Hearing JARVIS announce "Hostile missiles launched," Luca knew he couldn't wait for Tony to open the hatch.
Short-range air-to-air missiles hit their target within seconds. Even medium-range ones only extended that to tens of seconds.
There was no time to waste.
"Erha! Fifth Haro! Break the door! Intercept those missiles!!"
At Luca's command, Second Haro (Erha) drew its beam saber, slashed the cabin door open with two strikes, and leaped out alongside Fifth Haro.
With the door gone, the cabin depressurized instantly.
Air roared out, sucking loose decorations and debris toward the gaping hole.
Oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling. Chaos reigned.
The plane itself shuddered violently in the turbulence.
Tony, a beat slow to react, got smacked in the face by his laptop. The force of the depressurization dragged him toward the hole.
Luckily, Luca was prepared. He grabbed Tony just as he was about to be sucked out.
However, Happy Hogan, who had come out of another cabin to investigate the alarm, was caught by the airflow.
"Happy!!"
Seeing his bodyguard flying toward the hole, Tony screamed, eyes wide with horror.
But the next moment...
POOF~
Another explosion.
An unassuming Hoi-Poi Capsule burst into white smoke right at the hole.
A giant inflatable life raft appeared out of thin air. The pressure differential slammed it against the opening, plugging the hole instantly.
Happy slammed into the soft center of the raft, safe.
Tony's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled back down.
But the cabin was a wreck.
Although the immediate danger of being sucked out was gone, the plane was still shaking violently.
Tony scrambled up from the floor and shouted over the noise.
"This won't hold! The plane will disintegrate!"
As if on cue, the plugged hole emitted a screeching CREAK.
The life raft was distorting under the pressure, and the fuselage around the hole was buckling.
Happy scrambled away from the plug, clutching a bolted-down chair for dear life.
Green Bull rushed out from the back cabin, but before he could speak...
BOOM! BOOM!
Two massive explosions echoed outside.
The Haro mechs had intercepted the missiles.
However, the shockwaves from the close-range detonations sent the plane into an uncontrollable, violent shake.
CRACK~ CRACK~
Metal screamed. The fuselage around the hole twisted.
The life raft was ripped away, sucked out into the sky.
This time, everyone was holding on tight. No one flew out, but the plane was on the verge of breaking apart. Every second could be their last.
Luca made a decision.
He looked at Stark with determined eyes.
"Tony, don't move!"
"Kid, what are you doing—?!"
Before Tony could finish, Luca let go of his seat.
The airflow sucked him toward the hole.
Actually, due to the initial depressurization and the plane's descent, the pressure difference wasn't as extreme as before. The lack of oxygen was becoming the bigger issue.
Still, Luca let himself be carried by the wind, flying out of the cabin under Tony's horrified gaze.
"LUCA!!!"
The next moment.
A flash of blue light filled everyone's vision. Time seemed to freeze.
Outside the plane.
Luca didn't let go because he had a death wish or wanted to flee.
The moment he exited the cabin, he pulled out his [Dehydration Gun] and fired a beam of energy at the disintegrating jet.
The blue energy enveloped the entire aircraft.
Instantly, the plane—and everyone inside—vanished, replaced by a thumb-sized blue cube.
The sudden disappearance of the massive object created a vacuum. Air rushed in to fill the void.
Luca, caught in the backdraft, was pulled toward where the plane used to be.
Exactly what he wanted.
He streamlined his body and dove toward the falling blue cube.
The high-altitude winds roared around him.
"Phew~ Okay, okay. Didn't lose the plane!"
Before the wind direction shifted again, Luca snatched the falling energy cube. He exhaled a long breath, adjusted his posture, and activated the [Tuxedo]'s "Anti-Gravity Mode."
Hum~
A subtle vibration ran through his body. Luca stabilized, standing firmly in mid-air thousands of meters up.
Ah, Anti-Gravity. So scientific!
He looked at the blue cube in his hand, flicked it gently, and smiled with relief.
"Tony, oh Tony! I saved your life again~"
As he spoke...
Two more fireballs bloomed in the distance.
Erha and Fifth Haro had destroyed the two hostile fighters.
Seeing this, Luca tapped the control device on his temple and whispered.
"Erha, come pick me up."
The two mechs flew over, grabbed Luca, and began their descent. Luca and Tony were safe for now.
However, Hydra's uprising wasn't just targeting them.
Compared to the "mere" two fighter jets sent here...
The situation in New York was far more critical.