"Boss's smile is terrifying! The last time he smiled like that, didn't some of our guys explode?" After seeing Killian suddenly smile in silence, his subordinates couldn't help but shiver, their eyes flickering with fear. Since the start of their experimental research, many had died by exploding during tests, and it was clear Killian's psychological state had become somewhat unstable. His underlings knew that Killian had been eagerly awaiting the success of his experiments to carry out a particular plan. Now that the plan was disrupted, Killian should have been furious, not smiling.
But here he was, grinning, which made his subordinates uneasy. Some even began to subconsciously back away, fearing that once Killian snapped out of it, he might target them.
"I was planning to target the disabled daughter of that big-shot, but now I'll go after your beloved instead. I can't wait to see the look on your face when she's injected with the Extremis virus…" Killian's smile slowly faded as he focused his gaze on his subordinates, who quickly avoided his eyes.
"You, Matthews! Go and kidnap Pepper. Use your abilities if necessary!" Killian scanned his group before locking eyes on Matthews, giving him the order.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
As soon as Killian spoke, the others quickly stepped aside, exposing Matthews in the middle.
"Huh?! Me?" Matthews pointed to himself, incredulous as he looked at Killian.
"What's the problem?" Killian frowned, casting an impatient glance at Matthews. "Your ability is the most stable in our tests. If you don't go, who will?"
"Yeah, Matthews, you're the strongest among us. You're the only one who can do this."
"Right, Matthews, only you can handle this…"
The other subordinates nodded in agreement with Killian, leaving Matthews wide-eyed and hesitant, unsure of what to say.
"Go. I've sent you the location. Be careful until you see Pepper. Once you spot her, knock her out, create an explosion to draw attention, and then quickly extract her. Got it?" Killian waved Matthews off, issuing new instructions.
"Huh? Oh…" Matthews, still dazed, nodded and left the base. It wasn't until he had walked some distance away that he came to his senses, muttering to himself, "This is Tony Stark's girlfriend. Wouldn't he have left some sort of protection? Can I really pull this off? Ugh, guess I'll just go check it out."
"You lot, start moving everything out of here. Shane, you head out too. Set up an ambush near Tony Stark's house. If Matthews fails, Pepper will probably head home out of fear. That's when you strike!" After Matthews left, Killian turned his gaze to another subordinate, issuing more orders.
"Huh?" Shane was even more bewildered than Matthews. Hadn't Killian already sent Matthews to complete the task? Why was he being involved now? It seemed as if Killian was already planning for Matthews to fail.
"Hmm? Is there a problem?" Killian's frown deepened as he stared at Shane.
"No, I'll get ready…" Shane shrank back, muttering a weak reply, not daring to argue. Better Matthews than him, as long as he wasn't the sacrifice.
As Shane quickly left, Killian looked at the remaining subordinates, who couldn't help but panic. They wondered if Killian planned to sacrifice Shane as well. How many more would be sent as sacrifices?
Their fears were justified. Killian didn't plan to sacrifice just two people. Tony Stark's residence had more than one location, and sending only Shane was too risky. More preparations were needed to ensure Pepper was captured.
Under Killian's orders, several more subordinates were dispatched, while the remaining ones sighed in relief and quickly started relocating the base's equipment.
Meanwhile, Matthews soon arrived near Stark Industries, only to realize that getting inside was no easy task. As a stranger without an appointment or identification, it was impossible to meet Pepper. He couldn't exactly fight his way into Stark Industries, from the front door all the way to the CEO's office.
By the time Matthews might reach the office, either Pepper would have already been evacuated by Stark Industries' security, or the Avengers would have arrived to deal with him first.
Unaware that Killian considered him expendable, Matthews was determined to succeed in his mission and capture Pepper. So, he began brainstorming various ways to infiltrate Stark Industries.
He first tried disguising himself as a delivery man or a courier. Matthews approached actual delivery workers, bribing them to let him deliver their packages inside Stark Industries. But each time, the deliveries were intercepted in the reception hall, preventing Matthews from entering the building.
He then attempted to pose as a business partner without an appointment, which also failed. Disguising himself as a job applicant similarly met with failure.
No matter what Matthews tried, he couldn't get inside Stark Industries. If he hadn't altered his appearance each time, the reception staff would have recognized him and called security.
"What should I do now?" Matthews stood across the street from Stark Industries, lost in thought. Just then, he noticed some workers in uniforms carrying ladders and tools out of a nearby building. Matthews' eyes lit up as he recalled a video he had seen before.
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
In a nearby alley, Matthews knocked out the workers and put on their uniforms, picking up their tools. With a calm demeanor, he walked toward Stark Industries.
This time, when the security personnel saw Matthews, they didn't question him. Instead, they nodded and opened the door, letting him in.
Matthews was thrilled. This was his first time inside Stark Industries, confirming that the video he had seen was correct—dressed as a maintenance worker with tools, you could usually walk into a company unchallenged.
But Matthews knew this wasn't the time to celebrate. He quickly composed himself, casually stepping into an elevator. The elevator attendant even swiped a card for him and asked which floor he was headed to.
Soon, Matthews exited on a random floor and, ensuring no one noticed, made his way to the stairs, heading for the top floor. This was caught on security cameras, but seeing his maintenance uniform, the security team didn't pay much attention.
In this uniform, Matthews successfully made it to the CEO's office floor, where he finally set down his tools and prepared for the final stage.
"Huh? Who… are you? Maintenance? Did someone call for maintenance?" The secretary outside the CEO's office looked confused upon seeing Matthews. But before she could finish her sentence, Matthews turned red-hot, and the next moment, she blacked out and collapsed.
"Boom!" Matthews, now with glowing red skin, pushed open the door to the CEO's office, where Pepper looked up in confusion before quickly becoming alert.
"Who are you?!" Pepper instinctively stood up, slowly moving toward the nearby armor while trying to keep Matthews focused on her by shouting.
"Swish!" Matthews released a stream of fire from his hand, aiming at the space between Pepper and the armor, then lunged toward the armor.
"Buzz!" As the flames appeared, Pepper quickly stopped, and the armor's eyes lit up, activating instantly.
"Bang!" The next moment, the activated armor, controlled by Jarvis, collided with Matthews, who blocked the armor's punch with his hand. A smile of contempt spread across Matthews' face as he sneered, "Is that all the power Stark's armor has? Looks like it's not that impressive…"
"Zing!" But before Matthews could finish, a laser beam from the armor's fist pierced through his left hand, blasting apart half of his arm and forcing him to stagger back.
"Ha! Is that all you've got? Coming after Pepper with that? Your left hand's been blown off, and you're not thinking of running?" Stark's voice came through the armor, taunting Matthews as the suit flew over to Pepper, encasing her inside.
"To you, my left hand might be blown off. But to me, it's just temporarily hidden. Look, it's reappearing now…" Matthews raised his half-arm, which began to flow like molten lava, gradually reforming into a new limb. As the lava cooled, his left hand was fully restored.
"What… kind of trick is this?" Stark, watching through Jarvis, couldn't help but frown, his voice serious. "Who are you? Wait, you're one of those fire wielders, aren't you? How many of you are there?"
"Swish!"
"Boom!"
Before Matthews could respond, he unleashed a blast of fire, creating a terrifying explosion in the CEO's office.
The blast didn't completely destroy the armor, but it did send it flying. Matthews lunged after it, grabbing hold of the suit just as it was getting back on its feet.
"Zing!"
"Zing!"
This time, before the armor could counterattack, Matthews' hand temperature spiked, melting the armor's arm components on the spot and rendering its weapons useless.
"Damn it!" Stark, on his way to the scene, cursed under his breath. He hadn't expected Matthews' flames to be so intense. Metals have melting points, after all, and even the most advanced armor Stark could build couldn't ignore extreme temperatures.
Matthews' fire displayed a higher localized heating effect than Johnny Storm's, quickly destroying the protective armor around Pepper. And this was just the beginning…
"Zing!"
In no time, Matthews' escalating heat caused the armor around Pepper to melt away, exposing her. Soon, Matthews had Pepper in his grip, completely unprotected.
However, it was clear that Matthews had no intention of killing Pepper. If he had wanted to, a simple move would have ended her life on the spot, leaving even Robert powerless to save her.
Fortunately for Pepper, Matthews' orders were only to capture her, not to kill her. So, he restrained his power, and though Pepper could feel the heat from his hand, she wasn't harmed beyond that.
"Hmm? Wait…" As Matthews pulled Pepper out of the armor, his expression suddenly turned confused. He had focused so much on getting into Stark Industries and reaching Pepper that he hadn't thought about how he was supposed to escape with her afterward.
Now that he had Pepper in his grasp, he looked out the window at the dizzying height, then down at her, realizing that if he jumped, he might survive but Pepper would almost certainly die from the fall.
"Uh… what should I do now? The boss didn't give me any instructions. Could it be that he never intended for me to actually capture Pepper, but just wanted me to cause a scene?" Matthews' eyes clouded with confusion, his mind momentarily freezing as he tried to figure out his next move.
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