Thanks to the Dark Goddess squad, led by Luca, decimating the Skrull fighter defense grid in record time, the Skrull space station was in utter chaos.
Ominous red emergency lights flashed incessantly, and the sharp alarm, initially signaling danger, had now become a continuous, wailing drone.
The civilian Skrulls in the residential district—who usually looked down on their Earth-bound kin with arrogance—were now cowering behind locked doors, praying in desperation.
Meanwhile, the Skrull combat personnel were running around like headless chickens, unsure of what to do.
Even with their genetically enhanced superpowers, they had no means to counter an attack from outside the station's hull.
They had always believed this station—their "Home"—was absolutely safe. Now, they were bitterly regretting not moving their core base of operations to Earth sooner.
At least on Earth, they could have died fighting back.
Here, they could only wait helplessly for judgment to rain down from the void.
Of course, for Natasha and her team inside the station, hearing Luca's slightly mocking "surrender announcement" brought a very different feeling.
It certainly put a spring in their step as they dispatched the Skrull guards blocking their path.
Yes, dispatching guards.
Originally, Luca had sent The Spot to transport Gwen, Banner, and the others to help Natasha move the rescued prisoners.
But due to a communication breakdown, Natasha and Bucky hadn't actually reached the detention block yet.
When The Spot dropped the reinforcements off, it inadvertently blew Natasha and Bucky's cover.
Forced to improvise, the reunited group had no choice but to carve a bloody path toward the prisoners.
Fortunately, the station was in such disarray that they didn't encounter any overly difficult enemies.
Just now, Dr. Otto Octavius, still a novice in combat, clumsily manipulated his four mechanical arms to fling away a black man whose skin gleamed like metal as he charged. Immediately after, a young girl wielding purple energy swords lunged at him.
Luckily, Gwen had been keeping an eye on the newbie.
Thwip-thwip.
Two webs shot from her wrists, binding the girl's legs.
Gwen followed up with a slide tackle, slipping right between Dr. Octavius's flailing mechanical arms, and kicked the girl in the neck as she tried to stand. The girl died instantly, reverting to her natural green Skrull form.
"Doctor, be careful! Watch your six!"
"Ah? Do you need me to transform?"
Gwen had been talking to Otto, but Dr. Banner, who was cowering in a corner looking conflicted, poked his head out, thinking she meant him.
The others rolled their eyes but quickly refocused on the fight.
Realizing his mistake, Banner gave an awkward smile and shrank back into his corner, following the group's advance at a safe distance.
It couldn't be helped. This was a rescue mission.
Hulk was the nuclear option.
If they let Hulk loose to clear the path now, by the time they reached the prisoners, an enraged Hulk might accidentally squash a hostage or two.
It would be one thing if he squashed a supervillain, but if he accidentally flattened Tony Stark or Clint Barton...
The team pushed forward and soon arrived at the location Natasha had identified as the detention block.
However, when she tried to use her disguised hand to scan for entry, she hit a snag.
"Access denied."
Looking at the flashing red text on the lock screen, Natasha cycled through several Skrull identities but couldn't get authorization.
"I need time to hack this..."
Just as she was preparing to use her old-school spy tricks to bypass the lock, Dr. Octavius stepped forward. He felt a bit embarrassed about his earlier clumsiness in combat and wanted to contribute.
"Allow me!"
Everyone looked at him, expecting him to pull out some high-tech decryption device.
Instead, his four mechanical arms sprang into action.
The lower two arms slammed into the floor, anchoring him firmly. The upper two shot forward.
With immense force, the three-pronged claws at the end of the arms punched deep into the metal blast door.
With a roar of exertion, Dr. Octavius engaged the hydraulics.
CREAAAAK—CRUNCH!
Amidst the ear-splitting sound of tearing metal, he literally ripped a massive hole in the alloy door. The surrounding wall buckled and warped from the sheer force.
The opening wasn't just big enough for a person; even the Hulk could have walked through comfortably.
The rest of the team stared, jaws dropped.
Harry, standing next to Banner, gulped audibly. He looked at Banner, then at Otto, and whispered:
"Are all you PhDs this violent?"
Banner shrugged innocently.
"Those neural-linked arms are a product of Dr. Octavius's own research. So, technically... I guess that counts as opening the door with 'technical means'?"
Their voices were low, but in the quiet corridor, everyone heard them.
Aside from Otto, who nodded in serious agreement, everyone else rolled their eyes.
Bucky glanced at Otto's mechanical arms, then subconsciously tucked his own metal arm behind his back.
But there was no time for banter. They filed through the torn opening one by one.
Inside, it wasn't the dungeon-like prison cells they expected.
Rows upon rows of semi-transparent life-support pods lined the room.
Inside each pod was an unconscious human.
"Dad!"
"Steve!"
Perhaps due to some special connection, Harry and Bucky instantly spotted the people they were looking for.
But before they could rush over to open the pods, Dr. Octavius's mechanical arms shot out, restraining them firmly.
"Wait! Look at their heads!"
Stopped in their tracks, the two calmed down enough to look closer.
Attached to the temples of the unconscious captives were devices emitting faint, rhythmic pulses of purple electricity.
They couldn't tell if it was a mind-control device or something else.
"We need to be sure," Otto warned. "Yanking them out might kill them."