After a short silence, Carl responded with a resigned sigh,
"Alright."
He casually asked,
"So, what's this about?"
It wasn't like he believed,
Tony Stark would call him just to chat.
Sure enough.
Tony's voice came through,
"Well, I do have something to talk about."
"Go ahead," Carl replied.
"Tomorrow, Stark Industries and the military are holding a press conference."
"Oh?"
Carl raised an eyebrow.
So, the press conference was finally happening?
Looked like Stark Industries' stock was about to climb even higher.
Tony continued,
"Mr. Superman, have you been keeping up with the news lately?"
Carl understood what he meant,
likely the recent reports about Abomination.
After all, back then…
Both their faces were caught on camera.
Carl nodded,
"I saw it."
"Really…"
Tony hesitated, then asked,
"And after watching it, how did you feel?"
"No particular feeling."
Tony blinked, surprised.
"No feeling?"
"Yeah. Even if people found out who I am, it wouldn't change anything for me."
"So… no real reaction."
"Uh…"
To be honest,
Even Tony Stark, after seeing all the public and media commentary,
had felt a little smug.
After all, whether it was the public or the press,
They were showering him with admiration.
Many people openly idolized him.
Some fans had even started calling him Iron Man.
That nickname really fed Tony's ego.
Sure, it wasn't entirely accurate.
The Mark III suit was mostly made from alloys,
Not pure iron or steel.
But still,
Tony loved the name Iron Man.
He couldn't help feeling proud.
And yet, Superman said he felt nothing?
Well…
Considering who Carl was,
Tony let it go.
After all,
The man wasn't just powerful,
He was Superman.
A symbol of justice.
So of course he wouldn't care about fandoms or public attention.
It actually made sense.
Tony cleared his throat, then continued,
"Alright. Classic Superman."
"I called because I wanted to ask your opinion about something."
"What is it?"
"Stark Industries and the military are holding a joint press conference."
"The main goal…"
"…is to publicly deny that I'm Iron Man."
Tony let out a dry laugh, tinged with irony.
"They think the public shouldn't be exposed to this stuff."
"Might cause a panic, apparently."
"Mhm."
Carl nodded without much reaction.
Then Tony added,
"Also, they're hoping I'll deny the existence of Superman too."
"Apparently too many people have figured out who you are."
"They want the official narrative to be, "
"That you and I were vacationing somewhere else when it all happened."
"That Iron Man, Superman, and those two giant monsters…"
"…were just props and CGI for a movie we were filming."
Back then, a lot of people had seen what happened firsthand.
Tony and Carl might be able to talk their way out of it,
But the Hulk and Abomination?
Those two were… harder to explain.
Anyone who saw them would know they weren't normal.
But the military and government were determined to deflect.
Whether people believed it or not,
At least they'd offered a formal explanation.
"Oh, and, sorry,"
Tony added,
"Bruce isn't a monster. He's actually a fascinating person."
"Alright then."
Tony sighed.
"The government's really going all-in. They've gathered testimony from dozens of people."
Then he paused briefly before asking,
"I'm calling because I wanted to know where you stand."
"Do you want to go along with their version of events?"
"To tell everyone it was just a movie?"
He quickly clarified,
"I mean, should we officially say Superman is just a fictional character for a film?"
"Do whatever."
"…Huh?"
"Whatever," Carl said calmly.
"Say what you want. I'm not bothered."
"Go with whatever feels right to you."
Tony fell silent for a long moment.
Then slowly said,
"…Alright."
"If there's nothing else, I'll hang up now."
"I'm out walking with my girlfriend."
"Really? Must be nice," Tony chuckled.
"Well then, I won't bother you, Mr. Superman. Goodbye."
"Goodbye."
,
After Carl hung up, Skye, who had been walking beside him, looked over with curiosity.
"Tony?"
"Was that the Tony Stark?"
She had been close enough to hear most of Carl's end of the call.
Right now, Superman and Iron Man were at the center of a media storm.
The internet was flooded with stories about them.
She and Carl had even been recognized while out shopping,
Someone had asked them for a photo.
Carl had used a bit of hypnosis to get out of it without trouble.
So naturally,
Skye was curious about Tony Stark and Carl's connection.
Or more accurately,
Right now, there probably wasn't a soul in the country who wasn't curious.
After all, that video…
Had been broadcast on dozens of national networks.
Plenty of people had claimed to witness the event in person.
And most importantly,
Tony Stark, a world-famous billionaire,
Hadn't come forward to deny anything.
Wasn't that as good as confirming it?
The online crowd went wild.
But Skye wasn't like those people.
She knew the news reports were real.
Still, she was curious,
What did Tony Stark want with Carl?
"Nothing major," Carl replied.
"They're just holding a press conference."
"To 'clarify' what happened that night."
"Clarify?"
As a top-tier hacker,
Skye was aware of how often the government twisted or buried the truth.
Especially with cases like this.
That knowledge made her uneasy, like she was being kept in the dark.
Skye muttered knowingly,
"More like… cover up the truth, huh?"
"Maybe," Carl shrugged, unfazed.
Seeing his reaction, Skye smiled and dropped the subject.
"Alright, enough about that. Let's go get some dessert."
"Sure."
The two of them strolled toward a nearby pastry shop.
,
10:00 AM
Carl had already freshened up, eaten breakfast,
and was now watching TV in Skye's living room.
The man on the screen looked familiar,
Rhodey.
Also known as War Machine, and Tony Stark's close friend.
He was currently speaking at the podium.
Below him sat a sea of reporters.
"…The official statement regarding last night's events in Harlem…"
"…has been distributed to everyone present."
"Eyewitnesses claim that unknown creatures were responsible for the destruction, "
"…damaging property and causing major losses."
"In truth…"
"This was actually a movie funded by Stark Industries."
"The two monsters, Superman, and the robotic figure…"
"Were all props and visual effects."
"Since it was a Stark Industries production,"
"We brought in CEO Tony Stark…"
"And Stark Industries shareholder, Mr. Carl Smith, as part of the cast."