The moment the news hit the wires, Pepper Potts had been in a state of controlled collapse. She had called Tony's satellite phone seventeen times before he finally picked up.
"Tony! Oh thank God," she gasped, her voice trembling. "The reports... they said the convoy was hit. They said there were missiles—our missiles."
"Pepper, breathe," Tony had said, "I'm fine. My private security team earned their paycheck today. I'm sitting on the tarmac at Bagram having a drink. I'll be home in a few hours."
The relief in her voice was audible, a sharp intake of breath followed by a sob she tried to hide. But for Tony, hearing her fear only solidified his resolve. The system was broken, and he was the only one with the tools—and now the powers—to fix it.
———-
The revelation that Stark Industries' most advanced weaponry had been funneled into the hands of insurgents sent a shockwave through the highest corridors of power. This was a breach of national security that threatened the very foundation of the United States' military-industrial complex.
In the windowless briefing rooms of the Pentagon, the atmosphere was lethal. The United States government operates on a system of Strict Liability. It didn't matter if Tony Stark was a genius or a patriot; if his products were arming the enemy, he was a liability.
The Department of Defense (DoD) moved with the speed of a guillotine. Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), they invoked a "Suspension and Debarment" clause. This was an immediate, total freeze.
Financial Blackout: All pending payments to Stark Industries—totaling billions of dollars—were locked in escrow.
Operational Halt: Every ongoing project, from the Jericho missile rollout to the satellite-guided mortar systems, was ordered to a standstill.
The Federal Audit: A team of FBI and GAO (Government Accountability Office) investigators was authorized to seize every shipping manifest and digital ledger in the Stark database.
Colonel James Rhodes sat in a secure terminal at Bagram, watching the "Frozen" status codes bloom across his monitor in red text. He felt a sickening knot in his stomach.
Rhodey knew how the gears of government turned. Once the bureaucracy decided you were a threat, they tried to dismantle you. He looked at the serial numbers recovered from the ambush site. They were high-yield explosives that required Level 5 clearance to move.
"To move this much hardware past the docks and through customs, someone had to grease the wheels at the highest levels. This is an inside job, and the Pentagon is going to blame Tony to cover their own lack of oversight."
His reaction was a mix of protective fury and professional dread. He was the bridge between the military and Tony. If that bridge collapsed, Tony would be left alone against the full weight of the federal government.
The logic behind the government's move was simple: Containment through Deprivation. By freezing the contracts, they were cutting off Tony's "oxygen." They expected him to come crawling to Washington, begging for the freeze to be lifted, which would give them the leverage to take over his labs and put "government-approved" oversight in every corner of his workshop.
———
As Tony stepped off the plane at the New York airport, the morning sun felt cold compared to the Afghan heat. Pepper was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, her face pale, looking like she hadn't slept a wink.
Just like in the old timeline, she tried to maintain her professional mask, but her eyes were red-rimmed. "You're late," she whispered as he reached the bottom.
"Traffic was a killer," Tony joked weakly, but as she moved to hug him, he felt the weight of the moment. He wasn't the same man who had left. His High-Speed Regeneration had already erased the minor scratches from the desert, and his Magnetism felt like a coiled spring beneath his skin.
He looked past her and saw Obadiah Stane standing by a sleek black SUV. Stane was smiling—that wide, fake, predatory smile. Tony's Eye Boy vision caught the micro-tremors in Stane's jaw. The man was terrified.
"Tony, the DoD just pulled the plug," Rhodey said, pulling him aside. "Every contract. Every cent. They're opening an inquiry into 'Arms Export Control Act' violations. They think you—or someone very close to you—is playing both sides."
Tony looked at the agents, then back at Rhodey. With his Eye Boy vision, he could see the thermal signatures of the recording devices the agents were carrying. Tony looked insulted. He played the part of the betrayed patriot to perfection.
"They're freezing me out?" Tony said loudly, ensuring Stane could hear.
"Tony, this is serious! They could seize the company!"
"After my own hardware almost took my head off because the military couldn't secure a perimeter? Unbelievable." Tony replied, "But it's hard to seize a shadow, James. Tell the Pentagon I'll see them at the press conference. I have a feeling they aren't going to like my opening statement."
Tony drove straight to Stark Industries HQ and called for an immediate press conference. The room was packed with hundreds of journalists, the air buzzing with camera clicks.
Tony walked onto the stage. He sat on the edge of the stage, looking tired, human, and vulnerable.
"I saw young Americans killed by the very weapons I created to protect them," Tony told the silent room. "I saw a system where our own military is so compromised that my 'top-secret' prototypes are being used by cave-dwellers to ambush me."
He looked directly into the cameras, his eyes flashing with a hidden intensity. "I saw the face of the enemy, and it looked like a Stark Industries shipping crate. I was the victim of my own success. And I will not be a part of a system that turns a profit on the blood of its own soldiers anymore."
He stood up, his voice turning to iron.
"Effective immediately, I am closing the Weapons Development Division of Stark Industries. We are no longer a defense contractor. We are a technology company. We will find a new direction, or we will cease to exist. That is all."
The room exploded into chaos. Reporters were screaming questions, and Obadiah Stane, standing in the wings, looked like he had just watched his entire empire vanish into a black hole. Tony ignored them all. He walked off the stage.
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