White House, President's Office.
"Mr. Chairman, I hope you can give me an explanation!"
Tony Stark slammed his palm heavily onto President Richards's desk, making the expensive mahogany surface let out a dull thud.
He stared fixedly at the man before him, his eyes bloodshot from anger and lack of sleep.
"About that mysterious 'personal bodyguard' of yours!"
Faced with Tony's questioning, President Richards did not even look up. He merely turned a page of the document indifferently. "That is not something you should concern yourself with, Stark."
"Compared to that, don't you have anything to explain about your abysmal performance in the previous battle? For example... our Iron Man suddenly running out of power halfway through flying across the battlefield?"
"The enemy's Electronic Infiltration ability was beyond expectations. I admit that I was insufficiently prepared!"
Tony took a deep breath and forced himself to ignore the piercing mockery. "But don't think you can change the subject, Nathaniel..."
"Though I was indeed in a sorry state during that battle... under those circumstances, even a blind man could see that your 'Centurion' was a hundred times more terrifying than Hydra and Psypoint combined!"
"I am the president of this country," President Richards said calmly. "Naturally, I have my own arrangements."
"But you're also the one who once told me that 'dangerous weapons must be regulated for the safety of the public'!" Tony's voice abruptly rose, the sarcasm and pain within it nearly spilling over. "I've always believed that, and I've always acted on it!"
"For that, I pushed the Superhuman Management Act and the Avengers-Department of Defense Joint Declaration with everything I had. I even... personally drove away comrades who had fought alongside me as if they were criminals!!"
"And then what? President Nathaniel, now you're telling me that the most