Chapter 87: Luke’s Invitation

With both hands wrapped around the glass of milk, Luke took two hearty gulps and mulled things over for a moment.
“There’s no need for apologies,” he said. “As for letting you go…”
Skye looked at him with pleading, puppy-dog eyes.
“Since you claim you’re not that involved with the Rising Tide, how about joining my organization instead? My group has no official ties to any government, you can be perfectly at ease on that front.” Luke suddenly changed his tone.
He was, of course, not referring to S.H.I.E.L.D., but to an organization he was building himself—a group still in the recruitment phase, without even a proper name yet.
“You’re inviting me… to join your organization?” Skye’s expression turned odd, her big eyes blinking in disbelief at Luke. This was nothing like what she’d expected.
She glanced at her phone and said, “Two minutes and thirty seconds ago, I was still your prisoner.”
Luke burst out laughing. “I agree, this was all just a misunderstanding. So, as a gesture of good faith on both sides, let’s just forget this unpleasantness for now, shall we?”
Skye continued to look at him with that peculiar gaze.
“What, do you think I’m too young? Don’t forget, I’m the Apostle.” With that, Luke straightened his tiny face in an attempt at seriousness.
Unfortunately, he was naturally terrible at this sort of thing—no matter how hard he tried to look stern, he only managed to look even more adorable.
Skye almost couldn’t help but laugh to herself. “The Apostle. Well, that name is certainly convincing.”
Luke slumped a little—was the name really more convincing than his face?
But then again, it wasn’t so surprising. To the outside world, the Apostle was known for a power that could rival Iron Man’s, for a terrifying destructive force that could silence children’s cries and terrify grown adults.
Whether it was the Cyclone or the Warlord, he’d put a lot of thought into their initial designs and paint jobs, trying to make the battle suits as intimidating as possible.
Though in the end, they’d still turned out rather boxy—an issue with the prototypes.
Fortunately, through his relentless efforts, the name Apostle had become synonymous with “destructive” and “aggressive.”
Luke figured that appearance must account for at least half of it.
Just imagine if he flew around in a suit suited to a seven-year-old—loaded with the full arsenal of a Gunner, no less.
“Look! SpongeBob SquarePants!”
Luke shuddered at the mere thought of the consequences…
“So, what do you think? Give it some thought. I’m serious,” Luke said, referring to his invitation for Skye to join his organization.
Please, let’s forget about SpongeBob!

“I’d like to ask first—what exactly is your organization planning to do? You’re not trying to…” Skye’s eyes widened, trailing off before she dared finish the thought.
Given the Apostle’s past deeds, she couldn’t help imagining this might be some kind of terrorist cell…
And the scariest part: these people actually had the power to back it up. The little kid in front of her might be one of the core members!
If something like this ever got out, she wouldn’t just go to jail—she’d be dead.
This wasn’t like hacking, where you could hide in a dark attic and disappear into the web. The Apostle’s brazen, destructive style was, in Skye’s mind, exactly what not to do…
Luke had no idea that, in Skye’s mind, she’d already pegged him as a terrorist.
And really, it wasn’t her fault.
From what she knew, the Apostle had already pulled off a string of “big events.”
A battle with Iron Man on the Monaco highway, then tearing apart French fighter jets with his bare hands.
Two million people in New York mysteriously falling unconscious, with tens of thousands dead or injured—still unexplained to this day.
A massive cyberattack on the East Coast, plunging New York into a blackout—she was certain that was Luke’s doing.
And then, five days ago, smashing up a plaza at an expo alongside Iron Man…
Any one of these incidents would be enough to qualify as a terrorist attack—major ones, at that.
And now he wanted her to join?
All Skye could do was laugh bitterly to herself.
“Damn it! You’ve got the wrong person! I’m not cut out for this!” she thought desperately.
Honestly, she was just a lowly hacker. She had nothing in common with these big shots who threatened to blow up the White House. Please, just let me go…
She simply couldn’t fathom why Luke would want to recruit her.
There had to be a catch!
Anyone capable of crippling the entire East Coast’s network—she had to admit, as a hacker, that was impressive—would have to have a top-tier hacking crew. So why would they need her?
All things considered…
“After careful consideration,” Skye said, after a moment’s pause, keeping her expression steady, “I’ve decided. I’m willing to join your organization.”
“Oh?”
Now it was Luke’s turn to be taken aback.

She agreed that quickly? He thought to himself, Am I really that charming?
He doubted it.
He knew perfectly well what he looked like—a cute little boy, hardly anyone’s idea of irresistible charm.
Unless Skye was into little brothers… Not likely.
“Is that so.” Luke’s little face wore a knowing, half-mocking smile as he mercilessly poked holes in Skye’s lie. “You’re not even going to ask about your position or the perks?”
Skye broke out in a cold sweat, realizing she had agreed far too quickly. She hurried to explain.
“I’ve always been fascinated by this kind of thing, you know… really fascinated… Otherwise, I wouldn’t have tracked you guys down…” she said, her smile growing stiff as she wondered whether she ought to toss in a few words of reassurance.
Skye was seriously freaked out inside.
After all, she wasn’t the Quake of the future. As she’d said herself, right now she was just a small-time hacker.
A dropout who’d become a hacker in her quest to learn the truth about her own past.
Luke remembered a bit of her backstory—how Skye had deliberately gotten herself captured by S.H.I.E.L.D., all to investigate her origins, brazenly going undercover and eventually, somehow, rising to become Director Johnson.
There was no doubt about it—she was clever, capable, and resourceful.
If he let her go now, trusting her word, Luke was certain she’d disappear the moment she stepped out the door. Of course, having Christina drag her back would be child’s play.
He just didn’t want to let such a promising prospect slip through his fingers.
Daisy’s wit and hacking skills aside, not to mention her pleasing appearance, she would eventually become the renowned Quake, a leading figure among the Inhumans.
In time, Daisy would be able to unleash powerful shockwaves in battle, with all sorts of applications—even serving as, well…
Maybe not quite as insane as Black Bolt’s voice, but easily top-tier hero material, well-qualified for the Avengers.
Speaking of which, the Avengers were notoriously picky—if you weren’t strong enough, you weren’t in; if you lacked the right pedigree, you weren’t in; if your morals were questionable, you weren’t in. The standards were brutally high.
Just getting past Tony was enough to weed out droves of applicants.
“I believe in you,” Luke said.
“Right…” Skye’s smile was a little forced. She wasn’t good at this sort of thing.
“I believe you’re lying to me.”