Chapter 14: The Escape
Rory rubbed his jaw where Steve's punch had landed, but felt almost no pain.
Then he laughed—a cold, bitter sound.
"Steve, do you remember what someone once said? 'Do you think you're fighting for us? You're only fighting for yourself. Who's going to avenge all the innocent civilians who die in your battles?'"
Steve's expression darkened with recognition of those words.
"Superheroes create chaos, then clean up the mess, and finally bask in the applause and adoration of the masses. But what do ordinary people get? Terror, trauma, destroyed homes, and dead family members. Don't you see the irony in that?"
Steve clenched his fists, his voice steady but strained. "In any conflict, there are casualties. All we can do is try to save as many people as possible."
"Oh, really?" Rory's laugh turned harsh. "So I'm one of the acceptable casualties? You're nothing but a hypocrite, Rogers."
Steve remained silent, refusing to dignify the accusation with a response.
Rory shook his head in disgust. "Let me break this down for you. I was conducting legitimate scientific research—I hadn't hurt anyone or committed any crimes. Yet you branded me a villain and obstructed my work at every turn, even sabotaging my experiment."
"You have no idea how much effort I put into that research. So if I do become a villain, Steve Rogers, that's entirely on you."
Rory didn't know whether Steve's righteous facade was genuine or not, but he could see that Steve truly believed himself to be on the side of justice. Such absolute certainty was impossible to argue against—Rory wasn't trying to change Steve's mind, just venting his frustration.
Steve stepped forward, his voice taking on that familiar tone of moral authority. "There's no point rehashing this now. You've gotten what you wanted from the experiment. All I can do is help you use these new abilities responsibly."
"Ha!" Rory couldn't contain his scorn. "Who the hell do you think you are? Just because people call you Captain, you think you're the ultimate arbiter of justice?"
"Come with me peacefully. It'll be better for both of us. I don't want to fight you." Steve's words carried that same self-righteous certainty that had always grated on Rory.
Rory grinned dangerously. "Well, you might not want to fight, but I sure as hell do."
Though his experiment had been interrupted, Rory had still gained the enhancements he'd sought. He now stood nearly half a foot taller than Steve, his muscles dense and powerful though not as bulky as Captain America's enhanced physique.
He was eager to test his new capabilities.
"Whoosh!"
Rory moved with lightning speed, and Steve was barely able to react in time.
Captain America narrowly avoided the incoming punch, ducking sideways before launching a counterattack—a vicious right hook aimed at Rory's ribs.
"Bang!"
The punch connected, but Rory absorbed the impact and immediately blocked Steve's follow-up attack.
Rory had never received formal combat training, but he seemed to possess an instinctive understanding of fighting techniques—an inherited knowledge that didn't belong to him, but to Thanos.
Steve's blocked punch caught him off guard. Unwilling to believe what he was seeing, he launched a combination attack—three rapid punches followed by a devastating kick. Rory either dodged or blocked every single strike.
In terms of raw strength and speed, Rory now surpassed Steve in almost every category, and he possessed the Mad Titan's superior combat instincts.
Yet somehow, Steve was managing to fight him to a standstill.
The First Avenger's reputation was well-earned.
While Rory felt no pressure from the exchange, Steve's concern grew with each passing moment.
From Steve's perspective, Rory's fighting skills were improving at an alarming rate. What had started as easily countered attacks had evolved into a genuine challenge in just a few minutes. It felt disturbingly similar to facing Thanos himself.
"Rory," Steve called out during a brief lull in their combat, "where did you get that serum? Was it from Thanos?"
"Take a guess," Rory replied with a cold smile.
Driven by his inherited combat instincts, Rory's movements became increasingly fluid and deadly. He was actually beginning to enjoy the thrill of battle.
"Bang!"
Without his vibranium shield, Steve's combat effectiveness was reduced by at least thirty percent. His bare-handed strikes could barely hurt Rory, causing little more than minor discomfort.
So Captain America's shield really was the key to his ability to go toe-to-toe with cosmic-level threats.
Rory transitioned from cautious probing attacks to an all-out assault, unleashing his full power with nearly every strike.
"Bang!"
A lightning-fast punch connected squarely with Steve's face.
Steve flew backward, his head snapping back as blood sprayed from his nose and mouth.
Instead of pressing his advantage, Rory stood still and watched Steve struggle to his feet.
"You know, Steve," he said with contempt, "I originally wanted to be a hero like you and the Avengers. But after everything that's happened, I realize I'm not hero material anymore."
Steve wiped blood from his split lip and slowly climbed to his feet. The phrase "I can do this all day" seemed to have an almost supernatural effect on him, always giving him the strength to continue when he spoke those words.
This time was no exception.
"Bang!"
A gunshot rang out, and a bullet struck the concrete near Rory's feet.
Peggy Carter stood nearby with her service weapon drawn, shouting, "Don't move, or the next shot goes through your skull!"
If this were the real Thanos, he wouldn't fear a nuclear weapon, let alone a pistol.
But if Thanos was a thousand-square-meter luxury mansion, then Rory's current enhancement was more like a modest studio apartment. They served the same basic function, but the difference in scale was enormous.
Rory wasn't sure if he could survive a direct hit.
"Peggy, take him down!"
Steve knew this wasn't the time for heroic one-on-one combat. Without his shield, he was outmatched—he needed Peggy's tactical support.
SSR agents quickly flooded into the laboratory and, under Peggy's command, began surrounding Rory from all sides.
Rory sneered at Steve with undisguised hatred. "Old Popsicle, you keep preaching about 'freedom and justice,' acting like you're the moral conscience of humanity. You've got the most advanced case of savior complex in the known universe. I want you to remember everything that happened here today, because you're going to be responsible for everything that comes next."
He claimed to fight for justice while acting against it, shouted about freedom while trying to restrict others' liberty.
Hearing these words, Steve's face contorted with the look of someone who'd just stepped in something unpleasant.
Just as he opened his mouth to respond, Rory suddenly bolted, moving as fast as a racing car.
As he passed a workbench, he flipped a switch.
Then, with a thunderous crash, Rory smashed through the brick wall and dove into the Hudson River.
By the time Steve reached the shoreline, Rory had completely disappeared beneath the dark water.
Peggy immediately activated her radio. "This is Agent Carter. I need the Coast Guard to sweep the entire waterfront. Alert NYPD to issue a citywide APB for our suspect."
After coordinating the manhunt, Peggy approached Steve, who stood staring numbly at the river. "Steve, you need to tell me everything you know about him."
Before Steve could respond, a massive explosion erupted behind them. A towering column of black smoke rose into the night sky as the factory that had served as Rory's laboratory was reduced to burning rubble.
Steve turned to watch the inferno and sighed heavily. "He destroyed all the research data. Clever bastard."
"I'll have our forensics team go over everything with a fine-tooth comb. Maybe we can salvage something useful."
The fire department arrived quickly and brought the blaze under control, but in the process, their water cannons washed away any remaining blood samples or chemical residue.
Apart from some broken glassware and twisted metal, the SSR was unable to recover any meaningful experimental data.
Rory had made sure of that.
End of Chapter 14
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