Tony was driving while examining the documents in his hand. After a thorough look, he found a document labeled "List of Missing Operatives," which also bore the AIM company logo.
Seeing the company's logo, Tony sensed something was wrong. Could these people be AIM's creations?
A new super serum?
Thinking about this, Tony recalled Rhodey's aircraft, which had recently been upgraded by AIM. Realizing this, Tony immediately called Rhodey.
Meanwhile, Rhodey had arrived in Pakistan, breaking into what seemed to be Mandarin's target location.
"Don't move!"
Rhodey raised his arm weapon, aiming at the people in the room. However, he realized that this was likely a false target; the people here didn't look like Mandarin's henchmen. Just then, his phone rang inside his helmet.
Seeing the incoming call, Rhodey said, "Uh, hold on a minute."
He then answered the call, "Hello?"
Tony's voice came through, "Have you ever been with a girl who's sitting on you, and then she suddenly starts glowing bright orange from the inside out?"
Rhodey, confused, replied, "Uh, yeah, I have. Who is this?"
Tony responded, "It's me, buddy."
"By the way, if I remember correctly, you came looking for me last time I went missing. What are you up to?"
Rhodey looked at the people in front of him and said, "Just a little reconnaissance in Pakistan, making some friends."
"What about you?"
Tony asked, "Your armor redesign was done by AIM, right?"
"Yeah."
Hearing Rhodey's confirmation, Tony tossed the document aside and said, "I'm heading to find a large communication satellite. I need your login."
Rhodey replied, "It's always WarMachine68."
Tony said, "And the password, thanks."
Rhodey complained, "Listen, Tony, every time you hack in, I have to change my password."
"Just give me the password."
With a sigh, Rhodey finally gave in, "WarMachineRoxX, with X at the end, all uppercase."
Hearing this, the Pakistanis nearby laughed at the password.
Rhodey immediately activated his weapon systems, silencing them.
But Tony's mocking laughter came through as well. Rhodey said helplessly, "Go ahead, laugh."
Tony laughed, "It's way better than Iron Patriot."
Just then, Tony happened to pass by Hamilton County Memorial Hall that was hosting the Chattanooga Christmas Pageant.
Seeing this, Tony knew the place had the equipment he needed and immediately turned his car around to head there.
Upon arrival, Tony, carrying a roll of cable, walked over to the plaza and found a satellite van. He quietly sneaked inside.
Inside the van, Tony noticed that the communication van was broadcasting the pageant from inside the hall. He quickly tested the computer's internet speed but found it inadequate.
Just then, the van owner opened the door and saw Tony inside. He asked, "Excuse me, sir, I don't know who you are?"
Tony turned to him and made a shushing gesture.
"Shh."
The owner, who was on the phone, said, "Mom, I'll call you back later. This is a moment of miracles."
He hung up excitedly and exclaimed, "Tony Stark is in my van!"
"Keep it down."
Tony gestured for him to close the door and come inside.
In their conversation, Tony discovered this person was a fanboy—Gary, who had Tony's face tattooed on his arm.
Tony asked Gary to climb onto the van's roof and adjust the Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) to increase the internet speed by 40%.
Gary eagerly complied and made the adjustments.
With the improved internet speed, Tony quickly accessed AIM's internal network and found the information he needed.
Through the internal video footage, Tony learned that Killian's AIM company had developed a new serum capable of healing amputations and disabilities. He also realized that the explosions were not an intentional attack but uncontrolled outbursts.
Tony snapped his fingers and said, "Got you, my friend."
"That thing doesn't always work, right?"
"Despite its flaws, you found buyers, didn't you?"
"You sold it to the Mandarin."
At this point, Tony only believed that Killian had developed the serum and sold it to the terrorist organization led by the Mandarin, unaware that Killian was the mastermind behind everything.
…
Elsewhere-
After arranging the video broadcast, Killian began tracking Maya Hansen's location.
From his subordinates, he learned that one of his operatives had appeared at the scene during the bombing of Tony Stark's mansion.
Killian had some suspicions about her intentions but wasn't entirely sure. He needed to confirm her location.
When he pulled up the tracking data from Maya Hansen's device, he found that she was at the base of the superhero Charles Doyle.
Seeing this, Killian cursed, "Damn it, what's going on?"
A subordinate nearby reported, "Sir, according to the scene, Charles Doyle arrived at Tony Stark's mansion and took Pepper Potts with her, and Maya Hansen left with them."
Hearing this report, Killian slammed his fist on the table.
"Bang!"
Killian's punch shattered the desk, revealing that he had also injected himself with the Extremis serum.
At this moment, Killian felt frustrated. The Extremis virus was not yet perfected, and its initial developer was Maya Hansen, a key member of their team.
If left unchecked, losing her would be a significant setback. If the virus were perfected, losing Maya wouldn't be a big deal, but right now, it was a major issue.
Pepper Potts and Maya Hansen were both in Charles Doyle's base. Unlike Tony, this superhero had a team of ninjas, making him much more formidable.
Could his men retrieve Pepper Potts and Maya Hansen?
After some thought, Killian decided to take the risk. He couldn't give up on Maya Hansen just yet, and if they could capture Pepper Potts along the way, it would be a bonus.
"I need soldiers who have been injected with the Extremis virus. Have them come here."
"And those who haven't been injected but are disabled, arrange for them to be injected with the Extremis virus."
A subordinate nodded. "Yes, sir!"
Killian planned to send a large group of Extremis soldiers to Charles Doyle's base. If they couldn't retrieve Maya Hansen, they would launch a self-destruct attack.
Since Charles Doyle dared to taunt him in the media, Killian would make him experience Tony Stark's ordeal. This time, instead of missiles, he would use Extremis soldiers.
…
Elsewhere-
At Charles's base-
John Wick had already driven everyone back to the base, and Charles had arranged rooms for Pepper Potts and Maya Hansen to rest.
Charles Doyle looked at Maya Hansen and said, "I want to know about your dealings with Tony Stark and your boss's situation."
Maya Hansen wanted to refuse but, being in Charles's base, could only nod in agreement.
"If Mr. Charles is interested, I'll explain everything."
Charles glanced around and then said, "Let's go to the lounge area; there's a sofa where we can talk comfortably."
The four of them soon sat down in the lounge area, and Maya Hansen began her story.
"Our research, much like the German nuclear physicist and rocket expert of the past, started with lofty ideals."
"Back then, before that man built rockets for the Soviet Union, he dreamed of space travel, gazing at the stars."
"When the first V-2 rocket hit London, do you know what he said?"
"The rocket performed perfectly, it just landed on the wrong planet."
Maya Hansen looked at Charles Doyle.
"You see, we started out naive, purely scientific."
"Then came arrogance, followed by obsession, and before you know it, you're far from your original goal."
Tsunade, sitting nearby, shook her head. "You lost your way because you didn't fully commit to your will."
"If you could fully commit to your will, you wouldn't deviate from your original goal. Time changes some people's will, but there are always those who persist, upholding their ideals."
Maya looked at Tsunade and shook her head. "We're just ordinary people, not powerful ninjas. Some things are beyond our control..."
Pepper Potts comforted her. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Maya."
Charles then asked, "Are you saying you gave your research to the think tank?"
Maya Hansen nodded. "Yes, but Killian established the think tank based on military contracts."
Pepper Potts didn't care and said, "That's how we were back then as well, so don't blame yourself."
###
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