capeandcowl | Ver 3.7

[ This comm post cannot be traced location wise. The only traceable origin is a StarkTech satellite in space, and that's after several redirects. There's no triangulation to be made, but what the viewer can see is very obviously an arial view of a street in Moscow, it pans smoothly, like it's really not that far above the streets. Underneath it in text is a statistic that reads: ]

55% percent of Russian citizens do not currently support the Imbargo act being passed. 45% support it.

[ After a few moments, the feed cuts to another one, this time a much closer view from inside the Duma, near the ceilings and looking down. The camera is focused on a conversation in Russian, but thankfull, there are subtitles translating what's being said. There's someone speaking currently, and what the subtiles translate is that he's giving a speech about the Imbargo act currently. ]

"--Should we give them the chance to cross into our borders? The United States has a concentration of these ready to use whenever they so wish! They could be spies, or saboteurs, or if they wished, they could level Moscow herself! We need to protect ourself now, before it's too late--"

[ The feed begins to drift away, before it seems to wink out just before going through something. Finally, the feed switches to voice. ]

This is getting messy, fast, isn't it? It's only a matter of time before things progress beyond this. Don't forget, the world views us as weapons first and foremost, before they think of us as anything else.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Welcome to the reality mutants have lived with for nearly two generations, Iron Man. I assure you, it never gets easier.

But Mutants have managed to persevere despite that. I hope we can make it better than the situation at home.

Our definitions of the term persevere apparently differ greatly. Though I can agree with the desire not to end up sequester on an island that is little more than a rock off the coast of California.

I think we would be likely to destroy each other if shoved on an island together. It's certainly not something I'm particularly a fan of.

I would like to think that we would be capable of making peace with each other, at least so long as it assured our survival.

Recently, or rather, relatively recently, as the notion of time in this place is slightly untrustworthy, Scott Summers took the vast majority of the mutants remaining and brought them to an island. They declared it a nation unto itself, despite the rather tragic history you can imagine associated with it. I wonder if, one day, we will attempt such.

I don't know, have you met some of our fellow imports?

[ He takes that information in, but doesn't comment on it. He will later. ]

I have lived with Clint Barton and Henry Pym. I believe most obstacles can be overcome in the interest of survival.

Clint and Hank haven't tried to overtake a chunk of land because they can, or started a war for the fun of it.

What would you do if you were told you were not allowed to exist? What would they? I can't defend the actions of the X-Men or my father in their entirety, but I have been in this position before. First they deny us privileges, then rights, then they decide that it would be simpler for all involved if we were done away with completely.

I wasn't talking about Mutants, Pietro. I'm talking about imports, here. The ones who started a war for fun? The ones who brought us any number of superhuman threats. That's not because we're marginalized, it was for the thrill of it. I'm willing to give people a chance, plenty of chances, but I don't think we'd make it. We'd likely destroy each other.

I believe it a sad day when someone has less faith in humanity than myself. And I fail to see how we have not been marginalized in this situation.

I never said we weren't, I said the reason they did it wasn't because they were marginalized. I mean, the Major of all people was hardly feeling marginalized.

No, but we are to be because of his actions. The actions of one man in a few hundred.

There are more than just one, but it's true. People like that are the reason why I don't think we could be contained in one place.

And what of us would would demand equality without segregation? Truly that is the more unstable element for the majority of my people.

It is, but I don't think classifying between mutant and the rest of us is going to do us any favors. We're not separate populations.

I wasn't referring to mutants specifically. We run the risk of being segregated as ImPorts, regardless of our specific strains of DNA. In fact, we already segregate ourselves to some degree, but that is not uncommon for immigrants, historically. What I am proposing is that we will eventually be segregated by law, laws like this embargo nonsense, and there will be nothing to do other than accept it, or become little more than terrorists.

And, as I have been reminded recently, that distinction is something I have fought against for the entirety of my adult life. I am not eager to reclaim it.

I know.

We'll do something. But breaking these laws also sticks it in the people we need to convince that we're harmless.

We have a balance to achieve, and it's not an easy one.

Harmless and reasonable are not one in the same. I have no intention of telling anyone that I am, harmless, Iron Man. I will however continue to explain to them that I have absolutely no intention of abusing my abilities for personal gain. Or rather, abusing others with them.

And hopefully that will be enough. However, we have plenty of people who have already done enough harm. We have to convince them that we won't be doing that, and if being harmless is how we're going to do it, I'll be more than willing to do so.

Although I would be more than happy to show that I'm only harmful to their enemies, but they haven't been living in a world where we save mothers and children from Kang or Ultron a few times over.

Ver 3.7 | Video

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