Jacksonville, Central Plaza.
The area was covered in sand. Cleaning this up would probably feed the municipal budget for months.
But that was none of the Avengers' business.
Natasha, the designated "Hulk switch," was calming down the green giant who was currently smashing a car.
Hawkeye, who had been missing for most of the fight, was now with Captain America, escorting the culprit—Sandman—and waiting for the SHIELD transport to take him into custody.
Luca, piloting the Haro Mech, walked up curiously and looked at the handcuffs on Sandman's wrists.
"Do these actually work? He can turn into sand. Cutting off a hand to escape would be child's play for him, right?"
Luca gestured at Sandman's wrists, making the villain flinch back instinctively while held by Cap and Hawkeye.
"These are Power Dampening Cuffs. SHIELD's latest research. They work on most superpowered individuals," Cap explained.
Luca rarely participated in Avengers' "group activities," so they hadn't met often.
But in Steve's mind, the "Metal Knight" who consistently fought crime and saved civilians was a hero with a sense of justice. He didn't mind explaining the tech.
Spider-Gwen hopped over, sounding a bit proud.
"I helped research these cuffs too, you know~"
Luca's mouth twitched. He turned to the smiling Gwen and roasted her mercilessly.
"You're a superpowered person helping research power-dampening tech? Were you the test subject or the product tester?"
Gwen wrinkled her nose and huffed.
"Hey, I'm a genius too, okay? Besides, with all these weird super-criminals invading, we need ways to stop them from causing trouble, right?"
"..."
Luca's mouth twitched even harder.
Missy, did you forget you're an interdimensional invader yourself?
"If you ask me, why bother with cuffs? For someone like Sandman, just stuff him in a water tank. Guaranteed he won't run anywhere~"
Actually, Luca wanted to say: Use the Dehydration Gun and turn them all into cubes.
No escape, effectively immortal. They should thank him.
But even though Luca changed "dehydrate" to "water tank," his suggestion still drew sideways glances from the Avengers.
Even Dr. Banner, who had just transformed back, opened his mouth in disbelief.
Tony reached out and rubbed the Haro Mech's head vigorously.
"Brat, save your brilliant ideas for your little inventions."
Thanks to the banter, the tension from the battle dissipated.
Seeing the SHIELD Quinjet arrive, Tony asked Luca.
"We're planning a small get-together later. To relax after all the busy work recently. How about it? Want to join us?"
Tony wasn't asking the Haro Mech; he was asking Luca behind the screen.
After all this time, Luca was practically a reserve Avenger. And since he was a public figure (as the Aurantius Group heir), Tony figured he wouldn't be so resistant to showing his face anymore.
But Luca pretended not to understand.
The Haro Mech looked down at its own mechanical body and spoke in a weird tone.
"Go like this? And watch you guys eat and drink? That doesn't seem very fun."
Tony understood the rejection. He didn't push it. He patted the mech's shoulder and boarded the Quinjet.
Actually, Luca wasn't totally against showing his face.
Part of it was guilt over the Hydra situation—he wanted to keep a distance from top spies like Natasha.
But mostly, it was because Luca wasn't just piloting the "Haro Mech" right now.
Sending the "Erha" (Second Haro) mech to help Tony was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
While Erha was deployed, three other mechs of different colors had launched from the Aurantius Villa garage, heading for Florida as well.
Not to Jacksonville, but to the neighboring city of Miami.
"Third Haro, Fourth Haro in position."
"Ta-da~ Fifth Haro in position!"
Miami. Above a secluded villa estate.
Three Haro Mechs—Red-White, Blue-White, and Green-White—hovered silently in a triangular formation.
Back in his lab, after receiving Hakimi's report and setting Erha to auto-return, Luca switched his main screen to the "3-4-5" feed.
"Hmm~ Pretty luxurious. The filming base they found for an actor is fancier than my house?"
Hakimi: "Sir, according to property and tax records, this estate does not belong to AIM. They only signed a ten-year lease."
"Uh~ Okay. Hopefully, if I trash the place, the original owner won't sue me for damages~"
Jokes aside, Luca's expression turned serious. He issued the command.
"Haros, activate thermal scanning!"
Instantly, the layout of the European-style estate was projected in front of Luca.
Thermal signatures inside the mansion appeared on the screen.
Heh. Extremis soldiers have a body temperature of over 50 degrees Celsius even when not in combat mode? How did no one notice this before?
"Match body profiles. Target 1: Aldrich Killian. Target 2: Maya Hansen. Target 3: Trevor Slattery."
The holographic thermal images flashed rapidly, comparing them to the database.
In the blink of an eye, the matching was done.
Hakimi gave a result that Luca found acceptable.
"Target 1 locked. Target 3 locked. Target 2 not found."
Hmm? The mastermind and the actor are here, but the female scientist isn't?
Makes sense. This is just a filming set. The research lab is probably elsewhere. Whatever. As long as Killian is here, that's enough!
Luca didn't hesitate. He commanded the three waiting Haro Mechs.
"Move out, little ones~"