Marvelous Mutations

The two armed helicopters arrived with terrifying speed.

Killian had given the order personally: full throttle. No holding back.

And within just three minutes, the roar of rotors echoed over 58th Avenue in Manhattan.

The sky was beginning to lighten. Dawn was creeping in.

But this morning promised far more than a sunrise.

Down below, more than a hundred people gathered in a strange circle on the street. Above, two armed helicopters hovered menacingly, loaded with missiles still gleaming under the pre-dawn light.

The surrounding business owners peeked from behind locked doors and drawn curtains, their courage shriveling at the sight.

This was Manhattan. The beating heart of New York City. No one expected to wake up to something that looked like a war zone.

"What the hell is going on...?" one man whispered from behind a shop window.

Another woman gasped when she noticed the missile launchers mounted beneath the helicopters. "Are they seriously going to fire those... here?"

This wasn't some isolated island or remote mountain.

This was right in the middle of a city block.

Originally, these missiles were meant to flatten Tony Stark's cliffside mansion. But after a few well-placed strikes, the house crumbled into the ocean far easier than expected.

Now, with leftover missiles, and a wounded ego, Killian had redirected the firepower toward an even more infuriating target:

Luke's grocery store.

Each helicopter had only two missiles left.

But for the Extremis soldiers onboard, that was more than enough. Hell, one would probably do the job. It's just a grocery store, right?

A weird one, sure, but still, how tough could it be?

Even as they locked onto the building, they scoffed at the idea that this quirky neighborhood shop could somehow resist a missile.

Meanwhile, down on the ground, the Extremis-enhanced crowd began slowly pulling back. Not because they were afraid, well, not exactly, but because standing in the blast radius was just plain dumb.

Even if you were half fireproof, missiles were missiles.

Within a minute, the street had been mostly cleared.

On the helicopter, the co-pilot looked toward the captain and gave a sharp nod.

The captain leaned toward his headset.

"First missile, fire."

With a hiss and a blinding flash, one of the missiles shot downward, its trail of fire cutting across the sky.

The people watching from behind their curtains gasped in horror.

"They actually launched it?!"

"Are they out of their minds?! That's a residential block!"

Panic surged through the neighborhood as people dove under tables, behind sofas, or pressed themselves into corners.

…

On the helicarrier

The moment Wanda saw the missile launch, her eyes widened in alarm.

The screen showed the glowing projectile streaking toward the only place she truly called home.

Her fists clenched, and she nearly flew through the ceiling.

"That's our house! They're bombing our house!" she shouted.

Beside her, Sharon's jaw dropped in disbelief.

Wanda spun toward Luke in desperation. "Brother! They're going to blow it up! Do something!"

Luke calmly patted her shoulder. "Relax. Our grocery store's… uh, bombproof."

Wanda blinked, still halfway to a panic attack.

"Wait, really? Like, missile-level bombproof?"

Luke scratched his cheek, his voice a little less confident. "I mean… missiles are bombs too, right?"

BOOOOM~!!!

The explosion shook the entire street. Buildings quivered, glass shattered, and car alarms went off in a chaotic chorus.

The shockwave alone nearly knocked several onlookers off their feet, even those watching from far down the block.

Dust and smoke surged upward into a massive gray cloud.

Inside the buildings closest to the blast, residents huddled in corners, bracing for impact.

But when they dared to peek out again, eyes squinting through the debris, they saw something impossible.

The grocery store… still stood.

Untouched.

Not a single brick out of place.

The windows on the second floor hadn't even cracked.

In contrast, the buildings on either side of it had suffered massive damage. Walls blown out, roofs partially collapsed.

It was as if the missile had specifically decided to spare the store.

"…What?"

"…That's impossible."

It wasn't just the residents gawking.

Even Killian's soldiers, on the ground and in the air, were stunned speechless.

Shotguns didn't work.

Extremis didn't work.

And now, even missiles didn't work?

The captain aboard the lead helicopter gaped at the intact structure below.

"This… this isn't a store," he muttered. "This is a fucking fortress."

One of the younger soldiers beside him whispered, "What the hell is that place made of...?"

But no one had an answer.

They all just stared at the unscathed grocery store as if it were some kind of divine anomaly.

Killian's voice came crackling through their earpieces a moment later, tired, frustrated, and clearly unimpressed.

"…Forget the store. Return to base."

The captain didn't even argue.

He just nodded. "Understood."

The other three missiles were left unused.

Why waste them?

Clearly, nothing short of divine punishment was going to scratch that building.

On the ground, the Extremis soldiers began retreating as quietly as they had come. Some looked ashamed. Others just confused.

And just like that, the entire attack fizzled out like a bad joke.

No confrontation.

No sight of Luke.

Not even a proper fight.

Just a single missile wasted… and the embarrassing realization that they couldn't even crack a window.

…

Back on the helicarrier

Wanda exhaled slowly, her hands still clenched.

Luke stood beside her, arms crossed and a smug look on his face.

Wanda gave him a sideways glance.

"…Missiles are bombs, huh?"

Luke grinned. "Told you."

She shook her head with a sigh, then smiled.

"…I'm never doubting the grocery store again."

Luke looked at her dumbfounded, "wait, shouldn't you be saying you're not doubting me again?"

But Wanda looked unapologetic, "I said what I said."

…