"So, what you're saying is, even though there won't be any Hell invasions in the short term, any research into preventing them is also going to be dead in the water. Is that right?"
Inside the temporary research vessel, a haggard Tony Stark reached for his coffee mug with trembling fingers. He fumbled twice, unable to get a grip, and nearly knocked the cup over.
Dr. Banner, unable to watch, stepped forward, picked up the coffee, and placed it gently in Tony's hand.
Tony took the cup, raised it slightly in a daze, and remained silent for a long time.
Just before Tony returned, Luca had already briefed Banner on the situation. He explained how the Ancient One was holding off Mephisto outside Earth's dimension and how the resulting spatial turbulence would interfere with their tech.
Both of them had anticipated this. They knew Tony might not take the reality of the situation well upon his return.
For Tony, this crisis was entirely the result of his research spiraling out of control. Whether out of guilt or his heavy sense of responsibility, Tony desperately wanted to make amends and fix the damage he caused.
The work itself was his penance. That was why, since the battle ended, he hadn't slept a wink, throwing himself entirely into the resettlement of the New York refugees.
But now...
"I'm going back to help Cap calm the civilians. The next shipment of supplies should be arriving soon."
Setting down the coffee cup, Tony stood up with a calm expression and walked toward the door.
If not for the coffee spilled on the table from his shaking hand, no one would have guessed the turmoil inside him.
"Tony..."
He didn't answer. The door clicked shut gently behind him.
Luca and Banner were left in the room, looking at each other.
"Well... I'm heading back too. I'll leave a detachment of robot troops under Vision's command. If you need any help, just ask him."
"Right. Though, he'll probably prioritize settling the Aurantius Industries employees first."
Luca tapped his communication earpiece, took a step back, and walked into an inky-black portal without hesitation. Before Banner could even recover from his daze, Vision phased through the wall and entered the room.
"Mr. Luca asked me to assist you with the post-disaster reconstruction."
To be honest, Luca didn't care all that much that New York had been destroyed, following in Washington's footsteps.
Although his company had significant assets in New York, their focus had already shifted, so the actual losses were manageable.
In fact, with the North American economy poised to collapse, Luca—who sat on a pile of Hydra resources and still held influence in the US—might actually stand to gain even more from the chaos.
Even the Aurantius Industries employees based in the US saw the writing on the wall. Many of the smarter ones used this opportunity to move their families to Sokovia.
While Americans, especially New Yorkers, were known for their resilience, not everyone could handle their city being destroyed over and over again.
Meanwhile, because Earth's spatial stability was completely scrambled, Gwen's plan to return to her universe was put on indefinite hold.
During this time, perhaps because she had let go of some psychological burdens, her relationship with Luca took a step forward.
Although Gwen didn't stay in Sokovia permanently—she wanted to help her other Avengers teammates—the frequency of their video calls increased significantly.
Luca ended up getting most of his Avengers news through Gwen.
For example...
"New New York? Tony came up with that?"
Luca pushed aside an orange Haro robot and looked at Gwen with a weird expression as she relayed the news.
"No, not really. The idea came from Cap and S.H.I.E.L.D., but Mr. Stark decided to fund the whole thing himself. That's why I said it's being built by Stark Industries."
"Anyway, New New York will prioritize building a floating city on the ocean. The other half will be rebuilt on the original ruins. That's all I know; Mr. Stark and the others are still working out the details."
In the video feed, Gwen was sitting in a dark corner, hugging her knees, whispering updates to Luca.
But before Luca could say much more, the dim background suddenly lit up.
A girl burst into the frame, grabbed Gwen's arm, and shouted.
"Hiding in here chatting again?! Come on, we need to rehearse! The band's charity gig is in a few days! That jerk Luca isn't coming anyway, so why are you talking to him so much!"
The video feed shook violently. Gwen, who could easily flip a semi-truck, was helpless as she was dragged out of the room by the noisy girl.
"Hey, hey! Take it easy! Uh... Luca, talk later..."
The screen went black. The call cut off.
Luca shook his head with a helpless smile. He turned his attention to the strange, toy-like electronic keyboard sitting next to him.
"We didn't even finish talking... Oh well. It's not a particularly powerful item anyway. I'll just study it for now."
He picked up the "toy keyboard."
Since the synthesis was already complete, no panel popped up, but Luca knew its stats by heart.
[Bad Boy Keytar]
[Source: Despicable Me World (1/5)]
[Creator: Balthazar Bratt]
[Core Component: Electronic Keyboard]
[Synthesis Materials: 1 Electric Guitar + 1 Ultrasonic Energy Gun]
[Item Description:]
Balthazar Bratt, the star of the 80s Hollywood show Evil Bratt, became a supervillain after his show was cancelled and he hit puberty. As an adult, he built a series of super-weapons that were only supposed to exist in his TV show.
The Bad Boy Keytar is one of his more unassuming weapons. By playing music, it releases powerful sonic beams that blast enemies away. Different tunes create different attack trajectories, and the user's musical skill affects the power of the sonic waves.
[Friendly Reminder:]
While the sonic attack is designed to blow enemies away, under normal circumstances, the blast tends to blow the enemy's clothes off first.