When Peter brought Mary Jane into the Avengers base's activity center, Tony was talking to the Captain about recruiting new members for the team.
"What did you say that pilot's name was again?"
"Sam Wilson. He's not a pilot, he's a paratrooper. Right now, he's with a veterans' support group and lives in the D.C. area. I met him when I visited Washington."
As the Captain spoke, he shook his head. "I wouldn't recommend recruiting him just yet. He's retired, and he doesn't have any superpowers. He just uses a pair of mechanical wings to fly, and his only weapons are two submachine guns..."
"You haven't even bothered to ask him if he's willing. And as you said, he might be the only person left alive who can actually operate that kind of flight gear. As luck would have it, we know the engineer who designed those things—Adrian Toomes is right here in New York."
Walking into the activity space, Mary Jane spotted Tony sitting on the sofa enjoying a drink and the Captain leaning with one hand against the bar counter. In an instant, she felt her breath catch in her throat.
This was completely different from meeting the Human Torch. Although Johnny Storm was a world-famous superhero, he was also notoriously laid-back and unreliable, which ironically made him feel approachable. Tony Stark, the Iron Man, generally projected an aura of arrogant defiance and was known for being utterly hostile toward the media.
As for Captain America, everyone viewed him as the ideal symbol of the nation—the embodiment of the true American spirit, even if it often ran counter to the realities of modern America. Standing before them, Mary Jane was visibly thrilled, so much so that she briefly considered finding a restroom just to double-check her appearance.
She glanced at Peter, who was currently adjusting his camera, and whispered, "How are you not nervous at all?!"
"Uh... I see the Fantastic Four whenever I go to my internship, and it's not like I haven't met Mr. Stark or the Captain before. Why would I be nervous?"
Realizing she wasn't going to get the sympathetic answer she wanted, Mary Jane could only bite her lip. Peter offered her some reassurance: "Don't worry, Tony Stark won't mind. You just need to write down his answers."
"That's exactly what I'm worried about! You told me he absolutely refuses to look at questions in advance. I have no idea what he's going to say, and I might not even know what to ask next!"
"I get it, it's like a novelist who has absolutely no idea what the next hundred words of their plot will be," Peter muttered under his breath before adding aloud, "Look at it this way: you're the first reporter to get an exclusive interview with Tony Stark, and you're just an intern. After this, you're bound to make a huge name for yourself, and your future at the Daily Bugle will be smooth sailing."
"That's precisely why I'm so tense. What if I mess it up?"
On the other side of the room, the conversation between the Captain and Tony was wrapping up. The Captain mentioned he was going to keep an eye on that Human Torch kid and took his leave. Tony then waved the two young people over. "Ah, Parker. How is that nanorobotics project of yours over at the Baxter Building coming along? I might be able to use it for my new armor."
"You should already know the progress, Mr. Stark."
"Is that so? Then I guess I haven't looked at it yet."
Tony muttered with a shake of his head and let out a yawn. He motioned for them to sit down, then gestured toward the bar with his glass. "Care for a drink? Don't worry, it's not that strong, and no one will know you had any—unless you plan to blackmail me with headlines about Tony Stark forcing minors to drink."
Looking at Tony's smirk, Peter was momentarily speechless. He quickly spoke up, "Uh, I think I'd rather..."
"I'd like a glass."
Mary Jane's words made Peter snap his gaze over to her. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, but I'm a little nervous. May I have a drink, Mr. Stark?"
"Of course you can. Just don't overdo it; I don't want the reporter interviewing me to turn into a drunkard."
Tony smiled as he watched Mary Jane pour herself half a glass and take a sip. "I like this girl."
Why does that line sound so familiar? Peter racked his brain for a moment before remembering that Tony had said the exact same thing about Gwen.
As for Mary Jane, she had already begun the interview.
The content and questions were actually fairly standard, mostly focusing on topics like "Why choose to make the algorithm public?", "How do you view the Roxxon-Stark War?", and "How will you respond to armor wars in the future?" In truth, many of these points had been mentioned during Tony's abrupt public announcement that night, but this time, Tony addressed the questions in a much more composed and analytical manner.
He provided detailed, supplementary answers to many of the inquiries. Throughout the entire interview, one got the distinct impression that this was not an impulsive strategy born out of a billionaire's spite; on the contrary, it was the result of Tony Stark's deliberate, deep reflection. He was taking this matter very seriously.
Tony was also remarkably patient during the process, often expanding upon Mary Jane's questions and delving into insights she hadn't even anticipated.
Naturally, Peter took a few photographs of Tony and Mary Jane to document the authenticity of the interview and capture their expressions. He paid close attention to the lighting, doing his best to ensure both subjects looked intelligent and rational in the shots.
The interview ended up taking much longer than either Mary Jane or Peter had anticipated. Tony caught onto almost every question and spoke at length, talking continuously for over two hours and leaving Mary Jane's notebook completely filled with shorthand notes.
"At first, I wondered if you should have brought a laptop instead of a notebook. But once he started talking, I realized a laptop wouldn't have been fast enough to keep up with everything. It's the first time I've ever realized just how much Stark can talk," Peter couldn't help but complain to Mary Jane once the interview concluded.
Mary Jane let out a helpless laugh. "Actually, it wasn't strictly necessary to write absolutely everything down. My notepad is just to help lay the groundwork for the article later. Whether it was this interview or your conversation with the Human Torch in the car, I recorded it all with a voice recorder."
"I completely forgot about the voice recorder, wow..."
"Don't worry, it will only be published as a written article. It won't expose your identity."
Mary Jane smiled and looked around the room. "Tony Stark mentioned earlier that we should grab some lunch before heading back, but where do we go to eat?"
"See Johnny over there?"
Peter pointed toward the distance, where Johnny was chatting with the Little Wasp. "He definitely knows."