As soon as the elevator doors opened, Tony Stark was standing in the center of the conference room, arms crossed, head tilted to the side, staring intently at the doorway.
Peter Parker walked at the front, wearing his T-shirt with the periodic table of elements printed on it, his backpack slung over his shoulder, his hair a mess from the wind.
He was followed by four girls.
A redhead, holding a small notebook, her eyes darting around—Mary Jane Watson.
A blonde woman with a neatly tied ponytail entered and first scanned the positions of everyone present— Gwen Stacy Daisy.
A white-haired man in a black leather jacket, with a lollipop in his mouth— Felicia Hardy.
The last one, pushed in by Mary Jane, was Jessica Drew, who was in a wheelchair.
Tony Stark's right eyelid twitched three times.
He rubbed his temples helplessly, glanced at JARVIS's holographic panel, then looked back at the five people. His mouth opened and closed, then opened again, but in the end, he said nothing.
Peter Parker isn't stupid either.
As soon as he entered, he saw the group of people around the conference table— Captain America Steve, leaning against the table with his shield at his feet.
Black Widow Natasha sat in a chair, legs crossed, scrolling through a tablet.
Hawkeye Clint stood by the window, arms crossed. Dr. Banner sat in the corner, rubbing his temples.
War Machine Rhodey stood to Tony's right, Falcon Sam leaned against the wall, and Black Panther T'Challa sat at the end of the table in casual clothes.
Ant-Man Scott, huddled in the furthest chair, wishing he could shrink to the size of an ant.
Standing beside him was an old man with gray hair— Hank Pym, his face ashen.
Jane Foster sat next to Banner, holding a pink Mjolnir.
Strange hasn't arrived yet.
Everyone assembled.
Peter Parker broke out in a cold sweat.
"That..."
He took two steps toward Tony, twisting the strap of his backpack in his hand.
" Mr. Stark, I'm sorry, I originally wanted you to take a look at Jessica's ALS, to see if there's any way to treat it—"
"Stop."
Tony raised a hand.
He looked at Peter, then at the four girls behind him, and finally his gaze returned to Peter's face, his temples throbbing.
Do they know your identity?
Peter's lips moved, but before he could utter a sound, Gwen Stacy Daisy spoke.
I guessed it.
Gwen Stacy spoke at a flat pace, her hands in her pockets, her chin tilted slightly towards Peter.
"Every time Spider-Man appears in Queens, he's nowhere to be found; every time Spider-Man is injured, he misses school the next day. These coincidences are so obvious, you don't need to be a detective to see them."
Felicia pulled the lollipop out of her mouth and held it up.
"I knew it directly."
Mary Jane pushed Jessica's wheelchair and chuckled softly.
"I cover social news, Parker. There were security cameras in the building next door when you were changing clothes on the rooftop."
Peter's face flushed red inch by inch.
Jessica Drew, sitting in her wheelchair, tilted her head, looking at Gwen Stacy, then at Felicia, then at Mary Jane, and finally at Peter.
"What is your identity?"
The entire conference hall fell silent for a moment.
Felicia put the lollipop back in her mouth and took a crunchy bite.
" Peter is Spider-Man."
Jessica's mouth opened into an "O" shape.
"You—you are—" She whirled around Peter, nearly tilting her wheelchair, "You're Spider-Man?! The Spider-Man who saved me?!"
"It's me..." Peter said weakly.
Tony pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers and pressed it down hard twice.
What sins did he commit in his past life? Each one of them is more troublesome than the last.
"Alright." He waved to the four girls. "You girls, find a corner to sit in, don't touch anything, and don't ask any questions."
We need to have a meeting.
Mary Jane, being quite perceptive, pushed Jessica's wheelchair towards the corner, Gwen Stacy followed, and Felicia was the last to move, glancing back at the conference table before leaving—only to be met with a sharp look from Natasha.
The four girls settled down in the corner.
Jessica was still turning to look at Peter, her face clearly saying, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
Just then, an angry roar suddenly rang out!
" Hank!"
Tony slammed his hand on the conference table, making the whole table vibrate.
The four girls in the corner shrank back simultaneously.
"What do you mean 'you didn't expect this'? Motherfucker—this is the second time you've screwed up in a major mess! Do you even know that?!"
Hank Pym's lips were pressed tightly together, and a wrinkle ran from his forehead to his chin.
" Stark, energy fluctuations in the Quantum Realm are unpredictable—"
"Unpredictable?" Tony took a step forward. "And you, every time you just drop a bomb without warning! It's either Ultron or Kang the Conqueror —don't you think Earth is chaotic enough already?!"
Hank clenched his fist and then relaxed it.
" Ultron is not--"
"Don't tell me you didn't do it on purpose!" Tony's index finger jabbed straight at him. "You think I don't know what you did back in S.H.I.E.L.D..?!"
Steve Rogers stood up straight from the table.
" Tony."
"Now we should be figuring out how to solve this problem, not --"
Tony turned his head abruptly.
That gaze pierced straight through him, and Steve's next words were stuck in his throat.
"And you, Old Popsicle."
Tony lowered his voice, which only made it more frightening.
"I'm busy with all the messy stuff in the Avengers, monitoring major global threats, and the stress test report for the Anti- Celestials armor is still piled up on my desk—and you? You've quietly slipped away to Brooklyn for afternoon tea."
Steve's Adam's apple bobbed.
Tony turned around and slowly scanned the area.
Natasha stopped flipping through the tablet, Clint turned his head away, and Banner stared at the tips of his shoes.
" Disney Orlando, right?" Tony looked at Clint and Natasha, " The Frozen themed area, is it fun?"
Clint's jaw tightened.
Natasha didn't look up, but her fingers, which were scrolling through the tablet, stopped moving.
" Banner." Tony turned to the corner. " Virginia's doing well, having a sweet time with Betty?"
Banner opened his mouth, but didn't say anything.
Aside from T'Challa's calm demeanor, Falcon Sam's hands in his pockets and expressionless face, and Rhodey's deadpan "I'm used to it" attitude, everyone else seemed a little guilty.
Tony looked them over one by one, and finally his gaze settled on Scott Lang.
Scott was slouching in that chair, practically burying his head under the armrest.
Scott.
"Yes--Yes."
"I put you and Vision in charge of supervising that old bastard Hank Pym— " Tony said, emphasizing each word, "And how did you manage to supervise him?"
Scott's mouth moved twice, but no sound came out.
" Vision was captured, but Kang the Conqueror was released instead."
Tony extended a finger and swiped it across the holographic panel, projecting the model file of the purple-green armor into mid-air. Kang's holographic face looked down at everyone from above.
"In my threat strategy, this guy—" he tapped the face with his finger, "Is extremely high threat. Right?"
Scott's Adam's apple bobbed up and down twice.
"Yes... yes."
"Then tell me, what are you thinking?"
"I—that—" Scott stammered, wringing his hands, "I thought it was just Vision and me watching, so nothing too serious would happen, so—I didn't report it—"
"It wasn't reported."
Tony repeated those four words again.
The atmosphere in the conference room suddenly became very quiet, and the air seemed to thicken.
In the corner, Mary Jane Watson unconsciously pushed Jessica's wheelchair back half a step.
Gwen Stacy Daisy's gaze was fixed on the holographic projection of the purple-green armor, her back pressed against the chair back.
The lollipop stick remained stuck between Felicia's teeth, unmoved.
Tony Stark took a deep breath, calmed himself down, and then closed his eyes.
JARVIS.
"Gentlemen."
Where was Vision's last location signal?
The holographic panel flickered.
A series of coordinates popped up, the red numbers bounced twice in the air, and then stopped.
A line of small text was added at the end of the coordinate system.
The signal has been interrupted.
The coordinates displayed in the last frame before the interruption were: New Mexico.