“We are not cowards. But what we face now is a kind of terror we cannot comprehend. It has no flag, no unified face…”
Inside Tony Stark’s underground laboratory, the U.S.
President was delivering a televised address on a holographic news screen.
However, the President’s solemn face suddenly dissolved into static.
A bizarre image forcibly cut into the broadcast.
The background resembled some ancient Eastern temple.
A man dressed in robes, with a long beard and rings covering his fingers, sat calmly in a chair.
His voice had been processed through a voice modulator, giving it a hoarse, imposing quality reminiscent of an ancient oracle.
“Some call me a terrorist. I consider myself a teacher.”
“America, your game of war is over.”
“Because I have arrived.”
Behind the man, a symbol consisting of two crossed curved blades surrounded by ten rings was clearly emblazoned on the wall.
The Ten Rings.
Clink!
The high-precision torque wrench slipped from Tony’s hand and struck the cold floor with a crisp metallic sound.
Around the laboratory, the robotic arms controlled by JARVIS continued assembling armor components in an orderly fashion.
Welding sparks and the hum of machinery blended together into an industrial symphony.
But Tony couldn’t hear any of it anymore.
The moment he saw that symbol, every sound in his world seemed to vanish.
All that remained was the muffled pounding of his heart inside his chest.
The caves of Afghanistan.
Cold.
Damp.
The stench of motor oil mingled with blood.
A car battery.
Crude tools.
And the electromagnet in his chest that could take his life at any moment.
That symbol had once been emblazoned on the flags carried by the terrorists who had kidnapped him.
It had been stamped onto the armbands of every man who had beaten and abused him.
That was where his nightmare had begun.
“My name is the Mandarin.”
On the television, the man calling himself “the Mandarin” announced the arrival of another attack in the tone of a preacher delivering a sermon.
The screen changed again.
A military base had been reduced to ruins.
Flames shot into the sky as thick black smoke billowed across the scene.
Tony abruptly raised a hand and swiped through the air.
“JARVIS, shut it off.”
The holographic screen vanished instantly, and the laboratory returned to its previous lighting.
But the chill he’d brought back from those caves had already begun creeping up his spine, wrapping itself around his heart.
He had thought that he’d buried that part of his past beneath layers of steel armor.
Now the past had come looking for him.
“Sir, your heart rate has exceeded 140 beats per minute, and your blood pressure is rising rapidly.”
JARVIS’s voice contained no emotion.
Yet somehow, that clinical observation irritated Tony more than any words of comfort could have.
“I’m fine.”
He bent down and picked up the wrench.
He tried tightening a bolt again, but his trembling fingers made the simple task extraordinarily difficult.
··········
Meanwhile, at the Stark Industries headquarters…
Happy Hogan, Tony’s former personal bodyguard and current Head of Security, stood with a serious expression as he stared at the wall of surveillance monitors.
He wore a crisp suit, a brand-new identification badge hanging from his chest.
He’d even shaved his chin until it gleamed, doing his best to look worthy of his new title.
His responsibilities had changed.
He was no longer merely responsible for keeping an eye on his troublesome boss twenty-four hours a day.
Now he was responsible for the security of all of Stark Industries.
And, most importantly…
Protecting Ms.
Pepper Potts.
On one of the screens, Pepper was speaking with a visitor in a conference room.
The man’s name was Aldrich Killian, a man who claimed to be a scientist.
He was handsome, charming, and had hair that was meticulously styled.
Happy watched him through the surveillance cameras.
The more he looked at Killian, the less he liked him.
It was a glowing diagram of the human brain.
“Extremis can unlock the repair protocols that have been abandoned inside the human brain. It can regenerate lost limbs and even rewrite the DNA of an entire organism.”
Kilian’s voice was filled with seductive confidence.
Pepper listened attentively, wearing a professional smile mixed with genuine curiosity.
Happy curled his lip in the security room.
Regenerate lost limbs?
That sounded like something a street-corner snake-oil salesman would promise.
He stared at Killian’s excessively enthusiastic face.
Then he looked at how close the man was getting to Pepper.
An inexplicable anger began rising inside him.
He pulled out his phone and called Tony.
The phone rang for a long time before it was finally answered.
“What is it?”
Tony’s voice sounded distant, with the harsh scraping of metal in the background.
“Boss, it’s me, Happy.”
Happy lowered his voice like a schoolkid secretly reporting on a classmate.
“There’s this guy named Killian bothering Pepper. He says he can make people grow new arms and legs. I think he’s a con man. He looks like a male model, which means he can’t be trusted. Do you want to—”
“I’m busy right now, Happy.”
Tony impatiently cut him off.
“Pepper can handle herself. If he’s really bothering her, tell her to call security.”
“You’re security.”
The call ended.
Happy stood there holding the phone, stunned.
He knew his boss hadn’t been in the best state lately, but being brushed aside like that still hurt.
He, Happy Hogan, Head of Security at Stark Industries—
Did Tony really think he couldn’t recognize a suspicious person when he saw one?
No.
He couldn’t rely on his boss.
And Pepper was far too kind.
He had to investigate this himself.
From that day onward, Happy kept an eye on Killian.
Using his position, he accessed all of Killian’s available records.
He discovered that Killian was the scientist Tony had stood up at the 1999 New Year’s Eve party in Switzerland.
But everything else about his background was suspiciously clean.
That only made Happy more suspicious.
How could a genuine scientific genius have absolutely no dirt in his past?
An opportunity soon presented itself.
Several days later, one evening, Happy noticed that Killian’s driver and bodyguard, a man named Eric Savin, had left alone in a car.
Happy had seen Savin before.
He had a particularly intimidating gaze that always made Happy uncomfortable.
Without giving it much thought, Happy got into his own car and followed from a distance.
Savin drove all the way to the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
The area outside the theater was packed with people and blazing with lights.
Some kind of movie premiere was taking place.
Savin didn’t enter the theater.
Instead, he stopped in a dark corner beside the building, carrying a silver briefcase as he made his way into the crowd.
Happy parked his car on the side of the road and followed him.
He pushed his way through excited moviegoers and tourists, his eyes locked firmly on Savin’s broad back.
Eventually, Savin stopped in a secluded corridor.
Another man was waiting there.
The man looked nervous.
His face was pale, his forehead covered in sweat, and he kept rubbing his hands together.
“Did you bring it?”
The man spoke urgently.
His name was Jack Taggart.
Savin expressionlessly opened the briefcase.
Inside were neither money nor weapons.
Instead, rows of syringes glowed faintly in the case, each filled with some kind of luminous liquid.
“This is the latest dosage.”
Savin took out one of the syringes and handed it to Taggart.
“Inject it, and your problem will be solved.”
Taggart accepted the syringe.
His hands were trembling violently, as though he’d just been handed a lifeline.
Happy hid around the corner, his heart pounding.
Killian’s so-called Extremis!
They were actually conducting a deal like this right here!
He took a deep breath and straightened his suit and tie.
For a moment, he felt like a lone hero straight out of a movie.
He couldn’t wait any longer.
He needed evidence.
Happy strode out and blocked the two men.
“Hey! You two. Mind if I take a look at what you’ve got there?”
Happy struck what he considered an intimidating pose and slapped a hand against the spot on his waist where a gun wasn’t actually present.
Taggart jumped in fright, nearly dropping the syringe.
Savin’s expression immediately turned cold.
He recognized Happy.
“Stark’s lapdog.”
“Head of Security,” Happy corrected him.
He reached out to snatch the briefcase.
“According to regulations, suspicious, illegal, and illicit transactions like this require the goods to be temporarily placed in my custody.”
Savin was far faster than him.
He didn’t bother dodging.
Instead, he simply threw a punch directly at Happy’s face.
Happy had trained in boxing and instinctively raised an arm to block.
But the force behind that punch far exceeded anything he’d expected.
It felt like being struck by a sledgehammer.
His entire arm went numb.
“You…”
Happy hadn’t even finished speaking when Savin’s second punch arrived.
He had no time to react.
A sharp pain exploded through his abdomen, and his entire body doubled over like a boiled shrimp.
Savin didn’t stop.
He grabbed Happy by the collar and lifted him into the air like a helpless kitten before viciously slamming him against the nearby wall.
Bang!
The back of Happy’s head struck the wall.
Stars exploded across his vision.
But the stubbornness buried deep in his bones kicked in.
He clung desperately to Savin’s arm and refused to let go.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Taggart had already fled during the chaos.
Only one thought remained in Happy’s mind.
I can’t let him take the case.
“Let go.”
Savin’s voice was utterly devoid of warmth.
“You let go fi—”
Savin didn’t give him the chance to finish.
His other hand clamped around Happy’s throat.
A suffocating pressure immediately closed in.
Happy’s face turned a deep red.
Just when he thought he was going to die right there, he summoned the last of his strength and kicked Savin directly in the knee.
Savin apparently hadn’t expected him to still have enough strength to fight back.
His knee buckled slightly, and the pressure of his grip loosened by half.
Happy seized the opportunity.
He tore himself free and staggered toward the briefcase lying on the ground.
He wasn’t Savin’s match.
But he had to get the case.
It was his duty as Head of Security.
It was also his promise to Tony and Pepper.
He wrapped both arms around the case.
Before he could even regain his footing, tremendous force struck him from behind.
Savin kicked him squarely in the back.
Happy’s entire body was sent flying.
He crashed heavily onto the steps outside the theater.
The briefcase flew from his hands and tumbled several times across the ground.
The surrounding tourists cried out in alarm and hurriedly backed away.
Happy struggled to get back onto his feet.
Instead, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.
He looked at Savin approaching step by step.
For the first time, a cruel smile appeared on the man’s cold face.