Spoiler Artist in Marvel

I have a new fanfic, Lords & Towers, read it if you're interested.

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After running out of ammunition and having to reload, Tony finally managed to approach the helicopter.

He boarded decisively and, pointing at the two men inside, ordered them to surrender. He got no response.

One of them lunged at him, trying to strike. Tony didn't take him seriously. He prepared to block the blow easily… but something threw him off. The attacker's arm began to glow—not with normal light, but as if it were burning from the inside.

The impact made him stagger slightly.

It didn't pose a real threat to the armor, but Tony had let his guard down for a few seconds.

Realizing these weren't ordinary people, he got serious. It didn't take much effort to subdue the man. In a matter of seconds, he knocked him out.

Then he turned toward the pilot, but something stopped him.

Unlike the first, not only was his arm glowing—his entire body was beginning to radiate heat and energy. And with each second, it intensified.

'Sir' J.A.R.V.I.S. warned 'thermal and energy signatures are rapidly increasing. I recommend you retreat.'

Tony didn't hesitate. He jumped out of the helicopter and dove straight down. Just before hitting the water, he activated his thrusters and shot back up into the sky.

From the air, he witnessed the explosion.

The helicopter erupted in a blazing fireball, crashing into the sea.

Tony followed it. Upon diving and examining the wreckage, he confirmed the inevitable: both were dead. Not only had the pilot exploded, but the first man seemed to have detonated as well, in a chain reaction.

"So we've got nothing…" Tony muttered, frowning.

---

"Any ideas?"

Tony's question left Fury deep in thought.

They had investigated the Ten Rings in the past. Their signature was explosive attacks, but no bomb fragments were ever found at the scenes.

Now they understood why. But rather than bringing relief, this revelation was even more unsettling.

If they could induce their own soldiers to commit suicide so easily, there were only two possibilities: either they had an overwhelming number of fighters, or they knew how to manufacture them.

But it wasn't all bad news.

"To create soldiers like that, they need labs—lots of experimentation. You can't hide something like this. They must have a cover."

"A.I.M., huh?" said Tony, catching the hint.

"Do you have anything on them?"

"Nothing concrete" Fury replied.

The clues pointed to A.I.M., but without proof, launching an operation would cause a scandal. At the moment, SHIELD couldn't afford to act without public support.

"So what do we do?" Tony asked, frustrated.

They had tried to kill him, and even knowing who was behind it, he couldn't do a thing.

"I've got a plan… though it's not exactly ethical" Fury admitted.

"How unethical?" Tony asked, curious.

Even angry, there were lines he wouldn't cross.

"It doesn't break any laws. It just… invades people's privacy. Let's say it's bad manners."

"And privacy was never your strong suit, was it?" Tony quipped with a grin. Fury shrugged.

---

In her office, Pepper was having a meeting with another woman.

Maya Hansen.

"Listen" said Maya. "I know the proposal was already rejected, but this represents the future of healthcare."

She unfolded some schematics on the desk.

"With this serum, people won't need to be cured… because they won't get sick. Their bodies will evolve."

Maya expected another rejection. Even so, she believed that, over time, they could perfect the serum without external help.

But her boss was obsessed with Tony Stark. He longed to work with Stark Industries for a reason that sounded more like revenge than business. Though Maya didn't fully understand the fixation, she obeyed.

Still, deep down, it hurt. This was her masterpiece, and now she had to share the credit.

To her surprise, Pepper—who was usually firm with rejections, especially due to suspicions of human testing—didn't shut the door this time. She asked for more information.

Maya blinked, stunned, then began to explain:

"Our company has been developing this serum for years. Once it's ready, it will revolutionize medicine. It stimulates cells to force evolution. Bodies become adaptive. Diseases would no longer pose a threat. Upon contact with any foreign agent, the body would adapt to neutralize it…"

She spoke with excitement for several minutes. Even if she didn't want to share credit with Stark Industries, she was proud of the breakthrough.

"But you mentioned side effects, didn't you?"

Maya hesitated for a second. They could talk about them—but not all of them.

"Yes, for now. But we believe we can eliminate them in the future. Besides, they're minor effects: loss of judgment, emotional instability, high fever… and in some cases, the subjects don't survive long after injection."

"And can they… explode?"

Pepper's question caught her off guard. But she responded quickly:

"It's possible. Sometimes the body rejects the serum and goes into spontaneous combustion. We haven't solved that yet, but we've found a way to trigger that reaction intentionally. That's how we create living biological weapons."

She said it with a smile, unaware of the monstrosity of what she was describing.

Pepper didn't flinch. She simply continued with another question.

"Is this connected to the Ten Rings organization?"

"Yes and no. My boss created that organization as part of his revenge plan against Tony Stark, for being rejected in the past. But the idea was based on underworld rumors… about a powerful, hidden organization."

"Good," said Pepper. "One last question: where are the labs and your boss?"

"The main labs are at A.I.M.'s headquarters. My boss should be there now."

Then Maya smiled.

"What do you say? Want to collaborate?"

Pepper smiled too.

"I'll consider it, but for now…"

She gently placed a hand on Maya's head, who looked confused. She didn't have time to react before hearing the final word:

"...sleep."

Maya collapsed unconscious onto the desk.

At that moment, Fury and Stark walked in.

Pepper changed before their eyes. Her figure faded, and in her place stood Wanda.

"That counts as a confession, right?" she asked playfully.

Tony smiled, satisfied.

"That's all we needed."

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+20 chapters in advance on Patreon.

p-atreon.com/IAMME26

(just delete the hyphen)

80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)