Stark Tower

Luca coughed up another small mouthful of blood, but the smile on his face didn't fade in the slightest.

If he hadn't still been adjusting to the loss of his right arm and instinctively chosen to block with his prosthetic, he might have had to say goodbye to his left arm too.

How could Luca not be happy about such a joyful occasion?

He ignored the pain and weakness coursing through his body.

He looked toward Tony Stark. Only two Chitauri Soldiers remained over there.

The explosion earlier had sent his Folding Light Gun flying off somewhere. Luca put a little force into his left hand and ripped off what remained of his right-arm prosthetic—less than a third of it—then casually tossed it in front of himself.

Next, he drove off hard with his right foot. Arcs of electricity flashed across his red-and-white sneakers again.

The next instant.

"Bang—"

Beneath Luca's foot, the broken prosthetic shot forward like a cannonball, covering more than ten meters in an instant. Trailing sparks and lightning, it slammed straight into a Chitauri Soldier's skull.

Electricity burst out, and parts scattered everywhere.

Whether it was the power of the rules at work or the blow had simply landed with just the right force, the Chitauri Soldier's head lolled to one side. He didn't make a sound before promptly fainting.

Tony Stark finished off the last Chitauri Soldier nearby.

Seeing Luca standing ramrod straight, his right forearm gone, his mouth full of blood, and his smile unwavering, Stark froze on the spot.

"This kid..."

Even the experienced Stark didn't know what to make of the boy before him.

But at least he knew one thing: everything the boy had done was to help him.

Before he could say anything, however, a voice sounded again in his helmet's earpiece.

"Stark! Can you hear me? A missile is heading for Manhattan!"

At Nick Fury's warning, Tony Stark's expression instantly turned grave beneath his faceplate.

He glanced at Luca, who was sitting against a wrecked car, then quickly asked, "How long until the missile arrives?"

"Three minutes at most. The nuclear warhead could level the entire city center!"

Tony Stark didn't dare waste another second.

He shouted to Luca in the distance, "Kid, find somewhere to hide! Don't run around!"

After saying that, flames burst from all four of his limbs, and he shot rapidly into the sky.

Watching Iron Man fly away, Luca tugged at the corner of his mouth and managed an ugly smile. He paid no heed to Stark's words.

He pushed himself back to his feet with one hand, his gaze fixed on Stark Tower in the distance. In his eyes was an excitement he hadn't felt before.

"The nuke's coming? Then I'd better hurry, too~"

Luca himself might not have noticed when it happened, but the thrill of pursuing and completing his goal had gradually eclipsed his fear of death.

He picked up the backpack he'd dropped earlier, then rummaged through a Chitauri corpse and found a Folding Light Gun that was still in pretty good condition.

Luca pursed his lips in distaste.

"Not even a space-storage item. I'm really embarrassing myself as a transmigrator."

Time flew by.

For the next two minutes or so, Luca didn't fight another Chitauri Soldier.

He could feel himself getting a little too worked up, but he still knew the difference between enjoying a thrill and actively courting death.

He did his best to avoid the enemy along the way, occasionally sneaking in a couple of shots.

Luca witnessed Iron Man carrying the missile as he shot straight into the sky, and saw the huge hole above close.

Countless Chitauri Soldiers collapsed in waves, like robots that had lost power.

The enormous Leviathan crashed to the ground, while Chitauri Chariots that had been speeding along lost control and smashed into buildings and streets.

The few people still out in the streets went from stunned silence to cheers, then to laughing through their tears.

It seemed everyone was celebrating this hard-won victory.

Everyone except Luca, who had already hurried to the front of Stark Tower.

"So that's how those guys got up there."

He watched the Hulk leap onto the roof of Stark Tower with Iron Man in one arm and Captain America in the other. Thor followed close behind, carrying Hawkeye and twirling Mjolnir in his hand.

"How did they get in front of Loki and strike a pose before he woke up?"

At last, Luca had an answer to the question that had puzzled him for so long.

"Was that really necessary..."

He shook his head helplessly. Keeping an eye on the sky, Luca immediately spotted another gold-and-red figure silently fly onto the roof.

"It's starting..."

He glanced over, then looked away.

Luca's attention was focused more on the ground floor of Stark Tower right in front of him.

The Chitauri Soldiers had only just been dealt with, and the lobby on the first floor was still in chaos.

The police and rescue workers hadn't arrived yet. Most of the people there were Stark Tower employees and nearby civilians.

Some were trying to get out to ask for help; others were trying to get inside for shelter. The few security guards still doing their duty couldn't manage the crowd.

If Luca wanted to slip inside now, it would be easy.

But he also knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would arrive before long, and he didn't want to reveal himself to them just yet.

Besides, stopping Loki from taking the Tesseract didn't necessarily require going inside the building.

After searching around, he found a spot where he could see the entire first floor through the glass exterior wall. Then he waited in silence.

It wasn't long before a large group of agents arrived and began keeping order.

People were still panicking, and the Chitauri had been unmistakable as enemies. So the agents and the New York police who arrived right after them focused on maintaining order and evacuating the injured, without driving away the ordinary civilians.

At the same time, Luca noticed that the Tony Stark from the future leaped down from the upper floors and landed in a secluded corner.

Before long, a fully armed "S.H.I.E.L.D. agent" in a tactical uniform emerged from the spot where Tony Stark had disappeared.

The "white light" surrounding him, however, was far too conspicuous.

"Nanotech armor? That's really convenient!"

Luca watched the disguised Tony enter the building, then watched as Loki, escorted by the Avengers, took the elevator down and appeared in the lobby.

Luca turned the dial on his [Power-Enhancing Shoes] again.

After a moment's thought, he also took the [Monkey Bomb], now missing one Hextech Crystal, out of his backpack.

But...

Just as Luca finished doing that, he suddenly sensed something.

The noise around him abruptly vanished. The blaring sirens and the crowd's overlapping shouts, which had been so loud moments before, seemed to have been cut off without warning.