Chapter 159: Causing Commotion (Bonus Chapter)
The roar of the black A380 still echoed across Los Angeles long after it had vanished into the afternoon sky.
At LAX, silence lingered for a moment inside the terminals, then chaos erupted.
Passengers crowded every available window, their phones pressed to glass, voices rising in a storm of disbelief. Some sprinted from gate to gate just to keep the jet in sight as it banked westward, its wings flashing platinum in the sun.
In the control tower, controllers leaned out of their panoramic windows, still gaping.
One muttered into his headset, "That’s not real. I mean—it can’t be real."
Another shook his head, eyes fixed on the receding titan. "It just took off. That was no drone, no model. That was an actual A380."
On the ground, baggage crews stopped working. Handlers, drivers, and maintenance staff stood frozen, their jobs forgotten as they craned their necks skyward. Even the usually stoic security officers near the perimeter fence lifted their phones, capturing shaky footage of the beast climbing into the sky.
Outside the airport, the crowd of plane spotters was already in full frenzy.
The little hill near Sepulveda Boulevard had always been a haven for enthusiasts with long lenses and tripods. Most days, they came for the stream of widebodies — 777s, Dreamliners, the occasional freighter. But today, their lenses trembled as they tracked the black aircraft lifting into the sky.
"Jesus Christ," one spotter gasped, his camera rattling in his hands. "That’s a 380! A 380 in private livery!"
"It can’t be private. No way. They never built one," another argued, even as his own shutter clicked furiously.
A third man, livestreaming to his channel, was nearly incoherent. "Chat, you’re seeing this, right? You’re SEEING this? That’s an A380 — all black, platinum streaks. Holy hell, my hands are shaking."
The livestream exploded instantly. Thousands of viewers swarmed in, spamming the chat.
"FAKE. 100% CGI."
"Dumbass upstairs, is CGI possible on live st4eam? I’m at LAX, I’m seeing it too!"
"What airline is that??"
"Not airline. PRIVATE. Someone’s flying a private 380."
"Impossible. That’s oil-sheikh fantasy level."
Within minutes, the video was clipped, reposted, and re-shared across every platform imaginable.
#BlackTitan trended first in Los Angeles. Then across the U.S. Then worldwide.
By the time the A380 leveled at cruising altitude, the internet was ablaze.
Clips of the takeoff dominated TikTok’s "For You" pages. On Twitter, theories multiplied by the second. Reddit’s r/aviation was on fire with new threads, each more frantic than the last.
"Private A380 confirmed??" one post screamed, already with 12,000 upvotes.
Another user wrote: "I was at Gate 152. I swear, the ground literally shook. That thing is all black, no airline markings. Who the hell OWNS that?"
Speculation spiraled wildly. Some swore it had to be Apple, secretly unveiling a flying tech campus. Others insisted it was Elon Musk, testing some experimental luxury program.
A few pointed toward Saudi princes or Emirati royalty. Conspiracy theorists went even further, claiming it was CIA black-budget technology disguised as a private aircraft.
And beneath it all, awe. Pure awe.
Newsrooms were no slower.
By the top of the hour, every major channel in Los Angeles had cut into programming with "Breaking News" banners.
CNN went live with footage from plane spotters. Fox News played shaky cellphone videos from the terminal, anchors nearly shouting over each other. BBC ran the story across its ticker with the blunt headline:
"Unmarked A380 Departs Los Angeles — Ownership Unknown."
At CNBC, anchors spoke in rushed tones: "Viewers, what you’re seeing right now is not a scheduled commercial flight. That is a privately outfitted Airbus A380 — the first of its kind to ever fly. This aircraft type has only ever been operated by airlines due to its size and cost. To see one flying privately, with this livery... frankly, it’s unprecedented."
Requests for comment flooded LAX immediately.
Airport spokespeople were bombarded with calls. Reporters swarmed the terminals, shoving microphones at bewildered passengers. "Did you see it?" they demanded. "What did it look like?"
Finally, an official statement was released.
"Los Angeles International Airport can confirm that an Airbus A380-800, privately registered as N914LX, departed earlier today from Imperial Terminal. The aircraft possesses all required certifications, registry, and flight plans. We are not authorized to disclose ownership at this time."
The words only fanned the flames.
"Registered where? Who owns it? Why private?" Reporters demanded answers, but the airport refused to elaborate.
By evening, the FAA had released a sparing statement of its own: "The A380-800 that departed Los Angeles today is a fully registered, compliant aircraft. There is no cause for alarm. Further details regarding ownership are not public record at this time."
It was the vaguest reassurance possible and if course, it satisfied no one.
In online forums, aviation experts tried to dox the registry instantly. Some cross-checked with leaked databases, pointing out that the tail number "N914LX" had no previous record. That led to even deeper theories: the registry was brand new, filed within the last week, hidden under shell corporations.
One user, a known airline mechanic, wrote: "You don’t just build a private 380 overnight. This project would’ve taken years. Facilities, crews, modifications — someone kept it completely secret. That’s the real story here."
Another comment cut sharper: "Whoever owns this didn’t just buy a plane. They bought a statement. They wanted the world to look up and see something impossible."
And the world was indeed looking up.
By the time the sun dipped low over Los Angeles, major networks were dedicating entire segments to the event.
Anderson Cooper stared at the footage, shaking his head. "I’ve been covering news for decades. I’ve seen wars, elections and a couple of disasters. But I have never seen this — a fully private A380 just casually leaving LAX. We are living in strange times."
Fox’s panel grew heated. One anchor insisted it was "globalist elites flexing their power and some big name politicians wasting taxpayers dollars."
What a thing to say, right?
Another swore it was "a tech giant’s secret launch stunt."
BBC invited aviation historians, who stressed the impossibility of privately maintaining such a craft. "The cost alone is astronomical. Fuel, crew, maintenance — this is a project for governments, not individuals."
But still, the footage rolled again and again: the black giant lifting from the runway, its platinum streaks glinting as the wheels left earth.
***
Meanwhile, the A380 itself cruised silently across the Pacific, cutting through clouds with serene inevitability.
Inside the lounge, Liam sat reclined, a faint smile on his lips as the storm raged unseen below.
Daniel sat opposite him, his expression locked between awe and dread. He was currently using going through every post related to the aircraft, as Elena was bringing them up immediately for him, as they were being uploaded.
"Sir," Daniel muttered, lowering his phone, "the world is tearing itself apart trying to guess who owns this aircraft."
Liam’s smile only deepened, without saying anything. There was nothing to be said.
Far below, on the islands of the Caribbean, a separate storm was brewing.
Fishermen looked up from their boats as a distant roar rippled across the sky. Tourists pointed from beaches, shielding their eyes.
At the horizon, a shadow grew larger — wings stretched impossibly wide, engines glinting silver in the sun.
San Caerola Key in the distance, lay bathed in golden evening light, the waves lapping gently against its crescent shores. The palm forests swayed, the runway gleamed faintly in the distance.