The Farce

"Maybe I'm not a weapons expert, so I can't explain in detail just how dangerous Iron Man's weapon is, but Hammer Industries..."

Well, here we go again. Watching Justin Hammer of Hammer Industries—a weapons dealer backed by the U.S. government, or Hydra—foolishly provoke the big-mouthed Tony, Aeo almost felt sorry for him and the fat senator who'd be caught up in what came next.

"Experience has shown that we can't count on Mr. Stark to predict every danger and avert every crisis! The world we live in is full of dangers and ruthless terrorists. That's why having this powerful weapon will greatly strengthen our influence in the Americas and around the world, while also helping us better protect the public. That's all I have to say!" Hammer said with a forced, unfunny imitation of Stark's humor. "God bless the Federation, and God bless Iron Man!"

Unfortunately, only the few congressmen who'd organized the hearing applauded him. Everyone else...

"Honestly, is the Federation's influence around the world really that weak? Do we need an iron suit to protect us?"

"No matter how smooth your speech is, it can't change the fact that the government is trying to seize people's personal property. This is an act of tyranny, and we will not allow it..."

Listening to the crowd's merciless murmurs, Aeo began to understand why Ant-Man and the others were here. These big shots all had secrets they didn't want the government to discover or get its hands on. That was why they'd shown up at this hearing about the government seizing the research results of individuals and companies: to see which way the country's policies would ultimately lean and adjust their own plans accordingly. And if possible, perhaps they might even stop the government from pursuing this idea.

After all, finders keepers... Ahem. Let's not get into a sensitive subject.

Among the crowd, General Colton, one of the founders of the U.S. special forces unit Cobra, sat without a word, his expression unmoving. He seemed to be attending the government hearing purely as a formality. This puzzled Aeo. He could understand why others like Ant-Man and Green Goblin were here. They were afraid the government might target the power of capital, so they'd come out of a sense of solidarity. But the old general was one of the Federation's representatives of force. He wouldn't be affected by any of this, so why had he come? Son of Krypton couldn't figure it out.

"Additionally, I have here a complete report by Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes concerning Iron Man's weapons..."

"What? Rhodey?" Tony stared in surprise at the Black officer who'd just walked in. "How did you..."

"Sorry, Tony. I didn't have a choice."

"..."

The fat senator on the stand smiled slyly. "Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes, please read the fourth paragraph on page fifty-seven of your report. Thank you."

"I thought I was here to present the complete report..."

"Plans change, Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes." The senator spoke with a sinister air. "Just read the passage specified by the court."

"But..."

"That's an order, Lieutenant Colonel."

"...I understand." Rhodey gave Stark a helpless look. Tony shrugged.

"Uh, since Iron Man isn't affiliated with any clearly defined government department, he poses a potential threat to national security and its interests..."

"Tsk." Even though he already knew how this would go, Aeo couldn't help clicking his tongue. "That's your politicians for you!"

Batman had no way to refute that, but he still stubbornly offered, "But not everyone is like that, right?"

Aeo understood what he meant, but still scoffed without giving him an inch. "Are you sure?"

"..."

"See? Even you don't believe it." Aeo teased him.

"...Anyway," Batman sighed, "humanity can still be saved. Don't lose faith in us, okay?"

Meanwhile, Stark began his counterattack. "I know you've prepared some so-called reports to prove that other countries are developing similar robots, but..." He pulled out a custom-made phone that looked at least three generations ahead of anything on the market, then casually hacked into the Congressional Building's computers.

"Let's take a look at what I found." He pointed mockingly at the crude knockoffs developed by various countries on the screen. "These are your so-called evidence? Come on. At the rate they're going, they'd need another ten or twenty years before they could even understand the Mark 10. Yes, I'm already up to the tenth generation. They probably can't even figure out the programming and propulsion systems of the Mark 1..."

"Hey, Justin, isn't that you? So you're developing robots too? Uh, and planning to sell them to Iran? Oh, it doesn't look like it went very well. Your robot just exploded! Oh, God bless that poor soldier..."

"Turn it off! Turn it off!"

"Damn it, I said turn it off!"

Watching Justin panic and the hearing's congressmen get caught flat-footed, Ant-Man and the other big shots exchanged glances, then laughed with satisfaction.

"Looks like we don't need to step in. Young Stark has taken care of the problem himself! Just like Howard, that old fox's son—every bit as sly..."

"Tsk, how embarrassing. Secretly doing research behind everyone's backs is bad enough, but getting caught like this? Let's see how these politicians have the nerve to come after our... treasures now."

The crowd began to stir. Everyone was furious at the government's hypocrisy.

Bruce stood up.

"What are you doing?" Aeo blinked. He was enjoying the show.

"The outcome is already set." Bruce straightened his collar. "Tony's going to win this case."

"So?"

"The winner's decided. Why are we still sitting here?"

Aeo figured he had a point and stood up too.

"Considering that Hammer Industries is one of the Federation's largest foreign arms manufacturers, I have to wonder whether the government was involved in this kind of research too!" Stark launched his counterattack. "And you still have the nerve to try to take my property? Come on! Putting everything else aside, my existence has solved a huge problem for you! I'm the equivalent of every nuclear warhead in the world, because I'm the nuclear threat of the new age!"

At least, I was before I revealed myself! Iron Man added inwardly. His eyes involuntarily turned toward Son of Krypton and Batman, who were preparing to leave.

The others didn't know the truth. By then, everyone was acting like frenzied fans, wildly cheering on Iron Man as he let loose.

"You people are dealing with someone who has a monopoly on world peace, and you still waste your time bothering me with all this nonsense. Come on! If you're really so bored, why not do something about our country's ever-rising unemployment rate, you idiots!" Tony shot back.

"Fuck you, Tony! Fuck you, buddy!" the politicians shouted, red-faced with anger.

"..."

"Farce," Bruce commented expressionlessly. The oak doors closed behind them, shutting out the showy applause and cheers inside. "A tedious farce!"

"It was a farce from the start." Aeo followed him at an easy pace. "Didn't Stark say so himself?"

"By the way, Tony must've prepared all that in advance. He couldn't have dug up those files so easily otherwise!"

He looked at Bruce with a faintly mocking smile. "No wonder he agreed to the alliance so readily. Turns out someone was planning to 'control' him too..."

"..."