I Am Iron Man

...

The next day.

"Iron Man. That's not a bad name, but the armor was mainly gold-titanium. I like the name; it's just not accurate."

Tony was sitting on a chair, holding and commenting on the latest newspaper. Pepper was putting on makeup for Tony; he was doing another press conference today.

"Mr. Stark, this is your alibi. You were on the yacht at the time. We had customs documents and fifty witnesses to testify that you were on Avalon Island last night."

"I thought you would let me say that Pepper and I were on a private vacation on that island."

Tony flipped through the cue cards and asked Coulson, "By the way, what about Obadiah Stane?"

"He was on his private plane last night. The safety records of such small planes are...unreliable."

"Don't you think it's a bit weird to say that the robot is my bodyguard? Because this is me. I feel weird," Tony asked hesitantly.

"This isn't our first rodeo. Just read the cards, and things will die out soon," Coulson replied before heading to the door.

"Coulson, thank you for everything," Pepper interrupted Coulson to express her gratitude.

"You're welcome. This is my job, so you can contact us directly if you have any problems," Coulson replied again.

"Your organization is the Land Strategy..."

"You can call it SHIELD."

Coulson paused again. "By the way, please inform Mr. Li Yue that our director wishes to meet him."

...

"It's been a while since the last press conference. I should probably stick to the card. Rumor has it that I was involved in the robot fights that occurred on the public road..." Tony began to speak on the podium when one of the journalists interrupted him.

"I'm sorry. Do you really think we will believe that a bodyguard wearing a steel suit just happens to appear? And in fact, you are usually..." It was the same female reporter that had a one-night stand with Tony.

"I know that this is hard to believe, but questioning the official statement is one thing. Speculating that I am a superhero is another," Tony, in turn, interrupted the reporter.

"I didn't say you were a superhero," The female reporter ruthlessly interrupted Tony again.

"No? Good, because that's ridiculous. I'm not a hero type, you know, because of all the flaws in my personality and the stupid thing I did in public," Tony's expression was a little awkward and unnatural.

"Just read the script," Rhodes whispered to Tony.

"Li Yue, how do you think Tony Stark will answer the media's questions?"

In the audience, Louise asked Li Yue beside her.

"I think his answer will be hard for you to believe," Li Yue replied, his eyes fixated on the hesitant Tony.

Tony looked a little confused. His eyes swept across the crowd before landing on Li Yue. Looking at Li Yue's slightly encouraging eyes, he finally made a firm decision.

"In truth...I am Iron Man!"

Tony declared with determination.

"So, Li Yue, you already knew about it."

...

Tony's admission as Iron Man spread across the country like wildfire. Almost all the media outlets reported on it.

News of Tony Stark attracted admirers, haters, and popcorn munchers. Either way, even the Hollywood stars must be shoved aside when the news began talking about Tony Stark.

Tony's role as the Iron Man had popularized him in public cognition, and the Stark Industry's stock had soared as a result. Those who sold all their shares when Tony announced the closure of the weapons department must've wallowed in regret by now.

After taking over the shares that Obadiah left behind, Tony obtained absolute control over Stark Industries.

And so on and so forth, all these epilogues to the story arc. Let us move on.

...

When Tony and Li Yue returned to the villa the night after the press conference, they were greeted by a boiled egg—I mean, a soy egg character.

The current director of SHIELD Nick Fury. He was also known informally as the "Fuck Man" due to his unrestricted use of profanity. Another one of his nicknames was the "One-eyed Marinated Egg Man" (why did I reuse that soy egg gag). Anyway, moving on.

"'I am Iron Man,' huh? Tony Stark, do you think that you're the only superhero on this planet?" Nick Fury asked in a commandeering manner as if mocking Tony's limited knowledge about the world.

"Oh, oh, I know! There was Captain America during World War II and Captain Marvel, who visited Earth in 1995. Though, that one left Earth to be a superhero in space."

Li Yue deflated all the tension from Nick Fury's words.

"Oh, right, wasn't that when your left eye got blinded by Googoo? Googoo was a cat, by the way," Li Yue ignored the shocked look on Nick Fury's face and mercilessly tore the bald man's scar back open.

Nick Fury heard Li Yue's words, but the shock prevented him from fully understanding them. He had no idea how Li Yue could have discovered these secrets. His sense only returned when Li Yue mentioned his eyes. His expression turned stern.

Nick Fury calmed himself after ten full seconds, suppressing his murderous instinct. Letting Tony know about this matter was tantamount to announcing it to the world.

"Ha, blinded by a cat. I'm sorry, but I don't think I know you; I should remember if I know someone that got blinded by a cat. Tell me, why did you barge into my villa? What do you want?"

Nick Fury's condescension had rattled Tony a bit, but he recovered after hearing Li Yue speak. He didn't doubt anything that Li Yue said and readily accepted that this man with a commanding presence actually had a painful past. Besides, exposing a person's scar was Tony's favorite pastime.

"I am Nick Fury, the director of SHIELD. And Goose the Cat wasn't an ordinary cat; it was a dangerous creature. Please keep this top secret information to your grave."

Nick Fury couldn't help but correct Li Yue's information. If his dark past about his eyes were spread among the SHIELD agents, he would probably lose all will to live. He had always told others that his blind eye was because of a battle with a powerful creature.

"What is Goose the Cat? I have never heard of him before. Did you make it up?"

Tony continued asking. He had indeed never heard of Goose the Cat.

"Anyway, forget about that for now. Why did you get into my villa? If I don't like your answer, you should prepare to get your ass kicked with my armor."

"I have come here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative," Nick Fury replied.

"Oh, and talk about Mr. Li Yue about his superpower and origin," he added.