"Nothing bad will happen, right?" Aunt May asked anxiously, gently patting the head of little Peter Parker as he returned home from school.
"I just hope they don't have to go through a security detector during the competition," Natasha added, her brows furrowing slightly at Aunt May's concern.
As a seasoned agent, Natasha understood the risks all too well. Coincidentally, Aunt May was also an agent, and their shared experiences had fostered a close bond over time.
"Usually, there is one! I mean, don't they conduct body searches at these competitions?" Little Peter Parker looked up at the two women, his young face full of curiosity.
"Yeah..." Aunt May nodded silently, concern still lingering in her expression. She could only hope that Spider-Man would manage to warn Ned in time.
Natasha looked down at Peter, her tone turning serious. "Listen, Peter, no matter what happens in the future, you are not allowed to keep things from us. Understand? If anything happens, tell your Aunt May, Tony, or someone you trust. Don't go sneaking off, thinking you can handle things on your own!"
"Oh..." Peter pursed his lips and lowered his head.
"And if you're being bullied at school, speak up! Don't suffer in silence!" Natasha added, her voice firm.
No one wanted little Peter Parker to experience the same struggles as the first and second generations. Fortunately, Tony had already instructed JARVIS to keep an eye on Peter's school life. If anything happened, JARVIS would notify Tony immediately.
This drastically reduced the risk of Peter being bullied, but it didn't stop his classmates from being curious about him. After all, seeing a future Spider-Man growing up in their world was bound to attract attention.
[Michelle Jones, the biggest contributor to the team's victory, was walking alone when the teacher approached her and asked, "Aren't you proud of your win?"]
[Michelle Jones glanced at the monument and hesitated before replying, "Oh... yeah! I just, um... don't feel like celebrating something that was built with the blood and sweat of slaves."]
[The teacher paused, then awkwardly countered, "Oh! I'm sure the Washington Monument wasn't built by—"]
[He turned and saw the black security guard watching him. Quickly adjusting his tie, he cleared his throat and muttered, "Okay... just read your book." Then, embarrassed, he walked away.]
[Meanwhile, Spider-Man swung onto a bus just as his phone rang.]
["Ned! You're still alive!" Spider-Man let out a breath of relief upon hearing his friend's voice.]
["Peter, are you okay?" Ned asked, sensing the urgency in his voice.]
[Spider-Man immediately cut to the chase. "Where's the glowing thing? The one from before!"]
["Don't worry, it's safe! It's in my backpack," Ned replied casually, standing in line for the security check.]
[Spider-Man's heart nearly stopped. "Ned! Listen! That thing is dangerous!"]
[But Ned wasn't really paying attention. "Oh, by the way, you missed the All-Around Game! I covered for you! We're at the Washington Monument now!"]
[Spider-Man clenched his fists. "Ned! Listen to me!!!"]
[Before he could say more, Ned's phone was suddenly snatched away by Liz. "Peter? Is that you?"]
[Hearing Liz's voice, Spider-Man couldn't help but greet her. "Hey! Liz!"]
[Karen, hearing Liz's voice for the first time, curiously asked, "Is this Liz?"]
[Though Spider-Man was thrilled to talk to Liz, now wasn't the time for chit-chat. He quickly said, "Put Ned back on the phone! This is important!"]
[He jumped off the bus and started running toward the Washington Monument.]
[Karen's voice rang in his ear. "You should tell her you like her."]
[Liz, still on the phone, sounded slightly annoyed. "You jerk! You should be glad we won, you know? I want to be mad at you, but honestly, I'm more worried about you! So, what happened?"]
[Behind her, Ned—who had completely missed Spider-Man's warning—had already passed through the security checkpoint and was walking inside.]
[Spider-Man kept running, yelling into the phone, "I need to talk to Ned! It's really important!"]
[At that moment, the security officer reminded Liz, "Ma'am, please place all your items on the conveyor belt."]
["There's something in Ned's backpack! It's really dangerous! Don't let it go through the X-ray!" Spider-Man shouted frantically.]
[But Liz had already placed the bag on the conveyor belt and didn't hear him.]
[As the backpack passed through the scanner, the Chitauri energy core inside began to emit an intense purple glow. The light slightly seeped through the fabric, but the security staff failed to notice anything unusual.]
["Liz? Liz! Damn it!" Spider-Man shouted, but no one answered. His worst fear had just come true. He gritted his teeth and sprinted even faster.]
[Ned, still oblivious, casually slung his backpack over his shoulder and entered the elevator with the rest of the team.]
[Flash smirked and turned to the teacher. "Mr. Harrington, can I tell Peter he's been expelled?"]
"It looks like Flash really despises the third-generation Peter Parker!" George joked as he watched. "He never misses a chance to take a jab at him!"
"Yeah, but at least our Flash turned over a new leaf," second-generation Spider-Man said with a small nod.
Although the second-generation Flash had been a school bully, he had changed after witnessing Peter Parker's heroism and Gordon's magnanimity. Now, he was one of Spider-Man's biggest fans.
Gwen sighed. "It's such a coincidence… If Ned had called earlier, or if Liz hadn't cut in, things wouldn't have turned out like this. I just hope they can defuse this time bomb in time!"
Tony, who had just finished smoothing things over with Pepper, narrowed his eyes at the Chitauri energy core.
"JARVIS, calculate how powerful that thing is," he ordered.
"Apologies, sir," JARVIS replied. "The energy contained within the core is unknown. I cannot determine its exact power based on observation alone. However, the level of destruction will depend on how it detonates."
"If it explodes in a concentrated manner, it may cause localized devastation. If it spreads in all directions, the casualties will be severe. Ned, who is carrying it, will be the first victim. Additionally, the structural integrity of the Washington Monument may be compromised."
"Shit!" Tony cursed, rubbing his forehead. "Why does this kid always find trouble? Can't he just be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man?"
Rhodey placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't overthink it. We're just spectators here. No point in complaining about fate. Instead, why don't you use this time to work on your nano-armor?"
Tony rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, you're right. But seriously, what's with you hanging around my place every day? Got nothing better to do?"
Rhodey shrugged. "Official orders. They told me to keep an eye on you, monitor the progress of your armor, and—" He smirked. "—make sure you don't do anything stupid."
Tony scoffed and handed him a glass of wine. "Then thanks a lot, Rhodey! I bet your paycheck keeps getting docked because of me."
"More than once," Rhodey muttered, taking the glass.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Support me at [email protected]/goldengaruda and check out more chapter of this or more early access chapter of my other fanfic translation.
New fanfic :
Marvel : The God Of Punishment System
I Am Raditz
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~