Florida.
A coastal city bathed in warm, humid air. The salty breeze carried the scent of the ocean—so different from California's dry sunlight.
Henry didn't head straight to the AIM headquarters. He wasn't in a rush. After all, when you're on a mission, it doesn't hurt to mix in a bit of sightseeing.
Wearing beach shorts, a floral shirt, and a pair of sunglasses, he looked every bit the casual tourist as he strolled along the sand.
"Mmm… good sunlight, plenty of bikini girls." He took a sip of his chilled coconut drink and smiled faintly. "Sometimes, a vacation really is necessary. I wonder if Tony's still losing his mind over that pile of metal back in the lab."
Just picturing Tony scowling over some malfunctioning alloy lifted his mood.
Brothers existed for one reason—to mess with each other.
Outwardly, Henry looked relaxed, enjoying the view. But his gaze had already pierced through the crowd, through the buildings, all the way to a specific tower in the distance—the AIM headquarters.
In his sight, the concrete and steel faded away. What he saw instead was a vast network of matter and energy.
He could see inside every room. Every staff member. Their heat signatures, their body networks, the faint electromagnetic waves radiating from every piece of equipment in operation.
It wasn't magic. It was his brain processing the full-spectrum data fed by his eyes—eyes capable of perceiving everything from infrared to gamma radiation—and reconstructing it into a detailed model in real time.
"Let's see…"
He focused on a location deep underground—five levels beneath the building—a heavily fortified data vault.
Found it.
Henry's sight drilled deeper, past the layers of metal shielding and encryption. He could see the hard drives spinning at impossible speeds, could see the microscopic magnetic patterns etched across the disk surfaces.
He even saw the trapped flow of electrons within the solid-state memory cells.
His brain worked like a supercomputer. His eyes continued reading, decoding, reconstructing.
In seconds, vast streams of data poured into his mind, decrypted and reassembled into raw information.
Blueprints of the Extremis Virus. Biological programming algorithms. Notes on instability corrections. Clinical trial failure reports.
A sea of data flowed before his eyes—absorbed, memorized, catalogued.
"All done." Henry drained the last of his coconut water and tossed the empty shell into a bin.
"Easier than I thought. Killian might be a paranoid lunatic, but in biotech, he's not half bad. Too bad he chose the wrong path."
Beyond the data, Henry saw something else—the countless failed human experiments that had paved the way for each 'success.'
People turned into living test subjects. Their lives discarded for "science."
Cleaning up this mess was clearly necessary.
But not yet.
Not now.
Killian wasn't just a mad scientist—he was connected to the Vice President, maybe even the Ten Rings.
Henry wasn't afraid of them. He just didn't feel like wasting ten minutes of his day dealing with them.
Better to let them keep growing fat and overconfident—then rip them out by the roots when the time was right.
For now, he was in too good a mood to ruin it with bloodshed.
Besides, with this complete set of Extremis Virus data, Peterson's treatment plan was already as good as done.
"Man, I'm such a kind and efficient boss." He mentally patted himself on the back.
Stretching lazily, he was about to leave and find some local food when his phone buzzed.
He checked the screen—Natasha.
"Hey, Natalie?" he answered with an easy tone. "What's up? Miss me already? Or did the legal team's fossils give you trouble again?"
"Neither, boss," came Natasha's smooth voice. "Pepper just asked me to remind you—you've skipped work for over forty-eight hours. If you don't come back soon, she's threatening to sell your shares to buy Tony a new coffee machine."
"Oh, come on, again?" Henry sighed. "Alright, alright, tell her I'm on my way. I've been doing some very important market research. Got massive results. She's going to love the surprise I'm bringing back."
"I'll let her know," Natasha replied, pausing briefly before adding, "And Henry—be careful."
Henry chuckled. "Relax. No one's been born yet who can make me feel unsafe."
He hung up. The smile on his face slowly faded.
Time to head back.
Honestly, he was just as curious to see the Extremis Virus in person.
Malibu – Stark Laboratory
"JARVIS, run the fusion simulation again. This time, adjust the ratio between vibranium and Uru metal to... I want to see if this balance hits a new peak for conductivity and—well, everything else."
Tony's voice echoed through the cavernous lab.
Ever since returning from Europe, he hadn't slept for two days and nights—but exhaustion couldn't touch him. The Uru metal had him hooked, body and soul.
"As you wish, sir," JARVIS replied as the holographic data began scrolling rapidly across the display.
Banner sat nearby, scribbling notes and sipping high-caffeine coffee. He looked just as absorbed in the experiment.
"Tony, I have a new idea," Banner said, adjusting his glasses. "If we can isolate the frequency of that magical resonance inside the Uru, maybe we can trick it with a custom electromagnetic field—make it synchronize with the vibranium. Force them into harmonic resonance."
"Resonance?" Tony's eyes lit up instantly. "I like it. Like giving them a shared hobby—turning two antisocial metals into best friends. Bruce, you really should get an award."
"Flattery doesn't suit you," Banner muttered with a grin.
Before they could dive back into brainstorming, the lab door slid open.
Henry was back.
Still in beach shorts and a floral shirt, humming some tune, he looked more like a tourist than a superhero.
"Yo, geniuses." He sauntered in, dropped a micro data chip onto the workbench, and smirked. "User manual's here. Every bit of Extremis data—from concept to clinical disasters. Knock yourselves out."
Tony and Banner lunged for the chip like kids on Christmas morning. The moment it loaded, the entire screen flooded with data.
"My God…" Banner breathed. His eyes widened as he scrolled through the diagrams. "This is genius. With this, we can not only cure Peterson—we could actually create a safe, stable regenerative serum!"
Tony's expression darkened. His gaze locked onto a familiar formula—the one he'd scribbled all those years ago.
"Killian…" he growled. "He really did it…"
His eyes snapped to Henry. "How'd it go at AIM?"
"Handled." Henry shrugged casually. "Let's just say I left them a warning. They'll be too busy cleaning up internal chaos to bother anyone for a while."
Of course, he didn't mention that his "warning" involved anonymously leaking every AIM executive's dirt—embezzlement, bribery, affairs, and certain… unconventional hobbies—to their competitors and spouses.
AIM would be imploding for weeks.
"Good," Tony said, visibly relaxing.
"Alright then." Henry clapped his hands. "User manual's delivered. So… where's my donut?"
Tony shot him a look. "In the fridge. Get it yourself."
That smug bastard.
Henry just chuckled inwardly.
Over the next few days, the lab descended into glorious madness once again.
With the complete Extremis database, Peterson's treatment protocol came together quickly.
Under Banner's direction, they reprogrammed the virus—removing instability, rewriting its core commands, turning a volatile explosive into a controlled regenerative tool.
A week later, Michael Peterson woke up.
His explosive power was gone, but his regenerative ability remained. Lost limbs regrew like fingernails. More importantly, his mind was his own again.
Thanks to the Stark brothers, he reunited with his son, Ace, and received a trust fund large enough to keep them safe for life—along with a new identity, far from the chaos.
And that was just the beginning.
"Bruce, you're a damn genius!" Tony exclaimed, staring at the stabilized Extremis sample with genuine awe. "You didn't just cure him—you tamed a monster."
"No, I just stood on the shoulders of giants," Banner replied humbly, glancing at Henry. "It was your data—and that enhanced Super Soldier Serum concept—that gave me the idea."
"Exactly." Henry crossed his arms. "The serum boosts the body's limits, sure, but it's still just enhancement. The Extremis Virus, on the other hand, is about reprogramming and regeneration. Now… what if we combine the two?"
The room went silent.
Tony's breathing quickened. "You mean…"
Henry smiled faintly.
"I mean we create something new. A species that combines the raw power of a Super Soldier with the infinite regeneration of Extremis—and the ability to control the bio-thermal energy it produces as a weapon."
"That's insane," Banner muttered. "Merging two completely different serums… it's like trying to fit one atomic core inside another!"
"That's what makes it fun," Tony said, already grinning as ideas sparked behind his eyes.
He looked at both of them, confidence radiating from his smile.
"Then let's begin, gentlemen."
He extended his hand toward the glowing vials on the table.
"Let's play God."
Another sleepless week of madness passed.
Under JARVIS's computational power and the combined brilliance of three geniuses, a miracle was born.
A vial of faint golden liquid quietly rested in the temperature-controlled chamber.
"We did it." Banner's voice trembled as he stared at the serum before him.
"I'll call it Phoenix." Tony's voice was calm, but his eyes were thoughtful.
"It's not just a serum... it's the possibility of evolution."
"So now the question is," Henry raised a brow, gazing at the vial, "who's going to be the first brave soul to try it?"
Tony and Banner exchanged a look, both frowning slightly.
After all, even if it was theoretically perfect, no one knew what would actually happen once it was injected.
"I will."
A firm voice came from the doorway.
Wanda and Pietro were standing there.
It was Wanda who had spoken.
"Our powers come from our abilities," she said, eyes locked on the vial. "But our bodies are too weak. We don't want to keep being burdens that others have to protect. We want to stand beside you... as equals."
Pietro nodded hard. "Yeah! I'm sick of running errands all the time! I want to know what it feels like to punch through one of those tin cans myself!"
Tony was silent for a moment, then smiled.
"All right... if that's how you feel."
He turned, took out three smaller vials of the Phoenix Serum, and handed two of them to Wanda and Pietro.
The last one, he kept for himself.
"Hey! Tony! Are you insane?!" Banner shouted, eyes wide.
"You already have the super soldier serum in your system! No one knows what happens if you mix the two!"
"I know." Tony looked at the serum in his hand, his gaze calm.
"But Henry keeps getting stronger. As his big brother, I can't let him pull too far ahead."
Before Banner could say another word, Tony injected the serum straight into his arm.
Wanda and Pietro exchanged a look—and did the same.
The next moment, a searing heat erupted from their hearts, spreading through their bodies like wildfire!
"AAAHHH!"
All three of them cried out in agony!
Tony felt every cell in his body ignite, tear apart, and then reform—again and again!
His body, already beyond human limits, was being forcefully broken and rebuilt into something greater!
"Sir!" JARVIS's voice came through at once.
"Your physiological indicators are spiking rapidly! Strength, speed, and cell activity are skyrocketing! Your base strength just broke thirty tons... forty... fifty!"
Wanda and Pietro were undergoing the same transformation.
Their once ordinary human bodies were being completely reconstructed by the Phoenix Serum.
Their bones hardened. Their muscles became denser, tougher.
"Wanda Maximoff—physical integrity, rising exponentially..."
"Pietro Maximoff—structural reinforcement stabilizing..."
But the most astonishing part was the fire.
They could feel a flame burning inside them—a flame they could control at will.
Wanda slowly raised her hand, and a red-and-gold orb of energy ignited in her palm, swirling gently like a living sun.
Pietro grinned and snapped his fingers—silver-white fire danced at his fingertips.
Tony opened his eyes, twin golden lights blazing within them.
He raised his hand toward a nearby reinforced alloy target.
BOOM!
A thick golden beam of energy burst from his palm, melting the target into a pool of glowing metal in seconds.
"Cool."
Tony looked down at his hand, feeling the unprecedented power coursing through him, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Now I feel like I could punch through a truck."
"Please, you'd be lucky to punch through a delivery van," Henry shot back without hesitation.
He watched the three of them—reborn and radiant—and nodded in approval.
"All right, since the experiment's a success..."
"I think there are two more people who might deserve this little employee benefit."
Tony instantly knew who he meant.
Pepper... and Happy.
They were the two people closest to the Stark brothers—and also their greatest vulnerabilities.
"You're right." Tony's face grew serious.
"They need protection."
He looked at Henry, silently asking for his opinion.
Henry's usual playful grin faded. He looked Tony in the eye and nodded.
"We can't be there to protect them forever. HYDRA, and whoever else might come after us in the future, won't play fair. Pepper and Happy need the ability to protect themselves."
It wasn't just about safety. It was about peace of mind.
Henry never wanted to see those moments from the original timeline—Pepper kidnapped by Killian, injected with Extremis, barely surviving... or Happy nearly blown to pieces trying to save her.
Some tragedies, now that he was here, would never be allowed to happen again.
"I agree." Tony's eyes softened slightly.
He didn't even want to imagine what he'd become if anything happened to Pepper.
"So…" Henry smiled faintly, his relaxed tone returning.
"How do we explain to Pepper that we're about to inject her with a serum that'll turn her into a superwoman? My bet—she cracks our skulls open with her heels before we even finish the sentence."
Tony folded his arms, frowning in thought.
"Yeah... that's going to be a tough one. She's not exactly into the whole fighting-and-explosions lifestyle."
The two men exchanged a look and shrugged in unison.
Beating alien robots? Developing new super serums? Easy.
Explaining all this to Pepper Potts? That was the real challenge.
"All right... looks like we need to call a family meeting," Tony sighed.
He glanced at Henry, silently saying, your problem.
Henry rolled his eyes. "JARVIS, contact Pepper. Tell her we've prepared a surprise that'll let her stay young forever. Ask her to come to the lab immediately."
"Yes, sir," JARVIS replied politely. "Also, sir... Miss Potts has been calling Mr. Stark. Her call has rung twenty-two times so far. She sounds... very angry."
Tony froze.
Right. He'd just remembered—they'd barely left the lab for two whole weeks.