Just as the utterly one-sided battle between Hulk and Professor Connors seemed about to reach its inevitable conclusion, with Hulk's life hanging by a thread like a guttering candle in the wind, a deep, brilliant light shot in from the distant horizon like a meteor tearing through the night sky.
The light was a profound blue, dazzlingly bright and nearly illuminating the entire night sky, like a glimmer of hope piercing the darkness.
"Beep! Beep! High-energy alert! High-energy alert!"
A shrill, urgent alarm suddenly rang out inside the helmet of Tony Stark's Iron Man suit.
The alarm was like a sharp needle, instantly stabbing into Tony's nerves and tightening his already taut nerves even further.
J.A.R.V.I.S.'s familiar yet calm voice rang out through the heads-up display. "Sir, high-energy reaction detected!"
At the same time, a rapidly approaching point was flashing across the heads-up display at extreme speed, like a meteor streaking through the night sky.
A thought flashed through Tony's mind: Was the radar malfunctioning?
His eyes were fixed on the display, filled with doubt and vigilance.
At that moment, the target detected by the phased-array radar was flying toward his position at an astonishing speed of twenty-seven kilometers per second.
That speed was simply beyond ordinary comprehension. It was more than seventy times the speed of sound and over twice Earth's escape velocity.
Peacekeeper, one of the world's most advanced intercontinental ballistic missiles, had a terminal velocity of only Mach 26. Yet this unidentified object was even faster. How was that possible?
Tony's mind raced as he tried to find a reasonable explanation.
He swiftly pulled up data from the Iron Man suit's various sensors and carefully analyzed the mysterious target's characteristics.
A trace of unease showed in his eyes. His hands unconsciously clenched into fists, and the joints