Rory's serum experiments were progressing painfully slowly.
He stared at the mountain of data, baffled. Something was off, but where? The compressed Thanos serum didn't trigger strong rejection in his body, yet his blood simply couldn't carry the encoded genetic information within Thanos's chromosomes.
He'd once likened chromosomes to hard drives, maybe the "data" in Thanos's serum was simply too large. His blood, as the hard drive, just didn't have the storage capacity to hold it.
The problem? Genetic data couldn't be changed. Maybe the Celestials could do it. But Rory wasn't a god.
Still, after a long mental struggle, an idea surfaced.
"If only I had a sample of Captain America's blood… with a proper baseline, maybe I could figure out what I'm missing."
Beep-beep-beep.
The security alarm went off.
Rory snapped back to reality, hurrying over to the monitors. He pulled up the feed.
Onscreen was Clint Barton, Hawkeye, holding up a photo at the front desk of his apartment building.
Rory quickly enabled audio.
"Have you seen this man?"
The receptionist shook her head. "Nope. Haven't seen him. Maybe try somewhere else."
Clint didn't give up. He flashed his S.H.I.E.L.D. credentials and pointed upstairs.
"Mind if I take a look around?"
"Sure. Be my guest."
Rory didn't panic.
His lab was underground, acquired via a third-party rental service. The front desk had no idea he even lived there.
"So… the Avengers are looking for me," he muttered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Then he shut off the feed, pulled a blanket over himself, and went straight to sleep on the cot.
Upstairs, Clint wandered through the building. Nothing.
Outside, Steve Rogers exited another building across the street.
Clint shook his head. "No sign of him. Maybe we got it wrong."
Steve frowned. "We didn't. Rory's smart, he fooled both me and Tony. That's exactly why we have to be thorough."
Rory possessing Thanos's blood, that thought alone haunted Steve.
He wouldn't rest until they found him.
Rory woke around 2:30 AM. Groggy but determined.
He freshened up, sat at the monitor, and scanned the streets. Quiet. No one around.
Then he geared up, disguised himself, grabbed a handful of signal interceptors, and headed out.
His plan was to splice into nearby street cameras and expand his surveillance net across several blocks.
He stripped insulation off a junction cable, wired in an interceptor, and sealed it up with just enough camouflage to remain hidden.
One, two, three… all went smoothly.
Only one interceptor remained, and unfortunately, its target camera was directly across the street from a rowdy bar.
People were constantly staggering in and out.
Rory waited patiently, making sure the drunks weren't paying attention. Then, quickly and carefully, he popped the access panel.
As he was just about to close the cover, bam! Someone bumped into him.
An overwhelming wave of alcohol hit his nostrils.
A drunk… woman?
She stumbled past him, black hair swaying, dressed in a leather jacket, jeans, and combat boots.
Rory's eyes widened.
Jessica Jones.
One of the Defenders.
An idea sparked in his mind.
Snapping the panel shut, he quietly followed her.
Around a corner, a shadow darted in front of him, bam! Rory was slammed up against a wall.
"Why the hell are you following me?"
Jessica's breath reeked of booze.
Rory raised both hands. "I mean no harm! I just saw a woman walking alone at night and thought, maybe you needed help?"
"I don't need help. You can't help. Follow me again and I'll break your face."
She let him go. Jessica had already assessed him, no threat, just a civilian.
But Rory didn't give up.
He kept following, just close enough to lend an arm for balance when she stumbled.
Jessica tried to brush him off, twice, but then gave in. She glanced sideways, only now realizing Rory was Asian, with striking, clear eyes.
After a long moment, she chuckled, and wrapped an arm around him.
"Hey handsome, how about we make this night… unforgettable?"
Rory nearly choked.
Jessica Jones had a reputation, for drinking, fighting… and enthusiastic intimacy.
He wasn't about to let her crush his hips into oblivion.
He opened his mouth to decline… but paused. He had a goal.
So instead, he smiled sheepishly.
"Maybe… but how about a hot shower first?"
Jessica thought he was game. Laughing drunkenly, she yanked his arm and led him back to her apartment.
Minutes later, they were inside.
She shoved him onto the bed.
Rory's eyes widened as she climbed on top.
"Wait! What about the shower?! This isn't how memorable works!"
Riiiip!
His shirt was shredded. Jessica didn't spare her own clothes either.
"Oh god, seriously?!"
He tried to resist, but he was just a regular guy. Jessica Jones? Not so much.
But Rory didn't forget his mission.
He discreetly pulled out a vibranium needle-bullet and,
stabbed it into her neck.
"Aaoooo!!"
BOOM.
Jessica got even more excited.
So excited, in fact, that the bed gave out beneath them with a deafening crash.
An hour later.
Rory limped out of her apartment, clutching his lower back in pain.
He looked at the vibranium needle in his palm, stained with fresh blood.
"This better be worth it…"
This sample had cost him. But it was precious.
He made a solemn vow:
One day, I will get revenge for this. And I mean it!
Back in his lab, Rory immediately began processing Jessica's blood.
He ran cultures, isolated DNA strands, logged data, utterly absorbed for the next ten hours.
Not even a bite to eat.
"Incredible… her sample's almost as active as Thanos's. Wait, what's this? Mutated chromosomes?"
Then, the breakthrough.
If his blood was a hard drive… and Thanos's data was too large… what if Jessica's DNA could serve as a USB drive, a bridge between them?
It made theoretical sense. Her powers came from chemical mutation, not alien lineage.
He scribbled down notes feverishly.
But after so many hours, the mental fog hit him like a truck.
His body finally gave in.
Rory collapsed onto the cot and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.
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200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter