When Tony Stark heard what Peter Parker said, he immediately refuted it.
"I never said anything like that."
Watching Peter hand over E.D.I.T.H. to Mysterio and even welcome him into the Avengers, Tony was speechless.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became.
He had worked so hard to build everything he owned, only for this naïve kid to casually hand it over to an outsider.
"This guy has been manipulating the kid from beginning to end, trying to get those glasses," Tony said unhappily."And Peter still doesn't realize it."
"Relax, Tony," Bruce Banner said."He's still just a child. It's normal for him to crack under pressure."
"Normal?" Tony snapped irritably."What's not normal is him trying to find some 'next Iron Man'!"
"If there really has to be a next Iron Man…" he continued seriously,"then I only want it to be that kid. Anyone else? I won't acknowledge them."
On top of Stark Tower, Peter watched the scene in silence.
Could his future self really handle that responsibility?
Could he truly inherit everything and become the second Iron Man?
In the end, future him had still handed everything over to a man called Mysterio.
And strangely…
That seemed to make him feel relieved.
But the next scene made Peter furious.
After he left, the entire bar changed.
Most of the customers inside had been fake all along.
They were merely holographic projections.
And the worst part?
Future Peter hadn't noticed anything.
Not at all.
Peter was stunned.
He had spider-sense.He could sense danger and even predict things to some degree.
So how could he fail to notice such an obvious illusion?
Meanwhile, the previously friendly and honest-looking Quentin Beck suddenly revealed a sinister smile.
His entire demeanor changed instantly.
"See?" Mysterio laughed."That wasn't so hard."
The entire bar erupted into cheers.
"Somebody help me get out of this ridiculous costume!"
He laughed loudly as people helped remove his so-called superhero suit.
To him, it wasn't armor.
It was just a stage costume.
"Alright," Mysterio said excitedly,"We got E.D.I.T.H. Now connect it to our system."
At this point, everyone understood.
Mysterio had approached Spider-Man from the very beginning for one reason only:
Tony Stark's AI legacy.
Peter finally realized the truth as well.
The terrified man from the earlier diary fragments who claimed Peter had killed him—
had been a villain all along.
Peter had simply been a tool in his plan.
Everything had been a setup from the start.
Tony rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Something still didn't add up.
Even with advanced holograms, Quentin Beck himself had no superpowers.
So how had he convinced Peter he was genuinely powerful?
And it wasn't just Peter who had been fooled.
Even Nick Fury had believed him.
That meant the trick was far more complicated than simple projections.
Tony thought carefully.
Then his eyes narrowed.
"Unless…" he muttered.
"Unless he used holograms to create the visual effects," Tony explained,"while using explosives and drones to create actual destruction."
"He must have an entire team supporting him."
"That's why the illusion looked real enough to fool Peter."
Tony quickly figured out the rest.
"If he wants E.D.I.T.H., then he probably wants access to Stark Industries' drone systems and weapons technology."
Everything suddenly made sense.
Battle visuals could be faked with holograms—
but physical destruction couldn't.
Without real explosions and damage, people would eventually realize it was fake.
So Mysterio needed E.D.I.T.H. and Stark's automated weapons systems.
Tony finally understood Quentin Beck's goal.
Unlike real heroes who protected the world—
or villains who wanted to conquer it—
Mysterio was simply a con artist.
A normal man pretending to be a superhero in order to gain fame and wealth.
Tony could only sigh.
"What a damn talent…"
This time, no one blamed Tony.
The problem wasn't the technology.
The problem was the criminal using it—
and Peter being deceived.
Meanwhile, in the video, encouraged by the cheering fraudsters around him, Mysterio stepped onto the center stage and raised his glass.
"A toast," he shouted,"To the man who brought us all together…"
"Our former boss—Tony Stark."
Everyone immediately looked toward Tony.
They already knew Quentin Beck had once worked for Stark Industries.
But now they realized—
the entire crew were former Stark employees.
Nick Fury smirked.
"You got anything to say about this?"
Natasha Romanoff laughed lightly.
"Tony, your company really is full of talent."
Tony rolled his eyes.
"What are you all looking at me for?" he complained."Stark Industries is the number one company in the world. Of course talented people work for me."
"There are over a million employees. Am I supposed to personally know every single one?"
Still…
Now he understood how they knew about E.D.I.T.H.
Some of them had probably even worked on the project.
Large-scale systems like that were never built by one person alone.
Tony's expression turned cold.
"Jarvis," he said quietly,"scan every single face here."
"I'll personally deal with them later."
These people had actually dared to target him.
Did they really think being charitable meant he was soft?
Inside the bar, the crowd continued mocking Tony openly.
"Clown king!"
Quentin Beck sneered.
"Wrapped in wealth and technology… yet completely unworthy of either."
"My holographic system was revolutionary," he continued angrily."It had limitless potential."
"But Tony turned it into a therapy machine and renamed it B.A.R.F.—Binary Augmented Retro-Framing."
"My project cost 611 million dollars!"
The screen showed Tony demonstrating the technology during a presentation.
Standing beside him at the controls—
was Quentin Beck himself.
Tony's face darkened immediately.
"Clown king?"
Nobody had humiliated him like this before.
Especially not one of his own employees.
And now, in front of everyone, he had become the joke.
"That was my life's work!" Beck shouted furiously."I told him his decision was a mistake! My technology could change the world!"
"And then he fired me!"
Tony nearly exploded in anger.
"Your life's work?!"
Without Stark's ideas…Without Stark solving the technical problems…Without Stark Industries' resources…
What exactly could Quentin Beck have accomplished alone?
Tony was genuinely furious now.
The feeling was unbearable.
He had treated his employees well.
And this was the result.
-----------------------
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