Steve sat in the passenger seat, gripping the armrest with one hand and holding his shield with the other.
Natasha was weaving through the fast-moving traffic, overtaking cars like it was second nature.
"Coulson's really alive?" Steve said, still sounding a little stunned. "I was sure we saw him die on the Helicarrier. Loki stabbed him right through the chest."
"I just found out too." Natasha turned the steering wheel sharply, eyes fixed ahead. "Hill said Hydra's been targeting Kai, and Fury decided to form a new team. The plan was to both protect Kai and use him as bait to lure Hydra out."
"It would also make him more cooperative with S.H.I.E.L.D.," she added.
"But I didn't expect the one leading the new team to be Coulson — alive and well."
Steve gave a faint, bittersweet smile. "Well… being alive is a good thing."
For a moment, Natasha glanced sideways at him. Maybe it was that single phrase — "It's good to be alive" — that made Steve think of the friend who once fought beside him till the end.
He nodded quietly. "Yeah… it's good to be alive."
Manhattan — a bustling commercial street.
"I can't remember the last time I came back here," Killian said, walking through the crowd. The street glittered with luxury stores, filled with people in designer clothes.
He smiled faintly. "You know, years ago I had a brilliant idea. I thought Tony Stark — another genius — would understand me."
"If my ideas could combine with his genius and resources, we could've changed the world."
"I went to a tech conference to find him… ended up waiting all night on a freezing rooftop."
"I was so depressed I nearly jumped off."
Killian chuckled, looking around at the lights of Manhattan. "See this place? Back then I thought — if my idea succeeded, all of this would've been mine."
His phone buzzed. Killian frowned, signaling his men to hold position. He stepped aside and answered.
"The plan's on schedule? Good. Then give those S.H.I.E.L.D. agents some extra fireworks tonight."
"I won't be here long. I'll make my move tonight."
"Spread the unstable Extremis subjects to other state capitals — cause chaos everywhere."
"And cancel the next puppet actor's video shoot."
He hung up, waved to his men, and started walking again.
"Sir, that guy from Stark Industries is still tailing us!" one of his men reported, glancing back.
Killian turned slightly, pretending to window-shop, and saw Happy Hogan lurking in the crowd.
"That annoying guy," Killian muttered. "Handle him."
Then he and another subordinate slipped away quickly into a side street.
Happy tried to keep up with Killian but was suddenly grabbed by the remaining Extremis-enhanced goon.
Before he could react, the man lifted him by the collar and threw him several meters through the air!
Meanwhile, Natasha's car screeched around the corner toward the same commercial district.
But as they arrived, chaos had already erupted — people were running, screaming, fleeing in all directions.
Natasha slammed the brakes to avoid hitting civilians. She and Steve exchanged a look, jumped out, and ran straight into the danger zone.
Through the crowd, they spotted Happy getting beaten to the ground.
Steve didn't hesitate — he hurled his shield, knocking the attacker backward just as he was about to strike again.
Natasha aimed her gun immediately, stepping forward in sync with Steve.
The Extremis-enhanced thug steadied himself, eyes burning orange red, his veins glowing like molten metal under his skin.
He stared directly at Captain America and the Black Widow — no fear, no hesitation.
He touched the iron plate on his chest — a remnant of his old identity — and kissed it.
Then his body began to overheat.
The red glow of the Extremis virus flared under his skin, spreading fast.
Natasha instantly recognized the signs — Hill had briefed them about this.
"Run, Happy!" she yelled. "He's going to explode!"
Steve raised his shield, stepping in front of her just as the man detonated.
BOOM!
The explosion tore through the street, shattering every glass window nearby.
Flames and debris roared outward — and then silence.
On the Quinjet
"I was running a preliminary analysis on the tissue samples from that supermarket explosion," Simmons explained, standing by the monitor.
"There aren't any solid results yet, but I detected traces of a special compound."
"The strange part is — those victims all self-detonated, but we saw in the surveillance footage that at least some left behind debris and tissue fragments."
"But today's attackers? Nothing. Not even bone dust."
She turned toward Coulson. "Especially that one who was blasted into a wall before self-destructing. He left nothing — just a black scorch mark."
"I even took a sample of that mark," Simmons continued, "and found no organic residue at all."
Then she looked toward Kai, who was lounging on the sofa, playing his PSP without a care in the world.
"Kai, those three people you fought who exploded midair — did they leave any trace behind?"
"Nope."
Kai didn't even look up from his game. "They blew up completely in the air. No bodies, no ash, nothing left."
"That's… bizarre," Simmons muttered, frowning. "Maybe there's a difference in the Extremis formula? Like, one stable version — and one incomplete prototype?"
"Very possible," Coulson said, nodding thoughtfully.
Just as he was about to continue, his phone buzzed.
He picked it up — Natasha's voice came through fast and tense.
When he hung up, Coulson turned to Kai.
"Kai, this really does trace back to that Killian guy Tony mentioned."
"Natasha and Captain Rogers just backed up Happy. They were trying to capture Killian — but he slipped away. One of his men self-destructed to stop them."
"They're both fine…" Coulson's tone darkened. "…but Happy's seriously injured."