Peter POV:
The facility was alive with light. A symphony of steel and glass, humming machinery and cutting-edge holograms met the eye at every turn. Yet it wasn't just cold futurism. The walls themselves breathed history.
Carved terracotta murals stretched across the great entrance hall, each panel a story. Soldiers of World War II marching under the banner of America along with Captain America and his Howling Commandos. A bold skyline of New York rising tall. Iron Man, painted mid-flight in the earthly colour and one figure carved in striking detail. Spider-Woman in her early days, masked and saving people.
[Image]
I walked ahead of the group, slightly awkward as always when people were looking at my work rather than my tech. I tugged on my sleeve nervously.
Pepper stopped, studying one of the murals. Her fingers brushed the grooves of the skyline. "This… isn't just a facility. It's a statement. You didn't just build walls and labs, Peter. You built memory."
Tony whistled low, sunglasses perched on his nose despite being indoors. "Kid, you've got style. Didn't think you had an artistic bone in your body. Turns out you've got an entire skeleton."
I rubbed the back of my neck as I felt embarrassed. "It just… didn't feel right to make something all cold and sterile. Tech isn't just the future. It's the past carrying us forward. I wanted people to see that."
Tony's smirk softened into something rarer, genuine approval. "You did good, Parker. Real good."
Pepper gave him an approving nod, pride in her eyes.
Before I could mumble a reply, Gwen suddenly threw her arms around me from the side, nearly knocking the air out of me. "You're amazing, you know that?" She whispered into my ear.
I froze, then smiled, hugging her back. "Guess I did something right."
"Guess?" Gwen pulled back with a grin. "Definitely."
The moment was warm, grounding but it didn't last.
The heavy sound of boots echoed down the polished floor. A line of decorated officers entered, flanked by aides. Their uniforms carried the weight of decades of authority, their faces carved from stone.
At the front was a man whose very presence drew the room taut. General Thaddeus "Thunderbolt" Ross.
He strode forward, eyes scanning the murals, then the holographic readouts flickering above workstations. Finally, his gaze landed on me.
"Mr Parker." Ross said, his voice gravel rough but sharp. "Impressive. Almost… too impressive. Word is you built all this in record time."
I straightened, Gwen's hand still on my arm. "Efficient planning. Efficient execution. I believe in working ahead of schedule."
Ross's eyes narrowed. "And ahead of oversight?"
Tony stepped in, clapping his hands on my shoulders. "Relax, Ross. Kid's not building doomsday weapons in the basement. If he was, trust me, I'd be helping."
"Not helping, Tony." Pepper muttered under her breath.
Ross ignored the quip, walking along the murals as though measuring each word he'd say. "The Army, Navy and Air Force aren't here because of China murals. We're here because your toys..." His eyes flicked back to me. "are about to change the entire world order. And that means we need clarity. Control."
I kept my gaze level. " I'm willing to work with the U.S. military. I'm willing to provide equipment, innovations, security. But control? That stays here."
The air tightened. Aids shifted uncomfortably.
Ross's jaw ticked but his voice remained steady. "You're young, Parker. Maybe you don't understand the weight of responsibility you're carrying."
My tone sharpened. "I understand it better than anyone. Every design I finish, every weapon I deploy, I live with the knowledge of what they could do in the wrong hands. That's why they stay in the right ones. Mine."
Silence stretched for a long moment.
Then Tony broke it with a smirk. "Welcome to Parker Defense Solutions, gentlemen. State-of-the-art tech, shiny toys and a boss who knows where the line is. Feel free to look around. Just don't touch the plasma cannons they're moody."
Some of the officers chuckled under their breath. Ross did not.
Instead, he fixed me with a final look. One part challenge, one part acknowledgment.
"This isn't over, Parker." Ross said. "Not by a long shot."
I met his gaze evenly. "Didn't expect it to be."
The generals moved deeper into the facility and for a moment, I felt the weight of their scrutiny pressing down harder than any mural on the walls.
Gwen squeezed my hand. "You handled that well."
"Yeah." I muttered, eyes still on Ross's disappearing figure. "Let's hope it stays that way."
Read 56 chapters ahead on P.A.T.R.E.O.N
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