Talos took a deep breath. "The process was—we were defeated by the Kree, then forced to flee. Over a million Skrull refugees were left holess."
"Oh? So you're saying they all ca to Earth? Or are they still wandering out there sowhere?"
Nick Fury's gaze darkened, his eyes like blades piercing into Talos.
Talos was speechless.
He licked his lips, and a few traces of helplessness erged on his dry green face.
After several failed attempts to speak, he finally nodded. "That's right. They're here."
"Who?" Nick Fury's tone turned hard and pressing. "Who's here?!"
Talos looked even more helpless. "Everyone…"
"Ha!" Nick Fury let out a cold laugh. "So you're telling there are actually a million Skrulls on Earth?"
Talos took a deep breath and nodded. "That's right…"
"Goddamn! I swear that ugly green head of yours must be completely broken!" Nick Fury slamd the table. "You lied to !!"
Talos tried to explain, "Nick, I was only trying to send out a signal to the universe!"
"I was calling out to the Skrulls still on the run."
"There are good people here, willing to take us in. They were only ant to take temporary refuge on Earth.
Besides, there are countless beings across the universe hunting us down. We only had two choices—either be killed, or co to Earth. Nick, I'm a general of the Skrulls. I had no choice!"
Talos spoke with sincere emotion.
But Nick Fury exploded in anger: "Ah, no choice, it was all for your people, that makes perfect sense… BUT! What the hell does that have to do with ?!"
"What?" Talos looked at Nick in disbelief and grew furious himself.
He jabbed a finger at his own chest.
"Right! You treated us like spies, like your little soldiers, your tools, risking our lives for your cause!"
"And now that you're high and mighty, suddenly it has nothing to do with you?!"
Talos shouted with his neck veins bulging.
Nick Fury shot back just as fiercely: "But you lied to ! You kept it from and brought over a million Skrulls to Earth! Talos, tell —what exactly are you trying to do?!"
Talos was panting heavily. "I only hoped you could help the Skrulls integrate into Earth, Nick."
Nick Fury sneered coldly. "That's impossible! You've lived on Earth for over ten years—you should know by now that the humans on this planet can barely coexist with each other. How could there be a place for over a million Skrulls?!"
Talos's appearance slowly shifted, turning into that of an old man with white hair.
Deep wrinkles marked his face as he tried to salvage the conversation. "There was no other way…"
"There isn't!" Nick Fury cut him off sharply. "I'll notify Carol to return. If you've got anything to say, say it to her. In the anti, if you don't want to be captured, you'd better find a way to leave Earth."
Beep~!
As soon as he finished speaking, Nick Fury ended the call.
"How could this happen…" In the empty warehouse, Talos collapsed helplessly into a seated position with his wife's support.
anwhile—
On the S.W.O.R.D Space Station—
Nick Fury dropped into his chair just as heavily.
The soft leather cushion let out a muffled thud under the force of his weight, his whole body sinking powerlessly into the seat.
Unlike before, his face now wore an expression of deep helplessness.
"Talos…"
Nick Fury stared at the surface of the desk, but his gaze seed to pierce through into the distant depths of the universe, falling into a silent daze.
A long while later—
He sighed, slowly opened a drawer, took out a pager, slapped it onto the table, and pressed send.
"Never thought I'd be calling Carol again… and not because Earth is in danger, but because of the Skrulls."
Nick Fury turned his chair around.
He looked out toward the boundless expanse of space outside the cabin window.
That always cold and hardened face actually showed a trace of desolation.
There really were over a million Shapeshifting goddamn motherfuckers on Earth.
He knew very well that they couldn't be allowed to stay—if they did, war would be inevitable.
But even if the Skrulls left, S.W.O.R.D. would still face only one outco: dissolution.
Before long, everything he had built over the past decade would be lost.
Nick Fury knew exactly who was behind all this—the Stark brothers.
But he couldn't bring himself to hate them.
Whether it was Hydra or the Skrulls, they were both hidden threats lurking beneath the surface of peace.
If it hadn't been for those two brothers exposing these threats in advance, no one could imagine what kind of consequences might have occurred when they eventually erupted.
Deep down, Nick Fury actually felt a bit grateful to Lyon and Tony.
Of course, even more than that, he felt an increasingly intense sense of vigilance.
But he was about to lose everything soon, and no amount of caution could change that.
…
At the sa ti—
New York, Avengers Headquarters.
Lyon and Tony were standing side by side in front of a one-way mirror.
They didn't yet know that the enemy had already surrendered halfway.
Tony had no way of knowing.
As for Lyon, he simply wasn't all that concerned with the matter.
In truth, he had let the man in black devise and carry out the plan entirely on his own.
Aside from helping Tony develop a device capable of identifying Skrulls, He had no intention of getting involved in the operation to expel the Skrulls.
Unless a Super-Skrull erged, there was no need for him to waste ti personally handling sothing at this level.
The two of them were casually chatting at the mont.
"You brought here just to watch this?" Lyon asked. "To watch a hundred-year-old popsicle thaw out?"
On the other side of the one-way mirror, Captain Arica, Steve Rogers, lay on a white experintal bed.
"Popsicle? That's a good nickna—very fitting. Can't believe I didn't think of that before!" Tony crossed his arms.
"I didn't bring you here just to stand around and watch. I need your help to make sure nothing goes wrong."
He added, "And to act as security, while you're at it."
"Security?" Lyon understood the first part, but what was that about security?
"Is your anxiety getting worse? Who would be crazy enough to attack an international organization like this?"
"You don't know?" Tony countered.
"Ever since over a month ago, when you took the Space Stone from here, it briefly released an overwhelming surge of energy."
"Ever since then, mysterious individuals from the mystical side have been sneaking into Avengers HQ, trying to investigate."
"We've already caught quite a few of those weird witches."
Lyon perked up with interest. "Oh? Witches, you say? Where are they? Take to see them."
"You can see them, sure." Tony shrugged. "But they've all escaped already. With just the equipnt and agents S.H.I.E.L.D. left behind, there was no way to keep them locked up."
"That's a real sha." Lyon didn't look the least bit regretful.
"I even deliberately leaked so of the gem's energy back at Kamar-Taj to divert attention."
"But no one ever tried snooping around there."
"If those people didn't dare provoke the Sanctum Sanctorum, they probably aren't very strong."
Lyon patted Tony on the shoulder. "Looks like you really need to beef up your Avengers. If you can't even hold a few of the weaker folks from the mystical side, that's a problem."
Tony gestured toward Captain Arica on the other side of the glass. "That's exactly why we're doing what we're doing now—recruiting new mbers."
"You an Captain Arica? You're seriously trying to bring him into the Avengers?" Lyon raised an eyebrow.
______
Read ahead of WN at Patreon/LiveLifeLove
Reviews
All reviews (0)