Chapter 77: The Skrulls Apply to Join the Battlefield
Carol didn't know the full story. She only knew that Ryan was the enemy and the murderer of Captain America Steve Rogers and Falcon Sam Wilson.
Bruce Banner shook his head repeatedly. "No, that's not right. When I first met Ryan, he struck me as a relatively decent, ordinary person, and he showed genuine interest in biological sciences."
"What does that prove?" Carol asked, puzzled.
At that moment, a voice came from outside the door. "It means this person isn't inherently evil."
Carol and Banner turned their heads simultaneously and saw Valkyrie standing in the doorway, her shoulder leaning against the door frame, eating an apple.
Valkyrie continued, "Asgardians never judge a person's morality based solely on their actions and appearance, but rather on their character. Take Loki, the God of Mischief, for example. Although Loki often caused trouble, Odin and Thor never believed that Loki was truly evil."
Valkyrie walked into the room and tossed the apple core into the trash, then said, "I haven't met this Ryan you're talking about, but I know that to turn an ordinary person into someone evil, or even someone who wants to destroy the world, something significant must have happened to them."
"Snap!"
"I remember!" Banner slapped his thigh. "It's Rhodes! He recorded video of Ryan collecting blood samples from Thanos and claimed that Ryan would become the next Thanos."
Bruce Banner's high IQ and excellent memory allowed him to recall everything that had transpired.
Carol paused, then asked bewildered, "Just because he obtained some of Thanos's blood, we have to kill him?"
Banner shook his head. "There's risk involved, but not enough to justify killing Ryan. What I can't understand is why we're going to war, and why the person suggesting it is Nick Fury."
Doctor Strange had initially suggested containing Ryan, but it was Nick Fury who advocated for war.
The first operation—an attack on a federal military base under Nick Fury's direction—ended in failure, resulting in the Avengers being branded as fugitives and forced into hiding.
Now, Nick Fury was mobilizing global forces to wage war against Ryan. This was clearly illogical.
War and individual combat were completely different things. The impact extended far beyond the people directly involved; the indirect effects could ripple across the entire world.
Ryan was aligned with the federal government and had claimed resources on Celestial Island, making him a key target of international concern. If war were declared against Ryan, the federal government would inevitably be drawn in, potentially placing the Avengers on the opposing side of a global conflict.
This was why Bruce Banner found himself asking this perplexing question.
"What do you mean? Are we just going to let it slide?" Thor, never one for deep thinking, continued, "Even Thanos couldn't defeat us. There's no reason to fear this guy."
Banner disagreed. "We should put this on hold, at least until Strange finds Wanda."
"Didn't he say Ryan would destroy the world? If we deal with Ryan now, won't that resolve everything?" Thor asked, confused.
Banner shook his head. "Strange said the world would be destroyed because of Ryan, but he didn't explain how. If the world is destroyed because we start fighting, then Ryan isn't the only one to blame—we all are."
A conflict between Ryan and the Avengers seemed inevitable. War between Celestial Island and the Avengers was imminent, and both sides were making preparations.
Almost all the adamantium mined recently had been used to arm the enhanced soldiers stationed on Celestial Island.
For example, spiked gauntlets had been crafted for the Abomination, along with standard armor and weapons for the super-soldier units.
Today, Ryan had also designed a reinforcement plan for Anthony, the Death Blade.
"Anthony, come with me."
Anthony was a disabled veteran who had struggled to find employment and received no additional resettlement funds from the military, leaving his family in financial hardship.
Later, he had volunteered for Ryan's genetic experiments and not only gained superhuman abilities but was also rehired by the military, earning substantially more money for his family. Anthony was deeply grateful to Ryan.
Following Ryan into the laboratory, he sat down on a medical chair at Ryan's instruction.
"Extend your bone blade."
Anthony did as instructed, slowly extracting the blade from his severed arm.
Ryan picked up a syringe connected to tubing that led to a container of viscous silver liquid.
"This is liquid adamantium I melted with industrial lasers. I'll inject it into your bone blade. Let me know if you experience any discomfort."
Ryan had considered giving Anthony the full Wolverine treatment, transforming all of his bones into adamantium. However, Anthony lacked Wolverine's exceptional healing factor and might not survive the process, so Ryan decided to modify only the bone blade in his severed arm.
After securing Anthony in place, he inserted the needle into the bone's core and began slowly injecting the molten adamantium.
"Hiss~"
Anthony didn't experience much pain, but there was an intense tingling sensation, like the nerve-wracking feeling of dental work with a hint of discomfort.
The adamantium alloy coated the bone blade bit by bit, filling all the microscopic porous areas in the bone structure, then encasing the entire blade.
After a few moments, the bone blade had completely transformed into a gleaming, razor-sharp weapon.
Click
The restraints were released, and Anthony raised his arm to admire his new bone blade, a slight smile playing at the corners of his mouth.
"How does it feel?" Ryan asked casually while putting away his equipment.
Anthony contracted and extended the adamantium bone blade several times, then said with satisfaction, "It doesn't feel much different, but it's definitely much stronger."
Abomination Blonsky had assumed the position of Celestial Island security chief, with Steel Payne and Death Blade Anthony serving as squad leaders. Each commanded nearly a hundred serum-enhanced super-soldiers responsible for Celestial Island's defense.
The next day, Ryan handed several suppressant serums to Eternals Thena and Sprite, saying, "I'll be away for a few days. Take your medication regularly during this time, and keep watch over things here if anything happens."
Sprite wasn't particularly powerful in combat, but Thena's fighting prowess was exceptional. Ryan had been using sparring sessions with her to hone his own combat skills recently.
Thena asked casually, "Where are you going?"
"A small matter to attend to," Ryan replied without elaboration, then left the laboratory and boarded a chartered aircraft directly to Washington D.C.
The situation was now clear: in terms of individual strength, Ryan could match any single Avenger, but his overall forces were vastly inferior.
There were two ways to solve this problem: continue improving his own abilities to the point where he could single-handedly defeat all the Avengers, or create more enhanced warriors, forming a legion capable of challenging the combined might of Asgard, Wakanda, and the Masters of the Mystic Arts.
The problem was that increasing power wasn't something that could be achieved overnight. Months had passed since the Celestial Emergence, and Ryan still hadn't found a way to significantly increase his strength.
The Eternal genes were no longer sufficient to elevate his genetic template. Even with blood samples from all ten Eternals, he still couldn't achieve a breakthrough in harnessing cosmic energy.
Ryan knew this approach was incomplete, but he simply couldn't find the missing piece.
The alternative method of creating a legion of enhanced warriors also presented challenges. Incorporating federal soldiers into a massive army made it difficult to maintain the unit's overall loyalty and effectiveness.
After careful consideration, Ryan decided to take the initiative and create problems for the Avengers, buying himself more time and better odds for the inevitable conflict.
Since the Avengers had become fugitives, the fake War Machine had taken refuge in a Skrull settlement within the contaminated zones of Eastern Europe.
The real War Machine shouldn't be revealed too early before the war began.
After receiving intelligence from Ryan, President Ross immediately ordered reconnaissance of the nuclear-contaminated areas in Eastern Europe, and they indeed discovered suspicious activity.
One day, the fake War Machine was preparing to meet with the fake Nick Fury to discuss initiating the war. Just as he stepped outside, an explosion erupted nearby.
A blaze of fire shot skyward, sending up clouds of dust and debris as the Skrulls living on the settlement's outskirts screamed in terror.
However, the first casualties weren't the Skrulls themselves, but Ross's strike force, who immediately returned fire.
Helicopters circled overhead, tanks and armored vehicles advanced on the ground, and heavily armed soldiers moved in coordinated formation.
"We're under attack! We're under attack! Prepare defensive positions!"
The sudden appearance of hostile forces immediately alerted the Skrull civilians.
The fake War Machine rushed back to the factory, donned the armor, and soared into the air. A single micro-missile destroyed an attack helicopter.
With a thunderous roar, the helicopter crashed to the ground and exploded in flames.
Ground-based armored units immediately targeted War Machine and opened fire in retaliation.
The air filled with the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and screams.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
An AC-130 Spectre gunship—a modified C-130 Hercules transport—arrived to support the assault, circling low over the contaminated zone. Its side-mounted 105mm howitzer and 20mm Vulcan cannon rained devastation on the ground below.
The fake War Machine dodged the incoming barrage and flew toward the gunship. When he closed to within a hundred meters, he fired a salvo of missiles, then banked sharply to engage the ground armored formations.
The AC-130 was struck and retreated trailing black smoke.
The Skrulls' counterattack was fierce, with some even shapeshifting into human forms to infiltrate enemy ranks and carry out targeted assassinations.
After thirty minutes of intense combat, the military strike force was completely annihilated.
The Skrulls were clearing the battlefield, collecting weapons and ammunition, and gathering bodies for incineration.
With a mechanical whir and a heavy clang, the fake War Machine landed back at the main compound. He opened his faceplate and said, "Our position has been compromised. We need to evacuate immediately."
"Where else can we go? I say we just start the war now!"
The fake Nick Fury entered the room and replied, "The Skrulls don't have the resources to begin a full-scale war yet. First, we need to disperse our forces and integrate them into human society. Ideally, we should replace key government officials. Only if civil war breaks out among the humans will we have the opportunity to seize control of Earth."
"How long will that take?"
"Not long. The Avengers are already mobilizing their forces."
End of Chapter
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