"Even so, the Great Protector has never granted her protection to anyone from outside Ta Lo," Ying Nan explained gently.
"Huh? So... that means no?"
Katy had only just started to feel like she might be useful, and now she was right back where she started. Her shoulders slumped, and she sagged like a boneless zombie.
"Don't worry, Miss Katy. Even without the Great Protector's help, the Avengers Alliance can destroy the Soul Eater. Have faith in us."
Sensing the awkward mood, Leon, as leader of the Avengers Alliance, spoke up at just the right moment.
"Well, if you say so, Mr. Leon, of course I believe you!" Katy's expression did a complete one-eighty as soon as he finished speaking.
Her carefree, goofy grin did a fair bit to ease the tension.
During the Battle of New York, footage of Leon turning the tide and wiping out the Chitauri Army with godlike power had been broadcast live around the world.
Thor's Thunderstorm had knocked out nearly every nearby live feed, but satellite footage from farther away had captured the entire battle.
Thanks to Arcee's deliberate efforts while acting as Commander White, not a moment of Leon's triumph had escaped the world's eyes.
Even those who had dismissed it as fabricated movie effects had mostly learned the truth afterward from official interviews with survivors of the Battle of New York.
It had happened exactly as the broadcast showed.
From then on, Leon's overwhelming strength as Captain America became the Avengers Alliance's unshakable claim to fame, commanding awe across the globe.
As a Ta Lo resident who paid little attention to the outside world, Ying Nan had only heard Wanda's brief introduction to the Avengers Alliance's strength and achievements through a mental illusion. She did not know the whole story.
So even