While Potts was teaching the Extremis soldiers the meaning of a woman's wrath, Stark—still unaware that Happy had been rescued—charged recklessly in his Armor Suit straight to Killian.
Upon entering the room, Stark found only an empty lab table and Killian smirking at him. Raising his palm, Stark aimed his Repulsor Ray at Killian and demanded, "Where's Happy?"
Killian was utterly confused. Not only had his hostage mysteriously vanished, but now Stark was questioning him as if someone else had rescued Happy. Still, this wasn't the time for honesty. Ignoring the glowing repulsor, Killian chuckled, "Sorry, it got too noisy here for experiments." He spread his hands theatrically. "So I moved him somewhere quieter."
Before Killian could finish, Potts' voice crackled in Stark's ear: "Tony, Rhodes, the President, and Happy are all with Austin now."
"You little shit, lying to your daddy Stark?" Without hesitation, Stark fired his Repulsor Ray, blasting a hole straight through Killian's abdomen. Unfortunately, the Extremis Virus used by Killian was clearly more advanced. Even if he was shot in the abdomen—or lower down, turning him into a eunuch—it wouldn't matter. As long as the Extremis Virus remained functional, any body part could be cut off and regrown like chives, over and over again.
He could produce as many of those parts as he wanted, enough to sell by the ton.
Ignoring the gaping hole in his abdomen, Killian raised his scorching-hot arm and swung at Stark.
Stark didn't back down either, deftly deflecting the attack before driving his fist toward Killian's face.
Killian, enhanced by the Extremis Virus, had long surpassed human limits in strength and agility. He wasn't about to let Stark ruin his handsome face so easily.
If anyone's doing the punching, it's me! Just as Stark's fist was about to connect, Killian—his head glowing fiery red—slammed his forehead into Stark, sending the Armor Suit into a system malfunction.
Left with no choice, Stark quickly ejected from the suit, leaping out the window and landing unceremoniously on the ground. "Jarvis, get me a suit!" he shouted.
Meanwhile, Potts effortlessly kicked an Extremis soldier into oblivion when she caught sight of her boyfriend being chased down by Killian in such a sorry state. Her blood boiled instantly: Only I get to mess with my man—since when do outsiders get a turn? Did they really think my nickname 'Pepper' just meant I had a fiery personality?
When Potts saw Stark's bruised and battered face—looking like he'd been beaten black and blue—she snapped. With a metallic flutter of her wings, she teleported above Killian, spinning midair with the force of a Thomas rotation before kicking him flying ten meters away.
Once done, Potts coldly retracted her metal wings and stood protectively in front of Stark, glaring at Killian with a "My man, my responsibility" attitude. "I've never even hit Tony that hard!" she snarled. "How dare you lay a hand on him?"
As she spoke, Potts bent her legs like drawn bowstrings while her upper body inexplicably bulged with exaggerated muscles, her fists gleaming with a metallic sheen.
For some reason, Stark broke into a cold sweat as he took in Potts' bodybuilder-esque physique and her declaration that she'd never beaten him up like this before. Austin, give me back my sweet, gentle Potts!
Killian, completely unharmed, stood up and brushed off nonexistent dust before smirking at Stark behind Potts. "So the great Iron Man is a coward hiding behind a woman? How disappointing."
Before Stark could retort, Potts vanished with a sonic boom, reappearing in front of Killian and sending him flying with an uppercut.
Then, grabbing Killian by his scalding ankle, she swung him like a flyswatter, slamming him repeatedly into the ground while yelling, "You hit my man and insulted him? You bastard—you even sent people to kill me!"In the distance, Stark watched the enraged Potts and instinctively took a few steps back, racking his brain to recall if he had ever done anything to wrong her.
Just hearing Potts reveal that Killian had once sent assassins after her, Stark's face darkened instantly. He soared into the air and roared, "Potts, throw that bastard up here! I'm gonna blast him to pieces!"
At this moment, the rampaging Potts had clearly forgotten her earlier promise to Li Ming to deliver Killian alive. Without a second thought, she prepared to hurl Killian into the sky at Stark's command.
Just before Potts let go, Killian—whose brains had nearly been smashed out—mustered the last shred of his clarity to realize that if Stark blew him up, he'd be saying goodbye to the world for good.
With every ounce of strength left, Killian tore off his own calf and hopped away on one leg, desperate for even a sliver of time to regenerate his limb so he could face Stark head-on.
As for why he didn't target Potts? Killian had figured it out—this woman was more terrifying than a menopausal fury, especially with that unreasonable armor of hers. In a one-on-one fight, he stood zero chance.
Did he have a death wish or something?
But even though Killian wanted nothing to do with Potts, the visibly furious woman clearly had no intention of letting him go.
Seeing Killian pull a lizard-tail trick, Potts angrily hurled the severed calf at him while the metal wings on her back flared open and flapped several times.
With twin gusts of wind, Potts teleported right in front of Killian, grabbed him by the neck, and flung him skyward.
As Killian soared into the air, about to enter freefall, Potts let out a cold laugh and rocketed upward, slamming her foot against his chin to send him flying even higher.
After several rounds of this, a barely conscious Killian found himself gasping for thin air, staring blankly at the clouds beside him: How high the hell did she kick me?!
Before he could calculate his altitude, oxygen deprivation knocked him out cold—and what awaited him was a meteoric crash back to earth.
On the ground, Potts—as if worried she hadn't done enough—paused thoughtfully before pulling a baseball bat from her pocket, much to Stark's bewilderment. She then flew up to Killian and swung the bat again and again, accelerating his descent.
BOOM!
With a deafening crash, Killian—now unrecognizable—smashed through several shipping containers before landing in a pulpy heap on the ground.
Potts and Stark both flew down to his side. Just as Jarvis detected Killian's life signs flickering out, Li Ming suddenly appeared beside him. With a wave of his hand, he cast several Healing Arts to stabilize Killian before turning to Stark and Potts.
"He's mine."
Stark, baffled by Li Ming's interference, scowled. "Hey, we agreed this was my revenge tour." Before Stark could finish complaining, Li Ming glanced at Potts and said, "Do you like my mask? If you do, wear it a few more days."
Stark wasn't stupid—he could read between the lines of Li Ming's words, especially after witnessing Potts in her furious state and Jarvis' analysis confirming that she now wielded power far surpassing that of the Armor Suit.
This was basically letting Potts dominate him—how was he supposed to save face in the future?
Stark hastily shook his head and said, "Potts, I admit the prop's power is impressive, but using it made you less attractive. I prefer you looking beautiful—"
Before Stark could finish, Li Ming, who had already sealed the energy within Killian, interjected, "Potts, you should read between the lines of Stark's words. For example, I interpreted it as him only loving your pretty face."
"Shut your mouth!" Stark roared at Li Ming before turning back to Potts with a gentle tone.
"Don't listen to this idiot's nonsense. Don't you know what kind of person I am?"
Potts could tell Li Ming was just joking. She rolled her eyes at him before turning to survey the aftermath of the battle. Removing her mask, she tossed it back to Li Ming with a smile. "Thanks. Hopefully I won't need to borrow this mask again in the future—it's way too violent."
Li Ming rolled his eyes in return. Who's really the violent one here—you or the mask? As for the future... well, there's plenty of time ahead. Who knows what might happen?
With a shrug, Li Ming stuffed the mask back into his satchel and handed Potts a drop of Eternal Spring water, gesturing for her to drink it. Then he placed a hand on Stark's shoulder, silently transmitting information about the mask's functions and side effects directly into Stark's mind.
Meanwhile, through their contract, Li Ming commanded Wangcai to return to the dark clouds while pointing toward a nearby hill. "Happy, Rhodes, and some old guy are over there munching sunflower seeds and watching the show. You figure out how to get them out of here. As for me—"
Li Ming cast a spell to levitate the unconscious Killian, then opened a Teleportation Door with a sinister grin. "I'm gonna teach this little bastard a proper lesson—daring to blow up my toys."
"Toys?" Stark, still processing the mask's capabilities, stared blankly at the closing portal before turning to embrace Potts and kissing her forehead. "What does he mean by toys?"
Listening to Stark's strong, steady heartbeat, Potts softly recounted her experience of being attacked.
After hearing her story, a still-shaken Stark patted her back. After a moment of silence, he asked, "Want to see some Christmas fireworks?"
Potts pulled away from his embrace, puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Stark smiled and looked up at the sky. "Jarvis, Potts wants to see fireworks."
"Initiate the cleanup protocol, sir?" Jarvis inquired.
Stark didn't respond, but Jarvis understood. One by one, the Armor Suits flew to optimal viewing positions before self-destructing in a brilliant aerial display.
As the fireworks lit up the sky, Stark pulled Potts tightly against him.
When Li Ming had explained how the mask amplified suppressed emotions, Stark immediately understood why Potts had acted so violently.
It was her buried fear coming to the surface.
And where did that fear come from? Stark didn't need to think hard to know.
The Armor Suits had given him temporary peace, but brought Potts endless worry.
By destroying the suits, Stark wanted to show Potts: To me, you're far more important than any armor. If these suits trouble you, I'll abandon them without hesitation.