"Typical Stark flare. Just use typical Stark flare. Put on a cocky arrogant mask and play your damn part." Natasha thought as they stood in front of the soldiers who were waiting oh so patiently for the Stark siblings to begin. "Dammit if Tony can do it so can you." Natasha told herself sternly.
Tony looked over at his sister, knowing she hated dealing with small groups like this. She could talk in front of hundreds and put on a big show for the press and do one on one interviews but talking to a group of six or more? Yeah, Natasha didn't do too well with that for some odd reason. Despite all that though his sister nodded to him to begin, to get this over and done with as quick as possible. Tony stared at the military men watching them, keeping his expression perfectly calm. "Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" Tony began. Calm, cool, collected. All things Natasha seriously wish she was right then. "With that in mind I would humbly like to present the crown jewel of Stark Industries' Freedom Line. It's the first missile system to incorporate our proprietary repulsor technology." Tony said.
"Stark Industries has been working on creating repulsor technology for the past fifteen years. Thanks to our brilliant team of technicians and scientists, and of course the perfection of Stark blueprints, we have managed to turn the impossible into a reality." Natasha said smoothly, taking up where her brother left off like she had been doing for years. The way she spoke, the way she acted, no one would have ever suspected she had been nervous just seconds before. Her easy way of speech was probably why she was referred to as a socialite instead of a party girl. Most part girls couldn't interact as "smoothly" as Natasha did. "Those who have doubted our abilities can not sit back in silence because we have done it. We have created the very best weapon." Natasha said.
"They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire." Tony said. It had never seemed unnerving to them, how easily the could follow each other without having ever practiced a single speech together. It was close to amazing. "We respectfully disagree. We prefer the weapon you only have to fire once. That's how dad did it, that's how America does it, and it's worked out pretty well so far." Tony said, managing to invoke a sense of pride in their nation without actually expressing any emotion.
Natasha flashed the soldiers an easy smile. "And it'll continue to work that way, won't it boys?" She asked them. A few smiled back, disarmed by her smile, but none of them responded. They weren't supposed to of course but that didn't mean Natasha still couldn't talk to them. Besides, she was known for being able to calm the nerves of anyone with just a smile and some words and these boys definitely looked like they needed to calm down a little. Even soldiers deserved a break.
"Find an excuse to let one of these off the chain and I personally guarantee you the bad guys won't even want to come out of their caves." Tony said, ignoring Natasha's comment as if it hadn't happened. Natasha smirked at that, finding it amusing. Tony waved his hand, signaling for the missile to be aimed. As the soldiers turned to watch Tony shot his sister a smirk and nudged her arm as if to say "see? I told you everything would be fine." Natasha smiled a bit before focusing on their missile. One fired, shooting off into the air out towards the mountains. Neither Natasha nor Tony allowed their eyes to follow it. "For your consideration, the Jericho." Tony said as they heard the missiles falling.
As the missiles exploded Tony lifted his arms up a bit in an arrogant presenting way. Natasha smiled and placed her hands on her hips, waiting. Suddenly they were pushed forward as a gust of wind and dirt hit them, undoubtedly caused by the explosions. The two Starks only stumbled a step forward but they quickly played it off as if it had never happened. Which in their opinions it hadn't. They immediately moved over to a large metal container near the missile and popped it open, revealing the very nice decent collection of champagne and scotch.
Tony plucked two scotches up and passed one quickly over to Natasha. "We'll be throwing in one of these with every purchase of five hundred million or more." Tony said, pointing at the case of alcohol. "To peace!" Tony said and tipped scotch down his throat. Natasha drank too despite his inappropriate toast and felt a million times better now that she had alcohol in her system again, even if it was only a little bit.
Suddenly Tony pulled his phone out of his pocket, answering the video call the second he could. Obadiah was there, lying on his bed. "Tony! Natasha!" Obie said in greeting. Natasha bit back the remark that was always on the tip of her tongue when Obadiah greeted them, "Our names are not a proper greeting Obadiah." He did that every single time they were on the phone together and Natasha couldn't stand it. Unfortunately her and Tony cared about Obadiah so she couldn't tell him off.
"Obie, what are you doing up?" Tony asked.
"Oh I couldn't sleep until I found out how it went. How'd it go?" Obadiah asked.
"It went great. Looks like it's gonna be an early Christmas." Tony answered as they walked towards a nearby Humvee.
"Yeah Obie, you might even get to retire early thanks to this one." Natasha said jokingly, smiling.
Obadiah grinned back at them from the tiny phone screen. "Hey! Way to go kiddos!" He said cheerfully, almost sounding proud. "I see you tomorrow, yeah?" Obadiah asked in confirmation.
"Why aren't you wearing the pajamas I bought you?" Tony asked. Natasha shot him an amused look, stopping as they reached the Humvee.
"Good night Tony. See you two tomorrow." Obadiah said flatly.
Tony closed his phone, effectively ending the call. Natasha smiled at her brother and nudged his arm. "You just love bugging him don't you?" She asked her brother jokingly.
"Of course." Tony answered, grinning away.
Natasha shook her head and climbed into the Humvee, nodding a thanks to the soldier who had opened the door for her. Tony climbed in beside her and the door was promptly shut behind him. He positioned himself so that he was comfortable and let Natasha slide into his seat with him. She didn't like sitting in the dead center of any vehicle and she especially didn't like sitting dead center in a vehicle with a bunch of strangers. So Tony was a good older brother and let her crowd his personal space so that she'd feel more comfortable. She'd done the same thing for him thousands of times after all so why not right?
"Hey Tony! Nat!" Rhodey called out to catch their attention, walking up to their window.
"I'm sorry, this is the 'fun-vee.' The 'hum-drum-vee' is back there." Tony stated. Natasha snorted slightly at that, nearly choking on a sip of scotch she had just taken. It wasn't exactly one of the funniest things Tony had ever said but to Natasha's slightly frayed nerves it was hilarious. It eased her up a bit even though the worst part was over. Now all she had to do was keep up the façade of interest until they got back onto the damn jet.
"Nice job." Rhodey said sincerely, ignoring Tony's comment.
Tony barely smiled while Natasha put on a stunning smile that she made sure Rhodey could see. "Thanks Rhodey." She told him, raising her glass slightly like she was toasting him. Rhodey nodded a bit, seeming a tad distracted.
"See you back at base." Tony said, finishing the conversation. Rhodey nodded again and walked off. Tony turned away but Natasha continued to stare out the window, her mind buzzing. Rhodey was worried, it was obvious, and Natasha knew exactly why. They were about to drive back through the hot zone where they could be attacked at any moment. Natasha tipped her head back and downed the rest of her drink, trying to ease that troubled feeling in her mind.