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In the vast, desolate Arctic, where endless fields of white ice stretched beneath a sky howling with wind, a strange distortion suddenly rippled through the frozen air. A transparent door materialized out of nothing, hanging there like a crack in reality itself. The structure groaned as it swung open, the sound echoing across the silent wasteland like something ancient being forced awake.
And then...
*ROAR!*
A thunderous, primal roar tore through the frozen landscape as a massive green figure burst through the doorway like a cannonball. The enormous body streaked across the sky, covering hundreds of meters in a single impossible leap before crashing down into the frozen ground with the force of a falling meteor.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
The impact alone shook the surrounding ice sheets, but the destruction didn't stop there. The gigantic green titan immediately began hammering the ground with fists that struck like siege hammers. Each punch drove deep into the ancient permafrost, shattering thick layers of ice untouched for centuries. Frozen slabs exploded outward like artillery fragments, scattering across the empty Arctic.
There was no mistaking it.
The unstoppable monster that had just arrived in the Arctic was none other than the Incredible Hulk.
Bruce Banner, still painfully inexperienced with the power of the Door-Door Fruit, had completely botched his escape. Back in New York, panicked and half-lost in a haze of sedatives and fear, he had forced open a dimensional door without even thinking about where it would lead. The ability responded to his subconscious, and somewhere deep in his mind, there had only been one desperate thought: get as far away from people as possible.
And so the door had delivered him to one of the most isolated places on Earth.
The Arctic.
Fortunately, Banner's obsession with protecting others still held true even through his panic. Though the destination was extreme, it was also perfect. Out here, there were no cities, no civilians, no fragile buildings waiting to be crushed. Just endless ice and empty land.
Which meant the Hulk could finally let loose.
*CRASH! SMASH! BOOM!*
For three relentless hours, the Arctic became the Hulk's personal battlefield. The green titan rampaged across the frozen landscape like a living force of nature, leaping across ridges that stretched for kilometers and smashing through glaciers that had stood untouched since prehistoric times. Each landing shook the ground like a localized earthquake, and every roar rolled across the icy plains like thunder. Massive cracks split through the permafrost as Hulk tore through the landscape, fists crashing down again and again with unstoppable fury.
The sheer violence of the rampage turned miles of pristine ice into a shattered wasteland.
Only after exhausting his rage, after the violent storm inside him finally burned itself out, did the monster slow down. His breathing grew heavier, the thunderous movements fading until the towering green figure finally collapsed onto the frozen ground.
The beast had finished venting its anger.
And just like that… Hulk went offline.
"Haaa..."
A freezing breath of air rushed violently into Bruce Banner's lungs as the transformation faded. The Arctic wind was so cold it felt like inhaling liquid nitrogen, stabbing through his chest and forcing his mind awake. His eyes snapped open as the brutal cold bit into every inch of his body.
Bruce began shivering uncontrollably as he lay there on the bare ice.
Poor Bruce Banner, he hadn't simply woken up; he had been frozen awake.
"Where the hell am I?"
Banner turned his head, shivering violently as he took in his surroundings. Everywhere he looked was nothing but white. Ice and snow stretched endlessly toward the horizon, a barren world stripped of every other color. It didn't take long for him to figure it out: he had accidentally opened a door to one of the poles.
'Thank God,' he thought, a wave of relief washing over him despite the brutal cold.
The Door-Door Fruit had been worth every gram of gold. In the past, every single Hulk episode had ended in catastrophe, disasters counted in body counts and billions of dollars in property damage. This time was different. The destruction had been massive, yes, but there had been no casualties.
For Banner, that alone was a miracle.
This was the solution he had been searching for all along: a way to ensure he was no longer a threat to the world. A way to cage the monster without killing the man. With the power of the Door-Door Fruit, that dream had finally become possible.
"Devil Fruits… truly miraculous," Banner whispered, his voice trembling in the freezing air.
*Whoosh!*
Another violent gust of Arctic wind cut across the ice and bit into his bare skin like a blade. Banner's body shook harder as the cold drilled into his bones. Curling up instinctively, he wrapped his arms around himself, teeth chattering uncontrollably.
"No… I have to...I have to get out of here before I freeze to death."
He reached out, preparing to open another door somewhere warmer. Just as he was about to activate his power, something caught his attention. Not far away, slightly to his left, a jagged mass of twisted metal jutted out from the snow. It was partially buried in a fresh crater, one of the many craters Hulk had created during his rampage.
"What is that?"
Banner paused, lowering his hand. Shielding his eyes from the glare of the snow, he slowly stumbled toward the wreckage. Even half-buried and distorted, the shape of it was unmistakable. It wasn't modern aircraft debris. The structure, the rivets, the wing design… it all looked like something straight out of the Second World War.
'What the hell…?' Banner frowned in confusion. 'Why is a WWII plane here? Had it crashed here seventy years ago and been swallowed by the shifting ice?'
Curiosity quickly replaced his confusion. Sensing that he might have stumbled upon something significant, Banner hurried closer. As he approached the wreckage, he noticed a massive breach torn into the fuselage. The jagged hole was clearly fresh, likely blasted open by one of Hulk's stray punches during the earlier rampage.
Banner crouched down and carefully stepped through the torn metal opening, then he entered the plane's interior.
"Is that…?"
He scanned the interior of the dark, frozen cabin. His eyes soon locked onto an object partially covered in frost, and his heart skipped a beat.
Captain America's Shield.
Banner recognized it instantly. Steve Rogers was the ultimate American icon. Like millions of others, Bruce had grown up hearing stories of the First Avenger. He had even visited the Smithsonian memorial more than once. That shield was unmistakable.
But why was it here, inside a wreck that looked as old as the legend itself?
A sudden thought struck him, so abrupt that his blood ran cold. 'Wait… this is the plane.'
'The Valkyrie, the aircraft Captain America had piloted into the ocean decades ago to save New York. Over the years, the shifting polar ice must have carried the wreck here.'
If his guess was correct… Then Captain America's remains were somewhere inside this frozen tomb.
Such a discovery would shake the entire United States.
Ignoring the frostbite creeping across his skin, Banner began digging through the ice. It didn't take long. Right beside the shield, buried under a layer of thick frost, he found the body.
"My God..." Banner inhaled sharply.
There he was, after seventy years, Steve Rogers' body remained perfectly preserved. There was no rot, no decay. He looked as if he were merely asleep. If Bruce hadn't known the history, he would have sworn the man had simply closed his eyes for a nap.
"This has to be destiny," Banner murmured.
Who could have imagined that a desperate escape through a magical door would lead him straight to a legend?
"Captain... come on. Let's get you home."
Banner knelt down and carefully cleared away the surrounding ice, slowly freeing the frozen body. But as he shifted the weight of the soldier, his scientific instincts suddenly flared. He felt something, a faint, rhythmic pulse against his palms.
"No way..."
He checked again, pressing his fingers against the Captain's neck.
"How is this even possible…?"
Bruce stood frozen inside the wreckage, his scientific worldview crumbling all over again. After seventy years in the ice, Steve Rogers still had a heartbeat.
Captain America was still alive.
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Next Chapter: The World-Changing Phone Call
Next Next Chapter: Awakening the First Avenger
Next Next Next Chapter: The New Headquarters and a Royal Visitor
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