###**Chapter 16 – The Weight of a Name**

Chapter 16 – The Weight of a Name

The press conference had ended, but its aftershocks were just beginning.

Tony Stark sat in his private workshop beneath his Malibu mansion, staring at the holographic interface floating before him. The dim glow of blue light reflected in his eyes, but his mind wasn't on the schematics hovering in the air.

"I am Iron Man."

The words had left his lips almost instinctively. No PR team, no carefully crafted statement—just a raw, unfiltered truth. And now, the world knew.

The consequences were already rolling in.

The U.S. Government. The military was in chaos. Calls from generals, politicians, and intelligence agencies flooded his inbox, each one more urgent than the last. Some demanded answers. Others wanted assurances that Stark Industries' technology wouldn't suddenly become a private arsenal. A few had already begun framing him as a threat.

SHIELD. He had received multiple messages from someone named Nick Fury, though he hadn't bothered reading them yet. The name rang a bell, but right now, Tony had bigger problems. He had no doubt that SHIELD was watching him closely.

The Stock Market. Stark Industries' shares had dropped, surged, and finally settled in a volatile frenzy. Investors feared instability, and instability meant uncertainty. Would Stark Industries continue its weapons division? Was the man who once sold missiles now a one-man army?

And Obadiah Stane?

Nothing.

That silence disturbed him the most.

Stane had always been involved in Stark Industries' business, always had something to say about the company's future. But after the press conference? Not a single word. No calls, no attempts to smooth things over.

That wasn't like him.

Tony leaned back, running a hand through his hair. He was exhausted, his body still recovering from the time in the cave and the battle with the Ten Rings. The suit had saved him, but it had also drained him.

And now?

Now, there were expectations.

He glanced at the disassembled pieces of the Mark III armor scattered across his workshop. It wasn't perfect.

The flight system still needed better balance. The armor plating could be stronger. The arc reactor was powerful, but prolonged combat exposed its inefficiencies.

Because now, he wasn't just a man building in a cave.

Now, the world expected Iron Man.

And expectations led to challenges.

And challenges… led to enemies.

---

[Severence's POV]

The neon skyline of New York City stretched out before him, a sea of light and motion. The world moved forward, unaware that everything had just changed.

Severence stood atop the skeletal framework of Stark Tower's unfinished construction. Wind whipped around him, carrying the distant sounds of traffic, of life.

And of fate shifting.

Tony Stark had broken the cycle of secrecy. The world would react. Governments would panic. Criminals would take notice. And those who thrived in the shadows?

They had already begun to move.

Severence had watched men and women take the first steps toward legend before. Some embraced it. Some were crushed beneath it.

Which one would Stark be?

For now, he would not interfere. But others would.

His gaze flickered toward a distant sector of Stark Industries' R&D division. Hidden behind layers of corporate security, something was being built.

Obadiah Stane had already made his move.

The man was not foolish—he understood power. But what he failed to grasp was that power demanded control. And Stark had broken free of it.

That made him a liability.

Stane was not the type to let liabilities live.

The pieces were moving. The lines of fate were drawing tighter. A confrontation was inevitable.

Severence closed his eyes briefly, listening to the flow of reality. The weight of countless possibilities pressed against him.

Would Tony Stark survive this first trial?

Or would his name become just another echo in history?

The world was watching.

And so was he.