Maya never expected that just after escaping a fake terrorist organization, she would step right into a real one.
Who hasn't heard of HYDRA's name? It's something written in history books!
But it was clearly too late to regret it now.
Darian immediately arranged for personnel to pack Maya up and send her to Sokovia overnight.
Although Maya couldn't compare to a genius like Tony, she was a World-class genetic biologist. Her joining the HYDRA research team in Sokovia was like adding wings to a tiger.
As for fixing the tricky flaws of Extremis, Darian already had the perfect candidate in mind: Rocket Raccoon.
As one of the smartest biological entities in the Universe, Rocket Raccoon's intelligence was by no means inferior to Tony's. Especially in the field of biological genetics, he was even more skilled than Tony because he was a genetically modified organism himself.
But before that, Darian had one more thing to do.
Under Maya's proactive disclosure, he had already learned the specific location of one of Killian's core secret experimental Bases.
Killian had researched Extremis for over a decade; that place undoubtedly held the most complete experimental data and research reports on Extremis.
To save time and resources and avoid starting research and experiments from scratch, Darian planned to strike Killian's secret experimental Base directly and seize all the experimental data in one fell swoop.
"Damn it! Who exactly is that bastard who saved Tony Stark!?"
Inside the secret experimental Base, Killian, wearing an expensive custom suit, had a grim face. His voice was filled with irrepressible fury, mixed with a hint of undetectable shock.
Just a short while ago, he had been watching the live broadcast with great anticipation, expecting to see Stark in a wretched state or even buried in a sea of fire. That would have been the sweetest moment of revenge after years of enduring humiliation.
As it turned out, he had even opened the celebratory champagne in advance, but the scene he imagined never came.
Not only was his Rocket not "delivered," but he had also lost over a dozen Extremis Soldiers!
One must know that the mortality rate for injecting Extremis was not low. Every soldier who successfully survived and stabilized was a precious asset obtained through a massive expenditure of resources and cruel screening.
Now, losing over a dozen Extremis Soldiers at once was enough to make Killian's heart bleed.
What made it even harder for him to accept was that the Extremis Soldiers he had high hopes for were almost powerless against Darian, wiped out without even scratching the corner of his clothes.
A subordinate replied, "That person is the superhero Iron Glider. He appeared once during the Battle of New York. Other than that, we can't find any other useful information."
"Damn superheroes!!"
Killian's fist slammed heavily onto the metal desktop, letting out a dull thud.
At this moment, his hatred for Darian was no less than his hatred for Tony Stark. Darian's intervention had completely disrupted Killian's subsequent series of interlocking plans.
After a bout of impotent rage, Killian panted heavily, forcing himself to calm down and think about the losses.
He suddenly remembered another key person and asked through gritted teeth, "What about Maya? Any news of her?"
"No, we tracked Dr. Hansen as she secretly left the lab and went to Tony Stark's residence, but after that, she suddenly vanished. We've tried every method but haven't found her."
"Useless! A bunch of useless fools!"
The anger Killian had barely suppressed flared up again.
His painstakingly planned operation had not only failed to harm Tony Stark in the slightest but had also cost him a precious squad of Extremis Soldiers, and now even the most important lead scientist in the lab was missing.
This string of failures made him extremely frustrated, as if everything was working against him and nothing was going smoothly.
Just then, the door suddenly opened, and a subordinate rushed in with a panicked expression.
"This is bad, sir! An armed force is forcing its way in outside! Their firepower is too intense; our men can't stop them at all!"
"What!?"
Killian's eyes widened instantly.
The first thought in his mind was that his plan had been exposed, and intelligence agencies from the United States Government had come knocking.
"Who are they?"
Killian suppressed the sudden surge of panic and questioned rapidly.
The subordinate shook his head frantically: "No, I don't know. Their equipment is very advanced, unlike anything we've ever seen. Our weapons have no effect on them!"
"Assemble all Extremis Soldiers immediately!"
Killian roared, unable to sit still any longer. He pushed aside the subordinate in front of him and rushed out of the lab, looking down at the main hall through the glass.
Soon, he saw a group of armed personnel wearing dark combat suits with equipment so sophisticated they didn't look like products of Earth. They had already breached the outermost defensive line and were steadily advancing into the Base in an extremely professional tactical formation.
They wore black high-tech helmets with data streams flickering on the visors, easily capturing heat signals emitted by human bodies. They raised strange firearms emitting a faint blue light, and powerful energy blasts erupted from the muzzles, blowing away the experimental Base's security personnel along with their cover.
The security personnel tried to fight back, but their bullets were blocked by an invisible energy shield on the armed personnel, causing no damage at all.
What the hell is this equipment!?
Killian was shocked. Forget his subordinates; even he had never seen such equipment.
Faced with this overwhelming gap in equipment, resistance seemed futile.
Without much effort, this armed force dealt with all the resisting security personnel on the field.
Only a few clever ones, seeing the situation was bad, had already dropped their guns, held their heads with their hands, and squatted in the corners, shouting their surrender.
How much were they getting paid a month? Why risk their lives!
But soon, dozens of figures surged out from the surroundings. Their skin was bright red, and it looked as if lava was flowing beneath it, emitting a terrifying high temperature that distorted the air. These were the Extremis Soldiers within the experimental Base.
"Kill them!"
Seeing that the Extremis Soldiers had finally arrived, Killian issued the command without hesitation.
Following his words, the Extremis Soldiers immediately pounced on the armed personnel, waving glowing red fists hot enough to melt steel as they launched their assault.
This was Killian's important research Base; they didn't dare use their fire-breathing skills and could only engage in close-quarters combat.
However, faced with this fierce close-range pounce, the armed personnel remained exceptionally calm.
Moving in perfect unison, they threw a dozen fist-sized spherical devices gleaming with a cold metallic light onto the ground.
Buzz—!
A blinding flash instantly covered the entire area!
Accompanied by a series of high-frequency sonic pulses, it was like countless drills boring directly into their skulls—piercingly loud!
The Extremis Soldiers were caught off guard, letting out agonized and shrill screams as they all became deaf and blind.
The personnel of this armed force were not affected at all. Taking advantage of the Extremis Soldiers losing their ability to resist, they decisively raised their energy firearms and unleashed a barrage of fire at them.
Biu! Biu! Biu! Biu—!
Countless energy bullets formed a blanket of fire, instantly perforating the bodies of the Extremis Soldiers.
Although the high temperature on the Extremis Soldiers could melt steel, it couldn't block these bullets made of pure energy.
Under the dense barrage of energy bullets, the Extremis Soldiers in the front were directly turned into scrap. No matter how powerful their self-healing abilities were, it was useless.
The Extremis Soldiers in the rear, using others as meat shields and relying on their tenacious vitality, managed to narrowly escape death.
The injuries on their bodies healed rapidly, and the negative effects of the blinding light and tinnitus gradually faded.
The recovered Extremis Soldiers roared in rage, pouncing recklessly at the armed personnel!
As long as they closed the distance, with their superhuman physical fitness and high temperatures, they could definitely crush any enemy in close combat!
Whoosh—!!
A sharp sound of breaking air suddenly rang out!
A circular shield with a star on it spun rapidly through the air, slamming hard into the side of an Extremis Soldier's head. The massive impact sent him flying sideways, his head caving in.
The material of the shield was clearly unusual, as it wasn't melted by the high temperature of the Extremis Soldier.
After repelling one Extremis Soldier, the shield didn't fall to the ground, defying common logic. Instead, it used the force of the impact to bounce skillfully, tracing a tricky arc and knocking back another Extremis Soldier!
Then the shield ricocheted continuously. With several muffled thuds, it downed three or four more Extremis Soldiers before finally hitting the wall and spinning back at high speed.
"Captain America!?"
Seeing that iconic shield, Killian couldn't help but cry out in shock.
Could it be that Captain America was personally leading a team to catch him!?
He hurriedly looked in the direction the shield was flying back and saw a burly, masked man in a black tactical suit. He raised a mechanical left arm gleaming with a metallic luster and steadily caught the shield.
Wait, who are you?
Bucky walked to the very front of the team without expression. Just then, an Extremis Soldier roared and pounced close, his fist swinging with terrifying heat!
Bucky didn't dodge or evade. His metallic left arm struck first, Throwing a straight punch with a roar!
Crack!
The clear, sickening sound of bone shattering rang out!
The Extremis Soldier let out a shrill scream. His enhanced strength was like an egg hitting a hammer in the face of Bucky's iron fist. His entire arm, from the finger bones to the humerus, twisted instantly into a bizarre angle.
"How is this possible..."
Killian witnessed all of this in disbelief.
The physical fitness of the Extremis Soldiers had been enhanced; how could they not even block a single move?
Before he could think further, Bucky raised the shield in his hand and mercilessly smashed the Extremis Soldier to the ground. Then, gripping the edge of the shield, he used his immense strength to chop off the Extremis Soldier's head.
At first glance, it really gave off a vibe of a blackened version of Captain America.
What followed was a one-sided battle. With the help of the shield and his metal arm, Bucky wasn't afraid of the high temperatures on the Extremis Soldiers at all. He actively charged at the remaining Extremis Soldiers for close-quarters combat.
Bucky had already been injected with the Super Soldier Serum, and now that he had joined Sokovia's nationality, his physical fitness had been comprehensively improved again under the buff of Darian's "Monarch of a Nation" title. He could be called a Super Super Soldier. How could the Extremis Soldiers possibly be his match?
In less than a minute, Bucky had finished off the remaining Extremis Soldiers.
And the Extremis Soldiers who were initially knocked down by the shield were also picked off one by one by the other armed personnel.
Killian watched as the Extremis Soldiers he had spent so much effort cultivating were wiped out in just a few minutes, his heart filled with shock and rage.
But the instinct for survival immediately overrode all other emotions.
He realized instantly that if he continued to stay here, it would definitely be a dead end. He had to escape immediately!
As soon as this thought arose, Killian didn't dare hesitate for a second. He turned and ran toward the hidden exit of the experimental Base.
Crash!
Before he had even run three steps, the window behind him suddenly shattered!
As countless glass shards flew, a shield whistled through the air and slammed squarely into his back!
"Agh!"
Killian cried out in pain, knocked forward by the shield, falling until his vision went dark.
He looked back in pain and saw two metal wings unfolding behind Bucky as he stepped through the broken window and landed steadily in front of him.
Bucky's face remained expressionless; he just looked down at him with those cold eyes, his presence full of overwhelming pressure.
At the front and back of the corridor, the armed personnel followed closely, completing the encirclement and completely blocking all of Killian's paths of escape.
Killian looked at this iron-tight siege, and the last bit of hope was extinguished.
He looked directly at Bucky and asked unwillingly, "Who on Earth are you people? FBI? CIA? Or the IRS?"
He had never paid taxes on the huge fortune he earned through illegal experiments and transactions. To him, the last option seemed quite likely.
Bucky didn't respond, not even blinking. He just stared silently at Killian until it made his skin crawl.
Just then, the surrounding armed personnel suddenly moved aside to both sides, opening a path.
"Don't worry, we aren't from those agencies."
Darian slowly walked out from among them. Bucky immediately stepped aside, looking like a loyal henchman.
"It's you!?"
Killian was shocked, recognizing Darian as the person from the live broadcast.
Clearly, he was the leader of this armed force, and even the masked man with the incredibly strong metal arm was his subordinate.
New and old hatred instantly surged in his heart, and Killian's eyes turned red: "Who are you people!? We have no grievances or enmity; why did you attack my Base!?"
"No grievances or enmity?"
Darian sneered, took two steps forward, and looked down at him: "We are far from having no grievances or enmity. These past few days, you've been using our name to swindle people everywhere. Have you forgotten so soon?"
Hearing this, Killian was stunned for a moment, and an incredible yet perfectly logical guess surged in his heart.
His lips trembled slightly, and his voice went dry: "Wait, could you be... the Ten Rings Gang?"
At this moment, Killian was practically on the verge of tears, his heart already convinced of this answer.
Heaven knows, he had only seen that the terrorist organization that kidnapped Tony Stark was called the Ten Rings Gang and had just borrowed the name. He never expected this organization to be so formidable, possessing such advanced technological equipment and even soldiers stronger than Extremis Soldiers.
If I had known you were this powerful, even if I had impersonated the IRS, I wouldn't have dared to use your name!