Chapter 642

"Doomfist!"

No matter how tough Luke Cage was, a direct blow to the head like that was enough to knock him unconscious.

And once an enemy was down, Luther had no intention of showing mercy.

The Eredar Twins had drilled one lesson into him thoroughly: never give your opponent time to recover.

He wasn’t going to make the classic villain’s mistake of standing around after winning, explaining his entire plan, confessing his motivations, and delivering some triumphant speech while the supposedly defeated hero quietly got back on his feet and turned the tables.

So Luther didn’t hesitate.

His knees bent.

He exploded upward.

Luther shot into the air, his massive right gauntlet clenched tight. Four enormous spikes extended from the fist with a metallic snap, and the weapon began to emit a deep mechanical hum as energy surged through it.

He was going to finish Luke Cage with his strongest attack.

But just as Luther approached the peak of his ascent and prepared to descend, a violent rush of air came from behind.

He turned his head.

And immediately regretted the distraction.

A figure had shot past him and climbed even higher.

Jessica Jones.

Luther stared.

How the hell did she jump that high?

Then he noticed what she was carrying.

A motorcycle.

Wait. She’s holding a motorcycle?

Jessica gritted her teeth, gave a sharp grunt, and swung the bike overhead with both hands.

Then she threw it.

Luther was still facing away from her and had no way to dodge.

The motorcycle slammed directly into him.

He was knocked out of the air and sent crashing toward the ground.

On solid ground, Luther would have welcomed the challenge. A motorcycle? A truck? He’d punch either one head-on. He’d already smashed through powered armor before. A little steel and momentum weren’t exactly frightening.

Unfortunately, he was currently several feet above the ground.

And Luther couldn’t fly.

He hadn’t mastered some ridiculous trick where you stepped on your own feet in midair and launched yourself upward again.

So there was nothing he could do.

He fell.

Fortunately, the height wasn’t enough to injure him. Luther hit the ground, rolled, and immediately started pushing himself upright.

Then he noticed the sticky substance coating his hand.

He raised it.

Sniffed.

"Aw, shit. Gas."

Then he saw the motorcycle’s battery sparking beside him.

Crackle. Crackle.

Luther’s eyes widened.

"Oh, shit!"

That was all the warning he got.

A massive burst of flame swallowed him.

Jessica looked at the burning wreckage and sighed.

"There goes my full tank."

She didn’t dwell on it. Instead, she hurried over to Luke Cage and helped pull him upright.

She checked his neck.

A pulse.

Thank God.

Jessica finally let out the breath she’d been holding.

New York really was full of monsters.

Until now, she’d thought Moira might have been exaggerating when she’d warned her how many dangerous people were hiding in the city.

Apparently not.

That morning alone, Jessica had nearly provoked someone who, according to Moira, could wipe out her entire team.

And now she’d watched some enormous guy beat Luke Cage like he was nothing.

What were the odds?

Was New York really the kind of place where you could throw a brick into a random crowd, hit three people, and find out two of them were superhuman while the third just hadn’t gotten around to mutating yet?

Jessica didn’t have time to dwell on it.

She hauled Luke’s unconscious body over her shoulder and started moving.

She knew the explosion wouldn’t be enough to kill Luther.

The blast that had destroyed Luke’s bar had been far more powerful, and Luther had survived that too.

So they needed to get out.

Fast.

Luke was unconscious, and Jessica knew perfectly well she wasn’t strong enough to handle Luther alone.

They’d made it only a few steps when—

BOOM!

The burning frame of the motorcycle flew over their heads and crashed down in front of them, cutting off their escape.

Jessica stopped.

Slowly, she turned around.

Luther stepped out of the flames.

He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck.

"Another explosion."

He looked down at himself with obvious irritation.

"That’s two explosions in the last half hour. What are the odds?"

He gave Jessica a crooked grin and dropped back into a fighting stance.

"At first, I thought you were just some ordinary girl. Guess I was wrong."

His smile widened.

"Now none of you are leaving."

Jessica’s expression hardened.

She quickly dropped Luke to the side and raised her fists.

She’d watched Luther’s earlier fight.

She knew exactly how hard he could hit.

And at this distance, the enormous mechanical arm gave him every advantage.

She wasn’t confident she could avoid his attacks.

Then something screamed through the air.

A small missile streaked between them, trailing a long white-hot plume.

Jessica’s eyes widened.

The missile detonated.

A blinding flash erupted between the three of them, followed by a tremendous shock wave.

Jessica’s head spun as the blast hurled her backward.

Luther staggered several steps.

He steadied himself and glanced toward the sky.

"Well... that’s inconvenient timing."

Jessica blinked, trying to clear the dizziness from her head.

A figure descended through the smoke and fire overhead.

For one brief moment, she thought it was Iron Man.

Then she realized it wasn’t.

In New York, a flying person wearing powered armor naturally brought one name to mind.

Tony Stark.

But this armor was completely different.

Its primary colors were black and purple, not red and gold.

A pair of enormous mechanical wings extended from the figure’s back, something Iron Man definitely didn’t have.

And judging by the body’s shape, the person inside was clearly a woman.

Jessica was also reasonably certain the tabloids would have noticed if Tony Stark had suddenly become a woman.

The armored figure hovered in the air above them.

"Blackwatch operative Pharah. I order all of you to surrender immediately."

Metal shifted across the armor.

Weapon systems unfolded from hidden compartments.

Machine guns.

Missile launchers.

A collection of very convincing reasons not to argue.

Jessica raised both hands.

She had no interest in finding out whether she could survive whatever those weapons were capable of.

And after her earlier encounter with Blackwatch, the last thing she wanted was another misunderstanding with that organization.

"I surrender."

Pharah’s attention shifted.

She looked toward Luther.

"Luther, you’re still alive?"

Then she stopped.

Her voice suddenly turned incredulous.

"Oh, God. Couldn’t you at least have covered yourself?"

Jessica followed her gaze.

Then she understood.

Luther hadn’t exactly been dressed properly after the first explosion.

What little remained of his clothing had been hanging on by a thread.

Then he’d just survived a second explosion.

And when Pharah’s concussion missile exploded nearby, the pressure wave finished the job.

The last scraps of cloth were blown away into the night.

Luther stood there in the firelight with absolutely nothing left to hide.

Pharah immediately looked away.

For once, even a soldier equipped with an arsenal of advanced weapons seemed to have no idea what to do with this particular situation.