The standoff before the Space-Time Vortex had come to a temporary end.
The Second Heroes' Conference was being held in the Multi-Purpose Conference Hall on the third floor of the Eye Society Headquarters.
The more than seven hundred seats were packed again, and folding chairs had once more been set out in the aisles and the rear corridor.
Twenty-four Holographic Projection Screens glowed in unison. The main screen showed a live aerial shot of the dark-purple vortex over Midtown Manhattan-the vortex was still slowly expanding, and the outline of the blue-green Earth was a little clearer than it had been six hours earlier.
This time, the atmosphere was graver than before.
Last time, they had argued for three hours over whether to launch a surprise attack and blow up the other Earth. This time, no one argued.
Because the representative from the other Earth had displayed an extremely friendly attitude.
In the Avengers Alliance section, Tony still sat with his legs crossed in that same infuriating pose, but the eyes behind his sunglasses were more bloodshot than usual.
He had not worn a bespoke suit today, changing instead into a dark-gray tactical jacket over the same retro T-shirt printed with "I am Iron Man," though this time his collar was fastened tightly.
Steve sat beside him with the Vibranium Shield on his knees, his fingers unconsciously stroking its edge, betraying his inner tension and anxiety.
Thor leaned against his seat back in the rear row, his blond hair loose over his shoulders, looking relaxed and comfortable. Thick-skinned as he was, he felt that with the two universes agreeing to cooperate, the crisis was already more than halfway resolved.
In the Justice League section, Superman sat on the outermost seat, his blue-and-red battle suit gleaming faintly beneath the lights, the charred