The Earth should be protected by its own superheroes.
With these words, Tony Stark transformed into Iron Man, activating his propulsion systems.
He shot through the sky like a meteor, heading straight for the approaching Destroyer at the edge of the town.
Meanwhile, the residents of the town of Puente Antiguo were being evacuated under the guidance of Thor and the three warriors from Asgard.
Thor watched Iron Man speed away, lost in thought for a moment.
Even without his powers, a seasoned warrior like him still yearned for the battlefield.
It was in his blood, after all.
Thor had never hesitated in battle, never shied away from it. He was Asgard's mightiest warrior, but this time, he was powerless.
After a brief hesitation, Thor shook his head and gently scooped up a young boy, joining in the efforts to evacuate the townsfolk.
A warrior, when able to control his raging inner turmoil and place reason above all else, always knows what needs to be done.
A general, when he understands this, can become a king.
At the entrance of the town, Iron Man and the Destroyer, a colossal metal guardian from Asgard, were now locked in battle.
The Destroyer, forged by Odin, the All-Father himself, was a legendary armor built to combat the Celestials.
Its strength was nearly indestructible.
Even Frost Giants, far stronger than the average Asgardian, were vaporized by the Destroyer's energy blasts, with no chance to retaliate.
The town was illuminated by the intersecting beams of light from their battle.
Iron Man fired an armor-piercing missile from his wrist cannon, but it was deflected with a simple "clink!" as the missile bounced off the Destroyer's metal plating.
He quickly raised both hands, unleashing orange energy blasts from his palm-mounted weapons.
But they had no effect on the Destroyer.
The Destroyer immediately retaliated, raising its head to reveal a massive energy cannon, which it fired at Iron Man mid-air.
'Bzzzzt!' The destructive beam surged forward.
Iron Man swiftly dodged, twisting and banking in the air with a level of agility that no conventional aircraft could achieve, narrowly avoiding the beam.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., analyze its offensive and defensive capabilities, find its weak points," Tony Stark commanded.
"The exterior seems to be made from an unknown active metal. Based on current data, we have no means to damage it. Its internal energy readings are much higher than Mark VI's," J.A.R.V.I.S. replied.
The Destroyer's beam came again, this time faster and stronger.
"Whoa!" Tony Stark avoided the attack with a sharp turn.
"Looks like your cannon's a little more powerful, time for Plan B."
'Boom!'
Iron Man landed with a thud, activating all his thrusters as he shot toward the Destroyer, his fist cocked for a powerful blow to its head.
The Destroyer, however, was quick to react. It swung a fist toward Iron Man in return.
Iron Man nimbly dodged, spinning around and kicking the Destroyer in its lower body.
"Oh, sorry! Didn't mean to do that."
"Boom!" The Destroyer staggered but regained its footing, retracting its faceplate and charging up its energy cannon again.
"Interesting," Tony Stark muttered, standing his ground. He raised both hands and activated high-energy particle beams from his wrist.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., make sure to collect the data from this one."
The massive energy beam from the Destroyer surged toward him.
"Zzzz!" Iron Man fired his red high-energy particle beams to intercept the blast.
The two energy blasts collided, creating a blinding explosion that sent intense shockwaves down the streets of the town, knocking over debris and kicking up a scorching wind.
"Mortals challenging the gods," Kagura murmured as she watched from a rooftop in the distance, "But you don't have to be so hard on yourself, Mr. Stark. You have your teammates, your fellow superheroes, and you have me."
A silver streak zipped across the sky above, followed by a growing shadow.
"Air drop in 3... 2... 1..." Kagura counted down.
With a powerful burst of thrust, a black weapon module, the size of a small crate, landed in front of her. It was equipped with reverse-thrust technology similar to her "Flashblade" combat suit's landing module.
Changing into her combat gear in front of everyone wasn't exactly a thrill, so Kagura decided against it for now.
She opened the weapons module and checked the gear inside.
A test model of an electromagnetic railgun MK2—more portable than the one she had used against Ivan Vanko's drone armor, but still suffering from excessive energy consumption issues.
An experimental energy-dampening shield: a glass-like, circular shield designed to repel particle beam attacks using the repulsive force between high-energy particles.
And, her beloved folding Vibranium longsword was included as well.
"Thanks, Cortana," she said with a smile.
"Alright, Mr. Stark, let me help you out."
The holographic UI flickered as new data and information appeared in her field of vision.
Her preliminary analysis of the Destroyer was complete.
This mechanical giant, built by Odin himself, was likely the most formidable enemy she had encountered in this world.
[Target Locked]
[Unknown-tech large-scale mech weapons system. Threat level: extreme, hostile]
[Warning: Current core energy cannot inflict significant damage]
"I got it," Kagura muttered.
"Leave it to me, I've got this."
A strong energy shockwave exploded in the distance, signaling that Iron Man's high-energy particle beams had nearly run out.
As the power drained, he activated all his thrusters to dodge the Destroyer's devastating blast, narrowly escaping the attack.
"Does this thing have any weaknesses at all?" Tony Stark groaned, getting up after rolling a few times on the ground.
"J.A.R.V.I.S., contact Nick Fury. I need to know where that 'Flashblade' lady is. Maybe she's got something to deal with this."
But the Destroyer wasn't going to let Iron Man get a moment's rest.
The Destroyer took a step forward, opening its mask once again, and its energy cannon focused on Iron Man.
"Aw, crap!" Tony Stark muttered, realizing the severity of the situation.
'Boom!'
In a split second, a blue lightning bolt struck the Destroyer right in the head, sending it flying across the battlefield.
'Boom!'
The mechanical giant crashed to the ground, sending up a massive cloud of dust.
"Hit confirmed. Cortana, analyze the damage report," Kagura said, lying on the edge of the rooftop with her electromagnetic railgun aimed at the Destroyer.
"Damage report: Our shot did not cause significant impact."
"Well... at least I've got its attention," Kagura sighed, her UI flashing red with a new lock-on warning.