40.

Natalie watched the scene unfold with growing dread, fearing what Kai might do with the firepower and contacts associated with Stark's weapons division.

The potential consequences of this deal weighed heavily on her mind.

Kai, having finalized his deal with Stark, turned away and casually snapped his fingers. A wave of sandblasted through the cave, followed by a loud explosion that obliterated every weapon stored inside.

The explosion echoed in the stillness of the desert, and a shadowy figure swiftly returned to Kai, merging into his form. He nodded in satisfaction, thinking to himself, 'Well, that worked just fine...'

After months of training with Leo, he had found several uses for his cursed energy using Leo as a means to release a wave of dismantle attack being one of them. However, it was a one-off attack with him having to transfer his cursed energy manually onto Leo's spirit, but it worked well for long-distance attacks.

He turned around nodding at Stark, "Can't have 'my' weapons in the hands of the terrorists now can we?"

Natalie kept her expression neutral, hiding her internal turmoil. She had seen what Kai was capable of, and the destruction he could wreak with Stark's resources was terrifying. She had to find a way to keep him in check and let Fury know about his progressions.

"Can we leave now?" Stark said clicking his tongue as Kai checked his watch,

"Sure, our rides should be right here..." As soon as Kai finished speaking a helicopter came flying in, kicking up a whirlwind of sand. Kai gestured for the team to get in. Tony and Yinsen moved quickly, eager to leave the desolate scene behind. Just as Natalie was about to board the helicopter, Kai raised his hand, stopping her.

"Natalie, you go ahead in the buggy," he commanded, "We do need to return borrowed stuff, don't you think?"

"Can't we have someone do it instead?" she asked awkwardly, pretending to be frail.

Kai shrugged nonchalantly. "What do you think I hired you for?"

The helicopter began to lift off, leaving Natalie behind. She let out a chuckle of disbelief as she watched it rise into the sky. Once the helicopter was out of sight, she took a deep breath and pulled out her phone, dialing Fury's number.

"Director Fury," she said as soon as he picked up, "it's Natalie. I've got a lot to report."

"Go ahead," Fury replied, his tone serious.

"First, Kai successfully negotiated with Stark. He now has control over Stark's weapons division. This is bad news, Fury."

Fury's silence urged her to continue. "He's unfathomable, Fury. His power is on a scale I can't fully comprehend, at least not as of now. Compared to the footage we had from the X-Men jets, it's nothing. I couldn't see him attack the terrorists but looking at how the scenario unfolded they didn't even have a fighting chance. And he still hasn't donned his black armor yet."

"I see," Fury responded, his voice thoughtful. "What about his objectives? Did he reveal any plans?"

"Not explicitly," Natalie admitted, "but from what I've seen, he's methodical and ruthless. He ordered me to kill without hesitation. His influence and power are growing, and with Stark's resources, he's even more dangerous."

She hesitated, then added, "Fury, my gut is telling me to back away from this operation. He's too powerful and my instincts are screaming at me that he has me figured out."

Fury's voice was firm. "Natalie, we need you in there. You're our eyes and ears. I understand the risk, but you're our best shot at keeping tabs on him. I need you to stay."

Natalie sighed, feeling the weight of her decision. "Understood, Director. I'll stay. But be ready for anything. Kai is unlike anyone we've ever faced."

"The quickest we can do so is to figure out for certainty if he's a mutant or not. So work on that." Fury replied before ending the call.

Natalie put her phone away and got into the buggy, her mind racing with thoughts of what Kai might do next. She started the engine and drove through the desert, her determination mingling with the fear she couldn't shake. She had to find a way to stop him, or at least slow him down. But for now, she had to play her part and stay close to the monster she was supposed to be keeping in check.

----------------

"Was it the right call?" Tony couldn't help but ask as he watched Natalie's figure grow smaller as the helicopter took off.

"She'll be fine." Kai shook it off with a playful smile on his face, "You're much more... how should I put this 'caring' than I expected or do you just fancy her?"

"Talking about caring, what about your friend here?" Kai pointed at Yinsen, "Are you sure you're going to keep him around?"

"I'll deal with my business, myself," Tony interjected drawing a line, letting him know that Yinsen was off limit as Kai smirked, clearly amused. "Fair enough, Stark."

Tony glared at Kai, the tension between them palpable. Yinsen shifted uncomfortably, sensing the underlying hostility.

"So, how did you find me when the US military couldn't?" Tony asked, eager to divert the conversation away from Yinsen.

"I am not too certain, it was all Natalie..." Kai said but with an interesting play in his mind ready, he leaned forward and said, "But I do know who kidnapped you."

"Who?" Tony asked, his eyes narrowing with suspicion.

"The group that kidnapped you is known as the Ten Rings, led by an immortal who's unwilling to die as of yet, Xu Wenwu. Also known as The Mandarin, The Last Khan, Conqueror... yadi yadi yada." Kai said looking out at the scenery beneath them, "But I am certain that they were hired to do so, so maybe look within your command and find the perpetrator."

"Immortal?" Tony scoffed, "Is that a title or-"

"No, he's actually quite immortal." Kai shrugged, "With your resources, you should be able to verify things easily, so just consider this good faith."

Watching Tony delve into contemplation, Kai stayed silent as well.

Destiny was the thing he was fighting against more than anything else.

With how he had changed Rogue's origin and destiny, the difference between the previous Rogue who he had read about was unrecognizable to the current Rogue he had managed to manipulate against Destiny.

What effects would that bring upon them, he had to wait and see but now he wanted to know what would happen if he supported destiny in its route.

Of course, saving Tony Stark before he was tortured further and saving him the weight of Yinsen's death on his hands was going against destiny as is but with him taking upon the Weapon's Division which started off the heated battle in Tony's life, he was setting things back in track as it was always supposed to be.

Kai's eyes lingered on the electromagnet stuck on Tony's chest, he wondered if in this new world, he was building, would an IronMan continue to persist in existing or if would he create something more devastating and powerful than just an Iron armor.