"I disagree. If aliens really attack Earth, a lot of people will die."
At Andrew's proposal, Batman said gravely, "Granted, this plan to redirect the conflict is good, but we can't trade human lives for the bigger picture."
"I disagree too. Whatever else I am, I'm still a superhero."
Tony shrugged and said, "No one should be casually sacrificed, even for the so-called bigger picture. Besides, a lot of people die in wars. Not all aliens are guilty. If we can avoid a war, we should."
Andrew wasn't surprised by their objections. Superheroes weren't politicians; they simply stood for justice. They understood the bigger picture, but they wouldn't sacrifice other people's lives for it. Well, sacrificing their own was another matter.
Andrew shrugged and said, "That's easy. We'll have the aliens kill a bunch of dogs instead. I'm sure the public will go even crazier."
Batman and Iron Man stared at Andrew speechlessly. Earthlings certainly loved dogs, but fighting a cosmic empire over a few hundred dogs sounded insane no matter how they looked at it.
Besides, how could anyone sacrifice such adorable dogs? Well, that was Tony's thought.
"It was just a joke. Stop looking at me like that."
Andrew said irritably, "We'll use clones. Set up a little island full of clones, then find an opportunity for the aliens to fire a shot at it. We'll use that incident to stir up a war against the Abracex Dynasty.
"Tony, Batman, I know you don't want to start a war. How about this? We leave the decision entirely to the Abracex Dynasty. If they attack Earth, they can't blame us for striking back."
"Even if they attack Earth, we only need to punish those responsible. Ordinary civilians are innocent."
Tony still objected. He said, "Actually, with Earth's current strength,