Chapter 41: George, the Overprotective Father

"Mark II is finally complete, huh."

Alan watched as the Mark II disappeared from sight.

The successful development of Mark II signified the true birth of Iron Man.

From now on, all of Iron Man's future suits would be improvements and scene optimizations based on the Mark II design.

There would even be various Mark-XX armors in the future, showcasing Tony's incredible genius.

"Once Tony gains fame after his fight with Iron Monger, Stark Industries' stock will skyrocket."

"By then, I won't have to live so frugally anymore."

...

On the other side of town, Gwen had just returned home.

"Mom, has Dad come back yet?"

Gwen had already changed back into her regular clothes nearby and asked the moment she walked in.

After all, the last thing she wanted was for her father, George, to notice anything unusual.

As his daughter, Gwen knew all too well about George's detective and reasoning skills.

You don't become the head of the NYPD without earning respect through real abilities.

"He called earlier and said he'd be home late tonight. He also asked me to keep an eye on you and make sure you didn't stay out too late."

"Well, at least I don't have to report to him now."

Gwen's mom grumbled as she handed Gwen a glass of water.

"Thanks, Mom."

Gwen kissed her on the cheek. "Dad still treats me like a little girl."

"Well, you are his precious only daughter."

"Is that... a new pair of headphones?"

Gwen's mom immediately noticed the black earbuds in her daughter's ears.

"Yeah, the old ones broke, so I got a new pair."

Gwen quickly laughed it off and said, "Mom, I still have some assignments to finish. I'm heading to my room."

She handed the empty glass back to her mom and headed upstairs.

Gwen's mom shook her head with a smile, "Like father, like daughter."

After returning to the living room, Gwen's mom picked up the house phone and dialed George.

On the other end, George was sitting in a black unmarked car, seemingly observing something.

Across the street was Peter Parker's house.

A middle-aged man was returning home with groceries in hand.

The officer next to George said, "That man is Peter Parker's uncle, Ben Parker."

"He works as a technician at a nearby supermarket."

George nodded and asked, "Any updates from Team B?"

"Peter Parker hasn't left Oscorp since he entered earlier today."

"Our team doesn't have the authority to enter Oscorp without special orders."

"There's no need to go in. Just confirming Peter Parker is inside is enough."

Clearly, George hadn't fully trusted Peter's words this morning. After letting Peter go, he'd had people tail him and had come to stake out Peter's house himself.

But after a whole day, he hadn't found anything noteworthy.

At that moment, George's personal phone rang.

Seeing it was a call from home, George answered.

His wife's voice came through the line: "Your precious daughter is home. Don't worry."

George glanced at his watch.

She came home this early?

"Did she come back alone?"

"Yeah, just by herself."

"Alright, I'll head home once I finish this mission."

George hung up.

The officer beside him chuckled, "Chief, you sure do care about your daughter."

"Of course. She's my only child."

"There aren't many good influences at that university, so I have to keep her safe."

The entire precinct knew that George was a total overprotective dad.

...

Gwen locked her door after returning to her room. Once she was certain everything was secure, she opened her laptop.

"Red Queen, my computer is ready..."

"One moment, Miss Gwen."

After a brief pause, the Red Queen appeared on Gwen's screen.

"Miss Gwen, if anything unusual happens on this end, I will notify you immediately."

"You just need to speak directly, and I will transmit your voice as if you were still in your room."

"Wow, Alan really thought of everything."

Gwen removed her outer clothes to reveal her Spider suit underneath, then walked to the window and shot out a web.

"Thanks, Red Queen!"

With that, she jumped out the window.

Not long after Gwen left, her mother knocked on her door with a snack tray.

"Gwen, I brought you some snacks."

The Red Queen quickly transmitted Gwen's voice from earlier.

"Good thing Alan set this up, or I would've been caught tonight," Gwen thought with relief and responded, "Thanks, Mom, but I'm not hungry. You can save it for Dad."

Hearing her daughter's response, Gwen's mom didn't press further.

"Don't stay up too late, take care of yourself."

"Got it, Mom."

In the city of New York, Gwen swung between buildings.

Suddenly, the Red Queen's voice spoke up: "A robbery just occurred in the Bronx, the victim is an elderly person."

"Thanks, Red Queen."

"Time to remind someone that crime doesn't pay."

...

Meanwhile, in Tony's lab, Tony was pressing an ice pack to his head.

He had survived falling from 10,000 meters without a scratch, yet when he returned home, the weight of his suit caused him to crash through the floor into the basement.

He even crushed one of his beloved cars in the process, leaving him completely speechless.

Watching the disheveled Tony, Yinsen struggled to suppress a laugh, "Looks like you need to switch to lighter aerospace titanium."

"That's a solid idea."

"Jarvis, order some aerospace titanium."

"Right away, sir."

"The new model is complete, would you like to see it?"

"Show me."

A full titanium armor design, along with its specs, appeared before Tony and Yinsen.

"The color's not great."

The armor on the screen was pure gold.

"Jarvis, do you have any other color options?"

"I thought this suited your subtle personality."

Hearing Jarvis's sarcastic tone, Yinsen realized that the AI had learned enough to reach a human-like level of wit.

Yinsen teased Tony, "Even your butler knows you so well."

"Jarvis, color it like the other model."

"Right away, sir."

Soon, a silver and white version of the Iron Man suit appeared on the screen.

Tony, now satisfied, said, "Perfect."

Just then, Yinsen noticed something on the news: "You're hosting a charity gala tonight?"

Tony looked baffled. "What? I've been here all day."

He followed Yinsen's gaze to the TV.

A reporter was talking about a charity event supposedly organized by Tony Stark himself, while also criticizing Tony's recent actions. It was clear that she was a victim of the recent Stark Industries stock decline.

"Let's go, Yinsen. I'll take you for a drink..."

"Jarvis, no need to wait up for me tonight."

"You're always like this, sir..."

...