Long Island, Gabreski Air Force Base.
Colonel James Rhodes, clad in the heavy War Machine armor, strode onto the exercise field.
"Honestly, I feel like I'm attending some kind of new product launch, not a military exercise."
He looked at the Hive command vehicle parked quietly in the distance and complained to the control station through his internal communicator.
"That's my opponent? Such a huge armored vehicle would be reduced to scrap by anti-tank guns within minutes if it ever appeared on a real battlefield."
"Their drones have a theoretical combat range of over ten kilometers, so they won't give you that chance easily," the Air Force officer beside him reminded him through the communicator. "And all the drones are controlled by AI, so simply blowing up that armored vehicle won't be enough. You'll need to take out every drone as well."
"Sounds like I'm swatting mosquitoes."
Colonel Rhodes lowered the cold metal faceplate, hiding the indifferent smile on his face.
"All right, pest control time."
The instant the words left his mouth, the thrusters on War Machine's back erupted with searing flames and a thunderous roar, launching him into the sky amid a violent blast wave!
At the same time, at the other end of the exercise field, the hatch of the Hive command vehicle slid open soundlessly, and more than twenty Hornet rocket drones painted in yellow-and-black stripes swarmed out.
Without the slightest confusion, they swiftly spread through the air into several tactical formations and sped toward the ascending War Machine!
In the exercise field stands.
"Olson, do you think we'll win?"
Justine Hammer stood before the massive bulletproof glass, watching the twenty-odd black dots rapidly drawing closer in the distant sky as she asked the chief technical officer beside her.
"Uh... probably...?"
Olson's answer was full