The past few months had gone by rather quickly. By quickly I mean dad spend money lavishly, working on the suit upgrade, going off to blow weapons up, me trying and giving up on whatever Edgar put in me.
Imagine my surprise when Pepper walks into my room on the night of the Stark expo to tell me that we were going to DC in a few hours.
I quickly toss a few formal wear and a few other important stuff in before rushing to the airport with Pepper.
"I'm going to see Aunt Peggy after the hearing, you coming?" I ask dad in the phone. He was already in the court room and Happy was coming to pick us up.
"Nah, I'll pass." Dad replies and I sigh. He always avoided meeting her and I don't know why. Maybe because she could see right through him and still whip his ass if he fucks up.
"Okay then. Are you still planning the trip to Europe?" I ask
"Yeah."he replies.
"Are we going to London?" I ask hoping he'd tell me but he doesn't.
"Nope. Not telling. Nice try though. I almost fell for it. It's a spontaneous trip, smalls. That's why it's called spontaneous, you don't need to know. Now keep your curiosity in check, I think I just saw Hammer walk in." He says.
"Hammer? He can't be the one. What could he be doing there?" I ask.
"Well I don't know. Could you compile those clips for me?" He responds and I sigh.
"Fine. But I'm sure it's not Hammer." I say as I hang up.
Hammer is the worst. He's not a weapons expert. Heck, even Dum-E could be a better expert than he is.
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"Mr Stark, could we pick up now where we left off? Mr Stark. Please." The senator tries to get dad's attention off Pepper. Dad doesn't respond still whispering to her. Pepper tries to tell him off but the gavel sounds louder than before, catching dad's attention.
"Yes dear?" He asks facing his front now.
"Can I have your attention?" Senator Stern asks.
"Absolutely."dad replies nonchalantly.
"Do you or do you not possess a specialised weapon?" The senator asks
"I do not." Dad replied quickly.
"You do not?" He asks.
"I do not. Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon." Dad replies
"The Iron Man weapon." Senator Stern replies.
"My device does not fit that description." Dad responds with a bored tone.
"Well... How would you describe it?" Stern asks
"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator." Dad replies
"As?" The senator asks
"It's a high-tech prosthesis. That is... That is... That's actually the most apt description I can make of it." Dad replies before turning to me and I nod.
"It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Mr Stark." The senator insists and I groan.
"Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen..." dad starts
"My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America." The Senator interupts.
"Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suit would be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution, depending or what state you're in. You can't have it." Dad says.
"Look, I'm no expert..." the senator begin but dad cuts him off.
"In prostitution? Of course not. You're a senator. Come on." Dad says and people laugh. He turns around to wave at Pepper but she gives him the 'I'm not impressed look'. He mouths 'no?' at her but she shakes her head.
"I'm no expert in weapons. We have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I'd now like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor." The Senator says
"Let the record reflect that I observed Mr Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if and when any actual expert will also be in attendance." Dad says before turning to me, giving me the ' I told you so ' look.
I rolled my eyes before picking up the tab and sending the videos to him.
"Absolutely. I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy. Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad. Howard Stark." I don't understand why he was bringing granddad into this. And why the heck is he calling him Anthony? It was weird.
"Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age. Let's just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion. We all know why we're here. In the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet, he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave the house, but this ain't Canada. You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America." Justin rambles.
"That is well said Mr Hammer. The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber." The Senator says and I turn around in shock. He didn't tell me he was coming.
"Rhodey? What?" Dad asks turning to me and I denied as shocked as he was.
Rhodey walks in and dad gets up to greet him. They whisper something between themselves before going to seat.
"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, complied by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?" Stern asks Rhodey and I shake my head.
This guy definitely wanted the suit but he was going to have to kill dad before he could get it.
"You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?" Rhodey asks.
"Yes, sir." The senator replied
"It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner." Rhodey says.
"I understand. A lot of things have changed today. So if you could just read..." the senator starts but he was interrupted.
"You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summery of my final..." Rhodey tries to defend himself.
"Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you." Stern insists.
"Very well. "As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests." I did however, go on to summarise that the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh three liabilities and that it would be in our interest..." Rhodey tries again but he was interrupted by the Senator.
"That's enough Colonel"
"...to fold Mr Stark..."
"That's enough" the senator dismissed.
"...into the existing chain of command, Senator."
"I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defence, if you ask nice." Dad quips and the crowd erupts in laughter. "We can amend the hours a little bit."
"I'd like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report." The Senator asks
"I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public at this time." Rhodey says.
"With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you could just narrate those for us, we'd be very grateful. Let's have the images." The senator insists.
"Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr Stark's suit. This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground indicating that these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational." Rhodey explains as the picture is displayed. This is far from the truth, from this angle you can see their prototype and it seemed fine and ready.
"Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here. Boy, I'm good." Dad says as he connected the device to their screen. "I commandeered your screens. I need them. Time for a little transparency. Now, let's see what's really going on."
"What is he doing?" Stern replies suddenly uneasy.
"If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that's North Korea." Dad says as the clip starts. The suit walks for two second before toppling over.
"Can you turn that off? Take it off." Stern asks as Hammer stands up.
"Iran." Dad says as the next video starts. This suit can fly. For all of five seconds before crashing, judging by the smoke, probably on fire.
Justin is by the screen, trying to find the off switch.
"No grave threat here. Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game?" Dad asks mockingly as a video of Hammer comes up. "Justin, you're on TV. Focus up." Dad says as Hammer frantically searches for the off button.
He stands in front of a suit giving basic commands only for the suit to twist at a very odd angle. He finally finds the plug and pulls it.
"Wow. Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, ten years away. Hammer Industries, twenty." Dad says.
"I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived." He says as he takes his seat and wipes his forehead.
"I think we're done is the point that he's making. I don't think there's any reason..." Stern says as he stands
"The point is, you're welcome, I guess" dad says and I rolled my eyes.
"For what?" Stern asks
"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent. It's working. We're safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can't have it. But I did you a big favour." Dad replies slamming his hand on the table before turning around to face the crowd. "I've successfully privatised world peace.What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns."
"Fuck you, Mr Stark. Fuck you, buddy. We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today." Stern says over the claps and cheers.
"Okay." Dad says as he puts on his sunglasses and throwing air kisses at the senator before walking into the crowd of people.
"You've been a delight" Stern says as we head out.