Every time Carol confronted Malrick, she was reminded she was, at best, powerless. That was exactly how she felt now—helpless as Malrick's hand clenched around her throat. His grip tightened, skin pressing inward, cutting off her blood flow.
Her vision darkened, her face flushing crimson. She struggled, but Malrick's other hand pinned her in place, turning her around.
Ahead lay chaos—space debris and wrecked ships drifting aimlessly in the void. Most had already accelerated away, escaping the destruction. Carol sensed doom.
In that silent void, Malrick's whisper echoed in her mind.
"If you value the surviving Skrulls, watch closely," he said.
She hadn't even registered what he meant when twin scarlet Heat Visions tore from her sides.
They incinerated the fleeing vessels in bursts of light. One by one, Skrull ships detonated in blinding flares. Each explosion signaled the loss of dozens of lives. None survived.
Calm and cold, the destruction reached its final crescendo.
In that moment, the Solar System seemed split between warmth and inferno—on one side, sunlight; on the other, firestorms and debris. Carol stood trapped at the center, witnessing a race's demise.
"No, don't—" she whispered, her voice cracking with despair, her heart breaking at the sight of lives she couldn't protect.
She turned to Malrick, her eyes burning with sorrow and anger. She hoped to challenge him. Instead, he raised a hand, signaling her to wait.
He spoke softly, but the words were crushing.
"I find you all repulsive. Leave Earth. Venture into space—bring me the Power Stone, the Mind Stone, even Thanos's head. Round up the stray Skrulls fleeing across the cosmos. Collect them—our race must regroup."
The Skrulls, even as they fled, heard his telepathic command. They rose as one, photon energy blazing, streaking out of the Solar System like a meteor shower.
Carol watched them go, confusion twisting her. These were act-free agents—they hadn't been forced. Were some Skrulls secretly allied with Malrick? Betrayed from the start?
She barely had time to process before a surge of force slammed into her neck. A flash later, she was back on Earth, thrown roughly to the ground.
She looked up to see Malrick's shadow looming, distorted in sunlight.
He spoke, colder than before.
"Since 1989, when you first awoke to the power of the Space Stone, you've forgotten your human roots. While other races may revere you—Earth does not."
He paused.
"This war isn't abstract—it's racial. You siding with Skrulls makes you a traitor."
Carol backed away. "What do you want?"
"Simple," he said. "Stripping you of everything you've become."
He extended a hand—energy pulsed from the Space Stone.
Time had passed differently in Malrick's inner world. Its acceleration meant hundreds of years of mastery over the Stones. With that power, removing Carol's enhancements was trivial.
Carol panicked. "No! You can't take it from me!"
Photon energy flared around her body, sputtering out historical blood and stardust. But the Space Stone's energy enveloped her, coursing into every cell, draining her abilities.
Malrick's voice was cold.
"You've played hero across the galaxy. I'm doing the same. Now that you're weaker than me, my authority is absolute."
His grasp multiplied. The power he extracted flooded through him, stripping Carol visibly.
She convulsed. Her taut skin relaxed, scars forming. Age began to lie heavily across her face. Power evaporated until she could no longer stand.
Her voice was broken.
"How... could this be?"
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