“I know,” Tony admitted.
“Those vultures are just looking at the Avengers like a piece of prime meat.” He had seen it coming from a mile away; the Lagos incident was just the perfect catalyst.
The higher-ups had always been paranoid about how to control the team.
Even though the Avengers were technically a sanctioned organization, they didn’t actually answer to anyone.
Every operation, every strategy, and every deployment was handled internally.
Naturally, this terrified the politicians.
To the people in power, an uncontrollable force was an unacceptable threat.
This latest disaster just handed them the perfect leverage on a silver platter.
“So, what brings you to my door today?” Holden asked, taking a slow sip of his tea as he looked at the billionaire.
“Man, I came here partly just to vent, but also to see if you had any brilliant ideas.” Tony sighed in defeat.
He knew Holden possessed an intellect that far surpassed the average person, which was why he had specifically sought him out.
He was hoping for a miracle.
“Public opinion.” Holden paused, setting his cup down.
“The entire crux of this crisis is the media pressure.
If you can change how the public views the Avengers, everything else will fall into place!
I’m sure you already know the current narrative is tearing you guys to shreds.” After all, if the politicians hadn’t secretly fanned the flames behind the scenes, the backlash never would have spiraled to this magnitude.
“It’s…
not that simple,” Tony replied, a bitter look crossing his face.
“The current narrative is almost impossible to shift.” It wasn’t that he hadn’t thought of it; it was just a monumental task.
Holden leaned forward, lightly tapping his fingers against the marble table.
“The epicenter of the outrage is Wanda.
Her slip-up with Crossbones’ explosion was the spark that ignited months of pent-up public anxiety.
If public anger is a powder keg, the media is just the fuse.” “Are you saying…
we need to change Wanda’s public image?” Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully, voicing his concerns.
“But Wanda is incredibly emotionally unstable right now.
Actually…
she didn’t even come back to the Compound last night.
I’m honestly worried she might crack under the pressure.” Cough, cough, cough!
Holden, who had just taken another sip of his Earl Grey, choked violently.
He looked at Tony with a highly complex expression, thinking to himself, ‘No kidding she didn’t go back.
We were up all night breaking in the mattress.’ “You okay?” Tony asked, noticing his friend’s odd reaction.
“I’m fine.” Holden wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“My point is, as long as you can get the public to support Wanda again, this whole problem will solve itself!” “Yeah, but…” Tony hesitated.
“Wanda still can’t fully control her powers.
I’m worried that if she goes out on another mission, she might make another mistake.
This whole thing has messed her up pretty bad.
Maybe she just needs some time and a little help.” Tony had never seen Wanda look so utterly defeated.
Every time he had seen her recently, she looked completely hollowed out by depression, and no amount of comforting seemed to work.
Hearing this, Holden grew thoughtful.
‘Maybe I can help her with that,’ he mused.
Sure, they had only met by chance yesterday, and things had escalated because of a misunderstanding.
But at the end of the day, she had gifted him a [Phoenix Force Fragment] and [God-Tier Magic Talent].
Not to mention, there were probably plenty more ‘treasures’ hidden within her waiting to be deeply explored.
Buzz~ Suddenly, the sleek watch on Tony’s wrist flashed with a blue light.
He lifted his arm to check the notification, a tired, melancholy look washing over his face.
“Holden, thanks for letting me vent.” Tony sighed heavily and stood up to leave.
“Steve has been incredibly on edge lately.
He won’t even sit down and have a rational conversation with me.
I’ve got some urgent fires to put out, but let’s catch up again soon!” Even though Holden hadn’t given him a concrete step-by-step master plan, just talking it out had noticeably eased the tightness in Tony’s chest.
When a man is under that much stress, sometimes he just needs someone to listen.
And Holden had always been his most reliable sounding board.
“Anytime!
My door is always open,” Holden said, standing up to walk Tony out.
Once the billionaire was gone, he retreated back into his private quarters.
“System!
Open panel!” The moment he sat down, Holden summoned his virtual interface with a single thought.
[God-Tier Magic Talent: Grants you a heaven-defying comprehension of the mystic arts, eliminating the need to borrow magic from dimensional entities!] That single line of description was enough to make his blood pump with excitement.
‘Wanda, you really are my lucky star!’ he thought, grinning from ear to ear.
Another god-tier reward!