During the Avengers' Civil War, the Raft Prison at sea had once been used by Ross to detain those who violated the Sokovia Accords.
A lot of money was spent, but people weren't actually locked up.
No one really knew what Ross had been thinking, trying to imprison superpowered individuals in a place like that.
After Luke Cage was taken away, Rory returned to the lab to continue his work.
At present, the number of super soldiers had increased to 21. The military had procured carbon-steel armor and a full range of individual equipment for them.
Mutants Anthony and Payne had yet to pass psychological evaluations and were not included in the roster.
By now, Rory had completely lost interest in mutants. The radiation-virus serum had been sealed away.
He was now studying the difference between Thanos's gene and the energy-based Eternal gene. Rory hadn't stopped researching just because he was getting stronger.
Beep.
The lab door opened and Super Soldier No. 1 from the Knights Squad stepped in and reported, "Sir, the unit escorting Luke Cage was attacked by an unknown force. He was rescued. Mr. Ross wants to deploy the Knights Squad to retrieve him."
Rory, wearing safety goggles and leaning over the electron microscope, didn't even look up. "No need. I injected Luke Cage with a mutated gene strain. He won't last more than a few days."
"Uh, yes, sir!" The soldier saluted and exited.
A moment later, Rory straightened, removed his goggles, and scratched his head with a sigh.
"What exactly is limiting the absorption speed of cosmic energy?!"
Back when he observed Ikaris of the Eternals, he had this question in mind: why couldn't Ikaris emit his energy beams continuously like Superman? Why did they only come out in short bursts that didn't seem all that powerful?
Now Rory understood.
It was due to insufficient cosmic energy supply. So, after each burst, Ikaris had to rest and recover.
If Ikaris had an endless supply of cosmic energy, he could fire his eye beams continuously until his enemy was vaporized.
And Ikaris was supposed to be the strongest of the ten Eternals. The others likely had the same limitation.
That meant something was definitely capping the absorption rate of cosmic energy.
Rory believed that if he could unravel this mystery, he'd become unstoppable.
Ross led the Knights Squad of super soldiers to the S.H.I.E.L.D. base, but by the time they arrived, the place was already deserted.
"Damn it! Issue orders to every department, find them immediately! There's no way that many people just vanished!"
Yet that was exactly what had happened. Not only were the people gone, but all the equipment had been cleared out too.
A day later, the Intelligence Bureau placed a photo on Ross's desk.
"Mr. Ross, this was taken three hours ago. The Hulk was spotted at a bay in southeastern Georgia."
Bang!
"Move out immediately!"
The Hulk remained Ross's greatest obsession. Since they couldn't locate any of the other Avengers, Bruce Banner became his top priority.
Ross immediately boarded a military plane with the Knights Squad and flew toward the southeast coast.
Meanwhile, Rory received word from the lab the moment Ross left to go after the Hulk.
Rory just chuckled. Let Ross chase shadows if he wanted. He would never find Banner.
As night fell, Rory stepped out of the still-under-repair lab building and climbed into a jeep, driving away from the military base.
Two hours later, he entered New York. After two and a half hours, he arrived in Midtown Manhattan.
Hell's Kitchen in 2023 didn't look much different from how it did back in 2008.
Guided by memory, Rory returned to the place where he once hid. A subtle smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.
Time-wise, it hadn't been that long. But in truth, so much had changed.
"Get out of the way, punk! You're blocking the street!"
Three young thugs walked toward him. One reached out to shove Rory, déjà vu. It even seemed like the same bunch.
Swish.
A golden flash flickered in Rory's hand, and the thug's arm was instantly severed, dropping to the ground.
The thug froze for a moment, then clutched his arm and screamed.
"Aaahhh!! My hand! F***!"
Instead of helping their injured friend, the other two morons thought it wise to charge Rory too.
Rory doubted they had brains. All muscle, no thought.
Swish.
A kick, one lost a leg. A punch, the other lost a hand. In the blink of an eye, all three were crippled.
"Heh. I'm your karma."
Back when he was just a normal guy, they bullied him. Now that he was powerful, did they really think they could still bully him?
That lingering grievance was now gone, and Rory felt mentally clear.
Following his memories down the road, he soon found a familiar bar. Across the street, the signal receiver he'd once installed on a surveillance camera was still there.
He kept walking, eventually reaching Jessica Jones's apartment building.
A golden blade formed in his right hand. Like slicing tofu, he destroyed the door lock with ease and stepped inside.
Ten minutes later, Jessica Jones returned, hood drawn low. As soon as she saw the broken lock, she rushed in, and froze.
Rory was sitting on the sofa, smiling at her.
"I suggest you don't try anything. You're not my match. And don't even think about running, you won't get far."
Jessica, tense and cautious, asked, "Sir… why are you in my apartment? This is private property. I have the right to, "
"To what?"
Rory stood and stepped up to her. The blade of cosmic energy in his hand extended until it was pressed against her throat.
Had she not joined the raid on the military base, Rory might have let bygones be bygones.
"You'd best not ask anything of me. I'm the one making the demands."
The manifested cosmic blade had physical presence but no warmth. Jessica leaned her head back to avoid it, standing completely still, terrified of provoking a deadly reaction.
"What do you want?"
She clenched her fists, voice trembling ever so slightly as she tried to stay calm.
"Luke Cage was broken out. Who did it?"
"I… I don't know what you're talking about." Jessica's eyes widened slightly. She genuinely didn't know.
Rory reached into her pocket, took out her phone, and placed it in her hand.
"Call Danny Rand. Tell him to get here, now."
Ross was proving utterly incompetent. After all this time, not only had he failed to capture a single Avenger, he'd even lost the one Rory had handed over. Useless fool.
That's why Rory had decided to take matters into his own hands.
Jessica hesitated for a while, then finally made the call.
Half an hour later, Iron Fist Danny Rand arrived. When he saw Rory in Jessica's apartment, his face froze in shock too.
"I didn't come here to fight," Rory said calmly. "I just wanted to ask you both to come with me. So, will you give me that courtesy?"
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150 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter
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