"Now, please allow me to welcome the New York State Senator, the Illinois State Senator, and our other colleagues from the Military Committee to this hearing."
Stern applauded as he nodded to the two colleagues, though anyone with eyes could tell that his smile was forced.
"Can we continue, Mr. Osborn?"
With that interruption buying them some time, the broadcast returned to normal, and Osborn's media team quickly arrived on-site.
"You don't need to ask me, Senator. I'm merely a law-abiding taxpayer. But I recall that when you held your last hearing, you brought in a weapons expert to help you reach a conclusion. Don't you need one this time?"
"No, that won't be necessary. Thank you for the reminder, but we all know that the Osborn Group has been providing America with highly destructive weapons, ones that can even rival Iron Man..."
"No, no, Senator. I must remind you that Iron Man is not a weapon. He's a high-tech prosthetic limb. Have you forgotten? Perhaps you should find a weapons expert to tutor you on the basics."
The high-tech prosthetic limb joke once again made the audience laugh. Stern tapped his gavel.
"No matter how you put it, Power Armor is strictly controlled and forbidden from being sold to any entity without purchasing qualifications. Yet not long ago, at the Stark Expo, the Osborn Group was proven to possess these weapons and had formed an armed force of considerable scale..."
"I must remind you, Senator: first, regulating Power Armor in service is the Military Committee's responsibility. Second, the Power Armor at the Expo was for display only. It wasn't 'sold.' If you consider that a commercial transaction, then I have to question whether your brain was illegally purchased from your mother. That would be serious illegal organ trafficking."
"Though