"I know, those guys just see the Avengers as a piece of meat."
Tony Stark had known this for a long time.
The incident in Germany was just an excuse. The government had been trying to figure out how to control the Avengers. Before this, even though the Avengers were a quasi-official organization, they didn't take orders from anyone. All their plans and actions were decided internally.
This, of course, made the government unhappy and led them to feel that the Avengers were operating outside of their control. For them, an uncontrollable power was an unacceptable one. This incident gave them the perfect opportunity to make their move.
"So why are you here?" Cassius asked, taking a sip of his tea and looking at Tony.
"Buddy, I came here for two reasons. One, to vent and complain a little. The other, to ask if you have any solutions," Tony said with a helpless look. He knew Cassius was far smarter than the average person, which was why he had come to ask for his opinion. He hoped to get a surprising answer.
"The public opinion," Cassius said, pausing. "The main conflict in this whole situation is the public's opinion. If we can change the public's perception of the Avengers, then everything will be much easier. You know the current sentiment is not good for you guys."
After all, without the government's subtle encouragement, the incident would never have had such a big impact.
"But... it's not that easy," Tony said bitterly. "It's hard to shift public opinion right now." He knew this but also knew how difficult it would be to change.
Cassius leaned forward, his fingers tapping gently on the table. "The main public focus is on Wanda."
The mistake with Crossbones' explosion had caused long-suppressed public anger to erupt instantly. If public anger was a powder keg, then the media was the fuse that lit it.
"You mean... change Wanda's public image?" Tony pondered. "But Wanda's emotions are very unstable right now. Last night... she didn't come back to the compound. I'm worried she can't handle the pressure."
Cough, cough, cough...
Cassius choked on his tea. He had a complicated look on his face as he thought, Of course she didn't go back! I was playing poker with her all night!
"Are you okay?" Tony asked, noticing the look of surprise on his friend's face.
"I'm fine," Cassius said, wiping the tea from his lips with a napkin. "If you can get the public to support Wanda again, then this problem will solve itself."
"Yeah, but..." Tony sighed. "Wanda doesn't have full control over her powers. I'm worried she might make another mistake on a mission. This incident has hit her hard!"
"Maybe she just needs some time and a little help," Tony said, a hint of sadness in his voice. He had never seen Wanda so dejected. For a while now, every time he saw her, she was sad and moody. No matter what he said, it didn't seem to help much.
Cassius listened, a thoughtful expression on his face. Maybe I can help Wanda. Even though their meeting was a misunderstanding, he had gained the Phoenix Force fragment and God-Tier Magic Talent from her. Besides, Wanda still had more treasures that were worth exploring.
Buzz~
Tony's watch flashed with a blue light. He lifted his arm to look at it, a melancholic expression on his face.
"Cassius, thanks for letting me vent!" he said, standing up. "Steve's been a little unstable lately and won't even sit down to talk. I have to go deal with some more nonsense. We'll catch up soon!"
He let out a long sigh and prepared to leave. Even though Cassius hadn't given him a detailed plan, talking had calmed him down a lot. When a person is under too much pressure, they just need someone to listen. And Cassius had always been his most loyal listener.
"Alright! Feel free to come by anytime!" Cassius stood up and saw Tony off before returning to his room.
'System! Open panel!'
Sitting in a chair, Cassius thought to himself, and the system's virtual panel appeared before his eyes.
[God-Tier Magic Talent]: Grants you an exceptional innate comprehension of magic, and you won't need to borrow power from Dimensional Gods!
This simple description was enough to make Cassius's heart race with excitement.
"Wanda, you really are a little lucky star!"
This was another god-tier reward!