"Damn it, they're already here. I don't want to work for them anymore, but I want even less to die. Don't you know something about space wormholes? Let's get out of here. For God's sake, Stark, convince your friend!"
Looking out through the glass of the reception room, they saw a man and a woman walking through the front door. Maya Hansen's face changed drastically as soon as she saw them.
"Security, don't stop them. Let them both in. I'm in Reception Room One!"
Tony pressed a button on the wall and spoke to the people outside.
"Damn it, you don't understand the power of the Extremis warriors. They're practically indestructible monsters. I shouldn't have come to you, Stark!"
Maya Hansen was visibly panicked, but it was too late to leave now.
The two Extremis warriors, a man and a woman, headed straight for their reception room after getting directions from security.
The front part of Stark Industries was a public area, and reaching security meant they were already in the middle of the building. Reception Room One, where Blake and the others were, was located closest to the exterior.
It took only a few steps for the two Extremis warriors to reach the room and push the door open.
"Blake, Tony Stark, it's a pleasure to meet you both. Now, will you come with us willingly, or would you prefer to be charred to a crisp before coming along?"
The female warrior strode in, channeling her powers to turn her arms glowing red as she approached.
"Do you know, I've always wanted to test how tough these so-called superheroes really are? Please resist a little—I'd love to see what it's like when an Avenger begs for mercy under my heat."
As the two approached, Maya Hansen huddled behind Blake and Stark, speaking in a low, urgent voice.
"I'm begging you, let's leave right now. Hurry, while we still can."
Unfortunately, no matter how much she urged, neither Blake nor Tony showed any sign of urgency.
Tony even turned to Blake and remarked, "I guess my formula back then wasn't entirely complete. Why does it seem like everyone injected with this virus ends up a bit… dim? What do you think?"
"Tony Stark, you really live up to your reputation—a mouth that everyone finds annoying. You're just a coward who hides behind his armor. You're nothing without it!"
The female warrior glared at Tony dismissively and then headed toward Blake.
"Watch your words," Tony said, spreading his hands helplessly. "If you've turned into this sorry excuse of a person, I'd say I deserve most of the credit."
"Shut up!"
The female warrior took a step forward and charged at Tony, retracting the flames on her arms.
Tony wasn't wearing his armor since he didn't want to alarm the employees at Stark Industries.
"You're still useful to us, so I won't kill you. But I swear, I'll knock out every single one of your teeth!"
With that, she swung a punch.
Both warriors were elite soldiers who had volunteered for Killian's experiments after losing limbs during missions. To them, Tony Stark without his armor was just a weak playboy who could be easily taken down with military combat techniques.
While Tony wasn't as fragile as they imagined, his physical condition wasn't much better than that of an average person—he couldn't compete with professional soldiers.
However, they had underestimated Blake.
The male Extremis warrior, seeing his companion head toward Tony, kept his eyes locked on Blake.
Just as the female warrior's punch was about to land, the male warrior saw a blur—Blake had vanished from his spot and reappeared in front of the female warrior.
"Bang!"
Blake didn't dodge or block. The punch landed squarely on the left side of his face.
"Is that all you've got after all that tough talk?"
Blake rubbed his face and added, "I've been told since I was young that men shouldn't hit women. I agree completely."
The moment he finished speaking, Blake's right leg moved, and his knee struck the female warrior's stomach with no mercy.
The female warrior was lifted half a meter off the ground by the impact, and a crisp cracking sound came from her lower back. It was clear that even though Blake had restrained most of his strength, the blow directly broke her spine.
The male warrior roared in anger and was about to strike.
However, the female warrior, now lying limp on the ground, raised a hand.
"Let me handle this!"
As she spoke, faint red light began to emanate from her face and the injured areas on her lower abdomen.
From the outside, it looked as if her skin was a thin layer of human flesh encasing an orange-red gelatinous substance.
The gelatin seemed to flow and shift within her body, and within moments, her injuries were completely healed.
"I told you—they're impossible to kill! I said this before!" Maya Hansen exclaimed hysterically from behind.
Blake ignored the frightened woman and instead observed the Extremis warrior in front of him with great interest as she healed herself.
To be honest, if it weren't for the virus's extreme instability and low success rate, the Extremis virus would have been quite impressive.
"I originally planned to bring both of you back. But since that's not necessary, and we don't really need you anyway… you can go die now!"
The female warrior jumped up, letting out a furious roar. From this close range, Blake could even see the bright red glow deep in her throat.
Her right hand turned the color of molten metal, glowing intensely. She threw a punch, but once again, Blake didn't dodge. Instead, he simply extended his hand and caught her wrist effortlessly.
"Die!" the female warrior sneered, and the temperature of her hand began to soar.
Her arm transitioned from a gelatin-like consistency under her skin to something resembling molten lava.
As she unleashed her full power, her entire arm appeared to transform into liquid magma. The lava-like substance started to envelop Blake's fingers as he gripped her wrist.
Maya Hansen covered her eyes in terror.
The female warrior, however, wore a cruel smile on her face.
She was waiting for Blake to scream in agony, for him to writhe in pain as she melted his arm, and to hear this so-called strongest Avenger beg her for mercy.
*Drip.*
*Drip.*
The second hand of the wall clock ticked twice.
But the screams never came.
Not only did Blake not cry out, but he also chuckled softly.
"After all that tough talk… is this it? I could blow out a candle and produce more heat than this!"
As he finished speaking, the female warrior stared at him with a horrified expression as Blake turned his head toward the male warrior standing nearby and blew out a breath.
It was as casual as exhaling a puff of smoke. A seemingly subtle but intensely terrifying flame shot out from Blake's mouth.
The male Extremis warrior, frozen in shock, didn't even have time to react before he was instantly reduced to ash by the fire.
*Drip. Drip.*
The room fell silent once again, the only sound being the ticking of the clock.
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