"I don't need protection from naive little boys," he snapped, a flash of his true self morphing his usually pleasant features. He couldn't help that, he was angry. "You have no idea of how the world works. If support is pulled, and it will be because Iron Man has been used in some very controversial missions against terrorists, my company folds. Literally just like that. My money is tied up in investments. The company folds, I fold."

He rubbed a hand across his lips in annoyance.

"And the day I ask someone to protect me... No. I can't live in a world with all of you and be nothing."