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"He betrayed me." Ellis's voice was full of fear and rage.
"My Vice President... fuck, he was involved too! He wanted me publicly executed! And then he'd take my place!"
"Yes, he did." Anthony turned around, his azure eyes devoid of emotion.
"And he almost succeeded."
"And that useless S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Ellis slammed his hand on the table.
"I'm the one funding that Nick Fury! The Security Council gave him hundreds of billions in budget! My air force one was hijacked! I was hanging on a fuel tank! Where were his people?! Where was he?!"
Anthony displayed a "perfectly timed" look of mockery. "Director Fury is probably assessing the threat level and analyzing the intelligence. Maybe in two more hours, he'll send a small team... to collect your body."
Ellis's breathing grew heavy.
"What about Stark?!" he shouted again.
"That Avengers! fuck, what did he bring? A pile of remote-controlled toys that only know how to fly around!!"
President Ellis recalled that "battle."
A dozen Iron Man suits, completely wiped out within twenty minutes.
Tony Stark, the billionaire, was pinned under Killian's foot like a cockroach, unable to move.
"He..." Ellis's voice dropped. "He was useless, right?"
"Arrogance is his nature, Matthew." Anthony corrected him.
"He thought he could handle everything. But he forgot that he is just a person, a person hiding inside a tin can."
"And Killian... he's no longer human."
Anthony slowly paced, unleashing his full acting prowess, his voice filled with pressure:
"Matthew, you have to face a fact."
"The times have changed, Mr. President."
"The Battle of New York opened Pandora's Box. Aliens... Super Soldiers... maniacs who can grow huge... this World is no longer something you politicians in suits can control."
Anthony walked up to Ellis and leaned down slightly.
"Your NCPD is still using Glock pistols. But what about the black market?"
"Chitauri energy guns sell for fifty thousand U.S. dollars each, and gangs are desperate for them. SWAT rushes into a building, only to be blasted to pieces by a particle cannon. What do you do?"
"Just like tonight, Killian. Twenty or thirty Extremis Soldiers. If regular forces go in, it's a massacre. S.H.I.E.L.D. is too weak, and the Avengers are too slow."
Cold sweat beaded on President Ellis's forehead.
He found that every word the blonde man said struck him right in the heart.
"What... what exactly are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying you need a... new team."
Anthony straightened up and gave him a "priceless" smile.
"A professional, highly efficient 'Fire Brigade.'"
"A team... led by me."
"Mr. President," Anthony turned, revealing his true intentions.
"Vought, my company, is preparing to sell security... across the entire U.S."
"Sell?"
"A business model." Anthony's tone became light.
"The Mayor of Los Angeles, if he wants to solve the rampant Chitauri weapon crime, he can hire us. Chicago, if they have another outbreak of 'Extremis,' can also hire us."
"Of course, Washington D.C. is free." Anthony winked at him.
"Is this... protection money?" Ellis frowned.
"No, Mr. President." Anthony laughed heartily.
"This is capitalization. This is what Americans do best."
"Americans capitalize healthcare, capitalize education, capitalize prisons... why not capitalize 'Superheroes' too?"
"I am offering a high-end service, Mr. President. High-end service naturally requires... a certain fee. That's reasonable, isn't it?"
President Ellis fell silent.
He was a politician, and he instantly understood the logic behind it.
Turning Superheroes into a "commodity," rather than just a "spiritual symbol."
A commodity... can be "regulated" and "cooperated" with.
He looked at Anthony: "Go on, Anthony. Your team... have you chosen the members?"
"Of course." Anthony returned to his "sunny and righteous" persona.
"I," he pointed to the Eagle Emblem on his chest, "will be the Captain and Leader of this team."
"Furthermore," he smiled mysteriously, "I have already recruited our second member. A... very powerful lady. She was once lost in the darkness, but now, under my guidance, she will embrace the light."
("fuck!" Far away in the Starr Tower in New York, Jessica Jones, who was being forced to undergo "smile training," sneezed violently.)
"As for the others..." Anthony's gaze drifted toward the window.
"This World never lacks capable people; they just lack an agent... like me."
President Ellis fell silent, his politician's brain working at high speed.
This plan... was crazy. But... damn it, it was very tempting.
Outsourcing the Superhuman mess to a controllable private company.
"What..." Ellis's resolve began to waver.
"What can you do?"
"We can do things the Avengers cannot."
Anthony walked back to the desk, leaned his hands on it, and his handsome face approached Ellis again.
"Steve Rogers, that Old Popsicle, he'll argue with you about freedom and morality."
"Tony Stark, he'll show off his new toys and then leave you hanging."
"Nick Fury, he'll use ten lies to cover up one truth."
"As for me, Matthew..."
Anthony's smile became incredibly sincere.
"...I am your friend."
"Do you need to boost the government's image? No problem. Vought can arrange joint exercises between my Superhero team and your Secret Service. The photo will be on the cover of Time Magazine, and I've already thought of the title—'Guardians of a New Era.'"
"Do you need a fire brigade during a disaster? Of course. Hurricanes, earthquakes, terrorist attacks... while your FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) is still holding meetings, we've already rescued the people. And you, you just need to stand on the ruins, face the camera, and declare victory."
Ellis's breathing quickened.
Anthony saw the ambition in his eyes.
"Matthew," Anthony lowered his voice, full of temptation, "You're coming up for re-election soon, aren't you?"
"...Your popularity has hit rock bottom because of tonight's attack. People will say you are incompetent, that your government can't even protect its own President."
"But..."
"What if... the hero who saved you, the Homelander whom all of America loves, publicly endorses you?"
"What if I become your... Presidential Guardian?"
"Your approval ratings," Anthony snapped his fingers, "will soar into the stratosphere."
"You..." President Ellis's voice trembled slightly with excitement.
"What do you want?"
"What I want, Mr. President, is merely a license."
"An official license. A federal Law Enforcement License for Vought International's Superheroes."
"That means... bypassing S.H.I.E.L.D.!" Ellis exclaimed.
"S.H.I.E.L.D.?" Anthony scoffed.
"Matthew, haven't you figured it out yet? S.H.I.E.L.D. can't protect you. Their internal structure... is already rotten."
"And I," Anthony pointed to himself, "I am the one... who can help you Clean House."
President Ellis fell into a long silence.
This deal... was too tempting.
Trading a license for his political career, his chance at re-election, and... an invincible "bodyguard."
As for Nick Fury's feelings? fuck him.
Tonight, Homelander saved him.
"How can I trust you?" Ellis asked his final question.
"You don't have to trust me, Matthew." Anthony straightened up, returning to his immaculate appearance.
"You just need to trust... the People."
"The People love me. And you... need the People's love."
President Ellis smiled.
"You truly are a... born bastard, Mr. Starr."
"The feeling is mutual, Mr. President."