Pepper Potts comforted Maya, "Don't be too hard on yourself, Maya."
"I really appreciate what you said, Pepper," Maya replied, grateful.
Just as Maya was about to say more, Charles Doyle interrupted, "What exactly is your research?"
"Is it possible that the explosive incidents were caused by your research?"
Pepper Potts also turned her attention to Maya, awaiting her response.
Maya Hansen remained silent for two seconds before speaking, "My research involves using a chemical agent to enter the brain, repair the central nervous system, and reprogram it—a type of gene recombination research."
"The purpose of this research is to cure diseases and regenerate limbs."
Pepper Potts was astonished, "Killian once demonstrated a bit of this technology to me. If it wasn't used for human modification and private military purposes, it could have been a technology to benefit humanity."
Tsunade, who hadn't shown much interest before, now spoke up, "Are you saying this technology can repair severed limbs?"
"Are there any successful cases?"
Maya Hansen nodded, "There have been successful cases, but it's still unstable. There are some defects in the product that need improvement."
Tsunade nodded thoughtfully but didn't press further. While she was interested in the technology, she understood it was someone else's work.
Then, Charles asked, "Is the defect that it causes an explosion when emotions get out of control?"
"Like a high-temperature bomb."
Hearing Charles's words, both Pepper Potts and Tsunade looked shocked. Pepper spoke up, "Did you sell the product to the Mandarin?"
Maya Hansen was incredulous, wondering how Charles knew this. This information was not supposed to have leaked, especially the product's defects.
"No, we didn't sell the product to the Mandarin."
"And how do you know about the defects? Our data shouldn't have leaked."
Tsunade observed Maya Hansen, noticing she wasn't lying. She became curious about the situation, sensing that either one statement was false, or there was a lie hidden within the truth.
Charles smiled, "Of course, why would you sell it to the Mandarin?"
Seeing the smile on Charles's face, Maya Hansen's heart tightened, wondering if Charles had noticed something.
At that moment, alarms sounded throughout the base, and the virtual image of the AI, Red Queen, appeared in front of everyone.
"Master, we have intruders."
Gunfire and the sounds of battle erupted outside the base. Killian had sent a nine-man squad, all injected with the Extremis virus, to infiltrate Charles's base and quietly retrieve Maya Hansen.
As the entire squad climbed over the wall into the base, preparing to locate Maya Hansen using the tracking signal, they were spotted by patrolling werewolf soldiers, and a firefight ensued.
"Rat-a-tat-tat!"
Seeing the intruders, the werewolf on patrol immediately opened fire, unleashing a burst of bullets. Bullets hit their targets but failed to cause any significant harm. The soldiers, glowing with an orange light, instantly healed from the bullet wounds.
Realizing the enemies were not ordinary, the werewolf Lyell immediately activated his alarm.
Seeing two armed guards blocking them, the Extremis soldiers' leader commanded, "Clay, James, stay and deal with them. The rest, follow me to find the target."
Clay and James stayed behind and aimed their assault rifles at the werewolves. The other soldiers, following their tracking devices, rushed further into the base.
"Rat-a-tat-tat!"
Clay and James hadn't anticipated that their opponents were not ordinary soldiers. The werewolves, Lyell and Badu, predicting their moves, quickly dodged the bullets with incredible speed.
"Boom!"
As they closed in, Lyell and Badu kicked their opponents away.
But despite the Extremis soldiers' strength and speed not matching the werewolves, their regenerative abilities and high-temperature arms made them formidable in close combat, creating a stalemate.
Meanwhile, the seven remaining Extremis soldiers, who had barely crossed the lawn, were surrounded and engaged by a group of werewolf soldiers.
…
Back in the lounge area, Charles Doyle, having heard the report from the Red Queen, commented, "It seems some people don't know where not to intrude."
"Maya Hansen, don't you want to see the results of your team's work?"
Maya Hansen, looking dejected, replied, "It seems you already know everything..."
Pepper Potts, now realizing the situation, said incredulously, "It was your people who attacked Tony."
Charles Doyle led the group outside, where they saw the nine Extremis soldiers surrounded by werewolves, fighting desperately.
Seeing Charles Doyle, the werewolf guards made way.
Charles asked, "What is Killian's purpose in sending you here?"
Upon seeing Charles with Maya Hansen and Pepper Potts, the Extremis soldiers realized their mission was a failure. They immediately began to gather their energy to self-destruct.
"Let's die together!"
The orange-red glow on their bodies intensified. If all nine soldiers exploded, the damage would be catastrophic.
Seeing this, Tsunade prepared to evacuate with Maya and Pepper to avoid the attack. However, Charles quickly formed hand seals.
"Ice Release: Ice Pillar!"
In an instant, Charles threw nine ice spikes at the soldiers. Upon impact, the spikes expanded into large ice pillars, freezing all nine soldiers. The orange light and the cold ice fused, preventing the explosion.
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