[After escaping from danger, Spider-Man couldn't help but cough twice. He sat there, gasping for air, only to spot the Vulture perched atop the factory, waiting for the right moment to strike.]
[The plane from Stark Tower had begun its takeoff. Mason immediately commanded, "Initiate interception! Move, move!"]
["Oh yeah!" Vulture let out an excited cheer. Activating the thrusters on his mechanical wings, he prepared to chase after the plane, completely unaware of the figure below.]
[The young Spider-Man sprinted forward, launching himself into the air with his webs. At the last second, he latched onto Vulture's wings and was carried upward with him.]
[The plane's crew, oblivious to the stowaway, pressed a button. "Reflection panel activated!"]
[A device extended from the belly of the aircraft, projecting an illusion that mimicked the surrounding buildings and sky, causing the entire plane to blend seamlessly into the night.]
[Vulture, flying close behind, locked onto his target. "I see the plane! But I'm feeling some resistance!"]
[Mason dismissed his concern. "Probably just turbulence from the new turbine."]
[Vulture briefly glanced over his shoulder but missed Spider-Man every time. The young hero deftly swung to the opposite side just in time to stay out of sight. Shrugging off the feeling, Vulture continued his pursuit.]
[As he was carried higher and higher, Spider-Man let out an involuntary scream. Luckily, the wind swallowed his voice, keeping Vulture none the wiser.]
[With the plane growing closer, Mason issued another warning. "Watch out for invisible surveillance! Stay in their blind spots!"]
[Vulture increased his speed, positioning himself beneath the aircraft. Spider-Man, gripping his web tightly, slammed into the plane's exterior but failed to secure a proper hold.]
["Oh my God! Oh my God!" he yelped, barely managing to grab hold before the fierce winds could fling him away.]
[Mason smirked. Finally, the big score he had dreamed of was within reach. "Activate the high-altitude vacuum sealing device!"]
["This thing better work, Mason!" Vulture grumbled as he curled up into a ball. His mechanical wings folded around him, sealing him against the plane's outer shell.]
["Relax, boss! Even the cargo inside has lifetime insurance, just like us!" Mason reassured him with confidence, certain his design was foolproof.]
[Ignoring Mason's rambling, Vulture installed the quantum energy cube onto the aircraft's hull. A shimmering portal materialized, allowing him to step inside.]
[Still clinging to the plane, Spider-Man tried to shoot his web, but the increasing speed sent powerful gusts that kept blowing his webbing away.]
[The force of the wind threatened to rip him off the aircraft entirely. Even when he managed to shoot another web, it failed to secure him.]
[In a last-ditch effort, he latched onto the plane's tail section, escaping the worst of the headwind and narrowly avoiding being blown away.]
"Wait… this is actually an invisible plane?! Damn, Tony Stark is something else!"
"Damn it, Happy! Why did he hang up on Ned?"
"This is bad… I really hope Spider-Man can turn this around!"
Spectators marveled at the aircraft's technology, while others grumbled over Happy Hogan's incompetence. But the majority were concerned for Spider-Man's safety—without a parachute, a fall from this height would be catastrophic.
Meanwhile, Ned, the only one who could have contacted Happy or anyone else for help, had been caught by his teacher. There was no way he was getting out of that situation anytime soon, leaving Spider-Man completely on his own.
Everyone watching couldn't help but feel a deep sense of worry for him.
[Inside the cabin, Vulture made his way toward the cockpit. Mason's voice crackled over comms, "You've got 30 seconds to override their security systems!"]
[Vulture placed a gravity device on the cockpit door and yanked it open, tearing it clean off its hinges.]
[Outside, Spider-Man struggled toward the vacuum sealing device, searching for a way to pry it open.]
[Inside, Vulture had begun seizing control of the plane. Plugging in a data line, he initiated the process to override its transponder signal.]
[Mason monitored the progress. "Deploying the decoy drone now!"]
[Just as Spider-Man was about to make his move, a drone suddenly emerged from the plane's wing, startling him.]
["Uploading new coordinates," Vulture muttered as he adjusted the plane's course. The drone, left behind, continued broadcasting the original flight path to deceive air traffic controllers.]
[By the time the authorities noticed the discrepancy, Vulture would have already taken full control of the plane. It was a well-thought-out plan—except they had overlooked one crucial factor: Spider-Man.]
[Back at Stark Industries, Happy Hogan turned to a staff member and asked, "All good? The plane's on course?"]
["Yes, sir! Flight path is exactly as expected," the technician confirmed, glancing at the live data feed.]
["Great! Everything's running smoothly," Happy said, nodding in satisfaction as he stood in an empty room, completely unaware of what was happening.]
"Oh, Happy…" Pepper groaned, covering her face in frustration.
"I swear, I'm installing alarms and surveillance on all unmanned aircraft from now on! This is ridiculous!"
Tony Stark's voice was laced with irritation. The fact that the plane had been hijacked so easily was unacceptable. Even if the quantum energy cube played a role, the lack of real-time monitoring inside the cabin was a glaring issue.
This needed fixing—immediately.
Tony exhaled sharply. Ever since he had started paying attention to Spider-Man, his to-do list had grown exponentially. And every single item on that list was urgent.
Banner, who had been quietly observing Tony's frustration, finally spoke up. "Maybe we should enhance artificial intelligence security? That might prevent this kind of thing in the future. That little cube is too powerful to leave loopholes like this."
Tony snapped his fingers. "That's actually a solid idea. Banner, we should simulate all possible outcomes of Ultron's creation and correct any flaws."
Banner nodded in agreement. They had previously put a stop to all Ultron-related projects out of caution, but now it seemed like a mistake to abandon the idea entirely. They needed a new AI assistant—fast.
Simply relying on J.A.R.V.I.S. was no longer sufficient. The number of automated systems Tony had developed, including long-range combat drones, had grown too large for a single AI to manage efficiently.
Originally, Tony had planned on designing an unmanned Iron Man suit, but Banner had argued that drones were more practical—smaller, faster, and easier to deploy.
As for additional long-range support and backup armor? That would have to wait until they could refine their technology further.
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