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Happy drove them up to Stark Industries HQ, where Obadiah is waiting with the press and their employees. Now, Andromeda loved Obadiah, he was one of the people that helped raise her for gods sake, but, nowadays she can't seem to shake the feeling he's hiding something from them.
People clapped as the car pulled around, happy for Tony's arrival. The bright lights flashing almost made Andromeda sick.
"Look at this!" Obadiah smiled as he made his way over to the car. He opened to door then spread his arms apart as if asking for a hug which Tony returned. "Tony. We were going to meet at the hospital."
"No, I'm fine." Tony said waving him off. Andromeda made her way out of the car with a overfilled McDonald's Bag in her hand.
"Look at you!" Obadiah patted Tony's arm as the older Stark took the a cheeseburger from the brown Burger King bag Happy was holding. "You had to have a burger, yeah?"
"Well, come on." Tony said but was drowned by the cheers.
"You get me one of those?" He asked Tony.
Tony looked back at Obadiah and back forward. "There's only one left. I need it."
Obadiah looked at Andromeda who happily munched on her nuggets. "What about you? You get me anything?"
"Nope!" Andromeda smiled they walked into the building. She slowed her footsteps down to match Pepper's.
"Hey, look who's here! Yeah!" Obadiah announced as they walked into the press conference room. Everyone clapped and cheered at the sight of Tony Stark.
"Miss Potts? Miss Stark?" A kind, friendly voice asked, grabbing their attention.
"Yes." Pepper answered.
"Can I speak to you two for a moment?" He asked with a warm smile embedded on his face.
"We are not part of the press conference, but it's about to begin right now."
"I'm not a reporter," The man told them. "I'm Agent Phil Coulson, with the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
"That's quite a mouthful." Pepper told the man, trying to digest what he just said.
"I know. We're working on it." Agent Coulson said.
"SHIELD. It's gonna be called SHIELD now oaky? Okay." Andromeda nodded making Phil's smile wider.
"You know, we've been approached already by the DOD, the FBI, the CIA..." Pepper listed.
"We're a separate division with a more specific focus. We need to debrief Mr. Stark about the circumstances of his escape." Phil explained.
"I'll put something in the book, shall I?" Pepper smiled
"Thank you."
"Well, let's get this started, uh..." Obadiah started.
"Hey, would it be all right if everyone sat down?" Tony asked as he sat down in front of the podium. "Why don't you just sit down? That way you can see me, and I can... A little less formal and." Tony trailed off, taking a bite of his cheeseburger as everyone sat down on the floor.
"What's up with the love-in?" Rhodey asked as Andromeda continued eating her food.
"Don't look at me. I don't know what he's up to." Pepper replied.
"It's Tony, just sit back and not enjoy the ride." Andromeda said with her mouth full, making the two adults cringe.
"Close your mouth," Pepper scolded with a slightly glare making Andromeda cower.
"Good to see you." Tony told Obadiah.
"Good to see you." Obadiah replied.
"I never got to say goodbye to Dad." Tony started, making Andromeda swallow harshly and look down. "I never got to say goodbye to my father. There's questions that I would have asked him. I would have asked him how he felt about what this company did. If he was conflicted, if he ever had doubts. Or maybe he was every inch the man we all remember from the newsreels. I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to defend them and protect them. And I saw that I had become part of a system that is comfortable with zero accountability."
"Mr. Stark!"
"Hey, Ben." Tony greeted a reporter.
"What happened over there?" The reporter known as Ben asked.
"I had my eyes opened." Tony said, moving behind the podium. "I came to realize that I have more to offer this world than just making things that blow up. And that is why, effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division of Stark International," Tony's voice was overpowered by the reporters overlapping voices, "until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be."
"I think we're gonna be selling a lot of newspapers." Obadiah joked as he stood up beside Tony.
"What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well." Without saying anymore, Tony left the stage, leaving Obadiah to the reporters.
"What we should take away from this is that Tony's back! And he's healthier than ever. We're going to have a little internal discussion and we'll get back to you with the follow-up." Obadiah smiled.
"Oh. My. God." Andromeda said with her mouth wide open, a fry falling out of her mouth.
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sorry for the short chapter. i was going to write more but i couldn't seem to get any ideas of what to do next. anyways i hoped you enjoyed the story!
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