Riven and Skadi couldn't convince Luke to come back to the bed. Eventually, they gave up.
Both left their doors cracked open, though. Just in case he changed his mind.
Luke had no intention of sleeping. Tonight's battle had dropped a lot of loot, and he'd only now gotten the chance to sort through it.
"Let's see... what's this?"
He picked up a crystalline vial. The amber liquid inside caught the light, and Luke's brain took a moment to process what he was looking at.
The System helpfully provided identification.
"G-Virus... oh. G-Virus."
Cold sweat broke out across his entire body.
He placed the vial back in his bag with exaggerated care, hands trembling slightly. Then he sprinted to the kitchen, scrubbed his hands raw, and started spraying disinfectant everywhere.
"It's fine. The containment is perfect. There's no way G-Virus would be on the outside of the tube. No chance of contamination. None at all."
He kept spraying. The acrid smell of disinfectant filled the apartment.
The stench eventually drove Riven and Skadi out of their rooms.
"What's wrong, Doctor?"
"Luke?"
"There was a very dangerous virus just now. Both of you, let me spray you down."
He doused them both in disinfectant. Skadi didn't understand but didn't resist. Riven had seen plenty of strange and dangerous things in Runeterra—what was one more virus? She didn't quite grasp why Luke was so panicked.
When he finally finished, Luke let out a long breath.
Why would the System drop something like the G-Virus?
Sure, it was powerful. Inject yourself and become a nearly unstoppable biological weapon. But Luke had zero interest in that path.
He wanted to stay human. Because only as a human could he be with Titi and Riven. He had no desire to become some twisted monstrosity, thank you very much.
He moved on to the second item.
"Oh, this I recognize!"
The distinctive silhouette was unmistakable. A tank from Metal Slug—the iconic run-and-gun arcade game. One of the vehicles you could pilot.
It was... small. Barely larger than a car. More like the mini-vehicles from Arknights than any real military hardware. But it could fit one person, and the weapon systems were fully functional.
Unfortunately, Luke had no real use for it.
You couldn't have given me a mech instead? With a proper mech I could take on Iron Monger AND Iron Man.
The third item was—
Tony Stark woke up early.
Well, "early" was relative. He still made Rhodey wait two hours at the airfield.
"Are you serious right now?" Rhodey's patience had worn thin. "Two hours, Tony. You made me wait two hours."
Tony waved it off. No big deal. Rhodey sighed—the sigh of a man who'd long since accepted his best friend's quirks.
The Jericho demonstration went perfectly. Tony's sales pitch was flawless, his confidence magnetic. The generals were impressed. Another successful weapons deal for Stark Industries.
Afterward, Rhodey offered to fly back with Tony in the military transport.
Tony declined. He wanted the "Fun-Vee"—the convoy's entertainment vehicle, complete with drinks and music.
That decision would haunt him.
The ambush came without warning. Explosions. Gunfire. Tony's security detail died around him in seconds.
He scrambled out of the vehicle, desperate for cover, and then he saw it.
A missile. His missile. The Shatterheart—one of his most vicious designs. After detonation, it released hundreds of micro-shrapnel fragments that would slowly migrate toward a victim's heart over hours or days. The death was agonizing. Prolonged. Cruel.
Tony had designed it himself. Sold it to the US military. Never imagined he'd be on the receiving end.
"Shit—"
The explosion threw him backward. Metal fragments tore into his chest.
His last conscious thought was bitter irony: killed by his own creation.
Luke woke to wall-to-wall news coverage.
TONY STARK MISSING AFTER TERRORIST ATTACK
STARK INDUSTRIES HEIR PRESUMED DEAD
SEARCH CONTINUES IN AFGHAN MOUNTAINS
"The plot finally begins," Luke murmured.
He'd been so focused on vampires lately that he'd almost forgotten about Tony Stark. But Tony was a public figure—every movement tracked, every absence noticed. His disappearance was impossible to miss.
"We need to start preparing," Luke said, thinking aloud. "For when Tony comes back."
No rush, though. The news would tell him when Stark resurfaced. In the original timeline, Tony spent three months in that cave. Plenty of time to plan.
Right now, there was a more immediate concern.
Riven and Skadi had both drawn their weapons, positioning themselves near the front door. They'd sensed something outside.
Knock knock knock.
Luke glanced at the clock. Broad daylight.
"Open it," he said. "Vampires won't come during the day."
Unless Deacon Frost was bold enough to show up slathered in sunscreen—in which case Luke would happily introduce him to the nearest fire hydrant.
Skadi opened the door.
A middle-aged man stood in the hallway. Receding hairline, warm smile, suit and tie. He radiated the kind of friendly competence that made you want to trust him immediately.
"Good morning! I hope I'm not interrupting breakfast."
"Who are you?"
Skadi's response was to rest her greatsword on his shoulder.
The man's knees buckled instantly.
Skadi's sword weighed more than most Rhodes Island operators could even lift. The sudden pressure drove him to the ground.
"Titi."
At Luke's voice, Skadi withdrew the blade. The man stood back up, his smile somehow intact despite having just been forced to kneel.
"Well! That's quite a heavy sword. I wasn't expecting that."
Riven watched him carefully. His smile seemed genuine—not the forced pleasantness of someone hiding hostility. That was... unusual.
"I'm Agent Phil Coulson," the man said, producing credentials. "Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division."
Luke's expression didn't change, but internally he was cataloging everything he knew.
Phil Coulson. Level Seven SHIELD agent. Nick Fury's right hand. Organizational genius, skilled combatant, expert driver of basically anything with wheels or wings. The man who'd recruited half the Avengers with nothing but patience and that friendly demeanor.
The "Newbie Village Guide" of the MCU.
"She's shy around strangers," Luke said casually. "And maintaining appropriate caution with unknown visitors is just common sense, wouldn't you agree?"
"Absolutely." Coulson's smile widened slightly. "Which is exactly why I brought backup."
Luke noticed movement in his peripheral vision. Other agents, positioned at strategic points in the hallway. Professional. Prepared.
"So," Luke said, "what brings SHIELD to my door?"
He kept his voice light, but internally he was bracing himself. Coulson was a professional intelligence operative. Any conversation with him was a negotiation Luke would probably lose.
Better to hear what they wanted first.
PLZ THROW POWERSTONES.
300 , 500 , 1000 for each milestone 1 Bonus Chapter.