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[ So hello, Imports, many of you have seen some parts of Starktech before, but Tony Stark's office is a little different. There's a moment of discomfort, when the hand pulls back -- actually using the communicator is obviously not natural to Stark, who pulls back after a moment to show he's not alone. It's also Charles Xavier in the shot, but other than a tip of his head, he doesn't acknowledge him at first. ]

There we go. Alright, evening everyone.

If I haven't introduced myself to you personally, that's a shame, and we should change that. I'm Tony Stark. My friend here -- [ A gesture backward ] is Charles Xavier.

But before we get started on why we're here, I want to give a little bit of a history lesson. And excuse my missteps, I'm not a professor by any stretch of the imagination. [ An eyeroll in someone's direction. The someone in question, merely smiled serenely but wasn’t about to take Tony off the hook. Not in this instance. ] I'm better at doing than explaining. Always have been.

But that's just the way things are, and since I'm something of a relic here -- [ A grimace. He recently just had an anniversary. ] -- and since I've been ported away from home for a long while, I want to talk a little bit about what I've seen. You see, this whole thing with Russia? It's a bit like watching an old show remade -- kind of. We're used to being disliked -- whether as Superhumans, mutants, metahumans, or imports, or whatever it is you go by back in your own world. That's just how it is, when people suddenly start manifesting with more power than we know what to do with. It's natural to fear us. I've known people who could destroy the world if they wanted -- I've even seen it come close a time or two. To put it mildly. To go from normalcy to the verge of a disaster movie? It's difficult for the best of us, and not everyone is the best of us.

Back before -- in the City, we spent a long time dealing with this. See, when I first arrived, we weren't easily controlled, or well regulated. We...did things. At one point, Godzilla took over, someone summoned a fleet of demons -- and cthulhu, and then an import defaced the moon. [ It was a dick. The rumors about a dick on the moon were true. ] See, people didn't like that, and they stepped up, and started an organization called Vulcanus. They infiltrated us at one point. Then they started going to other worlds in an effort to stop us. They even used Sea Turtles as guinea pigs to give themselves superpowers. We even went to a world where they took control, and us imports were essentially their property.

I won't lie, it's bad, and we shouldn't be treated like that. By any stretch of the imagination. But everything that's happening, the way Russia kidnapped some of us, and tried to brainwash the rest of us... we've been through it before, and come out the other side. Hell, Lachesis saved us that last time, but we still persevere every time. But I don't know about you, but I'd rather it not be a battle every time. And we need to do more, we need to be better at convincing the world around us that we should be welcome. Which, actually, is why we're talking to you today.

[ Alright. Tony had taken care of the history lesson, so now it was Charles’ turn to pick up the professor baton.

Rolling his chair slightly more into the frame, he nodded towards Stark before turning his attention to the camera feed. ]

‘May you live in interesting times” I believe is a quote that many of us have heard and I have to admit that since arriving here three months ago I feel as if I’ve been living in very interesting times indeed.

[ He offered the words with a smile, before sobering and continuing. ]

One of my first encounters with a local here in this world was a woman who was expressing her concerns over imPorts and some of the destruction that has been caused over time. One of my first experiences was when the city of Heropa was overtaken by a jungle and from there, the situation with the Soviets came to head.

When the Soviets first kidnapped imPorts, I was one of those who traveled to France, to talk with the French about aid. It was an eye opening experience for me, as the French had a number of questions and concerns when it came to imPorts.

[ Lifting a hand, he motioned towards Stark. ]

As Mr. Stark explained from his first hand experience of previous situations, the unknown factor surrounding imPorts, is allowing a fear of our abilities to take root in people's’ minds, particularly when they are getting sensationalist media reports about imPort activities.

So we’ve come up with an idea.

We want to try and adopt a more proactive attitude in reaching out to the international community and offering humanitarian technology and innovations that can come from imPorts. To this end, StarkTech has already committed funds and tech innovations in the fields of medical equipment and infrastructure; such as clean waterways and stable electricity.

I do want to be clear that we are only pursuing humanitarian innovations and technology. Nothing military, even in a defensive capacity. The goal here is to show the world that while we are powerful and/or come from worlds vastly more advanced than this one, our abilities need not be looked upon as merely weapons and feared as such.

[ Don’t know about anyone else but Charles had taken a little exception to the Soviets’ claims that imPorts were little more than weapons for the United States. ]

We’ve only just started to toss these ideas around and our hope is that there may be other imPorts who would like a chance to contribute to this effort? I understand that recent events have given us reason to feel cautious. But as a community, we have such a wide range of experiences, skills and abilities that the chance to offer our assistance on an international level, could afford us the opportunity to help show the locals of this world that they don’t need another Vulcanus.

[ Stark leans forward then, a bit more self-satisfied smile on his face than is strictly necessary, but then again, it’s Tony Stark. ] We want the community’s input, at the very least, but more than that, I’d personally like to see more people involved, no matter what your expertise is in -- there’s a place for everyone. So don’t hesitate to speak up, or ask questions, if there’s something that comes to mind.

[ It was Charles’ turn to nod in agreement with Tony’s words, before he continued. ]

This is an initiative that will work best if it comes from as many of us as are willing to offer time, ideas, and assistance. Large or small, it only needs to help show the international community that they don’t need to believe the Soviets’ insistence, that we are no more than weapons of the United States.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

After what happened to all of those innocent civilians I think it's the least we can do.

[Plus it'll likely piss off the government, which is a bonus.]

Well, yeah. That's it exactly. We need to find new ways to prevent things like that from happening again.

And figuring out ways to make them think we're helping is a good way to keep the government from lashing out.

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