The next morning, Luke woke up and shook his head, recalling the absolute chaos of yesterday's press conference.
A Shadow Ninja emerged from the corner to prepare breakfast, while another respectfully handed Luke a toothbrush and a cup of water.
As Luke sat down at the dining table, a ninja flipped on the television.
"Yesterday, Stark Industries released an official statement regarding the violent clash that took place at their headquarters. During the press conference, billionaire industrialist Tony Stark shockingly declared that he was the man inside the suit of armor, officially adopting the moniker 'Iron Man.' Furthermore, he confirmed the existence of a second superhuman—a vigilante capable of controlling dark energy and commanding non-human entities—introducing him as his ally, the 'Lord of the Shadows.' Stark assured the public that his ally's powers are completely under control..."
"Last night, Tony Stark attended a high-society charity gala fully suited up in his Iron Man armor, much to the delight of the attendees."
"Unfortunately, our reporters have yet to spot any signs of the elusive Lord of the Shadows..."
The morning news was entirely dominated by the events at Stark Industries.
It seemed the general public was actually slightly more fixated on Tony. After all, the narrative framed it as Tony surviving multiple assassination attempts, escaping captivity, and ultimately fighting the monstrous Iron Monger in a desperate battle to protect his company and the civilians. It was a perfect hero's origin story.
Luke changed the channel, but every major network was broadcasting the exact same story.
He frowned slightly. His favorite morning gossip shows had all been replaced by Iron Man coverage.
After finishing his breakfast, Luke opened his System interface.
He currently had 50 Razor Claws and 350 Shadow Ninjas. To his genuine surprise, not a single ninja stationed with Yinsen in Afghanistan had been destroyed yet. Luke realized he needed to seriously re-evaluate the combat effectiveness of his basic troops.
It made sense, though. The ninjas now possessed eight times the physical strength and durability of a normal human. Combined with their supernatural agility, flawless coordination, and ability to melt into the shadows, they were more than capable of handling scattered insurgents armed with basic assault rifles. In that region, they were practically invincible.
However, his recent clash with the rival Dark Dimension Lord had served as a harsh wake-up call.
While his army was devastating against normal humans, their numbers fell woefully short when engaging in cross-dimensional warfare. Enemy dimensional lords simply conquered physical worlds and threw millions of disposable monsters through the rifts. If Luke relied solely on numbers, he would eventually be overwhelmed.
Furthermore, he only had a handful of micro-dimension coordinates left. When he eventually moved on to raiding small, medium, and large dimensions—or even directly challenging Dormammu's domain—the numerical disadvantage would only grow wider.
'If I can't win with quantity, I'll just have to win with sheer quality.'
If his elite units could fight ten thousand enemies each, he could simply bottleneck the spatial rifts. Since his ninjas couldn't truly die and didn't feel fatigue, he could just grind the endless hordes into dust through sheer attrition.
Looking at the remaining micro-dimension coordinates, Luke formulated a plan. He would spend the next two days rapidly mining them completely dry. His goal was to hit 1,000 Shadow Ninjas—which should trigger the next [Stat Enhancement]—and then increase his Razor Claws to 100, hopefully unlocking an entirely new, higher-tier combat unit.
He set an alarm on his phone, determined to fully clear the Ancient One's ledger by the end of the week.
Suddenly, his phone rang. It was Tony.
"Hey, Tony. Need me to save your life again?" Luke answered.
"Hilarious. No, just come over to the lab. I have a gift for you."
A gift?
Luke thought about it for a second. What could Tony Stark possibly give him? A custom Iron Man suit?
Intrigued, Luke opened a portal and stepped directly into Tony's underground workshop.
"Security footage deleted," J.A.R.V.I.S.'s calm, British voice announced the moment Luke stepped through.
"I adjusted J.A.R.V.I.S.'s protocols last night," Tony explained, walking over from a workbench. "Whenever you use your sparkly door to enter my house, he'll automatically scrub the security footage for that exact timeframe. Can't have S.H.I.E.L.D. hacking my servers and tracking your movements."
Tony tossed two sleek, metallic bracelets to Luke. "Put these on."
Luke strapped them to his wrists. The bracelets chimed softly, glowing with a faint blue light. A second later, two heavy, metallic boots flew across the workshop and clamped seamlessly onto Luke's feet, locking into place.
"This is my new automated deployment tech," Tony explained proudly. "It allows individual armor pieces to track the transponders on your wrists and automatically assemble on your body. The tech is still in its infancy, so right now I can only reliably deploy smaller components."
"I noticed you were incredibly slow when flying through the air yesterday," Tony continued. "So, I built you a pair of custom repulsor boots. They run on a miniaturized Arc Reactor built into the soles. They'll easily let you break the sound barrier."
Tony frowned slightly. "Obviously, they don't provide any full-body armor plating. But honestly, given your ridiculous physical strength, you probably don't need it. A full suit might actually just restrict your mobility."
It still baffled Tony's scientific mind. How could a teenager possess that level of superhuman durability? If Tony had that kind of stamina, he could have effortlessly worked his way through the entire Maxim Top 100 list in a single weekend.
"Don't be jealous," Luke grinned, taking a few steps in the heavy boots. They fit perfectly and surprisingly didn't feel cumbersome at all.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., open the garage door. I need to take these for a spin."
Luke walked over to the edge of the cliffside driveway. "Hey, Tony. Want to go for a ride?"
"Please," Tony scoffed. "You're just terrified of crashing and want the brilliant, billionaire Iron Man there to catch you."
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"Get over yourself. I can fly just fine on my own. I was just being polite."
Watching Tony step onto his mechanical assembly platform, Luke considered his lack of aerodynamics. He channeled his dark energy, allowing it to coat his entire body, morphing into a sleek, pitch-black bodysuit. While it wasn't thick armor, it would provide excellent wind resistance and protect his clothes.
"Is there anything your weird shadow powers can't do?" Tony muttered, watching the dark energy seamlessly form a custom suit. He was genuinely envious. If he wanted to suit up, he still had to rely on a massive, stationary robotic rig. Though, to be fair, his new automated deployment tech would eventually solve that issue.
"You'll get there with technology eventually," Luke replied. "Look into nanotechnology. That's the future."
Tony's eyes lit up thoughtfully. He nodded slowly. "J.A.R.V.I.S., open a new project file under 'Nanotech Applications'."
"Of course, Sir."
As the robotic arms bolted the heavy red-and-gold plating onto Tony, he stretched his neck and stepped off the platform.
"Alright, kid. Ready to lose? Let's race. If you lose, you have to lend me two of your ninjas to study. Don't worry, I just want to analyze their energy composition. I'm not going to run any evil experiments on them."
"And what if you lose?" Luke asked casually. He knew perfectly well that Tony was currently obsessed with mechanical engineering; he had zero interest in actually studying biological or dimensional entities right now. Tony probably just wanted the ninjas to act as permanent bodyguards for Pepper.
"Tony Stark doesn't lose," Tony declared confidently. Did this kid even understand fluid dynamics? The boots he gave Luke could barely break the sound barrier, while the Mark III was capable of Mach 2. It wasn't even going to be a contest.
"Ground rules: no using your magic portals to cheat," Tony added. "J.A.R.V.I.S., plot a flight path and clear it with local air traffic control."
"Relax. I can't open a portal to a place I've never been anyway," Luke replied.
"Wait, then how did you teleport directly into my lab earlier?"
"Flight path confirmed, Sir," J.A.R.V.I.S. interrupted.
"Catch me if you can!" Luke yelled, igniting the boots.
"Hey! Cheater!" Tony shouted as Luke blasted off the cliff.
The repulsor boots flared, shooting Luke into the sky. He wobbled for a few seconds, quickly adjusting to the thrust controls, before stabilizing into a smooth hover.
"Are you coming or what? I've been waiting forever," Luke mocked over the comms.
Tony shot out of the garage, hovering effortlessly beside him. "Alright, just making sure you didn't immediately fly into a mountain. J.A.R.V.I.S., count us down."
Both of them leveled out, waiting for the AI's signal.
The moment the countdown hit zero, Luke shot forward. Tony reacted a fraction of a second slower, but his superior thrusters quickly allowed him to catch up.
"See ya, kid!" Tony's voice crackled through the bone-conduction earpiece built into Luke's bracelet as the Mark III blew past him, both of them instantly shattering the sound barrier.
Watching the brilliant blue flames of Tony's thrusters pull further away, Luke smirked. 'You think I can't fly in the air?'
Luke commanded the dark energy coating his body to forcefully expel all the air resistance around him, creating a perfect, frictionless aerodynamic cone.
To anyone watching from the ground, Luke looked like a blurry black missile tearing through the sky. Without any air resistance holding him back, his acceleration continued to climb exponentially.
"On your left, Tony," Luke announced smoothly.
Tony glanced at his HUD in absolute shock as Luke pulled up right next to him. And the kid was still accelerating!
"What the hell?! J.A.R.V.I.S., how is he doing that?!"
"Scans indicate the unknown energy field surrounding him is actively repelling atmospheric drag, Sir. He is effectively flying in a localized vacuum, allowing for infinite acceleration."
"That is absurd!" Tony yelled over the comms. "Luke, you're approaching Mach 3! Your body shouldn't be able to handle those G-forces!"
"I could go faster," Luke laughed. "But it looks like we're almost out of runway."
Tony checked the map. J.A.R.V.I.S. had plotted a 300-mile circuit, but at their current speeds, they were going to finish the entire route in under ten minutes.
Suddenly, Luke felt a warning ping in his mind.
"Ah, crap. Tony, I pushed it too hard. I'm out of energy!" Luke yelled, quickly realizing he couldn't maintain the frictionless dark energy shield and power his repulsor boots at the same time.
"Are you okay?!" Tony asked, immediately banking to intercept him if he started falling.
"I'm fine, but I have to slow down. Go on without me!"
Luke slowly recalled the dark energy coating his body. The moment the frictionless shield dropped, the sheer force of hitting the atmosphere at Mach 2 felt like slamming face-first into a solid brick wall. Even with his 8x physical enhancement, the sudden deceleration was brutal.
He stabilized his flight and used a trickle of dark energy to soothe his bruised ribs, slowly coasting the rest of the way.
"Alright, Tony. You win. Nice flying," Luke conceded as he landed on a rooftop across the street from a local burger joint.
Tony had landed on the street below and was immediately swarmed by a crowd of excited civilians trying to take pictures with Iron Man.
Luke dissolved his dark energy mask and walked over, staying at the edge of the crowd.
Tony noticed him, walked over, and gave him a quick, one-armed hug, leaning in close. "I know you threw the race, you little punk," he whispered.
"Hey, I just wanted to do Pepper a solid. Consider the ninjas a thank-you for letting me hitch a ride in her car," Luke grinned.
The crowd around them was going absolutely wild. Seeing Iron Man in person was already the highlight of their lives, but realizing the mysterious 'Lord of the Shadows' was standing right next to him sent the frenzy into overdrive.
Flashes went off relentlessly. People were cheering and clapping. Unlike Tony, who bathed in the adoration and posed for the cameras, Luke felt incredibly awkward.
"Most of these people are the employees and civilians we evacuated from Stark Industries last night," Tony said quietly, noticing Luke's discomfort. "If it wasn't for you pinning Obadiah down, half of them would have been killed in the crossfire. They're just trying to thank you."
Hearing that, Luke relaxed slightly. Looking closely, he realized the crowd was keeping a respectful distance, not trying to mob or grab him.
Two young kids timidly approached the front of the crowd, holding up a small bouquet of flowers.
"Thank you for saving us, Mister Shadow," the little girl squeaked.
Luke crouched down, gently accepting the flowers, and ruffled the kids' hair. "You're very welcome."
He stood back up and turned to Tony. "Alright. I admit it. This superhero gig isn't entirely terrible."
Tony smirked and flipped on his external speakers. "Alright, everyone! Burgers are on me today! Who wants a cheeseburger?! Fun fact: I actually own this franchise, so I can legally guarantee they're the best in the city!"
"Wait, you actually bought a burger franchise?" Luke asked, genuinely surprised.
Tony popped his faceplate open and shrugged. "Stark Industries shut down weapons manufacturing, and commercializing the Arc Reactor tech is going to take time. I didn't have anything better to do, so I bought the company."
"Right," Luke shook his head. "Well, get me two."
Tony walked inside to order, while Luke used his boots to hop up to the roof of the restaurant to avoid the paparazzi.
A few minutes later, Tony flew up and landed beside him, handing over a greasy paper bag.
"Here you go."
"Do you want a tip?"
"Bite me."
Luke took a bite of the burger, enjoying the peace and quiet of the rooftop. "It's pretty good. You might actually turn a profit on this."
"I better," Tony sighed dramatically, taking a bite of his own burger. "Stark Industries stock finally stopped plummeting, but it's still nowhere near what it used to be. If I don't figure out a new product line soon, I might actually go bankrupt."
"You have access to the most advanced technology on the planet. Just build consumer electronics," Luke suggested.
"Cost of manufacturing is one issue. Public adoption is another," Tony argued. "People are barely getting used to the idea of having a terrible, low-resolution camera built into their flip phones. The tech I have in my suit is decades ahead of the civilian market. I can't just release it."
"Have you ever thought about just... combining everything?"
"Combining what?"
"A smartphone," Luke said simply. "A single, sleek device. No physical keyboard, just a seamless glass touchscreen. You interact with it exactly like you do with your holographic lab tables. Put a high-def camera, a GPS, an MP3 player, and an internet browser all in one device. And give it a simplified AI assistant—not as advanced as J.A.R.V.I.S., just something that can respond to vocal prompts to make calls, take notes, or search the web."
Luke desperately wanted to accelerate the invention of the smartphone so he could finally play some decent mobile games.
"You think that would sell?" Tony asked, his genius brain already rapidly calculating the schematics and required components.
"It would revolutionize the entire planet."
"Alright. I trust you. I'll have J.A.R.V.I.S. run some simulations when we get back." Tony nodded seriously. "You definitely understand what normal people want more than I do."
"Are you insulting me?" Luke raised an eyebrow.
Just as the two of them were enjoying their post-race burgers and planning a technological monopoly, a voice suddenly echoed from the shadows behind them.
"Looks like you two are having a lovely chat."
Luke and Tony turned around to see a bald man in a black trench coat and an eyepatch stepping out onto the rooftop.
Nick Fury had arrived.