Penny Parker successfully got the damn sweet Agent's number.
Humming a tune, she climbed from an alley in New York onto the rooftop of a nearby building.
It was dusk, and she stretched towards the setting sun.
She opened her phone and checked the APP she had made, which contained all the surveillance locations she had recorded in New York City.
"It's unbelievable that even being this careful, I still got caught."
She quickly planned a route, put on her hood and mask.
Then she shot out a White web-line towards the building fifty meters away.
Thwip.
The web-line firmly stuck to the outer wall, and she leaped across.
This location was about seven kilometers from her Hall apartment, but swinging on webs, she could be home in less than five minutes.
This small apartment she had rented since graduation.
Before this, she lived with Mei Aunt in the Parker residence, the place where she grew up, and it was also very close to her high school.
However, Penny didn't quite want to face her neighbor.
So after successfully getting a job as a junior researcher assistant at Stark Tower after graduating from university, she rented her own place.
And she called it, for convenience of commuting.
Although Mei Aunt was a bit reluctant to part with Penny, she didn't stop her; she always supported Penny like that.
Thus, Mei Aunt, who was alone, would occasionally travel besides working at the welfare society.
Penny Parker called her to confirm her safety.
"Mei! Are you alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine, you know, except for a certain ungrateful little one not being around, I'm perfectly fine!"
Mei Aunt's complaints came through the phone.
Penny breathed a sigh of relief and surrendered: "I'll find time to come back and see you, so when are you leaving Hawaii?"
Mei Aunt seemed a little surprised.
"Really? The little one who hasn't been seen for two months is finally willing to visit her Mei Aunt?"
"Coincidentally, I've already booked a flight for a few days from now. To be honest, Hawaii has gotten a bit boring!
"If I hadn't been at a loss for where to go, I wouldn't have even thought of coming this time."
While on the phone, Penny opened the computer in her room, which contained a new email from Stark Industries.
She laughed: "Alright, alright, I'll pick you up at the airport that day..."
As she said this, her smile vanished after seeing the email's content.
Dear Ms. Penny Parker:
It is with regret that we inform you that Stark Industries is officially terminating your employment as [Researcher Assistant].
The specific reasons are related to company policy.
The first Friday of this month will be considered your last working day.
Please collect your official termination letter from the Stark Human Resources Department at a suitable time.
Information regarding severance pay and subsequent benefits is as follows... Penny didn't read the rest of the content carefully.
She was in a complex state of shock, sadness, fear, anger, confusion, and more.
"Hello? Penny? Are you still there?" Mei Aunt, who hadn't received a reply for a long time, pressed on the phone.
"Ah... Mei Aunt, uh, then it's decided, I'll pick you up then." Penny Parker calmly hung up the phone.
She looked at the beginning of the email again; the first Friday of this month was exactly the day the Iron Man fight affected her.
Penny was filled with confusion. She indeed didn't have time to ask for leave that day and was taken away... but Stark Industries offers one day of paid personal leave and one day of paid sick leave each month.
She could have taken personal leave first, then submitted a leave request later. Why was she directly fired?
Penny Parker immediately called her superior, the researcher she assisted.
"What? You were fired too?"
"Huh? Because Tony Stark is shaking things up?"
"He fell out with Vice President Obadiah Stane?"
"The Vice President was arrested?"
Alright, she had a rough understanding of what happened.
The President and Vice President had a falling out, and they decided to take it out on the employees below.
And her superior happened to be on the Vice President's side.
Naturally, as an assistant, Penny was also deemed to be on the Vice President's side and was fired along with him.
She hung up the phone with a numb expression.
Ever since Iron Man fought on the road that day, unlucky things had been happening one after another.
Her superpowers were exposed, she was taken away by men in black, and finally, she was fired.
The only good thing was probably the contact information she got from Agent Romanoff.
Penny looked at the contact saved in her phone, sighed, regretting that she had no mood to chat with her now.
Damn Iron Man!
Penny gritted her teeth, clenched her fists, and scanned the empty room. There was nothing she could smash.
She hadn't eaten for half a day, and her body was full of energy.
Along with her angry emotions, the air pressure around her seemed to be unusual.
Slowly, it rotated like a vortex. Penny quickly withdrew her anger when she saw it.
She never wanted to experience the terrible things that happened before due to excessive emotions again.
However, simply withdrawing her anger was not enough; she needed to eat immediately to consume energy.
Given the speed of U.S. takeout, she could only rush out of the apartment to the nearest supermarket to stock up.
"I want all the pork, beef, lamb, chicken, and duck!" She waved her hand grandly, pushing a large pile of instant noodles of different flavors to the checkout.
After all, she was just a poor university student who had just graduated with a bachelor's degree, found a job, and was fired after just one year.
What right did a jobless person with no money have to eat big fish and meat?
Looking at the balance after paying her rent, she estimated that even with the severance pay Stark would compensate her later, it would only be enough for her to eat instant noodles for a little over a month.
Penny sighed deeply... The Water quickly boiled, and she poured it into the noodles, counting three minutes.
While waiting, Penny turned on the cheap TV that came with the rented apartment, which was replaying the day's news.
"ABC News brings you today's headlines!"
The female news anchor on TV sat upright, holding several sheets of manuscript paper.
"A traffic accident occurred on Park Avenue involving a taxi driver and a private car, with no other passengers in the car..."
"A high-altitude object incident occurred in Queens today..."
"Next, let's switch to the recording of Mr. Tony Stark's press conference today..."
After a transition effect, Penny's former boss was seen standing on a podium, with a dozen or so microphones in front of it.
A soldier stood beside him, sternly addressing the reporters.
"Mr. Stark has prepared a statement. He will not answer any questions from reporters. Thank you all."
Tony shrugged indifferently and walked to the center of the podium.
"It's been a while since I last saw you all. I think this time I'll still read from the script."
Penny recalled.
Her former boss's last press conference was to announce that Stark Industries would no longer produce or sell military weapons.
This caused their company's stock to plummet, and she had once worried that her year-end bonus might be affected.
But now, everything was empty talk. Not only was there no year-end bonus, but there was also no job.