Before the jet landed, Peter dutifully dropped down from the cabin’s ceiling, getting ready to take off the suit and put it back in the case.
Seeing this, Happy chimed in, “You don’t need to take it off.
Tony gave it to you.
If you like it, just keep it on.” “Uh, it’s mine?” “Yep.” “Really mine?” “Yes.” “Awesome!” Peter pumped his fist in excitement, realizing this was part of the funding package he and Iron Man had discussed under the umbrella of the September Foundation.
Still, the quality of this spider suit far exceeded anything he had anticipated, which was why it hadn’t immediately registered.
He was so used to scraping by that receiving a suit worth at least a few million dollars felt surreal.
“We’re landing.
You sure you don’t want to buckle your seatbelt?” Happy pointed toward a nearby seat.
Having watched this energizer bunny leap and scramble all over the plane for six straight hours, Happy was suffering from a bit of PTSD.
All he wanted was to finish this job quickly, get back to Stark Industries, and put as much distance between himself and this kid as humanly possible.
Teenagers were way too noisy!
Peter was quick to take the advice and returned to his seat.
He knew the roaring noise of the landing would be yet another trial for his hypersensitive senses.
Thankfully, he was mentally prepared this time.
On top of that, the suit was thoughtfully engineered to block out a great deal of unnecessary ambient noise.
“Once we land, we’ll head straight to the hotel.
You can rest there.
Whether it’s tonight or tomorrow, when Tony summons you, you need to be ready to move.
Got it?” Happy laid out the upcoming plan for Peter.
Peter nodded, indicating he understood.
He was treating this as an all-expenses-paid vacation anyway.
In all his years growing up, he had never even been abroad!
As for the suit, he wasn’t going to take it off.
He had come up with a brilliant idea: He would wear the suit like thermal underwear, hugging his body beneath his normal clothes, while keeping the mask tucked away in his pocket.
That way, whenever duty called, he could simply shed his outer layer and instantly transform into Spider-Man!
What a stroke of genius!
Peter couldn’t help but give himself a mental high five for his cleverness.
…
Beneath an overpass somewhere near Berlin, Captain America had just finished kissing his ex-girlfriend’s niece, Sharon Carter (Author: what a scoundrel, tsk).
From Sharon, Cap, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier had obtained a low-profile car, a quinjet capable of reaching Siberia, Cap’s shield, Falcon’s flight suit, and a host of other gear.
It was practically an arms giveaway.
Earlier, after snapping out of his brainwashed state, the Winter Soldier had remembered key details.
The Winter Soldier program back in the day hadn’t involved him alone; aside from Bucky, they had created five other formidable super soldiers—soldiers even more powerful than the Winter Soldier himself!
And the man posing as a psychiatrist knew the exact activation sequence to unleash them!
He had previously infiltrated the facility where Bucky was held, intentionally controlling Bucky right under the eyes of the global media to make him break out, cause chaos, and deliberately drive a wedge between Cap and Iron Man.
Cap didn’t know the psychiatrist’s ultimate motive, nor did he have time to ponder it in detail.
He realized that if that fake psychiatrist succeeded in activating those five Winter Soldiers, it could trigger an even greater catastrophe!
So, he had to stop him!
It was for this exact reason that Agent 13, Sharon Carter, had put her career on the line to aid Cap and his crew, who were currently wanted fugitives.
On top of that, Cap had reached out to Hawkeye.
Hawkeye had extracted Wanda from Vision’s care and even recruited Scott Lang, the Ant-Man.
Now, Cap’s team of six was fully assembled at the airport.
Just as Cap trotted toward the helicopter, preparing to take off— *Whir—* An electromagnetic charge dropped straight from the sky, landing with pinpoint accuracy on the helicopter’s rotor assembly.
The charge detonated in a pulse, instantly frying the rotor’s starter mechanism and rendering it completely dead.
It was Iron Man!
*BOOM—* Following Iron Man’s arrival, the dark, armored form of War Machine descended from the sky.
“Wow, it’s so weird how you run into people at the airport.
Don’t you think?” “Definitely weird.” Accustomed to the sarcastic banter of these two men who wore cold iron suits over their deeply theatrical personalities, Cap said, “Tony, that psychiatrist—he’s the one behind all of this.” *Whoosh!* A lithe figure leaped down from the second floor of the airport terminal.
Clad in a dark, metallic-sheened suit, his frame was muscular yet remarkably streamlined.
It was the King of Wakanda, the “Black Panther,” T’Challa.
“Captain.” “Your Majesty.” Black Panther and Cap exchanged brief greetings.
In truth, he bore no personal grudge against Cap, but he believed his father had died at the hands of the Winter Soldier, and he was here to claim his vengeance.
At this point, Iron Man spoke up.
“Ross gave me thirty-six hours to bring you in.
That was twenty-four hours ago.
Can you meet us halfway?” Cap said with utmost gravity, “You’ve got the wrong guy.” Iron Man simply shot back, “Your judgment is off.
Your old war buddy killed a lot of innocent people yesterday!” “And there are five more super soldiers just like him out there,” Cap countered.
“I can’t let the psychiatrist reach them first!” “Steve, you know what’s about to happen,” Black Widow said as she slowly stepped out from the side.
“Do you really want to punch your way out of this?” Seeing how they had positioned themselves, Cap realized that his team’s movements had never escaped the calculations of his old comrades.
They had been waiting for him here all along.
Iron Man looked at Cap’s expression and let out a sigh.
“Alright, I’ve run out of patience…
Underoos!” *Thwip—* A figure bounded out from the shadows.
It was Peter.
In fact, before Cap had even stepped into the airport, Peter and the rest had already assembled inside under Iron Man’s orders.
He had been hiding behind a vehicle.
Iron Man’s assignment for him was simple: the moment fight broke out, he was to disarm Cap of his shield.
And that was precisely what he did.
*Thwip—* A line of webbing shot out, sticking squarely to the surface of Cap’s shield.
Immediately after, Peter yanked back with force.
Cap instinctively tried to pull it back, but his raw strength proved no match for Peter’s, forcing him to let go.
Catching the shield in his right hand, Peter flipped through the air, even finding the time to fire a web-ball directly at Cap’s wrist.
*Thwip-clack!* The web-ball struck Cap’s hand, bursting open to form a pair of miniature webbing handcuffs that bound his wrists together.
“Nice job, kid,” Iron Man praised.
“Thanks!
Thanks for the compliment!
Though I feel like I could’ve made that landing a bit cooler,” Peter grinned under his mask.
“Oh right, Mr.
Stark, could you maybe stop calling me Underoos?
See, I’m not wearing pajamas anymore.” “Can we talk about the nicknames later?” “Right, sure,” Peter turned his gaze to Cap, so excited his words came out a jumbled mess.
“Hey, Captain!
It’s such an honor to meet you!
I saw you all the time in gym class, but this is my first time seeing you in person.
You’re a huge fan of mine—I mean, I’m your idol—wait, no—”