"Tony Stark?"
The moment Peter heard the name, he perked up instantly.
He's coming, he's coming! He's marching toward me with a backpack full of hot, fresh sacrifice points!
Even though he was already calculating how to fleece Tony until the man was bald, Peter's tone remained indifferent when responding to Nick fury
"The arms dealer and playboy? I've heard of him." Peter paused, adding with a smirk, "What? Did he overexert himself and needs me to give his kidneys a magical boost, or what?"
On the other end of the line, Nick Fury choked. He nearly died on his own saliva.
But... the kid wasn't entirely wrong. Given Tony Stark's legendary lifestyle of wine, women, and song, there might actually come a day when he'd come crying to the "Arbiter" for medical intervention.
Sigh, it's a shame the boy isn't one of mine. Otherwise, I could use this to pull Tony right into my fold...
Shaking the stray thoughts from his head, Fury's voice turned low and grave as he recounted the details of Tony Stark's kidnapping by a terrorist organization in Afghanistan.
He was truly out of options. Tony had vanished in a place where even the U.S. military's reach was strained.
Without solid intel, they couldn't launch a massive carpet search, and Captain America wasn't familiar with the local terrain. Finding one man in the rugged caves of Afghanistan was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Fury was genuinely worried that by the time they found Tony, he'd be nothing more than "Gundam scrap."
"Tony Stark is vital!" Fury emphasized. "He holds the nation's highest-level weapons technology. If he's coerced by terrorists, it will deal a devastating blow to the global security landscape!"
Fury was trying to appeal to Peter's "mercy," hoping the boy might offer a "pro bono" mission just this once.
He was destined to be disappointed.
"Standard rules: one mission, one favor. And if you want me to actually save the guy on top of finding him... that's a separate price."
Motherf—!
Fury was so angry that he wanted to smash his phone. But he had no choice. He squeezed the words out through gritted teeth: "Fine. If you bring Tony Stark back alive, S.H.I.E.L.D. will grant you another condition—provided it's within our power!"
Nick Fury finally saw through Peter. National duty, personal sentiment, patriotism—those lofty concepts were useless. Only the most blunt, transactional exchange of interests could make this little monster work for them.
On the other side, Peter finally drawled his consent: "Mmm~ that's more like it. I'll take the job!"
What Fury would never know was that Peter would have gone to Afghanistan anyway, even without the request. Fury knew the value of recruiting Tony, but did Peter? He'd been eyeing that Mark I suit for a long time!
Even if it was just emergency scrap metal hammered together in a cave, that suit was the beginning of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its "commemorative value" was easily Purple-tier—something that deserved a seat at the same table as a radioactive spider's corpse!
Moreover, "Wheel of Fortune" had truly ignited Peter's desire for a powered suit. The feeling of supersonic wind slapping his face so hard he couldn't open his mouth wasn't exactly pleasant. A suit with a climate-control system was now a necessity.
"One more thing," Peter added. "This trip might take three days, or it might take two weeks. I don't want Uncle Ben and Aunt May worrying. You provide a believable excuse for my absence—one they won't question."
"Simple enough!" Fury sighed in relief. He thought it would be something massive, but it was just a cover story?
The next morning, S.H.I.E.L.D. used Midtown High to arrange an "all-expenses-paid academic exchange trip to Saudi Arabia" for Peter.
To keep it convincing, Natasha—still disguised as Ms. Rushman—specifically extended the invitation to Gwen as well. Unsurprisingly, Gwen turned it down without a second thought.
Peter knew exactly why—she wanted to stay behind and continue her career as Ghost-Spider. But on the surface, he acted disappointed: "Gwen, you don't want to go on a deep... academic exchange with me?"
Pure, innocent Gwen didn't catch the double entendre. She stammered like a flustered schoolgirl: "No, it's not that..."
She thought for a long time before coming up with a plausible lie: "It's just... Betty's dad is a colleague of my dad.
She was injured during the Green Goblin incident, and I promised to help her catch up on schoolwork. My dad already gave his word, and I don't want to make things hard for him."
Peter thought to himself: You two don't seem this 'dutiful' when you're playing cat-and-mouse on the rooftops of New York every night, but he pouted anyway. "Fine, I'll let you off the hook."
Gwen found his "pouting" slightly adorable, and her heart felt a little sweet at the "excessive attention" Peter was showing. But as he turned to leave, she tilted her head, watching his back.
Strange... has Peter gotten... buff lately? And that walk... why does it feel so familiar?
Peter had no idea what Gwen was thinking. After a quick call to Aunt May to check in, he arrived at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters with Natasha.
"Wait... is S.H.I.E.L.D. really this broke?"
Peter had expected to ride in a Quinjet, maybe experience a piece of the high-tech Marvel life. Instead, he found a small, standard military transport plane waiting for him.
It was only then that he realized the current S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't as high-tech as the one in his memories. Quinjets and Helicarriers didn't exist yet; they were still just blueprints waiting for Tony Stark's Arc Reactor to solve the energy crisis.
No wonder Fury valued Tony so much. Without Tony's wealth and tech, S.H.I.E.L.D. would remain under the thumb of the military and the World Security Council forever.
Disappointed, Peter didn't even bother boarding. This hunk of junk flew slower than his Glider. He snapped his fingers, and a moment later, the Glider—reinforced by Wheel of Fortune—slid perfectly to a halt before him.
Seeing Peter hop onto the board, Coulson's eye twitched. He worried the kid didn't realize how far Afghanistan was: "Sir Arbiter, your board is convenient, but the internal fuel cells... I'm afraid they won't last the trip."
Coulson meant well. Peter just gave him a flat look.
"Mind your own business, Mage!"
As soon as the words fell, a streak of black light soared.
BOOM—!
A terrifying sonic boom cloud exploded in the air! The shockwave sent the dazed Coulson tumbling backward.
Watching Peter scream away at over Mach 1 on a literal flying surfboard, Coulson clutched his hairline in shock, questioning his entire life.
A personal flight device... breaking the sound barrier?!
The world of a "Mage" was truly beyond the comprehension of mere mortals...
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