"It seems this virus isn't as powerful as I expected."
Lucas looked at the kidnapper leader who had completely lost consciousness and shook his head slightly.
He had assumed that the Extremis Virus would be comparable to Captain America's Super Soldier Serum. Even in the movies, it had displayed far greater combat performance than this.
"Could it be a semi-finished product?"
Lucas rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Around him, the remaining kidnappers were completely stunned.
The spark of resistance that had flared up because of their leader was instantly extinguished by what they had just witnessed.
Clatter.
One kidnapper dropped his weapon to the ground and said in panic,
"Don't kill me—I surrender!"
Fear spread rapidly.
More and more kidnappers threw their weapons aside and chose to surrender.
Of course, there were still a few stubborn ones who raised their guns, aimed at Lucas, and pulled the trigger.
Electromagnetic force propelled the bullets at speeds far beyond conventional gunpowder weapons—but when they struck Lucas, they couldn't even tear his clothes.
Lucas's eyes flickered slightly.
All the bullets froze in midair, while the ones fired afterward slammed into an invisible wall of air and fell uselessly to the ground.
To an outsider, it looked like telekinesis.
In reality, it was merely basic control of ki.
Over the past year in the gravity chamber, Lucas hadn't only been training his body—he had also been constantly refining his control over ki.
Ki was a form of life energy.
Its malleability was astonishing. Lucas even felt that what Dragon Ball showed was only the tip of the iceberg.
Krillin's Destructo Disc, Master Roshi's Evil Containment Wave, the Yardratians' Instant Transmission, cloning techniques, forced spirit fission—
All of these demonstrated the sheer versatility of ki.
Among mortal beings, the Yardratians were undoubtedly the most accomplished in this field.
Instant Transmission, cloning, spirit control, forced separation, duplication, gigantification…
Sometimes, Lucas felt that ki was simply too useful.
So even if he couldn't develop those advanced techniques yet, perfecting the application of ki itself was already more than enough.
With a casual lift of his hand, the remaining attackers were blasted away, crashing into the warehouse walls and embedding themselves there just like their leader.
The kidnappers who had already surrendered felt intense relief.
If they had acted earlier, they would have ended up the same way.
Lucas took out his phone and sent the location to the joint task force.
After ending the call, he turned to the Green Goblin, who was preparing to leave.
"Norman Osborn," Lucas said calmly,
"when you threw those explosives earlier, did you not think at all?"
"The hostages were in the adjacent warehouse. The blast wouldn't have affected them," Norman replied cautiously.
Lucas shook his head.
"And how could you be sure the kidnappers weren't carrying high explosives? What if it caused a chain detonation?"
Norman wanted to say that with Carrie's abilities, even a missile exploding here wouldn't have harmed her.
But he didn't dare.
And he couldn't.
Lucas's reputation was known throughout America.
This wasn't a superhero.
This was a dangerous man.
Especially after his release from prison, anyone with half a brain understood one thing clearly—
Lucas now effectively possessed a license to kill.
"I apologize for my recklessness," Norman said sincerely.
Lucas neither confirmed nor denied it.
He walked over, picked up the metal case, and said casually,
"I've heard this thing is worth at least three hundred million dollars on the black market."
"You may keep it," Norman said through gritted teeth.
"Consider it an apology… for your sister."
"So the Osborn family's genetic problem has really reached the point where you can only rely on this?"
Lucas said, gently shaking the glass tube filled with green liquid.
Norman's expression changed completely.
The Osborn family's genetic defect was a closely guarded secret.
How did Lucas know?
Norman's face darkened, but he dared not react.
"Alright," Lucas said indifferently.
"Take your son and leave—while I'm still in a decent mood."
Green Goblin or not, if Lucas were truly displeased, a single energy blast would wipe out this entire villainous family.
Norman could only leave with his son, supported by his butler and guards, stumbling away in silence.
---
Half an hour later, Lucas brought Carrie home.
"So you're trying to starve me to death, is that it?"
Elaine, who was sitting in the living room reading, glanced at them and said flatly,
"Don't forget—we have two new kids in the house."
"Haha… something came up on the way to pick Carrie up. My bad," Lucas said apologetically.
"Then hurry up and make dinner," Elaine snorted.
"Otherwise I'll report you for child abuse."
"Alright, alright," Lucas laughed.
"Take Carrie to meet Wanda and Pietro, then bring them downstairs to eat."
As he spoke, Lucas walked into the kitchen, put on an apron, and began cooking.
Before long, the table was filled with food.
When Wanda and Pietro came downstairs, they were stunned by the sight.
Lucas's dining table was custom-made—
a large, round table with a rotating glass center designed to seat twenty people.
And now, it was completely covered with dishes.
"Isn't this… too much?" Wanda asked hesitantly.
Elaine glanced at the twins.
"So how much do you usually eat?"
"A bit more than normal people," Wanda answered.
Elaine shrugged at Lucas.
"Looks like you'll need to cook even more."
"No problem," Lucas said casually.
If using ki to heat food didn't risk burning it, he would've done that already.
At that moment, he couldn't help thinking—
If he had Clark's heat vision, it would be perfect for controlled reheating.
---
A week had passed since the S.H.I.E.L.D. incident.
More than thirty thousand Hydra agents had been arrested in total.
The number shocked everyone.
People had known Hydra had deeply infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D.—
but not to this extent.
On the day of the incident, many had accused Lucas of recklessly stirring chaos, wasting national resources, and acting without justification.
After the arrest of the senator, opposition voices had grown even louder.
But when the final results were revealed—
All criticism fell silent.
Some even switched sides immediately, openly supporting Lucas.
At that point, they could practically be called fans.
Lucas didn't care.
Hydra's downfall was inevitable.
At least in America, it would never rise again.
Now, it was time to begin planning around the Infinity Stones.
The events of The Avengers were triggered by this very stone.
Which meant—
As long as Loki was allowed to act, the Mind Stone would inevitably come knocking.
So for now, all that remained was to wait for the events of Thor to begin.
When that time came—
He would make his move.