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"Why are you at my house, and what important matter do you need to discuss with me?"
"And... how do you know members of the Ten Rings Gang?!"
Facing Tony Stark's interrogation, Maya Hansen pursed her lips and said, "Would you believe me if I said... that's precisely why I came to see you today?"
Seeing the man in front of her unmoved, Maya Hansen could only helplessly continue to explain, "Alright, frankly, I think my boss is working for the Mandarin!!"
"However, if you want to continue discussing this topic, I think we'd best find a safer place."
"It's very safe here." Tony Stark turned to look at Pepper Potts behind him and said, "Honey, you leave first... and move back after I've completely resolved this matter."
"Okay."
Pepper Potts didn't procrastinate at all. She stepped forward, kissed Tony Stark's cheek, and whispered in his ear, "You must take good care of yourself when I'm not around."
Then she picked up her already packed handbag and hurried away.
"Alright, now you can continue."
Tony Stark frowned and asked, "But before that, there's something I need to reconfirm. I remember you're a botanist, isn't that right?"
"That's right."
Maya Hansen nodded noncommittally, "To be precise, I'm actually a bio-gene encoding expert... I already explained that to you in detail before we went to bed that night."
"Alright."
Tony Stark's expression softened slightly, and he continued to ask, "Who is your boss, and how did you get involved with the Ten Rings Gang?"
"No, I haven't had direct contact with members of the Ten Rings Gang."
Maya Hansen took a deep breath, then slowly elaborated, "Several years ago, my research project received sponsorship from A.I.M. (Advanced Idea Mechanics). My current boss, Aldrich Killian, specially assembled a research team of forty people for me."
"It's really related to that bastard Aldrich Killian!" Tony Stark's eyes lit up upon hearing this, and he pressed, "So... what was the project you were researching?"
"Extremis!!"
Immediately, Maya Hansen recounted all the functions and characteristics of Extremis in detail.
"No wonder no shrapnel was found near the site where Happy was injured. So it's this kind of uncontrolled human bomb?"
Tony Stark narrowed his eyes, a sneer curling at the corner of his mouth, "This thing... what you call Extremis, I suppose it doesn't always recover normally after being damaged, does it?"
"In other words, it's still a defective product? It's just that you found a buyer in advance during this process, and that person is... the Ten Rings Gang and the Mandarin, right?!"
"Tony, I'm afraid you're only half right."
Looking at the man in front of her, who seemed to be possessed by Detective Conan, Maya Hansen said with an extremely serious expression:
"If that monster... I mean Dr. Curt Connors, hadn't appeared, the outcome might have been exactly as you just guessed."
"But now... after Aldrich Killian forcibly merged Extremis and the Trans-species Gene Serum, the side effect of easily losing control is gradually stabilizing. I believe it won't be long before they can cultivate a large number of 'Extremis Lizard Warriors' with stable abilities!!"
Recalling the Lizard Man who had been unharmed in the explosion and continued to escape from the water, Tony Stark's eyes widened in disbelief, and he exclaimed in a lost voice:
"So, there are many more guys who can turn into lizards and also breathe fire?"
"That's right." Maya Hansen nodded emphatically, "Although I don't know how Dr. Curt Connors did it, he did forcibly merge two different serums through experimentation... and that's why I was kicked out of the team."
Just as Maya Hansen said, more than half a month ago, Aldrich Killian, at the behest of the Mandarin, Trevor Slattery, successfully found the wanted Dr. Curt Connors in the sewers and brought him back to the secret Base.
Then he urged the other party to conduct fusion experiments with Extremis and the Trans-species Gene Serum.
Originally, in Maya Hansen's opinion, these two different agents could absolutely not be successfully fused.
But who would have thought that a miracle actually occurred?
Dr. Curt Connors managed to forcibly merge the two agents in less than a week.
Then he conducted comparative experiments on several ordinary people and Extremis Warriors, finally reaching a surprising conclusion.
After transforming into a lizard state, the special ingredients in the Trans-species Gene Serum could effectively suppress the fatal flaws present in Extremis, thereby preventing users from easily self-detonating due to excessive emotional fluctuations.
At the same time, it could perfectly preserve the self-healing ability and the ability to release high temperatures that came with Extremis.
And so... Maya Hansen was immediately kicked out of the core research team, and Dr. Curt Connors took her place.
Maya Hansen, feeling indignant, believed that she had not received the treatment she deserved and that those Bandits had stolen her research achievements.
That's why she secretly ran to find Tony Stark, wanting to tell him the whole story of the incident, thereby using him to punish Aldrich Killian, who had kicked her out.
"Oh, by the way, the Mandarin is not the buyer Aldrich Killian found, but his behind-the-scenes boss!"
Maya Hansen thought for a moment and added, "Although I have never actually met this mysterious leader, I have heard many rumors about him within the company."
"What rumors?" Tony Stark cast an inquiring look at her.
Maya Hansen swallowed, and said nervously, "He seems to be a demon who can use magic!"
"Are you talking about turning his hands into crab claws and then breathing fire to burn people into a disgusting mess?"
"Tony, believe it or not, one thing is beyond doubt... that even an ambitious guy like Aldrich Killian is very afraid of the Mandarin... but fortunately, he seems to have recently left America."
"What do you mean by 'left'?" Tony Stark asked with a puzzled expression.
"It's exactly as it sounds." Maya Hansen pursed her dry lips, "I don't know exactly where the Mandarin went, but if he were still here, Aldrich Killian would absolutely not dare to act as recklessly as he just did... In other words, Aldrich Killian will definitely make a big move before he returns, thereby regaining control of A.I.M. and the Ten Rings Gang."
Tony Stark's expression immediately became serious. If the woman in front of him wasn't lying, then it meant that Aldrich Killian would have a large-scale operation next.
The thought of those Extremis Warriors, who possessed both the ability to transform into Lizard Men and were like walking time bombs, potentially posing a fatal threat to himself and Pepper, suddenly activated Tony Stark's PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) leftover from the Battle of New York and the "gear explosion."
His heart rate quickened, breathing became difficult, and consciousness blurred...
It wasn't until Jarvis, who noticed the anomaly, continuously reminded and comforted him that he recovered from the negative state.
"Sorry, I was a little distracted just now."
After reorganizing his thoughts, Tony Stark decided to strike first and eliminate this enemy hanging over their heads like a Sword of Damocles, so he proactively asked:
"Where is the Ten Rings Gang's secret Base?"
"In Miami, Florida..."
After a slight hesitation, Maya Hansen advised with some uncertainty, "Although your Iron Man Suit is very powerful and cool, I must remind you that those people are definitely not something one Iron Man can handle."
"Who said I was going to deal with them alone?"
Tony Stark clearly wasn't going to tell Maya Hansen his plan. After clarifying the situation, he impatiently gave her the boot.
"You'd best find a safe place where no one can find you and hide before I successfully deal with these bastards... Alright, that's it. I still have some important matters to handle next."
Just like that, Maya Hansen, who was "kicked" out of the Villa, returned to her car with a displeased look, then drove while pondering where she should go next.
Presumably, it wouldn't be long before Aldrich Killian saw the news of her visiting Tony in the news, so the other party would likely send Lizard Extremis Warriors to hunt her down.
And the best course of action right now was, as Tony said, to find a safe hiding place and wait for this storm to pass.
But the problem was, she had no idea where she could find a safe house that could withstand the pursuit of the Lizard Extremis Warriors?
As she hesitated, Maya Hansen's car had already driven down from the cliff, but just as she turned left to enter the main road, two black SUVs directly forced her car to a stop, one in front and one behind.
Bang--
Selena exerted a slight force and directly pulled off the entire driver's side door.
Then, pressing one hand on the car roof, she leaned down slightly and smiled at Maya Hansen, who was already stunned inside:
"Don't be afraid, Dr. Maya Hansen, we mean no harm. It's just that my Hyperspace Group greatly appreciates your expertise in Extremis, so we'd like to invite you to Sokovia for an academic exchange."
Is it really a meeting?
Don't lie to me?
Wait a minute, Hyperspace Group?
Is that the mysterious company that's been trending recently?
Although Maya Hansen had dedicated almost all her time and energy in recent years to perfecting Extremis.
But in her spare time, she would still browse the internet.
So she was not unfamiliar with Hyperspace Group, which had previously successfully prevented the Dark Elves and the demon army from invading Earth.
Considering her current dangerous situation, Maya Hansen agreed without a second thought, "No problem, I'm also honored to have the opportunity to visit your company."
A hint of surprise flashed in the depths of Selena's ice-blue eyes. Originally, she had planned to directly use her hypnotic ability to take the other party away if they resisted.
Who would have thought that the other party would agree so readily.
Very good, a wise person submits to circumstances!
Immediately, Maya Hansen and Selena got into the same SUV and quickly disappeared at the end of the road.
And on the ground where the two had just stood, a mobile phone crushed by a car wheel remained.
...
Florida.
Miami.
In a heavily guarded Villa.
"Sir, I'm sorry, this mission failed."
Eric Savin said somewhat dejectedly, "I originally planned to catch him off guard, but I didn't expect him to react so quickly. We were discovered as soon as we started the sneak attack..."
"It's okay, it's not your fault... who knew we had a traitor among us."
Aldrich Killian was not angry after learning of the plan's failure. Instead, he raised his hand, pointed to the news playing on the TV, and said:
"I didn't expect our former chief researcher, Ms. Hansen, to also appear there... If nothing unexpected happens, our identities and the secret of this Base should have been exposed."
"What, Sir, are you saying that damned woman is the informant?"
Eric Savin immediately turned to the TV in anger, and soon discovered Maya Hansen's familiar figure within it.
Although the aerial shot in the news was quite distant.
But for "old acquaintances" like them, who had been in contact for nearly a decade, even a distant glimpse of her back was enough to identify her.
"I knew why Tony Stark reacted in advance. So it was this damned informant's doing... Traitor, don't let me catch you, or I'll personally skin you alive."
Eric Savin cursed at Maya Hansen's image for a few moments, then asked with some concern, "Sir, what should we do next?"
"If Maya Hansen really betrayed us and told Tony Stark everything about this place, I'm sure he'll come knocking soon, won't he?"
"Sigh, it seems I really shouldn't have been soft-hearted and spared her life then..."
Aldrich Killian sighed, but then a ruthless sneer appeared on his face, "But even if Tony Stark knows our identities, what can he do? No one can stop my plan now!!"