On the rooftop helipad of Killian's base, Savin arrived on a transport helicopter, accompanied by a few Extremis soldiers who were carrying the Iron Patriot armor.
Killian greeted Savin with open arms and a hug.
"Excellent, our plan has advanced another step. A bright future awaits us."
He then turned to the soldiers and commanded, "Take the armor to the basement for disassembly."
"Yes, sir!"
Killian and Savin quickly returned to the castle. As they entered, a fully armed soldier approached.
"Sir, the mission failed."
"Gary, what exactly happened?"
Gary replied, "The team sent to Charles Doyle's base lost all signals shortly after entering. The mission to rescue Maya Hansen has likely failed."
"Bang!"
Killian punched the wall, leaving a dent.
"Incompetent fools," he muttered, though his anger was directed at Maya Hansen.
Savin asked, "Sir, what should we do now?"
Killian continued questioning Gary, "Did any explosions occur at their base?"
Gary shook his head. "According to our intel, there were no explosions, and the fight ended quickly."
"Damn it."
Killian cursed, then said, "Remove Maya Hansen from the management team. We'll abandon her rescue for now."
It was clear to him that his limited resources couldn't be wasted on a seemingly endless endeavor. He had more pressing matters.
Gary nodded, "Yes, sir."
Killian then issued a new order, "Gather our forces."
"How many?"
Killian's expression turned serious. "All of them. As many as we can get."
…
Meanwhile, Tony Stark, carrying a large haul of materials from the supermarket, returned to Harley's garage.
The first thing Tony did was fix JARVIS's charging issue. After some tinkering, he managed to get the Mark 42 components to start charging again.
However, since Harley's garage used civilian-grade power, it lacked high-capacity charging facilities, so the process was slow—much slower than Tony anticipated.
During this time, Tony didn't remain idle. He began crafting makeshift weapons: a short-range nail gun, small bombs, a high-powered taser, and electric gloves.
…
At Charles's base-
Charles turned to Maya and asked, "Will you speak voluntarily, or should I do it myself?"
Although unsure of what Charles meant by "doing it himself," Maya decided to speak. "I'll talk."
"Those men were second-stage Extremis injectees, all under Killian's command. They were likely sent to retrieve me. I am AIM's chief researcher, primarily responsible for researching and improving the Extremis virus."
"What's your connection with the Mandarin?" Pepper Potts asked.
Maya Hansen hesitated for a couple of seconds before replying, "There is no Mandarin."
Pepper was puzzled. "What?"
Maya explained, "The Ten Rings and the Mandarin don't actually exist. We discovered some old records of this organization, which had disappeared, and we borrowed its name."
"As for the Mandarin, he's just an actor we hired. We call him 'The Master,' and he's a scapegoat for the accidents that occurred during our experiments."
Maya continued, "Accidents during experiments are not good for our image. But if we attribute them to a terrorist group, it attracts a lot of attention."
"Killian plans to use this 'Master' as a scapegoat until we perfect the Extremis virus. Then, we can market our product under the guise of anti-terrorism."
Pepper was stunned by this revelation, while Charles was not surprised. Tsunade, on the other hand, was more interested in the Extremis virus.
Tsunade asked, "If the Mandarin doesn't exist, what caused these explosions? Were they deliberate?"
Maya shook her head. "No, it's a flaw in our product. Our virus grants extraordinary regenerative abilities and the power to generate extreme heat, but if the recipient can't control their emotions, they overheat and explode."
"These so-called bombings were just cases where subjects couldn't control their emotions and exploded due to overheating."
Tsunade nodded. "Interesting research."
Pepper then asked, "Why did you seek out Tony?"
"I wanted him to join our team to help overcome this flaw. I believe his expertise could solve it."
Pepper shook her head. "No, Tony would never help you, even if you hadn't attacked him."
Maya lowered her head, acknowledging the truth in Pepper's words.
Tsunade turned to Charles. "How about letting me take her? I'm interested in her research."
Charles nodded. "Sure, she's all yours."
Tsunade grabbed Maya by the arm and said, "Come with me. We might find common ground in this research."
As Tsunade led Maya away, Pepper wanted to say something but hesitated. Knowing the darker side of corporate dealings and Charles's past, she finally said, "Mr. Doyle, with Killian having these Extremis soldiers, won't Tony be in danger?"
Charles smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. With Jiraiya and Kankuro helping, he'll be fine."
"It's late. You should get some rest."
Pepper thanked Charles again for his help.
…
Meanwhile, at Killian's base-
A large number of his men had gathered. Killian and Savin went to the basement, where the Iron Patriot suit was suspended from chains. Several technicians were using electric saws to dismantle the armor.
###
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