked Pepper, still watching Killian leave.
"I think we should go home."Pepper lifted the folder in her hand labeled "Post-Battle Cleanup: Chitauri Battlefield, New York.""Shall we start once we're back?"
"Alright, you're right."Tony clearly didn't want to continue the conversation about Killian. Pepper was his woman now, not Killian's.
"Banner, what's wrong?"While Tony and Pepper were talking, Clark noticed Banner staring at something seriously.
"Clark, Tony… I think you should look at this."At Clark's question, Banner lifted his head and handed his phone to him.
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