"Hey! Wait for me!" Tony was about to say he would go too, but before he could finish, the other person had already vanished in an instant.
"That's not very considerate... Luckily, I still have a batch of older Iron Man suits lying around. They might be outdated, but they'll do."
For once, Tony found himself in a rare mood for vengeance. Hydra was a disease that needed to be eradicated.
"Jarvis, open the underground vault."
Standing at the entrance of his lab, Tony watched as the floor opened up under Jarvis's control, revealing fifteen Iron Man suits. They were older models, retired from active use.
Though, considering Tony updated his suits multiple times a month, they weren't exactly antiques. He had refrained from using them earlier due to system vulnerabilities being exploited by hackers.
"Jarvis, you control the other suits. We're heading to the Russian Federation to track down Baron Strucker."
Tony donned one of the suits and took the lead, flying out of his mansion at low altitude, making a beeline for his target.
"Jarvis, lock onto Strucker's location. Don't lose him."
"Understood, Mr. Stark."
Back at Tony's mansion, Jarvis was still integrating with Arnim Zola's algorithm. However, thanks to Garus's earlier advice, Tony had refrained from embedding a hardcoded directive to protect humanity and eliminate criminals. Perhaps this way, Jarvis wouldn't evolve into Ultron.
Concerned that Strucker might find a way to disappear, Tony pushed his suit's speed to the limit, creating a sonic boom as he tore through the sky. Below him, the otherwise calm ocean rippled with waves in his wake.
On his helmet's HUD, Tony tracked Baron Strucker's route, heading towards the outskirts of St. Petersburg. However, moments later, the signal suddenly vanished. Even Stark satellites in orbit lost track of the truck.
"Damn it. He must've activated cloaking technology to block electronic signals."
"Mr. Stark, using cloaking devices consumes a lot of energy. We may have to wait for him to reappear."
"What if he hides in a cave? Satellites won't be able to find him then." Tony glanced at the sky ahead. "Spread out and search the area where he disappeared."
...
Strucker's truck pulled into a hidden mountain cave. As the vehicle came to a stop, a pair of young siblings jumped out.
"Lauren, Andy, stay here. You mustn't leave until I return. Once I've dealt with the Avengers and the mutants, I'll come back for you."
These two were Baron Strucker's children. Strucker had taken great care to keep them hidden; very few even knew of their existence. He didn't want his children involved with Hydra's affairs. In truth, even he had little real loyalty to the organization.
"Father, we're not leaving," Lauren and Andy protested. "We can help—"
Thud!
Before they could finish, Strucker knocked them unconscious.
"Leave some supplies and food for them. We're moving on to the next safe house."
Without looking back, Strucker departed.
Inside the truck, he reached into a metal case and pulled out a syringe filled with an orange liquid.
Gritting his teeth, he lay back on the cot in the truck's cargo bay. "Restrain me."
His subordinates obeyed, locking him down with cold steel shackles before injecting the serum into his veins.
A burning sensation surged through his bloodstream, searing his veins with excruciating pain.
"Aaargh!"
The agony was unbearable, forcing him to scream.
This was Extremis, acquired through his dealings with Dr. Aldrich Killian. Right now, he had no choice but to bet everything on it.
Luckily, his willpower was formidable, and his body contained Death Spores, granting him rapid regeneration. Without those, this transformation would've turned him into nothing more than a human bomb.
As the Extremis virus rewrote his physiology, the Death Spores within him underwent unpredictable mutations.
Strucker's men watched in horror as his body radiated intense heat, the metal shackles binding him beginning to soften and liquefy into molten iron. Even the infernal red glow of his "Satan's Claw" intensified.
"Lord Strucker!" The Hydra soldiers backed away in terror, drenched in sweat. The truck's interior had become an inferno.
Strucker rose to his feet. His clothes had long since been incinerated by the sheer heat.
"Stop the truck!" He needed time to regain control, or else even the vehicle itself wouldn't survive his newfound power. Regaining a fraction of his awareness, he melted through the truck's door and leaped out.
Extremis granted its users rapid healing and the ability to emit extreme heat. The Death Spores, on the other hand, allowed him to release lethal airborne toxins. Their fusion created something… new.
The Hydra convoy was forced to disable their cloaking devices as they came to a halt.
Minutes passed, yet Strucker's body continued radiating heat. The surrounding rocks began melting into magma. Killian's original Extremis strain had never been this potent—something had changed.
It wasn't until half an hour later that his body finally stabilized. He accepted a fresh set of clothes from his subordinates, preparing to depart. But then, a familiar sound reached his ears.
"Mr. Stark, we've found Baron Strucker."
Jarvis's report reignited Tony's focus. Had Strucker already run out of power?
"Show me the satellite feed."
On the satellite monitor, Tony spotted the Hydra convoy. But more importantly, he saw Baron Strucker—completely naked.
Tony blinked in disbelief. "Okay, I wasn't expecting that… but I'm not complaining. Time to move in."
By the time Tony arrived, Strucker was just about to get moving again.
"Baron Strucker! Found you."
Tony landed in front of the convoy, blasting the tires off several trucks.
His signature red-and-gold armor was instantly recognizable.
Strucker, still adjusting to his transformation, was mentally unstable. Seeing Tony approach, he leaped from the vehicle.
"Efficient as always, Mr. Stark. But where's Garus? I don't see him."
Strucker glanced around, searching for the one person who truly unnerved him.
"Just me today," Tony quipped. "Garus is busy handling Madame Viper. But I don't need his help to take you down."
"Is that so?" Strucker smirked dangerously. Power surged through his veins, satisfaction filling him as he considered collaborating with Dr. Killian in the future.
Turning to his soldiers, he ordered, "Fall back."
Without hesitation, the Hydra operatives saluted and withdrew a hundred meters away.
---
[TL/N: I don't know if these two kids are the twins Andrea and Andreas in the comics or if this Strucker is Trask. But... fuck the author! Does he not have eyes? Is his brain alright?! Why would he constantly swap Strucker's name with Trask?!! It is making me confused as hell! If not for this "Strucker" being part of Hydra and having Death Spore I would have translated it as Trask!
Don't mind me. I just want to rant a little.]
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