Chapter 15: If You Want War, I'll Give You War
"Steve, we need to head back. I think it's time we had a serious conversation."
Peggy Carter pulled her SSR jeep alongside Steve and motioned for him to get in.
Steve climbed into the passenger seat in brooding silence.
The most difficult part for Steve was that he had no idea how to explain the impossible situation to Peggy without sounding completely insane.
As soon as the jeep pulled away from South Street Seaport, Rory slowly surfaced from the dark waters near the shoreline, pulled himself ashore, and began following their vehicle at a distance.
Peggy drove them through downtown Manhattan and back to their shared apartment in Midtown.
She opened the apartment door, hung up her coat, and prepared two cups of coffee before settling onto the sofa.
Peggy handed one cup to Steve and said gently, "You're not acting like yourself tonight. I think you owe me an explanation."
Steve held the coffee cup with both hands, staring down into the dark liquid without speaking.
Peggy sat beside him, placing a reassuring hand on his leg. "Hey, we trust each other. You can tell me anything."
Steve shook his head slowly. "It's not that I don't want to tell you. I just don't know how to make it sound believable."
"That's alright. We have all night. Take your time."
Neither Peggy nor Steve was aware that someone was clinging to the exterior wall just outside their apartment window. Rory's enhanced strength allowed him to dig his fingertips directly into the brick and mortar—not quite Spider-Man's wall-crawling abilities, but effective enough.
Inside, Steve stood up and walked to a closet. He opened it and retrieved a small box from beneath a false bottom.
Returning to the sofa, he opened the container, revealing two sleek, high-tech bracelets that seemed to pulse with contained energy.
Peggy picked up one of the devices curiously, examining the advanced technology. "What are these?"
"Time-travel positioning bracelets."
"Time travel positioning? You mean actual time travel?" Peggy stared at Steve in shock.
Steve nodded grimly. "Yes. Exactly what you're thinking."
"My God."
Peggy wasn't naive—she was actually quite brilliant. The SSR had an entire warehouse full of unidentified artifacts classified as "0-8-4" objects. She'd encountered plenty of things that defied conventional science, but time travel was still purely theoretical, existing only in the realm of scientific speculation.
"This is incredible!"
Peggy's mind raced through countless possibilities, but time travel was the one explanation she'd never considered.
Steve looked up with genuine sadness. "Peggy, I'm sorry I lied to you, but I—"
"Steve," she interrupted, "you're still the same man I fell in love with, aren't you?"
Steve nodded sincerely.
Peggy smiled softly. "Then that's all that matters to me."
They leaned toward each other and kissed.
Outside the window, Rory grimaced at the romantic display. "Ugh, disgusting."
He shifted his position slightly, then suddenly exploded through the window in a shower of glass. Steve had just stood up from the sofa when Rory's fist connected with his jaw.
Peggy moved quickly, reaching for her sidearm, but Rory grabbed her by the throat before she could draw.
"Rory, don't do anything stupid!"
With Peggy as a hostage, Steve couldn't risk any aggressive moves. He raised his hands in surrender.
Rory slowly lifted Peggy off the ground, then pointed at Steve with his free hand. "Be a good boy and hand over that bracelet."
"Alright! No problem—just put Peggy down first! Let's stay calm, we can work this out. There's no need for violence."
Steve immediately held up one of the time-travel bracelets, speaking in the most soothing tone he could manage.
Rory's voice was ice cold. "Shut up with the negotiation bullshit. Give me the bracelet. Now."
Steve was clever enough to keep the second bracelet hidden while tossing the first one through the air. Rory caught it smoothly and examined the device, confirming it was identical to the one he'd worn before.
With a satisfied nod, he chuckled darkly. "Steve, we could have been allies. But your condescending attitude, constantly lecturing me like I'm some kind of criminal, really pisses me off."
Peggy hung suspended by Rory's grip, her face turning red as she struggled for air.
Just as she was about to lose consciousness, Rory tossed her toward Steve and immediately vaulted back through the broken window.
Steve wanted to pursue, but he couldn't abandon the unconscious Peggy.
He caught her and pressed his fingers to the pressure point beneath her nose. After a few seconds, Peggy slowly regained consciousness.
"Steve," she whispered hoarsely, "don't worry about me. Go after him."
Steve gritted his teeth in frustration, but after ensuring Peggy was stable, he leaped through the window himself.
Landing safely on the street below, he looked around frantically but saw no sign of Rory. Choosing a direction at random, he began his pursuit.
On the rooftop of the apartment building, Rory watched Steve disappear into the distance and allowed himself a cold smile.
Captain America was perfect in every way except for his intelligence.
An hour later, Rory made his way to Central Park and located a specific tree. From beneath its roots, he excavated a buried metal case containing various blood samples, refined serums, and backup research data.
Any smart person understood the wisdom of having multiple escape plans.
Ever since his confrontation with Steve at Stark Industries, Rory had anticipated that Captain America wouldn't let him continue his work peacefully. He'd prepared for this contingency.
"Whup-whup-whup!"
The sound of helicopter rotors echoed overhead, followed by a blinding searchlight beam.
"THUD!"
A dark figure rappelled down from the aircraft and landed heavily in front of Rory.
"You can't go anywhere without Pym particles," Steve declared confidently. "Hand over the research materials and come back with me."
Rory looked at Steve with amusement. "Are you sure about that?"
Steve had been absolutely certain, but when he saw Rory produce a half-full vial of Pym particles from his coat, his confidence evaporated.
"How do you still have those?"
"You might have been frozen for too long—your brain doesn't seem to be working properly. Let me remind you: the first time you traveled from 1970 to the future, you only used half a bottle."
Rory activated his time-travel bracelet and carefully poured the remaining Pym particles into its reservoir.
Steve suddenly remembered the crucial detail he'd overlooked. Rory had only used half the particles because it had been his first temporal journey.
The time-travel bracelet required both Pym particles and quantum tunnel access to enter the quantum realm. In the future, Dr. Bruce Banner had activated the return protocol from his end.
Steve had chosen to stay in 1970 and hadn't used his bracelet's return function, which meant the quantum pathway was still active.
In other words, Steve had inadvertently given Rory another opportunity to travel through time.
With two quick taps on the bracelet's interface, Rory's advanced white quantum suit materialized around his body.
At that moment, Peggy Carter arrived with a full SSR tactical team.
Rory glanced at her and smiled coldly. "Steve, I'm not sure if you're just naturally good at making things worse, or if you're genuinely this stupid. You're a soldier, not a savior. Don't delude yourself into thinking otherwise."
He paused, his expression hardening. "Since you want war, I'll give you war."
A brilliant flash of white light erupted from the bracelet, and in the next instant, Rory vanished completely from sight, leaving only the faint ozone smell of quantum displacement.
Steve stared at the empty space where his enemy had been, knowing with horrible certainty that he'd just made the situation infinitely worse.
End of Chapter 15
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