"National security?" Tony let out a sneer. He set down his wine glass and pointed at the energy reactor in his chest. "Do you know where this hole in my chest came from? That's your so-called national security! Security is only when the technology of the mark armor is firmly in my hands!"
These extremely conceited words made Rhodes's expression look even worse. He lowered his voice, almost squeezing the words through his teeth: "Tony, I'm not joking with you. The Senate Armed Services Committee is pushing a bill. If it passes, they will have the legal right to take over all your armors."
"My technology is my property; it is indivisible and absolutely not for share," Tony's tone left no room for doubt. "Hand the technology over to Hammer Industries for contract manufacturing? Or to those idiots at the Pentagon who can't even figure out the color scheme for an armor? They would turn a work of art into a walking target."
"This isn't a work of art, it's a weapon! The Military has the Military's stance," Rhodes's voice rose as well.
The atmosphere between the two became rigid to the extreme.
"The talk failed." Tony shrugged at Lin Huai and turned to leave, leaving Rhodes standing there alone, his face full of disappointment and powerlessness.
Tony returned to the lounge, slumped into the sofa, and irritably tugged at his tie. He knew Rhodes had been helping him hold off the Military for a long time, but surrendering the technology was absolutely impossible.
"It's more convenient to leave this kind of thing to a professional. Call the Black Brine Egg. We have consciences, but he isn't a good person; he can settle this with a snap of his fingers." Sitting nearby, Lin Huai took a sip of lemonade.
Tony immediately picked up his encrypted phone, his finger sliding across a string of names on the screen before stopping on a one-eyed avatar.
"Jarvis, connect to that Black Brine Egg's encrypted private line."
A few seconds later, Nick Fury's eternally serious face appeared on the phone screen.
"Stark, it seems your Expo party isn't going very pleasantly," Fury said, getting straight to the point. He was clearly keeping a constant eye on the situation here.
"Cut the nonsense, Nick," Tony said crossly. "I've got some trouble here. A swarm of flies is buzzing around trying to steal my toys. And you, S.H.I.E.L.D., are best at handling this kind of shady trouble, aren't you? Help me suppress those people from the Military and Congress, and I'll owe you a favor."
Hearing this, a playful glint flashed in Fury's single eye. He didn't answer immediately, but remained silent for a few seconds as if weighing something.
"Your call came at just the right time, Stark," Fury's serious voice said slowly. "I have a swarm of 'flies' here too, but they don't want toys; they want human souls. We internally refer to them as the Sons of Baphomet."
Lin Huai, who was watching the communication from the side, suddenly narrowed his eyes.
"We just helped Consultant Lin find the Hornacis Grey Mountain Goat Unicorn Crystal, which was seized from these cultists and HYDRA. Now, these Lunatics are making new moves," Fury continued. "How about this: I'll solve your trouble with Congress, and in return, you and Mr. Lin need to join our special investigation task force to help us find these cultists' lair and figure out exactly what they are plotting."
Fury looked at Lin Huai on the other side of the screen, who was clearly lost in thought, and added: "Consider it extra compensation from S.H.I.E.L.D. for Mr. Lin finding the key materials. Is it a deal?"
"Mephisto..." Lin Huai whispered the name. "Wait a moment, I have a professional who can participate in the investigation. Let me make a call."
He didn't even wait for Tony's answer before picking up his own encrypted phone and dialing a number.
"Mage Russell? This is Lin Huai." As soon as the call connected, Lin Huai went straight to the point. "I have an emergency here. A Demon called 'Mephisto' has followers, the Sons of Baphomet, who are causing trouble on Earth. Does the Sorcerer Ancient One know about this?"
"Your Excellency Lin Huai?" Russell on the other end of the phone was stunned for a moment, and then his tone became solemn. "Master has gone to block enemies from other dimensions and has not yet returned. Mephisto? That Hell Lord? This matter is no longer something mortals can interfere with."
"That's why I need your help," Lin Huai said quickly. "You people from Kamar-Taj are the most professional in this regard. I am now formally inviting you to join our temporary investigation team so we can solve this trouble together."
Russell hardly hesitated: "I'm leaving right now!"
Hanging up the phone, Lin Huai then nodded to Tony and Fury: "Stark and I accept your deal. Tell us the time and place, and we will be there on time. Additionally, a 'professional' you've met before will be joining our side."
"Very well. Currently, Hawkeye is tracking the fleeing cultists, and Coulson will contact you. I should have let you identify those sacrificial offerings from last time directly; we only found faint energy reactions on them that cause irritability and violence in those in prolonged contact, but we haven't analyzed anything else yet," Fury briefly explained the current project progress and then hung up the communication... S.H.I.E.L.D.'s powerful information-gathering capabilities began to operate. A few encrypted calls were made to key figures on Capitol Hill, and some "friendly reminders" about campaign funding sources and "procedural flaws" in Military procurement were inadvertently mentioned.
Early the next morning, the originally aggressive hearing committee suddenly announced that due to "complex technical details," the hearing regarding the ownership of the Iron Man armor would be postponed indefinitely.
Upon hearing this news, Rhodes breathed a long sigh of relief. He immediately called Tony, his voice full of the joy of being relieved of a burden: "Tony, you really did it. I don't know what method you used, but... that's great. It was really difficult for me being caught in the middle."
Listening to his best friend's voice, Tony's mood improved as well. He walked to a corner of the workshop and looked at the quietly standing, silver-shining Mark II armor. It was his original prototype; its performance was long outdated, but its significance was extraordinary.
"Hey, Rhodes," Tony's tone became relaxed. "Come over to my place. I'm giving you a gift."
When Rhodes stood before that armor filled with violent beauty, his mouth hung open in shock.
"This is...?"
"It's yours." Tony patted the armor's cold metal shell. "Consider it compensation for holding off those idiots from the Military for so long. Don't worry, the core arc reactor technology is a secret of Stark Industries. No one in this World except me, Tony Stark, can replicate it. As for the shell... I believe no one can crack my design. Take it, my friend, and don't let those idiots paint it some disgusting color."
Tony firmly believed that even if he gave the blueprints to those people, they wouldn't be able to build a second Iron Man, let alone from just this retired set of armor.