The kinetic energy riding the giant iron fist drains away the instant it nears Rocky. That energy floods into him, coiling to be released.
Super-soldier serum and Compound No. 5 reinforce his body. The Tyrant System amplifies it. Add the kinetic charge he just absorbed, plus the reserve already stored inside him, and the punch he throws reaches a terrifying level.
His left prosthetic arm is full of adamantium alloy.
Against it, Cybertron's "iron fist" is as fragile as tofu.
Rocky's quick strike meets that frozen fist. Under David's stunned gaze, the blow shatters Cybertron's arm.
Bafil, minus a limb, tumbles away under the shock but shows no fear, only madness. He steadies with his thrusters and tries to attack again. He spins up his remaining gravity field generator and aims at Rocky.
Rocky does not plan to waste time. Arasaka's rescue team will arrive soon. Militech reinforcements are likely already on the way. This patch of Badlands will turn into a meat grinder between the two corps. He does not want to be found or dragged deeper into this mess.
He drives the Tyrant System at full power and closes before the gravity field fully comes online—one more punch. Bafil's head bursts to paste. The first-generation Cybertron test subject dies, and the pain ends.
Rocky signals Lissandra to clean the scene. Thanks to her initial breach of the transport truck, she already controls the local network. She wipes every data record, including Cybertron's experimental logs. Those files would expose Rocky's presence; better to let Arasaka's effort end empty-handed. He does not like doing it, but fate deals its hand. "Sorry, dear Ally Arasaka," he thinks. "Maybe next time."
"Load up. We are leaving."
He calls David and the others onto Droso, flips to flight mode, engages invisibility, and slips away, leaving the wreckage as a gift for Arasaka.
…
Not long after they depart, Arasaka's rescue team reaches the site. Militech's reinforcements arrive soon after. Both sides face off hard across the Badlands, aiming for Cybertron. Battle is imminent. Arasaka's new elite troops steadily suppress Militech's units. These elites run advanced soldier serum and top-grade military cyberware. It is their first real deployment, and they again prove the serum's value.
In the end, Militech suffers a significant defeat. They pay a heavy price and still do not get Cybertron.
Arasaka does not exactly win either. They spent dearly to keep Militech from taking Cybertron and then discovered the internal data was gone. Both sides lose, though Militech loses worse. Arasaka forfeits Cybertron's combat data but walks away with live data from the serum-enhanced troops, which is nothing. It also reminds Arasaka how powerful the serum is.
…
Arasaka Tower
The Cybertron incident has settled, with results no one likes. Counterintelligence handles the fallout.
In a cubicle, V reads the report carefully."Cybertron and Militech both wrecked, the subject dead, Cybertron badly damaged… Combat data lost? Even top hackers cannot restore it. Looks like Militech prepared well. This time Arasaka was careless. No—Kate was careless," he murmurs.
Arasaka pins the blame on Militech. From scene traces and the incident review, only Militech has the motive and capability to burn the data. Arasaka concludes Militech saw through the plan early and brought the tools and netrunners to destroy the logs.
Noise rises nearby. In another cubicle, red-haired Kate slams the desk to vent. Her red optical implant hides her eyes, but anger lives in her face. Agents stand silent beside her, afraid to provoke Counterintelligence's number three. As the main planner of the Cybertron op, she wears the shame and the losses.
V smiles and shakes his head. Cleverness can be a bad habit. Kate proves it.
He stands and goes to work. The incident hands him a new task: meet with Ascension Technology. Arasaka may have gained nothing tangible here, but compared with Militech's heavy losses, you could still call it a win from another angle. The reason is the same on both sides of the report: advanced soldier serum.
Given the trend, with that serum Arasaka can edge into advantage against Militech across the board. In the long run, surpassing Militech to become the world's true armed-tech emperor no longer looks distant. Arasaka does not intend to give that advantage up.