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"So, you kidnapped me just for this?" Tony plopped down hard on the ground, his face full of disbelief.
"This new superhero popping out of nowhere in our world must be some kind of idiot!"
Of course, Tony wouldn't say that out loud — not unless he wanted to get sliced in half by a scorching laser beam in the next second.
"You just need to tell me if you're gonna do it or not!" Peter said seriously.
Peter wasn't stupid. If Tony had come asking for help, whether Peter agreed or not would be one thing. And even if he did agree, whether he'd really put in effort was another.
But here, the roles were flipped — Peter was basically forcing Tony to do the work. So he'd have to give it his all.
"Fine, do I even have another choice?" Tony said, folding his arms and trying to keep warm in his thin pajamas, sounding totally resigned.
"But seriously, forget everything else for now — if you don't give me some warm clothes soon, I'm gonna freeze to death."
Within minutes, Tony's lips had turned slightly purple from the cold.
"Ten minutes."
Peter dropped that line and vanished in a flash.
"Ugh…"
Tony shivered, quickly scrambling up off the ground as Peter disappeared.
He glanced at the hole in the ice above, then scrambled up the nearby rock wall, using hands and feet to climb.
But less than a minute later, Peter was back, carrying a thick down jacket and a pile of dry wood.
Clatter.
Peter dumped the wood on the ground, watching Tony — who'd only climbed about two meters up the rock wall — with amusement.
"Wait, didn't you say you'd be back in ten minutes?"
Tony, stuck between climbing up or going down, looked totally awkward.
Suddenly his foot slipped, and he slid down the rock wall like a wet fish.
"Ahem, it was just too cold earlier, needed to get moving a bit!" Tony chuckled awkwardly as he sat back down.
"If you can climb out tonight, I'll let you go," Peter said.
Not because he underestimated Tony — but without any help, Tony probably wouldn't get out of there his whole life.
"Put this on."
Peter tossed the down jacket to Tony, shooting him a fiery glare as he sparked a fire with the dry wood on the ground.
As the flames flickered, the air around them started to warm up.
Huff...
Without hesitation, Tony slipped on the jacket and sat by the fire, letting the cold drain out of him.
"So, about that battle suit you want me to make — what kind of suit are we talking about?"
As the temperature rose, Tony finally started thinking about the job Peter needed him to do.
Because only if he did this right could he really save his own life.
"Have you heard of nano-metal…"
"What? A nano-metal suit that covers your entire body in seconds? You're joking, right?"
Tony jumped up in shock, staring at Peter.
"You want me to build a nano suit out of thin air, here, with no materials, no lab, no equipment?"
"I think you might as well just kill me now — this is impossible."
To Tony, it was like asking a primitive guy with no weapons to craft an AK-47 — basically an unattainable task.
"Forget labs and equipment for now — who said you're the only one around?"
With that, Peter vanished again.
A moment later, he was back — setting down someone he was carrying — then rocketing off again and disappearing instantly.
"Ahem Hello, I'm Tony Stark."
Tony blinked at the newcomer and slowly greeted him.
Ugh… Waaa!
But what he got in reply was a sudden, violent bout of vomiting.
"Cough cough, you'll get used to it," Tony said, comforting the poor guy who looked like he was about to throw up everything inside him.
Yep, Tony thought to himself — that feeling.
"Cough cough, hello, Mr. Tony Stark, I've heard your name before," the man finally said, straightening up and reaching out his hand.
"I even came to your company once to seek funding for my experiment project. Unfortunately, it didn't match your company's direction and I was rejected. Too bad I never got to meet you."
Before they could shake hands, another figure appeared right beside them, catching their attention.
Ugh…
Haha… haha…
Seeing an older man with some gray hair arrive, followed by his familiar vomiting sounds, made the two burst out laughing.
He'd brought back some of the most famous Marvel scientists from around the world — experts whose research covered nearly every hot topic in the science community.
For Peter, grabbing these scientists was mostly a breeze.
He barely left any trace behind.
Except for the last one — that final scientist gave him a bit of a challenge. Just a little bit, though.
Africa, Wakanda.
On the surface, it looked like a backward, primitive tribe country, relying on farming and livestock.
But beneath all that illusion lay a high-tech city straight out of the future.
And under this land hid one of the Marvel Universe's most valuable and richest mineral resources — Vibranium.
But today, Peter wasn't here for Vibranium.
He was after a Wakandan scientist whose smarts rivaled even Tony Stark's.
Inside the Wakandan royal palace, King T'Chaka was discussing the country's development plans with his advisors.
"This is bad, Your Majesty — someone's breaking into Wakanda…"
Suddenly, a shout broke the calm and serious atmosphere of the palace.
"What's going on...?"
Boom!
Just as King T'Chaka was taken by surprise—
A massive roar echoed from outside.
"The shield module in the southwest sky sector has failed!"
In an instant, the protective shield that could stop missile strikes was down.
"What's happening?"
Shock filled King T'Chaka's face.
"Reporting, Your Majesty — it looks like… Superman. No, he's heading toward the princess's palace."
"Damn it, send someone to protect the princess now!"
T'Chaka didn't even have time to wonder why Superman was invading Wakanda; his worry for his daughter made him frantic.
"Sorry, Your Majesty… the princess has already been kidnapped."
"....."