Since Strange had performed a massive sacrifice to send both Juggernaut and the Super-Adaptoid over to Dormammu's realm, the issues facing the American Avengers were temporarily resolved. The other Avengers quickly dealt with the remaining members.
Meanwhile, Tony, who was flying aboard Air Force One with the President, received the news and began to laugh happily. "The American Avengers are no longer a problem for the time being, Mr. President."
To demonstrate that he posed no threat, Tony specifically stepped out of his All-New, All-Different armor, leaving the suit on standby and alert to one side while he sat down to tea and conversation with the President. "Innocents who were being controlled, like Jack of Hearts and Darkhawk, have been liberated. Fellows like Zzzax and Ares have all been apprehended."
After seeing the entire scope of the plan through the intelligence and evidence submitted by the Avengers, President Matthew Ellis was absolutely livid. The President was usually considered a reasonable man, but at this moment, he was shaking with rage.
"This is simply too audacious. They actually wanted to ignite a new round of the War on Terror just to avoid losing the White House's attention after the current conflict ends? Do they have any idea how much effort the previous administration and this one put into dealing with the aftermath of 9/11!"
"To plan the assassination of the President of the United States just for the interests of a single company? This is no longer just an ordinary defense contractor; we must strike back with everything we have!"
He never expected A.I.M. to dare defy the laws of God and man by secretly supporting terrorist organizations and forming an alliance with the Vice President. Their plan was to eliminate him and install a spokesperson for the military-industrial complex in his place. Furthermore, they sought to use the War on Terror as a foundation to expand their power, eventually infiltrating every level of the government to become America's new shadow government.
Those damn Americans—they were simply lawless!
Tony also held some suspicions restricted to the internal circle of the Avengers—theories without hard evidence. For instance, the idea that A.I.M. was actually collaborating with Hydra, or was perhaps even a branch of Hydra itself.
He thought back to the bet he had made with Captain America. Cap had bet that Hydra would soon make a comeback, and as it turned out, Cap was right. Hydra had returned immediately, and the poorly concealed Hydra-related news reports were the best evidence of that.
Of course, none of this had much to do with the situation they were currently facing. A.I.M. was already a rat in a trap, and their enforcers, the American Avengers, were effectively no longer a match for Tony and his allies. Meanwhile, S.H.I.E.L.D. had already raided A.I.M. headquarters, completing the encirclement of Aldrich Killian himself.
"In fact, S.H.I.E.L.D. may have already mobilized, Mr. President," Tony said with a smile. "So, you don't need to worry about whether these guys might pull any other tricks."
President Ellis looked as if he wanted to say something but hesitated, ultimately remaining silent before asking Tony out of curiosity, "In that case, Mr. Stark, why are you still staying here? Logically, hasn't everything been resolved? Why..."
"It's not over yet, Your Excellency. First of all, your colleague hasn't been caught yet. We don't know how many people are involved behind him. Mr. President, this is already your second term; are you truly entirely ignorant of the Vice President's little inner circle?"
"He's a Southern Democrat, Mr. Stark. I don't know if you follow politics closely, but I must say, the party is a complex one. Naturally, everyone has their own little cliques..."
"Alright, I think I understand," Tony said, finding it a bit hard to keep a straight face. He had originally intended to ask the President for a list of suspects, but now it seemed the result was simply that the list was too long, and even the President didn't know where to start.
Facing this reality, Tony helplessly moved on to the second reason. "Furthermore, A.I.M. is the force behind the recent terrorist attacks carried out by the Ten Rings. They've created a new chemical substance called the Extremis virus, which can modify the human body. If this modification is controlled properly, the subject becomes something akin to a Super Soldier—their physical capabilities are vastly enhanced, and they possess a degree of self-healing."
Tony saw the President's eyes light up, but the President also sensed that Tony had more to say, so he immediately asked, "But?"
"But if this state is maintained for too long, it easily leads to a rapid spike in body temperature, resulting in an explosion. Mr. President, you should understand now where the Ten Rings' bombs came from."
The President nodded, his face turning slightly pale. He had always thought this "craft" was the exclusive domain of followers of Allah; he hadn't expected followers of Christ to be able to play the game so skillfully.
But then, the President's expression shifted again. Since the Vice President and A.I.M. were in league with the goal of eliminating him to allow the Vice President to take over, and A.I.M. had developed Extremis—which possessed both Super Soldier performance and human-bomb attributes—and they were currently on a plane!
"Mr. Stark, you mean..."
"It seems you still understand basic logic, Mr. President," Tony laughed. "But there's no need to worry. We are very safe right now. What I'm more concerned about is something else."
"What is it?"
"First, where is Rhodey? Second, since they are likely already on the plane, why haven't they chosen to just blow it up?"
After Tony spoke, he provided the answer for the President. "The reason is simple: we have actually deviated from our flight path, Mr. President. The A.I.M. agents intend to hijack this plane and take it to their true destination—which is likely A.I.M.'s main stronghold."
Amidst his alarm, President Ellis noticed Tony's usual relaxed demeanor and began to calm down. His knuckles involuntarily tapped against the table as he waited for this farce to reach its conclusion.
At that same moment, at A.I.M. headquarters in Washington, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s new Thunderbolts had already breached the entire facility and subdued all members within. Hawkeye, leading the team, walked toward Fury. "Basically all employees are present, Director. Except for a few particularly important ones."
"Let me guess: Killian himself, the scientists involved with the Super-Adaptoid and Extremis, and some high-level executives, right?"
"Almost exactly," Hawkeye said as he handed a tablet to Fury. "We found a thumb drive—the kind that was nearly destroyed—but it doesn't mention the Extremis project, which officially doesn't exist."
"The Super-Adaptoid project, the M.O.D.O.K. project... and the Cosmic Cube project."
Fury frowned, looking toward Hawkeye. "Is it the thing I'm thinking of?"
"Supposedly it's an unfinished product, stuck at the design concept stage. We can't find the data for the specific design; only the name remains."