Luca's excuse—"I have to go back to school"—stunned the entire group into silence.
It was definitely not the answer anyone was expecting from a pilot of a fifty-foot mech.
Nick Fury opened his mouth, clearly wanting to ask, "What kind of school is more important than planetary defense?"
But then he caught Tony Stark giving him a sharp, warning glare. Fury, knowing when to pick his battles, decided not to argue with a teenager about his attendance record.
The aftermath was handled efficiently.
Dr. Jane Foster and Dr. Erik Selvig were drafted to work with the "Science Bros" (Tony and Banner). Their mission: figure out how to send Gwen—our multiverse hitchhiker—back home, and how to track any other dimensional anomalies before they caused trouble.
Some might have forgotten, but this whole mess started because of Gwen's arrival from a parallel universe.
After Thor closed the portals connecting the Nine Realms, the team realized the spatial fluctuations across the globe hadn't fully vanished—they had just quieted down.
Upon inspecting the device Loki used, they found no record of it opening portals to parallel dimensions.
Luca strongly suspected the "Multiverse crossover" was just a side effect of Loki recklessly overclocking the Tesseract (Space Stone).
After all, Frost Giants and Dark Elves are just aliens in this universe. Gwen is an intruder from a different reality. Two completely different concepts.
But because it was likely an accidental side effect, fixing it was a headache with no clear manual.
Luca couldn't help with quantum mechanics, so naturally, it was time for him to go home.
However, that didn't mean he was washing his hands of the whole affair.
Tony "hired" Luca as a consultant to assess the threat level of the alien wreckage. The official reason was that Tony was too busy, and Luca had a knack for weapons tech.
The real reason? Tony was letting Luca call dibs on the loot.
The Frost Giants were primitive; not much to steal there. But the Dark Elves? Their ships and black hole grenades contained advanced technology.
For Aurantius Industries, even scavenging a fraction of that tech would be a massive upgrade. Luca was more than happy to take the job.
---
Connecticut. The Aurantius Estate.
For Luca, who hadn't been home in days, not much had changed.
The war hadn't reached the quiet suburbs of Connecticut.
His penthouse in Manhattan, however, was a different story. He had just finished renovating it, and now, because it was too close to Avengers Tower, it was nothing but expensive rubble.
Half of Manhattan and most of Brooklyn are wrecked... New York real estate is going to crash hard, Luca thought.
The cleanup of the Dark Elf flagship alone would take months. He'd have to visit the site later—maybe he could snag a souvenir.
Either way, Luca wasn't planning on moving back to the city anytime soon.
Connecticut was nice. Close enough to New York, but far enough from the explosions. Plus, a few wealthy neighbors who had previously abandoned their estates were moving back in—probably fleeing the city after witnessing the "Second Battle of New York."
As for the company HQ in Lower Manhattan? Luca didn't really care.
His factories were in Tennessee. The HQ was just offices and some lab equipment. If it got flattened, so be it.
When I pick the location for the new headquarters... Luca mused as he walked into his study. Rule number one: stay far, far away from that bad-luck magnet, Tony Stark.
Shamila was waiting for him inside.
As soon as he entered, she stepped forward briskly.
"Young Master. Your watch."
Luca took the device—the [Transformation Watch]—from her hand. He smiled, his voice low and knowing.
"So? How did it feel? Killing a god?"
Shamila's expression didn't change. She looked at him with perfectly feigned confusion.
"I don't know what you mean, sir. I simply went out to retrieve the watch you lost in the chaos."
Luca stared at her for a second, then gave her a big thumbs-up.
"Exactly. That's what happened."
He waved her out of the room. As the door clicked shut, the smile faded from Luca's face, replaced by genuine surprise.
"Wait... what is this?"
He looked down at the watch in his hand. It was glowing with a soft white light.
The Golden Finger system panel popped up before his eyes.
---
[Omnitrix]
Source: Ben 10 Universe (1/5)
Creator: Azmuth
Status: Core Component
Synthesis Materials Needed: 9 distinct alien DNA scans, 1 DNA Collection & Analysis Unit.
Item Description: The Omnitrix. A high-tech device that allows the wearer to transform into various alien sapient species, granting them the corresponding abilities. Originally created to promote empathy and understanding between civilizations across the universe, its immense power often leads to it being used as a weapon.
Capabilities: It automatically records DNA information of sapient species. However, the device is capable of scanning and storing the genetic data of any creature, carbon-based or otherwise, for transformation.
Warning: The Omnitrix contains an emergency failsafe to protect the user. As a result, it may not always be obedient; in life-threatening situations, it may override user selection to transform into the species best suited for survival.
---
"This..."
Luca stared at the panel, his brain filled with question marks.
He hadn't expected the [Transformation Watch]—which he had already fully synthesized—to revert to being a "Core Component."
Or... do items turn back into components if certain conditions are met?
Luca was certain the watch wasn't glowing like this before he gave it to Shamila.
Looking at the "Synthesis Materials" list, he realized what had happened.
Compared to before, the watch now held two new DNA signatures.
One was obviously human (likely from the corpses nearby).
The other... was the genetic data of a Dark Elf.
So, Luca thought, his eyes widening. This is the 'surprise' the panel hinted at?