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After hearing what Kai said, Tony asked, "What? Can you get information from him?"
Kai nodded: "Of course, otherwise why would I control him?"
Tony rolled his eyes, then said to Kai, "Why don't you ask quickly and find out everything you can? As for him." Tony turned his head and looked at Trev. "Leave him to me!"
Then Tony took Trev to the next room, leaving it for Kai to ask questions.
With a bang, Tony came out from the next room. He had already dealt with Trev. Then he looked at Kai, who was extracting the address of Killian's real base.
After getting the location and asking all the necessary questions, Kai incapacitated the man in front of him, and then discussed with Tony. The two of them planned to go directly to Killian's lair and put an end to him completely.
Kai led Tony to the address he had obtained and saw a secluded building in the wilderness. "This should be Killian's base."
Tony looked at the structure before them and said, "Kai, as usual, let's just storm in!"
Kai nodded. Since Tony wanted to break in directly, he'd let him. After all, there was no real danger to them.
At the same time, in a basement room within the building, Rhodes and his battle suit were suspended by chains. Killian's men reported beside him: "Once we board the plane, it will take five to ten minutes."
Killian nodded. "That's great, but the last time I saw the Patriot suit, there was someone inside it."
Then Killian approached Rhodes and gestured for his men to halt their attempts at cutting through the suit. "I want to do it myself."
"Hello, Colonel," Killian greeted as he placed his hand on the abdomen of the suit, generating intense heat.
One of his subordinates hesitated. "Sir, you know that will damage the suit!"
Killian smirked. "Of course, I know. But I trust you'll fix it, right? I really need the suit now."
Seeing that his men had no objections, Killian increased the temperature further, pushing Rhodes to his limit. Unable to endure the searing pain any longer, Rhodes triggered the emergency release and escaped the suit.
The moment he emerged, several guns were instantly trained on his head. Left with no choice, Rhodes surrendered as Killian's men began hacking into the suit's systems to gain full control.
Meanwhile, outside, Kai and Tony forced their way in, eliminating security guards along the way until they reached a large hall on the first floor.
Inside, a row of computers and experimental equipment lined the walls, and Maya sat at one of the stations.
Seeing her, Tony immediately asked, "So you really took Killian's business card?"
Maya replied, "I took his money."
"And for thirteen years, you were trapped in this dungeon?"
"No, I'm not trapped. I can leave anytime I want," Maya corrected.
Maya then approached Tony. "We've been through a lot, Tony. But I'm close now. Extremis is stable."
Tony scoffed. "I told you, it's not stable. I saw it explode with my own eyes. People were injured, blood on the walls. Maya, you're lying to yourself."
"Then help me fix it." Maya pulled out a small note—Tony's old formula from years ago.
Tony frowned. "This is what you've been chasing all this time?"
Maya nodded. "You don't remember?"
"You used to have morals, ideals. You wanted to help people. Look at you now," Tony said. "The person who wakes me up every morning has a soul."
Tony tried to reason with her, but their conversation was cut short when Killian entered the hall.
Killian smirked. "You know, my father always said: The early bird catches the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese."
Tony sighed. "Are you still mad about Switzerland?"
Killian chuckled. "How could I be mad at you, Tony? I should be thanking you. You gave me the greatest gift of all—despair."
He stepped closer. "Think back to Switzerland. You said we'd meet on the roof, right?"
"For the first twenty minutes, I actually thought you'd show. For the next hour, I debated just taking the stairs down. But then I realized something profound: no one knew where I was. No one saw me. No one even cared. That's when I found my purpose—to become anonymous."
He gestured dramatically. "Thanks to you, Tony, I discovered my greatest weapon. Evil needs a mask to draw attention elsewhere."
Tony crossed his arms. "You mean the Mandarin? That joke of an actor?"
Killian smirked. "Yes, he's an actor, but sometimes, exaggerated performances are necessary."
Tony had enough. "What's your next move? What are you planning?"
Killian's grin widened as he tossed three small devices onto the floor, projecting a live feed of Pepper restrained in a lab, subjected to the Extremis virus.
"This is a live broadcast. Either her body adapts, or it rejects it—an outcome you'll never forget," Killian taunted.
Seeing Pepper in agony on the screen, Tony snapped. He lunged at Killian, his Iron Man gauntlet smashing into the villain's chest, sending him flying and coughing up blood.
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