Tony spoke with a relish for stirring things up, completely unaware that his everyday interactions with Pepper weren't much different from Carl's. As the saying goes, those involved can't see clearly—Tony had no idea he was exactly the same.
"You're the real pervert! Don't think I don't know—Pepper told us all about it~~ Even Natasha knows."
Skye didn't spell out what she meant, but that only made Tony more anxious.
"Damn it—what did Pepper tell you? Listen here, you little brat, don't go learning Carl's scheming tricks. My feelings for Pepper are nothing but love, got it? I'd never restrict her freedom—unlike that little punk Carl!"
Tony was getting worked up, nearly spilling the champagne in his hand. Fortunately, Natasha smoothly covered for him. Everyone's attention was still on Tony—if he made a fool of himself now, it would've been quite a spectacle.
"Alright, let me be fair here. Tony, you and Carl are exactly the same—both of you have serious control issues. You just don't show it most of the time. I know everything, you know~~ After all, I'm the admin of the 'Little Fairy Group.'"
Natasha, clearly enjoying herself, added fuel to the fire.
While they bantered, Skye had already intercepted the constantly shifting signal and locked onto its source.
"The signal's locked. Barton, can you check if you've regained control?"
Barton immediately looked at the screen. Sure enough, the mysterious signal had vanished, and control was back in his hands.
"Skye, you're amazing—blocking that signal so quickly. Honestly, you should just take over. I'll head up to the rooftop platform and wait."
Barton felt mentally drained. He understood some high-tech systems, but only to the level expected of an agent. In cyberspace, he was out of his depth. He much preferred being a frontline operative—this kind of tech wasn't his forte.
"Alright~ I'll take over for you. By the way, Peter should already be here, right? Why haven't I seen him?"
Skye looked puzzled. Peter had been deployed as backup, but he hadn't shown up or joined their comms.
At that moment, Barton leapt from the Quinjet. With the sound of cables deploying, he descended onto the rooftop platform, bow in hand. The Quinjet switched to autopilot, now controlled by the Avengers' AI.
After several generations of upgrades, the Quinjet—now equipped with an Arc Reactor and Stark Industries' cloaking system—could achieve true physical invisibility. It was undetectable both visually and audibly; even its engine noise could only be heard within ten meters. It also featured AI-assisted operation—though not on Jarvis's level, it far surpassed standard systems.
On the platform, a helicopter sat quietly on the helipad. No guards were in sight. Barton sat openly nearby; after observing the area, he realized it was a blind spot. He could probably do calisthenics here and still go unnoticed.
"Hey~ guys~~ looking for me? I've been here for a while now~~"
Peter's voice suddenly came through the comms, and as usual, he started chattering nonstop the moment he joined.
At first, Tony had wondered if Peter had split personalities. Normally, he was a shy kid—but the moment he put on the Spider suit, he turned into an unstoppable chatterbox, talking endlessly for reasons no one could understand.
Within the Avengers, Rhodey was just as talkative. When he and Peter got together, they were the perfect duo of non-stop banter.
At the moment, Peter was crouched on the rooftop of a building across from the tower, monitoring the perimeter using a spider-drone launched from his chest.
That's right—Peter had upgraded his suit again. He was now wearing a nano-vibranium suit designed by Tony—the very one that, in the films, he wouldn't get until Thanos invaded Earth. Here, he already had it.
And not just him—every Avenger had upgraded their gear. Each suit incorporated some amount of vibranium, though only in limited quantities. Heavy equipment like Rhodey's War Machine armor or Sam's wings were still made of high-strength alloys. After all, large-scale use of vibranium required Wakanda's approval—it was the only place to obtain it.
Even so, their defensive capabilities were maxed out. Ordinary weapons couldn't harm them—at most leaving minor dents or scratches, which the nanotech would repair in moments.
"Guys, something's happening! Two cops have stopped Dr. Pym."
Peter's drone had locked onto the scene at the entrance.
"Looks like they're trying to arrest him. Should I step in? I've been itching for some action."
Peter was about to leap off the rooftop, but Tony stopped him.
"Not yet, Peter. That old man Pym can handle it. If he can't deal with something this minor, he wouldn't have been the previous Ant-Man."
Tony already knew Pym's identity and had reviewed all the Ant-Man files left behind by his father, Howard.
But to everyone's surprise, Pym didn't seem to be handling it well—the two officers weren't easily fooled.
"Listen, if I don't get inside, people are going to die."
The officers didn't buy it. One of them—Paxton, the current husband of Scott's ex-wife Maggie—snorted dismissively.
"That's a bit overdramatic. Save it for your statement."
They moved to forcibly escort Pym into the police car—when suddenly, sirens blared. The patrol car had been stolen. Right in broad daylight.
The two officers immediately chased after it, completely forgetting about Pym.
The bold culprit behind the theft was none other than Dave. Seeing Pym surrounded, he had come up with this risky but perfectly in-character plan. As it turned out, it didn't matter how ridiculous the method was—as long as it worked.
"Well~~ looks like the problem's solved. That accomplice—Dave?—has lured the cops away."
From his vantage point, Peter saw everything clearly through the drone. His helmet display even showed Dave's background information.
Meanwhile, Dr. Pym successfully entered the building and passed through security. As he walked inside, he came face-to-face with Tony, Natasha—and Darren Cross, his former protégé, who was currently talking with Tony.
"Oh~ you finally made it, Hank. I've been waiting for you for a long time~"
Darren spotted Pym immediately and greeted him with a smile, then began introducing him to Tony.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed Marvel Manifestor, please give it a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support means everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~