Chapter 9: Stark Tower

Coughing up a small mouthful of fresh blood once again, Luca’s smile did not waver in the slightest.

If not for the fact that he hadn’t yet adapted to his severed right arm and had instinctively used his prosthetic to block the blow, he might have had to say goodbye to his left arm as well.

Such a fortunate turn of events—how could Luca not be pleased?

Ignoring the intense pain and weakness coursing through his body, he fixed his gaze on the distant side where only two Chitauri soldiers remained near Tony Stark.

Because of the earlier explosion, the folding energy gun had been lost somewhere. Luca exerted a little strength with his left hand, yanked off the remaining third of his right prosthetic arm, and casually tossed it forward.

Then, with a sudden surge of power in his right foot, the electric arcs on his red and white sneakers ignited once more.

The next instant—

“Bang—”

The shattered prosthetic whizzed across more than ten meters like a launched cannonball, streaking with sparks and lightning, directly smashing into the head of a Chitauri soldier.

Electric arcs burst outward, parts scattering in all directions.

Whether it was the blessing of the force of order or simply the perfect strength behind the strike, the Chitauri’s head snapped to the side and, without a sound, he collapsed cleanly unconscious.

Tony Stark, having taken out the last nearby Chitauri, looked at Luca—his right forearm missing, mouth stained with blood, yet standing upright and smiling broadly—and was momentarily stunned.

‘This kid...’

Even with his seasoned experience, Stark found himself at a loss for how to assess the boy before him.

At least he knew one thing: everything Luca had done was in aid of him.

Before he could say more, a voice crackled again through the helmet comms.

“Stark! Can you hear me? A missile is heading towards Manhattan!”

Hearing Nick Fury’s warning, the expression beneath Stark’s helmet tightened sharply.

He glanced at Luca, who was sitting against a wrecked car, then quickly responded.

“How much time until impact?”

“Three minutes at most. It’s carrying a nuclear warhead capable of leveling the entire downtown.”

Upon hearing this, Stark didn’t dare waste another moment.

He shouted towards Luca in the distance.

“Kid, find a place to hide! Don’t run around!”

Having said that, flames erupted from his limbs as he rocketed into the sky.

Watching Iron Man fly away, Luca twisted his mouth into a grim smile, paying no heed to Stark’s words.

He propped himself up with one hand and stood again, eyes fixed intently on the distant Stark Tower, a newfound excitement glimmering in his gaze.

“Nuclear missile coming? Then I better hurry up~”

Perhaps even Luca himself hadn’t noticed, but the thrill of pursuing his goal had long since eclipsed any fear of death.

He picked up the backpack that had fallen nearby, rifled through the corpse of a Chitauri soldier, and pulled out a nearly new folding energy gun.

He curled his lip with disdain.

‘No spatial gear at all—really embarrassing for a time traveler.’

Time slipped by in the blink of an eye.

For the next two minutes, Luca avoided direct confrontations with the Chitauri, though he occasionally fired a few shots in stealth.

He watched Iron Man, carrying the missile, soar into the sky, and saw the massive hole in the atmosphere begin to close.

Countless Chitauri soldiers collapsed like robots with their power cut.

The colossal Leviathan warship crashed to the ground, and the once-speeding Chitauri airships lost control, smashing into buildings and streets.

The few civilians remaining on the streets shifted from shock to cheers, then to tearful laughter.

It seemed as if everyone was celebrating this hard-fought victory.

Yet Luca had already quickened his pace to approach Stark Tower.

“So that’s how these guys got upstairs?”

He watched the Hulk carrying one enemy each, the Iron Man and Captain America leap onto the tower’s rooftop, with Thor spinning his hammer and holding Hawkeye close behind.

‘How did they manage to strike a pose in front of Loki before he even woke up?’

The question that had long puzzled Luca was finally answered.

‘Was that really necessary...’

Shaking his head in disbelief, he continued watching the sky.

Suddenly, he noticed another golden-red figure silently entering the top floor of the tower.

‘Here we go...’

He glanced briefly before withdrawing his gaze.

Luca’s attention returned to the first floor of Stark Tower.

The Chitauri soldiers had just been dealt with, but the lobby remained chaotic.

Police and rescue teams had yet to arrive; most people inside were Stark Tower employees and nearby civilians.

Some tried to escape seeking help, others sought shelter inside, and the few security guards still on duty were overwhelmed.

It would have been easy for Luca to blend in unnoticed.

Yet he knew the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would soon arrive, and he didn’t want to expose himself just yet.

Besides, stopping Loki from taking the Tesseract might not even require entering the building.

After scouting around, he found a vantage point behind the exterior glass wall offering a full view of the entire first floor.

He settled there quietly to wait.

Soon, a large contingent of agents arrived to restore order.

But nerves were frayed, and given the distinctive appearance of the former enemy Chitauri, the agents and the arriving New York police focused on controlling the crowd and aiding the wounded, without dispersing the civilians.

Meanwhile, Luca noticed above the building the future-version Tony Stark silently descend into a concealed corner.

Moments later, a fully armed S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in tactical gear emerged from that same shadowed spot.

However, the agent’s entire body glowed with a bright white light.

‘A nano armor? How convenient!’

Watching the disguised Tony enter the tower and Loki being escorted down the elevator by the Avengers into the lobby, Luca turned the dial on his [Enhanced Mobility Shoes].

He thought for a moment, then retrieved the [Little Monkey Bomb] missing a hex crystal from his backpack.

Yet just as he completed this action, the once noisy surroundings suddenly fell eerily silent.

The previously blaring sirens and the rising and falling shouts of the crowd abruptly ceased.