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  Nigel had already moved into the shadows, his es f around him. “I’ll keep them tangled up,” he said simply, his voice eg faintly through his duplicates. “They won’t know what hit them.”

  Diego cracked his knuckles, a cocky grin spreading across his face. “Big and showy? My specialty. Just try not to get jealous, Anthony.”

  Anthony, already sing the crowd for potential threats, snorted. “You wish. Just make sure you don’t take out any civilians.”

  Maria’s fiwitched, and the faint mist arouhied. She began weaving it through the panicked crowd, subtly redireg people away from the ining threat. “I’ll hahe sheep. Keep the wolves busy.”

  “Good,” Nero said. “Go.”

  Donald started to float into the air, blue and green lightning crag around his body. He gathered more energy, preparing to fry every devi the area. Stark might lose millions, but sidering the bombs scattered across the expo, there was no time for subtlety. His fingers ched slightly, arcs of energy snapping through the air, before releasing a trolled eleagic pulse that surged outward in a wide radius.

  The lights flickered, and thehironic within the affected range went dark, except for their s—immuhanks to Sofia’s modifications.

  “Doheir toys are fried,” Donald said, l himself back to the ground.

  From her position by the holographic city booth, Sofia muttered, “Looks like that hit harder than I thought. Even the security systems are down. I’m rerouting trols to bypass local interference.”

  Nero gave clear, “Let’s intercept them.”

  At this time, Iron Man nded with a meical whirr, the thrusters from his suit sending a few stray ers flying as the armored figure straightened. From the other side, Spider-Man swung in, nding with a light crouch just a few steps away from Peter’s friends.

  Tony Stark’s voice rang out, dripping with his usual sarcasm. “Oh great, you guys again? ’t have an expo without uninvited masked guests ruining the vibe, huh?” His gaze flicked toward Spider-Man, and he raised an eyebrow behind the helmet. “And who are you supposed to be? Wait, don’t tell me... Spider-Boy?”

  Spider-Man straightened, dusting off his hands with exaggerated fir. “It’s Spider-Man, actually. You’ve met me before.” He paused, gng toward Nero’s group. “Uh, they’re with me, I guess.”

  Nero, floating a few feet above the ground, his mask’s e glow catg Stark’s attention, chuckled lightly. “You’re wele. By the way, those guys causing chaos? They’re army, not just random terrorists. Officials will show up in ten miops, probably to ‘save the day’ and then squeeze you for tech rights afterward.”

  “Army? That’s a bold cim, pumpkin head,” Stark shot back, crossing his metal arms. “Any proof, or are we pying spiracy bingo tonight?”

  Anthony, walking up calmly, didn’t bother with introdus. “Check their backgrounds ter, Stark. Military issue. I’d say they’re here on someone’s orders, not for kicks.”

  Stark’s facepte slid back, revealing his skeptical expression. “Okay, so we’ve got soldiers pying dress-up. Great. And you geniuses pn on doing what, exactly? Start a brawl in the middle of my expo?”

  Spider-Man tilted his head. “Wait, the army’s really here to cause trouble? That doesn’t make sense. Shouldn’t they be, you know, stopping bad guys?”

  “It’s politics, kid,” Nigel said, stepping out of the shadows like he’d beehe whole time. “Someone wants leverage on Stark. Nothing personal—just business in the ugliest sense.”

  Tony groaned, ping the bridge of his nose. “Of course. Cssic prab. You’d think after saving the world a few times, they’d let me enjoy one party in peace.”

  “Life’s unfair,” Nero said, l himself back to the ground. He spoke to his team with crisp crity, “Mist, reunite if you’re doh civilians. Rain, follow their movements a. Sun, take the front. Lightning and Storm, hit the fnk. Cloud and I will handle support.” He turned slightly toward Spider-Man and Iron Man. “Do whatever you want—just stay out of our way.”

  Tony exhaled sharply, arms crossed as he g Spider-Man. “You get the feeling we just got downgraded to ‘side mission NPCs?’” He turoward Spider-Man. "Kid, stick close, and don’t do anything stupid."

  Maria’s voice came through the link, calm and effit. “I’ve got illusions spread across three blocks to funnel civilians away from the flict zone.”

  By the time the gang regrouped, dozens of armored vehicles rolled to a halt, their engines growling like predators ready to pounce. Soldiers dressed tue militant fas, in high-grade tactical gear began filing out in perfeation, their ons gleaming uhe harsh expo lights. These weren’t ordinary foot soldiers—they moved with the precision of elite operatives, carrying equipment far beyond what any regur military unit should have access to.

  “Take them down swiftly. Don’t damage the suit,” the leading man barked, signaling with a sharp haure. The soldiers moved into formation, fanning out in a trolled spread to surround the expo’s key areas. Their eyes were locked on the masked vigintes—Nero and his crew.

  Anthony rolled his shoulders, stepping forward casually, standing directly in their path. Sun Fmes ignited around his ched fists, glowing faintly, ready to erupt at a moment’s notice. "Here we go," he muttered under his breath, more to himself than anyone else.

  One of the soldiers raised a pulse rifle, but before he could fire, Anthony was already moving. He didn’t bother with graures—one quick step, a swing, and the soldier crumpled as the shockwave from Anthony’s fist smmed him into the pavement.

  “Nohal,” Nero called out, standing behind the line. “When we expose them, we will have the moral high ground.”

  Donald was already in motion, his Thunder Fmes sparking faintly as he sprioward the vehicles. A few soldiers tried to intercept, raising their ons, but Donald ducked low, slidih their line of fire before delivering a precise kick to one man’s leg, sending him sprawling. Without missing a beat, he yanked a pulse grenade off the man’s belt and lobbed it toward the cluster of vehicles. It detonated in midair, releasing a wave of static that scrambled nearby eleics.

  “rick,” Diego ented as he leapt onto a nearby food stall, nding with ease. From his elevated position, he spotted several more soldiers vergihe south exit. “Think I’ll go say hi.” With a flick of his wrist, a sudden gust of wind surged forward, knog one soldier ft while sending aumbling into a pile of overturned chairs. Diego hopped down, casually closing the distance before any of them could react.

  “Who the hell are these guys?” Peter’s voice came through, barely audible over the otion. He was stig close to Iron Man, webbing down ons when he could but clearly overwhelmed by the scale of the operation.

  “Some dressed-up hero wannabes,” Tony grumbled, gng at Nero’s crew. He shifted his weight, clearly annoyed by the euation.

  Peter thought about quipping, Aren’t we kind of the same?, but held back, fog on webbing another on out of a soldier’s hands.

  Diego dodged a pulse bst, shooting a g Iron Man’s gleaming armor. “o know we’re making friends,” he called out, casually whipping up a sharp wind to knock troag soldiers ft on their backs.

  “Friends? That’s generous.” Tony swatted a stray shot aimed at him, his repulsor defleg the bst into the ceiling. “I’m just here because I’m allergied takeovers at my events.” He turned slightly toward Nero. “And pumpkin-head over there? He’s leading what, a cospy test? Could’ve fooled me.”

  “They don’t look wao me,” Peter muttered under his breath, webbing another rifle as its wielder struggled to raise it. His eyes caught a figure with indigo-glowing eyes emitting a thick mist as it moved toward the enemy line. He blinked, half w if the Expo fumes were messing with him.

  When Maria’s Mist Fme filled the area, the enemy soldiers began turning on each other, firing wildly in fusion as though uo tell friend from foe. Tony aer gawked in disbelief.

  “Jarvis, analyze that mist!” Tony barked.

  “The position is... unknown, sir,” Jarvis replied after a moment. “It’s interfering with visual input and proximity sensors. Reend immediate dise from affected zones.”

  Peter shot a web at one of the soldiers fumbling with his rifle. “This is insane—are they halluating or something?”

  "Beats me." Tony muttered, looking at the indigo-eyed figure wreathed in mist. The memory of the purple-eyed guy tampering with his arc reactor was still fresh in his mind—months spent trying to fix what defied every logical approach he had. Whatever these people were w with didn’t py by ventional rules.

  "Any bright ideas, Iron Man?" Peter asked, webs already prepped in both hands as he sed the fused soldiers trapped in Maria’s illusions.

  "Yeah," Tony said ftly. "Try not to get shot."

  Anthony moved past them, fire crag faintly at his fists as he shoved a dazed soldier out of his way. "They’re rattled. We should this up before thie."

  Diego appeared beside him, casually tossing aside the remnants of a shattered rifle. "Thought you liked things messy, Tony? Chaos is supposed to be your thing."

  "Only when it es with a guarantee of zero property damage," Tony snapped back, eyes narrowing at the ining reinforts. "Unlike you, I have PR to haer this."

  "Who told you to reveal your identity to the whole world? Look at Spidey; no one knows who’s behind that mask. Could be a John, Jake, Peter, or Miles." Diego ughed, hands casually resting in his pockets.

  Peter felt a bead of sweat slide down his temple beh the mask. Was that random, or does he actually know my identity? he thought, doing his best to aal. "Yeah, uh... anonymity’s ued."

  "That ing from a guy who makes quips every five seds while webbing bad guys?" Anthony scoffed, keeping his gaze on the ining vehicles. His hands flexed subtly, Sun Fmes crag at his fiips. "Real subtle strategy."

  Peter shrugged, not missing a beat. "Hey, it works. Bad guys are easier to handle when they’re too busy being annoyed."

  Maria rejoihem, stepping lightly through the thin mist she had spread around the crowd. "He’s got a point. Distra’s a tactic. But maybe less talking and more moving before things get messy?"

  "Messy’s already here," Anthony said, nodding toward the soldiers spilling out of armored trucks like they were gearing up for war.

  "Messy’s our specialty." Diego grinned, crag his knuckles as he stepped forward. "Besides, what’s a party without a little chaos?"

  Donald joined in, “Maybe Stark should take notes. A mask might’ve saved him from half the political mess he’s in now.”

  Tony, overhead, groaned loudly, his suit amplifying his voice. “Thanks for the unsolicited advice, Mr. Not-So-Subtle. How about you all focus on not wreg my expo?”

  Donald started at him, his mask eyes shining green, crag with lightning. "If I hadn't fried your expo, half of the block would have been bsted by these guys. Then, no wyer could save yolden ass."

  Tony raised a hand in mock surrehe metal of his gau glinting. "Alright, Zeus Junior, point taken. But ime, maybe use a little less EMP and a little more subtlety?"

  Donald snorted, gng at Nero. "You want subtle? Talk to the boss, not the guy frying bombs."

  Whe of the soldiers fell, the rumble of approag tanks and the thudding rotors of choppers filled the air. Military jets roared overhead in a show of force as the army’s full might desded on the chaotic se. Rows of armored vehicles lihe streets, ons aimed and ready. Soldiers spilled out, f defensive perimeters. Their rifles pointed warily at Nero’s group, who stood amidst the wreckage of the expo with not a scrat them.

  Despite the chaos, no civilian had been hurt, and all the so-called terrorists were already subdued, unscious or bound on the ground.

  The leading general marched forward, his uniform crisp, face set in a hard scowl. “This,” he said, sweeping his hand at the se, “proves Stark’s teology is not safe in his hands. You’ve endangered civilians and created a warzone in the middle of a public event.”

  Nero, who had been floating just above ground level, nded smoothly, his boots g against the debris-strewn floor. He chuckled—short, sharp. The general’s accusation was ridiculous, but he admired the man’s itment to stig to the script even after everything had clearly gone sideways.

  The general’s eyes narrowed. “What are you ughing at?”

  “Funny,” Nero said, his voice carrying just enough to cut through the ambient noise of helicopters and murmuring soldiers. “You’re still reading from that script, even though all your pns have been ruined.”

  The general frowned, clearly thrown off. “What do you mean by that?”

  Without waiting for o answer, Sofia, positioned near one of the undamaged soles, tapped a few keys on her handheld device. The rge s flickered, and then it began broadcasting a series of messages, video clips, and audio recs. The te no doubt—this wasn’t sue terrorist attack. It was an orchestrated attempt by high-ranking military officials to stage a crisis and use it as leverage to gain trol over Stark’s teology.

  The audio crackled to life, filling the expo ter. A familiar voie of the general’s subordinates—spoke in clipped tones: “Once we secure the expo, we’ll have enough justification to demand Stark hand over his suit designs. The public outcry alone will force his hand.”

  The crowd, which had been too shocked to react before, began murmuring in disbelief. Civilians who had started trig baow stared at the s in horror.

  “Anything to add, General?” Nero asked, folding his arms.

  The general’s face twisted in anger. “This is doctored footage. A cheap trick.”

  “Really?” Sofia's voice came from the same s, her tone light as she tapped another button. “Here’s the live feed from your encrypted s el. I figured you wouldn’t mind a little transparency.” On cue, another voice transmission began pying—this time, it was the general himself issuing orders before the assault began.

  “Move into position. Keep it . We need casualties low, but we need enough chaos and bodies to justify intervention.”

  uro Tony. "You bill the gover for your losses. You’re wele." Without waiting for a response, he began walking, the rest of the group falling into step behind him.

  The general’s voied across the expo floor. "Where do you think yoing, criminals?"

  Nero didn’t break stride. "First it was Ross, now you. One would assume those who reach general rank would have some brain." As he spoke, a bright fsh engulfed the group, and they seemed to vanish into thin air.

  Iy, Nero’s illusion cloaked them perfectly. From their vantage point above, the group watched the se below unfold.

  The general barked orders to his men, trying to salvage what remained of the operation. “Lock down the perimeter! We’re detaining Stark for questioning.”

  Tony crossed his arms, unimpressed. “Yeah, that’s not happening. You might want to get your boys in line before they make fools of themselves.”

  The general ched his jaw. “You’re responsible for this disaster.”

  “I wasn’t areventing a terrorist attack ted as a disaster,” Tony said, gng at the still-subdued soldiers scattered across the expo. “Oh wait—they are not actually terrorists but your men. Yeah, that’s rough, buddy.”

  Rhodey appeared beside the general, his War Mae armleaming uhe lights. He raised a hand before the general could retort. “Stand down, General. Let's talk things through.”

  “el, this is above your pay grade,” the general snapped, clearly irritated.

  “No, it’s exactly at my pay grade,” Rhodey replied, his toral but firm. “You want to detain Stark? Good luck expining that to the press when they see the footage of your men pnting bombs at a public event.”

  The general faltered, but his gre didn’t waver. “This isn’t over. Stark’s tech—”

  “Is staying right where it is,” Rhodey cut in smoothly. “And before you go filing as, maybe ask yourself how it’s going to look when your ‘rescue missios exposed for what it really was.”

  Meanwhile, Peter whispered to Tony through his s, “Uh, I am going to go now?”

  "Just go along, kid. I have my hands full. If they get you, I 't help you." Tony snorted lightly, eyes sing the soldiers below.

  Peter hesitated for a split sed, then shot a web to the , disappearing into the shadows above. "Not stig around for that versation," he muttered.

  Seeing that Tony had the upper hand and the general couldn’t force him, Nero waved his hand, and the group swiftly flew away.

  “Sofia, release everything you gathered to our three social media. No matter how many times the goverries pulling this shady crap, we’ll expose them every siime. Let’s see how long it takes before they learn something.”

  Already pulling out her tablet, Sofia’s fingers moved quickly across the s. “Uploading now. Should be live in about fifteen seds.” She didn’t o look up to know the rest of the group was watg her work.

  “Think it’ll stick this time?” Anthony asked, gng at the skyline as they soared above the city.

  “They’ll scrub it, sure. But not before enough people see it,” Sofia replied, tug the devito her jacket as the task finished. “We’re not aiming for permanence. Just enough chaos.”

  Diego grinned mid-flight, wind whipping around him as he caught up to Sofia. “I always appreciate a little chaos. Keeps things fun.”

  Donald stayed quiet, adjusting his coat as they neared a secluded rooftop oskirts of the expo. He nded smoothly, his eyes gng over the streets below, still buzzing with emergency responders. “I’d say it’s more about atability than fun.”

  “I’m just saying—” Diego started, but Nero cut him off with a gnce.

  Sofia gave a mock evil ughter. “I might actually throw in a few redirects for fuhem guessing.”

  “Redirects?” Diego raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. “You mean like ‘mysterious hacker group cims responsibility’ kind of fun?”

  “More like ving them half their own encrypted systems are promised,” she said without missing a beat. “Let’s see how fast they scramble when they ’t tell fact from fi.”

  Anthony smirked slightly. “Babe, remind me o piss you off.”

  “Smart move,” Sofia shot back, already focused on her s again.

  Maria walked over to Nero. “What’s ?”

  "Nothing for us. Normally in MCU plot, Ivan would have tricked Hammer to cause bloodshed in the expo. I actually just wao see if taking down Ivan would prevent it. Clearly, it did not. Instead of Ivan, this time the gover stepped up, and if not for us, it would have been the same." He sighed, helpless. "Let's go back to base for now. , we’ll see if Tony fix his poison issue. If not, we step in to save him."

  “Guess I should’ve known things wouldn’t be that ,” Diego said, flig imaginary dust off his coat. "Ivan or not, vultures still circle around Stark."

  Maria gave a thoughtful hum, falling into step beside Nero. "This whole stunt wasn’t even subtle. They didn’t expect a real fight. They thought a bit of chaos would be enough to make Stark fold."

  “Didn’t expect us, either,” Donald added. “Now they’ll have to e up with a different py.”

  Diego gnced up at the remnants of the webbing. "Think the kid’s gonna be alright? He didly look ready for a shoith the military."

  “Rex,” Anthony said. “He’s handled worse on his own. Besides, you saw him leave. Smooth exit.”

  “Smooth?” Diego repeated with a grin. “Looked more like a panicked retreat to me.”

  Donald shrugged. “Whatever works. Kid’s got instincts.”

  As they turned a er, Maria raised an eyebrow. “Think Stark’s smart enough to stay out of the crosshairs after this, or do we o keep an eye on him?”

  “Knowing Stark?” Nero said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “He’ll double dowoo proud to let something like this go unanswered.”

  "Cssic Stark."

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