Inside Jessica Jones's apartment, a sudden flash lit up the room, then a figure was blasted through the wall and crashed onto the street below.
The flash hadn't come from Rory, it had been Iron Fist, Danny Rand, launching a glowing energy punch despite his injuries, catching Rory off guard and knocking him out the wall.
Yet Rory didn't get angry. In fact, a smile crept onto his face.
"So 'chi' is a form of cosmic energy too!"
In the next instant, Rory leapt straight back up through the hole in the wall and returned to the apartment.
Whoosh!
Jessica Jones charged at him, fist raised, but Rory caught her by the throat with a swift reverse grip.
"You that eager to die?"
Jessica tried to speak, but Rory raised her high in the air, then slammed her hard into the ground.
Boom.
Her head lolled to the side, and she passed out cold.
Danny's fist flared with light once again. Unlike Rory's cosmic energy, Danny's glow was soft, almost fluid in motion.
Whoosh,
A massive, square-shaped golden shield instantly manifested before Rory.
Clang,
Danny's fist struck the shield with a thud. Neither man was injured, but the blast of force from the impact sent everything in the apartment flying.
Whoosh. The golden shield vanished. In its place, a rapier appeared in Rory's other hand, and in the blink of an eye, it pierced into Danny Rand's torso.
"Don't move. If I pull this blade out now, you'll bleed to death from internal injuries in under three minutes. Are you really sure you want to fight back?"
Street-level heroes like them had no chance against someone like Rory.
Jessica Jones had only brute force and no technique. Danny Rand's arm was already injured, and even if it wasn't, he couldn't threaten Rory.
Now, Iron Fist's life hung by a thread in Rory's hand. Resistance was no longer an option.
A few minutes later, a military vehicle returned to base, carrying the unconscious Jessica and the wounded Danny. A military doctor stitched Danny up, then tossed him into the iron cell block inside the base.
Rory, now in clean clothes, entered the cell with a blood sample kit in hand.
He drew a vial of Danny Rand's blood, then warned, "Don't think about escaping. If that little magician opens a portal to get you out, I suggest you don't follow him. Because the next time I catch you, it might be your last."
With that, he turned and left the cell.
Jessica suddenly rushed over, grabbing the iron bars and shouting, "Have we met somewhere before?"
Rory paused, then firmly shook his head. "No. You've got the wrong person."
Watching his retreating back, Jessica wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she couldn't shake the feeling that Rory looked familiar.
Back in the lab, Rory began analyzing Danny Rand's blood under various instruments.
And sure enough, he found something different.
Danny's cell membranes possessed the same energy-conducting properties found in Eternal cells, confirming that his Iron Fist technique was indeed drawing on cosmic energy.
The difference was that Danny's method was crude, he couldn't shape the energy, only channel it to enhance his fists.
Rory then zoomed in for a microscopic analysis of the cell membranes and found that although they shared similar structures, Danny's were slightly denser. If you thought of the energy as electricity and the membrane as wiring, then Danny's "wires" would be more efficient conductors.
"So this is the benefit of cultivation?"
That discovery made Rory genuinely excited.
As long as he could identify the difference, he could potentially grow even stronger.
The problem was, he didn't know how to cultivate.
"Could it be transplanted? Or do I actually have to train?"
The next morning, Rory was already practicing tai chi in his backyard.
After working up a sweat, he went back inside, showered, and sat down with breakfast in front of the TV.
"According to a statement from Congress, S.H.I.E.L.D.'s recent behavior has been classified as an organized defection. The Pentagon has formally submitted a proposal to the United Nations to suspend all S.H.I.E.L.D. operations."
"Avengers members including Clint Barton, James Rhodes, and Bruce Banner have all been added to the international wanted list."
"Military officials have made it clear, there will be zero tolerance for treason."
"Sources say S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury orchestrated and carried out an attack on a military base 124 kilometers outside of New York…"
The news was flooded with coverage related to superheroes.
Rory furrowed his brows. He hadn't interacted much with Nick Fury, but the man on screen was a far cry from the scheming, one-eyed fox in his memories.
How had a mastermind like Fury ended up like this?
Ring ring.
Just then, the phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Sir, the evaluations for Anthony and Payne are complete. What should we do next?"
"Have them start work. Also, send a car for me, I'm heading out."
Rory had promised Payne a chance to visit home. With S.H.I.E.L.D. scattered and the Avengers in disarray, he was in a good mood. A little sightseeing would be a nice break, and it was the perfect time to escort Payne back home.
Payne had been a former accountant, jailed for falsifying records and embezzlement. But he'd only been working a month when the blame for a full year of mess was dumped on him, anyone with a brain could guess what really happened.
He lived in the outskirts of Princeton with an elderly mother, wife, and three kids. The neighbors knew the family wasn't doing well. With their man in jail, they kept to themselves, and even the kids were mocked at school.
Three military Humvees pulled into town, attracting stares. When they stopped in front of Payne's home, people peeked from their yards, whispering.
Payne's family didn't dare step outside. They stood just behind the screen door, watching through the mesh.
Home was always a person's last refuge.
Clack.
The Humvee door opened, and Payne stepped out.
His wife gasped, both hands covering her mouth in disbelief, then burst out of the house.
"Payne!"
"Aria!"
Tears flowed as the two embraced tightly.
But just as the family reunion brought smiles and warmth, a missile shot in from the distance.
Boom!
The Humvee Rory had been riding in exploded into the sky, spinning 720 degrees before crashing in flames.
Crack.
The burning vehicle split in two. Rory walked out of the fire, face dark as night.
He tore off his charred clothes, revealing a sleek black combat suit underneath, heat-resistant, rip-proof, and recently prepared precisely for these situations. He hadn't expected to use it this soon.
Above him, War Machine James Rhodes swooped past and hovered, raising his arm to launch another missile.
Bang!
A gunshot rang out, staggering War Machine midair.
His targeting was thrown off, and the missile veered past Rory's face, slamming into the roadside.
Rattatata!
Two Gatling guns opened fire, peppering War Machine with bullets.
Rory had brought four super soldiers just to drive him. When the ambush began, they responded instantly.
Wham!
One of the soldiers was suddenly yanked into the air, yet no one was near him.
Another stood atop a portal that suddenly opened beneath his feet. With a yelp, he vanished into the street.
"Strange," Rory muttered coldly, scanning the surroundings.
A second later, a portal opened behind him, and Black Panther T'Challa and Winter Soldier Bucky leapt out together.
Clang!
A golden shield flared to life on Rory's arm, blocking both attacks.
"Heh… Still haven't given up, have you?"
T'Challa said nothing. He didn't feel there was any point in conversation. With his vibranium claws, he slashed across Rory's chest, but was blocked by golden armor.
Whoosh.
Boom.
The armor vanished, replaced by a massive golden sword. Rory swung down, and T'Challa had no time to dodge.
He raised both arms to block.
The power difference was vast. T'Challa dropped to one knee under the pressure, barely managing to stop the blow.
Rory didn't relent. He pressed the sword harder, pinning T'Challa in place.
Behind him, Bucky came charging in with his metal arm, but ended up punching Payne instead.
Payne's skin had turned to steel and absorbed the blow easily.
The two began to grapple.
Bucky was a veteran in combat, skilled in footwork and technique. Payne was a rookie mutant, zero combat experience. But what he lacked in finesse, he made up for in durability. He couldn't fight, but he sure could take a hit.
Payne held Bucky off. The two super soldiers kept War Machine pinned down with constant fire.
Rory sneered as he loomed over Black Panther.
"King of a nation, and you came all this way just to die?"
"We'll see… who dies…" T'Challa grunted, straining under the blade's weight.
Suddenly, Rory felt something small strike him. It didn't hurt, but it was definitely annoying.
"Ant-Man?"
No wonder a super soldier had randomly tripped. There was a tiny pest crawling around.
Rory looked around but didn't see Scott Lang.
"Scott," he said calmly, "you'd better think this through. Don't forget, you've got a family. A daughter. You really want to get involved in this?"
Scott's family was his greatest weakness. He still carried deep guilt over losing five years with his daughter during the Blip.
The sabotage stopped.
Rory, now unfazed, pressed one hand down on Black Panther. In the other, he summoned a golden dagger, aiming for a killing blow.
But just then, two portals flared open, one to his left, one to his right.
Whoosh, Boom!
Captain Marvel burst out of the right portal, tackled Rory, and slammed both of them into the portal on the left.
Whoosh.
The portal vanished instantly.
Rory now found himself in a snow-covered wasteland, blanketed in white as far as the eye could see.
Captain Marvel tumbled through the snow, finally skidding to a stop.
Here, alongside her, stood Doctor Strange, Hulk (Bruce Banner), Abomination (Emil Blonsky), and a man wearing mystic rings.
Rory scanned the group and asked, "Where's Thor? Why isn't he here?"
"Hmph. We're more than enough to deal with you," Captain Marvel snapped, her body bursting with golden energy as she charged.
Clang!
Rory summoned his golden greatsword in an instant, knocking her skyward.
Unable to stop herself, Carol slammed into a snowy mountain in the distance.
Doctor Strange's magic whip lashed out, Rory shattered it instantly.
Then, to Rory's disbelief, Strange formed the Blades of Vishanti and tried to fight in close quarters.
"What a joke. Even an old man on a rope wouldn't try that."
ROAR!!!
The Hulk bellowed and charged, but halfway there, he suddenly stopped and clapped his hands together with all his might.
Boom!
A shockwave of blizzard and snowstorm surged toward Rory.
Shing. Rory planted his golden sword into the ice, barely budging under the assault.
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100 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter
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