That afternoon, Carol Danvers spent her time in a state of utter bewilderment. The President simply did not give her enough time to think. Under his rapid-fire rhetoric, she found herself agreeing to his terms and subsequently accompanying him to a press conference.
She had never participated in a press conference before, and given that the professional standards of American journalists are notoriously low, she was immediately bombarded by the media once the President announced that Carol would be forming the "Ultimates" to replace the American Avengers.
In her naivety, she told nothing but the truth—which was exactly what the President wanted her to do.
"To be honest, her performance in front of those reporters was actually quite pitiable." Three days later, a battle-hardened veteran of the media like Tony passed by the Captain, who was doing one-handed push-ups. Glancing at the newspaper headline on the floor, Tony couldn't help but chuckle. "She answered everything they threw at her. Whatever the reporters asked, she answered. It was supposed to be a White House press conference, but it ended up being her personal interview."
"Her honesty makes it look like the U.S. government is truly determined to build a real team of heroes."
The Captain continued his push-ups as he spoke, not a single drop of sweat falling onto the newspaper. "Of course, if President Ellis truly gives this new team the unconditional support he promised, they might actually make a name for themselves."
Tony laughed aloud at that.
"Give me a break, Cap. Do you know? Rhodey has been calling me from his hospital bed for the past two days complaining about this. He met Carol while stuck in his ward and became the first member of this new team. Then they started discussing who else to recruit."
"Rhodey asked her if she'd considered Ares. After all, he is a god. Carol rejected that immediately, of course. Then they went to see Hercules—you know him, right?" Tony laughed particularly hard as he recalled the story. "Hercules said, 'For the sake of honor, I cannot join a team filled with conspiracy and sin.' Do you know what the funniest part is? In mythology, Hercules joined the Argonauts. That means in his eyes, the U.S. government is worse than that bunch of Greek scumbags!"
The Captain wasn't entirely sure how many "scumbags" besides Jason were among the Argonauts of Greek myth, but he had to admit that by any metric, the U.S. government was currently not very trustworthy.
"The two of them got into an argument. Rhodey still thinks they need Ares—since the Avengers have a god, they feel they need one too. But Carol finally snapped and said she'd just have to be their Thor equivalent, so they only needed to find a newcomer to match you. Then Rhodey told me she actually went to see Frank Castle."
Ms. Marvel planning to recruit the Punisher into the Ultimates was an idea that looked disastrous no matter how one sliced it. Naturally, the Punisher had rejected the proposal. Beyond that, Carol had sought out Captain Marvel, Mar-Vell, but the latter was also unwilling to serve the U.S. government, even if that service was merely symbolic.
The Captain listened silently. He could hear the subtext in Tony's words; the man had an ulterior motive and other matters to discuss.
"Speaking of which, I was thinking—isn't it time the Avengers expanded? We've been established for nearly a year now. If you don't count Janet, who was essentially part of the team from the start, we've only recruited two people. And one of them, T'Challa, is a king who can't possibly participate in all our missions."
Tony finally got to the point: "Maybe we need to expand the roster, Cap."
The Captain stopped his push-ups and stood up.
"Maybe we don't. The Avengers is a banner, Tony. When we face an irresistible foe, we can call upon everyone, but that doesn't mean we should expand the Avengers into an entire army."
"Even so, we need to guarantee our turnout numbers. I have a great idea: how about Mar-Vell? He's an alien, so he won't be tied to any political factions. He's a scientist and a pacifist, so it's impossible for him to turn his blade against us. Finally, I've spoken with him—the Supreme Intelligence of the Kree is actually a super AI. They've already found a way for AI and organic life to coexist in harmony, which would be very helpful for us."
"Mar-Vell is a good man. I agree."
Tony was stunned. He had expected the Captain to refuse, but to his surprise, the Captain had agreed. Of course, the Captain had an unspoken caveat: even if he agreed, Mar-Vell himself had to agree. But Tony didn't think that would be a problem.
And so, they began discussing the next issue: the requirements for expansion.
"Alright, maybe we can draw up a list, Cap. We can map out the superheroes across the globe and look for trustworthy people with potential to join the Avengers."
"We can't send soldiers into battle without training, Tony. Not everyone is Spider-Man." The Captain shook his head. Tony shrugged indifferently. "Then what do you suggest? Should we open an Avengers Academy? Hmm? That actually sounds like a decent idea."
"I know you've been thinking about this. The enemies we face are getting stronger. One day, even the Hulk and Thor won't be a match for them."
"We don't need to wait for 'one day,' Cap. We've already seen Nimrod."
"But war isn't that simple. Aside from the Battle of New York and Knull's symbiote invasion, we've had almost no large-scale combat. Even those weren't really wars; they were just battles. We stopped the landing."
The Captain's rebuttal fell right into Tony's line of thought, but it only served to energize Tony further. "Exactly, Cap! If we don't have enough of an army, how are we supposed to win a war?"
"An army alone isn't enough, especially one made of soldiers with no combat experience. We also need a stable home front, allies we can unite with, and most importantly, a firm resolve in everyone to resist invasion." The Captain sighed helplessly. "The French claimed to have the best army in the world, but they lacked the resolve for war. You know how that ended."
"Is that why you're so focused on Magneto's children? You want to win over Magneto and make Genosha a friend of the Avengers."
The Captain gave Tony a pointed look. "I want to reduce the number of our enemies, find common ground, and prove to the world that Magneto might truly be able to turn over a new leaf and stand by our side when it matters."
"Fair enough."
In the end, Tony didn't push his point to the limit. Instead, he had JARVIS open a massive list. "But at the very least, let's start by recruiting a few people from here."
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A new Demon Slayer fanfic has been uploaded! Don't forget to check it out—it's really good and I think you'll love it.