Chapter 28 Pray to me

The magic of Tandoor lies in its addictiveness. Originally, Pietro had come to convince Wanda to leave New York, but instead, he fell in love with this new food. They ended up eating for three days straight.

During these three days, Wanda and her brother Pietro quickly learned how to eat it correctly with naan.

"Hey, why can't I pick up the potato slices?" Wanda grumbled, fishing around in the broth with her naan but coming up empty.

Pietro smirked and said, "Watch me." He then attempted the same, only to fail just as miserably. "These potatoes are impossible to grab," he muttered, frowning.

Indra chuckled, picked up his naan, and effortlessly fished out four or five slices of potato. Wanda and Pietro both stared at him in amazement. "How did you do that?" they asked in unison.

Indra smiled and replied, "Just lucky, I guess."

Wanda pouted and, like a child whose candy had been taken, reached over to steal the potatoes from Indra's bowl. Indra decided to tease her a bit. "These potatoes are expensive, you know. If you want them, you'll have to meet my conditions."

Wanda, having spent the past few days getting to know Indra's playful nature, wasn't easily deterred. With a mischievous grin, she used her powers and declared, "I want all the potatoes in your bowl to come to mine!"

To her astonishment, nothing happened. Her bowl remained unchanged. She looked at Indra, baffled. Her control over reality had never failed her before. Why now?

Pietro was equally shocked. "What's going on?" he asked.

Wanda, her face a mix of confusion and frustration, turned to Indra. "Why isn't it working?" she demanded.

Indra knew the answer. Wanda's power worked by altering probabilities, but his luck was absolute, making it impossible for her to affect him negatively. Even over something as trivial as potatoes.

"Just a bit of good luck," Indra said with a shrug and a smile.

Wanda and Pietro stared at him, dumbfounded. Good luck? Could it really counteract her magic? This seemed impossible. Wanda, who had been upset just moments before, now looked at Indra with newfound admiration. She grabbed his arm, her eyes wide with curiosity. "Do you have some kind of powerful magic too?"

Just then, the television blared with breaking news. "A few days ago, Iron Man declared war on the forces of evil, publicly revealing his home address and challenging them, saying, 'I'm not afraid of you.' The next day, Iron Man's mansion was destroyed in an explosion. According to reports, Iron Man is presumed dead."

The screen cut to a man with a thick beard. "This is a warning to all of you," he said menacingly.

Indra frowned. The man on TV was the Mandarin, but Indra knew he was just an actor. The real mastermind was Killian. This meant that the Extremis virus had already been developed.

"We should probably leave," Pietro said, looking at his phone. He turned to Wanda, who glanced at Indra with a mix of reluctance and sadness.

Indra had his own matters to attend to. "We'll meet again," Wanda said softly, not wanting to part.

Indra nodded. "Yes, we will," he agreed, knowing that their paths would cross sooner than she might think.

Indra sat in front of the television, watching as the Guy, with a cold, menacing expression, declared, "The next warning will come soon."

As the broadcast continued, Indra frowned. Killian's aim was clear: eliminate President Matthew Ellis and install Rodriguez as a puppet leader. Having already attacked Iron Man and destroyed his house, making everyone believe Iron Man was dead, what could this new warning be? Was it a plot to kidnap the President, disguised as the Iron Patriot?

Just as he pondered this, a deafening explosion rocked the air.

Boom!

The blast shook Indra's house. He jumped up, heading for the door, but two more explosions followed quickly.

Boom! Boom!

These were closer. His frown deepened as he rushed outside. The moment he opened the door, smoke and chaos greeted him. The temperature soared, and shouts filled the air.

"Run! Quickly... the children!"

"What is that? Another bomb? Oh my God, it's a fireman! There are so many firemen!"

"Mommy, mommy..."

Amidst the growing explosions, Indra spotted seven or eight people dressed in camouflage uniforms, their faces calm yet cold. They looked more like dangerous figures from TV than fleeing civilians. They walked down the middle of the street, each holding a syringe and injecting themselves in the neck.

Suddenly, those people convulsed in pain. Five or six of them stumbled towards the crowd, seeking escape.

Boom!

An explosion ensued, leaving a charred mark on the ground and filling the air with blood and dismembered bodies. Indra stood stunned. What was happening? Killian wanted to become the secret ruler of the country, but bombing a street? Why?

"Please, where are the heroes? Save us..."

"Iron Man! Save us! I know you're not dead..."

"Someone, please save us..."

Cries for help echoed in his ears. The explosions were rapid and devastating, reducing most of the street to rubble. Corpses and blood were everywhere, with injured people trapped under fallen debris or missing limbs from the blast. Those uninjured ran desperately, creating a scene of utter chaos.

To Indra's surprise, among the seven or eight who injected themselves with Extremis, two had survived and adapted. Was it a coincidence or had the virus been improved?

Suddenly, the sound of crying reached his ears. He frowned, spotting a small boy who had run into the middle of the road and stopped out of fear. The boy looked around frantically.

The terrified boy cried out, "Mom... Mom... where are you?"

Behind him, the two Extremis-enhanced individuals approached. One of them, a man, glanced at the boy with disdain, his body glowing ominously. Indra recognized this move—it signaled the imminent release of flames.

Indra rushed forward, shielding the boy and scooping him up just in time.

Boom!

An explosion sounded, not as deafening as the previous ones, but still powerful. Indra put the boy down, turning to see a group of black-clad agents charging in, led by Maria Hill. They were S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives.

Maria Hill, expressionless, immediately fired another shot at the remaining Extremis-enhanced individual.

Boom!

Another explosion followed, consuming the target in flames. As the chaos settled, the crowd began to cheer in relief.

"Thank you, heroes!"

"Thank you... thank you..."

The street grew quieter. Hill, appearing somewhat satisfied, watched the two burning figures. Her subordinates muttered behind her.

"I thought it would be harder. That was pretty easy."

"Yeah, way simpler than dealing with aliens."

Hill spoke into her earpiece, "Sector A is clear."

Indra frowned at her words and said coldly, "It's not that simple."

Hill glanced at him, her face impassive, and ignored him. One of her junior agents, looking annoyed, said, "They're burned to a crisp. They can't possibly come back from that."

"Exactly, no way they survive such a fire!"

But as they finished speaking, the burning figures moved. Slowly, two fire-scorched individuals emerged, their bodies glowing red.

They had survived.

Hill watched in shock as the two figures, like flaming zombies, roared and emitted deadly signals. Within minutes, the flames receded, and they returned to their original form.

Hill shook her head in disbelief. It was her first time seeing someone recover from such intense flames. Did they have regenerative abilities?

Despite her shock, Hill acted swiftly. Speaking into her earpiece, she reported, "New capability of Extremis subjects confirmed: rapid regeneration."

Just as she finished, a stream of fire shot towards her. She dodged quickly, but her team wasn't as fortunate. The Extremis-enhanced individuals unleashed a fiery blast, decimating Hill's squad.

"Iron Man is dead, S.H.I.E.L.D. is useless. Let's see who you'll pray to now," one of the female Extremis subjects taunted, her voice dripping with arrogance.

But before she could bask in her triumph, a voice responded firmly, "Me!"

The air crackled with tension, and the Extremis subjects turned, their expressions shifting as they faced their new challenger.

...

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