American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

428. Zombie Grandfather and Ashley.

(T/N): Since it's Christmas there is mass release.

Merry Christmas

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Watching Pietro chase the zombie Quicksilver until both disappeared beyond the city horizon, Clark finally relaxed a little, turning his gaze toward another direction.

For some reason, he had just felt an unusual sense of crisis, as though he were being watched by a powerful presence. This feeling was one he hadn't experienced in a long time.

"Something is coming," Clark said, frowning.

Although the oppressive aura wasn't as overwhelming as Darkseid's, encountering such an extraordinary being in this universe still surprised Clark.

What puzzled him the most was how someone so powerful could have been infected and turned into a zombie. Logically, such a thing should have been impossible.

Putting himself in that scenario, Clark couldn't fathom how he, at his peak, could ever be bitten by zombies.

"Perhaps this is the power of contamination," Clark thought, his expression growing solemn.

He recalled Kara mentioning "contamination" and "worms" during their time in the wasteland.

Although Clark had never directly encountered contamination or its unimaginable energy, the fact that Kara—his equally formidable cousin—had been wounded by a mutant mercenary's blade was already an inexplicable anomaly.

If contamination could create "impossible" wounds, then it stood to reason that zombie heroes might infect others, even strong individuals, with their bites.

This explained why, following the outbreak of the zombie crisis, most heroes hadn't been spared. Even beings as mighty as Thor and Hulk were bitten and infected with the virus.

"This is the power of contamination," Clark realized.

Stealing a cautious glance at Alex, Clark finally understood why Alex—seemingly omnipotent—remained so wary of contamination.

After piecing everything together, even Clark couldn't help but feel a twinge of fear deep within himself.

Before he could ponder further, a fierce storm suddenly swept through the skies. In the blink of an eye, a golden figure appeared, hovering in mid-air.

"The Sentry."

Everyone below focused their gazes on him, including Alex.

The Sentry from the timeline they'd previously dealt with had already been thrown into the bottomless void of another universe by Alex—a Sentry representing the beginning, carrying the source of the contamination.

This Sentry, however, represented the end. At this moment, he was free from any contamination, his power manifesting only as formidable combat strength and the zombie virus.

"Delicious flesh... I didn't expect there would still be lucky ones like you in this world. I thought Earth was devoid of any more delicacies," Sentry sneered, his greedy gaze fixated on the people below. His eyes glinted with unrestrained savagery and bloodlust, desperate to devour these humans.

"It's time to end this, Golden Boy. I know you're in immense pain right now. We're here to help," Clark said, puffing out his chest as his bio-electric field activated, slowly lifting him into the air.

As he rose higher and higher, Clark ascended to the same altitude as Sentry, meeting him on equal footing.

"Interesting. I think I've seen you before. You're that knock-off comic book hero," Sentry said, tilting his head.

"I'd beg to differ," Clark said, smirking. "If anyone's a knock-off, it's you. From what I know, my comics came first."

"The Sentry has existed here for countless years, Farm Boy," Zombie Sentry retorted with a sneer.

"There's no evidence of that," Clark shrugged.

Hearing this, Zombie Sentry took a deep breath. Staring at Clark, his anger boiled to match his insatiable hunger.

"Fine. Who cares?"

Zombie Sentry licked his teeth, glaring at Clark with a twisted grin.

"Once I taste your heart, I'll include this little debate in my pre-meal prayer."

"You're welcome to try. Justice League never surrenders," Clark replied, preparing for battle.

He knew this fight was inevitable. In fact, everyone present knew it. This was their mission.

"Be careful, Clark. If you hold back, you might die," Alex called out from below, arms crossed, his voice calm but carrying a subtle warning.

While Alex was aware that Clark's methods had evolved from the typical "boy scout" approach of most Supermen, he still felt it necessary to push Clark to act decisively.

"Although I doubt that'll happen, I'll be cautious," Clark replied, clenching his fists.

Earlier discussions with Batman and others had already laid out their strategy for dealing with Sentry. According to Mister Fantastic's calculations, a standard Sentry would be no match for Superman, especially in a universe where combat power wasn't as exaggerated.

"Let's see this so-called power of a million exploding suns," Clark said.

"Heh. You think I've been wasting time talking to you?" Zombie Sentry sneered.

Behind him, shadows began to approach rapidly, converging on their location.

Among the incoming figures, the most striking ones were the zombie Hulk, leaping miles with each bound, and the zombie Spider-Man, swinging on veins as if they were webs.

"Oh, what the (bleep bleep)!" x2

Ashley instinctively stepped back, her eyes locked onto the man in the tattered Spider-Man suit. Both she and Venom exclaimed in unison, cursing as they processed the sight.

Her spider-sense buzzed incessantly. Ashley could clearly feel the familiar energy resonating from this alternate universe's version of her grandfather.

"Now I get what Pietro must've felt. I always imagined there was a chance I'd meet my grandpa in another world, but I 'never' thought he'd look like this (bleep bleep) monstrosity!"

"Oh, heavens, what do we have here? A young Spider-lady! Did you just call me your grandfather? That means you must be my granddaughter! I never imagined I'd marry a African-American woman. Oh, not that I have anything against African-American women, of course, but it's still... surprising. I can barely process this."

Zombie Spider-Man hung upside down from a broken streetlamp, his grotesque gaze fixed hungrily on Ashley, drool dripping from his maw.

Ashley recoiled another two steps, her face twisted in utter disgust. "You are 'not' my grandfather, you revolting bug. My grandpa was a hero—not some filthy monster like you."

She had imagined countless scenarios for meeting Peter Parker—her true grandfather. For this moment, she had even tried to improve herself, thinking her grandfather, as a hero, wouldn't approve of her rough, foul-mouthed persona.

Ashley had even asked Pietro to draft a letter to leave a good first impression. Yet, faced with this horrifying reality, she reverted to starting with a string of curses.

Like Ashley, Alex was also studying the opposing zombie army. Or more precisely, his main focus was the zombie Spider-Man.

In the original story, Zombie Spider-Man was arguably not the protagonist but played a central role. The events surrounding him always forced Alex to ponder deeper.

After being infected with the zombie virus, Zombie Spider-Man had consumed his wife, Mary Jane, and Aunt May alive. Although he expressed remorse and guilt afterward, it didn't change the fact that he later joined other zombies in consuming the entire Marvel Zombie Universe.

When he arrived in Universe Z, Zombie Spider-Man appeared to have overcome his hunger. But when temptation struck again, he lost control, infecting everyone in the Sinister Six except Sandman and spreading the zombie virus anew.

Although the destruction of Earth was ultimately caused by Zombie Hulk and Zombie Sentry, the virus's initial propagation was undeniably spearheaded by Zombie Spider-Man and Zombie Wolverine.

Alex had long wondered what role Zombie Spider-Man played in all of this.

Why did he oscillate between infection and clarity? Most importantly, now that the pollution was gone, why had Spider-Man completely succumbed to his hunger with no room for resistance?

Could it be that the same strange cognitive pollution that helped him resist hunger also influenced his actions?

If so, what was the goal of this pollution? Did it want to destroy the world, or save it through Spider-Man? The contradiction baffled Alex, as it didn't align with his understanding of the sources of pollution and the worms.

But now wasn't the time for such musings. The monsters were growing restless, driven by their insatiable hunger. They were eager to feast.

"Now that everyone's here, we can finally enjoy a proper meal!"

Zombie Sentry bellowed, his voice guttural and frenzied, before launching himself at Clark.

Zombie Sentry's speed was astonishing. Alex had witnessed it firsthand during their skirmish on Jupiter. The opponent's strength, speed, and reflexes were all on a cosmic scale.

But Clark wasn't made of clay. After the Apocalypse War, he had shed his image as a cheerful farm boy, gaining a deeper understanding of combat.

As Zombie Sentry lunged at him, Clark quickly raised a hand and caught his wrist, though the tremendous force sent him flying backward. Regaining his balance mid-air, Clark spun around and delivered a powerful kick to Sentry's abdomen. The sheer impact caused a small sonic boom, sending Zombie Sentry crashing into the ground.

A deafening explosion followed. A massive crater appeared where Sentry landed, dust and debris scattering everywhere. Suddenly, a golden streak of light tore through the haze, hurtling straight toward Clark.

Sensing the trajectory, Clark tilted his head slightly, narrowly avoiding the golden beam that whizzed past his ear.

Scarlet energy gathered in his eyes, and without hesitation, he retaliated with a blast of heat vision, aiming at the source of the golden streak.

"Clark, watch out!"

Ashley's urgent shout rang out.

Clark reacted instantly, spinning around to see Zombie Hulk charging at him from behind.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the other zombie heroes began to encircle Alex and the others. Above them, Zombie Spider-Man let out a bloodthirsty laugh.

"Instead of worrying about others, my dear granddaughter, you should really be looking out for yourself."

.....

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