Tony Stark's expression darkened in an instant.
Damn it. Nolan Locke had caught up to him again.
For a brief moment, his world dimmed. The instant the word "baby" entered the conversation, he felt the universe itself lose its shine. After a heavy silence, Tony finally snapped.
"Hey, I can handle this myself!"
Nolan raised an eyebrow and replied calmly, "Really? And what exactly are you going to use to handle it?"
A faint smirk tugged at Nolan's mouth, infuriating Tony even more. He clenched his teeth. Why was the Mark 42 still not here?
Ignored and simmering with rage, Aldrich Killian glared at Nolan.
"Nolan Locke," Killian snarled, "people call you a hero, but you should never pick a fight with someone you cannot defeat."
Nolan's gaze shifted toward Killian, amusement flickering in his eyes.
"Funny," Nolan said. "You were the one who targeted Locke Industries first. I was willing to leave you alone, but you crossed my bottom line."
Killian let out a cold laugh.
"Kill him."
At his command, several Extremis soldiers lit up, molten heat rising off their skin. They rushed toward Nolan like flaming meteors.
Nolan did not flinch.
A moment later, a series of metallic thuds shook the ground. Several T-1000 Terminators smashed into the earth from above, landing in a ring around Nolan. This was the same aerial deployment method he once used during the New York battlefield.
The T-1000's greatest strength was its durability. After realizing this, Nolan had simply decided that the fastest way to deploy them was to use them like living projectiles.
The liquid metal units rose as one, turning toward the incoming Extremis soldiers. Then they charged.
The two sides collided in an explosion of force.
The Extremis warriors were powerful. The virus-enhanced strength in their bodies pushed them far beyond human limits. But raw strength was not their true terror. It was the blistering heat radiating off them, capable of turning anything that touched them to molten slag.
Unfortunately for them, their opponents were not human.
The T-1000 units matched their strength blow for blow, but unlike the Extremis warriors, they felt no fear. No pain. No hesitation.
These so-called ultimate soldiers found themselves outmatched in the one place that mattered most: endurance.
One Terminator pierced its arm straight through the chest of an Extremis soldier. At the same moment, another Extremis soldier mirrored the attack on the Terminator.
But the difference between flesh and machine became painfully obvious.
Even with regenerative abilities, the human body had limits. The T-1000 did not.
Within thirty seconds, Killian's men were torn apart and silenced, leaving only Aldrich Killian standing alone.
Nolan smiled lightly.
"So, what is your plan now?"
Killian's expression twisted with hatred.
"Nolan Locke, you have no idea who you have offended!"
Nolan let out a short, mocking laugh.
"Isn't it just Aldrich Killian?"
Killian's jaw tightened. He released the two people he had restrained and stepped forward. Without their armor, they posed no threat in his eyes.
His body began to glow red, heat rippling off him in waves until he resembled a living furnace forged from molten rock.
Power surged through him, flooding him with intoxicating confidence. For that moment, he felt invincible, as if every setback had finally been reversed. Now he was the strongest one on the battlefield.
He lunged forward, accelerating with each step. Two Terminators rushed to intercept him, but Killian did not slow down.
Tony Stark and James Rhodes exchanged looks that held a mixture of disbelief and pity.
Killian's own subordinates had already proven how useless Extremis soldiers were against Terminators. Charging in himself was nothing short of suicide.
But what happened next stunned everyone.
Just as the Terminators closed in, Killian opened his mouth and spat a massive plume of superheated flame. It slammed into the robots with the heat of an industrial furnace. Before they could recover, Killian grabbed both of them and ignored their counterattacks completely.
In seconds, the two Terminators began to melt in his grip, their liquid metal bodies unable to withstand the extreme temperature.
Tony and Rhodes stared with wide eyes.
Extremis… could get this strong?
With the Terminators reduced to molten heaps, Killian turned his burning, twisted face toward Nolan.
"Nolan Locke, die!"
He charged again, a flaming demon bursting straight out of hell. With nothing now standing between the two men, he looked unstoppable.
But Nolan did not retreat. He simply drew the plasma blade from his back.
Perhaps the world had forgotten what he was capable of.
Back when he faced the Abomination and even the Hulk, Nolan Locke had fought hand to hand. He had carved the Abomination apart piece by piece.
The ground cracked beneath his heels. Nolan vanished.
He reappeared in front of Killian in the next instant.
Before Killian could react, Nolan swung his blade down, nearly cleaving him cleanly in half.
Flames flared violently, and the Extremis regeneration kicked in. His body knit itself back together at alarming speed.
Nolan chuckled softly.
His blade flashed like dancing light. In the blink of an eye, he struck Killian dozens of times.
Extremis was powerful, but it was not infinite. Nolan refused to believe Killian could regenerate forever.
Killian's healing slowed. Then faltered. Then stopped.
Only then did Nolan lower his blade.
At that moment, Tony suddenly shouted, "It's here!"
Rhodes blinked in confusion.
"What's here?"
A streak of metal shot through the sky and collided directly with the back of Killian's head. Killian froze mid-movement and collapsed like a puppet with cut strings.
The object fell neatly into Tony's lap. Only then did everyone realize it was a piece of the Iron Man armor.
More armor pieces barreled in one after another. When the final helmet snapped into place, the eyes lit up.
Tony lifted his chin proudly and said, "This time doesn't count as you saving me. Even without you, I already had my escape plan."
Nolan gave him an odd look. He glanced at Killian's limp, unmoving figure and said, "You are right. Honestly, I think not only could you escape, you even managed to finish off the main villain."
Tony's face stiffened beneath the helmet.
He could hear the sarcasm dripping from Nolan's voice.
It was as if Nolan were saying, This is all you're good for? Stealing the last hit?
For a split second, Tony regretted calling the armor at all.
"Damn it…" he muttered under his breath. He was not that kind of guy. Not usually.
But Nolan's mockery was impossible to ignore.
Killian, melted and shredded beyond recovery, lay dying. With his regeneration gone, nothing could save him. And Nolan knew no doctor would dare try.
The threat finally ended, and the tension lifted from everyone's shoulders. Killian's burning, half-molten form had been unsettling to even look at.
Before long, the kidnapped president regained consciousness. Seeing the scene before him, he became instantly grateful and friendly toward his rescuers.
Nolan politely introduced Locke Industries. The president, still shaken, agreed to several small requests without hesitation.
With the promises secured, Nolan smiled with genuine satisfaction.
Today was definitely worth the trip.
Far away in Asgard, Thor dragged his weary body back into the golden halls of the palace.
Since the Bifrost had been destroyed, chaos had erupted through the Nine Realms. After rebuilding the bridge using the Tesseract, Thor and his army had been fighting endlessly to quell rebellion after rebellion.
Thor could fight without rest, but his warriors could not. They lacked his divine stamina and strength, and casualties had been mounting. As their commander, the sight tore at him every day.
Two more realms still burned with conflict. The war seemed unending.
And Thor feared how many Asgardian warriors would fall before peace returned.
At that moment, an idea surfaced in his mind.
After some contemplation, Thor entered the throne room to meet Odin.
The All-Father sat upon his throne, radiating a quiet, regal power. Even without lifting a hand, he emanated a presence that commanded reverence. Yet beneath that pressure was the warmth of a benevolent king.
"Father," Thor said, "our warriors have been fighting day after day, and their losses grow heavier. I have a proposal."
Odin raised an eyebrow, surprised yet pleased.
His son had grown much through hardship.
"What proposal?" Odin asked.
Thor stepped forward.
"On Earth, I witnessed the mechanical technology of Locke Industries. Their robots possess considerable combat strength. If we could purchase similar weapons, we might reduce the number of warriors who fall."
Odin fell silent.
He had not expected Thor to suggest such a thing. But the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.
He had watched everything Thor experienced on Earth. He knew well how effective those machines were.
Asgard had its own energy weapons, far more powerful than Earth's missiles, yet none of them could replace soldiers on the ground. But those robots might.
The problem lay in what such a move would signify.
Thor understood his father's hesitation clearly.
Asgard was the realm of gods, the center of the Nine Realms, the strongest of all. They could not reveal weakness to anyone.
Yet Thor's heart burned with another conviction.
"Father," Thor said firmly, "our warriors should not die needlessly. I, Thor, God of Thunder, will protect the honor of Asgard."
Odin pondered for a long moment before releasing a heavy sigh.
"Very well," he said. "You may try."
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