A massive blue arrow streaked across the infinite darkness like a comet.
Before the highly tense, combat-ready Skrull pilots could even react, the incoming projectile traversed miles of space in an instant.
It detonated mid-flight, fracturing into countless smaller, sharper energy bolts that blanketed nearly a third of the Skrull squadron.
The spirit arrows rained down silently.
Every Quinjet hit seemed to age thousands of years in a split second. Their hulls pitted, then cracked, then shattered, exposing energy cores and ammunition bays that promptly exploded.
In the blink of an eye, a chain of silent fireballs blossomed in the vacuum.
Perhaps under Nick Fury's "protection," these Skrulls had been sheltered from real war for too long. They had forgotten the brutal, bloody history of the Kree-Skrull war.
Faced with this sudden devastation, the remaining pilots didn't counterattack down the vector of the incoming fire. Instead, they panicked, scattering like headless flies, desperately trying to fly out of the kill zone.
But their chaotic retreat left the four Gundams completely unopposed.
Led by Luca, the four mechs spread out and treated the fleeing Quinjets like targets in a shooting gallery.
Every beam fired turned a fighter jet into space dust.
Among the continuous barrage of particle beams, the attacks from Luca's Boxer Gundam were uniquely terrifying.
It wasn't just that his energy was blue while the others were red, or that he was using a bow while they used rifles.
The true violation of common sense was the trajectory.
While everyone else fired straight beams, the Boxer Gundam's light arrows curved, tracked, and split in mid-air, creating unavoidable nets of destruction.
This was the result of Luca's ever-increasing mastery over Hextech energy.
Long-term exposure to high concentrations of Hextech particles hadn't just increased his energy capacity; his affinity and mental strength had grown to the point where manipulating the energy felt like moving a limb.
Now, even without the [Quincy Cross], Luca could project Hextech energy from his body. With the Cross in hand, he could bend and diffuse even mech-scale attacks at will.
Right now, dealing with these panicked Skrull pilots was exactly as he described:
Just a simple game of Space Invaders.
However, there were still brave warriors among the Skrulls.
Realizing they couldn't outrun the mechs, several pilots decided to go down fighting. They abandoned evasive maneuvers, formed a tight formation, and launched a suicide charge straight at Luca's team.
Dozens of Quinjets roared silently toward the Gundams.
Unfortunately, their "last stand" was nothing more than a delusional suicide pact.
Two jets managed to break through, covered by the sacrifice of their wingmen, and reached Shamila's Dark Goddess 01. They unloaded everything they had—missiles, cannons, the works.
The result? They momentarily obscured Shamila's vision with smoke.
The machine guns and missiles failed to dent the armor. One jet even rammed the Gundam head-on.
The impact tilted the mech slightly in the void. When the fireball cleared, there wasn't even a scratch on the paint.
That was the breaking point. Skrull morale collapsed completely.
The few surviving jets turned tail, fleeing back toward the space station in sheer terror, completely forgetting their interception mission.
Luca and his team didn't pursue them. In fact, they deliberately aimed away from the station to avoid collateral damage.
"Young Master, shall we annihilate this den of sin?"
Longbow asked over the comms, his voice as calm and deadpan as ever.
Even Luca paused for a second before realizing what he meant.
He was asking if they should blow up the space station.
Maybe piloting a Gundam—every boy's dream—had unlocked Longbow's hidden chuunibyou side. He wasn't even trying to hide it anymore.
Good thing I didn't give him a transformation device like Ultraman's Spark Lens, or he'd be unstoppable.
Suppressing a sigh, Luca replied, "Don't talk nonsense. Natasha and Tony are still inside!"
"Split up. Surround the station."
"Clear out the external defenses first. Be careful, try not to cause major structural damage."
"Also, I recall this thing might have superweapons capable of orbital bombardment. If you see anything charging up, destroy it immediately. No mercy."
Surrounding a massive space station with only three mechs sounded ridiculous on paper.
But after the massacre they just witnessed, the other three pilots didn't doubt the order for a second.
They broke formation, taking up positions in a triangle around the station and scanning for turrets.
Seeing them in position, Luca smiled. He piloted the Boxer Gundam closer to the station's main hull.
"As for me... I'm going to spook them a little."
Hovering right outside the station, Luca opened a wide-band communication channel, broadcasting to every speaker inside.
"Attention, occupants of the station! You are surrounded!"
"I strongly advise you..."
---
Meanwhile, inside the station.
Thanks to The Spot's portals, Dr. Banner and the rest of the team had rendezvoused with Natasha and Bucky.
It wasn't just Banner, Harry, and Gwen. Even Dr. Otto Octavius had joined the fray, sporting a set of neural-linked mechanical arms he'd apparently pulled out of storage.