In Marvel With Unique Skill Great Sage (MCU) [105]

"I bet you'll like this," Ivan Vanko said with a dark smirk, waving his hand forward as if giving a command.

Instantly, at his signal, all thirty-two Hammer Drones roared to life. Ignition ports flared brightly on their backs.

A moment later, countless missiles launched simultaneously, streaking through the air on trails of fire and thick smoke. They all headed straight for one specific place the villa where their targets waited, their intended final destination.

….

"Okay, what about you?" Colonel Rhodey demanded, turning to look at Lemu, who was just sitting calmly in a nearby chair, looking way too relaxed for the situation. Rhodey felt a spike of pure annoyance.

Are these guys kidding me? he thought frantically. Am I the only one actually worried right now?

"Aren't any of you the least bit concerned that we might actually lose this fight?" he practically yelled.

"Ivan Vanko could show up any second! If you've got some kind of secret weapon stashed away, now would be a really good time to bring it out! You know, like a huge bomb that just goes BOOM and takes them all out? Or maybe a whole swarm of those whoosh-whoosh rockets or something?"

Lemu tilted his head slightly, looking thoughtful but not worried. "A backup plan? Hmm, no, didn't really prepare one of those. But speaking of rockets..." He casually pointed outside through the large window. 

"Look over there. Those definitely look like rockets heading this way, right? You seem to have a thing for those, huh?"

Rockets?

Stark and Rhodey both snapped their heads around to follow Lemu's pointed finger.

Through the massive glass window that took up nearly two-thirds of the wall, they saw an unnerving sight. 

Far off in the distance, dozens of fiery trails were streaking across the sky, forming burning paths aimed directly towards their location. It was a strangely spectacular view, but one filled with deadly, terrifying danger.

"Uh..." Rhodey stammered, his eyes wide for a split second before pure panic took over. "Are those... are those actually aimed right at us?"

He didn't wait for an answer. "HOLY CRAP, RUN!"

His faceplate slammed shut instantly, and bright jets flared to life at his armored boots as he desperately tried to launch himself clear. 

But before he could even lift off the ground, the Ghost Armor, which had silently moved to stand right beside him without him noticing, placed a heavy, unmovable hand flat on his shoulder, pushing him firmly back down.

"No need to rush," Lemu said, his voice still calm and unhurried. "They're just some extra-large fireworks, aren't they? Why don't you sit back down and enjoy the show?"

Lemu even offered a small, faint smile, his eyes fixed on the incoming fiery streaks in the sky as if he were admiring a particularly pretty sunset, completely unfazed by the imminent danger.

Being held down when he desperately wanted to flee made Rhodey feel sick to his stomach. He smacked his own chest plate angrily, the metal of the Mark II armor ringing loudly. 

"This suit isn't built to stop a barrage of rockets, you idiot!" he yelled furiously at Lemu, his voice tight with fear and anger. 

"Do you want to watch me get blown into a million pieces like a damn firework?! You want us all to become fireworks?!"

Stark raised an eyebrow, looking slightly amused despite the situation. "Actually... my suit can handle a rocket hit or two. Been there, done that, got the scorch marks." He sounded surprisingly casual about it.

"But—" Rhodey started, still panicked.

"Like I already told you, they're just fireworks," Lemu cut him off again, his voice still maddeningly calm as he continued watching the sky. 

"They aren't going to reach us. Just watch... If they were really going to hit here, don't you think this whole villa would already be a pile of rubble after all the time we've spent chatting?"

Lemu kept his gaze fixed outside. High in the sky, something new had appeared. Sharp, intensely bright red lines of pure light suddenly slashed across the heavens.

These lines seemed almost alive, sweeping back and forth through the air with incredible speed and precision. 

Everywhere these beams touched one of the incoming missiles, the missile instantly exploded far overhead, blossoming into bright fiery bursts well away from the villa.

Looking closer, they could see the red beams weren't coming from anywhere nearby. They were originating from anotherluxurious villa, perched prominently on the very next hill over from Stark's property.

Stark, who had instinctively been bracing himself and getting ready to jump into action, also stopped completely and stared outside alongside Rhodey, his planned actions forgotten.

Both Rhodey and Stark looked utterly stunned, mouths slightly open, as they watched the bizarre yet undeniably effective defense unfolding silently in the sky above.

"What... what in the hell is that?" Rhodey finally choked out, his voice filled with pure disbelief and confusion.

"A laser array interception system," Lemu answered simply, as if explaining something obvious.

"God! You said you didn't have a backup plan!" Rhodey exclaimed, whirling to face Lemu again.

The fiery red flashes from the dozens of exploding missiles high above lit up the three suits of armor standing there on the ground, bathing them in a faint, pulsing, reddish glow. 

The bright light reached them first, followed moments later by the low, rolling BOOM... BOOM... BOOM of the distant detonations echoing through the air.

For a fleeting second, the sight and sound were strangely reminiscent of holiday fireworks displays lighting up the night sky back home.

"This isn't a backup plan," Lemu clarified, a small, knowing smile finally playing on his lips as he watched the last missile get vaporized. "It's just a standard, twenty-four-seven, all-weather defense system. It's always active."

….

A menacing formation hung in the low sky directly above the villa complex: a total of thirty-three gleaming metal machines. 

There was Ivan Vanko in his primary suit, surrounded by the thirty-two advanced Hammer Drones. 

Their polished metallic surfaces and the bristling arrays of heavy guns and missile pods left absolutely no doubt about their intended purpose they were purpose-built killing machines.

Ivan Vanko piloted the lead suit, positioned slightly ahead. Behind him, the thirty-two drones fanned out smoothly into a wide, menacing arc, effectively surrounding him protectively in the center of their formation.

Down on the ground stood the three lone figures in their respective suits of armor: Iron Man, War Machine, and the Ghost Armor standing near Lemu. They all looked up, facing the overwhelming force arrayed against them.

Thirty-three versus three.

The sheer difference in numbers and firepower was enormous, almost comical if it weren't so deadly serious. Anyone looking at the scene could clearly see that, on paper, the three defenders seemed to have absolutely no chance of winning this fight.

Rhodey nervously tapped his own chest plate again, a tight knot of anxiety twisting in his stomach. He couldn't shake the feeling that in the very next second, every single weapon up there would target him specifically, and he'd be instantly vaporized into scrap metal.

Stark, however, showed absolutely no sign of fear. He boldly stepped forward, placing himself slightly ahead of Rhodey and the Ghost Armor, projecting pure confidence. 

"Hey!" he yelled up towards the hovering Vanko, his voice amplified by his suit. "Nice light show! Was that you setting off all those pretty fireworks earlier?"

Up above, Ivan Vanko looked down upon them, his voice, also amplified, booming across the open space. "Tony Stark! Fancy meeting you here! We meet again, Stark!"

The optical sensors, the 'eyes', of Vanko's heavy armor glowed with a harsh, intimidating red light. 

He stared down at the three figures below him like a cold, merciless, and untouchable god looking down from his lofty perch in the heavens.