"What did you do?"
Killian looked at the mechanical parts floating around him in shock and anger. The wounds on his broken limbs were as hot as magma. A part of his limb wanted to grow out, but was unable to do so due to the influence of some force.
Feeling the rapid growth of the desperate virus inside his body, Killian was not only shocked and angry, but also terrified.
His Extremis virus wasn't perfect to begin with, requiring a specially formulated stabilizer to suppress its activity and prevent it from self-destructing. His focus had been on perfecting the Extremis virus, bringing it closer to stability and perfection. He had yet to achieve this. All he could do was utilize the stabilizer as best he could to control the Extremis virus's activity and outbreaks.
While all those injected with the Extremis virus gained new limbs and immense strength, they also transformed their bodies into unstable powder kegs. They needed to regularly receive a supply of new Extremis stabilizers from Killian to prevent their bodies from exploding like explosives at any moment.
However, this stabilizer only treats the symptoms, not the root cause, and its effectiveness is not 100%. There are always unexpected or personal factors that make the test subjects, even those injected with this stabilizer, still explode like fireworks at some point during the drug's effect.
Originally, Killian could only wait for Maya Hansen, another creator of the Extremis virus, to solve the stability problem, but the Cosmic Cube that was accidentally formed in the laboratory during the Battle of Washington allowed Killian to see new possibilities.
Yes, as a direct contact with the Cosmic Cube, he too was infected by the mechanical virus. However, the Cosmic Cube sensed his desire, and the infected mechanical virus gave him the ability to control his own energy. This unexpectedly allowed him to resolve the problem of his own Extremis virus being unstable and prone to losing control at any moment.
Under the abilities granted to Killian by the mecha virus, the Extremis virus injected into his body remains dangerous, but it is no longer untamable. The two different viruses have achieved a symbiotic cycle in his body.
He didn't find a perfect solution to the Extremis virus's flaws, but due to an accident, he temporarily escaped the threat posed by Extremis. Killian then believed that the Cosmic Cube was a gift from heaven, a powerful aid that could help him solve the flaws of Extremis and take the power he possessed to a higher level.
Killian eagerly sought out nearby "willing" test subjects through various methods. The results were unsatisfactory. The Mecha and Extremis viruses, while existing independently, each possessed certain flaws, and their coexistence within the same host increased instability. Ultimately, Killian relied on his own research, modifying the original stabilizer to reduce the Extremis virus's activity, allowing the Mecha to take over. While this wasn't a perfect solution, it at least allowed for a stable production of Altered Ones.
He then used this to cooperate with John Lake and other extreme factions, and obtained huge financial support, as well as other invisible, AIM and the help he desperately needed.
Killian has always believed that he is the chosen one and the only master chosen by the Cosmic Cube. He even thinks that one day he will be able to completely control the Cosmic Cube. Once he uses the power of the Cosmic Cube to change the entire human race, he will undoubtedly become the uncrowned king!
Those who bring him humiliation and despair will naturally understand his desperate mood at that time.
Killian thought a lot about what would happen after he activated the power of the Cosmic Cube, but the only thing he didn't expect was that he would be hit in the very beginning.
First, there was the betrayal of his collaborators, something he had anticipated. After all, he knew exactly what kind of people they were. They were cold-blooded, cruel, had no regard for life, and had no morals.
The appearance of Captain America Steve and Flax was a little unexpected to him, but in Killian's opinion, it was not an unsolvable problem. It was just a matter of spending more time and manpower.
But Luke, who appeared silently behind him, not only obtained the heavily protected Cosmic Cube, but also dismembered his mechanical limbs with just a stretch of his hand, breaking the balance of the virus circulation in his body, really exceeded his expectations.
"Are you also an Altered?" Killian suddenly seemed to understand something, looking at Luke. Only this could explain how Luke's mechanical limbs could uncontrollably disintegrate into individual parts with a single movement of his hand. This must be Luke's ability! He scanned Luke's body, trying to identify his Altered parts. Based on his understanding of Altered people, a large part of their abilities were influenced by Altered limbs or organs.
After scanning his entire body, he didn't find any signs of mechanization on Luke. So it could only be that some organ inside his body was mechanized?
"Mechanical Creature: The Hound of Tindalos."
Under Luke's control, the fragments of mechanical parts that floated out of Killian's body were assembled in mid-air into a hound-sized mechanical dog at a dazzling speed and with the unique beauty of mechanical assembly.
As soon as the mechanical dog's limbs touched the ground, it bared its fangs and pounced on Killian who was close at hand.
Killian's whole body was like a burning charcoal. When he opened his mouth, a stream of high-temperature flame spurted out, cutting the mechanical dog that pounced on him into two halves. The mechanical dog looked a little thin and had skin as thin as paper.
puff.
A stream of hot blood, like magma, gushed out from Killian's waist and abdomen. Killian almost fell to his knees. He felt as if an axe had struck him in the waist, threatening to cut him in half.
"This is?"
With the Extremis virus active, Killian's abdominal wounds healed quickly. He looked up and saw the mechanical hound, which he had just split from head to tail, had regained its original form in a complex yet pleasing process of reassembly. No, it was somewhat different from its previous form. Its thin metal body was covered with winding, fiery red lines, similar to human blood vessels.
Seeing the mechanical hound pounce on him once again, a flash of enlightenment flashed through Killian's mind. To confirm his guess, he once again used the power of the Extremis virus to attack the mechanical hound.
However, this time, the same intensity of the attack repelled the attacking mechanical hound, but it did not cut it in half as before. The opponent seemed to have developed a certain resistance to his high temperature after just one attack!
The familiar wound appeared on Killian's body again. Although it healed quickly under the power of the Extremis virus, Killian's heart was completely heavy.
This attack confirmed his suspicions. This mechanical hound, formed from a separate piece of his body, still held some mysterious connection to him. It was still considered a part of him! So even if it had separated, attacking it would still be like attacking Killian himself.
Coupled with the opponent's recombinant properties, it became a difficult problem. Not everyone could keep the desperate virus in a highly active state for a short period of time like him.
He looked at the mechanical hound, crippled to the ground by the high-temperature beam. Under his gaze, the hound's mechanical parts reassembled, and the red vein-like lines on its body became increasingly prominent. Even a faint glimpse of the heat leaking from it could be seen.
It's evolving!
Highly adaptive evolution!
A terrifying thought, suffocating him, flashed through Killian's mind. The other party, through repeated reorganization, adapted to his attacks and eventually became immune to them! Killian didn't know how this was achieved, but he knew that if this continued, he would surely die at the hands of this mechanical hound.
And all this was caused by Luke in front of him!
Yeah, Luke!
Killian suddenly looked up at Luke who was standing ten meters in front of him. No matter what, since the mechanical hound was created by the other party, as long as he got rid of the other party, would the hound lose control and be able to recover as before, turning into limbs and returning to his body?
Killian didn't know whether this idea was correct or not, but under the current circumstances, he was willing to give it a try.
"Capture him! Kill him if necessary!" Killian commanded the bewildered Mutants beside him, pointing at Luke. Killian's words startled the Mutants, who were somewhat bewildered by the sudden change. Almost without hesitation, some of them charged at Luke, while others protected Killian and fought against the mechanical hound.
"Bad choice."
Luke looked at the mutants that were surging up and extended his hand again.
Lion, hound, mouse, beetle, owl, snake.
One by one, mechanical creations separated from the mechanical bodies and organs of the mutants, and then attacked their former masters. The worst hit was the Iron mutant, who was battling a green monster named Vraks brought by General John. The area of his body that had been altered was the largest, and the mechanical creations that separated from him were also larger. It was a majestic metal lion.
"Damn it! What the hell is this?! Why are our mechanical limbs being detached? Why are they transforming into these beasts and attacking us?" One mutant was entangled by his own mechanical limb—a silvery-white metal snake. Its grip rivaled that of a python, and he felt his struggle becoming increasingly difficult. The Extremis virus's high lethality against metal didn't offer much of an advantage against these mechanical creations. They were even becoming increasingly resistant to high temperatures.
"What have you done?" Killian's eyes blazed with anger as he turned to Luke. It was only ten meters away, yet this short distance felt like an insurmountable chasm! Any mutant who tried to reach Luke would be attacked frantically by their own mechanical creations.
A group of mutants with mutilated limbs and strange appearances retreated in front of Killian, confronting the mechanical monsters that were slowly surrounding them in fear.
"It's just a trivial little technology. I separated them, constructed them, and released some of their consciousness data." Facing Killian's rage, Luke explained seriously.
"Release?" Killian once again fought off the mechanical hound that pounced on him, ignoring the other party's increasingly faster reconstruction time and increasingly difficult evolution. He now only wanted to get an accurate answer from Luke.
"Haven't you noticed? There are some subconscious minds inside the Cosmic Cube! If left alone, it will eventually digest and absorb those fragmented consciousnesses, and then give birth to a consciousness of its own! This is something you never understand or control from the beginning." Luke said as he stretched out his hand. The Cosmic Cube, which was floating around him like a satellite, slowly shifted its course under the gazes of Killian and others, and hovered above Luke's palm.
"It's just a dead object!" Killian lied to himself. He finally understood where his strange sense of connection with the Tesseract came from.
"It is indeed a dead object. But its formation absorbed the consciousness of countless deceased Chitauri, though these consciousnesses are fragmented and unsystematic." Luke first affirmed Killian's words, then refuted them. In fact, tracing back to the source, it was still the overflowing power of his ascension, the power of the Cosmic Cube, and most importantly, the emotional/psychic power, as well as some unexpected research by Killian, that led to the creation of the Cosmic Cube, a unique object that combined these three great powers.
Killian hadn't fully grasped the Tesseract's true potential. Or rather, he hadn't fully utilized the Tesseract's true capabilities. His use of the Tesseract was similar to how Nick Fury's S.H.I.E.L.D. used the Tesseract.
"How could you know this?" Killian still didn't want to believe Luke.
"These machines, created from the mechanical materials separated from you, possess your original bodies with a strong desire. They will share your injuries, your life, and your death.
"If you don't die, they won't die, and they won't stop. They're like the hounds of Tindalos, chasing their prey until it's completely destroyed." Luke didn't respond to Killian's words, simply watching the machines before him engage in the most primitive slaughter. However, Killian and his companions no longer cared to listen to Luke's words. They were gradually overwhelmed by the attacks of the machines, which were repeatedly destroyed and reassembled, becoming increasingly powerful.
After repelling his mechanical hound for the last time, without waiting for the opponent to pounce on him again, Killian, with wounds all over his body healed, looked up and met Luke's calm gaze. After revealing an inexplicable smile on his face that was as red as charcoal fire, he no longer tried to control the increasingly active desperate virus in his body, but kept pushing it higher and higher!
In the end, like an erupting volcano, all the energy in the body burst out violently in an instant!
The violent explosion affected the surrounding mutants, and the desperate virus in their bodies was also in an extremely unstable state, and continuous explosions occurred one after another.