Chapter 70: A Beast of Burden
The Hulk had learned from their previous encounters, recognizing that Ryan's golden energy constructs could actually harm him. Banner was now reluctant to engage in close-quarters combat.
WHOOSH
The massive two-handed sword vanished, replaced by twin one-handed blades that Ryan wielded with deadly precision, slashing simultaneously at both Hulk and Abomination.
Ryan leaped over Abomination's massive frame, bringing both energy swords toward the creature's neck while speaking with cold disappointment. "I promised I'd get you out of that hellhole prison, but here you are consorting with wanted fugitives. I'm genuinely disappointed, Emil."
CLANG
Ryan's killing blow was deflected by several metallic rings that intercepted his attack at the last second.
"Shang-Chi? The Ten Rings of the Mandarin?"
Abomination, having narrowly escaped decapitation, scrambled away while desperately trying to explain. "Sir, please listen to me! They extracted me from custody and promised a full presidential pardon if I helped capture you!"
Only that master manipulator Nick Fury would make such grandiose promises he couldn't possibly deliver.
Abomination was tactically astute. Thoroughly intimidated, he dared not attack Ryan again, retreating to a safe distance to observe the battle's outcome.
The ten mystical rings orbited through the air before returning to Shang-Chi's forearms, gathering arcane energy as their wielder charged toward Ryan.
Ryan materialized his signature energy shield to deflect the ring assault.
The rings suddenly connected into a flexible whip formation, lashing out with tremendous force. Ryan dismissed his shield and caught one of the attacking rings with his bare hand.
"Interesting..."
Ryan was stunned. He could sense unmistakable cosmic energy emanating from the ancient artifacts.
He immediately channeled his own cosmic power into the captured ring.
A second later, the orange-hued ring blazed brilliant gold, simultaneously severing its connection to the other nine.
"Fascinating! I didn't expect the Ten Rings to be Celestial technology. Unable to naturally manifest cosmic energy, they created these focusing devices instead. Quite ingenious!"
"Give it back!" Shang-Chi demanded.
Ryan slipped the converted ring onto his finger and immediately noticed his body's cosmic energy absorption rate increasing noticeably. His eyes lit up with genuine excitement.
He chuckled darkly. "No, I think it should be returned to its rightful owner."
Ryan charged directly at Shang-Chi, attempting to acquire the remaining nine rings by force.
ROAR
Captain Marvel rocketed up through the shattered ice, her binary energy blazing.
Doctor Strange followed close behind, wielding the mystical Sword of Vishanti despite his injured condition.
The Hulk clenched his massive fists as he bounded across the frozen wasteland toward the conflict.
Shang-Chi positioned himself defensively, his nine remaining rings spread in a protective formation.
Surrounded by enemies, Ryan remained completely unfazed. Without Thor's Stormbreaker or some equivalent god-tier weapon, these heroes posed no real threat to his current power level.
To his opponents, Ryan appeared to be reaching for Shang-Chi's rings, but the energy sword he materialized suddenly extended an additional ten centimeters, sweeping behind him instead of forward.
"Die!"
SWISH
Strange, who had closed to melee range, was caught completely off-guard. The Sword of Vishanti shattered instantly as Ryan's blade severed the sorcerer's right arm at the shoulder.
"Doctor Strange!"
"Stephen!"
"AHHH!"
While eliminating Strange as a threat, the Hulk's oversized fist connected with Ryan, sending him flying backward through the air.
Captain Marvel pursued at light speed, unleashing photon blasts from both hands. Ryan tumbled directly into a seemingly bottomless glacial crevasse, disappearing from view.
Banner helped the maimed Strange to his feet while Shang-Chi retrieved the severed limb from the bloody snow.
"We might still have time to get this reattached if we reach a trauma center immediately," Shang-Chi said urgently.
"How are we supposed to get back with Strange's portal arm gone?"
Captain Marvel could achieve faster-than-light travel, but carrying an injured passenger at those speeds would certainly kill him.
"Phone," Strange gritted through his agony.
Carol quickly searched Strange's robes, located his mobile device, found the contact labeled "Wong," and initiated the call.
Minutes later, an orange portal materialized as the Master of Hong Kong Sanctum shouted from the other side, "Get through here! I'll transport you to Metro-General Hospital!"
Banner entered first, carrying the wounded Strange, with Carol following immediately behind.
Just as Shang-Chi prepared to step through the gateway, the ice beneath his feet suddenly exploded upward as Ryan burst from the crevasse.
"You're staying here!"
Ryan's hand locked around Shang-Chi's wrist just as he crossed the portal's threshold. Master Wong, terrified by Ryan's sudden appearance, immediately closed the dimensional gateway.
Ryan pulled outward while Shang-Chi desperately pulled toward safety. In the split second before the portal sealed completely, Ryan managed to tear several additional rings from Shang-Chi's arms.
Back at the New York Sanctum, Shang-Chi stared at his forearms in despair—only six rings remained. He wanted to weep at the loss.
The portal vanished, leaving Ryan alone with his sole remaining opponent: Abomination.
THUD
Abomination dropped to his knees and clasped his hands together in supplication. "Sir, please don't execute me! I was coerced into this betrayal!"
He begged for mercy while internally cursing the Avengers for abandoning him. Everyone else had escaped through Strange's portal, leaving him alone to face Ryan's wrath. Some teammates they turned out to be.
Ryan examined the three newly acquired rings, slipping them onto his fingers alongside the first. With an energy sword materializing in his grip, he approached the kneeling Abomination.
He rested the blade against Emil's shoulder and asked coldly, "Give me one compelling reason not to end your miserable existence right now."
"I surrender completely! I want to join your organization, sir. I'm willing to serve as your personal enforcer—your loyal soldier!"
Alone with Ryan in this endless frozen wasteland, no one could comprehend Abomination's absolute despair in that moment.
Forget about surrendering—he'd call Ryan "father" if necessary. Anything to avoid execution.
"Hmph."
Ryan slowly dismissed his energy weapon, then vaulted onto Abomination's massive shoulders.
"Head southeast toward civilization."
Ryan's phone had been destroyed in the Humvee explosion, so finding transportation back to the continental United States was his immediate priority.
"Yes, sir!"
Abomination carried Ryan across the arctic landscape, reduced to serving as a beast of burden for his new master.
At the Payne residence in suburban Princeton, the battle concluded swiftly following Ryan's interdimensional disappearance. Black Panther T'Challa and War Machine Rhodes managed to escape, while Marcus Payne and the three enhanced soldiers successfully captured Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes.
Ryan's vanishing act didn't generate any public attention, but it sent shockwaves through the highest levels of government and military leadership.
Only Ryan possessed the knowledge to synthesize the life-extension serum, and countless powerful individuals depended on that formula for their continued existence!
Within thirty minutes of Ryan's disappearance, every intelligence agency and military resource activated at maximum capacity with a single objective: locate Dr. Ryan immediately.
"Sir, according to reports from the Knights, Dr. Ryan was pulled through a dimensional portal by Captain Marvel. His current location remains unknown."
Secretary Ross's expression turned grim. "Launch a full-scale search operation. I don't care what it costs—find him."
Whether it was the specialized inhibitors Ross required for his Red Hulk transformation or the immortality serum the Eternals needed to secure his path to the presidency, everything depended on Ryan's continued research.
Some parties were even more desperate than Ross. A high-ranking Eternal society member who'd recently joined their organization was rapidly approaching natural death. The Eternals had promised to extend his lifespan indefinitely and guarantee his presidential election victory.
But the twenty doses of life-extension serum Ryan had promised remained undelivered. If the delay continued much longer, their political asset would die before their plans could be implemented.
"Sir, although we haven't located Dr. Ryan yet, the CIA did discover this intelligence."
An agent placed a surveillance photograph on Ross's desk. Ross's eyes widened in recognition.
"Nick Fury?"
"Affirmative, sir. He was spotted in Moscow three days ago meeting with several high-ranking Russian officials. Strong evidence suggests he's defected to enemy intelligence services."
Ross snorted in disgust. "Contact Moscow immediately and demand his extradition. Otherwise..."
Before Ross could complete his threat, another operative burst into his office.
"Sir, Dr. Ryan has been located! He's currently in a small fishing village on the Greenland coast. He contacted our Thule Air Base ten minutes ago requesting immediate extraction."
This was the first positive news Ross had received all day, and his grim expression immediately brightened.
"Dispatch our fastest transport immediately."
Ryan returned to the military compound via high-speed aircraft, bringing Abomination with him as a prisoner.
Emil remained incarcerated—he'd simply been transferred from one containment facility to another under new management.
Upon learning that Marcus Payne and the enhanced soldiers had successfully captured Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, Ryan offered genuine praise for Payne's performance.
"Excellent work. Continue following my directives and you'll have a bright future ahead of you." Ryan patted Payne's shoulder encouragingly. "You should develop a proper codename for yourself. Think it over carefully—something that reflects your abilities so your teammates can remember you."
With that, Ryan returned to his laboratory complex.
He was eager to study the mystical properties of the captured Mandarin rings.
Since acquiring the four ancient artifacts, Ryan's cosmic energy absorption rate had increased dramatically.
The energy constructs he could now manifest—like his signature sword—had grown to nearly three meters in length.
Unfortunately, Ryan was neither a physicist nor an energy specialist. Despite extensive analysis, he couldn't determine the rings' exact operating principles. It was unfortunate that Tony Stark was no longer available for consultation—Stark might have unlocked their secrets.
The four rings not only accelerated cosmic energy absorption but could function as independent weapons systems. However, Ryan lacked formal martial arts training, so he remained more comfortable with his familiar energy sword techniques.
While Ryan studied the Ten Rings' capabilities, Secretary Ross arrived via military helicopter.
"Dr. Ryan, I'm tremendously relieved to see you've returned safely."
Ross appeared to be in excellent spirits lately. The life-extension treatments had restored his natural black hair and beard, while his Red Hulk transformations had enhanced his physical condition to that of a man in his forties.
Ryan, anticipating Ross's request, opened his cryogenic storage unit and retrieved a sealed container.
"Here's what you requested," he said. "Use it sparingly. Production will be severely limited for the foreseeable future."
"Understood completely." Ross carefully secured the immortality serum before adding, "Regarding today's coordinated attack—you should exercise extreme caution during any future off-base activities. Bring maximum security personnel whenever possible."
Ryan nodded. "This was clearly a well-organized, premeditated operation. For unknown reasons, Thor wasn't involved in their assault. I severed Strange's dominant hand, so he won't be opening any more portals anytime soon."
Ross then produced the Moscow surveillance photograph of Nick Fury.
After explaining Fury's apparent defection, Ryan suddenly understood the larger picture.
"That explains everything!"
"What?" Ross asked, confused by Ryan's sudden revelation.
Ryan shook his head, declining to elaborate as he processed this new intelligence.
No wonder Ryan had felt something was fundamentally wrong during these recent confrontations with the Avengers.
Raiding a classified military installation and absconding with S.H.I.E.L.D. resources—such tactically suicidal operations clearly weren't characteristic of the real Nick Fury's strategic thinking.
Now Ryan finally understood the true situation. This "Nick Fury" wasn't Nick Fury at all, but a Skrull infiltrator using his appearance!
The shapeshifter's objective was to escalate the conflict between Ryan and the Avengers, while simultaneously destroying the relationship between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the federal government.
His deliberate appearance in Moscow was designed to inflame tensions between the United States and Russia, allowing the Skrull invasion force to benefit from the resulting chaos.
"This is becoming such a headache! I just want to conduct my research in peace!"
Ryan shared his Skrull infiltration theory with Ross, delegating the political implications to military intelligence.
Ross was genuinely shocked. It wasn't that he doubted Ryan's analysis, but the international ramifications required immediate verification through proper intelligence channels.
After Ross departed urgently to brief the Joint Chiefs, Ryan left his laboratory and headed toward Winter Soldier's detention facility.
He intended to fulfill his promise to send Bucky Barnes to hell for a reunion with Steve Rogers—and he would handle the execution personally.
But first, he needed to harvest that vibranium prosthetic arm. After all, Wakanda metal was far too valuable to waste.
End of Chapter 70
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