"Hey, honey, miss me?" This time, Stark was flirting with Little Pepper, Pepper Potts. The two of them shamelessly put on a display of affection in front of everyone.
"Mmm~"
Little Pepper wasn't nearly as thick-skinned as he was. "Tony, quit it and sit down already. You said 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 murmured.
"Order, order!" A fat senator on the dais pounded the table. "Mr. Stark, please return to your seat. We've spent far too long waiting for you..."
"Just a moment, I have something to discuss with her. One minute!"
"..." Aeo finally got to see Iron Man's obnoxious habit firsthand. He was so arrogant and oblivious to everyone around him that it was beyond belief. Seeing him earn angry looks from all the bigwigs, including the Pentagon representative onstage, Aeo couldn't bear to watch. He found a seat nearby with Bruce, pretended they didn't know Stark, and shrugged.
"Ahem." Even Dr. Pym couldn't take it anymore. "That's enough, Tony. You may be busy, but so are we. Let's wrap up this farce so we can all go home and get on with our own business!"
"Since you've said so, sir." Stark showed the old hand some respect. He kissed Little Pepper, then sat down. "Okay, Senator, what did you want to say?"
Watching the familiar scene, Aeo's lips curled slightly. He glanced around and asked meaningfully, "Who are all these people?"
"Norman Osborn," Bruce said quietly, sweeping his gaze across the room. "CEO of the Osborn Group in New York, one of the leaders in life sciences. Hank Pym, one of the legends—he was active near the end of World War II, and he's an outstanding scientist in molecular biology. That's General Colton, one of the founders of the Federation's special forces, Cobra..."
Looking at all the characters from movies and comics who absolutely shouldn't have been here at this moment, Aeo raised an eyebrow. This pool was deeper than he'd thought...
"What is it?" Bruce noticed and asked in a low voice.
"Nothing." Aeo shook his head. "I just think this world's getting more and more interesting!"
"Tap, tap." The fat senator, one of Hydra's higher-ups, rapped his little gavel. "Order."
The murmuring and whispered conversations finally died down. Bruce had no choice but to set aside his curiosity for the moment and sit up straight.
Meanwhile, Stark turned around with carefree swagger and blew Little Pepper a kiss. "Love you, baby~"
"Stark, please act seriously. Thank you," the Hydra official said, at a loss.
"Okay, okay." Tony shrugged. "You'll have to forgive me; I've always been a bit of a free spirit. All right, honey, what's with this big production today? What do you want?"
"The Senate called you here today to ask you some questions about the Iron Man who's been all over the news lately—in other words, you." The fat senator spoke solemnly. "Mr. Stark, do you possess a high-tech weapon? An Iron Suit?"
"My answer is no!" Stark replied with his usual irreverence. "Well, of course, that depends on how you define 'weapon.' You know, even a nail clipper can be a weapon, but..."
"Haha."
It really was fun to watch someone like him when he was on your side. Aeo couldn't help leaning toward Bruce and saying, "I know why you don't like Tony now. His mouth is seriously foul."
Bruce hadn't even answered when Little Pepper, seated in front of them, turned around. "Um, Tony can be a bit sharp-tongued, but he's not quite that bad... Sorry, I didn't know..."
Ms. Potts looked surprised to see that the one who'd spoken was a child, and felt a little awkward. What surprised her even more was that Bruce was there too. After all, Wayne Enterprises and Stark Industries were strategic partners, so she hurriedly nodded to him. "Um, Mr. Wayne, hello. I'm Pepper, Pepper Potts, Mr. Stark's assistant..."
Bruce smiled and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, Ms. Potts! I've heard about you from Tony," he said jokingly. Little Pepper's face reddened slightly.
"This is Zod, Aeo Zod, the son of a friend who's staying at my house." Bruce gave the boy a cover identity. "Sorry, he was only joking..."
"No, no," Little Pepper hurried to say. "He's not wrong, either. Tony can be a little unserious sometimes..." She gave the Son of Krypton a friendly nod.
Aeo smiled and nodded graciously as well. "Sorry."
"It's all right."
Meanwhile, Stark was going head-to-head with the Hydra schemers, though he still didn't know they were behind the whole thing.
"To me, it's just a, uh, high-tech prosthetic," he said, pointing to the Iron Suit. "Yes, it's there to help me with my daily life. You know, I was injured in Afghanistan, and I still have a few shrapnel fragments in my body..."
The Hydra mole in the Senate was left speechless. Stark's argument was both reasonable and impossible to refute. After all, he'd made it himself. If they insisted it was just for fixing tractors, there wasn't much they could do about it. The fat senator was therefore deeply troubled by the task his organization had given him.
"Listen, Mr. Stark. No matter how you phrase it or play word games, the fact is that it's a weapon—a dangerous piece of high-tech weaponry that hasn't been registered with the National Military Commission. So, since it's a high-risk weapon, we want you to hand it over to the government..."
Tony flew into a rage. "Don't even think about it. I am Iron Man, and that armor and I are one and the same. Handing over the Iron Suit would be like handing over myself! That's no different from enslaving me or forcing me to give up my freedom. How is that any different from forcing a respectable woman into prostitution?"
"The sacred and great Constitution stipulates that citizens' personal liberty and the safety of their lives and property are inviolable. That is the spirit and foundation on which our country was built. And now you, a senator and one of the government's officials, want me to hand over my own property and freedom? That's ridiculous!"
A chorus of agreement rang through the room. In a country as individualistic as America, the Senate's actions had little public support. After all, as Tony had said, the Constitution protected citizens' personal freedom and the safety of their lives and property. That was fundamental. If even Iron Man couldn't protect his own property, then what hope did anyone else have? Once that precedent was set, wouldn't the government be able to take away anyone's freedom and property whenever it wanted? The American people, who called their country democratic, would never accept that. Low murmurs spread through the room.
--This was also one of the reasons Aeo had been able to persuade Iron Man and the others. America's devotion to freedom was simply too intense.
"Order, order!" The fat senator had to pound the table to restore order.
"Listen, if you really want my armor, why not just make me Secretary of Defense? Then I might consider it..." Iron Man, having finished his argument, was back to being obnoxious.
"Boom!" The room erupted in laughter.
Before you continue