The rumble of tires against pavement and the buzz of teenage chatter filled the inside of Harry Osborn's black pickup as it sped down the freeway. Nathan Drake lounged in the backseat, staring out the window with a quiet grin, while Peter Parker sat beside him, bouncing slightly with excitement. Up front, Gwen Stacy had her legs folded on the seat, phone in hand, while Harry gripped the wheel like he was the only sane man in a car full of aliens.
"I'm telling you," Peter was saying, "the Arc Reactor display is going to be insane this year. Stark is probably debuting a whole new tech class."
"Forget that," Nathan said, leaning forward between the front seats, "I wanna see the new Vibranium alloy mock-ups. That stuff is stronger than Captain America's shield!"
Gwen looked up from her phone and added, "They're also doing an Oscorp neural link demo. Supposedly it lets you control tech with just thought."
Harry blinked. "And you people think I'm the weirdo for watching wrestling reruns."
Nathan laughed. "Harry, my dude, welcome to the nerd parade."
"I feel like I need a translator," Harry muttered.
By the time they pulled into the massive parking lot outside the Stark Expo stadium, the energy in the car was practically vibrating. Towering signs bearing the STARK EXPO 2010 logo loomed above them, glittering in silver and red. Floodlights cast golden arcs over the stadium, and the sound of music, cheering, and the constant hum of innovation spilled into the night.
As the four stepped out of the truck, Gwen suddenly grabbed Harry's arm. "Come on, Osborn, I want to check out the Oscorp booth before the crowds hit."
Harry gave the other two a helpless look before being dragged away. "Don't let the robots eat you!" he called back.
That left Peter and Nathan standing alone, soaking it all in.
Peter shoved his hands in his jacket pockets and turned to Nathan. "So… how are you since, you know…"
Nathan's lips twitched. "I'm fine. Uncle Ben and Aunt May have been amazing. And, well saving people, stopping purse snatchers, rescuing cats from trees… punching criminals. You know. Spider therapy."
Peter gave a quiet nod. "Yeah. It helps."
They started walking through the maze of displays and pavilions, stopping now and then to admire floating drones, solar suitcases, and bio-reactive tech.
Then they came across a table that stood out like a high school science project in the middle of a tech convention.
A cardboard sign read, Pym Technologies.
Behind it, a bored-looking young woman sat cross-legged on a folding chair, headphones in, scrolling on her phone. Beside her, a small man in a lab coat and he was thin, bespectacled, and buzzing with nervous energy stood next to an ant farm and a strange helmet.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" he began, gesturing to the sparse crowd of twelve. "I present to you the future of insect-based communication! The ant-controlling helmet!"
No one clapped.
He cleared his throat. "Janet, open the case."
Nothing.
"Janet?"
Still nothing.
The man scowled and yanked the headphones off the woman's head. "Janet, open the case!"
"Oh! Sorry, Hank," she said, hopping up. With a theatrical flair, she opened the case.
The ants inside immediately began to shift, forming lines… a shape… a P… then a Y… an M…
"Whoa," Peter whispered. "They're spelling out PYM."
A polite round of applause followed.
As they moved on, Peter's eyes were gleaming. "That was fascinating."
Nathan nudged him. "Is Janet single?"
Peter rolled his eyes. "You and Harry are exactly the same."
Nathan grinned. "You're just jealous Sue Storm called me cute and didn't say anything about your brain."
Peter gave him a mock glare. "One more word and I punch your mouth shut."
They both laughed, stepping through into the main stadium.
Inside, the crowd was massive. Floodlights crisscrossed the sky. Dozens of massive screens hovered like floating windows. Nathan and Peter pushed their way closer to the stage.
Peter leaned in. "Did I ever thank you for letting me come to the Baxter Building with you?"
Nathan shrugged. "It was cool. The Fantastic Four loved you. Especially Johnny."
"Guy wouldn't stop showing me memes," Peter muttered.
"Reed let you use his particle scanner."
"Okay, that was awesome."
The lights dimmed suddenly.
Then came the drumbeat.
Loud. Brassy. A little too much.
Spotlights danced across the stage, illuminating a gleaming platform wrapped in Hammer Industries logos.
Onto the stage strutted a man in a cream-colored suit with teeth like lightbulbs was Justin Hammer.
"Good evening, people of the future!" he bellowed, arms outstretched. "Welcome to the dawn of Hammer dominance!"
Polite applause.
From beneath the stage, panels hissed open. Smoke billowed. And then rows of gunmetal gray drones rose, mechanical arms folded, each painted with military insignias.
"Behold the Hammer Drone Corps! Navy, Air Force, Army, Marines! Built to serve. Programmed to obey. And best of all… no ego!"
Then—
BOOM.
A thunderclap split the sky.
From above descended a comet of red and gold and it was Iron Man leaving a trail of flame and cheers in his wake.
He slammed into the stage. The suit hissed open. And out stepped Tony Stark, wearing sunglasses and holding a drink like he owned the world.
Which, arguably, he did.
"Hammer," Tony said with that infuriating grin. "Nice demo. Is it over, or can I still win the science fair?"
The crowd erupted.
Hammer's smile became a twitch. "This is my presentation, Stark."
"Right," Tony said, sipping his drink. "Your presentation at my Expo."
He walked up to one of the drones and tapped it on the head.
"Cute. Do they fetch?"
Hammer clenched his jaw. "They're fully autonomous defense systems, not toys."
"Sure," Tony said. "So's a blender with a gun."
Laughter.
Hammer stepped forward, veins visible on his neck. "You think this is a joke? These drones are protection."
Tony's smile faded. "No. I am protection. You? You're just a knockoff with government funding."
Nathan turned to Peter. "This is so much better than TV."
Then buzzing. Nathan's spidey-sense screamed.
The drones moved.
Their guns rotated aiming directly at Tony Stark.
Tony slid back into his suit just as one drone opened fire. He launched into the sky.
Others followed.
Then—
The remaining drones turned their guns on the crowd.
Panic. Screaming. Chaos.
Peter grabbed Nathan's arm. "Do you have your suit?"
Nathan nodded. "Under my clothes."
Peter's eyes darted around. "I'll find Gwen and Harry. Go."
Nathan was already gone slipping into a back alley.
He yanked off his jacket and shirt, revealing his red-and-blue Spider-Man suit beneath. In one fluid motion, he slipped on his mask and webbed up to the nearest rooftop.
What he didn't see was the red-haired woman in the alley, phone raised, with a eyebrow raised recording the entire transformation.
He launched himself into the air, a blur against the lights, swinging toward the stage as explosions rocked the stadium.
His city needed him.