AutumnXd

CHAPTER 18

Under the punishing Afghan sun, Tony Stark was in his element. He stood before a crowd of US military brass and Afghan warlords, a rockstar on a stage of sand and steel.

"They say the best weapon is one you never have to fire," he began, his voice oozing charisma. "I respectfully disagree. I prefer the weapon you only have to fire once." He gestured grandly. "Behold, the Jericho!"

At his signal, the missile system adjusted with a hydraulic hiss. A single rocket screamed i...

CHAPTER 17

"Alright, impressive," Tony said, reclining in his cream leather seat. "But how do I put the marshmallow back in the bag before he tells me I need to floss more?"

Aidan smiled. "Just tell him you're satisfied with his service."

"Okay, Baymax," Tony said, patting the robot's soft belly. "I am satisfied with your service."

As if a switch had been flipped, Baymax deflated with a soft, prolonged hiss, folding neatly back into his charging case.

"What kind of battery is pow...

Chapter 70: Gene Repair

Crack!

With the sound of something fundamental breaking within his body, Ethan was forcibly, brutally, pushed through the watershed. He had successfully broken through to Rank Two, Level One. But this was not over yet. His rank continued to skyrocket like a runaway rocket. Level Two, Level Three… Level Five… Level Eight… Level Nine! A massive payload of refined Aura Cores had directly and violently pushed Ethan's rank from Rank One, Level Nine all the way to Rank T...

Chapter 69: The Search Begins

Marcus looked like someone had just punched him in the gut—furious, frustrated, and barely holding it together. Seraphina sighed and gave him a small, resigned smile.
"Alright, alright. You win. I'll go with you one more time. But look, the beast tide just ended. Most of the monsters out there are already dead. If we're going to do this, now's probably the safest window we'll get."

Marcus's face lit up like a kid on his birthday. Without thinking, he pulled her into a tight...

CHAPTER 16

While Aidan was en route to Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane leaned back in his leather office chair and made the call. The sound of a roaring V12 engine echoed from the other end.

"Tony," Obadiah began, his voice smooth as silk. "I trust you don't mind taking one more passenger on this trip?"

"Of course I don't, Obie, as long as she's a world-class model with questionable morals," Tony Stark's voice shot back, laced with sarcasm. "I'm in the garage, trying to decide which car is w...

CHAPTER 15

A month passed. In the shadowy world of international arms dealing, Obadiah Stane slowly finalized his treacherous arrangements with his contacts in Afghanistan, waiting for the perfect moment to send Tony Stark into the fire.

Miles away, in the stark beauty of the desert, Aidan Parker was playing with fire of his own.

He stood on an open test range under a blistering sun, a pair of immense, silver-white mechanical wings folded against his back. They were sleek, powerful, and made...

Chapter 68: The Mad Doctor 

The Tiger Deacon's clawed hands, which had torn apart psionic soldiers, trembled slightly as he unlaced the Iron Spider web from Ethan's form. He lifted the boy's inert body and carefully moved him into a sterile, open bio-stasis pod, the metallic surface cold and unforgiving. Then, turning with a reverence born of pure terror, he walked to a giant, cylindrical water tank in the center of the lab. He picked up a small, unassuming vial and lightly sprinkled a shimmering, mysterious powd...

Chapter 67: Experimental Subject

In the deep wilderness, three cloaked apostles of the Evolution Cult moved swiftly, carrying their prize. The unconscious Ethan Atherton, still tangled in the Iron Spider web, was their ticket to a new future. Inside his veins, the mysterious liquid they had injected, the "Wolf-Form Beastification Potion," was already beginning its work.

This potion was the latest and most promising achievement of the Cult, the culmination of a century of horrific research. It was designed to do...

Chapter 66: Ethan is Missing

General Valerius's laugh was a harsh bark that echoed across the blood-soaked battlefield. He straddled the massive corpse of the Red-Feathered Eagle, his steel-hardened fists still glowing faintly. With a perfunctory, brutal motion, he smashed the creature's skull and reached into the gory mess, pulling out a fist-sized, pulsating Aura Core.

"Payday," he grunted, wiping gore on his pants. He tossed the E-rank core to the Mayor. "Everett. You need the boost more than I do."

Chapter 65: E-Rank Monster

The shimmering fist-shadow tore through the night, but the Red-Feathered Eagle was preternaturally swift. With a powerful downbeat of its wings, it banked sharply, the psionic projectile set to miss by a hair's breadth.

From the ground, Everett Thorne merely flicked his wrist. "A net, then."

Tendrils of pure darkness, like liquid night, erupted from the air in the eagle's path, weaving themselves into a writhing, inescapable web. The eagle, committed to it...

XGO : V2 Chapter 13: A Study in Scarlet and Static

The chaos on the ground at the Stark Expo was a brutal, asymmetric war. Where Alex, in his Lodestar form, moved with methodical precision, the sky was a different story—a frantic, desperate ballet of survival.

Tony Stark, encased in the red and gold of the Mark VI, was a lone knight besieged by a swarm of mechanical dragons. The aerial Hammer Drones, though clumsy and lacking his suit’s agility, were relentless. They swarmed him, their numbers a suffocating advantage. He weav...

CHAPTER 14

After securing his extended leave of absence from both Principal Angus and a slightly bemused Aunt May, Aidan Parker packed a single, durable duffel bag. His journey took him out of the familiar, bustling streets of Queens and into the shimmering heat haze of the desert. The bus left him on a lonely stretch of highway, where a sleek black car was already waiting. In front of it stood a woman in sharp business attire, her posture stiff with impatience.

The Tandar Experimental Technology ...

CHAPTER 13

Aidan and Logan sat in comfortable silence by the lake, the quiet punctuated only by the gentle lapping of water against the shore. Logan nodded, processing Aidan’s proposal, and was about to speak when his entire body went rigid. His expression went blank, his jaw slack. At that exact moment, Aidan’s eyes snapped to Logan’s fishing line. The red and white bobber, which had been perfectly still, dipped sharply beneath the surface.

Aidan didn't reel in his line. He slowly turned hi...

Chapter 64: Wolf-Form Beastification Potion!

"I can go with you," Ethan's voice was a strained rasp, the fibers of the web digging into his suit, "but I need proof. Proof that my parents are safe."

The Deacon's robed form seemed to radiate an aura of cold amusement. "Proof? Boy, you misunderstand the dynamics of this exchange. You are a specimen to be collected. You are in no position to demand terms." His voice, though modulated, was like the calm surface of a frozen lake—flat, cold, and hiding unknown depths. He paused,...

Chapter 63: Attack!

The world was a muffled, distant roar. Ethan stood over the cooling bodies, his own ragged breathing the only sound he could truly hear. The coppery smell of blood and the sharp, acrid scent of ozone from Aurora's final attack filled his lungs, thick and sickening. He looked down at his hands. They were shaking uncontrollably. He could still feel the phantom sensation of tearing flesh and bone, a horrifying, tactile memory that made his stomach churn.

I killed them. That was...