A Kryptonian in the Marvel Universe

Zod was surprised when he completed his medical exam without encountering the Ancient One. He had wanted to ask her how Morgan was doing; as the daughter of a dimension demon, she was somewhat like a Marvel-DC hybrid, possibly akin to Raven.

"Could something have happened in Kamar-Taj? Did the Ancient One finally pass away?" he mused. Shrugging it off, he continued with his plans.

Zod had preemptively intercepted Mr. Lan's communication with Bruce Banner, capturing him and securing the blood sample Banner had sent over.

"Is my power derived from him?" Bronsky asked, eyeing Banner with a mixture of curiosity and competitiveness.

"Not exactly," Zod corrected. He suspected there were genetic traits unique to the Banner and Ross families that allowed them to survive gamma radiation, transforming into giants rather than succumbing to its lethal effects. For Bronsky, Zod had injected General Ross's blood, resulting in his Abomination form—similar to, but distinct from, the Hulk serum.

Meanwhile, Zod discreetly instructed World Serpent agents to gather samples from others in the Hulk lineage: Betty Ross, Banner's wife, who had become the Red She-Hulk, and Jennifer Walters, Banner's cousin and known as She-Hulk. The search continued for other members of the extended "Hulk family."

After completing Banner's medical exam, Zod presented him with a custom suit.

"I'm not sure I need a battle suit," Bruce hesitated, thinking nothing could withstand the Hulk's might.

"Give it a try, Dr. Banner. This suit is woven from special fibers, virtually indestructible," Zod assured, though he omitted that it contained vibranium fibers. Wakanda had previously lost tons of vibranium, but with Zod's capability to replicate atomic structures, his supply was essentially unlimited.

Though doubtful, Bruce slipped on the suit for the sake of experiment.

Just as Zod prepared to analyze his new Hulk sample, he sensed an unexpected presence—a man dressed in aristocratic fashion, holding a gentleman's cane, his hair slicked back with unnerving precision. He exuded an aura that disrupted the normally sharp perception of the Black Queen and bypassed Blade Technology's security undetected. The man walked through the building as if it were his own.

"The scent of Hell..." he murmured, stopping abruptly outside Zod's lab. Each step of his cane seemed to resonate strangely within the corridors.

Inside the lab, Zod's instincts flared. Although he was a man of science, he had learned to trust his gut, especially when something felt this wrong. Encasing himself in his Dark Knight armor, he moved cautiously toward the door.

When he pushed open the atomic alloy door, which required a force of 500 tons, Zod found himself facing a middle-aged nobleman, impeccably dressed, and utterly absent from the atomic or magnetic field realms.

"Good evening, Zod," the man greeted with a knowing smile.

"Who are you?" Zod asked, wary. He sensed he was facing a mystical adversary—something far outside his usual encounters.

With that realization, Zod activated the dragon power tattoo beneath his armor, and his vision shifted to reveal the man's true form: razor-sharp teeth, horns, and a pair of hooves surrounded by a dark mist. It was unmistakable: he was face-to-face with a demon.

"Who I am isn't important, Zod. The real question is, have you been to Hell recently? I sense its presence on you," the demon remarked, circling Zod with a mixture of curiosity and menace.

It dawned on Zod that his recent trip to the Hell dimension with the Ancient One had left him marked with its essence, drawing the attention of demons.

Piecing it together, he recognized his visitor. Only Mephisto, one of Hell's most powerful lords, would have the audacity to roam Earth so freely, even in mere projection form.

Mephisto had indeed come for this reason. As a ruler over fragments of the Hell Dimension, he possessed a keen ability to detect new domains of Hell that he had yet to claim. The faint scent of a dimension fragment on Zod stirred Mephisto's greed.

Zod realized negotiation was futile. Power flared from his tattoo, and an ethereal blue dragon coiled around him, magnifying his presence to godlike proportions. Mephisto's eyes widened; the demon lord had long respected the dragon's power, having seen it counter the Phoenix Force itself.

This was trouble.

Zod didn't give him a chance to speak further. With a fist imbued with dragon power, he struck at Mephisto's projection, the sheer force vaporizing it in an instant.

"Well, that was anticlimactic," Zod muttered, surprised. Though it was only a projection, he had expected Mephisto to withstand more.

Still, the encounter left him uneasy. He had narrowly escaped a deeper entanglement with the demonic forces of Hell. And while Mephisto might have been banished for now, Zod knew that he'd be targeted again.