"What's the situation? Where is the monster now?" Tony, wearing his Iron Man armor, flew urgently from his seaside villa to Stark Tower. He did not rush in immediately but first sought an update from J.A.R.V.I.S.
"Sir, Stark Group security is currently engaging the Bugster monster. However, based on the current situation, the weapons the security department is equipped with are not posing any effective threat to the monster," J.A.R.V.I.S. projected the surveillance footage of the battle inside the tower onto Tony's display.
...
"Damn it, what is this monster? Why are our weapons completely ineffective?"
The Stark Group security guards complained as they continued to fire and keep the monster engaged.
"This is no good. The gear we have can't handle this monster at all. Individual combat equipment probably won't work. Do we have any more powerful weapons?"
Someone asked over the security communication channel.
"Are you insane?" the Chief of Security sharply rebuked. "We are inside Stark Industries Tower! Are you suggesting we use large-scale offensive weapons?"
The Stark Group security guards had tried all the cutting-edge individual combat weapons produced by Stark Industries: high-explosive grenades, electromagnetic jamming rounds, high-density carbon-core armor-piercing rounds, even sonic weapons and grenade launchers...
None of them could cause any substantial damage to the monster. To escalate further would mean resorting to strategic weapons with mass-destruction capabilities.
But this was in the city, at their company headquarters—Stark Industries Tower. At most, they could use some micro-missiles. They certainly couldn't deploy strategic weapons like Jericho missiles. If they did, they might not kill the monster, but they would certainly demolish their own building first, and there were still high-level board members inside.
"Then what do we do? Our individual weapons can't effectively threaten this monster. Are we just going to keep delaying?"
"Just delay for a little longer, and our boss will arrive."
"The boss? That's right! Iron Man!"
Everyone remembered that their boss, Tony Stark, was the superhero Iron Man. As long as they stalled until he arrived, resolving this monster would surely be no problem.
Fortunately, the Bugster monster at this stage wasn't highly intelligent, only instinctively seeking destruction. When attacked, it would naturally retaliate against its attacker.
Most of the Stark Group security guards were experienced retired soldiers and agents, who quickly noticed the monster's characteristics. They immediately coordinated their formation and took turns attacking, attracting the Bugster's attention and focusing its aggression, barely managing to keep it tied up.
After confirming the monster's location, Tony's eyes narrowed. If it hadn't been for the sudden appearance of the two guys calling themselves "Kamen Riders" last time, he probably would have been taken out by the monster.
So, after that incident, Tony took it to heart and completely upgraded and modified his suit. Since regular firepower was ineffective, he equipped various new weapon systems.
Now was the perfect time to have a proper showdown with this so-called Bugster monster and redeem himself.
"Tony, where are you now?" Pepper's call came in.
"Don't worry, I've reached the building. I'll take care of that monster as Iron Man. You stay in a safe location and don't move around," Tony instructed Pepper.
He then locked onto the monster's position, and the thrusters on his armor's limbs fired, accelerating him straight toward the target.
"You've trashed my building like this. I bet this monster doesn't have the money to pay for the damages. I'll just use it as experimental material to compensate for my losses," Tony mused to himself, raising an eyebrow as he scanned the devastated Stark Tower lobby left in the Bugster's wake.
"Damn it!" the Chief of Security cursed under his breath, seeing several of his subordinates struck by debris flung from the wall the monster had casually smashed, their condition unknown.
"Full fire! Draw its attention!" Seeing the monster heading directly toward the guards pinned by the rocks, the Chief's face changed drastically, and he shouted loudly.
The other security guards immediately opened fire in unison, wanting to empty every bullet in their magazines into the monster. Unfortunately, their firepower had little effect.
Just then, two micro-missiles trailed fire and slammed into the monster, creating two loud explosions that briefly staggered the creature.
Everyone turned their heads toward the direction the missiles came from.
"Gentlemen, Iron Man has arrived! Leave this monster to the great Mr. Stark. Immediately rescue the injured personnel and retreat to a safe area," Tony's voice boomed from the red and gold armor. As he spoke, he fired two shots from his palm repulsors at the Bugster monster.
The Bugster monster roared in anger, slightly stepping back from Tony's attack, and started walking toward him.
"Seriously, you don't even have a mouth, so how do you make such a grating sound?" Tony complained to himself, regardless of whether the Bugster could understand him, and hit it with two more repulsor blasts.
"Sir, the missile attacks caused no substantial damage to the monster. The armor's energy particle beams appear to have some effect, but any damage inflicted on the monster automatically heals quickly," J.A.R.V.I.S. warned.
"Figures. A truly tricky monster. But I already upgraded the armor's weapon systems. I refuse to believe I can't deal with this lump of mud. Also, what kind of tasteless person designed this monster? It looks like a kindergarten child's art project, piled up with lumps of yellow mud," Tony complained about the monster's appearance while conducting probing attacks, distracting the Bugster and slowly luring it out of Stark Tower.
"Alright, big guy, it's time to show you the power of the genius, Tony Stark," Tony declared once he had led the monster out of Stark Tower.
"First up: electrical discharge rounds."
The armor on his arm opened, firing several micro-missiles toward the Bugster monster.
The missiles did not explode upon impact but changed shape, adhering to the monster and releasing a powerful electrical current. If it had any circuit-like system inside, it would surely be affected.
However, the Bugster monster remained bouncing around until the electricity ran out.
"No effect? Next, an electromagnetic pulse."
"The electromagnetic pulse shock rounds have a delaying effect, but they still appear to cause no substantial damage," J.A.R.V.I.S. analyzed and reported.
"Damn it, try something else."
"Ultrasonic oscillator."
Ineffective.
"Cryogenic liquid nitrogen rounds."
"High-temperature molten incendiary rounds."
It's completely unaffected by extreme changes in heat and cold?
"High-power laser."
"F*ck! What the hell is this monster?" After exhausting all his means and still failing to inflict any truly effective damage on the monster, Tony couldn't help but curse.
"Sir, based on analysis, these weapons are not entirely ineffective against the monster. However, it seems that only attacks with purely energy attributes can cause damage to the monster. The laser actually cut the monster, but it recovered almost instantly."
"If that's the case, crank the repulsors to maximum power," Tony commanded.
Two thick white beams of light shot out from the palms of Tony's armor, violently striking the Bugster monster.
A dazzling flash of light erupted, forcing the monster backward under the sustained energy fire.
"Sir, the Arc Reactor energy is only at sixty-five percent and is dropping rapidly," J.A.R.V.I.S. warned Tony that if he continued this attack, the armor's energy would soon be depleted.
Tony finally stopped the attack just before the Arc Reactor's energy dipped below the critical threshold needed to maintain the flight systems, and he looked down at the Bugster monster on the ground.
The monster's torso had a massive crater, and its two arms were badly damaged.
"Is it dealt with?" Tony exhaled slightly, seeing the monster motionless. "J.A.R.V.I.S., prepare to take a sample. I want to see how this monster is born."
He slowly descended, preparing to approach the monster and extract a sample. As he momentarily relaxed, he still felt a faint sense that something was wrong. The last time he encountered this kind of monster, when it was defeated by the two so-called Kamen Riders, it reverted to a human-sized form.
"Sir!" J.A.R.V.I.S.'s voice was slightly urgent.
"What is it?" Tony was alarmed.
"The monster's body is rapidly recovering," J.A.R.V.I.S. said while bringing up the image for Tony to see.
It looked exactly like dough that had been pressed down and was naturally springing back into shape.
"Damn it, the armor's energy is insufficient!" Tony's expression darkened.
"I suggest, Sir, you temporarily retreat," J.A.R.V.I.S. advised after analyzing the situation.
"No! If I leave, who will deal with this monster? What about Stark Tower and the employees inside?" Tony said with a grim look.
"Sir, the two unidentified individuals who call themselves Kamen Riders seem to specialize in dealing with these types of monsters. Their attacks have a very powerful effect on them. Last time, they also appeared suddenly shortly after the monster appeared. Perhaps they will arrive soon this time as well."
"Fine, I will keep engaging this monster for now. I hope those two Kamen Riders hurry up," Tony nodded heavily.
(End of Chapter)