I Became Spider-Man's Cousin in Anime Crossover

Chapter 244 Trust That Has Withstood the Test of Time

Of course, as Riley expected...

After Riley's ambiguous phone call ended, Howard, who had already imagined a kidnapping scenario, was immediately terrified and turned pale!

He immediately contacted his military friends and dispatched a large number of elite soldiers to participate in Tony's "rescue operation"!

Until a nervous Howard, prepared for the worst, arrived at the address provided by Riley.

But the reality turned out to be completely different from what I had expected...

Unlike Howard, Tony was not restricted in his personal freedom by criminals.

Instead, they found a few children of similar age nearby in Riley and played a game of beanbag toss with little Tony.

So much so that when she watched her son running around in the mud, completely oblivious to the mud on his body, playing happily with his friends, she couldn't help but smile with a long-lost joy.

Even someone as intelligent as Howard couldn't help but have his brain freeze, instantly turning into a bewildered meme.

Even the soldiers who had rushed to sign up and follow Howard to the scene after hearing that the young Stark prince had been kidnapped, thinking it was finally their chance to shine and win a medal of honor, couldn't help but look at each other with a series of question marks when they witnessed this joyful scene.

You call going out to play with your friends being kidnapped?

play me?

Don't think that just because you're our big spender we won't dare to criticize you...!

Okay, I really don't dare to curse.

After all, compared to other bosses who like to cut corners or even delay paying wages...

Howard is truly a boss who keeps his word, pays salaries on time, and provides amazing benefits!

So much so that even when they were tricked by Howard, they dared not speak out and silently swallowed their anger!

Fortunately, their trip wasn't entirely in vain.

Howard not only gave each soldier involved an extra month's salary afterward, but also...

With so many soldiers cheering him on, young Tony, upon seeing his father's figure, would realize through this grand procession that his father, just as Riley had said, had always deeply loved him and that this love had never changed.

Otherwise, how could he have gathered so many heavily armed soldiers in such a short time when he mistakenly believed he had been kidnapped?

This caused Tony's little tantrum to vanish instantly, and his eyes lit up. He quickly wiggled his short legs and happily jumped into Howard's arms!

After Tony gestured with his hands to explain the whole story to Howard,

Howard, who already felt he owed his son a lot and was worried about how to make it up to him, immediately developed a great liking for Riley!

Not to mention, the mysterious high technology that Riley displayed was absolutely attractive to Howard, a scientist!

Therefore, after that day, both to make amends to Tony Jr. and to build a good relationship with Riley, he investigated Riley's background to ensure that Riley would not pose any threat to the United States.

Howard would bring little Tony to Riley's temporary rental house almost every day.

Back then, Riley, whose intelligence had been boosted to twelve points (fourteen points in the current timeline) thanks to the system's enhancement, was one of the few like-minded people Howard could truly connect with!

Over time, not only Howard himself, but also Riley, developed a close friendship despite their age difference as they chatted more and more enthusiastically.

The innocent and naive young Tony, as time went by, naturally remembered Riley, who was like a brother and father to him, doting on him, accompanying him, and taking care of him.

Along with "Little Inventor," that was the nickname Riley gave to young Tony during this period.

That's why, at the age of thirty-eight, Tony was able to awaken memories buried deep within his heart through such a unique nickname, instantly recognizing Riley's true identity!

Unfortunately, as a time traveler, Riley is destined not to be able to live in the current timeline for long.

After the research was completed, Riley used the excuse that her parents' job changes required the family to move to bid farewell to the Starks. Suppressing her reluctance and ignoring Tony's cries and pleas to stay, she completely disappeared from the Stark family's life.

After that, because Riley had left the current timeline, even someone as powerful as Howard couldn't find any trace of him, as if Riley had completely vanished from the face of the earth.

Furthermore, as time has passed and the world order has become increasingly volatile, Howard, who established S.H.I.E.L.D., has needed to spend more time maintaining the delicate balance of relations between nations to prevent the outbreak of World War III.

As Tony grew older and still couldn't find Riley, he believed Obadiah's slander and mistakenly thought that Riley was driven away by Howard because he got too close to Tony, and ordered that he never see Tony again in his life.

This caused the father-son relationship, which had just begun to improve, to plummet again under Obadiah's seemingly malicious attempts to sow discord, with the intention of "I'm doing this for your own good."

But now, with Riley's reappearance, and his timely intervention in the terrorists' hideout to save Tony's life, Tony is convinced that he has been misunderstanding Riley and his father all along.

Furthermore, by drawing inferences from this case, Obadiah, who seemed like a kind-hearted person, naturally became an increasingly subtle figure in Tony's mind.

Of course, Tony went to great lengths to convey his desire to meet Riley, and it wasn't just about meeting in private.

As mentioned before, after the kidnapping incident, Tony is no longer able to easily trust anyone around him, always feeling that no matter who it is, they all seem to want to kill him.

So, after meeting with Riley, Tony handed over the backup of the second-generation arc reactor, which he had improved and upgraded over the past two days with the help of various high-tech instruments, to Riley.

To ensure that, during the minor incident of replacing the chest reactor, Pepper Potts was tested to see if she was trustworthy.

What if the seemingly loyal Pepper has already switched sides to Obadiah's side in just three months?

Therefore, when Tony specifically asked for help without warning, the arc reactor was not replaced.

Instead, they seized both the old and new arc reactors and handed them over to Obadiah in exchange for a bright future.

And leave Tony, who has lost the Arc Reactor to sustain his life, to wait alone and desperately for the shrapnel to pierce his heart and die completely.

Riley, who was hiding in the shadows, was able to appear in time and install the backup of the arc reactor in Tony's chest, saving Tony's life!

in other words……

Even though more than twenty years have passed and we have never met.

But for Tony, Riley was still the only person besides his parents he could entrust his life to!