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"Dan?! What's going on? You're actually calling me first? Wow, the sun must be rising in the west today."
In his lab, Stark was tinkering with a new belt when he got Dan's call. He raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
Dan scratched his head—he still wasn't used to this cocky version of Stark.
"Tony, I need a favor. It's something kinda personal."
Seeing Dan's awkward expression, Stark chuckled.
"Hah! The fearless Kamen Rider who scares vampires is blushing?! What is it—got a crush but too shy to confess? Come on, I gotta school you on this."
Stark gave off big-bro energy as he went on.
"This is America, land of the free, buddy. If you like someone, just tell them! Don't wait around till she runs off with someone else. So, who is it? Someone from the vampire lab you rescued?"
Dan rolled his eyes. This guy… no wonder he got captured in Afghanistan.
"Cut it out. You've got the wrong idea."
He quickly cut him off before Stark's imagination ran wild.
"Tony, I want your help organizing a charity gala."
"A charity gala? Oh, buddy, now you're talking to the right guy! Everyone in New York knows Tony Stark is the king of philanthropy. Nobody—and I mean nobody—has more heart than me. So, what's this all about?"
Dan let out a sigh of relief seeing Stark agree, and explained the whole situation with the Valentin Orphanage.
Stark stroked his goatee thoughtfully.
"So basically… you want me to save the orphanage, right?"
Dan nodded.
"That's right. What do you think? Can you do it?"
Stark leaned back in his chair, smirking like a boss.
"Come on, who do you think I am? I'm a billionaire, baby. It's just one little orphanage—hell, I could buy the entire street it's on if I wanted."
Hearing that, Dan finally relaxed.
"Great. I'll leave it to you then."
"No problem. We've been through hell together—you're my partner. And honestly, I'm curious to see the place that raised someone like you. Must've been something special."
"Hah… it's just a normal orphanage, really."
Dan gave a sheepish laugh. The real game-changer in his life was his teacher, Rick. The orphanage hadn't been anything out of the ordinary.
"So, I'm counting on you, Tony."
Dan hesitated, then added, "Once this is over, I'll give you all the IXA blueprints, parameters, and design notes."
Stark's eyes lit up instantly.
"Now you're talking! But come on, no need to be so formal. You better not go back on that!"
Then he turned and shouted,
"JARVIS, pull up all the data on the Valentin Orphanage. Also, find out which company is trying to buy the land—and once you do, buy that company."
Dan, still on the line, twitched at Stark's ruthless efficiency. Damn, this guy was built different.
But yeah… that's exactly how Tony Stark rolls.
After giving JARVIS his orders, Stark turned back to Dan.
"Alright, I've got the gist of it. But these things take time—it'll probably take about two weeks to get everything sorted."
"Cool. I'll leave the charity gala planning to you then."
After chatting a bit more, Dan hung up.
"So… did it work out?" Kurim asked curiously.
Dan nodded.
"Tony agreed. With his resources and connections, this should be a done deal."
Still… for some reason, Dan couldn't shake a strange sense of unease.
"Oh right—Kurim, I promised Tony I'd hand over the IXA blueprints and data once this is all over."
Kurim's display showed a calm shrug emoji.
"IXA is your creation. You can do whatever you want with it. But… are you sure you can trust this guy?"
Dan nodded seriously.
"Tony might act like a clown now, but one day he'll become a true hero—someone who cares about the whole world."
Dan recalled that final scene in Endgame, when Stark snapped his fingers to save everyone. In that moment, despite all his flaws, that mortal man stood on par with the gods.
"If you trust him that much, then I trust your choice."
Dan smiled at Kurim.
And honestly, for someone like Tony, IXA's tech probably wasn't even that big of a deal. Dan wasn't too worried about handing it over.
September 1st. A special day.
Summer break was finally over. It had felt especially long this year for Dan—between Rick's departure, Kurim's arrival, and that whole battle with Erik and the vampires, it had been more intense than the past six months combined.
But today… today he was going back to the peaceful life of a student. Technically, he already had enough knowledge to pursue a PhD, thanks to Rick's training. But as Rick once said, "Only when you've experienced student life from start to finish is your journey truly complete."
Midtown High—one of the top schools in Queens, maybe even all of New York.
Dan stood at the front gate, spacing out a little as he stared at the entrance.
"I think one version of Spider-Man went to this school… wonder if I'll run into him. Heh, yeah right—what are the odds?"
Laughing to himself, he brushed off the thought. No way life was that coincidental.
Registration, class placement, meeting new classmates…
As an Asian kid, he wasn't exactly the most welcomed face around here. No one really wanted to talk to him.
But Dan didn't mind. Peace and quiet was fine. He was just here to live the experience. If he really wanted to learn something, he'd just call Tony and work on tech in the lab.
"Hey, nerd! Your seat's not here. Move it!"
A tall, burly guy grabbed a skinny kid's backpack and threw it across the room—right in Dan's direction.
Dan tilted slightly, and the bag flew right past him.
He was a bit annoyed but didn't want to cause trouble.
The blonde bully caught sight of Dan and scowled.
"Hey bean sprout, go hang out with that Asian loser!"
The group laughed and shoved the scrawny kid right toward Dan.
"You guys… that's enough."
Dan grabbed the kid to steady him, then shot a cold glare at the bully.
"Hey punk, what's with that look? You wanna fight?!"
The big guy flared up and shoved the desk aside, ready to start something.
"....."