As that shadowy figure fell, a deafening crash immediately shook the entire hearing!
The senators were stunned—those glass panels were supposed to withstand cannon fire, yet in front of this figure, they shattered like thin paper!
Countless shards of glass, mixed with fragments of steel and concrete, rained outward like a violent storm!
Dust filled the air, alarms blared, and screams echoed throughout the hall!
A dark figure landed heavily in the center of the hearing chamber!
The hard marble floor cracked outward from the point of impact!
As the dust slowly cleared, a godlike figure stood amidst the ruins.
It was a face everyone knew all too well.
Superman.
Henry Stark, who hadn't been in the headlines for over three weeks, was standing there.
He slowly straightened his posture and scanned the room.
"I am the weapon you speak of," he said. His voice wasn't loud, but it clearly cut through all the chaos.
"Who just said they were going to confiscate me?"
The entire hall fell silent.
"Henry!"
Tony's voice broke through the stillness. He stood from his chair, still wearing his usual annoyed expression, but a flicker of relief crossed his eyes.
He looked at Henry's armor and muttered internally, He even changed into the armor before showing up? But outwardly, he kept his teasing tone, as if nothing else mattered.
"You bastard! Do you know how much taxpayer money you just destroyed? And what's with that outfit? Did you just crawl out of some Gothic vampire tomb? Honestly, you look more outdated than Rhodey's dress uniform!"
"That's still better than some people," Henry shot back coldly.
"At least I don't walk around like a horny peacock showing off at some stupid racing event. And I should remind you, Tony, while you were getting flustered by a bunch of suited monkeys, I just saved you from being drowned in their spit. You should be thanking me."
"Thank you? Thank you for ruining my perfect heroic entrance!" Tony immediately retorted.
"Enough!"
An angry, humiliated roar cut through the brothers' bickering.
Justin Hammer emerged from the chaos, adjusting his expensive suit and wearing a self-righteous expression.
"Henry Stark!" he said, pointing at Henry. "Look at what you've done! You are defying the law! Trampling order! Just like your brother! You are nothing but violent and uncontrolled—"
His words abruptly stopped.
Henry merely glanced at him. Then his eyes glowed red.
In the next second, two blazing beams shot from Henry's eyes!
The beams moved faster than anyone could react!
Before Justin Hammer could even scream, he was precisely struck.
No explosion, no flames. Hammer's body, his suit, and the smug expression on his face turned to ash, vanishing entirely—as if he had never existed.
It was as if the hall itself had been muted.
Everyone stared at the dissipating smoke, their minds blank.
Even Tony froze, opening his mouth as if to speak, but no words came out.
"Fuck!"
Nick Fury's one-eyed glare was full of shock. Hill, Coulson, and Hawkeye mirrored his expression, all tense.
They hadn't expected Henry Stark to kill someone in public—especially the second-largest arms manufacturer in America!
Pepper and Happy, seated behind Tony, were similarly stunned. They hated clowns, but never imagined witnessing this.
Natasha instinctively gripped the weapon hidden in her sleeve, unsure what Henry was doing.
"Did he… he just…" a senator stammered, pointing at the empty space, voice trembling.
"Vaporized," Henry calmly finished the sentence.
He retracted his gaze, the red glow in his eyes fading. His voice turned icy as he addressed the hall.
"This man hired and released the terrorist Ivan Vanko in Monaco to try to kill my brother Tony Stark. That man is a criminal. He tried to kill my brother."
"I killed him. Anyone have a problem with that?"
The hall went completely silent.
Then, a refined-looking senator next to Stern suddenly stood.
"I don't care what crimes he committed!" he said loudly, pointing at Henry. "This is America! A nation of law! You have no right to carry out a private execution on a citizen! You are defying the Constitution!"
Henry slowly turned his gaze toward him. Seeing the senator's face, he squinted slightly.
Ah, isn't this Alexander Pierce's right-hand man's right-hand man? Henry thought. Stern does have a colleague connected to Hydra.
"You have a point," Henry said, nodding at the senator.
Then, his eyes glowed red again.
"No!!!"
The senator could only scream in despair before his body, like Hammer's before him, turned into a wisp of smoke in the twin beams of light.
If the first strike shocked them, this one instilled total terror.
The hall descended into dead silence.
"Y-you…" Stern stammered, pointing at Henry, lips quivering, unable to form a complete sentence.
Henry's voice, calm yet heavy like a hammer striking every heart in the room, cut through the fear.
"This man is a Hydra spy."
The crowd erupted in disbelief.
"What?! Hydra?!"
"How is that possible? Hydra was destroyed by Captain America during WWII!"
Murmurs of disbelief spread.
Nick Fury in the back row narrowed his eyes when he heard "Hydra." A cold chill surged from his core. He recalled Howard Stark, the origins of S.H.I.E.L.D., and the dark secrets buried in top-secret files.
"How do you know?!" Stern blurted out.
"You don't need to know that," Henry said lightly.
He ignored the panicking politicians and turned toward the media cameras capturing every angle. He knew the world was watching.
"People of the world, I am Henry Stark," he said, each word ringing like a hammer.
"Hydra still exists. Like snakes lurking in the shadows, they have infiltrated every corner of our government. They've always been here."
"Starting today, I will reveal a truth that has been covered up for decades."
"My parents, Howard and Maria Stark, did not die by accident. They were murdered. On December 26, 1991, they were brutally killed by assassins sent by Hydra."
"And the killer was…"
He paused, then slowly spoke a name.
"The best friend of Captain America, Steve Rogers."
"Bucky Barnes."
"He did not die on the battlefields of WWII. He was taken to a Hydra base and ultimately became their top assassin, the Winter Soldier."
Henry looked directly into the camera, a meaningful smile crossing his face.
"Hydra…"
"Get ready. To face my hunt."
***
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