[The battle on the ground raged fiercely, but the aerial combat was just as intense.]
[Sam dodged Tony's relentless attacks, his movements growing more strained as exhaustion set in. Realizing he couldn't keep this up for long, he called for backup.]
["Clint, can you help me shake him off?"]
[At that moment, Barton had already drawn his bow, aiming calmly. "Are you holding on tight?" he asked.]
["Yeah! I've got a firm grip!" Scott, now miniaturized, squatted on the arrow's shaft. He then lay down, clutching the joint tightly.]
["I'm ready! Archer! Let's go!" As soon as Scott gave the signal, Barton released the arrow.]
[Just as Tony prepared to intercept it, the arrow suddenly split into multiple fragments, scattering behind him in various directions.]
[Tony, unwilling to take any risks, immediately turned around. With Friday's assistance, he swiftly targeted and shot down most of the incoming projectiles.]
[However, hidden among them, Scott used the resulting shockwave to propel himself forward. He successfully infiltrated Tony's armor through a joint in the arm.]
"Oh, this is bad," Tony muttered, his expression darkening. While he had considered vulnerabilities after seeing Marco turn into sand and Max transform into electricity, the idea of an opponent physically infiltrating his suit unsettled him. If his armor failed, he would be nothing more than an ordinary man.
"Tony, we need a solution," Banner's voice crackled through the comms as he hovered nearby in his own suit.
"Yeah, no kidding. But armor joints will always have gaps—I'll have to figure out a fix when we get back."
For now, Tony had bigger concerns. He shifted his focus toward Wanda and Pietro. Meanwhile, Baron Strucker, unaware that Tony and his team had already tracked the siblings' general location, was making his own moves to capture them first.
[The young Spider-Man, freshly thrown aside, quickly got back on his feet as if nothing had happened. He shot a web toward Captain America, who instinctively raised his shield to block it.]
[Reacting quickly, Cap grabbed the webbing and yanked hard, catching Spider-Man off guard. With a swift motion, he slammed his shield into the teen's face, sending him tumbling to the ground.]
[Having been bested twice in quick succession, Spider-Man adjusted his stance, leaping onto the top of the airport's jet bridge to regain some distance.]
[Captain America eyed him and asked, "Did Stark tell you anything else?"]
["You think you're right, but that just makes you more dangerous!" Spider-Man shot back.]
[Without missing a beat, he performed a backflip, launching himself off the bridge. Using centrifugal force, he shot out a web and swung toward Captain America, aiming a powerful kick.]
[However, Cap dodged the attack effortlessly. Anticipating Spider-Man's next move, he executed a precise back kick, sending the young hero flying once again.]
[Spider-Man crashed into the bridge's support beams before landing hard on the ground.]
["He's right," Captain America remarked before hurling his shield at the structure. The weakened supports gave way, sending the bridge toppling directly toward Spider-Man.]
[Reacting instantly, Spider-Man raised both hands to catch the falling structure. His arms trembled under the weight as he struggled to hold it up.]
[Cap retrieved his shield, nodding approvingly. "You've got guts, kid. Where are you from?"]
[Through gritted teeth, Spider-Man managed to reply, "Queens!"]
[Captain America smirked. "Brooklyn." With that, he turned and sprinted off, leaving Spider-Man to his predicament as the bridge continued its slow descent.]
"He's still too young," the 1st Gen Spider-Man mused, shaking his head. "Lacks experience, and he talks too much during fights—gives opponents too many openings."
He knew that Spider-Man's strength would grow with time, but if he didn't break his habit of chatting mid-battle, he would constantly put himself in danger. The old saying was true: villains die because they talk too much.
If Spider-Man had used his full strength, he could have overpowered Sam, the Winter Soldier, and even Captain America. A well-placed kick to Cap's face, using a fraction of his real power, would have been enough to knock him unconscious. But he held back, unwilling to hurt his allies. Because of this, he ended up getting beaten.
Moreover, Spider-Man barely utilized his spider-sense. 1st Gen Spider-Man could see several moments where he should have dodged but didn't. It was only when Bucky hurled an object at him that his instincts finally kicked in.
Meanwhile, 2nd Gen Spider-Man watched the fight with a complicated expression. There were so many mistakes he didn't even know where to start criticizing.
Why was Spider-Man struggling against Captain America?
Shouldn't he be way more agile? Why did he look so stiff, like he was just rushing in blindly?
Watching Cap beat Spider-Man twice in a row made 2nd Gen Peter sigh. Hopefully, the kid would learn from this experience.
[Elsewhere, Barton took aim and fired an arrow at Tony from a concealed position. Tony, detecting the attack, quickly moved to counter—only to find his palm repulsor suddenly malfunctioning.]
["Friday?" Tony asked, puzzled as he glanced at his unresponsive hand.]
["Some systems have gone offline," Friday reported.]
["What?!" Tony frowned, scanning the interface, unable to understand the sudden failure.]
["Might need to send it back to the factory for repairs!" Scott quipped from inside the suit.]
[Startled by the unfamiliar voice, Tony's face twitched. "Who the hell is talking?"]
["Your conscience! We haven't chatted in a while," Scott continued playfully while yanking at the suit's wiring.]
["Friday?" Tony called again, realizing the intruder was causing havoc inside his armor.]
["Activating fire suppression system," Friday responded immediately.]
[Before Scott could react, a blast of fire-extinguishing gas surged toward him.]
["Oh, crap!" Scott dropped the wire and bolted. "Oh no, no, no!"]
[Despite his best efforts, he was engulfed by the gas and forcibly ejected from the armor, plummeting toward the ground.]
[Meanwhile, Tony—momentarily distracted by the internal sabotage—hovered in midair, unaware that Barton had lined up another shot. The arrow struck him squarely, not causing major damage but sending him staggering back.]
Watching the scene unfold, Tony's brow furrowed in deep thought. He needed a way to counteract this vulnerability. At the same time, something else nagged at him—why was the AI in his suit Friday and not J.A.R.V.I.S.?
J.A.R.V.I.S. meant everything to him. He wouldn't replace him without a reason.
Something must have happened.
What had gone wrong in the future?
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