"High cellular vitality in the blood… but the cell membranes differ from humans. Could this be how cosmic energy is transmitted?"
Rory compared his own blood with that of the Eternal, Phastos.
The similarity rate was an astonishing 99.99%, except for this single discrepancy.
And yet, there was no cosmic energy detectable in the blood. Which was… strange.
"Don't tell me the energy disappears once they die?"
Unwilling to give up, Rory kept searching other parts of the body.
"Heart?… Nothing. Brain? Still nothing."
He practically dissected every organ of Phastos' body but found nothing out of the ordinary.
"This doesn't make any sense…"
If it's energy, it must exist in some form, whether visible or not, it must be there.
Even if he couldn't wield it yet, Rory's first task was to prove that cosmic energy was real and traceable.
"Is the problem that he's dead? Do I have to go catch another one… alive?"
Slumped in his chair, Rory stared blankly for a long while.
Then his gaze sharpened.
He turned his head and locked eyes on the last remaining part,
A skeleton.
Then it hit him.
"Bone marrow!"
Bone marrow is the primary site for blood production, packed with hematopoietic stem cells and a variety of stroma.
And for a race like the Eternals to live indefinitely, their metabolism and ability to continuously generate fresh blood must be unparalleled.
Given that their blood carried the capacity to channel cosmic energy, its origin had to be in the marrow.
Which meant…
The secret of the Eternals' cosmic energy likely lay inside the bone marrow.
But there was a problem, one that made Rory grimace:
Phastos' bones were insanely hard. The surgical blade couldn't even scratch them.
"Damn it. If I have to smash you open, I will. I'll see how damn hard you really are."
Meanwhile, back at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s temporary outpost on the outskirts of New York…
Nick Fury sat at his desk, reviewing endless files on superpowered individuals.
Maria Hill entered.
Fury looked up, asking,
"How's the recruitment going for the new Avengers?"
"Fairly smooth. The team we sent to Asgard reported back, Thor's off the grid for now."
Thor, tagging along with the Guardians of the Galaxy, was naturally hard to track down.
"And Banner?"
"Found him. He's returned to civilian life. Picked up a regular job."
Rory's rampage in the Battle of New York had broken more than Banner's bones, it had crushed his spirit.
He hadn't transformed into the Hulk since.
He'd lost all interest in science and settled for a factory job, screwing in bolts on an assembly line.
Fury handed Maria a thick stack of files.
"Shortlist's here. Schedule outreach when you can."
Maria blinked at the pile.
"This many? What, are you building an Avengers army?"
S.H.I.E.L.D. had a global registry of enhanced individuals.
By law, they weren't supposed to use their powers in civilian life.
"Just get it done. We'll wait on Carol Danvers to return before anything major."
Fury felt a pang of regret.
If Doctor Strange and Wanda Maximoff were still around, they might've handled all this effortlessly.
But with them gone, all he could do was hope Captain Marvel came back soon.
Over the next two weeks…
Fury met with dozens of powered candidates, laying the foundation for a new Avengers team.
And Rory?
He hadn't been idle either.
He'd finally cracked open Phastos' bones, extracting the marrow of an Eternal.
And sure enough, his theory was confirmed.
The marrow contained a strange material, a biological substance that absorbed cosmic energy continuously, even after death.
It remained active, feeding energy into hematopoietic stem cells, which in turn created fresh blood capable of conducting cosmic energy.
As long as cosmic energy existed, this process would never stop.
That's how the Eternals could live forever.
Rory was beyond envious.
But also cautious.
Would this alien substance actually fuse with his own marrow? Could it replace or conflict with his Thanos-derived genes?
With the truth of the Eternals unraveled, Rory immediately began isolating and analyzing the mysterious substance.
It only took a few trials to successfully extract it.
His blood could absorb it, and temporarily integrate it, but the issue was metabolism.
The substance would quickly get flushed from his system.
It wasn't enough to inject it into his bloodstream.
He had to get it into his bone marrow.
And therein lay the problem.
Regular needles couldn't penetrate his bones.
Custom ones? He couldn't even make them.
The only place that could possibly produce such equipment… was Wakanda, the most advanced nation on Earth.
And, as things stood now?
They'd never help him. Not after what he'd done.
"Ugh. Headache."
There was one hope left.
Carbonadium alloy, weaker than Vibranium, but tough enough it might work.
Maybe, just maybe, it could be used to forge a bone marrow puncture needle.
At minimum, he'd need two procedures:
One to extract marrow and test reactions with the cosmic substance.
One to inject it back in if tests passed.
And if complications arose?
He'd need to do it all over again.
Painful and brutal. But necessary.
There was no alternative.
Doctor Strange and Wanda could return at any time. Thor and Captain Marvel were still unaccounted for.
If Rory wanted to stay alive, there was only one path left:
Keep growing stronger.
He picked up the phone and called the only company on Earth he knew had the alloy:
"Hello, this is Bowood Smelting Corporation. How can we help you?"
"Can you manufacture a 16-gauge bone marrow needle made from Carbonadium alloy? If so, I need two sets."
Carbonadium, aka Carbon Steel Nano-Metal, was second only to Vibranium in hardness.
Doc Ock's claws were made from it.
Synthetic… and absurdly expensive.
"Yes, sir. Please hold…"
A few minutes passed.
Then:
"Sir, we can make it. But you'll need to come in to confirm specifications and pay a 50% deposit."
"Fine. Give me the address. I'll come by."
Rory jotted it down, then hung up.
With his work in Chicago complete, Rory boxed up the remaining bone matter, packed Phastos' corpse into a steel container, and buried or sank it, somewhere.
A few days later, he left the city.
His next stop: Philadelphia, home of Bowood Smelting Corp, the only known company working with Carbonadium.
Upon arrival, he was met with a surprisingly warm welcome.
"Sir, we've prepared a private lounge and a full meal for you. Please, follow me."
Strange, Rory thought. They're being too friendly.
He followed the receptionist to a plush lounge.
Massive sofas, a giant screen, a coffee table overflowing with delicacies, wine, even cigars.
Rory didn't touch anything.
He'd barely sat down before the lounge doors opened once more.
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