Chapter 78: All Distrust Begins with Suspicion
The military transport landed in Washington D.C., followed by a convoy of black SUVs that entered the airport, collected Ryan, and drove straight to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Ryan certainly didn't need bodyguards—the motorcade was simply President Ross's way of demonstrating his importance.
Ryan had seen the White House on television many times, but this was his first visit in person.
"Sir, the President is waiting for you inside."
The Deputy Chief of Staff escorted Ryan to the Oval Office, where super-soldiers designated Four and Seven were standing guard at the door.
Seeing Ryan approach, both immediately saluted. "Good afternoon, sir!"
"Good, you two look much more energetic lately. Don't forget to take care of your families after duty..."
"Thank you, sir!"
After patting both men on the shoulders, Ryan entered the most powerful office in the federal government.
President Ross stood up, rubbing his temples. "Based on the intelligence you provided, we found traces of extraterrestrials in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone in Eastern Europe. We never expected them to be hiding there."
Ryan explained, "Nuclear radiation is extremely harmful to humans, but the impact on those aliens is virtually nonexistent. It's understandable you didn't anticipate it."
"The main problem is that we lost an entire special operations team there. No survivors, all equipment destroyed. This incident caused a massive uproar at the Pentagon."
The Pentagon served as headquarters for the Department of Defense, where virtually all top federal military and political figures worked.
Although President Ross wasn't directly responsible for this incident, it represented his first major setback since taking office. If leaked, it would definitely be used to attack his administration.
Ryan examined the small ornaments on the President's desk. After listening to Ross's concerns, he spoke:
"There's a traitor among the federal government's upper echelons. It's not that someone betrayed you—rather, these aliens can seamlessly assume the appearance of others and replace those who originally held high positions."
"They can even copy memories. That's why I asked you to send blood samples from those who received the longevity serum for testing."
The Skrulls were also a race created by the Celestials. They weren't carbon-based lifeforms, but they possessed the ability to replicate the appearance and memories of others.
Ryan couldn't understand how Nick Fury could have developed feelings for a non-carbon-based creature.
Among the Skrulls, there had once been Super-Skrulls, capable of copying not only appearances and memories but also superpowers. It wasn't until the Super-Skrulls were eliminated that they were attacked by the Kree Empire and eventually became a wandering population that arrived on Earth.
President Ross's mouth fell open in shock, momentarily speechless before asking, "You mean there are aliens who have assumed the identities of high-ranking federal officials, and then...?"
Ross shuddered to think of the consequences if all top human leaders were replaced.
"Then we..." Faced with the crisis, Ross automatically placed himself and Ryan on the same side.
Ryan set down the ornament. "Haven't you already located War Machine Rhodes? Take me there."
"Just you alone?"
The President wasn't worried about Ryan's safety—he was concerned about the immortality serum and the resources on Celestial Island.
Despite fierce international disputes over Celestial Island's sovereignty, no nation dared attempt a landing without permission. The destruction of the Indian fleet served as a clear warning.
Ryan waved dismissively. "No need for discussion. Arrange it immediately."
President Ross had no choice but to contact the Pentagon and arrange for Ryan to use a Quinjet.
Ryan, unable to fly under his own power, found air travel tedious—he had to fly everywhere.
The Quinjet broke through the cloud layer and hovered above the perimeter of the Eastern European contaminated zone.
The pilot turned around. "Sir, we're approaching the target area. Do you want to land now?"
"No, open the rear hatch."
Ryan stood and walked to the back of the aircraft, signaling for the pilot to open the hatch.
Seeing Ryan wasn't wearing a parachute, the pilot started to warn him, but thought better of it and activated the hatch release.
Click and whoosh—the rear hatch swung open, and Ryan jumped without hesitation.
The night wind rushed past him clearly. Ryan maintained perfect posture, his expression unchanged. As he approached the ground, his golden cosmic armor materialized around him.
THUD
Ryan struck the earth like a missile, embedding himself knee-deep in the soil.
Extracting his legs from the crater, he determined his direction and headed toward the Skrull settlement.
Thirty minutes later, Ryan had reached the vicinity of the Skrull gathering area.
Several patrolling Skrulls were clustered together, chatting. Ryan activated his recording equipment and took the opportunity to infiltrate.
Inside the main reactor building, Ryan positioned himself on the third-floor staircase, looking down at the ground level. A long table sat in the middle of the open space. Several green-skinned Skrulls sat alongside two who had assumed human appearances, discussing their plans.
"The Avengers will gather Asgardian and Wakandan warriors to attack Ryan. For the resources of Celestial Island, the federal military will undoubtedly remain neutral, and a conflict will inevitably break out between the two sides," the disguised Nick Fury explained his strategy.
"It would be ideal if we could detonate nuclear weapons on Celestial Island, eliminating all the enhanced soldiers and Avengers simultaneously."
"We should also infiltrate more of our people into the upper levels of human government," added the disguised Rhodes. "Ross has become President. It would be optimal if he were replaced, then I could form a new Avengers team."
"We need to bring all our remaining people here as quickly as possible. Earth will become our new homeworld."
After the brief meeting, the group dispersed to rest.
Ryan followed the fake Rhodes up a ladder to the roof and into a room where the actual War Machine armor sat propped against the wall.
The fake Rhodes removed his jacket, approached the War Machine suit, and actually picked up a cloth to clean it.
"Haha, you wouldn't be developing feelings for a machine, would you?"
A familiar yet unfamiliar voice suddenly echoed through the room. The fake Rhodes froze for a second, then slowly turned around.
"Ryan! How did you find this place?"
Ryan asked casually, "Was it difficult?"
The fake Rhodes frowned, then asked tentatively, "So you heard everything we discussed?"
Of course, Ryan wouldn't answer his question. He walked over to the fake Rhodes, glanced at the War Machine armor behind him, and said, "When did you replace Rhodes? Wasn't it before we fought Thanos? So was it your plan to turn Steve and the Avengers against me?"
Ryan couldn't understand it. He had been just an ordinary person back then—plotting against him would have been completely unnecessary.
But in each of these conflicts, fake Rhodes and fake Nick Fury had been present, suggesting this wasn't a spontaneous plan.
The fake Rhodes didn't answer Ryan's question either, but simply touched the War Machine armor.
The next second, War Machine suddenly activated, its shoulder and arm-mounted weapons instantly targeting Ryan.
BANG!
War Machine fired, striking Ryan in the head and causing his neck to tilt back slightly.
SWISH! Ryan's cosmic energy blade materialized in his hand, instantly slicing through the weapons systems on War Machine's armor.
The cuts were perfectly clean, and the severed components clattered to the ground.
The fake Rhodes's expression changed, and he immediately said, "Ryan, we could actually join forces to rule Earth. We can help you deal with the Avengers and assist you in controlling high-level human officials."
Ryan raised a finger to his lips in a "shushing" gesture.
"My purpose for coming here is simple: I just want to borrow something from you."
The Skrulls weren't particularly skilled in combat—otherwise they wouldn't have been driven from their homeworld by the Kree.
Their strength lay in their ability to transform into anyone, making them omnipresent and difficult to detect. For example, Rhodes and Nick Fury had their identities replaced without anyone noticing.
The fake Rhodes quickly asked, "What do you want?"
A flash of golden light appeared, and a line of blood immediately formed across the fake Rhodes's neck.
"I'll borrow your head."
The fake Rhodes's pupils dilated, and as his life faded, his appearance instantly reverted from Rhodes's human form to his original green Skrull skin.
This moment was captured by Ryan's pre-activated camera.
CLANG
The fake Rhodes, now transformed back to his green-skinned form, collapsed to the ground, his head and body separated. The head rolled two meters before coming to rest.
Ryan ignored the dead Skrull and circled his energy blade through War Machine's chest, directly extracting the arc reactor power core.
He then quietly left the contaminated zone.
In the small settlement of New Asgard, Norway, Thor sat on the couch, talking incessantly. "Are we just going to sit here and do nothing? I don't believe we can't accomplish anything without that sorcerer!"
Dr. Banner tried to calm him. "It's not that we can't. After all, Doctor Strange initiated this. He knows what needs to be done. He also said he wanted to retrieve Wanda. With Wanda leading us, we can be more confident."
Thor grimaced. "I still prefer the old Hulk."
He recalled the enjoyable times he and Hulk had shared on Sakaar. Back then, the Hulk had been innocent and endearing, unlike the current intellectualized version who was completely different.
Knock knock!
Valkyrie entered, placing a package on the table.
"This came from New York, addressed to the Avengers. See for yourselves."
The only true Avengers present were Thor and Bruce Banner. While Banner remained puzzled, Thor eagerly opened the package.
Inside was a holographic projector.
"Hello, fellow Avengers!"
The device suddenly activated, displaying a holographic image. It was Ryan greeting them.
Ryan continued with a smile, "I know it must be difficult for all you superhero Avengers living as fugitives, so I have some good news for you."
"Of course, it's not about the arrest warrants being lifted, but rather that War Machine James Rhodes is dead! Please watch this recording!"
The screen switched to Ryan's search for the fake Rhodes at the Skrull settlement.
The previous portions had been edited out, leaving only fragments of Ryan's conversation with James Rhodes.
When Banner heard Ryan questioning James Rhodes and Rhodes failing to respond, it confirmed some of his suspicions.
"How could this be? Why would Rhodes plot against him?"
Just as Banner was puzzled, Ryan decapitated Rhodes with a single strike.
"Ah!" Valkyrie and Captain Marvel exclaimed simultaneously, and Thor, enraged, raised his fist to destroy the hologram.
But the next moment, everyone's jaws dropped again.
After Rhodes's head was severed, he had unexpectedly transformed into a green-skinned alien.
"It's a Skrull!" Captain Marvel Carol immediately recognized the green skin—she had encountered them in 1995.
The screen switched back to Ryan's face, and Ryan smiled slightly. "Well, was that a surprise? Don't worry, I have even more surprising news for all of you."
"I know exactly what you're planning, and I also know it's the Skrulls who are stirring up trouble. Their goal is simply to find a suitable planet after losing their homeworld."
"And here's even more surprising news: Nick Fury and those other heroes are fakes too. Hahaha, you fools have been completely deceived!"
Thor clenched his fist, pointed at the holographic Ryan, and angrily declared, "I despise this guy. Regardless of his reasons, I'm going to beat him senseless."
Captain Marvel wasn't in the mood for Thor's outburst. All she could think about was the claim that Nick Fury was an impostor.
She had previously wondered why Nick Fury insisted on mobilizing all forces to attack Ryan, but now she finally understood.
"As for verifying their identities, you'll have to investigate that yourselves. Be careful of those around you—they might stab you in the back at any moment!"
BEEP!
Ryan finished speaking, and the holographic image vanished.
The room fell into eerie silence.
After a long pause, Bruce Banner was the first to speak. "How much of what he said do you believe?"
"What's to believe? He's clearly spreading disinformation to create discord among us," Thor replied, the first to express disbelief.
Captain Marvel remained silent, and Shang-Chi, not fully aware of the situation, hesitated to speak.
Valkyrie said, "I'm inclined to believe what this person says. If Skrulls were to infiltrate the upper levels of human society or become Avengers, it would be catastrophic for humanity."
Bruce Banner nodded. "Someone is definitely instigating war. Nick Fury was previously dismissed by the World Security Council. He reappeared after the Manhattan battle between Ryan and us and reformed the Avengers."
"And the person who first instigated conflict between Ryan and the Avengers was James Rhodes. If Rhodes had been replaced by a Skrull long ago, then everything makes sense."
Glancing at Carol, Banner knew she had a close relationship with Nick Fury and that he should choose his words carefully.
He continued, "The attack on the military base was also organized by Nick Fury. He ordered the retreat as well, and now he's assembling forces to start a war."
"Don't forget, Ryan has an excellent relationship with the federal government. If we mobilize Asgardian and Wakandan warriors to attack Celestial Island, the federal government will undoubtedly intervene. Then it becomes a war between us and the federal government."
The Avengers leading alien forces into war against humans on Earth? The thought was terrifying.
"So what should we do now?"
"Wait, there's also that sorcerer Strange. He was the one who claimed Ryan was a world-destroyer who would annihilate the entire planet. Do you think he's also a Skrull?"
Banner shook his head. "It's possible that Strange and Wanda fell into a dimensional space together, and only Strange returned." He didn't finish his statement, but everyone understood his implication.
Without their spiritual leader, the Avengers were already quite fragmented, and after this video's release, their trust in each other was further diminished.
Although only they were present now, this video would undoubtedly reach many more people.
End of Chapter
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