Always You {𝟚} | Marvel √

2

Washington D.C.

"Mr. Stark, could we pick up now where we left off? Mr. Stark. Please," Senator Stern said. Tony turned around from looking at Pepper who was trying to tell him to pay attention.

"Yes, dear?" He asked.

"Can I have your attention?" Stern asked.

"Absolutely," Tony said.

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" Stern asked.

"I do not," Tony said.

"You do not?" Stern asked.

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

"The Iron Man weapon," Stern said.

Emma crinkled her eyebrows, offended, annoyed at how this was going already. "It's not even a weapon," she said and Peter looked at her then back at the TV, just as annoyed as Emma was.

"My device does not fit that description," Tony said.

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

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

"As?" Stern asked.

"It's a high-tech prosthesis. That is...That is.. That's actually the aptest description I can make of it," Tony said.

"It's a weapon. It's a weapon, Mr. Stark," Stern said.

"Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen-" Tony started to say.

"My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America," Stern said.

Both Peter & Emma dropped their jaws again, offended. "What?!" Peter exclaimed as Emma chuckled in a petty way. "Not gonna happen," she said.

"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," Tony said.

"Look, I'm no expert-" Stern started to say.

"In prostitution? Of course not. You're a senator. Come on," Tony said and everyone laughed as he turned to Pepper and waved. She didn't look impressed at all. 'No?' He mouthed and she shook 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," Stern said as Justin Hanmer walked in.

Emma stared at the screen with an eyebrow raised and a stern expression. "Really? I- Really?" She asked. "Who's that?" Peter asked. "Justin Hammer. He's the companies rival and all he does is show up and annoy everyone. Even me. And I'm 9," Emma said.

"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," Tony said.

"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. 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 said.