"Lightning Storm!"
Lucas uttered a low chant.
Purple lightning instantly wrapped around the staff in his hand.
He swung it toward Vanko.
BOOOOOM—
Thunder roared.
A lightning bolt as thick as a water barrel dropped from the sky, striking Vanko directly on the head.
The violet thunder carried a destructive force capable of obliterating all things.
It tore through Vanko's armor and body without restraint—ripping, burning, disintegrating.
In an instant, Vanko's figure dissolved into dust within the storm of lightning.
Lucas flicked his wrist; the staff vanished, the lightning faded, and the Ultimate Divine Armament reappeared in his hand.
Tony and Rhodey stared in terror at the scene before them.
They had always known Lucas could command storms and even transform into a monstrous form—but those were all wind-based powers.
Now lightning—out of nowhere.
Both their brains froze for several seconds.
"Jarvis, update the file. Add lightning manipulation to the Anti-Lucas Armor specs."
Tony said solemnly as he stared at Lucas.
"All right, sir. Filing complete."
Lucas stored away the Ultimate Divine Armament, dusted his hands, and walked toward the two of them.
"You two back in working order yet?"
Tony nodded and adjusted himself into a more comfortable sitting posture.
"You never stop surprising me. Just suddenly picking up lightning control out of nowhere.
And hey, I just had a genius idea—what if I design a suit that absorbs electrical energy?
From now on, you can be my personal power bank. How about it?"
Tony felt his idea was absolutely brilliant.
Unlimited power supply: fire at full output, run out of energy, plug back into Lucas.
Perfection.
Lucas glanced at Tony and refused to dignify that with a response.
Rhodey gave Tony a disgusted look, silently disowning him as a friend.
---
Five Days Later
Lucas, Wanda, and Skye were lounging in the office watching TV.
The news was reporting the congressional ceremony awarding Tony Stark and Colonel Rhodes, and presiding over the medals was none other than that HYDRA-affiliated senator.
"Lucas, I want fruit."
Skye called out.
Both her arms were in casts—unable to move at all—so Wanda had been taking care of her these days.
"Okay, okay, Your Highness. I'll cut some fruit right away."
Lucas stood up helplessly.
As the only injured person, Skye enjoyed extra special treatment.
With Wanda at her side, they tag-teamed him into running errands all day.
Lucas thanked the heavens Gwen wasn't around—
otherwise he'd be serving three princesses at once.
No man would survive that.
Pepper wasn't here.
She had gone to the ceremony with Tony, and with the crisis resolved, they planned to move back into their newly rebuilt mansion.
Say what you will about American capitalism—
when capital demands efficiency, they can rebuild a mansion faster than anyone.
Jarvis's inspection confirmed that the materials and construction quality were all top-notch and environmentally friendly.
Truly, capital is capital.
In this "evil capitalist country,"
as long as the money flows, they'll smash the glass ceiling for you.
After learning that Skye was injured again, Gwen and Peter returned through the Chocobo Space Channel for a visit.
Seeing Skye's arms broken again, Lucas had no excuses—
Gwen scolded him thoroughly for failing to supervise Skye.
Peter laughed a little too happily—
so Lucas immediately drafted him as free labor to accompany him grocery shopping.
They later enjoyed a lively hotpot meal together—
except Skye, who was fully spoon-fed by Lucas the entire time.
"Anything else, Your Highness?"
Lucas placed the sliced fruit in front of Skye.
He swore he would find vibranium no matter what—
he refused to keep serving like this.
Skye kept inventing new ways to torment him.
Lucas had no choice—he'd made his own problem, and now he had to pay for it.
That night, Lucas hurriedly called Tony about the vibranium matter.
Tony was having a candlelit dinner with Pepper—
things heated, clothes half off—
and Lucas's call shattered their romantic moment.
"DAMMIT—! Do you have any idea what you just ruined?!
If this isn't a damn good reason, I swear I'll tear you apart with my bare hands!"
Tony's rage practically blew through the phone.
He had been this close—
and Lucas ruined it.
Lucas froze.
Why is Tony so mad…? Did he swallow a grenade for dinner?
"Any progress on the vibranium?"
Tony nearly exploded.
Here he thought it was serious—
and Lucas was just calling about that.
Could he not have waited?!
Pepper chuckled softly at Tony's expression and walked toward the bathroom.
"Hurry up~ I'm waiting for you~"
That alone ignited Tony like a powder keg.
"Kid, I've got something important to do right now.
I'll call you later."
He immediately hung up—
and powered off the phone for good measure.
Tonight, he didn't care if Jesus himself knocked—
he wasn't answering.
He threw the phone aside, turned into the Flash, and sprinted into the bathroom trailing afterimages.
"…Weirdo."
Lucas hung up, shaking his head.
Tony was acting like he had some kind of illness.
Finally, after a long day of being bullied by Skye, Lucas prepared for a long, peaceful sleep.
Wanda stayed with Skye to help her at night.
She was gentle, attentive, thoughtful—
with a natural talent for caretaking.
Skye even joked she could marry her right now.
---
Late Night
Just as Lucas finally drifted off—
A roaring engine interrupted his sleep.
Lucas usually slept like a rock—
even thunder might not wake him.
But tonight, something was off.
"Who the hell—?! So annoying!"
He yanked the blanket over his head.
But the engine noise only grew louder—
coming closer and closer.
Fed up, Lucas snapped awake, opened the window, and unleashed a tirade.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!
It's the middle of the damn night!
Which little hell-spawn is revving that ghost-flame bike?!
Keep making noise and I swear I'll come down there and beat you so bad you'll never dye your hair blonde or ride that flaming piece of junk EVER AGAIN!"
Lucas spat curses like a machine gun.
But the engine didn't stop—
in fact, it grew louder and clearer.
Suddenly, a blazing trail of fire streaked down the street, racing toward Lucas's apartment.
Every streetlight it passed burst and shattered, plunging into darkness—
only for the fire trail itself to become the new light source.
Lucas's eyes widened.
"What the hell is that?!"
A faint laugh echoed from within the flames.
Then he saw it clearly:
At the front of the fire trail—
was a motorcycle.
And riding it—
a flaming, laughing skeleton.
"…A skull?
A flaming skull on a motorcycle…
Isn't that the damn Ghost Rider?!"
The skeletal head lifted—
locking gazes with Lucas.
And suddenly—
Ghost Rider raised a finger and pointed straight at him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For 20 advanced chapters, visit my Patreon:
Patreon - Twilight_scribe1
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
If you enjoyed Marvel Manifestor, please give it a Power Stone and leave a review! Your support means everything.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~