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Everyone in the lounge naturally recognized Tony Stark's face.
And precisely because they recognized it, that was why seeing him here was surprising.
Only Katharine Hepburn looked completely unsurprised. She waved and said:
"Little Tony, you finally made it."
"Sorry, Katharine—traffic."
Henry nearly choked on a canapé.
This era's Tony Stark actually bothers to give explanations?
But thinking about it—
it made sense.
He was speaking to an elder, not a random nobody.
And this was still the pre–Iron Man Tony, before he evolved into the arrogant peacock everyone would later know.
Once all the elders who could rein him in died off?
He'd be an untethered warhorse.
Henry, however, barely reacted to Tony's appearance—
which confused Tony enough to ask Katharine:
"Did you tell him?"
"No. I said absolutely nothing."
The two spoke like they were exchanging riddles.
Meanwhile Henry, chewing something delicious, casually answered:
"Anyone who can get Katharine to invite me to an Oscar-season party would have to be someone we both know.
So when I saw you… I wasn't surprised."
Tony clenched his jaw.
Inviting Henry suddenly felt like a mistake.
He had the urge to turn around and leave.
But Happy had already followed instructions and cleared the lounge—
leaving only Katharine, Tony, and Henry inside.
Happy stood guard outside.
Tony kept glancing at Henry's plate, clearly wanting to grab a bite yet restraining himself like a starving wolf pretending to be civilized.
Katharine saw through him instantly.
"Go ahead, little Tony. Henry picked only the good stuff—none of the weird-tasting dishes. I remember you weren't nearly this polite before."
Young Master Tony used to grab whatever he liked without shame.
Someone else always picked up the tab anyway.
But now he shook his head stiffly.
"No."
He forcibly turned away from the food.
Henry laughed.
"What, afraid I poisoned it? Didn't know you were such a coward."
A joke—
but Tony's sharp stare and suddenly serious demeanor made Henry pause.
"What did you find out?" Tony demanded.
Seeing Tony's reaction, Henry lowered his voice.
"Don't tell me someone actually tried to poison you?"
Katharine also turned anxious.
"Tony, what happened?"
Tony shook his head. He didn't want to explain.
But if he said nothing at all, Katharine would only worry more.
So he muttered:
"Probably just contaminated food. Got diarrhea."
In reality, he'd been rushed into a hospital VIP ward and nearly didn't make it.
He had once mocked his father for having a bunch of strange habits and paranoias.
But rising to the same level, he finally realized just how vicious the world could be.
Those "quirks" were nothing more than survival mechanisms.
Even the idea of needing a personal security team—
the younger Tony would have never imagined it.
Henry, of course, saw through the immature stubbornness.
But he stayed silent.
Speaking too much to someone you barely know is a taboo.
Katharine, however, had no such restraint.
"Not just diarrhea, I presume."
She said flatly.
She never repeated circle gossip outside the circle, but that didn't mean she was blind or deaf.
Tony didn't want to linger on the topic.
More words meant more risk.
So he ended it with a single line:
"What doesn't kill me makes me stronger."
Henry burst out laughing.
"This is the first time I've seen someone use Nietzsche to dodge a question.
Isn't that supposed to be the dramatic closing line of some heroic monologue?"
Tony shot back sharply:
"What matters, the process or the outcome?
People who emphasize the process are compensating for their inability to reach an answer.
You see me standing here—that's conclusion enough."
Henry snorted.
"Look at you, Young Master—improved indeed.
At least you're not blowing a blood vessel after three sentences anymore.
So? What's with all this roundabout nonsense?
Why did you call me here?"
Finally unable to resist the food, Tony grabbed a few items from Henry's plate and stuffed them into his mouth.
He chewed while saying:
"You're jobless right now, aren't you?
Come work for me.
CEO of Stark Pictures.
You name your salary."
Henry froze.
Stark Pictures?
That still existed?
In this world, there was no RKO among the old "Big Eight."
Instead, Howard Stark had founded Stark Pictures, which filled that spot.
In the 1930s–40s, Stark Pictures produced and released many classics:
Disney's first animated feature Snow White, before Disney had its own distribution
The legendary monster film King Kong
And Citizen Kane, repeatedly ranked Britain's "Greatest Film" and destined to top AFI's "100 Years, 100 Movies"
Howard Stark's self-directed films with Katharine Hepburn were also from his own studio.
Before the 1950s, Stark Pictures fully deserved its place among Hollywood's major studios.
But World War II shifted Howard's focus.
He loved film, yes—
but simply couldn't devote time anymore.
Stark Pictures shrank its production side and leaned into equipment manufacturing and rental—
essentially becoming Hollywood's premier behind-the-scenes hardware supplier.
The richest studios rented (or bought) their cutting-edge equipment.
Indie films or rookie directors used the older models at friendlier prices.
Howard's personal hobby had kept the studio alive.
Hearing this name again, Katharine felt nothing but nostalgia.
She hadn't expected Tony to bring up this old banner.
Was Stark Pictures about to rise again?
Henry, meanwhile, was stunned.
"Stark Pictures is still around?
I thought Obadiah Stane would've sold it—or scrapped it like everything that wasn't military."
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