Chapter 12
Before the plane landed, Peter obediently climbed down from the cabin ceiling, preparing to take off the suit and put it away.
At that moment, Happy said, "You don't need to take it off. Tony gave it to you. If you like it, keep wearing it."
"Uh, it's mine?"
"Yes."
"Really mine?"
"Yes."
"Oh, wow!" Peter excitedly waved his hand, realizing this was part of the September Foundation support he and Iron Man had discussed.
However, the suit exceeded his expectations, which is why he hadn't thought of it immediately.
Having lived frugally for so long, suddenly receiving a suit worth at least a few million dollars felt a bit unreal.
"The plane's about to land. Sure you don't want to buckle up?" Happy pointed to a nearby seat.
He was getting a bit of PTSD from this hyperactive kid who had been bouncing around the plane for six hours. He just wanted to finish this job, get back to Stark Industries, and stay far away from this guy.
Kids are just too much!
Peter obediently returned to his seat.
He knew the noise of landing would be another ordeal for his heightened senses.
Fortunately, this time he was mentally prepared, and the suit's design was thoughtful, shielding him from much of the unnecessary external stimuli.
"After we land, we'll head to the hotel first. You can rest there. Either tonight or tomorrow, when Tony calls for you, you'll need to move out. Got it?" Happy began explaining Peter's next steps.
Peter nodded, indicating he understood.
He treated this as a fully-funded trip.
Having grown up without ever leaving the country, this was a first!
As for the suit, he wasn't taking it off.
He came up with a great idea.
He'd wear the suit like thermal underwear, keeping it on under his clothes, with the mask tucked separately in his pocket.
This way, when needed, he could simply strip off his outer clothes and transform into Spider-Man!
This idea was just too brilliant!
Peter couldn't help but give himself a mental thumbs-up.
---
Under a certain overpass near Berlin, Captain America had just finished kissing (ugh, shameless) Sharon Carter, his ex-girlfriend's niece.
Captain America, Falcon, and Winter Soldier obtained a low-profile car from Sharon, along with a plane to Siberia, Captain America's shield, Falcon's flight suit, and more.
It was practically an equipment giveaway.
Earlier, after waking from his hypnotized state, Winter Soldier recalled some things.
The Winter Soldier program back then didn't just involve him; besides him, they had trained five other powerful super-soldiers, even stronger than he was!
And that guy posing as a psychologist knew how to activate them!
Previously, he had infiltrated the facility holding Winter Soldier, deliberately manipulating him in front of the world's media to cause chaos, break out, and escalate the conflict between Captain America and Iron Man.
Captain America didn't know the psychologist's true motives, and he didn't have time to dwell on it now.
He realized that if the psychologist activated those five Winter Soldiers, it could lead to an even greater disaster!
That's why Agent 13, Sharon Carter, was helping the now-wanted Captain America and his team.
Not only that, Captain America had also contacted Hawkeye.
Hawkeye, in turn, took Wanda from Vision and recruited Ant-Man, Scott.
Now, Captain America's team of six had assembled at the airport.
As Captain America jogged toward a helicopter, ready to take off—
*Swish—*
An electromagnetic pellet dropped from the sky, landing precisely on the helicopter's rotor.
The electromagnetic burst instantly disabled the rotor's starting mechanism.
It was Iron Man!
*Boom—*
With Iron Man's appearance, War Machine's black armored figure also descended from the sky.
"Didn't expect to run into old friends at the airport. Weird, right?"
"Pretty weird indeed."
Captain America was used to the sarcastic banter from these two, who wore cold armor but were insufferably smug underneath. He said, "Tony, that psychologist—he's the real mastermind."
*Swish!*
A nimble figure leaped down from the second floor of the airport, wearing a metallic-gloss black suit, muscular yet well-proportioned.
It was Wakanda's king, "Black Panther" T'Challa.
"Captain."
"Your Majesty."
Black Panther and Captain America greeted each other.
In truth, he had no real grudge against Captain America, but he believed his father's death was caused by Winter Soldier, so he was here for revenge.
At this moment, Iron Man spoke up.
"Ross gave me thirty-six hours to arrest you. Twenty-four hours have passed. Can you cooperate a bit?"
Captain America said seriously, "You're after the wrong guy."
Iron Man only replied, "Your judgment's off. Your old war buddy killed a lot of innocent people yesterday!"
"But out there, there are five more super-soldiers like him," Captain America said. "I can't let the psychologist get to them first!"
"Steve, you know what happens next," Black Widow said, slowly stepping out from the side. "Do you really want to fight your way out?"
Seeing their positions, Captain America realized his actions had never escaped the calculations of his old teammates.
They had been waiting for him here.
Looking at Captain America's expression, Iron Man sighed. "'Alright, I don't have time to drag this out… Underoos!"
*Swish—*
A figure leaped out from the side.
It was Peter.
In fact, before Captain America entered the airport, they had already gathered there at Iron Man's request.
He had been hiding behind a vehicle.
Iron Man's task for him was to snatch Captain America's shield as soon as the fight began.
So that's what he did.
*Swish—*
A strand of web shot out, sticking perfectly to the shield in Captain America's hand.
Then, Peter yanked hard.
Captain America instinctively tried to pull it back, but his strength was no match for Peter's, and he had to let go.
Peter caught the shield with his right hand, spinning in midair while casually shooting a web bullet at Captain America's hand.
*Duang!*
The web bullet hit Captain America's hand, bursting open and forming a small web handcuff, binding him.
"Good job, kid," Iron Man praised.
"Thanks, appreciate it! Though I think my landing could've been cooler," Peter grinned. "Oh, by the way, Mr. Stark, can we not call me Underoos? Look, I'm not wearing pajamas anymore."
"Can we talk about nicknames later?"
"Sure," Peter said, curiously looking at Captain America, speaking excitedly and somewhat incoherently. "Hi, Captain, nice to meet you! I see you all the time in gym class, but this is my first time seeing you in person. You're my fan—no, I'm your idol—no, that's not right either—"