I Became Spider-Man's Cousin in Anime Crossover

Chapter 422 The Third Force

"We didn't do that!"

Sitwell practically shouted, his voice hoarse with urgency, as he anxiously defended himself.

"Hydra wouldn't do such a thing! This blatant attack has no strategic significance whatsoever! It would only attract worldwide attention and ruin decades of our infiltration efforts!"

He was breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot from excitement.

"Stark, use your brain! If Iron Monger really kills you here, and then an explosion occurs, causing hundreds of casualties, what will Hydra face? Congressional hearings! Frenzied reporting from the global media! All their secret operations will be dug up and scrutinized!"

"Most importantly..."

"If that damned Spider-Head encounters any misfortune, Hydra will surely suffer endless pursuit and retribution from that black monster!"

"Anyone with a brain wouldn't do something so harmful and without any benefit!"

Sitwell's words of explanation, filled with fear and grievance, gradually calmed Tony down.

At the same time, the armor's built-in sensors showed that Sitwell's heart rate had soared to 140 beats per minute, his blood pressure had skyrocketed, and his pupils had dilated...

All these physiological indicators suggest that what Sitwell is saying now is very likely the truth.

But, if it weren't for Hydra's machinations behind the scenes...

Who could it be?

Who has the ability to remotely control the Iron Monger?

Does anyone know where the Iron Monger is?

Who has the motive to create this chaos?

Even someone as intelligent as Tony couldn't help but frown when faced with this barrage of questions, caught completely off guard. While quickly filtering through suspects, he suddenly felt his brain struggling to keep up.

"Don't you believe me?! Open your eyes and look closely! I'm tied up like this, how could I possibly cause any trouble? Besides, if I really did this, why would your mechanical creation want to kill me too?!"

Sitwell strained to turn the only part of his neck that he could still move, his eyes wide open as he roared at Tony, his voice filled with the humiliation and despair of being slandered.

He could already imagine the terrifying retaliation that would befall the entire Hydra organization once news of Peter's attack reached Riley's ears!

That's why, before Tony could even ask any further questions, Sitwell, who had just recently appeared to be absolutely loyal to Hydra, blurted out the purpose of this operation!

"I swear, I swear on everything I own! This was absolutely not Hydra's plan! We just wanted to replicate your core AI algorithm to build our own Hydra war machine to fight that black Spider-Man! It all turned out to be just an accident!"

As he spoke, Sitwell, whose survival instincts were running high and whose mind was working at full speed, suddenly widened his eyes, as if he had thought of some terrible possibility.

"Unless...unless someone tries to frame us!"

Sitwell lowered his voice, gritting his teeth as he uttered a bold guess.

"Someone wants to create a disaster and then pin the blame on Hydra. This way, they can get rid of you and that Spider-Man, and your deaths will trigger that black monster's complete purge of S.H.I.E.L.D.—or rather, of Hydra!"

"Once that black monster is weakened and has fought us Hydra to a standstill, we'll seize that opportunity to kill it!"

Tony's pupils contracted slightly.

Although there is no evidence, Sitwell's speculation is indeed a reasonable explanation!

But new problems arose...

If there truly is a third party that wants to eliminate both Tony Stark and Peter Parker, these two threats, while also taking the opportunity to weaken Hydra and reduce Riley's power...

So how did it learn that Hydra had not truly perished and was now hiding inside S.H.I.E.L.D., a shocking secret that even Nick Fury was unaware of?

How could he be so certain that Sitwell and his group's unannounced invasion would inevitably end in failure, leading to their pursuit by the Iron Monger?

"Sir, the Iron Monger has finished reloading and we are now locked on."

Just as Tony was lost in thought, Jarvis's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"The second wave of attack is about to begin. Countdown: three, two—"

"Little Spider! Take him with you!"

Tony roared, hurling Sitwell downwards. The Mark II armor's foot thrusters erupted with unstable blue flames as it darted to the side.

At the same time, due to the prince's "functional transfer", Peter, who also has the ability to fly, shot out spider silk almost at the same moment, stuck to Sitwell's "cocoon", and forcefully flung it backward.

The white cocoon of spider silk traced an arc through the air before finally crashing against a pile of abandoned shipping containers fifty meters away, thanks to the silk's excellent cushioning properties.

And just a second after the two of them took turns delivering Sitwell to a temporary safe zone.

"boom--!!!"

It wasn't Gatling gun fire.

It's a missile.

Four small missiles roared out from the launcher that the Iron Monger had raised.

The ballistic trajectory curved erratically in the air, like a living venomous snake, shattering the glass of the high-rise buildings, weaving through the floors, and heading straight for Tony and Peter in the shortest distance.

Thermal tracking, infrared locking, and even some kind of bizarre trajectory prediction.

Thanks to the excellent algorithms provided by Tony, these missiles continuously made minor adjustments to their direction during flight, successfully blocking all of the two men's conventional evasive paths!

"Sir, a missile is approaching. Predicted hit probability: 96%. We suggest you curl up and prepare for the impact."

Jarvis calmly broadcast the report.

At that moment, Jarvis, with his powerful computing capabilities, had actually come up with seventeen different evasion strategies.

However, the success rate of each method does not exceed 20%.

After all, the Mark 2's reactor was damaged due to the previous attack, resulting in a significant drop in energy output.

If the power output is forcibly increased, then the Mark 2 might explode in mid-air as a spectacular firework before the missile even hits it, due to the reactor going out of control.

"Damn it, when I get back, I definitely need to remember to add a heat decoy function to the suit... Spider-Man! Get out of the way! I'll handle these missiles!"

At the same time, Tony understood how critical the situation was. He could only twitch his lips and mutter a curse as he charged his palm cannons, trying to detonate the missiles prematurely, all the while yelling at Peter beside him.

But Peter did not hide.

He stood there, the spider-sense screams nearly making his brain boil.

That stinging sensation was no longer a warning, but rather a...guidance.

In that instant, he "saw" the trajectory of the missile.

Not with the eyes, but with some deeper level of perception.

He "saw" the subtle gap between the four missiles, and the fleeting window of opportunity that lasted only 0.2 seconds.

So Peter moved.

It's not retreating, it's not dodging, it's moving forward.

He charged toward the missile, his body fully extended in the air like a predatory spider, his wrists simultaneously shooting out spider silk.

The first spider silk stuck to the middle of the leftmost missile's body.

The second layer stuck to the tail fin of the missile on the right.

Then Peter used all his strength to pull hard in two opposite directions.

"laugh--!"

Accompanied by a tooth-grinding, metallic, distorting sound.

The trajectory of the missile on the left was forcibly twisted, causing it to collide with a missile on the right in mid-air.

"Boom—!"

Two fireballs exploded in the air, instantly engulfing Peter's figure.

But thanks to the flight ability granted by the "Prince", he was able to adjust his posture in the air, quickly rush out of the flames, and shoot out spider silk again.

The third and fourth strands of spider silk accurately hit the remaining two missiles.

Then, with the burst of superhuman strength, the missile instantly lost its balance and began to spin wildly in the air.

One of them landed in Peter's palm. With a javelin-like motion, it was hurled into the night sky, transforming into a dazzling firework.

The other one veered off course and flew erratically, causing Peter and Tony to drift out of the blast radius before being detonated by Tony's Palm Cannon, who was on the same wavelength as Peter.

The crisis was thus temporarily averted.

But the cost is not light.

After doing all this, Peter plummeted straight down like a bird with broken wings. It was only thanks to Tony's quick reflexes that he flew forward and caught him, preventing a "close encounter" with the ground.

Even so, Peter, nestled in Tony's arms, remained curled up, coughing violently.

Clearly, the close-range impact of the explosion had seriously injured Peter.

At this moment, he felt a ringing in his ears and his vision blurred. Even his nanosuit, which had undergone several upgrades and whose defensive strength had undergone a qualitative change, was now clearly torn in several places, revealing bruised and swollen skin underneath, which was obviously burned.

The only saving grace was that, aside from the nanosuit itself helping Peter absorb the vast majority of the damage...

Peter had anticipated this and activated the "Prince's" medical functions beforehand. Furthermore, Spider-Man's unique physical constitution granted Peter an inexplicable resistance to blunt force trauma, crushing impacts, and energy shocks. This allowed the daring Peter to save his life!

"Are you fucking crazy?! Who told you to do that?! That's a missile! If anything goes wrong, you'll be dead here!"

Looking at Peter, who was covered in wounds, Tony's voice lacked its usual gentleness and doting; instead, it was filled with anger.

But the anger wasn't directed at Peter; it was directed at his own guilt and resentment at failing to stop the Iron Monger and protect the child before him.

This also made Tony, who originally thought the performance of the Mark II suit was sufficient after its creation and had no plans to upgrade it in the short term, finally understand completely...

Why is it that Riley, who is already so powerful, still can't cure his damn "fear of insufficient firepower" and tries every day to become stronger!