Unidentified Objects

Leila, who thought she had come to understand the terrifying power of humans in this new era, felt her perception shatter once more.

It was one thing to hear about their strength and resilience, another to experience it firsthand. And yet, even with that knowledge, it was beyond belief that the red-and-gold armored figure could truly harm her. After all, compared to her immense transformed state, he was tiny—like an insect against a mountain. His energy blasts seemed no more threatening than a flick of a pebble. It should have been impossible for such small strikes to make a dent in her.

But as the recoil beam hit her square in the chest, she felt the searing impact tear through her defenses, sending a tremor through her entire being. It wasn't just a surface strike—it had burned through, disrupting her energy flows, and leaving her staggering mid-air. It was as if the blast had punched a hole through the center of a volcano, disrupting the flow of its molten core. She struggled to comprehend it, her mind reeling, questions piling up with every agonizing second.

Iron Man's technology wasn't like Batman's, who scavenged and adapted alien tech and borrowed from otherworldly allies. No, his power came from pure human ingenuity. And yet, it was not ordinary Earth technology. It came from a world where reality bent around advanced materials and nearly magical inventions. It was a world where scientific breakthroughs seemed to defy nature itself.

At the heart of it all was the arc reactor—the glowing, pulsing core that powered Iron Man's suit. It wasn't just a power source; it was a marvel, a self-sustaining fusion device that produced limitless clean energy. And in the world of Iron Man, it turned impossible concepts into reality, making Stark's suits a true force on the battlefield.

The reactor was what determined the armor's strength—how much energy it could channel, how powerful its strikes could be, and how resilient its defenses were. It was the reason why Stark's suits remained unmatched, even when the world caught up with his designs.

Stark's earliest reactor, constructed in a cave and fueled by toxic palladium, had been an achievement far ahead of its time. It kept him alive, yet poisoned him, a cruel irony for the man who had built his own lifeline. He was invincible in his suit, but every moment brought him closer to death.

But things changed when Stark developed a new element in Iron Man 2, an innovation inspired by the research of his father, Howard Stark. Some believed that this new element, hinted at in the deleted scenes, might have been tied to the mysterious properties of Vibranium or even derived from the Tesseract's energy. Though never confirmed in the movies, it became clear that Stark had tapped into a source far more potent than conventional science allowed.

With the new reactor, Stark no longer feared the slow death his invention brought, and his suits gained a substantial boost in power. From that point on, his Mark 42 prototype and later suits packed a punch that could outmatch even extraterrestrial weaponry.

In a memorable moment, Stark, alongside Vision and Thor, unleashed an attack so powerful that it melted Ultron's Vibranium body, a testament to the raw energy that the suit could channel. Though it required teamwork, it underscored the terrifying potential of Stark's technology.

The Mark 43 suit that Charlie had deployed in this battle carried a similar reactor—a powerhouse of energy generation. While he had no allies like Vision or Thor this time, Leila's Tisshield, a relic of an ancient era, was no Vibranium shell. It could not withstand the full force of Iron Man's concentrated energy blast.

Leila barely had time to recover from the recoil beam's impact when two more missiles streaked through the sky, detonating against her with a deafening roar. Blue energy flared, wrapping around her like a net. Her body shuddered violently, the blasts disrupting her equilibrium, sending waves of molten energy rippling across her form. It felt like her entire being was coming apart at the seams, her fiery aura flickering wildly.

At that moment, Batman swooped into action, having boarded the Batwing. The sleek black aircraft hovered beside Iron Man, its wings flaring as the engines fired. Blue flames sprayed from the underside, keeping it steady in the air as Batman positioned for the next strike.

"Stand back, Stark," Batman's voice crackled through the shared comms channel, his tone as sharp and cold as the steel of his suit. "I've got this under control."

"Oh, you're doing a great job of keeping things 'under control,'" Iron Man shot back, sarcasm dripping from every word. "You can see the flames from a hundred miles away. Super reassuring."

Charlie, seated in the Batwing's cockpit, felt a pang of frustration as the two exchanged barbs. He hadn't anticipated that putting these two together would result in such tension. It was as if neither could resist taking a jab at the other. It brought to mind scenes from The Lego Batman Movie, where Batman's arrogance made him dismiss Iron Man as nothing more than a "wannabe hero."

Still, as Charlie glanced at the team interface, he couldn't help but notice the synergy between them. Despite the sniping, their combat styles meshed together seamlessly. They were both uncompromising and brilliant in their own ways, and perhaps that was why they clashed.

Batman cast a sidelong glance at Iron Man from the cockpit, muttering, "Just don't get in my way."

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing."

Before their conversation could go any further, a searing beam of flames lashed out from Leila like a drawn sword, cutting through the sky toward them. The Batwing banked sharply, rolling through the air to evade the strike, while Iron Man boosted sideways with a burst of energy from his palms, leaving a trail of red and gold light.

The two executed maneuvers that would have defied the laws of aerodynamics—sharp turns, sudden rolls, and changes in trajectory that seemed to ignore inertia altogether. It was as if they were performing a deadly ballet in the sky, each move more impossible than the last.

Once Batman steadied the Batwing, he launched a counterattack. A heavy cannon emerged from beneath the wing, firing a rapid stream of special bullets toward Leila. Each round was packed with a freezing compound, designed to create a zone of extreme cold upon impact.

Leila twisted through the air, her massive, colorful wings creating streams of five-colored energy that swirled around her like a vortex. Despite her size, she moved with a speed and grace that made her difficult to target. The Batwing's bullets missed, exploding harmlessly in her wake.

One freezing round finally detonated near her, releasing a wave of cold that crystallized the air. Ice formed across her wings, encasing her in a layer of frost. But Leila's flames burned even brighter in response, shattering the ice in an instant. A blazing sphere expanded outward, clashing with the freezing field, warping the space around her as the intense heat met the sudden cold.

"The freezing rounds aren't strong enough to counter her flames," Friday's voice rang in Stark's helmet, analyzing the data as it streamed in.

"Fine, then let's show her what full reactor output looks like," Stark replied, a determined edge in his voice.

Charlie switched his perspective to Iron Man's view as he adjusted the controls. A targeting reticle locked onto Leila, and energy began to build around the arc reactor, gathering into a focused point at the center of his chest. The air hummed with power as particles were drawn into the reactor's core, creating a glowing vortex of energy.

Stark held the charge until the targeting system confirmed a lock, then released it. A massive beam of energy shot forth from his chest, a white-hot lance that tore through the night like a falling star.

This was Iron Man's ultimate move—a concentrated blast that bypassed the conduits in his palms, channeling raw energy directly from the reactor. It was a devastating attack, draining power rapidly, but capable of leveling entire buildings.

But just before the beam could reach its mark, Leila unleashed a powerful surge of heat, wings snapping wide as a shockwave rippled outward. The flames around her flared, forming a protective barrier that deflected the beam, scattering its energy into the night sky.

Leila's mastery of flight was unrivaled. Even in her transformed state, she navigated the air currents with an agility that made her seem like a living storm. As she dodged through the aerial battle, her movements flowed like liquid fire, twisting and turning with impossible grace.

From below, the sight of the three combatants locked in battle was mesmerizing. It was as if gods were warring above the burning world, their clashes lighting up the sky. The cityscape below was awash in orange and blue light, casting long shadows over the streets.

Naturally, this clash did not go unnoticed. News helicopters circled at a distance, broadcasting the battle to millions of stunned viewers. The sight of supersonic jets twisting through the air, exoskeletons defying gravity, and a monstrous winged creature spitting fire was like a scene from a fever dream.

Veteran viewers, those who had witnessed the rise of heroes, had learned to expect the unexpected. They watched as Batman and Iron Man maneuvered through the sky, thinking to themselves, "At least we're used to this insanity by now."

But then, a new alert came through the comms, shattering the fragile calm.

"New unidentified objects approaching at high speed! One...two...three..." the operator's voice stuttered, filled with disbelief.

"There are... a lot of targets, all converging on the battle zone!"

The experts monitoring the battle exchanged uneasy glances.