Maya began to tell us everything truthfully. That the Mandarin and the Ten Rings were all fake, and that A.I.M. was manipulating everything from behind the scenes. When asked why they had used the name 'Ten Rings', she said it was because it was the most secretive and famous terrorist organization.
"I see. So they're not the real Ten Rings. But you made a mistake. The real Ten Rings is not an easy opponent. I don't know much about them either, but I know they are a large-scale criminal organization specializing in mercenary work and assassination, with a long history. Dr. Hansen, you will spend the rest of your life being hunted by the Ten Rings."
"Oh no..."
That was the truth. The Ten Rings would not just let someone impersonate them. In the original story, they went as far as to break into prison to kidnap the actor Trevor Slattery, who had played the Mandarin. In a way, it might be the punishment for joining a terrorist group. To be unable to move freely and live in fear forever.
"Sigh... I suppose it can't be helped. Dr. Hansen, I'll hire you. Work for my company. If you want to live, it's best to operate near us, so you have no choice."
"Ah... okay."
With this, I obtained Maya Hansen. We first moved to Gundam Island to resupply and rest for a day. It was almost Christmas, so I asked the Vulture if he was okay.
"Toomes, are you sure? Your daughter won't like it."
"Boss, it's fine. I've already told my family. This is my first mission, and I want to see it through myself. Instead, after this is over, I'll need to make it up to my daughter, so give me some time off."
"Okay."
Honestly, I felt a bit sorry for Toomes's family, for being a bad boss. I thought I should get something for Toomes's daughter, Liz, later.
The next day, after everyone prepared, we moved to the Mandarin's base. I also informed Deadpool of this.
-Wow~ Jin, this is moving fast!
"How's Tony?"
-We almost got our asses handed to us by some guys with nightclubs in their bodies, but we're alive.
"Then meet us at the enemy's base. The address is..."
-Great! A blood-soaked battle, camaraderie—all that stuff awaits me.
We positioned the Odyssey-class ship in stealth mode near the base and prepared a surprise attack. The plan was simple. Since there were no hostages to rescue, just go in, fight, and take over.
As we were preparing and standing by, a Talaria crashed onto the roof of the enemy base. Deadpool got out and started cutting down the security guards. Tony slowly emerged behind him, frowning and holding his head. Seeing that, Captain America looked flustered and said,
"...Let's go too."
"Y-yeah..."
We also left the Odyssey-class ship, entered the base, and helped Deadpool take care of the security guards. I went over to Tony and checked on him.
"Tony, are you okay?"
Tony looked at me with a serious expression and gave me some advice.
"Jin, listen carefully. You're great, but... if I had to point out one problem, it seems you need to choose your friends more carefully."
"..."
If Tony was saying this, I could only imagine how much he had suffered at Deadpool's hands. Honestly, I wanted to say it too. That this wasn't what I wanted.
Anyway, Tony and I also joined the fight against the security guards. Tony was doing fairly well with weapons cobbled together from random spare parts. I took out my cane sword and used it to knock out enemies, subduing them.
Bam! Thump! Pow!
"Ugh!" "Ah!" "Oof!"
We took care of the outside guards and entered the mansion. Inside the mansion, on the second floor, was Trevor Slattery, the actor playing the Mandarin, along with some women. In the basement was Dr. Maya Hansen's lab. Killian and his men who had been injected with Extremis were nowhere to be seen. Tony and I went to the lab first to see if there was any useful data.
I took all the research data, and Tony checked the computer, reviewing A.I.M.'s activities. The problem was that among the targets were Pepper and the President. Seeing that, Tony, worried about Pepper, urgently asked me,
"Jin! Where is Pepper now?"
"She's safe on the Odyssey-class ship."
"Odyssey? What's that?"
"It's a base / ship I built. It's nearby; I'll show you later."
"Anyway, Pepper is safe?"
"Yeah, I was with her, so of course nothing happened."
"I suppose so. Anyway, take a look at this."
Tony turned the monitor to show me the target list.
"These crazy people have lost their minds."
"Tell me about it."
I tossed Tony a headset and said,
"Tony, let Rhodes know about this. I need to let the other members and S.H.I.E.L.D. know too."
"Got it."
I alerted the members via earpiece.
"Everyone, the President is also on A.I.M.'s target list. Captain, inform the S.H.I.E.L.D. Director about this."
Hearing that, Natasha couldn't believe her ears.
-What? Did I hear that right? The President?
"Yeah."
Hearing that, Toomes was also surprised.
-Boss, this is getting bigger and bigger, isn't it?
Just then, Captain America, apparently finished contacting S.H.I.E.L.D., told us.
-S.H.I.E.L.D. says they'll handle the cleanup here. We need to head to Washington quickly to protect the President.
-Understood.
After restraining the unconscious guards and Trevor Slattery, we split up into Talarias and returned to the Odyssey-class ship. Tony and Deadpool seemed very impressed.
"Wow... When did you make this?"
"Remember that missing luxury yacht I mentioned at the hearing?"
"Ah... so this is it."
Just then, Pepper ran over and hugged Tony.
"Tony, do you know how worried I've been?"
Tony patted Pepper's back, reassuring her. We immediately moved to Washington D.C. While we were resting in the living room, Tony said,
"I've tried several times, but I can't get in touch with Rhodes. Something might have already happened."
Hearing that, Natasha said,
"This is insane. Are these guys really going all the way? Does anyone have the President's contact info or know where he is?"
Just then, Captain America answered.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has probably already contacted him. But just in case, let's go there ourselves."
During the journey, Tony examined the Vulture's equipment. He and Tinkerer exchanged various opinions. As expected of a fellow tech enthusiast, Tony was very interested.
As we were almost there, Captain America said,
"Everyone knows, but a ship this big can't enter Washington D.C., so we'll use the Talarias. Vulture, you'd better stay nearby as well. We'll call for support if things get dangerous."
"Got it, Cap."
Having worked together, Captain America and the Vulture seemed to have become close. That was a good thing for me. There's nothing more gratifying than seeing a villain become a hero, recognized by the people.
We took the Talarias and moved to Washington D.C. Of course, they didn't fly. As we were entering, we saw smoke rising from the White House.
"No! Are we too late?"
We rushed into the White House, but we saw several people injured and fallen, surrounded by paramedics moving them and armed soldiers guarding the White House. Captain America quickly went over to the soldiers, heard the situation, and came back to explain.
"Apparently, Rhodes betrayed us and kidnapped the President."
Hearing that, Tony got angry.
"That's impossible. Rhodes must have been kidnapped too."
I tried to calm Tony down.
"Tony, don't worry. Everyone here knows that. Someone else must have been wearing the War Machine armor."
"Sigh... I suppose so... Come to think of it, I heard A.I.M. had modified the War Machine armor for Rhodes. Those bastards!"
"That means they've been planning this for a long time."
Things had changed significantly from the original story. With their base attacked, they seemed to have grown impatient and kidnapped the President directly from the White House, rather than from Air Force One.
"First, let's ask Dr. Hansen if there are any other locations."
We returned to the Odyssey-class ship and asked Dr. Hansen. She recalled that they had been conducting experiments on soldiers at a certain port. But she didn't know the exact location.
As everyone was thinking, I stepped up and offered to track it down.
"Leave it to me. I'll track A.I.M.'s assets and find the port."
Hearing that, Captain America told the members,
"Then let's search TV and the internet. A.I.M. kidnapped the President, so they might try to make a statement through the media again."
I immediately had Minerva track A.I.M.'s assets. One of the ports they owned came up, and I informed the members. Hearing the port's location, Captain America said,
"Good, let's head to the port immediately. Everyone, be ready for battle within 10 minutes."
Tony, still very angry, contacted JARVIS.
"JARVIS, initiate the 'House Party Protocol'."
Hearing that, Deadpool got excited and slapped me on the shoulder.
"Oh~ my god! Jin, did you hear that? Tony's going to do it. I'm going to pee my pants!"
"Yeah, yeah."
The Odyssey-class ship moved to the port owned by A.I.M., and we began preparing for battle. Deadpool, overexcited, kept talking to Tony. Captain America watched them and asked me,
"That guy, does he have some kind of mental problem?"
"He does. Cancer cells spread throughout his body, so to survive, he participated in a strange experiment. He gained a healing factor, but the cancer cells and the healing factor are constantly fighting each other. His brain is no exception. In a way, he's a pitiful guy. It's annoying, but please understand."
"I see..."
Tony, annoyed by Deadpool's chatter, was shouting at him. Captain America watched, looking very sorry for Deadpool. Seeing Captain America look at Deadpool with such sympathetic eyes, I wanted to say something, but it seemed fine, so I let it be.
Thus, we arrived at the port where Killian and his men were located. Although it was dark, the port was well-lit with various floodlights to prevent intruders. From a distance, we observed the port from the Odyssey-class ship. We saw the President, wearing the War Machine armor, suspended by a wire between the tall crane towers used for moving containers.
Tony spotted the President and asked me,
"I found the President, but where's Rhodes?"
"It looks like he's inside one of the port buildings. Odyssey! Thermal sensor."
[Understood, Master.]
When I requested a thermal sensor, the Odyssey-class ship displayed a thermal image of the entire port. A few people were visible inside the port's crane control tower. One of them appeared to be tied up, and it looked like Rhodes.
"Isn't that Rhodes, tied up over there?"
"Yeah."
Captain America, who had been watching, explained the plan.
"Then let's split into two teams. The first team will rescue the President and create a diversion. The second team will sneak in and rescue Rhodes. First team: Vulture, Jin, Deadpool, me. Second team: Natasha, Tony."
"Got it." "Got it, Cap." "Okay, Cap."
We prepared for the operation. Tony said goodbye to Pepper.
"I'll be back."
"Be careful."
Once ready, we approached the port from all directions. There were far more of Killian's men than in the original story. It seemed they had staked everything on this event, bringing in all the Extremis soldiers who had been carrying out terrorist attacks nationwide.
-Let's begin.
At Captain America's signal, the Vulture emerged and launched several small missiles, taking out the soldiers near the President first.
Poof! Poof!
"Now!"
I also went out, throwing cards infused with explosive energy. I started engaging the soldiers. Even if their arms or legs were blown off, they regenerated immediately, so I had no choice but to aim for their bodies or heads. Deadpool was also struggling. He was just hacking away with his adamantium sword, relying on his own body, but they kept regenerating, so he was quite flustered.
Moreover, the Extremis soldiers weren't just fighting barehanded; they were also armed with guns, making it hard to get to the President. The Vulture and I, with our decent firepower, were slowly carving a path.
-Boss! There are too many of them!
"Killian must be betting everything on this."
Looking to the side, Captain America seemed busy fighting Savin, Killian's right-hand man.
"This isn't working. Vulture! First, rescue the President and get him to safety. I'll cut the wire."
-Got it! Boss.
Using the containers as footholds, I jumped and precisely threw a card to cut the wire holding the President. The Vulture then extended an eagle-like claw device from his foot, quickly snatched the President, and started to exit the port.
-Boss! I'll be back quickly. Cover our rear!
"Got it."
I said I understood, but with the Vulture gone, a large number of Extremis soldiers started converging on us, slowly surrounding us.
-Jin, this is dangerous!
Hearing Captain America's urgent voice, I thought about whether I should use my other abilities here.
Just then, Tony's voice was heard.
-Did you wait? Well, you're in for a treat!
As Tony finished speaking, numerous Iron Man armors began flying in from the sky.