Chapter 102: Captain America vs. The Avengers
"Strange, when you brought me back here, did you ever imagine this day would come?"
Ryan looked at Strange across the sofa with dark amusement.
Strange replied gravely, "You shouldn't have existed in this timeline at all."
Strange had learned about Ryan's nature as a Destroyer from the Ancient One, but the loss of the Time Stone prevented him from observing the complete future.
When he confirmed that Ryan was a Destroyer, he resolved to eliminate him.
Unfortunately, he'd realized too late—the enhanced Ryan was no longer within his power to stop.
Ryan asked with genuine curiosity, "You keep calling me a Destroyer. I'm genuinely interested in what that means. Can you explain?"
Strange paused before answering. "A Destroyer is someone who can disrupt the natural flow of time. Even Thanos, who eliminated half the universe, wasn't a Destroyer because he existed within history's framework. But you're different. You never appeared in the historical record, and this fundamentally alters the course of the future."
Ryan's appearance had altered three distinct time periods: 1970, 2008, and the present.
The resulting branching timelines had all undergone varying degrees of catastrophic change.
To preserve the integrity of his own timeline, Strange had felt compelled to erase Ryan's influence.
But was this really how temporal mechanics worked? Ryan remained skeptical.
He immediately challenged, "You only foresaw one possible future outcome, but here's the thing—that wasn't my future you saw, it was yours. Couldn't it be that something you did caused that future's destruction? Like, for example, bringing me into this universe in the first place?"
Strange frowned. "The future is destroyed because of your presence, so naturally I must stop you."
Ryan smiled and shrugged. "Perhaps if you hadn't brought me back, or hadn't tried to stop me, the future wouldn't have been destroyed at all."
It was a paradox, like asking which came first—the chicken or the egg.
And Ryan was right. Strange had foreseen the future of his own world, not Ryan's original timeline. If he hadn't brought Ryan here, that destructive future might never have occurred.
Then again, if Strange hadn't brought Ryan back, this universe might not face destruction—but the Ancient One's universe would have.
At this point, Strange fell silent. There was no point in debating paradoxes, and much had already transpired. Determining right and wrong couldn't change the past or alter the future. Silence was the only reasonable response.
Ryan also had no interest in continuing this philosophical debate, instead asking a question that had plagued him for some time.
"Strange, I've heard that among countless timelines there's a prime timeline. Is ours that timeline?"
"It used to be, but not anymore," Strange said tersely, his words carrying profound weight.
Ryan frowned and pressed, "You're saying this was the prime timeline, and then because of me, it became a branch reality?"
Ryan himself was uncertain whether he'd returned to the sacred timeline or somehow ended up in the Marvel Zombies universe.
"Yes. The prime timeline has countless branches. Every time a significant choice is made, a new timeline branches off."
A significant choice was one that could impact reality in meaningful ways—like Tony not snapping his fingers, or Strange not bringing Ryan back.
This indirectly confirmed Ryan's earlier paradoxical theory.
Ryan was obsessed with finding the prime timeline because virtually all of Marvel's branching timelines ultimately led to destruction—incursions, timeline collapses, or universal decay.
He didn't want to live peacefully only to have the universe suddenly implode.
After Strange answered, he voiced his own question.
"Ryan, where exactly did you come from?"
"I don't know. I lived in a world without superheroes. I woke up in 1970. That era was too primitive technologically, so I wanted to pursue my research in the more advanced modern world." Ryan deflected casually. He certainly couldn't tell Strange the truth.
Ryan's obsession with biological genetic engineering was known worldwide. In 1970, the technology and equipment were hopelessly backward, so this explanation seemed entirely reasonable.
Ryan and Strange discussed several other matters before ending the conversation half an hour later.
Walking out of the palace, Ryan smiled and waved. "Although we had a civil conversation today, it doesn't mean the conflict between us is resolved. It would be better for everyone if you didn't visit Celestial Island in the future."
"Dr. Ryan, about the cure?" Banner asked worriedly.
"I'll continue my research when I have time."
After the three visitors opened a portal and departed, Corvus approached Ryan and asked anxiously, "Boss, is Earth truly doomed?"
Corvus had witnessed the devastation in Washington, D.C., where all the humans had transformed into undead monsters, and an entire city was swiftly annihilated.
Region after region was falling, and the human world seemed on the brink of total collapse.
Strange and the other two returned to New Asgard from Celestial Island.
After emerging from the portal, Nick Fury spoke first. "Doctor Strange, can the Mystic Arts portals support large-scale population evacuation?"
"Of course. I can summon additional Masters of the Mystic Arts to assist."
They were in the early stages of the crisis. A few heavily fortified areas were barely managing to resist the infected, while less developed regions faced inevitable slaughter.
Therefore, the sooner evacuation began, the lower the risk to civilians, the fewer people would transform into infected, and the less pressure on the Avengers.
Understanding this logic, Nick Fury made a rapid decision. "I'll contact government officials worldwide and coordinate evacuating civilian populations to secure zones. Please send sorcerers to assist."
Strange approved of the plan and nodded in agreement.
Nick Fury continued organizing. "The Avengers will rescue survivors throughout North America to the greatest extent possible. After civilians are safely transferred, Asgardian and Wakandan warriors plus elite military forces will form a zombie elimination coalition. After the infected are completely cleared, we'll bring people back to Earth."
The plan was simple, but implementation would be extraordinarily difficult.
Setting aside whether Nick Fury could convince officials worldwide, gathering people together presented enormous logistical challenges.
Even if all uninfected people could be evacuated, completely eliminating billions of infected across Earth would take an indefinite amount of time.
Nick Fury left to contact international officials, while Strange opened a portal to return to the New York Sanctum, bringing a group of superheroes back to North America.
Captain Marvel addressed Strange politely. "We'll gather the uninfected civilians. I'll need you to make another trip when we're ready."
"No problem. It's a sorcerer's duty to protect Earth."
The evacuation officially began.
Captain Marvel led an independent team, flying over cities in search of survivors.
Bruce Banner, in Hulk form, headed straight for a radio broadcasting station, hoping to reach more survivors through emergency broadcasts.
The others secured a fortified building and established a defensive position, ready to extract any survivors who responded.
Clint Barton climbed to the rooftop, gazing down at the completely devastated city. A wave of melancholy washed over him. This crisis had come so suddenly, catching everyone completely unprepared.
Hawkeye, with his exceptional vision, suddenly noticed a familiar figure standing on a rooftop across the street. He frowned in alarm and slowly drew his bow from his back.
"Steve?!"
There was no mistaking it—he recognized Captain America's distinctive uniform.
After learning the cause of the zombie outbreak from Bruce Banner, Clint realized that Steve Rogers had become a super-powered infected. He nocked an arrow while simultaneously reporting over the comms.
"Attention everyone, I've got eyes on Steve."
"Copy that, we're on our way."
Hawkeye saw the zombie Captain America, who also noticed him.
"Hohoho~!"
"RAAAGH!!!"
With his mouth torn grotesquely wide, the zombie Captain America roared at the sky and launched himself into the air, impossibly leaping directly from the tall building across the street.
"You've got to be kidding me!"
The zombie Captain America leaped high and fast, far exceeding normal super-soldier limits, swooping down like a bird of prey toward Hawkeye's position.
Hawkeye fired two arrows in rapid succession—one striking the chest, the other the forehead.
These infected were completely different from typical movie zombies where a headshot meant instant death.
These zombies were alive in every cell. Even with a destroyed brain, even with only one arm remaining, they could still attack.
The zombie Captain America shot forward like a missile, smashing through the rooftop's parapet and leaving a gap before stumbling to his feet.
"ROAAR!"
The creature's mangled jaw roared, sending Barton running for his life.
Hawkeye knew his limitations—he was absolutely no match for Captain America, even in this state.
"He's on my position! I need backup now!"
He called for help while running.
The zombie Captain America was incredibly fast. Just as the creature was about to grab Hawkeye from behind, Spider-Man Peter Parker swung down from above.
He shot webbing and caught the zombie Captain America's hand.
"Hey, cavalry's here! Whoa—"
Peter barely managed to finish his sentence before being violently flung off the building by the zombie Captain America.
He immediately swung back onto the rooftop, exclaiming, "Holy crap, he's strong!"
"Steve's strength has increased exponentially since becoming infected. Everyone, be extremely careful!"
Iron Fist Danny Rand, Jessica Jones, Red Guardian Alexei, and Taskmaster immediately rushed to the rooftop and surrounded the zombie Captain America.
None of them had ever imagined they would face off against the reanimated corpse of Captain America.
"ROAAR!!!"
Zombie Captain America roared and charged at the nearest target—Red Guardian Alexei.
Alexei took a defensive wrestling stance, and as the zombie approached, he extended his arms, attempting to grapple and restrain him, creating an opening for the others.
But he severely underestimated the zombie Captain America's strength. The moment he reached out, his hands were caught in an iron grip.
CRACK!
"Argh! My hands!"
A round shield suddenly flew through the air with a whistle. The zombie Captain America spun and caught it with his free hand.
Horrifyingly, the zombie Captain America managed to strap the shield onto his arm with practiced ease.
The superheroes: "Oh, you've got to be—everyone attack!"
Iron Fist Danny Rand unleashed his chi-powered attack, his glowing fist leading the charge.
CLANG!
The shield blocked the powerful punch, and the zombie Captain America's claw-like hand swiped back.
Danny Rand's shirt was instantly shredded, nearly disemboweling him.
The creature swung the shield in a backhand arc, sending Jessica Jones—who was charging in behind him—flying backward.
Everyone combined was no match for the zombie Captain America. Only Spider-Man Peter Parker could remotely keep pace with him.
However, Spider-Man's offensive capabilities were limited, and his punches and web attacks alone were barely enough to slow the creature down, much less injure it.
End of Chapter 102
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a Review!
P*atreon/Soulforger (50+ advanced chapters)
Buy me coffee - ko-fi*com/soulforger01