Iron Man was speechless, his face a mask of black lines. "I didn't mean for you to say that."
Peter waved, "Hello, everyone."
Iron Man thought, Alright, so that's how we're playing this, huh?
The urge to stab someone was written all over Iron Man's face.
Right now, Iron Man wanted to stab Peter.
Peter pretended not to notice.
He wasn't stupid.
Combining the conversation he had with Iron Man before and the scene of the two teams meeting just now, he'd basically figured out the situation.
Now, it's not just about the Sokovia Accords anymore.
Now it's like this: Captain America's side wants to do something, but Iron Man's side doesn't believe they should, or doesn't care. They just want to bring them back first, but Captain America's side thinks the situation is urgent and they have to act immediately.
That's how the conflict started.
Basically, it's a civil war.
People fighting amongst themselves.
If anyone takes it seriously, they'll end up offending both sides and be in a lose-lose situation.
So, he just relaxed and treated it like a chance to get acquainted.
And he wasn't wrong.
Although he really liked Iron Man, he was also a fan of Captain America.
Because the school often played videos of Captain America. For example, during physical education, they would show videos of Captain America advocating for exercise; if he was kept after school for making a mistake, they would also play videos of Captain America earnestly lecturing. Captain America was everywhere in his life.
In a sense, he had become the spiritual support for many people.
Especially for many young people like Peter.
This was easy to understand.
Since the new century, super-powered individuals had emerged one after another, and various incidents frequently occurred.
First, there was Hulk and Abomination, who fought each other in streets, squares, and other places, even clashing with the military, causing great panic among the public.
Then came Thor, who fought the Destroyer, destroying an entire small town.
Then Loki brought the Chitauri army to New York, and a great battle ensued, even involving the use of nuclear weapons. Many streets were destroyed, and countless people died.
Later, there was the fall of Sokovia, caused by Ultron.
All of this was constantly stimulating the nerves of ordinary people.
Each event told them: this world is not safe!
So they needed a spiritual pillar.
And this spiritual pillar, the Avengers alone were not enough.
Iron Man was too distant for ordinary people. War Machine was military personnel, not suitable for public appearances. Black Widow and Hawkeye's abilities were insufficient.
After comprehensive consideration, Captain America, a former war hero, became their choice.
He had a positive image, a historical background, an official background, and was easy to control. The benefits of supporting Captain America were simply too many to count.
In short, compared to their "old friends," he, the "newcomer" plus "little brat," was just an outsider.
Peter decided to treat this as a trial.
Neither side was going to kill the other, so this was a perfect opportunity to spar with these superheroes and see how strong he was.
While Peter was thinking this over, Iron Man and Captain America started bickering again.
It was clear that Iron Man was furious.
He pointed an accusing finger. "Are you an idiot? Dragging Clint into this? And bringing Wanda out of wherever she was? I've been working so hard to keep you from tearing the Avengers apart!"
But in the face of Iron Man's accusations, Captain America just said calmly, "The Avengers were already torn apart the moment you signed the Sokovia Accords."
Captain America's stubbornness infuriated Iron Man, but he knew that anger wouldn't solve anything.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his anger. "Enough! Hand over Bucky Barnes, now, and come with us! Otherwise, you'll be dealing with the special forces! They won't show you any mercy."
His tone softened again as he spoke.
"Please."
Iron Man still didn't want their many years of friendship to end like this.
He and Captain America had known each other for eight years. They fought together in the New York battle against the Chitauri invasion eight years ago, a bond forged in life and death.
They'd also had plenty of contact in the following years.
He didn't have many true friends, and Captain America was one of them. He really didn't want to lose a friend.
Even more, he didn't want this friend to go down the wrong path.
At this moment, Falcon's small, two-winged reconnaissance plane found their true target – the Quinjet.
Falcon immediately reported this information to Captain America.
Captain America's lips curled slightly. He was saying these words to Iron Man, partly to try and persuade him, but also to buy time.
Now that Iron Man couldn't be persuaded and the Quinjet had been located, there was no need to drag things out any further!
Captain America raised his hands, which were bound by Peter's webbing, above his head.
Whoosh—
An arrow shot over from a distance.
It was Hawkeye!
The arrow precisely pierced between Captain America's hands. The great momentum combined with the sharp arrow immediately cut the webbing.
Captain America was free!
Just then.
Peter frowned slightly, a strange feeling suddenly rising in his heart!
What was it?
"The shield!"
Peter suddenly lowered his head and came face-to-face with a miniature humanoid creature standing on the shield, no bigger than an ant.
"Wha…?" Ant-Man was a bit bewildered; he hadn't expected Peter to be so perceptive. He'd only just gotten up there when he was discovered.
Actually, he didn't know that Peter had also just discovered his senses had become even sharper.
Perhaps this was also a gain from Spider-Man (Shadow).
His Spider-Sense used to fail nine out of ten times, but now it only failed seven out of ten.
Hmm, quite an improvement.
The Spider-Sense here isn't the one for lethal danger, but rather for this kind of "non-dangerous situation."
"Hey, are you on Captain's side too?" Peter still had time to greet Ant-Man.
"I'm... I'm a dirty thing! Kid!" Ant-Man rolled his eyes, one hand gripping the edge of the shield, simultaneously growing larger.
Peter was indeed startled by this move.
It was the first time he'd seen someone who could grow and shrink.
"Th-this, is this the dirty thing? What kind of ghost are you?" Peter gripped the shield tightly with one hand, while the other grabbed Ant-Man's leg as he kicked towards him.
And so, Ant-Man found himself in an awkward position: one hand still propped on the shield, one foot held by Peter, back facing down, half-hanging in the air.
Captain America:
Iron Man: Are you two sure you're not here to make us laugh?
"Cough, this was an accident, kid, no, uh, Pajama Boy, can you put me down?"
Peter's hand exerted a little force, and he said with a forced smile, "My name is Spider-Man, not Pajama Boy."
"Alright, Spider-Man," Ant-Man waved his hands in the air haphazardly, "Mr. Spider-Man, can you put me down? This is so embarrassing."
"Alright, I'll put you down then," Peter tossed Ant-Man out.