Iron Man's Reservations

"Hey, guys, you actually left without me." Stark caught up with them. Behind him, a crowd of media members watched excitedly as New York and Gotham City's two most prominent young men came together.

"We're in this together, after all."

Bruce stopped and said impatiently, "Listen, you asked us to come watch a farce, and we did. Now it's over. What else do you want?"

"Come on." The dashing Iron Man continued, "We're standing in front of all these Federation media outlets. Can't you at least smile? You know Wayne Enterprises is a star company too, right? Come on, give us a smile. Hey, what do you think would happen to our companies' stocks if a photo of the two of us together got out? Would they hit the limit-up again?"

With the cameras rolling, Tony Stark wasn't at all worried about Bruce and Aeo refusing to play along. "This is my friend, Bruce Wayne of Wayne Enterprises. That's right, the Bruce Wayne..."

With one on either side, Stark wrapped an arm around Bruce and Aeo. "And this..."

"Hey, Stark, don't drag me into this." Aeo frowned.

"Okay, okay." Stark shrugged, looking quite pleased with himself. "This friend of mine is a little shy. Yes, he's still young, probably... Hey, how old are you?"

"..."

As Aeo stared at him in displeasure and confusion, Stark brazenly introduced him to the entire world. "Uh, all right, he is a little shy, but he really is a friend of mine and Mr. Wayne's!"

...,...

Once they'd left the crowd behind, Aeo glared at Stark, furious. "What are you trying to do? Why did you tell the whole world about me? You've just—"

"Hey, calm down. Please, calm down." Stark had an answer ready. "I didn't tell the whole world you're an alien. I only said that you and Bruce are my friends..."

"What difference does that make?" Aeo said, frustrated. Stark's stunt had thrown his plans into disarray. Aeo had always thought he could work with superheroes and organizations like Batman and S.H.I.E.L.D., but he absolutely didn't want to end up like Superman, a public 'savior' or 'god,' appearing openly before everyone. He understood human nature all too well. Humanity as it stood (at this stage of Earth's development) simply couldn't accept a transcendent being like him. They would only fear his power and envy his existence, wondering why they weren't the ones with such power...

Even if you saved Earth ten thousand times, the ending wouldn't be any different...

(All superhero movies and comics proved this.)

So when it came to being a superhero—a thankless job—Aeo had decided from the start that he would never do it! Besides, this wasn't his original world, and Aeo didn't feel much attachment to it.

Besides...

Aeo clenched his fist, and immense power surged through his body...

I'm not even human anymore...

"Because of what you did, my identity could be exposed! Even if it isn't, countless people will probably wonder who I am if Iron Man and Bruce Wayne consider me a friend. I don't think that's good for me or for you," Aeo said coldly.

"Don't I deserve an explanation, Stark? Why did you do it?" His gaze turned icy as he stared at Stark.

Unexpectedly, Stark remained calm. Or rather, behind his flamboyance and arrogance, his exceptionally sharp mind always had a reason for everything he did. "I know you might be furious that I put you in front of the whole world, but you have to understand: though your attitude and certain methods have earned you limited tolerance and support from S.H.I.E.L.D., you're still an immensely powerful and unpredictable factor. Whether it's S.H.I.E.L.D. or any other organization down the road, no one can fully put their mind at ease once they know you exist..."

"Does that include you and Bruce?" Aeo's gaze turned icy.

Stark faltered, but quickly answered honestly, "That's right. It includes Wayne and me, too! Ask him if you don't believe me!"

Beside them, Bruce looked grim, but didn't contradict him.

"See?" Stark implored. "So, to ease people's worries and fears, you need to play a warm, approachable role—a mask to prove that you've truly integrated into this world and become one of its vast herd of social animals! A lion might fear a rifle, but it won't fear another lion willing to challenge it!"

Aeo was beginning to understand. "You think my current mindset is dangerous? You're worried I'll lose my temper and destroy Earth or something..."

Aeo sneered. "Then you think Earth is far too fragile. You have powerful beings here, too..."

"What?" Batman and Iron Man exclaimed in unison.

Aeo frowned, realizing he'd said too much. He shook his head. "Nothing."

Tony and Bruce eyed him suspiciously, but Aeo didn't want to say more. He only looked at Bruce with mixed feelings. "You don't have much faith in me either?"

Batman's expression remained calm. "All power needs to be balanced. Otherwise, it will lead to disaster. That has nothing to do with whether I trust you!"

"So you'd find an alien who's loving and kind much easier to accept, because he'd have people he cared about and all that..." Aeo's expression was unreadable.

"Exactly!" Stark finally looked as though they'd gotten it and snapped his fingers. "I want you to step into the public eye so that if the people ever learn who you are, they'll suddenly discover that aliens can actually be pretty lovable and handsome. That'll make you much easier to accept... And you won't end up completely condemning humanity because of the accusations and envy of the ignorant masses."

Stark did have a point. He'd also seen the danger in Aeo's mindset: he looked down on humanity from on high. He wasn't malicious, but neither did he care. In other words, he was indifferent to whether humans lived or died.

Stark had noticed it during the battle in Gotham City. Aeo hadn't gone all out, but neither was he like the other superheroes, restrained by laws and moral codes. When he thought he should strike, he did so without hesitation. The countless soldiers wounded in the S.H.I.E.L.D. battle in Gotham City were proof enough. No one had died, but more than a few had lost limbs or been caught in the fallout of Aeo's fury.

That was why Stark had come up with this plan before anyone else: he wanted to use the eyes of the masses to keep Aeo in check, and hoped he'd treat people kindly instead of destroying Earth one day on a whim.

"..."

As Aeo fell silent, Bruce gave him a complicated look, then opened the car door and changed the subject. "Let's talk about all this when we get home."

"Home...?" Aeo's eyes were distant.

...,...

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