Staring at Harry Osborn, who wanted to shake hands.
For a moment, both of them stood awkwardly frozen.
Luca hadn't expected this kid to just drop his disguise and reveal his true identity to a complete stranger like him.
And Harry Osborn suddenly realized something.
The Metal Knight in front of him had a severed left arm. And his right hand was holding the severed left arm. He physically couldn't shake hands.
Just as a mortified Harry was about to turn and shake hands with the other Metal Knight (Fourth Haro)...
Luca controlled Third Haro to extend the severed left hand it was holding and shook Harry's hand with it.
"Good job, kid~"
"But, how did you find this place?"
Harry, shaking the severed hand, scratched his head awkwardly and explained.
"Actually..."
Maybe because he was talking to "Metal Knight," a hero, or maybe because young Harry was just naive...
This guy didn't hide anything.
He spilled the beans on everything: how he was parasitized by Venom, how his father Norman Osborn helped him modify Venom to achieve symbiosis, and how the Ten Rings terrorists "attacked" an Osborn Bio pharmaceutical factory, leading a newly superpowered (and slightly arrogant) Harry to investigate all the way here.
He told Luca everything, detail by detail.
Yes, Harry still believed the Ten Rings were a real terrorist organization and that AIM was just an evil company supplying them with super-soldiers.
Mainly because after tracking them to this estate, Harry charged in headfirst.
Result? Venom is afraid of fire. He got beaten up by a group of fire-breathing Extremis soldiers and strung up.
If Killian hadn't thought the Venom bio-armor had research value, Harry would probably be dead already.
"Where did that woman in red come from?"
Although Luca knew the Crimson Cowl was Justin Hammer, he wanted to see if Harry had any more intel from fighting her.
However...
"I don't know. When I was captured, she was with Killian. But when I broke out, she attacked me immediately!"
"..."
Looking at the pitiful, weak, and confused Harry, Luca was at a loss for words.
"Alright. Find your own way home. I'll handle the rest here."
"As for your identity, I'll keep it a secret."
Luca was too lazy to explain things to his classmate. After securing the necessary data, he planned to call the SHIELD tip line.
Since he was acting as "Metal Knight," reporting in would save him trouble later.
But to Luca's surprise, hearing this, Harry scratched his head in confusion.
"Uh, but Senior, why hide my identity?"
Then, without waiting for the stunned Luca to respond, Harry started babbling about his logic.
"Senior, look. Tony Stark revealed his identity after becoming Iron Man. If I become a superhero and reveal my identity, won't it bring good publicity to my dad's company?"
"Even though Stark doesn't make weapons anymore, when he revealed himself, Stark Industries' stock jumped 30%."
"My dad's company does bio-pharmaceuticals. Although this Venom armor is hard to replicate right now, the public doesn't know that. With me as a mascot, the public will definitely recognize Osborn Bio's tech level."
"Plus, Dad said he's in contact with the military about replicating the Super Soldier program. I bet the military would love to work with Osborn Bio seeing we already have results."
"Senior, I know about SHIELD. How's your relationship with them? Can you introduce me to the Avengers? I feel like being a superhero is better as a team effort. Look at me trying to fight crime solo—if not for you, Senior, I would've been killed by the enemies."
"Actually, I have a classmate who's an Avenger too, but I can't reach her lately. By the way, Senior, do you know Gwen Potts? I'm talking about her..."
Watching Venom Harry's mouth run like a machine gun...
Luca seriously doubted if this was the introverted Harry Osborn from school, or if he'd been possessed by a certain chatty Spider-Man.
"Stop!"
Luca raised a hand (digitally speaking) to interrupt Venom Harry, rubbing his temples in phantom headache.
"Okay, okay, I get it. I'll mention your situation to the Avengers later."
"By the way, you said you were possessed by a symbiote. Can you fully control it now?"
Hearing this, Venom Harry tilted his head.
"I wouldn't call it control, exactly?"
He tapped his shoulder.
"Venom, say hi to Senior Metal Knight."
As Harry spoke, the black armor-like shoulder pad melted, transforming into a hideous head with a wide grin and sharp teeth, squirming like living tar.
"Hey. Hello. Harry, why call this guy Senior? His head is empty. No scent of brains at all!"
After a casual greeting to Luca, the fluid black head turned back to whisper to Harry.
Seeing the web-like patterns on Venom's head—looking 30% like Spider-Man and 30% like Deadpool—Luca suddenly understood why Harry had become such a chatterbox.
Meanwhile, Fifth Haro had finished backing up and wiping the data from AIM's servers. After confirming that Killian's plan to replace the President with the Vice President was known only to Killian and his two bodyguards, Fifth Haro promptly executed him.
With everything settled, Luca picked up the phone and called his SHIELD contact.
"Director Hill. Yeah, I took out a terrorist cell. Yep, the Ten Rings guys responsible for the recent bombings."
"Yeah, I emailed you the data."
"Just passing by~"
"Huh? Tony and the others are with you? Then tell him there's a fanboy here who wants to join the Avengers."
"Alright, let him talk to you guys himself. I'm washing my hands of this."
Hanging up, Luca looked at the data regarding the Vice President's collusion with AIM on his screen, a smile playing on his lips.
"Now, let's see if Mr. Vice President knows what's good for him~"