Welcome Anytime

In the restaurant, after throwing up three times, Stark finally calmed down. He sat at the bar and gulped down a large glass of Lemonade.

The way he looked at Alvin had completely changed. Now, Alvin seemed mysterious to him. He was no longer just a con man who kept a few big dogs to scare customers and passed himself off as an Exorcist!

Lucky Pepper had fainted and still hadn't woken up. She was resting in Jessica's room.

Unlucky Happy had been scared into falling face-first again in The Basement. Seeing his poor, sore nose, Alvin kindly called him an Ambulance.

Alvin watched Stark sign a Check and hand it to Frank, who was wearing an Assassin's scowl. He fiddled with the Digital Camera in his hands and checked the photos. Yep, they were crystal clear.

He knocked on the Bar Counter in front of Stark and said warmly, "Mr. Stark, I think we've cleared up the misunderstanding between us, right?"

Stark glared at the Digital Camera in Alvin's hands, his face ashen. The photos were a huge stain on his life. He had plenty of Scandal, but none of it had ever been as awful as what was in those pictures.

Looking at Alvin's punchable face, Stark fought the urge to hit him and said flatly, "Yeah, buddy. You showed me some things I never would've believed. I think I owe you an apology for what I said earlier."

Stark glanced at the Camera in Alvin's hands. "Buddy, name your price for those photos. I won't haggle."

Alvin shook the Digital Camera, put it away in the cabinet behind the Bar Counter, and said with a smile, "Mr. Stark, you're a Billionaire, a Genius Inventor, and a Philanthropist. You must have a strong sense of social responsibility, right?"

Stark could tell there was a catch, but denying it wasn't in his nature. "You're right. That person must be me."

Alvin smiled like a seasoned Pimp, coaxing him along. "Then I'm sure a Mr. Stark with such a strong sense of social responsibility would be willing to show the media what he saw today—and warn everyone that terrifying Vampires are lurking among them."

As he spoke, Alvin tapped the spot where he'd put the Camera. "After all, if I took this to the media, it might turn into a tabloid Scandal."

Stark glared through gritted teeth at the grinning Alvin, regretting with all his heart that he'd ever come to that damned Peace Hotel.

Stark gave an angry snort. "No problem! It's the right thing to do. I'll call a Press Conference as soon as I get back and show the reporters what I saw today."

He glared at Alvin. "But you have to give me that damn Digital Camera. I'll need evidence to convince those reporters."

Alvin met Stark's gaze, pressed his lips together, and nodded. He readily took the Digital Camera out from behind the bar and handed it over.

Stark took the Digital Camera, looking a little dazed. He opened it and saw nothing but footage of himself throwing up in The Basement. The images were so awful that he couldn't bear to watch more than two.

He raised the Camera in his left hand and shook it at Alvin. "Why?"

Alvin smiled. "Because I think you should have at least some sense of social responsibility. I'm not being sarcastic this time. We should be on the same side when it comes to things like that. We might just have different ways of dealing with them."

He glanced at the Camera in Stark's hand. "Besides, it was just a joke."

Caught off guard by Alvin's praise, Stark wasn't his usual boastful self. He stared at Alvin and said, "You're right. We should be on the same side this time. Against these Vampires, I can do more than call the media. I can also donate money to the New York Police Department to help fight them."

Alvin laughed. The guy was finally getting it. He'd been wondering how to get Stark involved in the fight against Vampires.

Alvin shook his head with a smile. "Actually, money is the least useful thing when it comes to fighting Vampires. If you're willing, Mr. Stark, you could develop some specialized weapons. I can give you a few ideas."

With that, he asked JJ for the Silver Table Knife JJ had been carrying for protection and handed it to Stark.

Stark took the knife and examined it carefully, but saw nothing special about it. He looked at Alvin, who was smiling as if ready to answer his questions, then scowled and inspected it again. At last, he ventured, "Is it silver?"

Alvin gave him an approving thumbs-up. "You really are a genius, Mr. Stark! It's silver!"

When he learned it was only a matter of materials, Stark lost interest and tossed the knife onto the Bar Counter. "If it's just a matter of materials, you can make them yourselves. Don't waste my time. How hard can that be?"

That sounded pretty punchable too. Alvin smiled. "It's not hard, but it costs a lot. Look around at everyone here. Does any of us look like we have more than a hundred grand in the bank?

"And the best weapon against Vampires is Sunlight. If you could invent something like a Sun Lamp to light up every dark corner in the world, Vampires would go extinct."

Stark looked down on the bunch of poor people in the restaurant. At last, he'd found something to feel superior about again. He smugly stroked his mustache and waved a hand. "That's no problem. I can set aside a whole Production Line to make, well... silver-plated weapons and bullets. We'll provide them free of charge to the New York Police Department."

JJ asked curiously from the side, "Why silver-plated weapons and bullets?"

Stark held up the knife. "Isn't this silver-plated?"

Stunned, JJ muttered as he backed away, "Damn it. I should've known Old Kent wouldn't give away solid silver Tableware."

To keep JJ from embarrassing himself any further, Alvin stood up and shook Stark's hand formally. "Thank you very much for your generosity!"

He took a good look at the man half a head shorter than him—the future Iron Man—and said, "I really do think you're a decent guy now. I hope we get the chance to become friends."

Stark felt embarrassed by Alvin's praise, because he was actually a little excited. He replied with rare sincerity, "It's nice to meet you, Alvin. You're quite something!"

Then Stark sized up Alvin's not particularly bulky arms. "Once I've gotten better at Judo, I'll come back and see what else you can do."

Although the awkward Stark had made peace with Alvin, he still hadn't given up on the idea of beating him up.

Maybe all Superheroes were like that: when they fell, they had to get back up in the same place.

Alvin smiled at the unconvinced Stark. "You're always welcome!"