As Luca strode into the villa, he immediately noticed several heavily armed soldiers lying in pools of blood, motionless.
Clearly, these were the idiots who tried to raise their weapons after the defense system activated and paid the price.
Most of the soldiers, however, had long since dropped their weapons and raised their hands. They were now lined up against the wall, each with a mini-Haro mech pressing a gun barrel into their backs.
This seemingly elite strike force hadn't even lasted five seconds before being completely subdued.
In the center of the living room, only one man remained standing, looking disheveled and awkward. A pink Haro mech was shoving a gun into his back, trying to force him to move, but he stubbornly refused to budge.
"Stand in the corner! Stand in the corner!"
The Pink Cat-Eared Haro, annoyed that its prisoner was the only one not cooperating, jabbed him hard in the kidneys with the gun barrel.
Even so, the man refused to submit.
Seeing Luca enter, he immediately opened his mouth.
"Luca Aurantius, I am—"
THWACK.
A dull thud.
The Pink Haro, seeing the prisoner dare to speak, smashed the butt of its rifle into his mouth, silencing him instantly.
"No talking! No talking!"
Luca ignored the man clutching his bleeding mouth. His sharp gaze swept over the captured soldiers, and he barked an order.
"Initiate scan! Haro! Disarm everyone! Anyone who moves, kill them!"
Instantly, scanning beams swept over the intruders. The Haro Repair Mechs moved in, stripping weapons, grenades, and hidden knives from the soldiers and tossing them into a pile in the center of the room.
Even the leader didn't dare move.
You can negotiate with people. You can talk about interests.
But Luca had given the order to machines. And machines don't hesitate. They kill.
With the situation under control, Luca turned to his team.
"Green Bull, check on Dunshan and Thresh."
"Shamila, check on Gina upstairs."
"Yes!" x2
They moved immediately.
Moments later, Green Bull reported back. "Young Master, Captain Dunshan and Thresh are just unconscious. Sleeping gas."
Shamila's voice came over the comms. "Madam Gina is fine. But Baymax seems to be malfunctioning. He's blocking the door with one arm, but his lower body is paralyzed."
Luca nodded slightly.
"Good. As long as they're safe."
Baymax's paralysis was likely due to the EMP attack mentioned earlier. Some modules were fried. A quick repair would fix him.
But a paralyzed Baymax couldn't have stopped this many intruders with just a door.
It seemed these people hadn't intended to use Gina as leverage.
Luca scanned the captives again, ignoring the bleeding leader for now.
His gaze landed on one of the fully armored soldiers against the wall.
"Director Heinrich, what an elegant hobby you have. Didn't we chat enough at the cocktail party? You were in such a rush to continue the conversation in my living room?"
The soldier froze. He didn't know if he should speak.
Yes, despite the helmet and mask, Luca recognized him instantly.
At this distance, the glowing Core Component (his eye) was too obvious to miss.
It was Heinrich von Strucker, the third-largest shareholder of Aurantius Industries.
"Haro, tie them up."
"Tie them up! Tie them up!"
Then Luca pointed at the Pink Haro guarding the leader.
"You. Come here. Chair Mode!"
The Pink Haro chirped excitedly, slung its rifle over its back, and abandoned the prisoner. It waddled over to Luca.
CLACK-CLACK-CLACK.
The mech folded and shifted, transforming into a weirdly shaped mechanical chair.
Luca sat down on his pink throne, his eyes cold as he looked at the leader.
"Explain yourself. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"
Actually, Luca already knew who he was.
The look was distinctive. Black trench coat, nearly bald buzz cut, and a monocle over his right eye.
Sneaking into my house in the middle of the night? Who the hell do you think you are, Nick Fury?
Of course, this wasn't Fury. This was one of the few Hydra members Luca remembered from the movies.
Baron Strucker. The head of Hydra's European branch.
Yes, the guy from the beginning of Avengers: Age of Ultron. The one who shouted "We will never surrender!" and then immediately surrendered.
But despite being a bit of a joke in the movie, Strucker was a major player.
He was the one who used Loki's Scepter to unlock the powers of Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver. And he managed to stay hidden from the Avengers until well after Winter Soldier. He wasn't incompetent.
Though looking at him now—mouth bloody, disheveled—it was hard to see the mastermind.
Hearing Luca's question, Strucker knew he was allowed to speak.
He wiped the blood from his mouth, his face grim.
"Luca Aurantius, I came here to seek cooperation. Is this how you treat guests? Don't you think—"
Luca cut him off with a wave of his hand.
He pointed to the pile of guns on the floor, then to the lineup of prisoners.
"Cut the crap. This is your idea of cooperation? Sneaking into my home with a squad of armed soldiers? Knocking out my bodyguards?"
"Is the business department at Aurantius Industries dead? Could you not find our phone number? Or is my office building too small for you to find the front door?"
"Cooperation? Director Heinrich is right there. What, did he lose my contact info too?"
Luca's barrage of sarcasm left Strucker fuming.
He held his breath for a moment before spitting out a resentful reply.
"What do you want?"