[Marvel : Spoiling Spider-man] Chapter 321 - 325

Chapter 321: The Bombed Villa

The second-generation Gwen leaned against 2nd Gen Spider-Man and complained, "For this kind of doll, the bigger the better. It's best if it's about the same size as a human so you can hold it while sleeping. That one is too big—it can be used as a bed!"

2nd Gen Spider-Man nodded thoughtfully, turned his head and asked, "Then I'll buy you a smaller one!"

Hearing this, Gwen smiled and kissed him. "You're so nice!"

2nd Gen Spider-Man put his arm around her waist. "Yeah! I've always been this good!"

"Hmm!" Gwen reached out and touched 2nd Gen Spider-Man's face affectionately.

[While the two were arguing, Maya saw the live video of the villa on TV and noticed something was wrong. "Tony...you two! Can we..."]

[Tony turned his head impatiently. "What?"]

["Should we worry about that?" Maya pointed at the TV.]

[They both looked over, and the next second they saw a long flame coming towards the villa.]

[Several people turned their heads to look at the sea, but before they could react, the missile exploded!]

[The strong shock wave immediately knocked Pepper and Tony, who were closest to the impact, away!]

[Tony controlled Mark 42 in mid-air and attached it to Pepper's body, protecting her.]

[He himself hit the wall hard before he could recover from his fall.]

[Three more helicopters flew over from a distance, and Eric Savin was seen sitting inside, chewing gum.]

[As the pilot operated, a missile launcher extended from the helicopter's wing and aimed at the Malibu villa from a distance!]

[Tony got up from the ground and saw Maya unconscious nearby. Then he noticed the ceiling cracking and about to collapse towards him.]

[At the critical moment, Pepper, wearing the Mark 42, blocked him and took the hit for him. Pepper opened the mask and looked at Tony. "I will protect you!"]

[Tony still had the energy to argue until this moment. "I was the one who protected you first!"]

[But then he relented. "Like I said, we can't stay here!"]

[The helicopter at sea fired several more missiles.]

[Tony was blown away, but luckily the soft sofa cushioned his blow. He quickly got up and shouted to Pepper, "Go! I'm coming!"]

[Tony ran towards the door, but before he took two steps, the floor in front of him collapsed.]

["Take her away! I'll find a way out myself!" Tony let Pepper leave first without hesitation.]

[Seeing her standing there motionless, Tony urged her. "Don't stop, go find her! Take her away! GO!!!"]

[Pepper had no choice but to follow Tony's instructions. She ran to the side to pick up Maya, who was still lying unconscious on the ground, and took her away.]

[As she walked, she raised her arm and aimed at the glass in front of her, but because she was not familiar with the operation of the Mark armor, the palm cannon did not fire.]

[Pepper tried again unwillingly, but still no response. She looked at her palm and gave up helplessly.]

[As soon as she lowered her arm, the palm cannon fired, and the recoil caused her to lose balance and fly out, breaking the glass and falling to the ground with Maya.]

[Fortunately, Pepper landed first, so Maya was not injured. Both of them lay on the ground in shock.]

[At this time, another missile was launched and hit the supporting part of the villa directly.]

[Tony was in danger inside, with a lot of debris falling from above.]

[Pepper, who had already escaped, saw the villa collapsing and shouted in horror, "Oh! My God! Tony!!!"]

[Killian's men deliberately aimed their missiles at the support column below. With the bombardment of another missile, the part where Tony was located began to tilt.]

[Tony could no longer stand and almost fell out of the villa, but luckily he grabbed a steel beam in time.]

[When he climbed up and leaned against the steel beam, JARVIS reminded him, "Sir! Miss Potts has left safely!"]

[Tony turned his head to look at the helicopters over the sea, breathed a sigh of relief, and gestured to summon Mark 42.]

[The armor on Pepper outside immediately began to separate from her body and flew towards the inside of the villa.]

[At this time, the machine gun on the helicopter began to fire at Tony's position. Tony quickly lay on the ground and crawled towards the position where the armor pieces were flying.]

[He had just put on a piece of armor on his back when he was immediately hit by a bullet. The armor blocked the bullet, but the impact still caused Tony to somersault forward.]

[But he was not hurt at all and continued to summon the armor after rolling around.]

[Soon all the armor pieces flew to his body, and as he was fully suited up, he breathed a sigh of relief.]

[The enemy's attack continued, and several missiles bombarded the bottom of the villa. The tilt angle became larger and larger, and Tony began to slide down.]

[Tony looked at the armor, which had only 22% of its energy left. "JARVIS! Where's my flying power?"]

["Working on it, sir! This is just a prototype!"]

[He walked outside under the hail of bullets, but the angle was too great, so he had to lie down and grab the edge of the broken floor to stabilize his body.]

[Tony raised his arm towards a helicopter to launch a missile but found that the missile system was offline.]

[At this time, he turned around and found that a piano stand had slid down, and he suddenly had an idea.]

[He let go and slid down with the piano stand, and fired his palm cannon at it at the right moment.]

[The piano stand was blown away by the palm cannon and smashed into a helicopter in front of it. Both of them fell at the same time.]

["That's one!"]

[Tony stood up and looked at the helicopter flying over his head.]

[JARVIS reminded him, "Sir! This suit cannot be used for combat yet!"]

[Tony helplessly knocked on the place where the missiles were stored on his arm and started running through the villa.]

[A helicopter locked onto Tony's position through infrared vision and fired wildly at him. Tony ran all the way to the window and finally managed to pry open the launch bay that held the missiles.]

[He took out a missile and held it in his hand, threw it at the helicopter in front of him, and then fired a palm cannon to detonate it, directly blowing up the helicopter.]

["That's two!" Tony was still celebrating when he suddenly spotted a helicopter falling towards him.]

["Oh!" The smile on his face disappeared immediately, and he turned around and started to run away, but was still blown away by the shock wave of the helicopter explosion.]

Chapter 322: Tennessee

[Tony fell to the garage on the next floor and quickly hugged a steel beam. Then he saw the little robot Dum-E looking at a broken machine on the ground amidst the chaos.]

[As the last helicopter fired two more missiles, the entire garage began to collapse, and the display case containing Mark's armor exploded.]

[The scene of the armor exploding at the beginning is connected here. Several Mark armors are blown up, and the small robot slides into the sea uncontrollably.]

[As the front part collapsed, Tony could see the helicopter close at hand, and then he slid down with the entire floor.]

[Tony held on to the steel beam tightly and saw the helicopters still launching missiles to bomb the structure, but he didn't care about that at the moment.]

[He fell into the sea, with a lot of rubble and debris piling on top of him. Tony was accidentally strangled by a steel bar and dragged down.]

[Pepper ran to the edge, looked at most of the villa that had sunk to the bottom of the sea, and stood there shouting Tony's name desperately.]

[Tony struggled on the seabed and finally lifted up the steel bar with great difficulty.]

[But before he could stand up, a huge stone slab fell down on him.]

[Eric Savin believed that Tony could not survive and flew directly away from the Malibu villa in a helicopter.]

[At the bottom of the sea, Tony stretched out an arm from the pile of rocks, and Jarvis reminded him: "Sir! Please take a deep breath!"]

[Then the armor on his arm automatically detached, turned around, held Tony's hand and pulled him out of the ruins.]

[Then it reattached to him. Tony raised his head and took a breath in the armor, and the armor began to automatically activate the thrusters.]

["Flight energy has been restored!" As Jarvis' voice fell, Mark 42 began to fly upwards, and soon rushed out of the sea and soared into the sky...]

"Oh my God!" gasped 2nd gen Peter Parker, his eyes wide with shock.

"Helicopter missile bombing? What on earth is the Ministry of National Defense doing?" Gwen Stacy's voice was filled with indignation.

People across the multiverse were shocked. No one had thought that terrorists would be so arrogant as to directly bomb Tony Stark's house with an armed helicopter!

This wasn't ordinary firepower—this was heavy military-grade weaponry.

In the broadcast room, President Ellis's face turned crimson with rage. He ordered the FBI, CIA, and other departments to work together to search for the Mandarin, Killian, and his men, determined to bring to justice these terrorists who had challenged the country's dignity.

Tony Stark's face was contorted with anger. After seeing his home destroyed and both himself and Pepper nearly killed, Tony was furious and wanted to twist off Killian and the Mandarin's heads immediately.

But Bruce Banner remained calm and advised him to contact Sharon Carter and others who were still in the villa, instructing them to leave immediately.

"We need to secure the perimeter," Banner said methodically. He ordered Jarvis to release the armed drones they had built together to guard the area around the villa, with special focus on the sea.

Then they began to formulate a battle plan based on the personnel distribution map scanned by Jarvis. The scan revealed that there were actually quite a few armed elements in the vicinity.

Captain America nodded in agreement as they finalized the plan. "Banner will take the lead in armor, with Tony and Rhodes providing support from the sides. If anything goes wrong, Hulk can emerge to save the situation."

"Meanwhile," Steve continued, "I'll lead Natasha, Barton, and the others in a ground assault, with Sam providing aerial cover."

The SHIELD team led by Crossbones would attack from the opposite direction. They had already arrived at the designated location and were ready to strike at any moment.

"Something's not right," muttered Natasha Romanoff from the Earth-199999 as she watched the broadcast. "This feels like a trap."

To everyone's surprise, the battle didn't last long. Killian wasn't at the location. As soon as he realized the situation was deteriorating, he had already relocated to another facility.

Tony and his team came up empty-handed. There were only two or three minor operatives present, and not a single one survived the encounter. These desperate fighters, realizing they couldn't resist, simply blew themselves up!

The explosion caused significant casualties, especially in the team led by Crossbones. Several agents were seriously injured, and Crossbones himself sustained minor wounds.

This operation was clearly a failure, but it made everyone—including Nick Fury—begin to take seriously the threat posed by Killian and the Mandarin, finally recognizing the terrible power of the Extremis virus.

Fortunately, Killian had left in a hurry. Although the explosion destroyed most evidence, some useful information remained. Tony decided to retrieve what data he could and analyze it back at the facility.

[In the darkness, Jarvis' voice rang out: "Sir! Sir!"]

[Tony wakes up from a coma with blood all over his face: "Turn off the alarm, I got it!"]

["That's an emergency alarm! It was triggered because the energy dropped below 5%!"]

[Tony opened his eyes and took a deep breath, then found himself falling towards the ground at high speed through the air.]

[He didn't even have time to react; he could only scream as he plummeted toward the road. A passing car was startled by the commotion and nearly collided with Tony.]

[After Tony hit the ground, he continued to slide across the surface with the remaining momentum, crashing into the small woods on the side of the road. After knocking down countless trees along the way, he finally came to a stop.]

["Ah!" Tony slowly turned over and lay on the ground gasping for breath.]

[After taking off the mask, he looked at the sky and asked Jarvis: "Is it snowing? Where are we? Upstate?"]

["We're five miles outside of Rose Hill, Tennessee!"]

[After hearing Jarvis's reply, Tony was stunned and subconsciously raised his voice.]

["Why?!! Jarvis! I didn't say I was coming here! Why are we here? I've searched a lot! I have to find Pepper! I have to..."]

[Jarvis said calmly: "I have prepared a flight plan. This is the destination!"]

[Tony looks devastated: "Who told you to do this? Open the armor!"]

["I...I seem to have a problem! Sir!" At this time, Jarvis' voice became a little intermittent.]

["Eject and open!" Following Tony's order, the Mark 42 immediately disengaged, and Tony stood up from the armor.]

[After coming out of the stuffy armor and feeling the wind, Tony couldn't help but shout, "This is cool!"]

[But then he exhaled sharply, because he was wearing only a short-sleeved shirt and it was snowing lightly in Rose Hill.]

[After feeling the cold wind for a while, Tony couldn't stand it anymore: "I better go inside for a while!"]

[But Jarvis responded: "I think I should go to bed now, sir!"]

["Jarvis! Jarvis? Don't leave me! Man!" Tony shouted several times but got no response.]

[The scene changes, and Tony is seen walking in the snow, dragging Mark 42 with two ropes.]

"That's not good," Doctor Strange commented, his fingers steepled thoughtfully. "Without Jarvis and with damaged armor, Stark is extremely vulnerable."

"He's resourceful," Tony Stark said, watching his alternate self with a mixture of concern and confidence. "If anyone can figure a way out of this, it's me—or well, him."

1st gen Aunt May clutched her hands together anxiously. "I just hope he finds somewhere warm soon. Hypothermia is no joke, especially with those injuries."

The multiverse audience watched in tense silence as Tony Stark, stripped of his technology and resources, trudged through the snow toward an unknown destination in Tennessee.

Chapter 323: Little Boy Harley

"Fortunately, he is fine. He just flew directly to Tennessee? It's really far away!" Seeing that Tony was safe and sound, 3rd gen Aunt May finally let go of her worries, her shoulders visibly relaxing.

"Will he be cold? He's only wearing that piece of clothing," little Peter Parker looked up and asked Aunt May, concern evident in his young eyes.

"Yeah! Of course it will be cold! But he will be fine! He is Tony Stark!" Aunt May touched his head and comforted him with a reassuring smile.

She already knew that Tony and the others had gone to find Killian, but she didn't know what the outcome was.

"Stark always manages to find trouble, doesn't he?" Nick Fury commented, his one eye narrowed as he watched the broadcast with arms crossed.

"That's what makes him Tony," Maria Hill replied with a slight shake of her head. "Always diving headfirst into danger."

[Tony dragged his armor through the snow for an unknown amount of time before he finally saw a gas station with the lights on.]

[He walked outside the gas station and saw a wooden sculpture with a cloak on it, so he took it off and put it on himself.]

[Then he went to a nearby phone booth and connected to Stark's secure server. Now he didn't dare to call Pepper directly, so he could only contact her this way.]

["Pepper! It's me! I have a lot to say sorry, but I don't have enough time! First of all: I'm sorry for putting you in danger!"]

["That was selfish and stupid. I will never do that again!"]

["Also, it's Christmas and the bunny is too big! That's it! I'm sorry!"]

["I also want to apologize in advance, because... I can't go home yet! I have to find that guy, you have to be safe! That's what I want to say!"]

["I just stole a cape from an Indian doll…"]

"At least he's apologizing," Pepper Potts remarked with a knowing smile. "That's progress."

[Tony came to the outside of a house and used a crowbar to pry open the door of a small house. The Mark 42 leaning against the door had no force point and fell to the ground immediately.]

[He took a deep breath and threw away his cloak, then walked in and looked around. He found that this was a garage and nodded approvingly.]

[Tony moved Mark 42 to the sofa with great effort, and sat next to it, placing its hands and talking to himself.]

["Sit comfortably! Are you happy now?" He said, straightening the armor's head.]

[After resting for a while, Tony sat in front of the workbench. Just as he was using a clamp to remove a sensor from his arm, he saw a little boy walking out.]

[Harley pointed a toy gun at Tony and shouted, "Stop! Don't move!"]

[Tony raised his hand: "You caught me! The potato gun is good! But the barrel is a bit long! If it is long and thick, it will weaken its attack power!"]

[As soon as he finished speaking, Harley raised his gun and fired at the cup above him, and the cup shattered.]

[Tony blinked, and Harley tilted his head towards him, with the corners of his mouth slightly raised.]

["Now you have no ammunition!" Tony put his hand down and smiled.]

[At this time, Harley discovered the reactor on Tony's chest and asked, "What is that thing on your chest?"]

["It's an electromagnet, you should know! You have a whole box here!" Tony patted the box beside him.]

["What does it power?" But little Harley was obviously not that easy to fool.]

[Hearing this, Tony tilted his mouth and revealed the Mark 42 behind him.]

[The moment he saw it, Harley smiled in surprise and even dropped his toy gun to the ground.]

["Oh! My, God! That… is that… is that Iron Man?" Looking at Mark 42, Harley was a little unsure about what to say.]

[Hearing his words, Tony said calmly: "Actually, I am!"]

["Actually, you're already dead!" He walked over and slapped a newspaper on Tony's chest.]

[Tony glanced at the newspaper, which read: 'Mandarin attacked, Tony Stark presumed dead!']

["That makes sense!"]

"The whole world thinks he's dead," Bruce Banner observed quietly. "That might actually work to his advantage. Gives him time to figure things out without being hunted."

"Classic misdirection," Natasha nodded in agreement. "Sometimes being presumed dead is the best cover you can have."

[Harley came to Mark 42, looked at it, and reached out to touch it. "What's wrong with it?"]

["Life is hard! I built it, I took care of it! Now I have to fix it!" Tony said, throwing the newspaper away.]

[Harley turned his head and looked at him curiously: "Like a mechanic?"]

[Tony nodded: "Yeah!"]

[He turned Mark 42's head and said, "If I were to create Iron Man and War Machine..."]

[Tony corrected him: "Now it's called Iron Patriot!"]

["This is much cooler!"]

[But Tony doesn't think so: "No way!"]

"I'm with Tony on this one," Rhodey chuckled. "Iron Patriot never really felt right."

"I don't know," Captain America shrugged. "I kind of like the patriotic angle."

[Hearing his words, Harley was a little frustrated and continued: "Okay! If it's me, I'll add that reverse..."]

["Retroreflective sheeting?" Tony said before he could finish.]

["It can make him invisible!"]

["Do you want to be invisible?" Tony narrowed his eyes and looked at him.]

["How cool! Isn't it?"]

[Tony smiled and said, "That's a good idea. Maybe I'll build one!"]

"That kid is smart," T'Challa observed, impressed. "Retroreflective panels would be quite useful for stealth operations."

"Shuri would like him," Okoye added with a rare smile. "She's always looking for ways to improve technology."

[At this time, Harley casually broke off Mark 42's fingers.]

[Tony quickly said: "This is a bad idea! What are you doing? Did you break its fingers off? It's in pain! It's hurt! Don't touch it!"]

["Sorry..." Harley lowered his head.]

[Tony first looked at him with wide eyes: "Really?"]

[But then relents and asks, "It's okay! I'll fix it! Um? Who's home?"]

[Harley played with his fingers and replied without raising his head: "Well! My mom went out to eat! My dad went to 7/11 to buy a scratch ticket! I guess he won the prize because it was six years ago!"]

The mood in the viewing room sobered immediately.

"Poor kid," Wanda Maximoff said softly, her eyes filled with empathy. She knew all too well what it was like to lose parents.

"That's rough," Clint Barton muttered, his thoughts immediately going to his own children.

[Tony crossed his arms and looked at him: "Yeah...it's normal, many dads run away! Don't be so fussy! I need something!"]

["A laptop, a digital watch, a cell phone! And the pneumatic spiral tube of your bazooka! A town map, a big spring! And a tuna sandwich!"]

[After Tony told him what he needed, Harley looked at him and asked, "What's in it for me?"]

[Tony curled his lips: "Salvation! What's his name?"]

[He was stunned for a moment: "Who?"]

["What's the name of the kid who bullied you at school?" Tony looked at him indifferently.]

["How did you know?" Harley was a little surprised.]

[Tony did not answer his question, but walked straight towards Mark 42.]

["I just have what you need!"]

[He opened the armor, took out the flash bomb inside and placed it in front of Harley.]

["This is a pinata for cricket! I'm kidding! This is a very powerful weapon. Don't point it at yourself. Press the button on it and it will scare away the people who are bullying you!"]

[Tony demonstrates how to use it, hands it to him and adds: "Non-lethal weapon, just to get away! Deal?"]

[Harley reaches out to take it, but Tony immediately moves his hand away to prevent him from getting it: "Deal? How's it going?"]

["Deal!" Tony gave it to him after hearing the answer.]

"Is he seriously giving that child a flash bomb?" Fury exclaimed, his eye widening in disbelief.

"It's non-lethal," Scott Lang pointed out with a shrug. "And honestly, probably better than some of the stuff I've given Cassie."

"I think it's sweet," young Peter Parker said, earning surprised looks from the adults around him. "He's helping Harley stand up to bullies. That's what heroes do, right?"

The multiverse viewers watched with varying degrees of concern and amusement as Tony Stark, presumed dead by the world, formed an unlikely alliance with a young boy in Tennessee. Neither of them knew yet how this chance meeting would change everything in the battle against Killian and the Mandarin that was still to come.

Chapter 324: The Mandarin

[After handing him the flash bomb, Tony asked, "What's your name?"]

["Harley! What's your name?" Harley looked at the flash bomb carefully.]

[Before he could say anything, Tony took the initiative to say: "The Mechanic! Tony!"]

[Then looked at him and asked, "You know what I've been thinking about? Where's my sandwich?"]

"It's me! Mom! That's our house!" Harley exclaimed excitedly, jumping up from his seat as he recognized the scene playing on the mysterious screen.

What his mother was more concerned about was who had been bullying Harley at school. Her eyes narrowed with protective anger.

Under his mother's questioning, Harley finally told the truth about his tormentors. His mother immediately called the school and expressed her outrage, while also considering changing schools if the situation didn't improve.

Tony Stark, who had just arrived at Stark Tower in another universe, watched the broadcast with growing interest in the little boy. "He seems like a very talented kid," Tony observed thoughtfully. "He even knows about retroreflective panels."

"I wonder if his mother would be interested in relocating to New York," Tony mused aloud. "Harley is about the same age as little Peter—they might become good friends!"

Tony's suggestion resonated with many of the viewers. Natasha Romanoff nodded in agreement. "Little Peter could use more genuine friends," she said quietly. "He doesn't have many at school."

"Most kids who approach him are just drawn to his identity as the future Spider-Man or his connection to you," she added, glancing at Tony.

"That's why I taught him how to tell whether people approaching him have ulterior motives," Tony responded with a hint of pride.

"It's worth mentioning," Bruce Banner interjected, "that Tony has already contacted Ned's parents, and they've expressed their willingness to let Ned be classmates with little Peter. Though this arrangement carries risks, the potential benefits are significant."

[The scene changes to show that the outside of the Malibu villa is full of people, including a large number of firefighters and reporters.]

[The scene was horrible. Pepper stood at the edge, holding a cracked armor mask in her hand and pressing it against her forehead to stop herself from crying.]

[But then she seemed to hear something, and immediately turned it over, and saw a red light flashing inside the mask. Pepper immediately put it on her head.]

["Stark secure server, retinal scan authenticated!" As an AI female voice sounded, Pepper heard the message Tony left for her.]

[Knowing that Tony was still alive, Pepper almost cried. She was relieved that Tony was not dead.]

"That's smart," Rhodey commented. "Using the helmet to send a secure message."

"Classic Tony," Happy added with a small smile. "Always has a backup plan."

[In the car, Pepper drove and asked Maya: "Why did you come to our house today? Is there something so important that you have to tell Tony?"]

[Maya took a deep breath and said, "I think my boss works for the Mandarin! If you still want to continue the discussion, I suggest we find a safer place to discuss it!"]

[Pepper was a little surprised, she was somewhat incredulous: "Do you think your boss works for the Mandarin? But Tony said you are a botanist! So..."]

[Maya glanced at her calmly: "No wonder, I am actually a genetic coder who manages a team of forty people! I am employed by a private think tank! But you can say that I am a botanist!"]

["What's your boss' name?"]

[Maya casually said: "Yeah! His name is Aldrich Killian!"]

[Pepper looked at Maya in disbelief. You know, Killian had just come to see her today!]

"I don't trust this Maya person," Wanda said, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Something about her story doesn't add up."

"Agreed," Natasha replied. "She waited until after the attack to reveal this information. Why not before?"

[The scene changes to Killian, who is on the phone, and a voice says, "We blew up the house, sir! But no body! No Stark!"]

[Killian nodded, stood up and walked into the room.]

["I see! I have to hang up! The master is going to start recording, he's a little... Well! You know him! Don't forget your date tonight, call me when you're done!"]

[He came to a room full of staff members preparing for filming. One of the staff members arranged the Mandarin's chair and belongings.]

["Okay everyone, don't talk, don't look him in the eyes! Unless you want to be shot!"]

[A motorcade was seen arriving, and bodyguards got off the cars one after another to check the surrounding situation. After confirming that it was safe, the Mandarin slowly got off the car and walked towards the house.]

[He sat directly on the seat prepared for him, and two maids kindly helped him take off his hood.]

[After the preparations were completed, he looked at Killian on the side and said, "Okay! What are we waiting for?"]

"Wow! This guy has such a strong aura!" Scott Lang couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at the Mandarin's imposing presence.

"Okay! We have confirmed that Killian is in league with the Mandarin! He is working for him!" Tony observed, spreading his hands dramatically. "I never thought this guy could be a lackey!"

"Haven't you found out where they are yet?" Steve Rogers asked, glancing at Banner who was analyzing data on a holographic display.

"Still looking," Banner replied without looking up from his work. "As long as he appears under any satellite or camera, we'll find him."

[In the town, Tony said as he walked: "The sandwich is okay, the spring is a little rusty, but I can make do with the remaining ingredients!"]

[Then he complained: "By the way, when you said your sister had a watch, I didn't think she was so childish!" Then he showed the children's watch on his wrist.]

["Ahahaha! She's only 6 years old! Besides, this is a limited edition!" Harley couldn't help but laugh when he heard Tony's complaints.]

["When can we talk about New York?"]

[Tony refused without hesitation: "Maybe never! Don't even think about it!"]

["What about the Avengers? Can you talk about them?"]

[Kids always have so many questions. Tony couldn't stand it any longer: "Let's talk about it later! Hey! Kid! Let me take a breath!"]

[Then he saw the scene of Chad Davis's explosion. He could see that the scene was the same as the one in the theater, with several black figures on the wall.]

["What's the official statement? What's going on?"]

[Harley walked to the edge of the explosion pit and looked at it: "It seems to be a man named Chad Davis. He used to live nearby and won many medals in the army!"]

["One day people said he went crazy and built a... bomb! And then he blew himself up here!"]

"This sounds familiar," Bucky Barnes said quietly, his metal arm clenching involuntarily. "Military veterans being 'blamed' for destructive incidents."

"It's a convenient narrative," Natasha agreed coldly. "Blame PTSD, and no one asks deeper questions."

[Tony listened to Harley's words, walked to the wall and touched the black marks left by the vaporized human body. He counted the number of figures and realized something was wrong.]

["Six people died, right?"]

["Yeah!"]

["Including Chad Davis?"]

["Yeah!"]

[Tony blinked and walked over to sit next to Harry: "Really? This doesn't make sense! Think about it, six people died, and there are only five shadows!"]

[Harley told Tony what he heard: "People say these shadows are the imprints of souls who went to heaven! Except for that guy! He had no shadows, so he went to hell! That's why there are only five!"]

[Tony doesn't believe in the nonsense that souls go to heaven or hell. He believes in science more, so he asks back: "Do you believe it?"]

Chapter 325: Mrs. Davis

[Harley was just a kid, he didn't know much, so he replied: "Everyone says so!"]

[Then he asked: "Do you know what this pit reminds me of?"]

[Tony shook his head: "I don't know, I don't... I don't care!"]

[Even though Tony said that, Harley still said to himself: "That huge wormhole! In New York! Do you feel the same way?"]

[Tony immediately reacted and exposed his thoughts: "You are trying to trick me. I don't want to talk!"]

["Will they come back? Those aliens?" But Harley still kept asking.]

[Tony didn't want to talk about this topic at all, so he raised his voice considerably: "Maybe! Can you shut up? Remember I told you I have anxiety disorder?"]

[Tony's temper scared Harley a little. He only remembered this after hearing Tony talk about anxiety disorder.]

["Does this topic make you... anxious?"]

["Yeah! A little bit! Can you let me take a breath?" Tony took a deep breath.]

[But Harley continued to chatter: "Are there bad people in Rose Hill? Do you need to breathe through a plastic bag? Do you have medicine?"]

[Tony replied helplessly: "NO!"]

["Do you need to take medicine?"]

["Maybe?"]

["Do you have post-traumatic stress disorder?"]

[Tony closed his eyes silently and kept answering Harry's endless questions: "Probably not!"]

["Are you... losing your mind? I can shut up! Do you want me to shut up? Do you want me to shut up?"]

[Tony's breathing began to quicken. He listened to Harley's endless chatter and finally couldn't help it.]

["Remember when I told you to shut up? Oh my God! You're driving me crazy!" Then he felt his anxiety attack coming on, so he stood up and ran back.]

["Ah! You succeeded! Didn't you? Are you happy now?"]

[Harley was still confused and didn't understand the situation. He shouted: "What did I say?"]

[Then he gets up and chases after Tony, "Hey! Wait for me! Wait!"]

[Tony ran to the road sign, sat down against the wall, and covered his face with snow when he saw it on the ground.]

[Harley caught up and asked, "What's wrong with you?"]

[Tony covered his face, then rolled the snow into a ball and threw it at Harley.]

["It's all your fault! You're driving me crazy!"]

[After a while, Tony felt much better, so he looked at Harley and asked, "Okay! Back to the topic, where were we? Does the deceased have any relatives or mother? Mrs. Davis, where is she?"]

[Harley touched his nose: "Same old place!"]

[Tony waved his hand and said, "Now you can help!"]

"Hahahaha! This kid's chatterbox is no worse than Peter!" Uncle Ben exclaimed, clearly amused by Harry's relentless questioning.

He could probably imagine how much Tony was suffering from the anxiety attack. The Battle of New York had left deeper scars than anyone realized.

Tony pulled a long face and said, "I don't like this kid a little bit now!"

"Hey! You just said he's a talented person!" Rhodes standing by complained about the speed at which his friend's opinion had changed.

Tony rolled his eyes. "Just now was just now! Now is now!"

"Hahaha!" His words made everyone present laugh. Tony changed his attitude towards people as quickly as he used to change romantic partners before settling down with Pepper.

Dr. Banner studied the footage more closely. "The PTSD is interesting. I've never seen Tony this vulnerable in public before."

"PTSD from the wormhole," Natasha observed quietly. "It makes sense. He literally flew into space with a nuclear weapon and nearly didn't make it back."

[Outside the Walker Bar, Tony was wearing a baseball cap and was about to go in, but he bumped into a woman outside.]

["Sorry! Ma'am! This is…" Tony apologized first, then bent down and picked up the things the woman dropped.]

[The woman turned around and picked up her things, "Thank you!"]

[Tony looked at the woman with scars on her face and praised her: "Nice hairstyle! It suits you very well!"]

[She smiled and glanced at Tony's wrist: "Nice watch!"]

["Yeah! Limited edition!" Tony waved his hand.]

["Oh! Of course! Have fun tonight!" She said, took another closer look and left.]

[Tony paid no attention to her, adjusted his hat and walked into the bar.]

"Did you see her face?" Sam Wilson asked, leaning forward. "Those scars looked like burn marks."

"Extremis," Tony and Bruce said simultaneously, exchanging a knowing look.

[At this time, the room was bustling with people, and there were policemen drinking and chatting here. Tony quietly searched for Mrs. Davis in the crowd.]

[Soon he found her in a corner of the bar. Tony had already learned about Mrs. Davis's appearance from Harry, so he could roughly recognize her.]

[He slowly walked over to the other party, put the wine glass on the table and said, "Mrs. Davis, do you mind if I sit down?"]

[Mrs. Davis put her hand on her neck, looked at him and said, "A free country!"]

["Indeed!" Tony said calmly and pulled out a chair and sat down.]

[After Tony sat down, Mrs. Davis asked him, "Okay! Where do you want to start?"]

["I just want to say I'm sorry for your loss! I want to know what you think happened?"]

[After hearing what Tony said, she didn't say anything, but just handed him the information beside her.]

["I brought you the information, take it and go! No matter what's inside, he doesn't want to have anything to do with it!"]

"She thinks he's someone else," Clint observed, his eyes narrowing. "Someone who called her to set up this meeting."

"Which means Tony walked into something bigger than he realized," Steve added grimly.

[Tony glanced at the title on the document, which read: Confidential Document, Chad Davis!]

[He took the file and flipped it open. "Obviously you're waiting for someone else! Right? To meet here?"]

["Yeah!"]

[After getting a positive answer, Tony continued to check the information, and then found a familiar name, Taggart, who was the guy who exploded in the theater.]

[Tony closed the information and looked at Mrs. Davis and said solemnly: "Mrs. Davis! Your son did not commit suicide! I assure you! He did not kill anyone! Someone took advantage of him!"]

[Davis's eyes twitched slightly, and she looked at Tony in disbelief: "What did you say?"]

["Someone turned him into a weapon!"]

[Mrs. Davis looked at him with a little trembling and said, "You are not the one who called me! Right?"]

"The woman outside," Natasha said suddenly. "The one with the scars who noticed his watch. She recognized him."

"Which means Extremis agents are already closing in," Fury concluded, his expression grim.

A heavy silence fell over the multiverse viewers as they realized Tony Stark, with no functioning armor and only a child as backup, was walking straight into a trap in Rose Hill, Tennessee.