One month later.
The calm routine lasted until one person showed up.
Jack opened the door and saw the woman outside—decent-looking, but not his type.
He preferred sweet, curvy beauties; petite ones were fine too.
The visitor had a classic statuesque American-chic face, a black gown covering most of her figure—slightly mature.
If no strings were attached, Jack wouldn't mind sampling—but safety first. She'd need a physical.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Jack?"
Jack: "That's me. Who are you?"
"Hello, sir. We have a delivery for you—please sign."
Thinking it was Dr. Banner's parcel, Jack took it. But the sender's name made him instantly toss the box aside and lunge at the woman.
She swung an arm to deflect but couldn't budge him an inch.
She rolled with his force, hit the deck, flipped away, and drew a pistol from her waist.
Jack didn't flinch; the caliber was well within his tolerance.
He soaked two shots, seized her wrist, and handled her like a kindergarten kid.
She fought—blade in her sleeve, spike in her sole, dagger between her thighs—none of it worked.
Her arms were pinned behind her; no yoga contortion could free her while Jack held her down.
Wanda heard the racket downstairs and saw Jack pinning a woman.
For a moment, Wanda fantasized he was forcing her—but it was self-defense.
Crimson Chaos Magic swirled around the assassin's skull; the woman dropped unconscious.
Jack's Killing Intent Perception flared. "Wanda—shield!"
Wanda threw up a full barrier; two huge bullets slammed into it, stopping as if hitting non-Newtonian goo ten centimeters deep.
The sniper fired eight more rounds; all splashed harmlessly against Wanda's Chaos shield.
Locking onto the shooter, Jack scooped Wanda and sprinted toward the gunfire.
Wanda kept the shield up, blocking bursts from the marksman's rifle.
Two hundred meters on, Jack spotted the killer hoisting a black case, ready to flee.
The car was fast, but Jack was faster. As it pulled off, he hurled Wanda skyward and Iron-Mountain-butted the rear quarter-panel.
The car rolled thrice; Wanda floated down and mind-zapped two striking blondes.
Jack tucked both women under his arms, Wanda riding his neck, and jogged home.
After dumping the pair, he checked on Little Peter—empty house—so he called Mei.
Peter was at school.
"Mei, go to my place in Stark Tower and stay inside; I'll send protection."
Mei's voice shook. "Jack, what's happening? Why ask about Peter? Why can't I leave?"
"Relax, everything's fine—don't you trust your man?"
Mei choked back tears. "Jack, keep Peter safe—promise me."
"I swear. Now get to my room."
He hung up, set Wanda down, then felt a chill on his neck.
He reached to check; Wanda stopped him, rubbing the spot with his shirt.
He flicked her forehead. "Payback later—breakfast wasn't that long ago."
Leaving Wanda to guard the trio, he sprinted to Peter's school.
Streets were empty—gunfire had sent everyone indoors.
The school was chaos; someone had come to make trouble.
They wanted Peter alive to use as leverage.
Jack saw Peter tucked under a woman's arm, face happily buried in her chest.
Peter was shoved into a car; Jack repeated his bull-charge.
The sedan slid sideways, cracking the school wall.
He snapped the outside woman's arm, but the second gunman already had a muzzle to Peter's head.
"Stop, or the kid's brains paint the seats."
Jack never slowed. The gunwoman, realizing he didn't care, tried to shoot—
—but the kid wasn't ordinary. He was Spider-Kid.
Spider-Sense made Peter dodge and snatch the pistol.
Jack was on her—horizontal chop—both her arms snapped; she collapsed screaming.
He tucked the two women under his arms; Peter, still between one's breasts, got his promised "treat."
Peter: "Swap me to the twenty-something and I'd thank you—this one's fifty, easy."
Back home they had five captives; Wanda knocked the newcomers out.
Jack exhaled, stacked the five like Jenga into the pickup bed, and shut the lid.
He dialed Natasha—no answer.
Wanda listened to the endless ring, worried sick—Natasha was her beloved understudy, her sister-in-arms.
"Still no pick-up?"
He pocketed the phone, ready to interrogate.
Wanda said, "I already did. They're from the Red Room, here to grab us. They know nothing else."
Jack scratched his head; the original plot never gave Red Room's coordinates—it moved constantly.
Only Melina might know, and he had no idea where she was. Next stop: Red Guardian—but he was locked in a Russian prison. Tricky.
Wanda patted his back for comfort.
"Jack, talk to me; we'll figure it out together."
Little Peter chimed, "Brother Jack, tell me—I'm smart, I can help."
Jack ruffled his hair. "Come with me to Mei first, then we plan."
"Wanda, pack clothes—we're going away for days. I'll call someone to clean up."
He rang Tony.
"Kid, found a scientist better than me?"
Tony's snarky voice crackled alongside welding sparks.
"I need backup—trouble here. I'll trade you a HYDRA Base location afterward."
"Deal. You come here or I come to you?"
The moment Tony heard about HYDRA, he agreed without hesitation—nothing could stop his revenge.
He casually pulled up the HYDRA files; there was almost nothing useful—they'd buried themselves too deep.
Tony had also investigated the black-ops group that showed up at his place last time, the one called S.H.I.E.L.D.; their actions looked suspicious, but everything they did benefited their own organization.
Jack: "Bring a few sets of Iron Armor. We'll need heavy firepower. Wanda and I will suit up too—this time the enemy has plenty of aircraft."
Tony: "Give me a day; making your suits takes time."
Ending the call, Jack took Wanda and Little Peter, luggage in tow, to Stark Tower.
May hugged Peter, anxiously patting him.
"Aunt May, I'm fine—don't worry."
Jack stepped forward. "Sorry, May. It's probably because of us that Peter got into danger."
May threw herself into Jack's arms, looking for comfort.
Little Peter: Joker-JPG—you used to call me your baby, now the new guy outranks the old and you just call me Parker.
May's voice cracked: "Jack, I don't want to know your business details, but keep Peter safe."
Facing such understanding, Jack promised, "I'll keep you both safe. Stay here and rest—I'll handle this mess."
Reassured, May took Peter off to eat. Even though Peter had lunch, Aunt May insisted kids need extra meals to grow tall.
Jack had J.A.R.V.I.S. start digging up intel on Red Guardian Alexei.
They found the prison holding him, then used Alexei's info to track Melina, and finally located Dreykov's Red Room.
The following night.
Tony's swarm of armors landed on Stark Tower's helipad; Jack spotted Wanda's suit at a glance.
It was impossible to miss—its features were distinctive.
"I'm ready to launch anytime."
Jack: "Wait for Wanda."
Jack approached the armor; it opened automatically. Little Peter's eyes sparkled—no kid can resist mechs.
"Brother Jack, can I go inside and look?"
Jack ruffled Peter's hair. "Yours is over there."
He pointed to a huge armor that, under J.A.R.V.I.S.'s control, stepped aside to reveal a tiny suit.
Tony: "Kid, this one's custom-built for you—explore all you want, just no dangerous stunts and no flying."
Peter drooped a bit at "no flying," then immediately pounced on his little armor.
"Ms. May, this heavy armor is yours." Tony patted the bulky suit. "The back compartment stores the small suit; in danger it can fly you both out."
Knowing Tony, Jack figured he must have built something to protect Pepper too.
Jack: "Where's Pepper's armor? Don't tell me you skipped it?"
Tony snapped his fingers, and several holographic screens popped up.
He pointed to a vehicle and explained: "This car's my latest creation. In an emergency it can cocoon the occupants and fly them to safety."
The demo finished just as Wanda returned.
Jack clapped. "All right, time to move."
Wanda locked onto her armor, a bit embarrassed—it clearly used extra materials.
Jack stroked her head. "We'll be there soon."
Wanda answered with a light kiss.
The three stepped into their armors, trailed by unmanned suits piloted by J.A.R.V.I.S.
En route, Jack asked, "Tony, how's the research on that last suit? Anything impressive?"
Tony curled his lip. "If the guy who made that spider suit isn't me, I'll eat sh*t while standing on my head."
Jack looked disgusted. "Tony, you can't reach your own sh*t upside-down—you're not long enough."
Wanda: (づωど)
Wanda switched the chat channel.
Tony: (￣ー￣)
"That suit has to be something I'll build in the future. The code, timestamps, quirks—I'm sure I made it, just… in the future."
Jack: (ﾟДﾟノ)? System, don't tell me you grabbed this from some random parallel universe?
[System doesn't know. System is resting.]
Jack shrugged. "Never mind that. Just tell me: is it more advanced than your current tech?"
Tony: "Give me the specs and I can build that spider suit too. By the way, why call it a spider suit?"
Jack: "Because it's for a spider, so spider suit."
Tony didn't get it and kept digging: "So when in the future did I make this? Two years? Three?"
Jack did the math: "At least five."
Tony stayed defiant: "That won't be my best tech five years from now. Give me five years and I'll do better."
Jack: "Whatever. Just say whether it helps your current self. I figure the cushion I'm lying on is a lot like that suit."
Tony: "It helps—but only pushed me ahead by six… no, three months."
Jack didn't want to talk; he needed sleep.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., take controls. I'm napping."
"Yes, Sir. I'll keep flight stable."
Tony was speechless.
"It's only a three-hour flight—you can't even stay awake that long?"
Jack rolled his eyes, though Tony couldn't see it.
"In China we don't fly lying flat—only mounts do that. We imagine riding them."
"Of course, that's for pros. Normals fly standing on giant swords—way cooler and more dashing."
Tony pictured it and had to admit standing on something looked cooler.
"Show me when you can do it. I enjoy flying free like this."
Tony's palms blasted Mach rings, accelerating; the sonic boom left Jack's ears ringing.
Jack and Wanda flew in reclined mode; he had Tony add thrusters—no one can keep arms bent like Tony forever.
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