"The Extremis serum isn't just a drug, Leander," Maya shouted over the roar of a nearby explosion. "It's a rewrite of the human operating system. It taps into a dormant bio-electrical region of the brain, forcing the body to bypass its natural limits. It doesn't just heal; it reconstructs. It's the ultimate survival mechanism."
Leander watched as a massive steel plate, warped by the heat, began to slide toward them. He didn't even look at it; he simply flicked his wrist, and the plate whipped into the air, intercepting two Extremis soldiers who were mid-leap. The impact sounded like a car crash, sending them tumbling into the dark waters below.
"I can see the results," Leander said, his voice calm despite the madness. "They're strong, fast, and they grow back limbs like starfish. But nothing comes for free. What's the catch?"
Maya's expression shifted to one of deep-seated guilt. "Rejection. The human mind has to be compatible with the rewrite. If the host can't regulate the thermal output, the energy cascades. They become a living bomb. Self-ignition... then total molecular collapse."
"And the energy they're putting out now? What is that consuming?"
"Potential," Maya said, her eyes fixed on a soldier who was currently melting through a support beam. "It burns through the untapped bio-reserves. It repairs the telomeres in the DNA, effectively halting cellular aging. Theoretically, an Extremis host could live for centuries, provided they aren't forced to regenerate massive trauma too often. But the stability... I never found the fix. Killian just decided that a few explosions were an acceptable margin of error."
As if to prove her point, two more soldiers emerged from the smoke, their bodies glowing a violent, strobing orange. They weren't just running; they were screaming, their vocal cords likely charring from the heat of their own breath. They charged at Leander, their hands reaching temperatures that turned the air into a shimmering haze.
Leander didn't move until they were five feet away. With a sharp, pulling motion of his palms, he tore several heavy-duty cables from the floor. The metal wires whipped around the soldiers like snakes, binding their limbs.
The heat was so intense that the cables turned cherry-red instantly, then slumped into molten puddles of liquid iron. Leander didn't wait for them to break free. He stepped forward and delivered a heavy, telekinetically-enhanced palm strike to the first soldier's head.
The man went limp, the orange glow in his skin fading instantly. But the silence lasted only a heartbeat. Within two seconds, the soldier's eyes snapped open, the fire returning to his veins with even more intensity.
"They don't stay down," Leander noted, his brow furrowing.
Seeing the clear, murderous intent in their eyes, Leander stopped holding back. He raised his hand, and several jagged metal spikes erupted from the deck plates, skewering both soldiers through their torsos.
The soldiers let out a gut-wrenching howl. The trauma forced their Extremis systems into overdrive. The orange light in their chests became a blinding white. Leander used a swirl of molten metal to lift them both, hurling them like glowing projectiles into a third soldier who was climbing a nearby gantry.
The collision triggered a chain reaction. A massive, white-hot explosion rocked the ship, sending a shockwave that nearly knocked Maya off her feet.
"See?" Maya whispered. "They're unstable. Pain makes them volatile. Anger makes them lethal."
Leander looked up. High above, Tony—clad in the Silver Centurion armor—was locked in a brutal dogfight with Killian. Below them, Rhodes had been separated from his Python suit and was currently backed into a corner by three glowing soldiers.
With a sharp downward motion of his hand, Leander snapped three metal poles from a nearby railing. They whistled through the air like harpoons, pinning Rhodes' attackers to the hull.
"Maya," Leander said, turning to her. "You've seen enough. This isn't a lab anymore, it's a slaughterhouse. You need to go."
"What? Go where?"
Before she could finish the question, Leander grabbed her arm. The world blurred into a streak of neon lights and cold air. In a heartbeat, the burning oil and screaming soldiers were gone. Maya found herself standing on the roof of a skyscraper, the cool evening air of New York City hitting her face.
"New York?" she gasped, looking at the familiar skyline. "How...?"
Leander didn't explain. He carried her down into the heart of Queens, landing on the roof of a building that looked like a mundane office complex but functioned as the nerve center for his underworld operations.
He kicked the door open and walked into the top-floor office. Zost, the leader of the Black Prison, was hunched over a desk, a handgun already drawn and aimed at the intruders. He lowered it the moment he saw Leander's face.
"Boss! You're back early," Zost said, his voice full of genuine relief.
"Keep her here," Leander said, gesturing to Maya. "She's a guest, but she doesn't leave this room. No phones, no internet. If she tries to walk, stop her."
"Understood, boss."
Leander turned to Maya, his eyes glowing with a cold, golden warning. "Keep my name out of your mouth, Maya. If the world finds out I was there, I'll find out who told them. And Zost isn't as patient as I am."
Without another word, he vanished.
A second later, Leander was standing in his own living room. Pepper Potts was sitting on the edge of the sofa, her eyes glued to a news report on her phone, her hands trembling. She jumped nearly a foot in the air when he appeared.
"Leander! My god, where have you been? Is Tony okay? The news says there's a massive fire at the coast—"
"Tony's fine," Leander said, though his voice lacked conviction. "He's currently in a mid-air wrestling match with a guy who breathes fire. Rhodes is there too, and the President is hanging from a crane like a Christmas ornament. It's a real party. You want to see?"
Pepper stared at him, her face a mask of disbelief and anger. "Are you serious? You came back here to ask me if I want to watch? Get back there and help him!"
"If you're coming, we go now," Leander said.
Pepper didn't hesitate. She grabbed his arm, and the world shifted again.
They appeared on the upper deck of the Norco. A burning oil barrel was tumbling through the air toward them, and Leander casually swatted it away with his palm. It exploded fifty feet away, showering the deck in sparks.
"Tony!" Pepper screamed, her voice cracking as she saw the silver streak of the Centurion armor struggling against a glowing figure in the sky.
The scene was a vision of hell. The Iron Legion was still engaged in a chaotic melee with the remaining Extremis soldiers. The air was thick with the sound of clashing metal and the hiss of cooling steam.
Nearby, Rhodes had managed to reach the President. Using a discarded piece of metal, he smashed the remaining cables holding the Patriot armor. The President rolled out of the suit, hitting the deck and scrambling for cover as Rhodes stood over him with a captured rifle.
Leander raised his hands, and the metal plate beneath his and Pepper's feet began to rise, lifting them to a higher vantage point where they could see the entire battlefield.
"Leander, go!" Pepper urged, her eyes fixed on Tony. "Don't worry about me, just go help him!"