When Domino discovered the true identity of the Red Hulk, he was determined to find her, making sure she never told anyone what she knew. Ready to go it alone, the Red Hulk was forced by General Ross to use a team of individuals chosen specifically by him – each one to be offered something they couldn't refuse.
The first recruit was none other than "The Merc with a Mouth", Deadpool. After some hostile negotiations, the million dollar proposal for twenty-four hours work proved to be worth a temporary alliance. Next on the list was the scourge of the underworld, the Punisher. Even though the Red Hulk admired Castle's work, the Punisher wasn't interested in working with him – at least not until he was promised a list of every mob affiliate hiding in the Witness Protection Program. The Crimson Dynamo, seeking political asylum, was eager to help as was Thundra who worked a side deal with Red Hulk known only to them. The last person on the roster was Elektra whose reasons for joining were her own. With his team assembled, Code Red was ready to find their target. Only problem is Domino had some friends of her own – X-Force!
Wolverine, having experience in dealing with gamma powered monsters, took the Red Hulk for himself and managed to blind him before being thrown half-way across the city. Punisher skewered X-23 on a broken pool stick and seemed to have an easy win when an 8-ball to the side of his head said otherwise. The high-flying Archangel flew circles around Crimson Dynamo, but a trick maneuver by the crafty Russian left his foe with a face full of fire when he deliberately caused his armor to self destruct. Domino's tremendous luck gave her the upper hand against Thundra, but Elektra proved to be a little harder to handle. However, before the winner of their contest could be decided, Deadpool, who was practically annoying Warpath into submission, unintentionally severed an electrical line that caused a massive explosion when the sparks mixed with flammable gas in the air. The structure the two teams made their battleground was obliterated, but everyone seemingly survived the blast. Wolverine returned to renew his match with the Red Hulk, but to his surprise, he was ambushed by a Red She-Hulk!
A mystery to all, this Red She-Hulk claimed to have killed both Elektra and Domino as she squared off against an overconfident Wolverine. Both Code Red and X-Force regrouped for one more round, and Red She-Hulk took the blind Red Hulk into the sewers to escape. Stating she was sent by the same people Red Hulk worked for, he believed her to be an ally until she led him into a trap where his former teammates betrayed him at the behest of another supposed ally, Samson. The good doctor didn't count on one thing – Thundra was completely loyal to Red Hulk. Together, the two of them opposed Samson and Red She-Hulk in a colossal clash starting in the subway, escalating to the top of the Empire State Building and crashing into the street below, leaving Red She-Hulk coming out on top. Elektra, alive and well, met up with Red Hulk and they traveled to the home of Silver Sable to find Domino and X-Force waiting for them. Domino held Sable at gunpoint and forced her to confess she was paid to set Domino up at the barbershop which was actually a front for A.I.M.. Domino was meant to expose the Red Hulk's true identity just to show him he wasn't as untouchable as he believed. The specific members of his team were chosen because they would ensure the Red Hulk’s identity would be spread around should Domino have talked.
Red Hulk knew he had a new war to fight now, and Elektra told him he'd need all the friends he could get. She wanted him to prove himself to her by honoring the deals he made with the rest of Code Red. She would cash in at a later date. Red Hulk paid Deadpool the sum of money paid to Silver Sable. He gave Crimson Dynamo upgrades to his armor based on the technology of Tony Stark. Punisher got an address to a secret weapons cache formerly owned by S.H.I.E.L.D., and Thundra's deal continued to remain a secret between the two of them. Code Red had gone their separate ways, but with the approaching battle they may yet come together again.
