Hydra In Action

"Hey, honey, miss me?" Stark was teasing Little Pepper Potts this time, the two of them showing off their affection as if no one else was around.

"Mmmph~"

Little Pepper wasn't as thick-skinned as he was. "Tony, stop messing around, sit down quickly. Didn't you say you were going to S.H.I.E.L.D.? Why did it take so long?"

"I'll tell you when we get back," Stark whispered.

"Order, order!" A fat Senator on the podium banged on the table. "Mr. Stark, please return to your seat. We've wasted too much time waiting for you..."

"Please wait, I have something to discuss with her, just a minute!"

"..." Aeo finally witnessed Iron Man's terrible habit, his arrogance and disregard for others were truly boundless. Seeing that he had successfully earned the angry glares of a group of big shots, including the Pentagon representative on stage, he pretended not to know Bruce and found seats for them nearby, shrugging.

"Ahem." Finally, Dr. Pym couldn't stand it anymore. "Enough, Tony. We're busy too, don't drag this farce out. Let's finish this up and go our separate ways!"

"Since you've spoken," Stark gave the elder some face, kissed Little Pepper, and sat down. "OK, Mr. Senator, what did you want to say?"

Seeing this familiar scene, Aeo's lips curved slightly. He looked around and said meaningfully, "Who are all these people?"

"Norman Osborn," Bruce swept his eyes over them and whispered to him, "CEO of Osborn Group in New York, one of the leaders in life sciences. Hank Pym, one of the legends, active in the late World War II, an outstanding scientist in the field of molecular life. That's General Colton, one of the founders of the Cobra special forces..."

Looking at these main and supporting characters who would absolutely never appear at this moment in movies or comics, Aeo raised an eyebrow. This water was indeed deep...

"What is it?" Bruce noticed and asked in a low voice.

"Nothing," Aeo shook his head. "I just feel like this world is getting more and more exciting!"

"Tap, tap." The fat Senator, one of the high-ranking Hydra officials, tapped his small gavel. "Order."

The hushed conversations and murmurs throughout the venue finally stopped. Bruce also had to temporarily suppress his curiosity and sit up straight.

Meanwhile, Stark turned around with his usual uninhibited manner and blew a kiss to Little Pepper. "Love you, baby~"

"Stark, please be serious, thank you," the Hydra cadre said speechlessly.

"OK, OK." Tony shrugged. "Please forgive me, I've always been a bit lax. Alright, darling, why did you make such a big fuss today?"

"The Senate has summoned you today to conduct an inquiry regarding recent matters concerning Iron Man, that is, you. May I ask," the fat Senator said solemnly, "Mr. Stark, do you possess a high-tech specialized weapon? An Iron Suit?"

"My answer is no!" Stark's usual flippant reply. "Uh, of course, it also depends on how you define the word 'weapon'. You know, a nail clipper is also a weapon, but..."

"Haha."

It had to be said, it was quite satisfying to watch someone like him as a teammate. Aeo couldn't help but lean over and say to Bruce, "I know why you don't like Tony. His mouth is just too damn foul."

Before Bruce could reply, Little Pepper turned around from the front. "Uh, maybe Tony's mouth is a bit sharp, but he's still a bit short of being a bitch... Sorry, I didn't know..."

Miss Potts looked at the speaker in surprise, realizing it was a child, and felt a bit awkward. What surprised her even more was seeing Bruce there. After all, Wayne Enterprises and Stark Industries were strategic partners. So, she quickly nodded. "Uh, Mr. Wayne, hello, I'm Pepper, Pepper Potts, Mr. Stark's assistant..."

Bruce smiled. He reached out and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Miss Potts! I've heard about you from Tony!" he said jokingly. Little Pepper's face blushed slightly.

"This is Zod, Aeo Zod, the son of a friend who's staying at my place." Bruce gave the young man an assigned identity. "Sorry, he was just joking..."

"No, no," Little Pepper said quickly. "He's not wrong, Tony can indeed be a bit inappropriate sometimes..." She nodded friendly at the Son of Krypton.

Aeo smiled. He also nodded generously. "Sorry."

"It's okay."

Meanwhile, Stark was also confronting the ill-intentioned Hydra, although he didn't know yet that all of this was orchestrated by Hydra.

"To me, it's just a, uh, high-tech prosthetic limb," he said, pointing to the Iron Suit. "Yes, it's used to assist my daily life. You know, I was injured in Afghanistan, and there are still a few shrapnel fragments from artillery shells in my body..."

The Hydra mole in the Senate was speechless. Stark's words were both reasonable and unassailable. After all, he had created it himself. If he insisted it was for repairing tractors, you couldn't fault him. Thus, the fat Senator found the task assigned by the organization deeply troublesome.

"Listen, Mr. Stark, no matter how you phrase it or play word games, the fact is that it is a weapon, a high-tech dangerous weapon not registered with the National Armaments Committee... Therefore, since it is a high-risk weapon, we hope you will hand it over to the state..."

Tony was furious. "Don't even think about it! I am Iron Man, and that suit is one with me, and I am one with it. Handing over the Iron Suit is equivalent to handing over myself! This is no different from enslavement or forcing my personal freedom, what's the difference between this and forcing a prostitute?"

"The sacred and great Constitution stipulates that the personal and property safety of citizens is inviolable. This is the spirit and foundation of our nation. Now, you, a Senator, one of the enforcers of the state, are asking me to hand over my property and freedom, isn't that ridiculous!"

A wave of agreement immediately erupted from the audience. In the highly individualistic America, the Senate's actions had no popular support whatsoever. After all, as Tony said, the Constitution stipulated that personal freedom and property safety were inviolable, and this was fundamental. If even Iron Man couldn't protect his own property, then what about others? Once this precedent was set, wouldn't the government be able to strip anyone of their personal freedom and property? This was absolutely unacceptable to the people of the so-called democratic America, so everyone started whispering amongst themselves.

-- This was also one of the reasons Aeo could persuade Iron Man and the others. America's pursuit of freedom was too obsessive.

"Order, order!" The fat Senator had to bang the table to maintain order.

"Listen, if you really want my suit, why don't you just make me the Secretary of Defense? Then I might consider it..." The Iron Man, being sarcastic again after his retort.

"Boom." A burst of laughter echoed through the venue.