Chapter 13
Iron Man was exasperated: "That's not what I meant for you to say."
Peter waved at everyone: "Hey, everybody."
Iron Man: Fine, fine, play it like that, huh?
The urge to throttle someone was impossible to hide.
Right now, Iron Man wanted to throttle Peter.
Peter pretended not to notice.
He wasn't stupid.
From the conversation with Iron Man before coming here, combined with the scene of the two teams meeting just now, he had pretty much figured out the situation.
This was no longer just about the Sokovia Accords.
It was this: Captain America's side wanted to do something, but Iron Man's side didn't believe in what they were trying to do—or didn't care. They just wanted to bring them back first, while Captain America's side felt the matter was urgent and needed to act immediately.
That's why the two sides were in conflict.
In short, this was a civil war.
Your own people fighting your own people.
If anyone took it too seriously, they'd end up pleasing neither side and looking foolish.
So he decided to relax his mindset, treating it as a chance to make an appearance.
And he wasn't wrong.
While he really liked Iron Man, he was also a fan of Captain America.
Because at school, they often played Captain America's videos. For example, during gym class, they'd show Captain America encouraging physical exercise; if you got detention for misbehaving, they'd play Captain America giving earnest life advice. Captain America was everywhere in life.
In a way, he had become a spiritual anchor for many people.
Especially for countless young people like Peter.
This was easy to understand.
Since the dawn of the new century, superhumans have been emerging endlessly, and all sorts of incidents kept happening.
First, there was Hulk and Abomination, fighting in streets and squares, even clashing with the military, causing widespread panic among the public.
Then Thor descended, battling the Destroyer and leveling an entire town.
Next, Loki brought the Chitauri army to New York, resulting in a massive war where nuclear weapons were used, countless streets were destroyed, and many lives were lost.
And then there was Ultron, causing the fall of Sokovia.
All these events continuously rattled the nerves of ordinary people.
Each incident screamed one thing to them: This world is not safe!
So they needed a spiritual pillar.
The Avengers alone weren't enough.
Iron Man was too distant for ordinary people, War Machine was a military figure not suited for public exposure, and Black Widow and Hawkeye's abilities weren't quite sufficient.
After careful consideration, Captain America, a former war hero, became their choice.
He had a positive image, historical significance, official backing, and no attachments, making him easy to promote. The benefits of elevating Captain America were just too many.
In short, compared to these "old friends," Peter, as a "newcomer" and a "kid," was just an outsider.
Peter decided to treat this as a trial.
Since neither side would go for the kill, it was a perfect opportunity to spar with these superheroes and see how strong he was now.
While Peter was mulling this over in his mind, Iron Man and Captain America started bickering again.
It was clear that Iron Man was furious.
He accused, "Are you an idiot? Dragging Clint into this? And pulling Wanda out of a perfectly good place? I've been trying… trying to keep the team from falling apart!"
But in response to Iron Man's accusations, Captain America only said calmly, "The moment you signed the Accords, the team was already falling apart."
Captain America's stubbornness infuriated Iron Man, but he knew anger wouldn't solve anything now.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his rage, and said, "Enough! Hand over Barnes now, and come back with us! Otherwise, it'll be special forces coming for you, and they won't care about sentiments."
As he spoke, his tone softened again.
"Please…"
Iron Man didn't want their years of friendship to end like this.
He and Captain America met eight years ago, fighting together in the Battle of New York against the Chitauri. They were brothers-in-arms.
Over the years, they'd had plenty of interactions.
He didn't have many true friends, and Captain America was one of them. He really didn't want to lose a friend.
Even more, he didn't want to see this friend go down the wrong path.
At that moment, Falcon's small winged drone located their real target—the Quinjet.
Falcon immediately relayed this information to Captain America.
Captain America's lips curved slightly. Talking with Iron Man was partly an attempt to convince him, but it was also a way to buy time.
Now, with Iron Man unconvinced and the Quinjet located, there was no need to keep stalling!
Captain America raised his hands, bound by Peter's webs, high above his head.
*Swish—*
An arrow shot from the distance.
It was Hawkeye!
The arrow precisely passed between Captain America's hands, its immense kinetic energy and sharp blade instantly cutting through the webs.
Captain America was free!
At that moment—
Peter's brows furrowed slightly as a strange feeling surged in his heart!
Where was it?
"It's the shield!"
Peter ducked sharply, coming face-to-face with a tiny, ant-sized humanoid figure standing on the shield.
"What the—" Ant-Man was stunned. He hadn't expected Peter's senses to be so sharp, spotting him the moment he climbed up.
What he didn't know was that even Peter had only just realized his senses had grown sharper.
Perhaps this was another gain from his time as Shadow Spider-Man.
Before, his spider-sense was unreliable nine out of ten times; now, it was unreliable only seven out of ten.
Well, that was decent progress.
This spider-sense wasn't the kind that warned of lethal danger but rather for non-threatening situations like this.
"Hey, you're with the Captain too?" Peter even had the leisure to greet Ant-Man.
"I-I'm a bug! Kid!" Ant-Man's eyes darted, one hand gripping the edge of the shield as he grew larger.
Peter was indeed startled by this move.
It was his first time seeing someone who could shrink and grow.
"What the— This is a bug? What kind of ghost are you?" Peter tightly gripped the shield with one hand while grabbing the foot Ant-Man kicked at him with the other.
As a result, Ant-Man was left in an awkward position: one hand still holding the shield, one foot caught by Peter, his back facing down, half his body dangling in the air.
Captain America: …
Iron Man: …
Are you two sure you're not here for comic relief?
"Ahem, this is an accident. Kid—er, Underoos, can you let me down?"
Peter tightened his grip slightly, giving a forced smile. "I'm Spider-Man, not Underoos."
"Alright, alright, Spider-Man," Ant-Man flailed his hands in the air. "Mr. Spider-Man, can you let me down? This is just too embarrassing."
"Fine, I'll let you down," Peter said, tossing Ant-Man out.