The fight between Ethan Voss and Adrian Killian was one that required absolutely no skill.
Killian's entire body glowed crimson as the Extremis virus surged through his veins. Heat radiated from him like a furnace, and flames even burst from his mouth as he roared in rage. Yet none of it mattered. No matter how violently he attacked, he couldn't break through the invisible psychic barrier surrounding Ethan.
The scene looked almost absurd.
Killian's Extremis-enhanced body could reach temperatures of nearly three thousand degrees Celsius. In theory, that kind of heat should have reduced everything around him to ash. Yet despite the blazing inferno that covered his body, one strange detail remained unchanged.
His pants were perfectly intact.
Ethan stared at them for a moment and couldn't help shaking his head.
The Extremis virus could give someone the heat of a volcano, but somehow it still respected the sacred rule of comic book physics. Just like the Hulk, whose pants always managed to survive every transformation.
Even metaphysics had its limits.
In the end, Ethan didn't kill Killian.
Instead, he calmly severed one of the man's arms and threw him into his Divine Realm.
That alone was enough. Once inside the kingdom, the Extremis virus could be analyzed at leisure.
The battle ended quickly after that.
Nick Fury, who had been knocked flat earlier, slowly recovered and managed to regain enough strength to stand. He stared at Ethan with a guarded expression, clearly trying to reassess the situation.
Ethan considered the matter for a moment.
The original storyline had already changed somewhat.
At this point, the identity of the so-called "black-boiled egg" didn't really matter much anymore.
With that thought, Ethan casually touched the ruby ring on his finger.
One Wolverine Power was consumed.
Then he suddenly paused.
Wait a second.
Damn it, he had actually lost out.
The man standing in front of him wasn't the real Nick Fury.
A Skrull.
Ethan narrowed his eyes slightly before letting out a quiet chuckle.
Interesting.
But it didn't really matter. There would be plenty of time to deal with things later. For now, he could simply treat this infiltrator as a nail quietly driven into the coffin.
After everything settled down, Ethan drove Pepper and Maya Hansen back to Typhon Tower.
Once the two women fully regained their composure, they were extremely grateful for Ethan's rescue.
That night, both of them stayed at the building.
The following day, Ethan issued a mission to the Justice League.
Rescue the President of the United States.
Ever since the president had witnessed Ethan's ambitions firsthand, he had become somewhat wary of him. That wariness was obvious from the way he had chosen War Machine as his emergency bodyguard instead of relying on Ethan's people.
Clearly, the president trusted the military far more.
Still, the man needed to be rescued.
At worst, Ethan could simply cast a charm spell on him afterward.
Although, given the current circumstances, Ethan was beginning to question how valuable the president really was.
On the surface, the man ruled an entire country.
In reality, he was bound by countless restrictions.
The president could assist Ethan with certain things, but anything truly difficult was usually beyond his authority.
Take Ethan's current interest in Wakanda's vibranium mines, for example.
Could the president simply launch a war and seize them for him?
Obviously not.
Some things required patience and careful planning. Once the overall situation developed in the right direction, the desired outcome would naturally follow.
At Ethan's current level of power, the president's influence was no longer particularly meaningful.
In fact, Ethan didn't even consider the man a threat anymore.
Even if the United States possessed ten aircraft carriers, more than six thousand nuclear warheads, tens of thousands of missiles, and a million soldiers.
Still, the current president was at least cooperative.
Saving him was easier than constantly dealing with political instability from changing leaders.
Fortunately, the mission didn't require Ethan to act personally.
The only reason he had rushed to save Pepper was simple.
She was beautiful.
And helping her could also irritate Tony Stark.
The president, on the other hand, was a man in his sixties. That job could easily be handed to his subordinates.
After encountering Adrian Killian the previous day, Ethan had already arranged for someone to secretly track him.
Now all that remained was for Killian to capture the president and place him in a life-threatening situation.
At that moment, the Justice League would make a dazzling entrance.
They would rescue the president, defeat the villains, and wrap up the disaster Tony Stark had created.
And events unfolded exactly that way.
The president was successfully rescued by the Justice League.
Meanwhile, Tony Stark summoned an entire squadron of Iron Man suits and eliminated Adrian Killian.
Because Pepper had never been captured, Stark was spared the expensive spectacle of detonating dozens of armored suits as fireworks.
There was, however, one important difference.
The night before, Ethan had severed Killian's arm.
Because of that injury, when Stark and Rhodes were captured the next day, Killian vented all of his rage on them.
Several of Stark's ribs were broken during the fight.
By the time everything was over, he nearly ended up in the ICU.
But the moment he learned where Pepper was, he immediately jumped out of bed.
I leave my base unattended for a moment, and you manage to raid it?
Damn you!
When Stark finally found Pepper, she threw herself into his arms and sobbed while recounting everything that had happened.
His emotions became incredibly complicated.
Logically speaking, Ethan had saved Pepper's life.
But why had he brought her back to his building overnight?
What exactly had he been thinking?
In the end, Stark could only grit his teeth and say stiffly, "Thank you… for helping Pepper."
"I owe you one."
"If there's ever anything I can do for you, just say the word."
Ethan laughed and casually patted him on the shoulder.
"Look at you. When I offered to help earlier, you didn't seem very happy about it."
He waved the matter away.
"Forget it. Just remember to call me if you ever need something."
That'll be enough.
After that, Stark led his people away.
As for Maya Hansen, she decided to stay temporarily with the Typhon Group. She intended to continue her research there and refine the Extremis virus.
Her ultimate goal was to use the technology to benefit humanity.
…
What Ethan never expected was that someone would try to assassinate him.
It happened on a sunny afternoon.
He was on his way to New York City Hall to attend a meeting when an energy blast suddenly shot toward his vehicle.
The attack came not far from Typhon Tower.
Fortunately, Frank—who was driving—reacted instantly. He yanked the steering wheel sharply to the side, barely avoiding a direct hit.
Even so, the beam melted half the trunk of the car.
Frank immediately jumped out of the driver's seat and pulled Ethan from the vehicle, determined to fulfill both of his duties as driver and bodyguard.
At that exact moment, a massive figure charged out from the side of the street.
The creature's presence was so overwhelming that several nearby cars were knocked aside.
As it approached, Ethan and Frank finally saw its true form.
A huge man clad in rhinoceros-shaped armor.
"Boss, go!" Frank said urgently as he stepped forward in a defensive stance. "I'll hold him off!"
Ethan shook his head.
"No need. You can leave first."
He glanced at Frank calmly.
"You know what I'm capable of. There's no need to block my path."
Then he added casually, "If you die, I'll have to hire another driver. That would be a real hassle."
Frank's pride took a serious hit, but he couldn't argue with the logic.
"Well… boss, I'll be going then?"
"Go," Ethan said with a wave. "Just don't slow me down."
Frank quickly retreated.
Ethan, meanwhile, studied the rhinoceros-armored man with clear curiosity.
Why attack him?
They had no personal grudge.
More importantly, the energy blast earlier had clearly not come from the Rhino. That meant someone else was involved.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a gray-white stone figure silently appeared behind him.
At the same time, a large bird-shaped machine hovered in the sky overhead.
Ethan clicked his tongue softly.
So they were surrounding him.
Rhino. A stone gargoyle. And the Vulture.
All villains.
Strangely enough, Ethan didn't feel the slightest bit of panic. If anything, he was curious whether even more attackers would show up.
The Rhino's booming voice echoed across the street.
"So you're Ethan Voss. Your time is up."
Ethan tilted his head slightly.
"Why are you trying to kill me?"
Rhino snorted.
"You're part of the Justice League. We're the Injustice League."
"Of course we're going to kill you."
Ethan's eyes lit up.
"You have your own alliance?"
He leaned forward slightly, intrigued.
"Who else is in it? Where are they?"
The gray stone creature spoke in a deep voice.
"Don't even think about learning our secrets. We won't tell you."
"Killing you will make us famous."
"Soon the entire world will know how powerful the Injustice League is."
Ethan smiled.
"If killing me is the goal… what if I simply surrender?"
He spread his hands casually.
"Or better yet, how about I join your Injustice League?"
Rhino hesitated.
"You want to join us?"
"That's right."
"No."
A voice suddenly echoed from the sky.
The Vulture descended and landed beside the other two.
Rhino frowned.
"Why not?"
"No means no," Vulture said coldly. "There's no room for negotiation."
He then barked at his companions.
"We came here to complete a mission, not chat. Get to work!"
Ethan sighed helplessly.
It seemed he wouldn't be able to save his Origin Power after all.
He lightly touched the ruby ring on his finger.
For a brief moment, the three villains froze.
Then they resumed their attack.
Ethan and his three newly acquired henchmen immediately began putting on a show.
The four of them fought fiercely in the middle of the street, their battle appearing intense and chaotic.
But before a clear winner could emerge, the sound of police sirens filled the air.
A large number of officers rushed toward the scene.
The three attackers quickly retreated.
Watching their figures disappear into the distance, Ethan silently hoped that these three hidden pieces would eventually get the chance to play their roles.
.....
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