Global Reaction
Sometime before...
Natasha stood outside the expo, watching as people ran and screamed when the Hammer Drones turned on the public. She was angry, angry that Stark had retaliated against Shield and fried their system, corrupting their servers and removing all information. That's why she never went to help him fight Vanko. Clint's protection was blown, the Shield fake identity made for his children was spotted, and they were currently in custody of the government. Clint and Laura, the people who took her in, were in fear. Fear that they would lose their kids, their home, and the protection for those kids, Lila and Cooper. Even if they got custody back, Clint had enemies, and without entering their kids under fake aliases, Clint's enemies could attack schools to get revenge on him.
"Damn Stark, how dare he not submit to Shield and let the bugs in the house! It's for the greater good that Shield monitors him," Natasha said. As she heard the public start fanboying over Stark and sighied, she walked to see the fight, and her eyes were left wide open as she saw Stark manipulate the ground to destroy the Hammer Drones, control the wind to attack the drones and protect the civilians, and then watched him pull a move only Thor in Asgardian legend could and strike some drones with thunder.
She felt the power Stark was showing off was more than his Ironman suit. It was not even close to his tech as he used to be. Natasha was in shock to see how Stark was making the drones look like toys. "What the hell is this?" she said.
"He needs to be controlled, leashed up, and monitored," she said in her head.
Meanwhile, at the Shield Helicarrier...
Fury was mad Stark had destroyed and corrupted all their tech. Suddenly he heard commotion and went to see his agents on their phones, all talking about Stark's fight with Vanko. He took the phone from one of the nearest agents, and what he saw made his eyes pop out of his head. "What in the nine gates of hell is that!" Fury yelled.
The agent answered, "It's Stark, sir."
"What do you mean it's Stark? How did he become more powerful? This was not possible even for the Iron Man suit," Fury asked.
"Director," Fury heard as he saw his second-in-command Hill and his good eye Coulson run towards him. "Sir, did you see the footage of the Expo battle?" Hill said.
"I did. What in the hell is that? Since when could Stark fight with his imagination?" Fury yelled.
"We don't know, sir," Coulson replied. "I left him with Former Director Howard's research as you ordered and left to go to New Mexico and met the alien god Thor and came home to our tech being fried and this footage."
"Find out, call Natasha, and tell her she better have answers. She was meant to profile Stark, so she should know," Fury yelled.
"Sir, whatever Stark has developed, it's beyond any tech we've seen. It's not just the suit; it's as if he's controlling the very elements," Coulson said. "I'm not sure Natasha would know what's going on. Before I was reassigned, she was shadowing Pepper Potts, keeping her cover as Natalie Rushman."
"Call her; she needs to report in. Whatever Stark has, it's dangerous, and we need to know everything about it," Fury ordered.
"With all due respect, sir, we need to approach Stark and ask him directly," Coulson said.
"No, he doesn't trust us, and definitely not after Natasha's mission and using our bugs to destroy our system. It's a sign he doesn't need us; he took what he needed, the cure to palladium, and moved on," Hill added.
"Coulson, you're on his case, so call his assistant Virginia Potts, get information now," Fury ordered.
"Yes, sir," Coulson said and walked out.
"Director Fury," a familiar voice said as Fury turned to see Natasha. "Stark's got some new technology that can manipulate the environment, that lets him materialize the Iron Man suit instantly without carrying anything."
"We saw the footage, Romanoff, but what is that technology?" Coulson asked.
"I don't know," Natasha answered. "But we should get it for the greater good. It's not safe in the hands of some egotistical billionaire with daddy issues."
"No, he needs to be controlled, leashed up, and monitored," Natasha said.
"How's Barton doing?" Fury asked.
"He's pissed and scared. His identity was blown, his wife's also, and they are terrified of the government taking away his kids since without the fake identities, they don't have any claim to their children other than doing a blood test, and we know Clint's enemies are mafia, cartels that will do anything to get revenge for their fallen friends or families."
"Damn that idiot Stark; he just doesn't listen." Fury cursed. "What about the other agents we assigned to Stark?"
"They were all fired by Stark," Natasha reported.
"That's not all; all our data we had on the Iron Man suit, Tesseract, Hulk, Thor, gone, all of it," Hill said.
"Damn it! Okay, before we go after Stark, we need to fix everything. Have our technicians get everything back up and running and try to recover the data lost. While that's happening, have our scientists on the Stark case; I want to know how Stark did what he did and have it replicated," Fury ordered.
"On it, sir," Hill and Natasha said as they left to carry out their orders.
"If only Howard and Maria had lived, they could have guided Stark to become a man with vision and integrity. One that would have shared this with Shield for the good of the world," Fury muttered to himself as he watched the chaos unfold.
In Washington...
President Ellis and the US Congress were all sitting around the table discussing the situation and how Stark had revealed such technology, and the world would fear it.
"What's the latest update on the situation?" the President said.
"Iron Man stopped the threat, Vanko."
"That's not what I meant, and you know it," the President said.
"The Iron Man suit Stark used was far superior to anything we have seen, and Stark was able to use powers not possible, like control the environment and weather, like it was an extension of himself. It was like he was fighting with his imagination."
"So it is confirmed the footage wasn't faked?" the President asked.
"We are 100% certain, sir," the official said.
"This is bad. Stark has revealed a power the United States or any nation can't hope to match. Not only that, the fallout of Vanko taking over Hammer Drones and being allowed by a United States Senator Stern, who also pressured Iron Man's friend Colonel James Rhodes to steal the Mark 2, which was turned against the public after it was hacked by Vanko, a criminal who tried to kill Stark, and Hammer, our primary weapons contractor. Stern helped illegally bring it into the country, has hurt our public image. People are saying we allowed this. That the government are traitors, especially after Stark released footage proving all of this," the official said.
"I have no choice. We will have to publicly denounce Hammer Industries and the removal of Senator Stern.
Also, have them killed for treason and letting a Russian criminal access to United States weapon systems. As for Stark, we need to bring him under control," the President said.
"How, sir?" an official asked.
"That I don't know, but we will in time. Right now, we need to wait," the President said.
"Wait?" another official asked.
"Yes, there is no rush. Let Stark think he's in control, that he won, let him get confident in his victory, and then when the next time he makes a mistake, we will strike while the iron's hot," the President said.
"I understand, sir," the officials said as they left.
"Well, well, looks like we have a problem," a familiar voice said as the President looked up to see an older man wearing a suit with a cigar and glasses walking.
"Secretary Alexander Pierce, what brings you here?" the President said.
"Oh, nothing. I was just here to see how the government will handle Stark. But it seems you are gonna bend over backward. Now is the time to take action. If the public gets used to Stark wielding this Technology, then we lose any chance to control him or even use his brain," Pierce said.
"What would you suggest?" the President asked.
"First, the removal of Hammer, Stern, and Hammer's CEO, Justin Hammer. He's a liability, and Stern's already ruined. They have to be taken out. Then, we need to have the CIA leak evidence that Stern was taking bribes and that Hammer had ties to terrorists. And Stern sold his soul to Russia," Pierce said.
"Then?" the President asked.
"We demand Stark hand over the technology. If he refuses, well, then we have a proxy fight him instead and kill the people close to him. He will retaliate, knowing Stark and his emotional responses, which will put the fear of God into these people. And bam, we use that to get the public on our side and take Stark's tech. And if it's some kind of enhancement, put him on a leash," Pierce said.
"I don't want the blood of an American citizen on my hands," the President said.
"Do you want the world to be a puppet of a spoiled billionaire who doesn't care about anyone but himself, and the only reason he fights is for his ego?" Pierce said.
"Fine, but I don't want my name or the United States' name attached to this because when Stark strikes back, and I know he will, I don't want to be in the crosshairs of a man who makes suns and sends them flying at you," the President said.
"I know that will be counterproductive, Mr. President. That's why we will use Wakanda," Pierce said.
"Wakanda?" the President asked. "That poor nation we send relief to. How can they help?"
"Mr. President, don't be fooled by their act of poverty, their small size and population. Wakanda is a hidden power. They have technology so advanced that it would make the United States look like some third-world country. They are worried Shield has been monitoring them, and they have been sabotaging anyone who gets close to their technology. They are the ones that made the Arc Reactor demonstration by Howard Stark fail in the 1970s. They are the ones who made sure that our technology doesn't go beyond them. And want to know how they are advanced? Vibranium, that's right. They claim they don't sell it for religious purposes, but in reality, it's because they hoard the material and are the richest nation in the world," Pierce said.
"You seem to know a lot about the Wakandans," the President said.
"Well, I am Secretary of World Security, but anyways, Shield used alien technology to intercept their messages to their War Dogs, a special unit with untraceable Vibranium weapons. It seems they have ordered the death of Stark," Pierce said.
"So they will eliminate Stark, and we will not even need to lift a finger," Ellis said.
"Oh, God no," Pierce said, laughing. "Their War Dogs will die, but it's Stark's response that will be what we need. You see, while they try and fail to kill Stark, I want you to send a Navy Seal by the name of Eric Killmonger after Stark's friend. He's a Wakandan, and after his friends are either dead or injured, Stark will stop at nothing to get revenge, even annihilating Wakanda. And we use that to eliminate two threats to the United States of America. Wakanda will be either wiped out or ruined by Stark, and Stark will create too much fear by annihilating a country. To save face and out of guilt, he will comply," Pierce said.
"What's this guy Killmonger's deal?" the President asked.
"Eric Stevens, AKA Erik Killmonger, is a Navy Seal. He's the most ruthless, cold-blooded killer I've ever met. There's no emotion behind his kills. He just does what he's told, no questions asked. But what makes him perfect is that he's King T'Chaka's brother's son. A Wakandan pawn at our disposal. That's what makes him perfect for this job," Pierce said.
"Alright, let's get this started. Attack Stark and blame it on the Wakandans," the President ordered.
"Oh, it will be more than a blame," Pierce said, smirking. "It will be a message to Stark and people like him: we will get what we want. We have the true power here, and the sooner he and everyone else knows that, the better," Pierce said.
"Yes," Ellis said.
Meanwhile, in Wakanda...
"I see you've seen the footage of Tony Stark and his new powers," the Queen said.
"Yes," the Wakandan King T'Chaka said. "It's worrisome. The way he's using his powers. If this spreads out across the world, there's no telling what could happen."
"We could lose the secrecy we've maintained for centuries," the Queen said.
"And the world would be plunged into chaos," the King added.
"What are your thoughts, son?" the King said.
"My thoughts are the same as yours. Stark must be eliminated," T'Challa replied.
"But how? The man is virtually invincible now. Our vibranium spears, axes, and spears will do nothing against his powers," the Queen said.
"That's why we'll have to send in the War Dogs. Have them attack before he can suit up, even if it means casualties of those colonizers," the King said.
"We cannot do that, Father," T'Challa said, his voice rising with anger.
"Why not?" the King demanded.
"Because Tony Stark has not attacked or harmed Wakanda," Shuri said.
"His father, Howard, took our vibranium; that's more than enough reason to attack. T'Challa, take your sister away; she clearly is too young to understand. Okoye, give the orders to the War Dogs; tell them to eliminate Stark and don't worry about casualties," the King ordered.
"Yes, my King," Okoye said and left.
"Come, Shuri; father is right. Wakanda is our only priority. Not only is he the son of a criminal, but he also made technology that is better than ours and that is dangerous," T'
Challa said.
"Brother, this is wrong," Shuri said as she was dragged to her room by T'Challa. "Father, we won't win; you will only bring down his wrath. He will destroy everything if we miss him. His friend!" Shuri yelled.
"Enough, Shuri. I'm the king, and you will obey," T'Chaka said. "It's been decided by not just me but also the elders of the other tribes."
Shuri was taken by her brother. T'Chaka then turned to Okoye. "I'm sorry you had to see that, but pass on my message to the War Dogs."
"Yes, my King," Okoye said.
As soon as the door shut, T'Chaka looked at the pictures of his brother and father and said, "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but Wakanda's survival comes first."