Chapter 69 - Winning Big! I

"The world is forever changed—aliens, villains, heroes—In times like these, a career politician won't do. Only one man can lead America through the storms ahead, a selfless genius whose legacy spans generations, a genius who will build the new foundation of America. Vote for Tony Stark—Vote for the Future!"

Clap! Clap! Clap!

"That's perfect!" Tony clapped his hands at the first television run of his election campaign ad starring none other than Captain America. "With Cap front and center, I've officially got the old bingo night crowd locked down."

Tony was a man of opportunity. Since Steve owed him one, he made sure to use it well. But Steve also agreed with him being the next President, so the young 'old man' didn't refuse the request. Furthermore, even Thor agreed to shoot a campaign ad, declaring Tony was one of the finest warriors in the Nine Realms and how he'd be honored in Asgard. Hulk shot one ad too, where he slammed Loki left and right first, and then grinned at the camera, declaring—Stark good, Loki bad!

Sadly, Natasha couldn't do it since she was a SHIELD employee and a spy. But good for Tony, he had inducted a few more Avengers already. The beautiful redhead Jean Grey, the bald Charles, the metalhead Magneto, and the charming Ororo. Wolverine was there too, and the man happily agreed to help after Tony offered him a free year's worth of alcohol. He didn't ask Scott, not liking his attitude.

Additionally, he included the New York Police Department, Fire Department, and Paramedics in a few ads since they did a lot to help the people. With so much 4K footage available from the battle, including the emotional 'Tony's sacrifice', he was the sweetheart and the hero of not just America but the entire world.

It was already almost June, and only a few months were left before the final voting in November. Tony designed the campaign to slowly release new details, footage, and ads over the months to keep the hype going.

It wasn't shocking that the pre-poll numbers showed him at a 99% approval rating in the first month after the Battle. The game was now to maintain that number.

####

In just a few days, schools reopened as the Iron Guardians took care of the cleanup after the battle. Many buildings had been damaged, but the loss of life was minimal, barely reaching five in the whole ordeal.

Magneto had done a fantastic job of minimizing the destruction too, often fixing the metal structure of the buildings back to its original form so they became easy to repair later.

Amidst the once chaotic streets, Peter and his best friend, Edward "Ned" Leeds, walked towards the new place that May had recently rented. Not to mention, the Stark Tower was close by.

"Mr. Stark's over at my place a lot. And, uh, I'm starting to think there's… something going on between him and Aunt May. But she's happy, so I just keep quiet." Peter embarrassingly told his small secret to his best friend. "I'll call you the next time he's at our place."

"And I'm not saying I don't believe you but… I don't believe you," Ned blurted.

Peter sighed, feeling frustrated. Was it that hard to imagine Mr. Stark being at his place? It had been so long by now.

Soon, Peter took his friend over to the new apartment to show him his newly acquired Star Wars Lego set, hoping to build it together.

"In this building? Woah—it's so tall!" Ned gawked at the structure.

"Mr. Stark owns it," Peter revealed proudly.

Ned still didn't seem too keen on believing and just followed behind into the elevator. Soon, they reached the twenty-first floor and entered the wide, luxurious lobby. It all looked like a five-star hotel more than an apartment.

"This one." Peter grabbed the keys and turned the knob. "The view from my room is awesome."

Clack!

"Ah! Peter!"

"Aunt May?" Peter jumped on his feet just as he opened the door, finding his Aunt in the distance, visible on the couch, her hair disheveled, her top creased, and a pillow on her lap. But then he noticed the Iron Man suit on one side of the large living room. "M-Mr. Stark is here?"

"Here, kid." Tony appeared, coming out of the bathroom, it seemed. But the faint lipstick mark on his cheek made things awkward.

"M-MR. STARK! WOAH!" Ned roared like a fangirl and ran over to Tony, fumbling with his backpack. "Mr. Stark, please give me an autograph! Yes, on my forehead!"

"..."

"I'll go get you some snacks." May slipped away.

Tony scratched his beard and took the marker from the chubby boy. Uncaring, he gave an autograph on Ned's forehead first, and then his t-shirt, followed by his sneakers. It was certainly weird, but not as weird as the time a girl asked him to sign right above her love hole.

"How you doing, Peter?" Tony asked, walking back to the Iron Man suit and stepping into it. "How's school going?"

"Uh, it's going great, Mr. Stark," Peter replied, trying his best to not look at the lipstick mark.

"Good to know. Well, I'm off, I've got an important interview." Tony started walking towards one of the large window panels he had personally fixed in that apartment. It could open up to allow him quick access to the apartment.

Woosh!

Peter saw his role model fly away, feeling conflicted. Should he keep ignoring the thing between Aunt May and him? Or talk about it?

"Peter, why didn't you tell me you're so close with Mr. Stark!"

"..."

Peter looked at his best friend tiredly, no longer having the heart to work on the Lego set.

####

"Are you serious? What's that on your face?" Darcy Lewis complained as she saw Tony arrive at the news station for his interview. She rushed over to him in her figure-hugging, long, professional skirt and white shirt. Her hips earned the eye of every man nearby, but she had her eyes on only one man, her boss.

Tony frowned, realizing now why Peter was staring at him. But he let Darcy wipe his face while savoring the nice view of the slit between her voluptuous, voluminous twin peaks. Too bad, he had work to do, or else he'd have dragged her home.

"What's the status?" He asked, having entrusted Darcy with some of his campaign work.

"They're waiting for you. Christine and the other guy are discussing the questions," Darcy explained. "I know you play around with Christine, but don't do that today. The other guy is also a top dog from a different channel."

Today's interview was a collaboration between two channels to be precise. The biggest ones in the country.

"Why would I play with Christine when I got my hot campaign manager today?" He flirted cheekily.

Darcy chuckled and stopped wiping his face. "Well, I accepted this job because of that perk."

Tony felt her big grinning smile right in his shaft. She was perhaps the only woman who considered getting fucked by her boss a job perk. He didn't complain though, it was exciting to have someone like her.

"Did you prepare the material?" He asked.

"The projector is already set up, boss."

"Good, let's go then."

Tony entered the recording room soon after. This time, the show was going to be live, so Tony paid some extra attention to the details. With just two more months left until voting, everything mattered. Winning was necessary to save his name at that point.

In a few minutes, the red light of the 'On Air' sign lit up, and the music echoed.

Christine and the other guy introduced themselves first, followed by the camera panning to Tony, who walked into the sitting area and took a seat, facing the two interviewers.

There was no live audience, so there were no claps. He shook hands with the two hosts and started with a quick monolog about his visit. After that, the easier questions started—How he was, what's he working on these days. Slowly, the questions turned serious and important.

"The recent numbers suggest that your approval rating has fallen by six percent. Does that worry you, seeing we're still two months away from the final day?" The man asked.

Tony shrugged and nonchalantly answered. "Six percent drop from ninety-nine? Expected. Doesn't exactly keep me up at night. Look, I'm doing this for the country—our world, really. I think people get that."

"You have been accused of sabotaging your opponents."

"I don't see stating facts as sabotaging. If their history's packed with skeletons, maybe they should've rethought their career path, right? Corruption? Not exactly on my Christmas card list. No regrets here," he shrugged, then tapped his watch with a glint in his eye. "Speaking of sabotage, I've got a little audio sample here. Trust me, you'll recognize the voice—it's hard to miss with all that… annoying charm."

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