The moment Pepper saw Ethan Voss arrive at the scene, she rushed toward him with tears streaming down her face. Her usual composure was completely gone, replaced by raw fear and desperation.
"Mr. Voss, you have so many superheroes working for you, right? Please—please save Tony!"
Her voice trembled as she grabbed his sleeve.
"Please… you have to help me!"
"Don't worry," Ethan said gently.
He pulled her into a reassuring embrace and lightly patted her shoulder, his tone calm and steady.
"I've already contacted Professor Charles. He's on his way right now."
Pepper looked up at him, eyes still wet with tears.
"He'll scan the area," Ethan continued. "If Stark is trapped somewhere under the rubble, the professor will be able to sense him."
He gave her a confident nod.
"We'll definitely find him."
Pepper's eyes filled with gratitude.
"Th-thank you."
Professor Charles arrived not long afterward. Sitting quietly in his wheelchair, he closed his eyes and began carefully sensing the surrounding area. His mental reach extended across the entire coastline, scanning every corner of the ruined villa.
He even spent a long time focusing on the seabed near the cliff, just in case Stark had been thrown into the ocean during the explosion.
Eventually, Charles slowly opened his eyes.
His expression was apologetic.
"Miss Pepper, I'm very sorry," he said gently. "I was unable to sense Mr. Stark."
Pepper's face immediately turned pale.
"What… what does that mean?"
Charles hesitated briefly before answering honestly.
"My ability allows me to sense the thoughts of living people. If I cannot detect him here, then it means only two possibilities."
He paused.
"Either he isn't here… or he has died beneath the rubble."
"Damn it!"
Hearing this, Ethan suddenly exploded with anger.
He kicked a damaged piece of Iron Man armor that lay nearby, its red warning light still blinking and beeping weakly. The impact sent the helmet rolling across the ground before it tumbled off the edge of the cliff.
For a brief moment, a faint smile flickered across Ethan's lips as he watched it disappear into the darkness below.
The smile vanished almost immediately.
Turning back to Pepper, he softened his voice again.
"Don't worry. I believe he'll be fine."
He placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"He probably escaped long ago. That's Tony Stark we're talking about."
Ethan forced a confident grin.
"An invincible man like him wouldn't go down that easily."
Pepper's eyes filled with tears again.
"If he's still alive," she said shakily, "why hasn't he contacted me? Doesn't he know how worried I am?"
Ethan shrugged lightly.
"Maybe he's just used to leaving quietly."
The moment the words left his mouth, Pepper's expression turned even paler.
Realizing his mistake, Ethan immediately raised both hands.
"I'm sorry! That was a bad joke."
He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"I just… wanted to lighten the mood. My fault."
Standing nearby, Maya Hansen rolled her eyes dramatically.
"You're absolutely right," she muttered dryly. "He really is a man who knows how to leave quietly."
Ethan pretended not to hear that.
"Alright," he said after a moment. "The rest should be left to the police and search-and-rescue teams."
He gestured toward the flashing emergency vehicles surrounding the destroyed villa.
"You've both had a long day. Let me take you to a hotel so you can rest."
Neither woman argued.
What Ethan didn't notice was that among the search-and-rescue personnel standing near the ruins, a dark-skinned man watched him silently from a distance.
After settling Pepper and Maya into a nearby hotel, Ethan prepared to leave. Just as he reached the corridor outside their room, Maya suddenly called out to him.
"You're the one who saved New York, right?"
Ethan's eyes widened in exaggerated disbelief.
"Excuse me? Who told you I only saved New York?"
He crossed his arms proudly.
"I saved the entire world. New York was just the battlefield where the world happened to get saved."
Maya blinked, clearly caught off guard.
After a moment she sighed.
"Fine. You're right."
She took a deep breath before continuing.
"What I actually wanted to say is… I have something very important to tell you."
"Alright," Ethan replied casually, leaning against the corridor wall. "Go ahead."
Maya hesitated.
"How about we go inside to talk?"
"Oh?"
Ethan looked her up and down slowly.
"Pepper told me you're a botanist. Is that true?"
Maya clenched her teeth in frustration.
"Yes. And I'm here to discuss serious matters."
"Fine."
Ethan straightened dramatically, striking a pose that looked like a martyr walking toward execution.
"I'll bravely enter the room with you."
Maya ignored the theatrics and spoke quickly once the door closed.
"I've recently realized something disturbing," she said.
"It seems… I might be working for the terrorist who appears on television."
"Oh?"
Of course, Ethan already knew the man shown on television was nothing more than an actor pretending to be the Mandarin.
The real mastermind was Adrian Killian.
And Killian himself was merely working under the vice president.
Ethan had never liked lying, so he simply nodded.
"I know."
Maya froze.
"You know?"
Her eyes widened.
"What exactly do you know?"
Ethan waved his hand casually.
"Isn't it obvious? Adrian Killian used your research to become a serial killer, and now he's planning a massive conspiracy."
He shrugged.
"I know everything about it."
Maya frowned in confusion.
"No, no. Killian works for someone else—the man who appears on television…"
Ethan interrupted her with a small laugh.
"Look, you don't know as much as I do."
He tilted his head slightly.
"Have you ever considered that the man on television might actually be the employee?"
Maya was stunned into silence.
Ethan shook his head slowly, looking like someone who had seen through every secret in the world.
"Everything has its cause," he said calmly.
"Back on that New Year's Eve, when you and Stark were… enjoying each other's company, did you ever think about the man standing alone in the cold wind on the balcony above you?"
"When you watched the fireworks, did you think someone else might be watching them too?"
He spoke slowly, almost philosophically.
"And while watching those fireworks, that person changed—from a good man into a bad one."
Ethan sighed lightly.
"The world is strange. A single moment from over a decade ago can travel in circles and eventually come back to strike you."
He looked at Maya calmly.
"You don't know the full truth either. You're just insisting that you're innocent."
Maya's face turned deathly pale.
Her body swayed unsteadily as if she might collapse.
Ethan quickly helped her sit down on the sofa.
"Don't worry too much," he said with a reassuring smile.
"Yes, both you and Stark carry a bit of original sin in this story."
"But in the end, the one who truly deserves blame is Adrian Killian."
His voice turned colder.
"Kill him, and the rest of the sins disappear with him."
Then his expression softened again.
"After that, you'll still be able to enjoy sunlight and gentle breezes."
Seeing Maya sitting there silently, Ethan stood up.
"Well, if there's nothing else, I'll be going."
He waved casually.
"It was a pleasant chat. Next time we'll talk longer."
Sometimes, criticizing others didn't require any reason at all. Especially when doing so made you feel surprisingly good.
After leaving the hotel, Ethan deliberately lingered near the entrance for a while.
According to the expected sequence of events, Adrian Killian should appear soon to kidnap the two women.
And that would naturally create the perfect opportunity for a hero to rescue the damsel in distress.
…
Meanwhile, Tony Stark had just suffered a brutal beating at the hands of a red-haired woman named Annie.
Fortunately, he managed to escape with a mixture of thirty percent skill and seventy percent luck.
During the confrontation, however, he uncovered an important clue connected to the bombings.
AIM.
Advanced Idea Mechanics.
With help from the War Machine armor, Stark began investigating the company and soon uncovered evidence of Adrian Killian's criminal activities.
What he didn't realize was that the terrorist leader shown on television was nothing more than an actor.
After gathering enough information, Tony decided to infiltrate the enemy's headquarters alone to uncover the truth.
What he didn't know was that the War Machine armor stationed overseas had already been sabotaged.
Back outside the hotel, Ethan hadn't gone far.
Spotting Killian's movements was incredibly easy.
Not long after entering the building, Adrian Killian emerged again carrying two large bags and walked toward his car.
Just as he was about to drive away, someone suddenly stopped him.
A very familiar figure.
A dark-skinned man with an eyepatch.
Nick Fury.
"Sir, raise your hands and step out of the vehicle slowly," Fury ordered coldly.
"If you make any sudden moves, I'll blow your head off."
Killian obediently raised his hands and stepped out of the car.
Fury pulled out a pair of handcuffs and quickly secured Killian's wrists before moving toward the back seat to check on the two women.
But before he could even open the door—
A fist slammed into the side of his head.
Fury staggered, forcing himself to turn around.
On the ground beside him lay a pair of molten handcuffs.
Killian stood there smiling calmly.
Then he drove a heavy punch directly into Fury's nose.
Nick Fury collapsed to the ground, clutching his bleeding face, completely unable to fight back.
Watching from nearby, Ethan was speechless.
You don't even know who your opponent is.
And you dared to play the hero rescuing the damsel in distress?
Has he lost all his instincts now that he's no longer the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.?
No wonder the entire organization had been infiltrated by Hydra.
At that moment, it was finally Ethan's turn to step onto the stage.
"Stop right there!"
His voice rang out sharply.
"Let go of those two girls!"
.....
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