The Quinjet's engines roared over the Pacific Ocean. The rear hatch slowly opened, and a howling wind rushed into the cabin. Gold and red armor plunged down like a meteor, and Iron Man landed steadily, his faceplate sliding open with a "whoosh" to reveal Tony Stark's signature, teasing grin.
"Did anyone miss me?"
Looking at his teammates' wind-swept hair and innocent eyes, Tony knew the answer. He just kept smiling and gestured for J.A.R.V.I.S. to close the door.
"That kid's been busy since you left, Tony," Janet said without looking up, her fingers flying across a tablet, monitoring the Avengers Tower's real-time status. "I've never seen anyone so addicted to the 'superhero business.'"
Tony scanned his teammates. Hank Pym (Ant-Man) was still analyzing the data from the smuggled vibranium samples. Bruce Banner wore noise-canceling headphones, probably listening to some calming yoga music. Even Captain America, in the pilot's seat, was unusually distracted, his blue eyes gazing out the window at the empty sky, as if seeking an answer there.
As for Thor, oh, he was probably still in Asgard.
"Well, isn't that great?" Tony shrugged, plunking down next to Steve, feigning a glance at the flight data. "I set things up that way because I didn't want the tower sitting idle—what do you think, Cap?"
"The kid's fine protecting New York. I'm thinking about something else," Steve said, pulling his gaze back. He paused, then continued, "Perhaps we could invite King T'Challa to join the Avengers. I knew his grandfather; we fought side-by-side on the battlefield. I know every Black Panther is a top-tier warrior."
Captain America then added what seemed like a contradictory statement: "But we can't interfere in Wakandan internal affairs. We're not the U.S. government... The biggest problem with this mission might not be the enemy, but politics."
Tony's lips curled into his "I'm omnipotent" smile: "Politics? I've dealt with more politicians than I've researched armors. Trust me, Cap, just an African king, I can handle it."
Hours later, the Avengers' Quinjet was hit by vibranium weapons, smoke billowing as it made an emergency landing deep in Wakanda's dense forest. It looked like they wouldn't be back for at least a month.
Peter, of course, didn't know the Avengers would be offline in New York for several days. As soon as Tony left, he got busy. He tossed his backpack onto the desk, stuffed his old suit inside, and dove into the lab to research a new suit. He even dug out his old, clunky camera and handed it to J.A.R.V.I.S., asking it to please develop the photos inside.
"Alright, let's get to work!" Peter rubbed his hands, his eyes fixed on the rotating old suit model in the holographic projection. His mind raced, giving J.A.R.V.I.S. as many instructions as possible: "J.A.R.V.I.S., keep an eye on New York. Notify me immediately if anything happens. Also, pull up the surveillance footage from the Oscorp Tech Expo on March 12th—can you do that?"
[Mr. Stark has archived relevant data.]
"Figures." Peter wasn't surprised, his fingers swiping across the virtual screen. "Also, list everything Herman stole. I want to see exactly what he took."
A detailed list of stolen items appeared on the desktop. Peter studied the old suit's design and asked, "What material are the Captain's and the others' suits made of?"
[Stark Industries' latest developed high-tensile composite fiber material, its primary structure is...]
"Then use that. But make the web pattern on the red sections 1.2 times larger..." He yanked the projected eye mask, tossing it aside, and redesigned a pair of rounder, white eye lenses to replace the original slender black ones. Although it was his first time operating the system, he picked it up with astonishing speed.
"This looks friendlier, don't you think, J.A.R.V.I.S.?"
[To convey positive emotions, a brighter color palette is recommended.]
"Good idea."
Minutes later, a revitalized Spider-Man emerged from a high-floor restroom in the tower. His new suit's red and blue colors were brighter, and the 3D-printed composite fabric perfectly conformed to his body. New web-like membranes under his armpits allowed for gliding, and his white eye lenses could change size with his facial expressions, conveying his emotions.
The spider emblem on his chest was slightly smaller, and the design on his back transformed from a menacing, sprawling spider to a cute, round one—upon closer inspection, it was actually an ingenious storage device, allowing the suit to automatically fold into a palm-sized spider disc for easy portability.
Hidden pockets were tucked into his waist, replacing his previous awkward utility belt. In the center of his waist was a concealed spider-shaped light, specifically designed for dark environments like sewers. Of course, the coolest feature was the tactical display built into his eye lenses, which could connect to the Avengers' satellites, providing real-time communication and analysis.
In short, it looked like a classic suit but with some high-tech additions. Not only that, but to prevent unforeseen circumstances, Peter made two sets.
"Alright, I'm uploading my keyword retrieval program. I can't believe I memorized the entire code," Peter typed on the projected virtual keyboard. "J.A.R.V.I.S., can you access the Avengers' and NYPD's collaborative network? You should have authorization, right?"
[Hacking of New York police and fire systems complete.]
"Hacking?!" Peter was stunned, surprised the Avengers didn't go through official channels. But now wasn't the time to worry about that; getting the system was paramount. He trusted the NYPD wouldn't mind... right?
"Oh, uh, integrate my program, then match all police and fire department dispatch information, and comprehensively analyze the situation."
Real-time crime alerts immediately projected onto his eye lenses—where a crime occurred, whether police or fire teams could arrive in time, and if the criminals' weapons required Spider-Man's intervention. Everything was clear at a glance. This system would allow him to avoid minor incidents the police could handle themselves, focusing his energy on matters that truly needed Spider-Man.
Next, he pulled up the Oscorp Tech Expo surveillance footage that Stark had somehow obtained. He created a holographic projection model using different camera angles. This investigation method had appeared in Iron Man 3, and now Peter was using it to reconstruct the sequence of events leading to his bite. He got a glass of water from the dispenser and stood by, watching everything reconstructed by the model.
The holographic projection replayed the scene: He and Gwen walked through the exhibits, chatting and laughing. Suddenly, the glass enclosure holding the mutated spider shattered without warning, and the crowd instantly fell into chaos. The image zoomed in, showing Karl King bending down to pick up the spider, then stealthily approaching and pressing the deadly creature onto Peter's neck.
"What caused the exhibit case to shatter?"
[Oscorp database has no relevant records.]
"No records?"
Peter continued watching. He instinctively swatted away the mutated spider that bit him. In a corner of the surveillance footage, a blurry figure suddenly crouched down—but the footage seemed to have been artificially altered, and Peter couldn't make out the person's face.
"Can you pull up information on that person, the one who crouched down?"
[Data is encrypted. Warning: This segment has been externally tampered with.]
Someone modified the information? S.H.I.E.L.D. or Hydra? Uh, might even be the same group of people. Realizing there was no immediate answer, Peter temporarily put this aside and turned to the list of high-tech products Herman had stolen: an exoskeleton spinal neural connector, extreme environment survival gear, a light particle projector...
He pulled up the holographic projection of the light particle projector from the list.
"A fish tank?"
[Light particle projection device, developed by Horizon Labs. Its function is to manipulate light particle reflection to generate virtual images.]
"They stole all prototypes. Someone must be responsible for perfecting them—J.A.R.V.I.S., search for researchers in the field of light particles?"
He didn't find the person he was looking for.
"Or perhaps special effects artists with relevant research?"
J.A.R.V.I.S. seemed to lag for half a second, clearly not expecting such an unconventional line of inquiry, but then quickly pulled up matching files:
Quentin Beck, Hollywood's most creative special effects artist, had been missing for a month.
Found you.
Mysterio.