Author's Note: Back again with another addition to the Iron Hero 7 story. Not only that, but this chapter will feature the Young Avengers series debut of one of the most iconic characters in the Marvel universe.
Oh, and by the way, happy Easter.
Enjoy the chapter. Any and all comments are welcome.
It was a dark and foggy night when Alistair Krei decided to take his yacht to the middle of the San Fransokyo bay. He stopped his ride at a specific spot on the bay and looked through his binoculars, but he could barely see anything past the thick fog.
"All right. We're here." Krei said. "Now what?"
"We wait?" Judy asked startling Krei from behind and making him drop his binoculars.
"AAH! Don't do that? Didn't know you were back there."
"Talk to yourself much?" Judy asked.
"No. I was just thinking out loud." Krei said. At that moment, his phone beeped, and he answered it. "This is Krei."
"I see you have reached the drop point."
"Couldn't we have done this in the office?" Krei asked.
"No. You will transfer the funds."
"How do I know you'll deliver?" Krei asked suspiciously. "This is a staggeringly large amount of cash."
"That's why it was the winning bid."
Though he was still suspicious, Krei proceeded to hit a button on his phone to transfer his payment to his anonymous caller. Right after, Krei spotted something moving in the water. It shot itself right towards his yacht and ducked down for cover.
"HIT THE DECK!" Krei shouted. He waited for a second, but so far, nothing happened.
"You might wanna see this." Judy said.
Krei peeked over his deck and saw that the missile stopped just inches away from his ship. The top of it opened up and reached out a mechanical claw. The claw held up a small, blue chip which it dropped into Alistair's hands.
"Haha. It's good to win." Krei said.
"I couldn't agree more." Judy said with an evil grin pointing a gun at Krei.
Alistair widened his eyes and tried to back away. "Whoa! Hold on! What's the meaning of this?"
"This, Mr. Krei…" Judy grabbed the lower part of her neck and ripped it off along with the rest of her face. Krei was horrified at first, and his fears hadn't settled when he saw his assistant's face replaced by a bald, colorless face white as a ghost. This figure then spoke in a Russian accent. "…Is a corporate plot of sabotage."
"What the?" Krei asked. "Who are you? Where's my assistant?"
"The girl is safe. I simply pretended to be you and gave her the night off." the pale-faced man said. "As to who I am… Well, you can call me the Chameleon."
"The Chameleon?" Krei asked. "Hey, wait a minute. I've heard of you. You're the freaky spy with the masks. So you're here for my chip?"
"No, no, no." the Chameleon dismissed. "WE are here for the chip."
Krei arched an eyebrow. "The implication being…"
Just then, a shadow flew over Krei's head. He looked up and saw an elderly man in a green, mechanical bird costume fly before landing on the roof of Krei's ship. Another man came in a large jolt of electricity. He was a man with blue, electrical skin wearing a black outfit with a lightning bolt pattern. After that, a cloud of sand flew onto the ship and came together taking the form of a man in a green-striped shirt. The next man to arrive was someone wearing a green, high-tech suit with a very long, sharp tail like a scorpion. The last man to arrive out of nowhere would be a man in a yellow-and-green outfit with four, long, mechanical tentacles protruding from his back.
Once the six bizarre-looking supervillains appeared, they circled around Alistair Krei, who was trembling with nervousness.
"Good evening, Alistair Krei." the man with the mechanical tentacles greeted. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Octopus. And these are my colleagues: Scorpion, Sandman, Electro, Vulture, and you've already met the Chameleon."
"Okay now. Take it easy." Krei said nervously. "No one has to get hurt, especially me."
"Oh, but that's half the fun." Scorpion said with a sadistic grin.
Dr. Octopus cleared his throat to keep Scorpion away from Krei. "You're quite right, Mr. Krei. No one has to get hurt. That's why you're going to hand over that chip, and we'll be on our way. Otherwise, we can't be held responsible for what happens to you while you're on a sinking ship."
"You make a fantastic argument." Krei said. "Well, if that's the way it's gotta be then…"
"Hey, squid man!"
Suddenly, two blue energy blasts hit Dr. Octopus in the back. He turned back angrily as Iron Man flew in from above with Baymax and Hiro beside him.
"Where do you get off on pushing around a tech exec?" Tony asked. "That's just not cool."
"We got heroes!" Dr. Octopus yelled. "Electro, Vulture, knock them out of the sky!"
"You got it, doc!" Electro said before vanishing in a flash of electrical light. He reappeared behind the heroes and shot electrical bursts at them. They dodged out of the way, but barely and flew around the sky. Meanwhile, the Vulture shot himself upward and chased after Hiro and Baymax.
"Okay. So we got six superpowered baddies against Krei." Hiro said as Baymax narrowly avoided getting shocked again.
"Electrical jolts can be harmful." Baymax said.
"That's the idea, genius!" Electro yelled. He shot a lightning blast that nearly grazed Baymax and caused him to accidentally drop Hiro into the river. Thankfully, he pulled him out just in time.
Iron Man continued to fly around while engaging the Vulture in aerial combat. "Forgive me for assuming, but aren't you a little old to be flying around the sky dressed as a giant turkey?"
"I'll show you a turkey!" Vulture yelled trying to fly at Tony. "No one stands in the way of the Sinister Six!"
The Vulture attempted to charge at Iron Man, but the teen hero blasted his wing and threw off his aim. He landed right at Electro, who was knocked away.
After that, Tony flew on down and continued firing at the supervillains while Alistair headed straight into the inside of his yacht. Dr. Octopus extended his arms to try and strike him down, but Baymax managed to evade Electro and grab onto his tentacles. One he landed, he spun the evil scientist around knocking all the others out of the yacht and into the water.
"Well, that wasn't easy, but we made it." Hiro said. "Who were those guys?"
"Obviously, someone with bad fashion sense." Tony said.
After saving Krei, Hiro, Baymax, and Tony guided the yacht back to the San Fransokyo docks and parked it. Krei walked right off to thank the heroes.
"Thanks for the help, kids… and robot." Krei said. "But how did you know I needed help?"
"I called them."
Krei turned and saw Judy standing behind him. "You? It is you, right? Not that freaky mask guy again?"
"Nope, it's me." Judy said. "I got a call from you saying that I had the night off. And I thought to myself 'Mr. Krei, giving me the night off? Something's definitely wrong.' So I called Iron Hero 7."
"So what's going on, Krei?" Tony asked. "What's with those Sinister Six clowns coming after you?"
"Heck if I know." Krei lied. "Look, I was out on the bay enjoying my yacht, Kreifisher, and then, those freaky maniacs came out of nowhere and surrounded me."
"You were enjoying your yacht." Tony said.
"Yes."
"In the middle of a foggy night."
"…Yes."
Tony removed his faceplate and gave Krei a glare that showed he didn't believe him. He was about to speak up when Hiro let out a sneeze catching his attention.
"Hiro, you all right?" Tony asked.
"I am detecting unusually thick mucus in Hiro's nasal membranes." Baymax said.
"Ugh! TMI!" Tony exclaimed. "Let's just go home for now and rest. Krei, we'll talk about this later."
"Fine." Hiro said. "Let's go, Baymax."
"I will monitor your symptoms."
After Hiro hopped on Baymax's back, they and Tony flew off the dock and disappeared into the city.
"Why didn't you tell them about your new chip?" Judy asked Krei. "I mean, they did save you. Plus, Tony is, like, your boss."
"I do not need that kid lecturing me about how 'that technology is too risky'."
"Is it risky?"
"No risk, no reward. Besides, technically, this is a Krei Tech project, not Stark Industries. I'll show it to Tony once I'm sure that this is profitable for both of us."
Once Hiro entered his friends' labs at SFIT the next day, they could already tell he was in pretty bad shape.
"Hi, Hiro." Honey Lemon greeted. "Aw, do you feel okay?" She placed her bare hand on his forehead. "You're a little warm."
"You look like death. Go home." Gogo said.
"Why does everyone think I'm sick?" Hiro asked.
"Hmm. Maybe it has to do with the fact that you sounded like a choking Muppet." Tony said.
"Me, I never get sick." Fred said. "Every year, I get stung by an irradiated bee. So I'm protected."
"An irradiated bee?" Gogo asked.
"Yeah. I close my eyes, the doctor says I'll feel a pinch, and then…"
"Uh…" Tony started to say before stopping himself. "You know what, it's better you believe that story."
"AAH!" Wasabi yelled running out of his office. He was holding a laptop that looked like it was slightly moist.
"Wasabi, what happened?" Tony asked.
"Hiro just sneezed twice on my new computer!" Wasabi yelled in a panic.
"I am concerned about the sneezing." Baymax said while Wasabi screamed while running out. "Also, the screaming."
"Seriously, Hiro, just go home." Tony insisted. "I'm sure Granville will understand you calling in sick today. This sounds like it's more than just the sniffles."
"But I…"
"Hiro, either you go home with Baymax or I'll knock you out and have Baymax carry you home like a widdle baby."
Hiro opened his mouth again, but closed it again and turned to leave the lab. Baymax followed.
"You weren't really going to hurt a friend, were you?" Honey Lemon asked.
"Meh. Who can say?" Tony shrugged. "Hey, Fred, do you think you could go home and check out your dad's crime database. We need data on a team of supervillains called the Sinister Six."
"Yeah, I can do that." Fred said leaving while excited. "Oh, boy. Our first supervillain team. This is awesome."
Within his inner sanctum, Obake made his call. The person who answered on his computer screen was Dr. Octopus.
"We have a problem." Dr. Octopus said. "See…"
"You were defeated by two children." Obake said.
Dr. Octopus growled. "Hey. Those 'children' are resourceful. Also, they had a robot that was bigger than all of us."
"The size shouldn't be a problem against Iron Hero 7." Obake said. "I hired the six of you as a means of evening the numbers while you steal the chip Alistair Krei received last night. I guess I should have known better than to trust the six of you when even all of you together couldn't even stop one arachnid."
Dr. Octopus turned red with anger before calming down. "This is not like that. They caught us off-guard, and it won't happen again. We'll get you the chip very soon. Just as long as you remember to pay us."
"Every last cent." Obake assured. "Finish the job."
Dr. Octopus nodded before ending the call. Obake then turned to Madame Masque, who was watching from afar.
"So we're letting anyone into the Maggia now?"
"Not to worry, my dear." Obake said. "Right now, they just believe I'm a wealthy saboteur who's paying them to steal from a competitor. I have no intention of letting those people in to the Maggia unless we have further plans for them, and right now, we don't."
"Fine by me." Madame Masque said. "Still, it's amazing that the six of them can be defeated by two boys and a robot."
"Yes." Obake agreed pulling up images of Tony and Hiro in their suits. "Such tenacious young men. What does it take, I wonder, to lay you low?"
The answer: being sick.
The next day, Tony was in his personal lab pulling up holographic screens which show his friends. Fred appeared on one screen, Honey Lemon and Gogo were in another, and the third was occupied by a very sick-looking Hiro.
"Hey, Hiro." Tony said. "What's the diagnosis?"
"Unimportant." Hiro answered with a hard sniffle. "Fred, what did you learn?"
"The Sinister Six is indeed a team of supervillains." Fred explained, but before he could go any further, everyone saw Hiro's screen being occupied by a cup of tea.
"Hiro, I have brewed tea for you."
"No thanks, Baymax. I'm not thirsty."
"A patient diagnosed with a viral infection should drink plenty of liquids."
"A viral infection?" Tony asked. "You better listen, Hiro. Health care is literally what Baymax is made for."
Hiro sighed. "Okay, I'll drink it later."
"Hey, where's Wasabi?" Gogo asked.
"He's still freaking out." Tony said. "He called earlier about Hiro, and when I told him he was worse than yesterday, he screamed even louder. He sends his regards, by the way."
Hiro sighed. "What else did you learn about the Sinister Six, Fred?"
"Well, they change members from time to time, but one thing I did learn is that they all have one thing in common."
"And that is…" Honey Lemon asked.
"They all have beef with a common superhero. They originally banded together to try and defeat him, but every time they try, he manages to pull off a win!"
"Seriously?" Tony asked. "You mean one guy managed to beat six supervillains? Which superhero can do that?"
THWIP!
"WAHOOOOOO!" yelled a figure as he swung across San Fransokyo. At the end of each swing, he shot a thin line of a web-like substance and swung on it next. He took in the excitement he was feeling as he traveled from one building to the next. "Hello, San Fransokyo!"
He stopped swinging once he landed on the top of a flying turbine in the air. He sat down to rest while taking a view of the city.
This person was a medium, athletic-looking man wearing a full-bodied, skintight suit of red and yellow colors. The red on his outfit was stylized with a web-like crisscross pattern along with a black spider symbol on his chest. His mask was red with a web pattern as well, and he had large, white eyes lined with a black outline.
"Ah, another day, another swinging patrol for your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man. So far, it's a pretty quiet day, which is actually pretty rare for someone like me. I…"
"You talk out loud often?"
"Whoa, geez!" Spider-Man exclaimed turning around. He saw Tony hovering behind him wearing his red-and-yellow armor and stared in surprise. "Wait a minute. You're that one guy from Iron Hero 7!"
"Yes, hold the applause." Tony said. "Listen, my friends and I have a situation, and we'd like your input on it."
"Really? You guys need MY help?" Spider-Man asked. "Oh, man. This is just like I dreamed of… except for the part where I show up to class in my undies. Thank goodness."
After meeting Gogo, Wasabi, Honey Lemon, and Fred at a rooftop below where they met, Tony explained the situation to Spider-Man, who had the most interest in what he was hearing.
"…And that's pretty much it." Tony said.
"Wow. The Sinister Six is back, and they're going after someone else who's not me?" Spider-Man asked.
"Does this not happen a lot?" Gogo asked.
"Well, not always." Spider-Man said. "Sometimes, they try to gang up on me, but other times, they get hired for special crimes so they can have the funding they need to gang up on me."
"So someone HIRED them to steal something from Krei." Tony said. "And they're probably not going down just yet."
"With those guys, it's never that simple." Spider-Man said. "Hey, maybe I could go with you. I mean, I know these villains better than you guys do. I can help you take them down."
"Oh, please? Please, please, please!" Fred pleaded. "This guy is super cool and super funny!"
"Well, we do need someone to fill in for our missing members." Wasabi said referring to Hiro and Baymax.
"All right, why not?" Tony said before tapping on Spider-Man's shoulders like he was knighting him. "Congrats, buddy. You're a temporary member of Iron Hero 7 now."
"Cool." Spider-Man exclaimed.
"One more thing" Tony said pulling out a device which he gave to Spider-Man. "Here. If we ever need you, we'll give you a call."
"Got it. Thanks." Spider-Man said.
Alistair Krei was in his office doing his own research on the Sinister Six while holding onto the mysterious chip he bought. He didn't say a word until his assistant walked in.
"I gotta say, these guys may be weird, but they are formidable." Krei said.
"Did you know it costs a small fortune to hire all these people?" Judy asked.
"It's nice to know someone thinks I'm worth it."
"They think the CHIP is worth is."
"I bested every black market bid for this chip. It is the cutting edge. It is the future."
"And you have no idea what it does."
"No, but I will. The next step is to have my tech security team analyze it."
Judy raised an eyebrow. "That's surprisingly cautious for you."
"I'm cautious."
All of a sudden, he heard a banging noise from behind him. He looked back and saw the Vulture trying to tear through the glass window with his mechanical talons. He couldn't even scratch it though.
"I upgraded my office windows. Impermeable."
"Well, that is cautious enough, I suppose." Judy said. "Just one question: what's stopping the Sinister Six from opening your windows from the outside?"
"Impossible." Krei said. He pointed at his desk; specifically, at a red button beside smaller buttons. "You see that button? That's the only switch for the windows, and it's in my office."
"Good to know." Judy said with a smile. She reached over to the button and pressed it startling Krei.
Suddenly, the windows opened allowing Dr. Octopus, Sandman, Electro, Vulture, and Scorpion to enter the office and surround Krei again.
"What?!" Krei asked fearfully looking over at his assistant. "How could you… You're the Chameleon again, aren't you?"
"Judy" smiled and removed her mask. The Chameleon stood in her place raising a gun to him.
"Heh. Can't believe you fell for the same trick twice."
Once Hiro heard through a police scanner that the Sinister Six had abducted Krei, he answered the call to action despite his sickness. He made sure not to wake up Baymax as he put on his suit and took off on his bike to where the Six were spotted.
Hiro rode on his moped when he spotted Dr. Octopus. He was leaping from one rooftop to another with two of his robotic tentacles while holding Krei with a third leaving his fourth free. He turned to follow them when suddenly, he was snatched up by his shoulders by the Vulture who flew him away from his leader as fast as he could.
"Shouldn't you be home in bed, young man?" Vulture asked.
"You don't even know." Hiro answered.
"Adrian, I see the brat is here!" Dr. Octopus called through his intercom. "Where is the robot?"
"I don't know. I don't see him." Vulture answered.
"Yeah, well… You're in for a surprise." Hiro said fighting through his sniffles.
The Vulture glared at his captive. "I think you're bluffing. Your robotic companion isn't here, and neither are the rest of your teammates."
"Maybe, uh, that's the surprise."
"Taking on the Sinister Six alone? That IS surprising, and foolish."
The Vulture released his talons and let Hiro fall. He landed in an open dumpster where he felt an intense pain in his leg.
"YOU FRACTURED YOUR LEG?!" Tony yelled at Hiro once he and the rest of Iron Hero 7 met up with Hiro in his bedroom. "What were you thinking?!"
"It's outrageous." Fred agreed. "To sneak outside in your condition to chase down six supervillains… and not call me?! Ah, there ARE no words."
"Hey, I knew Krei was in danger." Hiro said.
"Hiro, we ALL knew Krei was in danger!" Tony shouted. "I was calling the others, and we were all set to chase down the Sinister Six, when all of a sudden, we get a call from Baymax saying that you injured yourself trying to play the proud genius!"
"Your leg should remain elevated." Baymax said resting Hiro's leg (which was now in a cast) onto a pillow. He then took a fresh cup to give to Hiro. "Also, you still require fluids and rest."
"People, the health care companion has spoken." Wasabi said. "Visiting hours are over."
"But what about the Sinister Six?" Hiro asked.
"Hiro, relax." Tony said. "Once we track down where they took Krei, we'll contact Spider-Man and head on over to save them."
"So you're benching me for a guy in red-and-blue pajamas?" Hiro asked.
"Better that than someone who's likely to sneeze into his own visor blinding himself." Tony said. "Look, it's just temporary until we stop the Sinister Six. We'll save Krei, bring them to jail, all while you rest up."
"And wise up." Gogo said.
"And NO secret missions." Fred said before whispering. "But if there are, you got my digits, right?"
"Come on, beanie brain." Tony said dragging Fred out with the others.
Krei grunted when he was dropped onto the floor by Dr. Octopus. He stood back up to straighten up his outfit while the Sinister Six had him cornered.
"Whoa, take it easy, you guys." Krei said nervously.
"Oh, we'll take it easy… unless you keep us waiting, suit." Scorpion threatened.
"It's actually more of a blazer." Krei said.
"We don't care." Sandman said.
"Look, we don't always get hired for jobs, but this guy offered us a lot of money and a place in the Maggia if we pull this off." Electro said.
"The Maggia?" Krei asked in surprise.
"Big mouth." the Chameleon scolded.
"The Maggia is alive?" Krei asked. "I thought they died out years ago. They're the ones who hired you?"
"That doesn't concern you, Mr. Krei." Dr. Octopus said grabbing Krei by the front of his blazer to pull him up. "Simply give us the chip and we'll drop you back off at Krei Tech. But if you continue to withhold our prize from us, well…" With a snap of his fingers, Electro followed his command and shot a bolt of lightning at the wall creating a huge explosion making a very large hole. "Try putting that into words."
Krei gulped before pulling the chip out of his blazer to give to the doctor.
RING! RING!
Tony picked up his phone from his bedroom desk and answered. "Hello."
"Stark. Hello."
"Krei?" Tony asked surprised. "Where are you? Last I heard, the Sinister Six got you."
"Yeah, well, funny story… Okay, they took something from me and left me hanging on the roof of Krei Tech by my blazer."
Tony sighed. "Okay. I'll call a rescue team and go intercept the Six with my friends. Where did you last see them?"
"Last I saw, they were heading to the warehouse district."
"Thank you." Tony said before letting out a smile. "Hang in here."
"Oh, that's not cool."
Tony hung up and laughed. "Okay. Let's call the others… as well as our web-swinging temp."
After contacting the others (including Spider-Man), Tony put on his suit and joined them in their search for the Sinister Six. They split up so they could cover more ground. So far, they had no luck.
"Sheesh, how hard is it to track down six villains?" Gogo asked wheeling around.
"Tell me about it." Spider-Man said swinging across the city. "I kinda wish they brought back the less discreet members like Rhino or Shocker."
"How can you guys possibly search the entire city?" Hiro coughed through their intercoms. "I should be out there helping you."
"That would be counterproductive to their recovery." Baymax said.
"So the little guy's sick?" Spider-Man asked.
"Afraid so." Tony said. "Buddy, don't do anything stupid. Remember what Baymax said."
"I know. Keep my leg elevated." Hiro said before getting an idea. "Right after I do this."
"Hiro, you…" Tony was interrupted when the call dropped. "Well, that's just rude."
The Sinister Six remained as quiet as they could when they reached a certain warehouse. Dr. Octopus told his companions to keep an ear our for anyone as he headed to the roof. He opened up a skylight and lifted himself down into the dark warehouse.
"Dr. Octopus, I presume." greeted a young woman's voice.
Dr. Octopus turned and was surprised to see Madame Masque approach. "What is this? Where's the other one?"
"Obake is busy, so he sent me to pick up the chip in his stead." Madame Masque said. "Speaking of which…"
Dr. Octopus was skeptical, but he went along with it and pulled out the blue chip he took from Krei. "Here. So what's on it that the Maggia will need it for?"
"That is on a need-to-know basis, and right now, you don't need to know." Madame Masque said. She then pulled out a device which displayed a holographic map that showed several colorful dots closing in. "It looks like Iron Hero 7 is closing in."
"That isn't an issue." Dr. Octopus said. "My team and I will distract them while you get away with the chip."
"Good plan," Madame Masque said, "Although…"
"What? There's nothing wrong with the plan." Dr. Octopus said. "The plan is flawless."
"Not one-hundred percent, though. We need to deal with the heroes NOW." Madame Masque emphasized. "That is, unless you think you and your team can't handle six teenagers and a robot."
Dr. Octopus glared before taking the chip back. "Fine. How's this for a plan? We'll take out Iron Hero 7. If we do, you'll let us into the Maggia?"
Behind her mask, the madame smiled. "Win, and there'll be a place for you."
"Understood." Dr. Octopus said before climbing back up.
"Smashing negotiation, my dear." Obake said through an intercom in Madame Masque's mask.
"Well, Dr. Octavius is known for being prideful." Masque said. "Now, all that's left is to let this play out."
"So we're still holding onto the chip while facing against Iron Hero 7?" Vulture asked as he circled around the warehouse district.
"Maggia's orders." Dr. Octopus said. "Let's prove we belong with them."
"Fine." Vulture groaned. "I will… OOF!" He was caught off-guard when Fred landed on his back.
"Give Fredzilla a piggyback ride? I'm in!"
"Hey! Get off me!" Vulture yelled trying to shake Fred off him. Fred only jumped off right before the Vulture crashed into the Scorpion.
After they recovered, the Scorpion turned to snarl at Vulture. "Hey, you bird-brain! What's the matter with you?"
"It's that brat in the bad dinosaur costume!"
The two of them were alarmed when they heard Spider-Man laughing as he swung on by. "Hey, Toomes, if you want a bad dinosaur costume, look in the mirror."
"Spider-Man!" Vulture and Scorpion yelled at once.
The Vulture went on his intercom. "Everyone, alert! Spider-Man is here too!"
"WHAT?!" Dr. Octopus yelled. "Get rid of him!"
"On it!" Scorpion yelled. He extended his tail to strike at Spider-Man, who jumped out of the way and swung off.
"Missed me! Missed me! Now, you gotta… Wait! Never mind!"
The Vulture yelled before flying after him. Meanwhile, Scorpion was about to join him when he got struck by one of Gogo's disks. It hit him so hard, he was knocked across the street hitting the wall.
Once Gogo took on one Sinister Six member, another appeared in a flash of light. Electro appeared from out of nowhere and fired his blasts at her, but she skated away. He continued to go after her while still blasting. Unfortunately, this brought him right into the path of Tony, who fired his repulsors at him and blasting him right through a window.
Wasabi and Honey Lemon (who came by a cab) split up and faced their own members of the Sinister Six. Wasabi saw the Vulture chasing Spider-Man and went after him.
"I hope I don't regret this!" Wasabi yelled as he leaped. He made it just high enough to get right to Vulture and swing his plasma blades at him. They managed to slice off one of his wings.
"You fool!" Vulture yelled. "I can't steer!"
"Yeah, but you're still airborne." Spider-Man said landing on his back. "Let's change that, shall we?" He thrusted his hand right into the metal pack on Vulture's back.
"You idiot!" Vulture yelled as he began to fall. "You've doomed us both!"
"Do not worry." Baymax said as he flew in from out of nowhere. He caught Vulture in his arms just as Spider-Man jumped off. "A man of your advanced age should not be flying."
The Vulture glared. "You are the most judgmental robot I have ever met."
Honey Lemon slid across the alleyways with help from her chemical balls when she came face to face with the Sandman. She avoided his sandy blasts and used chemicals to reach up and pull herself up the building. Sandman followed.
As soon as Honey Lemon reached the roof, she prepared a special ball of chemicals just for Sandman. When he appeared, she threw it as hard as she could over at him. When it made impact, it blew up and instantly covered him in a glaze-like substance that kept him in place.
Meanwhile, Fred landed in an alleyway and looked around. "Yes! Okay, who's left? We got Vulture, Scorpion, Electro, and Sandman. That just leaves Dr. Octopus and…"
"YOU!"
Fred turned and gasped seeing someone who looked identical to him, costume and all. "Wait, something's not right!"
"I know who you are!" the other "Fred" yelled. "You're the Chameleon dressing up as me!"
"What?" Fred asked. "Why would you say that?"
"Fred!" The rest of his teammates appeared and saw the two Freds standing side by side.
"Uh… What is this?" Wasabi asked.
"It's the Chameleon." Spider-Man said. "He must have made himself look like your friend so he can confuse us and catch us off-guard."
"Well, which one is the real one?" Honey Lemon asked.
"Guys, obviously, it's me!" one of the Freds answered. "You should know that, right?"
"Nuh, uh! It's me!" the other Fred yelled. "He's the Chameleon!"
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
That's when the two Freds grabbed each other and wrestled across the dirt. While they fought, the others watched unsure of what to do.
"Baymax, can you scan for the real Fred?" Tony asked.
"My scans show both Freds to be identical." Baymax said. "Even their DNA is a perfect match."
"Yeah, the Chameleon's that good." Spider-Man said. "We just gotta ask something only the real one knows."
"Or we could knock them both out." Gogo suggested earning stares from everyone. "What? It's a plan."
"Wait, I got it!" Wasabi yelled. He ran out and screamed, "I just got the next issue for Captain Fancy!"
"What?" one Fred asked. "Who's got the time to…"
"Ooh! Really?!" the other Fred yelled jumping away from the fight and approaching Wasabi. "How cool is it? Does Captain Fancy beat the Scarlet Vixen? Wait, no spoilers. …Hey, wait a minute!"
"That's the Chameleon." Tony said pointing at the other Fred, who tried to run off.
"Oh, no, you don't!" Fred yelled. He fired a blast of fire out of his costume and hit the Chameleon in the back. The impact caused the Chameleon to slide out of his fake Fred costume and fall on the ground unconscious. "Okay, I gotta ask… Where does he get these cool suits? The likeliness is amazing!"
"Freddie, focus." Honey Lemon said. "We still got to find…"
All of a sudden, Spider-Man jerked his head up when he felt something in his head. "Guys, we better move!"
"What? Why?" Wasabi asked.
As if to answer his question, Dr. Octopus' mechanical arms shot out from a dark alleyway and knocked most of everybody down. Tony and Spider-Man moved up to avoid getting hit, and Baymax wasn't hit at all.
"It would be preferable to resolve this conflict without violence." Baymax advised.
"Oh, I disagree strongly." Dr. Octopus said stepping out from the shadows. He wrapped his arms around Baymax and raised him up.
"Hey, Ock! If you want a toy, check the bottom of your cereal box!" Spider-Man yelled swinging over to him.
Dr. Octopus yelled before swinging Baymax at him. "Oh, no." Baymax said as he hit Spider-Man and sent him away. Tony readied his repulsors to fire, but stopped when the mad scientist raised Baymax to use him as a shield. That moment of hesitation costed him, and Doc Ock grabbed his leg with another arm before smashing him to the ground. After that, he tossed Baymax into a nearby window and laughed.
"No one can overcome the fury of Dr. Octopus, not even this robot!" he proclaimed.
"How about you get away from him?" Dr. Octopus spun his head around to see the source of the voice. He looked up and saw what looked like Hiro in his suit flying down. "That bot's been taking care of me. Time for me to return the favor."
"Hiro?" Honey Lemon asked.
"Have you lost it?" Wasabi asked.
"That is not Hiro." Baymax said.
"It's not?" Tony asked. "Then who…" He stopped to examine Hiro and saw that his body was purely mechanical, and his face was really just a video screen displaying his face. "Well, I'll be. An RC drone?"
"Yep. I am being a perfect patient. Leg elevated, plenty of liquids, and of course, rest."
"How resourceful. You managed to find a way to work from home." Dr. Octopus said dryly. "But that doesn't mean I'll be defeated that easily!" He fired one of his mechanical arms up at the drone, who dodged and managed to grab onto it. Ock tried to pull it away, but Hiro landed on the ground and kept himself in place to keep the tentacle from returning to its owner.
"I'll need some help!"
Tony turned to Spider-Man and Baymax and exchanged a nod with them. Each of them made it to a different side of Dr. Octopus and grabbed onto one of his free tentacles pulling it away from him as hard as they could. Octopus tried to pull is arms back, but had no success in doing so.
"Release me! Now!" Dr. Octopus yelled.
"No way! That takes the point away from tug-o'-war!" Spider-Man joked.
"And nothing to save you from this!" Tony said aiming his palm at him. A repulsor blast escaped from it and hit Dr. Octopus hard in the face knocking him out instantly. He and the others dropped the tentacles once they knew it was over.
"We'll be taking that." Hiro said reaching into Dr. Octopus' jacket and pulling out the blue chip. "Safe and secure."
"So what do we do about these guys?" Gogo asked looking around at the rest of the Sinister Six.
"Let me worry about them." Spider-Man said. "I'll wrap them up in a neat little web bow and leave them for the police like a Christmas present. Anyway…" He pulled out the communication device that Tony gave him and offered it back. "I guess I don't need this anymore, huh?"
Tony thought for a minute before pushing Spider-Man's hand back. "You know what? Keep it. You've been pretty handy today, and maybe, we'll need you again. So if we do, we'll give you a call."
"You mean it!" Spider-Man asked happily. "Oh, man! This is great! Thanks, guys! You all rest up! I'll take care of the Sinister Six!" He turned and started rounding up the defeated villains.
"Are we sure about this?" Gogo asked.
"Hey, he was pretty handy." Tony said. "And who knows? Maybe we'll need him again."
"I hope so." Fred said. "Nothing's cooler than a superhero team-up."
"Here you go, Krei." Tony said returning the blue chip to Krei at the front of Krei Tech. "You know, I'm still not happy you decided to make a shady deal behind my back."
"To be fair, this all started BEFORE you bought my company." Krei said. "Months ago, there was this auction for a cutting edge chip and I made a bid. I only got the results that I won the other day. I didn't think it worth mentioning."
Tony sighed. "Whatever. Just promise that you'll analyze it before you plug it into anything."
"Yeah, sure, I suppose." Krei said.
"How reassuring." Tony said before turning to leave. Before he could though, Krei said something that made him stop.
"Stark, wait. I, uh… I think there's something you should know."
"Hmm? What is it, Krei?" Tony asked with intrigue.
"Well, when the Sinister Six abducted me, they mentioned something that made me worry. As it turns out, they were hired by… the Maggia."
"Who's that?" Tony asked curiously.
"A crime syndicate that ruled the San Fransokyo criminal underworld back when you were in diapers." Krei explained. "Before superheroes came, they were an unstoppable organization. But when heroes rose, their system began to dwindle. Then, one day, an anonymous call gave a tip to a team of superheroes called the Champions, and they used it to bring down the last of the Maggia. Everyone thought they were gone for good. But now…"
"Now, it sounds like someone's rebuilding it." Tony surmised. "Well, if they want a fight for San Fransokyo, they're going to get one. Thanks for letting me know, Krei." He turned to fly off.
Madame Masque returned to Obake's lab to find her partner staring at his watch. "The Sinister Six have been taken care of and were set up to fail."
"Marvelous." Obake said. "By now, the chip should be back in Alistair's hands."
"The moment of truth." Krei said showing his chip to Judy—the REAL Judy—in his office.
"The moment when you turn it over to the security team like you promised Stark." Judy said. "You know, instead of doing something stupid."
Obake paced in front of his computer waiting impatiently. "Is there something wrong, Alistair? The reckless tycoon showing caution? Restraint?"
"I need the tech security team." Krei said preparing to call his security.
"But Alistair, remember the abduction. The impersonations. Who can you trust? Who's on your side? Who knows?"
Krei was about to make his call, but his fears overshadowed his mind, and he pulled his hand away. "Actually, never mind. The Maggia is back."
"So?" Judy asked.
"So? Those guys were EVERYWHERE back in the day." Krei said. "What if they've infiltrated my security team?"
"Like what? A spy?" Judy asked. "You're not usually this paranoid."
"Hey, I was abducted, and you were replaced by the Chameleon twice. It does things to you." Krei said. "And with the Maggia, I can't take any chances." He proceeded to plug his new chip into his computer.
Obake smiled as soon as Krei appeared on his screen. "There you are, Alistair. That's the stuff."
"We will be the only ones who see what's on this." Krei said to Judy not knowing that Obake and Madame Masque were watching from their lab. All of a sudden, Krei's anxious smile dropped.
"Nothing?" Judy asked confused.
"No. The money. The abduction." Krei panicked out of frustration. "Everything that happened! It was all for nothing?"
"It probably is better that we were the only ones who saw this."
Obake kept smiling as he opened up Krei Tech files on his own computer. "So many files, so many secrets."
"I must say, Obake, this plan of your is actually clever." Madame Masque complimented. "Krei is so frustrated, he has no idea that you planted a Trojan Horse virus in his chip, and now we have access to everything he owns."
"Yes." Obake said. "And not only that, but his partnership with Stark also gives us a back door into Stark Industries network. Now, we can…" He then spotted something that made him silent for a moment. "Well, that's interesting."
"What is it?" Madame Masque asked.
"You remember those brilliant boys from Iron Hero 7 that I respected?" Obake asked. "Well, going through these Krei and Stark files, I managed to learn their true identities. One is a young man called Hiro Hamada. As for the other… Well, I think you should see it for yourself."
Madame Masque looked curiously when she approached Obake's computer. She examined the data involving Hiro in his normal and superhero attire and compared it to the next image. Right next to an image of the red-and-yellow armor, Madame Masque stared intensely at the owner of it. The revelation made her stumble for a bit.
"It… It can't be. Tony Stark?"
"Peter! Is everything okay?" A middle-aged woman opened a door and found a teenage boy sitting at his desk.
"Aunt May? Is something wrong?" the boy asked.
"Peter, I…" Aunt May started to say, "I just thought I heard the window opening."
Peter glanced back and saw an open window. He chuckled as he headed over to close it. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was just… getting some air. Gonna need a fresh head if I'm going to prepare myself for my SFIT debut."
"I guess." Aunt May said. "I still can't believe the headmaster is offering you a chance to enter a school that's meant for college students. You're still in your high school years, you know."
Peter shrugged. "What can I say? She said this is a program for gifted young minds, and apparently, I qualify."
"I always knew you were brilliant, dear." Aunt May said. "Anyway, sleep tight."
Aunt May left the bedroom and closed the door behind her. Peter then let out a sigh of relief before looking over at the bag he had next to his bed. He looked in and saw his Spider-Man costume still in it along with the communication device that Tony left him.
"See you soon, Iron Hero 7. Can't wait."