After leaving the apartment, Peter confidently walked down the main road.
Every few steps, he could not help turning his head to glance at Jarvis, who followed closely behind him.
The flashy Iron Man armor immediately caught Peter's attention, stirring a faint sense of nostalgia for school.
Why did the school always close whenever something happened?
If it were open, he could take Uncle Jarvis there for a tour. He would definitely become the coolest kid in the entire school.
Unfortunately, school was still closed.
So, Peter eventually led Jarvis to the roadside and waved down a taxi.
The taxi stopped beside them, but the driver looked at Peter with obvious confusion. After rolling down the window, his gaze lingered on Jarvis for several seconds before he finally asked with concern,
"Kid, are you looking for a ride?"
"Uh, of course I'm looking for a ride. Why else would I hail a taxi? Am I trying to chat with you?"
Peter replied impatiently.
The taxi driver took a deep breath before continuing.
"Alright. Taking Iron Man, Tony Stark, in a taxi? That's quite a passenger!"
As he spoke, the driver glanced at Jarvis again.
"First, tell me where you're going. City Hall? Somewhere else? Or do I need to help you chase down a supervillain?"
He paused before adding nervously,
"I have a daughter at home. She's only two years old. If there's any danger, I can't help you."
"No, Mr. Paravin. I would not bring a child like Peter along while pursuing criminals."
Jarvis's mechanical voice remained perfectly composed.
"Furthermore, according to my investigation, Mr. Paravin, you are not married, nor do you have a two-year-old daughter, legitimate or otherwise. So, would you be willing to take us to the Osborn Group Bio-Tech Expo?"
"Ah?"
Hearing Jarvis's mechanical voice, Paravin swallowed nervously.
"Osborn, huh? Alright, get in. But are you really Iron Man? Your voice doesn't sound much like the Iron Man on television."
The driver quickly leaned toward the back and opened the rear door.
Seeing the door open, Jarvis gently nudged Peter toward the seat before sitting beside him.
Once they were inside, Jarvis continued speaking as Paravin prepared to drive.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Paravin, but I am not Mr. Stark, so I am unable to provide you with an autograph. Furthermore, I am an artificial intelligence program. To be precise, I am not human."
With that, Jarvis simply opened his faceplate.
At the same moment, Paravin pressed down on the accelerator while glancing at Jarvis through the rearview mirror.
When he saw that there was nothing inside the armor's helmet, his entire body stiffened.
Vroom!
The taxi suddenly surged forward.
Peter was thrown back against his seat and shouted in panic,
"We're going to crash!"
Thud!
After a heavy impact, Peter was firmly held against the seat by Jarvis, while Paravin slammed into the steering wheel.
"Ugh!"
After groaning in pain, Paravin turned around helplessly, rubbing his chest before pointing toward the car door.
"Damn it. You two need to find another car."
He sighed bitterly.
"And I should probably be thankful I bought good insurance. I just hope those two incidents in New York haven't completely drained my insurance company. Otherwise, if I have to pay for the repairs myself, I'll probably end up working for two months without earning anything."
Paravin opened the door and waved for Peter and Jarvis to get out.
Peter could only stick out his tongue at him before leaving the taxi with Jarvis and finding another vehicle.
---
Not long afterward, in the plaza outside the Osborn Group Bio-Tech Expo, the Stacy family stood beside a flower bed, quietly talking.
Captain George Stacy glanced at his daughter, whose eyes were filled with anticipation, before turning toward his wife with a reproachful expression.
"It's one thing for Gwen to be mischievous, but why are you joining her? New York isn't exactly safe right now. There are still plenty of criminals on the streets. You shouldn't have brought our daughter out, especially to a public event like this."
"Don't say that, dear. It's not nearly as dangerous here as you're making it sound."
Mrs. Stacy smiled gently at her husband.
She took his hand and continued,
"New York is much better now, isn't it? Even Captain America announced on television that things have returned to normal. Hydra has no chance of defeating Captain America. He's the enemy they're most afraid of."
She gave his hand a light squeeze.
"Besides, we're not going into the dangerous parts of the city looking for trouble. Aren't you responsible for security at the Osborn Group Bio-Tech Expo?"
She smiled at him.
"Just like that little boy we met yesterday wanted to see our daughter, I wanted to see you too. Osborn Technology is already heavily secured, and you're personally leading the security team. What do I have to worry about?"
Mrs. Stacy wrapped her arm around her husband's and glanced at their daughter, who was becoming increasingly impatient.
Seeing the happiness on his wife's face, Captain Stacy sighed and asked softly,
"But are you sure that family you mentioned will actually come to the expo? New York is still dangerous. Look around. There are hardly any visitors here. Even with the police present, there aren't more than two hundred people."
He frowned.
"Even if we trust Captain America and believe he can defeat Hydra, he can't stop every criminal roaming the streets. If the Parker family doesn't come, Gwen is going to be disappointed."
"How could she be disappointed?"
Mrs. Stacy smiled and leaned closer to whisper into his ear.
"Even if Gwen doesn't get to see her new friend from yesterday, she'll still get to see her father, won't she?"
She gave him a knowing look.
"Dear, you've never failed in your duties as a police officer. But as a husband and father, you need to think about us too. Even if our home is safe, if you're not there, do you really think Gwen and I will feel completely safe?"
She smiled warmly.
"Just do your job properly. We'll walk around here and keep an eye on you. Seeing you working safely will put Gwen and me at ease."
With that, Mrs. Stacy smiled and walked alongside her husband.
Captain Stacy accompanied his family while signaling his subordinates to keep an eye on Gwen.
They had barely walked forty steps when a sudden commotion erupted from the edge of the plaza, roughly two hundred meters away.
Captain Stacy's expression immediately tightened.
He grabbed his wife's hand and warned her,
"Something's happening. I need to check it out. Take Gwen and move somewhere safe. If anything happens, get inside the Osborn Group building. Their security force is much better equipped than the police."
Suppressing his concern, Captain Stacy released his wife's hand and rushed toward the disturbance.
More people were drawn toward the commotion, gradually surrounding the area.
As they got closer, their confusion quickly turned into excitement.
"Ah! Iron Man!"
"It's Iron Man!"
"Long live Tony Stark!"
"Mom, I saw the real Iron Man!"
"Who's that kid? Is he Stark's illegitimate son?"
"That's so cool!"
"Mom, I want armor like that too!"
"He's so handsome!"
Surrounded by the growing crowd, Peter nervously clutched Jarvis's mechanical hand.
The metal was cold, but the familiar presence gave Peter a strong sense of security.
Jarvis watched as the crowd continued pressing closer.
After remaining silent for several seconds, he activated his defensive systems.
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
Mechanical sounds echoed through the plaza.
Several red targeting lights immediately locked onto nearby individuals.
At the same time, the armor plates on Jarvis's back opened, revealing hundreds of miniature missiles.
The sight of the weapons immediately shocked the spectators.
The crowd that had been closing in quickly began retreating.
Just then, Captain Stacy pushed through the dispersing crowd.
He drew his pistol, raised it toward Jarvis, and demanded,
"Who are you? Are you Iron Man, or the intelligent battlesuit that's been operating throughout the city since yesterday?"
"Hello, Captain George Stacy. I am Jarvis, temporarily serving as Peter Parker's guardian under the command of Mr. Axel."
Jarvis calmly retracted his weapons.
"It is a pleasure to meet you. That means half of my mission is complete. Mr. Peter Parker and your daughter have an appointment to visit the Osborn Bio-Tech Expo together. May I ask where your daughter is?"
Jarvis then pulled Peter closer to him.
"As for my weapon systems, please do not be concerned. My security systems were jointly developed and refined by Mr. Stark, Mr. Wayne, and Mr. Luthor. Unless I am attacked, I will not initiate aggression against unarmed civilians."
He continued,
"My current defensive posture was intended only to prevent the crowd from becoming too dense, thereby reducing the risk of injury to Peter and the other children present."
Jarvis decisively opened his faceplate, allowing Captain Stacy to see that there was no human inside the armor.
Rather than relaxing, however, Stacy became even more cautious.
He slowly lowered his pistol.
"I didn't expect you to be the one bringing that kid here. Honestly, though, I would have preferred Tony Stark to be inside that armor."
"I understand your feelings. People naturally have greater expectations when dealing with their own kind. Unfortunately, Mr. Stark has his own responsibilities. I apologize that I am the one standing before you."
Jarvis then gently moved the nervous Peter toward Stacy.
Stacy looked at the timid boy and gave a small snort before taking Peter's hand.
"You're the kid who called my daughter and asked her to come to the expo with you, right? Don't you know New York is dangerous right now?"
"Uh, you're..."
Peter looked at him in confusion.
Stacy snorted again before introducing himself.
"I'm Gwen's father. Where are your parents? Didn't they come with you?"
"I've never seen my parents since I was little. My uncle and aunt have always taken care of me. But my uncle passed away a long time ago. Now I only have my aunt..."
Peter answered innocently.
Stacy's expression immediately changed.
Damn it. I really hit a sore spot.
Feeling guilty, Stacy led Peter toward his family.
His attitude became noticeably gentler.
"Sorry, kid. I didn't know about your family situation. But where's your aunt? Why didn't she come with you? And why did an intelligent Iron Man suit come instead?"
"Because Uncle Tang came to visit my house, and Aunt May has to entertain Uncle Tang!"
Peter's eyes brightened as he continued.
"Do you know who Uncle Tang is? He's the superhero who sent Hulk flying yesterday! He even sent Uncle Jarvis with me. With Uncle Jarvis protecting us, Gwen and I will definitely be safe!"
"What?"
Stacy's expression became strange.
"So you came here with a robot while Axel stayed home with your aunt?"
He leaned closer to Peter and lowered his voice.
"If I'm not mistaken, kid, did Axel also give you some money and tell you to go out and play by yourself?"
"Huh? How did you know? Do you do that too?"
"No, no, no. I've never done anything like that."
Stacy hesitated before continuing.
"But your aunt must be very beautiful, right?"
He shook his head slightly.
"I haven't met Axel, but he's dangerous. We have plenty of footage of him in our system. He's not a hero."
He shrugged.
"But that's none of my business. Since you're already here, go explore the expo with my daughter. I still have work to do, so I won't accompany you."
By then, they had already reached Gwen.
Stacy did not hesitate and handed Peter over to his daughter.
With Jarvis protecting them, he no longer had to worry about Gwen's safety, so he returned to his duties.
Mrs. Stacy then took the two excited children into the expo.
They visited one exhibition hall after another, with both children constantly running ahead and stopping whenever something caught their attention.
It quickly became obvious that both were exceptionally intelligent.
Despite their young age, they were already capable of offering their own observations about some of the technologies on display.
Watching the two children talk so enthusiastically, Mrs. Stacy was delighted.
She had always worried that Gwen might struggle socially because of her intelligence.
Seeing her daughter so engaged with Peter put those concerns at ease.
After visiting several exhibition halls, the two children eventually reached an ecological garden.
Their attention was drawn toward a massive glass exhibition hall illuminated by several spotlights.
The moment Gwen saw what was inside, she grabbed Peter's arm, a faint shiver running across her scalp.
"Forget it. Let's skip this one."
"How can we skip it?"
Peter looked toward the exhibit with curiosity.
"Spiders are one of Osborn Technology's major research fields. They have incredible agility and hunting instincts, while their silk has properties that make it an extremely valuable material for research."
He glanced at Gwen.
"And you didn't want to leave when we saw the lizards earlier. You're not afraid of spiders, are you?"
"How could I be afraid of spiders?"
Gwen immediately denied it.
"I just... I just think they're a little strange. Aren't you afraid they'll crawl out from somewhere and bite you? Some of them are venomous!"
She lowered her voice, clearly worried that Peter would tease her.
"And I've always seemed to attract spiders. Ever since I was little, I'd occasionally wake up and find a few crawling around the corners of my room!"
She frowned.
"Our house is always clean, but there are still spiders everywhere. It's so annoying..."
Gwen tugged at Peter's arm.
"Anyway, let's go. Come on. I don't want to look at those ugly things. Just assume I'm scared. I'm only worried about getting bitten by one of them..."
She suddenly froze.
"Hiss! What was that?"
Gwen cried out in pain.
"It hurts! Ouch!"
=≠=
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