Chapter 60: Ryan and the Avengers' Second Battle
Seventeen enhanced soldiers emerged from the facility, each wielding military-grade miniguns, their dense web of bullets creating a devastating barrage toward the Avengers.
The appearance of these seventeen super-soldiers immediately put the Avengers under immense pressure.
"Peter! Web them up!" Nick Fury's voice crackled through the comms.
Spider-Man heard the order and immediately fired weblines, attempting to swing around the super-soldiers' flank while simultaneously trying to web up War Machine, who was engaging targets from above.
"Thwip!"
His webline wrapped around one soldier's wrist, but the enhanced operative tore free effortlessly and delivered a devastating punch to Peter's face.
"Ow! My nose!" Peter crashed into a concrete barrier, his spider-sense screaming warnings.
The Defenders—Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Iron Fist, and Daredevil—rushed to assist. The seventeen super-soldiers discarded their emptied miniguns and charged with military precision. In just the first exchange, all four Defenders were overwhelmed and pinned to the ground.
"Damn it! They're not ordinary enhanced individuals!" Luke Cage grunted, struggling against two soldiers. "We need backup!"
Black Panther T'Challa and the Winter Soldier Bucky Barnes, having arrived upon receiving the emergency signal, joined the melee. Even with their combined efforts, they couldn't completely suppress the seventeen enhanced operatives.
These weren't just augmented beings—they were elite military soldiers with rigorous combat training. While individually they might not match the most powerful Avengers, their coordinated tactics and superior numbers created an overwhelming advantage that even experienced superheroes struggled against.
Meanwhile
Ryan wielded his massive cosmic sword, engaging both Captain Marvel and the Hulk simultaneously.
The Hulk hurled a military Humvee, which Ryan sliced cleanly in half with surgical precision. The bisected vehicle slid across the concrete, sparks igniting the spilled gasoline in a thunderous explosion behind Ryan.
Ryan's silhouette flickered dramatically against the flames, his golden armor gleaming.
Captain Marvel launched another concentrated photon blast. Ryan instantly manifested a tower shield to absorb the impact, then compressed the construct back into his other hand, forming a single-handed blade.
While deflecting Carol's aerial bombardment, he pressed his attack against Banner.
The Hulk was undoubtedly one of the most durable beings on Earth, but even his strength had limits. Weapons forged from pure cosmic energy weren't merely sharp—they could slice through conventional matter like tissue paper. Only opponents wielding equivalent cosmic forces could truly resist them.
Captain Marvel maintained her aerial advantage, strafing Ryan with precision energy blasts and keeping him constantly moving.
"ROAAAAAR!"
The Hulk, seizing an opening while Ryan was focused on Carol's attacks, charged with earth-shaking force.
Just as Banner was about to tackle Ryan, the laboratory wall exploded outward in a shower of concrete and steel. Another hulking figure burst through the debris—this one crimson red—and tackled Bruce Banner mid-charge. The two gamma-powered giants crashed to the ground, rolling across the battlefield before rising to face each other in primal combat.
Everyone, including Ryan, was stunned by this development.
"Red Hulk?!" Captain Marvel called out in shock.
The Red Hulk and Bruce Banner's Hulk offered no quarter, trading devastating blows that shook the entire compound.
The Red Hulk was Secretary Ross. When Ryan had first emerged from the underground laboratory, Ross—fearing his enhanced serum samples would be destroyed—had brought a vial with him while climbing the elevator shaft.
The container had shattered during his escape, glass fragments lacerating Ross's arm while the experimental serum mixed with residual gamma radiation and Hulk blood from the earlier battle.
The combination had triggered Ross's transformation into the Red Hulk—something he'd only theorized about in his classified Project Crimson files.
The two gamma-powered titans clashed with bone-rattling impacts while the other heroes remained occupied with the seventeen super-soldiers.
Ryan grinned, raising his cosmic greatsword as he charged directly at Captain Marvel. The strike was so swift and powerful that Carol barely registered the attack before the flat of the blade caught her across the head.
"CRACK!"
History repeated itself as Carol was driven into the concrete with devastating force.
The reinforced floor cracked in spiderweb patterns from the impact point, with fissures spreading in all directions as Ryan continued his relentless assault.
"Get up!" Ryan taunted, preparing another crushing blow with his massive weapon.
Carol was dazed from the impact, her photon energy flickering weakly as she struggled to maintain consciousness.
"WHOOOOOM!"
"KRAKOOOM!"
A brilliant rainbow beam of light descended from the heavens, and Stormbreaker flew from within the Bifrost energy, striking Ryan with enough force to send him flying over thirty feet across the battlefield.
"Sorry I'm late—had to deal with some Midgard bureaucracy. Hope you saved some fun for me!"
The mighty Thor emerged from the Rainbow Bridge's radiance, accompanied by his friend Korg, the Kronan gladiator.
He thought his entrance was dramatic, but everyone was too busy fighting to appreciate his theatrics.
Red Hulk lifted an abandoned Apache helicopter and hurled it at Banner. The green Hulk responded by grabbing an M1A2 Abrams tank and throwing it back, though his aim was off and the massive vehicle crushed several ordinary soldiers instead.
Thor observed the chaos with amazement. "Is the red one Banner's cousin or something?"
Carol struggled to her feet, rubbing her aching head. "That's our target—Ryan," she said, pointing at their opponent.
Thor turned to study Ryan, who was now glaring back at him with calculating eyes.
"VWOOM!"
Stormbreaker returned to Thor's waiting hand with a burst of lightning. He smiled confidently. "So, do you want to come quietly, or would you prefer I demonstrate why they call me the God of Thunder?"
Thor was arguably the most powerful active Avenger. His enchanted weapon Stormbreaker could cleave through the concentrated energy of all six Infinity Stones and had delivered the killing blow to Thanos himself.
In their timeline, Thor had even decapitated the Mad Titan in a moment of rage.
Currently, Stormbreaker represented the only weapon that could potentially threaten Ryan's cosmic energy constructs.
But Ryan had come too far to surrender now. He'd faced impossible odds before and emerged victorious.
With a cold smile, he replied, "Perhaps I'll add a god's weapon to my collection."
Thor's jovial expression faded as he hefted Stormbreaker with both hands. Channeling his signature move, he leaped high into the air, then brought the enchanted axe down with the full force of Asgardian might.
"BOOM!"
The weapon missed by inches, creating a massive crater in the reinforced concrete. Thor immediately pivoted, swinging horizontally toward Ryan's midsection.
"CLANG!"
Ryan's cosmic greatsword met Stormbreaker in a collision that sent shockwaves through the battlefield.
The two warriors exchanged more than a dozen lightning-fast strikes, and the longer they fought, the more astonished Thor became. This unknown opponent could actually match him blow for blow.
The extended battle was working against the Avengers' favor.
More military reinforcements continued arriving—artillery batteries and additional tank units took positions around the perimeter, with all weapons trained on the combat zone.
Two F-35 Lightning II fighter jets screamed overhead, armed with precision munitions and ready to engage on command.
Suddenly, crackling eldritch energy announced another arrival.
A mystical portal opened, and Doctor Strange—now fully recovered from his interdimensional ordeal—floated through with renewed power.
Upon emerging, he immediately cast the Images of Ikonn, creating dozens of magical duplicates above Ryan's position. Multiple Crimson Bands of Cyttorak lashed out simultaneously, binding their target in mystical restraints.
He'd used the same combination technique against Thanos during their battle on Titan.
Ryan was instantly immobilized, unable to break free from the magical bonds.
"Thor! Now!" Strange commanded through gritted teeth.
Thor gripped Stormbreaker with both hands and charged forward with divine fury.
The enchanted blade crackled with lightning as it cut through the air, aimed to cleave Ryan in two.
Unable to escape the mystical restraints immediately, Ryan's eyes blazed with determination as he channeled every ounce of cosmic energy within his enhanced physiology.
"FLASH!"
His greatsword vanished, and golden cosmic energy transformed into gleaming battle armor that encased his entire form.
The armor, woven from pure cosmic force, shone brilliantly against the night sky, illuminating the surrounding battlefield.
Stormbreaker struck the golden armor with tremendous impact. Lightning blue and cosmic gold energies intertwined, creating a blinding burst of conflicting forces.
Thor was thrown backward by the energy feedback, and Strange—who had been maintaining the binding spell—was knocked off balance, losing concentration.
With his mobility partially restored, Ryan manifested twin energy daggers and slashed upward, severing the mystical bonds restraining his body.
"Heh," Ryan chuckled darkly.
He'd been about to taunt Thor with "You should have gone for the head," but decided against it. Some words were better left unspoken—especially when they might prove prophetic.
His greatsword materialized again, delivering a devastating strike that sent the stunned Thor flying backward.
The Asgardian collided directly with Strange's physical form, and all the magical duplicates instantly disappeared.
"BOOM!" "BOOM!" "BOOM!"
The surrounding military forces, now within effective range, opened fire with everything they had. Artillery shells and automatic weapons fire created a continuous barrage.
Suddenly, a figure hurtled past Ryan's position. With his combat instincts on high alert, Ryan reflexively swung his cosmic blade, bisecting what he assumed was an incoming projectile.
"Slice!"
Yelena Belova, the second-generation Black Widow, had been thrown by one of the super-soldiers during the chaotic melee. She collided with Ryan's energy blade before either could react, her body convulsing briefly before going still.
Ryan stared in shock at what he'd done. He'd thought someone had thrown a weapon at him, not realizing it was a person until it was too late.
The battle raged on around them, but for a moment, the cost of this conflict became brutally clear.
End of Chapter 60
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