In Marvel With Unique Skill Great Sage (MCU) [102]

When Lemu arrived at Stark's workshop, he found Tony wasn't alone. Colonel Rhodey was there, and the two were clearly in the middle of a heated argument. 

Rhodey, pacing back and forth in his full Air Force dress uniform, looked seriously stressed out, gesturing emphatically as he spoke.

"...Tony, I am barely holding them back! I'm doing everything I can to stop the higher-ups from rolling tanks onto your lawn! But they're done asking nicely, man! They're losing patience, fast!" Rhodey pleaded, his voice strained. 

"They're seriously talking about just taking the suit tech by force! Do you really think you can win a fight against the entire US military? Just give them something! Even one of your older, less advanced models! Let them tinker with that! What's the big deal? Is it really that hard?"

Though Rhodey was clearly there in an official capacity, the desperation in his voice was pure friend-to-friend concern.

Stark, in sharp contrast, lounged casually on the sofa, legs crossed, swirling a glass of amber liquid, looking completely unfazed.

"Let them try," Tony said coolly, taking a deliberate sip from his glass. "Let them bring their tanks. I'm Tony Stark. I don't back down. We'll see whose hardware holds up better... theirs, or my missile defenses." He downed the rest of his drink in one gulp, slamming the glass down on the table. 

His expression was defiant, showing no fear, just stubborn refusal as he locked eyes with Rhodey. 

"Nobody," he stated firmly, "is taking my suit." He knew exactly how the military operated, and he wasn't giving an inch.

"Besides," he added with a smirk, "My lawyers are sharks. They'd love this."

Lemu chose this moment to make his presence known, stepping fully into the workshop. "What's all the commotion about?" he asked casually, glancing between the tense Rhodey and the defiant Stark.

Lemu knocked lightly on the open workshop doorframe before stepping inside. "Hey, Colonel Rhodey, long time no see," he greeted casually. 

"Sounds like I walked in on something intense. You guys arguing?"

Rhodey let out a heavy sigh, running a hand over his face before shaking his head wearily. He managed a small nod towards Lemu. "Lemu. Yeah, it has been a while..."

….

Rhodey slumped onto a nearby stool and poured himself a glass of water from a pitcher on the counter. He took a long drink, seeming to gather himself, his earlier agitation easing slightly.

He looked between Stark and Lemu, his expression grave. He tapped his finger firmly on the workbench for emphasis with each point he made, driving home the severity of the situation.

"Alright, listen up," Rhodey said, his voice low and serious. "The military brass? They've had enough. They are officially planning to use force to seize the Iron Man tech directly from you, Tony."

He paused, letting that sink in. "Me? I managed to buy you some time. One month. That's it. But if you don't give them something tangible within that month... they will roll tanks right up to this building. They'll tear this place apart to get what they want. And trust me," he added grimly, "they absolutely will do it."

Lemu blinked, casually tossing the small USB drive he was holding up and catching it. "Seriously? That's the big crisis?" he asked, sounding almost nonchalant. "So give them something. Why not?"

Stark slammed his glass down on the table with a sharp thud, looking ready to launch into a furious objection.

Lemu held up a hand, signaling Stark to hold on. "Whoa, easy there, Tony. Before you blow a gasket, let me show you something," he said calmly. "Something... interesting."

He walked over to a wall panel, found a port, and plugged the USB drive into the Stark Industries system mainframe essentially, plugging it into Jarvis.

Images immediately filled the large workshop monitor: schematics and photos of rows upon rows of bulky, militaristic robots, alongside surveillance shots clearly showing Justin Hammer and Ivan Vanko conferring together. 

Lemu gestured towards the screen, looking pointedly at Stark, his voice dripping with sarcasm. 

"This," he pointed to the drones, "and this unholy alliance... congratulations, Tony. It's all thanks to you."

He elaborated, "Looks like Vanko and Hammer have teamed up. They've got the hardware, Vanko's clearly providing the software and reactor tech... and you can bet your ass they'll be coming after you for revenge very soon."

"Okay, their tech and materials are way behind ours, crude compared to what we have. They couldn't win in a straight fight," Lemu conceded, "but they've clearly figured out the basics of building armored suits."

"My point is, there's no need to hoard basic suit technology anymore, especially when others are already catching up. We just need to make sure we protect the truly important stuff."

"Like, our new element arc reactor, and some of the really advanced, next-generation tech integrated into our currentarmors."

Stark stared intently at the monitor, his brow furrowed in deep concern. The images Lemu presented were undeniable and alarming. 

"Okay, forget the military for a second," he muttered, finally grasping the immediate threat. "Vanko and Hammer... working together... building that many drones... Yeah, okay. That's a big problem." 

He knew better than anyone the kind of damage even one suit could inflict. And the screen showed over thirty potential weapons. 

It wasn't the fight itself that worried him; he was confident he could handle them. It was the potential for chaos, the risk of them using those drones to cause mass destruction or harm innocent people.

Lemu cleared his throat, deliberately steering the conversation back on track. "Okay, Vanko's a problem for later. Let's focus on the immediate issue: what to give the military."

"The reactor? Give them the specs for the original, palladium-core version," Lemu suggested. "We know it has limitations the palladium toxicity means they can't use it constantly without consequences. Plus," he added, a calculating glint in his eye, "besides Vanko, we're the only ones who've truly mastered miniaturizing it effectively. Once they burn through whatever palladium cores they manage to make, they'll eventually have to come crawling back to us for a stable power source."

"Then," Lemu finished simply, "we'll be the ones calling the shots."