Threats in the Sunshine

Tony was staring worriedly at the hole in the wall when JARVIS spoke again.

"Sir, underground vibrations detected. The source is approximately three hundred meters deep and rising rapidly. Pattern match... bunker-buster missile."

Tony jerked his head up. "Again? Is today International Attack Stark Day or something?"

Xiao Han had nearly reached the living room door, but he stopped at that, his brow furrowing slightly. "Bunker-buster?" He seemed more interested in that term. "Where is it drilling from?"

A three-dimensional terrain map appeared on the holographic display. A red dot was moving straight upward from the depths of the sea, aimed directly beneath the villa.

"Estimated arrival in twenty seconds," JARVIS added. "Warhead type cannot be scanned. The casing is shielded by a layer of lead."

"Lead shielding?" Tony's expression changed. "They know about your X-ray vision!"

Xiao Han had already turned toward the ocean, his eyes narrowing slightly. Beneath the horizon, his gaze pierced through layer after layer of seawater and rock, locking onto the rapidly rising threat.

"Interesting," he said softly.

The next second, Xiao Han's eyes glowed faintly red, and two hair-thin beams of Heat Vision shot precisely into the sea. The water instantly boiled and vaporized, but the Heat Vision was so highly concentrated that it caused no large-scale evaporation.

Deep beneath the seabed, the bunker-buster missile's casing melted like butter under the Heat Vision. Just as the warhead was about to detonate, Xiao Han abruptly changed the frequency of the beams.

The missile's internal structure was instantly reorganized. Its high explosives were transformed into harmless carbon powder, its guidance system into a lump of silicon crystal, and its propulsion system into molten iron that rapidly cooled again.

The whole process took less than two seconds. The missile lost power and slowly sank into the sediment on the seafloor.

Tony's mouth hung open throughout it all. He only came back to himself when JARVIS announced, "Threat neutralized." "You just... reprogrammed a missile?"

The red glow faded from Xiao Han's eyes. "I just turned it into scrap metal." He looked at Tony. "Lead shielding? They learned quickly."

Natasha and her team of agents were scanning the ocean surface with various instruments. "No explosive residue can be detected... The missile disappeared into thin air."

"It didn't disappear." Tony pointed to the data on the holographic screen. "It was broken down and reassembled. Look at the energy readings. That degree of control..." He turned to Xiao Han. "You can regulate Heat Vision output that precisely?"

Xiao Han had already returned to the workshop. He picked up the unfinished burger from earlier and took a bite. "Is that difficult? You mortals can't even control your own muscles properly."

Tony decided not to take that bait. "JARVIS, record all the data, especially the energy output curve. This may be the most precise demonstration of energy control we've ever seen."

"Recorded, sir. Also, Director Fury is calling. He seems very... excited."

Fury's face appeared on the holographic screen, with what seemed to be S.H.I.E.L.D.'s command center behind him. "Stark! We detected a bunker-buster missile launch, and then every signal vanished. I need an explanation!"

Tony flashed a smug grin. "Your missile became a deep-sea decoration. While we're at it, how did Hydra know that a lead layer could block certain abilities?"

Fury's expression grew grave. "We're investigating that as well. It seems their intelligence-gathering capabilities exceed expectations." He paused. "Stark, this cannot continue. I recommend relocating immediately..."

"We're not relocating." Xiao Han suddenly cut in, staring at Fury's holographic image. "The sunlight here is nice."

Fury seemed to notice Xiao Han's presence only then, and his tone immediately became cautious. "Mr. Xiao, your safety..."

"My safety is none of your concern." Xiao Han finished the last bite of his burger. "Tell Hydra that if they send anyone to disturb my sunbathing again, I'll go tear down their headquarters."

With that, he turned and headed for the living room, clearly considering the conversation over.

Fury fell silent for a moment on the other end of the screen. "Is he serious?"

Tony shrugged. "Judging by how casually he tossed around a nuclear bomb, very serious."

Suddenly, JARVIS issued another alarm. "Multiple humanoid targets detected making landfall along the coastline. They are using some form of optical camouflage. Thermal signatures are extremely low."

Natasha immediately directed the agents into defensive positions. "It's an infiltration squad!"

Xiao Han stopped at the doorway and let out a soft sigh. "It never ends."

He closed his eyes as though sensing something, then abruptly opened them. "Thirty meters southeast, two. Fifty meters due south, five. Twenty meters southwest, three."

The agents immediately fired toward the designated positions. The optical camouflage flickered several times, revealing several figures in advanced diving suits.

"How did you find them?" one agent asked while firing. "Our scanners didn't detect anything!"

Xiao Han did not even look back. "Heartbeats, breathing, blood flow... Too noisy."

Tony had already put on part of his armor. "JARVIS, activate sonic positioning. Set the frequency to..."

Before he could finish, Xiao Han had taken a deep breath and gently exhaled.

A blast of freezing breath swept across the beach. Every infiltrator was instantly frozen in place, locked in assorted sneaking poses like a collection of poorly made ice sculptures.

"Done." Xiao Han clapped his hands. "Can I go sleep now?"

Natasha and her team carefully stepped forward to inspect them. "All captured alive," she reported. "The degree of freezing is just right. No danger to their lives, but they're completely unable to move."

Tony lowered his faceplate. "Your Freezing Breath can be controlled that precisely?"

Xiao Han was already walking toward the stairs. "It's much simpler than your thermodynamics." He stopped at the foot of the staircase. "Oh, and if Hydra comes again, make sure they compensate me for my nap time."

After Xiao Han went upstairs, Fury's voice came through the communicator. "Romanoff, interrogate those frozen soldiers immediately. I want to know exactly how much Hydra knows."

Tony, meanwhile, stared thoughtfully at the hole in the wall. "JARVIS, analyze the Heat Vision data from earlier. If he can precisely reassemble molecular structures..."

"Preliminary analysis indicates that this level of energy control precision exceeds all known physical models, sir."

Tony's eyes lit up. "Imagine if it could be applied in medicine... or materials science..."

Natasha cut off his fantasy. "Stark, focus on the immediate crisis. Hydra is clearly probing the limits of Mr. Xiao's abilities."

Tony shrugged. "Then let them try. The result will be the same either way." He glanced toward the stairs. "I'm more curious whether he even has a limit."

Just then, Xiao Han's voice drifted down from upstairs. "I do have a limit."

Tony jumped. "What limit?"

"The limit of the ice cream supply." Xiao Han's voice carried obvious dissatisfaction. "The refrigerator is almost empty."

Tony and Natasha looked at each other and sighed at the same time.

"JARVIS," Tony said helplessly, "order every flavor of ice cream immediately. Top-priority delivery."

"The order has been placed, sir. Also, the repair crew is expected to arrive in one hour."

Tony looked at the huge hole in the wall, then at the row of ice sculptures on the beach, and suddenly laughed.

"You know, sometimes I think Hydra is the real victim here."