New Skill: [Dimension Whip]

The air in the congressional hearing room was stuffy and humid.

Rows of politicians and military bigwigs in suits wore grave expressions, as if they had come to mourn a death. Camera flashes relentlessly swept over Tony Stark in the witness seat.

"Mr. Stark." Senator Stern's voice was dry and harsh. "The incident in Monaco was witnessed by the entire world. A terrorist used technology similar to that thing in your chest and caused tremendous chaos. This proves that your so-called 'Iron Man' is, at its core, a superweapon that can be replicated and abused!"

He slammed his hand onto the table, making the water glasses jump.

"We can no longer allow such an uncontrollable weapon to remain in private hands. On behalf of the United States government, I once again demand that you hand over the technology behind the Iron Man armor to the military!"

Tony lounged lazily in his chair, chewing gum with a punchable smirk on his face. He glanced at Justin Hammer, who sat behind Senator Stern. Hammer was smiling at him, his expression full of schadenfreude.

"Senator," Tony drawled deliberately, his tone dripping with mockery, "first, that thing isn't a weapon. I prefer to call it a high-tech prosthetic. Second, I am Iron Man. The armor and I are one and the same. You can't exactly ask me to hand myself over, can you? That sounds a little weird. Not very ergonomic."

A wave of stifled laughter rippled through the room.

Stern's face darkened like the bottom of a pot. "Mr. Stark, this is no time for jokes!"

"I'm not joking." Tony's smile vanished as he became slightly more serious. "The truth is, other countries, including some of our 'competitors,' have been desperately trying to replicate my technology, and they've all failed. Why? Because they