Peter Parker stood at the entrance to Stark Industries headquarters, looking up at the glass curtain wall building that gleamed coldly in the morning light, feeling that he had probably used up all the courage he had in his life on that bedroom door yesterday.
He was wearing a decent plaid shirt, carrying the same backpack he'd used since his freshman year of high school, the straps worn raw, and clutching the metal disc Tony Stark had tossed to him yesterday.
Peter a deep breath and went inside.
The lobby was more spacious than he had imagined. Warm-colored LED strips were embedded in the high ceiling, and a female receptionist in a dark gray business suit stood at the front desk. Seeing Peter walk in, she immediately stepped forward with an impeccable professional smile on her face.
Hello, how can I help you?
"Uh, hello, my name is Peter Parker. Mr. Stark told me to come today..." Peter somewhat awkwardly.
The receptionist's eyes immediately became respectful. "Oh, it's Mr. Parker. Mr. Stark has already given instructions. Please follow me."
She led Peter through the spacious hall.
The moment the door opened, Tony Stark was leaning against the reception desk, looking at his phone and holding a steaming cup of coffee. He glanced up at the doorway, put down his coffee, and waved to Peter.
"Come here. I'll take you to meet people."
Peter hurried after them, and before he could even put his backpack down, Tony led him into a spacious office area at the end of the corridor. The office was brightly lit with glass partitions, and several people in casual clothes were busy with their own tasks. One of the women, leaning against the window, was the first to notice them. She had neat red hair and was holding a data tablet. Her gaze moved from the screen to Peter's face, and then she slightly raised an eyebrow.
"This is Peter Parker," Tony casually pointed to the side, "A new intern from Queens. He might be working with our field team in the future."
Peter took a deep breath, trying to keep his speech at a normal human pace. He raised his hand, making an odd gesture somewhere between a wave and a salute, and forced a slightly stiff smile, "Hello, I'm Peter Parker. Nice to meet you."
Natasha looked at him, a very faint smile playing on her lips, a smile somewhere between amusement and admiration. She placed the tablet on the windowsill and held out her hand to him. " Natasha Romanoff. Just call me Natasha."
Natasha turned to Tony. "Is he the one you found?"
"Right."
He looked like he was about to faint from nervousness.
"I know. He'll get used to it."
Natasha withdrew her hand, picked up the tablet from the windowsill again, and scanned Peter from head to toe with a scrutinizing gaze before nodding slightly. "I hope you made the right choice."
For the next hour, Tony led Peter through the main areas of the SSC headquarters. The research labs were where Tony spent the most time. Ivan was currently squatting at a workbench in the corner, adjusting an arc generator, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his brow furrowed so deeply it could trap a mosquito. Banner was sitting in front of the holographic screen, comparing temperature curves one by one. Hearing footsteps, he turned around, glanced at Peter, and gave Peter a gentle smile.
Peter's eyes lit up the moment Peter saw Banner. He had excerpts from Bruce. Dr. Banner's academic papers pasted on his bedroom wall. He resisted the urge to recite the abstracts and simply nodded earnestly, " Dr. Banner, hello. Your anti-gamma pulse theory has been very inspiring to me."
Ivan looked up from behind the workbench and said something to Tony in Russian. Tony translated, "He said you look much smarter than your thesis."
Banner patted Peter on the shoulder and said in an extremely patient tone, "Don't be nervous, child. We don't eat people."
After leaving the lab, Tony led him on a tour of the training area, logistics dispatch center, and intelligence analysis room, finally stopping outside the SSC's main control room. Peter stared wide-eyed at the rows of densely packed data monitoring screens through the glass wall. JARVIS was standing in front of the control panel checking the day's satellite orbit data. Seeing Tony approach, he turned around and gave Peter a slight nod. "Good afternoon, Mr. Parker. I'm JARVIS, welcome to SSC headquarters. Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions."
Peter opened his mouth, then finally uttered a very serious self-introduction. "Hello, Mr. JARVIS. My name is Peter Parker. I'm Mr. Stark's intern."
After the tour, Tony led Peter to sit down in the rest area.
About an hour later, Tony stood up, straightened his coat, and said he would take him to meet two people.
Peter followed Tony down the corridor into a quiet lounge. Steve and Bucky were already waiting there. Steve stood by the window, his arms crossed over his chest, while Bucky sat in an armchair, the joints of his mechanical arm humming softly. Seeing Tony enter, Steve straightened up slightly. Bucky looked up, his gaze lingering on Tony's face before settling on Peter behind him.
"Is this the person you were looking for?" Steve asked, his tone devoid of contempt, simply a confirmation.
"Yes. Peter Parker. From Queens." Tony patted Peter on the shoulder, not hard, but Peter almost choked on his saliva.
"He looks about fifteen years old," Bucky said.
Tony ignored him and just looked at Steve. "Tomorrow. Same place. Two against two."
He paused, then said, "Win or lose, the past is the past."
Steve nodded. "Okay."
The following evening, the abandoned industrial area was exceptionally quiet in the twilight. This old factory area on the outskirts of the city had been out of use for more than a decade. The empty factory buildings cast long shadows in the setting sun, and the broken glass windows reflected the orange-red afterglow.
Peter stood beside an overturned bulldozer, already dressed in his new uniform. The red and blue color scheme was a far cry from his previous hoodie, and the spider emblem on his chest glowed faintly in the twilight. He was warming up with small jumps in place, his mind racing with tactics.
Tony stood beside him, his armor fully covering his body except for his visor. "Less talk, more brain. Your mission is to hold Bucky back. His mechanical arm is very strong, but your reaction speed is faster. Don't engage him head-on; use your mobility to outmaneuver him. Leave the captain to me."
Peter nodded without saying a word.
Tony sighed and closed his armor. Steve and Bucky emerged from the shadows of the factory across the street, Vibranium Shield in hand, their steps steady. Bucky followed beside him, his mechanical arm gleaming coldly silver in the afterglow of the setting sun.
There was no countdown, no referee, no unnecessary chatter. The battle began the instant their eyes met in mid-air.
Tony made the first move. His thrusters erupted with a blinding golden tail flame, and he transformed into a golden-red meteor, hurtling straight toward Steve. His palm pulse cannon was fully charged during the dive, and he blasted it into the center of the shield. The shockwave exploded, scattering debris in all directions.
Steve caught the blow steadily, flipped his shield outward to dissipate the remaining force, and then swung the shield back at Tony's side.
Tony dodged to the side, slightly adjusted the thruster angle, and his entire body drew an arc in the air, circling over Steve's head and behind him, before unleashing another shot. Steve had anticipated this move; he knew Tony's aerial combat habits all too well.
He turned ahead of time, shield already held in front of his chest, taking the second pulse cannon shot head-on, his feet carving two shallow furrows in the concrete ground.
Meanwhile, Peter and Bucky's duel also unfolded on the flanks.
Peter moved with incredible speed through the factory ruins, webs shooting out from the launchers on his wrists, one after another aimed at Bucky. His tactics were clear: no direct attacks, but rather restricting movement. The webs precisely stuck to Bucky's mechanical arm elbow joint, and Bucky pulled, the Silk snapping instantly. But in that instant, a second Silk blocked his path.
Bucky ducked to avoid it, but his ankle was still wrapped in spider Silk, causing a half-second delay in his movements. Peter seized that half-second, swung over Bucky's head, and was thrown out like a pendulum, flipping a full circle in the air, and then... crashed into a rusty steel beam.
He clutched his head and yelled, but the next second he reflexively shot out Silk that stuck to Bucky's wrist, using the force to bounce back, his feet landing on Bucky's mechanical arm, and he landed steadily with a backflip.
Bucky glanced down at his wrist, which was entangled in Silk, then looked at the boy rubbing his head, a faint hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.
He didn't speak, but simply used his robotic arm to forcefully break free of the Silk, then punched Peter's landing spot. The concrete ground shattered, and debris flew everywhere. Peter was propelled away in that instant, the Silk sticking to the steel frame of the factory roof in the distance, and he was lifted into the air.
Meanwhile, the battle between Tony and Steve had reached a fever pitch. The two fought from inside the factory to the rubble-covered open area outside, the sounds of shields clashing against pulse cannons echoing continuously. Steve used the factory ruins as cover to keep closing in on Tony.
Tony's thrusters constantly changed angles in the air, unleashing a barrage of palm cannons and shoulder-mounted micro-missiles, but each time they were blocked by the shield or evaded by Steve's movement. The moment Tony flew low overhead, Steve leaped up, the edge of his shield slamming into the shoulder armor of the suit.
The Gold-Titanium Alloy clanged with a piercing metallic sound, and Tony was thrown backward by the force, barely managing to regain his balance only after his thrusters ignited. "You really hit hard," he gasped, a hint of gritted teeth in his voice. Steve stood firm on the rubble, shield in front of him, and replied, "You were the one who said we should fight."
An unexpected turn of events occurred on the flank. During his pursuit of Peter, Bucky's path was blocked by a dense web of spider webs. Peter had laid out crisscrossing Silk between several steel beams beforehand, luring Bucky into the trap during the high-speed chase.
Layers upon layers of Silk formed a massive, three-dimensional net, trapping Bucky inside. Bucky tried to tear and rip at it with his robotic arm, but the web's resilience far exceeded his expectations. Coupled with Peter's continuous firing of new Silk from various angles, Bucky was momentarily immobilized.
Taking advantage of Steve's momentary distraction as he glanced at Bucky, Tony activated all his thrusters, his gold and red figure swooping down at maximum power, simultaneously unleashing two cannonballs from his palms. Steve raised his shield to block, the shockwave exploding on the shield's surface.
At the same time, Bucky, who had just broken free of the spider web, rushed out from the flank, his mechanical arm swinging up and slamming into Tony's side. Tony was sent flying by the sudden impact, rolling twice on the gravel before regaining his balance, as damage reports from inside his visor began to sound.
But Bucky's offensive wasn't over yet. The moment Tony regained his footing, he activated his thrusters and fired a shot at Bucky's mechanical arm. The impact sent Bucky flying several meters. Steve seized the opportunity to rush forward, his shield aimed straight at Tony's face. Tony raised his hand and used the back of his armor to block the blow, the sound of metal clashing sharp and piercing. The three grappled together, the gravel ground cratered and uneven, the outcome uncertain for a moment.
Peter then swung down from the height. He adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed beside Tony, and the two fought side by side.
Steve and Bucky exchanged a glance. Without any further movement, they started moving almost simultaneously.
Steve charged forward head-on, shield held horizontally in front of him, his steps steady and swift; Bucky flanked from the side, his mechanical arm drooping low, dragging a screeching metallic sound across the gravel ground. Tony's thrusters ignited suddenly, propelling him into the air to evade Steve's first shield charge.
In that instant, Peter fired two strands of Silk, precisely sticking to Bucky's mechanical arm elbow joint. Using the force, he yanked hard, launching himself into the air like a Slingshot. He spun and adjusted his posture in mid-air, as Silk gushed out from the wrist launchers, like a fishing net falling from the sky and enveloping Steve. Steve reacted extremely quickly, raising his shield to block most of the Silk, but a few strands still stuck to his shoulder.
Peter used the recoil from the block to propel himself forward again, bouncing back and forth among the factory ruins. Each time he landed, he jumped again in less than a fraction of a second, moving so fast that his afterimages were seamless.
Bucky gave chase, his robotic arm smashing through beam after beam, but Peter was too agile, slipping away each time before he could get away.
Steve's rhythm was disrupted by the Silk, and Tony seized the opportunity to swoop down from high altitude, his thrusters at full power, his palm cannons fully charged, and both cannons slammed into the front of the shield simultaneously. The shield was finally shaken off his hand, spun a few times in the air, and then embedded itself in a pile of rubble in the distance.
Steve turned to grab the shield, Peter had already anticipated its landing point. He swung over, shooting out two spiderwebs that stuck to the edge of the shield, and with a strong pull, he pulled the shield into his hand. He glanced down at the shield in his hand, then at Steve, who was still fighting Tony in the distance, and then took a deep breath and, imitating Steve, threw the shield out like a frisbee.
The shield didn't fly towards Steve, but instead flew towards Bucky's feet. Bucky was forced to stop by the attack, his body momentarily pausing. Peter took advantage of this opening to catch up with Tony, and the two landed side by side.
Tony's armor was dented in several places, and the thrusters' exhaust flames were not as stable as before. Peter's breathing was a little rapid, but he didn't say anything more. He just stood quietly beside Tony, adjusting his breathing.
Across from him, Steve retrieved his shield, with Bucky standing beside him. A few Silk spider silk, not yet completely removed, still clung to the joints of the mechanical arm. The sun had completely sunk below the horizon, and the factory's automatic lights hadn't yet been turned on, leaving the entire ruin shrouded in a deep blue twilight. Occasionally, a dog barked in the distance, its sound carried on the evening breeze, making the desolate landscape seem even more bleak.
The four men faced off in pairs, neither making the first move.