Tony Stark took a deep breath but did not tell Pepper what Budapest was really like beyond the television cameras. Hungary had now entered martial law. Nearly all opposition parties had been thoroughly purged, and many unknown secret dealings had been brought into the open. For a time, the Orbán Government's influence had swelled to unprecedented heights, even enough to amend the constitution and impose autocratic rule. In fact, many opposition members had been executed on the spot without trial, while those who tried to flee Hungary had been imprisoned after a joint manhunt by Latveria and Hungary.
But the news was tightly sealed, known to only a very few people. Tony Stark had learned of it through his connections in the Ministry of Defence, and it plunged him completely into the depths of pessimism. He knew Salomon possessed formidable power-projection and decapitation-strike capabilities. The only thing he did not understand was why Salomon was in such a hurry—the Alien Fleet was still some distance from Earth, and the nations of the world still had time to cooperate. But if NATO launched military operations, no one in the world could stop Salomon from striking at national leaders and the heads of financial conglomerates, plunging Europe and even the United States into the terrifying state of complete disorder.
"Congress wants the Avengers to stop him and buy time for NATO to gather its military forces. That means I might die," he said. "I know Salomon. Anyone who stands in his way dies. Even I'm no exception. I... I've never seen him make such a massive move before. This can't be that simple."
The atmosphere at the Avengers base was exceptionally oppressive. Aside from the personnel hired to provide basic peripheral services, the former Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. who were involved in intelligence