Chương 11: Senate Hearing (1)

The Senate was filled to the brim with people of different walks of life, though they mainly belonged to two groups. First were the journalists, standing near the back, and in front of them were military men, mostly generals or other high-ranking officers. Tony sat at the very front, with his lawyer for the day, Eric Tunt, next to him. Behind them was a whole contingency of Stark executives, including Mason's mother, Camille, as well as Mason and his sisters.

On the other side of the room was Senator Stern, who held the hearing, while Tony was the defendant. They had just come back from a short break and were about to truly get into the gist of things. After a moment, Senator Stern slammed his hammer down several times, calling for order in the room as he asked, "Mister Stark, may we return to where we left?" Tony clearly did not care, however, as he was in the middle of a conversation with Mason, his siblings, and Pepper.

Although he was the only one speaking by then, with Pepper doing her best to get him to actually pay attention to the reddening senator.

"Mr Stark!" Senator Stern had no choice but to shout, and finally got Tony to turn around and ask back, "Yes, dear?" The room burst into laughter, while Stern was visibly fuming. His experience as a politician kicked in quickly, though, as he forcibly kept his calm and asked, "Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" Tony was about to reply, but Eric was faster.

"Objection, Senator. You need to be more specific. Does 'you' refer to Mister Stark as an individual, or are you referring to Stark Industries as a whole?" Stern looked annoyed, but he took a second to find the correct words.

"Do you, Tony Stark, possess a specialized weapon as personal property?" Seeing Eric nod, Tony replied, "I do not." The answer seemed to please Stern and play into his plans as he reminded Tony, "Do not forget that you are under oath, Mr Stark." Tony quipped back, "I stand by what I said, unlike your kind." Stern ignored the new wave of chuckles and asked amidst the noise, "What about the Iron Man weapon then?" Eric answered this time, "Iron Man has nothing of a weapon; it is an individual, Senator.

By calling Iron Man a weapon, you are objectifying a human being, and is the same as calling Captain America a weapon. The objectification of human beings was abolished in 1865, Senator." Stern turned his attention to Eric for the first time as the allusion to slavery appeared to hit a cord. He took a deep breath before arguing, "Captain America did not shoot lasers, nor did he fly. If you want to play on semantics, then fine. The Iron Man Suit, Mr Stark. How would you define it, if not a weapon?"

Tony shrugged, "I would define it as it is."

"And that is?"

"A high-tech prosthesis." The room once again erupted in laughter, but Tony was dead serious as he turned around and added. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

"It is actually the most apt description I can make of it." Stern replied with an exasperated voice, as if he was dealing with a child and had grown tired of it, "It is a weapon, Mr Stark. Do we really have to define what a weapon is for you to admit…" Tony quickly cut him off, though, "Please, if your priority was really the well-being of-" Stern returned the favor, "My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned to the people of the United States of America."

Eric intervened, "If I may, your honor, the Second Amendment justifies Mr Stark's right to keep what you keep calling a weapon, if it were truly to be recognized as one." Stern groaned, "The Second Amendment does not justify owning a military-grade weapon. Mr. Stark should not be allowed to own what is essentially a weapon of mass destruction, just as a civilian is not allowed to keep a rocket launcher at home."

Mason expected his father to leap onto the comparison of the Iron Man suit to a WMD, yet surprisingly, he ignored it, simply stating, "Of course, and it isn't. The Iron Man Suit is an armor, not a weapon. Besides, even if it was, Stark Industries has stopped selling weapons for more than half a year now, so it would be against Mr Stark's company guidelines to sell any kind of weapon to the government."

"We are not speaking of a transaction…"

"Then the case is solved. Stark Industries is not, and will not, be nationalized. The Iron Man Armor is part of Mr Stark's identity, and it would be going against the most fundamental human rights to forcefully deprive him of that." Stern frowned as he realized he had been led into a trap, and quickly tried to defend himself, "We are not asking Mr Stark for his personal…"

However, it was as clear to Tony as anyone else that Stern had been led into a trap by Eric, so he quickly cut him off with a grin, "I am Iron Man, the suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man Suit would be to turn over myself, which would amount to endangered servitude or prostitution, depending on which state." Stern was forced to stop talking as the room once again laughed, and Tony knew he had the momentum, so he added, "Sorry, but not sorry, you can't have me. I'm too expensive for you."

The laughter intensified, and Stern's face turned livid as he still tried to clear up the misunderstanding Eric had created, "Listen, I'm not an expert…" Tony was a smart man though, and had already been briefed several times on what should and should not be done in a courtroom, so relying on his momentum he quickly interrupted, "In prostitution? Of course not, you're a Senator, come on!"

The laughter reached its peak as the Senator's face turned into a tomato, his experience not enough on its own to swallow it up and keep his calm. Meanwhile, Tony sent a cocky look at Mason and his sisters, while Pepper was facepalming. Although she did, things were actually going according to their plans, as well as they could with Tony Stark standing in court.

Seeing the state the room was in, Stern understood that he had lost the interest of the crowd, and whatever he would say would lose all its impact because of the trap he fell into. It was time to play his trump card.

"Let's call in an expert then… I call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor." Justin Hammer had dressed smartly for the occasion. As he stepped into the room, he dragged in a large screen with him. Before he could say anything, however, Tony immediately went on the attack, commenting, "Let the record reflect that I observed Mr. Hammer entering the chamber, and I am wondering if there will be any real expert joining us in attendance."

Hammer was annoyed by the comment, but he also knew he could not appear to be, so he forced a smile, attempting to give a dig of his own, "Of course, Anthony, I'm no expert compared to wonder boy." The laughs in the room shifted a little this time as Hammer managed to counter Tony's comment appropriately. Not leaving Tony a chance to make another snide remark, Hammer spoke a little louder, "Senator, if I may…"

Tony knew his chance to throw stones at Hammer was over, so he leaned back into his chair, while Hammer resumed, "While I may not be an expert, do you know who was THE expert?" Hammer turned to Tony and pointed at him, " Your dad. Howard Stark. A father to us all," this time, it was Tony who was getting visibly annoyed. It wasn't a secret in Stark Industries, or anyone close to him, that Tony's father was a sore point for him, "to the modern military industrial age."

Now mastering the flow, Hammer continued, "But let us be clear, he was no flower boy. He was a lion." With the attention of everyone in the room, and the Senator's pleased expression, Justin added, "We all know why we're here. In the last six months, Mr Stark has created a sword with infinite possibilities, and yet he insists it is a shield, an invincible shield we should all cower behind, trusting him nothing could ever get past it."

The men of the army in the audience cheered, while the Senators beside Stern were all smiling now. Eric frowned, deep in thought, while Tony wanted to interject, to add something, but Hammer saw that and finished, "God Bless Iron Man, and God Bless America." Senator Stern chuckled lightly, not forgetting to activate his mic before so everyone could hear it, and said, "Thank you, Mr Hammer. The committee would now like to call Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes as a witness."

All the heads in the room turned toward the entrance, where a man walked into the room. Tony, upon hearing this, also turned and got up as he exclaimed, "Rhodey?"