Shane Freak
patreon
Chapter 1030: World-Shaking Mundane (Part Seven)
🕑 Added 2024-02-29 00:06:44 +0000 UTCIn DC World With Marvel Chat Group : Table of Content/Chapter List
XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX
In the dim corridor, only the light strip under the bar desktop flickered weakly, emitting a faint cold glow, and the metallic walls imbued with a sense of science and technology appeared excessively indifferent in this atmosphere.
As footsteps echoed, Peter, sitting against the wall, immediately jumped up from the ground and headed towards the direction of the sound.
Schiller briskly approached Peter and asked, "What's going on? How did Steve suddenly fall ill?"
"I don't know," Peter seemed somewhat at a loss. He recollected for a moment and then said, "This morning, we met at the canteen, and at that time, he was perfectly fine. We talked for a while about the shuttle issue, and I was planning to take him to get an office transit card. You know, he's not quite accustomed to the current fully automated processes..."
"Didn't S.H.I.E.L.D. issue him an auxiliary mobile phone?" Schiller took out his own mobile phone from his white coat pocket, which was vastly different from the current smartphones, resembling more of an intelligent terminal.
Though both were thin metal pieces, this intelligent terminal could suspend itself, and as long as the tiny headphones on the side were inserted into one's ears or worn on the earlobes, real-time intelligent assistance could be obtained.
Schiller's auxiliary terminal was connected to Ultron, facilitating him in establishing electronic medical records for all patients. Additionally, Ultron could remind him of his daily work schedule and occasionally provide theoretical support.
Most importantly, Schiller had prescription privileges, and Ultron could review his prescriptions to ensure the accuracy of drug types and dosages.
In addition to this, there were many more things that could be accomplished with the combination of intelligent robots and intelligent terminals. However, due to the unique nature of intelligent robots, they couldn't provide much more assistance during psychological consultations, so Schiller didn't utilize many of those functions.
But for ordinary people, this was already an extremely convenient tool. Although it hadn't been widely promoted for civilian use yet, individuals like Schiller, Natasha, and Steve, S.H.I.E.L.D. employees, had been issued with such devices in advance to facilitate their work.
However, Peter seemed somewhat surprised. He said, "Really? Captain has already received an intelligent terminal? But I haven't seen him use it."
Peter shook his head, but Schiller looked into his eyes and asked, "What's different from this morning?"
"Different?" Peter was momentarily stunned by the question. He looked around and then lowered his head to look at himself, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly realized, "Oh... I remember! Look at my uniform!"
At this moment, Peter was wearing Spider-Man's combat suit, only without the mask. Schiller took two steps back, glanced at him, and couldn't discern any difference. Peter said somewhat helplessly, "This is my original uniform, the first generation Spider-Man's uniform..."
"Doctor, did you forget? The first generation Spider-Man has already fallen in battle. He sacrificed himself to protect the civilians within the blast radius of the Nitro explosion. I came back a bit late and couldn't even secure the position of the second generation. Now, I am the third generation Spider-Man."
Peter finished speaking, feeling a bit absurd himself, and showed a self-deprecating smile.
Indeed, as he said, in the plan arranged by Schiller earlier, only Spider-Man's death was made public, which meant the societal death of the first generation Spider-Man.
Later, the Skrulls, in order to infiltrate the superhero community, dispatched some members disguised as superheroes who acted heroically in New York. Among them were those disguised as Spider-Man, who were dubbed the second generation Spider-Man by the public.
Now, among the remaining Skrulls stranded on Earth, some chose to stay and participate in human scientific research and development activities, while others went to the Dark Dimension where Thanos had originally been to establish a new nation, intending to follow the route of the ancient Skrull Empire.
The Skrulls who had once become Spider-Man also left. Consequently, the second generation Spider-Man disappeared, and the first generation Spider-Man, Peter, after his resurrection, could no longer operate under his previous identity. Thus, he referred to himself as the third generation Spider-Man.
Initially, Peter had no intention of changing his combat suit. However, Gwen was worried that him wearing the first generation Spider-Man's combat suit would attract severe criticism, so she suggested he modify his image slightly.
Coincidentally, after several years of growth, Peter had become somewhat more mature and felt that his original design of the combat suit was somewhat childish. So, he redesigned a new one.
This version of the Spider-Man suit appeared more advanced, incorporating the latest technologies from Stark Industries and Peter's own research. It was overall smoother and more reflective than the previous first generation combat suit.
More importantly, Peter adjusted the hue of the blue to make it deeper and the red a bit darker. He added four invisible Molten Steel armor plates to the chest, and important areas like the neck and joints were protected using Otto's technology that converted energy into substance, adding an additional layer of safety to the combat suit.
In this way, Spider-Man's image no longer appeared as youthful and lively; instead, it leaned towards the calm demeanor of Captain America to some extent. Although within the superhero team, his youthfulness and agility were still apparent at a glance, compared to before, he appeared more imbued with a sense of science and technology and seemed more stable.
The acceptance of the successive generations of Spider-Man by the New York public wasn't very good. Some even rumored that the third generation Spider-Man was a wealthy second-generation playboy who inherited his suit from Iron Man. However, in reality, except for certain levitation and security systems, all the science and technology used in the combat suit were Peter's own patents.
Recalling this, Schiller also noticed the subtle differences between these two combat suits. Thus, he looked at Peter with some confusion and asked, "Why aren't you wearing the new combat suit?"
Peter shrugged and said, "Any new achievements in science and technology need to be tested. During the testing process, various problems are inevitable. At noon today, I was patrolling over New York wearing the new combat suit..."
"The shuttle and aerial train stations were the focal points of my patrol. Doctor, you should have seen it in the news; some lunatics are particularly opposed to these two modes of transportation, even attempting to bomb them."
"Although both the shuttle and the aerial train have safety mechanisms in case of a crash, nobody knows what more severe consequences could arise if vital parts were damaged in an explosion. So, I've been patrolling nearby the routes," Peter said with a somewhat worried expression. "Just today at noon, I saw someone rushing into the shuttle with explosives. I wanted to apprehend him on the spot, but unexpectedly, the safety mechanism of the new combat suit suddenly activated and jammed my spider-web shooter..."
"I could have swung over there in a matter of seconds, but with the shooter jammed, I had no spider web and had to run on foot. Although I still arrived quickly, by then, the situation had already calmed down."
"So, I had no choice but to send the combat suit to S.H.I.E.L.D. for inspection, to see what triggered the safety system, why it violated regulations by activating, and why it jammed my spider-web shooter..."
Peter rubbed his forehead, saying, "The advancement of science and technology isn't as simple as it seems. Intelligent safety systems are good; they've already protected me from two impacts, but if they keep randomly activating like this, it could jeopardize major events."
Schiller patted Peter's shoulder and said, "It's okay, the combat suit is just an aid. What's important is still your own abilities. Look, even when you wear the old combat suit, your combat effectiveness doesn't decrease..."
Peter extended a finger and tugged at his combat suit on the chest, then said, "I am indeed more accustomed to this outfit. But it seems that the citizens of New York aren't quite used to it. When I just arrived, many people criticized me, saying I was seeking attention, exploiting the deceased..."
Schiller chuckled helplessly and said, "Well, that's on me. But honestly, I didn't expect you to directly jump on Nitro like that. I had arranged mutants to deal with the explosion."
Schiller shook his head, evidently dissatisfied with the imperfections in his plan, but Peter turned to comfort him, saying, "Doctor, I know all your plans are for the future of humanity, but earlier, the words of the Amazing Spider-Man made me think a lot."
"The future of humanity is undoubtedly important, but the lives of ordinary people also need to be worried about. If Nitro had really exploded like that, those threatened ordinary people would have lost sight of their future, and then everything we did would be meaningless, wouldn't it?"
Peter sighed, not out of worry but rather a firm resolve after deep consideration. He said, "You, Tony, Steve, or even Natasha, Director Nick, you are all fighting for the bright future of humanity."
"I also want to strive for every tomorrow of ordinary people because I am just an ordinary person, understanding their joys and sorrows." Peter smiled and said, "I have seen the vastness of the universe, experienced the charm of knowledge, but I still prefer to be an ordinary person, protecting those as ordinary as me."
Schiller smiled and patted his shoulder. Within just a few years, Peter's rate of growth had astonished everyone.
But this was also normal. Peter Parker could be said to be the most mentally stable, psychologically steady, and personality best suited for society among all the superheroes and agents Schiller knew.
Indeed, as proven, as long as the software is stable enough, any hardware deficiencies can be compensated for, experience and knowledge can be supplemented over time, and psychological resilience and willpower can be trained. As long as one can open their mind, there is nothing that cannot be learned.
Thinking of this, Peter seemed to remember something and said, "Could it be because of my combat suit that Captain is like this?"
After speaking, he looked down at his combat suit, stretched out his hands, and pulled up the part around his abdomen, then said, "Is there something wrong with this combat suit? Although it's a bit uglier compared to the new combat suit, it shouldn't..."
Suddenly, Peter stopped, looking at Schiller, he said, "Is it because... of my previous death?"
"Perhaps there's some reason to it, but it's not the root cause," Schiller judged. "Whether it's your death or his own, it's just a stimulus, not the cause. The key lies in Steve's own contradictions."
Peter scratched his head in confusion and said, "Captain's own contradictions? What contradictions does he have? I think he's simply a perfect person!"
"That's the problem. Are there really perfect people in this world?" Schiller looked at Peter and asked, "Even you think Steve is perfect, or rather, even you, subconsciously, consider him a perfect person. Then how do you think he demands of himself?"
Peter pondered for a moment, rubbing his chin, and said, "Doctor, I remembered a detail..."
"Just this morning at breakfast, I asked Captain if he had a transit card. But he immediately dragged me to sit at a nearby table, unwilling to discuss the matter at the crowded canteen window..."
Peter continued as he recalled, "When I explained the principles of the transit card to him, he didn't seem to be listening seriously. I said I would take him to get a card, but he said he had an appointment with Miss Carter..."
"But when I sent the combat suit to S.H.I.E.L.D. for inspection today, Miss Carter was still complaining that Steve had turned down her invitation..."
Schiller glanced towards the room in Avengers base, then patted Peter's back and said, "Go on, Peter, just remember not to tell anyone about Steve's current situation..."
Peter nodded. He saw Schiller walking into the room, furrowing his brows, showing a concern that didn't quite match his age, then turned and left.
[Read at www.patreon.com/shanefreak, and thanks for the invaluable support!]
XXX-----XXX-----XXX-----XXX
Next Chapter>>Chapter 1031: Astonishing Mundanity (Part Eight)
