章 62: The Game
The Stark Tower is the tallest skyscraper in New York, and only a few have the privilege of looking out over the city from its peak. Unnoticed by most, a section of reinforced glass at the tower's top began to lower with the sound of motors whirring.
Behind the descending glass panel, a gold-and-red metal case, glowing faintly with cold light, activated its rear thrusters.
"Command initiated. Project 17-A launch protocol, countdown initiated."
The metal box's rear thrusters flared up, emitting a bright blue ion trail as the small propulsion system ignited. It shot into the New York skyline, following the predetermined trajectory laid out by J.A.R.V.I.S.
Midtown Manhattan, located in the heart of New York City, isn't far from Riker's Island Penitentiary. Positioned at the mouth of the Hudson River, the island was soon within the metal box's reach.
Unseen by the real world, a virtual parabolic arc appeared between the metal container and Spider-Man.
"Path locked. 17-A ready for deployment—"
At that very moment, Peter Parker had no idea what was rapidly approaching him from behind. His Spider-Sense wasn't yet fully developed, and the object was still far enough away that he couldn't sense it.
Focused on the enemies before him, Peter staggered to his feet, forcing himself to stand despite his injuries.
In midair, the metal box began to disassemble, revealing a twisted, indescribable form inside. The silver-gray substance twisted and writhed before unfolding into a human-shaped cavity that, through inertia, clamped directly onto Peter's back.
The liquid-like, non-Newtonian nanometal swiftly began to spread over Peter's body, flowing outward until it completely enveloped him.
For Peter, the sensation was vastly different from the lightweight spandex of his normal suit. While this material also clung to his skin, it carried a strange duality—a paradoxical mix of both lightness and density.
The surface of his skin was encased by the liquid nanometal as it solidified and began to take shape. Unlike the thin, breathable spandex of his old suit, this material felt like durable, scale-like armor attached to his body.
In mere moments, the writhing nanometal solidified completely, forming a new suit around Peter. The armor was primarily a deep crimson with blue-black and gold accents, its spider-web patterns etched across the surface. The eyes on the mask were sharp and angular, exuding an aura of menace.
"System Administrator Karen activated. Host life signs detected as critically low. Initiating adrenaline injection."
As the voice echoed in his ears, two small compartments opened up along Peter's shoulder blades, revealing dark, hollow injectors.
Designed with protection in mind, the suit was equipped with medical equipment, including syringes for emergency use.
"Considering the host's physical capabilities, the system has calculated that two 1-milliliter doses of adrenaline are permissible."
While most people could only safely handle one milliliter of adrenaline, Peter Parker's enhanced physiology meant he could withstand more.
The sterilization process and pressurized injection happened simultaneously, delivering the contents of the ampoules directly into Peter's muscles. In the armored suit, using traditional needles was too dangerous, so special ampoules and a pressurized injection system were used instead.
Adrenaline works quickly, and in mere seconds, Peter snapped back to full consciousness. For a regular person, it would take at least a minute for the drug to take effect, but for someone like Peter—a genetically enhanced individual—the process was much faster.
The adrenaline shot into Peter's veins was a specially developed formula from Oscorp's bioengineering lab. In order to make drugs like adrenaline effective on individuals with superhuman abilities, Dr. Curt Connors, creator of the Lizard Serum, had nearly worked himself to death perfecting the formula.
Breathing heavily as he regained his senses, Peter noted that despite being encased in armor, he could still breathe easily.
"Your vital signs have stabilized. Activating combat assistance mode."
"Who... Who's speaking?!" Peter blurted out, startled by the unfamiliar woman's voice in his ear.
It was the same voice he had vaguely heard while slipping in and out of consciousness, but he hadn't realized what was happening until now.
"I am Karen, the A.I. system built into the 17-A Iron Spider suit created by Miss Stark."
"And Mr. Peter Parker, please focus on the battle at hand."
Peter, only now grasping the situation, turned his attention back to the immediate threat: Rhino, charging straight at him. Before Peter could react, his body instinctively sidestepped.
Wait, that wasn't him moving—it was the suit controlling his body's movements, helping him evade the attack.
Rhino's charge missed its target, and the massive black armor he wore made it difficult for him to stop or change direction.
Meanwhile, in Washington D.C., at the S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters on Theodore Roosevelt Island, things were quiet. Most agents were oblivious to what was happening in New York, viewing the prison riot as just another crisis for the National Guard to handle.
But in the lounge of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters, Miss Stark wasn't relaxing. She sat in one of the café's booths, her eyes glued to her tablet as she monitored the events at Riker's Island through satellite and the few remaining surveillance cameras on the prison grounds.
Watching Peter's vitals on her tablet, she gave a small nod before standing up from the sofa.
"Excuse me," she addressed the barista nearby, "is that display screen connected to the S.H.I.E.L.D. network?"
The barista blinked in surprise, not expecting Miss Stark to speak to him. But after following her gaze, he saw the large curved screen she was pointing at, which stretched across the lounge's interior.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s relaxation area was equipped with various screens, some showing news or entertainment, others scrolling through data. The screen Miss Stark had her eyes on, however, wasn't one of the entertainment screens—it was the one displaying the world's different time zones.
Looking slightly confused, the barista nodded.
"Good, thanks," Miss Stark replied, her smile brief before it disappeared again. She turned and walked over to the railing on the second-floor platform.
Pulling out her phone, she activated a special app and hacked into the large screen. The world time zones vanished, replaced by a live feed from the Iron Spider suit's visual display.
On the screen, Peter Parker's current predicament was laid bare: Rhino, in his massive black armor, was rampaging across the platform, while Electro hovered above, launching bolts of lightning at random. At the same time, Shocker sent out powerful vibrations, and Scorpion lashed out with his dangerous tail.
Only Peter's wrist-thrown webs showed signs of him fighting back amid the chaos.
The sight quickly caught the attention of passing S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and employees. One by one, they stopped to watch the spectacle.
Of course, Peter had no idea that he was now the center of attention for a group of onlookers. He was locked in a difficult battle, with no time to think about anything else.
"Peter, I think we need to have a little chat—" Miss Stark's voice echoed in Peter's earpiece.
"Oh! Miss Stark?! Uh... I'm a little busy right now, I'll call you back!" Peter responded, his surprise hidden behind the cold metal mask.
In midair, Peter backflipped to avoid Shocker's vibration waves, and then swung a punch at Rhino's charging fist.
Compared to Rhino's massive, armored gauntlet, Peter's punch looked like a toothpick hitting a boulder. But that tiny fist stopped Rhino's massive arm in its tracks.
For a moment, Peter marveled at the strength the Iron Spider suit's enhanced mode granted him.
Back at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, more agents gathered to watch the live feed.
"That was a nice punch—really packed a punch," one agent commented.
"The backflip was great, though it was a little slow," another remarked.
The crowd of agents, many of them seasoned field operatives, started critiquing the fight, offering unsolicited advice on combat techniques.
"Did you hear that, Peter? You've got a whole room full of mentors ready to give you some pointers," Miss Stark teased, her voice carrying through the earpiece.
"Uh... what?" Peter asked, confused as he dodged another attack.
Miss Stark couldn't help but smile mischievously. She activated her phone's microphone, allowing the sounds from the S.H.I.E.L.D. lounge to flood into Peter's earpiece.
"All right, everyone, this poor kid could use some live coaching."
The room full of agents fell silent for a second, then turned to look at Miss Stark standing on the balcony. She waved her phone at them with a grin.
"He can hear you."
Almost instantly, Peter was bombarded with voices from the crowd:
"The best defense is a good offense, go get 'em!"
"No, dodge! Quick, get out of the way!"
"Side step! Counter! Don't punch straight—kick him instead!"
The cacophony of advice was overwhelming, and Peter could barely keep track of what they were saying. The onslaught of instructions from the enthusiastic agents nearly had his head spinning.
If it weren't for the durability of the Iron Spider suit, Peter would've been overwhelmed.
Seeing the chaos she had caused, Miss Stark finally turned off the microphone.
"All right, everyone, quiet down now. J.A.R.V.I.S., patch me into Karen's core control system."
Moments later, J.A.R.V.I.S. established the link, and Miss Stark pulled up a custom app on her phone. On the screen, virtual joysticks and buttons appeared, resembling the controls of a mobile game.
"Karen, activate remote intervention mode. Let's clean up this mess."
Her words were meant both for Karen and for Peter, who overheard them.
Before Peter could protest, the Iron Spider suit forcibly ejected him, tossing him aside as the suit continued to move on its own.
"Step back and watch how this suit really fights."
Peter found himself flung out of his own suit, left standing in shock as the now-empty Iron Spider suit deployed several razor-sharp appendages from its back—mechanical spider legs made of gold alloy.
The suit, now fully controlled by Miss Stark, became her personal combat tool.
"All right, guys, how about we turn this into a little unfair game?" Miss Stark smirked as she took control of the Iron Spider suit like a player commanding their character in a video game.
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