The screams faded slowly behind them.
Inside the tank, no one spoke for a while. The heavy engine noise and the grinding of tracks over broken concrete filled the silence.
Gunnar finally exhaled. "That's it, then. General Ross is finished."
Barney kept his eyes forward through the periscope. "He was finished the moment he decided to use us as bait."
Christmas lit a cigarette, the glow briefly illuminating his tired face. "Still… strange world we're living in. A lieutenant general ends up like that in a parking garage."
Lex Williams leaned back against the interior wall of the tank, eyes half-closed, but his mind was nowhere near at rest.
Doctor Strange.
That image kept replaying in his mind—the golden sparks, the portal, the dead gaze in Strange's eyes. A sorcerer who could cross space in an instant was far more dangerous than anything they had faced so far. If Strange could track disturbances like the death of the Hulk, then future battles might not stay hidden.
That changed things.
It meant time was limited.
"Where to now?" Barney asked, breaking the silence.
Lex opened his eyes. "Back to the shelter for now. We regroup, rest, and reorganize."
Gunnar chuckled. "That sounds almost like retirement."
"No," Lex said quietly. "It's preparation."
The tank rolled through dark streets, crushing abandoned vehicles and scattering stray zombies that wandered too close. Fires still burned in distant buildings where the Hulk and Abomination had fought, sending pillars of smoke into the night sky.
New York was wounded—but still alive.
When they reached the shelter perimeter, the guards nearly panicked at the sight of a main battle tank approaching, but they quickly lowered their weapons when they recognized Lex climbing out of the hatch.
Melinda May was already waiting near the entrance.
"You move fast," she said, studying his expression. "We've recovered both bodies. SHIELD teams are transporting them to a secure facility."
Lex nodded. "Good."
She hesitated, then added, "Something else happened, didn't it?"
Lex met her eyes. "Yes."
"What?"
"Doctor Strange."
For the first time, Melinda's composure cracked slightly. "Are you certain?"
"I saw him," Lex said. "He's infected."
Silence hung between them for a moment.
"That's… very bad," she said quietly.
"Yes," Lex agreed. "It is."
Inside the shelter, word of the battle had already begun to spread. Survivors whispered about explosions in the distance, about helicopters falling from the sky, about giants fighting in the dark. Rumors traveled fast in a place like this.
Back in the room Coulson had assigned him, the Joker was lounging on the couch, flipping a knife in one hand. Bane sat silently in the corner, arms folded, while Scarecrow sorted through equipment on the table.
The Joker looked up and grinned. "Well? Did you go out and wrestle a monster without inviting us again?"
"It wasn't a wrestling match," Lex said, taking a bottle of water from the refrigerator. "More like a demolition job."
"Who won?"
"I did."
The Joker's grin widened. "I like simple answers."
Bane studied Lex carefully. "You are stronger now."
It wasn't a question.
Lex shrugged slightly. "A little."
Bane nodded once, as if confirming something he had already suspected.
Scarecrow adjusted his glasses nervously. "Boss… the information network is already starting to take shape. News spreads quickly here. People talk, trade, gamble, and complain. If you want to know anything happening in this sector of the city, we'll hear it within a day."
"Good," Lex said. "Keep expanding it."
He sat down at the table and spread out a rough map of New York.
There were several circles marked in red—zones of heavy zombie concentration, abandoned military checkpoints, and areas rumored to contain unusual infected or rogue groups.
But his attention rested on one area near the river, marked only with a question mark.
"What's that?" Barney asked, stepping closer.
"An energy reading," Lex said. "Intermittent, but powerful. Stronger than anything else in the city except what we saw tonight."
Christmas frowned. "Another monster?"
"Maybe," Lex said. "Or something worse."
He folded the map.
"For now, we rest. Tomorrow we start gathering information on that location."
The others nodded, one by one.
Later that night, when the shelter had quieted and most of the lights were out, Lex stood alone on the rooftop.
The city stretched before him—dark, broken, but still stubbornly alive. Wind carried the distant sounds of gunfire and collapsing structures, reminders that the world was still fighting to survive.
He flexed his hand slowly.
The strength of the Hulk still echoed in his muscles, a raw, immense power unlike anything he had ever felt. Even without transforming, he could sense the difference—the weight of his steps, the ease with which he could bend steel, the resilience of his own body.
Stronger.
But not strong enough.
Superman was still out there.
General Zod was moving in the shadows.
Doctor Strange had appeared—and that meant the balance of the world was shifting again.
Lex looked up at the sky, where clouds drifted slowly across a pale, distant moon.
"One step at a time," he murmured.
Then he turned and went back downstairs, already planning the next move.
....
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