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*****
Bang! Bang!
The sound of flesh being struck rang out repeatedly. Having lost the enhancement from Alik's ability, Webb was nothing more than a large punching bag in front of the Hulkbuster armor. In just a few seconds, he was beaten unconscious.
Looking at Webb, who had reverted to his human form after fainting, Tony immediately had FRIDAY begin searching for his identity based on his facial features.
"See ya!" Gwen waved at Tony, leaped down from his shoulder, and quickly vanished from sight. They had come out to celebrate Peter's birthday, but they ran into this mess before they could even start.
Tony waved back, watching Gwen leave, his brow furrowing deeply.
Nothing found? The information on these two individuals was as if it had been completely erased; the search yielded absolutely nothing. Who could have done this?
A question flashed through Tony's mind. The pieces of the Hulkbuster armor began to detach from his body, one by one, flying back toward space as individual components.
"I'll still have to ask Wanda for help," Tony sighed, walking toward the two men on the ground. But just as he reached down to pick them up, a blood-red light, signifying extreme danger, flashed across his vision.
Without a single moment of hesitation, Tony rapidly retreated.
"Boom! Boom!" Accompanied by violent explosions, the two bodies burst like tomatoes crushed in a fist, disintegrating into bloody fragments that flew in every direction.
Staring at the flames burning nearby, Tony's expression turned incomparably grim. The enemy was even more ruthless than he had imagined.
But who was it? What was their motive? Was it purely to steal his nanotechnology research data? Or was it to kill him?
Suddenly, the sound of police sirens rose up. Tony snapped back to reality, flew down, and began to assist the police with the situation.
Meanwhile, in a brightly lit office somewhere in New York.
A figure was sitting in front of a computer, cackling strangely at the screen, which had just gone black.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha!" The laughter gradually subsided, only for him to curse, "Damn that Tony Stark! He's too damn lucky!"
The main objective in sending those two men had been to assassinate Tony Stark. As for stealing data and whatnot, that was all just a means to achieve the goal, a ploy to lure Tony out.
What he hadn't anticipated was the sudden appearance of that meddling skeleton, causing his entire plan to fail.
Of course, the data Webb had managed to steal for him was still very useful. By using Tony's research on nanotechnology, he would be able to perfect one of his own projects.
"Heh, I suppose they didn't die completely in vain," he muttered, a cold light flickering in his eyes. He manipulated his hover-chair, floating up from behind the desk.
He had a truly bizarre appearance. He possessed an enormous head, easily several times the size of a normal person's, yet his body was the same as an average man's, creating a comical-looking imbalance.
He wore a metallic headband that looked like it was studded with gems, and a thick gold chain rested around his neck. He looked just like a member of the nouveau riche who had suddenly struck it rich.
"Hoh-hohoho! I must hurry and get back to my research. I truly look forward to seeing just what kind of trouble that new product will cause for those 'superheroes' once it's manufactured." He chuckled lowly, controlling the hover-chair beneath him as he flew toward his laboratory.
At Mike's house.
Today, Gwen's school was holding its graduation ceremony.
As Gwen's parents, Mike and Raven would be attending. If they were going, little Lamb naturally couldn't be left at home, so he was going too.
Mike fastened the buttons one by one on his shirt. After Raven helped him straighten his tie, he picked up his suit jacket from the bedside table. He looked at Raven, who looked exceptionally fresh in a white, floral-print sundress, and smiled, "You look beautiful today."
Raven shot Mike a playful glare and retorted, "Which day do I not look beautiful?"
Mike hurriedly amended his statement, "Today, you look exceptionally beautiful!"
Raven nodded, satisfied. "Hurry up, let's go. Don't keep Gwen waiting too long."
"She'll be fine. She's probably having a great time playing with Lamb right now anyway."
Raven nodded in agreement, but still nudged Mike down the stairs.
When the two of them arrived downstairs...
Whoa! Good grief! Gwen and her little brother were definitely having a great time!
They saw Gwen, having tied a ribbon around the floating baby Lamb, flying him just like a kite, running back and forth through the house.
The critical part was that little Lamb was having a wonderful time, giggling non-stop.
Seeing Mike appear, Gwen let out a little yelp and quickly called out, "Lamb! Quick, come here!"
Who knew that not only would Lamb not fly toward Gwen, but he instead laughed in mid-air, flailing his limbs as he floated over to Raven.
Raven caught Lamb, amused. Mike, however, placed a hand on the head of Gwen, who had run over, and said, exasperated, "Is this really how you play with your brother?"
Gwen stuck her tongue out, pointing at Lamb, "He told me he wanted to play this way!"
"Hmm?" Mike raised an eyebrow, speaking to Gwen in a mock-sinister tone, "Gwen, you do know that liars have to swallow a thousand needles, don't you?"
Gwen swallowed nervously. "It really was Lamb who said it!" She looked toward Lamb.
Little Lamb waved his tiny arms. "Fly... fly... fly!"
Although it was just one word, and pronounced rather unclearly, little Lamb had indeed spoken.
Mike and Raven exchanged a look. At this rate, with Lamb's learning ability, it wouldn't be long before he wouldn't need them to manage him.
Gwen tilted her chin up at Mike. "See? He said it himself."
Mike chuckled and shook his head, then said to Gwen, "Let's go."
Gwen nodded.
The family drove to Gwen's school and headed for the main auditorium with her. Just as they found a corner and sat down, their neighbors, John and Lana, sat down beside them.
Mike greeted the pair. John looked at Luke, who was leaving to get ready, and sighed, "Time really flies. Luke and Gwen are already graduating from elementary school."
Mike nodded. Noticing John and Lana looking at Lamb with curiosity, he said quietly, "The kid has some... special abilities."
Hearing this, understanding flashed in both their eyes. As members of the Kent family, they found it perfectly reasonable that this child would have some amazing aspects. Even if he grew into an adult overnight, they probably wouldn't find it strange.
"Hi, everyone!" With a vibrant greeting, a woman who still retained much of her charm appeared before them.
Mike looked at the woman and smiled, "Long time no see, May."
May smiled lightly, her gaze falling on little Lamb in Raven's arms. She asked in surprise, "Is this your child?"
"Yes. His name is Lamb. Lamb Kent," Raven said with a smile. She watched May sit down next to Mike, and her eyes flickered for just a moment.
She certainly hadn't forgotten how May had pursued Mike back then. Although nothing had happened, and May had wisely backed off after she (Raven) appeared, she still felt a tiny trace of wariness toward May because of that incident.
However, when she glanced at the ring on her own finger, she smiled, letting it go. She pointed at May and said to little Lamb, "This is Aunt May."
"Giggle!" Little Lamb laughed happily, showing no fear of strangers. He stretched out his chubby little hands toward May, asking to be held. Seeing his adorable face, May felt like her heart was about to melt.
Just as the three families were chatting quietly, two more people walked over.
It was Norman Osborn, his face cold and stern, as if everyone owed him a huge sum of money, and Madeline, dressed dazzlingly with a full head of red hair.
Norman Osborn gave Mike and the others a slight nod and sat down next to May. Madeline, however, smiled and greeted them all before sitting down somewhat cautiously next to Norman.
Madeline glanced at Norman, then gave Mary Jane, who was looking at her worriedly, an encouraging smile. "Go on, it's alright."
Mary Jane nodded, walking off together with Harry.
Seeing this, Norman Osborn frowned. "A waste of time," he muttered under his breath. He checked his watch, suppressing his impatience as he waited for Harry's graduation ceremony to end.
As time passed, more and more people filled the auditorium. When the hall was about three-quarters full with the parents of the graduating students, a crisp bell chime announced that the graduation ceremony was finally beginning.
Mike took little Lamb from Raven, holding him against his chest, and whispered, "Watch closely. Your sister will be out in a minute!"
Little Lamb bit his fingers, eyes wide, staring intently at the crowd. But he didn't see his sister; instead, he saw an old man, the principal, and immediately burst into tears.
Mike couldn't help but laugh out loud. He settled the little guy on his lap and made a funny face at him. Instantly, the baby started giggling happily.
Seeing this interaction, the parents sitting around Mike couldn't help but smile. They hadn't expected Mike, who looked so cool and aloof, to actually be such a warm-hearted "Super Dad."
"Hey! To all the students and parents, please direct your attention to this pitiful old man." At that moment, the principal used a humorous tone to draw everyone's gaze back to him.
Seeing the principal's mock-pitiful expression, a few good-natured chuckles rippled through the audience.
"Thank you, ladies and gentlemen." The principal beamed, his face showing no trace of seriousness. "I am so thankful to finally be sending you rascals off! Your mischief has given me headaches, but to be able to spend time with you during the most mischievous stage of your lives... it makes me feel incredibly proud and honored. I am very lucky..."
The principal's speech was witty and amusing, and he didn't ramble on. It felt almost like he was performing a stand-up routine.
After he finished, many people actually felt like they hadn't heard enough.
Next up was the speech from the year's top student.
Amidst the applause, Peter, dressed in a small suit, walked toward the center of the auditorium with small, shuffling steps.
He was still nervous, worried he would mess up. But when he saw his friends in the distance, all giving him looks of encouragement, his steps grew larger and more confident. His heart filled with courage. He became the focus of everyone's attention and, to the sound of cheers, began his speech.
Watching this, May was overcome with emotion. Mike and John also nodded in quiet approval. Only Norman Osborn let out a soft "humph," a trace of dissatisfaction flashing in his eyes.
He had some impression of the boy giving the speech; he often played with his son. But what dissatisfied him was: why wasn't his son the one standing in the center right now?
However, what did satisfy him slightly was that his son was, at least, always associating with excellent people.
Peter's speech didn't take much time either. After expressing his gratitude to the school and teachers, he expressed his thanks to his friends, proclaiming in the loudest voice possible that they would be best friends for life.
As the speech ended and Peter walked off the stage, Gwen and the other three rushed up, and all five embraced in a group hug.
That pure, fiery friendship seemed to affect everyone, earning a thunderous round of applause.
The five kids happily walked back to their seats.
Immediately following was the reading of the outstanding essays. From all the compositions written by the graduating class, the top three had been selected to be read aloud, and Gwen was one of the three.
Three students, three essays.
The first two boys both eulogized the school, which was the main theme of the essay assignment. But Gwen's essay... it didn't match the theme in the slightest.
Her essay's title was: "Two Fathers."
There were no flowery words, no exaggeration of the facts. She used the simplest, most unadorned language to describe her relationship with her two fathers: George Stacy and Mike Kent.
One was the angel who brought her into this world, and the other was the angel who guarded her as she grew up.
"I do not feel that I am unfortunate. On the contrary, I feel this is a great stroke of luck, because I have two fathers, and they both gave me all of their love."
Gwen finished her essay reading with a smile. The intense, rich emotion contained within her words deeply moved the audience members, who were also parents, and they gave Gwen a wave of applause and shouts of encouragement.
Gwen searched the crowd for Mike. When she saw that he was also looking right at her, a brilliant smile lit up her face, and her eyes reddened slightly.
There were some things she had wanted to say to Mike for a very long time, but she just never had the chance.
"Giggle-giggle!" Lamb laughed happily. He didn't know why everyone was clapping, nor did he understand what clapping meant, but when he saw Gwen, he broke into a pure smile, completely free of any impurities.
Gwen held her head high, puffed out her chest like a proud little peacock, and strode off the stage.
After that, they entered the final segment: the grand chorus!
The graduation ceremony concluded amidst the children's energetic singing.
Mike held Lamb and walked outside the auditorium with Raven, waiting for Gwen at the spot they had agreed upon.
A moment later, Gwen appeared. Seeing them, she jogged over.
After hugging Raven, she threw herself into Mike's arms. "Dad!"
Mike reached out one hand to stroke Gwen's head, only to suddenly realize that Gwen had already grown much taller. She could even reach his chest now.
"You've really grown up," Mike sighed with emotion.
"Ya! Ya! Ya!" Little Lamb squealed excitedly in Mike's arms, reaching out his little hand and grabbing a fistful of Gwen's hair, pulling hard.
"Aiyou!" Gwen yelped in pain. Little Lamb immediately let go, looking up at Gwen with a wronged, pitiful expression.
"He's just complaining that you weren't paying attention to him," Raven explained with a smile.
Gwen pinched her own cheeks, making all sorts of funny faces at Lamb, quickly getting the little guy to giggle again.
"Alright, let's head home first. Don't you all have some kind of party tonight?" Mike reminded her. He gave Gwen a wink and said, "Your Aunt Raven prepared a particularly beautiful dress for you."
Gwen's eyes lit up. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's just open a portal and go back!"
A portal? Mike flicked Gwen's forehead.
"It's not that urgent that you can't wait a few minutes. Get in the car!"
He beckoned, and the family drove away.
(End of this chapter)