At that moment, Indra's body began to glow, resembling the Extremis-enhanced individuals. Maria Hill was taken aback.
Maria had encountered Indra before when Black Widow brought him into S.H.I.E.L.D. because of his exceptional luck, believing he had the potential to become an agent. But he was supposed to be just an ordinary person! Why did he now appear to be an Extremis subject?
Not only was Maria shocked, but the two Extremis-enhanced attackers were also surprised. They didn't recognize Indra, but their surprise was short-lived. With a two-to-one advantage, they felt confident.
Maria quickly directed the street's evacuation as Indra engaged the attackers.
"Extremis? Interesting," said a short-haired woman. "You have powers like ours, derived from the Extremis virus. I don't know where you stole it from, but do you really think you can beat both of us?"
Indra raised an eyebrow and replied, "I'm not like you. I'm luckier."
The short-haired man's laughter was cut short by a fit of coughing. "What the hell did I inhale? Damn it, I'm choking..."
The woman cursed under her breath, "Useless."
Without hesitation, she launched herself at Indra. She fought fiercely, her strength matching his, almost overpowering him. The short-haired man soon joined in, and the three of them clashed in a fiery melee.
Despite her resentment towards Indra for refusing to join S.H.I.E.L.D., Maria knew personal grudges had no place here. Watching Indra struggle against the two attackers, she called out, "The man is called Menshak, the woman is Zainal. Both are highly skilled fighters. Avoid close combat!"
Indra appreciated the information. He wasn't a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, and these two favored brutal, fast-paced attacks, putting him on the defensive.
He needed distance. With that thought, Indra unleashed a powerful burst of flames from his body. The blast sent Menshak and Zainal flying, momentarily giving Indra some breathing room.
But the fight was far from over.
Pause.
Menshak got up and unleashed a burst of flames at Indra, intending to strike him directly. However, the blast hit Zainal instead, who was about to engage in close combat with Indra. Zainal erupted in flames, visibly enraged.
"Fuck! Are you blind from the fire?! You sprayed me?" Zainal shouted furiously.
Menshak, equally annoyed by Zainal's outburst, retorted, "Bitch! If you hadn't rushed in and blocked me, he'd have been toast by now!"
Pointing her finger at Menshak's head, Zainal threatened, "You simple-minded musclehead, I'll blow you to pieces!"
Maria Hill, who had been worried about Indra, couldn't believe her eyes. The two fiery combatants, who had been battling Indra fiercely, were suddenly at each other's throats.
"Hey, you two!" Suddenly, a man's voice cut through the heated argument between Zainal and Menshak. They both turned to see Indra, realizing something at the same moment, exchanging a puzzled glance.
Why had they started fighting each other out of nowhere?
Confused, they were about to make a move against Indra when they found themselves surrounded by flames.
Then came the searing pain, spreading through every nerve in their bodies. It felt like their hearts were being ripped out. Soon, they felt the agony of burning.
As they watched themselves slowly turn to ashes, Indra knew—they wouldn't regenerate.
But the ordeal wasn't over. On the largest LED screen nearby, a new image appeared: their leader, Matthew Ellis, suspended in the air by a crane. Then the scene shifted to a group of terrified ordinary people surrounded by the fiery beings.
A voice emanated from the screen, sounding eerily authoritative. "This is your leader. Soon, I'll show you just how incompetent he really is..."
............
Nick Fury stared at the red dots on the virtual panel.
He hadn't expected things to escalate so quickly.
Just as he had begun to uncover a lead, the enemy had already started their attack.
Iron Man was still a while away from returning.
With only Black Widow, Hawkeye, and the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, the odds of rescuing the President from so many fiery adversaries weren't good.
Captain America and Banner were guarding the prison, which housed high-risk criminals. If they were released, the situation could become even worse.
Thor was dealing with chaos in Asgard.
But with so many explosions happening simultaneously across the city, manpower was stretched thin.
Using heavy weapons was out of the question—too many civilians were at the scene.
And the President was still a hostage.
If they accidentally killed him, S.H.I.E.L.D. would be in serious trouble.
Should he call Banner to rescue the President?
Nick Fury pressed his fingers to his temples, feeling a sharp pain in his head.
"Iron Man is back!"
Just as Fury was contemplating his next move, an uproar erupted within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Tony had returned?
Fury's heart leaped with joy. He rushed to the monitor.
A man in red Iron Man armor appeared on the screen.
It really was Iron Man!
Not only was Fury overjoyed, but the President, still trapped, and the entire city watching the live broadcast felt a surge of hope.
"Iron Man is back!!"
"Look! It's Iron Man!!!"
"God bless! I knew Iron Man wasn't dead!"
The whole city erupted in cheers.
Even Black Widow and Hawkeye, who were ready to face the fiery enemies head-on, heard the news. Their anxious faces broke into relieved smiles.
"Tony's back!" Hawkeye said to Black Widow while fighting off the firemen.
These fiery foes were no easy match, with their high-temperature burns and endless regeneration, making Hawkeye's head spin.
"Yes! Looks like we've got a chance now!" Black Widow replied, dodging an attack.
Iron Man, wearing his somewhat battered Mk42 armor, landed on the ground. It was clear he had been through a lot.
"You plan to fight me like this?" Killian looked at Iron Man with a sneer.
Gone was the ever-smiling, ingratiating Killian. Now, he stood in a sharp suit, arrogantly positioned on a high platform, as if he were the master of the world.
"It doesn't matter how I fight. What matters is defeating you," Iron Man replied, his eyes blazing with anger.
"Defeat me? Just you?" Killian scoffed, lifting his chin. "I've got a surprise for you!"
With that, he raised his hands, and several fiery figures brought out Pepper Potts, bound and gagged, struggling desperately.
"You!"
Seeing Pepper in captivity made Iron Man's fury boil over.
But what Killian said next drove his anger to its peak.
"I've injected her with the Extremis virus."
"I can make her perfect, and you can't!"
Although he was cut off, the message was clear.