"Manhattan Attacked by Superpowered Individuals, Death Toll Reaches 443. Uncontrolled Superpowered Individuals Are Destroying This Nation!"
— New York Times
"Who Can Protect Us? Iron Man? Counting the 12 Ways to Die Because of Iron Man!"
— New York Morning Post
"Superpowered Individuals Must Be Regulated, National Sovereignty Cannot Be Undermined!"
— New York Weekly
"In the Manhattan Attack, Ghost-Spider and Her Team Rescued 327 People. She Is the Friendly Neighbor of New York City!"
— Daily Bugle
"Captain America Said: We Save as Many People as We Can. Sometimes We Can't Save Everyone. But If We Can't Accept That, Next Time, Maybe We Won't Be Able to Save Anyone."
— Brooklyn Daily
Of course, there were also newspapers that supported the Avengers.
In terms of public opinion, those who supported the Avengers even outnumbered those who opposed them.
However, the severely affected New York residents needed an outlet to vent all their fear, sorrow, and pain. They were no longer able to rationally view the rights and wrongs of this incident. Therefore, all negative emotions were vented on the guardians.
Meanwhile, media professionals in other regions, because the war had not reached them, were much more rational.
Among them, the U.S. West Coast media, particularly the Los Angeles Times, which was at odds with New York, ran several consecutive front-page stories supporting the Avengers.
"Should Good People Be Held at Gunpoint? If Superpowered Individuals Hadn't Stepped Forward, New York's Losses Would Be Even More Tragic!"
— Los Angeles Times
"Look at Paris, France and Wakanda. New Yorkers Should Be Grateful!"
— Los Angeles Times
"43966 vs. 433: Comparing Two Death Tolls, New Yorkers Should Thank the Righteous Superpowered Individuals"
— Los Angeles Times
Outside New York, Avengers Tower.
Tony and the others, who had returned to Earth from the dimensional fragment, all gathered in the conference room, except for Loki.
Quickly browsing the newspapers that had been criticizing them for the past few days, Tony and the others' good mood from the celebration in Asgard vanished.
Although many newspapers defended them and supported them, the joy brought by good reviews was like eating a bite of honey, sweet but fleeting.
The pain brought by bad reviews was like being cut by a sharp blade, requiring time to heal.
Inside the conference room, everyone fell into a long silence.
Tony sat alone, far from the conference table, looking down at the New York Morning Post, at the pictures of the 12 people who died in the Manhattan attack because he hadn't noticed or hadn't been able to rescue them in time, remaining silent.
This silent atmosphere made Gwen, Wanda, and G'iah, who were not official members, very uncomfortable.
Seeing this, Hill broke the silence, "No matter what, our operation plan this time was successful. We thwarted the plan of the God of Fear Cul. We protected New York, and even the entire Earth."
Steve also spoke up to reiterate his opinion, "I still stand by my point. We did our best. We risked our lives to protect people. We shouldn't be blamed any further. If anyone is dissatisfied, they should condemn those who harmed them."
Gwen, Wanda, and G'iah nodded in agreement.
The killers were the apostles of the God of Fear, not them.
They would mourn for the dead and feel guilty for those they couldn't save in time, but they shouldn't be blamed.
"If we could have done better, could we have prevented all of this from happening?" Tony put down the New York Morning Post and looked up at everyone in the conference room.
"We had no information sources. We could only act after things happened."
"On March 12th, when I returned to New York, I found that damn hammer falling from the sky."
"On March 14th, Steve and Barnes were attacked. Oh, sorry, Steve, I didn't mean to bring up your painful memories."
"On March 15th, Wakanda was attacked, and on March 16th, Paris, France was attacked. On March 20th, Manhattan was attacked."
Tony stood up and projected his phone onto the wall.
"Let me count how many days passed from March 12th to March 20th. Nine days! For nine whole days, we did nothing but wait for things to happen."
"If we had taken effective action on the 12th, after I discovered the hammer, Barnes wouldn't have died. If we had taken action on the 14th, after Steve and Barnes were attacked, tens of thousands wouldn't have died or been injured in Wakanda."
"If we—"
"Enough, Tony!" Steve stopped the increasingly agitated Tony. "Tell us what you plan to do."
Tony was silent for a moment before slowly saying, "I plan to develop a more powerful artificial intelligence, combined with satellites and various electronic devices around the world, to achieve global surveillance."
"And I can pair this AI with the Stark Iron Legion. That way, if an enemy appears again, we can detect them immediately and defeat them before they cause any damage."
"We can be 'Preventers' instead of 'Avengers.'"
Tony looked at Bruce. "Bruce, I need your help. I believe this artificial intelligence can help us better protect Earth's peace."
G'iah said softly, "Um... Tony, if you're going to discuss internal Avengers matters, then I'll take my leave."
She was not interested in Tony's plan.
Although she came to Earth at a young age, she was not an Earthling, but a Skrull.
In her plan, the Skrulls would not stay on Earth long, but would go to other Universes to find another suitable planet to live on.
"Alright, protecting Earth is indeed too far-fetched for a young girl who is underage."
Tony shrugged, not stopping G'iah from leaving.
This was a beautiful misunderstanding.
In Tony's eyes, the thin and small G'iah was an underage girl. Unless absolutely necessary, he would not employ child labor.
"Tony, if you don't need me, then I'll also leave first."
Seeing her friend leave, Wanda also bid farewell. In this world, she was a sorceress of Kamar-Taj, not an Avengers member.
"Alright."
Tony also didn't stop Wanda from leaving, but looked at Gwen. "What about you, Gwen? Are you leaving too, or staying to hear my plan?"
"I haven't shown up for several days. My partners must be worried. I won't stay and disturb your internal Avengers meeting. Goodbye."
Gwen opened the conference room window and leaped out.
For a moment, only the Avengers remained in the conference room, the others had all left.
Tony collected his thoughts and continued to explain his plan.