Rescuing Pepper Potts

'Bang!'

His right hand, as molten as lava, slammed into Xia Yu's heart.

Although his entire right hand had turned into a lava-like shape, the basic skeletal structure of his body still existed. Eric's orange-red right hand had all the bones shattered from his fingertips to his forearm, and his entire right forearm was twisted like a pretzel.

Xia Yu, who wasn't wearing any armor, was dressed casually, and even the clothes on his chest weren't charred.

Eric's prized superpower couldn't even break through the self-circulating energy layer surrounding Xia Yu's body.

"The temperature is alright, but it's useless against me. The strength is terrible. You dare call yourselves perfect humans? Dreaming of conquering the world? There are far too many things in this world that can deal with you. Truly, ignorance is bliss, you bunch of... frogs in a well!"

The last four characters Xia Yu, were spoken in Huaxia language.

Although Eric couldn't understand Huaxia language, he understood what it meant from the previous words and the utterly contemptuous look in Xia Yu's eyes. His group of retired military brothers and sisters had sacrificed a part of their bodies for this country.

Who knew that after retiring, they would not be greeted with glory and admiration, but with hardship and contemptuous looks from others? They made themselves physically disabled for the sake of the country, but what they got in return was scorn and indifference.

Even several of Eric's brothers remarried after leaving the army, taking their children with them. The government pensions they received wouldn't last more than a few years. Eric's best friend couldn't bear the hardships of life and ultimately chose to commit suicide by shooting himself.

They finally encountered the Extremis Virus, which gave them hope of limb regeneration and even made them stronger than before. Although the success rate was extremely low, for those disabled veterans with no other options, even the slightest hope was worth risking their lives for, just to live with dignity again.

Although many died during the testing phase, many brothers survived just like me. They were strong, unafraid of injury, and even firearms were ineffective against them.

Having finally endured this ordeal, whether they seek revenge against the country or secretly exert control, they will live with more dignity than before, making all those who once looked down on them kneel at their feet.

Xia Yu's disdainful look completely shattered Eric's fragile heart—no, it should be said that it ignited Eric's hot and easily exploded heart.

"I'm going to send you all to Hell with me!"

Eric screamed wildly, and orange-red light emanated from his entire body, as if it were about to burst through his skin.

Orange flames erupted from its nose, eyes, and ears, and the temperature in the air rose higher and higher.

The president could even smell the burnt ends of his hair through Xia Yu's reach.

Looking at Iron Man and Colonel Rhodes beside him, the President wisely hid behind Tony, at least he was wearing his Armor.

"If we weren't on a plane, even ten of you exploding wouldn't hurt a hair on my head. Trying to drag others down with you? You're in for a bad time!"

Xia Yu casually tossed Eric to the left, and a portal immediately appeared there. He didn't know where it led, but all he could see was an ocean.

After continuously controlling energy to expand the internal space of the ring, Xia Yu no longer needs to gesture with his hands to open a small teleportation portal over a short distance.

The use of space energy is much more efficient than before.

As Eric self-destructed above an ocean, Xia Yu closed the portal and turned to the president, saying, "You're safe now, Your Excellency. But I hope you'll keep your mouth shut about this teleportation ability, or I might be able to come to your side at any time."

The president quickly nodded in agreement. Who would dare disagree? They could be by your side anytime, 24/7. Aren't you scared?

Even an ordinary person with this ability would be terrifying, let alone a powerful Avengers.

"Xia, how dare you threaten His Excellency the President?" Rhodey, being a government official, spoke up for the president.

"I was just offering a friendly reminder." Xia Yu shrugged, not minding Rhodey's criticism at all. After all, he was in that position, and besides, you could tell from the guy's eyes that he was just putting on an act.

With this matter concluded, Xia Yu opened the door and the three of them left.

This is an abandoned small port where a large ship, unused for many years, is moored. Killian uses it as a temporary base.

When Xia Yu and his two companions arrived, Natasha and two others were also observing from the outside.

"I was just about to call you when I heard a few faint gunshots coming from inside the ship a few minutes ago. The firing seemed to stop after a while, but a lot of their men on the perimeter went inside. Should we take this opportunity to go in and check it out?"

Xia Yu and his two companions arrived, and Hawkeye immediately informed them of the new situation.

"Gunshots? Are they fighting amongst themselves?" Xia Yu wasn't particularly concerned because one of the people in this group was a girl Tony had a one-night stand with years ago. In the movie, she was killed by Killian while protecting Tony, and now she might shoot someone else to protect Pepper Potts.

Tony, worried about Pepper Potts's safety, was about to go in and check on her immediately.

"Let's go in then. We're going to fight anyway. The Captain's not here." Xia Yu looked at Rhodey: "I'll listen to you, Colonel. You'll take charge and assign tasks. The first task is to rescue people."

Rhodey readily agreed, "Tony and I will go up and draw their fire, trying to strike them from a distance in the air. Natasha and Hawkeye will slowly approach from the outside, taking down as many as we can. Xia, you and Thor will be responsible for rescuing them; you two aren't afraid of close combat either."

Tony looked at the many patrolling men outside the ship and said, "If every single one of them is injected with the Extremis Virus, that's going to be a real problem. JARVIS, bring all the Armor from home over; it's Christmas family gathering."

At that moment, another explosion was heard inside, and a large portion of the patrol personnel outside once again rushed inside.

"Looks like they're in big trouble. Perfect timing for us to rescue them. Let's go, guys!" Rhodey gave the order.

Tony and Rhodey ascended into the sky and charged towards the large ship, while Thor and Xia Yu flew low towards the back of the ship, preparing to infiltrate and rescue the people. Hawkeye and Natasha stood up and walked towards the ship, as it would be safer for them to snipe from a distance.

Just as everyone began to move, they saw three people run out of the large ship.

A woman radiating an orange-red glow was clearly an Extremis Soldier; upon closer inspection, it was indeed Pepper Potts.

A man beside him was holding a shield, and he was also holding another man in his arms.

It was the Captain and the seriously injured Bucky.