On the other side, Carol and Lorna had gotten a fright. Luke would give them some time to adjust before they started work. At the same time, he would be able to stagger when the 3+2 teams reported for duty.
With regards to their abilities, Luke only found an opportunity to play one round with them, and lost.
Carol had made some progress with her Elementary Self-Healing, but Luke’s own Elementary Self-Healing had pulled ahead, so he couldn’t use her ability.
Lorna’s ability, on the other hand, was Elementary Magnetic Control.
Seeing this ability, he was conflicted, but could only give up with a bitter smile.
It was unavailable, which wasn’t unexpected.
Garcia, the gang boss whom Luke had helped Bloodmint take down, had been able to control small metal blades, and his Magnetic Control was also unavailable.
Lorna’s ability was a lot stronger; she could control metal table knives and was very fast; it was inevitable that Luke wouldn’t be able to learn this skill.
He could only rely on Sentinel Services.
While he couldn’t learn magic abilities, he could at least get something to reinforce his physique!
Besides, Elementary Sound Wave was an ability that was actually a little similar to magic; there might still be a chance he could learn magic.
Looking forward to it, he waited for the investigation to be completed.
Sentinel Services, this secret organization, could only be considered a small mouse.
At the slightest sound, it would be scared into hiding and wouldn’t appear for a long time.
He didn’t have the time or energy to keep monitoring it.
He would take it down in one clean swoop, earn as much as he could from this job and obtain the bulk of its value first.
So, he would only take action when he had enough information and confidence.
…
Luke’s days were peaceful, but New York gradually turned noisy.
Tony Stark had finally officially settled down in New York.
Financial reporters and media journalists, as well as the paparazzi, swarmed this “news maker” like flies.
The paparazzi were the most excited.
This tycoon hadn’t “canoodled” with any sort of cover girl over the last few months. He holed himself up in his place every day, turning into a shut-in; this wasn’t in keeping with Stark’s character at all.
Not to mention that this tycoon was the first superhero, Iron Man, to reveal his real identity on TV.
Was a cover girl favored by Iron Man the same as a cover girl favored by a playboy? Of course not.
Look at Sheerah, who had only been “suspected” of having a thing with Batman; she skyrocketed and became a super star!
So what if Tony was a Stark or Iron Man? If he didn’t make a splash in the news, he was nothing.
Everybody was waiting to see who would be the first woman to win over Iron Man. She would definitely receive the same treatment and become a media darling.
Because of that, countless women were doing all they could, including but not limited to stars, media presenters, socialites, upper-class ladies, gay guys and so on.
Unfortunately, the paparazzi, beautiful ladies and gay guys were disappointed.
Tony had been busy studying the Iron Man Armor every day for the last few months.
Apart from a few public appearances, the only person he made eyes at was Pepper, the CEO’s PA.
Pepper had been busy non-stop with buying back Stark Industries shares, cleaning up Obadiah’s minions, changing the direction of the company’s development, and overseeing the relocation. She was so busy that even the tycoon’s meaningful looks just passed her by.
Of course, Pepper herself was still hesitant to get into a relationship.
If they didn’t start a relationship, she could still continue being his assistant.
Once they started, Tony’s attitude of changing women like he was changing clothes would be a big problem.
Once their relationship ended, there would no longer be any reason for her to stay by his side, so she could only leave.
The biggest problem between a man and a woman was the imbalance in feelings.
Although Pepper deliberately avoided talking to Tony, the tycoon wasn’t discouraged. He had a lot of things to do.
At that moment, in the night sky above Flushing, New York, the back of a carrier plane slowly opened.
A gold and red Mark 4 took a running leap out of the carrier plane, and amidst the countless explosions of fireworks, it charged down from the sky and landed on the stage in a handsome and classic pose, one knee and hand down on the ground.
A large group of beautiful women with blue and white LED lights on their chests poured out from the back, and they started to sing and dance to the song “Shoot to Thrill.”
Tony stood up and spread his hands in a gesture of welcome. The stage opened up, and four mechanical arms rose up to quickly take off the armor.
The tycoon’s hair wasn’t messy at all, and his beard was neatly trimmed. His lips curled up into a charming smile.
In the huge venue below the stage, countless people jumped and yelled, “Iron Man, I love you. Tony, I love you!”
Luke and Selina were eating dinner as they watched the news.
Selina sighed. “Look at this flashy person… Why can we only use the armor’s stealth function when we go out?”
Luke said, “I forgot to tell you that many people in Congress feel that the Iron Man suit is a great weapon that can threaten the stability of society. The military committee is preparing to summon Tony, and want him to hand over the Iron Man suit.”
Selina exclaimed, “Seriously? He’s the top dog of Stark Industries. Those people can’t touch him, right?”
Luke put down his empty plate and took a sip of his guaraná. “If it were any other ordinary person, they wouldn’t have gotten the Senate to issue a summons, but would have directly sent troops to besiege him and confiscate the armor. If it were you, would you kill the soldiers who were ordered to come, or would you run away?”
Selina snorted and chewed on a piece of char siu. “I would choose… to use the stealth function.”
Luke patted her head with a smile to comfort her. “Good girl!”
Selina turned her head unhappily and avoided Luke’s paw. She looked at him disdainfully. Don’t think I don’t know that you frequently praise Dollar like this.
On the live broadcast, Tony was giving his speech. “I’m not saying that this current period of world peace is because of me… I’m also not saying that nobody has been reborn from the ashes like me… Because I’m always in peak condition, and no one dares to go toe-to-toe with me…”
Selina glanced at a certain someone on the side. “No one dares to go toe-to-toe with him. Has this young master gotten a little cocky recently?”
Luke raised the juice and took another gulp, before he shrugged. “He’s Iron Man, he’s awesome. I have to give him that.”
Selina chuckled. “Hehe!”
In fact, the tycoon was even cockier than Selina had imagined.
Two days later, she watched the news broadcast of the hearing in D.C.. She watched Tony say matter-of-factly, “…I think it’s a high-tech prosthetic. That’s the best description I can think of…”
Selina couldn’t help but glance at Luke. She felt that the ability of the guy on TV to lie through his teeth was a little familiar.