Chapter 61: Destiny Must Be in One's Own Hands
Ryan remained completely unmoved by Yelena Belova's death, immediately pursuing Thor with his cosmic greatsword raised.
Korg's stone club intercepted the blow, but Ryan's blade sliced clean through the Kronan's rocky torso, bisecting him instantly.
With a brutal backhand elbow, Ryan shattered Korg's upper body, sending chunks of ancient rock cascading across the battlefield. As he prepared a finishing strike to pulverize the fallen gladiator, Stormbreaker intercepted his blade.
Thor, Captain Marvel, and Doctor Strange now formed a defensive line opposite Ryan.
Strange glanced at the heroes still locked in desperate combat with the seventeen enhanced soldiers and shouted over the chaos, "Ryan, call them off! You've already lost this fight!"
With a flash of golden energy, Ryan manifested his tower shield in one hand while gripping his sword with the other, assuming a perfect combat stance. "Life isn't about winning or losing—it's about controlling your own fate! No one dictates my destiny! NO ONE!"
Turning toward his enhanced soldiers, Ryan raised his blade and roared, "Kill them all! Leave no survivors!"
Despite his brief encounter with Jessica Jones, any mercy shown in battle would be an unforgivable betrayal of his own survival instincts.
"HOOAH!" The seventeen super-soldiers unleashed their full lethal potential. Two engaged Black Panther in brutal close combat, two more entangled Spider-Man with military precision, and one took on the Winter Soldier's cybernetic arm. The remaining enhanced operatives launched a coordinated assault on the four Defenders.
Daredevil used his acrobatic training to deflect the initial attack, but a tactical knife appeared from his blind spot, slicing deep through his ribs. Before he could recover, he took two more strikes to his abdomen and left arm.
The wounded Man Without Fear could no longer withstand the super-soldiers' coordinated assault. In seconds, he was stabbed multiple times and collapsed, crimson blood pooling beneath him.
"Matt!" Jessica Jones screamed.
Iron Fist Danny Rand charged forward, his right hand blazing with chi energy as he delivered a devastating strike that sent one super-soldier flying thirty feet. Just as he moved to rescue Daredevil, three enhanced operatives surrounded him and dragged him to the ground.
"CRACK!"
His right hand—the one that channeled the power of Shou-Lao the Undying—was crushed and twisted backward at an unnatural angle.
As one super-soldier prepared to drive his combat knife into Danny's heart, the bulletproof Luke Cage charged forward, shoving the attacker aside and helping Danny to his feet. More enhanced soldiers immediately swarmed them, grabbing Luke's arms and legs and dragging him toward an abandoned M1A2 Abrams tank.
They positioned him directly under the tank's treads and activated the drive system.
Luke Cage screamed and struggled with superhuman strength, but even his enhanced physiology couldn't lift sixty tons of armored steel.
Black Panther and the Winter Soldier were being systematically overwhelmed as well.
If this continued, every hero would die on this battlefield.
Strange immediately raised both hands, mystic energy crackling around his fingers as he opened multiple Sling Ring portals. The four battered Defenders, Black Panther, and the Winter Soldier were instantly transported to safety.
With their primary targets evacuated, the seventeen super-soldiers turned their attention to Spider-Man.
"Oh, come on!" Peter Parker fired multiple web-lines, attempting to maintain distance from the enhanced operatives.
Halfway through his swing, a portal materialized directly in his path. The next second, Spider-Man had also vanished from the battlefield.
Ryan swung his golden sword toward the remaining combatants. "Now finish the Hulk!"
Seventeen super-soldiers descended upon Bruce Banner like a military strike force.
Already engaged in an even match with Red Hulk, Banner was completely overwhelmed by this coordinated assault.
Captain Marvel attempted to provide air support, but Ryan sprinted after her with supernatural speed. "Don't even think about it!"
His golden shield absorbed Carol's photon blast while his sword thrust directly toward the embattled Hulk.
Ryan couldn't effectively engage aerial opponents, but ground-based targets were well within his capabilities.
Another portal flashed open, and Bruce Banner was also evacuated by Strange's mystical intervention.
"ROAAAAAR!" Red Hulk bellowed triumphantly, spreading his arms wide in victory.
While the other heroes didn't know the crimson giant's identity, Ryan understood completely.
The Hulk had been Ross's obsession for years, and today he had finally achieved his twisted victory.
Ryan turned to assess the three remaining opponents.
Thor + Doctor Strange + Captain Marvel VS Ryan + Red Hulk + 17 Enhanced Soldiers
"Target the sorcerer!" Ryan commanded.
All seventeen super-soldiers simultaneously drew their sidearms and trained them on Strange.
Thor and Captain Marvel could absorb missile impacts with their enhanced physiology, but Strange remained vulnerable. A Master of the Mystic Arts possessed no more physical durability than an ordinary human—a single well-placed shot would kill him instantly.
Terrified by the focused threat, Strange immediately conjured his Shields of the Seraphim.
Several super-soldiers retrieved heavy weapons—M134 Miniguns designed to deliver devastating suppressive fire against the vulnerable sorcerer.
"BRRRRRR!" Two military helicopters arrived as reinforcements, strafing Strange and Captain Marvel with .50 caliber rounds. Ground-based Phalanx CIWS systems locked onto their positions and opened fire.
Fortunately, Captain Marvel positioned herself as a human shield, protecting Strange from the barrage. Without her intervention, the Sorcerer Supreme would have been shredded.
Thor, enraged by the tactical situation, swung Stormbreaker in wide arcs, attempting to destroy both the aircraft and the enhanced soldiers simultaneously.
Ryan snorted dismissively and charged forward, shield and energy blade at the ready.
He blocked the enchanted axe with his cosmic shield and counterattacked with his sword.
"CLANG!"
Ryan finally understood why Steve Rogers had been so effective in combat. Having a vibranium shield truly was a game-changer.
Just as Ryan and Thor engaged in their fierce duel, Nick Fury's urgent voice crackled through the tactical communications: "All units, retreat immediately! Cease engagement! That's a direct order!"
"But Director—"
"No arguments. We cannot risk civilian casualties, and we absolutely cannot harm American military personnel. Pull back now!"
With Ryan's new alliance and the other Avengers already evacuated, the remaining "Big Three" had no realistic chance of victory.
If they wanted to avoid collateral damage, withdrawal was their only option.
Captain Marvel looked toward Strange and nodded grimly. "No choice. We're pulling back."
Though reluctant to admit defeat, Strange accepted the tactical reality. A Sling Ring portal appeared behind him, and he stepped through without another word.
Carol transformed into a streak of golden photon energy and streaked toward the upper atmosphere. Thor followed immediately behind, using Stormbreaker's enchantments to achieve flight.
The sudden, intense battle ended as abruptly as it had begun.
The military installation lay in ruins, with most of the structural damage caused by the two gamma-powered behemoths' clash.
Red Hulk lumbered toward Ryan with earth-shaking steps, staring intently without speaking.
Ryan dismissed his cosmic energy weapons and asked practically, "Can't transform back to human form?"
Red Hulk exhaled a wave of superheated air and nodded once.
Although the base's main laboratory building was severely damaged, the underground research facility remained largely intact.
Ryan escorted Ross—still trapped in his Red Hulk transformation—back to the subterranean laboratory.
After drawing blood samples, he discovered that Red Hulk's blood was golden in color and, like Banner's, contained massive amounts of gamma radiation.
According to Marvel's established timeline, Ross should have been transformed by Samuel Sterns (The Leader) using controlled gamma exposure. But that didn't match the current circumstances.
The timeline inconsistencies left Ryan puzzled about the exact mechanism of Ross's transformation.
After conducting extensive tests and data analysis, Ryan approached Ross, who was forced to crouch in the low-ceilinged laboratory.
"Have you ever encountered a man named Samuel Sterns? Goes by 'Mr. Blue' in some circles?"
Ross felt deeply uncomfortable. The underground facility's ceiling was too low for his hulking form, forcing him to remain in an awkward crouch.
Hearing Ryan's question, Ross immediately shook his massive head: "Never heard of him."
Ryan continued casually, "I'm not entirely sure why you transformed like this. I can synthesize an inhibitor serum to suppress the mutated genes in your system. It might restore your human form, but there are significant risks involved. The choice is yours."
The inhibitor was derived from Ryan's experiments with Pym Particles and X-Gene suppressors—compounds that could theoretically counteract genetic mutations.
The formula was based on research from Trask Industries' anti-mutant programs, adapted for gamma radiation exposure.
Ross considered the proposition for several moments before grunting his approval: "Do it. Give me the injection."
End of Chapter 61
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