After a brief conversation, the car soon pulled up at the press conference venue. As it came to a stop amid cheers from the crowd, Obadiah Stane stepped forward, opened the car door, and called out enthusiastically:
"Look, it's Tony!"
As Tony stepped out, Obadiah immediately gave him a big hug, whispering his name with emotion.
After the hug, Obadiah let go, smiling as he patted Tony on the shoulders.
"I thought I'd have to visit you in the hospital."
Tony Stark turned slightly to glance back at Pepper in the car, replying casually,
"No, no, I'm fine."
Obadiah patted Tony's shoulder again and said,
"Let me have a good look at you."
Tony replied,
"Let's go do the press conference first."
Obadiah nodded and gestured,
"Follow me."
As they entered the venue, both Tony and Obadiah waved at the crowd. Obadiah cheerfully greeted them:
"Hey, welcome, everyone!"
Behind them, Pepper Potts stood outside the circle of reporters, smiling warmly as she watched Tony walk forward.
Suddenly, a man next to her spoke:
"Miss Potts?"
She turned toward him and replied,
"That's me."
Phil Coulson looked at her and said,
"May I have a word with you?"
Pepper responded coolly,
"I'm not part of this. If you have questions, the press conference is about to begin."
Coulson glanced at Tony Stark, then turned back to her and said,
"I'm not a reporter. I'm Agent Phil Coulson, from the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division."
He handed her his business card.
Pepper glanced at the card and said,
"That's quite a mouthful."
Still, she took it.
Coulson added,
"I know. We're working on it."
Pepper tucked the card away and said,
"The Department of Defense, the FBI, and the CIA have already approached us."
Coulson responded,
"We're a separate organization—more focused."
"We'd like Mr. Stark to provide a detailed account of how Smith Doyle rescued him."
Pepper's face tightened. The smile vanished as she replied coldly,
"I'll arrange for you to meet with Mr. Stark."
Coulson nodded politely,
"Thank you."
Meanwhile, on stage, Obadiah stood at the podium, unsure what to say. Tony, seated below the stage, called out:
"Hey, can everyone please sit down?"
He motioned with his hands and continued,
"Please, take a seat."
"So you can see me, and I can be a bit more relaxed."
The reporters and media members all crouched or sat directly on the ground. Obadiah stepped down from the podium and sat beside Tony.
Just then, Rhodey arrived and crouched beside Pepper, asking curiously,
"What's he doing?"
Pepper replied without looking at him, her eyes still on Tony,
"Don't look at me. I have no idea."
At the front, Tony turned to Obadiah and said warmly,
"It's good to see you."
Tony had no idea that Obadiah was behind the attack. To him, surviving and seeing loved ones again was a reason to celebrate—he saw Obadiah as an uncle.
Obadiah rested a hand on Tony's shoulder and smiled,
"Same here."
Tony looked at him and said quietly,
"I never got to say goodbye to my father."
Then, turning to the reporters, his tone grew serious:
"I never had a chance to ask him something important."
"I wanted to know how he really felt about making weapons."
"Did he ever have doubts? Did he ever question himself?"
"Or was he really the iron-willed man the media made him out to be?"
"I saw young Americans being killed—killed by the very weapons I designed to protect them."
"And I realized this whole system encourages irresponsibility. I was part of that system."
A reporter raised his hand and called out,
"Mr. Stark!"
Tony nodded,
"Go ahead, Ben."
The reporter, Ben, asked,
"What exactly happened to you out there?"
Tony stood and replied,
"I had a wake-up call. I realized I need to contribute to the world in a better way—not by making weapons that cause destruction."
"That's why I'm shutting down Stark Industries' weapons division."
"Effective immediately."
The room erupted in chaos. Pepper gasped in shock, and Obadiah jumped up, rushing to steady Tony.
Tony kept speaking:
"Until I decide the company's new direction, I think today's headlines will go wild."
"I'll be looking for a path that aligns with what I believe to be in the best interests of this country."
Rhodey looked on, his expression grave. He knew that if Stark Industries stopped making weapons, its standing with the military would plummet.
After finishing, Tony walked off the stage. Obadiah rushed to the microphone:
"What we should really be celebrating is that Tony is back!"
"And he's healthier than ever. We'll discuss the future thoroughly and inform everyone as soon as we've reached a final decision."
---
Elsewhere—
Back in his office after returning from the lab, Smith Doyle saw Fox rush in, shouting:
"Smith, it's too fast!"
Smith blinked—too fast?
"Why?"
Fox said urgently,
"Tony—he just announced the shutdown of Stark Industries' weapons division. Effective immediately."
"It was too fast. We had several deals in the works that are now toast."
"We only secured two contracts that were already finalized. One investment firm even pulled out right before signing."
"If he had waited just three more days, we could've locked in billions more in stock."
"Some media outlets are even saying Tony hit his head during captivity."
Smith finally understood. The damage was done, and there was no undoing it. He asked calmly:
"How many shares have we borrowed so far?"
—End of chapter—
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