Hostile Takeover

The court session’s recess was almost over, and Tony wasn’t showing it but he was feeling the pressure. The room was filled with people, and there was a whole panel of senators in front of him wanting him to fail. Making it worse, Kara had yet to show up and he was worried that she might not come at all.

Just as the thought crossed his mind, the doors opened with a bang and in walked his sister, dressed in a gray pencil skirt and a sleeveless blouse of the same color. Her hair was twisted into a bun, and though she looked to have a calm persona, her eyes were out for the kill. It instantly made him feel better.

Watching her, he waited for her to slip into a seat behind him but was taken aback as she slipped through the barrier and sat beside him. “What are you doing?”

“Sorry, it took a little longer to get Layna to Kit than I anticipated.” She apologized.

“Excuse me; you cannot sit there.”

Kara lifted her face to look at the man who had spoken. “Ah, Senator Stern, of course.” She smiled, but Tony knew it was one of her ‘fuck you’ grins. “I was under the impression that this hearing was surrounding the topic of the Iron Man technology, which, as you know, is property of Stark Industries and my brother.” She cleared her throat. “If that is indeed the case, I will also remind you that I have half the shares of Stark Industries, alongside Tony, meaning that this hearing is also against me.

“Now, if you want to admit what this really is, is a futile attempt at seizing our work for personal reasons, I will gladly step away. But until that time, I’m not going anywhere and it’s best if you don’t try and have me removed. That will not end well.”

The hall went silent for only a moment before it erupted in chatter, and Tony stared at his sister. “Damn.”

She shrugged. “You know how well I do with a man who tries to give me instructions just because he thinks he’s better than a woman.”

He nodded. “That I do. Are you sure about this?”

“I’ve got your back, Tony.” She looked him in the eye, and all his fears from that morning vanished.

Banging the gavel, Stern yelled over the crowd. “Mr. Stark…Miss Stark, can we pick up where we left off?”

Turning from his conversation with Kara, Tony smirked. “Yes, dear?”

“Could I have your attention?” Stern grumbled.

“Absolutely,” Tony responded and Kara leaned back in her chair.

“Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?”

“I do not,” Tony responded.

The senator looked surprised. “You do not?”

“I do not. Well, it depends on how you define ‘weapon.’” Tony explained.

“The Iron Man weapon.”

Leaning forward, Kara cleared her throat. “The official dictionary definition of the word weapon is a thing that is designed or used for inflicting bodily harm or physical damage.”

“Though it may seem confusing, my device does not fit that description.” Tony instantly replied.

“How would you describe it?” Stern asked quickly, and Kara leaned back in her chair to wait for Tony’s reply.

“I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator.” Her brother said seriously. “It’s a high-tech prosthesis.”

The courtroom erupted in laughter, but Kara knew that he hadn’t meant it as a joke. “Scientifically speaking, that is actually the most apt description we can make.”

“It’s a weapon, Mr. Stark,” Stern said back to him.

“Please, if your priority was actually the well being of the American citizens…” Tony started to speak, but the senator interrupted him again.

“My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States of America.” He told them, and Kara let out an unintentional laugh.

“And what would you have them do with it, hm?” She questioned. “You can forget it, Senator.”

Tony nodded at his sister. “Exactly. 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. You can’t have it.”

Stern swallowed, and the look on his face was pure annoyance. “Look, I’m no expert…”

“In prostitution? Of course not, you’re a senator! Come on!” Tony replied, and Kara had to bite her lip to keep from laughing.

Unfazed, Stern continued. “I’m no expert on weapons. We have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I’d like to call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor.”

Instantly Kara looked at Tony. “Tony, don’t. Don’t!”

“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.”

Of course, he wouldn’t be quiet. As long as Kara could remember, they had been rivals with Justin Hammer. To have him here, speaking against them, was a knife in the gut.

Justin laughed. “Absolutely. I’m no expert. I’d defer to you, Anthony…Kira. You’re the prodigies.”

Kara growled under her breath at the purposeful mispronunciation of her name. He’d been doing it for years, and it never failed to piss her off. She felt Tony grab her knee under the table and held her tongue.

Justin stood. “Senator, if I may. I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad! Howard Stark.”

“Oh, hell, no,” Kara said before she could stop herself.

“Really a father to us all, and to the military-industrial age.” He grinned. “But let’s just be clear. He was no flower child. He was a lion. He even adopted a teenager to help him further advance his weapons!”

Kara set her jaw, hard. She knew that if she didn’t, she would be thrown out of court. “You know nothing about my father.”

“Regardless, 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. We live in a world of grave threats, threats that the Starks here will not always be able to foresee.

“Like the enhanced woman at your company that night! We don’t know who she is or where she came from! Who’s to say she won’t come back and destroy us all if she feels like it?” Hammer stared at them.

“We haven’t heard from her in six months. She won’t.” Tony replied quickly.

“If you are telling the truth when you say you don’t know who she is,” He looked pointedly at Kara. “how can you be so certain?”

“Because if it came down to that, he wouldn’t let her,” Kara spoke up again and stared right back at the man.

She knew that he knew it was her or suspected. Many people had questioned it. But she wasn’t about to sit back and let the asshole make Tony look like an idiot.

“Right.” Hammer nodded and turned to look at the panel. “Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America.”

Glancing at Tony, Kara could see how upset he was getting. She wanted to say that they would win this, knowing her brother, but she was honestly afraid of what would unfold. It seemed as though the senator knew bringing Hammer in would have that knife stabbing pain hit them. She hoped he didn’t have more up his sleeve.

She was wrong.

Clapping, Stern smirked. “That is well said, Mr. Hammer. The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber.”

“Rhodey?”

“What?”

Both siblings turned at the same time, shocked. Standing, Tony walked to him. “Hey, buddy. I didn’t expect to see you here.”

Emotionless, Rhodey looked at him. “Look, it’s me. I’m here. Deal with it. Let’s move on.”

“I just…”

“Drop it,” Rhodey told him.

“Fine, I’ll drop it. But I don’t think I’m the one you have to worry about…” He muttered as they approached the bench.

Stepping up to the bench, Rhodey spared a glance past Tony. “Kara.”

“Rhodey.”

He knew she was upset as she turned and faced the front without another word. Taking a deep breath, Rhodey sat next to Tony.

Stern cleared his throat. “I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, compiled by Colonel Rhodes, and Colonel for the record, can you read page fifty-seven, paragraph four?”

Now Rhodey looked confused. “You’re requesting that I read specific selections from my report? It was my understanding I was going to be testifying in a much more comprehensive and detailed manner.”

“I understand. A lot of things have changed.” Stern told him.

“You do understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the sums of my findings.” Rhodey tried to speak again but was interrupted.

“Just read it, Colonel. I do. Thank you.”

“Very well.” Glancing at the siblings, Rhodey opened his report and nodded. “As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Man presents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests. I did, however, go on to summarize the benefits of Iron Man far outweigh the liabilities.”

“Now, Colonel, if you could just flip a few pages and read your top paragraph on page fifty-nine?”

“I don’t understand how-”

“Please, Colonel. Just read it.”

Hesitating for a moment, he turned the page and shook his head. “Though there may be some debate within our government about whether or not the Iron Man suit should be possessed by the country or Mr. Stark,” he paused.

“Continue, Colonel.”

Rhodey sighed. “Though there may be some debate within our government about whether or not the Iron Man suit should be possessed by the country or Mr. Stark, it would go a long way to his advantage to reveal the name of his mystery female accomplice, for if he continues to keep her hidden, they could be seen as presenting a threat to national security.”

Kara sat straight up in her seat and felt Tony’s hand grip her own tightly. Staring at him, Rhodey refused to look at her.

“Senator, I must again say that I went on to detail how her help that night was essential in saving the lives of civilians. My report does not-”

“That’s enough, Colonel,” Stern told him. “Mr. Stark…are you willing to give up the name of your accomplice in order to show your good faith?”

“I mean, I would.” He said with snark in his voice. “But as I’ve stated before, I don’t know who she is or was or anything else.”

Pausing, Stern nodded. “I’d like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that’s connected to your report, Colonel.”

“I believe it is somewhat premature to reveal these images to the general public,” Rhodey stated.

“With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. If you could just narrate those for us, we’d be very grateful.”

As the screens on both ends of the room displayed pictures, Rhodey spoke. “Intelligence suggests the devices seen in these photos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark’s suit.”

As Rhodey continued to speak, Kara saw Tony pull out his phone, and she sat back again. Now she knew they would win. All she had to do was keep her cool for a little bit longer.

“This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground, indicating these suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational.”

Leaning forward, Tony sighed. “Hold on one second. Let me see. There’s something here.” The screens lit up with the message ‘Hello Mr. Stark,’ and the chatter started in the room again. “Oh, boy, I’m good. I commandeered your screens. I need them. It’s time for a little transparency.”

“What’s he doing?” Stern asked quickly.

“Let’s see what’s really going on,” Tony said loudly as videos popped up on the monitors. “If you’ll direct your attention to said screens, I believe that’s North Korea.”

On the monitor, the video showed a massive iron robot trying to fall and crashing into the ground. Instantly, Senator Stern panicked. “Can you turn that off? Take it off.”

“Iran.” This video showed the suit trying to fly, but failing after barely getting off the ground. “No grave immediate threat here. Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in the game?”

This video showed Justin barking out orders at his men while a suit broke down. “Where’s the plug?”

“You’re on tv, Justin.” Tony teased and smirked at Rhodey, who had to hide his one smile. “Wow. Yeah, I’d say, uh…most countries, five, ten years away. Hammer Industries, 20.”

The crowd broke out into discussion again as Justin hurried to his microphone. “I’d like to point out that that test pilot survived.”

“I think we’re done, is the point that he’s making,” Stern said quickly as he stood. “I don’t think there’s any reason…”

“The point is, uh, you’re welcome,” Tony stated simply.

“For what?”

“Because I’m your nuclear deterrent.” He said with a shrug. “It’s working. We’re safe. America is secure. You want my property? You can’t have it! You want the identity of the woman from that night? I can’t give it to you! But I did you a big favor. I’ve successfully privatized world peace.”

Standing, Tony turned to face the cameras and the crowd, holding peace signs in the air. “What more do you want? For now! I tried to play ball with these ass clowns.”

Sitting down, Stern shook glared. “Fuck you, Mr. Stark. Fuck you, buddy. We’re adjourned. We’re adjourned for the day.”

“Okay.” Tony smiled and put his glasses on, holding out a hand to Kara to help her up.

“You’ve been a delight,” Stern said sarcastically.

Shaking his head, Rhodey watched as Tony walked away, Kara’s hand still in his. Standing, he hurried behind them as they walked out to wait for their car. As they got outside, Tony moved, so he was blocking her.

“Rhodes, you and I have no issues. But I’m pretty sure Kara doesn’t want anything to do with you right now.” He told his friend quietly.

“Kara…that was taken out of context…” He said quickly, but she cut him off.

“How dare you. I trusted you. Now back off, because unlike everyone else, you know what I’m capable of.” Seeing their car, she plastered on a big smile. “Have a good day, Colonel.”