The Rescue

Natasha Romanoff, the legendary S.H.I.E.L.D. agent with Level 8 clearance in the field operations department—her identity was something Miss Stark could directly access and look up in S.H.I.E.L.D.'s database. This fact was well known to Miss Stark.

Previously, when Miss Stark had been invited to join S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury had assigned Natasha Romanoff to serve as her assistant, under the guise of personal protection. While secretly fulfilling that role, Natasha also handled various clerical duties.

However, personal protection was one thing, and being an assistant was another. Miss Stark was fully aware of why Nick Fury had placed Agent Romanoff by her side. While Natasha was indeed one of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s most skilled operatives, her presence also meant that Miss Stark was constantly under Fury's surveillance.

The so-called "clerical duties" were merely a cover to gather useful information and relay it back to S.H.I.E.L.D. However, Miss Stark didn't think she had anything to hide, so even though Agent Romanoff had been by her side for two months, she had yet to uncover any valuable intel.

The Extremis Virus project had been completed long before Miss Stark joined S.H.I.E.L.D., and this was the one project that needed to remain hidden. S.H.I.E.L.D. had no knowledge of it. In fact, even when she traveled to Seoul, South Korea, S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't paid attention; otherwise, Nick Fury would have questioned her long ago.

For two months, Agent Romanoff had found nothing while working with Miss Stark—until today, when the appearance of William Baker shattered the silence and provided Natasha with something finally worth reporting. This led to Nick Fury showing up, bringing along a team of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s top agents.

As for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s involvement in this matter, Miss Stark understood the reasoning behind it. At present, the number of known superhumans—these so-called superheroes—was still incredibly small, a mere handful at best.

Since Captain America's return to S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury had kept a close eye on the abilities of this super-soldier. Not to mention, there were also the Fantastic Four, Peter Parker (Spider-Man) along with his various foes, and even Captain Marvel, who had once fought alongside Fury in the 1980s. Fury had witnessed firsthand just how powerful that woman was.

Although Miss Stark didn't know exactly how Peter's adversaries had awakened their powers, it was clear that the world was on the brink of significant change—and Nick Fury, though wearing an eyepatch, was no fool.

If S.H.I.E.L.D. wanted to maintain its authority in this rapidly transforming world, it needed to assemble a team of superhumans, just like how Captain America had led the Howling Commandos during World War II. Only then could they effectively counter the crimes committed by superhuman villains.

When S.H.I.E.L.D. agents embedded within the Disaster Control Company reported the appearance of a man capable of turning into sand, Nick Fury took this very seriously. He believed this could be the starting point for his superhuman task force, so he rushed from S.H.I.E.L.D.'s headquarters in Washington to New York.

But here was the issue—would Miss Stark willingly hand over the construction materials expert she had her eye on to S.H.I.E.L.D. as their frontline soldier against villains? Of course not. She had been watching William Baker for a long time. There was no way she would let S.H.I.E.L.D. swoop in at the last minute and take him. No chance—she wasn't going to hand him over to S.H.I.E.L.D.

With this in mind, she immediately stepped forward, her face cold, grabbed Nick Fury by the collar, and dragged him into the doctor's office.

"Should we... stop her? He is our boss, after all," asked Agent Phil Coulson, showing a rare bit of concern as he watched his boss being dragged off by Miss Stark. But his question was met with eye-rolls from both Maria Hill and Natasha Romanoff, who looked at him as if he were an idiot for even suggesting it.

In the end, no one stopped Nick Fury from being pulled away. Neither the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents nor the police commissioner intervened, leaving everyone waiting in the hallway while the two inside the doctor's office sought a solution.

"This man is mine, and don't even think about taking him away! Do you hear me?!" Miss Stark stood with her arms crossed, leaning against the file cabinet, her face adorned with a mocking smile as she glared coldly at Nick Fury. Fury, for his part, wasn't about to back down, staring right back at her.

"You know he's dangerous. I have to take him, to make sure he doesn't pose a threat to society."

"Nick, do you really think I'm a child? I have access to the Avengers project."

Hearing Fury's justification, Miss Stark's smile grew even more disdainful.

"The reason you want to take him back is simple—you want to build your superhero team, implementing your own monitoring system."

"But have you thought about this? By ignoring his will, you're potentially creating an enemy for S.H.I.E.L.D. for no reason."

"Do me a favor—let him choose for himself. Whether to become a secret agent for you, or to stay and work for me."

Miss Stark laid everything out on the table for Nick Fury to consider. After some careful thought, Fury decided to give her that courtesy. However, he had one condition of his own.

"He has a criminal record, and I don't care why. But if he does anything to endanger society, I will have my agents on him immediately, so—make sure you handle it carefully."

With that, the head of S.H.I.E.L.D. left the scene, along with his team of agents, departing from the New York State University Medical Center.

"What an unreasonable bastard—"

Watching Nick Fury's retreating figure, Miss Stark muttered under her breath, clearly annoyed. There was frustration in her voice, as if she hadn't expected to be forced into such a compromising position, especially after having to ask for Fury's help and promise him certain benefits.

Afterward, Miss Stark's attention returned to the father and daughter in the ICU.

The radiation emitting from William Baker's body had stabilized and gradually dissipated after the injection of the ability fusion serum. His physical form had also begun returning to normal, and he was even looking stronger than an average person. His daughter, Penny Baker, had already fallen unconscious from her illness when she was brought in. Had Happy Hogan not arrived in time to bring her to the hospital, the little girl might have been in even greater danger.

Leukemia wasn't the main issue; the real problem was that it couldn't be completely cured. It could only be managed to prolong her life. Miss Stark had the Extremis Virus, which could guarantee a cure and potentially turn Penny into a powerful Extremis warrior. But Miss Stark was hesitant, unsure if using the Extremis Virus on a child would have unforeseen consequences, such as halting her physical growth or trapping her soul forever in a child's body.

While Miss Stark was torn over what to do, inside the ICU, William Baker had already fallen into a nightmare.

"The experiment is about to begin. All personnel, please evacuate. Countdown: three minutes—"

The concrete shell of the disassembler lowered. William Baker screamed helplessly, calling for someone to save him, but no one could hear. When he escaped from prison, he never expected that the Massachusetts facility where he had been transferred was next to a U.S. military testing site for matter disassembly and reconstruction.

In his panic, he fell into the disassembler, breaking his leg and suffering multiple injuries from the several-meter fall. He was unable to climb the vertical walls of the machine, lying helpless in the sand pile, his calls for help unheard. The countdown felt like the tolling of the bell marking his death—yet his daughter, far away in New York, was also facing a life-threatening situation. He had to find a way out, but what could he do?

Time passed quickly, and the three-minute countdown—just 180 seconds—soon reached zero. As the disassembler powered up, no one heard the desperate cries coming from inside. The blades whirled into a storm, and William Baker, along with countless grains of sand and high levels of gamma radiation, was broken down and reconstituted. The pain he endured during that process was something only he could understand.

It felt as though he was reliving that nightmare once again. As the dream finally ended, William woke up. He found himself lying in an unfamiliar place, struggling to open his eyes and take in his surroundings—he seemed to be in a hospital. And on the bed next to him was his daughter?!

"Penny? Penny!"

"Stop shouting—she just fell asleep. I've already given her the medicine. It's a new drug from Oscorp Pharmaceuticals. I can't guarantee its effectiveness, but your daughter's condition can't be delayed any longer. I didn't want to see her die in that hospital bed, so I had to try the new medicine."

The ICU door opened as Miss Stark walked in, glancing at the waking William on the bed. She pursed her lips, while William still appeared dazed.

With Dr. Helen's assistance, Dr. Curt Connors, who had developed the flawed Goblin Formula, had re-engineered the drug. Thanks to Helen's experience with the Extremis Virus, the Goblin Formula no longer caused negative side effects, though its potency had been reduced and was nowhere near as strong as the version Norman had originally injected himself with.

The initial goal of the Goblin Formula, much like the Extremis Virus, was to create a universal cure. With Dr. Helen's help, Dr. Connors had succeeded, giving Oscorp the leverage it needed to rise again, especially under Miss Stark's leadership.

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