"In our former lives, you and my father were the giants of this world. You, the Tesla to his Edison." A smirk from Rufus there; in many ears, that would sound like a compliment to his old man and an insult to Tony, to the more aware, it was intended purely the other way around. ''This isn't the old world.'' He's in a wheelchair for movement, his body shattered when the world collapsed. To either side of him, his protectors in their dark suits. Every part of him, bandaged. "I'm here to help."
"Giant's a stretch." Had he left that statement hanging, it would have passed for self-deprecating. Couldn't have that. "Your old man couldn't find a remote on a coffee table without Grenade Barbie giving him a ten step annotated instruction leaflet." Frankly, it rang at least semi true to him even if it was a par-for-course drag for the sake of it.
Different animals, their respective fathers. At least, it always read to him as such. Howard had the cold drive to back it all up and could've done all of it in a room on his own with next to no resources. Old Man Shinra? Wished he had that foundation. A business man above the rest of it, rather than genius restrained by the times.
Both assholes, though. So they had that.
"Appreciated but unnecessary." He brushed off the compliment, seeing it more as a reflexive one in case he'd had a mind to tell him to fuck off. Cute-- also entirely fucking true-- but unnecessary. They had bigger problems than companies and standard wealthy in-fighting. "We're good."
"When this is over, they better bring back the chair for me, for the irony of it; can you imagine." Turned out, not letting the last dregs of the government blow your city up for nothing made you a terrorist, who knew. As if it would've done anything but killed more people, this was global. So, terrorist, it was, then. And they'd thought he was a problem before. SURPRISE. The risen dead weren't going to go away just because they blew Manhattan away to feel more secure for a day or two. Nah, not happening. "Look, you don't steal my shit, we stay good. Did you bring my least favourite Actual Former Competition?"