"Cool! Man! Tony Stark, this is so cool! So crazy!" First-Gen Spider-Man shouted, practically jumping in excitement. He turned to First-Gen Harry, his eyes shining. "Harry! This is a mecha!"
"Yeah, yeah, I see it!" First-Gen Harry exclaimed, equally awed. "He actually did it!"
Only boys could truly understand the sheer hype of giant mechas!
"I always wanted one when I was a kid," First-Gen Spider-Man added, nostalgia creeping into his voice. "But I never had the money to buy one…"
"You can buy one now," Harry teased with a smirk.
"Oh, forget that—I want something like Tony Stark's! Imagine me in one of those suits! That would be so cool!" First-Gen Spider-Man shook his head, reminiscing about his childhood dreams.
Meanwhile, First-Gen Gwen rolled her eyes. "Are you two seriously geeking out over the armor right now? Yinsen is literally being held at gunpoint!"
First-Gen Spider-Man blinked, then turned back to the screen. "Oh, crap, Yinsen! Damn! Nothing better happen to him!"
Compared to First-Gen Spider-Man's excitement, Second-Gen Spider-Man was more curious about whether Osborn Industries could develop similar armor—or even replicate the miniature Arc Reactor.
Second-Gen Harry scoffed at the thought. "Armor like this? It's child's play. My dad's old gear—the glider, the reinforced suit—that's way beyond the Mark I Tony made in a cave."
"But that's not the point," he continued. "The real game-changer is the miniature Arc Reactor."
Power was the biggest problem for any advanced combat suit. Even his own armor had serious endurance limitations. If they could crack the Arc Reactor's energy source, they could revolutionize their tech.
His company had already been working on something similar. Thanks to the tragedy with Otto in the First Generation, their safety measures had become much stricter. But even so, progress was slow.
[Tony pushed forward, his Mark I armor withstanding the relentless gunfire. Bullets clanked against the crude metal plating, unable to penetrate.]
[Two of the gang members, growing frustrated, charged at him. Tony swung his arm, smacking them aside like ragdolls. Then, a single punch sent another flying backward several meters.]
[He continued advancing, effortlessly knocking down another enemy. The remaining gangsters, realizing they stood no chance, fled in terror.]
[One panicked shooter turned back, firing wildly at Tony. But before he could retreat, his own men slammed the door shut, locking him outside.]
[He banged desperately on the metal door, screaming for them to open up. Tony's shadow loomed over him, growing larger as he turned around in horror.]
[A second later, the shouting stopped. Then—BOOM. The steel door rattled violently.]
[Another dent appeared—then another. Inside, the smarter ones ran for their lives.]
[Tony smashed through the door in an instant. A terrified gangster stumbled into his path. Without hesitation, Tony elbowed him aside.]
[But in doing so, his arm got caught in the stone wall. As he struggled to free himself, another gangster seized the opportunity—raising a pistol and aiming for Tony's head.]
[BANG! The shot ricocheted—right back at the shooter. He collapsed, unmoving.]
[Tony turned his head at the sound, yanking his arm free. That was close.]
[Meanwhile, outside the cave, Raza calmly loaded a grenade into his launcher. He knew Tony was coming.]
[But as he waited, something caught his eye—Yinsen, lying on the ground, coughing up blood.]
[Tony turned the corner, spotting him instantly. His heart dropped. "YINSEN!!!"]
["Be careful!" Yinsen gasped out, ignoring his own pain to warn Tony.]
[Raza smirked. Now. He pulled the trigger, launching a grenade at Tony.]
[Tony reacted just in time, dodging sideways. The explosion blasted a massive hole in the cave wall.]
[Without hesitation, Tony activated the launcher on his left arm. A missile shot straight toward Raza. It missed him directly, but the resulting explosion sent debris crashing down—burying Raza beneath a mountain of rubble.]
[Tony rushed to Yinsen's side. His friend's face was ghostly pale, his body weak from blood loss.]
["Come on! We have to go!" Tony urged, kneeling beside him. "We have an appointment—we can't break our promise!"]
[Yinsen gave a weary smile. "No, Stark. The situation has changed."]
[As a doctor, he knew his condition was beyond saving. And he also knew—if Tony tried to carry him, neither of them would make it out alive.]
["You have to go back. You have to see your family," Tony tried desperately. "Get up! Now!"]
["My family…" Yinsen whispered, his breath shallow. "They're dead, Stark. And I…" He coughed weakly. "I'm going to see them now… It's okay. I… I want this…"]
[Tony exhaled sharply, his throat tightening. His eyes burned. He knew what was coming.]
["Thank you," he murmured. "Thank you for saving me."]
[Yinsen smiled one last time. "Don't let me down, Stark… Don't make this a meaningless sacrifice."]
[And with that—he was gone.]
"Yinsen…" Tony sighed heavily, gripping his armrests. Even though he had seen this before, felt it before—he still couldn't stop the deep sadness creeping over him.
Yinsen was more than just a fellow captive. He was a mentor. He was the first person who truly changed Tony's perspective on life.
Steve, watching the scene, also sighed. "That's… true courage. He never lowered his gun, never fired at another person. Even in his final moments, he wanted to protect others."
"As a doctor, his first instinct was to save, not to kill," Cap continued. "That's what makes him great. And because of him, Tony Stark became something more."
"Yeah," Tony muttered, taking a deep breath. "I never doubted that."
Then, after a moment of silence, he suddenly asked, "Can you… bring him back?"
["Yes,"] The Sky Screen responded immediately. ["But Yinsen doesn't want to be revived. He wants to be with his family in the afterlife. He doesn't wish to return to this cruel world."]
Tony fell silent. He had only asked casually, but the answer shook him.
The Sky Screen could actually resurrect the dead?
And yet… Yinsen chose not to return? He chose to stay with his family in death?
["Yinsen—Tony Stark's spiritual mentor. He was the one who made Tony realize the true meaning of life. Without him, there would be no Iron Man."]
["And Tony honored Yinsen's words with his life. He never once made a meaningless sacrifice."]
["During the Battle of New York, it was Tony Stark who carried a nuclear missile into the space wormhole, fully believing he would die."]
["That time, he got lucky. He barely survived."]
["During the Infinity War, he fought knowing it could be the end. And when the final moment came—when the universe hung in the balance—he made the ultimate sacrifice."]
["When he said, 'I am Iron Man,' maybe he had already forgotten Yinsen's words."]
["Or maybe—he was simply following what his heart told him to do."]
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