Special Date

Special Date

The party ended hastily, leaving the newly hired personal assistant, Natalie, to see off the guests while Tony headed straight for the workshop.

"J.A.R.V.I.S."

"At your service, sir."

"Look into the relationship between Howard Stark and Anton Vanko.

"Also, Ivan Vanko's Life File."

"Yes, sir."

After giving J.A.R.V.I.S. his orders, Tony went to his station and sat down.

He placed the Arc Reactor taken from Ivan Vanko on the workbench and fell into a daze.

Howard Stark, what kind of man were you?

Did you claim the achievements of two people for yourself just for business interests?

For a moment, Tony's emotions were a tangled mess.

He was a proud man and despised such behavior.

But that man was also his father. Though their relationship had been poor, and they had never truly been close.

"Sir."

J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice sounded.

"The results are in. The information came from the S.H.I.E.L.D. Database and the CIA Database, specifically Howard Stark's autobiography.

"Anton Vanko was Howard Stark's partner. The two jointly developed the Arc Reactor.

"Later, they disagreed over how the finished product should be used.

"Anton Vanko wished to use it for enormous personal profit, while Howard Stark believed it should benefit all humanity.

"Afterward, Anton Vanko secretly sold the reactor technology. He was discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military, and after being exposed, he was deported back to Russia."

"As for Ivan Vanko, I apologize, sir. His information has been altered and cannot be found online.

"I recommend conducting an on-site investigation in Siberia."

Tony let out a long breath.

It seemed he did not need to despise the old man who had been dead for years after all.

As though recalling something, Tony asked, "Ivan Vanko is Russian?"

"Yes, sir."

"Send Natalie in."

"Certainly, sir."

Before long.

A woman entered, standing around five feet seven inches tall, with a voluptuous figure and chestnut-red waves cascading over her shoulders.

"Boss, you wanted to see me?"

The newcomer was none other than the Black Widow, an Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. using the alias Natalie Rushman.

Natasha Romanoff.

The moment Natasha entered the room, Tony turned to look at her.

Only after she came before him and asked did he snap out of it and give his instructions.

"How much do you know about Russia? Send someone to Siberia and investigate Ivan Vanko for me."

"The man who caused trouble at the party just now?"

Though she had heard him clearly, Natasha confirmed it again out of professional habit.

To become a trump card agent, one had to love the job they did.

Tony gave a slight nod. "Yes."

"Understood, boss. Is there anything else?"

"No."

Tony shook his head, indicating that was all.

"Understood, boss. I'll be leaving, then."

With that, Natasha strutted away in her high heels.

After leaving Tony's workshop, Natasha returned to her room.

Her body gave a slight shudder.

Her makeup remained unchanged, but her entire aura shifted from that of a seductive assistant to a cold and glamorous agent.

She opened her computer and convincingly contacted someone to investigate Ivan Vanko in Siberia.

At the same time, she took out an earpiece and put it on. Her fingers appeared to tap absentmindedly, but they were actually striking out a specific rhythm.

She was using Morse Code!

A moment later, the tapping stopped. The message had been sent.

She had already relayed a rough account of what had happened at tonight's party back to S.H.I.E.L.D.

Not long after, a brief message came through the earpiece.

"New orders. Arrange a meeting with Tony Stark."

Natasha tapped on the earpiece, replying in Morse Code.

Beep beep.

"Received."

On the Helicarrier, Nick Fury narrowed his eyes as though deep in thought.

Tony had not refuted what Ivan Vanko said when he left.

It seemed his Palladium Poisoning had become severe.

Then the time had come to try recruiting Iron Man again!

Nick Fury's gaze shifted to a folder on his computer desktop.

The folder was named—Avengers Initiative.

Opening it, he found several files already created inside.

As he looked at the second file—Iron Man Tony Stark—Nick Fury revealed a confident smile.

Then his gaze moved upward, to the first entry—Master Russell of Kamar-Taj—and his brow furrowed.

He had assumed Russell, alone and without influence in New York, would easily run into trouble. There should have been plenty of chances to recruit him.

Who would have thought?

On one hand, Russell kept a low profile and rarely went out; in truth, he had slipped off to Earth-65.

On the other hand, everyone Russell encountered was exceptionally friendly.

Where was the racial discrimination of the Beautiful Country?

And what about the petty thugs and gang members in Queens?

Why had no one caused him any trouble?

After careful observation, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. discovered that Russell seemingly possessed a Mind Ability.

Under his mental suggestions, ordinary people simply could not develop ill will toward him.

Hopefully, after recruiting Tony, they could use him to recruit Russell into the Avengers Initiative as well.

Thud! Thud!

Two figures landed on Natasha's window one after the other.

The first was Gwen, Ghost-Spider.

The second was Russell, Mage Spider-Man.

Tap tap.

Gwen lightly knocked twice on the window and began chattering away.

"Hello, Miss Natalie.

"Your friendly neighborhood Ghost-Spider is here to remind you.

"It's late at night, so remember to rest. Don't stay up too late.

"Even if you still have work to finish, you should still—"

Natasha was speechless inside, but she still smiled. "All right, I understand, Ghost-Spider."

If they did not have unfinished work, would anyone stay up late?

"Then good night, Miss Natalie."

Gwen waved goodbye with easy grace, shot out Spider Silk, and swung away into the night sky.

Natasha softly said, "Good night, Ghost-Spider... Gwen."

Russell tapped on the window in a rhythmic pattern.

He had always envied people who knew Morse Code.

Especially those who could pretend to reach into their pockets to scratch an itch while actually taking the chance to pass along information.

So after becoming extraordinary, Russell had made a point of learning it.

Beep beep beep beep, beep beep beep.

"Sweet dreams, Natasha."

Natasha's expression stiffened.

You're trying to make sure I can't sleep. How am I supposed to have sweet dreams?

After Russell and Gwen left Tony's mansion, they changed into their Spider Suits.

Their date began.

Well, their way of dating was a little unusual.

The two swung back and forth through the night sky.

Together, they fought crime and helped civilians.

With Russell's powerful Perception assisting them,

Wherever there was crime, there was Spider-Man.

Tonight, the friendly neighborhood Spider-Man had descended upon the City of Angels, Los Angeles!

(Tony's mansion was near Los Angeles, California, not New York.)

Los Angeles's bad guys were in for a miserable time.

Hehehe~

Gwen's silver-bell laughter echoed through the skies above Los Angeles.

She was very happy tonight.

For one thing, they had helped many people.

For another, Ghost-Spider finally had a partner.

Gwen Stacy had her father, George Stacy.

But Ghost-Spider had only misunderstandings and doubts.

Ghost-Spider's superhero career over the past two years had not gone smoothly.

Gwen Stacy's life before this had not been easy either.

Until she met you, Russell.

The moonlight was beautiful, but the moon gradually sank behind the western hills.

The wonderful night was slowly drawing to an end.

At the top of the Watts Towers.

Russell and Gwen sat side by side, waiting for the sunrise.

The sun revealed a corner of itself, its crimson glow painting the sky.

"Have you noticed the sky, Gwen?"

"It's beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you."

Russell was the man the Avengers Initiative could only dream of having