"So, humor me—what exactly do you think this kid would've done when he woke up one day and realized he could casually bench-press a truck? Stick to ceilings like it's no big deal? Swinging around Manhattan? What would this kid do with those powers?"
May looked at Peter, and she knew the answer. "He would… help people."
"That's right. Now tell me, could you have stopped this kid from helping people?"
She shook her head. Peter was a good kid, but not someone who'd sit back if someone needed help.
"So what's the smarter move—let him run around playing junior Avenger and hope he doesn't break a limb, or train the kid, drill the safety rules into him, and give him a suit that could survive a nuclear meltdown?"
"IT CAN?" Peter exclaimed.
"Jarvis, show him," Tony murmured.
Wooosh!
Out of nowhere, Peter's suit turned into a box that covered all of Peter's body. Then, outside the box, an energy shield formed.
Woosh!
The box vanished moments later. Peter's eyes were wide. "Wha-How did you fit all those things inside the suit?"
"Don't ignore me!" May raised her voice. "Peter, I'm here. I'm listening. So start talking—when, how, why—I need to know everything."
Peter gulped, nodding. "I will, Aunt May."
May shot a glance at Tony then.
"I've got a meeting in China." Tony raised his hands and stepped backwards towards the window.
May's gaze turned softer. Reason returned to her thoughts. Tony could have ignored it all and let Peter be by himself. But Tony made sure Peter was safe while doing what he wanted.
"Thanks, Tony."
Tony gave back a lewd wink. "Thank me later."
May blushed and looked back at her nephew with crazy eyes. "Speak."
####
Who said retirement was easy? Who said being the US President meant a life of luxury? Well, maybe it was for the guys who came before him, but for Tony, it was always an uphill battle.
With the November elections just a month away, Tony wanted to go out with a bang. Not in a literal sense, but something of a massive event that would move the entire world.
But before he could do that, he needed the entire world on the same page. For that, he had to visit every single country and compel them to sign a secret deal with him. Even China and Russia were on that list. They didn't worry him anymore, nor did he fear retaliating against them through underhanded means. He had already disabled all their nukes, and they didn't even know.
Thankfully, the deal he proposed was such that no country wanted to stay out of it. But from some nations, he needed assurances first.
"President Xu, this is man to man." Tony sat in the lavish office that had too much red all around. The carpet was red, and the curtains on the windows were red with golden trims. The massive red flag of China behind the President was also there. Then came the dragons, and holy Jesus, there were dragons. The ceiling had dragons painted, the doorknobs had dragons engraved, the pen stand was dragon-shaped, the paperweight was the same, and even the armrest of the chair Tony sat on had dragons.
It was just Tony and President Xu of China. Thanks to Jarvis, there was no need for a translator. Heck, he was in real time reading President Xu's body language.
"Look, I get it—you want in. Who wouldn't? But I also know you want the biggest slice of the pie. Now, I'm a generous guy—I build schools, save planets, kiss babies—but I'm not handing over the bakery. You'll get a share, sure. Same as Finland, same as France. Respectable, not VIP access. I'm the one bringing in the juice—I make the rules.
"And rule number one? Drop the whole "President for life" thing. U.S. elections are next month. It would be nice if your country joined the grown-up table and stuck to the script your forefathers wrote. I get it—absolute power? Delicious. Like mangoes in July. But take it from me: telling me no? Not your smartest move."
The man in front of Tony sat uneasily. He didn't really want to meet Tony, but he had to. The threat was too big. Tony somehow had all the details of his shady deals, the way he made his relatives rich as fuck, the women he banged, heck the videos were in Tony's possession. This was blackmail, plain as day.
"If… I sign this. I get to keep what I have?"
"Sure thing, pal. But here's the deal—you're done with politics. Time to hang up the suit, grab a fondue fork, and disappear into the Swiss Alps. Call it retirement, capital R, italics, bold."
Tony was lying. He had zero tolerance for corruption as he wasn't corrupt himself. He ended lobbying himself. He scared Big Pharma into surrendering. Of course, blackmailing the corrupt guys didn't count as bad deeds, according to him.
"And Russia?"
"Vlad? He's getting the same deal as you—only worse. The guy's been in power so long, he's basically an octopus with a hand in every jar. Gonna have to snip a few limbs before I hand him his retirement watch."
This was an even bigger lie. Tony had no plans on going soft on the Russian President. The same was the fate of Kim, who had pretty much reformed himself. But his past crimes were too grave to be ignored. And murders were the tame ones.
"I agree then."
"Good boy."
President Xu looked at the documents. "This deal will help my country for centuries to come."
It sure will, bud. Just not you.
After China, Tony visited most of Asia. It was easy to get the leaders on the same footing as him. Most weren't patriotic but knew that the deal would help their nation tremendously.
For an entire month, from one nation to another, Tony traveled the entire world. Just him, his super high-tech armor, and a deal. Sure, a few supervillains appeared here and there, but none stood in his way.
Soon enough, November 6th arrived, Sunday, two days from the presidential election. Pepper's face was everywhere, her interviews were endless. The age of the internet had arrived, with Tony's previous four years spent making America high-tech. That meant Pepper gave more interviews to different internet podcasts than to news channels. It was all Jarvis's calculated strategy.
However, Tony's final masterpiece was yet to come. And it was finally the day.
####
It was Sunday, yet the schools were open. Not just for students but for everyone. Instead of classes, the auditoriums were filled with the students, their parents, and their neighbors.
Inside, massive projectors displayed the insignia of the President of the United States, the live telecast yet to start.
For the past month, every single day, on TV, radio, on YouTube ads, Tony's 10-second clip had been going viral. His invitation to all Americans and people of the world to watch his live telecast. The event was termed as the Greatest Step Forward Of the 3rd millennium.
Tony Stark had already single-handedly pushed Earth's tech a decade or two ahead. Just hearing him talk about the greatest thing to happen in their current one-thousand-years was too much. More so when the 3rd millennium had just started 16 years ago.
But Tony Stark was known for keeping his word. So, school gymnasiums, stadiums, churches, and any place that could house a lot of people and project the scenes on massive screens were used to telecast the President's event.
This time, Hector Morgan didn't go out to any event. Ever since he'd heard that President Stark wouldn't run for president again, he'd lost all the steam. All his motivation, and he didn't even want to vote anymore.
That day, he watched the President's live telecast at home with his wife and kid.
"Shhh! It's starting!" Hector shushed his son and wife.
On the screen, a montage started to run with Tony's voice doing the voiceover. It was a beautiful montage that showed the rise of humanity in a time-lapse fashion. From hunters and gatherers to discovering fire, to the Stone Age, the Bronze Age, and the slow rise of humanity. From small huts to fortresses, from villages to towns, from towns to cities. Discoveries that shaped the world.
"For thousands of years, we stared at the stars, wondering if we were alone. Then a few years back—boom—turns out we're not. And let's just say the welcome party wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy. They came to kill us, conquer us."
Tony's voice became louder as the montage came to an end, and for some reason, the camera started to zoom out from an aerial view of the White House. The camera kept on zooming, going out into space, looking at the Earth. Then it kept on moving towards the moon.
"I was scared back then. Yeah, me—actual fear. I looked at this fragile blue marble and thought, we're not built to last. I wanted to change that. Make us tougher. Smarter. Survivable. So humanity doesn't just exist—we expand, explore, maybe even get a decent seat at the cosmic table. So I looked up for answers… and wouldn't you know it? I found one."
The camera finally reached the moon's surface, still panned in a way that Earth was visible in the distance. Yet the camera kept moving away.
"Ladies and gentlemen, after three years of sleep-deprived brilliance and a highly questionable caffeine intake, I give you the greatest discovery mankind has ever made—or will ever make. Drumroll, please... I present to you: the answer!"
Snap!
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