27: Tony Out Of Trouble

On a dimly lit street, a bullet-riddled black car sped away in haste. Behind the car, an open sewer entrance revealed a long, thick lizard's tail slowly slithering inside.

Inside the car, Hill gripped the door handle with lingering fear, the shattered windshield adding scratches to Nick Fury's face.

"Boss, what was that?" Hill asked.

Nick Fury's expression grew graver as he replied, "I'm not entirely sure, but one thing's for certain – it considered us a potential meal a moment ago."

This encounter in the darkened streets only solidified Nick Fury's resolve to expedite the formation of the Avengers. The mysterious golden mecha and its enigmatic pilot were now firmly on his radar.

In the Middle East, Tony spoke to Yinsen, "You'll stay behind me. Keep a distance of about five meters, and I'll ensure your safe escape."

With Yinsen's assistance, Tony donned the Mark 1 suit, starting the mechanized transformation in a seamless sequence. If Andrew was here, he would have been astonished by the unexpected turn of events, as this sequence mirrored the original plot.

Tony would have anticipated Yinsen's courageous sacrifice to buy time for the Mark 1 to power up, just as in the source material. However, this time, thanks to the influence of the Emperor's armor, Tony had crafted the mecha ahead of schedule, eliminating the need for Yinsen's further delay.

At the cave entrance, Tony forcefully pried open the massive iron gate with a resounding clang. With Yinsen safely out of the cave, Tony unleashed a torrent of destruction upon the Ten Commandments gang members. There was no room for mercy, for these criminals had bloodied their hands with the lives of countless innocent civilians.

Flames, machine guns, and sheer brute force were all deployed without hesitation. Countless rounds of firepower rained upon the evildoers.

"Yinsen, drive. I'll cover you from behind. Go, go!" Tony shouted as he provided cover fire.

"Hope to see you on the other side!" Yinsen responded, setting off in the direction of safety.

"Alright, let's enjoy some fiery explosions!" Tony roared, unleashing the full potential of the Mark 1 suit. Stark Industries' weapons were ignited, turning the canyon into a fiery battlefield. In the midst of the explosions, the soles of the Mark 1 suit emitted flames as it soared into the sky.

However, the injector on the suit's foot quickly ran out of fuel, and Tony found himself plummeting from the sky. He crashed into the desert, and the Mark 1 suit disintegrated upon impact.

At that moment, a car approached, and Yinsen greeted Tony with a wide grin, "Looks like I've saved you again, Tony."

Tony replied, "I owe you one. I'll buy you a drink when we get back."

Yinsen jumped out of the car and began collecting scrap metal, puzzling Tony, who asked, "Hey, Yinsen, what are you doing?"

Yinsen replied, "Aren't you planning to take this back?"

Tony chuckled, "No, I'll build you a better one when we return. Now, let's get out of this blazing heat."

The two survivors set out across the desert, leaving their wrecked Mark 1 suit behind.

After a while, Tony spotted a military helicopter flying overhead.

"That's a military chopper from a nearby country!" Tony exclaimed, waving his arms to signal for help.

In the State University Library, Gwen and Andrew sat across from each other. Gwen voiced her desire to become a vigilante against crime and corruption, showing off a notebook containing her costume design.

"So, you're ready to become a vigilante and take on An Liang?" Andrew clarified, wanting to be sure of her commitment.

Gwen nodded enthusiastically, sharing her overnight effort in designing the costume. Andrew admired her creativity and noted, "You'll look fantastic in that costume. If you were a fashion designer, you'd win international awards."

Gwen admitted, "Your sports gear inspired me."

Impressed, Andrew took a closer look at Gwen's Spider-Man costume design and praised her for her creativity. However, when he reached out to touch the book, Gwen pulled it away, prompting him to ask why.

"Will you support me in this endeavor? If you do, you can see it in action," Gwen teased with a hint of coyness.

Andrew was quick to confirm, "Definitely, I respect your choice."

Overjoyed by Andrew's agreement, Gwen eagerly showed him the design she had worked tirelessly on.

Meanwhile, Andrew also noticed a small glass bottle with a milky liquid on top that Gwen handed to him.

"What's this?" he inquired.

Gwen explained, "It's spider silk I found in my bag, left by the super spider. It's incredibly durable but turns into a liquid after a while. I collected some, not sure if it'll be useful."

Andrew nodded and said, "If we can analyze its composition, we might be able to replicate it using specialized equipment to create a web-slinging device. This way, when you catch criminals, you can immobilize them."

Gwen's eyes lit up at the idea. "Andrew, you're a genius!"

Excited and determined, the two of them decided to visit Dr. Connors' laboratory to explore the possibility of creating web-slinging devices using the spider silk.

Outside Connors' lab, Peter hurried to the door, slightly out of breath. He began, "I'm sorry, Dr. Connors, I've not been so relaxed in a long time. I was a bit late... Are you still here, Dr. Connors?"

To be continued...