The Destroyer's beam clipped my shoulder.
It burned like hell, sending a jolt through my armor, but I shook it off. This thing was fast for something so big.
It wanted to take me out quickly, but I wasn't going to let that happen.
I roared back at it.
It was a primal sound, pure challenge. Electricity crackled around my fists. My feet pounded against the desert floor as I charged.
This thing was going to learn what happens when you hit a Chosen Child.
"Thunder Fist!"
I slammed my right fist straight into its chest.
CLANG!
Sparks flew everywhere, a blinding flash of light against the desert sun. I felt the impact travel up my arm, a solid, heavy blow that should have sent anything else flying.
But the Destroyer didn't even wobble.
My fist left no dent, no scratch, nothing but a scorch mark that quickly faded. Its visor just glowed, fixed on me, completely unfazed.
It just kept coming.
"You have got to be kidding me!" I yelled, my voice a growl.
That wasn't right. My attack, that raw power, it always worked. This thing was pure magic, some Asgardian cheat code. It felt like playing a game with a hacker in the lobby.
It made me want to rage.
This thing was built like a brick shithouse. My best shot just pinged off it.
It just kept its slow march, completely uncaring. The Destroyer was a tank. I was a distraction.
It lifted an arm. The joint groaned, clank, a sound like rusted gears grinding. Then, a beam of energy shot from its palm.
WHOOSH
I dodged, a move that burned through precious stamina. The heat washed over my armor, searing the air where I had just been. This wasn't a fight I could win with raw power. I needed a plan.
This thing was a machine, a programmed monster. I had to find a weakness.
I could hear the girls talking in my head, a frantic jumble of worry and battle cries. They saw me struggle. They always had my back.
"Get it, girls!" I shouted, hoping they understood.
Gatomon and BlackGatomon darted forward. They were a blur of white and black, a dual assault on the hulking armor.
"Lightning Paw!"
Gatomon launched a volley of strikes, targeting the Destroyer's legs. Each CRACK of her claws hit like a whip, leaving faint blue trails on the metal.
BlackGatomon wasn't far behind.
"Darkness Wave!"
A focused beam of dark energy erupted from her paws, slamming into the Destroyer's chest. She was going for the energy core, a risky move that could either pay off big or do nothing.
The Destroyer didn't even flinch.
Its magical defenses held firm. The dark energy dissipated, leaving no mark. Their combined efforts, those powerful Champion-level attacks, were useless.
This thing was a walking fortress. We needed something more.
The Destroyer swept its arm.
WHOOSH
Gatomon and BlackGatomon leaped back, narrowly avoiding being crushed. They were fast, but that thing's reach was insane. I couldn't just let it swat them around like flies.
I roared, trying to draw its attention again.
"Hey, ugly! Over here!"
It turned its head slowly, its visor locking onto me. Another energy beam shot out.
ZAP
The blast clipped my side, sending a fresh wave of pain through my armor. It felt like a giant took a hot poker to my ribs. My whole body protested, my internal systems flickering for a second.
These repeated impacts were draining me. My energy was getting low. I needed to land a hit that actually did something.
"This stupid magic is a pain," I muttered.
I jumped back, putting some distance between us. The Destroyer just kept coming, a silent, relentless force of metal and anger. It didn't care about my taunts, my hits, or my pain.
It only cared about its objective.
I raised my hands, electricity coiling around them. My circuits hummed, gathering power. This was my strongest attack, a direct hit from the sky. It had to work.
"Mjölnir Thunder!"
I slammed my fists together, channeling all my power upward. Dark clouds gathered overhead, swirling with purple and blue energy. Lightning crashed down.
CRACKLE
The bolts struck the Destroyer, one after another, a blinding rain of pure electrical force. The construct was enveloped in a storm of crackling energy, flashing white against the desert floor. I felt the ground shake, the air filled with the smell of ozone.
This had to be it.
When the light cleared, the Destroyer stood there, completely unharmed. Its metallic surface was scorched, black marks tracing the path of the lightning, but it was still in one piece.
It didn't even wobble.
"Are you kidding me?!" I screamed.
My best shot, the one that could level buildings, just bounced off this thing. It was like trying to hack a mainframe protected by a god. This stupid magic was beyond anything I had faced before. It defied all logic, all reason.
My frustration mounted, a bitter taste in my mouth. This fight was a total nightmare.
The Destroyer lumbered forward, its red eye slits fixed on me. It was a stupid, hulking target, yet untouchable. I cursed silently. My attacks were just fancy light shows to this thing. I needed to rethink this whole "brute force" strategy.
I watched it, trying to find a rhythm, a tell. The air shimmered around its head, a faint haze, just before it fired that devastating beam. It was a fraction of a second, almost nothing, but it was there. A power-up animation, a charging sequence.
That was it. That was the window.
It would be tight, dangerously so, but if I could hit it during that charge-up, before the energy solidified... maybe, just maybe, it would create a feedback loop. A glitch in its system. It was a long shot, a Hail Mary pass.
But it was the only shot I had.
I needed to be precise.
CRACKLE
A wave of ice blasted across the desert, sending sand and small rocks skittering past me. Laufey. The Frost Giant king. He was charging, not at me, but at the scientists. Jane, Erik, Darcy. They were scrambling, trying to get away, but Laufey was fast.
Thor, bless his powerless heart, saw it too. He moved, a slow, clumsy lunge, trying to intercept. But he was just a human now, and Laufey was a king.
No, not the scientists. Not them.
My intent to help was clear, but the Destroyer was programmed to kill.
ZAP
A searing beam erupted from its visor, slamming into the ground right in front of me. The heat was immense, forcing me to throw up my armored arms, shielding my face. The ground around me melted into a glass-like sheen. I was pinned.
I watched, trapped, as Laufey closed in on Jane.
This was bad. Very bad.
***
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