Chapter Summaries

Ye Mo and Tony discovered that Killian’s laboratory housed a living Extremis incubator whose growth was accelerating. The tissue inside sensed them, leaving them facing an imminent threat.

• Ye Mo entered the core laboratory, found the Extremis-7 data card, and noted that its countdown had fewer than six hours remaining.
• Three guards arrived to capture Ye Mo, but he used Lightning Control to incapacitate two and knocked out the third.
• Tony joined Ye Mo and identified the enormous container as an incubator that absorbed electricity and would become more dangerous if its power was cut.
• Ye Mo connected the seventh-generation prototype to signs of escaped earlier experiments and learned that the containers were set to activate together upon a remote command.
• The tissue inside the container began pulsing faster, turned toward Ye Mo and Tony, and Tony realized it was waiting for them rather than a signal.

Ye Mo used a newly activated ice ability to freeze the viral equipment and stop it from exploding, but Aldrich Killian arrived and revealed that the experiment was adapting. The lab plunged into darkness as the tissue began to awaken, leaving Ye Mo and Tony facing Killian and the emerging threat.

• Ye Mo activated Low-Temperature Manipulation and froze the container, the lab equipment, and the surrounding area.
• Aldrich Killian burst into the lab, aimed an oscillation gun at Ye Mo, and declared that the virus would be reborn in flames.
• Ye Mo realized the tissue inside the ice was still alive and might be adapting to the temperature changes, so he warned Tony to keep it from absorbing heat.
• Killian charged his weapon as Ye Mo prepared to attack, but the lab lights suddenly went out and the tissue began trembling more strongly beneath the ice.

Ye Mo and Tony fought Killian in the laboratory as Killian used heat to melt the ice around the evolving tissue and tried to restart the system. The tissue began pulsing in a deliberate rhythm, and Ye Mo wondered whether it was counting their breaths.

• Killian fired at Ye Mo, who activated his Steel Bone Body and endured the blast while he and Tony faced Killian together.
• Killian released toxic mist from purple-liquid canisters, and Ye Mo activated his viral resistance and used electricity to slow the spreading smoke.
• Killian melted the ice around the container, reviving the pulsing tissue, then damaged the main console as Ye Mo struggled with the aftereffects of his transformation.
• Ye Mo disrupted the laboratory circuits to throw off Killian's aim, allowing Tony to strike Killian with a knee.
• Killian said the tissue needed a technological and genetic individual as mediums, then moved to the container as Ye Mo and Tony prepared to attack.
• Ye Mo noticed the tissue pulsing in a deliberate pattern and asked Tony whether it was counting their breaths.

Ye Mo activated Strength Enhancement and fought Killian alongside Tony, then discovered that striking the pulsing green tissue between beats could disrupt it. Killian and the tissue remained active, and Ye Mo and Tony prepared to continue the battle.

• Ye Mo activated Strength Enhancement and struck Killian, while Tony blasted his shoulder with energy cannons.
• Ye Mo and Tony attacked Killian as he regenerated and tried to heat the container holding the green tissue.
• Ye Mo struck Killian with a knee and an elbow, but Killian then accelerated the tissue's pulsing and triggered its emergence from the broken container.
• Ye Mo discovered that hitting the tissue between its pulses stopped its rhythm briefly, giving Tony a chance to blast Killian in the chest.
• Killian rose again and warned that the tissue would adapt, while Ye Mo and Tony readied themselves for another round.

Ye Mo and Tony teamed up to attack Killian, using electricity and Iron Man’s weapons to exploit openings in his defenses. Killian survived their assault and unleashed an uncontrolled wave of heat that left both of them battered as he declared his power.

• Tony arrived in the laboratory in his Mark 42 armor and joined Ye Mo in fighting Killian.
• Tony and Ye Mo coordinated their attacks, but Killian deflected most of their shots with intense heat and a shock wave.
• Tony planned to use the pulse cannon while Ye Mo disrupted Killian, and Ye Mo charged across the scorching floor to strike him with an electric sphere.
• Killian faltered long enough for Tony’s pulse cannon to hit his back and send him crashing into a laboratory bench.
• Killian rose with severe injuries, claimed Extremis had made him the first to complete its evolution, and began radiating uncontrolled energy.
• Killian unleashed a massive shock wave that hurled Ye Mo into a wall and damaged Tony’s armor before he declared, “This... is true power.”

Ye Mo’s emergency regeneration activated during his fight with Killian, letting him withstand repeated attacks and help Tony defeat him. Killian remained alive but incapacitated as Ye Mo’s power began to show signs of a brief cooldown, and they waited for S.H.I.E.L.D.

• Ye Mo’s emergency repair protocol rapidly healed his injuries, and he continued fighting Killian despite suffering burns and blows.
• Ye Mo targeted Killian’s wounds while his own injuries healed, causing Killian’s body to reject the virus and making him increasingly weak.
• Tony blasted Killian in the back of the neck after Ye Mo moved aside, leaving Killian unable to stand.
• Ye Mo knocked Killian onto his side with an electric sphere and told Tony they would question him after he recovered.
• Tony said S.H.I.E.L.D. was on its way, while Ye Mo noticed his regeneration and electricity briefly faltering.

Ye Mo and Tony subdued Killian, but the damaged Extremis container began leaking unstable, corrosive solution. Ye Mo braced the container with a torn-free support column while Tony went to activate the emergency containment program, leaving Ye Mo alone as his Regeneration began to return.

• Ye Mo restrained Killian while Tony used a Shockwave device to shut down his energy pathways.
• The container labeled “Extremis - Stable Phase” cracked and leaked corrosive green liquid, and Tony’s force field only slowed the spreading mist.
• Killian claimed that Extremis was a life-form that chose its host, but Ye Mo and Tony dismissed his warning as the container’s cracks widened.
• Ye Mo tore a metal support column from the floor and wedged it beneath the container to keep it from tipping over.
• Tony found the emergency containment program on a backup terminal in passage B-3 and left to trigger it while Ye Mo held the brace in place.
• Ye Mo remained alone at the leaking container as golden-red light began to appear beneath his skin, signaling that his Regeneration was returning.

Ye Mo used his recovering Regeneration to revive Pepper after her condition nearly became fatal. Pepper stabilized, but Ye Mo was badly weakened, the green virus continued leaking from the damaged container, and Tony had not returned.

• Ye Mo noticed the alarm change and spotted green mist escaping from the medical bay, where Pepper was convulsing.
• Ye Mo rushed to Pepper and received a system warning that she was near death.
• Ye Mo carefully sent Regeneration into Pepper in short pulses until her heartbeat and breathing steadied.
• Ye Mo covered Pepper with his hoodie and rested against the wall, injured and with his Regeneration dormant.
• Ye Mo noticed green residue in a glass beside Pepper and waited for Tony to return while the damaged container continued to creak.

Ye Mo used reverse-phase oscillation to remove the virus from Pepper, who woke after Tony confirmed her vital signs had stabilized. The lab remained dangerous, and Ye Mo and Tony stayed ready for the threats still outside.

• Ye Mo followed the system’s timing cue and used precise energy fluctuations to strip the virus from Pepper’s cells.
• Tony returned, examined Pepper’s readings, and confirmed that her viral markers had fallen to zero.
• Pepper woke and exchanged quiet looks with Tony and Ye Mo as her condition stabilized.
• Ye Mo joked with Tony about payment and food while both stayed alert beside Pepper.
• The alloy pillar creaked sharply, and Ye Mo remained in place, waiting for Pepper to be ready to leave and for the next threat.

Ye Mo and Tony fought off Killian’s attackers in the laboratory and prevented them from breaching the alloy pillar. With more enemies waiting outside and the pillar still unstable, they headed out to strike first.

• Three of Killian’s men burst into the laboratory, and Ye Mo used his steel-boned arm and electrical attack to take them down while Tony rebooted his armor.
• Two attackers tried to detonate a charge beside the alloy pillar, but Ye Mo’s Shockwave redirected the blast and prevented the breach from opening.
• Ye Mo and Tony defeated two more attackers, then disabled the last one with an EMP so they could question him about Killian’s plans.
• Tony detected regularly spaced heat signatures outside the laboratory, suggesting an encirclement, while Ye Mo’s Regeneration ability remained on cooldown.
• Ye Mo picked up a pulse rifle and led Tony toward the exit to attack the waiting enemies first.

Ye Mo activated his newly unlocked Time Lag ability to slow four attackers, allowing Tony to disarm them before their own EMP grenade incapacitated them. After they stopped an isolation door from closing, Ye Mo and Tony prepared for Killian’s next move as a signal continued blinking from the console.

• Four attackers rappelled into the laboratory, and Ye Mo triggered Time Lag, freezing their movements and an EMP grenade in midair.
• Tony disabled the attackers’ weapons, and the grenade detonated when time resumed, knocking all four men unconscious.
• Ye Mo noticed a hidden attacker operating the western control console, then jammed the descending isolation door by hurling a pulse rifle at its power module.
• Tony traced a protocol the hidden attacker had triggered while Ye Mo recovered from using Time Lag and warned that he could use the ability again.
• Ye Mo and Tony waited for Killian’s next move as the console’s indicator light continued blinking.

Ye Mo, Tony, and Emma Frost defeated Killian's men in the damaged laboratory, though all three were injured and their resources were nearly spent. They secured the area and destroyed the recording devices, but the victory remained temporary as they waited for communications and the lab systems to recover.

• Ye Mo and Tony used a short circuit, missiles, and a small Time Lag fluctuation to disrupt the attacking squad and knock several enemies down.
• Emma Frost arrived in Diamond Form, deflected a grenade, and used her psychic powers to make the remaining attackers turn on one another.
• Ye Mo slowed two fleeing enemies while Tony restrained them, and Ye Mo shielded the group from an explosive blast with his Steel Bone arm.
• Emma identified the attackers as Killian's men, and the trio collected weapons, destroyed recorders, and searched the laboratory for hazards.
• Emma confirmed the laboratory was secure, and the three survivors agreed to celebrate once Tony could fly again.

Ye Mo, Tony, and Emma Frost investigated the attackers’ resources and concluded that Killian had been backed by a larger, well-organized power. They decided to assume they were being watched, keep their response secret, and use information bait to lure the hidden enemy into revealing itself.

• Tony identified the attackers’ weapons and equipment as too advanced for Killian to have supplied alone, while Emma Frost found that their memories had been scrubbed and only the code name “X-7” remained.
• Ye Mo’s system warned that a greater power might be backing Killian, and Emma Frost offered to monitor the city for similar psychic signatures while Tony arranged satellite support and locked down incident data.
• Ye Mo pointed out that the attackers had precise knowledge of Pepper’s condition, the lab’s work, and gaps in its defenses, raising the possibility of surveillance or an internal leak.
• Emma Frost, Tony, and Ye Mo agreed to avoid networks and official channels, form a closed response team, and investigate the enemy’s background while appearing to do nothing.
• Emma Frost replaced “information lockdown” with “information bait,” and the three prepared to lure the hidden group into making its next move.

Ye Mo deployed the first resonator near the alley behind Starbucks to detect the scouts monitoring the group, while Tony and Emma Frost prepared to strengthen their defenses. The team expected the scouts to test them next and planned to install six more nodes before dawn.

• Emma Frost detected three synchronized scouts near Southern Fifth Avenue, and Ye Mo decided to plant a resonator in their path.
• Ye Mo used a maintenance passage to reach the alley behind Starbucks and embedded the resonator in a gap in the wall.
• Emma Frost confirmed the resonator was active, and Ye Mo returned with a decoy signal source planted in a nearby dumpster.
• Tony and Emma Frost observed signs that the scouts were suppressing emotions and adjusting their strategy after the deployment.
• Ye Mo planned to install six more nodes, Emma Frost prepared to refresh the emotional model, and Tony isolated the resonators and put J.A.R.V.I.S. into deep sleep.

Ye Mo and Tony discovered that an unknown drone swarm was using mental pulses to attack the city and encircle their lab. Ye Mo endured a second pulse to absorb a new mental-interference ability, but the drones then focused a full-power strike on the building, leaving him braced to face it.

• Ye Mo noticed that someone had retrieved his decoy signal source, and Tony confirmed the alley footage showed a deliberate recovery.
• Ye Mo detected an unknown mental attack from drones above Fifth Avenue, whose pulses disrupted the reactions of people across the city.
• Ye Mo and Tony realized the drones were targeting people with extraordinary perception and circling their building to prepare a synchronized attack.
• Ye Mo endured a stronger pulse, resisted its false visions, and absorbed a mental-interference ability that could implant false memories.
• The drones locked onto the lab and concentrated their energy into a full-power beam as Ye Mo prepared to withstand the next strike.

Ye Mo used his Steel Bone Body to shield Tony and Emma Frost from the drones’ psychic attack while they worked to disrupt the swarm. They broke the attack temporarily and discovered the drones were controlled remotely, but Ye Mo’s shield cracked as the enemy began regrouping.

• Ye Mo summoned his Steel Bone Body and blocked the drones’ purple energy cone while Tony activated the Mark 42 armor and Emma Frost tried to reach the drones’ network.
• Tony’s electromagnetic pulse briefly disrupted the drones, and Emma Frost created an opening that let Tony disable two of them.
• The drones tightened their formation and intensified their attack, cracking Ye Mo’s Steel Bone shield and forcing him to one knee.
• Emma Frost flooded the control network with absurd images, allowing Tony’s full-power EMP to break the cone and scatter the formation.
• Emma Frost detected a remote control source with a signal delay, and Ye Mo urged Tony and Emma to trace it while he continued defending the laboratory.

Ye Mo, Tony, and Emma destroyed the attacking drones after Ye Mo identified their rear thrusters as weak points. They suspected the attack had been a test, and set out to trace the operators before they could erase more evidence.

• Ye Mo used the system to identify the drones’ rear thrusters as their energy nodes and warned Tony to target them.
• Emma disrupted the drones’ signals long enough for Tony to destroy most of the formation with armor-piercing attacks.
• Ye Mo spotted the last drones’ attempt to escape upward, and Tony used dive-lock mode to destroy them.
• Tony found that the remote operator had cut the connection and erased its tracks, while Emma suspected the attack had tested their abilities and teamwork.
• Tony assigned J.A.R.V.I.S. to gather wreckage and surveillance footage as Emma searched for psychic traces and Ye Mo urged the team to pursue the enemy immediately.
• Tony, Emma, and Ye Mo left the battlefield to follow the trail toward the operators.

Ye Mo and Tony tracked the attackers to an abandoned factory, where they discovered Killian’s remnants had joined a new organization to build a psychic-suppression mothership. They infiltrated the factory and prepared to strike before the system was complete.

• Tony arrived to collect the badly injured Ye Mo, and they agreed to pursue the attackers instead of waiting for J.A.R.V.I.S.’s analysis.
• Tony followed a heat-source trail toward the eastern industrial district while Ye Mo sensed the electronic barrier protecting the area.
• They found an abandoned factory guarded by masked technicians and used Tony’s miniature drone to scout inside.
• Tony and Ye Mo discovered a mothership-class control hub designed for large-scale psychic suppression, bearing the Extremis insignia and the code X-7-Δ.
• Ye Mo concluded that Killian’s remnants had merged with a new organization, and he and Tony slipped into the factory’s steel framework to prepare an attack.

Ye Mo and Tony destroyed the mothership’s fuel compartment while trying to stop its restart, but a powerful modified enemy emerged and disrupted Ye Mo’s Lightning Control. They discovered a device on the man’s neck and wounded him, then braced for his renewed attack as the self-destruct countdown continued.

• A guard spotted Ye Mo and Tony, triggering an alarm and forcing them to attack before the technicians could restart the mothership.
• Ye Mo used Lightning Control to incapacitate guards and disable turrets, while Tony fired missiles that damaged the mothership.
• When the enemy force advanced and a technician restarted the control system, Ye Mo electrified the floor so Tony could destroy the fuel compartment.
• A dark-energy wielder emerged from the underground passage, injured Ye Mo and Tony, disrupted Ye Mo’s Lightning Control, and jammed their communications.
• Ye Mo noticed an implanted device on the enemy’s neck, and Tony’s shot destabilized the man’s energy attack before Ye Mo struck him with another electrical arc.
• The enemy gathered dark energy again as the self-destruct countdown continued, and Ye Mo and Tony stood together to face him.

Ye Mo and Tony defeated the dark-energy-enhanced enemy and escaped the factory before its destruction. As the city celebrated their rescue, Ye Mo accepted that he was no longer merely trying to survive but was protecting others.

• Tony distracted the shadowy figure while Ye Mo overloaded the control implant in its neck, causing the enemy to disintegrate and the factory countdown to stop.
• Ye Mo and Tony surveyed the wreckage, and Tony suspected someone beyond Killian had created the enhanced enemy.
• Emma Frost arrived by aircraft, checked on the injured Ye Mo, and took him and Tony back to the city.
• A crowd welcomed the heroes in the central square, where a child gave Ye Mo a drawing and Ye Mo asked Tony to call him by his name.
• Emma Frost departed, and Ye Mo and Tony left the square together as the city resumed its morning routine.