Bang!
Gunfire burst into a fireball in the dim control room. At point-blank range, the specially made armor-piercing bullet tore through flesh, passing from his chest through his back and spraying a glaring burst of blood. It blasted a hole clean through his heart.
Ward froze in place, his expression turning utterly grim in an instant.
Pietro landed beside him. Looking at Gravik on the floor, he slapped his thigh in frustration. "Fuck! That bastard actually killed himself!"
Gravik lay on his back, blood pouring from his mouth in great gulps. His heart had been completely shattered, and life was rapidly draining from his body.
But he was smiling. His mangled face twisted into a hideous grin, his gaze fixed squarely on Lucian. His voice came in broken gasps, yet carried a bitter, unforgettable curse.
"It's no use... Lucian..."
Bloody froth gurgled at the corners of Gravik's mouth. Each word was like venom squeezed from deep in his throat. "The Infiltration Plan... is already fully underway... All our people will enter the highest level of silent infiltration... Even killing me won't help..."
He glared at the people before him, his eyes filled with the satisfaction of revenge fulfilled.
"The fuse for nuclear war has already been lit... Arrogant humanity will burn itself to death in the flames... When the ashes of nuclear winter settle... the Skrulls... will take over everything on this planet! We'll be waiting in hell... for you..."
As he finished those last words, the fanaticism in Gravik's eyes slowly froze.
His pupils began to lose focus, his chest stopped rising and falling, and he peacefully closed his eyes. With that sneer of someone who believed he had won the game still on his lips, he lay quietly on the floor, waiting for death.
An eerie silence settled