83 Griffin's Tech is Reliable

The "Halo" transport aircraft sped around New York City, weaving through the skyline.

In this relatively confined space, the "Halo" didn't need to reach seven times the speed of sound, but its fast cruising speed—circling the city every few minutes—allowed Kagura Hitomi to monitor both the Stark Expo in the city center and Ivan Vanko's capture operation on the outskirts of town.

'Hmm, still feels like we could use more hands on deck.'

Kagura sat in the cockpit of the transport, surrounded by a flow of intelligence from various detection systems.

If only she had a capable partner right now, she wouldn't have to go through the trouble of deciding which side to prioritize with real-time support.

It looks like the Griffin Security Organization really needs to speed up its recruitment process!

At this moment, Ivan Vanko had hacked into the Stark Expo's unmanned battle armor systems, launching an attack on Tony Stark during Hammer Industries' weapons demonstration.

This was exactly what Kagura had anticipated.

Without delay, she gave orders for the Rhodes Island drones in the area to initiate electromagnetic interference.

The powerful broad-spectrum disruptors cut off the remote control signals, rendering the unmanned armor nothing more than stationary, twitching scrap metal.

Everyone knows how important internet speed is, right?

Tony Stark had been prepared—he had already evacuated the crowd, preventing any casualties.

He then engaged in combat, with electromagnetic support from Rhodes Island, systematically destroying the unmanned battle suits.

Meanwhile, Ivan's hideout had been located in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city.

'Honestly, how much do these villains and S.H.I.E.L.D. love abandoned warehouses?'

'Seriously, is turning them into secret bases really that effective?'

Kagura couldn't help but vent as she continued to monitor both battles.

Stark, equipped with a new Ark Reactor, was effortlessly dominating the older unmanned suits.

But on the other side, things weren't going so smoothly.

"This is Bucky Barnes. I've meet with Natasha, and we're approaching the target location," came a call over the comms.

Bucky's voice echoed through the channel.

"Kagura, can you provide us with aerial reconnaissance?"

"No problem," Kagura replied.

"EE1D recon drone deployed, ultrasonic full-spectrum scan initiated."

Following her orders, a massive drone—roughly the size of a helicopter—descended from the sky and hovered over Ivan's hideout.

Unlike the small, backpack-sized drones at the expo, this EE1D was a much larger model.

It had evolved from the "Rainbow" series' sonic drones, now a product of Rhodes Island Industries.

'Vroom—!'

The EE1D's scanning equipment activated, sending out subtle waves that spread across the area.

Bucky's visor displayed holographic markers showing all hostile targets in the vicinity.

The EE1D was equipped with an ultrasonic scanning device that used resonance to differentiate objects in the area, effectively exposing any enemies hiding in the shadows.

"Scan complete. Hostile targets identified," reported Cortana.

Kagura frowned. "Hmm, seems like Ivan's not dumb—he's definitely left a trick up his sleeve."

The EE1D identified six unmanned battle suits near the warehouse, as well as a high-energy object inside the building, likely Ivan's new "whip suit."

"Sister, Bucky, be cautious. The area is heavily armed," Kagura warned, relaying the information over the comms.

"I've got the same intel here," Bucky responded.

"We'll take out the unmanned suits first, then go for Ivan."

"Got it. Support will be on the way soon," Kagura confirmed, adjusting the "Halo" transport's flight path.

"Activating airdrop mode. I'm heading in."

"Command confirmed. 'Halo' transport, entering airdrop mode," Cortana replied.

"Anti-armor modules are ready. Good luck, boss."

.......................... 

Somewhere on the outskirts of New York City, near an abandoned warehouse

Bucky Barnes and Natasha Romanoff were hiding in the bushes near the warehouse, observing the enemy.

"The front gate has two unmanned battle suits on guard, two more in the back, and another two hiding inside," Bucky summarized, turning to Natasha.

"What do you think? Any good ideas?"

"Ideas?" Natasha sighed.

"I think we need an Abrams tank."

Bucky grinned knowingly. "No, no, an Abrams won't do much against these things. But I have a plan."

"Really?"

"Yep."

With that, Bucky extended his metal mechanical arm, and a small missile popped up from his elbow.

"How do you fit everything in there?"

"Make use of what you've got," Bucky said with a smirk. "Ever heard of the 'Ex-Wife' missile?"

"Ex-Wife?" Natasha raised an eyebrow. "You mean that embarrassing anti-bunker kinetic missile from Hammer Industries?"

"That's the one."

Bucky nodded.

"I don't think that will do much against those robots."

"Don't misunderstand," Bucky said as he activated the missile launch system. "This is Griffin gear, an upgrade to the 'Ex-Wife' missile concept."

"Oh? So it actually works?"

"Yep. Our tech is solid."

With that, Bucky launched the missile, which shot out like a lightning bolt.

'Whoosh—!'

The tiny missile expertly found its way into a gap in one of the unmanned suits.

'Boom—!'

The next moment, a fiery blue explosion erupted from the chest of the battle suit, reducing the entire unit to scrap in a split second.

"Okay, that works," Natasha commented.

"But what now?"

"Well…" Bucky said, staring at the five unmanned battle suits approaching, all triggered into alert mode.

"Now we need some reliable cover."

'Clank.'

The battle suits aimed their .50 caliber machine guns at them.

'Rat-a-tat-tat-tat!'

Bullets rained down on them.

Bucky quickly reacted, converting his left mechanical arm into a kinetic energy deflection shield, raising it to cover them both from the incoming fire.

"Did you have everything in that arm?" Natasha asked. "I'm getting more and more interested in Griffin."

"I should warn you" Bucky said with a bitter smile, "This shield has a capacitor limit."

"We've got about 14 seconds to figure out how not to get shredded."

"Oh…"

Natasha blinked in surprise. "Only 14 seconds?!"

"Ten seconds left!"

'Boom!'

Just as things were looking bleak, a blinding electric flash pierced one of the unmanned suits from a distance.

A searing, crimson beam sliced through it from top to bottom, splitting the battle suit in half.

'Whoosh!'

Flames erupted, incinerating the tech and leaving only a pile of scrap.

A flash of fire lit up the sky as two cross-shaped buffer units detached from a young woman's back.

A superhero had arrived!

Kagura Hitomi, her slender figure alighting softly on the ground in front of them, held a massive sniper cannon glowing with a faint blue electrical charge in her hand.