Killian was directing a technician on how to adjust the camera angles, ensuring the President's image was perfectly framed on screen.
"There's no time left. We have to move now," Rhodes said anxiously when he heard the broadcast.
"If this goes live, the whole country will be thrown into chaos."
"What are we waiting for? Let's do it."
Tony's nanotech armor deployed instantly, enveloping his body. He shot straight into the air as the drone cannons unfolded behind him and opened fire.
"Enemy attack! Enemy attack!!"
The alarm blared across the cargo ship. Terrorists poured out like a tide, raising their weapons and firing wildly at Tony.
Rhodes took off as well, firing repulsor blasts nonstop, dropping more than a dozen enemies in moments.
But to his shock, those who were hit began to glow red. Within seconds, their wounds regenerated completely.
"Damn it! They can do that too? This is cheating—I'm reporting them!"
Rhodes muttered under his breath, continuing to fire while launching small missiles to carpet the area.
"JARVIS, lock onto all thermal signatures carrying the Extremis virus. Neutralize them," Tony ordered.
Red markers flooded Tony's HUD as the drone cannons behind him unleashed a storm of precision fire.
Four additional drone cannons split off and flew outward, independently hunting targets.
Their firepower was terrifying. Anyone struck was pierced clean through the chest, leaving no chance for regeneration.
Carl, by contrast, was far more relaxed. His crimson cloak expanded to full length, shielding him completely as he casually fired the Judicator, moving like he was strolling through a marketplace.
He wasn't here to work himself to exhaustion. He didn't care in the slightest whether the President lived or died.
Bang.
One shot, one kill.
Against the Judicator, the Extremis virus was utterly useless. The instant a bullet hit, holy energy surged through the target's body, destroying the virus completely. There was no regeneration—only death.
Carl advanced like a reaper, calmly taking lives. Body armor was meaningless before the Judicator.
"JARVIS—barrage mode," Tony commanded.
The drone cannons returned to his side and began charging. Energy visibly condensed around them.
At the critical point, countless beams erupted outward like a celestial bloom, scattering in every direction.
For a brief moment, the entire cargo ship was enveloped in a glowing canopy, its ribs formed by searing energy beams.
In less than twenty seconds, nothing on the deck remained intact. The ship looked like a battlefield relic—torn steel, gaping holes, twisted metal, and nearly a hundred corpses strewn across the wreckage.
Suspended above, the President stared at the scene in stunned exhilaration. He knew—help had arrived.
The moment he saw the red-and-gold armor, his heart finally settled. With Iron Man here, his life was no longer in danger.
Carl rose into the air. Bullets poured from the Judicator, forming a blazing hexagram beneath his feet.
The next instant, the sigil unleashed a storm of projectiles downward. Then the hexagram itself crashed into the deck, detonating violently.
Within a ten-meter radius, the deck was reduced to scorched earth. The terrorists there had already become one with the ashes.
With Tony's current power and armor, the old "House Party Protocol" from his past life was completely unnecessary. His firepower alone was more than sufficient.
Rhodes reached the President and glanced at his former armor, touching it briefly before turning back.
"How are you feeling, Mr. President?"
"Colonel Rhodes, thank you for coming to save me," the President said, nodding. He was unharmed—Killian hadn't touched him.
"I'll get you out of there right now."
Rhodes raised his hand—
—and was instantly blasted away by a streak of red light. He slammed into a nearby container, punching a massive hole straight through it.
Killian emerged slowly from the shadows, looking up at the suspended President.
"No one can save you, Mr. President."
Tony recalled the drone cannons, leaving only two active for support.
"Sir, remaining power at forty percent," JARVIS reported.
That single barrage had consumed nearly thirty percent of the suit's energy.
"Reserve enough power for the return trip. Divert everything else to weapons," Tony ordered.
As long as he could make it back to New York, the rest didn't matter.
Killian charged toward Tony, his entire body glowing like molten magma.
Suddenly, Carl stepped into his path and fired without hesitation.
Killian felt it instantly—a crushing sense of danger. He twisted aside just in time, the bullet grazing past his chest and tearing through his clothing.
"Who are you?!" Killian demanded.
"That's not important," Carl replied calmly.
"Tony's busy. I'll play with you instead."
A blade of compressed air formed beside Carl and shot forward.
Killian crossed his arms to block it. His superheated skin shattered the wind blade before it could cut deeper.
"No matter who you are," Killian snarled, "anyone who stands in my way dies!"
He lunged forward, fist blazing with heat and flame, throwing a straight punch at Carl's chest.
"A fire punch?" Carl scoffed.
"Haven't you heard the saying? A flame fruit isn't even worth a dog eating it."
He didn't dodge.
Carl caught Killian's fist mid-strike. His own hand ignited, wrapped in crimson flames—the fire of the Phoenix.
"You're playing with fire in front of me? How many times did you wet the bed before you learned this trick?"
With a contemptuous grin, Carl released the flames.
In an instant, they coiled up Killian's arm. Before Killian could pull away, the entire limb melted like molten metal.
Killian retreated rapidly. Under the influence of the Extremis virus, magma-like material surged and reformed into a new arm.
"Feel the heat yet?" Carl said, raising his hand.
Crimson flames mixed with prismatic hues danced like phoenix feathers—brilliant and terrifying.
The Phoenix's fire burned at an immeasurable temperature, growing stronger the greater the resistance. It was far beyond anything the Extremis virus could endure.
Killian's expression darkened.
For the first time, he realized that the power he was so proud of was utterly insignificant before this young man.
And for the first time, he began to fear—and to wonder—just what kind of existence Carl truly was.
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