Su Yi returned to his university class, slipping into his seat with a convincing portrayal of a student who had just suffered a sudden bout of intestinal distress. The teacher, thankfully, was preoccupied and simply nodded him back into the room.
Meanwhile, the chaotic scene on the road was being handled by the authorities. Pepper Potts was safe, waiting nervously with the crucial evidence. Agent Coulson and his S.H.I.E.L.D. team were the first to arrive, securing Pepper and the two terrified, web-bound thugs.
"Spider-Bully?" Agent Coulson muttered, looking at the rapidly compressed car and the two terrified criminals tangled in a bio-suit-generated synthetic web. He exchanged a bewildered glance with a S.H.I.E.L.D. technician. "Director Fury will have a field day with this."
Captain George Stacy arrived shortly after, leading the local NYPD, ready to take custody of the crime scene and the perpetrators. He was immediately stonewalled by Coulson's team, who claimed jurisdictional priority. All Stacy could do was watch S.H.I.E.L.D. clean up the impossible mess—a scene that defied all known physics.
Su Yi's sudden, spectacular intervention—lifting a car with a single hand, stopping another with a kick, and vanishing instantly—had been captured on numerous smartphone cameras. By the time Su Yi was back in class, the video had gone viral.
The online reaction was immediate and polarized:
"My God, I saw him! He literally lifted that car! This is not special effects, this is superhuman!"
"Spider-Bully? I think he's a hero! He saved that woman's life! We have a real-life superhero!"
"FAKE NEWS! I've been watching science fiction since the 80s. The compression effect on that sedan is clearly poor CGI. Someone needs to hire a better editor."
"But how did he disappear? Teleportation? Magic? We need answers!"
Su Yi, ignoring the online noise, finally saw the class break and immediately pulled out his phone to contact Pepper.
"Pepper, are you alright?"
Pepper's voice was steadier now. "I'm fine, Su. Thanks to you. You were incredible. Agent Coulson and his team secured the evidence. We're heading toward Stark Tower now to formally charge Obadiah."
"Wait, Stark Tower?" Su Yi asked, confused. In the movie, the confrontation happened much later, giving Obadiah time to steal the reactor. "Why Stark Tower? Do they think he's there?"
"We don't know where he is," Pepper explained hastily. "We have to start with the most obvious location—his office—and then proceed to his home or the warehouse."
Absurd, Su Yi thought. The time lapse between getting the evidence and the confrontation is still too long! Coulson and his team are moving with bureaucratic speed, not operational urgency.
"Pepper, you need to hear me," Su Yi urged. "Obadiah cannot build a working Arc Reactor for his armor. He needs Tony's. If you go to Stark Tower, you're leaving Tony defenseless at the villa. He will go after Tony's chest reactor!"
The implication of immediate threat to Tony—the man she cared for, regardless of their complicated history—shattered her remaining composure.
"What? Oh, no! You're right! What do I do? Should I call Rhodey? Ask him to check on Tony?"
"No time for that," Su Yi said quickly. "You're with Coulson, and I can move faster than anyone. I'll go directly to Tony. You and Coulson secure the evidence and then proceed to the District 16 warehouse to deal with the armor."
"Su, be careful! If Obadiah is there..."
"I'll handle it," Su Yi promised. "Just secure the evidence and move on the warehouse. I'll take care of Tony."
Su Yi knew the situation was critical. Obadiah, driven by desperation, would have already incapacitated Tony. He took a single, deep breath and teleported directly into Tony Stark's workshop.
He arrived just as Tony, pale and weak, was struggling to pull himself along the floor, a single, bloody handprint trailing behind him. Obadiah had already stolen the chest reactor.
"Oh, great Tony Stark," Su Yi said, kneeling beside the struggling genius. "It seems my timing is impeccable. You look like you could use some help."
Tony, barely conscious, managed a weak, sarcastic smirk. "Su? I—I forgive you for the unauthorized intrusion. This time. Now get me the spare... reactor..."
"Forgiveness is nice, but I think a 'thank you' is more appropriate," Su Yi joked lightly, his hands already moving with surgical precision. He grabbed the emergency spare Arc Reactor Tony had built and expertly snapped it into the empty slot in Tony's chest.
Color returned instantly to Tony's face. He gasped, sucking in a deep breath, the light returning to his eyes. "Much better. Okay, I was wrong, thank you, Su. You just saved my life."
"Obadiah is heading to the District 16 warehouse now to power his armor," Su Yi explained, his voice urgent. "He'll be waiting. This is your fight, Tony. Suit up and finish what you started."
Tony's eyes hardened with resolve. "You're right. This is mine. Jarvis! Power up the Mark III and initiate assembly!"
As the mechanical arms of the workshop sprang to life, the pieces of the Iron Man armor flew toward Tony.
Su Yi placed a hand on Tony's armored shoulder. "One more thing, Tony. Pepper and Coulson are headed to the warehouse. Protect her. Don't let her get caught in the crossfire."
"Understood," Tony said, the helmet sealing shut. "It's time to strike."
Su Yi watched Iron Man blast through the ceiling once more, disappearing into the night sky, and then teleported back to the university, just as the next class was beginning.
Su Yi returned to the classroom, where the topic of conversation hadn't shifted from the Spider-Bully.
Betty Brant, Mary Jane's friend and a budding journalist, rushed toward him, her face alight with excitement and indignation. "Su, did you see the news about the Spider-Bully? He's amazing!"
"I saw a clip," Su Yi said innocently. "What's wrong?"
"He's a hero, right? He saved a life!" Betty argued. "But look at this!"
She thrust a crumpled newspaper into his hands. It was the Daily Bugle. Su Yi immediately recognized the smug, angry face of the paper's editor and owner, J. Jonah Jameson. The headline screamed:
SPIDER-BULLY: MENACE OR METALLIC MAGNATE? A VIGILANTE WHO DESTROYS PRIVATE PROPERTY MUST BE STOPPED!
The accompanying article trashed Su Yi's actions, calling him a public hazard and questioning his motives for wearing a mask.
Ah, J. Jonah Jameson, Su Yi thought, suppressing a smile. Even an anonymous, one-off vigilante can't escape his wrath. The man is truly committed to his craft.
"He's calling him a villain," Betty lamented, tears welling up. "It's so unfair! He's not the hero this city deserves!"
"The Daily Bugle has a very specific editorial line," Su Yi noted, handing the paper back. "They love to critique anyone with power."
"I was planning to apply there after graduation," Betty confided sadly. "But I won't work for a paper that twists the truth like this."
"Then don't," Su Yi encouraged her. "You're a brilliant writer, Betty. You'll find a much better newspaper that values integrity. Believe in your talent."
Betty looked instantly cheered by his sincere encouragement. "Thank you, Su. You're such a good person. You always know exactly what to say."
And then, she gave him a small, affectionate pat on the arm. "You're really a wonderful person, Su. A real 'good guy.'"
Su Yi froze. The "good guy" declaration—the ultimate romantic rejection in the East—felt dangerously familiar. The friend zone is a cosmic constant.
"Betty," Su Yi said carefully, leaning in. "Do you know what that phrase—'You're a good person'—often means when a girl says it to a guy back East?"
Betty tilted her head, confused. "No? What?"
"It's usually the final line before, '...but we can only be friends,'" Su Yi explained with a mock wince.
Betty's face flushed a deep crimson as she realized the implication of her praise. "Oh! No! I didn't mean it like that at all! I mean—if you were to... I mean... I wouldn't reject you!"
Su Yi laughed, accepting his fate gracefully. "It's okay, Betty. I'll accept the friend card for now. But thank you for the compliment."
The fate of Iron Man is now in the balance as he races to confront the armored Obadiah Stane. Meanwhile, Su Yi has accidentally acquired a new fan and an unfortunate "good guy" label.