Chapter 1
“You want to run for what?!”
Okay, so maybe springing the idea on Pepper and Rhodey wasn’t Tony’s best plan. But to be fair, how often does one explain to his two best friends that he doesn’t want to take over a multi-billion dollar company just yet? Better yet, that he wants to put it off to run for the United States Senate?
“Tony, have you thought this through? Like, at all?” Rhodey added, and Tony scoffed from his spot on the couch. At least he’d done this in his penthouse instead of on a business level of Stark Tower, as he was pretty sure Pepper’s shrieks would have carried through the entire floor.
“Of course I’ve thought this through,” Tony responded, casually draping an arm over the back of the couch. Pepper and Rhodey exchanged a glance from where they were seated in the armchairs across from him.
“It’s probably already too late to file, it’s September! The election is in less than two months!” Pepper pointed out, still sounding slightly dumbfounded by the entire thing.
“That’s true. However, I can run as a write-in candidate. With my name, I’ll get the attention I’d need from the press to get the word out. Plus, it’s easy to remember me.” Tony’s signature smirk settled on his face. He’d thought this through.
“But-why? You’ve never shown any sort of interest in politics. You’ve complained about bureaucratic bullshit on more than one occasion. The Senate isn’t exactly conducive to spending all your time in a lab, either,” Rhodey asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back in his chair.
“Rhodey’s right,” Pepper added on, nodding as she looked over at the Air Force colonel. “You’re supposed to take over the company now - you’re thirty! The board thinks you’re ready, and-”
“Actually, the board doesn’t think I’m ready,” Tony interrupted. “Apparently I’m immature, hot-headed, and unsure of what’s best for the company.” He sniffed, crossing his arms over his chest in an imitation of his best friend sitting across from him.
“So you think that running for Senate will convince the board you’re serious? What kind of plan is that?” Pepper asked, piecing together the rest of Tony’s thought process.
“What’s more serious than the government?”
“That’s-that’s not why people run for political office, Tones,” Rhodey protested. “People run for a lot of reasons - to benefit themselves, because they want power, to effect change for others. But I’m pretty sure you’d be the first and only person to run for public office to convince the investors of a private company that you’re ready to take over as CEO.”
“That’s why it’s a perfect plan,” Tony said smugly, crossing his arms behind his head. “No one will see it coming - I waltz in, tell them I’m running to, I don’t know, make sure we’re making good investments in STEM and research projects. And if I manage to make business a little bit better for SI while I’m there, then that’s just a bonus.”
“That’s probably highly illegal,” Pepper pointed out.
“Why? I’m not CEO yet, I’m just a concerned private citizen,” Tony said, putting a hand over his heart in mock offense.
“People also run for office when they’re well-liked, Tony. Your image isn’t exactly stellar. Do you know how people might react to you running? You know, you do need actual votes to win.” Rhodey raised an eyebrow at his friend, confident he’d thought of the one thing Tony hadn’t.
“Actually, yes. I had JARVIS run some scenarios, and in every one of them, the voters love me. I’m a billionaire, yes, which means a certain political party won’t care for me at first. But, I’ve made millions of dollars worth of charitable donations, my inventions help keep our troops safe, and Stark Industries is moving in the direction of being self-sustainable. Plus, I’m single, and--”
“Oh my god,” Pepper’s voice echoed as she buried her face in her hands.
“-- and that does well with voters. They love a handsome bachelor, and they’ll love me even more when they realize I’m running for them, to make things better for them. Or at least, that's what my messaging will be.”
“You’re such an arrogant ass, Tony,” Rhodey said, but was unable to hide the smile that came to his face upon hearing the full plan.
“Don’t I know it,” Tony fired back immediately.
There was silence in the room for a few moments.
“We’re not gonna be able to talk you out of this, are we?” Rhodey asked with an exasperated sigh. Tony shook his head.
“Absolutely not. I’m telling you guys, this is a great plan. Besides, just think. Senator Stark has such a great ring to it, doesn’t it?”
Twin groans echoed through the room.
---
“I have an assignment for you.”
Peter looked up from his computer, where he was busy looking into the primary presidential candidates, trying to dig up any possible skeletons in their closets. He’d been working as an investigative journalist at the New York Times ever since he graduated from college. He was one of the youngest people ever to win a Pulitzer Prize, for a piece where he’d uncovered a ring of House members conspiring to use a pending nuclear arms deal as a vehicle to shove through a highly-inflated military budget to satisfy the military contractors donating to their campaigns.
Ever since, the twenty-six year old had been searching for his next big story. He had a passion for uncovering the truth, getting down to the core of people and discovering who they really were - for better or worse.
“Oh yeah? What is it?” Peter leaned back in his chair, picking up a pen and fiddling with it as his boss, J. Jonah Jameson, leaned against his desk.
“Pepper Potts is calling a last-minute press conference.” That caused Peter to raise an eyebrow - this was Pepper Potts they were talking about. She didn’t do ‘last-minute’.
“What about?” He asked, swiveling slightly in his chair and raising the end of his pen to his mouth.
“Nothing’s been officially announced, but word from a friend of mine over there says Tony Stark’s planning to run.” Jameson looked at Peter meaningfully, but for once the younger man wasn’t quick on the uptake.
“Run what? The New York City marathon?” He asked, confused. Tony Stark was a genius, sure, but spent most of his time shut in a lab. Not unlike Rapunzel in her tower.
“No, Parker. He wants to run for political office,” Jameson said with a roll of his eyes.
“Tony Stark? Political office?” Peter asked, leaning forward in his chair and dropping his pen to the floor. “You’re pranking me. Where’s Ned with the iPhone? Is this for the new TikTok account you guys made?” Peter looked around frantically for his friend.
“I’m not pranking you,” Jameson said, though he was unable to suppress a small chuckle. “Stark’s got his eye on the Senate seat.”
“Senate?” Peter asked, repeating his boss again as he sat there, incredulous. “The man’s never even run for a PTA, let alone the United States Congress. What’s his angle?” Peter stood up and began to pace, running both hands through his hair. “The man is a multi-billionaire already, poised to take over Stark Industries any day now. He was born into a dynasty of weapons manufacturers, he’s never had to think about other people a day in his life. Why would he screw that up? Why run?”
“That’s what I want you to figure out,” Jameson said, pushing off from where he’d been leaning against Peter’s desk. “All those questions? They’re good. I want them answered.”
“Then put me on his campaign. If that’s really what you want, and this is really what he’s going for, assign me to his campaign. Let me go to that press conference,” Peter said, ticking off the things he’d need on his fingers. “I know it’ll cost you, but something’s up here. Something isn’t right - there’s no way Tony Stark is running for office because he actually cares about the people or the issues. I’m your best chance at getting answers, I know you know it. Just let me--”
“Done,” Jameson said immediately. Peter blinked, taken aback.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“Done,” Jameson repeated, shrugging. “I want this scoop. You’re right. Something’s fishy here, and you’re gonna figure out what it is. I’m assigning you to this.” Peter resisted the urge to pump a fist in the air, pulling it together in time to shake his boss’s hand and sit back down. He pulled out a notebook, starting to scribble down notes and questions he might want to ask at the press conference. He pulled up Tony Stark’s Wikipedia page, figuring that was as good a place as any to start his research.
“So, he’s got you researching Tony Stark, now?” A voice piped up, and Peter looked up from his computer to see his best friend, Ned.
“A multi-billionaire doesn’t just drop the chance to run a company for a Senate race. A race that is, might I add, heavily stacked against him and that he’s more than likely to lose,” Peter pointed out, going back to his notepad and scratching out something he wrote.
“Not to mention, he’s been the brains behind one of the biggest weapons manufacturers in the world for years now,” Ned mused, grabbing a chair and dragging it over to sit by his friend.
“Yeah,” Peter mused distractedly, too busy scratching out something he’d just written to properly reply to his friend.
“I just-I wanna make sure you’re sure you’re okay with this,” Ned continued. Peter paused, looking over at his friend and setting his pen down.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He asked with a slight frown.
“The guy’s...not a good person.” Peter snorted.
“Yeah, that’s putting it lightly.”
“I just don’t want to see you get hurt or slandered because you’re daring to go up against him. You know how people get around him,” Ned pointed out. Peter nodded. He did know. Women seemed to forget how to function, and men were so caught up in trying to impress him that they ignored why they needed to meet with him.
“I’m not going to get hurt, Ned.” Peter took a deep breath, blowing it out and looking at the picture of Tony on his computer, the man’s signature smirk stretched across his face. Mocking Peter from a Wikipedia article.
“Something’s not right with Stark. I’m going to figure out what it is.”