"Haha… feels a bit like poetic justice, doesn't it?" Marcus muttered to himself, his voice distorted by the sizzling air. As he trudged across the ruins of New York, his body continuously regenerated from the radiation burns that ate away at his flesh. Every step was agony. The ground beneath him glowed like molten steel, and the scorching wind whipped through the wasteland like a furnace gale.
To Marcus, it felt as though he were walking on the surface of Mars without a spacesuit—only far worse. At least Mars had silence. Here, the air itself roared with the howl of unstable currents and nuclear fire.
Yet his journey soon reached an unexpected end. Not far ahead, half-buried in the molten earth, stood a massive cube-shaped structure—stark, simple, and industrial. Its walls were smooth and undecorated, and on the heavy, vault-like door was the unmistakable Stark Industries logo.
It was obvious that this structure had once been buried deep underground. The nuclear blasts had unearthed it, pushing it up to the surface, but the rain of ash and mud was already covering it again.
And the fact that it had survived such overwhelming devastation intact meant it was no ordinary bunker.
This was one of the Stark Industrial Nuclear Shelters, the ones Tony Stark had once mentioned to Nick Fury—built beneath Queens and other districts as top-secret survival vaults. Fury had originally considered using them to protect his soldiers, but the risk was too great: anyone who entered might survive the blast… only to be trapped underground forever.
Now, those shelters belonged to Marcus's zombie army.
The thick metal doors of the bunker slowly opened before him, revealing a brightly lit interior powered by arc reactors. Rows of advanced machinery hummed quietly, untouched by the destruction outside. Inside stood his lieutenants—the Winter Soldier, the Scarlet Witch, Alex, and Earthshaker—surrounded by a countless horde of undead soldiers.
"Good afternoon, Commander," said the Winter Soldier, speaking on behalf of the gathered army.
Marcus stepped inside, brushing the dust from his shoulders. "How's the evacuation?"
"Roughly one million standard zombies made it in through Earthshaker's tunnels," the Winter Soldier reported. "All key mutants and enhanced infected were retrieved and distributed among the other shelters. Those that remained on the surface were wiped out in the nuclear strike—mainly expendable Extremis zombies."
Marcus nodded, clearly pleased. "Then my effort wasn't wasted after all."
With one million zombies still intact, he had more than enough to rebuild. Before the New York battle, he had created an army of Extremis-enhanced undead in just three days. With time on his side and such a large base population, he could breed a new, even stronger army in no time.
More importantly, humanity had now seen the destructive might of their own nuclear weapons. No one would dare pursue the zombie crisis again—not when their greatest city had been reduced to ash. At most, a few secret labs would continue virus research, but Marcus and his army would fade from public awareness.
Even if someone wanted to investigate, who could build a drone tough enough to withstand the radiation that blanketed New York?
And even if such technology existed—who would fund such a futile mission?
The U.S. government was already in chaos, scrambling to deal with the political and environmental fallout. As for the rest of the world? They'd turn a blind eye. No one wanted to spend trillions solving a disaster that couldn't be undone.
Marcus turned to Alex. "How long until the zombie flock completes the global virus dispersal?"
Alex replied immediately, "Approximately thirteen to fourteen days, Commander."
"Plenty of time." Marcus's expression curved into a smile. After three days of desperate warfare, two weeks felt like an eternity. "That's more than enough. If we eliminate every hero capable of time manipulation before then, no one will be able to reverse what's coming."
He clenched his fist, eyes narrowing. "Once Doctor Strange and Kitty Pryde are gone, victory will be absolute."
He issued his orders calmly: "Earthshaker, expand the tunnels. Connect every shelter. No one goes topside until radiation levels drop. Modify the bunker systems as needed—if you lack materials, ask Tony."
His tone carried finality. With that, Marcus's consciousness shifted—returning to his original body aboard the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier.
The massive craft drifted above the radioactive wasteland of New York, its armor glowing faintly from residual heat. Built to withstand nuclear warfare, it had endured the blasts with heavy damage but remained operational.
Inside the command center, Marcus stood alone at the control console where Nick Fury had once given orders. The thick protective glass above the nuclear launch controls had been shattered, the button beneath permanently pressed down and dented inward.
Around him lay the wreckage of dozens of first-generation Sentinels, torn apart in battle. Bullet holes riddled the walls; scorch marks painted every surface. The air reeked of smoke and burnt oil.
It had been a brutal fight—but only for S.H.I.E.L.D.
For Marcus, it had been no more than a warm-up.
After all, there hadn't been a single hero left aboard the Helicarrier strong enough to challenge him.
Stepping over the wreckage, Marcus spotted Fury's body among the fallen. He dragged it across the floor by the arm, back to the control terminal.
From the corpse, he retrieved Fury's Level 5 Security Clearance card, scanning it through the reader. Then, grabbing Fury's right hand, he slammed it onto the biometric scanner. With Tony's system override device assisting him, the console flickered to life—unlocking S.H.I.E.L.D.'s final layer of encrypted data.
Lines of classified files scrolled across the screen. Marcus's eyes lit up as he navigated through the archive.
"Doctor Strange… Doctor Strange…" He typed quickly, scanning each file until one name stopped him.
A photo appeared—Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme.
Marcus leaned closer, the reflection of the image flickering in his dark pupils.
"Found you," he whispered.