Luke rubbed his face and let out a breath. "Can't believe today's Christmas," he muttered. "Guess I should plan something for tonight."
Then his eyes sharpened.
"For that," he added calmly, "I need to clear this mess fast."
Footsteps echoed down the corridor—heavy, hurried, careless. Killian's men poured in, weapons already coming up.
Luke didn't even turn fully. "Wanda," he said simply, stepping aside. "Field test."
Wanda turned, nerves flashing for half a second before instinct took over. Her hands lifted, fingers spreading as scarlet energy bloomed around her palms—unstable, raw, but powerful.
The attackers never got a shot off.
The red force hit them like a wall. Bodies were ripped off their feet, slammed into the ceiling with bone-rattling force, then yanked sideways and hurled straight back out of the room. Metal screeched, concrete cracked, and the hallway beyond erupted into chaos as they disappeared from sight.
Silence followed.
Wanda lowered her hands slowly.
Luke nodded once, approving. "Good control," he said. "Little rough, but that's expected."
They didn't waste time.
Tony moved first, scanning the corridors. Luke followed at an unhurried pace, eyes taking in everything, while Natasha checked angles and Wanda stayed close, hands faintly glowing, ready to react.
Then Tony shoved open the next door.
The heat hit them immediately.
Killian stood inside.
And behind him—
Pepper.
She was restrained, suspended upright, her skin flashing with the same dangerous glow. Extremis was already inside her, raw and violent, flaring unevenly as her body struggled to contain it.
Tony froze.
Just for a heartbeat.
Then his face hardened into something sharp and furious.
"Get away from her," Tony said, voice low.
Killian smiled, flames licking across his arms. "Too late, Tony. She's evolving. Just like me."
Tony didn't reply.
He fired.
The bullet hit Killian square in the head.
For a normal man, that would have been the end.
Killian barely flinched.
The wound sealed almost instantly, flesh bubbling and reforming as Extremis burned brighter. He laughed, the sound distorted by heat.
"Did you really think that would work?"
Tony's hands clenched. "Worth checking."
Before Killian could move, Luke stepped forward.
"Extremis," Luke said calmly, eyes glowing faintly. "High-output regeneration. Cellular combustion tied to emotional instability. Sloppy design."
Killian's smile twitched. "And you are?"
"The problem," Luke replied.
He snapped his fingers.
Killian's arms and legs were severed cleanly, falling away as if erased. He slammed onto the floor, screaming, the Extremis in his body flaring violently. The detached limbs glowed, cracked, and collapsed into molten slag.
Luke tilted his head, observing him with mild curiosity.
"Hm. If I keep cutting pieces off," he muttered, "will it still regenerate?"
Killian answered only with pain.
Tony had already moved in.
He stepped in close, gripping pepper shoulders firmly, forcing her to focus on him.
"Pepper. Look at me," he said fast, controlled, refusing to panic. "I'm here."
Her breathing was uneven, heat radiating off her in waves. Extremis was still active—dangerous, volatile—but not gone.
Tony stayed right there, steady, not backing away for a second.
"Let me see," Luke said, stepping in. He glanced over Pepper once, eyes narrowing.
A harsh laugh cut through the room.
"Hahaha—Tony, you can't save her," Killian sneered from the floor, even half-ruined still trying to dig the knife in.
"Shut up, idiot. I'm focusing," Luke said flatly.
He flicked his hand.
Killian's body folded in on itself, compressed into a glowing red cube that hummed angrily on the floor.
Natasha glanced at it, then back at Luke. "It's always something new with you."
Luke ignored that.
"I can stabilize her," he said simply.
Before Tony could say anything, Luke placed a finger against Pepper's forehead. Mana flowed in—controlled, precise—sliding through her system instead of flooding it. The Extremis heat reacted violently at first, then began to collapse in on itself, the runaway reaction being eaten away at the molecular level.
Tony watched, tense. "What are you doing?"
"Destroying the virus," Luke replied calmly. "Piece by piece. Learned it by dealing with an enemy who is good at taking control of other people's bodies "
The glow beneath Pepper's skin dimmed. The heat faded. Her breathing slowed.
After a moment, Luke pulled his hand back.
"Done."
The restraints released with a click. Pepper sagged forward, and Tony caught her immediately, holding her upright.
"Pepper—are you okay?" he asked, voice tight.
Her eyes fluttered open. She looked at him, exhausted but present.
"I told you," she said weakly, irritation cutting through the haze, "not to do stupid things."
Before Tony could reply, the door slammed open.
A man rushed in with a rifle raised—only to freeze mid-step as red energy wrapped around him. Wanda lifted him clean off the floor, his boots dangling a foot in the air, the gun slipping from his grip.
She was already turning toward the nearest exit.
"Wait," Luke said casually. "He looks familiar."
The man squinted, hanging there. "…Tony?"
Tony blinked, then huffed. "Yeah. That's him."
Wanda paused mid-throw and glanced back. "You know this guy?"
Tony nodded. "Unfortunately."
"Ally?"
"Definitely," Tony said. "Most of the time."
"Oh," Wanda said, easing her grip.
The man was lowered back to the floor, landing awkwardly on his feet and straightening his jacket like nothing unusual had just happened.
"Colonel James Rhodes," he said, clearing his throat. "Did I miss something?"
He looked around at the wrecked room, the glowing red cube on the floor, Pepper in Tony's arms.
*****
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