Chapter
Forty Four: Stark Contrast Part I
“Ladies
and Gentlemen of the press thank you for coming out today,” said a
man in his late thirties with dark hair and a mustache. “I’m sure
all of you heard of me but for those of you who have been living
under a rock, my name is Tony Stark, the head of Stark Industries.”
There
was applause as there were several photos taken but Stark waved it
off.
“Please,
no photos, at least not yet,” said Stark with a bright, charming
smile. “I’m sure I get my picture in the paper as enough as it
is.”
There
was some laughter in the crowd that was assembled, as Stark walked
over, with a security team, towards an area covered by a tarp.
“Now,
rather save your film for something extraordinary and out of this
world,” said Stark in a boisterous voice. “Now each and every
day, in this city, businesses are burglarized every single day. The
ever growing number of super powered villains is growing and the
normal security force, as capable as they may be, aren’t able to
really keep up with such criminals like Doctor Octopus and many
others like him. Still, I have something that might level the playing
field and bring these threats to the New York business owner to their
knees, the Starktronic Suit and Armor 3000.”
Stark
removed the tarp to reveal a blueprint of a very sophisticated
looking suit with a weapons system.
“Now,
we here at Stark Industries have balanced comfort along with
usability and effectiveness,” said Stark excitedly. “Once the
final model has been released, then it will fit you just as easily as
any uniform. No longer do the men and women who are entrusted to
secure us be forced to cower at the might of the super villains. They
can fight back.”
“Mr.
Stark, could this suit have military applications?” asked a
reporter in the back.
“Well
it not designed for that purpose but it can be,” said Stark slowly.
“Of course, we’re months away from producing the model that I
feel will be safe for actual use for your average person, although it
is being tested by a good friend of mine as we speak.”
“Mr.
Stark, what if this suit falls in the wrong hands?” asked another
reporter.
“It’s
well protected, I can assure you,” said Stark as he went on
detailing every feature of the suit.
Peter
Parker sat in the back of the room, camera in hand. He was sure this
was all very interesting, but the technology was a bit over his head.
“State
the art though,” thought Peter. “I don’t know if some suit can
really level the field out there. Technology fails every day. Still,
I can’t help but root for it working for someone. It would make my
job a lot easier and I can spend more time being Peter Parker and
less time being Spider-Man. Yeah…dare to dream Pete, dare to
dream.”
“Right
now we hope to have the suit on the market within the next three to
four months,” said Stark as he walked around. “So, don’t be
resting too safely yet.”
“You
won’t be resting too safely, either Stark!” shouted voice, as a
man broke through the windows leading up to the lab. Peter’s eyes
snapped up, he had on his own suit of armor, that while not as good
as the model Stark had shown the press, was still rather formidable
in its own right. The armor also gave him an appearance of a large
metallic beetle. Several henchmen repelled in with weapons in hand
and began opening fire, causing the press to scatter. “That armor
should have had my name on it. I should have been the one to get all
of the press and all the acclaim. I put the idea in your head, you
swindling bastard!”
“Look
who are you?” demanded Stark but the criminal swooped down,
grabbing Stark by the arm.
“Of
course you would forget me, Stark, I gave you the plans for the armor
and you shunned my ideas, fired me, and now you dare pass this
foolish thing off as your own grand idea,” said the criminal and
suddenly, it clicked within Stark’s head.
“Jenkins,
Abner Jenkins,” said Stark in surprise.
“Yes,
glad to see you remember me, Tony,” said Jenkins. “But I’m not
going under that name anymore, call me Beetle but you’re going to
be the one that will be crushed like an insect for stealing my idea.”
“No,
Abner, I told you before I had to let you go, your armor idea was too
dangerous, too unstable, that was years ago, I had long since
forgotten about it,” said Stark, as Beetle reached forward,
grabbing him roughly by the wrist. “You’re using it, the suit,
when I told you that there was too much of a danger of being blown up
while in it.”
“Stop
your excuses, Stark,” said Beetle, unable to listen to any reason,
he enjoyed the power that the suit gave him as he turned to the
henchmen. “Take his plans, I want to know what he might have added
to them and I’ll figure out how to upgrade my suit.”
“Yeah
the thing about is, you’re not going to get out of here with them,”
said Spider-Man as he swung in on a line of webbing, taking out two
henchmen. The Beetle angrily lifted a wrist blaster and began opening
fire on Spider-Man, who dodged the attacks, moving from side to side.
“You
shouldn’t have gotten in my way,” said Beetle as Stark managed to
bolt immediately. A blast had ripped through the webbing and caused
Spider-Man to take a tumble to the ground. With a careful maneuver,
Spider-Man bounced up and shot webbing.
“So
Beetle is it?” asked Spider-Man as he shot webbing right around the
criminal trapping him. “I don’t know if you paid attention in
biology, but spiders ensnare beetles in their web.”
The
web around Beetle had dissolved as his armor heated up and Beetle
propelled himself forward, before he knocked Spider-Man right on his
back.
“I’m
not one of your little sick in the head super villains, web slinger,”
said Beetle as he picked Spider-Man off the ground.
“Yet
you dress disturbingly like them and have a codename, fancy that,”
managed Spider-Man as Beetle launched Spider-Man right into the wall
and prepared to eliminate him, but a blast had cut through the air,
catching Beetle right in the side.
“What
the….” Stated Beetle, before another blast of energy had rocketed
him into the air and a red and golden blur had zoomed right towards
him. Spider-Man rubbed the side of his head, to see that the man was
wearing what appeared to be an advanced copy of the body armor that
Stark had presented earlier that day. “Who in the devil are you?”
“The
name’s Iron Man, I don’t think you’ll have any trouble
forgetting it,” said Iron Man as he lazily avoided the attack from
the Beetle. “Really, if you’re flying around in that antique, you
don’t think you can beat me. Not that you ever had a hope of
beating me.”
The
Beetle’s henchmen moved in to bring down Iron Man and Spider-Man
tried to spring back into action, but before he could even aim his
web shooter, three of the henchmen were immediately taken out by Iron
Men. The other two were as well, as Beetle tried to jump up.
Spider-Man shot a line of webbing but Beetle had just blitzed through
the webbing and he turned, right when Iron Man had rocked him with a
punch.
Beetle
landed with a crash and deployed his miniature rockets, but they had
all bounced off of Iron Man’s armor like they were nothing. With a
quick motion, Iron Man grabbed the Beetle and ripped open his armor,
before pulling Abner Jenkins out and throwing him up into the air,
before stunning him with an immobilizing beam.
“I
hope that teaches you a valuable lesson about trying to attack
defenseless businessmen,” stated Iron Man in a boisterous voice as
Jenkins laid on the ground, groaning in pain and he turned to
Spider-Man. “No need to thank me, Spider-Man.”
“So
you’re the friend of Stark’s who was trying out the armor,”
said Spider-Man in awe, unable to believe how quickly the armor
worked. Even with his fast reflexes, the armor had beat him to the
punch every time.
“Indeed
I am,” said Iron Man boldly before he looked at Spider-Man’s
outfit and his web shooters with a bit of amusement. “I think this
city deserves a hero that has better equipment to fight crime. I
mean, no offense, Spider-Man, you mean well, but that outfit isn’t
befitting of someone who I would trust with my life.”
Spider-Man
stood gob smacked unable to believe what he had just heard.
“And
what is wrong with my outfit?” asked Spider-Man.
“Nothing
really, for something that someone has made out of their garage,”
said Iron Man. “But seriously, you should take some pride in what
you wear in public, Spider-Man, look the part of a hero.”
“There
is a difference between looking the part of a hero and being a hero,”
said Spider-Man who was unable to believe that someone could be so
egotistical and self centere. “Look, I might not have fancy armor
that cost thousands of dollars to make and have enough weapons to
bring down a small country, but that doesn’t mean I am any less
than a hero for it.”
“Idealistic
Spider-Man but not accurate,” said Iron Man. “Of course, the
point is rather moot, with this armor, I have a feeling your going to
have a lot more free time on your hands.”
“So
you think you can put on some fancy armor and suddenly become a
hero?” responded Spider-Man.
“Look
kid, it can’t be that hard of a job,” said Iron Man. “More of a
hobby, really. I’m sure you’d agree.”
“No,”
said Spider-Man shortly, as he looked around, but Jenkins and his
henchmen were knocked completely unconscious and the police arrived,
along with members of the press.
“I’d
love to continue this conversation, but got to greet the public, you
know the responsibilities of being a super hero,” said Iron Man as
he turned around, leaving Spider-Man in the dust. The web head turned
on his heel, before he removed his camera from the space in the wall.
“Iron
Man, well, he’s all gung ho about this hero game but for all the
wrong reasons,” said Spider-Man. “He’s going to learn the same
lesson that I did one of these days. Just like Uncle Ben told me,
with great power there must also come great responsibility. That guy,
he needs to learn a few lessons on responsibility. Hopefully for his
sake, it is not all too soon.”
-
Iron
Man removed his helmet revealing the face of Tony Stark when he was
safely in his office. The first test of the armor had been a complete
success. There would be many more to come but he had given the public
some symbol of hope, in Iron Man. It was a name that he thought off
pretty much right before his impromptu beta test against Jenkins and
his henchmen but it worked well.
He
would be able to test his state of the art armor. Of course, if
Jenkins only knew that he began developmental on the armor years
before the embittered scientist came to work at stark. Years ago, a
failed robbery at Stark Industries had caused grave damage to his
heart and forced him behind the desk for the most part. Shrapnel had
been lodged in his heart and while technology had allowed him to
live, it did not allow him to truly experience life like Tony Stark
had in his wilder, younger years. The armor, he hoped, would be the
key to allow him to experience a fuller, more enriched life.
Plus,
being Iron Man would allow him have thrills that board meetings could
not give him. He felt revived in many ways. For years, because of his
health, he was a caged animal, now he could become Iron Man and truly
live.
“Bio
systems seem good, weapon systems function,” muttered Stark as the
test concluded. “First test a success, but I’ll get more chances.
This city’s just crawling with crime. It is time for criminals to
realize that there is someone that will avenge those who they harm.”
Iron
Man would be ready for his first patrol of the city, after his grand
debut.
-
“I
had a really wonderful time Peter,” said Gwen with a smile as they
were just about ready to leave from their date, as it was getting
quite late.
“Same
here, Gwen,” said Peter as he breathed a sigh of relief.
“Not
too bad, third date in a row where you didn’t have to leave
for…work,” remarked Gwen. “You know, you’re spoiling me,
because I really could get used to it.”
“Well
to fair, I haven’t had to leave for work for about two weeks,”
said Peter, as they walked across the street. “Don’t get me
wrong, I’m happy that I finally get a breath but….”
“But
what?” encouraged Gwen.
“Nothing
Gwen, just nothing,” said Peter. “Come on, let’s enjoy the
sites, it looks like a beautiful night and then I can walk you home.”
A
click had caused Gwen and Peter to pause and suddenly, they were at
the business end of a loaded gun.
“Lovely
night for two love birds on a stroll,” said the mugger. “Too
bad’s ya got to pay the toll.”
“Look
we want any trouble,” said Peter defensively.
“I
really want to just punch that guy’s lights out for ruining our
night,” thought Peter. “Secret identity can really, really,
suck.”
“Well
too bad, because you’ve decided to pick the wrong night,” said
the mugger, as he shoved Peter down, before he grabbed Gwen by the
wrist. Gwen tried to pull away and attempted to kick the mugger in
the shin, but he had a firm grip. “That’s a nice little bracelet
you have, girly. That should do nicely.”
The
mugger returned the bracelet and bolted, as Peter immediately got to
his feet, at the sound of
police
sirens.
“Figures
that would be the bracelet that I got Gwen for her birthday, damn, it
took me a long time to save up for that,” thought Peter. “And
Gwen doesn’t know how much that cost, she’d skin me alive if she
found out how much I spent on her, instead of keeping the money for
myself.”
“Gwen,
don’t worry, I’ll get it back,” said Peter but then a very
familiar blur from the sky had stopped Peter in his tracks. “Or
maybe not.”
“Hold
it right there,” said Iron Man as he touched down in front of the
mugger. “I know times are tough but snatching a bracelet from an
innocent bystander….”
“Eat
lead,” said the mugger firing bullets, but they bounced off of the
armor and Iron Man reached forward, snatching the gun away, before he
immobilized the mugger and removed the bracelet from his grips.
“I
believe this belongs to you,” said Iron Man as he deposited the
disarmed mugger right in front of the police and he turned to Gwen.
“And this is yours, young lady.”
“Thank
you,” said Gwen in a grateful voice, as Peter turned, to hide a
frown.
“No
problem it is all a part of the work of a hero, Ms….” Prompted
Iron Man.
“Gwen
Stacy,” replied Gwen and with that the mugger’s eyes went wide.
“Ah
shit, the police captain’s daughter!” yelled the mugger in a
horrified voice. “Please, don’t hurt me, it was only a joke, only
a gag, I was going to give it back, don’t throw me away for the
rest of my life.”
“It
appears that we have attracted some attention,” said Iron Man, as
he dragged Peter and Gwen into the shot. “Everyone now, big smiles,
another disaster averted after a near titanic struggle.”
With
a nod, Iron Man turned and accelerated up into the sky, as Peter
turned.
“So,
I take it I’ve met nothing,” said Gwen in a cool voice.
“Guess
it was obvious,” said Peter.
“Yep,”
said Gwen. “I always wondered what you would look like when you’re
jealous. Now I know and it’s kind of cute…”
“I’m
not jealous,” said Peter defensively.
“Of
course, Peter, anything you say,” said Gwen, obviously humoring
him. “He was just lucky enough to be in the neighborhood.”
“He’s
always lucky enough to be in the neighborhood, that’s the thing,”
said Peter as the two sat down on a bench outside in an area that had
no one around. “I don’t even take two steps to throw on my outfit
and already he’s taken the bad guys out.”
“Maybe
it’s for the best, Peter,” said Gwen as she massaged the back of
her boyfriend’s neck in an attempt to calm him down. “For all of
his gadgets and gizmos in that suit, Iron Man will never have one
thing that you have.”
“A
tacky set of web shooters that keep running out at the worst possible
time?” asked Peter and Gwen just looked at him with a frown.
“Alright, joking, joking, I honestly have no clue.”
“We
both know what it really is Peter, you just might have not figured
that out yet,” said Gwen as she snuggled up against him on the
bench.“Just think Peter, it’s not that hard.”
“Wish
she would just tell me,” thought Peter.
“Time
to get you home, so I can get home Aunt May’ll worry,” said Peter
evasively and the two teenagers left their secluded area on the
bench.
-
“I
can’t believe it, you two have all of the luck, getting your
picture taken with Iron Man,” said Harry the next day at school to
Peter and Gwen as the arrived and most of the school had walked over.
“Yeah,
it must have been so exciting,” said Liz. “So what was he like in
person?”
“Well
he’s shorter than you think,” said Gwen which earned a smile from
Peter.
“Shorter
than you thought? You were there with Iron Man and that’s all you
could think,” said a voice from the back of the crowd.
“Look
Iron Man is fine, just merely fine,” said Peter in a forced voice.
“He has a few cool tricks up his sleeve….”
“Just
a few cool tricks?” asked Harry. “Pete, you understate. I mean,
the article right here said that he saved both you and Gwen from a
super powered team of mercenaries.”
“Wait
a minute, that’s not….” Stated Gwen but everyone was talking
over each other, arguing about conflicting accounts of the same
story. Peter grabbed Gwen by the hand and two managed to give the
entire group the slip.
“I
think we lost them,” breathed Peter in relief.
“I
surely hope so,” replied Gwen. “I mean some of those stories,
they were rather...absurd.”
“I
thought downright stupid would be slightly more accurate,”
responded Peter which caused Gwen to give him a slight smile.
“I
don’t get this, Spider-Man never got this much respect from people,
sure the old web head’s has his fans, but he just had just as many
people who seemed to hate him,” thought Peter. “Iron Man seems
loved by everyone.”
“You
do realize that we’ve got to get out of here somehow without anyone
seeing us,” said Gwen. “I mean, I don’t want to be annoyed by
questions about my brush with death because of Iron Man. What time
does class start?”
“In
about fifteen minutes,” said Peter. “Hopefully they’ll lose
their interest about it before the day was over.”
“I
hope so, Peter, I really do,” said Gwen.
-
“Iron
Man this, Iron Man that, Iron Man this, Iron Man that,” thought
Peter bitterly as he made his way. “I’m surprised he’s not
solving world hunger and achieving world peace and…blast it, I bet
that’s Jameson and I know why that’s Jameson.”
“Hello?”
asked Peter in a tentative voice.
“Parker!”
bellowed the charming tones of one J. Jonah Jameson. “I want to you
to march your keister down to the Daily Bugle building. You’ve got
some explaining to do.”
“I’ll
be right over there, as soon as I can, Mr. Jameson,” said Peter.
“Make
it sooner, Parker, I don’t have time for your lollygagging!”
bellowed Jameson.
-
“Parker,
all sales of the Bugle have been trashed by the Daily Globe, because
they got an exclusive, and you know what exclusive they got that
caused our ratings to get flushed down every toilet in this city and
in New Jersey,” said Jameson and Peter opened his mouth. “Of
course you do Parker; you were in the middle of it. Iron Man saves
teenagers from dangerous criminal mastermind. Not only is my best as
mandated by budget cutbacks photographer in the middle of this, but
he doesn’t think to get any photos.”
“Now,
Mr. Jameson, my life was in danger and…” stated Peter.
“When
there is still a breath in your body Parker, you should get the
photograph and a well respected institution like the Daily Bugle
should not be losing out to a glorified tabloid like the Globe,”
responded Jameson. “Right now, I want you to take photos of the
city’s greatest hero, Iron Man. “
“But,
Mr. Jameson, I thought you hated people who tried to take the law
into their own hands,” argued Peter.
“No,
I hate masked vigilantes,” responded Jameson. “Iron Man’s not
wearing a mask, he’s wearing a helmet, that’s a huge difference,
but that’s beside the point, this is the point. You’re going to
get photos for Iron Man now. Forget the web head, he’s yesterdays
news, the people want to see Iron Man, he’s the flavor of the
future….yes Miss Brant, what is it?”
“I
know this sounds strange, Mr. Jameson,” said Betty Brant. “But
there is a crate that has just been delivered to the front door,
addressed to Spider-Man.”
“Spider-Man?”
asked Jameson in a surprised voice. “Why in the devil would the web
head be getting his mail sent to the Bugle?”
“An
interesting question,” thought Peter, equally baffled.
Jameson
moved out to investigate and he took the note attached to the crate.
“To,
Spider-Man, I understand we might have got off the wrong foot and
realize that it is not your fault that you are unable to have the
tools to properly fight the forces of evil, so here is a token of
apology and here’s hoping for assistance in cleaning up the city,
signed Iron Man,” said Jameson. “I can’t believe it, and here I
was thinking Iron Man was an alright guy, but he decided to send
something to help Spider-Man.”
Jameson
took a deep breath, trying to figure out what exactly to do with a
large crate sitting in the middle of the Bugle building. In an
instant, he thought of a brilliant bit of inspiration.
“Parker,
make yourself useful for once and take this with you,” said
Jameson.
“Me?”
asked Peter in surprise.
“You’re
the one who has the uncanny habit of tracking down the web head and
snapping pictures of him,” said Jameson. “Figures you could pass
it on to him.”
“How,
am I suppose to carry that thing?” asked Peter.
“You
figure it out Parker,” said Jameson sharply. “And remember,
photos of Iron Man, even if you’re drawing you last breath. I won’t
be humiliated by that tabloid the globe again.”
“Yes,
of course, Mr. Jameson, anything you say,” replied Peter, as he
struggled to pick up the heavy crate. Even with his enhanced spider
strength, it was a heavy burden, as he struggled out of the Daily
Bugle building.
“I
wonder what the glorious hero of the day sent me,” thought Peter.
“Guess I’ll find out soon enough, providing I don’t get crushed
to death with whatever it was.”
-
“And
all systems are still in check,” said Stark as he completed his bio
analysis on the Iron Man suit. “And good thing to, don’t want
this thing to go out at the worst possible time. Innocent lives at
stake and all that.”
The
more he played with the Iron Man suit, the more Stark realized that
being a super hero was not just a hobby, it was a job of sorts. There
were people who counted on him and looked up at him. He vowed to help
out and in many ways, he felt bad for the tone he took at Spider-Man.
He hoped that the little gift would help ease some tensions between
him and the web head.
“After
all, I’m not perfect, I do make mistakes,” thought Stark. “This
is just one area that I don’t think I’m able to have much room
for error. One more diagnostic check and then comb over the city,
before calling it a day.”
-
“Are
you sure Iron Man was the person who sent this?” asked Gwen, as she
watched Peter open the crate in her backyard.
“Yeah,
hopefully I can get this thing open before your dad turns up, that’s
going to look real nice him catching me looking at Spider-Man’s
mail,” said Peter.
“He
hasn’t been turning until later at night, he’s been swamped with
the increase in crime in the city,” muttered Gwen as Peter managed
to get the crate open and the box tipped over, where several pieces
of armor slid out. Peter picked up the chest plate and it had a
miniature spider on the front.
“Its
armor of some sort?” asked Peter.
“He
sent you your own set of armor?” asked Gwen in surprise. “Your
own custom made set of armor?”
“Looks
that way to me,” said Peter.
“It
doesn’t look very safe,” said Gwen with a frown as she looked it
over.
“Now
is that because I’m going to be in it?” asked Peter.
“Well,
that and the fact that Iron Man’s armor was a bit sturdier, this
just looks like a modified prototype,” said Gwen.
“I
don’t think Stark would allow his friend to give me anything too
dangerous,” said Peter. “He’s a businessman and the last thing
he needs is a lawsuit…maybe if I look at the instructions it could
help me.”
Peter
rifled through the crate, as Gwen watched him, before he pulled out
the only sheet of paper that he could find.
“So?”
asked Gwen.
“Depends,
do you speak Spanish?” asked Peter.
“No,”
answered Gwen crisply.
“Then
there’s really no instructions, guess I’m going to have to figure
this thing out on my own,” said Peter and Gwen just looked back at
him with an apprehensive look on her face. “Gwen, you don’t think
I can handle this.”
“Peter,
to be honest, no, this technology….I’m sure Iron Man spent time
studying it and had detailed instructions,” said Gwen. “You on
the other hand, don’t even know how to put the armor together, much
less use the thing….you don’t need to prove anything Peter, just
get rid of the thing.”
“Excuse
me?” asked Peter in confusion, not sure if he had heard her
correctly.
“You
don’t need the armor,” repeated Gwen firmly.
“I
do if I want to be on equal footing with someone like Iron Man, maybe
he was right, maybe I can’t get by on my web shooters and my spider
powers any longer,” said Peter.
“He’s
wrong, Peter, didn’t you listen to what I told you last night?”
argued Gwen. “Just…never mind. Please don’t do anything
irrational.”
“Since
when have I done anything irrational?” asked Peter but that he
hastily amended when he saw Gwen raise an eyebrow. “Alright, stupid
question, but I got to at least put the armor together and see how it
works.”
“Well
you really don’t but if you insist,” said Gwen as she
begrudgingly took a step forward, still thinking that this was quite
a bad idea but she hoped Peter would learn his lesson in a non fatal
way. Hopefully she would find a way to convey to him that he did not
need the armor but it appeared that Peter had gotten it into his head
that he needed to use it.”
-
Abner
Jenkins arrived at his base of operations, the back room of a
warehouse that was still very much occupied. He thought it was a bit
old hat to use an abandoned warehouse as his hideout, as that would
be among the first places where the police would check out these
days. The owner was a bit of the shady sort and Jenkins cut him a
deal. Use of his back room in exchange for not blowing the whistle on
some of the people who he had under his employ and everything would
be good to go.
“Boss,
I thought you would be locked up for a while for sure. How did you
escape?”
“It
was just a simple matter of circumventing their security system from
the inside, they obviously branded me as a low level thug, a nobody,
not realizing what I’m capable of,” said Jenkins arrogantly,
before he turned to one of his employees. “I trust you have it
right now.”
“Yes,
it was really a simple matter, Iron Man assumed that I was one of the
press snapping his photo, the fool did not expect that I was really
retrieving a full scan of his armor,” said the man, as he slid an
envelope forward. “All the information on Iron Man’s suit is
here. I trust you will know everything you need to upgrade your own
armor.”
“Yes,
in time my own armor will be upgraded,” agreed Jenkins as he held
the disc. “However, Iron Man put me away, even it was for a couple
of weeks and while I escaped, I think it is only fair that I repay
him. Plus that fool Stark will pay. I will ruin him as well.”
With
that, the criminal walked off, mentally making a plan to take a good
look at the disc and he would have the last laugh. Once Iron Man was
out of the way, then he would be able to make his armor even more
powerful and no one could stop him.
Not
the police and certainly not Spider-Man.
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