Su Zhan said, "I believe you can do it, but there's no need. I can't keep hiding like this forever. Besides, I've already told Black Widow that I won't hide, so they won't bother me for now. Moreover, it's not that easy for them to catch me!"
"Really?"
"Really. If I get the chance, I'll show you my Ability, and then you'll understand," Su Zhan said confidently.
"Then... alright!" Skye hesitated and stopped. "But it's still not safe. Even though S.H.I.E.L.D. hasn't done anything to you yet, being targeted by them isn't a good thing!"
"You're right. So... let's go now."
Originally, only Skye was leaving, but now it was two people setting off together. They left the hotel, and Skye's car was parked nearby. Su Zhan took a look and directly got into Skye's car!
"What about your car?" Skye asked.
"You said your car is your home. Since I'm your boyfriend, of course I should be with you. We don't need this car!" Su Zhan said casually.
"Alright!" Although Skye felt a little regretful, she liked Su Zhan's reasoning more.
The two got into Skye's car and quickly drove away.
Skye had long been accustomed to this nomadic life. The difference was that now she had a man by her side, her man!
Skye's loneliness was visibly receding. She had found a genuine anchor, a person whose life was as complex and mysterious as her own, yet who treated her with an unflinching commitment she'd never known.
Holding hands, sharing space in the car's cramped cabin at night—where they inevitably slept wrapped together, nothing physical, just the comforting pressure of two bodies—all of it rapidly accelerated their emotional dependency.
"Hey, look at this place," Su Zhan exclaimed, interrupting a quiet moment as he browsed his phone. "It's got these ridiculously low-key reviews, but people are raving about the Kimchi Fried Rice. Shall we try it?"
"I'll listen to you," Skye replied instantly, her smile wide and easy. That unwavering trust felt intoxicating.
As they neared the downtown block where the restaurant was located, Skye pulled the van over. "I'll go park the beast. You go secure a table, King Su Zhan."
"Sounds like a plan."
Su Zhan stepped onto the sidewalk, inhaling the mixed aroma of street food and car exhaust. He was about to turn toward the restaurant entrance when a hulking figure, moving with a careless, aggressive swagger, barreled directly into him.
CRUNCH.
The impact was solid, heavy. Su Zhan, reinforced by the molecular density and super-musculature of the Extremis-perfected physique, didn't budge an inch. The other man, however, stumbled back three steps, rubbing his shoulder with a look of stunned rage.
"Are you blind, you damn idiot?!" the man roared, his face contorted in a sneer. He was big, burly, and radiating hostile energy.
Su Zhan raised an eyebrow, his mild annoyance rapidly dissolving into cold fury as the man spat out the next words.
"Yellow-skinned monkey, I'm talking to you! Are you deaf? Or are you actively looking for a death wish, huh?"
The racial slur, the raw disrespect, was a trigger. Su Zhan's control, usually meticulous, flared with the heat of his internalized power.
"Very good," Su Zhan said, his voice dangerously low. He didn't raise his voice, but the contained menace in his tone made the air feel thick. "I'm quite sure you are the blind one, kid. And trust me, you just chose the wrong person to provoke."
"Oh, you're asking for it! I'm going to teach you a lesson in sidewalk etiquette!"
"Honey, what's wrong?" Skye's voice cut through the tension. She had parked the van and hurried over, sensing the confrontation.
Su Zhan turned back to her, and the cold fury vanished, replaced by a confident, predatory grin. "It's nothing, sweetheart. Just a magnificent opportunity. I haven't had a chance to show you exactly how amazing your boyfriend is. And now... the time has come."
He looked back at the aggressive man. "Kid, the sidewalk is too crowded for a proper chat. Let's take this little disagreement somewhere quieter."
"Just what I wanted, pretty boy!" The man sneered, pivoting sharply and strutting into a narrow, shadowed alleyway adjacent to the restaurant.
"Honey, what happened? What's going on?" Skye asked, her eyes wide with concern, already pulling up a quick search on her phone.
"It's nothing," Su Zhan said calmly, already following the man. "Just someone volunteering to be my first official training partner. Stay back. And trust me, I'm doing this for science."
The dead-end alley was damp and rank, filled with discarded trash bins and heavy shadows. The man, waiting at the end, looked menacing, ready to unleash violence.
BZZT. BZZT. Skye's phone vibrated violently. She read the information and whispered in horror: "Honey, be careful! His name is John, and he's a Mutant!"
A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Su Zhan's face. "Fireman John?"
"Oh, now you recognize me, do you?" John sneered, pulling a disposable lighter from his pocket. "Too late. Today you learn what happens when you disrespect Fireman John!"
SNICK!
A flame sparked. John's eyes glowed faintly orange, and the tiny lighter flame instantly erupted into a massive, twisting plume of fire that danced malevolently in his hands. He manipulated the heat and light with practiced ease.
"This," Su Zhan murmured, his lips curving into a delighted smile, "is absolutely perfect."
John the Fireman. A D-list mutant villain, a member of Magneto's initial Brotherhood, whose power was fire manipulation. Crucially, he could control existing fire, but he couldn't generate it organically; he needed an ignition source.
Su Zhan's own Extremis power allowed him to generate and control intense internal heat, even to the point of turning his flesh into magma, but he couldn't create the pure, explosive chemical reaction of a flame.
He had planned to infiltrate S.H.I.E.L.D. to track down a specific pyrokinetic, but now, the universe had delivered a perfect, supplemental power right to his feet. John's ability to control and direct fire was the missing piece to his own devastating thermal power.
"John the Fireman," Su Zhan chuckled, shaking his head. "You really are blind. You just walked into your own destruction. There was a highway to safety, and you chose the alley to hell!"
Despite the gravity of the situation, Su Zhan felt zero panic. His first real fight, and it was against a known super-human with a complementary power set.
"Honey, stay far away from me," Su Zhan commanded gently, his eyes never leaving John. "Don't worry. I promise I'll be fine."
Skye, though terrified, obeyed. She recognized the fierce, calm concentration in his voice. She retreated to the alley entrance, phone ready, determined not to be a distraction.
John roared and pushed a torrent of fire toward Su Zhan.
Su Zhan didn't engage with his own power. Instead, he dropped into a low crouch, shoulders relaxing, wrists loose. Then, he exploded forward.
The speed was astonishing. The Extremis enhancement had given him a profound physical boost he hadn't fully measured. The dozens of feet separating them vanished in a blink.
Fireman John gasped, momentarily stunned by the sheer velocity. He instinctively shoved his hands forward, and a massive, roaring torrent of flame erupted, shooting directly at Su Zhan's chest.
Su Zhan sidestepped the main blast, a wave of unbearable heat washing over him. He pressed forward, but the flame, guided by John's mutant focus, followed him relentlessly, like a whip of pure energy.
Su Zhan relied purely on his enhanced agility and speed, weaving and bobbing, testing his physical limits to close the final distance. John, a veteran of street fights, was skillful, constantly adjusting the flames to cut off every escape vector.
"Is that all you've got, pretty boy?" John yelled triumphantly, pushing the flame closer. "I thought you were some big shot who dared to challenge me! Turns out, you're just dodging!"
Su Zhan sneered, finally holding his ground a few feet from the licking heat. "Don't worry, Fireman. I promise you'll see how powerful I am. I'm just taking inventory."
He realized a crucial fact: he didn't need to dodge. The incredible heat of John's fire, while fierce enough to melt metal, barely registered against his skin. His internal temperature, fueled by the Stabilized Extremis, was far higher than the flames he was facing. He could step through this fire without consequence. He had been dodging out of instinct, but now he knew—he was completely, utterly immune to the flames.
Ability is key, but experience is the equalizer. Su Zhan was using this dance to calibrate his new body. His reflexes, his speed, his physical endurance—all were exponentially higher than he'd realized, improving even now as the internalized power adapted.
John's flames couldn't even touch him. It was time to end the inventory phase and begin the acquisition.