Chapter 301: Dinosaur Legion
Dr. Banner and a pack of the largest, most ferocious carnivorous dinosaurs had crashed through to Baxter Building's lower level.
But the floor containing the full-wave projector still had plenty of dinosaurs—smaller predators like Velociraptors and Deinonychus.
Of course, "smaller" was relative. Compared to the behemoths stretching over forty feet long, these creatures were compact.
Most of these smaller dinosaurs measured under sixteen feet in length. But they vastly outnumbered the apex predators. When an entire pack rounded a corner and charged straight at Tony Stark, he didn't hesitate—both hands rose, alternating palm repulsor blasts.
Under normal circumstances, Tony Stark could easily protect the full-wave projector with power to spare.
Until an Allosaurus—apparently lost earlier but now wandering back to the projector area—appeared. That's when Tony realized nothing about this situation was normal.
Tony didn't waste a second. The instant that fifty-foot monster came into view, he barked orders at Jarvis.
"Jarvis! Deploy anti-armor missiles!"
"Apologies, sir. Anti-armor missiles depleted." Jarvis reported.
"Then route all output power to the chest cannon!" Tony shouted. He absolutely would not allow that prehistoric tank to get within sixty feet of the full-wave projector.
In truth, given the Allosaurus's size, sixty feet was basically one step.
Tony had clearly realized this.
Following his shout, Jarvis's voice responded immediately.
"Ninety percent reactor output allocated to chest-mounted unibeam emitter."
"Weapon ready."
WHUMMM—
A brief charging tone rang out. The next instant, Tony Stark's chest-mounted unibeam blazed with brilliant yellow light. A massive energy beam seemed to materialize from nowhere.
The impact beam not only struck the Allosaurus dead center—blasting a huge charred hole clean through its body—but the remaining energy punched through the laboratory wall behind it.
The beam extended in a perfectly straight line, cutting through Manhattan's night sky like a sword.
—And through an NYPD armed helicopter hovering outside Baxter Building.
The helicopter's tail section took the hit. The aircraft immediately lost stability, wobbling as it veered toward Baxter Building, then scraped along the outer wall in a shower of sparks before plummeting toward the street below.
Tony's heart dropped.
He wrestled with the decision for a split second—fly out to save the helicopter he'd accidentally shot down, or stay here guarding the full-wave projector?
Either choice meant abandoning someone who needed protection.
Just like the impossible situation he'd faced at Oscorp Tower. Once again, Tony Stark had inadvertently backed himself into a corner.
Tony cursed internally.
At the critical moment, through the hole his near-full-power chest beam had punched in Baxter Building's wall, Tony spotted a golden electrical glow.
The weight crushing Tony's chest immediately lifted.
Electro Max Dillon had arrived.
A few minutes ago, on his way to Baxter Building, Tony had casually instructed Jarvis to "contact Electro."
At the time, Tony had simply been concerned that even if he reached the building, the physical toll from maximum-speed flight might leave him too drained to protect the projector effectively. So he'd decided to call Max Dillon for backup.
By pure coincidence, Electro's timely arrival had prevented the disaster Tony had nearly caused.
"Iron Man!"
Tony had barely exhaled in relief when a loudspeaker from another helicopter blared.
"You are suspected of launching a terrorist attack against Reed Richards—a permanent member of America's National Security Protection List!"
"Remove your armor, raise your hands, and stand in the spotlight! Otherwise we are authorized to use lethal force!"
Tony's mouth twisted into a grimace.
Apparently NYPD already knew about him using anti-armor missiles to blast Baxter Building minutes ago. Beyond the visible helicopters outside, who knew how many armed units were deploying.
Tony couldn't be bothered with them. He muttered to Jarvis.
"On Stark Industries' behalf, spread footage of all these dinosaurs across social media. Title it: 'Tony's Bodyguard Iron Man Protecting Reed Richards.'"
"Understood, sir." Jarvis said.
Max Dillon saved the helicopter, then rode electrical currents back into Baxter Building. He'd already materialized into human form by the time he spoke to Tony.
"You corporate types are always good at manipulating public opinion."
"Because we know what these ass-backward politicians fear most." Tony grinned.
Max Dillon's arrival had significantly eased Tony's tension.
He was about to take the opportunity to scan the full-wave projector—figure out what level of technology could actually project vortexes connecting to other worlds—when Reed Richards groggily regained consciousness.
A hundred meters away on the opposite side of the building, the first words out of Reed's mouth after waking were directed at Susan Storm.
"Susan, I think I'm one step closer to my dream."
"Take me to the full-wave projector."
---
Batman only stepped into the yellow-green vortex with the Lizard Professor after confirming Tony Stark had entered Baxter Building.
One second he stood in the technology-saturated interior of Baxter Building. The next, Batman had traveled from the age of technology to a primitive world filled with ferns, cycads, and conifers.
The instant Batman's feet touched solid ground, he and the Lizard Professor came under immediate attack.
A yellow-green vortex portal existed here as well. Surrounding it, over forty primitives rode dinosaurs of varying sizes. They hurled arrows, rocks, and ropes at Batman in a chaotic barrage.
WHOOSH!
Batman didn't waste a single word on these primitives. His body spun sharply. The wide cape on his back swept upward with the motion, deflecting every projectile.
In that same spinning movement, countless batarangs launched at speeds and with techniques these primitives couldn't possibly comprehend or track.
A rapid series of whistling sounds filled the air. Every batarang embedded itself in the primitives' shoulders or palms.
"%...@#!"
The primitives shouted incomprehensibly. Seeing ranged attacks prove useless against Batman, they slapped their dinosaur mounts and charged en masse.
Batman and the Lizard Professor locked eyes briefly. Batman gave a slight nod.
The Lizard Professor understood perfectly. One had come to rescue the little girl Lunella. The other had come seeking the source of those infrasonic waves. Neither had time to waste fighting primitives.
Even if those primitives rode dinosaurs thirty, even sixty feet long.
Batman vaulted onto the Lizard Professor's back. The Lizard Professor dropped to all fours. Despite being vastly smaller than these dinosaurs, he now unleashed incomparable power.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
The earth shook. Stones flew. Dust billowed!
After his evolution, facing this dinosaur horde, the Lizard Professor unleashed his full strength and speed without hesitation—like a super-heavy truck shrunk to a fraction of its size, charging straight into the dinosaur legion.
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