At the massive wrought-iron gates of Columbia University, a black Rolls-Royce Phantom stood parked by the busy roadside. The suited driver held the rear door open, waiting quietly.
Tony Stark followed Pepper Potts out of the university auditorium, muttering rapidly to J.A.R.V.I.S. through his earpiece.
"Listen, J.A.R.V.I.S. Focus on digging into her digital footprint. Cross-reference the night of the Arsenal Sector 10 explosion in Queens and the two days of the Harlem incident. I want every location ping and encrypted communication record. Don't miss a single detail."
"Sir, I am conducting a deep-level search. However, thus far… I have found zero anomalous traces," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied, a rare note of algorithmic confusion in his steady British voice.
The AI continued, "Ms. Mira Vale's digital identity is flawless. No irregularities in her birth certificate or school records. Her online activity is limited to mundane browsing, video gas, and basic programming studies typical of an ordinary high school student. There is no record of any high-risk cyber operations."
"Impossible," Tony frowned as he slid into the back seat of the Rolls-Royce. He loosened his silk tie with a sharp tug, his face etched with disbelief.
"An ordinary high school student who wrote a neural translation algorithm of that caliber… and her digital footprint is clean as fresh paper? She tampered with it. Keep digging, J.A.R.V.I.S. Find the anomaly even if you have to go three feet under the server."
Pepper settled in beside him. She looked at his obsessive expression and sighed.
"Tony. Can you set that manic scientific curiosity aside for one minute? The stack of congressional inquiry letters on my desk is growing by the hour. The board is holding an ergency eting tomorrow morning. And you're fixated on a random high school girl you don't even know?"
"You don't understand, Potts," Tony raised an eyebrow, his voice full of certainty. "That girl is not simple. The scientific secrets she's carrying are far more interesting than whatever bureaucratic nonsense the board is throwing at ."
Just as he finished speaking, a piercing siren erupted outside the reinforced window. Flashing red and blue lights flooded the car's interior as several NYPD cruisers sped past. The wail of sirens was punctuated by bursts of automatic gunfire.
Tony and Pepper froze. The driver instinctively hit the brakes.
"What's going on?" Pepper asked, peering out the tinted window.
"Sir, there is an ard robbery unfolding three blocks ahead on Queens Boulevard," J.A.R.V.I.S. said, tone turning serious. Real-ti traffic cara footage appeared on the car's digital screen.
"A group of heavily ard robbers ambushed a Federal Reserve transport truck. They killed two security guards, seized the truck, and transferred to a large semi-trailer. They're now driving against traffic on Queens Boulevard, crashing into everything in their path. NYPD is in pursuit. The chase has already caused a major multi-vehicle pileup with nurous civilian injuries."
On the screen, a massive red semi-trailer barreled down the wrong side of the road, forcing civilian cars to swerve desperately. It smashed through guardrails and crumpled vehicles like tin cans. From ti to ti, gun barrels poked out from the cab, firing wildly at the pursuing police cruisers.
"Damn it," Tony's expression darkened.
He yanked the car door open. "Stay in the car. Lock the doors and don't go anywhere."
"Tony! What are you doing?!" Pepper grabbed his arm, voice tight with worry. "The police are handling it!"
"By the ti they handle it, half of Queens will be destroyed." Tony gave her a reckless smirk. "Don't forget, Potts. I'm Iron Man."
He pulled free from her grip, walked to the trunk, and retrieved the MK5 armor briefcase. In seconds, the sleek red-and-silver armor encased his body. The faceplate clicked shut, and the repulsors in his palms flared to life with pale blue flas.
Tony shot vertically into the air like a missile, speeding toward Queens Boulevard.
"Sir, the semi-trailer is traveling at eighty miles per hour and heading toward a densely populated residential area," J.A.R.V.I.S. warned. "The diesel tank is at risk of rupturing. A catastrophic explosion is possible."
"Got it." Tony executed a sharp turn in mid-air and quickly caught up with the runaway truck.
Looking down at the chaos below, he cursed. "What the hell. These guys really don't care about innocent lives."
Just as he prepared to dive down and stop the truck, a bright red-and-blue figure swung out from a nearby skyscraper at lightning speed.
Tony hovered in place, montarily stunned.
The figure wore a cheap, homade red-and-blue spandex suit with a simple mask that left only large white eyes visible. He swung on glowing white webbing, landed gracefully on the roof of the speeding semi-trailer, and moved like a living spider.
It was Spider-Man.
Tony watched with amusent and whistled. "Since when did New York get a hyperactive kid in a spandex spider suit?"
The robbers inside the cab noticed him. One pushed open the sunroof and opened fire.
Peter's Spider-Sense warned him. He rolled across the roof, dodging the bullets effortlessly, then flicked his wrist. Two strands of webbing shot out, ripped the rifle from the robber's hands, and flung it aside.
"Hey! Reckless driving causes tears for your loved ones!" Peter shouted cheerfully from the roof. "Also, firing automatic weapons wildly? Not cool—you might hurt innocent kids!"
Enraged, another robber jerked the steering wheel hard, trying to shake Peter off. The massive truck slamd into the guardrail, sending sparks flying.
Peter's hands and feet stayed firmly stuck to the tal. He didn't budge. He even had ti to wave at the chasing police cars.
Tony laughed. "Not bad. The kid's got moves."
He stopped observing and dove downward. With pinpoint precision, he fired repulsor blasts at the truck's front wheels.
BOOM!
The front tires exploded. The massive semi-trailer lost balance, slamd into the road, and skidded with a long trail of sparks before slowing to a stop.
Seizing the mont, Peter yanked open the cab door, webbed both robbers, and dragged them out. Police imdiately surrounded and arrested them.
Peter brushed dust off his gloves and waved at the approaching officers. As he prepared to swing away, a silver-red figure descended from the sky and landed in front of him.
Iron Man's faceplate retracted, revealing Tony Stark's signature arrogant smirk.
"Not bad, Spider-Kid. You the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?"
Peter froze, completely starstruck.
"I… I… Mr. Stark?! Oh my god! I'm your biggest fan! Your armor is so cool!"
Tony chuckled at the boy's excited stamring.
Before he could reply, J.A.R.V.I.S. cut in with urgent gravity.
"Sir! High-concentration explosives detected inside the cargo trailer. Approximately one ton of ammonium nitrate fertilizer-based explosives with a tid detonator. Three minutes and twenty-five seconds remaining on the countdown."
Tony's smile vanished instantly. "These aren't just robbers. They're terrorists."
The faceplate snapped shut. He moved toward the trailer. Peter followed right behind him.
"Wait, Mr. Stark! I'm coming too!"
Tony blasted the rear door open. Inside, they found stacks of stolen cash and, in the center, a dozen heavy iron drums wrapped in wires and connected to a rapidly ticking digital tir.
02:15.
The pungent sll of ammonium nitrate filled the air.
"Oh my god," Peter muttered, horrified. "I think I get it now. In New York, anyone you pull off the street is either a robber or a terrorist."
"Stop talking and help focus, Spider-Kid," Tony said calmly. He crouched beside the device. "J.A.R.V.I.S., scan the detonator and give the optimal disarming sequence."
After a brief scan, Tony went to work with steady, precise movents. Peter held his breath, webbing ready in case anything went wrong.
The tir dropped to thirty seconds.
Tony remained perfectly calm. At the final mont, he cut the last critical wire.
The tir stopped at 00:03.
"Detonator disabled," J.A.R.V.I.S. confird.
Tony exhaled and stood up. Peter nearly collapsed with relief.
"Mr. Stark! That was god-tier!"
Sirens and cheers filled the air as the NYPD bomb squad arrived. Tony glanced at Peter.
"Leave the rest to the police. Want a lift out of here, Spider-Kid?"
Peter's eyes lit up. "Really? I get to ride with Iron Man?!"
Tony smiled. Just as he was about to reply, J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted again.
"Sir, incoming call from Ms. Pepper Potts. Also, the Stark Industries Materials Lab team has arranged a visit with Dr. Connors tomorrow morning. Additionally… there are new anomalies in the deep search on Ms. Mira Vale that require your attention."
Tony's gaze sharpened. The image of the silver-haired girl and her perfect algorithm flashed through his mind.
New York was becoming far more interesting.
He looked at Peter. "Let's go, Spider-Kid. I'll take you for a spin."
The repulsors flared. The two heroes—one riding plasma flas, the other swinging on webbing—disappeared into the Queens skyline.
anwhile, in a dark alley nearby, Agent Phil Coulson stood quietly watching them depart. He raised his encrypted communicator.
"Director Fury, it's Coulson. The new enhanced individual codenad Spider-Man has made direct contact with Tony Stark. Additionally, Stark has developed significant interest in the mysterious high school girl, Mira Vale—the sa one we're monitoring."
Fury was silent for a mont before replying in his deep voice.
"Keep eyes on both of them. Romanoff and the others are already watching Mira Vale. The puzzle pieces for the Avengers Initiative are falling into place."
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