"I've never t such an insufferable guy. I dare say, if he was on the battlefield, he would have been court-martialled and shot countless tis by now!"
Steve paced back and forth in the middle of Shiller's clinic's living room, hands on his hips, gesticulating wildly, loudly voicing his opinion. He looked like an angry lion, his military temperant unmistakable.
Steve said, "I really should have given him a waist slam, to see if his damn iron shell would be as fragile as glass!"
The reason for Steve's anger started last night...
Last night, Peter finished his final exams, and of course, he was itching to roam around New York. After weeks of studying, he was nearly sick of it and missed the feeling of swinging in the chilly wind above New York City.
But recently, his relationship with Gwen had heated up quickly. After the exams, Gwen naturally invited him to a party. Gwen thought Peter was a little too introverted and should interact more with his classmates, so she insisted on bringing him to the post-exam celebration.
Peter really wanted to go out and be a superhero, but he found Gwen irresistible. Eventually, Peter accepted Gwen's invitation, and they happily attended the party.
Shiller wasn't the only one who could predict that Little Spider would want to go out after his exams. Of course, the genius Tony Stark could too.
Stark had a legitimate reason for finding Little Spider. Peter's self-developed Spider Silk Launcher showed Stark his scientific potential. He planned to talk to Peter about interning at Stark Group during his vacation. This way, Stark could take the opportunity to make him a Spider-Man suit.
Though Stark was arrogant, he knew his limits. He knew he couldn't just show up in his Iron Armor at Little Spider's school; that would be too shocking. So, he waited for Peter to finish his exams and go out for a stroll, and they could et in the New York City sky again.
His plan was well laid out, but unfortunately, Peter chose romance over his superhero career. Iron Man hovered around in the New York sky for quite a while but didn't see the figure swinging between the buildings.
Although he didn't encounter Spider-Man, he did run into soone else who was also looking for him.
Captain Arica could move between buildings without the help of Spider Silk. Unlike Peter, the young boy, Captain Arica's power had been refined over ti. He had better control over his body than anyone else.
Before he could locate the 'kid' Shiller had ntioned, he saw a flashy, red and gold cha fly by him.
Steve, perched on the rooftop of a high-rise building, watched as the cha hovered mid-air, and a voice transmitted from across:
"Look at that, who's the little hero we have here? Isn't it enough to have one Spider-kid swinging around New York? What's your code na? Aryan Superman?"
Steve replied, "I thought modern people would be more polite. So, who are you? An Iron Warrior in a turtle shell?"
"You don't know Iron Man? Where have you been? Don't tell , you were blinded by the glory of my cool armor, hahaha."
Iron Man had indeed gained so fa in New York. Stark's rough rescue thods, combined with his flashy armor, had caught everyone's attention. A group of fans even organized a website, making him well-known across Arica.
"I am indeed an old relic," said Steve.
"But at least I know it's polite to introduce oneself. Shouldn't you tell your na before you speak?"
Stark didn't mind revealing his true identity; after all, he could tell that the man in front of him also had special abilities. Ordinary people couldn't jump several ters in a single bound.
As both of them were in the sa profession, secrecy didn't matter much. He said, "As you see, I'm Stark. Who else could develop such an impressive cha but the owner of Stark Industries?"
Steve's face suddenly changed, he said, "You are Stark? ...Your surna is Stark?"
"What's your relationship with Howard Stark?"
The cha landed in front of him and replied, "Don't ntion that na. What does it have to do with you and , you freak?"
"You have no connection with him, yet you inherited Stark Industries..." Steve's face grew increasingly strange.
Before Stark could continue his sarcastic remarks, a huge force slamd into him, sending him flying.
Indeed, Captain Arica was not like the current Spider-kid. In the comics, he had shattered Stark's armor more than once. Stark's current armor had not undergone several upgrades and improvents; Iron Man was far from his peak, but Captain Arica always maintained his peak performance.
A string of sparks exploded inside Mark 5. Jarvis raised an ergency alarm. Stark, shocked and appalled, tried to manipulate his cha to break free. He had never encountered such a monster before. Steve's strength made the advanced alloy shell feel as brittle as a cookie.
With his arms around Stark's waist, Steve pinned him to the ground. Next, he swung his fist. A few punches shattered the cha's face guard. As Jarvis sent frantic warnings, Stark yelled angrily, "Electric shock!!"
Jarvis said, "An electric burst will result in the armor's breakdown."
"I said, initiate the electric shock!"
With a loud crash, the Mark 5 burst into dazzling electrical light, and Steve was sent flying. Stark was even worse off, ejected directly from the cha and landed on the ground.
Both of them turned pitch black, their hair standing on end from the shock.
"You damn thief!" Steve snapped.
Stark shot back, "You're a psychopath! Why did you suddenly attack? I don't even know you!"
"Well, I was a friend of Old Stark!"
Steve hoisted himself up quickly, grabbed Stark by the collar, and demanded, "How did you co by Stark Industries? Where did Howard's descendants go? What did you do to him?"
Jarvis suddenly piped up in Stark's earpiece: "Based on Mr. Schiller's micro-expression analysis logic, there might be a huge misunderstanding here."
Stark abruptly turned off his earpiece, "Is there a need for reading micro-expressions right now?!"
He glared at Steve, and despite being grabbed by the collar, he haughtily shook his head and said, "I wonder if you can't understand English, when did I ever say I have no connection with Howard..."
Steve gave him a look as if he were an idiot, like an old man with mory loss.
"Damn! I did say it, but I didn't an it that way!"
Stark shifted his gaze to the side, grudgingly admitting, "He is my father, but my genius creations have nothing to do with him..."
Steve flung Stark onto the ground with an exasperated toss, eliciting a painful yell from him.
Steve, arms crossed, retorted, "You're nothing like Howard. Your father was a brave warrior, whereas you, do you even know how much people despise you?"
Indeed, Stark's arrogance was engraved deep in his bones. Anyone who saw him wouldn't think he was easy to deal with.
Stark sat up, shouted aloud, "Are you suffering from hysteria? How could you possibly know my father? Is it sothing from your past life?"
Steve couldn't be bothered to explain. After heading out tonight, he didn't run into his target, but instead t Howard's descendant, a twisted version of his old friend's offspring. This made Steve rather irritable.
Suddenly, Steve heard a gust of wind. But being lost in thought, his reaction was a tad slow. A cha scooped him up and tossed him off the building.
This height wouldn't kill Captain Arica. After Steve hit the ground and rolled twice, he saw Stark at the rooftop. Stark looked at him mockingly while his new cha was armoring him. The face guard rose, and Stark stated, "It seems you might indeed be a friend of my father, given my friends wouldn't react as slow as you."
After finishing his taunt, he flew away.
Fuming, Steve slamd his fist into the ground.
This led to the scene of Steve berating Stark in Dr. Schiller's therapy office.
If Stark was just a stranger, Steve wouldn't have been so infuriated. But rembering he once fought side-by-side with Howard, thinking about how his old friend's son had turned out this way, Steve was furious and a little ashad. He felt he hadn't fulfilled his educational duties.
After Steve left, Coulson gave Schiller a call.
"Dr. Schiller, I have to admit, my previous praise might have been politeness, but now it absolutely isn't."
"The Captain suddenly turned spirited. He returned and imdiately hit the training room, beating up more than a dozen trainers. Director Nick discussed setting up a special operations team with him, and he readily agreed. He even requested a special training room."
"My God, Captain Arica, he's reborn!"
Schiller chuckled, "The emotions that drive people forward aren't just responsibility or lofty ideals. Anger could do it, too."
Coulson, sowhat puzzled, asked, "The Captain does seem a bit angry. What happened? Did he run into trouble?"
"He indeed has a small problem, but it's not sothing you guys can solve."
After saying this, Schiller hung up. His doorbell rang. Peter, wearing his school blazer and carrying his school bag, opened the clinic door and waved at Schiller, "Hey! Doc, you'll never believe the amazing party I just went to..."
Looking at Peter, Schiller could see that Peter had been drinking, seemingly just returned from a party. He probably didn't dare to go ho slling of alcohol, so he ran here. Schiller noted, "You should really thank Stark. He took a beating for you..."
The puzzled Little Spider asked, "What?!"
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