Chapter 40: Oh No! Another Powerhouse Arrives
Peter Parker web-swung to the top of a half-constructed skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan.
Looking down at the ant-sized Ryan far below, he called out playfully, "Hey there! The stairwell isn't finished yet, so you can't come up! Maybe I can finally catch a breather up here!"
Ryan scaled the external scaffolding with inhuman agility, with Banner thundering up behind him, leaving a trail of structural devastation.
The construction framework shuddered under the assault, and even the crane's support beams buckled from Banner's relentless impacts.
Ryan, seizing the perfect opportunity, grabbed a steel cable and continued his ascent toward the rooftop.
"GRAAAHHH!"
Banner had one singular focus: catch Ryan and pummel him into submission.
Spider-Man, perched on the roof, watched Ryan climb higher and swung away again—but this time Ryan didn't pursue. Instead, he disappeared into the building's interior.
Banner followed immediately.
"Ryan! I thought you were one of the good guys! But you've betrayed all of us!"
Banner's voice echoed through the empty floors as Ryan remained hidden.
"You people forced my hand! I was living peacefully in that other timeline, but Strange insisted on dragging me back here. You know why? Because you so-called superheroes want me dead! You Avengers are the ones planning my execution!"
"You murdered Sam! You nearly killed Rhodes!"
Ryan moved stealthily through the building while Banner stood in the center, pacing frantically and searching.
Ryan's voice echoed mockingly: "So you're allowed to kill me, but I can't fight back? What kind of twisted logic is that?"
In a split second, Ryan materialized behind Banner with a steel cable wrapped around his wrists.
Banner reacted instantly, swinging his massive fist backward, but Ryan easily evaded. In the blink of an eye, Banner found himself entangled in the cable like a straightjacket.
Ryan immediately sprinted away.
Banner's right arm—still damaged from wielding the Infinity Stones—hadn't fully healed, preventing him from breaking completely free.
He'd only moved two steps in pursuit when Banner realized the cable's other end had somehow become wrapped around the building's primary support column.
CRACK!
BOOM! BOOM!
Banner's movement instantly severed the already compromised structural beam.
Ryan hadn't simply evaded the attack—he was demolishing the entire building, and his strategy was working perfectly.
The nearly fifty-story construction project was cleaved in half, collapsing instantly and burying Banner beneath tons of debris.
Dust clouds and smoke engulfed three city blocks.
Strange and Steve, who had rushed to the scene, stood speechless before the massive debris field.
"Oh my God! This is catastrophic!" Spider-Man landed beside Steve, hands clutching his mask in horror.
Whether Banner was alive or dead beneath the rubble remained unknown, and Ryan had vanished completely.
Strange formed mystical hand gestures and immediately cast a spell to clear the dust blanketing the streets, while Steve and Spider-Man searched for injured civilians needing assistance.
Powerful winds suddenly arose as Strange's magic swept the urban dust cloud skyward.
Just as the debris began settling back down, a figure burst directly toward Strange.
"Your turn, magician!"
Ryan seized Strange with one hand, his other clenched into a fist. Just as Ryan prepared to deliver the killing blow, Strange's Cloak of Levitation suddenly flew out and wrapped tightly around Ryan's arm, making it impossible to break free.
THWIP!
Web-fluid wrapped around Ryan's other arm. Steve rushed back, leaping onto Ryan's back and wrapping his arm around the villain's throat in a chokehold.
Ryan pulled the webbing taut, and Spider-Man dug his feet deep into the asphalt, sliding forward but refusing to release his grip.
Then a tiny white mouse emerged from Ryan's collar, swiveling its head side to side before scurrying down his arm onto the mystical cloak, gnawing at it viciously.
Steve, maintaining the chokehold around Ryan's neck, felt overwhelming despair.
He hadn't expected Ryan to become this powerful. While not quite Thanos-level, the hopelessness he felt in combat was nearly identical.
"Steve, remember what I told you back then?"
"Ryan, it's not too late to change course," Steve gritted his teeth, still refusing to surrender.
Ryan sneered. "Change course? Have you ever considered that Thanos might have been right?"
This question stunned Steve momentarily.
In that instant of hesitation, Ryan broke free completely.
Perhaps injured by the mouse's bite, the Cloak of Levitation released Ryan's wrist and flew upward, still being held and gnawed by the persistent rodent.
Ryan yanked the web-line, pulling Peter Parker directly toward him and launching the teenager with a devastating punch. Then he spun around and drove Captain America to the ground, beating him systematically.
"Don't worry, Steve. I'll send your buddy Bucky to hell soon so you can have a nice reunion!"
Suddenly, crimson energy enveloped Ryan, and he found his body was no longer under his control as he slowly levitated into the air.
Turning his head, he saw Scarlet Witch emerge from a portal wearing a red leather jacket, her hands crackling with chaos magic.
Oh no—another powerhouse!
Seeing Ryan restrained and immobilized, Strange formed hand gestures and shouted, "Wanda! Hold him steady! I'll open a dimensional rift and banish him!"
Ryan was virtually indestructible now. Even Banner couldn't kill him with brute force. To prevent further urban devastation, Strange decided to open a pocket dimension and strand Ryan inside indefinitely.
Wanda nodded and continued channeling her magic to control Ryan.
Floating helplessly in the air, Ryan called out to Scarlet Witch: "Wanda, you can banish me to another dimension—but you'll lose your only chance to save Vision. Are you absolutely certain you want to do this?"
Wanda's expression faltered. Though her magic didn't cease, Ryan clearly detected her inner turmoil.
"Wanda, in the future you'll have two children with Vision—a family of four living happily in a small suburban town."
"Vision loves your paprikash. He'll kiss you goodbye every morning before work."
Wanda lost focus for a moment. Strange, still casting his banishment spell, immediately shouted, "Wanda, stay focused! Vision is dead! He's manipulating you!"
"Wanda, in my reality Thanos never succeeded, and Vision truly survived. Don't you want to see him again? See your children? They're still waiting for you to come home."
The crimson energy in Wanda's hands gradually dimmed while Strange accelerated his spellcasting.
CRACK!
Something seemed to shatter in mid-air as a dark fissure appeared above Manhattan.
Strange, no longer hesitating, lashed out with countless eldritch whips toward the escaping Ryan, immediately dragging him toward the dimensional rift.
Just as Strange was about to banish Ryan through the portal, both the Sorcerer Supreme and his prisoner were instantly restrained.
Wanda slowly levitated upward and whispered, "Strange... let him go."
End of Chapter 40
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