Always Been You | Tony Stark

Captiolo (12) Dodici ~ Committee Meeting

"Mr. Stark, could we pick up now where we left off?" Senator Stern banged his gavel, trying to get Tony's attention.

"Turn around and pay attention!" I whispered to him.

"Mr. Stark please."

"Yes, dear?" Tony finally turned around, making the people in the room laugh.

"Can I have your attention?"

"Absolutely."

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

"I do not," Tony spoke directly into his mic.

"You do not?"

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

"The Iron Man weapon." The senator tossed his hands up a bit.

"My device does not fit that description."

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

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

"As?"

"Um, it's a... high-tech prosthesis." He said, making the group of people laugh once again. "Kinda like Miss. Lynn's leg." He deftly pointed to me, the comment making me uncomfortable as I tried to hide my thigh under my skirt more while crossing my leg over the other.

"That is- that's actually the most apt description I can make of it."

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

"Miss Lynn's leg? And, please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen..."

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

"Well, you can forget it." Tony paused. "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 on what state you're in." The crowd laughed at his remark. "You can't have it."

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

"In prostitution? Of course not. You're a senator. Come on." Tony turned around, holding up a piece sign. When he looked at me, he saw my hard expression, mouthing a "no?".

"Um, I'm no expert in weapons. We have somebody here who is an expert on weapons though. 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," Tony spoke into the mic, making the people murmur as Stern banged his gavel.

"Absolutely." Hammer laughed, pulling the mic closer to himself. "I'm no expert. I defer to you, Anthony. You're the wonder boy. Um, 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."

"You might want to do some fact checking there Hammer, 'cause last I checked it was my aunt Olivia who created all of the inventions, my dad just slapped his name on everything and called it a day. When she died all he did was take her designs and tried his best to copy them so he would stay relevant. Which I guess worked in the long run."

"Alright, I'll give you that, Anthony. Your aunt was a real fireball in her day. Made some amazing things." Hammer nodded. "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." There was very scattered applause for Justin Hammer as he sat back down in his seat.

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

"Rhodey? What?" Tony turned around confused. "Did you know about this?" He asked me as I rolled my eyes at him.

"Hey, buddy. I didn't expect to see you here." Tony sent a small glare at me.