Back at the agency, Lucas placed his newest trophy into the display case—a small section of Blackheart's horn.
The case was bound with special seals.
Anything placed inside would lose all energy and become nothing more than an ordinary object.
Only then did Lucas return to his apartment and collapse into bed, sleeping straight through to midday.
He woke up starving.
After washing up, he wandered lazily back to the agency.
Before he could even warm his seat, Natasha walked in.
He hadn't seen her for a few days—no idea what she had been up to.
She grabbed a cup the moment she entered and chugged water like someone reincarnated from a drought-stricken ghost.
"Seriously? You look like you haven't had water in days."
Lucas muttered.
Natasha slammed the cup down.
"I came straight here from New Mexico without stopping. When did I have time to drink?"
Lucas immediately thought of a certain god who became powerless the moment he lost his hammer.
So the plot was kicking off.
"What's so interesting over there that the great Black Widow had to go personally?"
He acted curious, though he already knew.
A certain hammer had fallen from the sky, that's what.
"You won't believe it—some hammer dropped out of the heavens, and nobody can lift it. Coulson and Barton are on-site right now. I came back because I have a special assignment."
"Special assignment?"
Lucas perked up instantly.
His gossip instincts ignited.
"Yep. Director Egghead himself sent me to invite you to New Mexico."
Natasha said with an amused look.
"What?! Is your one-eyed boss sick? What's that got to do with me? And since when do I go wherever he snaps his fingers? I'm not S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel."
Lucas slapped the table.
That damn black egg was getting out of control.
Time to demolish S.H.I.E.L.D.'s HQ—
and he meant now.
He stood up and headed for the door.
"Where are you going?"
Natasha stared.
What kind of seizure was he having?
"I'm going to blow up your S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and erase that black egg from the world."
Lucas growled, face dark.
Nick Fury was really pushing it.
Who did he think Lucas was? His errand boy?
"…Just tell me your conditions."
Natasha sighed. She knew how this went.
Anything involving S.H.I.E.L.D. meant Lucas would fleece them—mercilessly.
"Simple. One Quinjet."
Lucas instantly sat back down, resting his chin on both hands, eyes sparkling innocently.
"No way. That's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s latest aircraft. There is no chance the director will agree."
Natasha didn't even need to think.
Fury would sooner die.
The Quinjet was cutting-edge tech—unique to S.H.I.E.L.D. and nowhere else.
"So there's nothing to discuss then~~"
Lucas shrugged.
Perfect timing—he needed a multi-passenger vehicle anyway.
This opportunity had just delivered itself.
Lucas calling a Quinjet a "transportation tool" would give Fury a stroke.
S.H.I.E.L.D. poured ungodly resources into developing it, only for Lucas to treat it like a taxi.
Natasha's face twitched.
Why did Lucas only ever rob S.H.I.E.L.D. blind?
He never looted Tony Stark like this.
"…I'll report to the director."
She slumped and dialed the phone.
"Hello, Director? Talks failed."
Clean and simple—five words.
"Failed? What did he ask for?"
At S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ, Fury's face darkened.
He knew that brat Lucas wouldn't be easy.
"He wants a Quinjet."
The instant she finished, fury blasted from the phone's speaker so loudly it sounded like a megaphone.
"Mother—!! Why doesn't that brat just rob a bank?! The Quinjet is brand-new cutting-edge tech! I haven't even broken it in yet! How the hell did he even find out about it?! Tell him it's impossible! No chance! He can dream!!"
Lucas heard everything clearly from where he sat.
His mood soared.
Ah, black egg, black egg…
Look at you losing composure.
Usually you're all poker-faced, but today?
I'll make you rage so hard your other eye pops out.
"Tell him," Lucas said coolly, "no Quinjet, no deal."
Fury's blood pressure skyrocketed.
"I don't need him! I can handle this myself!"
Natasha rubbed her temples.
Only Lucas could make the ever-stoic director break character like this.
She'd never seen Fury scream like an angry housewife.
Until now.
In truth, if it were merely a fallen meteor, S.H.I.E.L.D. would never involve Lucas.
But this object wasn't a meteor—
it was a hammer.
A hammer no one could lift.
Even the ground beneath it had become unnaturally hard.
S.H.I.E.L.D. tried everything but failed.
It was Natasha who casually suggested it might be magical in nature, reminding Fury that S.H.I.E.L.D. knew next to nothing about magic.
That's why they had turned to Lucas—the only "magic-related" guy they knew.
Fury had expected Lucas to demand a fortune.
He was mentally prepared for a massive payout.
He didn't expect Lucas to skip the money and instead demand the most advanced piece of S.H.I.E.L.D. technology in existence.
The Quinjet wasn't big, but it packed their latest systems:
triple-supersonic flight speed,
energy shields for defense,
and it could mount laser weaponry.
Aside from space travel, it was the single most advanced combat aircraft in the world.
Lucas shrugged again.
Honestly, he didn't care about the hammer.
Thor would handle it anyway.
If S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't bothered him, he wouldn't have gone at all.
So he decided to fleece them for a Quinjet.
"In that case, I'll compromise."
Lucas leaned back theatrically.
"The Quinjet doesn't need any weapons installed. I only want it as a transportation vehicle."
He pretended to be suffering a huge loss.
But this had been his real goal all along.
He knew S.H.I.E.L.D. would never give him a fully armed unit.
The weapons and shields were what made the Quinjet truly terrifying.
Luke only wanted the flying part—
nothing more.
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