Chapter 93: The Battle at the Stark HQ: Part-2

Round 2

Lucas:

Agility against Gargoyle (Success) (1%)

Personal Anti-Power (Novice) Success (20%)

Agility against Basilisk (Success) (1%)

Temporal Loop (5%)

Before: AC: 9 Energy: 99% Health: 87

After: AC: 9 Energy: 77% Health: 87

Gargoyle:

Agility Saving against you (Failure) (2%)

Before: AC: 20 Energy: 166% Health: 170

After: AC: 0 Energy: Unconscious Health: 11

Basilisk:

Energy Beam: 28 (15%)

Basilisk agility check against you (Failure)

Before: AC: 19 Energy: 165% Health: 153

After: AC: 19 Energy: 150% Health: 153

The Melter:

AC: 0 Energy: 60% Health: 57

_

As you face the Grey Gargoyle and Basilisk, you know the time for playing around is over. Taking a deep breath, you get ready to end this quickly and efficiently.

"You think you can handle me?" the Grey Gargoyle sneers, his stone face twisting in a mocking grin.

Your eyes narrow behind your golden mask. "I'm done playing."

With a swift and determined stride, you move forward, closing the distance between you both. You reach out and grip the Grey Gargoyle's stone face with a firm hand.

Instantly, you activate your power, Personal Anti-Power.

A shimmering, ethereal glow spreads from your hand, and the Grey Gargoyle's stone skin begins to dissolve back into human flesh.

"What the...?" the Grey Gargoyle stammers, panic flickering in his eyes as he feels his invincibility fade away. His body transforms rapidly, returning to its human state.

Before the Grey Gargoyle can fully comprehend what is happening, you unleash your next power, Angelic Spark. A surge of electrical energy courses from your hand into the Grey Gargoyle's face straight to his brain. His eyes roll back, and his body convulses violently before collapsing unconscious.

"One down," you mutter, a confident smirk forming on your lips.

Basilisk, seeing his ally fall, panics and fires his optic energy beam again. But you had already anticipated this. You had positioned yourself so that the now-human Grey Gargoyle's body was between you and Basilisk.

Bam!

So you just held Grey Gargoyle's body like a shield and the energy beam struck his back, charring and heavily damaging it.

"Thanks for the cover," you murmur with a smirk, dropping the unconscious Gargoyle to the ground.

"Shit!" Basilisk curses loudly, frustration and fear evident in his eyes.

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos, the woman who had been targeted by The Melter begins to overcome her shock. She watches in awe as the hero in gold and white takes care of one of the thugs with ease.

Looking down at her wet pants, she feels a surge of shame and then anger at her own cowardice.

The next time The Melter points his gun at her, she gathers all her courage. "I am not afraid of you!" she screams, swinging her heavy purse at The Melter with all her might. The purse strikes his smirking face, knocking him back.

"You bitch!" The Melter growls, massaging his face where the purse had hit. His eyes glow with rage.

"No! Don't kill me, please!" the woman yells in panic, her voice trembling with fear.

The crowd's attention shifts to the woman and The Melter.

Astonishment and confusion spread among the onlookers as they see The Melter freed from the temporal loop. People begin to murmur among themselves, while some are still capturing the scene with their phones.

"Did she just hit him with her purse?" a man asks dumbfounded.

"How did he get out of the loop?" someone else asks in fear as they back away from the thugs.

"Look at that hero, he's incredible!" a woman blushes and speaks aloud, ignoring the commotion on the other side.

"The way he defeated the Gargoyle was so cool," one woman whispers, her eyes wide with admiration.

"I can tell by his abs that he is very strong!" another girl exclaims, capturing the moment on her phone.

You notice the shift in focus. Basilisk first looks confused at The Melter but soon realizes how the loop can be broken and begins to plot his next move.

The Melter, looking around at the thugs repeating their motions, is equally puzzled and angered.

You take a deep breath, understanding the urgency of the situation.

Outside the HQ

As she lies beside the crumpled truck, Toni uses her gauntlets to boost herself back up onto the ground.

She sees Obadiah using his thrusters to jump rapidly towards her. Determined to pay him back for that punch, Toni quickly evaluates her options.

She could see the accurate distance between them from her HUD and judges that she will be able to do more than one thing here.

1. Repulsor Blast Combo:

First Action: Fire a concentrated repulsor blast at Obadiah's thrusters to destabilize his flight and knock him off balance.

Second Action: Follow up with a powerful repulsor blast aimed at Obadiah's chest, targeting his arc reactor to cause maximum damage.

2. Unibeam and Missile Attack:

First Action: Fire the unibeam from her chest directly at Obadiah, taking advantage of his trajectory to land a solid hit.

Second Action: As he gets blown away, use your missiles to attack him again.

3. Repulsor Blast and Physical Assault:

First Action: Fire a concentrated repulsor blast at Obadiah's thrusters to destabilize his flight and knock him off balance.

Second Action: Close the distance quickly and deliver a powerful punch, using her enhanced strength to damage his suit further.

4. Missile attack and Tactical Retreat:

First Action: Launch a missile at him to create a distraction and damage him.

Second Action: Use her thrusters to retreat to a better strategic position, buying herself time to prepare for the next move.

5. Flight Manoeuvre and Missile attack:

First Action: Use her thrusters to rapidly ascend and evade Obadiah's direct approach, gaining aerial advantage.

Second Action: Launch a missile at him from a distance.

Round 3

Toni:

Repulsor Blast 1: 27 (5%)

Repulsor Blast 2: 38 (5%) (Crit Fail)

Agility: 34

Previous Damage: 29

Before: AC: 20 Energy: 80%

After: AC: 18 Energy: 49%

Stane:

S-Category Missile: 49 (12%)

Agility: 32 (Critical)

Previous Energy consumption: 5%

Before: AC: 24 Energy: 95%

After: AC: 24 Energy: 66%

_

Outside the HQ

As Toni boosts herself up from the ground beside the crumpled truck, the chaos around her intensifies. People are screaming and panicking as explosions go off, creating a massive traffic jam. Some onlookers, despite the danger, are filming the battle with their mobile phones.

"JARVIS, can you scan the energy readings from Mk-II," Toni says, her voice steady despite the pandemonium around her.

"His energy levels are still high, Miss Stark," JARVIS replies calmly. "However, targeting his thrusters could destabilize his mobility"

Toni sees Obadiah using his thrusters to leap towards her with a burst of speed. Determined to take him down, she prepares to fire.

"You think you can beat me, Toni? I have made you what you are today!" Obadiah shouts, his voice amplified and filled with anger.

"Watch me," Toni retorts, her eyes narrowing.

Bam!

She raises her arm and fires a concentrated repulsor blast at Obadiah's thrusters. The blast hits its mark, causing Obadiah to lose control momentarily, his flight path becoming erratic. But he still manages to manoeuvre himself with a burst of his jet boots, although the attack still manages to damage his armour.

BAM!

Toni quickly follows up with another repulsor blast aimed at Obadiah's chest reactor. The beam strikes near its target, causing significant damage.

"Ughh!"

Obadiah grunts in pain as he reaches her, but as Toni prepares for another shot, her left gauntlet sparks and blows out.

"Damn it," Toni mutters. "JARVIS, diagnostics on the left gauntlet."

"Structural integrity compromised from previous impact. Left gauntlet is now non-functional," JARVIS reports.

Obadiah seizes the opportunity and kicks at Toni. She manages to dodge the brunt of the attack but is still blown back towards the truck.

"You're finished, Toni!" Obadiah yells, his voice dripping with fury. "You think you can just take away what's mine!"

A compartment opens on the back of his Mk-II suit, revealing an S-class missile. He launches the missile promptly, heading straight for Toni.

Woosh!

"Miss Stark, incoming missile!" JARVIS warns.

💥 BOOM!💥

Toni's eyes widen as the missile impacts her suit, causing a massive explosion that obliterates the truck and flings her across the road. She lands hard, her suit sparking and smoking from the damage.