Secretary of State Thaddeus Ross barged into the lab in a flustered panic.
He rushed straight to Rory and barked, "Rory, who the hell did you kidnap?!"
He held out his phone, on the screen was a headline… accompanied by a still image of Rory carrying Mr. Immortal, Craig Hollis, over his shoulder out of the estate.
The article was going viral, and worse, it had handed S.H.I.E.L.D. the perfect excuse. In an instant, Ross's upper hand in the political chessboard was reversed.
Seeing Rory's nonchalant expression only made Ross more exasperated. "Breaking into a house and abducting someone is one thing, but could you at least do it a little more discreetly?! Not only did his wife release the footage, she's outside the Capitol building holding a damn banner demanding his return. What do you want me to do with that?!"
Rory, still focused on his experiment, paused only slightly before glancing sideways. "Wait… you have a wife?"
Strapped to a tilted examination table against the far wall, Craig Hollis, Mr. Immortal, awkwardly smiled. "Not just one, actually…"
Ross blinked. He hadn't even noticed Hollis in the lab until now. The good news was that Hollis was still alive, at least there was that to placate the public.
The bad news? Ross had just heard every word Rory said… and if Hollis decided to spill anything, Ross's position as Secretary might not last the week.
Rory waved it off. "He's staying here for a while longer. You can let him make a call, calm the family down. I'll release him later."
Ross hesitated. "You sure this won't backfire?"
"Relax. He's cooperative."
Hollis quickly chimed in, "Yes, yes, I'll cooperate fully!"
See, Mr. Immortal wasn't afraid of dying. What scared him was not dying.
He'd already tried every method: jumping from buildings, overdosing, explosives, drowning, you name it. Nothing worked. Some say he could live until the heat death of the universe.
But if Rory kept dissecting him on loop, drilling into his brain mid-nap, or locking him in a half-meter-thick iron coffin and chucking it into the Atlantic? Yeah… he'd rather not find out how long eternity really feels.
If being obedient meant there was hope of release, he'd happily obey. The alternative? Just thinking about it sent chills down his spine.
Ross gave in and nodded. "Fine… what about the serum?"
"Ready to begin. As soon as you get the test subjects here."
That part wasn't Rory's fault. Thanks to interference from S.H.I.E.L.D. and the New Avengers, Ross had to halt all approval processes for human trials.
If he were still just a lieutenant general, Ross wouldn't care. But as Secretary of State, he had to play by the rules, even if he hated them.
After letting Hollis make a call to his wife (or wives?), Ross left the lab. He had a mountain of political fires to put out, especially with the lawsuits coming from both the Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D.
Rory, on the other hand, couldn't care less. All that mattered to him was his research.
Steve Rogers' blood had been exhausted as a subject, there was little left to uncover. But Blonsky's blood? That was something else entirely. It carried intense gamma radiation. Curiously, the radiation only existed in Blonsky's blood when transformed. In his human form? Nothing.
Then there was Hollis.
So far, genetically, he was indistinguishable from an average human. Rory still hadn't found what made him immortal.
Hollis had been tied to the table for two full days now. His whole body ached from top to bottom.
Seeing Rory finally step away from the table, he quickly called out, "Wait! Mr. Rory, please, "
Rory turned. "Something you need, Mr. Hollis?"
"Actually… I'd really like to know why I can't die. I want to cooperate. I'm happy to participate in your tests. But could you, maybe, let me down? I promise I won't run or call anyone. Honestly, I'd love a break from all those women too. They just won't leave me alone…"
Rory gave him a look. Was that… a flex?
Still, after a moment's thought, he realized there wasn't much risk. Hollis might be immortal, but he wasn't a threat. Keeping him tied up any longer seemed unnecessary.
Rory walked over and loosened the straps. "Don't even think about running. If I have to chase you down, you won't enjoy what comes next. I'm warning you, for your own good."
"I understand, Mr. Rory! Wherever you go, I go. You won't even notice I'm here!"
Finally freed, Hollis looked giddy, so much so that he couldn't stop talking.
It was lunchtime anyway, and Rory had been about to step out for food. He never ate with the military troops, he had a personal chef who brought meals directly to the lab.
Hollis didn't need an invitation. He sat down and poured himself a glass of wine.
"So, Rory, is your superpower just raw strength?"
"I don't have superpowers."
Rory was, by all accounts, an ordinary physics researcher. He'd arrived in this world as a regular human. All he wanted was power to protect himself, but some people just couldn't tolerate that.
Now, Rory had two core passions: research, and becoming more powerful through it.
He had a few side goals too, like dismantling the Avengers, and eventually returning to the 2008 timeline to settle the score with the Ancient One and their Avengers.
"You're kidding!" Hollis nearly choked on his drink. "No powers at all?!"
Rory shrugged. "My strength comes from bio-genetic enhancement. I modify my genes, evolve them. That's different from you, born with your gift."
He'd made it this far alone. No mentor. No guiding hand.
He'd suffered. He'd endured. But none of that mattered, because no one could stop him. Anyone who got in his way would be crushed.
Hollis, chewing and sipping, added, "Actually… I wasn't born with powers either. It's been so long, I barely remember how it happened. Some kind of accident, I think. My soul went… somewhere. There was a bright light. I got pulled in. Next thing I knew, I couldn't die anymore."
Rory frowned.
He remembered that Hollis's power had been described as an evolved trait, hence the "Supreme Human" label.
But that didn't quite add up. Even natural evolution had a process. Hollis seemed to have skipped the steps and just arrived at the final form.
The Eternals had near-endless lifespans, but even they could die. Even after Celestial modifications, they were still classified as organic beings.
But Hollis? He was something else. Something that didn't follow logic. His entire lifeform felt like it belonged on a different dimensional plane.
After lunch, Rory returned to the lab with a new idea: combine Celestial DNA with Hollis's blood and run a compatibility test. Maybe there'd be something new, something telling.
Hollis, finally free, sat on the bench playing games on Rory's tablet.
Meanwhile, Rory retrieved a frozen sample of Celestial DNA, slid it under the microscope, and injected a droplet of Hollis's blood for cellular piercing trials.
As soon as the DNA began absorbing cosmic energy and splitting cells…
Hollis suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream behind him.
Rory nearly dropped the needle.
"Shut up! I'm trying to, "
He turned, only to see that something was very, very wrong with Mr. Immortal.
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