Chapter 24: Press Conference
"Yeah. If I ever get the chance, I'd love to meet him."
"There will be opportunities," Peter assured him.
"Sir, Mr. Obadiah is calling," JARVIS announced.
"Put him through," Tony responded.
"Tony, where are you? The press conference is about to start. I hope you're already at Stark Tower," Obadiah's voice crackled through.
"As a matter of fact, I'm already here."
"That's excellent. For once you're not late. Tony, I've sent the speech to your phone. Just follow it word for word," Obadiah instructed.
Tony unlocked his phone and skimmed through the script.
"This is so formulaic. These lines make me sound like some clown in a cheap stage play," Tony groaned.
"That's how real bosses talk," Obadiah said before hanging up.
"He's getting so chatty, just like my father. He wasn't like this when he was younger. Does everyone start rambling once they hit a certain age?"
"Mr. Stark, since your conference is starting, I'll head out first," Peter said.
After Peter left, the room was quiet except for Tony and Pepper.
"Tony, I didn't expect you to be interested in Spider-Man. I thought superheroes weren't really your thing," Pepper remarked.
"They're not. His costume is awful. Honestly, I'm half convinced he's some old man who thinks that look is stylish."
Pepper let out a soft sigh. "Right, you're still you. For a moment I thought you might've changed after coming back."
"And what do you want? For me to change or stay the same?" Tony asked, watching her closely.
"What difference does it make to me? I'm just a secretary waiting for her stingy boss to pay her," Pepper replief, her cheeks flushing slightly as she turned her head away.
Tony chuckled and glanced down again at the speech Obadiah had sent.
It pinned the blame for his kidnapping on the military's lack of advanced weapons. It claimed that Stark Industries would fully support the military by providing weaponry to eliminate terrorist threats.
Reading through it, Tony couldn't help but frown. With a slow swipe over the screen, he deleted the script entirely.
After clearing it away, he picked up the cheeseburger on the table and took another bite.
When Peter arrived at the press conference venue, reporters from all major news outlets were already present.
He scanned the crowd and spotted his seat in the front row, right in the center.
Carefully weaving through the packed aisle, he reached his spot.
"You're the reporter the Daily Bugle sent?" a blonde woman beside him asked.
"Yes. I'm with the Bugle. I'm Peter Parker. And you are…?" he asked politely.
"Christine Everhart. Reporter for Vanity Fair," she introduced herself with a professional smile.
"Oh, you're from Vanity Fair? I know you. You're pretty well known. I've read your articles…"
"Such as?" Christine leaned in, smiling knowingly.
One glance at him told her everything. This clueless rookie from the Daily Bugle clearly hadn't read a single piece she'd written. A seasoned journalist like her could see straight through someone like Peter in an instant.
"Well… your interview piece on Tony Stark. That one really left an impression on me," Peter bluffed.
"Oh? I'm glad to hear my work made such an impact."
Christine could tell he was making it up, but she chose not to call him out.
"You're the one who snapped those Spider-Man photos, aren't you?" she asked.
"Why would you think that?" Peter blinked, genuinely puzzled.
The Bugle never printed his name with the photos. Tony only knew because of JARVIS. How did Christine figure it out?
"I don't think Jameson would have sent a rookie reporter like you to interview Tony Stark if you hadn't provided a picture of Spider-Man."
"Alright, you guessed right. I'm the one who photographed him," Peter admitted.
"Can you tell me how you managed to get the photos?"
"You're a Spider-Man fan?" Peter asked cautiously.
"No. I just want a Spider-Man photo of my own so I can make a name for myself. What I don't get is how a Daily Bugle reporter managed to get close to him. With how your paper trashes Spider-Man, it's a miracle he lets any of you near him at all," Christine remarked.
"Maybe Spider-Man prefers a bigger stage. After all, the Bugle is the biggest media platform in New York."
Christine opened her mouth to continue, but the room stirred. Tony Stark had arrived.
Tony walked in wearing a sharp black suit, his left arm wrapped in bandages. Pepper and Obadiah trailed close behind.
"Ladies and gentlemen, after weathering an immense storm, the leader of Stark Industries has finally returned…" Obadiah launched into the standard opening remarks, celebrating Tony's safe comeback.
The media in attendance politely applauded Tony Stark's return.
"Tony, say a few words…" After a lengthy introduction, Obadiah handed the microphone to Tony.
As Tony took it, Obadiah leaned in and whispered, "Stick to the script I sent you."
Tony glanced at him briefly but didn't respond.
"I know you're all curious about what happened to me. So I'll tell you," Tony began.
The room erupted in a buzz of excitement. No one expected him to start with such a bombshell.
Obadiah's expression tightened. The moment Tony went off-script, he knew trouble was coming. All he could hope for was that Tony wouldn't push things past the point of no return.
In the crowd, Colonel Rhodes and Pepper exchanged uneasy looks. They both knew Tony too well. There was no chance he would simply recount his kidnapping. He was building toward something else entirely.
"I watched young American soldiers die… killed by weapons I designed to protect them. I saw a boy torn apart by a Stark Industries missile. I saw a family of four slaughtered by weapons that bore my name…" Tony recounted the horrors he had witnessed, one after another.
The room fell utterly silent.
"And I realized… I had become part of a system with no accountability."
The reporters were frozen, unable to process Tony Stark's sudden public reckoning. Only Peter sat calm in his seat, entirely unsurprised by the truth Tony had finally chosen to confront.