[Third Person's PoV]
Tony's figure was a white-and-gold blur streaking across the sky, his thrusters and repulsors propelling him forward at blinding speed. As he approached the chaos, he activated his intangibility and entered Japan undetected.
"Melissa, you handle the Nomus on the ground. I'll take care of the perpetrators," Tony ordered through their comms.
With a quick adjustment, he increased the output of the quantum tunneling tech in his suit, phasing him completely through the sunlight, rendering him invisible. He rapidly zeroed in on Hosu, where Tomura and Kurogiri stood atop a water tower, surveying the destruction they had unleashed.
Tony slowed down as he neared them, aware that his previous velocity could kill on impact. Still invisible, he hovered silently beside Kurogiri. Calculating the precise timing and space in his mind, Tony undid the intangibility of his fist just as it connected with Kurogiri's jaw.
Time seemed to slow as Kurogiri's face twisted from the impact, teeth flying out as his body was sent hurtling through the air, breaking the sound barrier.
Tomura whipped around in shock, his eyes widening as he saw Tony floating behind him.
"Peek-a-boo, bitch," Tony smirked, firing two repulsor beams from his palms. The blasts struck Tomura, sending him tumbling through the air, completely out of control.
As Tony closed in, a Nomu equipped with a powerful jetpack swooped in, snatching Tomura mid-fall.
"Hey, I didn't say to play fetch! Give him back!" Tony taunted, immediately shooting off after the Nomu, his tone light but his resolve deadly.
Tony phased through the Nomu effortlessly, materializing directly in front of it. As he did, the Nomu opened its mouth wide, gathering a beam of red energy that crackled with intense concussive force. Tony quickly realized that simply phasing through the beam wouldn't solve the problem; if it hit someone on the ground, the damage would be catastrophic.
Reacting swiftly, Tony fired two repulsor beams, meeting the concussive force head-on. The two streams of energy collided in mid-air, swirling together and lighting up the sky in a brilliant flash. The energy overload soon became too much, resulting in an explosion that sent a powerful shockwave rippling through the city, shattering windows in every direction.
The Nomu used the shockwave to its advantage, propelling itself away with Tomura still in its grasp. Tony, unfazed, phased through the shockwave and shot forward, watching the Nomu's evasive maneuvers.
'Smart for a mindless brute,' Tony thought, his eyes narrowing as the Nomu twisted and spun to dodge his repulsor blasts. But Tony wasn't giving up. He boosted himself forward, closing the distance, and when he got within range, unleashed a powerful unibeam from his chest. The blast hit its mark, striking the Nomu's jetpack and causing it to malfunction, sending both the Nomu and Tomura plummeting toward the ground.
With a sickening thud, the Nomu crashed into the sidewalk, still protecting Tomura in its arms. As it hit the ground, the force caused Tomura to roll out of the Nomu's grip and tumble into the streets. Groaning, Tomura struggled to his feet, clearly disoriented from the wild fall.
A car, swerving to escape the chaos, nearly ran him over, but Tomura instinctively raised his hand. The moment his fingers made contact with the vehicle, it began to crumble into dust. The driver, a terrified woman, was thrown from the car, tumbling onto the pavement.
Tony swooped down in an instant, catching the woman mid-fall and depositing her safely on the sidewalk.
"You!" Tomura growled, pointing at Tony with bared teeth. "What did you do to Kurogiri!?"
"The same thing I'm about to do to you—knock your teeth out," Tony replied with a smirk.
Without hesitation, Tony sent a burst of repulsor energy to propel himself forward at breakneck speed, his legs raised for a powerful kick aimed directly at Tomura. But Tomura, reacting in time, rolled out of the way, leaving Tony's kick to land hard on the asphalt, cracking the road and sending chunks of it flying.
"Are you trying to kill me or something!?" Tomura shouted, wide-eyed at the devastation caused by the missed attack.
"No," Tony grinned, his tone playful but dangerous. "Just trying to break a bone or two... maybe more."
…
Melissa soared through the chaotic streets of Hosu, watching the destruction unfold beneath her. Nomu after Nomu rampaged through the city, tearing buildings apart and putting innocent lives in danger. One particular Nomu caught her attention, a grotesque creature with a blaster for a hand, unleashing devastating sonic blasts. Every shockwave sent cars flying and scattered the heroes attempting to stop it.
She watched as the sonic Nomu aimed its attack downward, the blast's force causing vehicles and even people to be hurled skyward. Melissa gritted her teeth and flew in, catching a few of the falling civilians in mid-air, but she couldn't save everyone. Some hit the ground hard, injured and unable to get up.
Before the Nomu could unleash another devastating attack, a massive wave of flames collided with its blaster, stopping the blast cold. Melissa turned and saw Endeavor, his flames burning brightly as he held the Nomu at bay. Taking advantage of the moment, Melissa phased between the fiery clashes, her body shifting into intangibility as she weaved through the chaos.
She reappeared directly behind the Nomu and fired a unibeam from her chest piece, hitting the creature squarely in the back. The blast staggered it, disrupting its next sonic attack. Endeavor didn't miss a beat, intensifying his flames until the Nomu was fully engulfed, reducing it to ashes.
Endeavor turned toward Melissa, his expression stern. "You… you're not a hero I know. Who are you?"
Before Melissa could respond, another Nomu came barreling down from the sky, guns blazing from its blaster-arm appendages. Melissa quickly activated her thrusters, dodging the incoming fire, and shouted back, "I'm the Iron Maiden! Remember it!"
With precision, she fired two repulsor beams that struck the Nomu's blasters, shattering them on impact. As she shot above the creature, Melissa unleashed a barrage of repulsor blasts from her hands and chest, each one connecting with the Nomu and sending it crashing into the street below, buried under rubble.
---
Meanwhile, Kurogiri groaned in agony, lying in the crater where Tony's punch had sent him. His body was wracked with pain, and his face ached with a sharp, blinding intensity. He lifted himself slightly, only to feel blood and broken teeth spill out from the mist that formed his face.
'My jaw… I think it's broken,' Kurogiri thought, his mind hazy from the impact. 'What… hit me?'
He knew that the only reason he had survived was due to his enhanced Nomu physiology, but even that was barely enough. The pain was almost unbearable, but something more important clawed at his thoughts. 'Tomura… he's in danger.'
With sheer willpower, Kurogiri tried to stand, only to collapse back into the crater. 'I need to help him… I can sense it…'
Knowing he couldn't face Tony or the heroes in his current state, Kurogiri stretched his hand out, his mind racing through possible solutions. 'We need backup… something big… something strong…'
A swirling purple mist began to form behind him, slowly expanding into a warp portal. Using the last of his strength, Kurogiri widened the portal as much as he could, his hand trembling. From the depths of the portal, a massive, black hand with only three fingers emerged, pushing through the gap. A singular, large eye followed, peering ominously into the chaos of the city.
Backup had arrived.
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