As Shane faced the incessantly chattering Pepper mid-air, he was truly annoyed. The problem, however, was that he lacked the ability to fly, and on the ground, his speed wasn't significantly faster than Pepper's. Escaping her was impossible.
Shane also realized why Pepper was chasing him with all those questions: she was trying to buy time for Tony Stark, keeping him occupied here.
Unfortunately for Shane, even though he figured it out, there wasn't much he could do. He had tried attacking Pepper several times, but she dodged every attempt. While Shane's destructive power was immense, it was useless if he couldn't land a hit.
Moreover, Tony Stark's mansion was in such a remote location that Shane couldn't resort to his usual tactics—like destroying buildings or threatening civilians—to intimidate Pepper. He had no choice but to endure being pursued.
Thankfully, Shane knew that if he ran a little further, he'd reach a populated area. He had passed through here earlier, and just needed to hold on a bit longer...
As thoughts raced through his mind, he encouraged himself. He needed to return to Killian and report the latest intel on Pepper.
Though Shane had left early, second only to Matthews, he knew he wouldn't be the only one sent out. If no one knew about Pepper's suit of armor, the rest of their comrades wouldn't succeed in their missions either.
And if repeated failures occurred, their leader, Killian, would undoubtedly lose his temper. None of them would escape the consequences.
"Bang!" Suddenly, as Shane was still contemplating his escape, he was hit. His body was pierced through, and the flames around him did nothing to block the attack. The sheer force of the blow sent him flying.
"You scum really deserve to die!" Just as Shane hit the ground, an angry voice echoed, making him realize his escape might be impossible.
"Tony!" Upon seeing Tony Stark arrive, Pepper breathed a sigh of relief. Even though her armor protected her from harm, she was still relatively inexperienced with supernatural encounters. Truth be told, when flames had flown toward her earlier, she was terrified.
Now that Tony was here, she felt safe. After all, Tony had proven time and again that no matter the situation, he could protect her.
"Don't worry, Pepper. Step back a bit. This guy isn't dead yet." As Tony Stark gazed at Shane, lying motionless on the ground, his eyes gleamed with a cold light. Although Shane's power seemed to have diminished and he hadn't moved, Tony was certain he wasn't dead.
This wasn't just a hunch. The Martian Manhunter was still watching from a distance, with no intention of approaching.
Earlier, after sensing Tony Stark's rage, the Martian Manhunter had planned to help Tony identify these flaming humans. He had seen the data on them and figured that once their power was depleted, he could read their minds. However, as long as they had flame power left, he couldn't help, as he feared fire, which rendered him powerless.
Therefore, the Martian Manhunter was the perfect way to confirm whether Shane was still alive. His instinctual fear of fire meant that as long as there were flames, he couldn't get close. Shane had no way to fool either the Martian Manhunter or Tony Stark.
With a "hiss," Tony frowned as he saw Shane still lying there pretending to be dead. A beam of light gathered in his suit's palm, piercing Shane's body once again.
This time, Shane remained motionless. Tony, displeased, swept the laser beam across Shane's body, cutting through him like a sword.
Despite this, Tony was clearly dissatisfied. "Still a failure. How does that Saiyan do it? No matter how I simulate it, I can't lift people into the air with a beam like he does…"
Tony had been trying to mimic Robert's energy sword technique, hoping to lift Shane into the air and torture him while maintaining distance. However, lasers and energy weren't the same, and the effect was completely different. This realization left Tony somewhat frustrated.
"Damn it! Tony Stark! You call yourself a superhero, yet you're this cruel!" At that moment, Shane, unable to endure the laser's continuous slicing through his body, flared up in anger. His body heated up instantly, and his flesh began turning into molten lava, healing rapidly as he shouted furiously at Tony.
Shane had originally planned to play dead and strike when Tony came close to check on him, intending to take them both out. But Tony had no intention of approaching and started torturing him from a distance, something Shane hadn't anticipated.
The pain was unbearable, and Shane could no longer maintain his act. He had no choice but to reveal his power.
With a "boom," as Shane's temperature surged again, the laser Tony had been using shattered under the intense explosion.
"Die, Tony Stark!" In an instant, Shane, now engulfed in flames, charged toward Tony. However, it was evident that the flames weren't as intense as before. Several parts were dim or even missing.
But despite his weakened state, Shane didn't stop. He knew he had no chance of escape. The only option left was to take Tony down with him, or at the very least, injure him.
"Wait... something's wrong!" Before Shane could reach Tony, his expression changed. He sensed something wrong inside his body.
With his vast experience, Shane realized that his body could no longer withstand the power of the Extremis virus and was on the verge of collapsing. This filled him with deep resentment—he hadn't even gotten close to Tony yet...
"I have to hold on a little longer!" Shane gritted his teeth, his temperature rising again to the limit as his speed increased.
But just then, Tony fired a repulsor blast straight at Shane.
"Boom!"
That repulsor blast was like the spark that ignited a fuse. It was also the final straw that broke the camel's back, causing Shane's body to explode. He didn't even get a chance to regain control of his own power.
"What the...? He blew up before he even got close? What's with these guys and their obsession with blowing themselves up? Is everyone secretly a suicide bomber now?" Tony Stark looked on, bewildered by Shane's sudden explosion. He hadn't even had the chance to gloat, and Shane had already blown himself up.
"His power was unstable. It's possible he lost control," the Martian Manhunter's voice sounded in Tony's ear.
He hadn't come any closer; in fact, he had distanced himself even further once Shane's temperature began to spike. Now, with Shane reduced to a burning pile of flames, the Martian Manhunter had no intention of approaching.
"What are you even doing out here with me?" Tony quipped, annoyed. Though the Martian Manhunter hadn't come close, Tony knew he could hear him. "Can't you just overcome your fear of fire like Venom did?"
"That's not something easily fixed. Venom's issue is genetic; mine is psychological. As they say, mental scars are the hardest to heal. My psychic powers are too strong, which only makes it harder for me to let go of this fear…" The Martian Manhunter sighed in Tony's ear, clearly frustrated. If he could overcome it, he would've done so long ago.
After all, it wasn't just people like Johnny Storm or Matthews who could easily overpower the Martian Manhunter. Even a child playing with fire could strip him of his powers, leaving him defenseless. At that point, even a child could overpower him.
"Fine, just head back then… Wait, no, there might be more of these fire guys!" Tony's eyes gleamed as he reconsidered. He had been about to send the Martian Manhunter away but realized there was something off about Shane's appearance here.
It seemed like Shane had been lying in ambush along Pepper's route home, but how could he be certain she would return here? If Pepper had gone somewhere else, Shane's ambush would have been in vain.
The most likely scenario was that Shane wasn't the only one lying in wait. Other fire-powered individuals might be staking out his other residences.
"Martian Manhunter, can you handle these guys if they don't use their powers?" Tony asked, a thought forming.
"Of course. As long as they're not using their abilities and their body temperature stays normal, I can easily knock them out or read their minds," the Martian Manhunter confidently replied.
"Then go check my other homes. If you find anyone, let me know!" Tony instructed. "I'll take Pepper back in the meantime."
"Got it." With that, the Martian Manhunter vanished into the sky.
As for how the Martian Manhunter would identify these fire-users if they hadn't activated their powers? That wasn't a problem. He could simply read the memories of everyone near Tony's homes—something he had done before.
"Found one!" It didn't take long before the Martian Manhunter's eyes lit up. At the first of Tony's residences he visited, he found a fire-user. Not wanting a repeat of his failure against General Ross, the Martian Manhunter quickly knocked this one out before he could activate his powers.
Though killing them would have been an option, the Martian Manhunter decided to knock them out first and gather information. After all, he could read their memories and had already learned about Killian and the Extremis virus. Now, he wanted to capture as many as possible to see if they had additional intel, like Killian's current location after his recent move.
Unfortunately, after capturing several more fire-users, the Martian Manhunter found that all of their information was the same.
They had been sent by Killian to capture Pepper and were instructed to contact him once they succeeded.
The Martian Manhunter had Jarvis try to contact Killian using the captured agents' phones, but for some reason, Killian didn't answer. Jarvis couldn't trace his location either.
"Killian? A grudge against me? Who is this guy?" Tony Stark soon received the intel as well, but when he heard that Killian was holding a grudge against him, he was baffled. He had no recollection of the man at all.
"Aldrich Killian, a scientist. He met you before, seeking your support for a research project. At the time, you weren't interested and ignored him…" Thankfully, while Tony had no memory of Killian, Jarvis quickly provided a detailed account.
"Oh… I left him on the rooftop, didn't I?" Tony scratched his head, looking at the footage Jarvis provided. "What was I doing at the time?"
"You were busy with, uh, some personal matters. Should I pull up the footage?" Jarvis replied, causing Pepper's expression to change slightly.
"Cough, cough! No need! Have the Martian Manhunter lock those guys up for now. Don't let them wake up. I'll take a closer look at this 'Extremis virus' once I'm back." Tony quickly coughed, changing the subject. He never expected that his youthful indiscretions would create an enemy like Killian.
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