The pat down Tina and I got from the Secret Service had been constructed with my advice, but it was a major blow to my personal security. Metal was out, shrunken objects were out, basically only buttons, cloth, and lace were allowed through. There was a temperature check for extremis, a skin prick for durability testing, and a DNA reader that checked that we weren't inhuman or otherwise possessed of any unknown, exotic DNA.

They waved us through eventually and I looked over at Tina, who managed to look unruffled by the whole affair. She gave me a small nod of acknowledgement and we walked through the door to the room where Matthew Ellis was crowded by aides, Secretary of State Jordan, Secretary Garret, and World Security Council Member Malick. It wasn't an ostentatious room, with a simple décor that was tasteful but incredibly expensive. It was crowded.

I extended my hand to the President, who shook it with a smile that wasn't completely convincing but was quite good. He was an older man, late middle aged, and he had gray at the roots of his light brown hair and the sort of lines on his face that a job like the Presidency will give you. "Mr. President," I said, "It's good to finally meet you."

"Mr. Trent, let me thank you for your service to our planet and economy," Ellis said, all smiles. I wondered if he hated me like I hated him? I'd given him the most political bloody noses of any public figure in our long open jousting on every topic under the sun, but Ellis was also a man of public honor, at least, and I had avoided much personal contact with him since I had others who were able to bend his ears for me.

Today was not the day for that, however. "It was only a small share of the contribution I hope to make," I said, grinning back at him.

"Mr. Trent, this offer from Asgard is completely unacceptable," Ellis said, cutting straight through the bullshit. I could respect that. "Loki made a victim of the United States and now his offer is… a cushy prison from which he advises his brother and the possibility of maybe paying back Thanos for doing it."

I had to admit, I could see his perspective. Anger, judgment, the desire for vengeance seldom ran through my blood – Loki was an exception. But even then, it wasn't a governing passion for me, even how helpless he had made me feel and how much he had taken from me. There were lots of people who would feel that passion much hotter than me.

"Mr. President, I'm going to speak frankly. Asgard is our best chance for humanity to defeat Thanos, I do not believe that we can prevail without the aid of Heimdal and Thor and Loki's aid would be a great help. You're leaving behind a legacy of free energy, a prosperous, growing culture. Why not leave them a gift of peace and victory, justice and forgiveness?"

Ellis smirked, "You're very eloquent when you bother, Mr. Trent."

"I'm not…" I put my hands up and rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Mr. President, I just don't want us to miss this opportunity. I hate Loki. He hurt me. He hurt this country. I spent half my fortune ensuring that the families of those he killed would never live in want. But we have a chance to ensure that safety, not just of the billions of lives threatens on Earth, but also the trillions of lives out in the universe. We shouldn't throw that away because we want vengeance." I had made my money back in a few years, but nonetheless it had actually been a substantial share of my wealth at the time. The eyes in the room were on the two of us now, easily the two most politically powerful people in the world. Probably, honestly, the two most powerful individuals period. "Please… Mr. President… Hundreds of billions of people. A hundred and fifty million lives in the United States alike.."

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Ellis crossed his arms and rubbed his chin. He was seriously considering it. He looked over at his advisors and I followed his eyes: Malick and Garret were giving him nods, signaling support for my proposal – They had to, of course, I was their real boss. The aides looked mostly befuddled, the Secretary of State gave him a shrug.

"I'm lucky I don't need to be re-elected," Ellis said, after several moments. He looked like someone had struck him in the stomach with a baseball bat and squeezed his own fist. "This is going to shellack the Republican Party."

"I'm-"

Ellis held up a hand to stop me, "Don't, I know you're not sorry."

"I don't think it should cost you," I said instead, "If that's any help."

"I couldn't care less about your opinion of me." Fair enough. Apparently his capacity for bullshit had been completely sapped by the decision, at least in this context. "Alright, we'll do it," he wiped his face with his hand, straightening back up. He faded back into a politician in a moment. His face was set and resolute, "I need you all on this, we have to sell this to the other World Security Council nations, but Britain should be on board – They're in Thor's debt." Technically, we were all in Thor's debt on that one since we'd narrowly averted the destruction of life in the universe.

"I expect Russia will as well," Malick offered. The vote counting started at that point, discussions brooding over matters. It went on for quite a few minutes when Malick grabbed my arm and walked me off into the hallway.

"What's the matter, Gideon?" I asked as we cleared the door and started down the hall away from the secret service, toward the Russians.

"Are you sure this is wise," he whispered into my ear. "Our plans accounted for the popularity boost of defeating Thanos. Can we afford for that to be anonymized on another planet?"

I almost decked him. We weren't going to risk the death of half the universe for a marginal increase in the probability of our coup plans. I was permanently burdened with these idiots – This was the sort of genius strategic thinking that had led Malick in the original timeline to try to nuke New York City. If Hydra hadn't had Pierce it would've crashed decades ago.

"Gideon," I said instead of doing anything satisfying to rectify the error. "I am the Chief Head, it is my decision. I think this is the best course forward for the world."

We went to Russia's office and confirmed the plan with the United Nations Ambassador from Russia, a Hydra agent who we'd placed to make our votes for us. In turn, he started sending aides out to confirm the strategy with our other puppet states.

We walked out of the room and I caught sight of Steve Rogers and Skye- I mean, Daisy Johnson. They weren't loitering, exactly but they were walking suspiciously slowly. I resisted the urge to sigh and walked past them.

They definitely weren't supposed to be here.