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CaveLeather
Earth.
After dealing with the Skrull space station, Luca, Shamila, and the others returned to Earth through Spot's portal.
Although the four Gundams were fully capable of atmospheric reentry, teleportation was simply more convenient.
The only downside was the strain on Spot. With the current spatial blockade around Earth, opening a portal large enough for a Gundam in low-earth orbit was no small feat.
Fortunately, everything went off without a hitch.
Upon returning to the New York base, the first thing Luca noticed was Natasha. She was holding a watering can, casually sprinkling water over a row of energy cubes neatly arranged on the floor.
Harry was standing by her side, staring with wide, eager eyes. Every time a cube was "decompressed," he'd rush over to the stasis pod to see if his father was inside.
Sorting through the massive sack of general captives would take time, but the smaller bag containing the Avengers didn't need to wait. It just held the core team and a few key S.H.I.E.L.D. agents Luca recognized.
Since there were only a few of them, Luca didn't bother interrupting. He let them enjoy their "mystery unboxing" session.
Just then, Vision, who had stayed behind to guard Earth, quietly phased through the wall to appear beside Luca.
By now, he had mastered the art of "phasing while carrying the ball."
Luca wasn't surprised. They had tested this before. After Vision's repairs and upgrades, his new components—specifically the [Orb]—didn't detach during phasing. It seemed that after carrying it for so long, his concept of "self" had subconsciously accepted the Orb as part of his body.
"Next time, use the door..."
Luca pointed helplessly at the open doorway just six or seven feet away from where Vision had phased through.
Little Vision didn't talk back. He just scratched his head in a very human gesture before getting down to business.
"The Skrull attempt to launch nuclear missiles has been completely intercepted."
"Twelve of the launch sites were already under our surveillance. Three more were exposed during the initial skirmish and were quickly secured by your mechanical units."
"The remaining two launch sites were outside North America, targeting eight major cities including Sokovia, New York, Los Angeles, London, and Moscow."
"However, the warheads were locked onto by satellite the moment they launched. Spot teleported all missiles off-world immediately. Those two bases have since been destroyed."
"It is currently unknown if the Skrulls possess any other dormant silos. However, following Friday's shutdown, Hakimi has temporarily taken control of all Stark Industries satellites and is currently monitoring every corner of the globe."
Luca wasn't surprised by Vision's lengthy report. After all, this was exactly what he had assigned him to do.
On the other hand, Gwen and the others—who had been watching Natasha "water the plants"—hurried over, looking tense.
"Those Skrulls actually launched nukes?!"
Even though they hadn't witnessed it firsthand, Vision's summary was enough to send chills down their spines.
Multiple launch sites firing simultaneously, targeting cities across the globe...
If even a single nuke had detonated... No, it wouldn't even need to hit a target. If just one detonation triggered a chain reaction from other nations' defense systems, Earth could have plunged straight into a nuclear winter.
"Those Skrulls! They were trying to take the whole human race down with them!"
Even the usually mild-mannered Dr. Banner was gritting his teeth, cursing under his breath.
When they were leaving the space station, he had actually considered asking Luca not to wipe out the Skrulls completely. But now? He realized that while he might have wanted to spare them, they certainly had no intention of sparing Earth.
"Those bastards! If they can't have it, they destroy it?!"
"Isn't this exactly what we expected?" Luca asked, his expression indifferent in the face of their outrage.
In fact, he had been preparing for this since he came up with the plan to use New York as bait.
While Natasha and the team were buying time to find the prisoners and the station's location, and while he was prepping the Gundams for launch, Luca hadn't been idle.
He had been systematically capturing Skrull operatives, using mind control to infiltrate the various missile silos under Skrull command.
Luca had deployed quite a few of his "Yuri-class" psychic operatives for this exact purpose.
Even when the Skrulls launched their three-pronged assault on New York by land, sea, and air, Luca's reserve mechanical troops had immediately moved out to seize the silos the moment they were exposed.
Although a few slipped through the net, the end result was good: no mushroom clouds blooming across the globe.
Even if Luca could guarantee no nukes would land near Sokovia, he didn't exactly want to live on a radioactive wasteland of a planet.
Maybe after I synthesize the Super Dimension Fortress, I should look for a habitable planet in the cosmos as a backup plan? Luca mused.
Sure, they had stopped the "destruction of Earth" this time, but the Marvel Earth was a magnet for catastrophe. It was bound to face one heart-stopping crisis after another.
Forget planet-killers like the Power Stone or the Bifrost—what if Galactus decided to show up for a snack? or a Celestial decided it was time to hatch?
Having multiple escape routes was better than dying with the planet.
Hmm, that retirement planet Thanos picked out seemed nice. I wonder if there are many planets like that out there?
Or maybe when the Dimensional War ends and the blockade is lifted, I can explore the multiverse and find a stable parallel timeline as a retreat? It's a pity my Hex Dimension doesn't have a decent habitable planet yet, and I can't stay in there long-term. Otherwise, my own dimension would be the perfect lair.
Luca was deep in thought, calculating his exit strategy for the day Earth eventually blew up.
But to Gwen and the others, it looked like Luca had furrowed his brow in deep contemplation immediately after discussing the nuclear crisis.
They exchanged glances, assuming Luca was wrestling with the heavy burden of how to handle the aftermath of the Skrull invasion.
After a long silence, Dr. Banner spoke up to break the tension.
"Luca, how do you plan to deal with the remaining Skrulls hiding on Earth?"