["Ma'am, please! Please come over here! Hey! Ma'am! Come on!" Toomes was still trying to plead his case, stepping forward to block her path.]
["Listen… I bought a truck for this job. I put together an entirely new team! These people have families to support—I have a family too! I've put everything into this! If I lose this contract, I won't even be able to keep my house!"]
[The woman listened to his plea but responded indifferently, "I'm sorry, sir. But there's nothing I can do." Without another word, she turned and walked away.]
[Just then, a man in a suit and white hat sneered, "Maybe next time, don't be so arrogant."]
[Toomes turned sharply, his eyes flashing with barely restrained fury. "What did you just say?" His tone was dangerously low.]
[Then, forcing a self-deprecating smile, he turned to his workers and shrugged. "Yeah! He's right. I overestimated myself."]
[Before anyone could react, he suddenly swung his fist, landing a punch squarely on the man's face.]
[The moment Toomes struck, the agents and security personnel instinctively drew their guns, aiming them at him. One of his co-workers, seeing the escalating situation, gripped a crowbar and prepared to step forward.]
[The woman from before noticed the growing tension and quickly intervened, raising her voice. "Stop! Stop! Put the guns down!"]
[She turned back to Toomes with a cold expression. "If you have complaints, take them up with my superiors." Then, without a second glance, she walked away.]
["Your bosses? Who the hell even are they?!" Toomes roared in frustration.]
"Oh, this is bad. He put all his savings into this, and now he's got nothing. That's enough to make anyone hate their boss," Tony muttered as he focused on assembling his latest armor.
Rhodes, who was assisting him, shook his head. "That's how the world works. If you don't have power or influence, you'll always lose out—especially in something this big."
"I mean, from a security standpoint, I wouldn't feel comfortable letting regular people get their hands on alien tech. Who knows if any of it is toxic or carries unknown risks?" Banner added, looking at the situation logically.
"Exactly! And you can't stop people from pocketing things, like that guy sneaking a piece of Chitauri tech into his pocket," Rhodes pointed out, referencing the worker who had hidden something earlier.
It was nearly impossible to prevent—there was just too much alien debris scattered around. The best they could do was minimize the risk through proper management.
Tony sighed, throwing up his hands. "Well, guess Mr. Toomes is just out of luck. Hopefully, the mayor compensates him fairly."
Toomes, still just an ordinary man and not yet the Vulture, clenched his fists as he watched the agents take over his job. Reality had just given him a harsh lesson—contracts and promises meant nothing when the people at the top decided otherwise.
It didn't matter if he had an official agreement with the city. To those in power, it was just a worthless piece of paper.
For a brief moment, he considered leaving New York entirely—moving somewhere else to start over. But relocating to a new city was easier said than done.
"Dad?" A small voice interrupted his thoughts.
Liz Allen, still just a little girl, tugged at his hand and looked up at him with worried eyes.
Toomes took a deep breath, forcing a smile as he picked her up.
[The next second, a news broadcast played on television, featuring Tony Stark's face. The host's voice explained the latest development.]
["A new joint task force has been established between Stark Industries and the federal government. This agency, known as the Department of Damage Control, will oversee the collection and secure storage of extraterrestrial artifacts and debris."]
[Toomes watched the screen in silence, his expression dark. Beside him, his co-worker scoffed in frustration. "So the guy who caused this whole mess gets paid to clean it up?"]
[A nearby tinkerer, fiddling with a Chitauri device, nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Total black-box operation." He activated a fan-like mechanism, which began to hover in midair.]
["Experts estimate that over 1,500 tons of alien debris remain scattered across the Tri-State area!"]
[Just then, another worker rummaging through their supplies made a discovery. "Hey, boss! We still have a truckload of salvaged materials from yesterday. We should turn it in, right?"]
[Upon hearing this, a black worker immediately refused. "No way! I'm not touching that."]
[The tinkerer sighed in disappointment. "Man, that's a waste. We could make some seriously cool stuff out of this junk."]
[His words sparked something in Toomes. He stared at the pile of alien materials, a realization dawning in his mind. "You know what? Let's just keep this stuff. The world is changing—it's time we change too."]
Tony had just commented that Toomes would resent his boss. He hadn't expected to be the boss in question. He groaned, rubbing his face in mild embarrassment.
Rhodes and Banner barely held in their laughter.
Tony glared at them. "Okay, okay, go ahead—laugh it up!"
The two of them finally burst out laughing, while Tony shook his head and returned to his work. Whatever Toomes did next wasn't his problem—he was sure Nick Fury would handle it.
"Wow! Looks like he's getting ambitious!" The first-generation Spider-Man, Peter Parker, muttered as he watched Toomes begin his transformation into the Vulture.
"He could've been a good man… but life forced him down the wrong path," Uncle Ben said with a sigh.
Sandman—Flint Marko—fell silent, his mind flashing back to his own past. He, too, had once turned to crime out of desperation, and it had led him down a road of regret.
Harry Osborn noticed Marko's brooding expression and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "The past is the past, Marko. You've got to move forward. Penny's waiting for you at home."
Thanks to Harry's financial backing and the advanced medical technology of Oscorp, Marko's daughter, Penny, had been given a second chance at life. Her condition had improved drastically—she was now nearly as healthy as any normal child.
The first-generation Spider-Man often visited Penny, sometimes bringing Gwen along. Seeing the girl's growing smiles warmed his heart.
Meanwhile, Toomes' face darkened. He had been contemplating whether to leave New York before, but now with this future crime, maybe some people with start to think badly of him.
People could think whatever they wanted of him, but his wife and daughter were innocent. He wouldn't let them suffer because of his actions.
Without hesitation, Toomes scooped Liz up in his arms and hurried home, determined to pack their things and get out of town before it was too late…
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