Iron Woman - (Fem Iron man X Pepper)

Chapter 16 - Meeting

I was at this stupid meeting not even listening, talking to Pepper behind me, "Miss Stark, could we pick up now where we left off? Miss Stark. Please." Stern asks.

"Yes dear?" I ask, making everyone laugh.

"Can I have your attention?"

"Absolutely." I nod.

"Do you or do you not possess a specialised weapon?"

"I do not." I say.

"You do not?"

"I do not. Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon." I shrug.

"The Iron Woman weapon."

"My device does not fit that description." I say.

"Well...How would you describe it?"

"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator." I nod.

"As?"

"It's a high-tech prosthesis." This makes other laugh. "That is...That is....That's actually the most apt description I can make of it."

"It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Miss Stark."

I interrupt, "Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen..."

"My priority is to get the Iron Woman weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America."

"Well, you can forget it. I am Iron Woman. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Woman 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." I shake my head.

"Look, I'm no expert...."

"In prostitution? Of course not. You're a senator. Come on." I turn and stare at Pepper...she looked pissed.

"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."

"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." I say.

Justin laughs, "Absolutely. I'm no expert. I defer to you, Y/N. You're the wonder girl. Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert?" He points at me. "Your dad. Howard Stark. 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, Y/N Stark has created a sword with untold possibilities. And yet, she insists it's a shield. She asks us to trust her as we cower behind it. I wish I were comforted, Y/N, 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 Miss Stark will not always be able to foresee. Thank you. God bless Iron Woman. God bless America."

"That is well said Mr Hammer. The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber."

"Rhodey? What?" I turn. Rhodey walks in, I get up to greet him.
"Hey, buddy. I didn't expect to see you here."

"Look, it's me, I'm here. Deal with it. Let's move on." He whisper.

"I just..."

Rhodey stares at me, "Drop it."

"All right, I'll drop it." I nod.

"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Woman weapon, complied by Colonel Rhodes. And, Colonel, for the record, can you please read page 57, paragraph four?" Stern asks.

"You're requesting that I read specific selections from my report, Senator?" Rhodey asks.

"Yes, sir."

Rhodey looks up, "It was my understanding that I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner."

"I understand. A lot of things have changed today. So if you could just read..."

Rhodey argues, "You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summery of my final..."

"Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you."

"Very well......As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Woman presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests." He pauses. "I did however, go on to summarise that the benefits of Iron Woman far outweigh three liabilities and that it would be in our interest..."

"That's enough Colonel!"

"...to fold Miss Stark.."

"That's enough" Stern says.

"....into the existing chain of command, Senator."

"I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defence, if you ask nice." I say, making the crowd laugh. "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."

"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."

"Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Miss Stark's suit. This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground..." Rhodey says.

I look down at my device and start tapping into the program.
"Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here." I set up my device to connect with the screen showing the pictures. "Boy, I'm good. I commandeered your screens. I need them. Time for a little transparency. Now, let's see what's really going on."

"What is she doing?" Stern asks.

"If you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that's North Korea." There's a video of a suit. It falls over and clearly doesn't work very well at all.

"Can you turn that off? Take it off." Justin Hammer stands up.

"Iran." I show another suit that 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?"
Then there's a video of Justin Hammer. With a suit. Again that really doesn't work. "Justin, you're on TV. Focus up. Wow. Yeah, I'd say most countries, five, ten years away. Hammer Industries, twenty."

"I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived." Justin says.

"I think we're done is the point that he's making. I don't think there's any reason...."

"The point is, you're welcome, I guess" I shrug.

"For what?"

"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." I stand and face the crowd, throwing a peace sign. "I've successfully privatised world peace.....What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns." I laugh.

"Fuck you, Miss Stark. Fuck you, buddy. We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today." Stern says.

"Wow...that's how you talk to a lady?" I laugh, putting on my sunglasses. I then blow him a kiss, and walk off.