[Unfortunately, bereft of anything but text, Pepper has only the written word to go on. By the flexed hands and the sudden rake of one through her hair, and the bright points rising to her cheeks as she reads it... the text isn't helping. But by the end, Pepper just shakes her head, her expression going neutral-to-disappointed as it's done so many times during the bad spots in her previous life of Stark-keeping.]


You really just don't get it, do you? [Her voice has gone almost wistful.]

Belief, real belief doesn't work like that. You can't... will yourself to do it. You can't just flip a switch. Telling me that I'm stopping myself is about as useful as telling an atheist they could believe in a god if they'd just try hard enough. Because yes, you are sounding pretty religious from where I'm sitting.

Jack... why are you so caught up in the 40-something people awake and from the ship? If you need believers, if children make better ones, there are millions of children on this planet. You don't need to be visible to us all to help, and all you're doing is alienating people who can't see you, but don't need to just to appreciate assistance. You're telling us we're not good enough as we are, and you're making it sound like we're just being stubborn. If you're not being passive-aggressive, then you're being, well--

[She stops, and her smile skews dry.]

Well, then you're being kind've a jerk.