Although Secretary Ross didn't score a complete victory at the hearing, he still managed to outmaneuver S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers.
Congress, under his lobbying, temporarily lifted the ban on Rory's experiments.
Wasting no time, Ross arrived at the military base lab with a few test subjects in tow.
"What a shame Nick Fury didn't show today," Ross chuckled, chewing on a cigar. "I would've loved to see how sour his face looked."
He handed over the files. "Three prisoners, one disabled veteran. The rest is up to you."
Just as he was about to leave, Rory called him back.
"Come with me to the lab. I've got something to show you."
Ross's eyes lit up. Anything to do with the super serum, or life extension, was always good news in his book.
They took the elevator down into the underground lab. Once inside, Rory opened the refrigeration unit and pulled out a vial of shimmering pink serum.
Ross immediately asked, "It's done?"
Rory nodded. "This compound increases hematopoietic stem cell activity and resets metabolic functions. It's potent. Based on simulations run by the supercomputer, it could extend life by ten to twenty-five years, and significantly improve chronic illnesses."
This particular serum was synthesized by combining samples from the lab mouse, Hollis, and Celestial gene extracts.
That same mouse had bitten Peggy Carter and somehow preserved her youth from the 1970s all the way to 2008, perhaps even longer.
Rory had identified a unique active enzyme in the mouse's oral microbiome. But rather than crafting something that would grant immortality, he refined it, balancing the formula through repeated experiments until it became the pink serum now in his hand.
Ross's eyes sparkled. "People will throw billions at this. We could charge ten billion a dose…"
Ten billion for a decade of life? The rich would crawl over each other to get in line.
But Rory snorted.
"Why sell it for money? Haven't you ever considered doing something more… meaningful?"
"Meaningful?" Ross frowned. "What's more meaningful than making money?"
This was the crux of the capitalist mindset, measure worth by wealth, not principles.
Rory shook his head.
"You bring politicians to your side. Secure their support. Then run for president. Once you're in power, reshape the world however you like, especially when it comes to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers."
To men of influence, longevity was the ultimate seduction. Rory didn't want to deal with those people directly. Ross could be his proxy.
Once this serum proved effective, Rory would become a god to them.
Ross stood in stunned silence for a few seconds before slowly asking, "You mean… we work together to control the country, and eventually the whole world?"
He wasn't stupid. He knew there was no way Rory would offer something like this without a hidden agenda.
Given the situation, Ross correctly guessed that Rory's greatest enemy was the Avengers. If he could take control of the upper echelons of government, then wield that influence to dismantle the Avengers, Rory wouldn't even have to lift a finger.
Half correct.
In truth, Rory wanted much more than that.
"What? Getting cold feet?" Rory smirked.
Ross puffed out his chest. "Why would I? This is exactly what I've always wanted."
And just like that, in a dim lab beneath the surface, a conspiracy to reshape the world was born, between a rogue geneticist and a power-hungry politician.
Their first step? Prove the serum worked.
Rory handed the data to Ross, who rushed off to get it validated by a reputable scientific institution.
Meanwhile, Rory went to greet the clinical trial volunteers.
There were four total, three prisoners and one disabled veteran. It wasn't hard to tell them apart. The ones with tattoos were inmates; the man with a missing arm was the soldier.
Rory grabbed the files from the guards and flipped through the records.
The prisoners included: a convicted sex offender, a gang member with multiple murders on his record, and a white-collar criminal.
No saints here.
As for the veteran, his injury wasn't from combat. During a training exercise, a teammate's weapon misfired, blowing his arm clean off. Though not at fault entirely, the military office refused to cover his future expenses. With a wife and daughter at home, he volunteered for this trial, so at least they'd be taken care of financially.
Rory gestured for the guards to open the door and walked in, taking a seat casually.
He looked at the inmates.
"Alright. Let's hear it. Why are you participating in this experiment?"
The first scoffed. "Why else? I want out of prison."
The second leaned forward, voice harsh: "Don't ask stupid questions. Just tell me when I can leave."
Clearly the gangster type, intimidating and dangerous.
Rory turned to the third.
This one looked ordinary, too clean to stand out. He stammered, "I… I was wrongfully convicted. I just want to go home to my family."
Rory stood up and pointed at the first two. "You and you, come with me."
The two men looked at Rory with scorn. The gang member even seemed to think he could snap Rory's neck with one hand.
They were escorted to the lab, bound to operating tables by wrists and ankles.
Rory walked over to the first subject, the gang member, with a bone marrow aspiration needle.
The man growled, "Don't you dare mess this up, kid. If you hurt me, I'll snap your neck and shove your head up your, "
He didn't get to finish.
Rory gagged him and rotated the bed so the man lay face-down.
Beep.
He powered on the photonic scanner, pinpointed the injection site, and marked it with a pen. Wires and sensors were affixed to his back.
Then he drove the needle in, without hesitation.
"NNGHHH!!"
The subject's entire body tensed, veins bulging, muscles tightening. It clearly hurt like hell.
But Rory didn't care.
He got the needle in one go and injected the Celestial gene.
Hiss,
Maybe he was a bit too forceful. When the needle came out, blood spurted from the wound.
Clang. Clang.
The table shook violently as the subject convulsed, rattling the restraints.
Rory focused on the monitors. He didn't give a damn about the pain.
As expected, the data was changing, fast. Metrics spiked wildly. In the blood samples, new cell membranes began to appear, ones capable of conducting energy.
It was working. The Celestial gene was fusing with a human.
Even the Celestials likely never imagined that a regular human could bond with something extracted from the Eternals' marrow.
The subject's condition stabilized, and his body started bulking up, leaner, stronger, more proportional. A beast ready to be unleashed.
Rory approached with the needle again.
Without a hint of hesitation,
He stabbed it in once more.
✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦
Support me by adding this fic into your library!
200 P.S = 1 Extra Chapter
For Advance Chapters, please visit and consider joining me on P(a)treon!
p(a)treon.com/Lnee
You can also access my other translated fics on P(a)treon!