Honestly.
Su Che didn't expect that the matter of Obadiah Stane was actually connected to HYDRA.
And it was genuinely linked to that Senator Stern.
Even before crossing over, Su Che knew this Senator Stern was HYDRA.
In the movie, his only interaction with Tony Stark was when Stern presided over the hearing demanding Tony hand over the Iron Man armor.
But now...
Watching Tony Stark uncover more and more evidence, making the chain clearer.
Even Obadiah Stane had been transferring tens of millions into Stern's anonymous account annually.
What more could Su Che say? He could only give Tony Stark a thumbs up.
But this way, it actually saved a lot of trouble.
"What are you going to do?" Su Che asked with a smile, picking up his glass after Tony turned off the holographic projection, looking furious.
"Of course it's..." Tony started, then fell silent for a moment.
He picked up the bottle and poured himself a drink from Su Che's side: "My first thought was to have the FBI arrest him."
"But hearing your question makes it seem the FBI guys aren't reliable."
"After all, Obadiah Stane was arrested by them too, and you know how that turned out."
"Certainly, even if we publicize this damned Senator Stern's crimes, logically he should be finished, spending the rest of his life in a prison cell."
"But what if there are people behind him? Even if he's taken down, what if the forces backing him break him out? Just like Obadiah Stane."
Watching Tony's serious analysis, Su Che raised his glass and clinked it lightly against his: "Wow, seems you've gotten smarter! Even your thinking is more thorough now!"
Facing Su Che's teasing, Tony Stark promptly raised a middle finger in friendly response.
He never won a war of words with this guy!
"Then what do you suggest we do?" Tony asked after downing his drink, picking up the bottle to pour one for Su Che.
But halfway through, before Su Che could answer, Tony suddenly pulled the bottle back: "Wait, I just remembered, buddy, you're only nineteen this year. You're not old enough to drink."
"Tsk... am I breaking the law by pouring you this?"
Seeing Tony's smug look, Su Che returned the friendly middle finger: "You broke the law with the first glass you poured me after I arrived."
"So what's the difference between one glass and ten?"
Hearing this, Tony thought for a moment, then nodded: "Makes sense. Anyway, I'm already guilty."
"If you have any conscience, you'd better take the blame for me when the judge sentences me to community service."
"Come on, if I get caught for underage drinking, why would I need you to do my community service?"
After joking around, Su Che looked at Tony seriously. "I have two suggestions."
"First, hold a press conference and release all the evidence; let everyone know about Senator Stern's crimes. And the bigger the scandal, the better."
"Why?" Tony asked curiously, sitting cross-legged on the wool carpet.
"Use their own tactics against them!"
Su Che said softly, "Even if Stern is arrested, at most someone else will chair your hearing. It doesn't change the hearing itself."
"But Tony, once you publicize Stern's crimes, and if he happens to be the one presiding over your hearing..."
"Don't you think conspiracy theories will explode online? Would people think the hearing's real purpose isn't simple? That it's meant to persecute you and seize your armor?"
"Then, who will the public support? Who will get dragged through the mud? Who will be furious? Who holds the initiative? I don't need to explain that, do I?"
Hearing this, Tony Stark's eyes lit up with an almost frightening intensity.
Damn, he was so angry earlier he'd almost forgotten this.
Yes!
He could use Senator Stern's involvement in the hearing to turn the entire event into a conspiracy theory.
Then steer the whole situation to his advantage.
Aren't Stern and the guys behind him trying to cause trouble for him?
Well, why can't he cause trouble for them?
After all, no matter how good someone is at manipulating public opinion, can they beat his J.A.R.V.I.S?
"What's the second point?" Tony asked eagerly.
"Second, hand Stern over to S.H.I.E.L.D.!"
Su Che put his empty glass on the table and stretched his shoulders while sitting on the carpet.
"Don't forget, your father was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s founders. So, you can hand this over to S.H.I.E.L.D. to dig deeper!"
Pausing for a moment, Su Che added, "Tony, I'll be straight with you. S.H.I.E.L.D., or rather, I, Natasha Romanoff, and Steve, need to use Stern's identity for something bigger."
"In about a week, we'll assemble and launch an operation codenamed 'Snake Killer'."
"Senator Stern's status among the 'snakes' is neither too high nor too low."
"So, I need him as a starting point, to make the snakes focus on him without alerting the entire nest, so we can wipe them all out at once!"
"Wipe out the snakes?" Hearing Su Che's frankness, Tony immediately became interested. "Buddy, you're teaming up with Natasha Romanoff and Steve?"
"Probably, and there might be a few others involved..."
"Count me in!"
Tony drained his glass in one gulp and looked seriously at Su Che. "This mess started because of me anyway. Besides, if you and Steve are going..."
"How can I, as a friend, be left out?"
"You?" Su Che thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Let's forget it."
"Tony, the more you use the Mark armor, the worse your palladium poisoning gets."
"Before you completely solve the palladium poisoning issue, it's best to—"
"Oh, come on, buddy! Don't be like that!" Hearing the refusal, Tony spread his hands pleadingly. "We're friends, right?"
"Of course!" Su Che nodded.
"When I fought Obadiah Stane, you and Steve came to help, didn't you?"
"That was an accident. Actually, Steve and I were just there to watch."
"Accident, my foot!" Tony glared at him resentfully. "I find I always end up looking bad in front of you."
"I don't care! As friends, you help me when I'm in trouble. How can I just stand by when you have something to do? That's not what friends do."
"Anyway, if you exclude me, then you and Steve are ganging up on me, even if I have no proof!"
Tony stared at Su Che. "Also, don't even think about handling this secretly and then telling me it's over when you get back."
"If you have that idea, I'll suit up and move into your house today, following you 24/7!"
Watching Tony act like a stubborn child, Su Che smiled and spread his hands. "Alright, alright, if you want in, buddy, I'll give you a week."
"One week to solve the palladium poisoning problem."
"By then, you might just catch up with the team before it's fully formed and join the first head-on fight!"
"No problem!" Hearing Su Che agree, Tony immediately accepted enthusiastically.
Even if he had no solution now, with his intelligence, he was confident he could figure it out!
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(TL : More Chapters @)[1]
[1] https://www.patreon.com/c/Gooberilla