The Visitor from Stark Industries
“Peter!
Peter!”
Aunt May’s voice echoed through the apartment.
“Come here and tell me honestly—does this outfit make me look older?”
Peter groaned.
The morning sunlight streamed through the curtains as he dragged himself out of his room.
After spending half the night traveling across dimensions, fighting gangsters, and dismantling a criminal empire in another universe, he had hoped for at least a peaceful morning.
Instead…
His aunt had declared war on her wardrobe.
Peter stepped into her room and immediately froze.
Standing before the full-length mirror was Aunt May Parker.
She had clearly spent the last hour trying on different outfits.
The result?
Peter had to admit she looked incredible.
The elegant dress complemented her figure perfectly.
Her dark hair had been carefully arranged.
A light touch of makeup highlighted her natural beauty.
She looked less like the aunt of a high-school student and more like someone attending a high-profile social event.
Peter rubbed his eyes.
Then looked again.
Nope.
Still stunning.
“Aunt May…”
He sighed.
“It’s just Tony Stark.”
The reaction was immediate.
“JUST Tony Stark?”
Her voice jumped several octaves.
Peter instinctively took a step back.
The expression on her face made it clear he had committed a terrible mistake.
“You mean Tony Stark?”
“The billionaire?”
“The genius inventor?”
“The Iron Man?”
“The Avenger who saved the world multiple times?”
Peter raised both hands.
“Okay, okay.”
Aunt May narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
“You weren’t saying ‘just Tony Stark’ yesterday.”
Peter blinked.
“Wasn’t I?”
“No.”
She pointed accusingly.
“Yesterday you nearly exploded from excitement.”
Peter coughed awkwardly.
“That’s slightly exaggerated.”
“Really?”
Aunt May folded her arms.
“Then why were you tossing and turning all night?”
Peter immediately looked away.
That was a difficult question to answer.
Technically…
He had spent the night in another universe.
But explaining multiversal consciousness transfer through the Web of Destiny seemed slightly complicated.
“Ahem.”
He quickly changed the subject.
“You look great.”
Aunt May’s eyes brightened immediately.
“Really?”
Peter nodded.
“Absolutely.”
The tension vanished instantly.
Aunt May returned to admiring herself in the mirror.
Peter couldn’t help smiling.
Some things never changed.
Yet as he watched her, his thoughts gradually drifted elsewhere.
Specifically…
Toward Tony Stark.
The old Peter would have been ecstatic.
Nervous.
Overwhelmed.
After all, Tony Stark wasn’t just a celebrity.
He was Iron Man.
A billionaire.
A genius.
A superhero.
To ordinary people, he practically looked like a real-life comic book protagonist.
Meanwhile, Peter Parker was just a kid from Queens.
Not popular.
Not wealthy.
Not special.
At least on the surface.
The idea of Tony Stark personally visiting him should have been enough to make him lose sleep.
And originally…
It had.
But after experiencing Spider-Man Noir’s memories, Peter found himself thinking differently.
Much differently.
The older Spider-Man’s influence lingered.
Particularly his skepticism toward powerful institutions.
And wealthy individuals.
Especially wealthy individuals. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Peter sat down on the edge of his bed.
His eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
Using the deduction skills he had inherited from Spider-Man Noir, he began reviewing everything that had happened over the past month.
One clue at a time.
The first clue was Sokovia.
The entire world knew about it.
A flying city.
Ultron.
The Avengers.
The battle that nearly ended civilization.
Officially, the Avengers had saved humanity.
And that was true.
But unofficial reports painted a more complicated picture.
Countless articles online claimed Ultron had originally been created by Tony Stark.
If that was true…
Then Iron Man wasn’t merely the hero who stopped the disaster.
He was partially responsible for creating it.
Peter had spent countless hours arguing against those accusations online.
At the time, he refused to believe them.
Now?
His perspective was more balanced.
The accusations alone didn’t prove guilt.
However, Stark Industries had indeed invested enormous resources into reconstruction efforts afterward.
Housing.
Medical treatment.
Food supplies.
Financial aid.
Entire relief programs.
At the time Peter saw it as generosity.
Now he wondered if it was something else.
Responsibility.
Atonement.
Or perhaps both.
Of course, many critics clearly had their own agendas.
Some wanted attention.
Some wanted money.
Others wanted access to Stark Industries’ technology.
Peter wasn’t naive enough to ignore that.
Still…
The question remained.
How much responsibility did Tony Stark truly bear?
Then came the second clue.
Lagos.
The incident had shaken public confidence in the Avengers.
Even people who supported superheroes struggled to defend the destruction.
Buildings collapsed.
Lives were lost.
Governments panicked.
The result?
The Sokovia Accords.
A global agreement intended to regulate enhanced individuals.
At least officially.
The logic seemed simple enough.
Power required accountability.
Heroes shouldn’t operate without oversight.
Yet many disagreed.
Including Captain America.
Peter leaned back in his chair.
That was where things became complicated.
Because Captain America wasn’t just another superhero.
He was Captain America.
A living symbol.
A man who had spent decades representing courage and integrity.
If someone like Steve Rogers opposed the Accords…
Then perhaps there was more to the story.
Peter couldn’t ignore that possibility.
Then everything escalated.
The bombing in Vienna.
The death of King T’Chaka.
The accusations against Bucky Barnes.
The chaos that followed.
News channels had spent days covering nothing else.
Public opinion exploded.
Conspiracy theories spread everywhere.
Many people blamed HYDRA.
Others blamed anti-Accords extremists.
Some even accused former Avengers.
Peter remembered reading hundreds of discussions online.
Most sounded ridiculous.
A few sounded disturbingly plausible.
Then came the footage from Germany.
The final piece.
Captain America.
Winter Soldier.
Black Panther.
Iron Man.
All fighting openly.
In public.
Heroes battling heroes.
The image shocked the entire world.
It also confirmed something important.
The Avengers had fractured.
Peter exhaled slowly.
Now came the critical question.
Why was Tony Stark visiting him today?
Using everything he knew, Peter identified two possibilities.
The first was straightforward.
Tony Stark had discovered his secret identity.
Discovered his powers.
And wanted him registered under the Sokovia Accords.
It would explain everything.
The timing.
The visit.
The secrecy.
The second possibility was more complicated.
Tony Stark needed allies.
With Captain America opposing the Accords, tensions were rising rapidly.
Perhaps Iron Man wanted additional enhanced individuals on his side.
Perhaps he was recruiting.
Perhaps Peter had somehow appeared on Stark’s radar.
The possibility made Peter nervous.
Not because he disliked Iron Man.
Far from it.
The problem was that Peter wasn’t sure which side was right.
Not anymore.
A few days ago, choosing would have been easy.
Now?
Now he saw arguments on both sides.
And that made everything far more dangerous.
“What are you thinking about?”
Aunt May suddenly appeared directly in front of him.
Peter nearly jumped.
“How do you do that?”
Aunt May laughed.
“Motherly instincts.”
Peter wasn’t convinced.
Spider-Sense had failed him completely.
That was suspicious.
“Anyway,” Aunt May continued, “you’ve been staring into space for five minutes.”
Peter blinked.
Had it really been that long?
Apparently so.
“Just thinking.”
“About Tony Stark?”
“Maybe.”
Aunt May smiled knowingly.
Peter sighed.
No point denying it.
“You know,” she said softly, “whatever happens today, just be yourself.”
Peter looked up.
Aunt May’s expression was warm.
Comforting.
“You don’t need to impress anyone.”
Not even Iron Man.
Those words eased something inside him.
A little.
Peter smiled.
Then his gaze shifted toward the window.
Outside, the neighborhood looked perfectly ordinary.
Cars passed by.
People walked their dogs.
Children played basketball.
Everything seemed normal.
Yet Peter couldn’t shake the feeling that his life was standing at a crossroads.
Because within the next few hours…
He would meet Tony Stark.
And somehow…
Peter was certain that meeting would change everything.
His thoughts drifted toward the Web of Destiny.
Toward Spider-Man Noir.
Toward the countless glowing nodes waiting in the darkness.
His journey had already begun.
The question was no longer whether his life would change.
The question was how much.
And just as that thought crossed his mind—
A sleek black car slowly pulled into the street outside.
Peter’s Spider-Sense immediately tingled.
Not from danger.
From anticipation.
He walked toward the window.
Then froze.
Because stepping out of the vehicle was a familiar bald man wearing a suit.
A man Peter recognized instantly.
Happy Hogan.
Tony Stark’s bodyguard.
Peter’s heartbeat accelerated.
The visitor had arrived.
And in the back seat of the car…
A figure wearing sunglasses was slowly opening the door.
Tony Stark was here.
To Be Continued…
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