As a series of airship explosions echoed from downstairs, Tony Stark immediately snapped back to reality.
Even in his Iron Man Suit, the sight of a dozen missiles flying past him in a rush had made his scalp tingle.
Fortunately, these missiles, after hitting the enemy, didn't explode but released globs of viscous fluid to ensnare them, which allowed him to breathe a slight sigh of relief.
Nevertheless, his astonishment hadn't diminished in the slightest.
"Jarvis... just now?!"
Hearing Tony Stark's hesitant inquiry,
as an intelligent butler with extensive behavioral models of his Master in his database, Jarvis immediately understood what Tony Stark wanted to ask.
Inside the Iron Man Suit's faceplate, a virtual reticle instantly locked onto Luca's 'pencil case,' and a flood of data appeared alongside it.
Simultaneously, Jarvis's voice system provided the answer.
"Sir, the database currently has no matching origin for the weapon. System analysis indicates it is a miniature handheld missile launcher. It possesses intelligent targeting capabilities, and the launched missiles are filled with a sticky polymer, highly effective for enemy containment."
"However, the missiles' flight speed is relatively slow. At medium range or further, the Mark Armor has a 98.4% chance of intercepting all of them. Overall analysis suggests a low threat level to you."
Tony Stark, having stood back up, felt that his earlier startled reaction had been undignified, and he still felt a bit dazed.
"Then just now..."
Tony Stark wanted to say that when he first fell in front of the mother and son, he had clearly been targeted in the face by that 'miniature missile launcher,' which wasn't considered medium range.
Furthermore, the Mark Armor's scanning function itself had a certain penetrative ability, capable of analyzing the 'pencil case' even before it unfolded.
So why hadn't Jarvis warned him of the danger just now?
However, before he could finish his sentence, Jarvis anticipated his question and immediately provided a reminder.
"Sir, your action of actively opening the faceplate earlier interrupted the system analysis."
"..."
Tony Stark's old face flushed upon hearing this; after all that, it was his own mistake that led to the embarrassment.
Despite this, Tony Stark remained stubborn.
"Minor issue! Jarvis, remind me later to add an external debris clearing function to the armor's self-cleaning system!"
"Understood, Master!"
After receiving Jarvis's affirmative reply, Tony Stark had originally intended to quickly leave after reminding the mother and son to be careful.
After all, the massive battle outside was still raging intensely.
Compared to his minor embarrassment, resolving the current crisis and saving more citizens was the most important task at hand.
However, before he could even speak,
the young man who had just put away the 'pencil case' suddenly accelerated, moving past him at an incredible speed and rushing towards the hole in the room.
The young man's sprinting speed was extremely fast, but it was still far from exceeding the visual scanning limits of the Iron Man Suit.
Tony Stark turned to look and immediately noticed that as the young man rushed to a soccer ball near the hole, he suddenly 'braked' sharply, stopping his feet.
At the same time, he lifted his right leg high, stretching out like an eagle, his gaze fixed on the distance.
And in the direction the young man was looking, a hundred-meter-long Leviathan alien spaceship was slowly approaching the building where this house was located, its massive body gracefully gliding through the air.
Along the way, Chitauri soldiers continuously leaped out of the Leviathan warship, rapidly descending to the ground.
'He's going to?!'
"Beep beep beep, warning! Warning! High energy reaction!"
"Scan results! Unknown electrical energy module! Memory-polymerized metal biomimetic muscle fibers! Magnetorheological damping layer filling! Carbon nanotube fibers..."
Lines of data rapidly scrolled across the faceplate, and Jarvis's warning alerts filled his ears.
However, Tony Stark's attention was completely drawn to the young man with his leg raised high.
He saw a massive burst of electrical arcs and sparks erupt from the young man's right foot, with faint iridescent light flickering across his shoe.
The next moment.
Luca violently struck the soccer ball in front of him with a powerful kick.
In the Mark Armor's slow-motion view, the entire soccer ball twisted and changed shape.
The air around the ball was compressed, creating a huge booming sound.
As this terrifying force was fully unleashed, the soccer ball shot out like a flaming meteor.
A powerful blast of air churned up a large amount of building debris, surging forward.
The surface of the soccer ball glowed orange-red from friction with the air, trailing a comet-like tail.
A series of sonic boom clouds continuously exploded along the soccer ball's trajectory.
High-rise buildings along the ball's path, those close to its trajectory, had all their exterior glass shattered.
"Boom—"
With a massive explosion, the soccer ball, streaking across the sky, slammed squarely into the Leviathan warship.
The biological warship immediately let out a painful wail.
Under the impact of an unparalleled force, a large section of the warship's outer metal armor at the point of impact instantly exploded.
The entire warship, moreover, staggered uncontrollably backward in the air.
...Unknown external material reinforcement technology, unknown targeting system, unknown..."
Jarvis's analysis report continued.
But at this moment, Tony Stark merely stood rooted to the spot, his Adam's apple bobbing as he swallowed a gulp of saliva.
"Oh—My—Shit!"
"Roar—"
A roar broke Tony Stark's daze.
Luca's flashy and violent soccer kick looked imposing, and in reality... in reality, its power was also very strong.
However, compared to the Leviathan warship's colossal size, it was still somewhat lacking.
At this moment, the Leviathan beast, having readjusted its posture, charged straight towards the building's direction at an even faster speed than before.
Without time for further thought, Tony Stark immediately activated the Mark Armor, also transforming into a streaking meteor and rushing out.
Fortunately, Luca's earlier strike had already shattered part of the Leviathan warship's armor, saving Stark the effort of breaking through its defenses.
A wrist missile swiftly shot out, directly hitting the exposed muscle tissue of the biological warship.
"Boom—"
Another violent explosion sounded.
A large hole instantly appeared on the Leviathan beast.
It then wobbled and crashed to the ground amidst its wails, finally dying completely after smashing through two more buildings.
"Phew~ It actually worked~?"
Tony Stark, hovering in the air, excitedly whistled.
He hadn't expected that, with the help of that soccer kid, the alien warship that had given him some headaches earlier could be dealt with so easily.
'But what kind of family is that? To equip a child with such a weapon?'