"Ah ah ah ah ah—!"
Flight had always been the dream of humankind since ancient times. For countless generations, people had longed to soar through the skies. But if one was being dragged into the air against their will, it was a very different matter.
In the blink of an eye, Maya Hansen found herself thousands of meters high. The howling wind roared in her ears. Her mind went blank, and she clung to Thor tightly, like a drowning person clutches at driftwood.
Thor was slightly distracted by the way she pressed against him—though this was hardly the time to think about it. Just as he took off, the system's notification chimed.
"Ding! Mission complete — Iron Man Forever! Reward: Improved Extremis Formula."
Thor: ???
Just moments ago, he had been trying to figure out how to approach the mission. And now—suddenly—it was marked complete?
What the hell? I didn't even do anything, and the task is finished?
But the completion of the mission meant Iron Man's death in 2023 had been erased. The only thing Thor had actually done was… He looked down at Maya Hansen, who was wrapped around him like a koala.
…This butterfly effect was ridiculous!
Through his link with the system, Thor pieced together the cause and effect. The system, he suspected, might have been designed by people from the land of the Hans—it was rigid, methodical, and offered no hints during missions. Everything had to be reasoned out alone. But once the task ended, it was happy to answer questions and clarify details.
According to the original timeline, Aldrich Killian would rise to power 17 years later, with Maya Hansen—developer of Extremis—serving as his partner.
But Maya's descent into villainy had never been complete. When she realized Killian was testing unfinished Extremis on ordinary people, her pride and her conscience as a scientist would not allow her to support him. In the end, she broke with Killian and was killed by him.
As the saying goes: black grows tenfold stronger, but purity weakens by three points. Since ancient times, villains never met good ends—just look at Loki, the God of Mischief.
In fact, there had been a deleted scene at the time: Maya Hansen, mortally wounded, struggled to her feet after Killian left, transferred Extremis data to Tony, and whispered, "Destroy it… recreate it… begin again." She ended her tragic life in the noblest way.
Later, Pepper Potts was injected with Extremis. To study it and find a cure, Tony injected himself as well—ultimately producing an improved formula.
But Tony Stark had never become a hero through physical enhancements, only through the armor he built. So the Extremis effect never showed itself openly. It wasn't until the final battle, when Extremis's regenerative power allowed Tony to survive wielding the Infinity Stones, that it revealed its importance. He endured the cosmic energy long enough to end the war with a snap of his fingers.
"I am Iron Man."
Without Extremis, Tony would never have survived the snap. The moment he donned the Nano Gauntlet, he would have been fatally injured. Though the Time Stone might have healed him afterward, the act of snapping itself would have killed him. In other words, his death had truly been inevitable.
But now, with Extremis secured early, death had been averted. The final snap would still be necessary—but by whom? Carol Danvers? Thor himself? Hulk with his shattered arm? Or someone else entirely?
Thor shook his head. Pointless speculation. What mattered was this: he would never allow Stark to die in that "blip" again.
Stark, Stark… you owe me big time. I saved your life without you even knowing it!