Rory's trip hadn't been in vain. He walked away with some mildly useful information, and more importantly, he secured the chemical compound he needed.
Back at the penthouse lab, Rory immediately threw himself back into developing the serum.
He had a feeling… a very bad one.
Steve Rogers would find him again.
That stubborn old popsicle wouldn't rest until he did. And before that happened, Rory needed to finish his enhancement of the Thanos serum.
He called it:
"The Gene Fortification Project."
A few more days passed.
Rory had just wrapped up another experiment and was about to take a break when the TV caught his eye, Tony Stark's press conference was being broadcast live.
Tony sat beneath the spotlight, gazing directly into the cameras. His voice was solemn.
"I saw young soldiers die, slaughtered by the very weapons I built to protect them."
"That was my wake-up call. I realized I could offer this world more than just things that go boom."
"So... I'm shutting down Stark Industries' weapons division."
"Effective immediately."
The room erupted into chaos.
Obadiah Stane panicked, trying to salvage the situation, but all the cameras followed Tony Stark as he walked away from the podium with unshakable resolve.
At first, Rory watched with mild amusement.
Then he caught a glimpse of someone in the crowd.
He blinked.
And blinked again.
"What. The. Actual. Hell, ?"
He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
"Peggy Carter?!"
There, on live TV at a 2008 Stark Industries press conference, stood a young Peggy Carter.
"Oh crap… what the hell is going on now?!"
By all logic, or by every known scripted rule of time, Peggy Carter should've been an elderly woman by 2008.
How the hell was she still young? Still alive? Still here?
"No way… Don't tell me she's here for me."
Rory's scalp tingled. He'd barely had a few days of peace, and now this?
Could a man catch a break in this universe?
Even with the serum coursing through him, even if he could overpower a shield-less Steve Rogers, Rory knew one thing for sure:
There was no way in hell he could take on the entire Avengers squad.
Not alone.
Even Thanos got dusted when they showed up with their full roster. What chance did he stand?
Rory shook his head, trying to clear the growing panic.
"Without Pym Particles or access to the Quantum Tunnel, I'm stuck here..."
His eyes slowly drifted toward the newly synthesized vials on his lab table.
He stared at them for a long moment.
"No... I can't risk it. I need more help."
Just like that, Rory had a new plan.
Meanwhile, back at S.H.I.E.L.D., Peggy Carter returned from the press conference and immediately summoned Level 9 Agent Maria Hill.
"Any updates?" Peggy asked, her tone firm.
Hill shook her head. "There's been no sign of any individual named Rory in the database, Asian descent or otherwise."
"Got it. You're dismissed."
Peggy had barely sat down when a certain white mouse suddenly scampered up onto her lap and climbed all the way to her head, squeaking loudly.
Maria Hill didn't even blink.
Everyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. was used to it by now. Peggy Carter wasn't just a legend, she was the woman who kept a mouse perched on her shoulder like a living accessory.
As Hill reached the door, she paused and turned.
"Director, we've retrieved Captain America. Should we wake him now?"
Peggy looked out the window, hesitating.
Then she shook her head.
"No. Give him a little more time."
Hill didn't know who this mysterious "he" was…
But from the look in Peggy's eyes, this "he" was no ordinary person.
Back in Manhattan,
Ever since spotting Peggy Carter on TV, Rory had shut himself off from the world. Every waking moment was spent in the lab.
Pressure breeds productivity.
He tuned everything out. No calls. No distractions. No sleep.
After a few days, he looked like a mad scientist, hair a mess, beard unshaven, clothes stained with oil and chemicals.
Ding!
The elevator opened. Wilson Fisk stepped into the lab, eyes gleaming.
"Rory! You called me, did it work? Is the experiment a success?!"
Clang.
A wrench clattered to the ground.
Rory emerged from inside a machine, covered in grease and grime.
Fisk squinted. "Is that really you?"
Rory wiped his hands, tapped a few keys on his console, and the machine lit up with a cool blue glow.
"Yeah," he said casually. "We're ready for Phase One. First, I need to run a full diagnostic on you."
That was the first good news Fisk had heard since meeting Rory.
He rushed over eagerly. "Tell me what to do."
"Sit down. Let's start with a blood sample."
Rory pulled out a syringe and motioned for Fisk to roll up his sleeve.
After drawing blood, he added a single drop of glowing blue fluid and slid the mixture under a microscope.
"Alright, take off your clothes and step into the chamber."
Fisk stripped down to his underwear and entered the machine Rory had been tinkering with.
Rory followed, holding a vial of blue serum. He slid it into the injector slot on the machine.
"Let me be clear, this may not work," he said. "Enhancement happens in stages, three or four, minimum. You'll also need to comply with post-enhancement testing."
Only now, lying inside the machine, did Fisk start to feel anxious.
"What if it fails? Will I die?"
Rory didn't even look up.
"No. Probably nothing will happen. Maybe you'll grow some hair. Who knows."
Fisk exhaled. "Then let's do it."
Rory gave him a quick glance before sealing the chamber door.
Of course he'd lied. Rory had no idea what would happen. And truth be told, he didn't care.
What he wanted, was data.
Tap.
He hit the return key. The serum injected into Fisk's bloodstream.
Then he stepped over to the control panel and slowly increased the electrical current.
This time, he'd upgraded the power system, no citywide blackouts. At worst, it'd knock out the power for the building.
Whirrrrr.
The machine began to hum. Blue light intensified.
Lights across the apartment flickered.
Inside the chamber, Wilson Fisk began to scream.
"AAAAHHHHH!! F**K!!"
Still conscious enough to swear. That meant he was fine, for now.
Rory turned the dial further.
Zzzap!
The chamber's fuse sparked, reached its energy peak, and then shut down.
The doors hissed open.
Fisk stumbled out, steaming and dazed.
He hadn't grown hair.
In fact... his eyebrows were completely gone.
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