Gwen kept her word. Between her magic studies and work at the studio, she designed a mask for each of Peter and Harry.
Both were delighted when they received the designs. Peter wanted to head straight to the lab with Harry and make them from materials they already had, but Lin Hai talked him out of it. "We should choose the materials carefully. If we're going to make them, let's make them right." He promised to help Peter find something suitable when he had time.
As those little episodes of daily life settled, early May 2010 arrived.
Spring was nearly over in New York, and the air carried the warmth and restless energy of approaching summer. To Lin Hai, the passage of time showed not only in the changing seasons, but also in the threads of information he kept watching.
Watching the evening news with Gwen after dinner had become a habit. In this era, the first signs of major events often hid in ordinary-looking news reports, business developments, and public debate.
First came the business and technology news. Stark Industries was making its final promotional push for the long-planned Stark Industries Expo.
Television ads, online promotions, street posters... Tony's face was everywhere, along with dazzling trailers that cast the Expo as a vision of the future.
The opening had officially been set for May 28. The stage that was meant to symbolize the Stark family's technological legacy—and that would become a battlefield in Iron Man 2—was almost ready.
Next came the political and military commentary shows. Pundits calling themselves "experts" and "analysts" appeared constantly across the major networks.
Round after round, they debated whether Iron Man suit technology should be nationalized, the risks of allowing a private citizen to possess technology capable of mass destruction, and the United States'