"Tony…"
"Yep. All yours, Rhodey."
He tries not to act too much like a kid in a candy shop, even as he very carefully sets aside his hat and pulls off his jacket, folding it properly and making sure it's secured. Then, he walks very fast but does not run over to the weapon's platform, climbing up the steps to where the seat behind the large turret sits.
As he settles into place, Tony climbs up next to him and points out a big red switch that Rhodey flicks with no further prompting. The whole machine comes to life at that, and Rhodey's eyes dart over the readouts, even as Tony points things out to him. Truthfully… it's surprisingly intuitive for a piece of military hardware.
In a jet, for instance, the cockpit is filled with a million different switches. Redundancies on top of redundancies, and the training is no joke. But this… Rhodey finds himself taking hold of the controls rather quickly and staring down the sights of the turret at the far wall in short order.
"Weapons hot, Rhodey. Fire when ready." "What's going to happen when I do, Tony?"
Scoffing, Tony just grins.
"C'mon man. Live a little."
Truthfully, that's all he needs to hear. With an almost vicious glee, Rhodey presses the red buttons on the top of the handheld controls… and watches with wide eyes as a beam of white light shoots out of the end of the turret and slams into the far wall, leaving behind a crater in the concrete.
"… Holy shit Tony. You made laser weaponry?"
But Tony is already shaking his head.
"Not quite, Rhodey. Energy? Yes. Lasers? Not really. I call it Repulsor Technology. At its core… it's a form of propulsion more than anything." Rhodey's mouth opens and closes at that for a moment before he gives his friend an incredulous look.
"Propulsion? You can't be serious."
Tony just smiles and points to another button on the console with one hand, while the other hand reaches back and grabs a railing. Rhodey reaches out and presses the button… only to gape as what he'd thought was a stationary turret platform suddenly begins to float.
"Whoa… Tony, what the hell?"
"It's all the same technology, Rhodey. Like I said, Repulsor Technology. You can use it for offense, defense, and even movement. This is 1% power right now that you're using to hover. The beam you just fired was about 40% power." Only 40%?! That meant at a hundred percent it could probably demolish a wall, and if fired correctly, bring down an entire building! Blinking, Rhodey realizes the controls actually do seem a little like a steering wheel. Instinctively, he pushes them forward… and yelps as the hovering platform starts to move into the weapons testing area. Slowly, he drives them in a circle.
"… Could this be used in jets, Tony?"
Grinning, Tony tilts his head to the side.
"Sure it could. It would put your modern jet engine to shame, honestly. Though I haven't developed a Repulsor Jet just yet. And I should warn you now… it's all black boxed."
Rhodey gives Tony a look at that, but the weapons developer just shrugs, completely unrepentant. "Sorry but not sorry, Rhodey. This is proprietary stuff we're talking about here. I'm always happy to sell to the United States Military, but you and I both know they'd love to crack my stuff open and have my competitors make it cheaper and with worse quality but for half the price. Well tough. Try to crack any of my Repulsor Technology open, try to repurpose any of it… they won't like the results very much."
When Rhodey doesn't stop staring at Tony, Tony just smiles wickedly.
"Mess with this stuff too much… and it turns into a bomb."
Eyes widening, Rhodey suddenly feels a lot less safe about where he's sitting as he looks down at what is apparently a giant bomb that he's sitting on. Tony just laughs.
"Oh come off it, Rhodey. It's perfectly safe. And the casing is made of some stern stuff. It can take a ton of damage from conventional weapon ' s fire before anything would hit anything vital. But just like with anything that costs a whole lot of energy, if you manage to damage the integrity of the core, you're going to have an explosion on your hands."
That was… a bit fairer, Rhodey was forced to concede. Still…
"What even is at the core of this thing Tony? This sort of technology, it's…"
Here, Tony just chuckles.
"I like to call it 'post-modern weaponry'. We're moving beyond the need for conventional bullets, Rhodey. Be they for handguns or tanks, we're moving from physical ammunition to energy-based fire. This is the start of that. C'mon, there's more."
They put the hovering turret platform back into place and then Tony leads Rhodey to the rest of it. Stuff like Repulsor Rifles, Repulsor Gloves, Repulsor Hover Boots. To say Rhodey is impressed by the end of the show would be an understatement. When he says as much to Tony however, his best friend's answer shocks him to his core.
"Excellent? I'll just have to put you in touch with the CEO so you guys can work out a deal then, Rhodey-Bear!"
Stopping in the middle of putting back on his uniform jacket, Rhodey turns and stares at Tony.
"… You're the CEO of Stark Industries, Tony."
Grinning like the cat who caught the canary, Tony shakes his head.
"Not anymore, Lieutenant Colonel Rhodes. You're one of the first to find out, but as of this morning I am now the Chief Science Officer of Stark Industries, Head of Research and Development… but no more than that."
Rapidly processing what that means, Rhodey finds himself at a loss for words for a moment. Until finally he asks the most pertinent question of all.
"Who… who's replacing you, Tones?"
Grin softening slightly at the nickname, Tony gestures to the door.
"Let me show you to their office, yeah?"
In the end, Rhodey has no choice but to follow Tony if he wants answers. To say his anxiety is high all the way to the new Stark Industries CEO would be an understatement. But never has he been more shocked while also feeling immense relief when the door opens… and he sees none other than Pepper Potts sitting behind the desk. At his and Tony ' s entrance, the red head looks up from her work and then smiles broadly.
"Rhodey! I trust the demonstration went well then?"
Tony is the one who answers of course, staying by the door.
"That it did, Pep! He's on board, but obviously I'm not the one he has to deal with anymore. Don't fleece him too badly now, you hear? He's still a friend!"
Pepper hums at that, before looking at Rhodey with an expression that actually manages to send shivers down his spine.
"A friend maybe. But also a representative of the world's most well-funded military. Come in and have a seat, Lieutenant Colonel. Let's talk."
On the one hand, Rhodey immediately gets it. Pepper slots into the role of CEO like she was born to it, and as Tony retreats from the office and leaves Rhodey to his fate, he kind of understands why the other man made this decision. On the other hand… boy is this going to ruffle some feathers and shake things up a whole lot…
-x-X-x-
"Sir. Stark has provided an opening."
"Indeed, I just saw the news. Pepper Potts has been named CEO of Stark Industries. Let me guess, Tony Stark has yet to pick up a replacement for the position of his PA."
"Yes sir. This seems to be our one opportunity. I suggest we send in Agent Romanoff. She's done well in the months since she and Barton were split back up. A handful of solo missions under her belt now."
"Mm. Very well. But prepare her for this to be long-term."
"Sir?"
"We've been stonewalled for months. As you said, this might be our one opportunity at getting into Stark's inner circle. Agent Romanoff is to go deep undercover here. Make it clear to her that this isn't a one week mission. Probably not even a one month mission. We still don't know how Stark seems to know about every single attempt to surveil him. I don't want her to even try to report anything she learns to us unless she considers it worth likely blowing her cover."
"Yes sir."
"Make sure she knows how important this is, Agent Coulson. I'm sick and tired of not knowing what the hell Tony Stark is up to, and some of the things he's putting on market… I shudder to think what he's holding back behind the scenes for himself or anyone who might be willing to pay top dollar. Agent Romanoff is our best shot at finally figuring out just how much of a threat Howard's son has become."
"As you say, Director Fury. I'll make sure the briefing is very thorough."
"Excellent. Get it done."
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