Chapter 124: The Real Super-Soldier Carter? A Fooled Steve
Dr. Samuel Sterns's laboratory was located in Grayburn College, Harlem, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Bruce Banner and his ex-girlfriend Betty Ross arrived seeking Sterns's help in finding a cure for the Hulk transformation.
Samuel Sterns—codename "Mr. Blue"—was indeed remarkably talented, having actually developed a method to suppress the Hulk's gamma radiation signature.
That's right—suppress, not cure. A critical distinction.
The inhibitor serum worked rapidly. Just as Banner began transforming into the Hulk during testing, the treatment pulled him back to his normal human form.
Before Bruce could celebrate this apparent success, he discovered another piece of deeply disturbing news.
Samuel Sterns had replicated and synthesized his gamma-irradiated blood samples—dozens of them.
Bruce demanded immediate destruction of all samples, but Sterns vehemently disagreed, arguing about scientific progress and potential medical applications. As the two argued intensely, a tranquilizer dart suddenly struck Bruce in the neck, and then Emil Blonsky appeared from the shadows.
Bruce Banner collapsed, arrested by General Ross's strike team, and Blonsky coerced Sterns into injecting him with Banner's synthesized Hulk blood—along with his existing Super-Soldier Serum enhancement.
Everything was proceeding according to the canonical timeline.
Ryan, observing the entire operation from a nearby rooftop, lowered his binoculars and asked Anthony casually, "What's Magneto been up to lately?"
"Nothing particularly noteworthy," Anthony reported. "He occasionally goes to Central Park to play chess with elderly Jewish men, stays home watching historical documentaries, or takes long walks around the city."
The behavior seemed perfectly normal and mundane, but Ryan didn't believe Erik Lehnsherr had truly integrated into ordinary society to live a peaceful civilian life. He wouldn't be Magneto if he didn't eventually cause trouble.
Perhaps he was simply learning about this timeline and assessing potential threats, or perhaps he was keeping an intentionally low profile out of healthy respect for Scarlet Witch Wanda and Ryan's demonstrated capabilities.
"Assign someone to maintain surveillance on him," Ryan ordered. "Non-intrusive, but consistent."
He then inquired about the Avengers Initiative's progress and Wanda's current activities.
Anthony methodically answered each question, sharing confirmed intelligence and noting what required further investigation.
Down on the streets below, the Abomination had already manifested—right on schedule. The grotesque creature emerged shortly after, along with the Hulk as expected. The two gamma-powered behemoths, one gray-green and one pure green, engaged in catastrophically violent combat throughout Harlem's streets.
But then something unexpected occurred.
RING—RING—
Anthony's encrypted phone rang. His expression darkened as he answered. He turned to Ryan and reported grimly, "Boss, S.H.I.E.L.D. is inbound to this location."
"Stop them. Whatever it takes."
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s director was Peggy Carter in this altered timeline. Captain America's premature awakening from the ice had led to S.H.I.E.L.D. wanting operational oversight of every enhanced individual incident.
Ryan, currently preoccupied with carefully maintaining canonical timeline events, absolutely could not allow S.H.I.E.L.D. interference in the battle between Abomination and Hulk—it would disrupt Banner's crucial character development.
Anthony's approach was ruthlessly efficient: create chaos, establish diversionary incidents, and keep S.H.I.E.L.D. forces away from the actual combat zone.
Ryan effortlessly leaped across several building rooftops, reaching the main thoroughfare S.H.I.E.L.D.'s convoy would need to traverse. With a subtle gesture of illusion magic, the driver of the lead S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicle suddenly perceived a small child standing directly in the road ahead.
The agent instinctively swerved violently, and the armored SUV careened directly into a roadside bodega, crashing through the storefront in an explosion of shattered glass and twisted metal.
The unexpected collision forced the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. convoy to an emergency halt.
Captain America Steve Rogers immediately exited his vehicle, the iconic shield strapped securely to his back, and surveyed the surroundings with tactical awareness.
The environment shifted dramatically in a split second as Ryan cast a comprehensive illusion directly targeting Steve's perception—transporting him mentally into a vivid World War II battlefield scenario.
Meanwhile, Peggy Carter remained seated in her command vehicle, apparently conducting a phone conversation with headquarters, completely unaware that Captain America had suddenly vanished from objective reality.
Ryan raised both hands and spread them wide, projecting a massive area-effect illusion over the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. strike force—creating the convincing perception of an active shooter situation at the intersection ahead.
S.H.I.E.L.D. agents instinctively returned fire against the illusory threats, the scene erupting into absolute chaos.
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
The S.H.I.E.L.D. tactical team had no idea their suppressive fire was targeting nothing but empty air—a scene Ryan meticulously recorded on video for potential future leverage.
Elsewhere, the Abomination and Hulk continued their catastrophic battle, transitioning from street level to rooftops, and General Ross's military helicopter was violently shot down during the engagement.
Seeing this canonical event unfold correctly, Ryan knew the battle was approaching its conclusion, so he maintained his illusions to continue delaying S.H.I.E.L.D.'s arrival.
"We need backup! Call for immediate reinforcements! Where the hell is Rogers?" Carter shouted into her tactical comm from behind the overturned vehicle.
"Cap went in that direction and hasn't returned," an agent reported, pointing toward an alley. "Lost visual contact approximately three minutes ago."
Carter swore under her breath. "Damn it!"
The illusory gunfire continued. Although none of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents were actually injured, they remained pinned down at the intersection, unable to advance or safely evacuate.
At this critical moment, Peggy Carter suddenly removed her suit jacket and tactical heels, revealing she was wearing a combat-ready outfit underneath.
She ordered the agents around her with absolute authority, "I'll handle the hostile fire from the one o'clock position. You flank around the opposite direction and breach their position. Understood?"
"YES, MA'AM!"
The next instant, Peggy Carter burst through the S.H.I.E.L.D. defensive perimeter at superhuman speed—far faster than any baseline human should be capable of moving.
She leaped impossibly high onto a second-floor wall, ran horizontally along it for several steps defying gravity, then launched herself again, landing directly beside an illusory enemy combatant in the blink of an eye.
Ryan was genuinely stunned by what he was witnessing.
"What the actual hell?!"
Peggy Carter's combat technique was equally extraordinary. She struck with precision martial arts strikes enhanced by obvious superhuman strength—but her attacks passed harmlessly through the illusory enemies, meeting zero physical resistance.
"What?" Peggy Carter froze for a split second, analyzing the situation with tactical intelligence, then turned to observe the other supposed hostiles. Then sudden understanding dawned across her face.
Peggy Carter emerged from cover and raised her hand high, signaling all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to immediately cease fire.
Seeing his deception exposed by someone who was apparently enhanced, Ryan simply modified the illusion parameters—throwing the entire S.H.I.E.L.D. force into a primeval jungle environment, completely disorienting their spatial awareness and preventing them from determining cardinal directions.
Everyone in the S.H.I.E.L.D. team looked utterly confused, except Peggy Carter, who was methodically analyzing her surroundings with superhuman perception.
She took several careful steps forward, her hand making contact with a solid brick wall—but what her eyes perceived was a moss-covered swamp.
"This is advanced illusion magic," she stated calmly. "What the hell is happening here?"
"Everyone stay calm!" Peggy Carter commanded, ordering all personnel to remain stationary and avoid disorienting movement.
Meanwhile, several blocks away, the battle between Abomination and Hulk was reaching its climax. Abomination was finally defeated through Hulk's superior rage-fueled strength and captured by the military's containment team, while the Hulk escaped into the night. Everything concluded according to the canonical timeline.
Ryan raised his hand and dismissed the illusion entirely, smiled with satisfaction, and disappeared around the rooftop corner using enhanced acrobatics.
The illusion dissolved completely, and Peggy Carter and her team found themselves back at the bullet-riddled intersection. While the enemy combatants in the illusion had been fake, the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents' retaliatory ammunition had been devastatingly real.
The entire intersection was absolutely destroyed by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s suppressive fire, with not a single storefront window remaining intact across multiple city blocks.
Civilians who had taken cover during the perceived firefight slowly raised their heads, pulled out their smartphones, pointed them directly at the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, and stared with deeply suspicious expressions.
Peggy Carter waved her hand grimly. "Tactical withdrawal. Now."
The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents immediately retreated to their vehicles and departed rapidly, refusing to offer any public explanation until they understood what had actually occurred.
The situation was far too bizarre, and Peggy Carter didn't have time to search for Steve Rogers—she prioritized evacuating her compromised team from the scene.
Thirty meters from the intersection, in a filthy alley...
Surrounded by garbage, reeking of something indefinably unpleasant, Captain America Steve Rogers stood with his eyes gently closed, embracing empty air and slow-dancing to imaginary music.
Deep in his illusory passion, he even tilted his head romantically and extended his lips, tenderly kissing the empty air where he perceived Peggy Carter to be standing.
On the rooftop above, Ryan barely contained his laughter as he recorded the entire embarrassing scene on his phone.
"Steve, you should really thank me," Ryan chuckled quietly. "I've helped you realize your deepest fantasy—dancing with Agent Carter."
Fortunately Steve was only dancing in the illusion. If Ryan had placed him at home in a more intimate scenario, Steve probably would have removed far more than just his shield. The thought alone was genuinely disturbing.
Saving the video file carefully, Ryan smiled and stood up to depart.
The illusion vanished abruptly, and Steve's perception snapped back to reality. He found that Peggy Carter had somehow completely vanished, and the romantic ballroom had been replaced by a foul-smelling Harlem alley.
Absolute horror washed over him as he realized what might have just occurred.
He quickly scanned his surroundings, desperately confirming no one had witnessed whatever he'd been doing, then fled the alley with his shield, face burning with mortification.
Ryan returned to the primary observation point in Harlem, and Anthony reported, "Boss, Abomination has been secured and transported by General Ross's containment team. The Hulk's location is currently unknown—he disappeared into the subway tunnels."
"Bruce Banner will be off the grid for quite a while now," Ryan confirmed, checking his watch. "There's still an hour until dawn. I'm heading back—I promised Cassie we'd go shopping today. Contact me immediately if there are any significant developments."
"Understood, boss."
Anthony was fundamentally a workaholic, rarely taking personal time. Even after following Ryan across the multiverse into this timeline, he never stopped working—it seemed to be his core programming.
Ryan drove back to the suburban estate, where Butler Lawrence was directing the domestic staff in renovating the flower gardens.
Cassie, who had finished preparing for their outing, heard the car approach and ran out of the villa with an excited cheer.
"Lawrence, please manage the estate while we're out. I'm taking Cassie into the city."
Lawrence smiled warmly. "Mr. Ryan, I wish you and Miss Cassie a wonderful day together."
With Cassie in the passenger seat, they drove directly to Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side—the absolute epicenter of luxury retail.
Having grown up on the West Coast, Cassie had never experienced New York City shopping, and Scott Lang's family certainly hadn't permitted lavish spending habits.
This time, accompanied by Ryan, it was destined to be an absolutely enthusiastic shopping spree.
They browsed from morning through afternoon, only pausing briefly for a quick lunch. That evening, they capped off the experience with a romantic movie at an upscale cinema.
As they returned to the car after leaving the theater, Ryan suddenly asked, "Cassie, do you want to go to San Francisco?"
Cassie, still energized from the day's excitement, was momentarily confused.
She turned and asked carefully, "You mean... to see my family? My original timeline?"
Ryan understood that Cassie deeply missed her home and family. While she couldn't return to their original universe currently, she could potentially visit this timeline's version of Scott Lang.
Cassie hesitated, clearly conflicted, and Ryan smiled as he continued, "Besides, I'm genuinely curious to see what you were like as a baby."
Cassie blushed immediately. "What are you thinking? I'm only one year old in this timeline!" But the thought of seeing Scott—even this universe's version—deeply stirred her emotions.
Seeing Cassie's obvious desire, Ryan said decisively, "Then it's settled. Let's go right now."
The two embarked on a completely spontaneous cross-country trip, booking a late-evening flight from New York City on the East Coast to San Francisco on the West Coast.
Cassie had no childhood memories from this timeline and had no idea where this universe's Scott Lang currently lived.
After considerable research and investigation, they finally located the address—and Cassie hesitated once again.
Looking at the modest apartment building before them, Ryan asked gently, "What's wrong? Don't you want to go up and see him?"
In this timeline, Scott hadn't been imprisoned for burglary yet, nor had he divorced Cassie's mother Maggie. The family was intact—but clearly struggling.
Cassie, after a prolonged moment of internal conflict, took a deep breath and said with determination, "I can do this. Let's go."
Taking Ryan's hand firmly, she walked into the apartment building.
Scott Lang's life was currently an absolute mess. Being a first-time father, the arrival of baby Cassie had left him feeling completely overwhelmed and underprepared. His wife Maggie's dissatisfaction with their current financial situation led to increasingly frequent arguments.
When Ryan and Cassie reached the upstairs hallway, Scott and Maggie were in the middle of a heated argument about what to make for dinner—clearly a proxy fight for deeper marital problems.
Cassie, standing outside in the corridor, said with obvious sadness, "He might not be a great husband right now... but he becomes a good father. Eventually."
Ryan placed his hand gently on the back of Cassie's head, offering comfort. "Men need time to mature. Scott's just developing slower than some—but he gets there."
"Maybe... maybe I could help them. Change their current situation somehow."
Cassie knew intellectually that she shouldn't interfere with this Scott's life trajectory, much less alter the canonical timeline's progression. But when people travel through time and encounter the suffering of themselves or their families, how many could genuinely resist the temptation to help?
Human decisions are never driven purely by rationality—they're governed by profoundly complex emotions and personal connections.
End of Chapter 124
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