Chapter 1084: Fighting Fire with Fire

"He's Robert?!" The first exclamation echoed through the chamber, followed by a wave of stunned murmurs among the captured Super-Skrulls. Their faces showed disbelief as they stared at Robert.

Much like Carol had shared tales of Earth with her allies, she had also spoken to the Skrulls about the planet. In those stories, however, Robert's strength was not portrayed as particularly formidable. Moreover, some Super-Skrulls who had accessed Carol's memories believed Robert to be weaker than her. On Earth, Clark—the Superman—was the only one they deemed a significant threat.

Thus, the Skrulls never saw Robert as a danger. His presence on Earth was merely a secondary concern, overshadowed by Clark's overwhelming power. They prioritized their cosmic schemes over directly confronting Earth.

The Skrulls excelled at subterfuge and replacement strategies rather than direct confrontation. Mimicking individuals and infiltrating key positions were their specialties.

Now, faced with Robert, the Super-Skrulls quickly realized why he had come: he had a personal vendetta against their kind. Despite this realization, they found themselves utterly powerless against him. His immense strength rendered them immobile, reducing their resistance to mere words and curses.

Some Super-Skrulls tried to break free using their diverse array of mimicked powers. Although their copied abilities were not as potent as the originals, many Super-Skrulls could combine multiple powers, making them formidable multi-ability fighters. Yet even this proved futile. Robert’s suppression negated their regenerative abilities and kept their bodies in check.

"Seems like harsher measures are needed," Robert remarked coldly. With a mere thought, a surge of psychic energy emerged, forcibly separating the Super-Skrulls' souls from their bodies.

Though exposed and helpless, the Skrulls still clung to their habits of deception, refusing to reveal their true forms. However, their souls betrayed them. Unlike their physical bodies, which could shapeshift, their souls had no such flexibility, especially under duress.

Without their bodies, the Super-Skrulls lost all their mimicked powers. This confirmed that their abilities were entirely physical, unable to persist at the spiritual level.

"Your physical forms might let you resist me, but the pain of the soul surpasses anything the body can endure. Let's see how long you can hold out," Robert said, his smile chilling as he addressed the writhing souls before him.

Reading Skrull memories was notoriously difficult, even for telepathic experts like Martian Manhunter. For Robert, extracting specific details from their minds was nearly impossible. Torture, however, was another matter entirely. To prevent collusion among the prisoners, Robert waved his hand, transforming the chamber into separate isolation cells for each Super-Skrull.

"Ahhh!"

"No!"

"Curse you! Just kill me already!"

"Robert! Earth won’t escape our vengeance!"

The Super-Skrulls screamed and cursed in agony as Robert inflicted unimaginable pain upon their souls. Their defiance and threats fell on deaf ears. Robert wasn’t swayed by their bravado. If the Avengers hadn’t uncovered and dismantled their Earth infiltration, countless lives would have been replaced or destroyed by these parasites.

Despite their arrogance, the Skrulls began to break under the relentless torment. Initially, they provided conflicting and false coordinates for their homeworld, hoping to mislead or provoke Robert into killing them quickly. However, Robert’s response to such tactics was not mercy but increased intensity in their suffering.

For Robert, causing pain without killing them was effortless. His power allowed him to sustain their torment indefinitely. Eventually, their defiance eroded, and they began to yield, revealing accurate coordinates for their homeworld.

The Super-Skrulls had hoped for rescue. While the handful of them stationed on this planet were significant, they were far from the entirety of their forces. Across the Void, the Skrulls had been covertly building up their strength by infiltrating other civilizations, even incorporating remnants of Darkseid’s Parademons into their arsenal.

Unbeknownst to them, the one who had destroyed Apokolips now stood before them. Any dreams of salvation from their imitation Parademon army were futile.

"Does this coordinate mean anything to you?" Robert asked the Silver Surfer, presenting the location gleaned from the broken Super-Skrulls.

The Surfer nodded. "I know it. Frankly, there’s no place in the universe I haven’t explored. This coordinate matches one of the countless worlds I’ve visited, likely a refuge for their kind."

"Perfect. Let’s head there now," Robert said with a sharp glint in his eye. "As for these prisoners, let them stew. They’re not getting off lightly."

The Surfer’s board expanded, enveloping the chamber holding the captured Skrulls. Transforming into a streak of light, the Surfer led Robert and Galata across the Void with incredible speed. His intimate knowledge of the cosmos and ability to create wormholes allowed them to reach the coordinates in record time.

When they arrived, they found an emerald-green planet teeming with life—Skrull life. Scanning the surface, Robert saw unmasked Skrulls in their natural forms, their green skin unmistakable. Most of the population consisted of women, children, and elders, suggesting the adult males were elsewhere, likely infiltrating other civilizations.

"An entire Skrull world, hiding right under the universe’s nose," Robert remarked. His tone carried no pity. "But they’ll get no sympathy from me."

To Robert, the Skrulls represented the worst of cosmic parasites. A species that betrayed its benefactor, stole from others, and sought the destruction of civilizations had no right to exist. Destroying this planet wouldn’t annihilate the Skrulls entirely, but it would deal a severe blow to their capacity for deceit and expansion.

However, Robert had no intention of simply wiping out the planet. To truly end the Skrull threat, he needed to draw every Skrull back to their homeworld. The bait? An invasion. No species would forsake its home in the face of total annihilation.

Robert vanished briefly and returned with a Hell Lord in tow. The demon, trembling before Robert’s overwhelming power, obediently opened a massive Hell Gate. From the infernal portal poured an army of demons, swarming toward the Skrull planet.

The Hell Lord had no choice but to comply. He knew Robert was far more terrifying than any foe he’d faced. If obedience offered even a sliver of hope for survival, he’d gladly submit.

"Enemies!"

"What’s happening?!"

"Who’s attacking us?!"

"Wait... these look like demons!"

"Notify our forces! Summon everyone back! We can’t repel them with our current technology!"

The Skrull world plunged into chaos as the demonic horde descended. While their technology was advanced, it was no match for the sheer numbers and ferocity of the Hellspawn. The Skrulls’ calls for reinforcements echoed across their networks.

Meanwhile, Robert watched from above, a grim satisfaction on his face. He knew the Hell army would devastate the Skrull stronghold, forcing their scattered forces to regroup. For a species that thrived on stealth and subterfuge, defending their homeworld would prove their undoing.

"Evil must be crushed by greater evil," Robert muttered, watching the chaos unfold. "And who better to deal with them than the literal embodiment of malice itself?"