Chapter 15
That's right, it was tension.
Without the calming influence of Shadow Spider-Man, he was still just that 15-year-old kid. Even though he constantly recalled the feeling of merging with Shadow Spider-Man, trying hard to pretend he was calm and mature, in reality, he was still that immature self.
Occasionally, some of that immaturity would still show.
Especially after entering a battle.
Of course, this was definitely an improvement over the old him.
After all, no matter how you looked at it, he had blood on his hands now.
Back then, when he shot and killed the Vulture who was about to harm Aunt May, although it was Shadow Spider-Man's consciousness in control, Peter had experienced that feeling firsthand.
After that, his successive confrontations with Kraven the Hunter and the Green Goblin were mostly led by him.
With these experiences, although he still felt some tension, he was much better than before.
If it were the old him, just earlier outside, the shield would probably have been snatched back by the suddenly enlarged Ant-Man!
But now, perhaps it wasn't impossible for him to take on both Falcon and Winter Soldier and temporarily hold them at bay.
Just then, the Winter Soldier came running back.
Earlier, while Peter was fighting Falcon, he had taken the shield Peter used to hit him and tossed it through a nearby window to Captain America, who was fighting Black Panther below.
With the shield, Captain America finally had some ability to contend with Black Panther.
Unfortunately, it was only just contending.
The vibranium armor on Black Panther was no small matter.
Wakanda's use of vibranium was practically divine.
They had developed Vibranium A and Vibranium B based on vibranium's properties.
Vibranium A was the original vibranium that could absorb energy, while Vibranium B was a variant that could destroy the molecular bonds of many metals, including Vibranium A.
Just one metal, yet they had created the paradox of "the strongest shield" and "the sharpest spear."
The claws on Black Panther's vibranium suit were made of Vibranium B.
As a result, after a few scratches, Captain America's vibranium shield had several claw marks on it.
The indestructible vibranium shield actually had claw marks!
This shocked Captain America greatly.
But now wasn't the time to be shocked. He could only endure the pain of his wife—er, his shield—being scratched by a wild man and continue fighting Black Panther.
Meanwhile.
In the terminal.
The Winter Soldier wanted to rescue Falcon but was kicked by Peter, sending both him and Falcon tumbling down.
Then came a series of webbing, and the two were firmly bound to the ground by spider webs, unable to move.
"I'd love to keep playing with you guys, but I have other tasks, so…"
*Duang!*
Peter slightly tilted his body, quickly shooting out a web with his hand, directly hitting a small drone and sticking it to the ceiling.
He glanced up at the drone's design and said to Falcon, "Sir, this is your kid, right? Pretty naughty, huh."
"You got any more tricks, buddy?" the Winter Soldier asked.
Falcon shook his head in confusion. "Are kids these days this strong?"
Peter shrugged. "Bye-bye."
He turned and jumped out the window, rejoining the battle in the plaza outside.
At this point, the situation here had escalated as well.
Captain America was facing the combined assault of Black Panther and War Machine. Just when he was about to be overwhelmed, Ant-Man pulled off a brilliant move.
He handed Captain America a tiny car the size of a keychain, then picked up an enlarging dart and said, "Throw it at this thing."
Captain America nodded somewhat blankly, not knowing what he was up to.
Ant-Man didn't explain further and just threw it.
Seeing this, Captain America instinctively tossed the mini-car.
*Snap!*
The mini-car, overtaking the dart, hit the enlarging dart.
An astonishing scene unfolded.
The mini-car instantly grew to normal car size and came crashing down on War Machine!
War Machine, Black Panther, Black Widow, and Peter, who had just exited the terminal, were all stunned by the sight.
The next moment, they snapped back to reality.
Black Panther tackled Black Widow to the ground nearby, using his vibranium suit to shield her from the explosion's damage.
Peter wanted to save someone, but he was too far away and could only rush toward them as fast as possible.
War Machine, being a real man, faced the car head-on.
Then, with a *boom*, he was crushed under it.
The immense kinetic energy pushed him and his armor forward several meters before stopping.
War Machine crawled out from under the burning car, covered in soot. "I'm pissed!"
Iron Man arrived just in time, landing on the ground and pulling Black Widow and Black Panther up one after the other.
Black Widow asked, "Was this part of the plan?"
Iron Man shook his head. "No, this went beyond expectations. I originally wanted to go easy on them."
"We're not actually going to fight them for real, are we?" Peter, landing nearby, asked curiously.
Iron Man's tone was somewhat grim, clearly not in the best mood.
Hearing Peter's words, he turned to look at him. "What, you think we're playing house here?"
"They're heading toward the plane," War Machine said.
"No worries, someone's already waiting for them," Iron Man said, steady as a rock, showing no trace of panic. "Now, let's go too."
So, Iron Man took Black Widow, while Black Panther and Peter hung onto either side of War Machine.
The five quickly crossed the plaza and reached the other side.
Only then did Peter see the "sixth person" Iron Man had mentioned.
His skin was entirely red, and he wore simple gray-green clothes with a cape flowing behind him.
Most importantly, he was flying in the air!
"He can actually fly?" Peter couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
"He's called Vision, a pretty badass guy," War Machine said.
"How badass?"
"Super, super badass. And he's red-skinned, so maybe he likes eating kids like you."
Peter: *You really think I'm a three-year-old? I'm tempted to switch sides, what do I do?*
As they spoke, both teams reassembled.
This time, everyone was fully present!
Iron Man's side: Iron Man, Vision, War Machine, Black Widow, Black Panther, Peter.
Captain America's side: Captain America, Wanda, Falcon, Hawkeye, Winter Soldier, Ant-Man.
You had to admit, the lineups on both sides were pretty interesting.
There was the bromance faction with Iron Man and Captain America, the married couple dynamic with Vision and Wanda… and even the chatterbox duo of Peter and Ant-Man.
Looking at it this way, it was like they'd stacked all sorts of buffs!
You could only say the leaders on both sides knew how to play.
They'd managed to put this together.
And, well, with quite a bit of chemistry.
But at this moment, the atmosphere on the field wasn't as harmonious as one might imagine.
As both sides fully assembled, the expressions on everyone's faces grew heavy.
Iron Man and Captain America assessed each other's strength and realized neither could "convince" the other in a short amount of time!
The battle was about to erupt again!
And this time, it would be even more intense!