Entering Stark Tower, Connors walks quickly. Peter follows behind him and sighs, "Alright, Doctor, I take you here. There should be save in Stark Tower. I'll go now, I have something to do..."
"Something to do? Of course, you have something to do! What? What?!You plan to put on your strange tight suit again and wander around?"
"I'm not wandering , that monster is destroying the city, I have to stop him..."
"But Stark already is here, right? Don't you think he can handle that monster?"
"Well,er, but he may need some help, right?"
"I need help too. Put down your backpack, put on the full set of lab gear. We're going to the lab, we need to solve this problem, and it ultimately starts with the serum."
"But I need to join the fight, I can't just be a deserter, can I?"
Dr. Connors stops. He turns to Peter, places a hand on his shoulder, and looks into his eyes earnestly. "The battlefield isn't always where you think it is."
He points outside the window and says, "The most important lesson I learn in my military career is that the battlefield isn't always where the bullets fly."
"Sometimes, right here..." Dr. Connors points to the ground beneath them, " here is a more important battlefield than anywhere else."
"You need to understand that swinging your fists isn't necessarily nobler than using your brain."
"You need to realize even if you beat that monster, he won't suddenly become a good man, and the military won't stop their evil plans. To fundamentally solve all this, only strength is not enough, you must use your brain."
"But what should I do? I don't understand..."
Peter actively continues to walk behind Dr. Connors, speaking as they walk, "I always do things like this, stopping those bad guys from harming others. What's wrong with that?"
"There's nothing wrong. But I believe you can do better."
"Peter, maybe the mutation in your body and the sudden master of great power make you feel that you go from weak to strong, and that you can change the world with this transformation."
"But in reality, even without this mutation, you can still make it."
"Haven't you noticed? You're a genius. Even if you don't have these powerful abilities and abundant physical strength, even if you just follow a normal path of going to college and entering graduate school, you will eventually change the world."
"Your mutation just accelerates the process, but it's not everything. You have to break free from that inflated emotion and think about who you really are."
"I am who I am? I am Spider-Man..."
"That's correct, but you're Peter Parker at the same time."
Dr. Connors enters the room and points to the lab bench, claiming, "Look, here is also your battlefield. Here, you can do better than Spider-Man. You can also change the world here."
Peter stands at the door, tiptoes and rubs his hands, hesitating, "Really? But nobody ever says such things to me. They think I'm weak, not good at sports, always alone, a freak who doesn't fit in..."
"Do those ones who judge you have three doctorates?"
"Well, they're just high school students. Of course not."
"Then who do you think you should believe?"
Peter hesitates.
After a while, he smiles, "Alright."
Dr. Connors' affirmation gives him a lot of courage. He rubs his wrists vigorously, "Then let me give it a try. Today, I won't be Spider-Man. Let Spider-Man take a day off. We'll stay here... and do it like this..."
Dr. Connors organizes materials while saying, "That's right. There will be more days for him to take off in the future. New York doesn't lack a flying superhero, but this world will always lack a Nobel Prize candidate."
"I think Peter Parker can also take a break. I really enjoy swinging around in the sky of New York." Peter shrugs, feeling relieved.
It is the first time someone tells him that Peter Parker is more important than Spider-Man.
Originally, all the confidence he has comes from being Spider-Man with powerful abilities. Because in the past, he faces a lot of discrimination in school, and being Spider-Man, who can help others with his powers, gives him a sense of purpose in life.
But he feels that Dr. Connors' words make sense. The ones who don't believe in him, who judge him, are just some high school students who haven't even gone to college. But now, there are several people with doctoral titles giving him affirmation. Peter isn't stupid. When compared, of course, the words of these people are more credible.
Initially, he knows that he is smart. He doesn't have to study hard to get good grades.
But he never thinks about what changes he can bring to the world with his brain.
That's why he is so excited after gaining the spider mutation powers. He feels like he has transformed from a weak into a strong person, never thinking that he isn't weak at first.
Actually, Peter has more strengths. Even if he doesn't have such a brilliant brain and powerful abilities, his kindness and determination are enough for him to achieve something significant in the society.
Children of his age are always filled with fantasies and hesitations about the future. However, when someone gives him such a confident answer, and the people giving him that answer have achieved top accomplishments in their respective fields, Peter believes.
On the other side, Stark, who has already arrived at the battlefield, encounters quite a bit of trouble. This red-maned lizard, Stark names him that, is a bigger nuisance than The Lizard.
First of all, he is larger than The Lizard, already exceeding 10 meters and towering as high as a building.
Secondly, he has limitless strength, easily toppling buildings with a single punch. What's even more terrifying is that he seems to be in a state of mindless rage, charging and ramming with no rationality.
Originally, Stark likes dealing with brainless enemies because Jarvis' intelligent calculations can excel in tactics, making Stark win more easily.
But this red-maned lizard, although irrational, is dangerous due to his massive size and immense power. Even if he only charges and swings his fists, it is deadly.
Moreover, the appearance of The Lizard has just occurred a few days ago, and Stark's suit is also in need of an upgrade. He just has some ideas to deal with large monsters, but before he can put them into practice, another big guy shows up, which makes Stark quite annoyed. His lightweight suit isn't very effective against such enemies.
While Stark is contemplating tactics, a shining shield flies in, hitting the monster right on the forehead, causing it to stumble.
Stark's face darkens when he sees Steve. He hasn't forgotten that Steve has beaten him up under the pretext of expelling the Venom, and even afterward, he refuses to admit it, insisting that it is for Stark's own good.
Stark despises being spoken to with an elder's tone, even more so when someone has already beaten him up before talking to him like that, and even more, more so when that person can beat up even more formidable enemies after beating him up, making him useless.
Steve retrieves his shield. He leaps and mounts on the creature's neck, delivering two powerful punches.
Brain is an important organ for any living creature. After being hit twice like this, the monster is dazed for a moment. Taking this opportunity, Steve throws his shield, striking the monster's right leg. The monster winces in pain, and Steve then rams into it from the side, causing the creature to collapse.
"Thanks, Tony. Before you ,I've never dealt with such a massive creature.You've given me valuable experience."
Jarvis speaks inside Stark's armor, "I've detected an increase in your heart rate and elevated blood pressure. Please calm down, take deep breaths..."
Stark says, "Activate the Hive Plan, immediately! Right now!"
"Are you sure you want to deactivate all safety measures and..."
"I'm sure! Start it now!!"
In the midst of the fight, Steve looks up and sees Stark raising his arm in the air. He waves his hand and instantly, countless bursting sounds fill the air as dozens of black dots appear in the sky above the battlefield. They are dozens, even hundreds, of suits.
Stark yells, "Get out of my way,old man!"
In an instant, one suit swoops down and explodes. The Red Lizard is pushed back a few steps. Steve is sent flying with his shield, and he waves his fist, warning, "Stop firing at allies, you must be on purpose!"
Stark laughs, "You've misunderstood, I'm just doing this for your own good."
Stark waves his hand again, and a dozen suits fly over, surrounding the monster. Then, within an instant, high-voltage electricity bursts out from between them, forming an electric net. After a violent flash, the monster lets out a terrifying scream and is electrocuted, collapsing to the ground.
Stark says, "It is quite good, but I think there's still room for improvement. By the way, don't mention that Pikachu, the yellow fur mouse, as the inspiration for it. It electrocuted my suit and I didn't make it compensate me yet."
Although the monster falls temporarily, it quickly gets back up. Stark sighs with a headache, "He must be somehow related to that big lizard. What in the world is their damn self-healing ability?"
Indeed, the burnt scars left by the electric shock just minutes ago have already healed completely, and his strength seems to recover quickly as well. Just after being beaten by Captain America, he is soon bouncing around causing more havoc.
Both of them have strong attack power. However, without Spider-Man, they lack a means of control. Spider-Man's webs can easily throw off their balance or trip them. Just as Stark is about to make a phone call, he hears from Jarvis that Peter is in the lab doing an experiment with Dr. Connors.
He hangs up the communication directly, without saying anything.
As the battle becomes more and more intense, a figure with red and blue colors suddenly appears in the sky above the city. Peter swiftly swings over, kicking the monster's back and knocking it down.
He holds a box in his hand and tosses it to Stark, saying, "This is the antidote, inject it directly. Use all five doses, and the world will be peaceful."
Stark throws the box to one of the nearby armor, then flies while speaking, "Is it your achievement?"
"No, actually it's mainly Dr. Connors. I just an assistant."
"So it is your achievement."
Saying that, the suit, under Stark's control, opens the box, holds the syringe, and distributes it to other suits. Steve keeps the monster's attention. Some armors attack from behind and inject the serum.
The monster starts screaming wildly, then waving its arms and struggles. But soon, its size starts shrinking, rapidly returning to the size of an ordinary human.
Stark sees the person lying on the ground without arms. He sighs and says to Jarvis, "Send one suit to take him away. If anyone asks, say he was blown up and no body remained."
He sees Spider-Man standing on the rooftop. After flying over and standing beside him, Stark asks, "How does it feel to save the world as Peter Parker?"
"Not bad, I mean... Great!"
Peter takes a deep breath, as if he has just shed some burden.
For the first time, he gains confidence in his true identity. This confidence does not build on the immense power by the spider mutation, but rather on the personality of Peter Parker.
He has contemplated before what he would do if his spider mutation was just a dream and this power disappeared the next day.
In fact, he has spent many days living in doubt and fear. He is afraid of losing this identity. He feels that the world can't lose Spider-Man.
But today, for the first time, Peter feels that perhaps the world not only needs Spider-Man, but also needs Peter Parker, needs him, needs the him without any special abilities.
"Wisdom is human's greatest treasure." Stark doesn't look at him, but forward as he says, "Don't limit your goals to being a neighborhood hero. The path of wisdom is endless."
Peter smiles, takes off his mask, as if freeing himself from fetters.
His hair flutters in the breeze, and he sees the magnificent sunset glow at the end of the sky, the glorious sunlight disappearing below the horizon--
He sees, a gateway to a new world.