Chapter 59: Zemo

"I heard that Red Skull didn't hesitate to throw a high-yield nuclear bomb at the Hulk right at the beginning. Too bad it didn't kill him."

Jamie shivered as if recalling a chilling memory, involuntarily closing his eyes. A trace of fear crept across his face.

Wanda approached, frowning. "Why do you say that?"

After all, Dr. Banner was an Avenger. Surviving the first round of attacks should have been a good thing.

Was the Duplicate Man so twisted that he simply wanted Banner dead? But he was currently being interrogated. Surely he wouldn't display his emotions so openly, would he? Wanda couldn't quite figure it out.

"Because Banner didn't die that day but was severely injured. Some people say his brain got fried by the radiation. Afterward, he became a complete monster."

"You're one to talk," Pietro scoffed. "From an X-Man to a common thug."

"You've never dealt with the Hulk Gang, have you, buddy?" The Duplicate Man's lips trembled. He opened his eyes and cast a bitter look at Quicksilver. Taking a deep breath, he continued, "After waking up from the nuclear explosion, Hulk rushed to save his cousin, She-Hulk."

Pietro nodded approvingly. That sounded like a heroic thing to do.

"And then he... mated with her. According to Banner, She-Hulk was the only one in the world who could handle him."

For a moment, silence engulfed the group.

"For decades after that," Jamie said, "the two of them bred relentlessly, creating a thousand-strong Hulk Gang. Each one inherited their old man's strength and his... uh... charming personality."

"And then their offspring started breeding too. They multiplied so fast that they spooked President Skull, who ended up ceding the westernmost states to Banner, turning him into some sort of warlord and landlord."

Jamie's expression grew even more somber. "Life went on like that for years. A while back, a few dozen of my duplicates tried to expand operations out there. Every last one of them was eaten by the Hulk Gang."

As Jamie finished his explanation, everyone—except for Noah—was left stunned. The story sounded too far-fetched to be true.

Then again, considering they'd just fled a universe filled with superpowered zombies, the tale suddenly felt disturbingly plausible.

Pot, meet kettle.

Jamie coughed, breaking the awkward silence. "Ahem. So, uh, any other questions? Old Jamie here is an open book!"

Despite his grim situation, he tried to appear cooperative. When he used to rob travelers in this area, leaving survivors wasn't exactly his policy. But occasionally, just occasionally, he'd spare someone interesting.

Right now, he desperately wanted to be that interesting person.

Frank, who had been silent for a long time, finally raised his head. His question was sharp and direct: "How did the Punisher die?"

"And what about Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch?" Pietro added, raising his hand.

"The Punisher?" Jamie scratched his chin. "I heard Kraven the Hunter killed him with a single blow. But some say he's still alive, though I doubt it."

"As for the siblings, one was killed by Magneto. The other had her legs broken by Sandman before Atlas crushed her with a stomp."

The group fell into a heavy silence.

After a long pause, Pietro forced a smile. "Well, at least it beats getting eaten by zombies or turning into one."

Heh?

Jamie's blood froze. His heart skipped a beat. Slowly, he raised his head, staring wide-eyed at the people before him.

The man in the blue-and-silver bodysuit with silver hair, the hulking figure with a skull on his chest, the red-clad woman with fiery hair, and the other guy he couldn't quite recognize...

Realization dawned on him, sending a chill down his spine. He had just uncovered something he wasn't supposed to know.

Could it be that the Avengers hadn't actually died back then? Or had they, as always, somehow returned from the dead?

His lips trembled as he stammered, "I-I remember now... Quicksilver, Punisher, Scarlet Witch…"

"Any more questions?" Noah stepped forward, pressing the barrel of a gun to Jamie's forehead.

Frank hesitated for a moment before shaking his head. Wanda and Pietro followed suit.

Jamie felt the cold steel against his skin and screamed in terror. "Wait! I won't tell Red Skull—"

Before his voice could echo through the canyon, Noah pulled the trigger without hesitation.

The gunshot shattered the stillness. Flames erupted from the barrel as blood sprayed, bone fragments and flesh scattering in the air. Jamie staggered back a few steps before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.

Noah glanced at the corpse, then at the still-smoking gun. Big-caliber weapons really do make a prettier mess, he thought, holstering it.

Turning to the others, who remained silent, he asked, "So, any thoughts or plans for this world?"

Frank spoke first, his answer unsurprising: "Kill every scumbag in the Wasteland."

"Switch worlds," Pietro muttered. "This one sounds and looks awful."

Wanda hesitated, then said, "We failed to protect the people of our universe. I don't want to see the people here suffer too."

Noah nodded, smiling at their responses. "Well said. Let's go to Canada."

The others exchanged puzzled looks. They had always operated within the U.S. and knew little about Canada.

Frank frowned, pressing a finger to his temple as if trying to make sense of it. Finally, he couldn't hold back. "Why Canada?"

It didn't make sense to him. There were plenty of criminals to take down here. Why go out of their way?

Noah unfolded a map, gesturing for the others to gather around as he explained:

"Even though we have the blueprints for the teleportation device—courtesy of Doom—leaving this universe requires a ton of resources, energy, and technology. Most of it is tightly controlled by the Wasteland warlords. Building the device would inevitably draw their attention."

"If we make a move, Red Skull will likely rally his 'old friends' to hunt us down. Just one Hulk Gang would be enough trouble."

"Even if we tried to lay low—and I doubt any of you want that—they wouldn't leave us alone. Just look at what Logan's been through."

"Wolverine's still alive in this universe?" Pietro blinked in surprise.

"Yes, but that's beside the point. The point is, I already have a plan."

Noah's finger first landed on Hulkland on the map before sliding to the Rocky Mountains in Canada, stopping at a marked location.

The label read two simple words: Zemo.