After Karl brought May and Peter to the farm, they stepped inside.
May paused just past the doorway, glancing around with quiet surprise.
The house was not luxurious, but it was immaculate. Every surface was clean, every object in place. The air itself felt orderly.
In her experience, very few men living alone maintained a home like this.
What she didn't know was that the credit belonged entirely to the shadow ninjas. Left to himself, Karl would never have kept the place this spotless.
Karl led them upstairs.
Peter was shown his own room.
Karl naturally suggested that May share his.
She shot him an embarrassed glare — half indignation, half shy acceptance — before turning and heading downstairs to prepare dinner.
Karl stayed upstairs and played games with Peter, easing the boy into the unfamiliar environment.
After dinner, May went into Peter's room to talk with him privately. Their lives had changed suddenly, and she knew he must have questions.
Karl stepped outside.
With May and Peter now under his protection, security became absolute priority.
Five hundred shadow ninjas dispersed into the darkness surrounding the farm.
More hid within the structure itself.
Ten remained concealed within May's and Peter's shadows at all times.
Only after confirming every defensive layer did Karl return to his room.
He lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.
May was still speaking softly with Peter down the hall.
He could listen through the shadow network if he wished.
He chose not to.
He trusted her.
As he stared upward, the past weeks replayed in his mind:
Arriving in the Marvel Universe.
Robbing the gangs.
Destroying Wilson Fisk's criminal empire.
Meeting May.
Confronting Nick Fury.
Every event felt unreal — things his former self could never have imagined.
The door opened.
Click.
May entered wearing a deep purple nightgown beneath a long robe. She slipped off her shoes and lay beside him, resting her head on his shoulder.
"Karl… thank you," she said softly.
He turned toward her.
"For what?"
"I didn't even know Peter was being bullied today… If you hadn't been there…"
Karl brushed a strand of hair from her face.
"It's alright."
He paused.
"Should we consider transferring him? He doesn't seem to fit in at that school."
She thought for a moment.
"The semester is almost over. Let's ask what he wants. If he agrees, we can move him next term."
Karl nodded.
"Alright."
She closed her eyes.
"Let's sleep."
"Mm."
Their closeness deepened, quiet and restrained.
The house's thin walls reminded them Peter was only one room away. May pressed her lips together to stifle any sound, her fingers gripping Karl's shoulder.
The restraint made every touch more intense.
For May, the thrill of rediscovered passion mingled with nervousness and warmth.
For Karl, her tenderness and hidden fire were equally intoxicating.
Outside, the night remained silent.
Afghanistan – Ten Rings Stronghold
Inside a cave complex carved into a remote valley, Tony Stark worked beside Dr. Ho Yinsen, the physician who had saved his life.
Yinsen translated between Stark and the Ten Rings militants while assisting with the work.
Stark had been ordered to rebuild the Jericho missile.
He initially refused.
Weeks of torture changed his compliance — but not his intent.
Instead of a missile, he began dismantling the weapons stockpile, extracting palladium and other components.
His true goal:
to build a miniature arc reactor to power an electromagnet keeping shrapnel from reaching his heart.
Molten metal poured into a crude sand mold.
Hours later, the device pulsed to life.
Yinsen stared at it.
"What is this?"
"A miniature arc reactor," Stark replied. "It'll keep me alive — and I won't need that car battery anymore."
"How much power can it generate?"
"About three gigajoules per second. The full-scale version powers my facility back home."
Yinsen smiled faintly.
"That should keep you alive… for a lifetime."
Stark looked at the glowing core.
"…That's the idea."
S.H.I.E.L.D. Headquarters
Nick Fury stared at the files displayed on his monitor:
Karl Zhang
May Parker
Peter Parker
Obtaining the information had been effortless.
Acting on it was another matter.
Karl had demonstrated capabilities beyond conventional containment. Fury now treated him as an unknown strategic variable — not an asset, not an enemy, but something in between.
And Karl seemed to know too much.
Possibly even about HYDRA infiltration.
Fury rubbed his temples.
The HYDRA purge had yielded almost nothing.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark — CEO of Stark Industries and heir to Howard Stark's legacy — had vanished in Afghanistan.
Pressure mounted from every direction:
The World Security Council demanded results.
The U.S. military demanded answers.
The federal government feared economic repercussions.
Stark Industries' stock collapse threatened defense contracts and tax revenue.
Since Howard Stark co-founded S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury felt both professional and personal responsibility.
He dispatched Agent Phil Coulson to Afghanistan to coordinate search and recovery efforts.
Even without political pressure, Fury would have done the same.
Because if Tony Stark died, the consequences would extend far beyond one corporation.
They would reshape global power.
And as the world tightened with tension—
on a quiet farm outside New York,
Karl lay awake beside the woman he loved,
while power gathered silently in the dark.