"Mr. President, Lt. Colonel Rhodes and Mr. Stark are here for your three o'clock."
Seated behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, Matthew Ellis pauses in his work and lets out a soft sigh. The President of the United States waits for only a moment before pressing the button on his intercom.
"Send them in."
Maybe a couple years ago he might have made them wait. Privileges of being a President early in his first term and what not. After all, Tony Stark had not actually contributed very much to Ellis' campaign, so it wasn't like he owed the man very much.
However, they were over halfway through that first term now, and Ellis wanted to go for a second term. Making time for the man who was well on his way to owning half of the world was just common sense. Making such a man wait as some sort of power play was just stupid. Especially when the President was well aware that Tony Stark was here to do him and the entire US Government a favor.
A member of his Secret Service opens the door, allowing Tony Stark to step inside with Lt. Colonel James Rhodes just a step behind him. The military man is done up in his full uniform with all of his medals, his hat tucked under his arm. He also wore a stoic but slightly confused look on his face, making it clear that Stark hadn't told his friend why he was here. But then to be fair, even Ellis wasn't supposed to know why Stark was here just yet.
"Mr. President, thank you for meeting with me."
As Tony saunters across the room, Ellis stands and walks out from behind his desk, meeting the businessman's charge with an outstretched hand. As the two of them shake hands, Rhodes comes to a stop next to Tony and snaps off a salute.
"Mr. President, sir."
Giving Rhodes a smile, Ellis nods his head.
"At ease Lt. Colonel. Please, both of you have a seat. And really Mr. Stark, I should say it's me who should be thanking you."
There's a brief pause at that from the billionaire. His eyes twinkle as he looks at Ellis for a moment before grinning.
"Ah. I suppose I should have known you would already be informed as to why I'm here, Mr. President."
Ellis smiles softly, even as he makes his way back to his own chair. Only once all three men are sitting does he speak again.
"I am still the President of the United States, Mr. Stark. It would be rather disappointing if I didn't know why you were here."
He injects a certain amount of humor and levity into his voice, but the thing is… the President is completely serious. And frankly, it IS disappointing in a way.
Fifty years ago, the President of the United States was the most powerful man in the world, bar none. It could even be argued that that was true twenty or thirty years ago. These days, however? With the World Security Council using SHIELD as their bludgeon and corporate power stronger than ever before, the Presidency had lost a lot more power than most people realized. Ellis, having had his ass in the chair for going on three long years now, definitely felt it more than most.
"Well, I hope you're not too disappointed, Mr. President. My relationship with the World Security Council isn't exactly secret at this point."
Letting out a sigh, Ellis leans back in his chair and laces his fingers together, resting them on his stomach.
"No Mr. Stark. No it is not."
The Lt. Colonel is looking between the two of them a little confused but stays quiet all the same. He'd probably have something more to say if Tony was being more belligerent, cavalier, or just disrespectful… but Stark is actually being quite reasonable right now.
And wasn't that the kicker? Tony Stark was a changed man. The President had heard those words from more people then he could count now over the last few years. Whether it was from a news report, or an intelligence briefing… or even just a nice conversation over lunch with his good friend Secretary Alexander Pierce.
Everyone said the same thing… Tony Stark has changed.
Back in 2007, Ellis probably wouldn't have given Stark the time of day while he was running for President. After all, he was running on a platform of change, of getting the fuck out of the Middle East after his predecessor had gotten them bogged down for over six years there. Not to mention, Tony Stark had been a PR liability and a half at that time. Not the kind of endorsement pretty much any presidential candidate would be looking for. Even a war hawk.
Of course, three years on and they were still in the Middle East. Meanwhile, Tony Stark had gone from PR nightmare and the United States Military's primary weapons dealer to a man with a finger in every pie and an idea for every sector but private and public. Stark Industries was still selling weapons at the same quantities they were before Stark's abduction and subsequent escape, but they were selling everything else at similar quantities.
This meant that even though the same amount of weapons were coming out of Stark Factories as had been before, the amount of their revenue that came from weapons alone had gone from about seventy-five percent to less than ten percent according to the last Ellis had heard.
With Stark's new wife, Pepper as the CEO and Stark himself as the CSO and Head of Research and Development, Stark Industries was literally all over the place… and they were succeeding at literally everything they put their mind to. The company had become the biggest in the entire world just a few months ago, and it didn't seem to be slowing down. Everyone else was struggling to keep up. Even that massive tower they were building in New York was a monument to their rising strength.
All that said, Stark still found the time to work for the WSC and develop new weapons technology that had even someone like Ellis positively salivating over it.
"Well then, I'll cut right to the chase, Mr. President. Yes, the Iron Legion is for the World Security Council. At the moment they've seen fit to have SHIELD agents pilot the suits and from what I've seen, I think that's for the best. But I am still an American citizen sir, and a patriot at heart. That's why I'm offering the USAF a suit for their own use… contingent on the pilot being someone of my choosing. Naturally, I'm talking about Rhodey."
Ellis cracks a smile at that, chuckling as he inclines his head in Tony's direction.
"Naturally."
Finally, unable to stay quiet any longer, the man Tony is talking about leans forward, brow furrowed.
"Apologies Mr. President… Tones, what are you talking about? Iron legion? Suits?"
"With your permission, Mr. President?"
Tony gestures to a pocket and though the Secret Service personnel in the Oval Office twitch and tense up at the movement, Ellis just rolls his eyes and gestures for them to back down. Honestly, Tony Stark was no assassin. The man might peddle weaponry, but he was the sort born with a diamond-encrusted golden spoon in his mouth. He couldn't hurt a fly.
"Go ahead, Mr. Stark."
Pulling out a circular device, Tony sets it on the Resolute Desk and presses a button. An honest to god hologram sprouts up out of it, making Ellis whistle… especially when he sees the designs for a frankly gorgeous armored suit slowly spinning around in a circle.
"I call it War Machine. It'll be just as strong as any of the Iron Legion suits, with the same weapons plus some. It'll also be tougher, because Rhodey-bear is my best bud and I'm not going to let anything happen to him if I can help it. I'm not saying this thing could solo the entire Iron Legion, but it could definitely take a few more blows from anyone that might try to take it down. What it'll lack from Rhodey not having any teammates, it'll more than make up in solo firepower and strength."
Here, Tony gives Ellis a wink and a grin.
"Let's keep that between us if you please, Mr. President. No need for the WSC or SHIELD to know about that."
The President snorts derisively. If they didn't already know, he'd eat his tie. And if Tony didn't already know that they knew… well, that sort of recursive thinking went nowhere. Shaking his head in amusement, Ellis looks at the hologram, noting how the Lt. Colonel is mesmerized by it, completely slack-jawed and wide-eyed. Until finally, Rhodes' thoughts catch up to what Tony is saying.
"Hold on a second Tony. Are you saying… are you saying this is for me?"
"Course it is buddy. Designed War Machine with you in mind. That name and the color scheme are non-negotiable by the way, Mr. President. It's a fully functioning one man armored suit. Better than any fighter jet that currently exists on the market. Frankly, it's better technology than anything anyone else on Earth will have for the next… mm, twenty years at least. And yeah, I know how your mind works Rhodey. The Iron Legion is a whole damn squadron of these things. If the President wants to loop you in on the WSC and SHIELD, that's up to him."
Ellis gives Tony a look at that. Simply by mentioning all of these things in front of the Lt. Colonel, he would have to be looped in. But then again…
"Colonel James Rhodes. Congratulations on your promotion."
Rhodes' eyes widen as he jolts in his seat, twisting and looking at Ellis in utter shock for a moment before quickly composing himself and straightening up to snap off another salute.
"Sir! Thank you for the honor, sir!"
The President just nods, still staring at the suit with no small amount of avarice. He'd seen some video of the recently inaugurated Iron Legion doing test flights and what not out at the air base they were training at and… it was amazing. He'd also seen the specs on those suits and had the numbers explained to him by his advisors. Even having one of these armored suits available to the US Military would be a godsend… and for it to be the toughest, most durable one Stark had created all because it could only be piloted by his best friend… well, that was even better.
"Consider it done, Mr. Stark. Your conditions for allowing the US Military to use the suit are noted and acceptable to us. Colonel Rhodes will be the only pilot, the suit will operate under the designation War Machine, and the color scheme of black and silver will not be modified in any way."
He would have preferred to make the suit red, white, and blue of course. Would have also liked to be allowed to name the damn thing. Something with 'Patriot' in it, maybe. But alas, even if Tony Stark had changed a lot since his time in Afghanistan, the man was still something of a diva. And the best way to handle someone like Stark was to placate him so he considered you an ally.
That was just the way the world worked these days. The President of the United States was still the most powerful man in the world to the unwashed masses, but to the ruling elite, the spooks, and the one percent of the one percent of the one percent like Stark… Ellis was nothing but a convenient stooge to do their bidding.
Suddenly, Tony pulls his keys out of his pocket and tosses them to Rhodes. This time, he doesn't ask for permission first and Ellis has to again subtly signal to his Secret Service to back off and not make a scene. If Stark notices, he doesn't say anything.
"Here, Rhodey. Take the R8 over to the base. Location is already set up in the GPS. And there's a copy of JARVIS waiting for you in the War Machine suit, so you'll feel right at home as he puts you through your paces. We'll celebrate your promotion to Colonel later, yeah?"
Positively vibrating with repressed excitement, the Colonel still has the good sense to look over at Ellis for permission. Which of course, the President graciously gives with a smile and a wave of his hand.
"Go ahead, Colonel. I might have to personally debrief you later just to hear what it feels like to fly in one of those things."
"Yes sir!"
With that, Rhodes all but hurries out of the room, clearly eager to take his new toy for a spin. Stark, however, remains behind. This, Ellis finds himself raising an eyebrow at. It would seem there's something else that the billionaire has to talk to him about. Something he wasn't prepped for.
"Thank you for being so reasonable, Mr. President. I hope that I can count on you to be reasonable on one more thing. It's about Thaddeus Ross."
Ellis blinks.
"General Ross? What about him."
Leaning forward, Tony taps a button on his little hologram device. The War Machine specs vanish, to be replaced with other data. Leaning forward as well, Ellis begins reading… only for his eyes to grow wider and wider, his face to grow more and more drawn.
"My work with the World Security Council has me going all over the world sir, both physically and digitally. Now normally I don't really pay attention to the US Military's peacekeeping efforts across the globe. Democracy itself has the United States to thank for singlehandedly propping it up in the face of Communist Expansion over the past several decades. But when I find a US General making a mockery of everything our great country stands for… I start to take notice, sir."
Report after report cycles before the President's eyes. Indiscretion after indiscretion on the part of General Ross is laid bare right in front of him.
"From what I've been able to gather, under your predecessor's administration, Thaddeus Ross used the horrible attacks on September 11th, 2001 to push for his own pet super soldier project. He got all the funding he could ever want at first and got to work on trying to get results. However, as the years went on and things didn't move fast enough, your predecessor's administration became… irritated with Ross."
Ellis was aware of some of that, yes. Of how… the Hulk came to exist.
"If Ross hadn't pushed Dr. Banner as hard as he did, we might have actual United States Super Soldiers right now instead of one very brilliant scientist who turns into a giant green rage monster whenever he gets angry. And we certainly wouldn't have a United States General running all over the world, misusing US resources in an effort to capture said scientist."
At that, the President has to look away from the data that Stark has compiled to raise an eyebrow at the other man.
"Some would say securing Dr. Banner should be one of our top priorities, Mr. Stark."
Tony smiles ruefully at that, shaking his head.
"Ross would certainly say that Mr. President. However, the Hulk cannot be beaten by conventional weaponry. I've run projections that suggest even nuclear weapons wouldn't be able to put him down. Hell, even the Iron Legion and War Machine working together would probably be defeated by the Hulk. Because there's something that Thaddeus Ross either doesn't understand or has been willfully keeping from you, Mr. President. And either option makes him too incompetent to be allowed to keep his command."
Ellis narrows his eyes at that. It would seem they were finally getting to what Stark TRULY wanted out of this meeting.
"And what is that, Mr. Stark?"
Flashing him a macabre grin, Tony taps the Resolute Desk.
"The Hulk gets stronger the greater the threat."
Those eight simple words hang in the air of the Oval Office. As Ellis processes them, he finds himself sitting back in his chair rather heavily.
"… Is that confirmed, Mr. Stark."
"Yes sir. Cross-referenced from every engagement that the Hulk has had with both local forces in the countries Banner has fled to and Ross' men whenever he tracks him down. Put simply sir… beating the Hulk and capturing Dr. Banner is outside of our current abilities. I think deep down inside Thaddeus Ross knows that but refuses to accept it. Instead, he's let brave men and women who have signed on to protect the United States of America get killed or crippled by this monster because of his own personal vendetta against Banner. And he'll keep doing it too unless he's stopped."
Its clear Stark is very passionate about this. And the evidence is stacked against Ross, even if Ellis wanted to ignore the moral side of Stark's argument. The General has been overstepping his bounds for years now in his hunt for the Hulk if what Tony has gathered is true. And Ellis is pretty sure it is. Ross has been breaking international laws, skirting the Geneva Conventions in some places, and all around brewing up a PR disaster for the United States.
In a way, Tony coming to Ellis with this is almost a boon. But more than that… election year is coming up. And Ellis needs Tony Stark in his corner. There's simply no denying that.
"You make a strong case, Mr. Stark. I'll have the proper people look into this… and I swear to you, something will be done."
Purposefully vague, but they both knew Ellis couldn't just say it outright. Tony smiles and rises from his chair, causing the President to do the same. They shake hands one last time, with Stark giving him a grin that's all teeth.
"Thank you, Mr. President. I knew I could count on you."
"Of course, Mr. Stark. Just as I know that I and the American People can count on you."
"Always."
With that final word, Tony is shown out of his office. Ellis slumps back down into his seat with an explosive sigh. They were all right about what they'd said.
Tony Stark was a changed man after Afghanistan. And he was intent on changing the world with him. They could all fall in line and have a place on his ship… or get swept away in the rising tide.
-x-X-x-
A/N: War Machine flies again! Or from Rhodey's POV, for the first time. Meanwhile, Tony starts using some of that immense soft power he's been collecting to get rid of Ross. Frankly, he's probably doing the other man a favor. Maybe a forced retirement will keep him from having that heart attack. Or cause it, lmao.
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