"Cap, Hydra's welcoming committee is here!"
As soon as Hawkeye spoke, everyone noticed.
In the distance, over twenty fighter jets were swarming towards the Quinjet.
These were, of course, carrier-based aircraft from the nearest Helicarrier.
Aircraft from the other two carriers would arrive momentarily.
Clearly, while the Avengers were focused on D.C., Hydra was watching them too.
And upon discovering the Avengers' approach, they immediately launched an interception.
However, facing the incoming jets, no one on the Quinjet panicked. Cap looked directly at Tony and the others.
"They're yours!"
Tony smiled slightly. Without a word, he hit a button next to him, opening the rear ramp.
Then, Tony picked up a skateboard-like device, threw it under his feet, and flew out of the cabin on jets of flame, Green Goblin style.
Outside, the Veronica armor caught Tony and assembled around him in seconds.
"That guy, showing off again..."
Colonel Rhodes shook his head helplessly at his friend's antics, then flew out as well.
But he wasn't wrong.
This "Green Goblin Glider" armor-up device was developed by Tony specifically because he thought Luca's [Boxer Mech] entry was too cool.
At the same time, Thor and Erha (Second Haro), both capable of flight, followed them out.
The others stayed securely inside the Quinjet.
Seeing this, Harry Osborn, the youngest of the group, sighed with envy.
"It must be nice to fly!"
But as soon as the words left his mouth, the Venom head on his shoulder scoffed.
"Flight? That's no big deal!"
"Huh?"
Harry didn't process what his partner meant.
Next moment.
His body moved uncontrollably, rushing toward the closing ramp.
"Hey hey hey! Don't! We can't fly! I'm not envious anymore! No no no!"
"I'm afraid of heights! There are no buildings nearby, no webs in the sky... Aaaaahhh~~"
Harry's mouth was fast, but Venom's burst speed was faster.
Before he could finish protesting, he whooshed out of the cabin.
Then, under the horrified gazes of the others...
Venom Harry's body bulked up into a black muscular monster. The black substance on his back surged.
POOF~
An air burst.
From Venom Harry's muscular back, a pair of massive demonic wings unfurled.
The already menacing full-form Venom looked even more evil with the multi-meter wingspan.
With a flap of the demon wings, creating sonic booms, Venom Harry flew straight out.
"Aaaaahhh...? I can actually fly?"
"You could always fly. It's not hard. You just never asked me..."
As Venom and Harry's conversation faded into the distance, the ground-bound members inside the Quinjet looked at each other.
"Is that kid really suitable for the Avengers...?"
Leaving aside the thoughts of the "Groudon Group" inside the plane...
The twenty-something jets outside weren't enough for the Avengers' aerial units.
Even with the forty-plus jets arriving from the other two carriers, it wasn't a threat. It was just feeding them kills one by one.
Tony and Rhodes maneuvered agilely through the formation. Every repulsor blast from them meant a destroyed jet.
Lucky pilots ejected; unlucky ones went down with their planes.
Compared to them, Thor was even simpler.
He spun Mjolnir and charged. Anything in his path was smashed through, turning into a giant fireball.
Even the novice flyer Harry, with Venom's help, dodged and weaved between jets.
Sometimes he performed aerial maneuvers to dodge machine gun fire.
Sometimes he dove, landed on a jet fuselage, and lashed out with tentacles, destroying the aircraft in seconds.
Among the "flying units," the most tragic was Luca.
Erha and Fifth Haro were fine, their coordination no weaker than Iron Man and Iron Patriot. Their kill speed was even slightly faster.
However.
The [Boxer Mech] was a clumsy giant. It wasn't a flying unit; it was only airborne thanks to Tony's jury-rigged Veronica boosters.
It was slow and huge.
In the sky, it was a massive, eye-catching target.
Several high-speed fighters bypassed Tony's blockade. Instead of targeting the Quinjet full of people, they all unloaded their firepower on the [Boxer Mech].
Instantly, the Boxer Mech was blasted into several somersaults in mid-air.
Although the mech wasn't damaged, Luca inside the cockpit felt extremely embarrassed.
Even Tony, having just downed a fighter, turned back to ask.
"Hey, kid, need Uncle Tony to cover you?"
Hearing this, Luca, having just stabilized, gritted his teeth.
"Fine! FINE! Ignoring everyone else to bully me, huh?!"
"Haro! Activate assisted targeting! Launch Chain Cluster Missiles!!!"
At Luca's command, red lights flashed in the cockpit. Even the auxiliary Haro sounded excited.
"Cluster missiles launch! Cluster missiles launch!"
Next moment.
The chest missile bays of the [Boxer Mech] opened slightly.
Then.
Pop pop pop pop~
Four thumb-sized micro-missiles were ejected.
Watching these four tiny missiles wobble into the air... honestly, compared to Luca's furious tone and the flashing red lights, the contrast was comical.
However, once the four micro-missiles were airborne...
POOF~
Four clouds of white smoke exploded.
Next moment, from each cloud, four more missiles appeared.
Then.
Missiles fly away — white smoke — become missiles — white smoke.
In the blink of an eye, the airspace around the [Boxer Mech] was filled with over a hundred tracking missiles, ready to strike.
At this moment, the excited auxiliary Haro gave the final notification.
"Target lock complete! Target lock complete~"