"It's nothing. Just a nightmare."
Zod shook his head and began examining his body's condition.
Then he was stunned by the sheer power radiating from his cells.
He had become Doomsday.
Zod also understood why he had dreamed of fighting Doomsday. That had been Doomsday's violent, rampaging consciousness. If he had lost that battle, the eyes opening to the waking world would not have belonged to Zod, but to Doomsday itself.
Too close. Good thing I'm well-read.
Zod let out a breath of relief. Brutalizing Doomsday into submission was mostly thanks to his energy absorption ability, but he couldn't ignore the contribution of his other powers either.
Still, having the Phoenix Force and Shenlong Force locked away in that dream was just too unfair.
A grin tugged at the corner of Zod's lips, and he couldn't quite smooth it away.
After all, this was Doomsday. A terrifying creature so powerful it didn't even need intelligence. Its body alone was enough to bulldoze through any opponent.
Even Darkseid's Omega Effect couldn't kill Doomsday. Attacks targeting the mind or soul? Doomsday would simply evolve and adapt at terrifying speed.
Only the application of temporal entropy stood any chance of erasing Doomsday from existence.
Zod had gained Doomsday's super-evolution ability and its immortality. Things like Doomsday spores, however, hadn't manifested.
"Seems like the sunlight in the Marvel universe really does affect Kryptonians differently. Or maybe every universe's sunlight has its own unique effect?"
Zod mulled it over.
Regardless, becoming Doomsday meant there was no opponent left that could truly threaten him. Even the One Above All, give him enough time, he could evolve to catch up to OAA, and then kill it.
Just like that, I'm invincible.
And Zod, even against the original Doomsday, would still be superior. His energy absorption ability alone guaranteed he'd never lose.
"So… can I kill the Ancient One now and take the Time Stone?"
Zod secretly entertained the thought.
Of course, he was only daydreaming. He hadn't fallen quite that far into madness.
But the Tesseract, on the other hand, that convenient little toy, was definitely something he could get his hands on now.
SHIELD, thoroughly infiltrated by HYDRA, was now entirely comprised of Burning Legion members. So Zod had no difficulty acquiring the Tesseract.
Alexander Pierce personally delivered it.
"Sir, the Tesseract."
Alexander Pierce placed the carrying case before Zod.
Zod nodded, gestured for Pierce to roll out smoothly, then opened the case.
A dreamlike, deep-blue cube radiated dazzling light that threatened to mesmerize the soul.
If any women saw this, they'd probably shriek themselves into a frenzy.
Zod grabbed it directly with his bare hand. Even if the Tesseract tried to teleport him away to serve as the Soul Stone's gatekeeper, he wasn't worried anymore. Doomsday was not an existence that could be restrained like that.
In the past, he'd hesitated to mess with the Tesseract precisely because of that concern. Who knew if it would force him to take over Red Skull's job.
The Tesseract rested in Zod's grasp, and then he simply crushed its outer shell, revealing the small, elliptical Space Stone within.
He directly gripped the Space Stone.
Then everything changed abruptly. The Tesseract shuddered violently in Zod's hand. Pale blue light flared, transforming into tangible fire that spread throughout the room. The flames seared the fabric of space itself, distorting the air into visible ripples.
Overwhelming, majestic power surged outward. Arcs of electricity crackled. As the blue light reached its blazing limit, it burst into a starfield, a miniature cosmos unfolding.
The grand universe had never felt so vivid and clear.
Zod simply snorted. The hyper-evolution speed inherited from Doomsday allowed him to adapt to the Space Stone's crushing pressure in the blink of an eye. He broke free of the force attempting to teleport him elsewhere.
"Behave."
Zod shattered the spatial rift the Stone had opened with a single punch. In response, the Space Stone switched tactics, unleashing cosmic energy to corrode Zod's body.
Deep-blue cosmic energy gnawed at Zod's right arm. The sleeve of his clothing disintegrated into nothingness.
But the ferociously corrosive energy halted at his shoulder, unable to advance further. In less than a single breath, Zod had adapted to and become immune to the cosmic energy's damage. He even began to devour it.
The Space Stone, refusing to accept this, intensified its energy output. Zod accepted everything without refusal. Every shred of energy was torn apart and devoured by his cells, making them tougher, more resilient, and brimming with power.
This forced the Space Stone to calm itself down. It returned to quiescence.
Holding the Space Stone barehanded without suffering any harm? Not even Thanos could pull that off.
Zod admired his own body with deep satisfaction. With a physique this powerful, he could play with a few more figurine ladies.
True, his original Kryptonian body had been more than enough to satisfy hundreds of women, but Doomsday's was simply better.
Everything on Earth had suddenly become a bit bland for Zod now that he had become Doomsday. Fortunately, the Mars base had already been established.
Zod prepared to develop a spaceship. Then he could go have some fun out in the universe.
Mars base, atomic alloy arena.
Tifa launched a punch at Zod. He casually blocked it. Esdeath struck from behind. Just as her attack seemed about to land, Zod kicked backward, sending her flying without looking.
A battle between three Kryptonians was the stuff of cataclysm. If this atomic alloy training room weren't so sturdy, Mars itself wouldn't survive the demolition.
Zod noticed that Tifa and Esdeath seemed slightly stronger now. But since their growth was utterly eclipsed by his own, it was hard for him to gauge accurately.
A scouter would be nice right about now.
Zod mused idly while fending off the two women's every assault with one hand.
Now that he was Doomsday, Zod had the confidence to let them use him as a sparring partner. Before, even though he'd already been incredibly powerful, any serious strike from him meant instant annihilation. Controlling his strength had been too difficult. Now? Now Zod could handle their attacks with sheer physical resilience alone.
Esdeath felt absolute exhilaration. Ever since becoming this powerful, no one except Zod could push her to go all out. But fighting Zod was pointless. She'd go all out, and Zod had hundreds of ways to obliterate her in an instant. Ways that would very likely actually kill her if he slipped up even slightly.
This kind of fist-to-flesh combat was far more satisfying. Even though Zod hadn't been injured once so far and stood as immovable as if rooted to the earth, unshaken by two Kryptonians in the slightest.
Zod kept one hand behind his back, fending off both Kryptonians with just the other.
He had the unhurried, commanding presence of Darkseid himself.
In truth, Zod was multitasking. He was also mentally sculpting his new figurine lady.
A startled swan, a graceful dragon. Like light clouds veiling the moon, like drifting snow kissed by the wind.
/-\
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