But Thor had left. Tony was still here.
Tony hovered in midair, his gaze fixed on the second Leviathan beast that had already passed through the Portal. Lin Hai had taken down one Leviathan without much effort. Tony Stark had never considered himself inferior to anyone. If Lin Hai could do it, so could he.
Two repulsor blasts reduced the two Chitauri aircraft tangling with him to fragments. Then, with his thrusters at full power, he turned into a gold-and-red meteor and charged toward the second Leviathan beast.
He was so fast that the Chitauri aircraft attempting to intercept him were left behind before they could even react.
He reached the Leviathan beast's flank. This Leviathan looked even larger than the previous one. Tony raised his right hand, and the armor on the back of it slid apart, revealing three tiny launch ports beneath.
Three red laser beams shot from the ports. Under Tony's control, they swept across the Leviathan's metal plates, leaving behind charred cuts.
"Sir, the lasers will run out of energy before penetrating the outer shell," JARVIS said in Tony's ear.
Tony retracted the lasers. Flames burst from his thrusters as he moved from the Leviathan's side to directly in front of it. Looking at its gaping steel maw, he said, "JARVIS, do you know the story of Jonah?"
"Sir, I do not consider him a good role model." JARVIS answered quickly. Such a simple question could not stump him, but JARVIS did not think this was a strategy worth imitating.
(Jonah was swallowed by a great fish and spent three days and three nights in its belly. In the end, the fish spat Jonah onto the shore, and he survived.)
But Tony was Tony. Once he decided on something, he would see it through. The outer