48: Trust

—

- More than a week later -

Peter had been quite busy lately that he had no time for his girls. He was training with Silver, making some programs, and apps—smaller ones—so that he could earn money, and was totally busy in stalking Tony Stark. No, it was definitely not the bad kind of stalking, Peter had a reason as to why he wanted to stalk Tony.

They needed to meet.

Not 'they', actually, but Peter needed to meet Tony, not as Peter Parker, but as Spider-Man.

Why? Simple, if Peter Parker couldn't get connections with the 'big' people of the world, Spider-Man could, easily. And Tony was one of those 'big' people that could turn out to be beneficial for Peter.

Especially in this earlier phase of his planes.

So, Peter had surfing around the internet to look for a certain place where he remember Tony would attend. And it seemed that it was time, today was the day Tony would attend that 'thing' Peter had forgotten. Come on, how could he remember every little detail there is in the movies?

Anyways, It seemed that Peter didn't really need to search it up, or look for it as the news on the TV was more than helpful enough. Though Peter felt quite disheartened that his hard work didn't pay in the end and that he received the information from some third-party TV news channel.

-"Tonight's red-hot red carpet is right here at the Disney Concert Hall, where Tony Stark's third annual benefit for the Firefighter's Family Fund has become the place to be for L.A.'s high society."-

Right, so he has a location now. Good.

- Later in the evening –

Tony Stark was staring at a picture that contained the bodies of dead civilians in a desert town, alongside tons of Stark Industries' weaponry. Tony gritted his teeth.

"When was this taken?" He demanded to the woman who'd suddenly come up to him and started flirting before shifting to a more serious conversation, ultimately ending in throwing accusations at him and showing him this picture.

"These pictures were taken yesterday, In It's a town called Gulmira. Heard of it?" The woman, Christine Everhart, said.

"I…" Tony was at a loss for words. He'd decided to crash at his own party, but this was one of the last things on his mind when coming here today. Civilians' death, because of his weapons. Tony wasn't sure how this happened. He hadn't approved any—any!—shipment recently.

"I didn't approve any shipment!" Tony growled slightly, his nose scrunching.

"Well," Christine spoke up, taking the picture back from his hands. "It seems your company did." Saying so, she left, leaving Start in his mind, thinking of who could've approved the shipments.

He wasn't naïve. He knew there were things going on in his back, and he was being kept in the dark. Someone close to him in the company had betrayed him, surely, but the glaring question that remained behind was: who?

"Please, do you mind?" Obadiah Stane sounded, snapping Tony out of his thoughts. Tony's heart skipped a beat as he looked at Stane. His face paled a little. No. it couldn't be Stane…right?

"Obie," Tony said. "What's going on in Gulmira?" Tony had had enough of this bullshit; he needed answers, and he needed them now.

"Tony, Tony. You can't afford to be this naive." Stane smirked slightly, and Tony's suspicions turned out to be correct. He was shocked, sure, but he was disappointed more than anything else. And… he lost trust. Could he even trust people from now on? If even Obie…

"You know what? I was naive before, when they said, "Here's the line. We don't cross it. This is how we do business." If we're double-dealing under the table... Are we?" Tony smiled, though it had a certain chill to it. A chill Stane missed to notice.

"Tony, your picture, please!" A reporter shouted, and Stane forced him to take a picture with him by putting his arm over Tony's shoulder.

"Let's take a picture. Come on. Picture time! Tony. Who do you think locked you out? I was the one who filed the injunction against you. It was the only way I could protect you." Stane said condescendingly, sneering, though it appeared as a smile in the picture. as the picture was taken. Tony didn't say a word.

Though he did call bullshit. Protect him? Tony wasn't naïve now that he'd had a reality check. No one… was trustworthy. No one but himself. Stane left after he was done saying stuff, and Tony was left to ponder over many things. He had shit to do, didn't he?

Tony sighed, and stormed to his car, closing the door as he got in. Tony hit the accelerator, hard, and his car roared to life before Tony sped up toward his home. He didn't notice the figure sitting in the back seat, how could he? The figure was hidden by an invisibility spell along with a feature to hide from cameras, after all.

It was Peter, of course. He was in his suit. And teleporting inside Tony's car once he arrived and saw it wasn't really that big a problem. He could've talked with Tony at this event, but Peter didn't, considering the fact that he'd have a moment with Pepper, and learn of Stane's betrayal.

Peter could've told Tony about the betrayal himself, but he knew that learning from the guy himself would be better for Tony, since trusting the words of the man himself would have more weight than a masked vigilante.

As the car stopped in front of Tony's house with a screeching halt, the news about the incident in Gulmira was being broadcasted on the T.V. that Tony had left on. Oh, Tony wasn't alerted of any intruder, since, well, Peter was under an invisibility spell along with his suit's camera function.

Peter was sure that this feature didn't only hide him from the cameras, but heat sensors and some other shit too—though he had yet to test this out.

-"The 15-mile hike to the outskirts of Gulmira can only be described as a descent into hell, into a modern-day Heart of Darkness. Simple farmers and herders from peaceful villages have been driven from their homes, displaced from their lands by warlords emboldened by a new-found power."-

Tony stopped to listen to the news, listen to the destruction his weapons caused, used by the wrong hands.

-"Villagers have been forced to take shelter in whatever crude dwellings they can find in the ruins of other villages, or here in the remnants of an old Soviet smelting plant. Recent violence has been attributed to a group of foreign fighters referred to by locals as the Ten Rings. As you can see, these men are heavily armed and on a mission. A mission that could prove fatal to anyone who stands in their way. With no political will or international pressure, there's very little hope for these refugees."-

Tony clenched his teeth as the footage kept flickering.

-"Around me, a woman begging for news on her husband, who was kidnapped by insurgents, either forced to join their militia. Desperate refugees clutch yellowed photographs, holding them up to anyone who will stop. A child's simple question, "Where are my mother and father?" There's very little hope for these refugees, refugees who can only wonder who, if anyone, will help."-

"Jarvis," Tony called, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

["Yes, sir?"] a charming British voice sounded.

"How long…" Tony stared at the fire on the TV, "How long till my suit is ready?"

"2 hours and 25 minutes, sir," Jarvis answered.

Tony sighed in annoyance, slumping down on a sofa as he turned the T.V. off, not being able to watch the carnage unfolding anymore.

"You seem to have quite the bad day." A deep voice sounded, startling the ever-living shit out of Tony as he bolted up to look at who it was.

"Spider-Man!?" Tony exclaimed. He, of course, knew who Spider-Man was. Tony knew when he popped up out of nowhere and started saving people. Tony had even tried finding out who it was, but he couldn't find anything.

"Hmmm." Peter hummed, trying his best to emulate Batman's voice with the "?" voice modulator.

"How did you get in? Jarvis? How did he get in?!"

["Who, or what are you talking about, sir? You seem to be talking to the air in the footage I'm processing."]

"Oh, let me help with that," Spider-Man said.

["I see the vigilante known as Spider-Man come into view out of nowhere, sir. Should I initiate the emergency protocols?"]

"Calm down Jarvis," Spider-Man said. "I'm just here to talk."

"Okay?" Tony drawled, confused. Why would Spider-Man want to talk with him?

"So, Tony," Spider-Man said, and propped one leg above the other as he sat on the sofa opposite Tony Stark, leisurely. "I heard you had a hand in what happened in Gulmira."

Tony snorted, "I fail to see if that should be any of your concern."

"Oh, believe me, Tony, It is very well my concern," Spider-Man said, his voice tone going a tone harsher. "Now, if you would tell me if you have a hand?"

"No, I do not!" Tony growled.

"Your company's weapons were found on sight, Tony." Spider-Man dropped any and every formality. "Someone ought to have approved that big a shipment."

"I did not!"

"Well, someone did."

"And I will find who it is," Tony said resolutely.

"You finding the perpetrator does not equate the lives lost due to your weapons, Stark," Spider-Man said, his words piercing Tony like a hot knife.

Tony wanted to retort, but couldn't, so he just slumped back into the sofa.

"W-what am I supposed to do then? You're supposed to be a hero, right? Tell me what I can do then!"

Peter just stared at the riled-up man in front of him, frowning under his mask. Something… something was different. Tony had reacted similarly in the movies, sure, but he was a bit too riled up right now. Did something happen? Something that wasn't supposed to happen but did due to the ripple caused by Peter? But Peter hadn't made any big changes yet.

Peter sighed, and instructed Jarvis. "Turn on the TV, please, Jarvis?"

Jarvis didn't answer, but the TV turned on since Jarvis didn't see any danger to Stark's life by doing so, and because it was a simple command. On the TV, bombs were being thrown In a certain place, and the scene was filled with carnage.

"What do you think you should do? Fix the mess caused by your weapons, I'd say."

"But how?"

"Figure that out yourself," Peter said and stood up. "And hit me up when you figure it out, I'll help you in any way possible. Now, if you'll excuse me." Saying so, he left, leaving Tony alone to ponder over stuff.

Peter wasn't sure how big a change this little talk of his would cause, but he didn't care about the change caused by it, he just wanted to get introductions done with Stark so that he'd contact him once he was officially Iron Man, a superhero.

Peter had many plans that involved Iron Man, or more specifically, Tony Stark, after all, and he could use this person quite a lot to complete some of his important projects.

- back when Tony Escaped the cave –

Men of the Ten Rings were searching the desert in look out for Tony Stark. The fucker had managed to escape their grasp.

A particular man, with a distinct face that was half burned, quite badly so, squatted down, staring at the left-behind parts of the suit Tony Stark had used to escape the cave.

Raza, the leader of the Ten Rings, picked up a piece of metal from the sand. His burned face hurt, but he couldn't help but smirk when he saw that it was the broken-off face mask of the suit Tony used to escape.

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/Lord_Kismet

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