Tony stared at the Iron Monger controlled by Obadiah and, without a word, hit him with a repulsor blast. The two engaged in a fierce battle in the research and development area of Stark Industries, while Brown broke free from his bindings and flew over.
"Hey, Tony, I'm here."
Hearing the voice, Tony was overjoyed to see Brown flying toward him.
"I knew it, there's no way you'd get hurt, hahaha!"
Just as Tony was celebrating, he was struck by Iron Monger and lost control, beginning to plummet toward the ground before Brown caught him.
"Boss, leave the rest to me."
The battle between Iron Man and Iron Monger had already caused quite a stir, and now with Brown joining the fight, the noise grew even louder, audible throughout New York. Just as Iron Monger was about to deliver another heavy blow to Tony, a heat ray directly melted Iron Monger's arm.
"Old man, you really took me for an ordinary bodyguard, huh?"
Following that, Brown hit Iron Monger's arc reactor with another heat ray, instantly detonating the Iron Monger so thoroughly that not even scraps were left behind, and then flew back to Tony's side.
"Let's go, Tony. You still have to hold a press conference to explain what caused such a massive commotion."
Tony looked at the wreckage of the Iron Monger, a trace of reluctance and unshed tears flashing in his eyes. After all, ever since his parents passed away, Pepper and Obadiah were the ones who had spent the most time with him, though Obadiah was gone now.
The next morning, Stark Industries issued a statement claiming that last night's massive explosion was caused by a reactor research malfunction, and that all operations in the R&D division were currently proceeding in an orderly manner.
However, footage circulated online of two figures in armor and one in a tight suit fighting there. What was the actual truth? In the afternoon, Stark Industries would hold a press conference where questions could be asked.
Seeing this news, Brown smiled and said to Tony:
"Can't you guys come up with a better excuse? This is way too perfunctory—a research malfunction! People caught photos of us fighting, you know. Even though my face wasn't captured, do you think I should wear a mask?"
Looking at Brown, who was mocking him, Tony replied in an exasperated tone:
"Then you tell me, what kind of excuse would work? And you really should wear a mask, otherwise women won't be able to look away when they see you."
"Tony, do you have a secret crush on me? Honestly, even you think I'm handsome. As for the excuse, if all else fails, why not just tell the truth? Are you really going to tell everyone at the afternoon press conference that it was a research accident?"
Hearing this, Tony fell into deep thought.
In the afternoon, the press conference hall was packed to capacity with reporters from various media outlets. Agent Coulson was going over the cover story with Tony and Brown.
"You were partying on a yacht, and your bodyguard was right beside you protecting you. I have documents from the harbor authority proving you spent the entire night at the port, along with the testimony of nearly a hundred witnesses confirming you were partying all night on the yacht."
Pepper was applying makeup to Tony to make sure no marks on his face gave him away. And Brown? He was letting everything go in one ear and out the other, looking completely unconcerned—which was the truth, because he really didn't care. After all, he had seen the movie, and that final line, "I am Iron Man," was nothing short of classic. The actor's expression and tone were phenomenal, leaving a particularly deep impression on him.
"Hey, Brown, are you listening to me? Stop zoning out."
"Oh, right, right, Agent Coulson. Actually, I'm not the main character, am I?"
"But you were caught on camera too, even if it was just your back."
Brown shrugged and made a funny face, which gave Coulson a major headache. What Coulson didn't know, however, was that an even bigger headache was waiting for him.
"Wait, what about Obadiah? What's his excuse?"
"He took a private jet on a vacation to Hawaii. You know how unreliable small planes can be. Besides, this isn't my first time handling this sort of thing; as long as you read the script as instructed, all these issues will be resolved. Two minutes left before going out there, so get ready, Mr. Stark."
After thanking Agent Coulson, Pepper turned to Tony and said, "It's almost time to go on, Tony," as she picked up his jacket and waited for him to put it on.
Looking at the documents and script brought by Coulson, Tony muttered:
"Looks like fabrication isn't that hard, even though I don't really believe this research accident explanation myself."
As she smoothed out Tony's clothes, Pepper replied:
"It *is* a research accident, and you are not the Iron Man captured in the photos. You are just Tony Stark, the playboy billionaire."
Hearing this, Brown walked out the door to wait for Tony, knowing that what followed was sweet talk between the two of them.
Colonel Rhodey took the stage to host the press conference and announced:
"Next, Mr. Tony Stark has prepared a statement, but he will not be taking any questions. Thank you."
"I know I haven't made much of an appearance since the Firefighters' Family Foundation gala, so I went ahead and prepared some notes. I'm just going to read from them. I know that last night quite a few people and media outlets speculated that I was involved in the incident at the Stark Industries R&D area, so..."
Before Tony could finish, he was interrupted by a reporter in the audience.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark, do you really expect us to believe that was a research accident? Or were those three figures in the footage just not clear enough?"
Faced with the female reporter's question, Tony began to argue his case:
"I know what you're implying—questioning the official statement is fine, but you shouldn't make wild speculations about where I was or what I was doing, right? And definitely don't try to paint me as some kind of superhero."
"Mr. Stark, I didn't say you were a superhero."
"You didn't? Well, that's great. That would be absurd."
Looking down at his script, then glancing at Pepper and Brown, Tony's expression grew firm.
"To be honest, I'm not cut out to be a superhero. I have too many flaws and I've made plenty of mistakes that have had huge consequences, like my womanizing, my paranoia—"
Rhodey leaned over and muttered to Tony, "Just read the script."
"Right, right," Tony brushed him off, and then delivered the classic line:
"The truth is... I am Iron Man."
Hearing this, the reporters instantly erupted into a flurry of questions. Rhodey, standing nearby, wore a look of utter despair, while Agent Coulson in the audience cursed in frustration.
Although Pepper already knew he was Iron Man, she was still startled that he blurted it out right then and there. Only Brown stood in the audience, applauding and mouthing a silent "Well done" to Tony. Catching Brown's lip movements, Tony nodded back, his expression even more resolute.