Chapter 58: The New Avengers Prepare to Battle the Destroyer
Waking up early in the morning, Ryan stepped outside and clasped his hands together, manifesting a massive golden sword from pure cosmic energy.
He channeled all his power into his hands, hoping to expand his ability to utilize cosmic energy through intensive training.
But no matter how hard he pushed himself, the sword's maximum length remained at approximately eight feet.
This wasn't Ryan's limitation—it was the cosmic energy itself that was restricted.
Ryan functioned like a conduit; the amount of power he could channel didn't depend on his will, but on the volume of cosmic energy his body could absorb from the universe.
Something was clearly limiting Ryan's energy absorption rate—perhaps a safeguard left behind by the Celestials when they first created the Eternals eons ago.
New Avengers Compound
Nick Fury's expression was thunderous as he glared at Captain Marvel, who maintained her defiant stance despite the gravity of the situation.
Just ten minutes earlier, Fury had received official documents from a congressional hearing, demanding a reasonable explanation from both Carol and S.H.I.E.L.D. for her unprovoked attack on the military transport. Furthermore, despite retaining her Air Force commission, Carol had been served with a subpoena from a military tribunal.
They'd finally had an opportunity to outmaneuver Secretary Ross politically, but this incident had immediately put both S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers on the defensive.
"Carol, you're grounded until further notice. I'll handle the political fallout. And from now on, I have final authority on all Avengers operations."
Carol rolled her eyes but said nothing.
Suddenly, a spark of eldritch energy crackled to life in Fury's office as a portal materialized. Wong, one of Kamar-Taj's sorcerers, helped the visibly weakened Doctor Strange stumble through the dimensional gateway.
"Strange? What the hell happened to you?"
After the Battle of New York, both Strange and Wanda had disappeared into an interdimensional rift and hadn't been seen since.
Fury hadn't expected him to suddenly reappear like this. He immediately moved to assist, asking, "Are you injured? Where's Wanda?"
With Captain Marvel back and potentially both Doctor Strange and Scarlet Witch available, they could surely overwhelm Ryan through sheer force.
Strange shook his head weakly. "The other Sorcerers Supreme from the multiverse rescued me. Wanda is still trapped in dimensional space."
He and Wanda had engaged in a devastating magical battle. Neither were fully trained masters yet, so the conflict had been relatively evenly matched.
After falling into the dimensional rift, Strange had attempted to return immediately, but the dimensional forces prevented him from reopening a stable portal.
Fortunately, he'd managed to establish mystical communication with a Sorcerer Supreme from another reality, saving his life—but Wanda remained trapped.
Fury pressed urgently, "Why didn't you bring Wanda back with you?"
"The dimensional forces are still affecting my abilities. I need time to recover." Strange continued grimly, "But I'm here to warn you about something critical. Ryan is what we call a Destroyer. As his power grows, he'll become more dangerous than Thanos ever was. We must stop him immediately."
Captain Marvel asked with concern, "What exactly is a Destroyer?"
Wong supported Strange as he explained, "It's a classification used by the Masters of the Mystic Arts. These individuals possess the ability to interfere with timeline integrity. Once a timeline is significantly altered, it can lead to the complete collapse of that entire reality."
Strange added with obvious strain, "Protecting timeline stability is the primary responsibility of sorcerers, but I've lost the Eye of Agamotto and can't face a Destroyer alone. We need to assemble as many heroes as possible to deal with him—and we need to act fast."
Both Fury and Captain Marvel grasped the implications immediately.
Ryan's very existence threatened the natural order of their universe. If they didn't act quickly, the consequences could be catastrophic.
Fury asked, "Strange, can't you and Carol handle him together?"
Before Strange could respond, Carol interjected, "I just fought him yesterday. Honestly, he's incredibly powerful, especially those energy constructs he creates. I can absorb a few hits, but if he lands a solid blow, even I could be seriously hurt."
"He's grown stronger again?" Strange asked with alarm. "And what do you mean by energy constructs?"
After Carol's detailed explanation, Strange's expression shifted to one of deep concern.
"You're describing golden light that can shift forms at will?"
Carol nodded.
"Then we're in serious trouble."
The spells wielded by the Masters of the Mystic Arts were themselves a form of cosmic energy manipulation. Based on Carol's description, Strange realized that Ryan had somehow gained access to the same fundamental forces.
Ryan's original physical capabilities had made him nearly invincible—he'd even held his own against the Hulk in direct combat.
If he'd now added cosmic energy manipulation to his abilities, even Strange and Captain Marvel working together wouldn't be enough to defeat him.
Strange said grimly, "We need significantly more firepower, and we need it immediately."
Everyone understood the severity of their situation.
Fury immediately summoned Maria Hill. "Hill, locate Dr. Banner right now. Use every resource we have."
"I'll find Thor," Carol added, her expression resolute.
Fury nodded. "Move out immediately! I'll reach out to other enhanced individuals. The second congressional hearing is in three days. If this goes badly..."
"Don't worry about the political ramifications," Strange said firmly.
The Destroyer problem was a nightmare scenario that concerned Sorcerers Supreme across multiple realities.
While the destruction of a timeline would eliminate the Destroyer along with everything else, no one wanted their own universe to be sacrificed. Moreover, Strange's greatest fear wasn't Ryan's raw power—it was his demonstrated ability to manipulate time and space.
If Ryan escaped to another timeline, the consequences would be exponentially worse.
S.H.I.E.L.D. immediately began mobilizing every enhanced individual in their database.
Now they just had to wait for Carol to locate Thor and for Strange to recover his strength, so they could launch a coordinated strike against Ryan.
Completely unaware that S.H.I.E.L.D. was assembling a massive force to neutralize him, Ryan was currently overseeing the production of enhanced Super Soldier serum batches.
Ross's strategy was to create an entire squadron of Super Soldier operatives, intending to use them to replace the Avengers as the world's primary defense force.
Ryan understood he couldn't face the Avengers alone and needed a substantial army backing him.
The two had found common ground and immediately began selecting military candidates for the enhanced Super Soldier program.
The only requirements were absolute loyalty to their cause—character assessment and existing skill level weren't even considerations in Ryan's selection process.
Ross used the immortality serum to secure political allies, while Ryan used the enhanced formula to build a private army.
Emerging from the laboratory, Ryan immediately called for Craig Hollis, the man known as Mister Immortal.
"Mr. Hollis, I need to examine a portion of your brain tissue. This might be... uncomfortable."
Hollis stared at him in horror. "..."
According to Ryan's hypothesis, Mister Immortal's resurrection abilities stemmed from his unique connection to cosmic forces—a different manifestation of the same energy Ryan now wielded.
As long as cosmic energy existed in the universe, Hollis remained functionally immortal.
The problem was that Ryan had never been able to identify the source of Hollis's immortality. Today, he'd suddenly developed an overwhelming urge to open Hollis's skull and examine his brain directly.
Perhaps the answers he sought lay within the neural pathways of the only truly immortal human he'd ever encountered.
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