As Lucas departed, the crowd and reporters immediately erupted, snapping photos and recording videos like mad.
Firefighters and paramedics rushed forward at once, beginning to evacuate and treat the passengers inside the aircraft.
High in the sky, Clark followed closely beside Lucas. As he drew near, Clark instinctively extended his biological force field to envelop him.
He had never tried it on a plane before—but shielding a single person was effortless.
"How did you do it?" Clark asked, unable to hide his curiosity.
"You mean the plane?" Lucas countered.
"Yes," Clark nodded. "You know I rely on my biological force field—but you don't have one."
He simply couldn't understand it.
At that moment, a strange sensation washed over Clark.
It felt like stepping from freezing winter air into a warmly heated room.
"So this is the reason you could save the plane?" Clark closed his eyes briefly, sensing the energy, then asked.
"You guessed right," Lucas replied with a grin.
"Unfortunately, there's no prize."
"What an incredible form of energy," Clark said sincerely.
"It feels even more mysterious than my biological force field."
"Not necessarily," Lucas replied calmly.
"Your force field has countless applications. Don't underestimate yourself."
Just then, they encountered Tony, who was still flying toward them.
Tony had barely covered a third of the distance when he learned that Lucas had already resolved the situation. The realization left him feeling more than a little speechless.
As he turned back, JARVIS immediately detected Lucas and Clark approaching.
"Tony," Lucas said with a laugh as they slowed to a stop,
"Are you here to welcome us?"
"Ahem… you could say that," Tony replied, sounding a bit helpless behind his helmet.
"Then thanks," Lucas said cheerfully.
"Clark and I will head back and prepare dinner. Come eat when you're done—don't let the food get cold."
With that, Lucas and Clark accelerated again, vanishing into the distance.
Watching their retreating figures, Tony's cheek twitched several times.
"JARVIS," Tony asked, "what's the top flight speed of the Mark armor?"
[Sir, the average cruising speed of the Mark series is 316 meters per second.]
[Under overload conditions, maximum speed may reach approximately Mach 1.2.]
Tony sighed.
"So even at full speed, I'd still be left far behind by them, right?"
[I'm sorry, sir.]
"No, that's not your fault," Tony said quietly as he flew.
"Create a new file. I'm starting development on a new engine and armor model."
[Sir, I should note that the human body cannot withstand the extreme G-forces associated with such speeds.]
"JARVIS, you're wrong."
Tony's voice was calm, but resolute.
"If one day we face enemies like Lucas or Clark, am I supposed to just stand there helpless, like I did today?"
"That's not who I am."
[Understood, sir. You intend to develop equipment capable of countering threats similar to Mr. Lucas and Mr. Clark?]
"No," Tony corrected.
"Enemies like them."
[Acknowledged. Shall I create a separate encrypted file as before?]
"Yes," Tony said after a moment's thought.
"Name it… the Anti-Terminator Project."
He laughed suddenly.
"I've got a ton of inspiration right now. JARVIS, record everything I say!"
[Understood, sir.]
---
That evening, during dinner, Lucas noticed something unusual about Tony's expression.
"Tony," Lucas asked, "what's got you in such a good mood?"
"Haha! Inspiration struck," Tony said enthusiastically, setting down his knife and fork.
"You know me—nothing feels better than when ideas start exploding in my head."
"Oh, congratulations," Lucas replied calmly.
"But I hope Pepper didn't hear that."
Tony froze.
Then he narrowed his eyes at Lucas.
"You didn't record that, did you?"
"You're overthinking it," Lucas said innocently.
"I don't have JARVIS, and I'm not wearing armor—how would I record anything?"
"…Good," Tony said, exhaling in relief.
"And don't get the wrong idea. I just don't want Pepper worrying that I'm overworking myself."
"That's great," a voice said coldly from the living room.
"I was worried you didn't realize that."
"Pepper?!"
Tony nearly jumped out of his chair.
He shot an accusing look at Lucas, who merely shrugged.
"I didn't record anything," Lucas said.
"Pepper just happened to call. You know my house has a fully integrated smart assistant system—installed by you, by the way."
Tony sucked in a sharp breath.
He had no comeback—because Lucas was right.
"So?" Pepper's voice continued.
"Anything else you want to say?"
"No, no! Pepper, I was just joking with them!" Tony hurried to explain.
"Oh?" Pepper replied coolly.
"Then since your armor is more important than I am, you can sleep in it tonight. I've already locked the doors through JARVIS."
The call ended.
Silence filled the room.
Everyone looked at Tony—some sympathetic, some suppressing laughter, others openly enjoying the spectacle.
"If you don't mind," Lucas offered helpfully,
"I do have a guest room."
"No need," Tony said darkly, stabbing a piece of steak with his fork.
"I know how to get in."
He chewed aggressively, glaring at Lucas like he wanted to murder him.
"Hey, Tony," Lucas said kindly,
"This one's really on you."
"Someone was just teaching Clark how to chase girls," Lucas added casually.
"And now he can't even go home."
Tony swallowed the steak with difficulty and snapped,
"Clark will definitely succeed with Lois. I guarantee it!"
"Uh… thank you, Tony," Clark said awkwardly.
"If you're short on cash, ask Tony," Lucas said, nudging Clark with his elbow.
"Money is basically toilet paper to him."
"That wouldn't be appropriate," Clark said shyly.
Tony snorted.
"He's right. Money is paper to me—but to him, it's probably air."
"So if you need dating funds, ask him. No need to pay it back."
"And if he dares ask you for repayment, come to me—I've got a thirty-lawyer team ready."
Lucas smiled.
"Thirty? Mine has fifty—top-tier experts. Want to have them meet tomorrow?"
As the two traded verbal blows using stacks of money as weapons, everyone else quietly focused on their food.
When titans slapped each other with cash,
the smartest thing to do was stay silent—and enjoy whatever bills fell to the floor.