Peter had not expected the first news he saw upon returning home to be that Tony had gotten beaten up—and he had not even discovered it by watching TV himself.
It started with an email Mary Jane suddenly sent him, asking whether he had time to help review a news draft. Peter had been sorting through the materials Otto had left behind at Web-Slinger Base when he received the message, and found it rather strange.
I can't write news copy. Why send it to me?
Mary Jane's explanation was, "It involves scientific terminology."
Peter opened the news report. What greeted him was a recorded news broadcast, showing what had happened to Tony after he finished showing Peter around Avengers Base.
A group of people had gathered outside Stark Industries to protest. They were undoubtedly people who had suffered various financial losses because of the Arc Reactor blackout incident, and some had even come simply because Stark Industries' stock had fallen. They had waited there for Tony to drive to Stark Industries headquarters.
Tony had come this time solely to show support for Stark Industries. He had long since stepped down as the company's president, so he was only there to encourage the company and Pepper Potts. He drove his luxury car to the entrance of Stark Industries. He brought no bodyguards and no driver—though theoretically, those were actually the same person—and simply walked toward headquarters. The entire process was naturally covered by major media outlets, including reporters from the Daily Bugle.
Then, an elderly-looking woman rushed out from the roadside and splashed some unknown liquid from her cup all over Tony. Tony froze on the spot and looked at the woman.
"According to reports, this woman's son had been undergoing a critical operation at the hospital when Tony Stark's Arc