Just as Jack had predicted, within a few days, foreign media was filled with reports about a mysterious armored man attacking terrorists in Afghanistan and rescuing civilians. Without a doubt, it was Iron Man.
"It seems some things will never change. Tony still chose terrorists as his first target," Jack thought to himself while watching the news.
"Is it that time already?" Looking at the clock, Jack grabbed the keys to his newly bought car. Since he had enough money now, he had also bought the house he had been renting from the owner.
"Are you going on a date?" Emma asked curiously as she watched Jack getting ready to leave.
"Yep. I'll be back late tonight. Bye." Jack waved at the two girls before driving away.
Emma turned to Morgan with an excited look.
"Should we follow them?"
Morgan immediately shook her head.
"We'll get caught. Besides, it'll just be the two of them showing off their love."
Emma thought for a moment before nodding.
"Okay, then let's spend the day playing video games."
"Deal."
On the other side, Jack parked his car near the Stacy house.
Knock. Knock.
The one who opened the door was Mrs. Stacy, still looking like an older version of Gwen.
"Good morning, Jack. Come in."
"Good morning, Mrs. Stacy."
Entering the house, Jack found George sitting on the sofa, reading the morning newspaper.
"Good morning, Captain."
"Morning, kid." George lowered the newspaper and smiled. "How's your injury?"
"Much better now."
As they chatted for a while, Mrs. Stacy called upstairs.
"Gwen! Jack's here!"
A few moments later, Gwen came downstairs wearing a simple blue dress with a light jacket. Jack couldn't help smiling.
"Hey... you look beautiful today."
A faint blush appeared on Gwen's face.
"You look pretty handsome yourself."
Mrs. Stacy smiled as she looked at the two of them.
"Well, you two have fun. Just don't come back too late."
George folded his newspaper and looked at Jack.
"And drive safely."
"I will, Captain."
Jack naturally walked to the door and opened it for Gwen.
"After you."
Gwen smiled.
"What a gentleman."
"I've been practicing."
The two laughed as they walked out of the house together. Jack opened the passenger door of the car for her.
"Milady."
Gwen rolled her eyes with a smile before getting into the car.
"Someone's been watching too many romance movies."
Jack closed the door with a grin before walking around to the driver's seat. Soon, the car slowly pulled away from the Stacy house, beginning their long-awaited date.
"So, what's the plan?" Gwen asked as Jack started the car.
"There's a music festival going on this morning. I thought we'd spend some time there. Tonight we can watch a movie, and for the afternoon, your choice."
Gwen thought for a moment.
"Then let's go to Central Park. I heard Dad took Mom there on their first date."
Jack smiled.
"Sounds good to me."
Soon, the two arrived at the music festival.
The streets were packed with people. Music echoed through the area while small stalls sold snacks, drinks, and handmade souvenirs.
Since both Jack and Gwen were members of the school's music club, they naturally stopped whenever they heard a good performance.
As they walked past an open stage, the host suddenly called out.
"Anyone wants to dedicate a song to someone special?"
Jack smiled.
"I'll do it."
Before Gwen could react, Jack had already borrowed a guitar and stepped onto the stage.
"This song is dedicated to my girlfriend."
The crowd immediately cheered.
Jack closed his eyes for a moment before beginning to play.
It was a song from his previous life, one that didn't exist in this world yet.
The gentle melody quickly drew everyone's attention. More and more people stopped walking just to listen.
By the time the song ended, loud applause echoed through the festival.
For a few seconds, Gwen simply stared at Jack, still processing what had just happened.
"What's the song called? I've never heard it before."
Jack smiled.
"It's called 'Until I Found You,'"
Gwen tilted her head.
"I've never heard that song before."
"I wrote it."
"You wrote it?" Gwen looked at him in surprise.
"Yeah."
She lightly punched his arm.
"You've been hiding this from me?"
Jack laughed.
"I never really thought much about it."
Gwen shook her head.
"What a waste of talent."
She looked at him seriously.
"From now on, besides being our rhythm guitarist, you're also our lyricist."
Jack smiled helplessly.
"Yes, ma'am."
"It's a pity Peter and MJ aren't here today," Jack said. "Otherwise, we could've performed together."
Gwen nodded with a smile.
"One day."
"One day," Jack agreed.
The two continued walking through the festival, talking excitedly about the songs they wanted to write and perform together in the future.
After leaving the festival, they drove to Central Park. The afternoon was peaceful. Families were having picnics, children were running around, and couples walked hand in hand along the paths.
"I can see why your parents liked this place," Jack said.
"It's peaceful. We should come here more often," Gwen replied with a smile.
The two rented a small rowing boat and spent some time on the lake. Without realizing it, they rowed much faster than the other couples. Thanks to their superhuman strength, their boat quickly overtook everyone else.
Seeing the shocked expressions on the other couples' faces, Jack and Gwen looked at each other before bursting into laughter.
"I think we cheated," Gwen whispered.
"A little," Jack admitted with a grin.
After returning the boat, they bought ice cream and walked through the park. Seeing an old man selling bird feed nearby, Gwen bought a small bag.
"Come on."
The two scattered the feed on the ground as dozens of pigeons quickly gathered around them. One brave pigeon even landed on Jack's shoulder.
Gwen burst into laughter.
"It likes you."
"I think it's planning to steal my ice cream." Jack gently shooed the pigeon away before taking out a camera. "Smile."
Click.
He took several pictures of Gwen feeding the pigeons before Gwen grabbed the camera.
"My turn." She quickly snapped a picture of Jack while he was distracted.
"No fair."
"It is now."
As they were laughing, an elderly man walking nearby noticed them.
"Young love... reminds me of the old days," the old man said with a warm smile. "Would you like me to take a picture of both of you?"
"That would be great. Thank you," Gwen replied.
Jack looked at the old man's face and froze for a moment.
"...Stan Lee?"
The old man chuckled.
"No, young man. You must have mistaken me for someone else." He took a picture of the two before handing the camera back. "Have a wonderful day."
With a smile, the old man slowly disappeared into the crowd. Jack couldn't help looking back one more time, but the old man was already gone.
"...Still looks like Stan Lee," he muttered.
Jack put the camera away and took Gwen's hand.
"Let's go. We still have a movie to watch."
For a little while longer, they were simply two ordinary teenagers enjoying a peaceful date together. As the sun slowly began to set, they left Central Park and headed toward the movie theater.
Looking at the movie ticket Jack had bought, Gwen looked at him with a surprised expression.
"What?!" Seeing Gwen's strange look, Jack quickly looked at himself, wondering if there was something on his face.
"I didn't know you were a Captain America fan," Gwen said, holding up the movie tickets.
"Fan? Not really." Jack shook his head with a smile. "I'm just curious."
"Curious about what?"
"Captain America is a war hero and a legend in America. Even after all this time, people never stopped making stories about him. There have been comics, cartoons, novels, radio shows, and even several movies. Every director seems to have their own version of Captain America." Jack laughed. "Some make him look like the greatest soldier in history. Some turn him into an unstoppable superhero. Some even make him look like a ladies' man."
Gwen covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.
"And now..." Jack looked at the ticket in his hand.
Captain America and His Secretary.
"...just look at this title. I already know this isn't going to be some serious war movie."
Gwen burst into laughter.
"I have to admit... that title is pretty strange."
"I know, right?" Jack grinned. "I'm honestly curious to see what kind of Captain America they've created this time." Then a mischievous smile appeared on his face. "If Captain America ever comes back one day, I'm buying every movie they've ever made about him."
"...Why?"
Jack chuckled.
"I just want to watch his reaction."
Gwen couldn't stop laughing.
"You're evil."
Jack shrugged innocently.
"I'm just helping him catch up on pop culture."
Gwen laughed.
"Come on, the movie is about to start."
The two bought popcorn and Coke before finding their seats. Soon, the movie began.
As Jack watched, he couldn't help shaking his head. This movie made even Tony Stark's playboy image look like that of a saint compared to this version of Captain America.
Jack couldn't help imagining Steve Rogers watching this movie one day. His expression would probably be priceless. If he had known Captain America's crash site, he would have gone there right now, woken him up, and dragged him straight into the theater just to see his reaction.
Then another thought suddenly crossed his mind.
...Wait. That wasn't actually a bad idea. Saving Captain America before S.H.I.E.L.D. did would also give him another powerful ally in the future.
"How's the movie?" Jack asked, gently holding Gwen's hand.
Gwen tried not to laugh.
"Honestly... now I want to see the real Captain America's reaction too. It's a pity he died so young."
Jack simply smiled and said nothing. According to history, Steve Rogers had died during the war. However, Jack knew that wasn't necessarily the truth. He wasn't sure where Steve was now either — after all, he had already created the Plumber organization in the past, which meant he had already changed many things. Who knows what else he had changed. His own enemy was no one but himself — every change he made to the past made the original plot information useless for the present him.
"What are you thinking about?" Gwen asked.
"Nothing." Jack smiled. "Let's just enjoy the movie."
Gwen smiled back and leaned her head lightly against his shoulder. The two quietly enjoyed the rest of the movie together.
By the time they left the theater, the night sky had already covered New York. The car slowly came to a stop in front of the Stacy house.
Gwen smiled as she looked at Jack.
"Thanks... I really enjoyed today."
"I'm glad," Jack replied with a smile.
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke. Gwen leaned a little closer. Jack gently held her hand before giving her a soft kiss.
When they finally pulled away, Gwen smiled brightly.
"Good night, Jack."
"Good night, Gwen."
Gwen stepped out of the car, waved at him with a smile, and walked toward her house. Jack waited until she reached the front door. Gwen turned around one last time and waved again before going inside. Only then did Jack drive away with a smile on his face.
Far away...
Inside a secret laboratory, several scientists stood around a workbench. Spread across it were the blueprints recovered from the terrorists, along with the broken remains of the Iron Man suit Tony had built in Afghanistan. After Jack had possessed the suit using Upgrade during his fight with Tony, he had overloaded it, leaving it beyond repair. Now, what remained had fallen into Obadiah Stane's hands.
Beside them stood a half-finished armored suit.
Obadiah looked at it with an unhappy expression.
"I don't care how long it takes."
"I want it finished."
The chief scientist hesitated.
"Mr. Stane... the blueprints are incomplete. Many key designs are missing, and we still don't understand how some of the systems work."
Obadiah narrowed his eyes.
"Tony Stark built it in a cave."
His voice turned colder.
"And you're telling me you can't finish it with one of the most advanced laboratories in the world?"
The scientists fell silent.
"I want results."
"Soon."
Without another word, Obadiah turned and walked out of the laboratory.
The chief scientist looked at the half-finished armor and let out a sigh.
"...We'll do our best."
A/N: The Patreon version is already updated with 20 advanced chapters. If you'd like to read ahead of the public release schedule, you can join here:
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