"Pull up the surveillance feed." Tony Stark's face was dark as Friday displayed the Avengers compound's security footage on his phone, which he scrolled back and forth across. But his mind wasn't on the footage—it was on every single word in that recording circulating on social media. Even now he still thought Solomon was far too much of an idealist. Advocating a shared destiny for humanity, restraining the uncontrolled capital of neoliberalism, making the entire world his enemy, and then enforcing it all through violence—that was, in Stark's eyes, an immature display. He let out a bitter laugh—only a mystic trained in Kamar-Taj could naturally hold that perspective, one that transcended human race and cultural barriers. Now this "kid's" immaturity had been exploited to force the Avengers into making a choice. Even though he hadn't found direct evidence, Tony still felt he had been maneuvered into a trap.
He didn't want to comment on Solomon's political platform; it was all far too idealistic.
At the end of that article was a report published by a group of war correspondents led by the well-known journalist Ramish.
In it, they repeated Latovinia's political agenda and backed it up with photos they had taken of a space station, as evidence that Latovinia truly intended for humanity to move beyond Earth—and had the technological strength and determination to do so. As expected, the article was met with a storm of condemnation from Western media. Many claimed that anyone supporting Latovinia was an extreme right-wing nationalist. Some even compared the Immortal City's golden eagle banner to the insignia of the German Third Reich, calling it a Nazi conspiracy and declaring Latovinia's war to be the Nazis' revival campaign, while urging NATO to intervene at once "to uphold the justice and peace of the free world." Ironically, plenty of far-right individuals actually embraced that view, which delighted the Western leftists, who gleefully spat their contempt on the video.
Someone needed the Avengers as a tool in this proxy war. Tony Stark, sharp as ever, saw that immediately.
He had long known this was the inevitable result of the Sokovia Accords—but the day had come far too quickly. This had never been his original intent. He had only wanted the Avengers to gain official backing. In his eyes, the storm raging on social media was nothing more than a double act. Mainstream media commentary was already laying the groundwork for military intervention in the Balkans. Whether or not the Avengers participated, the outcome would be the same. In the mainstream portrayal, Latovinia had already been cast as a childish comic-book villain bent on world domination, a ghost trying to resurrect the German Reich. Defeating such a villain would win the Democrats extra points in the upcoming election, while the Republicans, closely tied to the military-industrial complex, would harvest votes as well. The political hounds in the White House would never let this opportunity slip.
But for the Avengers, if they failed to go along with the "will of the people" being manufactured, they would fall back into the same predicament as before. That was the deadlock Tony Stark had been trying desperately to escape. He had his own solution for dealing with the aftereffects of the Accords—he would prevent the Avengers from being used as pawns in proxy wars. All he needed was for them to endure a difficult period. His plan was to become Secretary of Defense and take command of the Avengers himself. That was the real reason he had been in and out of Washington so often. In essence, it was no different from what he was already doing—it was just another way of exercising power. If not for Latovinia, he was confident he could convince Steve Rogers to accept the new reality, because he could promise that the Avengers' scope of action would be limited to fighting terrorism.
But now everything was different. The worst parts of the Sokovia Accords were about to be put into practice. Every fig leaf had been ripped away. He would have to persuade the Avengers to accept this bloody reality. It would be difficult—extremely difficult. Stark was certain that Steve Rogers' sensitive conscience couldn't bear it. He cursed under his breath, shoved the phone into his pocket, checked his watch, then tugged at his collar and worked the muscles in his face until he forced a fake smile. "Okay, don't let them see through you," he muttered as he walked through the line of Secret Service agents toward the reception room. "You're the one with the upper hand, genius. Don't let them steer the conversation."
Thaddeus E. Ross gave him no time to settle.
"You're late." The general stroked his carefully trimmed gray stubble. For some reason, Tony Stark felt the old man was actually pleased. Ross pulled up what looked like handheld footage. "According to the latest intel, Latovinia has already launched offensives against Sircaria and Transylvania."
"Congress will pass an emergency intervention act, and the UN Security Council will convene an emergency meeting to discuss the necessity of intervening in the Balkans," Secretary Ashton Carter nodded. "Come with us, Stark."
Meanwhile, Solomon, holding the defensive line in the northeast near the Hungarian border, was not granted even a moment's respite before battle. As his gene-modified warriors boarded heavy armored personnel carriers and assault transports, he sat in his own command transport, still buried in work—handling the constant stream of intelligence from around the globe and the endless requests from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Latovinian civil war had devastated the royal capital. The Interior Ministry needed manpower and materials for reconstruction, and food and fuel to help the people survive the freezing nights in the mountains. Even though Solomon had been stockpiling essential resources like food and fuel since the founding of the Immortal City, those reserves were now vanishing before his eyes.
Because of the war and spreading rumors, even the Immortal City's agents on the international markets were finding it increasingly difficult to secure bulk goods. If those reserves were consumed before achieving tangible military success, Latovinia would lose without a fight.
"My Lord." Constantine's voice came through the earpiece, along with an encrypted file transmitted to Solomon's datapad. At the end, the sender's seal bore the mark of the Praetorians, confirming its authenticity. "Hammurabi has already achieved results in Sircaria. This is his report. The leader of the Wild Warband, known as the 'Silver Sable,' Silver Sablinova, has sent a request for a meeting through him. Shall we refuse?"
"No. Let me see her." Solomon kept working on the datapad, his sacred sword resting against his shoulder. His precise calculations and logistical direction could solve countless problems for Latovinia's civilians and its Interior Ministry. He was not fighting this war for personal ambition. If the Latovinians, who had only just escaped the abyss, were plunged back into suffering, Solomon would never forgive himself. That was the one thing he felt guilty about in this war.
He did not ask Hammurabi how many gene-modified warriors and armored units had been lost in coordinating with the Sircaria coup, because he knew the numbers were meaningless now. Occupation meant a long road of blood ahead. He would have to use his own methods to end the mercenaries' and CIA's subversion and agitation.
"Victor is not here. I need to talk with Silver Sablinova. The Immortal City has no resources to fight a policing war in Sircaria. The Wild Warband must take responsibility. After I speak with her, contact Stephanie Malick and Victoria Hand. We need a team of spies, armed operatives, and clerks to stabilize the situation. Our gene-modified warriors will serve only as the final measure."
"Yes, my Lord."
"And have the space station's missile bays prepared. NATO will intervene soon." Solomon glanced at the messages from Gideon Malick and General Hale. The White House's decisions were transparent to him. The U.S. military had his moles. Hale's daughter Ruby was in constant contact with Immortal City operatives.
"Have the soldiers ready. In one hour we march into Hungary. Within six hours, we must cripple every military installation there. We will not remain in Hungary. We must strike every NATO facility in the Balkans. Only then can we pause and accept allies. Constantine, contact Erik Killmonger and Helmut Zemo. The coup in Wakanda is about to begin. We must secure all of Wakanda's technology and production capacity."
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