[Can this be called an assassination attempt? Government agencies have claimed it to be a terrorist attack. But it's well known that Tony Stark does not sell weapons anymore. Tony Stark has no business involved in the Middle East. Could this be an attempt to silence Tony Stark before he can reach the Oval Office? In broad daylight, rockets flew in the sky of Manhattan. This is beyond mere 'attempt'. The FBI has given the statement that they have collected the video footage and are in the process of analyzing it… Only time will tell if something comes out of this investigation—With Christine Everheart, WHiH World News.]
"It was not a terrorist attack, Stark."
Tony chuckled and looked at the bald man with the eyepatch sitting at the bar beside him in Stark Tower. It had only been a few hours since the whole attack. "I know."
"You're not worried about your safety?" Fury asked. "You're an asset to this nation. I can grant you protection agents."
"Yeah, sure, make sure they're all supermodels—and, oh, toss in Natalie Rushman in while you're at it," Tony quipped with a grin.
"Don't even bother, Fury. I know you're just buttering me up to milk more favors for your little Shield thing."
"I do what I do to keep this world spinning, Stark. You remember New Mexico. You saw firsthand what's lurking beyond the stars. That's my reality. I'm not fighting countries or corporations, I'm fighting the unknown—the things you don't even know to be afraid of yet."
"Like that little alien ship just hanging out in orbit?" Tony quipped, pulling an ID card from his pocket. "And here I was thinking you were born with a bald spot, Fury."
Fury frowned as he received the card. A man of his status didn't forget things easily. He quickly remembered the last time he held that badge, and when was the last time he lost it. He looked at Tony in doubt. "What did you do to the ship?"
"No, no, I ask the questions here. What else is out there that I don't know? I found something about a Kree Empire on that ship. An empire? Space aliens with empires? Really? Were you planning on filling me in after I got elected president? Or were you saving that for my acceptance speech?"
"No, even the President doesn't know about it."
"..."
Tony was at a loss for words.
"Alright, you keep your secrets and I'll keep mine."
"Only those with high clearance can access it. I'm not inviting you to the Avengers Initiative anymore since having the President in it will cause trouble. I'm inviting you as an advisor to the SHIELD and the Avengers Initiative." Fury suggested and took out an identity card from his leather coat's pocket. "This much should be enough to know what you want."
Tony looked at the number. "Eight point five?"
"Above Coulson but below Hill."
Tony folded his arms and thought about it. He already had a lot of workload so accepting the role of advisor to SHIELD would only double the work. But, he was also tired of being blindsided by all the secrets about aliens and whatnot.
If Shield was created by Dad and his buddies, they should have information spanning decades.
"Do I get a salary?"
Fury chuckled and drank the whole glass of whiskey he had made for himself. "No, you're the one who pays, Mr. President-to-be."
"Ah, already the budget increase demands." Tony sighed and accepted the identity card.
Beep! Beep!
All of a sudden, Fury's phone vibrated and rang an alarm. The eyepatched director looked at it and jumped to his feet. "Sleeping beauty is up, Stark. I'll take my leave."
"The Cap-sicle? Call me when he's ready to chat. I can show him around the twenty-first century," Tony offered magnanimously.
Fury scoffed and walked away. "And let you corrupt the American Hero? Not happening, Stark."
Tony sighed and smirked. "Jarvis, show me what's going on in that building."
"Deploying Iron Guardian, Sir."
After that, Tony watched the events unfold on a screen while drinking some more. As he had expected, SHIELD's plan to fool the old man backfired and Captain America ran out of the building, running into the streets.
Wait, who changed his clothes? He wondered.
Soon enough, he saw Fury arrive and take Captain America away. Surprisingly, the old man from the 40s didn't refuse Fury's command.
"Tony!"
He looked behind swiftly, finding Pepper rushing in, tapping her heels on the floor. Her eyes were full of worry, and she hugged the life out of him as soon as he was in arm's reach.
Tony sighed and hugged her back, though his mind was certainly not devoid of dirt. He felt her thin waist while responding to her muffled questions.
"Are you hurt? I took the flight as soon as I saw the news," Pepper mumbled.
"I'm good," Tony replied, and his hands slid down a little, fingers spread on each of her tight asscheeks in that smooth pencil skirt. Wondering when was the last time he did it with her, the idea felt very pleasing. "Pepper, I need something."
"Right now?" Pepper flinched and stepped back from his embrace.
Tony smirked. "What do you think I want?"
"What every man wants…?"
"If every man wants to buy more media companies, then yes."
"Oh." Pepper reacted, almost seeming dejected. "You've already invested billions into it, Tony. More will be overdoing it."
"Not enough. Chairpersons from both parties hit me up under the banner of 'concern.' They're getting twitchy, and want an answer quick. I'm either with them or against them. No Switzerland this time." Tony replied and put his phone in front of Pepper. "Editors on my payroll in these media corps sent me drafted articles. They're all meant to attack me from all sides."
Pepper carefully read them. "You don't want to join them?"
"More like I can't. I mean, if I'm one of them, then I can't call myself an outsider, can I? Plus, let's be honest—aligning with one side is practically a surefire way to tick off the other half. I'm not exactly looking to be the President of half the country. Winning over the Senators and Representatives—that's tomorrow's problem. For now, I just need to make sure they don't torch my political career before it's even out of the gate."
Groaning with frustration, Pepper went around the bar to make herself a drink too. "I still don't know why you chose to run for President."
"Me neither," he replied.
"Maybe we should go international with your campaign. A lot of Americans with a critical eye know the local media can be pretty one-sided. Some people are more receptive to outside perspectives, so let's leverage that." Pepper suggested. "Let's try to imprint your name on everyone's brain."
"Already doing it. Look at the news."
"What did you do now?" Pepper scrambled to find the nearby TV's remote.
Tony shrugged. "Good stuff."
####
Tony's presence did leave a positive impact on the world. A week had passed since the Earthquake and the Tsunami in Japan. The amount of work the Iron Guardians had done to save people, and then help normalize the situation, clean up, and food distribution was enough to stay in the news continuously around the globe.
The live stream of the Iron Guardians reached a staggering three million live viewers at its peak. At that point, no matter who you were in the world, you knew of the existence of the Iron Guardians, and what they were doing.
Surprisingly, as the mission of the Iron Guardians came to an end in Japan, the government of Japan chose to reward Tony with an award that made headlines the world over. The Order of the Chrysanthemum was Japan's highest order. The curious question was why it was being awarded to Tony since it was usually bestowed upon members of the Imperial House of Japan, foreign royalty who were not reigning monarchs, non-royal Heads of State, and distinguished Japanese Prime Ministers—None of which Tony was.
But who was he to refuse? He reckoned it was because of the scale at which his Iron Guardians helped the country that he was being awarded that. Heck, saving that Nuclear Reactor alone probably saved Japan a headache worth tens of billions of dollars.
However, that was merely the start of the Iron Guardians' global presence.
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