Chapter 116 – I Don’t Eat Beef

The next morning.

Fox, Wesley, and a few others were eating breakfast while watching the news on the wall-mounted TV.

"Col. James Rhodes speaks on the Stark Industries incident!" said the anchor cheerfully.

"Unconfirmed reports claim a prototype robot malfunctioned, causing significant damage."

"But our very own 'Superman' appeared and saved the day."

"In fact, this was all part of a top-secret movie production, sponsored by Stark Industries, reportedly aiming to surpass DC's Superman series."

Fox bit into his sandwich, paying no attention to Rhodes's spin on the story. What he was waiting for was Smith Doyle's appearance.

…

John Wick drove Smith Doyle and Bulma to the press conference venue.

In the backstage prep room, Smith spotted Pepper Potts fixing up Tony's makeup.

Tony grinned when he saw him.

"Smith! Haha, you came too."

Pepper gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry for dragging you into this again."

Smith shrugged and said casually:

"Hard to stay away when YouTube's already full of our video clips."

"Right, Agent Coulson?"

Coulson, smiling faintly, said:

"Just stick to what we rehearsed, and we'll keep the damage to a minimum."

Ignoring Coulson, Tony held up a newspaper and chuckled.

"Smith, they're calling me Iron Man now. Pretty catchy, huh?"

"And yours isn't bad either. They're calling you 'our very own Superman.'"

"And someone even designed you a custom Superman-style costume. Take a look."

He handed Smith a tablet displaying a fan-made design: a modified cape patterned after the American flag, with the tagline 'We have our own Superman!'

Seeing the image, Smith's mind blanked for a second. Whoever drew this… they weren't thinking of Superman at all—this was Homelander's style. What did they expect him to do, whatever the hell he wanted?

"What do you think?" Tony asked with a grin.

Smith gave a half-smile and quipped:

"The artist wouldn't happen to be from Florida, would they?"

Tony raised an eyebrow and checked.

"IP does trace back to Florida."

Smith chuckled.

"Figures. Guy's got… ideas."

Tony tilted his head.

"So what, you don't like it?"

Smith replied, his smile faint but sharp:

"I don't eat beef."

…

Bulma, confused, asked:

"Smith-oniichan, you don't eat beef?"

Smith saw their puzzled faces and waved it off with a grin.

"Just messing with you all."

Coulson walked over just then, saying:

"Here's your alibi, Tony. As for the robot, it's officially a prop. The film is being exclusively sponsored by Stark Industries."

"Got it."

Tony set down the paper but didn't reach for the note—Pepper handed it to him instead.

Coulson continued:

"You were on a yacht, docked at Avalon Port all night. Fifty guests will corroborate it."

Tony raised an eyebrow.

"Wouldn't it be simpler to just say it was me and Pepper alone on an island?"

Expressionless, Coulson replied:

"We don't fake things. Just read the line."

Tony smirked at that. You sure about that, Agent?

Scanning the note, Tony frowned.

"Doesn't mention Obadiah?"

"We've handled it. He went on vacation. You know how unreliable small planes can be."

Tony sighed.

"So what about the movie? Are we actually shooting this 'Superman vs Robot' flick now?"

"Or maybe make it a buddy movie. You're Clark Kent, I'm Bruce Wayne, and together we save the world from… hmm, Iron Monger. How's that sound?"

Coulson didn't answer directly.

"Just stick to the official story and it'll all work out. You know this isn't our first time covering for someone."

Then he turned to Smith.

"Mr. Doyle, you've been invited as part of the production as well. You'll play a Superman-like role. To distinguish you from DC's Superman, you won't have laser eyes—but you will have the ability to fire energy beams from your hands."

"All of last night was just movie footage."

Smith smiled and nodded faintly. His turn to speak would come after Tony's, and Coulson's script wouldn't matter when it did.

Turning to Bulma, he added:

"I'll also use this chance to introduce our product. Little bit of free advertising."

"And I'll make sure to spotlight you as our genius girl scientist. So be ready."

Bulma, unconcerned, smiled.

"Okay, Smith-oniichan."

This ad spot was something Smith had negotiated with Coulson the night before.

Coulson checked his watch and said:

"You've got ninety seconds."

With that, he left.

Pepper hurried after him and called out:

"Agent Coulson, thank you so much for everything you've done. I truly appreciate it."

Coulson smiled faintly.

"Just doing my job. We'll be working together again."

Pepper hesitated, then tried:

"You guys… the Strategic Homeland Intervention… uh…"

Coulson cut her off smoothly:

"We go by S.H.I.E.L.D. now."

"Oh. That's a much better name."

Coulson smiled and left.

Pepper turned back to Tony, picking up his jacket from the sofa.

"Time for you to go on stage, Tony."

Tony looked at his cue card and grinned.

"Guess faking it isn't so hard after all. Even if I don't believe I'm Iron Man…"

Pepper smiled faintly.

"You're not Iron Man."

"I am."

"Fine. Whatever you say."

…

(End of Chapter)

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