TW:IM2

"Been a while since I was up here in front of you. Maybe I'll do us all a favor and just stick to the cards."

"Looks like we're jumping right in this time," Hal commented as Tony's voice rang out through the speakers as the Paramount Studios intro rolled in. "Still, his voice is kinda muffled…"

"It's a rehash of his speech from the last movie. The first Iron Man, I mean." Artemis clarified.

The Lantern cocked an eyebrow at the young archer, wondering why she'd gone for the seemingly unnecessary explanation. "O~kay?"

"Tony showed up at the tail end of the last movie," Oliver explained. "He wasn't important to the main plot but he did drop a few snarky lines so her clarification was kinda important."

"Ah…"

"…despite the fact that you sorely despise bodyguards?"

"Yes." Tony confirmed.

"And this mysterious bodyguard was somehow equipped with an undisclosed Stark high-tech powered battle…"

As the voice-over played on, the Marvel Studios logo gave way to a skyline shot of a cityscape, cars driving along a bridge as a location tag faded in.

"Oh, Moscow~!" Wally grinned. "Tony versus spies from za Motherland!"

"Wally, I love you like a brother so please take my advice," Conner paused… "Never try for a Russian accent again. Ever."

"… or insinuate that I'm a superhero."

As the movie rolled on, the focus moved in to focus on a specific building before abruptly cutting to an older generation tube-TV, from which Tony's press conference played.

"Well, if there were ever any doubts that his 'declaration of independence' had gone global, they just got debunked." Dick commented with a roll of his eyes as a muffled Russian interpreter translated the clip for the locals.

As Tony's rambling confession continued, the camera panned out to reveal the rest of the apartment; a lower middle-class affair with a few odds, ends and knickknacks that pointed to a well-lived in space.

"The truth is…" As Tony wound up for his big reveal, the focus cut to a red-faced, feverish looking old man with a receding hairline and close-cropped salt-and-pepper facial hair. "I am Iron Man."

"We're not even a minute in and I can already tell that he'll live to regret those words," Raquel sighed.

"Ivan." The elderly man called out hoarsely."Ivan…" He called out again, as the camera slowly focused on a dark-cloaked person. Another hoarse call shuddered through the little hallway and the mysterious individual turned sharply, as if suddenly being jerked out of a deep dream. Moving with steady, measured footsteps, the man -Ivan- made his way through the cluttered living room and sat by the elderly man.

"That should be you."

"Wait, what?" A confused Zatanna asked. "Is he guessing that the guy that just walked up to him is this 'Ivan' he was calling for or…?"

"I think he's saying 'Ivan' should be standing where Tony is," M'gann murmured as Ivan brushed off the comment and doled out a few pills for the man. "But… that doesn't make any sense; Tony worked to create the suit and he fought to become Iron Man. This guy…"

"It's too early to come to any conclusions M'gann," Conner murmured, sliding his hand over hers. "Let's just keep watching."

"I'm sorry…" The elderly man wheezed out and the members of the League winced, recognizing a death rattle when they heard one. "All I can give you… is my knowledge…"

For a moment, Ivan remained still, waiting for the man to continue, before feeling a deep-seated dread well up inside him. Reaching out Ivan checked his pulse and, after a moment, he dropped into the seat beside the bed, shoulders heaving as bitter tears began to flow. He tried to push it all in, tried to bury the pain with a deep swig of vodka.

"It won't work," Dinah muttered sadly, recalling the depths of her own grief when her mother had passed on. Even with the pain mostly washed away with the passage of time, she still found herself snuggling into Oliver's side, enjoying the warmth of his presence. "It's what I was trying to help you with after… after the simulation and what we've been working on with Bruce: loss like this… burying it can't work."

"Ain't that the truth," Oliver sighed, feeling every bit as pained as his partner as he recalled the loss of his father. "After my dad… well, let's just say I spent my first few weeks on the island either hyper-focused on survival or… doing that." He gestured to the screen where Ivan had just unleashed an anguished cry before Artemis paused it. "I thought I'd gotten it out of my system but this one-" he paused to plant a kiss in Dinah's hair, "showed me how a lot of my actions in my first year -my aggression, my viciousness- were mostly due to a lot of baggage I'd kept unpacked."

"The Dark Knight version two," Dinah commented with a smile, recalling her own words for him. "Twice the brood, half the scary."

"You have been a great influence on him," J'onn commented. "As you have been on the Team."

"Hey don't make my head get any bigger than it already is J'onn," Though she tried to play it off for laughs, the faint dusting of red on her cheeks showed how she really felt. "Look, it's a tad too early to get into the heavy stuff so let's get this movie going Artemis."

The man's anguished cry suddenly cut to a scene of him unrolling a blueprint of a familiar object.

"Hold on a goddamn minute!" Hal exclaimed in shock. "Isn't that-"

"An arc reactor," Kaldur confirmed with a nod. "What's more, the print bears a Stark Industries emblem and the title-"

"Oh boy…" Wally breathed as the project designers names came into view. "The Arc Reactor prototype, the giant thing Tony had to blow up in the first movie, was designed by his dad and who I'm guessing is this Ivan guy's dad."

"Yeah… that's not good," Artemis added. "If this plays out the way I think it might then we're looking at a 'sins of the father' plot here and something tells me that will really hit Tony hard."

"Well, it definitely looks like you're on to something there kid," Oliver said as the camera showed a large wall with an almost obsessive amount of newspaper clippings detailing Tony's exploits since his official reveal. "This guy's clearly spent time keeping tabs on a certain billionaire playboy."

"Billionaire genius playboy," Dick corrected with a small smirk.

"Well, Tony might be a genius but Ivan's clearly got some technical expertise of his own," Dinah remarked, noting the ease with which the man moved through his little workspace.

"Side note?" When Dinah nodded, Raquel continued. "Wow, that guy's been busy! Billionaire guy, I mean. Time Person of the Year, Stabilizing East-West Relations…"

"So he's going to be even cockier than usual." Zatanna rolled her eyes. "Joy."

As the montage neared its end, Ivan put the finishing touches on his creation before hooking it up to a powering system that practically shorted out his entire apartment.

"Okay, I've gotta say that as crude as that thing looks, it's still a pretty elegant piece of hardware." Oliver said as the arc reactor powered up, emitting the same soft blue light Tony's creations had. "Though the teeth on that guy…"

"Hey, the parallels gotta be made clear: Tony's the rich, clean-looking, amazing smile good guy; Ivan's the down on his luck, scruffy as hell, literally rotten smile bad guy." Artemis commented, tossing a samosa into her mouth.

"Okay, crappy dentures aside, I think Dinah may have undersold the guy's brainpower," Hal remarked. "I mean, I understand that it's relatively easy to work on something if it's already been done before-"

"And Ivan's got a blueprint." Conner pointed out and Hal shook a finger at him.

"Don't take away from the guy, man; the blueprint was for the 'supermassive designed for the hippies because it was not efficient at all' arc reactor' not the 'ultra-sleek, fit in the pal of your hand' version."

"Hal is correct," J'onn agreed. "In the first movie, Stane raged at his scientist for being unable to replicate the smaller arc reactor, the very problem that led to him stealing it from Anthony's chest."

While more than one person present winced at the reminder of the cruel scene, Hal was more interested in something else. "Wait. J'onn, you weren't here for the first movie so how'd you-"

"My niece shared her memory of the evening with me," The Martian explained. "I could do the same to you for the Incredible Hulk."

"You might wanna take that offer," Raquel suggested. "I didn't and I still haven't had the time to see the first Iron Man."

Hal, though, just waved off her concerns. "Nah, I'll stick to actually watching it; interstellar travels can be utterly mind numbing so having a movie to watch will definitely help kill the boredom."

"Wait. How're you going to watch it without-"

"The Ring can scan most forms of media and play them back in color,*" Hal shot a smirk at Oliver, knowing that he'd just cut off a jibe from the archer, "so that won't be a problem."

"Anyway, back to what GL was saying," Dick continued as Artemis played the movie. "Ivan's ability to create a smaller reactor actually puts him pretty much at par with Tony since Tony created his reactor based off the same 'supermassive' version he had seen practically since birth. Heck, I'm pretty sure he'd taken a crack at making a smaller version when he was younger but just tabled the idea while working on other things."

"That definitely sounds like him," M'gann agreed as the title was displayed. She was about to speak when a voice called out over what seemed to be a radio:

"270 at 30 knots. Holding steady at 15,000 feet. You are clear for exfiltration over the drop zone."

"Okay, so we've got a six-month time-skip," Zatanna commented.

"Yeah, which just so happens to be about enough time for a more 'down on his luck' genius to build his own armored suit."

The dark-haired magician shot a scathing glare at the younger archer who responded with a lazy smirk. "Artemis, keep you eerily accurate, spoiler-filled guesses to yourself, will you?"

"Aw, I thought you were going to bet against me."

"Not even your boyfriend's that dumb."

"Hey-! Oh! Is that Shoot to Thrill?!"

It was indeed, the song laying into an awesome guitar intro as the Iron Man came onscreen, standing in the cargo hold of an aircraft. The cargo door door slid downward and the armored figure took a running leap out of the craft, falling through a sky filled with color as fireworks exploded all around him.

"Geez, what is he doing; crashing a New Year's Eve party?"

"I doubt that, Arrow-girl." Hal frowned as the hero flew into a firework shell and readjusted his flight path. "The guy on the radio sounded like a military type so, unless our boy's got his own army I think Uncle Sam's finest have gotten their claws into the Iron Man."

"Except Tony would never let them," Dinah pointed out. "It would go against much of what was implied in the first movie if he just turned around and allowed the military to grab all his stuff-"

"And the military would never leave their top asset to just crash into something so public," Raquel added dryly as Tony landed on a stage in front of thousands of screaming fans, even more fireworks lighting up the night while a troupe of dancers worked their way through an energetic performance.

"Oh come on!" Zatanna scowled darkly. "What are those supposed to be, Iron Man bikinis?!"

"No, those are their stage performance get-ups," Dick corrected. "We never had to wear stuff like this at the circus but I honestly think that's because Haly never thought of it."

"It could also be that no one ever flat out requested for it," Raquel added as the scene cut to a skyline shot of the city of New York at night. "I'm not into the showbiz world or anything but I think stuff like this expo tend to have a theme and the performers have to work around that."

"That makes a lot of sense," Conner nodded. "Plus, considering who we're dealing with, I honestly wouldn't be surprised if Tony specifically asked the dancers to wear… that."

As the crowd wildly cheered their hero, the platform the Man of Iron stood upon began to shift, sliding apart into a complex looking setup that swiftly stripped him out of his armor, leaving him standing in a suit that was as dapper as ever.

"You know, we saw this in the last movie and I'm still impressed by that setup," Oliver commented as Tony waved to his adoring fans. "You guys have any-"

"We'll burn that bridge when we get there," Wally interrupted with an uncharacteristically serious expression.

"Should that statement not be 'cross' that bridge…?"

"He knows what he said Kaldur." Conner added in the same tone. "Let's drop it and get back to the movie, yeah?"

As the music and dance climbed to its crescendo, the billionaire took a bow on the slowly spinning platform, presenting himself to his adoring fans.By the time the music stopped, there was only one word on the masses' lips.

"Tony! Tony!Tony!"

"Oh, it's good to be back!" Tony called out, voice echoing through the large arena. "You missed me?" The crowd roared again and he soaked it all in."I missed you too!"

"Blow something up!"

"Are we sure that guy isn't related to Conner?" Zatanna commented with a smirk. "Because that sounds like a very 'Conner' thing."

"Says the girl whose boyfriend has mini-bombs strapped to his waist." M'gann rejoined. "Deflection much?"

"Ooh..." Wally winced playfully. "Perfect counter!"

"I already did that," Tony waved dismissively before continuing his address, "I'm not saying that the world is enjoying its longest period of uninterrupted peace in yearsbecause of me."

Oliver whistled softly. "That's... Shit, that crazy."

"Superman's emergence didn't have such an effect on the political atmosphere," Hal added. "Not even the creation of the League."

"Okay, before we fall over ourselves and start acting like his personal cheer squad we've gotta keep something in mind," Raquel stated. "Put simply, we have no clue exactly how long this period of peace has been. For all we know it could've just been three months or something."

"It's been close to -if not more than- a year." Artemis replied, clearly disagreeing with her friend's statement. "If nothing else, he's been active for six months considering the time stamp from a few minutes ago."

"Another thing to note is that Time magazine from Ivan's apartment," Dick continued. "It had the Iron Man helmet on it and the Person of the Year award went to Iron Man. My guess is that he's had to have been active for at least three months to have gotten the jump on whoever else was on the list."

"Six plus three gives him nine months at the barest minimum." J'onn nodded. "And I am almost a hundred percent certain that our estimates are too conservative."

"I'm not saying thatfrom the ashes of captivity, never has a greater phoenix metaphor been personified in humanhistory." Tony continued, raising his voice over the roaring crowd. "I'm not saying that Uncle Sam can kick back on a lawn chair, sipping on an iced tea because Ihaven't come across anyone who's man enough to go toe-to-toe with me on my best day!"

"God, could he possibly have painted a bigger target on himself?" Zatanna sighed. "I mean, at this point he's gone so far beyond playing with fire that it's not even funny."

"It's Anthony 'I am Iron Man' Stark," Wally smirked. "He's practically trademarked the concept of painting target's on one's self."

"Please, it's not about me."

"Could've fooled me," Zatanna muttered, still bothered by his words.

"It's not about you. It's not even about us. It's about legacy."

The comment -and the surprisingly heavy weight Tony had given it- drew more than a few arched eyebrows.

"It's aboutwhat we choose to leave behind for future generations. And that's why for the next year and forthe first time since 1974, the best and brightest men and women of nations and corporations theworld over will pool their resources, share their collective vision, to leave behind a brighterfuture. It's not about us. Therefore, what I'm saying, if I'm saying anything, is welcome back tothe Stark Expo!"

"Well damn..." Oliver whistled as the crowd went wild. "I should call Bruce and Ray."

"Thinking of having an Expo of your own?" Dinah asked and her partner nodded.

"I mean, I won't be able to splash my name all over it like Stark's doing but having all the top minds in the world gathered together for a focused push on scientific and technological advancement? The rewards could be insane."

"But the cost'll be insane," Raquel pointed out. "Especially if you wanna bunk them all for a year like Tony's doing."

"I get that, sure, but again, the benefits on a global scale..."

While the Watchers thought over Oliver's comments, Tony continued; "And now, making a special guest appearance from the great beyond to tell you what it's allabout, please welcome my father, Howard."

"Everything is achievable through technology."

"So that's Tony's dad," Conner commented asthe legendary weapons manufacturer walked onscreen via an old recording that Tony had rigged to play. "He looks pretty cool."

"He certainly looks less... playful... than his son," J'onn agreed. "No less charismatic, though."

"Yeah... Tony's more like Oliver here while his dad's more of a... well, a Vandal Savage type of guy," Artemis remarked. "I mean, he looks like he's more of an intensely charismatic guy than Tony's playfully smirking charisma."

"Good thing you clarified that, babe because for a second there I thought you were calling him a vicious, sadistic monster." Wally snickered.

While the recording played on, Tony walked offstage to a quiet section where he pulled a small, rectangular device out of his pocket and pressed his thumb against it.

A second later, the words 'Blood Toxicity: 19%' appeared.

"Woah, woah woah! Blood toxicity?!" Hal frowned. "What the hell-"

"The missile fragments from the first movie," Dick and Kaldur said at the same time. When Kaldur gestured for him to go on, the Boy Wonder continued, "I'm not sure -and I don't think Kaldur's a hundred percent certain either- but I think Yinsen's magnet might have missed a fragment or two of those missiles that got stuck in Tony's chest. Maybe they got lodged in too deep or something but my guess is they're stuck somewhere and gradually poisoning him from the inside."

"So he's running on a clock..." Oliver muttered quietly as he squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth. "This is going to fuck him up."

"Badly," Dinah agreed, not even noticing her partner's swear. "Tony's already a good example of the kind of mental state that leads to poor decision making... Putting him under this kind of deadline..."

"The Stark Expo. Welcome!" A flash of concern knotted his brows but, with the recording coming to an end, he was forced to bury his emotions and walk back to the stage to round off the Expo's opening ceremony.

Outside the arena, a female reporterstanding amidst a crowd of people was chattering away into a microphone. "...coming to you live from the kickoff at the Stark Expo where Tony Stark has just walkedoffstage!But don't worry if you can't make it down here tonight because this Expo goes on all yearlong!"

"You know, it's one thing to hear Tony casually mention that the Expo will be for a year but hearing this lady reconfirm it?" Artemis shook her head. "That's just... Wow."

"Man, what I wouldn't give to be there right now," Wally moaned wistfully. "All the stuff that would be on display!"

"Better fast track those plans of yours to start an Expo over here Ollie," Hal chuckled. "You've already got a fan eagerly waiting for it."

"It's a zoo out there, watch out." Happywarned as the camera cut away from the newscaster to an unnamed person's point of view as Happy led them through the backstage doors into a hall where a crowd of people clamored for attention. Between the screaming fans and the revealingly dressed women -ome of whom Happy had to skillfully push away- it was easy to tell that the hectic view was from Tony's perspective. A few autographs, head rubs for the occasional child and absentminded nods to random strangers and they were through the initial press of bodies.

As they descended to a lower level via the escalator, Happy gestured to a man waiting at the end of the escalator. "This is Larry."

"Er... Does Hugh Hefner have a twin brother?" M'gann asked with a frown.

"Not that anyone knows about," Raquel replied. "Why... Oh!"

"Just settling in now, huh?" Zatanna asked teasingly. "This guy showed up as the Lord of the Playboy Mansion in the first Iron Man movie and then again in Hulk; either he's got a twin brother that's this 'Larry King' guy or something's going on that we don't understand."*

While they discussed the Hugh/Larry matter, Tony moved on through another crowd, practically fighting his way out of the masses and through to the sweet freedom of Florida's nighttime air.

"That wasn't so bad." Happy exhaled tiredly, thankful for the cool breeze... and for the extra side door that had allowed them to sneak away from the main exit and the crowd that was waiting there.

"No, it was perfect."

"Look what we got here," Happy commented, gesturing to a sleek looking Audi that rested on the curb with a beautiful woman leaning tantalizingly on it."The new model."

"Five bucks says Happy meant the car,"

"You're on!" Hal fired back at the Archer.

"Hey, does she come with the car?"

"I certainly hope so." Happy muttered cheekily as they walked up to the car -and the lady. "Hi."

"Pay up sucker!" Oliver crowed as the woman flashed a dazzling smile and returned the polite greeting. Beside him, Dinah was shaking her head with an amused smile.

"Oh come on!" Hal whined as he reached into his pocket. "You're a billionaire! Why do you even need five bucks?!"

"Hey, you thought it was a good idea to jump at a sucker bet; my financial status doesn't mean squat here!"

"Tch. Prick!"

"Marshal." The lady answered Tony's inquiry. "Pleased to meet you Tony."

"You're Irish, I like that," the billionaire replied with a quick grin before turning o Happy. "I'm on the wheel. Do you mind?" When Happy shrugged, the two swapped spots and Tony got into the driver's seat, returning his focus to his guest. "Where you from?"

"Bedford."

"What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you."

"Yeah?" A slow, easy smirk pulled on his mouth. "Well, you found me." He touched the ignition and the car came alive. "What are you up to later?"

"Serving subpoenas."

"Oof!" Oliver winced at the same moment Tony grimaced as he was served the legal writ. "That's gotta bite."

"Speaking from experience there big man?" Artemis needled playfully.

"I can neither attest to nor deny the veracity of that statement." He replied blandly. "On a totally unrelated sidenote, most legal gofers are more of the 'portly, middle aged male' varieties than the 'goddamn, she's a looker' types."*

"He doesn't like to be handed things." Happy explained as he reached out for the letter.

"Yeah, I have a peeve." Tony confirmed.

"Unless he's being handed stuff by his very attractive executive assistant," Zatanna remarked in a lazy drawl.

"I got it." Happy said as he held the letter where Tony could see it.

"You are hereby ordered to appear before the Senate Armed Services Committee tomorrowmorning at nine AM." Marshal stated, succinctly summarizing the letter.

"Do I even want to ask why he's getting summoned by the Armed Services Committee?" Artemis groaned. "I mean, this has to be about the government 'acquiring' the Iron Man armor."

"Hey, it could be about the government contracts Tony basically bailed on when he shut down the weapons development arm of his company last... Well, last movie." Wally argued. "There's no way that wouldn't have some kind of political blowback."

"Dude, I haven't seen anywhere near as many movies as you have and even I think Artemis is right," Conner stated.

"Can I see a badge?" Tony asked.

Marshal arched an eyebrow at the seemingly inane question. "You wanna see the badge?"

"He likes the badge." Happy gave a 'what can you do' shrug and the lady acquiesced.

"Well, it is good to see that the fame is yet to completely strip him of his intelligence," J'onn commented. "While we have no proof of the existence of shapeshifters in his world, asking for a bit of extra verification from her was a sensible decision."

"It probably wouldn't have done much if she was a mole or setting up an ambush for him though," Dick frowned. "I mean, if she could get an official looking document like a court sanction-"

"And one realistic enough to fool both Tony and Happy," M'gann pointed out.

"Exactly. If she could get something like that then just grabbing a fake badge wouldn't be a problem."

"Those are good points, I agree, but that doesn't mean J'onn's not right either," Hal remarked. "Just like little omissions can affect a good plan, sometimes it's the little oversights that trip us up and have us falling into some really shitty situations."

"Trust but verify," Kaldur said nostalgically. When he noticed that he was the focus of their attention, he explained, "One of my King's generals cautioned me of such during my time in Atlantis. He taught me that the difference between life and death could be a single bit of information that many would deem inconsequential before the battle."

"Did he pound that into your head while calling you a vaguely insulting name?"

Kaldur seemed taken aback by the odd question but when he nodded, the Lantern smirked nostalgically. "He should've met Kilowog; they'd probably have become closer than two peas in a pod before sundown!"

"This Kilowog," Kaldur started, "He is a strict instructor with a love for a strict adherence to the rules?"

"Except when his teammates are in danger, then all bets are off." Hal confirmed and Kaldur nodded with a smile of his own.

"Yes... I believe they would have gotten along famously... To the inevitable trauma of all their students."

"You still like it?" She questioned.

"How far are we from D.C.?"

"D.C.?" Happy paused to crunch the numbers for a few seconds before responding,"Eh, two hundred fifty miles?"

Tony nodded once, revved the engine and shot off into the night, leaving a mildly amused Marshal in his wake.

"You know, I get the feeling that the court sent her here specifically because they knew she could cope with Tony's brand of crazy."

"You might be on to something," Dinah muttered, shooting Oliver a piercing glare. "Lord knows how many gofers this one had foaming at the mouth in seconds."

"Sixteen," He provided with a shit-eating grin. "Seventeen if you counted Fiona duMont who I had bawling her eyes out but not foaming at the mouth and eighteen if you consider Maximilian Gonzalez who's practically dedicated his life to finding a case that'll actually stick."

Hal stared disbelievingly at the Archer. "... Anybody ever tell you you're a terrible role model, man?"

"She's living proof that you're wrong," Oliver replied, jabbing a thumb at Artemis.

"My mom did most of the work and Dinah did the rest." Artemis shot back. "All you did was teach a teenage girl how to fight and hurt people with archaic weapons."

"Anybody know the Social Services hotline?" Conner muttered in stage-whisper tones. "I think we've got a case here they'd want to hear about."

"Perhaps we should call Mister Maximilian Gonzalez too," J'onn added with a slight quirk of his lips. "He might finally have a case that will 'stick.'"

Oliver scythed the room with an annoyed glare that had them all struggling to restrain their chuckles before huffing. "We'll see who'll be sharing secrets you anytime soon."

"Aww, is my widdle baby upset?" Dinah cooed. "Don't worry Ollie-wollie, mommy will make it all better."

"That's not helping Dee!"

"And you I care because...?"

The movie continued the following morning with a view of the Senate Building, a location tag confirming that the building was in Washington DC as the distinctive sound of a gavel being slammed down rang out.

Seated before a panel in a packed courtroom was the ever egotistical Tony Stark, looking less like he was about to be grilled by a senatorial panel and more like he was in a lounge.

"Mr. Stark, can we pick up now where we left off?" At the high table, one of the senators -Senator Stern, according to the nameplate resting on the table beside him- was speaking to the nonchalant billionaire who was busy mouthing words to an annoyed Pepper Potts who was seated in the first row of the audience stand and motioning for him to turn around. "Mr. Stark. Please."

"Yes dear?"

"If he keeps going like this then he's practically begging to get slapped with a contempt of court charge." Dick muttered. "And coming from a senatorial panel..."

"Do you or do you not possess a specialized weapon?" The senator demanded.

"I do not." Tony told him.

"You do not?" The Senator questioned.

"I do not." Tony reiterated. "Well, it depends on how you define the word weapon."

"The Iron Man weapon."

"My device does not fit that description." Tony explained.

"Okay, I'd really like to hear how he describes his 'device.'" Raquel muttered.

"Well… how would you describe it?" Stern questioned, clearly losing patience with the billionaire's non-compliant behavior.

"I would describe it by defining it as what it is, Senator."

"As?" Stern pressed demandingly.

"It's a high-tech prosthetic." Tony shrugged to the amusement of many in the courtroom."That is- That's actually the most apt description I can make of it."

"Of all the..." Raquel sighed and shook her head. "The worst part is, he's technically not lying."

"I know right?" Zatanna agreed. "Aside from the more obvious medical meaning, any additional parts attached to an actor's costume to change their appearance can be considered a prosthetic."

"And in Tony's galaxy-sized ego he probably sees himself as the biggest star on the planet and the Iron Man suit as his personal prosthetic." Conner muttered.

"It would explain why he chose to go public with his identity as the Iron Man," Kaldur said thoughtfully. "Perhaps to him, it was less of a question of being secretive and more just a publicity stunt grounded in truth."

"And here I was thinking we'd seen the end of his arrogance." Artemis scoffed.

"It is a weapon." Stern stated bluntly. "It's a weapon, Mr. Stark."

"Please, if your priority was actually the well-being of the American citizen-"

"My priority is to get the Iron Man weapon turned over to the people of the United States ofAmerica." Stern countered instantly, growing more and more displeased by Stark's nonchalance.

"Well, you can forget it." Tony replied, his jovial expression at odds with his steely declaration. "I am Iron Man. The suit and I are one. To turn over the Iron Man suitwould be to turn over myself which is tantamount to indentured servitude or prostitution,depending on what state you're in." As the courtroom burst into chuckles again, Tony shot a flat stare at the panel and reiterated,"You can't have it."

"Told you they wanted the suit," Artemis remarked, lightly jabbing her elbow into her boyfriend's side.

"Well it's good to see Anthony standing up to this Armed Services Committee over the ownership of his suit," J'onn commented. "I do not like having to say this but after seeing what lengths General Ross was willing to commit to in order to reacquire the Hulk and the resulting disaster..."

"Let's just say that world isn't ready for a single military force to be equipped with that kind of firepower." Hal finished.

"Look, I'm no expert-"

"In prostitution? Of course not. You're a Senator! Come on."

"Yeah, no the senator walked right into that one." Zatanna sighed, rubbing her temples slowly. "I mean even I saw that one coming."

"Blockbuster would have see than one coming and he's almost literally a brainless mook." Dick snickered.

"I'm no expert in weapons." The Senator continued on, forging past the temporary embarrassment."We have somebody here who is an expert on weapons. I'd now liketo call Justin Hammer, our current primary weapons contractor."

"Ah... I'm guessing this is the guy who took over after Tony ditched the weapons industry," Oliver commented as the above-mentioned individual walked in. "Looks competent."

"Looks like a wannabe," Artemis rejoined disparagingly. "He's clearly trying -and failing- to pull off Tony's vibe. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he was totally crap at his job either."

"Maybe not totally crap," M'gann amended. "He was given the weapons contract after all."

"If he was as good as Tony, the government wouldn't need Tony's suit because they'd already have theirs; if he was better, they'd have a better suit." Raquel countered instantly. "If he was kinda close to Tony, they'd almost have their suit and they'd just be asking Tony to help them polish their version. If they are asking for the entire suit with this sham of a hearing then they are so much further away from building a fully functional suit than even we are that it's not even funny."

"That about sums it up," Dick nodded.

"Absolutely, Tony: I'm no expert. I defer to you,Anthony. You're the wonder boy!" Hammer began, deflecting Tony's insult with a condescending smile. "Senator, if I may?" Receiving a pleased nod from the Senator, Hammer walked up to a screen to the right of the Senate panel's position. "I may well not be an expert, but you know who was the expert? Your dad.Howard Stark. Really a father to us all and to the military-industrial age.Let's just be clear, he was no flower child. He was a lion."

"Wow, this guy's an asshole!" Zatanna remarked. "He's not only throwing false compliments at Tony, he's even roped in the man's dad to drive home the point."

"Wait. I thought he was complimenting Tony's dad?" M'gann asked, clearly confused by Zee's comment. "I got the sarcastic compliment part but the second part..."

"He is attempting to subtly degrade Tony by comparing Tony's relatively comfortable upbringing to his father's more hardscrabble road to success," Kaldur explained. "Lionizing Mister Stark senior's personality and influence while simultaneously referring to Tony as a 'flower child' is his subtle way of saying that the child is far inferior to the father."

"That's... Honestly, Kaldur, that's a surprisingly deep meaning to it," Dinah admitted with an impressed look that was replicated by the other three League members. "Honestly, I was thinking of something else entirely."

"The 'flower power' movement of the 60s," Hal explained to the Team. "I'm a mid-seventies kid myself but my parents talked about it and my aunt was a strong believer in some of the less... out there ideals and behaviours the movement sparked."

"The term Flower Power was a slogan used for the non-violence movements that held sway in the late 1960s and early 70s," J'onn said. "It was rooted in the anti-Vietnam War movements and was widely considered a positive opposition to the Hells Angels who were pro-Vietnam War." J'onn smiled here, recalling the few times he had mingled with the protesters as the tune to All You Need is Love danced around his thoughts. "Unfortunately, while the movement was received well by most of the civilian populace, some military officials derided it and saw it as such men often do."

"I'm guessing Ross would have had shared a few cigars with those men," Dick sneered. "And, no doubt M.C Hammer here would have walked in with the champagne."

"So, as you might have figured out, M'gann, when Hammer referred to Stark Senior as not being a 'flower child' he was basically praising the man for being exactly what Christine accused Tony at the early stages of the first Iron Man movie: a war-profiteer. And in doing so, he's again throwing shades at Tony for taking down Stark Industries' weapons division." Dinah summarized.

"Or, as Zatanna said, he's being a premium asshole." Raquel finished pointedly.

"Weall know why we're here: in the last six months, Anthony Stark has created a sword with untoldpossibilities. And yet, he insists it's a shield. He asks us to trust him as we cower behind it. Iwish I were comforted, Anthony, I really do. I'd love to leave my door unlocked when I leave thehouse, but this ain't Canada." Hammer shrugged at the bored-looking billionaire before turning back to the audience."You know, we live in a world of grave threats, threats that Mr. Stark will not always be able toforesee. Thank you. God bless Iron Man. God bless America."

The panelists quickly applauded as Hammer took a seat while Senator Stern was more vocal in his praise: "That is well said Mr. Hammer." As the applause died down, he continued, "The committee would now like to invite Lieutenant Colonel James Rhodes to the chamber."

"Oh boy," Raquel grimaced at Tony's baffled reaction. "Looks like Mister Billionaire didn't see this one coming."

"I'm not entirely surprised they're trying to use Rhodey against his friend though," Artemis sighed. "I mean, we talked about it back in the first movie when Rhodey told Tony to get his head straight after he shut down the weapons development arm of Stark Industries: the nature of Rhodey's job and the fact that he's the liason for the military means he'll sometimes be forced to stand on opposite sides from his bestie."

"Damn... I would hate to be on the receiving end of that kinda problem," Raquel sighed as Rhodey walked onscreen. "That's the guy?"

"Na~h... apparently?" Conner blinked in confusion at the bald man that Tony greeted somewhat jovially. "M'gann, guys...you're seeing this too right?"

"Yeah, it looks like they switched the last actor out for this guy." Dick hummed as the two men approached Tony's seat. "Happens a few times across stuff like series though it's usually far less common in movies because most movies are one-and-done. In something like this, though, where you have about twenty interconnected movies? There's bound to be a few scheduling clashes or personal issues-"

"Or salary disagreements," Oliver pointed out.

"Yeah, or stuff like those, that can cause actor changes. We'll just have to roll with it."

"I have before me a complete report on the Iron Man weapon, compiled by Colonel Rhodes.And Colonel, for the record, can you please read page fifty-seven, paragraph four?" Sternrequested.

"Wow," Artemis drawled sarcastically. "Out of an entire report, he wants the guy to read a very specific paragraph. Because that's not suspicious at all."

"Would you have preferred we go through the whole document page by page?" Conner shot back. "Because you may be into the really boring stuff but I'd like to go to bed sometime before next year."

"I think you're missing her point here Con," Wally called defensively only for the demi-Kryptonian to shake his head.

"Actually, I think he understands exactly what she meant and I'm pretty sure we all do: the old senator's clearly trying to twist things against Tony by having his best friend publicly read something bad about Iron Man, especially since it was Rhodey himself that wrote it." Dick stated succinctly. "Without understanding why Rhodey wrote that, a single paragraph out of a maybe sixty page report, it'll be easy to paint Tony in a terrible light. But, Conner's right too: reading the entire thing would be an unbelievably boring process and no one, not even the actual court presiding over this, would have the time to read it through."

"Your bud's right," Oliver added. "Like it or not, this kind of thing is actually a known legal tactic and the mentality behind it is pretty simple: if you didn't mean it then you shouldn't have said or written it. We may not like it -and I don't know anyone who does after it has been used against them- but that's just the way the game is played."

"Yeah but wouldn't it be better if they have Rhodey give an oral report here?" M'gann asked as Rhodey tried to argue against reading the hyper-specific text. "That would be more comprehensive right?"

"His best friend is sitting right there, M'gann," J'onn stated quietly. "Would you truly say the truth on such a public stage if it could hurt your friends? Or would you rather try to craft a statement that would cushion the negative effects on your friends, even if it meant a bit of deceit sidled into your words?"

"Point, senator." Raquel summarized somberly.

Stumped by Stern's insistence on him reading that specific paragraph -and understanding the possible effects of such an action, the Colonel tried a final argument: "You understand that reading a single paragraph out of context does not reflect the summary ofmy final-"

"Just read it, Colonel," Stern cut in bluntly."I do. Thank you."

"Very well," Rhodes hesitated, shooting an apologetic glance at his friend before reading, "'As he does not operate within any definable branch of government, Iron Manpresents a potential threat to the security of both the nation and to her interests.'"

"No wonder the Senator wanted Rhodey to read that exact line!" Zatanna exclaimed as the courtroom devolved into a cacophony of gasps, exclamations and more. "He might as well have called Tony an armed nuke in a three year old's toy house!"

"No." Kaldur disagreed, "As he referred to Iron Man as the threat, it would be more logical to assume that the suit is the bomb in the playhouse and Tony the three year old owner of said playhouse."

"Bastard's just revelling in the carnage right now," Hal hissed at Stern's smug expression as Rhodey tried to shed light on the summary of his report. "He knows he's got Stark on the ropes with this bullshit."

"Don't count the guy out yet," Dinah murmured as she noted Tony's unruffled attitude in spite of Rhodey and Stern's back-and-forth. "We've never seen him in a legal setting but I don't think Tony's gonna let that force him to take a loss."

"That's enough." Stern practically shouted, trying to talk the Colonel down.

As Rhodes tried to argue on, Tony stepped in, "I'm not a joiner, but I'll consider Secretary of Defense if you ask nice." He paused to shoot the panel a cocky smirk."We can amend the hoursa little bit."

"Good going," Oliver nodded. "He's showing the world that he's not on the back foot just yet and that he's ready to stand by his friend even after the Senator's BS."

"I'd like to go on and show, if I may, the imagery that's connected to your report."

"Looks like Stern's also a pro at the game," Dinah scowled. "Still, I suppose it makes sense."

"What'd you mean?" Wally asked.

"The Senator's decision to just steamroll over Tony's quip just now is a subtle way to keep his momentum going," Oliver replied as Rhodey once again tried to forestall whatever it was that the Senator wished to reveal. "By charging on, everyone has to listen to him or miss out on something important which no one wants considering how high-profile this has to be. So, he forces everyone's attention to himself while maintaining his momentum."

"He's also subtly declaring that he is serious, focused -as opposed to Tony's frivolous actions- and unbothered by Tony's jokes because he has something that will leave him in a position of authority when this is all over."

"Another point to the Senator."

"With all due respect, Colonel, I understand. And if you could justnarrate those for us, we'd be very grateful."

"This is his endgame," Hal muttered as he leaned forward. "I can almost feel him radiating smugness right now. And asking Rhodes to handle the narration seems to be his coup de grace."

"Let's have the images." Rhodes called out tiredly and, a few moments after, the screenflickered on, showing the satellite image of an encampment of some sort. As they watched, the scene changed slightly, moving from the camera present in the courtroom to a television station's coverage as the images on the TV rolled on. "Intelligence suggests that the devices seen in thesephotos are, in fact, attempts at making manned copies of Mr. Stark's suit."

"It was bound to happen," J'onn sighed so quietly that only Hal could hear him. "Such, I have learned, is the human way."

Meanwhile, across the room, Raquel narrowed her eyes as Tony fiddled with what looked like a handheld computer and wondered what he could be doing that was so much more important than the images present on the screen.

As more and more images rolled on, the formerly jovial atmosphere in the courtroom had been replaced with an icy feeling of dread that settled in many people's guts, a feeling that was in no way alleviated when Rhodes continued, "This has been corroborated by our allies and local intelligence on the ground indicating thatthese suits are quite possibly, at this moment, operational."

"Hold on a second buddy. Let me see something here." Tony interrupted and pointed his phonein the direction of the screen. A few seconds later, a command prompt window opened on the screen, bearing the words 'Welcome Mr Stark' in bold letters. "Boy, I'm good. I commandeered your screens," Tony smirked as he overrode the screen's primary input and rigged his phone to be the new primary input source."I need them. Timefor a little transparency." Turning to a second screen, he repeated the process before placing his phone on the table. "Now, let's see what's really going on."

"Is it weird that I don't see this as anything special?" Zatanna muttered to her boyfriend as the courtroom's tense air eased off to a cautiously curious one. "I mean, I know that had to be impressive but I'm just not wowed by it."

"He created a working AI on his own and built a super suit from what essentially amounted to scrap metal," Dick shrugged. "I can't blame you if this kinda stuff seems a tad boring."

"Now, if you will direct your attention to said screens, I believe that's North Korea." Tony stated asa video of a hulking armored suit stepping out of a hangar appeared on the screen... before said suit fell right over,its weapons firing off crazily, one even hitting the camera man. "Iran." Tony called out as another video began to play as a perturbed Stern stood up and demanded for the screen to be turned off, Hammer quickly leaping to do so.

In the new video, a different suit was shown plowing into the ground after a failed flight test, violent explosions going off as some men yelled in panic.

"No grave, immediate, threat here." Tony stated before switching videos again and calling attention to a very specific detail:"Is that Justin Hammer? How did Hammer get in this game?"

"Considering how the guy seems to have practically kicked into overdrive, I think Mister Hammer might just have a secret to hide." Artemis sneered at the man as the video played on. When the video hit it's climax, though, even she couldn't repress a pained grimace from appearing as the man in the suit screamed agonizingly. "Oh God..."

"Looks like you and Raquel were right about him," a slightly green Zatanna muttered as the Justin in the courtroom fially pulled the plug on the TV. "If this is what he's offering then it's no wonder they're trying everything they can to take Tony's suit away."

"Yeah. I'd say most countries, five, ten years away. Hammer Industries, twenty." Tony stated coldly.

"I'd like to point out that that test pilot survived." A completely frazzled Hammer defended.

"I think we're done is the point that he's making." Stern cut in, knowing that his sham of a case had just died and his chances of winning the suit were less than nothing. "I don't think there's any reason-"

"The point is, you're welcome, I guess."

"For what?" Stern sneered angrily at the billionaire.

"Because I'm your nuclear deterrent." Tony explained simply."It's working: we're safe, America is secure. You want myproperty? You can't have it!" Tony emphasized as condescendingly as he could."But hey, I did you a big favor," He stood up and turned to the crowd. "I have successfully privatized world peace." He declared, holding up peace signs with both hands as the room erupted into wild applause. "What more do you want!? I tried to play ball with these ass-clowns!"

"(bleep) you, Mr. Stark. (bleep) you, buddy. We're adjourned. We're adjourned for today." Stern give a tight, clearly fake smile as he called the hearing to a close while Tony swaggered out, leaving a quietly grinning Rhodey shaking his head.

"Damn..." Artemis murmured as the scenes changed to a certain apartment in Russia. "You know, I've seen crowds get worked up before -teenagers at concerts, metalheads in mosh pits and stuff- but I don't think anyone's ever turned the Senate into a mini-mosh pit like he just did."

"Say what you will about him but Tony knows how to work a crowd." Dick agreed, knowing that while his mentor had his own unique charisma, the man could never replicate the feat they had just witnessed with such casual ease.

"Yeah well he also knows how to paint a target on his own back." Dinah scowled. "Not counting Ivan, he just pushed Hammer, Stern and half the Second World countries firmly into the 'mortal enemies' group."

"Yeah, and Ivan's clearly got a plan to cut Tony down a few pegs." Wally agreed.

"My bond is with the people," Tony said as he walked out of the courtroom, shaking hands as he went. "I will serve this great nation at the pleasure of myself. And if there'sone thing I've proven, it's that you can count on me to pleasure myself."

"Immature jokes about 'pleasuring himself' aside, I hate to admit it but this is exactly what Stern and people like Senator Finch are afraid of," Hal sighed. "No one man should have all that power, not without some sort of supervisory body to at least regulate and keep tabs on his actions."

"Uh, the League doesn't have any oversight body, right?" Conner asked. "So isn't that the same thing?"

"It should be, but we already have that covered," Oliver replied. "We review each other's actions to ensure that we aren't straying away from the League tenets."

"It's not perfect, yes, but the risk of subjecting ourselves to the government is that, like the Jedi and the Republic, we could easily end up having our hands tied up in bureaucratic bullshit or being forced into 'peacekeeping' agreements that violate all that we stand for." Dinah added. "Either extreme -self policing or governmental policing- has their own problems but we stuck with self policing because we all have a say which means no one is greater than or less than the other."*

"Anyway, to head back to Hal's point: what if someone like, say, Psimon showed up on Tony's front porch? If he doesn't have something to defend against telepathy which means Psimon could just have Tony go from hero to genocidal maniac in about 5 seconds flat." Oliver continued. "The matter's too big to be taken at once so we will have to discuss it later yeah?" Artemis -and the rest of the team- nodded.

As the news droned on, Vanko concentrated on his task, soldering and joining and calibersting and adjusting until his goal was complete.

He flicked a switch and, as the hum of electrical energy built up to a crescendo, he stepped forward in his version of the suit, the full details hidden by the poor lighting of the room. Standing before the pinboard wall, Ivan took in the painstaking work he had done to learn about his hated foe and, as he stood, he activated the whips that lay in his hands, setting them sparking with raw electrical energy that coursed through them.

He seemed almost at peace...

Then he turned around and slashed his TV into unequal halved by the energy whip he had created.

Perfection.

End notes

*- Not every famous character in our world will have direct copies in the Young Justice universe. Larry King is example 1.

*- They will figure out the whole Stan Lee cameo thing, just not yet. I think it's fun for them to just brush such matters over for now because it isn't all that important. Or irksome.

*- Ollie is joking here in reference to his own experience with being served subpoenas compared to Tony's.

*- I didn't want to delve too deeply into this topic but, as Dinah says, either extreme has its own problems (see The Seven from The Boys for a relatively straightforward example of the problems of self-policing). And yes: the Jedi of the parts I - III were neutered by their tightly woven connections to the Republic.

Welcome to the first chapter of TheWatchers: Iron Man 2

I wanted to have this up by the 15th of this month but there have been some challenges with my keyboard that slowed thing down.

My thanks to Katana, Vein and to everyone of you for your undying support for this fic.

A big shout out to my buddy, Mr War for orking with me on this project.