"I've never met anyone as obnoxious as him. I swear, if he'd been on the battlefield, his commanding officer would've shot him a hundred times over!"
Steve paced back and forth in the middle of Doctor Schiller's psychiatric clinic living room. With his hands on his hips and his fists waving, he loudly voiced his opinion. He looked like an enraged lion, his military bearing on full display.
"I really should've given him a waist-lock takedown and seen whether that damn iron shell of his was as fragile as glass!"
Why Steve was so angry had to be explained starting from last night...
Last night, Peter finished his final exams. Naturally, he was itching to roam around New York. The past few weeks of studying had practically suffocated him, and he missed the feeling of swinging through the cool breeze above New York more than anything.
But lately, his relationship with Gwen had been heating up quickly. After the exams, Gwen naturally invited him to a party. She felt Peter was a little too withdrawn and ought to interact with his classmates more, so she insisted on dragging him along to the post-exam celebration.
Peter wanted to be a superhero, but heroes fell in the arms of beautiful women. He liked Gwen far too much. In the end, Peter accepted Gwen's invitation, and the two happily went to the party together.
Doctor Schiller wasn't the only one who could predict that Spider-Man would come out for a stroll after his exams. There was also the genius Tony Stark.
Stark had serious business with Spider-Man. Peter's homemade web-shooters had shown Stark his potential for research, and Stark planned to talk to Peter about interning at Stark Industries during the holidays. While he was at it, Stark could make him a Spider-Man suit.
Though Stark was arrogant, he had his limits. He knew he couldn't fly his Iron Man suit right into Spider-Man's school—that would be far too sensational. So, he waited for Peter to finish his exams and come wandering around, so they could meet again in the skies over New York City.
It was a fine plan, but unfortunately, Peter chose romance over his superhero career. Iron Man wandered through New York's skies for quite a while without spotting that familiar figure swinging between skyscrapers.
Although he didn't run into Spider-Man, by sheer coincidence, he bumped into someone else who was also searching for Spider-Man.
Captain America didn't even need webbing to leap between skyscrapers. He was nothing like a green kid such as Peter. Captain America's strength had been honed through countless trials, and his control over his own body surpassed anyone else's.
Before he could find the swinging kid Schiller had mentioned, he saw a flashy red-and-gold armored suit fly over to him.
Steve stopped atop a high-rise building. The armored suit hovered in midair, and a voice came from across from him.
"Well, look at this. Where did another little hero come from? Wasn't one swinging Spider-Boy in New York enough? What's your codename? Aryan Superman?"
"I thought modern people would be more polite," Steve said. "And who are you? An iron warrior wearing a turtle shell?"
"You don't know Iron Man? What kind of antique are you? Don't tell me you've been dazzled blind by the brilliance of my cool armor. Ha ha."
Iron Man had indeed become somewhat famous in New York. Though Stark's rescues were often simple and rough, his armor was simply too cool. Countless bystanders had recorded Iron Man's heroic figure, and a small group of fans had even organized a website dedicated to him. This had earned him considerable fame across America.
"I am indeed an antique," Steve said.
"But I at least know people should have manners. Before speaking, shouldn't you tell me your name first?"
Stark didn't mind revealing his true identity. He could tell that the person before him possessed special abilities too. After all, ordinary people couldn't jump over ten meters in a single leap.
Since they were both in the same line of work, there was no point worrying about exposure. He said, "As you can see, I'm Stark. Other than the owner of Stark Industries, who else could develop armor this impressive?"
Steve's expression suddenly changed. "You're Stark?... Your surname is Stark?"
"What is your relationship with Howard Stark?"
The armored suit descended. "Don't mention that name to me, you freak. What does he have to do with me?"
"You have nothing to do with him, yet you inherited Stark Industries..." Steve's expression became even stranger.
Before Stark could continue mocking him, a tremendous force slammed into him and sent him flying backward.
Captain America was certainly not the Spider-Man of today. In the comics, he had smashed Stark's armor more than once. Stark's armor had yet to undergo multiple upgrades and modifications, and Iron Man was still far from his peak. But Captain America had always remained at his peak.
A burst of sparks erupted inside Mark V, and Jarvis issued an emergency warning. Stark was utterly stunned as he tried to control the armor and break free. He had never encountered such a monster before. Steve's strength made even the advanced metal alloy shell seem as brittle as a cookie.
Steve grabbed him around the waist and pinned Stark to the ground. Then he swung his fists. Within a few punches, the armor's faceplate shattered. Jarvis sounded alarms frantically as Stark shouted furiously, "Electrocute him directly!!"
"Discharging that much current will render the armor unusable."
"I said, activate the electric shock directly!"
With a boom, Mark V flashed with brilliant electricity all over its body. Steve was blasted away, but Stark had it even worse. The armor ejected him in an emergency, and he fell to the ground.
Both of them were covered in soot, their hair standing on end from the electricity.
"You damn thief!" Steve said.
"You lunatic! Why did you suddenly attack me? I don't even know you!"
"But I was friends with old Stark!"
Steve quickly got back to his feet and grabbed Stark by the collar. "How exactly did you get Stark Industries? Where did Howard's descendants go? What did you do to them?"
Jarvis suddenly said through Stark's earpiece, "According to the microexpression analysis logic provided by Mr. Schiller, there may be a major misunderstanding here."
Stark yanked off his earpiece and said, "Do we even need to read microexpressions in this situation?!"
He looked at Steve. Though he was being held by the collar, he still shook his head proudly. "I suspect you don't understand English. When did I say I had nothing to do with Howard..."
Steve looked at him as if he were an idiot, like a senile old man with terrible memory loss.
"Damn it! I did say that, but that wasn't what I meant!"
Stark turned his eyes aside and reluctantly admitted, "He was my father, but my genius creations have nothing to do with him..."
Steve flung his arm forward and tossed Stark to the ground, making him cry out in pain.
With his arms folded, Steve said, "You're nothing like Howard. Your father was a brave warrior, but you... Do you know how irritating you are?"
Indeed, Stark's arrogance was etched into his bones. Anyone who saw him would never think he was easy to get along with.
Stark sat up and shouted, "Are you suffering from hysteria? How could you possibly know my father? Was it in a past life or something?"
Steve couldn't be bothered explaining. He had gone out tonight without finding the target he was looking for, only to encounter Howard's descendant instead. And that descendant of his old friend seemed to have turned out crooked. It made Steve extremely irritated.
Suddenly, Steve heard the sound of rushing wind. But immersed in thought, he reacted a moment too slowly. An armored suit swooped down, grabbed him, and hurled him off the building.
That height wasn't enough to kill Captain America. After landing, Steve rolled twice, then saw Stark standing on the rooftop, looking down at him with a mocking expression. A new suit of armor then assembled around him. The faceplate lifted, and Stark said, "It seems you really might have been friends with my father. After all, none of my friends would react as slowly as you."
Then he flew away.
Steve slammed his fist into the ground in fury.
That was how Steve ended up cursing Stark out in Doctor Schiller's psychiatric clinic.
If Stark had merely been a stranger, Steve naturally wouldn't have been so angry. But he had fought side by side with Howard. Thinking that his old friend's son had become like this made Steve both furious and somewhat ashamed, as though he had failed in his duty to teach him properly.
After Steve left, Coulson called Schiller.
"Doctor Schiller, I have to admit that some of my previous praise may have been polite flattery. But none of it is now."
"The captain suddenly became full of energy. The moment he returned, he ran to the training room and beat up more than a dozen instructors. Director Nick spoke to him about forming a special operations team, and he agreed immediately. He even asked the agency to prepare a special training room for him."
"My God, Captain America has been reborn!"
Schiller smiled. "The emotions that drive people to improve themselves don't necessarily have to be a sense of responsibility or lofty ideals. They can also be anger."
Coulson said, somewhat confused, "The captain did seem a little angry. What happened to him? Did he run into some trouble?"
"He did run into a little trouble, but it isn't something you can solve."
After saying that, Schiller hung up. His doorbell rang, and Peter, wearing his school jacket and carrying his backpack, opened the clinic's door. He waved at Schiller and said, "Hey, Doctor, you'd never believe what an amazing party I just went to..."
Schiller looked him over. Peter had clearly been drinking and had probably just returned from the party. He likely didn't dare go home smelling of alcohol, so he came here instead. Schiller said, "You really should thank Stark. He took a beating for you..."
Spider-Man stared at him blankly. "What?"
Before you continue