Chapter 114

The next day.

Ana opened her eyes early in the morning.

She saw Carol embracing her and burying her head in her chest. Whenever Ana complained about it, Carol would deny doing it at all.

Removing Carol's arms that held her gently, Ana entered the bathroom to freshen up.

After a relaxing bath in the tub, Ana sat in front of the mirror and combed her long hair.

Once ready, she put on a black coat that reached just below her knees.

Looking at herself in the mirror, she nodded before descending the stairs quietly.

Ana was about to reach the last step when someone suddenly appeared in front of her and hugged her.

Smiling softly, Ana embraced Damian, whose head rested against her chest.

"Weren't you going to say goodbye to me?" Damian asked with a smile as he looked up at Ana.

"I didn't want to wake you up," Ana said, kissing Damian.

"I'm running late," Ana said, pinching Damian's cheeks playfully with a smile.

"Go," Damian said, giving her one last kiss before letting her pass.

"Have fun," Damian said, playfully giving Ana a spank as she walked by.

Ana looked at him flirtatiously before heading out.

When she reached the garage, she quickly chose the Audi R8 before speeding off.

Carol had modified that car in her free time and added some non-Earthly features to it.

Ana reached the highway and accelerated, reaching speeds of 200 mph.

About an hour later, Ana arrived in Washington. After checking the address, she made her way to the courthouse where Tony's case was being held.

Climbing the stairs, Ana idly wondered what she would encounter.

....

"Mr. Stark, please," Senator Stern said as he banged the gavel.

"Yes, darling?" Tony quipped.

The senator tried to maintain his patience despite his face still showing annoyance.

"Is it true that you possess a specialized weapon?" Senator Stern asked, trying to make Tony slip up.

"Actually, I'm not allowed to speak until my lawyer arrives," Tony said, smiling faintly.

"I wasn't informed that you would bring a lawyer. I'm afraid we cannot allow you to enter. There are necessary security measures," Stern said, exchanging glances with his colleagues.

"Well, that would be a problem and could result in an international conflict," Tony acted as if it were a bad thing.

"You see, I invited Ana Alucard to be my lawyer. In fact, she obtained her degree in this country, so there shouldn't be a problem," Tony said, looking at Stern almost with a mocking smile.

As soon as the name Alucard was pronounced, Senator Stern and several court officials couldn't help but grimace.

"She should be arriving any moment now," Tony added, enjoying the constipated look on Stern's face.

At that moment, the door opened, and a woman in a black coat walked in.

Her hair swayed slightly as she walked, and her flawless face made her look like a goddess.

"Sorry for being late," Ana said with no hint of apology in her tone as she sat next to Tony.

"What were we discussing?" Ana asked directly.

There was a long silence before Senator Stern spoke.

"Our interest is for the Iron Man armor to be handed over to the country," the senator said.

"And what are you offering in return?" Ana asked, nodding.

"Offering?" The question from Ana momentarily stunned Stern as he looked at his colleagues with uncertainty.

"Of course, you want the technology, so unless you plan on taking it by force, you must offer something in return. I don't think you would do that because it would discourage anyone from inventing something, right?" Ana asked, leaving no room for doubt.

"I have some proposals. It wouldn't hurt for you to cede some states to my client, given the capacity of the technology. It seems like a reasonable price," Ana said.

Tony, who was a bit worried about where the discussion was heading, couldn't help but freeze when he heard Ana asking for states in exchange for the technology. He finally managed to keep from bursting out laughing and remained silent, watching the officials' expressions change.

"Madam lawyer, that is totally impossible!" shouted one of the politicians in annoyance.

"In a negotiation, everything is possible. Or is it not a negotiation?" Ana asked again, trying to lure them with her words.

"The armor be-" one of the politicians almost fell into Ana's trap but was quickly silenced by his colleague.

"Of course, it is a negotiation," said one of the politicians. They were live on camera, and clearly, it wasn't a good idea to take something away from someone when you were being recorded.

"What you're asking for is too much," Stern said, trying to steer the conversation back on track.

"And you're not offering anything either. If you can't pay, don't ask for it," Ana said expressionlessly.

"I have another offer prepared if your capital isn't sufficient," Ana said, almost mocking them.

"I think we should call in a weapons expert, our current arms contractor, Justin Hammer," Stern said uncomfortably.

Justin entered the camera frame and took a seat on the other side of the seats.

"I must say, I'm still waiting for the weapons expert," Tony teased.

Justin nodded with a slight laugh.

"You're right, Tony. I'm not an expert, you are," Justin said, taking the microphone with a smile.

Justin delivered a long speech discussing Tony's shortcomings as Iron Man, insinuating that the suit should be handed over to the country.

Senator Stern smiled satisfactorily, feeling that things were back on track.

"I might consider becoming Secretary of Defense if asked nicely and if they change the schedule. How about four hours a week?" Tony proposed, teasing.

Ana smiled faintly at Tony's words before looking at Stern.

Stern saw that Ana was looking at him, so afraid that she might say something, he quickly spoke.

"Now we invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the camera."

Tony was surprised and looked back to see him enter with a folder.

They hadn't spoken for a long time.

When their gazes met, Tony saw him give a slight smile.

Tony also tried to show a friendly expression, although he felt somewhat confused.

"I have a report on the Iron Man weapon compiled by Colonel Rhodes. Colonel, would you be so kind as to read paragraph 4 on page 57?" Senator Stern asked.

Ana rolled her eyes at Stern's words, and before Rhodes could complain, Ana spoke up.

"Do you want to read a paragraph out of context? Is that the transparency of a senator?" Ana asked, looking at Stern.

"Now that I think about it, I also knew another senator with the same name as you. I suppose you're his son," Ana said slowly, looking at Stern.

"It was many years ago. This senator was part of a certain organization with peculiar goals. I wonder if you inherited those ideals," Ana mocked, watching as Stern's face changed and paled.

Taking advantage of the moment, Ana stood up and began to speak.

"The Iron Man armor belongs to my client and has no obligation to surrender it. As Tony Stark is a good patriot, he is willing to deliver a functional suit on his own terms. Additionally, the person who uses the armor must be selected by my client."

"Any attempt to steal the technology of the suit will result in immediate withdrawal."

"Furthermore, in exchange for the armor, we want a reduction in taxes."

"This is the best offer we can present to the Senate. If you insist on pressuring my client, I'm afraid that my husband, as an important shareholder of Stark Industries, will have to intervene," Ana threatened.

"Is that a threat?" one of the politicians asked.

Ana only looked at him mockingly without responding. Her threat couldn't be clearer.

Stern silently looked at Ana with hesitation. He surmised that his father's death was not an accident, and now he really doesn't know how to proceed. He doesn't want to receive a nocturnal visit.

"I agree with the proposal," one of the politicians who didn't have many ideas for the armor said.

"Yes, it seems acceptable," another politician said, nodding. This is already better than what they expected to achieve. After all, it's possible that Tony will refuse to surrender the armor in the end.

Stern watched as the others accepted the deal with consternation. What irritated him the most was Tony's mocking smile towards him.

All eyes turned to Senator Stern, and he knew then that he had no choice but to accept, or else he would draw too much attention to himself.

"Then we'll accept the proposal. Who will be designated as the pilot of the armor?" Stern asked with a disgruntled expression as he wrote on some documents.

"Colonel Rhodes could be a good option," Ana said, looking at the man without noticing Tony's slightly uncomfortable expression.

"Fine," Stern said, slightly more content. Rhodes was easy to handle.

"Well, I think that's all," Ana said, looking at Tony, who nodded in agreement.

Tony was prepared to fight for a long time, and the outcome was uncertain. Now he just had to rent armor, and they would stop bothering him.

Seeing that everything was settled, Ana said goodbye to Tony and Pepper before leaving the chamber. Once outside, she got into her car and drove back home.

Inside the chamber, everyone had already stood up, greeting Tony as he and Pepper exited.

Once they got rid of all the people, Tony and Pepper were finally alone in the car.

"Well, everything went well," Tony said, smiling at Pepper.

"You received help, or else you would have had problems for several months. All of that just to play the hero," Pepper complained with a smile.

"I think we should celebrate," Tony said mischievously.

"Hm, I don't know," Pepper said, looking at Tony with a playful smile as she evaded his hands.

The vehicle began to drive straight home, leaving behind all the reporters.

....

Damian was watching the news with a smile. It was interesting to see his beloved Ana on television with her expression of indifference.

"Mama looks very beautiful," Emma said, smiling happily as she saw her mother on TV.

"She's so full of herself. Look at that arrogant face," Carol whispered, laughing with Natasha and Ophelia.

"Yeah, she's coming home soon," Damian said, playing with Emma's hair.

When the part with Ana ended, the girls quickly got bored and went to play somewhere else.

"I'll go out for a while," Damian said, informing everyone before disappearing and reappearing in space.

Damian had been ready for a while to advance in his magic system; he just wanted to polish everything well so he could soon teach it to others.

Concentrating, Damian created a much larger magic circle this time. Unbeknownst to him, he spent several hours inscribing the runes.

Once the tire-sized magic circle was ready, Damian opened his eyes with a bit of astonishment.

His magic felt different, more compact. He truly didn't think this system could make him stronger.

Extending his hand, his three magic circles appeared. They looked very pleasing. At first, it was somewhat embarrassing to show such small magic circles.

Now he should be able to freely use conjuration, which is an advanced version of transmutation.

Conjuration is the ability to transform something from nothing, unlike transmutation, which requires an object to transform.

Damian began to play and test the limits, conjuring small things like toys, cars, and trucks. Aside from the ridiculously increased magic expenditure, there was no difficulty.

Smiling slightly as he looked at his magic circles, Damian was delighted to see his magic system taking shape.

Now he only had to teach it to his family, which would take a few days to prepare.

Damian returned home and was surprised to see that it was raining. He idly wondered how many hours had passed.

Searching the house, he realized that everyone was in the backyard. With some confusion, he approached them to see what they were doing.

Damian smiled faintly as he saw his daughters playing in the rain.

They had laid out plastic on the grass and were running before sliding on it.

Carol was playing with them, sometimes sliding herself.

"Daddy, play with us," Emma said, suddenly freezing and looking in his direction.

Everyone turned to Damian, who approached with a smile.

"Sure, sweetheart, let's play," Damian said, looking at his daughter.

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