The next morning, all of America was talking about the fight that had happened near Stark Industries. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the press conference. The media was taking full advantage of the hype, and all kinds of rumors were spreading everywhere.
At Jack's house, Emma was pouring cereal into her bowl while the TV news played in the background.
"You have all received the official statement regarding last night's incident at Stark Industries. Authorities stated that the damage was caused by an experimental robotic prototype that malfunctioned. Officials have also confirmed that Stark Industries chairman Obadiah Stane sadly passed away in an aircraft accident while on vacation. Further details have not been released."
"The news says Obadiah Stane died. Looks like he didn't make it to the hospital and died from his injuries on the way. S.H.I.E.L.D. covered everything up. Poor guy," Jack commented after hearing the news.
"That's entirely his own fault. No one is to blame for his death but himself." Gwen said as she quietly looked at Morgan.
Seeing that Morgan didn't seem affected by it, Gwen secretly let out a sigh of relief before glaring at Jack.
Seeing Gwen's glare, Jack immediately realized he had said the wrong thing. He quickly shut his mouth and changed the topic.
"After seeing Morgan's Iron Man suit, Tony must have his doubts. Next time we meet, he'll definitely ask about it. After all, that technology belongs to his family. The only reason he didn't ask yesterday was because I had saved his life before. So, does anyone have an idea what I should tell him?" Jack asked.
"Just say we researched it. He'll believe it since he already thinks Dad is an alien," Emma suggested.
"That could work, but the technology was created by him, and the prototype came from his dad, right? And Morgan's suit looks exactly like Tony's style. Anyone who sees it will notice the resemblance."
Just as they were discussing it, Tony appeared on the TV screen.
"Hey guys, look — it's Tony!" Hearing this, everyone turned toward the TV.
"Been a while since I've been in front of you. I figured I'd stick to the cards this time." Saying that, Tony took out a card, making the crowd laugh.
"There's been speculation that I was involved in what occurred on the freeway and the rooftop..." Before he could continue, a female reporter interrupted him.
"...I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, but do you honestly expect us to believe it was a bodyguard in the suit that conveniently appeared, despite the fact that you typically—"
"I know it's confusing. It is one thing to question the official story, and another thing to make wild assumptions or insinuate that I am a superhero," Tony interrupted.
"I never said you were a superhero," the blonde reporter replied.
"Didn't you...? Well, good, because that would be outlandish and fantastic."
Hearing this, everyone looked at Tony with puzzled expressions.
"I... I'm just not the hero type. Clearly, with the long list of mistakes already in the public record."
"Just stick to the cards, man," Rhodes whispered.
"Yeah, yeah, okay." Tony nodded.
Tony looked down at the card in his hand. After a few seconds of silence, he slowly looked back at the crowd.
"The truth is..."
He glanced at the card one last time before tossing it aside.
"...I AM IRON MAN."
The entire room fell silent for a moment before the whole press conference erupted into chaos. Reporters stood up one after another, shouting questions as camera flashes filled the room. Rhodes quickly pulled Tony away from the stage while Pepper stepped forward to calm the media.
"That was some unique speech right there," Jack commented as he watched the live news.
"Yeah, he just revealed his identity. That was a surprise. I thought he would hide it," Gwen said. As a superhero herself, she knew the kind of problems that would come if her identity was revealed to the public, so she couldn't understand why Tony had done it.
"Morgan, your dad was really cool there," Emma praised Tony.
"Ah, cough, cough... Emma, I could do it even better," Jack said, feeling the need to defend himself after hearing Emma praise Tony.
But it seemed no one believed him and everyone was still talking about Tony Stark.
Not only them — the entire world was talking about the news. Overnight, Tony Stark went from a billionaire playboy to a superhero in the eyes of the public. As the news spread around the world, Stark Industries' stock price, which had been falling ever since Tony announced the company would stop making weapons, suddenly shot up like a rocket. Within hours, it had recovered all its previous losses and continued climbing even higher.
Thousands of miles away, in a small apartment in Moscow, Russia—
An old television quietly played the latest news from America.
"I am Iron Man."
An old man lay on the bed, staring at the television with tired eyes, and beside him sat a man in his forties.
"That should've been you, Ivan," the old man said weakly in Russian.
Ivan looked at the television before shaking his head.
"Don't listen to that crap."
A faint smile appeared on the old man's face.
"I'm sorry... all I could leave you is my knowledge."
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's hand slowly fell to the bed.
"Dad...?"
Ivan gently grabbed his father's hand. There was no response. His father was gone.
For a long moment, Ivan didn't move. He quietly lowered his head as tears slowly rolled down his face. The only sound in the room was the television replaying Tony Stark's speech.
"I am Iron Man."
Clench. Ivan's hand slowly tightened into a fist. His eyes were no longer filled with sadness — only hatred remained.
He slowly walked to the old wooden box his father had protected for so many years and opened it. Inside were several old blueprints, and on the very first page were two names.
Howard Stark.
Anton Vanko.
Ivan silently stared at the names, his grip tightening until the paper crumpled slightly. The room fell silent.
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 20 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
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