The Inverted-A Squad

That was right. Luca had his eye on the portion of Orange Industries' shares held by Kingpin.

After all, they were "his own family's property." If he didn't get them now, then once Tony Stark sent Kingpin to prison, those shares would almost certainly be returned to the families of the two deceased shareholders.

The trouble was, the methods Luca would have to use to get them were bound to be less than aboveboard. Under the circumstances, it didn't seem appropriate to involve Tony Stark.

"But if I take on Kingpin by myself, this might be a little beyond my capabilities."

Kingpin might currently be nothing more than an underworld boss holed up in Hell's Kitchen, but in reality, the power he wielded was far beyond that of an ordinary gang.

And that was without even mentioning his countless subordinates. Just Kingpin's own terrifying strength, which surpassed that of ordinary humans, was probably more than Luca could handle right now.

"Do I really have to ask Tony Stark for help?"

"If I do, he'll definitely cause me a whole heap of trouble after I go to prison—and I won't just lose the shares!"

While Luca was still secretly agonizing over what to do,

Shamira suddenly picked up her phone. After reading the message on the screen, she immediately reported to Luca beside her.

"Young Master Luca, Dun Shan has sent word. His squad has arrived in New York."

Luca's heart lifted at the news, and he immediately asked,

"When can they get here?"

"I've sent them the location. They should arrive in thirty minutes," Shamira replied promptly.

"Good. I'll wait here for them. Also, take care of the other people in this warehouse."

At that, Shamira didn't hesitate. She turned and headed for the door.

After several barely audible suppressed gunshots, the warehouse fell silent once more.

Twenty-five minutes later.

An ordinary-looking mobile news van drove smoothly into the warehouse dock.

Once the vehicle came to a stop, the driver in the front seat quickly got out.

But when he opened the rear doors, the people who climbed out weren't reporters carrying camera equipment. They were four elite special forces soldiers in full combat gear.

At the same time, Shamira and Luca emerged from the warehouse with Baymax.

"Young Master, let me introduce them."

As she spoke, Shamira gestured toward the lean, close-cropped man at the front, whose gaze was resolute.

"This is Marko Rakic, leader of the Inverted-A Squad. His callsign is Dun Shan. He's the most versatile special forces operative I've ever met. He's served in Sokovia and fought in over a hundred battles, large and small."

"Young Master Luca!" The man known by the callsign Dun Shan saluted Luca respectfully, his expression giving nothing away.

"This is Ryokugyu, the squad's assault specialist..."

The burly man with green hair patted the rifle in his hands and grinned at Luca, showing a mouthful of crooked, yellow teeth.

"This is Longbow, the squad's sniper..."

The silent man with a sniper rifle slung over his back and a prominent scar beneath his left eye gave Luca a slight nod.

"This is Thresh, the squad's heavy weapons specialist..."

The bald, middle-aged man with a battered medal hanging around his neck instinctively raised a hand to shake Luca's. But halfway up, he awkwardly pulled it back. In the end, he only managed a stiff nod.

"And last, this is Wrench, the squad's technical support specialist. He's an expert in information warfare, and he's also highly skilled at modifying electronic equipment, repairing weapons, and setting up communications."

The last of the five—and the only one who hadn't been in full combat gear, having been the one driving earlier—was a blond young man. After hearing Shamira's introduction, he didn't greet Luca like the others. Instead, he stared excitedly at Baymax behind Luca and fired off his questions without a moment's delay.

"Young Master Luca, is this the company's latest product? A combat robot? Is it controlled by an intelligent program or manually? It's standing so steadily—is that a brand-new posture-control system? What's its power source?"

A rapid stream of questions spilled from his mouth, making the already awkward atmosphere of their first meeting... even more awkward.

Even Dun Shan, who stood at the front, could barely keep his expression composed. He rebuked Wrench in a stiff voice as the man edged closer to Baymax, reaching out as if to give him a couple of pats.

"Wrench! Get back here! Don't be disrespectful in front of Young Master Luca!"

At the shout, Wrench, who had been acting so erratically, stopped in his tracks. He froze as if rooted to the spot.

But standing there with his arm stretched out, neither advancing nor retreating, looked even stranger than what he'd been doing before.

Still, the scene made Luca, who had been silent until then, quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

Shamira had assured him that he could trust this squad completely. But they had never met before, and Luca was still so young; he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

Dun Shan, the squad leader, had been expressionless ever since they met, acting as if this were strictly business. Luca had found it difficult to read him.

But after the young technician Wrench made a scene like this, Dun Shan had stepped in to stop him.

That made it clear to Luca that, at least for now, the squad leader didn't seem to have any obvious objections to him. As for his deeper feelings, Luca would have to wait until they'd spent more time together before making a reliable judgment.

With that, Luca simply put on a friendly smile and waved magnanimously.

"It's fine. Go ahead and take a look. I made this intelligent robot myself. You can call him Baymax."

Since Wrench was one of his subordinates, and Baymax contained the complete manufacturing process, Luca could boast without batting an eye.

Hearing Luca's words, Baymax obligingly raised his right hand in greeting.

"Hello, I'm Agent Baymax, your personal healthcare companion." (▇━▇)

"???"

Wrench, who had been excitedly edging toward Baymax, was suddenly left with a head full of questions.

"Agent? Healthcare? Young Master Luca, was this program written incorrec—"

"Wrench!!"

Dun Shan cut him off with a sharp shout. Then he turned to Luca and bowed again.

"I'm sorry, Young Master Luca. Wrench's... personality can be rather unruly. That was very disrespectful of him."

Dun Shan had meant to say, "Wrench is still young." But after looking at Luca's composed demeanor despite his youth, and then at Wrench, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to say it.

Luca simply waved a hand again.

"It's nothing. Wrench can take a closer look at Baymax when there's time. But for now, I assume Shamira has already told you about the mission ahead?"

The moment the word "mission" came up, the relaxed atmosphere vanished.

"We've been briefed on the general outline of the mission. Please give us your further instructions, Young Master!" Dun Shan planted his feet and resumed his previous resolute bearing.

Even Wrench, who had been grinning just moments earlier, immediately straightened up and looked at Luca seriously, waiting for his orders.

Watching them, Luca smiled with satisfaction.

"This really does seem like a good squad~"