Capítulo 166: Chapter 166: Spoils of War, The Cosmic Cube!
Today, only two individuals are capable of representing the superhero community and arm-wrestling with the government at the negotiation table: Tony Stark and Clark.
Even Captain America doesn't qualify! His prestige is limited to the public, and in politics, the so-called heroism doesn't count for much.
Compared to Tony, Clark has a significant advantage.
Tony signed the "Superhero Registration Act," while Clark did not.
Thus, in any comparison, Tony could only represent the image of order, while Clark symbolized freedom.
For the government, they would of course prefer a leader of superheroes who represents order. But don't forget, under the series of promotions by Clark beforehand, the representative of the superheroes must be elected by the superheroes themselves, and the needs of the superheroes are exactly opposite to those of the government.
Setting aside personal feelings, who with ability likes to be constrained by rules and regulations?
If they were truly the kind of absolutely good and orderly people, they wouldn't choose to become superheroes outside the societal order.
So, in the competition for the representative of superheroes, Clark had a natural advantage.
Although after being officially elected, whether Tony or Clark, both would choose to mediate between superheroes and the U.S. government, essentially there wouldn't be much difference.
At this point, both the government and the superheroes need such a role. He can represent the superhero community, and when problems arise, the government can find a spokesperson to talk to, and the superheroes also need someone to stand up and take on the social pressures for them.
And Clark wanted exactly this position.
With the future's looming disasters and the increasing number of people Clark couldn't let go of, he had to ensure that all heroes could unite against a common enemy when the time came. Compared to others, he preferred to have his fate in his own hands.
With the civil war between him and Tony concluded, Clark, standing as the victor, was getting closer to this goal. Next, as long as there were no accidents, he was bound to become the representative of the superheroes.
As for the "Superhero Registration Act," it was no longer important.
Once Clark officially became the representative of the superheroes, he could slowly study it, and how long to drag it out could be decided as needed.
With a slight smile, Clark unapologetically said, "I'm set on winning this upcoming representative seat. I advise you to just give up and focus on your Iron Man armor."
"Haha..."
Hearing this, Tony could only give a bitter smile, "I'm now a murderer, what's there to compete with you? I probably won't even have a chance to bother Bucky Barnes again."
Clark was momentarily stunned, then realized Tony was referring to the killing of Alexander Pierce.
"I hadn't expected you to take action yourself. I was planning to kill Pierce myself. Do you think I wouldn't be prepared, to just go and willingly sit in jail after killing him?"
Tony was surprised by this revelation, trying to sit up but failing due to the heavy, powerless Iron Man armor.
Clark continued calmly, "Nick Fury has already found many criminal evidences against Pierce through the clues I provided earlier. Plus, his ordering Rumlow to kill two officers has already defined him as a terrorist by S.H.I.E.L.D., so killing him won't have any repercussions."
Tony's gaze turned strange, "You had even thought of this in advance? Does that mean today's battle, its timing, location, and everything, were arranged by you?"
"Not the timing, that hammer appeared too suddenly, disrupting some of my plans," Clark admitted frankly. "But fortunately, it didn't have a big impact, everything is still under my control."
As they spoke, Clark had regained some strength and stood up, "I won't interfere with Bucky anymore. I've sent him to a place you can't find or touch. If you still want revenge, go ahead."
"A place you can't find or touch?" Tony fell into deep thought, his gaze fixed on the sky as if he had found the answer.
After chatting for a while, a gold and red Iron Man armor flew in, brought by JARVIS as a spare.
Seeing that Tony wouldn't be stranded here, Clark decisively opened a portal and left, taking his spoils of war with him.
Cosmic Cube X1 Watching Clark take the Cosmic Cube, Tony said he didn't mind at all and informed Egghead.
Upon returning home, Clark immediately received a call from Nick Fury.
"Thank you, Clark, for averting a huge crisis for all mankind."
Clark: "What's the reward, Director?"
Nick Fury's impression score +233!
Fury felt the conversation couldn't go on; you've talked the heavens to death, you know?
But to get the Cosmic Cube back, he had to keep talking.
Skipping the pleasantries, Fury went straight to the point: "You'll definitely have a reward, but it won't be the Cosmic Cube."
"Of course." Clark said matter-of-factly: "The Cosmic Cube is my spoils of war. Director Fury, you wouldn't use it to curry favor. That's not your style."
Nick Fury's impression score +666!
Fury became anxious, "Listen, Clark, the Cosmic Cube is too dangerous. I can't let you have it."
"No need for you to give it. It's already mine." Clark ended the call, giving Fury no chance to argue.
Once in Clark's possession, it was his, unless it was something he deemed worthless, but clearly, the Cosmic Cube was not.
Hanging up, Fury looked even darker than usual.
"You have a new message."
Surprised, Fury picked up his phone again, finding a video file from Clark. The file's cover was the Cosmic Cube he wanted back from Clark.
Opening it, the video showed Fury himself.
In the video, a resigned Fury said to the camera, "As long as it's not as valuable as the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters or your previous plane, anything we have, I can give to you."
That bastard was waiting here for me! Fury turned off his phone, wanting to be alone in silence.
After brooding for a while, Fury's face showed a weird smile. The Cosmic Cube had been studied by S.H.I.E.L.D. for decades with no substantial progress. Maybe leaving it with Clark for now wasn't such a bad idea?
Perhaps Hank Pym could discover something.
As Fury predicted, Clark immediately handed the Cosmic Cube to Hank Pym upon returning home, while he busied himself with post-battle affairs.
Thanks to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s quick action, Pierce's conspiracy was fully exposed, and none of the dead were innocent, freeing Clark and Tony from any legal responsibility.
Even the damage responsibility was unnecessary since Tony had bought the airport, bearing the losses silently.
Thanks again, bro, 666!
However, having no responsibility didn't mean neglecting the aftermath. The first thing Clark did after the battle was to comfort Captain America and inform him of the painful truth that he couldn't see Bucky for now.
Before the battle, Clark had entrusted T'Challa to take Bucky to a safe place.
Later, during the race with Tony in the city, Clark received T'Challa's response. He had discussed with Bucky, who agreed to take refuge in Wakanda, join its nationality, and become a royal guard, using his strength, second only to Black Panther, to repay Wakanda's protection.
It was a win-win deal, and Clark was happy to see it through, hence the conversation with Tony in the desert.
Three unexpected events occurred during the plan's execution, none affecting the outcome.
The first surprise was Bucky's request to join Wakandan nationality, saving Clark a lot of trouble.
The second was T'Challa's appearance on the battlefield, unexpected by Clark, but he took note of the favor.
The last was Tony, who seemed to misunderstand when Clark mentioned sending Bucky to a place "he couldn't find or touch."
But obviously, that had nothing to do with Clark.
Now, Clark's priority was to restore Captain America's severely damaged prestige.
This was simple to do because Fury, while purging Hydra from S.H.I.E.L.D., found the original video of "Captain America injuring innocent civilians," which only showed Captain America and Hydra thugs, no innocent civilians.
Clark publicly released this video and personally wrote a commentary.
In the commentary, Clark politically correctly chose to hide the problem of Hydra's existence, which could cause public panic, defining the incident as malicious slander by some for personal gain, directly targeting Alexander Pierce.
Poor Captain America had been frozen for the country, bled for freedom, and after being rescued, faced malicious slander and defamation.
Heroes bleed and weep! Clark hoped the public wouldn't be deceived by some, becoming accomplices to villains.
The article, penned by the bestselling author Clark, truly stirred emotions and indignation.
After publishing the article and having his followers amplify the message, everything was set.
Now, just let the issue continue to ferment online.
The next day, Clark visited the beach resort villa ruins, coincidentally seeing a crowd trying to lift the hammer.
The most exaggerated attempt was a white-haired old man using a car to pull the hammer away, resulting in the entire truck bed detaching from the vehicle without affecting the hammer at all.
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