The List and Where They Belonged

Alvin merely tried to reassure Stark, but he didn't speak for him.

Seeing Stark's expression settle, Alvin smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I'll definitely support you, but don't be impulsive. President Ellis didn't mean any harm."

Stark shook his head helplessly, clinked his glass against President Ellis's, and drained it. Then he smiled wryly. "Forgive me for having a little 'compulsion.' The Avengers weren't formed for anyone's benefit. They won't be now, and they won't be in the future!"

President Ellis finished his whiskey and thought it over before understanding what Stark meant. He felt a little helpless. After all that, they weren't even on the same page!

In Stark's mind, his organization, the Avengers, shouldn't be mixed up with politics, and it needed absolute freedom. How could that possibly work?

That kind of childishly naïve idea shouldn't have come from someone with Stark's standing.

Putting his own self-interest aside, President Ellis also believed that Stark had no ulterior motives regarding the Avengers. The richest man in the world didn't need to start a criminal organization to do something bad.

But upholding "justice" and fighting villains didn't mean you could do whatever you wanted.

Everyone liked Batman, but he was still an enemy of the system. As long as he refused to join the "system," his ideals would never come true.

The Avengers were no different. How could an unregulated law enforcement agency ever be recognized? Without the approval of the various countries, how were they any different from a terrorist organization?

President Ellis glanced at Alvin, who was smiling at the bar, and felt an urge to make the sign of the cross and say, "God help us."

If Stark were Alvin, he felt he could give up trying to win reelection, divorce his wife, and head