The air was thick with tension. Hammer stood at the center of the room, surrounded by his own guards and Extremis-enhanced soldiers. But the moment Phoenix Squad breached the perimeter, the tide turned. Now, the squad had blocked off every exit, rifles aimed with surgical precision. Despite the shift in control, Hammer had the audacity to grin.
"Alexander Kane," he began, his voice oozing charm as if this were a boardroom negotiation. "Let's be businessmen. Your contract with Stark? Peanuts. I can double it—hell, triple it—if we can share Extremist serum. Imagine it: Hammer-Kane International. We'd own the future."
Killian stepped forward, clearly agitated. "What are you talking about? We had a deal," he snapped, his tone edged with frustration.
Hammer threw a glance at him, scoffing. "You should act according to the situation."
Alex didn't move. His gaze shifted to Maya Hansen, bound and bruised in the corner.
"You tied up my scientist," he said, voice calm but icy. "Killed my men..."
A brief silence ensued.
"You don't have a future."
With a flick of his fingers, invisible energy snapped through the air. Maya's restraints shattered and dropped to the floor. She gasped, grabbing at her wrists as blood rushed back into her hands.
One of Hammer's guards panicked. His finger twitched on the trigger.
A gunshot rang out.
"No!" Hammer yelled.
Alex's Spider Sense erupted in warning. He reacted instantly, pulling two metal sheets from his Dimensional Storage. With a sharp gesture, they snapped together in front of him like a clamshell. The bullet slammed into the shield with a sharp metallic clang!.
"Wrong move," Alex said coldly.
Before the guard could blink, Phoenix Squad opened fire. The room erupted in synchronized gunfire. Hammer's men crumpled to the floor, dropping before they could even return fire. The Extremist soldiers quickly covered others.
Hammer screamed and dove behind a nearby console.
Killian cursed under his breath and bolted. But before he could take more than a few steps, Alex summoned his spear and hurled it with deadly precision. The weapon tore through the air and slammed into Killian's gut, pinning him to the wall.
Killian groaned as he gripped the shaft of the spear, trying to wrench it free. But no matter how hard he yanked it, it wouldn't budge. No matter how hard he yanked, it wouldn't budge. Then he froze and looked down. The wound—which should have been healing in a blaze of scorching heat—began to sizzle and blacken, as though something was actively devouring it from the inside.
He didn't understand. The Extremis healing is accompanied by heat that could melt iron bars with ease. But now his flesh was overheating and failing to regenerate. The spear remained untouched; in fact, he couldn't even feel heat on the shaft.
Panic gripped his chest. His eyes dropped to the vial still clutched in his trembling hand.
'I have no other choice,' Killian thought with grim determination.
He closed his eyes and jabbed the vial into his neck. The sharp pain made him open his eyes.
His body jerked violently. Glowing veins lit up beneath his skin. Steam hissed from his pores as the unstable compound took hold.
Hammer stared at his reckless action, his disbelief clear. Maya Hansen put a trembling hand over her mouth, eyes widened. Alex looked on, only mildly interested, his eyes narrowing.
"So you chose suicide." Alex walked toward Killian.
Killian looked up, his face twisted and his eyes glowed with unstable power. He gripped the spear in his gut and let out a savage roar. With every bit of Extremis-fueled anger, he pushed forward. The enchantment on the spear scorched his flesh, leaving a trail of blackened skin. Inch by inch, he forced himself along the shaft until it tore out the other side of his torso. Steam hissed. The wound didn't bleed—instead, it sizzled and smoked, struggling to heal against the spear's destructive magic.
But he stood upright, trembling, smoldering, and very much alive.
"No, Kane... I chose evolution."
Killian lunged at Alex, full of anger, and his body was still wreathed in flame. Alex summoned the spear back to his hand and slashed across Killian's path. Killian jumped, but not fast enough—he took a grazing hit mid-air and staggered upon landing. Smoke hissed from his sizzling wounds, which stubbornly refused to heal.
Despite the damage, Killian grinned.
"You can't beat me with your steel stick."
Alex merely smiled. From that first exchange, he already knew—Killian didn't stand a chance. He could end this in seconds... but that would be too merciful.
Just as he planned to strike again, he noticed it—Killian took a long breath, his throat glowing red-hot.
He dodged sideways in a flip, letting another flame breath wash past him—then drove the spear straight through Killian's chest.
Just then, a repulsor blast shattered the ceiling. The Mark IV armor crashed through like a meteor, landing in a storm of debris. Tony's gauntlet was already raised.
"Did I miss the fun?" Tony quipped.
Killian's glowing eyes locked onto Tony. His voice rasped like torn paper:
"You... Bern... 1999... You left me... on that roof... I waited... for you... for hope... I wanted to end it... that day...then... I wanted you to feel what I felt... Desperation!"
With one last surge, Killian lunged—
—and Alex drove the spear deeper, slamming him into the ground.
Killian's head slumped, the glow in his eyes fading to nothing. A heavy silence fell over the room, broken only by the hum of damaged machines and the soft crackle of scorched metal. Alex turned to Tony, his eyes demanding answers, but his mouth remained closed. The weight of what just happened said enough.
Tony's faceplate retracted. A flicker of guilt crossed his face.
Maya stumbled forward, clutching Alex. Her eyes locked on Killian's lifeless body, tears slipping free.
"He wasn't always a monster..." she whispered.
Alex looked down at her, without knowing what to do. He just put a hand around her.
He then turned towards Hammer, still cowering behind a sparking console.
He stepped forward. "Now. Let's deal with you."
Suddenly, JARVIS's voice rang out
"Sir, four unmarked SUVs are approaching. They're carrying SHIELD emblems, but facial recognition returns no matches for known SHIELD agents."
Tony turned to Alex. "Looks like we've got company."
A/n: I've been thinking of starting a Powerstone challenge for more bonus chapters. But the Patreon page has already posted free chapters up to Chapter 22. Let's set the powerstone target low.
Powerstone reaches every 50 + 1 chapter. Dropping your Powerstones here can help you have more chapters quickly.
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