The Skrull Empire

Tony's faceplate slowly slid shut, concealing his conflicted expression.

"So this is an Earth ruled by Skrulls?"

All Tony wanted to do was scoff. What the hell was this? A goblin invasion of Earth?

He had known those green-skinned bastards were no good.

Doctor Strange instantly extended his magical senses. A moment later, he nodded gravely.

"That's right. I can't sense a single human consciousness anywhere on the planet."

Black Panther tightened his grip on the Antimatter Bomb's trigger, his tone solemn. "Which means..."

"We won't have to bear the sin of slaughtering our own kind."

Mr. Fantastic nodded and added, "But we still have to deploy the Antimatter Bomb, for our Earth's survival."

Silence fell over them again, but this time, the suffocating guilt in the air had indeed eased considerably.

Black Panther took a deep breath and looked down again at the Antimatter Bomb's triggering device in his hands.

Tony promptly gave an order. "JARVIS, lock onto the coordinates of the planetary core."

"Coordinates locked, sir."

Five minutes later.

The members of the Illuminati hovered at the edge of the parallel Earth's atmosphere, with bustling cities built by Skrulls beneath their feet.

The Antimatter Bomb was in place, its blue energy core flickering in the darkness.

No one spoke.

They felt this was a mission they needn't feel guilty about. At least, that was what they told themselves.

The lights of the city below reflected off Tony's faceplate as he took one last look.

The green-skinned figures walking along the streets, the Skrull children running through the squares, the buildings almost identical to those in their own world.

"Let's go."

His voice was quiet, yet it sliced through the silence like a blade, rousing the silent members of the Illuminati.

They activated their flight systems and headed toward