Coughing up another small mouthful of blood, Luca's grin didn't fade in the slightest.
In that last clash, if he hadn't instinctively used his prosthetic arm to block—since he wasn't fully used to being an amputee—he probably would have been saying goodbye to his left arm right now too.
Surviving with all his limbs intact (mostly) was cause for celebration. Why wouldn't he be happy?
Ignoring the intense pain and weakness radiating through his body, he looked toward Tony Stark, who was down to his last two Chitauri opponents.
Since his folding beam rifle had been lost in the earlier explosion, Luca used his left hand to rip off the remains of his prosthetic right arm—now less than a third of its original length—and tossed it into the air in front of him.
Then, his right leg exploded with power, arcs of electricity dancing across the red and white sneaker once more.
Next instant.
BANG—
The shattered prosthetic shot out like a cannonball from Luca's foot, covering the ten-meter distance in a flash of sparks and lightning before slamming straight into a Chitauri soldier's skull.
Electricity crackled, and parts scattered everywhere.
Whether it was the "rules" of his cheat or just perfect timing and force...
The Chitauri hit by the "cannonball" tilted its head, didn't make a sound, and passed out cold.
Tony Stark, having just finished off the last Chitauri near him, stared at Luca.
He saw the boy with an empty right sleeve, blood staining his mouth, standing straight as a ramrod and grinning like a maniac. Tony was momentarily stunned.
This kid...
Even with all his experience, Stark didn't know how to evaluate the boy in front of him.
But he knew one thing: everything this boy had done was to help him.
Before he could say anything, however, a voice crackled through his helmet comms again.
"Stark! Do you copy? A missile is headed for Manhattan!"
Hearing Nick Fury's warning, Tony's expression under the faceplate turned grim.
He glanced at Luca, who was now leaning against a wrecked car, and quickly asked, "How long until impact?"
"Three minutes, tops. The payload is nuclear—it'll level Midtown!"
Hearing this, Tony dared not delay.
He shouted at Luca in the distance.
"Kid, find cover! Don't run around!"
With that, thrusters on his hands and feet ignited, and he shot into the sky.
Watching Iron Man fly away, Luca twitched his lips into an ugly smile, completely disregarding the advice.
He pushed himself up with one hand, his gaze locked dead on Stark Tower in the distance. His eyes now held a glint of excitement that hadn't been there before.
"The nuke is coming? Then I better hurry up too~"
Perhaps even Luca hadn't noticed, but somewhere along the line, the thrill of chasing his objective had completely overshadowed his fear of death.
He picked up his backpack, then scavenged a nearly-new folding beam rifle from a Chitauri corpse.
Luca curled his lip in disdain.
Don't even have a spatial inventory item. I'm really embarrassing the transmigrator community.
Time flew by.
For the next two minutes, Luca didn't engage a single Chitauri soldier.
Although he felt suspiciously hyperactive, he could still distinguish between enjoying the thrill and actively seeking death.
Dodging enemies as much as possible and only taking the occasional potshot, he made his way forward.
Luca witnessed Iron Man carrying the nuke straight into the sky, and watched as the massive portal above finally closed.
Countless Chitauri soldiers dropped like puppets with their strings cut.
Giant Leviathans crashed to the ground, and speeding Chitauri chariots lost control, slamming into buildings and streets.
The few civilians still on the streets went from shock to cheering, then to weeping with joy.
Everyone seemed to be celebrating this hard-won victory.
Everyone except Luca, who had fast-walked his way to the base of Stark Tower.
"So that's how those guys got to the top floor?"
He watched as Hulk leaped to the top of Stark Tower, carrying Iron Man and Captain America, followed closely by Thor (spinning Mjolnir) carrying Hawkeye.
How did they manage to get there and pose dramatically right in front of Loki before he woke up?
This question, which had bugged Luca for a long time, finally had an answer.
Was that really necessary...
Shaking his head speechlessly, Luca kept an eye on the sky and immediately spotted another red-and-gold figure silently flying into the top floor of the tower.
It's starting...
He glanced up briefly, then shifted his focus to the ground floor of Stark Tower.
The Chitauri had just been disabled, so the lobby was still in chaos.
Police and rescue workers hadn't arrived yet. The crowd consisted mostly of Stark Tower employees and nearby civilians.
Some were trying to run out for help, others were trying to run in for shelter. The few security guards still doing their jobs were overwhelmed.
It would have been effortless for Luca to sneak in right now.
But he knew S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would arrive soon, and he didn't want to expose himself to them just yet.
Besides, stopping Loki from taking the Tesseract didn't necessarily require entering the building.
He scouted around and found a spot where he could see the entire ground floor lobby through the glass walls. Then, he began to wait silently.
Before long, a large number of agents arrived to secure the scene.
But with panic still high and the distinct appearance of the Chitauri enemies, the agents and the arriving NYPD officers focused on maintaining order and evacuating the wounded, rather than driving away civilians.
At the same time, Luca noticed the future Tony Stark leap from the tower and land in a secluded corner.
Moments later, a fully armed "S.H.I.E.L.D. Strike Team agent" walked out from where Tony had disappeared.
However, the "white light" enveloping his entire body was just too conspicuous.
Nano-armor, huh? Really convenient!
Watching the disguised Tony enter the building, and then seeing the Avengers escorting Loki out of the elevator into the lobby...
Luca reached down and turned the dial on his [Kick-Enhancement Shoes] again.
After a thought, he also pulled the [Monkey Bomb]—missing one Hextech crystal—out of his backpack.
However.
Just as Luca finished this action, he suddenly sensed something wrong.
The noisy environment around him fell silent. The blaring sirens and the cries of the crowd were abruptly cut off.